Daily Update
Latest News
- Zelina Vega pulled from WWE Queen of the Ring due to injury
- January 8, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Vince McMahon & Donald Trump, UFC 66
- Dana White open to UFC fighters performing in WWE
- WWE Main Event results: New Catch Republic vs. The Creed Brothers
- ROH spoilers from Vancouver, BC, Canada
- NJPW Resurgence notes: Title changes, Fantasticamania USA announced
- The Young Bucks attack Eddie Kingston at NJPW Resurgence
- AEW’s Willow Nightingale to defend TBS title at Stardom Flashing Champions
Latest Audio
Latest Free YouTube Video
F4W/WON Convention
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Some of the highlights in this issue:
- Thoughts on the Cung Le lawsuit settlement, and meaningful changes in business and what this closes the door on in MMA
- Why TKO paid $335 million and considered this as a win
- Why the stock market thought the same
- UFC & WWE financials
- Changes in television and Smackdown plans going forward
- The crazy story of WWE losing more money in this quarter than they made in virtually any year of its existence and multiples of the total losses of AEW since its inception and why there is nothing to worry about
- How the interest on loans for TKO alone is more than WWE ever made until the Austin era
- Complete coverage of WWE Backlash
- The business numbers both good and bad
- Notes from the French crowd
- Next year’s WrestleMania
- A look at the departures of Gable Steveson and Drew Gulak Ric Flair talks heart attack
- Saudi Arabia getting more traction in WWE & UFC business
- New Japan Dontaku coverage
- UFC 301 coverage
- Final Dark Side of the Ring episode on Black Saturday looked at
- Coverage of three other major shows this week
- Next TripleMania show
- Arena Mexico heats up
- Champion Carnival coverage
- International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Ric Flair incident
- MLW looking at expanding into new markets
- Wrestler song makes U.K. charts
- NBA rights and how this affects AEW
- Chuck Taylor career legit in jeopardy
- Update on Double or Nothing
- Advance ticket sales for AEW & WWE upcoming shows
- Art Jimmerson remembered
- Canelo Alvarez along with WWE, AEW and TNA PPV number updates
- Janel Grant lawsuit update
- More WWE notes from Ronda Rousey
- International TV ratings and streaming numbers
This week’s back issue: January 8, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Vince McMahon & Donald Trump, UFC 66
Sunday Update
– We have three weekend shows already up on the site. We did two shows on Friday, one with Jim Ross talking about his new book, his career, Bill Watts, Black Saturday, Sting, Tony Schiavone, and tons of other topics, and then Garrett and I went through a show talking about all the news of the week including things that needed to be said regarding the dichotomy of wrestling media.
Last night’s show with Bryan focused on New Japan Resurgence, Smackdown, and Collision as well as the rest of the news.
– We don’t have more of an update on Eddie Kingston. The only thing we heard today is that they were crossing their fingers and hoping he’d be okay. There was no word whether he’d be able to do Anarchy in the Arena past they were hoping he could. In the last move of his last man standing match with Gabe Kidd, Kidd suplexed Kingston off the apron through a table and Kingston’s leg crashed hard on the guard rail. He wasn’t able to get up for a long time. It was scary but it did make the angle when Jack Perry & The Young Bucks attacked him even more of a heel deal.
We did hear from people at the show who said the issue was the crowd micing in Ontario and not that the crowd was dead.
– I want to wish every mother out there a Happy Mother’s Day. For those of you who have mothers, cherish them and make it a special day for them. For those who don’t, please remember them because you wouldn’t be here without them.
– It was announced at Resurgence that the first Fantastica Mania show ever in the U.S. will be on 7/13 at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
– We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE house show in Macon, GA which has a King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring tournament match with Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio and Shayna Baszler vs. Maxxine Dupri in tournament matches. The Kingston-Mysterio winner faces Gunther on Raw on Monday while the Baszler-Dupri winner faces Iyo Sky tomorrow.
– Also on tomorrow’s show is Jey Uso vs. Ilja Dragunov and Zoey Stark vs. Lyra Valkyria in tournament matches. We’re looking for results, finishes, and highlights to [email protected]. We’re also doing polls for New Japan Resurgence so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
– WWE from last night in Chattanooga:
- Miz & R-Truth retained the Raw tag titles over JD McDonagh & Finn Balor
- LA Knight b Santos Escobar to advance in the King of the Ring tournament. He faces Tama Tonga on Friday.
- Austin Theory & Grayson Waller b Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano to retain the Smackdown tag titles
- Liv Morgan b Nia Jax in a street fight
- Damian Priest b Jey Uso to keep the world title
- Tiffany Stratton b Michin to advance in the Queen of the Ring tournament. She faces Bianca Belair on Friday.
– There were only two Google search items that made the top 20 this week related to boxing, wrestling, and MMA, both from yesterday. The Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosis fight was No. 3 with 100,000 searches. Derrick Lewis from yesterday’s UFC show was No. 12 with 50,000.
– If you watched the New Japan show last night and noted Ian Riccaboni talking about the Young Bucks being in Vancouver and then being at the show, it was just an honest mistake. Before the show, he was watching a feed of the show and a taped segment with the Young Bucks aired and he wasn’t aware it was taped, so when they did arrive, he assumed they must have flown in from Vancouver.
– There will be another three-hour AEW block this coming Saturday night but back on TNT with Collision at 8 p.m. and Rampage at 10 p.m.
