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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5861

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Friday, February 28 2020		Issue #5861
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

There will most likely be no newsletter tomorrow as I will spend all day traveling. I will land just in time to catch the AEW pay-per-view at a bar close to the hotel so hopefully I will be live tweeting that one.

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 

WWE SUPERSTARS AND CREW LAND SAFELY IN BOSTON- Unlike last time around, the departure of the WWE's chartered flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, went without a hitch and on time and all WWE Superstars and crew have landed safely in Boston. The Altas Air 8123 flight departed Riyadh at 3:06AM local time and then landed in Frankfurt, Germany at 7:27AM. After a short stop for refueling, the Boeing 747-400 plane took off from from Frankfurt-Hahn Airport at 9:43AM local time and landed in Boston, the site of tonight's Smackdown, at 11:52AM ET. Last November after Crown Jewel, the majority of the crew got stuck in Riyadh after WWE cited aircraft problems amid rumors of a showdown with the Saudi government. The delayed departure meant that no one made it to the Smackdown live broadcast on FOX, with NXT stars and the women's roster filling in. Brock Lesnar, who departed in his own jet along with Paul Heyman, was the only performer who got there in time.

UNIVERSAL TITLE CHANGE ALTERS COUPLE OF MATCHES AT WRESTLEMANIA 36- The Smackdown side of the WrestleMania card got some overhaul over the past week according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. Goldberg, who was not scheduled to be part of the show at all, is now the Universal champion after beating The Fiend yesterday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The outcome of the match had an impact on two WWE Superstars and who they would be facing at WrestleMania. Roman Reigns is expected to be the #1 contender for the Universal title after Elimination Chamber is over and done with. As of last week, Reigns was penned to take on The Fiend but then, as it often happens in this business, things changed. Reigns is now set to take on Goldberg for the title. Bray Wyatt was hoping to walk into WrestleMania as the champion but that obviously is not happening now. Wyatt is now slated to be wrestling John Cena on the show, which would be a rematch from WrestleMania XXX. Cena was originally thought to be wrestling Elias at WrestleMania but now gets The Fiend instead.

NXT RATING- NXT did 717,000 viewers for this week’s episode on USA, down 77,000 viewers from last week. A 0.23 rating in the 18-49 demographic placed the show in #23 in the top 50 cable chart. The difference between NXT and Dynamite was of 148,000 viewers this week, an increase of 49,000 viewers compared to last week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

MIZ & MRS RATING- Miz & Mrs season two episode five did only 394,000 viewers, down from the 500,000 viewers from episode four. This was the least-watched episode of the whole series. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

WOMEN'S LADDER MATCH SET FOR NXT TAKEOVER: TAMPA BAY- There will be no NXT Women's title match at the next NXT Takeover but that does not mean that the show will not have the presence of NXT females. A number one contender's ladder match will be taking place at Takeover: Tampa Bay with the participants being determined through a series of qualifying matches over the next several weeks on NXT on USA Network. It was not revealed how many women will be part of the ladder match but usually ladder matches have six or eight participants. The winner of that ladder match will then take on either Charlotte Flair or Rhea Ripley at a later date.

JOHN CENA ON SMACKDOWN TONIGHT- 16-time world champ John Cena will be appearing on Smackdown tonight, his first appearance on WWE television in seven months. The show will be taped from Boston, 40 miles away from his home town of West Newbury, so expect a nice homecoming for the wrestler-turned-actor. Cena has not appeared on WWE television since July where he also showed up on Smackdown doing a rap battle with The Usos. Cena last wrestled in January 2019 on Raw. He is confirmed to be taking part of WrestleMania this year and will have a match and not just a talking segment like last year. In a tweet, Cena put up a "checklist" for tonight, marking a cap, wristbands, jorts, time-bending shirt, and heart-pumping adrenaline. "BOSTON! You CAN C Me," Cena wrote.

DYNAMITE RATING- AEW Dynamite had another comfortable win this week in the ratings getting a total of 865,000 viewers, down 28,000 viewers from last week’s show. Dynamite did a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic which was good for #9 in the top 50 cable chart. The Road to Revolution show which aired after Dynamite did 383,000 viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

AEW HEADING TO THE UK IN 2020- At the AEW panel at the C2E2 convention today, AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes revealed that the company will be holding shows in the United Kingdom this year and most probably in Canada as well. The UK show will be a pay-per-view but Cody didn't dive into any specifics although he said that there will be multiple shows held there. He was less committal for a Canadian date as things are still being worked out. The last major wrestling pay-per-view in the United Kingdom was WWE's SummerSlam in 1992 and the time difference has certainly played a role in the country not getting any major shows over the last few decades.

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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5860

#50

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| .` | _| \ \/\/ /\__ \ |__| _|  | |   | | | _||   /
|_|\_|___| \_/\_/ |___/____|___| |_|   |_| |___|_|_\


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Thursday, February 27 2020		Issue #5860
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Nope. Not a fan of what just happened. I appreciate Goldberg popping in every now and then but Jesus Christ...champion again? That's a no. Big no. Don't like it.

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


SUPER SHOWDOWN 2020 RESULTS- Here are the results from Super ShowDown which took place from the Mohammed Abdu Arena earlier today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeated The Viking Raiders in the Kickoff match; The Undertaker defeated AJ Styles, R-Truth, Andrade, Erick Rowan, and Bobby Lashley in a gauntlet match to win the Tuwaiq Trophy; John Morrison and The Miz defeated The New Day to become the new Smackdown Tag Team champions; Angel Garza defeated Humberto Carrillo; Seth Rollins and Murphy defeated The Street Profits to retain the Raw Tag Team titles; Mansoor defeated Dolph Ziggler; Brock Lesnar defeated Ricochet to retain the WWE title; Roman Reigns defeated Baron Corbin in a steel cage match; Bayley defeated Naomi to retain the Smackdown Women's title; Goldberg defeated The Fiend Bray Wyatt to become the new Universal champion. 


GOLDBERG WINS THE UNIVERSAL TITLE- WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg is walking out of Saudi Arabia with some extra luggage in the form of the WWE Universal title. The 53-year-old defeated The Fiend Bray Wyatt after four spears and a jackhammer in a fairly short match where he also survived the mandible claw twice. For the second time in his career, he will now walk into WrestleMania as the Universal champion. Goldberg won the title for the first time at Fastlane in 2017, defeating Kevin Owens in 22 seconds. He then lost it clean to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 a month later. According to reports, Goldberg was not originally scheduled to be at WrestleMania but the card has received a major overhaul, especially on the Smackdown side. Goldberg's win brings Bray Wyatt's title reign to an end after 119 days. He won the title on October 31 last year at Crown Jewel also in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.


THE UNDERTAKER SHOWS UP AT SUPER SHOWDOWN- The Undertaker showed up at Super ShowDown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and inserted himself in the Tuwaiq Trophy gauntlet match. It was AJ Styles who was about to be declared the winner after Rey Mysterio was attacked backstage by Gallows and Anderson. The ring announcer said that if no one came out by the count of ten, Styles would be declared the winner. But half-way through the count, the cameras went backstage again as Gallows and Anderson got some of their own medicine. Then, the camera while it was still on the floor showing both of them in agony, catches the boots of The Undertaker as the crowd popped big. Taker's theme song started and out came the Dead Man with a WrestleMania-style entrance filled with fire and lasers. He stepped in the ring, chokeslammed AJ Styles and covered him for the pinfall...while still wearing his trench coat and hat! This was the setup for their WrestleMania match as The Undertaker gets back on the Mania card after a one-year absence.


WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER TO HOST MARCH 11 EPISODE OF NXT ON USA- The March 11 episode of NXT on USA Network will be filmed from inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. There were rumors that the show might take place from Universal Studios but it looks like WWE is keeping things in-house for this one. WWE had to make way for another event at Full Sail University and the change of venue has been known to them for quite a while. Tickets for the show were made available for free yesterday after NXT went off the air. Needless to say, it's all sold out. This will be the second event taped from the Performance Center as WWE held Halftime Heat last year with PC trainees, family and friends in attendance. WWE is marketing this as NXT Fan Appreciation Night.


TWO STEEL CAGE MATCHES SET FOR NEXT WEEK'S NXT- Two steel cage matches will be taking place next week on USA Network to counteract the post-Revolution Dynamite over at TNT. The first match, which was already announced, is Tegan Nox taking on her former friend Dakota Kai. This match follows the no holds barred match the two had at Takeover which ended with Raquel Gonzales interfering and helping Kai securing the victory. The second steel cage match was revealed yesterday with Velveteen Dream taking on Roderick Strong. Dream issued the challenge and Strong accepted on last night's NXT.


WRESTLEMANIA 5K FUN RUN IN TAMPA BAY- WWE today announced the WrestleMania 5K Fun Run to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America which will take place on Saturday April 4, 2020 as part of WrestleMania Week in Tampa Bay. The WrestleMania 5K Fun Run will begin at 7:30AM on Channelside Drive in the heart of Downtown Tampa Bay with special appearances by WWE Superstars. The 5K Fun Run will be open to both competitive and casual runners. Runners can register by visiting www.wrestlemaniatampabay5k.com. Participants are encouraged to dress like their favorite WWE Superstars for a chance to win prizes, with the top three best dressed participants receiving WWE Championship titles replicas, and finisher medals will be awarded in a post-race ceremony hosted by WWE Superstars. Registration Packets and “How to Dress Like a WWE Superstar” style guides will be available for pick up at The Tampa Convention Center on Thursday, April 2 between 3PM and 7PM, and Friday, April 3 between 1PM and 7PM and at Amalie Arena ticket office on Saturday, April 4 at 6AM.
 

JERICHO GETS SEVEN STAPLES ON HIS FACE- Chris Jericho ended the night in Kansas City yesterday with a new souvenir: a scar on his face. During the main event segment which featured the weigh-in between Jericho and Moxley, Moxley headbutted Le Champion so hard that he cut him right between the eyes. Jericho needed seven stitches to close the wound which sits between his left eye and the bridge of his nose. Jericho was stitched up backstage after the show. "My bad #Mox...I let my guard down. Not gonna make the same mistake twice on Saturday at #AEWRevolution...your day of reckoning is coming at the hands of #LeChampion," Jericho wrote in a post on Instagram. Jericho and Moxley will wrestle for the AEW World title this Saturday in the main event of Revolution.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5859

#49

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TO UNSUBSCRIBE : mailto:[email protected]
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Watch Super ShowDown free on the WWE Network! 
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| \| | __\ \    / / __| |  | __|_   _|_   _| __| _ \
| .` | _| \ \/\/ /\__ \ |__| _|  | |   | | | _||   /
|_|\_|___| \_/\_/ |___/____|___| |_|   |_| |___|_|_\

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Wednesday, February 26 2020		Issue #5859
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Visit our website at 
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow folks!

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 

BOOKER T'S LAWSUIT AGAINST ACTIVISION TO MOVE FORWARD- The copyright infringement lawsuit filed last year by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. against Call of Duty publisher Activision should move forward, according to a Texas federal court judge. In his February 25 ruling, Judge Robert Schroeder of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas denied the request by Activision to dismiss or transfer the litigation, upholding an earlier ruling by a magistrate judge. Booker T’s lawsuit alleges that the character Prophet in the popular video game franchise is too similar to the G.I. Bro comic book action hero character he created and copyrighted based on one of his early pro wrestling personas. “They both have the same muscular build, same skin tone, nearly identical facial features and facial expression, dreads topped with a cap, black, army style clothing, ammo holders strapped to their lower body, and assault rifles, held in a similar fashion with the end of the gun positioned near the character’s right shoulder,” states Judge Schroeder in his ruling. “Because a side-by-side comparison of the works identified in Plaintiff’s complaint are sufficiently similar to plausibly allege striking similarity, Plaintiff has adequately pleaded copying.” In the first three days of its 2018 release, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 sold more than $500 million in physical copies and downloads. Total sales to date are thought to exceed $1 billion. Mr. Huffman is represented by Micah Dortch and Chris Lindstrom of the Potts Law Firm and Patrick Zummo with the Law Offices of Patrick Zummo. The case is Booker T. Huffman v. Activision Publishing, Inc., Activision Blizzard, Inc., and Major League Gaming Corp. filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
 
TRAILER FOR PARAMOUNT PICTURES' RUMBLE ANIMATION MOVIE- The trailer for Rumble, the Paramount Pictures animated movie which also features Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch, is now available to watch. The synopsis for the movie reads, "In a world where monster wrestling is a global sport and monsters are superstar athletes, teenage Winnie seeks to follow in her father’s footsteps by coaching a lovable underdog monster into a champion." Rumble is directed by Hamish Grieve and produced by Mark Bakshi and Brad Booker with cast including Will Arnett, Terry Crews, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tony Danza, and Susan Kelechi Watson. It will be released in theaters nationwide in January 2021. WWE Studios also gets an "in association with" credit in the movie. You can check out the hilarious trailer at .

