Tag: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

March 23, 2026 Observer Newsletter: AEW Revolution review & ratings, WrestleMania card updates, Tony Khan’s WWE bid

Posted on by F4W Staff

The new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has arrived.

As you might imagine, the lead story is a full review and ratings for last Sunday’s AEW Revolution — the company’s first PPV of the calendar year and one that featured a lot of matches, a lot of blood, and a lot of returns.

Dave Meltzer also gives some updates on the WWE WrestleMania 42 card for next month and all the news around WWE’s biggest shows of the year.

He also covers Thursday’s big news reveal that Tony Khan put in a bid for WWE back in 2023.

All that, plus a lot of other news, thoughts and recaps from the world of wrestling and MMA.

Click here to read (sub needed)

May 27, 2008 Observer Newsletter: Vince McMahon addresses WWE stockholders, full Judgment Day review & ratings

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In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter to be added to our archives, we head back to May 27, 2008.

Dave Meltzer led off with a look at Vince McMahon addressing WWE stockholders at an annual meeting which included comments about the Chris Benoit tragedy, their wellness policy, and more.

Dave also recaps and reviews that year’s Judgment Day pay-per-view and previewed a busy weekend ahead of events.

There was also news of William Regal being suspended by WWE for 60 days, year-to-year business comparisons for both WWE and TNA, and plenty of results and happenings.

Click here to read (sub needed)

March 16, 2026 Observer Newsletter: AEW Revolution preview, disappointing UFC White House card announced

Posted on by F4W Staff

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has arrived.

Dave Meltzer leads off with a preview of this weekend’s AEW Revolution.

He also gets into the disappointing UFC White House card announcement, plus all the fallout from the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano press conference.

He also talks about the latest with WWE WrestleMania 42 and everything else happening in the pro wrestling world.

Click here to read (sub needed)

May 19, 2008 Observer Newsletter: TNA Sacrifice disappoints, Penny Banner passes away, EliteXC & DREAM team up

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In the latest retro issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter to be put up in our archives, we head back to May 19, 2008.

Dave Meltzer recaps that year’s TNA Sacrifice which was apparently a big letdown after Lockdown, mainly due to the injury absence of Kurt Angle. Dave goes into the card and why he was frustrated watching it.

He also writes the obituary of Penny Banner, an unheralded women’s tag team wrestler who was among the best of her time and then some.

He also covers the latest in the MMA world including the new union of EliteXC and DREAM in addition to some big moves being made by Affliction MMA — of which are now defunct.

All that and more await as we go back to the future.

Click here to read (sub needed)

March 9, 2026 Observer Newsletter: More on AEW’s potential future with Paramount, WWE Elimination Chamber review & ratings

Posted on by F4W Staff

The new Wrestling Observer Newsletter has arrived.

Dave Meltzer leads off with his observations from this week’s developments in the Paramount/WBD acquisition and the ongoing questions about AEW’s broadcast future.

He also does a full recap of WWE Elimination Chamber which includes his star ratings.

Dave also recaps and reviews other events plus the news of the wrestling & MMA week.

Click here to read (sub needed)

May 12, 2008 Observer Newsletter: WWE Q1 financials, UFC’s potential future, the best wrestling city, the Steiner math promo

Posted on by F4W Staff

In the latest retro Wrestling Observer Newsletter to be published in our archives, we go back to May 12, 2008.

In that issue, Dave Meltzer delved into WWE financials from the first quarter of the year and speculated on the future of UFC — both of which make for interesting reading considering where the companies are today under TKO.

Dave also opined on what the best wrestling city was and why he felt it was Madison Square Garden.

Also of note: this was the week Scott Steiner delivered his famous math promo in TNA.

Click here to read (sub needed)

March 2, 2026 Observer Newsletter: Paramount/WBD ramifications for AEW, WWE 2025 financials, Elimination Chamber preview

Posted on by F4W Staff

Dave Meltzer has returned with a brand-new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with plenty to talk about.

Dave looks at the breaking news that Paramount is now set to acquire all of WBD as Netflix has bowed out of the bidding and what that could mean for AEW.

He previews this weekend’s WWE Elimination Chamber — the final big stop on the road to WrestleMania 42.

Dave also looks at AJ Styles making it official that he has retired from the ring, an announcement made on a podcast after this past week’s tribute in Atlanta and the surprise news he is going into the WWE Hall of Fame.

He also looks at this past week’s TKO financial call that revealed WWE and UFC’s numbers for the year.

Click here to read (sub needed)

May 7, 2008 Observer Newsletter: Taz & Mike Adamle walk off ECW TV show, WWE Hall of Fame deep dive

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The latest issue to be uploaded in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter archives takes us back to May 7, 2008, when Taz and Mike Adamle simply walked away from the broadcast table during an ECW TV show.

Was it a work? Was it a shoot? What happened? Dave Meltzer covers it all in this issue.

Dave also does a deep dive into the WWE Hall of Fame at the time, reporting that Steve Austin was likely for the next class and also giving his thoughts on who should be in, and why they weren’t just yet.

There’s that, plus results from around the world and plenty of news.

Jump back in the time machine as our full WON archive from 2008 nears completion.

Click here to read (sub needed)

February 23, 2026 Observer Newsletter: WWE WrestleMania ticket sales, AEW Grand Slam Australia review, Rousey vs. Carano news

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image: AEW

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has arrived.

