Weekend Roundup: Top Dolla, Roderick Strong Health Update Over Injury Scare, Megha Parekh AEW Update, Nick Bollea DUI Arrest, MLW, Chris Hero, Indies

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Nov 19, 2023

WWE

Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,220,000 viewers on FOX, according to TVSeriesFinale.
WWE Hall of Famer JBL recently announced on Twitter that his selections for Women’s and Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifier matches for this Tuesday’s NXT show are Blair Davenport vs. Thea Hail and Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs.
WWE filed a trademark for “Adriana Rizzo” for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes on November 14th to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
In a recent interview with Fightful, former WWE talent Top Dolla, real name AJ Francis, stated that the endgame for Michael Cole’s feud with him on commentary over his botched dive spot was for them to compete in a match against each other. Francis stated “I love Cole. Me and Cole tried so hard to get a match set up between the two of us. That was the end game, for sure. Yes, Cole was going over. Yes, he was going to win that match. That’s the whole story. That’s the whole point. People don’t understand the fact that, the night that I lost to Sheamus in the tag team gauntlet, I lost in like eight seconds. I slid in the right, he gave me a Brogue Kick, one-two-three, and Cole says, ‘Thanks for coming, Flop Dolla.’ Me and Michael Cole trended all weekend. I was in the match for eight seconds. We knew what we were doing. Cole was trying to get me more opportunities. Cole is a genius. He’s the best. I wish nothing but the best for Michael Cole. I love that man. When the release happened, he was one of the first people who reached out to me. We have a conversation. Me and Cole are cool, I love Cole. The fact that people think that was real beef shows how good he is at his job and shows that kayfabe is not dead, brother. It’s real to them still, brother. It’s funny the way that worked about, but I’m very grateful for my time in WWE and very grateful I got to work with guys like Cole. I didn’t want to leave, but they didn’t want me there. Now, I can go anywhere, and I plan on it. I’m going to be everywhere in 2024 and I’m very much looking forward to it. Right now, my main focus is this food drive.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
This past Friday’s WWE SmackDown show in Evansville, Indiana featured NXT talent Axiom making his official main roster debut. Axiom competed in a singles match against Dragon Lee on the show, which was won by Lee. Axiom recently reflected on Twitter about his recent main roster debut appearance. Axiom stated “The opportunity I have always dreamed about. Thank you Nick Aldis for the trust. Thank you Dragon Lee for the challenge.“
Wrestlenomics reported that WWE’s top sellers for the year of 2023 in order currently are Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, LA Knight, John Cena, Rhea Ripley, Seth Rollins, The Bloodline, The Judgment Day, Rey Mysterio/LWO, and Kevin Owens. Brandon Thurston reported that this list was provided by WWE’s online WWEShop and only includes active roster talent and not Hall of Famers or Legends since Stone Cold Steve Austin and the nWo have been big merch sellers for the company over this year.
WrestleTix reported that WWE is currently not planning to have a stage for their RAW and SmackDown shows during WrestleMania 40 week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based on current ticket seating layouts for both shows. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the reason is due to a change in mentality by WWE’s new owner Endeavor who favors more of maximizing revenue and lowering costs for big WWE events. Meltzer reported that both shows are currently setup to have a maximum capacity of around 18,553 compared to the normal setup that would have resulted in a max capacity of around 13,000.
