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WWE Raw ratings up for WrestleMania 39 go-home showWWE on A&E ratings: Rivals outdraws BiographyThe Gunns vs. FTR Tag Team title match set for April 5 AEW DynamiteAEW Rampage ratings down for Saturday episodeMultiple parties interested in buying WWE as 'hot & heavy' market emergesThe Gunns vs. FTR Tag Team title match set for April 5 AEW DynamiteAEW's Jon Moxley on CM Punk comments: 'I don't want to get dragged into this sh*t'WWE Raw video highlights: Cody Rhodes defeats Solo Sikoa
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F4D: Lance Storm live Q&A for March 2023!Wrestling Observer Live: Increased WWE sale interest, Raw Report, Moxley on PunkBig Audio Nightmare: Stardom Cinderella tournament, NJPW Sakura Genesis previewWrestling Observer Radio: WWE WrestleMania weekend, Raw recap
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This Week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
March 27, 2023 Observer Newsletter: The latest on WWE WrestleMania 39, AEW ticket sales update
Highlights include:
*Match of the week and performers of the week
*WrestleMania update
*Ticket sales for all the WWE events of the weekend, how it compares to the past, as well as for the ROH show
*Updates on the lineup and what is on each night and what seems to be on each night based on reports
*Update on match changes
*Update on NXT Takeover and who will have their first big match on the show
*Update on the key independent shows held over WrestleMania weekend
*AEW ticket sales for Double or Nothing and Forbidden Door
*Full coverage of UFC 286 and where things go next for the top fighters on the show
*A look at the final week of the New Japan Cup, new stories, lineups for early April, and new stable, the Sanada title match and reviews of every tournament match and the full finals show.
*Andy Kaufman in WWE Hall of Fame, a look back at the famous angle and other key angles during Kaufman's run in Memphis, the David Letterman show and how the angle came to be
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*NCAA wrestling tournament note including one of history's biggest upsets and the story behind it
*Davey Richards retires, a look at the allegations that led to his retirement, his career and the time when Bryan Danielson called him the best in the world
*The most detailed look at the TV ratings for all the national shows, placings and hat can be learned from the competition and the results
*A look at CMLL's second biggest show of the year , the big hair match and where Romero vs Volador looks to be going
*Notes on upcoming tournament of champions in Mexico
*Film on well known pro wrestling personality debuted recently at Film Festival
*Update on major celebrity wrestling angle and how it got exposed by a fan
*A look at the Lucha Libre World Cup featuring stars from AEW
*Update on plans for the biggest Stardom event in history
*All Japan has two shows featuring interpromotional matches
*NOAH runs a big show with key title change
*Update on Will Ospreay
*Update on Mercedes Mone and when her New Japan deal is up
*Notes on Best of the Super Juniors tournament
*Legendary promotion from the best with some of the best matches in history is starting a YouTube page
*Health updates on a lot of key wrestling personalities
*Former pro wrestler becomes a hero who likely saved a lot of lives averting a potential shooting
*Top U.S. stars tour Australia
*Unique tournament planned
*Indie promotion in the U.K. bringing in top stars for unique title determination matches
*Update on MLW and a new deal made
*Update on major new national television show in the plans
*A look at AEW's first house show in years
*New AEW and WWE business deals
*Ticket sales for upcoming AEW and WWE events
*International TV ratings and streaming numbers
*Conor McGregor's comeback notes including a key rule for his return and if it will be broken
*Olympic silver medalist signs unique deal to both do MMA and still try for a 2024 gold medal
*WWE video game news and launch party
*Story about a major international deal WWE is working on
This Week's Retro Observer Newsletter:
February 13, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Randy Couture retires
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Tuesday Update
WWE
PWInsider reports that WWE is preparing an announcement regarding which night of WrestleMania 39 each match will be taking place on.Sportsnet has an interview with Edge. Edge said he has some crazy ideas for his Hell in a Cell match against Finn Balor at WrestleMania 39 this weekend:Well, again, I have a history of doing stupid things, right? [laughs] You do because it’s a Hell in a Cell match and because people expect a certain level of, I don’t know, brutality within the performance. You gotta up the stakes. So I do. I think outside of the box and I think about what’s physically possible and a lot of crazy ideas jump into my head and they always have. But I always try and make sure that I save them for WrestleMania or I save them where it’ll actually mean something and be remembered. I’m not diving face-first through a flaming table with thumbtacks in my back unless it’s WrestleMania, because I know that will be one that people are gonna remember. If you just do it on Raw one week, well, then it’s gone and it’s not gonna be remembered because there’s 52 other Raws or 51 other Raws during the year. WrestleMania happens once a year. If you’re a casual fan, you may be watching. If you’re a wrestling fan, you’re definitely watching. And that’s the one that I know has the worldwide eyeballs on it. So that’s where you gotta go for it. And, man, you put me in a Hell in a Cell, I gotta go for it even if I’m 49 years old. That’s just part of the way I’m wired. So I have some pretty extra stupid ideas. We’ll see if they let me try them. They probably won’t. But we’ll see.Edge was asked if there was ever an allure for him to go somewhere other than WWE:There was an opportunity to (go elsewhere outside of WWE). Again, it’s where I’ve spent my entire career outside of the indies, right? So, this year will be my 25th year with the WWE since my television debut. And having been there so long and understanding how it works and understanding just the machine that it