Weekend Roundup: Early Start Time for WWE Bad Blood 2024 Update, Kevin Owens on Not Being Friends with CM Punk, Ricky Starks Says He Never Turned Down AEW Creative Pitches, Kaito Kiyomiya Wins NOAH N-1 Victory 2024, Indies

AEW

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Sep 1, 2024

WWE

WWE reportedly has sold and distributed around 6,703 tickets for tonight’s NXT No Mercy 2024 event at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado as of this past Friday, according to WrestleTix.
Saturday’s WWE Bash In Berlin event in Berlin, Germany featured CM Punk defeating Drew McIntyre in a Strap match. This was Punk’s first televised victory in WWE since the January 20, 2014 WWE RAW show, which featured Punk defeating Billy Gunn in a singles match.
WWE recently announced that their upcoming Bad Blood 2024 event on October 5th in Atlanta, Georgia will be having an earlier than usual start time of 6PM EST. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that the reason for the early start time is due to UFC’s UFC 307 event taking place that same night in Salt Lake City, Utah and WWE officials not wanting to go head-to-head against UFC’s event.
WWE also recently announced that the Finals of their current Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender’s tournament will be taking place on the September 9th WWE RAW show, which is the RAW season premiere show.
In a recent interview with the Gorilla Position podcast, Dominik Mysterio gave his thoughts about his interest in having a potential singles match against Rhea Ripley. Mysterio stated “I don’t think they’d book it but I’m here for it. Yeah (I’d do it), I mean, but let’s just leave it at that.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)
Following Mysterio’s interview with Gorilla Position, Rhea Ripley responded on Twitter to Mysterio being interesting in a match with her. Ripley stated “Bring it.“
This past Friday’s WWE Speed show on Twitter featured Andrade defeating Pete Dunne to retain the WWE Speed Championship.
This past Friday’s WWE SmackDown show featured a vignette airing revealing that Giovanni Vinci will be making his return to WWE television on this week’s SmackDown show on September 6th in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
As noted before, the upcoming Mr. McMahon docuseries based on former WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon will be premiering on Netflix on September 25th. Post Wrestling’s John Pollock reported that his and Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston’s sources stated that WWE will not hold any production credits on the upcoming docuseries.
In an interview held with SHAK Wrestling, Kevin Owens gave his thoughts about his friendship with Cody Rhodes and how he helped connect Rhodes with The Young Bucks. This interview was held prior to Saturday’s WWE Bash In Berlin event. Owens stated “I mean, it’s just great to be able to experience that with my friend, you know? In any way. Anytime I get to wrestle a close friend on a big show, it’s great. Cody left [WWE] in 2016, and it sucked. It sucked to lose my friend at [that] time. So I really wanted him to have the best possible introduction to the independent scene, because he had never been around. He had never done that. At the time, he had already been in the WWE system for so long. The independent scene is a whole different ballgame from the WWE. So I just guided him in the right direction and put him in touch with The Young Bucks [who would] take care of him. And I knew they’d hit it off, you know? They did, I was right. And that just helped him get the right platform, I guess. Everything else, he did. He knew what he was capable of and he really wanted to show people — the promoters — what he already saw in himself. And he succeeded. That’s an understatement. So it’s great to see him get all his flowers, if you want to say that. And to see him in the position he’s in now.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)
In a separate recent interview with the Daily Mail, Kevin Owens gave his thoughts about him not being friends with CM Punk and not having any reason to talk to each other. Owens stated “We never talk. We have no reason to talk. We’re not friends. We’re not, we don’t, you know, we’re just not, I don’t know. We have no reason to talk. If we work together, we will talk, but just not a thing we do.“
As noted before, Drew McIntyre posted a photo on Instagram of himself and Jack Perry hanging out together as a dig against CM Punk for their current storyline feud in WWE that was later deleted by McIntyre. In a recent interview with the Gorilla Position podcast, McIntyre gave his thoughts about the photo he had with Perry. McIntyre stated “On the same flight (McIntyre responded when asked how the photo with Jack Perry came about). He was just right in front of me. I had a chat with him. Lovely lad. His girlfriend’s really nice, flying to L.A. and just said, ‘Hey, we should take a picture together. We’re both wrestlers. I’ll put it on the internet. Give ya a little rub (McIntyre laughed),’ and people reacted crazy.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
As noted before, WWE recently denied reports and rumors of them moving their Performance Center to a new location in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that one source close to the situation stated that WWE officials had held talks several months ago regarding the idea of holding a developmental system in Las Vegas. Meltzer reported that this would help explain why WWE decided to hold their NXT Battleground 2024 event this past June at the UFC Apex. This same source reportedly stated that they had not heard anything since then of WWE holding more talks regarding that idea. Meltzer reported that another source spoken to stated that several people within WWE’s Performance Center and NXT brand were tipped off regarding this idea but kept it quiet from everyone else. In regards to TKO President Mark Shapiro’s meeting with WWE employees on August 27th, Meltzer reported that those spoken to stated that Shapiro’s direct words did not mean that WWE would be holding a developmental system in Las Vegas and instead was talking about wanting WWE to expand their presence in the market. Meltzer reported that those spoken to following the meeting stated that WWE officials do have plans to run a Performance Center in Las Vegas but this would be in addition to their current one in Orlando and something that would be more of an idea for the future and not anything imminent.
WWE’s SummerSlam 2024 event this past August in Cleveland, Ohio reportedly drew around 18,000 cable television pay-per-view buys based on updated late buys numbers, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly drew an attendance of 4,485 for their Aug. 25th house show event in Rotterdam, Netherlands, 9,058 for their Aug. 26th SmackDown show in Providence, RI, 6,305 for their Aug. 26th house show event in Brussels, Belgium, 4,842 for their Aug. 27th house show event in Oberhausen, Germany, and 3,855 for their Aug. 28th house show event in Stuttgart, Germany, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

