Weekend Roundup: Brock Lesnar Rumor Killer, Ronda Rousey, WBD, All Out Brawl Update, MLW, Mickie James Injury Update, Indies

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Mar 26, 2023

WWE

This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,121,000 viewers on FOX, according to SpoilerTV.
WWE recently released a trailer for their upcoming new episode of WWE 24 focusing on the behind-the-scenes for last year’s WrestleMania 38 event in Inglewood, California. This upcoming episode will be airing this Monday on Peacock and WWE Network.
As noted before, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle revealed this past February that he will be undergoing surgery in March for his back. In a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Show podcast, Angle provided an update stating that his surgery this past Tuesday was successful. Angle stated “I think it actually worked. I don’t know yet, but I don’t have the pain going down my legs, so the operation definitely worked. I’m hoping that the pain in my back will subside, and hopefully it will in the next few days, and then I’ll feel really good about it. The doctor did a great job. He really did. I was having problems with my legs and the nerves going down my legs, and that’s all gone, so I’m good with that.” (Transcript h/t: RingsideNews.com)
During a recent interview with WrestleJoy, Cody Rhodes revealed that his wife Brandi will be in attendance at WWE’s upcoming WrestleMania 39 event but she will not be involved in his match at the show. Rhodes stated “I always run the risk of saying too much, and I try to be careful when I say things like this, but I don’t get the opportunity to be a free agent unless Brandi Rhodes makes a certain decision that she made. That was a selfless decision. So when you see me out there, and I say I can’t do it without Brandi, I ain’t lying. That’s one hundred percent. I’m not talking about anything specific, but just to have her be out there because one of the things is, when you feel like you have a perception of something, sometimes you don’t understand that that’s really not the case. With being around the fans, whether in sports entertainment or wrestling, it’s worth it. Because they’re the best fans in the world. I know sometimes it’s easy for us to look at social media and say they’re not, but they really are. You guys are the best fans in the world, and I just am excited to see her kind of rubbing shoulders with them all. Going to Hollywood and taking in the experience of what it’s like to not just be at a WrestleMania, but to take the walk, you know? And I want to be clear, she’s not doing anything at WrestleMania. I’m just saying I’m so excited for her to be there. I literally couldn’t be there without her. I’m not lying. So it’s as much her moment as it is mine. I will always be in love with her, and be in her debt.”
Akira Tozawa announced on Twitter that his wife gave birth to a new child for their family this past Friday.
WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 9,330 (8,400 paid) for their Match 17th SmackDown show in Kansas City, MO, 5,445 for their March 18th house show event in Fargo, ND, 6,457 for their March 18th house show event in Milwaukee, WI, 4,059 for their March 19th house show event in Springfield, IL, 3,551 for their March 19th house show event in Sioux Falls, SD, and 12,514 (11,500) for their March 20th RAW show in St. Louis, MO, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly has sold around 10,311 tickets for their March 27th RAW show in Phoenix, AZ 14,393 tickets for their March 31st SmackDown and WWE Hall of Fame 2023 shows in Los Angeles, CA, 6,678 tickets for their NXT Stand & Deliver 2023 event in Los Angeles, CA, 62,351 tickets for their April 1st WrestleMania 39 Night 1 event in Inglewood, 62,961 tickets for their April 2nd WrestleMania 39 Night 2 event in Inglewood, CA, 15,306 tickets for their April 3rd RAW show in Los Angeles, CA, 7,341 tickets for their April 7th SmackDown show in Portland, OR, 7,739 tickets for their April 10th RAW show in Seattle, WA, 5,713 tickets for their April 14th SmackDown show in Lincoln, NE, 4,714 tickets for their April 15th house show event in Rio Rancho, NM, 4,779 tickets for their April 16th house show event in El Paso, TX, 4,370 tickets for their April 17th RAW show in North Little Rock, AR, 7,004 tickets for their April 21st SmackDown show in Columbus, OH, 3,609 tickets for their April 22nd house show event in Fort Wayne, IN, 2,841 tickets for their April 23rd house show event in Toledo, OH, 10,852 tickets for their April 24th RAW show in Chicago, IL, 5,485 tickets for their April 28th SmackDown show in Corpus Christi, TX, and 2,347 tickets fir their April 29th house show event in Beaumont, TX as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE officials reportedly have been recently unhappy over the reactions from the live crowds for recent NXT shows, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that his sources stated that WWE officials have been upset that live crowd reactions during shows have been mostly down and not at the level they want. WWE officials reportedly recently sent a memo for this past Tuesday’s set of tapings to NXT talent and staff asking them to “strongly encourage their friends and family in the central Florida area to attend NXT tomorrow evening at the Performance Center to help bring energy to the crowd in the final shows leading up to Stand & Deliver.”
