Weekend Roundup: Brodie Lee, RAW Ratings Note, Snoop Dogg, FTR, Jim Duggan Home Invasion, Cord Cutting & Wrestling, Indies

WWE

• WWE recently paid tribute to the late Brodie Lee, also known as Luke Harper, on what would have been his 43rd birthday this past Friday. WWE stated “Remembering Jon Huber, known to WWE fans as Luke Harper, today on his birthday.“
• This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,056,000 viewers on FOX, according to SpoilerTV.
• WWE filed a trademark for their logo for wrestling, merchandise, and NFTs-related purposes on December 13th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• WWE also filed a trademark for “WWE King and Queen of the Ring” for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes on December 8th to the USPTO.
• During a recent interview with ABC affiliate WTAE-TV, Code Orange band member Jami Morgan gave his thoughts on the process that led to the band working with Bray Wyatt for the production of his new “Shatter” theme song. Morgan stated “He’s [Bray Wyatt] just a fan of heavy music and cool music. He does a lot of his effects stuff with an amazing guy named Jason Baker down here, who works with Tom Savini and does awesome horror movie stuff. We just got connected through music. We originally got connected because I just DM’d him on Twitter a couple years ago, and we made a theme for him at the time that was not a cover but, like, a new version of a different theme he had. This time, we connected on making something totally fresh and building something from the ground up together.”
• During a recent interview with the Out of Character with Ryan Satin podcast, Apollo Crews gave his thoughts about his current run in NXT. Crews stated “I was like man, I’m 100% for it. It was one of those things where it was like, ‘Is it long term or is it gonna be short term?’ Me, honestly, it doesn’t matter. I’m gonna control what I can control. You give me this opportunity, I’m gonna come out here and kill it. If they bring me back to Raw or SmackDown two weeks later, so be it. If they bring me back in two months, so be it. In my head, I wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity that I was being presented with because essentially I was presented the opportunity to kind of change the trajectory of my career and kind of really start over, which not a lot of people get to do. It that this stuff didn’t happen, but we’re almost like, ‘Let’s just wipe that slate clean, and we’re gonna start right here.’ It’s like okay, we’re gonna work on what should have been done the first time.” Crews also gave his thoughts about the differences compared to his first run in NXT. Crews stated “I think when I originally got to NXT and was first signed, I think the time that I got to spend at NXT was just way too short. I don’t think I had enough development as a character, as a TV personality, I wasn’t developed enough. I was not ready to go, but this is something where Triple H himself pulled me aside and was like hey, you’re gonna debut on Raw. This was after Dallas. We did a TakeOver in Dallas, I believe I wrestled Elias for a taping the following week on NXT, which at that time was still on the WWE network. Triple H comes up to me and [he said] I’m going to Raw basically tomorrow. Or WrestleMania was Sunday, and then I was going on Monday. I was like, ‘Wow.’ What do you say? You’re not gonna sit there and be like, ‘No, I think I need to stay down here longer.’ This is the dream. This is what I literally came here for. I didn’t know what to expect, just like signing with NXT. I didn’t know what to expect, moving to the Performance Center or moving to Orlando. You don’t know what to expect, and you hear so many different stories. Even the stories that you hear, it doesn’t matter what anybody tells you. Everybody’s situation is gonna be different. Everybody’s career is gonna be different, the way things happen to people. It’s all gonna be different, so you can’t really base it off of what anybody says.” Crews also stated that he is currently hopeful of being able to return to the main roster within the near future. Crews stated “So just being blessed with this opportunity to come over, come down and help myself while helping other young talent as well, it’s a blessing and it’s an honor, and I’m gonna take full advantage of this, which I feel like I’ve done these last six months already. Whenever the time is right, whenever that decision’s made, we can get back, hopefully get back to Raw, SmackDown, get onto premium live events, get on the WrestleManias, the Royal Rumbles, the Survivor Series, the SummerSlams. That’s what I feel like everybody comes here for. They’d be lying if they told you they didn’t.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Quincy Elliott has been out of action for WWE’s NXT brand since this past October due to an unknown injury. Elliott recently provided an update on Twitter stating that he was recently medically cleared for a return to the ring. No other details regarding his injury was given.
