Weekend Roundup: Braun Strowman Controversy, Carmella, Ratings Notes, Matt Hardy, NOAH, Nick Aldis Leaving NWA, Indies

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Nov 6, 2022

WWE

This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 1,970,000 viewers on FOX, according to SpoilerTV.
This past Friday’s SmackDown show also featured the official announcement of the first ever SmackDown World Cup tournament, which starts at on the November 11th SmackDown show. This will be the second time that WWE will hold a World Cup themed tournament, the first being in 2018 at their Crown Jewel 2018 event.
As noted before, this past Monday’s RAW show drew 1,501,000 viewers and a 0.36 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this past Monday’s show managed to generate the fourth lowest overall viewership and second lowest key demographic rating in RAW series history. Meltzer reported that only the December 6, 2021 drew a lower key demographic rating of 0.35 in RAW history.
During a recent interview with Radio Rahim, Bobby Lashley gave his thoughts about his interest in reuniting Hurt Business in WWE in the future. Lashley stated “The Hurt Business was something that everybody loved and everybody will still love. Never say never. Not even never say never, I will make sure that somehow, some way, we get back together because it seems like right now, everybody is getting back into some sort of group in the WWE. There are so many different factions coming together. The most important faction and one of the biggest factions for the last few years, the one that took us through the pandemic was the Hurt Business. During the pandemic, everyone else was staying at home, so many people staying at home, didn’t want to go to work, so many people who took a backstep. The Hurt Business stepped up. We were every part of the show for a long time. That should get a rebirth.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Braun Strowan has been recently facing online backlash over recent comments he made on Twitter bashing “floppy flopper” wrestlers and claiming they were only useful working in grocery stores. Following his comments, several wrestlers from both WWE and AEW ridiculed and bashed Strowman, as well as others online who ridiculed Strowman over his failure with CYN and as a big star in the indies. Following the jabs against him, Strowman commented on Twitter saying he only made the comments as a joke and blamed the “IWC” for making the whole situation into a bigger deal. Strowman was involved in a similar past controversy where he took jabs at those working in the indies who were struggling to find work and facing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic only to find his insults backfiring a lot on him after he was fired from WWE.
As noted before, VICE is currently planning to air a new wrestling-based documentary based on Vince McMahon titled The Nine Live of Vince McMahon. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there has been no recent updates from his sources regarding the potential airing status of this upcoming documentary.
Otis recently opened up on Instagram about his lingering battle with reading dyslexia since childhood and how he has been working hard with WWE enrolling in a read class to help overcome his reading issues.
WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 7,518 (6,600 paid) for their Oct. 28th SmackDown show in St. Louis, MO, 4,808 for their Oct. 30th house show event in Glasgow, Scotland, 8,505 (7,500 paid) for their Oct. 31st RAW show in Dallas, TX, and 4,859 for their Nov. 1st house show event in Dortmund, Germany, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly has sold around 4,276 tickets for their Nov. 7th RAW show in Wilkes-Bare, PA, 7,285 tickets for their Nov. 11th SmackDown show in Indianapolis, IN, 3,095 tickets for their Nov. 12th house show event in Peoria, IL, 2,345 for their Nov. 13th house show event in Madison WI, 6,273 tickets for their Nov. 14th RAW show in Louisville, KY, 4,845 tickets for their Nov. 18th SmackDown show in Hartford, CT, 