Daily Update: More on Sheamus’ WWE departure and Tomoaki Honma’s retirement
Daily Update
Latest News
- Update on Bad Bunny potentially being brought into AAA | Exclusive
- Sheamus reportedly set to leave WWE after turning down contract extension
- Charlotte Flair fan Scarlett Guillen passes away after cancer battle
- Women’s Intercontinental title match, opening segment, more announced for WWE Raw
- Shotzi, The Good Brothers, more announced for MLP Mayhem TV tapings
- Steve Maclin on TNA exit: ‘Five years is a long time in a company’
- MLW strips Bishop Dyer of tag title amid WWE return reports
- Two matches added to TNA Impact lineup
- MLW crowns inaugural Southern Crown Champion on Fusion 4th of July special
- El Grande Americano-Perros del Mal confrontation set for next week’s AAA on Fox
- Will Ospreay hopes people notice Skye Blue’s efforts
- New CMLL World Historic Middleweight champion crowned
Latest Audio
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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- July 6, 2026 Observer Newsletter: AEW Forbidden Door, WWE Night of Champions & TNA Slammiversary reviews & ratings
Among the topics covered:
- Looking at the news that came out this past week regarding the WWE’s deal with Ari Emanuel, including Stephanie McMahon’s reaction, more background of the court case recently settled, more messages from Vince McMahon regarding the time frame and examining what what and wasn’t real about what people were told about the Endeavor deal
- Sami Zayn wins WWE title and what does it mean in the big picture
- Major SummerSlam plans
- Oba Fami direction looked at
- Ticket sales for next three WWE major events
- Notes on Netflix viewership of Night of Champions and full card results and news from the show
- Best matches ever held in San Jose
- Early PPV feedback and poll results
- Busienss numbers for Forbidden Door
- Story of the show and matches
- WWE’s latest counterprogramming of AEW
- How the counterprogramming drew this past week
- How much of the media was fooled by UFC’s release of White House numbers
- The life and times of Joe Doering, and the bad hand he was dealt
- Full coverage of NXT Great American Bash and how each individual match drew
- The sports background of Kendal Grey
- Full coverage of TNA Slammiversary
- The most detailed look at the ratings for pro wrestling shows over the past week
- International news story on Super Viernes at Arena Mexico
- Early Grand Prix notes
- Record broken and another one breaking and a third one the show
- CMLL coverage from the past week
- Changes in the Stardom audience and new attempts at growth
- A look at New Japan’s show on Monday
- Ken Patera injured and background
- Antoino Inoki in the U.S. story
- Indie wrestler marries reality TV star
- AJ Ferrari is a mess
- What TV show in the 70s made Vince McMahon father blow a gasket at Mike LeBell
- New pro wrestling doc coming out
- Bandido heading to Europe this week
- Notes on Eric Young leaving TNA
- More on AEW’s situation with the WBD sale to Paramount/Skydance
- Will Ospreay promotes Forbidden Door
- Fighter gains 41 pounds in two weeks
- CM PUnk returning soon
- House of Reps member wants Linda McMahon impeached
- Thoughts on Big Bill heading to WWE
- WWE ID controversy
This Week’s Back Issue
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Sunday Update
— Bryan and I will be back tonight covering the weekend news. We had a Friday show with with Garrett talking about a ton of different topics including Forbidden Door live, More details on how the WWE sale went down with the key players and ultimately the decisions, Sami Zayn as WWE champion, and thoughts on WWE’s counter programming right now of AEW and Wednesday’s Dynamite show.
— The big news today is that Shemamus will be leaving WWE soon as his contract is expiring and was offered a pay cut so decided to leave. It’s identical to the Kofi Kingson and Xavier Woods situation. The basic thing is TKO is in the business of paying stars incredible amounts of money who move business and less so in paying those who don’t move business, especially given Sheamus is 48 and has been hurt a lot. On a real sports team, those decisions are made all the time.
It will be interesting if AEW takes him. Age is a factor and you don’t want to be the WWE old-timers division. He was having very good matches when healthy. A lot of ex-WWE talent has been a negative in AEW, but there are obvious exceptions. II don’t know where he’ll fit in but it’s more mental. If you consider WWE as the big league and that being an ex-WWE guy makes you superior to AEW guys, in the end this won’t work. If you want to be a pro wrestler, and don’t consider WWE the be-all and end-all of pro wrestling and want to have the best matches of your career and make money, it can work out well. If your goal is to show WWE they made a mistake and want to get back there, most likey this won’t work out well but it could. If you think Paul loves you but evil TKO caused this, it won’t work at all.
He’s a good wrestler who works hard, but he’s not a business difference maker even if you can see the wheels in MJF’s brain working with the idea he can make money with him. There are a number of people (New Day, Sabin & Shelley, Aleister Black, Kairi Sane, Zoey Stark, and Kay Lee Ray) wh become free agents later this month and I would assume some go to AEW but not all. AEW also already has too much talent for what they can already use well.
