Weekend Roundup: HBK, CM Punk vs. KENTA Update, RUSH & Andrade AEW Contracts Update, AAA & RUSH Update, CMLL, Indies

AEW

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Jun 18, 2023

WWE

WWE Hall of Famer “HBK” Shawn Michaels reflected on Twitter about today being the 35th anniversary of his official debut in WWE. Michaels stated “35 years ago, I entered @WWE as The Heartbreak Kid and what a ride it’s been! Thank you to WWE for giving me an opportunity of a lifetime and to the incredible WWE Universe for your unending support! You’re the reason I’ve still got that sweet chin music after all these years!“
Saturday was the 10th anniversary of Mark Henry’s famous fake retirement promo segment on WWE RAW.
In a recent interview with The Ringer’s Cheat Heat with Peter Rosenberg podcast, Bron Breakker gave his thoughts about not being worried if he were to not be called up to WWE’s main roster by the end of this year. Breakker stated “No, there’s no disappointment or anything. Being a heel now is the best thing that I’ve done. I’m having so much fun. It’s more natural for me. This is just such a better version of me, you know? I’m having the time of my life right now. I’m not worried about whether I’m going up or getting drafted. That’s not something I worry about or think about. You know, when my time comes, it’ll come. That’s it.” Breakker also gave his thoughts on what aspect of his presentation that he feels could be improved. Breakker stated “Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think my entire overall package can be improved. I don’t think I can ever stop improving. Some aspects of the game, it’s just going to take time, take reps, take –just being a seasoned athlete. Just those reps, night after night after night on the road. That’s when some of these things come, and I’m very much looking forward to it.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Alexa Bliss recently issued an official statement on Twitter warning her fans about falling for scams from people impersonating her online. Bliss stated that if you reciece a message from her from social media, its not actually her but instead someone else nor would she ever ask for money or gift cards from her fans. Bliss also told others to stop asking her to leave her husband for them and to stop threatening her family over issues with scammers.
As noted before, WWE is currently only allowing Gable Steveson to compete in several amateur wrestling events and not potentially also compete at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the current belief from his sources is that WWE still has yet to give their approval for Steveson’s request to potentially compete for next year’s Olympics Games. Meltzer reported that the exact reason why Steveson had to drop his plans to return to the University of Minnesota’s wrestling team and compete for another potential NCAA wrestling title is currently not known. Meltzer reported that it is not known if it was WWE or someone or something else that had prevented Steveson’s return to the NCAA for this past wrestling season.
In regards to the status of Steveson’s current career in WWE, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletetr that the reason why Steveson has been absent from WWE since last year’s WrestleMania 38 event was due to WWE officials issues over his lack of charisma shown at the event and him being labeled within the company as someone who doesn’t have any. Meltzer reported that another reason was due to a combo of his recent surgery for a heart aliment and WWE officials not being satisfied with the level of his progression for his training for a career in the company. These issues reportedly caused WWE officials to drop their plans to give him a major push last year.
