Weekend Roundup: Trish Stratus Heel Turn Rumor, WWE Writer Departure, Riho, AEW PPV Buys Note, Davey Richards, MLW, Indies

WWE

• This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,122,000 viewers on FOX, according to SpoilerTV.
• During a recent episode of the Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen show, Omos revealed that he and his fiance will be getting married later this year.
• In response to a recent “Tale of the Tape” graphic posted by Sony Sports Network and others for the upcoming SmackDown Women’s Championship match at next month’s WrestleMania 39, Rhea Ripley stated on Twitter that the graphic’s listed height of 5’7” and weight of 130 pounds for her are not correct and instead she is actually 5’9” and currently weighs 170 pounds.
• During a recent interview with Stadium Astro, Cody Rhodes revealed that he had asked John Cena that he would like to have match with him in the future during their interaction together on the March 6th WWE RAW show. Rhodes stated “So actually, that was something he told me in the car when I was driving him around in 2008-2009. What he said to me on Raw was — I was telling him if he ever does another match, I would like [to work with him], and I think you could hear him pretty well. He says, ‘I can’t promise that.’ I also didn’t want to make it about myself at that moment, so I just endlessly thanked him, and then he was at the Nightmare Factory a week later talking to our students. That was something in the car that it’s not just his axiom, it was a genuine way he approached live events, and shows was rewarding their noise. A simpler way to look at that is kids come to a show, and they see their guy hurt, and they see their guy down, and they start clapping, they want something from him. He was a big proponent and always doing something so that they know if they do something, he’ll be up for them or he’ll at least try. I think looking at the flow of a live event, looking at the flow of a premium live event, there is something huge to that. Because we can’t just do these matches in the ring, bell-to-bell, for each other. We’re doing them for this audience sitting there in the building that night, as well as worldwide on television. You have to try and step into their shoes. You’re so focused on what you’re doing, sure, but you have to step in their shoes and [think] what do they want, and can I give it to them? Or is it my job to take it away from them? That was just something that always sat with me and, when in practice, always worked.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 10,283 (9,200 paid) for their March 10th SmackDown show in Pittsburgh, PA, 5,646 for their March 11th house show event in Youngstown, OH, and 11,037 (over 9,000 paid) for their March 12th house show event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 9,571 tickets for their March 20th RAW show in St. Louis, MO, 9,261 tickets for their March 24th SmackDown show in Las Vegas, NV, 3971 tickets for their March 25th house show event in Salt Lake City, UT, 7,851 tickets for their March 26th house show event in Denver, CO, 8,631 tickets for their March 27th RAW show in Phoenix, AZ 14,231 tickets for their March 30th SmackDown and WWE Hall of Fame 2023 shows in Los Angeles, CA, 56,242 tickets for their April 1st WrestleMania 39 Night 1 event in Inglewood, 57,776 tickets for their April 2nd WrestleMania 39 Night 2 event in Inglewood, CA, 7,010 tickets for their April 7th SmackDown show in Portland, OR, 5,373 tickets for their April 14th SmackDown show in Lincoln, NE, 4.458 tickets for their April 15th house show event in Rio Rancho, NM, 6,784 tickets for their April 21st SmackDown show in Columbus, OH, and 10,546 tickets for their April 24th RAW show in Chicago, IL as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, WWE is currently in talks with gambling regulators in three states to have legalized gambling approved for WWE matches. In a recent interview with CNBC, Bet MGM CEO Adam Greenblatt stated “NFW” (No F***ing Way) when asked if his company was interested in the idea of allowing bets for WWE matches. Besides Bet MGM, Fan Duel reportedly was stated to also not be interested in the idea of allowing bets for WWE matches on their gambling service.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources provided some details regarding the recent rumors of WWE currently planning for Trish Stratus to turn heel and face Becky Lynch at this year’s SummerSlam event. Those sources reportedly stated that this was something WWE had been working on as potential plans prior to Stratus’ recent return. Meltzer reported that the only thing confirmed about WWE’s current plans for Stratus is that they still have plans in place for several twists and turns to take place during her current storyline partnership with Lita and Lynch.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that John Cena began his filming commitments for the upcoming Grand Death Lotto film, which means that his current schedule for WWE’s road to WrestleMania 39 became limited again.
