Weekend Roundup: Brock Lesnar, WWE Themed Shows Update, NJPW Resurgence Event, Brutus Beefcake Health Issues, Indies

WWE

• WWE recently announced that Mick Foley, JBL, Naomi, Cathy Kelley, Carmella, Nikki Cross, and the cast of WWE’s The Bump will be among the guests for the new episode of their WWE Watch Along show during tonight’s Hell in a Cell 2021 event on WWE’s YouTube channel and social media accounts.
• As noted before, Karrion Kross and Bronson Reed were invited by WWE officials to work a dark match prior to the start of this past Friday’s episode of SmackDown. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that WWE officials are currently planning to invite Kross and
  Scarlett Bordeaux again to do some backstage promo work prior to the start of next week’s SmackDown show. Johnson reported that it is currently not known if Reed will also be invited back next week.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 30,000 tickets for this year’s SummerSlam event on August 21st in Las Vegas, Nevada as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that these sales also include comp tickets that have been given away. WWE officials reportedly have promised key people in Las Vegas that their SummerSlam event will end early enough to give people the chance to also be able to attend and watch the high profile Manny Pacquiao vs. Errol Spence Jr. boxing match in the city, which also takes place that night.
• As of this past Thursday, WWE reportedly has sold around 4,300 tickets for their July 24th house show event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. WWE also reportedly has sold between 1,000 to 1,500 tickets for their July 31st house show event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, around 1,500 tickets for their August 5th house show event in Detroit, Michigan, around 6,300 for their August 2nd RAW show in Chicago, Illinois, and around 1,500 for their August 6th SmackDown show in Tampa, Florida.
• Dave Meltzer also reported that as of this past Thursday, WWE has sold around 1,919 tickets for their Money in the Bank 2021 event on July 18th in Forth Worth, Texas.
• WWE reportedly had an attendance of 300 for this past Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2021 event at their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. In regards to Google searches, NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2021 reportedly generated around 31% of the total amount of searches AEW’s Double or Nothing 2021 event did for their event this past May.
• This past Sunday’s episode of WWE Most Wanted Treasures drew 487,000 viewers on A&E, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Fightful Select reported that WWE and Brock Lesnar have held recent talks regarding Lesnar making a potential appearance for the company within the near future. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE still does not have any plans for Lesnar to appear at this year’s SummerSlam event. Mat Men Pro Wrestling’s Andrew Zarian reported that WWE officials originally wanted Lesnar for SummerSlam but no deal was agreed upon which is why they pivoted to new plans involving John Cena instead for the event.
• Shawn Michaels reportedly pushed for the recent decision to cut back on time given for ring entrances for the NXT brand, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Michaels had felt that long entrances enticed viewers to change the channel to check out AEW during their Wednesday Night War battle. Despite NXT no longer directly competing with AEW, Meltzer reported that NXT officials kept this new rule in place since they favored having more time avaliable for matches and storyline angles. Meltzer also reported that Michaels’ wife Rebecca was very influential in the decision to cut back on entrances since she told him they felt too long to watch on television and gave people more time to switch channels.
• Fightful Select reported that several talents who were released by WWE this year have recently asked for their non-compete clauses to be forgone. It was reported that WWE has been more lenient and receptive to these requests than in the past.
• WWE recently announced that this year’s ESPYS awards show will be featuring the return of the “Best WWE Moment” award category. Sixteen nominations were officially revealed with first round voting to be held to narrow the field.
• WWE filed a trademark for “Head of the Table” on June 15th for merchandise-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• As noted before, WWE is currently working on plans to have more themed shows for their RAW and SmackDown brands starting later this year. Fightful Select reported that FOX, NBC, and USA Network recently pushed WWE to have more themed shows on their networks with NBC pushing the idea of sports themed tie-in specials for their NASCAR and NFL licenses. NBC also reportedly has recently pushed the idea for WWE to hold a “points month” where wrestlers compete in a month long tournament and earn points based on their performances in matches.

AEW

• UPI held a recent interview with AEW CEO Tony Khan and one of the topics discussed included Khan’s thoughts on using a video wall as a crowd for AEW shows during the coronavirus pandemic. Khan stated “I didn’t want to have a video wall, and I pushed back when I got pushed to do a video wall. It was a fine idea and WWE did it, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I respect it, it’s good and it’s economical, but I wanted to continue to find a way to do the shows for the fans every week. And the fans at Daily’s Place supported us. We built like a wrestling territory having a weekly audience. I’m really proud of that.”
• The Butcher recently revealed on Twitter that he is currently taking care of a chipmunk he saved that was drowning in water earlier this week.
• Nyla Rose filed trademarks for “Nyla Rose” and “The Native Beast” on June 15th for wrestling and merchandise-related purposes to the USPTO.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 9,000 tickets for their September 15th Dynamite show in Newark, New Jersey, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. AEW has also reportedly sold around 800 tickets for their June 26th Dynamite show in Jacksonville and around 2,500 tickets for their July 7th Dynamite show in Miami, Florida. In regards to their upcoming shows in Texas, AEW reportedly has sold around 3,800 tickets for their July 14th Dynamite show in Cedar Park and around 3,500 tickets for their July 21st Dynamite show in Garland.
• AEW officials are currently hoping for a sellout goal of 16,500 ticket sales for their upcoming Dynamite Grand Slam special on September 22nd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that AEW officials also have a high end goal of around 19,000 ticket sales for the event.
• During a recent interview with the New York Times, Britt Baker gave her thoughts on the importance of fans for wrestling shows. Baker stated “The fans write the show. They dictate what happens next. That feud with me and Thunder Rosa could have gone two months if the fans didn’t like it. But they loved it so they ended up getting a main-event, lights-out match that was arguably one of the best matches of the year. The fans are on board for everything because they just want to get out of their house and stop watching wrestling on TV. They want to be there with us and we’re going to ride that wave for a little bit.”
• Signed By Superstars held a recent virtual fan signing event with Matt Hardy and one of the topics discussed included Hardy revealing that the Dark Side of the Ring series producers had invited him to be interviewed for their upcoming Plane Ride From Hell episode. Hardy stated “Dark Side actually contacted me about doing it and I reluctantly said no just because so many people are my friends that I’m close with and helped me out so much. I just didn’t wanna go sound like one of those guys that just buried stuff. I didn’t have anything good to say. It was just gonna — I think it would’ve been in poor taste so, I respectfully said no to that.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• AEW recently released a new video for their upcoming video game on consoles. This new footage featured the official reveal of the playable character model for Darby Allin.
• AEW recently announced that pre-orders for replica AEW belts will go live starting on June 23rd. AEW also announced that their replica belts will have a retail price of $699.99 with more details to be announced in the future.

