WWE has announced Dominik Mysterio for Saturday’s men’s Royal Rumble match.
Mysterio was officially announced for the match in a video released Thursday on WWE’s YouTube channel where he and Rhea Ripley were shown training for the Royal Rumble.
In the training video, Dominik promised to throw his father Rey Mysterio out of the ring during Saturday’s Rumble match.
Mysterio is the 16th participant officially announced for the 30-man Royal Rumble match, while Ripley is one of just seven participants official for the women’s Rumble.
Here is the updated Royal Rumble lineup:
WWE Royal Rumble, Saturday, January 28, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock and WWE Network —
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Raw Women’s title: Bianca Belair defends against Alexa Bliss
Mountain Dew Pitch Black match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
The seventh participant in the women’s 2023 WWE Royal Rumble match is official.
WWE announced on Raw that Emma is officially entered into Saturday’s women’s Rumble match after declaring her intentions to enter on this past Saturday’s SmackDown LowDown episode on Peacock in a backstage promo segment also involving Zelina Vega and Legado Del Fantasma.
The Raw Women’s Championship will be on the line at the Royal Rumble event on Saturday, January 28.
In a bout announced during Monday’s Raw, Bianca Belair will defend the Raw Women’s title against Alexa Bliss at the Rumble. Belair offered Bliss a title rematch in a promo segment on Raw, and Bliss accepted.
Belair’s last title defense also came against Bliss at the January 2 Raw in Nashville, where she retained the title via DQ.
Belair has held the Raw Women’s title since night one of WrestleMania 38 on April 2, 2022.
The updated Royal Rumble lineup:
WWE Royal Rumble, Saturday, January 28, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Alexa Bliss
Mountain Dew Pitch Black match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
During Monday’s WWE Raw, a third vignette aired of Rhodes rehabbing his torn pectoral muscle following surgery. At the end, he said that since he came back at last year’s WrestleMania, he’s made it crystal clear what he wants and at the Royal Rumble, he would be back.
Rhodes has been out of action since last June, suffering a pectoral tear just days before he was to meet Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell. Despite the injury, he worked the match injured, scoring a win over Rollins. The next day, Rollins attacked Rhodes with a sledgehammer, writing him off television.
Vignettes have aired over the last few weeks, first documenting Rhodes’ return to WWE starting at WrestleMania 38 last year against Rollins. The second vignette showed Rhodes suffering the injury and wrestling Rollins at the aforementioned pay-per-view.
This year’s Royal Rumble will take place at San Antonio, Texas’ Alamodome on Saturday, January 28th.
Rey Mysterio, Raquel Rodriguez, and Gunther are the latest to declare for this year’s Royal Rumble.
On Friday’s SmackDown, both Rey Mysterio and Gunther declared their entry for the men’s Rumble match. Raquel Rodriguez in a promo said she was excited to enter her first Royal Rumble.
Mysterio, in a promo, said that it wasn’t the best holiday season for him due to Dominik Mysterio’s unwelcomed arrival during his family’s festivites. However, he said that the best way for himself to get back on track is by winning the Royal Rumble.
Gunther successfully defended the Intercontinental title on Friday’s show, defeating Braun Strowman with a powerbomb. Later backstage, Gunther declared for the Rumble, saying that Friday’s win over Strowman was glorious, but now it’s time to capitalize by winning the Royal Rumble.
After Raquel Rodriguez announced she was entering the Royal Rumble, she and Liv Morgan got into a confrontation, leading to a match between the two. Rodriguez won the match with the Tejana bomb.
Here is the updated Royal Rumble lineup:
WWE Royal Rumble, Saturday, January 28, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock and WWE Network —
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Mountain Dew Pitch Black match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
Five wrestlers declared their intention to enter the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches on Monday’s WWE Raw show.
Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and Austin Theory declared their entry into the men’s Rumble match during a promo segment on Raw. They join Ricochet and Kofi Kingston as confirmed entrants in the Rumble set for Saturday, January 28.
