Weekend Roundup: WWE & AEW DVR Notes, Miz Injury, Santana & Ortiz, Extreme Rules & Bound for Glory PPV Buys, Stardom, Indies

WWE

• This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,163,000 viewers on FOX, according to SpoilerTV.
• During a recent interview with the Roman Atwood Podcast, Goldberg revealed that he has two months remaining on his current contract with WWE. While getting sidetrack talking about his working relationship with WWE never has been “a hundred percent on the up and up” due past issues involving his big star status in WCW and the Monday Night Wars, Goldberg stated “I can’t remember what the point of this story was, but I’ve been hitting the head way too many times, quite obviously, as you can see in real-time……Stephanie [McMahon], if you’re listening to this, my contract ends in two months, so don’t hold this against me.” (Transcript h/t: WrestlingInc.com)
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the average DVR viewership for WWE’s weekly RAW shows so far this year has increased by 17.3%, NXT shows have increased by 12.1%, and SmackDown shows have increased by 17.8% for key demographic viewership compared to last year. In terms of key demographic ratings, this reportedly would push RAW’s average from a 0.48 to a 0.56 per show, NXT’s average from a 0.15 to a 0.16 per show, and SmackDown’s average from a 0.52 to a 0.61 per show for this year when including Live+7 DVR viewership numbers.
• As noted before, WWE is currently working on plans to hold more international-based events and less gimmick events in 2023. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that among the changes being planned includes running at least one event in the United Kingdom next year and on an annual basis going forward.
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 6,555 (5,800 paid) for their Oct. 14th SmackDown show in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2,702 for their Oct. 15th house show event in Sioux City, IA, 4,988 for their Oct. 15th house show event in Phoenix, AZ, 2,304 for their Oct. 16th house show event in Topeka, KS, and 6,489 (5,700 paid) for their Oct. 17th RAW show in Oklahoma City, OK, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 6,247 tickets for their Oct. 24th RAW show in Charlotte, NC, 6,020 tickets for their Oct. 28th SmackDown show in St. Louis, MO, 4,329 tickets for their Oct. 30th house show event in Glasgow, Scotland, 6,885 tickets for their Oct. 31st RAW show in Dallas, TX, 3,718 for their Oct. 31st show show event in Stuttgart, Germany, 4,842 tickets for their Nov. 1st house show event in Dortmund, Germany, 3,858 tickets for their Nov. 7th RAW show in Wilkes-Bare, PA, 6,311 tickets for their Nov. 11th SmackDown show in Indianapolis, IN, 2,792 tickets for their Nov. 12th house show event in Peoria, IL, 1,978 for their Nov. 13th house show event in Madison WI, 5,410 tickets for their Nov. 14th RAW show in Louisville, KY, 4,258 tickets for their Nov. 21st RAW show in Albany, NY, 3,780 tickets for their Nov. 25th SmackDown show in Providence, RI, 12,718 tickets for their Nov. 26th Survivor Series 2022 event in Boston, MA, 3,686 tickets for their Nov. 28th RAW show in Norfolk, VA , 3,380 tickets for their Dec. 2nd SmackDown show in Buffalo, NY, 4,223 tickets for their Dec. 5th RAW show in Washington, D.C., 3,956 for their Dec. 9th SmackDown show in Pittsburgh, PA, 5,125 tickets for their Dec. 16th SmackDown show in Chicago, IL, and 28,404 for their Jan. 28, 2023 Royal Rumble 2023 event in San Antonio, TX as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE is currently planning to hold two sets of SmackDown tapings on October 28th due to travel-related issues with their upcoming Crown Jewel 2022 event in Saudi Arabia next month. WWE reportedly will be airing the October 28th show as a normal live show and then hold tapings right after for the November 4th show.
• WWE reportedly is currently working on major plans for RAW’s upcoming 30th anniversary show in January of 2023, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that RAW will surpass the record for longest running wrestling television show in wrestling history on January 11, 2023. Meltzer reported that the current record is held by Portland Wrestling, which ran on television from January 10, 1953 to the end of December 1991.
