In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer confirmed that an appearance by John Cena is planned for WrestleMania 37 this April.
Meltzer noted that Cena’s role for WrestleMania 37 or what his match will be are undecided. Cena’s most recent in-ring appearance was his cinematic Firefly Fun House match against “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 last year.
Regarding WrestleMania, as of this week, only one match on the show is finalized, and that would be the Reigns match. We don’t know who his opponent is, other than it’s not Nakamura. Ringside News reported Cena on the show which was confirmed as a plan, but what his role or match would be is undecided. Those who have been around the company for a long period say that there’s never been a situation where this late in the game so little has been locked in and even teased on television. With the exception of something with Charlotte vs. Evans (and that could still take place at one of the two other PPVs after Rumble and before Mania) there really isn’t even a long-term program strongly pushed on television as something serious except Orton vs. Fiend, aside from Reigns vs. Owens which I can’t see at Mania, Banks vs. Carmella and more mid-level type stuff. Orton vs. Fiend was on the card for Rumble in a Firefly Fun House match and now it doesn’t appear to be. If it’s held for Mania and there is certainly speculation now that’s the case, that takes Orton vs. Edge out, which could leave Edge open for Reigns or McIntyre since his promo was strong about going after the title.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated that was published earlier this week, Paul “Triple H” Levesque was asked about Cena’s status for WrestleMania 37. “I won’t put words in John’s mouth, but I can speak to his passion, and it’s WWE and WrestleMania,” Levesque said. “Once you do this at a high level, and John does it at the highest, it’s very hard to put down. If there is a way for him to be there, he will be there.”
WrestleMania 37 is a two-night event taking place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11.
In a “WrestleMania Report” video that WWE released earlier this month revealing their updated plans for the next three WrestleManias, Cena made an appearance and announced that WrestleMania 39 will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Sunday, April 2, 2023. It was also announced that WrestleMania 38 will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, April 3, 2022.
The reason there has been no television direction for the main matches at Mania and you don’t hear anything about them is because there isn’t any. The only thing we know is the top Raw championship matches are not locked in. On SmackDown, Reigns has two different opponents that are being considered so Bryan is not a lock and at least as of this past week, Nakamura was not one of the two under consideration as of last week, even after the gauntlet. Then again, if you followed the Kingston deal a few years ago if they sense people want something, it’s possible to change and in fact, plans change daily anyway. But with no crowds, while plans will change, the change to Nakamura in that spot is less likely but nothing is impossible.
Meltzer also reports that as of earlier this week, WWE is planning for an attendance of 30,000 on each night of WrestleMania 37:
Inside WWE, the plan looks to be to put 30,000 people in the building both nights. If the Super Bowl puts in more, they’ll likely put in more. But that was the legit goal as of early in the week. What they’ll announce is anyone’s guess. The shows will likely be four-and-a-half hours with the first match going in the ring at 5:30 p.m. and the targeted ending at 10 p.m. The Tokyo Dome did two five hour shows. The second day was tough, as it was last year, and as it was to a degree with WrestleMania last year, but in the long run it was the best for all concerns. Right now it doesn’t look like that will be the plan going forward, but two shows at four-and-a-half hours leads to better matches and longer matches and higher quality shows than one at seven. Plus there is more money to be made. In the past you could argue it would break tradition or it just wouldn’t work, but New Japan has proven two years running that it does.
WWE announced last weekend that WrestleMania 37 will be held on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was also revealed that WrestleMania 38 is scheduled for April 3, 2022 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and WrestleMania 39 is set for April 2, 2023 in Inglewood, California at SoFi Stadium.
We have an update with more info on a number of COVID cases involving pro wrestling including more on Chris Jericho, Nick Jackson, Drew McIntyre, Mick Foley, Les Thatcher and more. We look at what Paul Levesque said about the COVID issue, Jericho talking about getting it in September, Nick Jackson, and more on others in the industry.
Also in this issue:
We also have our 2020 Business Year in Review issue talking about the biggest crowds, the biggest PPVs, how the year was totally different from any other, UFC business history and more.
