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Monday, January 13, 2025 Issue #7460
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Raw looks like it's a good show on paper, hopefully regular programming returns tonight.


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

RAW PREVIEW

- Over 12,000 fans are expected at tonight's Monday Night Raw live from the SAP Center in San Jose, California for the second episode on Netflix. It's a packed card with the final of the Women's Intercontinental title tournament between Dakota Kai and Lyra Valkyria, Finn Balor vs Damian Priest in a street fight to end the feud, Sheamus vs Ludwig Kaiser, and Chad Gable vs the mystery luchador which will be the debut of none other than Penta. Also set for tonight are appearances from the WWE World Heavyweight champion Gunther, the new Women's World champion Rhea Ripley, and CM Punk! All this plus more starting at 8PM ET on Netflix.

WWE TO CROWN INAUGURAL WOMEN'S INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION

- The inaugural WWE Women's Intercontinental champion will be crowned tonight live on Raw. A tournament kicked off on December 2 with four, triple-threat matches to determine who will advance to the semi final matches which were held on December 30. Finalist Dakota Kai defeated Katana Chance and Shayna Baszler in the first round and then beat Zoey Stark in the semi final while Lyra Valkyria defeated Zelina Vega and Ivy Nile in the first round and Iyo Sky in the semi final. Other competitors in the tournament included Raquel Rodriguez, Kayden Carter, Alba Fyre, and Natalya. The new Women's Intercontinental title is exactly as the men's version but with a white strap instead. The title was introduced as the mid-card championship similar to the Women's United States title over at Smackdown.

PENTA MERCHANDISE ALREADY FOR SALE

- Penta merchandise is already available on WWE Shop, with two t-shirts, a hoodie, and an authentic luchador replica mask ready for order...but not ready to ship yet. "Cero Miedo! For Penta, it's not just a phrase. He has no fear of anyone or anything and is driven to be as aggressive as possible to reach his goals. Show that you also live life without fear by grabbing this Penta Logo T-Shirt," says the description on the website for the t-shirts. "The mysterious logo printed across the chest leaves no doubt you're eager to see the WWE's newest dark luchador dive upon and dominate those daring to stand in his path." Penta is expected to make his WWE debut tonight live on Raw on Netflix in a match against Chad Gable. You can grab the merch at

PEACOCK REVEALS DATES FOR UPCOMING SNME SHOWS

- A WWE schedule on Peacock for Premium Live Events revealed two dates of previously unannounced Saturday Night's Main Event shows. The Q2 2025 event will happen on May 24 while the Q3 2025 show takes place on July 12. There are four SNME events every year, with one in each quarter. The Q1 2025 show takes place a week before the Royal Rumble from San Antonio, Texas. If these dates are final and correct, the July 12 show will go head-to-head with AEW's All In: Texas pay-per-view which is from Arlington, Texas, and is AEW's first proper stadium show in the United States. There are no locations announced yet for these two SNME events.

BAD BUNNY WANTS WWE RETURN

- In a wide-raging interview with Rolling Stone which is occupying the main page, Bad Bunny said that he wants to return to WWE for another match as he felt he didn't "risk it enough in the ring" the last time around and now he just wants to scare his mother! "I want to do it one more time. I want to put my life at risk in the ring. I felt like I didn’t risk it enough in the ring, and I want to do it. I want to scare my mother," Bunny said. He admitted that he does not know a date when that can happen but he stays in contact with WWE and is always paying attention to what's going on. "But when, I don’t know. I hope there’s a time where I can really get ready, like I did the last few times. And I’d love to take more time to get ready physically." Bad Bunny's last match came at Backlash in Puerto Rico, defeating Damian Priest in a highly-entertaining street fight. His entrance at the show remains one of the most spectacular entrances in the history of WWE. Bunny also added that after the success of Backlash in Puerto Rico and France, "now it's going to Mexico." That news has not been verified yet. You can read the interview at . A subscription is required.

REVOLUTION TICKETS ON SALE TO GENERAL PUBLIC

- Tickets for the Revolution 2025 pay-per-view at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles went on general sale this morning on AXS.COM. The cheapest seats available right now are $34.79 while the most expensive are $2,052.51 for ringside, both excluding taxes and fees. As expected, the majority of the area is not open and only parts of the first and second raised sections are available for purchase. The arena, formerly known as the Staples Center, can hold up to 16,000 fans for a wrestling setup with a big stage or up to 20,000 with a smaller stage. Judging from the seating chart, the arena is set up for less than 8,000 seats but that could obviously expand if there's demand.


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Sunday, January 12, 2025 Issue #7459
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

It's been a fairly quiet weekend so far. Back tomorrow.

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

TEXAS DEATH MATCH BOOKED FOR NEXT WEEK'S COLLISION

- A Texas Death match has been booked for next week's Maximum Carnage Collision, a show which will be taped on Thursday but airs on Saturday in its regular time slot. The match will feature former AEW World champion "Hangman" Adam Page against Christopher Daniels and it will be the culmination of their feud which has been building up for several weeks. Page is no stranger to Texas Death matches, having already participated in several of them. His only loss came in 2023 against Swerve Strickland. Meanwhile, Daniels has not wrestled in four months and has just one Texas Death match under his belt, but not in AEW. Collision will be taped from the Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, part of back-to-back TV tapings with Dynamite. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com for both Dynamite and Collision.

DARBY ALLIN OFF AEW TV TO TRAIN FOR MOUNT EVEREST CLIMB

- Fightful is reporting that Darby Allin will be missing in action from AEW television for the next few months as he intensifies his training for the Mount Everest climb which he is set to do in April. Allin announced his intention of climbing Mount Everest last year and was supposed to do it last April but the daredevil broke his foot in March in a match against Jay White, his last scheduled appearance for the company before his trip to Nepal. The former TNT champion's last appearance on AEW television was on the December 27 episode of Rampage where of course he was thrown down the stairs by the Death Riders. Allin plans to plant an AEW flag at the top of the mountain if his climb is successful.

MVP RETURNING TO THE RING ON WEDNESDAY

- MVP is returning to the ring, the first time under the AEW banner, next Wednesday on the Maximum Carnage episode of Dynamite. MVP will team up with his Hurt Syndicate partners Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley as they take on the current AEW Tag Team champions Private Party and Mark Briscoe. It will be MVP's third match since November 2024 following a two-year hiatus from the ring.

MALAKAI BLACK WRESTLES AT INDIE SHOW IN TAMPA

- While AEW had a show in Athens, Georgia last night, Malakai Black was in Tampa, Florida, wrestling at the Havoc & Haze indie show for Coastal Championship Wrestling. Black's (former?) tag team partner Brodie King was in action during Collision, and was told backstage by Cope that it was time for the King to take the reigns, just days after Buddy Matthews was told that he does not need a leader. Black is reportedly out of AEW and will not be appearing on television again, with rumors suggesting that he will be a free agent over the next two months. His last match for AEW came in a four-way tag team match on November 23.

MORE SEATS OPEN FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

- WWE has opened a lot more seats for the Royal Rumble as tickets continue to be sold at a rapid pace with just a few weeks to go for the show. Pretty much the whole 400 Level on the side of the stadium which was supposed to be closed off is now open with also some sections in the 300 Level. Prices are a bit on the expensive side as well, as most tickets were snatched up and some of them put for resale. Cheapest tickets available overall for a standard seat is $200 plus taxes and fees while the most expensive remains second row at ringside for $4,602. This will be the second-most attended Royal Rumble ever behind the 1997 one at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.


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Saturday, January 11, 2025 Issue #7458
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Have a great weekend!


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

WEATHER ISSUES COULD ALTER COLLISION SHOW

- There could be some changes to tonight's Collision in Athens, Georgia as several of the AEW roster are having difficulty making it to the location due to the weather. With flights either delayed or canceled, AEW President Tony Khan said that many of the stars are driving into town for the show as bad weather continues to hammer the southeast of the United States. No matter what though, there will be a live broadcast on TNT and Max tonight...it's just going to be a bit of a headache with re-writes if those penciled in for the broadcast do not make it to Athens in time. Announced so far for the show are Harley Cameron vs Mariah May, Cope vs Big Bill, Dax Harwood vs Chris Jericho, and Pac vs Komander.

DYNAMITE RATING

- Dynamite this week drew 615,000 viewers for the return of Kenny Omega, up 27,000 viewers from the New Year's Day episode of the show. In 18-49, Dynamite drew a 0.17 rating, up 0.01 from last week and was #6 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. The number of viewers does not reflect the audience watching on Max. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

BAYLEY VS STRATTON FOR WWE WOMEN'S TITLE SET FOR NEXT WEEK

- WWE Women's champion Tiffany Stratton will make her first title defense on next week's Smackdown against former champion herself, Bayley. A fatal four-way number one contenders match was held last night on Smackdown featuring Bayley, Bianca Belair, Naomi, and Nia Jax. Bayley won the match after pinning Naomi following the Rose Plant. Stratton, who successfully cashed in her MITB briefcase on Jax last week, was clearly the big favorite before the match during an in-ring segment. She got interrupted by Nia Jax, who called her an "ungrateful little shit" for what she did to her last week and that was followed by further interruptions by Bayley, Naomi, and Belair. Smackdown GM Nick Aldis eventually made the match which kicked off immediately after the segment.

ROMAN REIGNS ENTERS THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH

- Roman Reigns will be part of the 30-man over-the-top-rope Royal Rumble match after his Wiseman, Paul Heyman, announced Reigns' intentions of winning the match to get his WWE Championship back from Cody Rhodes. The last time Reigns was in the Rumble match was in 2020, entering the match at #26 and then being eliminated by the eventual winner, Drew McIntyre. He is a four-time runner-up in this match, being the last one eliminated in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2020, and won the match once in 2015. He is the second in the chart of most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match, with 12 eliminations in 2014. Reigns joins the already-announced CM Punk and John Cena in this match. The Royal Rumble takes place on Saturday, February 1 from the Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over 50,000 tickets have been distributed already and tickets are available at .

ODYSSEY JONES SAYS HE IS TAKING LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ACCUSER

- Odyssey Jones, the former WWE Superstar who was fired out of the blue with no explanation at the time, posted a video on his social media today saying that he is taking legal action against his accuser for what he calls false allegations. It was later revealed after he was released that Jones was being accused of domestic violence. "These false claims are coming from a party that I used to priorly engage with. And I apologize for taking so long addressing these false claims, but I had to patiently wait to get an injunction set in place to protect my family, my friends, and myself," Jones said in the video. "I’m currently taking legal action against said party, so I can’t speak too much more on it, but there will be more information to come," he continued. Jones thanked WWE for the "amazing opportunity" they gave him and for bringing him on and also thanked the coaches he worked with for helping him work on his craft. He ended the video saying that he will be accepting bookings for 2025 and thanked everyone for their support. Prior to being released, Jones was put in an angle with The New Day and seemed to be heading towards being the newest member of the faction. The angle was dropped abruptly after he was fired.

FORMER NXT WRITER JIM SMALLMAN GETS NEW POSITION

- A month after he announced his resignation from the NXT creative team to relocate back to the United Kingdom to "be a better dad," Jim Smallman posted on his LinkedIn that he has a new job with WWE. "Delighted to share that I’m starting a new position as International Talent Scout at WWE," Smallman wrote. "Have loved my six years of working for WWE so far, and it’s wonderful that I can now combine being back in the UK for my family with still contributing to the business that I adore so much." Smallman said that with all WWE shows on Netflix in Europe, it's a very exciting time for professional wrestling in the continent and he's looking forward to see what the future holds. The co-founder of British indie promotion PROGRESS wrote 216 episodes of NXT UK, 150 episodes of Level Up, worked on 190 episodes of NXT, and produced hundreds of in-ring and backstage promos.


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Friday, January 10, 2025 Issue #7457
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow.


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

VINCE MCMAHON FOUND IN VIOLATION OF SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT

- Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was found in violation of the Securities Exchange Act by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose settlement agreements with the WWE Board of Directors and ordered to pay a $400,000 penalty and reimburse WWE the sum of $1,330,915.90. This stems from previous NDAs from 2019 and 2022 which had an effect on the reported WWE earnings, with the company overstating its 2018 net income by 8% and its 2021 net income by 1.7%. This was not part of the 2024 investigation by the Southern District of New York which was investigating allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault, but a separate investigation after the NDA stories came up in the media. The full press release from the SEC was published today and can be read at .

MCMAHON ISSUES STATEMENT ON SEC SETTLEMENT

- Vince McMahon issued a statement through Edendale Strategies, the crisis management company he engaged, following the SEC investigation where he was found in violation of the Securities Exchange Act over unreported NDAs paid with WWE money. "The case is closed. Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies. There has been a great deal of speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today’s resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading," McMahon wrote in the statement. "In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I’m thrilled that I can now put all this behind me." McMahon's settlement with the SEC will see him pay a $400,000 fine and reimburse WWE a total of $1,330,915.90.

JANEL GRANT ATTORNEY REACTS TO MCMAHON'S SETTLEMENT

- Ann Callis, the lead attorney for Janel Grant in her case against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE, reacted to the news of Vince McMahon's settlement with the SEC over unreported NDAs and the over $1.7 million he has to pay back in total. "During his time leading WWE, Vince McMahon acted as if rules did not apply to him, and now we have confirmation that he repeatedly broke the law to cover up his horrifying behavior, including human trafficking," Callis wrote. "The SEC's charges prove that the NDA Vince McMahon coerced Ms. Grant into signing violates the law, and therefore her case must be heard in court," she continued. All plaintiffs in the case are arguing that the case should be in arbitration due to the NDA which Grant originally signed rather than in court. "While prosecutors for the Southern District of New York continue their criminal investigation, we look forward to bringing forward new evidence in our civil case about the sexual exploitation Ms. Grant endured at WWE by Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis," Callis concluded.

ALEXA BLISS VOICES CHARACTER ON NETFLIX SHOW

- From tomorrow, you can hear WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss on Netflix, not on a wrestling show, but rather on a manga series. Bliss was one of the voice cast for Sakomoto Days, a Japanese manga series which follows a retired legendary hitman whose mundane life as a family man is disrupted when former enemies and colleagues from his hitman days come seeking revenge. "Such an honor to voice 'Obiguro' in SAKAMOTO DAYS!," Bliss wrote on X. "Can’t wait for this!!!" The former champion, credited under her name Lexi Cabrera, voices the character Obiguro, described as a seductive woman affiliated with the assassin agency Dondenkai. This is the second time that Bliss has done voice work for a Netflix series as she's also part of the English voice cast of Queen of Villains. She is expected back on WWE television very soon after being away from the company for two years.

NXT NEW YEAR'S EVIL RE-AIRING TOMORROW NATIONWIDE

- The CW announced that they will be re-airing this week's episode of NXT New Year's Evil tomorrow night nationwide starting at 8PM ET. This puts the show on a head-to-head collision with...AEW Collision, which airs on TNT and Max. NXT did not air in the Los Angeles market this week due to local coverage of the wildfires. It was supposed to air the following night but news continued to dominate the airwaves in the city for obvious reasons. NXT New Year's Evil saw two title changes and an appearance from none other than The Rock who cursed his way through his main event promo.

RONDA ROUSEY GIVES BIRTH TO SECOND DAUGHTER

- Ronda Rousey, the former multi-time WWE Women's champion, gave birth to her second daughter, named Liko’ula Pa’uomahinakaipiha Browne. Rousey is married to fellow former UFC fighter Travis Browne. “Our little girl came into this world during a windstorm into a city on fire, so grateful she made it safe and sound," Rousey wrote in a post on Instagram. Rousey and Browne live in Southern California where raging fires are destroying thousands of acres and homes. Rousey gave birth to her first daughter in 2021 after she left WWE following a very successful first stint. Her return in 2022 was not as successful as the first and she left the company a year later. Her last appearance in the ring was for Ring of Honor in 2023, teaming with her friend Marina Shafir in a tag team match. You can see her post at

ROSS AND MARSHALL VON ERICH ANNOUNCE AEW DEAL

- Ross and Marshall Von Erich announced on the debut episode of their new podcast titled The Claw, that they have signed with AEW. "This day we’ve dreamed about for so long is finally here. This is kind of like the thing that we’ve been working towards our whole careers," Ross said. Marshall added that they strive to be the best and want the "biggest accolade you can get," the AEW Tag Team titles. The two are the current ROH Six-Man Tag Team champions with Dustin Rhodes but have not wrestled since September of last year after Marshall was injured. The Von Erich, sons of Kevin Von Erich, turned pro in 2012 and wrestled for TNA and MLW before landing in ROH/AEW in late 2023.