For the women’s Rumble match, Rhea Ripley and Candice LeRae confirmed their entry in a backstage promo on Monday’s show. They join Liv Morgan as confirmed entrants for the women’s Rumble.
The winners of the Royal Rumble matches will earn title matches at WrestleMania 39 set for Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2.
The updated Royal Rumble lineup:
WWE Royal Rumble, Saturday, January 28, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock and WWE Network —
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Mountain Dew Pitch Black match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
Ricochet and Liv Morgan are entering this year’s Royal Rumble.
Ricochet qualified for the Royal Rumble on SmackDown Friday, defeating Top Dolla. Morgan announced during the show that she would be entering the women’s Rumble. The show is set to take place on January 28 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Friday’s show had Ricochet defeating Top Dolla in a match set up last week after Ricochet made fun of Top Dolla last for botching a dive two weeks ago. After Ricochet defeated Top Dolla, he extended his hand to Ricochet. They shook hands, but it ended up being a swerve as Hit Row turned on Ricochet, attacking him until Braun Strowman hit the ring for the save.
Morgan cut a promo on Friday promising to win the Royal Rumble, even if she draws number one.
Kofi Kingston thus far is the only other person confirmed in the Rumble match, declaring his status last month.
Kevin Owens is getting a shot at Roman Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
During tonight’s episode of SmackDown, it was confirmed that Owens will challenge for Reigns’ Undisputed title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Saturday, January 28. The PPV is being held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Owens teamed with John Cena to defeat Reigns & Sami Zayn in a tag team match on SmackDown last Friday. Owens won the match by pinning Zayn after hitting a stunner. Reigns had been taken out with an Attitude Adjustment from Cena.
When The Bloodline opened SmackDown tonight, Reigns claimed that he didn’t lose last week — Zayn was the one who lost. Reigns was unhappy that Zayn called his shot and failed to come through. He accused Zayn of wanting to be the Tribal Chief.
Owens then made his way out and said Reigns’ problem isn’t with Zayn, it’s with Owens. After Owens issued a challenge for a title match at the Royal Rumble, Reigns accepted. Owens said he’d see Reigns at the Royal Rumble — and he’ll see Zayn whenever Zayn manages to dig his balls out of Reigns’ pocket.
Owens also faced Reigns for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble 2021. Reigns defeated him at that PPV to retain.
The updated card for this year’s Royal Rumble is listed below:
Men’s Royal Rumble match
Women’s Royal Rumble match
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Kevin Owens
Mtn. Dew Pitch Black match: Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight
A new match type may be making its debut at the Royal Rumble.
A commercial airing during videos on WWE’s YouTube channel has seemingly indicated that the first-ever “Pitch Black match” will take place at next month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. The advertisement is a tie-in for Mtn Dew’s Pitch Black flavor, which is returning to stores in January.
“When it’s the Pitch Black match, anything can happen,” the advertisement says.
On WWE’s official YouTube channel they are running ads for a ‘pitch black match’ at the Royal Rumble PPV next month.
WrestlingNews.co reported last month that a Pitch Black match taking place at the Royal Rumble was a possibility.
“We were told about a pitch that was made for a ‘Pitch Black’ match and it was being seriously considered for the show,” the report said. “The source did not have any more details on the structure/rules of the match but one source in the company believes that the match is for Bray Wyatt.”
Wyatt, who is currently feuding with LA Knight, hasn’t wrestled since making his return to WWE at Extreme Rules.
Royal Rumble 2023 is being held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, January 28.
For the fourth time, the WWE Royal Rumble will take place in San Antonio, Texas.
The company announced Wednesday that the kickoff on their road to WrestleMania will take place at the Alamodome on Saturday, January 28th, with an on-sale date on Friday, September 30th.
It continues a run of stadium shows for some of WWE’s biggest premium live events of the year which includes WrestleMania, SummerSlam and this past weekend’s Clash at the Castle.
While it’s the event’s fourth time in the city, it’s the third time it will be held in the Alamodome which is celebrating its’ 30th anniversary next year.