• WWE reportedly is estimated to have generated around 10,500 pay-per-view buys from traditional cable PPV providers for their Extreme Rules 2022 event on October 8th, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Extreme Rules’ PPV buys were up 28% compared to this past September Clash at the Castle event, which generated around 8,200 PPV buys. Meltzer reported that this was also up compared to this past July’s Money in the Bank 2022, which generated around 9,200 PPV buys.
• Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that the WWE recently signed a streaming deal with Disney for WWE Network to air on the Disney+ service for the Philippines market starting on November 17th.
• During a recent interview with Barstool Sports’ KFC Radio podcast, comedian and writer Dan Soder revealed that he had sold a new cartoon series based on Stone Cold Steve Austin to NBC’s Peacock service during the COVID-19 pandemic that has yet to air due to issues by WWE and Peacock. These issues reportedly involve WWE meddling in Soder’s deal with Peacock over them wanting to have creative control over the production of the series while Soder and co-writer Dan St. Germain want to be in full charge of writing the show to keep its “dark and weird” content tone without WWE’s involvement. (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• During a recent interview with the Ekler’s Edge podcast, The Miz revealed that he is currently working through a bursa sac injury. Miz stated “I just got back from Monday Night Raw. I didn’t have to have a match but any time you have matches and we have matches over the weekend as well. Any time you have a match, your entire body is sore. You [Austin Ekeler] were saying your neck. My neck, my body, there’s always some sort of — when I’m done, I don’t feel it and then the next day I’m like, where is this coming from? I have a bursa sac that I bursted that just keeps blowing up. I don’t know if you’ve ever blew that. It takes so long and then it’ll go away and then I don’t know if you can see it. Literally, it just keeps coming back. Fluid comes in, it goes away, comes in, goes away. I messed up my shoulder for a little bit but, you know, and then you’re trying to work out and try to work through it and try to make sure you maintain your body and your physicality so…” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)

AEW & ROH

• During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, wrestling legend Ultimo Dragon stated that one of his plans for the future of his career before he retires is to wrestle Chris Jericho one last time and work at an AEW show. Ultimo Dragon stated “I am honestly not very familiar with AEW. But if I have the opportunity, I would really like to participate in one of their shows and end my rivalry with Jericho.” Ultimo Dragon also stated that he is currently not interested in returning to WWE for one last time due to him feeling too old to work in the company. Ultimo Dragon stated “A lot of people always tell me [I should go back with Levesque in charge], but to me, it was an honor to work under McMahon,” Asai says. “Even though he did not give me many opportunities, I learned a lot backstage about the business. I am too old to work for the WWE now.”
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 4,740 (paid) for their Oct. 19th Dynamite show in Cincinnati, OH, according to WrestleTix.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 2,511 tickets for their Oct. 26th Dynamite show in Norfolk, VA, 3,898 tickets for their Oct. 28th Rampage show in Uncasville, CT, 1,939 tickets for their Nov. 2nd Dynamite show in Baltimore, MD, 1,567 tickets for their Nov. 4th Rampage show in Atlantic City, NJ, 2,437 tickets for their Nov. 9th Dynamite show in Boston, MA, 1,825 tickets for their Nov. 16th Dynamite show in Bridgeport, CT, 10,067 tickets for their Nov. 19th Full Gear 2022 event in Chicago, IL, 4,247 tickets for their Nov. 23rd Dynamite show in Chicago, IL, 2,307 tickets for their Nov. 30th Dynamite show in Indianapolis, IN, 2,003 tickets for their Dec. 7th Dynamite show in Cedar Park, TX, 1,686 tickets for their Dec. 21st Dynamite show in San Antonio, TX, and 6,459 tickets for their Jan. 4, 2023 Dynamite show in Seattle, WA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, Santana has been out of action for AEW since this past June due to a knee injury. Prior to Santana’s injury, Santana and Ortiz were rumored to no longer be on good terms with each other due to differences in their views over the direction of their careers. During a recent episode of the Keepin It 100 podcast, co-host Konnan revealed several new details regarding the issues between Santana and Ortiz. Konnan stated that at one point, Santana and Ortiz almost got into a fight over their issues. Konnan stated that the main issue revolves around Santana no longer wanting to work in AEW due him being upset over the lack of focus and direction for his career while Ortiz is currently happy in AEW due to him making good money and does not want to leave even if it means the end of their tag team partnership. (Transcript h/t: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the average DVR viewership for AEW’s weekly Dynamite shows so far this year has increased by 18% for key demographic viewership compared to last year. In terms of key demographic ratings, this reportedly would push AEW’s average for the year from a 0.36 to a 0.42 per show when including Live+7 DVR viewership numbers. For some comparisons, Meltzer reported that live sports usually average less than 5% for DVR viewership increases.
