After coming close last week by 9,000 viewers, NXT this week dropped in terms of viewership, getting a total of 750,000 viewers for last night’s broadcast on USA Network, down 63,000 from last week. The show was #22 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. The gap between AEW and NXT this week was of 207,000 viewers, up 198,000 from last week’s broadcasts. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Dynamite rating for 11/13/2019
Coming off the Full Gear pay-per-view, AEW extended their winning streak to seven weeks, getting a total of 957,000 viewers last night, up 135,000 viewers from last week’s show. Dynamite was #5 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
AEW announces battle royal…for a diamond ring!
All Elite Wrestling will be holding a battle royal on next week’s episode of Dynamite called The Dynamite Dozen with an odd prize for the eventual winner.
The battle royal will have 12 participants and so far none of them have been announced. The match will stop when there are two final wrestlers in the ring and the two will then square off the following week where the winner will get…a diamond ring! Yep, not a title shot, but a diamond ring!
The final match will take place on November 27 as the company revisits the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
Booker T discusses CM Punk’s surprise return on WWE Backstage
During his latest podcast The Hall of Fame, former champ Booker T talked about the surprise that he got on Tuesday night when CM Punk walked on stage towards the final segment of WWE Backstage on FS1.
Booker said that he did not know Punk was there and he had not seen Punk at all during the day so when Renee Young brought him out, he was just as surprised as everyone. He said that when Renee said they were going to do something new in the final segment of the show, he was lost because nobody mentioned anything “new” to him leading up to the show. Booker thinks that the end game here is to see Punk lacing up his wrestling boots once again and that’s certainly something that the fans are expecting.
Asked about what we can expect from CM Punk starting from next week on the show, Booker replied, “I don’t know, I really don’t know what’s gonna happen with CM Punk because CM Punk is a wildcard,” and then joked that they might have to get security to restrain him and escort him out of the building.
Booker revealed that after the show they all went out to dinner in Los Angeles and did a bunch of “small talk” mainly around mixed martial arts, fighting, and some wrestling talk.
When quizzed about what he thinks Punk meant when he said that “I change the culture,” Booker said he doesn’t know what he meant by it and it’s like a riddle at this point.
First-ever women’s tag team TLC match set for next month’s pay-per-view
Local advertising for next month’s TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view features the first-ever women’s TLC tag team match, with the WWE Women’s Tag Team champions The Kabuki Warriors taking on Raw Women’s champion Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
There has only been one women’s TLC match so far and that was held last year with three of the four participants advertised for next month’s match being in that match. On that night, Asuka defeated Charlotte and Becky in a triple threat TLC match to become the new Smackdown Women’s champion.
Also being advertised for TLC 2019 are Roman Reigns vs King Corbin in another TLC match and Rusev vs Bobby Lashley.
Total Divas S9 E7 rating
Episode 7 of season 9 of Total Divas, titled I Will Prevail, pulled in a total of 258,000 viewers, up from last week’s series low by 67,000 viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
FOX Sports touts big success for CM Punk’s return video on social media
CM Punk’s return on WWE Backstage on Tuesday night has been, to no surprise, a big hit for FOX’s social media properties.
Apart from trending #1 (CM Punk) and #2 (WWE Backstage) worldwide on Twitter at around Midnight, the video of Punk being introduced did over 5.5 million video views across all FOX Sports social media platforms overnight and the number keeps climbing. The post, which simply has “THAT. JUST. HAPPENED. #WWEBackstage” and the 52-second video, is also the most retweeted post of the year on any FOX Sports handle.
The band Living Color, the ones who sing Punk’s theme song Cult of Personality, also got in on the action, tweeting Punk’s return video and writing, “That’s right! @cmpunk is back on @WWEonFOX.”
FOX also produced a video showing the immediate reactions from Renee Young, Paige, Booker T, and Samoa Joe after Backstage went off the air. “I’m just glad you don’t have to lie to anybody anymore,” a smiling Punk told Renee as she hugged him. Young said that she felt weird about it and certainly stressful about keeping the secret and leading up to the reveal. You can see the video below.
You saw the return of @CMPunk on @WWE Backstage, now see the immediate reactions from @ReneeYoungWWE, @RealPaigeWWE, @BookerT5x, and @SamoaJoe, to last night's jaw-dropping moment. pic.twitter.com/39uFEPciSq
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 14, 2019
Dominik Dijakovic and Kay Lee Rae join the WarGames matches
The build to NXT Takeover: WarGames 2019 continued yesterday on NXT on USA Network with some changes to the card.
Matt Riddle, who was originally part of the WarGames match, has been taken out of that match and now has a singles match instead against former NXT champion Finn Balor. Balor turned heel and attacked Johnny Gargano a few weeks ago but Gargano was ruled out of Takeover due to a neck injury.
