Weekend Roundup: Kevin Dunn WWE Departure Update, AEW Worlds End News, Mercedes Mone & AEW Update, New AEW World Title Design, AJPW, Giulia, Indies

Indie / Misc

Steve C.

Dec 31, 2023

WWE

This past Friday’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a preliminary viewership of 1,320,000 viewers on FOX, according to Programming Insider. That week’s episode’s preliminary viewership was the lowest ever for a SmackDown show in FOX history. That week’s show was also notable for being a “Best of 2023” special.
As noted before, longtime WWE Executive Producer Kevin Dunn will be leaving WWE. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported in Sunday’s Daily Update that his sources stated that WWE officials are currently considering several names to replace Dunn in the company with one name given being AEW’s Senior Vice President & Co-Executive Producer Mike Mansury who previously worked for the company. Meltzer reported WWE Director Marty Miller and Executive Vice President of Production Chris Kaiser were two other notable names given as possible options. Meltzer reported that WWE officials had plans at one point for Miller and Kaiser to both be Dunn’s successor with Miller handling the production work in the truck and Kaiser handling the production budgets for shows. Meltzer also reported that those spoken to stated that only a few within WWE were aware beforehand of Dunn’s decision to leave and his announcement to do so came as a surprise to most people.
NXT head booker Shawn Michaels reflected on Twitter about him being proud of Charlie Demsey for representing WWE’s NXT brand in All Japan Pro Wrestling. Michaels stated “.@WWENXT is about supporting and developing our young Superstars while evolving along the way. Help me support #CharlieDempsey as he travels to @alljapan_pw for the Triple Crown Championship on January 3. I couldn’t ask for a better Superstar to represent #WWENXT. Good luck!!“
Trish Stratus announced that she was recently scanned by 2K Games for their upcoming WWE 2K24 video game.
WWE reportedly drew an attendance of 15,831 (14,300 paid) for their Dec. 26th house show event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, 5,848 for their Dec. 26th house show event in Baltimore, MD, 9,626 for their Dec. 27th house show event in Boston, MA, and 8,477 for their Dec. 27th house show event in Detroit, MI, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
WWE reportedly has sold around 10,585 tickets for their January 1, 2024 RAW Day 1 show in San Diego, CA, 12,830 tickets for their Jan. 5th SmackDown show in Vancouver, Canada, 4,206 tickets for their Jan. 6th house show event in Spokane, WA, 2,277 tickets for their Jan. 7th house show event in Wenatchee, WA, 7,950 tickets for their Jan. 8th RAW show in Portland, OR, 5,646 tickets for their Jan. 12th SmackDown show in Lincoln, NE, 4,074 for their Jan. 13th house show event in Las Cruces, NM, 3,348 tickets for their Jan. 14th house show event in Rio Rancho, NM, 4,782 tickets for their Jan. 15th RAW show in Little Rock, AR, 11,045 tickets for their Jan. 19th SmackDown show in Atlanta, GA, 2,730 tickets for their Jan. 20th house show event in Montgomery, AL, 1,760 tickets for their Jan. 21st house show event in Jackson, MS, 5,946 tickets for their Jan. 22nd RAW show in New Orleans, 5,793 tickets for their Jan. 26th SmackDown show in Miami, FL, 11,672 tickets for their Jan. 29th RAW show in Tampa, FL, 6,155 tickets for their Feb. 2nd SmackDown show in Birmingham, AL, 3,365 tickets for their Feb. 3rd house show event in Knoxville, TN, 1,727 tickets for their Feb. 4th house show event in Corbin, KY, 1,681 tickets for their Feb. 4th NXT Vengeance Day 2024 event in Clarksville, TN, 5,411 tickets for their Feb. 5th RAW show in St. Louis, MO, 6,938 tickets for their Feb. 9th SmackDown show in Charlotte, NC, 5,994 tickets for their Feb. 12th RAW show in Lexington, KY, 6,248 tickets for their Feb. 16th SmackDown show in Salt Lake City, UT, 3,047 tickets for their Feb. 17th house show event in Oakland, CA, 4,320 tickets for their Feb. 18th house show event in Fresno, CA, and 9,003 tickets for their Feb. 19th RAW show in Anaheim, CA as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
