Daily Update: ESPN+, Honor Club, AEW All Out

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 

July 18, 2022 Observer Newsletter: More details on Vince McMahon hush money payments, WrestleMania 38 business

  • Among the highlights:
  • Match and performer of the week
  • Vince McMahon, the non-disclosures, the economic effect, reaction from talent, the investigation, keys as to whether he stays or goes, keys to the current investigation, the settlements, details of the most recent settlement story and key points in it, comments from women over the years, the 2006 tanning bed story, Rita Chatterton talks, and follow-ups of other investigations.
  • WrestleMania, SummerSlam and ROH Death Before Dishonor
  • Stardom Midsummer Champions and the next major Stardom events
  • UFC notes from this past week
  • Ratings from all wrestling shows
  • 2022 World Grand Prix tournament
  • AAA major summer show
  • What will be Triplemania’s major title match
  • Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year
  • Triple Crown title change
  • Pro Wrestling NOAH co-promoting this year’s tournament that led to the formation of ROH in 2001
  • Keiji Muto has one of his final matches this week
  • Update on Kota Ibushi
  • First week of G1
  • Two legendary tag teams have singles matches against each other
  • Three AEW stars on Japanese women’s show
  • Bill Goldberg talks Bret Hart
  • Ric Flair documentary series
  • Japanese stars coming to base in North America
  • Legendary promoter cutting back after 52 years
  • Full breakdown on ticket sales to All Out
  • Lots of injury updates involving the biggest stars
  • Goal of the three-way tag title match on Dynamite and original plans
  • Upcoming ticket sales for WWE and AEW
  • Chris Jericho talks his illness from last year
  • AEW star in Bare Knuckle fight in England
  • Streaming numbers for WWE & AEW
  • UFC lobbying for a bill that could have great effect on pro wrestlers
  • US group opening regular promotion in Europe
  • Next MSG show from WWE
  • International TV numbers

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter: May 30, 2005 Observer Newsletter: UPN moves SmackDown to Friday, ECW PPV turns into political fight

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Friday News Update

  • Garrett and I will be back tonight talking the news of the week. 
  • ESPN+ is raising its monthly subscription rate from $6.99 to $9.99 per month starting on 8/23. That means if you subscribe to ESPN+ and buy every PPV over the course of the year the price will top $1,000.
  • There have been a lot of questions regarding ROH Honor Club. Subscribers can’t access footage and you can’t join or renew. Paid members say that they can’t even watch the tape library. I’ve asked AEW about the future of Honor Club a few times with no answers.
  • Regarding AEW ticket sales, All Out sold out its individual block of tickets plus the combo pack which would be about 7,000 tickets. There are still plenty of combo tickets where you have to buy all three shows that week so the show is far from sold out,. It would have sold out on the presale yesterday if they put tickets available to the show individually as people didn’t want to buy tickets for all three shows and, at first, there was barely half the arena put up for the PPV for individual tickets.
  • WWE SmackDown tonight from the Amway Arena in Orlando, FL, where they had a good advance with more than 7,500 expected:
    • Jimmy Uso vs. Angelo Dawkins
    • Liv Morgan vs. Natalya non-title
    • Theory vs. Madcap Moss
    • The referee for the Usos vs. Street Profits match is to be announced on tonight’s show
  • AEW Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on TNT
    • Alex Reynolds & John Silver vs. Brody King & Malakai Black
    • ROH Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Lee Moriarty title match
    • Athena & Kris Statlander vs. The Renegade Twins
    • Lucha Brothers vs. Private Party
  • We are looking for reports from these shows to dave@wrestlingobserver.com:
    • WWE Smackdown tonight in Orlando (dark matches only)
    • GCW tonight in Los Angeles
    • Pro Wrestling NOAH Saturday at Budokan Hall
    • WWE on Saturday in Tallahassee, FL, and Estero, FL
    • WWE on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Daytona Beach, FL. The Daytona Beach show, based on an advance of less than 1,500 tickets, has a chance to be the least attended WWE house show in years.
  • We’re doing polls this weekend for the first two nights of G1 so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each sow to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • The G1 Climax tournament starts at 4 a.m. Eastern Saturday morning and has a second show late Saturday night at 1 a.m. Eastern. Both shows are free on New Japan World.
  • UFC tomorrow from the UBS Arena in Long Island has topped $2 million in advanced sales making it the largest gate for a non-PPV show ever in the U.S. 
  • ESPN & ESPN+ at 11 a.m. Eastern
    • Jessica Penne (115.8) vs. Emily Decote (115.6)
    • Dwight Grant (184.4) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (185,.6)
    • Dustin Jacoby (205) vs. Da Un Jung (205,.6)
    • Bill Algeo (146) vs,. Herbert Burns (145.4)
    • Ricky Simon (135.6) vs. Jack Shore (136)
    • Punahele Soriano (185.6) vs. Dalcha Lungiambula (185.6)
  • ABC at 2 p.m. Eastern
    • Lauren Murphy (125.2) vs. Miesha Tate (125.8)
    • Shane Burgos (145.8) vs. Charles Jourdain (145.6)
    • Matt Schnell (126) vs. Sumudaerji (125.8)
    • Li Jingliang (170.6) vs. Muslim Salikhov (170.8)
    • Michelle Waterson (115) vs. Amanda Lemos (116)
    • Brian Ortega (146) vs. Yair Rodriguez (145.4)
  • Because the Briscoes are not allowed on TBS or TNT, an angle with the Briscoes and FTR was shot today on YouTube. The teams will have a 2/3 fall match on the 7/23 ROH Death Before Dishonor PPV show.
  • UFC officially announced that UFC 280 takes place on 10/22 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Tickets for the event go on sale on 7/22.
  • GCW tonight from Los Angeles on FITE:
    • Alex Zayne vs. Titus Alexander
    • Komander vs. Tony Deppen
    • Rocky Romero vs. Gringo Loco
    • Nick Wayne & Jordan Oliver vs. Ciclope & Miedo Extremo
    • Joey Janela vs. Kevin Blackwood
    • Tag Team Champions Bussy (Allie Katch & Effy) defend against Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas

WWE

  • SummerSlam odds from Bet Online:

    • Roman Reigns -200
    Brock Lesnar +150

    Liv Morgan -300
    Ronda Rousey +200

    Usos -400
    Street Profits +250

    Bobby Lashley -250
    Theory +170

    Pat McAfee -220
    Happy Corbin +160

  • WWE sent out a survey to its mailing list on how much you like basically every wrestler on the roster.
  • San Jose State football assistant coach Trevor Robbins will be part of the next Nashville tryout camp.

AEW

  • Death Before Dishonor odds from Bet Online:

    • Serena Deeb -200
    Mercedes Martinez +180

    FTR -160
    Briscoes +120

    Samoa Joe -150
    Jay Lethal +110

    Wheeler Yuta -200
    Daniel Garcia +140

  • Wheeler Yuta interview (thanks to SEScoops):
    • Reaction to Claudio Castagnoli joining BCC: “Yeah, Claudio was someone that I’ve always really had a lot of respect for as a wrestler. He’s, he’s incredible. Yeah, he, he’s someone that I’ve really, really appreciated and knowing that he ended Regal’s career and it only made sense that he would be someone that could fit in with our club, he does our style. He can do so many things. He’s absolutely incredible. So, it’s really great to have him now as a mentor as someone that I can talk to on my team and hopefully learn from and it’s been just great to have him here so far.”
    • Lessons learned from BCC members: “Yeah, there’s, there’s countless like little techniques that they’ve shown me and I could go on for days about that. But I think the main thing that we’ve we’ve talked about is just the mindset of knowing that when you’re in when you’re in the ring, you’re trying to when you’re trying to hurt that guy. For us in the Blackpool Combat Club, our thing’s we’re trying to leave a mark on you, trying to leave a scar. So whether it’s, you know, a literal scar that you see on your forehead, or maybe it’s maybe it’s a limp, maybe it’s something that something that you get up every day and you go, ‘Oh, wow, I wish those guys hadn’t done that.’ That’s the mindset. So that’s what we really try to focus on. And that’s, that’s been the biggest lesson they’ve taught me.”
    • BCC training classes: “Yeah, those training classes are a weekly occurrence. So we’re there every week. It’s Regal, it’s Bryan, it’s the BCC and we’re running class, we’re training, we’re learning. And yeah, that’s something they really instill is you have to prepare. So every little piece of information they can give me I try to get and we do that every week.”

Other Notes

  • Impact Wrestling star Eric Young talked to Kurt Angle about this weekend’s Derby City Rumble TV tapings and Triple H (thanks to DJ Garner)
    • On the AEW/Impact angle: “Rich Swann, who was our world champion, wrestled Kenny Omega as their world champion and that’s never really happened before. I don’t think it worked out as good as anyone would have hoped it would have. I feel like there was a lot of missed opportunities that could’ve gone back and forth both ways.”
    • On this run in Impact being the most fun he’s ever had: “Right now is the most fun, the most rewarding time in my wrestling career and I’ve been doing it a long time. I’ve been other places where I made more money and I’ve been other places where I had more say. This is the most fun I’ve ever had and there’s something very special going on here. It’s the best pro wrestling show on tv, minute by minute, written by pro wrestlers for pro wrestling fans. I’m super proud to be a part of it.”
  • J.J. Dillon will manage on the NWA’s 74th anniversary PPV show in St. Louis.
  • AAW tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on FITE TV from 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, IL
    • Mat Fitchett defends the AAW title against the winner of the Manders vs. Fred Yehi match earlier in the show
    • Christi Jaynes defends the women’s title against Heather Reckless
    • Ace Perry & Hammerstone defend the tag titles against ACH & Jah-C
    • Manders vs. Yehi
    • Billie Starkz vs. Lady Frost vs. VertVixen vs. Sierra
    • Shane Hollister vs. Davey Vega
    • Silas Young & ? vs. Brayden Lee & ?
  • LFA runs tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on UFC Fight Pass from Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • AIW on 7/23 in Akron, OH at the Tadmor Shrine features a meet and greet with Johnny Gargano.
  • Rooted in Wrestling on 7/23 at the Alameda Point Gym with Godfather as a special guest, plus Jeckles vs. Gangrel, Tasha Steelz vs. MJ Jenkins, Carlito vs. Juicy Finau, Moose vs. Cody Hall plus Jacob Fatu and JTG.
  • Cage Fury Fighting Championships on 8/26 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia has Jose Perez (6-1) vs. Frank Wells (3-1) for the interim featherweight title. Bantamweight champion D’Mon Backshear (12-4) defends his title as well. C.M. Punk will be announcing the show.