Daily Update: Mercedes Mone update, Mayu Iwatani, Matt Striker

Latest News

• MLW Kings of Colosseum notes: Matt Riddle debut, Alex Kane vs. Richard Holliday
• TNA reveals new X-Division Championship belt
• Tony Khan on WWE talks with WBD: 'It's part of sports'
• WWE Main Event results: Johnny Gargano vs. Ivar
• Mustafa Ali cuts promo following first post-WWE match
• ROH spoilers from Charlotte, North Carolina
• Kota Ibushi announces he will undergo ankle surgery
• Street fight for AEW Tag Team titles announced for Battle of the Belts IX
• Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hangman Page added to AEW Dynamite Homecoming
• AEW Collision live results: Eddie Kingston vs. Trent Beretta Continental Crown match

Latest Audio

• Wrestling Observer Live: The Rock's WWE return, Mercedes Mone's future
• Figure Four Online top 50 podcast moments of 2023, pt. 3
• Figure Four Online top 50 podcast moments of 2023, pt. 2

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This Week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• January 8, 2024 Observer Newsletter: The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, Worlds End & WK18 reviews

• What people thought of Worlds End and Stardom Queendom
• Roman Reigns vs. The Rock
• All the AEW news and controversies from the past week
• Worlds End rundown
• MJF future
• AEW departures
• Business numbers
• Full coverage of New Japan at the Tokyo Dome
• Kevin Dunn's WWE departure
• Breakdown of WWE and AEW attendance in 2023 and how it compares to other companies historically
• 2023 WWE Iron Man award winner
• Pro Wrestling NOAH's big show
• Stardom show at Sumo Hall rundown
• Giulia future
• Nakajima vs. Miyahara II
• The most detailed look at the TV ratings of all the shows, rankings, demos, competition and comparisons with one year ago
• What AEW may have done this past week for the first time in its history
• What Japanese wrestler drew more major crowds in the U.S. than anyone in history
• Andrade's last match at Arena Mexico draws a sellout
• The unique show this week at Arena Mexico
• Lots of international groups coming to Philadelphia for WrestleMania
• Story behind the departures and changes in All Japan
• Annual New Year's Eve trio tournament coverage
• Takeshita comes to All Japan
• Surprise as far as popularity of Iron Claw in week two
• The story of World Class in Israel
• Mil Mascaras and Hulk Hogan speak
• Thoughts on Mad Kurt
• Grandfather of NJPW star will be honored by the King Charles
• Danielson talks his future
• International TV deals for WWE and AEW
• International TV ratings
• Streaming numbers for the past week
• UFC PPV experiment
• Lots of newcomers to WWE
• Advanced tickets for upcoming WWE & AEW & NJPW shows

This Week's Retro Observer Newsletter

• October 4, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Kurt Angle, Observer MMA Hall of Fame

Sunday Update

Bryan and I will be up tonight covering the weekend wrestling news and taking questions that you can send to dave@wrestlingobserver.com. We're looking for reports on these shows:

• NXT from Friday night in Melbourne, FL
• NXT from last night in Sebring, FL
• WWE tonight in Wenatchee, WA

We're looking for results, finishes and highlights to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

Because Collision wasn't taped last week due to the PPV, in the U.K. airing this week and in international markets they aired a Best of 2023 show hosted by Renee Paquette and RJ City airing Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks in a bullrope match from 9/23, FTR vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson in a 2/3 fall match from 7/15 (best match in show history), and Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Martinez & Diamante street fight from 12/16. The FTR match went almost an hour and thus they only needed three matches to fill the show (thanks to Stephen Lyon)

On last night's show there were no teases for Mercedes Mone or for her appearing Wednesday in Jacksonville. What I know is that AEW does expect her to start on TV soon, but as noted, until it happens and the contract itself is signed, I wouldn't consider anything 100 percent. One would think there would be some sort of a tease of a surprise if she was to appear, since that's been the case with most major signings. But Sting's original debut in Jacksonville came out of nowhere.

The Sting & Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs match for Wednesday is a tornado match and Ric Flair on his promo talked about being there in Sting's corner.

The Tennessee Titans upset the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-20 today which knocked the Jaguars out of the playoffs that they seemed destined for a few weeks ago.