• As noted before, Wade Barrett stated in a recent interview with the Daily Star that he has permanently taken over Pat McAfee’s spot on WWE’s SmackDown commentary team. With the exception of a surprise appearance at this past January’s Royal Rumble 2023 event, McAfee has been absent from WWE since this past November due to various issues. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that WWE officials currently do not have any plans for McAfee to make his return to the company.
• WWE reportedly is currently rumored to be working on potential plans for a match between John Cena and Logan Paul at this year’s SummerSlam event, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Paul had asked WWE officials several months ago for this potential match to take place at WrestleMania 39 but WWE officials decided to go in a different direction for Cena at the event.
• As noted before, Dragon Lee made his official on-screen debut for WWE at the March 7th NXT show. Prior to his debut, Lee had been dealing with visa-related issues that caused WWE to delay their plans for his reporting to their Performance Center and start of his career with the company. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Lee received a new work visa on March 6th and had flown himself and his family to Orlando, Florida on March 7th. Lee reportedly arrived at WWE’s Performance Center only a few hours prior to the start of that night’s NXT show.
• Gunther recently surpassed Mr. Perfect for the fourth longest ever Intercontinental Championship reign in WWE history at 281 days and counting as of this Saturday. In the process, Gunther also broke the record for longest reign as an Intercontinental Champion since The Honky Tonk Man’s reign from June 2, 1987 to August 29, 1988.
• During a recent interview with The Bill Simmons Podcast, former WWE writer Brian Gewitz revealed that WWE’s original plans for the Vince McMahon “Golden Egg” storyline in 2021 was much worse than what ended up taking place on WWE television. Gewitz stated “This is what I was told, at Survivor Series, not this past Survivor Series but the Survivor Series before, we were doing ‘Red Notice’ product integration in the pay-per-view and this thing, as far as there was like a magical, golden egg that if you recall, it was a much heavily reviled night of creative. Everybody hated the angle as far as this golden egg that Austin Theory found and Sami Zayn ratted him out and everything else like that. The original creative for that, won’t go into but just trust me, it was much, much, much, much worse… When I discussed it with Dwayne (Johnson), I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s gotta change’ and then I think Vince (McMahon) and the team came up with this egg thing, which most people watching it were, you know, didn’t like it for whatever reason, that’s fine. But I was told during those vignettes where Sami (Zayn) kind of stooged off Austin Theory and wanted him to be punished and then was put in a situation where, whatever the creative was but that was the turning point as far as Vince going, hey, this Sami is — I always liked him but — I think we should have a look at that egg angle now a little bit differently and perhaps give props to the golden, magical hundred million dollar egg because listen, talent always rises to the top and Sami is amazing and would have risen to the top anyway but, I just thought it was funny that yeah, it was those vignettes where Vince really took notice as far as Sami as a performer. I’m like, damn right.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• Bianca Belair recently broke the all-time record for longest-reigning Black champion in WWE’s history at 344 days as of this past Monday. Belair broke the previous record of 343 days held by MVP and his United States Championship reign from May 20, 2007 to April 27, 2008. During a recent interview with The Whole Story Podcast, Belair gave her thoughts about her milestone achievement. Belair stated “It means everything to me. I feel like I’m still fairly new to this. I know I’ve had a lot of success very quickly, but I’ve only been on the main roster for, [I’m] going on my third year. So to know that I’m currently the longest-reigning black champion in WWE history, it’s something that’s really hard to put into words. It’s an honor, it makes me feel like I’m doing something right, and it really puts, not pressure but significance on how big this moment is, and that it’s not just about me. I think that’s what I love about it the most is that I feel like it’s not just about me. It adds a why to what I’m doing. It’s representation, it’s inspiring others.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• WWE filed a trademark for “Bobby Lashley” for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes on March 9th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
• As noted before, Major League Wrestling’s original antitrust lawsuit against WWE was dismissed this past February and had filed a new amended lawsuit earlier this month. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that WWE filed a motion this past Monday to the United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose Division requesting an extension of time to officially respond to MLW’s new amended lawsuit based on recent court records. Johnson reported that WWE was originally scheduled to respond by March 20th prior to their request and if approved, they would now have until April 7th to officially respond. Johnson reported that WWE very likely will be filing another motion to have MLW’s lawsuit dismissed for a second time and for good in the end.
