Daily Update: Double or Nothing weekend notes

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Saturday News Update

WWE

  • Last night’s SmackDown averaged 1.78 million viewers in the fast national ratings (0.4 rating in 18-49), down from the 2.00 million viewers the show drew in the fast nationals last week. The episode averaged 1.841 million viewers in the first hour and then fell to 1.714 million viewers in the second hour, likely due to last night’s NBA playoff game tipping off near the end of the first hour.
  • People published a story on Charlotte Flair getting married to Andrade El Idolo. Charlotte said about their relationship: “Before I met him, I did not know anything except my job. When I met him, he opened my eyes to travel and life and love and a different culture. And I was so strict with my job and did not know how to enjoy both life and work at the same time. And he opened me up to that.”
  • WWE congratulated Charlotte and Andrade on their wedding: “Wedding bells ring with Flair! On Friday evening, Charlotte Flair married former WWE Superstar Andrade El Idolo in a beautiful ceremony in Mexico. The Opportunity posted a stunning picture of the happy couple. WWE.com congratulates Charlotte and Andrade as they begin this exciting new chapter in their lives.”
  • AEW also posted a tweet congratulating Charlotte and Andrade: “Congratulations to @AndradeElIdolo and @MsCharlotteWWE! Wishing you both a lifetime of love and happiness together!”
  • WWE announced an update on Randy Orton following the angle where The Bloodline attacked Orton and Riddle last week: “Randy Orton is currently undergoing consultations with neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons to determine the extent of his injury and to recommended course of treatment.”
  • Seth Rollins is celebrating his 36th birthday today.
  • Drew McIntyre & The New Day, Shotzi, and Los Lotharios were interviewed on Talking Smack this week.
  • WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya for the WWE Women’s Championship from Extreme Rules 2016, Team WWE vs. The Nexus from the August 30, 2010 episode of Raw, and Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens from the May 28, 2019 episode of SmackDown.

Other Wrestling

  • With the Miami Heat defeating the Boston Celtics last night, game seven of the series will go against AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday. Tony Khan has said that Hangman Page and CM Punk’s AEW World Championship match won’t start until the game ends. The game will air on ESPN starting at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.
  • My Double or Nothing preview and predictions article is now up at Sports Illustrated.
  • AEW streamed an extended cut of their Countdown to Double or Nothing special.
  • MJF didn’t show up to his meet and greet at the Double or Nothing fan fest today.
  • Complex has a video documenting a day in the life of Jade Cargill on the road to Double or Nothing.
  • Dax Harwood tweeted about CM Punk: “This is a man who LOVES professional wrestling. This is a man who LOVES AEW. His door is wide open for anyone. In less than a year, he’s been more accessible to me & everyone else than some other guys who have their own private locker rooms. I’m pulling for Punk Sunday night.”
  • Sports Illustrated asked Bryan Danielson who he’d like to face at AEW & NJPW’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view:
    • I would love to wrestle Okada. But in the back of my mind, I’m thinking about Zack Sabre Jr. and wrestling him to see who is the best technical wrestler in the world. We have two very different styles of technical wrestling. We wrestled in 2008, and he was just a kid, but I was super impressed with him then. He’s grown into this amazing wrestler, and I don’t ever recall seeing anyone wrestle with his technique.
    • There are a ton of guys I’d like to wrestle. You mentioned Okada, and that’s a match I really want. I want [Tomohiro] Ishii. Tanahashi and I wrestled in 2004, but we are totally different people now than we were then. That would be a lot of fun. Shingo and I wrestled in 2010. That would also be a lot of fun. I was hoping to get a match against Kenta in WWE, but it just never happened, and I would love to wrestle him. I’d also love to wrestle [Katsuyori] Shibata. I’m open to whoever Tony [Khan] and New Japan want me to go up against.
  • Ruby Soho spoke to CBS Sports about being herself in AEW:
    • I was very nervous when I was released [by WWE]. I had a few months to just kind of sit back and really reflect as to how I wanted to present myself. How I wanted the world to see me. That was honestly one of the most therapeutic and cathartic times in my career. To be able to just sit back and try and figure out who I want the world to know Ruby Soho is. I have been fortunate enough to work for a company that really just does let me off the leash and just be who you are. That was what Tony Khan said to me when he hired me. He said, ‘I want you to be yourself and I want you to work for me for a long time.’
    • That was the most freeing thing that anyone has ever said to me. I am so unbelievably lucky. I think with that freedom and with that paintbrush in my hand, I think that has brought about a whole new level of confidence in me that I have not had in my career thus far.
  • Tay Conti is taking legal precautions against a fan for repeatedly threatening her and Sammy Guevara on social media: “This is absurd. His name is DUSTIN DOLEZAL and he’s been threatening Sammy and I since January. He writes us EVERY SINGLE DAY and apparently planning to do something with us in June. I’m taking legally precautions but if something happens to us y’all know who to look for.”
  • Eddie Kingston cut a promo on Chris Jericho ahead of their 10-man tag Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing.
  • On the latest episode of Talk is Jericho, the Jericho Appreciation Society discussed their origin story.
  • It was announced yesterday that AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa will co-host one hour of Busted Open Radio on Fridays every week with Dave LaGreca and Mark Henry.
  • TalkSport and Daily Star interviewed William Regal.
  • Inside the Ropes has an interview with Wardlow.
  • Tickets to Ric Flair’s “last match” have officially sold out after going on sale yesterday.
  • Dani Mo posted a statement about being physically assaulted by Haley J in December 2021 and OVW officials not taking any action to help her as the issues between them continued.
  • EJ Nduka is the latest entrant to be confirmed for MLW Battle Riot IV.