Category: Daily Updates

Daily Update

Latest News

• WWE SmackDown ratings up for Money in the Bank go-home show
• AEW Rampage ratings up, best viewership since April
• Court Bauer: MLW taking Jacob Fatu charity no-show allegations ‘very seriously’
• WWE star Logan Paul gets engaged to model Nina Agdal
• Trial of Roman Reigns segment set for WWE SmackDown
• Kenny Omega addresses criticism of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Tiger Driver spot
• VIDEO: Being the Elite – ‘Will never financially recover from this’
• AEW notes: Roster update, Fight Forever, ticket sales, Mexican streaming deal

Latest Audio

• Wrestling Observer Live: Money in the Bank fallout, SummerSlam line-up, Bryan books Punk vs. Joe
• Bryan & Vinny & Craig Show: WWE Money in the Bank 2023 plus AEW Collision!

See Dave & Bryan in London

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

• July 3, 2023 Observer Newsletter: AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door recap, WWE Money in the Bank preview

In this issue:

• Fan reactions and poll for Forbidden Door
• Thoughts on the Omega-Ospreay and Okada-Danielson matches, as well as the difference in match of the years today with in the past that is concerning. We look at the Omega-Ospreay storyline, the business record that was set in Toronto as well as PPV numbers, theater numbers, what we learned, the Okada-Danielson finish and the situation with C.M. Punk.
• We have the biggest money live events in AEW history, match-by-match coverage, Danielson, Sting, Tony Khan and others talk after the show and more
• A look at Money in the Bank and its unique record that was quietly set
• Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show
• Business notes on the show
• What’s next for the top people on the show
• The most detailed look at the ratings of all the wrestling shows this past week, talking competition, ranking, segment-by-segment, the unique change in the Raw audience this week as well as the low rating for AEW and notes on that
• Early Fantastica Mania notes
• 64th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of its legendary arenas that likely has had more shows than all but a few in history
• Notes on AAA’s next major show after TripleMania in Tijuana
• Stardom PPV notes
• Next Stardom PPV card
• Stardom Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
• Battle of two people who trained together as youths sells out standing room tickets at Korakuen Hall weeks ahead of time
• The new three Musketeers in New Japan and thoughts
• Update on this week’s New Japan major shows
• A look in detail about the movie “Iron Claw” about the heyday of the Von Erichs and the collapse of their empire along with thoughts on it
• One of the best wrestlers of the 90s and 00s goes into a sports Hall of Fame
• Outsports talks about the most powerful LGBTQ+ people in the sports world including many from both pro wrestling and MMA
• Notes on Ross Forman, who works backstage at Impact, making the list and his background and thoughts
• WWC 50th anniversary show draws huge crowd in Puerto Rico and rundown of the show
• Impact notes from the next few weeks of TV
• AEW video game notes
• Jim Ross update
• Danielson talks Okada
• Variety says AEW TV show deserves an Emmy nomination
• Upcoming ticket sales for all WWE & AEW shows
• Anthony Bowens felt crowd reaction was a real breakthrough, as does a reader who grew up in Chicago
• Ariel Helwani responds to Tony Khan
• What percentage of revenue did UFC fighters make last year
• Lots of new UFC fights
• Fighter rebounding from nearly fatal heart attack
• Lots of notes on Vince McMahon and WWE
• Notes on what happens with the new company, how much money Vince made WWE by staying and what percentage of the new company he will own
• Notes on ideas for changes in NXT and main roster shows
• WWE injury updates
• International TV ratings
• WWE top streaming segments for the week

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

• May 10, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Sakuraba, Brock Lesnar

Moderators needed:

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 with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw and the latest news.

– In response to the questions from Saturday night, Drew McIntyre has not signed a new deal with WWE. He is under contract for several more months and they have the right to extend it for a few more months due to injury, possibly through WrestleMania. Nothing has changed on the contract front. Based on the commentary by Michael Cole on his return, and comments to Paul Levesque at the press conference acting like there was never a story to begin with, people were given the impression he had signed a new long-term deal. This also doesn’t mean things are bad between the sides, just that he hasn’t agreed to terms yet.

– Raw is tonight from Baltimore. Coming off the PPV show, only Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya has been advertised ahead of time. Brock Lesnar will be back tonight to start the set up for his match with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam. They are looking at record numbers for SummerSlam as the gate is far ahead of all prior records and is likely to end up as the biggest non-Mania gate ever in the U.S. The ticket advance is the second biggest of all-time (behind 1992 in Wembley Stadium).

– Raw is over 10,000 tickets out tonight in Baltimore and will be sold out by show time.

– We’re looking for reports from tonight’s show with anything not on the live show such as Main Event matches or post-show stuff to [email protected]

– WWE has not yet put out a press release with the numbers from Saturday, perhaps waiting for the viewing numbers to finalize. We do know the live gate set the all-time record for England and was the second biggest in the U.K., which means the actual gate revenue topped the Wembley Stadium number from 1992 and we were told by a considerable amount. It won’t be first for long which also tells you why they are pushing the WrestleMania in Wembley Stadium idea. From those in the U.K., there is talk that is very serious about the idea, but obviously they want the local government to pay them for having the show there.

– In a comeback of the skit with Sami Zayn that drew huge ratings, on Friday’s SmackDown, The Usos will put Roman Reigns on trial as the main event of the show in Madison Square Garden.

– We’re looking for your thoughts on Money in the Bank from Saturday. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

– We’ve already completed a main story for Friday on Darren Drozdov for the new Observer. It’ll be one of the better stories of its type we’ve done this year.

– New Japan World has a PPV show from Korakuen Hall at 5:10 a.m. tomorrow. There are two shows actually. Tomorrow’s show has:

• Ryusuke Taguchi & Yoh & Oskar Leube vs. Kengo & Dragon Libre & Takahiro Katori
• The DKC vs. Bad Dude Tito
• Lance Archer & Alex Zayne & Ryohei Oiwa vs. JR Kratos & Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson
• Tom Lawlor vs. Kosei Fujita
• Eddie Kingston & Rocky Romero vs. KENTA & Gedo
• Giulia & Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale & Momo Kohgo
• Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi defend the Strong tag titles against Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin
• TJP & Francesco Akira defend the IWGP jr. tag titles against Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney
• Jon Moxley & Homicide vs. Jun Kasai & El Desperado

Moxley won’t be in Edmonton on Wednesday for Dynamite although he is expected to be on the show doing a taped interview. Moxley vs. Desperado in a death match headlines the Wednesday show at Korakuen Hall, also at 5:10 a.m., which also includes KENTA vs. Kingston for the Strong title and a rematch with Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Kidd & Coughlin but this time for the IWGP tag titles.

– AEW will be available again in Mexico starting this week on the VIX streaming service owned by Televisa. Both Dynamite and Collision will be airing. AEW currently has no television in Mexico.

– Undertaker is doing a talk show today in Manchester, England as well as tomorrow in Glasgow, Scotland.