NXT PREVIEW- NXT tonight will feature Charlotte Flair's first match on the brand in almost five years as The Queen continues her path to regaining the NXT Women's title at WrestleMania. Flair will be taking on the talented Bianca Belair on the show, a match which Rhea Ripley will surely be watching closely. The other two matches scheduled to take place are Tommaso Ciampa versus Austin Theory, and Dominik Dijakovic takes on Cameron Grimes. A Finn Balor appearance is also being hyped as Balor will reveal what's next for him after taking care of Gargano at Takeover.

RAW RATING- Monday Night Raw had an average 2,210,000 viewers this week, down 227,000 viewers from last week's broadcast. This was the third least-watched broadcast of 2020 so far. Hour one started with 2,246,000 viewers, then followed by 2,278,000 in the second hour before dropping to 2,106,000 viewers in the third and final hour. Raw was #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and was #8 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

THREE MORE MATCHES ADDED TO SUPER SHOWDOWN- Three more matches were added to the Super ShowDown pay-per-view card for tomorrow, sending the total number to 10 on the card. The matches were announced during The Bump this morning. Saudi's own Mansoor will be taking on Dolph Ziggler, Humberto Carrillo takes on Angel Garza, and The Viking Raiders will take on Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson during the Kickoff show. The show starts at 8PM local time which is Noon ET with the Kickoff show starting at 11AM ET. The Kickoff show will air on the WWE Network, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.

SAMOA JOE SUSPENDED FOR 30 DAYS- WWE yesterday announced that Samoa Joe has been suspended for 30 days effective Monday, February 24. This is his first violation of the Wellness Program. The former NXT champion suffered two concussions within the span of a month and the latest one happened while he was filming a commercial for WWE two weeks ago, hitting his head on a table that was supposed to break. The suspension means that he will not be part of the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and will make it just in time for WrestleMania. U.S. champion Andrade, who was suspended last month, will be returning at Super ShowDown.

DID MATT HARDY JUST DROP ANOTHER HINT?- Matt Hardy is certainly a master when it comes to the use of social media and his ability to get people talking with his Broken gimmick. In a simple post on Twitter, Hardy once again lit up the wrestling world by posting "DEAR DR RKO" and a video thanking Randy Orton saying that at first he thought the beating he received was a curse, but in reality it was a blessing as a clock is heard tick-tocking in the background. But eagle-eyed fans were quick to figure out the "easter egg" in Hardy's tweet. DEAR DR RKO can be arranged to exactly read DARK ORDER, the faction that he is highly rumored to be heading when/if he signs with All Elite Wrestling. Matt's wife Reby applauded the fans on Twitter saying, "Wow you guys are really good at word scrambles LOL." Hardy's WWE contract is up next month.

30-MINUTE IRON MAN MATCH TO HEADLINE DYNAMITE- The Revolution go-home episode of Dynamite on TNT takes place tonight from Kansas City, Missouri live from the Silverstein Eye Center Arena. The show will be headlined by a 30-minute iron man match featuring Kenny Omega taking on Pac. Two other matches announced include The Butcher and The Blade vs Chuck Taylor and Trent, and The Inner Circle's Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz vs the Jurassic Express team of Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy, and Marko Stunt in a six-man tag team match. The weigh-ins for the AEW World title match between Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley will also take place on the broadcast.

LANCE ARCHER SIGNS WITH ALL ELITE WRESTLING- All Elite Wrestling today confirmed the signing of Lance Archer. Archer, 42, has wrestled for Impact Wrestling, WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and several other indie promotions throughout his career after making his debut 20 years ago. Archer joined TNA in 2004 and stayed there till 2009 before joining WWE in the same year. His stint in WWE did not lost long though as he was released a year later. His appearances were mainly on ECW and Superstars. He then joined NJPW in 2011 for four years before returning in 2017. His signing with AEW was highly rumored over the past couple of weeks as the company continues to expand its ever-growing roster. The former IWGP United States champion lost the title to fellow AEW star Jon Moxley in a Texas Deathmatch at Wrestle Kingdom 14 last month.

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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5858

#48

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TO UNSUBSCRIBE : mailto:[email protected]
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Watch Super ShowDown free on the WWE Network! 
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| .` | _| \ \/\/ /\__ \ |__| _|  | |   | | | _||   /
|_|\_|___| \_/\_/ |___/____|___| |_|   |_| |___|_|_\


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Tuesday, February 25 2020		Issue #5858
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Got myself a ticket for the March 9 Raw in Washington, DC. Only realized this morning that they'll be there when I'm there LOL! Haven't been to a WWE show since WrestleMania 34 week. Anyone going?


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


THE UNDERTAKER JOINS WWE CREW TO SAUDI ARABIA- Despite not having a match on the card, The Undertaker has traveled to Saudi Arabia and is scheduled to be part of the Super ShowDown pay-per-view in Riyadh in some form or another. Multiple sources, including Dave Meltzer and John Pollock, confirmed that Taker was part of the WWE crew who took the charter flight yesterday following Raw. Taker was absent from the last Saudi pay-per-view in November but did wrestle at Super ShowDown in June when he took on Goldberg in the main event. That match made headlines for all the wrong reasons but Taker returned to the ring a month later at Extreme Rules in a tag team match. Speaking of Super ShowDown, Rusev did not travel to the Kingdom and will not be part of the Tuwaiq trophy gauntlet match. He was replaced by Rey Mysterio in the match which also has AJ Styles, Andrade, Erick Rowan, R-Truth, and Bobby Lashley. There are seven matches scheduled for Super ShowDown so far including five title matches, one of which is for the Smackdown Women'
 s title.


EDGE ADVERTISED FOR MARCH 9 RAW- WWE Hall of Famer Edge is being advertised to appear on the March 9 episode of Monday Night Raw live from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. The Twitter account of the Capital One Arena tweeted, "See it LIVE at @WWE RAW on March 9! @EdgeRatedR will be in the house to give a medical update on his condition," giving away his appearance. His wife, Beth Phoenix, will be on Raw next week to also talk about him, a perfect lead-in to his return. Edge was last seen on WWE television on the Raw following the Royal Rumble where he was brutally attacked by his former tag team partner Randy Orton. The March 9 Raw will have the fallout from the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and it's full speed ahead towards WrestleMania from that Raw onward. Edge is expected to wrestle Orton in Tampa. Edge has not wrestled at a WrestleMania since 27 in 2011 where he retained the World Heavyweight title against Alberto Del Rio. He retired a week later and surrendered his title.


NXT TO HOST TV SHOW AT DIFFERENT LOCATION FOR MARCH 11 EPISODE- The March 11 NXT on USA Network will not be taking place from Full Sail University and the brand will be taking the television show on the road for that day. The reason for the change of location is due to Full Sail being already booked for that day for an event that couldn't be changed to accommodate NXT. So far, WWE has not announced where the March 11 television show will be taking place but there are some rumors it will take place from Universal Studios in Orlando. With the show just three weeks away and no tickets on sale, it would make sense that it's at Universal since entrance would be free of charge as part of the park entry ticket. NXT returns to Full Sail University the following week and every week thereafter.


WWE TO TOUR AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND IN SUMMER- The Raw brand will be taking a tour Down Under this Summer for three live events, two in Australia and one in New Zealand. The tour starts on August 6 in Melbourne at the Rod Laver Arena and the following day WWE Superstars move to Sydney for a show at the Qudos Bank Arena. New Zealand will get their turn on August 8 in Auckland at the Spark Arena. This year, WWE is celebrating 35 years of live event tours in Australia having debuted in Melbourne and Sydney in November 1985. WWE held a mega show in 2018 at The MCG and it was shown on pay-per-view and the WWE Network. Tickets for the Australia shows go on sale on March 5 at 10AM local time from ticketek.com.au while the New Zealand show goes on sale on March 3 at ticketmaster.com.au.


SUNNY RELEASED FROM JAIL- WWE Hall of Famer Tammy "Sunny" Sytch was released from jail today, a month before her scheduled parole. For the past year, Sytch has been jailed inside the Carbon County Correctional Facility in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania following several run-ins with the law. Her lawyers fought to get her paroled and the judge agreed, originally setting the date for March 25. Sytch was locked up after missing a drug test and failing to report to her parole officer. Sunny has yet to address her status publicly. Before going to jail, she was frequently active on both Facebook and Twitter.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5857

#47

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TO UNSUBSCRIBE : mailto:[email protected]
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Watch Super ShowDown free on the WWE Network! 
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           | (_) | .` | |__ | || .` | _|
            \___/|_|\_|____|___|_|\_|___|
_  _ _____      _____ _    ___ _____ _____ ___ ___
| \| | __\ \    / / __| |  | __|_   _|_   _| __| _ \
| .` | _| \ \/\/ /\__ \ |__| _|  | |   | | | _||   /
|_|\_|___| \_/\_/ |___/____|___| |_|   |_| |___|_|_\


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Monday, February 24 2020		Issue #5857
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Visit our website at 
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

There will be a change in newsletter delivery times starting from this weekend as I travel back to D.C. for 12 days so expect a later delivery.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


SUPER SHOWDOWN STAGE READY- The Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has already been transformed for Super ShowDown with the huge stage and ring set up ahead of Thursday's show. This arena is similar to Daily's Place in Jacksonville where AEW has already held two shows but on a much larger scale. WWE has set up a mega LED display screen behind the usual stage which is similar to the Crown Jewel set and the ring has the huge canopy that covers it. The LED display looks "free standing" from the footage which was uploaded by a r/squaredcircle user. The layout of the arena will make a good visual on TV and will look completely different from previous Saudi shows. This is the first time that a show will not be held at either the King Abdullah International Stadium or the King Fahd International Stadium. You can see the video at .


NXT TURNS 10!- WWE's yellow brand, NXT, turned 10 years old yesterday, having been formed back on February 23, 2010 following the end of WWE's version of ECW. NXT took over the Florida Championship Wrestling brand which served as the developmental territory for WWE two years later when WWE stopped FCW and moved all its operations to Full Sail after WWE struck a deal with the university to host its television show. Before transforming itself into a third brand, NXT was a segment on WWE television shows where developmental wrestlers were teamed up with main roster Superstars with each episode showing the progress of their characters. WWE held five seasons of the original NXT before in 2012 the move was made to transform it into another stand alone show. In February 2014, NXT held its first live televised show, NXT ArRIVAL, which was also the first live event on the WWE Network. The first event using the name Takeover was in May and after that, all NXT special events used the name Takeover. 2015 was
  also a big year for the brand as it started moving out from Full Sail University and holding shows across the United States, with NXT Takeover: Brooklyn being the first one to be held in a major arena. Last September, WWE and USA Network announced that NXT would be moving live every Wednesday with its own two-hour show on cable, pitting NXT in direct competition with All Elite Wrestling. The plan is also to go global with NXT. The United Kingdom already has its own NXT UK branch and rumors are that NXT Japan will also start in the near future.


CHARLOTTE FLAIR TO WRESTLE ON NXT ON WEDNESDAY- Former 10-time women's champion Charlotte Flair will be lacing up her boots for her first match in NXT in almost five years this coming Wednesday night on USA Network. Flair, who has a title shot against NXT Women's champion Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, will be facing Bianca Belair on the show. Flair attacked both Ripley and Belair after their match ended at Takeover: Portland. "NXT Women calling out The Queen is apparently the trending thing to do. I would want to face the best too. See you Wednesday," Flair tweeted, accepting Belair's challenge. Flair's last match in NXT was against Sasha Banks on the July 15 episode of the show on the WWE Network. Flair lost the match and Sasha retained her NXT Women's title.


TRIPLE H AND STEPHANIE AT RINGSIDE FOR FURY/WILDER BOXING FIGHT- Both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were ringside on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to cheer on Tyson Fury in his boxing fight against Deontay Wilder, a fight which Fury won in the seventh round. The Game also visited Fury in his locker room before the fight. The Gypsy King had an entrance, well, fit for a king in a wrestling world, and also led the crowd signing in his post-match interview. Fury spent some time training at the WWE Performance Center when he was preparing for his match against Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel late last year. Fury has done a few WWE appearances so far and indicated he would like to do even more. Triple H praised both Wilder and Fury for a great night of boxing and several WWE Superstars also joined in to congratulate Fury for his performance. Strowman also challenged Fury to try and get his Intercontinental title.


TAMMY "SUNNY" SYTCH TO GET PAROLE AFTER YEAR IN JAIL- Tammy Sytch, the WWE Hall of Famer better known as Sunny, will be paroled from the Carbon County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, March 25 according to PWInsider.com. Her attorneys fought in court for her release last week and the judge has granted it. Sytch has been arrested and in jail for a year after her previous parole was revoked after missing a drug test and then also failed to report to her parole officer. She was arrested and released multiple times before finally being incarcerated for a whole year with trouble in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Sunny was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011 and at one point was the most downloaded celebrity on the Internet back in the late 90s. Her life however has been on a downward spiral for several years with battles with addiction and despite help by WWE-sponsored rehabs, she failed to get back on her feet.