As noted before, WWE is currently in talks with gambling regulators in three states to have legalized gambling approved for WWE matches. Law 360 reported that gambling officials for the states of Michigan, Colorado, and Indiana have all stated that they will not be giving their approval for legal betting for WWE matches in their states. It was also reported that the states of Connecticut and New York currently do not allow legal bets to be made for non-sports events, which includes WWE and other wrestling companies.
WWE reportedly re-shot a pre-taped interview segment for this past Monday’s RAW show in St. Louis, Missouri due to issues over a word spoken during it, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that his sources stated that this forbidden word spoken was “wrestling” which is an indication of Vince McMahon gradually putting his fingerprints back over the direction of WWE shows and creative. Meltzer reported that there was no issue backstage when Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes were able to say the word “pro wrestlers” during their promo segment on the show. This was likely due to their status and leeway as big stars in the company.
WWE filed a trademark for “NXT Battleground” for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes on March 20th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
As noted before, NXT talent Sarray departed from WWE earlier this month due to issues regarding the direction of her career in the company. In a recent interview with Dropkick, Sarray (now known as Sareee) gave her thoughts about her time in WWE and her decision to return to Japan. Sarray stated “I made a decision because I was a [being] scouted. I’m really glad that I challenged America. It was a great experience for me as a professional wrestler because I was able to experience many things that I wouldn’t have had the chance to experience in a normal life. This experience has become a real asset for me, and I would like to make the most of this experience when I return to Japan. I want to rampage in the professional wrestling world as Sareee, who has absorbed the world.” (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the recent rumors of Brock Lesnar leaving WWE soon are not true. Meltzer reported that these rumors originated from recent reports claiming that Lesnar had recently informed people that he would be leaving the company soon and this had circulated within the company. Meltzer reported that the only thing known about Lesnar’s current status in WWE is that it has been kept as a top secret with only himself, Vince McMahon, WWE CEO Nick Khan, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and maybe two other people having any real knowledge over it. Meltzer reported that if Lesnar were to lose in a big and clean fashion against Omos at WrestleMania 39, then it could be an indication of him taking a break from WWE for an extended period of time.
Cody Rhodes recently revealed the special weight belt that he will be wearing at WrestleMania 39 meant to be his tribute to the indies promotions he worked for during the period between his first and second current run in WWE.
New Japan Pro Wrestling referee Jeremy Marcus announced on Instagram that he recently signed an official contract with WWE for their NXT brand.
Ronda Rousey recently reflected on Instagram about her feud with Liv Morgan last year for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. In her post, Rousey blamed their feud being “hamstrung by a bunch of octogenarians” over its the creative issues. Rousey stated “Imagine what our @yaonlylivvonce feud could have been if we weren’t hamstrung by a bunch of octogenarians who still think they know how to be hip while putting a total of 5 minutes of thought a week into each women’s storyline…“
Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Ronda Rousey had pushed to be put in a tag team with Shayna Baszler following WWE officials dropping their plans for a potential WrestleMania 39 match between Rousey and Becky Lynch. It was reported that this was the reason why WWE ended up pushing Rousey’s SmackDown Women’s Championship match against Raquel Rodriguez from its originally planned date of this past January’s Royal Rumble 2023 to this past December instead. This reportedly also played a role in why WWE decided to have Charlotte Flair defeat Rousey for her SmackDown Women’s title on the December 30, 2022 SmackDown show in Tampa, Florida.

