Friday night’s Grand Slam edition of AEW Rampage averaged 341,000 viewers on TNT, up 1.8 percent from the previous week. It’s still the second-lowest audience total the show has done since July 28.
Rampage drew a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 33.3 percent from last week and is Rampage’s second-highest rating in that category since August 18.
This was a special two-hour edition of Rampage. The first hour averaged 374,000 viewers and drew a 0.13 rating in the 18-49 demo. The second hour averaged 309,000 viewers and did a 0.12 rating.
Last year’s Grand Slam Rampage averaged 558,000 viewers and drew a 0.18 rating in hour one and 486,000 viewers and a 0.16 rating in hour two. So the year-over-year numbers were down 40.1 percent in viewers and down 27.8 percent in 18-49 for hour one and down 36.4 percent in viewers and 25 percent in 18-49 for hour two.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for Rampage, along with the 10-week averages in both categories. This week’s show was down 8.8 percent in overall viewers but even in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
Grand Slam 2023 finishes up with a special two-hour edition of AEW Rampage tonight.
The show begins on TNT at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Sting will be in action, teaming with Darby Allin against Christian Cage & Luchasaurus. The match is airing one night before Luchasaurus defends his TNT title against Allin and Christian in a three-way match on Collision.
Two sets of Trios titles will be on the line tonight. The Young Bucks & Hangman Page are challenging Mogul Embassy for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles, while The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn are defending their AEW Trios titles against The Dark Order.
The Kingdom, The Hardys, The Righteous, and Best Friends are facing off in a match with WrestleDream implications. The winning team earns a shot at MJF & Adam Cole’s ROH Tag Team titles at the October 1 pay-per-view.
Kris Statlander, Orange Cassidy & Hook are set to clash with Anna Jay, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker in a trios match. Mike Santana is also set for action, Skye Blue takes on Julia Hart, and we’ll hear from Sammy Guevara & Don Callis.
Taped at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens, New York.
Excalibur, Tony Schivone, and Ian Riccaboni were on commentary.
Sting & Darby Allin defeated Luchasaurus & Christian Cage (7:40)
Sting paired off with Cage and Luchasaurus with Allin to start the match. Allin hit his high-speed plancha on Luchasaurus who was sitting on the long entrance ramp (so it didn’t look as impressive as usual). Allin took a bump into the ring post and then crashed into the barricade, and the crowd chanted “Please Don’t Die!” Since it’s Darby, he got back into the ring and was worked over by the heels.
Darby fought his way back with a springboard coffin drop, but Luchasaurus cut off Sting from getting the tag. The heels worked over Allin during the split screen break. Allin backflipped out of a chokeslam attempt, but Cage snapped Allin’s back against the ring ropes and Luchasaurus hit the chokeslam anyway for a near fall. Cage missed a flying headbutt from the top, and Allin got the tag to Sting.
Sting hit a pair of clotheslines and a spinebuster on Cage. Sting hit a Stinger Splash on Cage and Luchasaurus, then took Cage out with a Scorpion Death Drop. Sting hit Luchasaurus with the Scorpion Death Drop while Allin hit a Coffin Drop simultaneously, a very cool double team. Christian came back and tried the Killswitch on Allin, but Nick Waye got on the apron to distract Cage, and Allin reserved Cage’s finisher into a cradle and got the pinfall.
Kris Statlander, Orange Cassidy and Hook vs. Anna Jay, Angelo Parker & Matt Menard (w/ Jake Hager) (8:10 aired)
Referee Bryce Remsberg clarified in the instructions that it’s “men with men, and women with women.” Hook tossed Menard and Parker around and nearly got the Redrum on Menard, but Menard got the tag to Anna Jay, which forced Statlander into the match. Statlander caught Jay with a delayed vertical suplex. While Statlander celebrated, Hager leveled Cassidy with a forearm, and Menard ambushed Hook on the floor.
Parker got the tag (which also made Hook legal because of the same gender rules), and caught Hook with a suplex for a near fall. Menard held Hook open for a running knee for another near fall.
After the commercial, Cassidy got the hot tag and hit a dropkick on Parker and Menard, then took Hager out with a plancha. All the babyfaces suplexed all the heels in a triple suplex for a huge pop. Hook suplexed Parker and Menard, then suplexed Parker on Menard. While Anna Jay distracted the ref, Hager hit Hook with a clothesline, and Cassidy took out Hager with the Orange Punch. Jay tried to put the sleeper on Cassidy, but Statlander pulled her into an electric chair drop. Hook took out Menard with the Redrum, and Cassidy hit the Orange Punch on Parker for the pinfall.