AEW TO DEBUT IN HOUSTON IN APRIL- AEW will have its Houston debut on April 29 with Dynamite live from the Fertitta Center on the campus of the University of Houston. Formerly known as Hofheinz Pavilion, the Fertitta Center is an 8,000-seater multi-purpose arena home of the Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams. Tickets for this show go on sale this Friday, February 28 at 11AM CST starting at $30. Tickets will be available at AEWTix.com.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5856

#46

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Saturday, February 22 2020		Issue #5856
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Lots of mixed responses about the Bella Twins being inducted into the HOF. While I think they are deserving because they were an integral part of the women's division for a very long time, I think it was a bit early to do this. WWE is running out of names to put in their Hall of Fame. I still believe the event should be one or two people only every year and in a more intimate setting rather than an arena. But that's just me.


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WWE AND ESPN IN TALKS OVER PAY-PER-VIEW RIGHTS- Multiple sources are reporting that WWE is in discussion with ESPN regarding the pay-per-view rights, weeks after there were rumors that Amazon is in the running to purchase all of WWE's pay-per-view rights for their Prime service. The ESPN news was originally broken by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. If WWE does indeed move its PPV shows to ESPN it would mean that it would join the UFC on the ESPN+ brand. The UFC cut all ties with traditional pay-per-view providers and does PPV business solely through ESPN+. Apart from the $4.99 monthly subscription required to access ESPN+, the UFC sells its pay-per-views for $64.99. The idea is that WWE would make more money if the pay-per-view rights are sold to a third party provider as they would receive a lump sum for each show regardless of how many people actually buy the pay-per-view. No pay-per-view currently makes a profit for WWE and WrestleMania, which made millions in the past, hasn't made money since it moved to the WWE Network in 2014. All current WWE pay-per-views are part of the WWE Network $9.99 per month price. Removing PPVs from the Network would be a massive hit to the service as hundreds of thousands of individuals are likely to cancel the subscription. WWE also could sell the rights of their biggest four or five pay-per-views every year and leave the rest on the Network. WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said that if WWE opts to go this route, a deal would be announced by the end of the quarter which could mean WrestleMania would be the first pay-per-view people would have to pay for.


SMACKDOWN RATING- Smackdown on FOX last night pulled in 2,490,000 viewers, an increase of just 9,000 viewers from last week's show off 2,542,000 viewers in the first and 2,438,000 viewers in the second hour. The show topped the important demos on the night across network TV but as always only beat The CW in overall viewership. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


TITAN GAMES CHAMP EMILY ANDZULIS MAKES NXT DEBUT- Former Titan Games competitor Emily Andzulis made her NXT debut yesterday at a non-televised live event in Ocala, Florida. She teamed up with Catalina Garcia and Rita Reis in a losing effort against Indi Hartwell, MJ Jenkins, and Deonna Purrazzo. Andzulis, who is 27 years old, was the first female champion of the Titan Games NBC show which is hosted by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and after the show she enrolled into the Knoxville JPWA wrestling school, a school which is run by Tom Prichard and Glenn "Kane" Jacobs. The massage therapist had a tryout with WWE in April of last year before joining the wrestling school. She was offered a WWE developmental deal last month and is now training full time at the WWE Performance Center.


KAIRI SANE GETS MARRIED- Current WWE Women's Tag Team title holder Kairi Sane got married today in Japan. In a message, Sane wrote, "Today I'd like to announce that I got married to my fiancé on Feb 22, 2020. We had a long distance relationship from the beginning of our long journey, but he was always been there for me through thick and thin and I knew I wanted to live the rest of my life with him." The 31-year-old former NXT champion has been working with WWE and living in the United States since 2017. While she said she will continue working hard to become that wrestler who can bring happiness and smiles to people, Sane wrote that she's also looking forward to help build a family filled with laughter and joy with a man who she respects deeply.


NAOMI GETS SMACKDOWN WOMEN'S TITLE SHOT NEXT WEEK- The recently returned Naomi will get a shot at the Smackdown Women's title this coming week after she overcame Carmella in a one-on-one match on Smackdown last night. Bayley vs Naomi will now take place at Super ShowDown on Thursday, February 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This becomes the second match featuring the women in the country and the first women's title defense. After four attempts, WWE managed to convince the Kingdom to allow their women to work on the show and Natalya and Lacey Evans made history at Crown Jewel late last year by becoming the first two females to enter a WWE ring in Saudi. Lana was also part of the show and accompanied Bobby Lashley to the top of the ramp before returning backstage. Renee Young had been allowed to do ringside commentary on the second show. WWE signed a 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia and will be holding two shows per year moving forward.


NIKKI AND BRIE BELLA ANNOUNCED FOR THE WWE HALL OF FAME- WWE announced on Smackdown that Nikki and Brie Bella, The Bella Twins, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2020, joining so far The nWo and Batista. The twins started working for WWE when they signed a developmental deal in 2007 after both were part of the Diva Search contest that year but neither of them won. After spending a year with FCW, they made their main roster debut in 2008.? Their gimmick was that Brie would wrestle and then half-way during the match she would roll under the ring and Nikki would come out and continue the match, winning. The whole shtick lasted around three months until their plan was uncovered by Natalya and Victoria who at the time were feuding with Brie. Both Nikki and Brie went from Raw to ECW and back to Raw in different drafts in the late 2000s and really found their footing in 2011 when Brie was the first one to grab the Divas title and then Nikki won it a year later. The duo left in mid-2012 but returned to the promotion a year later feuding with The Funkadactlys and AJ Lee. They eventually also feuded with each other and remained a major part of the women's division for several years until they both retired from in-ring competition. The popularity of the two led to the creation of the Total Divas show and later got their own spinoff Total Bellas. Brie ended up marrying Daniel Bryan while Nikki had a long and complicated relationship with John Cena. That led to an in-ring proposal at WrestleMania 32 but the couple decided to call it quits after disagreements over having children. Both Bellas are now pregnant, with Brie expecting her second child with Bryan and Nikki her first with her fiancée Artem Chigvintsev. During their time in WWE, Brie Bella won the Divas title once and Nikki won it twice. Nikki also headlined the first-ever all-women's pay-per-view Evolution with Ronda Rousey. Both Twins were part of the first women's Royal Rumble in 2018 as well. Nikki is also the longest-reigning Divas champion in WWE history.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5855

#45

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Friday, February 21 2020		Issue #5855
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Happy weekend folks! Have a good one.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


DYNAMITE RATING- Dynamite continued its unbeaten run in 2020 so far with another Wednesday night war win. The much-hyped Atlanta debut show did 893,000 viewers this week, up 76,000 viewers from last week. The show did 0.31 in the 18-49 demographic, good for #5 spot in the top 50 cable chart. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


VICKIE GUERRERO SAYS WWE IS AVOIDING HER SINCE HER APPEARANCE ON AEW DARK- Former Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero said on her latest episode of her podcast Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show, that WWE has been avoiding her calls and e-mails to book talent on her podcast ever since she made an appearance on the AEW YouTube show Dark. Guerrero was on the December 11, 2019 Dark show doing guest commentary when AEW rolled into her home state of Texas for a show in Garland. Vickie couldn't believe it when someone from the company told her she couldn't interview any WWE Superstars due to her appearance on All Elite Wrestling. "I was just like, 'Wow. They’re gonna be like that.' So, you just quietly move on and you see how they are and you just have to take care of your own business.” Guerrero added," They didn’t call me for two years. What did they expect me to do? Just to sit here and wait for them to call so I could do some work?" Guerrero said she loves professional wrestling and loves to work in the ring. "If someone is giving me an opportunity to go and show up and have some fun, then I should be able to because I’m not obligated to anybody." 


SAMOA JOE SUFFERS ANOTHER CONCUSSION- Samoa Joe has found himself back on the shelf after suffering another concussion, his second one in a month, according to Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet.com. Joe was filming a commercial for WWE and hit his head on a table which was meant to break. Joe was last diagnosed with a concussion at the end of January after performing a dive during his tag match with Kevin Owens against Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy. He was taken out of the match and kept away from in-ring action for a few weeks until he underwent all the tests. It's unclear how long he will be out now but looks like it will take more time considering it is the second one in a couple of weeks. The former NXT champion had a string of bad luck lately with injuries and spent several months out after suffering a broken thumb towards the end of 2019.


GOLDBERG AND THE BELLA TWINS TO APPEAR ON SMACKDOWN TONIGHT- Friday Night Smackdown rolls into Glendale, Arizona tonight live on FOX with two matches already announced and a couple of big appearances. WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg will be live on the show less than a week before he receives a Universal title shot against The Fiend at Super ShowDown. Unlike last time when he appeared via video, this time the former champ will be in the arena. Also, The Bella Twins make their return on the show to be the guests on A Moment of Bliss, the segment hosted by Alexa Bliss and her sidekick Nikki Cross. The Twins are expected to make an announcement with the rumor being that both will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. The two matches announced are Naomi vs Carmella with the winner getting a Smackdown title shot at Super ShowDown next week in Saudi Arabia and an eight-man tag team match featuring The New Day and The Usos vs The Miz, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode. The other segment announced for the show is a Lacey Evans sit-down interview with Renee Young.


NXT RATING- The post-Takeover NXT did 794,000 viewers on Wednesday on USA Network, up 37,000 viewers from last week's show and the most-watched NXT of 2020 so far. The show did 0.25 in the 18-49 demo, placing NXT in #16 in the top 50 cable chart. The difference between NXT and AEW was of 99,000 viewers, up from the 60,000 viewers from last week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


MIZ & MRS RATING- The fourth episode of season two of Miz & Mrs pulled in 500,000 viewers on USA Network this week, up 43,000 viewers from the previous episode. This was the most-watched episode of the season so far. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5854

#44

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Thursday, February 20 2020		Issue #5854
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Another round of good wrestling on TV last night. Dynamite at the State Farm Arena looked impressive. Big show feel.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


RAW RATING- Monday Night Raw this week drew an average of 2,437,000 viewers, up 100,000 viewers from last week's broadcast. The show started strong with 2,671,000 viewers, then dipped slightly to 2,559,000 before falling big time to just 2,082,000 in the third and final hour. Raw lost a whopping 589,000 viewers from the first to the third hour. Raw was #1, #2, and #4 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and was #6 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


NIKKI AND BRIE BELLA ON SMACKDOWN TOMORROW- Nikki and Brie Bella will be appearing on Smackdown tomorrow night as they will be the guests of A Moment of Bliss with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. The duo have not appeared on WWE television ever since the Evolution pay-per-view in 2018 where Nikki lost to Ronda Rousey in the main event. It is rumored that the twins will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2020 this April. Nikki and Brie, who are now both pregnant, will be featured in the fifth season of Total Bellas which kicks off on E! on April 9.


THE BUMP TO BROADCAST EVERY DAY FROM TAMPA DURING WRESTLEMANIA WEEK- WWE's popular YouTube live weekly broadcast The Bump will be hitting the road during WrestleMania week and will be broadcasting live from Tampa for five days in a row. The show will be filming from WrestleMania Axxess on April 1 at 10AM ET, then from April 2 to 4 at 1PM ET. On WrestleMania Sunday, the show will kick off at 1PM ET live from the Raymond James Stadium as WWE gets ready to start the WrestleMania festivities. The Bump is hosted by Kayla Braxton along with Matt Camp, Dan Vollymayer, Ryan Pappolla, and Evan T. Mack. This week, Sheamus was in the in-studio guest and Roman Reigns, Hornswoggle, and Fit Finlay joined in via video.


WWE BACKSTAGE RATING- WWE Backstage on FS1, which had Keith Lee and Mark Henry as the special guests, drew 127,000 viewers on Tuesday, down 42,000 viewers from last week's show but good enough for the second most-watched show of 2020. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


AN EMOTIONAL CODY CUTS PROMO AFTER DYNAMITE GOES OFF THE AIR- After Dynamite went off the air last night, a bloodied Cody Rhodes cut an emotional promo in the middle of the ring, explaining his love to the city of Atlanta and what they have done for his family. Cody said he will recount a story which happened 200 yards away from the State Farm Arena in a street called Baker Street, the exact spot where he fell in love with professional wrestling. Cody recounted that when he was eight years old, he knew his father was famous but he didn't know much why as he didn't get to see his golden years. He went on to explain a story about Sting and his father Dusty, following a show in Atlanta. He said that before they exited for the parking lot, Sting went out first and the fans gave him a big reception. Not thinking about anything, young Cody was about to follow but his father stopped him and told him to wait. "Never steal another man's pop" was the advice Dusty gave him. After Sting left, Dusty walked out with Cody, "and all of you cheered so loud for my dad," Cody said with tears in his eyes. The AEW EVP added that when he made his debut, the fans were pretty hard on him and he appreciated that more than anyone knows because it made him come back week after week after week to do better. He then gave props to Warner Media for extending AEW for three more years and guaranteed that they will be back in Atlanta. You can see the promo at .


