Tag: Daily updates

Daily Update

Latest News

• Report: Injured wrestler seen backstage ahead of WWE SmackDown
• AEW Dynamite ratings up for WrestleDream go-home show
• Dax Harwood says he and his family have been targeted by a stalker
• WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes addresses Crown Jewel loss
• Report: Main event changed for WWE SmackDown

Latest Audio

• WOR: Seth Rollins, Andrade, WWF in 1992
• WOL: John Cena’s last match, WWE and AI, Andrade
• Wrestling Weekly: Seth Rollins & future plans in WWE, AEW WrestleDream thoughts
• Fight Game: AEW WrestleDream preview, Andrade, Seth Rollins
• B&V: AEW Dynamite and NXT recaps and backstage notes!

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• October 20, 2025 Observer Newsletter: Seth Rollins injury fallout, WWE Crown Jewel recap, AEW WrestleDream preview

Notes from the new issue which apparently has been the talk of the social media wrestling world:
*Seth Rollins injury and how this will lead to numerous changes in  booking plans, including what was scheduled short and long-term for Rollins through Mania and after.
*Full coverage of Crown Jewel, business notes and match coverage
*The Media Ratings Council has questions about the new numbers
*Just how far Smackdown has dropped with younger viewers based on the new sampling and NXT isn’t much  different, nor is AEW
*Konosuke Takeshita beats Zack Sabre Jr. to win the IWGP title, a look at King of Prm Wrestling, WrestleKingdom, first thoughts on Aaron Wolf, and the angles on the show
*WrestleDream preview, business notes, as well as Saturday Night’s Main Event in Salt Lake City needs the entire show revamped
*Odds for upcoming big matches
*TNA Bound for Glory notes
*A detailed story on WWE cuts focusing on Ridge Holland and WEs Lee
*Pro  Wrestling NOAH at Sumo Hall
*A huge story on the 2025 Hall of Fame U.S. & Canada candidates
*What the awards voting over the last 45 years says about those who fare better not  in than those who are in.  
*The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling shows of the past week
*It women’s month at Arena Mexico but one person is still the star, a look at  the recent main events
*A look at two PPV shows from Arena Mexico coming
*Who is the obvious choice for tag team of the year that nobody is talking about
*Best of the Super Juniors tournament
*Japanese referee dies in bear attack
*Update on Smashing Machine business
*They named a bridge after Stu Hart and more notes
*NFL star copying Ric Flair
*Fantastica Mania UK
*The Andrade situation
*Lots of background details on similar stories
*Kota Ibushi update
*Notes on Chris Jericho and Britt Baker
*Darby Allin talks about the cancers that used to be in AEW
*Update on  a training camp for AEW in Asheville, NC
*Rematch of a match of the year candidate coming to AEW show in Edinburg, TX
*Updates on YouTube numbers for September
*Debate over the new and old Ali Act
*Details on Zuffa Boxing deals
*How much UFC makes in profit per Saturday show
*New UFC fights
*Sad BJ Penn story
*Stories on fighters getting screwed by promoters
*Ticket demand for John Cena’s ast show
*New WWE hire, usage of AI for wrestling storylines and some are worried about their jobs
*AJ Styles talks retiring
*WWE injury updates

This Week’s Back Issue

• January 21, 2008 Observer Newsletter: 2007 Observer Awards issue

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH

Friday Update

–Garrett Gonzales and I did a show today covering Andrade and Seth Rollins and AI in wrestling as well as talked a lot about WWE in 1992 with James Dixon who wrote a book on that period.  I wished we had more time to talk because that was a fun discussion.  Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night covering all the news plus AEW’s WestleDream.

–The new issue of The Observer out today apparently has been the talk of the social media wrestling world.  

–I only have minimal ratings notes on AEW on Wednesday, but considering the environment we are in where wrestling 18-34 is clearly severely undercounted and  Hispanic viewing seems to be as well, the numbers were the best they’ve been since the new system was put in place.  Dynamite did 534,000 viewers and an 0.11 in 18-49 and Collision did 400,000 viewers and an 0.11.    These numbers don’t include viewership on HBO MAX.

–From talking with people in both companies, the belief, or at least hope, is that the flaws will be fixed in the system at some point.  There is a ton of technical stuff involved.  I’ve had some conversations with people not in wrestling but super knowledgeable about ratings and I think the key flaws have been discussed in the past two week’s issues.

–No word on where they are going with the WWF world title situation.  The only update on Seth Rollins is that until they do the surgery, they won’t know the level of the damage or the amount of time it will take for him to return.  The injury is legit, the surgery is legit, unless they are really trying to fool everyone.  It’s quite the amazing irony.  But as far as how long he’ll be out, anything you may see as an estimate is premature past it’ll be months.

–Regarding Jacob Fatu, I believe the story that it was a non-ring related injury is accurate.  The hope was that he wouldn’t be out of action tha long, but it does eliminate him from tonight’s main event in San Jose (Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes is scheduled).  This is a domino effect since that was scheduled to be on the Survivor Series show, and still may be.  But the McIntyre vs. Fatu program over who gets the shot at Rhodes may have to be delayed.

–Based on Shinsuke Nakamura copying Hiroshi Tanahashi at today’s WWE show at Sumo Hell where Nakamura & Jey Uso beat Bron Brakker & Bronson Reed, it opened up speculation regarding Nakamura being Hiroshi Tanahashi’s last opponent at the Tokyo Dome.  Nothing is finalized.  Could it happen?  It’s not like that’s a firm no.

–A correction from today’s issue.  When talking about tomorrow’s show and the mention of Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Josh Alexander & Hechicero as a planned  match, Omega & Ibushi were to do a tag match but it may have been a different Callis family team like Alexander & Mark Davis.  Omega & Ibushi were in the original plans, but Hechicero was not going to be their opponent as he was not booked on the show.

–Due to Mercedes Mone, tonight’s All-women’s show at Arena Mexico, with Mone vs. Persephone and India Sioux vs. Skadi, will be the largest crowd for an all-women’s pro wrestling show in many years.  The advance is well above previous CMLL shows and it will beat the WWE Evolution show this year or any women’s shows in Japan.  Aubrey Edwards is being brought in to referee the Mone match.   Barring injury, something with Mone will be added to tomorrow’s WrestleDream show.

–Most of the top CMLL stars are in the UK for tomorrow’s Fantastica Mania shows in Wolverhampton, UK.  The shows will take place tomorrow at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Eastern.

