Daily Update: WWE SmackDown, Will Ospreay vs. Michael Oku

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

We have another huge issue of the Observer with major stories looking back on the Ashley Massaro situation and how it has become major news this past week, the build to WrestleMania, New Japan changes losing Okada and Ospreay and much more.

  • A new statement by Ashley Massaro released by her former lawyer
  • Massaro’s best friend goes on television to weigh in on what she was told
  • What WWE said at the time and how they handled it with the media
  • What John Laurinaitis through his lawyer has said
  • A doctor who treated Massaro at the time confirms the story
  • Massaro’s original depositions on McMahon and her alleged rape by someone posing as a military doctor
  • Bret Hart talks the allegations against Vince McMahon
  • More people in the industry comment on the story
  • The background of how we go to where we are for WrestleMania involving Nick Khan, Ari Emanuel, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Levesque and the key decisions made and changed along the way
  • Updates on WWE Elimination Chamber and AEW Revolution
  • Why New Japan’s New Beginning in Osaka was such a noteworthy show and talk about the Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. match and the controversial cage match
  • A look at the upcoming New Japan schedule
  • The story behind Billy Jack Haynes and his arrest, his one-time best friend and his wife who died of a gunshot wound
  • A look at Haynes’ wrestling career
  • More on the changes in TNA, not just Scott D’Amore but also Ed Nordholm, why it happened and the timeline of it happening
  • What happened at the call when Leonard Asper told talent about D’Amore being gone
  • Notes on the letter sent by talent to Asper
  • NTV 70th anniversary pro wrestling special and what was featured
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling shows, demo numbers, segment-by-segment and weekly rankings
  • The story behind the BCC heading to Mexico and Blue Panther being in the match
  • Will Ospreay statement on leaving NJPW
  • Matt Riddle talks starting in NJPW
  • Early FantasticaMania notes
  • Grandson of Brian Pillman gets awarded
  • The Angelo Mosca secret
  • A promotional merger announced
  • Latest rights fees story and how it may affect UFC & AEW
  • Tony Khan talks AEW future
  • More on Kazuchika Okada
  • Lots of injury updates
  • Upcoming ticket sales to WWE & AEW events
  • International TV numbers and streaming numbers
  • Crazy thing Dana White did on a podcast this week
  • Preview of this week’s UFC show
  • WWE deal with X
  • Steve Austin talks about the potential of him doing another match
  • Drew McIntyre update
  • Seth Rollins talks MMA fighters in pro wrestling
  • Bruce Prichard injury update

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter

Sunday Update

Garrett Gonzales and I did two shows over the weekend. Our Friday show with Tim Marchman as guest talking about the Vince McMahon news over the past year is probably the most important show we’ve done on the site in a long time. It is one I’d advise everyone to check out more than any others.

Last night we did a show talking about UFC 298 with Ryan Frederick, a recap from Friday, going over the news of the week involving Vince McMahon, The Rock, Scott D’Amore, and more.

With today’s Daytona 500 canceled, there is a good chance that Smackdown on Friday will end up as the highest rated show on network television for the week. With the holiday, that won’t be official until probably Wednesday or Thursday. This has never happened in the history of pro wrestling on television which dates back to 1947.

The Will Ospreay vs. Michael Oku match that took place today at the Crystal Palace in London was beyond any words I could write about. Their match two years ago was the best storytelling match I’ve seen in many years. This match was far better than that. For the record, Oku won via submission in 47:11 but everything from the ring entrances to the post-match, particularly the last moment where Zack Sabre Jr. came out and kissed Ospreay was something to see.

Tony Khan was there with Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy (who defended the International title in a surprise earlier on the show) and Ospreay thanked Khan for changing his life and vowed that he would be a better wrestler in AEW than he was in New Japan the past eight years. The match is available on RevPro’s website.

WWE from last night in Oakland (thanks to Tony Bushong):

  • LA Knight pinned Solo Sikoa after the BFT
  • Nia Jax pinned Maxxine Dupri with the annihilator
  • Carlito pinned Austin Theory with help from R-Truth
  • Gunther NC Chad Gable in an IC title match when Ludvig Kaiser & Giovanni Vince helped Gunther and New Day made the save
  • New Day & Gable b Imperium
  • Asuka b Michin with the Asuka lock
  • Cody Rhodes b Shinsuke Nakamura with the Cross Rhodes in a street fight

The UFC 300 main event on 4/13 will be Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill for the light heavyweight title. Hill held the title but vacated it due to a torn Achilles tendon last year. Dana White said that they wanted Leon Edwards on the show and offered him three different fights, which he accepted but the other side didn’t accept.

As far as the judging went last night, in the Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa fight, Judge Mike Bell gave Whittaker all three rounds while Eliot Kelly and Ron McCarthy gave Costa the first round and Whittaker the second and third. Media scores were 93 percent for Whittaker and seven percent for Costa. For Ian Machado Garry vs. Geoff Neal, Derek Cleary gave Neal rounds one and two and Garry the third. Sal D’Amato gave Garry all three rounds. Felicia Oh also gave Garry all three rounds. 92 percent of media scores were for Garry but only 12 percent gave him all three rounds like two of the judges did.

The Willamette Week had a story on Billy Jack Haynes and his attempt to promote against Don Owen in the 80s and covered this past week’s news. (thanks to Marc Blattner)

Somehow this turned into a controversy yesterday about what we wrote in the Observer about CMLL demands of AEW regarding usage of its talent. It’s not even new, as Rocky Romoero was on with Bryan Alvarez when the deal first started and explained it. When I asked those involved if anything had changed, we were told no and that “AAA and CMLL wrestlers are very unlikely to be on the same branded show.”

Raw tomorrow night in Anaheim has Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the IC title, R-Truth & Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano & The Miz vs. Judgment Day, a battle royal for the final spot in the women’s Elimination Chamber match and Ivar vs. Chad Gable.

Besides Ospreay vs. Oku, matches we were told to go out of your way to see this weekend were Luke Jacobs vs. JJ Gale at the RevPro show and today’s Templario vs. Soberano Jr. and Volador Jr. vs. Rocky Romero bouts from today’s NJPW/CMLL Korakuen Hall show (thanks to Doug Hunt)

We’re looking for your thoughts on today’s Rev Pro High Stakes show, and today and tomorrow’s Fantastica Mania shows from Tokyo, thumbs up, down, or middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

We’re also looking for reports from WWE tonight in Fresno and NXT last night in Lakeland, FL, results, finishes and highlights to dave@wrestlingobserver.com. There are more than 9,000 tickets out for Fresno tonight which makes it the largest U.S. house show crowd so far this year.

A&E is doing an all-day Biography marathon until midnight Eastern on Sunday. Upcoming shows include Bill Goldberg at 6 p.m., NWO at 8 p.m. and Steve Austin at 10 p.m.

Braun Strowman, Natalya, and Jinder Mahal were sent to Saudi Arabia this weekend for the opening of WWE Experience there.

After Aston Villa beat Fulham yesterday, on their home screen they played a tape of Prince Nana doing a celebratory dance.

Chris Jericho and Fozzy are currently in the U.K. touring. Jericho will be back for the 2/28 Dynamite show.

Afa Anoa’i announced the closing of his WXW promotion with the final show 4/13. He has been promoting since 1984.