Daily Update: CM Punk, WWE Raw, Osric Chau

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Among the highlights in this issue:

  • The Rock & Cody Rhodes angle, blading in WWE, then now and forever.
  • What should be done in the night one main event
  • More WrestleMania notes including ticket sales and secondary market
  • A story on the career of Chigusa Nagayo, at one time the most popular women’s wrestler who ever lived
  • We look at her retirement match in San Francisco
  • We look at her breaking into wrestling at the age of 15, getting pushed at 17, and becoming part of the greatest tag team ever in women’s wrestling at the age of 18.
  • The first run of the Crush Gals
  • Being the top singles star in women’s wrestling, the decline of ratings and Nagayo’s first retirement
  • Her second run with Asuka as the Crush Gals in Gaea Japan
  • The end of Nagayo’s career including winning Japan’s tag team of the year award at the age of 51
  • Lots more Ronda Rousey talk on Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, Bruce Prichard, WWE, changing plans, Paul Levesque, the Holly Holm fight, concussion issues and Becky Lynch talking about McMahon
  • WWE policy on dating within the company put together after the Board first heard Vince McMahon allegations
  • Multiple Japanese companies join together for two charity shows
  • NCAA wrestling tournament notes
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling shows, including quarters, comparisons with one year ago, competition and more
  • Biggest show of the year at Arena Mexico
  • Former promotional hatred ends up with an angle
  • Giulia and Utami Hayashishita finish with Stardom with two PPV shows this week
  • Champion Carnival news
  • Unique gimmick match in New Japan
  • Dream match coming to DDT
  • Bret Hart raves about a new book
  • Tons of WrestleMania week big shows
  • Sabin & Shelley leaving TNA
  • Lots of contract news
  • Kenny Omega news
  • List of those unavailable this past week for AEW
  • ROH Supercard of Honor notes
  • Will Nigel McGuinness wrestle
  • Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
  • International ratings and streaming notes
  • AEW stars in foreign countries
  • UFC’s biggest match of the year may have a date
  • Conor McGregor claims he broke a Dwayne Johnson record
  • Dana White talks loyalty to Joe Rogan
  • First Bellator show since purchase
  • Contract status updates
  • New A&E TV plans with WWE
  • Barnett talks making deal to get Baszler on Bloodsport
  • Becky Lynch talks Mercdes Mone’s AEW deal
  • Heyman puts together Reigns special
  • Nick Aldis talks his situation
  • Bron Breakker’s college career, NFL combine numbers and what hampered him playing in the NFL even with his athletic ability

