Daily Update: The Rock, Cody Rhodes, Logan Paul

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Some highlights:

  • A full look at AEW Grand Slam in Brisbane, Australia.  The mentality behind the show, a look at the card, ratings, booking, business and more
  • NXT Vengeance Day coverage
  • The life and times of Gran Hamada, great wrestler, influential in history, including the glory days of LLI at El Toreo and his biggest matches and feuds, booking to make a star, biggest feuds, multiple world titles and far more huge crowds than people would ever realize. Plus the Tiger Mask heyday, matches of the year candidates in his late 40s, and the start of multiple different companies
  • A look at the next WWE & AEW  PPV shows
  • The most detailed look at TV ratings and streaming for RAW, including how every show has compared with a year ago, the weekly standings, demos, quarters, every wrestling show on Netflix and more.
  • CMLL announces its second biggest show of the year
  • Valentine’s Day at Arena Mexico
  • Big head-to-head battle in Mexico City on Saturday
  • Fantastica Mania starts’
  • More on the awards issue including multiple category placers
  • Lots of AEW business notes
  • WWE & AEW ticket sales for upcoming show including multiple PPVs
  • Lots of new UFC main events announced
  • Topuria vacates featherweight title
  • Aaron Pico on leaving PFL
  • Notes on Mania plans
  • Notes on Dwayne Johnson being back
  • Michelle McCool Hall of Fame story
  • Notes on Hall of Fame update
  • Trauma of leaving WWE
  • Ricky Starks
  • Sonya Deville talks being let go
  • Michael Cole on the Corey Grave story

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Friday Update

Photo: WWE
  • We did our Friday show with Garrett Gonzales talking about a wide range of topics including Dwayne Johnson, WWE trauma, what is the best schedule for wrestlers, Andre vs. Maeda, David Von Erich’s death, Gran Hamada, AEW, Mistico ahttps://www.f4wonline.com/podcasts/wrestling-observer-radio-the-rock-on-wwe-smackdown-shane-mcmahon-tony-khan/t Arena Mexico and more. Bryan and I will be back Sunday night with another show.
  • So the big story is Dwayne Johnson on Raw in a few minutes. WWE will be doing a press conference at about 11 p.m.tonight with Johnson. This is what we were told. It’s more than the announcement for WrestleMania in New Orleans. The writers were confused and thrown for a loop. The six man tonight had to change. This was not as last minute as some are trying to say it was, but it did happen rather quickly. His schedule may have changed about his availability moving towards or during Mania. It’s typical Rock maneuvering, seeing what is hot and when to make his move and everyone has to then conform to whatever he wants to do. Well, they don’t have to, but they choose to because he’s perceived by the most important people as being so important to be involved if he wants to be.
  • They are expecting  a major increase in tonight’s rating. That’s hardly going out on a limb.
  • The Dwayne Johnson promo was listed for the top of hour three.
  • Cody Rhodes was pulled from the six-man tonight. I guess that means Dwayne’s appearance will have something to do with  him after all. But as you can see from the above that we were told he had to be pulled from the planned main event because of the Dwayne situation.
  • Drew McIntyre posted on Instagram that he had to get his knee drained by WWE medical prior to his match tonight.
  • ESPN reported 9.3 million viewers for last night’s U.S. vs. Canada game, the largest for any NHL game since 1971.
  • Logan Paul was announced for the 3/10 Raw in Madison Square Garden.
  • Chicago Magazine had a story on Kyle Fletcher (who lives in Chicago)
  • Giulia turns 31 today.
  • One person in AEW (not Chris Jericho, although he did like the match), said that his Collision match with Bandido was his best match in the company since the 2023 match with Will Ospreay at Wembley Stadium.  People were also raving about the Komander vs. Lee Johnson and the CMLL match on last night’s ROH streaming show. Also the main event for the Valentine’s Day Arena Mexico was something to see.  It’s top five for matches this year but as a cultural thing to watch and study, it was amazing how much you can learn about casual  fans and what they want from that match. Make sure to look at the crowd because some will try and dismiss it because  “well it’s only Mexicans.” When you actually look at the crowd you’ll realize that it’s not.
  • Paige VanZant faces Mikael- Michelle Brown on the 3/7 PowerSlap show at the Fountainebleau Hotel in Las Vegas.  Her husband, Austin Vanderford, who was on a number of episodes of Dynamite with her during the Dan Lambert angle, debuts on Saturday in Seattle for UFC

UFC tomorrow night is a Pure ESPN+ show starting at 6 p.m. Eastern:

  • Modestas Bukauskas (203) vs. Raffael Cerqueira (204)
  • Nursulton Ruziboev (184) vs. Eric McConico (184)
  • Nikolay Veretennikov (175) vs. Austin Vanderford (174) – this was agreed to be at 175
  • Ricky Simon (135) vs. Javid Basharat (16)
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik (186) vs. Nick Klein (186)
  • Andre Fili (145) vs. Meiquizael Costa (145)
  • Ion Cutelaba (205) vs. Ibo Asian (205)
  • Alonzo Menefield (205) vs. Julius Walker (205)
  • Jean Silva (145.5) vs Melsik Bagdasaryan (145)
  • Rob Font (138) vs. Jean Matsumoto (139) –  they agreed to fight at 140
  • Brendan Allen (186) vs. Anthony Hernndez (186)
  • Henry Cejudo (135) vs. Song Yadong (135)

New Japan Fantastica Mania in Osaka  today:

  • Raider & Sho & Yujiro Takahashi b Katsuya Murashima & Stigma & Xelhua
  • Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi & Max Star & Yoh b Bushi &  Kamaitachi (Hiromu Takahashi) & Tetsuya Naito & Titan
  • Neon & Ninja Mack b  Mascara Kantansu Tomato (Yota Tsuji) & Zandokan Jr.
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Mascara Dorada & Barbaro Cavernario b Hechicero & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Soberano Jr.
  • Satoshi Kojima & Ultimo Guerrero & Okumura b Atlantis Jr. & Magnus & Rugido
  • Volador Jr. & Bone Soldier Jr. (Taiji Ishimori) & Averno b El Desperado & Mistico & Templario when Averno pinned Mistico. Mistico challenged Averno to a hair vs. mask match.  Also, this match is not going to happen.
  • Defy announced for  4/17 in Las Vegas at The Pearl at the Palms Hotel will be KENTA vs. Mance Warner and Midnight Heat vs. Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson.
  • Sonya Deville will be doing a podcast under her real name of Daria Berenato.
  • David Sahadi’s 24 Station Street comedy based on pro wrestling debuted on his Bar Wisdom web site
  • Queen of the Ring is having its Los Angeles Premiere on 3/6 at 7:30 p.m. at the AMC at the Grove in Los Angeles. Special guests are Nikki & Brie Garcia and Kayla Becker (Kayla Braxton) as well as a Q&A with them, the director and some cast members.
  • They are doing a 20 percent off on Smackdown tickets for the 3/7 show in Philadelphia.