–UFC is in Vancouver for an all  ESPN+ show starting at 4 p.m. tomorrow
Melissa Croden (136) vs. Tainara Lisbos (135.5)
Azamat Bekoev (185) vs. Yousri Belgaroui (185.5)
Stephanie Luciano (116) vs. Ravena Oliveira (115.5)
Kyle Prepolec (155.5) vs. Drew Dober (155.5)
Danny Bartlow (185.5) vs.  Djorden Santos (185.5)
Bruno Silva (125.5) vs.  HyunSung Park (126)
Charles Jourdain (135.5) vs. Davey  Grant (136)
Kyle Nelson (155.5) vs. Matt Frevola (155)
Cody Gibson (136) vs. Aoriqileng (135.5)
Manon Fiorot (125.5) vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius (125.5)
Marlon Chito Vera (136) vs. Aiemann Zahabi (135.5)
Kevin Holland (170.5) vs. Mike Malott (171)
Reinier de Ridder (186) vs. Brendan Allen (186)

de Ridder could be in line for the middleweight title with a win.

–Ilja Dragunov is backstage in San Jose according to PWInsider training in the ring.

–Laredo Kid vs. Lince Dorado vs. Aerostar vs. Jack Cartwheel for the AAA cruiserweight title has been added to the 10/25 show at Juan de la Barrera Gym.  In a match I never would have expected last month, hje 11/2 show in Monterrey has El Grande Americano Kaiser vs. Galeno del Mal.

–Sedriques Dumas is back in UFC for a fight with Donite Johnaon on 11/1 in Las Vegas.  You can look up a ton of articles on Dumas to know why using him is so controversial.

–There was a shocking photo of retired NJPW star Manabu Nakanishi.  He was famous for eating huge amounts of food.  He’s now unable to do so and has lost 66 pounds and honestly you would never recognize him.

Daily Update

Latest News

• Update on shocking WWE Raw show-closing angle
• Former WWE NXT talent Summer Sorrell comments on release
• The Rock says he has a ‘tiny bit of influence’ on John Cena’s final opponent
• Jon Moxley’s opponent for upcoming Defy event revealed
• Darby Allin: Sting’s son had ‘good’ debut, can go as far in wrestling as he wants

Latest Audio

• WOL: Huge RAW angle, Rollins, TNA and Crown Jewel, Ibushi!
• B&V: TNA Bound for Glory 2025 review

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the  Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site:

*In depth with the changes in ratings, are pro wrestling and MMA being undercounted, are they less popular than we thought, how the changes have happened, streaming, how this relates to baseball, football, and other entertainment shows.
*John Cena’s last matches, and the surprises in current WWE booking plans for now until December.
*A look at Crown Jewel and WrestleDream, the cards, how the shows look and the current interest level in them.
*Favorites in the betting in all the major future matches
*A look at The Smashing Machine, the heyday of Mark Kerr, the box office and what we’ve learned, comparisons with Iron Claw, the performances by Dwayne Johnson Emily Blunt and Ryan Bader and the Pride Grand Prix in 2000 with Sakuraba vs. Gracie and key what ifs that people don’t’ talk about
*All In Texas attendance and how much the state will be paying AEW based on the deal, plus original plans for that week and three shows that were once thought and talked about but didn’t happen with two international promotions.
*Full coverage of UFC 320, what’s next for the winners, the business side of things and match-by-match.
*The most complete and detailed look at the ratings for all the major shows as well as comparisons with last year, segment-by-semgent notes, demos and more.
*Expectations of when a major milestone in history of buildings that house wrestling will be reached and when 1 million fans in one specific building attending wrestling in a year is expected
*King  of Pro Wrestling thoughts
*New Japan’s last major show looked at
*40th anniversary of a landmark tag team event taking place
*Hulk Hogan’s widow looking at medical malpractice suit
*Death of the former Sabrina
*Dave Bautista makes surprising revelation
*Mistico vs. Bndido in Xalapa
*Renee Dupree talks the old WWE locker room
*Bound for Glory notes
*Lots of injury and contract updates
*The story of Ultimo Dragon’s ten belts and Mercedes Mone beating that record
*Sting’s son has his first match
*Advance tickets sales for the WWE & AEW shows over the next two months
*The strange secret suspension of  Conor McGregor
*More on the White House show
*MMA Fight of the year on the Dana White Contenders Series
*Has the WWE boom period ended or is it ending?
*The WWE product right now
*Jimmy Jacobs talks differences in backstage at WWE and TNA

This Week’s Back Issue

• January 21, 2008 Observer Newsletter: 2007 Observer Awards issue

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH

Monday Update

–Bryan and I will be back tonight and there is a ton of news to talk about between today’s Raw,  King of Pro Wrestling, Bound for Glory and lots of other WWE stuff.  We have a Saturday night show covering Crown Jewel and part three of our Hall of Fame show covering non-wrestlers on the ballot.

–Obviously the big topic of discussion was the angle at the end of Raw tonight.  Given it’s a long trip home from Australia and everyone is en route right now, we probably won’t  have anything definitive until tomorrow or Wednesday.  We do know that people are being told.  Seth Rollins did have his arm in a sling before Raw and there are reports of a shoulder injury from the match with Cody Rhodes, but we don’t have them confirmed.  Whether that changed the booking  due to the injury or the booking changed based on a hot shot angle because most likely Raw today with its early start time would have done the lowest rating in the show’s history so they wanted something to make people tune in, that could be the case.  We were told yesterday that the ratings were very much an issue but if there’s a legit injury, obviously that would require a lot of changes in plans.  People are going to be skeptical, for good reason, about a Rollins injury.  I don’t think they’d go to the well there a second time so quickly but anything  is possible and it should all be clear soon.  A worst case scenario would involve having to do something with the title right after they had set up CM Punk, Jey Uso and LA Knight as contenders.

–One source with knowledge of creative said The Vision were booked for plans together through WrestleMania including with Austin Theory joining the group before things changed today.  They were told it was from an injury in the match with Cody Rhodes.  But after being told his other injury was legit, many are not fully believing anything right now.  In the attempt to work everyone, the belief in what those are being told, and there are multiple cases of this in recent months (the Rollins SNME injury being the one that really cost credibility with several in the room) the lack of trust right now is pretty high.  

–Ridge Holland was told today that his contract isn’t being renewed when it expires on 11/14.  Given he was making main roster money and appearing on Evolve and TNA, this is not unexpected.  However, he suffered a broken foot and just had surgery.  Holland was told that they would pay for his medical bills and rehab until he recovers, but his regular paycheck ends in a month and as far as wrestling goes, we’re talking five months or more before he’d even be able to wrestle anywhere else.  I’m really surprised because the rule of thumb was always that for legal reasons you don’t let people go until they recuperate from injuries.  They’ve had non-renewals of an injured man and pregnant woman in the space of a few days .  It is a different mentality than before on this one.

