DAILY UPDATE
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Latest News:
WWE Raw ratings down, still hold up well against strong competition
WWE’s Erik undergoes surgery to remove ‘some hardware’ from arm
Big Swole vs. Serena Deeb added to this week’s AEW Dynamite
MLW holding Opera Cup tournament this year
ROH Pure Championship tourney results: PJ Black vs. Tony Deppen
NJPW G1 Climax 30 night ten results: KENTA vs Tanahashi
NJPW to run World Tag League, Best of the Super Juniors concurrently
WWE Raw video highlights: RETRIBUTION leader reveal
Latest Audio:
WOL: RAW fallout, Ali as Retribution leader, more! 10/6
DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Sid Vicious as Lord Humongous 10/6
WOR: RAW, BTE, G-1, Ali, mailbag and tons more! 10/6
WON NEWSLETTER: October 5, 2020 Observer Newsletter: NJPW shakeup, WWE talent and 3rd party deals, more
We’ve got a double issue this week of the Observer with the full rundown of Harold Meij being out in New Japan, WWE’s social media policy as it relates to talent, and extensive G-1 coverage.
Our lead story looks at the Harold Meij era of New Japan, how he got there, the turmoil behind-the-scenes, why he’s leaving, his last words to his fan club, why the guy who handled running a wrestling company during a pandemic is out while in the pandemic and a lot of behind-the-scenes stories regarding New Japan and AEW never making a deal, and whether this can change things, and what the key issues are. The changes he made to the company, the business record and issues in dealing with talent and others and the inherent issues of a non-Japanese person in charge of a major Japanese company. This is the most inside version of what happened there since 2018 and from people who know the situation the best.
Also in this issue:
WWE’s latest when it comes to talent and social media, WWE policy, Andrew Yang and why this could be the worst time to make these decisions.
WWE Clash of Champions, NXT Takeover, Hell in a Cell, the COVID issues in AEW & WWE and how they spread, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
G1 Climax tournament, with standings, best matches, behind-the-scenes,why crowds aren’t quick to sell out, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results of every show.
XFL start, changes in WWE tapings and why 205 Live will be taped with NXT ad not Smackdown, we look at declines in WWE interest and reasons why WWE draft dates, Reigns vs. Rock, Reigns talks C.M. Punk, new Dwayne Johnson TV show looked at, new WWE signings, update on WWE injuries, one of the top college wrestlers already publicly talking about going to WWE, more on TV ratings in U.S. and Canada, former TNA champion talks how close he came to joining WWE, Cena starring in new movie, Zayn talks politics, Rusev talks problems with WWE creative, update on Raw Underground, where tribal chief comes from, WWE market value and the most watched shows on WWE Network over the past week.
UFC 253, with business notes, the main themes of the show plus match-by-match coverage and poll results.
The treatment of women in pro wrestling with notes from a recent BBC article with thoughts from several women involved.
87th anniversary show of CMLL, and the plight of Lucha Libre with no fans.
Jerry Lawler 50th anniversary show.
2020 Hall of Fame ballot in each category, with the top candidate, last year’s highest that haven’t gotten in, as well as a list of those who have been elected in the past five years.
Smackdown and AEW ratings based on the same opposition, as well as network vs. cable when it comes to other sports.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Riddick Moss revealed that he’s been wrestling on a torn ACL for the past two months: “Over the past 2 months, Riddick Moss has gone undefeated in both #RawUnderground and the #WWEThunderdome, showing elite power, speed, agility, and explosion. While training, I’ve squatted 500, deadlifted 600, and broad jumped over 10’. I have done all of this with a torn ACL. When you have such high expectations for yourself, it’s hard to exceed them. But damn… even I was impressed with Riddy Mo on this one. 100% real talk, I don’t know of anyone else who could’ve done all of this. I am everything I’ve said I am – best athlete in the industry, Baddest MoFo on the Show, and a true Outlier. It speaks to my unmatched training, world-class athleticism, and extraordinary toughness. In other words, it’s a testament to the Riddick Regimen. And if you didn’t already believe in the Regimen, just wait til you see THIS comeback.”
