Weekend Roundup: Cody Rhodes Update, Double or Nothing 2022 Breaks Record, Revolution 2022 Buys Update, Toni Storm, Indies

WWE

• As noted before, Cody Rhodes recently signed a contract with WWE and is currently expected to make his official return to the company at their upcoming WrestleMania 38 event next month in Dallas, Texas. Fightful Select reported that their sources close to Rhodes stated that he will not be traveling to Dallas for WrestleMania 38 weekend. It was reported that their sources within WWE stated that WWE officials have held recent internal talks over the idea of having Rhodes be flown in private to avoid him being spotted at the airport and his return being leaked before the event.
• As noted before, Mustafa Ali requested and was denied his release from WWE this past January. Ali provided an update on Twitter stating “a humble and fair warning, as soon as all this gets sorted, im gonna absolutely body all of your faves.“
• Shelton Benjamin announced on Twitter that the recent rumors and reports of him being released by WWE are not true. Benjamin stated “I have not been released from WWE. I obviously don’t know where this false report started (probably @MiaYim) but for those that cared thank you but at this time your concerns are premature.“
• As noted before, WWE officials had plans at one point for a match between Pat McAfee vs. Vince McMahon to take place at next month’s WrestleMania 38 event in Dallas. Those plans were changed to McAfee vs. Austin Theory instead. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that McMahon is still planned to be involved in the match but only McMahon knows of the exact plans for the match. Those same sources stated that McMahon will be doing whatever he wants due to him already changing the plans that had been finalized and put in place for the McAfee vs. Theory match.
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 9,118 (8,000 paid) for their March 11th SmackDown show in Birmingham, AL, 4,960 for their March 12th house show event in Columbus, GA, 4,278 for their March 12th house show event in Jackson, MS, 4,256 for their March 13th house show event in Savannah, GA, 3,942 for their March 13th house show event in Pensacola, and 5,908 (5,000 paid) for their March 14th RAW show in Jacksonville, FL, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 6,330 tickets for their March 21st RAW show in Chicago, IL, around 5,403 tickets for their March 25th SmackDown show in Brooklyn, NY, around 2,198 tickets for their March 26th house show event in State College, PA, around 6,854 tickets for their March 27th house show event in Toronto, Canada, around 2,425 tickets for their March 27h house show event in Charlottesville, VA, around 6,350 tickets for their March 28th RAW show in Pittsburgh, PA, around 10,374 tickets for their April 1st SmackDown show in Dallas, 3,567 tickets for their April 2nd NXT Stand & Deliver 2022 event in Dallas, around 58,145 tickets for their April 2nd WrestleMania 38 Night 1 event in Dallas, around 57,083 tickets for their April 3rd WrestleMania Night 2 event in Dallas, around 9,493 tickets for their April 4th RAW show in Dallas, TX, around 3,258 tickets for their April 8th SmackDown show in Milwaukee, WI, around 3,805 tickets for their April 11th RAW show in Detroit, MI, around 2,937 tickets for their April 15th SmackDown show in Worcester, MA, around 4,705 tickets for their April 16th house show event in Erie, PA, around 1,892 tickets for their April 17th house show event in Syracuse, around 3,188 tickets for their April 18th RAW show in Buffalo, around 3,226 tickets for their April 22nd SmackDown show in Albany, around 2,363 tickets for their April 24th house show event in Binghamton, NY, and around 2,466 tickets for their April 25th RAW show in Knoxville, TN as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• In regards to WrestleMania 38 ticket sales, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE will likely end up with around 65,000 to 70,000 tickets sold for both nights based on current sales trends. Meltzer reported that when adding the amount of comp tickets WWE usually gives out for WrestleMania events, the attendance number will likely be around 72,000 to 80,000 for both nights. This year’s event reportedly will also likely break the all-time WWE record for inflated tickets sales in order to hit their goal of 100,000 for both nights. Meltzer reported that the current record for inflated ticket sales for a WWE event is 21,000, which is held by WrestleMania 32 that was also in Dallas. For some comparisons, Meltzer reported that WWE usually uses an inflated figure of around 10,000 to 13,000 for pay-per-view events.