AEW & ROH

AEW recently congratulated Powerhouse Hobbs on Twitter for having an official day proclaimed for him by the city of East Palo Alto in California. It was stated that March 24th will now be officially known as Powerhouse Hobbs Day in the city going forward.
Warner Bros Discovery officials reportedly sent a new edict to AEW asking them to tone down on the usage of the word “shit” and other swear words on AEW programming on their networks, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 4,000 (3,700 paid) for their March 22nd AEW Dynamite show in Independence, MO, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly has sold around 2,825 tickets for their March 29th Dynamite show in St. Louis, MO, 5,218 tickets for their April 5th Dynamite show in Long Island, NY, 2,449 tickets for their April 7th Rampage and Battle of the Belts VI shows in Kingston, RI, 2,655 tickets for their April 12th Dynamite show in Milwaukee, WI, 3,938 tickets for their April 19th Dynamite show in Pittsburgh, PA, 3,188 tickets for their April 26th Dynamite show in Sunrise, FL, 3,185 tickets for their May 3rd Dynamite show in Baltimore, MD, 4,812 tickets for their May 10th Dynamite show in Detroit, MI, 6,246 tickets for their May 28th Double or Nothing 2023 event in Las Vegas, NV, and 12,974 tickets (presale) for their June 25th Forbidden Door 2 event in Toronto, Canada as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
In regards to live gates, Dave Meltzer reported that AEW’s Double or Nothing 2023 has already surpassed $600,000 while their Forbidden Door 2 event has already surpassed $1 million in Canadian dollars in ticket sales as of this past week.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that AEW officials original plans for their March 17th Rampage show (taped on March 15th) in Winnipeg, Canada was for Daniel Garcia to face off and defeat Buddy Matthews in a singles match. This reportedly was changed to Garcia facing off and defeating Brody King instead due to Matthews stating that he had suffered an injury during the AEW Trios Championship Three-way match on Dynamite. Meltzer reported that AEW officials had always planned for JAS to pick up a singles victory over House of Black in order to continue their current Trios titles storyline between both groups.
During a recent interview with the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Jeff Jarrett gave his thoughts on the process that led to his signing with AEW last year. Jarrett stated “You know, that kind of is actually a good question and I have yet to even roll out the entire thing, even on my own podcast because timing is everything. Things just happen for a reason. So I’ll go back into the fall of 2021, when I kind of made up my mind that ‘You know what, I’ve always been in decent shape. I’m gonna go get in the best shape that I can.’ A little thing happened called GCW Wrestling at the Hammerstein Ballroom, that kind of happened. Then, special referee in NWA and then I got that summer internship at the competition and went to working on live events in WWE. I almost committed a murder and killed Ric Flair, I almost murdered him. Look, charges weren’t pressed but anyway. SummerSlam happened and then all of the sudden you kind of wake up and I’m on the free agent market. Literally, 2022 was one of the craziest years I’ve ever had… I started in 1986. It was just kind of a bizarre year all the way around. Sitting back and kind of… look, I’ve watched AEW from episode one, I don’t care. I’m a wrestling junkie. I don’t care if it’s YouTube or a streaming service, whatever it may be. I’ve watched more live wrestling than I believe anybody my age just because I’ve had the opportunity to be at so many shows and watch some live. I just love it. I love it more today than I ever have, but as things rolled along in 2022, I’m watching the AEW program and [seeing] the guy I was just in a tag match with at Ric Flair’s Last Match, Jay Lethal. Sonjay Dutt, we go back twenty something years. Satnam Singh from India, I’m a basketball junkie but also know the Indian market pretty well. I just kind of saw those individuals and I kid you not, when I just kind of looked and went ‘In a lot of ways, this is a natural fit.’ When I tell you that the pieces of the puzzle, I don’t wanna get into divine intervention or anything like that, but you just can’t write it. You cannot write the opportunity that was right in front of everyone. Hats off to the powers that be so to speak, they kind of saw that opportunity. When I showed up on Dynamite and gave Darby [Allin] a little attitude adjustment, things were off to the races. Literally from the first week of November, I feel like I’ve just got here in some ways and in other ways, I feel like I’ve been in the AEW machine for a lot more than five months.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
As noted before, The Elite, CM Punk, and Ace Steel were involved in a backstage brawl incident at this past September’s All Out 2022 event, resulting in their suspensions from AEW and also a release in regards to Steel. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that there were other talent present during the brawl but did not get involved which is why they also were not also suspended by AEW. Besides Nick Jackson, one other AEW production employee reportedly was also hit with a chair during the brawl which was previously not known. It was also reported that immediately following the fight, Punk and Kenny Omega held a brief talk which involved Punk stating that his issues was not with him. This talk reportedly was interrupted due to AEW officials needing to deal with Steel’s involvement in the fight.