As noted before, the December 25th episode of WWE RAW drew an all-time series low 698,000 viewers and a 0.18 key demographic rating. That episode was notable for being the WWE RAW “Best of 2023” special. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that RAW’s hourly viewership breakdown was 809,000 viewers for its first hour (8PM), 696,000 viewers for its second hour (9PM), and 588,000 viewers for its third hour (10PM). All three hours were also the lowest ever viewed hours for a RAW show in RAW series history.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that based on recent audit data from Pollstar, WWE had sold 4,308 tickets for a live gate of $262,262 for their Sept. 30th NXT No Mercy 2023 event in Bakersfield, 9,624 tickets for a live gate of $531,394 for their Oct. 2nd RAW show in San Jose, 13,452 tickets for a live gate of $593,480 for their Oct. 20th SmackDown show in San Antonio, 10,839 tickets for a live gate of $661,292 for their Oct. 23rd RAW show in Dallas, TX, 7,966 tickets for a live gate of $649,517 for their Oct. 29th house show event in London, England, 6,425 tickets for a live gate of $412,445 for their Oct. 30th house show event in Nottingham, England, 7,723 tickets for a live gate of $626,741 for their Oct. 31st house show event in Glasgow, Scotland, 6,491 tickets for a live gate of $399,125 for their Nov. 5th house show event in Wilkes-Barre, and 8,756 tickets for a live gate of $604,277 for their Nov. 13th RAW show in Washington, DC.
This past Thursday’s WWE house show event in Montreal, Quebec, Canada featured Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens defeating Judgement Day’s Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio in a tag team match. Following the match, Zayn gave a speech to the crowd about his return to Montreal since this past February’s Elimination Chamber 2023 event. Zayn stated “You know I’ve been coming to Montreal as part of WWE for over ten years now. And every single time I’ve come, man, that was special. I think, ‘There is no way that next time will be quite as special.’ and guess what, every time is even more special. And I said this over and over and over for ten years and after Elimination Chamber in Montreal, with all of you in my corner, there is no way to get more special than that. Again, I was wrong. Somehow, tonight is even more special AGAIN. Kevin might have mentioned, he’s got his wonderful family who has supported him all these years sitting right here. You see them every time we’re in Montreal, you see my family in the front row right here. But tonight is even more special because you may know this about me by now, but I’m a little bit of a private person, I keep things to myself. Some of you might not know this but I have a little boy. And he’s this cutie patootie right here in the red shirt. When I’m at home I’m not a WWE superstar, I’m not Sami Zayn, I’m just bah bah. And this young man has never seen me wrestle, he knows nothing about what I do. Tonight is the first time ever he sees me in this ring.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
Post Wrestling’s John Pollock reported that WWE drew an average viewership of 1,520,000 viewers per RAW show for this December, down compared to the same month last year’s average of f 1,571,000 viewers per show. SmackDown reportedly drew an average viewership of 2,194,000 viewers per show for this December, down compared to the same month last year’s average of 2,376,000 viewers per show. NXT reportedly drew an average of 654,000 viewers per show for this December, up compared to the same month last year’s viewership of 623,000 viewers per show.
In regards to key demographic viewership, RAW drew an average of 642,000 viewers for 18-49 key demo and 257,000 viewers for 18-34 key demo per show this December, both up compared to the same month last year’s viewerships of 529,000 and 186,000. SmackDown reportedly drew an average of 764,000 viewers for 18-49 key demo and 285,000 viewers for 18-34 key demo, both up compared to the same month last year’s viewerships of 745,000 and 256,000. NXT reportedly drew an average of 241,000 viewers for 18-49 key demo and 102,000 viewers for 18-34 key demo, both up compared to the same month last year’s viewerships of 185,000 and 83,000.