– QTV Segment. The QTV geeks kicked it to footage of QT Marshall defending his title. QT Marshall is looking for a tag team partner for next week, and despite the description of what QT was looking for fitting Aaron Solo to a T, Johnny TV accepted the job.
– Tony Schiavone interviewed Don Callis, with Konosuke Takeshita. The crowd absolutely booed Callis out of the building. But Callis did his promo anyway. Callis pursued Jericho, but the man he really wanted was Sammy Guevara, and that’s who he got on Wednesday. Guevara’s wardrobe budget has improved 200% since joining up with Callis, and he shook Takeshita’s hand. Guevara thank Callis for showing him a real family, and turned on Jericho for holding him back. Guevara is also done with the fans, who couldn’t decide whether to cheer him or boo him.
Just as Guevara said he was done with Chris Jericho, here came Chris Jericho. Jericho attacked Takeshita and Guevara. Just as Jericho got his hands on Callis, Takeshita hit him from behind with a chair. Guevara took the chair from Takehsita and really worked over Jericho, then both Takeshita and Guevara held Jericho open for Callis to get his shots in. Just before Callis murdered Jericho with a screwdriver (I mean, that’s what it looked like he was going for), Kenny Omega ran in with a pipe to chase off the heels. Riccobani: “Callis is that big of a piece of garbage, he put Jericho and Omega on the same side of things.” Jericho went for a really contrived spot where he accidentally “backed into” Omega, but Omega left without shaking Jericho’s hand.
– Alex Marvez caught up with Kenny Omega in the back, who isn’t interested in helping Jericho so much as he wanted to get at Callis. Jericho interrupted. He knows it was their rivalry that started the company, but suggested he and Omega unite to take out the Don Callis family at WrestleDream. Omega accepts, and Jericho clarifies it’s Jericho, Omega and Kota Ibushi against the Don Callis family. “Who ya got?”
The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) defeated The Hardy Boys (Matt & Jeff), The Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) and The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) to become the #1 Contenders for the ROH Tag Team Championship (9:23).
Jeff’s facepaint with eyes all over his face freaked me out. Also it’s been almost 15 minutes since the end of the last match, almost unheard of for Rampage.
The Best Friends and The Hardys briefly took out the heels. They almost celebrated with a group hug, but the heels rebounded to break that up. Taven hit a springboard kick on Dutch, then hit a dive on a bunch of his opponents on the floor. The Best Friends (after a celebratory hug) took out all of the heels on the floor with stereo somersault planchas.
After a split-screen break, the match has settled into a standard four-corners tag match. Matt hit the Side Effect on Vincent while Schiavone points out the inherent flaw in these type of matches: you tag out to another team, you take your team out of possibly winning the match. The Hardys double-teamed Vincent. Jeff and Matt hit Poetry in Motion on VIncent, and the match seemed to settle into The Righteous vs. The Hardys.
And just as I typed that, Taven hit a kick on Dutch and Vincent took him out with a Russian leg sweep. Dutch hit the Black Hole Slam on three of his opponents, but Beretta counterd the move with a suplex. Bennett low-blowed Taylor and the Kingdom hit a spike piledriver for a near fall. Jeff Hardy got the tag and hit the Swanton on Taylor, but not before Vincent got a blind tag. Dutch pulled Jeff out of the ring and Vincent hit his own Swanton bomb. Vincent got the pin, and the shot at Better Than You, Bay-Bay? After building up the Kingdom as the obvious next opponents for weeks, the title match goes to The Righteous?
After the match, the Kingdom took out the Best Friend with a bunch of chair shots. And that ends the first hour of Rampage.
The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn defeated The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver) to retain the AEW World Trios Titles (10:40)
Reynolds and Caster started out exchanging headlocks. Caster caught Reynolds with a back hand and took control with an armbar. Gunn and Bowens hit a scissor double elbowdrop on Silver, but Reynolds broke up the Scissor Me Timbers. The Dark Order took out Bowens and Gunn on the floor, and Silver got a near fall on Caster with a German suplex.
