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Wednesday, September 25, 2024 Issue #7360
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Finally Stephanie Vaquer has showed up. She's going to be a great addition to NXT and eventually to the main roster. The WWE's women division is in great shape.


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

STEPHANIE VAQUER APPEARS ON NXT VIA VIDEO

- WWE's latest signee, Stephanie Vaquer, made her NXT debut last night appearing via a video in the closing moments of the last NXT broadcast on USA Network. The show-closing angle saw a press conference held featuring Roxanne Perez and Giulia, with Byron Saxton fielding questions. At one point, a voice was heard over the speakers and Saxton said that the media who asked the question should wait until it's their time. At that point, Vaquer appeared on the screen and asked her question, quizzing the champion and the challenger what they were planning to do knowing that she will be waiting on the other side of the NXT Women's title match. The camera then turned around with the closing image being Giulia on the left side, Perez on the right side holding her title up, and Vaquer square in the middle on the video screen. The former NJPW Strong Women's champion and CMLL Women's champion signed with WWE in July of this year, weeks after she lost the NJPW title to Mercedes Mone at the AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view. You can see the video at .

RAW RATING

- WWE Raw had a bad night on Monday, drawing its second-lowest viewership ever and the worst number of 2024, with just 1,338,000 viewers tuning in. The show faced two NFL games, one on ESPN which drew 6.4 million viewers and one on ABC which drew an additional 13.1 million viewers. Raw started with 1,360,000 viewers in the first hour, dropped to 1,329,000 viewers in the second hour, and then finished the night with 1,327,000 viewers. Raw was #2, #3, and #4 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demo, with 0.44, 0.43, and 0.41 ratings respectively for an average of 0.43, down 0.05 from the prior week. Raw was overall #2 on cable and #5 on all of television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

CODY RHODES TO PRESENT AT PEOPLE'S CHOICE COUNTRY AWARDS

- Cody Rhodes has been chosen as one of the presenters of the 2024 People's Choice Country Awards. The show, taking place tomorrow night live on NBC and on Peacock, will be held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. Country music superstar Shania Twain will be hosting the show. In a message on X, Rhodes wrote, "Excited for this one" when he reposted the announcement by the People's Choice X account.

CLARIFICATION ON NXT EPISODES ON PEACOCK/CW APP

- Several rumors popped up this week about NXT episodes moving off Peacock and on to The CW app next week when the show officially makes the jump to the network. The rumors did not go down well with those who subscribe to Peacock but a representative for The CW shot down those rumors, telling us that only new episodes will be on the app. The catalog of past NXT episodes will not be available on The CW app and will remain on Peacock, however, beginning on October 1, new episodes of NXT will become available on The CW app. Weekly episodes will be released on the app a day after the broadcast in the United States on a weekly basis. Episodes on Peacock are expected to be added 30 days after they air similar to Raw and Smackdown.

WILLIAM REGAL TALKS AEW DEPARTURE AFTER GETTING POKED ON X BY FAN

- After William Regal posted a message on X on NXT's last show on USA Network before its move to The CW, a fan responded thanking him for everything he did for NXT and for "snaking out the competition" that is AEW. Regal left AEW after his contract expired in late 2022 and asked for it not to be renewed and returned to WWE in January of the following year where he was given the title of Vice President of Global Talent Development. "Although it serves some people’s agenda, and having a massive amount of people who work in AEW that can only back me up, I went to AEW to help because Bryan Danielson asked me to," Regal replied on X. "Please find me one person who can say otherwise." He wrote that he arrived at the arena at 10AM and stayed until 6:15PM to train anyone who wanted to learn, stressing that he never attended a single production meeting nor did he ask anyone when their contract was expiring. "I showered and got into a suit by 6.30 then watched the monitor with everyone else. I’m giving you the right to ask anyone who works backstage or talent the right to ask them if I did anything but help with no agenda. Feel free," Regal continued. Regal also mentioned that he did not call Tony Khan when his mother was ill and said that Khan called him and when he told him where he was, he ended the call and spoke two weeks later about his desire to leave. "These are all facts I can prove. Anyone trying to twist this has the right to check this out. I am friendly with 60% + of the talent and backstage crew. Feel free to do some real research," he concluded.

DYNAMITE PREVIEW

- AEW will present its biggest Dynamite of the year tonight live from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York with over 7,000 fans expected in attendance. AEW will also record an episode of Collision immediately following the conclusion of Dynamite. A huge, PPV-level card is set for tonight's broadcast including Bryan Danielson defending his AEW World title against his arch nemesis Nigel McGuinness, Jon Moxley battles Darby Allin with Allin's AEW World title shot on the line, Mariah May defends her AEW Women's title against Yuka Sakazaki, The Young Bucks put up their AEW Tag Team titles on the line against Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher, and Hook defends the FTW title against Roderick Strong. Plus, Prince Nana will be on hand to provide an update on former AEW World champion Swerve Strickland.

DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM GETS A PUSH IN TICKETS

- Tonight's Dynamite: Grand Slam managed to move over 1,500 tickets in two days with the attendance now hovering over the 7,500 mark, a more respectable number than just a few days ago, although still falling short over last year's attendance. The 21,000-seater home of the U.S. Open will still be largely tarped-off and unless AEW manages to distribute over 3,000 tickets more, it will be the least-attended Dynamite: Grand Slam since its inception. Regardless of tonight's attendance, tonight's show marks the biggest Dynamite of the year in terms of crowd size and possibly even match card-wise, with four title matches.

MERCEDES MONE DISCUSSES LEAVING WWE BECAUSE OF VINCE MCMAHON

- While doing media in New York to promote tonight's Dynamite: Grand Slam, TBS champion Mercedes Mone was asked why she left WWE when appearing on The Breakfast Club radio show. Mone said that she left for a variety of reasons, but put an emphasis on things that happened between her and Vince McMahon, without directly mentioning his name. "A lot of personal stuff happened with myself and the Chairman at the time, and I didn’t like how he talked to me and how I was...you know....just talked down to," Mone said. After that day, she said it was time to "legit listen" to her heart and soul and made the decision to get out. "That day he talked to me a little crazy," Mone said, referring to McMahon and what led to her and Naomi storming out of the May 22 episode of Monday Night Raw. Mone also said that there was zero protection for the women in WWE at the time, but they're all changing that every day and she continues to help ushering change every day for women's wrestling in general.

MR. MCMAHON DOCUSERIES NOW STREAMING ON NETFLIX

- The Mr. McMahon docuseries has landed on Netflix and is now available to stream. The long-awaited series, split into six different episodes, is directed by Bill Simmons and executive produced by Chris Smith. It will chronicle the rise and fall of the former WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The goal behind ‘Mr. McMahon’ was to pull back the curtain and reveal the true Vince McMahon, obscured beneath the persona he presented to the world,” producer Chris Smith said. “Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations. The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind.” The full synopsis describing the series reads as follows, “From his transformation of the WWE from a small, regional business into a global entertainment powerhouse to the explosive sexual misconduct allegations that led to his eventual resignation, this six-episode series offers a deep dive into McMahon’s life and his enduring franchise. Culled from over 200 hours of interviews with McMahon himself (prior to his resignation), his family members, business associates and some of the most iconic names in wrestling history, as well as the journalists who uncovered McMahon’s allegations — filmmaker Chris Smith (‘Tiger King’) and executive producer Bill Simmons (’30 for 30′) present an unflinching, no-holds-barred look at one of the most enigmatic figures in sports entertainment.” The official poster of the series has the words “mastermind” and “madman” with Vince McMahon pulling strings on…Vince McMahon.

BILL SIMMONS ON DIRECTING MR MCMAHON DOC: "STRANGEST DOCUMENTARY PROCESS"

- Bill Simmons, who directed the Netflix docuseries Mr. McMahon, labeled working on this project as the "strangest documentary process" he's ever been involved with. Speaking on his own podcast with The Ringer's David Shoemaker, Simmons said that McMahon was always very late to shooting and sometimes he didn't even bother to show up at all, and when he did, he came with an entourage of people to keep everyone in check. The two said that when they showed up to film, they would get updates from McMahon's secretary on his scheduled arrival time and they would get pushed back hour by hour until he showed up at 11 at night. Shoemaker noted that they had enough footage of McMahon that they could make this a 10-part docuseries, including when Vince "sounded like a frog" because he was sick, all of which ended up on the editing floor because he did not have a voice. "Chris Smith and the entire production team have done so many documentaries of this sort, and of all sorts. They’ve been working in this world forever. This is the guy that did The Tiger King, and none of them had ever experienced a working situation like we encountered in Stamford, Connecticut," Shoemaker said.

NAPA COUNTY DA NOT PRESSING CHARGES AGAINST NIKKI GARCIA'S HUSBAND

- The Napa County District Attorney's Office issued a press release declining to file criminal charges against Artem Chigvintsev in connection with his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence against his wife and WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Garcia. "While we take every arrest seriously and stand firmly against domestic violence, we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence," Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said. "We are required to prove any and every criminal charge 'beyond a reasonable doubt' which is the highest standard in the American criminal justice system. If the available evidence doesn't rise to this level of proof, then we cannot ethically file charges." The press release stated that the decision was only taken after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA's Office. The Napa County District Attorney's Office does not typically issue press releases when it declines to file charges against any given individual but did so for this case due to the intense media interest it has received since Chigvintsev's arrest. Nikki Garcia has since filed for divorce.


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Tuesday, September 24, 2024 Issue #7359
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

How many of you are binge watching the McMahon series when it hits Netflix at Midnight? I will be watching an episode a day and finishing it up in the weekend probably. Can't sit through six hours consecutively anymore!

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

JEY USO WINS INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE ON RAW

- Bron Breakker's Intercontinental title reign came to a halt last night on Raw as Jey Uso became the new champion, defeating Breakker clean with a spear and a splash in the main event of Raw. Uso, who won his first-ever singles title in WWE 14 years after his debut, celebrated with the yeeting crowd as fireworks went off. The same crowd went absolutely bananas after the referee hit the three-count, making it a memorable moment for Jey.
Afterward, a very emotional Uso cried as Jackie Redmond tried to interview him for a WWE Digital exclusive. "The embodiment of hard work paying off is 'Main Event' Jey @WWEUsos," wrote Triple H on X later. "An all-time great in the tag team division, and now has won one of the most historic championships in our business. Congratulations, Jey…YEET!" Jey became the number one contender for the Intercontinental title after he defeated Braun Strowman, Ilja Dragunov, and Pete Dunne in a fatal four-way match. You can see the match and ending at .

DOM MYSTERIO TO BE IN A SHARK CAGE FOR BAD BLOOD

- The shark cage will make its return on WWE television for the first time in several years at Bad Blood. The stipulation was added to the Liv Morgan vs Rhea Ripley match for the WWE Women's World title, with Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announcing that Dominik Mysterio will be suspended inside the shark cage for the match due to his many interference on behalf of Liv Morgan in the past. The last time a shark cage was used in WWE was for a Carmella vs Asuka match for the Smackdown Women's title at Extreme Rules 2018, with Carmella's sidekick James Ellsworth being locked up above the ring. The concept was used more often in the past, with the likes of Paul Heyman, Chyna, Jimmy Hart, Jim Cornette, Chris Jericho, Teddy Long, and many others finding themself confined in the small cage throughout the years.

NXT PREVIEW

- Tonight's NXT is the last one on USA Network as the show moves to The CW starting with next week's episode. Five matches, including one for a title, have been announced for this broadcast, including Kelani Jordan defending the NXT Women's North American title against Wren Sinclair, Lexis King vs Oro Mensah, Hank Walker and Tank Ledger vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Wendy Choo and Rosemary vs Brinley Reece and Karmen Petrovic, and Ridge Holland vs Riley Osborne. Plus, Grayson Waller will return for the Grayson Waller Effect with NXT Tag Team champions Nathan Frazer and Axiom and there will also be an NXT on CW opress conference featuring Ethan Page, Trick Williams, Giulia, Roxanne Perez, Wes Lee, and Zachary Wentz.

NETFLIX AND OTHER STUDIO EXECS AT RAW

- PWInsider.com reported that several Netflix and other studio executives were present at WWE Raw last night in Ontario, California. In fact, some Netflix execs were shown on Raw during the opening of the second hour and acknowledged on commentary. WWE and Netflix will start their proposed 10-year partnership in January 2025 when Raw moves to the streaming giant for those in North America. Other countries around the world will get the full WWE experience with Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and premium live events all part of Netflix. The deal is reportedly worth $5 billion over 10 years, with Netflix having the option to opt out after the fifth year.

SMACKDOWN RATING

- In what could be a better indication of where Smackdown will be on USA Network, last Friday's show did 1,495,000 viewers, down 228,000 viewers from the premiere episode of the week before. The show had a 0.45 rating in 18-49, down 0.10 from the previous week and was #1 on cable for the night and #3 overall in all of TV. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

VINCE MCMAHON ISSUES STATEMENT AHEAD OF DOCUMENTARY

- Ahead of the release of the Mr. McMahon Netflix documentary, the subject of the docuseries, former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, published a statement on social media, saying that documentary deliberately and intentionally leaves viewers confused about the character he played on television and him in real-life. "I don’t regret participating in this Netflix documentary. The producers had an opportunity to tell an objective story about my life and the incredible business I built, which were equally filled with excitement, drama, fun, and a fair amount of controversy and life lessons," McMahon wrote in the statement. "Unfortunately, based on an early partial cut I’ve seen, this doc falls short and takes the predictable path of conflating the 'Mr. McMahon' character with my true self, Vince. The title and promos alone make that evident." McMahon argued that a lot of stuff was left out, misrepresented, and editing tricks with out of context footage was used to confuse viewers. "A lot has been misrepresented or left out entirely in an effort to leave viewers intentionally confused. The producers use typical editing tricks with out of context footage and dated soundbites etc. to distort the viewers’ perception and support a deceptive narrative," he continued. McMahon also mentioned the recent Janel Grant lawsuit, saying that producers decided to use a lawsuit which is based on an affair he decided to end to present him as Mr. McMahon. "In an attempt to further their misleading account, the producers use a lawsuit based on an affair I ended as evidence that I am, in fact, ‘Mr. McMahon’," Vince continued. "I hope the viewer will keep an open mind and remember that there are two sides to every story."

JANEL GRANT'S ATTORNEY RESPONDS TO MCMAHON'S STATEMENT

- Janel Grant's attorney Ann Callis reacted to Vince McMahon's statement on the Netflix documentary, calling him delusional for labeling his treatment of her client as "an affair." "Vince McMahon physically and emotionally abused, sexually assaulted and human trafficked Janel Grant for more than two years. Calling his horrific and criminal behavior 'an affair' is delusional and nothing more than a sad attempt to save his shredded reputation," the former Chief Judge wrote. "Although Ms. Grant has not seen the 'Mr. McMahon' docuseries, we hope it shines a bright light on his abhorrent and criminal actions by accurately portraying the realities of his abusive and exploitative behavior. Ms. Grant will no longer be silenced by McMahon," Callis continued. She added that Grant's story, while deeply troubling and painful, is one which could help other abuse survivors find their voices. "We seek to hold McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE accountable and to give Ms. Grant her day in court," she concluded.

REPORT SAYS MCMAHON TRIED TO BUY DOCUMENTARY RIGHTS

- A new report by Matthew Belloni of Puck News said that Vince McMahon tried to buy his documentary rights back from Netflix according to two sources familiar with the situation. His move was rebuffed by Netflix and McMahon even tried to engage the help of Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel at the time after he became "nervous" about it, but Netflix kept the rights and moved on with the documentary. The six-part docuseries, which hits the streaming service on September 25, will chronicle McMahon's rise and fall, ending with his sexual abuse allegations and departure from TKO. The documentary, according to Belloni, was supposed to be released in March of this year but after the lawsuit sparked headlines around the world, filmmaker Chris Smith restarted the project to capture the fallout from McMahon's departure. The documentary was proposed in 2019 and received the blessing of McMahon himself and WWE for production. Several WWE stars and members of the McMahon family, including himself, are interviewed.

