Survivor Series 2023 was a record-breaking success for WWE.
The event took place from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday night and featured two WarGames matches. The show ended with CM Punk making his surprise return to WWE after nearly a decade away.
On Tuesday, WWE issued a press release announcing that this was the highest viewership, largest gate, and best merchandise sales in the history of Survivor Series.
“Viewership for Survivor Series was up 44 percent versus the previous record set in 2022. With 17,138 in attendance, the event broke the previous Survivor Series gate record set in Brooklyn in 2021,” WWE wrote.
“In partnership with Fanatics, Survivor Series broke the premium live event’s all-time merchandise record. Sponsorship revenue was up 24 percent versus 2022.”
WWE also stated that Punk’s return was the most social post in company history, generating more than 71 million views across all of WWE’s social media platforms.
This was the second straight year that WarGames was the theme of Survivor Series. The men’s WarGames match saw Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn & the returning Randy Orton defeat Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh & Drew McIntyre.
In the women’s WarGames match, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Shotzi & Becky Lynch defeated Bayley, IYO SKY, Kairi Sane & Asuka.
With the returning Randy Orton on their side, the babyfaces were victorious in the men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series.
Orton, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins & Sami Zayn defeated Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) & Drew McIntyre in the main event of Saturday night’s show. Rhodes scored the pinfall on Priest after hitting Cross Rhodes.
There was a show-long storyline where the WarGames participants questioned whether Orton would show up. He didn’t arrive until it was his turn to enter WarGames as the final participant. When Orton finally appeared, he thwarted a potential Money in the Bank cash-in by Priest. Priest still holds the briefcase since he never officially cashed in on Rollins.
This was Orton’s first time wrestling since May 2022. He underwent double fusion surgery last year as he battled a career-threatening back injury.
Orton was feuding with The Usos prior to being forced out of action. There was some dissension between him and Jey teased in the WarGames match, but they ultimately worked together to get the win.
Before the finish of the match, Orton delivered a super RKO to McDonagh after Rollins and Zayn threw McDonagh off the top of the cage. Orton then handed Priest to Rhodes so that Rhodes could hit Cross Rhodes.
Team Bianca claimed victory inside WarGames at Saturday’s WWE Survivor Series event.
The team of Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Shotzi defeated the Damage CTRL foursome of IYO SKY, Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Bayley to win the women’s WarGames match to kick off Survivor Series after Lynch pinned Bayley after a Manhandle Slam off the ropes through a table.
Belair’s team began the bout with the order of entry advantage following a fan vote in a poll sponsored by Ruffles decided that factor. The match featured many of the expected weapons spots, including IYO SKY reprising her trademark blind crossbody off the top of the cage with a trashcan placed over her body.
Other key moments in the bout included Belair hitting a double superplex on SKY and Bayley as the Damage CTRL duo tried to hold her by her braided hair, Sane hitting her Insane Elbow, Lynch hitting a legdrop off the top through a table, plus Belair spraying Asuka with a fire extinguisher.
Flair and Lynch also embraced in the ring to a big crowd reaction, settling their years-long storyline beef that hit its apex at Survivor Series two years ago with a singles match.
At Survivor Series, a WWE veteran appeared for the first time in more than a year.
R-Truth returned to WWE programming by taking part in a backstage comedy segment at Saturday’s event. The segment was sponsored by Ruffles and also included Alpha Academy, Pretty Deadly, Chelsea Green, and Piper Niven.
The 51-year-old Truth (Ron Killings) had been away from WWE since suffering a torn quad in November 2022. During an NXT match against Grayson Waller, Truth suffered the injury when he didn’t fully clear the top rope on a dive attempt and landed badly on his left leg. The match ended in a referee stoppage after Truth got hurt.
Truth underwent surgery to repair the quad injury. In January of this year, Truth gave an update on his condition and said he underwent a second surgery due to an infection.
“I’m going back to WWE. I just got to heal up. I had to have two surgeries — a lot of people don’t know that,” Truth said. “I caught an infection so I had to have another surgery.”
Truth was a 53-time WWE 24/7 Champion when that title was in existence.
Former WWE co-CEO and chairwoman Stephanie McMahon is reportedly backstage at Survivor Series.
Fightful reports that Stephanie is backstage at Saturday night’s premium live event, but she isn’t working at the show. Fightful notes that Stephanie is “said to be hanging out and visiting, as opposed to being there in a work capacity.”
Survivor Series is being held at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
This January, Stephanie resigned from her position with WWE. Stephanie’s decision to resign from the company coincided with her father Vince McMahon forcing himself back into power as WWE’s executive chairman.
Stephanie had shared the CEO role with Nick Khan following Vince McMahon’s retirement in July 2022. Khan’s current job title is president of WWE.
“I look forward to cheering on WWE from the other side of the business, where I started when I was a little kid, as a pure fan,” Stephanie said when she resigned. “I will always remain dedicated to WWE. I truly love our company, our Superstars, our fans, and our employees.”
Stephanie was also backstage at WrestleMania 39 earlier this year.
Date: November 25, 2023 Location: Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL
The Big Takeaway —
CM Punk is back.
Show recap —
KICK-OFF SHOW —
The preshow panel was hosted by Kayla Braxton, Jackie Redmond, Booker T, Wade Barrett and Peter Rosenberg. Braxton noted how chilly it was because, in fact, they were hosting outside the arena. Redmond wasn’t bothered by the cold because she’s Canadian. (I’m guessing they were placed outdoors in part to free up as many seats in the arena as possible.)
They ran down the card including the return of Randy Orton.