FIRST LOOK AT THE NEW AEW ACTION FIGURE TOYS- Jazwares, a global leader in toys, announced that they will unveil the new AEW Unrivaled toy line at the Toy Fair New York convention, which will take place between February 22 and 26. The toys will feature AEW champion Chris Jericho, Cody, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, and more, and they will all be on display at Jazware's booth. The toy line will hit retail stores later this year. The AEW Unrivaled collectible action figures will boast 25 points of articulation, real 3D-scanned likenesses and a variety of accessories and authentic ring wear.  With multiple Waves per season, fans can collect the stars of Dynamite, including MJF, Darby Allin, Dr. Britt Baker, Brandi Rhodes, Hangman Page, Jurassic Express and many more. Each Wave will include limited edition and rare variants to add chase and elation to every release. Other authentic items for Fall 2020 will include the AEW Unrivaled: Action Ring to play-and-display Unrivaled figures and the AEW World championship title belt, with even more formats and innovations in development for future seasons. “AEW has very quickly become one of the most provocative, engaging and relevant wrestling brands of all time.  It is a league embraced by generations of fans and collectors in a genre with a huge appetite for authentic product,” said Jeremy Padawer, EVP / Partner Jazwares. “We plan to build out the kind of program that can appeal both to the display collector and also to younger fans who want a tangible way to play and interact with their heroes,” said Michael Rinzler, EVP / Partner Jazwares. “When AEW launched just over a year ago, we couldn’t have imagined there would be a toy line this soon, featuring our wrestlers, making its debut at Toy Fair in New York City,” said Dana Massie, Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer. “But, we’ve always known from the start that we have the greatest fans in the world, and we’re constantly looking for new ways to positively engage and connect with them in ways that matter. Our partnership with Jazwares ramps up our commitment to fan engagement, and we hope our fans will love the AEW action figures and collectibles representing the personalities who have become part of their lives each Wednesday on TNT, at our pay-per-view events and beyond.” 


AEW LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST TITLED UNRESTRICTED- Well, it was only a matter of time. All Elite Wrestling has entered the crowded podcasting business with a new weekly show titled Unrestricted. The only - so far - official podcast of AEW is hosted by long-time broadcaster Tony Schiavone and referee Aubrey Edwards. Every episode will drop on Thursdays and will be available on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and others. The first episode is already online and features Jon Moxley as the special guest. The preview of the one-hour podcast reads, "Jon Moxley had quite a collection of wrestling VHS tapes (ask your parents, kids), missed out on Hulkamania, became a Bret Hart fan, and pondered what The Undertaker was really like outside the ring. And those are just some of the stories he's sharing as he talks about his days on the indies, his jump to WWE, and his surprise AEW debut at Double or Nothing! He also recounts his rock bottom moment at WWE, overcoming his recent injuries, and how things really work in his house with wife, Renee Young!"


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5853

#43

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Wednesday, February 19 2020		Issue #5853
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


FALLOUT FROM TAKEOVER: PORTLAND TONIGHT ON NXT ON USA NETWORK- NXT on USA Network tonight will have the fallout from Takeover: Portland, with the biggest news of the night being Johnny Gargano turning heel, causing Tommaso Ciampa the NXT title. Three matches have been announced for the show including NXT Cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin vs Lio Rush, Chelsea Green of The Robert Stone Brand vs Kayden Carter, and the returning Velveteen Dream vs The Undisputed Era's Roderick Strong. The brand is coming off the heels of a fantastic Takeover event and will surely be looking to try to increase viewers having been stuck in the 700,000 range so far this year and being on the losing side of the Wednesday night war.


WWE ENDS TV DEAL WITH SKY DEUTSCHLAND IN GERMANY- WWE has ended its partnership with Sky in Germany according to a statement from Sky Deutschland and there will be no more WWE pay-per-views on their system come this April. "The broadcast rights to the WWE's pay-per-view events were no longer part of the tender and were therefore no longer available for Sky Deutschland. As a result, WWE will no longer be part of Sky Deutschland's program offering from the end of March," a representative from Sky told Oddsmeter.de. The Raw and Smackdown television broadcasts were offered for a new deal for Sky but the company has turned it down, citing "lack of quality" from these shows. Sky's deal with WWE expires at the end of March. WWE's presence in Germany continues on ProSieben Maxx, a deal which was signed in April 2017.


FINN BALOR TO APPEAR AT UPCOMING NXT UK TV TAPINGS- Former WWE Universal and NXT champion Finn Balor will be making a "special appearance" at the upcoming NXT UK television tapings from the Coventry Skydome Arena in Coventry on March 6 and 7. While WWE has not expanded on what Balor will be doing there, these tapings will continue the road to NXT UK Takeover: Dublin and with Balor being from Ireland, it wouldn't be surprising if he will be somehow part of the show as well. Balor already appeared in the first-ever NXT UK Takeover from Blackpool. Tickets for these tapings are ?15, ?30, and ?50 and are available at iceaccount.co.uk/ice-events/coventry. The next tapings after the Coventry shows will be held on May 1 and 2 from Bournemouth.


WWE NETWORK TO AIR PRE-NXT FCW ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY- The WWE Network will air an original documentary on Florida Championship Wrestling, the developmental territory for WWE which eventually changed to NXT. The doc, titled A Future WWE: The FCW Story, will air on Sunday, March 8 at 10AM ET. Superstars such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Daniel Bryan, The Bella Twins, Natalya, Rusev, The Usos, and many current and former WWE stars all went through FCW before landing on the big WWE stage. The documentary will feature new interviews with FCW alumni and coaches who built FCW as well as showcase never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes footage.


AEW MAKES ATLANTA DEBUT TONIGHT WITH A LOADED DYNAMITE- All Elite Wrestling makes its much-awaited debut in Atlanta, Georgia tonight with Dynamite from the 21,000-seater State Farm Arena and thousands of fans are expected to fill up most of the available seats. To counter the post-Takeover NXT show, AEW is presenting a fully loaded show including the first AEW steel cage match featuring Cody vs Wardlow, Jon Moxley vs Jeff Cobb, Hangman Page and Kenny Omega vs Lucha Bros for the AEW Tag Team titles, and a tag team battle royal with the winners getting a tag team title shot at the upcoming Revolution pay-per-view. Some tickets starting at $20 are still available for tonight at Ticketmaster.com.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5852

#42

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Tuesday, February 18 2020		Issue #5852
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Well, I guess that was really the end of Matt Hardy on WWE TV, wasn't it? Yikes! Good angle though. When Edge returns to attack Orton out of nowhere, the roof will blow off.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


CODY SAYS DYNAMITE WOULD DO WELL ON MONDAY NIGHTS- Speaking during an interview with 11Alive’s Ric Garni in anticipation of AEW's debut in Atlanta, Cody and Brandi Rhodes discussed the rise of All Elite Wrestling, how committed they are to the promotion, how they analyze data of viewership every week and more. Asked where do they see the company in five years time and where it can be, Cody responded, "I'm going to say something controversial and I don't mean it to be, but this always happens any time I'm interviewed for an extended period of time. I would like the company in five years to be on a different night and competing in the same fashion they are...not that I don't love Wednesday nights...but I can tell we have real players and I look at this data like...we're not lying about the revolution anymore. It's very supported. So I would love to see how it does on another night." Before he gave his answer, his wife urged him to "think about it" before he answered but Cody went ahead and basically suggested they could take on WWE's Monday Night Raw. "A particular night you prefer or just one of the two with other major competition on?" the host asked. "I mean honestly in five years, who knows. But I can tell you this if we had a random storm situation or just something would just pop up and we're going to have Dynamite on Monday night, if that was to happen in the current threshold right now, I'd still be very confident in what we can do and I'd be confident that our guys would be up for the challenge," Cody answered. You can see the full interview at .


PARTICIPANTS FOR THE WOMEN'S ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH ANNOUNCED- The six women who will be entering the Elimination Chamber steel structure next month have been revealed. WWE Women's Tag Team champion Asuka, Natalya, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Ruby Riott, and former NXT Women's champion Shayna Baszler will be fighting for a shot at Becky Lynch's Raw Women's title at WrestleMania. The plan right now is to have Shayna Baszler take on Becky Lynch at Mania but things could always change, although judging from the lineup there's not much wiggle room on the choice. There will be two Elimination Chamber matches and the arena hosting the show has already announced who will be the six men.


SHELTON BENJAMIN SINGS MULTI-YEAR WWE DEAL- Former WWE Tag Team and Intercontinental champion Shelton Benjamin has revealed on Lilian Garcia's Chasing Glory podcast that he has signed a new multi-year deal with WWE despite not having the most TV time lately. He said it's just frustrating that he's not doing what he loves to do, which is performing and producing. "Lately I haven’t been doing much as far as on-air with WWE. And for me, it’s just frustrating,” Benjamin said. The 44-year-old explained that he's there every week and ready to go but not doing anything isn't really fulfilling for him and he feels like he's not even in the hunt for something. "That frustrates me on a very personal level." Benjamin was last seen at the Royal Rumble and had a "good time" with his former Minnesota wrestling tag team partner Brock Lesnar. Eventually Lesnar god rid of Benjamin, eliminating him from the match. WWE has been offering multi-year contracts with a lot of money to Superstars whose deals are expiring in a bid to keep them from going to All Elite Wrestling.


WWE NETWORK ADDS 10 ECW SUPERSHOWS FROM THE 90'S- The WWE Network has added 10 ECW Supershows from between 1993 and 1995, adding more than 20 hours of content. These shows were never uploaded on the WWE Network before. The full-length shows go back to the Eastern Championship Wrestling days, before the E in ECW was changed to Extreme. Superstars featured in these 10 shows include Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Terry Funk, Cactus Jack, Sandman, Raven, Francine and more! The 10 shows are Super Summer Sizzler (1993), Ultra Clash (1993), Heat Wave (1994), Tag Wars (1994), Double Tables (1995), Return of the Funker (1995), Hostile City Showdown (1995), Enter the Sandman (1995), Barbed Wire, Hoodies and Chokeslams (1995), and ECW Heat Wave (1995). They are all available under the In-Ring section and ECW Supershows category on the WWE Network.


WWE HOLDING TRYOUT IN SAUDI ARABIA IN JUNE- WWE will be holding a four-day open tryout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this coming June as the company hopes to recruit more than 50 athletes from the region according to a story from Esquire Middle East. Sign-ups have officially started through the WWE Performance Center website which is now also available in Arabic. “I have a message for every athlete and performer in Saudi Arabia who has a dream of becoming a WWE Superstar: WWE is coming to Riyadh to help you make that happen. This is your chance to take an opportunity and one day you could be walking down the ramp as a WWE Superstar while thousands of fans chant your name,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. “We are excited to return to Saudi Arabia following the success of our first tryout in 2018 where we recruited a variety of elite athletes from the Middle East, including standout talent Mansoor, who has already played a meaningful role in various WWE events in Saudi Arabia,” he continued.


EVE TORRES ACCUSES PRESIDENT TRUMP OF INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING- In a post on Instagram to mark President's Day, former WWE Diva Eve Torres said that she looks forward to having "a president who doesn’t grope or objectify women" and accused President Donald Trump of inappropriate touching when she and other Divas met him in 2009. "I have taken pictures with thousands of men at military bases, at WWE events, and signings, and very few have grabbed me and pulled me in as forcefully as he did without knowing me. Of course, at the time I believed it was my job to be eye candy in a photo for this supposed billionaire, and play along," Torres wrote. "It is actually hard for me to see that photo because it reminds me of my beliefs about my worth at the time." Torres posted the photo from the event in question, with The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, Maryse, Maria Kanellis, and herself flanking Trump. Trump is seen holding Maryse and Torres in the photo. "Also, this was scary for me to post but it’s been on my mind. We haven’t forgotten about your p+$$y grabbing, Mr. President," she concluded. Torres has made sporadic appearances for WWE over the past few years and served as an ambassador for the company. She was brought in to be part of the pre-show panel for the Evolution pay-per-view in 2018. You can see her post at .


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5851

#41

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Watch Super ShowDown free on the WWE Network! 
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Monday, February 17 2020		Issue #5851
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

I really enjoyed Takeover: Portland. Solid matches from top to bottom. the only thing that I did not like is that we're going to get Ciampa/Gargano AGAIN, a storyline which has been done for so long now that it's verging on annoying.

