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.
Just after winning the world title, the health of Kurt Angle is once again in question as what is believed to be significant neck damage has led to Angle’s hand going numb. Angle has continued to wrestle, although he was heavily protected, doing short tag team matches on his second and third night in Mexico this week when word got out about the damage.
Angle went into the 1/19 WWE debut in Mexico City in great pain according to a few sources. The decision was made to put him in short matches in Guadalajara and Monterrey where partners Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit carried the load.
The expectation over the weekend was that Angle would be going for another MRI this week to try and determine the problem, but with Angle’s history of neck problems, the concern, in at least some parts of the company, was high. Many have questioned how, with his back and neck injuries and pain not a secret, that there wasn’t more concern addressed to Angle’s health in recent weeks, if not longer. But when Angle got back from Mexico, he claimed he was okay, and may not even be getting checked out.
*The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site. It’s got the most detailed coverage from a business standpoint and creative standpoint, covering AEW Revolution including reader feedback on that show, UFC 285 and the Stardom show this past weekend.
*Match and performer of the week
*The longest singles title matches since 1970 all over the world
*MJF vs Danielson and comparisons to other Iron Man matches
*Evaluating MJF as a performer and a drawing card
*Early PPV numbers along with gate numbers from San Francisco and other business metrics
*The return of FTR
*The potential of the AEW tag team division
*AEW repeat PPV business notes
*Movie theater business for Revolution
*San Francisco records
*Future AEW directions
*Full details on WWE’s attempt to get gambling legal on its outcomes and what steps and how its business will have to change to make this happen
*Full coverage of UFC 285 including Jon Jones legacy and future, Alexa Grasso’s win and business notes regarding the show including what unique note thee was about the prelims this week
*Full details on the amended lawsuit MLW has filed against WWE, McDevitt talks, what new things are added and what it says about the MLW relationship with REELZ, and lots of business notes from the lawsuit regarding the wrestling television rights fees
*Stardom puts on its best show of the year and a look at the very different excellent matches
*Notes on the first few days of the New Japan Cup and where things stand
*TV ratings over the past week as well as segment-by-segment notes, competition and the whys of how everything went down
*The unique team challenge tournament CMLL finished up this past week
*AAA star faces claims by girlfriend of domestic violence and both CMLL and AAA talk about the situation
*Notes on the joint NWA and AAA show put together as part of a Smashing Pumpkins concert
*Notes on retirement of Daisuke Harada
*New Japan anniversary show and New Japan Cup notes*Zero-1 runs 22nd anniversary show
*Notes from Creed III
*Big shows over Mania weekend not from WWE
*Major questions on AEW talent and their media talks
*What international star AEW tried to get for San Francisco and why it didn’t happen
*International TV ratings and streaming numbers for WWE & AEW and what NXT segment scored huge
*Upcoming ticket advances for WWE & AEW shows
*Dana White on the future of Power Slap
*48-year-old world champion wrestler has retirement MMA fight soon
*Notes on Vince McMahon’s return backstage at the Boston show
*Wells Fargo Securities predictions on Smackdown negotiations and the value of Raw & Smackdown right now
*WWE performer talks trying to go to the 2024 Olympics and is training for MMA as well
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].
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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.
Sportico had a listing of the 50 highest paid athletes of all-time. No. 8 was Floyd Mayweather at $1.41 billion. Mike Tyson was No. 16 at $875 million. No. 21 was Manny Pacquiao at $725 million. No. 24 was George Foreman at $680 million. No. 27 was Oscar De La Hoya at $665 million. No. 33 was Conor McGregor at $615 million. No. 38 was Evander Holyfield at $600 million.
The 3/31 WWE show at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles which will be Smackdown and the Hall of Fame is almost sold out. Over 14,000 tickets have been distributed for the show.
The first Hall of Fame announcement is scheduled for tonight. PWInsider listed one confirmed person, as rumored, will be Keiji Muto.
Announced for Smackdown tonight in Pittsburgh is Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Karrion Kross vs. LA Knight vs. Xavier Woods with the winner getting an IC title match with Gunther at WrestleMania, plus Ricochet & Braun Strowman vs. Viking Raiders. Jey Uso is on the show.
AEW Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. on TNT has The Acclaimed vs. Starboy Charlie & Jack Cartwheel, Riho vs. Nyla Rose, Konosuke Takeshita vs.; Preston Vance and Action Andretti vs. Sammy Guevara. We were told that the Riho match and Guevara match were very good. Mark Briscoe and Jack Perry will also be on the show.
The 3/26 A&E Biography two hour slot will have two one-hour shows instead of a two-hour show, with Charlotte Flair and Yokozuna.
We are looking for reports on these weekend shows
*Smackdown tonight in Pittsburgh (dark matches and anything not on the live show)
*NXT house show tonight in Dade City, FL
*WWE house show Saturday night Youngstown, OH
*NXT house show Saturday night in St. Petersburg, FL
*WWE house show Sunday night in Madison Square Garden
Looking for results, finishes, highlights and anything else notable on the shows to [email protected]
Latest BetOnline odds for WrestleMania:
*Cody Rhodes -550 Roman Reigns +325. Very interesting that they have Rhodes as a huge favorite to win.
*Rhea Ripley -800 Charlotte Flair +425. Similar here.
*Asuka -200 Bianca Belair +150
*Austin Theory -500 John Cena +300
*Logan Paul -200 Seth Rollins +150. Seth should not lose this match in my mind.
*Brock Lesnar -1800 Omos +600
*Lynch & Lita & Stratus -1000 Damage CTRL +500
WWE is sending HHH, Undertaker, Rhea Ripley and Kofi Kingston to SXSW in Austin, TX for a panel discussion on WrestleMania.
John Cena is filming the movie “Grand Death Lotto” currently.
Taya Valkyrie has become the betting favorite to be the surprise opponent of Jade Cargill in Winnipeg. This is not official, only that Cargill will defend her title against a mystery woman from Canada. It’s either The Bunny or somebody new to the company and we do know Valkyrie has an agreement to start with either WWE or AEW very shortly.
The WWE made deals with the St. Louis Cardinals for an 8/17 WWE Night and the Chicago Cubs will have a WWE Night on 8/28. That usually means a special guest from WWE will be appearing at the games. Charles “”Godfather” Wright will be a guest for a minor league game with Reading, PA’s R-Phils against Binghamton on 7/28.
Tonight’s Mistico vs. Atlantis Jr. main event at Arena Mexico will be the first time that building has had a main event with 10:00 time limit. It will also have the final angle leading to the Oraculo, Volador Jr., Angel de Oro and Rocky Romero four-way hair match that headlines next Friday’s show. The belief is next week’s show will draw in the vicinity of 16,000 fans.
UFC tomorrow from Las Vegas is a pure ESPN+ show with a big main event:
*Carlston Harris (169.5) vs. Jared Gooden (177) – Gooden will forfeit 30 percent of his purse for missing weight by six pounds
*Tyson Nam (125.5) vs. Bruno Silva (125.5)
*Victor Henry (136) vs. Tony Gravely (136)
*Ariane Lipski (125.5) vs. JJ Aldrich (125.5)
*Mario Bautista (136) vs. Guido Cannetti (136)
*Sedriques Dumas (184.5) vs. Josh Fremd (186)
*Raphael Assuncao (136) vs. Davey rant (136)
*Karl Williams (240.5) vs. Lukasz Brzeski (245)
*Vitor Petrino (204) vs. Anton Turkalj (205)
*Said Nurmagomedov (136) vs. Jonathan Martinez (135.5)
*Nikita Krylov (213) vs. Ryan Spann (213) – This was contracted at 215 pounds
*Alexander Volkov (258) vs. Alexandr Romanov (264.5)
*Petr Yan (136) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (134.5)
*The Ricardo Ramos vs. Austin Lingo fight was canceled when Ramos weighed in at 154 for a fight where the maximum weight was 146.
