Daily Update: Dark Side of the Ring ratings, Pat McAfee, Enzo & Cass

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F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Looking at the WWE HOF and the 2019 class

While interest has inevitably decreased over the years, the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony feels like less of an essential part of WrestleMania weekend than ever.

There are a few major reasons why the Hall of Fame ceremony has lost some of its luster. As WrestleMania week has become a destination for promotions from the United States and abroad, fans have to make difficult decisions on how they’re going to spend their time and money.

WON NEWSLETTER: April 15, 2019 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WrestleMania 35 weekend review

At seven hours and 15 minutes, WrestleMania was too long.

I suppose if the show was filled with great matches, it’s possible to pull that off without it being that difficult a show to get through. While it was probably the longest WWE show in history, and the longest major promotion U.S. show I’ve ever heard of in the modern era, I’ve been to longer shows in Japan. Most notably was the All Japan Women’s Tokyo Dome show in 1994 that clocked in at nine-and-a-half hours. That was a legendary night with two dozen matches, very memorable, but it was still way too long as well. I think maybe, if you have the greatest talent in the world, you can make a six hour show great. But for pro wrestling, there is no need to ever go longer than that. And this show didn’t have anywhere near the best talent in the world.

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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • On the Pat McAfee Show, McAfee told a story about being yelled at by Michael Cole for wearing tuxedo shorts for the WrestleMania pre-show. McAfee talked about almost walking out before the pre-show started, but Vince McMahon approved the shorts. McAfee said Cole gave him one of the realest apologies he’s ever gotten in his life and said he thought the shorts would ruin the opportunity for McAfee.
  • WWE stock was up nearly one percent today, closing at $95.06 per share.
  • Kofi Kingston posted videos on Instagram thanking his family, Big E & Xavier Woods, those who came before him, and the fans for all of their support.
  • Dakota Kai wrote that she was able to run for the first time since tearing her ACL in December.
  • Edge tweeted on the eighth anniversary of his retirement: “Today is 8 yrs since I retired. This pic is from right after announcing it. That’s a look of relief after 20 yrs of fulfilling all of my dreams and then some. I’ve since helped make 94 episodes of television, a podcast & 2 beautiful little girls. Not exactly ‘retirement’ I guess”
  • Tommaso Ciampa is the guest on tomorrow’s episode of the Edge & Christian podcast.
  • Titus O’Neil’s book, “There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Kid: How I went from Stereotype to Prototype,” will be released on August 6.
  • A student at Miami Southridge Senior High School was arrested for trying to hit an RKO on his principal.

Pro Wrestling

  • The premiere of Viceland’s “Dark Side of the Ring” docuseries averaged 154,000 viewers last night. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.06. The premiere episode was on Randy Savage & Ms. Elizabeth.
  • Today is Harley Race’s 76th birthday.
  • Enzo and Cass, who are now going by nZo and CazXL, cut a promo to sell their new T-shirts. Their team name is FreeAgentZ.
  • The Briscoes, Shane Taylor & Silas Young vs. The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) & Coast 2 Coast (Shaheem Ali & LSG) has been added to ROH’s Masters of the Craft show on Sunday. It’s airing live on HonorClub.
  • Game Changer Wrestling announced The Great Sasuke for Tournament of Survival 4 in Atlantic City on June 1.

UFC/MMA

  • Conor McGregor tweeted that he broke his foot three weeks before his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov: “I broke my foot 3 weeks out from the bout. I still marched forward however, and also landed the final blows of the night. On his blood brother. I am happy with how the contest went and the lessons learned. In my fighting and more importantly my preparation. Time will reveal all.”
  • McGregor responded to someone who asked if he’s in talks for a fight: “In talks, in thoughts, and always and forever, In training!”
  • The UFC uploaded episode four of Embedded for Saturday’s PPV, which will feature Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title and Kelvin Gastelum vs. Israel Adesanya for the interim middleweight title.
  • Ariel Helwani reported that Paulo Costa is ready to return and wants to face Yoel Romero: “Paulo Costa is ready to return and hoping to fight Yoel Romero once and for all in June, I’m told. Romero is down, too. As is UFC. Just have to lock in a date. It won’t be Chicago.”

Daily Pro Wrestling History: DDP wins his first WCW World title

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