Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Michael Elgin is no longer with the promotion. His contract expired on 3/31 and he didn’t renew the deal. Those at New Japan said it was his decision and the door is open to him if he would want to return. There has also been prelim talk with him and WWE, which, if something comes of that, would make sense both that he’s been quiet since they don’t want you talking about it and also that he’d leave. Little has been done with him since he lost the Never title, and he is also looking at going somewhere else in Japan.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

AAA is even holding a press conference on 4/4 at 11:30 a.m. in Madison Square Garden to announce a date, tentatively set for 10/15. AAA is hoping for AEW involvement in some form on that show since the companies have a working agreement,. As of right now there is no deal in place and AEW right now has no plans to send talent to work the show.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

It looks like Penta 0M & King Phoenix (Fenix) won’t be back in CMLL. They were last scheduled for El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, announced, and then pulled from the show. They canceled future dates and according to one source felt that they were expecting a raise and given a run around, and felt disrespected since they had clearly helped business. It’s notable that they and L.A. Park were the ones who were the keys in last year’s big business increase and right now Park is no longer working Arena Mexico (although is working CMLL Monday night shows in Puebla) and the other two are done. Crowds have also been down for the last two weeks since the big show on 3/15. There has been talk for some time that Pentagon & Fenix will work exclusively in Mexico for AAA. AAA has been trying to get them to sign a full-time exclusive deal which will mean AAA and whoever does business with AAA, like AEW.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Conrad Thompson’s Starrcast announced Kurt Angle, Cris Cyborg, Psicosis, Ted DiBiase, Tatsumi Fujinami and Brutus Beefcake. Evidently the advance sales for this have been through the roof because the expense of guys like Angle, Undertaker, Sting, Flair and Bret Hart, and the cost of Caesar’s Palace to run it, the break-even was multiple times what Chicago was and we’re told from a financial standpoint they are already a success.

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE NXT traditionally films a TV episode prior to Takeover. Should they do that this Friday, it will be the brand's 500th TV episode.

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE applied for two 'RKO' trademarks. One for clothing purposes and the other for toy merchandising purposes.

WrestleAmerica's application for a 'Doc Gallows' trademark has been given an initial refusal because it sounds similar to WWE's 'Luke Gallows' trademark.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that the ankle injury to Rey Mysterio is legitimate stemming from the match with Baron Corbin on Raw. Mysterio was pulled from his scheduled match with Andrade on Tuesday with the injury cited as the reason. Andrade ended up working in an 18-person tag while Mysterio did not appear on the show. Mysterio posted a video where he flipped down and landed awkwardly on his feet. He has said he is hopeful of being fine in time for WrestleMania this Sunday for his match with Samoa Joe.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Tony Schiavone is back in the wrestling world and all over the place, with podcasts, Patreon, announcing gigs and live shows. But don't expect to see him back on MLW programming any time soon.

The legendary WCW announcer had picked up some Major League Wrestling duties as a part of their broadcast booth. However, with MLW moving to Saturday nights on BeIn Sports, Schiavone doesn't envision himself being back with the company this year.

"I still stay in touch with Court (Bauer). Our show is still on MLW Radio. Court a couple of weeks ago sent me an email two weeks ago saying 'are there any dates in 2019 where we can use you?' I said it didn't look like it. There was one day in June I thought I could, but I can't. If it's baseball season and it's a home series, I can get somebody to sub for me. When football starts, Friday and Saturday are taken out. Basketball season -- Fridays and Saturdays are out. I'm, under contract to them, but I don't see where I'm going to be able to do anything with them until 2020 at the earliest. I really enjoy the guys and the kids and really had fun doing it," said Schiavone.

Originally Posted by Observer

A new WWE Hall of Fame statue will be unveiled at WrestleMania Axxess tomorrow night. WWE noted that Ric Flair, Sting, Ricky Steamboat, and Brutus Beefcake will be in attendance.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE Network News reported that the WrestleMania II, III, and IV press conferences, a Papa Shango vs. Tito Santana dark match from WrestleMania IX, and what seems to be two unaired Superstars segments will be tomorrow’s additions to the Network’s Hidden Gems section.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

WWE will be inducting more names into the Legacy Wing of the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 35 weekend.

Some of the names going into the Legacy Wing this year include Wahoo MacDaniel, Luna Vachon, "Playboy" Buddy Rose and Jim Barnett, according to @Wrestlevotes.

The Legacy Wing was launched in 2016 to honor wrestlers from the early years of professional wrestling. The inductees are usually honored posthumously with a video package at the annual induction ceremony.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

There will be various changes to WWE when the FOX deal goes through in this fall. This is especially true when it comes to touring.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, SmackDown talent will be doing a Thursday through Sunday road schedule once it starts on FOX. The second night of the road schedule will be live TV. The four-show per week road schedule has been a WWE tradition for years.

SmackDown currently tours from Saturday through Tuesday, while RAW tours from Friday to Monday with both tours ending with their respective television tapings.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

The Usos have signed new contracts with WWE, according to PWInsider. The new deal was reportedly signed several weeks ago.

The new contracts are for five years and include a pay raise, Pro Wrestling Sheet added.

Their contracts had been set to expire at the end of the month and their WWE future was up in the air. Pro Wrestling Sheet added that they had been weighing their options for weeks and there was interest from AEW.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

Lars Sullivan is reportedly returning "imminently" to WWE, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. While there is no timetable for his return, it was noted that it would likely be "sooner than later."

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

The next planned WWE show in Saudi Arabia has been rescheduled from May 3 to June 7, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The reason for the move was said to be for “logistical purposes.”

WWE didn’t schedule any shows from April 30 until May 5 because of the originally planned Saudi trip, so wrestlers will now likely have that time off unless WWE immediately books new house shows and arenas with such short notice.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

Regarding rumors on The Undertaker working WWE's return to Saudi Arabia, The Observer notes that Taker was contacted and had agreed to return on the May 3 show. WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was also scheduled for that show. There's no word yet on if they will still work the show with it being moved to June.

Originally Posted by Observer

Raw last night for the day-after-WrestleMania episode averaged 2.92 million viewers, by far the lowest for the show in history for the day after Mania.

It was the biggest number Raw has done since August 20, and seems to indicate it will be difficult to hit three million viewers this year, although next week's Superstar Shakeup episode should challenge this show as the highest rated for the year.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

The WWE announced that WrestleMania 35 did a live gate of $16.9 million at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. It is the second-highest gate in company history, trailing WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas that generated $17.3 million in 2016. The last time they ran MetLife Stadium in 2013 they did a gate of $11.9 million.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Fans unable to attend WrestleMania Axxess this past weekend will get a chance to check out the Worlds Collide event on WWE Network.

WWE announced the full schedule with airings for the upcoming World Collide specials on the WWE Network.

*NXT vs. NXT Alumni – Sunday, April 14 at 8/7 C
* Cruiserweights Collide – Wednesday, April 17 at 9/8 C
* Women Collide – Wednesday, April 24 at 9/8 C
* Brands Collide – Wednesday, May 1 at 9/8 C

Originally Posted by PWI

The second hour of the Wrestlemania Kickoff Show garnered 749,000 viewers on the USA Network.

The WWE Hall of Fame special last night after Raw brought in 1,154,000 viewers.

Originally Posted by PWI

The Undertaker’s appearance on Raw last night appears to have been done to set up a singles bout with Elias for the company’s return to Saudi Arabia.

Originally Posted by Fightful

WWE is down one backstage interviewer.

Pro Wrestling Sheet has reported that Dasha Fuentes has been released by WWE. No reason was given for her release from the company, but PWS does clarify that she was in New York City for this past weekend's WrestleMania festivities.

Originally Posted by Fightful

The finish of the main event of WrestleMania did not go down as planned.

The controversial pinfall win that saw Becky Lynch beat Ronda Rousey and claim two WWE Women's titles was the plan, but unfortunately, the plan went awry when Rousey's shoulders were not on the mat for the count. Fightful Select reported several backstage details on the match this afternoon.

Initially, referee Rod Zapata gained heat for the finish among some backstage, but that quickly seemed dissipate. However, at Monday's WWE Raw, Zapata was pulled aside by Vince McMahon, who discussed the situation, and Zapata was subsequently fined for the main event finish ...