• Longtime WWE creative writer Nick Manfredini reportedly recently left the company, according to Fightful Select. It was reported that their sources stated that Manfredini’s departure took place within the past few months but it is currently not known if he left on his own accord or had been fired. Manfredini reportedly had been a “very influential person” in the creation of Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse segments. Manfredini reportedly had been in charge of the direction and writing for most of the Firefly Funhouse segments that aired on WWE programming. It was also reported that Manfredini’s departure was not related to Wyatt’s recent absence from WWE due to it taking well before Wyatt’s removal for “physical illness” reasons.

AEW & ROH

• Eddie Kingston stated on Instagram that the reason why he recently deactivated his Twitter account was due to him being upset over the online harassment Riho recently received. Kingston stated “Terry Funk is the G.O.A.T. I got rid of my tweeter because I saw some evil sh*t tweeted at Riho and I’m done.”
• In regards to Riho, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the recent online harassment towards Riho was discovered to have been from an online group of people who had organized and planned together to sent a barrage of hate messages towards her. Meltzer reported that this same group had also managed to cause issues with a digital card gift from a wrestling fan named Jay Dumont, who asked for people on social media to send in positive messages that would be put on the card to help cheer up Riho after her ordeal. This group reportedly infiltrated the messages with the goal to ruin the card and send even more hate towards Riho. This reportedly caused Dumont to cut off the time early for sending in messages after the group’s actions were discovered and required the help of another person to make sure all off the hateful messages were removed before the digital card was sent to Riho.
• As noted before, AEW’s Revolution 2023 earlier this month is currently estimated to have generated around 130,000 to 135,000 pay-per-view buys. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW’s event is currently estimated to have generated around 133,000 PPV buys based on updated numbers and estimates. Meltzer reported that the traditional cable PPV buys were down 0.7% compared to this past November’s Full Gear 2022 event. In terms of breakdowns, Meltzer reported that Revolution 2023’s U.S. traditional cable PPV buys were almost the same as this past June’s Forbidden Door and this past May’s Double or Nothing 2022.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW’s past five PPV events, not counting Revolution 2023, generated a total of around 520,000 unique individuals ordering the events. In terms of breakdowns, Meltzer reported that little under 50% of those who had purchased Full Gear 2022 also had purchased Revolution 2023 and a similar percentage for those who had purchased All Out 2022 also purchased Revolution 2023. Meltzer reported that around 26% of those who had purchased one of AEW’s past five PPV events had also purchased Revolution 2023. In terms of multiple purchases, Meltzer reported that 306,000 unique individuals (58.8%) out of 520,000 had purchased one AEW PPV, 80,000 (15.4%) had purchased two AEW PPVs, 51,500 (9.9%) had purchased 3 AEW PPVs, 43,700 (8.4%) had purchased 4 AEW PPVs, and 39,000 (7.5%) had purchased all five of AEW PPVs this past year. Meltzer reported that AEW’s total unique PPV purchases was around 17.5% higher in 2021 for some comparisons.
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 7,600 (7,000 paid) for their Match 15th Dynamite show in Winnipeg, Canada, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 3,296 tickets for their March 22nd Dynamite show in Independence, MO, 2,712 tickets for their March 29th Dynamite show in St. Louis, MO, 4,830 tickets for their April 5th Dynamite show in Long Island, NY, 2,303 tickets for their April 7th Rampage and Battle of the Belts VI shows in Kingston, RI, 2,558 tickets for their April 12th Dynamite show in Milwaukee, WI, 3,830 tickets for their April 19th Dynamite show in Pittsburgh, PA, 3,091 tickets for their April 26th Dynamite show in Sunrise, FL, 3,110 tickets for their May 3rd Dynamite show in Baltimore, MD, and 4,741 tickets for their May 10th Dynamite show in Detroit, MI as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that while AEW aired video showing Aaron Solo breaking into Wardlow’s car and stealing his belongings on orders of QT Marshall, Wardlow’s break-in of his rental car was a legit incident that AEW quickly turned into a storyline angle for him.
