When looking at where things were a year ago, and today, it really shows just how much things change in pro wrestling and MMA. A year ago, UFC was the hot commodity, booking the best feuds, and building them up. WWE seemed to have lost its way to a degree, and people were writing obituaries for the sport of boxing, saying after the last De La Hoya fight, it was done.
After one of the biggest weekends of the year, it’s clear that everything is different. Boxing is thriving, with HBO re-inventing the formula of match promotion television. Round two is the build up of the 12/8 Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton fight with the 30 minute weekly show until fight time showing their preparation as well as living their life.
It’s the outside drama and personality development, more than the training footage, that made the first episode. Mayweather has gone from the cocky adversary in the De La Hoya series to a multi-dimensional larger-than-life character, living in the mansion, but raising kids, with all the hangers-on, and continuing the problems with the father who raised him to be a boxing superstar.
On the Saturday edition of Wrestling Observer Live, I tackle a tough question you might have not thought about asking yet.
Wrestling matches can end in a million different ways…except when they don’t.
Does it seem like there are a lot of roll-up finishes to matches these days? Sometimes a roll-up can be a cheap finish. While it may not hurt the loser of the match, often times it doesn’t help the winner either.
One WON/F4W subscriber thinks so. Steve Morrell and his friends noticed a lot of AEW matches in particular end with a roll-up or flash pin. He compiled some statistics for the last two months in AEW, ROH, WWE and NXT.
It sounds cliche, but the results may surprise you. Have you noticed too many roll-up finishes to wrestling matches today?
In what at first sounds like the rug being pulled from TNA, but is actually good news when examined closely, TNA has lost its prime time slot.
Spike TV made the decision this past week to change its Thursday night line-up starting on 4/13 for reasons that have not been explained, but make perfect sense. The new line-up will be CSI at 8 p.m., UFC Unleashed at 9 p.m., Ultimate Fighter season three with Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock as coaches starting at 10 p.m. and TNA Impact at 11 p.m.
It appears the decision was made after completion of the filming of Ultimate Fighter. Both UFC and Spike officials were said to be thrilled with the season and the Ortiz/Shamrock dynamic. It made no sense to put what they hope to be a big season on at 11 p.m., which was the original plan, with Impact at 9 p.m. and Unleashed at 10 p.m. It also makes no sense for Impact to be the lead-in for UFC, because UFC has the stronger audience right now.
On the Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Andrew Zarian is once again joined by Matt Ryan of Catytalst Wrestling to discuss the biggest stories in wrestling throughout the week.
The last few weeks have seen major changes in the WWE television product, with Triple H taking over creative. We discuss what is working and what the WWE product will look like going forward into next year’s WrestleMania.
We also review AEW Quake by The Lake with thoughts on Dynamite and Rampage including Sonny Kiss’ heel turn, the coffin match, Moxey vs. Jericho, and the return of CM Punk. With these returns happening, how does it invigorate the product going forward?
In the final segment, RJ City from AEW joins the show to discuss his show “Hey (EW)” and how he got his start, his love for classic television, and even working with WWE.
On the Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Andrew Zarian is joined by Matt Ryan of Catalyst Wrestling to break down the week’s news.
One of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling happened as Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE. Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan have been named co-CEOs.
ROH Death Before Dishonor was on Saturday night. We break down the card, including Claudio Castagnoli winning the ROH World Championship and FTR defending the Tag Titles against the Briscoes in another classic.
Plus, Jonathan Gresham apparently is done with AEW/ROH after having an apparent altercation with Tony Khan, and a little bit more on WWE possibly going to TV-14.
Join on-air personality Denise Salcedo as she reviews this very interesting episode of WWE NXT 2.0! It includes a a big name change that has the wrestling world talking.
Join on-air personality Denise Salcedo as she reviews the January 11, 2022 edition of WWE NXT 2.0! This includes a match between AJ Styles and Grayson Waller plus more!
Topics Rundown:
Pros of the new NXT 2.0
The love story that was all over the place
Damon Kemp debuts on NXT 2.0
NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, first team qualifes
Imperium is better than all of us
Crowbar on a pole match
Wendy Choo is a hit!