• As noted before, the December 12th RAW show drew 1,472,000 viewers and a 0.37 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this past Monday’s show overall viewership was tied for the lowest ever for a RAW show on USA Network in RAW series history. Meltzer reported that this tied the July 5, 2021 for lowest ever on USA Network and was tied for second lowest ever in general, only behind the February 7th show on SyFy at 1,388,000 viewers. In regards to hour breakdowns, Meltzer reported that this past Monday’s show’s first hour viewership of 1,482,000 viewers was the lowest ever for a first hour, the second hour viewership of 1,547,000 viewers was the second lowest ever for a second hour, and the third hour viewership of 1,388,000 viewers was the fifth lowest ever for a third hour in RAW series history. In regards to the key demographic ratings, Meltzer reported that it was the third lowest ever for a RAW show on USA Network in RAW series history.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the recent reports and rumors of WWE has finalized their plans for the card of next year’s WrestleMania 39 event is not true. Those same sources reportedly stated that WWE officials are currently considering multiple ideas and plans for their top stars and matches for next year’s event. In regards to the rumors of Brock Lesnar facing off against Gunther at the event, Meltzer reported that WWE has not made a decision regarding that potential match. Meltzer speculated that WWE likely will not finalize their plans for the card of next year’s WrestleMania 39 event until the end of January 2023 with the biggest unknown currently being Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and other celebrities availability for the event.
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 6,956 (5,600 paid) for their Dec. 9th SmackDown show in Pittsburgh, PA, 3,095 for their Dec. 10th house show event in Saginaw, MI, 2,733 for their Dec. 10th house show event in Wheeling, WV, 1,917 for their Dec. 11th house show event in Kalamazoo, MI, 3,095 for their Dec. 11th house show event in Charleston, WV, and 6,902 (6,100 paid) for their Dec. 12th RAW show in Milwaukee, WI, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE has sold around 5,184 tickets for their Dec. 19th RAW show in Des Moines, IA, 9,770 tickets for their Dec. 26th house show event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, 4,960 tickets for their Dec. 26th house show event in Columbus, OH, 5,858 tickets for their Dec. 27th in Atlanta, GA, 4,593 tickets for their Dec. 28th house show event in Greensboro, NC, 3,460 tickets for their Dec. 29th house show event in Miami, FL, 4,163 tickets for their Dec. 29th house show event in Hershey, PA, 6,555 tickets for their Dec. 30th house show event in Toronto, Canada, 8,753 tickets for their Dec. 30th SmackDown show in Tampa, FL, 6,908 tickets for their Jan. 2, 2023 RAW show in Nashville, TN, 12,706 tickets for their Jan. 23rd RAW 30th show in Philadelphia, PA, 33,128 tickets for their Jan. 28th Royal Rumble 2023 event in San Antonio, TX, 12,177 tickets for their Feb. 17th SmackDown show in Montreal, 12,663 tickets for their Feb. 18th Elimination Chamber 2023 event in Montreal, Canada, 49,556 tickets for their April 1st WrestleMania 39 Night 1 event in Inglewood, and 50,092 tickets for their April 2nd WrestleMania 39 Night 2 event in Inglewood, CA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that should Roman Reigns still be WWE Universal Champion on January 17, 2023, he will end up surpassing Gunther’s NXT UK Championship reign for longest reign with any championship in WWE since Hulk Hogan’s reign as WWF Heavyweight Champion from January 23, 1984 to February 5, 1988.
• WWE recently announced that they will be holding a new Undertaker 1 deadMAN SHOW on February 16, 2023 in Montreal, Canada.
• This past Friday’s SmackDown show in Chicago, Illinois featured a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match between Liv Morgan & Tegan Nox and champions Damage CTRL, which was won by Damage CTRL. During the match a mysterious hooded person attacked Nox on the outside resulting in this person being hauled away by security and IYO SKY tossing Nox into to the ring and hitting a moonsault for the victory. In a backstage exclusive video, Adam Pearce unmasked the mystery person revealing her to be Xia Li.
