Daily Update: WWE Superstar Spectacle, The Miz, Orange Cassidy

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Observer is out and it’s the biggest issue in terms of volume that we have ever done:

  • The life of Terry Funk with many different stories from many different places
  • The Ric Flair/Terry Funk 1989 feud
  • Terry Funk sees the death of the territories before anyone else
  • Paul Heyman on Terry Funk
  • The life and career of Bray Wyatt
  • The sad situation regarding his death
  • Career highlights
  • How COVID led to serious health issues
  • Him just being seen in the hospital a week before his death
  • Life before wrestling
  • Full coverage of AEW All In
  • Notes on attendance records
  • A rundown of the other four biggest shows in history
  • Every $10 million gate in pro wrestling history
  • Early PPV numbers
  • Crossover buys with SummerSlam
  • Thoughts on next year’s show at Wembley
  • Tony Khan’s thoughts after the show
  • A detailed look at the Punk-Jack Perry incident with different stories from people there
  • How it affected the show backstage
  • What happened with the show and to Punk and Perry after the incident
  • Rundown of the show
  • WrestleMania ticket sales as of this week
  • Last year’s Mania numbers and numbers from other years
  • How the secondary market is doing for WrestleMania
  • Saudi Arabia gets into business with the PFL and causes a WWE stock price drop
  • Preview of the next AEW & WWE PPV shows
  • Business notes on this week’s show
  • A look at the RevPro show with Ospreay vs. Takagi
  • The most detailed look at the ratings over the past two weeks
  • How each segment did, how the show compares with one year ago
  • A look at the best rated Smackdown show in almost three years
  • International TV numbers
  • CMLL matches at Denver Broncos game
  • CMLL Grand Prix show notes
  • Metalik done with CMLL and explanation as to why
  • Konnan health update
  • QT Marshall defends Latin American title in Europe
  • Notes on the last Stardom PPV show
  • Notes on Dragon Gate’s Dangerous Gate show
  • All Japan finishes tournament and legend challenges for Triple Crown out of it
  • N-1 tournament update
  • Talks of a New Japan expansion
  • Naito talks his future
  • The All-Star Junior show in Philadelphia
  • DDT has big show coming
  • Major former promoter in Mexico Carlos Elizondo passes away
  • New Netflix wrestling show
  • Impact changing taping schedule
  • Notes on upcoming Impact shows
  • Lots of talk from Tony Khan about new things with the company and deals
  • Punk gets Cauliflower Alley Club award
  • Update on Cung Le lawsuit against UFC
  • Update on Edge
  • John Cena’s return notes

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Ordering Info:

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • WWE has announced that Rhea Ripley will defend her Women’s World Championship against Natalya at this Friday’s Superstar Spectacle live event in India.
  • On The Pat McAfee Show, The Miz discussed his segment with “invisible John Cena” from Monday’s Raw. Miz spoke in-character about the segment:
          • Look, I don’t care if it’s real Cena, invisible Cena, I’ll take him down each and every time. No doubt in my mind, every day all day. It’s just the type of person I am.
          • How dare he push me in that ring? You don’t come into my ring in WWE on Monday Night Raw and come onto my show Miz TV and push me. And he ducked my swing. That was one thing that I couldn’t even believe. But then once he swung at me, I know what’s happening. I know the Skull Crushing Finale is happening. Drop him out. And after the promo, I threw him out of the ring because that’s the type of man I am. That is my ring. That is just what I do.
          • By the way, how great was [WWE cameraman] Stu? How great was that camera work? He’s done it so many times that Stu can see him [Cena] just like I can.
  • Natalya shared photos of a young Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda): “Windham was only one month old in this picture when his parents brought him over to our house to proudly show my mom and dad their new baby. I was five years old. Years later, we would go ‘trick or treating’ together in our neighborhood. Windham dressed up as Batman. It’s surreal to think about Windham being gone but I’m so proud to have known him. More than what he contributed to the wrestling business (which was massive), he was a great person. We will never forget you.”
  • On his Oh You Didn’t Know podcast, Road Dogg was asked about the possibility of CM Punk returning to WWE:
          • I am the wrong guy to ask – that is the truth. Because I cannot hire nor fire – that is out of sight of my paygrade. I did mention recently that he would move the needle [by returning to WWE], but truth be told, that comment was made a long time ago … or whenever that was. It just doesn’t seem like the right time to even talk about it, you know? Things are happening in real-time. God only knows what’s going to come out at the end of this.
  • Finn Balor & Damian Priest, Tiffany Stratton, and former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide were guests on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon.
  • Seth Rollins, Ricochet, and Samantha Irvin will be on The Bump next Wednesday.
  • Cathy Kelley was interviewed on Out of Character.
  • Braun Strowman turns 40 years old today.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • Orange Cassidy spoke to SI FanNation about telling his story in the ring instead of on the microphone:
          • I don’t like to talk. I let my actions speak for me. That’s not how this works. People are supposed to grab a microphone and tell you how to feel. I see it differently.
          • I think our fans are very smart, and their emotions can speak for themselves. I do it in the ring through actually wrestling. I may not nail it every time, but I’m telling my story through professional wrestling. It’s taken me a long time to figure it out, but I refuse to do it the way it’s been done.
  • On his My World podcast, Jeff Jarrett praised Bryan Danielson:
          • I think he is the very best storyteller in modern wrestling. I think he has a unique ability. I believe on last night’s card (AEW All Out), it’s the one match that people had no idea that it was going to have the impact on the night that it did. I can’t say enough good things about it.
          • He is an unbelievable storyteller, brutal straps and everything that goes with it, and you know, there was interference and whatever you want to get into it, but that place was rocking. They loved it and it was brutally hard, and I’m, you know, personally happy for Starks.
          • Guys coming up in this business, you know, you look back on different careers, you know, I think Kurt gave it to Cena. Scott Hall gave me a match that, okay, okay. There’s certain matches that you have with older veterans or guys that are already up on top that they’re irreplaceable. I believe that match is irreplaceable in Ricky Starks’ career. I think it will be. I think it’s gonna stand the test of time like oh wow, and look at the circumstances that had happened. Had not all of the other set of circumstances happened, he’d never had this opportunity. So the grand weave, you never ever know what is gonna come down the pike next.
  • In his latest article for Sports Illustrated, Dave Meltzer writes about this being one of the most newsworthy periods in wrestling history.
  • SANADA posted a photo with Gail Kim: “I’ve never seen any better female wrestler than yourself. You are the best that I have seen.”