Daily Update: WWE Raw Day 1, The Rock, Kevin Dunn

Latest News

• WWE Raw Day 1 live results: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
• Gisele Shaw announced for Knockouts Ultimate X at TNA Hard to Kill
• Report: WWE makes change to SmackDown commentary team
• Elias releases post-WWE promo video, reveals new ring name
• Nick Khan confirms Kevin Dunn's exit in email to WWE staff

Latest Audio

• Bryan & Vinny & Lisa Show: AEW Worlds End 2023

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This Week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• January 1, 2024 Observer Newsletter: AEW Worlds End preview, NJPW front office changes

• Match and performer of the week
• Notes on the recent AEW departures
• AEW financial notes for 2023
• Some rights fees thoughts
• Tony Khan talks the TV landscape
• A look at Worlds End
• The most detailed look at the New Japan decision to make Hiroshi Tanahashi president and comments from many in the industry about it
• Full details on the WWE's biggest grossing U.S. house show in history on Tuesday in Madison Square Garden plus past history from the event
• The Iron Claw, history of the Von Erichs, in a long detailed article regarding the rise and fall and the making of the movie
• Preview of the Tokyo Dome show, advance ticket sales and Stardom PPV
• How many tickets are comped at the usual AEW and WWE shows
• 2023 Awards ballot
• Dragon Gate's Final Gate show
• The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week, placings for the night and week, competition, segment-by-segment, gains and losses from one year ago and more
• Andrade heads to Mexico and a big business week
• Another two Vikingo vs. Taurus matches
• New Japan bodybuilding contest notes
• Major shows for New Japan in the first three months of he year
• One of the best trios matches in a long time
• DDT tournament finals set
• Notes on a book on wrestling history
• New Scottish wrestling Hall of Famer
• Chris Jericho and Stephen New
• Tony Khan's recent press call
• Dynamite headed for tougher competition
• Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
• Streaming numbers for AEW & WWE
• Amanda Huber talks anniversary of Jon Huber's death
• Dana White on UFC 300
• More on the MLW lawsuit settlement
• Changing an angle
• Return of a WWE tag team
• Injury return updates
• Longest running pro wrestling TV show in history
• Bill Goldberg speaks on Vince McMahon
• Rundown of the recent WWE house shows

This Week's Retro Observer Newsletter

• October 2, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Kurt Angle, Bound for Glory

Monday Update

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw and the rest of the news. We also did our show after Worlds End on Saturday night.

Raw is tonight in San Diego, as the Day 1 specially themed show. Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre headlines for the world title, plus Rhea Ripley vs. Ivy Nile for the women's title, Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax and Tegan Nox & Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark have a match with the winners getting a shot at the women's tag titles. The big thing is that a former WWE champion is supposed to appear on the show. It goes up against the ending of the Rose Bowl game most likely with No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 5 Alabama and then from about 8:45 p.m. on goes against the Sugar Bowl with No. 3 Texas vs No. 2 Washington. These are the college football semifinals with the finals next Monday against Raw. While these are major games, they won't be doing NFL numbers and Raw should bounce back strong tonight in theory.

Dwayne Johnson and Nick Khan were both at the Rose Bowl game. They've been teasing a former WWE champion showing up tonight. The expectation was that Andrade, as a free agent, would be there tonight, but obviously Johnson could be as well. C.M. Punk is backstage so that would make him a favorite. He wasn't advertised to return until next week's show. Pasadena isn't too far from San Diego, although if Johnson is staying for the entire game, probably the earliest he could be there would be late in the show. If he's left at this point he'll make it, and they could take a private flight and it's a quick turnaround. It's 135 miles and a two-and-a-half hour drive in rush hour traffic.

Big changes as well tonight as they are cutting back to two announcers on each show and obviously no Kevin Dunn directing and we'll see what that means. No word on the announcing assignments. In the past when they've made changes they've given them ahead of time to some trades for press but have not as of this writing.

We're looking for reports from San Diego tonight with any Main Event matches or stuff that happened after the show went off the air to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

We're doing weekend polls on AEW Worlds End, as well as the Stardom Queendom show from Friday at Sumo Hall and yesterday's All Japan show at Yoyogi Gym, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with the best and worst match on each of these shows to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

The 7.6 earthquake in Japan's West Coast earlier today was felt in the Ishikawa and Nagano prefectures. The epicenter was 365 miles from Tokyo. It should not affect the wrestling shows in Tokyo all this week.

Keiji Muto said today, "I will say this though, even if it gets me heat--Sanada was at a certain end of year party I was at the other day and he was dead drunk...I'll be honest, I've had some of my best matches hung over. Maybe not at The Dome though." Sanada defends the IWGP world title against Tetsuya Naito late Wednesday night U.S. time at Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome.

Fios has dropped AXS from its basic cable lineup which means that TNA and New Japan's audience will probably drop by a considerable amount this year.

In catching up on the Wednesday numbers, the AEW show's 0.31 was not only its biggest number since the Grand Slam show but it was even more impressive going against highly-rated college bowl games on both ABC and ESPN. It's not close to NFL competition that the Saturday show has been going against, but it was by far the toughest Wednesday competition since the World Series. NBA is tough but that's usually one game on national TV (granted you have lots of local games) and this was two games that each did much larger than NBA numbers. AEW was fourth for the day on cable, behind three bowl games and beat everything else. Currently the ratings are out through 12/28 and from Raw on 12/18 through at least 12/28, Dynamite was the highest rated entertainment show on cable. That will end tonight as the Raw number, even with the competition and the holiday, is expected to be very strong and way up for the first Raw not against the NFL.

For those interested in the 2023 Observer awards, the ballot is in the current issue up on the site this week.

John Cena's movie "Freelance" was destroyed by critics with seven percent positive reviews, making it one of the worst reviewed movies of the past few years, but the audience scores are 77 percent positive.

People continue to rave about yesterday's Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kento Miyahara match on the All Japan show as the last match of the year candidate of 2023.

Brian Blair, 66, had emergency surgery on his lower back a few days ago. We want to send our best wishes to Brian, who does the thankless job of being President of the Cauliflower Alley Club and who keeps in touch with so many of the stars of the 70s and 80s. Brian had been a friend for decades.

Glory Pro Wrestling from Saturday night in St. Louis: Rohit Raju b Allie Katch-DQ to keep the Zero Gravity title, Tootie Lynn b Nixi XS, Mason St Goods b ATM, Camaro Jackson b Jabari King, Rahim de la Suede b Eff, Xavier Walker b Mike Outlaw, Campbell Myers & SK Bishop b Jake Bosche & Scott Stanley, Dak Draper won four-way over Dan the Dad, Kody Lane and Laynie Luck, tag champs Moses & Ethan Price d Philly C & Martino T (double pin draw) to keep the titles, Warhorse b Jake Something in a three stages of hell match (regular match, tables match and dog collar match) to win the Crown of Glory title (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)