— Tomoaki Honma announced his retirement during yesterday’s New Japan show. Honma was one of the most underrated wrestlers in the business until a bad neck injury robbed him of a lot of his athletic gifts. During the heyday of the G-1 Climax tournament, Honma was a guy who would lose almost all his matches but have some of the best matches in the tournament, somewhat like Ishii but he never even got the wins Ishii got. Honma, 49, said that his final match will be next year in Yamagata, so he will have had a 30 year career.
— I’ve literally heard nothing about big international bouts this weekend. Arena Mexico sold out Friday, breaking the CMLL official record for both most sellouts in a calendar year and also extending the record for consecutive Friday night Arena Mexico sellouts to eight. Volador Jr. beat Flip Gordon to win the Historic middleweight title on Friday.
— Bishop Dyer vacating the MLW tag titles would seem to indicate the Baron Corbin return is near.
— A correction on Friday’s show talking about Dynamite Kid. When I brought up Dynamite in a wheelchair during the visit by Bret Hart, that was in 1993 and Dynamite wasn’t in a wheelchair until 1997. Bret, Brian Knobs and Joe Scarpa went to see him and he wasn’t aware Bret had won the WWF title.
— Damian Priest was the mystery WWE champion who debuted in AAA as we had been reporting.
— Raw tomorrow night in Chicago has Sami Zayn vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE title, Sol Ruca vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the IC title, Street Profits vs. Bron Breakiker & Austin Theory for the tag titles. CM Punk is not advertised for the show. We do know he was pushing to return on this show but we have not been told 100 percent it’s on.
— Vin Diesel noted that they have started production of Fast Forever, in what they are saying will be the last Fast & Furious franchise movie. No word if John Cena or Dwayne Johnson will be involved in this one.
— Congratulations to Stephanie (Nixon) Newell and Miranda Alize on their engagement.
— The City of Parma, OH, just outside Cleveland, had its 4th of July parade yesterday and Miz was the Grand Marshal.
— For A&E tonight at 8 p.m. will be WWE’s Greatest Moments on the first decade of Smackdown, 8:30 p.m. will be Greatest Moments of CM Punk, 9 p.m. is Most Shocking Moments of the 80s,m 9:30 p.m. is Great Royal Rumble moments of the 200s, 10 p.m., is LFG and , 11 p.m. is Greatest Moments of HHH and 11:30 p.m. is Greatest Moments of Stephanie McMahon.
— Mauriciio Ruffy said that he was going to Las Vegas this coming week and said he was available as a replacement if either Conor McGregor or Max Holloway can’t fight.
— Today’s Mexico vs England soccer game is going to do an NFL playoff level number. The cheapest live ticket was $4,585 with 87,523 seats.
— TNA Impact on Thursday has Hardys vs Great Hands for the tag titles, Xia Brookside vs. Lei Ying Lee in DQ for the Knockouts title, Jada Stone vs. Alisha Edwards in the Knockouts TV title tournament, Jody Threat vs Gabby Forza and Indi Hartwell vs Vickie Venuto in other tournament matches plus The Righteous vs. Ricky Sosa & Leon Slater vs Bear Bronson & Brian Myers in a three-way.
— Les Thatcher had his first pro wrestling match on July 4, 1959 in Blue Hills, ME.
— Roman Reigns, John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Jey Uso, and Liv Morgan are set to compete in the Fanatics Games. That will be at the Fanatics Fest NYC, which runs 7/16 to 7/9 at the Javits Center. The event features 50 athletes and celebrities facing 50 fans across eight sports challenges, with $2 million in total prizes and a $1 million cash grand prize.
— Sorry to hear about the bad news regarding Sheldon Goldberg, a New England based historian and promoter. Just when his health was turning around, he stepped up on a curb, and heard a pop in his Achilles tendon and now needs surgery.
— Hillbilly Jim turns 74 today. Mark Lowrance, the former Dallas announcer, turns 67. Jerry Seganovich of the Nasty Boys turned 62. Jamie Dundee turned 55. Tatsuhito Takaiwa turned 54. Adam Cole turns 37. UK heavyweight star Wayne Bridges was born on this day in1936. Mini star Little Tokyo was born on this day in 1941, real name Shigeu Akabane. Waly Seiber, better known as Waldo Von Erich, the working brother of Fritz Von Erich, died 17 years ago today at 75. Doug Donnan better known as Karl Von Brauner, was 78 when he died on this day 17 years ago. 81 years ago yesterday, Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo, set a world record doing 6,033 sit ups. He set out to set the world record by doing 6,000 and then decided to do 33, one for each year Jesus Christ was alive. The record has been broken many times since then. (thanks to Tony Richards)
Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.