Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including Lance’s memories of Jay Briscoe, RAW 30, why it’s not so easy to just add time here and cut time there, memories of Smokey Mountain Wrestling, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Tag: Wwe Raw 30th Anniversary
Wrestling Observer Live: Mark Briscoe to Dynamite, Steve Austin WrestleMania, RAW 30
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including Mark Briscoe getting the A-OK to work Dynamite going forward, the situation with Steve Austin and WrestleMania, more on the Bloodline and Sami Zayn angle, RAW 30 and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio: Steve Austin, RAW 30, Briscoe update, tons of huge weekend matches
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including an update on the Briscoe family, RAW 30 with tons of changes to the show for a variety of reasons, the Bellas, why the cage match didn’t take place, thoughts on a lot of big matches over the weekend and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Briscoe family update
1:50: Benny Galant passes away
5:00: Steve Austin pitched match with Brock Lesnar, Royal Rumble thoughts
12:53: Notes from this weekend (NJPW vs. NOAH, Great Muta Final Bye-Bye, Rocky Romero)
29:36: Saudi Arabia attempted to buy Formula 1
31:07: Luke Rockhold says he’s coming out of retirement, Shingo Takagi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima thoughts
35:30: Raw XXX recap
1:02:08: Mailbag
Daily Update: Raw 30th anniversary, Benny Galant, Luke Rockhold
Daily Update
Latest News:
- WWE Raw live results: 30th anniversary episode
- Kylie Rae says WWE told her ‘not right now’ following tryout
- WWE SmackDown viewership down, 18-49 demo rating steady
- AEW Rampage viewership down, 18-49 demo rating steady
- Jazmin Allure on her start in pro wrestling, WWE, AEW & WOW experiences
Latest Audio:
- Filthy Four Daily: Rocky vs. Volador, Muta Final Bye Bye, SmackDown, NJPW Strong
- Wrestling Observer Live: Briscoe family, Sami Zayn, Okada, Royal Rumble, weekend news
- Bryan & Vinny & Craig show: Rampage with Action Andretti vs. Daniel Garcia, weekly Q&A
- DragonKing Dark: The death of Ernest Hemingway
Latest Free YouTube Video:
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
*Performer and match of the week
*Details of the settlement of the Rita Chatterton case
*McMahon suing Chatterton 20 ears ago and details behind that
*What role Vince McMahon has played since returning and what was originally said that has been accurate and things that have already changed, including new office people back and old ones being gone
*The latest lawsuit against WWE for bringing back Vince
*Analysts look at the different sale possibilities
*More on Stephanie leaving
*Nick Khan talks the company and hat he said that does and doesn’t make sense
*Where Dwayne Johnson stands
*Tony Khan talks about his interest in buying WWE
*Dwayne Johnson talks the sale of WWE
*A look at how UFC’s talks with Francis Ngannou fell through and where Ngannou could go next and whether he can return
*Royal Rumble update, who is in, how tickets are moving
*Details on the new MLW TV title with Reelz
*Impact Hard to Kill coverage including PPV numbers
*Saturday’s UFC coverage
*AAA announces big show schedule or 2023 and return of Alberto with Konnan explaining why and we talk about it
*Cage match and Wrestling Observer’s list of the best in-ring wrestles of 2022 based on matches
*What wrestlers were in the most great matches and to 50 of modern times as well as what cities have had the best wrestling.
*Dana White’s Power Slap debut and how it was received
*The most detailed look at te ratings for all the national shows and segment by segment Numbers
*What promotions drew the most fans in Japan n 2022
*Update on another date for Mercedes Mone in New Japan and the Sakura Genesis highlights
*New Japan and Stardom quarterly business numbers
*More on death of Black Warrior
*Ric Flair new endorsement deal
*One of the biggest feuds of the 70s comes alive through each man’s son this past week
*Lots of WrestleMania week news
*How AEW got Kushida
*Danielson talks Takeshita
*More on CM Punk and Colt Cabana in AEW
*AEW gets international TV upgrade
*New documentary on former AEW star
*Streaming numbers
*Dana White talks punishment
*Mike Swick talks cancer battle
*PPV numbers for the shows over the weekend
*Cena WrestleMania note
*News no three major WWE cuts
*What independent promotion has not yet been dropped by WWE for Peacock
*International TV rights
This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:
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Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking the latest pro wrestling and MMA news, Steve Austin at WrestleMania, Raw, and much more. You can send questions to the show but please limit them to current topics to [email protected]
Raw is tonight from Philadelphia. They are doing a commercial free first hour. Usually these commercial free hours are because of fear of low ratings and that is not the case here. My gut is they are looking for a bragging point of a giant number of viewers whether it be for the sale, the next investment call, or something else. But with all the stars from the past and the bounce back of being the first show with no football opposition, the show should be one of its biggest if not its biggest number of the year. Also on the show is Austin Theory vs. Bobby Lashley for the U.S. title in a no DQ match, Becky Lynch vs .Bayley in a cage match, Usos vs. Damien Priest & Dominik Mysterio for the tag titles and The Bloodline Tribal court with Sami Zayn. The show was sold out with just under 14,000 fans as of this morning.