In a recent interview with the Tetragrammaton podcast, Paul Heyman gave his thoughts on the exact moment Roman Reigns reached his limit with his frustrations over WWE Creative’s handling of him that led to his Tribal Chief character and their on-screen pairing. Heyman stated “I’m still there as Executive Director. Roman Reigns has taken time off with his condition. He’s not exposing himself to this pandemic that we don’t have a grasp on how severe it can be quite just yet and at the same time, he’s had enough of the creative. These things are running concurrently. The feud rivalry story with Baron Corbin over dog food and the infamous sufferin succotash promo had weighed on him enough to where he said, ‘I’ve had enough. I’ve reached the cap. I can’t go any further. As the big dog I’ve peaked. and as an athlete, I haven’t peaked as a performer. I’ve barely scratched the surface. I have so much more to offer and since I’m taking time off, I’m not coming back as the same person.” Heyman continued stating “This is where I make my move. This is where I do for me what Lesnar did for himself when he conquered the streak. Something has to become my defining moment and then propel forward from there. The catalyst to something completely different. Four WrestleMania main events to his credit, a run on top since 2015, and one could even say always near the top from 2012 to 2015, but something has to be generational here, something has to define him as Austin, Rock, Sammartino, Hogan, a transformative personality that can then ultimately make the case, I Roman Reigns am the greatest of all time.” (Transcript h/t: WrestlingNews.co)
WWE reportedly generated an attendance of 6,915 (6,100 paid) for their June 9th SmackDown show in Des Moines, IA and 6,210 (5,400 paid) for the June 12th RAW show in Wichita, KS, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly has sold around 8,903 tickets for their June 19th RAW show in Cleveland, OH, 6,319 tickets for their June 23rd SmackDown show in Lafayette, LA, 2,198 tickets for their June 24th house show event in Monroe, LA, 3,349 tickets for their June 25th house show event in Mobile, AL, 5,419 tickets for their June 26th RAW show in Savannah, GA, 6,664 tickets for their June 29th house show event in Sheffield, England, 17,641 tickets for their June 30th SmackDown show in London, England, 6,909 tickets for their June 30th house show event in Newcastle, England, 4,834 tickets for their July 2nd house show event in Cardiff, Wales, 6,208 tickets for their July 3rd RAW show in Baltimore, MD, 11,701 tickets for their July 7th SmackDown show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, 6,644 tickets for their July 10th RAW show in Buffalo, NY, 7,692 tickets for their July 14th SmackDown show in Raleigh, NC, 3,996 tickets for their July 15th house show event in Fairfax, VA, 2,350 tickets for their July 16th house show event in Salisbury, MD, 8,894 tickets for their July 17th RAW show in Atlanta, GA, 7,504 tickets for their July 21st SmackDown show in Orlando, FL, 6,652 tickets for their July 24th RAW show in Tampa, FL, 4,744 tickets for their July 28th SmackDown show in New Orleans, LA, 2,124 tickets for their July 29th house show event in Estero, FL, 1,658 tickets for their July 30th house show event in Coral Gables, FL, 1,825 tickets for their July 30th NXT Great American Bash 2023 event in Cedar Park, TX, 12,101 tickets for their July 31st RAW show in Houston, TX, 3,427 tickets for their Aug. 4th SmackDown show in Dayton, OH, 40,586 tickets for their Aug. 5th SummerSlam 2023 event in Detroit, MI, 6,023 tickets for their Aug. 7th RAW show in Minneapolis, MN, 6,933 tickets for their Aug. 11th SmackDown show in Calgary, Canada, 7,542 tickets for their Aug. 14th RAW show in Winnipeg, Canada, 12,622 tickets for their Aug. 18th SmackDown show in Toronto, Canada, 2,630 tickets for their Aug. 19th house show event in Ottawa, Canada, 3,551 tickets for their Aug. 20th house show event in Laval, Canada, 9,472 tickets for their Aug. 21st RAW show in Quebec City, Canada, 4,834 tickets for their Aug. 25th SmackDown show in Louisville, KY, and 5,753 tickets for their Aug. 28th RAW show in Memphis, TN as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that the Top 5 merchandise sellers for the week of June 3rd to June 9th for WWEShop in order were Roman Reigns, Stone Cold Steve Austin, NWO, Eddie Guerrero, and Cody Rhodes.
WWE recently announced seven new dates and events for their current schedule of live events for the remainder of this year.
As noted before, Impact Wrestling talent Gisele Shaw was involved in a transphobic incident with WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner at an autograph signing convention for WrestleCon this past April. In a recent interview with the Under The Ring podcast, Bron Breakker gave his thoughts about his father Rick Steiner’s derogatory comments towards Shaw. Breakker stated “Yeah, you know, I appreciate the question. I can’t speak for my father, but that’s not a reflection of me and who I am and what I’m about.” (Transcript h/t: WrestleJunkie.USAToday.com)

AEW & ROH

AEW’s debut AEW Collision show on Saturday reportedly generated around 20,000 searches and a #10 ranking on Google for the day, according to the Wrestling Observer.