• WWE’s house show event on March 5th at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York featured Brock Lesnar defending his WWE Championship against Austin Theory. Following the match, Roman Reigns and The Bloodline attacked Lesnar and left him bloody in the ring. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Lesnar did not blade and instead was busted open the hard way from the steel steps. Meltzer reported that Lesnar’s match against Theory was the fourth shortest WWE Championship match in WWE history at MSG, only behind the Diesel vs. Bob Backlund match (9 seconds) in November 26, 1994, the Bob Backlund vs. George Steele match (39 seconds) in August 27, 1983, and the Bruno Sammartino vs. Buddy Rodgers match (48 seconds) in May 17, 1963.
• WWE recently announced on Instagram that they have launched a Smackadillas virtual restaurant brand in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas as part of their festivities for this year’s WrestleMania 38 week in the city.
• As noted before, NBC’s Peacock recently announced that they will be debuting a new WWE-themed documentary series called WWE EVIL. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that one source within NBC stated that this upcoming documentary series will not be exclusive to Peacock and instead at least two episodes will also air on the USA Network. The episodes airing on the network reportedly are the Roman Reigns episode on March 28th following that night’s RAW show and the Brothers of Destruction episode on March 29th following that night’s NXT show.
• During a recent interview with the Dallas Morning News, The Undertaker revealed that WWE officials had initially offered him a spot in their Hall of Fame following the end of his WrestleMania undefeated streak in 2014. Undertaker stated “My goodness. I want to say it was after the Brock WrestleMania. Yeah, I think it was after that. In my head, I couldn’t end on a match that I didn’t remember. You know, I got concussed and I don’t remember even having that match. So I wanted to at least have a match that I could remember. I kept working here and there for the next few years and then trying to leave on that upbeat note. Fortunately, we had the Boneyard Match and I said, ‘Alright, that’s it. I think I’m good. It’s time to call it a day.’ Now, here we are.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• During a recent interview with the Rich Eisen Show podcast, Steve Austin gave his reasons why he decided to return to the ring for WrestleMania 38. Austin stated “This opportunity comes up, Kevin Owens starts running me down and gets my attention. It was a thing where, I kind of said, ‘I’m never going to get in the ring again.’ In this business, never say never. I said I would never get in, but prompted by the right person at the right time, hell, I wish he would have pissed me off a little sooner than he did to give me more time to prep. Once you step into the ring, it’s like stepping onto a football field, that’s where business happens. We don’t know what it’s going to escalate to. I’ve been working on my conditioning. Had it been anywhere else other than Jerry’s Place….it’s a two-night event, WrestleMania is biggest show of the year, to be part of that is really special to me. I’m doing this for me. I’m going out there to have a damn blast. I’m gonna have fun and I’m gonna wear these two fists out on Kevin Owens. I’m sure he’s going to get some to because he’s had an amazing career. I’m glad he pissed me off when he did … When I left, I didn’t want to leave. WrestleMania 19, my neck had presented some problems. After I got spiked and dropped on my head back in 99, I had three, four fused up, and it was time for me to ride off into the sunset and do something else. This comeback means a lot to me as I’ve been getting back into in-ring shape. I’m gonna go out there and do the absolute best I can … I’m doing this for the fans. I’m doing this for WWE. I’m doing this for me, number one. ” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• WWE recently announced that they have signed a partnership deal with NIL business company INFLCR to help expand their Next in Line (NIL) program for collegiate athletes interested in a career in professional wrestling.

