Weekend Roundup: WrestleMania 38 Plans Update, Darby Allin TV Series, ROH Update, Impact Ratings, Fallah Bahh, Indies

WWE

• During a recent interview with Die Woche with Sebastian Hackl, Dominik Mysterio gave his thoughts about if he believes a match against his father Rey will happen in the future. Mysterio stated “See, me personally, this is something that I’ve, you know, I’ve given a lot of thought [facing his father in a singles match] and before I started wrestling and like, even my first match I would say, ‘Yeah, you know, why not wrestle against my dad?’ But, after everything we’ve been through now and seeing our relationship, how it’s grown and just, you know, we — it’s just different now. We’re on the road together, I drive for hours after the shows so it’s like that bond that we have has only gotten stronger and I just don’t see that ever happening. I see him riding off into the sunset, like a happy dude.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• During a recent interview with The Pat McAfee Show podcast, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon gave his thoughts about his decision making process in the company. McMahon stated “Everything we do is calculated. You need to have really smart people around you, you need to listen to them, and make a decision. In that instance, we had a great deal that was given to us pretty much by Comcast. When we got into the lawyer stuff and nitty-gritty, they tried to tie your hands in so much creativity, tie your hands in terms of owning you — I’ve never liked that — really, it was more about creative control and having control of your own destiny. That’s why we went that way. You need information as much as you possibly can and then common sense is a really big part of that in every decision we make. No. You learn from what happened if it didn’t go well and that’s factored into what you’re doing going forward. No, I don’t (regret) any of that.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• During the same interview, McMahon revealed the reason why he chose the word “Stupendous” for the marketing of this year’s WrestleMania 38 event. McMahon stated “I love branding.We almost try to brand everything and marketing is just fascinating to do that. You have to do, ‘what makes this WrestleMania different?’ The word ‘stupendous’ is not used very often. When you’re hitting stupendous, ‘what the hell is stupendous?’ A lot of people have to look it up. It sounds good. It sounds grand. STUPENDOUS! I would use that word before, it’s not in everyday speak, that’s why you want to do something that is going to get everyone’s attention. What’s stupendous and WrestleMania?” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• WrestleTalk reported that their sources stated that WWE officials are currently planning to have 15 matches total for the two-night card of WrestleMania 38, which takes place on April 2-3 in Dallas, Texas. It was reported that the only match currently up in the air for plans involves who will face off against Seth Rollins in a singles match.
• As noted before, Cody Rhodes’ contract talks with WWE recently hit an impasse but WWE officials are still hopeful he will be able to compete at their upcoming WrestleMania 38 event. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE officials never had any plans for Rhodes to be the mystery opponent for Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship match at this past weekend’s house show event at Madison Square Garden. Austin Theory reportedly was always planned to be Lesnar’s mystery opponent after Bobby Lashley was pulled from the event due to his shoulder injury.
• As noted before, Stone Cold Steve Austin recently accepted Kevin Owens request to appear on a special KO Show segment during WWE’s upcoming WrestleMania 38 event. WWE officials originally planned for Austin to compete in a match before changing it to a talk show segment due to Austin not agreeing to work a match. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that WWE officials are currently planning for Austin to be involved in a fight sequence against Owens and not simply just give a quick Stunner. Austin reportedly has been recently training to improve his cardio in time for the event.
• As noted before, WWE originally had plans for a potential Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee match to take place at WrestleMania 38. Those plans were recently changed to McAfee vs. Austin Theory instead. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that despite McMahon not wrestling against McAfee, he is still planned to be a central figure in McAfee’s upcoming match against Theory. Meltzer reported that WWE officials had plans at one point for Theory to be heavily involved in the originally planned McAfee vs. McMahon match where he would take all of the bumps for McMahon. McMahon reportedly decided against going forward with this plan due to not wanting to advertise himself in a match that could not be delivered without a lot of smoke and mirrors tactics used.
