Chris Jericho’s Stadium Stampede match partners for AEW Double or Nothing have been revealed.
After Ricochet interfered and cost Jack Perry his AEW National title to Mark Davis at AEW Fairway to Hell, Perry announced himself in Jericho’s corner. Ricochet’s Demand is set to team up with members of the Don Callis Family to take on Jericho’s team at Double or Nothing.
However, running a few partners short, Perry announced the rest of Jericho’s team for the Stadium Stampede match. In a backstage segment, Perry announced the Elite’s presence in Jericho’s corner.
The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Perry are set to team up with Jericho to face Ricochet, The Demand, Mark Davis, and one other member of The Don Callis Family.
Updated AEW Double or Nothing match card
AEW Double or Nothing is set to take place on May 24, 2026, at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW International Championship
FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) (c) vs. Cage and Cope (Adam Copeland and Christian Cage) in a Tag team “I Quit” match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship
Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Jack Perry, and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona), Mark Davis, and TBD – Stadium Stampede match
A look back at the career of Dennis Condrey of Midnight Express fame
Update on WrestleMania, both the matches, business update the ticket demand at the present time
An updated look at AEW’s All In on 8/30 at Wembley Stadium as well as a look at the Dynasty show and ticket demand for the show
Coverage of El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, CMLL’s second biggest show of the year, with El Satanico’s retirement at 76, The Death Riders appear, the heavyweight title changes hands and Mistico returns
A look at the NCAA Division I tournament including a look back 79 years when future pro wrestling legends dominated the heavyweight division and how it ties into the most recent tournament. We also look at the rivalry that could define college wrestling for years to come between a coach and his former pupil, a guy who was in high school in December and wins the NCAA title in March, as well business notes on the show, both attendance and television ratings
A look back at Sid Vicious, Badnews Allen and Dennis Rodman’s pro wrestling days
Trying to explain the latest controversy in television ratings and how this related to pro wrestling
How ratings differ from a sports survey about wrestling fans
The most complete look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling television shows over the past week,including competition, demos and comparisons with one year ago, as well as competition in the time slot.
Notes on CMLL talent coming to WrestleMania week
Major injury to arguably CMLL’s best worker
Notes on the 83rd anniversary of pro wrestling in one of its most famous arenas
Notes on tentative plans for a major mask vs. mask match
Callum Newman and Yuya Uemura tear it up in the New Japan Cup finals
Next major New Japan show thoughts with Ospreay’s returnh
Tanahashi talks goals to turn the company around
Kazusada Higuchi retirement notes
Thoughts on Satoru Sayama and his impact on pro wrestling
Aja Kongs 40th anniversary show
Gable Stevesn and RAF
Ted DiBiase Jr acquitted in his case
The end of CBS News Radio and what former WCW announcer was an anchor there
Notes on the announcing at the orignal When Worlds Collide AAA show
Lots of WrestleMania week show notes
FantasticaMania comes to the U.K.
Update on WBD sale to Paramount Skydance
Update on Revolution PPV buys
Jeff Jarrett becomes co-owner of a sports franchise
Jericho talks about working today
More on the Ali Revival Act
A list of a lot of PPV buy numbers for UFC
Ari Emanuel’s role in getting President Trump to stop the case against Ticketmaster/Live Nation.
Will never forget the afterparty of WM 2000. No one looked happy. It was like ‘um…did we just sh*t the bed with an overbooked mess of a show and desperately need to get back to 1-1 matches with huge personal issues?’ Big letdown that paved the way for the greatest Mania ever imo
That’s like a Tom Brady level. I would say he’s Tom Brady. Like, definitely GOAT status. He’s like soft-retired right now. I don’t know if he’ll ever come out of retirement. He’s a sicko, so he probably will, because he can never get enough – much like Brady. And he’s definitely, if you talk to wrestling fans and you say who’s one of the greatest wrestlers, bell-to-bell, all-time, GOAT, they’ll say Dragon.
I feel great. I’ve been cleared for a little while. I’m not 100 percent as far as performance-based — obviously I’m not lifting as much weight on my leg lifts and I’m not jumping just as high just yet. But, I mean, I can do everything, I’ve been in the ring several times training and practicing. I’m doing all kinds of different dynamic jumping stuff on my off days in the gym. I just trained legs today, I can train them fine. So I’m feeling good and excited. Have been waiting to come back. I’ve got three matches on the same day on Mania weekend. It just worked out that way.
