Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.
This past week was expected by many to have more great matches than any so far this year, and largely delivered with multiple great and completely different style matches.
Among the great matches of the week were Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima on the 7/15 Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall, FTR vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson on 7/15 in Calgary on Collision in a two out of three fall title match, El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kenny Omega at TripleMania in Tijuana for the AAA Mega title on 7/15, Tomohiro Ishii vs. David Finlay from the G-1 Climax tournament on 7/16 in Sapporo, Will Ospreay vs. Yoshi-Hashi in the 7/18 G-1 from Yamagata and the Blood & Guts match on 7/19 on Dynamite from Boston.
Every one of these matches was different, including both matches with Omega that couldn’t be more different. Omega noted that one of the reasons he did the stuff he did in the Blood & Guts match, which included taking bumps into glass, thumbtacks, and a bed of nails, is that it’s important to him to show he can excel at any style of wrestling.
Raw last night averaged 1.86 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in 18-49, numbers slightly up from last week’s show that had competition from Home Run Derby, so the increase would have been expected.
Raw was the highest rated show in 18-49 both on cable television and beat every network show as well.
The second highest rated cable show, 90 Day Fiance, did a 0.20 in 18-49. Nothing on network TV topped a 0.41.
From last week, Raw was up three percent in viewers, up two percent in 18-49, and down nine percent in 18-34.
From one year ago, the show was up five percent from an episode that went against Home Run Derby, but up 23 percent in 18-49 and up eight percent in 18-34. Factoring in the homes lost by cable, the real percentage increases were 11 percent in viewers and 36 percent in 18-49.
The Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn tag title match against Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio did a better job than most Raw main events as far as the first-to-third hour drop is concerned.
The Bloodline saga comes very close to a first in the history of pro wrestling on television
A look at the Trial of Roman Reigns, the Reigns vs. Usos feud, and the storyline that has caused WWE business to grow
A preview of all the big matches of the weekend in three different countries, none of which are the U.S., with TripleMania, G-1, Miyahara vs. Nakajima and Collision
Updated news on SummerSlam and Great American Bash and business notes on both shows
The new AEW rules memo, what is and isn’t new and the reality of what this means to talent
Full coverage of UFC 290 with two of the best fights of the year, a unique television situation and two title bouts
Looking at the 2023 Wrestler of the Year award and the top candidates
Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, the questions about the show and why the hope for it to be a success is the evolution of understanding fighting being low
The most detailed look at the ratings of every major pro wrestling and MMA show of the past week, the analysis, competition, segment numbers and comparisons with one year ago
Lots of injury talks regarding major stars
Key husband and wife jumping promotions
Mercedes Mone rivalry planned
Update on major sports rights negotiations in the next few years
The death of Michael Halac, the former Bruiser Mastino and Mantaur
Wrestling magazine pioneer writer Ed Garea, The Phantom of the Ring, passes away
Notes on the new women’s promotion
RevPro Epic Encounters rundown
Battle of the two best 18-year-old wrestlers in the world announced for next month
Ticket sales for tons of big shows
Kenny Omega talks the Tiger driver spot
International TV ratings
Lots of new major UFC fights
Looking at the vacant UFC light heavyweight title situation
World champion in UFC talks about how two years ago he supplemented his income driving for Uber Eats
More major show dates fr WWE
Backstage issue at WWE
A look at all the major TV shows and WWE weekend show coverage
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
Ordering Info:
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw. We will probably have time tonight for questions as well so you can send them to [email protected]
Raw tonight is from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta which is sold out with more than 11,400 tickets out as of this morning. The key things on the show are Brock Lesnar appearing to do an angle with Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Dominik Mysterio & Damian Priest in a non-title match, Gunther vs. Matt Riddle with Giovanni Vinci and Ludvig Kaiser barred from ringside, Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defending the women’s tag titles against Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green and Viking Raiders vs. Alpha Academy in a Viking rules match which is Viking oriented weapons at ringside. I don’t know this, but with the four guys in the non-title match not listed on the matches I’ve seen for SummerSlam, I could see this being set up or a title match either for that show or for television. Odyssey Jones, who worked a dark match on Friday night, is there so he may work on Main Event tonight.
We’re looking for reports on the show with Main Event matches and anything else not on the live show to [email protected]
Smackdown for Friday is also sold out in Orlando with 12,200 tickets out.
Francis Ngannou spoke to Ariel Helwani today on the MMA Hour about his match with Tyson Fury. He said they were in talks with a boxing match with Deontay Wilder, which would have been a terrible idea, and the Fury fight came about in the last five weeks. Helwani said Ngannou’s payoff will be above $8 million and Ngannou said it was more than he’s made in his entire UFC career combined. Ngannou said that if he wins (unlikely but it is a fight so anything is possible) there is an automatic rematch but if Fury wins, he’s not sure about that.
Josh Alexander, who was just cleared to return to action after surgery to repair a torn triceps, was announced a the new head trainer at the Can-Am Wrestling school in Windsor, ONT.
Ronda Rousey will be on Stars on Mars again tonight on FOX.
Wes Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio, Bronco Nima & Lucien Price vs. Scrypts & Axiom, Dragon Lee & Nathan Frazer vs. Humberto Carrillo & Angel Garza and Kiana James vs. Gigi Dolin will be on NXT tomorrow.
Yesterday’s TV was the final appearance of Nick Aldis with Impact. He had only agreed to a short run, which climaxed Saturday night with the PPV main event loss to Alex Shelley. He will be appearing in one last match on TV, either this Thursday or next week, against Eric Young. Mike Johnson reported Aldis was in talks with WWE for a producing job.
AEW Blood & Guts has done very strong business since the announcement of the match. They are at close to 8,200 tickets out for the Wednesday show at the TD Garden.
We’re looking for your thoughts on both nights of G-1, AAA TripleMania and Impact Slammiversay with a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
Day three of G-1 starts at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning with A and B block matches
A: Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Chase Owens
B: KENTA vs. Great O’Khan
A: Hikuleo vs. Gabriel Kidd
B: Taichi vs. Tanga Loa
A: Yota Tsuji vs. Ren Narita
B: Will Ospreay vs. Yoshi-Hashi
A: Sanada vs. Shota Umino
B: Kazuchika Okada vs. El Phantasmo
Tony Khan will have a press conference tomorrow for the ROH PPV show which takes place on Friday night going against both Smackdown and Rampage.
We’ve had a lot of people comment to us about what an amazing weekend it was for high-quality matches. We also got recommended the Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Natsupoi match on the Sendai Girls show as a great David vs. Goliath type match.
We’ve gotten a lot of questions regarding the writers strike and how this affects wrestling. All the writers are non-union for WWE and AEW creative is as well. There is no effect on wrestling other than if the strike lasts any length of time, wrestling will become more valuable as first-run weekly programming. Nick Khan in the past has tried to push the idea of a simulcast of Raw on both NBC and USA like ABC and ESPN did for the UFC prelims on 7/8 and football and soccer has done of late. If this continues that is a stronger possibility than ever before.