RAVEN MAKES SURPRISE TNA APPEARANCE ON IMPACT

- Former WCW, ECW, WWE, and TNA star Raven made a surprise appearance on last night's episode of Impact Wrestling. Raven, who was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2022, showed up in a vignette with Rosemary, who held a knife to his neck which he seemed to enjoy. The former champ proposed a Clockwork Orange House of Fun as a match stipulation for Rosemary's shot at the TNA Knockouts title against Masha Slamovich at Genesis. The match was made official later in the broadcast and will take place on the January 19 pay-per-view. The 60-year-old worked for TNA for several years between 2003 and 2010, even holding the NWA World title at one point when it was used as the company's top prize.


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


====================================================
Thursday, January 9, 2025 Issue #7456
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

We have another new upload on our YT. Check out what Triple H, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, The Miz and Maryse, Rey Mysterio, Nikki Bella, and Shawn Michaels had to say on the red carpet at the Raw Netflix Premiere:

========================================================


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

POWERHOUSE HOBBS GETS AEW TITLE SHOT NEXT WEEK

- Powerhouse Hobbs earned himself an AEW World title shot next week on the Maximum Carnage themed episode of Dynamite after he won the Casino Gauntlet match last night on the AEW flagship show. Hobbs was the seventh entrant in the match which also saw the participation of Jay White, "Hangman" Adam Page, Wheeler Yuta, Ricochet, Adam Cole, TNT champion Daniel Garcia, Roderick Strong, Lance Archer, Kyle O’Reilly, and Jeff Jarrett for a total number of 11 participants. The ending came when Hobbs hit a big spine buster on Kyle O'Reilly and covered him for the three count. After the match, Hobbs vowed to shock the world next week and make Jon Moxley his bitch.

OMEGA TO WRESTLE ON DYNAMITE NEXT WEEK

- Kenny Omega will have his second match since his return in over a year and his first one for AEW on next week's episode of Dynamite, which is being marketed as Maximum Carnage. Omega headlined last night's show with an in-ring promo, detailing the lousy year he had with diverticulitis and having two feet of his intestines removed. Omega said that he was lucky to be alive and back to his regular way of life, let alone returning to the ring. His promo was interrupted by Don Callis and was eventually attacked by Brian Cage and Lance Archer. Kyle Fletcher also joined, making the odds not very favorable to Omega, and right when Cage was going to hit a powerbomb on him, Will Ospreay came out for the save. The announcement for Omega vs. Cage was then made for next week, and while the cameras went off the air, Omega continued to speak to fans inside the arena for around five more minutes.

REPORT: MALAKAI BLACK FINISHING UP WITH AEW

- Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling is reporting through his Select service that Malakai Black is finishing up his commitments with AEW and is departing the company. There were reports in late 2022 that Black had asked for his AEW release but he denied those rumors, saying he vanished a little bit from TV to "recalibrate" his life. The former NXT champion made his AEW debut in July 2021 and later assembled the House of Black with Brody King and Buddy Matthews. The only title he won in the promotion was the AEW Trios title with his House of Black teammates. It's unclear when his contract is actually ending with AEW and what his future will look like after he is contractually-free from the company. Black is the husband of Zelina Vega who is currently in WWE as part of the LWO.

NETFLIX TOUTS RAW PREMIERE VIEWERSHIP

- Netflix and WWE today announced that the debut episode of RAW on Netflix got off to a strong start, with the Monday night program capturing 4,900,000 viewers globally. In the United States, the show averaged 2,600,000 households according to VideoAmp, which is 116% higher than RAW’s average 2024 US audience of 1.2 million households, and higher than any other Monday Night RAW broadcast in the past five years. The event also more than doubled the A18-49 audience vs. last year but no number was given. On X, as soon as the event started, #WWERaw was the #1 trending topic in the US, Brazil, Australia, and the UK. #WWERaw trended #1 for 14 hours straight in the UK and occupied six of the top 7 trending topics in the US. #RAWonNetflix and #WWEonNetflix also trended in Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and the US. WWE generated 223 million social views across platforms on the day of RAW’s Netflix premiere, more social views than any RAW episode of 2024.

NXT RATING

- The NXT New Year's Evil episode on CW this week drew 957,000 viewers, up 331,000 viewers compared to the prior week and the best number since November 20, 2019. This was the fourth most-watched episode of NXT since it started airing weekly on television. Certainly, the appearance from The Rock helped, but the show did not air in the Los Angeles market area due to the wildfires, so those numbers are not accounted for either. In 18-49, NXT did a 0.25, up 0.10 from last week. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

WWE AND COSM ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP FOR SHARED REALITY WWE PLE'S

- Cosm, a leading immersive technology, media and entertainment company, today announced a multi-year partnership with WWE that will see WWE Premium Live Events delivered to fans in Shared Reality at Cosm’s experiential venues in Los Angeles and Dallas. Fans attending WWE events at Cosm’s venues will be transported ringside to arenas and stadiums around the world, providing them with a front row seat to WWE Premium Live Events and putting them inside the action alongside fellow passionate WWE fans, starting with Royal Rumble at Cosm Dallas on Saturday, February 1, 2025. Cosm’s experiential venues in Los Angeles (Hollywood Park) and Dallas (Grandscape) feature large-scale 87-foot-diameter 12K+ LED domes that bridge the virtual and physical worlds by merging state-of-the-art visuals with the energy and atmosphere of the crowd alongside an elevated food and beverage service. “At Cosm, we bring fans together to experience the biggest and best events in the world, wherever those events may be taking place,” said Peter Murphy, Senior Vice President of Media and Content, Cosm. “Now, we get to showcase the WWE in Shared Reality, delivering another incredible way for fans to experience their shared passion.” “Cosm is redefining the future of fan experience,” said Alex Varga, Co-Head of Revenue, WWE. “WWE Premium Live Events are larger than life, and with such an innovative partner in Cosm, we will collectively bring the energy of our biggest moments to an expanded WWE universe.” The addition of WWE Premium Live Events adds to Cosm’s extensive slate of live sports and entertainment programming, which continues to expand through official partnerships with the NBA, UFC, NFL, ESPN, NBC Sports, TNT Sports, FOX Sports, Prime Video, CBS Sports, and more. Tickets for Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber can be purchased immediately at Cosm.com or via Cosm’s fully integrated app, which is available in the App Store and on the Google Play Store. Ticketing information for WrestleMania 41 will be announced at a later date.


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Wednesday, January 8, 2025 Issue #7455
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

We have a new video up on our YouTube channel with the red carpet arrivals from the Raw Netflix premiere. Check it out at .

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

DYNAMITE PREVIEW

- Dynamite is back tonight, a show which will feature the proper return of Kenny Omega. Omega showed up to deliver Okada the Continental title a few weeks ago and then had his first match in over a year at NJPW Wrestle Dynasty last weekend. Matches scheduled for tonight are Buddy Matthews vs Will Ospreay, Mark Briscoe vs Bobby Lashley, Toni Storm vs Kris Statlander vs Willow Nightingale in a three-way match for the #1 spot in the Women's Casino Gauntlet match set for next week, and a men's Casino Gauntlet match with the winner getting a title shot against Jon Moxley at next week's Maximum Carnage Dynamite. The show will air on TBS and also stream live on Max.

FIRST WOMEN'S CASINO GAUNTLET MATCH NEXT WEEK

- The #1 contender for the AEW Women's championship will be decided next Wednesday on Dynamite in a Women's Casino Gauntlet match. The announcement was made by AEW President Tony Khan in a post on social media yesterday. This will be the first-ever women's version of the popular Casino Gauntlet match. The winner of this match will get the title shot at the upcoming Grand Slam: Australia event next month. The Casino Gauntlet concept involves two wrestlers starting off the match and new entrants coming in at intervals like a battle royal, but the winner is decided after whoever scores the first pinfall, rather than over the top rope elimination. Being early in the match is an advantage as participants who are supposed to come in later in the match might not have the opportunity if someone scores a pinfall early. Next week's episode is themed Maximum Carnage.

GIULIA WINS NXT WOMEN'S TITLE

- A new NXT Women's champion was crowned last night at New Year's Evil as Giulia defeated Roxanne Perez for her first gold in WWE. Perez vs Giulia kicked off the first NXT show of 2025 and despite the interference of Cora Jade, Giulia still managed to find a way to get to the finish line, winning the highly-praised match with a northern lights bomb. This ends Perez's 276-day reign as NXT Women's champion, a title show won from Lyra Valkyria at the Stand & Deliver show last April during WrestleMania 40 weekend. This match was Giulia's second for the title, receiving her first one on the premiere episode on CW but it was Perez at that time who ended up victorious. You can check out her victory at .

OBA FEMI WINS NXT TITLE

- There's a new sheriff in NXT town and his name is Oba Femi. The 26-year-old became the NXT champion last night at New Year's Evil, beating titleholder Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe in a triple threat match. The ending came with Femi, in the middle of the ring, about to get sandwiched by Thorpe and Williams who were in opposing corners. Williams went for the Trick Shot while Thorpe swung a chair, only for Femi to move out, throwing Williams into the steel chair, knocking out Thorpe in the process. Femi then followed with a popup powerbomb and a pin to end the match. Femi, and new NXT Women's champion Giulia, then posed together at the top of the stage, signifying a new start for NXT. Femi earned a title shot after winning the Iron Survivor Challenge last month at Deadline. Originally he wasn't part of the match and replaced Thorpe who at the time faked an injury to get out of the match, only to get a title match the following week against Williams. He becomes the first Nigerian-born star to hold the NXT title. You can see his win at .

NIKKI GARCIA SAYS IT FELT GREAT TO BE ACCEPTED AND LOVED AT RAW

- Speaking on The Nikki & Brie Show in a new episode dropped yesterday, Nikki Garcia said that it felt incredible to be accepted and loved at the Raw Netflix premiere this past Monday. Nikki, along with her sister Brie, departed from WWE in 2023 under some rocky circumstances and were not allowed to use the name Bella as it was an intellectual property of WWE. Nikki said that no matter if it's business or family, there's always going to be a rocky road and that's life. "We had that rocky road with WWE,” Nikki said. She admitted that she realized that there were times where she made outbursts out of emotions that probably shouldn't have happened but also there were times where she was hurt and wanted to be heard. “I felt all these emotions because I felt at home and I was so happy to be home," Nikki continued. "And then to be so accepted and loved felt so incredible because things were rocky and then there’s nothing better...there’s no better feeling than going back home." She said that things were mended with WWE and they had great conversations and it felt like a big family reunion. "It was like all is well, we have all made up," she said. Interviewed on the red carpet and asked if we're going to see The Bella Twins back in WWE, Nikki was careful not to reveal anything and she said maybe she's there to scout her competition. Nikki was shown at ringside during the broadcast and listed under her WWE name, receiving a big pop from the crowd. Brie was not at the show, likely because of her association with AEW due to her husband, Bryan Danielson.

COREY GRAVES BACK ON NXT COMMENTARY

- Corey Graves is back where it all started for him: NXT. Graves returned to the brand last night at the New Year's Evil show on CW, joining Vic Joseph and Booker T in a three-man commentary team. Up until last week, Graves was doing Smackdown commentary with Michael Cole but Cole has moved to Raw with Pat McAfee while Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett have moved to Smackdown. Graves was an NXT wrestler before a career-ending injury forced him to take on a new role with the company. He started commentary in 2014 before he moved to the main roster three years later. With NXT now on network television and on Netflix everywhere else in the world, there will be a bigger effort in trying to present the brand as more than just a developmental property.

NXT AT CENTER STAGE PRE-SALE

- The pre-sale for the January 28 episode of NXT which will take place from the famous Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia, is now on using the code WWETIX on Ticketmaster.com. This will not be the first time that NXT will be using the location, a popular one during the WCW days where WCW Saturday Night was taped from 1989 to 1996. NXT taped shows there in early 2018 for their weekly broadcast. Tickets start from $75 and go up to $250 plus taxes and fees. The general public sale starts on Friday at 10AM ET. Center Stage still holds pro wrestling events to this day, with ROH, TNA, MLW, GCW, and others all holding television tapings in the studio which can hold up to 1,000 fans.


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Tuesday, January 7, 2025 Issue #7454
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

I was thoroughly entertained last night watching Raw. Yes, there was a lot of filler, yes there were only four matches, yes some stuff did not make any sense at all (looking at you Rock and Cody), but last night was a WWE showcase to new and lapsed viewers.

Production was incredible and it looked like an amazing place to be. We tend to complain about and overanalyze everything and sometimes we forget to simply just sit back and enjoy the show.

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

NXT NEW YEAR'S EVIL LIVE TONIGHT

- The party in Los Angeles continues tonight live on NXT as New Year's Evil takes place from the Shrine Expo Hall in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 2,000. It's a packed episode of NXT with two huge title matches including Trick Williams defending the NXT title against Oba Femi and Eddy Thorpe in a triple threat match and Roxanne Perez defending her NXT Women's title against Giulia. Also set for tonight are Charlie Dempsey vs Lexis King in an NXT Heritage Cup match, a six-woman tag match featuring Shotzi, Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley vs Fatal Influence, and a fatal four-way match with Stephanie Vaquer vs Kelani Jordan vs Lola Vice vs Cora Jade. Plus, a certain someone by the name of The Rock will be in the house to make his NXT debut! All this and more live tonight on CW at 8PM ET and on Netflix everywhere else.

CORPORATE ROCK OPENS RAW ON NETFLIX

- Corporate Rock showed up on Raw last night with no hints of The Final Boss and the former WWE champion left the Intuit Dome with another message: he'll be at NXT New Year's Evil tonight on CW Network and Netflix! As expected, The Rock kicked off the show last night, coming out with the People's Championship which was given to him by the widow of Muhammad Ali. He gave the title to his two young daughters who were sitting at ringside along with his mother, Ata Johnson. The Rock hugged TKO and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel before he got in the ring and put over their Netflix partners, name dropping each of the executives who were sitting in a suite. Johnson then said that he needed to thank a couple of people before the show starts, and one of them is someone who he spilled blood with in the past and someone who for the past year has carried the company on his back. That man ended up being none other than Cody Rhodes. Rhodes was shown at ringside as he thanked The Rock back for his words. Rock and Cody had quite the journey last year but with no Final Boss around, it was all nice and friendly between the two. Rock told Cody to say hello to Mama Rhodes for him, which popped the crowd. Rock also thanked his cousin Roman Reigns who he called the tribal chief. He said he would be watching the match considering the family history and the importance of the Ula Fala and eventually he was the one who put the Ula Fala on Reigns' shoulder after Reigns won it back. The two had a face-to-face but both shook hands and hugged, with Rocky taking a step back in the corner allowing Reigns to celebrate in the middle of the ring. Several video clips that Rock filmed for his Instagram were later shown during the broadcast, including sharing a drink with Cody Rhodes backstage, meeting Travis Scott, and then before he drove off in his truck, he told everyone that he'll see them at NXT...tonight! You can see his entrance at .

