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Daily Update: Nick Khan, AEW-Australia, Mick Foley

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Among the topics covered:

  • The most detailed look at the sale of New Japan, what happened, the glory days that Bushiroad built and why it came down and what led to the sale.
  • Business realities of Japanese wrestling today.
  • The reason for the surprising low sale price.
  • The shareholders lawsuit against Vince McMahon and the WWE Board of Directors is getting near. Judge Travis Laster orders sanctions against Nick Khan and Vince McMahon for destruction of evidence. Laster makes a ruling, and we look at it in detail, on how this changes the trial and the exact details of the destruction of evidence including when McMahon and company knew not to do it and ignored their own lawyers. Also we look at problems with the case.
  • AEW Double of Nothing coverage. Business notes, historical biggest gates in U.S. pro wrestling, three-time world champions by 30, how the PPV did, poll results, Mick Foley and more.
  • Did Ronda Rousey set a viewing audience record for MMA, plus coverage of Rousey vs. Carano, how everything goes forward, can things be sustained, can she fight, will she fight, her thoughts on AEW.
  • Scott Coker returns to MMA with a new promotion.
  • Marcel Barthel (Ludwig Kaiser) arrested.
  • A look at the career of Jerry Grey.
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the TV shows over the past two weeks.
  • Mistico injury update.
  • How CMLL is doing this year compared to last year.
  • Natalia Jiminez and J Balvin appear and are part of CMLL shows.
  • Wrestlers vs. media soccer game.
  • Grande vs. Grande match looked at.
  • Major return to Stardom.
  • Champion Carnival finals.
  • NOAH tag team tournament.
  • New Japan Best of the Super Juniors tournament.
  • Hana Kimura tribute show.
  • Phil Hickerson passes away.
  • WCW announcer is the final anchor as CBS News Radio closes its doors after 99 years.
  • Death of the Laguna version of Piloto Suicida.
  • Junior Hodge Trophy winner.
  • Advance ticket sales for all major events in AEW, WWE, TNA and other indies.
  • Pro wrestler/fighter on the Rousey-Carano undercard.
  • WWE stars purchase promotion.
  • Tony Khan media appearances.
  • More thoughts on how Paramount/Skydance can affect AEW.
  • What can affect the time slot of Collision in 2027.
  • What’s next for AEW.
  • AEW star to return in the fall.
  • Latest Zuffa myths regarding Trump and UFC.
  • UFC fighter pay comes up again

This Week’s Back Issue

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Wednesday Update

WWE Logo
Official World Wrestling Entertainment logo. (Image credit: WWE)

WWE

  • During his appearance at SBJ On Stage (filmed in April but made available this week), Nick Khan was asked how WWE preserves the fan experience while ticket prices are higher than ever:
    • So here’s the challenge, and I’ll tell you a mistake we made with Canelo-Crawford [boxing match]… we wanted to make sure the upper bowl was priced family friendly. As soon as we put them on sale, the upper bowl was sold out in three minutes. It wasn’t sold out to families. It was sold out to third-party ticket brokers. So we priced it, I think, the cheapest seats at $35. A day later on the third-party broker websites, they were $75 selling. So the marketplace dictates the ticket price.
  • WWE uploaded the full Tony D’Angelo vs. Kam Hendrix NXT Championship match from last night.
  • Cody Rhodes had Brian Koppelman, co-creator of the Showtime series “Billions,” as the guest on his “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast this week.
  • Asuka shared a vlog introducing fans to her new dog named Big Body Boss.
  • AJ Lee made an appearance on The Match-Up from iHeart Women’s Sports.

