Daily Update: Alicia Fox, Carmella, Impact Wrestling

Latest News:

• WWE on A&E ratings: Most Wanted Treasures, Stone Cold Takes on America
• WWE NXT's Sol Ruca undergoes surgery for torn ACL
• Jade Chung joins Impact Wrestling broadcast team
• Raw ratings down for night two of WWE Draft
• AEW's Chris Jericho to star in 'Country Hearts' movie
• MLW to air live events on FITE+
• AEW sells 35,000 tickets during All In presale
• Cody Rhodes says dethroning Reigns is still his goal, comments on new WWE title
• Ring announcers change brands in WWE Draft
• WWE Raw video highlights: Final night of the WWE Draft

Latest Audio:

• Figure Four Daily: Lance Storm talks WWE Draft, meeting CM Punk at Impact, WWF 2000s run
• Wrestling Observer Live: WWE Draft fallout, AEW Wembley ticket sales, RAW report
• Wrestling Observer Radio: Draft breakdown, RAW report, All In ticket sale predictions, more

Latest Free YouTube Video:

Join us in Las Vegas for our annual F4W Convention

This Week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

• May 1, 2023 Observer Newsletter: More on AEW Saturday show, WWE reveals new World Heavyweight Championship

Highlights include:

*Wrestler and Performer of the week

*Lots of new news regarding AEW plans, new television show, how this impacts AEW, who will be the stars of the different shows and more.

*WWE creates a new world championship belt, the story behind it, the draft and changes in draft plans, and what NXT talent is ready now and can be stars later

*Full coverage of Stardom's All-Star Grand Queendom, one of the biggest women's events of the past 25 years. We look at business, Mercedes Mone, creation of a new championship, PPV numbers, the count out finish with match-by-match coverage with star ratings.

*The lawsuit filed by former WWE writer Britney Abrahams against the company, including stereotyping wrestlers, comments by writers, and much more

*WWE and AEW major shows between now an the end of August, matches, tickets out, interest levels and top feuds

*The next TripleMania show with the El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kenny Omega rematch

*UFC full coverage from Saturday, results, details, business and future prospects

*The most detailed look at al the television ratings this past week, including what competition means, how things compare to a year ago, and what major change this week in television and how that impacts prime time wrestling

*Dragon Gate's next major show

*All Japan Champion Carnival update

*Will Ospreay future

*New Japan Best of the Super Junior notes

*Notes on the New Japan shows this week

*Aaron Henare talks his greatest match with Shingo Takagi

*One of the greatest woman wrestlers of all-time, at 61 wins a tag team title

*The story of Don Luce, one of the most respected pro wrestling historians

*One of the all-time greats will have a statue put up in his home town

*Notes on the new season of Dark Side of the ring

*Devon Nicholson talks about the claims of Abdullah the Butcher

*New book deal about a gangland murder of a major 80s star

*Promotions piggybacking around AEW at Wembley Stadium

*MLW TV future notes

*Owen Hart Cup

*Kota Ibushi update

*Notes from All Access

*ticket advances for WWE & AEW shows

*Streaming and international TV numbers

*Two legendary wrestlers who later did MMA have documentaries out on them and finalists for Emmy Awards

*Bellator's return to Hawaii

*Business notes on Tank Davis vs Ryan Garcia and crossover with the pro wrestling audience

*All of what went down with Nate Diaz in New Orleans

*Peacock business number and what that means for WWE

*Changes in Raw

*Law firm investigating WWE merger

*Lots of WWE injuries and talent questioning some of the training

This Week's Retro Observer Newsletter:

• March 13, 2006 Observer Newsletter: WWE quartely investor's call, UFC 58 recap

Ordering Info:

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to dave@wrestlingobserver.com or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Tuesday Update

WWE

• On her social media accounts, Alicia Fox indicated that she’s no longer with WWE. Fox is now going by her real name (Victoria Crawford) and lists that she was with WWE from 2006-2023. Fox also posted that she’s now “employable.”
• Carmella shared a heartwarming video surprising her stepkids with the announcement that she’s pregnant.
• Last night’s WWE Main Event tapings featured Mustafa Ali defeating Akira Tozawa and Piper Niven defeating Dana Brooke.
• Alexa Bliss & The Miz appeared on The Tonight Show last night as part of a “Slay It, Don’t Spray It” game.
• Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson turns 51 years old today.
• WWE tweeted a remembrance of Ray Traylor (Big Boss Man) on what would have been his 60th birthday.
• WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded the following: The Rock’s birthday celebration (May 2, 2011 Raw), The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental title (Backlash 2016), and AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura no DQ match for the WWE Championship (Backlash 2018).

AEW/Other Wrestling

• AEW streamed its Road to Baltimore video ahead of tomorrow’s Dynamite.
• Anna Jay spoke to PWMania about learning from Chris Jericho: “It’s so cool. Meeting him and working with him in AEW was a crazy experience for me. Obviously, now I never thought I’d be in a faction with him. I always was able to go to him for advice, but now being able to work right underneath him is cool because I literally get to talk to him every week. He produces a lot of promos and backstage stuff. It’s been such an honor to be able to go to him every week. I cannot say enough good things about him.”
• Yoshihiro Takayama has been discharged from the hospital after battling aspiration pneumonia.
• The Hana Kimura memorial show “pinx!” will stream live on Fite TV on Tuesday, May 23.
• XPW announced that they’ve signed Tessa Blanchard to a “multi-show deal.” Blanchard will make her XPW debut in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, May 27.
• Shop Impact has released its first Trinity T-shirt. Trinity (formerly known as Naomi in WWE) debuted for Impact Wrestling at their tapings in Cicero, Illinois this past weekend.
• Sami Callihan accepted a challenge from Cody Deaner to face him on Impact this Thursday.
• El Hijo del Vikingo will face Ninja Mack at GCW Cage of Survival 2 in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sunday, June 4.
• Matt Cardona challenging Will Ospreay for the 1PW World Championship has been announced for 1PW’s show in Lincoln, England on Saturday, June 10.
• A new episode of Sammy Guevara’s vlog is now available.