There was also said to be an incident during the Gable & Roode vs. Ricochet & Black match on Raw in which Dan Engler (formerly known as Rudy Charles) ended up getting fined. The spot was said to be a small one, but that Vince McMahon wanted to set an example ...

Ronda Rousey was said to "not be happy" as she returned from backstage. Whether or not that had to do with her hand or the finish is unclear.

Originally Posted by Observer

Aerostar has seemingly quit AAA, saying that he is not being valued enough and was blocked from working a show. On Instagram, he said he was taking bookings.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

The Los Angeles metropolitan area is the front-runner to host WrestleMania 37 in 2021, according to a story by the LA Times, which cites “multiple sources.”

According to the story, WrestleMania 37 will likely take place in Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California, just outside of LA. The stadium is still under construction and is scheduled to open in 2020. It will be the home stadium of both the LA Rams and LA Chargers. Its capacity will be 80,240, but it will be expandable to 100,240.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

As mentioned, AJ Styles was injured during his WrestleMania match against Randy Orton and he won’t be on SmackDown.

He’s scheduled to be medically evaluated today, according to PWInsider. The injury is thought to be either a hip or lower back injury and he was said to be in a lot of pain after WrestleMania.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

NJPW said that Hiroshi Tanahashi suffered an injury to his left elbow during his match against Zack Sabre Jr. on G1 Supercard on Saturday.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

AEW announced that they have signed freelance Japanese wrestler Hikaru Shida, who has wrestled for various promotions.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

The decision to open the main WrestleMania card with Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins was only made at around 5:30 PM ET last night, after the Kickoff show had already started, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

It’s not known what was originally supposed to open the show.

Originally Posted by Observer

The National Wrestling Alliance has revealed the bracket for the Crockett Cup tournament that will take place later this month.

The tournament itself will comprise of eight teams from the NWA, ROH, CMLL and NJPW. A video posted tonight revealed the bracket:

Block A:
The Briscoes vs. The Rock 'n' Roll Express
Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata vs. PCO and Brody King

Block B:
Flip Gordon and Bandido vs. Stuka Jr. and Guerrero Maya Jr.
Jax Dane and Crimson vs. The winners of a wild card battle royal that will take place that night

The winners of both blocks will face each other in the finals to determine this year’s Crockett Cup winner.

Originally Posted by PWI

At the NXT tapings tonight, there will be a test of a new technology where fans in the audience can listen to commentary live in the building. This will be done with a select group in the audience.

Originally Posted by PWI

AJ Styles' injury issue has been confirmed to be a hip issues by several WWE sources. Styles is believed to have suffered the injury when hitting the forearm to the outside of the ring on Randy Orton.

Styles was sent home Monday and was slated to be diagnosed yesterday. PWInsider.com has not confirmed the diagnosis.

Originally Posted by PWI

On today's edition of The Wendy Williams Show, Williams updated on WWE star Sasha Banks canceling at the last minute, noting that Banks had a family emergency and wished her and her family well.

Originally Posted by PWI

Ian Riccaboni was sick as a dog with the flu the day of G1 Supercard and was doing everything in his power not to be pulled from the broadcast.

The original conceived plan for the debut of the former Beautiful People was to have Madison Rayne laid out as part of that angle but Rayne asked for and received her ROH release, unhappy with the creative for her.

The fan who was struck with the ladder at G1 Supercard met with several wrestlers, including Matt Taven and Kazuchika Okada and was given some merchandise before leaving MSG that night. We are told the ladder hit his knee but he's OK.

Former ROH stars Julius Smokes and Sal Rinauro were at G1 Supercard.

Kevin Eck and Joey Matthews have been more involved in working with the creative team of late, joining Delirious, Todd Sinclair and Bully Ray.

Originally Posted by PWI

Team Brooklyn on last night's episode of Smackdown were Kris Stadtlander (who based on what I've seen on the independents has a HUGE upside) and Karissa Rivera, who has competed for ROH in the past.

NXT star Kairi Sane was at last night’s Smackdown taping in Brooklyn.

There’s talk of Beth Phoenix doing some more wrestling going forward, including next month’s European tour.

Originally Posted by PWI

Interviewer Dasha Fuentes was released this past Thursday. We are told the company made the decision and it was not a case of Fuentes requesting a release. Fuentes has been replaced on the Raw brand by Sarah Schreiber. Fuente’s departure was first reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet.

Originally Posted by PWI

Scott D’Amore, while speaking to PWInsider.com following the AAA press conference last week in Madison Square Garden, said the current hope is to find a new TV home for Impact on a larger platform by this Fall. If and when that happens, secondary Impact programming will pop up on Pursuit Channel (think Xplosion, etc) with the mothership series being placed elsewhere. Impact owner Anthem has a big ownership stake in Pursuit.

Originally Posted by PWI

The belief among those we’ve spoken with is that Impact will pursue a breach of contract claim against Eli Drake, which would likely prevent him from signing elsewhere contractually until the situation is resolved. Impact terminated Drake’s contract officially on 4/7, just a few weeks before it was set to expire on 5/31, upset over public statements he had made about the company. Some in the company believed Drake was AEW-bound.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE Network News revealed that Ted DiBiase vs. Tom Magee from a December 12, 1988 Wrestling Challenge taping will be added to the Network’s Hidden Gems section tomorrow. WWE Network News also reported that more episodes of Mid South Wrestling will be uploaded to the Network on Monday.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

WWE RAW and SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch spoke with Gorilla Position before last night's episode of SmackDown. During the conversation, Lynch talked about Vince McMahon's reaction to the first-ever women's main event at WrestleMania, the controversial finish, if she thinks Ronda Rousey will be back after her loss, and what her relationship is like with Rousey.

After Sunday's match was done, Lynch was asked how Vince reacted to it and it sounded like he gave Lynch, Charlotte, and Rousey's performance a thumbs up.

"He just said he was so proud of us," Lynch said. "He was so proud of us. He did [give us a hug]. He did, yep, but I said, 'I'm The Man now, Vince' and he said, 'Yep!"

Originally Posted by Lucha Central

Lucha Central Exclusive: Aerostar NOT Leaving AAA, Will Handle International Bookings Himself Going Forward

Originally Posted by /r/SC

She felt blindsided by having the titles taken off her and Bayley, felt there was so much they could have done.

Originally Posted by Fightful

After days of speculation following her cancelation of the Wendy Williams Show, Wrestling Observer has reported that Sasha Banks wanted to leave WWE over WrestleMania weekend. Fightful has corroborated the story, with some additional details.

Observer stated that Sasha Banks was under the impression that she and Bayley would have the opportunity to have a strong run with the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles in an effort to establish them as serious championships.

It was reported that Banks was given a few weeks to think things over before making what the company figured was a rash decision, but Fightful's sources throughout the week had compared it to The Revival ... We were told that Bayley was also clearly frustrated by the entire situation.

Both sources within the company that Fightful spoke to said they'd be surprised if Banks was granted a release.

In addition, there was also talk of Alexa Bliss gaining the upper hand on both Banks and Bayley physically on Raw, which has been reported throughout the week. We're not told if this was just to be a physical altercation or an actual match, but Banks and Bliss ended up going back and forth on social media on Tuesday.

Originally Posted by PWI

Squared Circle Sirens is reporting that Rhea Ripley has suffered some ligament damage in her foot giving an explanation of why she was seen in a walking boot during Wrestlemania 35. According to their story, the inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion will be out of action for up to eight weeks.

Originally Posted by Fightful

AJ Styles provides an update on his injury.

Earlier this week it was reported that AJ Styles went home after WrestleMania to deal with what was being described as a hip injury. On his Mixer channel last night, Styles clarified the injury.
Kofi Kingston And Becky Lynch Discuss Bret Hart Being Attacked At WWE Hall Of Fame
Related Article Kofi Kingston And Becky Lynch Discuss Bret Hart Being Attacked At WWE Hall Of Fame

"I sprained my SI (sacroiliac) joint. Nothing too severe. I just need the muscles to ease up and treat a sprain like a sprain. Hopefully, it doesn't take too long to heal. I'll be back in action soon. You don't know the degree of the sprain."

Originally Posted by PWI

As those of you watching Smackdown this past Tuesday know, Drew McIntyre disappeared towards the end of his six man tag team match with The Bar against The New Day.