There were some CM Punk chants but it didn’t last long as fans are filing into the arena.
Among the things Booker has said so far: You can always trust a snake and Bayley is like Tom Brady.
********
Byron Saxton interviewed Santos Escobar and asked about his attacks on Rey Mysterio and Carlito. Escobar said “attack” was too small a word. He delivered justice. Justice for all the time he spent in Mysterio’s shadow. They called themselves mentors but they were really gatekeepers and he showed the world that their time was up.
Dragon Lee was the next chapter in the same old story. Dragon Lee had spirit but spirit didn’t win fights. Escobar could do whatever it took and Dragon Lee made the biggest mistake of his career by challenging him. Dragon Lee would be an example of what happens when you turn your back on Santos Escobar.
********
Thanks to a fan vote, the team of Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair and Shotzi will have the advantage in their WarGames match.
There was a video package for Roman Reigns, who is not on tonight’s show.
********
SURVIVOR SERIES: WARGAMES 2023 MAIN SHOW —
As you may have seen on Smackdown, the lack of a big stage makes it look like there are a ton of people in the building. It appears most people are in as the show kicks off.
They lowered the cage as fire pyro went off. Michael Cole and Corey Graves are on commentary.
If you didn’t see it on the preshow, the babyfaces will have the advantage in the Women’s WarGames match.
Team Damage CTRL all entered wearing masks. Becky Lynch and Bayley started for their teams. (Graves made a reference to the Four Horsewomen as Bayley entered.)
Bayley suplexed Lynch onto the metal plate between the two rings but Lynch suplexed Bayley into the cage and and applied a Disarmer. Dakota Kai showed up at ringside and hit Lynch with a kendo stick to break it up. She handed the kendo stick to Bayley who used it on Lynch. The crowd chanted for tables less than five minutes into the match.
Shotzi entered next and the crowd cheered as she looked under the ring but they booed because she didn’t grab a table but instead shoved chairs and a trash can into the ring. Bayley tried to escape the cage (which the announcers noted would be a forfeit) but Shotzi and Lynch brought her down.
Iyo Sky entered next. Cole noted this was her fifth WarGames match which was the most in history. The crowd cheered for a moment as she also looked under the ring but she brought out a steel chain, not a table. Sky wiped out her opponents with a springboard double dropkick before Sky and Bayley hit Lynch with a double superplex.
Bianca Belair entered next. She had her hair in two braids instead of one. She didn’t bring a weapon into the ring and used her braids instead. Bayley and Sky tried to yank Belair off the top by her braids but she did a backflip and hit them with a double superplex. That was a cool spot.
Kairi Sane entered next. The crowd chanted for tables. Sane grabbed a trash can lid instead and nodded at the crowd. Even though the babyfaces were in control and had the numbers advantage, Sane was able to take them down one at a time. Damage CTRL buried Shotzi under some chairs. Sky launched Sane into the air and she hit an elbow drop on Shotzi. Belair press slammed Sane into her partners. Damage CTRL regained the advantage by using the chairs.
Charlotte Flair entered next and she handed out chops. She didn’t even look under the ring. Charlotte slammed Sky into the cage and Sky slid down and landed awkwardly on her tailbone. Charlotte also hit Sane and Bayley with a double Natural Selection/blockbuster off the top. Lynch and Charlotte faced off and Damage CTRL used the distraction to attack them.
Sky went to the top of the cage and dropped one end of the chain down to Kai who tied it to a trash can. Sky pulled the trash can up and placed it on top of the cage. Sky stood up on top of the cage as my hands began sweating. Sky placed the trash can over her body and did a flying crossbody onto everyone while in the lid. The crowd chanted “Holy shit.” Indeed.
Asuka entered last with everyone down. The crowd cheered as she went under the ring but she pulled out two kendo sticks. The crowd booed. Asuka did pull out a table next and the crowd cheered. She also grabbed a fire extinguisher.
Damage CTRL chained Lynch and Belair together and all four team members dropkicked them simultaneously. Asuka blew mist in Shotzi’s face and hit a missile dropkick on Lynch, who was inside the trash can, for two. Lynch and Belair powerbombed two opponents out of the corner.
Charlotte went to the top of the cage and hit a moonsault on all four members of Damage CTRL. Iyo Sky caught the worst of this as Charlotte, predictably, didn’t exactly land gracefully. Charlotte covered Bayley for two.
Charlotte and Lynch did a double-team move and they did a big hug. Lynch really played it up as a big moment. They got attacked from behind again but each managed to apply their submissions. Sane tried an elbow drop but Lynch countered into a Disarmer. Bayley broke that up with a knee strike. Belair put Asuka on her shoulders and Shotzi hit a nice missile dropkick but Bayley broke up the cover.
They traded some moves before Belair sprayed the fire extinguisher in Asuka’s face. Sane killed Shotzi with a trash can lid. Charlotte went to spear Sane but Bayley took the bullet and ate the spear. Shotzi hit Bayley with a senton and Bayley hit her with KOD.
Belair handed Bayley to Lynch who put her through a table with a Man-handle Slam off the ropes for the pinfall win.
Lynch, Belair, Charlotte and Shotzi celebrated together. Cole put over Lynch and Charlotte finally being back on the same page together.
(This was a perfectly fine/good WarGames match but the highlight by far was Iyo’s blind dive off the cage. The crowd enjoyed it.)
********
Jey Uso met with Sami Zayn in the back. Zayn warned Jey that Randy Orton wasn’t there yet. Jey wasn’t surprised. He wondered why Orton would show up after what they did to him. (This led to CM Punk chants.) Zayn said they would take care of this together no matter what happens.
