Weekend Roundup: Rey Mysterio Injury, SS WarGames Main Event Plans, Jun Akiyama & AEW, NJPW, Teddy Hart Doc. Update, Indies

WWE

• This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,115,000 viewers on FOX, according to SpoilerTV.
• WWE officials reportedly currently are planning on calling up NXT brand talent Cameron Grimes to their main roster soon, according to the Wrestling Observer Radio. Dave Meltzer reported that his sources stated that Grimes’ call-up is currently planned to take place after his current feud with Joe Gacy and The Schism in NXT is finished.
• WWE reportedly is estimated to have generated around 6,500 pay-per-view buys from traditional cable PPV providers for their Crown Jewel 2022 event on November 5th, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that this was down 39% compared to the PPV buys from this past October’s Extreme Rules 2022 event and it also broke the record for lowest ever PPV buys for a WWE event in WWE history. For some comparisons, Meltzer reported that WWE’s Elimination Chamber 2022 event this past February in Saudi Arabia generated around 8,000 PPV buys.
• As noted before, Logan Paul suffered a torn meniscus, MCL, and ACL injury during his match against Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at WWE’s Crown Jewel 2022 event earlier this month. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the current belief within WWE is that Paul suffered the injury following his top rope Frog Splash to Roman Reigns onto the announcer’s table.
• Ringside News reported that John Cena recently held talks with WWE regarding a potential match at next year’s WrestleMania 39 event. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that while his sources have yet to confirm Ringside News’ report, they did state that WWE officials are currently planning for their upcoming WrestleMania 39 event to have a heavier than usual focus on celebrity involvement due to the Hollywood theme for next year’s event.
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 5,731 (4,800) for their Nov. 7th RAW show in Wilkes-Barre, PA, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 6,333 tickets for their Nov. 14th RAW show in Louisville, KY, 4,845 tickets for their Nov. 18th SmackDown show in Hartford, CT, 3,350 tickets for their Nov. 19th house show event in Allentown, PA, 1,847 tickets for their Nov. 20th house show event in State College, PA, 4,646 tickets for their Nov. 21st RAW show in Albany, NY, 4,087 tickets for their Nov. 25th SmackDown show in Providence, RI, 12,735 tickets for their Nov. 26th Survivor Series 2022 event in Boston, MA, 2,461 tickets for their Nov. 27th house show event in Portland, ME, 4,266 tickets for their Nov. 28th RAW show in Norfolk, VA, 3,811 tickets for their Dec. 2nd SmackDown show in Buffalo, NY, 4,501 tickets for their Dec. 5th RAW show in Washington, D.C., 4,498 for their Dec. 9th SmackDown show in Pittsburgh, PA, 1,959 tickets for their Dec. 10th house show event in Saginaw, MI, 1,722 tickets for their Dec. 11th house show event in Charleston, WV, 3,821 tickets for their Dec. 12th RAW show in Milwaukee, WI, 5,775 tickets for their Dec. 16th SmackDown show in Chicago, IL, 2,032 tickets for their Dec. 17th house show event in Moline, IL, 3,472 for their Dec. 26th RAW show in Columbus, OH, 3,313 tickets for their Dec. 27th house show event in Atlanta, GA, 2,452 tickets for their Dec. 28th house show event in Greensboro, NC, 4,434 tickets for their Dec. 29th house show event in Hershey, PA , and 5,669 tickets for their Dec. 30th SmackDown show in Tampa, FL as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE recently announced that they will be holding a new Undertaker 1 deadMAN SHOW on January 27, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Robert Roode was seen backstage at this past Friday’s SmackDown show in Indianapolis, Indiana. Johnson reported that Roode had also been seen earlier this week in Birmingham, Alabama and underwent a medical procedure for his currently unknown injury.
• WWE filed a trademark for “Michin” for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes on November 7th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• PWInsider reported that there was a fan-related incident at a WWE house show on Saturday in Peoria, Illinois. This incident took place during a match between Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross. Following spot where Scarlett slapped McIntyre, several fans were believed to have tossed their drinks at Scarlett resulting in them being escorted by security and ejected out of the venue as a result. In a follow-up report, Mike Johnson reported that a woman had thrown an alcoholic beverage at Scarlett and after being discovered as the perpetrator by security, her and her family was tossed from the show.
