Weekend Roundup: New WWE Tag Belts, Aliyah, William Regal, AEW Interim Plans, WBD, Deonna Purrazzo, Cain Velasquez, Indies

WWE

• As noted before, WWE recently announced that current tickets sales for next year’s Royal Rumble event in San Antonio, Texas recently broke the record for largest ever gate for a Royal Rumble event in Royal Rumble history at $5 million. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the gate revenue for WWE’s upcoming Royal Rumble 2023 event is currently the second largest ever for a non-WrestleMania event in WWE history, only behind this past September’s Clash at the Castle event which generated a live gate revenue of $8.2 million.
• As noted before, the November 28th RAW show drew 1,668,000 viewers and a 0.40 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that RAW’s key demographic rating was tied for both the lowest of this year and the fourth lowest ever for a RAW show in RAW history. Meltzer reported that the first-to-second hour drop of 332,000 viewers was the largest ever first-to-second hour drop for a RAW show in RAW history.
• As noted before, the November 21st RAW show drew 1,646,000 viewers and a 0.41 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that RAW’s key demo rating was one of the lowest ever for a RAW show in RAW history. Meltzer reported that the first-to-third hour drop of 19.9% was the third largest drop for a WWE show this year.
• As noted before, the November 25th SmackDown show drew 2,166,000 viewers and a 0.54 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that week’s show had started 10 minutes later than usual on the West Coast due to the college football game that night ended late which caused SmackDown’s first quarter to be inflated with a much higher than usual first quarter viewership. The opening quarter featuring Becky Lynch’s return reportedly drew 2,621,000 viewers (903,000 key demo viewers), which Meltzer reported was the second highest quarter for a WWE show this year.
• WWE reportedly is currently working on several plans for the broadcast of their December 26th RAW show, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that his sources stated that WWE officials are currently considering either holding two sets of tapings on December 19th with that night’s RAW show to air live and the Dec. 26th show to be taped or airing a Best of 2022 special instead for that night.
• WWE Executive Producer & Head of Global Television Distribution Kevin Dunn reportedly was not in attendance backstage at this past weekend’s Survivor Series WarGames event in Boston, Massachusetts, according to RingsideNews.com and later confirmed by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. RingsideNews reported that their sources stated that the official reason was due to him being on vacation. Those spoken to reportedly stated that Dunn’s absence was a big talking point backstage and many were shocked that he would miss a major pay-per-view event.
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 6,593 (5,800 paid) for their Nov. 18th SmackDown show in Hartford, CT, 3,779 for their Nov. 19th house show event in Allentown, PA, 2,194 for their Nov. 20th house show event in State College, PA, 5,954 (5,200 paid) for their Nov. 21st RAW show in Albany, NY, 5,924 (5,200 paid) for their Nov. 25th SmackDown show in Providence, RI, and 7,121 (6,300 paid) for their Nov. 28th RAW show in Norfolk, VA, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE has sold around 5,964 tickets for their Dec. 5th RAW show in Washington, D.C., 5,604 tickets for their Dec. 9th SmackDown show in Pittsburgh, PA, 2,366 tickets for their Dec. 10th house show event in Saginaw, MI, 1,912 tickets for their Dec. 11th house show event in Wheeling, WV, 2,393 tickets for their Dec. 11th house show event in Charleston, WV, 5,157 tickets for their Dec. 12th RAW show in Milwaukee, WI, 8,397 tickets for their Dec. 16th SmackDown show in Chicago, IL, 2,421 tickets for their Dec. 17th house show event in Moline, IL, 1,895 tickets for their Dec. 18th house show event in Rochester, MN, 4,221 tickets for their Dec. 26th RAW show in Columbus, OH, 4,767 tickets for their Dec. 27th house show event in Atlanta, GA, 3,367 tickets for their Dec. 28th house show event in Greensboro, NC, 3,523 tickets for their Dec. 29th house show event in Hershey, PA , and 6,363 tickets for their Dec. 30th SmackDown show in Tampa, FL as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, Brian Kendrick was brought in as a backstage producer for WWE’s Survivor Series WarGames event this past weekend as a request made by Ronda Rousey. Kendrick had been involved in a controversy this past February over several past controversial statements made by him regarding the Holocaust and other conspiracy theories being made public at the time which led to his booking with AEW being pulled. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources within WWE stated that there was no controversy backstage when word spread that Kendrick was being brought in for the event. Meltzer also reported that WWE officials currently do not have any plans to bring Kendrick back for a producer tryout and his appearance was solely done to appease Rousey.
• As noted before, Charlotte Flair has been absent from WWE since this past May due to her being granted time off for marriage and family-related reasons. Flair revealed on Instagram that she recently had a workout training session with NXT talents Zoey Stark and Alba Fyre.