With Riddle out of the WarGames match, Dominik Dijakovic is stepping up to take his place. Next week on NXT, Dijakovic will be taking on Adam Cole in a ladder match with the winner getting an advantage for their respective team.
Speaking of ladder matches, Io Shirai defeated Mia Yim last night to gain the numerical advantage in the WarGames match for her team. And Team Baszler, which was one woman down, has added NXT UK Women’s champion Kay Lee Rae last night after Rae interfered to help Shirai beat Yim in the ladder match.
WWE Backstage rating for 11/12/2019
WWE Backstage on FS1 did 100,000 viewers on Tuesday night, up from the 49,000 that the show did the previous week. It will be interesting to see what numbers it does next week with the introduction of CM Punk as an analyst. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Jordan Myles labels WWE as racist and quits the company
In a video posted on social media, NXT star Jordan Myles said that he “quit f**king WWE” as he refuses to “work with racists.”
Myles, who wrestled on the indie seen as ACH, caused a storm last month when he labeled WWE as a racist company for a t-shirt they produced for him that depicts blackface. WWE publicly responded to his outburst, saying that he approved the design but Myles said that he only saw the design on a white background and the racist connotations are there on a black t-shirt. Myles called out Vince McMahon and Triple H in his tweets, many of which were later deleted.
“I am no longer an employee. I refuse to work with racists. I f**king hate that company and everything they stand for,” Myles said in the video, adding that the name Jordan Myles is a “slave name” and he’s now back to his ACH name.
Several African American WWE Superstars didn’t want to have anything with his outburst and distanced themselves from the situation.
Myles, real name Albert Hardie Jr., won the NXT Breakout Tournament and had a shot at the NXT title against Adam Cole, a match which he lost. He last wrestled in late September and has been pretty much missing from the WWE Performance Center ever since.
https://twitter.com/GoGoMyles/status/1194733835583406081
Women’s ladder match for WarGames advantage tonight on NXT on USA Network
NXT on USA Network tonight will be headlined by a women’s ladder match featuring Mia Yim and Io Shirai. The winner of this ladder match will earn an advantage for their team at WarGames which takes place during the Survivor Series weekend.
Another match announced also for tonight is an NXT Cruiserweight title defense with champion Lio Rush defending against Angel Garza.
The push for both Takeover and the Survivor Series continues and with NXT stars appearing on both Smackdown and Raw this past week, it remains to be seen if more Superstars will invade NXT this week.
Post-Full Gear Dynamite live tonight from Nashville
AEW’s Dynamite is live from Nashville, Tennessee tonight from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium where tickets are still available for sale through Ticketmaster.com.
Only two matches have been advertised so far for the post-Full Gear pay-per-view show. These are the AEW Tag Team champions SCU taking on AEW champ Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara and PAC taking on Hangman Page.
Last week, Dynamite won the Wednesday night war against NXT by just 9,000 viewers so it will be interesting this week if the pay-per-view will give AEW a bump like it usually happens for WWE.
The Smackdown five for the men’s Survivor Series match announced
The five WWE Superstars from Smackdown who will be participating in the traditional elimination tag team match were revealed on WWE.COM today.
Those representing the blue brand are Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, King Corbin, Shorty G, and Mustafa Ali, who just got his first name back! Their opponents so far consist of Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens for Monday Night Raw while the five from NXT are still not known and most likely to be revealed tonight.
Apart from the men’s elimination tag team match there will also be a women’s match with Superstars from Raw, Smackdown, and NXT as well.
FOX goes to great lengths to keep CM Punk’s Backstage appearance a secret
FOX went to great lengths to keep CM Punk’s appearance yesterday on WWE Backstage a complete secret, with only a handful of individuals aware of what was going to happen according to PWInsider.com.
Just a couple of Backstage producers knew that CM Punk would be on the show and out of all those who were on stage for the show, only host Renee Young was in on the secret. Booker T, Paige, Samoa Joe, and Adam Cole had no idea that Punk was even in the building and their reaction was as real as it gets.
The decision to only let a few people know what was about to happen was to not spoil the secret and give everyone a huge surprise. The idea paid off as for a change, the internet wrestling community was in the dark and no leaks took place.
Punk’s arrival on the show has already over 2 million views on the @WWEonFOX Twitter account. He officially starts with Backstage next week.
His deal is with FOX rather than WWE as Backstage is a FOX Sports production rather than WWE, with FOX Sports picking their own cast.
The Miz and Paige renew their WWE deals
As reported last night on WWE Backstage, both The Miz and Paige signed new WWE deals that will keep them around for the foreseeable future. Both are multi-year contract extensions.
