Daily Update: Linda McMahon, ratings, WWE Raw

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• November 11, 2024 Observer Newsletter: WWE Crown Jewel recap, TKO financials, Wrestle Kingdom gets its main event

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is up on the site right now.  It was a huge news week as it’s the largest issue in some time:

• ull coverage of Crown Jewel with the matches, business and interest level
• Thoughts on the programs going forward
• TKO gives its quarterly business update
• Why profits are lower than usual.
• UFC’s media rights deal thoughts
• Talk about the future of Fight Pass
• Revenue for UFC & WWE in different categories
• Stock value
• How much debt TKO currently has
• How the Cung Le lawsuit factors into all this
• More on the show at  Sphere
• Thoughts about Dana White and/or Nick Khan getting involved with  boxing from Mark Shapiro
• More Netflix plans
• A look at the Wrestle Kingdom lineup
• Where New Japan’s business currently stands
• Upcoming New Japan tag team tournament notes
• Power Struggle coverage, great matches and angles
• NXT and AEW go head-to-head, the most detailed breakdown as to what happened and why
• Where AEW stood in the overall standings that night
• How every quarter did
• Coverage of the Conor McGregor trial going on
• Update on Full Gear, announced matches,  other matches, ticket buying interest
• Notes on WWE cuts like Baron Corbin, Indi Hartwell and Tegan Nox.
• Dragon Gates runs a major show
• The most detailed look at the ratings for all the shows this past week, with standings for the night and week, segment-by-segment numbers, and all the competition.
• CMLL to fill the historical middleweight title vacancy by Mistico this week
• Arena Mexico draws the week’s largest crowd for themed show
• Update on El Hijo del Vikingo
• Stardom tag team tournament update
• King of Gate tournament update
• Davey Boy Smith Jr. wins Triple Crown and background of that
• Death of Scorpio Jr.
• Hall of Fame candidate health issue update
• The life of AWA’s Al DeRusha
• Can actual wrestling draw more than 40,000 each to six events over three days. 2028 we’ll get the chance to find out.
• Marko Stunt talks retirement
• Santo retirement tour noes
• Mike Mansury talks AEW production changes for 2025
• All the PPV business updates
• Ricochet talks leaving WWE
• International TV ratings and streaming numbers
• Jon Jones talks Tom Aspinall and why he’s not interested in that ight
• More on the Bruce Prichard and Michael Hayes leave of absences
• WWE scheduling updates
• Yoshhiki Inamura comes to NXT
• WWE signs former Olympic athletes
• Lots of WWE injury updates
• Notes from all the live arena events and the European tour

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

• May 23, 2007 Observer Newsletter: What wrestling could learn from Mayweather/de la Hoya PPV success

