Daily Update: WWE notes, Okada, Umaga

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

We have the largest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in our history up on the site covering two very newsworthy weeks:

  • Full coverage of Full Gear. The good, the bad, the reaction, the business notes, reasons for the surprisingly good PPV number, thoughts on the world title change, long title reigns and how they create legends, and early Continental Classic thoughts.
  • Notes and odds regarding upcoming matches
  • UFC announces its first two shows of 2026, changes that the company is making and why the first two main events are so controversial
  • Full coverage of UFC 323
  • The life and times of Bob Caudle, the voice of Mid Atlantic wrestling and a Hall of Fame candidate
  • A detailed look at how and why the ratings have changed, why the explanation makes no sense, exactly how much the new panel and big data ratings have hurt each show and in particular where.
  • The most in-depth look at the ratings for all the shows over the past two weeks, placings for the week, placings in the time slot, men vs. women, how the placings compare to 2024 and 2023, and each show compared with the prior year and prior week, as well as the leading competition for each show.
  • Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, Komander, Mortos, Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight go to CMLL, draw big crowds and a look at their key matches
  • CMLL ready to honor a milestone it is close that no company has ever done in history
  • Notes on AAA’s new TV deal in Mexico and Latin America and who they are pushing as the top stars
  • WWE tag team taking the name of one of Mexico’s greatest tag teams in history
  • Updates on tag team tournaments in Stardom, New Japan and All Japan.
  • Wrestler suspended after getting in car accident and messing up a tournament
  • Update on Tokyo Dome ticket sales
  • Fantastica Mania 2026 notes
  • Battle of the Generations
  • RAF new philosophy and update
  • Santo’s final matches
  • Sting’s son has first singles match
  • Headbangers farewell tour
  • The oldest male wrestler in history has a match last week
  • Opera Cup notes
  • TNA business notes as well as notes on the next PPV show and the last major show
  • AEW TV changes
  • Final Battle updated card
  • Tony Khan on multiple subjects
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE, AEW and TNA shows
  • Two best in the world at their specific sport athletes are on UFC’s radar
  • Becky Lynch’s comments
  • Update on stockholders lawsuit against WWE
  • New WWE signings
  • WWE star talks about her domestic violence issue
  • WWE engagements
  • Bret Hart talks McMahon and Michaels and our thoughts on it