PWInsider.com readers who were live in Brooklyn sent along that McIntyre exited via the timekeeper's area from ringside and returned to the back. This spurred on concern that perhaps McIntyre had been injured over the course of the match. We are told that was not the case and he is not injured.

What did happen, according to a source who was backstage during the main event, was that time was cut from the bout. Since the finishing sequence was to focus on New Day beating the Bar, there was no time to explain taking Drew out of the equation. So, Drew was instructed to return to the back.

2:05 PM Update: Earlier I wrote, "One might wonder why they even booked McIntyre in the bout to begin with then, but we don't have any answer for that." Well, now we do. The original pitched main event for Smackdown this past Tuesday at WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre. It was changed into a six man tag as the day progressed.

So, there's no injury issue.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

The premiere episode of Viceland’s Dark Side of the Ring series averaged 154,000 viewers. The episode covering the relationship between Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth was the first of six episodes scheduled to air as part of the series.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

On the new WWE Untold: Sting feature on the WWE Network, Paul Levesque explained why he beat Sting at WrestleMania 31 and the plans for the following year’s show. Levesque explained that he was scheduled to face The Rock at WrestleMania 32 in 2016 and was the reason he needed to beat Sting the year prior. The two shot an angle in October 2014 on SmackDown teasing a future match, but Rock’s schedule didn’t allow the match to take place, although Rock did appear on that show in Dallas in April 2016. Levesque and others interviewed on the Untold piece all acknowledged that in hindsight (and for some, foresight) that Sting should have won the match. On the same card where Levesque defeated Sting, they did the angle with The Rock and Ronda Rousey getting physical with Levesque and Stephanie McMahon.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

The draft shows are 4/15 and 4/16 in Montreal and virtually nobody knows who ends up on what brand. There may be a few top exceptions, but just about every performer on the roster has no idea where they will end up and who they will be programmed with next. The only real teases were for Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman, which would indicate one was switching, and Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans, which could be on either brand, since Lynch made it clear in her promos that she would be working both brands as double champion ...

The general rule Vince has gone by in the past is you lose on your way out of the brand. So from that standpoint, people who would appear to have the best shot at switching are The Revival, Bayley, Bobby Roode & Chad Gable, The Bar, Andrade, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rusev and The Usos. They often also switch champions, so you could have a Kingston/Rollins switch, or a Balor/Joe switch, or a Hardys/Hawkins & Ryder switch.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

As far as other WrestleMania news, the only other note is that the order of the matches changed literally after the show started. The Rollins win over Lesnar was originally slotted to go right before the women’s main event. Styles vs. Orton was booked to open the main card and everything was going to go in that order. Paul Heyman and Lesnar both pushed for Lesnar vs. Rollins to go early, as it hardly took a brain surgeon to realize it’ll come off better at 7 p.m. than at 11:45 p.m. For whatever reason, Hulk Hogan, who did a segment unannounced largely to do his posing routine, at 65, no longer taking off his shirt, was never told that Heyman was going to come out at the end of his segment for the easy heat of interrupting Hogan and set up the match right away.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Mark Briscoe started swinging wildly with a fan out of the crowd, which turned out to be the former Enzo Amore. Amore was sitting with the former Big Cass, at ringside, surrounded by some planted fans and kept disguised. The idea was to make this look like it wasn’t part of the show. Those at ringside could immediately tell it was planned because security did nothing. Security was alerted ahead of time that an angle was being planned and to let it happen but weren’t told exactly what it is. The punches being thrown were really stiff because they wanted fans at ringside to think it was real. The idea was to fool everyone but as it turned out, while some fans were, most saw through it. They went so far as to keep this a secret from almost everyone. Tonga & Loa, who had just won, were not told, nor was anyone from the New Japan side told. They saw it, looked like they were mildly disgusted by it, didn’t fall for it and just walked away. Multiple sources have confirmed nobody in New Japan was told about it ahead of time. Tonga even tweeted sort of about it, just saying Enzo & Cass jumped the losers of the match not the winner and called it “ROH booking at its finest.” A number of people complained that this angle being booked at this time took away from the impact of the double title change.

The two will use the names nZo and CazXL and their tag team name will be the Free AgentZ. A big brawl ensued, none of which was shown to the streaming/PPV audience with the idea of presenting it like it wasn’t supposed to happen. In addition, they sent Bully Ray out there with the idea that he’s a big tough guy and would be the guy who would handle things for ROH if it was a real fight. Security when it was over got Enzo & Cass out. The key thing is they weren’t handcuffed or kicked out. Cass looked very out of shape, and was blown up with bloodshot eyes. He may have gotten hurt because the punches being thrown were very real because they wanted the ringsiders to believe it was a fight and he got several potatoes from the Briscoes ...

Regarding this situation, while it was most definitely an angle, and will play out, the two at press time had not signed contracts with ROH and have no future dates confirmed, although obviously they’re expected to appear. Withing the company, them being there was an issue that not everyone was on the same page on.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

The paid attendance for the ROH / NJPW MSG show was 16,534, the largest for any non-WWE event in the U.S. since 1999. The gate was the largest ever in North America for any company other than WWE–the first in the U.S. ever to top $1 million, something even WCW at its peak never achieved.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

What appears to be the situation here in regards to AAA at MSG is that the Oak View Group ... have made a deal to promote live events in the U.S. The goal is to start with this show, then run a second show at the Forum in Los Angeles, and then bring AAA into other major market arenas that the Oak View Group runs. Of course, the problem is whether it can draw. AAA had great success for a few years in the early 90s, mostly in Los Angeles and San Jose, and lesser in places like Chicago and New York. After the ensuing 25 years, they ran some U.S. shows, some of which drew okay and some of which didn’t, but obviously it was never successful enough to have staying power. During most of that period, the promotion had U.S. television with Galavision.

If Madison Square Garden doesn’t do well, it would have a good chance to nix the rest of the tour ... The idea here is the idea of bringing traditional Mexican entertainment to New York which happens to be wrestling, as opposed to the idea of drawing 15,000 pro wrestling fans to see AAA. It sounds logical on paper with so many tourists in town, but there is no historical precedent of this working with pro wrestling. Even in Mexico, AAA coming to town isn’t drawing 15,000 fans to a show except for TripleMania.

There was a lot of talk of selling out the venue, although those close to the situation said that the market research done claimed that they wouldn’t sell out, but would be able to draw a healthy crowd. The costs of running MSG are so high, far more than any other arena in North America, because you’re paying for the prestige of “the world’s most famous arena,” but it also means a show doing a $300,000 gate, which is fine just about everywhere else, is a huge money loser in MSG.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

For the TV ratings for 3/29, AAA on Friday at 4:30 p.m. for two hours averaged a 2.3 rating and 4.1 million viewers, up 24 percent from the prior week. After seven weeks, the show has ranged from a low of 3.2 million in week two to a high of 4.4 million in week one and four, and averages 3.9 million viewers ... The viewership is 52 percent male, so they have, by percentage, a higher female viewership component than the U.S. groups and also far more children, as the audience is 24 percent 12 and under, 13 percent 13/18, 13 percent 19-29, 22 percent 30-44, 10 percent 45-54 and 18% 55+. So it skews much lower than WWE where about 50 percent of the viewers are over 50.

