Weekend Roundup: The Rock Teases WWE Return, Cody Rhodes Contract Update, Dean Malenko Update, Shawn Spears & Cassie Lee Expecting New Baby, Indies

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Dec 24, 2023

WWE

This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,010,000 viewers on FOX, according to TV Insider Finale.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reflected on Instagram about a Make-A-Wish visit he had for a wrestling fan named Jayden on Saturday. In his post, Johnson hinted that he is currently has plans to make a return to WWE within the near future. Johnson stated “Jayden is 15 and he’s awesome!!Jayden’s wish was to meet, “the people’s champ”. He is a HUUUUUGE ROCK & pro wrestling fan and we had a BLAST chopping up his favorite wrestlers and matches!!I LOVE pro wrestling so my time with Jayden was super dope!I told him a little secret that may or may not involve some dude returning to WWE to lay the SmackDown on all their candy assesThere’s a lot of negative and toxic noise out there in the world – but there’s a lot of positive, good things too, and Jayden is one of them.“
In a recent interview with the Counted Out With Mike & Tyler podcast, WWE backstage producer TJ Wilson (also known as Tyson Kidd) revealed that several wrestlers who he has trained at his Hart Dungeon 2.0 wrestling school recently signed contracts with WWE. Wilson stated “Just an assortment of different people (that train with Natalya & Wilson), certain people have come in that WWE have kind of sent in to have a little look and then they’ve been signed since then. There’s been a couple of guys that have come down, had a little look and not because of me but end up, now, they’re under contracts and it’s just, I have guys that have been in WWE like Nattie and myself that have been in WWE for a very long time and I have guys that are coming in that have been signed but they don’t report until January so, it’s everything in there.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
Fightful’s Jeremy Lambert reported that prior to his passing, Bray Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda, had done voice acting work for the recently released Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever film on Disney+. Wyatt portrayed a prison guard in the animated film.
WWE recently announced that the Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 won their fan voting tournament for WWE Match of the Year for 2023.
As noted before, Cody Rhodes is believed o have signed a new contract with WWE this past October. Fightful Select reported that their sources close to Rhodes stated that Rhodes has yet to sign a new contract but he was given an initial offer by WWE officials this past October. It was reported that the origin of the confusion over Rhodes’ contract status revolves around several people within WWE had assumed that Rhodes had already signed or he was imminently due to sign a new deal.
While responding to a recent question by a fan on Twitter, RAW brand ring announcer Samantha Irvin stated that it was not her decision to scrap her special custom ring introduction for Chelsea Green. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that the decision came from a high-level WWE official while others within the company have pushed for Irvin to be able to resume her special ring intro for Green for her matches.
The city of Hagerstown, Maryland held a ceremony this past Friday honoring their hometown star LA Knight. During the ceremony, Knight was presented with the keys to the city as a gift.
As noted before, AJ Styles made his return from a storyline injury to WWE’s SmackDown brand at the December 15th show in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that despite Styles acting very heelish upon his return, WWE officials currently do not have any plans in place for Styles to fully turn heel. It was reported that WWE’s current creative direction for Styles is to present justification for his attack on Knight and as a “choose your adventure” style storyline.
CM Punk recently announced on Instagram that he is currently scheduled to make appearances on the January 8th and January 22nd WWE RAW shows.
As noted before, WWE and Warner Bros Discovery officials held talks earlier this month regarding a potential television deal for WWE’s RAW series. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that one WBD source spoken to stated that WBD’s talks with WWE was something that a lot of people within the company were not aware of happening. This same source reportedly stated that the reason is due to the current focus within WBD is their media rights deal with the NBA and not anything WWE or AEW related. This same source reportedly also stated that WBD officials are not expected to make any major decision regarding wrestling on their networks until after their NBA media rights deal situation is resolved first. One source spoken to within WWE reportedly stated that there is nothing to really talk about over WBD and WWE’s recent talks until WBD’s NBA situation plays out first.