Apart from a year at Ultimate Pro Wrestling, The Miz has basically spent his entire wrestling career in WWE. After appearing in Tough Enough, he was signed to a developmental deal in 2005 and has gone on to become one of the most popular stars in WWE, including having his own reality TV show with his wife Maryse. “WWE has been my home for 15 years & it’ll continue to be for years to come. I promise to work harder than ever to continue to give you MUST SEE TV. IT WILL BE AWESOME,” Miz wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Paige is in her eighth year with the company, having wrestled for FCW and NXT till 2014 before being called up to the main roster the night after WrestleMania in 2014. Unfortunately, her career was cut short due to a neck injury but after some on-screen roles as Smackdown General Manager and managing the Kabuki Warriors, Paige has found a place as an analyst on the FS1 WWE Backstage show.
Raw rating for 11/11/2019
Monday Night Raw drew a new non-holiday record-low last night, drawing an average of 2,058,000 viewers going against a massive NFL game on ESPN which drew almost 16 million viewers. Raw was also taped last Friday from Manchester, England. The show was down 77,000 viewers from last week.
Hour one started with 2,358,000 viewers, then fell to 2,063,000 viewers in the second hour, before crashing to just 1,753,000 viewers in the third and final hour. Raw suffered one of the biggest drops ever from hour one to hour three, with 603,000 viewers tuning out as the show progressed.
Raw was #4, #5, and #8 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and was #10 in the overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
CM Punk joins WWE Backstage
It is finally official: CM Punk has joined the cast of WWE Backstage.
The former multi-time WWE champion was introduced by Renee Young last night before the show went off the air. Coming out to his WWE theme song, Punk addressed the viewers at home, saying, “It’s as simple as this: just when they think they have the answers, I change the culture.”
A WWE/FOX press release stated that Punk will start with the show next week as an analyst and contributor, joining Booker T, Paige, and Christian. He will not be on every show at this point but that will obviously change as the show progresses.
News of Punk doing an audition for the show was leaked several weeks ago but he said he had not heard back on the outcome.
He had not appeared on any WWE-related programming since he walked out of the company after the 2014 Royal Rumble.
THAT. JUST. HAPPENED. #WWEBackstage pic.twitter.com/TDd5n0qk25
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 13, 2019
Codes and other WrestleMania 36 ticket info for November 13 pre-sale launch
Tickets for WrestleMania 36 will begin the pre-sale tomorrow, November 13, at 10AM ET on Ticketmaster.com. Several codes that will unblock the tickets have already been leaked including TWEETS, PHENOM, ALLWWE, NXTLIVE, and CENA54. Radio stations are also running their own promo codes that will unlock tickets and three already out include SHARK, WILD941, and Q105VIP.
For those looking into having a better experience at the show, sections 201 to 220 and 226 to 245 all have club access. Club access are climate-controlled with club-one concession options and private bathrooms, and premium bar areas. Seats in sections 205 to 216 and 230 to 241 are extra-wide and padded for better comfort.
If you’re ready to splash the money, those who purchase $2,000 and $2,500 seats will get to sit in the first nine rows and will get an exclusive Gold Circle VIP stadium entrance and the commemorative WrestleMania chair. Those who purchase the $850 and $1,000 tickets will also get to take home the WrestleMania chair.
Ticketmaster.com will also sell a four-day ticket for The Hall of Fame, Smackdown, NXT Takeover, and Raw, all of which will be taking place at the Amalie Arena. This four-day package will enable you to sit in the same seat for all four shows.
Total Divas episode preview for tonight: I Will Prevail
Episode seven of season six of Total Divas returns on E! tonight with an episode titled I Will Prevail.
The synopsis for tonight’s show reads, “With WrestleMania just around the corner, Sonya learns she will be making history with the first ever LGBTQ storyline in the WWE, but her girlfriend’s jealous reaction puts a damper on Sonya’s excitement. Nia gets hit with more bad news regarding her injury and sets out to rectify her wrongdoings with Carmella before her career gets put to a halt. Natalya vies for her first WrestleMania moment in an attempt to honor her late father and the legacy he left behind. Meanwhile, Ronda wonders if her work is done at the WWE and if it’s time to focus on having a baby.”
Mick Foley and Adam Cole on WWE Backstage tonight
WWE Backstage tonight on FS1 will have guests Mick Foley and NXT champion Adam Cole as WWE hopes to lure in more viewers than the just 55,000 that tuned in last week for the premiere episode.
Backstage airs live at the very late 11PM ET time slot with host Renee Young as she’s joined by Booker T, Christian, and Paige. It’s filmed from the FOX Sports studios in Los Angeles, California.