AEW & ROH

As noted before, Ricky Starks has been out of action for AEW since this past March due to a head-injury scare incident and AEW officials no longer having plans for Starks and Big Bill to continue as a tag team nor any current creative plans for his return. In responses to a recent argument on Twitter by fans over Ricky Starks’ position and creative direction in AEW, Starks stated that the reports of him turning down creative plans in AEW are not true. One fan stated “The fact that his attitude when given the smaller opportunities was to pout and disagree with creative is the main reason why he didn’t get bigger shots.” Starks responded stating “Enough is enough. Usually I don’t even speak on this but it’s tired. I never turned down anything, EVER. Just Stop.“
In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, former AEW and current WWE talent Cody Rhodes gave his thoughts about the narratives surrounding his departure from AEW in February of 2022 and if there is a temptation by him to shut them down before they get out of hand. Rhodes stated “I think perhaps people might have already run away with it. It’s not really that sexy of a story. I think I was more referencing that Brandi and I had been offered new contracts. Brandi had a great deal with Tony. I had a great deal with Tony. ‘Rhodes to the Top’ season two, it had been renewed. I feel you’ll hear some narratives online, such as ‘They’re so far off.’ The temptation comes from maybe a fear of it getting away from reality and truth because it’s so easy to have a blue check, say something, and nobody fact checks it. It’s a little scary when you’re in the public eye. The idea that, as we grow older and books are written, and larger interviews. I have a daughter and her legacy is my legacy. My dad [Dusty Rhodes], my family, my brother [Dustin Rhodes] still being with the company. I don’t want my legacy to be, in any way, I don’t want elements that are fabricated or lied about becoming truth. That’s where the temptation is to speak up and say, ‘No, here’s what happened.’ Even so, when it takes root, sometimes people need that to be the story and they’re not going to believe you regardless. I’m fairly optimistic that everything with that will be a great story in maybe ten to 20 years when they talk about the revolution and the industry. I hope I get to be interviewed alongside everybody else and share what a damn fun time it was and I hope it continues. To your point about temptation. It’s not a sexy story and my concerns when people try to put a spin on it who weren’t there or don’t know, that’s all stuff you can’t avoid. You can’t avoid it. It’s going to happen.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
In a recent interview with WTOP News, Mercedes Mone gave her thoughts about getting to wrestle at Wembley Stadium at AEW All In 2024 being a dream come true for her wrestling career. Mone stated “I’m still on a high from it. Last year I was just a fan in attendance with a broken heel dreaming about which company I’m going to be in. Now this year performing at All In at Wembley was such a dream come true, it was so amazing, the crowd was electric and I can’t wait to do it all again next year at All In in Dallas, Texas. It’s been such an exciting time for professional wrestling because of AEW — and I enjoy being the face of TBS.“
In a recent episode of the My World with Jeff Jarrett podcast, co-host Jeff Jarrett gave his thoughts about AEW’c Casino Gauntlet match concept. Jarrett stated “That match concept is special. I loved it the first time I saw it, the one in Orlando, just kind of the cadence in it. You don’t know who’s coming out and the time intervals, you don’t really know how many guys are in it. It’s a lot of fun and it builds the anticipation.” Jarrett also gave his thoughts about the crowd reaction he got for his entrance for the Casino Gauntlet match at AEW All In 2024 being the loudest of his career. Jarrett stated “55,000 people, you can’t duplicate it. I’ve never had that kind of pop, it was huge. 55,000 people, it was rocking.” Jarrett also gave his thoughts about if his feud with Hangman Adam Page is over in AEW. Jarrett stated “We’ll see, TBD. [His match with Ishii] was hard hitting. Hangman is a gamer, I don’t have to tell you or any AEW fan that. We had some chemistry in Chicago, without question there was chemistry in Wembley. If I have anything to say about it, it ain’t over, no doubt about it. It’s not over. That guitar exploded, man. Like I said, Hangman is super talented. His intensity, he’s an all around performer with incredible not just intensity but the different gears he can get in and out of. He had a hell of a match last night with Ishii. When he came out in the Casino Gauntlet and made his statement — his athleticism, his intensity, his timing, his cadence and his overall persona. He’s a gamer at the very very top of his game.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
