Impact Wrestling today announced the 2019 Year End Awards, a fan-voted awards show honoring the best athletes and moments of the year which returns for its second consecutive year. Hosted by lead commentator Josh Mathews and Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore, the awards will be handed out on two special episodes of IMPACT! on AXS TV, airing Saturday, Dec. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The 2019 IMPACT! Year End Awards will honor wrestlers in the following categories: Wrestler of the Year, Moment of the Year, Knockout of the Year, X-Division Star of the Year, Tag Team of the Year, Finishing Move of the Year, Match of the Year and One to Watch in 2020. Fans can vote now on the recently-redesigned ImpactWrestling.com website. Voting ends Sunday, Dec. 8.
The end-of-year IMPACT! episodes will also look back at this past year in IMPACT Wrestling with special clips, interviews and match highlights from 2019.
IMPACT! will return to its regular Tuesday primetime schedule Jan. 7 ahead of Hard To Kill Sunday, Jan. 12 live from the Bomb Factory in Dallas. Tickets for Hard To Kill are available here.
All Elite Wrestling remains in the state of Illinois for tonight’s Dynamite broadcast with the show live from the State Farm Center in Champaign.
Four matches have been announced for tonight’s broadcast including The Young Bucks and Dustin Rhodes vs Santana, Ortiz, and Sammy Guevara, Jon Moxley vs Joey Janela, Pentagon Jr vs Christopher Daniels, and Trent vs Fenix.
AEW will try to recover from last week’s second defeat to NXT in viewership and with NXT not benefitting from a post-PPV bump, viewership is most likely to be closer this time than last week.
Monday Night Raw drew 2,208,000 viewers this week, up 99,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. This was the most-watched Raw since the October 21 episode.
The first hour drew 2,418,000 viewers, followed by 2,279,000 viewers in the second hour, before dropping to 1,928,000 viewers in the third and final hour. The night was dominated by ESPN and the NFL with their broadcast getting 14 million viewers.
Raw was #4, #5, and #6 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #11 in the overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Looking at the situation surrounding Seth Rollins in the last few months, WWE is finally springing into action and turning him heel. “Finally” is the appropriate word too, considering Rollins’ fall from grace in the public this year.
At WWE Raw and Survivor Series, fans showed their disdain for Rollins, and it was loud and clear. Some may argue that the WWE has played a long game and timed Rollins’ heel turn perfectly, setting it up now that fan hatred is at an all-time high.
However, it’s just as easy to argue that the heel turn is long overdue, and WWE dropped the ball. Either way, whether you’re waiting for the next WWE RAW playing NetBet blackjack, watching YouTube, or counting the days, it seems Rollins will be pushing a heel character at that event.
Truth is, Rollins has been the biggest heel in the company for some time, despite hilariously actually being the WWE’s babyface. Sure, good guys in wrestling divide opinion and many fans hate a babyface, just ask John Cena and Roman Reigns. But while those two superstars embraced their persona, Rollins has stirred controversy away from the Squared Circle.
Following a summer of mishaps, The Architect is probably the most hated wrestler in the WWE and possibly in the sport. Over months, the booking and writing around Rollins did not reflect that hatred as the company pressed on with its babyface push for the superstar.
Of course, Rollins knows he is a villain in the eyes of fans, but his fall has nonetheless been interesting. In case you don’t know what has pushed him into becoming persona non grata amongst fans, here’s Rollin’s rap sheet:
Irked fans and fellow pros by claiming WWE had the best wrestling on the planet
New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Will Ospreay responded and argued with Rollins
Rollins antagonized Ospreay and later ended up apologizing
He later attacked fans over his relationship with Becky Lynch, saying they were jealous of him because they had a crush on Lynch
Criticized Brock Lesnar saying he is not a role model to kids
Some of those are worse than others. Certainly, Rollins as the babyface of the WWE would naturally stick up for the company and call it the best. He would also likely mock Lesnar considering both are kayfabe rivals in the company.
Speaking of kayfabe, it is worth noting Rollins has previously said he stays in character in all public settings. Even if he was playing the arrogant bad guy, he took it a step too far by mocking fans over his relationship with Lynch.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect is how quickly it has fallen apart for Rollins as the babyface. Just a year ago, fans were all over him and desperately wanted The Architect to take the Universal Championship from Lesnar. So much so, a petition was started to make that happen. Rollins was also a rare thing in the WWE, a babyface who was actively loved by fans.
Those days are long gone, which makes this ongoing heel turn make plenty of sense.
Raw announcer Dio Maddin will not be returning to the broadcast booth as he will be reporting back to the WWE Performance Center to continue his journey training to be a professional wrestler.