As noted before, the November 10th SmackDown show drew 2,195,000 viewers and a 0. 57 key demographic rating. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that unlike with the prior week’s show, WWE actually managed to pull off the rare feat of being the top network show in terms of key demographic ratings and the lowest in terms of overall viewership for the night
WWE reportedly drew an attendance of 7,805 (6,900 paid) for their Nov. 10th SmackDown show in Columbus, OH, 4,550 for their Nov. 11th house show event in Johnson City, TN, 3,951 for their Nov. 12th house show event in Roanoke, VA, and 9,942 (9,000 paid) for their November 13th RAW show in Washington, DC, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly has sold around 6,497 tickets for their Nov. 20th RAW show in Grand Rapids, MI, 15,593 tickets for their Nov. 24th SmackDown show in Chicago, 16,315 tickets for their Nov. 25th Survivor Series 2023 event in Chicago, IL, 7,895 tickets for their Nov. 27th RAW show in Nashville, TN, 8,432 tickets for their Dec. 1st SmackDown show in Brooklyn, NY, 3,488 tickets for their Dec. 2nd house show event in Bangor, ME, 4,345 tickets for their Dec. 2nd house show event in Allentown, PA, 2,633 tickets for their Dec. 3rd house show event in Portland, ME, 2,309 tickets for their Dec. 3rd house show event in Newark, DE, 4,240 tickets for their Dec. 4th RAW show in Albany, NY, 6,299 tickets for their Dec. 8th SmackDown show in Providence, RI, 1,987 tickets for their Dec. 9th NXT Deadline 2023 event in Bridgeport, CT, 2,615 tickets for their Dec. 9th house show event in Utica, NY, 1,902 tickets for their Dec. 10th house show event in State College, PA, 5,210 tickets for their Dec.11th RAW show in Cleveland, OH, 4,807 tickets for their Dec. 15th SmackDown show in Green Bay, WI, 2,540 tickets for their Dec. 16th house show event in Moline, IL, 2,236 tickets for their Dec. 17th house show event in Rochester, MN, and 4,044 tickets for their Dec. 18th RAW show in Des Moines, IA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, WWE is currently very interested in potentially signing Stardom talent Giulia to a contract with the company. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources clarified reports and provided some new details over WWE’s interest in Giulia. In regards to the debunked rumors of WWE inviting Giulia to their Performance Center this past week, Johnson reported that this was meant to be more of a visit of their facility and not for a tryout. Johnson also reported that Simon Inoki was expected to come in and work as a translator to assist Giulia for her visit to WWE. Inoki reportedly has done similar work for WWE on several occasions over the years.
As noted before, Rey Mysterio recently underwent knee surgery and is currently expected to be out of action for at least the next six to eight weeks. During this past Friday’s SmackDown show, WWE confirmed that Mysterio is currently expected to be out of action for the next “several months.”
WWE announced that they have recently partnered with the Big 12 Conference for this year’s Big 12 Conference Championship football game. It was also announced that the precipitant of the Most Outstanding Player award will be presented with a custom WWE Championship belt.
WWE recently announced that current United States Champion Logan Paul will be making an appearance at their Elimination Chamber 2024 event on February 24, 2024 in Perth, Australia.
As noted before, TKO Group Executive Chairman Vince McMahon was scheduled to sell 8.4 million shares of his TKO stock that was expected to be worth around $100 million in total. In a recent filing by TKO, it was announced that McMahon had sold his shares at a price of $76.41 per share for a total amount of $641,844,000.

AEW & ROH

Saturday’s AEW Full Gear 2023 event in Los Angeles, California featured Swerve Strickland defeating Hangman Adam Page in a Texas Death Match. Following the match, AEW held a digital exclusive backstage interview with Strickland discussing his thoughts about his victory over Page at the show. Strickland stated “You can’t take me to hell. You’re already there. You can’t take me to somewhere I’ve already been and I have real estate in, you son of a bitch. Texas, LA, I don’t care if it’s Seattle, I don’t care if it’s across the globe. I don’t care if we go to the UK and do this again. I own you now, Hangman. After this bullshit, I own AEW. Everybody in that locker room better fucking fear me. That’s Goddamn right. I’m just getting started in this. Whose house? This is Swerve’s house. No, this is Swerve’s dungeon, and I’m hanging everybody like the executioner that I am. Believe that. Hangman, we better be done because the next time you step into the ring with me, you’re dead.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Saturday’s AEW Full Gear 2023 event in Los Angeles also featured Adam Copeland, Sting, & Darby Allin defeating Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, & Nick Wayne in a Trios match. Copeland reflected earlier today on Instagram about his Trios match and getting to team up with Sting and Allin in the ring. Copeland stated “I’m 50 years old. In the second and not really supposed to be happening, final act of my wrestling career. Last night I felt like the 17 year old kid stepping into that concrete like boxing ring at Sullys Gym back in 91. To feel so excited and have so much fun at this stage of my career is such a gift. To perform in The Great Western Forum for the first time, see names like Jimi Hendrix and The Doors painted on the entrance wall, man. To team with [Darby Allin] who is one insanely (key word insane) talented dude, who by the way hopped on a redeye after this match to go train in Nepal to climb Mount Everest, is invigorating. To team with one of my idols [Sting] in his last match in California. To share the same space and be a peer of his, well 12 yr old Adam wouldn’t be able to fathom that. Hell 50 yr old Adam doesn’t. LA, you brought it. That was a bucket lister. Thank you.”
