Tag: headlines

Danhausen curses another team ahead of Stanley Cup Final Game 3

Posted on by Ian Carey

Danhausen has cursed another sports franchise.

The WWE superstar was shown on the big screen at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

Danhausen cursed the Hurricanes, who then lost the game in overtime 5-4 and now trail in the series 2-1.

The video of Danhausen cursing the Hurricanes also circulated online before the start of Game 3. It appears a Vegas Golden Knights fan purchased a Cameo from Danhausen that was later shown inside the arena.

In the video, Danhausen appears to believe the Stanley Cup Final is some type of beverage.

“Danhausen here, very nice, very evil, very famous. WWE legend, superstar, ah champion…. yes, I don’t know, none the wiser. Alright, please do the Vegas Golden Knights, Fanhausens. Oh, what is the occasion? Stanley Cup Finals, possibly some sort of beverage. Alright, please curse the Carolina Hurricanes for the 2026 Stanley Cup Finals. We want Vegas Golden Knights to win Lord Stanley Cup. They’re gonna win a king or something. Alright, please make sure to say, ‘Go Knights Go.’ Knights, Go Knights Go. Alright, anyways, Carolina Hurricanes, you are cursed. Go Knights Go.”

On Sunday morning, Danhausen responded to a Carolina Hurricanes post on X, asking the team to pay him “human money” to uncurse them and provided a link to his page on Cameo.

AEW Dynamite ratings take hit against NBA Finals

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

This past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite averaged 638,000 viewers on TBS, down 9.4% from the previous week but was still the second-largest audience for the show in nearly two months.

The episode averaged a 0.11 rating in the 18-49 demo, down 26.7% from last week but tying the second-highest rating the show has done in that category since April 15.

The show went head-to-head with game one of the NBA Finals on ABC (New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs) that topped all television with almost 17 million viewers and a 5.21 rating in the 18-49 demo.

The show featured an MJF World title defense, a surprise return for Mercedes Mone, and a main event of Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament.

Dynamite tied for third in 18-49 on the cable charts and was 14th in terms of total viewers on cable on the night. As compared to the same week in 2025, overall viewership was down 2.6% while the 18-49 rating was down 38.9%.

Recent AEW Dynamite ratings

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 ratings for AEW Dynamite on TBS as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 2.8% in overall viewers and 5.8% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

Date18-49Total Viewers
3/25/20260.14765,000
4/1/20260.15730,000
4/8/20260.14654,000
4/15/20260.12710,000
4/22/20260.1617,000
4/29/20260.08596,000
5/6/20260.1590,000
5/13/20260.1585,000
5/20/20260.11613,000
5/27/20260.15704,000
6/3/20260.11638,000
*10 wk avg (through 5/27)0.12656,400

WWE NXT ratings bounce back from record low in 18-49 demo

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

This past Tuesday’s episode of WWE NXT averaged 556,000 viewers on The CW, up from last week’s 544,000, and good for their largest audience in nearly a month.

It averaged a 0.07 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 40% from last week’s record low, tying the third-lowest rating it has ever done in that category. All of those shows have taken place in 2026.

The show went head-to-head with the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals on ABC, which led all television in both 18-49 rating and total viewers, averaging 4.782 million overall with a 1.31 18-49 demo rating. NXT was last on network television in both total viewers and 18-49 rating.

As compared to the same week in 2025, overall viewership was down 18.7% while the 18-49 rating was down 53.3%.

Recent WWE NXT ratings

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for WWE NXT on The CW as well as the 10-week average in both categories.

This week’s show was down 2% in overall viewers and 12.5% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.

Date18-49Total Viewers
3/24/20260.08581,000
3/31/20260.08572,000
4/7/20260.08605,000
4/14/20260.09584,000
4/21/20260.1591,000
4/28/20260.07541,000
5/5/20260.11641,000
5/12/20260.06498,000
5/19/20260.08517,000
5/26/20260.05544,000
6/2/20260.07556,000
10-week average (through 6/2)0.08567,400

June 8, 2026 Observer Newsletter: Wrestling war escalations, AAA’s mask vs. mask classic, WWE Clash in Italy ratings

Posted on by F4W Staff

Dave Meltzer has returned with a new and packed Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

He leads off with the latest escalations in the various wrestling wars including WWE NXT, AEW and TNA going head-to-head later this month while WWE owned AAA is also making moves against rivals CMLL.

Dave recaps last weekend’s incredible match and atmosphere for the battle of the El Grande Americanos in their mask vs. mask match including his ratings for the event.