Per usual, the event will feature both men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches with the winners earning a future title match opportunity at WrestleMania in Los Angeles.
The event first debuted in the city and the Alamodome in January 1997 which saw Steve Austin win the Rumble match on a show that also featured then-WWE Champion Sycho Sid defend against Shawn Michaels.
Ten years later in 2007, the Rumble took place at the AT&T Center with The Undertaker winning the 30-man Rumble match.
Another ten years later in 2017, the Rumble returned to the Alamodome with Randy Orton picking up the Rumble win.
UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey returned to WWE for the first time since 2019 at tonight’s Royal Rumble event, winning the women’s Royal Rumble match.
After entering the match at number 28, Rousey last eliminated SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair to claim her first Rumble match victory in her first attempt.
Rousey originally made her debut as a member of the WWE roster at the 2018 Royal Rumble, appearing after the women’s Rumble and pointing at the WrestleMania sign hanging in the arena. This year, Rousey pointed at the sign as the winner of the match.
Rousey eliminated Nikki A.S.H, Brie Bella, Shotzi, and Flair on her way to the victory. The final four participants in the match were Rousey, Flair, Bianca Belair, and Shayna Baszler. Flair eliminated Baszler, then Belair, leaving Rousey and Flair as the final two.
Rousey’s first WWE run came from January 2018 to April 2019. She claimed the Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam in August 2018, then went on to hold that title until WrestleMania 35.
Dave Meltzer reported today that Rousey vs. Flair is on the books for WrestleMania 38 in Dallas. Their prior singles meeting came at Survivor Series 2018, a match that Rousey won by DQ.
Rousey, Flair and Becky Lynch headlined WrestleMania 35 on April 8, 2019. Lynch pinned Rousey to win the Raw Women’s title, and Rousey went on hiatus from WWE.
Rousey and her husband Travis Browne announced the birth of their first child in September 2021.
The most in-depth look at the WWE’s new deal with the Peacock Network is the lead story in the new double-issue of the Observer.
We look at who the deal was put together, the finances behind it, is it a good deal for all parties, what goals there are for each side, how this affects the TV landscape and Smackdown in particular, how much money WWE was getting before and after from the Network, television vs. streaming when it comes to homes in the U.S., comparisons to UFC’s deal with ESPN, quotes from the key parties, the financial viability of NBC purchasing WWE, the stock price, network subscriber numbers, money in modern PPVs, WWE projected profitability, why the method wrestlers are paid makes no sense in today’s game, and notes fromall ke parties.
Also in this issue:
NBC shutting down NBC Sports Network affects both the USA Network and how it could impact WWE.
Amanda Huber’s timeline of the death of Brodie Lee from her interview with Tony Schaivone and Aubrey Edwards this week, his symptoms, treatments, and what the doctors thought.
UFC 257, including an update on the business of the show and television viewership, plus full coverage of what could end up as the biggest show of the year, and was one of the biggest PPV events in history.
2021 Royal Rumble, people rumored to be in that won’t be, others that could be, and thoughts on the build and the matches.
WrestleMania, Young Rock, Daniel Bryan talks his future, WWE talent listed among the most marketable in sports and losses in ad revenue to performs in social media accounts, Undertaker says current wrestles are soft and Bill Goldberg, Mick Foley and Drew McIntyre respond, Nick Khan talks future of rights fees, where AEW stands, NXT India, Teases of Japanese star signing, International TV ratings, most-watched shows on the WWE Network and strongest athletes in WWE developmental.
New Japan’s show at Ota Ward Gym this past week with its parody main event plus the big shows upcoming this week.
WWE’s TV special for India and look at the talent from that country that the company wants to build a promotion around.
A huge story on Hank Aaron, Civil Rights, Bill Watts and how they all intersected in the early 90s.
Comparison piece on the greatest MMA fighters of all-time, looking at their wins, losses, bouts with major names and where they stand in relation to each other.
