Daily Update: CM Punk, Tommaso Ciampa, new John Cena movie

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site right now. Some of the key stories being covered:

  • Royal Rumble thoughts, odds and direction
  • The business of UFC to Paramount, the numbers that were released, what they mean, and how much revenue does this mean vs. how much they paid for rights
  • Coverage of Saturday Night’s Main Event
  • UFC 324 coverage, the fights, the future and the business
  • The life and times of Kim Wood, football, weightlifting, perception of people, Ken Shamrock and Brian Pillman
  • How Smackdown and NXT did throughout 2025 on Netflix, the ups and the downs
  • The most complete look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling TV shows over the past week, demos, comparisons, drops from last year factoring out why it would and should drop with big data
  • A new record set for most sellouts by a main eventer in a given month
  • Huge CMLL business week and great matches
  • Major shows upcoming
  • Big events coming for New Japan
  • Fantastica Mania coming
  • Mayu Iwatani’s 15th anniversary show
  • Jesse Ventura suggest Minnesota should leave the U.S.
  • Chris Jericho on TV show
  • Jimmy Jacobs talks working for Vince McMahon
  • Mick Foey on his mother’s death
  • Controversial independent angle makes mainstream attention and gets wrestler fired
  • Former WWE champion in talks to become a weekly TV character elsewhere
  • Former WCW attitude era announcer about to come back to wrestling
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE, AEW and TNA shows
  • Looking at the AEW business with Triller
  • AEW executive there from the start leaving
  • Issues with spoliation of evidence in UFC case
  • More on the White House show
  • Lots of notes on Zuffa boxing contracts
  • Notes on WWE international deals
  • Injryu updates
  • New AEW & WWE signings

This Week’s Back Issue

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Wednesday Update

WWE

  • WWE uploaded the full seven-man ladder match from NXT last night where Joe Hendry was crowned the new NXT Champion.
  • Hendry appeared on Busted Open After Dark following his title win.
  • Leah Van Dale (former WWE wrestler Carmella) sent out a tweet showing interest in the vacant NXT general manager role.
  • Bayley showed support for the idea while responding to Van Dale’s tweet: “MELLA DA MANAGER!!!!!!!! GIVE ME WHAT I WANT!!!!!!!! @WWENXT @ShawnMichaels #bookme”
  • In an interview with GQ, CM Punk was asked about the remark Paul “Triple H” Levesque made in WWE: Unreal where Levesque said he knew Punk was ready to come back to WWE because he saw that Punk was a different person than he was before:
    • I haven’t the slightest. I really don’t. That’d be a question for him. I just think I watched guys like Bret and Shawn or Hogan and Warrior hold on to these grudges. And I think what it amounts to is just life is too short.
    • Triple H had a serious heart issue that he woke up in the hospital with one day. I thought about that a lot and how anything between us didn’t matter at all. And I’m super fortunate now that we can laugh about everything and I can just let a lot of stuff go, because everything to me, I looked at it like it’s a hot coal and I’m just holding on to it. And after a while, I’m just hurting myself.
  • United States Champion Carmelo Hayes told the Beyond The Bell Podcast that Punk is a dream opponent of his:
    • I definitely want to wrestle CM Punk. I had made a joke on Twitter, though. I was like, if we do it’s gotta be winner takes all.
    • Punk, he’s actually a guy, man, like, I’ve been watching him obviously since I was a kid, right? So I’ve looked up to CM Punk and he’s been a mentor to a lot of the younger guys backstage, despite what people want to say. He’s always been a mentor to a lot of us, and he’s always excited to see us have our first moments.
    • I remember when I won the title, he was in Gorilla with a tear in his eye. I couldn’t believe it, I’m like, ‘Bro, why do you care so much?’ But I think just him seeing other people have these accomplishments for their first time and remembering where he was when he had his first accomplishment, it’s just very cool that he’s like that, right?
    • But as far as getting in the ring with him, I’d probably run circles around him, honestly. I think CM Punk’s a great in-ring performer, but I don’t think he’s ready for what I got. Because, man, I’m just going right now, bro. Like, week to week to week with it.
    • I’m very much so looking forward to that match. And I challenge CM Punk to really bring the heat, man. And like I said, he’s on a roll too and he’s having a great title reign, but we can go title reign for title reign. And I don’t think he’s touching Melo.
  • Punk was a guest on The Jim Rome Show today from Super Bowl Radio Row.
  • PWinsider reports that Drew McIntyre was at WWE headquarters this week filming for future projects.
  • “Matchbox: The Movie,” which stars John Cena, is set to premiere on Apple TV on October 9. The film is described as an “action-packed, globetrotting adventure about a group of friends since childhood who have their lives upended when undercover CIA agent Sean (Cena), their long-absent former leader, returns to their small town and unwittingly gets them embroiled in a frantic international pursuit to save the world.”
  • Entertainment Tonight spoke with Cena about the movie.
  • K&C Masterpiece interviewed Big E at Super Bowl Radio Row.
  • A new episode of the Nikki & Brie Show premiered today with The Bella Twins discussing Brie’s WWE return.
  • Philadelphia Eagles star Cooper DeJean called Nikki Bella “a good friend” when asked about their dating rumors during an appearance on Up & Adams.
  • SHAK Wrestling has an interview with Paul Heyman.

