On Friday, WWE held its first show in India since 2017.
GMC Balayogi Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad played host to WWE Superstar Spectacle 2023. The live event is not being televised in the United States.
Here are the results from the show:
– A message from Becky Lynch played with Lynch apologizing for not being able to appear. Earlier this week, Lynch noted that a “tiny tear” in her passport prevented her from being able to board the plane to India.
– Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Drew McIntyre defeated Indus Sher (Veer, Sanga & Jinder Mahal)
This originally started as a tag team match with Owens & Zayn facing Veer & Sanga. It was turned into a six-man tag when Mahal got involved.
McIntyre, Mahal, Zayn, and Matt Riddle danced in the ring after the match was over.
– Rhea Ripley defeated Natalya to retain the Women’s World Championship
– John Cena & Seth Rollins defeated Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
Following the match, Cena gave a speech and said this moment was far greater than he could have ever imagined. This was the first time Cena has ever wrestled in India.
Due to a passport issue, Becky Lynch isn’t able to travel to India for WWE’s Superstar Spectacle live event.
Lynch posted a message on Wednesday night announcing that she won’t be able to wrestle at Superstar Spectacle. Lynch had a “tiny tear” in her passport and wasn’t allowed to board the flight to India.
“I’m sorry to all the fans in Hyderabad, India,” Lynch wrote. “I was so excited to perform for you – but as there was a tiny tear in my passport l have not been allowed to board my flight. @qatarairways”
Lynch also apologized to a fan from India who called Lynch their role model and was excited to see her wrestle in person for the first time ever:
I’m so sorry I can’t make the show anymore 🥺 thank you for all your support. We will rock again ❤️ https://t.co/HLnqqh4GIR
Superstar Spectacle is WWE’s first event in India since 2017. The show, which is taking place this Friday, isn’t airing in the United States.
The live event is slated to feature John Cena & Seth Rollins teaming up against Imperium’s Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci. Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya for the Women’s World Championship is also set for the show, along with Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Indus Sher (Veer & Sanga).
Lynch ended her rivalry with Trish Stratus by defeating Stratus in a steel cage match at Payback last weekend.
John Cena will be in action when WWE heads to India next month.
Cena’s match for WWE Superstar Spectacle has been announced. He will team with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins against Imperium’s Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci on the show.
The event takes place on Friday, September 8 from the GMC Balayogi Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad, India, and is part of WWE’s deal with the Sony Sports Network. It was originally scheduled for January but postponed until next month due to Sony’s merger with Zee.
One other match has been announced for the show thus far. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will defend their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships against Indus Sher’s Veer & Sanga, who will have Jinder Mahal in their corner. Rhea Ripley, Gunther, Drew McIntyre, Becky Lynch, Natalya, and Matt Riddle are also advertised for the event.
WWE Superstar Spectacle September 8, 2023, lineup:
John Cena & Seth Rollins vs. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens defend against Indus Sher (Sanga & Veer) w/Jinder Mahal
During the ThunderDome era during the pandemic, WWE held an event specifically for the Indian market called Superstar Spectacle — a show Khan said in April was viewed by 25 million people live and nearly 40 million over a three-day period.
He said WWE is the second most popular sport in India after cricket and is bullish on generating WWE Network subscriptions there.
A new night for SmackDown?
He didn’t give any new developments in the ongoing media rights negotiations with either NBCU and Fox, but when talking about SmackDown, he brought up how prior to Fox, it aired on Thursdays and Tuesdays, saying, “we can go any night of the week” and that they are attractive to entities who want to program certain nights of the week.
Based on the timeframe Khan previously spoke about, both NBCU and Fox are out of the one month exclusive negotiating window. It’s unknown what other players are throwing their hat in the ring, but Khan again said he expects “a good increase for both properties.”
When talking about the current situation and how Disney does simulcasts with the NFL’s Monday Night Football product, he mentioned that NBC hasn’t programmed Monday nights which was “interesting” to him. He did not say whether they would be open to moving Raw in the same way he discussed SmackDown.
A WWE show scheduled to take place in Hyderabad, India next month has been postponed.
It was reported last month that WWE would be running a major show in India on January 18, 2023. The event would have taken place two years after 2021’s WWE Superstar Spectacle, a show filmed at the Thunderdome in Tampa Bay but produced for the Indian market. It aired January 26, 2021, on India’s Republic Day.
Our own Dave Meltzer reported in Friday’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the 2023 show has been postponed. WWE’s Indian broadcast partner, Sony Six, is merging with Zee and decided to put off the live event until after the merger has been completed.
Meltzer wrote:
“The 1/18 show that was scheduled for Hyderabad, India where Sony Six (WWE’s television partner) was bringing in WWE for a big live event to be built around the Indian talent and some of the other major stars, is now off.”
“The decision was made by Sony Six, which is merging with Zee in India, to hold off the show until the merger is finalized. The merger is expected to go through in April, so the show would take place after April.”
Meltzer continued to say that an NXT angle involving Veer & Sanga vs. The Creed Brothers was originally postponed in order to ensure Veer would be healthy for the big show in India. He has been dealing with a minor hand injury in recent weeks.
Live events in India are part of WWE’s deal with Sony Six. The two sides signed a five-year extension in 2020 that included an agreement for the company to return to India with “bigger live events” and for WWE Superstars to tour the country and engage with fans.