WWE from last night in Spokane, WA:

• LA Knight b Jimmy Uso with the BFT. Solo Sikoa got involved. Knight said he was winning the title at the Royal Rumble
• Julius Creed b JD McDonagh
• Omos b Akira Tozawa. Same match they've been doing.
• Becky Lynch & Shotzi & Bianca Belair b Asuka & Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane when Lynch pinned Asuka with the man handle slam. Lots of action.
• Cody Rhodes b Shinsuke Nakamura in a street fight. A fan held up a sign and asked Rhodes if he would be his best man for his wedding. Rhodes asked if the fan had any felonies on his record and he said no. He asked how long you've been dating and the fan said two years. Rhodes said this would be a logistical nightmare but said he would do it.
• Nia Jax b Ivy Nile with the annihilator
• Randy Orton b Dominik Mysterio with the RKO
• Seth Rollins b Drew McIntyre to keep the world title. The crowd was 50/50 at the start but McIntyre worked heel and got the people to cheer for Rollins to where it ended up closer to 80/20. He cut a promo playing a whiny heel saying everything he's done is justified. Rollins won over two curb stomps (thanks to Stephen Heath and Dylan K)

Oregon State on Friday night set a state attendance record for amateur wrestling with 8,000 fans at Reser Stadium for a dual meet with Penn State. (thanks to Ashkon Nowtash)

The long-awaited movie on the life of Mayu Iwatani will be released in Japanese theaters on 5/17. The movie is the key reason she is the current IWGP women's champion per Bushiroad decision making. Iwatani went from being a teenager who wouldn't even leave her home to being one of the biggest women's pro wrestling stars of the modern era in Japan.

Matt Striker apologized for comments he made last night during the Jacob Fatu vs. Matt Riddle match at the MLW show in Philadelphia. Striker said on the air, "Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The court of public opinion would love to see Jacob Fatu slap the taste out of Matt Riddle’s mouth. But the court of public opinion does not convict, I’m sorry. I know it’s the world in which we live but, it’s not the case." Striker then wrote this morning, "I've given this a lot of thought. Could not sleep. My critics are right. I was wrong. Tone deaf. Trying to use the guise of art or character portrayal is self preservation. Thank you to those that shone light on this. It is now on me to stand in that light. I will be better."

For Riddle's debut, we were told there were some boos for him but it was mostly dueling "Uce" and "Bro" chants. One person said it was a small amount at the start but never returned during the match and the crowd was hot with "bro" chants once the match started. Riddle's debut with New Japan is this coming Saturday night in San Jose. Right now he'll be doing indies, NJPW and MLW for the time being and will be on several NJPW tours in Japan this year including the next tour.

At last night's show in Philadelphia, they announced Mistico vs. Averno on the 2/3 return at the 2300 Arena.

Oskar Leube and Yuto Nakashima of New Japan, who were announced as leaving on Friday, were announced for the 2/4 RevPro show in London. Leube will also be in the 16 Carat gold tournament in Oberhausen, Germany.

Raul Rosas Jr., the youngest UFC fighter, faces Ricky Turcios on the 2/24 show in Mexico City.

TNA announced dates on 3/22 and 3/23 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena. It's notable that date and not Mania week. NJPW, which also usually runs Mania week, hasn't yet announced anything for Philadelphia.

Besides New Japan, Nick Nemeth was announced for the 1/20 show for the WWC in Bayamon, PR, against island legend Ray Gonzalez. Also on the show Universal champion Intelecto Cinco Estrellas defends against Chris Masters and Caribbean champion Xavant defends against Matt Cardona, while Puerto Rican champion Gilbert faces Ryan Nemeth. The show will air on PPV from FITE (thanks to Michael Morales)

Raw tomorrow has Kofi Kingston vs. Ludvig Kaiser, JD McDonagh vs. The Miz, Cody Rhodes vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven for the women's tag title. The game goes against the national championship college football game and CM Punk will be on the show.

Kurt Angle, who is under contract to WWE, did a video on the AEW angle with Stokely Hatahway trying to recruit Kris Statlander.

U.K. wrestler Sam Betts died on Saturday at the age of 91. He wrestled mostly under the name Dwight J. Ingleburgh, with the gimmick of being an American. He worked for many of the top promotions of the time. (thanks to Bradley Craig)

Tomoko Watanabe and Ai Houzan from Japan will be wrestling for West Coast Pro on 3/23 in San Francisco at the Irish Cultural Center. The special guest at the show will be Bull Nakano.

Mascara Dorada vs. Templario, which headlined Arena Mexico on Friday, will headline a 3/1 IWC Legacy show in Denver.

House of Glory from last night at the NYC Arena in New York: Encore Moore b JJ Boujji, Joey Silver won over Darren Richardson, Jay Armani and KC Navarro, Idris Jackson b Raheem Royal, Nolo Kitano b Gringo Loco, Carlos Ramirez b Krule, Midas Black & Jay Lyon d Chris Bey & Ace Austin over 20:00 (said to be really good), Mike Santana b Josh Alexander to keep the HOG title in another match reported as really good. Next show is 3/2 with the debut of Mustafa Ali.