Daily Update: WWE-NBC special, Mercedes Mone, Kevin Kelly

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• September 2, 2024 Observer Newsletter: Sid Vicious passes away, AEW All In review

• A look at the wrestling career of Sid Eudy, his death, his career highlights, the injury that basically ended his career, other major inopportune injuries, his going from place to place and more.
• When he first started which is earlier than most have noted.
• The Lord Humongous gimmick
• The Skyscrapers and why it ended
• The Four Horsemen period
• His first PPV main event
• A number of stories related to Brian Pillman including the squeegee story
• His leaving WCW for WWF and his first WrestleMania main event and how that finish didn’t happen as planned
• The failed drug test before WrestleMania
• The Hoosier Dome match
• Quitting WWF
• Return to WCW and the plan for him to win the world title and how it fell through
• Situation with Arn Anderson
• How he ended up getting his WWF title run in 1996-97
• The injury that ended his WWF career
• The ridiculous win streak gimmick in WCW
• All In coverage from London
• The update on contract negotiations
• Why the MAX deal didn’t happen last year
• The upcoming stadium shows
• Business notes on how All In did
• All Out update
• Notes on new contracts
• Future of Bryan Danielson
• WWE weekend preview
• RevPro anniversary show
• Look at the ratings over the past two weeks
• International TV ratings
• The longest match ever held at Arena Mexico
• Japanese tournament updates
• Oldest male wrestler ever to participate in a major match
• Deaths of Villano V and Fritz Von Goering
• Tony Khan talks creative process
• Bryan Danielson talks his discussion with Vince McMahon about doing G1
• MMA star Benji Radach passes away
• Mark Shapiro talks new WWE ideas
• Netflix doc notes
• Shapiro talks Netflix deal

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

• March 26, 2007 Observer Newsletter: WWE stars named in Sports Illustrated steroid article

Thursday Update

WWE

• WrestleVotes reports that WWE will be announcing a live prime-time NBC special in the next few days. Four in-ring NBC specials per year are part of WWE and NBCU’s new deal for SmackDown returning to USA Network. WrestleVotes has heard “some internal speculation” about a Saturday night in December being the date for the first special.
• On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Drew McIntyre discussed the reaction his photo with Jack Perry received on social media despite only being up for 45 minutes:
  • I think it lasted 45 minutes. The numbers I heard were two million impressions or something insane for 45 minutes. It was pretty wild. People enjoyed that immensely. So, yeah, I’m always dancing on that line of what’s acceptable, not acceptable. Make people question things.
• McIntyre said he’ll never answer whether he was told to take the photo down or if he removed it himself. McIntyre posted the picture to troll CM Punk in their WWE storyline. The picture came as a result of McIntyre and Perry being on the same flight:
  • I was flying to LA and they just did a show the night before. I’d seen Roderick Strong at the airport, a buddy of mine, and we got to catch up, which was awesome. He was heading to an ROH show I believe. And then on the flight, just saw Jack, had a little chat with him and his missus, and then we snapped a picture, and the internet had a freaking meltdown. It was hilarious.
• NXT wrestler Lash Legend is launching a new cooking show called Dash of Lash on her YouTube channel.
• Kevin Nash shared his memories of the late Sid Vicious (Sid Eudy) on Kliq This.
• WWE put together a photoshoot of former Intercontinental Champions Shawn Michaels, Kofi Kingston, Wade Barrett, and The Miz with the IC title belt.
• Inside The Ropes interviewed Cody Rhodes.
• Here’s the lineup for Friday’s episode of NXT Level Up:
  • Dante Chen vs. Drake Morreaux
  • Dani Palmer vs. Lainey Reid
  • Izzi Dame vs. Layla Diggs

AEW/Other Wrestling

• AEW uploaded post-Dynamite promos from Mercedes Mone and The Conglomeration.
• In her Mone Mag, Mone wrote about reuniting with Mustafa Ali and Fred Rosser backstage at NJPW Capital Collision:
  • Backstage at Capital Collision was incredible. Willow [Nightingale] stopped by to say hi as did Orange Cassidy. I also got to see one of my fellow WWE coworkers, Mustafa Ali. It was so incredible to see him as he gave me such amazing advice. Funny thing is, I was just as nervous to go out and wrestle in front of 2000 fans in DC as I was to wrestle in front of 50,000 at Wembley. But Mustafa got my head right. He told me to remember who I was and that I’m the best in the world. He even went over my match with me including details that helped me so much. After the match, he came over to give me a big hug and to say how good I was. I appreciate a good brother like him. I also saw Fred Rosser. Fred is someone I started with in Boston and have known for 10 years! He’s the New Japan trainer in Los Angeles, a good guy and great at what he does.
• Mone noted that Tony Khan tried to come see her match against Momo Watanabe at Capital Collision but wasn’t able to make it in time:
  • Jen Pepperman told me that Tony [Khan] was jumping on his jet to come to catch my match. Unfortunately, Tony’s flight got stuck leaving Champagne, but he called me the moment he landed to say what a great job I did and that he will try to be there for my next fight! What an honor to know someone who shoulders so much responsibility as Tony does was trying to fly all the way to DC just to see my match! What an amazing boss and leader with such infectious passion. It makes me want to work even harder for him, the women and AEW.
• Kevin Kelly responded to the comments Jim Ross made about the lawsuit Kelly and The Tate Twins have filed against AEW, posting on social media:
  • Lots of comments on our lawsuit and we will see what happens. I had hoped to settle this fairly and quietly with AEW but they left us no choice. And to my friend JR, this is not ‘frivolous’ in the least. We look forward to what comes next. Thank you all very much.
• Jim Ross said he was not interviewed for Netflix’s docuseries on Vince McMahon but would have been happy to do an interview if he had been approached.
• TNA Wrestling thanked all of their fans for helping the company reach five million subscribers on YouTube.
• Keith Mitchell (formerly of AEW, TNA, WCW), Kevin M. Sullivan (WWE, AEW, TNA), and Timothy J. Walbert (WWE) will be part of the production team for Scott D’Amore’s new Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling promotion.
• Takashi Iizuka and indie wrestler Yuma 24 have been announced for the 20-man Ranbo match at NJPW’s Road to Destruction show on Saturday, September 14.
• The 2024 Opera Cup semifinals (KENTA vs. TJP and Mistico vs. Bad Dude Tito) and finals will take place at MLW Fightland in Atlanta on February 14.

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