Wrestling News & Rumors

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

It's not like he has to cut a check either. They just take some from his guarantee until its paid.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer The combination of being the day after a major pay-per-view that ended with curiosity, and the show-long Brock Lesnar cash-in tease led to Raw doing 2.52 million viewers last night, up seven percent from the week before, even though last week had no NBA playoff competition. It was the best the show has done since the start of the playoffs. Even with the push of the 24/7 title and the strong tease of a cash-in, the third hour still was down 14.2 percent from the first hour. That figure is much better than recent weeks, but still would have been considered a huge drop two years ago. The same week last year, which also went against the NBA playoffs, but wasn't coming the day after a PPV, did 2.66 million viewers, so Raw held up far better than any show has done in a long time based on year-over-year comparisons .. The three hours were: 8 p.m. 2.68 million viewers 9 p.m. 2.58 million viewers 10 p.m. 2.30 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer There was a WWE talent meeting earlier today [Sunday] headed by Stephanie McMahon. It was mostly the same rah-rah type speech they do from time-to-time. The only thing notable is that they directly addressed AEW as their competition. They were pushing the WWE brand hard, the same social media and YouTube stats they always talk about with the idea of having 1 billion followers (adding every form of social media for every performer related to the company), and then said that they are having to compete with video games, movies, other streaming services as well as now AEW. In giving this speech, at no time have they ever mentioned a competing wrestling company.

Originally Posted by Observer Squared Circle Sirens reports that WWE is scouting the promotion Gatoh Move in Thailand and Singapore Pro Wrestling in South East Asia

One person beign scouted is Riho who recently signed a 5-show deal with AEW.

Originally Posted by PWI AJ Styles was interviewed by Newsweek and noted during the conversation that his current WWE contract is the last pro wrestling contract he will ever sign. Styles commented, "I can tell you that this contract that I’ve signed is my last. This is the perfect place for me to be. It’s family-oriented, I have no problem taking my family to the shows. It’s a PG product, which Ienjoy. I’m in the best place I can be for my career." Styles also commented on potential competition for WWE, commenting, "As far as the indies and whatnot, I don’t think they should ever be competitive with the WWE. They should compete with themselves to make sure they get better everyday because there’s no competition, if you want me to be honest. WWE is globally huge. It’s unbelievable to know how big the WWE is. People don’t understand it. If you want to succeed, don’t compete. Be something different, be the alternative. There’s a lot of people that have a good chance, but competition is always a great thing. I hope any company does well so they can be that competition. Competition will always make a better product."

Originally Posted by PWI Impact Wrestling saw signing Jordynne Grace yesterday as a victory. The two sides officially came to terms yesterday for a multi-year deal. There was interest from both WWE and AEW, so Impact was really pleased that Grace, despite having strong interest elsewhere, made the decision to finally lock herself into a deal wtih them. There wasn't a clear answer as far as why Grace never signed the initial deal that she was supposed to sign last October. We are told that Grace provided Impact with data, including social media engagement, to showcase why she was worth more than the initial deal that was offered. One would think that in the end, she landed a better financial deal than she was probably originally offered. Her new contract will run through May 2021.

Originally Posted by PWI Q - Is it legal for WWE to add time to wrestlers contracts when they are injured? They are still part if the company and still get paid even if they don’t wrestle. They aren’t released from their contracts when they are injured. Sounds like immature pettiness. A - They get paid their downside and it’s part of the contract that they agreed to. If they didn’t agree, they wouldn’t sign the contract.

From PWI's weekly Q&A articles on how WWE gets away with freezing and adding time to contracts.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling While promoting the Super Showdown on Raw, Michael Cole stated they were “returning to Jeddah” for an international event. We were told that at least one other international department was instructed that they could identify the show as happening in Jeddah but would not be saying Saudi Arabia, although that could change as they get closer to the event.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Starrcast put out a statement confirming Ric Flair will not be in Las Vegas this week following his heart procedure on Monday. The Roast of Ric Flair has been postponed to a later date, which was scheduled to air on Fite TV as well on pay-per-view on at least one provider in Canada. We have confirmed that the panel with Jim Ross and Ricky Steamboat (which Flair was part of) is not going to take place Thursday night due to Flair’s absence. I was told that a replacement is going to be announced for that slot at Starrcast and Fite TV. Flair had also been scheduled for meet-and-greets with the Four Horseman.

Originally Posted by Observer SCWPro tweeted that they’ve been told Flair’s appearance at their debut show in East Moline, Illinois on May 31 is still on: “We've been in constant contact w/ representatives for @RicFlairNatrBoy & we're happy to announce that we've been told his appearance at our debut event at the Rust Belt on May 31st is STILL ON!”

Originally Posted by Observer Beth Phoenix, Bruno Sammartino, Thunderbolt Patterson, Sgt. Slaughter, Brian Shields and Daniel Cormier will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, which will be held on July 25-27.

Originally Posted by PWI The "Bash at the Beach" trademark by Cody Rhodes was given an initial refusal by The USPTO because likelihood of confusion with WWE's registered "The Bash" trademark. His trademark for "Dusty Rhodes" has also been given an initial refusal because of likelihood of confusion to the "Dustin Rhodes" trademark registered to Dustin Runnels. All his other trademarks - BattleBowl, Bunkhouse Stampede, The Prince of Wrestling, The American Nightmare, and The American Dream have been approved to publish for opposition at a later date. Meanwhile, WWE's trademark for "Garza Jr." has been given an initial refusal because, according to The USPTO, they are just trademarking a last name/surname which is not a rare name. They supplied the WWE.com article of Garza's signing as evidence in which WWE made mention of his uncle Hector Garza.

Originally Posted by Fightful The Usos, a Raw team, won a non-title match against the Smackdown tag team champions, who had previously beaten the Usos to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championships -- a title on a brand the Usos aren't on. Charlotte Flair's reign as Smackdown Women's Champion was the shortest of all time. She now holds the longest and shortest reigns, and three of the five shortest reigns. AJ Styles and Seth Rollins worked together 25 times over the last three years in WWE, but never had a singles match against one another in the company until Money in the Bank. Combined, the three women's championship matches lasted 16:10 combined, which was less than the WWE Universal Championship match's 19:51 time.

From Fightful's stats article on last Sunday's Money in the Bank event

Originally Posted by Fightful The honeymoon between IMPACT and Pursuit is over. According to Mike Johnson at PWInsider, the hope in IMPACT Wrestling is the company can find a new, better TV outlet in the fall. IMPACT is currently on the Pursuit channel, which is also owned by IMPACT's parent company, Anthem. The company has run into problems on the network, including this past Friday when Pursuit aired 24 minutes of commercials instead of the main event. IMPACT had to issue an apology for the technical snafu. Along with this past Friday's issue, Pursuit continues to list IMPACT as four 30-minute episodes instead of one two-hour episode. The channel has reportedly been "very slow in responding to IMPACT requests and dealing with reported issues."

Originally Posted by Fightful Carmella takes down her tweet about Mandy. At the Money In The Bank pay-per-view, there was a point during the women's Money In The Bank Ladder match when former SmackDown Live Women's Champion Carmella had her leg caught in between a ladder as she was attempting to lift it up and Mandy Rose came over and kicked the ladder into Carmella's leg. Mandy attempted to wrestle Carmella to the mat but Carmella shoved Rose off multiple times and told her to back off as she was hurt. The two competitors engaged in a social media feud after the pay-per-view and Rose expressed that the Money In The Bank contract was supposed to be her's which led to Carmella chiming in and eventually noting that Rose needs to go back to NXT and learn how to be safe in the ring. Carmella has since deleted that tweet.

Deleted tweet screenshot: https://www.fightful.com/sites/defau...es/xxiue18.jpg

Originally Posted by Fightful On tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown, Big E made his first appearance since tearing his meniscus on the Apr. 10 episode of SmackDown Live. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston welcomed Big E back with a party to open SmackDown Live. Big E's appearance included smelling his comrades and still pining after Becky Lynch's mom. However, there was a sour note on the return as Xavier confirmed that Big E has yet to be cleared to compete. It is unknown when Big E will return to in-ring competition.

Originally Posted by Fightful Speaking at the JP Morgan Investors Conference, WWE Co-President George Barrios was asked about AEW being competition to WWE. "If you're in the business of fighting for people's time....sleep is competition. Whether it's Fortnite, the NBA, kung fu novels, we are fighting for people's time. Everyone and everything is a competitor. AEW has announced (the deal with Turner). Welcome to the game. We'll see how it goes."

