Daily Update: TKO stock, Cody Rhodes, MLW SuperFight

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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

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • TKO Group Holdings stock closed today at $87.91 per share, down 1.92 percent after yesterday’s 15.8 percent increase.
  • In an interview with CBS Sports, Cody Rhodes spoke about how he and Bullet Club/The Elite were able to change the pro wrestling world:
          • I think as I grow old I’ll probably wax poetic and grow even fonder of the things I was able to be a part of. The people I was able to team with. When we were a group, The Bullet Club, The Elite, the idea was to change the world. We really did actually change, at least, our world.
          • The reality is I can name about eight people. If one of them weren’t there it wouldn’t have happened. An alternative wouldn’t exist. It wouldn’t have spring-boarded me into the position I am now. All of these factors — and the biggest factor being the fans themselves.
  • Bleacher Report and ESPN also have interviews with Rhodes.
  • Rhodes reiterated that he isn’t worried about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson interrupting his story:
          • You mentioned ‘The Great One’ The Rock, nothing but respect for him. I went and saw ‘Jungle Cruise,’ I’m a Rock fan. I don’t think he’s the type that would come in and meddle with a story that’s been being told over the past two years. I think he’s probably up to something else, but you never know with WWE. I’ll be watching just like everybody else when I’m not wrestling.
  • The Rock told Fox News that he has no intention of running for president:
          • I’m honored. I’m not a politician, [I] never had the intentions to be a politician. As all this continues to take shape and form, and I get it, especially ramping up into this year in particular with an election year. I actually got approached by both parties. One after the other. I said, then, as I say now, ‘I’m honored, thank you. The most important thing I’m doing now is being a daddy to my little girls.’ I like school drop-offs, and I like pick-ups. I like that and I know if I were to ever go down that road, which I have no intention to, all that goes away, and I don’t want that to go away.
  • New Day’s Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods reunited for an appearance on WWE’s The Bump this afternoon. Comedian Jay Pharoah was also a guest on the show.
  • TNT Sports in the United Kingdom interviewed Jey Uso.
  • Bianca Belair & Montez Ford appeared on the latest episode of First We Feast’s Snacked.
  • In a video for GQ Sports, Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins revealed the 10 things they can’t live without.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • Samoa Joe offered some praise for Hook during an interview with WrestleZone:
          • What a tough kid. I mean of all the lambs that I’ve slaughtered lately that was by far the toughest sheep I’ve ever had encountered. Let’s be honest here. I mean, Hook is very young. He’s a very tough and very durable individual, incredibly strong for his size. I will admit that. But when it comes down to it, he’s the type of dangerous individual that I knew I needed to squash out immediately. You gotta go after the dangers in this world. And you know, he’s a very, very dangerous young man who’s still becoming the predator that someday he hopes to be. But I was more than happy to remind him of his place in the grander scheme of things and how the food chain works.
  • Shop AEW released a “Final Encounter” T-shirt for Sting’s last match at Revolution.
  • AEW shared a behind-the-scenes video with Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett embracing the Briscoe family backstage after the tribute to Jay Briscoe on last week’s Dynamite.
  • Eddie Kingston appeared on Going Ringside.
  • Rocky Romero will defend his MLW Middleweight title against Ichiban in a two-out-of-three falls match at MLW SuperFight in Philadelphia on Saturday, February 3.
  • MLW also announced Sami Callihan vs. AKIRA in a Death Machine Rules match for SuperFight. It’s an anything goes match.