Nick Hausman reported that a 9/14 show in Jerusalem, Israel that Sting and Rob Van Dam were to headline is in jeopardy. The statement made by the people putting the show together was:
“We regret to announce that the Global Pro Wrestling Summit event will not be going forward, as scheduled for the Pais Arena in Jerusalem on September 14, 2023. The promoter, All-Stars Israel/Stagetime, is in breach of contract on numerous fronts, inclusive of not delivering deposits to talent as stipulated in the contracts, and has been duly notified that the contracted talent (which includes ALL non-Israeli talent being advertised for the event) will NOT be appearing. THIS promoter has been advised to pull advertisements/promotions containing talent from all platforms and to cease selling tickets immediately in connection with the advertisement/promotion of any of these talents.In the interest of protecting consumers from fraud, we’ve notified both the Pais Arena and the on-sale platform –Ticket Tailor—that the event, as currently being advertised/promoted by All-Stars Israel/Stagetime, is not going forward.In the process of producing this event, first-class teams in both the US and Israel have been assembled. Talented professionals such as Rick Bassman. Scarlette Donovan, Todd Keneley, Alon Levin, Jeramie McPeek, Oren Treitman, Pete Trerice, Danny Ly Ziser, and others have put forth a consistently excellent and thoroughly conscientious effort to build and advance what we all hoped would be an unforgettable and wholly-positive experience, for talent and “office” alike, and especially, for the fans.That said, with this large volume of good work behind us, including booking an unparalleled card and having a solid commitment for pay-per-view, we’re all hard at work trying to “save” this event by aligning with a reputable, major promotional entity. Progress is being made, with REPUTABLE promoters, both in Israel and in other territories. In the event we are to move forward on the September 14 date, we will provide updates accordingly, and all ticket sales for Pais will be honored at the new venue. That said, fans who have purchased tickets thus far may wish to elect to request a refund through Ticket Tailor, the platform All-Stars Israel engaged. www.tickettailor.comIf September 14 does not come to fruition, we will regroup, and continue to put forth our best efforts to bring world-class professional wrestling to Israel in the very near future. But… we’re still fighting the good fight! In any case, we PLEDGE… a “new” event will be announced ONLY when ALL funding is in place. “
All In is being advertised in London on some double decker buses. WWE did the same thing last year for Clash at the Castle. (thanks to Ciaran and Stephen Lyon)
Dark Side of the Ring tomorrow is on Abdullah the Butcher.
The New Japan TV show on Thursday will be airing the 2016 G-1 Climax final with Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto, which was a classic match at the time.
Fathom Events is presenting “They Live,” the 1988 film by John Carpenter and starring Roddy Piper in Piper’s most famous big screen lead role. It will air in selected theaters on 9/3 and 9/6.
Daniel Garcia will be headlining West Coast Pro as it debuts in Los Angeles on 9/10 at The Don Quixote.
Bayley was injured tonight at the WWE house show in Salisbury, MD.
The injury took place in a WWE Women’s title match with Asuka defending against Bayley, Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair.
The injury was confirmed to be to the right knee. The hope at this point is the injury isn’t severe.
From a video, Bayley was running in the ring and Asuka was on the ground. She didn’t exactly trip on Asuka but may have stopped while running to avoid Asuka and she immediately went down and held her right knee. She didn’t get up and the match was stopped. An “X” was thrown up and Charlotte and Asuka were in the ring while the doctor came out. They just had Asuka pin Charlotte immediately to end the match.
charlotte a real one for immediately checking up on her, i genuinely hope bayley is alright 💙 pic.twitter.com/yDC6H1uOnz
The four-way match with Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, and Asuka was stopped and she was able to leave the ring on her on own power with help from officials. It seemed to be a good sign that she was able to leave under her own power.
A good sign is that Bayley was able to walk to the back without help just medical people standing around her which is a good sign 🙏pic.twitter.com/x7iWryF2A8
Bayley suffered a torn ACL while training at the WWE Performance Center in July 2021 and missed 13 months of in-ring action as a result. She made her return to WWE television at SummerSlam in July 2022, but did not return to the ring until August 2022 at a house show.
A feud with Shotzi had just kicked off on WWE SmackDown in the last several weeks, including Bayley cutting Shotzi’s hair, and Shotzi responding by shaving her own head.
The Bloodline saga comes very close to a first in the history of pro wrestling on television
A look at the Trial of Roman Reigns, the Reigns vs. Usos feud, and the storyline that has caused WWE business to grow
A preview of all the big matches of the weekend in three different countries, none of which are the U.S., with TripleMania, G-1, Miyahara vs. Nakajima and Collision
Updated news on SummerSlam and Great American Bash and business notes on both shows
The new AEW rules memo, what is and isn’t new and the reality of what this means to talent
Full coverage of UFC 290 with two of the best fights of the year, a unique television situation and two title bouts
Looking at the 2023 Wrestler of the Year award and the top candidates
Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, the questions about the show and why the hope for it to be a success is the evolution of understanding fighting being low
The most detailed look at the ratings of every major pro wrestling and MMA show of the past week, the analysis, competition, segment numbers and comparisons with one year ago
Lots of injury talks regarding major stars
Key husband and wife jumping promotions
Mercedes Mone rivalry planned
Update on major sports rights negotiations in the next few years
The death of Michael Halac, the former Bruiser Mastino and Mantaur
Wrestling magazine pioneer writer Ed Garea, The Phantom of the Ring, passes away
Notes on the new women’s promotion
RevPro Epic Encounters rundown
Battle of the two best 18-year-old wrestlers in the world announced for next month
Ticket sales for tons of big shows
Kenny Omega talks the Tiger driver spot
International TV ratings
Lots of new major UFC fights
Looking at the vacant UFC light heavyweight title situation
World champion in UFC talks about how two years ago he supplemented his income driving for Uber Eats
More major show dates fr WWE
Backstage issue at WWE
A look at all the major TV shows and WWE weekend show coverage
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
Ordering Info:
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Sunday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking all the latest news from a crazy day of wrestling withWrestling Observer Radio. Our weekend show with Garrett Gonzales and Larry Dallas covering the news of the week is back up on the site.
We have video related to the fan hitting Don Callis from behind and choking him after last night’s TripleMania show in Tijuana.
It started out as an angle where Kenny Omega was being interviewed and Don Callis came out and started making fun of him for losing so many matches of late, claiming five losses in a row. Didn’t he beat Wheeler Yuta? Konosuke Takeshita attacked Omega and then a fan was there and attacked Callis. It was brief, one of the videos you only see after it happened. Callis said a punch injured his ear, busted his mouth and his neck was injured and he never saw it coming. Konnan told Callis that the fan was a former security guard who did security for wrestling and concerts so was there because his friends were part of the security detail. He was not supposed to get involved and according to another source he also ripped his suit.
The past few days we had a lot of talk about Saturday being an unbelievable day for great matches. We’ll talk more about it later but people were raving about the FTR vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson match, which was one of the best matches ever on American television, as well a Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima on yesterday’s NOAH show, Will Ospreay vs. Taichi in the G-1 along with Shota Umino vs Ren Narita, and the Kenny Omega vs. Vikingo match in Mexico City. The amazing this is that because of travel situations, the four men in the tag match last night in Calgary had very little time to prepare for the match and then went out for 58:00 to do a three fall match. We’ll talk a lot more about it tonight as well as the other bouts that we get a chance to see.
Mayra Bueno Silva became a contender for the bantamweight title vacated by the retirement of Amanda Nunes yesterday in beating Holly Holm via second round choke in the main event of yesterday’s show. The talk seemed to be that Silva would face former champion Julianna Pena for the title, but that’s not official.
For Friday’s ROH show, the belief is that the new opponent for Claudio Castagnoli in the main event for the ROH title will be announced Wednesday. Tony Khan is doing a press conference on Tuesday so he may not have the main event but will have a few bouts. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia for the Pure title was announced by Khan and Samoa Joe vs. Dalton Castle for the TV title is on based on last night’s tapings. Mike Bennett & Matt Taven may be facing Penta & Fenix for the tag titles and there was an angle with Stu Grayson and Evil Uno. The belief is that Athena will defend the women’s title against Willow Nightingale stemming from Nightingale’s win over Athena in the Owen Hart Cup tournament.
Regarding Jon Moxley’s winning a NAGA novice over-30 no gi BJJ tournament yesterday in Cincinnati, it was just a last minute thing he decided to do but said it was loads of fun.
