El Hijo del Vikingo is set to make his AEW debut in a first-time ever dream match.
Tony Khan has announced that Kenny Omega vs. Vikingo will take place on Dynamite next Wednesday (March 22). Omega and Vikingo were supposed to face off in a match for Lucha Libre AAA in 2021, but the match didn’t happen due to Omega being injured at the time.
Khan noted that AEW will be hyping up Omega vs. Vikingo with a profile piece that will air on tonight’s Rampage.
Vikingo is the current AAA Mega Champion. He won Mexico MVP, Best Flying Wrestler, and Non-Heavyweight MVP in the 2022 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards. Vikingo also finished just outside of the top 10 for Most Outstanding Wrestler.
AEW wanted Vikingo to appear in the Face of the Revolution ladder match earlier this month, but that couldn’t happen due to Vikingo being unavailable. Komander ended being used for the match instead.
In the main event of Dynamite this past Wednesday, House of Black retained their AEW Trios titles against The Elite and The Jericho Appreciation Society. The show ended with a tease of Hangman Page reuniting with Omega and The Young Bucks.
Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri is hosting next Wednesday’s Dynamite. Here’s the updated lineup:
Tony Khan wanted El Hijo del Vikingo to make his AEW debut on Dynamite this week — but Vikingo wasn’t available for the match.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that AEW wanted Vikingo to be one of the participants in the Face of the Revolution ladder match on this Wednesday’s Dynamite. Because Vikingo wasn’t available, Komander instead took part in the match.
Meltzer notes that Komander wasn’t under contract with AEW when he was put on Dynamite. Komander is currently under contract with the Mexican promotion KAOZ.
Meltzer adds that Komander is “very much” on WWE’s radar, though Komander couldn’t sign with either AEW or WWE right now without KAOZ’s approval:
Komander, who debuted on Dynamite in the ladder match with no buildup at all, was not under contract when put on the show and is very much on WWE radar. Komander actually is under contract with the KAOZ promotion in Mexico and not sure how that would impact his ability to actually sign with WWE or AEW. But he couldn’t sign with either right now without the approval of KAOZ. Tony Khan wanted El Hijo de Vikingo to debut in the ladder match but he wasn’t available so the office asked for Komander. Konnan works with KAOZ and a long time ago told them to put Komander, Dinamico, Sexy Star and Dulce Canela under contract because smaller companies could then sign them and KAOZ may then be blocked from using them, plus KAOZ and AAA work together. The idea was that eventually they would work out a deal where KAOZ allowed them to sign with AAA, although that hasn’t happened yet and wasn’t a priority because AAA can use them now.
Powerhouse Hobbs, Komander, Konosuke Takeshita, Ortiz, AR Fox, Eddie Kingston, Sammy Guevara, and Action Andretti were the wrestlers who competed in the Face of the Revolution ladder match. Hobbs won the match and will challenge for the TNT Championship on Dynamite next Wednesday.
What records has the Royal Rumble 2023 already set and what records have a good chance to be set
Amazing advance for the show
The debate about the men’s winner and prior year comparisons
The Steve Austin question
The business of Peacock
Original Austin approach
Cody Rhodes return
Full rundown of Raw 30 and the giant ratings and how each segment did
Complaints by the Bellas about the show
Why certain segments of the show changed
The story behind WBD clearing Mark Briscoe and the reason that hasn’t come out why there were previous issues
Different ways AEW paid tribute to Briscoe
Update on family and fundraisers
A look at the Okada-Kiyomiya angle and the keys to it
The Muto retirement at the Tokyo Dome show
What the New Japan vs. NOAH show and other New Japan shows have shown about recovery of the business
UFC 283 coverage with the retirements of Shogun Rua and Glover Teixeira
What is next for Jamahal Hill and Brandon Moreno
Business notes on the show
A look at the life and career of Jose Aldo and his biggest fights including how one of his fights changed the entire direction of MMA for lighter weight fighters and was so successful the company closed up, as weird as that is to say
A look at more Japanese awards voting
The life of Benny Galant, a 60s star who passed away this week who was a major rival of the biggest names in the history of Mexican wrestling, including El Santo and Mil Mascaras, and twice set EMLL’s company gate records. This is a major history piece covering one of the biggest eras of wrestling in any country.
The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week
Streaming numbers, international numbers
Ticket advances for all AEW & WWE shows through WrestleMania
What could be CMLL’s best match of this year
The story behind Negro Casas jumping to AAA, how long has this been in the works, how long has Konnan wanted this and his duties outside the ring
A look at upcoming AAA major shows
Update on a number of upcoming major New Japan shows
What former WWE star is mad at Dwayne Johnson over his portrayal in Young Rock
80s star arrested for a number of things
WBD head talks AEW and Slap Fighting
Behind the AEW new deal with DAZN
Lawsuit filed against AEW
Update on Kenny Omega
San Francisco records for wrestling
Conor McGregor investigation reported
Lots of big UFC fights announced
More on Luke Rockhold coming out of retirement
Famous MMA trainer will no longer corner fighters
Former pro wrestler talks about Slap Fighting and what he was offered
Update on Vince McMahon in the office
Another lawsuit filed against WWE regarding McMahon’s return and how two other suits were basically nullified
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Tuesday Update
WWE
Variety is reporting that John Cena is currently in Australia where he will be filming a movie with Zac Efron called “Ricky Stanicky.” Shooting will begin next month.
Content added to WWE’s YouTube page today includes Edge vs. The Miz from the January 31, 2011, edition of Raw and Goldberg vs. Evolution from the November 17, 2003, edition of Raw.
