The lead story is my obituary on Kevin Sullivan who passed away last week after battling several illnesses.
I also go into Tony Khan’s announcement of a new stadium show for next July in Texas, the possibility of another stadium show in Australia, and his promise of big announcements that could include a new TV rights deal.
I also look at next Sunday’s All In from London, the nearly-complete WWE Bash in Berlin show, the latest on the G1 tournament as it wraps up, and plenty more.
I am back with another edition of Wrestling Observer Live for a Sunday, discussing all the latest big happenings this weekend and the week ahead.
I start by discussing the passing of Kevin Sullivan and his contributions as one of the greatest minds ever in professional wrestling.
Roman Reigns made his return to WWE SmackDown Friday, I break down the show and talk about how his return could affect long-term booking.
Then, I get into Saturday’s AEW Collision with perhaps the biggest story coming out of the show: Bryan Danielson might need neck surgery soon as revealed in an sit-down interview with Jim Ross.
Plus, Tony Khan teases big announcements coming soon, AEW’s Anna Jay is doing her thing in Stardom, and a WWE NIL athlete won gold in Paris.
With Bryan Alvarez out putting the lime in the coconut, Filthy Tom Lawlor joins Mike Sempervive to talk about the return of Roman Reigns on tonight’s Smackdown, the passing of Kevin Sullivan, an update on the G1 Climax, and more.
As a personal friend of the late Kevin Sullivan, Les Thatcher shares a few thoughts about Kevin and his legendary career. We also look at where WWE is headed after SummerSlam, plus a very eventful Raw and the next steps on AEW’s road to Wembley Stadium.
Kevin Sullivan — legendary pro wrestler and booker — has passed away at 74 years old.
Slam Wrestling notes that Sullivan’s passing was announced by his friend Barry Rose. Sullivan had been in the hospital fighting for his life the past few months after complications from an emergency surgery.
“With the heaviest of hearts, we are devastated to have to report the passing of the legendary Kevin Sullivan,” Rose wrote. “May he RIP and his family, friends and fans find comfort in how much he was loved.”
Last month, Sullivan’s family announced that he was in intensive care after a “devastating accident” that happened in May. Sullivan underwent an emergency surgery that saved his leg, but he faced severe complications including sepsis and encephalitis. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help with Sullivan’s medical expenses. It raised more than $50,000 with significant donations coming from Tony Khan, Jim & Stacey Cornette, Chris Jericho, Scott D’Amore, Cody Rhodes, Mick Foley, Diamond Dallas Page, and more.
Originally from Boston, Sullivan was a pro wrestling star from the 1970s-1990s. He’s best remembered for being an in-ring rival of Dusty Rhodes and for the satanic “Prince of Darkness” character that he played. Sullivan was also a booker in Florida and for WCW.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque tweeted: “Kevin Sullivan had one of the most unique minds in the history of our industry, pushing creative boundaries and developing some of the most intriguing characters to step into the ring. He had an unwavering passion for what we do. My thoughts are with his family, friends & fans.”
Arena business and what historical achievement took place this past weekend
How the poll for the show had a unique and noteworthy result
Looking at AEW going into All In
A look at Money in the Bank, Heatwave, and ticket demand for the three WWE shows this week in Toronto.
A look at the playoffs for the G1 tournament
UFC 303 coverage of one of the shows where they had to change everything over and over again
Thoughts on the WrestleMania documentary, what was talked about, and what wasn’t.
A look at all the TV ratings info from the past week including rankings for the night and week, the competition, the whys behind the numbers, segment-by-segment and more
Chris Jericho returns to Arena Mexico
A look at Friday’s show including the Altantis Jr. ROH TV title win
AAA TV time notes
AAA Verano de Escandalo card
Major changes in Stardom
New Japan pushes a big open to 2025 for both their promotion and Stardom with dates for tourists
Minoru Suzuki vs. Sanshiro Takagi rematch on the bullet train
Notable sight gags on the match
Update on Marigold’s first major show with Iyo Sky
Rematch of one of the best bouts of the year set for the RevPro anniversary show at the Copper Box Arena
WWE stars at TNA TV tapings and at Bloodsport
More on Britt Baker’s return
Tony Khan talks about media rights negotiations, the Juneteenth rating, a milestone Eric Bischoff could never do
Will Ospreay opens up about his autism
Advance ticket sales for all the WWE & AEW shows over the past week
Biggest merch sellers in WWE & AEW
Dana White makes a claim that will blow your mind
More on the Bloodline angle
SmackDown issues with FOX
Notes on WWE departures
WWE investing in new business with notable partners including the NFL
Dijak talks more about his contract not being renewed
This Week’s Wresting Observer Newsletter Back Issue
Today’s WWE Speed episode featured the start of a new number one contender’s tournament. Baron Corbin defeated Angelo Dawkins to move on to the finals. Next Wednesday, the other first-round match (Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes) will air. The tournament winner earns a title shot against WWE Speed Champion Andrade.
