Daily Update: Hurricane Ian, Warner Bros Discovery, Sasha Banks

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

AEW Grand Slam report, the business, the future angles coming out of the show, ideas for the show for next year, angles, Saraya, Great Muta, business notes, highest TV gates in U.S history including inflation adjusted and warning signs.
Behind the Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul idea and why it’s reasons for happening are very different than a traditional PPV main event
CMLL’s 89th anniversary show. A report on the major show this year with the hottest crowd and some of the best action and booking.
Updates on Extreme Rules
The U.S. team wins the men’s world team championship and places second with women, how the team members did and an 18-year old capturing a world championship
Jose Aldo, the featherweight great, his career and how he helped get featherweights into the UFC
WWE & AEW business over the past two months. What categories are up and down and by how much. Also comparisons to May & June numbers and the most unique note about attendance increases and decrease
Complete coverage of last week’s UFC show
Kento Miyahara, All Japan returns to Budokan Hall for its 50th anniversary, and first time since 2004
Dangerous Gate 2002 from Dragon Gate
TV ratings including how each segment on the major shows did
Former WWE wrestler talks about going to CMLL and wants to be in next year’s Anniversary main event
Legend from TV boom returns to Arena Mexico
Notes on next week’s CMLL Night of Champions fan voting show
Stardom Five Star Grand Prix update
Last match of the Great Muta
Fantastica Mania may be back
Former WWE announcers television show canceled
Former WCW announcer now a network radio news anchor
Former WWE star open movie company
Kurt Angle talks about a return after double knee replacement but notes it probably won’t happen
MLW TV taping news
Things is another promotion affect world title
Next questions about WBD long-term
MJF talks his return and future AEW Revolution 2023
Streaming numbers
International TV ratings
The second biggest PPV match of all-time may be rematched in 2023
White Rabbit
NXT changes
Hulu and WWE update
Young Rock update

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Wednesday News Update

WWE

  • PWinsider reported that the WWE Performance Center wasn’t open today out of concern for safety during Hurricane Ian.
  • Sasha Banks has changed her Twitter handle from “@SashaBanksWWE” to “@MercedesVarnado.” Her bio is still “Sasha Banks-WWE. Koska Reeves – The Mandalorian. She remembered who she was and the game changed.”
  • Rhea Ripley spoke to Fox Sports Australia about Paul “Triple H” Levesque taking over WWE creative:
          • It feels like NXT again. It feels like that family environment that I really loved about NXT and miss at the same time. He’s very hands-on, extremely hands-on, which is something I really appreciate. I love being able to go out there and talk to him and just get his opinion on things and learn from him every single Monday, whether it be something small or something big.
          • I’m constantly learning every time I talk to him and that’s something I find so important in this business. It’s really important to have Triple H around and to me he feels like that father figure, which is really, really cool. It’s starting to feel a lot like NXT and the environment seems so happy and so excited to be at work which makes a huge difference.
  • Beth Phoenix congratulated Candice LeRae on returning to WWE: “When I was training for WrestleMania with @NatbyNature, @CandiceLeRae generously came to work with me to knock off the ring rust. She’s a stellar wrestler but as everyone will tell you, an even more stellar human being! Congratulations on your return to the big stage!”
  • Goldberg, The Miz, and Grayson Waller appeared on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon.
  • Big E and former WWE wrestler Tyler Breeze will be on The Bump next Wednesday.
  • Kayla Braxton was the guest on this week’s episode of Out of Character with Ryan Satin.
  • WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded Goldberg vs. Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship from Survivor Series 2003, Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins in a 30-minute Iron Man match from Extreme Rules 2018, and Batista & Kane vs. Great Khali & Finlay from the September 7, 2007 episode of SmackDown.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • Will Washington of the Grapsody Podcast noted that a few prominent performers who reside in Florida won’t be at tonight’s Dynamite/Rampage tapings due to Hurricane Ian. Tony Khan stated earlier this week that coming to tonight’s TV was optional for anyone worried about the hurricane affecting their travel or home or family life.
  • Tay Melo tweeted: “We (Sammy, kitties and I) are in Philly for Dynamite but today I know my heart will have no peace. My brother, my best friends, my goddaughter and a lot of people still in Orlando and all I can do is pray I can’t wait to go back home and have everything normal!”
  • Juice Robinson spoke to Sports Illustrated ahead of facing Jon Moxley on Dynamite tonight: “People will know who I am by the end of the night. I know what’s at stake. I’m not wrestling for New Japan anymore. I’m wrestling for me, for my future. This is the night I am going to prove I am a f—ing superstar.”
  • During a company-wide Town Hall meeting held over Zoom today, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav shot down rumors that WBD could be sold to Comcast: “We are not for sale, absolutely, not for sale.” Zaslav also said: “We have the strongest hand in the industry. We have everything we need to be successful to be the biggest entertainment media company in the world.”
  • Bobby Fish responded to rumors that claimed he asked Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly to leave AEW: “Because guess what boys? After over 25 years or something like that in the wrestling business, I don’t know how contracts work myself [Fish laughed]. I guess what was most troublesome and amusing at the same time to me was how many outlets picked up on what was – because if there’s anybody who knows that it’s totally fabricated information then it would be me, Adam [Cole], Kyle [O’Reilly], Hunter, the people that it’s talking about who didn’t do any of the things, so none of it’s real and even people like Jim Cornette picked it up and commented on it and Jim and I have always had a great relationship. If I’m being honest, Jim hurt my feelings a little bit by believing some bullsh*t about me so easily. But yeah, it is what it is and I think that that’s what sucks most about it is that these people who write this stuff, there’s no checks and balances, there’s no ramifications when you are in the wrong. Therefore, they continue to just write whatever it is that they’re gonna write and it gets picked up by whomever and then it becomes – the fact or fiction line really doesn’t matter so, the whole thing is just absurd.”
  • AEW has released its first Saraya T-shirt. The shirt says “You Can’t Kill Me” on it.
  • Jim Ross praised The Acclaimed on his Grilling JR podcast: “Those kids got over. They’ve gotten over and it’s a pleasant surprise that they got over as they have. So, good stuff man. Some of these young cats are finding their home and I like it. I like that. Two good, athletic kids, and their little gimmick, the scissor me thing and all of that, seems to be working. Fans love it. It’s funny what gets over, how that works. If you told me six months ago that this is going to be a big deal, I would have said, ‘Well, we’ll see,’ but it has been a good deal, so I’m happy for those kids. That’s what you want. You want guys to find their way and all that good stuff.”
  • Barstool Sports’ KFC Radio interviewed MJF.
  • Bleacher Report has an interview with Eddie Kingston.
  • Our Karl Stern was the guest on today’s Talk is Jericho for an episode on the death of Prince.
  • Matt Cardona will face Trent Seven at OTT Wrestling’s Eighth Year Anniversary show on Friday, October 28.