How the rules have changed and what did and didn’t work this year
The copies of War Games
Why WWE didn’t do War Games on the main roster, and why they started it on NXT
Business notes on how the show did, live, streaming, PPV
Crossover audience between War Games and Full Gear and Crown Jewel
Full show coverage with poll results
The story behind William Regal’s AEW departure
Why many questioned the MJF booking
Best of Seven notes
PPV number updates, as well as updates on the last four AEW PPV shows
Who bought Full Gear, Forbidden Door or All Out and patterns
Revenue, movie gate numbers and more
Notes behind the title changes
Match by match coverage and poll results on the show
Updates on the Royal rumble, ticket sales and more notes
New Japan and Stardom Historic X Over
The story behind Kairi winning the IWGP title and not Mayu Iwatani
The story behind Omega vs. Ospreay
Match by match coverage and poll results
C.M. Punk mocks the brawl, Young Bucks & Kenny Omega mock C.M. Punk, and more
TV ratings over the past two weeks, including where AEW faltered this week and did great the week earlier and it’s the same group, the huge drop during the show of Raw, what about Smackdown was the best of the year for the show, and where wrestling ranked in the sports charts and the entertainment charts the past two weeks
Wrestling legend gets honored by an international embassy
Cain Velasquez wrestling and the story behind it
Stardom PPV show coverage
Updates on all the traditional Japanese tournaments
Update on Kota Ibushi
Fantastica Mania news
Generational legends battle this past week
Ricky Steamboat comes out of retirement
Plan for a statue of iconic wrestler to be built in his home town
Battle of Los Angeles news
Mayor Glenn Jacobs in the middle of controversy
Injury changes the winner of a tournament
Major WWE legend coming out of retirement in December
One of the most well traveled wrestlers of all-time passes away
Former ECW and WWE star retiring
Thoughts on wrestlers whose contracts are coming due
New angle off television for recently signed AEW wrestler
International TV ratings
AEW & WWE streaming numbers
Lots of new UFC main events
Conor McGregor gets sued twice
UFC gaming controversy
MMA returns to CBS prime time
PFL season finale
Paul Levesque talks WWE future
Big stock rise for WWE and why
Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon talk WWE business, international, buying companies and more
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Friday News Update
Garrett Gonzales and I will be doing our weekend show tomorrow rather than tonight, covering the news of the week. Bryan and I will be back for a show on Sunday night.
This is not a wrestling story, but it is a WBD story and WBD greatly affects the future of AEW. WBD has canceled all live programming on HLN as a cost cutting measure. They also laid of hundreds of CNN employees.
In today’s Observer there is a note about how Ontario’s Gaming Commission has banned all betting on UFC events due to issues with at least two of the bouts recently where there was an undisclosed injury to fans that made the result almost predetermined. New Jersey will no longer allow any betting on fights James Krause is associated with. Krause bet heavily on fights with knowledge of things the public didn’t know about. The UFC today announced that any fighter who has any association with Krause will no longer be allowed to fight for the organization. Nevada has also suspended Krause from being involved in any fights. Marcelo Rojo, who fights tomorrow, will be allowed on the card because the decision came down today. The province of Alberta joined in today, and all bets on UFC fights already made have been avoided and money returned to the player. Darrick Minner, who went into a fight a few weeks ago with a leg injury that was kept secret, but insiders found out and bet heavily on his losing, has been cut. In a world where DraftKings is a huge partner of UFC, this is a gigantic story and one would think there will be more following.
I have a new book that has just been released, the 1995 Yearbook, covering every major news story from a crazy year including the birth of Nitro, the start of the Monday Night Wars, Collision in Korea, WrestleMania with Lawrence Taylor, arguably the most star-laden show in history with 13 major promotions involved and more. The book is available for $25 here.
PWInsider reported that WWE has a live event in India with the Smackdown crew scheduled for 1/16. It would be WWE’s first show in India in five years.
For reasons we don’t know, the complete ratings chart for Wednesday was not available on Showbuzz Daily until late, but we did get the actual chart. Dynamite was fifth Wednesday night behind two college basketball games, a World Cup game, and Challenge, which beat AEW for the first time this season. Challenge on MTV did beat AEW by 0.27 to 0.26 (the real percentages were 0.56 and 0.54 but that’s the internal real numbers based on homes and not the numbers you would see anywhere else). It was the first time that show has beaten Dynamite on cable in a long time.
AAA announced its first major show of 2023, Rey de Reyes, takes place on 2/5 in Merida.
Smackdown is on FS 1 tonight, not FOX. If you DVR the show, make sure to check ahead of time because in many places it will not record because it’s not on FOX. There were 5,800 tickets out for the show as of this morning. *Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus opens the show *Ricochet vs. Santos Escobar in the World Cup tournament finals. The show will also be replayed at 10 p.m. and midnight, so the second airing goes against Rampage.
AEW Rampage for tonight at 10 pm. Eastern on TNT Darby Allin vs. Cole Karter Private Party vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal Athena vs. Dani Mo Orange Cassidy vs. QT Marshall in a lumberjack match for the All Atlantic title Renee Paquette interviews Saraya and FTR, Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland, the Gunn Brothers and The Acclaimed all appear.