CMLL on Televisa on 3/30 at 4:30 p.m. (A better station and for a 4:30 p.m. start, Saturday is superior to Friday), cut to one hour from the usual two did a 1.1 rating and 1.3 million viewers.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

They are discounting tickets in Dallas for 7/6 now because the advance is so disappointing. There are very different views as it’s been expressed that doing so feels like cheapening the product and New Japan’s appeal is to a select group that is willing to pay for the tickets, but the issue is how many of them are in specific markets, especially now with the key American market draws being done.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

As far as the announcing team goes, Ross will do the shows, and I’m not certain if he’ll do the complete shows or just the major matches to get them over as special. The their play-to-play guys are Alex Marvez and Excalibur ... Another of Ross’ roles will be to mentor both Marvez and Excalibur.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Howard Finkel, 68, who hadn’t been seen in a long time, was at some of the WWE festivities this past week. He’s wheelchair bound. It’s been known his health situation is pretty bad although it’s largely been kept secretive what happened past Jerry Lawler saying on his podcast that Finkel had suffered a major stroke. It was described to me that everyone was very happy to see him, but also sad because of the condition he was in.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Regarding the Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee match, WWE has asked for the footage and wants to do a feature on it. Mary Kate Anthony, who has the VHS tape (Bret Hart should have the DVD) said that as long as Hart is fine with the footage being shared, since it’s his tape and she was just there to transfer it to DVD many years ago, then she would do so and send it to WWE. The thing is, Hart doesn’t own the rights to his WWE footage as far as I know, unless they made some sort of a deal, nobody owns WWE footage rights other than WWE. WWE did give Hart a copy of it for his own personal collection and then apparently somehow either lost or got rid of it. The only tapes Hart owns are the Stampede Wrestling tapes that feature him, since Ross Hart and the family were not allowed to sell anything regarding Bret, because of Bret getting ownership of it in a deal with his father, when the collection was sold to WWE. That held up a lot of the release of Stampede shows that feature Bret on them.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Big E suffered a torn meniscus in his match on SmackDown on Tuesday night. He said that it happened while taking a crossbody and he’ll be out for “a bit.”

Recovery time for a torn meniscus can be anywhere from three weeks to a few months depending on the severity.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Brian “Road Dogg” James stepped down as the co-head writer of SmackDown Live this week.

According to PWInsider, James had been growing increasingly frustrated with changes that were made to SmackDown scripts and storylines by Vince McMahon and hit a “breaking point” at this week’s SmackDown in Brooklyn.

James is expected to remain with WWE in another role, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet, who said that their sources claimed that it was a “mutual decision.” They say that James could end up in a variety of flexible “utility player” positions going forward, including Arn Anderson’s old role as a road agent.

Originally Posted by Guru Dave (Post 5243146)

According to WOR: Sasha Banks reportedly tried to quit over the weekend.

Originally Posted by Black Widow (Post 5243237)

Sasha should quit but i likely wouldn't waste my time watching whatever lame indy company she goes to.

Originally Posted by Observer

New Japan Pro Wrestling has set a date for their return to Australia.

It was announced overnight that NJPW Southern Showdown is coming to Melbourne, Australia on Saturday, June 29. The event will take place at Melbourne's Festival Hall ...

Regarding the New Japan tour of Australia in June, there will be a major live New Japan World show in Melbourne on 6/29 and there will also be a show in Sydney that week.

Originally Posted by PWI

Zachary Madsen's court appearance today in Kings Criminal Court in Brooklyn was continued until Tuesday 5/28.

Madsen has been charged with two counts of assault in the third degree as well as trespassing after hitting the ring that was being used as the stage for the acceptance speeches to tackle Bret Hart, taking down the WWE Hall of Famer and Natalya on Saturday 4/6. In New York, Assault in the third degree is an A misdemeanor and can be punishable in up to a year in jail per count, should Madsen be found guilty.

Originally Posted by PWI

Major League Wrestling moved into a new corporate office building in New Rochelle, NY (minutes from NYC and also Stamford, CT), right now to Steiner Sports Collectibles HQ. They will be using the HQ to film content and as a podcasting studio as well as their own corporate offices. The company had been working with a "virtual" office out of wherever management was located but now they one formal central location.

There's been a lot of talk of doing an official MLW PPV later this year.

Discussions have opened up for a tour of the UK and Europe now that they have TV via Freesports TV in Great Britain and Ireland. No timeline as to when.

Originally Posted by PWI

Due to the NHL playoffs, WWE Smackdown Live will shift channels in Canada this coming Tuesday night. Instead of airing as usual on Sportsnet 360, it will air LIVE on OLNHD. In Toronto, that is Channel 45 on Rogers in the Toronto area, but be sure to check your local listings and adjust your DVR recordings as needed.

Originally Posted by PWI

Former WCW star and lucha libre legend Vampiro posted the following on his Facebook Page:

"Got some results from the doctor yesterday
Not the best of news
But in my heart I know it’s a fight I am gonna win
I am not worried about anything
I am worried about how I can give more back to everyone who needs support
I Don’t give a f--k about being sick , as me and my doctors have a plan! And I will be fine!
Alzheimer’s is bulls--t. I am scared about potential Parkinson’s disease because it might f--k up my PlayStation time
I have been beaten up for so long , this is an easy one
Also
Look at the news of the world
So much
Bulls--t going down
Just do what’s right and be cool to everyone
Don’t get involved in the stupid s--t
Not worth it
Be safe y’all and talk soon"

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Even though the fan takeaway after the [G1 Supercard] show was that New Japan probably should work with someone other than ROH, right now, the relationship seems solid and one both sides want to keep.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

On Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast, Joey Ryan stated that the Penis Party show last Friday drew 1,200 people at the Hilton Midtown Hotel. That show went against NXT TakeOver, Joey Janela’s Spring Break III, and MLW’s Battle Riot, all of which sold out so it was a strong night for all four events.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Sasha Banks unfollowed the WWE account on Twitter and began following the AEW account. Make of that what you will.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Dominik Dijakovic deleted his Twitter account after he tried to work a gimmick that didn't go over so well for obvious reasons.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

While this has not been confirmed, within the industry the belief is the Usos have signed or at least are staying. One person high up used the term “fairly certain” when talking about them signing a new deal and staying. WWE was offering much bigger money than in the past for talent whose deals were expiring because they can afford it and because of the AEW competition, and the Usos, as a great tag team, were in a great leverage position, as was the recently-signed A.J. Styles. With the kind of money WWE is now offering, I don’t see main roster guys who are in the thick of things leaving in great numbers. There are a few who are tight with AEW management or who are really into wanting to be featured and create a legacy of being top stars and feel that’s not going to happen with them on the main roster who have at least some interest. There are also some in NXT who feel they are more likely to be used well in AEW than the main roster who have expressed interest. A few are leaning toward going when their deals are up, and others are taking a wait-and-see. As noted before, the smart play is to wait and see how AEW does on television. If they do well in ratings and present a good product that looks stable, it’s a viable option, but WWE is a lock to make good money and isn’t going anywhere, and they don’t get rid of talent except usually for disciplinary reasons. So if you’re a solid performer and you stay, especially if you’re older and with a family, it’s a solid job to not leave.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet took to Twitter today and reported that Banks and Bayley were laying on the floor of the locker room at Met Life Stadium on Sunday, "loudly making it known they were unhappy" about dropping the titles. It was also noted that they made a similar scene back at the WWE hotel.

"Heard from a few sources now saying Sasha Banks and Bayley were laying on the floor of the locker room on Sunday, and back at the hotel in front of one of their rooms, loudly making it known they were unhappy about losing the tag titles," Satin wrote on Twitter.

Satin defended his report and said he heard the same information from multiple sources. "This info is from four different sources I've spoken with the past day. All independent from each other and all came to me about it, not the other way around," he wrote in one tweet to a fan. He continued in another tweet, "Was told this by four separate people who have no relation to each other. There were a lot of people staying in the hotel during Mania weekend."

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

The Brock Lesnar UFC roller coaster continued today with UFC president Dana White now saying that a proposed Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Cormier UFC fight may not even happen after all.

At a UFC press conference in Atlanta, White said, “Seriously, that fight isn’t even in the works. That might not even happen first [for Cormier].”

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Daniel Bryan may have suffered an injury at WrestleMania.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Bryan went home after the PPV and WWE was awaiting word from a further evaluation if he was hurt or not.

There are no additional details right now, but sources told the Observer that the injury either “could be nothing” or “it could be serious.”

Originally Posted by Fignuts (Post 5243439)

lol so Bayley and Sasha were literally just laying on the floor yelling about it?

Originally Posted by Mr. Nerfect (Post 5243548)

I am genuinely curious as to who would make a better sex tape between Sasha and Bayley.

Originally Posted by Black Widow (Post 5243611)

Sasha seems like more of a slut than Baylee

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat (Post 5243722)

Seems Pro Wrestling Sheet's report got debunked based on some photo evidence of Sasha and Bayley at Wrestlemania. Fightful also hinted Satin's report was wrong by posting a photo of them and the IIconics after the match and both were in a happy mood.

Speculation is WWE knows who all of Satin's sources are in the company and purposely feed him the fake story to smear Sasha since she wants out. Probably to set an example to other stars who also want to leave so they reconsider and/or don't have the it leak out publicly.