Gabriel Santos will replace Nathaniel Wood for next Saturday’s UFC show in London and face Lerone Murphy on a PPV show headlined by Leon Edwards defending the welterweight title against Kamaru Usman.
Other Notes
Stardom from earlier today at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo: Rina won three-way over Miyu Amasaki and Hina, Saki Kashima & Fukigen Death b Koguma & Momo Kohgo, Ami Sohrei b Lady C to keep the Future of Stardom title, Syuri & Mirai b Momo Watanabe & Starlight Kid, Giulia & Maika & Mai Sakurai & Thekla b Mayu Iwatani & Hazuki & Hanan & Saya Iida, Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani & AZM d Tam Nakano & Mina Shirakawa & Mariah May 15:00, Natsupoi b Himeka, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu retained the Goddesses of Stardom tag titles over Natsuko Tora & Ruaka (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Fuwa-Chan who is a comedian who is well known in Japan, will be wrestling on the 4/23 Stardom show at the Yokohama Arena.
Coastal Championship Wrestling announced they are going to start up under the name Championship Wrestling from Florida with Kevin Sullivan as Executive Producer and Creative Director. David Heath will also be producer and head of talent relations and Bill Alfonso will be producer and head of media Relations. They will begin filming a television show in May and plan to start running a regular schedule in July.
PFL Challengers Series tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fubo Sports:
*Impa Kasanganay (203.4) vs. Osama Eisaidy (205)
*Taylor Johnson (205.6) vs. Trey Williams (204.8)
*Tristan Overig (205.2) vs. Billy Elekana (205.8)
*Monte Morrison (202.4) vs. Roland Dunlap (205.8)
Lady Apache was announced for the 5/13 Queen of Indies show in San Francisco.
Pac vs. Big Damo was announced for the OTT ScrapperMania on 3/17 at The Hangar in Wolverhampton.
Kirk White’s Big Time Wrestling on 3/18 at the Newark Pavilion in Newark, CA has Colt Cabana, Aaron Solo, Levi Shapiro, Kal Jack and Willow Nightingale on the show.
Defy tomorrow night in Seattle at Washington Hall has Kushida & Jet Knight vs. Bollywood Boyz, Top Flight vs. Midnight Heat (Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl), Schaff vs. Homicide, Clark Connors vs. Artemis Spencer vs. Cody Chhun and Action Andretti vs. Guillermo Rosas.
AEW Revolution on 3/5 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, was essentially the referendum on how the company is doing and on its champion, MJF.
MJF retained the AEW title in an Iron Man match with Bryan Danielson that went 65:14, making it the longest major promotion singles world title match in the U.S. since a July 9, 1994, Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart Iron Man match at the Nassau Coliseum that went into overtime. It was the longest singles match for a major promotion in the world since the final Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada 2/3 fall match for the IWGP title in Osaka in 2018.
As far as MJF’s ability to have a classic championship match when having to go 60:00, he passed that test with flying colors. While nobody can shortchange the performance of Danielson, who likely had the best match of his own amazing career filled with match-of-the-year contenders, MJF hung with him at a faster pace than all but a few 60:00 matches in history, and likely more legitimately brutal than any of them. The only comparable matches that long would be the two Omega-Okada matches from Osaka. You also have to throw in a level of heat and drama that blew away all but a few.
In a surprise of sorts, last night’s Raw, built around appearances by John Cena and Logan Paul, while up from last week, was the third-lowest number since the end of football season.
Raw averaged 1.83 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in 18-49 and 0.33 in 18-34. People 35-49 were actually down from last week. But as expected, the 18-34 demo was up with a strong third hour in that category likely due to Cena being on in hour three.
With Cena being held off until the top of hour three, the third hour drop was well under usual levels.
Raw was first on cable by a wide margin, with Below Deck on Bravo at 1.17 million/0.27 and Tucker Carlson at 3.70 million/0.27 as the second and third highest rated shows.
Raw was first with women 18-49 (0.35 to 0.34 over Below Deck), more than doubled everything on cable in men 18-49 and people 18-34, won with women 12-34 and men 12-34, and doubled everything in men 12-34, and in fact tripled everything but ESPN programming.
Raw also beat every program on network TV except The Bachelor on ABC, The Voice on NBC, and 911 on Fox. So it beat ABC in hour three, beat CBS the entire night (although those were all repeats), beat NBC in hour three, and beat Fox in the second hour.
Raw was up three percent in viewers, up two percent in 18-49, and up six percent in 18-34 from last week.
From one year ago, the show was up three percent in viewers, up 13 percent in 18-49, and up 37 percent in 18-34.
The first-to-third hour drops were eight percent with women 18-49, three percent in men 18-49, 24 percent in women 12-34, but men 12-34 were up 18 percent from the first to third hour, likely due to Cena. People over 50 were down 10 percent.
The set up of the first Iron Man match that we know of
All the WWE true 60:00 Iron Man matches as well as the worked marathon matches that happened earlier
Bryan Danielson talks about the challenge of doing such a match today
Thoughts on what the PPV numbers will tell
Key aspect of the number
Ticket sales for the show, city record, current demand
Notes on the full card
Update on WrestleMania and changes
Ticket demand and sales or WrestleMania
Shad Gaspard/Jonathan Huber Award winner for 2022 and previous winners
Update on the MLW television deal with REELZ
Update on MLW potential lawsuit with WWE
Thoughts on the 2022 awards
CMLL and New Japan combine for FantasticaMania and a look at the last two events
UFC coverage of the weekend show
The most detailed look at the television ratings for the past week, how segments did, and how shows are hitting each key demo
Woman wrestling vet announces retirement
Report that a network reached out to rival promotion from who they carry to get them
Notes on a unique match in Mexico
Match of the week and performer of the week
A look at the first TripleMania card
One of the iconic legends of the sport announces about the next wrestler with the gimmick
New Japan Cup notes
All-Star Junior Festival notes
Governor who wrestled on Jan. 1 gets heat for it and why
Jerry Jarrett’s farewell words to his family
Von Erich movie notes
Former WWE wrestler pleads guilty in nationally covered fraud investigation
Pentagon & Fenix promote super indie show in April
Super indie matches
A card that features matches from nine different promotions in nine different countries
16 Carat Gold tournament update
Brett Lauderdale talks how they got Kota Ibushi
Updates on next several weeks of Impact television
Updates on next several weeks of ROH television
AEW injury updates
Kenny Omega, Dax Harwood Bryan Danielson, Matt Hardy , Chris Jericho, Britt Baker and others talk the current scene
AEW star owning a sports franchise
Upcoming ticket sales for AEW & WWE events
Streaming and international TV numbers
WWE & UFC financials and comparisons, how badly and why UFC talent is underpaid, what Dana White earns and why Endeavor passed on making an offer to WWE
Dana White talks Makhachev vs. Volkanovski rematch
Jon Jones and Bo Nickal talk about their wrestling skirmish
Bellator signs two-tie NCAA champion
Jake Paul PPV numbers
Former UFC champions sign for Bare Knuckle Boxing
Ticket sales for big shows and how adding John Cena, Logan Paul and Roman Reigns to shows moves tickets
Update on WWE Hall of Fame ceremony
Notes on new projects from Dwayne Johnson and John Cena
WWE unloads a Senior Vice President
Bayley talks about formation of Damage Ctrl
Notes on new WWE signings getting ready for television
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
We’ll be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering more fallout from Raw tonight, Revolution, Stardom and other news. Our post-Revolution show is up on the site right now.
