Daily Update: Vince McMahon, UFC, Google trends

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

The new issue of the Observer is up on the site with these stories:

  • The return of Vince McMahon, the sales talks, and the departure of Stephanie McMahon
  • Who is in charge of running the company right now
  • What Vince McMahon’s role is today
  • How Vince McMahon got back in power
  • A look at different entities who have expressed interest in WWE
  • Can Tony Khan get control of WWE
  • What kind of numbers are we talking about for the deal
  • What is the current market value of WWE
  • The Saudi Arabia rumors
  • How far did the rumors spread
  • What the experience of the UFC sale in 2016 tells you about what is said publicly
  • Notes from the meeting Stephanie McMahon, Frank Riddick and Nick Khan had with all the company employees
  • If something happens with Saudi Arabia, what would be the likely repercussions based on previous sports world examples
  • What companies did Nick Khan bring up to employees when talking the sale
  • Changes in WWE morale
  • 2022 Business year in review for pro wrestling, MMA and boxing major events
  • Biggest crowds of the year
  • Main eventers on top for the most biggest crowds
  • PPV numbers for the year
  • Who drew the most 15,000+ crowds
  • UFC gate numbers
  • List of $2 million gates
  • Biggest pro wrestling drawing card each year since 1916
  • Biggest drawing cards in history
  • The changing of the media landscape and how this effects AEW and WWE
  • Analysis of the losses incurred by FOX on Smackdown by Morgan Stanley
  • The career of wrestler and promoter Johnny Powers, one of the biggest stars of the 60s and 70s
  • The attempt to promote nationally and what happened
  • How he got his first break with Bruno Sammartino
  • Multiple world title matches around the world
  • His runs with major promotions
  • Being the star of the NWF
  • How Powers figured into the early days of New Japan Pro Wrestling and his biggest matches there
  • How Powers was promoted in Japan
  • Powers and the Greatest 18 Club
  • Full coverage of PWG Battle of Los Angeles with thoughts on the shows, where PWG stands, background of the appearance of Chris Jericho, who you should keep your eyes on and match-by-match coverage
  • A look back at the career of Black Warrior
  • The most detailed look at the ratings from all the shows this past week as well as segment-by-segment
  • Mexican iconic character looking at retiring
  • Sting’s last match in Japan
  • Major change in New Japan’s U.S. approach
  • Update on Sasha Banks/Mercedes Mone in New Japan with more dates
  • How Mercedes moved tickets for her first match
  • A look at the major matches on the next new Japan tour
  • Superstar Billy Graham health update
  • TV announcer starts up promoting new group
  • The death of the real Bobby Heenan, and how the pro wrestling legend found out about his brother and his family
  • Adam Cole’s return
  • Kyle O’Reilly gives health update
  • Streaming numbers for AEW and WWE
  • International TV numbers
  • Attendance for upcoming shows
  • California legislators critical of Dana White
  • Dana White talks at press conference about his situation
  • Bellator signs perhaps its top fighter
  • Phil Baroni charged with homicide and facing a lifetime in jail
  • PFL announces new tournaments
  • WWE tries to get things removed from the discovery process in MLW lawsuit
  • How slow the courts can be on these situations
  • How much did Shane McMahon earn from WWE in 2022
  • Former New Japan wrestler quietly started in WWE camp this week

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Sunday Update

My weekend show with Garrett Gonzales is up on the site now and I’ll be back with Bryan tonight covering the weekend news. You can send questions to the show to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com

Regarding a note from this past week’s Observer regarding how quickly things change, we had been told Vince McMahon was only back regarding facilitating a sale and wouldn’t be in the office or making changes, but that has already changed. Ringside News first reported McMahon having been back in the office and suggesting changes, and we’ve confirmed that story as well. Talent was told on Friday that Paul Levesque would remain in charge of creative and Levesque threw out a scenario that Vince could make suggestions and he talks to several people about creative and they can make suggestions but he is the guy making the final calls. 