The big draw is the legends with Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, HHH, Undertaker, The Bellas, Jerry Lawler, Sean Waltman, Ron Simmons, Teddy Long, Kurt Angle, Road Dogg, Jimmy Hart, Madusa, IRS, Ted DiBiase, DDP and Godfather announced. Lita was reported as being there as well. Nobody had seen Vince McMahon at the show.
We’re looking for reports from the show with anything not on the TV show such as Main Event bouts, dark matches, etc., to [email protected] We’re also looking for reports on last night’s WWE show in Binghamton, NY and Saturday’s show in Erie, PA as well.
We are doing polls for this weekend on:
Wrestle Kingdom from Saturday in Yokohama
UFC 283 from Saturday
Great Muta Bye Bye from Sunday in Yokohama
We’re looking for a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
Benny Galant, who was a star in Europe in the 50s and became a huge star in Mexico from 1962-68, passed away this past week at the age of 93. He was also featured in a number of movies and was a major rival of El Santo during that period, both at live shows around the country and in the movies.
Luke Rockhold was on the MMA Hour earlier today and said that he is coming out of retirement, has gotten his release from the UFC, and will fight again within the next four months.
Saudi Arabia tried to buy Formula 1 for $20 billion. The deal didn’t transpire. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced an exhibition boxing match against former Bellator fighter and reality show star Aaron Chalmers on 2/25 at the O2 Arena in London.
This was a big weekend for great matches. Ones to go out of your way to see are Volador Jr. vs. Rocky Romero from Friday’s CMLL show (yesterday’s update has more and how to watch it), Shingo Takagi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima from Saturday’s Wrestle Kingdom show and the All Japan tag title change from yesterday with Yuma Aoyagi & Naoya Nomura over Kento Miyahara & Takuya Nomura were said to be the best matches. I saw the former two and they were great. The biggest spectacle was the Great Muta retirement show from yesterday, although the ring entrances and post-match were the best part of that presentation.
Ric Flair was announced as one of the people featured at the Gasparilla Pirate Fest on 1/28 in Tampa. The Gasparilla festival has been a big thing in the city since forever, as they used to have one of the biggest shows of the week on the Tuesday of the festival. Flair is the Grand Marshal at 2 pm.
AEW will be taping Dark on Saturday and much of the tapings goes head-to-head with the Royal Rumble. The tapings are 2-5 p.m. Eastern (before Rumble) and 7-10 p.m. Eastern (during Rumble)
Other Notes
Sage Northcutt, once thought of as the future star of UFC, will have his first fight in four years for ONE on 5/5 in Broomfield, CO in the first ONE show ever in the U.S., airing on Prime Video. He faced Ahmed Mujtaba (10-2).
Defy results from Friday night in Tacoma, WA: Judas Icarus & Travis Williams b Voros Twins, Danika Die Hard (formerly Dannika Della Rogue) b Amira, Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds b Sebastian Wolfe & Miles Deville, Marina Shafir b Cat Power, Guillermo Rosas b Levi Cooker (Tucker in WWE) in a hair vs. hair match, Artemis Spencer b Davey Richards. Next show is 2/11 in Seattle at Washington Hall with Jon Moxley & Schaff vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Davey Richards plus Swerve Strickland and Eddie Kingston appear. Top Flight will appear on 3/11 in Seattle at Washington Hall.
UFC did end up with 500,000 searches on Sunday putting it No. 2 for the day behind the Cincinnati Bengals, which is actually very impressive given it was an NFL playoff Sunday. That is still very low for a UFC PPV show.
WGN TV news brought up it being the 39th anniversary of Hulk Hogan beat Iron Sheik for the WWF title and talked about crazy wrestling names mentioning Spanky, Bastion Booger and Beaver Cleavage (thanks to Matt Schreiner)
Rich Swann vs. Moose vs. Rhino vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan vs. Chris Sabin in an elimination match to determine the top contender for the Impact title will air on Thursday’s Impact show. 73-year-old Mike Jackson will also face Trey Miguel for the X title.
Bellator announced a 3/31 show in Temecula, CA at the Pechanga Resort and Casino with Marcelo Golm (10-3) vs. Daniel James (14-6-1), Cat Zingano (13-4) vs. Leah McCourt (7-2),. John Salter (18-6) vs. Aaron Jeffrey (13-3) and Jaleel Willis (16-4) vs. Rustam Khabilov (24-4) as the main card.
There are auditions for the play “Master of Puppets. The play will run 5/25 to 6/11 at the Legacy Theater in Connecticut. For more info go to LegacyTheaterCT.org
DDP, more former WWE stars added to Raw 30th anniversary episode
Diamond Dallas Page, and five more returning stars have been added to the lineup for Monday’s WWE Raw 30th anniversary episode.
In a graphic on Friday’s SmackDown show, WWE announced that DDP, Ted DiBiase, Mike “Irwin R. Schyster” Rotunda, Alundra Blayze, The Godfather, and Jimmy Hart will appear on Monday’s Raw is XXX 30th Anniversary show.
