Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also talked about a story not in the recent issue, which was The Rock going on The Pat McAfee Show discussing why the proposed match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 didn’t happen.
We discussed the following:
Post-merger layoffs for TKO
When Roman Reigns is scheduled to wrestle again
Mark Shapiro and Nick Khan making the rounds
The possibility of AEW on Max when they start their sports tier
Bryan Danielson’s next year
Jade Cargill’s contract negotiation
Historical analysis on being the number two wrestling company in the market
Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio Tuesday morning confirmed McMahon returned to Raw on Monday to make changes. He was not backstage at the show, but both he and Triple H made last minute changes to the program.
“Vince McMahon is back,” Meltzer said. “He made multiple changes [to Raw] tonight, there were also multiple changes by [Paul] Levesque at the last minute. A lot of stuff wasn’t advertised, and the reason is they were changing all day long.”
Meltzer said the changes, according to people backstage, were described as “probably changes for the better, but there were many of them.”
McMahon’s return couldn’t have come at a better time, as the merger between UFC and WWE under the Endeavor umbrella begins on Tuesday. Although McMahon won’t own WWE anymore under this deal, he is still very much in charge of the direction of the wrestling aspect of the new company.
“When it comes to wrestling, Ari Emanuel is very willing to say I don’t know wrestling, [McMahon] knows wrestling.”
However, Emanuel, Mark Shapiro, and Nick Khan will be working on WWE’s next television deals. Meltzer said that while it is likely USA will retain Raw and NXT, SmackDown’s future is more uncertain, with Disney and Amazon both in the running while Fox may not be interested in the high price increase WWE wants for their content.
What is the future of CM Punk following his termination from AEW?
Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales discussed Punk on Friday’s Wrestling Observer Radio. Gonzales brought up something Meltzer mentioned in this week’s newsletter regarding how the clock on a time frame for everyone to sit down and work things out got reset each time Punk made a public remark regarding The Elite.
“I’m sure at some point everybody could have worked together if there were apologies and all that,” Meltzer said. “But it didn’t happen, other things kept happening. It was inevitable….the things that needed to be worked out weren’t.”
Regarding CM Punk’s future, it will ultimately depend if he wants to continue to wrestle. If so, most promotions would likely want him.
“Every promoter but AEW is probably going to want him if he’ll work for them. I don’t know about WWE, that may be the exception. The ball’s in his court.”
Despite WWE’s acquisition by Endeavor, the choice to bring in Punk would ultimately come down to one person.
“This would absolutely be one of those things that’s Vince McMahon’s call,” Meltzer said.
Meltzer argued that if Punk and WWE were to come to an agreement, fans would likely accept his return, noting the recent success of Cody Rhodes. He also brought up that the same would happen for a heel from WWE that jumps to AEW, naming Jimmy Uso as an example.
“He shows up on AEW on Wednesday and the place [will go] bonkers for him,” Meltzer said.
Gunther has now made history, becoming the longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion of all time.
By defeating Chad Gable on Monday’s Raw, Gunther is now set to break The Honky Tonk Man’s 35 year record. Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed the development on Wrestling Observer Radio Tuesday morning.
“I was surprised it lasted this long,” Meltzer said regarding the Honky Tonk Man’s reign. “It was inevitable that they’d find somebody. Gunther’s done a great job.”
Both had praise for the main event, which Meltzer called “a super match” and Alvarez saying that it was “awesome”. Despite a valiant fight, Gable came up short, losing after being laid out with a sleeper suplex, a powerbomb, and a clothesline. A young member of Gable’s family at ringside was shown visibly upset over Gable’s loss.
“I wasn’t a fan of focusing on her,” Meltzer said. “She was there for that reason. She was pretty young. If you’re older and a really good actress you can pull that off, that’s awesome. She had that traumatized thing…I wasn’t comfortable with that at all.”
With Gable’s loss, one has to wonder where he’ll go from here.
“Usually, historically, it’s not a good pattern,” Meltzer said.
The end of CM Punk’s tenure in AEW went down Saturday.
It was announced shortly before the start of Saturday’s Collision that CM Punk’s contracts with the company had been terminated with cause following an investigation conducted after Punk and Jack Perry got into an altercation following Punk’s match at All In last Sunday.
“They interviewed a lot of wrestlers who were not eyewitnesses just about the basic situation of what was going on there,” Meltzer said regarding the investigation. “He got fired over what happened Sunday. But the lawyers and everyone else talked a lot more than that.”