–Some notes from today’s King of Pro Wrestling show.  Konosuke Takeshita beat Zack Sabre Jr.  to win the IWGP title in one of the best matches this year.  I’d say of all the contenders, this was the most complete.  Some had more moves.  One had more drama and storytelling.  Some had more face vs. heel heat.  But this was outstanding in every aspect of pro wrestling.

–After the show, Hirooki Goto challenged Takeshita for the title.  Takeshita talked about doing it before  the Tokyo Dome as he said he wanted one title defense before the Dome, and that would be Goto.  The show had four tremendous matches, with Yota Tsuji’s Global title win over  Gabe Kidd, Yuto-Ice & Oskar’s tag title defense over Yuya Uemura & Shota Uino and Syuri ‘s IWGP women’s title win over Sareee.  One of the year’s better shows.

–Other news is that they talked about Hiroshi Tanahashi & El Phantasmo becoming a tag team at the end of the year.  Bullet Club and The Unaffiliated (Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & Titan) all shook hands after the Tsuji vs. Kidd match.  Tsuji and Kidd hugged after a tremendous match with a surprising submission finish by Tsuji.  David Finlay came out with Bullet Club and they teased that they would turn on Kidd for shaking hands, but instead, Finlay took hands with Tsuji and everyone shook hands.

–Tsuji did tease a title defense against Tanahashi.

–Aaron Wolf did a run-in saving Katsuya Murashima, Oleg Boltin and Masatora Yasuda from a beating by House of Torture.  He did some judo moves and later issued a challenge for Evil and the Never title for his debut at the Tokyo Dome.  Really, Evil is a good opponent for his first match.

–They announced a 2/27 show in Trenton,  NJ called New Beginning USA.  That means two things.   First, they  are still running U.S.shows after having backed away for months.  Second, the annual San Jose show at the start of the year looks like it’s not happening.

–BJ Penn was ordered to undergo a mental health exam and be evaluated as to whether he  is mentally competent enough to stand trial for his five arrests so far this year.  

–That Je’Von Evans vs. Leon Slater booking was largely from WWE.

–We’re looking for your thoughts on these three shows:
*WWE Crown Jewel
*TNA Bound for Glory
*New Japan King of Pro Wrestling
We’re looking for a thumbs up thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]

–Dana White today announced for the 12/6 UFC 323 show in Las Vegas, the last PPV for at least seven years, that Merab Dvalishvili will attempt to become the first champion in history to defend the title four times in a calendar year as he faces Petr Yan.  Alexadre Pantoja v.s. Joshua Van for the flyweight title, Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott, and most likely Brandon Moreno vs  Tatsuro Taira are also on the show.

–As far as the best matches of the weekend, Takeshita vs. Sabre Jr., was something but also John Cena vs. AJ Styles from Saturday, The Sky Team vs. Cavernario & Angel de Or & Niebla Roja from Friday at Arena Mexico, and the other three big matches from King of Pro Wrestling as well as Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi  Sane & Asuka top the light.  I haven’t seen the TNA show but hopefully will at least see some of the matches in time for the show tonight.

–Tomorrow the ratings for Smackdown and last week’s Raw will come out most likely.  Raw for sure.  Our Raw article will also give us a good read on international viewing of Crown Jewel.

–NXT will be running the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, the same building AEW set up residency in a few months ago on 11/15.

–AEW from Wednesday night in Independence, MO has a three hour show plus another 30 minutes for the WrestleDream countdown show.
Samoa Joe & Katsuyori Shibata & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Rush & Dralistico & Mortos for the trios title with Adam Page on commentary
Kris Statander & Toni Storm last words
Darby Allin & Jon Moxley face-to-face
Kenny Omega & Jack Perry & Luchasahrus vs. Mark Davis & Josh Alexander & Hechicero
Gates of Agony vs. Shelton Benjamin & Bobby Lashley
Claudio Castagnoli vs.  Roderick Strong
Skye Blue vs.  Jaiie Hayter

–NXT tomorrow has:
Lexis King vs. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
Matt Cardona vs. Josh Briggs
Zaria vs. Blake Monroe

–Saturday’s Arena Coliseo show saw the stream go out on the CMLL subscription page on Facebook.  As  a makegood, they streamed last night’s show live.

–Magia Blanca worked the fourth match at Arena Mexico last night and then flew to Torreon for a bullring show with Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Neon vs. Bandido & Blanca & Gravity on top.  In Torreon they started the main event near midnight waiting for Blanca to arrive.  The other big story is that Bandido pinned Mistico to win the third fall.

–Pro Wrestling Revolucion from Saturday night in San Jose, CA before a sellout of 1,150 fans at Mount Pleasant High School:  Robin won three-way over Ray Star and Mirage, Hyan & Karsiam b Amazona & Lady Pink, El Cucuy b Rey Horus to win the PWR title (Cucuy is headed to Dragon Gate for three months), Templario won four-way over Jack Cartwheel,Viento and Rey Leon, Misterisos b Ultimo Guerrero-DQ,  Hechicero b Blue Panther

Daily Update

Latest News

• Stevie Turner among WWE NXT & ID departures
• Jon Moxley & Darby Allin brawl at New York Comic Con
• Mercedes Mone wins 10th title in Denmark
• Lance Anoa’i announces WWE departure
• Syko Stu’s in-ring career said to be ‘done’ after Raja Jackson attack

Latest Audio

• WOR: John Cena’s last matches, final WON HOF discussion
• WOL: Weekend preview, Syko Stu and Raja, ratings changes
• Wrestling Weekly: WWE Crown Jewel predictions, thoughts on AEW Title Tuesday
• Fight Game: WWE Crown Jewel Perth preview

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the  Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site:

*In depth with the changes in ratings, are pro wrestling and MMA being undercounted, are they less popular than we thought, how the changes have happened, streaming, how this relates to baseball, football, and other entertainment shows.
*John Cena’s last matches, and the surprises in current WWE booking plans for now until December.
*A look at Crown Jewel and WrestleDream, the cards, how the shows look and the current interest level in them.
*Favorites in the betting in all the major future matches
*A look at The Smashing Machine, the heyday of Mark Kerr, the box office and what we’ve learned, comparisons with Iron Claw, the performances by Dwayne Johnson Emily Blunt and Ryan Bader and the Pride Grand Prix in 2000 with Sakuraba vs. Gracie and key what ifs that people don’t’ talk about
*All In Texas attendance and how much the state will be paying AEW based on the deal, plus original plans for that week and three shows that were once thought and talked about but didn’t happen with two international promotions.
*Full coverage of UFC 320, what’s next for the winners, the business side of things and match-by-match.
*The most complete and detailed look at the ratings for all the major shows as well as comparisons with last year, segment-by-semgent notes, demos and more.
*Expectations of when a major milestone in history of buildings that house wrestling will be reached and when 1 million fans in one specific building attending wrestling in a year is expected
*King  of Pro Wrestling thoughts
*New Japan’s last major show looked at
*40th anniversary of a landmark tag team event taking place
*Hulk Hogan’s widow looking at medical malpractice suit
*Death of the former Sabrina
*Dave Bautista makes surprising revelation
*Mistico vs. Bndido in Xalapa
*Renee Dupree talks the old WWE locker room
*Bound for Glory notes
*Lots of injury and contract updates
*The story of Ultimo Dragon’s ten belts and Mercedes Mone beating that record
*Sting’s son has his first match
*Advance tickets sales for the WWE & AEW shows over the next two months
*The strange secret suspension of  Conor McGregor
*More on the White House show
*MMA Fight of the year on the Dana White Contenders Series
*Has the WWE boom period ended or is it ending?
*The WWE product right now
*Jimmy Jacobs talks differences in backstage at WWE and TNA

This Week’s Back Issue

• January 14, 2008 Observer Newsletter: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 2, TNA Final Resolution recaps

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH

Friday Update

Garrett Gonzlaes and I did week three of our Hall of Fame series with Phil Lions, Ethan Tyler, John Muse and myself taking the non-wrestler ballot and historical significance of Bobby Bruns, Morris Sigel, Ted Turner, Stanley Weston, Koichi Yoshizawa, George Scott as well as announcers like Gorilla Monsoon , Mike Tenay,  Dave Brown and Jesse Ventura.  Plus we talked about all the current news before the Hall of Fame show such as  WWE future plans, AEW booking philosophy, Smashing Machine, Bill Watts booking vs. modern booking and even Tony Khan’s legacy and how it will be defined.  Our weekend show with Bryan Alvarez will be taped tomorrow night and cover Crown Jewel and the rest of the weekend news.

–AEW shot an angle at the New York Comic Con today where Darby Allin attacked Jon Moxley.

–Mercedes Mone beat Alissa Ink today in Denmark to win the Bodyslam Wrestling women’s title.  Ink had held the title for more than three years.  It is Mone’s tenth belt and she goes for 11, the supposed beating of the Ultimo Dragon record a week from Sunday for Winnipeg Pro Wrestling against Jody Threat.

–There are several WWE cuts today.  The names who have stated so publicly are Stevie Turner, Jamar Hampton, Lloyd  Anoa’i (Samu’s son), and Zara Zakher.  There are a lot of thoughts and conjectures regarding the WWE ID program.

–UFC announced that its final PPV show ever, or  at least for seven more years, will be 12/6 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

–Tony Khan turned 43 today.  It’s a completely different wrestling world than before.  Khan would have to be classified as the most influential person outside WWE on the U.S. wrestling scene in at least a quarter-century.

–Arena Mexico tonight has a Cibernetico with Marcela, Zeuxis, Sanely, Skadi, and Tabata in the women’s tournament of champions as the main event.  In a non-title match and the real main event, The Sky Team of Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Neon face Angel de Oro & Nieba Roja & Bárbaro Cavernario.  Tessa Blanchard also returns and faces Lluvia.

–Dorada & Neon vs. Barboza & Difunt headlines tomorrow night at Arena Coliseo.  Sunday’s main event is Atlantis Jr. & Esfinge in a non-title match against Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja.  Puebla on Monday has Mistico & Templario vs. Angel de Oro & NIiebla Roja in another non-title match.

–In a strange story, AAA has a show in Tijuana on 11/29, head-to-head with Survivor Series in San Diego.  The buildings are 19 miles apart  

–The shows on the 17th and 24th at Arena Mexico will be on PPV in the U.S. on Triller.  Next Friday has Mone vs. Persephone for the CMLL women’s title, the finals of the Universal women’s tournament (India Sioux vs. the winner of a Cibernetico tonight)and an all women’s show.  The following week will be the women’s Grand Prix show.

–Crown Jewel will start at 8 a.m. Eastern and 5 a.m. Pacific tomorrow morning from Perth, Western Australia:
Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed in an Australian street fight
Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane
John Cena vs. AJ Styles
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Tiffany Stratton for Crown Jewel belt
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins for Crown Jewel belt

–We’re looking for reports on NXT house shows tonight in Detroit and tomorrow night in Cleveland as well as any dark matches from today’s Smackdown show in Perth, results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]

–We are doing polls for these shows
*Crown Jewel tomorrow morning
*TNA Bound for Glory Sunday night
*New Japan King of Pro Wrestling Monday morning
We’re looking for a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

–UFC has a pure ESPN+ show tomorrow from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil starting at 4 p.m.Eastern
Luan Lacerda (36) vs. Salmon Oliveira (144) – Oliveira missed weight by eight pounds.  The match is still on as best we know with Oliveira being fined
Julia Polastri (116) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (116)
Lucas Rocha (126) vs. Stewart Nicoli (126)
Ria Mesquita (136) vs. Irina Alekseeva (135.5)
Vitor Petrino (250) vs. Thomas Petersen (246.5)
Jafel Filho (126) vs.Clayton Carpenter (126)
Lucas Almeida (145.5) s. Michae Aswell (145.5)
Ricardo Ramos (146) vs. Kaan Ofli (145.5)
Jhonata Diniz (257) vs. Mario Pint  (255)
Vicente Luque (170) vs. Joel Alvarez (171)
Deiveson Figueiredo (136) vs. Montell Jackson (136)
Chariles Oliveira (156) vs. Mateusz Gambort (156)
–Alex Pereira said today that X-Rays and an MRI confirm he suffered a broken foot in his quick massacre of Magomed Anakalaev this past Saturday in winning back the light heavyweight title.  He did say he would like to move to heavyweight and fight Jon Jones on the 6/14 White House show.

–Tony Khan on Wednesday night said that could have been the last AEW show at Daily’s Place until the new Jaguars Stadium is completed.  That is expected to happen in the summer of 2028.