4,407 tickets for their Nov. 21st RAW show in Albany, NY, 3,931 tickets for their Nov. 25th SmackDown show in Providence, RI, 12,725 tickets for their Nov. 26th Survivor Series 2022 event in Boston, MA, 3,840 tickets for their Nov. 28th RAW show in Norfolk, VA, 3,831 tickets for their Dec. 2nd SmackDown show in Buffalo, NY, 4,270 tickets for their Dec. 5th RAW show in Washington, D.C., 4,300 for their Dec. 9th SmackDown show in Pittsburgh, PA, 3,541 tickets for their Dec. 12th RAW show in Milwaukee, WI, 5,402 tickets for their Dec. 16th SmackDown show in Chicago, IL, 1,861 tickets for their Dec. 17th house show event in Moline, IL, 3,256 for their Dec. 26th RAW show in Columbus, OH, 2,176 tickets for their Dec. 29th house show event in Hershey, PA , 5,533 tickets for their Dec. 30th SmackDown show in Tampa, FL, and 30,118 for their Jan. 28, 2023 Royal Rumble 2023 event in San Antonio, TX as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that A&E is currently working on a new upcoming WWE themed Biography episode based on Kane for their next season. Meltzer reported that episodes based on Dusty Rhodes, Iron Sheik, and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat are also currently planned to air next season.
WWE reportedly has recently resumed their scouting of the indies for potential new signings, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Gabe Sapolsky was seen scouting talent at a recent DEFY Wrestling event last week.
As noted before, WWE is currently working on plans to hold more international-based events and less gimmick events in 2023. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources clarified that WWE is currently no longer planning to designate themed shows months ahead of time but are still interested in the idea of doing certain themed matches when the storyline situation calls for it. One example given by Meltzer from his sources was Hell in a Cell, which is no longer planned to be its own standalone event going forward but WWE is still be interested in holding a Hell in a Cell match for a feud that reaches the point where that match would make sense and be needed.
WWE’s Clash at the Castle event this past September in Cardiff, Wales drew a paid attendance of 53,999 and generated a live gate gross of $8,020,000 based on WWE’s recent fiscal third quarter 2022 report.
Carmella revealed on Instagram that she had recently suffered a miscarriage and was treated for ectopic pregnancy this past October. Carmella stated “I’ve gone back and forth with myself about posting this because I’m not looking for any sort of sympathy, but since today is the last day of Infant Loss Awareness month, I wanted to share my story. Today, I was treated for an ectopic pregnancy. I never thought something like this would happen to me, especially after suffering from an early miscarriage in September. Nothing can prepare you for this news after getting a positive pregnancy test. I was cautiously optimistic this time around after the early loss I had already experienced, but was hoping for the best. I spent 12 hours in the ER on Saturday when I started experiencing some sharp pains on my left side. After several tests and ultrasounds, I was given the devastating news that this was, in fact, an abnormal pregnancy. The reason I’m sharing all of this is because in the moment it feels so isolating. Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about this? My husband and I watched @ilizas new comedy special last week and she spoke openly about her miscarriage. I immediately burst into tears. She went on to explain that we should be speaking more openly about this topic so we, as women, don’t blame ourselves and think there’s something wrong with us. I want to do the same. I’m part of this statistic and it’s happening to me. Again, I’m not looking for sympathy, I know I’ll eventually recover from all of this mentally, physically and emotionally. For anyone dealing with ANY type of pregnancy loss, I want you to know your feelings and emotions are valid, there is NOTHING wrong with you and you are not alone.”

