Daily Update: Christmas, Chris Jericho-Stephen P. New, The Rock

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Clip

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The longest issue in our history. Among the highlights are:

  • Match and performer of the week
  • A preview of what will be among the biggest if not the biggest pro wrestling news story of 2024, the upcoming contract deals for both all the AEW television shows and WWE Raw. We go through details of talks that have taken place, potential homes for both shows, what would be best for AEW and why those situations are unlikely, past history of rights talks, where WBD stands, momentum, money figures, ROH, discrepancy in household wealth of AEW Dynamite viewers vs. Raw & Smackdown viewers, what AEW would need to be home free financially and very profitable, value of AEW and how it can change and much more
  • Update on Kenny Omega
  • What we do and don’t know and may never know about the WWE lawsuit settlement with MLW
  • Promotions in Japan unite together
  • Notes on the Iron Claw movie including a review
  • Notes on the business for the major AEW & WWE PPV shows over the next few months
  • UFC 296 full coverage
  • Political leanings of WWE & UFC fans
  • Tokyo Sports Japanese wrestling awards for 2023 and the politics involved in the decision making and why some obvious choices didn’t even get considered
  • Full coverage of ROH Final Battle, NXT Deadline and recent television
  • The career of Japanese star Osamu Kido, who passed away recently, including highlights and the period he go a major push and why
  • Update on Liv Morgan’s arrest
  • The most complete look at the ratings over the past week, including demo, competition and segment-by-segment
  • International ratings and streaming numbers
  • Andrade returns to Arena Mexico
  • Stardom big show this coming week
  • Former New Japan star debuts for All Japan
  • Jan. 2 NOAH major show card
  • Wrestle Kingdom update
  • 60th anniversary of the death of Rikidozan, one of the biggest stars in history
  • Will Ospreay’s last match of 2023 and his final independent match before starting with AEW announced
  • Tony Khan talks social media negativity
  • Rocky Romero talks CMLL and AEW relationship
  • Ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE events as well as Impact and NJPW U.S. events
  • Major question regarding non-UFC MMA fighters under contract and if they’ll get enough fights in 2024
  • WWE Speed concept
  • Notes on WWE Hall of Fame
  • WWE stock value

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Monday Update

Bryan and I did our first show together since 12/13 last night covering Iron Claw, AEW departures, Collision and the rest of the latest news. There will be no show tonight unless something unforeseen happens and we will be back Wednesday night.

Merry Christmas everyone. It is notable with Iron Claw about how big Christmas used to be as a wrestling holiday. In particular, the Crocketts, Georgia, Mid South, AWA and Dallas would have some of their biggest events of the year that night. Thanksgiving and Christmas night were the two biggest drawing nights for live pro wrestling in that era, as families would be together and then look for entertainment, whether it was the movies or live events. Yes, pro wrestling was family entertainment long before people who rewrote history told you it wasn’t.

The Dallas wrestling boom of 1983-84 was kicked off by Gary Hart’s angle on December 25, 1982, at Reunion Arena. You’ll see exaggerated numbers elsewhere, but there were 12,000 fans at the show to see Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich in a cage match where referee Michael Hayes turned heel and Terry Gordy slammed the cage door on Kerry to cause him to lose via ref stoppage after collapsing. It was the first-ever $100,000 gate in the state of Texas, breaking a record set for a Dory Funk Jr. vs. Fritz Von Erich NWA title match ten years earlier. Hart quit the company thinking he was shorted on his payoff for that show, but the Freebirds vs. Von Erichs the next two years was classic stuff. I was at the December 25, 1983, show 40 years ago today. David Von Erich beat Flair with a routine DQ finish. It was far from the best match the two had but Flair’s matches were always very good and usually great in that era. He had also wrestled a show that afternoon (can’t find the record of it but do remember we knew it was his second show of the day). That show drew a legit sellout of 19,000 fans and broke the gate record for Texas that was set a month earlier on Thanksgiving night. It’s funny because on December 25, 1984,when Flair and Kerry wrestled on Christmas, it drew 15,000 fans. I remember thinking because that match didn’t sell out on Christmas night that the boom was over. And it was, although 1985 was still a strong year with two stadium shows of more than 20,000, but it fell off greatly in 1986. 

