CBWL 022

 Wrestling Observer Live – June 11, 2026

Dave Meltzer: Alright, so it’s been a few days and we finally have what appears to be the confirmed list of everyone CBWL has signed in this massive wave. And Bryan… I don’t even know where to start with this.

Bryan Alvarez: I’ve been staring at this list for like twenty minutes and I still don’t believe it. This isn’t a wrestling roster anymore. This is a fucking phone book.

Dave: Let me just run through some of the bigger names real quick so people understand the scale of what they’ve done. We’re talking Beyoncé, Zendaya, Billie Eilish, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence, Mila Kunis, Anne Hathaway, Anya Taylor-Joy, Blake Lively… that’s just off the top of my head from the A-list side.

Bryan: And that’s not even counting the political ones. Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, AOC… they actually signed sitting politicians. Or at least very recent ones. What the hell are they supposed to do with them?

Dave: Then you’ve got the former child star wave — Jennette McCurdy, Miranda Cosgrove, Amanda Bynes, Hilary Duff… plus the ones they already had like JoJo Siwa. And of course they went and signed Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz from Big Bang Theory. I don’t even know what to say about that one.

Bryan: They signed Nicki Minaj. They signed Lizzo. They signed Courtney Love. They signed Paris Hilton. They signed Kris Jenner. This roster is so bloated I don’t know how they’re even going to fit everyone on one show. Are they doing three-hour episodes now? Four-hour episodes? Because at this rate they’re gonna need it.

Dave: And that’s not even touching the comedy side. Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling, Kaley Cuoco, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston… it’s actually insane how many recognizable names they pulled in such a short amount of time.

Bryan: I keep waiting for someone to tell me this is a work. Like, there’s no way this is real. You cannot have a functional wrestling promotion with this many celebrities on the roster. There’s no way to book this without it turning into complete chaos.

Dave: I think that’s kind of the point with them at this stage. They’re not trying to run a traditional wrestling company. They’re running something else entirely, and they’re using the wrestling format as the vehicle. Whether that works long-term is still very much up in the air.

Bryan: I just want to know what the actual in-ring product is going to look like with all these people. Are we gonna see Beyoncé wrestling every week? Is Zendaya gonna be in multi-woman matches with Lauren Boebert and Jennette McCurdy? Because if that’s the direction, then this isn’t even wrestling anymore. This is just performance art with submissions.

Dave: We’re probably going to find out very soon. Because with a roster this big, they’re going to have to start using these people fast or it’s going to look even more ridiculous than it already does.

Bryan: God help us all.

Dave Meltzer: Alright, I actually went through and counted them properly this time. As of right now, CELEB BITCHES WRESTLING LEAGUE has 53 active wrestlers on their roster.

Bryan Alvarez: Fifty-three?! Are you serious?

Dave: Dead serious. Let me read them off so people understand how big this has gotten.

(Dave starts reading from his notes)

Dave: Babyfaces: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Emma Watson, JoJo Siwa, Beyoncé, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Blake Lively, Rachel McAdams, Emily Blunt, Margot Robbie, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Miranda Cosgrove, and Hilary Duff. That’s 16.

Heels: Kristen Bell, Jenna Ortega, Rebel Wilson, Pamela Anderson, Rosie O’Donnell, Amy Schumer, Kim Kardashian, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Courtney Love, Paris Hilton, Kris Jenner, Anita Sarkeesian, Zoë Quinn, Brianna Wu, and Nicki Minaj. That’s 17.

Tweeners: Miley Cyrus, Melissa McCarthy, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Amanda Bynes, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Kaley Cuoco, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling, Mila Kunis, Anne Hathaway, Anya Taylor-Joy, Tara Strong, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Jennette McCurdy, Boxxy, and Marilyn Monroe. That’s 20.

Bryan: Fifty-three people. On one roster. For one promotion. This is completely unsustainable.

Dave: It really is. Even if they do three-hour shows every week, that’s still not enough time to feature everyone in any meaningful way. A lot of these people are going to end up sitting at home collecting paychecks, or only showing up for big pay-per-views.