• During a recent interview with the Twin Talk with Haley & Hanna Cavinder podcast, Liv Morgan gave her thoughts on her current plans for her career after wrestling. Morgan stated “I think immediately, I think day after retirement, I’d like to be doing movies. I’ve been lucky enough to have some opportunities within WWE. I was in Chucky season two and I got killed by Chucky which was like a dream, it was amazing. It was so cool. I never get starstruck over anyone but, when I saw Chucky, I melted. I was so starstruck. I was able to participate in this movie called ‘The Kill Room’ with Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson and that’s yet to be released so I’ve had these opportunities luckily while I have WWE and while I have their platform so hopefully one day, you know, if I ever part ways — I mean I will wrestle forever — I kind of have my foot in the door with acting a little bit and I hope to be able to do more of that. My soap business, I have to expand that but yes, real estate is always in the back of my mind and it’s something that I hope I can fall on at the end of the day regardless of any of these things.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• Snoop Dogg recently announced on Instagram that his custom gold WWE Championship belt that was given to him as a gift by WWE during their WrestleMania 39 launch party this past August in Los Angeles recently went missing. Dogg stated that he had brought the title from his home to show to his fans at a recent Holidaze of Blaze tour show and the belt went missing afterwards. WWE responded on Twitter stating that anyone who has seen the belt since its dissapearance to contact them.

AEW & ROH

• AEW recently paid tribute to the late Brodie Lee on Twitter on what would have been his 43rd birthday this past Friday. AEW stated “He will never be forgotten. Happy Birthday to the greatest TNT Champion, “The Exalted One” @ThisBrodieLee“
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 5,100 (4,700 paid) for their Dec. 14th Dynamite Winter Is Coming 2022 show in Garland, TX, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 4,476 tickets for their Dec. 21st Dynamite show in San Antonio, TX, 3,773 tickets for their December 28th Dynamite show in Broomfield, CO, 7,281 tickets for their Jan. 4, 2023 Dynamite show in Seattle, WA, 3,661 tickets for their Jan. 6th Rampage show in Portland, OR, 6,412 tickets for their Jan. 11th Dynamite show in Los Angeles, CA, 3,250 tickets for their Jan. 18th Dynamite show in Fresno, CA, 3,582 tickets for their Jan. 25th Dynamite show in Lexington, KY, 1,935 tickets for their Feb. 1st Dynamite show in Dayton, OH, 2,413 tickets for their Feb. 8th Dynamite show in El Paso, TX, 4,745 tickets for their Feb. 22nd Dynamite show in Phoenix, AZ, 2,593 tickets for their March 1st Dynamite show in San Francisco, and 5,743 tickets for their March 5th Revolution 2023 event in San Francisco, CA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that FTR managed to become the first ever tag team to hold a world tag team championship for major promotions in Japan (NJPW), Mexico (AAA), and the United States (AEW, ROH, and WWE). In regards to singles world championships, Meltzer reported that only five wrestlers have done this in wrestling history, which are Kenny Omega, Vader, Tatsumi Fujinami, Bull Nakano, and Antonio Inoki. Meltzer reported that Lou Thesz would be the sixth person if you count his reign as International Champion, which was considering the top title in Japan at the time. Meltzer also reported that Vader is the only person in wrestling history to have won a major world championship in four major wrestling markets when including Europe.
• Deadline.com reported that Chris Jericho recently joined the cast for an upcoming horror film titled Dark Match. It was reported that Jericho will be the lead star of this upcoming film, which is currently in production by Dept. 9 Studios.
