Sat. Roundup: Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey Taking Break, AEW Fight Forever Update, MJF, Jade Cargill, NJPW Women Title, Indies

WWE

• Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,049,000 viewers on FOX, according to SpoilerTV.
• WWE recently announced that they will be holding a press conference on May 26th starting at noon EST to promote their Night of Champions 2023 event on May 27th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• Friday’s SmackDown show in Columbia, South Carolina featured current NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn defeating Yulisa Leon & Valentina Feroz. This was Leon’s first match since this past September due to a knee injury. Following the show, Leon reflected on Twitter about making her return from injury. Leon stated “After 8 months… I’m back… we’re back!! Thank you all for your support!!“
• In a recent interview with G-Moniy, Dominik Mysterio gave his thoughts about the original plans for his wrestling career. Mysterio stated “Originally, we had plans for me to go independently and had a scheduled debut independently and go through the whole process of doing indie wrestling and hopefully get a tryout with WWE, but I was very blessed and very fortunate to be in the position I’m in and be given these opportunities. Living up to the Mysterio name, there is definitely some pressure that comes with it, but I’m out there having fun and doing what I can. I can’t get too caught up on the pressure and having to live up to the name because he’s done so much for the business and the Mysterio name, taking from Mexico, my uncle Rey Mysterio Sr. to making Rey Mysterio a worldwide name. Being able to take Dominik Mysterio and continue the legacy is a blessing. I’m very happy to be a part of it, and hopefully, I continue to do the name justice and slowly start erasing the name Rey Mysterio and keeping Dom Mysterio.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• In a recent interview with New Music Daily Radio, Bad Bunny gave his thoughts about his San Juan Street Fight match against Damian Priest at WWE’s Backlash 2023 event earlier this month in Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny stated “Wow, that was insane. That was really crazy, the people, the energy was another level. What happened that night, I’m never going to forget it. I remember, I said before the WrestleMania fight that day was one of my favorite moments of my life, but the Backlash fight in Puerto Rico was another level. It was really one of the biggest and best moments of my life, I really enjoyed that fight. I suffered. Yeah, I got hurt. I got hurt. My back, my back. My whole body, bro. My whole body. I felt that I was going to die after that match. I really thought that I was going to die after the match, but it’s part of it. I was prepared then, and now I’m going to drop a song. I know. I’m a crazy guy. I love it. I love it, and that’s what matters.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• During a recent Q&A event for the For the Love of Wrestling convention, WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase revealed that he is currently signed to a Legends deal with WWE. (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• Fightful Select reported that the identity of one of the enhancement talents for Indus Sher’s tag team match at this past Monday’s RAW show was indie wrestler Lucky Ali.
• Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that WWE generated an attendance of 16,496 for their Backlash 2023 event on May 6th in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Thurston reported that the split was 15,145 paid and 1,351 comp for a live gate revenue of $1,447,558. Thurston also reported that WWE’s SmackDown show on May 5th in San Juan generated a paid attendance of 14,282 for a live gate of $1,048,295.
• WWE is currently advertising that Roman Reigns will be making an appearance at their Money in the Bank 2023 event on July 1st in London, England. Reigns is also currently advertised to be making an appearance on the June 30th SmackDown show in London as well.
• WWE also announced that Roman Reigns will be making an appearance at their upcoming house show event on July 22nd in Mexico City, Mexico.
• As noted before, WWE recently announced that Roman Reigns would be making an appearance at tonight’s house show event in Fayetteville, North Carolina. WWE recently issued an official statement stating that Reigns will not be making an appearance at the event and their original announcement was made in error. The company also announced that they are currently offering refunds for those who had purchased tickets expecting to see Reigns at the show.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Ronda Rousey is currently expected to be taking a break from WWE soon. Meltzer reported that Rousey had planned for this break to take place some time after this past April’s WrestleMania 39 event. Meltzer reported that prior to Rousey’s recent arm injury, WWE had planned for Rousey & Shayna Baszler to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 39 and to have a run with the titles and drop them prior to the start of Rousey’s break time. Those plans reportedly were changed to Becky Lynch & Lita winning the titles and them dropping the titles to Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez instead. Meltzer reported that it is currently not known if Rousey will be extending her current stay before going on break nor if WWE has recently changed their plans for the Women’s Tag Team titles. Meltzer reported that if Rousey is not extending her stay, then WWE likely will be speed running their current plans for her and the Women’s Tag Team titles.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE recently updated their champions list on the roster page on their official website that no longer lists Roman Reigns as both WWE and Universal Champions and instead as just Undisputed Universal Champion. Meltzer reported that it is currently not known what is the exact reason for the recent change nor if there were any changes made to WWE’s plans for Reign’s current title reign status. Meltzer also reported that Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn are also no longer listed as both RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Champions and instead are currently listed as World Tag Team Champions.
• Seth Rollins reportedly is currently scheduled to miss this Monday’s RAW show in Hersey, Pennsylvania due to him currently being busy with filming commitments for Marvel’s upcoming Captain America: New World Order film in Atlanta, Georgia, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