Bryan: Or they’re going to do what they always do and just throw a bunch of multi-woman matches together every week so they can check names off the list. Which is going to get old fast.

Dave: The other issue is quality control. With this many celebrities, especially ones who have never wrestled before, the in-ring product is going to suffer unless they heavily protect a lot of these people. And if they do that too much, then the actual wrestlers on the roster are going to get buried under all the celebrity spots.

Bryan: This roster is so big it’s almost parody at this point. They signed half of Hollywood and a bunch of politicians in less than a week. At what point does this stop being a wrestling company and just become content farming with famous faces?

Dave: I think we passed that point already. Now the question is whether they can actually make it work or if it’s all going to collapse under its own weight.

Bryan: Fifty-three wrestlers. Jesus Christ.

Dave: And I wouldn’t be surprised if that number goes up before it goes down.

Bryan Alvarez: With a roster this big, I keep coming back to the same question — who the hell is actually running this thing? Because there’s no way Cowboy Watts is making every single decision with 53 wrestlers on the roster. Especially when half of them are legitimate mainstream celebrities.

Dave Meltzer: That’s where it gets interesting. From everything we’ve been hearing, Cowboy Watts is still the head of booking, but the creative side is supposedly being run by this mysterious “Mr. Nasty” figure that nobody has been able to clearly identify. And with this many big names coming in at once, I have to imagine there’s been a lot of internal chaos trying to figure out how to use everyone.

Bryan: Do we even know how much control Mariska Hargitay actually has? Because if the rumor is true that she’s just Cowboy Watts’ girlfriend and he’s funding the whole thing, then she might not have as much say as people think.

Dave: That’s still the prevailing theory among a lot of fans. That Mariska is the public face, but the real power sits with Cowboy Watts… and possibly this Mr. Nasty person above him on the creative side. If that’s accurate, then Mariska is probably more of a figurehead than an actual decision maker when it comes to the big picture.

Bryan: And then you’ve got Jim Ross running Talent Relations with Arnold Palmer and Elena Ceaușescu helping him. That’s already a strange trio, and now they’ve had to sign dozens of celebrities in a very short amount of time. I can’t imagine that process has been smooth.

Dave: Especially with someone like Elena Ceaușescu involved. From what little we know, she’s not exactly the warm and friendly type. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these signings were more… pressured than others.

Bryan: Then you’ve got people like Tony Soprano, Colonel Parker, and Dan Schneider floating around in various roles. This power structure is so bloated and weird that I don’t know how anything gets done without massive arguments every single day.

Dave: It probably doesn’t run smoothly. But right now, they don’t really need it to. The attention they’re getting from all these signings is carrying them. Whether they can actually build something sustainable out of this chaos is the real question.

Bryan: I just keep picturing these meetings. You’ve got Stanley Kubrick arguing with Tony Soprano about match finishes while Dan Schneider tries to push some former child star and Sheri L. Dew is sitting there trying to balance the budget. It sounds like a nightmare.

Dave: It probably is. But again — this company has never really cared about looking normal or professional. They seem to thrive on the dysfunction.

Bryan: Yeah, well… dysfunction only gets you so far. Eventually you have to actually run a wrestling company. And with 53 wrestlers and this power structure, I don’t know how they do that without everything falling apart.

Dave Meltzer: Alright, I actually sat down and counted this properly because I wanted to get an accurate number. Let’s break it down.

First, the power structure — everyone working behind the scenes or in an official capacity.

On-screen, we have Mariska Hargitay as General Manager. That’s 1.

Then behind the scenes we have:

• Cowboy Watts
• Mr. Nasty
• Stanley Kubrick
• Colonel Parker
• Steve Jobs
• Sheri L. Dew
• Jim Ross
• Karin Pouw
• Peter Popoff
• Arnold Palmer
• Elena Ceaușescu
• Sterling Marlin
• Dan Schneider
• John Wick
• Butterbean
• Larry David
• Conrad Murray
• Hunter S. Thompson
• Dr. Ted Eisenberg
• Jordan Peterson
• Dr. Phil
• Jack Black
• Sarah Silverman
• Urkel
• Sarah Palin
• Joan Rivers
• Bill Parcells
• Tony Soprano

That’s 28 more. So total power structure comes out to 29 people.