Vince McMahon is at Raw in Boston tonight. That’s all we know about the situation past he’s there with John Cena. He’s not running the show or anything but this is the first time he’s been to a WWE taping since he quit.
Raw is tonight in Boston at the TD Garden which is another sellout with more than 13,000 fans. John Cena and Logan Paul are advertised on the show. Paul is shooting an angle with Seth Rollins of course playing on Rollins’ gimmick. Lita and Trish Stratus were also scheduled plus Kevin Owens vs. Solo Sikoa, Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor, Sami Zayn vs. Jimmy Uso, and Bianca Belair vs. Carmella in a non-title match are also scheduled. With Cena there, expect a major ratings increase from last week.
We’ve got weekend polls on AEW Revolution, the Stardom Triangle Derby finals and UFC 285, thumbs up, down or middle plus a best and worst match to [email protected]m
We’re looking for reports from Raw in Boston tonight as far as Main Event matches, dark matches or anything else on the show to [email protected]
Yesterday’s AEW Revolution had 50,000 searches for No. 12 on the list of the most searched or stories on the Internet. Most WWE shows of late have done in the 200,000 range and the UFC show with Jon Jones was No. 1 on Saturday with 2.2 million. So the Jones show did barely half of the Jake Paul show the prior week. Ciryl Gane cracked the top 20 on Thursday and nothing else from boxing, wrestling or MMA made the list this past week.
NXT has Roadblock tomorrow night featuring Roxanne Perez vs. Meiko Satomura for the women’s title plus Bron Breakker & The Creeds vs. Jinder Mahal & Veer & Sanga Tony D’Angelo vs. Dijak in a Jailhouse street fight (think coffin match except a jail instead of a coffin), the Grayson Waller Effect with Shawn Michaels, Andre Chase vs. Joe Gacy and Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne plus a confrontation with Gallus and Pretty Deadly likely to set up Stand & Deliver.
Thanks to Nour Faragallah, Shannon Walsh, Amin Ajani, Mike Omansky and Jonah Harper for reports from the weekend WWE events.
Other Notes
The movie 18th & Grand will air on SportsNet, SportsNet LA and Spectrum News throughout the month. It’s a movie about the Olympic Auditorium in the 50s, 60s and 70s focusing on boxing, wrestling and Roller Games.
MLW is on REELZ again tomorrow night with Alexander Hammerstone vs. Lance Anoa’i and Lio Rush vs. Jacob Fatu.
Warrior Wrestling on 3/25 in Grand Rapids, MI at West Catholic High School has John Morrison vs. Storm Grayson, Eddie Kingston vs Sam Adonis, Top Flight vs. The Velocities, El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Arez for the Warrior Lucha title, Brian Cage vs. Zachary Wentz, KC Navarro vs. Jordan Oliver for the Warrior title and more.
Kevin Matthews, who wrestled for Impact and was in WWE developmental, played the stunt double for Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday Night Live this past weekend.
Winnipeg Pro Wrestling runs 4/8 in Winnipeg.
EPW on Saturday night in Western Australia: King Shail & Kris Kelly b Mr. Thompson & Rogan Karguis, Michael Morelone b Tyler Jacobs, Jesse Lambert & Damian Slater & Marcius Pitt b Cal Collins & Cannon Connors & Ryan Rivera, Bruno Nitro b Del Cano t keep the Coastal title, Davis Storm & Mikey Nicholls b Felix Young & Jarrad Slate in a battle for both the he EPW and SHWA tag titles in a street fight, Taylor King b Jame Hartness, Lucas Fantasia & Mikey Broderick b Bobby Marshall & Dan Moore, Julian Ward b Chris Target in an EPW & SHWA title match followed by Morelone over Ward to win both titles. EPW runs 4/15 with Storm & Nicholls vs Pitt & Slater for the tag titles.
Renegades of Wrestling on 3/17 in Melbourne with Robbie Eagles plus AJ Istria vs. Jake Andrewartha (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
NSPW & Femme Fatales from Saturday night in Quebec City before 300 fans: La Parfaite Caroline b Emily Grimsky, Mary Lee Rose & Azaella b Dani Leo & Melanie Havok Jody Threat b Zak Patterson, Nicole Matthews b Liiza Hall 2/3 falls, Loue O’Farrell & Travis Toxic & Stu Grayson b Vanessa Kraven & James Stone & Pee Wee. It was supposed to be an all-women’s show but a huge snowstorm in Toronto prevented six wrestlers from making it so they rebooked the show and booked men to fill out of the card (thanks to Pat Laprade)
House of Glory Wrestling on Friday night from Jamaica, Queens,NY has Jacob Fatu vs. Fred Rosser for the HOG title, Low Ki vs. Kushida and Midas Black & Jay Lyon defend the tag titles against Brian XL & Amazing Red.
Kenny Casanova is working on an autobiography for Ken Patera.
I’m currently reading Ian Douglass’ book he’s written with Steve Keirn and it’s just like his books with Brian Blair and Bugsy McGraw. If you like 70s wrestling and Florida in particular it’s filled with great stories about the inner workings plus real good insight into WWWF in the 70s
PFL announced for 4/14 that the top of the card will air on ESPN+ while the prelims will air on ESPN 2. Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Shane Burgos and Sadibou Sy vs. Jarrah Al Silawi are the top bouts on the show from The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. This will be the third show of he tournament season that beings with an ESPN show on 4/1.
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 have a busy weekend schedule of radio shows. With Bryan in the area for Revolution, we will be doing a special show tonight covering the latest news plus a Saturday night show with UFC coverage and previewing the AEW PPV, and the Sunday night show after the AEW PPV. Garrett and I did our weekly show yesterday which is up on the site interviewing Jeff Jarrett.
– The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is up on the site right now. Among the highlights are
A look back at the history of the Iron Man match
The set up of the first Iron Man match that we know of
All the WWE true 60:00 Iron Man matches as well as the worked marathon matches that happened earlier
Bryan Danielson talks about the challenge of doing such a match today
Thoughts on what the PPV numbers will tell
Key aspect of the number
Ticket sales for the show, city record, current demand
Notes on the full card
Update on WrestleMania and changes
Ticket demand and sales or WrestleMania
Shad Gaspard/Jonathan Huber Award winner for 2022 and previous winners
Update on the MLW television deal with REELZ
Update on MLW potential lawsuit with WWE
Thoughts on the 2022 awards
CMLL and New Japan combine for FantasticaMania and a look at the last two events
UFC coverage of the weekend show
The most detailed look at the television ratings for the past week, how segments did, and how shows are hitting each key demo
Woman wrestling vet announces retirement
Report that a network reached out to rival promotion from who they carry to get them
Notes on a unique match in Mexico
Match of the week and performer of the week
A look at the first TripleMania card
One of the iconic legends of the sport announces about the next wrestler with the gimmick
New Japan Cup notes
All-Star Junior Festival notes
Governor who wrestled on Jan. 1 gets heat for it and why
Jerry Jarrett’s farewell words to his family
Von Erich movie notes
Former WWE wrestler pleads guilty in nationally covered fraud investigation
Pentagon & Fenix promote super indie show in April
Super indie matches
A card that features matches from nine different promotions in nine different countries
16 Carat Gold tournament update
Brett Lauderdale talks how they got Kota Ibushi
Updates on next several weeks of Impact television
Updates on next several weeks of ROH television
AEW injury updates
Kenny Omega, Dax Harwood Bryan Danielson, Matt Hardy , Chris Jericho, Britt Baker and others talk the current scene
AEW star owning a sports franchise
Upcoming ticket sales for AEW & WWE events
Streaming and international TV numbers
WWE & UFC financials and comparisons, how badly and why UFC talent is underpaid, what Dana White earns and why Endeavor passed on making an offer to WWE
Dana White talks Makhachev vs. Volkanovski rematch
Jon Jones and Bo Nickal talk about their wrestling skirmish
Bellator signs two-tie NCAA champion
Jake Paul PPV numbers
Former UFC champions sign for Bare Knuckle Boxing
Ticket sales for big shows and how adding John Cena, Logan Paul and Roman Reigns to shows moves tickets
Update on WWE Hall of Fame ceremony
Notes on new projects from Dwayne Johnson and John Cena
WWE unloads a Senior Vice President
Bayley talks about formation of Damage Ctrl
Notes on new WWE signings getting ready for television
Notes from the weekend WWE & NXT events
– That REELZ statement regarding MLW hardly makes things look good for the long-term future of the promotion on the channel. It’s notable that Variety reported they would be off in early April but REELZ never told MLW, who first heard the word when that story was released. They are said to have not been told anything with their situation has changed.