Other Wrestling

  • Tony Khan told Wide World of Sports that Australia remains an important market for AEW:
    • I absolutely want to come back to Australia. We’ve had incredible events with the fans in both Sydney and Brisbane. I think we’ve built a great audience, our wrestlers are so popular and some of the top stars in AEW are actually from Australia.
    • Given what a great wrestling country it is and how many awesome stars we have in AEW from there, I think we’ve got something really special.
  • While appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Mick Foley was asked if he’s thought about telling Darby Allin that he does not need to take all of the risks he’s taking in the ring:
    • Yes, I will have that conversation. I didn’t think the time to have the conversation was hours before his biggest match [at Double or Nothing]. I’ve been told that people have had that conversation with him. And he says, ‘Everybody does the best stuff on the pay-per-views. I owe it to my fans to do it on every televised event. So, I’ll try to talk with Darby. I didn’t know until about six weeks ago that I was an inspiration in his career…
    • But I will have that talk with him and try to find out, like, it’s got to be another gear where you can allude to the things, give people 80 percent of what you usually do, knowing that the vast majority of his fans will be thankful for what he gives them and they will understand that they might have to wait until a special event to get the 100 percent Derby. I understand many a man has tried and failed, but I’ll give him the best advice I possibly can.
  • Kevin Knight tweeted ahead of his TNT title defense against “Speedball” Mike Bailey on Dynamite:
    • This was never about you Speedball. You and the rest of the sickos don’t understand…So forgive me for what I’m about to do to you tonight. #AewDynamite
  • To promote tonight’s show, Tony Schiavone was interviewed on Virginia This Morning.
  • 101.9 Kiss FM also had Schiavone on as a guest.
  • FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) has been announced for Appalachian Mountain Wrestling’s Super Bowl of Wrestling show in Corbin, Kentucky on August 22.
  • WWE’s Adam Pearce showed his support for Rebel (Tanea Brooks) by sharing the link for her I Am ALS fundraiser.
  • Kerry Morton challenging Thrillbilly Silas Mason for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is official for NWA Hard Times 6 in Atlanta this Saturday. The show is being filmed for future episodes of NWA Power.
  • Stardom wrestlers Saya Kamitani and RINA will be doing meet and greets at MLW’s events in New York City and Philadelphia on June 11-13
  • Eddie Edwards spoke with Scottish Wrestling Network.

Logan Paul reacts to ‘horrible’ WWE triceps injury, feels he owes CM Punk apology

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Logan Paul feels like he owes CM Punk an apology after mocking Punk for tearing his triceps a couple years ago.

At WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on May 23, Paul suffered his own torn triceps while The Vision were defending their World Tag Team titles against The Street Profits. He opened up about the injury on his Impaulsive podcast this week and said he never knew how bad a torn triceps could actually be. When Punk sustained his injury in 2024 and had to miss several months, Paul just thought he was a “p*ssy.”

“I tore my tricep off the bone, and a little piece of bone literally came with the tendon. It’s insane because — I’ll be honest, when CM Punk tore his tricep, I just thought he was a major p*ssy,” Paul said. “I cut a promo about it. I’m like, ‘You tore your wittle tricep?’ When I said it, I was like, ‘I hope this doesn’t ever happen to me.’ And he was just standing there and I remember thinking, ‘The dude tore his tricep. How was he out for six months? How bad could it be? It’s a f***ing tricep.’ It’s horrible.”

Paul explained that his injury happened at the very end of the SNME match in what was the last spot he was set to take part in.

“So what had happened was, I was on the outside, a nearly 300-pound [Angelo] Dawkins comes flying over the ropes,” Paul said. “He lands on me, my arm is flexed in trying to catch him landing on the ground — and too much weight, too much tension. I could feel the tendon snap off the elbow.”

Immediately, Paul knew he was injured and was feeling real pain, not selling like a wrestler typically does. He had to make sure after the match that Bron Breakker was not too rough when raising Paul’s arm in the air.

“I told Austin [Theory[ when we were in the ring, I said, ‘I tore my tricep.’ And he looks at — we’re still working — and he looks at me, he’s like, ‘What? Are you f***ing serious?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.’ And then Bron Breaker goes to raise our arms because we had just won the match,” he said. “And I go, ‘I hurt my arm, I hurt my arm, I hurt my arm.’ And he takes a second. I’m like, ‘Please, careful, careful.’ And then he slowly raises it up and it was fine. But in that moment, I was like, bro, my partner’s about to rip my f***ing arm off more than it already is.”

