Daily Update: Seth Rollins, Giovanni Vinci, WWE Raw

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • Match of the week and performer of the week
  • Kazuchika Okada leaving New Japan
  • What is next and where his decision stands
  • Coverage in Japan
  • Future prospects in AEW or WWE
  • How this not only affects New Japan but the change in the marketplace
  • Okada’s career legacy
  • Preview of Royal Rumble and Revolution
  • Full coverage of Battle in the Valley, the return to Chicago, and the next major events
  • Debut of Matt Riddle and Jack Perry with New Japan
  • Impact turns into TNA, business notes, full coverage
  • The PFL vs. Bellator dream card, lineup, how this relates to pro wrestling in the past, and how this show exemplifies the complete economic changes in the fight business
  • Full coverage of the ratings over the past week, including weekly ratings, competition, comparisons with a year ago and segment-by-segment
  • Dream rematch shows continue at Arena Mexico
  • Lots of new tournaments
  • Takagi vs. Mochizuki
  • Masa Fuchi main events at the age of 70
  • Anniversary of the first pro wrestling show in Japanese television
  • FantasticaMania notes
  • Wrestling references by Paul Walter Hausen at the Emmys
  • Demolition of famous arena
  • Kevin Von Erich is Israel
  • Update on Iron Claw movie business
  • Mark Hitchcock show update
  • New wrestling history book out
  • Examining WBD press release on AEW
  • New AEW international deal
  • Samoa Joe talks current scene
  • Advance ticket sales to WWE, AEW and UFC events
  • New AEW signee who will have a new gimmick and details as to why
  • Overseas programmer talks about AEW setting ratings record
  • Sean Strickland and sponsors and this isn’t going to be fun for Dana White when Bud Light hears about it
  • A college working with fighters for courses in fight disciplines
  • New Cena movie
  • Drug testing realities
  • WWE injury updates
  • WWE, AEW & TNA PPV updates
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • What Canadian ratings mean in comparison to U.S. numbers
  • Coverage of all the WWE house shows of the past week

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Monday Update

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio, talking Raw, Frankie Edgar, Seth Rollins and taking your questions that you can send to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com

Seth Rollins will address his knee injury tonight on Raw. He has a torn MCL and partially torn meniscus. Wrestlers do work on that all the time, but it’s obviously advisable not to. But it’s Mania season and people do matches with far worse, but again it’s not in their best interest long-term to do so. And there are title implications involved as well.

Giovanni Vinci was cleared from his concussion and returned over the weekend at house shows and will be wrestling tonight on Raw.

Raw tonight is from New Orleans. No NFL until the fall so Raw numbers should bounce back to pre football season levels and even higher with tonight’s show with the Rollins announcement and Punk/Rhodes segment. It should be No. 1 for the night most weeks on cable and remain the No. 1 cable entertainment program unless Vanderpump starts back up where it left off when it returns next Tuesday. C.M. Punk is on the show with a face-off with Cody Rhodes, there’s the Seth Rollins promo, plus Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest, Chad Gable vs. Ivar, Ivy Nile vs. Valhalla, New Day vs. Vinci & Ludvig Kaiser and Miz vs. Dominik Mysterio. 

Less than 2,000 tickets have been sold for the AEW show in Savannah, GA on Wednesday even with what on paper is a unique series of matches. 

Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway for the BMF title will take place at UFC 300 on 4/13 in Las Vegas.

Collision and UFC ratings from Saturday could take a real hit. The 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers game head-to-head on FOX was the most-watched television show on a Saturday night in the U.S. in nearly 30 years (since the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding skate-off at the Olympics). The show averaged 37.5 million viewers and peaked at 41 million. It’s the last Saturday night of the NFL Playoffs. For Collision, this coming week is likely not to do well against the Royal Rumble, but the competition, while never easy on sports-heavy Saturday nights, won’t be as bad starting 2/3.