Bryan Alvarez: Twenty-nine people just running the company behind the scenes? That’s already ridiculous.

Dave: Now we add the active wrestlers. We already counted the roster earlier and came up with 53 wrestlers.

So if we add the two together:

29 people in the power structure + 53 wrestlers = 82 people total working for or signed to CELEB BITCHES WRESTLING LEAGUE right now.

Bryan: Eighty-two people. That’s more than some actual wrestling companies have on their entire payroll, including production staff. And that’s not even counting referees as separate from the power structure or any ring crew or production people they might have.

Dave: Yeah, and keep in mind this number doesn’t include any part-timers, legends who might appear occasionally, or people they might sign in the next few weeks. This is just the current confirmed number.

Bryan: Eighty-two people in one company. And half of them are mainstream celebrities who probably have no idea what they just signed up for. This is completely unsustainable. There’s no way they can keep this many people happy, booked, and paid without something breaking.

Dave: It’s a massive operation now. Whether they can actually manage it is another question entirely.

Bryan: Eighty-two people… Jesus Christ. This company is a monster.

Bryan Alvarez: Real quick, before we move on — have you actually met any of these people personally? Like, have you ever crossed paths with any of the names in this power structure?

Dave Meltzer: A few of them, yeah. Over the years.

Bryan: Like who?

Dave: Well, I’ve known Jim Ross for a long time. We’ve crossed paths plenty of times over the decades. Larry David too — I’ve run into him a couple times through mutual connections in the entertainment world. He’s exactly like you’d expect, by the way.

Bryan: What about some of the others? Like Tony Soprano or Stanley Kubrick? Have you ever met them?

Dave: I’ve never met Tony Soprano. And Stanley Kubrick… no. I never had the chance. He was pretty reclusive even back when he was active.

Bryan: What about Colonel Parker? Or Sheri L. Dew?

Dave: Never met Colonel Parker. And Sheri L. Dew… I don’t think so. I’ve heard of her for years because of her work with the Mormon church, but I’ve never actually spoken to her.

Bryan: So out of this whole weird group running CBWL, you’ve really only dealt with Jim Ross and Larry David?

Dave: Pretty much. The rest of them have either been pretty private or just not in circles I’ve moved in. A lot of these names are new to the wrestling world, so there hasn’t been much overlap yet.

Bryan: That’s kind of surprising. With how long you’ve been around, I figured you would’ve bumped into more of them by now.

Dave: Some of them aren’t really “wrestling people.” They’re coming from completely different worlds. So it makes sense that I haven’t crossed paths with most of them.

Bryan: Fair enough. Still wild to think that Jim Ross is now working alongside Tony Soprano and Stanley Kubrick though.

Dave: Yeah. That one still feels strange even to me.

Bryan Alvarez: Real quick — have you heard anything about any WWE or AEW women going to CBWL? With how many big signings they’ve been making lately, I keep wondering if some of the girls from the bigger companies are going to jump ship.

Dave Meltzer: Nothing concrete so far. I haven’t heard any names from either WWE or AEW that are seriously talking to CBWL right now. At least not at the level where it’s gotten back to me.

Bryan: Nothing at all? Not even any rumblings?

Dave: There’s always going to be some chatter whenever a company starts throwing around big money, but I haven’t heard anything that sounds legitimate. Most of the women in WWE and AEW right now seem to be either locked into deals or not interested in going somewhere like CBWL.

Bryan: Do you think that could change? Especially if CBWL keeps throwing money around like they have been?

Dave: It’s possible. If they keep signing high-profile celebrities and the money stays good, there might be some interest from people who feel underutilized or underpaid where they are. But right now, I’m not seeing any movement from the WWE or AEW side toward CBWL.