The death of El Hijo de Anibal and the legacy of the mask created by his father, one of the biggest stars of the 1970s, including the match that was the first big title match to give the UWA credibility.
Television ratings of the past week, including segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown and more.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Royal Rumble as well as all the other major news. We also have a show from yesterday with Garrett Gonzalez where we preview the Rumble and talk about other news.
Lots of Royal Rumble notes. Don’t forget we’re doing polls on both the Royal Rumble and New Beginning in Nagoya from New Japan yesterday. Thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected].
Men’s Rumble: Announced are Randy Orton vs. Edge to start the match. Others announced are Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, John Morrison, Mustafa Ali, Sheamus, Otis, The Miz, Cesaro, Jey Uso, Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E, Rey Mysterio, Dominick Mysterio and Braun Strowman. Most figure with Orton and Edge starting that they’ll be in for a long time, maybe even final four. Orton winning would be a surprise since most figure The Fiend screws him at the end. There has been talk all week of a unique finish. Edge and Bryan are favorites. Damien Priest could debut since he’s been ready to start on Raw or Smackdown for a few weeks. Last we heard was a Raw debut the day after the Rumble, but that stuff changes as he was first scheduled a few weeks back. This match will end the show and people have been saying how the ending will be designed to get people talking.
Women’s Rumble: Announced are Natalya at No. 30, Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Tamina, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss and Shayna Baszler. Most expect Rhea Ripley, and Booker T actually all but said it in one of the pre-show programs. Belair and Bliss are the likely favorites if they don’t go with a surprise. I’d actually go with Ripley to win if it was up to me, her or Belair, so I’d say there’s a chance with her.
Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens Last man standing for WWE title. Nobody expects a title change, but WWE last man standing matches are usually really good, and this has been a great in-ring feud so far. Reigns was at last word a -1700 favorite, so literally nobody believes he’s not winning.
Drew McIntyre vs. Bill Goldberg for the Universal title. This almost surely has to be fairly short and McIntyre should win clean. Whether he does is another story. McIntyre is a -400 favorite,
Sasha Banks vs. Carmella for the Smackdown women’s title – Their first match was strong. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a title change to keep the program going, if only because the two men’s title matches don’t look like title changes.
Charlotte Flair & Asuka vs. Shyna Baszler & Nia Jax for the women’s tag title. This was moved to the pre-show so it should take place shortly after 6:30 p.m. since the five matches will fill the three hours. This could go either way. I don’t expect a long reign for Flair & Asuka since Asuka has the singles belt. Flair vs. Asuka would always feel like a direction, but it does appear Flair as a face vs. Lacey Evans is one of the most pushed TV programs.
For what it’s worth,and it may not be worth much, Carlos Cabrera, the WWE Spanish language announcer, talked about an MMA star who may be in the women’s Royal Rumble.
There’s no word regarding if anyone else was pulled from today’s show for being in contact with Mia Yim (Reckoning) who announced yesterday she had tested positive for COVID.
The Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shingo Takagi match from yesterday’s New Japan New Beginning in Nagoya is worth going out of your way to see. It’s a classic match.
Regarding stuff in combat sports that trended on Google this week, the boxing match didn’t trend last night and there was no UFC last night. Nothing from pro wrestling did although the Royal Rumble today should do about 1 million searches based on previous years and be among the biggest things of the day. The only thing that did trend was Ben Askren was the sixth most searched for topic on the Internet on Tuesday with 200,000, based on his fight with Jake Paul being announced.
Game Changer Wrestling’s 24 hour marathon on Fite TV raised $53,000 for wrestlers affected by COVID. Jordan Oliver faced Tony Deppen in what was supposed to be a 60 man Iron man match. But they were tied after 60 minutes. So they went another hour and Oliver ended up winning 7 falls to 6. There have been claims of this being the longest match in wrestling history and it was the longest in several years, but in the early days of wrestling many matches went longer. For American pro wrestling, the most famous long match was July 4, 1916, Strangler Lewis vs. Joe Stecher, which went more than five hours and is still considered one of the biggest sporting events ever held in Omaha. We actually had a feature on that with the actual play-by-play coverage from the Omaha World-Herald the night of the match a couple of years back. Blake Christian lost a match where he would never wrestle in GCW again if he lost, which starts rumors of where he’s headed next.