Tickets for Elimination Chamber in Montreal sold out immediately (except for highly priced platinum tickets) and Smackdown tickets are close to selling out as well.
Bret Hart was announced for this year’s WrestleCon in Los Angeles in conjunction with WrestleMania.
UFC tomorrow on ESPN and ESPN+ has its first TV card in months starting at 7 p.m. Eastern and continuing past 1 a.m. It will be from the Amway Center in Orlando, FL.
Yazmin Jauregui (115.5) vs. Istela Nunes (114.5)
Marcelo Rojo (145) vs. Francis Marshall (145)
Natan Levy (156) vs. Genaro Valdez (156)
Darren Elkins (145) vs. Jonathan Pearce (146)
Michael Johnson (156) vs. Marc Diakiese (155.5)
Clay Guida (154.5) vs Scott Holtzman (155.5)
Angela Hill (115.5) vs. Emily Ducote (115.5)
Niko Price (170) vs. Phil Rowe (173.5)
Eryk Anders (185) vs. Kyla Daukaus (184.5)
Jack Hermansson (186) vs.Roman Dolidze (185.5)
Tai Tuivasa (266) vs. Sergei Pavlovich (255)
Matheus Nicolau (126) vs. Matt Schnell (126)
Rafael dos Anjos (170) vs. Bryan Barbarena (170.5)
Stephen Thompson (170) vs. Kevin Holland (170.5)
Rowe missed weight by 2.5 pounds and was fined 30 percent of his purse. A scheduled Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas fight was canceled after both had made weight due to a medical issue involving Cortez. Matt Schnell originally missed weight at 126.5, but he then shaved his head and made weight.
New Japan at 3 a.m. Eastern late tonight from Kakogawa has the heavyweight tag team tournament with Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd vs. Aussie Open, Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs Great O’Khan & Aaron Henare, Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki vs Evil & Yujiro Takahashi and Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano vs. Tetsuya Naito & Sanada. They also have a junior heavyweight tag team tournament show on late Saturday night from Yamaguchi at 3 a.m. Eastern.
Other Notes
MLW War Chamber takes place on 4/6 in New York at the Melrose Ballroom. It’s their version of War Games.
Impact Digital Media champion Joe Hendry is looking for U.S. bookings from 1/15 to 1/19 through Bill Behrens at [email protected]
Women of Wrestling will be at the Los Angeles Comic Con tomorrow with a show at 2:30 p.m. There are also wrestlers from the group doing autograph signings today through Sunday. There are signings at 9 a.m. tomorrow, 10:30 a.m., Noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. as well as Sunday at 9:30 a.m. besides the show.
Progress has announced shows on 1/22 at the Electric Ballroom in London, as well as 2/26 in the same building and a 2/12 show in Manchester, UK at the O2 Ritz.
Insane Championship Wrestling from Wednesday night in Monroe, MI: Shogun Jackson Stone b Sam Beale, Chinstrap Jesus Kyle Barrett b Ace Evans, Tanner Nix b Commander Cody, Buckeye Sam b Hannah Henderson, Jason Hotch b Trey Miguel, Madman Fulton won over N8 Mattson & Bachelor Benjamin in a handicap match, Kenny Urban b Zack Thomas in a lumberjack match, Death Threat Army d Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley 20:00, Dread King Logan b Rhino-DQ to keep the IWR title, Thoma Latimer b Rhino after Jon E. Bravo hit Rhino with a fireball. Next show is 12/29 in Monroe, MI with Johnny Swinger vs. Dirty Dango (thanks to Paul Meade)
Pro Wrestling Phoenix from Wednesday night in Omaha, NE: Judie Azul b Kelsey Magnolia, Ryan Romantic b Xander McIntosh, Tank Bryson b Eric Del Castillo, Niles Plonk b Luke Luna, Purple b Warren Adams, Con Artiest b Vic Douglas, Pat Powers & Moonshine Russell & Jack Darling & Billy Peck b Omar Pachecco & Joey Daniels & Angus Keyser & Manford Zablinksi. Next show is 12/29 at the Waiting Room Lounge in Omaha.
MCW tomorrow night in Joppatowne, MD at the RJ Meyer Arena.
A major WWE show in India is reportedly in the works for early next year.
According to a report from Sportskeeda, WWE is planning to run a show “on a grand scale” from Hyderabad with the most likely date being Wednesday, January 18.
The event would come almost a year after WWE Superstar Spectacle was filmed for the Indian market on January 22, 2021. The event featured Drew McIntyre teaming with Indus Sher and defeating Jinder Mahal & The Bollywood Boyz in the main event. It was filmed with no fans in attendance from Tropicana Field and aired on India’s Republic Day four days later on January 26.
Superstar Spectacle was part of the company’s deal with Sony Pictures India. WWE and Sony announced a five-year extension in 2020 and revealed the deal would also involve the company returning to India with “bigger live events” and “Superstars will visit the region for promotional tours to engage with fans.”
Update on Shinjiro Otani, what happened, a review of his career and a look at Zero-1’s biggest show in years.
WWE officially announces its Principality Stadium show in Cardiff, Wales, a look back at the biggest UK events for WWE and the ticket demand.