As noted before, The Lucha Brothers’ Penta El Zero Miedo’s contract with AEW is currently set to expire between this August and September while Rey Fenix’s contract is currently set to expire this September. The Lucha Bros are currently expected to be joining WWE once their AEW contracts expire. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the official program booklet for AEW’s Dynamite show in Cardiff, Wales and All In 2024 event at Wembley Stadium did not feature Fenix and Penta while people like “Pretty” Peter Avalon who are not under a contract and are used very sparingly were. Meltzer reported that it is currently not known if AEW CEO Tony Khan will extend Fenix’s contract by a year for injury time reasons to make up for the time Fenix missed in the company.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the original plans for PAC at AEW All In 2024 was for him to win the AEW World Trios Championship with the Lucha Bros. Meltzer reported that those plans changed to PAC winning the titles with Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta after the Lucha Bros decided to leave AEW and not even bother negotiate for potential new deals.
AEW reportedly drew an attendance of 2,053 for their Aug. 28th AEW Dynamite show in Champaign, IL, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly also drew an attendance of around 53,393 for their Aug. 25th All In 2024 event at Wembley Stadium in London, England, according to WrestleTix.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW’s paid attendance for their All In 2024 event would be the fourth largest ever for a wrestling event in the United Kingdom, only behind WWE’s SummerSlam 1992 event and this past June’s Clash in the Castle 2024 event and AEW’s All In 2023 event. Meltzer reported that AEW generated around $1 million in merchandise sales for the event, which would be third largest ever for a wrestling event in the U.K. and only behind WWE’s SummerSlam 1992 event and AEW’s All In 2023 event.
AEW reportedly has sold around 6,022 tickets for their Sept. 7th All Out 2024 event in Hoffman Estates, IL, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
In a recent interview with the Gabby AF podcast, Maria Kanellis stated that her contract with AEW and Ring of Honor expires this November and she is considering options for the future of her wrestling career. Kanellis stated “When we (myself & Mike Bennett) got split up, it was difficult on our marriage. This was probably the hardest year of our marriage. We’re good now, but at first, it was really difficult. It’s a blessing now. When we were first going through it, I was pissed. It’s being competitive, and wanting to be successful and wanting to be on the main show and wanting to show what you got and do what you were made to do and so, that makes it tough then, plus on top of that, he’s my best friend, so I wasn’t seeing my best friend. So yeah, we’ll see what happens. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I know that things are coming up at the beginning of November. There’s an option but, we’ll see what happens. For me, it’s about still being able to have a purpose and feel like you’re contributing and wherever I can do that, that’s where I wanna do it. I want to work for my money. I don’t wanna not work for a paycheck. I wanna work for a paycheck and I’ve always felt that way. Even when I was on maternity leave, I was like, ‘I gotta get back to work. I gotta get back to work’ because I just want to contribute and that’s who I’ve always been, that’s how I was raised. I had my first job when I was 12 years old and so, wherever it is that’s going to be an opportunity to really make an impact and to be able to work and help people, that’s where I wanna be… I love what AEW is about. That’s why I loved Ring of Honor after I was out of WWE and that was because I think it is the greatest wrestling in the world. I think AEW has the greatest wrestling in the world. I think that Tony Khan is probably the very best at putting together pay-per-views that I’ve ever seen in my life. The pay-per-views, every single of them is a banger. Every one of them, I’m