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


TRIPLE H AND THE UNDISPUTED ERA BID FAREWELL TO CATHY KELLEY- WWE interviewer Cathy Kelley worked until the very last second of her WWE deal last night, hosting a Q&A with Triple H following the conclusion of NXT Takeover: Portland. Triple H dedicated the final five minutes of the live Q&A to honor Kelley, who had been working for the company for the past four years and was one of the most liked individuals backstage. The Game went over how many people do different things to make a show like Takeover happen, from those who pull cables, to those who plug things in, to catering, lights and to people like Kelley who are the "heart and soul" of what WWE does. Kelley got super emotional and did not take long before tears started flowing. He called her one of the smartest and most professional and said he couldn't come up with enough good things about her. "The one thing about this is when I say we are NXT, it's all of us. The great thing about NXT also is you can't get away from us," HHH said as Kelley smiled and cried at the same time. "So, we ar
 e NXT. You will always be NXT. This is not goodbye, this is see you down the road." Triple H said this is what's great about NXT. "We create them and then we ship them out of the door to make amazing things!" He said that he's crushed that she's leaving but proud of her for following her dreams and said that the door is always open for her to come back. The Undisputed Era then came in to say goodbye and wanted to make her the fifth member of the group. It started as a joke as they kept pushing her behind them until she wasn't seen but then things turned serious and they thanked her for what she did to them and said they're going to miss her. They gifted her with some "vitamin donuts" and Triple H presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Kelley's last day was yesterday and she did not reveal yet what she will be doing in her post-WWE career. You can see the video at .
 

CHARLOTTE FLAIR ATTACKS RIPLEY, ACCEPTS WRESTLEMANIA CHALLENGE- Charlotte Flair attacked NXT champion Rhea Ripley yesterday at Takeover: Portland and then accepted her WrestleMania challenge. Ripley had just beaten Bianca Belair to retain the gold but her celebration did not last long as the 10-time women's champ crashed the party by attacking her from behind. Flair then got a microphone and said she thought about it..."and I'll see you at WrestleMania" to a big pop from the crowd. Flair then held up the NXT Women's title and dropped it on Ripley who had just taken the Natural Selection. But Flair was not ready yet. As soon as she exited the ring, Charlotte attacked Bianca Belair, sending her through the steel steps. Ripley vs Flair is the second official match on the WrestleMania card and the first time that an NXT title will be defended at WrestleMania.


RAQUEL GONZALES REINTRODUCES HERSELF DURING NOX/KAI MATCH- Raquel Gonzales made her presence felt during NXT Takeover: Portland yesterday, interfering in the street fight match between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai and eventually helping Kai beat her former best friend. Gonzales showed up towards the end of the match and bumped Tegan Nox from the top rope and on a table set up in the ring. The spot was supposed to break the table but Nox's weight wasn't enough to break it despite the impressive move. After Kai pinned Nox, Gonzales helped Kai and raised her hand in victory. The Texan, who participated in both Mae Young Classic tournaments in 2017 and 2018, has been signed to a WWE deal since 2016 and has made her fair share of NXT televised appearances under her previous name Reina Gonzales.


NXT UK TAKEOVER GOES TO DUBLIN- The next NXT UK Takeover will take place from Dublin, Ireland on Sunday, April 26. The news was announced last night during Takeover: Portland. This will be the first UK Takeover not in Blackpool or Cardiff and the fourth installment in the Takeover series for the UK brand. The show will take place at the 3Arena located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands. NXT Cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin has been requesting a match against NXT UK champion Walter and with the show taking place in his home country of Ireland, Devlin has upped his public request. "Give me WALTER, you cowards," he tweeted after the announcement was made. 


BRITISH TABLOID PAPER SAYS WWE IS IN TALKS AGAIN TO BRING MAJOR SHOW TO UK- British tabloid newspaper The Sun is once again reporting that WWE is in talks to bring a major pay-per-view to the United Kingdom as the landmark 30th anniversary from the 1992 SummerSlam approaches. The Sun says that the talks intensified after BT Sport took over the television rights for WWE in the country from Sky Sports, treating the brand with golden gloves and giving it the proper coverage and marketing that lacked from Sky as years went on. WWE's last major pay-per-view in the UK was in 1992 with over 80,000 fans packing the old Wembley Stadium in London. The new Wembley Stadium is more than capable of packing more fans than that if WWE decides to hold another major show and with a retractable roof, weather would not be an issue.


AEW DOUBLE HEADER IN LAS VEGAS WITH DOUBLE OR NOTHING AND DYNAMITE- AEW will hold a double header at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as the fallout from Double or Nothing will also take place at the same location in Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 27. Tickets for this Dynamite episode will go on sale this Friday, February 21 at Noon ET at AXS.COM and they start from $25. Double Or Nothing this year has not sold out in one day unlike last year and there are still many tickets available although it's likely that the show will be close to full by the time it comes around. Tickets for Double or Nothing are also available through AXS.COM.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5850

#40

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Sunday, February 16 2020		Issue #5850
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Tonight's NXT Takeover should be a good one, at least on paper. These events rarely disappoint anyway so...looking forward to it!


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


NXT TAKEOVER: PORTLAND LIVE TONIGHT ON WWE NETWORK- Live from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, WWE presents NXT Takeover: Portland exclusively on the WWE Network. The full card is as follows: Adam Cole vs Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT title; Rhea Ripley vs Bianca Belair for the NXT Women's title; Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly vs Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne for the NXT Tag Team titles; Keith Lee vs Dominik Dijakovic for the NXT North American title; Finn Balor vs Johnny Gargano; and Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox in a street fight match. The NXT pre-show will start at 6:30PM ET with Charly Caruso, Sam Roberts, and Mansoor on the panel.


THE ROCK SHARES VIDEO OF HIS DAY AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson uploaded an eight-minute video of him spending the day at the WWE Performance Center when his daughter Simone was present training in the ring. The video is a bit old as Simone had shorter hair and ACH, the man formerly known as Jordan Myles, was also spotted in the video. Simone had been training at the PC while she was still attending school but she only was formally signed to a deal lately, starting her training full time. "There's only one place I would trust my daughter and that is with my own family, meaning the McMahon family and the WWE and this Performance Center," The Rock said as video clips of his daughter performing in a match are shown. Simone said that being in the wrestling business as well now has brought her even closer to her father. At one point, The Rock stepped in the ring to give out some pointers as students looked on in complete silence absorbing the tips that the former WWE champion was giving. After physical training was done, The Rock also held a Q&A session with the students. You can see the video at 


TAYNARA CONTI RETURNS AFTER WALKING OUT- NXT's Taynara Conti returned to the brand yesterday at the non-televised live event in Ft. Pierce, Florida. The 24-year-old Brazilian had a disagreement last month with management and walked out after an episode of NXT on USA Network, with many suggesting that she was gone for good. But Conti remained under contract with WWE and it looks like cooler heads prevailed this time around. She returned last night and was involved in a six-woman tag match, teaming with Jessi Kamea and MJ Jenkins versus Valkyrie, Rita Reis, and Mia Yim. Conti wore a shirt that had "Released" printed on it. This is Conti's fourth year with WWE and she has two Mae Young Classic tournaments under her belt and also a WrestleMania appearance when she was part of the women's battle royal two years ago.


SMACKDOWN RATING- Friday Night Smackdown on FOX pulled in 2,481,000 viewers off hours 2,521,000 and 2,442,000. That is down 66,000 viewers from the previous week. Smackdown did a 0.7 in the 18-49, sharing the #1 spot with the CBS shows. In terms of viewers, this week Smackdown beat The CW and the first hour of 20/20 on ABC. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


SMACKDOWN WOMEN'S TITLE ON THE LINE AT SUPER SHOWDOWN- The Smackdown Women’s title will be on the line at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia, marking the second women’s match in the country and the first women’s title defense in Saudi. The news was announced on Smackdown with Bayley defending the title against either Carmella or Naomi, both of whom will meet on next week’s Smackdown to determine the number one contender. WWE managed to make history last November when Natalya and Lacey Evans squared off during Crown Jewel, becoming the first two women to wrestle in Saudi. It was the first in four attempts to green light the match as Saudi officials pulled the plug a few months earlier on a match between Natalya and Alexa Bliss. Both Natalya and Bliss had traveled to Saudi Arabia but both were forced not to participate when the government made a u-turn on the match hours before the pay-per-view. WWE returns to Riyadh for Super ShowDown on February 27. The event will start at Noon ET on the WWE Network.


THE UNDERTAKER SET FOR WRESTLEMANIA RETURN- After missing out last year's WrestleMania, The Undertaker is set to return at the show of shows this year with his opponent being the phenomenal one AJ Styles. The news was broken by WrestleZone and later confirmed by other sources. The Undertaker has not wrestled since Extreme Rules last year where he teamed up with Roman Reigns to take on Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon. Prior to that, he wrestled in Saudi Arabia against Goldberg. He last appeared on WWE television in September of last year, chokeslamming Sami Zayn on Smackdown. Despite being fit, The Undertaker did not participate at all at WrestleMania, marking the first WrestleMania since 2000 which was Undertaker-free. Styles is currently out injured with a shoulder problem but is set to return to the ring at the upcoming Super ShowDown pay-per-view from Riyadh. The two have never met in the ring so this would be the first Taker/Styles match.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5849

#39

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Friday, February 14 2020		Issue #5849
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

If you haven't seen the first three episodes of the Tegan Nox mini docuseries The Comeback, check it out. It's on the WWE PC YouTube account. It's awesome and shows you what Nox had to go through to come back after blowing both her knees out. Final episode premieres tomorrow. It's only around 7 minutes per episode and worth your time.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


HULK HOGAN SET FOR SMACKDOWN APPEARANCE TONIGHT ON FOX- WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan will be appearing on Smackdown live tonight on FOX, an appearance which WWE.COM just confirmed today. The preview states that Hogan will be on hand to address the nWo Hall of Fame induction but with WWE going to Saudi Arabia later this month it wouldn't be a surprise if he also announces his involvement in the show somehow. Today's Valentine's Day episode of Smackdown will also be a special one for Otis of Heavy Machinery as the angle with Mandy Rose reaches a climax with a date. Also, two matches have been announced so far for the show, including Bayley defending the Smackdown Women's title against Carmella and The Miz and John Morrison taking on Roman Reigns and a partner of his choosing.


CATHY KELLEY LEAVING WWE- WWE interviewer and fan favorite Cathy Kelley announced that she is leaving WWE. Kelley revealed the news in a post on her social media. "I’ve typed out and deleted this about 20 times over the past few days, still unsure what to write...I have come to the decision to leave WWE, with Sunday’s NXT Takeover being my last day. If you know me, you know this was more than a job, you know how much I loved it and how difficult this decision was. But sometimes in order to have room for growth, you have to step away," Kelley wrote. The 31-year-old said that she's thankful for the "crazy dream" that were the past four years, thanking the WWE digital team, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and everyone who supported her over the years. "I’m not sure yet where my next chapter will take me, but I am damn excited for it. And I promise this isn’t a goodbye, it’s just a see you later." Kelley started with WWE in February 2016, first as a backstage correspondent for NXT before moving to hosting WWE Now and other shows. In January of this year she was also promoted to be the backstage interviewer on Smackdown. Prior to joining WWE, Kelley was a host and panelist on AfterBuzz TV for Raw and NXT.


EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA MAKING NXT DEBUT TOMORROW- Five months after signing a WWE deal, former AAA and Lucha Underground star Hijo del Fantasma will be making his NXT debut tomorrow at the non-televised live event in Ft Pierce, Florida. "Finally!!!! #OhLaLaTime Mexico’s greatest export... see ya this Saturday in Fort Pierce!!! Bring your #ohLaLaGam," the 35-year-old tweeted yesterday. In a video uploaded by NXT's Kat Marino, she introduced Hijo del Fantasma with his real name Jorge Bolly and he was also revealed as Raul Mendoza's new tag team partner. Bolly is the son of lucha libre star Fantasma. He made his wrestling debut in 2000 and also went by the name of King Cuerno in Lucha Underground. He appeared three times for Impact Wrestling, wrestling at Slammiversary, Bound For Glory, and the Redemption pay-per-views. He lost his mask in a match against LA Park at AAA’s TripleMania in 2018.


MATT HARDY GETS NO HOLDS BARRED MATCH AGAINST ORTON ON RAW- The "goodbye" tweet from Matt Hardy earlier this week is getting slightly postponed as the multi-time tag team champion will have an opportunity to make one more televised appearance this coming Monday on Raw. Hardy, who was on the receiving end of a con-chair-to from Randy Orton, will try to get his revenge as he goes one-on-one with The Viper on Raw in what is more likely to be his last televised WWE match...although in professional wrestling stranger things have happened. The match against Orton on Monday will be a no holds barred match. Matt is not renewing his WWE contract which expires next month and is largely believed to be heading to All Elite Wrestling. His angle with Orton this past Monday was meant to write him off WWE television completely but Hardy lives on at least for another week.


