Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including updates on Abdullah the Butcher and Mike Rotunda, New Japan this weekend, Dominick Mysterio is super over, AEW Dynamite and NXT TV reports, ratings, Collision spoilers and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Updates on Abdullah the Butcher & Mike Rotunda 16:53: El Hijo del Santo announces retirement date 23:55: Dave attends Mick Foley show in San Jose, notes on NJPW this weekend 29:27: Dave’s thoughts from AAA Heroes Inmortales, CMLL notes 35:00: Ratings, Tom Aspinall update 41:31: AEW Dynamite recap 1:08:22: WWE NXT notes 1:16:56: AEW Collision spoilers
Book Pro Wrestlers has provided an update on the WWE Hall of Famer, who has been hospitalized for the last week due to illness.
“Abdullah The Butcher – Official Update — This photo was taken earlier today. Abby is awake, recovering, smiling, and in great spirits. Official from his team as of 6:30 PM. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues his road to recovery.”
Abdullah The Butcher – Official Update 🌟 This photo was taken earlier today. Abby is awake, recovering, smiling, and in great spirits.
Official from his team as of 6:30 PM. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues his road to recovery. ❤️💪 pic.twitter.com/EkIFw5y84W
It was reported last week that Abdullah, 84, has been hospitalized due to unspecified health issues. Dave Meltzer has reported that he suffered two strokes.
“Wrestling legend Abdullah The Butcher has been hospitalized at 84. The Wild Man from the Sudan is battling serious health issues. One of wrestling’s most feared figures, Abdullah helped shape the sport from Japan to Puerto Rico to Georgia and beyond. Send your prayers, love, and strength his way tonight,“ Book Pro Wrestlers wrote at the time.
Abdullah became a big global star in the 70s and 80s, wrestling frequently in Canada, Japan and Puerto Rico and also wrestled for WCCW. He made brief appearances in WCW in the early 90s, notably in the Chamber of Horrors match at Halloween Havoc 1991. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.
–The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site now *Full coverage of WrestleKingdom *Thoughts on the booking decisions *How the PPV did and other business notes *Polls on the show *The unique situation of AEW in St. Louis *Saturday Night’s Main Event update and depth in WWE right now *The life and times of Bobby “Mo” Horne, from Men on a Mission who passed away this past week. *The Hall of Fame case for Sabu *Odds for upcoming major pro wrestling matches *The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling TV shows this past weeks, placings for the night and the week, annual comparisons and more *The largest crowd for an all-women’s pro wrestling show in more than seven years *More on the AEW talent in Mexico this week *WWE talent in Mexico this week *Notes on Kento Miyahara vs. Go Shiozaki *New Japan Super Juniors tournament *Lots of health issue updates for those in the wrestling business *Lots of WWE injury updates *Andrade update *Fantastica Mania U.K. notes *More on potential sale of WBD and how this affects AEW *What wrestlers have had the most great matches in 2025 *Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows over the next two months *What show is expected to break the all-time arena gate record *More on the debate over the new version of the Ali Act *Death of Duke Roufas *WWE value to ESPN as far as selling subscriptions *Lots of WWE news regarding non-compete and a look at various situations including that of Brock Lesnar, Samantha Irvin and Renee Paquette *More on AI and WWE creative *WWE international tour notes
— We’ve had two shows up the past two days. We did our week in review talking about all of the news from the last issue of the Observer as well as answered questions on Friday and yesterday we covered Smackdown, UFC and the weekend news.
— Reports are that Abdullah the Butcher suffered two strokes this past week and remains under observation.
–This is the schedule for the World Series. The first game was Friday night and thus should hurt the SmackDown number. Last night’s game will hurt the Collision number which would have already been hurt going head-to-head with the NXT show. Game three is tomorrow night against Raw. Game four goes against NXT. Game five, if necessary, goes against Dynamite. Game six would go against SmackDown on Friday and if a seventh game is necessary it would go against both Saturday Night’s Main Event and Collision.