AEW
This week’s AEW Road to focused on Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley, Jade Cargill’s match against Red Velvet, and Bryan Danielson vs. Timothy Thatcher.
Sam Adonis vs. La Estrella is now set for MLW’s SuperFight this Saturday.
Brandi Rhodes was interviewed by The Bare Magazine. She talked about her decision to leave wrestling, saying “I feel very good about the decision,” she said. “There was a lot about my position in the industry that took a lot of the joy out of it for me. Life is too short to be fighting so hard and still left feeling unfulfilled. Especially with everything that I have to offer still mentally and physically. I’d like to experience joy in my contributions at this point.”
YOH was pulled from this morning’s NJPW Road to the New Beginning due to a fever.
El Hijo del Vikingo matches for independent promotions will now be available on various streaming services.
Previously, AAA was preventing companies such as GCW and Warrior Wrestling from airing his matches live or on-demand. GCW revealed AAA’s policy when announcing Vikingo’s promotional debut last month.
*Please Note* Per AAA Guidelines, Vikingos match will not be streamed. This policy will cover *ALL* of Vikingo’s independent bookings and is in effect until further notice.
However, it now appears AAA’s policy is no longer in effect. Both Warrior Wrestling and GCW announced Thursday evening that upcoming Vikingo matches will now be available to stream.
*BREAKING*
Effective Immediately:
*All* of EL HIJO DEL VIKINGO's matches at GCW will stream LIVE on @FiteTV+!
Next Up: Friday Night in Charlotte
EL HIJO DEL VIKINGO vs GRINGO LOCO
You can watch the entire event LIVE by subscribing to Fite+ NOW for just $4.99 per month! pic.twitter.com/33jrWAlQu1
Rob Viper of Highspots.TV revealed that AAA’s policy now allows Vikingo matches and content to air provided they are behind a paywall.
Rob just announced that all Vikingo matches can be included on streaming shows now, as long as they're paid streaming shows. @GCWrestling_ and @WarriorWrstlng matches can air this weekend. https://t.co/EUwOK13Dhi
It had been speculated that AAA’s reason for not allowing promotions to stream Vikingo matches was to keep him fresh for a show they would produce during WrestleMania Week. However, there is reason to believe that show is no longer happening. AAA held a press conference earlier this week announcing several upcoming events but there was no mention of one in Los Angeles during WrestleMania.
Editor’s Note: This interview was done in Spanish and translated by Denise.
One of the fastest rising and most in-demand luchadors coming out of Mexico is current AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo.
That is why the October announcement of him securing a work visa via Masked Republic’s Lucha Libre Agency and AAA that enabled him to perform in the United States was an exciting one for fans and promoters who immediately jumped on the opportunity to book him.
The 25-year-old made his official debut at AAA’s U.S. return in Tempe, Arizona, and made his GCW debut at Friday’s Amerikaz Most Wanted, picking up a win over Blake Christian in a match that wasn’t available via streaming due to AAA contract stipulations.
Ahead of his GCW debut, I talked to the 25-year-old where he expressed his excitement, also saying he was “super happy” and “nervous.” The reason he felt those nerves was due to the “great responsibility” and “weight on his shoulders” to deliver great matches for a live audience.
He noted that now was his chance to not only grow his name, but to “conquer the United States.”
(Getting his visa to work in the U.S.) “is something cool because I once dreamt it and now I am realizing this dream. I am living it.”
He explained to me that the reason he is able to execute his incredible high-flying moves is because he has been training since the young age of five. The son of King Vikingo, a local wrestler from Puebla that began wrestling back in 1994, the son was just 14 years old when he started wrestling professionally.
“Every move you see in the ring is done with love and for all the people.”
In the last two years alone, Vikingo has begun gaining notoriety for his in-ring work including the eighth overall spot in this year’s PWI 500, the MVP of Mexico in the 2021 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards, and has three five-star matches.
Vikingo spoke proudly of that PWI 500 ranking, especially since he had not even set foot in the United States at that point. He has high hopes now that he has.
“Now that I am here in the United States, I am going for that number one spot. I feel very motivated,” he said.
Vikingo spoke about his goals and dream opponents with the new year approaching for two different reasons: Gringo Loco and Kenny Omega.
His motivation to face Loco is that he attacked him back in Mexico while he was originally scheduled to face Omega for the AAA title in a match that never happened due to Omega’s time off for injury.
Noting that he wouldn’t be content until the Omega match happened, he also teased that if Omega wouldn’t come to his house (AAA), he would go to to his, meaning AEW, adding “anything can happen.”