Mental toll of the injury —

The injury has Paul feeling depressed and “mentally stuck,” which is a very unusual place for him. He cannot see the silver lining in the situation yet. Before this happened, Paul felt like he had a ton of momentum in WWE and was ready to go on a “generational” tag team run with Theory.

Theory is not vacating the World Tag Team titles despite Paul’s injury. Instead, Breakker is filling in with all members of The Vision eligible to defend the belts. Doctors have given Paul a six-month recovery timeline, but he’s already undergone surgery and is working to come back as soon as possible.

Amid Paul’s injury, WWE is considering adding new members to The Vision. Maxxine Dupri potentially joining the faction is a storyline that has already started to play out on television.

Kane ‘really proud’ of Undertaker’s AAA booking success

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Kane is “really proud” of the success his kayfabe brother is having in Lucha Libre AAA creative.

Since WWE’s acquisition of AAA, Undertaker has become an important figure behind the scenes in helping to book the lucha libre promotion. AAA reached the highest point of its WWE era so far last weekend, with the El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) vs. Original El Grande Americano (Chad Gable) mask match receiving praise as one of the best things to happen in pro wrestling all year.

On Mostly Sports with Mark Titus and Brandon Walker today, Kane reacted to how well Undertaker and AAA are doing.

“Man, it’s amazing. I’m so proud of him. He’s running AAA, which WWE bought, a Mexican promotion, and it’s super hot. I think it just shows how talented he is,” Kane said. “He is the only person that could have made The Undertaker believable. Anybody else, they could have never pulled that. Well, his ability in wrestling transcends that even. Now he’s booking and running a company. As you said, hottest match of the year. The promotion is super hot. And I’m just really proud of what he’s doing.”

While Undertaker has stayed around pro wrestling after the conclusion of his in-ring career, Kane — real name Glenn Jacobs — entered politics and is currently serving his final term as mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.

Kaiser defeated Gable in the mask match at Noche de Los Grandes and will now keep the Americano gimmick moving forward. AAA has Triplemania, traditionally its biggest show of the year, coming up on September 11 and 13 with the respective nights being held in Las Vegas and Mexico City.

Undertaker comments on AAA Noche de Los Grandes —

Following Saturday’s event, Undertaker sent out a tweet thanking everyone who watched Noche de Los Grandes and made the atmosphere electric.

“The atmosphere was electric. The world was watching. History was made,” his X account posted. “To all those in attendance in Monterrey and for everyone who watched #AAANocheDeLosGrandes wherever you did…thank you for making it a truly epic night for @luchalibreaaa!”

MJF could be done working US indies ‘for an extraordinarily long time’

Posted on by Ian Carey

After this Friday, MJF says it could be an “extraordinarily long time” before he wrestles on another independent show.

MJF is set to face Bobby Orlando at Beyond Wrestling’s Break the Walls Down on Friday, June 5, in Cranston, Rhode Island. However, during a recent interview with Justin Barrasso of The Undisputed, the AEW World Champion said he needs to focus on his AEW career and pointed to losing the AEW World Championship to Darby Allin back in April as his storyline reason why.

“I’m going to announce that this is probably the last American independent match I’m going to have for an extraordinarily long time,” said Friedman. “I need to focus on AEW. I took my eyes off the ball for a millisecond, and a dude who is like 145-fucking-pounds soaking wet beat me. That can’t happen. I don’t care that he hit me in the nuts and spammed his finisher on me four times, and Aubrey Edwards, who is a complete liar, made a fast count. But glass half full, I’m now a three-time champion at the age of 30.”

This will be MJF’s first match for Beyond Wrestling since 2019. He debuted for the promotion in late 2016 on a show in Providence, Rhode Island.

“Beyond was one of the first independent circuits that really took a chance on me,” said Friedman. “That’s where I could talk on the microphone before my matches, and it’s where I wrestled big matches with top names at the time on the independent circuit.

“Now I want to come in and see what Bobby Orlando is all about. I’m excited to test this kid, I’m excited to get more eyeballs on him and on Beyond, and that’s naturally what is going to happen because I am the biggest fucking draw in this business. I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully he gets a contract out of it.”