There will be a vote tomorrow by the Huntington Beach, CA City Council on removing Tito Ortiz as Mayor Pro Tem.
New Japan World has another show at 4 a.m. tomorrow morning Eastern time from Korakuen Hall. It’s a four-match show:
Yota Tsuji vs. Gabriel Kidd
Koa Ibushi & Tomoaki Honma & Sho & Master Wato vs. Sanada & Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo
Elimination match: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. & Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Douki vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo & Jado
There will also be another Korakuen Hall show at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning and another on Wednesday.
WWE
They are working on several documentaries and the next year’s video game this weekend. The roster is being scanned for the game today.
UFC
Jairzinho Rozestruk vs. Cyril Gane is now the main event for a 2/27 show, over five rounds. The fight was originally announced for 3/13. The original main event was to be Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Pochazka, but Reyes was injured and the match was postponed.
Alex Da Silva pulled out of this coming Saturday’s UFC show with a knee injury. They are looking for a new opponent for Devonte Smith.
OTHER NOTES
Lio Rush on the Challenge Mania podcast talks how he wound up on a MTV Reality Competition Show after being let go by WWE in April. There is also a ton of eye-opening stuff about his last few months in WWE & how the Cruiserweight Title was used as a way to leverage him to stay without getting what he wanted financially. He talks about wanting to wrestle Kenny Omega and much more.
A story on the cause of death of a contestant on the John Cena-led show “Wipeout” that will be airing soon on TBS. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
A feature on Jianna Bonomi, who helped write the lead story that was so well received in the Black Lives Matter issue of the Observer a few months ago. She also talks about hearing from Dwayne Johnson after something else she wrote and recovering from being hit by a drunk driver at 90 miles per hour that should have killed her and ended her competitive sports career.
Los Parks vs. TJP & Bu Ku Dao for the MLW world tag team title airs on Wednesday’s edition of MLW on YouTube and Fubo Sports.
VIP Wrestling from Friday night in Haltom City, TX: Kari Wright b Cam Cole, Heather Monroe b Killa Kate, O’Shay Edwards & Ron Hunt & Kaun b Xander Gold & Tino Valentino & Huseman, Will Allday b Lou Gotti, Alejandra the Lion b Rock-C in a no DQ match, Chandler Hopkins b Matt Cross, Trish Adora b Rache Chanel, Shane Taylor b Izzy James, Jonathan Gresham b JD Griffey, JTG b Hammerstone to keep the VIP title (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
In a huge upset, Daniel Torres (12-4) won the KSW featherweight title over Salahdine Parnaase (14-4-1) via knockout in 1:47 after a biceps strike on yesterday in Lodz, Poland. In the co-feature, Szymon Kolecki (9-1), a former Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting, beat Martin Zawada (29-16-1) via decision on scores of 30-26, 29-28 and 29-28.
Live and free on our YouTube channel tonight, join Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian for the first-ever Figure Four Online PPV watch along for the Royal Rumble, starting at 6:30 PM Eastern/3:30 PM Pacific.
The guys will be joined throughout the night by our Jim Valley, Denise Salcedo, Garrett Gonzales, Josh Nason, and many more. Set a reminder alert and watch the Royal Rumble with us at 6:30 PM Eastern on YouTube~!
**********
Mat Men is part of the Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online podcast network that includes Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, Vince Verhei, Craig Proper, Mike Sempervive, Lance Storm, Karl Stern, Les Thatcher, Vic Sosa, Antonio Thomas, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Jim Valley, Fumi Saito, Denise Salcedo, Adam Summers, and Josh Nason. Shows are uploaded daily covering everything in pro wrestling and MMA.
