Dynamite had another comfortable victory in the weekly Wednesday night war with 828,000 viewers tuning in, down 43,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show had a 0.36 rating in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and was good enough for #3 for the night. AEW won all demo ratings except the 50+ age group. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
WWE fires its top two executives in major shakeup as stocks plunge 22%
WWE’s Board of Directors fired the two Co-Presidents, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson, effective immediately, and in the process sent the WWE stocks plunging in a massive free fall.
“I would like to thank George and Michelle for their 10+ years of service and contributions to the organization,” said WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “I am grateful for all that was accomplished during their tenure, but the Board and I decided a change was necessary as we have different views on how best to achieve our strategic priorities moving forward.
Barrios was the Chief Financial Officer for the company while Wilson, one of the most powerful women working for WWE, was the Chief Marketing Officer. Both were given the Co-Presidents titles in 2018 with added responsibilities.
Barrios had been employed since 2008 and Wilson since 2009. They are also no longer part of the Board of Directors.
Frank A. Riddick III, who has served as a member of WWE’s Board of Directors for more than 11 years, has been named interim Chief Financial Officer, reporting to McMahon. WWE has commenced a search for both a permanent Chief Financial Officer and Chief Revenue Officer.
Their dismissal comes a week before WWE announces their Q4 and full year financial results for 2019, signaling more bad news on the horizon.
WWE stocks went into a big free fall after trading hours closed, with their value losing almost $14 each share, ending the day 22% down.
Production starts on authorized Joanie “Chyna” Laurer feature-length documentary
A documentary about Joanie “Chyna” Laurer, which has the blessing and authorization of her estate, has started production.
Titled The Joanie Laurer Story, the feature-length documentary will explore her influence both inside and outside the ring to millions of adoring fans through interviews and images with a wide range of subjects selected, including Joanie’s mother, Jan LaQue. Additionally, the documentary will expose the manipulation her legacy has endured by those looking to profit from Laurer’s fame and personal struggles and will show her fate was the product of the #metoo era.
“My daughter, Joanie Laurer, led a remarkable life. I am excited to partner with a production team who is passionate about telling her true life’s story, not just the parts that played out in the ring or the tabloids.” said Jan LaQue. “To that end I have selected a woman producer to work with who understands that the public only knows a small bit of Joanie’s story. I want to restore her legacy, a legacy that has been tarnished by others. Joanie deserves this and so do her true fans.”
Producer Erin Hayes said that the production team could not be more honored to help tell the story of Laurer’s life. “We are committed to approaching this project with integrity and respect. Laurer showed a generation that women can be strong and smart. Hers is a story we want to tell and to preserve. She wasn’t a wrestler, she was a champion and she inspired the lives of so many people. That’s the story we are going to tell.”
The production team is currently filming interviews with those who knew Laurer personally, experts, and people who have shared amazing stories about the influence she had on her lives.
Ronda Rousey wants match against Rhea Ripley
Former Raw Women’s champion Ronda Rousey was on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast on the WWE Podcast Network yesterday. Graves asked Rousey who is currently on the Rousey radar at the moment, and Rousey went the NXT route.
“Oh my gosh! Rhea Ripley. She is doing amazing. I would love to have a match with her some day,” Rousey said. “She meshes up with everybody so differently and there’s so many things she could really pull out of people that they can’t do with anybody else so I’m really looking forward to seeing if we ever get the opportunity, but I’d love to get in the ring with her. She’s fantastic.”
Asked about who she thinks Charlotte Flair should battle at WrestleMania, Rousey once again name-dropped Ripley, saying that we’ve seen Flair take on Lynch and Bayley multiple times and it’s time to get some new girls in the circulation. Rousey said that both Flair and Ripley could put up a WrestleMania-level show with their athleticism if they were to wrestle each other.
“It’s been NXT’s year and it’s their time to be, hm, first time to get picked by a Royal Rumble winner,” she concluded.
Tommaso Ciampa getting NXT title shot at Takeover: Portland
Tommaso Ciampa was named the number one contender for the NXT title last night on the USA Network broadcast.
Before being officially announced as challenging Cole, Ciampa took out Fish, O’Reilly, and Strong backstage with a lead pipe, leaving them out cold on the floor. He then moved to the ring and set up a table and sprayed a big yellow X on it. Cole, who was attending to his team mates, walked out to confront Ciampa.