Maddin was on the receiving end of an F5 by Brock Lesnar on the Raw announcers table last month when he stood up for Jerry “The King” Lawler and that was the last time he was on the show. On Backstage last night on FS1, Ryan Satin said that Maddin’s desire is still be a WWE Superstar and decided to head back to Orlando rather than be stuck behind the desk calling Raw.
Raw has gone to a two-man booth over the past couple of weeks but Samoa Joe will now be taking the third spot temporarily until he is officially cleared to return from the broken thumb injury.
It’s unclear who will take the spot permanently once Joe is medically cleared to compete.
WWE confirmed last night on Backstage that John Morrison has signed a new multi-year deal with WWE and will be returning to the company soon.
The news that Morrison landed a new contract with WWE was actually reported by PWInsider.com two months ago but neither WWE nor Morrison himself ever confirmed the news.
After the announcement on Backstage, Morrison tweeted, “Confirmed. I have signed with @WWE – I’ve never been as good at anything as I am at wrestling & I can’t wait to stand again in a #WWE ring opposite the most talented people in the business.”
CM Punk, a Backstage analyst, replied to the tweet and joked that Will Ospreay is in New Japan, a dig at Morrison’s “most talented” line.
Morrison, real name John Hennigan, worked for WWE between 2002 and 2011, starting at Tough Enough, then developmental at Ohio Valley Wrestling, before debuting on the main roster with Joey Mercury as MNM. He won the ECW World title, Intercontinental title three times, and the Tag Team titles five times during his first stint.
Following his departure from WWE, Morrison joined Lucha Underground and also wrestled for Lucha Libre AAA before joining Impact Wrestling in 2017. He won the Impact World title once and at Lucha Underground won several titles as well as in AAA.
WWE Backstage will welcome Seth Rollins to the show tonight as the special guest but a notable miss will be CM Punk, who for the second week in a row will not be on the show.
Punk confirmed that he will not be in Los Angeles for Backstage tonight when replying to a tweet asking him if he will be there since Rollins will be the guest. “Nah. Hard pass. Next week though,” Punk said, adding that his presence on the show is “90% sure.”
Rollins was the first one to challenge Punk when he signed on to be an analyst on Backstage last month. FOX has previously said that Punk would not be on the show every week.
Also tonight on Backstage will be Arrow star Stephen Amell who will be part of the promo school segment. Backstage airs tonight on FS1 at 11PM ET.
PWInsider.com has confirmed that former WWE creative writer Chris DeJoseph is returning to WWE in a similar role nine years after he left the promotion.
DeJoseph, who sometimes appeared on WWE television as Big Dick Johnson, worked for WWE between 2004 and 2010 and then went on to co-create Lucha Underground for The El Rey Network and just recently was the Co-Executive Producer of Major League Wrestling TV.
Apart from his work in professional wrestling, DeJoseph also worked on several reality TV shows during his time away from WWE including as story producer on Redneck Island and Flipping Vegas, consulting producer on American Grit, and senior producer on Celebrity Big Brother, Big Brother, and Paradise Hotel.
PWInsider says that DeJoseph left MLW yesterday, a month after he agreed to join the promotion.
In Demand, one of the leading PPV providers, announced that it has signed a deal with All Elite Wrestling that guarantees In Demand a minimum of one PPV event per quarter through June 2021.
“We’re huge fans of AEW’s exciting wrestling talent and events, and are pleased to partner with them as they continue to build their audience, marketing and distribution,” said Mark Boccardi, In Demand’s SVP, Programming & Marketing. “This commitment from AEW demonstrates that our programming partners see the value in a long-term relationship with In Demand, and with the pay- per-view platform itself. We’re able to offer our content partners the largest distribution reach in the PPV business, as well as customized marketing and promotional support.”
AEW President Tony Khan said that their pay-per-views are the best shows in wrestling and In Demand is the perfect PPV partner. “With In Demand’s vast reach and connectivity, we’ll be able to bring all of our AEW pay-per-view shows into the homes of wrestling fans throughout North America.”
Moringa Oleifera, or more commonly known as “malunggay” among Filipinos, is not always present in our usual meals, with a handful of people not even having heard of the wonderful vegetable yet. But malunggay contains a lot of nutrients and has many uses aside from being a meal ingredient, so it definitely deserves more recognition.
This vegetable can be used in various soup dishes, salads, bread, and also on bath products such as hair fall shampoos and conditioners. It has also been medically proven that moringa can help treat a number of ailments. In fact, it is often used in feeding programs organized by the Philippine government.
That said, let’s explore the wonders of this versatile vegetable.
Moringa in Food
The dry leaves of moringa can be powdered to be used in making seasoning sauces. In young plants, the roots can be extracted, dried, and ground, to be used as a hot seasoning base, which tastes horseradish. Furthermore, you can also blanch its flowers or keep them raw, and sprinkle them onto various salad dishes for an extra boost of flavor.