Subscriptions start at $11.99 per month and include full access to current and past Wrestling Observer and Figure Four Daily newsletters; 12,000 hours of archived podcasts, and access to an exclusive message board. YouTube-only subscriptions for video versions of WOL, Bryan & Vinny, and Figure Four Daily are also available for $7.99 per month.
We’re looking for reports on both New Japan shows this weekend in Tampa and Nashville and reports from the NWA tapings to [email protected]
We’re also looking for your thoughts on both the Royal Rumble and Worlds Collide, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
ROYAL RUMBLE IS TODAY AT 5 P.M. EASTERN FOR THE PRESHOW FROM MINUTE MAID PARK IN HOUSTON
*Men’s Rumble – The favorite is Roman Reigns at -200. Drew McIntyre is +300. Cain Velasquez at -550 is listed as a strong favorite as the person to eliminate Brock Lesnar. McIntyre, Reigns, Strowman and Edge are the next favorites.
*Women’s Rumble – The favorite is Shayna Baszler at -300 which is fairly strong odds for a Rumble. Charlotte Flair is +650.
*Bayley is a -230 favorite over Lacey Evans to keep her title. Evans is +170. For me, this is actually a good time for a tile change.
*Sheamus is -700 while Shorty G is +450 for their singles match.
*Roman Reigns is -140 and King Corbin is +100 for their match
*Becky Lynch is -475 and Asuka is +325 for their Raw women’s title match.
*Bray Wyatt is a -600 favorite over Daniel Bryan at +400 for the Universal title. (thanks to WWEleaks.org)
We haven’t seen odds on Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade for the U.S. title
We’ve got what will be one of the biggest issues of the year, a double issue with a look at the lives and careers of Rocky Johnson, La Parka and Kendo Nagasaki, plus what will be one of the biggest news stories of 2020, the AEW new television extension with TNT through 2023.
The lead story goes into the life and career of Rocky Johnson, the father of Dwayne Johnson and one of pro wrestling’s biggest stars of the 1970s. We talk about Johnson’s death this past week, his ancestry, the story of him being kicked out of the house at 13, his background in boxing and wrestling along with ties to both Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, as well as where the name Rocky Johnson came from.
We talk about his main skills, his dropkicks, the birth of Dwayne Johnson, the best television match on Roy Shire television of the 70s, his quick rise to main events and championships, and how his run in Los Angeles in 1970 made him into one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling. We cover his years in San Francisco, his landmark program with Jerry Lawler, his headlining in St. Louis, his world title battles, early championships and his brother, as well as how Dwayne Johnson got started in pro wrestling.
The new issue also covers:
Full details of the new television deal between AEW and TNT, including the value, the options, how this relates to the old deal, how this compares to other deals, what we know about the second show, questions this brings up regarding WWE countering, stars that are about to become free agents, Tony Khan talks the new deal, and the ratings in 18-49 and value per episode update on Raw, Smackdown, NXT and AEW and what type of value did TNT get for its money.
The death of La Parka, including his connection with the first La Parka, as well as the uncle of the first La Parka. We look at his career before La Parka, his rise to fame in AAA, his period on top, his biggest feuds, his heel turn and why it flopped, L.A. Park comments on his rival and more on his biggest matches.
The death of Kazuo Sakurada, the Japanese Kendo Nagasaki. We look at his connection with Bret Hart, with comments by Bret Hart, Ross Hart and Fumi Saito. How Dusty Rhodes created Kendo Nagasaki and who it was copied from. Many of his other wrestling names. Sakurada’s tough guy reputation and his days in sumo prior to pro wrestling. How he got into pro wrestling, his original relationships with Giant Baba and Genichiro Tenryu, his day in Stampede Wrestling as one of its biggest tag team stars, his wrestling in Japan, Mid South, WCW and the story of he and Bruiser Brody from Puerto Rico. His fights in the ring,and his one MMA fight.
