Weekend Roundup: RAW Ratings Note, Anthony Ogogo’s AEW Heat, Brodie Lee, Nielsen Issues, Indies

WWE

• During this past Friday’s episode of SmackDown, WWE confirmed that the December 31st episode of SmackDown will not be airing on FOX and instead will air on FS1. This episode is currently scheduled to be a “Best Of” themed SmackDown show. FOX reportedly had originally scheduled their “New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2022” special to air on their network during SmackDown’s usual time slot next week but cancelled those plans due to COVID-19 related issues, according to Deadline.com.
• Charlotte Flair recently denied rumors and reports of her recently breaking up with Andrade El Idolo. Flair posted photos of her and Andrade celebrating the Christmas holiday together on her Instagram account on Saturday.
• Sami Zayn recently announced on Twitter that his Sami for Syria mobile clinic provided 7,143 medical services for 6,743 internally displaced persons between the time period of October 1, 2020 and November 30, 2021. Zayn also announced that his charity will be operating two mobile clinics in Syria starting next year.
• WWE filed three trademarks for their current logo for digital and merchandise-related purposes on December 16th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• Fightful Select reported that Chris Park (Abyss) and Kenn Doane (Kenny Dykstra) were the backstage producers for the Miracle on 34th Street Fight and related promos during this past Friday’s episode of SmackDown in Rosemont, Illinois. Jamie Noble and Petey Williams reportedly were the backstage producers for the “12 Days of Christmas” 12-Man Gauntlet match. TJ Wilson and Shawn Daivari reportedly were the backstage producers for the SmackDown Women’s Championship match of Toni Storm vs. Charlotte Flair (c).
• Vince McMahon reportedly is currently in the process of selling his mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, according to real estate website Compass.com. McMahon is currently selling his mansion for the asking price of $32 million.
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 10,139 (8,700 paid) for their December 17th SmackDown show in Chicago, 4,038 for their December 18th house show event in Rockford, IL, 4,259 for their December 19th house show event in Des Moines, IA, and 5,200 (3,900 paid) for their December 20th RAW show in Milwaukee, WI, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 7,590 tickets for their December 27th RAW show in Detroit, MI, around 5,989 tickets for their December 27th house show event in Orlando, FL, around 4,544 tickets for their December 28th house show event in Washington, DC, around 5,478 tickets for their December 28th house show event in Pittsburgh, PA, around 4,286 tickets for their December 29th house show event in Baltimore, MD, around 3,653 tickets for their December 30th house show event in Buffalo, NY, around 9,759 tickets for their January 1, 2022 Day One event in Atlanta, GA, around 3,934 tickets for their January 3rd RAW show in Greenville, SC, around 4,786 tickets for their January 7th SmackDown show in Uncasville, CT, around 7,445 tickets for their January 10th RAW show in Philadelphia, PA, around 4,137 tickets for their January 14th SmackDown show in Omaha, NE, around 2,828 tickets for their January 17th RAW show in Tulsa, OK, around 3,614 tickets for their January 21st SmackDown show in Nashville, TN, around 3,472 tickets for their January 24th RAW show in Toledo, OH, around 2,721 for their January 28th SmackDown show in Kansas City, and around 26,065 tickets for their January 29th Royal Rumble 2022 event in St. Louis, MO as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, this past Monday’s RAW suffered slight declines in both overall viewership and key demographic ratings. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this past Monday’s episode generated the fourth lowest ever overall viewership and the second lowest ever key demographic ratings in RAW history.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources within WWE stated that the company is currently expected to give official contract offers to select indie talents during this week following last week’s set of tryouts. Meltzer reported that his sources stated that nine indie talents have been offered 90-day tryout deals with the possibility of being extended into regular multi-year developmental deals after that period.
• Dave Meltzer reported in a recent episode of the Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE officials recently made some changes to their hiring process for tryouts. Meltzer reported that the company is still focusing on wanting bigger sized athletes for their potential new male talent signings while a bigger focus is now being put towards looks for their potential new female talent signings. Meltzer stated “The idea for women and guys is different. For guys, they’re wanting bigger athletes. For women, it’s looks, or if you have something unique to offer. Even on the indie thing, if someone’s like, really super on the indies, it’s not like WWE won’t hire them, but they’re not looking at the 5’9” guys or the 5’7” guys anymore. But if you come from the Indies but you’re 6’3”, yeah, they’ll look at you, and if you’re a woman and you’re ‘good looking’, you know, whatever.“
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources within WWE stated that Lash Legend’s match against Sarray during the December 17th episode of 205 Live generated a lot of negative reactions internally with many considering it to be the worst match of the year in the company. These same sources also stated that Legend’s match was one of the most heavily edited matches in WWE history based on the amount of post-production work done for it prior to its airing. These same sources also stated that even with the editing work done, the match was still being viewed internally as the worst match performed in the company this year.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that the reason for AJ Styles’ recent involvement in WWE’s NXT brand is due to it being part of a new strategy by WWE officials to use main roster talent to boost NXT’s sluggish ratings. Johnson reported that this plan was originally put in place when NXT moved to Tuesdays on the USA Network and as WWE’s attempt to try to cascade their RAW audience over to their NXT brand.

