Daily Update: Cain Velasquez, Alexa Bliss, Hulk Hogan

DAILY UPDATE

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F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Recapping WWE Crown Jewel

Joseph Currier gives his thoughts on Crown Jewel and the travel delays the WWE roster faced after the show.

When Crown Jewel ended last Thursday, it seemed like things weren’t quite as awful for WWE as their previous shows in Saudi Arabia.

In the ring, this year’s Crown Jewel was probably the best event that WWE has had in Saudi Arabia. There were low points, but the show was focused more on the current roster and special attractions than relying solely on nostalgia. Though Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were part of the show, they coached teams of current wrestlers and weren’t actually competing themselves. A major title change even took place, with The Fiend becoming Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins in their falls count anywhere main event.

Most importantly for WWE, they got to put on the first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia. Natalya defeated Lacey Evans, and it went as well as could be expected. There were obviously restrictions, including what Natalya and Evans were allowed to wear. But the quality of the match was largely irrelevant to WWE. Natalya and Evans treated this like a milestone that they were honored to be part of. The audience also played their part, helping WWE’s narrative come off as more than just hollow messaging.

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WON NEWSLETTER: November 4, 2019 Observer Newsletter: WWE financials, Crown Jewel, more

In a crazy week, we’ve got the most detailed look at the business of pro wrestling in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Our lead story updates the WWE business with the key notes from the quarter, why the stock took a big plunge even though profits were above expectations, the key things the market is worried about with the company, and the very different key things regarding brand popularity that I see as major warning signs. 

We cover in-depth the consumer business, tickets, WWE Network, merchandise and more, good news on television ratings, why we know house shows are down but it’s hard to fairly gauge how much, the decline of NXT live and how every other consumer spending category is doing.

The new issue also covers: 

Crown Jewel, the women’s match and its ramifications and why it went the way it did, why Lesnar vs. Velasquez went the way it did, look at the key stories coming out of the show, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.

The build for Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal and on UFC 244 and the ramifications of the key fights, the ticket demand for the show and more on Dwayne Johnson at the show.

John Cena’s philanthropy, changes in Survivor Series plans, original plan for Tyson Fury and why it was changed, Xavier Woods update, HHH looks at how the way they do call-ups from NXT has changed and how it works now, Seth Rollins complains about the fans and what is and isn’t legit, WWE reaction to Smackdown ratings, notes on ticket sales for the five shows in Chicago at the end of the month including AEW television and the demand, DVR viewership for Raw, Hulu viewership for WWE shows, WrestleMania tickets, notes on the next Takeover show, WWE Backstage notes, WWE international TV notes, notes on Carolina on Raw and her long-term role, coach quits PC and new coach hired, all-women’s house show, DVD changes, new name for giant, value of WWE stock and the most-watched shows on the WWE Network, and all the WWE arena events over the past week with results, highlights and business notes.

Kenny Omega entrance video and the Sans connection that appeared on AEW television this week.  It’s a look at what it is and what it isn’t.

Albert Hardie Jr., situation with WWE, the T-shirt, and far more about the situation including his comments, WWE’s comments and much more about it.

Television business and 18-49 demos and look at the expense and future value of the different wrestling television shows, the platform, the night, the rights fees and more for UFC, WWE and AEW.

UFC show from Singapore.

WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.

Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Before tonight’s NXT went on the air, WWE posted video of an angle where The O.C. attacked The Undisputed Era at Full Sail University.
  • The updated advertised lineup for WWE’s house show in Mexico City on November 30 lists that Rey Mysterio will now team with Humberto Carrillo against Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. Mysterio teaming with Cain Velasquez had originally been announced for the show. Velasquez is still advertised to appear but doesn’t have a match listed.
  • WWE noted that Alexa Bliss’ injury is minor and she’s expected to return to the ring soon. PWInsider reported yesterday that Bliss is dealing with a shoulder injury.
  • Hulk Hogan told Sports Illustrated that he’ll be undergoing back surgery next Tuesday: “I’m going in for another back surgery next Tuesday. They’re going to fuse six levels together, so we’ll see how I feel after that.”
  • Randy Orton confirmed that his new contract with WWE is a five-year deal: “The 3 most dangerous letters in sports entertainment- #RKO just re-signed with the 3 most dominant letters in sports entertainment- #WWE  Looking forward to pi$$ing off the #WWEUNIVERSE for at least 5 more years #WWEBACKSTAGE @FS1 @WWE”
  • Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch will challenge for Jordan Devlin & Scotty Davis’ PROGRESS Tag Team titles at PROGRESS Chapter 98 in London on November 24.
  • WALTER will be in action at EVOLVE 141 in Livonia, Michigan on December 6 and EVOLVE 142 in Chicago, Illinois on December 7.
  • Joaquin Wilde (the former DJZ) has been cleared to return after suffering a broken eye socket in July.
  • A piece on Ali aired on the CBS Evening News tonight.
  • Shayna Baszler spoke to the Sporting News about NXT’s invasion of last Friday’s SmackDown: “It was very last minute. I’m sure people have heard but I got up that morning and went and did a workout. I actually wasn’t booked for anything NXT-wise the rest of the week. I happened to have that Friday and Saturday off so I crushed it in the gym expecting, OK, I can kill myself in here right now because I can rest for a couple days finally. So, I was on my way home and got the call to pack up and be ready to leave on a word, be ready to leave right now. Got all ready, did that, and the timing worked out that, no exaggeration, that the shuttle to the arena… The plane landed and the show had started already. I left my bags on the shuttle and ran from the bus to the ring. That’s not an exaggeration. It wasn’t like we cut it close. I literally ran. There was someone waiting and I ran off the shuttle when we got to the venue to the ring. It was pretty wild.”
  • Kyle O’Reilly shared his story about living with type one diabetes.
  • The second episode of WWE’s After the Bell podcast with Corey Graves premiered today.

Pro Wrestling

  • Scorpio Sky addressed past tweets that he made where he used homophobic slurs: “I had some bad decisions that I made where I said some things on Twitter that I shouldn’t have said that were very, very inappropriate and ignorant, actually, and it came off as homophobic, and that’s a very down point of my career, something I look back on with a lot of regret and at the same time though, I learned a lot from it and I definitely can look back, here we are, this is almost going on ten years later. I’ve learned a lot from it and I’m definitely a different person now than I was then, and I learned that there is certain language that is completely unacceptable and not only in the public eye, but in your personal life as well, and so, it’s a situation that I’m very embarrassed about and I look back with a lot of regret but at the same time, I learned from it and became a better person and a more understanding person.”
  • Teddy Hart will defend his Middleweight title against Myron Reed at MLW’s Blood & Thunder TV tapings this Saturday.
  • Jerry Lynn announced that he won’t be able to appear at his scheduled meet-and-greet at Starrcast IV this Friday. Lynn tweeted that he’s getting an MRI tomorrow and will get the results on Tuesday.
  • The NWA will be part of the upcoming RetroMania Wrestling game.

MMA

Daily Pro Wrestling History: AAA When Worlds Collide

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