The quad would’ve had me out for probably nine months anyways, and then I chose to get this right knee surgery and get a special, like, replacement on it. And that’s actually what kept me out longer. Because long story short, they botched it. I should’ve come back in November, and then I had to go back under the knife in November, and now I’m cleared from that surgery. When I found that out in October, I was pretty freaking devastated. I was like, ‘You got to be kidding me.’ Because the whole point of getting the one I got done in June on my right knee was so that when November came around, I didn’t have to get surgery again. I could be good to go instead of coming back and still having problems with my right knee.
Edmonton Journal published a story on Don Callis ahead of tonight’s Dynamite in Winnipeg. Callis reacted to the news that Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling has gotten a TV deal in Canada with TSN:
I think MLP getting a national television deal in Canada is gigantic news. It’s the first time since, I think, ’86 or ’89, since anyone has had national television in Canada in terms of a quote, unquote, independent (promotion). Of course, AEW is also on TSN, so I think it’s a great partnership.
I’m excited for Canadian fans that Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling is back. I think Canada has great wrestling fans – I don’t want to speak or interact with them – but they are intelligent in terms of pro wrestling.”
This is why I tell whoever I can at ROH and even at AEW — don’t bother with these bumps. They are all risk — no reward. If you successfully take a bump in 2026 no one cares, But if you mess it up you could truly harm yourself! Don’t do it
Lady Frost will make her MLW debut at a TV taping in Charleston, South Carolina on April 12. She’s now under contract with MLW after her AEW deal expired at the end of March.
I’ll keep the same attitude that I have; I won’t change that regardless of the talk that comes out of it. And as I lead NJPW, I have to think about carrying all of Japanese wrestling and all of pro-wrestling worldwide. We have to change things, we have to keep moving into new areas, untested waters. If NJPW gets complacent, it gets left behind by WWE, AEW, CMLL, so part of protecting what makes NJPW great is by changing the way it does things, and to innovate. And that goes for the staff and the wrestlers too; I hope people disagree with me, and prove me wrong, if that makes things bigger and better for all of us.
Don Callis says he’s insulted that he was voted Best Non-Wrestler in the 2025 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards, because he still considers himself a wrestler.
Callis was a guest on Wrestling Observer Live on Friday, the same day the results were announced. It marked the second time Callis has won the award, having also done so in 2023.
“That’s insulting because I still consider myself a wrestler, as evidenced by anyone who has seen me throw a punch or a chop,” Callis said.
“If you look at the other slugs that are on that list, not one of them could ever hit a Northern Lights Suplex, do the Ox Baker top-rope knee drop like Don ‘By God’ Callis did back in the day.”
“While the rest of the people on that list are for sure non wrestlers, I am more of just an overall supernova in this industry. I’ve done whatever I’ve wanted in various sectors of it. Maybe we can rename the award the Don Callis Award.”
Paul Heyman has won Best Non-Wrestler in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards 10 times, including in 2024. He finished second in the voting to Callis this year.
Callis said:
“That’s a great showing for Paul, for sure. I’m happy for him that that he was able to accumulate a third of the votes that I was. Paul did a lot for me in my early career and I always have a soft spot for Paul.”
Callis also responded to Don Callis Family member Konosuke Takeshita being voted Most Outstanding Wrestler in this year’s awards.
“The first member of the Don Callis family was Takeshita and he was handpicked by me. A lot of people said who is this kid? Why is Don Callis so interested? Why does Don Callis go to a PWG show and miss something in Tokyo so he can scout him? Because I have an eye for talent.”
“Everything Takeshita has accomplished, IWGP champion, Most Outstanding Wrestler, is because of me and his association with the family.”
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including a look at the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards, most of which were great, some were arguable, and at least two Bryan found completely appalling. Then, DON CALLIS joins us to brag about his BEST NON WRESTLER win. A fun show as always so check it out~!
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
WWE ID announced Timothy Thatcher vs. It’s Gal and Sean Legacy vs. Brad Baylor for The Wrestling Federation of America ID Showcase event on October 24.
AEW uploaded a vignette of the Don Callis Family celebrating Callis’ birthday, including Konosuke Takeshita appearing via video link.