Coverage of UFC 273 featuring a potential Hall of Fame fight with Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns, plus the judging in Sterling-Yan, the dominance of Alexander Volkanovski, business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.
Full coverage of NJPW Hyper Battle and the angles leading to the return of New Japan to the Fukuoka Dome, a look back at the first show in that building, plus G1 and Best of the Super Juniors updates
Update on WrestleMania Backlash, ticket demand, matches being built, false advertising of Brock Lesnar and more
Ratings including rankings, oldest and youngest audience, affect of NBA playoffs, segment-by-segment numbers and comparisons with last year.
CMLL Champion of Champions tournament continuing
AEW star announces return from major injury
Hall of Famer announces the relaunch of his former promotion
All Japan Champion Carnival update
NOAH Sumo Hall lineups
NJPW star finishes up this week and background
Scott Hall funeral
New wrestling books
Biggest indie crowds of the year
The Strangler Lewis headlock machine
Discovery/Warner merger and AEW
NJPW & AEW deal
Story behind the debut of Satnam Singh
Ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE shows
International TV ratings
Streaming numbers for the major stuff of the past week
Cain Velasquez case update
UFC adds 2016 Fight of the Year to Hall of Fame
How much the top executives at WWE earn
Update on Vince McMahon vs. Oliver Luck
Update on all the name changes of WWE talent and why
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Monday News Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio talking Raw and all the news. You can also send email questions to the show for tonight to [email protected]
India.com reported that 56.1 million people watched WrestleMania in India on Sony Sports. It was not clear if this was a combination of streaming and television includes people watching multiple times but the total viewership was up 29 percent from last year. They also pushed that Raw the day after Mania was up nine percent, and attributed that to Veer Mahaan, although more than likely it’s because the Raw after WrestleMania is usually the most-watched episode of the year and it’s up from the week before.
The estate of Julian Lasseter, the man who was killed on the 3/25 traffic accident by being rear-ended allegedly by Tammy Sytch at a red light, has sued Sytch and boyfriend James Pente in Judicial Circuit Court in Volusia County, Florida. They are suing Sytch as well as the boyfriend because it was his car and that he allowed her being the wheel of his car. They are suing for medical and funeral expenses as well as the suffering from Lasseter’s daughter and the emotional and mental pain of losing her father. Sytch has not been arrested regarding the accident.
Raw tonight features two title matches with Finn Balor vs. Theory for the U.S. title and Naomi & Sasha Banks vs. Liv Morgan & Rhea Ripley for the women’s tag titles. Plus there will be a lie detector test with Kevin Owens and Ezekiel to find out if Ezekiel is really Elias, and not one, but two weddings, Reggie & Dana Brooke and Tozawa & Tamina. WWE weddings usually do well in ratings and it’s clearly in response to what will be a hard night since there are three NBA playoff games against different parts of Raw tonight, the Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers (which should greatly hurt the Canadian number), Warriors vs. Nuggets (against hour three) and Jazz vs. Mavericks.
Smackdown did its lowest 18-49 rating since July on Friday because of the NBA competition, an 0.48 and this is only going to be like this or get worse for every show against the playoffs.
NXT is opposed tomorrow by the Timberwolves vs. Grizzles and Pelicans vs. Suns.
AEW could be hit the hardest with Nets vs. Celtics, 76ers vs. Raptors probably taking a huge bite in Canada and Bulls vs. Bucks. The reason I say that is because the NBA hurts the 18-49 numbers more than the 50+ numbers and more than half of WWE viewers are over 54, while for AEW, sometimes more than half of their viewers are 18-49, which is the prime NBA audience.
AEW tapes both Dynamite & Rampage in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Dynamite lists C.M. Punk vs. Dustin Rhodes, Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo in a coffin match, Wardlow vs. The Butcher, Hook vs. ?, and Britt Baker (Home town) vs. Danielle Kamela (Vanessa Borne in WWE). Matches taped for Friday will include Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia with everyone banned from ringside and Jade Cargill vs. Marina Shafir for the TBS title. They are advertising a Tony Khan special announcement.
Roman Reigns is scheduled to headline WrestleMania Backlash even though they don’t seem to have started a program for him. Also, regarding rumors of brand mergers because of the singles title merger and the tag title merger, right now they are not merging rosters. Of course Vince could decide something different five minutes from now but as of right now nobody has heard anything discussed in that direction.
Regarding Windy City Riot, FITE does have the feed fixed so you can watch or order Saturday’s show with no problems. The last two matches are fantastic (Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki and Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay). We’re looking for your thoughts on the show with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with the best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re looking for reports from Buffalo tonight for Raw, with the Main Event matches and if there are any dark matches or anything not notable that happens that is on television to [email protected] We’re also looking for reports on the WWE’s weekend shows in Erie, PA on Saturday night and Syracuse, NY last night.
Paul Levesque spoke to The Athletic about NXT and its changes. We will talk more about this tonight. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk and many others)
While streaming is thought to be the wave of the future, and may be, as it turns out, if the U.K. is an example, it’s not as smooth sailing as we thought. (Thanks to Stephen Lyon)
Michael Bisping said he’s not ruling out coming out of retirement for a boxing match with Jake Paul. Bisping said he was happily retired but he misses the thrill of competition and doesn’t see Paul as a threat. The reality is, the idea any commission that would allow Bisping to fight with just one eye would be beyond abhorrent. Which is to say, they probably could find one that would.