ROMAN REIGNS ONCE AGAIN TRIBAL CHIEF

- Roman Reigns is once again the Tribal Chief after he defeated Solo Sikoa last night in a Tribal Combat Rules match to kick off Raw on Netflix. The match had the interference of Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga on behalf of Sikoa while Jimmy Uso and Sami Zayn evened the odds for Reigns. After that dust cleared, it was Kevin Owens who came out to hit the Stunner on Reigns but Cody Rhodes came out to fight off his Royal Rumble opponent. After the ring was cleared, it was Reigns who won the match after a spear, ending Sikoa's reign as Tribal Chief. While Heyman was supposed to present Reigns with the Ula Fala, The Rock came out again and asked Heyman if he could do the honor. Heyman obliged, and Rock presented Reigns with the Ula Fala. A handshake and a hug later and all was well on the Island of Relevancy. Reigns, along with Heyman, were part of the post-show press conference as well. Heyman said that Reigns, along with himself and Paul "Triple H" Levesque should win an Emmy for their WWE work. Reigns, answering a question about a potential Rock vs Reigns match down the road, said that they will let the "internet do its thing" before committing to an answer. It looks like Roman's next appearance will be on the January 27 Raw live from Atlanta. During Raw, Heyman was walking with Reigns backstage and asked him when he should book the acknowledgement celebration and Reigns responded with the 01/27 date.

RAW RING MAT NOW SPORTING SPONSORS

- There were several changes to the presentation of Raw last night on Netflix, but perhaps the biggest one was the ring, where the mat is now covered with sponsors. The mat, now black with white ropes, had sponsor logos around and in the middle. In the top left and bottom right was the logo of Real American Beer, the Hogan beer which WWE now owns a minority stake in. The top right and bottom left featured the logo of Riyadh Season, a major partner for WWE considering they're a source of hundreds of millions of dollars with their annual shows. Epic Games' Fortnite logo took the most prominent center spot, with the Snickers logo, another major sponsor for WWE at the top and the Netflix logo at the bottom, both centered as well. Rounding out the squared circle was the Cricket logo, which was on the two sides of the Fortnite logo. These logos are likely to be for Raw shows only moving forward. The Prime logo will remain for Premium Live Events. Apart from the ring, several new camera shots were also used last night, including the use of drones which did make for some epic footage. A new commentary table which will make it harder to break was also on display and referees used a new, darker uniform.

TONS OF CELEBRITIES IN ATTENDANCE FOR RAW PREMIERE

- Several Hollywood celebrities and artists descended upon the Intuit Dome last night to witness the Raw premiere on Netflix. Holding the show in the Los Angeles area was one of the reasons as many of the celebrities live in the region, making it easier to get them on camera. And boy did they show up! Celebrities who were shown sitting at ringside included Gabriel Iglesias, Ashton Kutcher, Michael Che, Wale, Seth Green, Macaulay Culkin, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, Bill Simmons, Vanessa Hudgens, Richard Gadd, Tiffany Haddish, and Stephen Amell. Macaulay Culkin definitely got the loudest pop of them all and rivaled any pop from any WWE Superstar on hand last night. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria were also present and so were several TKO executives including TKO CEO and Chairman Ariel Emanuel and President and COO Mark Shapiro. There were way more many celebrities in the building but not all of them got on camera. Former WCW champion David Arquette was also there but never shown on TV. Many WWE Superstars also took rounds sitting at ringside for some camera time including LA Knight, Rey Mysterio, The War Raiders, Bianca Belair, Naomi, X-Pac, Shinsuke Nakamura, Michelle McCool, Lyra Valkyria, Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai, Bron Breakker, Tiffany Stratton, and Nikki Garcia. Stephanie McMahon was also filmed and received a big pop although new WWE Women's champion Tiffany Stratton probably beat all of them with her pop. Also, who can forget about Travis Scott? The music superstar entered the arena to the FE!N song, smoking weed and the crowd went absolutely bananas. The pop got even louder when he accompanied Jey Uso to his entrance, creating one of the most iconic entrances in WWE history, with drones giving a spectacular look of the Intuit Dome. Hell, even Michael Cole was yeeting on the commentary table along with Pat McAfee. Cole at one point told McAfee to watch his yeeting and not yeet on him as he did not have another clean suit to wear! You can see Jey Uso's entrance with Travis Scott at

RHEA RIPLEY REGAINS WOMEN'S WORLD TITLE

- Rhea Ripley regained the WWE Women's World title last night on Raw, beating Liv Morgan in a match which was originally advertised as a last woman standing match and turned into simply a one-on-one with no reasons given. Morgan, who had Raquel Rodriguez and Dom Mysterio also interfering on her behalf, still fell short on extending her reign which ended at 226 days. She won the title from Becky Lynch at the King and Queen of the Ring event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in May of last year. As for Ripley, this is a title she never lost but had to surrender following WrestleMania 40 due to a shoulder injury she sustained at the hands of Liv Morgan herself. Her first reign lasted 380 days. After the match ended, Dom Mysterio tried to sneak up from behind and then offered a hug. Rhea went for the hug but instead punted him between the legs and hit the Rip Tide for a big ovation from the crowd. And just when things couldn't get better for her, The Undertaker came out on his motorbike and celebrated with Ripley at the top of the stage, raising their hands together similar to what he used to do with Kane. At the post-show press conference, Ripley said that the moment she shared with The Undertaker is something she'll never forget. You can see the celebration at .

HULK HOGAN RETURNS...AND GETS BOOED OUT OF THE BUILDING!

- The 17,000 plus fans inside the Intuit Dome were not happy to see Hulk Hogan and they made their voice heard very clear as everyone booed the Hulkster out of the building. Hogan, along with Jimmy Hart, came out for a promo at the top of the stage prior to the main event and after an initial pop when Real American hit the speakers, everyone started booing, drowning out his voice. Ironically, Hogan thanked the fans for sticking with him through thick and thin, even though he was getting booed big time and said that he had a lot of partners throughout the years, mentioning Andre The Giant and Randy Savage. "In the past, I’ve had a whole bunch of partners down the line," Hogan told the crowd. "I had incredible partners, like the Macho Man Randy Savage. I’ve had giant-sized partners like Andre the Giant. But the greatest partner the WWE has ever had, is the fact that tonight, we’re making history, and the WWE has tag teamed up with Netflix, the greatest tag team partner of all time." He then put over his Real American Beer, which is now a WWE partner and ripped his t-shirt off to reveal a Netflix Is Raw shirt. Hulk, to his credit, soldiered on and continued with his promo as expected, but the reception clearly got to him. Hogan getting booed received a lot of mainstream publicity on websites such as New York Post, Variety, Deadline, Sports Illustrated, and others.

PENTA'S DEBUT MOVED BY A WEEK

- Penta's debut was moved from last night's Raw to next week's broadcast and so was the match between The New Day against Rey Mysterio and a partner of his choosing, which was eventually supposed to be the former AEW Tag Team champion. Vignettes hyping his arrival showed the January 6 date but the luchador was nowhere to be seen last night. Another vignette aired, with his mask clearly showing his name this time around. Later in the broadcast, Chad Gable confronted Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and said he wanted to face the best luchador he could find next week. Pearce said he needed to make a phone call to end the segment. During the post-show press conference hyping next week's show, Triple H said that fans kinda already know who the opponent will be but fell short of saying his name.

IN PHOTOS: CELEBRITIES AND WWE SUPERSTARS ON THE RED CARPET

- The stars were out in full force at the Raw Netflix premiere last night at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. There were probably more celebrities than the past 10 WrestleManias combined and the location made it more convenient for everyone to show up and get a (free) ticket. Getty Images were on hand to capture the stars arriving at the arena including WWE Superstars who were dressed to impress for the special occasion! Check out the photo album at .

ROCK GIVES A LOOK BACKSTAGE DURING 15 MIN IG LIVE FEED

- Last night after the opening Tribal Combat Rules match, The Rock went live on Instagram for 15 straight minutes, giving fans a look of what happens backstage during a show. The video, now uploaded as a post on The Rock's Instagram account, starts with The Rock walking to the backstage area following his involvement in giving the Ula Fala to Roman Reigns. The Rock hugged everyone backstage, from those who were part of the match, to producers, and everyone in between and waited for Solo Sikoa to come back through the curtain to hug him as well. The People's Champion then left gorilla position and walked through the backstage area, stopping to say hello to Rhea Ripley, Drew McIntyre, Travis Scott, and then proceeds to leave in his truck before someone tells him that Cody Rhodes is around. Cody and Rock shared a moment together, drinking a little bit of Teremana tequila with The Rock explaining to his viewers the history between the two. He then jumps in his truck, after complaining that he does not have a bus and admiring Travis Scott's car, and prepares to leave, only to reverse and drops the news that he would be appearing on NXT tonight. You can see the whole video at .

SMACKDOWN RATING

- The first three-hour Smackdown this past Friday night drew an average of 1,528,000 viewers, up 92,000 viewers from the prior week and the best number since November 22. The show had a 0.45 rating in 18-49, up 0.04 from the previous show and was #2 on the top 50 cable chart for the night behind college football on ESPN. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

JOHN CENA AND CM PUNK DECLARE FOR THE ROYAL RUMBLE

- The first two WWE Superstars to throw their names in for the Royal Rumble match were John Cena and CM Punk and both announced their intention last night on Raw. Cena was the first one to do it during his in-ring promo, stressing that he can't see him going for the 17th world title due to the losing streak he's currently on. He said that he can't expect to go and ask for a world title shot but there are other ways, maybe, to earn one, including winning the Money In The Bank briefcase and the Rumble itself. Cena then said that he will enter this year's Royal Rumble, his last one, and vowed to win it. Meanwhile, after defeating Seth Rollins in the main event of the show, CM Punk also declared for the Rumble. Speaking to Jackie Redmond at ringside, Punk said that being 46 is just a number and so is being #1 through #30. "Royal Rumble, you're next on the list," Punk said, telling Gunther and Cody Rhodes that he's coming for them.

WWE OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES ROYAL RUMBLE 2026 IN SAUDI

- WWE, in partnership with The General Entertainment Authority, on behalf of HE Turki Alalshikh, announced that the 39th annual Royal Rumble will be held in January 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This landmark event marks the first time the Royal Rumble will be hosted outside of North America. In a statement, HE Turki Alalshikh said, “Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the Royal Rumble for the first time outside North America reflects the General Entertainment Authority’s ongoing commitment to bringing the world’s largest and most important entertainment events to the Kingdom. Through this partnership with WWE, we aim to enhance the entertainment sector and deliver a transformative experience that attracts a wide audience.” He added, “We are excited to see this historic event as part of Riyadh Season’s activities and look forward to providing an exceptional experience for wrestling fans from around the world, whom we welcome to all events hosted in Saudi Arabia.” “WWE is a global enterprise and it only made sense to expand our relationship with the Kingdom by bringing one of our biggest annual events to Riyadh in January of 2026,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. The announcement of Royal Rumble being held in Riyadh in 2026 marks a continued expansion to the successful partnership between WWE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which has already seen record-breaking events including Crown Jewel, Elimination Chamber, King & Queen of the Ring, Night of Champions, SmackDown and Monday Night RAW.

NXT VENGEANCE DAY ANNOUNCED FOR FEBRUARY 15 IN DC

- The next NXT premium live event, Vengeance Day, will be taking place on Saturday, February 15 live from the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC. The show will be preceded by a live Smackdown on the night before from the Capital One Arena also in Washington. The two shows are in partnership with Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the nation’s capital. “Following a historic night, we are excited to bring the first premium live event to Washington, D.C. in nearly nine years with our great partners at Events DC,” said WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels. “We look forward to showcasing our extraordinary talent in front of a rich wrestling town come February 15.” Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, January 10 at 10AM ET and a pre-sale will kick off tomorrow. To receive the code, you can register at .

REVOLUTION VIP TICKETS ON PRE-SALE TODAY

- VIP early access tickets for the Revolution pay-per-view go on sale this morning on AXS.COM. The pre-sale code to unlock tickets is TIX5REV. This sale will run till tomorrow, January 8 at Midnight and then the pre-sale will start on January 9 at 10AM PT. Tickets go on sale to the general public on January 13 at 10AM PT also on AXS.COM. The show will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, California, which is a venue debut for AEW. Prior to this, shows in LA were held at the Kia Forum in the neighboring Inglewood. Revolution will take place on Sunday, March 9.

COLLISION RATING

- Facing NFL on ESPN and ABC, AEW Collision dropped to 345,000 viewers last Saturday, down 290,000 viewers from the last episode which had the big lead-in from NBA. NFL did around 22 million viewers head-to-head. Collision drew a 0.9 rating in 18-49, down 0.11 from the prior week and was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night, beating every other show other than NFL. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)


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Monday, January 6, 2025 Issue #7453
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Happy Raw is Netflix day to all those who celebrate it! Looking forward to tonight. I will be watching live at the cool time of 2AM. Bring it on!


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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HISTORY-MAKING DAY FOR WWE AHEAD OF NETFLIX DEBUT

- A new era kicks in tonight for WWE as it makes its long-awaited debut on Netflix live at 8PM ET. Raw becomes the first weekly live broadcast on the streaming giant, airing in pretty much almost every corner of the world. For those living outside the United States, their deal is even sweeter: apart from live Raw, there will be live NXT, live Smackdown, live premium live events, and a lot of WWE library as part of their current Netflix subscription. This is a 10-year deal worth over $5 billion, a deal which was announced last year by the company as it shopped their weekly television broadcasts to different networks. It's the first time that Raw will not air on cable television since its inception in 1993 and it will be quite the change with Raw omitted from the weekly cable chart, a chart which has catapulted USA Network to the top for around eight months of the year. Netflix went all in with their promotion for WWE on their website, with a WWE: Live & Upcoming section showing what's coming. John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Rhea Ripley are part of the graphic hyping up tonight's live broadcast. Gunther, Dom Mysterio and Liv Morgan, and CM Punk each are used to promote the next three weeks of Raw. On social media, promotion is also at full force with Netflix accounts from different regions each hyping the broadcast. Over 16,000 fans already have their ticket to attend at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, with the brand-new arena sitting next to the majestic SoFi Stadium, the host of WrestleMania 39. The show is likely to break the gate record for any WWE event held inside an arena, with sky-high prices even for the nosebleed section. The cheapest tickets available are resale tickets for $442.80 plus taxes and fees on Ticketmaster. Third-party websites have even-higher tickets, starting from just over $500, an incredible get-in price for any show. Tonight's show will not be a regular Raw. It's a special event level Raw which will be used to gain new viewers from Netflix's 270+ million subscribers worldwide hoping they stick around for next week and the following week and the one following that. Netflix has a good track record of sending shows into the stratosphere. Shows such as Squid Game, Money Heist, Cobra Kai, and others all achieved status which was unheard of thanks to the Netflix machine. WWE is hoping they'll be the next ones to gain that level of popularity in places where maybe the product isn't followed as much. Tonight is the night history will be made and the (Netflix) world will be watching. Streaming is probably the future for many shows and just like it's usually the case, WWE is there to experience it first.

INCREDIBLE COLD OPEN FOR RAW SHOWCASES WWE HISTORY

- The cold open for tonight's Raw introducing the Netflix audience to the world of professional wrestling was published by WWE today. Narrated by WWE's Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, the three minute-plus hair-raising video gives a look at the history of how WWE evolved throughout the years as an artist paints the legends on a ring mat. Superstars such as Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Trish Stratus, Lita, Becky Lynch, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Ted DiBiase, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Ronda Rousey, Goldberg, The Rock, Macho Man Randy Savage, The Undertake, Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair, nWo, CM Punk, and many, many others are all featured in the video. "The screen gets smaller, but the show gets bigger," Triple H says as the orchestra music reaches a crescendo. "Global. From television to streaming. America to the world. Ladies and gentleman, presenting the all-real, ever-fantastic, never-end...story of WWE." Notably missing from the intro? Vince McMahon. Not even featured for a millisecond. You can watch it at .