New Japan at Korakuen Hall at 4:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning:

  • Ryusuke Taguchi & Katsuya Murahama vs. Yoh & Shoma Kato
  • Great O’Khan & Henare & TJP & Francesco Akira & Callum Newman vs. David Finlay & Alex Coughlin & Gabe Kidd & Clark Connors & Drlla Moloney
  • El Phantasmo & Hikuleo & Jado vs. KENTA & Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori
  • Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii & Tomoaki Honma vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste & Kosei Fujita
  • Tama Tonga & Shota Umino & Togi Makabe vs. Evil & Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji & Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi vs. Sanada & Taichi & Yuya Uemura & Douki & Taka Michinoku
  • Master Wato vs. Sho
  • Desperado vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru for IWGP jr. title

This is Okada’s next-to-last Korakuen Hall show. He finishes up Wednesday at Korakuen with the Tanahashi & Okada & Ishii trios title defense against Nicholls & Haste & Fujita.

Rob Van Dam, Mike Bailey, Mistico, Masato Tanaka and the reuniting of Savio Vega & Jose Estrada Jr. & Huracan Castillo Jr. & Miguel Perez Jr. as Los Boricuas will be on the Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow on 4/5 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena.

This was something of a quiet weekend when it comes to major matches to see. Japan didn’t produce anything people were ratings that strongly. Mascara Dorada vs. Cavernario Barbaro from Friday at Arena Mexico would have been the best match but the finish was lame. We also had recommended the Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Keith match from Thursday’s ROH show. 

Kazuchika Okada teams with Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Moose & Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards in the Impact TV main Event on Thursday, plus Jordynne Grace vs. Trinity for the Knockouts title and Nic Nemeth vs. Zacharty Wentz.

The SportingPost.com lists these as the top ten fighters when it comes to value of their Instagram posts: 1. Conor McGregor; 2. Khabib Nurmagomedov; 3. Ronda Rousey; 4. Israel Adesanya; 5. Jon Jones; 6. George St-Pierre 7. Khamzat Chimaev; 8. Charles Oliveira; 9. Nate Diaz; 10. Francis Ngannou. As far as still active guys, Dustin Poirier is No, 12, Sean O’Malley No 14, Kamaru Uman No. 16, Max Holloway and Paddy Pimblett at No. 20. 

Minoru Suzuki will be wrestling on the 2/29 MLW show at the Melrose Ballroom in New York.

Pro Wrestling Revolver on Thursday night in Dayton, OH at the Calumet Center has Jon Moxley vs. Gringo Loco, Jake Crist vs. Alex Shelley for both the Revolver world title and Remix title, tag champs Rickey Shane Page & Alex Colon defend against Steve Manders & Matt Justice, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel and the Grizzled Young Vetrans, Sami Calihan vs. JT Dunn last man sanding Steve Maclin vs. Mance Warner in a street fight, Ace Austin vs. Matthew Palmer, Jake Something vs. Masha Slamovich, a scramble match with Rich Swann, Myron Reed, Warhorse, Damian Chambers, Brett Oakley, and KC Jacobs and more. They also run 2/17 in Grand Prairie TX with Lio Rush vs. Chris Bey, Elijah (Elias) vs. Mike Bailey and Grizzled Young Veteran vs. Alex Zayne & Lance Archer.

West Coast Pro announced its women’s champion Takumi Iroha defends against Veny (the other Asuka) on Saturday night at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco. The show also features the first U.S. appearance of The Crush Gals, the top women’s tag team in history, since 1986. They won’t be wrestling, just appearing.

Smackdown in Canada did its best rating since 10/27 on Friday as reported by Post Wrestling’s John Pollock.

WBD has rebranded its sports division TNT Sports, instead of Turner Sports or more recently WBD Sports since 2021. The TNT Sports name had already been used in Europe. Technically, AEW is listed as entertainment, not sports. It was listed as sports until 2022.

The New Day segment on the Drew Barrymore show aired today.

A video of the 40th anniversary of Hulk Hogan winning the WWF title from Iron Sheik will air on Raw tonight.