In a recent interview with the Love Wrestling podcast, Chelsea Green stated that visa-related issues was the reason why she was unable to work at WWE’s overseas events this past year. Green stated “But I think what I’m most excited for is to attempt to qualify for Money in the Bank. Last year, unfortunately, I was landlocked so I wasn’t able to get out of the country so, being in Money in the Bank would be amazing but being in Elimination Chamber in Australia would also be really amazing. Being able to leave the country this year, travel with WWE, meet my fans and get back to Australia because I used to live there so… I mean honestly, I go could on because I’m so excited that we’re bringing WWE to Paris and to parts of Germany. It’s just a really exciting year I think and I think this year will be the year that my suitcase is permanently packed. In theory, I’m not supposed to leave still but I ended up getting an exemption to be able to leave the country for work. But I was landlocked for over a year.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
In a recent interview with Cultaholic’s Desert Island Graps podcast, New Japan Pro Wrestling talent David Finlay confirmed the reports and rumors that his brother Brogan Finlay had recently signed an official contract with WWE. Finlay stated “I guess we got my dad [Dave Finlay] as an option, the old wise man in this day and age. I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side, still. We got my little brother [Brogan], who actually just signed to NXT. I’d probably go with my dad. I’ll take experience over youth. I would go with the old man.” Finlay also gave his thoughts about his interest in a potential career in WWE in the future. Finlay stated “My only contact is my dad, my only contact needs to be my dad. On one hand, it’s never been talked about officially, but on the other hand, about every other time I go over for dinner, it gets talked about. He’s like, ‘You could come work with me.’ When I’ve accomplished all I need to accomplish in Japan, maybe I’ll entertain the option. But for right now, I got an IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship to win and make world-famous.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)
The West Australian reported that the Western Australian government tourism officials had recently sent emails to WWE asking a series of questions regarding their deal with the company to hold next year’s Elimination Chamber event to Perth. It was reported that one of these questions involved if they could lure big name stars for their event with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s name specifically mentioned for a potential appearance.

AEW & ROH

Saturday’s AEW Worlds End event in Uniondale, New York featured Samoa Joe defeating MJF to become the new AEW World Champion. Dave Meltzer reported in a recent episode of the Wrestling Observer Radio that his sources stated that AEW officials had always planned for Joe to defeat MJF for the title and well before MJF had suffered a torn labrum injury.
Saturday’s AEW Worlds End event also featured longtime WWE superfan Vladimir Abouzeide being in attendance. Following Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, & Sting’s victory over Big Bill, Ricky Starks, & Don Callis Family in an 8-Man Tag Team match, Sting went around ringside and gave a hug to Abouzeide
AEW’s Worlds End event reportedly generated around 50,000 searches and a #14 ranking on Google for Saturday, according to the Wrestling Observer.
As noted before, Samoa Joe revealed during AEW’s Worlds End post-show media scrum that a new AEW World Championship belt design is currently in production. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that this new belt will feature several alternations for its design including potential removable side plates similar in idea to the custom AEW World title AEW CEO Tony Khan recently gave to Clemson University’s football team. It was reported that AEW had produced custom side plates for Kentucky had they won the TaxSlayer Bowl game instead.
During Saturday’s AEW Worlds End event, one new match was announced for this Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show on January 3, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. This is an AEW International Championship match of Dante Martin vs. Orange Cassidy (c).
AEW also recently announced one new match for the card of their AEW Collision show on January 6, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is a tag team match of FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. House of Black (Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black).
Following Saturday’s AEW Worlds End event, AEW held a digital exclusive backstage interview with Eddie Kingston discussing him defeating Jon Moxley to become the inaugural winner of AEW’s Continental Classic tournament. Kingston stated “Yeah, it gave me this weird thing that I didn’t know I had, which was confidence [laughs]. It really did. You know, I just go out there and I fight, man. Whether I win or lose, I just fight. I don’t think about nothing. But I never think I’m gonna lose. But it’s kinda like, if I lose, whatever, as long as I put on a good fight and I’m defiant to the end, you know? But after that “bum” sign from Bryan and embracing it, becoming King of the Bums and Prince of the Gutters, I just, I have so much confidence now that I don’t think it’s gonna take someone really special to take these three championships from me. I think the best part of this whole thing was, I was in there with Mox, the brother that I chose…When I say my brother, me and Mox are cut from the same cloth, so beating my brother Mox is just really like, “Who can beat me?” That’s how I feel right now. If you would have told me about this three years ago…before I came to AEW, I would have told you you’re an asshole.” Kingston also gave his thoughts about the three championships he currently holds as AEW’s first ever Triple Crown Champion. Kingston stated “Being the New Japan STRONG Openweight Champion, and what those letters mean to me, means a lot. Ring of Honor World Champion, like my mentor Homicide. And now being the first ever Continental Crown Champion — having three titles like my heroes before me.” (Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com)
As noted before, Mercedes Mone contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling and Stardom is currently believed to have expired while AEW’s is believed to not have any active plans for a potential signing due to monetary-related issues and talks with WWE for a potential were recently dropped due to similar issues. Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported in the AEW Worlds End Review show that his sources stated that the current belief and expectation is that Mone will be heading to AEW “sooner than later.”