Boa vs. Solo Sikoa
AJ Styles/Grayson Waller theories & speculations
Keep an eye out, Denise will return Wednesday night to discuss AEW Dynamite, then she will be return Friday night to chat AEW Rampage and WWE Smackdown.
Join on-air personality Denise Salcedo as she reviews to action packed episodes of WWE Smackdown and AEW Rampage. There was tons of news to talk about coming out of both shows, mainly WWE which included a major announcement surrounding the Forbidden door and IMPACT Wrestling.
Topics Rundown:
Smackdown: Roman Reigns is BACK and confronts Brock Lesnar, Johnny Knoxville appears, 18 names REVEALED for WWE Royal Rumble including Mickie James, IMPACT Wrestling and Scott D’Amore, Seth Rollins confronts Roman Reigns, plus more!
AEW Rampage: Jake Atlas Rampage debut, Hook in action, Battle of the Belts matches, plus lots more!
This is a very fun and interactive podcast, perfect for any and all wrestling fans. Denise will also be back on Sunday for a special bonus stream to cover Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 3 and AEW Battle of the Belts.
Today on Mat Men, Andrew and Rich bring you all the news and happenings from this past week.
Kevin Owens has re-signed with WWE for another three years and we have all the latest details.
Johnny Gargano and Kyle O’Reilly have not re-signed and are possibly headed to AEW. We also discuss those from ROH that might find their way to AEW as well.
AEW had Dynamite: Winter is Coming where Adam Page and Bryan Danielson had an hour-long masterpiece. Was a draw the right call?
Plus, ROH held what could be its final show, SmackDown, Raw, and much more is discussed. We also answer your mailbag questions!
On the Thursday edition of Mat Men, Andrew and Rich are back from their trip to Las Vegas and have a lot of awesome stories, plus the latest pro wrestling news and rumors.
CM Punk’s official debut in AEW was a success and we have all the latest on his future with the company including some of his potential matchups.
We talk about the speculation and teases of other guys coming in like Daniel Bryan, Adam Cole and Bray Wyatt.
WWE SummerSlam saw the return of Becky Lynch and Brock Lesnar to the SmackDown side but where does this leave Raw?
More changes are coming to NXT and WWE as a whole as we start to see the true separation between sports entertainment and pro wrestling.
We discuss all this and much more, including your mailbag questions, on today’s free episode of Mat Men.
A look at the WWE draft is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer.
We look at the different moves made, why they were made, look at the depth charts with both brands to see what is and isn’t lacking, talk the return of talent, talent being kept apart, the whys behind some moves, and the rosters of both brands.
The new issue also covers:
The G1 Climax tournament, with match-by-match coverage of every show this past week, with star ratings and poll results. We look at the quality of shows, matches being built up, who have been the stars and best matches of the tournament.
The Cena wedding, how much Linda McMahon has donated to Trump’s campaign, lots of WWE injury updates, Lawsuit updates, Total Bellas notes, U.K TV ratings, new WWE documentary, how wrestling stacks up to other sports on TV, WWE filming an indie star for documentary, upcoming TV bouts, WWE market value, a new WWE book, and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network this past week.
Saturday’s UFC show from Abu Dhabi and the ramifications of the top matches.
A feature on Len Rossi, one of the biggest stars in Tennessee and Alabama from 1958 to 1972, his career in the ring, his life after wrestling, his tag team partners and most well-known angles. It’s a look back at a unique era of pro wrestling and how Rossi was a key to change in a unique time.
The indictment of the former Alberto Del Rio on a sexual assault and kidnapping case.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight for Wrestling Observer Radio, covering Raw, next week’s UFC, Power Struggle and taking questions that you can send to [email protected]
Raw tonight goes against a Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals game. The first week after the draft should do better than usual. Announced thus far are Matt Riddle vs. A.J. Styles, Asuka vs. Lana for the women’s title, Keith Lee vs. Braun Strowman, a Firefly Fun House with Bray Wyatt, the Mustafa Ali interview on why he joined Retribution that was cut from last week’s show and an Elias concert.