RAW PREVIEW

- Live from the sold-out Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, WWE starts a new era on Netflix with Raw streaming across the world on the planet's largest and most popular streaming service. It is going to be a packed, packed show with several matches already announced including Roman Reigns vs Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the title of Tribal Chief, Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan defends her WWE Women's World title against Rhea Ripley in a last woman standing match, The New Day take on Rey Mysterio and a mystery partner, and the main event of the much-anticipated CM Punk vs Seth Rollins. Plus, John Cena returns with his first stop of his 2025 farewell tour, Logan Paul makes his first appearance since SummerSlam, the debut of Penta El Zero Miedo, The Rock makes his presence felt, and many, many more surprises. WWE Legends and celebrities are also expected to be featured throughout the broadcast which at this point has no official time limit. Music superstar Travis Scott will also be in the house with his music serving as the new official theme for Raw. The show will be immediately available to stream on Netflix as soon as it ends.

HULK HOGAN TO APPEAR ON RAW TONIGHT

- WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan will be at the Raw on Netflix premiere live tonight from Inglewood, his first appearance since last year's Royal Rumble where he introduced the show just days after celebrating the 40th anniversary of the birth of Hulkamania. Hogan's appearance was originally reported by Dr. Chris Featherstone on X and later confirmed by other sources. It's a very important night for Hogan, whose Real American Beer has now become a sponsor for WWE. WWE took a minority ownership as well, and the logo of the beer will be on the mat in the corner every week on Raw, starting tonight. Hogan was expected at Saturday Night's Main Event last month but he was not there and instead was on a UFC card walking down the aisle with Colby Covington at the same time. He is, however, expected to be at the next SNME later this month from San Antonio. The former WWE and WCW champion is one of the many celebrities scheduled to be part of tonight's historic broadcast.

JOHN CENA'S FAREWELL TOUR STARS NOW

- John Cena's final year as an active WWE Superstar starts today with the Raw on Netflix premiere. Cena will reveal his plans for the rest of the year tonight on the highly-anticipated episode of Raw. The former 16-time world champion announced his 2025 retirement tour at the Money In The Bank premium live event in Toronto last July and will wrestle his final match in December of this year. "I’m so grateful to be invited back home so we can write the last chapter of this unforgettable ride. Sunsets are often the most memorable experience," Cena wrote in a social media post last year. "I can’t wait to share this sunset with my family. See you all very soon. The Last Time Is Now!” Cena has said in the past that he has given all of 2025 to WWE and will be appearing at WWE events throughout the year. In August, Cena revealed that he signed a new, long-term deal with the company that will keep him involved way long after he officially retires from in-ring competition.

NO RAW COMMERCIALS FOR INTERNATIONAL VIEWERS

- WWE Vice President Line Producer Brian Fadem revealed to the Sports Business Journal that Raw will not have commercials for those watching internationally. He also said that the usual 15 commercial breaks typically reserved for cable television for a three-hour show will be reduced. "While you might go to commercials if you’re in Texas, if you’re in Italy you’re going to see us continue content," said Fadem. "You're going to see the continuation of a match. You're going to see exclusive interviews with our talent. You might see an exclusive package that will only be viewed on that international level." The way WWE will handle commercials for Raw has been a talking point for months and international viewers not getting commercials makes sense since commercials in the United States do not apply for international viewers.

WWE HIRES DRONE TEAM FOR NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN ACTION SHOTS

- WWE has hired a team dedicated to flying drones every week for their weekly television show, with their work starting tonight on Raw. WWE Line Producer Brian Fades told Sports Business Journal that the drones will be showing viewers never-before-seen shots of WWE talent both inside and outside the arenas moving forward. "That’s one thing we’re really going to try to lean into [today]," said Fades. "Getting these drones to be used in intimate ways and really take the viewer who’s at home, trying to get them to feel here like everyone else." Apart from drones, WWE also rehearsed using a point-to-point sky cam system and a techno crane for more intimate in-ring shots. WWE and Netflix used 1,200 drones during the weekend for the show they gave over the Los Angeles sky and 200 of those drones were also equipped with pyro. Tonight's Raw will also have a helping hand from the Goodyear Blimp which will give aerial views of the Intuit Dome.

MICHAEL COLE OUTLINES IMPORTANT CHANGE TO RAW COMMENTARY TONIGHT

- Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show earlier today, Michael Cole said that there will be some change to how they do commentary tonight for the Raw premiere episode on Netflix. Cole said that his and McAfee's job tonight is to explain to new viewers who the WWE Superstars and characters are without insulting the long-time fans. "We're going to have a lot of new viewers tonight, we're going to have lapsed fans that might not have joined us since the Attitude Era, so we're going have to explain who is Seth Rollins, who is CM Punk, and why are they important to our product and also basically to the world because these guys just don't wrestle, they do so many other things that are important to the entertainment industry," Cole told McAfee. Cole also revealed that during the production meeting, Triple H gave everyone a pep talk and everyone in the room was very emotional due to the importance of the occasion. McAfee was hosting his daily show remotely live from the Intuit Dome, the site of tonight's Raw.

WWE ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH REAL AMERICAN BEER

- WWE today announced a multi-year partnership with legendary WWE Superstar and Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer – one of the fastest-growing light beers in the U.S. – that will showcase Real American Beer branding within WWE’s weekly flagship program Monday Night Raw as well as other key WWE assets. As an official partner of WWE, Real American Beer will receive ring mat corner branding during every episode of Raw which makes its highly anticipated debut tonight on Netflix. Further, WWE will become a minority owner in the rapidly expanding company, which is now available in 20 states since its launch in June 2024. “Hulk Hogan has done a tremendous job introducing an exciting, new product to a competitive marketplace,” said Grant Norris-Jones, Executive Vice President & Head of Global Partnerships for TKO. “We are excited to unlock a new partnership category and to showcase Real American Beer in front of Netflix’s global audience.” “Well, let me tell you something brother! From the first time I stepped into the ring, I’ve always fought for something bigger than myself,” said Hulk Hogan, Co-Founder of Real American Beer. “I’m thrilled to bring Real American Beer into the ring with WWE. Together, we’re bringing that pride to America, one beer, one match at a time, brother!” Additionally, Real American Beer will receive social and digital support, including original, short-form content that will be distributed across WWE’s popular social and digital channels which reach more than 700 million users globally. WWE trademarks and Superstars will also be available for use on in-store point-of-sale materials and promotional displays throughout its growing network of retailers nationwide.

ROYAL RUMBLE SURPASSES 50,000 TICKETS

- The Royal Rumble has surpassed 50,000 tickets according to ticket tracking service @WrestleTix. As it stands now, it's the third most-successful Royal Rumble in history ticket-wise and has a big chance of moving up to second if they sell 2,000 tickets more in a couple of weeks. The 1997 Royal Rumble has the record with an attendance of 60,477 while the 2017 Rumble, held from the same Alamodome in San Antonio as the one from 1997, is the second most-attended with just over 52,000 people. Seats continue to open up at Lucas Oil Field with many sections on the side where it was supposed to be closed off now available for sale. Cheapest tickets are going for $150 plus taxes and fees in the 600 Level which is at the very top of the stadium. Tickets in the new opened-up sections in the 400 Level are priced $175 and up.

WWE AND NETFLIX LIGHT UP LA SKIES WITH DRONE SHOW

- Ahead of tonight's Raw debut on Netflix, WWE and Netflix lit up the Los Angeles skies last night with a drone show featuring several logos of WWE Superstars. The show started with large WWE and Netflix logos which then morphed in the new Raw logo. The logos of Jey Uso, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, John Cena, Steve Austin, and the WWE championship were all on display in colorful lights. The light display was done to the tune of the song Pure Water by Mustard & Migos. The biggest "surprise" was the Stone Cold Steve Austin skull but several insiders have revealed that Austin is not scheduled to be part of tonight's broadcast after talks fell through. You can watch it at .

DISAPPOINTMENT IN ATTENDANCE FOR WRESTLE DYANSTY AND WRESTLE KINGDOM

- Takaaki Kidani, the CEO of Bushiroad which is the parent company of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, expressed disappointment with the attendance for both Wrestle Kingdom 19 and the Wrestle Dynasty pay-per-views over the weekend. Wrestle Dynasty was the NJPW version of the Forbidden Door, with AEW, ROH, CMLL, and Stardom all participating. The Wrestle Kingdom 19 show from the Tokyo Dome on January 4 attracted 24,107 fans while the Wrestle Dynasty show the following day on January 5 from the same location did 16,300 in an arena which holds around 55,000. The majority of the first riser seats were all empty for Wrestle Dynasty, a big disappointment since it featured the return of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks to Japan and the first match of Mercedes Mone in the famous Tokyo Dome. Kidani told Tokyo Sports that next year they hope to attract 40,000 people for Wrestle Kingdom.

TNA RE-SIGNS THREE TALENT TO NEW DEALS

- TNA Wrestling today announced that it has re-signed Ash by Elegance, John Skyler, and its Knockouts champion Masha Slamovich to new contracts. The announcement was made by TNA in a post on social media. Ash by Elegance, the artist formerly known as Dana Brooke in WWE, made her TNA debut last January at the Hard to Kill pay-per-view. She was previously released from WWE after a decade with the company. Skyler has been working for the promotion since 2021 and is one half of The Good Hands tag team. Slamovich, who won the TNA Knockouts title at Bound For Glory in October 2024, has been signed to the company since 2022.


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Sunday, January 5, 2025 Issue #7452
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Big day tomorrow for WWE and professional wrestling in general. Let's see what they're gonna cook!


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

WRESTLE DYNASTY RESULTS

- Here are the results from Wrestle Dynasty which took place earlier today from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The show was co-promoted by NJPW, AEW, ROH, CMLL, and Stardom. PRE-SHOW: Momo Watanabe defeated Willow Nightingale, Persephone, and Athena in a four-way match to win the International Women’s Cup; The Sons of Texas defeated House of Torture to retain the ROH Tag Team titles. PPV: Taiji Ishimori defeated Hechicero, Kosei Fujita, Soberano Jr., Master Wato, Máscara Dorada, Titán, and El Desperado in an eight-man Lucha Gauntlet match; Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata ended in a grappling rules exhibition match ended in a time-limit draw; Mercedes Mone defeated Mina Shirakawa in a winner-takes-all match to become the new RevPro Undisputed British Women's champion; David Finlay defeated Brody King; Shota Umino defeated Claudio Castagnoli; Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tomohiro Ishii to retain the NEVER Openweight title and the AEW International title; The Young Bucks defeated United Empire and Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi) in a three-way tag team match to become the new IWGP Tag Team champions; Yota Tsuji defeated Jack Perry to retain the IWGP Global Heavyweight title; Kenny Omega defeated Gabe Kidd; Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ricochet to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight title.

MERCEDES MONE WINS MORE GOLD AT WRESTLE DYNASTY

- Mercedes Mone has added more gold to her collection after she defeated Mina Shirakawa at the Wrestle Dynasty pay-per-view earlier today and is now the RevPro Undisputed British Women champion as well. Mone's NJPW Strong Women's title was on the line in this match but the CEO ended up victorious after hitting the Mone Maker. The TBS champion has been delivering some strong matches lately on AEW pay-per-views and can now call herself a triple champion, something which is rarely done in wrestling especially holding three different titles from three different promotions of three different countries. The RevPro Undisputed British Women's title also consists of the Southside Women's Championship, which Mone also carried and is now technically in possession of four titles. It was her life-long dream to wrestle inside the Tokyo Dome and she made her debut there during Wrestle Kingdom 17, coming out to confront the then IWGP Women's champion Kairi. It was her first post-WWE appearance but unfortunately, a broken leg derailed any plans of wrestling inside the historic building for a couple of years. "I've fulfilled my childhood dream, but it's just the beginning," she said after the show. "It's been two years since the NJPW women's division started. AEW, NJPW, and the female wrestlers are all amazing. Today we were able to show a glimpse of our greatness. My new dream has begun again. My current goal is to have a match in the main event at the Tokyo Dome."

THE YOUNG BUCKS REGAIN THE IWGP TAG TEAM TITLES

- The Young Bucks are champions in Japan once again, winning the vacant IWGP Tag Team titles at Wrestle Dynasty in a triple tag match that also included United Empire and Los Ingobernables de Japon. The Bucks won after hitting their Meltzer Driver on Great-O-Khan. It was their first match in Japan since 2019 when the duo joined their friends to start All Elite Wrestling. This is their second stint with the IWGP Tag Team titles after winning them for the first time in June 2018 at the Dominion 6.9 in Osaka. On that day, they beat Evil and Sanada also of Los Ingobernables de Japon. Their first reign lasted 113 days and they lost them to Guerrillas of Destiny, the team of Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, at the Fighting Spirit Unleashed show in Long Beach, California.

JOJO OFFERMAN DOES RING ANNOUNCING FOR DARK MATCH AT COLLISION

- JoJo Offerman, the widow of former WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt, did ring announcing for a dark match before the start of AEW Collision last night which was held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Offerman did not do announcing during Collision and did not appear on the broadcast. It's unclear at this point if that was a one-time thing or a preview of things to come. She is a former Raw ring announcer herself, having done the job for two years between 2016 and 2018. Offerman was also part of the first season of Total Divas on E!

DYNAMITE TAKES A HIT IN THE VIEWERSHIP IN 2024

- Dynamite in 2024 suffered a hit in its weekly viewership, getting an average of 701,365 viewers, down from the 864,269 average of 2023. Viewership never hit 900,000 once in 52 weeks, as the million viewers remained elusive. The show has not seen a million viewers since February 22, 2023. The most-watched episode of Dynamite came on January 17 with 891,000 viewers tuning in but things went downhill from there, with the show breaking some unwanted records. The October 8 episode has the least-watched record with just 329,000 viewers. This was on a Tuesday and went head-to-head with NXT. AEW lost all three shows that went against NXT in 2024, including when they were in their regular Wednesday slot and NXT moved to Wednesday due to the election. In 18-49, once a strong a demo for Dynamite, the show fell to a 0.23 average in 2024, down 0.06 from the 0.29 average of 2023. Their biggest number also came on January 17 with a 0.33 and their lowest was on October 8 with just a 0.10. This was the second year in a row that Dynamite had a drop in viewers compared to the previous year.

THE ROCK CONFIRMS PRESENCE AT RAW NETFLIX PREMIERE

- The Rock has confirmed that he will be showing up on Raw tomorrow night live from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood for the Netflix premiere. In a post on Instagram, Johnson said that besides having his three daughters, his Samoan High Chief title, High Chief Seiuli, is one of the greatest honor of his life. He said he made a commitment 20 years ago to his Highness High Chief Maleatoa Tunamafili II and to the people of Samoa to carry his Samoan, Polynesian, and Black culture around the world with great respect, pride, kindness, mana, humility, and warrior spirit. The Rock noted that he can't wait to soon return back home to Samoa, but, before that happens, there's a stop that he needs to do. "Until then, I’ll come back home to @WWE tomorrow night as we make history on @Netflix and begin a new and exciting era," The Rock wrote. "Tomorrow night is dedicated to my grandfather, the High Chief Peter Maivia, my grandmother, Lia Maivia and my dad, Rocky “Soulman” Johnson and my ancestors who have ALL paved the way."

INTUIT DOME FULL FOR TOMORROW'S RAW

- Nearly 16,000 fans already have tickets for tomorrow's Raw from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, ready to witness a new era ushered in on Netflix. The show will be a complete sell out by the time the show starts and this will be one of the most-attended Raws of 2025. The gate is also go to be astronomical considering tickets for this particular Raw sold for a lot of money where even the cheapest ticket was considered highly expensive. The cheapest standard ticket available at the moment is $1,832.50 while the cheapest verified resale ticket is $376.04 which is behind the stage at the very top of the arena.

THE ROCK TO PRESENT AWARD AT TONIGHT'S GOLDEN GLOBES

- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be one of the presenters at tonight's Golden Globes which will air on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. His Moana 2 movie is a nominee in the Best Animated Motion Picture category. The Golden Globes are in Beverly Hills, just 12 miles away from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood where WWE will kick off a new era and where The Rock said he will be tomorrow night.