It’s back to business as usual in UFC. They had the first show and Dana White headed the press conference announcing that Francis Ngannou is no longer with the company and that Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane face off for the heavyweight title on 3/4. White said that Ngannou was offered more money than any heavyweight in history (he most ever was Brock Lesnar who got $8 million for his last fight) to face Jones and threw the knock that Ngannou was looking for easier competition. Last year there was a lot of talk of Ngannou wanting to box Tyson Fury and his being able to get far more as a boxer, even though it’s a fight he’d have very little chance in. Ngannou vs. Jon Jones would be a big fight that would be the biggest PPV event UFC can put on right now. UFC had to pay fairly big to get Jones to sign for eight fights. Ngannou’s second move, if the first one is Fury, would be interesting. It would feel like the best move economically would be a return to UFC, but Bellator and PFL would certainly at least try to nab him. But if the asking price is more than Lesnar, I don’t see how it makes economic sense.

In last night’s UFC main event, Sean Strickland beat Nassourdine Imavov with his size difference. All three judges gave Strickland the first four rounds and Imavov the fifth.

The controversial decision was Raquel Pennington over Ketlen Vieira. Bell gave Pennington the first two rounds. Derek Cleary gave Pennington rounds two and three. Sal D’Amato gave Vieira one and three. But 87 percent of media scores were for Vieira.

As far as Google searches this weekend go, it’s obviously dominated by football. The UFC was No. 6 yesterday but more for the Ngannou, Jones and Gane news than the show itself.

We’re looking for your thoughts on Friday’s Impact Hard to Kill show, 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

We’re also looking for reports on the WWE show tonight in Corbin, KY, results, finishes and any other notes to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

WWE from last night in Roanoke, VA:
Candice LeRae b Bayley-DQ for interference by Io Sky and Dakota Kai in a quick match. Liv Morgan and Tegan Nox made the save leading to:
Morgan & Nox & LeRae b Bayley & Sky & Kai
Omos b Mustafa Ali
Dolph Ziggler b Baron Corbin with a superkick
Dominik Mysterio b Butch
Drew McIntyre & Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows b Imperium
Dexter Lumis b Chad Gable. Otis tried to interfere and was thrown out
Charlotte Flair b Shayna Baszler to keep the Smackdown women’s title
Austin Theory b Seth Rollins with the same low blow finish they’ve been doing for weeks. (thanks to Jason Gallo)

United Wrestling Network from last night in Mesa, AZ: Clark Connors b Jakob Austin Young, Midnight Heat b Reno Scum to win the tag titles, Zeda Zhang b Danielle Kamela, Kevin Martenson b Davey Richards, Bad Dude Tito won four-way over Shawn Dean, Joey Janela and Willie Mack, Peter Avalon b R3 Cassus, Alexander Hammerstone b Ortiz, Danny Limelight NC Eddie Kingston in a UWN title match, Invictus Khash won a Rumble

Not a wrestling story, but a major WBD story is that the fourth season of Snowpiercer was canceled by TNT. It’s part of WBD cuts and it was the last remaining scripted television series on TNT. The decision had already been announced this would be the last season of the show. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)

A story about Apollo Crews and the WWE’s tryouts in Nigeria next month.

FOX used both Paul Heyman and Nate Diaz on its broadcast of the San Francisco 49ers game yesterday. Diaz did some pregame hype and Heyman cut a promo on Brock Purdy, the 49ers quarterback, being the next big thing.

In the new Netflix movie The Fall, in which two girls are stuck on top of a 2,000 feet tower, as one is about to fall asleep, the other one tries to make her stay awake by asking her what she was doing with her dead as a kid. She answered that they used to watch wrestling together and mentions her favorite wrestlers as Steve Austin, The Rock, Bautista and then asked what was Cactus Jack’s name with a mask and then remembered and said Mankind. (thanks to Pat Laprade)

Jon Moxley appeared today for Cavalcade of Customs in his home city of Cincinnati (thanks to Brian Henke) 

Lance LeVine noted to us Freelance in Chicago had a really fun show last night at the Logan Square Auditorium, which was packed with almost 600 fans to see Ricky Morton. The highlight as local tag champs the Bang Bros who did some imitations of Sheamus moves because of the Banger Bros name.