********
Cole said that if Miz won, he would tie Chris Jericho for most Intercontinental title reigns ever. He also said that Gunther has been champion for 533 days and if you add up all of Miz’s eight title reigns, it amounts to 592 days. (Cole also mentioned Edge later on the list of great former IC champions.)
Gunther defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship (12:21)
They gave Miz a lot but Gunther won by submission.
Miz chopped Gunther which just irritated him. Gunther dropped Miz with a chop. Miz fought back but his strikes didn’t have much of an effect. However, Miz tripped Gunther while outside the ring and drove his leg onto the edge of the ring. Miz also applied the Bret Hart figure four around the ring post. Miz tried a springboard move but Gunther booted him out of the air.
Gunther took over from there and kept cutting off Miz’s offence. Gunther gloated to the crowd who booed. Miz managed to fight back, again targeting the leg with unconvincing strikes. Gunther sold big for him anyway. Miz continued to use kicks, this time to Gunther’s chest to bring him down. Miz followed with a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two.
Gunther countered a Skull Crushing Finale and hit a dropkick and powerbomb for two. Gunther applied a sleeper as Miz accidentally-on-purpose yanked the turnbuckle cover off.
Miz kicked Gunther in the nuts as the referee fixed the turnbuckle cover and followed with Skull Crushing Finale for a nearfall. I guess the ref didn’t fix the turnbuckle because Miz drove Gunther into it and applied a cradle for another nearfall. (The crowd bought a potential title change.)
Gunther clotheslined Miz, splashed his back, and applied a Boston Crab. Gunther transitioned the crab into a Liontamer and Miz tapped out.
(Cole mentioned Jericho earlier, and they compared a few of Miz’s spots to Bret Hart, but they did not mention Jericho when Gunther used the Liontamer.)
********
There was a credit card ad with Jey Uso and Liv Morgan.
The male members of Judgment Day met in the back. Dominik Mysterio heard that Orton wouldn’t be there. Finn Bálor said they were good either way. Either Orotn wouldn’t be there, or he would show up and poison his team from the inside. Damian Priest left to let Drew McIntyre know what was going on.
********
Cole mentioned some notable wrestlers who made their WWE debut at Survivor Series including Kurt Angle, The Rock, Undertaker, The Shield, and Sting.
Santos Escobar defeated Dragon Lee (8:19)
Escobar was in control from the get-go but Dragon Lee leaped over the top and brought Escobar down with a hurricanrana to the outside. Dragon Lee followed with a flip dive and the crowd chanted for him. Lee went to the top but Escobar met him and brought him down with a hurricanrana for two.
A frustrated Escobar aggressively ripped at the mask of Dragon Lee and the crowd chanted “assh*le.” (Denise Salcedo on Twitter said they were chanting “culero” and I will take her word for it.)
Dragon Lee came back later with a double foot stomp off the top for two. Escobar dropped him with a superkick. They traded knee strikes before Dragon Lee showed off his strength and hit a sit-out powerbomb for two.
Dragon Lee went for something but Escobar countered into a Canadian Destroyer and Phantom Driver for the abrupt pinfall win.
This was good for the time they had but this and the Gunther matches felt like TV matches.
*******
LA Knight was in a Slim Jim commercial.
Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston arrived at the arena in a Slim Jim car. They honked their horn to the New Day chant and the crowd sang along. Woods and Kingston were happy to have Slim Jims.
********
Rhea Ripley defeated Zoey Stark to retain the Women’s World Championship (9:15)
By the end of the match, Cole made it seem like Stark put up a hell of a fight but that’s not how it came across at all. Ripley dominated and Stark got some offence but everybody liked Ripley and Stark didn’t get even as much as Miz got against Gunther.
There was an odd spot where it looked like maybe Ripley was going to chokeslam Stark off the top and Stark tried to land on her feet but she didn’t. WWE crowds are patient these days so they let this go.
While Ripley was on offence, Stark dared Ripley to hit her because she’s tough. Ripley did, but Stark countered the Rip-tide into a German suplex. Ripley countered a Z360 and hit a headbutt. She followed with Rip-tide for the pinfall win. Another TV match.
(The crowd really likes Ripley but her matches lately have no heat at all.)
********
Cody Rhodes approached Seth Rollins, Jey Uso and Sami Zayn in the back. They were annoyed that Orton wasn’t there. Rhodes assured them that he’d be there. Rollins and Jey weren’t so sure. Zayn seemed to trust Rhodes.
WarGames Match: Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso & World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh & Drew McIntyre (34:07)
Priest and McIntyre stared each other down for a long time before the match as Bálor entered to start for his team. Rollins started for his team. Orton wasn’t there so they started without him. Some fans chanted for CM Punk and some other fans booed.
The crowd sang Rollins’ song as he entered. He played it up like usual but then suddenly attacked Bálor to start the match because Bálor wasn’t expecting it.
Rollins had the advantage over Bálor until the “tenacious Irish ace” JD McDonagh entered next to team up with Bálor. They attacked Rollins with kendo sticks. The chants for tables have been replaced with chants for CM Punk. (Admittedly, not as loud.)
Jey Uso entered next and the crowd woke up because they got to say “Yeet” as he hit strikes. Jey was doing well until McDonagh hit him with a standing Spanish Fly. Rollins and Jey worked together to regain the advantage.