REELZ’s statement was: “No decisions have been made by MLW or REELZ and we are both committed to a good outcome for MLW, its fans and REELZ.”
– SmackDown is from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. Scheduled include an angle with Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn vs. Solo Sikoa, Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan, Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey vs. Tegan Nox & Natalya, plus Bobby Lashley is to appear. They are just about sold out with 12,300 tickets out this morning. This one didn’t even get off to a big start so the product interest level has really picked up big in the last several weeks..
– Rampage tonight is from the Cow Palace in San Francisco and is live. Only two matches have been announced, which are Keith Lee & Dustin Rhodes vs. Parker Boudreaux & Swerve Strickland and a four-way with Top Flight, Alex Reynolds & John Silver, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta and Aussie Open.
– AEW did sell more than 4,200 tickets yesterday and today for the 5/10 return to Detroit which is a good first day by current AEW standards.
– AEW has been in talks with the First Ontario Centre in Hamilton, ONT for a late June Dynamite taping.
– There are the odds for AEW Revolution from BetOnline
MJF vs. Bryan Danielson Iron Man match for the AEW World Championship:
MJF – 5000
Danielson +900
So the question is if anyone believes Danielson is winning the title, it does appear by this that they don’t.
Jamie Hayter vs. Ruby Soho vs. Saraya for the AEW Women’s World Championship:
Hayter -1250
Soho +500
Saraya +500
Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow for the TNT Championship:
Wardlow -1000
Joe +500
The Gunns vs. The Acclaimed vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy & Danhausen for the AEW Tag Team titles:
Gunns -400
Acclaimed +200
Jarrett & Lethal +800
Cassidy & Danhausen +1600
The Elite vs. House of Black for the AEW Trios titles:
– For this weekend, we are looking for reports from these shows:
SmackDown tonight in Washington, DC (dark matches and stuff not on television only)
WWE house show Saturday night in Toronto
WWE house show Saturday night in Syracuse
WWE house show Sunday night in Kitchener, ONT
WWE house show Sunday night in Trenton, NJ
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
– We are also doing polls for both UFC 285 and AEW Revolution, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
–UFC 285 card for tomorrow:
ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. Eastern
Esteban Ribovics (156) vs. Loik Radzhabov (155.5)
Da’Mon Blackshear (136) vs. Farid Basharat (136)
Jessica Penna (116) vs. Tabitha Ricci (115.5)
Cameron Saaiman (135) vs. Leomans Martinez (137) – Martinez missed weight by one pound and was fined 30 percent of his purse
Ian Machado Garry (171) vs. Song Kenan (171)
ESPN News at 8 p.m. Eastern
Julian Marquez (186) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (185)
Viviane Araujo (126) vs. Amanda Ribas (126)
Derek Brunson (185.5) vs. Dricus De Plessis (185)
Cody Garbrandt (136) vs. Trevin Jones (135)
PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern
Bo Nickal (185.5) vs. Jamie Pickett (186)
Mateusz Gamrot (156) vs. Jalin Turner (155.5)
Geoff Neal (175) vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (171)
Valentine Shevchenko (124.5) vs Alexa Grasso (124.5) for the women’s flyweight title
Jon Jones (248) vs. Ciryl Gane (247.5) for the heavyweight title
The big things is that the prelims as of now are scheduled for ESPN News and not ESPN or ABC, meaning a far smaller audience, even though these are strong prelim bouts, particularly Brunson vs. Du Plessis. Plus, more people will be home watching the PPV than any show in a long time, so one would think you’d want to translate that into TV ratings, both for the show, and also to help facilitate late buys.
– MJF and Adam Cole are in a Twitter battle. AEW badly needs a new fresh top babyface and there you go.
– WWE announced a number of new dates today. TV taping dates announced are:
5/12 SmackDown in Knoxville, TN
5/15 Raw in Greensboro, NC
5/19 SmackDown in Columbia, SC
5/29 Raw in Albany, NY
6/2 SmackDown in Wilkes-Barre, PA
6/5 Raw in Hartford CT
6/19 Raw in Cleveland, OH
– Stardom has a PPV which starts at 3 a.m. Eastern tonight. It has the semifinals and finals of the Triangle Derby tournament, plus Giulia defends the World of Stardom title against Maya Yukihi and Saya Kamitani defends the Wonder of Stardom title against Hazuki. They will likely start the build for the biggest show in their history on 4/23 at the Yokohama Arena.
People who were there live were talking about it as a match of the year candidate.
– Add Bo Dallas as Uncle Howdy to the list of people scheduled for Boston at this point for Monday’s Raw. Logically that would involve Bobby Lashley. Lucky him.
Other Notes
– Anna Keefer, who was cutting promos this past week during the commercial break on NXT, is out with an Achilles injury. Frankie Streling and Breanna Ruggierio have also been out during breaks cutting promos at tapings. (thanks to Bruce Anderson)
– The PFL Challenger Series week six airs tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fubo Sports:
Vikas Singh Ruhil (12-6) vs. James Gonzalez (9-5)
Ago Huskic (8-5) vs. Gabriel Braga (8-0)
Nathan Kelly (6-2) vs Zack Hicks (8-4)
Brahyan Zurher (4-0) vs. David Evans (5-1)
– The 2012 documentary on the original GLOW from the 80s airs on 3/14 and 3/15 at 8 p.m. at The Alamo Drafthouse in Los Angles.
– Mike Bailey comes to Empire State Wrestling on 3/18 at the Buffalo RiverWorks. Others on the show include the Grayson Brothers, Jimmy Lloyd, Chase Oliver Mance Warner, Matthew Justice, Colin Delaney Big Bill Collier and Veda Scott.
– Cage Fury Fighting Championships return on 4/20 in Tampa at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. CM Punk will be announcing the show that airs on UFC Fight Pass.
– Sha Samuels coached this past week at the WWE Performance Center.
– TNT Extreme Wrestling will air on the Progress streaming service Demand Progress starting with the Merseyside Massacre show.
– AIW on 3/24 in Cleveland at the Temple Live Asylum Room with a Sean Waltman meet and greet. and 4/22 in Akron OH at 3000 Krebs Dr. with a Ron Simmons meet and greet.
– Combate Global and RIZIN announced a Claire Lopez (7-4) vs Rena Kubota (13-4) for on the 4/29 RIZIN show in Tokyo at the Yoyogi Gym. Lopez is a Combate Global fighter and the fight will take place in a cage rather than a ring like a RIZIN show usually take place.