Following his victory over Jay White to retain his AEW World Championship at Saturday’s Full Gear 2023 event, MJF surpassed the milestone of one full year as AEW World Champion and becoming the first person to achieve this in AEW history.
This past Friday’s Rampage show featured a scary spot during the Roderick Strong vs. Action Andretti match involved Strong landing on his head from a botched Standing Spanish Fly by Andretti. The match was paused for a short time while AEW’s ringside doctor attended to Strong before resuming after Strong was able to continue. The Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez reported that his sources stated that Strong was feeling fine backstage after the match and is believed to not have suffered a potential head-related injury.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that legendary music producer and former Smoky Mountain Wrestling financial backer Rick Rubin was in attendance in the crowd at AEW’s Full Gear 2023 event.
In a recent interview with The Rich Eisen Show, Ric Flair gave his thoughts about his debut appearance in AEW and how it helped reignite his joy of locker room camaraderie. Flair stated “I’ve found it again here. The day I walked in here, it’s the camaraderie. I just love being with the guys. It’s almost like a disease with me. I just like being with the guys and I like going on in front of a live audience. I’m right back in the same business where you just want to know the rating. You want to know what your quarter-hour did. It’s back in the race. So at five o’clock, you know, whatever day that I’m on, the next day, like I’ve been doing my whole life, five o’clock, I am looking for the rating and, ‘what did my quarter hour do?’ It’s competition.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
In a recent interview with Adrian Hernandez, Adam Copeland gave his thoughts about a recent conversation he had with Darby Allin over wanting him to “chill out” on the risky spots he does for his matches and why he fully understands Allin does not want to do so. Copeland stated “So here’s the deal, I told him to chill out. I was like, I don’t be one of those guys like, ‘Back in my day.’ He goes, ‘Back in your day, you jumped face-first through a flaming table.’ I’m like, yeah, there’s that, right. So what can I say? I get it. He is distinctly his own thing. His own thing is really cool. Sometimes, you can’t try and stop that. It just has to happen. He’s just one of those guys. He’s gonna go climb Everest soon, and he’s never mountain-climbed before. Who does that? Well, Darby does. I realized, oh, that’s just it. If there’s a slogan I need for him, it’s ‘Oh, Darby does.’ I love that about him.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
AEW reportedly drew an attendance of 4,500 (4,300 paid) for their Nov. 10th Collision and Rampage shows in Oakland, CA and 3,429 for their Nov. 15th Dynamite show in Ontario, CA, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly has sold around 3,132 tickets for their Nov. 22nd Dynamite show in Chicago, IL, 2,480 for their Nov. 25th Collision show in Pittsburgh, PA, 2,807 for their Nov. 29th Dynamite show in Minneapolis, MN, 1,448 for their Dec. 2nd Collision show in Erie, PA, 2,307 for their Dec. 5th Collision show in Montreal, 3,986 for their Dec. 6th Dynamite show in Montreal, Canada, 1,657 tickets for their Dec. 13th Dynamite show in Arlington, TX, 1,540 tickets for their Dec. 16th Collision show in Garland, TX, 2,985 tickets for their Dec, 20th Dynamite show in Oklahoma City, OK, 2,077 tickets for their Dec. 23rd Collision show in San Antonio, TX, 2,056 tickets for their Dec, 27th Dynamite show in Orlando, FL, and 5,873 tickets for their Dec. 30th Worlds End event in Uniondale, NY, as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
While responding to a recent fan question on Twitter, Chris Jericho stated that he had suffered a burn on his arm that was caused by Kenny Omega’s pyro during their entrance for the Street Fight match at this past Wednesday’s Dynamite show. The fan stated “@IAmJericho when omega made his entrance did one of the fireworks burn your arm?? #AEWDynamite” which Jerichio responded stating “YES! 🤠” Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletetr that his sources stated that Jericho did not suffer any actual burns on his arm from the pyro that went off and instead was just playing up him being injured for some fun on the internet. Meltzer reported that a spark from the pyro did hit him in the arm but did not damage.