• Meltzer also reported that the average DVR viewership for AEW’s weekly Rampage shows so far this year has increased by 54.8% for key demographic viewership compared to last year. In terms of key demographic ratings, AEW’s weekly Rampage shows reportedly would increase from a 0.17 to a 0.26 per show when including Live+7 DVR viewership.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that several notable outside talents were brought in for AEW’s Dark tapings this past Friday at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Among the notable names included Jungle Kyona, AR Fox, Dragon Gate talents SB Kento and La Estrella, and former Impact Wrestling talents Madman Fulton and Caleb Konley.
• This past Friday’s AEW Rampage show was originally advertised to feature a match between Penelope Ford and Willow Nightingale. During the show, it was announced that Ford had recently suffered an injury and was replaced by Lelia Grey for Nightingale’s match. No other details were given regarding the nature nor severity of Ford’s injury.
• During a recent interview with The Sessions with Renee Paquette podcast, Darby Allin gave his thoughts on which moment of his career he felt was the most dangerous for him. Allin stated that this would have been his match against Jeff Hardy during the May 11th AEW Dynamite show. Allin stated “Earlier in the day, I climbed that ladder and I looked down and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m for sure going to the hospital tonight.’ There’s no way around it, for sure. But when the lights are and the camera’s going and you’re up there and then I’m like, ‘Alright, here I go’ and I did the flip and then everyone asked me, ‘How’d that feel?’ I’m like, ‘Dude honestly, it didn’t feel like anything, it was so safe. You can see me if you watch the video back, I kind of go to Jeff’s ear, I’m like, ‘That s**t was so fun!’ That was fun but I feel like AEW wise that was like the craziest thing that I thought for sure I was going to meet my doom.” Allin also stated that his parents have been very supportive of all the stunts he has done throughout his wrestling career. Allin stated “They’re there for all of it. My mom and dad were there when I jumped my house. It was so funny because we jumped the house for the pilot of my reality series, called ‘Darby’s Days Off.’ My dad and my mom have been there since the beginning with all the gnarly s**t that I was doing in high school with the skateboarding and stuff like that, so they’re used to it. They are so hyped on it now that it, like, paid off. There’s nothing that beats skateboarding to this day. With wrestling, I love it, it’s so weird to say but I don’t think it’s my true calling in life .. skateboarding & backflipping tricycles.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• Stardom recently revealed the official design for their upcoming co-promoted IWGP Women’s Championship belt with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
• In regards to the booking of the upcoming IWGP Women’s Championship, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Stardom will be in charge of the creative plans and direction for this new belt. Meltzer reported that the designer for this new belt was the same people who produced AEW’s belts and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Strong belts.
• As noted before, Stardom talent Unagi Sayaka announced earlier this month that she would be leaving the company and working as a freelancer going forward. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Sayaka will not be leaving the promotion and instead Stardom officials currently have plans for her to work only at their big events going forward.
• Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 426 for their Oct. 16th event in Himeji and 418 for their Oct. 19th New Blood 5 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• This weekend’s Stardom events featured KAIRI defeated Jazzy Gabert and Mayu Iwatani defeating Utami Hayashashita in semifinals matches for the IWGP Women’s Championship tournament. Following Sunday’s show, a new match was added to the card of NJPW & Stardom’s co-promoted Historic X-Over event on November 20th in Tokyo, Japan. This is a IWGP Women’s Championship tournament Finals match of KARI vs. Iwatani.
• New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 608 for their Oct. 14th Battle Autumn 2022 event in Tokyo, 1,150 for their Oct. 15th Battle Autumn 2022 event in Tokyo, 1,545 for their Oct. 16th Battle Autumn 2022 event in Nagaoka, Japan, 300 for their Oct. 16th NJPW Strong Showdown 2022 event in Los Angeles, California, 510 for their Oct. 17th Battle Autumn 2022 event in Fukushima, and 610 for their Oct. 19th Battle Autumn 2022 event in Yamanashi, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• The National Wrestling Alliance recently announced two new matches for the card of their Hard Times III event on November 12th in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is a NWA World Women’s Championship Triple Threat match of KiLynn King vs. Chelsea Green vs. Kamille (c). The other match is a MLW National Openweight Championship match of Colby Corino vs. Davey Richards (c).