As noted before, Bandido suffered a broken wrist injury at this past Wednesday’s AEW Rampage tapings. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that his sources stated that Bandido’s injury was described to have been a freak accident. Bandido reportedly used his hand to help break his fall for a spot resulting in his wrist getting broken in the process.
Ricky Starks recently reflected on Twitter about Saturday being the three year anniversary of the debut of his AEW career and match with Cody Rhodes. Starks stated “Wow. The mixed emotions I’ve been going through lately & then to remember where I was 3 years ago is a good perspective. I wouldn’t change anything about that night. I see everyone’s support everyday and I can’t thank you enough for it. Definitely can’t thank CR enough either.“
Lance Storm recently commented on Twitter lashing at those who have been insulting wrestlers saying that they are not draws as stars for promotions. Storm’s comments were made in response to a recent controversy involving disparaging comments made by Bruce Prichard towards Dustin Rhodes who he claimed that nobody ever bought a ticket or cared about Rhodes when was not performing as Goldust. Rhodes had recently responded to Prichard’s comments stating “I love Bruce Pritchard, I really do. We can agree to disagree about the “Dustin Rhodes” character. I am a tremendously talented storyteller. I am not everyone’s cup of tea of course, but it is unfair for him to say “nobody gave a shit about Dustin”. I say you are wrong. The whole world loves Dustin Rhodes. Love ya Bruce.“
AEW recently released a new trailer focusing on the Road to Elite mode for their upcoming AEW Fight Forever video game.
As noted before, AEW is currently working on plans for a potential match between CM Punk and KENTA to take place at next Sunday’s Forbidden Door II event in Toronto, Canada. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that no deal has been made yet regarding this match being made into a reality for the event nor might this be the current plan for Punk at the event. KENTA himself recently stated on Twitter claiming that a potential match between him and Punk will never happen. KENTA stated “Kenta vs Punk is never going to happen.“
In a recent interview with ESPN, CM Punk gave his thoughts on the benefits AEW’s new Collision series will have for AEW’s roster. Punk stated “With more TV time, you’re only going to see guys like Hobbs and Starks, people who I think have the potential to do what an MJF [current AEW champion] has done with his television time but they haven’t been able to be positioned because a guy like MJF gets a big lion share of television time, because he earned it,” Punk said. “We just need to do a better job of spotlighting so many different guys, and this is, for a lot of guys, sink or swim. Now it’s just like, well, now’s the time. You’re going to have to really bust your ass and prove why we’re giving you this spotlight and this TV time.” Punk also stated that he never seriously considered not returning to AEW after his backstage brawl incident at this past September’s All Out 2022 event. Punk stated “I certainly had some low moments, and I won’t rule out in those fleeting moments where I just say, ‘Ah, f— this, whatever. But I don’t ever think it was a serious intention to say that I’m done. There’s still work to do, and I think I’m excited about a lot of stuff that’s coming up. So, to just throw the baby out with the bathwater, just because of a little boo-boo, I think would be a little silly.“
As noted before, AEW signed former Fightful personality Will Washington to a Director of Wrestling Administration position in the company. In a recent interview with the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Washington gave his thoughts on the process that led to him becoming the second non-wrestler in AEW history to get the #AllElite graphic treatment for his signing. Washington stated “The funny thing was, I was sitting in Tony’s office when that happened. Originally he was just going to make a tweet, just like a little announcement and, you know, just a picture of me like, ‘Hey, this guy’s working here now’. Then he kind of looks at me with this little smirk and he goes, ‘How many non wrestlers have gotten the All Elite graphic? I went, ‘Amanda Huber is the only one’. He goes, ’10 minutes’, and I’m like, ‘Oh’, and I knew the reaction that was gonna get. I sat there and just waited for the next 10 minutes going, ;All right, well, I know life’s about to change here’. I know everything’s about to change. I recognize that that just put like a giant target on my head. Honestly it was a really cool moment. It was. It was something I wasn’t expecting. It wasn’t anything that I knew was going to happen. But once the wheels were in motion — I even got a DM from the person who does the AEW graphics, and he goes, ‘I just got a really weird request’. And he goes, ‘Are you serious?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah’, and he goes, ‘All right’. He didn’t know I was in the building, and he’s like, ‘Okay, this is shocking’. So that ended up being kind of a really cool experience. If I do nothing else in AEW for the rest of my time, at least I got the All Elite graphic. How can I complain?“
