Tag: gcw

Daily Update: UFC 311 fallout, Christopher Daniels, TNA & GCW

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

Latest News

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Sunday Update

— We have our two weekend shows up on the site. The first covers all the news from the past week and last night’s show ran down the UFC and all the news that came out of it, the news coming out of Collision and SmackDown as well as the TNA alliance with WWE.

— It appears last night’s Christopher Daniels vs. Adam Page Texas death match was Daniels’ last career match. He will continue to work in talent relations for AEW, ending a 32 plus year in-ring career. It wasn’t brought up like that or pushed on television, but that was his call not to make a big deal about it. But backstage talent was there Thursday night with that impression and he was very emotional backstage when he got back. I do know he’ll be on Talk is Jericho this week discussing this.

— Our new back issue on the site was week four of our Chris Benoit coverage in 2007 can be found here.

— Lots of stuff coming out of last night’s UFC show. Among the key points:

  • Dana White said Arman Tsarukyan was not getting the next lightweight title shot even though unless they move up Ilia Topuria, there is no other viable contender. Tsarukyan was injured on Thursday and was the clear top contender. Tsarukyan said he was fine with facing Charles Oliveira (the next contender down and former champion) a second time to earn the shot that he already earned. That was just weird to take away an earned title shot.
  • Craig Piligian, the producer of the Ultimate Fighter reality show from the start, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July.
  • UFC did 1.1 million searches on Google yesterday. For the weekend, it’s behind only several NFL related topics and Tik Tok stories.  
  • Islam Makhachev, who Dana White called the beat pound-for-pound fighter in the world (he’s in the discussion for sure) said that he is interested in moving up in weight as a challenge, but since welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is his teammate, he brought up facing middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. That’s a little too much of a jump. But he said he wants a second world title, that he can’t make 145, so 185 is the only place to go.
  • Dana White gave an indication that the matchmakers want both Aaron Pico (whose Bellator contract has expired) and Patricio Pitbull Freire (who PFL released this past week).

— TNA/NXT Genesis tonight in Garland, TX. They are pushing hard surprise NXT talent on the show:

  • Nic Nemeth vs. Joe Hendry for the TNA title
  • Moose vs. Ace Austin for the X title
  • Masha Slamovich vs. Rosemary in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match for the Knockouts title
  • Hardys vs. Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel for the tag titles
  • Mike Santana vs. Josh Alexander I Quit match
  • Tessa Blanchard vs. Jordynne Grace
  • Dani Luna & Jody Threat vs. Ash by Elegance & Heather by Elegnace for Knockouts tag titles
  • Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers vs. Eric Young & Steve Maclin
  • Leon Slater vs. Frankie Kazarian

— GCW’s The People vs. GCW show tonight at the Hammerstein Ballroom:

  • Mance Warner defends the GCW title
  • Effy vs. Allie Katch – Winner faces Warner for the title
  • Matt Tremont vs. Matthew Justice vs. Drew Parker vs. John Wayne Murodch vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Rina Yamashita in a Doors, ladders and Chairs match for the Ultraviolent title
  • Dominic Garrini & Keivn Ku vs. Alec Price & Cole Radrick in a ladder match for the tag titles
  • Homicide & Grim Reefer & Amazing Red vs. Tony Deppen & Kerry Morton & Griffin McCoy
  • Yoshihito Tajiri & Super Crazy & Little Guido vs. Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel & Arez
  • Richard Holliday vs. Charles Mason cage match
  • Josh Barnett vs. Tom Pestock (Baron Corbin) under Bloodsport rules
  • El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Sydney Akeem (Scripts)
  • Masato Tanaka vs. Joey Janela
  • Plus Sabu, PCO and Maki Itoh

— We’re looking for your thoughts on the TNA Genesis show and the GCW show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from each show to [email protected]

— The episode of Dynamite that aired on Friday night in the U.K., from Wednesday, was the largest audience for the first-run airing of a show in that country in more than two years. I should note U.K. numbers are released differently, and also I don’t think the ratings are anywhere near as accurate as Canada, let alone with the U.S., due to the extreme fluctuations we see each week. So it’s more the trends you look at.

Also, in the U.K., the numbers aren’t released for a week because they include DVR viewing in the ratings. For example, this week we’ll only be getting the rating for the episode that aired in the U.K. on 1/3 and the number for this episode won’t be released for another two weeks. Based on adding in DVR numbers, we don’t know if it’ll be the highest, only that the first night number was. They’ve had increased numbers for Dynamite in recent weeks.

— C.J.  Perry, the former Lana, is recovering from undisclosed surgery.

— Coming off the Netflix airing of Raw, the Dallas show tomorrow night has sold 2,900 tickets in the last eight days. They were 1,600 shy of a sellout as of today.

— The match everyone is raving about for this weekend was Venny beating Sareee for the Seadlinnng title. I saw it. It’s a great technical match, real solid work, and strong near falls. Lots of callbacks as well.

— Lince Dorado wrestled on the Friday night NXT show in Citrus Springs, FL, because he’s been hired by WWE as a coach.