excited to see, I’m excited to watch and I think that the idea of a company that is the underdog that is able to make such a huge impact in the wrestling industry, I can get behind that for sure. But it’s also, do I fit? And there have been tons of changes. WWE has done so much change in the last few years and I’m excited to see where it goes from here. The opportunities that the women are getting. I’m just so happy to be seeing those things. I think that what IMPACT — or TNA is doing right now, I think that is really cool and the way that they’re starting to sell-out more and more arenas and bigger places. I think that there’s just so much momentum out there in the wrestling world and I go, at this point, I don’t feel one way or another way about any companies. I just feel like everybody in this industry needs to find out where they best fit and where is the best for their family. Whatever comes down the pipe, whether it is staying at AEW or leaving wrestling completely, whatever it is, I know it’s how it’s supposed to be. It’s just a matter of surrendering and sometimes, I just wanna fight it on.“
Kanellis continued stating that her feeling unfulfilled with her career does not mean the in-ring portion of wrestling since she is fulfilled with it. Kanellis stated “I just talked about this recently. This past year has been just awful. I mean, yes, also great in some ways but then awful in others. But I’ve been home by myself without Mike (Bennett) a ton and so, we were put on two different shows, we were on completely opposite schedules for the longest time. He’s in London right now for a week, and I’m not and so, it’s like, I’ve got that going on in my career where I’m feeling very unfulfilled and wanting to do more and I’m used to fighting for and doing so much more, especially in the last several years of my career before I got to AEW and then on top of it, now I’ve got these health issues and it starts to make you feel very much like, what’s my purpose? Is there a sign here? Is wrestling and this portion of my career coming to a close? Or do I need to start looking at it in a different way and do I need to start, you know, going somewhere else? Doing something else? Because there’s all these things that are happening in my life and when your health comes into question, then all you can think about is like, am I living my best life? So if something terrible were to happen, would I be proud of the things that I’m doing right now in my life? As far as my kids and of course my family and my marriage. All of that is wonderful and I feel like that’s really great. But then, what is my purpose in my career? And right now, I think that’s kind of gotten lost, and I fight and I try to do more and more. But, it’s also when timing meets opportunity and it’s where do you belong? So, mentally, that makes it really tough. But it also gives you a sense of clarity of like, okay, I know I’m not happy with where my career is right now and whether that means in wrestling or just it’s time to move on and do something else, I’m not sure. As far as wrestling goes, I don’t feel unfulfilled at all, in the ring. In the ring stuff. Me, wrestling, I did it, and my very last match was at WrestleMania, and I could feel it. I got about halfway down the ramp and I go, this isn’t it. This isn’t it at all. I just knew I was done with wrestling myself. Do I think there’s things in the business of wrestling that I could contribute? Of course. I hate when people feel as if they’re not getting heard in this industry. There’s been so many more opportunities for women and I think that women, they’re the strongest in any division in any company right now. I think they just have so much to tell, such a brilliant story to tell. The business of wrestling, I think, could run smoother. I think that there’s ways that we could help our talent and help both male and female. I think there are things that definitely could be put into place that could help wrestlers lead longer, happier, healthier careers and so, there’s a part of me that feels like maybe I should fight for that and maybe I’ve been fighting for that a bit (she laughed). In my own way. But, if I had to walk away, there’s other things that are getting put into place right now that I feel confident will be beneficial eventually anyways so, sometimes the universe tells you it’s time to move on and I don’t know if now is the time but, sometimes I feel like its tried to say, okay, maybe try something else for a little while.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)