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


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Saturday, January 4, 2025 Issue #7451
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

That Tiffany Stratton cash-in was awesome. They have teased it for so long and I'm glad they finally pulled the trigger on it. She's a big star and deserves that title. Go Tiff!

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

WRESTLE DYNASTY LIVE TONIGHT ON PPV

- Live from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, New Japan Pro-Wrestling presents Wrestle Dynasty 2024 on pay-per-view. The event is co-promoted by NJPW, All Elite Wrestling, Stardom, Ring of Honor, and CMLL. The full card is as follows: PPV: Zack Sabre Jr vs Ricochet for the IWGP World Heavyweight title; Konosuke Takeshita vs Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight title and the AEW International title; Yota Tsuji vs Jack Perry for the IWGP Global Heavyweight title; United Empire vs The Young Bucks vs Los Ingobernables de Japon for the vacant IWGP Tag Team titles; Mercedes Mone vs Mina Shirakawa in a winner-Takes-all match for the NJPW Strong Women's title and the RevPro Undisputed British Women's title; David Finlay vs Brody King; Kenny Omega vs Gabe Kidd; Shota Umino vs Claudio Castagnoli; Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata; and an eight-man Lucha Gauntlet match featuring four from NJPW and four from CMLL. PRE-SHOW: Willow Nightingale (AEW) vs Persephone (CMLL) vs Athena (ROH) vs Momo Watanabe (Stardom) for the International Women’s Cup in a four-way match; The Sons of Texas vs House of Torture for the ROH Tag Team titles. The show will air at 10PM ET in the United States and will stream live on NJPW World or else via pay-per-view on Triller TV for $19.99 or $14.99 with an AEW Plus subscription.

OMEGA RETURNS TO THE RING TONIGHT AFTER 396 DAYS

- It has been a long journey but Kenny Omega is finally returning to the ring 396 days after his last one live tonight during Wrestle Dynasty in Tokyo. The former AEW champion had his last match against Ethan Page on the December 5, 2023 episode of Collision and then went on the injured list following a severe bout with diverticulitis. Omega underwent diverticulitis surgery in late May of last year in New York and was lucky that complications prior to surgery were not fatal. The Cleaner made his presence felt on Dynamite last week, his first AEW televised appearance since he was taken out by The Elite in early May on Dynamite. Tonight, he faces NJPW's Gabe Kidd and Omega has already announced that there will be a new presentation for him at the Tokyo Dome. "I'm debuting a new entrance at the Tokyo Dome," Omega said on X. "A new song created by the amazing Final Fantasy 14 & 16 composer Masayoshi Soken, with vocals by Jason Miller and a special voice by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu."

DYNAMITE RATING

- The Fight for the Fallen episode of Dynamite on New Year's Day drew 588,000 viewers, up 14,000 viewers from the previous week. The number does not represent the viewers who also watched on Max. The show had tough competition in the form of the last part of the Rose Bowl and its post-game show, with the post-game show drawing over 6.5 million viewers on its own. In 18-49, Dynamite had a 0.16 rating, down 0.02 from last week and was #6 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

AEW DONATES $100,000 TO ORGANIZATIONS IN ASHEVILLE, NC

- All Elite Wrestling donated $100,000 this week to organizations on the frontlines of the Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in Asheville, North Carolina. The company held Fight For The Fallen in the city to raise money to help those in need after the disastrous hurricane swept to city a few months ago. In addition to the donation, AEW hosted many of the staff, families, and first responders who are providing resources locally. The area is home to Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR and their friend and fellow AEW star Cope.

TIFFANY STRATTON CASHES IN HER MITB BRIEFCASE

- Tiffany Stratton finally cashed in her Money In The Bank briefcase last night on Smackdown and became the new WWE Women's champion. Stratton helped Nia Jax defeat Naomi to retain her title after clocking the Tag Team champion with her briefcase, allowing Jax to hit her Annihilator finisher. After the match, Jax went to attack Bianca Belair who entered the ring to check on Naomi and that's when all hell broke loose. Jax went for a second Annihilator on Belair but Stratton decked her from behind with the briefcase as the crowd went crazy. She then got rid of Candice LeRea and stood at ringside as Belair hit an impressive KOD on Jax. Stratton dragged Belair out of the ring and threw her over the announce table and then handed in her briefcase. Stratton went in the ring and waited for Lilian Garcia to officially make the announcement and then hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever on Jax and the referee counted to three. The crowd went absolutely ballistic as Stratton celebrated in the ring, on the announcers table, and then fireworks capped off the beautiful moment with Stratton holding up her title on the stage. You can see the ending at .

PAUL HEYMAN TO PRESENT ULA FALA TO TRIBAL COMBAT MATCH WINNER

- Paul Heyman will have an important role this Monday at the Tribal Combat match and will present the winner, and the ultimate Tribal Chief, with the Ula Fala necklace. The demand was made yesterday by Solo Sikoa last night on Smackdown, who said Heyman must present the Ula Fala necklace to the winner and whoever loses the match must acknowledge the winner as their Tribal Chief. Heyman, on behalf of Roman Reigns, accepted the stipulation and then Solo said that once he defeats Reigns, Heyman will be his Wiseman forever. Sikoa took ownership of the necklace after Reigns lost the WWE title at WrestleMania 40 and disappeared from television until he made his eventual return at SummerSlam. Sikoa vs Reigns in the Tribal Combat match will be one of the headline matches which will be part of the Raw on Netflix debut.

REPORT: ROYAL RUMBLE 2026 GOING TO SAUDI ARABIA

- PWInsider.com is reporting in an exclusive story that the 2026 Royal Rumble will be taking place from Saudi Arabia and an official announcement could come as early as Monday. Last year, Saudi Arabia’s Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alsheikh, told Ariel Helwani in an interview that the Kingdom is trying to sweeten their deal with WWE by bringing either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania in 2026 or 2027. Saudi already pays WWE around $50 million per show and the company has a 10-year deal with two shows per year. PWInsider adds that the decision is locked in and the Saudi show will be the first one on the road to WrestleMania 42 next year. This would be the first Royal Rumble outside the United States since it started as a pay-per-view back in 1988. Riyadh is also the first location where WWE has a permanent physical attraction titled WWE Experience, a location where meet and greets as well as other events could be held during Rumble weekend. Saudi Arabia recently was announced as the host of the lucrative 2034 FIFA World Cup, with all matches taking place in the country.

DWAYNE JOHNSON RECEIVES 96,557 TKO SHARES

- In new documentation filed yesterday with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission it was revealed that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson received 96,557 TKO shares which were part of his agreement to return to WWE/TKO. The 96,557 shares have a value of $14,058,699 after yesterday's closing of $145.60. Johnson is now in possession of a total of 289,673 TKO shares with an overall value of $42,176,388. As part of returning to the company, Johnson was also awarded full ownership of The Rock intellectual property which up until last year WWE was an owner of.

KAIRI SANE OUT WITH ARM INJURY

- Damage CTRL member Kairi Sane revealed in a post on social media that she's currently suffering from an arm injury. Sane posted a photo from a hospital seemingly out of surgery with her right arm wrapped in a cast and in a sling. "I'll get an arm of iron..." She wrote as the caption. The Pirate Princess last wrestled in early December and was taken out of the Women's Intercontinental title tournament after an attack by Pure Fusion Collective. She was eventually replaced by her tag team partner Iyo Sky.


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Friday, January 3, 2025 Issue #7450
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Not much going on today, have a great weekend!

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

SMACKDOWN MOVES TO THREE HOURS TONIGHT

- A new era of Smackdown kicks off tonight on USA Network as the show expands from two to three hours for the first time ever. Smackdown will be a three-hour broadcast moving forward. Ever since Smackdown started its weekly episodes in 1999, the running time has always been that of 120 minutes including commercials. That also gave Raw the edge during the Draft episodes, with more Superstars drafted to Raw due to the one hour extra of programming on the red brand. But now, Raw and Smackdown will be equal in running time and WWE will have to produce eight hours of original programming every week when you take two hours of NXT into equation as well. Tonight's Smackdown will also air on YouTube for one week only for those countries who have a WWE Netflix deal. Many WWE TV contracts expired on December 31, 2024 and the Netflix deal officially kicks off on January 6 with Raw. Internationally, Smackdown will be on Netflix starting from next week's broadcast, as will NXT.

RAW VIEWERSHIP HOLDS UP WELL IN 2024 COMPARED TO PRIOR YEAR

- WWE Raw only dropped slightly in its 2024 viewership average compared to 2023, a big win for the company considering the loss of cable homes from year to year. In 2024, the average Raw viewership was of 1,656,075, which is down only just over 38,000 viewers from the average of 1,694,173 from 2023. The slight less in viewership is also helped by the fact that Raw moved to two hours on October 7, limiting the heavy losses against NFL's Monday Night Football, which was the usual heavy competition for the broadcast. Raw had one show which surpassed the 2 million viewers on average and that was the night after WrestleMania 40 which drew 2,360,000 viewers. Apart from that, the first hour of the January 29 episode and the first hour of the August 12 episode were the only ones which did over 2 million viewers. In the 18-49 demo, Raw averaged a 0.53 rating, slightly up from the 0.52 it did in 2023, so the audience was a bit younger with the over 50 viewership dropping. Their biggest 18-49 demo was the Raw After Mania with a 0.83 rating. Raw had a few very bad nights in 2024, with the September 23 episode doing the second-lowest Raw ever with 1,338,000 viewers, saved only by the September 18, 2023 episode which did 7,000 viewers less. The show was doing great until the NFL season on ESPN and ABC started, averaging 1,727,389 from January to September and a 0.56 rating. That average dropped to 1,505,000 viewers and a 0.47 rating when it went against the NFL. Raw's run on cable television ended on December 30, with the show now moving to Netflix from January 6.

WWE AND TOPPS REUNITE FOR TRADING CARDS

- WWE and trading card company Topps have reunited with a new deal that officially starts on January 31. This will mark the first collaboration between the two companies since the end of 2021, when Panini took over the license for WWE trading cards. "As WWE reaches unprecedented heights, Topps celebrates the legacy with the return of WWE trading cards in 2025. These aren’t just cards—they’re your gateway to relive iconic moments, collect autographs from Superstars like Jey Uso, and own unique pieces of WWE history, such as ring mat relics," the Topps website reads. "Whether you're a lifelong fan or a newcomer, Topps WWE trading cards connect you to the excitement of the squared circle, putting the 'Together' in WWE’s motto: Then, Now, and Forever. Together." In September 2023, Panini filed a lawsuit against WWE after the company terminated its contract as WWE tried to get back with Topps, which was bought out by Fanatics, a big WWE partner in merchandise. In mid-November, WWE and Panini settled their lawsuit without prejudice out of court but no settlement terms were ever released. In February of 2024, Panini announced that it would continue its relationship with WWE through digital trading cards.

NXT RATING

- The New Year's Eve episode of NXT on CW drew 626,000 viewers, down 97,000 viewers from last week's broadcast which was the third-highest on CW so far. The show had a 0.15 rating in 18-49 demo, up 0.01 from the previous week. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

LOCATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR UPCOMING WWE TV TAPINGS

- WWE today announced the location of seven upcoming Raw, Smackdown, and NXT shows on the road to WrestleMania. NXT on January 28 will be live from Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. Raw on February 24 will be from the Heritage Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, and that is followed by a live Smackdown from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada later that week on February 28. On March 3, Raw will be live from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York and a week later it's back to Madison Square Garden in New York City for the March 10 Raw. The April 4 Smackdown will take place from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, and the final Raw before WrestleMania on April 14 will be at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.


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Thursday, January 2, 2025 Issue #7449
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow.

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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ADAM COPELAND CHANGES AEW NAME TO COPE

- Over a year after making his AEW debut, Adam Copeland has undergone a name change in AEW and is now simply referred to as Cope. The change became effective last night at the Fight for the Fallen Dynamite where the former TNT champion teamed up with his buddies FTR to take on The Death Riders in the main event of the show. He was introduced as the "Rated R Superstar" Cope on graphics and by ring announcer Justin Roberts as well as by the AEW commentary team.

CASINO GAUNTLET RETURNING NEXT WEEK

- The Casino Gauntlet is returning on next week's episode of Dynamite. The announcement was made last night by Tony Khan in a post on X prior to the airing of Dynamite Fight for the Fallen. The winner of this battle royal will get a shot at the AEW World title, currently held by Jon Moxley, at the themed Maximum Carnage Dynamite on January 15. On the show last night, former IWGP champion Jay White earned the first spot in the match after he defeated Roderick Strong and Swerve Strickland in a three-way match. While drawing #1 is bad in a regular battle royal, getting the #1 spot in the Casino Gauntlet is actually the best outcome as the match can end any time so being the first one in the match comes with its advantages.

SWERVED! JEFF JARRETT ANNOUNCES HE SIGNED AGAIN WITH AEW

- Jeff Jarrett's announcement about his future in AEW ended up being a swerve as Jarrett revealed that he signed his final talent contract and will end his in-ring career in AEW. There was a tease for several days that Jarrett would be hanging up his boots but that was all just that, a tease, as Jarrett explained that this business was a high risk, high reward one and he's taking a big risk now for the biggest reward: becoming the AEW World champion in 2025. Jarrett, 57, then put his name in next week's Casino Gauntlet match where the winner will receive an AEW World title shot against Jon Moxley on January 15. The WWE Hall of Famer has been signed to AEW since late 2022 and also holds an office job as Director of Business Development apart from being an on-air talent.

NEW THEME SONG FOR DYNAMITE

- Dynamite last night, the first one which was also simulcast on Max, started with a brand new theme song as Tony Khan keeps pumping money to license popular songs. The new Dynamite theme is the song I'm So Excited, performed by The Pointer Sisters, a song which came out in 1982 and was #30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at the time. Elton John's Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting is also returning as the theme for Collision this weekend after the original license expired in July of 2024. Khan has also recently licensed November Rain and Welcome to the Jungle from Guns N' Roses to promote AEW shows.

TRUTV TO AIR DYNAMITE REPLAYS

- TruTV will be airing replays of Dynamite starting next week every Friday night at 10PM ET. TruTV, part of Warner Bros. Discovery, recently underwent programming changes where it turns into a sports network in prime time. The network, which launched in 1991 originally as Court TV, is in around 68 million homes in the United States. All episodes of Dynamite, and even Collision, will be available to stream on Max as well.

BARON CORBIN NOW A FREE AGENT

- Baron Corbin, who is now using his real name of Tom Pestock, announced on social media that he's now a free agent. "I’m officially no longer under contract since i was not fired. I was told they were not extending," he wrote on X. "So if you’re making a horror movie, let me know ha ha ha ha New year, no contract, let’s see what we can create!" The 40-year-old was informed in the beginning of November that he would not get a new deal after it expires at the end of the year, ending his 12-year association with WWE. He was backstage at the AEW Worlds End pay-per-view this past weekend visiting friends.

REPORT: WWE SWAPPING RAW AND SMACKDOWN RING ANNOUNCERS

- PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE is switching up their ring announcers for Raw and Smackdown ahead of Raw's move to Netflix next week. The site says that Lilian Garcia will be doing Smackdown's announcing tomorrow night and will remain on the blue brand moving forward. Smackdown moves to three hours tomorrow on USA Network. Meanwhile, former NXT announcer and current Smackdown announcer Alicia Taylor will be doing the work for the Raw brand on Netflix starting this coming Monday. Taylor moved to Smackdown from NXT in May while Garcia retuned to take over from Samantha Irvin in October.

NO WWE HOUSE SHOWS UNTIL MID-MARCH

- WWE is drastically cutting down its non-televised live events in 2025 and WWE Superstars will have a reduced schedule until March. There are no house shows taking place for the next two and a half months and the first non-televised live event of 2025 will take place on Saturday, March 15 from Germany as the road to WrestleMania begins. There will be six house shows during the two-week tour of Europe and nothing else has been announced past WrestleMania. This means that WWE Superstars and crew will have most of the week off in a new strategy under the TKO Group which seeks to eliminate most of the live events in the smaller cities.