• TMZ Sports reported that former NFL and XFL player Scooby Wright was among those who had been invited and participated in a recent WWE tryout at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
• WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering reportedly is currently scheduled to be a guest coach this week for WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, according to PWInsider.
• WWE reportedly is currently planning to hold an event in India on January 18, 2023, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that this upcoming event is currently scheduled to be a SmackDown brand event.
• As note before, FOX and DirectTV had been in a dispute regarding the terms for new carriage contract that saw the possibility of FOX-owned networks being pulled off of the service. Deadline.com reported that FOX and DirectTV officials recently agreed to a new multi-year deal and avoided a potential blackout of FOX programming on the service.
• WWE reportedly had recently ordered and received a new set of tag team championship belts with the current plans for it to be given to The Usos, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Xero News, BeltFanDan. BeltFanDan reported that these new belts are currently expected to make its official debut within the next few weeks while Xero News reported that these new belts feature a black strap with duo side plates and a large WWE logo in the middle.
• As noted before, Kevin Owens suffered a knee injury this past November but it was not serious enough to prevent him from working at WWE’s Survivor Series WarGames event. During a recent interview with the WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves podcast, Owens gave his thoughts about his knee injury. Owens stated “I guess I’m fine, I think [Owens responded when asked how he’s feeling physically]. It really changes by the day. You could ask me that question tomorrow and I’m feeling awful but today, I think I’m okay. But I don’t know. I’ll get out of my car and my back could be shot and I’m not aware of it until I start walking. The last few months have been interesting in that aspect. I wake up fine but by 2 o’clock, my knees don’t work. I don’t know, you know what I mean? [Owens laughed] It really hasn’t started hitting me until recently honestly. I’m like, man, just weird aches and pains will come and go but yeah, at this moment, I’m sitting in my truck, I feel great. My back was really bothering me going into it already [match against Jey Uso on Raw] and then I’ve had the knee issues the last few weeks so, yeah, I went in feeling pretty beat up but just worked out really good and I think everybody really enjoyed the match and so did I so, you know, it’s just nice to walk away from it all with people enjoying what you do.”
• During the same interview, Owens gave his thoughts about the possibility of him working indies events in the future while under contract with WWE. Owens stated “I’m very deeply rooted in the independent scene. That’s where I came up and I still have so many friends there and there’s a few wrestling companies, independent companies, they are still very near and dear to my heart that I’d love to maybe show back up on just for fun whether it’s a promo or maybe it’s a match. That’s stuff that I’ve always kind of thought about over the years like hey man, it’d be really cool if I got to do that again one day. Now it feels like more of a possibility than ever and it doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen but it feels like it could now, you know? And that’s very exciting as well just for everybody, for everybody involved, the fans, the wrestlers.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• As noted before, Aliyah has been out of action for WWE since this past September due to an unknown injury. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Aliyah was recently medically cleared for an in-ring return. Those same sources reportedly stated that the reason why Aliyah has yet to return is due to WWE officials currently do not have any creative plans in place for her.
• As noted before, Sasha Banks was in attendance at a Boston Celtics game this past Wednesday in Boston, Massachusetts. Banks revealed on Twitter that the reason for her trip to Boston was due to her being involved in the filming for her first movie that recently was completed.

AEW & ROH

• AEW’s Full Gear 2022 event this past November reportedly generated an attendance of 11,800 (11,000 paid), according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that the event generated around $125,000 in revenues from 300 theaters airing the event in the U.S. and had generated a live gate revenue of around $1,040,000. Meltzer reported that this was the sixth non-WWE event to reach the milestone of a $1 million gate with five of them belonging to AEW and the other belonging to Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s co-promoted event in 2019.
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 6,000 (5,200 paid) for their Nov. 18th Rampage show in Newark, NJ, 6,100 (5,600 paid) for their Nov. 23rd Dynamite show in Chicago, IL, and 3,900 (3,700 paid) for their Nov. 30th Dynamite show in Indianapolis, IN, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold 2,682 tickets for their Dec. 7th Dynamite show in Cedar Park, TX, 3,081 tickets for their Dec. 14th Dynamite Winter Is Coming 2022 show in Garland, TX, 3,612 tickets for their Dec. 21st Dynamite show in San Antonio, TX, 3,115 tickets for their December 28th Dynamite show in Broomfield, CO, 7,103 tickets for their Jan. 4, 2023 Dynamite show in Seattle, WA, 3,426 tickets for their Jan. 6th Rampage show in Portland, OR, 6,393 tickets for their Jan. 11th Dynamite show in Los Angeles, CA, 3,038 tickets for their Jan. 18th Dynamite show in Fresno, CA, 3,321 tickets for their Jan. 25th Dynamite show in Lexington, KY, and 4,195 tickets for their Feb. 22nd Dynamite show in Phoenix, AZ as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that one of AEW’s original plans for William Regal’s heel turn at this past November’s Full Gear 2022 event was for him to turn on Jon Moxley in order to help MJF win the AEW World Championship and then turn back as a face in the future to help setup a feud between MJF and Bryan Danielson. Regal’s face turn plans reportedly would have been part of AEW’s way of writing him out of company afterwards.
