Daily Update: AEW-Minecraft, Adam Copeland, Maria Kanellis
Daily Update
Latest News
- Former Baron Corbin: ‘Part of me is angry I got let go’ from WWE
- Sol Ruca defeats Katana Chance in WWE Speed tournament
- Adam Copeland believes AEW is ‘a bit punk rock’
- Saraya announces ‘mutual’ departure from AEW: ‘There’s no bad blood’
- Ric Flair: John Cena’s heel turn is ‘the coolest thing’ WWE could have done
- Swerve Strickland says he was ‘bullsh—ed around’ at WWE Performance Center
- Mina Shirakawa announces plans to join AEW, confirms Stardom departure
- For subscribers: Bryan Alvarez’s WWE NXT report
- Swerve Strickland to call out Jon Moxley on AEW Dynamite
- Orlando Sports Commission seeking $18 million to bid for future WWE & UFC events
Latest Audio
- WOL: Saraya, Mina, NXT TV review, more!
- DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Making the WON Hall of Fame case for the Iron Sheik
- B&V: Mid-South Wrestling S6:E18, plus Granny!
- Big Vinny V: A nothin’ happenin’ edition of TNA Impact
Latest Free YouTube Video
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer:
- Updating the John Cena/Cody Rhodes interview, what was and wasn’t said, update on the plans for WrestleMania as well as the current ticket demand and interest level.
- WBD expresses interest in UFC and evaluating the value of the UFC PPV business, the methods of distribution, how many buyers or subscribers will it take to cover what UFC wants and that value, how a deal with WBD would affect AEW (it would, perhaps significantly).
- Full coverage of the final week of the New Japan Cup, including a look at one of the best shows of the year and New Japan’s next major show.
- 2024 Gaspard/Huber award winners, the most important award we give each year
- The most detailed look at the ratings for the various shows, including competition, men vs. women and things to note from the different shows over the past week.
- Build to CMLL’s second biggest event of the year
- How the foreign talent is doing in Mexico
- AAA champion suspended in key market and why
- Difference between commission suspensions in U.S. and Mexico
- What WWE superstar was suspended for a drug test failure by athletic commissions nationwide and a commission didn’t honor it and why several years back
- Angle for a non-wrestling booker to face a woman star in a match
- Homicide retirement notes
- A look back at the most famous NCAA wrestling tournament match of all-time
- The state of El Hijo del Santo’s retirement tour
- Updates on Border City Wrestling
- Queen of the Ring updates
- More on the early days of women’s pro wrestling history
- Mandy Rose talks business after wrestling
- AEW Dynasty updates including business
- AEW and the Ryan Nemeth lawsuit against the company, Tony Khan and CM Punk
- International TV and streaming numbers
- WWE countering AEW PPV shows
- Lex Luger Hall of Fame questions
- How much is Dwayne Johhnson’s ownership of TKO worth
- How much is Vince McMahon’s current ownership worth
- Lots of injury updates
- Developmental updates
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
Wednesday Update
WWE
- WWE uploaded the full Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jaida Parker NXT Women’s Championship match from last night.
- Vaquer made two successful title defenses on the episode, also defeating Fallon Henley to retain the NXT Women’s North American Championship. Shawn Michaels congratulated her backstage after the show.
- During a segment with Ricky Saints and Shawn Spears on NXT, Spears made reference to Saints’ AEW departure by saying that Saints “burnt every bridge” where he used to be. The promo built up a North American Championship match for next week with Spears defending against Saints.
- “Stephanie’s Places” premiered on ESPN+ today with CM Punk appearing as Stephanie McMahon’s first guest. The show requires an ESPN+ subscription to watch.
- Punk also joined Sheamus on this week’s edition of Celtic Warrior Workouts.
- Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins attended a screening of the movie “The Luckiest Man in America,” which stars actor/wrestler Paul Walter Hauser.
- Dominik Mysterio, who is famously a fan of chicken tenders, partnered with Wingstop to promote their new tenders.
- WWE’s countdown of the top 50 matches in WrestleMania history continued with Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 21) ranking 22nd.
- No-Contest Wrestling interviewed Lexis King.
AEW/Other Wrestling
- “A Minecraft Movie” is the presenting sponsor for tonight’s AEW Dynamite. Based on the Minecraft video game, the movie stars Jason Momoa and Jack Black and is being released in theaters on April 4.
- AEW produced a video with The Outrunners to promote the Minecraft movie as well.
- Adam Copeland told TV Insider that he has no regrets about his decision to join AEW:
- I’ve not regretted it for a single second. I’ve had fun. I’ve been able to get in with a completely different mixed bag of talent. Running the gamut all over the place. That’s a really fun place to navigate from because it’s entirely different types of matches. I had a street fight with Brody King in Edmonton and two days later had a technical match in Vancouver against Kyle O’Reilly, and I was in heaven. That juxtaposition. It’s like going from the Emmys to suplexing Moxley on a spike. That was five days apart. It’s strange on the surface, but so much fun. To wear a suit and be all dolled up for the Emmys and then be suplexing a man on to nails during a blizzard in Omaha. That’s a fun life.
- Copeland said Sting’s retirement last year and John Cena’s impending retirement have not made him think about how he plans to end his career:
- Not really, That will be more of, ‘Where do you need me?’ I’d then sit down with Tony Khan and think about what he wants and what the company needs and what the show ends. That always supersedes to me what you have in mind for this retirement. I know I want to work the Swerve Strickland’s, Hangman Page’s, Jay White’s and the Kyle Fletcher’s and the Will Ospreay’s, Kenny Omega’s and the Samoa Joe’s. I haven’t worked with any of those people and would really like to do that before I hang them up.
- Saraya appeared on Busted Open Radio today, discussing her AEW departure.
- Matt Hardy told Sports Illustrated that The Hardy Boyz want to help young talent learn from the successes and failures they’ve had:
- When we first started, the guys who were the top guys who had been around, they didn’t necessarily give back to the industry as they probably should have. For us, that’s really important.
- Helping a team like Private Party, that was a big deal. In TNA, someone we’ve taken under our wing and we’re trying to see them elevated to the next level is Leon Slater. He’s an amazing young man. When we see these young talents and can work with them and help them – The Rascalz, Chris Bey, Ace Austin – all these guys have so much potential and can learn from our experiences, both our positives and our negatives, from our successes and our failures.
- Maria Kanellis-Bennett announced yesterday that she underwent a procedure to have a polyp removed from her uterus: “Yesterday I had a polyp removed from my uterus. Hopefully, the biopsy comes back clear Then we can move forward with IVF. They took such good care of me at @fertilitycentersofillinois thank you to the entire staff!!”
- Tom Pestock (former WWE wrestler Baron Corbin) has joined Busted Open Radio as a regular host.
- Cedric Alexander is the guest on tomorrow’s episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
- Ultimo Guerrero will be an entrant in MLW Battle Riot VII in Long Beach, California on Saturday, April 5.
- House of Glory is expanding its wrestling academy by launching a new training school in Orlando, Florida this May.