*Vince McMahon talks about returning and we talk about the prospects of that, including from those close to him *The Rita Chatterton story resurfaces, and we go back to look at the original story and current legal status as well as a new allegation against Vince McMahon that came up this week *What can’t happen to WWE as long a McMahon wants back in *What would have to take place before McMahon to return to power *What risks are there for the company *The Vice special on Vince McMahon and those who would and wouldn’t talk *Mandy Rose gets fired and details of why it happened and what the original plans were regarding the women’s title *ROH PPV coverage, Honor Club, PPV buys, ROH title change *Sasha Banks and Japan WWE, AEW prospects, a return t WWE and more *Notes on Wrestle Kingdom, the card,te story behind the card *Updates on Matt Riddle *Full coverage of UFC 282, hat happens next, business notes, what’s next for the fighters *ROH Deadline and the debut of Iron Survivor *Just how rapidly is cable losing homes, a list for the stations that air wrestling and MMA and what the numbers are now *Tokyo Sports awards and story behind it *PWG Battle of Los Angels *The most detailed look at the ratings for all wrestling shows on national TV including how each segment did, *Streaming numbers *Advance ticket sales for the major WWE & AEW events *Government works with Arena Mexico for a special event *CMLL’s next tournament *Konnan talks his health *Rules in place for independent promoters and usage of El Hijo del Vikingo *A look at a Mexico match of the year candidate *A look at another match of the year candidate *Finances of major wrestling conglomerate *Future of Kota Ibushi *Why the economics are going to be tougher for New Japan *Coverage of the New Japan tag tournament finals *Update on the MLW lawsuit against WWE *Huge match in London this week *AEW announces new television deal *Behind the Jericho loss to Action Andretti *What famous feud started in a similar fashion *People who have been world champion in the U.S., Japan and Mexico *UFC takes action regarding a suspicious fight *World MMA Awards *William Regal news *WrestleMania news
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Friday Update
Garrett and I are doing two shows this weekend. We have a show covering the big stories of the week that will be up shortly and another show on Sunday.
The trailer for the upcoming Peacock documentary on Ric Flair:
One of the best matches of the year in Mexico, the recent Showcenter final with El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Laredo Kid was posted today by AAA:
WWE is taping two episodes of Smackdown tonight in Chicago at the Allstate Arena. Tonight’s show will include Gunther vs. Ricochet for the IC title, Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox & Liv Morgan and Hit Row vs. Legado del Fantasma vs. Viking Raiders. Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman are scheduled on the show as well. The show is completely sold out with 12,400 fans.
Rampage tonight on TNT at 10 p.m. Eastern Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara Britt Baker vs. Sky Blue Wardlow vs. Exodus Prime Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta & Dustin Rhodes & Orange Cassidy vs. Butcher & Blade & Kip Sabian & Trent Seven.
Moxley suffered a terrible cut in his ear in the match.
UFC from the Apex in Las Vegas tomorrow is an ESPN+ show starting at 4 p.m. Eastern:
Sergey Morozov (136) vs. Journey Newson (135.5) Manel Kape (126) vs. David Dvorak (125.5) Bryan Battle (170) vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (171) Rafa Garcia (155) vs. Maheshate (158.5) – Maheshate missed weight by 2.5 pounds Said Nurmagomedov (136) vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov (136) Jake Matthews (170) vs. Matthew Semelsberger (171) Cheyanne Vlismas (115.5) vs. Cory McKenna (115.5) Michal Oleksiejczuk (186) vs. Cody Brundage (185) Drew Dober (156) vs. Bobby Green (156) Alex Caceres (145) vs. Julian Erosa (145.5) Amir Albazi (125.5) vs. Alessandro Costa (125.5) Arman Tsarukyan (155.5) vs. amir Ismagulov (156_ Jared Cannonier (185.5) vs. Sean Strickland (186)
Darren Winn, who was to face Julian Marquez, wasn’t medically cleared after fainting and falling down a flight of stairs at the UFC Performance Institute He said when he fainted, he fell down the stairs, hit his neck and head pretty hard and had a mild concussion.
The World MMA Awards from last Thursday will be airing at 9 p.m. Eastern and 6 p.m. Pacific tonight on CBS Sports Network. They also air on 12/27 at 10 p.m. on ESPN 2.
The New York Times also had a story on WOW and owner Jeannie Buss, noting that the promoting is being run by David McLane and April Mendez (A.J. Lee) (thanks to Leon Atterbury)
Defy tomorrow at Washington Halli Seattle with El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Nick Wayne, Vert Vixen vs Cat Power for the women’s title, Alex Shelley vs. Artemis Spencer and El Phantasmo vs. Jordan Oliver vs. Guillermo Rosas.
La Estrella vs. Lince Dorado has been added to the 1/7 MLW show in Philadelphia.
West Coast Pro Wrestling’s first show of the year on 1/6 at the State Room in San Francisco has Titus Alexander vs Alec Price, Nick Wayne vs. Alex Shelley, Mike Bailey vs. Bryan Keith and Kevin Blackwood vs. Starboy Charlie.
Invicta announced a 1/18 date in Denver at Reelworks wit Taneisha Tennant (5-1) defending her bantamweight title against Talita Bernardo (9-4) and Kristina Williams (6-3) faces Ketlan Souza (12-3) for the vacant flyweight title. The show will air on AXS in the U.S. and The Fight Network in Canada.
LFA on 1/13 in Prior Like, MN at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel headlined by Ary Farias (123), a seven-time world BJJ champion, facing John Sweeney (11-3) a protege of Stephen Wonderboy Thompson so it’s BJJ vs. karate. It airs live on UFC Fight Pass.
MCW on 12/30 at the RJ Meyer Arena in Joppa MD with Action Andretti, the MCW champion, fresh off his win over Chris Jericho on Dynamite, facing Brian Johnson. Moses defends the Rage TV title against DeMarcus Kane and Mike Walker in a three-way. Sam Adonis and Dante Caballero are also on the show.
Pro Wrestling Revolver on 2/2 in Dayton, OH with Jon Moxley, Ace Austin, Chris Bey, Trey Miguel and Gia Miller on the show.
The PFL will be back in action starting 1/27 on the Fubo Sports Network for a series through 3/17 with fighters fighting to earn a spot in the 2023 tournaments.
Joey Janela headlines for AIW on 12/30 in Cleveland at The Odeon.
Ring of Pakistan has shows in DHA Multan tomorrow and Sunday featuring Chris Masters, Kalisto, Amale Dib, Sam Gradwell, KC Spinelli, Mariah May, Hedi Karaoui and more.
