Daily Update: SmackDown ratings, WWE MSG, MJF & Adam Cole

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

In this issue:

  • Match of the week and performer of the week for the past two weeks
  • Full coverage of Money in the Bank, the story behind all the matches angles and finishes
  • Eight confirmed matches for SummerSlam
  • Ticket sales for SummerSlam and records already broken and other records on the verge of being broken
  • Live gate for Money in the Bank and a breakdown of the multiple records set
  • WrestleMania in London and an update on where that stands
  • Total viewership for the show
  • PPV numbers for the show and how it compares to other shows plus crossover with AEW Forbidden Door
  • Story behind the results and angles on the show
  • The life and times of Darren Drozdov, comments from wrestlers, family, friends and the story behind the accident that changed his life and how he battled back and ended up close with his family.
  • His brief career in wrestling
  • Jerry McDevitt removed from the MLW lawsuit and announces his retirement. A look back at the legendary attorney and his history with WWE
  • What happened with Collision in week three. A detailed breakdown of what was one of the most important TV ratings of the year
  • WWE & AEW quarterly business, viewership, house shows, what is up and what is down and why
  • New Japan Strong at Korakuen Hall with four title changes and two brutal matches
  • Full UFC coverage for the week and business notes
  • Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year takes place
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the major wrestling shows, including weekly rankings
  • CMLL runs major event with Romero vs. Volador Jr., and notes on the debut of Mascara Dorada 2.0
  • Stardom PPV coverage
  • Notes on the Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
  • Triple Crown title change and fantastic performance by Yuji Nagata
  • Father and daughter appear on show together in Japan
  • What companies in Japan have drawn the most fans so far this year
  • One of the biggest tag teams of all-time having a special show
  • Lots more on the Mildred Burke movie that was being filmed this past month and stories about Burke’s legend
  • Grappl lists its fan voted best matches in history
  • Matt Morgan talks back surgery
  • Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame notes for 2023
  • Stardom star coming to GCW and notes on the deal
  • Kenny Omega talks AEW video game
  • Updated ticket sales for All In and where it ranks on the all-time list
  • Update on Forbidden Door PPV numbers
  • Jon Moxley goal to become an historical first
  • Omega talks Will Ospreay match
  • Ticket sales to the upcoming WWE and AEW shows
  • Jim Ross updates his condition
  • Injury updates
  • Streaming number updates
  • Merch number updates
  • International TV ratings
  • Lots of gimmick fights being talked about
  • ESPN announce new multi-part documentary
  • Paul Levesque talks NXT Europe
  • Plans for net year’s Mania
  • Gable Steveson issues challenge for another sport he’s never done before
  • Rundown of all WWE events this past week