AEW

• During a recent interview with NBC Sports Boston, Thunder Rosa gave her thoughts about the recent online criticisms Britt Baker and herself has received over them bleeding during their AEW Women’s Championship Steel Cage match at this past Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Rosa stated “Everybody’s gonna criticize no matter what. I mean, even on Wednesday, people were criticizing. ‘Why are you guys — why is there so much blood? Why is there so much? Why are you so violent? Why is this? Why is that?’ It’s like people are programmed a certain way and they have been programmed for professional wrestling for decades a certain way because of how things have been handled before. I can’t tell you how much I read about me bringing the Mariachi and I remember Brock Lesnar making fun of Eddie Guerrero with that and that hurts, because they were making fun of my culture before and on Wednesday, I represented our culture properly, with honor and with respect, because people were, ‘Oh, Mariachi, fun.’ Let’s make fun of Mexicans. No, it’s like I’m saying, it’s the same with women. People used to make fun of us all the time. We used to be the popcorn match all the time, because that was how people have been programmed for so long, you know? Not anymore. Not anymore. We’re working really, really hard guys. You guys can criticize us all you want but we’re working really hard and every single company I feel, because we’re changing things little by little and I’ll tell you, myself, I’m taking that to a next level. I run a women’s promotion on purpose so like, so people can see, we’re not a popcorn match. Every single match is a banger, you know? And I have one exhibition match and that’s the men’s match, on purpose, you know? [Rosa laughed] So, like I said, give us time. It’s gonna happen.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• As noted before, Jeff Hardy made his official debut for AEW on the March 9th episode of AEW Dynamite. During a recent interview with The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Jeff Hardy revealed that his brother Matt came up with the idea for him to do his traditional trademark entrance dance for his debut despite it occurring while Matt was getting beaten up by the AFO. Jeff Hardy stated “The reaction was the best form of adrenaline from the fans,” said Jeff. “That ‘pop.’ I had to let out that nervous and excited energy with that yell [seen on Being The Elite]. I was so torn because, I’m saving my brother, right? One of my biggest heroes is out in the ring, Sting, and this new guy, Darby Allin, I just met him for the first time that day and I’m like, ‘this is really happening, I’m about to debut in AEW.’ The question for me was…Matt was saying, ‘take your time. Do the juke. You’re a star. Do it.’ ‘I can’t do that. I’m saving my brother.’ I tried to juke and run at the same time. I think it worked out pretty perfectly. It was overwhelming.” Matt Hardy continued stating “Doing the juke on the run was a compromise. I was like, ‘Sure, I know I’m getting beat down.’ I just wanted all the guys to stop. The music was going to be such a big moment, people were going to be shocked and out of their mind. I want [Jeff] to come out, do the juke, you’re a big star, do the thing, and get a full entrance. Even though they are beating me up, just let them stop. They stayed on top of me and were still whipping my ass and he went ahead and came to the ring. All the memes that had been out there are funny and entertaining. I love it. It wasn’t on him. If it was up to him, he would have ran straight in. This was on me. He’s a big star, dammit. He’s going to get a big star entrance.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that ticket sales for AEW’s upcoming Double or Nothing 2022 event on March 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada recently broke the record for highest ever gate revenues for a non-WWE event in North America in wrestling history. Meltzer reported that AEW has currently sold around 12,939 tickets for an estimated gate of $1,145,000 for the event as of this past Thursday. The previous record reportedly was held by New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor for their G1 Supercard event at Madison Square Garden, which generated $1,100,000 for gate revenue.
• Dave Meltzer also reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW also recently broke the record for highest ever gate revenue for a wrestling event in the history of The Forum arena in Inglewood, California. Meltzer reported that AEW has sold around 12,555 tickets for an estimated gate of $715,000 as of this past Thursday. The previous record reportedly was held by WCW for their January 30, 1999 Saturday Night event at the venue, which sold 17,400 tickets (14,994 paid) and generated a live gate revenue of $287,151.