We’re looking for reports on the WWE shows from the weekend, with dark matches from the Smackdown tapings Friday in Raleigh and reports from last night in Fairfax, VA and tonight in Salisbury, MD, as well as from the Impact tapings tonight in Windsor, ONT with results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
We’re also doing polls on these four weekend shows:
G-1 Saturday in Sapporo
Impact Slammiversary Saturday in Windsor, ONT
TripleMania Saturday night in Tijuana
G-1 today in Sapporo
We’re looking for a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
Arya Witner, our friend, who has written on this subject in the past, was very mad as were others, at the decision made by Highspots to book Rick Steiner at their convention in Detroit on 8/4 and 8/5. We’ll talk about that tonight but it’s obviously going to be a very controversial topic:
Public Incident, Private Apology? No Way.
by Arya Witner
In October 1992 two-sport athlete Deion Sanders attempted to make history by playing in a professional football game for the Atlanta Falcons in the afternoon and a professional baseball game for the Atlanta Braves in the evening. Since the Braves were in the middle of the National League Championship Series at the time, this was a point of contention with the baseball media, specifically Hall of Fame catcher and broadcaster Tim McCarver. McCarver publicly blasted Deion, calling him selfish for not devoting all his time to helping his team win the pennant. After the Braves won the NLCS in 7 games, Deion Sanders, who had heard about this from his Mom, responded by dumping four buckets of water on McCarver, who was reporting in the locker room that night.
In the aftermath on this incident, which is covered in the ESPN 30 For 30 Documentary “Deion’s Double Day”, McCarver said in an interview that due to the public nature of the incident he would not accept a private apology from Deion, stating that since the incident was public, it deserves a public apology. Deion never did and Tim passed away in February 2023.
In a story that was reported on, talked about and editorialized on at the time, in April 2023 at the WrestleCon convention Rick Steiner decided to let his transphobic side shine through and publicly lambasted and shamed Impact Wrestling’s Gisele Shaw for being a transgender woman, calling her “filth” and “a piece of trash”.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Rick Steiner was kicked out of the convention and was announced to be permanently banned from WrestleCon. Everyone had something to say about the incident, including me writing an article that was published both in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and AngryMarks that week. We all accepted that the incident was taken care of and moved on with our lives.
It turns out, like with most stipulations in wrestling, a permanent ban doesn’t really last long. Today, slightly more than three months after the original incident, WrestleCon announced that Rick Steiner would be a part of their next convention in Detroit over SummerSlam weekend.
Michael Bochicchio, the owner of WrestleCon, went to Twitter to defend this booking. Michael stated that Rick “immediately apologized” during a “private mediated event” with other Impact Wrestling staff which Gisele had refused to attend. Due to this private apology WrestleCon agreed to book Rick for this upcoming event, placing him on a “zero-tolerance scale” where Rick will be permanently banned if he does this again.
Maybe this time the permanent ban could last all the way until January.
Now there will undoubtedly be people who are like “Why are you making a big deal? He apologized!.” The fact is, much like with Tim McCarver and Deion Sanders, if you are going to publicly shame someone, then you need to follow that up with a public apology.
The fact is Rick Steiner has never said anything publicly regarding this incident. Nor has he even “released a statement” talking about regret.
While I do not represent the entire transgender community or the entire LGBT community, I can tell you from experience that if you say something incredibly stupid, we will normally accept your apology once, as long as you show actual contrition and show that you have learned your lesson and are making an effort to become better educated.
If he had done that, or if Gisele comes out and says he apologized to her and she forgives him, then I am more than happy to allow bygones be bygones and let everyone move on with their lives. Unfortunately, neither of those things have happened and WrestleCon has chosen to make whatever money you’re going to make with a Rick Steiner meet and greet in 2023 over making a stand and doing what was right.
Whether or not you agree with our existence, being transgender is not a fad, we’re not undergoing years of therapy and spending thousands of dollars in surgeries just because it’s cool or so we can win a swim meet vs cisgender women.
In a way it makes the aftermath of Jay Briscoe’s comments even crazier. As mentioned, Jay once said something really stupid. He immediately apologized and donated his pay to an LGBT charity. The response was Jay was never allowed to work for a major league company with US national television.
Meanwhile, let’s face facts, at some point Rick Steiner will be on WWE television again doing an angle with his son and by that point no one is going to care.
So, WrestleCon has made their choice and so have I and I choose to not patronize WrestleCon or spend my hard earned money at their sponsored events. Of course, I cannot force anyone else to follow along, but I know the transgender community would appreciate anyone’s support. Ultimately all this has done is make me, and people of my ilk, even more nervous to attend public events such as this.
Brandon Moreno got involved physically at TripleMania. He was coaching Team Baja California against Team Chilango. Even with the broken hand suffered last Saturday in his title loss to Alexandre Pantoja, he was shoved by Daga, and then responded with a spin kick, a jumping knee and then put Daga in an armbar before it was broken up.
Giulia will be defending her New Japan Strong Women’s title on 8/19 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia . So she will be missing a Stardom PPV show which is scheduled on the same day.
Istela Nunes suffered a dislocated elbow on yesterday’s UFC show in Las Vega. She had just started the fight with Viktoriya Dudakova on Saturday when he posted on her left arm and it gave way, leading to a dislocation and a loss via stoppage in 34 seconds. It was her fourth straight loss as well, which puts her UFC status in jeopardy.
As far as Google searches go, UFC did not place in the listings this weekend. Nothing involving pro wrestling did this week. The only MMA related stuff was Tuesday when Tyson Fury was No. 7 related to his signed fight with Francis Ngannou and Mark Zuckerberg was No. 11 for the fight being talked about with Elon Musk.
The G-1 Climax tournament is back Tuesday in Yamagata with a 5:30 a.m. start, and then Wednesday in Sendai.
The new programming season of WWE events on A&E on Sundays is over, but they are replaying the Rivals episodes of Rock vs. Cena at 8 p.m. and Hogan vs. Andre at 11 p.m.
Impact tapings tonight in Windsor, ONT has Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster vs. Chris Bey & Ace Austin for the tag titles, Santino Marella vs. Dirty Dango, Lio Rush vs. Kushida and Tommy Dreamer & Darren McCarty vs. Champagne Singh & Shera.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Dominik Mysterio & Damien Priest has been added to tomorrow’s Raw show.
The 9/25 Raw show in Ontario, CA, basically sold out on the first day tickets were put on sale to the public. It was almost sold out after the presale.
There was an Ali vs. Inoki TV documentary that aired in Japan last week. Josh Gross, who wrote the book about the event, was one of the people interviewed along with Bob Arum, Gene Kilory and they talked mostly about stuff in the Gross book. Hisashi Shinma, Inoki’s manager, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Seiji Sakaguchi were also interviewed for the documentary.
Other Notes
The Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup will be 7/22 at the RJ Meyer Arena in Joppa, MD. There will also be a show on 7/23 and a Fan Fest on 7/23 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the building.
Shane Heimberger on 9/9 in Fairplay, MD is doing a fundraiser for his old neighborhood fire department. There is a 1 p.m. meet and greet with Ricky Morton, Tony Atlas, Shane Douglas, and Godfather. If you mention the Observer you can get $5 off tickets if you send by midnight Sunday to [email protected]
Teddy Hart returned to wrestling Friday night at Team Vision Dojo Hart replaced Bella Snow who caught COVID wrestling in Puerto Rico.
Artemis Spencer & Randy Myers were the opponents of Malakai Black & Brody King on last night’s Collision show in Calgary.
The gearing up for starting a third brand under the WWE banner, using the ECW name, has been the major behind the scenes news in the company, to the point that any and all booking ideas for both Raw and Smackdown past the early part of June are being labeled as tentative.
A lot of changes, almost all considered positive by those close to the situation, have taken place regarding roster and scheduling. While the TV situation hasn’t changed, in that they will still be taping every Tuesday night prior to Smackdown in the Velocity spot, many other favorable decisions have been made.
While there is still no official TV deal in place, it is now considered close to a lock there will be a TV deal in the U.S. and it won’t be simply an internet property domestically. Ironically, one of the reasons Shane McMahon pushed the idea on his father is because he wanted the idea of an internet exclusive brand, but now Vince sees the potential of this and knows it can’t achieve it without television. The feeling is that if it was just an internet property, Vince would lose his current enthusiasm for it very quickly.
