Daily Update: Rey Misterio Sr., Stardom, WWE SmackDown

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• December 23, 2024 Observer Newsletter: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event recap, Lee Fitting accusations, Jaime Hawn

The  new issue of the Observer is on the site today (after a snafu):

• Full coverage of the lessons of Saturday Night’s Main Event, from ratings to execution
• The Athletic story on Lee Fitting, plus our thoughts on the subject
• B.J. Whitmer alleged victim Jaime Hawn comments on current and former AEW legal heads
• Full coverage of New Japan’s show in Long Beach with the Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki main event
• Update on Worlds End and the Battle of Orlando
• CMLL’s international based show on Friday and what went right and wrong
• Dragon Gate’s lastest major show of the year
• The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling TV shows and UFC shows including segment ratings, standings for the week and night, demos, comparisons with last year and a lot more
• Annnouncer leaves company after more than 30 years and why
• Stardoms’ end of year show
• Comedy wrestler retires
• CyberFight (DDT, NOAH and TJPW) financials looked at
• How sports ratings are doing
• Notes on a movie on one of the most legendary woman wrestlers of all-time that will be out  in March
• Chris Jericho and Matt Cardona angle in GCW and how it came about
• Tessa Blanchard to TNA notes and the bigger picture
• WWE, AEW and TNA PPV numbers updates
• Notes on changes in WBD structure
• More on AEW move to MAX
• Ticket advanceds for WWE & AEW shows
• UFC business updates
• More on WWE to Netflix and international TV notes
• Dwayne Johnson box office notes

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

• June 18, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Vince McMahon limo explosion angle

Friday Update

• Garrett and I just finished our weekly show covering all the news in the current issue as well as the death of Rey Misterio Sr. (Miguel Lopez), the uncle of Rey Mysterio of WWE fame. Lots of stuff on Saturday Night’s Main Event, casual fans, Paul Levesque’s booking for mainstream, AEW house show experiences, Lee Fitting, Zozaya vs. Leon Slater, sports ratings discourse and a lot more. The new issue of the Observer is on the site today (after a snafu last night).
• Rey Misterio Sr., passed away earlier today at the age of 66.  It’s been quite the last few weeks for that family as Roberto Gutierrez, the father of the WWE Rey Mysterio, passed away just a few weeks ago.  Rey Sr. was a fixture on the Tijuana wrestling scene and while not a major national star, he was a promoter, wrestler and trainer. One of the reasons Tijuana has been such a major wrestling hotbed for decades is Rey. He had been wheelchair bound due to an out of the ring accident but also had many injuries from wrestling in that cement-like ring that I can recall from the early 90s. He was like the local territory star like a Jerry Lawler or Dusty Rhodes or Verne Gagne , but really closer to a Johnny Weaver in the late 60s and early 70s Carolinas, or Dutch Savage in Oregon than a Dusty.  He’d headline as as a babyface against all the top rudos from around the country and sometimes the U.S. as well.  He trained Rey Misterio Jr., Hayabusa, Konnan, Halloween, Damian, the original Psicosis  and countless others.   We should have a major story on him in the current issue. For years I went to Tijuana for matches with he as the local star. On a national basis in Mexico, the Rey Misterio & Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Fuerza & Juventud Guerrera feud in AAA had incredible matches. He was a very good tecnico style worker, could do the Lucha basics and strong at brawling.  
• Stardom had two matches today having to do with the four-way at the Tokyo Dome on 1/5 and the International Women’s Cup.  Athena, Willow Nightingale and Persephone are three of the women in. The fourth will be decided this weekend in a four-way. At today’s Stardom show in Osaka, Momo Watanabe won over Saki Kashima, Hanan and Yuna Mizumori and Syuri won over Ranna Yagami, Fukigen Death and Saya Iida. There will be two more matches tomorrow in Nagoya, with Koguma vs. Waka Tsukiyama vs. Tomoka Inaba vs. Rina and Suzu Suzuki vs.  Hina vs. Aya Sakura vs. Konami.  Watanabe, Syuri and the two winners tomorrow will have a four-way on Sunday in Tokyo to determine the Stardom rep and final person in the Tokyo Dome match.
• It wasn’t in the current issue but the Nanae Takahashi vs. Sareee match from last weekend I gave ****3/4.
• I hope WWE got a big rights increase for a third hour of Smackdown.  We already saw with Raw, three hours led to burnout and a decline in interest, but it’s offset by the money it generated.  Unless this deal  adds a lot of money, we’ve already seen what happens.  I remember Paul Levesque even saying that 90 minutes is the perfect length for a wrestling TV show.  But the reality is TV makes more and more hours usually mean more money.