Among reporters scoring Friday’s A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Pitbull Freire fight, according to MMA Decisions, 81% had Freire winning. That fight is the latest in the almost weekly argument for open scoring. I know of boxing tradition and all the complaints about “what if” that I’ve heard for decades, but it is in practice in Europe and Japan and two U.S. promotions (Invicta and Combate) do it and most feel it’s been a great positive. Commissions are so slow to make changes and I remember it first being brought up in the 90s at a Nevada hearing and nobody even wanted to hear about it at the time.
AEW
AEW tickets were put on sale Friday for the 6/22 show in Milwaukee and were at 3,584 this morning. That’s normal range for AEW these days for first week. (thanks to Wrestle Tix)
Jonathan Gresham pulled out of the Progress show over the weekend in London due to suffering what was believed to have been a concussion on Friday night’s match with Dalton Castle (which aired on Saturday).
A story on Jacob Henry, the son of Mark Henry who is a high school sophomore who is starring in wrestling and football.
Other Notes
Ricky Morton noted that he hit his head during a match with the SAT’s on Saturday night and said he was lost for the majority of the rest of the match.
A story on Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart in Ocala, FL over the weekend including appearing on Dory Funk Jr’s show in the city. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
A review of the new book “Dynamite and Davey” about one of the most influential tag teams of all-time, the British Bulldogs.
KSW announced that Zurko Jojua has pulled out of his 4/23 bantamweight title fight with Sebastian Przybysz Werlieson Martins (16-4) was announced as the replacement.
PFL runs on ESPN on Wednesday night in prime time with Jeremy Stephens vs. Clay Collard, Raush Manfio vs. Don Madge, Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Delan Monte and Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Natan Schulte all in tournament fights.
The 2009 TNA Turning Point PPV headlined by A.J. Styles vs Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels, Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe (Nigel McGuinness) and Scott Steiner vs. Bobby Lashley will air on AXS at 3 p.m. Eastern on Thursday this week.
Luke Jacobs beat Warren Banks and Jonah to win the Progress Atlas tournament yesterday in London. Jonah won his first round match over Rickey Shane Page.
Stardom from yesterday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo: Thekla b Lady C, Hazuki & Hanan & Momo Kohgo b Tam Nakano & Mina Shirakawa & Waka Tsukiyama, Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani & AZM & Hina & Miyu Amasaki b Momo Watanabe & Starlight Kid & Ruaka & Rina & Fukigen Death, Saya Iida b Mai Sakurai (Cinderella tournament), Natsupoi b Unagi Sayaka (Cinderella tournament), Koguma b Giulia (over the top rope finish in the Cinderella tournament), Saki Kashima b Mayu Iwatani (Cinderella tournament, match lasted 17 seconds), Syuri & Ami Sorei d Maika & Himeka 15:00, Koguma b Saya Iida in the Cinderella tournament, Mirai b Saki Kashima in the Cinderella tournament. The tournament ends on 4/29 in Tokyo.
WWE will present their first-ever Superstar Spectacle today on the WWE Network — an event designed to celebrate and recognize India’s Republic Day, a holiday that honors when the country’s Constitution was officially put into action in 1950.
Taped last Friday in the Thunderdome in Tampa, Florida,, the show features current WWE talent in matches with developmental wrestlers of Indian descent.
In the main event, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre returns for the first time since his COVID-19 diagnosis, teaming with Indus Sher against the returning Jinder Mahal and the Bollywood Boyz. NXT Champion Finn Balor is also in action against Guru Raaj while AJ Styles takes on Jeet Rama. Charlotte Flair is also on the card teaming with Sareena Sandhu against Bayley and Natalya. Ricochet, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Ric Flair and more are also scheduled for the show.
Our live coverage starts at 9:30 AM Eastern.
**********
The show began with a video package showcasing both WWE’s history in India and the success of Indian superstars in the company and a sweeping camera shot showed off the digital crowd made up of Indian fans on their Republic Day.
Shahroz Ali joined Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary. Throughout the show, video packages ran before the matches that highlighted the Indian stars’ path into WWE.
NXT Champion Finn Bálor defeated Guru Raaj in a non-title match
Bálor and Raaj traded the advantage in the early moments and a hip toss allowed Raaj to pull away from the NXT Champion. Raaj connected with a high elbow and a dropkick before celebrating. Bálor later took advantage and took control.
Bálor connected with a sling blade but was interrupted by a resilient Raaj before he could follow up. Raaj unloaded with high kicks and a crossbody resulting in a near fall. An elbow from Bálor stopped Raaj’s momentum. Bálor connected with a Coup de Grâce followed by 1916 to pick up the win.
Ricochet, Rey Mysterio, Giant Zanjeer & Dilsher Shanky defeated Dolph Ziggler, King Corbin, Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura
Shanky started the match by successfully taking on both Nakamura and Ziggler. Zanjeer tagged and added Corbin to the list of controlled competitors.
The screen faded to black before the match picked back up with Cesaro in control over Mysterio. The entire heel squadron hit the ring to force everyone but Ricochet off the apron. Mysterio succeeded in getting a hot tag to his one remaining partner.