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• Watch: AEW Releases Full Hangman Page vs. PAC Match
• WWE Changing Up the Look of the Third Hour of Raw
• Rey Mysterio Injured, “Future of US Title” to Be Addressed on Raw
• Ric Flair Pulls Out of Celebrity Roast Because of Surgery
• Jordynne Grace Officially Signs With Impact Wrestling for “Years to Come”

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don't know why TNA expects to move up in the world.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Several days after Ashley Massaro's lawyer released an affadavit that included a claim she was sexually assaulted on a 2007 Kuwait tour and was told not to report it, WWE released a statement addressing the claim. "WWE is saddened by the death of Ashley Massaro, and we reiterate our condolences to her family. However, we regret that her attorney Konstantine Kyros, who filed multiple cases against WWE, lost all of them, and was sanctioned multiple times by the Court for repeated misconduct and false allegations, is using Ashley’s death to further his malicious campaign against WWE by releasing an affidavit that she submitted to the Court and later apologized to WWE for being involved with, so we wish to make certain things crystal clear. At no time was Vince McMahon or the management of WWE ever informed by Ashley Massaro or anybody else that she had been sexually assaulted, drugged, raped or sodomized by a military doctor with a nurse standing guard while on a goodwill tour in 2007 to U.S. military bases in Kuwait. In fact, if she ever articulated such a claim to WWE, we would have reported it immediately to the Base Commander. At no time was there ever a meeting with Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, John Laurinaitis or other company executives in which she told them of such a claim and was instructed to keep it quiet." The 39-year-old Massaro died of an apparent suicide last Thursday at her Long Island, NY, home. Massaro was one of 60 wrestlers Kyros represented in a concussion-related lawsuit that was filed in 2016. After it was thrown out of court last fall, an appeal is set to be heard in July. WWE provided the New York Post with an email from Massaro sent last October in which she apologized for being part of the lawsuit and said Kyros "poached" her. He said he never saw the email and that she never withdrew from the case.

Originally Posted by PWI A number of women in professional wrestling who worked alongside the late Ashley Massaro, who passed away last week, have banded together to launch a GoFundMe Campaign to assist in Massaro's daughter Alexa being able to continue her education.

Link for those interested in donating: https://www.gofundme.com/AshleyMassa...ducationalFund

Originally Posted by Observer Gail Kim is going to auction off the gear she wore in her retirement match against Tessa Blanchard at Impact’s Rebellion PPV to raise money for Massaro’s daughter. Maria Kanellis paid tribute to Massaro on last night’s 205 Live by having “Ashley” written on her hand.

Links: https://twitter.com/gailkimITSME/sta...48005561110530 , https://www.instagram.com/p/BxwB72JBxhy/

Originally Posted by Fightful WWE Co-President comments on recent backstage creative changes. This past year has brought about many backstage changes to WWE. It started in February when WWE brought back Bruce Prichard to a full-time creative position. From there, Jeff Jarrett and Dana Warrior were added to the creative team while R.D. Evans, Kazeem Famuyide, and others left and Road Dogg stepped down as head writer of SmackDown. WWE has also cycled in and out producers with Abyss, Sonjay Dutt and Gregory Helms joining the team and Arn Anderson and Dean Malenko departing. With all the changes behind the scenes, it's easy to wonder how that affects the creative process. WWE Co-President George Barrios wouldn't put much stock into the changes. "What gives me confidence is that we've been creating stars and putting smiles on people's faces for a long time. You're always looking to get better in terms of your process and tools you're using. We've got a lot of great talent and we try to supplement that over time. I wouldn't put too big a spotlight on (creative hires)," Barrios said during a JP Morgan Investors Conference. "The most important asset we have is our talent. So, what should we be focused on, what's going to move the needle and what's the best way to engage in our fanbase?"

Originally Posted by PWI Several readers sent word this morning that on his latest podcast, Chris Jericho stated that AEW's weekly series would be airing on ITV in Great Britain this Fall when it will also debut for TNT here in the United States.

With Ric Flair unable to attend Starrcast II this weekend as he recovers from heart surgery, the following events have been added to the weekend at Caesar's Palace: Thursday 5/23 at 6 PM - REMEMBERING OWEN. Jim Ross will host a panel discussing memories of the late Owen Hart. Thursday 5/23 at 8:30 PM - RON FUNCHES & FRIENDS COMEDY SHOW. Friday 5/24 at 7 PM - READY TO RUMBLE WATCH-ALONG with Tony Schivaone, David Arquette, Shane Helms and surprise guests.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE stock closed the day at $77.46 per share, down two percent from yesterday.

Almost 25% down since their last fiscal report.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE congratulated Bayley on being their first women’s triple crown champion. She currently holds the SmackDown Women’s Championship and has previously held the Raw Women’s Championship and Women’s Tag Team titles. WWE also acknowledged Rey Mysterio being a grand slam champion after his first US title win.

Originally Posted by PWI WE issued the following press release for their return to Australia later this year: WWE RETURNS TO AUSTRALIA MELBOURNE, Australia and STAMFORD, Conn., May 22, 2019 – WWE LIVE will return to Australia with three events, including Monday, October 21 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Tuesday, October 22 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane and Wednesday, October 23 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, presented in partnership with TEG Dainty.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc It's looking more and more like Brock Lesnar will cash in his Money In the Bank briefcase against WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins at WWE Super ShowDown from Saudi Arabia on June 7. Lesnar is currently scheduled to announce his cash-in decision on Monday's RAW and then may return for the final episode before Super ShowDown, which would be the June 3 episode, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer noted that Lesnar will then work Super ShowDown, but after that we likely won't see him until around SummerSlam time in August, to set up his match for that pay-per-view. The plan has been for Lesnar to face Rollins at Saudi Arabia, as far back as around WrestleMania 35 time. It is possible that WWE announces Lesnar vs. Rollins as a regular match, and have him keep the briefcase, but that seems unlikely.

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• Aleister Black Also Reportedly Not Going to Saudi Arabia
• Ruby Riott Injured, Undergoes Surgery
• Ric Flair Back Home After Surgery
• Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan Are Not Going to Saudi Arabia

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by PWI 5/23 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: OWEN HART PASSES AWAY 1999 - Owen Hart dies of cardiac arrest after falling from the ceiling in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri during the WWF Over The Edge Pay-per-view. The fall was not seen on television, as a pre-taped interview was being shown at the time. Owen was to have made a "Blue Blazer" entrance on a cable when his harness malfunctioned, causing the fall. Hart was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead. Owen was 34 years old. The show continued, with Jim Ross informing the home viewer later in the program that Owen had died, but the fans in the building were not told of his passing. The decision to continue running the show and not announcing Hart's death to the live crowd have been hotly debated since 1999. The Undertaker defeated Steve Austin in the main event to win the WWF Title in the main event. The show would be the only WWF PPV, to date, that was never released on home video after it was held.

Originally Posted by PWI Q - Loved the Bret Hart-Tom Magee match and documentary, but for a match that was meant only for the crowd and was never going to be shown on television, how does it have commentary with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan? A - They may have later voiced it over to use on one of the syndicated shows but for whatever reason, never used the match. WWF used to voice over old content all the time and re-use it for Prime Time Wrestling, Home Videos, etc. so it wasn’t out of the ordinary.

From PWI's weekly Q&A article on why the Hart-Magee match had commentary.

Originally Posted by PWI The Tacoma Dome is locally advertising the following matches for the 6/23 WWE Stomping Grounds PPV: *Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship *Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin for the Universal Championship *Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

Originally Posted by PWI The updated lineup advertised locally for the 7/14 WWE Extreme Rules on 7/13 PPV in Philadelphia features: *Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat Match *Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin for the Universal Championship in a Tables Match *Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre in a Handicap Match. *AJ Styles vs. a mystery opponent *Plus: Becky Lynch, Randy Orton, Elias.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The move will come three months after what is expected to be AEW’s debut on ITV 4 in October with a regular live television show. The AEW deal is not official, but Cody strongly hinted at it on Being the Elite and Chris Jericho has talked about it on his podcast. ITV 4 will be airing both a Countdown like show for Double or Nothing on 5/24 and the one-hour Buy In show, as well as handle the PPV show in the U.K. market on ITV Box Office. The final deal is said to be not official until TNA decides whether to run the weekly two-hour live show on Tuesday or Wednesday nights. The hope is for ITV 4 to run the show live.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter New Japan World subscribers have hit 122,000 with good gains coming with the start of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. An interesting note is that the two most-watched matches thus far have been Rocky Romero’s matches with Will Ospreay and Robbie Eagles. Some of that is because Australia and the U.K. are in more favorable time slots than the U.S., but still, you’d think the Japanese bouts would dominate since Japan has the most subscribers. This has helped Eagles in the eyes of management. The new people who have signed up in the last week are mostly from Europe, not the U.S., or Japan, so there’s a feeling Ospreay being in a key position has helped a lot. Eagles was said to be the most popular newcomer this year, with part of the reason believed that the fans are comfortable with him because he’s half-Asian. His new Bullet Club T-shirt is the best selling Bullet Club shirt in Japan since the Young Bucks were taken out of the group. It was noted he’s also getting over with women and children, similar to Juice Robinson, and women are a key demographic they are after

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The company got some good news with the on-sale for the Bridgeport Takeover show. While not sold out, the advance for the 7,000 seat set up is strong and it look like it will either sell out or come very close. This would be the first Takeover in a major arena that wasn’t the day before a major WWE PPV show.