– Ronda Rousey will be on the Fox show Stars on Mars tonight head-to-head with Raw.

–The NXT show tomorrow was taped last week. Spoilers are up on the site and with details in the Observer. The Creeds vs. Dyad loser leave town plus Damon Kemp vs. Eddy Thorpe in an NXT Underground match which features the first angle with Gable Steveson, Mustafa Ali vs. Tyler Bate, Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport and Jacy Jayne vs. Lyra Valkyria.

– Utami Hayashishita of Stardom, who was voted by the Observer readers and the 2021 Woman Wrestler of the Year, debuts with GCW on shows on 7/8 in Hartford, CT and 7/14 in New York City. She’ll also work for Jersey Championship Wrestling on 7/9 in Ridgefield Park, NJ.

Other Notes

– Defy announced shows on 7/28 and 7/29 at Washington Hall in Seattle. The first night will be an all-women’s show headlined by Vert Vixen, Nicole Matthews, Maki Itoh and Allie Katch. 7/29 will feature the return of Jon Moxley and the first round of the Defy Super 8XGP, an eight-man tournament. They will also make a Hall of Fame announcement shortly.

– UWN is taping television at the Irving Improv tonight at 7:30 p.m. with Danny Limelight vs. Invictus Khash as the main event.

– The LFA runs at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, CA, with an MMA show headlined by Daniel Compton (8-2) of Santa Cruz against Renato Valente (9-6).

– Indie wrestler Megabyte Ronnie will be in tomorrow Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest that airs at 10:45 a.m. on ESPN. This usually draws a big rating built around the star power of Joey Chestnut.

– The Amazing Race Canada show debuts tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on CTV. Gail Kim and Gisele Shaw are a team in this competition.

Daily Update

Latest News

• Kota Ibushi to make Japan in-ring return for GLEAT
• WWE SmackDown video highlights: Final Money in the Bank build
• Impact Down Under live results: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Chris Bey & Ace Austin
• Alicia Fox ‘felt like such a failure’ following WWE house show incident
• MJF & Adam Cole Blind Eliminator tournament match set for AEW Dynamite
• Miro match added to this week’s AEW Collision
• United States title match set for next week’s WWE SmackDown

Latest Audio

• Wrestling Observer Radio: Discussing modern era candidates for the WON HOF
• Wrestling Weekly: WWE Money in the Bank predictions

See Dave & Bryan in London

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

• July 3, 2023 Observer Newsletter: AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door recap, WWE Money in the Bank preview

In this issue:

• Fan reactions and poll for Forbidden Door
• Thoughts on the Omega-Ospreay and Okada-Danielson matches, as well as the difference in match of the years today with in the past that is concerning. We look at the Omega-Ospreay storyline, the business record that was set in Toronto as well as PPV numbers, theater numbers, what we learned, the Okada-Danielson finish and the situation with C.M. Punk.
• We have the biggest money live events in AEW history, match-by-match coverage, Danielson, Sting, Tony Khan and others talk after the show and more
• A look at Money in the Bank and its unique record that was quietly set
• Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show
• Business notes on the show
• What’s next for the top people on the show
• The most detailed look at the ratings of all the wrestling shows this past week, talking competition, ranking, segment-by-segment, the unique change in the Raw audience this week as well as the low rating for AEW and notes on that
• Early Fantastica Mania notes
• 64th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of its legendary arenas that likely has had more shows than all but a few in history
• Notes on AAA’s next major show after TripleMania in Tijuana
• Stardom PPV notes
• Next Stardom PPV card
• Stardom Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
• Battle of two people who trained together as youths sells out standing room tickets at Korakuen Hall weeks ahead of time
• The new three Musketeers in New Japan and thoughts
• Update on this week’s New Japan major shows
• A look in detail about the movie “Iron Claw” about the heyday of the Von Erichs and the collapse of their empire along with thoughts on it
• One of the best wrestlers of the 90s and 00s goes into a sports Hall of Fame
• Outsports talks about the most powerful LGBTQ+ people in the sports world including many from both pro wrestling and MMA
• Notes on Ross Forman, who works backstage at Impact, making the list and his background and thoughts
• WWC 50th anniversary show draws huge crowd in Puerto Rico and rundown of the show
• Impact notes from the next few weeks of TV
• AEW video game notes
• Jim Ross update
• Danielson talks Okada
• Variety says AEW TV show deserves an Emmy nomination
• Upcoming ticket sales for all WWE & AEW shows
• Anthony Bowens felt crowd reaction was a real breakthrough, as does a reader who grew up in Chicago
• Ariel Helwani responds to Tony Khan
• What percentage of revenue did UFC fighters make last year
• Lots of new UFC fights
• Fighter rebounding from nearly fatal heart attack
• Lots of notes on Vince McMahon and WWE
• Notes on what happens with the new company, how much money Vince made WWE by staying and what percentage of the new company he will own
• Notes on ideas for changes in NXT and main roster shows
• WWE injury updates
• International TV ratings
• WWE top streaming segments for the week

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

• May 8, 2006 Observer Newsletter: ECW, WWE Backlash review

Moderators needed:

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.

Saturday Update

WWE

• Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson posted a tribute to Darren Drozdov following Droz’s passing: “Man I’m so sorry to hear one of our ring brothers has passed away. Darren Drozdov aka Droz. We wrestled on a lot of cards together. Such an awesome dude. Great personality and great wrestling talent. We always talked about football and fishing. Sending love, strength, mana and light to his family. RIP brother”
• Lita wrote: “Be at peace, Darren. Droz really helped me get through my broken neck. He was so encouraging to me. His positivity helped me let go of anger I had due to being sidelined. He will always be an inspiration. #RIPDroz”
• WWE uploaded the opening video for today’s Money in the Bank PPV.
• I previewed Money in the Bank for Sports Illustrated.
• The Judgment Day recreated The Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover while in England.
• Ariel Helwani interviewed The Usos and LA Knight.
• While speaking with Helwani, Knight was asked if it bothers him when people call him a knockoff of The Rock or Steve Austin:
• Oh my God, man. Look, when I was in high school those guys were my bread and butter. Those are the guys that I wanted to be when I was like 16, 17 years old. I’m sure there’s – hell… my normal speech pattern everyday when I’m talking to you is somehow derived from them. Whether that’s purposeful or not, and it’s definitely not.
• So it’s just the fact that, man, I sat there and watched every single episode of Monday Night Raw. I had all the little VHS cassette tapes like ‘Cause Stone Cold Said So,’ or ‘The Rock Says,’ and stuff like that. I watched all that stuff. So man, you’re talking about formative years, very moldable years of maybe in some way have penetrated my brain in some way. But whether you want to make the comparisons — hey, I’ll tell you what. Let’s make this comparison. You want to say that I’m the Kobe to their Jordan? I’ll take it.
• Booker T praised the work that Finn Balor is doing in WWE right now:
• Finn Balor is doing some of his best work right now and I tell you that match with Carmelo Hayes was a breaking out moment for me with Finn Balor. I mean, not that I haven’t bought on what he’s been doing as of late, but when he went out and went to kicking Carmelo’s ass like it was a real fight, I was like, oh man, I like this Finn Balor here. This dude right here, this is the guy, and the thing is we know Finn Balor can fly. We know he could do all of the moves. He can do the flips. He can do all the dives and all of that, but this guy right here that we’re seeing is the Finn Balor that’s going to work at the main-event level, perhaps from this point of his career on.
• Balor was the guest on this week’s episode of WWE After the Bell.
• ESPN has an article where WWE wrestlers detail the most brutal bumps they’ve taken in their careers.
• Cosmopolitan UK interviewed Becky Lynch.
• British GQ has a profile on Seth Rollins’ home life.
• WWE filed trademarks for “Zeus” and “Nyx” on June 27.