RAW RATING

- The last Raw on USA Network drew 1,595,000 viewers this week, up 142,000 viewers from the prior week and the second-best number since the NFL started. Hour one started with 1,665,000 viewers and that followed with 1,526,000 viewers in the second hour. The NFL game between the Lions and 49ers, which aired on both ESPN and ABC, drew a combined audience of 22.2 million viewers. Raw had a 0.53 rating in 18-49, up 0.11 from last week and was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and #5 in all of television behind NFL-related programming. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)


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Wednesday, January 1, 2025 Issue #7448
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Big day today for both WWE and AEW as they make their way to Netflix and Max respectively. Business is good!


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

WWE GOES LIVE ON NETFLIX

- WWE's biggest distribution deal ever kicked in today as WWE officially started on Netflix. In the United States, the move officially starts on January 6 with Raw although some content is already online, but internationally, WWE content can already be watched on the service. Also, apart from Raw, NXT, Smackdown and all premium live events will be airing on the service in countries around the world. All WWE content on Netflix is part of your current Netflix subscription plan and there are no more additional costs to watch WWE. Netflix members in the United States will not be able to watch NXT, Smackdown, and premium live events as those remain part of Peacock, at least until 2026. Netflix has already started to roll out select WWE archived content but more will be uploaded over time. Not the whole WWE Network is moving to Netflix worldwide, so there will be a lot of items missing. Older Raw content will be available for streaming in the United States and worldwide. Episodes of Raw, Smackdown, and NXT will be available to watch immediately after the live stream ends and so will premium live events. WWE programming can be downloaded around 48 hours after it streams on Netflix. Netflix currently has around 282.7 million subscribers worldwide, 67 million of which reside in the United States. The U.S. count is a bit lower than the availability of USA Network in homes in the United States which stands at around 70 million.

SELECT WWE CONTENT ALREADY LIVE ON NETFLIX FOR U.S. VIEWERS

- While WWE on Netflix officially starts on January 6 in the United States with a live Raw from Inglewood, California, the streaming service is introducing its members to WWE with five different shows which are available to stream now. The shows are Raw Classics, Top 10, Road to WrestleMania, Superstar Profiles, and Legends Profiles. In Raw Classics, Big E hosts this must-see collection of Raw matches and moments, featuring WWE Legends and Superstars including CM Punk, Becky Lynch and Triple H. Top 10 will take a look at some of the biggest and best matches in WWE history from Raw, featuring Superstars John Cena, Triple H, Becky Lynch and more. Road to WrestleMania is also Raw-specific with the show featuring WWE’s top Superstars raising the stakes in must-see matches and thrilling moments. WWE Superstar Profiles and Legends Profiles will introduce the Netflix audience to the current crop of WWE stars and those who paved the way with unforgettable matches and moments inside the squared circle.

WWE GOES LIVE ON NETFLIX INTERNATIONALLY

- Netflix has started uploading WWE content on their streaming service with several premium live events and weekly television shows already available for watching. As of day one, the premium live events are all available for viewing including WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and all the other shows. Some are still listing coming soon and some only show up if you search "WW" instead of "WWE" in an apparent bug. Also, a large amount of Raw, Smackdown, and NXT episodes are also available to stream although not the whole catalog is available. The above content is available only for international subscribers. For those in the United States, Raw Vault, Raw is Netflix, Superstar Profiles, Best of Raw 2024, WWE Top 10, Road to WrestleMania, Legends Profiles, and Raw Classics are all available for streaming. These are also available for international viewers.

COUNTRIES NOT GETTING WWE ON NETFLIX

- While WWE is moving to Netflix for the majority of the world, there are still a few countries where there are active television deals which have to be honored and the Netflix move there will be held at a later time. In France and Belgium, WWE programming will continue to air on AB1. Germany, Austria, Switzerland fans will continue to watch WWE on BILD and ProSieben MAXX. Discovery+ and DMAX will air WWE in Italy. All WWE premium live events in these above mentioned countries will air on WWE Network. Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV will air WWE for the Indian Sub-Continent, with that agreement ending in March 2025. In the Caribbean, Rush Prime will air WWE while in Sub-Saharan Africa, Supersport continues its TV deal. ABEMA in Japan just recently signed a TV deal so that's staying put and IB Sports in South Korea also keeps their WWE. In Philippines, it's Tap Go for the weekly TV and in Cambodia it's Hang Meas HD. WWE premium live events will air on the WWE Network in these two countries as well.

WWE NETWORK: THE END

- The WWE Network came to an end today as WWE officially moved to Netflix outside the United States. The Network launched in the United States in February 24, 2014, offering a staggering amount of content from the whole WWE video library including pay-per-views for just $9.99 a month. The worldwide rollout of the Network started in July of that year and took almost two years to finally reach almost every corner of the world. In fact, the Network operated in 186 countries, with the biggest omissions being China and Russia, where the service was deactivated in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. But the total number of subscribers was not sustainable, with the service hovering around 1.5 million on average and only spiking during WrestleMania season, topping 2 million for the month when WrestleMania is on. In January 2021, WWE and NBCUniversal announced a deal to move the WWE Network to Peacock in the United States in a five-year deal worth just over a billion dollars. The service ceased its operations in the U.S. in April 2021 and completely moved to Peacock. The Network remain unaffected in other parts of the world, although six regions have, or had, local distribution partners such as Rogers Sports in Canada, MBC Group in the Middle East, SonyLIV in India, SuperSport in Africa, Binge in Australia, and Abema in Japan. For the rest of the world, that changed once WWE and Netflix announced their worldwide deal, effectively killing the WWE Network. The service will operate in a handful of countries where the Netflix deal is not in operation yet due to other TV contractual obligations. Once those contracts are up, WWE will completely turn the switch off as Netflix takes over.

OMOS AND NAKAMURA VICTORIOUS AT NOAH THE NEW YEAR 2025

- WWE Superstars Omos and Shinsuke Nakamura took part in today's NOAH The New Year 2025 show which aired live on Abema. Omos teamed up with Jack Morris to take on GHC Tag Team champions Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura and the challengers came out victorious, with Omos pinning Marufuji to capture the titles in his Japan debut. Morris sat on Omos' shoulders and lifted the GHC Tag Team championships in celebration. During his entrance, Omos also had a stare down with Japanese sumo wrestler Wakamotoharu who was sitting at ringside. Nakamura showed why he's still the King of Strong Style after defeating Ulka Sasaki in the semi main event of the night. Nakamura entered with the WWE United States title although the match was not for the title. Nakamura won after two Kinshasa kicks.

TRIPLE H, STEPHANIE, AND LINDA MCMAHON AT TRUMP'S NYE BALL

- President-elect Trump and incoming First Lady Melania Trump hosted a New Year's Eve Ball at the Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, and had a few familiar guests on the list. WWE's Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque and his wife, former WWE co-CEO Stephanie McMahon were at the event along with education secretary nominee and former WWE President herself Linda McMahon. Linda will be joining the Trump cabinet for the second time if she is confirmed for her position. The event had over 300 guests, from politicians, to sports, media personalities and everything in between.

AEW DEBUTS ON MAX

- WWE is not the only one who made its debut on a streaming service today as AEW has also started on Warner Bros. Discovery's Max. From today onward, both Dynamite and Collision will be simulcast on Max in the United States, with replays available on the service afterward. Pay-per-views will eventually be part of Max as well in the months to come, although they will come at an additional cost. AEW content is also available on Max, including Dynamite shows and pay-per-views dating back to 2019, in addition to Rampage and Collision shows from 2024. Previous episodes from years past will be rolled out in the weeks to come as well, giving AEW fans all the content that they can watch. Tonight's Dynamite Fight for the Fallen will be the first AEW live broadcast on Max. The streaming deal, both for live simulcasts and archived content, is for customers in the United States only. The service is $9.99 a month with ads or $16.99 a month without ads.

DYNAMITE FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN TONIGHT

- Tonight's Dynamite live from Asheville, North Carolina is labeled Fight For The Fallen with proceeds going to the Hurricane Helene victims. It's also a very important night for AEW as tonight marks the first Dynamite simulcast on Max, with the streaming service airing the show live as well. The show is headlined by a huge trios match involving Adam Copeland and FTR teaming up to take on AEW World champion Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta. Other matches include Orange Cassidy vs "Hangman" Adam Page, Julia Hart vs Jamie Hayter, and Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin vs The Acclaimed. Plus, Jeff Jarrett will be making an announcement regarding his future.

ELTON JOHN SONG RETURNING AS COLLISION THEME SONG

- Elton John is returning to AEW Collision this weekend...well, his voice is! AEW President Tony Khan announced that John's song "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" is back as the Collision theme song for 2025. The song was used as the theme for Collision since the first episode in June 2023 but the company stopped using it in July 2024 after the rights to use it expired. The song was originally released in 1973 as part of his album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. This weekend's Collision will be the first one to also simulcast on Max.


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Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Issue #7447
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

A bit later than usual...but, Happy New Year!

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

PUNK/ROLLINS HEATED PROMO ENDS RAW ON USA NETWORK

- The last Raw ever on USA Network ended with a gigantic promo battle between Seth Rollins and CM Punk ahead of their one-on-one clash next week on the Raw Netflix premiere. Both Rollins and Punk took digs at each other, with Rollins saying that CM Punk took his ball and went home when things got rough, went on his buddy's podcast (Colt Cabana) to smash WWE, signed with the competition...and questioned Punk on how that turned out. Punk was not kind in his replies, telling Rollins that if he sees it like that, then his wife Becky Lynch took her ball and went home, with Rollins firing back saying that she went home to take care of their child, something that Punk cannot comprehend. He also told Rollins that he didn't want to leave WWE in the first place, but he hated the guy who was in charge, the same guy who loved Seth Rollins. CM Punk continued, telling Rollins that he followed by betraying Roman Reigns and playing the victim for several years because of a situation that he created himself. Punk told Rollins that he came back to wrestling because fans kept chanting his name even when Rollins was around. Punk promised Rollins that the arrows that were meant for him during his first stint in WWE will turn and he will jam them down Rollin's corporate throat. Rollins called Punk a cancer of professional wrestling and the only way to eliminate the cancer is the cut it out - something that he will do next week! You can see the full segment at .

LATEST PENTA TEASER GIVES BIGGEST HINT YET

- The latest teaser for Penta El Zero Miedo's arrival in WWE aired last night on Raw and it was the clearest hint yet. The vignette which was shown yesterday saw the strike-through zero transform, bit by bit, into a a design which is often used as Penta's mask. Penta is expected to make his WWE debut next week on the Raw Netflix premiere but won't be joined by his brother Fenix as he remains under contract with AEW for pretty much most of 2025 after AEW extended his deal for time lost during his injury. The former AEW Tag Team champion had his AEW contract expire at the end of last month.

FINAL FOR WOMEN'S INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE SET

- The final match for the WWE Women's Intercontinental title tournament was set last night on Raw after the two semi finals took place at the sold-out show in Houston. Dakota Kai was the first one to advance after she beat Zoey Stark and set up a potential final against fellow Damage CTRL member Iyo Sky, but the former WWE Women's champion came up short in the quest to reach the final after former NXT Women's champion Lyra Valkyria beat her in the second semi final. The match between Kai and Valkyria to crown the inaugural WWE Women's Intercontinental champion will now take place next Monday on the Netflix premiere episode. This was the second mid-card title introduced for the women after Smackdown crowned a Women's United States champion earlier this month.

RAW, NXT, AND SMACKDOWN VAULTS SHOW UP ON NETFLIX

- The Netflix streaming service is now showing Raw, Smackdown, and NXT Vault sections, suggesting that older episodes of the three shows are going to be part of the Netflix catalog. For those in the United States, only Raw Vault is visible while international subscribers are able to see the Smackdown and NXT vault channels too. The Raw Vault description says, "WWE's groundbreaking in-ring series highlights over three decades of unforgettable matches, moments and Superstar-studded episodes." The Smackdown Vault description reads, "From Attitude Era origins to the modern day, these matches and milestones spanning over 25 years reinforce what it means to lay the Smackdown in WWE." The NXT Vault reads, "The next generation of Superstars step forward in Premium Live Events, classic encounters and TakeOvers that define this trailblazing in-ring series." There's only a Remind Me button and no actual date when these will be live unlike other shows which will go live tomorrow.

NXT AND SMACKDOWN TO AIR ON YOUTUBE FOR INTERNATIONAL VIEWERS

- With several WWE television deals around the world expiring today, tonight's NXT and this Friday's Smackdown will be airing live on YouTube on the WWE channel. This is only for countries where there's no active WWE television deal and where a Netflix deal is in place. In the United States, they will continue to air on CW and USA Network respectively. While WWE on Netflix will go live tomorrow, the first live broadcast will be next week's Raw on January 6 so that left NXT and Smackdown homeless for the week. The shows will air on Netflix starting from next week's episodes.

SMACKDOWN RATING

- Smackdown this past Friday drew 1,436,000 viewers, up 110,000 viewers from the prior week which was the second least-watched episode of Smackdown of 2024. The show drew a 0.41 rating in 18-49, up 0.04 from the previous show and was #2 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and #3 in all of television behind the college football game. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

NAKAMURA AND OMOS IN JAPAN FOR NOAH SHOW

- Two WWE Superstars are currently in Japan and will be participating in the Pro Wrestling NOAH The New Year 2025 pay-per-view event later tonight. The United States champion will be taking on Ulka Sasaki in a non title match while Omos will team up with Jack Morris to take on Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Tag Team titles. Nakamura traveled to his home country several days ago and spent Christmas in the Land of the Rising Sun. Omos was just recently announced for the show. Nakamura headlined the 2023 event, pinning The Great Muta during Muta's farewell tour. NOAH The New Year 2025 will take place from the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan and airs on AbemaTV on linear television and streams on CyberFight's Wrestle Universe streaming service. It starts at 4PM Tokyo time which is 2AM ET.

AJ FRANCIS SIGNS NEW DEAL WITH TNA

- AJ Francis has signed a new deal with TNA Wrestling which will keep him part of the roster for the foreseeable future. The news was revealed by the former Hit Row member himself in a story with Sports Illustrated. Saying that there were other offers on the table, Francis said that TNA just felt the best place for him right now and the company always took good care of him. "TNA has always since the day that I got there changed people’s perception of me. My last match in TNA was for the TNA World Title, an absolute banger of a match in the main event of Final Resolution against Nic Nemeth," he said. He noted that a year ago, he wasn't the most sought-after free agent and people thought he wasn't going to wrestle anymore and his career was over. "A year ago, TNA took me in for their very first show, Hard To Kill in (Las) Vegas," he continued. "That was the very first night that I interacted with Joe Hendry. One year later, Joe Hendry’s the biggest star in wrestling. He can still send me a box of cigars for that whenever he wants."

RAMPAGE RATING

- The final episode of Rampage ever drew 273,000 viewers, up 46,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.08 rating in 18-49, up 0.02 from the previous show and was #6 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. This was the 177th episode of the series and the last one since it was not picked up by WBD in the new AEW media rights deal. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

FORMER WWE SUPERSTAR EVA MARIE FILES FOR DIVORCE

- TMZ.COM is reporting that former WWE Superstar Eva Marie has filed for divorce from her husband Jonathan Coyle. Marie and Coyle have been married for 10 years and their romance and wedding was a big feature on Total Divas, the WWE reality show on E! Court documents show that the two actually parted ways in October 2023 due to irreconcilable differences but the divorce was just filed recently. Eva Marie has not appeared on WWE television since 2021.