The next member of team Judgment Day was up next. It seemed like it would be McIntyre but Priest, the leader for tonight, said it would be him instead. Rollins and Jey fought off the numbers advantage momentarily but Priest used a metal baton to get the advantage for his team.
A relatively small group of fans keep trying to get CM Punk chants going but it isn’t carrying. (It seems like the crowd is just waiting for Orton, or whoever, to enter.)
Sami Zayn entered next. McDonagh tried to attack with a kendo stick but Zayn grabbed it and used it on him instead. Zayn slammed the door on Bálor’s face too. Zayn woke up the crowd for a second time by grabbing a table. The crowd chanted “Thank you, Sami.” Zayn grabbed a conveniently placed pipe from the cage and used it as a weapon on Judgment Day.
McIntyre entered next. He suplexed Zayn and Rollins before turning his attention to Jey. Jey fought him off for a moment before McIntyre hit a neckbreaker. Jey and Zayn teamed up to give McIntyre a 1D.
Cody Rhodes entered next. Cole talked about Dusty Rhodes inventing WarGames. Rhodes hit a few moves before grabbing a bull rope. Rollins grabbed the other end and they used it as a weapon together. (Dominik was alone in a cage so the crowd chanted “Dom, you suck.”)
Dom entered to a chorus of boos. Dom used some Miz-level strikes before suplexing Rhodes. He tried three amigos but was surrounded by the babyfaces. They put the boots to him and set up a table. They were going to put him through a table but the rest of Judgment Day saved him.
There were chants for “Randy” followed by chants for “CM Punk” Judgment Day and McIntyre each took turns hitting big moves on the good guys.
Time counted down to the final member of team Rhodes. Nobody entered.
However, Rhea Ripley entered with the briefcase. They planned to cash in but… Randy Orton entered. Orton was in terrific shape.
Orton clotheslined Dom and hit a powerslam. He also powerslammed McDonagh. The crowd chanted for Orton as he gave Bálor a draping DDT. Orton and McIntyre faced off but their encounter was quickly cut off when Priest attacked Orton from behind.
The babyfaces jumped in to save Orton which led to a spot where all the good guys hit draping DDTs to members of Judgment Day. Orton set up for an RKO but seemed to draw his attention to Jey Uso. Orton was letting Jey know he didn’t forget what happened.
Priest was about to attack Orton but Jey saved him with a superkick. This led to the babyfaces each hitting their finishers. McDonagh was the last man up and tried to escape the cage but was stopped by Zayn and Rollins.
Zayn and Rollins chucked McDonagh off the cage and Orton planted him with an RKO. Orton shoved Priest into Rhodes who hit Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win.
— The good guys posed together as the show ended.
Nope, the show didn’t end. CM Punk entered. He’s back. Crowd went nuts.
At WWE Survivor Series this weekend, Gunther and The Miz will face off for the first time ever.
Gunther is defending his Intercontinental title against Miz at Saturday’s premium live event in Rosemont, Illinois. In advance of the match, Gunther was interviewed by Sports Illustrated. Gunther said he’s looking forward to sharing the ring with Miz.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to being in the ring with one of the top stars of the past 10 years,” Gunther said. “I’m looking forward to proving myself against him.”
Gunther admitted that it will be a clash of styles when they face off, with Miz representing the more traditional WWE sports entertainment style.
“I’m not a typical WWE guy,” Gunther said. “I established and developed myself far away from WWE. Miz is different. He went through the WWE system, and he’s living proof of how effective the system is. He’s one of the most decorated wrestlers they’ve ever had. So it will be a clash of styles.”
While the matchup will be a styles clash, Gunther added that Miz will also need to bring out a different side of himself at Survivor Series.
“It’s great when I hear, ’Here’s your match, make it exciting.’ I do a lot of my storytelling in the ring. That’s what makes it stand out, and that’s what you’ll see at Survivor Series,” Gunther said. “Miz’s rah-rah stuff that he usually does, that won’t work against me. He’s going [to] need to bring out a different side to wrestle me.”
Miz became the number one contender to the Intercontinental title by defeating Bronson Reed, Ivar, and Ricochet in a fatal four-way match on Raw two weeks ago. Last Monday, Miz defeated Ivar in a singles match.
Gunther has now been Intercontinental Champion for more than 500 days. His reign began when he defeated Ricochet on SmackDown in June 2022.
Though Gunther currently isn’t able to wrestle outside of the United States, Gunther told Sports Illustrated that he should be in action at WWE’s Bash in Berlin premium live event in Germany in August 2024.
“I’m applying for my green card,” Gunther said. “During that process, you can’t leave the process for a little bit. But the PLE is in August. It should be over by then.”
Former allies will square off at WWE Survivor Series.
After turning on Rey Mysterio and the LWO on last week’s SmackDown, Santos Escobar will take on the LWO’s Carlito at Survivor Series on Saturday, November 25.
The match was made official during this week’s SmackDown following a promo segment where Escobar explained his reasoning for attacking Mysterio, then laid out Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro of the LWO. Carlito attempted to make the save, but Escobar escaped through the audience.
Five matches are now set for Survivor Series, including a pair of WarGames bouts, an Intercontinental title match, plus a Women’s World title defense.
The Survivor Series lineup:
WWE Survivor Series, Saturday, November 25, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Men’s WarGames match: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh) vs. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso & Cody Rhodes
The women’s WarGames match is official for WWE Survivor Series and the teams are set.
