Daily Update: Rebel, WWE SmackDown, weekend lineups
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- Women’s tag team title match announced for WWE SmackDown
- Two matches announced for live AAA on Fox episode
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- AEW’s Rebel reveals terminal ALS diagnosis
- Ash By Elegance announces she is set to undergo surgery shortly
- TNA wrestler reflects on AEW experience: ‘Felt like a signed extra’
- CM Punk accused by another fan of physical altercation during WrestleMania weekend
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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- A look at the WWE releases, reasons, prospects for the future, who should AEW or TNA be interested in
- Nick Khan speaks to WWE employees about Paul Levesque, WrestleMania, social media, Saudi Arabia and AI
- WWE Backlash and AEW Double or Nothing updates, including interest levels for both shows
- Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom show looked at
- How the latest Nielsen ratings change affects pro wrestling and where it affects it the most
- Dragon Gate has its annual big Nagoya show this week
- A look at the career of Gran Markus Jr.
- The most detailed look at the television ratings for pro wrestling and MMA programming this past week
- The 70th anniversary of pro wrestling at Arena Mexico
- Who is coming for Fantastica Mania Mexico
- Big match planned for AAA television
- Champion Carnival update
- NOAH major show update
- New Japan has Dontaku with Andrade and Will Ospreay this week
- Wrestling Red Zone coverage
- A look back at the original Tiger Mask and his influence on pro wrestling and MMA
- Who are the most famous wrestler in the ten largest cities in the world, and top 50 cities in the world
- Biggest moments in NCAA wrestling tournament history over the past 60 years
- Former pro wrestling booker heading up a unique promotion
- Updates on Real American Freestyle
- More UFC stars coming to RAF
- Advance ticket sales for all the major pro wrestling events over the next two months and the story that it tells
- Two relatives of major pro wrestling stars signing with NFL teams
- Remembeing David Allan Coe, the country singer of Great American Bash fame
- Jimmy Valiant retires
- Former WWE star says she’s making a comeback
- Carlos Silva on why TNA won’t let its talent work with AEW talent and examining what he said
- AEW May television schedule changes
- WWE television schedule changes
- Ronda Rousey wants to be a promoter
- Puck breaks a notable story on Ari Emanuel and Vince McMahon
- More on when the next lawsuit against WWE goes to court
- More notes on TNA expanding domestic exposure
- More on new WWE signings
- NXT house show notes
This Week’s Back Issue
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Friday Update
— Garrett Gonzales and I will be back with a show this afternoon covering the news of the week and Bryan and I will have our weekend update on Sunday night.
— Just wanted to send sympathies and make mention of Tanea Brooks, the former Rebel in TNA and AEW, who was diagnosed with ALS. She has been battling health issues for years and they never could give her an answer as to what her problems were. She was about to have lung surgery and she found out that was the issue. ALS is as horrible a disease as there is. there is no coming back from it and you just continually get weaker. Among the high profile people who have had it include baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, Stephen Hawking, Roberta Flack, Dwight Clark, David Niven, Ezzard Charles and Steve McMichael. This was such a sad diagnosis. She put out a video today.
— Smackdown is tonight from Tulsa. Very little has been announced, only that Cody Rhodes will open the show, that Ricky Saints will debut and that Charlotte Flair will wrestle Jacy Jayne. They had 6,388 tickets out as of earlier today. There is some ticket sale softness for a lot of the WWE advance sales.
— MLW talent will be in Mexico this week. Tonight at Arena Mexico has:
- Ikuero Kwon & Okumura vs. Los Calavera Jr. I & II
- Olympia vs. Lady Frost
- Shotzi vs. Garra Negra for MLW women’s title
- Bishop Dyer & Donovan Dijak vs,. Averno & Euforia for MLW tag titles
- Neon vs. Diego Hll
- Angel de Oro & Soberano Jr. vs. Austin Aries & Trevor Lee
- Kushida vs, Templario for the MLW middeweight title
The show is at 7 p.m. Eastern time on the CMLL YouTube page.
— For tomorrow night at Arena Coliseo, the key matches are Dyer & Dijak vs. Bue Panther & Hill non-title, Trevor Lee vs. Volador Jr. in a lightning match and Titan & Templario vs, Aries & Kushida.
— Sunday at Arena Mexico has a Cibernetcio main event with CMLL vs MLW with Akuma, Averno, Black Tiger, Flip Gordon, Mascara Dorada, Neon, Templario, Aries, Dyer, Hill, Dijak, Kwon, Kushida and Lee.
— Monday in Puebla has a Cibernetico with Barbaro Cavernario, Difunto, Esfinge, Titan, Dyer, Hill, Dijak and Kwon, plus Kushida vs Xelhjua and Angel de Oro & Dorada vs. Aries & Lee.
