Daily Update
Latest News:
Impact notes: Matt Cardona update, new Under Siege matchTrios Championship match added to AEW DynamiteWWE SmackDown live results: Backlash go-home showAEW Rampage live results: The Firm DeletionWWE Backlash preview & predictions: Starting to finish the story again
Latest Audio:
Wrestling Observer Radio: AEW All In ticket sales, WWE Q1 numbersWrestling Observer LIVE~! AEW in Wembley tickets, WWE Backlash, World Title tournament, AEW CollisionMat Men: AEW Wembley Stadium sales stunner, WWE Draft falloutWrestling Weekly: Backlash predictions, new AEW hire, serious ratings competitionFight Game: Who wins between Cody Rhodes & Brock Lesnar at WWE Backlash?Bryan & Vinny Show: Dynamite with the Pillars tag and Kiana James taking over all of NXT
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Join us in Las Vegas for our annual F4W Convention
This Week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
May 8, 2023 Observer Newsletter: AEW All In ticket sales shattering records, 2023 WWE Draft results
Highlights include:
*Match of the week and performer of the week
*AEW All In sets records, and looking at the biggest crowds in pro wrestling history and how this compares, what we've earned about ticketing, what records are within reach and what records are not, as well as the biggest crowds ever in Europe and a man named Jim Londos.
*Evaluating the WWE draft. We look at the depth charts of both brands, questions being asked, will the brand split really be what they say (of course it won't long run), looking at the NXT talent brought up and more.
*A look at WWE business including heavy quotes from Nick Khan and Paul Levesque on the current state of the business, how much WWE is looking a cutting with the merger with UFC, Khan talks about working under Endeavor.
*Levesque talks the booking of talent
*WrestleMania business notes
*How many people watch Raw or Smackdown on a weekly basis, and the number is far more than you think
*Plans for another major overseas event on hold
*WWE Backlash notes
*Looking at the last three months of wrestling numbers and how it compares with television as a whole
*New Japan Dontaku full coverage as well as the next month of New Japan major shows
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*Gable Steveson and others who have done pro wrestling and then gone back to amateur wrestling including the top worker of the 80s who the Olympics banned from competing due to an archaic rule
*Full Saturday UFC coverage
*Pro Wrestling NOAH runs Sumo Hall and the matches and angles
*The most detailed look at pro wrestling ratings, as well s where the changes were, competition and what can be learned from them
*CMLL Champion of Champions tournament
*Major League baseball players go to Arena Mexico
*Unique new idea for running pro wrestling shows explained and talks of it going t the U.S.
*Why a world title recently changed hands
*A new jump that hasn't happened but essentially is about to
*Champion Carnival tournament goes to the finals
*Will Ospreay's future
*70s and 80s star returning to the ring
*Vikingo goes to Australia
*Lots of changes coming to AEW
*Update on plans for the new and revamped AEW television plans
*Hire of Will Washington
*Update on Double or Nothing show
*Lots of competition of AEW next week
*DVR viewership of AEW
*Advance ticket sales for WWE and AEW shows
*Jon Jones talks future
*Lots of new UFC fights
*Bare Knuckle Boxing business notes
*Bare Knuckle MMA shows coming
*More on gold medalist signing with WWE
*Other gold medalists WWE has signed over the years
*WWE star headed to realty competition show
*Injury updates
*Writer talks about the WWE culture
*International TV numbers and streaming numbers
This Week's Retro Observer Newsletter:
March 13, 2006 Observer Newsletter: WWE quartely investor's call, UFC 58 recap
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Friday Update
Garrett and I did a show talking about a ton of topics today, including even the connection of the movie Air to pro wrestling because of who one of Sonny Vaccaro's best friend was, Wembley Stadium and goals surpassed, AEW Collision and AEW's summer challenges, Backlash and the longest odds for a sports event I've ever seen and the planned NXT women's tag team champions which fell through. Bryan and I will up be tomorrow night talking Backlash and UFC.
It's a big weekend for combat sports with Canelo Alvarez vs. John Ryder in boxing, WWE Backlash and UFC on PPV all happening Saturday night.
Our lead story in the Observer talks about the AEW Wembley advance, which as topped 60,000 tickets sold. This was either the first or second fastest selling wrestling show in history. From both a modern era attendance and gate record, it broke the marks set 25 years ago at Antonio Inoki's retirement show at the Tokyo Dome for the largest non-WWE gate in history. It will also likely be the largest paid attendance for a pro wrestling show since 2017 and maybe 2016. It is likely to end up in the highest tier historically when all is said and done considering there are still months left before te show. It will be the largest as far a a verifiable paid attendance for a non-WWE pro wrestling show since 1933. The most scary stat when it comes to the number of people who went to order tickets and compare it with the 2019 All Out show. Unfortunately, AEW had only 10,000 seats that night but that's a level that has never been replicated before, and wasn't here either.