Also seems WWE might know who WrestleVotes sources are since they claimed to have heard the exact same story from their sources but didn't report about it.

Originally Posted by Seph (Post 5243743)

lol Noid really REALLY wants a Sasha sex tape.

Originally Posted by Volare (Post 5243815)

Io Shirai....wow

(nsfw) https://imgur.com/a/hiyBVj5

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

Within WWE, they are hopeful Sasha Banks will be returning after being given time off. I was told by one person that they hope to have her on the next pay-per-view, but nothing is set in stone regarding her status. Banks last worked at WrestleMania teaming with Bayley where they dropped the WWE women’s tag titles to the IIconics in a match involving Beth Phoenix & Natalya and Nia Jax & Tamina. As of today, if and when Banks returns, she is scheduled to be on Raw.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

Monday’s Superstar Shakeup didn’t mean anything for Raw’s viewership as the show averaged 2,665,000 viewers. It was below the average of the five episodes of Raw going into WrestleMania, which averaged 2,705,000 viewers and down 26% from the 2018 Superstar Shakeup ...

Raw did go against the NBA playoffs with the Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers game doing 2,846,000, but so did last year’s Superstar Shakeup. In 2018, they faced an NBA playoff game that did 3,494,000 viewers, so they had tougher competition in 2018 and did a much higher viewership figure.

Unless there is something unexpected to spike the audience, it looks like Raw will fail to hit 3 million viewers for an episode in 2019 with the night after WrestleMania and the Superstar Shakeup failing to hit that number.

Originally Posted by Observer

A profile piece from the Sports Business Journal on NXT revealed that going forward, Punishment Martinez will be going under the name Damien Priest.

Originally Posted by Observer

KENTA (formerly Hideo Itami in WWE) will make a “special appearance” at Game Changer Wrestling’s Tournament of Survival 4 in Atlantic City on June 1.

Originally Posted by Observer

The former Adam Rose wrote on Instagram that had a mild heart attack scare this past Saturday. “I am fine and at home already," he wrote. "Nothing to worry about. To those that love me, I love you back. See you soon.”

Originally Posted by PWI

An update on where things stand in the lawsuit brought by cameraman Donald Anderson against World Wrestling Entertainment and WWE performer Thaddeus "Titus O'Neil" Bullard ...

As previously reported, Anderson (who had been hired through a third party, Uranus Productions/Gorilla Flicks) was backstage at a WWE TV taping filming a segment where Bullard was shocked by WWE performer Paige (Saraya-Jade Bevis). Bullard became, according to the lawsuit, "enraged", alleging charging and kicking the camera out of Anderson's hand, injuring him. Bullard has denied those allegations in his response to Anderson's lawsuit. Paige is not a party in the lawsuit.

On 3/29, Anderson filed a motion seeking a summary judgment against WWE and Bullard, claiming that Bullard’s counter-suit against him alleged that Anderson and the company that contracted him were involved in a conspiracy designed to shock Bullard with a cattle prod, the act that led to Bullard kicking him. Anderson is arguing that under Florida law, an employee cannot be part of a conspiracy with the company that employs them ...

Anderson also declared in his request for Summary Judgment that “It appears that BEVIS, who was a WWE talent, took it upon her own accord to go and shock BULLARD with the cattle prod.” That in itself is interesting, because should the court decide that was factually correct, it could open a potential door for Anderson to pursue Paige for causing the scenario to take place.

That same day Anderson filed his Motion Summary, however, Bullard requested an extension in his own discovery in the case, citing that he was unable to complete discovery so while WWE was in the process of learning whether they would be dismissed from the case or not, something that did not happen. WWE had argued they did not fall under jurisdiction of the court in Florida as they were a Connecticut-based company. Anderson had specifically used quotes from Paul Levesque and WWE Executive John Saboor about the importance of the WWE Performance Center in Florida in an Amended version of his lawsuit, attempting to use those comments in order to prove that WWE would indeed fall under the court's jurisdiction as they do business regularly in the Sunshine State.

Bullard requested an extension through 7/1 to conduct his own discovery, noting that his side intended to depose a number of those involved in the case ... In all of those depositions, Bullard is seeking to learn about the relationship between WWE and Gorilla/Uranus including whether Gorilla/Uranus “routinely film individuals being assaulted and battered without their consent.” A filing on 4/12 noted that in the case of Paige, they wanted to know the level of her involvement in the cattle prod incident and “to what extent she was directed” by Uranus/Gorilla ...

The court has approved Bullard’s request, giving him until 7/1 to complete his own case’s discovery. Unless the sides opt to settle out of court, there will not likely be any major updates to the case until this summer.

Originally Posted by pwi

IMPACT Wrestling teams up with Reality of Wrestling to present Deep Impact on Saturday, July 6, at the Booker T World Gym Arena near Houston, both promotions jointly announced.

Deep Impact will feature cross-promotional dream matches with the stars of IMPACT Wrestling battling the stars from Reality of Wrestling in the first-ever intra-promotional show.

Deep Impact will air live on IMPACT Wrestling’s Twitch channel.

Originally Posted by PWI

Fox 5 in Las Vegas is reporting that The Little White Wedding Chapel, which was the site of the storyline nuptials of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon on the November 29, 1999 episode of Monday Night Raw, is on the market for the total of $12 million. The owner, Charlotte Richards, who performed the ceremony for The Game and Stephanie says she's ready to retire.

Meanwhile, New York City's Webster Hall is slated to reopen on 4/26 with a Jay-Z performance after having shut down last year for extensive renovations. The venue hosted the first-ever Bret Hart vs. Mick Foley (as Mankind) match for a live episode of Shotgun Saturday Night. Impact Wrestling, then known as TNA, also ran the legendary club for a live event once.

Originally Posted by PWI

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed to PWInsider.com that they have concluded their investigation in the July 2018 death of former WWE star Brian "Christopher" Lawler last year while incarcerated following an arrest for DUI.

"Our investigation has concluded and all findings have been turned over to District Attorney General Mark Davidson. I will have to refer any questions to his office," TBI's Keli McAlister told PWInsider.com. PWInsider.com inquries to Davidson's office have not yet received a replay ...

With the investigation turned over to the District Attorney's office, there is no word if or when the findings of the investigation will be made public. Again, a PWInsider.com request to District Attorney General Mark Davidson's office has not yet received a reply.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

Starrcast has announced that Dustin “No Legs” Thomas has been added to the convention in Las Vegas next month. Thomas was the breakout star at Joey Janela’s Spring Break last week after wrestling Tony Deppen on the first night and blew away everyone with his performance. Starrcast has also added Mance Warner, Sunny Onoo, and Ernest Miller.

Originally Posted by PWI

The ongoing lawsuit brought by Ring of Honor star Scott “Colt Cabana” Colton against former WWE Champion Phil “CM Punk” Brooks in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois has seen one of the two allegations against Punk dismissed, leading to Punk personally responding before the court for the first time about Cabana's allegations of unpaid legal fees and breach of contract, stemming from the lawsuit that WWE physician Doctor Chris Amann filed against the two in the fallout of Punk's appearance on Cabana's November 2014 Art of Wrestling podcast.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Alexander Wolfe (formerly of SAnitY) tweeted this message tonight, saying “RIP SAnitY” and “Goodbye WWE.”

It’s not clear yet if he was released or if something else happened.

Originally Posted by Observer

Today would have been Roddy Piper’s 65th birthday.

Originally Posted by Observer

The AAF, which was going to be a competitor to the XFL, officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today.

Originally Posted by PWI

Local advertising has already been updated for a couple of upcoming WWE events.

The main event for the Smackdown show in Hungtinton, VW on 4/29 is Roman Reigns vs. Elias. Also appearing WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor, Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz, The Bar and Charlotte Flair.

The main event for the RAW show in Evansville, IN on 5/6 is AJ Styles, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley. Also appearing Natalya, The Usos, Naomi, and RAW Tag Team Champions Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins

Originally Posted by PWI

The 4/16 episode of Miz & Mrs. on the USA Network brought in 1,102,000 overnight viewers, up from last week's 997,000 overnight viewers.

Originally Posted by PWI

Viceland's Dark Side of the Ring will return for its second episode tonight at 10 PM, featuring a documentary look at the Montreal Screwjob, the night Vince McMahon changed the finish of the 1997 Survivor Series WWF title bout between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels on Hart's final night in the company.