Callis on Takeshita’s IWGP World title win: “SO PROUD OF TAKESHITA!! IWGP CHAMPIONSHIP WILL BE ADDED TO THE GROWING LIST OF CHAMPIONSHIPS CONTROLLED BY THE DON CALLIS FAMILY. WE ARE TRULY A GLOBAL COLLECTIVE UNLIKE ANY OTHER!! TAKESHITA WAS THE FIRST MEMBER AFTER DUMBER-THAN RAT S*** KENNY OMEGA.”
In an interview with The Sportster, Bam Magera said that Darby Allin has tried to get him to appear on AEW television: “He keeps asking me. Our paths haven’t crossed yet to where I could make it to one of his wrestling things. But whenever he’s in town, I always go skate with him in Atlanta, where he lives, or Philly. Skating is our thing. Never even got to see Darby, for a long time, wrestle.”
Steve Maclin cut a promo following his International title win at TNA Bound for Glory.
Deonna Purrazzo to Maclin on social media: “Watching your vision come to life & your dreams come true… is my dream come true. I’m so proud of you @SteveMaclin.”
Moose responded to Ridge Holland announcing his WWE contract won’t be renewed: “Sorry to hear Ridge ….. speedy recovery hopefully you make it back to TNA. You’re one of the good ones.”
Moose also took to social media to dispute allegations of TNA papering Bound for Glory: “For the people saying half of our record setting attendance record was free tickets given are brain dead and fail to realize in 2016/17 myself The Hardy’s Eddie Cody Rhodes Drew McIntyre Lashley wrestled at Universal in front of only 150 people were every single ticket were free because universal didn’t allow ticket sales. I could understand 200/300 comped tickets for sponsors and media purposes and friends and family but 3k No business will take an outstanding loss just to fill up an arena. If it was that easy every company would do it and we would have done it a decade ago when we struggling to get 500 people to attend a show. Just enjoy the growth and the win. we wouldn’t be in their position without you guys our true fans. THIS IS TNA.”
Lou D’Angeli, the former Sign Guy Dudley, wrote on social media about The Dudleyz retirement at Bound for Glory: “Thank you, Bubba and D-Von, for everything you’ve done for ECW, WWE, TNA, and the wrestling business as a whole. And personally, thank you both for what you did for me — for keeping me a part of an act that became mega over in ECW, for looking out for me, and for showing me the ropes of the business. That was the best education I could have ever asked for.”
Royce Isaacs will be on Wrestling Observer Live on Wednesday to talk about his upcoming match with Jon Moxley at Defy Wraith on October 24 in Portland, Oregon.
After more than a year away, former TNT Champion Wardlow has finally returned to AEW, making a surprise appearance at Sunday’s Forbidden Door.
Wardlow, fresh off his run on the impending American Gladiators reboot, came into the ring following AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada’s victory over Swerve Strickland in which Okada further damaged the challenger’s knee.
Wardlow, dressed in an all black suit, took out Prince Nana with a clothesline and then continued to ground and pound him as Strickland was immobilized due to the injury.
Security eventually pulled Wardlow off, but he beat them up as well. He eventually left the ring where Okada and Don Callis were watching all this unfold with big smiles on their faces. Wardlow exited and embraced Callis, joined by Okada and the rest of the Don Callis Family.
Of note, Konosuke Takeshita came out last and just stared at Wardlow without any handshake or embrace, further building up his expected split with the group.
The 37-year-old has been out of action since March 2024 when he unsuccessfully challenged then-AEW World Champion Samoa Joe at the Big Business edition of AEW Dynamite. There were stories of him dealing with a knee injury but all sides were quiet during his extended absence.
Scott D’Amore says Maple Leaf Pro will have a “dream team” at the commentary table.
AEW’s Don Callis has been announced as joining Mauro Ranallo when the promotion runs its debut shows on October 19 & 20 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Both events will stream as pay-per-views on Triller.
“DON CALLIS to MAPLE LEAF PRO!! The commentary team is among the most important aspects of a pro wrestling broadcast. Callis joining Mauro Ranallo gives MLP a Dream Team calling all the action!”
DON CALLIS to MAPLE LEAF PRO!! The commentary team is among the most important aspects of a pro wrestling broadcast. Callis joining Mauro Ranallo gives MLP a Dream Team calling all the action!
Announced talent for Maple Leaf Pro includes: Konosuke Takeshita, El Phantasmo, Raj Dhesi (FKA Jinder Mahal), Josh Alexander, Gisele Shaw, KUSHIDA, Alex Zayne, Kevin Knight, Jake Something, Kylie Rae, ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Mike Bailey, Trevor Lee, QT Marshall and Miyu Yamashita.