Other Wrestling

• During a recent interview with The Wrestling Perspective podcast, former WWE wrestler Ruby Riott stated that she will not be using her old ring name of Heidi Lovelace for her return to the indies. Riott stated “A lot of people think that I’m going back to Heidi Lovelace. There are a multitude of reasons why I don’t want to do that. I was not a fan of that name.It was given to me by the people who trained me in the backyard. They were watching Raw and a commercial for The Hills came on and they were like ‘Heidi, that’s a name’ and they gave it to me. Nobody ever pronounced Lovelace correctly. Why come up with a wrestling name that people can’t pronounce? That’s a terrible idea. A lot of people thought I was going to go back to it. I have no intentions of going back to Heidi Lovelace. I am shopping for a new name I would like to keep [the name Ruby] if it’s possible. I feel like it fits me. Ruby came from Ruby Soho and that’s dear to my heart.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that they will be holding a new tag team tournament called Tag Team Turbulence for their NJPW Strong series starting on July 16th. The teams announced for the tournament are The Good Brothers, Clark Connors & TJP, Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita, Fred Yehi & Wheeler Yuta, Kevin Knight & The DKC, Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs, Brody King & Chris Dickinson, and Team Filthy (JR Kratos & Danny Limelight).
• NJPW also announced that they will be holding an event with fans allowed in attendance called Resurgence on August 14th at The Torch at L.A. Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. Among those announced to be appearing includes AEW’s Jon Moxley.
• Josh Alexander recently reflected on Twitter about his official debut for NJPW during this past Friday’s episode of NJPW Strong. Alexander stated “I’ve dreamt of wrestling in [Japan] since I was 10. I borrowed a VHS of the 94′ Super J Cup tourney off my neighbors. I saw Malenko vs. GEDO in the opener & I was hopked. The atmosphere was unlike anything id seen in WCW/WWF. This isn’t quite [Japan], but it’s a step closer. #njpwSTRONG”
• NJPW reportedly drew a paid attendance of 347 for their June 14th Kizuna Road 2021 event, 247 for their June 15th Kizuna Road 2021 event, and 319 for their June 16th Kizuna Road 2021 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. NJPW also drew a paid attendance of 556 for their June 18th Kizuna Road 2021 event in Shizuoka, Japan, according to Post Wrestling.
• NJPW, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Michinoku Pro, Big Japan, DDT Pro Wrestling, Dragon Gate, Pro Wrestling NOAH, ZERO1, and 2AW reportedly will be co-promoting an event called Legacy on September 14-15 in Tokyo, Japan, according to Post Wrestling. This event was announced to be celebrating the history of wrestling in Japan and the 70th anniversary of the first wrestling event held in the country.
• Former WWE wrestler Gangrel filed a trademark for “Fangin N Bangin” on June 10th for entertainment-related purposes to the USPTO. This is the name of Gangrel’s new podcast series.
• MLW and indie wrestler Lee Moriarty filed a trademark for “Taigastyle Lee Moriarty” on June 15th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the USPTO.
• Former WWE wrestlers Peyton Royce and Billie Kaye filed a trademark for “The IInspiration” on June 15th for merchandise and entertainment-related purposes to the USPTO.
• This past Thursday’s Vice Versa: Chyna documentary reportedly drew 158,000 viewers on VICE TV, according to Wrestlenomics.
• Impact Wrestling recently reflected on Instagram about this past Saturday being the 19th anniversary of their first ever show in company history.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that MLW officials started filming content for their Azteca Underground brand this past Friday in Los Angeles, California.
• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre reportedly is currently hoping to have around 4,000 fans possible for their June 25th event in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that CMLL is hoping that Mexico City officials will approve their request to be allowed to have a larger live attendance for their shows in the city.
• WWE Hall of Famer Brutus Beefcake, real name Ed Leslie, reportedly is currently dealing with several health issues, according to WrestlingInc.com. It was reported that Leslie’s wife recently posted a private message on Facebook stating that her husband is currently dealing with high blood pressure, shortness of breath, and headache issues.
• All Japan Pro Wrestling announced (English translation via F4WOnline) that Suwama recently tested positive for COVID-19 and as a result he will be both out of action for the company for the foreseeable future and vacating his AJPW Triple Crown Championship.