• During a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, Ricky Starks gave his thoughts about William Regal’s recent departure from AEW. Starks stated “I do miss Regal because…no one knows this but Regal knew me when I first started back in like early 2012 up until this point. I have known of him, kept in contact. He has seen my potential, he has seen my growth. It was great to see him when he showed up at the pay-per-view this past March or whatever. I was sad to see him leave, for sure. But yanno, that’s just how it goes in this business sadly. But he was another guy that I would kind of ask and talk to cause I just had that relationship built with him already.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• As noted before, the October 21st Rampage show featured willow Nightingale defeating Leila Grey in a singles match. Following the match, it was announced that Nightingale had recently signed an official contract with AEW. During a recent interview with Fightful’s Grapsody podcast, Nightingale gave her thoughts about her recent signing with AEW. Nightingale stated “I, obviously knew I had been signed at this point, I signed the contract that morning. They had emailed it to me and I was standing ringside when I did the signature on my phone. It was really fresh and very full circle for me. Daily’s Place, the majority of the time I spent there in the crowd because the audience was people who came in for extra work or other people who were on the roster who weren’t wrestling. We filled the crowd, made all the noise and supported each other, and were there for hours at a time. We were there until two in the morning sometimes recording the show. We would do this every two weeks. It felt like I was putting in so much energy and effort and, is there the recognition there that I wanted? Is the payoff there? I don’t know. Now, a year and some change later, I have signed a full-time contract to the company that I want to work for, in the building where I felt some of my lowest feelings about myself and my career, and it was very full circle. To have the crowd there to cheer for me and be super into it, it was very overwhelming. Yes, I did not see [the graphic] on the big screen. At one point, I turned around and was like, ‘Wow, that’s me!’ I was responding to all the people around me. Tony Schiavone, a legend of the industry, putting it all out there. I was overwhelmed with a flurry of different emotions. That was a really cool moment for me.” Nightingale also stated that prior to her signing, she was under a per-date type deal with the company. Nightingale stated “I had a pay-per-appearance situation. I was with them in a capacity, in an official capacity even, but to me it didn’t really feel the same. I wasn’t on the roster page. I don’t think the fans really looked at me as a part of the team. Here and there, depends on who you ask. I still felt a chip on my shoulder because even if I hadn’t gotten the All Elite graphic, it just didn’t feel like I was fully welcomed in yet. The women in the locker room were great and had been treating me kindly and everything, but it wasn’t the whole thing. When it all happened, I was like, ‘Ahh! Yes!.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• During a recent episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast, host Chris Jericho gave his thoughts about his match against Bandido for the ROH World Championship on the September 28th AEW Dynamite show. Jericho stated “Going out there with this guy and not knowing anything about him, he’s such a great flier and he has such power. He held me up for the standing suplex, I think for like 60 seconds, and the blood was rushing to my head and I could barely hold on. He was so strong and when he finally brought me down, the people started going nuts. That’s when we had them. We did a whole bunch of crazy stuff. I took the hurricanrana off the apron, I took the jumping backwards moonsault powerslam, and I took his german suplex off the ropes. It’s one of those matches where everything was going too well. I spun his mask around and had him tap out to the walls, and as soon as we got back through the curtain, I said to Tony (Khan), ‘We need to sign this guy.’ That’s what we did. It took a while to actually get him to commit, but man, we signed him and I see big things in the future for Bandido.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Prestige Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their Vendetta event on January 21, 2023 in Pomona, California. This is a ROH Women’s World Championship match of Miyu Yamashita vs. Athena (c).
• Ring of Honor reportedly generated an attendance of 2,700 (2,500 paid) for their Dec. 10th Final Battle 2022 event in Arlington, TX, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dax Harwood recently reflected on Instagram about FTR and The Briscoes’ Double Dog Collar match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship at ROH’s Final Battle 2022 event earlier this month. Harwood stated “Artists have the one piece they’re the most proud of, and that’s their Masterpiece. This was my Masterpiece. Watching it, honest to God, I’ve laughed, I’ve cringed, and I’ve cried. Over every other match I’ve had, this is the one I’m the most proud of. 2022 has been a storybook year for me. Almost unbelievable at times. Through anger, frustration, joy, and pain, it’s been the greatest year of my life. Thank you all for allowing me to be a part of yours. I hope we could make it a little bit better. 2023 is going to be unknown territory, and I’m not even sure that we can match up to what we’ve done this year, but you all have my word, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’re just as entertained as ever. Top Guy, out.”