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Monday, December 30, 2024 Issue #7446
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Not much going on today. Catch ya later.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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LAST RAW ON USA NETWORK

- Tonight's Monday Night Raw will be the last one ever on USA Network as the show moves to Netflix starting from next week. The show, which made its debut on January 11, 1993, has always aired on USA Network apart from a five-year period between 2000-2005 when it moved to TNN/Spike TV. It moved back to USA Network in 2005. USA Network was the home of some incredible episodes of Raw, especially during the most important period during the Attitude Era. It has catapulted USA Network to the top of the cable chart for many, many years and its loss from the line-up will certainly be felt since it has constantly been the most-watched series on the cable network. But WWE is not ending its association with USA Network altogether as Smackdown remains on it for the next five years in a brand-new deal. Smackdown is also expanding to three hours starting from this Friday. Raw was originally supposed to end its USA Network run in October but the Netflix deal was not kicking in until January 6, ena
bling WWE and NBCUniversal to strike a separate, three-month deal worth $25 million to keep the red brand on USA. The show moved to two hours on October 7, ending its continuous three-hour broadcast after 12 years.

NEARLY 100,000 FANS ATTEND WWE HOLIDAY TOUR EVENTS

- Almost 100,000 fans were part of a very successful WWE Holiday Tour, a five-day, 10-event tour which will end tonight with the final two events. The tour kicked off on December 26 with over 12,000 fans at Madison Square Garden in New York and over 6,000 fans at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. On December 27 there were over 7,700 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and over 11,700 at Amalie Arena in Tampa for the live Smackdown on USA Network. December 28 had two shows more, with over 8,000 at the Kia Center in Orlando and over 8,300 at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. The Orlando house show out-drew the AEW Worlds End pay-per-view on the same day in the same city. On December 29, over 6,600 fans were at the Casey Center in Miami and then over 12,000 attended at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. It ends tonight with over 9,000 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and a sold out Toyota Center in Houston with over 14,500 expected. All attendance numbers are courtesy
of ticket tracking service @WrestleTix on X.

PUNK TAKES ON GUNTHER IN STEEL CAGE MATCH IN ROSEMONT

- Over 12,000 fans showed up at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois last night to witness CM Punk getting a WWE World Heavyweight title shot against Gunther inside a steel cage. This was Punk's first crack at a title since returning to WWE 13 months ago at the Survivor Series and it was the first Gunther vs Punk match ever as well. Unfortunately for the hometown boy, Gunther came out victorious thanks to the interference of Dominik Mysterio, who showed up just in time to slam the cage's door in Punk's face, blocking his exit and allowing Gunther to recover and walk out of the door. The match received rave reviews from fans in attendance and despite the ending which fans did not want to see, they still went home on a high due to the post-match antics. After the match, Dirty Dom was joined by Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Santos Escobar as they attacked Punk. Thankfully for Punk, Rey Mysterio, LA Knight, and Otis came out to save the day and the faces cleaned house.

RICKY STARKS APPEARS AT DEFY BLUEPRINT EVENT

- Ricky Starks, still exiled from AEW, showed up at the DEFY's Blueprint show yesterday night and had a stare down with Kenta. The show took place from the Washington Hall in Seattle, Washington and was headlined by Kenta defending his title against Schaff. The way this was set up suggests that Kenta and Starks will eventually meet each other in the promotion down the line. Starks has not been seen on AEW television since March and recently was pulled from an upcoming appearance with GCW. As a contracted AEW talent, he still has to clear his indie appearances with AEW so at least there seems to be at least communication between the two sides. AEW President Tony Khan has so far refused to answer why Starks has been kept off television or if he is coming back.

KONOSUKE TAKESHITA TO DEFEND AEW INTERNATIONAL TITLE AT WRESTLE KINGDOM

- AEW International champion Konosuke Takeshita could be pulling double duty this weekend wrestling on back-to-back days at the Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty events in Tokyo. New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that Takeshita will defend his AEW International title against Shingo Takagi and Takagi will put up his NEVER Openweight title on the line as well so this will be a title for title match. If Takeshita survives Takagi, he then has Tomohiro Ishii waiting for him the next night at Wrestle Dynasty, who will challenge for both titles whoever the champion might be.
Wrestle Kingdom takes place on January 4 while Wrestle Dynasty takes place on January 5, with the latter being the co-promoted show with AEW, ROH, CMLL, and Stardom. Both shows are at the Tokyo Dome.


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Sunday, December 29, 2024 Issue #7445
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Nice to see Kenny Omega and Adam Copeland back. AEW sure can use them at the moment!


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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WORLDS END PPV RESULTS

- Here are the results from last night's Worlds End pay-per-view which took place from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida. ZERO HOUR: Toni Storm defeated Leila Grey; Jeff Jarrett defeated QT Marshall; Lio Rush, Action Andretti, and Murder Machines defeated The Outrunners and Top Flight in an eight-man tag team match. PPV: Will Ospreay defeated Kyle Fletcher in the Continental Classic semi final; Kazuchika Okada defeated Ricochet in the Continental Classic semi final; Mariah May defeated Thunder Rosa in a Tijuana Street Fight to retain the AEW Women's title; MJF defeated Adam Cole to retain the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring; Konosuke Takeshita defeated Powerhouse Hobbs to retain the AEW International title; Mercedes Mone defeated Kris Statlander to retain AEW TBS title; Kazuchika Okada defeated Will Ospreay in the Continental Classic final to retain the AEW Continental title; Jon Moxley defeated Orange Cassidy, "Hangman" Adam Page, and Jay White in a four-way match to retain
the AEW World title.

OKADA WINS THE CONTINENTAL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT

- Kazuchika Okada won the second Continental Classic tournament, retaining the title after a final match against Will Ospreay. Okada, who was the runner up of the blue league, defeated Ricochet, who won the gold league, in the semi final while Ospreay, who was the gold league runner up, defeated Kyle Fletcher, who won the blue league, in the other semi final. Okada finished the tournament with 10 points, winning against Shelton Benjamin, Mark Briscoe, and The Beast Mortos, while losing against Kyle Fletcher and drawing against Daniel Garcia. Ospreay was on nine points at the end of the tournament, winning against Claudio Castagnoli, Brodie King, and Komander, while losing to Darby Allin and Ricochet. The Japanese star originally won the Continental title in March of this year, defeating the inaugural Continental Classic winner Eddie Kingston.

KENNY OMEGA RETURNS

- Former AEW World champion Kenny Omega made his return on AEW television at the Worlds End pay-per-view. This was his first appearance since May when he was attacked by The Elite. Omega was introduced by Christopher Daniels after Kazuchika Okada defeated Will Ospreay in the Continental Classic final. Standing at the top of the stage, Daniels said he would normally come down to the ring and present Okada with the title, but effective immediately, he was no longer an EVP for AEW. "But he is," Daniels said, as Omega's music hit the speakers to a big pop from the crowd. The man known as The Cleaner then came down to the ring and presented Okada with the Continental Classic title, had a stare down and Omega then left the ring. Omega will return to the ring on January 5 at the Wrestle Dynasty show, a show promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling along with AEW, ROH, Stardom, and CMLL. You can see his return at .

ADAM COPELAND RETURNS

- Kenny Omega was not the only one who made his return to AEW last night as former TNT champion Adam Copeland also returned at the end of the pay-per-view. Following the chaotic main event which saw Jon Moxley retain the AEW World title in a four-way match, The Death Riders continued the carnage in the ring and specifically on Jay White. FTR came out for the rescue but stopped mid-way through the aisle. At that point, the lights went out and the graphic changed to Rated FTR on the big screen as Alterbridge's Metalingus hit the speakers and out came Copeland to another thunderous ovation. FTR and Copeland hit the ring and took on The Death Riders, with Copeland spearing Moxley while FTR took care of Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli. Copeland then applied a crossface with a piece of a broken chair across the champion's face. A trios match between FTR and Copeland against The Death Riders was then announced for the Fight for the Fallen Dynamite this Wednesday night. Copeland has been
out of action since May when he broke his foot after he jumped from the top of the cage and landed on his feet. He had to surrender the TNT title due to his injury, which required surgery to fix. You can see it at .

SKY SPORT ITALIA DROPS AEW

- AEW programming will no longer be airing on SKY Sport television in Italy according to one of its local commentators Salvatore Torrisi. The contract will expire at the end of 2024 and was not renewed by SKY Italy. SKY Sport Italia has been airing AEW shows since August 2020. It's unclear if the company is engaged with a different network to air AEW in the European country but Italian fans can still continue to get their AEW fix by subscribing to the AEW Plus streaming service which is offered through Triller TV. AEW Plus offers live Dynamite and Collision as well as 20% off discount for AEW pay-per-views and access to previous AEW shows for $4.99 a month.

WWE VAULT YOUTUBE CHANNEL SURPASSES 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS

- The WWE Vault YouTube channel has surpassed the 1 million subscribers mark this week, with more people tuning in lately as WWE continues its different approach of making their video library available on streaming services. WWE has been uploading full documentaries, shows, and other original content on the Vault channel as the WWE Network winds down worldwide with the move to Netflix. Netflix will not carry all the WWE video library so the majority of the content available currently on the Network will once again be unavailable to watch on-demand. With several ads from YouTube playing throughout shows, the WWE Vault channel will eventually be raking in some serious money, although not as much as if they were to license the full content to a streaming service. This weekend, WWE even uploaded a WWE/ECW house show from the ECW Arena which was held in 2006 featuring Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Sandman, Sabu, and others.


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Saturday, December 28, 2024 Issue #7444
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Enjoy Worlds End tonight. I will watch on-demand as I have to be back at the airport at 5AM for my flight out of Prague back home.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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WORLDS END 2024 LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW TONIGHT

- Live from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida, AEW presents its final pay-per-view of 2024, Worlds End. The full card is as follows: PPV: Jon Moxley vs Orange Cassidy vs "Hangman" Adam Page vs Jay White in a four-way match for the AEW World title; Mariah May vs Thunder Rosa in a Tijuana Street Fight for the AEW Women's title; Mercedes Mone vs Kris Statlander for the AEW TBS title; Konosuke Takeshita vs Powerhouse Hobbs for the AEW International title; Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher in the Continental Classic semi final; Kazuchika Okada vs Ricochet in the Continental Classic semi final; Okada or Ricochet vs Fletcher or Ospreay in the Continental Classic final for the AEW Continental title; and MJF vs Adam Cole for the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring. ZERO HOUR: The Outrunners and Top Flight vs Murder Machines, Action Andretti, and Lio Rush; Jeff Jarrett vs QT Marshall; and Toni Storm vs Leila Grey. The Zero Hour show starts at 7PM ET and airs on AEW's social media channels as well as Triller TV while the pay-per-view starts at 8PM ET and is available to purchase from PPV.COM, YouTube, and Triller TV. Internationally, the show can be purchased from Triller TV.

DYNAMITE RATING

- The Christmas episode of Dynamite on 34th Street drew 574,000 viewers this week, down 51,000 viewers from the prior week. In 18-49, Dynamite drew a 0.18, just 0.01 down from the previous show and was #2 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. This was the first time Dynamite aired on Christmas night and did similar to their November and December average, which should be considered a win. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

LADDER MATCH FOR WWE TITLE AT THE ROYAL RUMBLE

- The WWE championship match for the Royal Rumble was announced last night on Smackdown and Kevin Owens will get yet another crack at the title. During the final segment of Smackdown, Owens said that the match should not involve a referee that counts the finish after what happened to him at Saturday Night's Main Event. Cody did not object and suggested the two face off in a ladder match. Smackdown GM Nick Aldis signed off on the match and both Cody's WWE Championship and the Winged Eagle WWE title which Owens took after SNME will be suspended above the ring, with the first person who snatches them will be declared the winner. Owens continue to declare himself the true WWE champion and took out both Aldis and Rhodes at the end of the segment with his Winged Eagle title. Apart from the two Royal Rumble matches, this is the only other match so far announced for the show.

BIG EN ANNOUNCED AS CHIEF FIESTA OFFICER

- Big E has been announced as the Chief FIESTA Officer for the Fiesta Sports Foundation in a press release issued today by the Fiesta Bowl. In his role, Big E will enhance the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl experience through a variety of fan-centric activities while bringing unparalleled energy and fun to the first-ever CFP Quarterfinal. "The first-ever College Football Playoff Quarterfinal being played at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl is worthy of maximum hype and energy to mark this historic moment on the field," said Fiesta Sports Foundation Executive Director & CEO Erik Moses. "Big E, a college football player and one of WWE’s premier personalities, will elevate fan interactions and engagements before, during and after the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl." Big E's duties as Chief FIESTA Officer include fan engagement, interactive experiences, event participation, media and brand promotion, and community outreach. Big E was introduced to the Valley fans and visitors at the Rate Bowl on Thursday night and will continue to enhance the fan engagement around the Fiesta Sports Foundation’s events, including the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe, to make them unforgettable for all fans and participants. In addition to these engagements, Big E will partake in social media takeovers on the Fiesta Bowl channels offering up exclusive vantage points of the Fiesta Sports Foundation’s signature events. "I’m thrilled to step into this role as Chief Fiesta Officer," Big E said. "College football has always been close to my heart, and the Fiesta Bowl is one of the biggest stages to celebrate the game we all love. I’m here to bring the energy, connect with the fans and make sure this year’s Fiesta Bowl is unforgettable. Let’s have some fun and make some noise!"

MORGAN VS RIPLEY NOW A LAST WOMAN STANDING MATCH

- The WWE Women's World title match between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley on the Raw premiere episode of Netflix now has an added stipulation attached to it. The bout is now a last woman standing match as was announced during the international broadcast of Main Event. This will be Liv's fifth title defense since winning it at the King and Queen of the Ring premium live event from Becky Lynch in May. It's also the third match between the two for the title. The first match was at SummerSlam where Morgan came out victorious. The second match was at Bad Blood two months later where Ripley defeated Morgan via disqualification, so Morgan retained the gold. The last time Morgan defended the title was at the Saturday Night's Main Event broadcast on December 14 against Iyo Sky.

JORDYNNE GRACE WRAPPING UP TNA DUTIES AT GENESIS

- Fightful is reporting through their Select service that former TNA Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace is set to wrap up her commitments with the company on January 19, which is the Genesis weekend. Grace is set to face Tessa Blanchard on the pay-per-view that night to finalize her program and then she will be a free agent and expected to sign with WWE. The timing is perfect for a Royal Rumble return, a match she was a surprise participant in last year. The 28-year-old has been working for TNA since 2018 and was the first Knockouts Triple Crown winner, winning the Knockouts title, Knockouts Tag Team title, and the Digital Media title.


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Friday, December 27, 2024 Issue #7443
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Last episode of Rampage tonight. Kinda crazy to think CM Punk made his debut on this show and now a few years later, it's over!


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

AEW BIDS FAREWELL TO RAMPAGE TONIGHT

- After a total of 177 episodes, Rampage is bidding farewell tonight with its final episode as the show was not picked up as part of the latest AEW media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. The show launched on August 13 2021, four months after AEW announced Rampage as its second weekly show which would air on Friday nights at 10PM ET. Its debut came from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with 740,000 fans watching live with a main event of Kenny Omega vs Christian Cage for the Impact World title. But perhaps its biggest episode was the following week, titled The First Dance, which saw the return of CM Punk at a sold out United Center in Chicago. 1.12 million fans tuned in and that was the only time the show did over a million viewers. Unfortunately over the years, ratings for Rampage took a nose dive and AEW started treating it more as a filler, rather than putting must-see matches. In its debut year, the show averaged 608,429 viewers and a 0.25 rating in 18-49. In 2022, it dropped to an average of 463,519 weekly viewers and a 0.15 rating in 18-49. 2023 was even worse, with average of 377,385 throughout the year and a 0.11 rating in 18-49. Excluding tonight's final episode, the 2024 average dropped to 297,667 viewers and a 0.10 rating in 18-49, with the show doing record lows this year alone. While Punk's episode in 2021 was the most-watched of the entire series, the November 1, 2024 episode will hold the record of the least-watched Rampage ever, with just 172,000 viewers tuning in and a 0.05 rating in 18-49.