Subsequent episodes for the first season will feature:
Wednesday 4/24 - The Killing of Bruiser Brody
Wednesday 5/1 - The Last of the Von Erichs
Wednesday 5/8 - The Mysterious Death of Gorgeous Gino (Hernandez)
Wednesday 5/15 - The Fabulous Moolah

Originally Posted by PWI

On today's edition of The Jim Ross Report, the WWE Hall of Famer talks with Cody about the plans regarding AEW ... The American Nightmare states they have 40 wrestlers under some sort of deal with the company. Rhodes says that they are already working on the shows past Double or Nothing. We will be hearing about how we can watch the show soon.

Originally Posted by PWI

While WWE has announced a new, live WWE Network special featuring the following appearance of The Shield live from Moline, IL on Sunday 4/21 at 9:30 PM EST, that is not the only content they will be filming with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, PWInsider.com has confirmed.

WWE's production team is scheduled to sit down with all three members of The Shield for interviews at the 4/19 WWE live event in St. Louis.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Fans may have noticed that Daniel Bryan has not appeared on television since losing the WWE Title to Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35. According to PWInsider, Bryan was not at television this week and is currently dealing with an undisclosed injury. The report states that "the nature of the situation has been closely guarded."

Furthermore, Sheamus is reportedly dealing with an undisclosed injury as well. Sheamus was noticeably absent from last night's SmackDown as Cesaro teamed with Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura with Sheamus nowhere to be found. Sheamus last wrestled on the Apr. 9 episode of SmackDown, teaming with Cesaro & Drew McIntyre against The New Day in a six-man tag team bout.

There is no timetable for the return of either superstar.

Originally Posted by Fightful

WWE has a Superstar Shakeup this week, but there could be a shakeup happening in Ring of Honor's offices as we speak ...

Monster Factory's Danny Cage was cut from Ring of Honor after joining the company in early December. From what we're told he's still being paid by the company, and had a lot of ideas how to shift ROH and Future of Honor's production, which was met with heavy resistance ...

Speaking of Joey Mercury, Fightful reported this week that he was instrumental in getting Sons of Savagery signed by the company, and has pushed for Maria Manic to come in as well. All of which are alumni from MCW, where he's served as a trainer.

Mercury and Bully Ray are said to be gaining influence within Ring of Honor, while Delirious' (Hunter Johnston) creative input has decreased. Those that we spoke to expected this to accelerate as time moves on. It could be seen with Enzo and Cass, as well as Velvet Sky and Angelina Love being brought in ...

Those we spoke to in ROH say that there was some heat on any number of people who made the All In deal a reality, as the company ended up helping give crash courses to their upcoming competition for talent.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

WWE announced that Shane Strickland and Garza Jr. have officially signed with the company and have reported to training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, along with another recent signee, Kushida.

Strickland has been on WWE’s radar for a while. He’s a great wrestler and is a former EVOLVE Champion, former MLW World Heavyweight Champion, former CZW World Heavyweight Champion, and also wrestled in Lucha Underground as Killshot.

Garza wrestled for Lucha Libre AAA from 2015-2017 and has been wrestling in the indies in Mexico since, and also wrestled in Impact from 2017-2018. He’s the cousin of Humberto Carrillo, who wrestles for 205 Live.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

The tag team formerly known as the War Raiders made their main roster debuts as part of Raw on Monday and are now known as “The Viking Experience,” which has led to a lot of groaning by fans.

But according to PWInsider, that wasn’t the initial name change that was pitched. They were reportedly going to be called “The Berzerkers,” but that was changed as their debut got closer ...

“The Viking Experience” name is Vince McMahon’s idea, according to Dave Meltzer. It’s not clear why exactly he changed their name.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

Yesterday on Twitter, Luke Harper said that he requested his release from WWE, while Alexander Wolfe said “goodbye” to WWE.

Neither of them have been released from the company as of this morning.

Harper’s contract expires some time around November, according to Dave Meltzer. Meltzer said that it was clear that Harper was looking to go to AEW. Harper is close friends with Chris Harrington, who is the Vice President of Business Strategy for AEW.

Alexander Wolfe is still under contract with WWE despite posting a message saying “Goodbye WWE” on Twitter, according to PWInsider. It’s not clear if he requested a release or if something else is going on.

Originally Posted by TPWW Frontpage via Triple A

In an update on the situation, Banks and Bayley were also told that they would be split up to different brands, so that was another reason why they were reportedly unhappy, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Bayley was moved to SmackDown last night as part of the Superstar Shake-up, while Sasha is still technically on Raw.

Sasha and Bayley had pushed for WWE to bring on Women’s Tag Team titles for a while, so it’s understandable that they’d be upset about their team being broken up so soon after the titles were finally introduced.

Originally Posted by Observer

MLW announced today that the promotion is introducing a National Championship. It will be an openweight title, featuring wrestlers from the middleweight, heavyweight, and super heavyweight divisions.

The inaugural National Champion will be crowned at MLW's television tapings at the Waukesha County Expo Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Saturday, June 1.

Originally Posted by PWI

The second episode episode of Viceland's pro wrestling documentary series Dark Side of the Ring on 4/10 garnered 181,000 overnight viewers for their Montreal Screwjob episode, up from last week's 154,000 overnight viewers.

Next Wednesday's episode will focus on the Bruiser Brody murder.

Originally Posted by PWI

Since it’s been a couple of months, I just want to point out how bad it is that The Pursuit Channel, which is partially OWNED by Anthem, still has yet to be able to correct their cable and satellite guide listings to properly show that Impact Wrestling is a two-hour series. We continue to receive complaints about the issue from readers with different providers and again, this week, on my own provider, Verizon Fios, the series is listed for 30 minutes with 3 replays, which means that if I don’t add time to my DVR (or pay attention enough to care), I’d end up with 30 minutes and nothing more of the show. I know that Impact management has been well aware of the issue and the channel is slow to respond to requests, but at this point, it’s beyond terrible that nothing has been fixed

Originally Posted by PWI

Chicago broadcaster legend Chester "Chet" Coppock, who had a storied career covering sports on Chicago Radio and TV passed away due to injuries suffered in a Georgia car accident on 4/11, his family announced today. Coppock was 70 years old at the time of his passing yesterday, surrounded by his family. He was very much a living legend in the Windy City, where he won several Emmys and was inducted into the city's Broadcaster Hall of Fame ...

Pro Wrestling was a small portion of Coppock's career. He had AWA competitors on his radio show regularly in Chicago to help promote live events that were taking place in Comiskey Park ...

Coppock was also the ring announcer for the Chicago portion of WWF's second Wrestlemania in 1986 and made at least one radio appearance doing announcing for WWF's Radio show, commentating with Gorilla Monsoon for a radio broadcast of Wrestlemania X in 1994 in NYC. He also handled local promotional interviews pushing WWF events in Chicago in the late 1980s.

Originally Posted by Fightful

Nikki Bella said on her podcast that a match with Stephanie McMahon would bring her out of retirement.

Originally Posted by Fightful

According to the Sports Business Journal, WWE talent signed to developmental contracts are paid on average $50,000 to $150,000 a year. The overall average for those in development is roughly $80,000. The report goes on to say that salaries can climb into the seven figures "if they reach the top of WWE."

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Right now, the idea is that the women’s champions, double champion Becky Lynch and tag team champions Billie Kay & Peyton Royce will be working both brands and have different challengers on each brand. It was indicated Kay & Royce would also defend their titles on NXT. They made clear that the Raw and Smackdown titles are different and Raw brand wrestlers like Natalya and Lacey Evans made it clear they were after the Raw belt. It appears that when Lynch loses one of those titles, she’ll be exclusive to the other brand.