–Ilja Dragunov turned 32 today.  Ripper Collins, the Hawaii legend, was born 92 year ago today.  Giant Haystacks was born 79 years ago today. (thanks to Tony Richards)

–House of Glory Wrestling is live on Triller TV+ tonight from New York with Killer Kross vs. Matt Cardona, Charles Mason vs. Man Like DeReiss in a no DQ match for the HOG title, Hardys vs.  Mane Event with the TNA tag title vs. HOG tag tite, Leon Slater vs. Amazing Red, Zilla Fatu vs. Bear Bronson for the Crown Jewel title and Indi Hartwell vs. Zayda Steel for the women’s title.

–NBC Chicago has a food TV show called Poochie & Pang Eat Chicago and in the latest episode, Kyle Fletcher & Skye Blue appear as guest food critics.

–Lucha Va Voom, which had been running at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, which is being closed, will be moving to the Fox Theater in Pomona starting 11/8.  TJP,  Magno, Misteriso Jr. and others are on the part wrestling and part burlesque show.

–Pro Wrestling Revolucion tomorrow night in San Jose, CA at Mount Pleasant High School has Blue Panther vs. Hechicero as the main event plus Templario is on the show;

–Five-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci faces Nate Jackson on the second RAF show on 10/25 at Penn State University.  Starocci won his NCAA titles wrestling for Penn State.

–The Tragos/Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo,  IA announced that 11/9 will be a celebration of Curt Hennig.  Those in attendance will be Curt’s wife Leonis, son Hank and AWA historian Joyce Paustian.

–Jacy Jayne needed to be helped out of the ring last night at the NXT house show in Columbus, OH.  It was a leg injury and no update yet on the severity.

–Brawl in the Beer Hall II at the Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee from Sunday before a sellout of 300+  Sam Beale b Jason Hotch,Sierra b Tootie Lynn, Latino Most Wanted b Bang & Matthews to keep the Pro Wrestling Revolver tag titles, Mad Dog Connelly b Bestsman in a dog collar match, Ben Bishop b Matt Cardona,  Outrunners b Hot Commodity (thanks to Jim Kujawa)

–Kirk White’s Big Time WRestling 29th anniversary show sold out in Newark, CA last Friday:  Danhausen b Jheri Giggalow, VertVixen b Brooke Havok, LJ Ceary b Marcus Lewis, Timothy Thatcher b Mo Jabari, Los Suavecitos b Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs, Aaron Solo b Jack Cartwheel, QT Marshall b Will  Hobbs.  Next show is 12/5 with Killer Kros & Scarlett Bordeaux.  Bret Hart was at the show and gave a speech to honor the late Kirk White, who was Hart’s booking agent for many years. (thanks to Jim Davis)

–MCW on 10/11 in Frederick MD at the Elks #604.  Chris Masters and Patrick Clark are on the show.

Daily Update

Latest News

• WWE Raw live results: Crown Jewel go-home show
• The Dudley Boyz to appear at NXT vs. TNA Showdown
• Report: The Rock took ‘significant’ paycut for ‘Smashing Machine’
• New Nielsen ratings method does not include HBO Max streaming data
• Update on Santos Escobar’s WWE contract

Latest Audio

• WOL: Cena’s last opponent, new Perth matches, TONS of news!
• B&V: Bryan, Lance Storm, Craig review Smackdown and Collision

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• October 6, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE & AEW’s October events, NXT vs. TNA Showdown

The new issue of the  Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site today:
*Updates on Crown Jewel and WrestleDream, interest level , lineups and what could be added
*Notes on Tuesday’s AEW/NXT head-to-head battle
*Odds regarding upcoming big matches
*Tokyo Dome ticket sales and notes from Hiroshi Tanahashi and Aaron  Wolf
*NXT No Mercy coverage
*New Japan Destruction in Kobe notes
*CMLL Noche de Campeones notes
*Fuerza Guerrera retires with a look back at his career
*Television ratings are crazy this week and what is the change
*One of the most impressive attendance streaks in history has ended
*CMLL’s focus on wmens’wrestilng in October
*Tessa Blanchard back  in CMLL
*AAA goes head-to-head with CMLL featuring AEW and WWE stars on each show
*Saya Kamitani becomes double champion
*Go Shiozaki leaves NOAH
*King of Pro Wrestling shw final.zied
*Mistico vs. Bandido singles match this past week
*Bret Hart talks his career and we look back at what he said
*New wrestling documentaries
*European star may have cost himself his career with full details as to what happened
*MLW makes comment on WWE business on its TV show
*Upcoming TNA TV news
*Thoughts on Andrade’s return to AEW and what happened
*History of pro wrestling on the SuperStation
*Zuffa Boxing TV deal and notes on the promotion
*Dana White on 60 Minutes coverage
*How UFC went from almost dying to a $15 billion business, the moves it made and how Vince McMahon killed one of its biggest TV deals
*What happened with Wanderlei Silva’s boxing match after it was over
*Notes on stockholder lawsuit against TKO
*WWE top star to take time off for major movie role
*WWE headed to Japan for big shows
*Injury updates
*Updates on Edris Enofe and Jazmyn Nyx leaving the company

This Week’s Back Issue

• January 14, 2008 Observer Newsletter: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 2, TNA Final Resolution recaps

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Monday Update

–Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio, covering WWE future plans, Raw, the week upcoming, Rikidozan vs. Masahiko Kimura, Bandido vs. Hechicero and much more.

–Raw tonight is from Dallas.  It’s back to the 8 p.m. Eastern start time after the three week experiment at 7 p.m.  That experiment was not a ratings success but there are two more 7 p.m. shows in November.  Becky Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri and Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez were both announced plus Roman Reigns and CM Punk are on the show.  I expect the set up for Reigns’ next match.  They are just  shy of 11,000 tickets as of the latest tally.

–Tonight in Puebla has The Sky team defending the CMLL trios titles against Barboza & Difunto & Volador Jr.

–Most are of the belief that the Bandido injury on Friday is storyline, particularly now that he’s wrestling on Tuesday night.  

–Tomorrow is a huge head-to-head battle.  NXT is on CW for a two hour show and AEW is on TBS for a two-and-a-half hour  show, I guess hoping that people will shift over for the last half hour.  It’s a notable thing if that in fact happens or not.  Remember ratings won;t be out until Thursday.

NXT has TNA vs. NXT Survivor Series elimination matches with  Ricky Starks & Trick Williams & Myles Borne & Je’Von Evans vs. Mike Santana & Leon Slater & Frankie Kazarian & Moose with Joe Hendry as referee and Jacy Jayne & Sol Ruca & Jaida Parker & Lola Vice vs. Kelani Jordan & the Iinspiration & Mara Sade with  Jordynne Grace as referee, plus Dion Lennox & Osiris Griffin vs. The  Hardys with both the TNA and NXT titles at stake, and Ethan Page vs. Mustafa Ali for the North American title.