The Dark Order worked over Caster during the split screen break. Silver kept posing while screaming “I’m Freaking Jacked, Baby!” Silver cut of Caster’s comeback with a german suplex, then Uno stomped away at Caster in the corner. Uno hit an avalanche in the corner and followed up with a short-arm clothesline. Caster caught Reynolds with a cradle for a near fall, then got the hot tag to Gunn, who dumped Silver and Uno, then dropped Reynolds with a hig back body drop. Reynolds avoided the Famasser but got knocked for a loop with a clothesline. Reynolds caught Bowens with a cradle for a near fall, but Bownes came back with the four-piece combo. The Arrival and Mic Drop almost finished off Reynolds, but Silver broke up the pin attempt.
While Silver argued with referee Aubrey Edwards, Uno hit Caster with one of the trios title belts. Reynolds got a near fall off the belt shot. Gunn hit Uno with a clothesline, and Silver hit Gunn with a somersault cannonball. Silver and Reynolds went for the Wombo Combo, but Caster cut it off with a Fameasser of his own. The Acclaimed finished off Reynolds with a move that started out like a Magic Killer, but they flipped Reynolds up into a crazy high powerbomb and what even was that? Love that finish, and it got the pinfall for The Acclaimed.
Really good trios match.
Julia Hart (w/ Brody King) defeated Syke Blue (7:12 aired)
Hart has a 24 match winning streak and is undefeated in 2023. I would have never called any of this for Hart when she debuted as a bubbly cheerleader on Dark in 2021.
Blue and Hart played mind games with each other to start, with Blue seemingly nonplussed by Hart’s antics. Hart pulled Blue in to whisper something in her ear, and Blue responded with a knee strike and suplex for a near fall. Hart avoided a charge in the corner and tripped Blue into the turnbuckles.
After a break, Blue mounted the comeback with forearms and a knee strike. Enziguri from Blue got a near fall. Blue went to the top, but Hart cut her off. Blue and Hart brawled on the top turnbuckle. Hart superplexed Blue, with Hart’s own legs still hooked on the turnbuckle. Hart then spinder-crawled into a moonsault for a near fall. Hart hung upside down in the corner for a minute, then did a handstand out of the corner into a moonsault for a near fall. Blue countered the Hartless, but Hart countered the counter with a crucifix for a near fall. Blue got a brief comeback, but Hart hit a sliding forearm to the back of the head, then locked in the Hartless to get the tap out. That is Hart’s 25th win in a row.
After the match, Hart locked in the Hartless again until Willow NIghtingale ran in to make the save. Hart hid behind King and taunted Nightingale, who checked on Blue. It feels like Hart just has every aspect of this character down.
– Bullet Club Gold (with the Cardblade, which should be called the Switchboard) cut a promo on Andrade El Idolo in advance of Jay White’s match with him tomorrow night. This was an excellent promo from White.
Mike Santana defeated “Dirty Bulk” Bronson (2:25)
Bronson is from the Iron Savages (formerly Bear Conutry). Why are the Bear Country guys doing a gym rat gimmick when they don’t particularly look like gym rats?
Santana hit a rolling cutter and a discus lariat sent Bronson to the floor. Santana followed him out with a tope suicida. The crowd was solidly behind Santana. Santana hit a cannonball senton in the corner. Santana finished Bronson off with a high angle Jay Driller.
After the match, Ortiz came out on the ramp to talk to Santana, but Santana walked away from Ortiz.
Collision Update: Hook & RVD will face Jeff Parker & Matt Menard, and Julia Hart will face Willow Nightingale in new matches for tomorrow night’s show. No new matches were added to Dynamite or WrestleDream.
The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Adam Page) defeated The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona w/ Prince Nana) to win the ROH World Six Man Titles.
The Elite came out to “Carry on My Wayward Son.”
This match was just one crazy move after another.
Page hit a boot on Kaun who fell off the apron and landed in the arms of the Bucks. Page then hit a shooting star press onto Kaun while the Bucks held him off the apron. Nick Jackson hit a springboard Canadian Destroyer on Cage. The Elite were about to hit a triple-team BTE Trigger on Cage, but Swerve Strickland’s music hit and he came out to observe from the stage. The Gates of Agony tossed Matt into a sitdown powerbomb from Cage for a near fall. Kaun hit Matt with a backstabber in the corner, and Liona dove into Jackson with an elbow while he was still hung up in the corner.