As noted before, WWE reached a settlement deal with Major League Wrestling earlier this month over MLW’s antitrust lawsuit against the company. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the current belief is that TKO Group officials wanted the lawsuit to be settled before the discovery phase was scheduled to start. This likely was to keep certain financial-related details and sensitive documents from being leaked or made public.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that a recent new Harris/Sportico poll on sports fans had revealed a major shift political leanings of WWE fans and also sports fans in general. Meltzer reported that ten years ago, WWE’s fanbase had leaned more left than any other notable sports fanbase with the exception of the NBA, WNBA, European soccer, and both Men’s and Women’s tennis while UFC leaned right in the center. Meltzer reported that the new poll that was taken earlier this month had revealed a big shift towards the right for sports fans with WWE’s fanbase now 52% conservative and UFC’s fanbase now 55% conservative. Meltzer reported that only the NBA, WNBA, LIV Golf, and Men’s and Women’s tennis are more liberal than WWE while the current most conservative sports fanbases in order are college football, MLB, PGA, and NFL.
WWE reportedly drew an attendance of 8,734 (7,900 paid) for their Dec. 8th SmackDown Tribute To The Troops 2023 show in Providence, RI, 5,529 for their Dec. 9th NXT Deadline 2023 event in Bridgeport, CT, 3,460 for their Dec. 9th house show event in Utica, NY, 2,465 for their Dec. 10th house show event in University Park, PA, 9,552 (8,600 paid) for their Dec. 11th house show event in Cleveland, OH, 6,240 (5,600 paid) for their Dec. 15th SmackDown show in Green Bay, WI, 4,627 for their Dec. 16th house show event in Moline, IL, 3,379 for their Dec. 17th house show event in Rochester, MN, and 6,662 (5,900 paid) for their Dec. 18th RAW show in Des Moines, IA, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly has sold around 14,884 tickets for their Dec. 26th house show event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, 4,578 tickets for their Dec. 26th house show event in Baltimore, MD, 6,545 tickets for their Dec. 27th house show event in Detroit, MI, 8,093 tickets for their Dec. 27th house show event in Boston, MA, 7,099 tickets for their Dec. 28th house show event in Laval, Canada, 6,508 tickets for their Dec. 28th house show event in Houston, TX, 7,725 tickets for their Dec. 29th house show event in Toronto, Canada, 5,083 tickets for their Dec. 29th house show event in Las Vegas, NV, 11,957 tickets for their Dec. 30th house show event in Inglewood, CA, 10,151 tickets for their Jan. 1, 2024 RAW show in San Diego, CA, 12,822 tickets for their Jan. 5th SmackDown show in Vancouver, Canada, 4,752 tickets for their Jan. 6th house show event in Spokane, WA, 2,211 tickets for their Jan. 7th house show event in Wenatchee, WA, 7,584 tickets for their Jan. 8th RAW show in Portland, OR, 5,174 tickets for their Jan. 12th SmackDown show in Lincoln, NE, 4,038 for their Jan. 13th house show event in Las Cruces, NM, 3,332 tickets for their Jan. 14th house show event in Rio Rancho, NM, 4,385 tickets for their Jan. 15th RAW show in Little Rock, AR, 11,045 tickets for their Jan. 19th SmackDown show in Atlanta, GA, 2,545 tickets for their Jan. 20th house show event in Montgomery, AL, 1,515 tickets for their Jan. 21st house show event in Jackson, MS, 5,650 tickets for their Jan. 22nd RAW show in New Orleans, 5,624 tickets for their Jan. 26th SmackDown show in Miami, FL, 30,000 for their Jan. 27th Royal Rumble 2024 event in St. Petersburg, FL, 11,639 tickets for their Jan. 29th RAW show in Tampa, FL, 5,891 tickets for their Feb. 2nd SmackDown show in Birmingham, AL, 3,156 tickets for their Feb. 3rd house show event in Knoxville, TN, 1,370 tickets for their Feb. 4th house show event in Corbin, KY, 1,527 tickets for their NXT Vengeance Day 2024 event in Clarksville, TN, 30,000 for their Feb. 24th Elimination Chamber 2024 event in Perth, Australia, 57,153 tickets for their WrestleMania 40 Night 1 event in Philadelphia, and 57,207 tickets for their WrestleMania 40 night 2 event in Philadelphia, PA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, the December 11th episode of WWE RAW drew 1,466,000 viewers and a 0.46 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the main event quarter hour featuring Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura drew 1,255,000 overall viewers and 526,000 key demographic viewers. Meltzer reported that the overall viewership for this quarter was one of the lowest ever for a main event quarter in RAW series history.