• During a recent interview with The Pat McAfee Show podcast, Michael Cole gave his thoughts on the changes in WWE since Vince McMahon’s departure and retirement this past July. Cole stated “Everything has been great. It’s been a great change of scenery the past couple of months. Things are going wonderfully. Ratings have been good, stories have been great, it’s a different world. I worked under Vince for 25 years and I knew nothing else. He’s a second dad in many ways, I grew up in the company. It was a shock when it first happened and we’ve all settled in and realized the show must go on. The show is going on and we’re doing well.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• WWE recently announced that they will be holding a multi-day talent tryout camp in Lagos, Nigeria in February 2023 to “find Africa’s next WWE Superstar.”
• As noted before, Braun Strowman is currently dealing with backstage heat within WWE over recent disparaging online comments he made towards wrestlers who work a high flying style. During a recent episode of the WWE After the Bell with Corey Graves podcast, Graves gave his thoughts over Strowman’s recent online controversy. Graves stated “To everyone on the internet who is all up Braun’s ass and Braun being proud of himself and declaring that, in his opinion, that was the greatest big man match of all time. Look, it doesn’t have to be your opinion, everyone is entitled to their opinion. It’s a subjective business. Braun delivered and Braun was feeling himself. He got a whole bunch of people up in arms about him saying, ‘I’m the best.’ That’s what this game is now. This game is about self-promotion. This game leans a lot more these days toward Logan Paul than the days of old where you had Mean Gene (Okerlund) or Kevin Patrick standing backstage trying to convey a feeling. This business isn’t about wins and losses, it’s about emotion. It’s not about moves, it’s about feelings. Yes, there is a place, I’m a fan of technical wrestling, I love a good high-flier, I love Ricochet and all these guys. I’m not disparaging them at all, but this is a buffet, particularly in WWE. We have something for everybody. if you don’t like the flippy guys, here comes the giants. If you don’t like the giants, watch this, we have the best athletes in the world. We have the best technical wrestlers in the world. Relax everybody. This is a guy who wanted to get people talking, and he did. Guess what, Braun is not losing any sleep. As he himself admits, it’s all about his bank account these days. I’m sure the monster is sleeping pretty well these nights.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• WWE reportedly is currently planning for the main event of their upcoming Survivor Series WarGames 2022 event to be a Men’s WarGames match between the Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Solo Sikoa, & The Usos) vs. The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, & Butch), Drew McIntyre, & mystery partner, according to the Wrestling Observer.
• The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported in Sunday’s Daily Update that his sources stated that Rey Mysterio recently suffered a foot-related injury. Those same sources also stated that Mysterio was originally planned to be among the competitors for WWE’s SmackDown World Cup tournament and was replaced by Mustafa Ali.

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AEW & ROH

• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW’s upcoming Full Gear 2022 event will be airing in fewer theaters across the United States than with past AEW events. Meltzer reported that the reason is not due to any finical-related reasons nor the status of their current partnership with Joe Hand Promotions but instead due to their event taking place on the same week as the high profile theatrical release of Black Panther Wakanda Forever.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW is currently averaging around a 10% increase in overall viewership per Dynamite show this year (967,000 viewers) compared to last year as of this past week’s Dynamite show. In regards to demographic breakdowns, AEW’s overall 18-49 key demographic viewership is up 5%, overall male 18-49 key demographic is up 3%, overall female 18-49 key demographic is up 9%, overall 18-35 key demographic is up 26%, male 18-35 key demographic is up 23%, and female 18-35 key demographic is up 31% per Dynamite show this year compared to last year.
