Daily Update: Cody Rhodes, AEW All In, Bryan Danielson

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

We have a giant story on the life and career of Kevin Sullivan. It’s one of the biggest stories we’ve done in recent years covering this very unique person who wore a lot of hats in the industry and had a lot of very significant influence on aspects of the genre.

Among the other topics covered:

  • Tony Khan announces the second AEW stadium show for 2025 and we talk about reports of a third one as well.
  • Previewing All In
  • Update on Bash in Berlin including a new main event not announced yet and the latest on the planned stipulation
  • Bryan Danielson talks about his life and career
  • AEW and Triller doing PPV bundles
  • U.S. Olympic wrestling roundup as well as Hiroshi Tanahashi wants to recruit three Olympians
  • Update on G-1 Climax tournament and all the bouts of the past week
  • A look at the career of Yoshinari Ogawa who retired this past week
  • A look at Dennis Brent, who passed away, a behind-the-scenes figure who was very close to many insiders in the wrestling community and had worked for and with World Class, Mid South, WCW, JCP and WWE before a tragic case of MS ended him in wrestling.
  • Update on legal wranglings involving Janel Grant, Vince McMahoin and Dr. Carlon Colker
  • The most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week, weekly rankings, comparisons with a year ago, segment-by-segment, nightly placings competition and more
  • Rundown from another big show at Arena Mexico
  • More on the CMLL Grand Prix show featuring wrestlers from all over the world
  • Return date announced for one of the biggest international stars
  • Exactly what the issues are with AAA and Penta & Fenix and why their talent isn’t allowed to appear on the same shows in Mexico
  • Update on the Stardom Five Star Grand Prix
  • Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate update
  • N-1 tournament update
  • What WWE NXT star is getting over in Japan
  • Grandson of one of the biggest wrestling stars of all-time now training to wrestle
  • El Hijo del Santo retirement tour update and he talks about when he was negotiating to go full-time with WWE
  • MJF vs. Michael Oku match story and angle with Ospreay
  • GCW hits Japan
  • PPV updates for recent pro wrestling and boxing events
  • Tony Khan talks more on big announcements
  • Update on Young Bucks
  • Penta & Fenix update
  • Behind the making of MJF vs. Oku in England
  • Advances for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
  • Streaming numbers and international TV numbers
  • Update on Conor McGregor fighting
  • Former MMA fighter involved in a shooting death of a man who was friends with the person who was accused of kidnapping his son
  • Heyman talks his ECW run
  • Ronda Rousey on Vince McMahon
  • Jesse Ventura and his attempt to unionize wrestlers

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Thursday Update

WWE

  • On social media, Cody Rhodes and Grayson Waller had a back-and-forth setting up a confrontation for SmackDown. Rhodes challenged Waller to have a chat with him on the show: “Interesting take  @GraysonWWE, how about we have a chat tomorrow on #SmackDown and I can show you how much of a ‘bad guy’ I can be.”
  • Director Todd Phillips confirmed to Variety that his planned Hulk Hogan biopic that would have starred Chris Hemsworth is no longer happening: “I love what we were trying to do, but that’s not going to come together for me.”
  • Jey & Jimmy Uso (39), Apollo Crews (37), and Paul Ellering (71) are celebrating birthdays today.
  • Here’s the lineup for Friday’s episode of NXT Level Up:
    • Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo & Luca Crusifino vs. Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe
    • Dani Palmer vs. Jazmyn Nyx
  • WWE Vault uploaded the full WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov NXT UK Championship match from NXT TakeOver 36.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • Sunday’s All In pay-per-view has surpassed 50,000 tickets distributed.
  • In his final promo before All In, Bryan Danielson called himself “the best f*cking wrestler in the world” and said he’s been the best for the past 20 years. Dynamite ended with Danielson leading the crowd in a “Yes!” chant after vowing to defeat Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship.
  • Bleacher Report asked Danielson how he’s feeling physically ahead of All In:
    • My neck is trashed. But other than that, I feel good. One of the things that I’m good at is experiencing pain and it not necessarily affecting me much. It doesn’t really affect my mental space.
    • The only thing that it does kind of affect is my parenting because our son is four and wild. He loves jumping on my back and jumping on my neck, and I’m like, ‘Argh, stop!’ [laughs]
    • It affects my training and that sort of thing. But other than that, I feel good. The odds are, by the end of the year, I’m probably going to have to get neck surgery or whatever it is. But right now, it feels manageable. And when I get out and wrestle, I feel invincible. So that’s not even a concern.
  • Danielson told Bleacher Report that he believes the best matches of his career have taken place in AEW:
    • If you look at the matches, in my mind, I’ve had the best matches of my career in AEW. Whether they’ve been difference-makers or not, that’s a different thing entirely, but from a creative aspect, these last three years have been some of the most fun of my career but also the wrestling matches I’ve enjoyed the most.
  • Complex published a profile piece on Strickland. He opened up about the support he’s received from The New Day:
    • Those guys gave me love every week and they don’t have to. But I’ve always made sure to speak out and say ‘you guys influenced me.’ Kofi Kingston [in particular]. In my own way hopefully I did it justice. Hopefully I did him proud.
  • Will Ospreay told the New York Post that he’s enjoying being a babyface in AEW: “I’ve always been a very happy, chappy person. I do have a little bit of an a–hole side of me, but I’m very much an easy person to get along with. Going into that role I feel like I was the right guy to come in at the right time.”
  • Ospreay reflected on how blessed he is to wrestle at Wembley Stadium for the second straight year: “Being back at Wembley Stadium, it’s always a weird thing to flipping say out loud, not arena, stadium, bro. The fact that I get to do it all over again, I can not tell you how blessed I am.
  • AEW wished Pac a happy 38th birthday.
  • Paul London will return to MLW in New York City on Thursday, August 29 for a match against BRG (Brett Ryan Gosselin) at Summer of the Beasts.
  • Zilla Fatu will defend his House of Glory Crown Jewel Championship against Mustafa Ali in Chicago on Thursday, September 5.
  • Bobby Lashley appeared on The Bo and Them Show.
  • Wrestlezone interviewed “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
  • Matt Cardona was a guest on The Masked Man Show.