MJF recently defeated Pat Buck at a WrestlePro show at the Rahway Rec Center in Rahway, New Jersey, on May 31. He also wrestled Max Caster at a Create-A-Pro show on May 1 in Melville, New York. In January, he defended the AEW World Championship against Alec Price for Limitless Wrestling in Lewiston, Maine.

Up next, MJF will defend his AEW World Championship against Rush on the June 3, 2026, episode of AEW Dynamite.

Ryan Nemeth takes apparent shot at CM Punk over ‘PEDs’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On social media today, Ryan Nemeth took an apparent shot at CM Punk, who he’s had issues with since the two were part of the AEW roster.

Nemeth is now with TNA Wrestling and Punk is back in WWE. But, at least on Nemeth’s side, bad blood between them seems to still exist. He sent out a tweet today making fun of “straight edge guys” who won’t take any substances except for performance-enhancing drugs. He did not name Punk in the tweet or make a direct accusation at him, but the post comes shortly after gym footage of Punk having an improved physique got a lot of attention online.

“I love that straight edge guys are like NOTHING! IS! EVER! GOING! IN! MY! BODY! EVER!,” Nemeth wrote. “Except PEDs which I will be putting in my body actually very often now because I do steroids, but of course that does not break my sacred vow. I am more disciplined than you :)”

While with AEW, Nemeth claims he was threatened by Punk and effectively banned from appearing on Collision. The matter led to Nemeth filing a lawsuit against Punk and AEW that has been moved to private arbitration after AEW filed its own countersuit.

The issues between Nemeth and Punk concern a 2023 tweet where Nemeth called Punk “literally the softest man alive,” which Nemeth claims was in character.

CM Punk’s WWE schedule —

Since the Raw after WrestleMania 42, Punk has been away from WWE programming due to a schedule change. He dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and is said to be awaiting his next storyline. Instead of continuing the Reigns vs. Punk feud, WWE moved Jacob Fatu to Raw and began a title program between him and Reigns.

Mick Foley feels WWE has lost a ‘little bit of magic’ with corporate ownership

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Since being acquired by Endeavor and put under the TKO umbrella, Mick Foley feels WWE has lost some of the magic it once had.

Foley appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show yesterday to discuss the news that he has signed with AEW. Though Foley loves WWE and is not going to disparage them, Foley said one thing that stands out between the two companies is the feeling of love that goes into the AEW product due to it not having corporate ownership. Foley said he once took a break from watching wrestling for a couple of years and, when he came back, gravitated more toward the AEW product than what was happening in WWE.

As a huge theme park fan, Foley said he’s seen some establishments go from being family run to corporately owned. The parks might get more money put into them and some nicer rides when that happens, but the feeling of magic that once existed is reduced. Foley believes the same is true for WWE.

“What I feel from watching the two shows is that AEW has that little bit of magic, and WWE has kind of lost it,” he said. “I think when you’re part of a corporation, and the bottom line is everything, you take away from your midcard by making it clear that what you’re selling is more important than the product in the ring.”

Foley said younger fans will often come up to him and want to talk about his matches, even though they weren’t even born when the bouts happened. He wonders if older WWE matches resonate more with fans because the broadcast was more focused on what was going on in the ring instead of treating matches as a means to an end.

“Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were locked in on the matches. There weren’t so many things they had to go to that would take people out of that suspension of disbelief,” Foley said. “That’s just a theory on my part, but I think 10-20 years down the line, the matches that JR called, whether it was with The King or whether it was with Jim Cornette in WCW, they’ll stand the test of time, I think, better than the current matches in WWE because it seems like the matches are a means to an end instead of something to be enjoyed for themselves.

“So I just feel like at this point, AEW has — the personal ownership shows, and a love and a feeling of magic, that I don’t think the corporate ownership of WWE displays nearly as well.”