— Tuesday in Guadalajara has Dyer & Hill & Dijak vs. Averno & Euphoria & Rey Bucanero Aries & Kwon & Lee vs. Barboza & Difunto & Furia Roja and Blue Panther vs. Hechicero.
— The AAA television show on YouTube Saturday night from Queretaro is live with El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Mini Vikingo, Rey Fenix vs Laredo Kid non-tite and the contract signings with the Grande Americano vs. Grande Americano mask vs. mask match on 5/30.
— Charles Oliveira’s camp announced that he’s signed a new eight fight deal with the UFC.
— Johnny Walker in UFC is moving to heavyweight for an 8/1 fight in Belgrade, Serbia, where he’ll face Ante Delija.
— Arman Tsarukyan has signed for another wrestling match with RAF on 6/13 in St. Louis where he’ll face Tony Ferguson.
— Jackey Kamei of Dragon Gate has been announced for the British J Cup on 6/23 in Stevenage at the Gordon Craig Theater.
— The NWA debuts on Comet TV at 10 p.m. Eastern tonight. A new show will air at 4 pm. Eastern tomorrow.
— UFC starts at 4 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning from Perth, Western Australia on Paramount +:
- Dom Mar Fan (155) vs. Kody Steele (156)
- Jonathna Micalief (170) vs. Themba Gorimbo (171)
- Ben Johnston (185.5) vs. Wes Schultz (186)
- Colby Thicknesse (135) vs. Vince Morales (136)
- Jacob Malkoun (186) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (190) – Meerschaert missed weight by four pounds. The fight will be taking pace with Meershaert forfeting 30 percent of his purse
- Junior Tafa (205.5) vs. KIevin Christian (204)
- Cam Rowston (185) vs. Robert Bryczek (186)
- Tai Tuivasa (265) vs. Louie Sutherland (261)
- Shamil Gaziev (264) vs. Brando Pericic (265)
- Marwan Rahiki (146) vs. Ollie Schmid (145.5)
- Tim Elliott (126) vs. Steve Ergec (125.5)
- Beniel Dariush (156) vs. Quillan Salkild (156)
- Jack Della Maddaena (170) vs. Carlos Prates (170)
— Hook and Billie Starkz are on the 6/19 GCW show in Cincinnati
— David Taylor, the former WCW wrestler from Britain and not the gold medalist from the U.S., turns 69 today. Gary Steele turns 53. Ace Romero turns 36. Tiffany Stratton turns 27. Neff Maiava, whose grandson is the starting QB at UFC and was one of the legends of 50th State Wrestling in Hawaii in the 60s and 70s, was born on this day in 1924. Jos LeDuc passed away 27 years ago today at the age of 54. Elizabeth Hulette, the famed Miss Elizabeth, was 42 when she passed away from an overdose 23 years ago. A little known fact is that in the early 80s, before she became famous Liz Hulette did a wrestling newsletter of sorts and was also on the ICW television show, a promotion run by Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage. Kurt Von Poppenheim, an Oregon legend, was 89 when he passed away 23 years ago.
— Combate Global has announced a Mexico vs. USA fight show on 5/6 in Burbank, CA on EstrellaTV, Samsung gTV Plus and YouTube in the U.S.
— PFL tomorrow night on ESPN 2 at 10 p.m. Eastern frm Sioux Falls, SD
- Logan Storley (170.4) vs. Florim Zendell (171)
- Gadzhi Rabadanov (159.6) s. Alex Chizov (160)
- Simeon Powell (205.6) vs. Emilian Sordi (205.5)
- Renan Ferreria (262.5) vs Sergei Bilosteenly (262.2)
- Magomed Magomedov (136.8) vs. Leandro Higo (135.6)
— Patricky Pitbull Freiore was to face Karate Combat champion Shahzaib Rind tomorrow night in Miami in Karate Combat event. However, this morning, when they were doing face-offs, it got nasty and the result was Patricky was cut above his left eye and that fight had to be canceled. Patricky and Rind were face-to-face when Patricky grabbed him in a bearhug like move. Rind pushed him and threw a head kick and they were separated. Patricio Pitbul Freire, the UFC fighter, landed a punch on Rind. Patricky said that yesterday when he and his brother and their wives were at breakfast, Rind’s team started throwing water on them. Patricky said he asked them to stop,but they continued and he threw a bottle of water at them. They chased them and a brawl broke out there as well. Rind was not in that brawl. Patricky said it was a set up as they were filming them throwing water.
— Create a Pro has sold out tonight’s show in Melville, NY with MJF in an open challenge, Nic Nemth vs. Bear Bronson, plus Kris Statlander, Max Caster, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, Cedric Alexander and more.
— Charlotte Flair will be appearing for WWE Night at the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer game in Carson, CA tomorrow night.
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.