Daily Update: AEW Big Business, Samoa Joe, WWE Hall of Fame

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

We have another giant issue of the Observer out. There is a ton of news in this one but want to call attention to a great story by Pat Laprade on Paul “Butcher” Vachon, covering his wrestling and promoting career with all kinds of anecdotes such as his role in getting WWF’s Saturday Night Main Event off the ground, the early career of Andre the Giant, setting what was then the all-time get record in the U.S. at Comiskey Park in Chicago, and promoting what is still the largest crowd in Canada outside of Toronto. Besides the Vachon story we go in detail on the career of Sting and his retirement, as well as the careers of Paul Heyman and Bull Nakano, the muder charge against Daniel Rodimer and the investigation regarding the alleged rape of Ashley Massaro.

  • Famous pro wrestling retirement shows
  • The retirement of Sting and AEW Revolution
  • An historical first coming from the show
  • Sting’s run in TNA
  • Other expected finishes of Sting’s career
  • How Sting got into pro wrestling
  • The Blade Runners debut
  • Getting into Mid South
  • The first Flair-Sting match and it wasn’t in Greensboro
  • The first Clash of Champions and its ratings
  • Going head-to-head with WrestleMania
  • When Sting was supposed to win the NWA title the first time and why it didn’t happen
  • Why he almost didn’t get the title when the second title change date was planned
  • Sting vs. Hogan and how it got screwed up
  • The two people most responsible for Sting’s career not ending nearly a decade ago
  • Sting’s WWE run and why Vince McMahon ruined it
  • Sting’s final show
  • Ospreay vs. Takeshita
  • Early PPV numbers
  • Notes on how many buyers of this show ordered WWE & TNA shows
  • Milestones on gate, merch and and Greensboro Coliseum wrestling records
  • When was the finish decided
  • Okada signs with AEW, the truth about his contract
  • The debut of Mercedes Mone
  • The life and times of Butcher Vachon, the early years of his career, the creation of Stan Vachon, AWA title run, formation of Grand Prix Wrestling, The Vachons vs. LeDucs feud, early career of Andre the Giant, creation of the name Andre the Giant, life after wrestling
  • Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul
  • Daniel Rodimer murder arrest, the story behind what happened, the victim, his pro wrestling career and his political career
  • NCIS investigation into Ashley Massaro
  • The careers of Paul Heyman and Bull Nakano
  • The most detailed look at the ratings including how the shows did compared to last year, last week, segment-by-segment and placings
  • How CMLL show with AEW talent is doing
  • Unique show in Mexico this week
  • Vampiro wants to do rematch from Lucha Underground match
  • New Japan anniversary show
  • Best of Super Juniors notes
  • BJ Whitmer sentencing
  • More on crazy TNA buy rate
  • What happened with Kevin Kelly in AEW
  • Update on Kenny Omega
  • Update on Sammy Guevara suspension
  • Behind The Rock’s promo
  • Notes on new WWE sponsorships
  • Next Saudi Arabia date
  • Vince McMahon and Brock Lesnar and the next video game
  • Advance ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
  • International TV ratings and streaming notes