The Bloodline saga comes very close to a first in the history of pro wrestling on television
A look at the Trial of Roman Reigns, the Reigns vs. Usos feud, and the storyline that has caused WWE business to grow
A preview of all the big matches of the weekend in three different countries, none of which are the U.S., with TripleMania, G-1, Miyahara vs. Nakajima and Collision
Updated news on SummerSlam and Great American Bash and business notes on both shows
The new AEW rules memo, what is and isn’t new and the reality of what this means to talent
Full coverage of UFC 290 with two of the best fights of the year, a unique television situation and two title bouts
Looking at the 2023 Wrestler of the Year award and the top candidates
Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, the questions about the show and why the hope for it to be a success is the evolution of understanding fighting being low
The most detailed look at the ratings of every major pro wrestling and MMA show of the past week, the analysis, competition, segment numbers and comparisons with one year ago
Lots of injury talks regarding major stars
Key husband and wife jumping promotions
Mercedes Mone rivalry planned
Update on major sports rights negotiations in the next few years
The death of Michael Halac, the former Bruiser Mastino and Mantaur
Wrestling magazine pioneer writer Ed Garea, The Phantom of the Ring, passes away
Notes on the new women’s promotion
RevPro Epic Encounters rundown
Battle of the two best 18-year-old wrestlers in the world announced for next month
Ticket sales for tons of big shows
Kenny Omega talks the Tiger driver spot
International TV ratings
Lots of new major UFC fights
Looking at the vacant UFC light heavyweight title situation
World champion in UFC talks about how two years ago he supplemented his income driving for Uber Eats
More major show dates fr WWE
Backstage issue at WWE
A look at all the major TV shows and WWE weekend show coverage
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
Ordering Info:
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Friday Update
We did a very lively show today with Larry Dallas and Garrett Gonzales talking TripleMania, Lucha Libre, All In, Kenny Omega and tons of other subjects. Bryan and I will be back Sunday to talk about perhaps the biggest single 24 hour period of potentially great matches in recent memory which will be from 1 a.m. Pacific to 1 a.m. Pacific late Friday to late Saturday.
Smackdown tonight in Raleigh has more on the Bloodline story plus Asuka vs. Bianca Belair for the women’s title and the first round of a tournament with the winner getting a shot at Austin Theory’s U.S. title. I expect Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso as the SummerSlam main event becomes official tonight. They had 11,400 tickets out as of this morning so this will be close to sold out.
Rampage at 10 p.m. Eastern tonight on TNT
Dustin Rhodes & Keith Lee vs. Angelo Parker & Matt Menard
Taya Valkyrie vs. Izzy McQueen
Lance Archer vs. Trent Baretta
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mentallo
Athena vs. Willow Nightingale in the Owen Hart Cup
The crazy Saturday of big matches is in the new issue of the Observer that dropped today.
Ric Flair’s new energy drink “Woooo! Energy” has now been released.
WrestleTix has noted that the WWE’s upcoming Raw in Ontario, CA on 9/25 is already almost sold out and the next London house show is also almost sold out.
We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows
Smackdown tonight in Raleigh, NC (dark matches only)
GCW tonight in New York
AEW in Calgary (only the ROH tapings and dark matches)
WWE house show tomorrow in Fairfax, VA
WWE Sunday in Salisbury, MD
We’re looking for results, finishes, highlights and other notes on the shows to [email protected]
The GCW show in New York tonight is sold out with Utami Hayashishita vs, LuFisto, Blake Christian vs. Mao, Komander vs. Gringo Loco vs. Arez and Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander vs. Effy & Allie Katch.
First day ticket sales for Fastlane on 10/7 in Indianapolis today topped 6,200. (thanks to WrestleTix)
WWE announced 7/22 at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City has Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio for the WWE Universal title, Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest and Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio for the World title. 7/23 at Arena Monterrey is Rhodes vs. Priest, Rollins vs. Dominik and Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch for the WWE women’s title.
We’ll be doing weekend polls on day one and two of G-1, Impact in Windsor, ONT and TripleMania, thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst matches to [email protected]
The Cavinder Twins teased another WWE appearance while at the Espy Awards on Wednesday. Hanna Cavinder told USA Today Sports, “We have another event we’re going to soon, so we’re super excited about it. Yeah, stay tuned.”
UFC will run from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. tomorrow on ESPN and ESPN+
Ashlee Evans-Smith (135.5) vs. Allin Perez (135.5)
Alex Munoz (155.5) vs. Carl Deaton (156)
Tyson Nam (126) vs. Azat Maksum (126)
Eva Elder (156) vs. Genaro Valdez (156)
Austin Lingo (145.5) vs. Melquiazael Costa (146)
Viktoriya Dudakova (116) vs. Istela Nunes (115.5)
Tucker Lutz (146) vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (145.5)
Nazim Sadykhov (156) vs. Terrance McKinney7y (156)
Norma Dumont (145.5) vs. Chelsea Chandler (145.5)
Albert Duraev (185) vs. Jun Yong Park (186)
Ottman Azaitar (156) vs. Francisco Prado (156)
Jack Della Maddalena (171) vs. Bassil Hafez (171)
Holly Holm (135.5) vs. Mayra Bueno Silva (136)
G-1 starts at 4 am ET tomorrow morning from Sapporo:
YOSHI-HASHI vs. El Phantasmo
Chase Owens vs. Gabriel Kidd
KENTA vs. Tanga Loa
Ren Narita vs. Shota Umino
Kazuchika Okada vs. Great O’Khan
Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Yota Tsuji
Will Ospreay vs. Taichi
Sanada vs. Hikuleo
Koji Miyamoto just published a new book called Inoki History Vol. 1 that came out last month. Volume 2 comes out in August and Volume three comes out in October.
OTHER NOTES
Combate Global has a Sunday show starting at 9 p.m. Eastern and 6 p.m. Pacific on Paramount + in English and Univision in Spanish. The show is billed as Mexico vs. USA with a featherweight main event of Roberto Romero (6-2-1) vs. Justin Vazquez (10-2).
Pro Wrestling Eve on Sunday at the Yard Theater in Hackney Wick in London has Alex Windsor vs.. Nightshade, Rhio vs. Regina Rosendahl and Session Moth Martina vs. Skye Smitson. They are also running 8/26 at the Yard Theater with the first Choco Pro from Japan show ever in the U.K.
KSW has a show tomorrow from the Polsat Plus Arena in Gdynia, Poland with Phil De Fries (23-6) defending the heavyweight title against Szymon Bajor (24-9). The show is available on www.KSWTV.com
The city of Windsor, ONT declared yesterday as Impact Wrestling day
Slammiversary odds from BetOnline
Alex Shelley -120
Nick Aldis -120
Trinity -500
Deonna Purrazzo +300
Chris Sabin -1000
Lio Rush +500
Joe Hendry -140
Kenny King +110
Chris Bey & Ace Austin -400
Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster +400
Moose & Brian Myers +550
Rich Swann & Sami Callihan +600
Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly -250
The Coven +175
Mike Bailey +150
Angels +250
Jonathan Gresham +250
Kushida +250
Kevin Knight +650
Eddie Edwards -140
Frankie Kazarian +100
Wrestlecon is doing a Destination Detroit event on 8/4 and 8/5 with Sting, Bret Hart, Lex Luger, Ron Simmons, Ted DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man, Nailz, Sgt. Slaughter, IRS, Boogeyman, Zach Gowen and Brandi Rhodes.
Lash Leroux makes his GCW debut on 9/1 in Chicago. Also on that show will be Nick Gage, El Hijo del Vikingo, Maki Itoh, Rina Yamashita and Blake Christian.
The Bloodline angle and trial of Roman Reigns set what is believed to be a first in the 75 or so years that pro wrestling has been on television with the 7/7 show from Madison Square Garden.