RIC FLAIR SPLITS FROM HIS WIFE WENDY

- 16-time world champion Ric Flair issued a statement on social media announcing the split from his wife Wendy Barlow after 13 years. The duo separated once before in 2022 but they eventually got back together a few months later. "As with every couple, we have experienced our ups and downs. I think it’s important for everyone to know right now that we have decided to part ways respectfully," Flair wrote. "I’ll never ever be able to thank her enough for standing by my side through my terrible health crisis in 2017. She never left my side! And for that I will always be grateful!" Flair said that both of them are currently working on different projects and it became difficult with the conflicting schedules to make it work. "I wish her the best of luck with her projects, and I know that she supports mine," Flair wrote.

RAMPAGE RATING

- Rampage on Friday did 327,000 viewers, up 77,000 viewers from the prior week and the best number since July 12. The show had a 0.12 rating in 18-49, up 0.05 and also the best since July 12. The show placed #6 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

COLLISION RATING

- Collision last weekend, just like Rampage, saw a good spike in viewership, getting 347,000 viewers, up 79,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.12 rating in 18-49, up 0.04 from the previous show. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)


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Monday, September 23, 2024 Issue #7358
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Mania tickets on sale next month. You can bet we are going to see "Vegas prices" for this one. I'm expecting expensive tickets but WrestleMania is Las Vegas is going to rock.


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

WRESTLEMANIA 41 TICKETS ON SALE NEXT MONTH

- WrestleMania 41 tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 25, with a pre-sale kicking off two days earlier on Wednesday, October 23. Fans can now register for presale access to WrestleMania 41 by visiting: . Additionally, official WrestleMania 41 Priority Pass ticket packages will soon be available from exclusive hospitality partner On Location, offering fans the chance to be ringside for every exhilarating moment including premium seating, pre-show hospitality with WWE Superstar appearances, ringside photo opportunities and more. To learn more or sign up for exclusive presale access, please visit . In addition to the two-night WrestleMania, WWE will bring Raw, Smackdown, NXT Stand & Deliver, WWE World (with Fanatics) and the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to Las Vegas, as well as a variety of local outreach events designed to give back to the Las Vegas community. WrestleMania 41 takes place from the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, 2025.

WWE'S KIT WILSON AND STEVIE TURNER TIE THE KNOT

- Just a day after Elton Prince and Kelly Kincaid announced the birth of their daughter, the other one half of Pretty Deadly, Kit Wilson, announced that he married fellow British NXT star Stevie Turner. The duo got hitched at the Valley of Fire state park in Nevada and there were several congratulations on Instagram for the new couple from their peers. Turner, 27, has been part of WWE since 2021 while Wilson, 30, has been there since 2020. Needless to say, it was a pretty memorable weekend for the YES BOYs!

HIKULEO ADDED TO NXT ROSTER

- PWInsider.com is reporting that Hikuleo has been added to the NXT roster on internal documents, suggesting that the former NJPW star will land in the black and gold brand before getting the main roster call up. The 33-year-old is the brother of Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa and the adoptive son of Haku. Due to his family history, he was expected to be joining The Bloodline upon his arrival. It was reported back in July that he signed with WWE after an eight-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling where he was the NJPW Strong Openweight champion, NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team champion, and IWGP Tag Team champion. Hikuleo has a few AEW appearances under his belt too, with his latest one coming on the June 1, 2022 episode of Dynamite.

TONY KHAN TALKS STREAMING ON MAX

- Appearing on WFAN Daily with Sam Licata, AEW President Tony Khan said that he's 100% confident that AEW television will remain on Warner Bros. Discovery properties TNT and TBS for the foreseeable future. It's the second time that Khan made that statement, suggesting that the AEW media rights deal with WBD has been concluded and it's just a matter of time till the announcement is made. Asked about pay-per-views streaming on Max, the company's streaming service, Khan said that since they're sunsetting The Bleacher Report, they will have their PPVs available on other apps as well. "You can get the pay-per-views other places for now but we’re working on some exciting announcements on where to get those and what’s to come with Max but I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I can promise you, I’m 100% confident that you’re going to have AEW on TBS and TNT for a long time to come," Khan said. Pay-per-views are not the only thing that Khan is eyeing on Max but stopped short of what plans they have until the official announcement comes.


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Sunday, September 22, 2024 Issue #7357
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

It's been a very slow weekend as far as news goes.

Today happens to be the newsletter's 28th year anniversary. Issue #1 went out on September 22, 1996. We're still around, barely! __


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

MARCHING BAND PERFORM KINGDOM AT BAD BLOOD

- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's marching band announced that they will be playing Cody Rhodes' popular theme Kingdom at the Bad Blood premium live event next month. "Oh nothing... just expanding our reach and getting national exposure," the band's X account wrote. "WWE see you soon!" The band already played the theme during week one of the college football season and their performance went viral when somebody uploaded the video on the Internet, complete with cheerleaders dancing. You can see their initial performance at

KELLY KINCAID AND ELTON PRINCE WELCOME BABY GIRL

- WWE couple Kelly Kincaid and Elton Prince have become parents, with Kincaid announcing the arrival of their daughter, Poppy Faye Howley, born on September 20. Kincaid is a backstage interviewer and does ring announcing on NXT Level Up while Prince is one half of the British tag team Pretty Deadly. The 32-year-old Kincaid started with WWE in 2022 while Prince, 27, has been with WWE since 2020 as part of the Pretty Deadly tag team.

RHODES AND REIGNS IN CINEMATIC SEGMENT ON SMACKDOWN

- WWE produced a cinematic segment on Smackdown with WWE champion Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns meeting at the 50-yard line inside Georgia Tech Stadium in Atlanta. The production saw Roman Reigns roll in the stadium with a convoy of seven SUVs while Rhodes pulled up in a white sports car shortly after. Reigns told Cody that he shed blood, sweat, and tears many times in the stadium years ago so this was his field, his stadium, and his city and asked Cody what he has done for his city. Cody reminded Roman about Center Stage and The Omni and how different members of his family bled for this city and told him that it might be Roman's field, but it's his home. The former champ told Cody that he signed himself into a lose-lose situation because The Bloodline has nothing to lose, and Cody has everything to lose. Reigns said they took Jimmy, Wiseman, and the Ula Fala away from him so he was a man with no country. Cody responded by saying that he told him before Mania that he will be a chief w
ithout a tribe and WWE has a tribal chief and a WWE champion and both are not him. He poked Roman by saying he looks like a shell of himself, which clearly annoyed Reigns, and Reigns asked what he wants. Cody said he wanted Roman's word that he will have his back at Bad Blood so he can have his back in return. Roman said he gives his word that he will have Cody's back in their tag team match, but once it's over, he's coming for what's his - the WWE championship. As Roman began to walk, Cody blocked his way, and told him the title is not his to take. Roman told him that he's in his way, so Cody moved. "You're in my way...in life," Roman said, as he walked away and cameras panned away to a shot of the skyline of the city of Atlanta. You can watch the full segment at .

THREE MAIN INDIVIDUALS BEHIND CODY/ROMAN SEGMENT IDENTIFIED

- PWInsider.com is reporting that there were three main people behind the creative and production of the Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns segment which aired on Smackdown. Shot earlier in the week, PWInsider says that Jeremy Borash, the company's Senior Director of Content and Development, was on site to produce the segment and was also helped by Rob Fee, the Director of Character Development. Paul Heyman was also on location and was heavily involved with the segment, helping direct what ended up being an eight-minute mini movie, shot with specific cameras and anamorphic lenses. The segment was well received online with rave reviews from fans and critics alike.

NUMBER ONE CONTENDERS MATCH FOR WWE WOMEN'S TITLE NEXT WEEK

- A number one contender for the WWE Women's title will be decided next week between Bayley and Naomi after both got the pin on Nia Jax last night on Smackdown. The two battled Jax and Tiffany Stratton in a tornado tag team match with the stipulation that if Bayley and Naomi lose, whoever is down for the fall must leave Smackdown. The other stipulation was that if Bayley and Naomi won, the one who wins the match gets a title shot against Jax. But the faces reigned supreme after they both simultaneously pinned the champion, keeping their place on the blue brand secure. In a backstage segment with Smackdown GM Nick Aldis, the two were informed that the only solution to the outcome of their match was that next week, they both face each other and the winner gets Jax for the WWE Women's title.

BRITT BAKER RETURNING ON DYNAMITE 5TH ANNIVERSARY EPISODE

- Britt Baker is returning on AEW television next month on the 5th anniversary episode of Dynamite on October 2. Baker has been missing in action again since her match against Mercedes Mone at All In in late August. She had previously spent 10 months out and returned to the company in July, only to get suspended for a couple of weeks for a backstage altercation with MJF and his girlfriend Alicia Atout. During Collision last night, Serena Deeb challenged the former AEW Women's champion to a match on the anniversary show.

DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM STILL STRUGGLING IN TICKET SALES

- Dynamite: Grand Slam set for this Wednesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York is struggling for tickets as AEW has only managed to move around 5,500 tickets so far according to @WrestleTix. This would be the least-attended Grand Slam for AEW in the 21,000-seater stadium, which is currently set up for just under 7,000 seats. The inaugural Grand Slam was in 2021 and attracted a whopping 20,177 fans. In 2022, the same show had 13,800 fans inside, and the 2023 episode had just over 11,000. As of now, the attendance would represent almost a 50% drop from last year and around a 73% drop from the first episode. More tickets are expected to move over the next few days but highly unlikely that they would go anywhere near last year's 11,000 mark.


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Friday, September 20, 2024 Issue #7356
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Word on the street is that the Cody/Roman angle filmed for tonight's Smackdown is really, really good and different. Guess we'll find out soon enough!


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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SMACKDOWN PREVIEW

- Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns filmed an angle at Georgia Tech University, which is Reigns' alma mater, and a place located in the heart of Cody's hometown of Atlanta. The full shoot will be shown in its entirety tonight live on Smackdown on USA Network ahead of their tag team match against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu at Bad Blood. Also tonight on Smackdown, United States champion LA Knight will defend his title against Andrade, Apollo Crews battles Giovanni Vinci, and a tornado tag team match between Bayley and Naomi vs Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton. A stipulation in the tornado tag team match is that if Bailey and Naomi win, the person who scores the pinfall or submission victory will become the #1 contender for Nia Jax's WWE Women's title. But if they lose, whoever eats the pinfall or submit, must leave Smackdown for good.

NXT TV AT ALLSTATE ARENA CROSSES 6,000 TICKETS

- The NXT on CW premiere episode which will take place live from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois has crossed 6,000 tickets sold. The cheapest tickets are selling for $25 plus taxes and fees and are in the 200 Level, where most of the unsold tickets remain. WWE is also selling VIP packages for $700 each plus fees which includes a Premium Ringsider floor seat, limited edition commemorative chair, WWE Superstar autograph, WWE Ringsider mini replica title belt, VIP collector coin, WWE VIP drawstring bag, and additional WWE merchandise. This will be the most-attended NXT television taping so far and it's currently outdrawing Raw the night before from Evansville, Indiana, which is at around 5,800 tickets.

JANEL GRANT'S ATTORNEY AND PR HEAD HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE

- During a 20-minute conference call with reporters yesterday afternoon, Janel Grant's attorney Ann Callis and new PR head Kendra Barkoff Lamy from SKDK, said that Janel Grant deserves to tell her full story on her own and not be part of a docuseries which is focused on someone else. The answer came after questions surrounding her potential involvement with the Mr. McMahon series on Netflix. Callis said that Grant and her legal team did not get an advance copy of the series and have not seen it yet and refused to answer questions if she was approached or had any discussions with Netflix to be part of the series. "Janel has the right to tell her story, in her own way, at the right time," Callis said repeatedly. "She deserves the opportunity to tell her full story and not be a part of someone else’s." Callis said that Grant will get her day in court and McMahon will be held accountable for his actions, saying that this was no WWE storyline, and that Grant is a human being who is a survivor of McMahon's sex trafficking inside WWE. The attorney added that she hopes the Netflix series will do the story justice. WWE was not involved at all with the documentary and Callis said that after a very brief outreach right after the lawsuit was filed, she has not heard from WWE. Callis also said that they would like federal charges to be brought quickly so they can resume with their civil lawsuit but stressed that while they want charges filed ASAP, they want it to be right, not necessarily fast.

FORMER WWE STAR XIA LI TO MAKE TNA DEBUT

- Former WWE star Xia Li, now going by the name of Lei Ying Lee, will be making her TNA Wrestling debut next week on Impact. Vignettes for her arrival have been airing for a couple of weeks on TNA TV but her debut date was only announced during yesterday's show. The 36-year-old Chinese star learned her trade at the WWE Performance Center starting in 2017 and was the first Chinese woman to compete in a WWE ring. After a few years in NXT, she was drafted to Smackdown in the 2021 Draft. She was eventually released in April 2024 after seven years with the company.

DYNAMITE RATING

- This week's episode of Dynamite drew 687,000 viewers, down 31,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.22 rating in 18-49, up 0.01 from the last show and was #2 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

REPORT: MIRO ASKS FOR AEW RELEASE

- Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling is reporting that Miro has asked for his release from AEW, two years into his four-year extension which started in 2022. The Bulgarian, who moved back to his home country after he split from his wife CJ Perry, has not been seen on AEW television since the Worlds End pay-per-view on December 30, 2023. His last match was against Andrade El Idolo that night, a match he won after Perry turned on El Idolo. The former TNT champion has been signed with AEW since late 2020.

MONE SAYS SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE TEASED MEGAN THEE STALLION COLLAB

- In her latest weekly newsletter, TBS and NJPW Strong Women's champion Mercedes Mone wrote how she should have kept her mouth shut about a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion after WWE pounced and got her song as the new Smackdown theme. Mone said that a few weeks ago during an interview she made the mistake of spilling the beans of working with Megan Thee Stallion. The two met in Japan earlier this year and agreed to do a collaboration in AEW. "More recently, it was announced that Meg would be part of the new Smackdown theme. It could all be a coincidence, of course. But then, they don’t call me the blueprint for nothing," Mone wrote. "In hindsight, I should have kept my mouth shut about it but all you can do is live and learn." Smackdown's premiere on USA Network opened with a brand new theme song titled Neva Play, a song performed by Stallion featuring South Korean rapper RM of the popular group BTS.

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Thursday, September 19, 2024 Issue #7355
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Bit of a slow news day today... next week should be interesting with the release of the McMahon documentary and the fallout from that!


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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OSPREAY VS RICOCHET MATCH SET FOR DYNAMITE 5TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

- The much-anticipated Will Ospreay vs Ricochet match has been announced for the Wednesday, October 2 episode of Dynamite which will also be the fifth-year anniversary of the show. The match, for the AEW International title, was set up last night during a backstage segment after Ricochet defeated The Beast Mortos. Ricochet informed Ospreay that he went to Tony Khan who sanctioned their match in two weeks. This is not the first time that the two will meet each other in the ring, although it's been a few years since they shared the squared circle together. You have to go back to 2017 for their last match and as you can imagine from two highly athletic individuals, their previous matches were all bangers!

JIM ROSS TO DO SOME COMMENTARY FOR DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM

- Jim Ross shared his excitement that he was called to go to New York to be available for Dynamite: Grand Slam commentary next week. Ross, who typically only does pay-per-view main events lately, said he was really looking forward to the show as it's a loaded card and the Arthur Ashe Stadium makes for a unique setting and surroundings. "I’m not sure how much of it I’m doing, but I think I’m doing more than normal," Ross said on his Grilling JR podcast. "And then I’m going to go to Seattle and call the pay-per-view." JR noted that his schedule is getting "more aggressive" and looks like he will be used more often moving forward, something that he's excited about and ready for. "I love doing the live calls and still it’s in my blood. I still enjoy it. I still get fired up for doing it. It means something to me," Ross concluded. His time behind the mic was cut drastically lately mainly due to his health problems.

PRE-SALE FOR SATURDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT KICKS OFF

- The pre-sale for the Saturday Night's Main Event show at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, kicked off this morning on Ticketmaster.com using the code WWE2024. The cheapest ticket in this pre-sale is $72.65 plus taxes while ringside seats are at a whopping $1,237.65 plus taxes. WWE announced the return of the popular NBC series earlier this week, with the first show set for December 14 airing live on NBC at 8PM ET. The last event at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum was in September 2023, a non-televised live event also marketed under the SNME name. AEW held its Worlds End pay-per-view last year in the same location with just over 10,000 fans in attendance.

