Daily Update: New NXT logo, PWI 500, AEW notes

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

Details of Punk’s latest injury
Details of Punk’s broken foot, how it happened, and his recovery
Why more details about the suspension weren’t announced on television
The suspensions and how the company is handling the backstage fight
Stories coming out about the fight that are clearly not true, motives to explain why things happened
More details about the press conference
More things that happened that haven’t been reported
Where AEW goes from here
Full coverage of Clash at the Castle
Full coverage of AEW All Out
PPV and live numbers for both shows and what lessons can be taken
Notes from our two-hour interview with Tony Khan on AEW business
Keiji Muto retirement news
WWE Worlds Collide coverage
UFC makes debut in France with a great main event
Complete rundown of TV ratings of all the national shows plus how each segment did
CMLL Noche de Campeones card with fan voting on matches
Lucha Libre Dy cad at Arena Mexico
Five Star Grand Prix update
N-1 tournament finals and next major NOAH show
Movie on Ric Flair
Notes on Scottish Hall of Famer Ian Campbell
Thunder Rosa update
Update on AEW video game
Advance tickets for WWE & AEw shows
International TV ratings
WWE & AEW streaming numbers
Backstage fight in UFC
New executive hires in WWE as well as new contract details for the WWE big four execs

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Wednesday News Update

WWE

  • WWE.com has an article with another look at NXT’s new logo, writing that “WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels teased a new look for the NXT brand’s future on the [NXT 2.0] one-year anniversary episode.” The logo is black, gold, and white and doesn’t include the “2.0” branding.
  • On NXT last night, it was said that Yulisa Leon will be out of action for nine months due to injury. The injury that Leon suffered wasn’t revealed, but Leon said that “it’s torn.”
  • The Miz and Xavier Woods will be appearing on Fox’s Pictionary game show. Miz wrote: “Had a great time filming @pictionaryontv, congrats to [Jerry O’Connell] and everyone on the show’s premiere today. Watch #Pictionary on your local FOX stations…. you’ll see some familiar faces soon”
  • Johnny Gargano and Kevin Owens appeared on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon.
  • The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley will be guests on The Bump next Wednesday.
  • WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded Goldberg vs. Scott Steiner vs. Test from the January 19, 2004 episode of Raw, Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin from Extreme Rules 2018, and Natalya vs. Lacey Evans in a Last Woman Standing match from the October 7, 2019 Raw.

Other Wrestling

  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated released its annual top 500 list today. The top 10 wrestlers were:
          • 1. Roman Reigns
          • 2. Kazuchika Okada
          • 3. CM Punk
          • 4. Hangman Page
          • 5. Bobby Lashley
          • 6. Cody Rhodes
          • 7. Bryan Danielson
          • 8. Hijo del Vikingo
          • 9. Big E
          • 10. Jonathan Gresham
  • PWI responded to criticism over Jon Moxley only being ranked 12th on the list: “It’s a good argument! We stand by where Mox is ranked (#12), because, as @davidlagreca1 said, he missed a few months of the eval. period (granted, for the absolute best reason) and his main-event success in AEW came at the very end of the evaluation period. It’s not hard science we’re doing here, though, and we wouldn’t dare look at anybody sideways for suggesting Mox should be higher. Appreciate the impassioned feedback from @BustedOpenRadio Nation!”
  • Kota Ibushi tweeted photos today of him reuniting with Kenny Omega in Japan.
  • While in Japan, Omega was given a tour by Sega and scanned for a character model in the Yakuza video game engine: “Thank you @sega for the amazing tour, and for creating a character model of me in the Yakuza engine”
  • Jay Lethal has answered Jungle Boy’s open challenge for tonight’s Dynamite.
  • Thunder Rosa posted today: “A long ways to go but feeling better with every therapy session. Thank you South Texas Spine & Joint Institute”
  • Sports Illustrated asked Bryan Danielson about the melee that happened after All Out: “Tony made a statement last week on Dynamite. I hate to say, ‘Oh, this is what happened’ when I wasn’t in the room. I tend to focus on what I can control and focus on the opportunities that present themselves whenever there is any type of disruption – whether it is something like this or even something, for example, like the pandemic. Wrestling in front of nobody was a real opportunity to hone my craft. It became what William Regal likes to call ‘close-up magic.’ We didn’t have the crowd or anything like that, and I learned so much about myself and what worked from a wrestling standpoint. It was no longer theater. It became cinema. There were things you could do there that you couldn’t do in front of a live crowd. It was a lot of fun mentally to try to figure that out.”
  • Danielson also discussed wanting to be AEW World Champion: “For me, it’s not about being the top guy. I don’t care about that. And it’s not about leading the locker room. You can be a leader without the title. I like the feeling of big championship matches. Championship matches are my favorite kind of matches to wrestle. It’s a different feeling from anything else.”
  • Today’s Talk is Jericho is a live episode from Glasgow with Jericho discussing the story of AEW.
  • Josh Martinez has an interview with Hook.
  • On Instagram yesterday, Hangman Page wrote a lengthy post thanking The Dark Order for helping him continue to grow:
          • ‘After you get famous, you stop growing. You don’t have to.’
          • After being an even small part of a movement with the Elite and our subsequent falling out I was a afraid of stagnation. I was happy, fulfilled, and getting a good paycheck; but without anyone to push me further.
          • During Brodie’s illness I was scared to move forward with these guys, but we all still felt it was the right thing to do.
          • I could never say enough about all of the Dark Order.
          • John’s jokes effortlessly turn a bad day into a hilarious one. Alex is my dad friend; our sons were born five days apart and it’s been so grounding to have someone on the same ride as me. Uno self-deprecates in a way I can relate to, only wishing he saw in himself what I see in him. Ten for working tirelessly and covering for my sorry ass at the latest possible notice. Anna for never hesitating to get in on a good dick joke and be one of the boys. Stu for never being complacent with his spot and always wanting for more. Five for overcoming having such a small penis and gaining the confidence to bet on himself in a way I have never had to. Colt for being a fountain of wisdom and saying to me the most self-affirming words I’ve ever heard.
          • I owe a lot of my career to Matt, Nick, and Kenny. I owe as much to these guys too. Thank you for helping me continue to grow.