According to the Observer, NXT's show is selling at a faster pace than the upcoming AEW Jacksonville show and NJPW G1 show in Dallas.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The 7/6 Dallas show at last report had sold about 2,800 tickets. They are hoping for a big late buy, and they did get that in San Francisco once the card was announced, but late buys are going to be local and New Japan doesn’t have that many fans in Dallas. Lance Archer has been heavily promoting the show including going to indie cards in the area and selling tickets. Jushin Liger has been added to the show. London on 8/30 is at 6,100 tickets sold at this point, so it will sell out

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter In an interesting move, the Double or Nothing show is treating media like they are covering a sports event. They sent out a list of things that a real sport would send out to media with details, credentials, areas to file stories, backstage interviews for stories after the show and much more. WWE does do a media room in the suites for WrestleMania, and Takeovers do have a post-show press conference with Paul Levesque, but not with the talent, but this likely comes from the sports background of Tony Khan and with the guys involved learning from their days working New Japan major shows.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Pac was scheduled to beat Page, which with the win, was to lead to bigger matches ... The feeling here is that beating Page had to be a big deal and lead to a major main event, because they are positioning Page as a big star. If it’s not to set up a match with Omega, Jericho or Cody, nobody should be beating Page. You could do a DQ, and many would, or a draw. They made the decision that they wanted winners and losers when you pay for a PPV. To not adhere to that concept on the first show basically ruins the concept they are pushing right out of the gate. They were not going to sacrifice the entire concept of what they were building to get out of a match. As far as the draw idea goes, that had problems as well ... First, Tony Khan was at the Revolution Pro show where Pac and Will Ospreay did a 30:00 draw in what was an easy ****3/4 match. But as great as the match was, the fans booed the draw. Khan didn’t want that reaction on his show, and also noted it wasn’t just that match, but other Pac draws in the U.K. had gotten similar reactions, noting another great match with Zack Sabre Jr. The fact that in the 70s, or in New Japan, a long classic match ending in a draw would be viewed one way didn’t matter, because it’s neither the 70s nor Japan. He didn’t want a negative reaction like that on the debut show. Second, it didn’t work out. If they did a 20:00 draw, they’d have to cut time from other matches to make it work. Plus, if in the future, they wanted a non-main event to go more than 20:00, the precedent would be set that a third from the top match has that time limit. If they went 30:00, they’d have to cut more time out of perhaps multiple matches ... As far as Pac goes, for right now he will not be working for the promotion. He won’t be at Fyter Fest, and likely angles or match announcements will be made coming off the show to make sense for however that main event is to be changed. He is not expected to be back until he loses the Dream Gate belt, because with the style of booking they are doing, they can’t do business with somebody who can’t ever lose.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Regarding the most talked about mystery guys, Joey Ryan is booked on that night for AIW in Cleveland. C.M. Punk is doing play-by-play of an MMA show in Southern California. Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose) is doing an MMA movie, although it is possible he could get a day off.

In regards to AEW's upcoming Casino Battle Royal match.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The medical examiner’s office in London confirmed the early reports that the death of Cesar Gonzalez, better known as Silver King, on 5/11 in the ring in London, was due to a heart attack. It was noted that his father, the legendary Dr. Wagner, died the same way at the age of 68 One thing notable about his death is that, as noted last week, there has been a movement throughout wrestling for referees to get CPR training, which is only a good thing. Daniel Lopez, better known as El Satanico, who runs the commission out of Zapopan, which is the Guadalajara region, has now mandated that shows need two ambulances on site and one paramedic, who will be assigned by the commission, will be on every show along with a doctor and that at least one referee on every show will need to have had CPR training. Lopez said that he wants all referees to have that training

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Even though Primo Colon has been working in Puerto Rico a lot as of late, he is still under contract here. Both Colons have it in their deal that because of the longstanding WWE relationship with Carlos Colon, that they are allowed to work shows for WWC. It’s not like they are missing WWE main event bookings by going there. Primo is one of those guys who was a good worker since he was a teenager and he’s made a living here with his downside and all, and Puerto Rico is so dead that it was the best thing for him in the big picture, but he’s also a guy who nobody realizes how good he is who has never been able to show it

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The 5/17 television show was a mess for a number of reasons. The first and main thing is that in the much-lauded Michael Elgin vs. Rich Swann, in the television version on Pursuit, after Swann did three dives and a top rope move, they went to a commercial break. This was 96 minutes into a two-hour show. The next 24 minutes were nothing but commercials and they never came back. It wasn’t a problem with the tape, because they air the show at the same time on Twitch and they showed the complete match. The worst part of all this is that so few people watch Impact now (the last rating we heard for the show on Pursuit was around 10,000 viewers) that there was almost no talk about the miscue anywhere.

Originally Posted by Observer For the third time in four weeks, SmackDown's Monday night house show won't be taking place as scheduled. WWE announced today that SmackDown's house show that was supposed to take place at the Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina, Kansas on Monday (May 27) has been rescheduled to Saturday, October 26. Tickets that were purchased for Monday will be honored on that October 26 date, and WWE noted that fans who cannot attend should go to their point of purchase for refunds.

Originally Posted by PWI For those who have asked about Lio Rush, we are told he is still WWE NXT bound.

Originally Posted by Fightful Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that Johnny Gargano is currently dealing with a knee injury. Gargano hasn't worked an NXT live event since Mar. 8 but did wrestle at TakeOver: New York against Adam Cole and has wrestled at recent NXT television tapings. His TakeOver: XXV match on June 1 with Cole is reportedly not in jeopardy but it is unclear how active he will be following that match ... Meltzer also reports that Bobby Fish is dealing with an undisclosed injury but that it is not considered serious. Fish was kicked in the head during a tag team match at an NXT live event on May 17, which reportedly left him woozy. He showed up the next night with his arm in a sling, unable to wrestle. Fish is being advertised for NXT TakeOver: XXV where he will team with Kyle O'Reilly in a fatal four-way tag team ladder match to crown new NXT Tag Team Champions.

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• WWE: Matt Riddle NXT Title Plans, More on Owens Not Going to Saudi Arabia
• New Talk Show Hosted By Steve Austin Coming to USA Network
• WWE Reportedly Added the 24/7 Title Because of Pressure From USA Network
• Aleister Black Isn’t Going to Saudi Arabia Because of His Tattoos

[Droford]

If everyone got a ton of tattoos that would stop the Saudi shiws

[Mr. Nerfect]

The AEW booking thing still doesn’t make any sense.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by PWI Raw star Drew McIntyre is being advertised for a number of upcoming Smackdown brand events, so it appears the Wild Card rule will be in effect for future live events presented by WWE. McIntyre is currently advertised by WWE for the following events: Saturday 6/1 in Waco, Texas Sunday 6/2 in College Station, Texas Monday 6/3 in Corpus Christie, Texas (opposite that night's live Raw broadcast) Sunday 6/9 in Stockton, CA Monday 6/10 in Reno, Nevada (opposite that night's live Raw broadcast)

Originally Posted by PWI Sasha Banks was in the NYC area this past Wednesday for WWE. One source we spoke to believed she was working on material for the next WWE video game release.

Originally Posted by PWI Rey Mysterio provided an update on his shoulder injury from this past weekend at the Money in the Bank show. Mysterio stated that he suffered a separated AC joint and received PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatment on his left shoulder

Originally Posted by Fightful Jimmy's Famous Seafood held their annual golf tournament this week which hosted WWE Superstars Jimmy and Jey Uso as well as MLW's Lance Anoa'i. While at the event, the wrestlers joined forces with "Team Famous" to present The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with a $5 thousand donation. The money was presented on behalf of Roman Reigns and the entire Anoa'i family.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Don Callis noted that he will be returning to New Japan for the Dominion card on June 9th in Osaka. Earlier in the week, Impact will be taping television on June 6th and 7th at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling One of the many questions I have that I haven’t seen poised elsewhere, is Kenny Omega’s effect, specifically to the Canadian market. We have seen through history the impact a strong personality can have on this market from Bret Hart maintaining the WWF’s business in Canada even when they were underneath WCW in the U.S, and of course, Georges St-Pierre’s rise with the UFC. Since “All In”, Omega had a widely distributed documentary in Canada, and did a media run that got him onto many mainstream outlets across the country where he came off tremendously. I’m not expecting Omega to take this pay-per-view and do a blockbuster number, but I do feel his profile has risen since September.

