Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Here were some of the things we discussed:
Halloween wrestling costumes
Seeing Mick Foley live
Dave’s stamina as a wrestling fan and outlasting his friends with current wrestling
AEW WrestleDream buys
How long Seth Rollins says he’s out
Triple H putting himself front and center for the WrestleMania marketing
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including an update on Blue Demon Jr., Saturday Night’s Main Event preview, Smackdown and Collision as well, WrestleDream PPV buys and what we can learn from them, your questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
WWE’s YouTube channel did a free live stream today broadcasting both nights of WrestleMania 41 from earlier this year. The separate videos for night one and night two are both available.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Natalya named Bayley and Liv Morgan as two wrestlers she sees some of herself in:
There’s bits and pieces I see of myself in certain women. I think Bayley is very selfless. She’s all about giving back. She loves helping men and women. She’s somebody that just loves to give to the business. Even if she’s in a rut about something, she’s quick to pull herself out of it. She’s very grateful. She’s very grateful for all she has.
I gave her a book the other day, and an hour later she’s posting about it and sharing it. She celebrates her friends and I love that. She’s somebody that the locker room looks up to. If it’s somebody’s birthday, she’ll get them a cake.
I see a lot of grit in Liv Morgan. I take a lot of pride in the grit that I have because you can go far in the industry, but you can’t get your furthest without the grit. And so, I see Liv Morgan as somebody who has a lot of grit. She is so tough and she loves the industry. (Monday) she posted on her social media. She’s like, ‘It’s my 11th year in WWE.’ We were talking backstage once when she won the title her last time, I said, ‘Just remember you’re not an overnight success story.’ I said, ‘You are somebody that worked really, really hard to get everything that you have today – and that’s why you’re still here.’
People will just see us sometimes and think this just happened overnight. Liv is a really great example of somebody that hasn’t given up, has a lot of grit, doesn’t take no for an answer. She’s just gonna keep on growing and building and also giving back.
I’ve known Nattie for over 30 years — we met when I was just 12 years old. When she told me she was going to write a book, I thought, ‘I already know this story.’ But I quickly realized I only knew it from my perspective. What I hadn’t fully understood was her perspective of her own story — until now. And it’s so different than anything I ever expected from her, in the best way. As I read each page, I felt myself drawn in closer and closer. By the time I reached the last chapter, I found myself wishing it wouldn’t end.
I’m so proud of you, Nattie. And all of what is about to come- from you having the courage to tell your story.
David Otunga told MuscleManMalcolm that the documentary WWE produced on the Nexus a few years ago will never see the light of day:
We recorded that. It was completed… I talked to the guy, one of the producers, and literally like the next day, two days later, he got fired. They all got fired. They got let go in COVID. But I had just talked to him. Man, this guy was telling me, he was like, ‘Yo, the documentary was so good.’ He’s like, ‘It was long, they made us edit it down.‘
He said he spent a whole day doing this, got it to where they wanted it. He was telling me how fire my part was. He told me my interview was so good they were saving me for last. I know I smoked it, I’ll be honest with you. But I was just happy that they appreciated it too. They put me on last. I was the main event of the documentary, if you will. But anyway, now it’s not going to see the light of day. I think we should figure out how to get there. But it’s completed. The guy told me, it’s completed.
It’s October 28 in America, and that means it has officially been 2 years since I made my debut with @njpwglobal.
I have very few undying loves in this life. My love for my beautiful Yvette, my love for my family, and my love for professional wrestling.
The combination of these 3 things inspire me daily, not only to be a better broadcaster and orator, but to be a better human being. To leave the world better than I have found it. To paint it with vibrant colors.
I have done so much in my short time in professional wrestling. I don’t take any of it for granted, nor do I take for granted a single soul who has supported me or the brand I represent. I’m thankful every single day that the hard work has paid off and brought me to my second home of Japan.