A week after Asuka turned on Bianca Belair, Shotzi, & Charlotte Flair on SmackDown, Asuka officially joined Damage CTRL on this week’s SmackDown and the gauntlet was thrown down for a WarGames match at Survivor Series with Asuka, IYO SKY, Bayley, & Kairi Sane on one team. Belair, Flair, & Shotzi would make up the other team, and a show-long storyline commenced on SmackDown with Damage CTRL attacking potential partners backstage.
In the show-closing angle, Becky Lynch made a surprise appearance to join the Belair, Flair, & Shotzi team, and the match was officially announced for next Saturday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
WWE later announced that a fan vote will determine which team in the women’s WarGames bout will have the order of entry advantage as part of a sponsorship deal with Ruffles:
The new issue of the Observer is up on the site right now covering these stories:
Match and performer of the week
Preview of Crown Jewel, favorites and directions
Preview of Full Gear, directions, business and more
Update on perhaps the most important business story this year and its ramifications as the Cung Le lawsuit against UFC is headed for trial next year. We talk about the trial, what it means to UFC, WWE and the MLW lawsuit against WWE. We also have notes from discovery on the actual pay that Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, CM Punk, Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones got for their biggest career fights.
Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, the story behind coming one round short of one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. We look at what happened, how this fight was a prelude of the change of the business of major events and why, how the PPV did and why it doesn’t really matter, the celebrities and what happens next.
We preview the 2023 Hall of Fame with research on the wrestlers with the best matches throughout their careers, best tag matches, annual MVP, Most Outstanding, Best Draws and best tag team votes involving candidates on the ballot or in the Hall of Fame and who comes across well in this.
A look at the Vladimir the Superfan documentary
The most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week, numbers, competition, gains and losses over the last year, placings and segment-by-segment.
Women’s Grand Prix show draws big crowd
Injuries plaguing Stardom
Stardom PPV and tag tourney coverage
Big match this weekend in All Japan
A tag match this past week that you should see
Nakajima’s NOAH farewell
New Japan U.S. house show notes
Update on a women’s dream match that was planned but now is uncertain and why
New Japan Super Juniors tag team tournament news
Ronda Rousey working indies against AEW stars
Talks of two pro wrestlers and fights with Jake Paul
CM Punk talks unionization of wrestlers
New documentary coming out in two weeks
Jon Moxley returns from concussion
Jon Moxley talks concussion protocols
Impact signs two U.K. wrestlers
Impact U.K tour
Bryan Danielson injury details
Notes on Ric Flair’s two new deals with AEW
Talks on Omega vs. MJF
More on the CMLL/AEW deal
Ticket advances for WWE & AEW shows
International TV ratings and top streaming numbers
Merch sales
Derrick Lewis arrest
UFC pay
This weekend’s UFC show
Why FOX didn’t bid to keep Smackdown
Raw’s live show growth
Fastlane actual gate numbers
What record did WWE claim that doesn’t look to be accurate
Lots of injury updates
Reviews of al the major WWE house shows
WWE signs a three-time national college wrestling women’s champion
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Sunday Update
We have a big weekend full of shows on the site. We did our Hall of Fame show with John Pollock, John Muse, John Lister, myself and Garrett Gonzlaes on Friday which we’ve got a lot of great feedback on. Last night Bryan and I talked about Crown Jewel, New Japan Power Struggle, Collision and more. Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night after Raw.
This was a big weekend for matches. The three great ones I’ve seen were Will Osperay vs. Shota Umino from Power Struggle, Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre from Crown Jewel and El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Penta vs. Komander from Rampage. All totally different. I haven’t seen Yuma Aoyagi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima match from today yet, but the reports we got were that it was tremendous. Nakajima won the Triple Crown and this sets up his first title defense against Kento Miyahara on New Year’s Eve at the Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo. The first Nakajima vs Miyahara match at Korakuen Hall was one of the year’s best matches.
We’re looking for your thoughts on Crown Jewel and Power Struggle, thumbs up, down or middle along with a best and worst match from each show to [email protected]. We’re also looking for reports on tonight’s WWE house show in Springfield, MA, results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
On the Google searches for the week, both yesterday’s UFC show in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Crown Jewel got 200,000 searches. Both would be higher than one would expect given the changes in how they do that, particularly for the UFC show being an ESPN+ show and not television, with no major stars except Derrick Lewis. Lewis was controlled on the ground for 21 minutes of a 25 minute fight against Jailton Almeida in losing a decision.
Little in the way of news coming out of Crown Jewel past the return of Kairi Sane, affiliated with Iyo Sky while Bayley was not aware of this and they are pushing that Bayley was the one who injured Sky and that’s why she’s been gone.
War Games headlines the next WWE PLE on 11/25. There’s likely a men and women’s match. One would think the key angles will be set up on Raw tomorrow night in Wilkes-Barre, PA. It feels like it’s either Judgment Day against babyfaces like Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso and others, or a combined Judgment Day and Bloodline heel team against babyfaces from both brands. Roman Reigns isn’t booked on the show.
Chloe Fineman of Saturday Night Live cast was at Arena Mexico on Friday night. I don’t think anyone in the promotion knew she was there. She wrote on Instagram ” Best night of my life!!!” and thanked people for recommending her. It was the Day of the Dead holiday show and they sold out with a walk-up which is close to 16,000.
Results from last night’s WWE house show in Rochester, NY:
Carlito & Cruz Del Toro b Street Profits when Carlito spit the apple at Ford and pinned him after a backstabber
Karrion Kross b Butch with a swinging facebuster.
Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa b Ludvig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci
Kofi Kingston b Ivar in a Viking Rules match after putting him through a table
Omos b Akira Tozawa. MVP was with Oos and issued an open challenge. Tozawa came out. MVP distracted Tozawa before the finish.