Originally Posted by Fightful During Thursday's "An Evening With Cody & The Young Bucks" stage show at Starrcast II, Cody Rhodes casually announced that All Elite Wrestling will air on ITV in the UK beginning in the fall. Cody also stated that "WWE's TV deal in the UK sucks compared to ours." The weekly show will likely air on ITV 4, which will air the Buy-In pre-show ahead of AEW Double or Nothing on Saturday. ITV 4 is available in nearly 27 million homes while BT Sport, which will be the new home of WWE in the UK, is in 2.19 million homes.

For some comparisons, even TNA/Impact was available in more homes than WWE was in the UK prior to WWE leaving Sky Sports. Also averaged higher number of viewers for their weekly shows than WWE's shows.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE has announced that they’ll be holding a house show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China on September 21. NXT’s Xia Li and Boa, who are Chinese nationals, are advertised for the show. There will also be a four-day tryout in Shanghai from July 15-18.

Originally Posted by Observer Vince McMahon’s XFL put in a bid for some of the defunct and bankrupt AAF’s assets, currently located in San Antonio, Texas.

Originally Posted by Observer Lio Rush will be doing an autograph signing at MCW Pro Wrestling’s show in Joppa, Maryland on June 1. All proceeds from the event will benefit MCW’s “The Bruiser” RJ Meyer as he battles leukemia.

Originally Posted by Observer With yesterday being the 20th anniversary of Owen Hart’s death, Chris Jericho and Dave Meltzer paid tribute to Owen and discussed his career on today’s episode of Talk is Jericho.

Link: https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jerich...art-owen-flies

Originally Posted by PWI During his [Starrcast] panel discussion today, Arn Anderson announced he will be teaming with Conrad Thompson to do a podcast later this year. Given Arn's history and his promo skills, that could be one for the ages.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Pretty cool that there is a genuine chance AEW will beat WWE in the UK.

[#1-norm-fan]

Wasn’t TNA beating WWE in the ratings there at one time?

-edit- Oh. Smeat covered it.

[Emperor Smeat]

Yeah although they rarely took advantage of that particular situation in meaningful ways outside of a tour or two per year in the UK for a while. Especially when they started to shift their international focus more towards India.

TV-wise, they've suffered a similar situation of network hopping in recent years although not as dire as their US network problems.

[Ultra Mantis]

There's an unconfirmed rumour going around that Fandango is currently in limbo, similar to Luke Harper.

He has been cleared to return since January but there has apparently been no interest from the office in putting him back on the road in any capacity, as a result he allegedly asked for his release but was flat out refused. Unlike Harper, who worked AXXESS, they didn't even want him for anything over Wrestlemania weekend.

Big if true.

[Evil Vito]

What a way to treat a guy who has been with the company for 13 years.

[erickman]

Originally Posted by Ultra Mantis There's an unconfirmed rumour going around that Fandango is currently in limbo, similar to Luke Harper. He has been cleared to return since January but there has apparently been no interest from the office in putting him back on the road in any capacity, as a result he allegedly asked for his release but was flat out refused. Unlike Harper, who worked AXXESS, they didn't even want him for anything over Wrestlemania weekend. Big if true.

did he ever get his tag team title match with r-truth for winning tough enough

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I don't understand why they keep paying him to sit on his ass

[XL]

Company’s a shitstorm. Surely they can call them on the bullshit they pull? It’s been reported that Goldust asked for, and was granted his release (with 90 no compete) without an extension for the period he was injured, as was Shawn Spears/Tye Dillinger, yet they’re holding certain guys “hostage”?

There’s even less opportunity for a Harper/Curtis given the “Wildcard” set up has Reigns in 3 feuds at the minute. Former US champs Nakamura and Rusev haven’t been on TV for 4 weeks. Buddy Murphy is yet to debut on SDL following the Shake Up. As is Chad Gable. And Liv Morgan. And Mickie James. And Apollo Crews - who somehow appeared on Raw as a Wildcard but is yet debut on his new “home”. Same for Heavy Machinery. Eric Young made his Raw debut scrambling to pick up the lowest of lower card titles - and failing. A segment that also gave Cedric Alexander his second appearance - and 2nd loss.

Mess.

[Fignuts]

Made a thread on it a while ago. They have way too many people signed. And now it’s blowing up in their face even worse since they’ve been forced to have people on both shows.

[#1-norm-fan]

Fandango is quietly one of the biggest dropped balls in WWE history. Just having him on the payroll while not using him at all is the next logical step for the clueless excuse of a wrestling company.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Fignuts Made a thread on it a while ago. They have way too many people signed. And now it’s blowing up in their face even worse since they’ve been forced to have people on both shows.

It’s a very WCW problem. Well, it’s got a different context for WWE, because creativity seems to be a larger issue now. Many in WCW were happy to get paid and sit at home. WWE is spinning all these plates promising opportunities, which they logistically can’t deliver. Broken promises in business are always a bad idea.

[Jordan]

Originally Posted by #1-wwf-fan Fandango is quietly one of the biggest dropped balls in WWE history. Just having him on the payroll while not using him at all is the next logical step for the clueless excuse of a wrestling company.

Yes he is a big deal. AEW should swipe him up and shoot him to the to top like WWF did with Jericho.

[#1-norm-fan]

There’s nothing the guy lacks. He looks like a movie star, he’s so natural on camera that it’s ridiculous. He’s not gonna be putting on six star matches in Japan or anything but he’s good in the ring. What the fuck else could they want?

[Damian Rey 2.0]

He's got some tattoos that enhance his look too. Fandango is a sexy man. And has charisma up the ass.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Fandango could have babies with my sister and my mom and I wouldn’t even be pissed about how confusing my family was.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The guy’s not stellar in the ring, but he’s athletic as hell. The guy does the RVD leap to the top and can land on his feet after a tope con hilo.

It makes me kind of furious he is still doing the Fandango gimmick 6 years later.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Johnny Curtis has been Fandango for longer than Eddie Guerrero worked in WWE. Triple H debuted with the WWF in 1995. He was out with his quad injury 6 years later.

Johnny has been a pro for 20 years, in WWE for 13 and on the main roster for over 8.

[Emperor Smeat]

Originally Posted by XL There’s even less opportunity for a Harper/Curtis given the “Wildcard” set up has Reigns in 3 feuds at the minute. Former US champs Nakamura and Rusev haven’t been on TV for 4 weeks. Buddy Murphy is yet to debut on SDL following the Shake Up. As is Chad Gable. And Liv Morgan. And Mickie James. And Apollo Crews - who somehow appeared on Raw as a Wildcard but is yet debut on his new “home”. Same for Heavy Machinery. Eric Young made his Raw debut scrambling to pick up the lowest of lower card titles - and failing. A segment that also gave Cedric Alexander his second appearance - and 2nd loss. Mess.

Its basically the same problems that lead to the downfall of the 1st Brand Split Era. Back then it was a mix of Vince and/or Creative becoming way too complacent after Cena (and Orton) were established as top stars and neglecting everything else including belts. Worst was Vince's paranoia when it came to Cena losing any merch sales which knee capped a lot of real big pushes for others.

Near the end of it, they had to loosen up the brand split rules because of the lack of big new stars on the brands, especially Smackdown. People who befitted before suddenly got less time and those who could have benefited were neglected as usual.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by PWI For those of you wondering what happened to the advertised Fatal Four Way Elimination match on Raw, we are told that over the course of the day, WWE officials went back and forth on whether it should be an Elimination match or a single fall bout. The argument was made that to protect talents, there should not be three eliminations and eventually that argument won out, so the match was changed to one finish, with Baron Corbin pinning the Miz to secure his Universal title bout with Seth Rollins

Makes WWE look extra dumb that they still announced it as Elimination style when it happened even though it never was.

Originally Posted by Observer SoCal Uncensored is reporting that Joey Ryan has turned down an AEW deal. He has been doing a “farewell to the indies” tour recently, and will make an announcement at Bar Wrestling’s Pickle Jar Hero event on 5/30 regarding his future.

Originally Posted by Observer Pro Wrestling EVE is countering WWE Super Showdown by airing an alternative stream that will feature women’s pro wrestling during the event.

Think they did the same with the last Saudi event.

Originally Posted by Observer Jordynne Grace, Petey Williams and Scott Steiner have been announced as a team for the upcoming CHIKARA King of Trios event this October.

Originally Posted by Observer MLW has announced another debut for this weekend's Fury Road event. Flamita will make his MLW debut against Rey Horus at Saturday's Fury Road television tapings. The show is taking place at the Waukesha County Expo Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin. MLW noted that Flamita has signed on to be a regular with them and will return later this summer after a tour of Japan in July.