FINAL RAMPAGE CARD

- Rampage's final show will air tonight at 10PM ET on TNT, a broadcast which was taped last weekend at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The New Year's Smash themed episode will feature four matches, with ROH champion Chris Jericho vs Anthony Bowens, AEW Tag Team champions Private Party vs Leo Sparrow and Alec Quest, Thunder Rosa vs Leila Grey, and Hook vs Nick Wayne. This is the 177th episode of the Rampage series and after tonight, AEW will go back to two shows - Dynamite and Collision - unless another one is announced in the new year.

ROCK 'N' ROLL EXPRESS RETURNING TO AEW FOR TWO SHOWS

- AEW today announced that Hall of Famers Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson of the Rock 'n' Roll Express will be appearing at two upcoming television shows in January. The duo will be showing up at the Collision on January 4 live from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Dynamite on January 22 live from the Knoxville Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. This will not be their first time on AEW television as the former champions have already appeared in the past, doing angles with Santana and Ortiz and FTR several years ago. They still occasionally wrestle on the indie circuit and make regular appearances at fan conventions.

NXT RATING

- The taped Christmas Eve episode of NXT this week drew 723,000 viewers, up 15,000 viewers from last week's broadcast and the highest since October 8 which was the second NXT on CW with Randy Orton on the show. In 18-49 however, the rating continues to trend downward with a 0.14, down 0.02 from the prior week, signifying an older audience watching. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)

NXT'S ARIANNA GRACE AND CHANNING LORENZO GET ENGAGED

- NXT stars Arianna Grace and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo announced their engagement today after a trip to Paris, France. Lorenzo proposed to Grace in front of the Eiffel Tower where a large heart with roses and candles served as the backdrop in front of the iconic monument. "Yes to forever. Last night was so perfect, and I am so in love. Excited to share… we are engaged!!!!!!!! Woooohoooo," she wrote on Instagram. Grace and Lorenzo, both 27, were the second WWE couple to announce their engagement this week after Maxxine Dupri and Anthony Luke. Grace is the daughter of former WWE Superstar Santino Marella who is currently working with TNA Wrestling.

CM PUNK SAVES DAMIAN PRIEST IN SHOWER CAP AND TOWEL AT MSG

- Fans at Madison Square Garden last night were treated to some comedic relief thanks to CM Punk in a towel. Dominik Mysterio and Ludwig Kaiser jumped Damian Priest in the steel cage after the main event of the show which saw Gunther retain the WWE World Heavyweight title against Priest. That did not last long though as CM Punk's Cult of Personality hit the speakers for the third time on the night, and Punk sprinted out barefoot in a towel and shower cap much to the amusement of everyone. Punk took down both Kaiser and Mysterio but the two eventually go the upper hand and went for a double clothesline, only for Punk to hit the brakes as he hit the ropes and Priest delivered one of his own. After the dust cleared, Punk put over Priest and said that Priest grew up in New York watching wrestling here and now he got to main event The Garden. Earlier, Punk defeated Kaiser in a rare non-televised match and he also had a nod to John Cena, doing several of his moves during his comeback. Last year in the same show, Punk wrestled Mysterio in his first match back with the company. You can see the funny segment at .

WWE RETURNING TO MSG FOR LIVE RAW ON MARCH 10

- WWE Raw will return to Madison Square Garden on Monday, March 10 for the first time in three years as the road to WrestleMania goes through New York City. The announcement was made yesterday during the annual Boxing Day WWE non-televised live event at The Garden. Tickets go on pre-sale on Wednesday, January 10 at 10AM using the code SOCIAL and they go on general sale on Friday, January 12 at 10AM as well through Ticketmaster.com. WWE avoids running The Garden for a variety of reasons, but the biggest one is costs that come along with it and using specific staff as dictated by MSG.

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====================================================
Thursday, December 26, 2024 Issue #7442
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Hope you all had a nice Christmas!


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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CONTINENTAL CLASSIC ROUND-ROBIN TOURNAMENT ENDS

- The final matches of the Continental Classic took place last night on the Christmas edition of Dynamite from the Hammerstein Ballroom. In the gold league, Will Ospreay defeated Brody King, putting Ospreay with nine points and King with six on the chart. The Darby Allin vs Ricochet match ended in a time-limit draw, with Ricochet increasing to 10 points and Allin with seven. The other remaining gold league match saw Komander defeat Claudio Castagnoli, with Komander earning his first three points while Castagnoli finished with nine. In the blue league, Kazuchika Okada beat Shelton Benjamin to earn three points and finish with 10 points overall while Benjamin remained with six. The final match was Kyle Fletcher defeated Daniel Garcia, with Fletcher moving to 12 points and Garcia staying put with seven.

SEMI FINAL MATCHES IN CONTINENTAL CLASSIC SET

- The Continental Classic semi final matches which will take place at Worlds End were revealed last night after the conclusion of the tournament. In the blue league, Kyle Fletcher topped the group with 12 points while Continental champion Kazuchika Okada was behind with 10 points. Ricochet topped the gold league with 10 points and Will Ospreay followed with nine. The semi finals will now see Fletcher taking on Ospreay and Ricochet taking on Okada, with the winners of the two matches then meeting later in the night for the Continental title. This year's Continental Classic tournament saw 12 AEW stars compete against each other in a round-robin tournament. Apart from the top two in each league, the blue league finished with Mark Briscoe with nine points, Daniel Garcia with seven, Shelton Benjamin with six, and The Beast Mortos with no points. The gold league also had Claudio Castagnoli with nine points, Darby Allin with seven, Brody King with six, and Komander with three.

TAZ RETURNS TO COMMENTARY

- Former ECW champion Taz made his return to the AEW commentary desk during last night's Christmas edition of Dynamite. Taz underwent knee replacement surgery in October and at the time wrapped up his AEW commentary duties at the end of September. It was alluded that Taz was attacked in the parking lot during the October 2 episode of Dynamite, an attack which was never shown on television but done to explain why Taz would be off television for weeks to follow. With Dynamite in New York, it was a quick and easy trip for the man known as the human suplex machine to make, although it's unclear if he will rejoin the commentary team weekly from now on.

TAY MELO RETURNING TO THE RING AFTER 22 MONTHS

- AEW star Tay Melo, who has not wrestled since March 3, 2023, will be returning to the ring for STARDOM in Japan at their New Year Dream 2025 event. The 29-year-old Brazilian will be teaming up with Mina Shirakawa to take on ROH Women's champion Athena and Thekla in a tag team match. Melo's last match at the NEW Wrestlefest XXVII event, teaming up with her husband Sammy Guevara to take on Encore and Tiara James. Her last AEW in-ring appearance was on the January 1, 2023 episode of Rampage in a street fight match, teaming up with Anna Jay in a losing effort against Ruby Soho and Willow Nightingale. Melo gave birth to a daughter in late November of the same year.

COLLISION RATING

- Helped by a big lead-in from the college football game which drew 8.6 million viewers, Collision on Saturday night drew 635,000 viewers, up a whopping 389,000 viewers from the previous week. This was the most-watched Collision of 2024 by a mile and the best number since July 29, 2023 and the third most-watched Collision ever. The show had a 0.20 rating in 18-49, up 0.11 from the previous week and also a year-high. It was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

LIV MORGAN APPEARS ON NFL NETFLIX GAME

- While CM Punk did WWE promotion during the Steelers vs Chiefs NFL pre-game show on Netflix, WWE Women's World champion Liv Morgan did her appearance on the second game later in the day. Morgan showed up at the Houston Texans vs Baltimore Ravens game to promote WWE's arrival on Netflix which is now just two weeks away. Interviewed on the field while holding the title on her shoulder, Morgan said if someone had told her she would be on Netflix weekly years ago, she would have cried tears of happiness. "This is so huge, the fact that WWE and Netflix are joining together to give all the WWE fans across the globe the opportunity to watch WWE Monday Night Raw in the same place for the first time ever, debuting on Netflix January 6th, we're so excited and we can't wait for everyone to watch us," Morgan said.

RAW RATING

- Raw this week drew 1,453,000 viewers, down 80,000 viewers from last week's broadcast against Monday Night Football's 14.6 million audience for the Saints vs Packers game which was simulcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. The first hour did 1,448,000 viewers and then the second hour climbed slightly to 1,458,000 viewers. The show had a 0.42 rating in 18-49, down 0.05 from last week's show and the lowest since October 28. Raw was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night behind NFL shows and #5 overall in all of television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

WWE HOLIDAY TOUR KICKS OFF TODAY

- The annual WWE holiday tour kicks off today with ten events in five days. The fun starts with two events, one at Madison Square Garden in New York and the other at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. On Friday it's a live event at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and a live Smackdown from the Amalie Arena in Tampa. Saturday the action moves to Orlando at the Kia Center and at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. On Sunday it's live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago and Kaseya Center in Miami. It all ends on Monday night with one event at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and a live Raw at the same time in Houston at the Toyota Center. Tickets are available for all shows at Ticketmaster.com.

WWE TO ROCK MSG WITH TRADITIONAL BOXING DAY SHOW

- Over 11,000 fans will be on hand for the traditional Boxing Day non-televised live event at the world's most famous arena - Madison Square Garden - for today's WWE Holiday Tour. It is going to be a loaded show headlined by a steel cage match for the World Heavyweight title between Gunther and Damian Priest. Liv Morgan will defend the Women's World title against Iyo Sky and Bron Breakker also puts up his Intercontinental title on the line against Sami Zayn in a two-out-of-three falls match. Seth Rollins will battle Dominik Mysterio and CM Punk makes a rare non-televised appearance against Ludwig Kaiser. Other stars scheduled to appear include The Miz, Wyatt Sicks, The New Day, LA Knight, Drew McIntyre, and more.

OMOS TO APPEAR AT PRO WRESTLING NOAH JANUARY 1 SHOW

- Pro Wrestling NOAH today announced that WWE Superstar Omos will be at their upcoming January 1 The New Year 2025 event which will take place at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. With 10 matches already announced for the show, it's unclear if Omos will be part of another match or just making an appearance. Omos last wrestled on the April 5 episode of Smackdown on the eve of WrestleMania during the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He remains under WWE contract but has not been used since then, although he does do media appearances for the company from time to time. Fellow WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura will also be at the January 1 event and will take on Ulka Sasaki in a singles match. The WWE United States title will not be on the line. NOAH The New Year 2025 will air as a pay-per-view on the Abema streaming service. Abema also airs all WWE programming in Japan.

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Wednesday, December 25, 2024 Issue #7441
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Not the super news day that I thought it would be. So here it goes Ho! Ho! Ho!

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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CM PUNK AT NETFLIX NFL GAME

- WWE Superstar CM Punk showed up at the Steelers vs Chiefs NFL pre-game show on Netflix on Christmas Day to promote the upcoming WWE move to the streaming giant. Punk, in a dark three-piece suit and blue tie, said just like the football world is excited to be on Netflix, he and WWE are also excited to be part of the Netflix family come January 6. "I think we have a tremendous global reach that’s only going to be compounded by being on Netflix, and that’s going to reach a lot of people," Punk said. "I’m very excited!" The Miz was also one of the celebrities who wished Netflix viewers happy holidays during the pre-show, followed by a new Raw commercial. Netflix is airing their first two NFL games today as part of their expansion into live broadcasting, with the Christmas Gameday graphic taking over the Netflix front page worldwide.

BECKY LYNCH FEATURED IN NEW RAW ON NETFLIX COMMERCIAL

- Before CM Punk appeared on the panel to promote WWE's move to Netflix earlier today, a new Raw commercial aired which showed Becky Lynch. The new commercial, which was filmed several weeks ago during a busy day with several WWE Superstars on hand, offered a quick glimpse of Lynch, wearing all black, with a graphic of a goat and GOAT on the back as she looked at the camera in a menacing look. Lynch has not been part of the WWE roster since her final match at the end of May against Liv Morgan on Raw. Her contract ran out on June 1 and opted not to re-sign with the company at the time. During her time away, Lynch joined the cast of the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series which will air on Paramount+ next year. She is credited under her real name of Rebecca Quin in the series. The commercial also featured Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Gunther, Liv Morgan, Bayley, Bianca Belair, and others. You can see the new commercial at .

EDDY THROPE ADDED TO NXT TITLE MATCH AT NEW YEAR'S EVIL

- Following the controversial ending of last week's NXT championship match which ended in a double pin, Eddy Thorpe will get another crack at the title at the New Year's Evil show. The original match between Williams and Iron Survivor Challenge Oba Femi is now a triple threat match which also includes Thorpe now. The match was announced last night on NXT, with Williams agreeing to turn this into a triple threat and NXT General Manager Ava making an appearance to sign off on it. The segment ended with all three in the ring brawling and eventually Femi standing tall over both Williams and Thorpe, holding up the NXT title above his shoulder. NXT New Year's Evil show will take place on January 7 on CW and will stream live on Netflix for international subscribers.

TRIBUTE TO THE TROOPS QUIETLY GOES AWAY

- Christmas is here and one WWE broadcast which was synonymous with spreading the Christmas cheer did not make it on the air this time around, and that's the annual Tribute to the Troops. Since 2003, WWE has held a Tribute to the Troops show every single year although the 2019 edition did not air on television. Since its inception, there were 20 television broadcasts with WWE Superstars sharing the screen with various armed forces of the United States. It's a concept that was floated by former WWE champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield to then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, and McMahon ran with it, holding the first seven Tribute to the Troops events in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, before moving the event Stateside in 2010. Since 2010, WWE held it at major arenas and military bases depending on the location, with hundreds of U.S. service members surrounding the ring in uniform. But the 2024 holidays came and unlike previous years, there were no mention at all of Tribute to the Troops and it looks like the event, although popular with the military, will not continue moving forward. The event got WWE several awards along the years, with the USO Legacy of Hope awarded in 2004, the Three-Commander Coin Award from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award which was awarded to Vince McMahon who then gave it to JBL for the idea of the show, and the Corporate Patriot Award at the GI Film Festival. Both President George W. Bush and Barrack Obama also recorded custom messages which aired in the 2008, 2011, and 2012 episodes of the show.

CHRISTMAS DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET TONIGHT ON TBS

- AEW will be spreading the Christmas cheer tonight with Dynamite on 34th Street, a special edition of the show from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City airing at 8PM ET on TBS. The show is built around the final five matches from the Continental Classic tournament where the top two finalists from each league will become clear after tonight. In the gold league, there will be three matches including Will Ospreay vs Brody King, Claudio Castagnoli vs Komander, and Darby Allin vs Ricochet. The blue league has two matches left with Kazuchika Okada vs Shelton Benjamin and Kyle Fletcher vs Daniel Garcia. Also set for tonight is Toni Storm vs Taya Valkyrie.

TNT OFFERS AEW-INSPIRED FIREPLACE-REPLACEMENT VIDEO

- If you have a big TV but no fireplace at home, you can make it look - and sound - like one thanks to TNT's YouTube channel which made an excellent background for wrestling fans for this special day. The live broadcast has Hangman Adam Page drinking whiskey on a loop, sitting in front of Swerve Strickland's old house as it burns in flames, with cozy crackling fire sounds that replicate the fireplace you're missing at home. Page has so far taken thousands of sips from the never-ending whiskey glass and still looks in great shape despite the alcohol intake. It's expected that Page will continue to drink in front of the burning home for hours to come, quite possibly until the end of the Christmas Day. So what are you waiting for, head over to and put this on the background on your television for your Christmas family lunch!

AEW ENTRIES POP UP ON MAX

- A week before it makes its streaming debut on Max, AEW entries have popped up on the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service. The Dynamite graphic features MJF, Swerve Strickland, Jon Moxley, Mercedes Mone, and Will Ospreay while the Collision graphic has Mariah May, Orange Cassidy, Christian Cage, Darby Allin, and Willow Nightingale. The Fight For The Fallen Dynamite will be the first AEW live simulcast on Max on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Both Dynamite and Collision will be streaming live on Max from now onwards as part of the new AEW TV media rights deal with WBD.


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