Daily Update: Huge weekend preview, AEW & WWE perception, business notes

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • The big weekend,matches, booking,business, favorites and strategies
  • The life and times of Cowboy Bob Ellis, one of the great babyfaces of his era.  A long career as a star all over the world, defining the wrestling cowboy character, the bulldog headlock, wars with Dick the Bruiser and why he had a long career but his top ten drawing days were only a few years.
  • Donald Trump wants a UFC show at the White House on July 4, 2026
  • Preview of the G-1 Climax tournament
  • The most in depth look at the ratings for all the TV shows, including quarters, competition, people watching together, year over year and week over week comparisons and all the little details you won’t get anywhere else on the shows.
  • The Arena Mexico business milestone and comparisons to 2006 and 1991 boom periods and CMLL sells out three shows this past week.
  • AAA has one of its big shows of the year this week
  • Details over the attempt to trademark a major name as part of a fight between wrestler and promoter
  • Stardom star taking a temporary leave
  • Dragon Gat’s biggest show of the year
  • Tiger Mask retires in 2026
  • Notes on Tanahashi Jam
  • Updates on Ric Flair and Wendi Richter
  • Highest ratings for a woman’s main event in American television history
  • Tons of major indie shows coming up
  • Maple Leaf Wrestling coverage
  • Grandson of legend about to start out
  • Kim Wood, the architect of the Brian Pillman storyline, turns 80
  • TNA attempts to upgrade its U.S. TV situation
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE, AEW and TNA shows
  • Kenny Omega talks, taking risks, career, match philosophy and future
  • Tony Khan talks more stadium shows, Britt Baker,  U.S. record gate ad Unified title
  • How much is the Khan sports empire worth, the TKO sports empire and where both trank in the world standins
  • New contract signings
  • AEW quarter two television final numbers and explaining what the numbers mean
  • Jim Ross update
  • Lots of business updates
  • Phil Davis talks attempt to legally change the foundation of MMA to make it like a real sport
  • Randy Couture update
  • A $25 million tournament announced
  • Update on Janel Grant case
  • WWE stars in acting roles and a movie that will a top name from both WWE & NJPW
  • Wrestlers who get harassed the most in social media

This Week’s Back Issue

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Friday Update

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
  • This is going to be a major weekend here.  Bryan is going to be doing separate shows covering every major show of the weekend.  Garrett and I did a long show today talking about the business strategy of WWE for this weekend, if it will continue, how we can determine if it worked and why WWE attendance at these events is irrelevant.  We also talked about an AEW perception shift and how the booking edge in wrestling has seemingly changed and why.
  • I’ll be doing one show with Bryan tomorrow covering All In Texas, Great American Bash, Supercard of Honor  and Saturday Night’s Main Event.  I’ll also be doing another show on Sunday night covering Evolution and the Saturday fallout.  Next week we’ll have shows talking about the business fallout of the weekend.

Updated attendance numbers for the shows this weekend:

  • Smackdown tonight was at 9,375.  Not sold out.  It was likely hurt by UFC having a show in the same building the next night. They’ve done this before and it always hurts WWE attendance, but it’s part of TKO marketing and selling and they see bigger picture revenue growth doing it that way.
  • ROH Supercard of Honor is sold out in Arlington, TX, but it’s a small building, set up for less than 1,500
  • NXT Great American Bash is at 689, less than 100 shy of a sellout so will be sold out
  • AEW All In Texas is at 24,277
  • WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event is at 11,781 – 1,000 shy of a sellout.  Should end up sold out.
  • WWE Evolution is at 6,321, and that’s with heavy papering the last few days.  Not a success on the surface but as talked about on today’s show, the goals were  different for this weekend.
  • Syuri from Stardom is in town.  Not sure what AEW/ROH show she’ll be at but she’s been seen.
  • Bryan Danielson revealed that WWE sent him letters telling him not to do the “Yes” chant. He was always careful not to start it while on television.  I guess they saw him doing it in one of his recent off television cameos and didn’t see it that way.
  • I really sense such a difference in perception of both WWE and AEW since mid-April.  