Alexander vs. Takeshita is the only match announced for Maple Leaf Pro’s debut shows thus far.
Powerhouse Hobbs is the newest member of The Don Callis Family.
Hobbs was introduced as the most recent addition to the Callis stable at Wednesday’s Dynamite Anniversary show as he decimated Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho in a post-match attack.
After Omega and Jericho defeated Kyle Fletcher (subbing for Sammy Guevara) and Konosuke Takeshita in tag team action on Dynamite, Hobbs hit the ring and attacked Omega and Jericho at the direction of Callis.
Hobbs sent Omega over the ringside barricade and into the crowd, then continued his attack on Omega in the ring as Callis and Takeshita used duct tape to restrain Omega. Hobbs used a chair to attack Jericho, then allowed Callis to hit Omega with an unprotected chair shot to the head as the angle culminated.
Following the angle, Jericho vs. Hobbs was one of four new matches announced for next week’s AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday.
Hobbs had been a featured player on Collision since that show’s debut in June, feuding with Miro. Their issue came to a close at All Out last month where Miro came away with a victory and branched off into an angle with his wife CJ Perry. Since losing at the pay-per-view, Hobbs has wrestled twice in dark matches at Collision tapings.
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
Sammy Guevara ended up turning on Chris Jericho at AEW Grand Slam.
Jericho won the match between the two Wednesday, laying out Guevara with a codebreaker as Guevara was coming off the top rope. After the match, Jericho extended his hand. Guevara shook his hand and the two hugged. Guevara, however, then low blowed Jericho and shoved him to the floor, similar to what Jericho did to Shawn Michaels after their match at WrestleMania XIX. Don Callis then came to the ring, signifying a relationship between the two.
Backstage, Renee Paquette asked Callis and Guevara if this meant Guevara had joined the Callis Family. Callis said that they would reveal more at AEW Rampage Grand Slam on Friday. Daniel Garcia then confronted Guevara. Callis held Guevara back, saying that “the kid is money”, referring to Garcia.
Guevara remained with Chris Jericho after the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society abandoned Jericho for thinking about joining Callis’ family, which he ultimately rejected after Callis revealed he was going to turn on him if he didn’t align with him. After Jericho failed to defeat Will Ospreay at All In, the two started to show tension between the other. However, they agreed to a match where they would get their frustrations out on one another so they could focus on winning the AEW Tag Team titles, agreeing to the match at Grand Slam.
Konosuke Takeshita and Don Callis have chosen Kota Ibushi as their next target.
Callis revealed on Wednesday a painting showing Takeshita standing over a fallen Ibushi, about to stab him with a sword as Callis is seen giving the order. After revealing the painting, Callis said that they would spill Ibushi’s blood in the ring while Omega sat at home, as Callis explained it, “like a cuck”.
Earlier this year, Callis severed his relationship with Kenny Omega and aligned himself with Takeshita. After winning the six-man trios match at All In by pinning Omega, Takeshita followed up by defeating Omega clean at All Out. Omega hasn’t been seen since the back-to-back losses.
On Wednesday’s Dynamite, Callis demanded that going forward, everyone should call Takeshita the Alpha, saying that anyone who can beat Omega twice can be called an Alpha, unlike Chris Jericho.