— House of Glory from Friday night in Chicago for a sold out show:

  • Phumi Nkuta b Joe Alonzo
  • Idris jackson b Koda Hernandez
  • Raheem Royal & Jay Armani b Ringmasters Miidas & Lyon and Gringo Loco & Arez to keep the House of Glory tag titles
  • Blair Onyx b Laynie Luck
  • Darren Richardson won over Rochie Roach, Ben Ruten, Oni King, J Boujii, August Matthews and Davey Bang to keep the cruiserweight title
  • Charles Mason b Amazing Red
  • Mustafa Ali b Matt Cardona
  • Mike Santana b Ricky Starks via DQ to keep the HOG title.  They will return to Chicago on 5/8.  They are running 1/25 in New York (thanks to Samuel Rosenthal)

— The Saya Kamitani vs. Suzu Suzuki World of Stardom title match will be on 2/2.

— Mick Foley set a goal of losing 80 pounds by his birthday of June 7. He said he weighed 279.9, down 80 from his 360 start weight of nine months ago. He said he did cheat by using Wegovy, but also had worked on his diet and exercise and credited DDP as well.

Daily Update: WWE NXT notes, Renee Paquette, GCW

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The highlights of the issue:

  • The WrestleMania direction
  • First WWE show on Netflix
  • John Cena, The Rock, Undertaker and more and what things on the show garnered the most interest
  • Businessnotes on the show
  • Positives, negatives and goals of the show
  • How the show did on Netflix and deciphering what the different numbers mean
  • How advertising works comparing television vs. streaming
  • Hulk Hogan reaction
  • Changes on the show
  • Run time change
  • TKO looking at getting into the boxing business with Saudi Arabia
  • Kenny Omega returns for the Tokyo Dome show
  • In depth on New Japan business concerns and Bushiroad CEO Takaaki Kidani speaks on a number of issues
  • The business of the two Dome shows
  • Takaaki Kidani talks about his thoughts about a future WrestleDynasty show
  • Zack Sabre Jr. does something unprecedented and a list of all  non-Japanese who have won an NJPW Tokyo Dome main event
  • The Chris Charlton story in depth
  • Did the injury to  Douki change the finish?
  • Where do Young Bucks rank among most world tag team title reigns in history
  • A look at the career of the late Rick  “Hangman” Harris/Black Bart
  • Who had the most four star matches of 2024 and the most in history
  • Who has the most of the top 250 matches of all-time on Cagematch
  • Explaining how ratings are changing and how to reevaulate numbers
  • How many homes have access to the different services
  • Quality of watching on MAX vs. TBS
  • Tourist board putting on a major international show
  • Another big business week for CMLL
  • New Year’s Dash notes
  • Notes on the next major New Japan shows
  • New Japan bodybuilding contest
  • The death of Gilbert Cesca, one of the best technical wrestlers that you never heard of
  • Germany has a prime time major celebrity wrestling show featuring Claudio Castagnoli
  • Malakai Black news
  • Ticket advances for WWE & AEw shows
  • Streaming numbers and International TV ratings
  • How did TNA debut on SportsNet in Canada
  • GFL announces lots of women stars’
  • Paul Levesque talks planning WrestleMania and The Rock
  • Update on Bill Goldberg
  • Nick Khan and Dwayne Johnson stock transactions this week
  • How much does WWE help the USA Network

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • WWE uploaded full video of the segment where Bayley confronted Roxanne Perez on NXT last night.
  • Charlotte Flair was backstage at NXT and posted a photo with Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson.
  • Mickie James was also at the Performance Center last night. Karmen Petrovic shared pictures of her and James together.
  • After she was shown in the crowd during NXT, WWE posted a video of TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich interacting backstage with Shawn Michaels.
    • Slamovich said: “Thank you for having me. I said that I was going to bring this title around the world and find the best people to defend it [against], and so far I like what I see.”
    • Michaels responded: “Just know we’re only a phone call away, alright? Congratulations and good luck.”
  • Bayley Humphrey, a former acrobat/tumbler for Baylor University who joined WWE after being part of the NIL program, debuted last night in a match taped for the upcoming A&E series WWE LFG (Legends & Future Greats).
  • In response to Bad Bunny saying he wants to wrestle one more WWE match, Logan Paul commented: “Then get in the ring with me”
  • WWE filed a new trademark for the term “Cenation” for merchandising purposes on January 14.
  • WWE has a behind-the-scenes video from Raw’s Netflix premiere.
  • On Pod Meets World, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle of Boy Meets World fame discussed attending the first Raw on Netflix.
  • Sonya Deville was a guest on the Trading Secrets podcast.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • During an interview with Cincy 360, Renee Paquette was asked if she’s interested in doing commentary again at some point:
    • You know, sometimes I think about it. There’s aspects of it that I miss. And obviously this is a far different circumstance with AEW versus what I had done previously. So I think about it sometimes. I mean, I love getting to do the interviews. I love getting to do some more of the longform interviews or some of those really exclusive sit-down things. I love getting to do those. But, yeah, every now and then when I’m listening I’m like – I kind of get a little bit of the itch. A little bit. So we’ll see.
  • MVP cut a promo ahead of his AEW debut match on Dynamite tonight. MVP, Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin are facing Private Party & Mark Briscoe in a six-man tag.
  • MVP tweeted today: “The story going around that a knee injury kept me out of the ring was never true. I injured my knee back during the pandemic. I exacerbated that injury by continuing to wrestle on it, injured, for NINE MONTHS. But I healed and transitioned to a new role. One I enjoy.”
  • With her first tour of Japan now over, Athena will give an “exclusive world tour update” on ROH TV this Thursday.
  • Rina Yamashita has been added to the DLC (Doors, Ladders & Chairs) match for the vacant Ultraviolent Championship at GCW’s Hammerstein Ballroom event this Sunday. It will now be a seven-way bout with Yamashita, Matt Tremont, Brandon Kirk, Matthew Justice, Drew Parker, John Wayne Murdoch, and Dr. Redacted.
  • Indie veteran Nate Webb will make a major announcement regarding his career and future at GCW’s show in Indianapolis on Friday, January 31.
  • Deadlock Pro announced that, due to a medical issue, Trish Adora will not be competing at their show in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey this Friday. Queen Aminata is replacing Adora against Kylie Rae.

