April 28, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE WrestleMania 41 week recap, Rock drama

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Subscribers can now read the new Wrestling Observer Newsletter with a focus on last weekend’s newsworthy WWE WrestleMania 41 weekend.

From John Cena winning his 17th World title to The Rock not being there to the big turn in the night one main event to everything in between, Dave Meltzer recaps it all plus all the other happenings in Las Vegas from NXT to Bloodsport to other indie shows.

Dave also goes into The Rock’s interview with Pat McAfee Monday where he attempted to explain why he wasn’t there and the subsequent blowback.

All that and the latest in AEW, TNA, NJPW and more awaits.

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April 21, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE WrestleMania 41 preview, major NJPW changes

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Subscribers can now read a special early edition of this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Dave Meltzer leads off with a full preview of this weekend’s WWE WrestleMania 41 which will see John Cena attempt to win a record 17th World title against Cody Rhodes in the weekend headliner.

He also goes into another wild week for NJPW which saw the promotion and Tetsuya Naito part ways in addition to Jeff Cobb leaving for WWE while still an IWGP Tag Team Champion.

Dave also looks at UFC media rights, TKO attempting to change the Ali Act, news from around the wrestling world and more.

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April 14, 2025 Observer Newsletter: AEW Dynasty review, Kevin Owens suffers serious neck injury

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Subscribers can now read this week’s full issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which features a full recap of AEW Dynasty:

AEW Dynasty on 4/6 had an interesting reaction to what seemed to be generally considered a very strong show that went too long.

There was considerable online negativity toward the main event finish, which saw Jon Moxley retain the AEW title over Swerve Strickland in a match that saw involvement from Marina Shafir, Prince Nana, Adam Page, Pac, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata and the return of the Young Bucks.

Just writing that alone makes it feel like they went overboard, especially for a match that went 31:28. If people were mad because they went overboard I can see it. If they were mad Strickland didn’t win, I can understand that because in theory, when a heel wins by cheating the fans are supposed to be mad. Of course, making fans mad at times leads to bigger business, and at times it doesn’t. I think the idea was to give fans a happening, the return of the Young Bucks, that they would be mad at, but see as news. The show ending felt like the start of the build for Young Bucks vs. Page & Strickland, although that’s likely long down the line like at All In. From television, it looks like either an Anarchy in the Arena or Blood and Guts match with Young Bucks & Death Riders against a babyface team that would include Kenny Omega & Strickland, and possibly Adam Page (but that can’t be made clear until or unless he’s eliminated from the Owen Hart tournament if this is a PPV direction since the Owen Hart Cup finals are on Double or Nothing on 5/25.

The issue also looks at the WWE WrestleMania 41 card changes due to Kevin Owens’ serious neck injury, the latest development with Linda McMahon and the ring boys lawsuit, the Charlotte Flair/Tiffany Stratton promo, and plenty more.

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April 7, 2025 Observer Newsletter: AEW’s latest popularity test, a look at the WWE WrestleMania 41 build

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Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The lead story regards what Dave Meltzer is calling the latest popularity test for AEW in this Sunday’s Dynasty pay-per-view coming off a well-received Revolution PPV in March.

He also looks at the build to WrestleMania 41 and the latest developments, the discussion around reported AEW on Max viewership, and plenty more.

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March 31, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE WrestleMania & AEW Dynasty lineups take shape, controversial TNA firings

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Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The lead story is how the lineups for next month’s WWE WrestleMania 41 and AEW Dynasty are finally taking shape.

He also looks at the controversial firings within TNA Wrestling which included the very popular Gail Kim.

Dave Meltzer also looks at the newsworthy NCAA men’s wrestling tournament and Gable Steveson, former UFC champion and former WWE wrestler Cain Velasquez getting his jail sentence, boxer George Foreman dying and more.

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March 24, 2025 Observer Newsletter: John Cena’s first heel promo, WBD interested in UFC, David Finlay wins New Japan Cup

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Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Dave Meltzer leads off with his thoughts on John Cena’s first heel promo and appearance after the big turn at WWE Elimination Chamber.

He recaps the New Japan Cup finals that saw David Finlay take home the top prize, WBD’s public comments about interest in the UFC and what that could mean for AEW, and lots more.

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March 3, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE year-end financial report, The Rock returns again

Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter with a lead story focusing on this week’s TKO investors call that revealed WWE’s Q4 and full 2024 performance.

