Weekend Roundup: SD Ratings Note, Cody Rhodes, AEW Fight Forever, Samoa Joe, Will Ospreay, New Impact Signing, Indies

WWE

• This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 2,392,000 viewers on FOX, according to SpoilerTV. Similar to the past two weeks, the final viewership number is currently expected to be lower due to several FOX television markets had preempted this week’s show for NFL preseason coverage. This would have caused some of NFL’s viewership to be included in SmackDown’s numbers.
• Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently reflected on Instagram about this past week being the 20th anniversary of his match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2022. Johnson stated “20 years ago this week, we made history in New York and pro wrestling was never the same again 🔥💀🔥 The Rock vs Brock Lesnar WWE UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH I always had great chemistry with Brock as he was one of the greatest pure athletes I’ve ever danced with. We spent about 6 months wrestling around the world together, grooming Brock to become @WWE Heavyweight Champion. It culminated to this historic SUMMER SLAM PPV where the crowd was absolutely electric. Historic for two reasons: #1) In wrestling terms, I “did the honors” of having Brock beat me right in the middle of the ring, 1-2-3. Brock is new champion. Brock is new face of WWE. #2) My contract was up in WWE and I quietly – and GRATEFULLY – retired as a full time pro wrestler after an incredible (and insanely short) 6 year career. It’s so wildly incomprehensible at times when I think back – that I only wrestled for 6 YEARS. How crazy is that irony? A 6 YEAR CAREER 🤯 What a journey.“
• PWInsider’s Steven Fernandes reported that Saturday’s house show event in Springfield, Massachusetts featured the first ever singles match between IO SKY and Asuka during their respective careers.
• WWE reportedly recently made several changes to their plans for next year’s Wrestlemania AXXESS fan event in Los Angeles, California, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that the fan event will now be called Wrestlemania Fan Experience and the number of days for next year’s fan event has been scaled back compared to previous years.
• WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 10,212 (9,300 paid) for their Aug. 19th SmackDown show in Montreal, 2,379 for their Aug. 20th house show event in Kingston, 4,580 for their Aug. 20th house show event in Ottawa, 3,537 for their Aug. 21st house show event in London, 5,534 for their Aug. 21st house show event in Quebec City, and 14,169 (13,300 paid) for their Aug. 22nd RAW show in Toronto, Canada, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly has sold around 5,265 tickets for their Aug. 29th RAW show in Pittsburgh, PA, 65,867 tickets for their Sept. 3rd Clash at the Castle event in Cardiff, Wales, 3,064 for their Sept. 5th RAW show in Kansas City, MO, 7,146 tickets for their Sept. 9th SmackDown show in Seattle, WA, 3,617 tickets for their Sept. 10th house show event in Spokane, WA, 3,300 tickets for their Sept. 10th house show event in Colorado Springs CO, 1,799 tickets for their Sept. 11th house show even in Eugene, OR, 2,423 tickets for their Sept. 11th house show event in Wenatchee, WA, 6,598 tickets for their Sept. 12th RAW show in Portland, OR, 4,706 tickets for their Sept. 16th SmackDown show in Anaheim, CA, 2,130 tickets for their Sept. 17th house show event in Bakersfield, CA, 1,436 tickets for their Sept. 18th house show event in Oakland, CA, 4,392 tickets for their Sept. 19th RAW show in San Jose, CA, 4,739 tickets for their Sept. 23rd SmackDown show in Salt Lake City, UT, 4,739 tickets for their Sept. 24th house show event in Vancouver, Canada, 2,034 for their Sept. 24th house show event in Stockton, CA, 9,807 tickets for their Sept. 26th RAW show in Edmonton, Canada, 7,227 tickets for their Sept. 30th SmackDown show in Winnipeg, Canada, 2,325 for their Oct. 2nd house show event in Saskatoon, Canada, 2,915 tickets for their Oct. 3rd RAW show in St. Paul, MN, 9,721 tickets for their Oct. 8th Extreme Rules 2022 event in Philadelphia, PA , 2,433 tickets for their Oct. 14th SmackDown show in New Orleans, LA, 3,058 tickets for their Oct. 17th RAW show in Oklahoma City, OK, 2,897 tickets for their Oct. 21st SmackDown show in Toledo, OH, 2,767 tickets for their Oct. 24th RAW show in Charlotte, NC, 4,283 tickets for their Oct. 31st RAW show in Dallas, TX, 2,480 tickets for their Nov. 7th RAW show in Wilkes-Bare, PA, and 2,649 tickets for their Nov. 14th RAW show in Louisville, KY as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• WWE reportedly also has sold around 49,544 tickets for their April 1st WrestleMania 39 Night 1 event in Inglewood and 50,112 tickets for their April 2nd WrestleMania 39 Night 2 event in Inglewood, CA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that the current comp tickets number for both nights are around 4,000 each.