Every major promotion, why this year is so hard to evaluate, what you can’t learn from the past year and can, how things look going into the new year, and issues going forward for every company.
Raw, Smackdown AEW and NXT and compare how they are doing now with one year ago, and where things will be in one year if the current direction doesn’t change.
How much money Linda McMahon donated to Trump’s re-election and funding of the recent attempt to take over the capitol.
Royal Rumble update, how much money top stars can earn from doing social media advertising, Update on WWE’s new A&E documentaries for this year, biggest Wednesday drawing card, more on the next TV special for India, new stars from India debuting including two giants, Dusty Rhodes tag tourney news, the next Takeover show, Injury updates, Lita talks about when she was threatened with being fired, Ricochet contract notes, U.S. sports ratings, U.K. and Canadian TV ratings, New NXT stars, movie star teases working with WWE, Upcoming WWE television shows WWE market value and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.
Vince McMahon’s lawsuit against Oliver Luck and Luck’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon. We look at McMahon’s complaints as well as what others involved said including some day-by-day looks at aspects of the XFL and its death.
How COVID has changed Japanese wrestling along with new restrictions and what they mean and how they relate to wrestling and the New Japan big show lineup over the next several weeks.
List of the 20 biggest crowds for pro wrestling ever in the country of Canada and notes about business peaks.
Rundowns of the major television shows.
Television ratings of the past week, including segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown and more.
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.
Rey Mysterio, Booker T, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, and Chad Gable were guests on today’s episode of The Bump.
Gable on The Bump hinted that his former tag team partner, Jason Jordan, may be returning to the ring. “It is unfortunate what happened to him with his injury,” said Gable. “But you never say never. He’s working on it, he’s trying to get back and who knows. A reunion is always something that I would never be against.” Jordan has not wrestled since suffering a neck injury in 2018 and is currently working backstage as a producer.
The Undertaker was a guest on this week’s Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
A Fight Pit weigh-in was held prior to tonight’s match between Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher.
Stephanie McMahon spoke to The Wrap about WrestleMania 37 moving to Raymond James Stadium.
Stephanie also spoke to TMZ on WWE planning to have fans at WrestleMania.
Tegan Nox, Santino Marella, and Charlotte will be on next week’s episode of The Bump.
Fightful Select reports that James Storm, who returned and competed on Impact last night, is not under contract.
Lindsay Snow on Twitter: “Surgery set for a week from tomorrow, tore my acl and meniscus so I get to have a dead persons acl now. I’ll be part zombie upon my return… 9 months and one week. 2021 can still be my year Face with tears of joy. Wanna see what a $700 knee brace looks like ?”
AEW Heels will hold their first 2021 session on January 29 with special guest Kate Matsudaira and a Q&A with Tay Conti.
Tinieblas, Blue Demon Jr., and Caristico expressed interested in running for mayor of Mexico City.
WWE has made a major announcement regarding this year’s WrestleMania and the schedule for WrestleMania moving forward.
WWE has confirmed that WrestleMania 37 will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. For the second time ever, WrestleMania will be a two night event. WrestleMania 37 will take place on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11, 2021. WWE noted that — in coordination with local partners and government officials — the company “will announce ticket availability and safety protocols for WrestleMania 37 in the coming weeks. Information on additional WrestleMania Week events is forthcoming.”
The locations and dates for WrestleMania 38 and WrestleMania 39 have also been announced. WrestleMania 38 will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, April 3, 2022. WrestleMania 39 will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Sunday, April 2, 2023.
AT&T Stadium was also the site of WrestleMania 32 in 2016.
WrestleMania 36 was originally supposed to be held at Raymond James Stadium in April 2020, but that couldn’t happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WrestleMania 36 instead took place as a two-night event that was taped at the WWE Performance Center.
Prior to the show being moved to Tampa, this year’s WrestleMania had originally been set to take place at SoFi Stadium.