Only a few wrestlers were brought up. The two top stars of the last year on 205 Live, Buddy Murphy and Cedric Alexander, were moved off the brand, with Murphy going to Smackdown and Alexander to Raw. While it’s long been established that 205 Live is somewhere between developmental and purgatory, this establishes that the original goal of it being the home for the best under-205 pound guys in the company is over and it’s just an hour of filling time and waiting for the top guys to make it to the main roster. Even though Murphy was cruiserweight champion and on many PPV shows (granted, often on the pre-show), when he arrived on Smackdown he did an introduction interview with the premise most people didn’t know him and would be hearing about him for the first time.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

The Mysterio move is interesting because FOX has been airing previews for Smackdown on baseball and the shots were of John Cena, Reigns, Mysterio and Flair as the four stars focused on the brand.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Regarding Sanity, Eric Young will be on Raw. Nobody knows what’s going on with Killian Dain, or his wife, Nikki Cross. Alexander Wolfe wrote a farewell message on social media to WWE, but those in WWE have told us that Wolfe isn’t leaving the company. There is talk he may go back to NXT as a single, or he could be used as a flagship guy on the European brand.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

WWE last week also announced Legacy Hall of Fame inductees. This is the category they use to honor people who, for whatever reason, they don’t feel are marketable names to the modern audience to put in their actual Hall of Fame. It’s basically the answer of how can you have a Hall of Fame without Lou Thesz and Strangler Lewis, with the answer that they are quietly in it, just not listed in the main Hall of Fame. It’s basically a situation based on two factors, the nature of the WWE Hall of Fame being what it is, which as those in the company have always stressed, is nothing more than a marketing idea and not meant to be taken seriously, and an industry that has reshaped its history to where much of it is ignored and the modern fan knows little of it. The usual rules apply, one woman, one African-American, which can be tricky since that isn’t the easiest. They used Luna Vachon as the woman, which is fine since there are no real standards for a WWE Hall of Fame, past the point that Vachon shouldn’t even be in the legacy category since she was part of the company’s modern era. The African-American was S.D. Jones, the perennial prelim wrestler, joining Johnny Rodz as guys who were essentially television jobbers being in the Hall of Fame.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

For the TV ratings this past week, the AAA show on 4/5 did a 2.1 rating and 9.0 share, with 4.4 million viewers. CMLL on 4/6 did a 1.2 rating and 2.6 share, for 1.3 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

TV Azteca announced a series of tournaments for a weekly Saturday night show that starts on 5/4. It will be a ten-week series, with two one hour shows taped every other Thursday in Mexico City at either the Pepsi Center or the Jai Alai Fronton (where Impact taped). There will be tournaments in a number of weight divisions as well as tag teams. The number of people in the tournament varies by division. We don’t have names yet but they announced there would be competitors from Elite (the Mexican promotion, not AEW), Arolucha in the U.S., Impact, MLW and AAA in all divisions. The idea is that the winner of each weight class will be recognized as champion in all five promotions and defend the title in all of them. It will be a new weekly TV show short-term on TV Azteca for the summer. The name of the show looks to be “Gladiatores: Liga de Campeone de Lucha Libre,” or Champions League of Wrestling

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Regarding television for AEW, there is nothing new to report this week other than it seemed a lock a few weeks ago what day the show would air, and now the day of the week is no longer a lock. But the two hours live weekly in prime time looks likely

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Regarding Banks, it should be noted that the decision to put the women’s tag titles on The Iiconics was not a last minute decision and many people knew about it in the company. However, Banks & Bayley weren’t told until the day of the show. They were also told at the time that the company was going to drop them as a tag team ... So it was the combination of not getting the title run they expected to establish the belts as meaningful and not joke belts, and splitting up their team so quickly that got both of them upset. Bayley was upset but didn’t quit or anything.

Despite rumors to the contrary, she was never booked for television this week, at least since WrestleMania. They are hopeful she’ll be back over the next few weeks and she is tentatively booked for the 5/19 Money in the Bank show in Hartford, but nothing is concrete as far as her status. If she returns, she’s scheduled for Raw, because the reason for the split-up is that Bayley was always scheduled to move to Smackdown, a decision that has been the plan for some time even though kept secret until probably whenever they told Bayley she had to stay the extra day in Montreal this week

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

A lot of people have commented that the costs listed for expenses on the road for WWE talent were listed very high. While the estimates for rental cars was actually low, as noted, very often people share cars. Couples on the road also share rooms so total room costs would be a little bit lower. Plus, if WWE was handling it themselves, they would be able to get discounts. One person who is an accountant for a company that handles a lot of travel noted that WWE could open an account with Hilton as their official hotel and probably get costs down very low with deals that include parking, breakfast and gym access. In addition it was noted that a lot of wrestlers have gym memberships to chains, so that in most cities they can find a gym of that chain and it’s just part of their annual dues. That isn’t always the case. IRS guidelines are $71 per day per diems for workers on the road in most cities and $104 in major expensive cities like a New York or a San Francisco, although you can get that figure down if you have a hotel deal that provides for free breakfasts. The point being that one accountant who deals with this said even a $20 million estimate on costs to WWE for making talent employees would be insanely high.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

The agents for the Takeover matches were: War Raiders vs. Ricochet & Black was Terry Taylor. Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle was Matt Bloom. Pete Dunne vs. Walter was Johnny Moss. The women’s match was Sara Amato. The Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole main event was Michael Hayes

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Enzo & Cass were not at either ROH show this weekend, nor are they booked on anything announced going forward. They have been given no future dates and right now are not factored into anything. There were key people very upset with that segment internally and as noted before, internal divisiveness whether to do it and it brought negative attention in terms of reaction. The idea of why was explained last week, but not everyone bought that. The original idea was to do a very quick bit that would take place in the corner by the guard rails. Enzo was to grab Mark Briscoe and Mark was to shove Enzo and that would be it. It would be so quick so as not to sound the alarms. People on TV may or may not see it, but people would hear about it. I guess the idea, since Enzo did interrupt a WWE show legit, was to play off that. Security was to then take Enzo away to make it look real. The idea is that if there was a buzz, maybe they’d follow up, but if nobody cared, it was so short that people would just assume it was real. It got out of control and right now there are no plans to bring them back, but there are also different people with different viewpoints involved with creative and it’s not clear how the wind will blow.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

Alexander Wolfe didn't wrestle at the NXT UK tapings today but was backstage. He is believed to debut tomorrow with a big push in this division.

Originally Posted by Observer

There will be a Starrcast announcement this coming week that will blow some people's socks off. Some won't care, but those that do, will care a lot.

Originally Posted by Observer

ROH has announced that ROH & IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) will face The Briscoes at the War of the Worlds show in Villa Park, Illinois on Sunday, May 12. The show is an ROH television taping.

If Guerillas of Destiny are still ROH Tag Team Champions, the titles will be on the line when they face The Briscoes. Guerrillas of Destiny are also defending the ROH Tag Team titles against Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham at War of the Worlds: Buffalo on May 8.

Originally Posted by Observer

New Japan Pro Wrestling has officially added a Sydney date to their return to Australia.

NJPW will hold a show at the University of New South Wales Roundhouse on Sunday, June 30. It will be a "smaller, more intimate event" than their show at Festival Hall in Melbourne on June 29.

Tickets for the event in Sydney will go on sale at noon AET on Friday, April 26. There is no pre-sale for the show.

The two-show Southern Showdown tour will be the first time NJPW has come to Australia since their Fallout Down Under events in February 2018.

Originally Posted by PWI

On 4/15, WWE applied to trademark "WWE Stomping Grounds" for "G & S: Entertainment services, namely, a show about professional wrestling ...

Also on 4/15, Ric Flair LLC applied to trademark "King of Drip" and "Founder of Swag" for "G & S: Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer"

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley commented on the Viking Experience's name, writing, "Sure it’s a bad name - but it got people talking! Plus, these two guys are talented enough to weather the storm. For those of you who were sleeping, the #WarRaiders were transformed into the #VikingExperience for the WWE Raw debut, and many fans were not happy about it. I put out a little tweet, just being happy that two hard-working guys had made their debut on #Raw -and you would have thought I just praised John Cena with the heat I got for it! My guess is that anything with the word “war” in it is not going to go down well with USA Network or current and potential sponsors."

Originally Posted by Fightful

On this past week's episode of the show, Sam Roberts made his commentary debut alongside Byron Saxton and Renee Young. During a match between Dana Brooke and Tamina, Roberts went full heel in his burial of Brooke. Here are some highlights from Roberts on commentary:

"I wouldn't be in a wonderful mood if I found out I was returning to singles action and it was in a match against Dana Brooke of all people."

"You can show up every week, it takes a matter of skill."

"Support doesn't win matches."

