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The Scoop

Posted: Aug 4th 2019 By: Compiled by Oklafan Staff

NEWS
Names listed for the Jericho Cruise at this point are Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, Cody, Adam Page, Brandi Rhodes, MJF, Britt Baker, Jungle Boy, Nyla Rose, Jericho, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Booker T, Jake Roberts, DDP and Eric Bischoff.

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler is suing Hardeman County, Tennessee in a $3 million lawsuit over the wrongful death of his son. Brian Christopher Lawler, 46, passed away on July 29, 2018 and was found hanging from his jail cell after he was arrested for a DUI. Lawler's attorney, Jeffrey Rosenblum from Rosenblum & Reisman, Attorneys at Law, wrote in a press release, "Jerry Lawler filed a lawsuit on Friday, July 26, 2019 seeking justice for Brian Lawler's family. Lawler is seeking compensatory damages and punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a jury for the numerous failures of the county and its employees that resulted in the wrongful death of his son, Brian Christopher Lawler. Lawler is also asking the court to order Sheriff Doolen to make changes at the Hardeman County Jail to protect all inmates from future harm." Rosenblum told TMZ that Christopher was attacked by an inmate during his time in jail and suffered a head injury, left eye gash and a possible concussion. Officials refused to get him help, the attorney says, and instead of assisting, they placed him in solitary confinement. He used his own shoe laces and the bolts sticking out from the jail cell to hang himself. Apart from the lawsuit, Lawler is also demanding an apology from the Sheriff's Department and a court order "requiring Hardeman County to correct their unconstitutional deficiencies so that no other family has to go through what this family has had to endure over the past year." The $3 million sum and other punitive damages, if awarded, will go to benefit Brian's son. Lawler claims that while his son was in jail, he met with the Sheriff to try and get him help for drug and alcohol addiction and was promised he would get the proper treatment. Lawler explained that that's the only reason why they didn't pay the money to bail him out and now he feels betrayed by the Sheriff for failing to act.

Flex Zerba was one of the medical attendants tending to Alexa Bliss at the WWE RAW broadcast Monday.

Jerry Lawler thanked everyone who thought about Brian Christopher on the one-year anniversary of his death: “Today was a very tough day. It's been exactly one year since my son Brian Christopher died. I want to thank everyone who thought about Brian today. We'll never forget you, Brian.”

Impact Wrestling uploaded a video with Scott Steiner’s five wildest promos for the company. You can watch the video here

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Goldberg will be wrestling at the SummerSlam pay-per-view and will be taking on Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler already has an announced match against The Miz on the show but Meltzer says that the plan will change. Ziggler in fact name-dropped Goldberg during a backstage interview this week on WWE television asking people if they saw his last match. This is part of an angle where Ziggler continues to run down former stars after superkicking Shawn Michaels last week. Goldberg last wrestled at the Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia against The Undertaker, a main event match which was a disaster due to Goldberg knocking himself out during the match. “Knocked myself out and thought I could finish…. Love my fans…..but let u down. Everyone else that found ‘pleasure’ ….. hope ur happy,” the former champion tweeted afterward. The match was universally panned and for good reason. The Undertaker has since returned and teamed up with Roman Reigns to take on Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre at Extreme Rules and showed the world that he could still hang in there.

Brad Sanders broke his pinky toe this past week. Oklafan wishes him a speedy recovery.