We are also doing polls for the weekend shows.  We are not doing one for SNME, but are doing them for:

  • Supercard of Honor tonight
  • Great American Bash tomorrow afternoon
  • All In Texas tomorrow afternoon
  • Evolution Sunday night
  • We’re looking for you thoughts on all of these shows so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each of those shows to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • Smackdown tonight in Nashville has Jelly Roll starting his SummerSlam angle which was reported by PWInsider to be with Logan Paul, plus Street Profits vs. Wyatt Sicks for the WWE tag titles, Sol Ruca vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Kairi Sane, and Ron Killings vs. Aleister Black.
  • Collision did 323,000 viewers and 0.07 in 18-49 last night. Not a good number.

ROH Supercard of Honor tonight starting at 7 p.m. Eastern:

  • Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the ROH title
  • Athena vs. Thunder Rosa for the ROH women’s title
  • Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara vs. The Infantry for ROH tag titles
  • Lee Moriarty vs. Blue Panther for Pure title
  • Nick Wayne vs. Titan for the ROH TV title
  • Miyu Yamashita vs. Yuka Sakaszaki vs. Persephone vs. Mina Shirakawa for the interim ROH women’s TV title
  • Michael Oku vs. Hechicero
  • Dark Order vs. Frat House
  • Arena Mexico’s streak of three straight Friday sellouts probably won’t be extended tonight with a main event of Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Euforia & Averno & Mephisto in a battle of rudo teams, plus Mortos vs. Esfinge and Cobarde & Felino Jr. & El HIjo de Stuka Jr. defend the Mexican national trios titles against Dragon de Fuego &  Dragon Legendario & Dragon Rojo Jr.
  • Sunday’s Arena Mexico has Mascara Dorada & Atlantis Jr. & Titan vs. Barbaro Cavernario & Valiente & Volador Jr. on top, plus Templario vs. Difunto which is a very intriguing singles match.
  • AAA also has its Verano de Escandolo show in Aguascalientes tonight  with Angel & Berto defending the tag titles against Octagon Jr. & Laredo Kid , plus Lola Vice & Santina Marella vs. La Hiedra & Mr. Iguana and a main event of King Vikingo & El HIjo del Vikingo vs. Alberto El Patron & Mesias.
  • Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships announced the signings of former UFC stars Yoel Romero and Thiago Santos.

UFC tomorrow in Nashville on ESPN starting at 6 p.m. Eastern

  • Fatima Kline (115.5) vs. Melissa Martinez (116)
  • Mike Davis (115.25) vs. Mitch Ramirez (156)
  • Kennedy Nzechukwu (238) vs.  Valter Walker (244.5)]
  • Lauren Murphy (126) vs. Eduarda Moura (126)
  • Jake Matthews (170.5) vs. Chidi Njokuani (171.5) – Njokuani missed weight by 0.5 pounds
  • Chris Curtis (170.5) vs. Max Griffin (170.25)
  • Junior Tafa (206) vs. Tuco Tokkos (206)
  • Vitor Petrino (249) vs. Austen Lane (245)
  • Nate Landwehr (146) vs. Morgan Charriere (146)
  • Calvin Kattar (146) vs. Steve Garcia (146)
  • Stephen Thompson (170.5) vs. Gabriel Bonfim (171)
  • Derrick Lewis (261) vs. Tallison Teixeira (259)
  • Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano have their third boxing match tonight on Netflix from Madison Square Garden.  The show starts at 8 p.m. with the main event expected at 11 p.m.
  • Mike Santana and KC Navarro are doing promotional work for TNA’s 7/20 show at the New York Yankees game today.
  • Shark Boy airs on tomorrow’s Memphis Wrestling TV show.
  • House of Glory will be on TRiller at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight with Charles Mason vs. Zilla Fatu, Indi Hartwll vs. Hyan and Daron Richdrdson vs. Laredo Kid.
  • GCW had 800 tickets sold for Gilley’s tonight in Dallas with Matt Tremont vs. John Wayne Murdoch in an Ultraviolent title match Effy vs. Atticus Cogar for the GCW title, Matt Cardona vs. Shotzi Blackheart, Ricky Morgan vs. Mance Warner. Jordan Oliver &  Alec Price vs. Dante Leon & Ninja Mack and Priscilla Kelly (Gigi Dolin) vs. Elayna Black (Cora Jade).