"No big shocker here that the somersaults that Dana Brooke is doing aren't exactly paying off. I'm sure she's great on a balance beam."

"When has Dana Brooke ever seized the moment?"

Following the episode airing, Dana Brooke fired back on Twitter.

"Sam - always thought we were cool, but Damn, wondering why @WWE doesn’t have u on a lot, you burry people!! what have u accomplished.. prob gave up at it, unlike me I push through never giving up!Maybe @ReneeYoungWWE Will be right when I block you & 1 day make U eat your words!"

Brooke followed that up by calling Roberts "a mark" in a reply to a Twitter user.

This isn't the first time Roberts has buried talent as fans may recall his scathing comments aimed at Bianca Belair prior to NXT TakeOver: Phoenix. In his non-apology to Belair, Roberts said that he is not fed lines and is allowed to speak what is on his mind while in the booth.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter

For some of the Raw people who were moved to Smackdown and introduced on the show, as a way to keep them from knowing for sure, they were actually told to say in town as they were needed for promotional work, and then on Tuesday were told they were switching brands.

Originally Posted by Fightful

ECW Press will release the biography of WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson on Sept. 3.

"Soulman: The Rocky Johnson Story" was co-written by Scott Teal with the foreword written by Rocky's son, The Rock.

Originally Posted by Guru Dave (Post 5245357)

Sam Roberts' edgy demeanor is quite annoying. Not a fan.

Originally Posted by Slik (Post 5245823)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Andrade and Zelina Vega are Moving Back to SmackDown Live: <a href="https://t.co/p5XcgPejqI">https://t.co/p5XcgPejqI</a> <a href="https://t.co/0tM5oZC92j">pic.twitter.com/0tM5oZC92j</a></p>&mdash; Pro Wrestling Sheet (@WrestlingSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlingSheet/status/1120391501853470721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">UPDATE: Aleister Black is now officially listed on WWE dot com as a SmackDown Superstar as well. His profile states: &quot;After the 2019 Superstar Shake-up, Black set his sights on changing the landscape of SmackDown LIVE.&quot;<br><br>FULL ARTICLE ⏩⏩ <a href="https://t.co/p5XcgPejqI">https://t.co/p5XcgPejqI</a> <a href="https://t.co/CrXzpeoPYI">pic.twitter.com/CrXzpeoPYI</a></p>&mdash; Pro Wrestling Sheet (@WrestlingSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlingSheet/status/1120403905526030342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">REPORT: John Pollock of POST Wrestling is reporting that Cesaro has moved to RAW as part of this most recent shuffle.</p>&mdash; Les Moore (@prowrestling) <a href="https://twitter.com/prowrestling/status/1120418370174763009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Originally Posted by Seph (Post 5246281)

I would have probably sent Ricochet to SD! though and Black to Raw. Just due to personal preference of who I would have rather seen them feud with potentially. Black vs AJ and Ricochet vs Mustafa Ali would have been awesome. Now we'll get Ricochet with Cedric Alexander in some capacity probably and Black ends up in a program with Nakamura.

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito (Post 5246314)

Once they decided to move Andrade back, they had to move Aleister as well to keep him with Zelina. They're pretty good about not splitting couple up given the different touring schedules the brands have.

Makes me think Alexa and Buddy Murphy are splitsville otherwise I think it would've been Buddy on Raw and Cedric on SmackDown.

Originally Posted by Observer

The first Raw after the two week period of WrestleMania and the Superstar Shake-up, the first real test of a normal show in a few weeks, did 2.37 million viewers, the lowest number since January 7, which was still against football ...

It was the lowest number in the modern history of the show outside of football season, with a massive second hour turnoff after an okay first hour.

It's a terrible sign because traditionally the show starts a decline this time of year, until June, with decreases as the NBA playoffs get into the later rounds ...

As far as the first-to-third hour drops, they were 18.5 percent in women 18-49, 14.7 percent in men 18-49, 6.3 percent in girls 12-17, and 33.1 percent in boys 12-17. The latter figure is an unprecedented level of teenage boys tuning out during the show.

Originally Posted by Observer

Happy birthday to John Cena, who turns 42 today. Vince McMahon’s Twitter account sent a birthday message to Cena: “Happy birthday to @WWE’s Babe Ruth, @JohnCena! I really can’t describe in words how much @JohnCena means to me and the @WWEUniverse. #HustleLoyaltyRespectLove”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling

The long-awaited U.S. premiere of The Wrestlers is finally going to happen, which is the series hosted by Damian Abraham and had a limited run on VICE in Canada last year. Due to the success of “Dark Side of the Ring”, this series has been greenlit to air on Viceland with the network announcing that the ten episodes are set to air, although no premiere date has been released. The series is different from Dark Side of the Ring with Abraham traveling to locations including Japan, Nunavut, Bolivia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo with the professional wrestling as the backdrop. There are interviews throughout the series with MVP, Mia Yim, Rossy Ogawa, Atsushi Onita, Mayu Iwatani, Gabe Sapolsky, and others.

Originally Posted by PWI

Starrcast announced today that former WWE star and ECW World Champion turned CBS Sports Radio personality Taz will make his first appearance in years at their event over Memorial Day Weeekend in Las Vegas

Originally Posted by Fightful

NXT stars chip in to help a friend.

On Apr. 17, Ricochet set up a GoFundMe to help his mother, who lost her home in a fire. As of this writing, the GoFundMe is up to $13,942. But the stars of NXT are going the extra mile to help out. NXT superstars launched "The Ricochet Family Fund," an auction fundraiser on eBay where fans can bid on items worn/signed by various NXT stars. All proceeds go toward Ricochet's mom and family.

Items include an event worn jacket from Matt Riddle, autographed and event worn boots from Candice LeRae, even worn gear from The Undisputed ERA, autographed items from Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa, an autographed and event worn shirt from Shayna Baszler and more.

The auction ends on Apr. 29.

Originally Posted by Fightful

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Jeff Hardy is dealing with a lower body injury. Hardy was said to be "limping significantly" at a WWE live event over the weekend. Hardy wrestled on Apr. 20 at a live event in Madison, Wisconsin, teaming with Matt Hardy to defeat The Usos. The following night in Rochester, Minnesota, Jeff was in Matt's corner as Matt took on Jimmy Uso in singles competition. At last night's live event in Sioux City, Iowa, Jeff was not on the show and Matt teamed with R-Truth to take on The Good Brothers ...

It is unknown how severe the injury is to Hardy or how much time he will miss.

Originally Posted by Fightful

ProWrestlingTees.com is running a 20% off sale today to celebrate the FIVE MILLION DOLLARS in royalties that they have paid out to their partners. Use the promo code 5MIL for a discount.

Originally Posted by Fightful

PWInsider reports that WWE is going to film footage of The Viking Raiders at a Viking Festival this month.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc

WWE may have big plans for the winner of the men's Money In the Bank Ladder Match this year.

There has been a strong push within the WWE creative team to have the 2019 men's MITB briefcase holder come out of the whole process looking like a real star, according to @WrestleVotes.

There's a feeling backstage that the company has "completely blown" the winners and their cash-ins over the last two years. It sounds like they are looking to fix that this year.

Originally Posted by Fightful

There is still nothing firm regarding whether the 6/8 San Jose Takeover show is still on with the Saudi Arabia show being on 6/7. Basically everything is on hold because the Saudi Arabia show, originally set for 5/3, then moved to 6/7, is probable but not 100 percent right now. What we do know is that tentatively the 6/7 Salt Lake City show was moved to 6/16 and the 6/8 Denver show was moved to 6/15. Those would be the dates they couldn't have U.S. shows is they are going to Saudi Arabia. The fact these moves have been made, but not announced, tells you they are pretty sure that Saudi show is on. The 6/16 Backlash show scheduled in San Diego is 6/16, but it is now no longer scheduled as a PPV, but will continue as a house show. There is talk the Backlash PPV will be on 6/23 which is currently listing shows in Spokane, WA or Abbotsford, BC. We were told it would most likely be in Washington, but it may not necessarily be Spokane.

Originally Posted by Mr. Nerfect (Post 5246561)

I've had the feeling Mustafa Ali has a good shot to win MITB, but I think McIntyre and Corbin are up there too. Will be interesting to see what their plans are, as opposed to what actually happens.