Bryan: It’s kind of surprising, honestly. With how many mainstream names they’ve signed, you’d think some of the girls in WWE or AEW would at least be curious.

Dave: A lot of them probably are curious. But curiosity and actually making the jump are two different things. CBWL is still seen as a very different kind of product. Some people might not want to go there, even for more money.

Bryan: Yeah, I guess getting shit on in a porta-potty on national television isn’t for everyone.

Dave: Exactly. For a lot of the women in WWE and AEW, that’s probably a dealbreaker, no matter how much money is on the table.

Bryan: Fair enough. I was just wondering if we were about to see another wave of signings from the bigger companies.

Dave: Not that I’ve heard. But things can change fast in this business. I’ll keep an eye on it.

Bryan Alvarez: Alright, before we wrap up — if you could pick any celebrities to bring into CBWL right now, who would you want to see?

Dave Meltzer: Honestly? I’d like to see Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling come in. I think they’d be interesting.

Bryan: Really? Em—

(Loud static feedback suddenly cuts through the audio. The line crackles heavily for several seconds before cutting out completely.)

---

(A few seconds of dead air.)

Bryan Alvarez: (returning alone) Uh… sorry about that, folks. We’re having some technical issues on Dave’s end. Looks like we lost the connection. We’ll try to get him back on...standby ladies and gentlemen...

Dave Meltzer: (sounding distracted) Yeah, I’m here. Sorry, I just got a text from my wife.

Bryan: Everything alright?

Dave: (getting tense) She just told me she let two missionaries into the house. While I was on the air. She thought they were selling Girl Scout cookies or something. She didn’t want to be rude, so she let them in and gave them water. They’re sitting in my living room right now.

Bryan: …Wait, what?

Dave: (voice starting to rise) This isn’t a coincidence, Bryan. I mention Sheri L. Dew on this show the other day, and now I’ve got Mormon missionaries in my house? While I’m live on air? They’re sending a message. They’re playing games.

Bryan: Dave, slow down. You’re saying your wife let two missionaries in because she thought they were selling cookies?

Dave: Yes! She answered the door while I was talking to you and just let them in. Now they’re sitting there drinking water in my living room like it’s normal. This is not normal. This is targeted.

Bryan: targeted by who? The Mormon church?

Dave: (agitated) I don’t know who exactly, but somebody doesn’t want me talking about Sheri Dew. I got a call earlier from Daniel C. Peterson telling me to stop mentioning her name on the program. And now, not even a few hours later, there’s missionaries in my house. This is intimidation. This is how they operate.

Bryan: Dave, man, you’re spiraling. It’s probably just a coincidence. Your wife was being polite. That’s it.

Dave: No. No, this is the same thing that happened with the Jehovah’s Witnesses years ago. They start small, they get in your house, and then it escalates. I’m not doing this again. I’m not letting this happen.

(Dave can be heard moving around, possibly grabbing things.)

Dave: I’m leaving. I’m packing a bag and going to my sister’s in San Jose tonight. I’m not staying in this house while they’re playing these games.

Bryan: Dave, you don’t have to—

Dave: (interrupting, sounding more unhinged) They’re watching, Bryan. They know I’m talking about them. This isn’t over. I’ll call you when I get to San Jose.

(The line goes dead. Static for a few seconds.)

Bryan Alvarez: (after a long pause) …Well. That just happened. Uh… we’re gonna take a quick break. We’ll be back in a minute.

(After a short break, Bryan comes back alone.)

Bryan Alvarez: Alright… we’re back. Dave had to step away for a bit. I’m not really sure what just happened there, but we’ll figure that out later.

In the meantime, while I’ve got the mic to myself, I’ve been sitting here thinking about something. And now that I’m doing the math out loud, it’s actually kind of insane.

Let’s say Dave watches every major weekly show — WWE Raw, SmackDown, AEW Dynamite, Collision, maybe Rampage if he’s feeling generous. That’s already like 8–10 hours a week right there. Then you add in the PPVs. WWE’s got like four or five big ones a year, AEW’s got their own, NJPW has their big shows… even if he’s not watching every single one live, he’s still going through most of them. That’s another 30, 40 hours a month easy.