He also looks at the latest in the WWE shareholder lawsuit, his WWE Clash in Italy review and ratings, and news from all around the wrestling and MMA/UFC world.

Click here to read (sub needed)

Athena’s next Ring of Honor Women’s title defense announced as part of special show

Posted on by Josh Nason

ROH Women’s World Champion Athena will put her title on the line as part of the run-up to AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.

Announced Thursday, Athena will put her record-long title streak up against Stardom’s Syuri who will be making her promotional debut as part of the newly-announced ROH vs. CMLL vs. Stardom Global Wars show that will air on June 18 on HonorClub.

The match will be filmed either this Wednesday or next Thursday during AEW’s two nights in Cincinnati for their Summer Blockbuster shows. As of this writing, no other matches have been announced.

It will be a rematch from February’s NJPW The New Beginning USA where Syuri successfully defended her IWGP Women’s title. Both women also shared the ring during last July’s women’s Casino gauntlet match at All In: Texas that marked Syuri’s AEW debut.

Athena will be looking to extend her near-1300 day title run. She is awaiting her opponent in the semifinals of the AEW women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament which will likely take place while she is in Cincinnati as well.

Forbidden Door, which will feature talent from AEW, CMLL, NJPW and Stardom, is set for Sunday, June 28 in San Jose, California.

AEW star set to replace MJF at weekend indie show

Posted on by Josh Nason

With AEW World Champion MJF having to pull out of a Friday indie match due to a knee injury, another AEW star is stepping up to take his place.

First reported by Justin Barrasso, Andrade El Idolo will now face Bobby Orlando at Beyond Wrestling’s event in Cranston, Rhode Island. It will be the the IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion’s first appearance for the promotion.

MJF hyperextended his knee in Wednesday’s title defense against Rush and is currently not cleared to travel or wrestle.

Andrade joins Wheeler Yuta and Lio Rush as new additions to the show since the news in addition to TNA also making travel changes in order for Bear Bronson to appear as well. The show, which is airing live on IWTV, will also feature AEW’s Megan Bayne against indie standout Gabby Forza.

Beyond Wrestling founder Drew Cordeiro told Barrasso they even had “people in WWE exploring options as well.”

“My heart swells with pride that so many people within the wrestling industry care about Beyond Wrestling and our fans. To me, independent wrestling doesn’t mean avoiding all of the biggest companies — it means pulling out all the stops to navigate the different dynamics to give this Cranston crowd the best possible show,” he said.

One of AEW’s earliest tag teams reportedly gone from the company

Posted on by Josh Nason

After barely being used over the past 18 months, The Butcher and The Blade — one of AEW’s earliest tag teams — are reportedly no longer with the company.

Fightful Select reported Thursday that the two men were not offered a contract extension after their deals recently came up, making them free agents.

Along with The Bunny, the 46-year-old Blade and the 48-year-old Butcher had been with AEW since the November 27, 2019, episode of Dynamite when they appeared from under the ring to attack Cody Rhodes. The duo feuded with the top teams at the time which included the Young Bucks, Lucha Bros., Jurassic Express and others, but never held the AEW World Tag Team titles.

With The Blade undergoing fusion back surgery that kept him out of action for two years, The Butcher then was moved to the singles ranks for the duration of his run which included some random tag team matches. He last appeared in AEW in February 2025 in a Collision loss to Gabe Kidd with The Blade’s last AEW match coming in January 2024.

The Blade returned to action this past December and has teamed with The Butcher once since coming back. They are set to compete for GCW in June.

Stardom wrestlers respond to Thekla ‘declaring death’ to promotion

Posted on by Ian Carey

Several wrestlers from Stardom have responded to Thekla.

The AEW Women’s World Champion spat on the Stardom logo during Wednesday’s broadcast of AEW Dynamite and “declared death” to the promotion.

Stardom wrestlers Syuri, Starlight Kid, and Lady C, the official Stardom account on X, and English commentator Walker Stewart have all responded to Thekla’s actions.

Lady C wrote, “Why would you do something like that…? I’ve clashed with Teca a few times, but not once did I ever understand what was going through her mind. Even after getting fired from Stardom, even after becoming the AEW Women’s World Champion, her obsession with Stardom still— isn’t it because she actually loves Stardom?”

Lady C later added, “It’s so frustrating. Even when someone leaves, we’ve kept protecting Stardom. One person’s strength might be small, but we’ve protected it together. Stardom is our pride.”