WWE produced a “WrestleMania Report” video announcing the changes. It features Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, Sasha Banks, and John Cena:
We’ve got a double -issue this week of the Observer with the full rundown of Harold Meij being out in New Japan, WWE’s social media policy as it relates to talent, and extensive G-1 coverage.
Our lead story looks at the Harold Meij era of New Japan, how he got there, the turmoil behind-the-scenes, why he’s leaving, his last words to his fan club, why the guy who handled running a wrestling company during a pandemic is out while in the pandemic and a lot of behind-the-scenes stories regarding New Japan and AEW never making a deal, and whether this can change things, and what the key issues are. The changes he made to the company, the business record and issues in dealing with talent and others and the inherent issues of a non-Japanese person in charge of a major Japanese company. This is the most inside version of what happened there since 2018 and from people who know the situation the best.
Also in this issue:
WWE’s latest when it comes to talent and social media, WWE policy, Andrew Yang and why this could be the worst time to make these decisions.
WWE Clash of Champions, NXT Takeover, Hell in a Cell, the COVID issues in AEW & WWE and how they spread, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
G1 Climax tournament, with standings, best matches, behind-the-scenes,why crowds aren’t quick to sell out, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results of every show.
XFL start, changes in WWE tapings and why 205 Live will be taped with NXT ad not Smackdown, we look at declines in WWE interest and reasons why WWE draft dates, Reigns vs. Rock, Reigns talks C.M. Punk, new Dwayne Johnson TV show looked at, new WWE signings, update on WWE injuries, one of the top college wrestlers already publicly talking about going to WWE, more on TV ratings in U.S. and Canada, former TNA champion talks how close he came to joining WWE, Cena starring in new movie, Zayn talks politics, Rusev talks problems with WWE creative, update on Raw Underground, where tribal chief comes from, WWE market value and the most watched shows on WWE Network over the past week.
UFC 253, with business notes, the main themes of the show plus match-by-match coverage and poll results.
The treatment of women in pro wrestling with notes from a recent BBC article with thoughts from several women involved.
87th anniversary show of CMLL, and the plight of Lucha Libre with no fans.
Jerry Lawler 50th anniversary show.
2020 Hall of Fame ballot in each category, with the top candidate, last year’s highest that haven’t gotten in, as well as a list of those who have been elected in the past five years.
Smackdown and AEW ratings based on the same opposition, as well as network vs. cable when it comes to other sports.
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.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
We will have a lot of stuff up on the site this weekend including G-1 coverage, plus tomorrow Garrett Gonzalez, Mike Tenay and I will be doing the first of a two-part series on the 2020 Hall of Fame ballot.
Regarding WrestleMania being in Tampa in 2021 at Raymond James Stadium, WWE has tried to lock down every building in Tampa. Highspots will also be running, likely a scaled down weekend out of the Bryan Glazer Jewish Community Center which is the old Fort Homer Hesterly Armory that housed the Championship Wrestling from Florida promotion run by Eddie Graham.
Key stuff on the weekend schedule:
CMLL tonight at Arena Mexico on iPPV on Mexico’s Ticketmaster site
UFC Saturday from Yaz Island in Abu Dhabi
Impact Victory Road on Saturday
NXT Takeover Sunday from the Performance Center in Orlando
G-1 on Monday in Takamatsu
We have polls, thumbs up,down or middle, best & worst match for the NXT and G-1 shows (including the Tuesday through Thursday shows this week) to [email protected]
CMLL features the A block of a women’s tag team tournamentwith Marcela & Skadi, Amapola & Metalica, Magnifica & Siluerta, Reyna Isis & Tiffany and Comandante & Seductora. The main event is Sanson & Forastero & Cuatrero vs. Euforia & Negro Casas & Gran Guerrero.