Literally since the days after the Full Gear PPV show, where MJF went heel after being cheered wildly against the once most popular wrestler in the company, Jon Moxley, they’ve built up MJF vs. Bryan Danielson.
MJF immediately turned back heel and turned on Regal, who then left the company. Danielson protected Regal from Moxley trying to get revenge but still was the babyface as he had to score five wins in a row to get his shot at the title in a 60:00 Iron Man match on 3/5 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
The ability to entertain a crowd for 60:00 was considered a badge of honor in another generation and made people like Lou Thesz, Jack Brisco, The Funk Brothers, Ric Flair, and others into legendary performers.
But those were organic 60-minute matches, which actually were very frequent for world title matches in the NWA and Japan during the 50s, 60s, 70s, and into the 80s.
Ratings have been delayed so at this point we only have the viewership and 18-49 numbers for Raw last night.
Raw averaged 1.77 million viewers, the lowest since the end of football season, but the 0.51 rating in 18-49 is a solid number and above two weeks ago which did a 0.47 but with a larger number of total viewers.
Of course Raw was down from last week’s 2.01 million viewers (which had the bump coming off Elimination Chamber). The drop in viewers was 12 percent and the drop in 18-49 was nine percent, so without details, the appearance looks to be that people over 50 were down but the show drew a younger audience than usual.
Raw was up one percent from the same week last year in total viewers, but up nine percent in 18-49, once again indicating a younger viewing audience. That comes with USA Network being in six percent fewer homes than one year ago, so actual growth would be on a percentage of available viewers basis, it would be up seven percent in viewers and up 15 percent in 18-49.
One would expect a very big number next week from Boston with John Cena and Logan Paul appearing on the show.
*The biggest issue of the year, the 2022 Awards issue is up on the site
*Winners and top ten finishes in dozens of categories related to both pro wrestling and MMA as well as as listing of everyone who had won an award dating back to 1980. We also have comments on the voting in the major categories and notes on different career breakthroughs.
*Match of the week and performer of the week
*Full coverage of Elimination Chamber, the decision on the main event, the WrestleMania direction, different options, WrestleMania ticket demand, records set at Chamber, and Tony Khan and Ariel Helwani
*Coverage of Keiji Muto’s retirement at the Tokyo Dome with the unique storytelling in the main event and some great matches underneath
*Mercedes Mone returns after nine months to win the IWGP women’s title with full coverage of New Japan in San Jose, Mone’s future in Japan, who is in for a major push in Stardom, notes on Stardom’s upcoming biggest show in its history and some of the top matches
*The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week for all wrestling shows, including segment by segment, why AEW Dynamite and WWE Raw were up and other notes
*Mercedes Mone talks coming to Stardom
*Stardom tournament updates and next big show
*Notes from the Yuji Nagata vs. Kento Miyahara Triple Crown change and future All Japan big shows
*What country is New Japan talking about touring soon
*Fantastica Mania notes
*Notes on the Jerry Jarrett funeral and more Memphis wrestling history
*The death of Richard Belzer and the incident with Hulk Hogan
*Kurt Angle talks health issues
*Death of Brian Bukantis
*WBD business update
*Contract notes on top AEW talent
*Lineup for Revolution
*Ticket advances for all WWE & AEW shows
*Streaming numbers for AEW & WWE
*International TV ratings including what show broke its all-time record in what country
*Congressman going after Power Slap
*New UFC fights
*More on WWE potential sale and value
*Details of how if there is a Saudi Arabian purchase of WWE and how interested they are in it, what that would mean
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, WrestleMania updates, Jon Jones’ return and the other recent news with Wrestling Observer Radio tonight.
AEW Revolution on Sunday will once again be airing in movie theaters around the U.S. and Canada. It will also play at some Dave & Buster’s and some Tom’s Watch Bar locations. You can find a location in your area here.
The Tommy Fury win over Jake Paul via split decision yesterday in a boxing match in Saudi Arabia did 4.2 million Google searches which is a giant number. The guys both got giant paydays from Saudi Arabia. This was Paul’s first fight against an actual boxer and it was competitive. Paul knocked Fury down in the eighth round but Fury showed better boxing skills most of the way. The scores were 76-73 from two judges (meaning Fury won six of eight rounds and Paul got a 10-8 8th round) and 75-74 for Paul (meaning 4-4 in rounds).
The situation with Superstar Billy Graham and wife Valerie Coleman has gotten worse. Both have COVID to add to Billy’s other very serious health issues. That means Valerie can’t be near Billy in the hospital.
Want to wish Jay Dumont the best. His entire situation breaks my heart at this point.
Thanks to Kenny K, Shannon Walsh, Andrew Gotch, Ross Blair, Alex Keeling and Gerard Di Trolio for weekend reports.
We’re looking for reports from yesterday’s Impact tapings in Las Vegas to [email protected] as well as from Raw in Grand Rapids tonight for Main Event matches and anything else not on the live show.
Raw is tonight in Grand Rapids, MI. There are a lot of WrestleMania ramifications on the show. We’ll see if Brock Lesnar really is wrestling Omos at WrestleMania and the tag title match with Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky vs. Becky Lynch & Lita for the tag title will set up the title match with Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler, or at least that was what was planned last week and there’s no indication that has changed. Rousey last week was to appear on this show although she’s not been advertised. She was at the house show last night in Rockford, IL. Also announced is Cody Rhodes vs. Chad Gable which could be great, Street Profits vs. Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa which also looks good, Asuka vs. Carmella, Piper Niven vs. Candice LeRae ad Miz reveals the secret gift Maryse got him. WWE is hot as tonight’s show was 400 shy of a sellout this morning at 8,400 so with the walk-up it should sell out.
We’re looking for reports from the show as far as Main Event matches or anything not on the live show to [email protected]
The final show of the Fantastica Mania tour is at 4:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning from Korakuen Hall. The big main event is Mistico vs. Atlantis Jr.. Atlantis Jr. has been given a big push the entire tour including beating Mistico in a tag. There are no title matches on the final night so they are counting on this as a dream match. Also Master Wato & Cavernario & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Desperado & Volador Jr. & Templario, Soberano Jr. vs.Hechicero, Dulce Gardenia vs. Okumura, Tetsuya Naito & Titan & Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryohei Oiwa & Satoshi Kojima & Rey Cometa plus Tiger Mask vs. El Hijo de Villano III.
Titan beat Soberano Jr. to keep the CMLL welterweight title in today’s main event.
Here are the odds for the main matches on Revolution on Sunday:
MJF -5000 Bryan Danielson +900
Jamie Hayter -1000 Ruby Soho +3350 Saraya +450
Wardlow -500 Samoa Joe +300
The Elite -220 House of Black +350
Adam Page -600 Jon Moxley +350
Ricky Starks -400 Chris Jericho +250
FITE announced that Scotland’s Insane Championship Wrestling has joined its FITE +. ICW will air a new weekly show every Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern time which is prime time in the U.K., as will as four major events per year,.
Impact will be releasing a one-hour documentary on Josh Alexander at Noon Eastern tomorrow on their YouTube channel.
The Slap Fight finals on 3/11 at 9 p.m.., which was originally to be a PPV on ESPN + has been moved from ESPN+ to a free stream on the Rumble streaming service. It will be free worldwide. Darius the Destroyer vs. Wolverine is the main event.
MCW on 3/34 in Galena, MD at the Volunteer Fire Department and 3/11 in Joppa, MD at the RJ Meyer Arena.