Other Wrestling

  • Tommaso Ciampa spoke to Bleacher Report about how his AEW theme music came together:
    • Mikey Rukus [AEW’s music composer] is a collaborative genius. I’ve never had an experience working with a music artist like the one that me and Mikey had. This all came together in less than 48 hours. My contract expired at midnight the 26th. Me and Mikey are on the phone Tuesday [Jan. 27].
    • And luckily I’ve had some time, quite a bit of time, six to eight weeks at home to really deep dive and dig and prepare. And I had four songs ready. We had a 20-minute conversation and I got off the phone and I was like, ‘Man, we’re clicking. This dude gets it. He’s hearing me and he’s listening.’
    • And he got that rough draft to me so fast. I want to say that final take was take seven. For anyone who has never gone through the process, that’s insanely fast. You don’t get to that kind of finished quality product in seven takes.
    • When we finally got to that, I’m listening to it in my car and my seven-year-old daughter continues to ask, ‘Can you play it again?’ She was humming to it, and I was like, we’re onto something. Kudos to Mikey. He just crushed it on all elements.
  • Bleacher Report asked Ciampa who he’s been impressed by in AEW:
    • An insane amount. I’ve never shared a ring with Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, MJF, Cope, Christian. Even people I crossed paths with but never shared a ring with.
    • And then there are guys that I’ve done stuff with, but I’ve never had a program with. I’ve never had a singles match with Ricochet, which to me kind of sounds silly to say. That’s kind of the thing that has followed me for a lot of my career.
    • When I was in Ring of Honor, there was this laundry list of guys. I never got to wrestle Generico. I never got to wrestle Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe. There were just all these top guys I never had a singles match with, and in WWE, I felt similar. Me and AJ Styles worked on a couple of live events but never on television. Randy Orton, never had a match with him. Seth Rollins. There are just so many of them that I didn’t, so coming to AEW, that was actually a massive goal of mine, to not leave the checklist unchecked.
    • I just want to mix it up with all of these different people, and I think that’s what brings out the best in me. I have a real passion and drive for first-time matchups, specifically when they’re in front of big audiences. There’s no prior chemistry and no feeling-out process. I think that’s where the artform really is.
    • Anyone can go and rehearse matches and have seven matches together before they ever do it live, and that’s not the artform. There’s still a skill set needed for that. So when I started looking at the roster and making that list, it didn’t end. It kept going.
  • Mercedes Mone visited VIP spa House of the Sun in Los Angeles and noted that she feels “incredible” after having treatment done.
  • Willow Nightingale has been announced as a special guest for Denise Salcedo’s live show at the Hollywood Improv on March 14 during AEW Revolution weekend.
  • MLW will be holding a show at Cicero Stadium in Cicero, Illinois on November 7. Tickets go on sale next Monday (February 9) at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.