I’m beyond grateful for all of the fans, all of my peers, and all who have paved the way to make pro wrestling what it is today!
When all is said and done, I sincerely hope I have colored professional wrestling in a way that sets a new standard.
Until then, I will continue to love deeper and feel every second passionately (on and off the broadcast).
It’s been a great 2 years, and I’m happy to have signed a contract for my third. Thank you for following the journey, and thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Here were some of the things we discussed:
AEW WrestleDream business
WWE’s main event roster depth
AEW Dynamite ratings
John Muse’s Sabu WON HOF case
Friday’s Arena Mexico show
The politics surrounding Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match
Tony Khan is incredibly proud of the product AEW was able to offer at WrestleDream 2025.
The pay-per-view took place in St. Louis this past weekend and was headlined by Darby Allin defeating Jon Moxley in an “I Quit” match. While speaking to Josh Martinez of Z100 Radio in New York, Khan reflected on the night and called it one of his favorite AEW shows ever. He’s especially proud of the event given that some of AEW’s top stars were unavailable due to injury.
“I absolutely loved the WrestleDream show, start to finish,” Khan said. “And I thought we had such a great night and put so much great action in the show. And I wouldn’t have changed a single thing about WrestleDream. It’s one of my favorite AEW events ever, pound-for-pound, especially with some injuries and some top stars away. I thought this was the absolute best show we were capable of putting on. So I’m more proud of what we did at WrestleDream — probably at least since the pandemic of any show we’ve done.”
Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland are two of AEW’s best wrestlers who are currently sidelined with injuries and could not compete at WrestleDream.
Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship and Kris Statlander vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship were among the other top matches on the WrestleDream card. One unique aspect of the show was it beginning with a match already in progress, with FTR vs. JetSpeed starting on the pre-show and going into the main card. Khan said it was an idea he came up with while trying to offer the best show possible.
“Like I said, some of the top wrestling stars were away and I said, ‘I’m going to make this the best possible show and everyone’s going to say WrestleDream was the greatest event AEW could put on. And it’s going to be about the people who are here, and they’re going to love this event.’ And that’s how I felt at times in the lockdown, in the pandemic,” Khan said. “If anybody wasn’t available, we would be creative, we would come up with the very best shows we could possibly put on in a unique environment.
“And that’s how I felt about WrestleDream. So we tried a lot of things at WrestleDream, and I really felt like it was very successful. I don’t think anybody had — to the best of my recollection, to the best of my knowledge — had ever had an event carry over [from pre-show into the PPV].”
This Wednesday, AEW will be in San Antonio for Dynamite’s fallout from WrestleDream. The episode will kick off the build to Full Gear 2025, which is being held at the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Saturday, November 22.
This week, in a heavy AEW edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Andrew Zarian gives a full breakdown of AEW WrestleDream from Saturday.
He gives his thoughts on the show as a whole, including the length and the unique transition from the Tailgate pre-show on TBS to the PPV with a match in progress.
I break down some of the best matches, including what might have been the best match between Okada and Takeshita vs. Bandido and Brody King for the AEW Tag Team titles.
Also, with the state of Missouri having a commission, how did that affect the show and especially the main event “I Quit” match.
Plus, he gives a quick overview of other stories: AJ Styles’ last Japan trip, Andrade’s absurd non-compete clause, WWE using AI in creative, and a new Intercontinental Champion crowned on SmackDown.
With next week being a pay-per-view week for AEW, the company is making a change to their programming schedule.
Announced during the special Title Tuesday edition of Dynamite, AEW will have a three-hour combined edition of Dynamite and Collision on Wednesday, October 15 starting at 8 PM Eastern.
The Kansas City, Missouri, show will be the go-home for WrestleDream which takes place on Saturday, October 18 in its usual slot of 8 PM Eastern (main card).
While the three-hour show will be live, the event will begin a run of AEW Dynamite/Collision taping nights in the upcoming weeks which includes San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday, October 22 and Edinburg, Texas, on Wednesday, October 29. The next live Collision will be on Saturday, November 8 from Houston, Texas.