AEW & ROH

• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that AEW and Yukes are currently planning for their upcoming Fight Forever video game to be released on June 27th. It was reported that an official announcement regarding the game’s release date is currently expected to be made at some point next week.
• As noted before, Bryan Danielson will be helping AEW’s Creative team for their new Collision television series. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Danielson has been working in an unofficial capacity for AEW’s Creative team since his Iron Man match against MJF for the AEW World Championship at this past March’s Revolution 2023 event.
• AEW announced that Jade Cargill reached the milestone of 500 days as TBS Champion as of today.
• Dustin Rhodes recently reflected on Twitter about Friday being the 15th anniversary of him being sober from alcohol and drugs. Rhodes stated “Today is a day that I am most proud of. Today is 15 yrs clean and sober from drugs and alcohol. It was a difficult journey for me, but when we work our programs diligently, magic starts to happen. I thank God for this second chance and new lease on life. I choose not to turn around and take a walk with the devil. I am clean from him, 1 day at a time. #KeepSteppin #Perseverance #CleanIsCool“
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that the current belief from those spoken to over why AEW decided to “level up” their All Atlantic Championship into the International Championship was due to AEW wanting to raise the profile and prestige of the belt as part of their plans for their upcoming new Collision series. AEW officials reportedly currently have plans for the International title to be regularly featured on Collision.
• As noted before, AEW has sold around 62,000 tickets for their upcoming All In event at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that ticket sales for AEW’s upcoming event basically came to a halt over the past week and they are still at around 62,000 tickets sold for the event. Meltzer speculated that AEW likely will not see any potential real boost in ticket sales until after they start announcing matches for the event and also feels this likely will not happen until after their Forbidden Door II event this June. Meltzer also reported that AEW currently has a max capacity of 88,000 as the setup for their event after recently opening up more seats. Meltzer reported that should AEW be able to reach this number, this would break WWE’s all-time record for most paid tickets for an event.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that MJF slapping the microphone out of Renee Paquette for his backstage interview segment at this past Wednesday’s Dynamite show was not AEW’s original plans for the segment. Meltzer reported that AEW officials’ original plan was for MJF to give an in-ring promo that would have also featured Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, and Sammy Guevara to continue his “AEW Pillars” feud. This plan reportedly would have also involved Britt Baker coming out due to her also being referenced as an “AEW Pillar.” Baker reportedly was planned to tell MJF that if he manages to retain his title at Double or Nothing 2023, then he will not be champion for long and. Baker reportedly was also planned to reference Adam Cole’s “Bay-Bay” phrase as a way to tease Cole being MJF’s next title feud opponent. AEW officials reportedly deemed something about their original plans to not be good and instead of tweaking it, they decided to go in a different direction for MJF’s segment on the show.
• In a recent post on Twitter, Dax Harwood gave his thoughts on the importance of working in house shows for a young wrestler’s career. Harwood stated “If you’re a young wrestler, & you ain’t begging to be on these house shows, just get out. A rare singles match for me. Who should I wrestle? I plan on killing it in Tupelo, MS. 6/2/23.” Impact Wrestling talent Alex Shelley responded agreeing with Harwood stating “Me. But also, house shows are so much fun, such great learning experiences, and truly, organic wrestling. Your point is so incredibly true, this is the real wrestling, the gritty wrestling, the pro wrestling. Get it, bro.” Harwood responded back stating “Couldn’t agree more. If you’re done learning, time to leave.” Shelley responded back stating “Believe that. Literally, I learn something every match, against every opponent. I’d bet you do too. Great minds think alike; ours too.“
• In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Jon Moxley gave his thoughts about making his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling for their upcoming Dominion 2023 event next month. Moxley stated “I’m really stoked about going back to Japan. Now I don’t have to worry about going back and forth between New Japan and AEW. The working relationship is really good, and that makes it easy for me. I still work for New Japan Strong in the U.S., but it’s not the same as being over there in Japan. It’s been so long. I need it. There are still a lot of big matchups. I’m really excited about it.” Moxley also gave his thoughts about his upcoming match at NJPW’s Resurgence 2023 event this Sunday in Long Beach, California. Moxley stated “Okada, Ishii, I’m here to wrestle the best guys,” says Moxley. “I’m here to push myself. I want to help the young guys, pushing them to be the best. Getting back to Japan and mixing it up over there, it makes me better.”
• In a recent episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, co-host Matt Hardy revealed that the original plans for The Firm Deletion match featured Stokely Hathaway interaction with Jeff Hardy’s Willow persona. Hardy stated that the reason why this part of the plan was pulled was due to weather and timing constraint-related issues. Hardy stated “I’m gonna give you a spoiler but I’m not gonna give you a spoiler. There was going to be a Willow cameo in here (Firm Deletion) and it would’ve been hilarious because you (Isiah Kassidy) know what it was. But we didn’t get to do it because of time constraints and weather. So we’ll just save it for the next time. But yes, there was going to be a Willow cameo at one point. The Willow moment was gonna be with Stokely (Hathaway) and I promise you, people would have pissed their pants in this moment. So I was really upset we didn’t get that in. But you know, it is what it is.” Hardy also stated that he had wished that AEW had allocated 30 minutes for the match for their May 5th Rampage show. Hardy stated “Yeah, it was (a great moment between Caprice Coleman & Stokely Hathaway that didn’t make the final cut of Firm Deletion). I do too. There’s a lot of stuff I wish would have been on the TV version. I wish they would have just given us the last 30 minutes of Rampage.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
• AEW reportedly originally had plans for NJPW talent Kyle Fletcher to work at their May 17th AEW Dynamite and Rampage tapings in Austin, Texas but dropped those plans due to Fletcher coming down with an illness at the time, according to Fightful Select.
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Ring of Honor talent are currently under the belief that ROH will be holding a new set of ROH TV tapings on June 3rd and June 4th.