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 3,100 (2,600 paid) for their Nov. 4th Rampage show in Atlantic City, NJ and 3,800 (3,400 paid) for their Nov. 9th Dynamite show in Boston, MA, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 2,373 tickets for their Nov. 16th Dynamite show in Bridgeport, CT, 5,100 tickets for their Nov. 18th Rampage show in Newark, NJ, 10,494 tickets for their Nov. 19th Full Gear 2022 event in Newark, NJ, 4,773 tickets for their Nov. 23rd Dynamite show in Chicago, IL, 2,683 tickets for their Nov. 30th Dynamite show in Indianapolis, IN, 2,455 tickets for their Dec. 7th Dynamite show in Cedar Park, TX, 2,756 tickets for their Dec. 14th Dynamite Winter Is Coming 2022 show in Garland, TX, 2,572 tickets for their Dec. 21st Dynamite show in San Antonio, TX, 2,549 tickets for their December 28th Dynamite show in Broomfield, CO, 6,753 tickets for their Jan. 4, 2023 Dynamite show in Seattle, WA, and 6,065 for their Jan. 11, 2023 Dynamite show in Los Angeles, CA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW recently announced that Japanese wrestling legend and DDT Pro Wrestling talent Jun Akiyama will be making his official debut for the company at their Nov. 18th Rampage show in Newark, New Jersey. Akiyama will be teaming up with Konosuke Takeshita in a tag team match against Eddie Kingston & Ortiz at the event.
• As noted before, AEW’s television deal with Space TV for their Latin American and South American markets except for Brazil expired this past September and the company did not sign a new deal due to monetary-related reasons. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW’s current television contract with Space TV for their Portuguese language market in Brazil is currently set to expire at the end of this year.
• The Bunny recently reflected on Twitter about her upcoming AEW Interim Women’s Championship Eliminator match against Toni Storm. The Bunny stated “I’ve spent the last six months working tirelessly to heal my neck. This Wednesday on #AEWDynamite all the blood, sweat and tears will be worth it. Time to claw my way back and prove once again that I’m a contender and a f***ing draw. #AcknowledgeMe“
• During a recent interview with the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Renee Paquette gave her thoughts about her official debut with AEW this past October. Paquette stated “So I think that was kind of the plan all along [her AEW debut]. It’s funny because Jon [Moxley] had kind of kept saying leading up to it, as that seed was blossoming and I was like, I should get back to doing TV. He was like, ‘Well, Toronto makes the most sense’ but I had not had any conversations officially with anybody and that had always kind of been in my head that was like, yeah, Toronto, I should do something and I was like, but what? What am I gonna be doing? Do I just come out and say hey? Am I actually gonna start working that day? What is that gonna look like? But, I mean Toronto just couldn’t have been a better fitting for me. I really didn’t know what to expect of what kind of reaction I was gonna get, if people were gonna care, any of those things so it was really, really nice to be able to go out and open the show and have a pretty warm reception from everybody. Really kind of made me check myself a little bit. It was really, really nice.”
• In the same interview, Paquette also gave her thoughts about MJF’s mocking impression of her husband Jon Moxley during her interview segment with him on the October 26th episode of AEW Dynamite. Paquette stated “It was actually a pretty good impression [MJF mocking Jon Moxley]. I mean not that we’re surprised by that. I mean MJF is MJF. He’s a world-class performer… Obviously, I didn’t see it prior to going out, I didn’t see him going over it, I didn’t see anything like that so, me seeing it out there for the first time and being able to just hear what he was saying and anytime someone does that Jon mannerism, it’s like this big shoulder movement, so anytime someone does that, it’s pretty funny but yeah, just the lowered brow, just skulking around. I feel like MJF definitely did his due diligence in his Jon Moxley performance. Little sh*t.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• Ring of Honor reportedly has sold around 1,505 tickets for their Dec. 10th Final Battle 2022 event in Arlington, TX as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• During a recent interview with the NBC Sports’ Ten Count podcast, National Wrestling Alliance owner Billy Corgan revealed that he was interested in potentially buying Ring of Honor prior to Tony Khan’s purchase of the company. Corgan stated “Ring of Honor was offered for sale to me as well. I don’t know where I was in the pecking order. I got the feeling I wasn’t the first and I certainly wasn’t last. I did consider it.” Corgan also stated that had he bought the company, he likely would have done the same as Khan in regards to his current handling of ROH with AEW. (Transcript h/t: WrestlingInc.com)

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Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 4,006 for their Nov. 5th Battle Autumn 2022 event in Osaka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• NJPW reportedly has sold over 16,000 tickets for their upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 17 event on January 4, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that this number is based on a recent announcement from NJPW who stated that they have already sold more tickets for this upcoming event than the total attendance for any night of Wrestle Kingdom since Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in 2020.