After a split-screen break (where the heels worked over Matt Jackson), Jackson hit a top rope crossbody to the floor on Liona and Kaun. Page got the tag and hit Cage with a boot. Page flipped out of a German suplex, hit a springboard lariat on Kaun and a moonsault on Cage for a near fall. The Bucks hit a pair of dives on The Gates of Agony, but Cage hit a water wheel drop (an Alabama Slam into a sitout powerbomb) for a near fall. Page countered a Cage’s attempt at death valley driver from the top with a super hurricanrana. The Bucks hit a pair of superkicks on Cage, and more superkicks on the Gates of Agony. The Bucks and Page went for the Dave Meltzer driver, but Cage caught Nick diving in. The champs hit all three of their opponents with Samoan drops (Cage’s might have been more like an F5), and Cage got another near fall on Page.
Cage and Kaun held Page open for a middle rope splash from Liona for a near fall. The Bucks hit more superkicks, but The Gates took out the Young Bucks with clotheslines. Page hit a double Buckshot Lariat on the Gates. Page hit the Deadeye on Cage for another near fall. Strickland walked down the ramp to distract Page, allowing Cage to hit a discus lariat. Cage went for the Drill Claw, but Page countered that into a cradle for the pinfall. The Elite are once again the ROH World Six Man champions. This is the second reign for Page & The Young Bucks.
After the match, Strickland and Page had an intense staredown while Swerve walked to the back (never breaking eye contact with Page). The Bucks encouraged Page to “celebrate the moment.”
Final Thoughts:
Three years into this and it just occurred to me the could be calling this show “Grand Slampage.”
AEW has announced that we’ll hear from Guevara and Don Callis on Rampage Grand Slam tonight. The special two-hour episode was taped on Wednesday and airs on TNT at 10 p.m. Eastern time tonight.
Jericho defeated his protege Guevara in a match on Dynamite Grand Slam this week. Following the match, there was an angle where Guevara betrayed Jericho and aligned with Callis. Jericho and Guevara initially hugged after their match, but Guevara gave Jericho a low blow. Callis then made his way out and left with Guevara.
Sammy Guevara just hit a low blow on his mentor, Chris Jericho, and now he's walking out of the ring with Don Callis!
Guevara looks to be the newest member of the Don Callis Family, which also includes Konosuke Takeshita and Will Ospreay. Ospreay defeated Jericho at AEW All In this August.
Jericho vs. Guevara at Dynamite Grand Slam was their first-ever singles match against each other.
Here’s the updated lineup for Rampage Grand Slam:
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) defend against The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page)
AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn defend against The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
ROH Tag Team title number one contender’s match: The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Hardys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) vs. The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) vs. Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor)
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage & Luchasaurus
Orange Cassidy, Hook & Kris Statlander vs. Matt Menard, Angelo Parker & Anna Jay
The following are spoilers for the Friday, September 22 AEW Rampage Grand Slam episode taped Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York City.
**********
These two bouts were taped prior to Dynamite Grand Slam:
Orange Cassidy, Hook & Kris Statlander defeated Matt Menard, Angelo Parker & Anna Jay
Mike Santana defeated Bear Boulder — Ortiz & Santana had a stare-down on the stage after the match.
These segments were taped after Dynamite:
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Hangman Page & The Young Bucks defeated Brian Cage & Gates of Agony to win the titles.
Sting & Darby Allin defeated Christian Cage & Luchasaurus.
Don Callis & Sammy Guevara entered for a promo. Chris Jericho came out to confront the two. Konosuke Takeshita entered and joined Guevara and Callis in a beatdown on Jericho. Kenny Omega ran in to make the save for Jericho.
Julia Hart defeated Skye Blue
ROH World Tag Team Championship number one contenders match: The Righteous defeated The Hardys, Best Friends, and The Kingdom in a four-way match. They will now face Adam Cole & MJF for the ROH Tag Team titles at WrestleDream on October 1.
AEW World Trios Championship: The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn defeated Dark Order’s Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver to retain.
A four-way match to determine the number one contenders to the ROH Tag titles is among the new items announced for AEW Rampage Grand Slam.
The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) vs. The Hardys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) vs. The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) vs. Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) will take place at Rampage Grand Slam with the winners earning a shot at Adam Cole & MJF’s ROH World Tag Team Championship at AEW WrestleDream on Sunday, October 1. The new match was announced during Wednesday’s Dynamite Grand Slam.
Another bout has been added to the Rampage Grand Slam lineup, as Skye Blue will face Julia Hart in a women’s division contest.
Mike Santana in singles action was also newly announced for Friday’s episode.