This is believed to be the first week in history that the No. 1 show for the week in English network television was a pro wrestling show. There have been many weeks where cable’s top show is a wrestling show dating back to the infancy of cable and oftentimes outside of football season for Raw. Smackdown nearly did this one week ago, but a NASCAR race beat it 0.71 to 0.70.
Raw last night averaged 1.81 million viewers, a number slightly down from last week, but it was a younger audience. Last week’s show was likely hurt with younger viewers due to being on July 3.
The episode drew a 0.56 rating in 18-49 and a 0.38 in 18-34.
There were no major takeaways past the Judgment Day vs. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens match held the third hour up well. Competition numbers are not available at press time past Raw beat every English-language network TV show in 18-49.
The peak in 18-49 was for the Logan Paul segment with Ricochet and overall audience peak was for Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark.
The total audience was down one percent from last week, but 18-49 was up 15 percent and 18-34 was up 11 percent.
From one year ago, Raw was up six percent in viewers, up 26 percent in 18-49, and up 22 percent in 18-34. Factoring in the homes lost over the past year, the real ratings percentage gains would be 12 percent in viewers, 38 percent in 18-49, and 34 percent in 18-34.
Match of the week and performer of the week for the past two weeks
Full coverage of Money in the Bank, the story behind all the matches angles and finishes
Eight confirmed matches for SummerSlam
Ticket sales for SummerSlam and records already broken and other records on the verge of being broken
Live gate for Money in the Bank and a breakdown of the multiple records set
WrestleMania in London and an update on where that stands
Total viewership for the show
PPV numbers for the show and how it compares to other shows plus crossover with AEW Forbidden Door
Story behind the results and angles on the show
The life and times of Darren Drozdov, comments from wrestlers, family, friends and the story behind the accident that changed his life and how he battled back and ended up close with his family.
His brief career in wrestling
Jerry McDevitt removed from the MLW lawsuit and announces his retirement. A look back at the legendary attorney and his history with WWE
What happened with Collision in week three. A detailed breakdown of what was one of the most important TV ratings of the year
WWE & AEW quarterly business, viewership, house shows, what is up and what is down and why
New Japan Strong at Korakuen Hall with four title changes and two brutal matches
Full UFC coverage for the week and business notes
Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year takes place
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the major wrestling shows, including weekly rankings
CMLL runs major event with Romero vs. Volador Jr., and notes on the debut of Mascara Dorada 2.0
Stardom PPV coverage
Notes on the Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
Triple Crown title change and fantastic performance by Yuji Nagata
Father and daughter appear on show together in Japan
What companies in Japan have drawn the most fans so far this year
One of the biggest tag teams of all-time having a special show
Lots more on the Mildred Burke movie that was being filmed this past month and stories about Burke’s legend
Grappl lists its fan voted best matches in history
Matt Morgan talks back surgery
Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame notes for 2023
Stardom star coming to GCW and notes on the deal
Kenny Omega talks AEW video game
Updated ticket sales for All In and where it ranks on the all-time list
Update on Forbidden Door PPV numbers
Jon Moxley goal to become an historical first
Omega talks Will Ospreay match
Ticket sales to the upcoming WWE and AEW shows
Jim Ross updates his condition
Injury updates
Streaming number updates
Merch number updates
International TV ratings
Lots of gimmick fights being talked about
ESPN announce new multi-part documentary
Paul Levesque talks NXT Europe
Plans for net year’s Mania
Gable Steveson issues challenge for another sport he’s never done before
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
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Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio covering Raw, Smackdown and all the latest news in pro wrestling and MMA.
The Smackdown rating on Friday of 2,561,000 viewers and 0.76 in 18-49 could be a first time in history. The ratings for Saturday and Sunday won’t be in until tomorrow, but from Monday through Friday, Smackdown’s 0.76 ranked first for the week on network television. As far as I know, there has never been a week where a pro wrestling show was first of the week on network television. Last week came from close to being the first. But never in the early 50s (when wrestling was top ten in network prime time for a season) do we know of a time when that happened, and it never happened in the Hogan era or the Austin era.
The second quarter of the show did 3,070,000 viewers and an 0.94 in 18-49, which was the Bloodline segment after the commercial break. I thought the segment was an all-time classic. The performances from all involved were great and they set up a ton for the future as well. While not officially announced, as we’ve reported, Reigns vs. Jey is the scheduled SummerSlam main event.
Very sad news to report the death of Edward Garea, a name some of you would know, but if you read newsletters or wrestling magazines in the 80s and 90s, you would know him as “The Phantom of the Ring.” Garea was a historian of both pro wrestling and movies, and a longtime fan in the Northeast who regularly attended shows in Madison Square Garden and other venues. He was the key person in making Wrestling Eye the first wrestling magazine to treat pro wrestling as if it was predetermined and not real, which was a very ballsy decision and incredibly controversial at the time. He was also a regular part of the Wrestling Perspective newsletter and for years was a close friend of mine. His health had declined in recent years but he was doing well just a few weeks ago before being diagnosed with a rare and inoperable form of cancer and passed away Thursday.
Raw tonight is from Buffalo, NY. Scheduled for tonight is a face-to-face with Logan Paul and Ricochet to build up a planned SummerSlam match, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Miz no DQ, Drew McIntyre returns to the ring to team with Matt Riddle against two members of Imperium, The Alpha Academy have a graduation ceremony for Maxxine and Zoey Stark vs. Becky Lynch. There were 9,200 tickets out as of earlier today. It won’t be a sellout but it is up 40 percent from the December Smackdown show in the same building and Friday is an easier sell than Monday, so just another example how how much more interest there is in paying for the product even over seven months ago.
We’re looking for reports from the show, with Main Event results, anything dark or off camera or other live notes from the show to [email protected]
There were reports today that Lynch vs. Stark was off. The only thing we were told is that the story reported of Lynch being injured was accurate, but she was cleared over the weekend. We were not told specifically the match is back on, but when asked we were told she has been cleared.
AEW sent out a release today listing that with live plus first three days of DVR viewing, that Wednesday’s show did 438,000 in 18-49 which is an actual .75 rating. It would be a .34 the way 18-49 numbers have been looked at but TNT and TBS figure their numbers based on the 18-49s who actually have access to the station. The audience gained to nearly 1 million viewers after the first three days.
It’s been confirmed that even though he was injured (broken hand) and lost his flyweight title on Saturday night, Brandon Moreno will be at TripleMania Saturday in Tijuana as the coach of the Baja California team. The Monterrey team coach will be rapper Azesino, who is very famous in Mexico.
The Shad Khan family had to put down their 15-year old bulldog today. Best wishes to them as that is always one of the saddest days you’ll have.
Ronda Rousey continues on the Stars on Mars show on FOX tonight.
Don King will be appearing more on MLW at least in taped promos as the head of the Bomaye Fight Club going forward. King was revealed over the weekend as the storyline secret backer of the group. MLW got more pub than anything since lawsuit news over this one. King is backing Alex Kane, who is the new MLW champion.
The Adrian Adonis episode of Dark Side of the Ring airs tomorrow night on VICE at 10 p.m. A lot of the 80s WWF stars are on the episode and I was on it talking about what a phenomenal worker Adonis was before he had his weight issues. From 8-10 p.m. they will have a Dark Side of the 90s episode on the beginning of the UFC. I don’t know if this is the same piece but I saw a piece similar to this and it was very interesting watching in hindsight.
For Wednesday’s Dynamite in Saskatoon, tickets were marked down 25 percent suing the code SUMMER and tickets distributed as of this morning were nearly 3,000. It’s not a big number, but it was a good increase in the past few days.