Originally Posted by PWI In regard to rumors that Ric Flair was originally set to present the AEW title at Double or Nothing, that is incorrect. Bret Hart was always planned for that role, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The 6/29 FyterFest and 7/13 Fight for the Fallen events will be streaming live on Bleacher Report Live. There were representatives of TNT and Bleacher Report backstage at Double or Nothing ... The Chicago hotel for Starrcast for All Out weekend sold out almost immediately after the third Starrcast was announced.

Originally Posted by PWI AEW President Tony Khan personally timed the Double or Nothing PPV last night and brought the show in 15 minutes before the end of their alotted time. There were a lot of people impressed by Khan's ability to do so since it was the first time he had undertaken the task. Khan was also suggesting shots for the Director of the PPV. A number of those backstage passed on word that Khan was excitedly congratulating everyone after their matches, personally thanking them and even high-fiving them. It was said his enthusiasm really touched a lot backstage as they realized how invested he was on a personal level. The Awesome Kong surprise was locked in four months ago but kept to a very small circle of people. Kong said today that only four people total knew she would be there. Kong noted that Diamond Dallas Page gave her a huge motivational speech before her appearance that helped her find the "Kong" persona again as she returned to the ring for the first time in years. Kong will be appearing on the filmed and completed GLOW Season three on Netflix. Kevin Sullivan, one of the top producers for Impact Wrestling, was the one credited for the AEW video packages on the PPV. The look of the PPV was designed to be as sports-oriented as possible. Keith Mitchell headed production. There were a number of former WCW production employees working the show. Bob Rosen, formerly of TNA, built the ring that AEW utilized last night specifically for the promotion. Rosen also worked as timekeeper at ringside. Atlas Security was in the house and will be working for the promotion going forward.

Originally Posted by PWI An opposition is in the process of being filed against Starrcast registering 'Dead Man Talking' from being trademarked, but it's not from you who would think. Audioboom have requested for a 30-day extension to file an opposition, which they have till 7/20 to do. Audioboom produces a non-wrestling podcast called 'Dead Man Talking'. If they wish to, WWE still have till 6/20 to file an opposition or request an extension.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling During the Canadian broadcast of Raw on Sportsnet 360, they ran an ad promoting Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton for the Stomping Grounds pay-per-view on June 23rd in Tacoma, Washington.

Originally Posted by Fightful The wrestling world has another interesting free agent, as Fightful has learned that Jonathan Gresham is without a contract. The Ring of Honor standout isn't technically committed to Ring of Honor. Gresham's deal expired in late April, leaving him as a free agent in a wrestling world with a lot of options. It was expected that he would be quickly re-signed or extended, but thus far a deal hasn't been reached. The situation is made even more interesting considering the fact that Gresham works as a trainer at the Ring of Honor Dojo as, well.

Originally Posted by Fightful Kenny Omega gets emotional when talking about Kota Ibushi. The day after AEW Double or Nothing, Kenny Omega made an appearance at Starrcast II, fielding a variety of questions. One subject that came up during Omega's session was his relationship with Kota Ibushi and why his Golden Lovers partner isn't in All Elite Wrestling. Omega quickly became choked up when discussing his decision not to ask Ibushi to join him in AEW. "I knew I couldn't ask [Kota] Ibushi to sign [with AEW]," Omega said before pausing to compose himself. "I knew it was his time [in NJPW]. I knew that if I asked for him to come [to AEW], that he would. And if I begged for him to come that he would. But I knew that his dream, before anything we ever did, was to win the IWGP Heavyweight Belt."

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• It’s Unclear if Sami Zayn’s AEW Mention on Raw Was Scripted or Not
• Moxley vs. Juice Robinson NJPW Match Announced, NJPW Denies AEW Relationship
• WWE: Mysterio to Relinquish US Title, Main Event Taping Results, Ratings Delayed

[Fignuts]

Gresham would be a good get for AEW as a mid card worker.

Guy doesn’t have much star presence but he’s a great hand and can offer a different style from most.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Raw on Memorial Day did 2.19 million viewers, which would be the fourth lowest number for the show in modern history. The only episodes lower were last year's shows on both Christmas and New Year's Eve and the April 29, 2019 show, which did 2.16 million viewers ... The good news is that there wasn't the usual big first-to-third hour drop, which was only 9.4 percent, partially because of how low the first hour was ... The three hours were: 8 p.m. 2.27 million viewers 9 p.m. 2.25 million viewers 10 p.m. 2.05 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer We no longer have conflicting reports. Zayn was of the belief he was supposed to say it. Most in the company weren't aware so the original word was it wasn't scripted but several sources have called it a miscommunication issue but he didn't say it on his own. ...It was scripted. They just lied to their own employees to make it out like Sami went against the script, not realizing anyone with a brain knows about the 15 second delay. Not to mention the people who did know would eventually tell those who don't. This is Bischoff WCW and they didn't learn a thing from it. It draws no money and only makes paranoid talent even more paranoid, and makes employees think they're working for an insane company, neither of which is a positive.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE has canceled another one of SmackDown’s Monday night house shows. The house show that was scheduled to take place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas next Monday (June 3) will no longer be happening, with WWE citing a scheduling conflict. Aside from the week of their European tour, WWE has canceled all of SmackDown’s Monday events since the Wild Card rule was introduced.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE Network News reported that three matches from Texas in the 1950s will be added to the Network’s Hidden Gems section tomorrow morning. They are: The Sheik vs. Juan Humberto (1954), Danny Savich vs. Wild Bill Curry (1955), Maurice Vachon vs. The Amazing Zuma (1957).

Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2019/...m-1950s-texas/

Originally Posted by Observer Daniel Bryan told Sports Illustrated about how long he wants to wrestle for: “There are people who say, ‘I only want to do this for three or four more years,’ or ‘I only want to do this until I’m 45.’ No. I want to do this until I’m 70. Months before I die, I want to be doing a wrestling show. I won’t be able to do the stuff I do now, but I want to go out and do this thing I’ve been passionate about wrestling my entire life. I want to do that my whole life.”

Originally Posted by Observer Dave Meltzer notes that, in 12 hours, today’s Talk is Jericho episode with Jon Moxley beat the all-time number for any previous episode of the show.

Originally Posted by Observer Tomohiro Ishii and Jeff Cobb have been announced for the opening night of this year’s G1 Climax in Dallas on July 6. Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, Jay White, Jushin Thunder Liger, EVIL, and SANADA are also advertised for the show, though NJPW has yet to reveal the tournament participants for the G1.

Originally Posted by Observer Rachael Evers is okay following a hit and run car accident that took place this afternoon. Evers wrote about the situation on Twitter, saying that the accident was due to a drunk driver. “Let me start by saying this: I am ok,” she wrote. "I was hit by a drunk driver today on my way home from the [WWE Performance Center]. Hit and run. I’m extremely thankful it was my passengers side that was hit. Some people aren’t so lucky-please DONT DRINK AND DRIVE.”

Originally Posted by PWI Lars Sullivan’s Twitter account has been deleted.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE have requested for a 90-day extension to oppose registration of the "Dead Man Talking" trademark. They have until 9/18 to file an opposition. As noted a few days ago on PWInsider.com, Audioboom requested for a 30-day extension to file an opposition, which they have until 7/20. Audioboom produces a non-wrestling podcast called 'Dead Man Talking'.

Originally Posted by Fightful Adam Page's Full Gear Challenge ends in a good cause. Adam "Hangman" Page won the All Elite Wrestling Casino Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing to earn a shot at the AEW World Championship and he and Chris Jericho will clash at a later date for that title. On the road to Double Or Nothing, Page was getting his body ready for the show so that he can fit into his ring gear which was dubbed the 'Full Gear Challenge'. Adam Page auctioned off his ring gear to benefit the National Eating Disorders Association and an article was published about his auction on NEDA.com and here's an excerpt from the post:

Link: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders....r-benefit-neda

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc Jon Moxley revealed during his appearance on the latest episode of Chris Jericho's podcast, Talk Is Jericho, that former deathmatch wrestler Nick Mondo was the director of his infamous prison break viral video. Wrestling Inc. can also confirm that Mondo directed Moxley's recent "Time's Up" video reveal for New Japan Pro Wrestling, which you can watch in the video above. That video is also included on Mondo's website, as well as NJPW's YouTube page.

