Daily Update: Kevin Owens, Toxic Attraction, JBL

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

*Wrestler of the Week and Match of the week
*John Cena’s early career and his return, as well as an update on his WrestleMania prospects
*In depth on why television and streaming are cutting back on new programming and how this impacts the pro wrestling business.
*If you asked people to name a pro wrestler, how many could name one and who would be the first person they’d name, and the reality of “mainstream” knowledge of today’s pro wrestlers.
*Complete coverage of UFC’s last show of the year as well as a sad lesson about getting injured the week of your fight.
*A look at one of the best shows of 2022, the TakaTaichi promoted show at Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo
*The most detailed look at TV viewership for every major show over the past week
*New weekly streaming live show debuts
*Promotion doing rematches of its best matches of 2022
*The story behind the voting for tag team of the year in Japan
*Stardom has one of its biggest shows in its history this week
*Notes on the upcoming show at the Tokyo Dome
*A week of incredible matches
*Ospreay vs. Ishii
*El Hijo del Vikingo in the U.S. working dates
*Impact next PPV
*AEW makes major new broadcast deal that will be announced in a few weeks
*The mystery man on Dynamite this week
*Tickets sales for upcoming AEW & WWE shows
*WWE & AEW streaming numbers
*International TV ratings
*Ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE shows
*UFC PPV numbers for this past year
*A bill expected to be introduced in the U.S. Senate that would greatly change the MMA world
*Dana White talks about luck and timing
*Judging controversies
*Two fighters feud on Twitter and got into it at the UFC gym
*Sports business analyst predicts NBCU buying WWE and we talks about what is and isn’t valid about that
*Post-Christmas WWE touring
*Most popular WWE names in social media
*Current WWE market value

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Wednesday Update

WWE

  • Kevin Owens spoke to TMZ Sports about teaming with John Cena on this Friday’s SmackDown:
          • Me and my son [Owen] will always have a little bond over John Cena. My son, as he was growing up, was a huge John Cena fan. When I signed my WWE contract, I told my son, ‘Maybe I’ll get to wrestle John Cena one day,’ then I did. And he got to meet John and all this stuff. This was several years ago now, Owen’s 15.
          • He’s still excited that John’s coming around. So they’re going to come to the show in Tampa so he can watch it. It’s a cool little thing to share with my son anytime John’s involved. My son likes WWE but is not an avid fan like I was growing up.
          • But anytime John comes back around, it piques his interest, and now I get to team with him. It’s cool. He saw us fight each other. Now he’s going to get to see me team with him. It’s a neat little thing.
  • Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne) indirectly addressed Mandy Rose’s release from WWE during a promo that aired on NXT last night:
          • Dolin: 2022 was the year of Toxic Attraction. We built an empire, the greatest women’s group in NXT history, and – in our opinion – the greatest women’s faction in WWE history.
          • Jayne: Name another faction that, despite our ultimate success, didn’t experience a heartbreaking loss. But even at our lowest points, the eyes of the entire world haven’t shifted from the attraction of NXT.
          • Dolin: And I know what they’re all saying – ‘What are they gonna do? What’s their next move?’ But this group was created by doubt, motivated by those people writing us off. We reached superstardom stepping on the backs of non-believers.
          • Jayne: We will rebuild, reconstruct, and return to glory. And it starts with taking down the woman [Roxanne Perez] that took down our empire.
  • On Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, JBL said he wanted to make a TNA Aces & Eights reference during the poker invitational on Raw earlier this month:
          • When we’re dealing the cards and we’re doing the last thing, it occurred to me. I wanted to have Luke Gallows have aces and eights for his hand and not say anything about it. Just throw it down.
          • I didn’t have a chance to clear [it with WWE]. I don’t know if that would’ve been a problem or not, but I just thought about that as soon as we’re doing the last scene. I thought, ‘Damn it, I missed something there.’
  • In an interview with The Atlantic, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” director Rian Johnson agreed that Dave Bautista is the best wrestler-turned-actor. Johnson said:
          • I absolutely 100 percent agree. And I think somebody like [Paul Thomas Anderson] is going to give him a real part and is gonna look like a genius. As a person, Bautista is genuinely, immediately vulnerable when you meet him, and that’s what I was excited about. This is someone who has the physical trappings of someone who would play it big, but he actually brings sensitivity to the role.
  • WWE’s The Bump ranked its top 10 matches of 2022:
          • 1. Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins Hell in a Cell match (Hell in a Cell)
          • 2. Gunther vs. Sheamus (Clash at the Castle)
          • 3. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar Last Man Standing match (SummerSlam)
          • 4. Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair (WrestleMania 38)
          • 5. Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul (Crown Jewel)
          • 6. Bianca Belair vs. Bayley Last Woman Standing match (Crown Jewel)
          • 7. The Usos vs. The Street Profits (Money in the Bank)
          • 8. The Bloodline vs. Team Brutes WarGames match (Survivor Series: WarGames)
          • 9. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens no holds barred match (WrestleMania 38)
          • 10. Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory (Survivor Series: WarGames)
  • Sports Illustrated named Seth Rollins its Wrestler of the Year for 2022. The top 10 were:
          • 1. Seth Rollins
          • 2. Jon Moxley
          • 3. Bianca Belair
          • 4. Roman Reigns
          • 5. Will Ospreay
          • 6. Jamie Hayter
          • 7. El Hijo del Vikingo
          • 8. Dax Harwood
          • 9. Cash Wheeler
          • 10. Masha Slamovich
  • Gunther has surpassed 200 days as Intercontinental Champion.
  • The Sun has a report claiming that Tyson Fury may miss out on Royal Rumble and WrestleMania appearances due to visa issues. The report states that Fury “is banned from entering the US after links to alleged Irish mob boss Daniel Kinahan emerged.”
  • WWE has a Playlist video on Roman Reigns and John Cena’s rivalry.
  • The following matches were uploaded to WWE’s YouTube channel today: Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship (Roadblock: End of the Line 2016), Ezekiel vs. Kevin Owens (Hell in a Cell 2022), and AJ Styles, Finn Balor & Liv Morgan vs. Judgment Day (Hell in a Cell 2022).

AEW/Other Wrestling