Daily Update: SmackDown ratings, Nic Nemeth, Ospreay vs. Alexander

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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

Saturday Update

WWE

  • SmackDown averaged 2.36 million viewers in the overnight ratings last night, up from last week’s overnight average of 2.27 million. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.56.
  • Before SmackDown, Gable Steveson defeated Cameron Grimes in a dark match. The post-show dark matches were Cody Rhodes defeating Shinsuke Nakamura and Jey Uso defeating Finn Balor.
  • SmackDown took place from Rhodes’ hometown of Atlanta. He gave an off-air speech to the crowd stating that he’s the best man for the job to main event WrestleMania 40:
          • There is only one thing that makes me tired of coming home. The only thing that makes me tired when coming home is coming home empty-handed. I think we need to change that. I am not immune to all the news, everything that’s happening, what will happen, what won’t happen. All I can tell you is this. I’m the right man for the job. I’m the best man for the job. I’m heading into the Royal Rumble, I’m gonna go back-to-back, and I’m gonna bring a championship back home to Atlanta.
  • Tyler Bate spoke to the Metro about being called up to SmackDown and reuniting with Pete Dunne:
          • A lifetime of work was all coming together. We both put a lot of pressure on ourselves with where we come from in representing British wrestling, and the style of British wrestling.
          • Taking that to the main stage feels like a huge responsibility. But I feel like we’re both nailing it… [I was] super proud of how it went. It couldn’t have been more ideal for me.
  • WWE wished Karl Anderson a happy 44th birthday.
  • Kayden Carter & Katana Chance, The LWO, and Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits appeared on The SmackDown LowDown.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • While appearing on Busted Open Radio, Ric Flair explained the advice he gave to Powerhouse Hobbs after Dynamite’s Homecoming episode:
          • Hobbs is the guy I poked in the eye, right? He asked me what I thought, and I said, ‘Do you really want me to tell you?’ I spent a half hour with him after, showing him stuff that will make him better. Just little detail things. He’s got an incredible amount of talent, but sometimes the guys come along and they miss the difference between good and great. They learn how to do something spectacular, but they are fundamentally weak. I was just showing him, like an example, a better way to kick a guy that is down. Get him close to the ropes, grab the top rope where you help balance yourself, rather than trying to free kick somebody. If you can balance yourself, it looks like you’re stomping a mudhole in them, and they won’t feel it if you know what you’re doing. He’s too big of a guy and too impressive to be able to press slam and throw guys around and then throw a punch that wouldn’t break an egg, which wasn’t the case with the punch we’re talking about, I’m just giving an example.
  • Comicbook.com interviewed Jon Moxley.
  • Ricky Starks appeared as a guest on Gabby AF.
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi discussed Kazuchika Okada’s departure from NJPW:
          • I can only thank him for his continued contribution to New Japan over the past 12 years. Personally, I would have liked to have seen one more match with the new generation (Shota Umino, Ren Narita, Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura). However, if you look at it from Okada’s point of view, I can understand if he felt he did everything he could in New Japan. I want him to spread his wings wide around the world.
  • TNA Wrestling’s YouTube channel uploaded the full Will Ospreay vs. Josh Alexander match that aired on this week’s episode of Impact. It was a rematch of Ospreay and Alexander’s bout from last October.
  • Dave Meltzer tweeted about Ospreay vs. Alexander: “I knew this match was going to be great, but I didn’t know it would be this great. Don’t think we’ve ever opened a year with so many incredible matches, but of all of them, this one stood out”
  • Sportskeeda WrestleBinge asked Nic Nemeth if he’ll end up in AEW:
          • I am very focused on New Japan and TNA right now. Because I have seen a few different people on both of those rosters that I am blown away with. Not doing moves – being awesome at wrestling. Some of them have bigger names, and some of them don’t have a name that’s really well-known all over the world yet. And there’s a handful. There’s one or two in New Japan, and there’s five or six at TNA that I have been watching very closely – I famously don’t watch wrestling, but I have been following and going, ‘This person is one big break away from being the next up-and-coming thing. How can I help them, but also make the show awesome?’
          • I sit here, almost like an accountant, going over numbers and algorithms and stuff: ‘How can I make this a bigger deal? How can I make TNA one percent even better than it already is? Here’s how. Here’s what I should do. Here’s the way to go, and I’m gonna prove it to everybody.’
  • Ring the Belle has an interview with Ash by Elegance.
  • Mustafa Ali vs. Amazing Red has been announced for Wrestling Revolver & House of Glory’s co-promoted show in Philadelphia on Friday, April 5.