The three new bouts join a lineup that already includes an ROH World Six-Man Tag Team title match, an AEW World Trios title bout, a mixed trios bout, plus Sting & Darby Allin teaming against Christian Cage & Luchasaurus for Friday’s show.
Rampage Grand Slam is being taped Wednesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York City to air Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern time on TNT in a special two-hour episode.
The announced card for Rampage Grand Slam:
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) defend against The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page)
AEW World Trios Championship: The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn defend against Dark Order’s Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver
ROH World Tag Team Championship number one contenders match: The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) vs. The Hardys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) vs. The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) vs. Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor)
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage & Luchasaurus
Orange Cassidy, Hook & Kris Statlander vs. Matt Menard, Angelo Parker & Anna Jay
The new issue of the Observer is out, and it’s a big one:
The WWE merges with UFC and transitions into TKO, the most in depth look at the changes to be expected and where changes aren’t to be expected
Amount of cuts expected to be made
What type of people are expected to be cut
Nick Khan’s letter to employees before the cuts
First major departure
How Saudi Arabia investing in PFL affected the stock
New board of directors
New hierarchy
Dana White talks merger and shoots down another exec’s goal for the new company
Talk on future television rights
Current market value and did it reach projections
Biggest financial concerns
Crossover promotion
Match of the week and performer of the week
AEW All in attendance with notes on other stadium shows including actual WrestleMania turnstile counts vs. announced and paid attendance
Bryan Danielson’s full-time career winds down, why, how long he’s thought about this and talks candidly about his decision
Long-term concerns
UFC 293 in Australia with one of the biggest upsets in history. Who’s house? Sean’s house.
Future of middleweight division
Business notes on the show
History of promotional wars, timing, how AEW vs. WWE is the same, how it differs
AEW and its decline in live attendance, the key reasons and what can be done, and how WCW turned it around under Zane Bresloff
How other companies turned it around and how the circumstances to do that aren’t there in this situation
A look at the next major WWE, AEW and NXT shows and early business notes
WWE Superstar spectacular in India coverage
The unique career of Brett Wayne Sawyer, top singles champion on the most-watched television show in the country at 23, and a career that fell off quickly
The early days of the Road Warriors
The booking of Ole Anderson
The most detailed look at the ratings, weekly and nightly standings, segment breakdowns, comparisons to one year ago in a very important and newsworthy week
CMLL 90th anniversary show this week
Legends special match coming
Stardom PPV notes including one of the week’s best matches
Performer of the week and match of the week
First time ever for a true rookie in match of the week
Major dream match this weekend with Will Ospreay
Updates on Jim Duggan
Notes on the death of former Carolinas announcer Rich Landrum
Notes on the Cassandro movie
Pro wrestling star leaves the business for one year, wins a gold medal in the Olympics–this long forgotten piece of wrestling history
Bandido returning
Impact Hall of Fame notes and notes on Mike Tenay
Jade Cargill update
Business updates on PPV from All Out, Backlash and All In
What percentage of WWE buyers purchased an AEW show in the last few weeks
Ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE shows
International TV ratings
Streaming numbers for WWE
Ortiz & Santana breakup explained
Paul Wight’s name in ESPN story on PED investigation
Georges St-Pierre into Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
UFC top star leaving the promotion
UFC Hall of Famer gets DWI
Bray Wyatt funeral
Vince McMahon’s return
Thoughts on Smackdown and what is the best day for the show if FX gets it
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].
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Sunday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking the weekend wrestling news like Dwayne Johnson, Jade Cargill, AEW Grand Slam & Smackdown as well as last night’s Valentina Shevckenko vs. Alexa Grasso fight. Our weekly business show with Garrett Gonzales is up on the site now, talking a lot of the Observer news for this week, WWE firings, AEW struggles at the gate and more.
Former wrestler and promoter Emile Dupree passed away over the weekend. He was 86. Dupree started wrestling in 1955 and went all over the world, and then promoted Grand Prix Wrestling in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada as a seasonal territory in the summer from 1977 to 1990. There were comeback attempts as late as 2017 for the promotion based on its glory days. Wrestling would only run in the summer as a six or seven day a week territory. Lots of the Stampede Wrestling and other Canadian talent would go there because it was such a good paying promotion. Dupree, born Emile Goguen in New Brunswick, used a number of major stars at different points such as Edge, Christian, Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, JJ Dillon, Ric Flair, Harley Race and Dynamite Kid.
Just a note that as it has been the past two years, the Grand Slam Rampage show on Friday night will be two hours from 10 p.m. to midnight.