Ibushi has made two AEW appearances in the last year. The first was at Blood and Guts, teaming with Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Eddie Kingston in a winning effort. The second was the trios match at All In where he, Omega, and Hangman Page lost to Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Takeshita.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back to talk all the big news and show of the weekend, injuries to Callis, Bayley and Elton Prince, Battle of the Belts, Collision, Smackdown, NOAH and AAA and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including all the best matches of the weekend, Nakajima vs. Miyahara, Omega vs. Vikingo, FTR vs. Juice & Jay, Don Callis attacked legit, Bayley and Elton Prince hurt, Mox wins shoot with DEATH JITSU, Rick Steiner, Mercedes, Smackdown, Collision, Battle of the Belts and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: The Mikey Nicholls G1 finish, Bayley injured at WWE house show, Elton Prince injury
8:10: Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kenny Omega vs. Vikingo from this weekend, Don Callis incident
22:09: FTR vs. Jay White and Juice Robinson on Collision, Battle of The Belts feed dies
32:12: Rick Steiner invited back to WrestleCon
36:10: Mercedes Mone update, Giulia heading to the US, Jon Moxley wins gold medal in NAGA grappling tournament
38:16: A recap of the rest of AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts VII
The Bloodline saga comes very close to a first in the history of pro wrestling on television
A look at the Trial of Roman Reigns, the Reigns vs. Usos feud, and the storyline that has caused WWE business to grow
A preview of all the big matches of the weekend in three different countries, none of which are the U.S., with TripleMania, G-1, Miyahara vs. Nakajima and Collision
Updated news on SummerSlam and Great American Bash and business notes on both shows
The new AEW rules memo, what is and isn’t new and the reality of what this means to talent
Full coverage of UFC 290 with two of the best fights of the year, a unique television situation and two title bouts
Looking at the 2023 Wrestler of the Year award and the top candidates
Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, the questions about the show and why the hope for it to be a success is the evolution of understanding fighting being low
The most detailed look at the ratings of every major pro wrestling and MMA show of the past week, the analysis, competition, segment numbers and comparisons with one year ago
Lots of injury talks regarding major stars
Key husband and wife jumping promotions
Mercedes Mone rivalry planned
Update on major sports rights negotiations in the next few years
The death of Michael Halac, the former Bruiser Mastino and Mantaur
Wrestling magazine pioneer writer Ed Garea, The Phantom of the Ring, passes away
Notes on the new women’s promotion
RevPro Epic Encounters rundown
Battle of the two best 18-year-old wrestlers in the world announced for next month
Ticket sales for tons of big shows
Kenny Omega talks the Tiger driver spot
International TV ratings
Lots of new major UFC fights
Looking at the vacant UFC light heavyweight title situation
World champion in UFC talks about how two years ago he supplemented his income driving for Uber Eats
More major show dates fr WWE
Backstage issue at WWE
A look at all the major TV shows and WWE weekend show coverage
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
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Sunday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking all the latest news from a crazy day of wrestling withWrestling Observer Radio. Our weekend show with Garrett Gonzales and Larry Dallas covering the news of the week is back up on the site.
We have video related to the fan hitting Don Callis from behind and choking him after last night’s TripleMania show in Tijuana.
It started out as an angle where Kenny Omega was being interviewed and Don Callis came out and started making fun of him for losing so many matches of late, claiming five losses in a row. Didn’t he beat Wheeler Yuta? Konosuke Takeshita attacked Omega and then a fan was there and attacked Callis. It was brief, one of the videos you only see after it happened. Callis said a punch injured his ear, busted his mouth and his neck was injured and he never saw it coming. Konnan told Callis that the fan was a former security guard who did security for wrestling and concerts so was there because his friends were part of the security detail. He was not supposed to get involved and according to another source he also ripped his suit.
The past few days we had a lot of talk about Saturday being an unbelievable day for great matches. We’ll talk more about it later but people were raving about the FTR vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson match, which was one of the best matches ever on American television, as well a Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima on yesterday’s NOAH show, Will Ospreay vs. Taichi in the G-1 along with Shota Umino vs Ren Narita, and the Kenny Omega vs. Vikingo match in Mexico City. The amazing this is that because of travel situations, the four men in the tag match last night in Calgary had very little time to prepare for the match and then went out for 58:00 to do a three fall match. We’ll talk a lot more about it tonight as well as the other bouts that we get a chance to see.
Mayra Bueno Silva became a contender for the bantamweight title vacated by the retirement of Amanda Nunes yesterday in beating Holly Holm via second round choke in the main event of yesterday’s show. The talk seemed to be that Silva would face former champion Julianna Pena for the title, but that’s not official.
For Friday’s ROH show, the belief is that the new opponent for Claudio Castagnoli in the main event for the ROH title will be announced Wednesday. Tony Khan is doing a press conference on Tuesday so he may not have the main event but will have a few bouts. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia for the Pure title was announced by Khan and Samoa Joe vs. Dalton Castle for the TV title is on based on last night’s tapings. Mike Bennett & Matt Taven may be facing Penta & Fenix for the tag titles and there was an angle with Stu Grayson and Evil Uno. The belief is that Athena will defend the women’s title against Willow Nightingale stemming from Nightingale’s win over Athena in the Owen Hart Cup tournament.
Regarding Jon Moxley’s winning a NAGA novice over-30 no gi BJJ tournament yesterday in Cincinnati, it was just a last minute thing he decided to do but said it was loads of fun.