We’ll talk more about it tonight, but New Japan is limiting the 11/7 Power Struggle show to six singles matches meaning that a ton of the talent will not be booked on what is traditionally the last major show of the year. This year because the Super Juniors and World Tag League are together, the biggest show for the remainder of the year would be in December at Budokan Hall. But the 1/4 main event spot comes out of Power Struggle with the Tetsuya Naito vs. Evil IWGP championship match winner facing the Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White briefcase winner.
We also have polls open for all three G-1 Climax shows at Sumo Hall, thumbs up, down or middle, best & worst match, plus overall G-1 Climax MVP and best match of the tournament to [email protected]
This week has an interesting situation since AEW & NXT on Wednesday and Smackdown on Friday all go against the World Series, with game two on Wednesday and game three on Friday. Smackdown moves to FS 1, which last year led to a giant audience decline. AEW has the most loaded show of the three with the first round of their world title contenders tournament with Penta El Cero M vs. Rey Fenix, Kenny Omega vs Joey Janela, Colt Cabana vs. Adam Page and Jungle Boy vs. Wardlow plus a four-way for a tag title shot with Young Bucks vs. Private Party vs. Butcher & Blade vs. Alex Reynolds & John Silver. Also on the show is a Britt Baker match and a Chris Jericho/MJF steak dinner segment.
NXT has Tyler Breeze & Fandango vs. Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish for the tag titles.
For a comparison, the same week last year saw Smackdown do 888,000 viewers and 0.27 in 18-49, AEW did 963,000 and 0.45 and NXT did 698,000 and 0.21.
The death of Principe Aereo (Luis Angel Salazar) in a match on Saturday night in Nezahualcoyotl was due to a middle cerebral artery rupture. Salazar collapsed in the ring with no apparent reason as he hadn’t fallen the wrong way or taken a shot wrong. It was very similar to the Oro death a generation ago.
WWE
Ashley Fliehr (Charlotte Flair) has signed a management deal with VaynerSports, the first pro wrestler they have signed. The agency has a lot of big name MMA fighters including Stipe Miocic, Eddie Alvarez, Chris Weidman, Aljamain Sterling and Vitor Belfort.
There is a big issue with sports video game producers because of a conflicting legal situation. Sportico noted that Take Two won a case in Federal Court that their NBA 2K game could replicate player tattoos without paying the tattoo artist. However, in Illinois, a federal judge ruled the opposite in a case involving Randy Orton’s tattoo artist and WWE 2K.
Toni Storm turned 25 today.
Saraya Bevis aka Paige announced today that today marks two years of sobriety. Great for her.
UFC
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill has been added to the 12/12 PPV show. This is a rematch of a fight five years ago that Torres won.
Mason Jones, the 155 and 170 pound champion of the U.K. based Cage Warriors promotion, has signed here.
AEW
There is a giant episode of Dark tomorrow:
Shawn Spears vs. Christopher Daniels
Luchasaurus vs. Aaron Solow
Brandi Rhodes vs. KiLynn King
Colt Cabana vs. Bshp King
Matt Sydal vs Shawn Dean
Ivelisse & Diamante vs. Skyler Moore & Kenzie Paige
Jungle Boy vs. KTB
Frankie Kazarian vs. Jack Evans
Rey Fenix vs. Sonny Kiss
Penta El Cero M vs. QT Marshall
Butcher & Blade vs. Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison
Alan Angels vs. Adam Priest
Scorpio Sky vs. Fuego del Sol
Ricky Starks vs. David Ali
Alex Reynolds & John Silver & Preston Vance vs. Louis Valle & D3 & Baron Black
Wardlow vs. Vince Pacifico
MISCELLANEOUS
This is a show I did on the four Omega vs. Okada matches and their legacy. I also did a Best Matches of the career of Chris Jericho with a ton of insights and some back stories that haven’t been told in as much detail ever before on some of these matches for the book Alex Marvez is writing with the complete Jericho 30-year record covering every match of his career.