Dave Meltzer also looks at The Rock’s latest return to WWE and what it could mean, the latest Janel Grant vs. Vince McMahon developments, the passing of Osamu Nishimura and more.

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February 24, 2025 Observer Newsletter: AEW Grand Slam Australia review, Gran Hamada obituary

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Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Dave Meltzer leads off with a full recap and review of AEW Grand Slam Australia and the subsequent news including “Ringgate”, continues with a look at the life and times of the late Gran Hamada, a look at NXT Vengeance Day, and the rest of the pro wrestling news & results of the last week.

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February 17, 2025 Observer Newsletter: The 2024 Awards issue

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Our subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter which is headlined by the 2024 Observer Newsletter awards.

Let the debates begin.

Dave Meltzer also recaps the week’s biggest news stories including the latest in the Janel Grant/Vince McMahon case, AEW heading to Australia for the first time, all kinds of WWE news and tons more.

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February 3, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE Royal Rumble preview, AEW’s somewhat exaggerated predicability

This week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now live.

Dave Meltzer’s lead story is a preview of this Saturday’s WWE Royal Rumble which is already a massive financial success and officially kicks off the road to WrestleMania.

He then talks about this week’s AEW Dynamite and what he calls the show (and company’s) somewhat exaggerated predictability. Read on to get his full thoughts.

He also recaps all the news of the week and provides two obituaries on Ed “Colonel DeBeers” Wiskoski and Bill Melby.

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January 27, 2025 Observer Newsletter: AEW inconsistency issues, WWE SNME preview, TNA Genesis & GCW reviews

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The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now live for subscribers.

Dave Meltzer’s lead story focuses on the current problems and inconsistencies within AEW including the continued use of older ex-WWE stars, missed camera shots, and how younger talent isn’t working enough and a possible reason for that.

Dave also recaps last Sunday’s TNA Genesis and The People vs. GCW in addition to more insight on the WWE/TNA relationship.

He also previews WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event and an early look at what’s been announced for the Royal Rumble.

All that and more await you as reading is your friend.

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January 20, 2025 Observer Newsletter: ’24 business year in review, Vince McMahon, WWE & AEW notes

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The newest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now live for subscribers.

Dave Meltzer leads off with an in-depth series of charts on the last year of business in both wrestling and MMA including some historical numbers to put things in perspective.

He then goes into all the various WWE news items of the week including the latest in the Vince McMahon legal saga, a potential head-to-head WWE vs. AEW battle in July, Netflix notes, the TNA partnership announcement, and more.

Plus, Dave has all the news on AEW, TNA, CMLL, NJPW, and more.

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January 13, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE Raw debuts on Netflix, Wrestle Kingdom 19 & Wrestle Dynasty reviews

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Subscribers can now read this week’s brand-new Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The lead story is WWE’s debut on Netflix with a three-hour Raw that featured CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins, nostalgia, fans booing Hulk Hogan, and more.

Dave Meltzer also recaps last weekend’s double-dip of Tokyo Dome action with both Wrestle Kingdom 19 and Wrestle Dynasty.

Get that and all the rest of the wrestling news of the week.

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January 6, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE Raw wraps up on USA, AEW debuts Max simulcast

Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter from Dave Meltzer.

WWE Raw wrapped up its long run on cable TV this past Monday on USA as the company’s flagship show heads to Netflix starting this Monday.

AEW also made their official debut on a streaming service with their simulcast kickoff on Max this past Wednesday.

Dave also recaps last weekend’s AEW Worlds End and previews this weekend’s double dip at the Tokyo Dome, along with the other news of the week.

Get analysis and insight about all that in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

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December 23, 2024 Observer Newsletter: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event recap, Lee Fitting accusations, Jaime Hawn

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Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The lead story is a look back at this past weekend’s return of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, the matches themselves, and the discussion about the viewership numbers.

Dave also goes into the story that emerged this week from The Athletic regarding current WWE head of production Lee Fitting and the serious accusations at ESPN that forced him out of the company.

He also looks at the story of Jaime Hawn, the alleged domestic violence victim of former AEW producer BJ Whitmer, who started a GoFundMe this week and accused an AEW lawyer of violating an NDA.

All that plus the news of the wrestling week awaits you.

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