— Heroes Inmorttales from last night at Juan de la Barrera Gym: Nino Hamburgues & Lady Shani & Primpinela Eslcarlata b Dalys & Abismo Negro Jr.. Taurus, Mascarita Sagrada b Mini Abismo Negro, Galeno del Mal b El Fiscal, Laredo Kid won four-way to keep the cruiserweight title over Jack Cartwheel, Aero Star and Lince Dorado when he pinned Cartwheel, Lady Flammer kept the Reina de Reinas title over Faby Apache and Natalya when Natalya was pinned after being distracted by La Hiedra, Lola Vice b Chik Tormenta, Psycho Clown & Pagano retined the tag titles over Sanson & Forastero (notable them being used on a WWE show with their issues with Stephanie Vaquer) and Erick Rowan, Dextler Lumis Joe Gacy and Nikki Cross attacked Psycho & Pagano after the match to set up a tag title match and Dominik Mysterio b Dragon Lee to keep the AAA Mega title when he pulled off his boot and hit Lee behind the refs back. There was a post-match brawl with Grande Americano & Dominik fighting Lee & El Hijo del Vikingo setting up a tag team main event on 11/22 at Juan de la Barrera Gym
— Dominik got his left eyebrow busted open by a coin thrown from a fan. (thanks to William Betran)
— We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s Halloween Havoc, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— In Google searches for this weekend, the UFC PPV did 600,000 searches which is low for a PPV show. It was No. 11 for the weekend. The only other combat sports searches were 20,000 for Saturday Night’s Main Event and 2,000 for the NXT Halloween Havoc show.
— Persephone won the Women’s World Grand Prix on Friday night at Arena Mexico. The match went just shy of an hour. I haven’t seen it yet but the main story was that the match last week with Mercedes Mone really broke Persephone out of the pack. We’ve had people who loved the match and others who didn’t love it.
— Best of the Super Juniors today in Uonuma was B block night: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Dick Togo b Desperado & Kuukai, Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X b Tiger Mask & Yamato, Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita b Kushida & Yuki Yoshioka
Current standings:
A block: 1. Douki & Sho, Yoh & Master Wato 6; 3. Templario & Jakob Austin Young, Hiromu Takahashi & Gedo and Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Dia 2 6. Clark Connors & Daiki Nagai 0.
B block: Eagles & Fujita 6, Kushida & Yui Yoshioka and Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X 4; 4. Desperado & Togo, Kanemaru & Sho and Tiger Mask & Yamato 0
— Mercedes Mone vs. Jody Threat from last weekend from Winnipeg (thanks to Blair Pacheco).
— Miku Aono won the world title in Marigold beating Utami Hayashishita.
— Raw tomorrow has Jey Uso and CM Punk face-to-face, Nikki Bella vs. Roxanne Perez and Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Lyra Valkyria & Bayley for the tag titles.
— NXT Tuesday has Kendal Grey vs. Lash Legend, Kelani Jordan defends the Knockouts title against Jordynne Grace, Myles Borne vs. Tavion Heights and Axiom vs. Jasper Troy in a Speed tournament match.
— Dynamite on Wednesday has Jamie Hayter & Queen Aminata vs. Skye Blue & Julia Hart in the women’s tag team tournament, FTR vs. JetSpeed vs Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express-winner faces Brody King & Bandido at Full Gear for the tag team titles , Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Hook with the winner facing Adam Page for the title at Full Gear. Not on Dynamite but being taped for ROH vs. Bandido vs Mascara Dorada for the ROH title.
— Mercedes Mone’s next CMLL title defense will be on Saturday’s Collision against Olympia.
— The video for the returning guy on Raw looks to be Gunther. He’s been cleared and waiting for the storyline return. At least word this was for the John Cena match.
— The match we’ve gotten the most feedback on this weekend is the Iyo Sky vs Mayu Iwatani match from today’s Marigold show at Tokyo Dome Hall. Sky won the match and everyone loved it, with some saying it was Sky’s best match this year but others saying they didn’t think it was close to her best match. From the impressions we’ve gotten it didn’t have the heat her best matches did nor was it as crisp, but she did more because it was Japan and everyone from WWE that goes to a Japanese promotion knows they have to do more.
— I am absolutely dumbfounded at some of the reaction to last night’s Tom Aspinall vs Cyril Gane fight, with the idea that Apinall quit after the eye poke. First, while Gane was winning the round, it was close and competitive. Second he couldn’t see out of one eye, still couldn’t see 20 minutes later and was taken to the hospital. The way Dana White talked about it after did give fuel to that fire with the idea that Aspinall quit. Chael Sonnen and Anthony Smith said that he should have fought with only one good eye and should have lied to the ref bout not being able to see. Sonnen is a troll to begin with but that was just ludicrous. White said they would have to make a rematch after the no contest verdict as soon as possible.