Former Stardom wrestler Mina Shirakawa wrote: “Damn… that’s really disrespectful. Man, that’s really harsh, for real.”

Stardom English commentator Walker Stewart wrote: “Absolutely disgusting. Don’t forget where you came from…”

Syuri wrote: “Tekla…”

Starlight Kid responded to a clip of Thekla’s segment with:
“！？！？！？
#SLK
#NEOGENESIS
#STARDOM“

As noted previously, Stardom president Taro Okada wrote after Thekla’s segment, “A vulgar, cowardly, and shameful act. Unforgivable.”

UFC, Paramount expand Canadian media rights deal to include numbered events/PPVs

Posted on by Josh Nason

UFC fans in Canada will soon be free from having to buy pay per views, aka numbered events.

Announced on Thursday, TKO and Paramount Skydance have expanded their existing media rights deal that will make Paramount+ the exclusive home for the main card of all 13 annual numbered events (fka PPVs in the U.S.) for the next six years.

One caveat: the deal doesn’t begin until 2027 as it will align with the seven year UFC/Paramount domestic contract that began at the start of 2026. That deal also includes Latin America and Australia, giving TKO full alignment for the next rights contract negotiations that will begin next decade.

Pointed out by MMA media member and commentator James Lynch in the video below, questions remain as to what this means for UFC’s future with Sportsnet where PPVs can currently be purchased in Canada in addition to Fight Nights, early prelims and prelims. Their multi-year deal kicked off in 2024, but it’s unclear if the deal was three years or more. Then, there is UFC Fight Pass where Canadian fans can also buy numbered events and watch Fight Nights and prelims.

Thekla declares ‘death to Stardom’ for AEW Forbidden Door, president Taro Okada responds

Posted on by Josh Nason

Reigning AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla’s war with her previous employer Stardom will apparently continue at this month’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.

During Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, Thekla cut a in-arena promo alongside Skye Blue and Julia Hart where she recounted her hatred for Stardom, that she was the “Idol Killer there” and issued a reminder that she got fired.

She said now, they have to do it all over again and has her eyes set for Forbidden Door and whether the Stardom talent comes here or the Triangle of Madness goes there, she is “going to close that door for damn good.”

She then said, “I am not declaring war on Stardom. I am declaring death to Stardom.”

She then climbed a ladder next to the videoboard on the entranceway that had the Forbidden Door graphic up and spit on the the Stardom logo before flipping it off.

It didn’t take long for Stardom president and Thekla nemesis Taro Okada to respond on X, saying it was “A vulgar, cowardly, and shameful act. Unforgivable.”

She made her debut in AEW just over a year ago after a successful run in Stardom that ended with her storyline firing after she attacked Okada — an angle she said she got death threats over. During Stardom’s WrestleMania week show in Las Vegas, Thekla made a surprise appearance to torment Okada again.

The PPV is set for Sunday, June 28 from San Jose, Californai.

Title match, Owen Hart women’s tourney bout set for AEW Collision

Posted on by Josh Nason

While the overall lineup for this Saturday’s AEW Collision is a bit light in terms of total matches, the show from Youngstown, Ohio, will feature both an AEW Women’s Tag Team title match and a women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament quarterfinal.

Divine Dominion will put their titles on the line against TayJay after the challengers not only survived a five minute challenge last Saturday on Collision to earn the shot, but nearly had Megan Bayne beat as time ran out. Bayne and Lena Kross haven’t defended the titles since April and will be looking for their fourth successful title defense.

The worlds of CMLL and Stardom will clash as CMLL Women’s Champion Persephone battles Hazuki for the first time ever as part of a quarterfinal in the women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament. It will be Persephone’s first match since getting injured on the April 22 Collision while Hazuki made her AEW debut last Saturday on Collision.

The winner takes on Mercedes Mone in a semifinal after she made her surprise return Wednesday to defeat Alex Windsor in a quarterfinal.

Current AEW Collision lineup | This Saturday

  • AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion (Lena Kross & Megan Bayne) defend against TayJay (Tay Melo & Anna Jay)
  • Persephone vs. Hazuki in a women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament quarterfinal

Two Owen Hart tournament matches set for next week’s AEW Dynamite Summer Blockbuster

Posted on by Josh Nason

Two Owen Hart Foundation tournament bouts are on tap for next Wednesday’s Summer Blockbuster edition of AEW Dynamite from Cincinnati, Ohio.