It was the final straw between AEW and Punk, who throughout his AEW run had a few confrontations with people backstage, most notably in a fight with The Elite following last year’s All Out.
“It wasn’t going to work. It didn’t work. It was a disaster, let’s be serious,” Meltzer said regarding Punk’s tenure with the company.
At the start of Collision on Saturday, Tony Khan gave a speech talking about why he decided to terminate Punk’s contract. At one point, he said he had feared for his safety during the altercation.
“Throughout this whole ordeal, you and I were too kind to him,” Meltzer said regarding Punk. “I always gave him the benefit of the doubt. I always tried to give his side when everyone didn’t want to hear it….lunging was again, far too kind…I was toning it down. It was more than lunging.”
Bryan Alvarez noted that there was a talent meeting before Collision regarding Punk’s firing. Khan also spoke to the audience before the start of Collision.
It’s been almost a week since the Jack Perry/CM Punk altercation backstage at All In, but the repercussions are still being felt.
On Wrestling Observer Radio this Friday, Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales discussed the altercation, with Gonzalez mentioning that numerous versions of the story have emerged in what is the latest in a string of incidents that has involved Punk.
“It’s insane. It really is,” Meltzer said. “Every week, there’s something….I don’t know what [AEW] are going or do, or if they will do anything.”
As a result of their altercation, both Perry and Punk have been suspended pending an investigation. This couldn’t have come at a worse time booking-wise, as Chicago native Punk was scheduled to wrestle at All Out at the United Center on Sunday. It still remains to be seen if Punk will appear at the show.
“The deal is that when Saturday night’s Collision is over, we’re gonna know,” Meltzer said.
Ricky Starks is scheduled for that, where he is set to challenge Ricky Steamboat to a strap match at All Out. Originally, Punk was set to wrestle Starks. However, if Punk is unable to appear another person will take his place. One of the names mentioned as a replacement is Hangman Page, someone that Punk has had issues with in the recent past.
“It shouldn’t piss off Punk at all,” Meltzer said on the idea of Page replacing Punk. “But it could.”
The live Wrestling Observer Radio Q&A session with Dave Meltzer & Bryan Alvarez from this past Sunday is now available to stream on Premier Streaming Network, home of top wrestling content including sessions from Starrcast V this upcoming weekend in Chicago.
Prior to AEW All In from London’s Wembley Stadium, Dave & Bryan talked to fans from all over the world at the Sports Bar & Grill Marylebone about any and all subjects pro wrestling — a session Dave called one of the best ones they have conducted.
The session was presented by Hooked on Wrestling, Wrestle Tours and PROGRESS Wrestling.
The Q&A is available for Premier + monthly & yearly subscribers, or for a one-time fee of $9.99 USD for non-subscribers.
We finally have a card for AEW All Out following Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer ran down the card, first noting that CM Punk and Jack Perry are both off the card due to their altercation at All In, and are currently suspended pending an investigation.
CM Punk was originally set to wrestle Ricky Starks in a strap match. However, with Punk’s suspension, it is now being teased that Starks will challenge Ricky Steamboat to a strap match on Sunday.
“My gut is that it probably won’t happen and somebody will be in that position. I don’t know who that will be…Adam Page has nothing on that show,” Meltzer suggested.
“They do have eight matches, so they have matches, but boy are they out of nowhere and the one that is just unbelievable…it’s the ROH Tag Team title match,” he added.
It was noted that some of the build for All Out was hampered due to a hurricane in Florida causing travel problems for some of the AEW roster, including Kenny Omega. Saraya and Swerve Strickland were pulled from the show due to “illness reasons”.
“Tonight’s show was totally redone at the last minute,” Meltzer said, referring to Wednesday’s Dynamite.
All In and WrestleMania are about to make huge money for both AEW and WWE.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed numbers that AEW could generate based on merchandise and ticket sales. Meltzer estimated that AEW merchandise could reach $30 dollars a head.
“This is a conservative number,” he said.
Meltzer also thought that with the live gate, the event could gross around 12 million dollars. He pointed out that even if the pay-per-view numbers end up disappointing, All In is a rare show where the most revenue will come from ticket sales.
“If the PPV number turns out low, don’t cry for them because the revenue’s very, very, very high,” he said.
WrestleMania tickets, meanwhile, have moved very well since going on sale. Even with the ticket average being around 240 dollars, 90,000 tickets have been sold thus far, putting both shows on track to sell out both nights, something the last two WrestleManias couldn’t do.