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• WWE Apparently Confiscated “Save Us HHH” and “You Aren’t MJF” Signs on SmackDown
• AEW: PAC Off of Fyter Fest, Best Friends Entrance Video

[DAMN iNATOR]

https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/20...-reigns-cancer

Article about how Vince allegedly wanted Moxley to say something so bad in a promo addressing Roman's battle with leukemia that it would have lost the company sponsors. YIKES.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Following a night in which Raw had its second lowest non-holiday audience in history, SmackDown was actually up five percent this week, averaging 2.072 million viewers for Tuesday's show. This matched the April 23 episode for SmackDown's highest number since April's Superstar Shake-up. The main reason for this week's increase would be the lack of competition, as both the NBA and NHL playoffs had the night off. SmackDown finished seventh overall for the night on cable, trailing only news programming, and topped the 18-49 demo with a 0.69 rating. In fact, in that demo, SmackDown beat everything on television with the exception of NBC, which was the only network to have first-run shows on Tuesday night ... Year-over-year, SmackDown was only down six percent, the second straight week the year-over-year decline was in the single digits. In fact, it was the best retention from the previous year that SmackDown has done since going back to October 30 of last year, when the decline was 0.4 percent.

Originally Posted by PWI Paul Levesque hosted a conference call with reporters today in advance of Saturday’s Takeover show. Adam Hopkins introduced HHH and we were off and running. ... Mike Johnson then got in. H said two’s not bad. Mike asked what the biggest lessons he learned from the first show until now. H said that the biggest learning curve was making the brand have its own identity, making it a stand-alone brand. He said it was about learning who the players where and what their journeys were. They have all different stories. He talked about the differences between all of the people that have come in. Some have been lifetime fans, others were folks that chose wrestling after doing something else. It’s great to see those people grow and come to love the business. To H, he has learned from all of their perspectives and where the wrestlers have come from. He said that it’s been inspiring and meaningful for him. He loves going to the Performance Center because it gives him a shot of adrenaline. It’s awe inspiring ... Jason Powell asked H saying he wants to have a six month plan for talents. It hasn’t happened. Why? H said necessity takes precedence. If the main roster needs talent, that can throw plans out the window. He said when that happens and talents get called up, he’s excited for the talents. He would like to have a plan, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. He compared it to baseball, where talents get called up due to need and circumstance. He was asked about taking jabs at AEW and them coming back. Are they good for business and will NXT do it? H said that at the Hall of Fame Billy being there was the elephant in the room and DX does that kind of thing. That is all it was. For him, he doesn’t really think about AEW, he just wants to put out the best NXT product that he can. He is focused on this Saturday at Takeover 25, putting on the best show and growing the brand ... He was asked if NXT could be used on FOX? He said they are looking at everything, there is interest in NXT. It’s also valuable to them on the Network. We will get there.

Originally Posted by Fightful Triple H speaks about the remarks made about AEW at the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony and TakeOver XXV. “Hall Of Fame, to me, there was a moment -- Billy’s [Gunn] there. There’s kinda sorta this moment where if you don’t sort of say there’s an elephant in the room, everybody sorta goes, ‘Well why didn’t they mention the elephant in the room?’ It was nothing more than that and to be honest with DX, if you don’t do that, then we’re sorta kinda not doing what we do and trust me, a lot of that was not necessarily laid out and planned. Things kinda just went along." He revealed. "So, what they are… for me, I don’t really even think about it to be honest. For me, when it comes to this TakeOver, I just wanna put out the best product possible. I’m not focused on anybody else, I’m not thinking about anybody else’s creative or what they said or didn’t say or anything else. To me, I’m focused on this Saturday at TakeOver 25 and the brand and making everybody bigger stars coming out of it, putting on the best show we possibly can for fans and continuing to grow the brand.”

Originally Posted by PWI Major League Wrestling will debut in Dallas, Texas, the promotion announced: Are you a subscriber to the MLW Newsletter? If you were, you'd have seen this news earlier today: "It's official: MLW has closed a deal for its Dallas debut. More details on this will be available soon." Sign up for the newsletter here: https://t.co/5vtcqJjctT pic.twitter.com/lomKEzvViF — MLW FURY ROAD • JUNE 1 (@MLW) May 29, 2019 The plan is to build the debut around Ross and Marshall Von Erich

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The Chinese-based OWE (Oriental Wrestling Entertainment) group has partnered with Toronto’s Smash Wrestling to stage two events in the city over SummerSlam week this August. OWE will be part of the groups that are running at The MET (The Midtown Event Centre). OWE will be presenting shows on Wednesday, August 7th at 4 pm and Saturday, August 10th at 3 pm. They are joining Smash Wrestling, Progress, wXw, SHIMMER, RISE, and Femme Fatales, who are all running cards at the venue that week. The group will be running a total of nine events that week from Wednesday through Sunday.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Ring of Honor has announced that the main event of the Best in the World pay-per-view will feature Matt Taven defending the ROH title against Jeff Cobb in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, June 28th. Cobb lost the ROH Television title earlier this month in Toronto in a four-way match where wasn’t pinned and Shane Taylor won the title. On the same show, Taylor will be defending the Television title against Bandido.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling I received an update on AOP, who have been set to return for a few weeks. Akam has been cleared and it’s simply a matter of coming up with a program for the duo. One of the reasons for their delayed return was the addition of the Wild Card rule, which has tied up television time. Akam has been out since January with a knee injury while Rezar has been used sparingly during that time.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling John Martin, a member of the British Columbia Legislature, took time to acknowledge Mauro Ranallo for his efforts to raise awareness and understanding of mental health. At the end of the clip, he got the members of the legislature to join and yell, “Mamma Mia”.

Link: https://twitter.com/davedotca/status...16501713440768

Originally Posted by Fightful The World title match at Best In The World has been made official. Former ROH World Television Champion Jeff Cobb arrived in Ring Of Honor in July of 2018. He went on to capture the ROH World Television Championship and on June 28th in Baltimore, Maryland, Cobb will get his opportunity at the ROH World Championship when he challenges the current champion Matt Taven at Best In The World.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc Chris Jericho appeared on Busted Open Radio today and revealed that he will do battle with "Hangman" Adam Page at AEW's All Out pay-per-view during Labor Day Weekend near Chicago. Page won the Casino Battle Royale on the AEW Double Or Nothing "Buy In" pre-show this past Saturday night to earn a shot against the winner of Jericho vs. Kenny Omega, in a match that will crown the first-ever AEW World Heavyweight Champion. It looks like AEW will be crowning that champion at All Out. All Out takes place on Saturday, August 31 from the Sears Centre Arena near Chicago, the same arena where All In was held last year. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 14.

Originally Posted by Observer At least a few have enquired about leaving [WWE] including a couple of names that would shock you. Also said that the total would take more than “two hands to count”.

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• Tyler Breeze Is Part of the NXT Roster (For Now)
• Jon Moxley Provides Insight on Why EC3 May Be Getting Buried By WWE