Next WWE show in Saudi Arabia, a new Dwayne Johnson television show, a new Miz television show, notes on the return of Big Show, Paul Levesque and Paige, Bret Hart filming a WWE show, Brock Lesnar honored, WWE trademarks, WWE BT party in London,WWE European ratings, notes on several new WWE signings as well as a major star who has met with Paul Levesque about coming in. We look at the next MSG show, DVR viewership of WWE programming, plus a look at all the WWE & NXT live events over the past week with results,highlights and business notes.
Update the Royal Rumble and World Collide shows and how tickets are selling for the next round of major WWE events.
The Tessa Blanchard controversy and her winning the Impact title, with comments from many in wrestling and a full rundown of TNA Hard to Kill with match-by-match coverage, star ratings and poll results.
Update the changes at Bellator in structuring, who is now in charge and what may be happening next.
More money being sent into MMA with the PFL, its new ownership and revenue sources and how much new capita they now have.
Coverage of the WWE U.K. Takeover show, with show notes, business notes, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results of the show.
The 2019 Wrestling Observer Awards ballot.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Just utterly stunned by the death of Kobe Bryant earlier today. He was one of the most iconic sports figures of this generation.
Bryan and I will be covering the Royal Rumble as well as the latest pro wrestling and MMA news tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions to tonight’s show to [email protected]
Lots of the NXT women are in Houston presumably because there aren’t enough spots with the main roster women for the Battle Royal. We were told most of the key stars are there. PW Insider reported Mercedes Martinez as one of them. As we’ve noted all along, Shayna Baszler was expected to be a key part. They also listed Molly Holly, Beth Phoenix and Sasha Banks in the women’s Rumble match.
Tons of rumors regarding tonight. While not confirmed, there is a lot of talk going around regarding Edge as a surprise for tonight’s show. That talk has been going on for months. Mike Johnson has reported that Santino Marella, Shane McMahon, Undertaker, Dominick Gutierrez, Ric Flair are all there and teased the idea of Sting being there to set up something for Saudi Arabia on 2/27. It was noted that it looks like they may have changed standards if Sting is cleared since both he and Edge had years back been flagged due to neck issues from ever taking another bump by WWE. No one has said anything about Ronda Rousey but if she’s coming back to Mania, this is usually right around the time you do so and they like surprises in the Rumble.
As far as Google trends for last night, Worlds Collide didn’t rank, nor would anyone expect that it would since NXT and AEW rarely do and this had less interest than either. Among combat sports, the most interest was Bellator which was No. 12 with 100,000 searches. The UFC show was No. 18 with 50,000, which is low, but there wasn’t a lot of interest in last night’s show even though it drew great.
Killer Kross pulled out of his 2/15 date for NHPW in Perth, Australia and has been pulling out of all dates after the next few weeks. He had recently met with Paul Levesque and has told he’d be fast-tracked. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
WWE
They will be filming a lot of documentary material this weekend.
For the Rumble, the men’s and women’s Rumble both at -150 are the favorites for best match based on Observer star ratings. Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade at +100 is next. Everything else is listed as a long shot.
Tommaso Ciampa is doing an event on Valentine’s Day to benefit Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, FL called Over the Edge. Ciampa is going to rappel down the 32 story Hyatt Regency to raise money. A lot of other NXT stars are also involved in the benefit.
Regarding last night’s show when I brought up that Shaun Ryan may have done the videos that appeared, we were told that wasn’t the case and that the video work was done in Connecticut with the regular crew led by Jeremy Borash.
UFC
Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar is being talked about for the 4/18 PPV show in Brooklyn.
Paige VanZant is out of her 3/14 match in Brasilia, Brazil with Amanda Ribas due to a minor fracture of the arm and said she would be ready to fight in May. Ribas will face Randa Markos.
AEW
There is a full page color ad for AEW in the official program for next week’s Super Bowl. It is right next to the table of contents so it’s very prominent. (thanks to Anthony Bergen)
Regarding a question on the commentary on Fite TV during the commercial breaks for Dynamite, you do hear commentary during commercial breaks in matches and occasionally, if there’s not a match, you’ll hear the announcers talking production, talking about what’s up next, often you hear Jim Ross bringing up the rest of the show.
