Daily Update: Pat McAfee, Trish Stratus, TNA Impact lineup

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Among the topics covered:

*More on the death of Hulk Hogan
*The ugliness of the aftermath of the death
*An article talking about the aftermath of the death
*Those close to him talk about his death
*Those not remotely close to him get harassed about his death
*Documentaries coming on Hogan
*A look at the biggest names in history when it comes to drawing and how Hogan compares with them domestically and internationally
*Hogan’s WWF peak
*WWF business under Hogan and Austin
*Hogan’s live show magic
*The Andre match on NBC
*Gorgeous George, The Rock, Sammartino, Londos, Rikidozan and Santo
*Wrestling in the U.S. pre-Hogan and the myths that have been created
*Hogan vs. Londos
*Hogan’s family talks
*SummerSlam story and interest levels
*WWE, AAA and CMLL in Mexico this past week
*Lots on WWE’s plans for AAA
*TripleMania thoughts
*Alberto, Dominik, Vikingo and Grende Americano in Mexico
*A classic match at Arena Mexico with Neon vs. Mascara Dorada
*Update on the G-1 Climax tournament
*The life and times of Gerry Morrow, a Canadian wrestling journeyman who is one of the most underrated inflential wrestler of the st 40 years with comments by those he inflenced
*Conor McGregor’s appeal of the sexual assault civil cse
*The most detailed look at the ratings for  all the TV wrestling shows
*MJF to Arena Mexico
*Five Star Grand Prix opens up
*The Hogan vs. Andre match that never happened
*Santo and Fuerza Guerrera retirement show notes
*The first major ethnic draw in the U.S.
*TNA looking for new TV deal
*Will Ospreay update
*Forbidden Door update
*Details of the WBD split
*Tony Khan has already made belts for a new title
*Tag team tournament AEW update
*TKO Boxing notes
*Update on ringboys lawsuit against the McMahons and WWE
*Vince McMahon auto accident details
*Levesque and Trump
*Thoughts on WWE Unreal
*An original Mania show
*Cody Rhodes on Bill Simmons
*Lots of notes on the WWE tryouts this week

This Week’s Back Issue

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Wednesday Update

WWE

  • WWE uploaded the full Sol Ruca vs. Tatum Paxley NXT Women’s North American Championship match from last night.
  • Cody Rhodes was on SportsCenter today discussing WWE’s new partnership with ESPN.
  • Pat McAfee posted a tweet reacting to the news that WWE PLEs are coming to ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2026. In his response, McAfee – one of ESPN’s top stars – continued to take shots at the “powerless” ESPN suits he believes have been trying to sabotage him behind the scenes:
    • Congrats to the @WWE and @espn on getting a historic PLE deal done.
    • Great to see 2 powerhouses of sports and entertainment come together.
    • I assume all the mid level, powerless, bum ass suits at ESPN will attempt to muddy this somehow (out of context leaks/ignorant anonymous opinions/etc.) but, in the end.. this agreement will outlive the dinosaurs currently guarding desks in Bristol and this deal will be great for ESPN. 
    • Cheers to the future
  • John Cena is featured on the cover of the August 18 edition of People magazine.
  • Trish Stratus announced that she will not be able to make her scheduled appearance in the United Kingdom at Comic Con Wales on August 9-10:
    • Hi everyone, it breaks my heart to share that I won’t be able to attend the autograph signing in Wales this weekend. My mom needs me by her side right now, and with the distance involved, the travel is simply too far. If anything were to happen, I’d be too far away to get back quickly and that’s not a risk I can take at this time.
    • To those who bought tickets – I’m so sorry to disappoint you. I promise I will come back to Wales and we will meet another time! I’m truly sorry to disappoint anyone, please know I never take your support for granted, and it means the world to me.
    • I’m aware I have several upcoming appearances scheduled on the #Trish25 Tour and as of now, those are still planned. I’m working on putting the right support in place at home to allow me to step away when needed – but for this particular event, I had to make the difficult decision to stay close to home.
    • Thank you so much for your understanding and compassion. Your prayers and positive energy for my mom mean everything right now.
  • NXT wrestler Brinley Reece got engaged to her boyfriend Marcus Aponte on August 2: “BRB- Changing my last name! 8.2.25 was the best day of my life. This moment was more magical than my younger self could have ever dreamed of. I love you, forever!!”
  • Jacy Jayne was the guest on this week’s episode of Celtic Warrior Workouts with Sheamus.
  • The My Mom’s Basement podcast interviewed Dominik Mysterio.
  • WWE followed Dominik backstage at SummerSlam for a behind-the-scenes vlog.
  • Charlotte Flair made an appearance on Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe.