• AEW reportedly generated around 161,000 pay-per-view buys for their Double or Nothing 2022 event this past May based on updated final numbers and data, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that this past June’s AEW and NJPW’s Forbidden Door event generated around 140,000 PPV buys based on final numbers as well. In regards to Forbidden Door, Meltzer reported that AEW officials were originally expecting around 127,000 to 129,000 PPV buys for the event.
• As noted before, AEW recently announced that they have stripped Thunder Rosa of her AEW Women’s World Championship due to the status of her injury situation and upgraded Jamie Hayter’s Interim reign and Toni Storm’s former Interim reign into official title reigns. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW officials had been working under the idea that an Interim title reign would only be used if a champion was out of action for less than two to three months. AEW officials reportedly made the decision to drop the Interim tag for Hayter’s current reign when it became clear to them that Rosa was unable to return before this February and too much time would have elapsed to continue going forwards with an Interim Women’s champion.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the official reason for Chris Jericho’s absence from AEW programming this past week was due to his current musical commitments with Fozzy. Meltzer reported that Fozzy’s current tour ends after Sunday and Jericho is currently expected to return to AEW for this week’s television tapings.
• As noted before, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks made their return from suspension at AEW’s Full Gear 2022 event this past November. The Elite came out for their AEW World Trios title match at the event using the song “Carry On Wayward Son” for their entrance, which will be their entrance for Trios matches for the foreseeable future. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the Young Bucks had told others that their choice of the song was not meant to be a dig at CM Punk over its lyrics containing “There will be peace when you are gone” and “Don’t you cry no more” and instead was simply just a song they have been a big fan of since their childhood.
• During a recent episode of the Grillin JR podcast, co-host Jim Ross stated that the reason why he only called the first half of the event was due to a decision by AEW CEO Tony Khan. Ross stated “Tony Khan wanted me to work the first six matches, and I did, and then I was done. I would’ve liked to work the last match, obviously as a fan … I was kind of thinking it was MJF’s night. Just seemed like it was time. We’ll see how that works out. I hope it works out great. I watched the match back on my iPad because I went back to the hotel when I was finished with my assignment,” Ross continued. “I liked the show. I thought- I thought it was a good show. I liked the early- the first half that I did. The matches that I did, I thought were pretty d*** strong. Some stronger than others, that’s the nature of the beast. But, I thought it was a good show.” (Transcript h/t: WrestlingInc.com)
• During a recent interview with the A.J. Awesome Show, Fuego del Sol gave his thoughts on AEW’s issues with lack of enough television time to spread around for their currently bloated roster. Del Sol stated “I mean, like I said, I think it’s a credit to the roster that we have developed [lack of AEW TV time that is available]. Incredible guys, veteran guys that have been doing this for nearly 30 years. When you look at a guy like Chris Jericho, all these guys chomping at the bit, the talent is so good and I feel like that’s a good problem to have. I’d rather have too much good talent than not enough. But, I’m excited to see what my future holds and I’m excited to see what the future holds for the company going forward.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• Jade Cargill announced on Twitter that she recently did voice over work for a “huge animated show” that she will be able to reveal about in the future. Cargill stated “Did my first voice over for a huge animated show today. So excited to share in the future. God is AMAZING.”
• AEW filed a trademark for “Hat Trick” for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes on November 30th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• Warner Bros Discovery, parent company of AEW’s home networks TNT and TBS, reportedly recently cancelled all of their live programming for Headline News network and laid off hundreds of employees at CNN as cost-saving measures, according to Yahoo Entertainment. In regards to AEW, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that this could greatly affect AEW’s future on WBD-owned networks and chances at getting a big increase for their next contracts from WBD.
• Ring of Honor reportedly has sold around 1,852 tickets for their Dec. 10th Final Battle 2022 event in Arlington, Texas, as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• Following this past Thursday’s Impact! show, Deonna Purrazzo teased on Twitter about reuniting with her former VXT tag team partner Chelsea Green in WWE once her current contract with Impact expires.