In the same interview, Washington also provided some details regarding his current backstage role in the company. Washington stated “Well, so it’s interesting because as I was getting hired, the title changed multiple times. Part of what changed multiple times was that it kind of started with one expectation in mind. And then it was one of those, well, ‘Hey, you’ve got experience in this. Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you do this?’ Then suddenly, it became this all encompassing thing. Then talking with Tony and Megha, they’re like, ‘Well, the title we came up with for you is wrestling administration coordinator.’ So there’s a lot of things I’m doing. I’m backstage at every AEW event. I’m usually sitting in creative meetings, things along those lines, to helping plan out the show. We’re having discussions as far as Dynamite and Rampage are concerned, and soon to be Collision. Then, honestly, there’s other little things like writing descriptions for Dynamite that you see on your cable TV provider. I’ve been working on bios for every single AEW talent, that I didn’t realize we didn’t have, but that’s one of those things. What some people do know about me already is that I kind of have this weird memory for all things AEW. Name the event and I probably could tell you when and where it happened and who was involved. So it was, ‘Hey, you know all the AEW talent pretty well. Can you write up these bios?’ So yeah, I’ve been working on those a bunch and just kind of pulling things from memory. And there’s a bunch of other things I can’t talk about that I’ve been working on. So at the end of the day, it’s a really big, broad title, and there’s just a lot of things I’m doing behind the scenes, but it’s kind of cool. It’s fun.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that TNT had been averaging around a 0.12 key demographic rating for their programming on Saturday nights for the 8pm to 10pm timeslot prior to AEW Collision taking over that spot. Meltzer speculated that if AEW were able to generate around a 0.24 for ratings on a consistent basis, then Collision would be viewed as a great success for TNT and AEW. Meltzer also stated that this would also make AEW’s programming a lot more valuable when it comes to their talks for new television contracts by having two proven shows that can consistently generate high numbers in the key demographic ratings and rankings. This in turn reportedly would also give AEW a much greater chance at being able to get a higher monetary amount for their shows for their next television contracts.
AEW reportedly generated a paid attendance of 5,200 (4,500 paid) for their June 14th Dynamite show in Washington, D.C., according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly has sold around 5,057 tickets for their June 21st Dynamite show in Chicago, IL, 2,136 tickets for their June 24th Collision show in Toronto, 12,928 tickets for their June 25th Forbidden Door II event in Toronto, Canada, 3,571 tickets for their June 28th Dynamite show in Hamilton, Canada, 883 tickets for their June 29th Collision show in Hamilton, Canada, 5,016 tickets for their July 5th Dynamite show in Edmonton, Canada, 1,353 tickets for their July 8th Collision show in Regina, Canada, 2,375 tickets for their July 12th Dynamite show in Saskatoon, Canada, 3,501 tickets for their July 15th Collision show in Calgary, Canada, 3,895 tickets for their July 19th Dynamite show at the TD Garden in Boston, MA, 4,378 tickets for their July 22nd Collision show in Newark, NJ, 1,685 tickets for their July 26th Dynamite show in Albany, NY, 2,203 tickets for their August 2nd Dynamite show in Tampa, FL, 1,757 tickets for their August 5th Collision show in Greenville, SC, 1,902 tickets for their August 9th Dynamite show in Columbus, OH, 2,636 tickets for their August 12th Collision show in Greensboro, NC, and 66,000 tickets for their Aug. 27th All In event at Wembley Stadium in London, England as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, Stardom is currently not expected to be involved with AEW and NJPW’s upcoming Forbidden Door II event due to schedule-related issues and lack of talks over potential talent to work at the event. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Stardom officials are still working under the assumption that none of their talent will be working at Forbidden Door II. Meltzer reported that Stardom officials had yet to be contacted for talks for potential Stardom talent at the event as of this past Wednesday.
Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that the Top 6 merchandise sellers for the week of June 3rd to June 9th for AEWShop in order were AEW, C.M. Punk, Orange Cassidy, The Acclaimed, The Elite, and Kris Statlander. In regards to specific items, the Top 5 in order were Jade Cargill six-inch figure, Bullet Club Gold shirt, Danhausen button up dress shirt, Cassidy One Line shirt, and Punk Best in the World shirt. In regards to Pro Wrestling Tees, the Top 5 merch sellers in order were AEW, Punk, Cassidy, The Acclaimed, and Statlander.
In a recent interview with Post Wrestling and Wrestlenomics, AEW CEO Tony Khan gave his thoughts about his belief that AEW and NJPW’s upcoming Forbidden Door II event could lead AEW to one of their historic special moments for this year’s All In event. Khan stated “I have a lot of really great ideas for it, and I like to see how things flow, and if Forbidden Door goes as planned, I think it will then lead us into what could be one of our all-time historic special moments for AEW All In. I think we’re gonna have a great Forbidden Door and I’m very focused on that, and if we get through that and that goes as I expect, then we are gonna be in an amazing position for AEW All In, and hopefully the brand interest will be incredibly high worldwide, and will focus itself into a very great event in London. But I’m very focused on coming there to Toronto first and putting on a great one for you at Forbidden Door and building off that.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that RUSH is currently dealing with work visa related issues as the reason for his absence from AEW over this past month. Meltzer reported that it is the same visa-related issue that Bandido, Komander, and the Lucha Bros had dealt with earlier this year.
Dave Meltzer also reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that RUSH’s contract with AEW is currently expected to expire soon. RUSH’s current contract with AEW reportedly as only for one year in length. Besides RUSH, Meltzer reported that Andrade El Idolo’s current contract is also expected to expire soon. Andrade’s contract with AEW reportedly was for three years in length and Andrade had believed that it had expired a few months ago but AEW likely had added time to make up for injuries and his suspension absence.
Ring of Honor reportedly has sold around 1,365 tickets for their July 21st Death Before Dishonor 2023 event in Trenton, NJ as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Impact, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

Indie wrestler AC Mack recently announced he will be retiring from wrestling after his final match on July 16th for an event for Naptown All-Pro Wrestling. Mack is known in wrestling for being the first openly gay wrestler to hold a world championship as the former IWTV Independent Wrestling World Champion. Prior to his announcement, Mack had been wrestling since 2016 and wrestled once in WWE for their NXT brand under the ring name of Aaron Mackey.
Westside Xtreme Wrestling recently announced that WWE German language commentator Sebastian Hackl will be making his in-ring return at their Shortcut to the Top Battle Royal 2023 event on August 12th in Oberhausen, Germany. This will be Hackl’s first match since 2013.
In a recent interview with the Going Ringside podcast, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake revealed that he was interviewed for the upcoming Marty Jannetty episode of Dark Side of the Ring series and has been in talks with the creators for an episode based on him. Beefcake stated “There’s a special coming up on VICE called Dark Side of the Ring. Me and my wife Missy did an extensive part of that episode (about Marty Jannetty) that’s gonna air and I think they liked it so much, they’re thinking about doing one of me… We’ll see, we’ll see.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre announced that this year’s Anniversary event, 90th Anniversary Event, will be taking place on September 16th at the Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico.
CMLL also recently announced that La Catalina, former Katrina Cortez in WWE, will be making an appearance for the company at their NJPW x CMLL Fantasticamania Mexico on June 30th in Mexico City, Mexico. It was announced that La Catalina will be teaming up with Stephanie Vaquer & La Jarochita for a Trios match against Zeuxis, Lluvia, & Dark Silueta at the event.