Mick Foley’s AEW role —

The 60-year-old Foley made the decision not to renew his WWE Legends contract due to the “close relationship” he feels the company has with President Donald Trump. In AEW, Foley is open to a variety of roles including broadcasting and helping to promote the product through media appearances. He could see himself becoming a manager and isn’t even ruling out the idea of getting back into the ring for one more match.

The midcard scene is one area where Foley believes AEW really thrives, and he thinks he could help out some of those wrestlers if he served as their manager.

NJPW announces partnership ‘designed to teach Japanese language through pro wrestling’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NJPW has entered into a new partnership that is “designed to teach the Japanese language through pro wrestling.”

The promotion announced today that it is partnering with JapanesePod101.com, a language-learning tool that helps English speakers study Japanese by guiding them through real Japanese conversations. The service has both free and paid tiers.

In the coming weeks, JapanesePod101.com will offer collaborative videos with NJPW that are focused on teaching users the type of language that is used in Japanese pro wrestling culture. NJPW announced:

  • New Japan Pro-Wrestling is pleased to announce a new collaborative project with JapanesePod101.
  • Through an extensive library of video and social content together with carefully curated online lessons, JapanesePod101 is a long established leader in online Japanese language learning.
  • A series of collaborative videos in the coming weeks and months will allow NJPW fans to get to grips with some of the Japanese language spoken by fans, wrestlers and in venues, allowing for deeper immersion in the Japanese pro-wrestling culture. For regular JapanesePod101 viewers and users, this collaborative content will serve as an introduction to a key part of Japanese sporting and popular culture they might not have explored before.

NJPW’s overtures toward international fans —

NJPW has courted English-speaking fans through establishing international social media accounts and an English-language version of its website, along with offering English commentary for big events on NJPW World. Next month, the first night of this year’s G1 Climax will take place in Chicago. NJPW is also holding a fan fest surrounding that event.

AEW Dynamite ticket distribution update for tonight’s show in Richmond

Posted on by Ian Carey

An update is available regarding how many tickets have been distributed for the June 3, 2026, edition of AEW Dynamite.

The show is set for the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia, and will be the promotion’s first time in the venue.

According to a report from WrestleTix, 3,418 tickets had been distributed to the show as of Wednesday morning. The cheapest standard admission ticket available, or get-in price, is listed at $39.

Recent attendance for AEW Dynamite events includes the May 27 show at The Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, which reportedly drew 3,856 fans. The May 20 AEW Dynamite in Portland, Maine, is reported to have drawn 2,896 fans. The May 13 AEW Dynamite in Asheville, North Carolina, is said to have drawn 2,389 fans.

Four matches have been advertised ahead of time for tonight’s show.

AEW Dynamite Matches announced for June 3, 2026:

  • AEW World Championship Match: MJF (c) vs Rush
  • TNT Championship Match: Kevin Knight (c) vs Speedball Mike Bailey
  • Owen Hart Foundation Tournament: Will Ospreay vs AEW National Champion Mark Davis
  • Owen Hart Foundation Tournament: Alex Windsor vs Wild Card entry

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors semifinals set

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A dozen names entered the last day of block action still in contention, but NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 is now down to its final four wrestlers.

Both semifinal matches are set to pit tag team partners against each other. It will be Master Wato vs. YOH and Robbie Eagles vs. Kosei Fujita this Friday (June 5). The winners advance to the finals on Sunday (June 7), with that bout determining the tournament winner and the next challenger for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI.

Wato defeated Nick Wayne today to finish on 12 points as the A Block winner. Fujita defeated Daiki Nagai to claim second place in the block, also finishing on 12 points and beating out Francesco Akira due to a tiebreaker.

All of the B Block contenders won their matches today, but it was Eagles and YOH — with respective victories over Hyo and Daisuke Sasaki — who advanced as the top two after tiebreakers were worked out. The block ended in a five-way tie at 12 points.

Fujita is looking to repeat as the BOSJ winner after defeating YOH in last year’s finals. Wato is also looking to claim a second BOSJ trophy after winning the tournament in 2023.

