Daily Update: UFC notes, ROH, Impact

Daily Update

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Latest Free YouTube Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iGQZFdsPGA

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

*The biggest issue of the year, the 2022 Awards issue is up on the site

*Winners and top ten finishes in dozens of categories related to both pro wrestling and MMA as well as as listing of everyone who had won an award dating back to 1980. We also have comments on the voting in the major categories and notes on different career breakthroughs.

*Match of the week and performer of the week

*Full coverage of Elimination Chamber, the decision on the main event, the WrestleMania direction, different options, WrestleMania ticket demand, records set at Chamber, and Tony Khan and Ariel Helwani

*Coverage of Keiji Muto’s retirement at the Tokyo Dome with the unique storytelling in the main event and some great matches underneath

*Mercedes Mone returns after nine months to win the IWGP women’s title with full coverage of New Japan in San Jose, Mone’s future in Japan, who is in for a major push in Stardom, notes on Stardom’s upcoming biggest show in its history and some of the top matches

*The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week for all wrestling shows, including segment by segment, why AEW Dynamite and WWE Raw were up and other notes

*Mercedes Mone talks coming to Stardom

*Stardom tournament updates and next big show

*Notes from the Yuji Nagata vs. Kento Miyahara Triple Crown change and future All Japan big shows

*What country is New Japan talking about touring soon

*Fantastica Mania notes

*Notes on the Jerry Jarrett funeral and more Memphis wrestling history

*The death of Richard Belzer and the incident with Hulk Hogan

*Kurt Angle talks health issues

*Death of Brian Bukantis

*WBD business update

*Contract notes on top AEW talent

*Lineup for Revolution

*Ticket advances for all WWE & AEW shows

*Streaming numbers for AEW & WWE

*International TV ratings including what show broke its all-time record in what country

*Congressman going after Power Slap

*New UFC fights

*More on WWE potential sale and value

*Details of how if there is a Saudi Arabian purchase of WWE and how interested they are in it, what that would mean

*Notes on the debut of Dwayne Johnson’s XFL

*A&E documentary notes

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Sunday Update

Both of our weekend shows are up on the site now. Garrett and I did a show mostly talking the 2022 Awards and other news of the week. Last night Bryan and I talked about the debut of ROH tapings and other weekend show notes.

Last night’s UFC show saw the main event not take place as Nikita Krylov was ill and not allowed to face Ryan Spann. A lot of the talk ended up around the return of Tatiana Suarez, who came back after three years of injuries to beat Montana De La Rosa via second round submission.

ROH did its first television tapings for Honor Club yesterday. Results are up on the site from J.J. Williams. It appears the TV shows will be two hours based on the tapings although that was not confirmed. The first show, featuring Claudio Castagnoli vs. AR Fox for the ROH title, starts this coming Thursday. They are also taping today. The big stuff for the PPV show in Los Angeles on 3/31 looks to be Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston for the ROH title and Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe for the ROH TV title. Zack Sabre Jr. was the big surprise at the taping. Aussie Open was there as well. Trish Adora got a win. They did ten matches for the first show and nine for the second show. Mascara Dorada worked the show as Gran Metalik. From what we were told, Dorada has gotten the rights to use his WWE name. Dralistico & Rush worked as a tag team.

A couple of notes from last night’s Impact tapings. Chris Bey & Ace Austin won the tag titles from the Motor City Machine Guns. Yuya Uemura needed medical attention after a power bomb from Sami Callihan. It was a scary situation and Uemura was down for what seemed to be five minutes but was eventually able to get up and seemed okay. Impact was still pushing Uemura & Jonathan Gresham were scheduled to face Black Taurus & Mike Bailey at today’s tapings. Josh Alexander retained his title over KENTA in what was said to have been a great match. The tag title change was also said to be great. (thanks to Alex Keeling)

We’re looking for reports from tonight’s WWE show in Rockford, IL, last night’s NXT show in Lakeland, FL and today’s Impact tapings in Las Vegas to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

In the Google searches this week, the UFC show yesterday didn’t crack the top 20. Nothing from wrestling all week cracked the top 20. The Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury boxing match was No. 3 on Thursday with 200,000 searches and No. 1 yesterday with 1 million. Floyd Mayweather’s boxing exhibition in England was No. 11 with 50,000.

The funeral from Tuesday for Jerry Jarrett is available here. As we noted, Dave Brown and Jeff Jarrett’s speeches are really good. The best thing was a poem of sorts that Jerry himself wrote that his daughter Jennifer read about his life. It’s worth going out of your way to see.

George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers, who is a pro wrestling fan whose favorite wrestler is Pentagon Jr. said he’d be interested in doing WWE after he retires.

There is a story of sorts. I presume it’s an angle but we’ll probably know for sure in a few days on it. AEW tweeted out all of its Observer award wins except tag team of the year (FTR). Dax Harwood made a comment about it and AEW then tweeted out how the Briscoes won feud of the year (vs, FTR in ROH) and but only mentioned the Briscoes and not FTR. There is a surprise joker team in the Casino tag team Battle Royale on Wednesday night at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. If FTR returns as a surprise on that show or in some form at the PPV, then it’s an angle to make you think they are on bad terms to lead to the return as a surprise. If we don’t see FTR again, then it would be something else.

After they announced Roman Reigns would be wrestling in the main event at the house show in Toronto this coming weekend, they sold 600 tickets. It’s not John Cena but it is solid late movement.

Last night’s WWE show from Champaign, IL:

      • Becky Lynch pinned Bayley
      • Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson b Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio
      • Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler b Natalya & Tegan Nox. This was to get them ready for Friday’s show
      • Usos & Solo Sikoa b Braun Strowman & Ricochet & Drew McIntyre. Jey wasn’t out with Jimmy & Solo and it was 3-on-2. Then during the match Jey came out of the crowd and joined them and they won. Jey then left the ring and didn’t go to the back with Jimmy & Sikoa
      • Cody Rhodes b Finn Balor. After the match Gallows & Anderson came out and Cody and them used the too sweet and talked about all being part of the Bullet Club together
      • Bray Wyatt b LA Knight in a lights out dark match similar to their PPV match
      • Charlotte Flair retained the Smackdown women’s title in a four-way over Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan and Zoey Stark with the figure eight on Deville
      • Austin Theory b Seth Rollins in the same match they always do at the house shows with the low blow behind the refs back and ATL finish (thanks to Alex Gotch)

The UFC YouTube channel today was airing the celebration of life of Stephan Bonnar.

How the WWE teaches you about politics.

From the New York Times. (thanks to Mike Stack, Greg Oliver and Irv Muchnick)