AEW has experimented frequently with longer Wednesday night broadcasts in the first year of their new multi-year deal with WBD. That includes June’s four-hour Summer Blockbuster and four Fyter Fest, last week’s two-and-a-half hour anniversary show and Wednesday’s Title Tuesday which is also two-and-a-half hours.
For the first time in the show’s young history, there will be a new location for this year’s AEW WrestleDream.
Announced on Monday, the fall pay-per-view will head to St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, October 18, at the Chaifetz Arena. Premium seating goes on sale Tuesday with a pre-sale beginning on Thursday.
It will be the first time the October PPV will head out of the state of Washington in its three-year history.
With the announcement, that leaves November’s Full Gear and December’s Worlds End as the remaining two PPVs without a date or location.
AEW’s upcoming PPV lineup includes August’s Forbidden Door from London and September’s All Out from Toronto, Canada.
WrestleDream History
The first-ever WrestleDream took place on October 1, 2023, designed to pay homage to the late Antonio Inoki who passed away that same day a year prior. The Seattle, Washington, show was headlined by then-TNT Champion Christian Cage defeating Darby Allin in a two-of-three falls match, Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page, and the debut of Adam Copeland.
In 2024, WrestleDream headed to Tacoma, Washington for a show headlined by Jon Moxley defeating Danielson for the AEW World title that began a storyline that ended at this month’s All In in addition to Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet for the AEW International title.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with our Friday episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. We talked about all the big news in today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, but first talked to Robert Sweeney from Kino Lorber which put out the Blu-Ray release of the 1980 film Below the Belt in which Dave did a commentary track for.
Here were some of the things we covered after we talked to Robert:
If the Rock is currently scheduled for WrestleMania next year
AEW Dynamite’s poor rating on Tuesday and what to learn from it
AEW Dynamite in San Jose
Daniel Garcia’s and Rhea Ripley’s contract renewals
Swerve Strickland is ready to make his return to AEW programming.
In his hometown of Tacoma this Saturday, Strickland will appear at AEW WrestleDream. He’s been away from AEW since losing to Hangman Page in an unsanctioned steel cage match last month at All Out. While being interviewed by No-Contest Wrestling, Strickland discussed his impending return and teased that there are a lot of different things he could address at WrestleDream.
Strickland said he could look backward and talk about his losses to Bryan Danielson and Page. He could discuss MVP trying to recruit him. He could address where things stand between him and Prince Nana. Or he could speak about his new AEW contract and what’s going on with his business.
“There’s just a lot of different things I have on my mind that I can express and go a bunch of different ways,” Strickland said. “This isn’t just like a ‘talking segment.’ No, this is me really conveying like new news. Like me personally, my businesses outside of this. ‘The Mogul’ is not just a name I gave myself, this is truly what I am and who I am. And now we get to see where we go forward and what we address in the now.”
No matter what Strickland decides to talk about, we’ll be seeing a new evolution of his character starting with WrestleDream.
“You can always expect my next evolution of me,” Strickland said. “In any sense, in the subtleties. Like, maybe my hair is different. Maybe my look is different. Maybe you’ll just — something is different. You’ll feel something different in the air. And that’s something I always love bringing to the table. Like, you don’t know what to expect. And that’s the beauty of it. That’s the beauty of who I am, and what I do, and what I offer. Like, even Tony Khan doesn’t know what to expect. He just says, ‘Show up to work and here’s what you got.’ And I’m like, ‘Ok, cool.’ But he knows I can make it happen.
“That’s kind of the imprint I have on the show right now, and I love it. I love it. I worked really hard to gain that. And I was patient too. I took a long time, I was patient. I didn’t rush into it. I was like, ‘Let’s see how the landscape takes course. And I will find my way and adapt into that.’ And then, now, people are anticipating a return of who I am and what I have to bring and what’s different, what’s new, and what old things I’m going to address.”