UFC on Saturday:
ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m. Eastern
Luigi Vendramini (156) vs. Jessin Ayari (156)
Casey Kenney (136) vs.; Alateng Heili (136)
Loma Lookboonmee (116) vs. Jinh Yu Frey (116)
Jordan Williams (182) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (185.5)
Charles Jourdain (145) vs. Joshua Culibao (145.5)
Court McGee (170.5) vs. Carlos Condit (171)
ESPN at 10: 30 p.m. Eastern
Dequan Townsend (186) vs. Dusko Todorovic (186)
Kyler Phillips (136) vs. Cameron Else (136)
Germaine de Randamie (136) vs. Julianna Pena (135.5)
Yorgan De Castro (261) vs. Carlos Felipe (263)
Holly Holm (136) vs. Irene Aldana (136)
Bellator on Saturday on the Bellator website:
Kiefer Crosbie (156) vs. Charlie Leary (159.2)
Andy Manzolo (184.4) vs. Charlie Ward (186)
James Gallagher (136) vs. Cal Ellenor (135.2)
The New Japan World show at 10 p.m. Eastern tonighthas Danny Limelight vs. Blake Christian and Clark Connors vs. Logan Riegel in the tournament semifinals, plus Karl Fredericks & TJP vs Flip Gordon & Brody King and David Finlay & Jeff Cobb & Rocky Romero & Misterioso vs.; KENTA & Jay White & Chase Owens & Hikuleo.
The Cody/Brodie Lee segment did more than 500,000 viewers in 18-49 making it one of the two or three biggest Wednesday segments with head-to-head competition of the year. If you look at the ratings pattern of Saturday’s show and the loss of the teenage boy audience to the NBA game primarily, had their not been a game, this would have been the most-watched head-to-head Dynamite of the year as the first 30 minutes averaged more than 1 million viewers until the NBA pregame show started.
Bellator star Paul Daley announced he would be retiring after his next fight, and will fight at 175 pounds. Daley said “health before wealth” when he made the announcement. Daley was supposed to face Derek Anderson yesterday in Milan, Italy but ended up hospitalized trying to cut weight.
WWE
The WWE Network debuts a WWE 24 on Drew McIntyre after NXT Takeover on Sunday.
Smackdown tonight has Sami Zayn vs. Jeff Hardy for the IC title, plus the Kevin Owens show with Alexa Bliss and a ceremony crowning Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief of Smackdown.
Drew McIntyre, Mustafa Ali, Lacey Evans, Zelina Vega and Xavier Woods will be appearing tomorrow for a one-hour live stream at ameriecarese.org/Airlist2020 as well as the Americares YouTube Channel and Facebook page at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The annual benefit will honor frontline health workers and take supporters on a virtual journey to see the organizations’ work in Colombia, Jordan, Liberia, Malwai, The Philippines and the U.S.
Drew McIntyre, HHH,Zelina Vega and Charly Caruso will be appearing on 10/9 at the New York Comic Con virtual gathering at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. This will stream live on the New York Comic Con YouTube channel..
The company has moved its Madrid, Spain date to May 7, 2021.
MMA Fighting reported aht Mara Romero Borella, Jeff Hughes, Iuri Alcantara and Khadis Ibragmiov have all been cut by UFC.
Taila Santos vs Maryna Moroz has been added to the 12/5 show.
MISCELLANEOUS
Thanks to everyone who has purchased my 1997 Yearbook. I’m told sales are so strong that they are already planning on doing a second book on another year in history. The 685-page book is available on Amazon.com for the physical book or you can get it for Kindle or in the U.K. at www.WrestlingObserverBook.com.
Joey Ryan has filed a third lawsuit against a woman from Canada who made allegations against him.
Tom Farhat, the youngest son of The Sheik (Ed Farhat) passed away today from cancer. He worked behind-the-scenes for the past 20 years setting up the rings for MCW and AWWL shows that his brother Eddie Jr. (Captain Ed George) ran in Michigan. (thanks to Leonard Brand)
AAW results from last night in Merrionette Park, IL: Hakim Zane (Rohit Raju) b Travis Titan to keep the AAW Heritage title, Jake Something b Karam, Elayne Black b Skye Blue, Matthew Justice b Manders, Gringo Loco & Air Wolf & Angel Dorado b Ace Perry & Stephen Wolf & Try Miguel, Hyan b Christi Jaynes, Ace Austin & Mad Man Fulton b Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett to win AAW tag titles, Mance Warner b Jake Crist to keep the AAW title. ACH and Fred Yehi were announced for the 10/29 show.