Northeast Wrestling on 4/15 in Poughkeepsie, NY at the Mid Hudson Civic Center with Ricky Starks, Konosuke Takeshita, Matt Hardy, NZO, QT Marshall, Cole Karter and Willow Nightingale. Kurt Angle will be there as a guest.
Pro Wrestling EVE has added a 3/9 show at The Yard Theatre in East London, UK. The main event has Miyu Yamashita vs. Miyuki Takase in a last match between the two in Eve, plus Session Moth Martina & Natsuko Sumire vs. Nina Samuels & The Ava. They also run 3/8 at 229 The Venue in London for a sold out show headlined by Yamashita vs. Lizzy Evo.
United Wrestling Coalition on 3/11 in Bordenton, NJ at the Lower Banquet Hall at the Elks Lodge for their 27th anniversary show. They will also have a promotional Hall of Fame ceremony.
Innovate Wrestling on 3/4 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium.
AIW Gauntlet for the Gold on 5/20 in Eastlake, OH at Force Sports features Miyu Yamashita.
Bill Behrens notes PJ Hawx and Devon Dudley ae taking dates. Devon will only take autograph and photo dates either alone or can be booked with Bully Ray. He will also manage his twin sons Terrence & Terrell. Others available at [email protected] include Joe Hendry, Flip Gordon, Chris Adonis, EC 3, Griff Garrison, Slim J, Jay Lethal, Al Snow, Ken Anderson, Moose, Earl Hebner, DDP and Eric Bischoff.
Aloha Stadium is Honolulu is no more. Lia Maivia ran a major show there in the 80s with Ric Flair vs. Siva Afi and Antonio Inoki vs Bruiser Brody. Aloha Stadium was best known for University of Hawaii football and the NFL Pro Bowl.
GCW announced a 4/22 date in Orlando,FL at the Englewood Center. As with all GCW shows, it’ll air live on FITE +.
Defy is reviving the legendary Pacific Northwest heavyweight title. The first champion will be decided on 3/11 at Washington Hall in Seattle with Homicide vs.Schaff.
United Wrestling Network tapes TV on 5/7 in Irvine CA at the Improv with Danny Limelight defending the UWN title against Zicky Dice.
*The biggest issue of the year, the 2022 Awards issue is up on the site
*Winners and top ten finishes in dozens of categories related to both pro wrestling and MMA as well as as listing of everyone who had won an award dating back to 1980. We also have comments on the voting in the major categories and notes on different career breakthroughs.
*Match of the week and performer of the week
*Full coverage of Elimination Chamber, the decision on the main event, the WrestleMania direction, different options, WrestleMania ticket demand, records set at Chamber, and Tony Khan and Ariel Helwani
*Coverage of Keiji Muto’s retirement at the Tokyo Dome with the unique storytelling in the main event and some great matches underneath
*Mercedes Mone returns after nine months to win the IWGP women’s title with full coverage of New Japan in San Jose, Mone’s future in Japan, who is in for a major push in Stardom, notes on Stardom’s upcoming biggest show in its history and some of the top matches
*The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week for all wrestling shows, including segment by segment, why AEW Dynamite and WWE Raw were up and other notes
*Mercedes Mone talks coming to Stardom
*Stardom tournament updates and next big show
*Notes from the Yuji Nagata vs. Kento Miyahara Triple Crown change and future All Japan big shows
*What country is New Japan talking about touring soon
*Fantastica Mania notes
*Notes on the Jerry Jarrett funeral and more Memphis wrestling history
*The death of Richard Belzer and the incident with Hulk Hogan
*Kurt Angle talks health issues
*Death of Brian Bukantis
*WBD business update
*Contract notes on top AEW talent
*Lineup for Revolution
*Ticket advances for all WWE & AEW shows
*Streaming numbers for AEW & WWE
*International TV ratings including what show broke its all-time record in what country
*Congressman going after Power Slap
*New UFC fights
*More on WWE potential sale and value
*Details of how if there is a Saudi Arabian purchase of WWE and how interested they are in it, what that would mean
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.
Last night’s UFC show saw the main event not take place as Nikita Krylov was ill and not allowed to face Ryan Spann. A lot of the talk ended up around the return of Tatiana Suarez, who came back after three years of injuries to beat Montana De La Rosa via second round submission.
ROH did its first television tapings for Honor Club yesterday. Results are up on the site from J.J. Williams. It appears the TV shows will be two hours based on the tapings although that was not confirmed. The first show, featuring Claudio Castagnoli vs. AR Fox for the ROH title, starts this coming Thursday. They are also taping today. The big stuff for the PPV show in Los Angeles on 3/31 looks to be Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston for the ROH title and Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe for the ROH TV title. Zack Sabre Jr. was the big surprise at the taping. Aussie Open was there as well. Trish Adora got a win. They did ten matches for the first show and nine for the second show. Mascara Dorada worked the show as Gran Metalik. From what we were told, Dorada has gotten the rights to use his WWE name. Dralistico & Rush worked as a tag team.
A couple of notes from last night’s Impact tapings. Chris Bey & Ace Austin won the tag titles from the Motor City Machine Guns. Yuya Uemura needed medical attention after a power bomb from Sami Callihan. It was a scary situation and Uemura was down for what seemed to be five minutes but was eventually able to get up and seemed okay. Impact was still pushing Uemura & Jonathan Gresham were scheduled to face Black Taurus & Mike Bailey at today’s tapings. Josh Alexander retained his title over KENTA in what was said to have been a great match. The tag title change was also said to be great. (thanks to Alex Keeling)
We’re looking for reports from tonight’s WWE show in Rockford, IL, last night’s NXT show in Lakeland, FL and today’s Impact tapings in Las Vegas to [email protected]
In the Google searches this week, the UFC show yesterday didn’t crack the top 20. Nothing from wrestling all week cracked the top 20. The Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury boxing match was No. 3 on Thursday with 200,000 searches and No. 1 yesterday with 1 million. Floyd Mayweather’s boxing exhibition in England was No. 11 with 50,000.
The funeral from Tuesday for Jerry Jarrett is available here. As we noted, Dave Brown and Jeff Jarrett’s speeches are really good. The best thing was a poem of sorts that Jerry himself wrote that his daughter Jennifer read about his life. It’s worth going out of your way to see.
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers, who is a pro wrestling fan whose favorite wrestler is Pentagon Jr. said he’d be interested in doing WWE after he retires.
There is a story of sorts. I presume it’s an angle but we’ll probably know for sure in a few days on it. AEW tweeted out all of its Observer award wins except tag team of the year (FTR). Dax Harwood made a comment about it and AEW then tweeted out how the Briscoes won feud of the year (vs, FTR in ROH) and but only mentioned the Briscoes and not FTR. There is a surprise joker team in the Casino tag team Battle Royale on Wednesday night at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. If FTR returns as a surprise on that show or in some form at the PPV, then it’s an angle to make you think they are on bad terms to lead to the return as a surprise. If we don’t see FTR again, then it would be something else.
After they announced Roman Reigns would be wrestling in the main event at the house show in Toronto this coming weekend, they sold 600 tickets. It’s not John Cena but it is solid late movement.
Last night’s WWE show from Champaign, IL:
Becky Lynch pinned Bayley
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson b Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio
Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler b Natalya & Tegan Nox. This was to get them ready for Friday’s show
Usos & Solo Sikoa b Braun Strowman & Ricochet & Drew McIntyre. Jey wasn’t out with Jimmy & Solo and it was 3-on-2. Then during the match Jey came out of the crowd and joined them and they won. Jey then left the ring and didn’t go to the back with Jimmy & Sikoa
Cody Rhodes b Finn Balor. After the match Gallows & Anderson came out and Cody and them used the too sweet and talked about all being part of the Bullet Club together
Bray Wyatt b LA Knight in a lights out dark match similar to their PPV match
Charlotte Flair retained the Smackdown women’s title in a four-way over Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan and Zoey Stark with the figure eight on Deville
Austin Theory b Seth Rollins in the same match they always do at the house shows with the low blow behind the refs back and ATL finish (thanks to Alex Gotch)
The UFC YouTube channel today was airing the celebration of life of Stephan Bonnar.