Perhaps the most important of all Christmas stories was in 1971. Georgia Championship Wrestling, which started in 1954 on WQXI-TV in Atlanta, moved to WTCG, Ch. 17 in Atlanta, owned by 33-year-old Ted Turner with the first episode airing from 6-7 p.m. Saturday on December 25, 1971, from the TV studios and airing on a few hour delay. In 1972, WTCG added a second hour for Ann Gunkel’s All South Wrestling, and when that company folded, the Georgia office had two hours from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday night. It remained on the station as the station went national through 2000. You could make the argument that Georgia Championship Wrestling ran for 46 straight years, although on different channels making it the longest running wrestling show in history. Raw and Smackdown claim continuous runs while also both switching channels multiple times. It changed its name to World Championship Wrestling in the early 80s, and for one year, it was a WWF show, so it did change promotions from the NWA Georgia office (1954-1984), WWF (1984-85), Jim Crockett Promotions (1985-88) and WCW (1988-2000). But if none of that happens in 1971, pro wrestling history would be completely different (thanks to a clip by Al Getz).

Chris Jericho wrote this last night in response to Stephen P. New, who represented CM Punk and Ace Steel. “I don’t adhere to an employee handbook and have never had one in four years of working for AEW. I’ve also never signed an NDA in my life…ever. So stop trying to be a bully and making egotistical fantasy brags for your clients, and start doing some research before you make blanket statements about your buddies. Because I saw EVERYTHING that night..including how Lucy (and her husband and best buddy) acted and what really went down…and since I was in the room and watching her and everybody else the whole time…I know exactly what really happened. And considering you weren’t there and I was, maybe you should shut your mark ass up. Because what really went down was disgusting.”

The West Australian reported on documents they got as part of the Freedom of Information act related to the Elimination Chamber show on 2/24 in Burswood, Western Australia. In the documents, the tourism board who paid for WWE to come in asked for Dwayne Johnson to appear at the show. It was just a request and they did not report that Johnson would be there, only that the tourism board asked WWE if it was possible they could get him for the show. Obviously that would cost far more.

Douki won New Japan’s bodybuilding contest today, with Drilla Moloney second and last year’s winner, Tama Tonga, third.

WWF never had the Christmas tradition but it has the holiday week tradition with house shows every year running 12/26 to 12/30, two shows per night, and it’s the biggest week of house shows in the U.S. of the year, kicked off by the annual holiday show in Madison Square Garden. The show already had more than 15,000 tickets out, partially if not largely due to C.M. Punk’s first WWE match in ten years against Dominik Mysterio. MSG went from 9,000 when the match was announced and has continued to move tickets at a huge place. The other Punk show, which is at the Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday, has gone from 8,000 to 12,000.

The MSG show besides Punk vs. Dominik also has Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre for the world title, Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a bullrope match (pushed as the first bullrope match in MSG since Dusty Rhodes vs. Superstar Billy Graham in 1978) and Finn Balor & Damian Priest are listed against Jey Uso & Sami Zayn. Not sure what the deal is there since Zayn did an injury angle on television and was to be out for a while. They also run Baltimore tomorrow with Kevin Owens vs. Solo Sikoa last man standing, Jimmy Uso vs. L.A. Knight in a street fight, Iyo Sky vs Bianca Belair for the women’s title, Street Profits vs. Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde, Bayley vs. Shotzi, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Pretty Deadly and Butch vs. Austin Theory.

Raw tonight is a 2023 highlights show hosted by Jackie Redmond and Peter Rosenberg.

Tyrus will be hosting a New Year’s Eve special on FOX News and Ric Flair will be a special guest.

As far of the UFC/WWE crossover, Dana White was giving away WrestleMania tickets and a trip to Philadelphia as part of his sweepstakes where he is giving away 12 gifts.

MLW is already pushing Matt Riddle merch.

Rizin is trying to sign an Anderson Silva retirement fight for Japan.

Mayu Iwatani defends the IWGP women’s title against Syuri in the main event of a 1/4 show at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. Stardom is doing a show at the fancy arena at the Korakuen Mall, a hundred yards or so from the Tokyo Dome. The show will start late morning with the idea it ends before the New Japan show.

The Countdown to Worlds End will air at 11 p.m. on Friday night, right after Rampage.

The El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Black Taurus match on Rampage is all that it was cracked up to be. I thought the ROH match between the two was slightly better, but I wouldn’t be surprised if after this performance on television that Taurus gets signed. If not, I would at least expect to see him more.

Mick Foley and Raven have been added to The Gathering in Charlotte the first weekend of August. There will be a tribute to World Class featuring Kevni Von Erich, Brian Adias, Rod Price, John Tatum and Nord the Barbarian. Missy Hyatt is also scheduled and Angelo Mosca Jr. is scheduled to honor his father.