Daily Update: Lyra Valkyria, AEW notes, Fantasticamania

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up:

  • Match and performer of the week for both of the past two weeks
  • The changes in WWE, Vince out of creative, how UFC and WWE are being treated differently
  • Showtime drops all sports programming and their entire sports department, both how in and of itself its a major story in boxing, MMA and could be in pro wrestling, but even more the trend that it shows
  • Stations still in the market for sports today
  • The ominous aspects of NBA current TV negotiations
  • Why boxing was dropped after such a great PPV year
  • A look back at the career of Sting after his retirement announcement
  • A look at his AEW run
  • His rise to the top in WCW
  • How his career got started
  • What person saw the potential in Sting the earliest
  • The famous 1988 Sting vs. Ric Flair match and how it changed his career trajectory
  • The multiple times Sting stepped away from wrestling
  • The TNA run
  • The WWE run
  • Power Team USA and Flash Borden
  • NWA on WB, the keys to this deal
  • Update on Crown Jewel and who isn’t scheduled right now on the show
  • The classic matches of 2023 Will Ospreay
  • New Japan Royal Quest and Power Struggle
  • Notes on last week’s UFC show
  • A look back at one of the most traveled enhancement star of the late 60s into the early 80s, Bill Howard
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling shows this past week, including segment-by-segment, competition and comparisons with a year ago
  • CMLL wrestlers traveling around the world
  • Two spectacular matches at Friday’s Arena Mexico show
  • Stardom opens tag tournament
  • One of AAA’s biggest stars likely not returning
  • Biggest woman promotion in the world at one time has a nostalgia reunion show coming in January
  • Chris Hero returns
  • What pro wrestling star of the 70s never lost a singles match in his entire career
  • AEW and CMLL relationship notes
  • Tony Khan’s tweets
  • Updates on ticket sales to WWE & AEW shows
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • UFC signs huge money international deal
  • UFC top star taking time off
  • Main event result in UFC overturned
  • Pat Miletich returns to fight at 55
  • Ari Emanuel criticized for working with Dana White, Vince McMahon and Conor McGregor
  • More on the Vince McMahon documentary
  • Completely exaggerated PPV claims
  • What percentage of Logan Paul buyers also buy AEW or WWE shows
  • WWE sells network rights internationally
  • Dynamite TV streak ends after two weeks
  • Notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events this past week

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

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Wednesday Update

WWE

  • Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion Killer Kelly was at NXT last night to watch her friend Lyra Valkyria face Becky Lynch for the NXT Women’s Championship. Kelly wrote about Valkyria’s title win: “Proud is an understatement. From wrestling each other in Ireland, outside, freezing cold, in a ring with no pads for 20 minutes, to watch her defeat Becky Lynch to become the NEW NXT Women’s Champion. She deserves the world. I love you @Real_Valkyria”
  • Becky Lynch posted after losing to Valkyria: “The future is bright [Irish flag emoji]”
  • WWE uploaded a post-show interview with Valkyria.
  • In an interview with Steve Fall, Shotzi explained why she shaved her head this summer:
          • My sister was going through chemotherapy and she started losing her hair. She told me that she didn’t want to wait for it to all fall out. She was going to shave it off. I immediately went to Hunter and was like, ‘Hey, my sister’s going through chemo. I want to support her. I want to be there for her. I want to shave my hair off too. Can we make it not weird and make it part of a storyline so I don’t just show up one day with no hair,’ and he was totally for it. I got to work with Bayley with it too, which Bayley has always been a huge role model to me, so to have that moment with her and share this meaningful moment with her was really awesome. I didn’t really say much of it, but like, everyone kind of knew anyway and that really resonated with my sister, and she got like a lot of support from my fans, which I really love and appreciate too.
  • Shotzi, Scarlett, The Boogeyman, and Grayson Waller appeared on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon.
  • On this week’s episode of Shotzi & Scarlett’s Chamber of Horrors, Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn, Scarlett, Shotzi, and Kayla Braxton “spend the night at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, sight of a notorious, unsolved double murder.”
  • Former WCW wrestler Alex Wright was in attendance at WWE’s house show in Munich, Germany today.
  • People revealed the cover of Ronda Rousey’s new memoir “Our Fight.” Rousey said about the book:
          • I’ve been silent the last few years because there was more to say than could ever be relayed in an interview. Our Fight is everything I’ve wished I could fit into a headline but just couldn’t. My story in my words. All the answers I needed years to give succinctly.
  • Several wrestlers, including LA Knight and Alexa Bliss, attended the premiere for John Cena’s new movie “Freelance” in Orlando last night.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • On an AEW Control Center video, Tony Schiavone hyped up the gift that Tony Khan is giving Sting on tonight’s Dynamite: “Tony Khan now says he has a very special gift for Sting that he’ll present to him tonight. This will be an historic gift. Yes, I said historic. Nothing like this has ever happened to a wrestler in pro wrestling. So stay tuned for that tonight.”
  • Swerve Strickland teased that, instead of being in Philadelphia to address Hangman Page on Dynamite tonight, he’ll be taking a detour for the segment: “On 2nd thought, me and @PrinceKingNana gonna take a detour tonight…. Screw Philly”
  • Adam Cole wrote on social media yesterday: “Emotionally, this has been the most challenging injury of my career. Without question. Thank you to EVERYONE who has reached out & shown support. Means more than you know. I will do everything in my power to get back to work doing what I love to do. Because I’m #AdamColeBayBay”
  • AEW has filed a trademark for “Worlds End.”
  • CJ Perry was a guest on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. Perry was asked if she’ll wrestle again:
          • Such an interesting question. So I want to be the best of all time. I want to be the best wrestling manager of all time. I want to be when people think of like, people often want to be managed by Paul Heyman because he is the best manager of all time right now. I want that spot and so I want people to be like, ‘I want CJ Perry to manage me.’ I would rather do that than try to become champion or fight for whatever championships and be the best hustler for those people to be champions and create a legacy and a name that way. I just feel that’s my calling. So if at some point I gotta fight some bitches in the ring, of course, I’ll fight some bitches in the ring.
  • With the two-year anniversary of him getting sober approaching, Jon Moxley spoke to The Messenger about his journey:
          • It’s f—ing hard. It’s not the same hell as before, but it’s a completely different challenge every single day where you don’t know what direction it might go in.
          • I would love to give you like a positive, self-help book-type answer or something about f—ing sunshine and rainbows and fairies and sh–, but that’s really not reality. It’s been good on the whole, it’s been good. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. But, you know, you will pay for it on the other side, your choices you make in your life.
  • Indie star Bryan Keith called out Bryan Danielson for a match.
  • NJPW and CMLL announced the Fantasticamania 2024 dates for Japan:
          • Earlier this year, Fantasticamania 2023 saw the CMLL stars highlighted in the return of the popular tour after a three year absence. Earlier this summer, the favour would even be returned, as Fantasticamania took place in Mexico for the first time ever. February 2024 will see Fantasticamania back again to bring the best of Mexico to Japan!
          • The 2024 tour will get started in Osaka February 12 for two nights, before heading to Kagawa, AIchi, Makuhari Messe in Chiba and then the always wildly popular tour conclusion in Korakuen Hall February 18 and 19. More news will come soon- make sure you’re part of the party next February!