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• Former Major League Wrestling talent Richard Holliday recently announced that he will be making an appearance at Paradise Alley Pro Wrestling’s Rarefied Air event on June 10th in Woodbridge, Connecticut. Holliday stated that this will be his first match since entering remission for Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.
• As noted before, Major League Wrestling’s original antitrust lawsuit against WWE was dismissed this past February and had filed a new amended lawsuit this past March. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that the scheduled court hearing for WWE’s motion to have MLW’s amended lawsuit be officially dismissed was recently rescheduled from its original date of July 20th to a new date of June 15th based on recent court documents.
• In a recent interview with Fightful’s In the Weeds podcast, New Japan Pro Wrestling talent Alex Coughlin gave his thoughts about him being happy over the new direction for NJPW’s Strong brand. Coughlin stated “New Japan STRONG was fantastic for us. During the pandemic, it was a very dry period for a lot of people, New Japan included. I went to Japan once, and then international travel shut down. I wasn’t able to go over there and work the shows, so Rocky (Romero) and a few other people spearheaded it. The first couple of shows technically weren’t New Japan STRONG branded. We had a few shows, the STRONG name stuck, we did a few airings. It was great we had something to do, and it was a very different atmosphere with the no crowd tapings and nobody there versus a regular show with people. A different atmosphere, but with everybody there, it would be a bit more laid back. You learn different things and learn from different people. It’s a unique experience and a very good one, one that I’m very happy that I went through because you learn different things, that you normally wouldn’t have. Spending all that time around everybody there, it was a who’s who in the locker room, a lot of American talent or people able to come to the shows like Jay White, Juice Robinson, and those guys. I’m happy for the years we had, and looking what it’s turned into with the shows we’ve had, the pay-per-view in San Jose, the show this Sunday, Resurgence, the first Resurgence we had was our first show back with people in America. The Resurgence show is important to me, just as New Japan STRONG is important to me. I’m very excited for these shows and looking forward to the future.“
• Coughlin also gave his thoughts about the recent shift in focus for NJPW’s Strong brand. Coughlin stated “Schedule-wise, it’s similar to what we were doing. We show up, wrestle, and then they film it and air it. Now, it’s bigger shows with bigger names. I’m happy with that direction. it seems pretty consistent. Shows have been great. We’re getting big names. I’m happy and excited for how that’s going to go in the near future.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• NJPW officially revealed the design for their new NJPW Strong Women’s Championship belt, which will make its official debut at this Sunday’s Resurgence 2023 event in Long Beach, California.
• Impact Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their Under Siege 2023 event on May 26th in London, Ontario, Canada. This is a pre-show Impact Digital Media Championship match of Dirty Dango vs. Joe Hendry (c).
• Impact Floor Manager Ingrid Isley recently stated on Twitter that Mercedes Mone was the one who handed out glow sticks to the crowd for Trinity’s debut for the company at this past April’s television tapings in Chicago.
• Conrad Thompson recently announced on Twitter that he will be holding The Business of Wrestling live show with Impact President Scott D’Amore as the guest on July 2nd in Wagga Wagga, Australia. Thompson also announced that this will be part of Impact’s upcoming Down Under Tour in the country.
• The National Wrestling Alliance recently announced the full bracket for their upcoming Crockett Cup 2023 tournament, which takes place on June 3-4 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
• As noted before, VICE TV’s parent company Vice Media officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past Monday. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that George Soros offer to purchase the company was not meant to actually save the company and instead was just to purchase their intellectual property in bankruptcy court similar to what WWE did when ECW filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Meltzer reported that VICE TV will remain in existence for the foreseeable future and VICE Media’s bankruptcy is still not expected to impact the upcoming airing of Dark Side of the Ring’s forth season on the network.
• Friday’s Beware The Fury 2023 event for House of Glory in New York City, New York featured Matt Cardona defeating Jacob Fatu to be crowned the new HOG Heavyweight Champion.