Stardom from today in Tokyo: Miyu Amasaki b Miran, Rina b Sanae Takebayashi, Mirai & Tomoko Inaba & Nanami b Saya Iida & Momo Kohgo & Hanan, Ram Kaichow & Maikz Ozaki b Tam Nakano & Waka Tsukiyama, Mai Sakurai & Thekla b Starlight Kid & Karma-DQ, Nanae Takahashi b Lady C, Ami Sohrei b Ruaka to keep the Future of Stardom title (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
90 Day Fiance star Biniyam fights for 559 Fights in Visalia, CA tomorrow night at the Convention Center for a 6 p.m. show.
While El Hijo del Vikingo is now able to wrestle in the United States, independent promotions aren’t currently able to stream his matches.
Game Changer Wrestling noted today that, per Lucha Libre AAA guidelines, GCW will not be able to stream Vikingo’s match against Blake Christian at its Amerikaz Most Wanted show this Friday (December 16). The match is Vikingo’s GCW debut.
The rest of Amerikaz Most Wanted will air on Fite+ as scheduled.
“Per AAA Guidelines, Vikingos match will not be streamed,” GCW tweeted. “This policy will cover *ALL* of Vikingo’s independent bookings and is in effect until further notice.”
Lucha Blog added: “I have been told this policy expands to VOD too, but I haven’t heard that confirmed from promoters yet.”
Vikingo is the current AAA Mega Champion. This October, Sports Illustrated confirmed that Vikingo has secured a work visa to wrestle in the U.S.
“I first need to thank my home, AAA, and my friends from Masked Republic for making my dream of traveling to the United States possible,” Vikingo told Sports Illustrated. “I know it is a great responsibility to head to a new country. It is a responsibility I will live up to and surpass.”
Vikingo wrestled at AAA’s show in Arizona earlier this month, teaming with Penta El Zero M in a tag team match against Daga & Flip Gordon.
Vikingo has been announced as one of the entrants for PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2023, which is taking place in January.
The lineup for PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2023 is now fully set.
The two-day tournament is being held at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8. Here are the 17 wrestlers who will be taking part in the tournament:
Michael Oku
Shun Skywalker
Masha Slamovich
“Speedball” Mike Bailey
Komander
Alex Shelley
Jonathan Gresham
Aramis
Titus Alexander
Jordynne Grace
Lio Rush
Black Taurus
Latigo
Daniel Garcia
Bandido
Konosuke Takeshita
El Hijo del Vikingo
Oku, Skywalker, and Vikingo are making their PWG debuts in the tournament. Slamovich, Komander, Alexander, Grace, Latigo, and Takeshita all debuted for PWG earlier this year and will be competing in their first Battle of Los Angeles.
Vikingo, who is the current AAA Mega Champion, recently secured his visa to wrestle in the United States. He won Mexico MVP in the 2021 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards and finished second in the Best Flying Wrestler category.
Garcia currently holds the PWG World Championship. After winning the 2022 edition of BOLA, he defeated Bandido for the title this May.
The winner of BOLA 2023 will get a future shot at Garcia’s title.
El Hijo del Vikingo’s GCW debut has been announced.
The promotion revealed on Thursday that Vikingo will be in action at GCW Amerika’s Most Wanted on Friday, December 16. The show will take place from the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California, and air live on FITE TV.
An angle took place at AAA Triplemania last month setting up Vikingo’s GCW debut. He was attacked in the back by GCW wrestlers Joey Janela, Alex Colon and Gringo Loco.
Janela later tweeted about the backstage attack, “Biggest moment of your life followed by the biggest beatdown of your life!” and told AAA to say hello to “the biggest outlaws in America!!!”
Vikingo revealed to SI.com recently that he has secured a US work visa. He is also scheduled for AAA’s show on December 3 from the Mullett Arena in Tempe, AZ.
The only announced match for GCW Amerika’s Most Wanted thus far is Gringo Loco & Los Vipers vs. Arez, ASF, & Komander.
The AAA Mega Champion is coming to the United States.
El Hijo del Vikingo confirmed in an interview with SI.com on Friday that he has secured a U.S work visa.
“I first need to thank my home, AAA, and my friends from Masked Republic for making my dream of traveling to the United States possible,” Vikingo says through a translator. “I know it is a great responsibility to head to a new country. It is a responsibility I will live up to and surpass.”
Vikingo is already listed for AAA’s show on December 3 from the Mullett Arena in Tempe, AZ. He recently worked an angle with members of the GCW roster as well, suggesting he could end up working for them while in the United States.
“I want to thank all my fans for their unconditional support,” Vikingo says. “I assure you that I will raise the name Cuautlancingo, Puebla and AAA throughout the world.”
While Vikingo has never wrestled in the United States, he has worked MLW and Impact shows that took place in Mexico.
Vikingo’s successful title defense against Rey Fenix at AAA Triplemania on Saturday was rated five stars by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It is the second time one of his matches has received the honor. A tag match between Vikingo & Laredo Kid against the Lucha Bros from Héroes Inmortales XIV last year also received a five-star rating.
Following Saturday’s Triplemania XXX in Mexico City, AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo was attacked backstage by GCW stars Joey Janela, Alex Colon and Gringo Loco to set something up for the future.
The three laid out Vikingo in the clip seen below with Janela later tweeting, “Biggest moment of your life followed by the biggest beatdown of your life!” and telling AAA to say hello to “the biggest outlaws in America!!!” GCW retweeted the clip, and others reacting to it, several times.