• As noted before, AEW recently hired former WWE producer and coach Sarah Stock to similar positions in their company. Stock made her official debut at this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show in Winnipeg, California. Stock recently reflected on Twitter about her official debut in AEW. Stock stated “My name’s Sarah Stock. I’ve been in the wrestling business for over 20 years, and I am here as the newest member of the coaching team here at AEW. There are a lot of people I’ve worked with previously, people I’ve even wrestled before, so it’s great to come back here, see people I already know and also meet all the new people as well. There’s no better way to kick off this new chapter of my professional wrestling career than here in my hometown of Winnipeg. To be here with Kenny Omega, who I started training with, he was around in those days as well, and then Chris Jericho, who I’ve always looked up to, my fellow Winnipeggers, it’s a feeling of a homecoming. It’s really beautiful. It’s just a great way to kick things off.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• Ring of Honor reportedly has sold around 3,540 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 the current sales for this year’s event is believed to be the third highest ever for a Supercard of Honor event in ROH history.

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• As noted before, multiple promotions recently cut all ties with Major League Wrestling talent and indie wrestler Davey Richards over allegations of domestic violence committed by him towards his wife. Over The Top Wrestling announced that they had pulled Richards from their Scrappermania 7 event on Saturday in Dublin and follow-up event today in Belfast, Ireland.
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that prior to the allegations against him, Davey Richards was already on his way out with several promotions. Those spoken to within MLW reportedly stated that his time in the company was effectively finished this past February. Prior to his departure, Richards reportedly had been dealing with some backstage heat over several MLW talents complaining about the poor quality of his work as a backstage producer, especially over some of his ideas for matches that were stated to be “puzzling.” Richards also reportedly got involved in an incident with the National Wrestling Alliance over him contacting them for a booking claiming he was available when in reality he was not. This issue reportedly was resolved following talks between MLW and NWA with MLW allowing him to take the booking. Richards reportedly was also involved in another incident with AEW over him claiming they contacted him for a booking but AEW responded to MLW stating that they did not have plans for him to appear at one of their shows. This booking claimed by Richards reportedly was for Timothy Thatcher in AEW instead.
• MLW recently announced that 1 Called Mander, Lance Anoa’i, and Adonis are the next set of official competitors for the Battle Riot match at their Battle Riot V event on April 8th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• During a recent virtual fan signing event for Captain’s Corner, Little Guido revealed that while he has been recently working for MLW, he is currently not under contract with the company. Guido stated “For me, it’s kind of new. I’ve kind of been on the regular independents for a long time doing my regular job and stuff and MLW got in touch with me and kind of makes me feel good again to be involved with a company again. I’m not signed to a permanent deal, which, you know, both sides are in agreement and I like it, it’s good.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• House of Glory recently announced that The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) will be making an appearance for the company at their HOG Final Hour event on April 14th in Queens, New York.
• Pro Wrestling NOAH recently announced a new match for the card of their Green Journey 2023 event on April 16th in Sendai, Japan. This will be a singles match of Maya Yukihi vs. Sumire Natsu. It was also announced that this will be the first ever women’s singles match to take place at a NOAH event in NOAH history.
• NOAH’s Great Voyage in Yokohama 2023 event earlier today in Yokohama, Japan featured Jake Lee defeating Kaito Kiyomiya to be crowned the new GHC Heavyweight Champion. Following the match, Katsuhiko Nakajima issued a challenge for Lee’s belt at a future NOAH event.