AEW/Other Wrestling

• A “Country Whipping” match between Mance Warner and Sam Adonis is set for MLW Never Say Never on Saturday, July 8. The show is taking place in Philadelphia and will air live on Fite+. MLW wrote about the stipulation: “Both combatants will be armed with unforgiving leather straps. The objective: beat the hell out one another with a leather strap until the other can’t take it and pin him.”
• On AEW Unrestricted this week, Adam Cole, Evil Uno, and Nik Sobic discussed AEW’s Fight Forever video game. Sobic is AEW’s senior vice president of business development, partnerships, and video games.

Daily Update

Latest News

• WWE SmackDown spoilers from London: Roman Reigns appears
• Former WWE wrestler Darren ‘Droz’ Drozdov passes away at 54
• WWE Money in the Bank preview & predictions: Wrestling’s summer in England begins
• Bayley says she ‘begs’ Mercedes Mone to return to WWE
• Rapper Lil Uzi Vert releases ‘Nakamura’ song
• NJPW announces ‘Reiwa Three Musketeers,’ new members respond

Latest Audio

• Wrestling Observer Live: Death of Darren Drozdov, huge weekend previews and more
• Fight Game: What’s the best pro wrestling event of 2023 so far?
• Bryan & Vinny Show: AEW Dynamite with Forbidden Door fallout, Gold Rush week two
• Big Audio Nightmare: Forbidden Door thoughts, incredible Stardom cage match

See Dave & Bryan in London

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

• July 3, 2023 Observer Newsletter: AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door recap, WWE Money in the Bank preview

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

• May 8, 2006 Observer Newsletter: ECW, WWE Backlash review

Moderators needed:

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 will be doing a special Observer Radio show today with some guests talking current news as well as the Hall of Fame. For the weekend, Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night talking Money in the Bank, Darren Drozdov and the latest news.

– Very sad news today with the death of Darren Drozdov, who faced worse adversity than almost all of us but kept a great disposition about it. Drozdov ended up a quadriplegic for a while, although regained use of his upper body, from a neck injury landing from a powerbomb by D-Lo Brown on October 5, 1999, at the Nassau Coliseum. He landed on his head and broke two vertebrae in his neck, and underwent immediate surgery. He remained part of WWF/WWE for several years doing writing and Internet shows. He only wrestled a brief period of time before the accident. His injuries were such that he needed 24 hour a day medical care.

Drozdov, who was 54, was a former NFL player with the Denver Broncos before pro wrestling. He had some NFL notoriety because he once vomited during a Monday Night Football game right on the ball. He had the ability to puke at will which impressed Vince McMahon in a very strange segment in the movie “Beyond the Mat.” He was at one point made the third Road Warrior, likely with the idea Hawk was needing to be replaced because of his own issues. It was a tough position to be put in that position so early in his career. Nobody ever said anything bad about him and he never put any blame on Brown for the accident.

– A big new issue of the Observer is out today. It features:

• Fan reactions and poll for Forbidden Door
• Thoughts on the Omega-Ospreay and Okada-Danielson matches, as well as the difference in match of the years today with in the past that is concerning. We look at the Omega-Ospreay storyline, the business record that was set in Toronto as well as PPV numbers, theater numbers, what we learned, the Okada-Danielson finish and the situation with C.M. Punk.
• We have the biggest money live events in AEW history, match-by-match coverage, Danielson, Sting, Tony Khan and others talk after the show and more
• A look at Money in the Bank and its unique record that was quietly set
• Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show
• Business notes on the show
• What’s next for the top people on the show
• The most detailed look at the ratings of all the wrestling shows this past week, talking competition, ranking, segment-by-segment, the unique change in the Raw audience this week as well as the low rating for AEW and notes on that
• Early Fantastica Mania notes
• 64th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of its legendary arenas that likely has had more shows than all but a few in history
• Notes on AAA’s next major show after TripleMania in Tijuana
• Stardom PPV notes
• Next Stardom PPV card
• Stardom Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
• Battle of two people who trained together as youths sells out standing room tickets at Korakuen Hall weeks ahead of time
• The new three Musketeers in New Japan and thoughts
• Update on this week’s New Japan major shows
• A look in detail about the movie “Iron Claw” about the heyday of the Von Erichs and the collapse of their empire along with thoughts on it
• One of the best wrestlers of the 90s and 00s goes into a sports Hall of Fame
• Outsports talks about the most powerful LGBTQ+ people in the sports world including many from both pro wrestling and MMA
• Notes on Ross Forman, who works backstage at Impact, making the list and his background and thoughts
• WWC 50th anniversary show draws huge crowd in Puerto Rico and rundown of the show
• Impact notes from the next few weeks of TV
• AEW video game notes
• Jim Ross update
• Danielson talks Okada
• Variety says AEW TV show deserves an Emmy nomination
• Upcoming ticket sales for all WWE & AEW shows
• Anthony Bowens felt crowd reaction was a real breakthrough, as does a reader who grew up in Chicago
• Ariel Helwani responds to Tony Khan
• What percentage of revenue did UFC fighters make last year
• Lots of new UFC fights
• Fighter rebounding from nearly fatal heart attack
• Lots of notes on Vince McMahon and WWE
• Notes on what happens with the new company, how much money Vince made WWE by staying and what percentage of the new company he will own
• Notes on ideas for changes in NXT and main roster shows
• WWE injury updates
• International TV ratings
• WWE top streaming segments for the week

– SmackDown was taped earlier today in London. Spoilers for the show can be found here.

– We will be doing a poll on Money in the Bank tomorrow, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

– MITB from the O2 Arena in London looks strong on paper with this lineup:

• Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan for the women’s tag titles
• Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio
• Gunther vs. Matt Riddle for the IC tile
• Women’s MITB: Iyo Sky, Bayley, Zoey Stark, Trish Stratus, Becky Lynch and Zelina Vega
• Men’s MITB: Shinsuke Nakamura, Logan Paul, Damian Priest, LA Knight, Butch, Ricochet and Santos Escobar
• Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the world title
• Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs. Usos

We have a lot of notes on the show in the current Observer up on the site.

– Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. on TNT has:

• Matt Hardy & Brother Zay vs. QT Marshall & Johnny TV (Morrison)
• Hikaru Shida vs. Taya Valkyrie
• Shawn Spears vs. The Blade
• Claudio Castagnoli vs. Komander for the ROH title (I believe this will open the show)

– UFC tomorrow will air on ESPN from 4-10 p.m. Eastern:

• Alexandr Romanov (264) vs. Blagoy Ivanov (259)
• Ivana Petrovic (125.5) vs. Luana Carolina (126)
• Guram Kutateladze (155) vs. Elves Brener (155)
• Joanderson Brito (145.5) vs.; Westin Wilson (146)
• Yana Santos (144.5) vs. Karol Rosa (146)
• Kevin Lee (171) vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (171)
• Brunno Ferreira (185) vs. Nursulton Raziboev (183.5)
• Ismael Bonfim (156) vs. Benoit Saint Denis (156)
• Ariane Lipski (126) vs. Melissa Gatto (125.5)
• Max Griffin (170.5) vs. Michael Morales (170.5)
• Damir Ismagulov (156) vs. Grant Dawson (156)
• Sean Strickland (186) vs. Abus Magomedov (186)

– Terry Funk turned 79 today. Today is also the birthday of Cody Rhodes (38) and Dax Harwood (39). Terry Funk is one of the greatest in-ring performers of all-time and one of the most open minded as well. I’ll never be able to thank him enough for teaching me to embrace all styles that work and not ignore them because they are new. At a time when almost all males shunned Japanese women wrestling, he told me I had to study them because they were the look into the future of both men and women wrestling, and those 80s matches were far ahead of their time. He was a genius performer inside the ring.

– Thanks to everyone who helped out with the show reports in the U.K. and Ontario over the past week. The new issue has complete coverage and business notes of every WWE and AEW show this past week. Thanks to Amin Anjani, Matty Barker, Sarah Brooks, Joe Del Busso,David Dully, Kevin Durata, Steve Khan, Jamie Logie, Stephen Lyon, Leonardo Mendez Toledo, Matt Murphy, William Rauch, Jonathan Smith, Jeff Zinger, Shannon Walsh and Fox Whittaker.

– We’re looking for reports on these shows:

• WWE today in Newcastle, England
• Dark matches from Smackdown today in London
• WWE Sunday in Cardiff, Wales
• We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights from these events.

– The Junior Dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum fight we wrote about last week is currently set for Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Fighter Bare Knuckle MMA promotion show on 9/8 in Jacksonville. This is actually a throwback to the early years of UFC and Pancrase, which didn’t allow gloves, until Tank Abbott changed the game. The original UFC and Pancrase featured a lot more grappling and submissions because of not allowing gloves.

Other Notes

– Combate Global is heavily marketing Jimmie Pace Jr., who fights tomorrow night, under the name Jimbo Slice. Slice (2-0) will face Boris Garcia (2-1). The show airs on Paramount + at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific time. That’s an earlier start that the promotion usually has for its Saturday night shows and Combate just sent us the new start time this morning so this was a late change.

– Nikki Garcia, the former Nikki Bella, will be competing in the American Cornhole League’s Johnsonville SuperHole IV TV event on Friday night in Milwaukee at the Summerfest Music Festival in a celebrity charity match. The show airs live this coming Friday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.

– PWP runs tomorrow night in Omaha, NE at the Waiting Room Lounge built around Tommy Dreamer.

– W3L Box office tonight started streaming the last match of Doug Williams. The service has matches and full events dating back more than 20 years.

– The El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander match from Defy in Portland went out last night at Wremix World Premier. The entire show is free to stream.

Daily Update

Latest News

• WWE NXT ratings down, ranks second on cable
• Billy Corgan clarifies ‘you’re not a wrestling fan’ quote about NWA champion Tyrus
• Impact announces Tag Team title match for Slammiversary
• AEW Grand Slam returning this September
• WWE NXT spoilers for July 4 episode
• New matches announced for Impact Down Under pay-per-views
• AEW Fight Forever review: A good start

Latest Audio

• Wrestling Observer Live: AEW Dynamite preview, WORLD FAMOUS NXT wrap, more
• We’re Live, Pal: Did we just witness the match of the year?
• DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Hulk Hogan vs. Abdullah the Butcher ’82
• Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn Show: NWA-TNA from 21 years ago this week, plus GRANNY~!

See Dave & Bryan in London

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

• June 26, 2023 Observer Newsletter: CM Punk returns on AEW Collision debut, Forbidden Door preview

In this issue:

• The Punk interview and 1 Bill Phil
• Tony Khan talks about the 1 Bill Phil comment
• The business of AEW and profit/loss
• The different ways this all could go in detail
• Positives and negatives about working for AEW and WWE
• The Collision announce team
• The most detailed look at Collision ratings and what category was it tops among sports during the week
• What TNT was doing in the time slot, what should be expected and what would be considered good
• How each segment did
• The Marc Raimondi ESPN piece
• Punk talks Adam Page
• Contradictory stories
• Original idea for Collision that changed
• Full rundown of both Chicago shows with business notes
• Preview of Forbidden Door and what business mark for AEW may be set and where it ranks all-time among Canadian gates
• Notes on Danielson vs. Okada and Omega vs. Ospreay
• Notes on PPV
• The rest of the card
• The Owen Hart tournament
• Update on Wembley Stadium
• Rickson Gracie battles Parkinson’s and a look back at a fighting legend in the underground days as well as his battles with a famous pro wrestler in Brazil
• Money in the Bank update
• Notes on Saturday’s UFC show
• Tons of new major matches announced by UFC for the summer and fall
• The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling and MMA shows over the past week, how they do with different age groups, segment-by-segment and what WWE stars moved numbers big this past week
• First wrestling company in history to hit 90 years consecutively in business
• Multiple cities doing a 40th anniversary celebration for a Hall of Famer
• Konnan talks heavily about Bandido and Rush
• An issue with women’s wrestling fans in Japan
• How the women’s wrestling fan base in Japan has changed multiple times
• What happened to the key young Dragon Gate talent that was let go
• Two wrestlers who started together, became big stars in different companies, have a dream match that sold out instantly
• N-1 tournament including surprise entrants
• New Japan Strong shows in Japan
• A bill introduced in New York regarding regulating pro wrestling
• Lots of injury updates
• More on the MLW lawsuit against WWE
• Impact stars on major television show in Canada
• More on B.J. Whitmer case
• Tony Khan talks working with Gedo and where AEW stands among start-ups in the sports brand space
• Tony Khan talks Bill Goldberg
• Update on Bandido
• International TV ratings and streaming numbers for WWE and AEW
• Ticket sale updates for all the major shows for WWE & AEW
• Talks regarding the sale of Bellator, rumors about Tony Khan being interested and he shoots them down
• Tons of drug suspensions handed out this week
• Gable Steveson debuts on TV and what his goals for 2024 are

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

• May 8, 2006 Observer Newsletter: ECW, WWE Backlash review

Moderators needed:

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.