Biggest moment of your life followed by the biggest beatdown of your life! 😂😂😂
GCW and AAA are running a co-promoted show Sunday in Mexico that will see Janela take on Pagano and Colon vs. Miedo Extremo. Vikingo isn’t scheduled for the card.
Recent news had Vikingo, who defended his title Saturday against Rey Fenix, getting his visa so he can work shows in the U.S. Based on Saturday, GCW appears to be a likely landing spot for some dates when that happens.
************
At Saturday’s TripleMania, AAA debuted a trailer to the crowd for El Origen De La Mascara — a lucha libre show that will bow on Disney Plus on December 21st featuring AAA’s Marvel-themed Luchadores.
It’s unknown if the show will be available internationally or solely on the regional version of Disney Plus.
AAA has yet to release the trailer on social media or YouTube, but a fan in attendance recorded it:
MLW Azteca’s first run concluded from Tijuana, Mexico, with a lucha libre trios match and EJ Nduka in action.
We started with Richard Holliday and MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone tanning on a beach…but it was night time and Holliday was freezing cold. They had been there all day, but Hammerstone wanted to stay to catch the “post rays” while Holliday wanted to hit the gym to get ready for Valentine’s Day. Hammerstone teased him about Alicia Atout, but Holliday insisted his plans were with someone else.
EJ Nduka defeated Adrian Quest
Nduka put Quest away in a relatively short match, but Quest showed some good fighting spirit and had the larger Nduka stumbling toward the end.
They played the big man vs. little man story with Quest springboarding, flipping and flying around the much larger and stronger Nduka who used power moves to keep his opponent under control.
Quest went for a moonsault off the top rope, but Nduka caught him and hit his running powerslam for the win.
— Davey Richards had a sit-down interview with highlights of his recent matches in MLW playing in the background. He has his sights set on the MLW title and spoke nicely of Hammerstone. He said they were both cut from the same cloth, but would hold back when he faces him at the upcoming SuperFight event in Charlotte, North Carolina.
— We then cut to Holliday who was in Beverly Hills shopping for “someone special” when he was confronted by a fan wanting a photo. The fan asked if Hammerstone was with him and Holliday sent him up the street to look for him. Something then caught his eye as his demeanor changed before he walked off.
— There was another hype video for the debuting or returning superstar as the sand timer from last week was now emptying on an old television set before it was shot at and destroyed.
— It was formally announced that the Von Erichs have not been cleared to face Tag Team Champions 5150 due to COVID-19. Speaking of 5150, they recently won the IWA Puerto Rico tag titles which led to a promo from the champions. They seem to be changing their mind about Cesar Duran after their recent title wins and put the MLW tag division on notice.
— As Mecha Wolf was making his entrance, a Mads Krugger video message for Jacob Fatu cut in. He said CONTRA gave him a purpose and made him a monster. He called Fatu “Judas” and that since Fatu took his purpose, his purpose is Fatu.
Mecha Wolf defeated Extreme Tiger
This was a good showcase for both. It ended with Wolf getting the win with a unique finisher that involved him simply kicking Extreme Tiger as he landed on the mat after a throw. The crowd gave them a good ovation and threw money into the ring after the match finished.
Wolf hit a tornado DDT and a low suicide dive where he landed headfirst through a guardrail at ringside, breaking it in the process. He somehow got back up and climbed to the top rope, but missed a double foot stomp. Tiger hit a one-footed dropkick but Wolf came back with a spinebuster, a running knee to the face, and a back suplex throw where he soccer kicked Tiger as he hit the mat for the win.
— Ricky Steamboat was announced for the upcoming SuperFight show followed by Los Parks challenging 5150 to a rematch for the MLW tag titles.
— The second half of the All Access look into Jacob Fatu featured him talking about his first days training and realizing the sacrifices his family made throughout the years.
AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo, Laredo Kid and Octagon Jr. defeated National Openweight Champion Alex Kane, Villano III Jr., and Rey Horus (w/ Mr. Thomas) under lucha tag team rules
Vikingo showed off his amazing arsenal of aerial maneuvers as he hit a crossbody after leaping to the top and springing around on the top rope a few times. He then put on the brakes by springing off the ropes, sending himself halfway across the ring like Spider-Man.
He and Horus had a nice exchange before Vikingo got knocked out of the ring and Laredo Kid replaced him. Both were quick and fluid in their exchanges, but when Kane came in, the story of the match changed.
Horus and Villano tried to get Kane to cooperate with their triple team moves, but Kane took it upon himself to ignore them and power bomb their opponent. When Vikingo came in, Kane shoved his partners away so he could lay the boots into him alone. And when they were lining up a double superkick, Kane instead just threw Vikingo to the floor instead of to his partners.
After some partner miscommunication, the action broke down on the outside with Vikingo’s team coming back into the match. They ran a series of high impact moves as everyone took a turn to hit one and then be on the receiving end of one as lucha tag rules were in full effect.
Vikingo wiped out Kane with a suicide dive before Kid and Octagon took out Mr. Thomas with a dive too. Kane and Thomas recovered just enough to take the National Openweight title and leave both the match and his tag partners behind.
Horus tried his best to make up for the numbers game with a big dive over the top rope, but he was followed by Octagon and Vikingo who dove from the top rope with a one-footed corkscrew moonsault.
Villano III nearly had Vikingo put away with a lungblower but moments later, Vikingo hit a poison rana from the top rope for a two count. Vikingo hit an outside-in twisting and turning springboard splash from the middle rope followed which was then followed by the running knees and his 630 senton on Villano III for the win.