Then there’s all the indie stuff people send him. Matches from every little promotion across the country, plus Japan — New Japan, All Japan, Stardom, whatever else he’s keeping up with. Even if he’s fast-forwarding through some of it, he’s still watching a ridiculous amount of wrestling every single week.

And that’s just the watching. Now add in the time he spends doing these shows with me, writing the newsletters, doing the research, answering emails, staying on top of rumors… I mean, when does the guy sleep? When does he eat? When does he do anything that isn’t wrestling?

I’m sitting here adding it up in my head and I’m getting close to 40, maybe 50 hours a week minimum just on wrestling-related stuff. And that’s probably being generous. Some weeks it’s probably more.

And now he’s also dealing with CELEB BITCHES WRESTLING LEAGUE on top of everything else? No wonder he’s losing it a little bit. I don’t know how anybody stays sane doing this job at the volume Dave does it.

Anyway… we’ll see if he calls back in. If not, I’ll just keep going solo until we figure out what’s going on.

Bryan Alvarez: You know, while we’re waiting to see if Dave calls back in, I’ve been thinking about something. And I don’t mean this in a mean way, but… does Dave even have time for his own family?

I mean, we just sat here and added up how many hours a week this job probably takes. Between watching all the shows, the PPVs, the Japan stuff, the indies people send him, doing these shows, writing, researching… it’s a ridiculous amount of time. And that’s just the wrestling side.

Now add in everything that’s been going on with CBWL lately — the constant rumors, the power structure stuff, the signings, whatever the hell just happened on air with him freaking out about missionaries in his house… when does he even see his wife?

I don’t know Dave’s personal life that well, but from the outside looking in, it feels like this job has to consume almost everything. And I’ve got to imagine that puts a lot of strain on a marriage. How do you maintain a relationship when you’re basically living inside wrestling media 24/7?

Even if his wife is supportive — and I’m sure she is, to some degree — there’s only so much time a person can give before something has to give. And with how unhinged Dave sounded earlier, it really makes me wonder how much of this is bleeding into his personal life.

I’m not trying to be disrespectful or anything. I just… I don’t know how anybody balances this kind of workload with having a normal home life. It seems impossible. And after hearing him talk about his wife letting missionaries in while he was on air, and then him saying he’s going to San Jose… it sounds like things might be a little rocky at home right now.

I hope I’m wrong. But based on everything we just heard, I wouldn’t be surprised if the stress of all this — the job, the CBWL stuff, whatever’s going on with these religious groups — is starting to affect more than just his on-air behavior.

Anyway… still no word from Dave. I’ll keep you updated if he calls back in.

Bryan Alvarez: And while we’re on the subject… I’ve also been wondering how Dave’s marriage is even holding up with all of this. Because if he’s spending as many hours as we think he is on wrestling — watching it, writing about it, talking about it, obsessing over it — then how much time does that actually leave for his wife?

I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but realistically, when does he even have time for a relationship? When does he have time for anything outside of this bubble? I can’t imagine it’s easy being married to someone whose entire life revolves around wrestling 24/7. There’s gotta be some strain there.

And I’m not even gonna get too deep into it, but… I also wonder what his sex life is like. Because if he’s this deep in the wrestling world, and now he’s also knee-deep in whatever the hell is going on with CBWL… when does he even have the energy? Or the time? I’m just saying, it’s a lot.

(Bryan pauses for a second, checking his phone.)

Bryan: Actually, hold on. I just got a text from Dave.

(He reads it quietly for a moment.)

Bryan: He says he’s okay, but he’s not coming back on tonight. He’s heading to his sister’s place in San Jose like he said earlier. We’ll pick this back up live tomorrow.

So… yeah. That’s where we’re at. Dave’s dealing with some personal stuff, and we’ll see how he’s doing in the morning.

Thanks for sticking around through all of that. This has been Wrestling Observer Live. We’ll talk to you again tomorrow.