Wednesday Update

WWE

• In a video for Cool Kicks, Dave Bautista confirmed that he was supposed to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year but couldn’t attend the ceremony because he was filming a movie: “I was in South Africa. I was supposed to go into the Hall of Fame, but I was on this film I was committed to. I couldn’t get out of it.”
• Baron Corbin returned to his Lone Wolf character for his match against Carmelo Hayes on NXT Gold Rush last night.
• Nathan Frazer tweeted after defeating Dragon Lee on NXT: “Dragon Lee is a dude who I used to watch to get inspiration from on my way up. And to beat him tonight… it’s literally the biggest win of my career so far. Just reminds me of how far I’ve come. Cheers for the war @dragonlee95, proud to call you a friend”
• Tiffany Stratton was the guest on this week’s episode of Out of Character. Stratton addressed how much of herself is in her TV character: “I would say a lot of it is kind of just my inner thoughts. It’s just me actually saying it. Honestly, if I’m going to be real, I kind of just take what I think and I like to turn it up a bunch of notches. I’m a very irritable person. It’s not a good trait to have, but I guess it is for the character of Tiffany Stratton.”
• Sgt. Slaughter told Bill Apter that he watches less WWE programming than he used to because of Lacey Evans using the Cobra Clutch:
• I don’t watch it [WWE] as much as I did, cause I’m a little upset — I watch more Raw because SmackDown has Lacey on it. I don’t want to get — it doesn’t upset me because I know she can’t put a Cobra Clutch on like I do, but it’s just the thought that she’s using a move without — at least I would think the writer or somebody would call me up and say, ‘Hey, you mind if we use the Cobra Clutch?’
• Or maybe call it something else because [Ted] DiBiase [Sr.] brought it in when I was gone with G.I. Joe and he used it as the Million Dollar Dream, the Cobra Clutch was the Million Dollar Dream. She could have maybe come up with another name of it, but just to call it the Cobra Clutch — I had to end up using the Camel Clutch when I came back [in 1990] because DiBiase was using my hold. So I asked Khosrow [Iron Sheik], I said ‘Is it okay if I use your move?’ And he said, ‘Yes, Sergeant, it would be an honor for you to use that.’
• That’s the way the business was. You respected your talent, and the people that you worked with. I never would have used it unless he said yes, use it, because he’s the one who made it famous.
• Jake Paul spoke to Sports Illustrated about his brother Logan competing in Money in the Bank: “There’s no doubt in my mind he will win. At the end of the day, he’s an entertainer and a super athlete. He can do backflips, the splits, kip-ups, and he’s been creating his own moves out here training in Puerto Rico. He’s creative. That’s what the sport is built around: creativity. We’re hated in these worlds, and we fit perfectly into those characters.”
• On Foley is Pod, Mick Foley celebrated the 25th anniversary of his Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker from King of the Ring 1998.
• WWE wrestlers recalled where they were when the Undertaker vs. Foley Hell in a Cell match happened.
• Trish Stratus, Zoey Stark, Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, and Sam Roberts were on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon.

AEW/Other Wrestling

• A trios match with Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee & El Hijo del Vikingo facing Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker has been added to the lineup for tonight’s Dynamite.
• IGN published its review of AEW Fight Forever, rating the game a six out of 10:
• ‘Unrealized potential’ feels like the story of AEW: Fight Forever as a whole. So much of it feels like a very good start, going full gear with bouncy animations, the quick pace of the action, and fun and effective character design. But almost all of its good ideas are hampered by bugs and opaque or outright useless systems. Its big single-player mode is poorly written and, though it’s a relative breeze to complete and full of branching options, it’s all out of good ways to point you to them. There’s a strong foundation to bet double or nothing on in a sequel down the road, and I think there’s still fun to be had here with like-minded friends who are content with casually beating each other up, but this is no wrestling game revolution.
• Our Bryan Rose also has a review of Fight Forever. The game’s official release date is tomorrow.
• Due to illness, Max Caster will no longer be competing at this Thursday’s Wrestling Open show in Worcester, Massachusetts. Caster was scheduled to face Richard Holliday at the event. Holliday will still be wrestling against a new opponent.
• Last night’s Junkyard Dog episode of Dark Side of the Ring averaged 229,000 viewers on Vice TV. That’s up from the 201,000 viewers last week’s Doink the Clown/Matt Borne documentary averaged. The rating in the 18-49 demo was down slightly, going from a 0.07 to a 0.06.
• The trailer for “The Collective,” which Mercedes Mone has a role in, has been released. The movie is set to be released on August 4. Here’s the description for it:
• A group of righteous assassins called The Collective take aim at a highly sophisticated human trafficking ring backed by a network of untouchable billionaires. With their backs against the wall, The Collective has no choice but to put their most important mission in the hands of rookie assassin Sam Alexander.
• Jacob Fatu will defend his National Openweight title against Calvin Tankman at MLW Never Say Never in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 8. The show is airing live on Fite+.

Daily Update

Latest News

• Women’s Tag Team title match official for WWE Money in the Bank
• Impact Friday TV taping spoilers: Former WWE NXT wrestler returns
• UFC on ABC 5 live results: Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria
• WWE SmackDown video highlights: The Usos lay out Solo Sikoa

Latest Audio

• Wrestling Observer Live: Dismantling age-old stereotypes
• Wrestling Observer Radio: CM Punk’s return to AEW, Forbidden Door preview

See Dave & Bryan in London

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

• June 26, 2023 Observer Newsletter: CM Punk returns on AEW Collision debut, Forbidden Door preview

In this issue:

• The Punk interview and 1 Bill Phil
• Tony Khan talks about the 1 Bill Phil comment
• The business of AEW and profit/loss
• The different ways this all could go in detail
• Positives and negatives about working for AEW and WWE
• The Collision announce team
• The most detailed look at Collision ratings and what category was it tops among sports during the week
• What TNT was doing in the time slot, what should be expected and what would be considered good
• How each segment did
• The Marc Raimondi ESPN piece
• Punk talks Adam Page
• Contradictory stories
• Original idea for Collision that changed
• Full rundown of both Chicago shows with business notes
• Preview of Forbidden Door and what business mark for AEW may be set and where it ranks all-time among Canadian gates
• Notes on Danielson vs. Okada and Omega vs. Ospreay
• Notes on PPV
• The rest of the card
• The Owen Hart tournament
• Update on Wembley Stadium
• Rickson Gracie battles Parkinson’s and a look back at a fighting legend in the underground days as well as his battles with a famous pro wrestler in Brazil
• Money in the Bank update
• Notes on Saturday’s UFC show
• Tons of new major matches announced by UFC for the summer and fall
• The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling and MMA shows over the past week, how they do with different age groups, segment-by-segment and what WWE stars moved numbers big this past week
• First wrestling company in history to hit 90 years consecutively in business
• Multiple cities doing a 40th anniversary celebration for a Hall of Famer
• Konnan talks heavily about Bandido and Rush
• An issue with women’s wrestling fans in Japan
• How the women’s wrestling fan base in Japan has changed multiple times
• What happened to the key young Dragon Gate talent that was let go
• Two wrestlers who started together, became big stars in different companies, have a dream match that sold out instantly
• N-1 tournament including surprise entrants
• New Japan Strong shows in Japan
• A bill introduced in New York regarding regulating pro wrestling
• Lots of injury updates
• More on the MLW lawsuit against WWE
• Impact stars on major television show in Canada
• More on B.J. Whitmer case
• Tony Khan talks working with Gedo and where AEW stands among start-ups in the sports brand space
• Tony Khan talks Bill Goldberg
• Update on Bandido
• International TV ratings and streaming numbers for WWE and AEW
• Ticket sale updates for all the major shows for WWE & AEW
• Talks regarding the sale of Bellator, rumors about Tony Khan being interested and he shoots them down
• Tons of drug suspensions handed out this week
• Gable Steveson debuts on TV and what his goals for 2024 are

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

• May 1, 2006 Observer Newsletter: WWE/ECW, Brock Lesnar

Moderators needed:

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.

Saturday Update

WWE

• Last night’s SmackDown averaged 2.25 million viewers in the fast national ratings, down slightly from last week’s fast national average of 2.278 million. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.6.
• Three matches that had been announced for SmackDown didn’t take place. Bayley vs. Shotzi, LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar vs. Butch, and Cameron Grimes vs. Baron Corbin were set for last night’s show but removed from advertising before it started. The triple threat was changed to a singles match with Knight defeating Rey Mysterio.
• Bayley’s women’s Money in the Bank ladder match spot was supposed to be on the line against Shotzi. Bayley tweeted today: “Card subject to change..Sorry. Sorry you couldn’t watch me beat dat ass”
• Bianca Belair and Montez Ford renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas: “Happy 5 Years! We renewed our vows on our 5 Year Anniversary! Even though we meant our vows the 1st time we said them! And I’ll marry you over and over and over again. @montezfordwwe was suppose to propose at the Grand Canyon 5 years ago but got too excited and proposed in the parking lot on the way to the airport! Lol so we took it back to Vegas 5 years later to renew our vows!”
• Less than a month after undergoing neck fusion surgery, Braun Strowman noted that he’s gotten the green light to resume light weight training: “Just got the green light to start light weight training again!!!! Time to rebuild the #Monster”
• LA Knight challenged King Charles to a fight when WWE comes to London: “I gotta go to the top man and run for King Charles. I know he’s old and beaten down and you know busted up, but I’ve got to take the crown.”
• In celebration of the 25th anniversary of his debut, Edge reacted to the greatest moments from his career.
• Charlotte Flair, Grayson Waller, and Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler were interviewed on The SmackDown LowDown.
• Becky Lynch was the guest on the latest episode of WWE After the Bell.

AEW/Other Wrestling

• AEW uploaded its Countdown special for Forbidden Door.
• Our Josh Nason previewed Forbidden Door for Sports Illustrated.
• Hiroshi Tanahashi named some opponents he’d like to face if he wins the AEW World Championship:
• [Claudio] Castagnoli is a great wrestler. I know that he used to team with Shinsuke Nakamura, and that was an emotional link for me. I’d love to have a singles match against him.
• And I want to wrestle CM Punk since I couldn’t do it last year. I have wrestled Bryan Danielson once before when I was younger. But with him being one of the top wrestlers in the U.S. and the world right now, I’d love for us to go again.
• Anthony Bowens responded to the positive “he’s gay” chants he received from the crowd while interacting with Harley Cameron on Rampage: “If ya told me years ago, I’d have an arena chanting HE’S GAY at me in the most POSITIVE of ways, I’d say you’re crazy. It’s pretty cool to see how far we’ve come. Still more work to do. Happy Pride #AEWRampage”
• Tony Khan was interviewed on CNBC this week
• Aubrey Edwards was a guest on the Battleground Podcast.
• Rocky Romero appeared on AEW Unrestricted.

Daily Update

Latest News

• AEW: Fight Forever roster revealed
• Bryan Danielson: I’ve wanted Kazuchika Okada match ‘for so long’
• Mickie James reportedly cleared to return to action, remains a free agent
• Triple threat match announced for WWE SmackDown
• WWE’s Becky Lynch opens up about struggle with post-weaning depression

Latest Audio

• Wrestling Observer Live: All the news in advance of a packed AEW and WWE weekend
• Wrestling Weekly: AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door predictions, The Bloodline implode
• Fight Game: Expectations for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
• Bryan & Vinny Show: Dynamite go-home show for Forbidden Door, NXT with Bron vs. Seth

See Dave & Bryan in London

Latest Free YouTube Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFvMoeim8YM

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

• June 26, 2023 Observer Newsletter: CM Punk returns on AEW Collision debut, Forbidden Door preview

In this issue:

• The Punk interview and 1 Bill Phil
• Tony Khan talks about the 1 Bill Phil comment
• The business of AEW and profit/loss
• The different ways this all could go in detail
• Positives and negatives about working for AEW and WWE
• The Collision announce team
• The most detailed look at Collision ratings and what category was it tops among sports during the week
• What TNT was doing in the time slot, what should be expected and what would be considered good
• How each segment did
• The Marc Raimondi ESPN piece 
• Punk talks Adam Page
• Contradictory stories
• Original idea for Collision that changed
• Full rundown of both Chicago shows with business notes
• Preview of Forbidden Door and what business mark for AEW may be set and where it ranks all-time among Canadian gates
• Notes on Danielson vs. Okada and Omega vs. Ospreay
• Notes on PPV
• The rest of the card
• The Owen Hart tournament
• Update on Wembley Stadium
• Rickson Gracie battles Parkinson’s and a look back at a fighting legend in the underground days as well as his battles with a famous pro wrestler in Brazil
• Money in the Bank update
• Notes on Saturday’s UFC show
• Tons of new major matches announced by UFC for the summer and fall
• The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling and MMA shows over the past week, how they do with different age groups, segment-by-segment and what WWE stars moved numbers big this past week
• First wrestling company in history to hit 90 years consecutively in business
• Multiple cities doing a 40th anniversary celebration for a Hall of Famer
• Konnan talks heavily about Bandido and Rush
• An issue with women’s wrestling fans in Japan
• How the women’s wrestling fan base in Japan has changed multiple times
• What happened to the key young Dragon Gate talent that was let go
• Two wrestlers who started together, became big stars in different companies, have a dream match that sold out instantly
• N-1 tournament including surprise entrants
• New Japan Strong shows in Japan
• A bill introduced in New York regarding regulating pro wrestling
• Lots of injury updates
• More on the MLW lawsuit against WWE
• Impact stars on major television show in Canada
• More on B.J. Whitmer case
• Tony Khan talks working with Gedo and where AEW stands among start-ups in the sports brand space
• Tony Khan talks Bill Goldberg
• Update on Bandido
• International TV ratings and streaming numbers for WWE and AEW
• Ticket sale updates for all the major shows for WWE & AEW
• Talks regarding the sale of Bellator, rumors about Tony Khan being interested and he shoots them down
• Tons of drug suspensions handed out this week
• Gable Steveson debuts on TV and what his goals for 2024 are

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

• May 1, 2006 Observer Newsletter: WWE/ECW, Brock Lesnar

Moderators needed:

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

Garrett Gonzales and I will be back today talking the week in wrestling, and previewing upcoming shows. Bryan and I will be back Sunday night after the Forbidden Door show.