As noted before, AEW Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh has reduce her duties and responsibilities with the company in recent months. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources gave him conflicting information regarding the reason for Parekh reducing her work in AEW. Meltzer reported that some of those spoken to stated that the reason is due to her mainly currently focusing on Jacksonville Jaguars operations while others spoken to stated that the reason is due to public issue and there is more to the story behind why it happened. Meltzer also reported that AEW talent have been unaware of the situation surrounding Parekh beyond not seeing her for a while at shows of late. Meltzer also reported that those who are aware of the reason are currently not open to talking about it.
As noted before, Metalik was recently involved in a backstage incident over his refusal to put over Komander in a match for a recent AEW Rampage show. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his original report had a mistake since this incident took place for the October 27th and not October 20th Rampage show. Meltzer reported that those close to the situation stated that they were surprised over Metalik’s decision since they feel it is very unlikely he would be brought back to WWE and he did himself no favors for future AEW bookings since he is not under an actual contract with them. Meltzer also reported that Metalik recently denied the story being true but others have confirmed that this did indeed take place.
AEW recently announced that they will be holding a new AEW Collision show on January 20, 2024 at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. Tickets for this upcoming event was announced to officially go on sale starting on November 25th.
In a recent interview with the New York Post, Adam Copeland gave his thoughts about the creative differences between WWE and AEW. Copeland stated “What I’ve noticed is the creative process and some of the freedom that comes along with that and I think that’s been really fun. Not that I haven’t had creative freedom, I’ve been very lucky in that regard over the years. But it’s different when there are not shareholders and it’s different when there is a different structure in that regard.” Copeland also gave his thoughts about what he hopes to do with his creative freedom in AEW. Copeland stated “Tell stories and I think have more input into those stories, too. That to me is what I always thought we are is storytellers. To be able to have more of a voice in that regard is exciting. That’s not to say that I didn’t have that to a degree. Twenty-five years in a place (WWE) you are gonna have that trust and all of those things, but I also understood it’s a different animal. There’s more to answer to. With this, it feels like maybe just a few more chances taken in order to see what is gonna stick to the wall. Sometimes some isn’t gonna stick. It’s exciting the process to see what does. To sit down with a guy like Jey, with Christian and kind of start mapping out this story when we are at this stage of our careers, it’s just fun.” Copeland also gave his thoughts on the differences in views that he and WWE had for his later career in the company. Copeland stated “I think from their perspective and I see their perspective entirely, if we bring you out too much then it’s not special anymore. I get that. I really do. So it was for limited dates. With that though, you can’t really get into a proper story. You can’t really dive into what this thing could be. For me looking at it, it’s like I’m 49. I got a very, very limited time to capitalize on what I have left. Because three months off, that’s three months where I could have done some stuff. And I know it sounds great on paper and don’t get me wrong it wasn’t a horrible place to be. But, if I’m gonna do this man. I want to do it. I want to try to craft some stories and do what I can while I can. So limited time, yeah, because I’m far closer to the end of my career than I am to the beginning. But still think I got some good stories that I can tell and a whole new roster of people who I’ve never touched before.“
In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, Kenny Omega gave his thoughts about the evolution of AEW since its debut in 2019. Omega stated “Everything changes and it’s hard to really predict with 100 percent accuracy how something is going to end up. There was a lot of new promotion energy back then. There was a lot of excitement, and people were willing to give us the benefit of the doubt and give us a shot. We had a locker room and a team of real go-getters. Every week was something new, something exciting. We were just trying to get our footing. Now we have a much larger roster, and we have a lot of our bases covered. Is it different now than it was on day one? Absolutely it’s different. Do I still feel that I have an identity within this company? Yeah, it’s still AEW. From 2019 until now, every single year has been completely different from one another. I didn’t even realize it until you asked me the question just now how different year one was from year two and year three. It’s all about making the fans happy. You strip back everything from the original mission statement, it was really all about making fans happy. At the end of the day, if the fans are happy with the product, if the networks are happy, if everyone is happy who consumes our product, then I’m happy too.“
Ring of Honor reportedly has sold around 810 tickets for their Dec. 15th Final Battle 2023 event in Garland, TX as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Impact, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

TMZ reported that Nick Bollea, son of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea), was arrested on Saturday morning in Clearwater, Florida and charged with driving under the influence and refusal to submit to sobriety testing following a traffic stop by police.