NXT RATING- NXT pulled in 757,000 viewers this week for the Takeover go-home episode, down 23,000 viewers from last week’s show. NXT on USA had a 0.24 rating in the 18-49 demographic, placing #21 in the top 50 chart. NXT pulled the best ratings head-to-head since the December 18 episode when they last beat AEW in the numbers. The difference between the two shows was of 60,000 viewers, down significantly from last week’s 158,000. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


DYNAMITE RATING- AEW won another ratings battle this week but it was much closer this time around, with Dynamite getting a total of 817,000 viewers, down 111,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show did a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demographic, good for the #10 spot in the top 50 chart. With NXT coming off Takeover next week, the gap could get even more closer this coming Wednesday. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


TED DIBIASE'S MINISTRY GETS $2 MILLION IN POSSIBLE ILLEGAL STATE AID- The Clarion Ledger newspaper is reporting that the state of Mississippi gave WWE Hall of Famer "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase $2 million in welfare money for his ministry. The newspaper said that the ministry, titled Heart of David Ministries, had meager funds available until DiBiase' son Brett was hired as deputy administrator at the Mississippi Department of Human Services in early 2017. The ministry got $900,000 in one year from the department. Brett DiBiase, the director who hired him John Davis, and four others were indicted last week as part of a massive alleged embezzlement scheme that also involved welfare money where more than $4.15 million were stolen. The payment received by DiBiase's ministry ran from May 2017 up until this fiscal year and a total of $2,126,739 in welfare money was given to the ministry by the department which his son worked at. There's no record of where all the money went, money which was signed off by John Davis. The newspaper tried to reach Ted DiBiase and his family but the woman who answered the door at his home called the Ledger's reporting "fictitious" and declined to comment. Attempts to reach the board of directors and other officials connected to Heart of David Ministries were also unsuccessful. There are no filed tax documents with the IRS for the past two years by the ministry and the $2 million in state aid dwarfs the donations and grants the ministry received over the years. Brett DiBiase left his post at the MDHS seven months after he was hired. DiBiase founded Heart of David Ministries 20 years ago.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5848

#38

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Thursday, February 13 2020		Issue #5848
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Over the past two days I read some mean and nasty messages about Simone Johnson's look and Nyla Rose winning the women's title. Some keyboard warriors can be pretty cruel. People need to chill. Stop being a bully.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


SUPER SHOWDOWN TO TAKE PLACE AT A DIFFERENT VENUE- The Super ShowDown pay-per-view from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will take place from the Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard this time around, moving away form the King Abdullah International Stadium. It will be interesting to see how WWE sets up for this event considering the venue is pretty much similar to the Daily's Place which AEW uses in Jacksonville but on a very much larger scale. This is the fifth WWE event in the country and the first one that will not be held either at the King Abdullah International Stadium or at the King Fahd International Stadium. Tickets for the February 27 show have finally gone on sale with tickets starting at the equivalent of $6 going up to $200 for VIP or $530 for platinum.


SIMONE JOHNSON GIVES HER FIRST SIT-DOWN WWE INTERVIEW- Simone Johnson, the daughter of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, held her first sit-down interview for WWE, hosted by Cathy Kelley. Johnson said it was her grandmother who actually got her into professional wrestling as she used to show her old WWE home videos, from the 80s to the Attitude Era, and all the way to now. She said she loved wrestling for as long as she can remember and feels like a 10-year-old kid again. Simone noted that the first time she saw her father wrestle live was at WrestleMania 28 when she was just 10 years old and got in the ring the first time the next year prior to WrestleMania 29. She said that her parents have been very supportive of her being in the wrestling business and revealed that The Rock actually went down to the WWE Performance Center for a day to see the culture of the WWE PC and held a training session with all the students. Asked about the pressure of being the first-ever fourth generation Superstar, Simone said, "I do feel pressure, but I know tha
 t at the end of the day it's something that it was always going to be there so I know it's up to me to take that pressure and use it to motivate myself." She said that the Performance Center is great because everyone gets to learn from some of the best coaches in the world as well as learn from each other and while wrestling is an individual sport, at the PC everyone is a team and everyone is so driven to be a success. While training full time at the PC, Simone is also continuing her education so will be juggling both training and school work at the same time. She said her parents always wanted her to go to college and she always knew that she had to figure out a way to make it work and make them proud. Simone is learning entertainment management, which is a great topic considering the industry she is in! You can watch the full interview at .


WWE BACKSTAGE RATING- WWE Backstage on FS1 did the best number since the November 19 episode, getting a total of 169,000 viewers, up 72,000 viewers from last week's broadcast. The show had Charlotte Flair as the special guest and CM Punk was back on the panel as well. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


NYLA ROSE WINS AEW WOMEN'S TITLE- There's a new AEW Women's champion in town and her name is Nyla Rose. Rose defeated Riho with a powerbomb on last night's Dynamite to get her first title win in the promotion. It was Nyla Rose who Riho defeated on the October 2 episode of Dynamite to become the inaugural AEW Women's champion. The Japanese star lasted just over 130 days as champion. Rose, 37, becomes the first openly transgender wrestling champion in any major promotion. The Washington DC-native has been with AEW since the very beginning.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5847

#37

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Wednesday, February 12 2020		Issue #5847
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow.

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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TWO TITLE MATCHES ANNOUNCED FOR DYNAMITE TONIGHT- Tonight's Dynamite on TNT will be headlined by two title matches as both the AEW Women's and Tag Team titles will be on the line. In total, five matches have been announced as of time of this writing, including Jon Moxley vs Santana, Dustin Rhodes vs Sammy Guevara, MJF vs Jungle Boy, Riho vs Nyla Rose for the AEW Women's title, and Hangman Page and Kenny Omega vs SCU for the AEW Tag Team titles. Tonight's show is live from the H.E.B Center in Austin, Texas. The 8,000-seater arena is not sold out and tickets remain available starting from $28.

PRE-SALE CODE FOR 2020 DOUBLE OR NOTHING PAY-PER-VIEW- The pre-sale for the 2020 Double or Nothing pay-per-view will take place tomorrow starting at Noon ET on AXS.COM. If you're interested in purchasing a ticket before it goes on sale to the general public, the code to use is FLEETDON. This will be a very popular event and likely to sell out quickly so if you're thinking about attending, we suggest you make use of the pre-sale. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 14 at Noon. Double or Nothing will take place on Saturday, May 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

EVIL UNO OF THE DARK ORDER TEASES MATT HARDY AS THEIR LEADER- AEW's Evil Uno of The Dark Order used Twitter to further tease the arrival of Matt Hardy as their leader. Following his last WWE match on television, Matt Hardy tweeted "Goodbye," a tweet which was met the next day by Evil Uno writing, "You say goodbye and I say hello." Matt Hardy has hinted at the faction in his latest Free the Delete YouTube video and he even 'liked' Uno's tweet. The Dark Order is a faction consisting of Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Alex Reynolds and John Silver with their leader, The Exalted One, still a mystery. Hardy's contract with WWE is up in March and he will not be re-signing, leaving him free to go to All Elite Wrestling. 

JON JONES SAYS IT'S INEVITABLE THAT HE WILL END UP IN WWE- Speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones said that he is interested in transitioning to WWE and he thinks it's "inevitable" that one way or another he will end up there. “I’ve always respected WWE, and I feel like the sports can be so similar,” Jones said. Defeating the top guys in the UFC light heavyweight division is narrowing his field of opponents unless he decides to step up to the heavyweight division. “I have the size and athleticism and the following to transition over really well,” said Jones. “To get the opportunity to just show up, even as a special guest, would be a dream come true.” There were talks of Jones taking on Brock Lesnar in the UFC last year but that deal eventually fell through and Brock decided to stick with WWE instead. Cain Velasquez is the latest UFC star to transition from UFC to professional wrestling, signing a multi-year deal with WWE. He has not been used much ever since he made his WWE debut on the premiere episode of Smackdown last October.

RAW RATING- Monday Night Raw pulled in 2,337,000 viewers this week, up 169,000 viewers from last week's broadcast. Hour one did 2,396,000 viewers, followed by 2,411,000 viewers in the second hour, and then 2,204,000 viewers in the third and final hour. Raw was #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #8 in overall viewership for the night on cable trailing only news shows. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

JOHN CENA TO APPEAR ON FEBRUARY 28 EPISODE OF SMACKDOWN- John Cena will be appearing on the February 28 episode of Friday Night Smackdown on FOX which happens to take place from Boston. Cena’s involvement on the show was made official last night on WWE Backstage. This episode of Smackdown will be the one right after Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. The wrestler-turned-Hollywood star has not appeared on WWE television since July where he also showed up on Smackdown doing a rap battle with The Usos. Cena last wrestled in January 2019 on Raw. The former 16-time champion has said that he will be available for WrestleMania and will do whatever Vince McMahon wants him to do on the show if he is lucky enough to get a small spot.

NXT PREVIEW- Three matches have so far been announced for tonight's NXT on USA Network which will serve as the go-home episode for NXT Takeover: Portland which takes place this coming Sunday. Lio Rush will be taking on Angel Garza with the winner becoming the new number one contender for the NXT Cruiserweight title currently held by Jordan Devlin of NXT UK. Kushida takes on Adam Cole in another match announced while Candice LaRae wrestles her former friend Dakota Kai. The NXT preview on WWE.COM also suggests we'll see the fallout from Velveteen Dream's return, Tommaso Ciampa's retribution, and another segment between Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair.

TRIPLE H EXPLAINS THE ABSENCE OF HALFTIME HEAT THIS YEAR- During a conference call with the press to promote this Sunday's NXT Takeover: Portland, Triple H was quizzed about why there was no Halftime Heat this year like last year. The WWE Hall of Famer confirmed that the idea was not brought up this year due to their relationship with FOX and with Super Bowl being on FOX, there was no easy way to tell them they're going to try and steal some of their halftime audience. “You know, it is kinda tough to tell FOX when they’re your partner...'You know what we're gonna do? We're gonna sway people over from the halftime show and get them to watch the Halftime Heat show'...it’s a little different from the year before when they weren't our partner," Triple H said. Last year, WWE brought back Halftime Heat with the NXT brand, showcasing a six-man tag team match featuring Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream, and Ricochet taking on Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Adam Cole. Halftime Heat aired on the WWE Network as well on WWE.COM and WWE's social media properties and was filmed inside the WWE Performance Center which was turned into an arena with friends, family, and NXT stars in attendance. “It was also a moment in time when people were clamoring about the halftime show not being what they wanted to see. So the timing of it was right. This year, would I love to do it? Sure, but the timing didn’t work out," Triple H concluded.

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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5846

#36

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Tuesday, February 11 2020		Issue #5846
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

I'm all for Becky vs Shayna...but damn, what the F is up with Shayna going all vampire on Becky? Where did that even come from? I get it that you want to make Lynch a badass but....that!?

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


HAVE WE SEEN THE LAST OF MATT HARDY ON WWE TV?- We may have seen the last of Matt Hardy on WWE television after the former multi-time Tag Team champion was written off television last night on Raw, just weeks before his WWE contract expires. Hardy interrupted Randy Orton's in-ring promo to defend Edge, his former nemesis both when they were in tag team feuds as well as when they were one-on-one with the Lita real-life-turned-storyline angle. Hardy noted that when Edge retired, they became friends again and wondered what is going on in Orton's head to attack Edge like that. But Orton ended up hitting Matt Hardy with the RKO and then a con-chair-to as fans showered Orton with boos. Hardy, who has been rarely used since his brother Jeff suffered an injury last year that required surgery, is on his way out of the company as he will not be signing a new deal. Matt tweeted "Goodbye" and an image from Raw as well as a link to his latest Free the Delete YouTube series.


WWE ANNOUNCES NEW TROPHY FOR SUPER SHOWDOWN- First the WWE World Cup and now the Tuwaiq Mountain trophy is also coming to WWE for the Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia later this month. Tuwaiq what? Well, it looks like WWE has chosen a Saudi name for their latest prop. Tuwaiq is a narrow escarpment that cuts through the plateau of Najd in central Arabia, running approximately 800 kilometers from the southern border of Al-Qasim in the north, to the northern edge of the Empty Quarter desert near Wadi ad-Dawasir in the south. The trophy will be awarded to the winner of a six-man gauntlet match, the latest match added to the Super ShowDown pay-per-view. The match will feature United States champion Andrade, Bobby Lashley, Rusev, Erick Rowan, R-Truth, and AJ Styles. Both Andrade and Styles are currently out, with Andrade suspended for 30 days and Styles with an injury. The suspension will be ending just in time for Andrade while Styles is said to be recovering quicker than expected from his shoulder injury he suffered at the Royal Rumble. There are five matches so far announced for Super ShowDown and no women's match yet.


ARENA SPOILS ENTRANTS OF THE MEN'S ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH- The Wells Fargo Center, the host of the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view set for March 8, has spoiled the entrants of the men's Elimination Chamber match in a tweet, posting also a video promo by WWE confirming the six Superstars who will be inside the steel structure. The men listed to be participating in the match are Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura, King Corbin and Robert Roode with the winner facing the Universal champion at WrestleMania in April. For the past few years, the winner of the Chamber match has challenged for the other title which wasn't picked by the Royal Rumble winner and since the WWE title is now on the Raw brand, it will be only Smackdown Superstars who will be in this Chamber match. A women's Elimination Chamber match is also scheduled to take place but unlike the men's match, it hasn't been spoiled by the arena yet. Tickets for Elimination Chamber are available now with prices of $25, $55, $75, $125, $175, $350, and $500. Tickets are available to purchase from bit.ly/2usRFOQ. 