Becky Lynch b Natalya with the man handle slam
Gunther won a three-way to keep the IC title over Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura with a power bomb on Ricochet after a ref bump and interference by Imperium.
On MMA Decisions, I looked at last week’s Fury-Ngannou fight. Among fans it was 57% for Ngannou and 38% for Fury and 4% had it a draw. Among reporters it was 67% for Fury and 33% for Ngannou but there were not a lot of reporters scoring the fight. All the people calling robbery have no idea what a robbery is. It was a fight with a lot of close rounds that could have been scored either way and all three judges’ scores were acceptable.
Alex Pereira was announced last night as the third member of the Glory kickboxing Hall of Fame. They announced it at the Glory show in Holland. Pereira wasn’t there since he’s finishing up his training for his Madison Square Garden main event with Jiri Prochazka.
The Grizzled Young Veterans return to Progress for the first time since 2019. They sent in a video where they called out Sunshine Machine for a match at The Light of the Dragon show on 1/28.
With Tam Nakano out with a knee injury, she may not be back by the 11/18 show in Osaka where she was to defend the World of Stardom title against Suzu Suzuki. Usually in Japan, if there is a title match announced and advertised, and an injury takes place, they will strip the champion of the title and have a title match on the show. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but it is the usual way it’s done. Stardom at this point hasn’t announced anything officially.
Today is the tenth anniversary of the death of Roland Alexander, best known from Beyond the Mat and promoter of All Pro Wrestling. When I was very young, Roland Alexander and Moondog Moretti (the grandfather of Nick Wayne) were the fans at every show who knew all the inside info and history. He was one of our earliest readers and read avidly until his death.
Tetsuya Naito will be undergoing right eye surgery to repair the double vision that he’s dealt with since 2019. He will be out of action until probably the Tokyo Dome show.
Michael Oku beat Luke Jacobs on today’s RevPro show and Oku’s next title defense will be 12/16 at the Crystal Palace in London against Zack Gibson, formerly Rip Fowler of The Dyad.
Eddie “Primo” Colon is part of the new Florida tag team champions with Papi D for Florida Pro Wrestling. They won the titles Friday night in Viera, FL at a show at the Space Coast State Fair. There will be more live events Friday through Sunday this coming week.
Great North Wrestling in Renfrew, ONT from last night before 30-0 fans: Steve Mainz b Karou, Rene Dupree b Josh Angel, Magnum McLaren b Skyles, Selezia Sparkx by Jessika Black, Jeremy Prophet b Genesis, Big Daddy Roy b Bjorg, Bruiser b Hardcore Steve, Renee Dupree b Magnus McLaren-DQ so Magnus retained the Canadian title. Next show is 2/10.
Emi Sakura was scheduled to work a Dai Kailu Pro show last night with Bailyan Akki but was pulled at the last minute since AEW scheduled her to work with Willow Nightingale. Akki did work on the show.
GCW from Friday night in Sauget, IL: Blake Christian b Warhorse, Jordan Oliver won three-way over Man Like DeReiss and Alec Price, Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughlin b Davey Bang & August Matthews, MaKI Itoh b Shazza McKenzie, Gringo Loco b Mike Bailey, Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku b Allie Katch & Effy, Santana Jackson b Dan the Dad, Tony Deppen won five-way, Masha Slamovich b Joey Janela, Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander b Everett Connors & Charli Evans, Jimmy Lloyd & Miedo Extremo & Ciclope b 1 Called Manders & John Wayne Murdoch & Mance Warner.
WarGames is officially returning for this year’s Survivor Series.
During Crown Jewel on Saturday, WWE announced that WarGames will be taking place at Survivor Series later this month. WWE has yet to reveal any of the participants who will be taking part in the men’s and women’s WarGames matches.
Survivor Series is just three weeks away. The event is taking place from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday, November 25. It will stream live on Peacock/WWE Network.
In 2022, WarGames made its WWE main roster debut at Survivor Series. The decision to use WarGames on the main roster was made by Paul “Triple H” Levesque after he took control of WWE creative.
Originally created by Dusty Rhodes in Jim Crockett Promotions, WarGames was a signature match of the NWA/WCW. It was revived by Levesque in 2017 for NXT. WarGames matches took place in NXT every year from 2017 through 2021.
The men’s WarGames match at last year’s Survivor Series saw Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa & Sami Zayn defeat Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch, Drew McIntyre & Kevin Owens. In the women’s WarGames match, Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Alexa Bliss & Mia Yim defeated Rhea Ripley, Bayley, IYO SKY, Dakota Kai & Nikki Cross.
It appears that Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns won’t be in action at Survivor Series next month.
In the new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Reigns isn’t scheduled for Survivor Series. The event is taking place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday, November 25.
“Reigns is not scheduled for Survivor Series, which is notable because it’s considered a big four event,” Meltzer wrote. “He defends at Crown Jewel and his next scheduled PPV match won’t be until Royal Rumble.”
Reigns currently isn’t advertised for Survivor Series. Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, Asuka, Rhea Ripley, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Bobby Lashley, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, and Finn Balor are featured on WWE.com’s banner advertising the show.
Reigns is defending his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against LA Knight at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, November 4. It will be Reigns’ first televised match since defeating Jey Uso at SummerSlam.