As noted before, Alex Hammerstone recently asked for his release from Major League Wrestling, which was denied by the company. Saturday’s Fightland 2023 event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania featured Hammerstone making a surprise return to the company. Following Alex Kane successfully retaining his MLW World title over Jacob Fatu at the event, Hammerstone made his surprise return and joined forces with “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Matt Cardona, and MSL and proceeded to attack Kane, Fatu, and the Bomaye Fight Club. This new group was revealed to be called the World Titan Federation (WTF) and MLW stated that they had granted Hammerstone’s release to join the new WTF “promotion.” This was Hammerstone’s first appearance in MLW since this past July.
Saturday’s MLW Fightland 2023 event in Philadelphia also featured Matt Cardona defeating Mance Warner in a Loser Leaves MLW match.
Saturday’s MLW Fightland 2023 event in Philadelphia also featured The Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice) defeating The Calling (AKIRA & Rickey Shane Page) to become the new MLW World Tag Team Champions.
MLW recently announced one new match for the card of their One Shot event on December 7th in New York City, New York. This is a singles match of Miyu Yamashita vs. Delmi Exo.
In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, MLW owner Court Bauer gave his thoughts about wrestlers asking for their releases from his company. Bauer stated “Now what happens is you get a guy over and then tampering happens, and all of a sudden a guy says, ‘I talked to another office, they kind of want me, I don’t want to honor my contract.’ That’s kind of fucked up. You put all this money into a guy, he wants to have a satisfying conclusion with the storyline, but now you have to blow up your business and the money you put into it for someone to go somewhere else. That’s happened, I can’t count how many times, and we’re vilified. I’m not going to do a shitstorm on Twitter over it. There is their side, but there is another side to this and you don’t hear it often. We honor our commitments, so when we’re paying the guys and they are happy, that’s great. When all of a sudden they can get paid somewhere else and they want to leave, it’s like, ‘Wait, what about our commitments too? We’ve honored them.’ What do I tell the networks, what do I tell the toy company, what do I tell the fans when they don’t get a satisfying end to the storyline, you just want to take off and leave town? In the 90s, that was called a sell out. Now, it’s like, ‘fuck the companies, it’s just about the talent.’ There are life savings in this. A lot of families, the people in production, they’re committed and their families are invested. When they skip town or want to dip out, they’re fucking all those people and the people that put passion into making toys and all those things. They impact and there is a ripple effect. It’s happened so many times. I don’t cry about it. It’s just the realities of the business, and it’s changed. A lot of promoters take the high road and are like, ‘it is what it is.’ You hear one side of the conversation and don’t hear the other side. We’ve done that. If you say something two or three times in wrestling, it has to be true. I’ll give you a great example. MJF signed and delivered on both ends. We delivered for him and he delivered for us. He was in a position where he asked for more money, he wasn’t getting paid a lot, we were starting out and he was the first guy we ever signed. He said, ‘I think I should be earning more.’ ‘Absolutely, we’re not going to give you a new contract, but handshake deal, I’m going to give you a significant bump in pay.’ He became the highest-paid guy in 2018, 2019. Then, we knew he wasn’t going to renew, but that guy put over everyone and he knew he was going to AEW, but did business the right way. He helped our company. He enriched our company, he entertained the fans, and he put over all his friends in the locker room on his way out. That’s how you do business and do it the right way. I don’t want to babyface Max, he’s a piece of shit human.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
The Georgia Gazette reported that former WCW wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell was arrested on November 16th and charged with Speeding and Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, both misdemeanors, in Cobb County, Georgia. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Bagwell was released on November 17th based on recent Cobb Country Sherriff’s Office records. Bagwell recently provided an update about his arrest and DUI charge on Twitter stating “Still sober despite the reports – unfortunately whenever I get a violation in the DUI Court Program it lists my original offense from 3 years ago 😞 I did serve 24 hours for losing my temper Thurs-Fri and I’m working keeping my cool every day.“
DDT Pro Wrestling reportedly drew a paid attendance of 4,785 for their Nov. 12th Ultimate Party 2023 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This event was notable for Chris Jericho competing in a singles match against Konosuke Takeshita and for also being Saki Akai’s official retirement of her in-ring career.
Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre reportedly drew an attendance of around 9,000 for their Super Viernes event in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, Lucha Libre AAA held a talent search on November 10th in Mexico City, Mexico for new talent tryouts. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AAA officials had invited 156 people with the breakdown being 132 men and 24 women for the tryouts.
Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 601 for their Nov. 12th Goddess of Stardom Tag League 2023 Finals event in Nagaoka, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
All Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,320 for their Nov. 12th Real World Tag League 2023 event in Tokyo and 560 for their Nov. 15th Real World Tag League 2023 event in Tokorozawa, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,027 for their Nov. 10th Lonestar Shootout 2023 event in Garland, TX and 2,247 for their Nov. 11th Anjo ~Rainy Days~ event in Anjo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
This past Friday’s New Japan Road 2023 event for NJPW in Yamagata, Japan featured Taichi defeating SHO to become the new Provisional King of Pro Wrestling 2023 Champion.
Wrestlenomics reported that Women of Wrestling drew 277,000 viewers and a 0.06 rating for their Oct. 1st WOW TV show, 270,000 viewers and a 0.04 rating for their Oct. 8th WOW TV show, 312,000 viewers and a 0.06 rating for their Oct. 15th WOW TV show, 255,000 viewers and a 0.06 rating for their Oct. 22nd WOW TV show, and 243,000 viewers and a 0.05 rating for their Oct. 29th WOW TV show on syndication.
This past Friday’s Whiplash event for West Coast Pro Wrestling in San Francisco, California featured Chris Hero wrestling in his first match since March of 2020. Hero defeated Timothy Thatcher in a singles match at the event. Following his match, Hero gave a speech to the live crowd teasing he was going to retire only to reveal that his next match will be taking place at WCPW’s Monster event on December 3rd in Los Angeles, California. Hero stated that he will be teaming with KENTA against Kevin Blackwood & Titus Alexander at this upcoming event. WCPW later confirmed on Twitter that this match was made official for their upcoming show.
In a recent interview with the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast, famous director and screenwriter Werner Herzog gave his thoughts about the art of professional wrestling drama being just as crude as Ancient Greek drama. Herzog stated “I do watch some trash TV, let’s say like WrestleMania. It’s very interesting because it’s a very crude form of drama that has emerged and it’s a drama set not in the fight itself. The fights are interrupted by commercials, meaning they’re not important but the owner of the franchise shows up in the ring [with] his wife, alleged wife, in a wheelchair and blind. He has three sexy women in his arm and rants against his wife in the wheelchair. All of the sudden, you have a form of drama probably as crude as Ancient Greek drama, which started out in the fifth century before Christ. I watch it for, number one, I think that the poet must not close his eyes, avert his eyes, you have to know which world you’re living.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

Wrestling TV Ratings for Week of Nov. 10 to Nov. 16, 2023

WWE Friday Night SmackDown – 2,195,000 viewers, 0.57 rating (prior week – 2,119,000 viewers, 0.53 rating)
WWE RAW – 1,467,000 viewers, 0.44 rating (prior week – 1,522,000 viewers, 0.47 rating)
WWE NXT – 703,000 viewers, 0.21 rating (prior week – 794,000 viewers, 0.26 rating)
AEW Rampage – 322,000 viewers, 0.12 rating (prior week – 298,000 viewers, 0.11 rating)
AEW Collision – 396,000 viewers, 0.11 rating (prior week – 366,000 viewers, 0.09 rating)
AEW Dynamite – 823,000 viewers, 0.28 rating (prior week – 804,000 viewers, 0.27 rating)
Impact Wrestling Impact! – N/A (prior week – 97,000 viewers, 0.02 rating)

Total viewership in terms of overall tally for the week: 5,906,000 viewers (down 94,000 viewers compared to prior week’s 6,000,000 viewers)