Other Wrestling

  • While speaking with the Ohio News-Herald, Willow Nightingale opened up about her decision to re-sign with AEW:
    • The idea of entertaining free agency didn’t even really cross my mind. I mean, obviously, the thought was there because it’s a business at the end of the day, but I am so happy where I am, and I feel like my work here is so far from done. And the things that I love about wrestling the most are afforded to me here. I do get to travel and see the world, wrestle other places, wrestle other people. But, also, I get to be a part of our locker room, and it’s changed and grown since I’ve started there, let alone from the people who were there from day one. Penelope Ford is someone who comes to mind, who was really an OG AEW wrestler, and she was gone for two years with a hip injury. She came back and instantly had as much passion as when she started. She and I don’t see eye-to-eye in the ring. We don’t deal with things the same way. We’ve got different mentalities. But I have to applaud someone who kind of came from a different time, and as the locker room has pushed for more and been hungry to get better, she has done the same, and that is — that’s the kind of locker room I want to be a part of.
    • You know, who’s just, like, ‘OK, we’re evolving, we’re growing, I’m gonna get with it?’… We all want each other’s spot. Whoever’s at the top — (AEW women’s world champion) Toni Storm, (TBS champion) Mercedes Mone — we all want to be you. And that’s the company I want to be in. I don’t want to be the best of people who are just happy to be where they are. I want to be the best people who are hungry and trying to make everybody better.
  • Nyla Rose is challenging Nightshade for the Eve Championship at Pro Wrestling Eve’s show in London on August 23.
  • After receiving backlash, Kiera Hogan posted a statement explaining a reality show clip where she called wrestling a “stepping stone” for her:
    • Yes, I said ‘pro wrestling was always going to be a stepping stone for other things.’ And I meant that.
    • Because wrestling has always been my first love – but I’m multi-talented and unapologetically ambitious. I knew from the jump that wrestling would open doors for me in fashion, TV, and beyond. Just like it has for so many others before me.
    • Y’all cheer when wrestlers land movie roles, runway shows, or makeup deals… but get mad when I say it out loud?
    • I’m not here to play small or limit myself to one lane. I’m here to build an empire.
  • Here is everything that’s been announced for Thursday’s episode of TNA Impact:
    • TNA World Champion Trick Williams kicks off the show
    • TNA Knockouts Champion Jacy Jayne defends against Ash By Elegance
    • Joe Hendry vs. Mustafa Ali
    • TNA International Champion Steve Maclin defends against Jake Something
    • Santino Marella makes an announcement regarding TNA Emergence
    • Mara Sade (former NXT wrestler Jakara Jackson) in action
    • The Elegance Brand (Heather By Elegance & M By Elegance) vs. Lei Ying Lee & Xia Brookside
  • On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Mike Santana named AJ Styles as his dream opponent:
    • AJ Styles. Just especially being put in this position in TNA as being that new guy and the new face, and they call me The Standard and stuff like that. I think it’d be amazing. Of course, there’s other people that I love to work with over there [in WWE], and I have a lot of people that I know and that I came up on the indies with over there. But to me, AJ is the guy.
  • Prestige Wrestling announced that all profits from its August 23 show in Portland, Oregon will be donated to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). Tickets are donation-based with fans choosing how much to pay. The event was announced after a different local promotion attempted to book Joey Ryan, though that booking has already been canceled.
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