ALEXA BLISS VOICES MAKI UEDA IN ENGLISH TRACK OF THE QUEEN OF VILLAINS

- Alexa Bliss has revealed that she has voiced Japanese wrestler Maki Ueda in the English track of the Netflix series The Queen of Villains, which started streaming today. The five-episode scripted drama series is based on Kaoru Matsumoto, better known by her ring name Dump Matsumoto, a popular Japanese wrestler from All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling during the 1980s. “I am BEYOND thankful and honored for this amazing experience. I had THE BEST time working with Timmy Red on my first voiceover project," Bliss wrote on Instagram. "You were so helpful & patient with me (especially with the singing) – I’m just so honored to have voiced for Maki Ueda on this incredible series." Bliss also thanked Netflix for the fun opportunity, writing that she loved every second of the series. You can see the trailer at .

NXT RATING

- This week's NXT, featuring an appearance from CM Punk, drew 677,000 viewers, up 49,000 viewers from the previous week and the highest since June 18. The show had a 0.21 rating in 18-49, the highest also since June 18, and was #1 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

JANEL GRANT ENGAGES SKDK AS PR FIRM AHEAD OF MCMAHON NETFLIX DOC

- Janel Grant's attorney, Ann Callis, announced that her client has engaged the services of public relations firm SKDK, a week before Netflix releases the Mr. McMahon docuseries on their streaming platform. SKDK has worked with victims of sexual assault lawsuits against Marilyn Manson, Harvey Weinstein, and Jeffrey Epstein, with Kendra Barkoff Lamy taking the lead with Grant's team of attorneys. “SKDK has a proven track record of uplifting survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking. We look forward to our partnership in seeking justice on behalf of our client Janel Grant," Callis wrote in a statement. Barkoff Lamy, who served as the press secretary for Joe Biden when he was Vice President of the United States, added, "Janel Grant is a survivor of incomprehensible abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking at the hands of Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE. She has courageously come forward to seek justice for herself and other survivors, and we are honored to support her in sharing her story. It takes immense strength to speak out against Goliaths and we encourage all survivors of sexual harassment, assault and human trafficking to seek the support they need." The Mr. McMahon series on Netflix debuts on September 25.


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Wednesday, September 18, 2024 Issue #7354
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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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DYNAMITE PREVIEW

- AEW returns tonight with a brand new episode of Dynamite live from the Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania. Five matches have been announced for tonight's broadcast so far. These are Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy, Ricochet vs The Beast Mortos, a women's tag team match featuring AEW Women's champion Mariah May and Serena Deeb vs Yuka Sakazaki and Queen Aminata, and a trios match with The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, and Konosuke Takeshita. Ahead of Dynamite, FS1 will air the NFL Films production of A Day in the Life, featuring AEW President Tony Khan which was filmed during the day of the NFL Draft and the live Collision that same evening. This will air at 7:30PM ET.

RIKISHI POSTS CRYPTIC MESSAGE ABOUT HIS SON JIMMY USO

- WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi posted a cryptic message on X about his son Jimmy Uso today, asking for prayers. "Dear GOD [praying hands emoji] for strength & health to continue," Rikishi wrote. "Stay prayed for my boy #JonathanFatu." Rikishi did not offer any other information, leaving everyone guessing. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling later wrote that in following up with WWE sources, he was told that they have spoken to Jimmy, "who says he's fine." Sapp added that he doesn't have any further context beyond that. Jimmy has been off WWE television since the Smackdown following WrestleMania in April and was rumored to be returning soon.

CM PUNK TO BE SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE FOR NXT TITLE MATCH

- Former champion CM Punk will be the special guest referee for the upcoming NXT title match between Ethan Page and Trick Williams at the NXT on CW premiere on October 1. The news was announced yesterday by Punk himself in the final segment of the broadcast as he stood in between the champion and the challenger after minutes earlier, NBA star Tyrese Haliburton presided over the contract signing between the two. Punk told Page and Williams that there's only one rule for the match and that is they have to listen to him. Apart from that...they could start fighting right then if they wanted to, which of course, they proceeded to do so. The episode, live from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, will have the largest crowd for an NXT television taping.

RANDY ORTON TO WRESTLE ON OCTOBER 8 EPISODE OF NXT

- WWE is already advertising things for the October 8 episode of NXT which will take place from Chesterfield, Missouri. The episode was originally set to take place from St. Louis at the Enterprise Center but slow ticket sales forced a move to a much smaller location at The Factory at The District. 14-time world champion Randy Orton will be in action, his first match on NXT, and will take on Je'Von Evans. During NXT last night, Evans requested a match for this night from NXT General Manager Ava, who said she'll think about it. Later in the show, Orton posted on X, "Hey Je'Von - Want to know who your opponent is? See you in St. Louis on October 8th kid." The NXT Tag Team titles will also be on the line with Nathan Frazer and Axiom defending them against two former NXT alumni in the form of Austin Theory and Grayson Waller. Also, NXT favorite and artist Sexxy Red will return to the show although her participation was not explained yet. Red already had several memorable on-screen appear
ances on NXT. This broadcast will go head-to-head with AEW's Title Tuesday episode of Dynamite.

RAW RATING

- WWE Raw increased slightly in viewership this week, getting an average of 1,508,000 viewers, up 78,000 viewers from the prior week. The show faced MNF on ESPN which drew 15,038,000 viewers, making it ESPN's third-best viewership for a game which was not simulcast on ABC since the 2019/20 season. Raw started with 1,618,000 viewers, then dropped to 1,541,000 viewers in the second hour, and finished the night with just 1,367,000 viewers. In the 18-49 demo, Raw had a 0.50, 0.47, and 0.43 ratings respectively for an average of 0.48, up 0.03 from the previous week. Raw was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night following the NFL game and the MNF Kickoff show. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

TICKETS FOR SECOND NXT ON CW EPISODE ON PRE-SALE NOW

- Tickets for the second episode of NXT on The CW at The Factory went on pre-sale this morning on Ticketmaster.com using the code NXTLIVE. There are some very outlandish prices for this broadcast, with ringside seats going for over $500 plus fees. The cheapest seats in the house are $64 plus fees. The Factory at The District has a weird setup, definitely something different for a WWE show. One side of the ring will have tables with four chairs selling for $129 plus fees, but these are in an unreserved general admission area and are not available in the pre-sale. To purchase tickets for this October 8 television show go to .

SHEAMUS SIGNS NEW WWE DEAL

- It was announced yesterday on The Pat McAfee Show that WWE Superstar Sheamus has signed a new WWE deal, with some insiders believing this is a five-year contract. The 46-year-old Irish Superstar has been working for WWE since 2007, starting with Florida Championship Wrestling before being called up to the main roster in 2009. This is his 17th consecutive year under a WWE deal. Sheamus has won the WWE title three times, the World Heavyweight title once, the United States title three times, the Raw Tag Team titles four times, and the Smackdown Tag Team titles once, along with the King of the Ring, Money In The Bank, and Royal Rumble.


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Tuesday, September 17, 2024 Issue #7353
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

So cool that Saturday Night's Main Event is coming back. I remember watching it when I was a kid with the feeling that something special was always about to happen. Hopefully they bring the look and feel to the show back as well.


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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
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SATURDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT RETURNS TO NBC

- WWE and NBC today announced the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event, which will air live on Saturday, December 14 at 8PM ET on NBC and simulcast on Peacock. The special will be held at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, New York, the site of the first-ever Saturday Night’s Main Event. This marks the first primetime special, which will air quarterly on NBC and Peacock, as part of WWE’s new, five-year domestic media rights partnership with NBCUniversal, which officially kicked off last Friday with SmackDown on USA Network. Saturday Night’s Main Event originally premiered on NBC in May of 1985. Tickets will go on pre-sale in two days on September 19 with the general on-sale commencing a day later on September 20 at Ticketmaster.com.

SMACKDOWN RATING

- The Smackdown premiere on USA Network drew 1,723,000 viewers this past Friday, down 47,000 viewers from their last broadcast on FOX. The show had a 0.55 rating in 18-49, up a decent 0.10 from the previous week. Smackdown was #1 on cable for the night and #2 in all of television for the night behind the College Football broadcast on FOX which did a 0.60. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

IC TITLE MATCH TO HEADLINE NEXT WEEK'S RAW

- The Intercontinental title match between champion Bron Breakker and Jey Uso will not be taking place at Bad Blood, but rather next week on Raw. The two had multiple confrontations on the show last night, first with Uso getting the upper hand after delivering a spear on Breakker during their in-ring segment and then later in the night, Breakker returned the favor and speared the hell out of Uso after the former WWE Tag Team champion tried to save Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley from The Judgment Day's attack. Jey won a fatal four-way match against Braun Strowman, Ilja Dragunov, and Pete Dunne last week to become the number one contender for the title.

RHEA RIPLEY ADMITS BREAKING DOWN BACKSTAGE AFTER JD BREAK-UP

- In an interview with The Wrestling Classic, Rhea Ripley admitted that she cried and was upset backstage when she was told that The Judgment Day was breaking up and she and Damian Priest were no longer going to be part of it. "I’m not ashamed of it, that was me, I was upset. I was like, the last two and a half years of my life is going to be, like, it’s changed now. I can’t go back to that," she said. Ripley described the faction as "her boys" and "her family" and it was really sad that it came to an end, but knew that something amazing was about to start. "And I wasn’t really thinking about that because I was just so emotional. Yeah, that was the most fun that I’ve had in my career in a long time," she continued. "I felt invincible. I felt like I could go out there and just be a cheeky little menace and get away with it, for real, and have fun with my friends." Ripley credited the group for helping her career more than she can put into words but now she's loving her time "absolutely brutalizing" the faction. "They're not the real Judgment Day. They’re street trash," she concluded.

NXT PREVIEW

- Three matches have been announced for NXT tonight, a broadcast which is headlined by CM Punk who will make a rare NXT appearance to deliver a special message to the fans ahead of his appearance on the NXT on CW premiere episode on October 1 in Rosemont. Matches include former NXT Women's champion Lyra Valkyria teaming up with Tatum Paxley to battle TNA's Rosemary and Wendy Choo, Je’Von Evans and Cedric Alexander vs No Quarter Catch Crew, and Lola Vice takes on Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne. NXT has just two more episodes on USA Network, tonight's and next week, before it moves to The CW.

CW TO AIR WRESTLEMANIA XL: BEHIND THE CURTAIN DOCUMENTARY

- The CW will be airing the WrestleMania XL: Behind The Curtain documentary on Saturday, September 28 at 8PM ET ahead of the arrival of NXT on Tuesday, October 1. The documentary was released exclusively on YouTube on July 3 after a long delay as it was supposed to be released the week after WrestleMania in April. The documentary covers the road leading up to WrestleMania XL and the decisions that had to be taken following the fans’ backlash when Cody Rhodes was taken out of the main event so The Rock could headline with Roman Reigns. The one-hour documentary, which has 3.6 million views on YouTube, is set for a two-hour slot on The CW according to television guides published online.

ARMANDO ALEJANDRO ESTRATA SIGNS WWE LEGENDS DEAL

- Armando Alejandro Estrada, the former manager of the late Umaga, announced on social media that he signed a Legends deal with WWE. "I’m happy to announce that I have signed a 5 year Legends/Nostalgia contract w/ @WWE for special appearances & merchandising, including action figures, video games, & more! Great to be back in the fold with them," Estrada wrote. The 45-year-old Chicago native of Palestinian descent has not been seen on WWE television since mid-2012 after he was rehired in early 2011 following his original release in 2008. Although originally a wrestler in Ohio Valley Wrestling, he found fame when he was called up to the main roster in 2006 to manage Umaga. He was also moved to ECW in late 2007 as the General Manager of the brand and later also wrestled in ECW.

TV INSIDER SHEDS MORE LIGHT ON AEW TV DAEL

- A report yesterday by John Ourand of Puck News reveled that the AEW television deal with Warner Bros. Discovery will likely come next week unless there are any last-minute changes. Ourand said that the new agreement will be three years plus an extra year as an option if triggered by the network. Shows on TBS, TNT, and TruTV are part of the deal. The estimated value by Ourand is reported to be around $170 million annually, a figure which could swing to good or not that good depending if AEW pay-per-views are included in the rights. If AEW PPV rights are included in that figure, it would not represent the big increase that AEW was looking for. Ourand's report did not mention any PPV deal with Max, something which other insiders said is part of the deal. Regardless of PPVs or not, the figure would still make AEW the most profitable wrestling company behind WWE. AEW is also looking into another show with a different network, rumored to be FOX, as their TV deal with WBD will not be exclusive.

RAMPAGE RATING

- Rampage on TNT drew 250,000 viewers this past Friday, up 17,000 viewers from the previous week. The show had a 0.07 rating in 18-49, down 0.01 from the prior show and ties the lowest rating the show has ever done. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

COLLISION RATING

- Collision on Saturday night back in its usual time slot drew 268,000 viewers, up 101,000 viewers from the previous week's record low. The show had a 0.08 rating in 18-49, up 0.04 from the last show and placed #7 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)


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Monday, September 16, 2024 Issue #7352
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Not much going on today, back tomorrow.


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

RAW PREVIEW

- The road to Bad Blood continues tonight on Raw live from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Five matches have been announced for the broadcast so far. The WWE World Tag Team titles will be on the line as Finn Balor and JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day defend their titles against Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of The New Day, Dom Mysterio faces Damian Priest, Braun Strowman takes on the returning Bronson Reed, Sheamus battles former tag team partner Pete Dunne, and Natalya vs Zoey Stark. Plus, CM Punk returns ahead of the Hell In A Cell match against Drew McIntyre.

VICKIE GUERRERO TALKS ABOUT RETURNING ON SMACKDOWN

- Former Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero said it was a "blessing" to be at the Smackdown premiere, meeting familiar faces and meeting new ones. "It’s so good to be here. It’s such a good time tonight. I love it," she told Byron Saxton after the show. "To come back and to be asked to be here tonight, of course, how can you say no? This is my home. This is where everything started. To see all my old friends and just familiar faces and meet new ones, it’s a blessing tonight." Guerrero, who spent time in AEW before making her first WWE appearance on Friday, added that she was "like a little girl in a candy store" seeing the new generation come up and sit with the girls and talk to them and get to know them. Her last appearance on WWE television was on the Smackdown 1000 episode which aired on October 16, 2018.

GRAYSON WALLER TO WRESTLE FOR PWA BLACK LABEL IN AUSTRALIA

- WWE Superstar Grayson Waller will be returning to his home country in Australia to wrestle for PWA Black Label in a rare appearance. The cocky Australian former WWE Tag Team champion will be taking on Jimmy Townsend at PWA's Grand Final at the Metro Theatre in Sydney on October 12. Waller cut a two-minute promo for the match which PWA has distributed over their social media channels. "You're welcome for the rub," Waller tells Townsend at the end of the video. Tickets are available now at .

THE KILLER'S GAME OPENS AT #6

- The Killer's Game, the latest movie from former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista, was #6 in the box office chart this weekend with revenue of $2,600,000 from 2,623 theaters nationwide. The movie, which also has the debut of Drew McIntyre, was behind Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Speak No Evil, Deadpool & Wolverine, Am I Racist?, and Reagan. This was the lowest-grossing theatrical film in Bautista's acting career. The Killer's Game plot features a hitman, played by Bautista, who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and he decides to take a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend, he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues.

THUNDER ROSA OUT WITH A CONCUSSION

- Former AEW Women's champion Thunder Rosa announced on Busted Open Radio that she is sidelined with a concussion and will be out for a few more weeks. "If you feel like you have a concussion, make sure you stop," Rosa said. "Don’t get in there. It’s not worth it. I can tell you, right now, I’m suffering a concussion. So I’m gonna be out for a little bit...for a couple weeks!" The last match she wrestled was in a four-way match against Serena Deeb, Hikaru Shida, and Queen Aminata on the August 31 episode of Collision. Rosa spent 16 months out with a back injury and returned to the company in December of last year.



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Sunday, September 15, 2024 Issue #7351
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Home sweet home! No traveling until probably November... I need some rest LOL!


