Daily Update: Cody Rhodes, Bryan Danielson, WWE Hell in a Cell

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: MJF walk out & promo, Double or Nothing review

  • Match and Performer of the week
  • The MJF story, worked shoots, how it was handled, the potential positives and negatives and the key to all AEW angles right now.
  • Full coverage of Double or Nothing, with early PPV numbers
  • Kota Ibushi and New Japan, where it stands right now
  • New Japan Best of the Super Juniors coverage
  • The career of Tarzan Goto
  • Stardom PPV coverage
  • Jumbo Tsuruta and the Memorial show this past week
  • Television ratings
  • CMLL goes all the way with a young star
  • Dragon Gate booking issues update
  • Hall of Famer returns to New Japan
  • Death of Melanie Pillman
  • Cauliflower Alley Club 2022 notes
  • Upcoming AEW major events
  • Update on ticket sales for all upcoming WWE & AEW shows
  • Arrest of Jake Atlas
  • UFC returns to network television
  • Upcoming UFC events
  • How sports will affect wrestling ratings the next few weeks
  • Mustafa Ali talks his situation and thoughts on giving a release
  • International TV numbers
  • Streaming numbers

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter: May 2, 2005 Observer Newsletter: UFC 52 review, Matt Hardy release fallout

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Sunday News Update

  • Bryan and I did a show this morning talking CM Punk & Cody Rhodes injuries, Melanie Pillman death, Smackdown, Rampage and NXT In Your House as well as Vince McMahon’s recent deposition in the Oliver Luck case. We will talk Hell in a Cell later tonight. We also did a show on all the news from the past week with Garrett Gonzales including the Punk situation as it broke.
  • Regarding Cody Rhodes, as noted on the front page, he suffered an injury that those at last night’s show in Champaign, IL, said was a torn pec. John Pollock first had the information early on Saturday of the torn pec. Rhodes was at the show but was taken out in an injury angle by Seth Rollins earlier in the show and did come back for a run-in on Rollins. The Rhodes vs. Rollins street fight main event became Drew McIntyre vs. Rollins vs. Sami Zayn and Rhodes chased Rollins. I’m pretty sure Rhodes will wrestle tonight at Hell in a Cell in the match with Rollins and we’ll probably have more after the show. The injury took place lifting weights.
  • Bryan Danielson and Scorpio Sky of AEW are both hurt. Sky confirmed it on Twitter but hoped it wasn’t serious. Bryan Alvarez noted on today’s show that Sky is expected to be getting an MRI. We don’t know about Danielson past that he didn’t appear at a signing today and it was said he was injured. No idea how that affects Wednesday but Danielson was not on either television show this past week and the belief was he was hurt in the insane match on Sunday.
  • Hell in a Cell is sold out tonight at the Allstate Arena in Chicago (Rosemont). That is many wrestlers’ favorite city or arena to perform in because of the crowds. Even though the lineup is not deep at all with most of the big stars like Ronda Rousey (who was advertised locally and originally planned), Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns, Usos, Randy Orton and Riddle not on the show, the demand locally was huge. The gate is seven figures. The secondary market was on fire the last week and was the hottest secondary market ticket for any show so far this year. it was not an instant sellout so it was the lineup and that really bodes well for Rollins and Rhodes.
  • Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin. This is the only Smackdown match on the show and was set up Friday. They should have a good match because it’s important for Moss to go over strong as this is the time to build him. Oddsmakers feel the same as he’s a -500 favorite to win.
  • Ezekiel vs. Kevin Owens. Ezekiel is a -170 favorite. The angle has been fun due to Owens’ talking but on television it’s like people seem into the Ezekiel comedy but not so much once he starts wrestling. But that may be where Chicago comes in. Plus, Owens is one of the better guys in the company.
  • Theory vs. Mustafa Ali for the U.S. title. This has had the bad buildup. The whole build is that Ali loses every confrontation. Often that leads to a slip on a banana peel babyface win, but oddsmakers don’t see it with Theory a whopping -500 favorite. Ali is very good in the ring but they’ve been in the ring and it’s come across as just a decent match so far.
  • A.J. Styles & Finn Balor & Liv Morgan vs. Damian Priest & Edge & Rhea Ripley. On paper this should be a very good match. The Judgment Day are heavy favorites at -400. I mean, they probably should win and Edge has been teasing the idea of a new member.
  • Bobby Lashley vs. Omos & MVP in a handicap match. I doesn’t look good on paper. But really, it’s probably Lashley selling and Omos is better on the attack than selling. Lashley is a -160 favorite to win.
  • Bianca Belair vs. Asuka vs. Becky Lynch for the Raw women’s title. Even though most would figure Belair wins the oddsmakers are super strong on it with Belair at -550, Asuka at +500 and Becky Lynch at +550. The odds indicate people see this as just a way to prolong the feud since Belair vs. Asuka is the big show direction at some point. Plus everyone knows Belair was not originally to lose here and to beat Naomi. They will almost surely have a good match.
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match. Rhodes is a -550 favorite but those odds came from before word got out on his injury. I would have expected one of the WWE’s best bouts of the year so far originally. With Rhodes being hurt, I believe they’ll still pull something big off, but everything is determined by the limitations Rhodes has with his injury.
  • On paper, with no major titles expected to change, I guess they could have a surprise but the matches themselves really look like a Raw television show with a nice women’s title match and the one Hell in a Cell. At least for Chicago this year, the Cell, which at one point was a huge draw as a gimmick, still moves tickets.
  • Windham Rotunda aka Bray Wyatt has got people talking because he had said he was going to be known as Windham going forward, but has changed his Twitter to Wyatt 6 and teased being back soon. People have told me that they believe that has led to some of the secondary market demand.
  • Chris Ridgeway won the Progress Strong Style 16 tournament and with it the Progress world title earlier today in London.
  • The only stuff from boxing, wrestling and MMA that trended this past week was yesterday. The George Kambosos vs, Devin Haney fight did 200,000 searches for No. 4. C.M. Punk was No 10 with 50,000 and yesterday’s UFC show was No. 13 with 50,000. Keep in mind nothing regarding MJF made the Google search list last week. One would expect Hell in a Cell at around 200,000 today since that’s what almost all the B shows do.
  • We’re looking for your thoughts on Hell in a Cell, last night’s NXT In Your House and New Japan’s Budokan Hall Best of the Super Juniors finals. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