We’re looking for reports on the WWE shows from the weekend, with dark matches from the Smackdown tapings Friday in Raleigh and reports from last night in Fairfax, VA and tonight in Salisbury, MD, as well as from the Impact tapings tonight in Windsor, ONT with results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
We’re also doing polls on these four weekend shows:
G-1 Saturday in Sapporo
Impact Slammiversary Saturday in Windsor, ONT
TripleMania Saturday night in Tijuana
G-1 today in Sapporo
We’re looking for a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
Arya Witner, our friend, who has written on this subject in the past, was very mad as were others, at the decision made by Highspots to book Rick Steiner at their convention in Detroit on 8/4 and 8/5. We’ll talk about that tonight but it’s obviously going to be a very controversial topic:
Public Incident, Private Apology? No Way.
by Arya Witner
In October 1992 two-sport athlete Deion Sanders attempted to make history by playing in a professional football game for the Atlanta Falcons in the afternoon and a professional baseball game for the Atlanta Braves in the evening. Since the Braves were in the middle of the National League Championship Series at the time, this was a point of contention with the baseball media, specifically Hall of Fame catcher and broadcaster Tim McCarver. McCarver publicly blasted Deion, calling him selfish for not devoting all his time to helping his team win the pennant. After the Braves won the NLCS in 7 games, Deion Sanders, who had heard about this from his Mom, responded by dumping four buckets of water on McCarver, who was reporting in the locker room that night.
In the aftermath on this incident, which is covered in the ESPN 30 For 30 Documentary “Deion’s Double Day”, McCarver said in an interview that due to the public nature of the incident he would not accept a private apology from Deion, stating that since the incident was public, it deserves a public apology. Deion never did and Tim passed away in February 2023.
In a story that was reported on, talked about and editorialized on at the time, in April 2023 at the WrestleCon convention Rick Steiner decided to let his transphobic side shine through and publicly lambasted and shamed Impact Wrestling’s Gisele Shaw for being a transgender woman, calling her “filth” and “a piece of trash”.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Rick Steiner was kicked out of the convention and was announced to be permanently banned from WrestleCon. Everyone had something to say about the incident, including me writing an article that was published both in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and AngryMarks that week. We all accepted that the incident was taken care of and moved on with our lives.
It turns out, like with most stipulations in wrestling, a permanent ban doesn’t really last long. Today, slightly more than three months after the original incident, WrestleCon announced that Rick Steiner would be a part of their next convention in Detroit over SummerSlam weekend.
Michael Bochicchio, the owner of WrestleCon, went to Twitter to defend this booking. Michael stated that Rick “immediately apologized” during a “private mediated event” with other Impact Wrestling staff which Gisele had refused to attend. Due to this private apology WrestleCon agreed to book Rick for this upcoming event, placing him on a “zero-tolerance scale” where Rick will be permanently banned if he does this again.
Maybe this time the permanent ban could last all the way until January.
Now there will undoubtedly be people who are like “Why are you making a big deal? He apologized!.” The fact is, much like with Tim McCarver and Deion Sanders, if you are going to publicly shame someone, then you need to follow that up with a public apology.
The fact is Rick Steiner has never said anything publicly regarding this incident. Nor has he even “released a statement” talking about regret.
While I do not represent the entire transgender community or the entire LGBT community, I can tell you from experience that if you say something incredibly stupid, we will normally accept your apology once, as long as you show actual contrition and show that you have learned your lesson and are making an effort to become better educated.
If he had done that, or if Gisele comes out and says he apologized to her and she forgives him, then I am more than happy to allow bygones be bygones and let everyone move on with their lives. Unfortunately, neither of those things have happened and WrestleCon has chosen to make whatever money you’re going to make with a Rick Steiner meet and greet in 2023 over making a stand and doing what was right.
Whether or not you agree with our existence, being transgender is not a fad, we’re not undergoing years of therapy and spending thousands of dollars in surgeries just because it’s cool or so we can win a swim meet vs cisgender women.
In a way it makes the aftermath of Jay Briscoe’s comments even crazier. As mentioned, Jay once said something really stupid. He immediately apologized and donated his pay to an LGBT charity. The response was Jay was never allowed to work for a major league company with US national television.
Meanwhile, let’s face facts, at some point Rick Steiner will be on WWE television again doing an angle with his son and by that point no one is going to care.