We also have a new 1997 Wrestling Observer Yearbook, covering the entire year in detail, every single major story in both pro wrestling and MMA is looked at plus all kinds of stats for the year. It’s available at Amazon.com in the U.S., Amazon.ca in Canada and www.WrestlingObserverBook.com in Europe.
In the lead up to Bound for Glory, AXS has Impact week. Tomorrow night has Impact at 8 p.m. with Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Josh Alexander & Ethan Page, Rohit Raju & Chris Bey & Jordynne Grace vs. Trey Miguel & TJP & Willie Mack, Hernandez vs. Cousin Jake vs. Alisha Edwards vs. Rhino vs. Heath for the No. 20 spot in their Gauntlet. Also tomorrow at 10 p.m. is an Anderson & Gallows Talk’n’ Shop special. Thursday at 8 p.m. is the Bound for Glory preview show. Saturday at 7 p.m. is the Bound for Glory pregame show.
Masked Republic sent out a release noting new additions to their staff including Hector Rodriguez as the Director of Development; Gabriel Ramirez as Licensing and Brand Manager, Adrian Salas as Licensing Associate and Jerry Villagrana as Licensing and Creative Management.
Future Wrestling Australia on 11/5 in Sydney. Adam Brooks is booked on the show.
Toa Henare’s Warrior Wrestling debuts 10/24 in Auckland, New Zealand with Henare & Jamie Tagatese vs.TK Cooper & Dave O’Connor.
Henare was also a guest yesterday on Maori TV in New Zealand talking bout the New Zealand election results (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
This week, DragonKing Dark takes a turn toward true crime with a look at three wrestlers whose careers were tainted by murder accusations.
Everyone is very familiar with Chris Benoit who killed his wife and child and then himself, but did you know I once had dinner with him? I’ll tell you about it and also will discuss the crimes. Jimmy Snuka never went to trial on the killing of Nancy Argentino as he died of cancer first, but I discussed the night in 1983 she was killed.
Finally, I take a deep dive into wrestling history that finds that the World welterweight champion and his wife also indicted for murder but ultimately acquitted.
Professional wrestling has had its share of tragedy, accidents, and true crime over its lengthy American history but July, as it seems, has historically been the worst month of all.
A major superstar comes to America and is the darling of the press, spawning imitators for decades later and literally goes down with the ship. Then, there’s car wrecks, freak boating accidents, and even murder.
July is a month that pro wrestlers should take extra caution with. Hear why and more on this week’s episode of DragonKing Dark.
We look at the changes in WWE business and details on what Vince McMahon was talking about regarding changes in the network and PPV distribution in the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We examine the departure of Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, the drop in the stock price, what it will take to get the price back up, McMahon talking business options, what WWE can learn from how UFC handled a similar situation, the business of WrestleMania, the key players, the different options, the UFC PPV deal, and McMahon talks AEW.
Also in this issue:
WWE fourth quarter numbers in every category, profits, losses, arena business, corporate spending and all categories.
McGregor vs. Cerrone business including details of it being the largest streaming PPV in history, how it did on traditional PPV, how UFC ha helped ESPN+ numbers, ESPN+ subscribers as well a the bundle with Hulu and Disney Plus, and how successful it has been financially.
WrestleMania and the net Saudi Arabia show, a new WWE TV deal, Takeover Portland, what medical treatment wrestlers from many different companies are looking at doing, new WWE signings, John Cena in Fast 9, update on talent that has wanted their release, Jake Atlas debut, lots of ratings info, WWE Network price notes, Mauro Ranallo talks getting off twitter, Total Bellas story lines, Bret Hart update, most watched shows on WWE Network and coverage of all of last week’s WWE arena events.
New Beginning shows in Sapporo, with a full rundown of the booking, the business, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
A feature on the Jericho Cruise, the top matches, how TV was taped, and what happened.
UFC event from Raleigh with match-by-match coverage and business notes.