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan reportedly stopped a robbery from taking place at his home earlier this month, according to WrestlingInc.com. Duggan reportedly noticed that a man in his 20s had tried to enter his home uninvited, which led to Duggan tackling the man and holding him at gunpoint until police arrived. It was reported that “the intruder, who the Duggans described as hysterically frightened, claimed that people from a nearby home were coming after him to kill him, after which Duggan kept his gun on his lap and his hand on the intruder’s back until the police arrived. According to Duggan, the intruder was fleeing individuals related to a separate legal matter, leading him to seek refuge; the intruder reportedly pounded on multiple other doors before climbing over the Duggans’ fence and entering through their unlocked door. Duggan did not press charges when asked, letting the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department apprehend the intruder.”
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that due to DAZN’s current deal with WWE, Impact Wrestling is currently unable to air their events on the service in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. Meltzer reported that the terms of WWE’s deal gives them exclusivity for those markets for wrestling events aired on the service. In a statement on DAZN’s official website, the company stated that “select countries (including Germany and Italy) will be excluded from the deal for the time being due to contractual obligations elsewhere” in regards to the issue with their deal with Impact.
• New Japan Pro Wrestling recently announced that the December 31st NJPW Strong show will be a “Best of 2022” special and it will be free to watch on New Japan World, FITE TV, and NJPW’s YouTube channel.
• NJPW reportedly generated a paid attendance of 942 for their Dec. 9th World Tag League 2022 event in Kochi, 1,001 for their Dec. 10th Super Junior Tag League 2022 event in Uwajima, 971 for their Dec. 11th World Tag League 2022 event in Himeji, and 2,031 for their Dec. 14th Super Junior Tag League and World Tag League 2022 Finals event in Sendai, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, this past Wednesday’s NJPW Super Junior Tag League 2022 and World Tag League 2022 Finals event featured Minoru Suzuki officially announcing that his Suzuki-Gun stable would be disbanding after the end of this year. During a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Suzuki-Gun member Taichi gave his thoughts about the group’s upcoming disbanding. Taichi stated “As for why I wanted to challenge him [Shingo Takagi] so badly, I had it in my mind that the Suzuki Army was going to disband. I had been approached about it from that stage, and I thought about it a lot… I thought about it a lot… I also felt that I couldn’t disband the stable empty-handed. We didn’t leave anything behind this year. If we break up like this, I won’t know where to go on a new journey. I don’t want them to think that I’m glad we broke up, but I do want to live up to their feelings [that I’ll do well after this].” (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
• NJPW President Takami Ohbari recently officially announced new COVID-19 pandemic guidelines for fans cheering at their events in Japan going forward. Among the changes includes fans will now be allowed to do small chants at events albeit while still required to wear face masks but longer chants such as singing entrance songs will still not be allowed. Fans will also be allowed to chant ref counts and the capacity allowed for events has been increased to 100% for non-cheering events and 50% for cheering events. Ohbari also stated that certain venues and municipalities might have their own seperate rules for events which could disallow NJPW’s new guidelines and their events would have to be held under those rules instead.
• Saturday’s Uprising ’22 event for Revolution Pro Wrestling featured NJPW talent Great-O-Khan defeating Zak Zodiac to become the new RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the amount of homes with cable in the United States is currently at around 78,970,000. In terms of the effect of cord cutting on wrestling, Meltzer reported that USA Network was down 5.7% to 74,363,000 homes, FS1 was down 6.1% to 73,748,000 homes, TBS was down 7.8% to 73,739,000 homes, TNT was down 7.9% to 73,595,000 homes, and BeIN Sports (home of Major League Wrestling) was down 18.9% to 10,985,000 homes compared to last year. In regards to WWE RAW and AEW Dynamite, Meltzer reported that both have seen a home coverage decline of 19% since October of 2019. In terms of the effect on ratings, Meltzer reported that a 0.45 rating for RAW would be equivalent to a 0.55 three years ago and same for a 0.32 rating for Dynamite would be equivalent to a 0.39 three years ago. In regards to SmackDown, Meltzer reported that FOX is currently in 123,800,000 homes due to its status as a network television station. Meltzer reported that FOX, CBS, ABC, and NBC were up 1.1% for home coverage compared to last year.