Jamie Hayter won the SWA title today on the Stardom show in Osaka beating Utami Hayashishita. This was on The Kagetsu farewell to Stardom show. Kagetsu is promoting her own retirement show in Osaka on 2/24 where she faces Meiko Satomura.
Former WWE head of security Jimmy Noonan has written a book about pro wrestling, a fictional diary of a world champion. The book is called “Getting Color” and it’s available on Kindle and Amazon.
Combate Americas announced a 2/28 show from Fresno on both Univision and AXS TV as well as on Televisa in Mexico. The show is being pushed as Mexico vs. USA with a main event of Pablo Sabori (9-6) of Mexico vs. Adrian Guzman (6-1) of the U.S. Given the ratings of Combate on Univision, there is no company that gets more out of lesser known talent and has deals with Univision, a strong U.S. station, and Televisa, the dominant station in Mexico. Former Bellator champion Zoila Frausto (14-6) faces Karla Benitez (17-15-1-1, 1 no contest) of Spain.
Candice Michelle was brought to Australia for Wrestling Go in Sydney as a guest ring announcer for a women’s Battle royal. The show was promoted by Albie, an influencer/model who is very popular in Sydney as a fundraiser for the Sydney Assyrian community. Douglas James from Southern California was also on the show. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
KSW’s first show of the decade with big a huge show in Lodz, Poland at the Atlas Arena on 3/21. Mariusz Pudzianowksi (13-7), the former world’s strongest man and top draw, as well as welterweight champion Roberto Soldic (17-3) are headlining.
BCW on Friday night in Melbourne: Cletus won over Cody Swift and Mick Moretti to win the Battle Express title, Sketch b Carlo Cannon, Aysha b Bixsin, Zhan Wn b Big Cuz-COR, Preston Kindred b Brat Pack to keep tag titles, Mortal b Steph De Lander to keep women’s did, Mad Dog NC Gabriel Wolfe for BCW title, Ultimo Dragon b Syd Parker (thanks to Kevin Chiat).
AAW from Friday night in Chicago: Karam b Storm Grayson, Jordan Oliver b Jake Lander, Fred Yehi b ACH, Ace Austin & Clayton Gainz & Stephen Wolf b Nate Webb & The Flip Brothers, AR Fox b Willie Mack, Sami Callihan & Jake Crist b Juventud Guerrera & Aramis, Savannah Stone & Hyan b Jessicka Havok & Kimber Lee, Killer Kross b Ace Perry, Fred Yehi b Killer Kross, Hakim Zane b Paco in a street fight to keep the Heritage title, Mat Fitchett Davey Vega b Jake Something Curt Stallion to keep the tag titles. People were raving in particular about Juventud Guerrera and ACH (thanks to Case Lowe)
Defy on 2/21 in Seattle features Jeff Cobb plus talent from The Crash promotion in Tijuana.
Rise announced a free seminar and multiple promotion tryout event on 3/2 and 3/27 in Berwyn, IL. The tryout will be at zero cost to the participants.
Rhino has a seminar on 3/1 for PWE in Oshawa, ONT at the Royal Canadian Legion.
Georges St-Pierre was in a commercial for BelairDirect Insurance spoofing the Rocky movies which played last week during the NFL playoffs in Canada (thanks to Grant Zwarych)
Northeast Wrestling from last night in Waterbury, CT: Christian Casanova b Richard Holliday to keep the Facebook title, Keith Youngblood & Chris Battle & RJ Rude & Zane Bernardo b Brett Ryan Gosselin & DL Hurst & Danger Kid & Aiden Aggro, Jake Manning b Daniel Evans, Flip Gordon b Brian Pillman Jr., Wrecking Ball Legursky b Sledge, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa b JT Dunn & Mike Verna, Marty Scurll b Vincent when Matt Taven distracted Vince, Dan Maff b Darby Allin to win the NEW title in a no DQ match, Keith Youngblood won 30 man Rumble (thanks to Nick Mahmood)