— We cut to Emilio Sparks who caught up with Alicia Atout and asked her where her boyfriend Holliday was. Before she could answer, a car sped into the parking lot and dumped a battered Holliday out to the ground. Sparks read a note Holliday was holding: “Hammerstone vs. Pagano, Holliday vs Muertes” as MLW Azteca went off the air.
El Hijo del Vikingo will make the first defense of his AAA Mega title at February 19th’s Rey de Reyes against former champion John Morrison for the first time ever.
Morrison will go by his real name of John Hennigan instead of Johnny Mundo which he used when he last worked there.
Vikingo won a five-way for the vacant title at Triplemania Regia earlier this month. The match was a change from his scheduled match against then-champion Kenny Omega who had to withdraw due to various surgeries.
Morrison was the champion for nearly a year from 2017-18 before losing it to Dr. Wagner Jr. in his last match for the promotion. This is the first match announced for the 42-year-old since he was released by WWE in November.
While not announced, it’s expected that Morrison’s wife and former AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Taya Valkyrie will also be on the show, likely as the mystery entrant in a four-way no. 1 contender’s match for the title. She was also released by WWE this fall.
Also announced for the Veracruz show during a press conference was Rey Fenix and Pentagon Jr. against Dragon Lee and Dralistico; Laredo Kid vs. Bandido vs. Cibernetico vs. Psycho Clown vs. a mystery opponent and more.
Neither current Tag Team Champions FTR nor Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo will be on the show for which no reason was given.
@TheRealMorrison está de regreso y tiene un reto directo para el NUEVO Megacampeón de AAA, Hijo del Vikingo @vikingo_aaa
A look back at all the WWE cuts of the last week, person by person, with the background, what the direction the company is going. We look at where different people would be best served working at next, highlights of their WWE careers, and a lot more about the cuts.
Also in this issue:
A feature on Del Wilkes, known as The Trooper and The Patriot, his drug issues, his multiple arrests, his entire career, his noteworthy college football career, his biggest matches, how he broke in, and days in AWA, Global, All Japan, WCW and WWF, the origin of the idea of The Patriot that few know about, kicking his drug problem, what others have said about it, and his life after wrestling.
A talent move that will be very interesting to watch and long-term repercussions of this move, Great American Bash news, Money in the Bank news, ticket sales for all WWE shows and Breakout Star tournament news
AAA’s biggest show of the year, with a look at the TripleMania lineup, Verano de Escandalo as well, restrictions and angles leading up to the big matches.
This past week’s UFC show with Cyril Gane and Alexander Volkov, the next heavyweight title match, why Gane vs. Derrick Lewis is happening, why it’s a bad idea, plus match-by-match coverage.
All Japan crowning a new Triple Crown champion after Suwama vacated the title due to COVID and the three-way with Jason Lee, Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoagi, the complete All Japan Ota Ward show.
More detail on the ratings than any other source, we have how every segment on NXT and AEW did with different age groups, genders and more, plus a look at all other wrestling shows of the past week, how many different viewers the shows had, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, Eyada, Stardom ratings and the week coming up tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions to the show to [email protected]
Raw tonight has Bobby Lashley & MVP vs. Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods. Yes, it was advertised for several days as Lashley vs. Woods, but plans change. The Men’s Money in the Bank competitors will be on Miz TV.
As a general rule in regards to the ratings, one would expect some of the audience to arrive late and stay until the end compared to usual given the day off work for most people on a holiday weekend. Raw got lucky this week and for that matter going forward until the Olympics aside from next week (Home Run Derby) in that it won’t face the NBA finals. The holiday may hurt a little and if the number is near the same level as last week, that should be part of it. But not having the NBA against it going forward should lead to a few weeks of increases.
The first four games of the NBA finals are tomorrow (which will hurt the Bash number, but being a special show, the number should still be way up from last week), Thursday, Sunday and then Wednesday the 14th (against AEW). If there are games five, six and seven, they will be Saturday the 17th, Tuesday the 20th and Thursday the 22nd. AEW will likely be hurt a lot, but they still did well last week with very tough competition. WWE largely lucked out with no more Raw or Smackdown against the NBA.
The NHL playoffs, which are not as tough competition but are something, do have game four of the Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lighting tonight head-to-head with Raw. The Lightning are up 3-0 and could end it tonight. If Montreal wins, game five is Wednesday against AEW. If Montreal wins that, game six is Friday against Smackdown. A potential game seven is Sunday.
Ratings will be delayed all week due to it being a holiday. So no Raw rating tomorrow and no Smackdown rating today.
Fast 9 was estimated at doing $22,860,000 this past weekend and it’s at nearly $116 million after two weekends of release.
As expected, the main event for the DDT Peter Pan show, its biggest of the year, on 8/21 is Jun Akiyama defending against King of DDT winner Konosuke Takeshita. Akiyama has two wins over Takeshita.
Friday’s Dragon Gate show at Korakuen Hall is sold out due to it being Masato Yoshino’s last match at Korakuen Hall before his retirement (this is a real retirement, not a usual pro wrestling retirement) match in Kobe in a few weeks. It will air live with English commentary at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Friday morning.
Kurt Angle has inked a deal for Virtual Basement’s The Wrestling Code video game
CMLL was talking Arena Puebla opening back up to a limited capacity of around 700 tonight and every Monday going forward. But they needed an inspection being completed and thus tonight’s show is off. They now expect to debut on 7/12.
WWE
WWE has apparently reached a deal with C4 Energy, which has created “Big Swag Energy,” a drink that Montez Ford will be promoting. C4 also has deals with Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair and “Golden Goddess” Energy to be promoted by Mandy Rose.
