CEO of TKO Group Holdings, Ari Emanuel, a former Live Nation board member, reportedly asked President Donald Trump to call off the investigation during an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and its parent company, Ticketmaster, according to reports. Dave Meltzer highlighted the report by the Wall Street Journal in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

An antitrust lawsuit was brought to the US Department of Justice against Live Nation and Ticketmaster in May 2024, alleging that Live Nation has a monopoly on the live events business The lawsuit was filed following criticism over issues with ticket purchases for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in 2022. The case went to trial on March 2 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, and was settled a week later. The settlement was reportedly a surprise to prosecuting attorneys and the state Attorneys General.

According to the Wall Street Journal, and highlighted by Meltzer, Emanuel was reportedly the person behind the settlement after calling Trump. Emanuel reportedly called Trump, and “suddenly, the government called off the case,” Meltzer wrote. After the trial began, Trump reportedly began making calls to ask why the case had not been settled, according to the WSJ, and the settlement was signed after the sides met at the White House, but announced publicly four days later.

Live Nation will pay $280 million in the settlement, according to a report from the Associated Press. In addition to other various terms put forth, Live Nation also agreed to let venues reach deals that would allow for a portion of tickets for events to be sold by entities other than Ticketmaster.

Two dozen states will continue to fight the companies in court following the settlement, however. The trial resumed in New York, following the DOJ’s withdrawal, on March 16.

In the late 1990s, the New World Order stable absolutely dominated WCW, with the faction responsible for much of the promotion’s success at the time. Eventually, WCW began to bring in celebrities like NBA legend Dennis Rodman, who became a member of the nWo in 1997.

Speaking on his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T looked back at Rodman’s time in WCW and had only good things to say about spending time with the basketball player backstage. “Rodman was off the chain, man, back in the day. I loved it!” he said. “It was major, man, and I was a fly on the wall just watching it go down and it was a spectacle.”

“It was a highlight for me to watch Dennis go out and just be Dennis,” he added, explaining that unlike some of the other members of the locker room, he had no issue with Rodman being in pro wrestling, and actually loved what he brought to the product. “It was the wild, wild west. Hogan and those guys, they were just… Man, it was a party, dog! It was a party with those guys! Cocaine and strippers? That’s the least of the party.”

The NBA Hall of Famer is now set to join the WWE Hall of Fame as well, as he was recently announced to be inducted into the celebrity wing this year. That ceremony will take place next month ahead of WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the “Hall of Fame” podcast, and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

NFL legend Tom Brady has been teasing an appearance in WWE with the numerous shots he’s taken at WWE, and veteran star Tommy Dreamer is uncertain about the angle WWE and Brady are going for heading into Wrestlemania.

Brady has had arguments with Paul about WWE wrestlers being “cute and scripted,” which ruffled many feathers in WWE. The comments have stirred a hornet’s nest, with Seth Rollins stating that Brady doesn’t have the guts to step in the ring with him. With WrestleMania just a few weeks away, fans have been wondering how Brady fits into the scheme of things, a question that Dreamer doesn’t have an answer for.

“He’s an owner or he’s involved with the [Las Vegas] Raiders, so if you put him out there in a wrestling crowd, I think he might get booed because it’s not like a lot of Raiders fans are gonna be going to this thing called WrestleMania. If you put Gunther at a Raiders game and he sh*t on football and he sh*t on the Raiders, he’d be the heel. So Brady is kind of being this heel role, so I don’t know what they’re [WWE] doing. Because, again, you got to think of the payoff. If it’s Logan Paul-Tom Brady in a match, I don’t know if that’s happening,” he said on “Busted Open.” “And then the other part, like when we were talking about like dealing with celebrities and a celebrity of the magnitude of a Tom Brady, if Tom Brady’s secretly training, if Tom Brady’s doing all this stuff, do you think Tom Brady’s gonna want to lose in Allegiant Stadium in a match?”

While Dreamer isn’t sure how Brady fits into the scheme of things heading into WrestleMania 42, he is sure that one other celebrity deserves a WrestleMania match — Jelly Roll. The ECW Original believes that the Grammy winner has done enough with his promos and his ability to draw fans to get himself a spot on the card at “The Show of Shows.”

Rob Van Dam has discussed a potential match in WWE and also touched upon his views on retirement and a possible retirement tour.

A whole generation of WWE fans hasn’t seen the sensation that is RVD, as he last wrestled in the promotion back in 2014. With him recently returning to the ring following a layoff due to injury, the WWE Hall of Famer has spoken to “TMZ Sports” about getting back in the ring in WWE.

“I am open to consider anything [wrestling in WWE]. That’s part of being open-minded. You know, I try not to shut anything out without at least considering it. And when it comes to something like that, they got my number. They can talk to me. As you know, I’ll be appearing at WWE World also,” he said.

John Cena decided to end his WWE career with a retirement tour, saying goodbye to his fans around the world throughout 2025. RVD, though, doesn’t want a similar approach and doesn’t even want to know when he’s having his last match, which offers a different perspective from his former rival’s final few matches in pro wrestling.

“But as far as a retirement tour, like, unless I change my perspective — which always happens, you’re always looking at everything from a different place in life if you keep going — but the way I feel now is like, I don’t like the idea of labeling something retirement. Or I don’t really want to know if I’m having my last match when I am,” said RVD.

The ECW legend, who was out of action due to breaking both his heels, returned to the ring last month at Battle Championship Wrestling in Australia, where he main evented the show and got a win over Australia’s Mick Moretti. 

Last week’s “AEW Collision” — “Slam Dunk Saturday” and “Slam Dunk Sunday” — which aired over the course of two days, grew in both viewership and ratings.

“Collision,” which was taped on March 18 in Fresno, California, aired in two parts, March 21 and 22, and both shows saw a rise in viewership. The March 21 edition saw viewership grow to 469,000 viewers on average, as per “Wrestlenomics,” growing from the 458,000 it secured in the previous week. The following day, “Slam Dunk Sunday,” saw the viewership rise even further as it crossed the 600,000 mark, with an average viewership of 616,000 for the night. Both nights were one-hour episodes, which were scheduled to air at 11 p.m., but were delayed due to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. 

The 18-49 key demographic ratings for both nights also witnessed a gain from the previous week’s rating of 0.07. Saturday night’s show delivered a rating of 0.10, while the following night, the ratings improved even further as it averaged 0.12. 

Saturday night’s show featured a bunch of tag team matches, as well as an AEW TNT Championship match, where Kyle Fletcher retained his title, while Sunday’s match also had some tag team matches, including an AEW World Trios title match.

This coming week’s “Collision” will air live on Saturday, March 28, and will feature an AEW Women’s World Tag Team match, as well as an AEW International Championship match.