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

MCMG SIGN WITH WWE

- PWInsider.com is reporting that the Motor City Machine Guns have officially signed with WWE and are NXT-bound. The team of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin have tons of titles between them in TNA Wrestling, having won the Tag Team titles three times together and separately, Shelley is a one-time X Division and TNA World champion while Sabin is a 10-time X Division and two-time TNA World champion. Earlier this week, Dave Meltzer of the Observer wrote that the duo were about to start "imminently" with WWE, with NXT chosen as their brand. NXT has two important TV shows coming up, the CW premiere on October 1 and the following week on October 8 head-to-head with Dynamite, two potential shows where the MCMG could make their debut.

WWE CONTINGENT AT UFC 306 AT THE SPHERE

- The UFC presented its biggest production ever last night at The Sphere in Las Vegas, with jaw-dropping graphics and an immersive experience which left the thousands in attendance and those watching on television in awe. WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, his wife Stephanie McMahon, and WWE President Nick Khan were in attendance and were seen backstage. They did not appear on camera. However, WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio and his son Dominik Mysterio were shown on camera during the pay-per-view, sitting away from each other keeping kayfabe alive! Dirty Dom was accompanied by his wife while Rey donned a Noche UFC special mask. Rey presented the mask he wore at the show to UFC President Dana White after the pay-per-view. UFC 306 had the highest-grossing gate in UFC history with 16,024 in attendance and a gate of a whopping $21,829,245 for an average ticket price of $1,362.28. You can see videos of Rey and Dom at The Sphere at

HEELS NOW STREAMING ON NETFLIX IN THE U.S.

- The two seasons of the drama series Heels are now streaming on Netflix in the United States. Heels, which originally aired on STARZ, was canceled by the network but Netflix reached a licensing agreement with Lionsgate to put the show on its streaming service. Netflix also has the rights for a third season depending on how the show does on the service after it debuts. Based in a fictional town in Georgia, Heels follows two brothers and rivals who go to war over their late father’s legacy. It features Stephen Amell, Alexander Ludwig, Allen Maldonado, Alison Luff, Chris Bauer, Kelli Berglund, Mary McCormack, Robby Ramos, Trey Tucker, Roxton Garcia, and James Harrison and features special guest appearances by the likes of CM Punk, AJ Lee, and others.

NXT STARS AT TNA TAPINGS

- NXT stars Sol Ruca, Wendy Choo, Kendal Grey, Carlee Bright, and Arianna Grace were all part of the TNA Impact television tapings in San Antonio, Texas yesterday. Ruca teamed up with TNA Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace to take on Choo and Rosemary while Grey and Bright wrestled the new TNA Knockouts Tag Team champions Dani Luna and Jody Threat. Grace is the "liaison" between NXT and TNA Wrestling and already has shared the screen with her father, Santino Marella, who is the on-screen authority figure in TNA. The relationship between NXT and TNA does not seem to have an end, with both promotions enjoying something different with the exchange of talent.

STEPH DE LANDER TO UNDERGO NECK SURGERY

- Steph De Lander will be out of action for the foreseeable future after she announced at TNA Victory Road that she will need to undergo neck surgery. De Lander was supposed to team up with Matt Cardona to take on PCO and Rhino in a tag team match but the match did not take place. In a digital exclusive posted yesterday TNA's Gia Miller reported that De Lander will be sidelined between six to ten months, depending on recovery. She recently extended her deal with TNA through the rest of the year.

JBL SHOWS UP AT MLW EVENT IN ATLANTA

- Former WWE champion JBL continued his tour of showing up unannounced at multiple promotions yesterday, making a surprise appearance during MLW's Fightland show in Atlanta, Georgia. Layfield showed up during the CW Anderson and Brock Anderson vs Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas match, decking Thomas with a right hand and then hitting the clothesline from hell. JBL told something to Brock Anderson and then left the ring. This is the fifth appearance by the WWE Hall of Famer in the last several weeks. He appeared at AAA Triplemania, at TNA Emergence and Victory Road, and at the GCW Homecoming.


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ADVERTISING:
(C) Copyright 1996-2024 Wrestling-Online.com
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Saturday, September 14, 2024 Issue #7350
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Okay, I had some free time at the airport to cook this up so here it goes. Long flight ahead! Back tomorrow.

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

ROMAN REIGNS RETURN TO SMACKDOWN

- Roman Reigns returned on Smackdown last night, coming to the aid of Cody Rhodes after The Bloodline attacked him following the successful WWE title defense against Solo Sikoa inside the steel cage. With Cody standing tall in the ring, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu came out and climbed the cage to attack The American Nightmare. Cody was getting whooped when all of a sudden, Reigns' theme hit the speakers to a thunderous ovation. Reigns took his time to come down the aisle but when he did, he entered the cage, closed the door, and took out The Bloodline. The numbers were not in his favor though and The Bloodline eventually regained the advantage. When Reigns was about to get on top again, Fatu dragged Solo out and then Reigns invited Fatu in the cage. Tonga and Loa took out Reigns again but this time, Cody Rhodes came back to it and helped the OTC recover and get rid of the WWE Tag Team champions. With The Bloodline retreating, Rhodes and Reigns stared at each other as the segment ended and Smackdown went to a commercial break after 38 minutes.

HUGE TAG TEAM MATCH ANNOUNCED FOR BAD BLOOD

- A huge tag team match was confirmed for Bad Blood last night on Smackdown, with Roman Reigns teaming up with former arch rival Cody Rhodes to take on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. The show-long angle saw Smackdown General Manager trying to sign a match after Sikoa requested it. Aldis approached Cody Rhodes first but Cody said that after beating Sikoa, he was done with The Bloodline and that is now Roman Reigns' problem. Reigns addressed the crowd in the main event and said that The Bloodline is his business and doesn't need the help of Rhodes, which prompted Rhodes to come out. After some bickering between the two, Solo and Jacob came out but they were there as a distraction as Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga attacked from behind. The two faces eventually got the better of The Bloodline this time around and Reigns then picked up the contract and signed it. Cody extended his hand and Reigns handed over the contract and the champion signed it too. This will be Roman's first match since WrestleMania XL.

WWE HALL OF FAMERS AND SUPERSTARS AT SMACKDOWN PREMIERE

- Several WWE Hall of Famers and WWE Superstars appeared on the premiere episode of Smackdown on USA Network yesterday night. Rob Van Dam, Katie Forbes, Vickie Guerrero, Booker T, Sharmell, Michael PS Hayes, Ron Simmons, Teddy Long, William Regal and Bobby Roode were joined by current WWE Superstars Sheamus, Ludwig Kaiser, World Heavyweight champion Gunther, and Damian Priest on the broadcast. None of them did anything in particular except for posing for the cameras when it was their cue on television. The broadcast was opened by WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque.

NEW THEME SONG FOR SMACKDOWN

- Smackdown last night opened with a brand new theme song titled Neva Play, a song performed by Megan Thee Stallion featuring South Korean rapper RM of the popular group BTS. The song was released as a single on September 6, 2024, through Stallion's own Hot Girl Productions and Warner Music Group. The 29-year-old Stallion is a wrestling fan and recently Mercedes Mone revealed that she was trying to get Stallion to do something with her in AEW.

OVER 15,000 TICKETS SOLD FOR SURVIVOR SERIES

- Ticket tracking service @WrestleTix is reporting that Survivor Series: WarGames 2024 already has over 15,000 tickets sold following yesterday's general on-sale. The Rogers Arena in Vancouver is being used in full and currently set up for just over 17,200 tickets. There is no stage as per the seating chart and tickets behind where the stage would be were also on sale. The cheapest single ticket is CA $300 plus another CA $79 in fees. There are hundreds of seats in Section 300 - the top part of the arena - where they are labeled as Platinum and selling for CA $675 plus CA $129 in fees. The majority of floor seats are not sold yet simply because prices are super ridiculous, with ringside seats selling for CA $5,000. Row 10 seats next to the aisle are CA $4,000 plus another CA $722 in fees. With these prices, WWE is surely set to break another arena record in terms of gate revenue, at least for any show in Canada.

ST. LOUIS NXT SHOW MOVED DUE TO LOW TICKET SALES

- The second NXT on CW episode which was taking place from St. Louis has been officially moved to a much smaller location in Chesterfield. The show was set to take place from the Enterprise Center, but slow ticket sales prompted WWE to move location and its now being held at The Factory at The District. Around 3,000 tickets only were sold for St. Louis in an arena that can hold 20,000 in a regular setting. The Factory holds a maximum capacity of 3,400. Randy Orton was also scheduled to appear, but it's not confirmed if he will do this show now that the location has been changed. Refunds and exchanges are available at all original points of purchase. Tickets for the NXT event at The Factory at The District will go on sale next Wednesday, September 18 at 12 PM CT via Ticketmaster.

MCMG "IMMINENTLY" STARTING WITH WWE

- Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, collectively known as The Motor City Machine Guns, are expected to start with WWE imminently. The former multi-time TNA Tag Team champions will be working for the NXT brand, a decision that apparently they preferred. Their in-ring vet status will certainly help many at the WWE Performance Center and it is obviously something they were willing to do rather than go straight to the main roster. A TV start date has not been locked in but this will be a surprise appearance. NXT has two very important shows coming up, the October 1 premiere episode on The CW from Rosemont and the following week in St. Louis head-to-head with Dynamite. The two have not wrestled in nearly a month, losing their last tag team match against Evil Uno and Stu Grayson at an indie event in Ontario, Canada.

LYRA VALKYRIA GETS ENGAGED

- Former NXT Women's champion Lyra Valkyria is now engaged after her longtime boyfriend, fellow pro wrestler LJ Cleary, popped the question. Cleary posted on Instagram a photo of rose petals arranged in the form of "Will you marry me" on a bed in a hotel in New York with their photos in the background. "Yes. 10 years together celebrated by getting engaged to the person I will be spending the rest of my life with, and she is the love of mine," he wrote. The 27-year-old Valkyria has been signed to WWE since 2020, first as part of NXT UK, then NXT, and now on the main roster with the Raw brand. Cleary, 25, wrestles mainly for Pro Wrestling NOAH and other indie promotions.

AEW TO HAVE A MATCH BEFORE JAGUARS' NFL OPENING GAME

- AEW will have a presence at the Jacksonville Jaguars opening home game on Sunday and will present a match at Flex Field. Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, a two-out-of-three falls match featuring Sammy Guevara and Hologram vs The Beast Mortos and Matt Taven will take place at 11:30AM ET. Flex Field is the 94,000 square-foot indoor practice area for the Jacksonville Jaguars at the TrEverBank Stadium. The Khan family owns the Jags and Tony Khan is the Chief Football Strategy Officer for the football team. AEW did not announce if this match will air on any social media channels.

TICKETS FOR AEW: GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA OUT NOW

- Tickets for AEW: Grand Slam Australia opened to the general public today on Ticketek.com.au with reasonable prices. There are several levels of tickets which cost $20, $68.20, $94.85, $122.35, $193.20, $263.90, $314.90, and $499.90 for the most expensive ticket. All ticket prices are quoted in Australian Dollars and for comparison sake, a $20 AUD costs around $13.50 USD and the highest-priced ticket would be the equivalent of $335 USD. There is no big stage set to be used judging from the seating chart published. The 400 Level, 600 Level and some parts of the 700 Level seats are not open and unlikely to be opened in the future unless the company moves over 40,000 tickets. Also, the hard cam section only has few rows of accessible seating open, with the rest closed. The stadium sits 52,000 fans. AEW: Grand Slam Australia will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2025. This is AEW's first live event of any kind in Brisbane and in Australia overall.

COLLISION PREVIEW

- Tonight's Collision is not live and was taped on Thursday night from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. A total of seven matches were taped for the TNT broadcast, which airs in its regular time slot of 8PM ET tonight. Matches include Jack Perry vs Christopher Daniels for the TNT title, FTR vs Grizzled Young Veterans, Wheeler Yuta vs Anthony Henry, Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly and Hologram vs The Beast Mortos, Tony Nese, and Ari Daivari in a trios match, Bang Bang Gang vs Cage of Agony in a trios match, Yuka Sakazaki vs Serena Deeb, Queen Aminata vs Robyn Renegade, and Private Party and Komander also in action in another trios match. Collision is coming off from its worst viewership number last week when it aired against Smackdown and an NFL game on a Friday night, with only 157,000 viewers tuning in.

TONI STORM TO CHALLENGE FOR IWGP WOMEN'S TITLE

- Former AEW Women's champion Toni Storm is gunning for another title, this time in the Land of the Rising Sun as she challenged Mayu Iwatani for the IWGP Women's title at the STARDOM Nagoya Golden Fight on October 5. Storm showed up via a black and white video in front of a fireplace during today's STARDOM's Namba Grand Fight event in Osaka to make the challenge. "Did you forget about me? Stardom, do you remember who I am? Because I have never forgotten you," Storm said. "I have done a lot in your land and I will always respect Japanese pro wrestling but there is one thing that I must do: in 2017, I became the World of Stardom champion. Some say it was a mistake. I must prove that it wasn’t. October 5, Nagoya...I challenge you Mayu Iwatani for the IWGP Women’s championship!" Iwatani has been champion for a total of 508 days so far, winning the title from Mercedes Mone at the Battle in the Valley event in February 2023.

NIGHTINGALE AND JERICHO DEFEATED AT CMLL SHOW

- Two AEW stars had a rough night at the CMLL 91st anniversary show yesterday, with both Willow Nightingale and Chris Jericho losing their respective matches. For Nightingale, it was a bit worse as she lost the CMLL Women's title after she got defeated by Zeuxis following an avalanche powerbomb. The former TBS champion won the title just over 60 days ago at the CMLL x NJPW: Fantasicamania event held in San Jose. The title was up for grabs in a three-way match after then champion Stephanie Vaquer was stripped of it when she decided to join WWE. Nightingale also just lost to Kris Statlander at All Out last week, making this two back-to-back defeats for the popular star. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho main evented the show against Mistico but lost the match two falls to one. Jericho got the first fall after Mistico tapped out to the Walls of Jericho but the Mexican luchador had a pinfall victory in the second fall and then submitted Jericho for the third and decisive fall. Following the match, Big Bill came out and took out Mistico. Before the two-on-one attack continued, Orange Cassidy came out to even the odds and the faces celebrated in the ring.

VICTORY ROAD 2024 RESULTS

- Here are the results from last night's Victory Road 2024 which took place live from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. PRE-SHOW: Kushida defeated Leon Slater; Hammerstone and Jake Something defeated Eric Young and Steve Maclin. MAIN SHOW: Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy defeated A. J. Francis and KC Navarro; Mike Bailey defeated Zachary Wentz to become the new TNA X Division champion; Dani Luna and Jody Threat defeated Masha Slamovich and Tasha Steelz to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team titles; Joe Hendry defeated Josh Alexander; Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards defeated Ace Austin and Chris Bey to become the new TNA Tag Team champions; Jordynne Grace defeated Wendy Choo to retain the TNA Knockouts title; Nic Nemeth defeated Moose to the TNA World title.


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ADVERTISING:
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Friday, September 13, 2024 Issue #7349
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Well, I managed to send out an issue everyday while on holiday! Tomorrow morning, I will be leaving to go back home and for sure there will not be an issue. The website will be updated accordingly but we'll be back in your inbox on Sunday!


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

SMACKDOWN'S FIRST 30 MINS TO BE COMMERCIAL-FREE

- Smackdown's premiere on USA Network tonight will have its first 30 minutes commercial-free, meaning the WWE championship match inside a steel cage will be uninterrupted. The news was announced by Smackdown GM Nick Aldis, similar to what Adam Pearce did with Raw's first hour being commercial-free for its premiere episode. Smackdown takes place from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, and has Cody Rhodes vs Solo Sikoa for the WWE title in a steel cage match, Kevin Owens and a mystery partner vs Grayson Waller & Austin Theory, and Andrade vs Carmelo Hayes. Nothing else has been announced so far.