• As noted before, FTR is currently scheduled to make an appearance for NJPW at next year’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 event in Tokyo, Japan. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that it is currently not known if more AEW talent will be appearing at this upcoming event due to it taking place on the same day as AEW’s Dynamite show in Seattle. Many of AEW’s top talent reportedly currently wanted to work for NJPW but are also willing to wait until NJPW is able to run events on a regular basis with cheering crowds allowed again.
• NJPW’s Bullet Club stable reportedly recently signed a sponsorship deal with sports apparel manufacturer Under Armor, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dragon Gate reportedly generated a paid attendance of 2,208 for their Nov. 6th Gate of Destiny 2022 event in Osaka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, El Hijo del Vikingo recently was granted a work visa for the United States. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that prior to his injury, Pro Wrestling Guerilla had tried to book del Vikingo for their Dink event on November 6th in Seattle for his first match in the U.S. but Lucha Libre AAA officials rejected their booking request due to them wanting his first match in the U.S. to be for their own upcoming event on December 3rd in Tempe, Arizona instead.
• As noted before, PWG is currently not planning to run an event during next year’s WrestleMania 39 weekend festivities in the Los Angeles area. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the reason is due to PWG officials not wanting to compromise on the special fan atmosphere for their events.
• As noted before, AAA is currently working on plans for a co-promoted event with “a good friend” in early 2023. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this “good friend” was revealed to be Conrad Thompson. Meltzer reported that the current plan is for this event to take place in Carson, California at a venue that can hold around 7,000 during next year’s WrestleMania 39 weekend.
• AAA recently announced that AEW talents Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo will be making an appearance for the company at their Noche De Campeones 2022 event on December 28th in Acapulco, Mexico. It was also announced that Guevara and Melo will be defending their AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship in a triple threat match against Lady Shani & Octagon Jr. and Komander & Sexy Star.
• Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 307 for their Nov. 5th Goddess of Stardom Tag League 2022 event in Nara and 312 for their Nov. 6th Goddess of Stardom Tag League 2022 event in Tsu, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly generated a paid attendance of 789 for their Nov. 10th Global Honored Crown event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the key demographic viewership ratings for NFL’s Thursday games on streaming service Amazon Prime has been almost equal to what NFL’s games have been doing on Mondays on ESPN for cable television. Meltzer reported that this can be viewed as a very good sign for WWE and AEW for future potential streaming television deals since its shows that their key audience likely would not suffer a major loss in viewership numbers moving from traditional cable television to streaming. Meltzer reported that both companies would still likely take a hit with their Over 50 demographic viewership group due to that group being the least likely to move over in large numbers for a switch in platforms. Meltzer speculated that television wrestling is still likely a year or two away from being able to benefit on similar level as the NFL for a potential move to streaming services.
• Besides Amazon, Dave Meltzer also reported that Netflix is currently working on plans to enter the live sports market which could end up affecting WWE and AEW’s upcoming negotiations for new television contracts in a very positive way. In a recent report from Deadline.com, one source within Netflix stated “Sports is the baseline now, we all know it, and finding the right properties, the right leagues is a priority, but it is always a question of the right league, the right deal.”
• Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling reportedly is currently working on plans to run an event in the Los Angeles area during next year’s WrestleMania 39 weekend festivities, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Dark Side of the Ring series producers are currently working on plans for a potential episode based on Adrian Adonis for the series upcoming fourth season.
• Impact Wrestling talents Deonna Purrazzo and Steve Maclin revealed on Instagram that they got married this past Thursday.
• As noted before, a new wrestling-based documentary based on Teddy Hart is currently in production for NBC’s Peacock streaming service. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that this will be a three-part series with episodes 60 minutes in length. This upcoming series reportedly will be covering Hart’s controversial wrestling career, his arrests over the years, and the allegations of sexual harassment and his involvement in the disappearance of wrestling trainee Samatha Fiddler. This upcoming series reportedly is currently scheduled to air on November 22nd.
• DEFY Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their Air Raid event on December 17th in Seattle, Washington. This will be a singles match of El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Nick Wayne.
• Westside Xtreme Wrestling recently announced that Kommander is the next official participant for their upcoming 16 Carat Gold 2023 tournament on March 10-12, 2023 in Oberhausen, Germany.