Daily Update: WWE Raw, MJF, AEW Grand Slam

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

The aftermath of the AEW brawl after All Out
Why suspensions were lifted
The CM Punk injury and how it changes things
AEW video game promotion in Japan
What people under suspension aren’t allowed to do
Tony Khan position
Clearing up some wrestling stories
Ideas for AEW to improve the developmental rate of its young talent
The most important thing for AEW long-term
Ways to get wrestlers more time in the ring
Ways to get wrestlers more time learning promos and angles
Complete coverage of UFC 279
The life and death of UFC star Elias Theodorou
Coverage of this past week’s Stardom PPV show
How every wrestling show this past week did in the ratings, competition, football, where WWE & AEW fall in entertainment standings, how the segments on the major shows did
Unique finish to set up CMLL tournament final
Final build to the anniversary show
CMLL star undergoes surgery
Promotion talk about new reality show idea
Stardom Five Star Grand Prix update
New Japan and Stardom business rundowns, profits, losses, revenue, streaming numbers
Kota Ibushi update
Yuji Nagata celebrates 30 years in the ring
New Japan Strong TV for the future
Talk about the Desperado vs. Jun Kasai bloodbath
Generational dream match announced between 80 legend and modern legend
Konosuke Takeshita’s ten year anniversary
Ricky Steamboat returns to the ring
How viewing is changing
Story behind Steamboat’s comeback
More on movies about 80s stars and a movie on the life of modern star
Hall of Famer from Japan wants match with Moxley
Wrestling cartoon show canceled
Latest on WBD and wrestling
More AEW injury news
Ticket sale numbers for WWE & AEW shows
International TV numbers
Streaming numbers
More on the business of doing major shows
Commission examining UFC backstage brawl
More Clash at the Castle news
WWE projected revenue for this year
Why Raw will have a problem next week
Gable Steveson update
New talent coming to NXT
A&E bio news

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Monday News Update

Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw and the latest pro wrestling news. You can also send questions to the show to mailbag@wrestlingobserver.com We often don’t get to questions but if you’ve got anything related to current news or interesting history I will try and get to it tonight.

Raw is tonight in San Jose. There were more than 7,500 tickets out as of earlier today which is normal for Raw these days. Bobby Lashley defends the U.S. title against Seth Rollins, Austin Theory has a rematch with Kevin Owens and there is a Miz TV segment where Miz has invited Dexter Lumis.

Raw has killer competition today. There two different NFL games tonight, a Bills-Titans gae at 7:15 p.m. Eastern and a Vikings-Eagles game at 8:30 p.m. One is on ABC and the other is on ESPN. Last week was killer competition because the game was so big and drew 20 million viewers, but from 8:30 to probably 10:30 Raw will go against two different games at the same time. If ratings are in the same range as last week or even down, that will be the major reason.

MJF was with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour today. There was trouble the last time he did that show because he didn’t clear his appearance but this time the appearance was cleared. He seems to have dropped the I can’t wait to go to WWE direction and now is going with the idea that he will go to whoever pays him the best when his contract is up and he’s happy in AEW and the company is doing great.

Tony Khan noted today that Wednesday’s show at Arthur Ashe Stadium has passed last year’s show at the gate, which would be $960,000. He’s hoping it will be the first AEW television show in history to do a $1 million gate. Tickets sold will be well below the 18,300 of last year’s show (sales, the number in the building was just over 20,000 last year) but with higher ticket prices the gate is already the largest ever for a Dynamite or a Rampage. With a great last few days it could threaten the company’s all-time record at Double or Nothing this year.

We’re looking for live reports from the show tonight for Main Event matches and any dark matches as well as reports from WWE last night in Oakland to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

We’re also looking for your thoughts on the CMLL Anniversary show on Friday night, you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

MLW taped last night in Norcross, GA, its first television taping in several months. Hugo Savinovich, the legendary announcer (who is part of the AAA creative team with Konnan) worked as a backstage agent at the show.

Just to clarify everything on the Kenny Omega to TripleMania story. AAA was hoping to get Omega to wrestle El Hijo del Vikingo for the Mega championship on 10/15. Because Omega is suspended and under contract to AEW, if AEW would have allowed it they wouldn’t be able to based on the suspension. It wasn’t as if the match was planned but AAA was hoping for that match or if not, Vikingo vs, Fenix for the title. It looks like Vikingo vs. Fenix will be the match. Pending resolution of the suspension, this all could change but as of right now the betting line is Vikingo vs. Fenix as the title match on that show.

The article on Jay Dumont that had been taken down twice in the last week by WWE is back up. Hopefully whatever issues caused it to be taken down have been rectified.

Ronda Rousey reportedly worked as a heel last night in Oakland in the Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Shotzi & Xia Li match. Rousey & Baszler have been regularly working as a tag team on house shows.

Other Notes

Jairzinho Rozenstruk vs. Chris Daukaus has been added to the 12/10 UFC 282 PPV show from Las Vegas. The two were to fight on 10/1 but UFC has moved the fight for undisclosed reasons.

UWC on 10/1 in Bordentown, NJ at the Elks Lodge with a five-person trick or treat match. Five wrestlers begin with a match in the ring and the first to score a pin or submission gets a future championship match. The loser gets nothing and the other three get an envelope that will contain either a trick or a treat.

Kurt Angle has been added to The Gathering Event coming to Charlotte.

Jesse Ventura is coming out with a book called “American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies and More Dirty Lies that the Government tells up” in 2023.

Missy Hyatt had filed a trademark for the nickname “First Lady of Professional Wrestling” for marketing ideas.

Combate Global, which has been running Friday nights, is running Saturday night from their usual building in Miami at 11 p.m. Eastern with Lucero Acosta (2-2) vs. Mariel Celimen (2-1) in a women’s match. There is a Campbell McLaren (CEO of Combate) quote in the press release saying, “This fight between La Loba (Acosta) and Mariel Celimen will be the most watched women’s MMA fight in history and it will be a good indicator as far as which of these reinas will eventually rule the women’s flyweight division in Combate Global.” I’m still trying to come to grips with making sense out of this quote, like somehow more people are going to watch this than Ronda Rousey’s fights. Acosta is billed as an Internet sensation on YouTube, Instagram and Snap and there was something between the two of them in the gym where they had a sparring session that got serious according to the release.