Kenta Kobashi won his third straight Wrestler of the Year award in landslide fashion. Already a first ballot Hall of Famer with the highest induction percentage in history (98%), the 38-year-old Kobashi added to a legacy that truly has to rank him among the greatest wrestlers in history.
His four wins ranks him second to only Ric Flair on the all-time list. In a year where business was dominated by shootfighting and Lucha Libre, Kobashi was arguably the most valuable performer to his promotion, as NOAH had a banner year at a time when pro wrestling interest has greatly declined in Japan. He headlined the year’s biggest drawing show, and performed an unheard of triple of having the matches in Japan, the U.S. and Europe that got the most votes in Match of the Year balloting.
No Luchador has ever won the award, and in a year with no strong U.S. candidates, the fact neither Mistico or Perro Aguayo Jr. got second, and were actually a distant No. 3 and No. 4 may indicate it is impossible for one to do so. Ditto for a shootfighter, as Kid Yamamoto only placed 6th in a year devoid of strong U.S. candidates.
*The biggest issue of the year, the 2022 Awards issue is up on the site
*Winners and top ten finishes in dozens of categories related to both pro wrestling and MMA as well as as listing of everyone who had won an award dating back to 1980. We also have comments on the voting in the major categories and notes on different career breakthroughs.
*Match of the week and performer of the week
*Full coverage of Elimination Chamber, the decision on the main event, the WrestleMania direction, different options, WrestleMania ticket demand, records set at Chamber, and Tony Khan and Ariel Helwani
*Coverage of Keiji Muto’s retirement at the Tokyo Dome with the unique storytelling in the main event and some great matches underneath
*Mercedes Mone returns after nine months to win the IWGP women’s title with full coverage of New Japan in San Jose, Mone’s future in Japan, who is in for a major push in Stardom, notes on Stardom’s upcoming biggest show in its history and some of the top matches
*The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week for all wrestling shows, including segment by segment, why AEW Dynamite and WWE Raw were up and other notes
*Mercedes Mone talks coming to Stardom
*Stardom tournament updates and next big show
*Notes from the Yuji Nagata vs. Kento Miyahara Triple Crown change and future All Japan big shows
*What country is New Japan talking about touring soon
*Fantastica Mania notes
*Notes on the Jerry Jarrett funeral and more Memphis wrestling history
*The death of Richard Belzer and the incident with Hulk Hogan
*Kurt Angle talks health issues
*Death of Brian Bukantis
*WBD business update
*Contract notes on top AEW talent
*Lineup for Revolution
*Ticket advances for all WWE & AEW shows
*Streaming numbers for AEW & WWE
*International TV ratings including what show broke its all-time record in what country
*Congressman going after Power Slap
*New UFC fights
*More on WWE potential sale and value
*Details of how if there is a Saudi Arabian purchase of WWE and how interested they are in it, what that would mean
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
Garrett Gonzales and I will be back today with your look at the news and topics in this week’s Observer. We will also have another show this weekend.
Smackdown tonight is from Evansville, IN, with Karrion Kross vs. Rey Mysterio, Charlotte Flair goes face-to-face with Rhea Ripley, The Firefly Fun House and Imperium vs. Braun Strowman & Ricochet & Madcap Moss. The show is sold out with almost 8,400 tickets out as of this afternoon.
Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on TNT has Young Bucks vs. Aussie Open for the first time ever, plus Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale, Lance Archer vs. Bryce Saturn and Action Andretti vs. Sammy Guevara.
Ronda Rousey is scheduled for Raw on Monday.
The final episode of the Young Rock season airs tonight.
UFC tomorrow on ESPN+
Nikita Krylov (206) vs. Ryan Spann (205)
Andre Muniz (186) vs. Brendan Allen (186)
Augusto Sakai (265) vs. Don’Tale Mayes (261.5)
Tatiana Suarez (125) vs. Montana De La Rosa (125.5)
Mike Malott (171) vs. Yohan Lainesse (171)
Erick Gonzalez (156) vs. Trevor Peek (155.5)
Jasmine Jasudavicius (125.5) vs. Gabriella Fernandes (126)
Jordan Leavitt (155.5) vs. Victor Martinez (154.5)
Ode Osbourne (130) vs. Charles Johnson (130) – they agreed to a catchweight fight
Joe Solecki (155.5) vs. Carl Deaton (156)
Rafael Alves (155) vs. Nurullo Aliev (155)
Bellator runs at 4 p.m. Eastern tomorrow on Showtime from Dublin, Ireland
Ciaran Clarke (146.4) vs. Leonardos Sis (148.8) – missed weight
Sinead Kavanagh (146.0) vs. Janay Harding (145.1)
Pete Queally (155.4) vs. Bryce Logan (155.8)
Pedro Carvalho (145.4) vs. Jeremy Kennedy (146.0)
Yaroslov Amasov (169.4) vs Logan Storley (169.4) for the welterweight title
For the Wednesday and Friday AEW shows at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, they are selling four tickets for each night for $60 total using the password 4PACKAEW
We are looking for reports from these weekend shows:
*Smackdown tonight in Evansville, IN (dark matches only)
*NXT tonight in Jacksonville, FL
*WWE house show Saturday in Champaign, IL
*NXT house show tomorrow night in Lakeland, FL
*WWE house show Sunday in Rockford, IL
We’re looking for results, finishes, highlights and thoughts on the show to [email protected]
We’re also doing a poll on Tuesday’s Keiji Muto retirement show at the Tokyo Dome, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
On May 6, there will be UFC 288, WWE Backlash and a Canelo Alvarez fight all on the same night.
The first ROH taping at Disney in Orlando is sold out.
Takumi Iroha will be in the 5/13 Queen of Indies show West Coast Pro is putting on in San Francisco.
Pat McAfee regarding a WWE return said: “Baby girl on the way… what’s that mean for my future with @WWE? I LOVE it but, they’re allegedly gonna be sold, who’s buying them? Do I want to work/make money for those people?
The Mercedes Mone vs. Kairi match from San Jose will air on AXS TV on Thursday night. On 3/9 they will air both Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Eddie Kingston vs. Jay White from that show.
Impact No Surrender odds from BetOnline for tonight’s Impact show live from Sam’s Town in Las Vegas
Josh Alexander -2000 Rich Swann +700
Mickie James -700 Masha Slamovich +400
Joe Hendry -150Moose +110
Death Dollz -400 The hex +250
Steve Maclin -500 Heath +400
PCO +400 Brian Myers +500
Bullet Club -160 Time Machine +120
Jonathan Gresham -200 Mike Bailey +150
Frankie Kazarian -600 KON +350
Deonna Purrazzo -500 Gisele Shaw +300
Other Notes
Wrestling Revolver on 3/4 from the Horizon Events Center in Clive, IA with Jonathan Gresham vs. Kushida, Steve Maclin defends the Revolver title against Rich Swann, Tag champs Ace Austin & Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz vs. Mance Warner & Matthew Justice, John Morrison vs. Ninja Mack, Alex Shelley vs. Matthew Palmer, Rosemary & Taya Valkyrie & Jessicka vs. JT Dunn & Tyler Matrix & Logan James in a no DQ match,Rocky Romero vs. Jake Crist vs. Lince Dorado for the NWA welterweight title, Dirty Dango vs. Dan the Dad and Manders vs. Crash Jaxon.