As noted before, Xavier Woods has been out of action for WWE since earlier this month due to Woods dealing with undisclosed injury-related health issues. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that WWE officials currently expect Woods to be able to resume traveling on the road for shows within the first two weeks of this January.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that next year’s WWE Hall of Fame inductions process will be the first time that it will fall under WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s control instead of TKO Group Executive Chairman Vince McMahon. Meltzer speculated that the current rules and format likely will not change that much under Levesque’s control but he is likely to be more open towards to certain types being inducted. Those spoken to reportedly stated that while Levesque will have full control, he would likely defer for political reasons if someone higher up such as WWE CEO Nick Khan were to request for a specific person to be inducted.
As noted before, Charlotte Flair recently signed a new contract with WWE. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources confirmed that Flair’s new contract is for multiple years in length but that she had signed this new deal several months ago.
As noted before, WWE is believed to have released NXT talent Alexis Lete as part of a recent batch of talent releases from their NXT brand. Lete recently provided an update on Twitter and YouTube confirming that she has been released by WWE and that she will not be continuing a career in wrestling. Lete stated that one main reason for her decision was due to issues she experienced her training at the Performance Center and her suffering a concussion injury that she was told to keep quiet about. (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that WWE recently signed signed Copeland Barbee to a NXT developmental contract.

AEW & ROH

AEW talent Shawn Spears and former WWE and Impact talent Cassie Lee announced on Instagram that they are currently expecting the birth of a new baby boy for their family.
Saturday’s AEW Collision show in San Antonio, Texas was notable for featuring Thunder Rosa competing in her first match since August of 2022 due to a back injury and picking up her first win in 500 days.
AEW recently released a new video on TikTok featuring several AEW personalities giving their thoughts about their favorite holiday movies.
AEW is currently holding a Holiday Sale at their official AEWShop online store until December 25th with discounts going as high as 75% on select items.
Ric Flair recently announced that he will be launching a new bitcoin cryptocurrency project called Wooooo! Coin on January 1, 2024.