As noted before, longtime AEW Vice President of Live Events & Touring Rafael Morffi will be leaving the company at the end of 2023. Morffi recently reflected on Twitter about AEW Worlds End being his final day in AEW and his time in the company. Morffi stated “Thank you @TonyKhan@AEW talent, staff. I’ll forever remember my time at #AEW fondly. 2024 will be the start of a new era in my professional career. Been blessed with a wonderful opportunity. Excited to start this new journey & challenge soon. Happy New Year-stay safe & sound!“
Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that the general response to MJF’s recent article on The Players Tribune was on par with their bigger NBA/soccer/NFL articles.
Fightful Select also reported that their sources stated that both Tony Chimel, Stu Grayson, and Santana are still working for AEW with Grayson and Santana still listed on AEW’s internal roster.
Britt Baker reportedly was in attendance backstage at this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash 2023 show in Orlando, Florida, according to Fightful Select.
Andrew Zarian reported in a recent episode of The Mat Men Pro Wrestling podcast that his sources stated that AEW and Warner Bros Discovery are currently working on plans for more AEW content to be produced for WBD’s networks. Zarian reported that this is not expected to be for a new weekly wrestling television series but something wrestling-related involving AEW personalities. Zarian also reported that filming had recently taken place for these new projects.
In a recent interview with TV Insider, MJF gave his thoughts about his belief that 2023 was a rebuilding year for AEW. MJF stated “Let’s face it. This has been a rebuilding year for us. A lot of crazy sh*t has happened. People have left. People have gotten injured, and there have been f*ck’in serious issues in the back. Through it all guys like me have had to steady the f*ck’in ship. I’m not asking for a pat on the back. It’s my job to do that. It’s why I’m the guy and world champion. As the world champion, I’ve often managed to help bring AEW million-dollar houses. I’ve sold a boatload of merchandise and done good ratings for our shows. The fact of the matter is that’s not enough. I always need to be looking to grow not just my brand but our brand. I think it’s telling that Worlds End sold out and we had to add more seats in the Nassau Coliseum. What that proves there is a lot of interest in seeing me versus Samoa Joe, the wrestling legend. Frankly, I’m a wrestling legend in the making. I think all the crazy sh*t that has gone down this year, guys like me and Joe made it a point to be the guys you can pass the rock to and we can go and score a f*ck’in touchdown for our company. MJF also gave his thoughts about what should be AEW’s goals for 2024. MJF stated “I frankly think what we are doing now. We are bettering the product. I think we lost our footing at points, but I think that’s had to do with some crazy f*ck’in sh*t that went down. Let’s face it, some of it was out of our control. Also, some of it was in our control. So, I think it’s very important when we read criticism we take it as constructive. I mean when we can. There is a difference between, “I want AEW to die. Fed is better. LOL.” That kind of tweet. And, “I miss when AEW kind of had a more sports presentation.” Or, “I miss MJF chopping it up on the stick and f*ck’in bury people.” There are constructive things though. I think now more than ever we are the listening company. We are trying to be the listening company. I think the reason there is so much criticism online, and I’m starting to see it lessen because we are starting to give people what they are asking for, but it’s because the fans hold me and the company to a higher standard. I take that with a lot of pride. There is a reason to expect greatness from me. It’s because I’ve given it to them before. I plan on giving it to them at Worlds End.“
Following Clemson’s win over Kentucky at this past Friday’s College football TaxSlayer Bowl game, AEW CEO Tony Khan presented the team a custom AEW World Championship belt as a gift in honor their victory.
