Daily Update: Chad Gable, John Cena, Mariah May

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• January 13, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE Raw debuts on Netflix, Wrestle Kingdom 19 & Wrestle Dynasty reviews

The highlights of the issue:

• The WrestleMania direction
• First WWE show on Netflix
• John Cena, The Rock, Undertaker and more and what things on the show garnered the most interest
• Businessnotes on the show
• Positives, negatives and goals of the show
• How the show did on Netflix and deciphering what the different numbers mean
• How advertising works comparing television vs. streaming
• Hulk Hogan reaction
• Changes on the show
• Run time change
• TKO looking at getting into the boxing business with Saudi Arabia
• Kenny Omega returns for the Tokyo Dome show
• In depth on New Japan business concerns and Bushiroad CEO Takaaki Kidani speaks on a number of issues
• The business of the two Dome shows
• Takaaki Kidani talks about his thoughts about a future WrestleDynasty show
• Zack Sabre Jr. does something unprecedented and a list of all  non-Japanese who have won an NJPW Tokyo Dome main event
• The Chris Charlton story in depth
• Did the injury to  Douki change the finish?
• Where do Young Bucks rank among most world tag team title reigns in history
• A look at the career of the late Rick  “Hangman” Harris/Black Bart
• Who had the most four star matches of 2024 and the most in history
• Who has the most of the top 250 matches of all-time on Cagematch
• Explaining how ratings are changing and how to reevaulate numbers
• How many homes have access to the different services
• Quality of watching on MAX vs. TBS
• Tourist board putting on a major international show
• Another big business week for CMLL
• New Year’s Dash notes
• Notes on the next major New Japan shows
• New Japan bodybuilding contest
• The death of Gilbert Cesca, one of the best technical wrestlers that you never heard of
• Germany has a prime time major celebrity wrestling show featuring Claudio Castagnoli
• Malakai Black news
• Ticket advances for WWE & AEw shows
• Streaming numbers and International TV ratings
• How did TNA debut on SportsNet in Canada
• GFL announces lots of women stars’
• Paul Levesque talks planning WrestleMania and The Rock
• Update on Bill Goldberg
• Nick Khan and Dwayne Johnson stock transactions this week
• How much does WWE help the USA Network

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

• July 10, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Chris Benoit double murder suicide part 3

Tuesday Update

WWE

• Chad Gable on wrestling Penta last night: “I detest Penta, luchadores, and losing. But last night was a reminder as to why I fell in love with this beautiful artistic expression of physicality and the sport of Professional Wrestling when I was 5 years old and have been obsessed with it ever since. I felt so alive.”
• Dakota Kai commented after losing in the finals of the Women’s Intercontinental title tournament: “It may not have been my night.. but if anything, my journey proves this isn’t over. With my whole heart, thank you ily forever.”
• John Cena talked to Collider about his most memorable losses and explained why he thinks he needed to be someone who constantly won his matches: “One of the biggest hang-ups in the middle portion of my career was that, spoiler alert, John wins. What people don’t understand is, I think now, maybe, as we begin to reflect back here on this last run of like, ‘Hey, man, I was in it for the long haul.’ The way you make those losses impactful is sometimes you’ve got to win, and sometimes you’ve got to win a lot. Any time you can pass energy on to somebody, that’s kind of the life cycle of the business. You come in an unknown and, hopefully, you get the flywheel spinning, you create all this energy on your way out, you pay it forward, you pass it off.”
• Trick Williams on social media: “Need to figure out what my next move is gonna be …”
• Recent additions to the WWE Vault include Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels in a Last Man Standing match from the 2004 Royal Rumble, a previously unaired singles match between John Cena and Samoa Joe at a 2017 house show in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker from the 1996 Royal Rumble.
• Kylie Rae talked about the challenges she has overcome in a WWE ID video.

AEW & Other Wrestling

• Mariah May will be on commentary during the Women’s Casino Gauntlet match at Dynamite Maximum Carnage.
• Alex Abrahantes on Penta’s WWE debut: “I miss him and wish him the best.”
• Sumie Sakai thanked Tony Khan on social media for allowing Yuka Sakazaki to compete in her retirement match: Hello @TonyKhan! I appreciate you that I could wrestle Yuka @YukaSakazaki is my favorite wrestler. She is so Amazing! AEW is so lucky to have her. I never watch AEW on TV. But if she will be on TV , I and MORE people will watch AEW on TV for 1000000%sure. Thank you.”
• MVP will return to CCW in March.
• MxM Collection has a limited edition button up shirt on ShopAEW.com.
• Gabe Kidd is returning to GCW on February 15 and 16 for the Jersey J-Cup tournament.
• This week’s TNA Xplosion.

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