— In the judging for Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida, judge Michael Bell gave Almeida rounds two and three while Tony Weeks and Coleman Werner only gave Almeida the second round. 65% of scores from reporters went to Volkov in a fight where he was mostly on his back but was busier. I had Volkov 29-28 In the Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba fight, 100 percent of the reporters’ scores were for Dern, many being 49-46. I had it even after two and the fifth close but had Dern 48-47 Michael Bell had one, four and five for Dern. Sal D’Amasto and rounds two through five for Dern Judge Chris Lee had two, four and five for Dern.
— Mistico & Neon & Titan face Volador Jr .& Hechicero & Yutani in Monday’s main event from Puebla. Tuesday at Arena Mexico has Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Esfinge vs Ultimo Guerrero & Valiente & Volador Jr. plus Hazuki & Koguma vs Catalina & Tessa Blanchard. Friday’s Arena Mexico show the Dia de la Muerte show with Mistico & Dorada & Neon vs Cavernario & Hechicero & Volador Jr., plus the Rey del Inframundo final. Arena Coliseo on Saturday has Mistico & Atlantis Jr vs. Hechicero & Ultimo Guerrero. A week from tonight at Arena Mexico has Voldor Jr. vs. Cavenario vs. Valiente in a three-way main event plus Blue Panther vs. Averno for the MLW open weight title and Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja defend the CMLL tag titles against the legendary team of Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero.
— Laredo Kid vs Marcus Mathers vs. Tate Wilder will be on the Wednesday Evolve show.
— Defy from Friday night in Portland, OR: Bryan Keith b Cody Chhun to retain the Defy title, Jack Evans won four-way over Guillermo Rosas, Matt Brannigan and Evan Rivers, Marina Shafir b Su Yung to keep the women’s title, Midnight Heat won three-way over Flaming Aces and Bollywood Boyz, Jon Moxley b Royce Isaacs.
— Today would have been the 76th birthday of Kevin Sullivan, the 87th birthday of Ron Wright and 61st of Nicole Bass. Austin Idol and El Satanico turn 76 today, Taka Michinoku turns 52, CM Punk turns 47 and Wheeler Yuta turns 29. (thanks to Tony Richards)
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including Abdullah the Butcher, Blading 101, Smackdown, Collision and NXT line-ups for this weekend, WrestleMania weekend plans being made, Survivor Series update, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Abdullah the Butcher has reportedly been hospitalized.
Booking agent Steve Stasiak posted from his Book Pro Wrestlers X and Facebook accounts that Abdullah is suffering from unspecified “serious health issues.”
“Wrestling legend Abdullah The Butcher has been hospitalized at 84. The Wild Man from the Sudan is battling serious health issues. One of wrestling’s most feared figures, Abdullah helped shape the sport from Japan to Puerto Rico to Georgia and beyond. Send your prayers, love, and strength his way tonight.“
Abdullah was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2011. He was a global star as a special attraction across territories from Canada, to Puerto Rico, to Detroit, to World Class in Texas, to Japan. His most prominent national run in America came in an ill-fated WCW stint in 1991 and 1992.
After his legendary career as a wrestling attraction, Abdullah’s legacy became tainted.
In 2011, Abdullah was accused of infecting independent wrestler Devon Nicholson with Hepatitis C by cutting him with a blade without his consent during an indie match in Canada in 2007.
Nicholson sued Abdullah in an Ontario court and won a multi-million dollar judgement in 2014. The Fulton County court in Georgia ruled that the Canadian judgement would be upheld as Abdullah then lived in Atlanta.
One of the biggest issues of the Observer is out this week. Tons of interesting information on current news and lots of historical figures. It’s full coverage of a weekend of major events.
Poll results on all the major shows
Historical nature of WrestleMania 40 including business notes in depth, gate, PPV, attendance, merch, it’s all there.