WWE 24: R-TRUTH TO AIR AFTER SUPER SHOWDOWN- The next WWE 24 episode on the WWE Network will feature the incredible life story of R-Truth, one of the most popular WWE Superstars in front and behind cameras. This episode, the second one of 2020 following the WWE 24: WrestleMania New York episode which aired after the Rumble, will be airing on Thursday, February 27 immediately following the conclusion of Super ShowDown from Saudi Arabia. The preview for WWE 24: R-Truth states, "Though the endlessly charismatic Truth is perhaps best known for providing some of the most riotously funny laugh-out-loud moments in WWE history, his path to Superstardom, as detailed in WWE 24, reveals the story of a man who had to overcome severe hardships to get where he is today. From humble beginnings and a stint behind bars, to discovering his passion for music and sports-entertainment and realizing his ability to inspire others, Truth’s life story - the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful - is laid out for the WWE Universe to see." Speaking of the WWE Network, The Big Show will be the next guest on Stone Cold's Broken Skull Sessions. This one hour broadcast will air on Sunday, February 23 at 8PM ET. Show is the fourth guest on Austin's series with the WWE Hall of Famer previously welcoming The Undertaker, Goldberg, and Kane.


AEW RETURNING TO BOSTON AND PHILLY FOR DYNAMITE- All Elite Wrestling will be returning to Boston and Philadelphia for Dynamite in April, two of the most popular locations so far that have hosted the weekly TNT show. Boston will get Dynamite on April 15 with the show taking place from the Agganis Arena while the return to Philadelphia will be a week later on April 22 from the Liacouras Center. Tickets for both shows will go on sale this Friday, February 14 at Noon ET at AEWTix.com. AEW visited the cities of Boston and Philadelphia in week two and three with packed crowds cheering on the start-up promotion. Over the next two months, Dynamite will be held in Austin, Atlanta, Kansas City, Broomfield, West Valley City, Rochester, Newark, Milwaukee, and St. Louis.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5845

#35

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Monday, February 10 2020		Issue #5845
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Alright so WrestleMania back in LA! I think it was long overdue to be honest. The only thing that I don't like about a WrestleMania on the West Coast is that it's daylight for like half of the show if not more. I'm planning to be there though.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


WRESTLEMANIA 37 TO BE HELD AT SOFI STADIUM IN INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA- WrestleMania 37 will be held at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The news was revealed by the LA Times today. "Many people are more excited about us hosting WrestleMania than the Olympics," Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr., said. "I was surprised at how popular the WWE is." WWE looks like it will be marketing it as WrestleMania Hollywood, with the WrestleMania logo slightly modified to look like a film strip. The color theme of the logo is white and gold. A news conference at the SoFi Stadium will be held tomorrow with WWE officials, Superstars, and city officials in attendance. WrestleMania week will start on Thursday, March 25 with the Hall of Fame, then it's Friday Night Smackdown on March 26, NXT Takeover on Saturday, March 27, WrestleMania on Sunday, March 28, and Monday Night Raw on March 29. The Hall of Fame, Smackdown, NXT, and Raw will all take place at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Axxess will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.


WRESTLEMANIA GOES HOLLYWOOD...AGAIN!- The Los Angeles area will get its fourth WrestleMania in 37 years in 2021 as WWE opted to "go to Hollywood" once again for next year's showcase of the immortals. “There is nothing quite like WrestleMania Week,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “It is a one-of-a-kind event that provides an economic boost to the region — and fans from around the world will find a city that is ready to host them and welcomes the spectacle.” Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. added, “The city of Inglewood is thrilled to say that WrestleMania will add to the growing number of national and internationally followed events that will be hosted in our city over the next eight years. WrestleMania brings excitement and is followed by almost every age demographic. With the scheduling of this marquee event, we can say without contradiction, the only thing that has changed in Inglewood is…everything.” Jason Gannon, Managing Director at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, said that WrestleMania remains one of the world’s most-watched events, and they are proud to welcome WWE to the Inglewood community. “WWE’s commitment to community is consistent with our mission to provide a lasting positive impact in the community. We look forward to making a difference with WWE.” “On behalf of everyone at WWE, we are excited to bring WrestleMania back to Los Angeles,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “WrestleMania will set the bar for future sports and entertainment events held at SoFi Stadium as we add this facility to the list of iconic venues that have hosted our pop-culture extravaganza.” A portion of WrestleMania 2 was held in Los Angeles back in 1987 at the Memorial Sports Arena, an arena which is no longer there and was eventually replaced by the Banc of California Stadium a few years ago. Split in three locations across three time zones, the LA part of WrestleMania saw Hulk Hogan battle King Kong Bundy in a steel cage in the main event. WrestleMania 7 was supposed to be held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum but slow ticket sales forced it to be moved inside to the Memorial Sports Arena. That show was headlined by Hulk Hogan vs Sgt. Slaughter for the WWE title. Los Angeles last held WrestleMania in 2005 for WrestleMania 21 at the STAPLES Center, an event headlined by Batista winning the World Heavyweight title from Triple H. WrestleMania 21 was also billed as WrestleMania going to Hollywood, an identical theme chosen for next year's big event. The last WrestleMania to be held on the West Coast was WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara, with the states of Texas, Florida twice, Louisiana, and New Jersey hosting the following WrestleManias. 


SIMONE JOHNSON, DAUGHTER OF THE ROCK, OFFICIALLY STARTS AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER- Simone Johnson, the daughter of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, has officially reported to the WWE Performance Center to begin training to be a WWE Superstar. The 18-year-old is on her way to become a fourth generation WWE Superstar, following the footsteps of her grandfather High Chief Peter Maivia, her grandfather Rocky Johnson, and her father The Rock. She had short stints at the WWE PC over the last year while she was still in school but now she's training full time at the state-of-the-art facility. "It means the world to me,” Simone said. “To know that my family has such a personal connection to wrestling is really special to me and I feel grateful to have the opportunity, not only to wrestle, but to carry on that legacy.” "Simone Johnson’s unbridled passion and incredible drive has earned her a coveted spot training with the elite athletes from around the world at the WWE Performance Center," said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. "Not only does Simone now have an opportunity to cultivate and display her passion for WWE within the Performance Center, but she’ll carry on the tradition of her incredible family lineage while creating her own impact as WWE’s first fourth generation Superstar." Assistant Head Coach Sara Amato said that she has seen a lot of heart and passion so far but she wouldn't have expected anything less from her. "She knows she has a lot to learn, she's hungry to learn, she picks the coaches' minds, I see her talking to the veteran Superstars as well, she's not gonna rest on her laurels I tell you that. It's been a short time but she's been crushing it," added Head Coach Matt Bloom. Her mother, Dany Garcia, tweeted, "It’s been the blessing of my life to watch you grow & while the legacy of the family may be your platform, your future will be uniquely yours to earn. Congrats my Love on living your dream & welcome to @WWENXT." Cathy Kelley has conducted a one-on-one interview with Johnson, an interview which will air this Wednesday at 3PM ET on YouTube.


MATT RIDDLE "GUARANTEES" HE WILL RETIRE BROCK LESNAR- Following the conclusion of the NXT live event at The Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Matt Riddle took the mic to address the fans in attendance. Riddle, who was fired from the UFC after testing positive for marijuana in February 2013 in what would be his second positive drug test in a year, said how his journey started there 12 years ago and now he's here with NXT and 12 years from now he would still be going. "I guarantee you this Las Vegas, The Bro retires Brock Lesnar," he said to a big pop from the Vegas crowd. Lesnar confronted Riddle backstage at the Royal Rumble and told him to stop mentioning his name because the two would never work together. For the main event of the Vegas live event, Riddle teamed with Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa to take on Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong. You can see the video at .


MIZ & MRS RATING- The second episode of Miz & Mrs on USA Network last Wednesday did a total of 475,000 viewers, up from the 437,000 it did the previous week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


CHRIS JERICHO TEASES EC3 TO AEW FANS- AEW World champion Chris Jericho teased a possible AEW acquisition down the road, posting a photo on his social media with EC3 and writing, "Great chat with @therealec3 tonight in Orlando! Big things coming in the future for this talented brother....@allelitewrestling." EC3 remains under a WWE deal but the company missed the boat big time with him after he came from a very successful spell at Impact Wrestling. The 36-year-old Ohio native spent a year in NXT before moving to the main roster but has failed to get any traction and apart from some super quick 24/7 title wins - and losses - he remains underutilized for his talent. The former Impact champion has not been seen since November of last year after he was diagnosed with a concussion.


KEN SHAMROCK TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE IMPACT HALL OF FAME THIS YEAR- Ken Shamrock will be the next inductee into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. The announcement came yesterday during the Impact television tapings held in Las Vegas at Sam’s Town. Shamrock, who recently returned to the promotion, was the first TNA champion when the company was still using the NWA championship, winning the vacant title in a Gauntlet for the Gold match on the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, 2002. After his one year deal came up, he left TNA and then returned for a very short time in 2004 before returning again in August of last year. The 55-year-old joins Sting, Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Team 3D, Earl Hebner, Gail Kim, and Abyss in the Impact Hall of Fame. The company did not induct anyone during the 2019 Bound For Glory weekend.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5844

#34

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Saturday, February 8 2020		Issue #5844
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

I am not a football fan, but I did tune in to see the first XFL game of the season, mainly to watch the production, rather than the game. Thankfully the camera crew didn't take any notes from WWE's own production and went bonkers with every big hit. How will they do? Who knows. Vince has a lot of personal money invested in this. It's a big gamble. Week one ratings will probably be decent, but then again, so were last time. We all know how that ended.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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DWAYNE JOHNSON SHARES EMOTIONAL VIDEO DELIVERING EULOGY FOR HIS DAD- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shared the emotional video of the eulogy he delivered at his father's funeral service on his social media. Running nearly 11 minutes long, the video also includes clips of what happened during and before the service as well as wrestling videos of his father. Johnson had to stop a couple of times as he was overcome with emotions with his father laid to rest in an open casket just in front of him. He recalled how he got the news when his father passed away, going over his dad's wrestling accolades, how he was a trailblazer, and more. In one of the footage shown, The Rock is seen backstage with Triple H, Vince and Shane McMahon where he shared a long, big hug with the WWE Chairman and CEO. He's also shown hugging Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair is filmed spending a considerable amount of time looking at Rocky Johnson inside the open casket. Apart from Vince, Shane, Triple H, Hulk Hogan, and Ric Flair, other wrestling personalities shown on camera were Roman Reigns, Bushwhacker Luke, Jimmy Hart, Brian Knobbs, Afa, Sika, and Elizabeth Hart, the mother of Nattie Neidhart. The video already has over 8.3 million views and over 2 million likes. You can see it at .


GOLDBERG GOING FOR UNIVERSAL TITLE AT SUPER SHOWDOWN- It was announced last night on Smackdown that WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg will be taking on The Fiend Bray Wyatt at the upcoming Super ShowDown pay-per-view from Saudi Arabia and the match will be for the Universal title. Goldberg appeared on the show yesterday via satellite and said that watching the Royal Rumble with his son got him the itch to get back in the ring and noted that while Brock has a match already, there is also the Universal title. A Firefly Fun House segment interrupted the broadcast where Wyatt accepted the challenge on behalf of The Fiend. Goldberg had a stint with the Universal title leading up to WrestleMania 33 in Orlando where he lost the title to Brock Lesnar. He had previously won it at Fastlane from Kevin Owens in typical quick fashion. Goldberg said during his Smackdown appearance that he never got the rematch after losing at Mania and he would like a longer run. Goldberg last wrested at SummerSlam, defeating Dolph Ziggler in a very quick match. His last outing in Saudi wasn’t a pleasant one because he knocked himself out against The Undertaker and the main event match ended up being a big flop.


SMACKDOWN RATING- Friday Night Smackdown on FOX did a total of 2,547,000 viewers yesterday off hours 2,555,000 and 2,539,000. That is up 124,000 viewers from last week's broadcast. Smackdown topped the 18-34 and 18-49 demos on the night but as always only beat The CW in terms of viewership. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


WWE NETWORK PPV ANNOUNCEMENT CATCHES EMPLOYEES BY SURPRISE- PWInsider.com is reporting that the announcement by Vince McMahon on Thursday that WWE is looking to sell the pay-per-view rights to another major streaming provider caught everyone by surprise as only a handful of people were aware of the negotiations and not even those working in the WWE Network department knew about the possible change. The report also stated that there are no plans to completely shut down the WWE Network as a service and there are long-term plans for the service which remain in effect. The multi-tiered version, which is rumored to start soon, is one of those plans and there's also a free version of the service being worked on. The original plan for the multi-tiered version included three options: free, regular, and premium. The free tier was supposed to offer the same free-to-watch videos you’d normally find on WWE.com and YouTube plus timed previews of paid WWE Network content. The regular tier was rumored to have the current WWE Network experience, combining free content with subscription benefits like live pay-per-views, on-demand streaming, and original programming. The premium tier was to cater to the “most passionate Network subscribers” with more content, more features, and also integrating some of other non-video services like commerce. If WWE sells their PPV rights to another streaming provider, then all this would certainly change, including the original proposed pricing.