This Week’s Back Issue

Thursday Update

WWE

  • Bayley thanked Charlotte Flair for stopping by the free seminar she’s holding in Orlando this week and spending some time with the attendees: “Thank you @MsCharlotteWWE for spending your morning with the Lodestone Women before flying out to Smackdown”
  • Charlotte responded to Bayley: “Bayley……. YOUR commitment to elevating women’s wrestling is unmatched, and it pushes all of us to raise the bar. thank you for the opportunity…. KEEP DREAMING & working hard ladies”
  • Fox News Digital asked Logan Paul if he could see President Donald Trump attending John Cena’s last match on December 13 in Washington, D.C.:
    • We (people in the WWE) have talked about it. I have no idea. It seems like something that could happen. I think it’d be awesome. But I don’t know how political the WWE wants to get, so I’m not sure.
  • Paul uploaded a new episode of his vlog.
  • Becky Lynch celebrated her daughter Roux’s fifth birthday: “5 years ago, the world was introduced to the GREATEST child of all time. It’s not just me saying it, everyone is saying it. My HOT husband says it! (Sports Illustrated might have mentioned it)”
  • Paul “Triple H” Levesque wished Jelly Roll a happy 41st birthday: “Music icon. WWE superstar. Inspiration. Proud of the many challenges he’s faced and overcome and even prouder to call him a friend. Happy birthday @JellyRoll615!”
  • On social media, AJ Styles responded to a fan who claimed that he and Dragon Lee stole a tag team move from The Young Bucks: “In Prowrestling you can’t claim moves. They may be your signature, but those are still open to the public. Any confident wrestler wouldn’t ever change that. Calm down guys.”
  • Former WWE executive George Barrios is writing a book titled “Sometimes Wrong but Never in Doubt: How a Cuban Kid from Queens Transformed WWE.” It will be released in June 2026:
    • George Barrios helped transform WWE from an $800 million wrestling company into a $9.3 billion global sports and entertainment powerhouse. For the son of Cuban immigrants who grew up in a cramped Queens apartment near LaGuardia Airport and nearly flunked out of high school, the climb to the corporate boardroom was anything but obvious.
    • Barrios’s story blends grit, reinvention, and bold bets. He went from a 2nd grader forging a letter from his parents so the nuns wouldn’t expel him to the highest levels of corporate leadership. As WWE’s longtime strategist, he pioneered streaming years before other sports properties caught up and helped make WWE the #1 sports brand on YouTube with over a billion followers.
    • When Vince McMahon abruptly fired him in 2020, Barrios cofounded Isos Capital—and three years later, McMahon called him back. The Cuban kid from Queens had become indispensable.
    • Sometimes Wrong but Never in Doubt offers:
    • A framework for spotting undervalued assets and transforming legacy businesses.
    • Hard-won lessons on navigating corporate politics and surviving setbacks.
    • A masterclass in disrupting before being disrupted – and betting on conviction when everyone else doubts your vision.
    • This is both an immigrant’s story and a playbook for entrepreneurs and executives seeking to stay ahead of the curve – proof that preparation, persistence, and courage can change everything.
  • Comedian Andrew Schulz appeared on a new edition of “What’s Your Story?” with Stephanie McMahon.
  • WWE Vault uploaded a full Georgia Championship Wrestling Omni show from December 4, 1983.
  • CM Punk was featured on WWE Break it Down, looking back at some of the gear he wore throughout his career.
  • Punk said that, when he wore Randy Savage tribute gear in 2011, an unnamed higher up in WWE told him that he shouldn’t do that – but Punk wore it anyway:
    • Unfortunately, just before this picture, the legendary ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage passed away. So I wanted to pay homage to a classic pair of gear – twofold really. You know, pink looks great on me – and this is an homage to the gear he wore at WrestleMania III taking on Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat.
    • Now, I commissioned my gear maker at the time to make this gear. And I won’t name names, but somebody very high in the office walked past and saw it and found me and said, ‘Do not wear that gear on television.’
    • And I said, ‘You got it.’ And I wore the gear on television, because that’s what I do. I’m going to pay homage to Randy Savage whether you like it or not.
    • As a fan, Macho Man to me was, you know, I’m a hardcore wrestling fan, so we tend to gravitate toward the guys that we feel aren’t getting the spotlight we think they deserve. We maybe feel like, ‘Oh, Macho should’ve been in Hogan’s spot.’ And really, that kind of passion that I had as a fan, and that fans in turn have for me, is really what has propelled me throughout my career.

Other Wrestling

  • Swerve Strickland attended The Root 100 Gala in New York City last night and took a photo on the red carpet with CBS broadcaster Gayle King.
  • Chris Jericho interviewed Viva Van on a new episode of Talk is Jericho.
  • While speaking with NJPW’s English-language website, Kazuchika Okada addressed whether his match against Hiroshi Tanahashi should main event Wrestle Kingdom 20:
    • I’ve always thought that the IWGP title should absolutely go on last, but in a situation like this Tanahashi’s last match should absolutely go on last. That’s what people are coming to see. Maybe this is pushing it a bit but it’s kind of like eating your meal, having dessert and then in comes a second entree. People might be stuffed, but even then, maybe because of that I like the main event better.
  • Zilla Fatu remembered his late father Umaga, who passed away on this day in 2009: “Today be a sad day for me …. I miss you pops”
  • Maven posted an Umaga tribute:
    • Hard to believe it’s been 16 years. I still remember getting the call from D-Von, telling me that one of my closest friends, Ekie, better known to the world as Umaga, was gone. At first, it didn’t register, but within minutes, the reality hit, and the tears came.
    • Ekie was one of the first guys to welcome me when I stepped into this business. Even after I left WWE, he was one of the few I stayed in close contact with. He was more than a colleague; he was family.
    • Thank you, Ekie. Miss you every day. Rest easy, brother.
  • Indie wrestler Facade announced that, barring any serious change, 2026 will be his last year performing.
Google Icon

Exclusive access to podcasts and newsletters

Subscribe
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.