Arcadian Vanguard has purchased the assets of Pro Wrestling Enterprises from Brian Bukantis and Arena Publishing. This includes the rights to the old magazines Wrestling Reveue, Wrestling News Ring Wrestling and all Norman Keitzer published magazines and programs which would include AWA, Mid South, WWF, Michigan and Los Angeles.
Bellator announced the signing of 11-0 Usman Nurmagomedov and former UFC stars Rustam Khabilov and Brett Johns to multi-year contracts. Nurmagomedov is the younger cousin of Khabib and trains out of San Jose, CA and was first trained by Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov in Dagestan.
Both Paul Sosnowski and I are looking for a copy of Rock Rims’ book “When It Was Big Time.” He can be reached at [email protected]
LFA tonight on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. Eastern from the Hartman Arena in Park City, KS
Christian Natividad (135.2) vs,. Jose Holguin (135.6)
Slave Borschev (155.4) vs. Ali Zebian (155.4)
Rodney Kealohi (124.8) vs. Meh Monterrosa (125.4)
Jacob Thrall (134.4) vs. Ricky Furar (135.2)
Dakota Bush (155.8) vs. Brian Del Rosario (155.6)
Andre Fialho (177.8) vs. Antonio Dos Santos (180)
Kevin Wirth (134.4) vs. Askar Askar (135.8)
EPW from today in Western Australia: Davis Storm b Jordan Bishop, Zenith b Ryan, The Don b Chadwick Jackson-DQ, Gorgeous Garry & Toro Blanco b Casey Johns & Felix Young, Gavin McGavin b Dizzy Videl, Great George b Jesse Lambert, Dan Steel & Aaron Hawk b Taylor King & Jack Edwards to keep EPW tag titles. They are running again on Saturday.
Suplex Pro Wrestling runs 10/24 in Newcastle, Australia with a limited capacity.
Toa Henare’s Warrior Wrestling Academy has its first public show on 10/24 in Auckland New Zealand (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
NFC announced a $10,000 All Valley No Gi Jiu Jitsu tournament on 10/17 at Elite Edge Fitness in Atlanta.
Absolute Intense Wrestling on 10/9 in Indianapolis at 8 p.m. at the Marion County Fairgrounds with Matthew Justice vs. Joshua Bishop in a no rope barbed wire match for the Absolute title.
Due to the coronavirus, New Japan Pro Wrestling has followed the wishes of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 2/26 who asked all sports leagues and cultural events to postpone activities for the next two weeks to control spreading of the disease.
A number of sports and entertainment events such as major concerts were immediately canceled, including the Japanese Major League announcing 72 preseason games be played without spectators including Yomiuri Giants games at the Tokyo Dome. Japanese Rugby Union canceled 16 games. The Japanese Pro Volleyball League, Pro Basketball league, Pro Tennis company and Figure Skating Championships as well as J-League Soccer have all canceled games and competitions over the next few weeks. Concerts with the biggest touring musical acts like Exile, AKB48 and Perfume were all canceled. Large movie theaters have also shut down for the time being.
WWE officially announced on 2/10 that the 37th WrestleMania will be coming to the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, just outside Los Angeles, on March 28, 2021.
The date is a week early because April 4, which would usually be the date, is Easter Sunday.
It had been expected Los Angeles to be the home of the show, and both sides had agreed more than a year back on that aspect. The city wanted it in 2021 as a way of preparing the city and the stadium for a major tourist event before they hosted the 2022 Super Bowl. WWE wanted to follow the Super Bowl, largely to make an attendance announcement that would include noting that they beat the Super Bowl attendance number.