Oklafan is saddened to report the death of Harley Race, who passed away August 1st from lung cancer at the age of 76. Race grew up as a fan of wrestling, but had a very troubled childhood. He overcame childhood polio, but was eventually expelled from high school when he attacked his principal after the principal kneed him in the back of the head during a fight. Race eventually became acquainted with Stanislaus & Wladek Zbyszko and became the chauffeur for Happy Humphrey before making his in-ring debut in 1960. Soon after, he moved to Tennessee, where he changed his name to Jack Long and teamed with his “brother” John Long to win the Southern Tag Team Titles. But then tragedy struck as he was involved in a car accident that killed his pregnant wife and nearly forced the amputation of one of his legs. Recovering from that, he worked for Jack Pfeffer as The Great Mortimer, but eventually found his way down to Amarillo, TX where he began to work under his real name. He did this because of a conversation he had with his father where the elder Race said Harley should “never work to make someone else’s name famous”. By the mid-1960s, Race had moved up to the AWA, where he and Larry Hennig would hold the World Tag Team Titles 3 times before Hennig suffered a storyline broken leg to allow him some time off. Race was allowed to pick a replacement partner as champion and chose Chris Markoff, but lost the titles in their first defence. This began Race’s transformation from tag team wrestler to solo wrestler. While he competed in many territories including Georgia and Florida (and won titles on those areas as well), he is most synonymous with the Central States territory, which he was a part owner of eventually. While there from 1973 until it closed in 1989, he held the Central State Title 9 times and the Missouri Title 7 times. He is also recognised as the first NWA United States Champion in the Mid-Atlantic region and that title lineage is continued in the current WWE United States Title today. In 1973, Race defeated Dory Funk, Jr. for the NWA World Title. While he would not hold it for the entirety of the rest of the 1970s, he held it for most, including a 5-year stretch from 1978 to 1982 where he only lost it briefly to Tommy Rich (4 days), During Rhodes (5 days) and Giant Baba (10 days) before ultimately losing it to Ric Flair in what many consider a passing of the torch. During this time, Race would defend the title sometimes 6 times a week. Race participated in 3 Title-vs-Title matches, 1 against WWWF World Champion Billy Graham, 1 against WWF World Champion Bob Backlund and 1 against AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel. He also bodyslammed Andre the Giant on two occasions, once in 1978 and once in 1979, almost 10 years before Hulk Hogan did so at WrestleMania III. All of these accolades, and many others, led to Race being considered one of the toughest men to ever compete in a wrestling ring. After winning the NWA World Title 8 times, Race ventured to the WWF, where he won the King of the Ring Tournament and adopted “The King” as his moniker. He spent two years there, but an injury in a match against Hulk Hogan forced a temporary end to his career as he did a diving headbutt, Hogan moved and the metal brace of the table went into his abdomen causing a hernia. Race would spend the next 2 years, after recovering from this, in the AWA and Puerto Rico before returning to the NWA, but his in-ring career ended in 1990 after a shoulder injury. Race then became a manager, first guiding Lex Luger to the WCW World Title, then taking Vader to the same title 3 times. He also managed Mr. Hughes, The Super Invader and Vinnie Vegas. Unfortunately, another car accident in 1995 forced him away from the ring again. But Race wasn’t finished. In 1999, he opened World Legion Wrestling, which would change its name a year later to World League Wrestling. This became the home for his training school and he had a hand in training many stars including Trevor Murdoch, Brian Breaker, Jack Gamble and Mark Wilson. Race would go on to make special appearances with many top promotions including TNA and ROH and WLW had a strong working relationship with Pro Wrestling NOAH, giving his stars an opportunity at international competition. In 2004, Race was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and he spent the next decade as the guiding force behind WLW. Sadly a plethora of physical injuries, combined with other other health issues, soon began to take their tolls, along with the death of his beloved wife BJ. Race made a total of 13 documented appearances in-ring or at ringside in Oklahoma. The earliest was August 14, 1977 in Tulsa where he defended the NWA World Title against Bill Watts. No result of that match is known. The last was August 26, 1994, where he managed Vader to DQ victory over the Guardian Angel. He was also present when WLW ran shows in Claremore in 2003 and Sand Springs in 2011. Oklafan extends its condolences to Race’s family and friends at this time.