Baron Corbin to make GCW debut at Hammerstein Ballroom event

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Baron Corbin is heading to GCW.

The company announced that Corbin, going under real name Tom Pestock, will be making his debut for the company on Sunday at their Hammerstein Ballroom event The People vs. GCW. He will be taking on Josh Barnett in a Bloodsport rules match.

“Pestock is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist & Golden Gloves Champion entering Bloodsport for the 1st time,” he company noted in their announcement.

Pestock commented on social media soon after the match was announced, writing “Grit your teeth and protect your neck!!”

This will be Pestock’s first match on the independent scene since his release from WWE last November. Pestock, along with Indi Hartwell and Tegan Nox were all released from WWE at the same time. 

The People vs. GCW is scheduled for Sunday, January 19, 2025, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. It will air live on Triller as a pay-per-view.

The People vs. GCW announced lineup:

  • GCW World Champion Mance Warner defends against Effy or Allie Katch
  • Effy vs. Allie Katch (winner challenges Mance Warner later in the night)
  • GCW Tag Team Champions Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku defend against Cole Radrick & Alec Price
  • Doors, Ladders & Chairs match for the vacant GCW Ultraviolent Championship: Matt Tremont vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Drew Parker vs. John Wayne Murdoch vs. Matthew Justice vs. Dr. Redacted
  • Super Crazy, Tajiri & Little Guido vs. Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel
  • Masato Tanaka vs. Joey Janela
  • El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Sidney Akeem
  • Bloodsport match: Josh Barnett vs. Tom Pestock
  • Steel cage match: Charles Mason vs. Richard Holliday
  • Megan Bayne vs. Atticus Cogar
  • Matt Cardona vs. TBA
  • NYC OGs (Homicide, Grim Reefer, and Amazing Red) vs. Tony Deppen, Kerry Morton & Griffin McCoy 
  • PCO, Maki Itoh, and more set to compete
  • Sabu returns to GCW

Amazing Red set for six-man tag match at GCW Hammerstein Ballroom show

Posted on by Ian Carey

Amazing Red has been announced for The People vs. GCW.

On Monday, GCW revealed that Red will be the third member of the NYC OGs team along with Homicide and Grim Reefer. They will wrestle Tony Deppen, Griffin McCoy, and Kerry Morton in a six-man tag team match on the show.

This will be Red’s first match for GCW since April when he defeated Gringo Loco at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 8.

The People vs. GCW is scheduled for Sunday, January 19, 2025, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. It will air live on Triller as a pay-per-view.

The People vs. GCW announced lineup:

  • GCW World Champion Mance Warner defends against Effy or Allie Katch
  • Effy vs. Allie Katch (winner challenges Mance Warner later in the night)
  • GCW Tag Team Champions Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku defend against Cole Radrick & Alec Price
  • Doors, Ladders & Chairs match for the vacant GCW Ultraviolent Championship: Matt Tremont vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Drew Parker vs. John Wayne Murdoch vs. Matthew Justice vs. Dr. Redacted
  • Super Crazy, Tajiri & Little Guido vs. Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel
  • Masato Tanaka vs. Joey Janela
  • El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Sidney Akeem
  • Bloodsport match: Josh Barnett vs. TBA
  • Steel cage match: Charles Mason vs. Richard Holliday
  • Megan Bayne vs. Atticus Cogar
  • Matt Cardona vs. TBA
  • NYC OGs (Homicide, Grim Reefer, and Amazing Red) vs. Tony Deppen, Kerry Morton & Griffin McCoy 
  • PCO, Maki Itoh, and more set to compete
  • Sabu returns to GCW

Sabu announced for GCW Hammerstein Ballroom show

Posted on by Ian Carey

An ECW legend has been announced for The People vs. GCW. 

On Sunday, GCW revealed that Sabu will return to the company at its upcoming show at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. 

Sabu was also at the first People vs. GCW event in 2022. Along with Bill Alphonso, he managed Mance Warner and Matthew Justice in their win over the 44OH! stable. 

Last year, Sabu said GCW had expressed interest in hosting his retirement match. In an interview with The Wrestling Classic, he said, “My goal is to work out until the last match and I know the last match isn’t tomorrow. GCW wants me to do my last match with them in January. I said, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be ready.’ I don’t want my last match in January. I want it in July and I want it in Las Vegas.”

Matt Cardona also made an announcement about his match at The People vs. GCW recently. He issued an open challenge for the show last month but now says several different matches have fallen through.