So, WrestleCon has made their choice and so have I and I choose to not patronize WrestleCon or spend my hard earned money at their sponsored events. Of course, I cannot force anyone else to follow along, but I know the transgender community would appreciate anyone’s support. Ultimately all this has done is make me, and people of my ilk, even more nervous to attend public events such as this.
Brandon Moreno got involved physically at TripleMania. He was coaching Team Baja California against Team Chilango. Even with the broken hand suffered last Saturday in his title loss to Alexandre Pantoja, he was shoved by Daga, and then responded with a spin kick, a jumping knee and then put Daga in an armbar before it was broken up.
Giulia will be defending her New Japan Strong Women’s title on 8/19 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia . So she will be missing a Stardom PPV show which is scheduled on the same day.
Istela Nunes suffered a dislocated elbow on yesterday’s UFC show in Las Vega. She had just started the fight with Viktoriya Dudakova on Saturday when he posted on her left arm and it gave way, leading to a dislocation and a loss via stoppage in 34 seconds. It was her fourth straight loss as well, which puts her UFC status in jeopardy.
As far as Google searches go, UFC did not place in the listings this weekend. Nothing involving pro wrestling did this week. The only MMA related stuff was Tuesday when Tyson Fury was No. 7 related to his signed fight with Francis Ngannou and Mark Zuckerberg was No. 11 for the fight being talked about with Elon Musk.
The G-1 Climax tournament is back Tuesday in Yamagata with a 5:30 a.m. start, and then Wednesday in Sendai.
The new programming season of WWE events on A&E on Sundays is over, but they are replaying the Rivals episodes of Rock vs. Cena at 8 p.m. and Hogan vs. Andre at 11 p.m.
Impact tapings tonight in Windsor, ONT has Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster vs. Chris Bey & Ace Austin for the tag titles, Santino Marella vs. Dirty Dango, Lio Rush vs. Kushida and Tommy Dreamer & Darren McCarty vs. Champagne Singh & Shera.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Dominik Mysterio & Damien Priest has been added to tomorrow’s Raw show.
The 9/25 Raw show in Ontario, CA, basically sold out on the first day tickets were put on sale to the public. It was almost sold out after the presale.
There was an Ali vs. Inoki TV documentary that aired in Japan last week. Josh Gross, who wrote the book about the event, was one of the people interviewed along with Bob Arum, Gene Kilory and they talked mostly about stuff in the Gross book. Hisashi Shinma, Inoki’s manager, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Seiji Sakaguchi were also interviewed for the documentary.
Other Notes
The Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup will be 7/22 at the RJ Meyer Arena in Joppa, MD. There will also be a show on 7/23 and a Fan Fest on 7/23 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the building.
Shane Heimberger on 9/9 in Fairplay, MD is doing a fundraiser for his old neighborhood fire department. There is a 1 p.m. meet and greet with Ricky Morton, Tony Atlas, Shane Douglas, and Godfather. If you mention the Observer you can get $5 off tickets if you send by midnight Sunday to [email protected]
Teddy Hart returned to wrestling Friday night at Team Vision Dojo Hart replaced Bella Snow who caught COVID wrestling in Puerto Rico.
Artemis Spencer & Randy Myers were the opponents of Malakai Black & Brody King on last night’s Collision show in Calgary.
Don Callis was assaulted by a fan following Saturday’s Triplemania XXXI event in Tijuana.
Bryan Alvarez is reporting that there was a post-show press conference where Kenny Omega was confronted by Don Callis, leading to an angle where Omega was attacked by Konosuke Takeshita, continuing their AEW feud. As security was breaking up the fight, that was when a fan attacked Callis from behind.
“Everything was an angle up to that point, but then a fan who was apparently upset about what Don had said to Kenny jumped Don from behind, ripped his suit, concussed his eardrum and busted open his mouth while he was trying to choke out Don from behind,” Alvarez said. “ Don was screaming profanities at the fan before he was pulled off, and was said to be livid afterwards.”
Callis’ neck and ankle were both injured in the attack and is heading to San Diego for medical attention. Alvarez reiterates that the situation was “absolutely not a work”.
Callis appeared prior to the main event of Triplemania, where he said he would be in Vikingo’s corner. Before the match started, however, Konnan came out and sent Callis to the back. Vikingo won the match cleanly after pinning Omega with a 630 splash.