John Cena commented on his upcoming retirement tour: “For over 22 years YOU have allowed me to be a part of many special moments. We have incredible history together from setbacks to triumph and all in between. I’m so grateful to be invited back home so we can write the last chapter of this unforgettable ride. Sunsets are often the most memorable experience. I can’t wait to share this sunset with my family. See you all very soon. The Last Time Is Now!”
Bianca Belair, Montez Ford, Liv Morgan, Bayley, Cathy Kelley, and Baron Corbin appeared on the red carpet for the premiere of Netflix’s new docuseries “Receiver.”
The biggest gem he ever gave me was after SummerSlam [in 2021] when I lost in 26 seconds. I had just main evented WrestleMania. I won a title. I was on a huge roll, had all this momentum, and then lost in 26 seconds. I was so defeated. He pulled me aside and really spoke life into me. He told me about the ins and outs of the business and how to go from the bottom to the top. You saw him do that over and over in his career. He was always reinventing himself.
Bayley also discussed how Cena has helped her career:
I said, ‘John, if there’s anything you think is missing from the women’s division or anything specific you think I should work on, what should it be? It turned into this hour-long conversation and it all came down to storytelling. What’s the story we’re trying to tell tonight? Don’t think about what they want, what he wants, what you want. It’s all about storytelling.‘
He wants to give back in a way that not everybody does. He has such unique information that he can share. It brings us back to why we got into it. Having him around to have conversations has been really great.
Finn Balor told What’s The Story that he thinks Gunther is the best wrestler in the world right now:
WALTER, Gunther, whatever you wanna call him, in my opinion, is probably the best performer on Earth right now. In my opinion, to watch in the ring. I get so oversaturated seeing so much stuff that I just kinda go ‘ahh cant be arsed watching this.’ I’ve not seen it all, but I’ve seen so much. I’m 43 now, so it’s like watching wrestling for 35 years, so it’s rare that I go, ‘Ah, I’m interested in this,’ but when WALTER gets in the ring, I’m interested. I want to see everything that he does. There’s no bits where I know what he’s going to do for the next five minutes.
That’s one of the few matches in my career that I want to have. We tried to set it up right before COVID in NXT UK, then the world had a different plan for us. Then we went different ways, and now, we’re both heels, so I don’t know how that would work. I’ve expressed my opinion to the office that I would love to get that match, and hopefully, we can get it done in the future.
Well first, when we came out, I felt like the Toronto fans gave us a very warm welcome. They were clapping and cheering before we even locked up, so that was super cool but also, during the match, being able to hear them say, ‘NXT!’ Or, ‘This is awesome!’ I’m like, oh my gosh. Then, I even was like, this is crazy. I never truly experienced that and it was literally electric… Right when we got back through the curtain, I was like, ‘I wanna do it again. I wanna go back out there.’
Tony Khan donated $10,000 to a GoFundMe campaign to help wrestling legend Kevin Sullivan, who is battling serious health issues following a “devastating accident” that occurred this May. The campaign has raised $48,237 so far.
Just wanted to share a photo from over the weekend. We were able to go outside for a short period and am trying my best to make this a part of his daily routine. Thanks for all the support and well wishes. I am so grateful.
Planeta Wrestling spoke with Naomichi Marufuji ahead of his match against WWE star AJ Styles for Pro Wrestling NOAH this Saturday.
Jordynne Grace posted a photo with Styles as the two crossed paths at the airport ahead of their upcoming matches in Japan. Grace will be in action against Chihiro Hashimoto for Sendai Girls on Monday (July 15).
