Daily Update: Crown Jewel, AEW reality series, Jon Moxley

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

*Match and performer of the week
*WWE business in detail, explanations and comments from Nick Khan, Paul Levesque and Stephanie McMahon
*Where revenue increased
*Numbers after the first nine months of the year
*WWE current value
*Lots of talk on the Bray Wyatt angle and how it performed
*Levesque talks the Wyatt angle
*Levesque talks future booking
*Notes on how the major events performed
*New TV shows WWE is producing
*Nick Khan talks sports rights
*Vince McMahon investigation notes
*How Raw and Smackdown are dong compared to the rest of television
*Why the USA Network needs Raw or it will become an also-ran station
*Khan talks future of television
*WWE attendance
*Nick Khan’s contract
*Jeff Jarrett, Colt Cabana, Katsuyori Shibata and Mike Tyson in AEW
*Jarrett’s planned role
*Why Cabana was brought back
*The back story on Shibata
*WWE Crown Jewel note
*The first pro wrestling show at the new Ariake Arena
*Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Great Muta and how it was set up
*New Japan’s Rumble on 44th Street coverage
*UFC weekend coverage
*The most detailed look at TV numbers over the past week
*Streaming and international TV numbers
*Wrestler gets heat from the family of the originator of his gimmick’
*Stardom PPV coverage
*Popular wrestling TV show being revived in 2023
*Vikingo debuts outside Mexico
*MLW recent hires from ROH
*Dynamite ratings for the year as compared to last year
*AEW stars in England
*Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva PPV numbers
*WWE PPV updates
*WWE returns
*WWE injury notes
*Story behind recent WWE cuts
*Sheamus wedding
*Ticket sales for upcoming shows

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Saturday News Update

WWE

  • I previewed today’s Crown Jewel PPV for Sports Illustrated and gave my predictions for each match.
  • A special Crown Jewel post-show edition of The Fight Game Podcast will stream on our YouTube channel after the event.
  • Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley has been announced as the opening match for Crown Jewel. PWInsider reported that the match order is scheduled to be:
          • Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley
          • Alexa Bliss & Asuka vs. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai & IYO SKY) for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles
          • Steel cage match: Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross
          • The OC (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) vs. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio)
          • Braun Strowman vs. Omos
          • The Usos vs. The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland & Butch) for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles
          • Last Woman Standing match: Bianca Belair vs. Bayley for the Raw Women’s Championship
          • Bray Wyatt segment
          • Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
  • Lashley told SecondsOut that he’s going to make sure The Hurt Business get back together at some point:
          • The Hurt Business was something that everybody loved and everybody will still love. Never say never. Not even never say never, I will make sure that somehow, some way, we get back together because it seems like right now, everybody is getting back into some sort of group in the WWE. There are so many different factions coming together. The most important faction and one of the biggest factions for the last few years, the one that took us through the pandemic was The Hurt Business. During the pandemic, everyone else was staying at home, so many people staying at home, didn’t want to go to work, so many people who took a backstep. The Hurt Business stepped up. We were every part of the show for a long time. That should get a rebirth.
  • Ridge Holland & Butch were guests on the Crown Jewel preview edition of WWE’s The Bump.
  • Paul Heyman was interviewed on WWE After the Bell this week.
  • Bianca Belair joined Sheamus on this week’s edition of Celtic Warrior Workouts.
  • WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar’s title unification match from WrestleMania 38.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • PWInsider reported that production is underway for the new behind-the-scenes AEW reality series that Warner Bros. Discovery is producing. They were filming for the show at this week’s Dynamite and Rampage.
  • Jon Moxley told the Cincinnati Enquirer that, before he went to rehab last year, he was afraid of having a seizure and dying in the ring: “Over a year ago, I was afraid of dying of a seizure in the ring. I had that on my mind every day. It was all (messed) up, and going through an absolute personal hell for a long time that nobody else even knew about. When you’re scared for your actual life, to make the decision to go to rehab and (stuff) was basically — I had to basically assume I’m giving everything away. I was like, OK, I’m either going to live a long, happy life and raise my kid and be a person, or I can wrestle. But I can’t have both.”
  • Moxley said he thought fans might see him as a loser who threw everything away, but no one was mad at him after he got out of rehab: “But when I got out, it turned out that nobody was mad at me at all. Everybody was very happy. I was welcomed back by AEW and by the fans, and it was just like, go and get back to it. And when you’ve already lost everything, all you fear for is your life, literally and figuratively.”
  • While appearing on The Ten Count, Jade Cargill was asked if she’d like to see AEW produce an all-women’s event:
          • That would be great if we could. I know for a fact the women in the locker room — all of them could give five-star matches, we just need the time to do it, and the time to shine. I mean, we have a very talented roster of ladies. It’s just… we have one match a show, and we’re trying to do the best, and perform, and maximize the minutes that we’re given…
          • The matchups, the faces that haven’t been on Dynamite and Rampage, or haven’t been there in many months — it would be a stellar show. I’m very certain of that. Especially with not having to worry about fighting for positions or anything like that, Just an all-women’s show, everybody has time.
  • Tony Khan spoke to Sports Illustrated about Jeff Jarrett joining AEW as the company’s director of business development. Khan said it makes sense for AEW to expand its live events calendar in 2023: “Yes. It makes a lot of sense for AEW to expand our live calendar in 2023 and beyond. There are many places in the U.S. and all over the world where AEW is very popular, and this is a strategic opportunity to expand. We also have Ring of Honor. There are a lot of exciting possibilities for us in live events, and Jeff has such extensive experience as a third-generation businessman in pro wrestling. He’s got tremendous experience in a number of fields, including live event promotions and international distribution. His insight and knowledge are very valuable, and I’m excited to have Jeff join our great team.”
  • Ari Daivari was the guest on this week’s episode of AEW Unrestricted.
  • Aussie Open confronted FTR backstage after today’s NJPW Battle Autumn show. Aussie Open said they’ll be in World Tag League, will win the tournament, and will challenge FTR for the IWGP Tag Team titles at Wrestle Kingdom 17.
  • On the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast, Marshall & Ross Von Erich revealed that their MLW contracts are up in June 2023. Marshall said: “We’ve been taking the last month to get back into shape, and we’re gonna pour our next five to seven years, maybe even longer, but we feel like it’s time. A lot of people don’t know, but I guess our time with MLW is almost up. I think June 1 is when our contracts are up, so we’re just gonna see what happens after that [and] play the field. Never say never, but we’re just gonna see what comes to us after this.”