Daily Update: UFC, Vince McMahon, streaming

UFC logo

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The highlights of the issue:

  • The WrestleMania direction
  • First WWE show on Netflix
  • John Cena, The Rock, Undertaker and more and what things on the show garnered the most interest
  • Businessnotes on the show
  • Positives, negatives and goals of the show
  • How the show did on Netflix and deciphering what the different numbers mean
  • How advertising works comparing television vs. streaming
  • Hulk Hogan reaction
  • Changes on the show
  • Run time change
  • TKO looking at getting into the boxing business with Saudi Arabia
  • Kenny Omega returns for the Tokyo Dome show
  • In depth on New Japan business concerns and Bushiroad CEO Takaaki Kidani speaks on a number of issues
  • The business of the two Dome shows
  • Takaaki Kidani talks about his thoughts about a future WrestleDynasty show
  • Zack Sabre Jr. does something unprecedented and a list of all  non-Japanese who have won an NJPW Tokyo Dome main event
  • The Chris Charlton story in depth
  • Did the injury to  Douki change the finish?
  • Where do Young Bucks rank among most world tag team title reigns in history
  • A look at the career of the late Rick  “Hangman” Harris/Black Bart
  • Who had the most four star matches of 2024 and the most in history
  • Who has the most of the top 250 matches of all-time on Cagematch
  • Explaining how ratings are changing and how to reevaulate numbers
  • How many homes have access to the different services
  • Quality of watching on MAX vs. TBS
  • Tourist board putting on a major international show
  • Another big business week for CMLL
  • New Year’s Dash notes
  • Notes on the next major New Japan shows
  • New Japan bodybuilding contest
  • The death of Gilbert Cesca, one of the best technical wrestlers that you never heard of
  • Germany has a prime time major celebrity wrestling show featuring Claudio Castagnoli
  • Malakai Black news
  • Ticket advances for WWE & AEw shows
  • Streaming numbers and International TV ratings
  • How did TNA debut on SportsNet in Canada
  • GFL announces lots of women stars’
  • Paul Levesque talks planning WrestleMania and The Rock
  • Update on Bill Goldberg
  • Nick Khan and Dwayne Johnson stock transactions this week
  • How much does WWE help the USA Network

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Friday Update

The Rock & Vince McMahon
  • Garrett Gonzales and I are doing our news show today and there is a lot to talk about from the past week, between Tokyo Dome, Netlflix debut, examining the numbers, the Vince McMahon story and a lot more.  Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night covering Collision and Battle in the Valley as well as Smackdown.
  • Regarding the story that UFC is looking at getting $1 billion in its next U.S. media rights deal, that story really doesn’t mean a lot.  They are looking for the highest amount they can get.  WWE with the same people in charge of negotiating the deal talked about 50% and 70% numbers for rights increases and the Raw number you can’t calculate because it includes worldwide rights to Raw, NXT and Smackdown, but overall the real value didn’t increase near the level they had talked about.  But right now the UFC deal is a hot deal, with the key being the PPV shows as they would be looking for a much higher guarantee.  For them, right now, ESPN is the best partner they could have domestically.  If Netflix got into the PPV business, they would be the best partner on a worldwide basis.  But the key is still who offers the best deal.
  • On the Vince McMahon story, while he tried to put a spin on it like all investigations regarding him are over, this has nothing to do with the criminal investigation.  However a CNBC report stated that has ended.  Ann Callis, the lawyer for Janel Grant, said differently but with the administration change I didn’t expect them to continue to go after a McMahon.  Basically the SEC found that McMahon violated the SEC Act by knowingly circumventing WWE’s internal accounting controls and made false and misleading statements to WWE’s auditor.    So he kept the information regarding the NDA’s from the company itself which led to WWE claiming 8 percent more in profits during 2018 and 1.7 percent more in 2021.  McMahon tried to call it a minor accounting error.
  • The plans for a streaming service that would have all the ESPN channels, FOX, FS 1, FS 2, TBS, TNT and Tru have been dropped.  It was announced the companies have decided to not pursue that idea.  There was a regulatory concern regarding all three companies working together on the service.
  • Smackdown is tonight in Portland, OR.  It’s another three-hour show.  The only stuff announced was Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight for the U.S. title and a Tiffany Stratton celebration.   There were 8,618 tickets out for the show as of last night.
  • AEW’s Wednesday Dynamite did 615,000 viewers and an 0.17 in 18-49.  Without knowing the MAX numbers it’s impossible to fully evaluate what this means.  It’s up from last week, but last week went against a monster college football game and January 1st isn’t usually a great day for ratings.  The NBA, news (obviously due to the California fires) and Challenge were all way up and ABC had a really big night as well.  Dynamite was fourth in the time slot on cable.  Without knowing what audience went to MAX that had watched on television we can’t say what an 0.17 means.  If 20 plus percent migrated and the show did an 0.21, that’s very good for the show.  If nobody did and it’s 0.17, that’s nothing special.  Nobody is implausible as a number while even 25 percent is possible but would be higher than most migrations.
  • Kurt Angle and Bill Apter were inducted into the International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Albany, NY last night.  Angle had other commitments the night of the 2025 banquet so they set up a separate induction yesterday.
  • Blue Panther, who will be allowed to wear his mask, headlines Arena Mexico in a singles match against Hechicero the night before the Hechicero vs. Zack Sabre Jr., match in San Jose.  It’s the second week of Arena Mexico being based around rematches of the matches of the month from last year, with the prior Panther vs. Hechiceor match winning for June.
  • We’re looking for reports from these shows: Smaackdown tonight in Portland, OR (dark matches only), MLW tomorrow night at 10 p.m. Eastern  from North Richland Hills, TX, Collision tomorrow night in Athens, GA (ROH results and any other matches not on the live show)
  • We’ll also be doing a poll on Battle in the Valley tomorrow so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • Tomorrow night has a lot of options.  Collision and NXT are both 8-10 p.m.  NXT is being replayed from Tuesday on CW, nationally, a decision made Wednesday because it didn’t air in Southern California due to the local stations coverage of the fires.  Battle in the Valley starts at 9:30 p.m. Eastern and MLW at 10 p.m. Eastern.
  • UFC also returns running from 4-10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+:

Nurullo Aliev (155.5) vs. Joe Solecki (155)
FatimaKline (116) vs. Victoriia Dudakova (116)
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (205) vs. Bruno Lopes (205.5)
Ernesta Kareckaite (126) s. Nicolle Caliari (125.5)
Preston Parsons (171) vs. Jacobe Smith (170.5)
Thiago Moises (155.5) vs. Trey Ogden (155.5)
Marcu Tulio (185.5) vs. Ihor Potieria (188) – Potieria missed weight by two pounds and was fined 20 percent of his purse
Jose Johnson (128.5) vs. Felipe Burns (126) – Johnson missed weight by 2.5 pounds and was fined 25 percent of his purse
Uros Medic (171) vs. Punahele Soriano (171)
Christian Rodriguez (145) vs. Austin Bashi (145.5)
Chris Curtis (185.5) vs. Roman Koplyov (185.5)
Abdul Razaki Alhassan (185.5) vs. Cesar Almeida (185.5)
Santiago Ponzinibbio (171) vs. Carlston Harris (170)
Mackenzie Dern (116) vs. Amanda Ribas (116)