AEW

• Britt Baker recently responded to a claim made by a fan on Twitter who mentioned that WWE recently edited out her famous cameo from their NXT’s WarGames 2021 event from NBC’s Peacock service. Baker stated “That’s okay. They took me out, I took their BAY BAY.”
• Nyla Rose recently announced on Twitter that she was the co-author of an upcoming new comic series for Marvel called “Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird.”
• Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that his sources within AEW stated that the reason for Angelico’s absence from AEW programming since this past September was not due to any injury or undisclosed disciplinary issues.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW officials currently do not have any timetable in mind for Kenny Omega’s return from his injuries. Omega has been out of action for both AEW and Lucha Libre AAA since this past November due to him having surgeries for various injuries he had been dealing with for some time.
• Dave Meltezer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that a fan was kicked out by AEW staff following a transphobic incident during the December 22nd episode of AEW Dynamite in Greensboro, North Carolina. This person had brought and displayed a sign that was caught on camera stating “Nyla Rose is that guys Dad” during Rose’s match against Ruby Soho. Rose was visibly upset at the person and flipped him off which was also caught on camera leading to the sign being removed and the person tossed from the show.
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 5,600 (5,200 paid) for their December 22nd Dynamite “Holiday Bash” show in Greensboro, NC, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 2,773 tickets for their December 29th Dynamite show in Jacksonville, FL, around 7,630 tickets for their January 5, 2022 Dynamite show in Newark, NJ, around 4,748 tickets for their January 8th Battle of the Belts event in Charlotte, around 4,554 tickets for their January 12th Dynamite show in Raleigh, NC, around 3,631 tickets for their January 19th Dynamite show in Washington, DC, around 2,759 tickets for their January 21st Rampage show in Washington, DC, around 4,180 tickets for their January 26th Dynamite show in Cleveland, OH, around 2,138 tickets for their March 4th Rampage show in Orlando, and around 6,577 tickets for their March 6th Revolution 2022 event in Orlando, FL as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Unlike with this past week’s episode of AEW Rampage, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that TNT currently has the December 31st episode of AEW Rampage airing on their network at its regular starting time of 10PM EST. Meltzer reported that due to the New Year’s Eve holiday festivities, next week’s Rampage show very likely will be the least watched episode in Rampage history.
• Fightful Select reported that Anthony Ogogo recently had backstage heat within AEW’s locker room over a recent online incident with Impact talent Jordynne Grace and ROH talent Jonathan Gresham. This incident revolved around Ogogo’s unprovoked mocking of Gresham’s height on Twitter which led to a heated back-and-forth online argument between him and Gresham’s wife Grace. Both Grace and Gresham stated that this was not some sort of worked angle between both sides on social media and instead they were genuinely upset with Ogogo’s comments and online behavior afterwards. It was reported that those spoken to within AEW stated that Gresham is well respected within the company and industry and Ogogo should have given a courtesy heads-up to Grehsam if his name was going to be involved by him for an online “work” feud. It was also reported that the current feeling within AEW is that this incident is not anything that can not be fixed or forgotten about but most who personally know Gresham feel he’ll just handle interpersonally with Ogogo.
• During a recent interview with the Miami Herald, Ethan Page gave his thoughts about his pairing with Scorpio Sky in AEW. Page stated “It’s been amazing [teaming] with Scorpio Sky. Myself and Sky, we’ll both admit in many interviews that if someone randomly said, ‘Hey, did you know that one day, you and Scorpio Sky are gonna be a tag team?’ Both of us would probably be like, ‘Mhm, that’s interesting.’ But, our chemistry is unmatched. Any member I’ve ever teamed with or team I’ve been a part of pales in comparison to how compatible myself and Scorpio Sky are especially when it comes with how we dress, how we talk, how we present ourselves. We’re the two coolest guys in AEW. We are officially the Men of the Year and I know New Year’s Smash is coming which means it’s time to ring in a new year and you’re probably wondering, ‘Oh, well who are gonna be the Men of the Year next year?’ Well, when the votes come in, it’ll still be us.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• During a recent interview with the Wrestling Inc Daily podcast, Serena Deeb revealed that besides working as an active performer, she is also currently working as a backstage producer and coach for AEW. Deeb stated “In the meantime, when I was kind of sitting on the sidelines I stepped into the coaching role and the producing role.Kind of like the stuff I was doing before at the other company,” she said. “I’m helping them with their matches, I am on headset next to Tony calling their matches, talking to the truck, doing all of that. I love that too and, you know what? That has an exhilarating component in itself. Like, especially when you really help and then you watch them go out there and they kill it. You feel like you’re part of that, it’s very rewarding. Definitely polarizing emotions, you know? For example, yesterday I did what was supposed to be a four-hour seminar but it ended up being a six-hour seminar because we were just in it and we were just going. I felt so good at the end of it. I really love coaching and I want it to be a part of my life and my future and I am getting to do a little bit of that at AEW, as well. So that’s a part of me, for sure. I have an innate desire to help people and I’ve kind of always been like that, I really love it.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Lucha Libre AAA co-owner Dorian Roldan and Konnan were in attendance at AEW’s December 8th Dynamite show in Long Island, New York to discuss continuing the working relationship between both companies and upcoming major projects.
• Today marks the one year anniversary of Brodie Lee’s passing. AEW celebrated and honored the legacy on Lee on their official Twitter account and asked fans to share their own favorite memories of Lee.