Ticket demand
Historical nature of Rhodes’ win
How WWE has changed due to Dwayne Johnson
A look at the booking of both nights
Internal talk on Rock vs. Rhodes
More changes from WWE to TKO
How many WWE PPV buyers watched Revolution and Hard to Kill
How the WWE/AEW dynamic has changed
Future WWE direction
A look at Dynamite with the Jack Perry/CM Punk footage and Will Ospreay interview
Whose ideas these were and what the background was
Different lines and why they were said
Full Stand & Deliver coverage
The life and times of Akebono, a Japanese cultural figure
The early 90s heyday of sumo
The Bob Sapp fight and doing kickboxing and MMA
The long pro wrestling career and his various roles
His brief WWE run
UFC 300 looked at
AEW 2024 PPV plans
New Japan Sakura Genesis coverage and next major shows
Bryan Danielson vs. Blue Panther singles match looked at
ROH Supercard of Honor coverage
Gary Shaw, a controversial figure in MMA and his role in promoting Kimbo Slice and putting women’s MMA on the map against major opposition
Jon Jones’ latest incident
A look back at Al Zinck and the heyday of pro wrestling in the Maritimes
The most detailed look at the ratings of the past week, weekly standings, placings for the night and time slot, major competition for each show, segment-by-segment numbers and more.
Rey de Parejas tournament from Dragon Gate
One of the greatest U.S. amateur wrestlers in history may retire in a few weeks, or this summer
A look at the Olympic trials
Wrestling TV show headed to Netflix
Indie Hall of Fame
The Boys answer back at charges they were fired for no-showing
International TV ratings
Ticket sales for all the upcoming WWE & AEW shows
Update on lawsuit filed by former MMA superstar against Disney, backed by Elon Musk
Vince McMahon’s stock sales, how much cash he’s made, value of current shares and how much does he still own
How much Dwayne Johnson has made for his being on the TKO Board thus far
Changes in WWE management
Why so many wrestlers today as compared to the past get busted mouths
Gable on X: “Don’t kid yourselves. You would have done the same thing.”
Sheamus thanked Venum for making his new ring gear following his return to Raw on Monday: “Thank you @venum for the 1st ever custom WWE branded ring gear… i wear the WWE brand with pride, many more should too..”
Julian Baldi, who was featured on the Roku series ‘WWE Next Gen’, announced on X that he has signed with the company.
WWE put up a video showing Jimmy & Jey Uso’s dueling WrestleMania experiences.
C4 en Alerta in Mexico has a story about the ex-partner of Dos Caras (father of Alberto El Patron) accusing him of abuse and assault. She also accuses Hijo de Dos Caras (El Patron’s brother) of throwing acid on her body. Carlos Jimenez of C4 posted a video of the woman showing her injuries.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including Lance’s thoughts on this week’s NWA-TNA and the Abdullah the Butcher Dark Side of the Ring, then we’ve got news and the world famous NXT report leading to Great American Bash this weekend. A fun show as always so check it out~!
It was a dream match of the 1980s: the monster squashin’ “Incredible” Hulk Hogan vs. Abdullah the Butcher.
While Abdullah never ended up as a Hogan opponent in WWE, the two did face off in their long careers but just three times during the course of one week in 1982.
Round two of the Greatest Kayfabe Tournament on the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling show continues with two very different pro wrestlers: the bloodletting Abdullah The Butcher vs. the blood-spilling Keiji “The Great Muta” Mutoh.
Will the versatility of Mutoh be able to overcome the girth and brutality of Abdullah?
You, the listener, voted, and we have our result. Join me as I talk about the career of two of the most polar opposite wrestlers that have faced off yet in the #GKT!
DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Audio Show: Today’s show takes questions and suggestions from the mailbag with topics including people who made it to the WWF WWE that I worked with years ago, an incredibly great question about hepatitis in wrestling, drug use and drug deaths in World Class wrestling and a special look at Gino Hernandez and his death and conspiracies surrounding it. Wrestling historian Karl Stern addresses the following questions and topics:
This show answers listener suggested topics and questions including:
What wrestlers or personalities did I encounter on the early 1990’s independent scene who eventually made it to the WWF, WWE, or WCW?
Thoughts on the lawsuit brought against Abdullah the Butcher by another wrestler for alledgedly infecting him with hepatitis and the spread of hepatitis in wrestling.
Thoughts on the death and following conspiracies of Gino Hernandez and everything that went on in World Class Championship Wrestling.
If you have any questions or topic suggestions for Karl Stern please send them to [email protected]