William Regal then walked out and said that Adam Cole doesn’t care who he faces at NXT Takeover: Portland and has already signed the contract. Cole then took the contract and moved to the ring but attacked Ciampa with the microphone instead of handing over the contract. The former champ was busted open the hard way and started bleeding. Ciampa recovered quickly though and powerbombed Cole through the table he had set up earlier.
He took the contract and signed the paper as fans chanted “use your blood.” Ciampa then looked at the crowd and wiped his face and smudged the blood on the contract.
This will be Ciampa’s first title shot since surrendering the title back in March 2019 and the former champion is determined to bring the title he never lost back home. Cole has been the champion since NXT Takeover: XXV in June when he beat Johnny Garagano.
A very heel-looking John Cena on the ninth Fast & Furious movie promotional material
John Cena posted the first promotional material for the ninth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise where he will be one of the main characters of the movie.
Titled The Fast Saga, Cena is seen posing in front of a blue Ford Mustang with smoke in the background sporting a very heel-looking facial expression. As of right now, Cena’s character in the movie has been kept under wraps. Filming has already concluded for F9 and the movie is slated for a May 2020 release.
The ninth movie will be the first one since Fast Five not to feature Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his character Luke Hobbs. Johnson is now leading the spinoff Hobbs & Shaw and from the looks of it, there will be many other spinoffs coming from the franchise.
#F9 @TheFastSaga pic.twitter.com/mGIKvobA9V
— John Cena (@JohnCena) January 29, 2020
WWE Backstage rating for 01/28/2020
WWE Backstage, which was taped from Miami this week, drew 97,000 viewers, down 14,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. This week, The New Day and Roman Reigns were the special guests. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Samoa Joe sidelined with a concussion suffered at Raw
The recently-returned Samoa Joe is sidelined again, this time with a concussion he suffered during his tag team match on Monday Night Raw.
Joe performed a dive on Buddy Murphy before the show went to commercial and landed hard on the floor, knocking himself out in the process. He received medical attention at ringside and the decision was then taken to eliminate him from the match due to his condition. His removal from the match with Owens against Rollins and Murphy was not planned.
The former NXT champion had a string of bad luck lately, having just returned from being on the shelf for several months due to a broken thumb.
Miz & Mrs returns for season two tonight on USA Network following NXT
The Miz & Mrs show returns on USA Network tonight for season two. The show airs on USA Network immediately following the conclusion of NXT at 10PM ET.
Episode one of season two is titled Monroe’s First WrestleMania and will see Miz and Maryse celebrate Monroe’s first birthday during WrestleMania weekend.
Miz & Mrs is produced by WWE and Bunim/Murray Productions. Gil Goldschein, Farnaz Farjam-Chazan and Russell Jay serve as executive producers for Bunim/Murray Productions. Kevin Dunn and Chris Kaiser serve as executive producers for WWE. The Miz and Maryse are also executive producers.
Raw rating for 01/27/2020
The post-Royal Rumble Raw drew an average of 2,402,000 viewers, just an increase of 22,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. Last year’s post-Rumble show drew over 2.7 million viewers.
Hour one started with 2,541,000 viewers, then followed by 2,441,000 viewers in the second hour, before closing the night with 2,224,000 viewers for the third and final hour.
The show was #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #15 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Three matches announced for tonight’s Dynamite live from Cleveland
All Elite Wrestling’s Dynamite will be held at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio tonight with the arena largely sold. The show returns live after last week it was taped the day before on the Jericho cruise.
Three matches have been announced so far, including Cody vs Kip Sabian, The Young Bucks vs The Butcher and The Blade, and a six-man tag team match featuring Chris Jericho, Santana, and Ortiz vs Private Party and Darby Allin.
Next week, Dynamite is live from the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Dusty Classic finals and new #1 contender for NXT title set for tonight’s broadcast
The final match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament takes place tonight on NXT on USA Network with Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne taking on Grizzled Young Veterans. The winner of the tournament will face The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team titles at Takeover: Portland next month as well.
Speaking of titles, Adam Cole’s challenger for the NXT title will be revealed tonight by NXT General Manager William Regal. Triple H noted on Saturday during a live Facebook broadcast following Worlds Collide that Regal is working on an “epic match” for the champion at Takeover: Portland.
The only other match so far announced for tonight is Tegan Nox taking on Dakota Kai, most likely their first in a couple of battles between the two.
Charlotte Flair is also set to appear on the show with rumors flying around that she will challenge for the NXT title currently held by Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania.