He wrote, “My match has been snakebit. Here’s some inside news for ya. Eight different matches have fallen through over the past few months. Now it’s an open challenge… I will walk into Hammerstein Ballroom next week looking like a fucking superstar and will be #AlwayzReady for whoever steps up to the plate. I don’t care if it’s somebody on the GCW roster, somebody from another company, or a bum off the streets… I WILL create a moment. I WILL make history. I WILL WIN!”

The People vs. GCW announced lineup:

  • GCW World Champion Mance Warner defends against Effy or Allie Katch
  • Effy vs. Allie Katch (winner challenges Mance Warner later in the night)
  • GCW Tag Team Champions Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku defend against Cole Radrick & Alec Price
  • Doors, Ladders & Chairs match for the vacant GCW Ultraviolent Championship: Matt Tremont vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Drew Parker vs. John Wayne Murdoch vs. Matthew Justice vs. Dr. Redacted
  • Super Crazy, Tajiri & Little Guido vs. Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel
  • Masato Tanaka vs. Joey Janela
  • El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Sidney Akeem
  • Bloodsport match: Josh Barnett vs. TBA
  • Steel cage match: Charles Mason vs. Richard Holliday
  • Megan Bayne vs. Atticus Cogar
  • Matt Cardona vs. TBA
  • NYC OGs (Homicide, Grim Reefer, and a mystery partner) vs. Tony Deppen, Kerry Morton & Griffin McCoy 
  • PCO, Maki Itoh, Amazing Red, and more set to compete
  • Sabu returns to GCW

PCO returning to GCW for Hammerstein Ballroom show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

PCO is returning to Game Changer Wrestling to take part in the promotion’s Hammerstein Ballroom event.

For the first time in three years, PCO will compete in a GCW ring on Sunday, January 19. His opponent has not been announced yet. The show — named The People vs. GCW — is taking place from New York City and will stream live on TrillerTV+.

PCO was also on the card when GCW ran the Hammerstein Ballroom in January 2022, wrestling in a multi-man ladder match. This is the first time GCW has been back to the Hammerstein since that night. The theme is that GCW has a chance at redemption after its first show at the legendary venue received negative-to-mixed reviews from fans.

Competing for GCW was critical to PCO’s late-career resurgence, with his match against WALTER (WWE star Gunther) from Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2 in 2018 drawing strong reviews. He’s a former Extreme Champion for GCW.

PCO is also a former ROH World Champion and is currently with TNA Wrestling.

Here is the updated lineup for The People vs. GCW:

  • GCW World Champion Mance Warner defends against Effy or Allie Katch
  • Effy vs. Allie Katch (winner challenges Mance Warner later in the night)
  • GCW Tag Team Champions Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku defend against Cole Radrick & Alec Price
  • Doors, Ladders & Chairs match for the vacant GCW Ultraviolent Championship: Matt Tremont vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Drew Parker vs. John Wayne Murdoch vs. Matthew Justice vs. Dr. Redacted
  • Super Crazy, Tajiri & Little Guido vs. Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel
  • Masato Tanaka vs. Joey Janela
  • El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Sidney Akeem
  • Bloodsport match: Josh Barnett vs. TBA
  • Steel cage match: Charles Mason vs. Richard Holliday
  • Megan Bayne vs. Atticus Cogar
  • NYC OGs (Homicide, Grim Reefer, and a mystery partner) vs. Tony Deppen, Kerry Morton & Griffin McCoy
  • Matt Cardona, PCO, Maki Itoh, Amazing Red, and more set to compete

GCW reveals full schedule for The Collective 2025

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With 2025 here and WrestleMania season fast approaching, Game Changer Wrestling has revealed its full schedule of events for The Collective 2025.

The annual indie extravaganza is being held at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas from April 17-April 19. It will feature 11 wrestling shows during those three days, with the events set to take place at the Pearl Theater. Here is the schedule (all times are Pacific):

Thursday, April 17:

  • 11 a.m. — Defy Wrestling
  • 3 p.m. — WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow
  • 8 p.m. — Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 13
  • 11:59 p.m. — PROGRESS Wrestling

Friday, April 18:

  • 11 a.m. — Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling
  • 3 p.m. — DDT Pro Wrestling
  • 7 p.m. — Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9
  • 11:59 p.m. — Heels Have Eyes: Four The Culture

Saturday, April 19:

  • 11 a.m. — Effy’s Big Gay Brunch 10
  • 2 p.m. — TJPW vs. DDT vs. GCW
  • 11 p.m. — Joey Janela’s Spring Break: Clusterf*ck Forever

Ticket information for the shows will be announced later this week.

The Collective happens in the same city as WWE WrestleMania every year. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will host WrestleMania 41 on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20.

GCW broadcasts its shows live on TrillerTV+.