NXT tomorrow will have Judgment Day as special guests, plus Ilja Dragunov vs. Bron Breakker with the winner facing Carmelo Hayes on 7/30, plus Joe Coffey vs. Stacks Lorenzo and if Stacks wins, he and Tony D’Angelo get a tag title shot at Gallus, but if Coffey wins, D’Angelo stays in jail (yes, a man’s fate in jail is determined as a wrestling match stipulation which ranks up there with Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett doing matches for child custody), Tiffany Stratton vs. Ivy Nile non-title, Charlie Dempsey & Drew Gulak vs. Duke Hudson & Andre Chase and the debut of Bronco Nima & Lucien Price, who at least over the weekend were working as heels.
As many have noted, today is the 35th anniversary of Jim Crockett’s first PPV show with national clearance, the Great American Bash from Baltimore where Lex Luger had Ric Flair up in the torture rack and seemingly had the NWA title won then the athletic commission stopped it because Luger was bleeding. Maryland had a no blood rule but Luger did blade. It was widely panned for a bad finish, particularly since Luger wasn’t bleeding much and this was a period when blood was used a lot in Crockett promotions. People were furious, but the Flair-Luger houses shows drew very well coming off the finish.
Other Notes
Matt Cardona starts with MLW on the 9/3 show at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Border City Wrestling fro last night in Essex, ONT: Bhupinder Gujjar b Jack Price, Nate Bock b Dread King Logan, Matrox b Fabio Morabito & Kurt Hendrik, Jake Something b Rohit Raju, Tyler Tirva b Jackson Stone, N8 Mattson b Cody Deaner to win the heavyweight title, Cody Deaner b N8 Mattson to regain the heavyweight title (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Chris Masters was the headliner for a series of Canadian Wrestling Elite shows on a 7/4 to 7/8 tour of Ontario, Canada.
Grand Pro Wrestling before 250 fans in Wigan England: Mickey Barnes b Sandy Beach to win the British title, LA Austin & Lana Austin b Dan Evans & Scott Oberman in a tag title match, Martin Kirby Soner Dursun, Damon Leigh & Jet Fashion & Jimmy Jackson & Joe Blazr & Matthew Brooks & Rio b Drill & Chase Alexander & Melanie Price & Isaac North & Jacob North & Ste Mann, RP Davies b Dylan Roberts Sam Gradwell b Joey Hayes to keep the GPW title. Next show is 10/8 (thanks to Allan Blackstock)
Due to health issues related to his stroke, Jerry Lawler has canceled appearing for next month’s TMart Promotions wrestling convention in Charlotte, NC.
Match of the week and performer of the week for the past two weeks
Full coverage of Money in the Bank, the story behind all the matches angles and finishes
Eight confirmed matches for SummerSlam
Ticket sales for SummerSlam and records already broken and other records on the verge of being broken
Live gate for Money in the Bank and a breakdown of the multiple records set
WrestleMania in London and an update on where that stands
Total viewership for the show
PPV numbers for the show and how it compares to other shows plus crossover with AEW Forbidden Door
Story behind the results and angles on the show
The life and times of Darren Drozdov, comments from wrestlers, family, friends and the story behind the accident that changed his life and how he battled back and ended up close with his family.
His brief career in wrestling
Jerry McDevitt removed from the MLW lawsuit and announces his retirement. A look back at the legendary attorney and his history with WWE
What happened with Collision in week three. A detailed breakdown of what was one of the most important TV ratings of the year
WWE & AEW quarterly business, viewership, house shows, what is up and what is down and why
New Japan Strong at Korakuen Hall with four title changes and two brutal matches
Full UFC coverage for the week and business notes
Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year takes place
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the major wrestling shows, including weekly rankings
CMLL runs major event with Romero vs. Volador Jr., and notes on the debut of Mascara Dorada 2.0
Stardom PPV coverage
Notes on the Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
Triple Crown title change and fantastic performance by Yuji Nagata
Father and daughter appear on show together in Japan
What companies in Japan have drawn the most fans so far this year
One of the biggest tag teams of all-time having a special show
Lots more on the Mildred Burke movie that was being filmed this past month and stories about Burke’s legend
Grappl lists its fan voted best matches in history
Matt Morgan talks back surgery
Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame notes for 2023
Stardom star coming to GCW and notes on the deal
Kenny Omega talks AEW video game
Updated ticket sales for All In and where it ranks on the all-time list
Update on Forbidden Door PPV numbers
Jon Moxley goal to become an historical first
Omega talks Will Ospreay match
Ticket sales to the upcoming WWE and AEW shows
Jim Ross updates his condition
Injury updates
Streaming number updates
Merch number updates
International TV ratings
Lots of gimmick fights being talked about
ESPN announce new multi-part documentary
Paul Levesque talks NXT Europe
Plans for net year’s Mania
Gable Steveson issues challenge for another sport he’s never done before
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
Ordering Info:
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Sunday Update
We did our weekend show last night with Garrett Gonzales talking the news of the week, Collision, Smackdown, and had Ryan Frederick on to talk last night’s UFC show, which was a very noteworthy show. Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night talking Raw as well as all the news of the week.
Sen. Charles Schumer called on the FDA to investigate PRIME Energy drink, the drink that Logan Paul backs and has been pushed on WWE broadcasts as part of its deal with Paul and a sponsorship deal. The story said PRIME has been a big hit over the past year due to the promotion of Paul and KSI. The issue is that PRIME has 200 mg of caffeine in a 12 ounce can, or equivalent to six Coke cans or two Red Bulls. Some doctors have warned of health impact especially with young children. PRIME has said that they clearly label the drink as not recommended for children under 18 and that for kids they recommend PRIME Hydration, which has no caffeine at all. Schumer said that both drinks are marketed similarly so many parents believe they were getting some juice but in reality that are buying kids heavy caffeine.
In Google searches, last night’s UFC show was first for the entire weekend with 500,000. Nothing else involving MMA, boxing or pro wrestling cracked the top 20 any day this past week.
Dan Hooker’s right wrist was broken during his fight with Jalin Turner on the UFC show last night. He still came back to win rounds two and three and take the fight.
Regarding the two main card split decisions, in my opinion the right person won each time and the dissenting scorecards were bad. Ben Cartlidge, who is usually a good judge, gave Alexander Pantoja only round one against Brandon Moreno. My thought was Pantoja clearly won rounds one, three and five, and four was very close. Judge Derek Clearly gave Pantoja rounds one, three and five. Judge Junichiro Kamijo also gave Pantoja one, three and rive. Of media scores, , 57 percent gave Pantoja four of the five rounds and another 29 percent gave him three of the five rounds. 16 percent gave three of the five rounds to Moreno and nobody gave Moreno four rounds. It was a strong fight of the year candidate, nonstop exciting action and Moreno was the most popular fighter on the show and people were living and dying with every blow. Just a great crowd.
In Hooker vs. Turner, I thought it was very clear who won each round. Derek Cleary and Ron McCarthy had the same rounds two and three for Hooker, while Adelaide Byrd gave Turner rounds one and three and the decision. Media scores were 93 percent for Hooker and seven percent for Turner
As far as Israel Adesanya using the N word with an a at the end over and over on Dricus Du Plessis, who is a white South African, to build a probable middleweight title fight later this year, Dana White said, “Who gives a shit. I could care less. This is the fight business.”
Smackdown on 7/21 is scheduled for FS 1 as FOX will be airing a women’s World Cup soccer match that night. (thanks to David Wolf)
FTR vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson was one hell of a match last night They are doing a two of three fall rematch in Calgary on Saturday night with the tag titles at stake.
As far as other matches, heard a lot positive about today’s Will Ospreay vs. Leon Slater match from York Hall in London.
Wrestlenomics reported that the next Saudi Arabia show will be 11/4.
Dillon Danis, a much mocked Bellator fighter was backstage Friday night in Madison Square Garden. He posted a photo of himself with Paul Levesque and claimed “Negotiations.” Much of the top WWE brass was at the show.
Don King is involved in MLW storylines as the person behind the Bomaye fight club. The bomaye chant comes from the chant for Muhammad Ali in his Zaire fight with George Foreman, and Don King was the promoter of the fight. The story on how King got involved with MLW.