During a recent interview with the GAW TV podcast, Colt Cabana revealed that he is currently scheduled to work at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor 2023 event on March 31st in Los Angeles, California. Cabana stated “Oh my God, I literally didn’t wanna do anything (for WrestleMania weekend) and then stuff just kept coming in so, Thursday night, I’m going to be at the Major Wrestling Figure Podcast live podcast at Bourbon Saloon I believe and then Friday, I have the Ring of Honor show at 4 and then Friday night with Mickie (James), we are doing a live Highspots after party and I believe I’m doing a live podcast there. Mickie, you might be a guest and you don’t know it yet if you’re gonna be there. Saturday and Sunday, I’m doing WrestleCon from 9 until like 1 or 2 and then on Sunday, right after WrestleCon, I’m gonna run over to the Synagogue where I’ll be wrestling for Rabbi Fine and hopefully refereed by Lisa (Marie Varon).” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
ROH reportedly has sold around 3,669 tickets for their March 31st Supercard of Honor 2023 event in Los Angeles, CA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that this upcoming event will have the third largest ever crowd for an ROH event in ROH history. Meltzer reported that when not counting the co-promoted G1 Supercard event with NJPW in 2019, this would be the second largest ever crowd for an ROH only event in ROH history, only behind the Supercard of Honor XII event in 2018.
Lucha Blog reported that both El Hijo del Vikingo and Komander are currently expected to be in attendance backstage at AEW’s Dynamite tapings next Wednesday in St. Louis, Missouri. It was speculated that this will very likely be when ROH holds their next set of ROH TV tapings for their March 30th episode due to AEW did not hold any ROH tapings this past Friday at the Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,351 for their March 17th New Japan Cup 2023 event in Tokyo, 1,101 for their March 18th New Japan Cup 2023 event in Hamamatsu, 1,396 for their March 19th New Japan Cup 2023 event in Gunma, and 3,384 for their March 21st New Japan Cup 2023 Finals event in Nagaoka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
NJPW officials reportedly currently do not have any plans to feature more women’s wrestling at their events, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that his sources stated that NJPW head booker Gedo currently is not interested towards women’s wrestling matches for NJPW shows despite Bushiroad’s President Takaaki Kidani wanting that to be a focus for NJPW’s U.S. shows.
NJPW announced the full list of prospects who passed their recent set of tryouts in Australia and will be invited to their upcoming TAMASHII brand event on April 14th in Adelaide, Australia.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Mercedes Mone’s contract with Bushiroad is still currently expected to expire after Stardom’s April 23rd event in Yokohama, Japan. Meltzer reported that one possible indicator of Mone not extending her current deal would be that NJPW has not advertised her to be making an appearance at their Capital Collision 2023 event on April 15th in Washington, D.C. Meltzer stated that if NJPW’s plans were to have Mone work their U.S. shows to help generate interest for the the IWGP Women’s title and the company, then it would have made sense for her to be advertised for this upcoming event. In regards to WWE, Meltzer reported that Mone had talks with WWE officials which involved Mone asking for certain terms that WWE told her she would need to give up for any potential return.