Brock Lesnar confronts Matt Riddle backstage at the Rumble
Over the past few days there have been several rumors of an altercation backstage between WWE champion Brock Lesnar and NXT’s Matt Riddle, an altercation which took place on Sunday at the Royal Rumble.
Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet.com was the first one to report the story during the show and it was then later confirmed by other sources. Riddle has been pretty much picking on Lesnar online for the past few months and once said that probably Lesnar doesn’t even know who he is.
But the champ did know who he is and he didn’t take the online antics very lightly. According to TalkSport, which got information on the altercation from someone who was there, it was Lesnar who found Riddle and “grabbed his shoulder to get his attention,” telling the former MMA fighter that he might as well stop bringing his name up in shit because the two “will never work together.” Apparently, the conversation was pretty much one way and Riddle didn’t get the chance to even reply or say something. There was no physicality involved and Lesnar said his stuff and walked away while Riddle was described as being “his usual, cool, and composed self.”
Riddle did something similar to Goldberg and the two eventually crossed paths backstage at SummerSlam last year with WWE cameras being on hand to capture the moment. Goldberg, like Lesnar, wasn’t particularly thrilled either but was professional while Riddle kept saying “bro” at anything Goldberg was saying.
Scott Steiner and others added to TNA: There’s No Place Like Home event
Impact Wrestling added a few more names to the TNA: There’s No Place Like Home special which will take place during WrestleCon in Ybor City at WrestleMania weekend.
Chris Sabin, Chris Harris, Petey Williams, Amazing Red, and Scott Steiner are the latest names to join D’Lo Brown and Ken Anderson for this one night only show.
Sabin worked for the company between 2003 and 2014 and was part of the popular Motor City Machine Guns tag team. He was also a TNA World champion during his time there. Harris had two stints with Impact, first between 2002 and 2008 and the other between 2010 and 2011. He was part of America’s Most Wanted with James Storm. Petey Williams formed part of Team Canada and worked there between 2004 and 2009 and then between 2013 and 2014. He eventually returned again to Impact in 2017 where he still forms part of the roster. Amazing Red worked for TNA between 2002 and 2003 and then for another year between 2004 and 2005. He returned in 2009 and lasted two more years till 2011. He won the X-Division title three times during his different stints. Scott Steiner certainly needs no introduction and is another major name added to the show. He worked for TNA between 2006 and 2010 and then from 2011 to 2012. Over the past few years he also made several appearances for the promotion and lately wrestles for the NWA.
There’s No Place Like Home is on Friday, April 3 at The Ritz Ybor.
Nikki and Brie Bella pregnant!
PEOPLE.COM is reporting that both Nikki and Brie Bella are pregnant and they’re due only a week and a half apart. This will be Nikki’s first child and Brie’s second.
“Wait, twins being pregnant at the same time? People are going to think that’s a joke. We both are shocked. People are going to think we planned it, but you can’t really plan pregnancy,” Brie told PEOPLE.
“[It was] a total surprise,” Nikki adds. “It took even me a good week to come to terms with like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m pregnant.’ I’m not ready for it.”
Nikki’s desire to have a baby is well known and it was the major reason why she and WWE Superstar John Cena split up after Cena changed his mind several times about having a kid. Meanwhile, Brie said that she and husband Daniel Bryan have been trying for seven or eight months but were unsuccessful.
“I felt in my heart it was a sign from God, like, ‘You guys are good with one,’ so we stopped trying,” says Brie. “When we were in France meeting Artem’s family, I felt a little off. I was irritated and uncomfortable in my body. When we got home, I took a test two days before Thanksgiving, and when I saw the positive sign, I was like, ‘Oh, shit’“
Nikki said she and her partner Artem weren’t really trying but had a feeling she got pregnant. “I was in yoga, and I kept getting this feeling that you need to take a pregnancy test, but I wasn’t even late yet,” says Nikki. “And so I’m like, ‘Why do I keep having this feeling? Am I getting twin vibes from her? Because she just told me she’s pregnant?’“
Congratulations to the twins!
Reigns and The New Day guests on tonight’s WWE Backstage from Miami
WWE Backstage will be a little bit different tonight as rather than taping from the FOX Sports Studios in Los Angeles, the show will be “on the road” in Miami, the site of this weekend’s Super Bowl.
Held at Lummus Park in South Beach with tapings scheduled for a 7:30PM start time, the show will have Renee Young, Booker T, Paige, and Christian on the panel with Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods, and Roman Reigns as the special guests.
If you want to go, tickets are free and can be requested at 1iota.com/Event/71031/Request. The show will air on FS1 at 11PM ET.