In Saudi Arabia they are announcing John Cena for the 11/4 show. Cena had pulled out of the last WWE show in Saudi Arabia he had been booked on, but it’s no longer an issue that could have negative effects on his career since everyone is back doing business with the country now. Basically there is nobody left on the roster as far as we know that is either refusing to go or banned from going.
It doesn’t get much closer than last night’s Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko flyweight title match. It was a split decision draw. Michael Bell ruled it a draw giving rounds two and five for Grasso including a very controversial 10-8 fifth round. Sal D’Amato had it for Shevchenko winning rounds one, three and four. Junichrio Kamijo had it for Grass winning rounds two, four and five. Basically almost everyone had one for Shevchenko, two for Grasso, three for Shevchenko and five for Grasso and it came down to how you scored round four. Media scores were 52 percent for Grasso and 48 percent for Shevchenko. Fan scoring was 45.2 percent for Shevchenko and 44.9 percent for Grasso with 4.4 percent scoring it even. Shevchenko was very strong in thinking she won. Grasso said after two fights with Shevchenko she wants to move on, but one would think after this score they should do a rematch.
In Google trends for the week, nothing from wrestling, boxing or MMA cracked the top 20 on any day this week. That is a surprise because of the UFC title fight last night, but it was only on ESPN+ so viewership was way down, but it was still a legit title match. Plus Dwayne Johnson on Friday for his statements about WrestleMania and then being on Smackdown would have been expected to crack the top 20.
The Sukeban promotion is scheduled for a debut on Thursday in New York and we’ve heard very little about it. The Japanese talent is supposed to leave on Tuesday.
Today is the sixth anniversary of the death of Bobby Heenan at 72, among the greatest pro wrestling managers ever and I would say the single funniest person ever to work in the industry.
Mason Parris, who is under a WWE NIL deal, placed third in the world championships in the 275 pound weight class. Parris replaced Gable Steveson on the U.S. team when Steveson pulled out due to WWE for reasons undisclosed but likely WWE related. At 189 pounds, David Taylor won the gold medal beating Iranian legend Hassan Yazdani via pin with less than three seconds left. Taylor was up 7-3 with time running out. It was Taylor’s third world championship. Zain Retherford won a gold medal at 174 pounds. Vito Araujau won at 134 pounds. Kyle Dake is in the finals at 163 pounds tomorrow. Kyle Snyder at 213 pounds starts competition tomorrow.
We’re looking for your thoughts on the CMLL Anniversary show, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re also looking for reports from tonight’s WWE show in Boise, ID, results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
The big weekend match we’ve heard the most about was today’s Will Ospreay vs. Naomichi Marfuji match from Korakuen Hall.
After his loss last night in the UFC Noche show in Las Vegas, Kevin Holland issued a challenge to Neil Magny for a hair vs. hair match. Evidently he thought he was on the anniversary show.
WWE sold out last night in Kennewick, WA, the first domestic house show sellout in months:
Rey Mysterio retained the U.S. title over LA Knight and Austin Theory by pinning Theory after a 619 and springboard splash after Knight had given Theory the BFT.
Becky Lynch b Tiffany Stratton to retain the NXT women’s title in a good match after the man handle slam
Chad Gable & Otis & Tommaso Ciapa b Imperium when Ciampa made Giovanni Vinci submit to the Silician stretch
Jey Uso b Bronson Reed after a spear
Cody Rhodes b Dominik Mysterio in a street fight by putting him through a table and hitting Cross Rhodes. Rhodes pushed for fans to donate to Connor’s Cure this month.
Finn Balor & Damian Priest retained the WWE tag titles over Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro. Dominik tried to interfere but Rey made the save with a paddle and spanked him with it
Asuka b Charlotte Flair with an inside cradle off the figure eight
Seth Rollins b Shinsuke Nakamura to keep the world title with a pedigree and curb stomp
(thanks to Shannon Walsh, Geoffrey Paulson, Rick Evans and others)
D-Von Dudley was doing an autograph signing last night in Monroe, MI and he said his return last week was not a one-time thing, he’s out of retirement and is looking at signing a deal with Impact.
MJF was at the New York Mets game today promoting Wednesday’s Dynamite show at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He called Chase Utley a “Schmuck” and called the Phillips Phanatic the stupidest mascot in baseball.
Ronda Rousey’s second book, “Our Fight,” is scheduled for an April 2, 2024 release date. The book will cover her pro wrestling career and is co- written by her sister, Maria Burns Ortiz.