AEW

  • These were the odds this morning on who ends up as U.S. AEW interim champion participant after the end of the Forbidden Door show in Chicago:
  • Jon Moxley -150 (favorite)
  • Adam Page +300
  • Bryan Danielson +300
  • MJF +300
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi +500
  • Adam Cole +1200
  • Eddie Kingston +2200
  • Chris Jericho +2500
  • Miro +4000
  • Wardlow +4000
  • Hirooki Goto +5000
  • A clarification from Friday. At the Gutter Candy concert (Frankie Kazarian’s band) Thursday night at Whiskey A Go go in Los Angeles, we noted Chris Jericho performed at the show. He popped up on stage for a minute to sing a song with them but that was the extent of it.

Other Notes

  • CWE from last night in Lorette, Manitoba: Mentallo b Dragneel, Bobby Schink b Kevin Cannon-DQ, Sammy Peppers b Danny Duggan, Rob Stardom & James Roth b Mike Mission & Tyler James, Will Damon b Kevin O’Doyle.
  • XICW from last night in Detroit: Solo b Kyler Coleman, TJ Meyer b Billy Ray Daniels, Soultaker b 3 Faces of Sheepy, Adam Wick b Zach Gowen, Mongo & Brutus Atwell b KJ Reynolds & Ryan Matthias, Jack Price b LJ Lawrence, DBA won the Malcolm Monroe Sr Memorial Cup over Charlie Haas, Tommy Vendetta, Malcolm Monroe III, Adam Wick ,Solo and Kyler Coleman (thanks to Leonard Brand)