Randy Orton spoils Edge’s homecoming on Raw with vicious attack
WWE Hall of Famer Edge will be wrestling throughout the year and while he won’t have a full-time schedule, the Rated R Superstar will be a part of major shows going forward, including WrestleMania.
Edge, who made a surprise return at the Royal Rumble on Sunday, was viciously attacked by his former tag team partner Randy Orton last night on Raw following an emotional interview. Orton RKO’d Edge and then teased jumping from the middle rope as Edge’s head was wedged between the steel chair. Orton looked like he changed his mind but then returned and hit Edge with the Conchairto as the audience looked on in total shock.
Prior to turning on his friend, Orton suggested that Rated RKO should team up one more time, a suggestion which got a big approval from the crowd.
During the segment, Edge said that he worked his ass off so he could return and end his career on his own terms. His first one-on-one match is expected against Orton at WrestleMania 36.
WWE Network cameras were following Edge all day at the Rumble to prepare a documentary.
You can see Orton’s attack on Edge, which already has over 1.2 million views on YouTube, below.
Charlotte Flair on NXT tomorrow, rumored to challenge for NXT title at WrestleMania
PWInsider.com is reporting that Charlotte Flair will be in Winter Park, Florida tomorrow and expected to be part of the NXT show on USA Network at Full Sail University.
The word going around is that Flair will be actually challenging Rhea Ripley for the NXT title at WrestleMania 36 following her Royal Rumble win. There are rumors that the plan is for Becky Lynch to wrestle Shayna Baszler at WrestleMania and Bayley’s opponent is still not decided.
Winners of the Royal Rumble can challenge for any title they want and if Flair goes for the NXT title it would be the first time that a Rumble winner opts to challenge for a title on the yellow brand. Flair appeared on Raw yesterday and said that she will be challenging “for a championship” but did not say which one as she said she’s still thinking about it.
Flair is a one-time NXT Women’s champion, winning a tournament final in May 2014 against Natalya at NXT Takeover. She lost it to Sasha Banks at Takeover: Rival in February 2015 in a fatal four-way match which also included Bayley and Becky Lynch.
WrestleMania 36 Axxess ticket details and other information
Tickets for this year’s WrestleMania Axxess will go on sale Friday, February 7 at 10AM ET on Ticketmaster.com. A ticket pre-sale will run from Wednesday, February 5 at 10AM ET to Thursday, February 6 at 11:59PM ET using the code DOTCOM.
The multi-day fan convention will take place at the Tampa Convention Center between Thursday, April 2 and Monday, April 6. On Thursday there will be one session from 6PM to 10PM. On Friday, there will be two sessions, one from 1PM to 5PM and one from 6PM to 10PM. On Saturday, three sessions will take place, one from 8AM to Noon, one from 1PM to 5PM, and one from 6PM to 10PM. Day four of Axxess will have one session on Sunday between 8AM and Noon and then the last day on Monday will have from 1PM to 5PM.
Ticket prices are $55 for General Admission, $125 for Platinum, and $190 for Platinum+. Platinum tickets will include an autograph and professional photo with a Platinum-assigned WWE Superstar, different line at event entrance, and one 8×10 glossy photo. Platinum+ include an autograph and professional photo with a Platinum+-assigned WWE Superstar, different line at event entrance, and one 8×10 glossy photo.
For the first time ever, WWE will also offer the WrestleMania Axxess Fast Pass for $350. Fast Pass includes front of the line access at all General Admission Superstar photo and autograph areas. Limited number of tickets are available per session.
Tom Phillips to lead Monday Night Raw broadcast team
Tom Phillips has replaced Vic Joseph as the lead commentator on Monday Night Raw and started his role officially yesterday along with Jerry “The King” Lawler and Byron Saxton. Saxton is not confirmed for the full-time position and could change.
Phillips worked the Saturday Worlds Collide WWE Network event, replacing Mauro Ranallo who had other commitments and also did commentary for the Raw side at the Royal Rumble. He was the lead commentator of Smackdown until the show moved to FOX, losing his spot to Michael Cole.
Following his removal from Smackdown, the 30-year-old then started doing commentary work for NXT UK and worked one Smackdown on FOX when all the rest of the crew were trapped in Saudi Arabia.
The Philadelphia native is well liked among his peers and many were surprised that he didn’t get the Raw job when he was removed from Smackdown.
Vic Joseph remains employed by the company but it’s unclear where his next spot will be.