In a recent interview with the Casual Conversations with The Classic podcast, Ric Flair gave his thoughts about his belief that MJF could become the next Randy Orton type star in wrestling. Flair stated “Well number one, I think he’s (MJF) actually — he comes across as confident in real life as he comes across with his confidence in the ring and he’s got a good interview, he’s got a great look, he worked hard. I think he’s got the confidence in real life that he portrays on TV and I think the future is unlimited for him and he’s really good. He could be the next Randy Orton. That’s about as high a praise as I can give him.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Eddie Kingston gave his thoughts about him competing in his first ever G1 Climax tournament for New Japan Pro Wrestling earlier this year. Kingston stated “I threw up before my match against Shingo. I always get nervous before matches, but I’ve never been that nervous. So I got to the ring, talked to myself and said, ‘Yup, I’m in the G1.’ That helped. Then Shingo hit me really hard with the first forearm, and I knew I was ready.” Kingston also gave his thoughts about his time in NJPW during the G1 tournament. Kingston stated “I had a lot of good guys around me in Japan. The New Japan locker room is the best locker room I’ve ever been part of. They showed me around, and I tried everything. I don’t like fish, but I did in Japan. I loved it there.” Kingston also gave his thoughts about the post-match promos being a big feature of AEW’s Continental Classic tournament. Kingston stated “I heard someone call them promos. I didn’t like that. To me, promos are the fake stuff. I’m a reactionary and emotional fighter, and I say what’s on my mind. I love that they grab us right after the match. That’s when the adrenaline is pumping. Emotion is what this sport is all about.“
In a recent interview with the 3NT Wrestling podcast, Adam Copeland gave his thoughts on who would be his choices to join him if he were to form a new faction in AEW. Copeland stated “It’s something that I haven’t even contemplated yet, but if I’m looking at the roster I see a guy like Griff Garrison and he reminds me a lot of me when I was that age. That’s a guy that I’ve already been reaching out to and trying to be like, ‘If you try this or you try that.’ That would be one guy for sure that I’d like to kind of bring into a fold if I were to ever do it. There is so much talent there. More than anything, it would be talent that I feel is on the cusp and really have a shot to do something. That was the idea with Judgment Day. I saw Priest, I saw Rhea, and I saw Finn and I knew they could do more. Finn had been given a bit of an opportunity with that, but I knew there was so much more untapped stuff. That to me was all fun and all true. I truly felt they were underutilized. That’s what I think I would like to do if I were to do it again. Who are these people that I could bring in and feel the difference when you’re out there of that that feels like, to really listen to an audience and be engaged with them, but understand that you’re the one pulling the strings, they’re not pulling your strings. That’s a big shift in mindset that at some point you have to take if you want to make it to the top. I know I’m going to get off and go, ‘Oh, this person, that person, this person.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
AEW and events distributor Joe Hand Promotions recently announced that they are partnering again for the airing of AEW’s Worlds End event on December 30th at select out-of-home establishments across North America.
As noted before, AEW coach and former wrestler Dean Malenko recently underwent brain surgery due to health issues related to his current battle with Parkinson’s disease. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Malenko had underwent surgery near the end of this past September and had returned back to AEW to resume his backstage duties in early November.
In a recent interview with the Wrestling With Rip Rodgers podcast, CM Punk and Ace Steel’s lawyer Stephen P New confirmed that both Punk and Steel are under lifetime NDA agreements over their involvement in the infamous All Out 2022 brawl incident. New stated “The only person, and granted she’s not completely objective and unbiased, the only person not subject to a NDA and not subject to confidentiality provisions is Ace’s wife Lucy. Maybe one day she tells the story.” New also stated that the reason why Lucy was not given a NDA was due to the terms of Punk and Steel’s deal with AEW for their NDAs. New stated “It was just part of the deal.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
AEW reportedly drew an attendance of 3,659 for their Dec. 13th Dynamite show in Arlington, TX, 3,108 for their Dec. 16th Collision show in Garland, TX, and 4,488 for their Dec. 20th Dynamite show in Oklahoma City, OK, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly has sold around 3,635 tickets for their Dec. 27th Dynamite show in Orlando, FL, 7,815 tickets for their Dec. 30th Worlds End event in Uniondale, NY, 3,647 tickets for their Jan. 3, 2024 Dynamite show in Newark, NJ, 2,242 tickets for their Jan. 6th Collision show in Charlotte, NC, 1818 tickets for their Jan. 10th Dynamite show in Jacksonville, FL, 1,566 tickets for their Jan. 13th Collision show in Norfolk, VA, 1,733 tickets for their Jan. 17th Dynamite show in North Charleston, SC, 1,632 tickets for their Jan. 20th Collision show in St Charles, MO, 1,182 tickets for their Jan. 24th Dynamite show in Savannah, GA, 1,115 tickets for their Jan. 27th Collision show in Bossier City, LA, and 1,181 tickets for their Jan. 31st Dynamite show in New Orleans, LA, 1,584 tickets for their Feb. 3rd Collision show in Edinburg, TX, 2,307 tickets for their Feb. 7th Dynamite show in Phoenix, AZ, 874 tickets for their Feb. 10th Collision show in Henderson, NV, and 921 tickets for their Feb. 14th Dynamite show in Cedar Park, TX as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
This past Thursday’s ROH TV show featured ROH owner Tony Khan officially debuting a new ROH Women’s World Television Championship for the company. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that with the introduction of a new Women’s title for ROH, the current tally of championships in AEW and ROH combined is 13 belts. For some comparisons, Meltzer reported that WWE currently has 14 championship belts across their RAW, SmackDown, and NXT brands.