The final episode of the season of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, focusing on the Anoa’i and Fatu families, airs tonight on A&E at 9 p.m. Stone Cold Takes on America is at 10 p.m.
Wrestlers Trey Miguel and Ashley D’Amboise were engaged this weekend.
Gail Kim and Gisele Shaw were the first team eliminated in Amazing Race Canada on CTV.
There is an ROH PPV show in 12 days in Trenton, NJ. Right now the only match announced is Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mark Briscoe for the ROH title. They taped ROH TV last night and nothing was shot as far as angles other than Evil Uno vs. Stu Grayson.
After its PPV show last night, MLW announced its next PPV show would be 9/3 from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Condolences to New Japan’s Fred Rosser, whose father passed away at the age of 98.
RevPro from earlier today at York Hall in London:
Conor Mills b Robbie X to win the cruiserweight title (said to be great)
Trent Seven b Sha Samuels
Luke Jacobs b Tom Lawlor
Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster b Greedy South to win the tag titles
Alex Windsor won four-way to become Rev Pro champion over Dani Luna, Skye Smitson & ?
Zack Sabre Jr. b Jordan Breaks- Ricky Knight Jr laid out Sabre after the match
Will Ospreay b Leon Slater (said to be incredible). Dan Moloney attacked Slater after the match
Michael Oku b Great O’Khan to win the British heavyweight title. This was O’Khan’s first loss ever in the U.K., which he’s been going to for years (thanks to Adam Cousins)
In potential next fights, Israel Adesanya is a -330 favorite to retain over Dricus Du Plessis and Alexander Volkanovski is listed at -240 for a potential featherweight title defense against Ilia Topuria.
Other Notes
With Steve Maclin injured, Bully Ray will announce his new tag team partner for the match against Scott D’Amore & PCO on Saturday’s Slammiversary show tomorrow morning on his Sirius radio show.
Tyler Breeze won the NGW Tennessee championship in his first match in recent memory. He used the name Tyler Breeze.
Southern States Wrestling on Tuesday runs at the Jefferson Count Fair in Jefferson City, TN, at 7 p.m., with a free show with fair admission and a meet and greet before the show with former area legend Ron Fuller. They also run 7/23 at the Farmer’s Market Pavilion in Kingsport, TN, and 9/7 in Manchester, T as part of the Coffee County Fair with shows at 6 and 8:15 p.m. The second show will be an all-women’s show. Both are free admission with a ticket to the fair.
Demand Lucha on 7/23 at Lee’s Place in Toronto featuring Gringo Loco vs. Bendito for the Premier championship plus Bryan Keith vs. Effy.
West Coast Pro from last night in San Francisco: Jiah Jewell & JT Thorne & Kubes & Serza b Watson & Action Braxton & Ice Williams & Fresco, Robert Martyr b Kevin Blackwood, Riko Kawahata & Maria b Nicole Savoy & Johnnie Robbie, Bryan Keith b Mao, Jeff Cobb b Alpha Zo, Kushida & Kevin Knight & Starboy Charlie b Danny Rose & Rickey Gomez & Adria Quest, Masha Slamovich b Trish Adora to keep the women’s title Titus Alexander b Vinnie Massaro to keep the West Coast Pro title in nearly 30:00. Booker Chris Hero said Alexander would defend next against Kevin Night on 8/11. Chigusa Nagayo came out after the women’s match in a surprise, saying she’s been studying English in Japan and wants Slamovich to defend against Takumi Iroha.(thanks to Shannon Walsh)
IPW on 7/15 in Kalamazoo, MI at the Wax Wings Brewing Company and 7/16 in Ypsilante,MI at Fowling Warehouse. Paul London appears 8/6 in Hamtramck, MI at Fowling Warehouse. (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Richard Holliday beat Crowbar, Leo Sparrow and Bull James in a tournament last night in West Milford, NJ, to win the vacant ISPW title. They run 9/29 in Totowa, NJ, with Rey Calitri vs Super Crazy.
Nyla Rose of AEW worked last night’s Tokyo Joshi Pro show at the Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo beating Miu Watanabe with a power bomb. It was her first match back in Japan since the start of AEW. Eve champion Miyu Yamashita beat Sawyer Wreck.
Stardom sold out Korakuen Hall earlier today: Fukigen Death won three-way over Hina and Ram Kaichow, Mei Seira b Momo Kohgo, Natsuko Tora & Momo Watanabe & Ruaka b AZM & Lady C & Miyu Amasaki, Hazuki & Koguma b Hanan & Saya Iida, Mai Sakurai & Thekla b Nanae Takahashi & Hanako, Ami Sohrei & Saki Kashima b Starlight Kid & Rina, Natsupoi & Saori Anou & Yuna Mizumori b Mina Shirakawa & Mariah May & Waka Tsukiyama, Tam Nakano & Mayu Iwatani & Syuri & Giulia b Saya Kamitani & Maika & Mirai & Suzu Suzuki in an elimination match when Giulia threw Maika over the top rope.
Fuego del Sol said that he will be opening up a wrestling school in Oklahoma.
When Pride announced that the main focus of 2006 would be an Open Weight Grand Prix, there was a lot of controversy.
After all, in MMA, there was a very good reason weight classes were instituted, like in all major combat sports. Huge weight differences in matches make it unfair for the smaller fighter, and also increase the injury risk. They also denigrate the smaller fighters, who may shine at times as underdogs, but in the end, their aura of invincibility would be smashed at some point. But those who didn’t worry about such things were excited about the prospect of a video game level of dream matches, where all the champions, like Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson and even Takanori Gomi would compete and face off with each other.
As it turned out, neither side had anything to worry about, or rejoice over, when the first round Grand Prix line-up for 5/5 at the sold out Osaka Dome was announced.
Match of the week and performer of the week for the past two weeks
Full coverage of Money in the Bank, the story behind all the matches angles and finishes
Eight confirmed matches for SummerSlam
Ticket sales for SummerSlam and records already broken and other records on the verge of being broken
Live gate for Money in the Bank and a breakdown of the multiple records set
WrestleMania in London and an update on where that stands
Total viewership for the show
PPV numbers for the show and how it compares to other shows plus crossover with AEW Forbidden Door
Story behind the results and angles on the show
The life and times of Darren Drozdov, comments from wrestlers, family, friends and the story behind the accident that changed his life and how he battled back and ended up close with his family.
His brief career in wrestling
Jerry McDevitt removed from the MLW lawsuit and announces his retirement. A look back at the legendary attorney and his history with WWE
What happened with Collision in week three. A detailed breakdown of what was one of the most important TV ratings of the year
WWE & AEW quarterly business, viewership, house shows, what is up and what is down and why
New Japan Strong at Korakuen Hall with four title changes and two brutal matches
Full UFC coverage for the week and business notes
Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year takes place
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the major wrestling shows, including weekly rankings
CMLL runs major event with Romero vs. Volador Jr., and notes on the debut of Mascara Dorada 2.0
Stardom PPV coverage
Notes on the Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
Triple Crown title change and fantastic performance by Yuji Nagata
Father and daughter appear on show together in Japan
What companies in Japan have drawn the most fans so far this year
One of the biggest tag teams of all-time having a special show
Lots more on the Mildred Burke movie that was being filmed this past month and stories about Burke’s legend
Grappl lists its fan voted best matches in history
Matt Morgan talks back surgery
Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame notes for 2023
Stardom star coming to GCW and notes on the deal
Kenny Omega talks AEW video game
Updated ticket sales for All In and where it ranks on the all-time list
Update on Forbidden Door PPV numbers
Jon Moxley goal to become an historical first
Omega talks Will Ospreay match
Ticket sales to the upcoming WWE and AEW shows
Jim Ross updates his condition
Injury updates
Streaming number updates
Merch number updates
International TV ratings
Lots of gimmick fights being talked about
ESPN announce new multi-part documentary
Paul Levesque talks NXT Europe
Plans for net year’s Mania
Gable Steveson issues challenge for another sport he’s never done before
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Friday Update
We won’t be having a show today but Garrett Gonzales and I will be back tomorrow night covering Collision, Smackdown, UFC 290 and all the news of the past week including all the Observer stories and business notes, and there is a lot of it.