Tomorrow’s Raw in Salt Lake City has Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio, New Day vs Viking Raiders 2/3 falls and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ricochet. It will go against two different NFL games, one on ABC and one on ESPN. The hope has to be that Dwayne Johnson and John Cena on Smackdown will increase interest in the promotion as a whole as it tries to rebound from the lowest audience to watch a first-run episode of the show in its history last Monday.
Michael Oku vs. Hechicero for the British heavyweight title headlines the 9/23 FantasticaMania show in Manchester, UK.
House of Glory Wrestling from Friday night in New York City: Ken Broadway & Showtime Moore b Gallo & Elijah Eden, Nolo Kitano b Joey Silver, Michael Fain won six-way over JJ Doujii, Raheem Royal, Darren Richardson, Brain Burgundy and Sonny Kiss, Ultra Violette b B3CCA to keep the women’s title, Midas Black & Jay Lyon kept the tag titles over the Vaudevillains Simon Gotch & Matt Rehwoldt, Matt Cardona b Homicide to keep the HOG title and was confronted by Santana after the match, El Hijo del Vikingo b Low Ki
Eric Taylor won the JT Lightning Memorial tournament winning a three-way over Alec Price and Sam Holloway. Price beat Colin Delaney and Mikey Montgomery in one semi and Taylor won over Chavo Guerrero Jr., Mangum CK and Mance Warner in the other.
Impact on Thursday will have an Ultimate X match with Zachary Wentz, Angels, Rich Swann, Samuray del Sol, Mike Bailey and Ace Austin, Trey Miguel vs. Josh Alexander and the match with Trinity & Jordynne Grace & Mickie James & Gail Kim & Awesome Kong vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Tasha Steelz & Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans & Angelina Love. This was the match Kim was injured in and featured the pioneers of the division in Kim and Kong.
A new match has been set up for AEW Rampage Grand Slam.
Following the conclusion of Collision on Saturday night, AEW posted footage of Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and Anna Jay confronting Hook, Orange Cassidy, and Kris Statlander in the locker room. The segment ended with the former Jericho Appreciation Society members issuing a challenge for Rampage Grand Slam.
“I’m reading the situation. I think they want a taste,” Parker says in the video. “How about the three of you meet us in the ring, Rampage Grand Slam?”
Rampage Grand Slam will be a two-hour show taped on Wednesday, September 20 from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queen’s, New York. It will air on Friday, September 22 on TNT. Three matches are officially confirmed for the show.
AEW Rampage Grand Slam 2023 announced lineup:
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage & The Gates of Agony) defend against The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page)
AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn defend against Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
Darby Allin & Sting vs. Luchasaurus and Christian Cage
Both the AEW and Ring of Honor six-man titles will be on the line at Rampage Grand Slam.
The Elite’s Young Bucks and Hangman Page appeared in a backstage promo on Saturday’s AEW Collision to challenge The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) to a match for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles. The Young Bucks made the save for Hangman Page after he was jumped by Cage on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
A match for the AEW Trios titles was also set on Saturday when it was announced that the Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver) will challenge reigning titleholders The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn.
Saturday’s show saw Silver defeat Anthony Bowens after Bowens was attacked by Evil Uno outside of the ring. Dark Order had challenged The Acclaimed to a singles match on Rampage, wanting to prove that they were worthy of a Trios title match.
Here is the updated lineup for the two-hour AEW Rampage Grand Slam:
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage & The Gates of Agony) defend against The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page)
AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn defend against Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
Darby Allin & Sting vs. Luchasaurus and Christian Cage
The first match is official for a special two-hour episode of AEW Rampage Grand Slam on Friday, September 22.
It was revealed during this week’s Rampage episode that Sting & Darby Allin will be in tag team action at Grand Slam against Christian Cage & Luchasaurus.
Luchasaurus defeated Allin to retain the TNT Championship at All Out earlier this month, while Sting & Allin defeated Christian & Swerve Strickland in a coffin match at last month’s All In pay-per-view as the rivalry between the two sides has continued to unfold.
A trios match was also heavily teased for Rampage Grand Slam, although not officially announced.
Strickland issued a challenge to The Young Bucks & Hangman Page on behalf of Brian Cage & The Gates of Agony for Rampage Grand Slam during a backstage promo segment on this week’s episode.