As noted before, Shawn Spears recently announced that he has departed from AEW. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Spears had portrayed one of the masked mystery men of the AEW Devil’s group.
As noted before, Katsuyori Shibata signed an official contract with AEW earlier this month. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that prior to signing a full-time deal, Shibata had been working under a per date type deal with AEW and Ring of Honor. Meltzer also reported that Shibata traveling back to Japan to resolve his work visa related issues was done in order to make it possible for him to sign a full-time deal with AEW.
As noted before, AEW Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh has reduce her duties and responsibilities with the company in recent months. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that Parekh is currently believed to no longer be working for AEW but the exact reasons why is not known. Meltzer reported that several people spoken to had stated that the reason was due to Parekh being recently suspended for an undisclosed issue while others stated that this is not the case and instead she is simply just focusing on NFL-related matters for the time being.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that based on recent audit data from Pollstar, AEW had sold 4,821 tickets for a live gate of $199,102 for their Aug. 16th Dynamite how in Nashville, 2,834 tickets for a live gate of $133,200 for their Sept. 9th Collision show in Cleveland, 3,544 tickets for a live gate of $180,940 for their Oct. 28th Collision show in Uncasville, 3,503 tickets for a live gate of $139,200 for their Nov. 10th Collision & Rampage show in Oakland, and 2,680 tickets for a live gate of $138,334 for their Nov. 15th Dynamite show in Ontario, CA.
AEW reportedly drew an attendance of 4,874 for their Dec. 23rd Collision show in San Antonio, TX and 5,729 for their Dec. 27th Dynamite show in Orlando, FL, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW reportedly has sold around 3,716 tickets for their Jan. 3, 2024 Dynamite show in Newark, NJ, 2,447 tickets for their Jan. 6th Collision show in Charlotte, NC, 1,924 tickets for their Jan. 10th Dynamite show in Jacksonville, FL, 1,875 tickets for their Jan. 13th Collision show in Norfolk, VA, 1,571 tickets for their Jan. 17th Dynamite show in North Charleston, SC, 1,761 tickets for their Jan. 20th Collision show in St Charles, MO, 1,224 tickets for their Jan. 24th Dynamite show in Savannah, GA, 1,147 tickets for their Jan. 27th Collision show in Bossier City, LA, and 1,214 tickets for their Jan. 31st Dynamite show in New Orleans, LA, 1,745 tickets for their Feb. 3rd Collision show in Edinburg, TX, 2,431 tickets for their Feb. 7th Dynamite show in Phoenix, AZ, 953 tickets for their Feb. 10th Collision show in Henderson, NV, 1,064 tickets for their Feb. 14th Dynamite show in Cedar Park, TX, 13,440 tickets for their March 3rd Revolution 2024 event in Greensboro, NC, and 38,122 tickets for their Aug. 25th All In 2 event at Wembley Stadium in London, England as of this past Thursday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Impact, NJPW, Indies, & Misc. Wrestling

Impact/TNA Wrestling announced one new match for the card of their TNA Hard To Kill 2024 event on January 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a TNA World Tag Team Championship Four-way match of The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel) vs. Speedball Mountain (“Speedball” Mike Bailey & Trent Seven) vs. The Grizzled Young Vets (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) (c).
Saturday’s MANIAx 2023 event for All Japan Pro Wrestling in Tokyo, Japan featured Yoshitatsu announcing that he will be leaving the company.
