Daily Update
Latest News
- Adam Copeland explains origins of AEW’s ‘The Cope Open’
- Samoa Joe live appearance announced for AEW Dynamite
- John Cena on post in-ring career: ‘I always want to be involved in the business’
- Seth Rollins ‘dodged a bullet’ with WWE Raw injury, hopes to return in a month
- Premiere date, list of topics announced for Dark Side of the Ring season five
- Taya Valkyrie, Ethan Page & Nyla Rose set for ROH TV
- John Cena reveals venue he wants to host his final WWE match
- Kazuchika Okada vacates NEVER Openweight Six-Man tag title
Latest Audio
- DragonKingKarl Greatest Kayfabe Tournament: Bruiser Brody vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn Show: Okada’s last three Tokyo Dome main events, epic Granny segment
Latest Free YouTube Video
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Match of the week and performer of the week
- Kazuchika Okada leaving New Japan
- What is next and where his decision stands
- Coverage in Japan
- Future prospects in AEW or WWE
- How this not only affects New Japan but the change in the marketplace
- Okada’s career legacy
- Preview of Royal Rumble and Revolution
- Full coverage of Battle in the Valley, the return to Chicago, and the next major events
- Debut of Matt Riddle and Jack Perry with New Japan
- Impact turns into TNA, business notes, full coverage
- The PFL vs. Bellator dream card, lineup, how this relates to pro wrestling in the past, and how this show exemplifies the complete economic changes in the fight business
- Full coverage of the ratings over the past week, including weekly ratings, competition, comparisons with a year ago and segment-by-segment
- Dream rematch shows continue at Arena Mexico
- Lots of new tournaments
- Takagi vs. Mochizuki
- Masa Fuchi main events at the age of 70
- Anniversary of the first pro wrestling show in Japanese television
- FantasticaMania notes
- Wrestling references by Paul Walter Hausen at the Emmys
- Demolition of famous arena
- Kevin Von Erich is Israel
- Update on Iron Claw movie business
- Mark Hitchcock show update
- New wrestling history book out
- Examining WBD press release on AEW
- New AEW international deal
- Samoa Joe talks current scene
- Advance ticket sales to WWE, AEW and UFC events
- New AEW signee who will have a new gimmick and details as to why
- Overseas programmer talks about AEW setting ratings record
- Sean Strickland and sponsors and this isn’t going to be fun for Dana White when Bud Light hears about it
- A college working with fighters for courses in fight disciplines
- New Cena movie
- Drug testing realities
- WWE injury updates
- WWE, AEW & TNA PPV updates
- International TV ratings and streaming numbers
- What Canadian ratings mean in comparison to U.S. numbers
- Coverage of all the WWE house shows of the past week
This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter
Wednesday Update
WWE
- TKO Group Holdings stock closed today at $87.91 per share, down 1.92 percent after yesterday’s 15.8 percent increase.
- In an interview with CBS Sports, Cody Rhodes spoke about how he and Bullet Club/The Elite were able to change the pro wrestling world:
- I think as I grow old I’ll probably wax poetic and grow even fonder of the things I was able to be a part of. The people I was able to team with. When we were a group, The Bullet Club, The Elite, the idea was to change the world. We really did actually change, at least, our world.
- The reality is I can name about eight people. If one of them weren’t there it wouldn’t have happened. An alternative wouldn’t exist. It wouldn’t have spring-boarded me into the position I am now. All of these factors — and the biggest factor being the fans themselves.
- Bleacher Report and ESPN also have interviews with Rhodes.
- Rhodes reiterated that he isn’t worried about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson interrupting his story:
- You mentioned ‘The Great One’ The Rock, nothing but respect for him. I went and saw ‘Jungle Cruise,’ I’m a Rock fan. I don’t think he’s the type that would come in and meddle with a story that’s been being told over the past two years. I think he’s probably up to something else, but you never know with WWE. I’ll be watching just like everybody else when I’m not wrestling.
- The Rock told Fox News that he has no intention of running for president:
- I’m honored. I’m not a politician, [I] never had the intentions to be a politician. As all this continues to take shape and form, and I get it, especially ramping up into this year in particular with an election year. I actually got approached by both parties. One after the other. I said, then, as I say now, ‘I’m honored, thank you. The most important thing I’m doing now is being a daddy to my little girls.’ I like school drop-offs, and I like pick-ups. I like that and I know if I were to ever go down that road, which I have no intention to, all that goes away, and I don’t want that to go away.
- New Day’s Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods reunited for an appearance on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon. Comedian Jay Pharoah was also a guest on the show.
- TNT Sports in the United Kingdom interviewed Jey Uso.
- Bianca Belair & Montez Ford appeared on the latest episode of First We Feast’s Snacked.
- In a video for GQ Sports, Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins revealed the 10 things they can’t live without.
AEW/Other Wrestling
- Samoa Joe offered some praise for Hook during an interview with WrestleZone:
- What a tough kid. I mean of all the lambs that I’ve slaughtered lately that was by far the toughest sheep I’ve ever had encountered. Let’s be honest here. I mean, Hook is very young. He’s a very tough and very durable individual, incredibly strong for his size. I will admit that. But when it comes down to it, he’s the type of dangerous individual that I knew I needed to squash out immediately. You gotta go after the dangers in this world. And you know, he’s a very, very dangerous young man who’s still becoming the predator that someday he hopes to be. But I was more than happy to remind him of his place in the grander scheme of things and how the food chain works.
- Shop AEW released a “Final Encounter” T-shirt for Sting’s last match at Revolution.
- AEW shared a behind-the-scenes video with Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett embracing the Briscoe family backstage after the tribute to Jay Briscoe on last week’s Dynamite.
- Eddie Kingston appeared on Going Ringside.
- Rocky Romero will defend his MLW Middleweight title against Ichiban in a two-out-of-three falls match at MLW SuperFight in Philadelphia on Saturday, February 3.
- MLW also announced Sami Callihan vs. AKIRA in a Death Machine Rules match for SuperFight. It’s an anything goes match.
