Daily Update: SmackDown ratings, KUSHIDA, Anthony Bowens

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

The aftermath of the AEW brawl after All Out
Why suspensions were lifted
The CM Punk injury and how it changes things
AEW video game promotion in Japan
What people under suspension aren’t allowed to do
Tony Khan position
Clearing up some wrestling stories
Ideas for AEW to improve the developmental rate of its young talent
The most important thing for AEW long-term
Ways to get wrestlers more time in the ring
Ways to get wrestlers more time learning promos and angles
Complete coverage of UFC 279
The life and death of UFC star Elias Theodorou
Coverage of this past week’s Stardom PPV show
How every wrestling show this past week did in the ratings, competition, football, where WWE & AEW fall in entertainment standings, how the segments on the major shows did
Unique finish to set up CMLL tournament final
Final build to the anniversary show
CMLL star undergoes surgery
Promotion talk about new reality show idea
Stardom Five Star Grand Prix update
New Japan and Stardom business rundowns, profits, losses, revenue, streaming numbers
Kota Ibushi update
Yuji Nagata celebrates 30 years in the ring
New Japan Strong TV for the future
Talk about the Desperado vs. Jun Kasai bloodbath
Generational dream match announced between 80 legend and modern legend
Konosuke Takeshita’s ten year anniversary
Ricky Steamboat returns to the ring
How viewing is changing
Story behind Steamboat’s comeback
More on movies about 80s stars and a movie on the life of modern star
Hall of Famer from Japan wants match with Moxley
Wrestling cartoon show canceled
Latest on WBD and wrestling
More AEW injury news
Ticket sale numbers for WWE & AEW shows
International TV numbers
Streaming numbers
More on the business of doing major shows
Commission examining UFC backstage brawl
More Clash at the Castle news
WWE projected revenue for this year
Why Raw will have a problem next week
Gable Steveson update
New talent coming to NXT
A&E bio news

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Saturday News Update

WWE

  • Last night’s SmackDown averaged 2.086 million viewers in the fast national ratings, down from the huge overnight number the show drew last week (2.217 million viewers). The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.4 in the first hour and a 0.5 in the second.
  • Shotzi turned babyface on SmackDown last night, saving Raquel Rodriguez from an attack by Damage CTRL.
  • Shotzi, Ricochet, and The Brawling Brutes were interviewed on The SmackDown LowDown. Shotzi said she came to Rodriguez’s aid because she has a problem with bullies and thinks someone needs to make an example out of Damage CTRL.
  • Jake Paul tweeted that he might have to come to Saudi Arabia for Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul at Crown Jewel: “Logan is the definition of anything is possible. 2 matches in WWE and he’s challenging for the belt. I might have to come to Saudi Arabia for this.”
  • Brandon Thurston reported yesterday that there were layoffs in WWE’s marketing department: “I’m told there were layoffs today to WWE’s marketing department. Multiple people at the VP level were let go. Possibly a part of a restructuring to that department. EVP Catherine Newman was hired this summer as the new head of marketing.”
  • Ronda Rousey thinks her match against Charlotte Flair from this year’s WrestleMania will become a cult classic: “You know what? The first time I watched the match, it was on my phone with the sound off when I was trying to put Po to sleep. She was feeding. And I was like, ‘Hmm.’ Then I watched it again later and was like, ‘Huh!’ And I think it’s going to be like one of those cult classic matches. It’s going to be like The Labyrinth of matches. You know? When it first came out, everyone was like, ‘What the hell? Why does David Bowie have a giant codpiece and talking to our children?’ But then later, you realize something awesome about it every time and it kind of makes it one of your favorite movies ever. And, you know, I sometimes need to watch it and sing ‘You Remind Me Of The Babe.’ […] That’s what I feel like that match. Every time you watch it, you’ll catch something new about it. I think re-watchability is something that is very important in movies. The Labyrinth, case in point.”
  • Bayley spoke to the In The Kliq podcast about watching Sasha Banks and Naomi model at New York Fashion Week: “I was so nervous for them. I felt like a mom or something. I’ve watched them win the Women’s Tag Team titles at WrestleMania. But it felt different watching them come out on that runway for such a big deal and something that they both really wanted to do and felt passionate about. Super proud of them, and it was so fun. I had a great time.”
  • Braun Strowman was the guest on WWE After the Bell this week.
  • WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero in a steel cage match for the WWE Championship from the July 15, 2004 episode of SmackDown, Big E & Finn Balor vs. The Usos from the September 17, 2021 SmackDown, and a Goldberg segment from the April 3, 2017 episode of Raw.

Other Wrestling

  • KUSHIDA missed this morning’s NJPW Burning Spirit tour show due to a fever. His COVID-19 antigen test came back negative. KUSHIDA was scheduled to team with Hiroshi Tanahashi & The DKC against Taiji Ishimori, KENTA & Hikuleo at the show. Yuto Nakashima instead replaced KUSHIDA in the match.
  • Anthony Bowens told TSC News that he’s in the process of writing a book: “I’m writing a book. It’s the first time I’ve said that openly. I’m about 45,000 words in and I hope to have that out in the next few years or so — so I like to dip my toes into every avenue that I can and I’ve read a lot of wrestling books growing up so now that I’m achieving that success and I think I have a story to tell that would resonate with people, I wanna put that out there eventually, so that’s a goal of mine.”
  • Thunder Rosa’s vlog returned with a new episode today.
  • Konosuke Takeshita tweeted that it’s a goal of his for there to be an AEW show in Japan: “I have one more goal in mind. One day, I would like to do an AEW show in Japan. I have learned that Japanese fans are eager to watch AEW fight. I started running that today.”
  • During a Twitch stream, Colt Cabana said that his brother – who is a director for Family Guy – also shares a bank account with their mother.
  • Madison Rayne appeared on the latest episode of AEW Unrestricted.
  • Thursday’s Impact averaged 67,000 viewers on AXS TV, up from the prior week’s 60,000 viewers. The rating in the 18-49 demo stayed at a 0.01.