One will be a semifinal in the men’s bracket as former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland takes on Brody King in a rematch from April’s Dynasty. Strickland advanced with a win over Bandido at last month’s Double or Nothing while King defeated Claudio Castagnoli to advance.

The winner advances to this month’s Forbidden Door in the tournament finals against Will Ospreay with the tournament winner getting a shot at the World title at August’s All In.

On the women’s side, Japanese women’s wrestling star Sareee (pictured above) will make her AEW debut against Skye Blue in a quarterfinal. The winner takes on Ring of Honor Women’s Champion Athena in a semifinal at a later date.

Current AEW Dynamite Summer Blockbuster lineup | Next Wednesday

  • Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King in a men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament semifinal
  • Sareee vs. Skye Blue in a women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament quarterfinal

First finalist set in men’s AEW Owen Hart Foundation tournament after chaotic ending

Posted on by Josh Nason

Will Ospreay’s quest to be in the main event of AEW All In from Wembley Stadium continued on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite after what can best be described as a chaotic ending sequence.

Ospreay defeated former friend and United Empire factionmate Mark Davis in the main event of the night to advance to the finals at this month’s Forbidden Door in San Jose, California.

What preceded that was members of both the Don Callis Family and Death Riders backing up their man in a wild brawl that took place over several minutes while the referee was knocked out. Ospreay got several visual falls during the craziness and nearly had a pin until Jake Something pulled the referee out again. That brought out Marina Shafir and eventually Jon Moxley.

As both teams brawled to the back, Kyle Fletcher snuck in and hit Ospreay with a back suplex and was fixing to hit him with a screwdriver when Konosuke Takeshita pulled him out and they brawled as well. Davis then had the screwdriver, but was disarmed by two Hidden Blades for another visual pinfall.

Ospreay kicked out of a Davis piledriver and after a sequence of counters, Ospreay locked in his armbar for the tapout.

Ospreay advanced to the semifinals with his win last month over Samoa Joe at Double or Nothing while Davis, the reigning AEW National Champion, defeated former champion Jack Perry to advance.

The winner will take on the winner of Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King which takes place on next Wednesday’s Summer Blockbuster edition of Dynamite. The overall tournament winner will challenge for the AEW World title at August’s All In.

Mercedes Mone makes surprise return on AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former TNT Champion Mercedes Mone made her surprise return to AEW during Wednesday’s Dynamite as the wild card in the women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament — her first appearance in five months.

Mone squared off against Alex Windsor, getting her to tap out to the Mone Maker and advance to the semifinals against the winner of Saturday’s Persephone vs. Hazuki match on AEW Collision. It was a measure of revenge for Mone after Windsor defeated her for the RevPro Undisputed British Women’s title in mid-December.

It was Mone’s first appearance since early-January when after getting her face smashed into cake during Willow Nightingale’s TBS Championship celebration, she did a backstage promo saying she was leaving but would return.

Nightingale defeated Mone for the title on the December 31 New Year’s Smash Dynamite, ending her record reign. Coincidentally, Mone took the spot vacated by Nightingale after injuring her shoulder in mid-May, forcing her to also vacate the TBS title.

It was Mone’s first match since March 31 as she lost her final indie title in a loss to former champion Jody Threat.

Mone was the winner of last year’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, but was unsuccessful in defeating then-AEW World Champion Toni Storm at All In: Texas.

Tony Khan appears in new trailer for Dark Side of the Ring season 7

Posted on by Ian Carey

Tony Khan, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, Matt Hardy, and others are featured in a new trailer for Dark Side of the Ring.

The seventh season of the Vice TV show begins Tuesday, July 7 at 9 p.m. Eastern.

The first three episodes will focus on TNA and Jeff Jarrett. Other topics set to be explored during the season include “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, Big Boss Man, Missy Hyatt, the Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher match from IWA-MS in 2005, Zach Gowen, and The Renegade.

“It is Dark Side of the Ring after all,” Khan says in the trailer.

The trailer is available at this link or below the article.

Dark Side of the Ring season seven topics —

  • Three-part episode on TNA Wrestling and Jeff Jarrett
  • Paul Orndorff
  • Big Boss Man (Ray Traylor)
  • Missy Hyatt
  • Samoa Joe vs. Necro Butcher indie match from IWA-MS in 2005 and the personal animosity the two had toward each other
  • Zach Gowen
  • The Renegade (Rick Wilson), “an exotic dancer who had a brief run as [an] Ultimate Warrior knockoff.”