A contract signing for Reigns vs. Knight at Crown Jewel is part of the lineup for tonight’s SmackDown on FS1.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up:
Match and performer of the week for both of the past two weeks
The changes in WWE, Vince out of creative, how UFC and WWE are being treated differently
Showtime drops all sports programming and their entire sports department, both how in and of itself its a major story in boxing, MMA and could be in pro wrestling, but even more the trend that it shows
Stations still in the market for sports today
The ominous aspects of NBA current TV negotiations
Why boxing was dropped after such a great PPV year
A look back at the career of Sting after his retirement announcement
A look at his AEW run
His rise to the top in WCW
How his career got started
What person saw the potential in Sting the earliest
The famous 1988 Sting vs. Ric Flair match and how it changed his career trajectory
The multiple times Sting stepped away from wrestling
The TNA run
The WWE run
Power Team USA and Flash Borden
NWA on WB, the keys to this deal
Update on Crown Jewel and who isn’t scheduled right now on the show
The classic matches of 2023 Will Ospreay
New Japan Royal Quest and Power Struggle
Notes on last week’s UFC show
A look back at one of the most traveled enhancement star of the late 60s into the early 80s, Bill Howard
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling shows this past week, including segment-by-segment, competition and comparisons with a year ago
CMLL wrestlers traveling around the world
Two spectacular matches at Friday’s Arena Mexico show
Stardom opens tag tournament
One of AAA’s biggest stars likely not returning
Biggest woman promotion in the world at one time has a nostalgia reunion show coming in January
Chris Hero returns
What pro wrestling star of the 70s never lost a singles match in his entire career
AEW and CMLL relationship notes
Tony Khan’s tweets
Updates on ticket sales to WWE & AEW shows
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
UFC signs huge money international deal
UFC top star taking time off
Main event result in UFC overturned
Pat Miletich returns to fight at 55
Ari Emanuel criticized for working with Dana White, Vince McMahon and Conor McGregor
More on the Vince McMahon documentary
Completely exaggerated PPV claims
What percentage of Logan Paul buyers also buy AEW or WWE shows
WWE sells network rights internationally
Dynamite TV streak ends after two weeks
Notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events this past week
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Sunday Update
Bryan and I did our weekend show last night covering UFC, the three-hours of AEW, Bound for Glory, TNA Hall of Fame and Smackdown. Garrett Gonzales and I did our week news in review show also on the site. My next show with Bryan will be Monday night after Raw.
Regarding last night’s UFC show, the main card was all first round finishes except the Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight which Chimaev won on scores of 29-27, 29-27 and 28-28. All three scores were viable. All three judges gave Chimaev a 10-8 first round. Most reporters did as well. I’ve seen far more dominant rounds scored 10-9 but Chimaev controlled the round on top and did damage. Cleary and David Lethaby gave Usman round two while Vito Paolillo gave that round to Chimaed. In round three, Lethaby and Paolillo gave that round to Usman while Cleary gave it to Chimaev. Among media scores, 75 percent went to Chimaev, most 29-27 and some 29-28. 12.5 percent had it 28-28 as a draw and 12.5 percent had 29-28 for Usman. Chimaev won round one big and rounds two and three were both close enough that you could go either way. Usman had an 11-9 edge in significant strikes and in the third round his edge was 22-13. Chimaev took him down in both rounds. Chimaev scored four takedowns on Usman, which is significant since in eight plus years in UFC and 18 fights, Usman was only taken down once. Usman said after that he wished the fight had gone five rounds.
Chimaev talked like he may have broken his hand.
Dana White disagreed with the stoppage of the Johnny Walker-Magomed Ankalaev fight, blaming it on an inexperienced doctor. It came across like the doctor asked Walker where they were and what round it was and he couldn’t answer either question. If that’s the case, you have to presume concussion and stop it. When it was stopped, Walker didn’t register it was over either. White claimed that when Walker was asked where he was, he said “in the desert.” He also thought that even though Walker does speak English, it’s not his first language and something may have been lost in translation.
Victoria Dudakova, who fought in the prelims of the UFC show, said that she had a staph infection on her butt but since it was covered up nobody saw it.
On last night’s show based on an angle, we talked about the possibility of a Raw vs. Smackdown War Games match at Survivor Series. We are told that right now the War Games match is not planned as a Raw vs. Smackdown match.
WWE from last night in Edinburg, TX:
Santos Escobar b Bobby Lashley via DQ when the Street Profits interfered. Carlito and Joaquin Wilde made the save. You know the drill.
Escobar & Carlito & Wilde b Lashley & Street Profits when Calirto pinned Ford after a backstabber.
Shotzi b Isla Dawn. Alba Fyre was in the corner and interfered freely.
Karrion Kross b Butch clean. Scarlett interfered a lot.
Iyo Sky retained the WWE title in a three-way over Charlotte Flair and Asuka when Sky reversed an Asuka lock into a pin on Asuka. This, and the six-man tag were the only matches without a lot of outside interference, and the six-man was set up by a lot of interference
Austin Theory b Cameron Grimes when Grayson Waller interfered
Raquel Rodriguez b Bayley with the Tejana bomb. Rodriguez, who is from that part of Texas, got a giant reaction coming out. Sky interfered and was booted out. Rodriguez cut a hometown babyface promo after the match.
LA Knight b Solo Sikoa in a street fight with the BFT. Jimmy Uso interfered many times in this match.
For Google searches this week, UFC 294 was No. 2 yesterday behind Penn State with 1 million, which these days usually means a good PPV number. Nothing in pro wrestling or boxing made the top 20 on any day this past week. The death of futbol/soccer legend Sir Bobby Charlton of the U.K. was No. 11. Charlton, who was 86, was one of Britain’s all-time greats in the sport and has a statue at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Dana White also said they are in talks regarding signing Michael Venom Page, who is 21-2 and has been one of Bellator’s main pushed stars for a decade.