Ricochet connected with some offense, but a zig-zag left Ziggler still in control. Ricochet was forced to tag Zanjeer into the match who took back the advantage with the help of Shanky. The heels hit the ring again, but Zanjeer disposed of them all by himself. Zanjeer then hoisted Ricochet over his head before launching him into the heels regrouping outside of the ring.
Back inside, Cesaro was struck by Shanky, falling into perfect position for the 619. After hitting the move, Mysterio climbed onto the shoulders of Shanky and jumped to deliver a splash. Mysterio then pinned Cesaro for the win.
— A short backstage Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns promo played a quick backstage where they celebrated Reigns’ success as Universal Champion and wished everyone a happy Republic Day.
AJ Styles (w/ Omos) defeated Jeet Rama
Rama took control in the early moments, working Styles on the mat for some time. Styles gained some advantage for himself by sending Rama to the outside and connecting with a forearm. After a commercial, Styles had full control in the middle of the ring. Rama powered through Styles, connecting with a triad of suplexes. Styles broke up the pin that followed with a rope grab.
A boot from Styles created some separation, allowing Styles to scale to the top rope. Rama met Styles at the top, only to fall after Styles pulled out his legs. A backbreaker left Styles with a two count. Styles then locked Rama in the calf crusher which Rama eventually forced a break on by slamming Styles into the mat.
Back standing, Rama’s strength overwhelmed Styles as he connecting with a throw. Rama set Styles on the top rope, aiming for a finishing throw but Omos grabbed Styles’ tights, saving him from sure disaster. Styles then jumped from the top rope, connecting with the phenomenal forearm for the pin and win.
— The New Day (Xavier Woods and Big E) and the Street Profits welcomed Indian dance company Spinning Canvas, who performed a song and dance number in the ring.
— The Great Khali cut a short promo, wishing everyone a happy Republic Day.
Sareena Sandhu & Charlotte Flair defeated Bayley & Natalya
Flair, dressed in the colors of the flag of India, took on both Bayley and Natalya in the opening moments. Sandhu tagged in to deliver a crossbody before celebrating in the center of the ring with Flair.
After a fade to black, the match picked back up with Natalya in control. Flair and Natalya both tagged out following a Flair exploder. Sandhu took advantage and Bayley was forced to tag Natalya back into the match.
Natalya took advantage of the debuting Sandhu. The action spilled to the outside where Bayley dropped Sandhu by targeting her leg. Back in the ring, Natalya locked in a sharpshooter. Flair hit the ring to break the hold with Natural Selection, leadimg to Sandhu pinning Natalya in the center of the ring. She celebrated her colossal debut victory with a Flair strut.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre & Indus Sher (Rinku & Saurav) defeated Jinder Mahal & The Bollywood Boyz (Sunil Singh and Samir Singh)
Before the match, Ric Flair cut a promo in the center of the ring. He declared the WWE brings the world together like no one else. After wishing everyone a happy Republic Day, he was interrupted by Mahal and the Boyz. Playing the heel, Mahal declared all of Inda’s population tuned in to see him. McIntyre then interrupted Mahal before introducing Rinku and Saurav of Indus Sher.
McIntyre started the match, but none of the intimidated heels wanted to face the WWE Champion. Eventually, Samir began as the legal man. McIntyre and Indus Sher dominated both Singh brothers leading up to a commercial break.
As the break concluded, Rinku was being overwhelmed in the heel corner. Mahal, now legal, began clubbing Rinku, setting him up for a flying elbow from Sunil. Both the Bollywood Boyz kept Rinku grounded long enough for Mahal to target his arm. Rinku overpowered Mahal and tagged in McIntyre.
McIntyre unloaded on Mahal. Mahal was able to stick out a knee to block the spear. Saurav tagged in, taking out both Singh brothers. At the same time, McIntyre connected with a claymore kick to lay out Mahal. Rinku tagged in and in tandem with Saurav, landed a combination slam and elbow drop. Rinku hooked the leg before successfully pinning Sunil.
After the final bell, the spotlighted Indian talent and Triple H shared the ring for the closing shot.
WWE has revealed some more information about their upcoming India special.
WWE Superstar Spectacle is being taped at the WWE ThunderDome and will be a two-hour event. It’s premiering exclusively on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3, and Sony MAX in India at 8 p.m. IST on Tuesday, January 26. The event is in celebration of India’s Republic Day.
“The unique showcase of Indian-inspired action will emanate from the state-of-the-art WWE ThunderDome and incorporate stunning elements of traditional and contemporary Indian culture among epic matches featuring WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, Bayley, The New Day, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, Ricochet, and many more plus an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair,” WWE announced.
Appearances by the following WWE Indian talent have also been announced for Superstar Spectacle:
WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal, the first WWE Champion of Indian descent.
The Bollywood Boyz, WWE Superstars Samir and Sunil Singh.
The first all-Indian tag team in WWE, Indus Sher, featuring Rinku and Saurav.
NXT Superstar Jeet Rama.
Kavita Devi, the first Indian woman to sign a WWE contract.
The Great Khali trainees Giant Zanjeer (7ft 2in, 340 pounds) and Dilsher Shanky (7ft, 310 pounds).
Guru Raaj, the first Indian-born high-flyer in WWE.