As noted before, DOUKI was pulled from Saturday’s New Japan Road event for New Japan Pro Wrestling due to him recently falling ill with a fever. NJPW announced that they had also pulled DOUKI from their New Japan Road event earlier today in Chiba due to similar reasons.
NJPW reportedly generated a paid attendance of 684 for their June 10th New Japan Road event in Chiba, 783 for their June 11th New Japan Road event in Kamisu, 523 for their June 13th New Japan Road event in Shirakawa, and 629 for their June 14th New Japan Road event in Kuki, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
In response to a recent fan question on Twitter, current NJPW and AEW commentator Kevin Kelly revealed that he had asked Stardom if he could join their English commentary team as well only for his request to be rejected in the end.
Stardom reportedly generated a paid attendance of 298 for their June 9th event in Tokushima, 411 for their June 10th event in Kochi, 304 for their June 13th event in Toyohashi, and 336 for their June 14th event in Gifu, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Pro Wrestling NOAH recently announced a new match for the card of their One Night Dream event on July 15th in Tokyo, Japan. This is a singles match of Katsushiko Nakajima vs. Kento Miyahara.
NJPW, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and NOAH reportedly generated a paid attendance of 6,569 for the co-promoted June 9th All Together Again event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AJPW reportedly generated a paid attendance of 637 for their June 11th Dynamite Series 2023 event in Koriyama and 984 for their June 15th Dynamite Series 2023 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Game Changer Wrestling recently announced a new match for the card of their Now And Forever event on July 14th in New York City, New York. This is a tag team match of BUSSY (Allie Katch & EFFY) vs. Matt Cardona & SDL.
As noted before, RUSH and his father La Bestia del Ring recently left Lucha Libre AAA over backstage frustrations revolving around broken promises from AAA officials. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that one issue revolved around AAA officials not wanting RUSH and LA Park to be the team to be booked for a hair vs. mask match in the end for their ongoing Guerra de Rivalidades tournament. LA Park reportedly insisted to AAA officials that his team and not Psycho Clown & Sam Adonis be the one to have that final match since both him and RUSH wanted to do a hair vs. mask match for years. Another issue reportedly revolved around AAA not offering enough money for RUSH to cut his hair if he were to lose the hair vs. mask match due to his long hair being an important part of his looks. Another reason reportedly involves AEW officials not wanting RUSH to be the one to lose the potential mask vs. hair match due to them not wanting him to have his hair cut. Meltzer reported that the biggest shock from RUSH leaving was the revelation that AAA officials did not lock him down to written agreement to work the entire tournament or at least until his team was eliminated. Meltzer also reported that the general reaction in Mexico towards this situation is one where fans have sided with RUSH over AAA over who is to blame for the bad blood issues. AAA officials reportedly are currently in talks with RUSH to try to get him to work their upcoming Triplemania XXXI Tijuana event in order to not completely wreck their plans for the Guerra de Rivalidades tournament.
Impact Wrestling reportedly generated an attendance of around 650 for their June 9th Against All Odds 2023 event in Columbus, Ohio, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Raven is currently scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery this week and as a result, he has pulled out of his scheduled appearance for The Gathering IV event on August 4th in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The National Wrestling Alliance recently announced that they will be holding a co-promoted event with Boca Raton Championship Wrestling called NWA vs. BRCW on July 19th in Boca Raton, Florida. The full card for this upcoming event was also released as part of this announcement.
As noted before, AAW Wrestling was forced to cancel their Crush & Destiny event that had been scheduled to take place this past Sunday due to the venue for the event being shut down at the last moment. AAW recently provided an update stating that while they have suffered some serious financial hardships and stress over the loss of the venue that was booked for multiple AAW events this year, the Berwyn Eagles Club recently came to their aid and will be hosting several of their upcoming events at their venue.