• During a recent interview with MuscleManMalcolm, Impact talent Bhupinder Gujjar gave his thoughts about his current goals for his career in the company. Gujjar stated “My goal is the World Championship, for sure. Because as far as I know, we don’t have any Indian guys who have won any kind of titles. So that’s my biggest goal, too. To be the World Champion for IMPACT. I know have to go a long way. But I’m ready to do it. I’m ready to. I almost had my Digital Media Title.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• New Japan Pro Wrestling generated a paid attendance of 7,102 for their Nov. 20th co-promoted Historic X-Over event with Stardom in Tokyo, 700 for their Nov. 21st Super Junior Tag League 2022 event in Tokyo, 700 for their Nov. 22nd World Tag League 2022 event in Tokyo, 849 for their Nov. 23rd Super Junior Tag League 2022 event in Tokyo, 1,083 for their Nov. 26th World Tag League 2022 event in Fujisawa, 1,913 for their Nov. 27th Super Junior Tag League & World Tag League 2022 joint event in Nagoya, 498 for their Nov. 28th Super Junior Tag League 2022 event in Nagano, and 498 for their Nov. 30th World Tag League 2022 event in Shizuoka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that while Stardom and NJPW officials originally had planned for Mayu Iwatani to be crowned their inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion, those plans were changed due to contract-related issues with Iwatani. Iwatani reportedly had asked Stardom officials for her current contract to be renegotiated due to the plans for her to work a lot more dates and in the United States as IWGP Women’s Champion. Meltzer reported that both sides were unable to come to terms for a new renegotiated contract which led to the decision for KAIRI to be chosen to be the inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion instead.
• Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,620 for their Nov. 19th Gold Rush event in Osaka, 1,081 for their Nov. 23rd Goddess of Stardom Tag League 2022 event in Tokyo, 778 for their Nov. 26th Stardom in Showcase Vol. 3 event in Kawasaki, and 533 for their Nov. 27th Goddess of Stardom Tag League 2022 event in Fuji, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre recently announced that they will be holding two events featured men’s and women’s tag team matches with each containing one Mexican and one American wrestler. The first event was announced to be taking place on December 6th in Guadalajara with the men’s teams being Dulce Gardenia & Lince Dorado, Difunto & King, Ultimo Guerrero & Taven, and Averno & Romero and the women’s teams being Maligna & Avispa Dorada, Valkyria & Ivelisse, Stephanie Vaquer & Lady Frost and Lluvia & Alex Gracia. The second event was announced to be taking place on December 9th in Mexico City, Mexico with the men’s teams being Hechicero & Matt Taven, Mistico & Rocky Romero, Volador Jr. & Lince Dorado, and Ultimo Guerrero & Kenny King and the women’s teams being Dalys & Lady Frost, Jarochita & Ivelisse, Lluvia & Alex Gracia, and Reyns Isis & Avispa Dorada. In regards to the December 9th event, it was also announced that this will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Mexico’s diplomatic relations with the US.
• Lucha Libre AAA reportedly generated an attendance of 7,500 for their Nov. 20th Gira Aniversario XXX event in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AAA talent Mamba reportedly recently departed from the company, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Mamba had told others that he will be working as a free lancer going forward and left AAA on good terms but will still fulfill all remaining commitments with the company.
• AAA recently announced that next year’s Rey de Reyes event will be taking place on February 5, 2023 in Merida, Mexico.
• As noted before, a judge granted Cain Velasquez permission to work for AAA at their event this past Saturday in Tempe, Arizona. Velasquez is currently facing criminal charges against him over an attempted murder incident this past February. During the event, Velasquez gave a speech to the crowd stating “Thank you. To be here tonight, guys, right now, is a dream come true. I truly appreciate it all — what you guys have already done — supported me, my family. Thank you, guys, forever. My heart is happy to be here with you guys. I will always continue to fight, forever. Keep going up forever. Thank you, guys.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• All Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 456 for their Nov. 19th Real World Tag League 2022 event in Kitakami, 477 for their Nov. 23rd Real World Tag League 2022 event in Nagoya, and 800 for their Nov. 27th Real World Tag League 2022 event in Shonan, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dradition reportedly generated a paid attendance of 2,150 for their Dec. 1st Tatsumi Fujinami 50th Anniversary The Never Give Up Tour Final event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This event featured the main event match of Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, which was both Tanahashi’s dream match and the final match of Fujinami’s wrestling career.
• Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 657 for their Nov. 27th All Rise 2022 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Pro Wrestling Guerilla recently announced that Black Taurus is the next official entrant for next year’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament on January 7-8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
• Former wrestler Babe the Farmer’s Daughter, real name Ursula Hayden, passed away on Saturday at the age of 56 following a long battle with cancer. Hayden’s career in wrestling spanned from 1986 to 2011 and was most known for her time in Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW), first as a performer and later as the owner of the company. Hayden also worked as a consultant for Netflix’s GLOW television series based on the classic promotion that aired from 2017 to 2019.