Daily Update: WWE Elimination Chamber, SmackDown, Fantastica Mania

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Highlights:

  • A complete look at  WWE & UFC business, the numbers, the trends, prospectus for 2025, why profits were so low, Saudi Arabia, media rights, crazy gates, boxing, , new TV shows and more.
  • The return to WWE of Dwayne Johnson, why it happened, where it has the most effect, the Rhodes angle and more.
  • Vince McMahon legal updates, latest arguments in the Grant case, as well as notes from the shareholder lawsuit against WWE and members of the board or letting McMahon back in the company, charges about the investigation and lots of new news regarding the board of directors actions from the day of the first Wall Street Journal article until the McMahon return.
  • Osamu Nishimura passes away, one of the smoothest wrestlers of modern times
  • Ryan Nemeth’s lawsuit against AEW, Tony Khan and CM Punk, legitimacy, silliness, claims and more details on those claims
  • Preview of Elimination Chamber and AEW Revolution, odds, cards and consumer demand
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the major U.S. wrestling shows
  • What is notable about Torneo Escuelas
  • Stardom has excellent PPV show
  • Fantastica Mania notes
  • Promotion sues a fan
  • Queen of the Ring notes and history form that period
  • Death of Portland announcer Don Coss
  • Lawsuit involving WWE Hall of Fame settled
  • Woman star has health issue
  • Major injury updates
  • WBD business
  • Lots of new AEW matches
  • Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
  • More on UFC & WWE 2026 business prospects with new deals coming in
  • Why the TKO stock price dropped greatly
  • Dark Side of the Cage notes
  • More on discontent with WWE employees
  • Goals of the WWE/UFC/PBR weekend in Kansas City
  • Stephanie McMahon update

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Friday Update

  • Garrett Gonzales and I will be back today with Wrestling Observer Radio, both covering the latest news and also talking with Ian Douglass about the history of black competitors in the pro wrestling world and his newest book. Bryan and I will be back Saturday night talking Elimination Chamber and Collision, as well as at least some Fantastica Mania.
  • Betonline has taken the men’ s Chamber match off the books.  Reasons are unclear.  Usually this happens when there is fear of something being fixed due to betting patterns.  Not sure why it would with pro wrestling.  But a ton of betting has come in on Drew McIntyre (thanks to David Taylor)
  • There was a change in Smackdown tonight.  We’re waiting for word as to why, but Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight is out and instead they are doing a tournament for a shot at Nakamura.   Knight vs. Santos Escobar, Jacob Fatu vs. Andrade and Carmelo Hayes vs. Braun Strowman are tournament matches.
  • A couple of notes in the new issue.  We had reported Dwayne Johnson’s cat had passed away but it was his dog named Hobbs.  Also, Hanan & Saya Iida retained the Stardom tag titles against Mei Seira & Suzu Suzuki in  a great match.  Originally we listed that as a title change.

Fantastica Mania’s final show of the tour was earlier today at Korakuen Hall.  People have raved about the last three bouts:

  • Raider b Max Star
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ninja Mack & Ryusuke Taguchi & Xelhua b Kamaitachi (Hiromu Takahashi) & Mascara Kantansu Tomato (Yota Tsuji) & Titan & ZandokanJr.
  • Satoshi Kojima & Okumura & Ultimo Guerrero b Atlantis Jr. & Bone Soldier Jr. (Taiji Ishimori) & Stigma
  • Magnus & Rugido  & Volador Jr. b El Desperado & Neon & Templario
  • Hechicer b Barbaro Cavernario
  • Mascara Dorada b Soberano Jr.
  • Mistico b Averno to retain the MLW middleweight title

I haven’t seen the show but I did see the Thursday show and the top three bouts were tremendous, especially Atlantis Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero.  Mascara Dorada was great in his match, as was Templario in his.

  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Angel de Oro headlines Arena Mexico tonight for the Never open weight title.  The finals of the Torneo de Escuela with Team Queretaro vs  Team Mexico City vs. Team Puebla is tonight.  This tournament has been tremendous and it’s really something that could only work in Mexico.  It’s five top young prospects from each city who have never been on a major stage before.  Last Friday’s match went 33:00 and was amazing with super heat.
  • The brother of Atlantis Jr will be debuting under the name El Hijo del Atlantis.
  • There have been lots of tributes to Osamu Nishimura in Japan and elsewhere over the past day.  Nishimura died at 53 yesterday after a second long battle with cancer.  He had continued to do 200 squats every day in the hospital.  He had been battling Esophageal Cancer which had spread.

UFC tomorrow on ESPN+  from the Apex at 4 pm. Eastern

  • Charles Johnson (125) vs. Ramazan Temirov (125.5)
  • Andrea Lee (126) vs. JJ Aldrich (126)
  • Lucas Almeida (148) vs. Danny Silver (145.5) – Almeida missed weight by two pounds and was fined 20 percent of his purse
  • Ricardo Ramos (146) vs. Chepe Mariscal (146)
  • Austen Lane (249.5) vs. Mario Pinto (246.3)
  • Danny Barlow (170.5) vs. Sam Patterson (170.5)
  • William Gomis (146) vs. Hyder Amil (146)
  • Nasrat Haqparast (156) vs. Esteban Ribovis (156)
  • Julian Marquez (186) vs. Cody Brundage (186)
  • Manel KIape (126) vs. Asu Almabayev (126)
  • The Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. John Castaneda fight was canceled due to medical issues regarding Silva de  Andrade.  Luana Carolina vs. Montana de la Rosa was canceled due t o issues with Carolina missing weight. This is the third time she’s missed weight.
  • Ian Douglass has an article on the Clarence Bouldin, who may have been the first black world champion in pro wrestling history, with a caveat, he hid the fact he was black and claimed he was Cuban
  • Maccabiah Mania, with my longtime friend Jeff Bukantz at 67 wrestling Crowbar in his final match airs on YouTube as Wrestling with Wregret at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.  Ken Patera, Brian Zane and Mike Omansky will be announcing. Bukantz, under a mask as Mighty Maccabee, was featured in one of the best selling DVDs ever in pro wrestling.
  • Sandman and Jay Lethal were announced as appearing at Barely Lethal on 3/28 for AIW at The Roxy in Lakewood, OH.  Haku will appear on a 4/26 show at the Tamor Shrine in Akron, OH.
  • Nic Nemeth appears on Saturday’s Memphis Wrestling TV show.  The main event is billed as a WWEID tag team match with Sean Legacy & Cappuccino Jones vs. Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes.
  • At the Queen of the Ring premiere on Tuesday in New York at the AMC Lincoln Center, Madusa & Jazz will join Trish Stratus & Lita along with members of the cast and director.
  • Mauro Ranallo and Don Callis will be a team doing the announcing for the 3/14 and 3/15 Maple Leaf Wrestling shows in Windsor, ONT at St. Clair University.