Daily Update: R-Truth, The Acclaimed, GCW Hammerstein

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • A big new issue of the Observer up on the site.  Special note that we’ve had a lot of people contact us both about the Rey Misterio Sr. and Tijuana wrestling story and the breakdown of every PPV this year and how they did.  Highlights of the issue:
  • WWE expanding television in 2025 and the biggest unanswered questions
  • A look at international deals with WWE’s move to Netflix.  What countries will still have TV deals, where Raw won’t be on Netflix, and what this means to AEW and TNA and the scoreboard of who has gotten what. And what is potentially the biggest international deal and when it will be open.
  • The Auditorio in Tijuana and Rey Misterio Sr., a look at the biggest matches in a building that should be on the list as a major wrestling arena that nobody ever talks about, plus how did Rey Mysterio, Konnan, Psicosis and others get their start and looking back at the biggest matches in Rey Misterio Sr.’s career
  • Drawing money and a look at how every PPV show in 2024 did, to see what does and doesn’t work as far as being a PPV headliner, covering WWE, AEW and TNA and every show so far this year.
  • The Battle of Orlando and where things stand for Worlds End.
  • Full coverage of ROH Final Battle
  • WWE’s holiday special in MSG and a look back at how the show has done since 2010.
  • Death of Jax Dane
  • The most detailed look at the TV ratings for all the major shows,including placings, competition, segment-by-segment and more.
  • The Gran Alternative tournament and its history at picking future stars
  • Stardom’s big show the week of the Tokyo Dome.
  • NOAH preparing for Budokan Hall show.
  • More news on the Tokyo Dome shows.
  • New Japan notes for San Jose.
  • St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • RevPro show notes
  • Notes on upcoming North American stadium shows.
  • Lots of thoughts on booking
  • Upcoming ticket sales for WWE & AEW events
  • More on Lee Fitting.
  • Why there’s a very real chance the Janel Grant lawsuit will be thrown out and why, and what it will take for that not to happen.
  • McIntyre makes fun of Punk

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Thursday Update

WWE

  • On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, R-Truth said he thinks Road Dogg should probably be the person to induct him if Truth gets into the WWE Hall of Fame one day.
  • R-Truth said he’d love to turn heel in WWE but doesn’t think he would be able to get heel heat:
    • The selfish part of me would love to turn heel and be a heel, but the majority of me is like, I could never be a heel. People would think it’s cool if I did something bad, if I did something heelish, they would think it’s cool. I smoked a cigarette, and they thought that was the coolest thing on TV. To be a heel you have to get that real, genuine hatred heel heat. Mine would be more of like, they will want me to bash somebody’s head in. Selfishly, I would love to see it one time, but I don’t have to.
  • WWE Vault uploaded a new Retrospective video with John Cena, Mick Foley, R-Truth, Big E, and more looking back at some of their greatest Raw moments.
  • The West Sport interviewed Grayson Waller.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • Dissension within The Acclaimed continued with Anthony Bowens and Max Caster arguing backstage in a post-Dynamite segment.
  • Screen Rant asked Adam Copeland if he’s had any conversations with John Cena about what it’s like to retire:
    • No, we had talked briefly when he came back there and I was with WWE. He said, ‘How are you doing this, man? You’re having half an hour matches and stuff.’ But we haven’t talked about retiring or anything like that. But John is a very – he’s thought this through. And he’s thought of every scenario and every conceivable direction and all of those things. He’s an intelligent man, so I’m sure he’s already come to terms, and I think he’s been coming to terms with it for a long time. I think it’ll be harder for the fanbase to come to terms, which usually ends up being the case.
  • On AEW Unrestricted this week, Will Washington, Aubrey Edwards, and guest co-host Nyla Rose looked back at their favorite AEW moments from 2024.
  • NJPW uploaded an interview with Zack Sabre Jr.
  • NJPW also has a hype video for Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 19.
  • A representative for AXS TV issued a statement to Post Wrestling confirming that NJPW will no longer air on the station, which Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio earlier this week: “We will not be airing New Japan Pro Wrestling for the foreseeable future. Our agreement expired at the end of 2024. And we do not comment on the state of current or future agreements.”
  • El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. discussed his upcoming departure from Pro Wrestling NOAH: “The match at Korakuen on January 11th will be my last match for NOAH. I think now is the time to go back to Mexico, recharge my batteries & become even stronger. Please come to Korakuen Hall to watch Hijo de Dr Wagner Jr’s final fight!”
  • Megan Bayne vs. Atticus Cogar has been added to the card for GCW’s show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Sunday, January 19. Plus, it’s been announced that Richard Holliday will take on Charles Mason in a steel cage match at the show.
  • Bobby Fish will face Ariel Dominguez on the TV taping portion of MLW’s Kings of Colosseum event in North Richland Hills, Texas on Saturday, January 11.
  • Joe Hendry will be a guest on the next Chris Jericho Cruise from February 2-4.
  • The Nick Beasley Show has an interview with AJ Francis.
  • Indi Hartwell has been announced for one of her first post-WWE appearances. She is set to appear at the WrestleCon Indianapolis convention on Saturday, February 1: “Making her first Convention appearance in years, please welcome @indi_hartwell appearing EXCLUSIVELY Saturday”

JNPO wrestling year in review series: Ricky Starks’ strange month, CM Punk owed a favor, AEW/GCW drama

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

The Josh Nason’s Punch-Out pro wrestling year in review series arrives in November with returning guest Rich Kraetsch of Voices of Wrestling.