We’re looking for your thoughts on Impact Bound for Glory, thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst matches to [email protected]
We’re also looking for reports on tonight’s WWE house show in Laredo, TX and today’s Impact tapings in Chicago, results, finishes, angles and other highlights to [email protected]
The two weekend matches I’ve heard are the best are the Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey match from Bound for Glory yesterday, and the Yuma Aoyagi vs. Kento Miyahara match from All Japan for the Triple Crown.
With the highest ticket prices in history for a show, the 11/11 UFC 30th anniversary card at Madison Square Garden, headlined by Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, still has 3,700 tickets left. Very few tickets have moved in recent weeks due to the high prices.
This is what is announced for Dynamite on Wednesday after last night’s show in Memphis: MJF vs Juice Robinson for the diamond ring, Hikaru Shida vs. Ruby Soho for the AEW womens’ title, Young Bucks & Adam Page defend the ROH trios titles against The Hardys & Brother Zay, RVD & Hook as a tag team plus Kazuchika Okada & Orange Cassidy vs. Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli. In addition, Renee Paquette interviews Chris Jericho and Tony Khan will present Sting with a special gift.
C.M. Punk introduced the Chicago Black Hawks at their home opener last night at the United Center. He also narrated the video that opened the game.
Will Ospreay wrestles Josh Alexander at today’s Impact tapings in Chicago along with Alex Shelley vs. Jonathan Greasham, Tommy Dreamer vs. Crazzy Steve for the Digital Media title, Trey Miguel & Myron Reed & Zacharty Wentz vs. Juventud Guerrera & Black Taurus & Laredo Kid and Samuray del Sol vs. Alan Angels.
Trinity Fatu vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts title has been announced for the 10/27 show in Newcastle, England, which is the Turning Point show. If Purrazzo doesn’t win, she can not challenge again for the title as long as Trinity is champion
Dillon Danis, who was under contract to Bellator, has been released.
RevPro British J Cup results from yesterday: Leon Slater b Will Kaven, Wild Boar b Alex Zayne, Harrison Bennett b Senza Volto, Mascara Dorada b Robbie X, Alex Windsor b Kanji to retain the British women’s title, Luke Jacobs b Ricky Knight Jr., Michael Oku b Gabe Kidd to keep the British title, Slater won the British J Cup in a four-way over Bennett, Boar and Dorada. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Zak Zodiac (Zak Knight, the brother of Saraya who was a character in the “Fighting with my Family” movie announced yesterday that his did his farewell match for the WAW (Knight family) promotion and that he was headed to the U.S. His parents congratulated him. Ricky talked about how hard it is when the kids move noting they’ve only seen Saraya ten times in the last decade. I know Zak was hoping to work for AEW but don’t know that is for sure where he’s going.
Sami Callihan, who is a free agent, was backstage at the AEW tapings last night.
Mike Tenay, during his Hall of Fame speech (we covered this on last night’s show) mentioned that Konnan was backstage. Tenay gave a great speech, talking heavily about Don West, Bobby Heenan and Dick Beyer. Scott D’Amore gave a speech introducing Tenay and talking heavily about West. Gail Kim also did the introduction for Traci Brooks. Frankie Kazarian in taped footage heavily put over what a nice person and great wife she was.
Jim Ross, in Memphis for Collision, visited yesterday morning with Jerry Lawler.
KENTA vs. Joey Janela for the Defy title was announced for 11/18 at Washington Hall in Seattle.
Mission Pro Wrestling from last night in San Antonio: Shay Kaarmichael DCOR Queen Uju, Gypsy Mac b Morgan Mercy, Mia Friday b Angel Blue, Lady Bird Monroe b Amira (not the Amira from the U.K., but the one from the Northwest), Jazmin Allure b Britnie Brooks, Zoe DuBois b JP Harlow in a casket match, Maya World b Izzy Moreno, MPW campion Tiffany Nieves b Christina Marie in a no DQ match. In the casket match, Harlow came out dressed like Vince McMahon while Joey Hyder came out of the casket dressed like Shane McMahon (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
At the show, Walker Stewart, who starts soon with New Japan, was announcing with Veda Scott and called her “The lovely Miss Veda Scott” and she came back and said, “Veda Scott will do just fine thank you!”
WWE is bringing Survivor Series to the Chicago area this November.
It was announced today that Survivor Series 2023 will be held at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday, November 25. It’s the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. The event will stream live on Peacock/WWE Network.
SmackDown will also be held at the Allstate Arena on Friday, November 24.
A pre-sale for combo tickets to both events begins at 10 a.m. Central time on Wednesday, July 19. Combo tickets will then go on sale to the general public on Friday, July 21 at 10 a.m. Central. WWE notes that details on individual tickets will be announced in the coming weeks.
This will be the third time that Survivor Series has ever taken place in Rosemont. The pay-per-view was previously held there in 1989 and 2019.
Survivor Series 2022 was the WWE main roster debut of WarGames. In the main event, The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa & Sami Zayn) defeated Kevin Owens, Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch & Drew McIntyre.
WWE’s press release announcing Survivor Series 2023 doesn’t note if WarGames will be returning as the theme of this year’s event.
Here’s a look at WWE’s PPV calendar for the next few months:
Saturday, August 5: SummerSlam at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan
Saturday, September 2: Payback at PPG Paints Arena In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Saturday, October 7: Fastlane at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, November 25: Survivor Series at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