They will likely announce a number larger than the Super Bowl would be able to fit, even if it would also likely not be a real number, but they couldn’t claim to have beaten the Super Bowl until after the Super Bowl,
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.
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.
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I did our weekend show covering UFC 247 and WWE business which is on the site.Garrett Gonzalez and I talk about the business of WWE major shows and why Vince McMahon is looking to make the move, Wednesday ratings and answer questions.
We’re also looking for reports from the NXT show in Phoenix on Friday and tonight’s show in Riverside, CA, the ROH show in Baltimore today and WWE house shows in Oakland last night and Fresno tonight 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]
The announcement of the location of the 2021 WrestleMania will be made at 9 a.m. tomorrow. I’m not allowed to officially say where it will be, past it will be where everyone expected either the 2021 or 2022 Mania to be all along.
For the weekend, the XFL had a lot of interest with 3 million Google searches. It and UFC (2.1 million) were the two most searched topics of the weekend. UFC numbers are what would have been expected for a Jon Jones headlined show. Halle Berry was trending today based on UFC, in the sense she went to the show last night to support Valentina Shevchenko. There were also 100,000 searches for Ryan Cabrera after the news got out that he was dating Alexa Bliss.
Based on reporters scores, the last stuff I saw was 68 percent had it for Dominic Reyes and 32 percent for Jon Jones. Every scorecard listed was 48-47 in either direction. As far as the actual scores went, Chris Lee gave Jones rounds three through five. Marcos Rosales gave Jones 2, 4 and 5. Joe Soliz gave Jones 2 through five. To me, rounds one and three were very clear for Reyes, round two I had for Reyes but Jones did come on strong at the end, and rounds four and five were clearly for Jones.
The plan for New Japan on 8/22 in Madison Square Garden is to do a WrestleKingdom type of event. It’s going to be very interesting as they are going head-to-head with NXT Takeover in Boston, the day before SummerSlam in Boston, and one week before AEW’s All Out show in Chicago so there is going to be a lot of competition for the fly-in crowd over that two week period.
WWE
Samoa Joe returned from his concussion at the house show in Oakland last night.
For Raw tomorrow in Ontario, CA, Becky Lynch defends the women’s title against Asuka and there is an eight-man tag with Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe & Viking Raiders vs. AOP & Murphy & Seth Rollins.
Matt Riddle did a post-match promo after the NXT Las Vegas house show main event last night and talked about how he was fired by Dana White (they were at The Pearl, a building UFC often runs), how some people don’t like him, and that he would be the guy who retires Brock Lesnar. From what I’m told, NXT has given him permission to follow up on the Lesnar stuff.
Walt Harris returns to action after the death of his stepdaughter for the first time with a 4/11 main event in Portland, OR at the Moda Center against Alistair Overeem.
MISCELLANEOUS
Besides Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryu Lee and Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley, the other weekend match I was told to go out of my way to see was the Naruki Doi vs. Kzy title match from the Dragon Gate show at Korakuen Hall.
Tessa Blanchard vs. Eddie Kingston vs. Michael Elgin in a three-way will headline the next Impact PPV show on 4/19 in New York.
A very interesting story regarding Dr. Bennet Omalu, who first made the findings about CTE and who the movie ”Concussion” was based on. (thanks to Barry Werner)
XFL merchandise sold very well with hats of many of the teams selling out.
All Japan has a live show from Korakuen Hall on early Tuesday morning with the Kento Miyahara vs.; Yuma Aoyagi Triple Crown title match with the angle shot on 1/3 where Aoyagi, Miyahara’s tag team partner, turned on him, giving him a German suplex when putting the belt on him after Miyahara had beaten Jake Lee. Miyahara is one of the best, like one of the two best, world champions in the industry right now, and bell to bell, probably the best. Every title match comes off as epic.