The new issue of the Observer is out today and the lead story is a very detailed look at the debut of Collision, the return of C.M. Punk, and the many different ways it can go. It’s funny that one sentence 7,000 words in is the focal point when the actual story goes into so much detail on both the potential good and bad.

AEW revealed the Fight Forever roster.

We will be doing a poll this weekend on Forbidden Door, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

Smackdown tonight is in Lafayette, LA:

• Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey vs. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn face off to unify the WWE and NXT tag team titles 
• Shotzi vs. Bayley for the MITB spot 
• Santos Escobar vs. Butch vs. LA Knight 
• Baron Corbin vs. Cameron Grimes
• They had about 8,100 tickets out as of this morning for the show.

Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. on TNT:

• Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb & Kyle Fletcher & Swerve Strickland vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta & Chuck Taylor & Yoh
• The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn trios match
• Anna Jay vs. Sky Blue in the Owen Hart tournament
• Jack Perry vs. Douki
• This is also the first Rampage that MJF appears on and Adam Cole is also on the show.

We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows:

• Smackdown tonight in Lafayette, LA (dark matches only)
• NXT tonight in Fort Pierce, FL
• Impact TV tapings tonight in Atlanta
• WWE house show tomorrow night in Monroe, LA
• NXT tomorrow night in Citrus Springs, FL
• Impact TV tapings tonight in Atlanta
• AEW tapings tomorrow night in Toronto (ROH and dark tapings, anything not on the live show) 
• WWE House show on Sunday in Mobile, AL
• We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights as well as angle notes from the Impact tapings to [email protected]

Impact tonight at Center Stage for a TV taping:

• Alex Shelley vs. Brian Myers
• Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taylor Wilde
• Chris Sabin vs. Trey Miguel
• Gisele Shaw vs. Courtney Rush
• Angels vs. Jonathan Gresham
• KiLynn King vs. Masha Slamovich

UFC runs a show on ABC tomorrow from Jacksonville, FL. The show will air from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, followed by 3-6 p.m. on ABC:

ESPN bouts

• Sedriques Dumas (185) vs. Cody Brundage (185)
• Jamall Emmers (146) vs. Jack Jenkins (145.5)
• Trevor Peek (156) vs. Chepe Mariscal (154)
• Zhalgas Zhumagulov (125.5) vs. Joshua Van (125.25)
• Tabatha Ricci (114) vs. Gillian Robertson (116)
• Mateuesz Rebecki (155.5) vs. Loik Radzhabov (157.25) – Radzhabov was fined 20 percent of the purse for missing weight
• Randy Brown (171) vs. Wellington Turman (171)
• Neil Magny (171) vs. Phil Rowe (171)

ABC bouts

• Brendan Allen (185.5) vs. Bruno Silva (186)
• David Obnama (146) vs. Gabriel Santos (145)
• Austen Lane (245.5) vs. Justin Tafa (265)
• Amanda Ribas (125) vs. Maycee Barber (126)
• Josh Emmett (145.5) vs. Ilia Topuria (146)

These are the latest odds for Money in the Bank from BetOnline:

• Seth Rollins -2000 Finn Balor +700
• Usos -150 Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa +110
• Men’s match: LA Knight -200 Logan Paul +125 Damien Priest +150 Ricochet +2000 Santos Escobar +2000 Shinsuke Nakamura +2000 Butch +2000
• Women’s match: Iyo Sky -250 Becky Lynch +200 Bayley +500 Zoey Stark +800 Trish Stratus +2000 Zelina Vega +2000
• Cody Rhodes -700 Dominik Mysterio +400

Former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is moving moving to 125 pounds to face Manon Fiorot on 9/2 in Paris, France. MMA Junkie was the first to report this match. 

Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann was reported by MMA Junkie to be taking place on 8/26 in Kallang, Singapore in a rematch of a fight that Smith won via first round submission.

Other Notes

Tommy Dreamer is doing a seminar for experienced wrestlers on 7/1 in Omaha. The cost is $60. If interested you can email [email protected] Dreamer will also be wrestling on the PWP show that night in Omaha.

AFN, the video-streaming service geared toward those in the U.S.milarty stationed or assigned overseas, and Power Slap, announced a partnership this week. Service members can now watch the first season of Power Slap and the first major show for free on the platform.

Dwight Gooden will be working with ISPW tomorrow. Tonight the compan7y has a show in Belvedere, NJ at the Belvedere High School. Crowbar vs. Anthony Greene and Bull James vs. Rey Calitri are announced. There is a 6:30 p.m. meet and greet with Jimmy Hart. Gooden will be at the ISPW booth at the Garden State Comic Fest in Morristown, NJ at the Mennan Sports Arena tomorrow, with Jimmy Hart.

On Jeopardy last night, the returning champion, who has said he’s a fan of martial arts, was doing the Wanderlei Silva wrist roll (thanks to William Rausch)

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander headlines tomorrow night’s Defy show in Portland, OR at theWonder Ballroom. The Second Gear Crew faces the Bollywood Boyz plus Laredo Kid vs. Aramis vs. Gringo Loco. You must be over the age of 21 to attend.

A new streaming service called Wremix debuted last night. It’s a free ad-supported platform that featured a Defy show as its debut featuring the KENTA vs. Nick Wayne match.

OLGB came up with a list of the ten most cost-effective sports personalities on Cameo, taking into account cost, ratings, worth and social media following. The top ten, in order, are Matt Hardy, Kurt Angle, Santino Marella, Paul Gasol (basketball), Rob Van Dam, Fred Jackson (football), Josh Cribbs (football), Jeremy Roenick (Hockey), Greg Jennings (football) and James White (football).

Santana Garrett has been added to the WOW promotion for its next set of TV tapings on 8/2 and 8/3 at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles.

