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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • The new issue of the Observer is up on the site today with both the wrestling news and legal news
  • The Cung Le lawsuit settlement was approved, what caused Judge Boulware to do so, winners or losers, who is getting what, looking at the prior settlements that were turned down and the case itself.
  • TKO and Endeavor make a deal to give UFC & WWE new sister companies and what that all entails.
  • The most detailed look at the Ring Boys scandal that broke in 1992 and quickly went away, and the lawsuit  filed this week with all the details, including why being wrestling helped save WWE from untold bad publicity at the time.  We look at the details of a very lengthy suit and what it all means.
  • 2024 Hall of Fame analysis by two researchers look at what modern candidates are the strongest and weakest in different ways
  • Maple Leaf Wrestling debuts with two incredible main events.
  • The most detailed look at  the TV ratings from the past week, nightly and weekly placings, segment-by-segment, comparisons with the prior year and competition
  • Continuation of CMLL’s women’s wrestling month.
  • American star from a major family says he’ll be the first to win the Triple Crown.
  • Royal Quest notes.
  • MMA star defends pro wrestling world title twice on same show this past week.
  • New movie on 90s star
  • Looking at AEW Full Gear
  • AEW booking issues
  • WrestleDream and Bad Blood PPV numbers update
  • Injury updates
  • Advanced ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW events
  • Streaming and International TV numbers
  • Fighter still hospitalized after five weeks due to weight cutting issues
  • PFL PPV rundown and business
  • WrestleMania and tickets
  • Saturday Night’s Main Event thoughts
  • World Series and wrestling
  • WWE star has surgery to help eye issues
  • Raw & Smackdown 2025 updates
  • Samantha Irvine leaves WWE and details
  • Vince McMahon media pieces looked at
  • Clown show discussing McMahon
  • TV rundowns

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Friday Update

  • For this weekend we’ll be doing our week in review show today with Garrett Gonzales as well as another show tomorrow night covering Smackdown, UFC, Collision and the rest of the news.
  • The trailer for the new documentary on Scott “Raven” Levy came out today. We wrote about it in today’s issue but it looks great.
  • Smackdown tonight is from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.  There will be a double taping as they will be doing next week’s show right after.  For tonight, they’ve announced Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade with LA Knight as referee, DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns for a shot at Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa’s tag titles plus Cody Rhodes and Gunther have a face-off and Roman Reigns is there.  
  • We’re looking for reports from the show with notes from all the matches not on the live show and angles shot for next week, as well as pre-show matches to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • Our weekend polls will be for Bound for Glory tomorrow night in Detroit, and NXT Halloween Havoc on Sunday in Hershey, PA. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. on TNT:
  • Mike Bennett & Matt  Taven vs. Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty vs. Toa Liona & Bishop Kuan
  • Anna Jay vs. Leila Gray
  • Beast Mortos vs.  Beef
  • Ricochet vs. Nick Wayne
  • Jan Vallow, one of the top female skaters during the second Roller Derby boom period in the 60s and early 70s, passed away yesterday at the age of 84.  Vallow was a 2006 inductee into the Roller Derby Hall of Fame, .  Generally a heel, and the former wife of Nick Scopas, she was one of the major rivals of Joanie Weston, the top babyface of the era.  Ironically Weston was one of her original trainers and the two were actually best friends, to the point that after Scopas and Vallow split up, it was Vallow who encouraged Scopas to date Weston and they ended up marrying in the early 70s.  While Ann Calvello was always known as Weston’s top rival because of her personality, Vallow as a skater was to me her best real rival.  She was large but incredibly fast, and even as a rookie you could see she was going to be one of the greats.  She was 1959 Roller Derby Rookie of the Year, 1965 Roller Games (rival promotion) female MVP, 1972 Roller Derby female MVP and she was the top woman star on every team in Roller Games and Roller Derby that she skated with from 1965 to 1984.
  • Tonight’s CMLL show at Arena Mexico is expected to draw the biggest crowd in Mexican wrestling history for a show headlined by a women’s match.  Arena Mexico is expecting a near sellout for the World Grand Prix with Amapola, Dark Silueta, Hera, Kira, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit, Reyna Isis, Sanely, Skadi, Zeuxis, Alex Windsor, Catalina, Persehone, Red Velvet, Samantha Black, Unagi Sayaka, Simika Yanagawa, Tessa  Blanchard, Viva Van and Willow Nightingale.  The show also mas Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Templario vs. Cavnerario & Euforia & Soberano Jr. in what features usual main events.
  • UFC 308 is tomorrow from Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.  It’s a PPV in the morning and afternoon with a show starting at 10 a.m. Eastern and going until probably past 5 p.m., or a seven plus hour show:

ESPN+ at 10 a.m. Eastern

  • Rinat Fakhretdinov (171) vs. Carlos Leal (169.5)
  • Ismail Naurdiev (185) vs.  Bruno Silva (186)]
  • Farid Basharat (137) vs.  Victor Hugo (145.5) – Hugo was contracted for 136, missed badly and Basharat agreed to change it to a featherweight fight at the last minute)
  • Kennedy Nzechukwu (241) vs. Chris Barnett (264)
  • Abus Magomedov (185) vs. Brunno Ferreira (185.5)
  • Mateusz Rebecki (160) vs. Myktrybek Orolbai (159)
  • Geoff Neal (171) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (171)
  • Ibo Asian (205) vs.  Raffael Cerqueira (203)

PPV at 2 p.m. Eastern

  • Shara Magomedov (185) vs. Armen Petrosyan (186)
  • Lerone Murphy (145.5) vs. Dan Ige (146)
  • Magomed Ankalaev (204.5) vs. Aleksandar Rakic (206)
  • Robert Whittaker (185.5) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (186)
  • Ilia Topuria (145) vs. Max Holloway (145) for the featherweight title
  • The main event is one of the biggest fights of the year.
  • Shane Taylor vs. Jay White was added to Collision tomorrow.  
  • Dana White has said that he’s consulting Mark Zuckerberg to have A1 do the UFC rankings going forward.  He’s been mad at the media panel doing them. No matter what, he’ll end up mad because nobody can do MMA ratings and not leave people mad. It’s actually impossible due to the nature of the sport.
  • Kyle Fletcher on the morning news in Cedar Rapids, IA today prior to tomorrow’s TV tapings.
  • There is a TWA reunion set for May 3, 2025 at the 2300 Arena.  The TWA was Joel Goodhart’s promotion that was very much the predecessor for ECW.  Announced so far are Sabu and Tony Atlas appearing.
  • Insane Wrestling Revolution from last night in Monroe, MI  Rhino b The Eh Team, Soultaker b Ace Evans, Martian Webb won Battle Royal, Trey Miguel b KJ Reynolds, Jake Something & DBA b Zach Thomas & Connor Knox, Kitty LaFleur won three way over Mila Moore and shelly  Benson, Jason Hotch won over Tommy Vendetta, Myron Reed and Zeeko to keep the U.S. title  Silas Young won over  Tommy Dreamer and Thom Latimer to keep the IWR world title  Danhausen & PCO won over Monsters of Destruction and Death  Threat Army to win the IWR tag titles.  Next show is the 5th anniversary event on 12/26 (thanks to Brian & Leonard Brand)
  • UFC Fight Pass will be showing college wrestling this entire season starting with 10/31 with Wymong vs. Campbell.
  • The movie “Dark Match,” a horror film about a small-time wrestling company playing in a backwoods town and finding out the community is run by a mysterious cult leader with devious plans will be released on Shudder on January 31, 2025. Chris Jericho is one of the stars of the movie.
  • Former AEW wrestler Paige VanZant competed last night in PowerSlap from Abu Dhabi. She hit opponent Chelsea Dodson with her wrist in one of her slaps, docking her a point, so she ended up with a draw. She said she wanted to return.
  • Becky Lynch will make a rare public appearance on 11/17 at the Vulture Festival.
  • RevPro’s Andy Quildan announced the anniversary show for next year will be August 23, 2025.
  • DDT today announced that the traditional joint show with Big Japan on New Year’s Eve with the interpromotional tag team tournament and indie awards show at Korakuen Hall is no more. Big Japan announced that instead it would be running a one-night death match World Cup on 12/31.