Daily Update: WWE Raw, Giulia, AEW Double or Nothing fallout

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site today:

  • A feature on the first five years of AEW and its future.  
  • A look at both the successes and as well as things not as successful
  • A look at the past, present and future
  • Why this year will be the telling point for the success of the company or not
  • What was guaranteed when AEW started
  • AEW’s business and the perceptions
  • Looking at the value of the promotion
  • History of wrestling wars and how they went down
  • How AEW can take financial advantage of WWE’s move to Netflix
  • The decline of the 18-34 male audience
  • A look in depth at the last several weeks of AEW, NBA, NHL and cable in general
  • WWE expands SummerSlam to two dates
  • El Hijo del Santo talks retirement plans
  • Looking at King & Queen of the Ring and Double or Nothing and challenges for both companies coming off the previous big shows
  • A look at the debut of Marigold, already the No. 2 women’s promotion in the world, what hit and what didn’t hit
  • The life and times of John “Bad Bones” Klinger, a European independent star who passed away this past week
  • The most detailed look at the weekly television ratings, comparisons with other shows, age breakdowns, weekly placings and more
  • Fantastica Mania in the U.S., U.K. and Mexico notes
  • Stardom PPV coverage
  • NOAH has the match of the week
  • Why New Japan changed the Dominion main event
  • All Together Now coverage
  • Best of the Super Juniors coverage’
  • Rematch of a match last year that got worldwide mainstream publicity
  • Updated WWE, AEW, TNA  and boxing PPV notes including how many wrestling fans buy boxing PPVs
  • A look at what going live vs. tape means as far as wrestling ratings
  • One of the NFL’s all-time greats who was nearly became a German heel wrestler
  • Funeral of Tony Jones
  • Lots of notes on the final nail in the coffin of WCW and the questions still not fully answered
  • Lots of injury updates
  • WBD business and AEW negotiations
  • Advanced ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE shows
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • Lots more on payouts for UFC fighters after lawsuit settlement
  • PFL fires one of its best-known fighters for speaking out
  • Mark Shapiro talks the future of WWE & UFC business
  • Injury rates in WWE and AEW
  • SummerSlam and All In advances
  • Notes on NXT Battleground
  • Top WWE star sues famous boxing star