The funeral service for WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race will be held on Wednesday, August 7 at 2:30PM at the Price Funeral Home in Maryville, Missouri. Visitation starts at Noon until the beginning of the funeral. He will be then laid to rest at Quitman Cemetery in Quitman, Missouri. Race, a former eight-time NWA champion, passed away on Thursday, August 1 at the age of 76 after a battle with lung cancer. Many in the wrestling industry shared their experiences with Race on Twitter after he passed. “Harley Race was literally the King of his profession for 25 years. Long live the King,” wrote WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon. Triple H added that everything about Harley Race commanded respect. “Today our world mourns with all the RESPECT you deserve…One of my favorite people in the business and in life. See you down the road, my friend,” he wrote. One of Race’s greatest rivals, Ric Flair, said that the world lost “the one and only real world champion.” Flair wrote that he tried his hardest every day to live up to his standards in the ring. “Without Harley Race, there was no Ric Flair.” Another good friend of Race, Bret Hart, said that Harley was a true icon, a trailblazer and as tough as they come.
“Harley was a great influence on me throughout my lifetime and I had the honor of wrestling him one time in 1980 in Billings, Montana. At the best of the times and the worst of times, he was there for me, my brothers, my father, and the rest of my family. Goodbye Harley. You were a true friend.” A public memorial service will be held at his wrestling academy in Troy, Missouri on Sunday, August 11 starting at 3 PM. Family, friends, and fans can attend the memorial.

WWE uploaded a tribute video for Harley Race. The NWA also released a video honoring Race, and Nick Aldis appeared on Busted Open Radio to discuss Race’s legacy. You can watch the WWE one here and the NWA one here

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UPCOMING OKLAHOMA EVENTS
August 8th
World Class Revolution
The Paramount Room
Oklahoma City
Bell Time: 8pm

August 10th
Empire Championship Wrestling
The Empire Arena
Spencer, OK
Bell Time: 7pm

Native American Wrestling
Community Building
Chewey, OK
Bell Time: 7pm

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RECENT RESULTS
July 25th
WWE World Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak def. Jordan Myles at the NXT event in Orlando, FL

July 26th
Matt Cross def. Judas Icarus at the DEFY Wrestling event in Seattle, WA.

Tristan Thorne def. PCW Tornado Alley Champion Mighty Micah for the title at the Prairie Championship Wrestling event in Hutchinson, KS. In othe matches, Dallas Cayde def. Christian Temple, Drake Gallows vs. Shane Sanders was declared a No-Contest, XWE Tag Team Champions The ParaRockstars (Paradox & Colton Alexander) def The Texas Outlaws (Bobby Burns & Cody Burns) by DQ and KWR Heartland Champion Blade [2nd] def. Kitt Reaver.

July 27th
WWE World Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak def. Jordan Myles at the NXT event in Ft. Pierce, FL

Phoebe def. Raychell Rose at the Queens of the Ring event in Beaumont, TX. Later in the card, Miranda Alize def. Joey Ryan in an intergender match

July 28th
Steve Manders def. Mike Outlaw, Mark Wheeler, Billy Brash, Kody Lane and Josh Bishop in a 6-Pack Challenge at the Glory Pro Wrestling event in Collinsville, IL. In other matches, IMPACT World Tag Team Champions The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) def. J. D. Drake & Anthony Henry

Prince Mahalli def. Steven Cruze at the Kansas Wrestling Revolution event in Salina, KS. In other matches, The Buddy System (C. T. Jones and Danny Burroughs) def. Bad Business (Kristopher Haiden & Dean Fleming) for the vacant KWR Tag Team Titles, El Fuego del Sol def. Colt Killbane, KWR Hardcore Champion Outlaw def. K. J. Everly, Jesse Thrash, Liam Knox, Shooter Knox and Havoc in a Hardcoe Melee Match, King Money def. Jimmy Armstrong, Jerry Bostic and Doc Black in a Fatal 4-Way Match and Joey Ryan def. Dexter Hardaway

WWE United States Champion A. J. Styles def. Matt Hardy at the WWE Event in Springfield, MO. In other matches, No Way Jose & The Lucha House Party (Kalisto, El Gran Metallik & Lince Dorado) def. Mojo Rawley, EC3, Robert Roode & Eric Young.

July 29th
The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) def. Cole Carter & Johnny James at the WWE RAW broadcast in Little Rock, AR

July 30th
WWE World Champion Kofi Kingston def. WWE United States Champion A. J. Styles at the WWE “Smackdown” broadcast in Memphis, TN

July 31st
Kazuchika Okada def. Lance Archer at the New Japan Pro Wrestling event in Takamatsu, Japan

August 1st
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre, Jr.) def. Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) at the New Japan Pro Wrestling event in Fukuyoku, Japan

IMPACT World Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie def. Ethan Page in an intergender match at the BAR Wrestling event in Baldwin Park, CA. In other matches, Delilah Doom & Ei Everfly def. The Reno Scum (Adam Thornstowe & Luster the Legend), Tyler Bateman def. Tommy Dreamer and Scott Steiner & IMPACT World Champion Brian Cage def. Joey Ryan & Orange Cassidy

August 2nd
WWE United States Champion A. J. Styles def. Ricochet at the WWE event in Ft. Wayne, IN.