Friday’s show begins at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time and is airing live on NJPW World with English and Japanese commentary. The rest of the card aside from Wato vs. YOH and Eagles vs. Fujita has not been announced yet.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors standings —

A Block:

  • Master Wato (6-3): 12 points (A Block winner)
  • Kosei Fujita (6-3): 12 points (A Block runner-up)
  • Francesco Akira (6-3): 12 points
  • Jun Kasai (5-4): 10 points
  • Robbie X (5-4): 10 points
  • Titan (5-4): 10 points
  • Nick Wayne (5-4): 10 points
  • Ryusuke Taguchi (4-5): 8 points
  • Valiente Jr. (3-6): 6 points
  • Daiki Nagai (0-9): 0 points

B Block:

  • Robbie Eagles (6-3): 12 points (B Block winner)
  • YOH (6-3): 12 points (B Block runner-up)
  • El Desperado (6-3): 12 points
  • SHO (6-3): 12 points
  • Taiji Ishimori (6-3): 12 points
  • Daisuke Sasaki (3-6): 6 points
  • Hyo (3-6): 6 points
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru (3-6): 6 points
  • Jakob Austin Young (3-6): 6 points
  • KUSHIDA (3-6): 6 points

AJ Francis live performance part of updated TNA Impact lineup

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

TNA Impact has updated its lineup for this week’s episode.

A few new segments have been added for this week’s June 4, 2026, episode of TNA Impact. This week’s episode will feature a live performance by AJ Francis. Francis was last seen wrestling KC Navarro on the May 14 episode of TNA Impact.

This week’s episode will also feature an appearance from Eric Young, who recently earned himself a shot at the TNA World Championship.

Apart from these, the episode will also feature a Wicked Garden match between The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) and The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy), and a Mixed tag-team match, involving Indi Hartwell & Santino Marella against Arianna Grace and Channing Stacks.

Updated TNA Impact lineup | June 4, 2026

  • AJ Francis live performance
  • Eric Young appearance
  • The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) vs. The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) in a Wicked Garden match
  • Indi Hartwell & Santino Marella vs. Arianna Grace & Channing Stacks
  • BDE vs. Eddie Edwards

Take-Two CEO proud of WWE 2K26 performance, wants to ensure quality

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick recently opened up about WWE 2K26’s success as well as his team’s motive of ensuring future quality.

Previously with Yuke’s, WWE 2K became a part of the Visual Concepts/Take-Two banner since 2019, with annual video game releases every year except 2021. Following a disastrous WWE 2K20, the game followed it up with well-loved WWE 2K22 and has done it every year since then. Their latest release, 2K26, received major positive reviews, with several new in-game modes and improvements added.

Recently speaking to IGN, Zelnick opened up about WWE 2K26’s recent performance and reviews. “We’re very proud of Metacritic score, we’re proud of how the title performed. We have great partners at TKO led by Nick Khan, and of course everything related to WWE continues to grow,” he said. “The team over there is just crushing it. So we’re thrilled to be in business with TKO and WWE.”

Although, despite the game’s performance and reviews, Zelnick believes there are still improvements to be made.

“I do think there’s ongoing opportunities to improve the quality of the game. I do think that we can give consumers more of what they want, and I know our team at Visual Concepts always wants to do better. We’re never in the business of patting ourselves on the back. We believe that arrogance is the enemy of continued success, and I think that title could be double or triple the size that it is as long as we delight consumers, and as long as we give them something new and not expected that’s consistent with the brand that they love. That’s our job.”

Similarly, like every year, WWE 2K27 is expected to release around March, 2027.

Amazon/MGM reportedly uninterested in selling Lucha Underground library

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

A recent report has now emerged suggesting that Amazon/MGM is not interested in selling its Lucha Underground library.

A few weeks ago, Lucha Underground’s social media account posted a teaser that became a talking point. Their website indicated that live events could arrive in the future. Fightful Select has now reported on the details of those teasers.

MGM and Amazon have a controlling interest in Lucha Underground. Fightful Select reported that one of their close sources in AEW felt there could have been WWE’s involvement, although nothing has been confirmed. Their sources stated that Amazon/MGM is happy with Lucha Underground’s library with them. And, while there have been inquiries about purchasing the library in the past, Amazon/MGM has not been particularly interested in selling it.