This week’s Wresting Observer Newsletter back issue

Monday Update

  • Bryan and I will be back tonight talking about Raw and the latest wrestling news.  We may have time for questions on tonight’s show as well to  mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com
  • Raw tonight is from Savannah, GA.  A Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch cage match headlines the show that has also announced Braun Strowman vs. JD McDonagh.  There were 6,300 tickets out as of this morning which in the building they are running would be just shy of a real sellout.  So it should end up sold out.    We’re looking for reports from the live show with Main Event bouts as well as anything else not airing on television to dave@wrestlingobserver.ocm
  • There is tough competition as Boston vs. Indiana game four is tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN.  Boston has a 3-0 lead in the series, so this can clinch it, so it will do a big number.  Dallas vs. Edmonton (game three series tied 1-1) is on TNT & Tru TV tonight at 8:30 p.m. as well.  Raw is coming off a PPV show so that should help.  But the last PPV didn’t help and there wasn’t a lot of controversy relating to Raw coming off Saturday’s show.  Memorial Day often means a late audience meaning a bigger second hour than first but not as much of a third hour tune-out, but every year is different.
  • We’re looking for your thoughts on both King & Queen of the Ring as well as Double or Nothing.  You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • Tokyo Sports is reporting that Giulia will be undergoing surgery on her right wrist tomorrow.  We’ll have an update later in the week regarding whether she can make it back for her 7/13 match with Sareee at Sumo Hall for Marigold’s first major show.
  • There is no update on Adam Copeland from last night’s show.  Darby Allin was hurting when the show was over.
  • Double or Nothing was No. 11 in the most searched topics yesterday on Google.  That only meant 20,000 searches which is not a big number.  However, WWE King & Queen of the Ring as noted yesterday was the first WWE PPV show in history not  to crack the top 20 on its day, meaning less than 20,000 searches.  WWE shows previously rarely did under 200,000 and Backlash was considered low at 100,000.  
  • Floyd Mayweather at Double or Nothing was set up by Swerve Strickland getting him to the show.
  • Hope you all had a nice Memorial Day weekend.  It was a rare quiet weekend and we didn’t even get  many recommendations for non-WWE & AEW matches to watch past the Mao vs. Daisuke Sasaki King of DDT final match from yesterday.
  • Want to make mention of the death of Bill Walton, who lost his battle with cancer today at the age of 71.  Walton was one of the greatest college basketball players of all-time at UCLA, and followed by being a Hall of Fame star, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1978 championship as well as being a key player on the Boston Celtics 1986 championship team .   He later became an announcer, where he was heavily lauded.  Unfortunately his NBA career was marred by constant foot injuries but was still considered an all-time great, and on both the league’s 50th and 75th anniversary all-time teams.
  • Mike Tyson needed medical attention while boarding a flight in Miami on Sunday.   Tyson’s reps said he became nauseous and dizzy due to an ulcer flare-up 30 minutes before landing.   There were reports this caused a two hour flight delay.  His people said it had nothing to do with the delay and that the delay was due to an air conditioning issue on the flight.    
  • The first two seasons of “Heels” will debut on Netflix on 7/29.  If viewership is strong,  Netflix could decide to do a third season.
  • The Best of the Super Juniors tournament continues tomorrow at 5:30 a.m. from Numazu with B Block bouts.  The bouts are Dragon Dia vs. Ninja Mack, Kushida vs. Douki, Francesco Akira vs. Robbie Eagles,  Taiji Ishimori vs. Sho and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Drilla Moloney.
  • TNA is shutting down its $4.99 per month Ultimate Insides YouTube plan.  They are encouraging all subscribers to move to the TNA+ service.
  • We were just sent in this YouTube link for an interview that Wilma Beyer, the wife of Dick “Destroyer” Beyer did:
  • Greg Lambert has a new book called “One Fall to a Finish:  Inside the British Wrestling Boom  Years and Beyond.  The book covers the period from when ITV attempted to start a wrestling promotion, that failed, which led to WWE retaliating and forming the NXT U.K. brand.  It looks at the World of Sport vs. WWE battle in 2018, the collapse of 5 Star Wrestling and a look at companies like Progress, RevPro, ICW WAW, What Culture and Defiant Pro Wrestling.
  • Marigold announced Wrestle Universe shows on 6/1 from Osaka, 6/2 from Hamamatsu and 76/11 at Korakuen Hall.  Korakuen Hall has Sareee vs. Victoria Yuzuki and Utami Hayashishita vs. Nanae Takahashi.
  • Sukeban runs its third show on Thursday night in Los Angeles at The Trinity in Downtown Los Angeles with Commander Nakayama defending her Sukeban title against Crush Yuu, Rina Yamashita vs. Lady Antoinette vs. Atomic Banshee, Saki Birni & Babyface vs. Konami & Queen of Hearts and Sareee Bomb (Sareee) vs. Maya Mamushi.
  • XICW from Saturday night in Clinton Township, MI:  El Noctambulo & Gran Trueno b Rod Lee & Alex Lynch, Bolo b Dean Hendrix, Great Tiger & Soultaker b Marcus Porter & Thomas Bailey, Heather Blue b Stella Buho andMax egn, Dre Jacobs b Rhino, Tommy Vendetta b Crazy King, Royce Carney II & Caden Monroe & Grim Reality b Schwartzy & LeDon Saners & TJU Meyer & Trevor Straud, Maxximillain b Kyler Coleman to win the lightweight title Aaron Orion & Jack Price b N8 Mattson & Orlando Christopher, Homicide b DBA, Malcom Monroe III b Lince Dorado and Adam Wick to keep the Midwest title (thanks to Leonard Brand)