Strickland was AEW World Champion prior to dropping the title to Danielson at All In 2024.
When MVP debuted for AEW two weeks ago, he blamed Prince Nana for Strickland’s recent losses and said he wants to talk business with Strickland. MVP and Shelton Benjamin are both now in AEW, and it appears that Bobby Lashley will be joining them in the company shortly.
The Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington is hosting Saturday’s WrestleDream pay-per-view. The main card has a start time of 8 p.m. Eastern.
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including Tom’s thoughts on Smackdown and AEW Rampage this week, plus some thoughts on NXT No Mercy and WrestleDream. Also, the ultimate question: Who had the best match of the weekend? A fun show as always so check it out~!
During his post-show media scrum on Sunday night, Tony Khan was asked if WrestleDream is going to be an annual event and if the show will continue to be held in Seattle. Khan couldn’t confirm where it will be taking place next year, but he said WrestleDream will “definitely” be returning.
“I can’t speak a year ahead as to where the event will be, but there will definitely be a WrestleDream,” Khan said. “It was a very critically successful event. A lot of people are telling me it was the best show they’ve ever seen in wrestling, which means a lot to me. I think we’re on just an incredible run of pay-per-views.”
Khan said he thinks AEW is on a run of four straight PPVs that are all classics. With the addition of Collision, Khan thinks AEW is able to develop PPVs better with five hours of television instead of three.
“WrestleDream is here to stay,” Khan said. “As a pay-per-view, it did incredibly well. Looks like it’s up from All Out. WrestleDream over 100,000 buys I think is pretty safe to say based on digital projections. And that’s really exciting.”
WrestleDream was held in honor of the late Antonio Inoki. Sunday night’s PPV took place on the one-year anniversary of Inoki’s death.
Khan said AEW “lucked out” that the NHL’s Seattle Kraken didn’t have a preseason game and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle was available for the inaugural WrestleDream.
It appears that we now know which match will be going on last at AEW WrestleDream.
During the Countdown special for the pay-per-view, Darby Allin said his match against Christian Cage will be the main event of WrestleDream. Allin is challenging Christian for the TNT Championship in a two-out-of-three falls match.
“You haven’t seen sh*t until you’ve wrestled Darby in Seattle,” Allin said. “At WrestleDream — in the main event — you are fighting someone that you’ve never seen before.”
Allin also said he’s waited to be in the main event of an AEW pay-per-view “for so long.”
WrestleDream is taking place from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle this Sunday (October 1). Seattle is Allin’s hometown. The PPV is also a homecoming for Washington natives Bryan Danielson, Swerve Strickland, and Nick Wayne.
Christian vs. Allin going on last will only add to the speculation that WWE Hall of Famer Edge (Adam Copeland) could be making his AEW debut at WrestleDream. Edge’s WWE contract expires at the end of September. He was removed from the WWE SmackDown intro for Friday night’s episode.
The full Countdown special is available to watch below:
The WrestleDream main card begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. There will also be a Zero Hour pre-show starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
Two-out-of-three falls match: TNT ChampionChristian Cage defends against Darby Allin
Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland
AEW Tag Team ChampionsFTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
ROH Tag Team ChampionMJF defends against The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) in a handicap match
NJPW Strong Openweight & ROH World ChampionEddie Kingston defends both titles against Katsuyori Shibata
TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Julia Hart
Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Sammy Guevara
Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo) vs. Hook & Orange Cassidy vs. The Gunns (Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) for a future AEW Tag Team title shot
Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta
Zero Hour: AEW Trios ChampionsMax Caster, Anthony Bowens & Billy Gunn defend against TMDK (Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Bad Dude Tito)
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with a fun show because we get to talk about two really good programs, AEW Dynamite and NXT, both of which just happen to be go-home shows headlined by contract signings. Tons of inside details and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