As has been the case with the prior two editions of Rampage Grand Slam, the episode will be taped on Wednesday following Dynamite Grand Slam, and will air for two hours on Friday night beginning at the normal time of 10 p.m. Eastern time on TNT.
The confirmed lineup so far:
AEW Rampage Grand Slam, Friday, September 22, 10 p.m. Eastern time on TNT —
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage & Luchasaurus
Friday night’s special two-hour episode of Rampage, the second part of AEW’s annual Grand Slam event, averaged 522,000 viewers on TNT. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.17.
The first hour, which aired in Rampage’s usual time slot, finished fourth on cable with a 0.18 rating in 18-49, up 28.6 percent from the previous week. It was Rampage’s best rating in that time slot since April 22.
The first hour averaged 558,000 viewers, which would be the highest-viewed hour of Rampage since April 1. It was up 18.7 percent from the previous week.
Hour two finished eighth on cable with a 0.16 rating in 18-49. The whole show would have finished sixth on cable if the two hours were averaged together.
The second hour averaged 486,000 viewers, which — on its own — would’ve been the highest-viewed hour of Rampage since April 22. The two-hour average of 522,000 viewers was the highest total for Rampage since April 8.
As compared with last year’s Grand Slam special, hour one was down 23.3 percent in overall viewers and down 43.8 percent in 18-49. Hour two was down 12 percent in viewers and down 36 percent in 18-49.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo numbers for the 10-11 p.m. hour of Rampage, as well as the 10-week averages in all categories. This week’s first hour was up 23.7 percent in viewers and up 28.6 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.
Hangman Adam Page is in line for a future AEW World Championship match.
Page won a battle royal on Friday’s Rampage to earn a shot at the AEW World Championship, which will take place on the October 18 edition of Dynamite, a special Tuesday night airing. The finish of the battle royal had Page last eliminating Rush, who had attacked him prior to the match on the rampway as Page was making his entrance.
Other participants in the match included The Butcher, The Blade, Ari Daivari, Penta El 0 M, Best Friends, Cole Karter, Danhausen, QT Marshall, Dante Martin, Brian Cage, Dalton Castle, Lance Archer, Daniel Garcia, Lee Moriarty, 10, Matt Hardy, Private Party, Evil Uno, John Silver, and Jay Lethal.
Jon Moxley won the AEW World Championship at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam on Wednesday in a tournament final, defeating Bryan Danielson. MJF also has a future shot at the AEW World Championship, having won the Casino Ladder Match at All Out earlier this month that earns him a title match at a time of his choosing.
The Great Muta appeared at AEW Rampage Grand Slam, helping longtime rival Sting against Buddy Matthews and The House of Black.
Towards the end of a match pitting Sting & Darby Allin against Brody King & Matthews, Matthews had Sting handcuffed in a chair. He was about to strike Sting with a baseball bat when The Great Muta came out. Matthews originally stepped aside, allowing Muta to possibly attack his former rival. However, Muta attacked Matthews with a dragon screw, then misted him. Matthews, blinded, bumped into Julia Hart on the apron, sending her through a table. Sting then picked up the win for his team.
After the match, Muta and Sting shook hands and hugged.
Keiji Mutoh is currently on a retirement tour, with only a few matches left prior to his retirement show on February 21 at the Tokyo Dome. His final match under The Great Muta persona will take place at a Pro Wrestling NOAH event on January 22 at the Yokohama Arena.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including AEW Grand Slam, Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul, “White Rabbit”, SmackDown and Rampage notes, tons of news from the weekend and more.
A fun show as always so check it out. Listen to this and over 14,000 archived shows with a subscription to wrestlingobserver.com, or click video.f4wonline.com for full HD videos~!
Homicide appeared at the end of tonight’s AEW Grand Slam event that was taped for Friday’s Rampage.
The main event of tonight’s event at Arthur Ashe Stadium was a Lights Out match, pitting Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley against Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki. At the end of the match, Homicide came out and helped Moxley and Kingston win the match.
Kingston introduced Homicide as his mentor after the match. Kingston told his mom that he loved her. He said before certain people came here, they sold this place (Arthur Ashe Stadium) out. But with those people’s arrival, the flag has been taken and put on cement, declaring that New York is now AEW’s town.
Homicide has been regularly appearing on ROH television as part of the Violence Unlimited stable with Brody King, Chris Dickinson, and Tony Deppen. He and Dickinson most recently held the ROH World Tag Team titles, losing them to Dragon Lee and Kenny King on an episode of ROH TV that aired on September 11.