August 3rd
Zack Sabre, Jr. def. Lance Archer at the New Japan Pro Wrestling event in Osaka, Japan

Psycho Clown, Cain Velasquez & Cody def. Texano, Jr., Taurus & Killer Kross at the AAA “TripleMania” event in Mexico City, Mexico. In other matches, Lady Marvilla & Villano III, Jr. def. Nino Hamburguesa & Big Mami, Sammy Guevara & Scarlett Bordeaux and Australian Suicide & Vanilla Vargas in a 4-Corners Match to win the AAA Mixed Tag Team Titles.
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UPCOMING MATCHES
August 4th
SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI vs. Lance Archer, Zack Sabre, Jr. & Minoru Suzuki is scheduled for the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax, Event in Osaka, Japan

Dory Funk, Jr., Mick Foley, Lanny Poffo & Brian Blair are scheduled for the BANG! Event in Ocala, FL

August 7th
SANADA vs. Lance Archer is scheduled for the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax event in Hammatsu, Japan

Joey Ryan and Ethan Page are scheduled for the Demand Lucha event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

August 8th
KENTA, Clark Connors & Karl Fredricks vs. Zack Sabre, Jr., Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki is scheduled for the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax event in Yokohama, Japan

August 9th
Joey Ryan is scheduled for the Destiny World Wrestling event in Mississaugua, Ontario, Canada

MWA Champion Brian Blade defends against Tyler Bodine at the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Two Harbors, MN

Matt Sydal vs. Artemis Spencer is scheduled for the PCW Ultra event in Wilmington, CA

August 9 - The Beer City Bruiser is scheduled for the Ring of Honor/New Japan Pro Wrestling/CMLL event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

August 10th
EVIL vs. Lance Archer is scheduled for the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax event in Tokyo, Japan

MStW Champion Gary Gram defends his title against Greg Anthony in a Ladder Match at the Mid-States Wrestling event in Springfield, MO. Also on the card, Niles Plonk & Belvedere face Miranda Gordy & Bennet James. Plus appearances by Michael Barry, Matt Riveria and Jason Jones!

Tony Atlas is scheduled for the New England Championship Wrestling event in Randolph, MA

August 11th
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Zack Sabre, Jr., Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru is scheduled for the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax event in Tokyo, Japan

WWE United States Champion A. J. Styles defends against Ricochet at the WWE “Summerslam” PPV event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

August 16th
Cade Sydal vs. C. J. Evans is scheduled for the Alternative Championship Entertainment event in Raeford, NC

NEW Tag Team Champions Jerry Lawler & Keith Youngblood vs. David Arquette & Brian Anthony is scheduled for the North East Wrestling event in Poughkeepsie, NY

Adam Asher, Chandler Hopkins and Jerome Daniels are scheduled for the Texoma Pro Wrestling event in Sherman, TX

August 17th
Karnage and Naomi Sanders are scheduled for the Mid-American Wrestling event in New Hope, AR

Joey Ryan & Ruby Raze vs. Peter Avalon & Christina Von Eerie is scheduled for the ExpoLucha event in San Diego, CA

Paige Turner is scheduled for the Alternative Pro Wrestling event in Cleburne, TX

Graham Bell vs. Dale Springs in a Bazooka vs. Golf Club On A Pole Match is scheduled for the Pro Wrestlng Trainwreck event in Memphis, TN

August 23rd
Larry Zbyszko is scheduled for the Southern Pro Wrestling event in Ocoee, FL

August 24th
Superbeast is scheduled for the Nachos Festival event in Sacramento, CA

Michael Barry is scheduled for the Southwest Wrestling Entertainment event in Canton, TX