The NXT Great American Bash show is tomorrow night on USA. It looks great on paper:
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
MSK vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher for tag titles
Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai & Zoey Stark for women’s tag tilt
LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes for Million Dollar Belt
Johnny Gargano and Karrion Kross faceoff
Hit Row championship celebration
While the final number isn’t in until tomorrow, based on overnights, Smackdown did a low number Friday, as expected given it being Friday night of holiday weekend. The same thing happened last year. I wouldn’t read anything into that number. Smackdown also went against the NHL playoffs, which killed it in Canada. The Canadiens-Lightning game did more than 3 million viewers. Smackdown did 108,000 viewers, which is much lower than it usually does (Thanks to Post Wrestling)
UFC
Four matches have been added to the 7/17 show. They are Montserrat Ruiz vs. Amanda Lemos, Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Alan Baduot, Miles Johns vs. Anderson Dos Santos and Rodolfo Vieira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus.
AEW
There is nothing to think of past this tweet in the sense El Hijo del Vikingo doesn’t have a visa. It is possible Kenny Omega could face him in Mexico and at one point when COVID started the match was in the planning stages. Vikingo did a lot of cool stuff on Saturday at Verano de Escandalo, AAA’s big show. He even did Croyt’s Wrath, a move Omega only does on rare occasions and few in wrestling have ever tried to copy because it’s so physically difficult. Omega wrote about Vikingo’s move, “The balance and core strength this takes is incredible. With a little more Raw power, he could have done it just as good as me. I’ve said Vikingo is one of the best for a reason. Much like Jungle Boy in AAA, I want to crush your future.”
The first major U.S. promotion on the road since the pandemic will be AEW’s TV taping Wednesday night from Miami’s Knight Center. This is the updated lineup:
Young Bucks vs. Penta & Eddie Kingston for AEW tag titles in a street fight
Santana & Ortiz & Jake Hager w/Konnan vs. FTR & Wardlow w/Tully Blanchard
Cody Rhodes. vs QT Marshall in a South Beach strap match
Orange Cassidy & Kris Statlander vs. Blade & Bunny
Andrade El Idolo vs. Matt Sydal
Chris Jericho & MJF face-off
I expect the date for Matt Hardy vs. Christian to be announced on Wednesday. Either way the match is happening very soon.
Ticket sales for Wednesday in Miami have topped 3,200
OTHER NEWS
ROH Glory by Honor tickets for 8/20 and 8/21 were put on sale on Friday.
Shota Umino returned to RevPro last night at the Cockpit Theater in London and they are setting up a match where he challenges Ricky Knight Jr. for the Southside heavyweight title on 8/21 in Manchester.
Stardom runs Korakuen Hall on Tuesday with Tam Nakano & Mina Shirakawa & Unagi Sayaka defending the Artist of Stardom trios belts against Utami Hayashishita & AZM & Saya Kamitani.
wXw is putting tickets on sale for its 20th anniversary show on 8/7 in Oberhausen on Wednesday.
In the first of two excellent trios matches, El Hijo del Vikingo, Myzteziz & Octagon Jr. successfully retained their AAA World Trios titles against Jordan Oliver, Kotto Brazil & Myron Reed
Poder de Norte (Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana, Carta Brava Jr.) defeated Black Destiny, Fantastick, and Rayo Star
Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Brian Pillman Jr. both challenged Jacob Fatu and Jordan Oliver, respectively.
Show Recap:
We opened with an Injustice video hyping themselves up before their big AAA World trios title match later on. They said 12 months ago they were being left off shows, but now they are headlining. AJ Kirsch and Rich Bocchini then welcomed us to the show and reminded us that MLW is leading the Super Series 4-2 against AAA.
Poder de Norte (Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana, Carta Brava Jr.) defeated Black Destiny, Fantastik and Rayo Star (7:24) Non Super Series match
This was really good and what you would imagine from a AAA trios tag team match, done traditional with no tags. The action was nonstop as you would imagine and really was one of the best matches of the AAA tapings so far.
Poder de Norte were dressed in Shield-like chest protectors complete with cargo pants with their opponents in more traditional wrestling tights and masks with the exception of the unmasked Fantastik. Poder were taken off guard and ended up taking a trio of dives to start us off. I also need to point out that Tito Santana is not the WWE Hall of Famer as he now shares the name with a younger AAA counterpart.
Black Destiny and Rayo Star showed early flurries, but Star ended up taking a chairshot after a catapult. Then, all three Poder members gorilla press slammed him over the barrier into the crowd. Black Destiny was next for punishment and ate a double baseball slide for his trouble.
After a break, Rayo Star was back to make a save for Fantastik after he took a top rope double foot stomp from Carta. Rayo Star got Carta sitting on the top rope, then jumped and grabbed him with a Spanish fly by springboarding himself off the top rope in the seated position which was incredible.
There was a triple pin attempt from Poder after Black Destiny was thrown head over heels into the corner, after Ray Star ate a dropkick to the face after coming off the top rope, and after Santana caught Fantastik with a Mexican destroyer. But, all three kicked out.
The action spilled to the outside with Black Destiny hitting a tope suicida onto Carta who was draped over the guardrail. Santana and Mocho then hit stereo suicide dives on the other side of the ring. The female valet even hit a corkscrew splash onto everyone on the outside.
But in the ring, Black Destiny was caught in a 3-on-1 and was floored after three quick attacks in the corner. He then ate a frog splash from Mocho Cota Jr. that gave Poder de Norte the win.