Ring of Honor reportedly drew an attendance of over 2,000 for their Dec. 15th Final Battle 2023 event in Garland, TX, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that this number is based on what ROH owner Tony Khan stated for the event’s attendance during the post-show media scrum while WrestleTix had reported that 1,964 tickets distributed for the event.

Impact, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

Saturday’s 23rd Anniversary Event for Westside Xtreme Wrestling in Oberhausen, Germany featured Killer Kelly making a surprise appearance. During the wXw Unified World Wrestling & wXw Women’s World Championships Unification match between Masha Slamovich and Robert Dreissker, Kelly ran out to help her fellow MK Ultra partner Slamovich after another person had interfered helping out Dreissker. Despite Kelly’s efforts, Dreissker still managed to pick up the victory in the end.
As noted before, Kazuchika Okada’s contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling is currently set to expire at the end of January of 2024. Fightful Select reported that their sources clarified recent rumors of Okada hiring notable sports agent Barry Bloom. It was reported that those spoken to stated that a representation deal between Okada and Bloom has yet to be officially signed but Bloom has been going after high profile talents as potential clients for their upcoming new contract talks.
This past Thursday’s Road to Tokyo Dome event for NJPW in Tokyo, Japan featured Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada successfully retaining their NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Following the event, Okada gave his thoughts in a post-match press conference backstage stating that himself, Ishii, and Tanahashi will carry NJPW on their backs for 2024. Okada stated “It might be too early to decide Match of the Year, but matches like this one is why these NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Titles are gaining prestige. We’re gonna keep defending these belts next year and heat up NJPW more than ever. We’re going to heat up both the singles and tag divisions. We’re not just limiting ourselves to tag matches. We can liven things up in a lot of ways. We’re gonna carry this place on our backs. We’re the team that can handle it.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
As noted before, NJPW announced this past Friday that they have named Hiroshi Tanahashi as their new President and Representative Director for the company. Outgoing NJPW President Takami Ohbari recently issued an official statement on Twitter reflecting about his time as President of the company and being confident that Tanahashi will create the “best ever NJPW.” Ohbari stated “For our international fans,Today, I resigned from the roles as president of NJPW and NJPW of America, and, as you know, our “ACE” Tanahashi-san just took over my roles.As he has fan’s, wrestler’s, and management perspectives, there is no doubt that he will create the best NJPW ever.I spent five years with NJPW, and as its president 3 years and two months. My management started from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, when cheering, the number of attendance, and many other key factors for both fans’ and wrestlers’ motivation were strictly restricted by the government. People out of Japan might not be able to imagine how despairing environment it was.As our traditional business model collapsed quickly, I focused on prevention of COVID-19 and cost reductions first. To adapt to this changing external environment, I put all my efforts to modify the old system, to create new businesses, and to accelerate the globalization. Honestly, most of the time I had felt “pains of birth”.However, whenever I went to the venues in Japan and overseas, I always received huge encouragement from our fans like you and wrestlers, which motivated me to do my best again. Through this cycle, which might be called “STRONG STYLE”, we managed to recover our business to the level that almost hits the record high.All the new president, Tanahashi-san, to do is to easily surpass the record and make a much brighter future of NJPW. I know everything is prepared.Although I left NJPW and will leave Bushiroad quite soon, I would like to once again thank everyone at the press conference on December 26.See you then!“
NJPW reportedly has sold and distributed around 1,239 for their Jan. 13, 2024 Battle in the Valley 2024 event in San Jose, CA as of this past Friday, according to WrestleTix.