• As noted before, Lucha Libre AAA’s current policy for bookings of AAA talent El Hijo del Vikingo is that his matches can not be aired in the United States for indie events. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AAA’s current policy has already cost Vikingo some bookings in the U.S. due to promoters not being able to recoup his high booking fee costs since they can not promote his appearances to help drive additional sales of their events on FITE TV. Meltzer reported that the reason for the policy is due to AAA wanting to keep him as their exclusive big star for their events in the U.S. and this is something no other AAA talent has as a restriction for their bookings in the U.S.
• AAA talent Lady Shani reportedly is currently dealing with a potential serious knee injury, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 465 for their Dec. 10th Year End Tour event in Osaka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Stardom recently announced that they will be debuting a new championship called the New Blood Tag Team Championship early next year. It was also announced that a tournament will be held to crown an inaugural champion starting on January 7, 2023 and concluding at their New Blood Premium event on March 25th.
• Stardom talent Unagi Sayaka recently held a streaming session with one of the topics discussed included Sayaka stating that she would like to wrestle in AEW, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling, WWE NXT, and Pro Wrestling Eve at some point in her career. (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
• As noted before, Tajiri and Jake Lee will be leaving All Japan Pro Wrestling by the end of this month. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the current belief is that Tajiri will be working for a small promotion called Kyushu Pro Wrestling once he leaves AJPW. Tajiri reportedly is currently also planning on opening a new wrestling school in Japan within the near future. In regards to Lee, Meltzer reported that Lee is currently rumored to be heading to NJPW but no deal has been signed as of this past Thursday.
• Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, and Ganbare Pro Wrestling parent company CuberFight recently released their fiscal 2022 report revealing that the company lost $4,978,600 for the year, up compared to a loss of $2,272,000 for last year’s fiscal year. CyberAgent, parent company of CyberFight, generated around $518.3 million in revenue for the fiscal year, up 6.6% compared to last year’s fiscal year. CyberAgent also revealed that they generated around $50.4 million in profit, down 33.8% compared to last year’s fiscal year. (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
• NOAH talent Kai Fujimura reportedly recently suffered a broken left radial shaft injury in his forearm, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Major League Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their Blood & Thunder 2023 event on January 7, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is a singles match of Lince Dorado vs. La Estrella.
• In a recent episode of the To Be The Man podcast, co-host Ric Flair stated that Jim Ross “lost every bit of credibility” with him over his comments made on the Plane Ride From Hell episode of Dark Side of the Ring. Flair stated “Jim Ross lost every bit of credibility with me in life, in spite of calling me the greatest wrestler of all time or whatever in his induction, when he jumped on Dark Side of [the Ring]. Because all he is starving for and leaning on in life is to be relevant because he ain’t. I can forgive Jim Ross for Dark Side, which I have because there’s nothing worth it, but I don’t appreciate it. Jerry Lawler texted me, I don’t know how many people said, ‘What the f–k did Ross mean? You got to know when to walk away from Ric Flair?’ Well, the WWE learned when to walk away from Jim Ross. I’m going to the 30th reunion, do you think he is? At the same time, Jim Ross will always be my favorite announcer. I’m not diminishing his skills. I’m not like Eric [Bischoff] saying I was no good at anything. I’m telling you Jim was the f—ing best but I also thought he was one of my best friends. A friend doesn’t do that.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)
• As noted before, former WWE talent Velveteen Dream, real name Patrick Clark, was arrested twice this past August in Florida over various charges. TMZ recently released the police video footage of Dream’s arrest on August 20th over an incident of Dream allegedly attacking an employee in a gym in Orlando, Florida.
• The Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame held their inaugural class ceremony on Saturday as part of the Icons of Wrestling Convention & Fanfest at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The inaugural class was Madusa (also known as Alundra Blaze in WWE), Jazz, the late Luna Vachon, the entire roster of the original GLOW promotion, Mildred Burke, Rita Marie Chatterton, Susan “Tex” Green, Ethel Johnson, Cora Livingston, Iryna Merleni, Toni Rose & Donna Christanello, Marva Scott, Beverly “Hammer” Shade, and Babs Wingo.