**********
– Lifestyles of the Rich and Dynastic this week had Richard Holliday and Alexander Hammerstone in Puerto Rico outside what they called “a really ugly yellow house” where it turns out Savio Vega was brought up. They belittled his upbringing and then announced they had bought the house. Holliday called himself “Richie Two Titles” with the house ownership going along with the Caribbean title he stole from Vega.
– We saw footage from last week where Injustice jumped Brian Pillman Jr after his tag team match with Davey Boy Smith Jr. We then cut to Pillman who has had enough and challenged Oliver to a hair vs. hair match.
– “Cooking with LA Park” was back this week and we had all three Parks telling us to relax our pants as they cooked us a scrumptious Mexican pork dish. They washed their hands so they wouldn’t catch coronavirus, and cut up tomatoes, onions, and “other gimmicks”. He called out Pagano and Psycho Clown and told them to bring their working boots to MLW and added a “hint of blubber” (cooking fat) to the pan to cook “Super Porky.” LA then said the gringos love them because whereas the Americans only have the length of two sausages, they have the length of three.
– Davey Boy Smith Jr. then had a message recorded last week when he was fresh off his tag victory. He was next to the ring where Rey Mysterio learned how to wrestle and called out MLW Champion Jacob Fatu and asked where he was before saying it’s only a matter of time before they meet in the ring. He said he was going to hit him with the running powerslam and then lock in the crippler crossface which gives Fatu two choices: tap out or pass out.
– Mance Warner then had a message for Holliday and Hammerstone. He heard what Holliday was doing buying Savio’s house and he will get to him soon. But for Hammerstone, it doesn’t matter how big he is because he’s got a kneecap he can hit with a baseball bat, eyes he can poke out, and a face he can headbutt.
– We then had a report from Low Ki’s altercation with Team Filthy before their press conference last week. The altercation caused the cancellation of the press conference and Dan Lambert has filed a lawsuit against Low Ki for undisclosed damages.
AAA Trios Champions Jinetes Del Aire (El Hijo del Vikingo, Myzteziz & Octagon Jr.) defeated Injustice (Jordan Oliver, Kotto Brazil, MLW Middleweight champion Myron Reed) to retain (13:45)
This featured incredible action from the start and throughout. It went from spot to spot but each one was different, innovative, and superbly executed — a great trios match you should go out your way to see.
Injustice threw tortillas into the crowd as they made their way to the ring, and, of course, they got them thrown right back at them. Reed and Vikingo started us off. Vikingo walked the ropes and then tried a hurricanrana, but Reed countered with a handspring cartwheel. Vikingo returned the favor with a cartwheel counter of his own moments later. Oliver then floored him with a spinning heel kick and knocked him out the ring.
Oliver and Myzteziz were in next. Myzteziz missed a corkscrew senton but connected with a springboard version seconds later. He then got Oliver outside and went for a handspring armdrag but Oliver cartwheeled out of it. Brazil and Octagon then took out both at ringside with dropkicks before meeting in the ring.
Octagon hit a knee to the face and then hit a headscissor takedown before all three of Jinetes took turns chopping him in the corner. Reed was then whipped by Myzteziz, launched into the air by Octagon, and dropkicked off the top rope in mid-air by Vikingo all in one fluid motion. Reed made the save on the pinfall.
Reed then ate a wheelbarrow facebuster into a suplex before Vikingo hit a shooting star press from the top, but Oliver made the save. Jinetes then took turns chopping Oliver to the delight of the Tijuana crowd. Myzteziz armdragged Octagon, squashing Oliver in the corner before Vikingo launched himself and hit a basement dropkick for good measure. Brazil and Reed both made the save this time.
Injustice then got some offense in when Reed matrix dodged Myzteziz and hit him with an enzuigiri. Brazil followed up with a facebuster and Oliver hit a big boot in the corner before they all hit a double spinebuster into a German suplex. Oliver held on for the pin attempt, but Vikingo broke it up with a double foot stomp onto Brazil.
Injustice then hit Vikingo with a backbreaker, ace crusher. and a senton but Octagon broke that up with a big stomp from the top rope. Oliver and Reed hit a double superkick to Octagon as Brazil held him in a handstand headscissors. From the apron, and while Octagon was on the floor, Oliver and Reed repeated their kicks before Brazil hit a missile suicide dive. But, they were then met by dives from Myzteziz and Vikingo before Octagon hit everyone with a top rope springboard torneo in more great action.
Inside the ring, the champions all missed splashes. Moments later, Brazil hit Vikingo with a dive and Oliver hit Myzteziz with a dive into a cutter at ringside before getting Vikingo inside the ring with a springboard version out of the corner. Brazil then hit his sliced bread #2 on Vikingo while Reed took out Octagon, who was on the apron by leaping over the top rope, hitting an ace crusher onto the floor. Myzteziz broke up a pinfall with a crossbody onto Oliver who fell onto the pile of bodies.
Injustice locked in a three-man submission on Myzteziz, but Brian Pillman Jr. ran in for interference, spitting beer in Brazil’s eyes. This distracted them long enough to turn into superkicks from Jinetes. Octagon hit an Asai moonsault onto Reed and Myzteziz hit a step up torneo to Reed and Oliver on the floor.
Then, Vikingo hit a 100mph Meteora in the corner onto Brazil before hitting a reverse 630 senton to pick up the win to complete a match full of breathtaking action.
With only one match to go, MLW leads the Super Series with AAA 4-3
Next Week:
Los Parks (LA Park, El Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr.) vs Psycho Clown, Psicosis & Nino de Hamburguesa