“I think in the size of field they are in, they’ll sell it out,” Meltzer said.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the latest news in pro wrestling and MMA.
Ryan Frederick joined the show to talk about UFC 292 which featured Sean O’Malley winning the UFC bantamweight championship. You can check out Ryan’s weekly MMA podcast, In The Clinch.
Dave and I then discussed the following:
FTR being advertised for AEW Collision, but not being there live
Should the Young Bucks/FTR match still take place? That was the question asked on Wrestling Observer Radio Friday.
On Friday, it was revealed that Cash Wheeler appeared in court following an incident that took place in July where Wheeler drew a weapon at a motorist during a road rage incident. He was arrested for aggravated assault with a firearm and has since bonded out. This all comes just days before All In on August 27 in Wembley Stadium.
“It puts Tony Khan in a really bad position,” Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio. “Because you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
“He can go to England. They can do the match if they really wanted to,” he added, “There will be much criticism if they do. I think there will be less criticism if they don’t, but then you got to replicate a match that was possibly going to be the best match on the show.”
Garrett Gonzales asked if perhaps they could do it the following week at All Out in Chicago. But Meltzer thought that if they were to do the match so soon, they may as well just do it at All In. But he also said that perhaps it may be best to wait it out.
“If he’s cleared and everything’s right at that point do you do the match I would say 100%,” he said. “But that could be a month, could be three months, who knows how the court proceedings are going to go.”
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio. We opened up the show talking the latest news in wrestling as well as in today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter including the following:
The latest on Cash Wheeler’s situation
Dave’s story on the CM Punk, Ryan Nemeth, and Adam Page situation
The WrestleMania 40 gate
Shows he’ll be seeing in the UK
Then, Mike Tenay joined the show to talk about the passing of someone who influenced both he and Dave greatly, Koichi Yoshizawa.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez questioned some of the All In booking on Wrestling Observer Radio Thursday morning.
Both Meltzer and Alvarez thought that the number of segments on this week’s Dynamite featuring the heels beating up the babyfaces to set up three different matches for All In later this month was a bit much.
“There were ten segments and in eight of them there was an attack,” Alvarez pointed out.
“And it’s always the heels beating up the babyfaces,” Meltzer added.
“This all looks the same,” Meltzer added. “It’s like there’s this blueprint. But if you do the same thing over and over and over again, it’s not going to work. That’s the one thing with wrestling, you have to vary it.”
With so many matches being set up on Wednesday’s Dynamite, the question is why did AEW take so long in announcing the matches.
“My question is, why didn’t we start this build earlier?” Alvarez questioned.
Meltzer pointed out that some of the participants, including Eddie Kingston and Will Ospreay, only became available now as a result of the G1 Climax tournament ending. Others, he admitted, could have been announced earlier in the month.
The tensions in AEW aren’t settling down anytime soon.
After Saturday’s Collision went off the air, CM Punk cut a post-show promo thanking the audience before directing his remarks towards Hangman Page, calling him a “peg warmer” and how nobody buys Page’s merchandise while Punk claimed he was the one driving ticket sales.
On Monday morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer talked about the situation. Meltzer reiterated that this was not a storyline.
“Believe me, that is not the case,” Meltzer said. “Every time Punk does something like this it makes things worse…there’s been stuff since day one that’s been going on. A lot of people wanted to keep it quiet but it’s not quiet now because once he did that, things started to come out.”
Page was originally set to be at the Collision tapings on Saturday to do a pre-tape that would air on another AEW show. However, he was later told that the pre-tape had been moved to another building.
Ryan Nemeth was also scheduled to be at Saturday’s tapings, but was told not to go to the building. Back on the debut episode of Collision in June, Nemeth and Punk had words regarding something Nemeth wrote on Twitter that Punk perceived to be aimed at him.
“I was told it was all settled, it wasn’t a big deal. Obviously it was not all settled,” Meltzer said.
Meltzer said this was not the only time this has happened, specifically naming Matt Hardy and Christopher Daniels as two people who were originally booked for the Saturday show, but were later removed.
“How this is going to end, I don’t know. The idea that they are keeping people apart because some people don’t want other people in the dressing room, however this is all going…as far as the people themselves, they believe it’s Punk. Everyone believes it’s Punk. I’m sure Tony [Khan] will say it’s not Punk.”