Indies & Other Wrestling

• Game Changer Wrestling recently announced that they will be holding an event on March 12, 2022 at the Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. This will be GCW’s debut event in the city.
• GCW also recently announced a new match for the card of their Die 4 This event on January 1, 2022 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This will be a GCW Tag Team Championship match of Alex Zayne & Blake Christian vs. The Briscoe Brothers (c).
• GCW also announced a new match for the card of their Say You Will event on January 15, 2022 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. This will be a ROH World Championship match of 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Johnathan Gresham (c).
• During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Diamond Dallas Page revealed that he is currently in the process of launching a new podcast series with Jake “the Snake” Roberts. Page stated that this new podcast series is called DDP Snakepit and its debut episode will arrive on January 4, 2022 on the AdFreeShows.com podcast network.
• Terminus recently announced two new matches for the card of their debut event on January 16, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a Terminal Eliminator match of JDX vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Invictus Khash vs. Adam Priest and a ROH World Championship match of Barron Black vs. Bandido (c). In regards to the ROH title match, this will be for the current version of the belt held by Bandido.
• Major League Wrestling recently announced that their upcoming SuperFight 2022 event will be taking place on February 26, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Tokyo Sports reported that New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling will be holding a joint event on April 16, 2022 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the legendary venue. (English translation via Fightful.com)
• Lucha Libre AAA officials reportedly have held recent talks regarding the idea of bringing in several released former WWE talents for their events this February and March in Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources close to AAA stated that the company’s lawsuit with Lucha Libre FMW is currently expected to be settled soon. These same sources also stated that this is why AAA was able to broadcast their Triplemania Regia II event from earlier this month in the United States.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Mike Bennett is currently expected to be signing a deal with Impact Wrestling within the near future. Meltzer reported that Bennett’s wife Maria Kanellis likely will be heading to Impact as well.
• During a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, JONAH revealed that his current contract with Impact Wrestling is only for a short term in length. JONAH stated “2022, I’m very excited for myself and professional wrestling. It’s exciting for everyone that is a fan of professional wrestling as well. You’re going to be able to see people wrestle different places and wrestle different opponents that you never thought you’d be able to see. Almost some dream matches will happen next year. There is that forbidden door that people keep walking through. For someone like myself who, I have an agreement with New Japan. I have short-term agreement with IMPACT. You never know where I could be in 2022.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the television industry grew more upset with Nielsen Corporation over the past year due to lingering issues of Nielsen under-counting ratings for television shows. Meltzer reported that the industry became even more upset at Nielsen after the company informed them on December 22nd that a software error led to out of home viewership numbers being tracked much lower than it should have been. Nielsen also stated that this software error is expected to be resolved by mid-January and that they will be reissuing ratings data from the start of 2021 to the present time containing more accurate viewership data over the course of the next several months. In regards to the under-counting, Nielsen stated that this software issue had no impact on most television shows nor any impact at all in local television markets. Nielsen stated that viewership for sporting events and news programming was affected the most from this error for out of home viewership due to it only counting places with broadband delivery services.