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WWE Raw live results: Logan Paul and Ricochet face-to-faceFinal Blood & Guts team members to be revealed on AEW DynamiteWWE SmackDown draws best 18-49 demo rating in nearly three yearsAEW Rampage ratings down for episode 100Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio rematch set for WWE Raw
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This Week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter
July 10, 2023 Observer Newsletter Roman Reigns pinned at WWE Money in the Bank, Droz passes away
In this issue:
Match of the week and performer of the week for the past two weeksFull coverage of Money in the Bank, the story behind all the matches angles and finishesEight confirmed matches for SummerSlamTicket sales for SummerSlam and records already broken and other records on the verge of being brokenLive gate for Money in the Bank and a breakdown of the multiple records setWrestleMania in London and an update on where that standsTotal viewership for the showPPV numbers for the show and how it compares to other shows plus crossover with AEW Forbidden DoorStory behind the results and angles on the showThe life and times of Darren Drozdov, comments from wrestlers, family, friends and the story behind the accident that changed his life and how he battled back and ended up close with his family.His brief career in wrestlingJerry McDevitt removed from the MLW lawsuit and announces his retirement. A look back at the legendary attorney and his history with WWEWhat happened with Collision in week three. A detailed breakdown of what was one of the most important TV ratings of the yearWWE & AEW quarterly business, viewership, house shows, what is up and what is down and whyNew Japan Strong at Korakuen Hall with four title changes and two brutal matchesFull UFC coverage for the week and business notesDragon Gate's biggest show of the year takes placeThe most detailed look at the ratings for all the major wrestling shows, including weekly rankingsCMLL runs major event with Romero vs. Volador Jr., and notes on the debut of Mascara Dorada 2.0Stardom PPV coverageNotes on the Five-Star Grand Prix tournamentTriple Crown title change and fantastic performance by Yuji NagataFather and daughter appear on show together in JapanWhat companies in Japan have drawn the most fans so far this yearOne of the biggest tag teams of all-time having a special showLots more on the Mildred Burke movie that was being filmed this past month and stories about Burke's legendGrappl lists its fan voted best matches in historyMatt Morgan talks back surgeryTragos/Thesz Hall of Fame notes for 2023Stardom star coming to GCW and notes on the dealKenny Omega talks AEW video gameUpdated ticket sales for All In and where it ranks on the all-time listUpdate on Forbidden Door PPV numbersJon Moxley goal to become an historical firstOmega talks Will Ospreay matchTicket sales to the upcoming WWE and AEW showsJim Ross updates his conditionInjury updatesStreaming number updatesMerch number updatesInternational TV ratingsLots of gimmick fights being talked aboutESPN announce new multi-part documentaryPaul Levesque talks NXT EuropePlans for net year's ManiaGable Steveson issues challenge for another sport he's never done beforeRundown of all WWE events this past week
This Week's Retro Observer Newsletter
May 16, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Pride Total Elimination Absolute, Jim Cornette
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Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer radio covering Raw, Smackdown and all the latest news in pro wrestling and MMA.
The Smackdown rating on Friday of 2,561,000 viewers and 0.76 in 18-49 could be a first time in history. The ratings for Saturday and Sunday won't be in until tomorrow, but from Monday through Friday, Smackdown's 0.76 ranked first for the week on network television. As far as I know, there has never been a week where a pro wrestling show was first of the week on network television. Last week came from close to being the first. But never in the early 50s (when wrestling was top ten in network prime time for a season) do we know of a time when that happened, and it never happened in the Hogan era or the Austin era.
The second quarter of the show did 3,070,000 viewers and an 0.94 in 18-49, which was the Bloodline segment after the commercial break. I thought the segment was an all-time classic. The performances from all involved were great and they set up a ton for the future as well. While not officially announced, as we've reported, Reigns vs. Jey is the scheduled SummerSlam main event.
Very sad news to report the death of Edward Garea, a name some of you would know, but if you read newsletters or wrestling magazines in the 80s and 90s, you would know him as "The Phantom of the Ring." Garea was a historian of both pro wrestling and movies, and a longtime fan in the Northeast who regularly attended shows in Madison Square Garden and other venues. He was the key person in making Wrestling Eye the first wrestling magazine to treat pro wrestling as if it was predetermined and not real, which was a very ballsy decision and incredibly controversial at the time. He was also a regular part of the Wrestling Perspective newsletter and for years was a close friend of mine. His health had declined in recent years but he was doing well just a few weeks ago before being diagnosed with a rare and inoperable form of cancer and passed away Thursday.
Raw tonight is from Buffalo, NY. Scheduled for tonight is a face-to-face with Logan Paul and Ricochet to build up a planned SummerSlam match, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Miz no DQ, Drew McIntyre returns to the ring to team with Matt Riddle against two members of Imperium, The Alpha Academy have a graduation ceremony for Maxxine and Zoey Stark vs. Becky Lynch. There were 9,200 tickets out as of earlier today. It won't be a sellout but it is up 40 percent from the December Smackdown show in the same building and Friday is an easier sell than Monday, so just another example how how much more interest there is in paying for the product even over seven months ago.
