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Daily Update: Eddie Kingston, Sukeban, NWA Samhain

Originally posted on F4WOnline.com | By Joseph Currier | Last updated 9/20/23

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This Week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter

September 18, 2023 Observer Newsletter: WWE-UFC merger finalizes, AEW All In turnstile count

The new issue of the Observer is out, and it's a big one:

The WWE merges with UFC and transitions into TKO, the most in depth look at the changes to be expected and where changes aren't to be expected
Amount of cuts expected to be made
What type of people are expected to be cut
Nick Khan's letter to employees before the cuts
First major departure
How Saudi Arabia investing in PFL affected the stock
New board of directors
New hierarchy
Dana White talks merger and shoots down another exec's goal for the new company
Talk on future television rights
Current market value and did it reach projections
Biggest financial concerns
Crossover promotion
Match of the week and performer of the week
AEW All in attendance with notes on other stadium shows including actual WrestleMania turnstile counts vs. announced and paid attendance
Bryan Danielson's full-time career winds down, why, how long he's thought about this and talks candidly about his decision
Long-term concerns
UFC 293 in Australia with one of the biggest upsets in history. Who's house? Sean's house.
Future of middleweight division
Business notes on the show
History of promotional wars, timing, how AEW vs. WWE is the same, how it differs
AEW and its decline in live attendance, the key reasons and what can be done, and how WCW turned it around under Zane Bresloff
How other companies turned it around and how the circumstances to do that aren't there in this situation
A look at the next major WWE, AEW and NXT shows and early business notes
WWE Superstar spectacular in India coverage
The unique career of Brett Wayne Sawyer, top singles champion on the most-watched television show in the country at 23, and a career that fell off quickly
The early days of the Road Warriors
The booking of Ole Anderson
The most detailed look at the ratings, weekly and nightly standings, segment breakdowns, comparisons to one year ago in a very important and newsworthy week
CMLL 90th anniversary show this week
Legends special match coming
Stardom PPV notes including one of the week's best matches
Performer of the week and match of the week
First time ever for a true rookie in match of the week
Major dream match this weekend with Will Ospreay
Updates on Jim Duggan
Notes on the death of former Carolinas announcer Rich Landrum
Notes on the Cassandro movie
Pro wrestling star leaves the business for one year, wins a gold medal in the Olympics--this long forgotten piece of wrestling history
Bandido returning
Impact Hall of Fame notes and notes on Mike Tenay
Jade Cargill update
Business updates on PPV from All Out, Backlash and All In
What percentage of WWE buyers purchased an AEW show in the last few weeks
Ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE shows
International TV ratings
Streaming numbers for WWE
Ortiz & Santana breakup explained
Paul Wight's name in ESPN story on PED investigation
Georges St-Pierre into Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
UFC top star leaving the promotion
UFC Hall of Famer gets DWI
Bray Wyatt funeral
Vince McMahon's return
Thoughts on Smackdown and what is the best day for the show if FX gets it
Drew McIntyre update
Roman Reigns return
Lots of comings and goings in WWE
WWE and NXT live event coverage

This Week's Retro Observer Newsletter

July 13, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Rob Van Dam, Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes

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Wednesday Update

WWE

Paul “Triple H” Levesque thanked everyone at Showtime’s Billions following his cameo appearance on the latest episode of the show: “The art of the double turn. Easy to explain, not so easy to pull off…Thank you to the incredible Paul Giamatti and everyone at @SHO_Billions for letting me show them how to play the game.”
During his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Kurt Angle said Vince McMahon once told him that he plans on living to be 120 years old.
The first episode of Shotzi and Scarlett’s paranormal Chamber of Horrors series is now available on WWE’s YouTube channel. In the 25-minute video, Shotzi, Scarlett, Dominik Mysterio, and Rhea Ripley spend the night at a haunted old jail in St. Augustine, Florida.
Carmelo Hayes, Zelina Vega, Santos Escobar, and Molly Holly were today’s guests on WWE’s The Bump.

AEW/Other Wrestling

Eddie Kingston told SI FanNation what winning the ROH World Championship would mean to him: “If Ring of Honor never took off in the early 2000s, there would probably never be AEW. Ring of Honor wanted to be different. A lot of AEW guys wrestled for Ring of Honor, too. My mentor Homicide was the world champion. Xavier was the world champ. Low Ki was the first-ever champ. Those are all New Yorkers. The belt belongs with a New Yorker.”
Insider asked Tony Khan if AEW could potentially hold Dynamite or its other TV shows in the United Kingdom once in a while: “We'll think about that, but I want to keep the biggest focus on All In. We will return there August 25, 2024, to Wembley Stadium.”
While speaking about Wembley Stadium, Khan revealed what Oje Hart, the son of Owen and Martha Hart, told him after All In:

It's such a special place. I remember standing outside Wembley Stadium with a bunch of the guys; we were walking out of the show, and Oje Hart was with us – Owen Hart's son. In the shadow of Wembley Stadium, as we all walked out, he said: ‘Pro wrestling took everything from me and I hate it, yet here I am and AEW feels like home to me.’ It's a moment I'll never forget. It was so perfect to happen there. At Wembley.
The Owen Hart tournament is not just a once-a-year thing, it's really special. They are a part of our crew. To have Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Dustin Rhodes, people who were really close to Owen Hart, it means a lot to people here to continue that legacy.

AEW uploaded a Control Center video ahead of Dynamite Grand Slam tonight.
The New York Mets shared an interview with MJF.
NJPW and Stardom are holding a joint business strategy presentation in Tokyo on Tuesday, October 10. The presentation will stream live on NJPW and Stardom’s YouTube channels.
Super J-Cast reports that Walker Stewart will be the new English-language play-by-play voice of NJPW.
NWA World Women’s Champion Kenzie Paige will defend her title against Ruthie Jay at the NWA’s Samhain PPV on Saturday, October 28.
New Joshi promotion Sukeban announced that its premiere show from New York City will stream live on TikTok at 8 p.m. Eastern time this Thursday:

Sukeban, a Japanese female wrestling league, today announced that its World Premiere event at 8pm ET on Thursday, September 21st, will stream exclusively on TikTok from @sukeban_world.
Sukeban’s debut event, which sold out in two hours, will see five matches featuring the strongest women’s roster in North America. The company’s unique hybrid live action and anime content has already made waves in the wrestling world, seeing explosive growth across TikTok and other social media platforms in just two weeks.
The live stream can be easily accessed at the Sukeban TikTok account @sukeban_world beginning at 8pm ET tomorrow night.