SUMMERSLAM 2020 TRAVEL PACKAGES INFORMATION- SummerSlam 2020 travel packages will be available starting February 18 at Noon ET while individual tickets for the show will go on sale on March 6 at 10AM ET. This year's SummerSlam weekend will take place from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Championship, Platinum, Gold, and Silver packages will be available. Included in each package are Smackdown, NXT Takeover: Boston, SummerSlam, and Raw tickets, meet and greet session on SummerSlam Sunday, travel package concierge, round-trip bus or subway transportation from hotel to all WWE events, and a three or four-night hotel in the Boston area. Apart from different seating depending which package you choose, the Championship package also includes an exclusive lunch at Cheers on Beacon Hill with WWE Superstars on Saturday and a Boston Duck Tour with WWE Superstars on Monday. The cheapest travel package for one person runs at $1,845 while the most expensive one also for one person is $3,965. Prices go down depending on how many people you can fit in your room (up to four). All packages will be on sale at SummerSlamTravel.com.


NIGHTMARE WEEK FOR WWE STOCKS- After shedding more than 25% of its value, WWE stocks took a further beating following Thursday's earnings report and yesterday closed nearly 5% lower, ending the day and week trading at $42.93 per share. To say it's been one hell of a horrible week for shareholders is an understatement as the news of the firing of both WWE Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson rocked the corporation and Wall Street didn't react too kindly. Besides that, the Q4 2019 and year-end results looked pretty awful and even WWE admitted that it's unclear about their 2020 outlook. Three financial companies also cut the WWE stock price target, driving stocks even more to the ground. MKM Partners slashed the price from $92 to $58, Benchmark slashed it from $79 to $57, and CFRA cut it from $60 to $48.


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5843

#33

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TO UNSUBSCRIBE : mailto:[email protected]
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Watch Super ShowDown free on the WWE Network! 
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Friday, February 7 2020			Issue #5843
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Happy Friday, folks! Back tomorrow. 


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


DYNAMITE RATING- AEW had another easy victory on Wednesday night with Dynamite, getting a total of 928,000 viewers, up significantly by 100,000 viewers compared to last week's show. Dynamite had a 0.36 rating in the 18-49 demographic, good enough for #11 in the top 50 cable chart. Dynamite remains undefeated in 2020 against NXT and hasn't lost a battle since December 18. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


FIRST LINE OF AEW TOYS TO BE UNVEILED LATER THIS MONTH- Toy News International is reporting that the first line of All Elite Wrestling toys will be showcased at the upcoming 2020 Toy Fair. The toys will be created by Jazwares and Wicked Cool Toys and so far, details are very scarce with no previews released. These will be the first-ever toys bearing the AEW brand as the company branches out to expand their consumer products. Jazwares is well known with toys for Fortnite, Peppa Pig, Nerf, Roblox, Angry Birds and others while Wicked Cool Toys has toys for Pokemon, Wild Kratts, Blinger, and other brands. The 2020 Toy Fair will be held between February 22 and 25 at the Javits Center in New York.


IS AMAZON READY TO RUMBLE WITH WWE PAY-PER-VIEWS?- Investment banking and asset management firm Needham believes that Amazon is the leading candidate to land WWE's pay-per-view streaming rights, with one of its analysts Laura Martin going as far as saying that the tech company could even bid to completely purchase WWE if the deal goes through. “We believe that such a licensing deal would put Amazon in the best spot to purchase all of WWE, whenever the family is ready to exit,” Martin said. “WWE’s live programming is highly differentiated and its Raw, Smackdown and NXT brands are worth more than being any one of 500 series that have no built-in audience or brand." Amazon is not new to streaming rights and has already streamed certain games from the NFL and the English Premier League. Vince McMahon hinted yesterday that one of the options that the company is exploring is selling off its PPV rights, moving them from the Network to a major streaming partner. He said that discussions are so far advanced that they could potentially announce a deal by the end of the quarter. 


RUTHLESS AGGRESSION WWE NETWORK DOCUSERIES TO START NEXT WEEK- WWE will be releasing a new weekly docuseries on the WWE Network titled Ruthless Aggression, a series which will look at the time following the Attitude Era with new stars and innovation introduced throughout those years. It will be the first series since the Monday Night War and Breaking Ground shows which were a big hit with subscribers of the Network. The new series debuts on Sunday, February 16 at 10AM ET and new episodes will hit every Monday at 10AM ET starting the next day. WWE filmed a ton of new sit-down interviews with many of the protagonists of the Ruthless Aggression era including John Cena, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Randy Orton, and many others. The style of this series will be similar to that of Monday Night War, which looked at the battle between WWE and WCW during the height of the Attitude Era. The first five episodes are titled It's Time To Shake Things Up, Enter John Cena, Evolution, The Next Big Thing, and Civil War: Raw vs Smackdown.


NXT RATING- NXT had it's biggest audience of 2020 so far with 770,000 viewers, up 58,000 viewers from last week's show but still suffered a big defeat at the hands of Dynamite. NXT had a 0.22 rating among the 18-49 demographic, placing it #34 in the top 50 cable chart. The difference between the two shows was of 158,000 viewers this week, which is up from 116,000 viewers difference they had last week. This is the third week in a row that the gap between the two shows increased. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


FORMER WWE AND WCW SUPERSTAR BRYAN CLARK FACING MULTIPLE CHARGES IN ARIZONA- According to Arizona Central, former WWE and WCW Superstar Bryan Clark, who was better known as Adam Bomb, is facing multiple charges in the state including conspiracy, illegal control of enterprise, transporting or selling narcotics, drug possession and possessing a weapon during a drug offense. The alleged offenses occurred in January and April 2019. Clark wrestled for the then-WWF between 1993 and 1995 as Adam Bomb before he went to WCW in 1997 where he stayed until 2001. In WCW, he wrestled using the name Wrath and was part of the Blood Runs Cold faction and then in 2000 he switched to his real name, joining the late Brian Adams as the KroniK tag team. He returned to the WWE in late 2001 for a very short period along with Adams but they were gone after two months. His attorney, Robert Jarvis, said in a news release that the charges against his client are unreliable and false information. "The police report contains alleged facts that have been grossly misconstrued and are incorrect. This includes incorrect allegations relating to medication and its use." The weapons charge was labeled as "ludicrous" by the attorney, saying that it is based on a family heirloom, a Korean War pistol, that was unused and stored at Clark's home. "The report also contains speculative opinions which are simply false," Jarvis stated. "Mr. Clark has been targeted because of his notoriety and acquaintances."


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Wrestling-Online Newsletter #5842

#32

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Watch Royal Rumble free on the WWE Network! 
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Thursday, February 6 2020		Issue #5842
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Colin Vassallo -[mailto:editor@...]-

Great angle to close off Dynamite last night with MJF and Cody. Same with NXT and the return of Velveteen Dream. Shame that both shows only get a fraction of what Raw or Smackdown usually do.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at 


WWE ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR Q4 2019 AND FULL YEAR- WWE today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2019. “During the fourth quarter, we expanded the reach of WWE’s live programming and further engaged with diverse audiences across platforms and formats,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. “We believe the value of live sports will continue to increase, particularly in today’s evolving media landscape, and we are well positioned to take advantage of this trend to maximize the value of our content.” “For the year, we achieved record revenue and Adjusted OIBDA. However, with the delay in completing a Middle East distribution agreement as well as lower business performance than anticipated, our results were at the low-end of guidance,” added Frank Riddick, interim Chief Financial Officer. “As we work to strengthen engagement in 2020, we are pursuing several strategic initiatives that could increase the monetization of our content, including the distribution of content in the Middle East and India as well as strategic alternatives for our direct-to-consumer service, WWE Network. Excluding the potential impact of these initiatives, we expect significant revenue growth based on the full year impact of our new content distribution agreements in the U.S. and anticipate Adjusted OIBDA of $250 to $300 million. Management believes it has the potential to exceed this range, but is unable to provide additional guidance at this time.” Q4 2019 highlights included revenues increasing 18% to $322.8 million, which was the highest quarterly revenue in WWE history and operating income increase of 87% to $99.8 million. In the full year 2019, WWE highlighted the $960.4 million in record revenue, the move of Smackdown to FOX, the new deals with BT Sport and Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, FOX Sports in Latin America, PP Sports in China and SuperSport in Africa. The full press release can be read at corporate.wwe.com.


WWE CLOSE TO SELLING PPV RIGHTS TO "MAJOR" STREAMING PROVIDER- During the conference call with investors today, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon hinted that WWE is close to selling its pay-per-view event rights to a major streaming service, effectively getting them off the WWE Network. McMahon admitted that they have a lot of different options, but there's interest from major players and if they go that route, they will be announcing a deal in the first quarter. "That's how far along we are," McMahon said in terms of negotiations with the unnamed streaming partner. "There’s no more better time to exercise the selling of our rights to all the majors who, quite frankly, all the majors are really clamoring for our content. So that could be a significant increase, obviously, in terms of revenue,” McMahon said during the call. McMahon said that the deal is not definite yet and "nothing is a must have" but the company will evaluate the options and move in the direction that makes most sense to their business. The UFC has done something similar where they got off the traditional pay-per-view format and sold their PPV rights to ESPN. All UFC pay-per-views must now go through ESPN+.


WWE NETWORK ENDS Q4 2019 WITH 1.42 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS- WWE Network took a 10% hit in paid subscribers in Q4 2019, ending the year with approximately 1.42 million subs compared to the same quarter last year. Apart from being down from the same period of the previous year, it was also down from Q3 2019 which ended with 1.51 million subscribers in October. In terms of revenue, the WWE Network pulled in $41.6 million in Q4 versus the $46.8 million it did in the same quarter of 2018. Year-over-year, 2019 saw a total revenue of $184.6 million versus the $199.3 million it did in 2018. For the first quarter 2020, WWE projects average paid subscribers will increase on a sequential basis to approximately 1.47 million. For 2020, WWE also noted that they're working on "strategic alternatives" for the service which will include different subscription tiers, including a free one, the current one, and a more advanced subscription for a higher cost.


WWE BACKSTAGE RATING- WWE Backstage on FS1 had 97,000 viewers on Tuesday, the same number of viewers the show had the previous week. This week, Royal Rumble winner Drew McIntyre was the guest. Next week, Charlotte Flair will be the guest and CM Punk returns on the panel. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)


WWE HIRES AJA SMITH AS NXT REFEREE- WWE has signed indie wrestler Aja Smith, who wrestled under the name of Aja Perera, to a deal and will be joining the NXT brand as the second female WWE referee. WWE.COM confirmed the news, saying that Smith will be the first African-American full-time female referee in WWE history. The previous NXT referee Jessika Carr was promoted to Smackdown last November. Originally from Brazil, the 25-year-old has wrestled in the United States, Japan, and Mexico for promotions such as Girl Fight, Lucha Libre Femenil, Queens of Combat, and SHIMMER. The WWE Performance Center YouTube channel has a video of Canyon Ceman, the Senior Director of Talent Development, breaking the news to Smith that she's hired. Smith cries upon hearing the news and called it the greatest moment of her life. You can see the emotional video at .

 
VELVETEEN DREAM RETURNS ON NXT AND ATTACKS THE UNDISPUTED ERA- Velveteen Dream made his NXT return last night, saving Tommaso Ciampa from a further beatdown by The Undisputed Era in the main event. Dream has not been seen on NXT TV since the September 18 episode where he lost the North American title to Roderick Strong who ending Dream's reign as champion after 231 days. A back injury kept him on the sidelines for nearly five months and when he returned last night, Dream quickly went on the offensive and took out all members of The Undisputed Era, with special attention given to Strong. Before unleashing more ground and pound on Strong, the 24-year-old ripped off his tights which revealed another pair of tights underneath with Strong's wife Marina Shafir and their son airbrushed on them along with the words "Call me up Marina." 


DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2020 TO BE HELD IN LAS VEGAS- AEW has announced that Double or Nothing will be returning to Las Vegas on pay-per-view on Saturday, May 23. Just like last year, the show will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. “It’s been an incredible run, and only fitting that we return to Las Vegas to celebrate our one year anniversary with AEW’s marquee event,” AEW president and CEO Tony Khan told Sports Illustrated. “On Saturday, May 23, Double or Nothing is back for round two at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Last year’s event changed the world of wrestling, and this year the stakes will be even higher.” Double or Nothing will be the second AEW pay-per-view of the year with Revolution taking place on February 29 in Chicago.


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