AEW from Jacksonville has:
Brody King & Bandido vs. Konosuuke Taekshita & Kazuchika Okada with if King & Bandido win, the winner of the fall gets a shot at Okadsa’s unified title, but it Okada & Takeshita win, they get a tag title shot, Ricochet & Gates of Agony vs. Hurt Syndicate in a street fight, Kyle Fletcher vs. Kyle O’Reily for the TNT title, Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Pac vs. Orange Cassidy, Mercedes Mone vs. ? for the TBS titel, and Luchasaurus & Jack Perry team together for the first time in three years.

–AEW announced an 11/15 Collision taping in Erie, PA and a 12/10 Dynamite taping in Atlanta at the Gateway Center Arena.

–Former ECW ring announcer Stephen DeAnglis is the casting director for a new play about Saturday Night Live.

–Merab Dvalishvili is trying to become the first UFC world champion to defend the title four times in a calendar year.  He said he wants to defend in December, perhaps against Petr Yan, coming off his win over Cory Sandhagen on Saturday night.  Dana White has indicated that he’s up for that idea.

–Kyoji Horiguchi said that he would face Tagir Ulanbekov on the 11/22 show in Qatar.

–Today would have been the 90th birthday of Bruno Sammartino.  It also would have been the 79th birthday of Don Ross/Ripper Savage, a bodybuilder turned wrestler who died young, and Rip Oliver would have turned 73.  I used to bump into Ross/Savage (he idolized Randy Savage) in the weirdest places since he lived in this area.  Barry Darsow turned 66 today and Dixie Carter turned 61.  Gorilla Monsoon died 26 years ago today.  The Kevin & Kerry Von Erich double hair match win over Chris Adams & Gino Hernandez that drew 26,000 fans to the Cotton Bowl took place 40 years ago today.  (thanks to Tony Richards)

–The cast of TLC’s 1,000 pound  sisters will be at the 10/18 Hooligan Championship Wrestling taping in Evansville, IN.  Shane Mercer defending the HCW title against Tim Bosby headlines the show.

Daily Update

Latest News

• NXT stars compete on WWE SmackDown
• AEW Dynamite ratings down against MLB playoffs
• WWE SmackDown live results: Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton vs. The Vision
• WWE SmackDown updates: Contract signing, Damian Priest
• WWE contract update for Bronson Reed

Latest Audio

• WOR: More Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame discussion, WON news items
• WOL: AEW vs. NXT, Hulk Hogan Trail, ratings changes
• Wrestling Weekly: AEW Dynamite anniversary recap & Roman Reigns returns to Raw
• Fight Game: Is Samoa Joe the best opponent for Hangman Page at WrestleDream?
• B&V: AEW Dynamite 6th anniversary, ludicrous NXT

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• October 6, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE & AEW’s October events, NXT vs. TNA Showdown

The new issue of the  Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site today:
*Updates on Crown Jewel and WrestleDream, interest level , lineups and what could be added
*Notes on Tuesday’s AEW/NXT head-to-head battle
*Odds regarding upcoming big matches
*Tokyo Dome ticket sales and notes from Hiroshi Tanahashi and Aaron  Wolf
*NXT No Mercy coverage
*New Japan Destruction in Kobe notes
*CMLL Noche de Campeones notes
*Fuerza Guerrera retires with a look back at his career
*Television ratings are crazy this week and what is the change
*One of the most impressive attendance streaks in history has ended
*CMLL’s focus on wmens’wrestilng in October
*Tessa Blanchard back  in CMLL
*AAA goes head-to-head with CMLL featuring AEW and WWE stars on each show
*Saya Kamitani becomes double champion
*Go Shiozaki leaves NOAH
*King of Pro Wrestling shw final.zied
*Mistico vs. Bandido singles match this past week
*Bret Hart talks his career and we look back at what he said
*New wrestling documentaries
*European star may have cost himself his career with full details as to what happened
*MLW makes comment on WWE business on its TV show
*Upcoming TNA TV news
*Thoughts on Andrade’s return to AEW and what happened
*History of pro wrestling on the SuperStation
*Zuffa Boxing TV deal and notes on the promotion
*Dana White on 60 Minutes coverage
*How UFC went from almost dying to a $15 billion business, the moves it made and how Vince McMahon killed one of its biggest TV deals
*What happened with Wanderlei Silva’s boxing match after it was over
*Notes on stockholder lawsuit against TKO
*WWE top star to take time off for major movie role
*WWE headed to Japan for big shows
*Injury updates
*Updates on Edris Enofe and Jazmyn Nyx leaving the company

This Week’s Back Issue

• January 9, 2008 Observer Newsletter: ROH Final Battle tapings, Triumph & Tragedy of WCCW DVD review

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH

Friday Update

Part two of our Hall of Fame series covering international candidates and the Mexico ballot with Phil Lions, John Muse and  Ethan Tyler will be up on the site shortly.  Garrett Gonzalez and I covered the news including what happened over the past week that in the long run could greatly change the economics of wrestling.  We will be back tomorrow night covering the weekend shows and UFC,.

–The new Nielsen methodology for television ratings is a disaster for pro wrestling.  The move is basically complete and from this point forward we’ll be getting it based on the new numbers.  AEW did 465,000 viewers and 0.09 for the anniversary show, down 32 percent from last week under the old method from 0.14.  These numbers don’t include HBO MAX.  The Yankees-Red Sox game hurt it but it’s more the change.  NXT was also down 41 percent from the prior Tuesday going from 0.17 to 0.10.  Smackdown was also down heavy, but more in viewers than 18-49, which went from 0.37 to 0.35.  

–The last 30 minutes did hurt the show but even so, in the regular two hours it was 0.10.  The second hour had a big drop from the first which also could relate to the baseball game.  Male numbers were incredibly down.  As for where it hurt most, males 18-34 were down 66 percent,  Women 18-34 were down 57 percent, males 35-49 were down 27 percent nd wmen 35-49 were up 16 percent.  Baseball should have accounted for a small part of that, but it was also the anniversary show.  NXT also did terribly with 18-34, doing an 0.06 and AEW did even worse at 0.04.  While nothing in reality has changed, these numbers are going to be viewed over the long term with the conclusion young people don’t watch wrestling and that’s a very bad conclusion when the vast majority of revenue comes from television.