Daily Update

Latest News

• WWE Raw ratings rebound with no NBA playoff competition
• Mercedes Mone eyed for role in Bad Bunny Spider-Man spinoff film
• Tony & Shad Khan reportedly showed interest in buying Bellator MMA
• AEW Collision premiere tops 800k viewers, beats Dynamite in demo
• Impact notes: Weekend TV taping lineups, new DAZN UK TV deal
• AEW’s Don Callis plans to add new members to his ‘family’

Latest Audio

• Wrestling Observer Live: Collision ratings for debut show, Dynamite preview, NXT review
• Pacific Rim: AEW’s Tony Khan talks his fandom of puroresu
• Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn: 21 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK IN NWA-TNA BEGINS, plus Granny!
• We’re Live, Pal: Tell CM Punk when he’s telling lies

See Dave & Bryan in London

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

• June 19, 2023 Observer Newsletter: AEW Collision & WWE’s TV rights future, Conor McGregor accused of sexual assault

In this issue:

• Match of the week and performer of the week
• The debut of Collision, AEW’s ratings decline and reasons and what the return of Punk will tell us
• The problems Collision will have from the get go
• Why the success of Collision is so important financially to AEW
• The reaction as far as cheering and booing for Punk outside of Chicago and what is far more important than booing or cheering
• Oversaturation of television in the marketplace
• Ticket sales for Collision and all AEW & WWE events this summer
• Update on WWE negotiations
• Value of WWE to a new station with interest
• The situation with WBD and potentially getting WWE
• How many homes the key stations that could carry WWE & AEW are in right now
• Conor McGregor sexual assault charge
• Lawyer Eric Anderson breaks down the judges ruling to continue the MLW lawsuit against WWE, WWE’s arguments on antitrust, the judges reaction and what comes next
• B.J. Whitmer fired
• Full details on G-1 Climax tournament, the blocks, the favorites, the key matches and some storylines to look for going in
• Update on the Forbidden Door show and business and key things to learn from about the business results
• UFC 289 coverage including the retirement of Amanda Nunes, why, what about the titles she retires and other storyline notes from the most recent show and business notes as well
• Updates on WWE Money in the Bank
• Full coverage of All Together Now, the Japanese show with New Japan, All Japan and NOAH’s top talent and how it went down
• Coverage of Final X
• The most detailed look at the ratings of the wrestling and MMA shows this past week, with key breakdowns, segment-by-segment, who watches, rankings in sports and entertainment for the week
• An attempt to make a superstar with a new character later this month
• Update on Rush in AAA and TripleMania
• New Japan Strong goes to Japan
• More on the longest world title reigns in wrestling history
• Movie on wrestling star to be released in September
• Against All Odds results and Slammiversary notes
• New AEW hires
• What was Brock Lesnar’s biggest-ever one night payoff?
• Jon Jones and Tyson Fury talk business
• XFL business notes
• Lots of injury updates

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

• May 1, 2006 Observer Newsletter: WWE/ECW, Brock Lesnar

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Wednesday Update

WWE

• After last night’s NXT went off the air, Seth Rollins gave a speech to the crowd. Rollins retained his World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker in the main event of the episode.
• Dana Brooke posted a tweet responding to the negative reaction she received from the crowd during her match against Cora Jade on NXT: “Alright I get it, y’all think I suck….Got it, NOTED, Awesome….. &…..”
• Rhea Ripley told the Under the Ring podcast that she and Dominik Mysterio barely talked to each other before joining The Judgment Day:
• We barely talked before this whole Judgment Day thing. Like we said, ‘Hi, how are you,’ and that was about it. But watching our chemistry just sort of blossom and grow week by week and we’re getting more comfortable with each other, which is fantastic. It’s been really fun and also getting to watch him grow as a performer and blossom and get more confident week in and week out has been very rewarding as well. I feel like since we’re both like around the same age, I’m 26, he’s 25, I feel like our minds are very similar and we just want to go out there and be chaotic and be menacers and just have fun, so that’s pretty much what we’re doing. We’re just going out there and we’re having fun and reacting off of each other and growing our bond. I think people are seeing that in a way and it makes it easy for them to follow and it makes it easy for them to understand what’s going on. I think it’s been fun for people to see how much we’ve grown together, but we’re having the time of our lives.
• Sheamus said in an interview with Metro
• that he doesn’t think WWE has really capitalized on The Brawling Brutes as a group:
• I just don’t think they’ve really capitalized on the group, I don’t think they’ve really let us show what we can do. This stop/start stuff is really hard when you’re trying to highlight young talent.
• It’s frustrating, you know? So I dunno, maybe we’ll get an opportunity to show what we can really do as a group because a lot of those other groups who are out there now have definitely got an opportunity that we haven’t had to do some storyline stuff, some character stuff.
• That’s kinda been a shame, mate, to be honest, considering the talent that’s in there.
• Pretty Deadly and Raquel Rodriguez were guests on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon.
• WWE commentator Kevin Patrick was interviewed on Out of Character.

AEW/Other Wrestling

• Bryan Alvarez reports that CM Punk is at tonight’s Dynamite, which is being held at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Punk will be appearing on tonight’s show.
• Saraya tweeted that she’ll be in Chicago for Dynamite tonight.
• Tony Khan was a guest on our Pacific Rim podcast with Jim Valley and Fumi Saito.
• In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Alex Shelley said friends from WWE, Japan, and AEW reached out to him after his Impact World Championship win: “I was very grateful that people watched the match and shared the moment with me. I’ve heard from a lot of people I was close with over the past 20 years. People from all over, including WWE and Japan and AEW. I didn’t even recognize some of the numbers at first. It was mind-blowing, it meant the world to me and I responded to every single one of those texts.”
• Gail Kim and Gisele Shaw have been announced as one of the teams for season nine of The Amazing Race Canada. The season, which has already been filmed, premieres on July 4.
• NJPW’s website has an in-character interview with Will Ospreay. He said competing in hostile territory at Forbidden Door in Toronto won’t be an issue for him:
• No, I mean, I grew up in Essex, you know what I mean. It’s a horrible place. There are some nice parts of Essex, but it is a horrible place. I grew up around horrible, nasty people. I grew up going to football stadiums where people were getting stomped on their heads. I just grew up around that. So I fully embrace that, you know what I mean? In more of the sense that, the more you attack me with boos, it just kind of like, fuels me. It gets me off. Without being funny, I almost welcome it.
• And honestly, I’ve been to Canada once, I went for a Ring of Honor show. And it was so f***ing boring, and everybody’s so up their own arse. Like, I don’t know where this notion came from, or all Canadians being so polite and all. Bret Hart, especially. All he ever does is just moan. All the time. He has nothing nice to say about wrestling, so why would you ever want to be near that guy? It’s just- I can’t stand Canada. I really can’t. So it’s going to be very satisfying going into that alien territory and whupping [Kenny Omega] in front of anyone.
• AEW shared a Fight Forever video looking at the exploding barbed wire death match in the game. AEW also has character spotlights on CM Punk, Miro, Anna Jay, and Malakai Black.
• This week’s episode of Tony Schiavone’s What Happened When podcast is an All Japan watchalong with Eddie Kingston.