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 6,800 (6,500 paid) for their March 16th Dynamite show in San Antonio, TX, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 3,667 tickets for their March 23rd Dynamite show in Cedar Park, TX, around 3,257 tickets for their March 30th Dynamite show in Columbia, SC, around 5,210 tickets for their April 6th Dynamite show in Boston, MA, around 2,715 tickets for their April 13th Dynamite show in New Orleans, LA, around 2,825 tickets for their April 15th Battle of the Belts II event in Garland, TX, around 4,000 tickets for their April 20th Dynamite show in Pittsburgh, PA, around 3,277 tickets for their May 4th Dynamite show in Baltimore, MD, around 4,446 tickets for their May 11th Dynamite show in Long Island, around 3,028 tickets for their May 18th Dynamite show in Houston, TX, around 7,240 tickets for their June 3rd Rampage show in Ontario, CA, and around 8,444 tickets for their June 29th Dynamite show in Detroit, MI, as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, AEW’s Revolution 2022 event earlier this month in Orlando, Florida is currently estimated to have generated the second highest PPV buyrate for an AEW event in AEW history. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW had a big surge in late PPV purchases from cable PPV providers for the event. Meltzer reported that based on current data and estimates, AEW’s Revolution 2022 event is now estimated to have generated somewhere between 167,000 to 173,000 for its PPV buyrate number. In terms of revenues, Meltzer reported that AEW is currently estimated to have generated around $8.3 million in total gross revenues for the event with their split being around $4.55 million.
• CM Punk reportedly is currently involved in the filming of the second season of Heels for Starz network, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that filming for this upcoming new season is currently scheduled to take place over the course of the next several weeks and this was the likely reason why Punk was absent from AEW’s tapings in San Antonio this past Wednesday.
• AEW filed a trademark for “ShopAEW” on March 14th for merchandise-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• During a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, AEW CEO Tony Khan stated that Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor XV event will going on as scheduled despite it conflicting with that night’s episode of AEW Rampage. Khan stated “It wouldn’t have been my first choice for the scheduling, necessarily. In two weeks, it will be a crowded Friday of wrestling. I had not scheduled this pay-per-view, Ring of Honor Supercard, but I really think it’s important for me, because they sold tickets and made a commitment to the fans, to still do the show. I see it as a transitional show in many ways and I’m really excited about it. It’s the first show under new management and a transition show for…I will relaunch what I hope to be a really great new Ring of Honor television product, a weekly series, wherever it does air or stream. This is a great opportunity to put our own stamp on it but also pay respect to the great Ring of Honor traditions and history with some of the top stars from recent Ring of Honor and great wrestlers who have been in Ring of Honor historically.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• During the same interview, Kan also provided an update regarding the status of ROH’s weekly ROH TV series. Khan stated “I see it as a transitional show in many ways that I’m really excited about because it’s the first show under the new management. It’s also a transitional show before I will relaunch what I hope to be a really great new Ring of Honor television product, a weekly series, wherever it does air or stream.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)
• During a recent interview with WFAN Sports Radio, Paige VanZant gave her thoughts about why she decided to have a career in professional wrestling and sign with AEW. VanZant stated “The whole show [is what drew me into pro wrestling], you know? I mean I’ve been asked about professional wrestling for a really long time. I’ve kind of always known that it was gonna be part of my journey and a part of my life. I just didn’t know when the opportunity was gonna take off and it got to a point where I showed up with Dan [Lambert] and the story kind of took off and I realized I wanted to be a part of the show, I wanted to continue this journey with AEW and ended up signing a contract.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Jonathan Gresham has been in recent talks with AEW CEO Tony Khan regarding a potential contract. These same sources reportedly stated that they currently do not know if these talks are for an AEW contract, a ROH contract, or a contract with both companies.

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• Former WWE talent Toni Storm launched her OnlyFans account this past Saturday. Following its launch, Fox Sports’ Ryan Satin reported that Storm managed to generate around $10,000 in revenues from subscriptions for her account within the first hour of being on sale.
• The National Wrestling Alliance recently posted a photo of their new Junior Heavyweight Championship belt, which makes it official debut at tonight’s Crockett Cup 2022 Night 2 event in Nashville, Tennessee.