Warrior Wrestling has a huge show on 2/15 at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights with The Rascalz vs. The Strong Hearts, eight way men’s and women’s title matches, Daga vs. Jonathan Gresham, Templario vs. Cavernario, Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Bully Ray, the North vs Space Pirates, Alex Shelley vs. Ren Narita and more. The men’s title match has Lance Archer, Michael Elgin, Sam Adonis, Andrew Everett, Aramis, Black Taurus and Alex Zayne. It’s a series of elimination matches. The women’s match has Tessa Blanchard defending her title against Kylie Rae, Madison Rayne, Taya Valkyrie, Tasha Steelz, Big Swole,Ray Lyn and Dr. Britt Baker.
BANG TV on 2/29 in Belleview, FL at the High School Gym will feature appearances at a meet and greet with Rick & Scott Steiner.
EPW from yesterday in Australia: Marcius Pit b Dan Moore, Gavin McGavin b Bruno Nitro, Taylor King & Jack Edwards & Tipene b Tyler Jacobs & Chadwick Jackson & Junior Li, Michael Morleone b Damian Slater, Aaron Hawk & Dan Steel b Gorgeous Gary & Ryan Allen, Mikey Nicholls b Julian West to keep EPW title. Next show is 3/7 with Marcius Pitt vs Davis Storm with the Coastal title vs Storm’s career.
RCW from yesterday in Adelaide, Australia: Mike Boomer b Eli Theseus, Barren b Jonathan Corvidae, Adam Brooks b Nick Armstrong, Rocky Menaro b Mick Moretti to keep RCW title, Steve Miller NC Jett Armstrong, Royce Chambers won over Havok, Dean Brady and Cadie Tre, Chris Basso & Matt Hayter b Brodie Marshall & Matt Bosso to win the RCW tag titles (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Stardom from yesterday for a legit sellout at Korakuen Hall: Itsuki Hoshino b Leo Onozaki, Death Yama-san & Leyla Hirsch won gauntlet over Jamie Hayter & Zoey Skye, Starlight Kid & Tam Nakano, Rina & Hina and, Saya Iida & Saya Kamitani, Natsuko Tora & Saki Kashima & Natsu Sumire b Hana Kimura & Jungle Kyona & Konami, Giulia & Syuri &Maiki b Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita & AZM to win the Artist of Stardom trios title, Arisa Hoshiki b Bea Priestley to win the Wonder of Stardom title, Takumi Iroha b Mayu Iwatani to set up a World of Stardom title match.
Bar Wrestling from Wednesday night in Los Angeles: Dom Kubrick won four-way over Eli Everfly, Douglas James and Lucas Riley, Watts b Zicky Dice, Yuma & BHK b Ray Rosas & Andy Brown, Holidead b Joey Ryan, Heather Monroe b Jamie Senegal, B-Boy & Adrian Quest & Phoenix Star & Zokre b Rocky Romero & Shota Umino & Ren Narita & Chins Bey/
CZW from last night in Voorhees, NJ for the 21st anniversary show: Kris Bishop won over Leroy Green, Boom Harden and DK Meadows, Eran Ashe b Gabriel Skye, Team Rayo Victorious b Team Pesadilla, Nate Carter & David McCall b The Skulk to keep tag titles, KC Navarro b AR Fox to win the Wired title, Bear Country b Anthony Greene & Eva Everett, Brandon Kirk b John Silver, Masada b Casanova Valentine in a bloody no rope barbed wire match. Necro Butcher was also inducted into their Hall of Fame along with Shawn KIernaghan who works on their ring crew. Dewey Donovan and Maven Bentley said that CZW wouldn’t function without Kernaghan. (thanks to Bob Magee)
PWE on 3/1 in Oshawa, ONT at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 headlined by Rhino.
365 Pro Wrestling on 2/22 in Campbell River, BC at the Willow Point Lions Club. They also run 3/21 in Guelph, ONT at the Red Chevron.
SKM in Hagersville, ONT at the Community Centre.
BattlArts on 2/15 the Battlarts Academy in Mississauga. ONT with Cryme Tyme.
Mike Mooneyham has a story on wrestling deaths in 2019. (thanks to Chris Cruise)