August 26th
Matt Syday vs. Rory Gulak vs. David Starr vs. Rabbi Swiss in a Fatal 4-Way Match is scheduled for the International Pro Wrestling Alliance event in Lehavot Haviva, Israel

August 29th
Thumbs-N-Buns vs. The Enlightenment (Luke Langley & Mike Sydal) is scheduled for the Journey Pro Wrestling event in Overland Park, KS

August 31st
Joey Ryan is scheduled for the SABOTAGE Wrestling event in New Braunfels, TX

PCW Tornado Alley Champion Tristan Thorne is scheduled for the Prairie Championship Wrestling event in Hutchinson, KS

Barrett Brown vs. Erica Torres is scheduled for the SABOTAGE event in New Braunfels, TX

September 1st
Mick Foley & Killer Kross are scheduled for the Warrior Wrestling event in Chicago, IL

September 7th
Karnage and Naomi Sanders are scheduled for the Mid-American Wrestling event in DeQueen, AR

Ross & Marshall Von Erich are scheduled for the Major League Wrestling event in Dallas, TX

Bobby V is scheduled for the Squared Circle Pro event in Lubbock, TX

September 14th
Killer Kross is scheduled for the Bloodsport II event in Atlantic City, NJ

September 21st
Chandler Hopkins vs. Moonshine Mantell is scheduled for the New Texas Pro event in Abilene, TX

September 22nd
Chandler Hopkins is scheduled for the New Texas Pro event in Colorado City, TX

October 2nd
Sammy Guevara vs. Cody is scheduled for the All Elite Wrestling event in Washington, DC

October 11th
Tony Atlas and Tito Santana are scheduled for the International Wrestling Federation event in Wayne, NJ

October 12th
Matt Riviera vs. Buff Bagwell for the CWA Arkansas Title is scheduled for the Championship Wrestling from Arkansas event in Hot Springs, AR. Also on the card, Barrett Brown faces Elijah Burke. Plus, Bob Orton, Jr!

November 2nd
The Von Erichs (Ross Von Erich & Marshall Von Erich) are scheduled for the Major League Wrestling PPV event in Chicago, IL

November 16th
Bobby V is scheduled for the Squared Circle Pro event in Lubbock, TX

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AUTOGRAPHS & APPEARANCES
August 15th
Missy Hyatt, Dennis Condrey, Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane, Ricky Steamboat, Carlos Colon, Greg Gagne, and many more will be signing autographs at the "Mid Atlantic Legends Weekend" at the Charlotte University Hilton in Charlotte, NC

August 16th
Missy Hyatt, Dennis Condrey, Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane, Ricky Steamboat, Carlos Colon, Greg Gagne, and many more will be signing autographs at the "Mid Atlantic Legends Weekend" at the Charlotte University Hilton in Charlotte, NC

August 17th
Missy Hyatt, Dennis Condrey, Bobby Eaton, Stan Lane, Ricky Steamboat, Carlos Colon, Greg Gagne, and many more will be signing autographs at the "Mid Atlantic Legends Weekend" at the Charlotte University Hilton in Charlotte, NC

Jim Ross is doing a one-man show in Charlotte, NC

September 7th & 8th
Mick Foley is scheduled to appear at the Arkansas Comic Con in Little Rock, AR

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UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

August 4 - The Alaskan, Ellis Bashara, Roy Dunn, Tyson Jaymes
August 5 - Glen Steel, Stan Lane
August 6 - Grizzly Smith, Jimmy Valiant, Samedi, Timothy Johnston
August 7 - Joshua Smith, Latrell Upton, Marti Belle, Taro Myaki
August 8 - Jack Victory, Johnny Z, Josh LaRue, Malice, Marion McGee, Rage Logan, Scotty Charisma, Steve O, Zakk Sinizter
August 9 - Dave Donovan, Giganto, Justin Sane, Mike Iles, Nick Hudson
August 10 - Brett Sawyer, Brian Blade, X-Cal


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Most news & results derived from reports found on Gerweck.net, PWBTS.com, WrestlingFigs.com, MissouriWrestlingRevival.com, and various other wrestling news sites.