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • CM Punk was in attendance at last night’s NXT episode.
  • After it was announced that WWE is bringing SummerSlam to Cleveland this August, Johnny Gargano called wrestling at Cleveland Browns Stadium a lifelong dream that he never thought was possible until now:
        • As a kid from Cleveland who grew up loving Pro Wrestling and the @Browns.. wrestling at a @WWE event in front of my family at Cleveland Browns Stadium has always been my crazy lifelong dream that just wouldn’t be possible. SUMMERSLAM. August 3rd. CLEVELAND. It’s possible..
  • Paul “Triple H” Levesque tweeted about Thunderbolt Patterson being part of the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class:
        • He was a champion in the ring, and championed the health and well-being of his peers outside of it. Thunderbolt Patterson’s influence is still felt today, and will receive the recognition it deserves when he joins the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024. #WWEHOF
  • Xavier Woods congratulated Patterson:
        • He did so much for professional wrestling that doesn’t get talked about. Glad to see that this man get his chance to enter into the @wwe hall of fame. Congrats Thunderbolt!
  • Rob Van Dam gave his thoughts on Paul Heyman being announced for the WWE Hall of Fame:
        • I think it’s really cool. I think that it’s giving him his well deserved flowers. I worked with Paul obviously in ECW so I have that perspective of him with his hands-on skills of building superstars, helping talent find their way and connect with their skills, and maybe even, definitely even exposing some of their weaknesses so they know about it. He’s just always been that guy that obviously we can all say ECW wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for him. The whole F’N show wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for Paul. When I was in WWE with Paul, I really got a kick out of seeing the WWE wrestlers giving Paul the same respect that we did in ECW.
  • Bull Nakano told Tokyo Sports that she was contacted about her WWE Hall of Fame induction this January.
  • Pat McAfee and his co-hosts AJ Hawk, Darius Butler, Boston Connor, and Ty Schmidt will be playable DLC characters in WWE 2K24.
  • Bayley appeared on Xfinity Hangouts.
  • Nia Jax, Bron Breakker, and Baron Corbin will be today’s guests on WWE’s The Bump.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • Tony Khan posted a tweet hyping tonight’s Big Business edition of AEW Dynamite:
        • TONIGHT. We’re now mere hours away from one of the biggest nights ever in AEW, #AEWBigBusiness on TBS, @tdgarden coming to you live TONIGHT! Tonight will be an indelible evening on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite! See you all on @TBSNetwork for @AEW Big Bu$iness in BOSSton TONIGHT!
  • On her Instagram stories, Mercedes Mone posted that she’s in “Bosston.”
  • AEW uploaded a Control Center video for tonight’s show:
  • 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Joe Murray interviewed Samoa Joe ahead of Big Business.
  • Joe discussed Swerve Strickland’s ascension in AEW:
        • Swerve Strickland has been a guy who, in my estimation, has been kind of slept on by a lot of the fandom, not really realizing what he’s capable of. He’s had several characters, several opportunities through different companies. But now he’s kind of coming into his own. He has an ability to kind of be himself, put out his music the way he likes. And it all kind of fits together nicely. I think getting a guy like Prince Nana, who was a tremendous manager in ROH, in my opinion one of our unsung guys at the time there. Joining up with him, it just kind of makes this really nice package that works really well for [Strickland]. And I’m so glad it’s all coming together for him – it’s all going to go horribly wrong in a couple weeks [when Joe and Strickland face each other].
  • Joe named Bruiser Brody as the opponent he’d like to face if he could have a dream match against anyone dead or alive.
  • Steve Fall interviewed Eddie Kingston for WrestlingNewsCo.
  • Episode five of Johnny Loves Taya is now available to watch.
  • Frankie Kazarian told Wrestlesphere that he pushed hard for Nic Nemeth (the former Dolph Ziggler) to join TNA Wrestling:
        • A great thing for the company (to have Mustafa Ali and Nic Nemeth). I pushed hard for Nic Nemeth the day that I found out he was gonna be available. I put in a call immediately and a couple of other guys too. He’s a guy that I’ve known for a long time – I have a tremendous amount of respect for and a guy that kind of got put in that same box that I’ve kind of been put in at certain points in my career where we were kind of labeled underrated, you know, the ‘What could have been?’ He’s had an amazing run, that dude. But still going strong and I like to think the same could be said for me. So, when you talk about, you know, I hate this word, but dream match scenarios, he’s always a guy that I really wanted to get in there, mix it up with. Like I said, tremendous amount of respect for him as an athlete and as a person. So I was very much in favor of getting him in and I’m very, very psyched that he decided to come to TNA.
  • During a Q&A at the For the Love of Wrestling convention, Amanda Saccomanno (Mandy Rose) was asked if she’d like to come back into the wrestling industry again:
        • I always tell people, I haven’t hung up the boots. There are times where I really think about it and I’m like, ‘I would love to come back,’ if it was the right time, the right place. So I wouldn’t say no. But right now I am enjoying my time and my freedom. You know, it just has to be the right time. But I don’t think I’m done wrestling.