NJPW reportedly drew a paid attendance of 2,658 for their Dec. 10th World Tag League Finals 2023 event in Mashiki and 1,457 for their Dec. 21st Road to Tokyo Dome event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre talent Soberano Jr. announced that he has recently signed a one-year contract with NJPW but will continue to work for CMLL. Soberano Jr. stated “It’s something I’ve dreamed about. Not sure if I can speak on it right now, but I will say it anyways. It’s always awesome to travel to Japan for FanstasticaMania, it’s cool; however, I noticed the real experience in the Super Junior Tag League when wrestling talents from many countries like Australia, New Zealand, United States, Japan, and many other countries. It turns you a bit more patriotic when trying to represent your country, and I want to be involved in more tours like that. When I went to FantasticaMania 2023, they invited me to that tourney (World Tag League), and the contracts are usually for 3 weeks or 4 weeks. Now, however, I have a 1-year contract, and having contracts with both CMLL & NJPW filled the void missing in my career, and i want to continue in that path. That is why I was insistent in having a good showing on World Tag League with Atlantis Jr, I wanted to raise the flag for CMLL, for Mexico, and elevate my name and I did not want to be on the ground. There will be more tours, so I look forward to enjoy doing what I love the most, and that is wrestling.“
CMLL reportedly drew an attendance of around 9,000 for their Dec. 15th Super Viernes event in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Impact/TNA Wrestling reportedly has sold and distributed around 747 tickets for their Jan. 13, 2024 TNA Hard To Kill 2024 event in Las Vegas and 412 tickets for their Jan. 14th Snake Eyes Impact! tapings in Las Vegas, NV as of this past Friday, according to WrestleTix.
As noted before, the December 14th episode of Impact! drew 75,000 viewers and a 0.00 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that a 0.00 rating means that Impact drew less than 6,000 people for their key demographic viewership for that week’s show.
As noted before, Heath’s contract with Impact expired this past October and he is currently a free agent. In a recent interview with the Rewind Recap Relive podcast, Heath confirmed that he is currently a free agent. Heath stated “(Number) 22 in the (Royal) Rumble and I’m literally just having fun at the moment. Being real, it was one of those things where, you know, after WWE, I was with IMPACT for two years, nearly three years because I was injured for a year. So, it was one of those things where I was with them but now, when you were with IMPACT, they take up a lot of dates that you could have took independent bookings to. But then again, they would give you bookings also to where you could have other bookings too. So it’s like now, I’m booked up till like March, the first weekend in March. So, it’s looking alright, you know, at the moment. But no, I’m literally at the moment to where I’m having fun, I’m enjoying family time, I’m working the weekends so, I’m in the smooth sailing phase at the moment. But then again, I put nearly 16 years going strong, steady every damn day of my damn life to now just relaxing and chilling for a bit… I’m relaxing and chilling for a bit for sure.” Heath also gave his thoughts about his interest in a potential return to WWE. Heath stated “Of course, if they (WWE) called me and said, hey man, you want to be number 22 in the Royal Rumble? I’ll be like, hell yeah baby, sign me up. Let me just stay in there until the last five guys and throw me out. Who cares? But yeah, hell yeah man. That’d be fun as hell.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling)
DDT Pro Wrestling announced that they had pulled Yusuke Okada from their D-Oh GRAND PRIX Finals 2023 event earlier today in Tokyo, Japan due to Okada recently being diagnosed with shingles.