Kayla Becker (former WWE broadcaster Kayla Braxton) noted that she just finished filming her first movie: “Just wrapped my first movie…and I got to do it alongside actors I’ve admired for years! One in particular I’ve always dreamed of meeting someday … never in a million years did I think I’d one day be sharing scenes with them! What is life?! Can’t wait for you to see it.”
For the first time in almost two years, ACH will return to pro wrestling at a show for SCWPro in Blue Grass, Iowa this Saturday. He’s facing Shain Boucher at the event.
– Garrett and I did a Wrestling Observer Radio show talking about the WrestleMania documentary, what was really going on behind-the-scenes during that period, Forbidden Door PPV number, Money in the Bank, Magnum T.A., G1 analysis, No. 2 companies historically and answering a lot of questions. Bryan and I will be doing shows tomorrow night after Money in the Bank, Sunday after NXT Heatwave and Monday after Raw.
Arena business and what historical achievement took place this past weekend
How the poll for the show had a unique and noteworthy result
Looking at AEW going into All In
A look at Money in the Bank, Heatwave, and ticket demand for the three WWE shows this week in Toronto.
A look at the playoffs for the G1 tournament
UFC 303 coverage of one of the shows where they had to change everything over and over again
Thoughts on the WrestleMania documentary, what was talked about, and what wasn’t.
A look at all the TV ratings info from the past week including rankings for the night and week, the competition, the whys behind the numbers, segment-by-segment and more
Chris Jericho returns to Arena Mexico
A look at Friday’s show including the Altantis Jr. ROH TV title win
AAA TV time notes
AAA Verano de Escandalo card
Major changes in Stardom
New Japan pushes a big open to 2025 for both their promotion and Stardom with dates for tourists
Minoru Suzuki vs. Sanshiro Takagi rematch on the bullet train
Notable sight gags on the match
Update on Marigold’s first major show with Iyo Sky
Rematch of one of the best bouts of the year set for the RevPro anniversary show at the Copper Box Arena
WWE stars at TNA TV tapings and at Bloodsport
More on Britt Baker’s return
Tony Khan talks about media rights negotiations, the Juneteenth rating, a milestone Eric Bischoff could never do
Will Ospreay opens up about his autism
Advance ticket sales for all the WWE & AEW shows over the past week
Biggest merch sellers in WWE & AEW
Dana White makes a claim that will blow your mind
More on the Bloodline angle
SmackDown issues with FOX
Notes on WWE departures
WWE investing in new business with notable partners including the NFL
Dijak talks more about his contract not being renewed
– We had been asked not to talk about this for the past two months but Kevin Sullivan, the 70s, 80s and 90s star and former WCW and CWF booker, has been in rough shape, including battling sepsis and encephalitis. He’s been in and out of consciousness and in ICU. Because his insurance is running out a GoFundMe was started by his wife.
The top donors are Jim & Stacy Cornette, Chris Jericho (who is always among the top donors in these situations), Cody Runnels and Dallas Page.
– We’ll be doing polls this weekend for both Money in the Bank and Heatwave, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
– We’re looking for reports from WWE tonight in Toronto with the dark matches on the SmackDown show and any other notes from the live show to [email protected]. We’re also looking for reports from tomorrow night’s Collision tapings in Southaven, MS.
– Wednesday’s Dynamite averaged 688,000 viewers and drew a 0.23 rating in 18-49. We don’t have any more info as the charts and breakdowns aren’t coming out until Monday. PWTorch actually got the info that those in AEW & at the ratings websites haven’t even gotten yet. For July 3, that would be considered an outstanding number. The expectation was 20-25 percent down which is standard for television that night, not five percent up in 18-49. Raw was on January 3 last year and was down 21 percent from the prior week.
– As of a few hours ago, Smackdown had 14,909 tickets out (paid plus comps) for the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
– Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal’s boxing match takes place tomorrow night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, on PPV. Diaz weighed 175.6 pounds and Masvidal weighed 175.2 pounds. Anthony Pettis vs. Chris Avila is the semi. Avila weighed 175.6 and Pettis weighed 175.3. The card will air on PPV. I don’t have high hopes for this as a PPV but Diaz and Masvidal were big draws when they fought in MMA.
– CMLL tonight at Arena Mexico has Volador Jr & Star Jr. & Esfinge vs Angel de Oro & Averno & Euforia as the main event.
