Daily Update: Eddie Kingston, Carmella, Top Dolla

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

See Dave & Bryan in London

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

In this issue:

  • Match of the week and performer of the week
  • Feds investigating Vince McMahon and more
  • AEW signings Kenny Omega, Young Bucks and Adam Page, lots behind it with comments from any going into details on the reason the decision was made, their pact to stay together and far more
  • WWE financials for quarter two, including why the next TV deal is taking longer to negotiate, how every sector of business is doing, USA Network with and without WWE and looks to the future
  • SummerSlam, why matches were changed, the huge Saturday night of events, ticket sales and more
  • Updating All In, where it stands on all-tie records, two straight weeks of PPV shows, the last time it happened and the history, rumored matches and more
  • G-1 Climax, what everyone needs to advance to the final eight, cards for the rest of the tournament and running down the shows from the past week
  • UFC 291 coverage, the stories behind the stories, what is next, business notes
  • NXT Great American Bash notes with full coverage
  • The life and times of Adrian Street, his death, his start, the famous photo, his U.K. heyday, why he came to the U.S., thinking wrestling was real, meeting Linda and his life after wrestling
  • The most detailed look at the television ratings for all the pro wrestling and MMA shows, including what the numbers mean, rankings, segment-by-segment and how shows are doing compared with one year ago.
  • Promotion shooting new star to the top
  • One of the best matches of the year in Mexico
  • Top pro wrestler worked as an Uber driver during the pandemic
  • Why Stardom is bringing back 80s and 90s legends
  • Wrestle Kingdom notes
  • Minoru Suzuki match in a unique location
  • Second generation star celebrates his 50th birthday on show this past week
  • Update on the number of homes and carriage rates for the shows that carry wrestling and MMA
  • More on a new television wrestling promotion starting in the fall
  • More matches on All In weekend in London
  • Who Giulia is likely defending her New Japan Strong title against next
  • Men’s All Japan Strong title match in Defy
  • Business of AEW and its value
  • Tony Khan talks business growth
  • Update on WBD business
  • Health updates on AEW & WWE wrestlers out of action
  • Paul Levesque and Tony Khan exchange words
  • International TV ratings
  • Streaming numbers
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
  • Top merchandise sellers in WWE & AEW
  • UFC pushing Slap Fighting at commission meeting
  • Dwayne Johnson buys a house for a UFC fighter
  • Backstage fight at show in Japan
  • Notes on Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz
  • Crawford-Spence PPV numbers
  • WWE returns to India and details on that
  • Kevin Owens talks future
  • Former WWE personality working in TV news
  • WWE house show notes

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Ordering Info:

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Tuesday Update

WWE

  • In an interview with People, Carmella said she plans on returning to WWE after her pregnancy, but isn’t rushing to return: “I for sure plan to come back,” she said. “I think it’s important to show you can have a baby and still have a career, especially a very physical one at that, but I’m not going to rush.”
  • TD Garden has a buy one, get one free offer for the September 8 episode of SmackDown.
  • Top Dolla reflected on the one year anniversary of Hit Row’s return to WWE on X: “Saturday will be One Year since we Returned on #SmackDown and in that year we’ve worked with the Shinsuke, Bobby Lashley, Bray, Ricochet, Sheamus, Braun, Drew, The Usos, The New Day, The Street Profits, LA, The OC, A.J. & many more great talent in the greatest company in the world… & got paid to do it.”
  • Sol Ruca and Dani Palmer have launched a YouTube channel.
  • WWE and The Boogeyman celebrate International Cat Day.
  • Fast X, which features John Cena, is out today on Blu-Ray and DVD.
  • Matches added to WWE’s YouTube channel today include Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn from Survivor Series 2012, Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins from Hell in a Cell 2022, and The Rock vs. John Cena from WrestleMania 29.

AEW

  • A CM Punk Best in the World Trans Pride t-shirt has been released and will be available through August 22. 100% of the royalties will go to The Trevor Project.
  • The New York Post has an article on MJF’s recent babyface turn.
  • Samoa Joe talked to FanNation about his role in Twisted Metal.
  • CNBC reported that Warner Bros. Discovery is planning on simulcasting live games on Max starting in October.

Other Wrestling

  • Just one day prior to release, Skybound Games announced that WrestleQuest is being pushed back from August 8 to August 22: “When performing final checks on one of our launch platforms, we discovered it was possible for players to lose their save game progress when playing WrestleQuest on multiple different devices. Because this is a game filled with hours of content and player progress is so important, we could never bodyslam our fans like that. We are truly proud of this game and believe that we have a product that delivers on all counts. We’re blown away by the support we’ve seen from players excited for WrestleQuest and we can’t wait to share the finished game with everyone on August 22.”
  • The season finale of Dark Side of the Ring will premiere tonight at 10 pm ET, with the subject being Marty Jannetty.
  • NJPW World shot footage of Eddie Kingston meeting Toshiaki Kawada.
  • Tomohiro Ishii is making his Dragongate debut on August 20. He will team with Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fuji to take on Yuki Yoshioka, Ben-K, and Strong Machine J.
  • The University of Nebraska at Kearney has an interview with Tyrus, an alumni.
  • Scott D’Amore of Impact Wrestling is celebrating his birthday today.
  • Game Changer Wrestling has added Violento Jack to their cards this coming weekend.