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 6,600 (5,800 paid) for their March 4th SmackDown show in Miami, FL, 10,600 (8,000 paid) for their March 5th house show event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, 6,419 for their March 6th house show event in Laval, Canada, 3,978 for their March 6th house show event in Allentown, PA, and 8,189 (7,200 paid) for their March 7th RAW show in Cleveland, OH, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 4,565 tickets for their March 14th RAW show in Jacksonville, FL, around 6,908 tickets for the March 18th SmackDown show in Charlotte, NC, around 4,139 tickets for their March 19th house show event in Johnson City, TN, around 2,667 tickets for their March 19th house show event in Springfield, IL, around 3,000 tickets for their March 20th house show event in Moline, IL, around 2,241 tickets for their March 20th house show event in Huntsville, AL, around 5,705 tickets for their March 21st RAW show in Chicago, IL, around 2,123 tickets for their March 26th house show event in State College, PA, around 6,748 tickets for their March 27th house show event in Toronto, Canada, around 2,958 tickets for their March 27h house show event in Charlottesville, VA, around 5,562 tickets for their March 28th RAW show in Pittsburgh, PA, around 9,955 tickets for their April 1st SmackDown show in Dallas, around 8,777 tickets for their April 4th RAW show in Dallas, TX, around 2,854 tickets for their April 8th SmackDown show in Milwaukee, WI, around 3,444 tickets for their April 11th RAW show in Detroit, MI, around 2,624 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 1,799 tickets for their April 17th house show event in Syracuse, around 2,829 for their April 18th RAW show in Buffalo, around 3,092 tickets for their April 22nd SmackDown show in Albany, around 2,191 tickets for their April 24th house show event in Binghamton, NY, and around 2,299 tickets for their April 25th RAW show in Knoxville, TN as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• In a recent filing to the SEC, WWE revealed that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will be earning a salary of $2 million and WWE President Nick Khan will be earning a salary of $1.2 million for this year.
• WWE filed a trademark for “Brooklyn Barlow” on March 7th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• During a recent interview with the One-on-One podcast, Bron Breakker gave his thoughts about the backstage advice he received for his RAW brand debut at this past Monday’s RAW show in Cleveland, Ohio. Breakker stated “Probably smile more. Everyone is telling me that. It’s one of those…I’m just not sure I’ve been coached up on that thus far. It’s another thing I have to work on and figure out how to make it my own and make it unique in my own way. I got so many coaching points and things to learn from that experience. So many things I can take away to be part of that.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

AEW

• Fightful reported that their sources stated that Darby Allin is currently involved in the filming of a potential new reality television series for WarnerMedia. It was reported that this new potential series is currently tentatively titled “Darby’s Day Off.”
• As noted before, AEW CEO Tony Khan recently purchased Ring of Honor from ROH’s parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group. During this past Sunday’s Revolution 2022 post-media scrum, Khan stated that he would be handling the booking duties for ROH going forward. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Khan’s first event in charge of ROH’s booking will be at their upcoming Supercard of Honor XV event on April 1st in Dallas, Texas. Meltzer reported that his sources stated that Khan currently does not have any plans to start from scratch for ROH in regards to eliminating champions nor killing off storylines that existed prior to his purchase. The previously announced Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido match for the ROH World Championship reportedly is currently expected to headline ROH’s upcoming event. In regards to ROH staff, Meltzer reported that the current belief within the company is that they will all be let go immediately by Sinclair. SEScoops reported that ROH staff are currently expected to learn the fate of their jobs by the first week of April. PWTorch reported that the current remaining number of staff in the company is twelve people.
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 8,400 (8,100 paid) for their March 6th Revolution 2022 event in Orlando, Fl, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that AEW generated a live gate of around $550,000 for the event and an additional $200,000 from movie theaters that aired the event.