A WWE’s Best Moments of 2020 special will air on Fox this Sunday (October 11). The special will feature a collection of the past year’s best matches and moments from The Undertaker, Universal Champion Roman Reigns, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, John Cena, Raw Women’s Champion Asuka, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits, Sasha Banks, The Fiend, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Edge, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, and Matt Riddle.
WWE uploaded a post-Raw video where Aleister Black challenged Kevin Owens to face him on Raw next week.
Following WWE’s Twitch edict, Paige tweeted yesterday: “Learned a lot about unionism today.” Zelina Vega responded with a thinking face emoji and wrote “hmm..”
Last Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.155 million viewers in the final ratings, up from the overnight number of 2.043 million viewers.
Robert Roode responded to a question from TVInsider about James Storm potentially coming to WWE: “That’s above my pay grade. I haven’t talked to James in years. During this time especially, I don’t know what’s going to take place or who is coming in or not. I have to worry about myself. I’m quite happy doing what I’m doing with Dolph and doing my thing.”
WWE has filed trademarks for Aoife Valkyrie, Amir Jordan, Amale, A-Kid, Kay Lee Ray, and Austin 3:16.
Nikki & Brie Bella appeared on today’s episode of Uncool with Alexa Bliss.
Ryan Satin has joined Fox Sports as a digital contributor: “FOX Sports welcomes new digital contributor @ryansatin, who will provide regular commentary on the WWE for the new FOX Sports app and FOXSports.com.”
WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded John Cena & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Elias from Super Show-Down 2018, Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro in a two-out-of-three falls match for the Intercontinental title from Hell in a Cell 2014, and Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan from the February 5, 2019 episode of SmackDown.
Other Wrestling
In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Jazz announced her retirement from in-ring competition: “Honestly, I just had my last match this past Sunday. I am done in the ring. I was going to do a whole tour in 2020, but with the pandemic happening, that screwed everything up. I’ve been having issues with my knees and my back and a lot more issues physically, mentally and emotionally. That’s why I had to forfeit the NWA title. I have two beautiful daughters and I have to focus on them right now.”
AEW uploaded their Road to Jericho 30 video hyping this week’s episode of Dynamite.
During his Saturday Night Special stream this past weekend, Jericho said he was originally supposed to face Mike Tyson at All Out: “Originally, I was supposed to work with Tyson at the September pay-per-view, All Out 2, and we just couldn’t get it done in time. So, the second match I had with Orange was originally going to be the Mimosa Mayhem but we moved it to the rubber match position.”
Ben Carter told Fightful that he wrestled for AEW for free due to his visa status: “It was originally Christopher Daniels that reached out to me on Twitter and e-mail asking, ‘Would you be interested in coming and working a match or two? Just for us to have a look at you.’ I was like, ‘Yes. Totally. 1000%.’ I’m not like a citizen. I talked on the phone with a representative about, ‘We won’t be able to pay you because it’s illegal. Would you be interested in coming to do it for free?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t care about the money. I’ll do it for free any day.’ From there I was like, ‘Sweet, let’s do this.'”
Sarah Stock posted a tweet yesterday after being arrested on charges of aggravated battery, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and public intoxication with alcohol early Sunday morning: “Never a dull moment! I’m just fine, and so is Cookie. Everything will be resolved in due time. I’ll keep you updated!”
The Tampa Bay Times has a story on Gerald Brisco and his release from WWE. Brisco said about his release: “I’m okay with it. The way I see it, I earned a break.”
Taya Valkyrie revealed that she was cast in season four of Netflix’s GLOW and filmed for the show prior to it being canceled: “Now that it’s officially been cancelled, I guess I can talk about it……To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement. This past February I was cast on @glownetflix S4. This was finally my chance to be seen as an actress, to work with some of the most talented women behind and in front of the camera. I’m heart broken that the work we did will never be seen and that we didn’t get to finish what had been started. Thank you to everyone that was so nice to me and supportive on set. I guess I’ll just have to wait a little longer to meet ya Hollywood”
Sports Illustrated has a Q&A with Jay White.
Kurt Angle has been announced for Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea: Triple Whammy, which will sail from October 21-25, 2021.
Daily Pro Wrestling History: WWE Hell in a Cell 2019
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