Dave Meltzer leads off with an early look at next weekend’s WWE Elimination Chamber and an update on WWE WrestleMania 42 ticket sales.

He also recaps last weekend’s AEW Grand Slam Australia as well as a very early look at next month’s AEW Revolution.

He dives deep into the big fight announcement this week of Gina Carano vs. Ronda Rousey, but not for the UFC.

Dave also does a follow-up obit of sorts for The Great Mephisto with more information.

All that, plus the news of the pro wrestling & MMA weeks awaits.

Click here to read (sub needed)

May 5, 2008 Observer Newsletter: Triple H wins 12th WWE world title, Michael Hayes suspension fallout, Keiji Muto wins IWGP Championship

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It’s the second of two retro issues being added to the archives this weekend as our run toward uploading the entire set of Wrestling Observer Newsletters between 1991 to current nears its end.

In this issue from May 5, 2008, Dave Meltzer recaps WWE Backlash which saw Triple H win his 12th WWE world title in a four-way elimination main event.

Dave also recapped the fallout and entire situation of Michael Hayes’ WWE suspension following some words toward Mark Henry.

The issue also recaps another big title win with Keiji Muto returning to NJPW to win the IWGP Championshp.

All that and all the wrestling & MMA news from nearly 6500 days ago in a much simpler time.

Subscribers can click here to read (and check out our entire archive)

December 26, 2005 Observer Newsletter: WWE Armageddon sets an incredible new low for dark humor

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In the first of two retro Wrestling Observer Newsletters this weekend (one from 2008 coming Sunday), we head back to the final issue of 2005 and a full recap of all that was WWE Armageddon.

From Dave Meltzer:

“The last big show of the WWE calendar year, the 12/18 Armageddon PPV, went out with a bang.

The bang, however, was an attempt at dark humor that not just failed for the moment when the crowd didn’t laugh and instead booed, but worse, from numerous live accounts, killed the mood of the crowd for the rest of the show. Armageddon was largely a well-worked show inside the ring, but set new one-show standards for Wrestlecrap moments outside the ring.”

Part of that was the Tim White segment where he decided to take his own life at the end due to “medical problems like psoriasis, eczema and IBS” that punctuated this segment. Yes, all this happened and then some, including the police actually being called to investigate.

All that and more awaits in the December 26, 2005 Wrestling Observer Newsletter, completing the full set of that year in our growing archive.

Click here to read (sub needed)

February 16, 2026 Observer Newsletter: The 2025 WON Awards issue

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Image: AEW

The time has finally arrived for this year’s Wrestling Observer Awards for 2025, voted on by our readers as part of a jumbo-sized edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

From wrestler of the year to booker of the year to best/worst promotion of the year and everything in between, it’s all here in addition to some MMA awards as well.

Dave Meltzer also covers the current state of WWE WrestleMania 42 ticket sales, the passing of Tadao Yasuda, a full review of NJPW’s New Beginning in Osaka show, and the rest of the news in the wrestling world.

Click here to read (sub needed)

October 10, 2005 Observer Newsletter: ‘Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior’ DVD fallout, all the truths, lies & in-betweens

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In this week’s newly-posted retro issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, we go back to October 10, 2005, and the blowback and fallout from WWE’s release of ‘The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior’.

Dave Meltzer went into details on the internal and external reactions to the burial of the Ultimate Warrior, some of the truths told, some of the lies, and some of what laid in-between. There’s also a Dave recollection of a conversation with Vince McMahon about the Warrior that has to be read to be believed.

Dave also had some UFC/MMA notes and news from WWE, TNA, Mexico, Japan, and the rest of the wrestling world.

Click here to read (sub needed)

February 9, 2026 Observer Newsletter: WWE Royal Rumble review & notes, AJ Styles retires?, wrestling ratings get a boost

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image: WWE

Dave Meltzer is back with this week’s brand-new Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

He leads off with a full recap and ratings from last weekend’s WWE Royal Rumble from Saudi Arabia that put WrestleMania 42 into motion and also raised questions as to whether AJ Styles is actually retiring from the ring.

Dave also looks at how another Nielsen ratings measurement adjustment has benefited wrestling in a big way.

He also writes the obituaries for The Great Mephisto and Bob Lueck, the latter of which got Superstar Billy Graham into the business.

All that plus the usual news roundup and scoops from WWE, AEW, CMLL, AAA, TNA, NJPW and the UFC/MMA world.

Click here to read (sub needed)

April 28, 2008 Observer Newsletter: Presidential candidates & parodies appear on WWE TV, Ultimate Warrior resurfaces

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image: WWE

This week’s newly-posted retro issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is political in nature…in that it featured 2008 U.S. presidential candidates appearing on WWE Raw followed by an in-ring skit with parodies of those characters including Barack Obama (seen above).

Dave Meltzer covered that in addition to Georges St. Pierre regaining the welterweight title from Matt Serra in front of a raucous Montreal crowd at UFC 83.

Also, the Ultimate Warrior made his surprise return at a Spain indie show and there was a lot to discuss from that.

This was the issue that also covered Michael Hayes being suspended due to a backstage incident with Mark Henry, William Regal winning the King of the Ring tournament, and more.

Click here to read (sub needed)