–Smashing Machine starts tonight nationally.  It debuted in a lot of places last night.  It has a 73 percent positive critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about the acting debut of Ryan Bader, who played Mark Coleman.  Also heard that the person who played Paul Varelans was even worse casting than the guy who played Ric Flair in Iron Claw.

–US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem  said this  about sometimes WWE performer Bad Bunny working the Super Bowl.  “The NFL sucks and we’ll win and God will bless us and we’ll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day and they won’t be able to sleep at night because they don’t know what they believe and they’re so weak.  We’ll fix it.”  

–Arthur Jones, a former NFL star with the Baltimore Ravens and older brother of Jon Jones passed away today at the age of 39.  No cause of death was announced.  Arthur was a two-time state heavyweight wrestling champion as well as a football star, got his brother into wrestling.

–Bandido defends the ROH title tonight at Arena Mexico against Hechicero in a rematch of one of the best matches this year.  I believe this is the first time an American based world title match was rematched at Arena Mexico based on reaction to the quality of the match.  It is not the main event, as it’s women’s month so every Friday night main event will be a women’s match.  The first round of the CMLL Universal women’s tournament starts tonight with Catalina, LLuvia, India Sioui, Princesa Sugehit, Olympia and Candela.

–1980s woman wrestler Sabrina passed away from cancer at the age of 64.  Her real name was Doris Whitlock.  She did take the name from the comic book character Sabrina the Teenage Witch.  She had a short career as part of Moolah’s stable, working and touring the country in 1982 and 1983 before going into real estate (thanks to Ken Raftery) There is a Go Fund Me for funeral expenses.

–UFC 320 is tomorrow in Las Vegas with two title bouts
6-8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+ and FX
Veronica Hardy (125.5) vs. Brogan Walker (124.5)
Ramiz Brahimag (170.5) vs. Austin Vanderford (170.5)
Punahele Soriano (170.5) vs. Nikolay Veretennikov (170.5)
Patchy Mix (136) vs. Jakub  Walker (136)
Macy Chiasson (137.5) vs.  Yana Santos (135) – Chiasson was fined 25 percent of her purse for missing weight by 1.5 pounds
ESPN+/FX/ESPN News at 8 p.m. Eastern
Daniel Santos (151) vs. Joo Sang Yoo (152.5)
Chris Gutierrez (136) vs. Farid Basharat (135)
Edmen Shahbazyan (185.5) vs. Andre Muniz (185.5)
Ateba Gautier (186) vs. Treston Vines (185)
PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern
Abus Magomedov (185.5) vs. Joe Pyfer (186)
Josh Emmett (146) vs.  Youssef Zalal (146)
Jiri Prochazka (206) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (205)
Merab Dvalishvili (135) vs. Cory Sandgagen (134.5) for the bantamweight title
Magomed Ankalaev (204.5) vs. Alex Pereira (204.5) for the light heavyweight title

–Crown Jewel next Saturday will be airing at 2 p.m. local time in each time zone rather than live at movie theaters through Fandango.  They have been airing recent shows live, but because live is 8 a.m. Eastern and 5 a.m. Pacific, the decision was made to air it at 2 p.m. in every time zone.

–AEW Collision was taped last nigth and airs at 7 p.m., one hour early, on TNT Eastern time.  It airs at 4 p.m., four hours early, Pacific time.  I shudder to think of what the ratings will be at an unfamiliar time:
Kevin Knight vs. Dax Harwood
Jon Moxley &  Claudio Castagnoli & Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Priest & Tommy Billingtn & Jay Lethal
Rush & Sammy Gueveraa vs. Cha Cha Charlie & Shane Stetson
Eddie Kingston vs. Dralistico
Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander & Kyle Fletcher vs. MxM Collection & Johnny TV
Jamie Hayter vs. Anna Jay
Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Hechicero & Lance Archer & Rocky Romero

–Steven Bordern, El Hijo del Sting, makes his pro wrestling debut at 52 Walker, for an art gallery show in Downtown Manhattan put on by Darby Allin.

–More bad news regarding hotel rates for WrestleMania in April in Las Vegas.  They  already rose with the announcement of  2027 in Saudi Arabia with the idea there will be more demand to attend this year because most won’t be going next year.  The National Associationof Broadcasters is also doing theri convention that same week and that convention usually sells out almost all the hotel rooms in the city.

–The WWE LFG finals are Sunday at 10 p.m. on A&E with Penina Tuilaepe vs. Danii Sekelsky and Drake Morreaux vs. Harlem Lewis.  Lewis is currently in Japan for Pro Wrestling NOAH.

–There will be a Jumping Bomb Angels 40th anniversary event with Itsuka Yamazaki and Noriyo Tateno on 12/1 at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo.  The Crush Gals and Dump Matsumoto, rivals of the JB Angels, will be appearing.  The JB Angels were a big hit in WWF in the 80s in matches with Judy Martin & Leilani Kai, who usually blew away every match on the show when they toured.

–Leon Slater had to pull  out of Sunday’s RevPro show in London due to commitments likely related to TNA.  Luke Jacobs will now face a mystery opponent.

–Mistico vs. Michael Oku headlines 10/18 for RevPro Fantastica Mania at The Hanger in Wolverhampton.  There will also be an afternoon show with CMLL talent headlined by Chris Ridgeway vs. Hechicero.

–The Sky Team of Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Neon defend the CMLL trios titles against Barboza & Difunto & Volador Jr. on Monday night in Puebla.  Volador Jr’s team beat them on Monday in a non-title match to set this up.

–The mayor of Gomez Palacio in Mexico honored Blue Panther this week.

–Eddie Hall, the former world’s strongest man, said he would like to do a fight against either Dwayne Johnson or Jason Momoa.

–Bret Hart announced that his daughter, Jade, has won her fight with breast cancer.  

–The Raven documentary “Nevermore” is coming to Amazon Prime Video on 11/18.