A NEW ERA OF SMACKDOWN KICKS OFF TONIGHT ON USA

- A new era for Smackdown kicks off tonight on USA Network as the show returns to its former home after airing for five years on FOX. The new five-year deal with NBCUniversal is valued at $1.4 billion, a 37% increase over what FOX originally paid in 2019. The $1.4 billion figure comes to around $280 million per year. Smackdown enjoyed audiences larger than Raw thanks to the benefit of network television. This year, Smackdown averaged 2,278,000 viewers and a 0.64 rating in 18-49, numbers that will not be replicated on cable television on a Friday night. This deal also calls for WWE to produce four primetime specials per year that will air on NBC, marking the first time WWE will air on the network in primetime in decades. The specials will reportedly carry the name of Saturday Night's Main Event, a show that used to air on NBC. Smackdown aired on USA Network between 2016 and 2019 after five years on SyFy. For the next two weeks, USA Network will, for the first time ever, be the home of Raw, Smackdown, and NXT. NXT moves to the CW on October 1 while Raw moves to Netflix on January 6.

TICKETS FOR SURVIVOR SERIES ON SALE

- Tickets for Survivor Series: WarGames 2024 went on general sale this morning at 10AM PST on Ticketmaster.ca. The full Rogers Arena in Vancouver will be in use as there is no stage setup according to the seating chart published yesterday during the pre-sale. The Rogers Arena holds just under 20,000 fans. WWE had a strong pre-sale, with some insanely high prices, especially for floor seats which run over $2,000 CA and a quarter of that extra in fees. Unlike previous major PLEs, a Smackdown in the same city was not announced so these tickets are solely for the Survivor Series.

TKO PRESIDENT SAYS NETFLIX MAY BE BEST PARTNER YET

- TKO President Mark Shapiro told a crowd at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference that Netflix could be their best partner yet, even though officially, their relationship won't start till January 2025. "I’ve seen their promotion plans, their marketing plans, the way they’re getting behind us, the way they’re using the NFL holiday games to promote WWE Raw moving to Netflix," Shapiro said. "They are going to be a battleship when it comes to helping us grow our brand and grow our audience." Netflix signed a global TV deal for 10 years earlier this year, with multiple countries where there's a TV deal expiring or no TV deal at all, getting all WWE content on Netflix. In the United States, only Raw will be on Netflix but other worldwide countries will also benefit from Smackdown, NXT, and the premium live events being on the same streaming service. WWE content is expected to be splashed all across the front pages of Netflix to all its 277 million subscribers worldwide, giving WWE a lot of different exposure.

MERCEDES MONE SAYS VIOLENCE AT ALL OUT WAS TOUGH TO WATCH

- TBS champion Mercedes Mone wrote in her weekly newsletter that the violence from All Out, especially the main event between Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland was "tough to watch" and she has mixed emotions about it. "When done right, that kind of stuff can tear a roof off like Daniel’s did," Mone wrote. "However, I wouldn’t want my brother Joshua to watch stuff like that, or kids, for that matter." She said when she does signings, she greets all kind of different people, including children but she understands that there's an audience that loves the extreme and the company needs to cater to them as well. The champ champ didn't blame AEW for the violence, and said that when you see matches this extreme, it's the talent who usually make the call. "While I credit talents who go to the extreme in terms of violence inflicted upon themselves for their passion and courage, I also want talent to have longevity and to graduate from this world healthy and able to function," Mone continued. "Our bodies go through enough with all the bumps, not to mention the travel and schedule. Personally, I’m at a place career-wise where I’d like to avoid extreme matches – unless it’s a true big value add to the company."

DYNAMITE RATING

- The post-All Out Dynamite this week drew 716,000 viewers, up 58,000 viewers from last week's broadcast. The show had a 0.21 rating in 18-49, up 0.02 from the prior week and was #2 in the top 50 cable chart behind the MTV Video Music Awards. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

VICTORY ROAD ON TNA+ TONIGHT

- Live from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas, TNA Wrestling presents Victory Road 2024 exclusively on TNA+. The full card is as follows: Nic Nemeth vs Moose for the TNA World title; Jordynne Grace vs Wendy Choo for the TNA Knockouts title; Ace Austin and Chris Bey vs Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards for the TNA Tag Team titles; Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich vs Dani Luna and Jody Threat for the TNA Knockouts Tag Team titles with the stipulation that if Luna and Threat lose, they have to disband; Zachary Wentz vs Mike Bailey for the TNA X Division title; Joe Hendry vs Josh Alexander; Matt and Jeff Hardy vs AJ Francis and KC Navarro; Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander vs PCO and Rhino; Steve Maclin and Eric Young vs Hammerstone and Jake Something in the pre-show; and Kushida vs Leon Slater in the pre-show. The show will start at 8PM ET and a $9.99 subscription to TNA+ is required to watch. You can subscribe at watch.tnawrestling.com.

DAVE BAUTISTA'S THE KILLER'S GAME MOVIE OUT TODAY

- Dave Bautista's new movie, titled The Killer's Game, opens up in theaters nationwide today. The movie is centered around a hit man, played by Bautista, who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to take a hit out on himself. But the story takes a twist when the medical diagnosis he received was incorrect and he has to fend off an army of assassins who are after him and his ex-girlfriend. The movie also features the debut of Drew McIntyre in a feature film, playing the role of Rory Mackenzie. Sofia Boutella, Terry crews, Scott Adkins, Marko Zero, Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley are the other stars with leading roles. The movie is directed by J. J. Perry and is based on the book by the same title from Jay Bonansinga. It's distributed by Lionsgate. Lionsgate held a special screening of the movie at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles a few days ago where several wrestling personalities showed up to support Bautista and McIntyre, including Bayley, Cathy Kelley, and Mercedes Mone. At the event, Bautista told Kelley how proud he is of McIntyre for an amazing job he did in the movie. "People are going to be blown away by Drew in this," he said. "He’s so funny, and he’s just so charismatic. It was perfect. And I’ve known Drew for a very long time and we’ve stayed in touch well before this. I watched Drew grow up in this business. I’m super proud of him, man. I’m proud of what he’s accomplished." Meanwhile, Mercedes Mone also wrote about attending the premiere this week in her newsletter, saying that she was tired after multiple events but supporting her friends is a priority and just like how Naomi, Bayley, and Tamika flew around the world to support her, she'll do the same. "So, when I got the invite for the premiere of The Killer’s Game starring my friend Drew McIntyre, you bet I was gonna be there to support," Mone wrote. "Ditto for Bayley, who also flew in. It’s always great to see Pam (Bayley), even in these quick spurts. Along with seeing her and Drew, I got to see another old friend, Cathy Kelley, who looked as beautiful as ever doing her thing." Mone added that she hopes this opportunity elevates Drew to additional outside opportunities and he should be so proud of his work.


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Thursday, September 12, 2024 Issue #7348
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

My last day in Las Vegas. Ugh! I just love this place and I don't wanna go LOL!

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

DARBY ALLIN NO LONG WRESTLING FOR AEW WORLD TITLE AT GRAND SLAM

- Darby Allin will no longer be wrestling for the AEW World title at the Dynamite: Grand Slam episode later this month and instead, he will be facing Jon Moxley. On Dynamite last night, Moxley said that Danielson won't be able to defend his title on the show following the BCC attack on Saturday at All Out. Allin won the right to a title shot after winning the Royal Rampage battle Royale in July. Moxley has been calling out Allin for the past two weeks and the daredevil showed up last night, confronting the former AEW World champion in the ring. Unfortunately for Allin, it was later revealed that Bryan Danielson is indeed wrestling at Grand Slam, just not against him!

NIGEL MCGUINNESS CHALLENGES BRYAN DANIELSON AT GRAND SLAM

- On the same show where Jon Moxley said that Bryan Danielson is too injured to defend his AEW World title against Darby Allin at Grand Slam, AEW commentator Nigel McGuinness challenged his longtime arch rival to a match...on the same night. McGuinness was on Dynamite and cut an in-ring promo, calling Danielson a coward for avoiding him all these years. He said that AEW President Tony Khan, unlike Danielson, is not a coward, and has approved the match as long as Danielson gets cleared by doctors. The two had a long-running feud in Ring of Honor, wrestling against each other on 10 different occasions. The British star came out of retirement at All In, participating in the Casino Gauntlet match. The booking of these two matches totally contradicted each other, giving a weak excuse as to why Allin would not be going for the AEW World title at Grand Slam as expected.

THE BLADE UNDERGOES BACK FUSIOU SURGERY

- AEW star The Blade underwent back fusion surgery after several months out injured. The 44-year-old has not wrestled since February 4 at an independent event promoted by A1 in Canada and his last appearance for AEW came on an episode of Rampage which aired on January 3 of this year. "Back fusion was a success. Thank you to everyone for your continued support. Means a lot to this Grizzled Vet Utility Brother." His tag team partner, The Butcher, has remained active as a solo wrestler in AEW. The third person in the team, The Bunny, has not appeared on AEW television since September 2023. She is married to The Blade.

NIKKI GARCIA FILES FOR DIVORCE

- TMZ.COM is reporting that former WWE star Nikki Garcia has filed for divorce from Artem Chigvintsev, just two weeks after he was arrested for domestic violence. Garcia filed paperwork yesterday in a bid to end their two-year marriage with the help of Los Angeles attorney Evan Craig Itzkowitz from Blevans & Blevans, LLP. Artem was arrested on August 29 for felony corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant. After dialing 911 and canceling the call a few minutes later, police officers still showed up to their Napa house and after they found visible injuries on his wife, they arrested him. He was out later in the day on a $25,000 bond. The two have a child together, Matteo, who is four years old.

WENDY CHOO TO CHALLENGE FOR TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE TOMORROW

- NXT star Wendy Choo will be challenging for the TNA Knockouts title against Jordynne Grace tomorrow at the Victory Road TNA+ streaming event. Choo and Rosemary took down the champion on NXT on Tuesday night after Grace showed up for an open challenge which was accepted by Sol Ruca. Choo choked out Grace when Rosemary distracted her, with the referee calling for the DQ finish. TNA Victory Road will take place from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas.

TKO PRESIDENT SAYS THERE WILL BE LESS WWE HOUSE SHOWS NEXT YEAR

- TKO President Mark Shapiro has said that WWE will be doing less non-televised live events next year, avoiding "marginally profitable" cities in 2025. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference yesterday, Shapiro said WWE will be doing away with the smaller markets and will drop from 250 events this year to 200. Shapiro added that the exercise is for margin expansion and the goal is to continue to increase price tickets for live events. The TKO President noted that he "yells" at the WWE crew for not charging higher prices when they keep selling out shows this fast and indicated that dynamic pricing, which is used for concerts, will eventually come to WWE. Dynamic pricing will automatically raise ticket prices depending how hot - or not - demand is.

NXT RATING

- Facing the U.S. Presidential debate which drew 67 million viewers across 17 different networks, NXT drew 628,000 viewers, down 3,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.19 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 0.02 from the previous show. NXT was #11 on the cable chart, behind all debate-related shows and was the top rated entertainment show on cable. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

BRET HART SAYS RETURNING ON RAW IN CALGARY WAS "MAGICAL"

- Speaking to WWE cameras after his segment on Raw, WWE Hall of Famer Bret "Hit Man" Hart said he did not take it for granted that he was going to be invited by WWE even though they were in Calgary. Hart said he had a "funny feeling" walking down the ring slowly and getting in the ring, but he wasn't nervous. "But I think standing in the middle of the ring there for a few seconds, this transformation takes place. I mean, I think I transformed back into Bret 'The Hit Man' Hart for a minute for everyone," Hart said. "And it was fun for me to do that, and it was something that was magical that was brought out by the love of the fans." He noted that there's a lot of memories at that Saddledome and it's a "powerful building" for him to walk in. "A lot of memories here. A lot of great memories. A lot of title matches. A lot of, even in the old Stampede Wrestling days, I had a lot of memories here,” Hart continued. After his segment, Hart walked into Gorilla where Triple H was waiting for him to congratulate him. The history between the two, when Triple H was part of DX hanging with Shawn Michaels in 1997 as they feuded with Hart, is not a secret to anyone but Bret was happy to see Triple H again. "There’s not that many from my generation that are around anymore, so running into Triple H is always a pleasure,” Hart said.


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Wednesday, September 11, 2024 Issue #7347
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

My U.S. holiday is soon coming to an end. Here in Las Vegas for another day before heading back to Los Angeles for one night on Friday. Regular service should resume on Sunday.

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

THE BLOODLINE MAKES THEIR PRESENCE FELT ON NXT

- Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa made a surprise appearance on NXT last night and wiped out both The Street Profits and Nathan Frazer and Axiom. With The Street Profits about to win the NXT Tag Team titles from Frazer and Axiom, Tama Tonga ran in to break the count and the match was called off. His fellow Bloodline members then came in and destroyed both teams. The crowd went absolutely ballistic when they appeared, especially when Fatu ran down and blocked Angelo Dawkins at ringside. Fatu then performed a picture-perfect swanton bomb on Dawkins and the three stood tall in the middle of the ring, leaving absolute carnage behind them. The Bloodline defeated The Street Profits and DIY last week on Smackdown.

MAIN ROSTER STARS ADDED TO NXT ON CW PREMIERE

- The NXT on CW premiere episode on October 1 is having a few more main roster stars added to its lineup. The WWE Women's Tag Team champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill have been confirmed to appear after Belair wrote on X that the champs might need to make an appearance someday after watching The Street Profits showing up on NXT. Shawn Michaels took note of the post and said he loves the sound of it and the door is always open, asking them to just let him know when. Jade Cargill replied to HBK's post with, "Chicago?" and a thinking emoji. Also, The Miz will host a special edition of Miz TV with no guest announced yet and then, of course, it's the highly anticipated appearance of Chicago's own CM Punk who returns to the Allstate Arena.

HAMMERSTONE MAKES SURPRISE APPEARANCE ON NXT

- TNA's Hammerstone made a surprise appearance on NXT last night, answering Oba Femi's challenge for the NXT North American title. Hammerstone was picked, and paid off, by Tony D'Angelo to take on the champion, but unfortunately for him, Femi retained the title. This was the former MLW champion first appearance on WWE television. He was not the only TNA star on NXT last night as Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace also appeared and defended her title in an open challenge, which was accepted by Sol Ruca. The match was cut off by the arrival of TNA's Rosemary and Wendy Choo, who took down the champion.

CM PUNK APPEARING ON NXT NEXT WEEK

- CM Punk will be appearing on next week's NXT on USA Network to make a special announcement. NXT General Manager Ava closed last night's show with a backstage skit, receiving a phone call from Punk and then revealing that Punk has something special in mind for Chicago the following week and wants to announce it ahead of time. Punk is one of the few main roster stars who will be appearing on the premiere episode of NXT on CW on October 1. The show will be held live from the Allstate Arena and will be followed by episode two from St. Louis where Randy Orton will appear. The October 8 broadcast of NXT will go head-to-head with AEW's Title Tuesday episode of Dynamite.

FAN WHO CREATED CM PUNK BRACELET REACTS TO WWE SELLING REPLICA

- The fan who gifted CM Punk the bracelet which is the center of the feud between Punk and Drew McIntyre, reacted to the news that WWE has created a replica of it to sell online at WWEShop.com. "I won’t be asking for compensation from WWE since they have every right to make bracelets. All I kind of was hoping for was maybe a mention in the description of the product (i.e. inspired by a fan)," Victoria wrote. Victoria gave Punk the bracelet, with AJ's and Larry's name on it, several years ago and the former champion kept wearing it. "Throughout this whole thing I never expected to be given anything from WWE - all i wanted was for people to put a name/face to the where the bracelet came from," she continued. "I completely understand why some of you guys are upset at WWE and it means a lot to me that people care so much." Fans online were pushing for Victoria to seek compensation for her creation now that WWE was about to make money off it. Victoria said that she understands that legally, WWE did not need to give her any heads up and no obligation to reach out to her, just it would have been nice to know before it went on sale. She did admit that WWE contacted her last week and invited her to a show next month but she thinks the invitation had no correlation to them selling bracelets and wasn’t offered as compensation. "I am still grateful for them contacting me at all," she concluded. Drew McIntyre, being the social media menace he has become, also reacted, writing to Victoria saying, "All this bitching and moaning and crying, no wonder CM Punk is your hero" The replica bracelet that WWE were selling has been pulled out from sale now, and another one was done slightly different, with CM Punk's name only on it.