is, there’s something to be said for that. There’s also something to be said for trying something new and exciting and a new set of faces and a new way of the way things work. I’ve always been a loyalist though in terms of that company. It’s what I grew up watching and it’s where I always wanted to get to. What it boils down to I guess is just where I think I can have the most fun honestly. That’s where I’m at in life. It’s not like I’m grinding to get to WWE anymore so I’ve been there and I’ve done it and I’ve done everything and then some. So, now it’s just a matter of what I enjoy the most and I think it’s there [laughs].It was confirmed on Raw last night that Finn Balor will be using his “Demon” persona when he faces Edge inside Hell in a Cell.NXT’s Eddy Thorpe (former NJPW wrestler Karl Fredericks) had a cameo as the waiter in The Bloodline’s “Goodfellas” WrestleMania Goes Hollywood parody.In an interview with Behind the Velvet Rope, Alexa Bliss explained her tweet where she said she wasn’t on a hiatus from WWE:It's funny how you take time to do one thing, and everyone thinks you just left. Yes, calm down. It wasn't like (a dismissive), 'They know where to find me.' It was (reassuring), 'Guys, they know where to find me. They know I'm doing the Masked Singer. Calm down.' It's just so funny how people jump to conclusions on everything. You just have to let things play out and you have to see what's going on. There is always something going on, especially in WWE. You always have to expect the unexpected.Bliss said she assumes she’ll be back on WWE TV soon: “I would assume so. I've been working up a little something. We'll see. WrestleMania is coming up, who knows what's going to happen."A ninth-grader named Forrest, who was on Wheel of Fortune earlier this year, attended last night’s Raw and met Cody Rhodes. Forrest was invited to the show by WWE after he said on Wheel of Fortune that he missed his homecoming dance to attend a WWE house show. Forrest said he had a great time at that house show despite his favorite wrestler being advertised and not appearing.ESPN published a story about Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, and Rhea Ripley redefining what it means to be a powerhouse wrestler in WWE.During an appearance on the In The Kliq podcast, Belair was asked if she’ll have a big entrance for WrestleMania this year:Of course. That's what's exciting about WrestleMania. It's not just the matches. Everybody's anticipating what the gear is going to look like? What is the entrance going to look like? I had the TSU band last year bring me out, and I'm like, 'Wow. What can I possibly do to top that?' So, you know, I have something planned and it's very sentimental to me, and I'm excited about it. I just want this Mania to be, you know, not just about me. I'm building my legacy here and I want my legacy to not just be what people remember what I do, but they remember how I made them feel and inspired. I want it to be bigger than me. I'm just trying to bring that to the table, but I'm very excited about my entrance this year.Rey Mysterio spoke to the New York Post about how he found out he’s going into the WWE Hall of Fame:I was pulled aside by Triple H and he mentioned to me, ‘Rey, we would love to induct you into the Hall of Fame.' It was very shocking to me. It was like, ‘Wow.’ I remember the first words that came out of my mouth were just like, ‘I’m not ready to retire.’ He’s like, ‘No, it’s not like that.’Mysterio discussed when he thinks he’ll retire:I’m still having a hard time digesting it because Hall of Fames are supposed to happen when you retire, when you’re getting close to retirement. I don’t feel neither of them are close for me, but it’s a huge blessing.I think I do have a number and I want to keep it at that and my number is 50. I’m hoping at 50 I can go ahead and say it’s been an incredible ride and I think it’s time for me to step back now.Former WWE wrestler Kelly Kelly announced that she and her husband are expecting their first child. She told Entertainment Tonight: “I am feeling amazing. I’ve been dreaming about this journey to motherhood for so long and starting a family with my incredibly supportive husband, Joe [Coba]. Now that it’s here, it’s just been such a great experience."Today would have been Curt Hennig’s 65th birthday. His son Joe Hennig (formerly Curtis Axel in WWE) tweeted: “Happy Birthday Dad! Would be 65 today. Love that man. Miss him. #Hennig”Umaga would have been 50 years old today.Carmelo Hayes made an appearance on the Under the Ring podcast.WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded the following: John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt Firefly Fun House match (WrestleMania 36), Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin (WrestleMania 38), and The Usos vs. Nakamura & Boogs for the SmackDown Tag Team titles (WrestleMania 38).
AEW/Other Wrestling
ROH has officially announced that Friday’s Supercard of Honor pay-per-view will be available on traditional PPV and the Bleacher Report app (priced at $39.99). International fans can buy the PPV through Fite TV or PPV.com.ROH released a video looking at the history between Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston.Adam Cole told The Pop Break that he doesn’t feel he’s hit his prime yet:As far as March 29th goes, I could not be more elated and excited to get back into the ring. It’s my dream, this is all I have ever wanted to do since I was nine and I am very proud of the career that I have had, but in a lot of ways I haven’t even hit my prime yet in my opinion. I feel as if I have 10-15 more years in the ring. I am very thankful that I have been given this second chance in a lot of different ways. March 29th I am going to be a wreck.AEW uploaded its Road to St. Louis video promoting tomorrow’s Dynamite.Aubrey Edwards and Amanda Huber spoke to Sports Illustrated about the AEW Heels fan group.Kota Ibushi has arrived in Los Angeles ahead of making his GCW debut at The Collective.Maki Itoh & Nick Gage will team together against Allie Katch & Effy at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 7 this Friday (March 31).Microman vs. Beastman has been announced for MLW’s War Chamber tapings in New York City on Thursday, April 6.