Daily Update: WWE Raw, Stephanie McMahon & Triple H, Don West

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

  • Among the highlights:
  • Match and performer of the week
  • A look at Forbidden Door
  • The most detailed business notes and poll results on the show
  • The unique ticket selling aspect
  • How injuries plagued the show
  • Plans that changed not due to injury
  • AEW injury rate
  • What we’ve learned about AEW, PPV and what can draw that people thought couldn’t from this show
  • Why people both did and didn’t buy the show
  • Who bought this and Double or Nothing, and who bought this that didn’t buy Double or Nothing
  • The ball being dropped on the follow-up
  • How much money the show took in
  • Where the show ranked as far as biggest AEW shows
  • Complete rundown of every match
  • Abraham Riesman’s story on Vince McMahon and Rita Chatterton looked at from all aspects
  • Logan Paul signs with WWE, early SummerSlam notes, Money in the Bank notes and origin
  • Cain Velasquez sues the man he shot
  • Full UFC coverage from Saturday
  • Stardom Fight In The Top PPV coverage
  • The most detailed look at television ratings from last week
  • CMLL’s biggest star undergoes surgery
  • Notes on a lot of different tournaments
  • Most Outstanding Wrestlers of 2022
  • Next ROH PPV show
  • Kenny Omega talks a number of different subjects
  • International TV ratings
  • Streaming numbers from the past week
  • Ticket sales for upcoming shows
  • Francis Ngannou’s return
  • ESPY awards for wrestling and MMA
  • This week’s UFC how preview
  • Huge upset leads to Bellator title change
  • The story behind Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson and Paul Wight being on Raw
  • Story on a new WWE signing that got a lot of publicity this past week and what they are looking for
  • WWE, AEW and NJPW injury updates
  • Different booking ideas that have been talked about
  • WWE star whose contract is expiring and has yet to sign a new deal
  • Gina Carano talks doing a fight with Ronda Rousey
  • A look at all the WWE live events over the past week

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Monday News Update

  • Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw and the latest news with Wrestling Observer Radio.
  • Happy fourth of July to everyone.
  • Raw is tonight in San Diego. The only stuff advertised ahead was Rey & Dominick Mysterio in heir hometown against Finn Balor & Damian Priest, plus The Miz will respond to Logan Paul’s challenge for SummerSlam. This will be the star of the SummerSlam build. Because of the holiday, the TV ratings would be expected to be down a lot and it’s not even worth worrying about if that’s the case. They will be helped somewhat coming off a PPV show. But after two straight big numbers, if they don’t get a big one this week, or there is a big drop, it is completely meaningless.
  • We’re looking for your thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank and UFC 276, 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 from last night’s WWE show in Tucson, AZ and from Raw in San Diego tonight with anything not on the live show such as Main Event matches, dark matches and crowd reactions to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
  • WWE had a talent meeting before Money in the Bank. There wasn’t much to come out out it. Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque spoke and told the talent they were an extended large family and told them how well things are going. They didn’t address any of the Vince McMahon questions or any questions.
  • Impact did a personal video to Don West, who is battling brain cancer. Mike Tenay has been the point person regarding them doing so and Scott D’Amore contributed more than $13,000 to West’s medical bills a few weeks ago. Besides those on the roster and in the current company, Impact got Dixie Carter, A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe and many others to do the video. Tenay and Don West were heavily moved by the comments made. Tenay and West were hoping the video could be shared and I believe right now they are looking to get everyone’s approval for that.
  • AEW set its all-time ratings record in the U.K. on ITV 4 on 6/24 with 188,000 viewers. That was the go-home show for Forbidden Door. Perhaps that has to do with Will Ospreay because ratings went way up for the shows he was on.
  • Because of the holiday, ratings will be delayed this week. Basically everything will be moved back a day. Friday’s numbers should be up tomorrow. Saturday, Sunday, Monday and final weekly numbers should be on Wednesday. Right now it looks like Wednesday numbers will be out Thursday but that could change.
  • WWE did 30 percent discounts on tickets for SummerSlam and Raw in Madison Square Garden on 7/25 and got some good ticket movement in both places. There are more than 28,000 tickets distributed right now for Nashville for SummerSlam, which would be in excess of 25,000 paid. This is before any of the hard television hype for the show which should begin tonight. 
  • Shotzi did a post saying that she knew the spot when she lost her footing on the ladder would make Botchmania and was accepting of that, but said the reaction of people who wanted her fired or worse was too much. She also noted that she wasn’t injured in the match, which is a good thing.
  • Today is the 62nd anniversary of Les Thatcher’s pro wrestling debut on July 4, 1960 for promoter Tony Santos out of Boston. He started up with a crew that included Pat Patterson. Thatcher trained in Boston and his first show was on July 4th in Blue Hill, ME, at the age of 19.

WWE

  • Tomorrow night is WWE Night for the Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals game. Fans attending will get a WWE pillow of Austin Riley wearing an Austin 3:16 shirt and a WWE title belt.
  • The Cardinals also have a WWE Night on 8/16.

UFC

  • Israel Adesanya noted in an interview with BT Sports in the U.K. that he came up with the idea of his Undertaker entrance the Tuesday before the show. At the time he had no idea Vince McMahon and company would be at the show. He said he had already cleared it with UFC and then on Saturday morning he was told Vince McMahon was coming to his fight. He said that in camp when he does his wrestling training, he has them play Attitude Era WWF entrance songs. Undertaker, who is a big MMA fan, tweeted approval.
  • Jessica Eye, who has dabbled in independent pro wrestling in the past, said that after her MMA retirement on Saturday night that she wants to go into pro wrestling.
  • Ariane Lipski vs. Priscilla Cachoeira was reported by MMA Fighting for 8/6 in Las Vegas.

Other Notes

  • New Japan posted the Keiji Muto vs. Masahiro Chono finals of the first G-1 Climax tournament from Sumo Hall in 1991 on its YouTube page today. The success of that first tournament paved the way for something in its 32nd year starting in a few weeks, among the oldest wrestling traditions in the world. (thanks to Suju Abraham)
  • In yesterday’s update when listing the ICW No Holds Barred results, we listed it as from Maybee, NY, but it was from Maybee, MI.