Smackdown tonight is a taped show from Hartford

• LA Knight &  Andrade & Apollo Crews vs. Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga & Solo Sikoa
• Naomi & Bianca Belair vs. Nia Jax & Candice LeRae for the women’s tag titles
• Johnny Gargano vs. Alex Shelley
• Braun Strowman vs. Carmelo Hayes

Rampage tonight

• Powerhouse Hobbs & Mark Davis vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Brian Cage
• Lio Rush & Action Andretti vs Goldy & Myles Hawkins
• Willow Nightingale vs. Harley Cameron
• Brody King vs. Komander in the Continental Classic

ROH Final Battle tonight on Honor Club

• Lee Johnson & EJ Nduka vs. Toa Liona & Bishop Kuan
• Alex Reynolds & John Silver vs. Grizzled Young Veterans
• Hanako vs. Harley Cameron
• Mike Bennett &  Matt Taven vs. The Infantry
• Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tom Billington
• Atlantis Jr. vs. Mansoor
• Jay Lethal vs. QT Marshall
• Lee Moriarty vs. ? for the Pure title
• Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack vs. Mark Davis vs. Komander vs. Blake Chistian vs. AR Fox in Survival of the Fittest for the  ROH TV title
• Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevera vs. Vincent & Dutch in a double bullrope match for the ROH tag titles
• Red Velvet vs. Leyla Hisch for the women’s TV title
• Chris Jericho vs. Matt Cardona for the ROH title
• Athena vs. Billie Starkz for the ROH TV title

• Newsday has a story on Jericho and Cardona, who both grew up in Long Island and are wrestling tonight
• Tonight’s show along with tomorrow’s Collision and Sunday’s Dynamite tapings are basically sold out.  
• The AEW Collision show originally scheduled for 1/16 in Louisville, KY, is being moved to the Brady Music Center in Cincinnati.  AEW will tape both Wednesday for Dynamite and Thursday for Collision in the same building. Tickets go on sale 12/30, barely two weeks before the show. (thanks to William Zdon)
• Tonight at Arena Mexico is the Gran Alternativa tournament.  There are eight teams, with a headliner and an undercard wrestler.  The idea is to give the undercard wrestler a main event slot and the final two teams will wrestle in a main event match next Friday.  The winner, in theory, will be promoted to a higher card status.  Not every winner eventually becomes a star, but a list of winners include Hector Garza, Shocker , Rey Bucanero, Ultimo Guerrero, Mistico, Andrade, Cavernario and Soberano Jr.
• They are doing a special Arena Mexico Christmas show on Wednesday with Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Neon vs. Volador Jr. & Magnus & Rugido on top.
• Looking for reports from tomorrow’s NXT show in St. Petersburg, FL, with results, finishes and highlights to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
• People have been raving about a ten man tag on last night’s IWRG show in Naucalpan with Arez & Latigo & Noisy Boy & Spider Fly & Toxin vs. Oni El Bandito & Colmilla de Plata & Garra de Oro & Laredo Kid & El Hijo del Vikingo.
• I want to make mention that tomorrow’s RevPro show at York Hall headlined by Luke Jacobs vs.  Michael Oku for the British title and Mina Shirakawa vs. Dani Luna for the women’s title will have a 60 minute Iron man match with Leon Slater and Zozaya. That is one big risk to put two undercard guys not only out there for 60 minutes but tell the fans in advance. There’s also great reward to both men if they pull it off. Good luck to them.
• Ulka Sasaki and Kaito Kiyomiya will be doing a Reddit AMA at 7  and 8 pm. Saturday to promote the 1/1 show at Budokan Hall  where Sasaki, a former UFC and Rizin star, will face Shinsuke Nakamura.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins held a WWE Night on Tuesday, in their game against the Los Angeles Kings. Bron Breakker was part of the game introductions. Corey Graves was a guest and they played WWE theme music during every commercial break. Announcer Colby Armstrong used the winged eagle belt (thanks to Steve Khan).

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