Monday Update

• Bryan and I will be back tonight and we’ve got a ton to talk about, including two weeks of Raw, a giant match in Mexico this week out of left field, a weekend of big fights, Scorpio Jr., ratings and such.
• KCAL in Los Angeles reported tonight that Linda McMahon will be nominated for U.S. Secretary of Commerce.  Her spokesperson would not comment on the report. (thanks to Jose Gonzalez)
• We don’t have the full charts, but Smackdown was No. 1 on all of television Friday night at 1.54 million viewers and 0.47 for the show built around Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn getting back together.  It beat the NBA which was second at 0.39. Rampage was 237,000 and 0.07 with Komander vs. Lio Rush, which is at least better than Komander vs. Lio Rush did the week before, but still a low number for the show.
• They are taping two episodes of Raw tonight because of a tour next week.  It won’t likely be live tonight from Grand Rapids, MI, which had 8,500 tickets out which is basically sold out.  I believe Raw will air on a one hour delay and they’ll tape the second show from 9-11 p.m. The only match announced is Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez for the tag title plus a Gunther/Damian Priest segment and a Bronson Reed segment, likely with Seth Rollins.
• They are also  taping two episodes of Smackdown on 11/22 in Salt Lake City, so talent won’t have to travel on Thanksgiving night.
• MAX debuts a six-part documentary “Call Me Ted” on Ted Turner on Wednesday.  
• Jon Jones is constantly talking about how he’s not interested in fighting interim champion Tom Aspinall if he retains his title Saturday in Madison Square Garden against Stipe Miocic.  He now said he’s more interested in a fight with  Alex Pereira.
• Tam Nakano defends her World of Stardom title against Saya Kamitani on 12/29.
• Warrior Wrestling sold out with 350 last night at the Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee:  Matt Diesel b Joey Jett Avalon, Trevor Outlaw b Zach  Hendrix, Latinos Most Wanted b Band & Matthews (standing ovation for this one), Joey Janela b Commissioner Warhorse, Jordynne Grace b Kaylie Rae, not sure result of Mustafa Ali vs. Myron Reed (thanks to Jim Kujawa)
• Kevin Nash said he will have surgery for two disc herniations and will be 100 percent in three months.
• For 11/30, AEW will have a three hour block of Collision and Rampage from 3-6 p.m.  TNT has NHL on Friday night and College  Basketball on Saturday night.  They will be doing a five hour taping on 11/27 in Chicago.
• Tickets for TNA Genesis go on sale on Friday.  The show is on 1/18 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX, the same site AEW and ROH have run from.
• MLW announced Matt Riddle vs. Donovan Dijak for 12/5 in New York at the Melrose Ballroom. This is the show where they were bringing in Eric Bischoff to play an authority figure.
• CMLL introduced a new KeMonito on Friday night, and he will face KeMalito this coming Friday.  I know people who expect this match to sell out Arena Mexico. But this has gotten more mainstream coverage than anything in Mexican wrestling in a while.  This is not  the original KeMonito, who actually appeared Friday night on The Crash anniversary show. However, CMLL tried to act like it was, but he was clearly younger and moved much better. Still, trying to pretend it’s the same guy is not smart in this day and age.
• Tickets for Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul are dropping on the secondary market as it’s a $71 get in price.  They were $420 in July. There are tons of seats unsold but they booked AT&T Stadium knowing that if they did 40,000 out of 80,000 it would be a big success.
• Defy and Progress are doing joint shows on 11/29 in Brooklyn at the Roulette Intermedium and 12/1 in Chicago at Thalia Hall.  The Friday show starts at 3 p.m. with Mustafa Ali, Kevin Knight and Cara Noir.  The Sunday show is at 2 p.m.
• The joint DDT/Tokyo Joshi Pro/Defy show from last night in Seattle:  Judas Icarus & Travis Williams b Mao & Mike Bailey, Gringo Loco won the DDT Universal title over champion Miyu Yamashita and Nick Wayne, Konosuke Takeshita b Yuni (Takeshita’s protege), Marina Shafir b Shoko Nakajima to keep the Defy women’s title, Miu Watanabe & Suzume b Mizuki & Wakana Uehara, Daisuke Sasaki & Koei Kinoshita NC Danshoku Dino & Randy Myers, Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher (WWE signee) b Amira & Danika Della Rouge, Bryan Keith b Shota, Vert Vixen & Moko Miyamoto & Yuki Kamifuku b Arisu Endo & Rika Tatsuimi & Yuki Aino (thanks to Matt Farmer)
• Mistico was announced for the  MLW show on 1/1 at the NYTEX Sports Center in North Richland Hills, TX
• Great Lakes Championship Wrestling announced that WWE and HHH have signed off on Braun Strowman to referee a 12/7 show in Waukesha, WI at the  Count Expo for a match with Al Snow & Kai Herro, managed by Marty Jannett, against  Damien Sandow  & Santino Marella, managed by Doug Basham.
• There will be a Dudleys reunion with Bubba,Devon and Spike at the January 3, 2025 Wrestling Night at the Milwaukee Admirals hockey game.

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