Even though we cover things that happened just last month, there was a lot to dissect and talk about including:

  • WWE Survivor Series, CM Punk being owed a favor from Paul Heyman for joining the OG Bloodline WarGames team, and all that could mean for WrestleMania 41
  • A relatively newsless AEW Full Gear which saw the in-ring debut of Big Boom AJ of The Costco Guys
  • The very strange month of Ricky Starks which included a long interview, a big GCW entrance and him subsequently getting pulled from future GCW shows due to comments by Effy
  • AEW booking the Hammerstein Ballroom for three straight nights which irked GCW a tad
  • All the other notable headlines of the month which included Crown Jewel, two new WWE women’s titles, the first slate of WWE ID prospects, plus TNA, NJPW and the best of the rest.

Click here to listen (no sub needed)

Here’s the rest of the series thus far:

Tony Khan Ring of Honor media call audio & notes: GCW relationship, future residencies

Posted on by Josh Nason

Ahead of a busy weekend in New York City, AEW & ROH head Tony Khan spoke to the media for nearly an hour Tuesday to help promote this Friday’s Final Battle, the full audio of which is below.

The call was relatively light on news other than Khan being asked about his relationship with GCW given Chris Jericho’s surprise appearance there Saturday where he took out Effy and Matt Cardona.

Khan said Cardona requested the appearance to help promote his match with Jericho Friday and that if Cardona wins the title, he could defend it in other promotions as he has a lot of indie bookings ahead. Khan appeared to play down any interpromotional possibilities, saying how they shoot angles in other promotions frequently. He didn’t directly address the question about his relationship, or lack thereof, with GCW owner Brett Lauderdale.

He was also asked about running more residencies in smaller buildings and said they do have more opportunities in the future to do “things” like that in big cities. Khan came off as very careful (or was simply distracted) with his words as if not to accidentally reveal something.

He wasn’t asked about the rumors of a TV deal other than saying there is “more interest and opportunities” to do more with ROH which he is excited about. He didn’t expound on what those exactly are.

Other notes:

  • Khan has never been to the Hammerstein before.
  • More matches will be announced for the Final Battle show this week.
  • He said Ross Von Erich’s injury is taking longer than expected to heal, but hopes to have him back soon.

Click here to listen

Daily Update: WWE SNME & UFC fallout, Chris Jericho

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • The notes of just how much of the young audience AEW has lost
  • All In at Globe Life Field both realities and perception
  • History of famous promotional wars and how they turned out and why
  • Why the few incumbents that lost did
  • The rise and fall of WCW
  • The finances of AEW
  • The issue with all non-Raw and Smackdown shows in the U.S. market right now not involving AEW
  • History of Saturday Night’s Main Event
  • High water marks for the show in the 80s
  • The Hogan vs. Andre match
  • Why SNME went away and its return and why that didn’t work as well
  • Preview of tomorrow’s show and betting odds
  • AEW Worlds End notes and WWE’s head-to-head show in Orlando
  • Full coverage of NXT Deadline
  • Full coverage of UFC 310
  • Tokyo Sports Awards, including unique things Zack Sabre Jr. has done and the history of all 51 MVP winners since 1974
  • More on the new Global Fight League, which features tons of post-40 UFC champions and major stars, to be debuting soon
  • For those outside the U.S. where the WWE Network moves to Netflix, what non-live shows will Netflix be airing and how little it is as compared to the WWE Network
  • Preview of both Tokyo Dome shows in January
  • The death of Karloff Lagarde Jr.
  • The most detailed look at the ratings of all the U.S. TV shows, comparisons to one year ago, segment-by-segment and rankings for the night and week.
  • What CMLL star trained with the Olympic team only a few years ago
  • Pentagon Jr. update
  • Tag team tournament finals in Japan
  • Top star in Japanese group gets suspended
  • Another top star cutting down his schedule
  • International TV ratings
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
  • Tag team getting a non-wrestling national television show
  • Wrestling legend getting a non-wrestling TV show
  • Notes on the new season of Dark Side of the Ring
  • Willie Mack situation in GCW
  • What wrestler was GCW hoping to get for the Hammerstein Ballroom
  • Tessa Blanchard update
  • Lots of notes about the AEW on sale in Texas
  • Update on Rey Fenix situation
  • Most viewed streaming segments of AEW & WWE this past month
  • Steroids in BJJ
  • MMA Awards
  • Mark Shapiro talks future in WWE, UFC and even boxing ideas*WWE injury updates
  • Lots of notes about WWE shows on A&E in 2025
  • Son of sports legend makes quiet WWE debut
  • Janel Grant case updates
  • Dwayne Johnson movie updates