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 3,700 (3,400) for their March 4th Rampage show in Orlando and 3,000 (2,600 paid) for their March 9th Dynamite show in Estero, FL, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 5,438 tickets for their March 16th Dynamite show in San Antonio, around 3,417 tickets for their March 23rd Dynamite show in Cedar Park, TX, around 2,922 tickets for their March 30th Dynamite show in Columbia, SC, around 5,186 tickets for their April 6th Dynamite show in Boston, MA, around 2,625 tickets for their April 13th Dynamite show in New Orleans, LA, around 3,844 tickets for their April 20th Dynamite show in Pittsburgh, PA, around 1,753 tickets for their May 4th Dynamite show in Baltimore, MD, around 13,000 tickets for their May 29th Double or Nothing 2022 event in Las Vegas, NV, around 6,838 tickets for their June 1st Dynamite show in Los Angeles, around 2,636 tickets for their June 3rd Rampage show in Ontario, CA, and around 4,504 tickets for their June 29th Dynamite show in Detroit, MI as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW’s Countdown to Revolution 2022 special drew 269,000 viewers, a 0.08 18-49 key demographic rating, and a #95 key demographic ranking on TNT, according to Showbuzz Daily.
• William Regal recently apologized on Twitter for his promo segment running longer than planned during this past Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Estero, Florida. Regal stated “This is a Professional note from me as I have no other form of SM and would rather my new colleagues see this as I don’t like gossip. I’m am very sorry to everyone effected by my time issues last night. I apologized to everyone personally effected. I should be showing people by example and being a Pro and hitting my times.” Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that due to Regal going over the time allotted for his promo, some of the planned stuff for the show was cut while other segments were rushed to make up for the time lost.
• AEW talent Leyla Hirsch recently commented on Twitter about the online backlash she received over wearing Russian flag colors on her gear during her match against Kris Statlander at AEW’s Revolution 2022 event. Hirsch stated “I want to make something very clear. I stand with Ukraine one hundred percent and my heart breaks for its citizens who are suffering at the hands of Vladimir Putin. I was born in Russia. I came to the US at eight years of age and became an American citizen. I cannot change my heritage any more than any other citizen can change theirs. The mere fact that I was born in Russia does not mean that I support this brutal dictator. Everyone who would even suggest such a thing is simply wrong, plain and simple.“
• During a recent interview with the Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Danielson gave his thoughts about why he changed his in-ring style to be more like NJPW talent Minoru Suzuki. Danielson stated “One of the things I think too is, I am changing my wrestling style a little bit to be more like Nagata and Minoru Suzuki as opposed to bigger bumps and that sort of thing. The heavier bump taking style, you’re less likely to have a long career with that as opposed to a hard-hitting style where Nagata will be in hard-hitting wars, but he’s not doing necessarily the top rope dragon suplexes and that stuff, which is the stuff that potentially….when you talk to Edge, it’s those ladder matches and big things that may have taken years off his career. That’s what I’m looking at now, from a longevity perspective, but also from a perspective of, when my son is 15 years old, I’m going to be 55 and I want to be able to do all the things you do with a teenager if he wants to play baseball or wrestle, I want to be able to roughhouse with him. My dad was not that old and able to do those things. I don’t want my shoulders blown out so I can’t throw a ball when they want to play baseball. I also look at people like Tom Brady and LeBron James. Tom Brady, the work he’s put in, LeBron James, he came out and said he spends a million dollars on his body every year just so he can continue to play basketball at the highest level. That was a light switch that went off in my head because I’m a frugal human being who doesn’t like to spend money on anything and almost considered it a point of pride. When I heard him say that, it made so much sense to me. John Cena had mentioned, not to me, he just said it, he got the bus, not because ‘I’m a superstar, I should be in a bus.’ He got it so he could sleep better because that was the only way he could continue doing what he does. I, in no way, shape, or form need a bus, but spending money on my body is something that I only recently, the last year and a half, two years, is something that I really invested in.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• As noted before, AEW-affiliated wrestling school Nightmare Factory recently announced that they have postponed this April’s training camp to a new date of Summer 2022 due to “unforeseen circumstances.” Co-owner QT Marshall recently provided an update on Instagram stating that “the circumstances are simple. We’ve had a new camp every 3 months for 2 years straight without taking a break. I’d like a break. We still have our night training sessions.”