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the tickets split for WWE’s upcoming Clash at the Castle event on September 3rd in Cardiff, Wales is currently estimated to be around 45,000 paid and around 18,000 comp based on recent sales numbers.
• As noted before, WWE recently dropped their plans to potentially hold this year’s WWE Draft the week after their upcoming Clash at the Castle event in early September. USA Network officials had recently informed WWE talent that the Draft would likely be held after next year’s WrestleMania 39 event. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that WWE officials had plans at one point for a potential October date for this year’s WWE Draft. WWE officials reportedly currently do not have a date in mind for this year’s Draft.
• Theory reportedly is currently rumored to be getting back his full ring name of Austin Theory in WWE soon, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that the basis for the rumor is based on the card listing for this weekend’s house show events that list Theory under his prior full name. Johnson also reported that it is currently not know if this was a recent WWE decision or just a simple typing error for the house show cards.
• As noted before, John Cena was among the guests for Vince McMahon’s 77th birthday party in New York City, New York. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Pat McAfee were also in attendance as guests at McMahon’s birthday party at the Waverly Inn restaurant.
• During a recent interview with the WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves podcast, IO SKY revealed that she was considering leaving WWE prior to her surprise appearance at SummerSlam 2022 this past July and main roster call-up. SKY stated “Yeah. I’ve been here four years. I came here by myself. I don’t have family here and that time is so tough. I tried to think, should I stay here more or not. I got injured and after surgery, that time was thinking about my life again.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
• During a recent interview with the Sports Illustrated Media podcast, Roman Reigns gave his thoughts about Paul “Triple H” Levesque recently taking over as Head of WWE Creative. Reigns stated “I think he’s done excellent. He’s like a professional wrestling babyface right now,” Reigns said. “He’s like a babyface for the industry right now and there’s like this honeymoon situation, there’s a lot of excitement. If you look at the grand scheme of it and break it down what he’s stepped into, just dealing with this controversy alone, dealing with the craziness of the impossible happened, Vince McMahon stepped down, just wrapping your brain around that and then being the guy to be next. I thought following Cena was tough enough, imagine having to follow Vince McMahon. I think he’s done great, I really do.” Reigns also gave his thoughts on the possibility of Vince McMahon still having some behind-the-scenes influence on WWE’s product. Reigns stated “Coming from a wrestling family, I can see that 100%. I’d be sitting next to my dad right now and he’d be throwing out the same type of ideas or trying to pitch me something, that’s just the way it is.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)
• While responding to a recent fan comment on Twitter about people underestimating Cody Rhodes’ importance in the creation of AEW, Rhodes stated and claimed that AEW would not exist if it was not for him and Brandi Rhodes. Rhodes stated “Facts are all out there to see…without Brandi or I it wouldn’t exist. Look no further than some of the infrastructure in place or even half the names of the events. Tony, Bucks, Kenny, Jericho, Dana, Hang…pioneers. I’ve moved on to the next stage for me, but beautiful memories.“