– Kento Miyahara beat Jun Saito today in Yokohama to win the AJPW Champion Carnival tournament. They also announced EC 3 would be defending his NWA world title on 5/29 at Korakuen Hall. The hope is that will start an All Japan/NWA relationship.
I haven’t heard anything on the Miyahara-Saito match although Miyahara singles matches are usually great. As far as big matches people have noted to us, Shuji Ishikawa vs. Kazusada Higuchi in the King of DDT tournament was recommended. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton on Smackdown and most of Collision was very strong in the ring. The two best bouts were Kingston vs. Gabe Kidd and Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino for the IWGP title. The latter was great and I’ve had people say it was Moxley’s best singles match ever, which covers ridiculous ground. The crowd micing hurt it but it was an exceptional match.
– Another big match this weekend was the Joey Janela vs. Nick Wayne Iron Man Match from Defy on Friday night in Seattle. That can be found in full here.
– Sami Zayn did a comedy show in Los Angeles last night at the Vermont Hollywood. Here is a report on it from Chris Campol:
It was a great time. He opened with a twenty-minute stand-up set. Told some really funny wrestling stories. Then he brought out a few comics who are wrestling fans one at a time for a chat. They had a couch and chairs on stage. At one point someone started heckling Sami, and after some back and forth he was invited on stage. After some more insults, the guy took off his wig, glasses, and fake mustache, and it was Johnny Knoxville. They acted like they were gonna fight, and then Becky Lynch came out to be the peacemaker. She was absolutely hysterical. Becky stuck around for the rest of the show.
They brought up a few volunteers from the crowd to see who could cut the best promo. Cathy Kelley was there to give them prompts, which she totally improvised on the spot. She was great. Eventually, Knoxville came back out with flowers trying to make up with Sami. They hugged but then Wee Man came out and low-blowed Sami, then gave him a frickin bodyslam. Holy s*** chants. He sold it like he was dead and that was the end of the show.
For someone who, by his own admission, had no idea what he was doing, Sami was awesome here. As seen in WWE, his comic timing is really spot on. Hopefully, he does more of this kind of thing. He really has a knack for it.”
– A&E tonight has WWE Rivals with Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes at 8 pm. and Most Wanted Treasures on Ultimate Warrior at 9 p.m. I don’t know if they’ve done a WWE Rivals using an NWA feud before, as Flair vs. Rhodes wasn’t even WCW, it was NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions.
– The death of entertainment news host Sam Rubin of KTLA in Los Angeles does have a pro wrestling connection. When he was a kid, Mike Lano, Mark & Gary Dawson (sons of Richard Dawson of Family Feud fame), and Rubin would go every Saturday to the newsstands together to read the wrestling magazines from the 70s. They’d also at times go to used magazine stores to try and buy old wrestling magazines. He also did backyard wrestling matches at Emerson Junior High and University High in Santa Monica.
Rubin was 64. He was on TV Thursday morning but called in sick Friday and had a heart attack. He was a lifelong fan and would interview wrestlers on his newcast. All the major stations in Los Angeles covered his death, showing him interviewing everyone from Hulk Hogan to Prince Harry to Presidents Clinton, Obama, and Bush. (thanks to Mike Lano)
– Best of the Super Juniors at 5:30 a.m. Eastern from Korakuen Hall tomorrow morning
- A block-Kevin Knight vs. Blake Christian
- B block-Francesco Akira vs. Ninja Mack
- A block-Hayata vs Clark Connors
- B block-Robbie Eagles vs. Drilla Moloney
- A block-TJP vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- B block-Taiji Ishimori vs. Dragon Dia
- A block-Titan vs. Bushi
- B block-Sho vs.Kushida
- A block-Desperado vs. Kosei Fujita
- B block-Hiromu Takahashi vs. Douki
– Derrick Lewis, who knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento in UFC’s main event last night, took off his shorts and fanned Nascimento as he was trying to revive him. He then took off his cup and threw it to the media table and then pulled down his underwear to moon the crowd. He then said he appreciated the crowd in St. Louis for letting him show them his naked ass.
– Dani Mo will wrestle Bhagawati Khadka on Mount Everest on 5/23. They are attempting to say it’ll be a world record for a match held at the highest elevation. I don’t know what the record is but Mexico City is 7,349 feet.
– When Mercedes Mone threw out the first pitch at the Boston Red Sox game yesterday, the PA announcer first called her Sasha Banks and claimed she was the first woman to main event WrestleMania. I thought that was Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch. But then he called her Mercedes Mone from Boston (thanks to Ron Lemieux)
– Jerry Lawler was inducted into the Indiana Sports Hall of Fame on Friday night.
– TV Guide lists “Iron Claw” as one of the best things to stream this month. It debuted on MAX on Friday night. They wrote that people who thought this was a pro wrestling movie and skipped it missed out on a tear-jerker family drama. (thanks to Matt Schreiner)
– Kurt Angle will make an appearance for Absolute Intense Wrestling on 5/24 in Cleveland at Temple Live. He will have a meet and greet at the show.
– Jay Lethal posted about his late mother on Instagram.
– Defy from Friday night in Seattle: Nick Wayne b Joey Janels 5 falls to 4 in a 60:00 Iron Man match, Marina Shafir b Vert Vixen to win the Defy women’s title, Big Damo & Axel Tischer (Sanity) b Ricky Gibson & Eddie Parl to keep the Progress world tag titles, Danhausen b Randy Myers, KENTA b Bryan Keith to retain the Defy title.