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Impact Wrestling officials recently made the decision to add Big Kon, former Konor in WWE, as the newest member of Eric Young’s Violent By Design group. This past Friday’s Impact tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada featured former AEW talent Alan Angels joining VBD.
• Impact Wrestling reportedly is estimated to have generated around 1,840 pay-per-view buys from traditional cable PPV providers for their Bound For Glory 2022 event on October 7th, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that this was up 46% compared to this past June’s Slammiversary 2022 event, which generated around 1,260 PPV buys from traditional cable PPV providers.
• Game Changer Wrestling recently announced that they will be partnering with DDT Pro Wrestling for a co-promoted GCW vs. DDT event at next year’s The Collective series of events on March 31, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. It was also announced that DDT will also be holding an event called DDT Goes To Hollywood on March 30, 2023.
• Lucha Libre AAA reportedly generated an attendance of 14,500 (14,100 paid) for their Oct. 15th Triplemania XXX: Mexico City event in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• During a recent interview with the El Mister newsletter, AAA co-owner Dorian Roldan stated that the average ticket price for all of AAA’s Triplemania events this year was around $55 and AAA had spent around $242,000 per show for live event production costs. Roldan also stated that AAA’s televison tapings cost for the year was around $55,000 per taping for around 30 tapings in total. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AAA would have generated between $550,000 to $800,000 for the live gate revenues per Triplemania event this year. (English translation via Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
• AAA talent El Hijo Del Vikingo reportedly recently secured a work visa for the United States, according to Sports Illustrated. Vikingo stated in an interview with SI’s Justin Barrisso that “I first need to thank my home, AAA, and my friends from Masked Republic for making my dream of traveling to the United States possible. I know it is a great responsibility to head to a new country. It is a responsibility I will live up to and surpass. I want to thank all my fans for their unconditional support. I assure you that I will raise the name Cuautlancingo, Puebla and AAA throughout the world.”
• Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,195 for their Oct. 16th Demolition Stage 2022 in Fukuoka event in Fukuoka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Bobby Fulton reportedly generated an attendance of 2,800 for his Oct. 15th The Great Fall Bash event in Chillicothe, Ohio, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Westside Xtreme Wrestling recently announced that Masha Slamovich and Davey Richards are the first official competitors for next year’s 16 Carat Gold tournament, which takes place on March 10-12, 2023 in Oberhausen, Germany.
• Showbuzz Daily recently announced that going forward, they will not be providing viewership and ratings data for shows that do not rank in the Top 150 Shows for a particular night. A notice issued for the October 20th television ratings stated “NOTE: UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE CABLE RATINGS BEYOND THE TOP 150 BELOW”
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Women of Wrestling talent Beast had suffered a leg injury early into their first set of tapings this past Summer for the revival of WOW TV. It was reported that following her injury, WOW officials made a lot of changes to their creative plans due to they had planned to give her a big push and have her be a major focus for the return of their WOW TV series. It was also reported that Beast was a favorite of WOW head booker David McClane. One source spoken to stated that they believed Beast’s injury was the reason why WOW ended up delaying their tapings at the time while others WOW staff and talent spoken to stated that they were informed the real reason was due to COVID-19 related issues despite them not really believing it. The reason for this belief reportedly was due to the tapings had been cancelled so far in advance causing those within the company to be skeptical of WOW’s official statement.
• During a recent interview with the Stories with Brisco & Bradshaw podcast, former wrestler and promoter Bill Watts revealed that he almost died from COVID-19 and viral pneumonia this year. Watts stated “For the last four to five months, I got the worst strain of COVID and viral pneumonia and I really fought for my life. I’ve been in the hospital five times and you know, you’re so weak and all you’re gonna talk about is your damn health and I think what a miserable thing, and boy did we raise some cain and do some things and we didn’t even never consider getting old because we didn’t even know what it was.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)