AEW & ROH

As noted before, Warner Bros Discovery are currently planning to produce a new AEW-based documentary series this month. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that production for this new upcoming behind-the-scenes series started this past week. A WBD production crew reportedly was seen backstage filming content for this new series at this past Wednesday’s Dynamite show in Baltimore, Maryland and this past Friday’s Rampage show in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Johnson reported that this upcoming series will be focused on a behind the scenes look into the company from the eyes and experience of several AEW talents.
As noted before, Pro Wrestling NOAH recently announced that WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura will be facing off against The Great Muta at their The New Year 2023 event on January 1, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, AEW CEO Tony Khan revealed that NOAH officials had contacted him for AEW’s approval before they made a deal with WWE. Khan stated “Yes. I have no problem with Nakamura working with them. It’s completely cool with us. This is about Muta. It’s great that wrestlers from all over the world can come together and pay tribute to Muta.”
During the same interview, Khan also gave his thoughts on Colt Cabana’s surprise return to AEW at this past Wednesday’s Dynamite show in Baltimore. Khan stated “Chris Jericho has been wrestling a number of former Ring of Honor champions, competing against a number of ROH’s greatest stars like Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, Dalton Castle, Bandido and now, Colt Cabana. It’s been an exciting series of matches against some great wrestlers who have legendary histories in Ring of Honor, and we’re seeing the ROH stars trying to stop Jericho from desecrating that title.”
Matt Hardy was recently involved in an online incident this past week over comments he made regarding the backstage fight at AEW’s All Out 2022 event this past September. This incident originated from a recent episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast where Hardy stated that “It’s going to be very interesting to see The Elite back, the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. I’m very happy they are back. I will say this right here and right now, those guys didn’t do anything wrong in this situation. If anything, they were the victims. I’m telling you that from a first person perspective. I was there, I witnessed it all. I love all three of those guys. I’ve known Matt and Nick forever. I’ve just gotten to know Kenny while working with AEW. I’m very happy they are returning to TV and they are back in the mix. They deserve to be in the mix.” Hardy later clarified on Twitter that his comments were being misconstrued and he did not actually witness the fight and instead was only talking about the backstage fallout he personally witnessed. Hardy stated “My comments from this week’s @matthardypod have been misconstrued. I WAS NOT at All Out 2022. I DID NOT say I witnessed the events at All Out. I witnessed the entire process in real time over the months & stand by my comment that the Elite were not in the wrong.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 3,900 (3,400 paid) for their Oct. 28th Rampage show in Uncasville, CT and 3,000 (2,500 paid) for their Nov. 2nd Dynamite show in Baltimore, MD, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly has sold around 2,597 for their Nov. 9th Dynamite show in Boston, MA, 2,068 tickets for their Nov. 16th Dynamite show in Bridgeport, CT, 5,062 tickets for their Nov. 18th Rampage show in Newark, NJ, 10,362 tickets for their Nov. 19th Full Gear 2022 event in Chicago, IL, 4,447 tickets for their Nov. 23rd Dynamite show in Chicago, IL, 2,600 tickets for their Nov. 30th Dynamite show in Indianapolis, IN, 2,366 tickets for their Dec. 7th Dynamite show in Cedar Park, TX, 2,756 tickets for their Dec. 14th Dynamite Winter IS Coming 2022 show in Garland, TX, 2,449 tickets for their Dec. 21st Dynamite show in San Antonio, TX, 6,538 tickets for their Jan. 4, 2023 Dynamite show in Seattle, WA, and 5,873 for their Jan. 11, 2023 Dynamite show in Los Angeles, CA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW CEO Tony Khan recently issued a tweet stating that AEW Dynamite has seen an increase of around 10% in overall viewership, 7% increase in key demographic viewership, and a 27% increase in 18-34 key demographic viewership for the first ten months of 2022 compared to the same period last year. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that these numbers came internally from Warner Bros Discovery’s research department. Meltzer reported that one main reason for the increases is due to the very strong start of the year AEW had which offsets the big drop they suffered this past August and September and the declines in their Males 35-49 key demographic viewership group. Meltzer also reported that another reason for the increase is due to the gains AEW has had with their Over 50 viewership group this year so far.
As noted before, Jeff Jarrett made his official debut for AEW at this past Wednesday’s Dynamite show in Baltimore. Following the show, AEW announced that they have hired Jarrett to be their new Director of Business Development. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that AEW currently does not have any definitive plans to run house show events starting next year but many within AEW’s locker room have pushed to wrestle more often and are interested in the idea of working at AEW-based house show events.
Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that AEW recently made changes to the production process of their backstage segments involving talent who are not wrestling on the following week’s set of tapings. It was reported that AEW’s current process is for any talent who are booked in this situation to no longer be needed to fly into shows just to tape a quick backstage segment and instead now tape their segments ahead of time on the same night they wrestle. This reportedly is meant to help save travel costs for the company and also help ease a talent’s travel and work schedule. One example given reportedly was a Swerve In Our Glory backstage segment that was originally taped during AEW’s shows in Toronto this past October and aired the following week during AEW’s show in Cincinnati.
During a recent interview with Fightful, Game Changer Wrestling owner Brett Lauderdale gave his thoughts on the rumors and reports of AEW no longer having a working relationship with his company. Lauderdale stated “I think, and I’ll be totally honest with you, if that is such a thing, it’s never been communicated to me. So if that is a new rule, nobody told me that. I still have good relationships with a lot of AEW talent, and I still discuss opportunities with them. Obviously with Mox, he’s a lead story, no matter where he is or what he does, or who he’s working with. So I think it’s easy, and I can understand how people can see Mox’s new arrangement with AEW and assume that he’s never going to appear in GCW again. I would say even that may be taking a leap. I wouldn’t be surprised if Moxley turned up at a GCW event two months from now. It wouldn’t surprise me … I get it, I know how the wrestling world works and the online wrestling community, and the way general discussion works, that people sometimes take one piece of a story and it turns into something completely different. So I don’t think that this relationship is dead. I don’t think that there’s a ban. There’s always different guidelines in place. There are certain people that are available and certain people that aren’t, and the rules on how, when, and why, those things change all the time. They’ve changed since day one, from the first time we had AEW talent on our shows. Again I hear about new changes for everybody all the time. That’s one thing about wrestling is things change every day. So it’s very possible that maybe that even was a rule for a day, or a week or a month, or whatever. But these things change all the time. Circumstances always change. So I mean certainly, I would hope not. AEW has been very good to us over the years, and we’ve been blessed to have access to people like Moxley and Janela, when Janela was under AEW contract, he was always available to us. We’re lucky, we’re lucky to have been able to work with the people we have. Whether it’s over now or whether it continues for another five years, either way, I’m thankful for what we were able to do with AEW, and hopefully we’ll be able to do more.”