• As noted before, this past Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite featured Scorpio Sky defeated champion Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship. Fightful Select reported that AEW officials had planned for Sky to win the title as far back as late 2021 and that Cody Rhodes’ recent departure from the company only caused a “minimal hiccup” to their plans for the title. It was reported that AEW officials had always planned for Miro to drop his title to Guevara and for Guevara to have a short reign and drop the title to Rhodes. It was also reported that Rhodes’ being pulled from their Battle of the Belts special due to COVID-19 ended up delaying some of their plans for the TNT belt at the time.

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• This past Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling’s Impact! drew 94,000 viewers, a 0.03 18-49 key demographic rating, and was not ranked among the Top 150 shows, according to PWInsider. This was down compared to last week’s viewership of 131,000, 0.04 rating, and #133 ranking.
• Fightful Select reported that Fallah Bahh’s contract with Impact Wrestling expired at the end of this past December and was removed from Impact’s roster page this past January.
• During a recent interview with Denise Salcedo, Impact talent Rhino stated that he currently wants to wrestle for at least another five more years before retiring from an active wrestling career. Rhino stated “Well hopefully, God willing, I can have five more years in the wrestling business, I wanna slowly taper off, and then move more to the behind-the-scenes as a producer and along the way work with people and boost up their careers and and help them get on the path that they are supposed to take.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 653 for their March 6th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Fukushima, 777 for their March 7th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Tokyo, 594 for their March 9th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Tokyo, and 408 for their March 10th New Japan Cup 2022 event in Yamanashi, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• NJPW announced that their upcoming NJPW Strong themed Lonestar Shootout event on April 1st in Dallas, Texas will be airing live on FITE TV in the United States.
• Sunday’s New Japan Cup 2022 event in Hyogo featured Guerillas of Destiny’s Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa being kicked out of Bullet Club by the remaining members of the group in Japan. G.o.D was previously kicked out of the group’s US branch by Jay White at Impact Wrestling’s No Surrender 2022 event this past February.
• NJPW recently announced a new match for the card of their NJPW Strong Style Evolved event on March 20th in Tampa, Florida. This will be a U-S-of-Jay Open Challenge match of Chris Sabin vs. Jay White.
• Josh Barnett recently announced two new matches for the card of Game Changer Wrestling’s Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8 event on March 31st in Dallas, Texas. These are a singles match of Zeda Zhang vs. Marina Shafir and a singles match of JR Kratos vs. Timothy Thatcher.
• Joey Janela recently announced that Jimmy Wang Yang will be making an appearance for GCW at their Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6 Part 2 event on April 2nd in Dallas, Texas.
• GCW recently announced a new match for the card of their The Old Me event on April 23rd in Detroit, Michigan. This will be a singles match of Minoru Suzuki vs. 2 Cold Scorpio.
• As noted before, indie wrestler Atticus Cogar announced that he recently left GCW over mental health issues and other issues related to the company’s management and direction in recent months. GCW owner Brett Lauderdale responded in a recent episode of the GCW Podcast stating that Cogar’s departure was due to him being fired for disciplinary reasons that had nothing to do with anything creative related and that Cogar was not telling the complete truth over his departure from the company. Lauderdale also stated that Cogar’s claims of drug issues within GCW’s locker room is something he has been well aware of but Cogar is hypocritical to speak of drug use and this was another reason behind the decision to fire him. (Transcript h/t: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
• All Japan Pro Wrestling announced the full field of competitors for this year’s Champions Carnival tournament. A Block: Jake Lee, Shuji Ishikawa, Shotaro Ashino, Ryuki Honda, Shigehiro Irie, & T-Hawk. B Block: Kento Miyahara, Suwama, Yoshitatsu, Yuma Aoyagi, Kuma Arashi, & Takuya Nomura (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
• WrestleCon recently announced a new match for the card of their their Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow 2022 event on March 31st in Dallas, Texas. This will be a singles match of Mia Yim vs. Athena.
• ASW Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their The Bash in Beckley event on June 11th in Beckley, West Virginia. This will be a tag team match of FTR (with manager Dennis Condrey) vs. The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)