This week's Observer Newsletter got delayed by a day due to Meltzer needing more time to work on it.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Double or Nothing is currently estimated at doing roughly 98,000 buys between television and digital PPV, with close to a 50/50 split between the two ... Because of the smaller building, the gate was not close to what New Japan and ROH got for the Madison Square Garden show. It would have to be considered the most successful debut event of a pro wrestling promotion, even if the attendance was less than what Roy Shire drew for his first show at the Cow Palace in 1961. And that’s the only comparison product ... Las Vegas historically is a great boxing and UFC market, and WCW and WWE did well at times when they were hot, but as a general rule it is not a strong wrestling market. WrestleMania in 1993 at Caesar’s was set up for less than 16,000 and didn’t even sell out ... Overall merchandise numbers for AEW were said to be excellent, including the convention. Merchandise at the live show was above what WWE would do in a similar sized building for a PPV, but not by that much, probably in the $120,000 to $130,000 ballpark. It was nothing like Mania level per-head merchandise buying. AEW was the second most searched item on Saturday night on Google, topping 220,000, trailing only the Toronto Raptors. All In, New Japan Tokyo Domes, and ROH/NJPW in Madison Square Garden never cracked the top 20. NXT has only once done so, hitting 50,000 for the most recent Takeover show in Brooklyn. It beat the last UFC show by 12 percent and beat Money in the Bank by 35 percent. However, when it came to second-day interest, it more than quadrupled Money in the Bank and was more than six times greater than UFC 237, and that’s with Raw the day after Money in the Bank and ESPN news coverage the day after UFC 237.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter AEW has announced two smaller shows that look to be streamed on B/R Live, a 6/29 show in Daytona Beach with Young Bucks & Omega vs. Pentagon Jr.& Fenix & mystery partner, Moxley vs. Joey Janela, Darby Allin vs. Cody and local promoter Alex Jebailey vs. Michael Nakazawa that has sold about 3,000 tickets; and a 7/16 show in Jacksonville with Omega vs. Cima, Young Bucks vs. Rhodes Brothers and Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie that at last word had several hundred tickets left in a building set up for 5,180.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter WWE’s unique Super Showdown card on 6/7 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is a show with a unique dream match from 20 years ago, a grudge match from 15 years ago in a country outdated by about 100 years. The company is pushing the show with the tag line that it will be “as big if not bigger than WrestleMania.” While the show will put far more money into the company’s coffers than WrestleMania, the as big or bigger likely ends there. With a show scheduled from 2-6 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, the audience watching will be minuscule in comparison and the overall interest level will likely fall well below Double or Nothing from a group that has no television. Currently there are nine matches announced for the show that pretty much exposes that whatever principles WWE has regarding women and minorities are for sale, admittedly, for a high price ... By the way, you can say whatever you want about empowering women and being against racism but at the end of the day, real stands involve putting your money where your mouth is. Prejudice against ethnicity is just like skin color or any other banning of someone without any actions they have done. It can’t be justified and that’s the end. As for Reigns, he told Newsweek, “It gets a lot of mixed and negative reactions. The bottom line for me is, if we’re going to help promote change, if we’re going to set out to make an impact, then I have to be a part of it. I’m not going to sit on the sideline and talk about how we can get there. I want to be part of the action. I look at it a being part of the solution while still respecting cultures, but it’s a big world and I want to experience all of it. So if we can help make a positive impact that’s what we’re here to do. We’re here to put smiles on everyone’s faces. We don’t discriminate, that’s our goal to help and promote positivity and take that to every inch of the world.” I’m sorry, but yes, WWE doesn’t discriminate on their own, but based on the situation with Zayn and Black, it’s more than just doing business with people who do, which is one question and quite frankly a lot of companies do, but this is one step farther. It’s one to do business with those people, but this is different. This is being paid by people who are telling you that for what they pay you, you can’t hire people we don’t like, based on gender, religion or where they come from. This is allowing discrimination to be part of your own company and product on your own show, and you can make all the excuses you want for it, but I can’t believe that deep down people can’t see that. Anyone can talk the talk when they don’t have a hard decision to make. The test of if you’re real is if you walk the walk when you have a hard decision to make. They didn’t want Syrians in. They didn’t want women in. They could have easily said they didn’t want African-Americans, Canadians, Jews, Mexicans or Samoans because the principle we’re talking about is the same. If you really want to make change, the company should put its foot down and do what so many athletes and entertainers did a generation ago in South Africa. That’s what led to change, not taking money and going there while professing the company is behind women and against discrimination and racism. The lack of women proves their much-pushed Women’s Revolution, itself 50 years behind the times, is a buzzword that they won’t back up with actions. Freedom of religious thought was for sale, given Aleister Black not being allowed to go. Racism, well their Martin Luther King tributes are exposed as being convenient, but money means more, with Sami Zayn being held back. Or, the reality, that they have no beliefs, but profess to have them because it’s a nice marketing gimmick. What we’ve got instead is a show where they have banned mentions of the country it is taking place on their broadcasts. They’ll probably ban it during the show as well.

Originally Posted by Observer Season three of Netflix's GLOW has its premiere date. Netflix announced today that season three of GLOW will be uploaded on Friday, August 9. Like with the first two seasons, this one will have 10 episodes.

Originally Posted by PWI The Authors of Pain are scheduled to return to action next month, PWInsider.com has confirmed. Akam and Rezar are scheduled for Smackdown Live events in June, the first live events the team have worked since early 2019 when Akam suffered a knee injured and required surgery.

Originally Posted by PWI Chris Pierce sent word that Matt Striker is now working as a fantasy baseball expert: The impact of sabermetrics on fantasy baseball? Brian Kenny talks about it with wrestler-turned-fantasy baseball expert @Matt_Striker_. #MLBNow pic.twitter.com/p50Eqa0vaS — MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 31, 2019

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling SPOILER: show On Friday’s Best of the Super Juniors card, Shingo Takagi clinched the A Block by defeating Taiji Ishimori in their final tournament match. Takagi ran the table with a 9-0 record in the A Block matches and will face the winner of Monday’s match between Will Ospreay and Ryusuke Taguchi. The finals of the tournament take place next Wednesday from Sumo Hall and the winner receives an IWGP junior heavyweight title shot against Dragon Lee at Dominion.

Spoiler tags used since it reveals the winner of A block for those who haven't watched today's show nor have been spoiled yet.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter So this is how things stand with Penta 0M & Rey Fenix. On the 5/24 show in Tijuana, they lost their Crash tag titles to Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf in a match where Black Danger helped Bestia & Wolf. Penta then teased after the match that this would be their last match with the promotion. There has been a lot of talk that they’ll be finishing up indie dates and signing a deal in some form with AEW that would also allow them to work regularly in AAA. They’ve been under a Lucha Underground contract so AEW has been able to use them, but not sign them. But obviously they want them and reports are they were given a big money offer. WWE wanted them as well. But then the 6/15 show was announced and while no match was listed, Penta and Fenix were both announced. The tag title match was originally a TLC match, which sounded scary the day before Double or Nothing. I guess they were able to get that changed.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter New Japan’s television audience is 10 percent under the age of 20, 14 percent between 20-29, 26 percent, 36 percent from 40-49 and 13 percent over the age of 50. Unlike WWE, where the median age of the television viewer is 54, New Japan is 39. But WWE does attract more kids. Of the New Japan fan base, 39 percent became fans over the last year, 17 percent have been fans one to three years, 11 percent four to five year and 29 percent more than six years. Only four percent were winning back lapsed fans. The television audience is 66 percent male, which isn’t much different from WWE. But at live shows, the audience is 50/50, so New Japan does a better job of translating their women’s audience into being ticket buyers, but one can argue they don’t do as good a job as WWE with the male audience becoming ticket buyers. Harold Meij said that all entertainment is their competition. His goal is to make Japanese wrestling into something known worldwide culturally, similar to Mexico, where one of the thing non-wrestling fan tourists do when they go to Mexico City is go to Friday night Arena Mexico shows. He’d like to create a situation where tourists coming to Tokyo feel one of the things they need to see is New Japan wrestling. He said the goal is to attract more children, maybe through card games or comics. Meij said when he signed that he would consider himself a failure if he can’t get New Japan annual revenues to $100 million within three years of his taking over. They are closer to $40 million and he’s about one year in. The only way to reach that number is to be able to get a strong series of international television deals.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter A bill that could change the very face of pro wrestling contracts, known as AB5, passed in the California state Assembly on 5/29. The bill provided specific rules as to the difference between an employee and an independent contractor and would affect WWE, UFC and AEW competitors most likely. It would also affect Uber and Amazon drivers, manicurists and exotic dancers. All people classified as employees would get labor protection, unemployment insurance, health care subsidies, paid parental leave, overtime pay, workmen’s comp and others. The bill classifies independent contractors as workers who are completely free of company control, doing work that isn’t a central part of the company’s business and has an independent business in that same industry. Wrestlers simply don’t meet those standards. This would mean that if talent from these companies perform on shows in California, they would then be considered employees. The bill still has to pass the state Senate and be signed into law. It also could lead to similar bills introduced in other states

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The health issue that Ric Flair was hospitalized for was blood clots in his leg and chest. He was already scheduled for a heart surgery that week. The blood clots were why they had to delay the surgery a few days until they were able to clear them up. Flair suffered blood clots in his leg years on two different occasions in 2013 including the first time while going to Japan where he was going to do a match for All Japan Pro Wrestling at the time his son Reid was going to start as a full-timer for the promotion

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter A-Kid, who was at the last NXT U.K. tapings, is expected to be signing if he hasn’t already. He’s the guy who had incredible matches in Spain with the likes of Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr., and Ricochet

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Ideas have been batted around for the 24/7 title to be defended on YouTube, Instagram and at the Performance Center between shows

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter WWE employees told security to watch out and get any AEW signs or any signs bashing WWE as an entity (it was okay to have negative signs on specific talent). There were multiple AEW chants throughout the show, but in a positive note, they were never loud enough that it came across strongly on television. There were chants after Zayn made the remark that were audible, but not loud and they played Rollins’ music immediately when they started.

Originally Posted by Observer Steve Austin announced that his Steve Austin Show podcast will return on June 18.

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• Joey Ryan Isn’t Going to AEW or WWE, He’s Staying in Indie Wrestling
• Sasha Banks Had a Meeting With Vince McMahon Last Week and Things Are “Better”
• Update on Which Day of the Week AEW’s TV Show May Air
• Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Page Announced for AEW All Out

[Mr. Nerfect]

Cool news about the independent contractor thing, although it wouldn't surprise me if Jerry McDevitt finds a way around it.

[SenatorJPO]

At first, I was dumbfounded that Joey Ryan booked himself to lose-to Austin Theory's valet, at the very event where he announced he will sign with neither AEW nor WWE.