Revolution Pro Wrestling reportedly drew an attendance of 739 for their Dec. 16th Uprising 2023 event in London, England, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that RevPro officials had been hopeful of being able to sell 2,000 tickets for this event to follow-up the success of their 11th Anniversary Event this past August but fell well short of their expectations. Meltzer reported that those spoken to stated that many of RevPro’s fans who would have been interested in attending the event had wished it was held at the York Hall instead of the Crystal Palace Sports Centre. Meltzer also reported that the reason for this decision was due to the price of running shows at the York Hall had quadrupled due to the venue’s new owners.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling and Prestige Wrestling reportedly drew an attendance of 400 for their Dec. 14th co-promoted Combat Princess USA event in Los Angeles, CA, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, Lucha Libre AAA talent Cuatrero was arrested this past March in Mexico over charges of attempted femicide involving an alleged assault towards CMLL talent Stephanie Vaquer. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that several notable AAA wrestlers and friends of Cuatrero held a match in front of the National Palace on December 20th meant as a peaceful protest over their issues regarding Cuatrero’s current incarceration and attempt to get him released. Meltzer reported that since Cuatrero’s arrest, Vaquer and her family have been constantly harassed by friends and supporters of Cuatrero. TheCubsFan reported that friends of Cuatrero held a similar wrestling match style protest the prior week in Mexico City with the same goal. It was also reported that those protesting claim that Cuatrero’s incarceration is part of a conspiracy against him by Vaquer and her supporters. It was also reported that AEW talents RUSH and Draltsico were recently involved in the protests which led to RUSH deleting his tweet in support of Cuatrero and Draltsico claiming he was not picking a side when negative online attention was brought to AEW over it.
Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly drew a paid attendance of 688 for their Dec. 20th Star Navigation 2023 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This event was notable for NJPW’s House of Torture group making a surprise appearance and setting up a match for NOAH’s The New Year 2024 event next month.
Stardom reportedly drew a paid attendance of 374 for their Dec. 9th Year-End Tour 2023 event in Osaka, 231 for their Dec. 10th Year-End Tour 2023 event in Kobe, and 352 for their Dec. 17th Year-End Tour 2023 event in Niigata, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that new Bushiroad Fight President Taro Okada generated some backstage heat within Stardom following an incident at the Tokyo Comic-Con convention earlier this month in Tokyo, Japan. Meltzer reported that this incident revolved around Okada taking a bump and doing skits during the special attraction match that was held by Stardom. Okada’s actions reportedly upset many Stardom talent who had hoped that with the recent change within Bushiroad Fight, the new President would be hands-off with the wrestling end of the company. Those same talents were also not happy at the idea of the new president wanting to look like a star at Stardom events. Meltzer reported that this was the same feeling that many within NJPW had during Harold Meiji’s tenure as NJPW President due to the feeling of him looking to become a celebrity president than a behind-the-scenes one.
As noted before, Nick Bollea, son of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea), was arrested this past November in Clearwater, Florida and charged with driving under the influence and refusal to submit to sobriety testing following a traffic stop by police. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Bollea pleaded not guilty to the charges against him on December 18th based on recent court records.

Wrestling TV Ratings for Week of Dec. 15 to Dec. 21, 2023

WWE Friday Night SmackDown – 2,240,000 viewers, 0.55 rating (prior week – 2,384,000 viewers, 0.63 rating)
WWE RAW – 1,562,000 viewers, 0.47 rating (prior week – 1,466,000 viewers, 0.46 rating)
WWE NXT – 641,000 viewers, 0.17 rating (prior week – 678,000 viewers, 0.18 rating)
AEW Rampage – 308,000 viewers, 0.08 rating (prior week – 341,000 viewers, 0.12 rating)
AEW Collision – 457,000 viewers, 0.17 rating (prior week – 455,000 viewers, 0.14 rating)
AEW Dynamite – 782,000 viewers, 0.26 rating (prior week – 845,000 viewers, 0.30 rating)

Total viewership in terms of overall tally for the week: 5,990,000 viewers, down 179,000 viewers compared to prior week’s 6,169,000 viewers.