TNA, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

Sunday’s N-1 Victory Finals event in Osaka, Japan featured Kaito Kiyomiya defeating Kenoh in the Finals to become the winner of this year’s tournament. This match was notable for Kiyomiya’s GHC Heavyweight Championship being on the line and Kiyomiya becoming the first ever reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion to win a N-1 Victory tournament in NOAH history.
Saturday’s 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 Finals event for Stardom in Tokyo, Japan featured Maika defeating Saya Kamitani in the Finals to become the winner of this year’s tournament. This was Maika’s first ever 5STAR Grand Prix tournament victory and the first time ever in Stardom history that a winner went through an entire tournament undefeated.
Saturday’s Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 Finals event in Tokyo also featured Tam Nakano defeating Natsuko Tora to become the new Wonder of Stardom Champion.
Stardom reportedly drew a paid attendance of 508 for their Aug. 28th 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Saturday’s NWA 76 event for National Wrestling Alliance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania featured Thom Latimer defeating EC3 to become the new NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion.
Saturday’s NWA 76 event in Philadelphia also featured Natalia Marakova winning this year’s Burke Invitational Gauntlet match, The It Girls (Ella Envy & Miss Starr) defeating The King Bees (Charity King & Danni Bee) to become the new NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions, and Mims defeating Bryan Idol, Burchill, and Carson Drake to become the new NWA National Champion.
This past Friday’s Emergence 2024 event for TNA Wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky featured KC Navarro making his surprise return to TNA and being revealed as the newest member of FIR$T CLA$$.
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that his sources stated that WWE NXT talent Blair Davenport was in attendance backstage at this past Friday’s TNA Emergence 2024 event in Louisville. Sapp reported that the reason for Davenport’s visit was to support her husband and NXT talent Riley Osborne who competed in the Ultimate X match at the event.
TNA recently announced the first official match for the card of their TNA Victory Road 2024 event on September 13th in San Antonio, Texas. This new match announced was a TNA World Championship match of Moose vs. Nic Nemeth (c).
TNA’s Slammiversary 2024 event this past July reportedly generated around 8,000 cable television pay-per-view buys based on updated late buys purchases, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that when including estimated streaming buys numbers, TNA’s event is currently estimated to have generated around 26,000 total buys as its likely final PPV buys number.
In a recent interview with Barstool’s Rasslin with Brandon Walker podcast, TNA and indies talent Matt Cardona gave his thoughts about the future of his wrestling career. Cardona stated “When I got released from WWE four years ago, my whole goal wasn’t ‘what can I do to get back there.’ I knew I had to forget about WWE, forget about AEW, and focus on myself. Rebuild and rebrand. I think I’ve successfully done that. Now it’s time, coming back from this injury, I’ve done everything there is to do on the indies. Won all the titles. There are titles in my closet right now, I don’t even know what promotion they are for. Been there, done that. Now is the time to go to a major TV company. I don’t know if Major TV Company God has the same ring to it as Indie God, but we’ll figure it out.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Revolution Pro Wrestling reportedly drew a paid attendance of 3,927 for their Aug. 24th 12th Anniversary Show in London, England, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre reportedly drew an attendance of around 16,000 for their Aug. 23rd International Grand Prix 2024 event at the Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, CMLL talent Villano V, real name Raymond Mendoza Jr., passed away this past Thursday at the age of 62. Mexican news outlet Record reported that Villano V’s cause of death was due to a heart attack at his home. It was reported that Villano V’s sons had discovered their father’s body but it was too late to save his life.
Lucha Libre AAA reportedly drew an attendance of around 18,000 for their Aug. 17th Triplemania XXII: Mexico City event in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Marigold reportedly drew a paid attendance of 288 for their Aug. 25th Summer Gold Shine 2024 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This event was notable for featuring Giulia’s last match of her Marigold career and is expected to be joining WWE soon to start her WWE NXT career.
Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling recently announced that Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling talent Miyu Yamashita will be making an appearance for the company at their Forged In Excellence events on October 19-20 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
New Japan Pro Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their Royal Quest IV event on October 20th in London, England. This new match announced was a NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship match of Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicolls) (c).

Wrestling TV Ratings for Week of August 23 to August 29, 2024

WWE Friday Night SmackDown – 2,050,000 viewers, 0.56 rating (prior week – 2,252,000 viewers, 0.61 rating)
WWE RAW – 1,796,000 viewers, 0.56 rating (prior week – 1,641,000 viewers, 0.50 rating)
WWE NXT – 615,000 viewers, 0.15 rating (prior week – 639,000 viewers, 0.16 rating)
AEW Rampage – 290,000 viewers, 0.10 rating (prior week – 295,000 viewers, 0.10 rating)
AEW Collision – 440,000 viewers, 0.13 rating (prior week – 406,000 viewers, 0.13 rating)
AEW Dynamite – 697,000 viewers, 0.23 rating (prior week – 698,000 viewers, 0.24 rating)
TNA Wrestling Impact! – N/A (prior week – N/A)

Total wrestling television viewership for the week: 5,888,000 viewers, down 43,000 viewers from the prior week’s 5,931,000 viewers.

The viewership and ratings numbers for the August 22nd and August 29th TNA Impact! shows are currently not known.