As per the new report, the “recent buzz” on social media was to get “people talking ahead of a YouTube channel going live with Lucha Underground content.”

Former WWE co-president explains why company continued relationship with Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi murder

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Former WWE co-president George Barrios has opened up and explained the promotion’s decision to continue its relationship with Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Barrios released his book “Sometimes Wrong but Never in Doubt: How a Cuban Kid from Queens Transformed WWE” via Skyhorse Publishing, where he opened up about his time in WWE, which included details about the WWE-Saudi Arabia deal.

In January 2018, WWE announced its ten-year deal with the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia to run events in the country. The deal marked its start with the Greatest Royal Rumble.

“Our negotiations dragged on because the Saudis are notorious hagglers. By 2018, despite having made great progress, we were struggling to get the deal over the finish line. Complicating matters was the disappearance of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi,” Barrios wrote in his book.

On October 2, 2018, Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi was seen entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey but never exited. The CIA later concluded that Khashoggi had been murdered on orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Sanctions were imposed on seventeen Saudis, but not bin Salman. Five individuals received the death penalty, three were imprisoned, and three were acquitted.

“As outraged as I was by what happened, I still defy anyone to argue they understand who was truly at fault. All I know is that on our end, Khashoggi’s disappearance called into question our deal with the Saudis,” Barrios further wrote.

Despite Khashoggi’s murder, WWE decided to run its Crown Jewel event on November 2, 2018, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While major backlash surfaced and several other companies pulled out of Saudi Arabia, WWE went ahead with its planned event.

“Vince (McMahon), Michelle (Wilson), and I spent a great deal of time debating the pros and cons of moving forward. Vince in particular was deeply uncomfortable with the uncertainty surrounding the events. In my opinion, we couldn’t walk out on the deal. It was too worthwhile for WWE. But Vince kept shaking his head. “This thing with Khashoggi. Doing the deal could be the biggest risk we’ve ever taken with the company. ‘Vince, listen to me”, I said. “I understand how serious this is. But no one really knows what’s going on,” Barrios detailed in his book.

After Khashoggi’s murder, WWE’s stock fell to less than $70 from its previous $93. Unfortunately, the numbers never fully recovered until the promotion signed a new deal with TKO in 2023.

Barrios joined WWE in 2008 and eventually became co-president with Michelle Wilson. However, the two were let go in January 2020. WWE has since then expanded its partnership with Saudi Arabia, with regular two annual events in Saudi Arabia, as well as an upcoming WrestleMania in 2027.

AEW Collision ratings down against NBA Conference Final

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Saturday night’s episode of AEW Collision averaged 360,000 viewers on TNT, down 27.7% from the Wednesday airing after Dynamite on TBS and down 6.3% from the last time the show aired in it’s regular time slot on May 16th. It was the lowest audience for the show since May 2nd.

Collision averaged a 0.05 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 37.5% from Wednesday night and down 16.7% from the last Saturday show two weeks earlier. It ties the lowest rating the show has done in that category since January 24th.

The show went head to head with Game 7 of the NBA’s Western Conference Final on NBC and tied for 36th in the 18-49 rating on the cable charts and finished 41st in terms of total viewers.

As compared to the same week in 2025 the overall viewership was down 28.6% while the 18-49 rating was down 72.2%. That show did follow an NBA playoff game and did above average numbers for the time period.

Listed below are the overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for the last 11 airings of AEW Collision as well as the 10 episode average in both categories. Saturday night’s show was down 11.7% in overall viewers and 28.6% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

DateCollision 18-49Collision overall
4/2/20260.07373,000
4/11/20260.08423,000
4/16/20260.08473,000
4/25/20260.05397,000
5/2/20260.06347,000
5/6/20260.07429,000
5/9/20260.05342,000
5/16/20260.06384,000
5/20/20260.06413,000
5/27/20260.08498,000
5/30/20260.05360,000
“10 wk avg0.07407,900
*not includingcurrent week