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Sunday Update

  • We have both weekend shows up on the site. Our week in review show with Garrett Gonzales saw us get into detail with the problems with AEW, Rey Fenix, plus we talked about Saturday Night’s Main Event history and the rest of the news.
  • Bryan and I had a show last night covering Saturday Night’s Main Event, Collision, other big matches of the week and UFC from last night. Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night covering Raw.
  • For those in Canada who have been asking, the January 3 episode of Smackdown will be airing on the WWE YouTube channel only for Canada as Sportsnet is dropping it at the end of the year. Netflix picks it up on January 6. NXT on January 7 and Smackdown on January 10 will both be live on Netflix in Canada.
  • I know most know this, but the post-match attack after last night’s show where Kevin Owens attacked Cody Rhodes when he was doing his promo and gave him a package piledriver was exactly as it was supposed to have been. Some thought they had to cut away before the angle because the show went long, but that was not the case.
  • It was very interesting to see Paul Levesque’s approach last for a show aimed at people who would be new to the product. The so-called booking for casuals was fast paced matches with no slow spots, mostly wrestling and videos with a little nostalgia thrown in, and very few angles.  The idea was to keep it simple. I talked a lot on the show about the in-ring style because I found it so fascinating what type of style they went with.
  • At the UFC post-fight press conference last night Dana White said it is guaranteed that Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title unification will take place in 2025 and also said he expects the show to break records. He said it would be the biggest fight in heavyweight history. It is interesting that no PPV numbers have come out for Jones vs. Stipe Miocic in November, which was expected to do the biggest PPV numbers in more than a year. Aspinall also said he was told that the match would be taking place.
  • It was interesting that they didn’t book Hulk Hogan on last night’s show but Hogan did appear on the UFC show. Hogan was in Colby Covington’s corner with Chael Sonnen and Covington came out to “Real American.” Covington was hammered by Joaquin Buckley and lost via stoppage due to blood.  
  • The Chris Jericho deal last night at the GCW show in Los Angeles was not a detailed thing.  Basically Jericho was in Los Angeles last night already for Kuarantine at the Whisky and GCW was there and Jericho figured he could shoot an angle with Matt Cardona.  GCW wasn’t going to have any problem with a surprise appearance of Jericho on their show and laying out Effy just made sense for all concerned.
  • At last night’s UFC show they announced for 2/1 in Riyadh Saudi Arabia the main event will be Israel Adesanya vs.  Nassourdine Imavov and Michael Venom Page vs. Shara Magomedov.
  • Corey Anderson, who was announced to be fighting Vadim Nemkov on 1/25 in Abu Dhabi earlier in the week, on the PFL/Bellator show, said that he was told this morning that Nemkov refused to fight him.
  • For Sunday at Korakuen Hall, the final King of Pro Wrestling title match of the year at Korakuen Hall will be Great-O-Khan defending against Taichi. Fans will vote on the stips. O’Khan wants no DQ and falls count anywhere. Taichi wants a 2/3 fall match with the first fall being sumo style, the second fall has Yoshinobu Kanemaru as referee, and the third fall will be last man standing.
  • Matches I was told to go out of your way to see for this week were Sareee vs. Nanae Takahashi for the Marigold title and Flip Gordon vs. Rocky Romero for the Historic middleweight title at  Arena Mexico from Friday. I definitely would also recommend Kile Fletcher vs Mark Briscoe as the best match on U.S. television this weekend.
  • New Japan at 7:30 p.m. Eastern tonight on New Japan World
    • Matt Vandagriff vs. Zane Jay
    • Mina Shirakawa vs. Johnnie Robbie
    • Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs for Strong tag titles
    • Clark Connors vs.  Kushida vs. TJP vs. Kosei Fujita
    • Lio Rush vs. Hechicero
    • Titan & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Jacob Austin Young & Templario
    • Gabe Kidd vs. Ryohei Oiwa for the Strong title
    • Zack Sabre Jr. & Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste vs. Shota Umino &  Jack Perry & Konoske Takeshita
    • Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki for the Strong women’s title.
  • The UFC Fight Night on ESPN 2 last night did 200,000 Google searches. Saturday Night’s Main Event had 100,000. Both are high for TV shows.
  • Hank Walker & Tank Ledger won the tag team titles last night for Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling group.
  • Boca Raton Championship Wrestling today has a show with MJF vs. QT Marshall, Matt Riddle & Stallion Rogers vs. Anthony Greene & Matt Taven, Chris Masters vs. Madman Fulton, Colt Cabana vs. Bull James and Deonna Purrazzo vs. Chelsea Durden plus Missy Hyatt, Brutus Beefcake and Ricardo Rodriguez were there.
  • Kirk White’s Big Time Wrestling from Friday night in Newark, CA: Jeri Giggalow b Levi Shapiro, Ray Rico b Jiah Jewell, Beatrice Domino b Angie Savage, Starboy Charlie b Jack Cartwheel, Marcus Lewis b Zane Jay, Too Fresh b Lights Camera Action, Will Hobbs b Vinnie Massaro, Aaron Solo b Fred Rosser (thanks to Jim Davis and Johnny Poon)

Chris Jericho appears at GCW event, attacks Matt Cardona and Effy

Posted on by Josh Nason

AEW’s Chris Jericho made a surprise appearance at GCW Highest in the Room 3 Saturday in Los Angeles, attacking both Matt Cardona and Effy.

Cardona was taking on Effy in a singles match and after a low blow, Cardona was about to hit him with a belt shot when a disguised man hit the ring. He nailed Cardona with a bat, leading to Effy hitting a rough rider to pick up the win.

Effy was confused as to who the man was and then Jericho revealed himself, followed by a Judas Effect to Effy for good measure. Jericho then removed his sweatshirt to reveal an AEW t-shirt and laid in a few more bat shots to both Cardona and Effy before leaving to boos.

Effy was in the news three weeks ago after comments he made about Tony Khan and his father, Shad, on a podcast were then followed by Ricky Starks being pulled from several GCW dates. Starks was supposed to be on Saturday’s card against Cardona but was then replaced by Effy. Willie Mack, who occasionally still works for AEW and ROH, was also pulled from GCW appearances this past week.