– On CMLL Informa, Mistico talked about wanting matches with Chris Jericho, Penta, Magnus, Volador Jr., Averno, Hiromu Takahashi, Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli.
– Stephanie Vaquer has a non-title match (she’s still CMLL women’s champion) on Tuesday against Tessa Blanchard.
– WWE has cut way back this summer on house shows as well as NXT shows. There are only a few main roster house shows this summer and only five NXT house shows this summer.
– Rampage tonight at 10 pm.. on TNT
Rush vs. Komander
Private Party vs. Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita
Kyle O’Reilly vs. GPA
Mariah May vs. Hikaru Shida in the Owen Hart tournament
– The Mistico vs. Volador Jr. match from Guadalajara talked about in the current issue of the Observer is also up on YouTube.
I expect that Mistico will be a top candidate this year for the Thesz/Flair award along with Cody Rhodes, Will Ospreay and some others. This ring entrance alone shows you how big a star he is.
– This Cody Rhodes story has been talked about all day, regarding making sure a fan who had won tickets to Money in the Bank, but was then unable to use those tickets because he needed wheelchair accessible seats, was able to attend tomorrow’s show.
Besides Rhodes, two others in WWE who helped put this together were executives Justin Scalise and Chris Legentil.
– Just as he did at Sami Zayn’s first show in Los Angeles, at last night’s Sami Zayn show in Toronto, Johnny Knoxville appeared. He showed up at the end of the show during the curtain call and laid out Zayn with a low blow. Also appearing at the show were Cody Rhodes, Trish Stratus and Bayley.
– Canadian TV ratings over the past week:
SmackDown: 212,000 viewers and 86,500 in 25-54
UFC prelims: 53,000 viewers and 16,000 in 25-54
Raw: 243,500 viewers and 105,300 in 25-54
NXT: 103,000 viewers and 43,000 in 25-54
Dynamite: 109,000 viewerse and 65,600 in 25-54
The key notes are that NXT was much higher than usual and AEW had its best numbers in several weeks. I think every show bounced back after the NHL playoffs ended (thanks to John Pollock)
We’re sitting in the Performance Center, we’re watching, it’s a shoot right? It’s real. Nobody actually knows when you’re gonna be drafted, nobody knows if you’re gonna be drafted. You find out then and there. Nobody tells you in advance. You probably get like a 30-second notice, right, because someone runs over to you with a Raw hat and a Raw t-shirt and you’re like ‘Oh oh, I guess I’m getting drafted!’
About staying in character during the draft:
It’s that Friday and we’re all sitting there and I just decided on my own…like they were giving us instructions, like everybody stand up and clap and be happy for your friends and blah blah blah blah blah, and I was like you know what, this is on TV and it’s gonna be airing on USA Network, I’m just gonna stay in character. I don’t really care for the idea of me standing up and giving a standing ovation to Ilja Dragunov whose life, on this channel, the USA Network, whose life I tried to take…I don’t like the idea on that channel, basically telling the audience this is pretend. So I stayed in character. And I don’t think they liked that cause they ended up hiding me in the back the next time.
About saying the truth about his departure:
I feel like it’s out of the ordinary. It’s just an odd thing that people need to know…you know what, I’m gonna tell the truth, I’m gonna hope that the people who support me still support me and trust me, and that this doesn’t work against me from a business aspect. And the jury is still out on that. Maybe it did, I have no idea.
About not knowing why he was let go:
I’m trying to get in touch with WWE to get an answer…I don’t know what I did wrong, genuinely, to this day, I don’t know what I did wrong. I’d love for someone to call me and tell me. I would love nothing more for someone to call me and be like ‘Hey, remember that time you stepped on my foot?’ ‘No!’ ‘Ok, well I remember that and that’s why.’ At least I’d know, right? I don’t agree with that, but at least I’d know and I have to accept it. I never got that. I don’t know what I did wrong. But I know it’s costing my family money and I know I need to pay my mortgage and my kids need a house to live in…and now I’m putting that in jeopardy, possibly because of decisions I made and that’s eating me alive.
– Dijak will be working for Kevin Raphael’s first show as a promoter, Sans Restriction: Chrono, on July 14, in Quebec City, at 2pm. Tickets are on sale here.
