Daily Update: SmackDown ratings, WWE trademarks, Max Caster

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Shinjiro Otani seriously injured, WWE announces UK stadium show

  • Update on Shinjiro Otani, what happened, a review of his career and a look at Zero-1’s biggest show in years.
  • WWE officially announces its Principality Stadium show in Cardiff, Wales, a look back at the biggest UK events for WWE and the ticket demand.
  • Coverage of UFC 273 featuring a potential Hall of Fame fight with Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns, plus the judging in Sterling-Yan, the dominance of Alexander Volkanovski, business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.
  • Full coverage of NJPW Hyper Battle and the angles leading to the return of New Japan to the Fukuoka Dome, a look back at the first show in that building, plus G1 and Best of the Super Juniors updates
  • Update on WrestleMania Backlash, ticket demand, matches being built, false advertising of Brock Lesnar and more
  • Ratings including rankings, oldest and youngest audience, affect of NBA playoffs, segment-by-segment numbers and comparisons with last year.
  • CMLL Champion of Champions tournament continuing
  • AEW star announces return from major injury
  • Hall of Famer announces the relaunch of his former promotion
  • All Japan Champion Carnival update
  • NOAH Sumo Hall lineups
  • NJPW star finishes up this week and background
  • Scott Hall funeral
  • New wrestling books
  • Biggest indie crowds of the year
  • The Strangler Lewis headlock machine
  • Discovery/Warner merger and AEW
  • NJPW & AEW deal
  • Story behind the debut of Satnam Singh
  • Ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE shows
  • International TV ratings
  • Streaming numbers for the major stuff of the past week
  • Cain Velasquez case update
  • UFC adds 2016 Fight of the Year to Hall of Fame
  • How much the top executives at WWE earn
  • Update on Vince McMahon vs. Oliver Luck
  • Update on all the name changes of WWE talent and why

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter: February 7, 2005 Observer Newsletter: Royal Rumble review, business year in review

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Saturday News Update

WWE

  • Last night’s SmackDown averaged 2.05 million viewers in the fast national ratings, down from the 2.10 million viewers the show averaged in the fast nationals last week. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.4.
  • WWE has filed trademarks for the names Roxanne Perez, Katana Chance, and Alba Fyre. Perez is the former Rok-C’s new WWE name. WWE has yet to reveal who the other two names are for.
  • Rick Boogs took his first steps without crutches after undergoing surgery for a torn quadriceps to patella tendon: “10th day after surgery…I asked the Doc when I could stop using crutches, he said whenever I feel up for it. Usually takes people around a month to start weaning off crutches….I just beat biology and became the marvel of modern medicine”
  • In a message on Twitter today, Liv Morgan pleaded with people to stop impersonating her and scamming fans out of money: “Guys I’ve been sent so many emails of horror stories about people making fake accounts and emails pretending to be me & asking for huge amounts of money. This really makes me so sad. Please don’t use my name to con people out of their hard earned money. Please please please. A man sold his home and lost everything thinking he was helping “me”. This has me so sick. Please know I would never reach out to ask any of you for a single penny. I’m so sad. Please stop”
  • Ricochet, Rhea Ripley & Morgan, and Sami Zayn were interviewed on Talking Smack this week.
  • NXT 2.0’s Lash Legend, Ivy Nile, and Damon Kemp posted pictures on social media while in London for NXT UK.
  • Eric Bischoff appeared on this week’s episode of WWE After the Bell, which was recorded in Dallas during WrestleMania week.
  • WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded Umaga vs. Santino Marella for the Intercontinental title and John Cena vs. Rated-RKO in a handicap match from the April 16, 2007 episode of Raw, along with a KO Show segment with The New Day from the April 16, 2019 episode of SmackDown.

Other Wrestling

  • During a virtual signing for Golden Ring Collectibles, Max Caster commented on the praise John Cena had for him recently: “That’s a great question [could Max beat John Cena in a rap battle]. John has been very, very nice to me and when he didn’t need to. He reached out and he made that public so I’m allowed to say it now so he reached out and then he said things publicly about me in Forbes and that means a lot to me. So, it’s never been about beating him in a rap battle. It’s about trying to get past the point of people saying I’m a Thuganomics rip-off. Am I to an extent? Maybe. He’s a huge influence on me, one of my favorite wrestlers. The guy, I will say in 2004 that got me back into watching wrestling. So, I take that energy and propel it forward and say, maybe there’s people now in 2022, even last year who fell out of wrestling that they hear there’s this rapping guy on wrestling now and he does these disses and they are hilarious and you watch it and you say, ‘Oh, this is my guy.’ You listen to the mixtapes, songs or diss tracks that I put out, the music videos, you say, ‘Wow, this guy actually has some skill.’ So, to me it’s not about beating John at anything. It’s about paying homage, paying respect and elevating what he did and I think, by his own admission, that I’m there, I’m doing it and I hope to continue doing that.”
  • Mick Foley made a trip to Amarillo, Texas on Thursday to have lunch with Terry Funk: “LOOK WHO I RAN INTO! I made a little side trip to Amarillo to take the legendary Terry Funk to lunch. Still my mentor, still my idol after all these years. @TheDirtyFunker”
  • Jim Ross tweeted a picture with Alicia Fox yesterday: “Ran into the former Alicia Fox at breakfast at @TPCSawgrass here in Jax area. She’s 3 Years clean and sober!”
  • Ross said the UFC’s Dana White is going to come to one of AEW’s shows in Las Vegas next month.
  • Wheeler Yuta was the guest on this week’s edition of AEW Unrestricted.
  • Matt Cardona reflected on yesterday being the two-year anniversary of his release from WWE: “2 years ago…April 15, 2020…I was released by WWE. It needed to happen. It was one of the best things that ever happened in my career and in my life. These past 2 years have been incredible. My goal was never to prove anybody wrong. I wanted to prove my fans and myself right…and I have. And I will continue to do so. I’m #StillHere and I’m #AlwayzReady!”
  • Will Ospreay will face Low Ki for the first time ever at House of Glory’s show in Queens, New York on Friday, May 27.