RAW RATING

- WWE Raw was battered by the first episode of Monday Night Football on ESPN and ABC, drawing 1,430,000 viewers, down 225,000 viewers from the previous week. This was the least-watched episode since January 15, 2024. Monday Night Football had 20.5 million viewers across the different networks for its second most-watched week one game ever. Hour one started with 1,545,000 viewers, then dropped to 1,447,000 viewers in the second hour and finished the night with a record-low of 1,299,000 viewers. In 18-49, Raw was #5, #6, and #7 with 0.48, 0.46, and 0.41 ratings respectively for an average of 0.45, down 0.03 from the previous week. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

CODY RHODES TOPS PWI TOP 500 LIST

- WWE Champion Cody Rhodes topped this year's PWI Top 500 list, one of four WWE Superstars who made the top 10 this year. "The heartbeat of wrestling," says the headline on the PWI cover. "Cody Rhodes is #1 and 'it feels right,'" the subheadline reads. It also has the stats that Cody wrestled 114 matches with 95% win-loss record and one epic story finished. Rhodes replied to PWI's post on X simply writing, "QB #1." WWE also congratulated its champion on social media, adding, "From undeniable to undisputed. What a year for @CodyRhodes! Congratulations to the American Nightmare." The other WWE Superstars in the top 10 were Seth Rollins in #4, Damian Priest in #6, and Gunther in #9. Rhodes was #10 in last year's list while Seth Rollins was #1, followed by Roman Reigns at #2. Gunther also placed higher following that historic IC title run at #4.

DYNAMITE PREVIEW

- The fallout from All Out takes place tonight live on Dynamite on TBS with four matches already announced. The first-ever Tag Team Casino Gauntlet match will happen tonight and the winners will get a shot at the AEW Tag Team titles at Grand Slam later this month. No participants have been revealed so far. Also tonight, Jack Perry defends the TNT title against Lio Rush, Sammy Guevara takes on Ricochet, Maria May vs Queen Aminata in an AEW Women's title eliminator match, and Jon Moxley will appear live to explain his actions from All Out.

FOUR AEW STARS IN TOP 10 OF PWI TOP 500

- Four AEW stars were part of the top 10 of Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 list this year, occupying the second, third, seventh, and eighth places. Former AEW World champion Swerve Strickland came in second place after a terrific year. Will Ospreay, whose matches pretty much always steal the shows, came in third, while another two former AEW World champions MJF and Jon Moxley came in seventh and eighth respectively. Last year, Moxley was third, MJF was sixth, and Orange Cassidy was eighth on the list.


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Tuesday, September 10, 2024 Issue #7346
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow at some point during the day (or night).

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

RAW GOING BACK TO TWO HOURS FROM OCTOBER 7 UNTIL YEAR END

- During Monday Night Raw, it was revealed that the show will be going back to two hours from October 7 until the end of the year. Raw is temporarily on USA Network until it moves to Netflix in January 2025, with the original deal expiring this month. NBCUniversal paid a much lesser price to air Raw for the next three months although now it looks like it was only for two hours, rather than three. WWE is receiving approximately $25 million from this three-month deal. The show moved to a three-hour format in July 2012. It's unclear if it will go back to three hours once it moves to Netflix, although the way it was suggested on television, it looks like it will.

BRET HART APPEARS ON RAW, GUNTHER INTERRUPTS

- For the first time in a few years, Bret "Hit Man" Hart appeared on WWE television last night in his hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As you can imagine, the WWE Hall of Famer received a thunderous ovation from the crowd who were certainly happy to see him. Addressing the audience, Hart said he was a proud champion, a proud Canadian champion during his time but he was rudely interrupted by none other than Gunther. Gunther told Bret that he was one of his heroes when he was a child, but not the number one hero in his book, rather a close second. "You will always be a close second to my actual favorite, and my all time favorite is none other than Bill Goldberg," Gunther said, as Bret cracked a smile. The crowd "Oooh'd" as everyone is aware of the history between Bret and Goldberg, with no love lost there. Sami Zayn then came in for the save and berated the champion for talking to Hart like that. Zayn asked for another World title shot, but Gunther refused again. The "Hit Man" called Gunther a "yellow, gutless coward" as he proceeded to leave but changed his mind after hearing the insult. Zayn got in the middle and a brawl followed. After the two got separated, Hart celebrated with Zayn in the ring. After the segment aired, WWE cameras caught Triple H congratulating Bret backstage as he walked in. "Thanks Bret, that was great, feel good?" Triple H asked Bret as the two then shared a few words together.

THREE MATCHES ANNOUNCED FOR BAD BLOOD

- Three huge matches were announced for the Bad Blood pay-per-view last night on Monday Night Raw. The feud between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre reaches its climax at the show as the two will meet each other inside Hell In A Cell. It was Raw GM Adam Pearce who said on Raw yesterday that this between them has to end somehow and announced the gimmick match as their rubber match. The two are at one win each in their year-long feud, with McIntyre winning at SummerSlam and Punk winning at Bash In Berlin. The WWE Women's World title will be on the line as Liv Morgan will defend her gold against former champion Rhea Ripley. Morgan already beat Ripley at SummerSlam, but that came to some interference from Dirty Dom, who flipped on Rhea and sided with Morgan. Plus, Finn Balor will meet former WWE World Heavyweight champion and Judgment Day member Damian Priest. The match was set up after Priest and Ripley were attacked by Judgment Day in the ring last night and prompted the save from Jey Uso.

JEY USO BECOMES NUMBER ONE CONTENDER FOR IC TITLE

- A new number one contender for the Intercontinental title was revealed on Raw last night. Jey Uso defeated Braun Strowman, Ilja Dragunov, and Pete Dunne in a fatal four-way match in the main event to earn his future title shot. Each Superstar won qualifying matches in previous Raw broadcast to advance to this match. After the match was over, Intercontinental champion Bron Breakker came out and confronted Uso in the ring, ending the episode with the two staring at each other.

NATALYA RETURNS ON RAW

- Former Smackdown Women's champion Natalya had her first WWE televised match after three months last night on Raw, coming out as the mystery partner for Lyra Valkyria and Zelina Vega in their fight against Pure Fusion Collective. Natalya received a very warm welcome from her hometown crowd of Calgary and got the win with the Sharpshooter to receive an even bigger pop. "My very first time in a @wwe ring was in 1997 at the IN YOUR HOUSE Canadian Stampede PPV in Calgary," wrote Nattie on X. "It was the last time my whole family was together. Last night was a full circle moment, being back in that same building, with @BretHart, The Hart family and my @wwe family." She added that performing in Calgary means so much to her because it’s where it all began for the Harts. "It was a night I’ll cherish forever," she concluded. Natalya last match prior to last night was on the June 4 episode of NXT against Izzi Dame.

MILWAUKEE BIDDING FOR 2025 MONEY IN THE BANK

- A report by Logan Hanson of the Milwaukee Business Journal states that Milwaukee Sports is putting together a bid to host next year's Money In The Bank premium live event in the city. The Fiserve Forum, the home of the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, would serve as the host of the show if the bid is successful. Meanwhile, Sports Milwaukee Director Marissa Werner added that if they manage to host MITB next year, that could lead to either the Royal Rumble or SummerSlam to come to the city. The American Family Field, a retractable roof stadium and the home of the MLB's Milwaukee Brewers could potentially be the site of any of those two premium live events. It has a capacity of nearly 42,000.

TICKETS FOR SURIVOR SERIES: WARGAMES OUT THIS WEEK

- Tickets for the Survivor Series: WarGames 2024 will go on sale this Friday, September 13 while a pre-sale will kick off on Thursday, September 12 at 10AM PST on Ticketmaster.ca. Survivor Series: WarGames takes place Saturday, November 30 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, making it the first-ever Survivor Series to emanate from the city. Fans can register now to receive an exclusive presale offer by visiting . Additionally, Priority Pass ticket packages are available now from On Location, offering fans the chance to be ringside for every exhilarating moment including premium seating, pre-show hospitality with WWE Superstar appearances, ringside photo opportunities, exclusive merchandise and more. To buy now or learn more, please visit .

RASCALZ NOT WRESTLING ON NXT TOMORROW

- The scheduled NXT Tag Team title match between Axiom and Nathan Frazer against TNA's The Rascalz is not happening tonight on NXT. NXT General Manager Ava posted a video saying that due to "somewhat conspicuous circumstances," the challengers would not be at the NXT show in the evening. But, the titles will still be on the line and now, Axiom and Frazer will defend them against former champions The Street Profits. The Rascalz earned an NXT Tag Team title shot after they beat Tank Ledger and Hank Walker, and Gallus in a triple threat tag match last week.

NXT PREVIEW

- An action-packed NXT with three title matches is on hand for tonight's USA Network broadcast. A number one contender for the NXT title will be decided in a last man standing match with Trick Williams taking on Pete Dunne, with the winner facing Ethan Page on the premiere episode of NXT on CW. Plus, TNA Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace puts up her title on the line in an open challenge, Nathan Frazer and Axiom defend their NXT Tag Team titles against The Street Profits, Charlie Dempsey battles Je’Von Evans with the NXT Heritage Cup on the line, Duke Hudson vs Ridge Holland, and the in-ring debut of Giulia against Chelsea Green.

SMACKDOWN RATING

- The last-ever Smackdown on FOX drew just 1,770,000 viewers this past Friday night, the second least-watched episode on the network ever. The show was down 284,000 viewers compared to the previous week. In 18-49, Smackdown did a 0.45 rating, down 0.08 from the last episode and despite the very low number, ranked #1 on network television. There was NFL competition on Friday night with an NFL game on Peacock which drew over 14 million viewers, the first time that Smackdown had NFL competition. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)

COLLISION RATING

- Collision, which aired on Friday night head-to-head with Smackdown, the NFL game, and out from its usual Saturday night slot, drew only 157,000 viewers, down 132,000 viewers from the previous episode. The show had a 0.04 rating in 18-49, down 0.06 from the prior week. Both numbers were the lowest-ever for the series and for any AEW television broadcast so far. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)

RAMPAGE RATING

- Rampage on Friday night which aired after Collision, drew 233,000 viewers, up 15,000 viewers compared to the previous week. The show had a 0.08 rating in 18-49, up 0.01 from the prior show. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)


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Monday, September 9, 2024 Issue #7345
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, where I went from an oven to the frying pan LOL! Nothing beats this place though and I can't wait to return for WrestleMania next year!


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


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

RAW PREVIEW

- Tonight's Raw is billed as the season premiere and it's the first Raw since January to go head-to-head with Monday Night Football where a good chunk of the audience is expected to "leave" the show for their football. Raw is live from the Calgary Saddledome, perhaps one of the last WWE shows ever at the arena as it's expected to be torn down in 2027. To help commemorate WWE's return will be WWE Hall of Famer and Calgary's own Bret "Hit Man" Hart, who will be part of the broadcast. Also announced are Jey Uso vs Braun Strowman vs Ilja Dragunov vs Pete Dunne in the Intercontinental title number one contendership, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defend their titles against The Unholy Union, Zelina Vega, Lyra Valkyria, and a mystery tag team partner team up against Pure Fusion Collective in a six-woman tag team match, and Dominik Mysterio vs Dragon Lee.

FIRST HOUR OF RAW COMMERCIAL-FREE

- The season premiere of Raw tonight will have its first of three hours commercial-free. The news was announced by Raw GM Adam Pearce in a video posted on WWE's social media properties. Kicking off the show will be an eight-person street fight between The Wyatt Sicks and American Made. "It's our season premiere, let's make it official," Pearce said. Tonight's Raw will go head-to-head with the premiere of Monday Night Football on ESPN so the company is doing its best to minimize the damage.

WWE ANNOUNCES TOP MATCHES FOR MANCHESTER SHOW AFTER SLOW TICKET SALES

- In a bid to boost ticket sales, WWE today announced the top three matches of the card for their non-televised live event debut at the Manchester Co-op arena for Wednesday, October 16. Ticket sales for this show has pretty much flopped so far, with less than 3,000 tickets sold for a show in the United Kingdom's newest and largest arena which holds well over 20,000 seats. The show will be headlined by a bull rope match with Cody Rhodes defending the WWE title against Solo Sikoa. Gunther defends the World Heavyweight title against Jey Uso in a street fight, and Nia Jax vs Bayley in a WWE Women's title match. Others scheduled to appear are LA Knight, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Bloodline, DIY, Santos Escobar, Andrade, Piper Niven, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, Chelsea Green, Randy Orton, and others. Tickets are available now from Ticketmaster.co.uk.

USA NETWORK USING SLIGHTLY MODIFIED VERSION OF SMACKDOWN LOGO

- USA Network is using a slightly modified version of the Smackdown logo for the show's return on its network starting this Friday night. The words "Friday Night" are no longer part of the actual logo and the USA version has a 3D-like image with the WWE logo at the top, and the usual Smackdown logo but curved. It's unclear which version of the logo WWE will be using come Friday night once the show officially moves to USA Network. You can see the logo at .

ERIC YOUNG TO HOST AXS TV SHOW TITLED VINYL OBSESSION

- AXS TV today announced that TNA star Eric Young will be hosting a the network's original series Vinyl Obsession, which returns for season two on Sunday, October 6 at 10:30PM ET. The two-time TNA World champion is a self-described lover of music and a passionate record connoisseur, armed with an eclectic collection of more than 2,000 vinyl albums amassed over nearly two decades. "There's something incredibly special about vinyl records, and the deep and lasting connection that's forged between them and the listener," Young said. "I think we really showcased that this season, capturing the enduring impact that each album has had on the icon who selected it. You can see it instantly on their faces, as they transform from a bona fide rock god into that young kid who heard Johnny Cash for the first time on their parents' radio, or rocked out to Led Zeppelin at a high school party. It's more than a hobby, it's an obsession, and I look forward to sharing all of their stories with our viewers." The show will run through Sunday, November 24.

AEW TRADEMARKS THE TERM SHOCKWAVE FOR NEW SHOW

- AEW has filed an application to trademark the term Shockwave as a name of a future show. The application was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office three days ago on September 6. It was filed under the category, "Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services in the nature of live professional wrestling performances; Entertainment services in the nature of production of professional wrestling programs and events; Entertainment services, namely, production and distribution of ongoing television programs in the field of professional wrestling." Asked about the trademark, AEW President Tony Khan said that following All Out, the company will continue to provide "shockwaves" throughout the industry but did not specifically address the use of the trademark. There are rumors that the WBD deal will not be exclusive and AEW could technically air another show on another network similar to what WWE has at the moment. AEW currently has Dynamite airing on TBS, and Rampage and Collision airing on TNT.

RUMORS OF AEW/FOX TALKS EMERGE

- Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is reporting through his Select service that FOX and AEW have been in contact and there could be something brewing which is why the Shockwave term was trademarked late last week. Sapp wrote that according to a source close to FOX, the network was interested in keeping wrestling programming but not at the amount that they were paying WWE. While FOX did sell the advertising inventory for Smackdown, the rate was not as high and despite the show being #1 on Friday nights most of the time, it still wasn't enough to break even. AEW would come at a much cheaper price than a WWE show so if FOX really wants to keep a wrestling show on its network, it would be the next best thing. There's also the possibility of this show being marked for Venu Sports, the new joint-venture streaming service between Walt Disney Company, Fox Corporation, and Warner Bros. Discovery.



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Sunday, September 8, 2024 Issue #7344
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Man, that All Out was something else. I am not a fan of those kind of violent matches, I get it that it's for the "sickos" but it's not my cup of tea. But glad to see many enjoyed it. To each their own, I guess!


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

ALL OUT 2024 PAY-PER-VIEW RESULTS

- Here are the results from the All Out 2024 pay-per-view which took place live from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. ZERO HOUR: The Acclaimed defeated Iron Savages; Hologram, Sammy Guevara, and Dustin Rhodes defeated The Premier Athletes in a trios match; Bang Bang Gang defeated The Dark Order in a trios match; The Undisputed Kingdom defeated The Beast Mortos and Shane Taylor Promotions, and Action Andretti and Top Flight in a three-way trios match. PPV: MJF defeated Daniel Garcia; The Young Bucks defeated Blackpool Combat Club to retain the AEW Tag Team titles; Will Ospreay defeated Pac to retain the AEW International title; Kris Statlander defeated Willow Nightingale in a Chicago street fight; Kazuchika Okada defeated Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, and Konosuke Takeshita in a four-way match to retain the AEW Continental title; Mercedes Mone defeated Hikaru Shida to retain the TBS title; Bryan Danielson defeated Jack Perry to retain the AEW World title; Hangman Adam Page defeated Swerve Strickland in a lights out steel cage match.