As noted before, Lucha Libre AAA talent Cuatrero was recently arrested in Mexico City, Mexico over charges of attempted femicide involving an alleged assault towards Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre talent Stephanie Vaquer. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that recent local reports from Mexico stated that Cuatrero is currently expected to remain in jail until the conclusion of the police investigation into his alleged assault incident. This was reportedly stated to be as long as until mid-May and Cuatrero was also stated to have recently shaved his head in jail.
Lucha Libre AAA reportedly generated an attendance of around 8,000 for their March 19th Lucha Libre World Cup 2023 event in Guadalajara, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, AAA talent Chessman was involved in an assault incident against a social media influencer named Adrian Marcelo at AAA and NWA’s co-promoted NWA vs. AAA: World Is A Vampire event earlier this month in Mexico. While AAA suspended Chessman over his actions, this was believed to have been a worked incident done for a storyline. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that new evidence revealing that the assault incident was faked was recently revealed by a user on TikTok. This user uploaded a video showing Chessman and Marcelo going over the plans for their spot on the show.
Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 741 for their March 18th Mayu Iwatani Triumphal Return event in Yamaguchi, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,308 for their March 19th Voyage 2023 In Yokohama event in Yokohama, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,513 for their March 18th Grand Princess 2023 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, Major League Wrestling’s current television deal with REELZ Channel is for ten weeks in length and is expected to expire due to issues over REELZ’s recent streaming deal with Peacock. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that MLW officials have still yet to be told anything from REELZ regarding if their MLW Underground series will be cancelled within the near future. Meltzer reported that MLW Underground is currently expected to continue to air on REELZ throughout the month of April based on a recent programming schedule listing update for the network.
Deadline.com reported that MLW recently signed a new streaming deal with Premier Streaming Network to air their content on the service. This deal reportedly is for MLW’s international markets and includes the first six episodes of their MLW Underground series that have already aired on REELZ to be uploaded to the service. This new deal will also feature replays of MLW Underground episodes on REELZ airing on the service every Sunday starting today.
MLW recently announced that Jucy Finau and Ray Jaz are the next official competitors for the Battle Riot match at their Battle Riot V event on April 8th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Trinity Fatu, former Naomi in WWE, filed a trademark for “Trinity Starr” for wrestling and merchandise-related purposes on March 20th to the USPTO.
As noted before, Josh Alexander recently suffered a torn triceps injury and relinquished his Impact World Championship due to the severity of his injury. Alexander recently provided an update on Twitter stating “I sit here in my 18th year of pro-wrestling. The only time I’ve missed in my career was for my second neck surgery. In those 9months off I had time to reflect and plan to come back and make good on any and all mistakes I ever made. In 7yrs since coming back from that I’ve left it all in the ring every damn time. Wether 5, 50, 500 or 5000 in attendance you always got everything I had.I love this sport, this business. Whatever you want to call it. Now out indefinitely with a torn tricep you can bet I’ll make the best of this time off too. I will be back and when I am I’ll be better than ever before. I’m stepping away from socials to spend some much needed time with my family and to concentrate 100% of my energy on myself. I love you all. It’s never goodbye. It’s just see you later.“
As noted before, Mickie James revealed during this past Friday’s Sacrifice 2023 event for Impact Wrestling that she had recently suffered a rib injury. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that James had suffered the injury during Impact’s television tapings this past February in Las Vegas, Nevada.
House of Glory recently announced that El Hijo del Vikingo will be making an appearance for the company at their Plata O Plomo event on June 16th in Queens, New York.
Deadlock Pro Wrestling announced that they are partnering with Gatoh Move to hold two co-promoted events in Japan on April 25th and 27th.