We're looking for reports from the show, with Main Event results, anything dark or off camera or other live notes from the show to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
There were reports today that Lynch vs. Stark was off. The only thing we were told is that the story reported of Lynch being injured was accurate, but she was cleared over the weekend. We were not told specifically the match is back on, but when asked we were told she has been cleared.
AEW sent out a release today listing that with live plus first three days of DVR viewing, that Wednesday's show did 438,000 in 18-49 which is an actual .75 rating. It would be a .34 the way 18-49 numbers have been looked at but TNT and TBS figure their numbers based on the 18-49s who actually have access to the station. The audience gained to nearly 1 million viewers after the first three days.
It's been confirmed that even though he was injured (broken hand) and lost his flyweight title on Saturday night, Brandon Moreno will be at TripleMania Saturday in Tijuana as the coach of the Baja California team. The Monterrey team coach will be rapper Azesino, who is very famous in Mexico.
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The Shad Khan family had to put down their 15-year old bulldog today. Best wishes to them as that is always one of the saddest days you'll have.
Ronda Rousey continues on the Stars on Mars show on FOX tonight.
Don King will be appearing more on MLW at least in taped promos as the head of the Bomaye Fight Club going forward. King was revealed over the weekend as the storyline secret backer of the group. MLW got more pub than anything since lawsuit news over this one. King is backing Alex Kane, who is the new MLW champion.
The Adrian Adonis episode of Dark Side of the Ring airs tomorrow night on VICE at 10 p.m. A lot of the 80s WWF stars are on the episode and I was on it talking about what a phenomenal worker Adonis was before he had his weight issues. From 8-10 p.m. they will have a Dark Side of the 90s episode on the beginning of the UFC. I don't know if this is the same piece but I saw a piece similar to this and it was very interesting watching in hindsight.
For Wednesday's Dynamite in Saskatoon, tickets were marked down 25 percent suing the code SUMMER and tickets distributed as of this morning were nearly 3,000. It's not a big number, but it was a good increase in the past few days.
NXT tomorrow will have Judgment Day as special guests, plus Ilja Dragunov vs. Bron Breakker with the winner facing Carmelo Hayes on 7/30, plus Joe Coffey vs. Stacks Lorenzo and if Stacks wins, he and Tony D'Angelo get a tag title shot at Gallus, but if Coffey wins, D'Angelo stays in jail (yes, a man's fate in jail is determined as a wrestling match stipulation which ranks up there with Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett doing matches for child custody), Tiffany Stratton vs. Ivy Nile non-title, Charlie Dempsey & Drew Gulak vs. Duke Hudson & Andre Chase and the debut of Bronco Nima & Lucien Price, who at least over the weekend were working as heels.
As many have noted, today is the 35th anniversary of Jim Crockett's first PPV show with national clearance, the Great American Bash from Baltimore where Lex Luger had Ric Flair up in the torture rack and seemingly had the NWA title won then the athletic commission stopped it because Luger was bleeding. Maryland had a no blood rule but Luger did blade. It was widely panned for a bad finish, particularly since Luger wasn't bleeding much and this was a period when blood was used a lot in Crockett promotions. People were furious, but the Flair-Luger houses shows drew very well coming off the finish.
Other Notes
Matt Cardona starts with MLW on the 9/3 show at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Border City Wrestling fro last night in Essex, ONT: Bhupinder Gujjar b Jack Price, Nate Bock b Dread King Logan, Matrox b Fabio Morabito & Kurt Hendrik, Jake Something b Rohit Raju, Tyler Tirva b Jackson Stone, N8 Mattson b Cody Deaner to win the heavyweight title, Cody Deaner b N8 Mattson to regain the heavyweight title (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Chris Masters was the headliner for a series of Canadian Wrestling Elite shows on a 7/4 to 7/8 tour of Ontario, Canada.
Grand Pro Wrestling before 250 fans in Wigan England: Mickey Barnes b Sandy Beach to win the British title, LA Austin & Lana Austin b Dan Evans & Scott Oberman in a tag title match, Martin Kirby Soner Dursun, Damon Leigh & Jet Fashion & Jimmy Jackson & Joe Blazr & Matthew Brooks & Rio b Drill & Chase Alexander & Melanie Price & Isaac North & Jacob North & Ste Mann, RP Davies b Dylan Roberts Sam Gradwell b Joey Hayes to keep the GPW title. Next show is 10/8 (thanks to Allan Blackstock)
Due to health issues related to his stroke, Jerry Lawler has canceled appearing for next month's TMart Promotions wrestling convention in Charlotte, NC.