PAGE AND STRICKLAND WITH THEIR MOST VIOLENT ENCOUNTER YET

- Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland took their epic feud to a whole new level last night at All Out in an extremely violent match which perhaps, was tough to watch at some points. The match ended when the referee deemed he had seen enough after Page whacked Strickland with a sickening chair shot to his unprotected head. To make it worse, just seconds earlier, Page removed Swerve's grill from his teeth and stuck a needle in his mouth...and then hit the chair shot with a violent swing. Violence was wildly expected in this "unsanctioned" lights out cage match but maybe it did go a little bit too far with fans putting their hands on their head on many occasions. At the beginning of their match, Strickland tried to crush Page with the cage which was coming down but thankfully, Hangman managed to escape in time. Staple guns were the early order of the match as well, with both stars stapling each other, including Swerve stapling photos of his family to Page's face. Every weapon you can think of was also in use, including a cinder block which served as the landing spot for a sickening vertebreaker by Strickland on Page. Page returned the favor with the cinder block, powerboming Swerve right on it as fans looked in disbelief. Page, who pretty much just like his dance partner committed several felonies in this match, also tried to stab Swerve with a piece of wood from the burned-down house, but Strickland turned it around and stabbed Page in the head instead. This was definitely a match not for the faint of heart, a match you typically see at the extreme indie promotions and as AEW President Tony Khan likes to say, it was "for the sickos." Strickland is rumored to be taking some time off from AEW after last night, a much-deserved break after an MVP year for him in the company. You can see some of the highlights at .

BCC TURNS ON BRYAN DANIELSON

- Bryan Danielson's BCC team mates turned on him at All Out last night, ending his association with the faction. After Danielson defeated Jack Perry to retain the AEW World title, Killswitch came from behind and head butted him. Christian Cage came out with his Casino Gauntlet contract to cash in but Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and Pac all came out to prevent that from happening. When the BCC celebrated along with the champion, Castagnoli decked Danielson with an uppercut. A stunned Danielson looked at the Swiss Superman but he was then quickly assaulted by Mosley from behind, who used a plastic bag to suffocate him. Yuta was held back by Pac and then Marina Shafir came in and took care of the referee. Mox and Claudio kept on their attack on the champion until they eventually stopped. They left together but Yuta stayed behind with Danielson who was stretchered out after the attempted murder!

TONY KAHN SAYS HE'S CONFIDENT AEW TV RIGHTS DEAL WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON

- At a very different and short post-show press conference, AEW President Tony Khan said that he's 90% confident that the AEW media rights deal will be announced in the next month. Khan repeated the fact that he feels they're at the "one-yard line" although he's not sure how many more takes it will need before the ball goes into the end zone. "I'm 100% sure the ball is going into the end zone," Khan continued, saying that's how good he feels about it. He did admit though that the deal is not signed yet as they're still working out on some details. There were no other AEW stars who attended the press conference and it was wrapped up in around 20 minutes.

ATTORNEY STEPHEN P. NEW UNLOADS ON JIM ROSS OVER "FRIVOLOUS" CLAIM

- Stephen P. New, the attorney representing Kevin Kelly and the Tate brothers in their lawsuit against AEW, ripped Jim Ross a new one while appearing on the House of Kayfabe podcast after Ross said that the lawsuit is "frivolous" and the plaintiffs will run out of money before Tony Khan will. New said that Jim Ross is part of the problem because he fed the guys in WWE those same kind of "crap contracts for a quarter of a century" when he worked for WWE in the Talent Relations department. "You told these guys that it was a take it or leave it deal and they needed to sign these crap contracts, that were contracts of adhesion that they should have never signed," New said. New added that he might lose, but this is not a frivolous lawsuit as JR has indicated. "Tony Khan has paid Jim Ross a lot of money to do nothing for about five years now," New ranted on. "So, if I were Jim Ross and I were living at Jacksonville Beach and making a bunch of money to not do much at all, I’d probably come out and call Stephen P. New’s lawsuit frivolous also. Everybody’s got a price." AEW President Tony Khan chimed in afterward, writing that he was "shocked and appalled" by the comments on Jim Ross. He called JR a legend, part of AEW's foundation, and someone who is important from the beginning of AEW to today. "AEW, JR & I reserve all rights," Khan wrote.

GIULIA TO MAKE IN-RING NXT DEBUT ON TUESDAY

- Giulia will make her NXT in-ring debut this coming Tuesday as WWE announced that the former STARDOM champion will take on Chelsea Green in a one-on-one match. Green was on the receiving end of a knee to the face by Giulia earlier this week after Green interrupted Roxanne Perez and demanded an NXT Women's title shot. Instead, it was Giulia who came out, took out Green, and told Perez that the two will face on The CW premiere on October 1. "Ah shit," responded Green's husband Matt Cardona to the news! "I guess date night is cancelled." Reacting to the news, Giulia said, "I'm ready to fight, anytime, anywhere," and warned Green to "be ready."

NXT PREMIERE ON CW WITH 5,000 TICKETS SOLD SO FAR

- The NXT on CW premiere episode from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont has now surpassed 5,000 tickets sold with less than a month to go for the show. The Allstate Arena is not being used in full and is configured to around 7,500 seats according to @WrestleTix. This will be the biggest audience for an NXT TV episode, although premium live events have drawn way more than that. The Rosemont and Chicago crowd has typically showed up for WWE events at this particular arena, with constant sellouts since last year's Survivor Series and the return of CM Punk. Speaking of Punk, Chicago's favorite will be in the arena on October 1 although it's not confirmed if he will be on the actual live broadcast or just for something off camera for fans in attendance.


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Saturday, September 7, 2024 Issue #7343
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Enjoy All Out! There's a couple of good matches which should make this PPV worth your time!


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

ALL OUT 2024 LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW TONIGHT

- Live from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, AEW presents All Out 2024 on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows: PPV: Bryan Danielson vs Jack Perry for the AEW World title; Will Ospreay vs Pac for the AEW International title; The Young Bucks vs Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta for the AEW Tag Team titles; Kazuchika Okada vs Mark Briscoe vs Orange Cassidy vs Konosuke Takeshita in a four-way match for the AEW Continental title; Mercedes Mone vs Hikaru Shida for the TBS title; Willow Nightingale vs Kris Statlander in a Chicago street fight; MJF vs Daniel Garcia; Swerve Strickland vs "Hangman" Adam Page in a Lights Out Steel Cage match; ZERO HOUR: Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett vs The Beast Mortos, Shane Taylor, and Lee Moriarty) vs Action Andretti, Dante Martin and Darius Martin in a three-way trios match. The Zero Hour portion of the show will start at 7PM ET while the pay-per-view will start at 8PM ET. Fans can purchase the show via Bleacher Report, YouTube, PPV.COM, DAZN, and Triller TV. Pricing varies by country.

CHALLENGERS FOR CONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH ADVANCE

- The challengers in the four-way match for the AEW Continental title were set up last night on Collision. In the three Continental Contenders Challenge matches, ROH champion Mark Briscoe defeated Lance Archer, Orange Cassidy defeated Bryan Keith, and Konosuke Takeshita defeated The Beast Mortos. With their respective wins, Briscoe, Cassidy, and Takeshita will now join champion Kazuchika Okada in the match for the Continental title at All Out tonight.

THE DIMINISHING AEW CHICAGO CROWD

- For a few years, Chicago was an AEW hotbed. Fans jam packed arenas whenever the company was in town, be it for the annual All Out pay-per-view, the Thanksgiving eve Dynamite episode, or the occasional big show at the United Center. But today, the NOW Arena and the Wintrust Arena, one in Hoffman Estates and the other right in the city of Chicago, have struggled to attract AEW fans as in previous years, especially if it's not a pay-per-view. Last night's Collision at the NOW Arena drew just under 2,500 fans. Tonight's All Out pay-per-view is currently at just over 8,000 fans, down slightly from last year's attendance of 9,800, 10,000 of 2022, 10,000 of 2021, and 10,500 of 2019. Last year's event was held at the United Center while the others were all at the NOW Arena. The previous All Out shows at the NOW Arena all sold out, but it's looking less likely that tonight's show will continue that trend. Collision last night was the lowest attendance for AEW in Chicago so far.

ALL OUT BETTING ODDS

- AEW is back on pay-per-view just two weeks after All In with All Out live from Chicago. Below are the latest betting odds for the available matches. Remember, odds are likely to change so please bet carefully. Bryan Danielson defends his AEW World title against Jack Perry and Danielson is 1/100 in his odds to keep the gold against the TNT champion Perry who is at 20/1. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland will go for match number three between the two and with Strickland winning the previous two, Page is the favorite in this one with 2/7 odds while Swerve is 9/4. This will be a lights out unsanctioned cage match. A Chicago street fight will pit Willow Nightingale vs Kris Statlander and Statlander is currently the favorite with 1/5 odds while Nightingale is 3/1 for the victory. In the AEW International championship match, Will Ospreay is 1/100 favorite to retain his gold against Pac who has odds of 20/1. MJF and Daniel Garcia will have a one-on-one match and the former AEW World champion is 1/3 favorite to beat Garcia who has 2/1 odds. Mercedes Mone shares the same odds as Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay in her TBS title defense with 1/100 in her favor while Hikaru Shida is 20/1.

THANKSGIVING EVE DYNAMITE AND COLLISION TAPINGS FROM CHICAGO

- The Wintrust Arena in Chicago announced that AEW will be taping Dynamite and Collision on Wednesday, November 27 on the eve of Thanksgiving. This has become a tradition to hold Dynamite in the city on Thanksgiving Eve. A pre-sale will start on Tuesday, September 10 at 10AM using the code TURKEY while public on-sale starts on Thursday, September 12 at 10AM. Tickets will be on sale at Ticketmaster.com.

AEW MEDIA RIGHTS DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT EXPECTED VERY SOON

- The AEW media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to be announced fairly soon, some suggesting within the next couple of days. During a conference call with reporters ahead of All Out, AEW President Tony Khan said that when announced, it will be fair to say that AEW will become the second most profitable wrestling of all time. A good deal is required for AEW to be profitable, with double value of the existing deal targeted. Khan said that they are in "the red zone" and once it's announced, AEW will score a "huge touchdown." No other hints were given as far as financial details or any other timeline. Khan has been sporting WBD-related caps to video interviews and has made it clear that WBD is AEW's home. Last night following the Collision and Rampage show, Khan made an appearance in front of the fans and said, "I feel pretty good to say that AEW on TBS and TNT I think is here to say."

STEEL CAGE MATCH TO HEADLINE SMACKDOWN SEASON PREMIERE

- The season premiere of Smackdown on USA Network next week will be headlined by a steel cage match between Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa for the WWE championship. The match was set up during the opening segment of Smackdown last night after Cody tried to drive a wedge between Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. Cody told Fatu to "step up," and he nearly did, before Sikoa talked to him and backed off. And then, just about when all of the Bloodline was going to attack Rhodes, The Street Profits and DIY stormed the ring to save Rhodes. Nick Aldis also came down and told everyone that the eight-man tag match is later on tonight, and until then, no violence, but next week, he will book something which was best for business, and that's the steel cage match. This will only be the second steel cage match on either Raw or Smackdown this year, with the only other one being Liv Morgan vs Becky Lynch for the WWE Women's World title which took place in May.

SHAYNA BASZLER SIGNS NEW WWE DEAL

- Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling is reporting that Shayna Baszler has signed a new multi-year deal with WWE. The former NXT Women's champion now forms part of Pure Fusion Collective, a faction consisting of herself, Zoey Stark, and Sonya Deville. The 44-year-old has been signed to a WWE deal since 2017 and apart from the NXT Women's championship, she's also won the WWE Women's Tag Team titles three times, twice with Nia Jax and once with her close friend Ronda Rousey.

WWE HALL OF FAMER JACQULINE SIGNS LEGENDS DEAL

- WWE Hall of Famer Jacqueline Moore revealed that she has also signed a WWE Legends deal, following the similar news of Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria) earlier this week. Moore becomes the first African American female to sign such a deal, a deal which covers licensing, merchandising, and potential TV appearances. WWE Legends who sign such a deal also get an up front sum along with royalties. The former two-time WWE Women's champion was inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2016. She was at the inaugural 2018 women's Royal Rumble match, getting eliminated by Nia Jax and last appeared on WWE television at the 2024 SummerSlam where she was filmed in a suite along with others such as Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page, and more.

BRAY WYATT DOCUMENTARY TO AIR ON USA NETWORK

- The Becoming Bray Wyatt documentary from Peacock/WWE Network will be screened on USA Network for the first time on Tuesday, September 10 immediately following the conclusion of NXT. The two-hour documentary originally premiered on April 1 and takes you behind the scenes and in the world of one of the greatest minds that the industry has ever seen, with new sit-down interviews specifically shot for this documentary including with Triple H, John Cena, Braun Strowman, his sister Mika Rotunda, his fiancee JoJo Offerman, and many more. There was a big teaser in the post-credits scene at the time, with the in memory graphic turning glitchy in typical Wyatt style and then a lantern is shown. The lantern eventually switches on after a few tries and we see an image of Uncle Howdy in the background and a voice which says “run!” That was the beginning of what eventually turned out to be the debut of the Wyatt Sicks.

FORMER WWE STAR TENILLE DASHWOOD PREGNANT

- Former WWE Superstars Tenille Dashwood (Emma) and Michael Rallis (Riddick Moss) announced on social media that they will be parents for the first time next year. "Baby Rallis coming 2025," Daswhood wrote along with a video of the two discovering they were expecting. "This is the raw unedited version of us finding out the amazing news. Unedited other than the beeps over my language… my apologies," she continued. "Could you tell how nervous I was to look? I didn’t even answer Mikes questions! In fact, there’s more to this story that I’ll explain at a later date. For now we wanted to share our news and how over the moon we are to be parents and welcome our little one into the world," the former Emma wrote. Both of them were released from WWE last year.


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Friday, September 6, 2024 Issue #7342
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

This heatwave here in LA is killing me! It's like an oven out here. Ugh!


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

SMACKDOWN AND COLLISION ON A COLLISION COURSE TONIGHT

- Both Smackdown and Collision will share the 8PM to 10PM time slot tonight on their respective network, a rare head-to-head between the two shows. Collision was moved to Friday night since All Out will air on a Saturday due to the return of NFL on television on Sunday night. A live episode of Rampage will follow the conclusion of Collision, making this a three-hour AEW broadcast. Meanwhile, Smackdown airs its last ever broadcast on FOX as the show moves to USA Network from next week. Being on network television, Smackdown has the advantage over Collision in terms of reach, but the next time these two shows will go head-to-head it will be an even-level playing field, with both shows on a cable channel. Collision is coming off its worst number ever on a Saturday night from last week so it might struggle against Smackdown on FOX tonight considering it's airing on a different day as well. The next time a WWE and an AEW show will go head-to-head will be on October 8 as the second episode of NXT on The CW airs live from St. Louis while AEW will have its annual Dynamite Title Tuesday on TBS. Last year, NXT beat AEW in the ratings thanks in part to several main roster stars appearing on the show, including Cody Rhodes, Paul Heyman, and The Undertaker.

FINAL SMACKDOWN ON FOX TO AIR LIVE TONIGHT

- The final Smackdown on FOX will air tonight live at 8PM ET and the show will be moving back to cable on USA Network with next week's broadcast. Smackdown moved to FOX in October 2019, giving WWE added exposure thanks to the wider reach of network television. The five-year deal, valued at $1.025 billion, was announced in June 2018. "At FOX we are thrilled to welcome WWE to the FOX Sports family and bring SmackDown LIVE to broadcast television,” said Eric Shanks, President, COO and Executive Producer FOX Sports at the time. “We are huge fans and know that together FOX Sports will be the leader in live events for the foreseeable future.” The deal was supposed to end in October, but FOX was going to move Smackdown to FS1 for the last few weeks. Instead of taking the hit, WWE opted to move to USA Network a few weeks earlier. Smackdown's premiere on FOX drew 3,869,000 viewers back in October 2019 and to this day remains the most-watched Smackdown on FOX. The only other time the show came close to that number was the Christmas Day episode a year later when Smackdown aired after an NFL game and benefited from the lead-in viewers. That show did 3,303,000 viewers. Viewership has been up and down over the last five years, with 2020 and 2021 being the worst numbers on the network. In the three months in 2019, Smackdown averaged 2,475,000 viewers. In 2020 it averaged 2,182,000 and it continued to decrease to 2,081,000 viewers in 2021. In 2022, numbers went back up to an average of 2,123,000 and last year it increased further to 2,220,000. This year, the show has done the best numbers on FOX since 2019 with an average of 2,299,000 viewers and a 0.64 average in 18-49. The show has consistently ranked #1 on Friday nights among the 18-49 demographic on both network and cable television but that will surely change now as the reach of USA Network is less than that on FOX and shows on network television typically do better than on cable. It remains to be seen what kind of numbers Smackdown will be able to pull on cable on Friday nights but it's safe bet that it will be fairly less than what Raw is currently doing on the same channel.