Earlier on Friday, the company confirmed that Hulk Hogan would return to WWE television for the first time since WrestleMania 37 on Monday’s show, and also advertised Paul “Triple H” Levesque for the episode.
Former stars Rikishi and Samu are also set for the show as part of the Bloodline acknowledgment ceremony.
WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins are no longer shown on the graphic advertising the legends appearances.
Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
- WWE United States Champion Austin Theory defends against Bobby Lashley
- Raw Tag Team Champions The Usos defend against The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio)
- Steel cage match: Becky Lynch vs. Bayley
- Bloodline Acknowledgement Ceremony with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
- WWE legends will appear
Rikishi & Samu confirmed for WWE Raw 30th anniversary episode
Two members of the Samoan Dynasty have been confirmed for Raw’s 30th anniversary episode.
An article published by The Daily Item in Sunbury, Pennsylvania on Tuesday revealed that Samu Anoa’i and his cousin Rikishi will both be at Raw’s 30th anniversary episode next Monday. There will be an “Acknowledgement Ceremony” for Roman Reigns on the show. The segment will feature every generation of The Bloodline.
“I want to thank the WWE for everything they have done for myself and my family,” Samu told The Daily Item. “I look forward to next week when I can see a lot of familiar faces and be reunited with a lot of my family members.”
“I have not been around the WWE much since I left years ago, but to be able to return is something I wanted for my children and grandchildren,” Samu added. “I am thankful for the support of all my fans especially those that have become family in Sunbury and the Valley.”
Samu & Rikishi were formerly WWF Tag Team Champions as The Headshrinkers.
Rikishi’s sons, Jimmy & Jey Uso, are defending their Raw Tag Team titles against The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio) on the 30th anniversary episode of Raw.
The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, The Bellas, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Ron Simmons, Teddy Long, and Jerry “The King” Lawler are among the legends who will be appearing on the anniversary episode. Tatanka previously announced that he would be on the show but noted on his Facebook page today that he won’t be there because his son’s wrestling team is going to the state championship.
Here’s the updated lineup for the episode:
- WWE United States Champion Austin Theory defends against Bobby Lashley
- Raw Tag Team Champions The Usos defend against The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio)
- Steel cage match: Becky Lynch vs. Bayley
- Bloodline Acknowledgement Ceremony with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
- WWE legends will appear
Two title bouts, steel cage match announced for WWE Raw is XXX
Two title bouts, a steel cage match, WWE legends appearing, and a Bloodline acknowledgment ceremony are set for Raw is XXX on Monday, January 23.
Bobby Lashley won a six-way elimination match on Monday’s Raw to determine a number one contender to Austin Theory’s United States Championship, and will challenge Theory for the title next week at Raw is XXX.
The Raw Tag Team titles will also be on the line in Philadelphia, as The Usos will defend against Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest of The Judgment Day. Mysterio and Priest won a gauntlet match on last week’s Raw to become top contenders to the titles. After months of defending the Raw and SmackDown titles as a unified Tag Team Championship, The Usos will defend each title separately going forward.
In another match set for Raw is XXX, Becky Lynch will face Bayley inside a steel cage. Lynch issued a challenge to Bayley for the bout on Monday’s Raw, and Bayley accepted.
A Bloodline acknowledgement ceremony has also been announced for next week, with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns appearing on the show.
Appearances from WWE legends including The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Ron Simmons, Kurt Angle, The Bella Twins, Jerry Lawler, and Theodore Long are also set for Raw is XXX.
The announced lineup for Raw’s 30th anniversary show:
WWE Raw is XXX, Monday, January 23 —
- WWE United States Championship: Austin Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley
- Raw Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio & Damian Priest
- Steel cage match: Becky Lynch vs. Bayley
- Bloodline acknowledgement ceremony with Roman Reigns
- WWE legends appearing: The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Jerry Lawler, The Bella Twins, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Theodore Long, Ron Simmons
Ric Flair, more former WWE stars set for Raw 30th anniversary
A slew of former WWE stars, including Ric Flair and The Undertaker, have been advertised for next week’s Raw XXX.
Road Dogg, Ron Simmons, X-Pac, Flair, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Teddy Long, Jerry Lawler, Kurt Angle, and The Bella Twins have been advertised for Raw’s 30th anniversary next Monday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This would mark Flair’s first appearance back on WWE television since 2021. In August of that year, Flair was granted his release from the company. In the time since then, Flair has come under fire for sexual assault allegations that were made during an episode of Dark Side of the Ring that focused on the Plane Ride From Hell incident in 2002.
Last month, WWE released a new Ric Flair documentary that streamed on Peacock, which featured a new interview with Flair.
WWE Raw is XXX, Monday, January 23 —
- WWE United States Championship: Austin Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley
- Raw Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio & Damian Priest
- Steel cage match: Becky Lynch vs. Bayley
- Bloodline acknowledgement ceremony with Roman Reigns
- WWE legends appearing: The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Jerry Lawler, The Bella Twins, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Theodore Long, Ron Simmons