• NWA talent Luke Hawx reportedly suffered a concussion at NWA’s Crockett Cup 2022 Night 1 event on Saturday in Nashville, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that the injury occurred during Hawx’s tag team match with PJ Hawx against The End (Odinson & Parrow) in the First Round of the Crockett Cup 2022 tournament, which involved him landing awkwardly from either a chokeslam or powerbomb spot. Following the event, Hawx confirmed on Facebook that he did suffer a legit injury and was pulled from tonight’s event as a result.
• Game Changer Wrestling recently announced that they will be holding an event on May 28th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• GCW reportedly generated an attendance of 609 for their Astronaut event on March 12th in Atlanta, Georgia, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that former ROH owner Carey Silkin, former ROH talent Jonathan Gresham, NJPW talent Rocky Romero, former ECW wrestlers Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke, GCW owner Brett Lauderdale, Monster Factory owner Danny Cage, and indies wrestler Willow Nightingale, Aiden Prince, and Abby James were all seen in attendance backstage for Impact Wrestling’s set of television tapings this weekend in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• During this weekend’s set of Impact! tapings at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Impact Wrestling EVP Scott D’Amore announced that the company will be holding an Impact Plus event at the venue on September 23rd.
• During a recent interview with the Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show podcast, Cassie Lee (former Peyton Royce in WWE) gave her thoughts about why she decided to sign with Impact Wrestling. Lee stated “It’s been amazing. It’s like reignited my love for the industry, which I’m so thankful for because when we got let go, I felt like I was stripped of that. Just because of how hard it [mentally] can get at WWE. So, I’m actually very thankful to IMPACT cause I didn’t wanna leave the industry and feel bitter towards it you know, and be upset. So I’m really glad and thankful for the position so I can look back at my time in the industry and be fond of it [instead of] being bitter about it.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• As noted before, Sami Callihan has been out of action for Impact Wrestling since this past September due to a broken ankle injury. During a recent episode of the Callihan Uncensored podcast, host Callihan provided an update on the status of his rehab from his broken ankle injury. Callihan stated “It’s coming along well. I’m in physical therapy. It’s officially fully, the bones are healed, so that’s good. I get different pains in it every day in therapy. What’s worse than anything, I’d like to think I have a high pain tolerance, is the mental stuff, like the anxiety and being in your head. Almost wrestling for 20 years at this point and never having a major injury like this and hopefully never have another one again. This is the longest I’ve ever been home ever since I wrestled. The most I’d be home before this was 4 or 5 days, especially before COVID hit, but now it’s one of those things where being home that long I’m getting stir-crazy. Then you get to the point in your head where it’s like, ‘I just want to sit on this couch all day’ and then the thought of going outside is just terrifying.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Former ECW wrestler Simon Diamond, real name Pat Kenney, reportedly was hospitalized earlier this month due to him suffering a mild stroke, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that Diamond was discharged from the hospital this past Wednesday and is currently dealing with impaired vision. Johnson also reported that Diamond is currently expected to have a long recovery period due to the health effects from his stroke.
• New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,722 for their March 12th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Nagoya, 2,016 for their March 13th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Amagasaki, 636 for their March 14th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Takamatsu, 1,151 for their March 15th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Okayama, and 456 for their March 17th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Shizuoka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• NJPW recently announced a new match for the card of their Windy City Riot event on April 16th in Chicago, Illinois. This will be a singles match of Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay.
• NJPW and All Japan Pro Wrestling recently announced the full card for their co-promoted event on April 16th in Tokyo, Japan. This event is part of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of legendary wrestling venue Korakuen Hall. (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
• Former WWE wrestler Gangrel, real name David Heath, reportedly will be working for Major League Wrestling as both an active talent and coach for the company going forward, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• PROGRESS Wrestling held their Chapter 130 event earlier today in London, England which featured Jonathan Gresham defeating Cara Noir for the PROGRESS Wrestling World Championship. This match was a title vs. title match with Gresham’s ROH World Championship also on the line.