Both AEW and GCW will be running the Hammerstein Ballroom as AEW/ROH is holding three shows there this upcoming weekend while GCW will appear there on January 19th — something that also became a public issue three weeks ago.

It’s unclear as of this point as to whether Jericho’s appearance is an olive branch between the two companies or an previously agreed upon one-off build to Jericho and Cardona’s ROH World title match at Final Battle this Friday.

Willie Mack pulled from GCW events

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Willie Mack apparently won’t be appearing for GCW anytime soon.

The promotion told Fightful on Monday that Mack has been pulled from upcoming GCW events. He was scheduled to face Sidney Akeem (Scrypts) at Highest in the Room 3 on December 14. 

“GCW claimed to Fightful today that Willie Mack has been removed from next weekend’s GCW shows,” Fightful reported. “The company is under the impression this still stems from Effy’s comments as AEW has no shows scheduled next week.”

In their report, Fightful said that ‘numerous’ people in AEW claimed the promotion didn’t pull Mack, though one contact claimed that talent relations ‘encouraged’ Mack to not take the GCW booking.

Ricky Starks was pulled from GCW shows by AEW shortly after he made his debut in November. That stemmed from comments Effy made regarding Tony Khan, Shad Khan, and AEW running the Hammerstein Ballroom a month prior to GCW’s return to the venue.

Mack is under AEW contract, but has been used primarily for Ring of Honor. His last match was in October, losing to Komander on an episode of ROH television.

Masato Tanaka vs. Joey Janela announced for The People vs. GCW

Posted on by Ian Carey

A new match is official for GCW’s return to The Hammerstein Ballroom next month.

Joey Janela vs. Masato Tanaka is now scheduled for the show.

Janela defeated Zachary Wentz on Friday at GCW Ransom and called out Tanaka in a post-match promo.

Janela said:

“I want to challenge someone for the Hammerstein Ballroom. I’ve wrested The Great Sasuke, I’ve wrestled Jun Akiyama, I stood in the ring in Korakuen Hall with Kenta Kobashi, I wrestled for 30 minutes Kota Ibushi, but there’s one man I have never stepped in a ring with, and on January 19, I got a challenge for you, someone that has a lot of history in that building, Masato Tanaka. This is new age strong style, something you put on the map. At Hammerstein Ballroom, I’m going to give these fans a show they will never forget when I knock your ass out.”

GCW Has since made the match official for the January 19, 2025, show.

Tanaka noted on X that Hammerstein Ballroom is full of memories regarding his rivalry with the late Mike Awesome. The venue hosted their final match against one another at ECW One Night Stand in 2005. Awesome passed away less than two years later.

The People vs. GCW takes place Sunday, January 19, 2025, at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York. It will air live on Triller TV Plus.

The People vs. GCW announced lineup:

  • GCW World Champion Mance Warner defends against Effy or Allie Katch
  • Effy vs. Allie Katch (winner challenges Mance Warner later in the night)
  • GCW Tag Team Champions Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku defend against Cole Radrick & Alec Price
  • Doors, Ladders & Chairs match for the vacant GCW Ultraviolent Championship: Matt Tremont vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Drew Parker vs. John Wayne Murdoch vs. Matthew Justice vs. TBA
  • Super Crazy, Tajiri & Little Guido vs. Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel
  • El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Sidney Akeem
  • Bloodsport match: Josh Barnett vs. TBA
  • Masato Tanaka vs. Joey Janela
  • Maki Itoh, Homicide, Amazing Red, Ricky Morton, and more set to compete

ECW legends teaming up at GCW Hammerstein Ballroom show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Three ECW legends are teaming up for Game Changer Wrestling’s Hammerstein Ballroom event.

GCW has announced that Super Crazy, Tajiri & Little Guido (Nunzio) vs. Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel will take place at the Sunday, January 19 show. It’s streaming live on TrillerTV+ and marks the second time GCW has ever held an event at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

The storied venue’s wrestling history includes playing host to ECW cards in the past. It was also the site of WWE’s ECW One Night Stand shows in both 2005 and 2006. Super Crazy defeated Tajiri and Little Guido in a three-way dance the first year. The second year then saw Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke defeat Super Crazy & Tajiri.

GCW first ran the Hammerstein Ballroom in January 2022. After that show received mixed-to-negative reviews, the theme this time is that GCW has a chance at redemption.

The People vs. GCW is the name of this event. Here’s everything that has been announced so far:

  • GCW World Champion Mance Warner defends against Effy or Allie Katch
  • Effy vs. Allie Katch (winner challenges Mance Warner later in the night)
  • GCW Tag Team Champions Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku defend against Cole Radrick & Alec Price
  • Doors, Ladders & Chairs match for the vacant GCW Ultraviolent Championship: Matt Tremont vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Drew Parker vs. John Wayne Murdoch vs. Matthew Justice vs. TBA
  • Super Crazy, Tajiri & Little Guido vs. Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel
  • El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Sidney Akeem
  • Bloodsport match: Josh Barnett vs. TBA
  • Masato Tanaka, Maki Itoh, Homicide, Amazing Red, Ricky Morton, and more set to compete