AEW & ROH

• AEW’s upcoming AEW Fight Forever video game recently won the award for Best Sports/Racing Game at this past week’s Gamescom 2022 convention in Cologne, Germany.
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that FTR, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood, were recently removed from the in-game roster for AEW’s upcoming AEW Fight Forever video game. It was reported that in-game models for FTR were among those created early in the game’s development but the decision to pull them from the game’s roster was made this past Spring. It was also reported that FTR were not happy when they learned of the decision due to wrestlers who are included in wrestling video games typically get a significant pay bonus as part of it.
• AEW reportedly generated an attendance of 4,900 (4,600 paid) for their Aug. 24th Dynamite show in Cleveland, OH, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• AEW reportedly has sold around 5,736 tickets for their Aug. 31st Dynamite show in Chicago, 4,981 for their Sept. 2nd Rampage show in Chicago, 7,833 tickets for their Sept. 4th All Out 2022 event in Hoffman Estates, IL, 4,726 tickets for their Sept. 7th Dynamite show in Buffalo, NY, 2,920 tickets for their Sept. 14th Dynamite show in Albany, NY, 10,009 tickets for their Sept. 21st Dynamite Grand Slam 2022 show at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY, 4,563 tickets for their Sept. 28th Dynamite show in Philadelphia, PA, 1,930 for their Oct. 5th Dynamite show in Washington, DC, 1,766 for their Oct. 7th Rampage & Battle of the Belts IV shows in Washington, DC, 6,740 tickets for their Oct. 12th Dynamite show in Toronto, and 4,613 tickets for their Oct. 13th Rampage show in Toronto, Canada as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that besides AEW’s Oct. 19th show currently being preempted to a new date of Oct. 18th due to MLB Playoff commitments on TBS, his sources stated that should AEW’s Oct. 26th show be preempted for similar reasons, they will not be able to be moved a day earlier to Oct. 25th due to scheduling issues with the host venue in Norfolk, Virginia. Meltzer reported that AEW’s Oct. 26th show would either have to air right after that night’s MLB game or the following night on Oct. 27th.
• As noted before, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker recently signed new contract extensions with AEW. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Menard and Parker’s contract extensions were for three years in length.
• Fightful’s Will Washington reported that Hikaru Shida reportedly is currently set to become the only woman in AEW’s Women’s division to have competed at every All Out event since AEW’s debut.
• As noted before, AEW is currently rumored to be working on plans for a new all-women’s AEW series and/or event. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that All Elite Women is currently not expected to be the rumored new AEW-based reality series for TNT due to that project had a different name for it. Meltzer also reported that AEW has been holding talks regarding launching another in-ring based show in the future and speculated that if this is not meant for All Elite Women, it could be for the relaunch of ROH TV.
• PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Samoa Joe is currently expected to make his return to AEW within the near future. Joe reportedly has been away from the company since this past July due to him being involved in the filming of a new Twisted Metal television series. Johnson reported that filming for this upcoming new series recently finished. Joe’s most recent appearance for AEW and ROH was at ROH’s Death Before Dishonor 2022 event this past July.
• During a recent interview with Fightful, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Maki Itoh gave her thoughts about her time in AEW. Itoh stated “It changed my life. Ever since I first went there, my dream to shine on a world stage was much clearer, and many people who didn’t like me appeared. However, many fans said also they loved me too. It definitely changed my life.” Itoh also gave her thoughts about her best experience from her recent trips to the United States. Itoh stated “Just being myself is fine. It’s not that I dislike Japan but while it’s good to do some things the same as everyone, but there were many challenges too. I felt a sense of freedom being in America and I could express myself the way I want to. Going to America made me love myself and everyone else more than I usually do.“

Indies & Misc. Wrestling

• West Coast Pro recently announced that Konosuke Takeshita is the next official entrant for their King of the Indies 2022 tournament on November 19th in San Francisco, California.
• Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Nick Alids’ recent claims of taking a pay cut to help out the National Wrestling Alliance’s financial issues during the COVID-19 pandemic is indeed true. It was reported that several other NWA talents also had their pay cut following the NWA being unable to run tapings and events due to the pandemic at the time. It was also reported that the contracts of several NWA talents had expired during this time period and NWA officials did not offer new deals due to financial-related issues.
• During Saturday’s NWA 74 Night 1 event in St. Louis, Missouri, the NWA announced that this year’s Hard Times event will be taking place on November 12th in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• DDT Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 1,250 for their Aug. 20 Wrestle Peter Pan 2022 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre reportedly generated an attendance of over 10,000 for their Aug. 19th Grand Prix Internacional 2022 event in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 551 for their Aug. 20th 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 event in Osaka and 1,353 for their Aug. 21st Stardom x Stardom 2022 event in Nagano, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• All Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated a paid attendance of 820 for their Aug. 20th Royal Road Tournament 2022 Finals event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly generated a paid attendance of 584 for their Aug. 19th N-1 Victory 2022 event in Tokyo and 609 for their Aug. 20th N-1 Victory 2022 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Revolution Pro Wrestling reportedly generated an attendance of 600 for their Aug. 20th Ten Year Anniversary Night 1 event in London and 750 for their Aug. 21st Ten Year Anniversary Night 2 event in London, England, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• Following the main event match between Ricky Knight Jr. and Will Ospreay at RevPro’s 10th Anniversary Night 2 event, Ospreay gave a speech to the crowd stating that he will be taking a small breaking from wrestling to rest and will be cutting back on his indies work schedule going forward for health-related reasons. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Ospreay will primarily continue working for New Japan Pro Wrestling but will also be scaling back on his work schedule with the company going forward as well.
• New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly generated an attendance of 300 for their Aug. 21st Fighting Spirit 2022 event in Los Angeles, California, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• NJPW recently announced the current card for their Burning Spirit 2022 event on September 25th in Kobe, Japan.
• Impact Wrestling announced that they have recently signed Jessicka to an official contract with the company. Jessicka is the friendly and fun loving alter ego of Havok in Impact.
• A new wrestling-based book based on WWE Hall of Famers The Bushwhackers was recently announced by publisher Squared Circle Publishing and Bushwhacker Brand. This upcoming autobiographical book is titled The Bushwhackers: Blood, Sweat & Cheers and is currently scheduled for a November 2022 release date.
• F1RST Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their Saturday Night Nitro event on September 10th in Bloomington, Minnesota. This is a singles match of Rob Van Dam vs. Dante Martin.
• Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling revealed earlier today on Twitter their new official logo design for the company.