The Fight Network in Canada announced a ten part series called “Diary” airing Mondays at 9 p.m. Eastern and on the Invicta YouTube channel. The series will feature Impact and Invicta stars. Monday’s show has Josh Alexander followed by Jordynne Grace, Gisele Shaw, Jessica Delboni,Karina Rodriguez, Bhupinder Gujjar, Trey Miguel, Kay Hansen and Rosemary.
Lucha Va Voom has announced a residency inside the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino with shows on 4/27, 4/28, 4/29, 10/27 and 10/28. Taya Valkyrie, Peter Avalon, Magno and Jack Cartwheel will be on the April shows.
High Tension Wrestling on 3/18 in South Philadelphia at the Sheet MetalWorkers Local 19 at 1301 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd.
LFA announced 4/14 from Sioux Falls, SD on UFC Fight Pass with Jalin Fuller (7-2) vs. Tre Waters (6-1) in a welterweight main event.
Bron Breakker, Wes Lee, Gallus, Fallon Henley, Kiana James, Tiffany Stratton and Alicia taylor are guests for the Orlando Solar Bears (minor league hockey) vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits game on Sunday at the Amway Center.
As expected this turned into a two-person race with Moxley (Jonathan Good, 37) and former Shield partner Reigns (Leati Joseph Anoa’i, 37).
The way I see the argument it comes down to Reigns as the biggest star of the year in pro wrestling, as WWE champion for the entire year, and headliner on the biggest shows, during a year that got very strong for the company after April. He had good-to-great matches on top, which is a big part of the award.
But the argument is Most Valuable. Reigns worked a very limited schedule and the company did roughly as well with him and not with him. The Smackdown rating rise was as much tied to Sami Zayn and Jey Uso, who carried it to strong results when Reigns wasn’t around, as the weekly angle.
Moxley was the more valuable, because he was twice, after injuries to Punk, called to lead the company. Had he been not around, the declines would have been greater than they were. Coming off rehab at the start of the year, he and Chris Jericho really carried the company during different periods when so many top names were out with injuries and later after All Out when Punk, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks were suspended. You take both out of the picture in 2022, and it’s AEW that would be hurt far worse.
Raw got the expected big rise coming off all the interest in Elimination Chamber, averaging 2.01 million viewers and drawing a 0.56 rating in 18-49.
Raw beat everything on television in 18-49, including The Bachelor and NBC’s AGT All-Stars. It beat all shows on Spanish-language networks as well.
The sports competition on cable was college basketball on ESPN with Louisville vs. Duke (949,000/0.26) and Kansas vs. TCU (1,288,000/0.35).
Raw was first in every key demo on cable, beating Below Deck, which often beats Raw in women 18-49, by 0.41 to 0.33. It doubled Kansas vs. TCU for first place in men 18-49. It was seventh on cable in total viewers behind only news shows, which is also much above usual.
Raw did have a huge third-hour drop, but that’s not unusual for an episode coming off a pay-per-view with a lot of interest where you have a big first hour.
The show was up 11 percent in viewers from last week, up 19 percent in 18-49, and up 50 percent, which is crazy, in 18-34.
As compared to the same week last year, Raw was up 10 percent in viewers, up 10 percent in 18-49, and up 14 percent in 18-34.
There were significant third hour drops which normally would say people weren’t interested in hour three, but it’s more here because of the big first hour.
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Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight after Raw talking all the latest MMA and pro wrestling news. You can also send questions to the show but it’s better on the key topics well talk such as Chamber & Raw, the Chamber main event finish, Ariel Helwani, AEW and OTT and Jerry Jarrett to [email protected]
We’re doing weekend polls for Elimination Chamber and the New Japan show in San Jose, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Keiji Muto, one of the true legends of the last 40 years in wrestling, retires tomorrow morning at the Tokyo Dome in a match with Tetsuya Naito. The show airs on Wrestle Universe with this lineup
Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba vs. Yoshiki Inamura & Yasutaka YanoMiyu
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Amakusa in a battle of the IWGP jr. champion vs. GHC jr. champion with no belts at stake
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kaito Kiyomiya in a battle of IWGP heavyweight and GHC heavyweight champions with no belts at stake
Keiji Muto vs. Tetsuya Naito
Raw tonight is from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ONT. Matches announced are Seth Rollins vs. The Miz, Austin Theory vs. Edge for the U.S. title and Mustafa Ali vs. Dolph Ziggler. Obviously they will start the full scale build for WrestleMania off this show and in theory the rating should be up coming off the PPV. Expect another lively crowd. There were 7,800 tickets out as of earlier today.
Aljamain Sterling will defend the UFC bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo on the 5/6 PPV show. This had been expected for some time. Sterling is coming off recuperation from a torn biceps which has delayed the fight.
Every time I do this it makes me sad about the medical situation in this country. But there are Go Fund Me’s up for
I’m hopeful for the best for both of these men in their battles for health. Graham has had many close calls over the years and has battled health issues for nearly 35 years.
Tony Khan promised a major announcement on Dynamite on Wednesday. They also announced for the tag team Battle Royal on Wednesday that the last three entrants would be Rush & Preston Vance, Top Flight and Aussie Open, who are a late addition to the match. The match is for one of the open spots in a four-way title match with the Gunns and Acclaimed on 3/5 at Revolution in San Francisco.
Lineup for NXT tomorrow is Bron Breakker vs. Jinder Mahal for the NXT title, Gallus vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade for the tag titles, Sol Ruca vs. Zoey Stark, Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell, Trick Williams vs. Ilja Dragunov and Andre Chase & Duke Hudson vs. The Dyad.
Want to mention, as many noted, that Richard Belzer passed away. We wrote about him yesterday in reference that he passed away but didn’t actually mention he passed away, because I thought almost everyone knew. But it should have been mentioned.
Other Notes
Mercedes Mone and Trinity Fatu (Naomi) will be appearing on the opening episode of Bar Rescue on Paramount on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Tomorrow night’s MLW television show on REELZ has Alexander Hammerstone against Dragon Gate’s Yamato for the title, The Billington Bulldogs vs. New FBI and Calvin Tankman vs Sam Adonis. The second hour will be an older show with Jacob Fatu vs. Mads Krugger in a weapons of mass destruction match and Myron Reed vs. KC Navarro vs. Arez.
Delmi Exo has signed with MLW. She’s been on shows dating back to 2021.
Warrior Wrestling from Saturday night in Chicago at Thalia Hall before 425 fans: Sam Adonis b Storm Grayson, Queen Aminata b Max the Impaler-DQ, Jordan Kross b Carlos Romo, Trevor Outlaw b Beast Man, Mike Bennett b Joey Janela, KC Navarro b Brian Cage-COR to keep the Warrior title, El Hijo del Vikingo beat Aero Boy, Black Taurus and Aramis to retain the Lucha title. As noted yesterday, we got rave reviews on the main event and hope to see it later this week.
Dave Marquez will be promoting Derby City Wrestling, a weekly series that will have its first taping on 3/26 with Elijah Burke announced. The show will air locally on the low power MY58.3 channel.
Central States Wrestling on Saturday night in Lenexa, KS at the National Guard Armory with Jeremy Wyatt vs. Jake Something as the main event.
Dana White’s Looking for a Fight will be taped n 3/5 for a Combat Zone 79 show in Boston at the encore Casino. UFC fighter Calvin Kattar runs the promotion.
