Daily Update: NXT notes, Hirooki Goto, Nick Wayne
Daily Update
Latest News
- Judge orders AEW, Kevin Kelly & Tate Twins lawsuit to go to arbitration
- Abadon’s AEW contract expires, officially a free agent
- Netflix developing wrestling-themed drama series ‘Tuesday Night Titans’
- Steel cage stipulation added to Triplemania Regia main event
- Nikki Bella set for WWE Raw appearance next week
- WWE crowns new number one contender to Speed Championship
- TNA Against All Odds to stream for free Wednesday night
- WWE files ‘Blake Monroe’ trademark for Mariah May’s new name
- Chelsea Green on possible Total Divas return: ‘The demand is there’
- Danhausen’s AEW contract reportedly set to expire this summer
Latest Audio
- WOL: The final WOL of Bryan’s 40s
- B&V: Mid-South Wrestling S6:E27, plus Granny!
- BVV: Trick Williams defends TNA title at Against All Odds
Latest Free YouTube Video
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- June 9, 2025 Observer Newsletter: Several WWE wrestlers not returning, Money in the Bank & Worlds Collide previews
Among the topics covered:
- WWE cuts this past week, why and more details, lots of reaction to R-Truth and the story behind it
- Preview of the WWE Money in the Bank and Worlds Collide shows as well as updated ticket demand for the shows as well as odds
- New Japan Dominion and Kosei Fujita win Best of the Super Juniors in one of the year’s best matches
- The most detailed look at the ratings of all the pro wrestling TV shows this past week including competition, segments, demo and what things on the different shows boosted the audience
- Notes on one of the biggest Arena Mexico shows this year
- Major arena sells out seven weeks in a row
- Newcomers behind the scenes as WWE takes over AAA
- Stardom PPV notes
- Major signings for Hogan & Bischoff’s RAF company
- Who has won the most awards in specific categories in the 45 year history of the Observer awards
- Ratings for the past season of Dark Side of the Ring
- Notes on wrestlers recently cut by WWE
- AEW departures and details
- Advance ticket sales for WWE, AEW and TNA shows
- Lots more notes on AEW going to Arena Mexico
- Bryan Danielson says his career highlight
- Significance of the Phil Davis lawsuit and how it affects TKO and perhaps even WWE
- Promotion cutting prices to increase ticket buys
- Notes on MMA reporter Jordan Breen
- Update on WrestleMania in Las Vegas
- Nick Khan and Vince McMahon selling TKO stock
- How much are analysts expecting the WWE PLE right and UFC rights to end up at and what does this mean for the stock price
- Paul Levesque and Dwayne Johnson
- Notes on WWE counter programming AEW
- Bill Goldberg updates
- How much money has Dwayne Johnson made from WWE since his return 18 months ago
- Top YouTube viewing numbers this past week
This Week’s Back Issue
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Wednesday Update
WWE
- WWE uploaded the full Oba Femi vs. Jasper Troy and Jacy Jayne vs. Lainey Reid title matches from NXT last night.
- The Miz named Femi as a wrestler from NXT who he believes has main event potential on the main roster: ““Oba Femi, man. He’s good. Very good. It’ll be interesting to see when he comes up, how he’s able to transition to Raw and SmackDown.”
- Jayne and Lash Legend were guests on Busted Open Radio.
- Lucha Libre AAA stars Psycho Clown & Octagon Jr and Mr. Iguana & El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. attended NXT last night and were shown sitting in the front row.
- Those four AAA wrestlers also participated in a social media video with Shawn Michaels.
- WWE put together a video of Mr. Iguana’s best moments from Worlds Collide.
- NXT’s Izzi Dame sent out a message asking people to only send her fan mail at the Performance Center, not her parents’ house: “I appreciate fans wanting to send fan mail, and I love receiving it but PLEASE stop sending mail to my parent’s home. All letters and packages should be sent to the performance center in Orlando only. All the stuff they receive I tell them to throw away. Thank uuu”
- Dominik Mysterio threw out the first pitch at last night’s San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game.
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared on The Dr. Mark Hyman Show, discussing why it’s important to take ownership of your health.
- Damian Priest joined Cody Rhodes on this week’s episode of his What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast.
- Bianca Belair shared a vlog from Montez Ford’s 35th birthday party.
- The Battleground Podcast interviewed Karrion Kross.
AEW/Other Wrestling
- Dustin Rhodes remembered his late father Dusty on the 10th anniversary of his passing: “The greatest man in the world. We miss you Pop!!!”
- In an interview with TV station WFAA in Dallas, Ricochet was asked if it was always the plan for him to turn heel in AEW:
- From the very first day, I have been very strategic about the development of the character. I’ve been very strategic about how we’ve proceeded and about, you know, where Ricochet wants to go. Obviously, the crowd and everything plays a big part of what you’re trying to do. But from the very beginning, this had always been kind of the plan for me. Obviously, how you get there and how long it takes to get there, that all varies. But I’ve always had the plan to come in here and be myself. Yeah, be myself eventually, that’s always been the plan.
- Nick Wayne opened up to Undisputed about how much he enjoyed competing in NJPW Best of the Super Juniors:
- The consistency of wrestling, wrestling almost every day, that felt so good, even when I was tired and exhausted. I ate at a yakiniku spot every day. That Hamburg steak, I miss it already. The wrestling, the city life, the food, all of it was an incredible experience. It was a dream come true.
- I’d love to go back to Japan. Right now, my focus is on taking any opportunity that is in front of me and running with it.
- Deonna Purrazzo will compete at Narcissistic Behavior, a wrestling show presented by Richard Holliday in Hamden, Connecticut on Sunday, August 3.
- NJPW’s English-language website posted an interview with Hirooki Goto. During the conversation, Goto said – despite Tetsuya Naito’s NJPW departure – he believes they will wrestle each other again one day:
- Right [Naito has always had a deep love for NJPW]. I’ve always felt myself that I wouldn’t want to wrestle anywhere else, and I’ll end my career here. I don’t know what made Naito arrive at the decision he did, and I’m sure it’s not just one thing. I’m sad to see him go, but I’m sure I’ll see him in the ring again.
- A lot of people go and come back in this business. Shibata was the same. There’s no ‘forevers’ in this business.
- Shinjiro Otani, who has been paralyzed from the neck down since 2022, recently received a gift from Dean Malenko: the WCW Cruiserweight title belt that Malenko won from Otani in 1996.
- Stardom wrestler Maika has undergone successful elbow surgery.
- Shotzi Blackheart vs. Matt Cardona has been announced for GCW’s Boss of all Bosses show in Dallas on Friday, July 11.
- While appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, former WWE wrestler Gene Snitsky addressed whether he’s retired from the ring:
- No, I still wrestle here and there. I just got stem cell shots in my knee though, on March 29. I’ve been dealing with a little bit of a meniscus issue. So I went down to the great people at Lifemed Institute in Maryland, and they gave me an injection with that and did some vitamin infusion with the wife. It’s freaking amazing, that stuff. I don’t know the science behind it but I’ve had the best freaking workouts the last few weeks since I went down there.
- Going Ringside spoke with Matt Riddle.