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

Due to neither show ranking in the Top 150 for their respective nights, the ratings and viewership for this past Tuesday’s Tales From the Territories on VICE and this past Thursday’s Impact! show on AXS TV are currently not known.
As noted before, Lucha Libre AAA and Impact Wrestling talent Laredo Kid suffered a ruptured intestine injury this past October. Lucha Blog reported that Kid was discharged from the hospital earlier this week following a nine day hospitalization stay.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla recently announced that they have pulled Laredo Kid from the card of their DINK event tonight in Los Angeles, California due to his current injury situation. It was announced that Arez will be replacing Kid for his scheduled Lucha Trios match at the event.
As noted before, Pro Wrestling NOAH recently announced that WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura will be facing off against The Great Muta at their The New Year 2023 event on January 1, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that NOAH’s deal with WWE for Nakamura has several restrictions. Meltzer reported that these restrictions include NOAH not being allowed to promote this match outside of Japan nor in English and they are also not allowed to mention WWE’s name anywhere for it.
Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly generated a paid attendance of 3,739 for their Oct. 30th Ariake Triumph – The Return – Pro-Wrestling Love Forever 3 ~ Triumph ~ event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated an attendance of 714 (625) paid for their Oct. 27th The Night Before Rumble On 44th Street: A Halloween Special in New York City and 1,005 (982 paid) for their Oct. 28th Rumble on 44th Street event in New York City, New York, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that his sources stated that his sources provided an update regarding the complaints over the high prices for merchandise at the events. Those sources reportedly stated that this was less due to price gouging by New Japan and instead more due to the Palladium venue officials taking a very high percentage of concessions sales for events held at their venue. This caused New Japan officials to price their merch higher than usual to help offset the high costs of doing business in the venue.
NJPW reportedly also generated a paid attendance of 493 for their Oct. 30th Battle Autumn 2022 event in Chiba, 604 for their Nov. 1st Battle Autumn 2022 event in Echisen, 1,991 for their Nov. 2nd Battle Autumn 2022 event in Komatsu, and 745 for their Nov. 3rd Battle Autumn 2022 event in Osaka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, legendary wrestler and NJPW founder Antonio Inoki passed away this past September. A pro wrestling and MMA event called Inoki Bom Ba Ye was recently announced to be taking place on December 28th in Tokyo, Japan. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that prior to his passing, Inoki had written in his will for this event to be held in his memory.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre talent Mistico reportedly suffered a right leg injury at CMLL’s event on October 31st in Puebla, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer. Dave Meltzer reported that CMLL officials currently believe that Mistico’s injury is not serious enough to require him to be out of action beyond one week.
CMLL talent Avispa Dorada reportedly recently tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
During a recent interview with Mas Lucha, Lucha Libre AAA co-owner Dorian Roldan stated that the company is currently working on plans for a co-promoted event with “a good friend” in early 2023. Roldan stated that this upcoming event will be officially announced within the next few weeks. Roldan also stated that this upcoming event will act as a test for the company for their plans to expand in the United States market. (English translation via Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 668 for their Oct. 30th Goddess of Stardom Tag League 2022 Night 2 event in Tokyo and 1,045 for their Nov. 3rd Hiroshima Goddess Festival event in Hiroshima, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Stardom talent Mina Shirakawa reportedly suffered a jaw and teeth injury at their Hiroshima Goddess Festival this past Thursday in Hiroshima, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Shriakawa suffered the injury during her match against Saya Kamitani for the Wonder of Stardom Championship. The injury occurred following a spot where Kamitani performed a Phoenix Splash resulting in her knee nailing Shirakawa in the face causing her to suffer a jaw injury, several teeth to be pushed back, and one lost tooth.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 400 for their The Mountain Top 2022 event in Osaka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This event featured the official TJPW debut of Willow Nightingale, which had been originally planned to take place earlier prior to work visa related issues postponing her debut for the company.
National Wrestling Alliance talent Nick Aldis revealed today in a now deleted video on Instagram that he will be leaving the company. Aldis stated that he recently gave his notice to NWA officials and the reason for his decision was due to issues over the creative direction of the company in recent times. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Aldis’ contract with NWA is currently set to expire in January of 2023.