Daily Update: Randy Orton, WrestleMania odds, Shinsuke Nakamura

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: April 3, 2023 Observer Newsletter: WWE WrestleMania 39 week preview

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Friday Update

– This is the busiest weekend of the year with countless shows in Los Angeles. Bryan and I are doing shows Saturday, Sunday and Monday night. Tonight’s schedule is to be determined. Garrett is on vacation with his wife celebrating her birthday so no show with him today.

– We are looking for reports on any of the indie shows today and tomorrow. I’ll be watching ROH Supercard of Honor. For WWE, the only thing we’re looking for is dark match results before SmackDown tonight in Los Angeles to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

– For polls this weekend, we are doing Supercard of Honor tonight, NXT Stand & Deliver and both nights of WrestleMania. So you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, along with a best and worst match for each of the four shows to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

–Our WrestleMania preview issue of the Observer is up, filled with tons of news on all of the shows:

  • Records that will be set
  • Match by match previews, odds, and what are the goals of the matches
  • Ticket sales for the six major shows in Los Angeles this week
  • Notes on NXT and AEW doing major shows on the same day on 5/28 and background of that story
  • A look at the career of Tim White, going into the Hall of Fame
  • Stand & Deliver and Supercard of Honor previews
  • Secondary market interest in all of the shows
  • Update on WWE sale
  • Update on Vince McMahon as it pertains to WrestleMania and the sale
  • A look at the careers of Anderson Silva and Donald Cerrone as they go into the UFC Hall of Fame
  • Full coverage of this past week’s UFC show, business notes, problems that seem to always be there in Texas and why
  • Notes on the first AAA TripleMania show of 2023 and the AEW relationship, the tag team tournament that will lead to a mask or hair being cut, another mask match, a celebrity match that has gotten mainstream news in Mexico and a funny story behind it, and more.
  • How many homes are the major stations that carry wrestling and MMA in as compared to the peak
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for the past week’s shows, competition, quarter hours, the weekly standings and more
  • 80th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of the major arenas in the world coming up this weekend
  • Wrestler whose matches are now not being put up new on YouTube and why
  • Kairi talks AEW & WWE talent she’d like to work with
  • Stardom Cinderella tournament news and new major matches
  • Lots of injuries to major stars being talked about
  • Konosuke Takeshita returns to Japan this past week to team with former WWE star
  • Mark Hitchock Memorial show with top matches
  • XPW returns
  • RevPro York Hall big show notes
  • Bloodsport notes including the first match back of Kota Ibushi
  • Impact dealing with key injuries and crowning one or two new champions
  • Impact star competing in a bodybuilding contest this week
  • Impact uses former NHL star who has been doing indie shows
  • Tons of AEW news including Jon Moxley’s podcast interview, C.M. Punk’s potential return, next PPV show
  • Don Callis injury update
  • Notes on timing of a major return
  • Tony Khan’s view of ROH compared to AEW and who ROH is aimed for
  • Honor Club update
  • AEW All Access first episode looked at
  • AEW’s top merchandise sellers
  • Tony Khan on MJF as a babyface
  • Vickie Guerrero talks leaving AEW
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • New UFC main events
  • Fighter attempts to win title in third weight class
  • Benavidez vs. Plant boxing numbers and what percentage of AEW & WWE big show buyers purchased that PPV
  • MMA stars in major boxing event this week
  • Promotion with its own unique audience with 91 percent of TV viewers not watching any rival promotion on TV
  • Nick Khan talks TV rights
  • What Nick Khan says are the most important things to WWE
  • Rey Mysterio’s future and how long he wants to wrestle
  • Update on Dominik Mysterio
  • Interesting note on Rey Mysterio’s career
  • Ronda Rousey talks creative and not in flattering way
  • A look at new WWE recruits

– Even though Randy Orton is in Los Angeles this weekend, it’s been noted to us he won’t be doing wrestling matches soon as his back injury has a ways to go. There have been photos of him and he was in great looking shape more than a month ago.