The new Observer issue is up on the site now. We’ve already gotten a lot of great feedback on the Darren Drozdov story.
Ariel Helwani reported that Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou is expected to be announced shortly under boxing rules no doubt.
Smackdown tonight is from Madison Square Garden. The huge ratings run will likely continue tonight with the trial of Roman Reigns by the Usos, plus Edge returns in the Grayson Waller Effect, A.J. Styles faces Karrion Kross and Austin Theory defends the U.S. title against Sheamus. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the world title is scheduled as a dark match. Trick Williams was sent to the show, so he may be in a dark match or in an angle. Vince McMahon is at the show as he would be expected to be because he almost always goes to MSG events. About 13,500 are to be in attendance and it is sold out.
Georges St-Pierre, who will be doing a grappling match in December coming out of retirement, has said he would like to face Anderson Silva, Khabib Nurmagomedov or Kamaru Usman.
Bandido after surgery yesterday on his broken wrist is hopeful to be back in action in six to weight weeks. All In is 7 1/2 weeks and that is the hoped for goal if he would even be booked on the show.
Josiah Harrell, who was to face Jack Della Maddalena tomorrow on the UFC show, in his MRI was found with moyamoya syndrome, a rare disease that results in blocked arteries at the base of the brain according to Nolan King of MMA Kings. He will undergo a brain procedure and is obviously out of the fight. UFC confirmed that Della Maddalena will be off the card.
We’ve looking for reports from these weekend shows:
Smackdown tonight in Madison Square Garden (dark matches only)
NXT tonight in Largo, FL
NXT tomorrow night in Melbourne, FL
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights
Some more notes on the AEW ratings from Wednesday, which came out today. Dynamite’s 855,000 viewers and 0.29 was first place on cable, and also beat everything on at least English language television except The Price is Right from 8-9 p.m. on CBS in 18-49. It was second on television and an 0.29 on cable is more impressive than an 0.42 on network in hour one. In house two, it was tops on all of television. Sista Series on BET was second on cable at 0.18 and Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo was third at 0.17, followed by Expedition Unknown on Discovery at 0.16. The 35-49 numbers were way up but 18-34 was still at the same 0.19 as last week. The MJF/Adam Cole post-match was the 18-49 and 18-34 high point.
The G-1 Climax tournament starts a week from Saturday, which is also the day of the Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo del Vikingo match for AAA in Tijuana.
UFC 290 is tomorrow from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas:
6 p.m. on ESPN 2
Kamuela Kirk (155.5) vs. Esteban Ribovics (156)
Shannon Ross (126) vs. Jesus Aguilar (126)
Cameron Saaiman (135) vs. Terrence Mitchell (135)
Vitor Petrino (206) vs. Marcin Prachnio (206)
ABC and ESPN at 8 p.m.
Tatsuro Taira (130) vs. Edgar Chavez (129)
Jimmy Crute (205) vs. Alonzo Menifield (205.5)
Yazmin Jauregiu (115.5) vs. Denise Gomes (115.5)
Robbie Lawler (170.5) vs. Niko Price (171)
PPV at 10 p.m.
Bo Nickal (186) vs. Val Woodburn (185.5)
Jalin Turner (158) vs. Dan Hooker (155.5)
Robert Whittaker (185.5) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (186)
Brandon Moreno (125) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (125) for the flyweight title
Alexander Volkanovski (144.5) vs. Yair Rodriguez (145) for the featherweight title
We have a preview in the current issue. Turner missed weight by two pounds and has to forfeit 20 percent of his purse.
Dana White is claiming that 100 percent Mark Zuckerbeg and Elon Musk want to fight in UFC and he said he has a date planned for the fight. He said if a commission says no, he’ll find a commission who says yes and said the show will do one billion in revenue.
Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins and Montez Ford & Bianca Belair are being sent by WWE to the Espy Awards.
Best wishes to former pro wrestler Rick Allen, known as Sunny Beach on Northeast indies and the Herb Abrams UWF, who had heart surgery on Thursday. He worked many television matches for WWF as well.
The Impact shows this past week in Wagga Wagga, Australia will be airing later this month on Impact in 60.
MLW is doing a PPV show on FITE+ tomorrow night from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia with Alex Hammerstone vs. Alex Kane for the title as the main event.
Battery charges against former UFC fighter Luis Pena were dismissed, stemming from an October 2021 arrest. Pena was accused of striking two women, and injuring them, one of which was his partner who he allegedly struck several times with a cosed fist and another woman attempted to stop him and he allegedly punched her and knocked her down. UFC then released Pena from the promotion but has fought five times in smaller companies since.
Marlon Vera will face Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292 according to Vera’s management team on social media. Munhoz replaces the injured Henry Cejudo.
Other Notes
Combate Global, coming off one of its best ratings in years, will be on Univision and Paramount + at 11 p.m. tomorrow night Carlos Briseno vs. Micaias Ureno as the main event.
MCW Fan Jam on 7/23 at the RJ Meyer Arena in Joppa, MD has a free admission fan fest with Roderick Strong, Lio Rush, Headbangers, Eric Bischoff, Ricardo Rodriguez, Mickie James, Melina Perez, Reby Hardy, Matt Hardy, Renee Paquette, Jeff Hardy and more.
Pro Wrestling Revolver tomorrow night in Grand Prairie, TX at The Epic with Alex Shelley vs. Zachary Wentz, Keith Lee vs. Aaron Eagles, Sami Callihan vs. Allie Katch in a street fight, Rich Swann vs. Shane Taylor, Mike Bailey vs. JD Griffey in a no ropes fight pit match, Lance Archer vs. Matthew Palmer and Chris Bey & Ace Austin vs. Gabe Wilder & Tommy Prince.
AAA has its first TV taping in six weeks tomorrow night in Orizaba, Veracruz with Jack Evans & Pentagon Jr. & Aramis vs. Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf & Pagano plus Negro Casas & Dalys vs. Daga & Chik Tormenta as the top bouts.
Roman Reigns was pinned for the first time since December 15, 2019, when cousin Jey Uso pinned him in a tag team match at Money in the Bank, to set up the SummerSlam main event.
WWE set up the Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs. Usos main event at Money in the Bank on 7/1 in London, by pushing two different stories. One was Reigns saying he was going to stack up and pin both of them at the same time like he did in the 2021 WrestleMania match against Edge and Daniel Bryan. That set up a key spot in the match where he seemingly was going to do so, except he kicked out.
The other was the hard push of Reigns not having lost a fall in a pro wrestling ring since that date. While not acknowledged this week, that was a TLC match with Baron Corbin as part of the PPV that night from Minneapolis. That was to set up the pop when he did like the pin meant that much more.
Raw on Monday night did 1.83 million viewers and a 0.49 in 18-34.
The 18-49 number was one of the lowest of the year, and lowest since going against the NBA finals. But overall I’d consider the number very good given it was part of a holiday weekend.
The total viewer number considering the night I would call very strong, and the 18-49 number would be around what you should have expected.
It was only down seven percent in viewers from the strong mark the week before, but was down 20 percent in 18-49 and 26 percent in 18-34.
A comparison with one year ago isn’t really fair because the show aired on July 4th, traditionally the hardest day of the year to draw for wrestling except for Christmas Eve.
It was up 17 percent in viewers, up 30 percent in 18-49 and up 32 percent in 18-34 from that show.
The chart for the night isn’t out at press time and the placings will be delayed going forward. Full details will be available in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The only real note is that the audience stayed steady for most of the show, meaning the people who were home and watched largely stuck with the show.