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Saturday Update

WWE

  • Last night’s SmackDown was the highest-grossing WWE event to ever take place at Madison Square Garden. It was also the highest-grossing domestic SmackDown in WWE history.
  • SmackDown averaged 2.38 million viewers in the fast national ratings last night, up from last week’s fast national average of 2.35 million. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.71 in the first hour and a 0.63 in the second.
  • Our Andrew Zarian tweeted that WWE will consider running a smaller stage setup for future MSG shows: “WWE will be considering running a much smaller stage set up in the future at MSG. It will depend on early ticket sales.”
  • LA Knight got a big reaction from the MSG crowd when he appeared during a pre-show segment with Hit Row.
  • Solo Sikoa reflected on the Bloodline Civil War from Money in the Bank:
          • Finally had some time to digest everything that happend last Saturday in London at #MITB. This will be a moment i will ALWAYS cherish and remember forever. To be in the ring with 3 of the very best in this business and better thing is we did it against eachother as family. I learned from all 3 of them since i started on the main and have taken every advice they have given me to be in this position. I have traveled the world with them and have main evented EVERY ppv with them and last Saturday we made history this night and main evented against eachother. So many emotions before and after. But i’m very thankful and happy i got to do it with family.
          • This was my wrestlemaina moment i will never forget.
  • The Daily Mail asked Bianca Belair if she feels more comfortable as a babyface on the main roster than she did when she was a heel in NXT:
          • It’s funny because in NXT with the Bianca Belair there I found my groove then and I loved it. But then when I came to Raw and SmackDown I felt like I found another groove that was inspiring to others and I saw how it was touching others and it wasn’t just me impacting people inside the ring, I was impacting people outside the ring and that’s what stuck with me.
          • I loved it and I still love it. So right now I feel like I’m a bit in between. I’m still in the groove I found when I got to main roster but there’s a little bit of the NXT Bianca Belair coming back. I feel like I’ve been playing by the rules, but then I’m seeing other people that aren’t and it’s like, wait a minute, hold up, let’s figure some things out.
  • Zelina Vega told Wrestlesphere that being part of the LWO has changed her life:
          • Stepping in with LWO has changed my life, not just my wrestling career, but just my life in general. My gosh, it’s a whole new form of person for me ‘cause I never thought I’d be a good guy, ever…it’s almost like pulling this whole new side out of me. And getting to train with Rey Mysterio is probably one of the things I never thought I’d be able to do. But, what an honor.
  • Noam Dar tweeted that he won’t be doing a Supernova Sessions segment on NXT this Tuesday: “I thought I could gather the strength to show my face in front of the NXT universe on Supernova Sessions this Tuesday, but I simply cannot without MY NXT Heritage Cup. I am lost without it. I’m not me right now. Therefore, SNS this Tuesday is CANCELLED.”
  • Inside the Ropes interviewed Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn.
  • Bianca Belair, Austin Theory, and Edge appeared on The SmackDown LowDown.
  • “Heels” star Stephen Amell will be attending the July 17 episode of Raw in Atlanta.
  • WWE uploaded a behind-the-scenes video from Money in the Bank.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • MJF posted a tweet claiming that he won’t be teaming with Adam Cole on Wednesday’s Dynamite: “Hey got some bad news. Was sooooooooo excited to wrestle Big Bill and Cage this week. Unfortunately I’ve come down with something and I’m violently ill. I wish my tag partner and close friend Adam all the best. Pray for me and my health. Love y’all”
  • Cole then responded to MJF: “Max…STFU. You’re coming to TV.”
  • MJF wrote back to Cole: “Guess it’s only cool when you get to do it. Ugh. Fine. You’re gonna wear the shirt though right?!?”
  • In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Timothy Thatcher discussed his AEW match against Bryan Danielson that took place this February: “AEW, that was literally out of the blue. It happened because Bryan Danielson wanted to wrestle me. For me, that was reason enough to fly from Tokyo to Dayton, Ohio for a day and back.”
  • Ahead of this year’s G1 Climax, Masahiro Chono passed the STF on to Shota Umino.
  • Umino addressed whether he’s a member of Blackpool Combat Club: “[Jon Moxley is] doing some incredible things in AEW right now, love or hate them. There were a lot of people asking me these few weeks if I was part of Blackpool Combat Club, and the answer is that I’m not. I said it all in my backstage comments in Osaka, but me and Mox, it’s something that’s deeper than a babyface and heel fan opinion.”
  • NJPW’s English-language website has an interview with SANADA. SANADA said appearing in AEW made him realize how important the IWGP label is: “I got to chat with CM Punk, and he was like ‘that belt is the coolest.’ You know, for a CM Punk to know who you are and what you’re doing, that speaks to how widely the IWGP Champion is known.”
  • Brian Cage was a guest on Busted Open Radio.
  • Beer City Bruiser spoke to Haus of Wrestling about his recent hip surgery:
          • The best way to describe it is everything in my right hip was completely dead. The bone, the labrum was gone, the cartilage was gone. My femoral head was actually being absorbed into my pelvis bone. The doctor had said I had bone spurs on the head of the femoral, which is normal for any type of breaks or stuff.
          • When he went in there, the reason it took the extra hour is because I had two particular bone spurs that were the size of his fist that were encapsulating the femoral head, and he had to take a chisel and chisel them out because they couldn’t move my leg to get the fake hip in. And he came out and told my wife, ‘I’m surprised the way that hip was when we went in there; I’m surprised he walked in here this morning.’