– ROH Supercard of Honor tonight with the live show on YouTube starting at 7 p.m. Eastern and PPV at 8 p.m. Eastern

  • Jeff Cobb vs. Tracy Williams
  • Willow Nightingale vs. Miranda Alize
  • Stu Grayson vs. Slim J
  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Willie Mack
  • Brian Cage & Toa Leona & Bishop Kaun vs. AR Fox & Blake Christian & Metalik for ROH trios title
  • Wheeler Yuta vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the Pure title
  • Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki for the Women’s title
  • El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander for the AAA Mega title
  • Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe for the TV title
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Daniel Garcia
  • Ladder match for tag titles tribute to Jay Briscoe: Lucha Bros, Aussie Open, Top Flight, Mike Bennett & Matt Taven and Rush & Dralistico
  • Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston for the ROH title

– SmackDown and the WWE Hall of Fame take place tonight at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. SmackDown has the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, a Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns final angle, Drew McIntyre & Sheamus vs. Giovanni Vinci & Ludvig Kaiser, and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Sonya Deville.

– Rampage returns to its regular time slot tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on TNT:

  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Sammy Guevara
  • Chuck Taylor & Trent Baretta vs. Brody King & Malakai Black
  • Taya Valkyrie vs. Marina Shafir
  • Action Andretti vs. Juice Robinson

– Shinsuke Nakamura is also in Los Angeles, including being with Keiji Muto for his Hall of Fame induction tonight.

– Deadspin had a review of AEW All Access.

– I have not seen it yet, but the two matches of late I’ve been told have been the best of the last few days are the El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Black Taurus vs. Komander from yesterday’s Mark Hitchcock Memorial show and the Michael Oku vs. Zack Sabre Jr. match from RevPro.

– Cody Rhodes did an interview with Esquire.

–Regarding odds movement for Mania, Owens & Zayn have gone to a -5000 favorite to win the tag titles. Dominik’s odds of beating Rey have increased to -260. Rollins is a major favorite now at -350 over Paul. Asuka has gone from a -200 to -140 favorite over Belair, so those odds have closed. Balor is now a -140 favorite over Edge, when Edge had been the favorite. Lesnar’s odds have come down from -1500 to -600. In the women’s four-way, Rousey & Baszler are -1000, Morgan & Rodriguez at +300, Shotzi & Natalya at +800 and Deville & Green at +1000,.

– Joey Janela’s Spring Break on 8 p.m. Eastern tonight against SmackDown, Rampage and ROH among others is still sold out with Joey Janela vs. Kota Ibushi and El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Mike Bailey. So Vikingo is working two major matches today.

–Prestige Wrestling tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern on Highspots.TV has Aja Kong vs. Masha Slamovich, Miyu Yamashita vs. Taya Valkyrie, Ultimo Dragon & Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson, Michael Oku vs. Titus Alexander, Shigehiro Irie vs. Kevin Blackwood, Adam Brooks & Warhorse vs. Midnight Heat, Clark Connors & Yuya Uemura & Kevin Knight vs. Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas & Sonico and Vinnie Massaro vs. Calvin Tankman.

Other Notes

– Invicta returns on 5/3 from Reelworks in Denver with a 9 p.m. main card on AXS in the U.S., plus Invicta’s YouTube and Facebook Page as well as Fight Network in Canada and Fox Spots in Mexico. Jillian DeCoursey (6-3) defends her atomweight title against Brazil’s’ Rayanne dos Santos (13-6) in the main event.

– Lazaro Dayron vs. (5-0) vs. Nathan Greyson (6-4) headlines tomorrow night’s Combat Global show that airs on Univision and Paramount +.

– LFA on 4/14 in Sioux Falls, SD on UFC Fight Pass is headlined by a welterweight title match with Jalin Fuller (7-2) vs. Trey Waters (6-1).

– GOUGE runs tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.. at Clouds Tap Room in Raleigh NC.