“We love the passion and support from the huge WWE Universe in India, so we’ve teamed up with SPN, the exclusive home of WWE in India, to surprise our fans with an incredible event to kick off 2021,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development. “WWE Superstar Spectacle will be an epic event with electrifying matches featuring some of the biggest names in WWE along with our incredible Indian performers, plus thrilling and authentic Indian-inspired entertainment.”
“WWE has consistently featured among the top watched sports properties in India over the years,” said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head — Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India. “We are excited about presenting WWE Superstar Spectacle to WWE fans and viewers in India on Republic Day which will showcase and celebrate the best of the next generation Indian talent in WWE.”
When the event was first mentioned on WWE’s third quarter financial call in October, WWE president and chief revenue officer Nick Khan said the show would also be distributed in the United States. An update on that has yet to be announced.
WWE has revealed the name of its upcoming India special.
On the WWE India social media accounts on Saturday, it was announced that the WWE Superstar Spectacle is coming soon: “Breaking Now: The first-ever #WWESuperstarSpectacle is coming soon. #StayTuned #India”
Post Wrestling reported last month that WWE had a planned taping date of Friday, January 22 for the India special. The special is being taped in Florida. Post Wrestling wrote that there was also a photoshoot last month for Indian talent to take updated photos.
Post Wrestling noted that the original plan for the India project was for it to be an eight-man single-elimination tournament.
The India special was first mentioned on WWE’s third quarter financial call in October 2020. WWE president and chief revenue officer Nick Khan said WWE was working with Sony Pictures Network India on a 2021 event that would primarily feature the company’s developing Indian wrestlers. Khan said the event would air on Sony platforms in India and would also be distributed domestically in the United States.
WWE has announced an extension and expansion of their television deal in India.
WWE and Sony Pictures Network India have announced “a five-year extension with an expanded broadcast agreement that will deliver WWE’s weekly flagship programming and localized content in India and the Indian subcontinent, making SPN the exclusive home to WWE in-ring content across its television and digital platforms.”
The deal includes SPN having the rights to air Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and WWE pay-per-views live on its sports and digital platforms in English, Hindi, and regional languages. The extended partnership “also provides SPN the rights to WWE Network which hosts thousands of hours of content to be made available to audiences in India exclusively through SonyLIV, SPN’s OTT platform. In addition and for the first time, SPN will curate content from WWE’s extensive video library which includes live events, iconic matches, interviews with Legends, reality shows, documentaries and more, on its own platforms.”
Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Dave Meltzer said on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE got a significant increase but not as big of an increase as some people expected.
“WWE has been consistently ranking in the top three properties across all sports networks in India, dominating the sports entertainment space,” Rajesh Kaul, Head Sports and Chief Revenue Officer Distribution, Sony Pictures Networks India said. “We are delighted to extend our partnership with WWE in a first of its kind deal that will give us an increased exposure to valuable content and reach out to a broader viewer base across India on multiple platforms.”
“India is a strategically important market for WWE and Sony Pictures Networks has been an extraordinary partner in helping to grow our fanbase in the region making it one of the most-watched sports properties,” James Rosenstock, WWE Executive Vice-President, International said. “The expanded partnership gives our passionate fans new opportunities to engage with the WWE brand.”
The press release announcing the deal hyped that WWE “will also return to India with even bigger live events and Superstars will visit the region for promotional tours to engage with fans.”
WWE will be heading to India in 2019 for its first-ever tryouts in the country.
WWE announced today that a four-day talent tryout will be held in Mumbai, India in March 2019. It will feature up to 40 participants “with the goal of being selected to begin training at the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.” Participants can apply through the WWE Performance Center’s website, which is available in Hindi starting today.
“India has an extremely large and passionate fanbase and remains a top priority for WWE as we continue to localize content globally,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque said. “I am confident this latest talent tryout will result in a world-class pool of athletes ready to pursue their dream of becoming the next WWE Superstar from India.”
WWE is currently holding tryouts in Santiago, Chile this week. During November’s European tour, a set of tryouts took place in Cologne, Germany.
To close out this week’s international tour, the Raw roster was at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India for a house show today. Jinder Mahal, The Singh Brothers, Jeet Rama, and Kishan Raftar also appeared, with Mahal taking on Triple H in the main event.
– Some videos played on the screen before the show started, with the crowd popping for the “Woken” Matt Hardy scene from Raw and John Cena clips. Mike Rome was the host for the show and a recorded welcome video from Kurt Angle played.
– Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt
Balor got a tremendous pop despite some of the crowd not having reached their seats by the time this started. Wyatt got a huge pop as well, including everyone doing the fireflies bit for his entrance.
Wyatt stalled and escaped the ring a lot, then Balor got on the mic and told him to get back in. Balor eventually won with the Coup de Grace. This was a good opener with an invested crowd.
– Jeet Rama & Kishan Raftar defeated Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas
Rama and Raftar, who are Performance Center trainees from India, got a mild reaction. You could hear the crowd’s disappointment when they realized The Miztourage were on the show instead of The Miz.
They had a pretty basic match with no heat until the last two minutes, with Raftar hitting a stunner and Rama using a German suplex throw into a half nelson for the pin. There was a mild pop for the finish.
– Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defeated Sasha Banks to retain her title
Both got good reactions, and this was a solid match. There were dueling chants, but they seemed to be leaning towards Bliss. Banks used the Banks Statement at one point before Bliss got to the ropes. Bliss retained with a roll-up while grabbing the tights.
– Jason Jordan defeated Elias
Elias sang a song before this started, dissing India and getting tremendous heat. Jordan got a big pop when his entrance theme interrupted him. There were “Who’s your daddy?” chants directed at Jordan, along with “Elias sucks” chants for Elias. Jordan also got some Kurt Angle-style “You suck” chants.
Elias targeted Jordan’s arm before working on his knee, then Jordan won with a roll-up. That was a flat ending to a match that was slowly becoming good.
– The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) defeated Samoa Joe, Cesaro & Sheamus
Indian actor Varun Dhawan was the celebrity ring announcer. Joe got a great reaction, Cesaro and Sheamus got a good one, and The Shield got the biggest of the show thus far. There were chants for The Shield all around.
The match had lots of fast action. Joe was cheered but Cesaro and Sheamus were booed, with the crowd telling Sheamus he looks stupid. The audience chanted that they wanted Reigns, though there were some dueling chants.
Rollins “hulked up” at one point, hitting a big boot and leg drop. That caused the people to chant for Hulk Hogan. Reigns got a huge pop when he finally tagged in. Rollins and Ambrose hit their finishers on Sheamus, Reigns hit a spear on Joe, and they used The Shield powerbomb on Cesaro for the finish. There was a great response for the finish at the end of a great match. It also got lots of “This is awesome” chants.
– Apollo Crews & Titus O’Neil defeated Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
The audience was disinterested during their entrances. The match was pretty basic and the crowd was dead for it, with them only responding to Crews’ big spots and the finish. O’Neil pinned Anderson after hitting the Clash of the Titus.
– WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore defeated Kalisto to retain his title
Everyone did Amore’s shtick until he turned on them and said India sucks. Kalisto got a nice response, including everyone doing the “Lucha” chant.
Kalisto put on Amore’s wig merchandise to mock him. There was lots of stalling, but the crowd enjoyed it. For the finish, Amore distracted the referee, poked Kalisto in the eye, and hit Eat Defeat.
– Braun Strowman defeated Kane by DQ
Both got huge pops. The match was short and lame until the disqualification. They threw each other into the steps, with Kane about to hit Strowman with them and get disqualified before he stopped. Kane got out a table and hit Strowman with a chair for the DQ.
They had a brawl that ended with Strowman powerslamming Kane through the table. The crowd loved the brawl despite there not being much to the match.
– Triple H defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers)
The Singh Brothers came out to a good reaction and introduced Mahal. There was a huge pop for Mahal, with him wearing a custom robe that was designed by Narendra Kumar (who is famous in India). Triple H got an enormous pop, even bigger than the one Mahal received. There were chants for him, though there was also a huge “CM Punk” chant for some reason after the ring introductions and before the bell rang.
There were dueling chants for Mahal and Triple H once the match started, but they were louder for Triple H. He bumped around at the start before both did headlocks for a few minutes. The match picked up from there, with them trading strikes and Mahal giving Triple H the Figure Four leglock. There were “This is awesome” chants for the match at this point.
Triple H attacked The Singh Brothers during a brawl at ringside. People were going crazy and there were lots of good exchanges in the ring. Triple H hit the Pedigree, but Mahal kicked out. They fought outside before coming back in. Mahal hit a superkick, but Triple H used another Pedigree to win.
This was below the Mahal vs. AJ Styles title match, but it was better than all of Mahal’s matches against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura. It went over 20 minutes and both put in a damn good effort.
After the match, Triple H got on the mic and called Mahal back into the ring. He said Mahal has many critics and haters with no reason to hate, but he has earned Triple H’s respect and India is in good hands with him. They shook hands and Triple H raised Mahal’s arm.
Mahal thanked Triple H, then Triple H got him and the Singhs to dance. They danced to Mahal’s theme for a few minutes until they finally got Triple H to join in, which got a huge pop. Triple H ended it by hitting a Pedigree on one of the Singhs and smiling as he headed to the back. Mahal thanked everyone in Hindi to close the show.
The Times of India confirmed today that WWE’s planned December 8th house show at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi has been canceled, with the December 9th date at the venue now being branded as a “Supershow.”
In a match that was set up a few days ago, Triple H vs. Jinder Mahal has been announced as the main event. Mahal will be the only SmackDown representation on what is otherwise a Raw house show.
While ticket sales likely played a factor, WWE put out a statement saying that the decision to reduce the tour from two shows to one was to better serve the needs of their fans in the country: “To meet the requests of WWE fans in India, and deliver the biggest main event in the country’s history, WWE is combining two nights of family-friendly action into a one-night only, exclusive Supershow.”
Jeet Rama & Kishan Raftar, who are Performance Center trainees from India, will now be wrestling in their home country as they face Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas. Kevin Owens will no longer be appearing on the tour after originally being scheduled to challenge for Mahal’s WWE Championship before he dropped it to AJ Styles.
Those who bought tickets to the canceled show can exchange them for the next night or receive a refund.
The Raw roster will also be in Abu Dhabi on December 7th before heading to India.