–Indi Hartwell vs. Jayda Steel for the HOG women’s title takes place on 10/10 at the NYC Arena, along with Leon Slater vs. Amazing Red, Killer Kross vs. Matt Cardona, Zilla Fatu vs. Bear Bronson, Mane Event vs. Hardys for the HOG & TNA tag titles and Charles Mason vs. Man Like DeReiss for the HOG men’s title

Daily Update

Latest News

• Sting’s son to make pro wrestling debut next month
• WWE Raw live results: The Usos vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
• New WWE NXT wrestler name revealed after ‘PJ Vasa’ trademark filing
• NXT wrestler Edris Enofe announces WWE departure
• AJ Styles offers huge praise for WWE stars IYO SKY, Asuka

Latest Audio

• WOL: Fun look at all the news and top matches of the weekend
• JNPO: ‘The Smashing Machine’ review & a talk with Bas Rutten
• WOR: Weekend news recap, reviews of WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA & more

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• September 29, 2025 Observer Newsletter: AEW All Out, WWE Wrestlepalooza & CMLL 92nd Anniversary show reviews

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is out with the fallout of three major shows this past weekend and what key things we learned from them:

• Reader polls on the weekend shows
• Key points we learned from WWE going after AEW
• Numbers for all three shows and how they did
• Does the price make a difference, how is afternoon vs. evening?
• What we’ve learned about AEW that goes against the grain of 30 plus years of PPV numbers
• Mistico vs. MJF looked at as well as Mistico’s place in Lucha Libre history
• Misconceptions about John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
• The next big shows from WWE & AEW
• Lots of injury updates
• Advanced ticket sales for the major shows over the next month
• Odds for last weekend and next weekend
• Where wrestling shows stood in the weekly ratings and comparisons with the same week in 2024 and 2023
• Exactly how much the audience makeup has changed for AEW on television this past year
• For every major TV show, what percentage of viewers were women this past week
• Blue Panther wins title at 65 years old
• Big head-to-head battles in Mexico City on Saturday and Sunday this week
• Lineup for the women’s Grand Prix match in Mexico City with talent from RevPro, Stardom and AEW/ROH
• Notes from the Pokemon CMLL crossover event
• Story about the changes in the crowds at Arena Mexico and leading reporter opposes the story
• Lots of health updates
• Real American Freestyle signs first woman gold medalist
• Masha Slamovich controversy
• Zuffa Boxing close to announcing TV deal
• Former WWE developmental talent signs with UFC for November debut
• International promotion in talks with ESPN Unlimited
• Jake Paul vs. Tank Davis silliness
• Cody Rhodes talks Paul Levesque’s successor
• Mark Shapiro talks how WWE & UFC will decide on locations for big shows
• ESPN review of Wrestlepalooza and the controversy allows ignoring the far bigger story
• Jazmyn Nyx turns down WWE offer, says it’s too low

This Week’s Back Issue

• January 9, 2008 Observer Newsletter: ROH Final Battle tapings, Triumph & Tragedy of WCCW DVD review

FIRST TIME SUBSCRIBERS GET 50% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH

Monday Update

–We have part one of our Hall of  Fame show from the weekend with Garrett Gonzales and Bryan and I were up last night talking the news.  Bryan and I will be back up tonight talking tody’s news, and there is a ton of it, as well as Raw and more from the weekend.

–Raw started one hour earlier today at 7 p.m. Eastern for the third week of the three-week experiment.  Right now with the rating for just the first week in, it would show 8 p.m. as the best time but there are two more ratings to come.  There are 7 p.m. starts scheduled for the November Raws from Boston and Madison Square Garden but it goes back to 8 p.m. next week.  Announced are the Usos vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed in a tornado match, Dominik Mysterio vs. Rusev for the IC title,Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez, AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Los Gran Americanos (presumably Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne) plus Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley are advertised.  The show is from Raleigh.  They had 9,673 tickets out as of this morning.  I don’t think it will sell out but it’s still a very big crowd.

–We’re looking for reports from Raleigh tonight as far as anything not on the live show such as Main Event or dark matches to [email protected]

–We’re looking for your thoughts from Saturday’s NXT No Mercy, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

–The updated card for Wednesday’s two-and-a-half hour Dynamite sixth anniversary show from Hollywood, FL has Kyle Fletcher vs. Orange Cassidy for the TNT title,   Adam Page & Samoa Joe & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli & Daniel Garcia, Kris Statlander & Darby Allin vs. Marina Shafir & Wheeler Yuta, Brody King & Bandido & Kenny Omega vs. Young Bucks & Josh Alexander, the return of Jurassic Express plus Toni Storm.

–Dwayne Johnson will be on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night to promote “The Smashing Machine,” which gets released on Friday.

–If it wasn’t made clear, the WWE web site evidently screwed up and listed it as Lainey Reid who helped Jacy Jayne retain her title against Lola Vice on Saturday.  They later corrected it and removed the name.  Reid was pulled from the Sol Ruca match on the show and then inserted into the main event angle.  There has been talk of her as the third member of Fatal Influence.  

–Titan is headed to New Japan during the October tour.

–There will be live wrestling matches on 10/3 and 10/10 at the 52 Walker Gallery , an art Gallery in Downtown Manhattan, featuring Darby Allin and live music.  Among those who will be on the events are Killer Kross, AR Fox, Timothy Thatcher and the debuting  Steven Borden, who is the son of Sting who appeared at last year’s Revolution show.  Allin has been training Borden.

–Neon  & Volador Jr. beat Mortos  Bandido in the main event at Arena Mexico last night.  It was a rudo and tecnico team on both sides.

–Regarding Edris Enofe leaving WWE as he announced a few hours ago, those in WWE have confirmed it was his decision to go and not a company decision, even though he had not been booked for a match since July.

–Faby Apache was added to the 10/25 Flammer vs Natalya Reina de Reinas title match in Mexico City because she beat Flammer in a non-title match on Saturday night.

–Electronic Arts was sold to the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, Affinity Partners and Silver Lake (the money behind Endeavor/UFC’s purchase) in what was said to be the largest deal ever for a company in that genre.

–Bad Bunny was announced as one of the halftime stars at the Super Bowl this year.  This news brought about some of the worst dregs of society commenting negatively about a foreigner (Puerto Rico is a US territory) being allowed to perform at the Super Bowl.

–Brian Solomon’s book on the life of Gorilla Monsoon, “The Irresistible Force,” will be released tomorrow.  I expect it to be excellent.

–Maple Leaf Wrestling on 10/27 in Toronto at the New Age Experience Center, on a Monday night, to benefit REENA, a nonprofit supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.  Matt Hardy, Carlito, Micorman and Gisele Shaw have been announced.

–Austin Aries vs. Paul London in an Opera Cup match will take place on Saturday for the MLW show in Long Beach at the  Thunder Studios ARena.’

–Under the L Productions out of Chidago will be doing a follow up series after Netflix’s Wrestlers, caled “The Herro’s Journey  A Pro Wrestling story” built around Ohio Valley Wrestling and coach Al Snow.

–Collider has reported that Adam Scherr, the former Braun Strowman, has said he’s in talks to play Jason Voorhees in the new Friday the 13th movie.