SMACKDOWN PREVIEW

- The final Smackdown on FOX will air in just a few hours and so far only two matches have been announced. The Street Profits will team up with #DIY to battle Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu, and Tonga Loa in a huge eight-man tag team match and Bayley takes on Ms Money In The Bank Tiffany Stratton. Also advertised are Giovanni Vinci's return and Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes addresses Solo Sikoa's challenge for the title.

WWE, CODY RHODES, AND FANATICS SUED OVER AMERICAN NIGHTMARE TRADEMARK

- Wesley Eisold of the band American Nightmare, has sued Cody Rhodes, WWE, and Fanatics, for breaking their 2019 settlement agreement over the use of the term American Nightmare according to a story by POST Wrestling. The lawsuit, filed in the state of California, states that there are trademark infringements, breach of contract, and intentional interference. Eisold is claiming $150,000 in damages and up to $300,000 for trademark infringement plus the cost of all legal fees involved in this lawsuit. In March 2019, both parties settled for $30,000 when Rhodes trademarked the term for merchandise and he was allowed to use it as long as the term is used in conjunction with his name or likeness and imagery has to be at least 75% larger than the American Nightmare text. The band leader had to deal with a barrage of wrestling fans and nasty comments online to a point where he wrote, "Listen you f*cking dolts. I already own the name. Doesn’t matter who you like. They licensed it from me. Then violated that agreement." Eisold also claims that he tried to contact Rhodes in 2022 and then again to both Rhodes and Fanatics with cease and desist letters.

BRET HART TO APPEAR ON RAW NEXT MONDAY

- WWE Hall of Famer Bret "Hit Man" Hart will be appearing on next Monday's episode of Raw as the show rolls into his hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. WWE backstage correspondent Jackie Redmond revealed the news on social media, writing, "I can officially confirm through some very legitimate sources that this Monday, on the season premiere of Monday Night Raw, Canadian legend Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart will be at the Saddledome in Calgary." Soon after, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque added, "When in Hart country… @BretHart joins us for #WWERaw’s massive season premiere, this Monday at 8/7c LIVE from Calgary on @USANetwork. You definitely won’t want to miss this." Next week's Raw goes head-to-head with Monday Night Football for the first time this season so WWE is trying to load up the broadcast to minimize the damage.

RAW RATING

- The last Raw on Labor Day before the return of Monday Night Football next week drew 1,655,000 viewers, down 141,000 viewers from the previous week. The show started with 1,768,000 viewers in the first hour, decreased to 1,695,000 viewers in the second hour, and finished the night with just 1,504,000 viewers in the third hour. In the 18-49 demo, Raw did 0.52, 0.50, and 0.44 respectively for an average of 0.48, down 0.08 from the previous week. This was the lowest since January 15 and Raw was #2 on cable TV behind College Football on ESPN. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

NXT RATING

- The post-No Mercy episode of NXT drew 631,000 viewers, up 16,000 from the previous week. The show had a 0.17 rating in 18-49, the same number NXT pulled in last week and was #3 in the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

WWE WITH NEW LIVE EVENTS SCHEDULE THIS MONTH

- WWE has dialed down the amount of non-televised live events this month compared to previous months and in fact, there are only two shows scheduled for the month of September. All WWE Superstars will have a much lighter schedule, working just Raw on Monday and Smackdown on Friday for this month, with the only two live events set for September 28 and 29 in Columbus and Huntsville respectively. This decision was taken to try and bump up even more attendances - and prices - for television shows by offering less shows in the usual markets with the philosophy of "less is more." In fact, in October, there are no house shows in the United States and four as part of a small tour in England. In previous months, those on the red brand worked Saturday and Sunday non-televised live events followed by a live taping of Raw on Monday while those on the blue brand started with a live broadcast of Smackdown on Friday and followed with non-televised shows on Saturday and Sunday, with the occasional combined supershow for the larger markets.

COLLISION PREVIEW

- Tonight's Collision will go head-to-head with Friday Night Smackdown on FOX and AEW is focusing on the Continental Contenders Challenge matches for the show. Three matches will take place to determine who advances to the four-way match at All Out tomorrow, with Orange Cassidy vs Bryan Keith, Lance Archer vs Mark Briscoe, and Konosuke Takeshita vs The Beast Mortos. Plus, Deonna Purrazzo takes on Hikaru Shida, and another big eight-man tag match with Bryan Danielson, Pac, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli vs Kauchika Okada, Jack Perry, and The Young Bucks. Tonight's show is the go-home episode for All Out.

BRYAN DANIELSON SAYS HE RECEIVED LEGAL LETTER FROM WWE OVER "YES!" TRADEMARK

- In a YouTube interview with Luke James Chats, AEW World champion Bryan Danielson said that he received a resistance from WWE after he applied to trademark the "Yes! Yes! Yes" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Danielson said that his manager alerted him that it's available to trademark and after going over the cost, he gave the green light to trademark it. But WWE had other plans, and Danielson said he got a legal letter from WWE which wasn't necessarily a cease and desist order, but a letter letting him know that he's infringing on their intellectual property. When Danielson started with AEW, he did not use the chant out of respect for WWE but he began using it lately in the same manner he did when he was in WWE. The trademark was filed on July 29 and remains live and pending the USPTO process.

DYNAMITE RATING

- This week's Dynamite on TBS drew 660,000 viewers, down 31,000 viewers from last week's broadcast. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite scored a 0.19 rating, down 0.03 from the prior week and was #5 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. It was the lowest number since July 31. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

NETFLIX RELEASES TRAILER OF MR. MCMAHON

- Netflix has released the official trailer of the Mr. McMahon docuseries which will premiere on September 25. In the trailer you get sit-down interviews with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Hulk Hogan, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, John Cena, Bruce Prichard, Eric Bischoff, Jimmy Hart, Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and David Shoemaker from The Ringer. The series is directed by Bill Simmons and Chris Smith serves as the executive producer. All six, one-hour episodes will be available for binge watching on the premiere date. You can see it at .


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Thursday, September 5, 2024 Issue #7341
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Visit our website at
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Bloody hell, 11 hours of flying and the WiFi was not working. That felt like a never-ending plane ride. But I did make it to Los Angeles so all is good!


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

PAGE LIGHTS UP SWERVE'S HOUSE ON FIRE...LITERALLY!

- Dynamite yesterday ended on fire, literally, as Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland took their rivalry to another level. The show's main event was the contract signing between the two for All Out and while Strickland was there live in person, Page never showed up. But Hangman had another idea. Earlier in the day, it was revealed that Strickland "bought" his childhood home and Page was shown at the location. He said Swerve made a mistake of revealing something very important to him - his childhood home. After mocking Swerve's parents, Page started pouring down gasoline on the house. Hangman told Swerve that there's nothing more he wanted to do than burn his world to the ground and if he can't take the AEW World title away from him now, well, then he can take something else. Page told Strickland to "say goodbye to Swerve's house" and just like that, Page lit the house on fire. Page then enjoyed a drink with the house burning behind him. After the show was over, AEW President Tony Khan came out and announced that the match between the two at All Out will now be unsanctioned and will be a lights out cage match. Swerve has a 2-0 record over Page, winning both matches that the two had before.

FOUR-WAY MATCH FOR THE AEW CONTINENTAL TITLE SET FOR ALL OUT

- A four-way match for the AEW Continental title has been announced for this Saturday's All Out pay-per-view. Three qualifying matches will take place on Collision this Friday to determine who will be in the match along with champion Kazuchika Okada. The matches will consist of Orange Cassidy vs Bryan Keith, Mark Briscoe vs Lance Archer, and Konosuke Takeshita vs The Beast Mortos. Okada successfully defended the Continental title on Dynamite against Kyle Fletcher. Collision will air head-to-head with Smackdown on Friday due to All Out being on a Saturday.

JIM ROSS SAYS KEVIN KELLY'S LAWSUIT AGAINST AEW IS "FRIVOLOUS"

- AEW commentator Jim Ross labeled Kevin Kelly's lawsuit against AEW as "frivolous" and said that the plaintiffs will eventually run out of money way before AEW President Tony Khan will. "I don’t hold out much hope they’re going to get any kind of settlement whatsoever but maybe I’m wrong," Ross said during the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast. "I’m not a judge or a lawyer or anything along those lines." Ross noted that when you sign your contract, you're agreeing to the terms, and one of those terms is being classified as an independent contractor, something that Kelly is arguing in his lawsuit. "I don’t like those kinds of lawsuits. I think they are frivolous," Ross continued. "You would think that guys could get together and could work out something before going to spending their money on a lawyer who’s probably doing it on a 'if you win, you get this, if you don’t win, no harm, no foul.' Well, there is harm, there is foul but you knew what you were doing when you signed your deal." Ross said that Kelly has been an old friend of his for many years and it was sad to see him leave earlier this year. "He just wasn’t happy, I think, he wanted a bigger role that wasn’t available to him and then all of a sudden he’s gone and it’s unfortunate and sad because he has a lot to offer," Ross said.

COLLISION RATING

- It was a bad night for Collision on Saturday night as the show drew just 289,000 viewers, down 153,000 viewers from the prior week. This was the least-watched episode ever on Collision in its regular Saturday night time slot. The show had a 0.10 rating in 18-49, down 0.13 from last week and placed #19 on the cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

SARAYA RELEASING MEMOIR NEXT YEAR

- AEW star Saraya will be releasing a memoir next year, titled Hell In Boots, and will be published by Gallery Books, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster. Set for release on March 25, 2025, the memoir will give a look at Saraya and her family drama, stardom, despair, and resilience. "I basically write about from childhood since birth to right now, this very moment," Saraya wrote in a post on social media. "So I'm really excited for you guys to see what the hell I've been up to - good, bad, ugly, everything in between, in and outside the ring. I'm just really excited for you guys to see why I am the way I am." The book publisher writes that this is Saraya's "real, uncensored story" in its synopsis of the book which reads as follows: "Hell in Boots is Saraya’s real, uncensored, story. From her early days in her famous (and chaotic) wrestling family, to leaving home at fifteen, to forging her own path in professional wrestling, Saraya has been through hell and back. As she fought to make it in the incredibly competitive—and at times sexist—wrestling world, she faced incredible highs and devastating lows. Saraya recounts years of struggling with substance abuse, clawing back her pride after an ex’s sex tape leaked, adjusting to stardom in the WWE, healing from a nearly career-ending injury, a making triumphant return to wrestling as AEW Women’s World Champion. Through it all, Saraya tells her whole truth in a way she never has before."

PRE-SALE FOR AEW: GRAND SLAM AUSTRALIA KICK OFF TODAY

- Tickets pre-sale for AEW: Grand Slam Australia kick off today on ticketek.com.au. The pre-sale will be staggered across several days. Today's pre-sale is for Foxtel customers and will start at 8AM local time. On September 10, the TEG Live and My Ticketek pre-sales will start at 9AM and tickets will finally go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 13 at 10AM local time. There will be several packages including All Elite VIP, Dynamite VIP, Ringside VIP, and Premium Fan VIP. The highest tier will get you a premium seat in the first row plus your own AEW branded folding chair to take home, an exclusive ‘Inside the Ring’ chat from AEW personalities and photo opportunities with an AEW star, pre-show function with a 1-hour beverage package and light refreshments, exclusive pre-show ring walk and a once in a lifetime selfie photo next to the ring, $50 merchandise voucher or merchandise item, commemorative event lanyard and hard card, early entry into the venue and merchandise stand access, and on site VIP host to assist you with event day queries. For more information go to .

HULK HOGAN SAYS WRESTLING FANS ARE "VERY FORGIVING"

- During his appearance on Logan Paul's podcast Impaulsive, WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan described wrestling fans as "very forgiving" towards wrestlers. To make his point, Hogan used Chris Benoit as an example of how there's still a large portion of fan base who love him despite the horrible things he did. "If Chris Benoit can do the crap he did and the fans still love him, you know, they're very forgiving," Hogan said. "I made some major mistakes in my personal life, but they forgive you." Hogan's major mistakes in personal life were topped by his racist rant during a private conversation with his son when he was in jail following an auto accident. Hogan was "Benoit'd" from WWE for several years after the audio of the conversation was leaked, although he found a way to get back in the company's good graces again. In the same interview, Hogan also said that he recently signed a five-year deal with the company.

WWE SPEED WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT KICKS OFF

- The women's Speed tournament kicked off yesterday on X as eight women battle in a tournament to crown the first Speed Women's champion. In the first match of the tournament, former WWE Women's champion Iyo Sky defeated Lyra Valkyria. Sky will now meet the winner of Naomi vs Blair Davenport. The other two matches feature Elektra Lopez vs Kairi Sane and Candice LeRae vs Piper Niven. New episodes of WWE Speed air exclusively on X every Wednesday at Noon ET. Andrade is currently the men's WWE Speed champion.

WWE PUTS UP TITAN TOWER FOR SALE

- The former WWE headquarters, better known to wrestling fans as Titan Towers, has been put on sale by the company. WWE started its operations at the East Main Street building in 1985 and the location has been used several times on WWE television in the past, including the filming of several vignettes, a Super Bowl commercial, matches, and even a full episode of Raw on the roof. Titan Towers is set on 1.19 acres of land and contains 90,675 square feet of office space, with 11-foot ceilings and also a car park with 300 spaces. Real estate company Newmark notes that Titan Towers is located in a flexible zone in Stamford and permits for the property include residential, R&D, educational, health, etc. No price was listed as it was subject to offers. Last year, WWE moved to its new headquarters on Washington Boulevard, where they pretty much consolidated all their other offices into one huge headquarters. The new building has 712,000 square feet of office space and it was leased for 16 and a half years, with the option to renew every five years.

STEPAHNIE DE LANDER EXTENDS TNA DEAL

- During a podcast with Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Stephanie De Lander revealed that she has extended her deal with TNA until the rest of 2024. De Lander said that when she originally came to TNA, she had a per-appearance deal and only agreed to work a few dates. "Recently we’ve extended that through 2024," De Lander told the hosts. "So, I’ve agreed to the remaining dates for the rest of the year." She added that once the new year comes along, she will reevaluate things and move on from there. The Australian star had a huge angle last month, marrying PCO, an angle which also featured the return of Matt Cardona.

KEVIN KELLY REACTS TO LAWSUIT NOISE

- Former AEW and NJPW commentator Kevin Kelly took to social media to react to the noise that his and the Tate brothers' lawsuit against AEW is creating. "I had hoped to settle this fairly and quietly with AEW but they left us no choice," Kelly wrote. Earlier, Kelly publicly said that AEW gave him a small severance package when he was fired which was eventually taken away as well. Reacting to Jim Ross' comments where Ross said that the lawsuit is "frivolous," Kelly added, "And to my friend JR, this is not 'frivolous' in the least. We look forward to what comes next." The lawsuit was filed by attorneys Stephen P. New and Benjamin Baer in the Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. It "seeks to void the arbitration clause of their talent contracts, as well as requesting the court certify a class-action suit against AEW over claims the company is misclassifying its wrestling talent as independent contractors, rather than employees." It's interesting to note that Stephen P. New is the same attorney that CM Punk and Ace Steel used after Brawl Out. Kelly was fired in March, just 10 months after he started working there. Both WWE and AEW classify their talent as independent contractors, with AEW's wrestlers having much more flexibility in the ability to work other promotions compared to WWE, which is pretty much non-existent over there.


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