Saturday’s AJPW MANIAx 2023 event also featured Katsuhiko Nakajima defeating Kento Miyahara to retain his AJPW Triple Crown Championship. As a result of his victory, Nakajima will be defending his title against WWE NXT talent Charlie Dempsey at AJPW’s New Year Giant Series 2024 event on January 3, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling announced that Hikari Noa recently suffered a health-related issue and is not medically cleared to compete at their upcoming January 4th & January 6th events. It was announced that due to Noa being out of action, she has relinquished her TJPW Princess Tag Team Championship and a new champion will be crowned at their January 4th event in a three-way match of Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe vs. Suzume & Arisu Endo vs. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino. (English translation via PostWrestling.com)
As noted before, WWE is currently very interested in potentially signing Giulia once her current contract with Stardom expires at the end of March of 2024. In a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Giulia gave her thoughts about the recent rumors and reports about WWE’s current interest towards her. Giulia stated “This is the first time I’ve been asked directly for an interview. What can I say…Giulia has grown up (laughs). But you know, I still have things to do in Japan.” Giulia also gave her thoughts about her interest in being based overseas in the future for her career. Giulia stated “You’re going right into it (laughs). Do you know what my main purpose is in wrestling? It’s to make women’s wrestling in Japan a more accessible form of entertainment. I want more children to watch it, young people, and women to watch it. I think all the wrestlers are doing that much.” Giulia also gave her thoughts about her current feeling for the future of her career. Giulia stated “Hmmm. I wonder if that hasn’t arrived yet. But sometimes I think that going abroad might be one way to achieve that goal. But it’s no good just going overseas and doing a little bit of work. If you are going to do it, you have to do it right. If that happens, I think it will be a big decision. I still have things to do in Japan. There is nothing definite about the future. If I could say one thing, it would be Sono Giapponese (in Italian). I will carry the Japanese flag on my back.“
Stardom reportedly drew a paid attendance of 302 for their Dec. 23rd Year End Tour 2023 event in Warabi, 765 for their Dec. 24th Year End Climax 2023 event in Tokyo, and 254 for their Dec. 25th New Blood 12 event in Shinagawa, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Stardom also reportedly drew a paid attendance of 3,063 for their Dec. 29th Dream Queendom 2023 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to Post Wrestling.
Women of Wrestling drew 179,000 viewers and a 0.04 key demographic rating for their ET Presents: Inside & Ringside: WOW special on The CW this past Wednesday, according to Wrestlenomics.
Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre reportedly drew an attendance of over 10,000 for their Dec. 22nd Super Viernes event in Mexico City, around 7,000 for their Dec. 25th in Mexico City, and around 7,000 for their Dec. 26th Martes De Arena Mexico event in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Lucha Libre AAA reportedly drew an attendance of around 2,300 for their Dec. 25th event in Naucalpan de Juarez, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly drew a paid attendance of 366 for their Dec. 23rd The Gift 2023 In Makuhari ~ Keiji Muto Happy Birthday ~ event in Chiba, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly drew a paid attendance of 1,513 for their Dec. 22nd Road to Tokyo Dome event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that NJPW also drew a paid attendance of 720 for a live gate of $48,230 for their Nov. 10th Lonestar Shootout 2023 event in Garland, TX based on a recent audit by Pollstar.
NJPW statistician Chris Samsa reported on Twitter that Zack Sabre Jr. won the most singles match in NJPW this year with 23 wins and was the most for a wrestler in the company since 2010.
Westside Xtreme Wrestling reportedly drew an attendance of 550 for their Dec. 23rd 23rd Anniversary event in Oberhausen, Germany, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Wrestling TV Ratings for Week of Dec. 22 to Dec. 28, 2023

WWE Friday Night SmackDown – 2,108,000 viewers, 0.55 rating (prior week – 2,240,000 viewers, 0.55 rating)
WWE RAW – 698,000 viewers, 0.18 rating (prior week – 1,562,000 viewers, 0.47 rating)
WWE NXT – 670,000 viewers, 0.19 rating (prior week – 641,000 viewers, 0.17 rating)
AEW Rampage – 363,000 viewers, 0.10 rating (prior week – 308,000 viewers, 0.08 rating)
AEW Collision – 489,000 viewers, 0.16 rating (prior week – 457,000 viewers, 0.17 rating)
AEW Dynamite – 843,000 viewers, 0.31 rating (prior week – 782,000 viewers, 0.26 rating)

Total viewership in terms of overall tally for the week: 5,171,000 viewers, down 819,000 viewers compared to prior week’s 5,990,000 viewers.