Tennessee Titans President and CEO Burke Nihill said that WWE has committed to holding the 2027 WrestleMania in Nashville, at the new Titans stadium. There has been no official announcement from WWE. We reported on this in November.
Smackdown tonight is from San Juan, PR, the night before Backlash. Bad Bunny, Cody Rhodes and Bianca Belair are announced for the show. The only matches announced are Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karrion Kross and Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs. Viking Raiders.
We're looking for reports from the show live with any dark matches or notes from anything not on the live show to [email protected]
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, with Dave Bautista, opens in theaters tonight.
We're doing polls right now on the NJPW Dontaku show from Wednesday, and will be doing them for Backlash on Saturday and UFC on Saturday.
There are no WWE or NXT house shows this weekend.
It is only four days after the brand split goes into effect that WWE is having matches on Smackdown for a Raw title.
UFC weigh-ins for tomorrow's show:
PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern —
Aljamain Sterling (134) vs. Henry Cejudo (135)Belal Muhammad (170) vs. Gilbert Burns (171)Jessica Andrade (115) vs. Yan Xiaonan (115)Movsar Evloev (145) vs. Diego Lopes (146)Kron Gracie (145) vs. Charles Jourdain (145)
ESPN and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. Eastern —
Drew Dober (155.5) vs. Matt Frevola (155)Kennedy Nzechukwu (205) vs. Devin Clark (205)Khaos Williams (169) vs. Rolando Bedoya (170)Marina Rodriguez (115) vs. Virna Jandiroba (115)Braxton Smith (262) vs. Parker Porter (249)Phil Hawes (185) vs. Ikram Aliskerov (186)
ESPN + at 6 p.m. Eastern —
Joseph Holmes (189) vs. Claudio Ribeiro (185) – Holmes missed weight and was fined 20 percent of his purse
There will be a press conference on Tuesday for the Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul fight It takes place at 2 p.m. Eastern on the DAZN Boxing YouTube channel. The press conference will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, the site of the fight. Any time Nate Diaz is in a setting like this, you really don't know what will happen.
Madoka Kikuta beat Shun Skywalker to win the Open the Dream Gate title at the 2023 Dead or Alive show in Nagoya.
Stardom announced a 5/27 show in Tokyo at the Ota Ward Gym featuring a title vs. title match with World of Stardom champion Tam Nakano facing Wonder of Stardom champion Mina Shirakawa with both titles at stake.
El Hijo del Vikingo faces Metalik on the 6/23 GCW show in Chicago.
Other Notes
The annual two-day NWA Crockett Cup tournament takes place on 6/3 and 6/4 at the Fairgrounds in Winston-Salem,NC Teams announced include Tyrus & Chris Adonis, Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf, Ricky & Kerry Morton, Mike Knox & Trevor Murdoch, AJ Cazana & Anthony Andrews, The Country Gentlemen, Octagon Jr. & Myzteziz Jr., Toxin & Arez and more. David Crockett will be working with the promotion of the show.
Defy runs tonight in Tacoma, WA at Alma Tacoma
The PFL announced Gregg Bernard as its new Executive Vice President of International Strategy and Business Development. Bernard was the former Senior Vice President of WWE International and before that worked at Vimeo.
Combate Global on 5/13 is doing a U.S. vs. Japan series airing on Univision and Paramount +. Ana Palacios of Mexico City faces former Japanese college wrestling champion Chihiro Sawada in the main event. She was the 2018 national champion in Japan. Victor Valenzeula faces Sinsho Anzai who was the 2008 national champion at 176 pounds in combat wrestling.
AIW in Kent, OH tonight at The Outpost Concert Club has Cibernetico 2 de Mayo with an Arena Mexico style Cibernetico match. Tom Lawlor is on the show as well, but not in the Cibernetico match.
Shane Kody, a second generation wrestler (real name Shane Farmer, son of 60s star Wood Farmer) has his retirement match for Kirk White's Big Time Wrestling promotion on 5/12 at the Newark, CA Pavilion. The show also features Jacob Fatu vs. Dave Dutra and The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Freaks.
Rey Fenix faces Gringo Loco on the AAW show on Saturday in Chicago.