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Monday Update

  • What a crazy day this was between the New York Post story on Vince McMahon and Janel Grant, CM Punk on Ariel Helwani and the ESPN story on the WrestleMania day two main event. Bryan and I will be digesting all this and talking Raw tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio.
  • There’s so much to the Punk stuff. I thought he came across well giving his side of the story. He talked at length about the Jack Perry story. His story was that everyone wanted Perry not to use glass, mentioned a number of names most notably Tony Schiavone and Mike Mansury, claiming Perry cussed them out when trying to get him to not use glass and they came to him to tell Perry said Schiavone begged him to intervene, he didn’t want to, said how it was a rental car and how the rental car company getting the car back with a broken windshield would have been mad about it and not wanted to rent to wrestlers. Busting up cars in angles has been part of wrestling since the Attitude era. He said he told Perry we don’t do that here (on Collision) and told him to do it on Wednesday. He claimed he went to Tony Khan and told him to handle it and he didn’t. He claimed he always knew separate rosters would never work and that they needed to talk it out and move past it.
  • That was a big problem from day one as really from February 2022 Khan should have gotten everyone together to settle things when it was clear there were locker room problems. He portrayed Khan very badly, claiming Adam Page totally double-crossed him in the promo and not just the one line. His story is now that they had agreed to basic stuff that Page went totally away from the agreement which threw him off, and not just the one line about workers’ rights. He said they talked after the promo and Page did bring up someone which was likely Colt Cabana because Page said it was his friend who Punk tried to get fired and Punk said the guy wasn’t even fired. 
  • He claimed he was calm approaching Perry after the line where he said Cry Me a River, and claimed Perry said if you have a problem, do something about it. We did hear about that line but the reality is there was surveillance camera film backstage and both in house and outside attorneys conducted an investigation, which Bryan Danielson, a friend of Punk’s was part of and he voted for Punk to be fired. Punk claimed he quit before being fired. He gave the idea he choked Perry, never punched him and broke the choke when Samoa Joe told him to stop. He claimed he quit before the match but Joe and Jerry Lynn talked him into doing the match and he knew people wanted to see him wrestle so he was professional. He said Perry was sent home but he stayed before leaving and buying Nandos dinner for some of the guys after the show.
  • He said he signed an NDA at the behest of Tony Khan regarding Brawl Out when that subject came up. He claimed the NDA wasn’t for anything he did wrong. When asked why they had to get an NDA he said you need to ask the person (Khan) who wanted him to do it. 
  • He said when he came back he already knew it wouldn’t work as far as the idea of separate shows. He said that guys in wrestling and all sports get into fights and get over it and said in a real business they should have tried to make money off it. He said he thought it was coming to help a business and he was brought in for other reasons. He said AEW wasn’t a real business, it’s no about selling tickets and not about drawing money or making money. It’s about having good matches and there’s nothing wrong with that, but he said AEW wasn’t a sustainable business. When praising MJF he said the talent was there and it was a lot of fun doing the program, but it’s about the presentation and environment. He basically did the same criticism of Khan as a leader, saying he tries to be nice to everyone but you can’t run a wrestling company that way. “He’s not a boss. He’s a nice guy, ultimately that’s a detriment to the company.” 
  • He also said that talks with WWE about doing Survivor Serie started the Monday before the show. We were told by the WWE side that the idea of approaching him was ten days before, and Punk said his finalizing things and working them out with Paul Levesque was on Thanksgiving Day. Punk said he was originally to headline night one of Mania against Seth Rollins, which was actually planned as far back as November since we were told that pretty much right after the debut it was for Rollins before eventually getting to Reigns and the other top names.
  • At this point nobody has responded directly to anything he said. There are some who have never talked about anything from the start of the issues (Adam Page) and others who have wanted to but have been told not to in the past. There was an agreement even before Punk’s return to keep problems in house, which is actually why the Collision issues when they first happened didn’t surface right away as the different stories of issues were always said to have been settled, like the Perry issue, until it was brought up later by Punk actually. 
  • Tony Khan didn’t respond and as best I’ve seen nobody has. 
  • Just heard that people are very excited about Raw tonight with the idea it’s going to be real special. Time will tell, but with The Rock on the last Raw before Mania that would make sense
  • As noted yesterday, the show is sold out with almost 13,500 as of yesterday and with late openings of tickets it’ll end up more than that. Obviously the go-home Raw during such a hot period with Rock on it will be sold out. Rock & Reigns are both scheduled too appear, plus DIY & New Day vs. Judgment Day, Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae vs. Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri, and Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed rematch. The first hour will be commercial free. 
  • I expect a very big rating, but if it isn’t the NCAA women’s tournament doubleheader would be the reason. It was noted you have Catlin Clark, the biggest name in women’s college basketball and biggest draw maybe ever, against Angel Reese in the game that should end by 9:15 but the second game With USC vs. Connecticut is also big with Juju Walking and Kate Bueckers. But WWE excitement is very high. The rating would have been higher without it, but I anticipate a very good rating.
  • Saturday night in Vancouver, BC, actor Osric Chau (Supernatural, The Flash, Avatar The Last Airbender) was a special guest at the Boom Pro Wrestling show. He was confronted by actor Sachin Sahei, who is a regular there as the heel manager of Brady Malibu, who has also done some acting in Cada. Osric was in the corner of tag team Moral Panic and laid out Sachin with a spin kick to the face.

  • Ortiz of AEW suffered a torn pec and will be undergoing surgery. He hasn’t wrestled in AEW since 1/20.
  • The Bray Wyatt documentary debuted on Peacock which included a tease for the return of Bo Dallas, who has remained under contract since his return as Uncle Howdy.
  • WWE Next Gen, the eight episode reality show (all eight episodes are up) is on the Roku Channel today. It was the show filmed after a tryout with Division I athletes, showing the tryout and following them into NXT. John Cena was behind putting it together. 
  • Cody Rhodes will be on The Today show today.
  • We’re looking for your thoughts on Friday night’s Arena Mexico show, you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • There will be a Sting Q&A with Tony Schiavoe at WrestleCon on Thursday at 11 p.m. Matt Hardy will also be doing a podcast taping at Wrestlecon on Friday at 4 p.m.
  • Giulia showed up at today’s NOAH show in Tokyo and said she would be wrestling on the 5/4 NOAH show at Sumo Hall. This is not just her doing a date on a big show but is part of the strategy for the launch of Rossy Ogawa’s new company. Regarding that company, there will be a big announcement planned right now for later in the month on it. But it’s very clear far fewer women left Stardom than originally anticipated.
  • Bo Nickal of UFC and Penn State was furious regarding Jordan Burroughs comments last week at the NCAA tournament when Burroughts said that Carter Starocci’s opponent should target his leg. Starocci had a serious knee injury that has been speculated to be a torn ACL, but he wrestled on it and won his fourth NCAA title. Starocci will now go to the Olympic trials at 163 pounds (dropping from 174 in college) where Burroughs will also be competing. Burroughs said on the air, “I’d love to see him. I’ll tell you what, if him and I meet each other in the brackets, I’m going right for that right leg. Nickal said that was unprofessional to target the bad leg, and Burroughs said on social media “You punch guys in the face for a living. Shut up.” Nickal later on his podcast said that wasn’t Burroughs’ moment and he was taking away the moment of a guy who had just won a fourth NCAA title. (thanks to MMA Fighting)