– Urijah Faber will be doing a submission no-gi match with Bibiano Fernandes, a former rival, on 8/2 in Abu Dhabi. Former UFC stars Chad Mendes will face off with Kevin Lee that night which will be held the day before the UFC show in Abu Dhabi.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including RAW from Monday night with a bunch of great wrestling matches, the departure of Kevin Sullivan from AEW, ratings from this past week and how NXT this weekend will likely effect Collision, Okada and New Japan and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including AEW business, a big year in terms of gross income, Kevin Sullivan getting released, Britt Baker, the ratings report, a RAW with some very good wrestling throughout the show, mailbag and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: AEW business, Kevin Sullivan (production) released
12:29: Britt Baker, Jeff Hardy tweets; Bandido update
22:04: Ratings
25:15: World Tag League update, Kazuchika Okada a free agent in 2024
A pair of pro wrestling legends were featured on the latest episode of ABC’s “Judge Steve Harvey.”
JJ Dillon (using his real name Jim Morrison) and Kevin Sullivan appeared on the “Judge Steve Harvey” episode that aired on Tuesday night. The story for their appearance was that Dillon was suing Sullivan after not being paid back for a $7,500 loan to help Sullivan buy a $15,000 boat in cash five years ago.
Dillon said he thought that Sullivan was going to pay him back as soon as he could, but Sullivan’s argument was that Dillon told him he could pay him back “whenever.”
At the end of the appearance, Steve Harvey ruled in Dillon’s favor. But because of the friendship between Dillon and Sullivan and all that they have given fans during their time in pro wrestling, Harvey said that the court would pay the money on Sullivan’s behalf.
“I’m going to do something that I have the power to do, because this isn’t just small claims court — this is a court that listens to the story. So now, I rule in favor of the plaintiff for $7,500. But because of what you gentlemen have maintained for over 40 years. Because of your friendship and love for one another. Because you share a bond — you’ve given folks hours of priceless entertainment. I can’t tell you how much wrestling been in my life, man,” Harvey said.
“Thank you, man. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. On behalf of this court, even though we award you [Dillon] the $7,500, the court is going to pay the $7,500. You will get your money in full. And I want to thank the both of you for coming in here and for being honorable men — and for loving and defending your friendship no matter what.”
Left My Wallet returns with legendary wrestler, booker, and sports fan, Kevin Sullivan.
Whether you know him as a young babyface in the WWWF or as The Taskmaster, after listening to this show, you will understand why he’s one of the most knowledgeable sports fans you have ever heard.
We discuss our love for former Boston Red Sox great Dwight Evans and which Hall of Famer Kevin thinks Evans was better than. He recalls his memories of going to Fenway Park as a nine-year-old in Boston to see Ted Williams play. We also discuss what he thinks baseball needs to do to garner more fan interest, some of the greatest players and pitchers he had ever seen, which players he feels should be in the baseball Hall of Fame, and who is playing today that’s an automatic Hall of Famer.
He then gives his memories of Pat Patterson and working with him as a babyface in Florida. Finally, he makes his case as to why Johnny Rougeau should be in the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame and some of the booking philosophies he learned under Dusty Rhodes and Eddie Graham.
HIs legendary career has spanned almost 50 years, but his knowledge and love of sports has spanned even longer. Join us for some baseball and wrestling talk from the one and only Kevin Sullivan.
John Pollock of Post Wrestling reported Monday night that Impact Wrestling VP of production Kevin Sullivan has given his notice and could be working with All Elite Wrestling in the near future.
Sullivan has been with TNA Wrestling/Impact for more than ten years over two stints, including a run from 2005-13 as creative director, executive producer, and VP of production. He has also worked with WWE, Fox Sports, and AEW through his KSTV production company, producing the opens for Fyter Fest and Fight for the Fallen.
Pollock reported that several others in Sullivan’s department also gave notice, but he was not given names. The expectation is the group will be working with AEW, but it’s unclear if that would be through Sullivan’s production company or directly hired. The report also didn’t mention when Sullivan would be officially done with Impact.
Earlier this month, Impact’s parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment acquired a majority stake in HDNet, the parent company of AXS TV. The company announced Impact’s weekly TV would be moving to AXS TV this October with a day and time expected imminently.