• Following her tag team match at Stardom’s event on Saturday, Mayu Iwatani issued a match challenge for the IWGP Women’s Championship at Stardom’s All Star Grand Queendom event on April 23rd in Yokohama, Japan. Current champion Mercedes Mone is currently scheduled to defend her title at New Japan Pro Wrestling Sakura Genesis 2023 event on April 8th in Tokyo, Japan.
• Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 904 for their March 10th event in Tokyo, 512 for their March 11th event in Tokyo, 358 for their March 15th event in Takamatsu, and 301 for their March 16th event in Osaka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• NJPW reportedly generated a paid attendance of 2,190 for their March 11th New Japan Cup 2023 event in Nagoya, 789 for their March 12th New Japan Cup 2023 event in Shiga, 604 for their March 13th New Japan Cup 2023 in Ehime, and 1,298 for their March 15th New Japan Cup 2023 event in Okayama, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• As noted before, Will Ospreay recently suffered a shoulder injury and was pulled from the remainder of NJPW’s New Japan Cup 2023 tournament. Ospreay recently provided an injury update on Twitter stating “This is the first time I’ve every been pulled from a tour. Tomorrow I leave for rehab and recovery. Thank you everyone for the messages it’s gonna be ok. I’ll rest up and spend time with my family. Meanwhile support Davis in his Semi Final match. All the love guys.”
• This past Friday’s NJPW New Japan Cup 2023 event featured SANADA defeating Tetsuya Naito in a New Japan Cup 2023 Quarterfinals match. Following the match, Taichi and the rest of the Just Four Guys stable made a surprise appearance, which led to SANADA embracing and joining the group and officially leaving Los Ingobernables de Japon.
• 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. Mexican newspaper La Pasala reported that a woman from Brazil recently contacted them stating that she was the victim of a similar past assault incident by Cuatrero and claimed that this incident took place after they had broke up as a couple. This same woman reportedly also stated that she believes the only reason why she is still alive is due to her faking going unconscious while being choked by Cuatrero. This same woman also reportedly stated that she had broke up with Cuatrero over him cheating on her with other women, which was a claim also made by Vaquer over her own assault incident. (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
• CMLL recently announced that they have signed Los Misterios, Brillante Jr., Tonalli, Rey Samuray, Crixus, and Angel Rebelde to official contracts with the company.
• This past Friday’s Homenaje a Dos Leyendas event for CMLL in Mexico City, Mexico featured Volador Jr. defeating Rocky Romero in a Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair match. This match was part of a larger Four-way Elimination match with Angel de Oro and Oraculo and featured rules where the remaining two competitors would face off in a hair vs. hair match and the loser to have their hair cut off.
• As noted before, Lucha Libre AAA talent Daga reportedly suffered a left leg injury at AAA and National Wrestling Alliance’s co-promoted NWA vs. AAA: World Is A Vampire event earlier this month in Mexico City, Mexico. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Daga was believed to have suffered an ACL and MCL injury but neither ligament was torn. AAA officials reportedly are giving Daga two months off for rest and will make an official decision afterwards on if he will need surgery or not depending on the results of medical tests.
• Westside Xtreme Wrestling reportedly generated an attendance of 850 for their March 10th 16 Carat Gold 2023 event in Oberhausen, 1,100 for their March 11th 16 Carat Gold 2023 event in Oberhausen, and 880 for their March 12th 16th Carat Gold 2023 Finals event in Oberhausen, Germany, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Game Changer Wrestling reportedly generated an attendance of 1,050 for their March 11th IWS Vs. GCW UnFnSanctioned event in Montreal, Canada, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• This past Friday’s Eye for an Eye event for GCW in New York City, New York featured Masha Slamovich defeating Nick Gage to be crowned the new GCW World Champion. As a result of her victory, Slamovich became the first female wrestler ever to win the GCW World title in GCW history.
• Impact Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their Sacrifice 2023 event on March 24th in Windsor, Canada. This is a singles match of Kenny King vs. PCO.
• WrestleCon recently announced a new match for the card of their March 30th Mark Hitchcock Memorial Show 2023 event in Los Angeles, California. This is a Trios team match of Rey Horus, Galeno de Mal, & Aramis vs. Toxin, Arez, & Latigo.