A feature on the death of Romeo Cormier and the famous Burke/Martin/Cormier family and the heyday of pro wrestling in Eastern Canada.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight for Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw, New Beginning in Osaka, David Von Erich, Open scoring and other topics. You can send questions to tonight’s show to [email protected]
We’re also looking for reports from the NXT show in Phoenix on Friday, Riverside on Sunday, and WWE house shows in Oakland on Saturday and Fresno on Sunday, as well as dark matches from tonight in San Jose to [email protected]. We’re doing weekend polls on UFC 247 and New Japan New Beginning in Osaka, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
WWE’s official press conference for the 2021 WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood,CA takes place at 11 a.m. local time with Stephanie McMahon, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, John Saboor (WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events) and Jason Gannon (the Managing Director of the stadium) appearing.
After all the controversy over the weekend with the Jon Jones-Dominick Reyes scoring, Invicta has announced that it will have open scoring, meaning they will announce to the crowd all three judges scores at the end of each round, starting with its 3/6 show in Kansas City. The Kansas Athletic Commission announced today that promoters will have the option to have open scoring or maintain things as they are. They are the first commission that I’m aware of in the U.S. to allow open scoring.
A correction from yesterday. In the note on the New Japan MSG show being one week before All Out 2, it is actually two weeks prior as All Out 2 will be 9/5.
The XFL has gotten mostly strong word of mouth. It is said that they’ve already sold in advance more tickets for this season than the AAF did during its season. On sports radio that I was listening to last night, they were talking about it with the results on the news breaks and such. The Houston team opened up the second deck of TDECU Stadium for walkup and New York and Dallas both drew in excess of 17,000 announced. Elevate Sports Ventures, according to business newsletter John Wallstreet, built out teams sales staff and they were selling tickets for six months before the season started. They will not come close to the attendance of the 2001 league, but everything is different now. The XFL was projecting 15,000 to 20,000 per game this season with Seattle and St. Louis maybe topping that as each team has sold more than 10,000 season tickets..
WWE
Raw tonight is in Ontario, CA. They may sell out TV both tonight and Friday this week as both were close. Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe & Viking Raiders vs. Seth Rollins & Murphy & AOP plus Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the women’s title are the top matches tonight.
Wells Fargo has cut its target price for WWE stock from $80 to $36 due to all the concerns. The stock closed today at $42.05 per share.
The guy who King Corbin poured the drink on Friday night on Smackdown was Markus Mack, the promoter of All Pro Wrestling in Northern California.
UFC
The Ministry of Sports in France and the French Boxing Federation are developing rules for MMA in the country which would eventually lead to UFC debuting in that market.
Rafael Lovato Jr. has vacated the Bellator middleweight title due to what were called ongoing medical issues. He did not elaborate on what they were, but Scott Coker said that this has been a challenging time for Lovato, his team and his family, but called him a true warrior and that they will work with him regarding his future. The company said it will announce plans for filling the title vacancy in the next few days.
Both Ilima-lei MacFarlane and Douglas Lima, two of Bellator’s top stars, holding the women’s flyweight and welterweight titles, have signed multi-year new contracts.
MLW has signed a television deal in France on Webedia airing every Monday night at 9 p.m.
365 Pro Wrestling on 2/29 in Kitchener, ONT at the Alpine Club.
Jerry Lawler will defend his Arkansas title against Michael Barry on 3/21 in Searcy, AR at the White County Fairgrounds.
Defy Wrestling Kings of Crash on 2/21 at Washington Hall in Seattle will feature a show with stars from The Crash promotion in Tijuana plus the return of Jeff Cobb. Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf 450 will defend the Crash tag titles. Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl defend the Defy tag titles against Damian 666 & Guillermo Rosas, while Schaff defends the Defy title against Randy Myers.
Lights Out Xtreme fighting on 3/13 at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA has an MMA show with heavyweight champion Mike Quintero (6-2) defending against Blake Troop (8-6). Quintero is also a professor at Los Angeles City College and he’s now 43 years old. The show is being taped for Fox Sports West, Prime Ticket, Fox Sports San Diego and other Fox Sports regional stations.