But then, I figured-out Ryan was trying-to tell AEW fans that he, personally, does not believe wins and losses matter in his world of pro wrestling.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Joey Ryan probably took a back bump and then The Sound of Silence started playing when he realized his gimmick has left him stranded and he just forgot to kick out.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Raw last night did 2.41 million viewers, up 10 percent from last week with a different ratings pattern than in months. Even though the tradition is during the summer for the second hour to be rated the highest, of late that has not been the case because of the situation where fans tune out as the show gets going ... It was the largest first-to-second hour increase since March 2, 2015 ... Still, a 2.41 million average when you promised a MITB cash-in and probable title change and made it clear Undertaker and Lesnar would be appearing shows just how much they've lost in recent months overall. The third hour dropped, even with Undertaker, but it still did better than the first hour, which almost never happens. The three hours were: 8 p.m. 2.31 million viewers 9 p.m. 2.56 million viewers 10 p.m. 2.35 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer WWE is among a number of investors in FloSports, that raised another $47 million in funding. FloSports briefly had a pro wrestling channel, that was disbanded. They have all kinds of minor sports channels including a strong amateur wrestling channel. They have more than 250 rights deals. Fertitta Capital, an investment firm owned by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, were also inventors in the latest round of funding.

Originally Posted by PWI BOOM! Studios will be ending its WWE comic book series with the forthcoming issue #25. A number of readers who subscribe to the series were informed via email today that the series will be ending, with BOOM! offering alternative titles to subscribe to instead. The WWE series launched in 2017, featuring original stories that filled in storyline gaps and character history for WWE performers.

Originally Posted by Observer Atsushi Aoki has passed away at the age of 41 following a motorcycle accident. Kyodo reported this afternoon (via translations from Chris Charlton) that Aoki was killed in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo Monday night after his bike failed to take a curve, hitting the wall of a tunnel. There are no further details on the accident at this time ... Along with Go Shiozaki, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Aoki departed from NOAH in January of 2013 and joined All Japan Pro Wrestling, with the group forming a stable known as Burning. Aoki ended up winning the Jr. Heavyweight title on three occasions and the All Asia tag team championships three times, once with Kotaro Suzuki and twice with Hikaru Sato. Aoki is the current AJPW World Jr. champion, having just won the title on 5/20. He was set to defend the championship against Hikaru Sato on 6/18 at Korakuen Hall.

Originally Posted by Observer OWE vice-president Michael Nee told The South China Morning Post that around four Chinese wrestlers from OWE were invited to Double or Nothing, but were unable to go due to visa issues. They are hoping to resolve the problem by All Out on August 31.

Originally Posted by Observer Hikaru Shida tweeted that she won’t be at AEW’s Fyter Fest show on June 29 because she’ll be on tour in Japan. Shida noted that she’s moving to the United States after the tour.

Originally Posted by Observer Two more matches have been made official for ROH Best in the World 2019. ROH has announced Dalton Castle vs. Dragon Lee and Rush vs. Flip Gordon for the pay-per-view. It's taking place at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, June 28.

Originally Posted by Observer Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has announced when this year's Battle of Los Angeles will be taking place. On Twitter tonight, PWG revealed that the 2019 Battle of Los Angeles will be held on Thursday, September 19, Friday, September 20, and Sunday, September 22. The three-night tournament is usually held on successive days from Friday to Sunday, but there is no show on the Saturday of that weekend this year. The reason there isn't a show on that Saturday is because the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California, which will host the Battle of Los Angeles, has another event booked that night.

Originally Posted by PWI One of the greatest luchadores of all-time, Dr. Wagner Jr., will voyage to Chicago on July 6th as he competes for Major League Wrestling for the first-time ever alongside his son, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. MLW today announced Dr. Wagner Jr. & El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr will be in tag team competition at MLW: Kings of Colosseum at Cicero Stadium in Chicago. The event is a TV taping for beIN SPORTS on Saturday night July 6th with a 7 p.m. bell time.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE are holding having a tryout for women at their PC in the UK this week. Debbie Keitel, Valkyrie (not Taya), Candy Floss and a few others are expected to be taking part. Keitel and Valkyrie regulars in Ireland's OTT.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling MLW drew 742 people on Saturday for their first show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which they were happy with and described it as a “healthy start”. One of the big news items from the show was that they broke their existing merchandise record and their new “Aloha Von Erich” shirts sold out. Marshall & Ross Von Erich were said to have received a big reaction for their six-man tornado match teaming with Tom Lawlor against Contra. They seemed to be very high on Austin Aries, who worked the show on Saturday and while it wasn’t said if he’s been booked for future shows, it seems like the promotion is keen on using him.

Originally Posted by Observer Peter Rosenberg, who did some WWE television work including kickoff shows, said he was no longer with the company beacuse there was no spot for him. He said he was doing other projects and missed some shows, but he was free for WrestleMania and expected to do the show, but Michael Cole told him he was no longer going to be used.

For some reference, supposedly Rosenberg was paying WWE for all of his appearances on their pre-shows. Not sure if Sam Roberts does the same but he was able to work more shows than Rosenberg could and became WWE's go-to guy for the special guest spot instead.

Originally Posted by Fightful Now that he's away from WWE, Moxley gives his thoughts on the three-hour Raw and offers solutions on how WWE can make things better for the fans and talent. "Three hours of Raw. I get why they do it. They get paid, but it's too much. It deludes the product. They have so much product with Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live. It gets deluded after awhile. Especially when it's all produced and all looks the same," said Moxley in an interview with Wade Keller of PWTorch. "The opening segment with 15-minute promos and stuff but I don't know how to fill three hours every week with good stuff. Because you can only give them so much wrestling, even a big wrestling fan can only watch so much wrestling. So you end up giving away these big pay-per-view matches on TV. Go back to an hour. I don't know. I'm not a genius who can tell you how to fill [three hours] but three hours is a hell of a lot of time to fill. SmackDown is much more manageable." Moxley continued, "They retread the same matches over and over. One problem that I never had is, some guys just don't ever get used. I was always at least doing something. There are some guys that sit there and don't get used. But the guys that get used, are over-used. You see the same matches three weeks in a row. I always thought, why don't they do, me vs. Bray Wyatt one week and instead of doing it again the next, show clips from last week and then give Tyler Breeze a match. Give me and Bray Wyatt an extra day off and let Tyler Breeze have a week on Raw."

Originally Posted by Fightful With Jon Moxley set to make his New Japan debut at Best of Super Juniors Finals on Wednesday and Chris Jericho returning to face Kazuchika Okada at Dominion on June 9, many have wondered about the relationship between All Elite Wrestling and New Japan. According to NJPW GM Michael Craven, there is no relationship. “NJPW has a long and rich history with our international partners, including CMLL in Mexico, Ring of Honor in America, and RevPro in the United Kingdom,” said Craven in an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. “Loyalty is a big virtue, especially in Japanese culture. Loyalty to our partners is of utmost importance to us as we continue to foster the premiere network of wrestling talent in the world. We wish everybody at All Elite Wrestling nothing but the best in their ongoing endeavors, though we must stress we have no working arrangement at this time. Again, we think our partners seek and deserve loyalty and an appropriate amount of care. We want our relationships to be mutually beneficial over the long haul, rather than just thinking in the moment.”

Originally Posted by Observer Former two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi has been out of action since the Summer of 2018 when he suffered what is to be believed to be a broken neck but that has yet to be confirmed by New Japan Pro Wrestling. Takahashi remains active on social media on his road to recovery and at the conclusion of his latest video, the date June 5th, 2019 has a timer next to it and June 5th is the finals of the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament in Tokyo.

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• Eli Drake Is Officially a Free Agent
• Full Card for NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2019 Finals
• WWE: Millions of Views for Jinder/R-Truth Video, Stomping Grounds Match, Mickie James Injured
• Several NXT Wrestlers Get New Names, Including Trevor Lee & Eric Bugenhagen
• Impact World Champ Brian Cage Almost Appeared at Double or Nothing

[Fignuts]

I’d much rather see NJPW partner with AEW than ROH, but I gotta respect the loyalty.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Lol, "diluted" not "deluded."

[Emperor Smeat]

Originally Posted by Fignuts I’d much rather see NJPW partner with AEW than ROH, but I gotta respect the loyalty.

CMLL and AEW getting the Lucha Bros are probably the only reason why the NJPW-ROH partnership remains for the foreseeable future.

AEW getting the Lucha Bros put them closer in bed with AAA. That causes potential issues for CMLL which then makes it harder for an AEW-NJPW partnership to happen.

On the flip side, the longer it takes for NJPW to partner up with AEW, the more likely AEW partners with someone else in Japan like Dragon Gate (prior to the PAC mess) or DDT.

When NJPW ditched the NWA for ROH, it was a lot easier for them since it didn't conflict with their CMLL partnership.

[Fignuts]

They need to partner with Stardom.

Their female roster is small, and there's not a lot of experienced talent there. Most of them are relatively new and still a bit sloppy.

Stardom would give their women's division instant credibilty, and working with that level of talent will improve the girls who are still a little rough around the edges.