Its leaves can be added to almost any dish, but in the Philippines, you may notice it being common mostly in halaan (clam soup) and ginataang malunggay.Corn soupcan also be cooked with malunggay leaves, along with other healthy ingredients. Malunggay bread rolls, more known as malunggay pandesal, are also sold widely in the country.
Moringa in Cosmetics
Moringa oil is used in many types of cosmetics. Its makeup is similar to the oils that our skins produce naturally, so it’s suited for all skin types. It also doesn’t sit on the skin when applied, but rather absorbed, so it won’t clog pores.
The moisturizing properties of the vegan moisturizer also make it beneficial for people with dry and sensitive skin. In addition, Moringa oil can also act as the skin’s barrier against dirt and pollution in the air. It also keeps our skins hydrated.
Moringa oil skincare products can also be used to treat acne. The oil has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties that can combat acne-causing skin conditions.
In hair care products, moringa oil can moisturize the scalp and aid in better hair growth and strength. Meanwhile, adding moringa oil in makeup products can help extend the shelf-life of the products, because it prevents oxidation of other oils.
Moringa in Medicine
Moringa can be used as dietary supplements in powder or capsule form. Its leaves can also be used to relieve headaches, gastric ulcers, fungal skin conditions, diarrhea, and minor cuts. Malnutrition can also be alleviated with moringa leaves.
Moringa pods, meanwhile, can be used for de-worming, treating liver and spleen issues, and easing joint pain. Its seeds are also effective in treating a couple of musculoskeletal conditions, boils, urinary tract issues, and it can also soothe epileptic patients.
Proven Benefits of Moringa
Moringa has full of vitamins and antioxidants that help fight and prevent many diseases. A cup of freshly-sliced pods already contains 157% of the required daily dose of vitamin C, and 1.5 tsp. of moringa leaf powder can raise blood antioxidant levels. In addition, the same amount of moringa leaf powder can reduce blood sugar levels. High cholesterol levels can also be lowered with frequent consumption of moringa.
Arsenic poisoning, which can happen when one’s food gets contaminated with Arsenic, can also be treated by consuming moringa leaves and seeds. Long-term exposure to arsenic is also known to potentially cause cancer and heart disease, but research has suggested that moringa can protect against the harmful effects of arsenic.
Based on everything stated, moringa or malunggay has indeed plenty of wonders, and should, therefore, be more recognized and appreciated. It also doesn’t have any unpleasant taste, making it a perfect option for picky children’s meals.
Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet.com is reporting that Mauro Ranallo will be back behind the desk at NXT tomorrow night on USA Network following a one week absence.
Ranallo missed last week’s NXT and the Survivor Series pay-per-view after getting offended by Corey Graves’ tweet that was sent during the NXT Takeover: WarGames event. Graves took a couple of digs at Ranallo and then said that the commentary team includes a former ROH champion and a Hall of Famer so they will have something interesting to offer, leaving Ranallo out of the equation.
Graves eventually apologized to Ranallo during the After The Bell podcast last week and said that it was only part of the storyline that he was trying to advance and had no intention of disrespecting anyone.
Ranallo also deactivated his Twitter account and it remains deactivated at time of this writing.
Total Divas returns with episode nine of season nine tonight on E! with an episode titled Hawaiian Punch.
The synopsis for tonight’s broadcast reads, “After leaving it all in the ring for her last match with the WWE, Ronda is excited to move on to the next chapter of her life and start trying for a baby with her husband, Travis Browne, but when other plans get in the way, their much-needed baby-making time gets put on hold. After finally laying her dad’s ashes to rest in NYC, Natalya is surprised that the Bellas are able to join her on a relaxing girls trip to Hawaii with Sonya, Carmella and Liv Morgan. But when tensions start to rise between Sonya and Natalya, what was supposed to be a peaceful vacay turns into a drama fest. Meanwhile, Carmella is forced to come face-to-face with Nicole for the first time since Nia stirred the pot.”
The second guest of Stone Cold Steve Austin on the Broken Skull Sessions WWE Network series is none other than former WCW and Universal champion Goldberg.
The episode, taped in Los Angeles on Austin’s ranch, will premiere on Sunday, December 15 immediately following the conclusion of the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view.
While the first episode with The Undertaker ran close to two hours, it’s not known how long this will go for. Goldberg will surely make for an interesting guest as he was often referred to as an Austin clone when he started in WCW. The two never had a one-on-one match and rarely were in the ring together apart from when Austin refereed the Goldberg vs Lesnar match at WrestleMania XX.
As has been pointed out numerous times on this site, the popularity of pro wrestling betting has risen in recent years. One of the reasons for the surge in popularity, perhaps surprisingly, is technology. Essentially, bookmakers were put off in the past of offering wrestling odds due to a fear of being pummelled by punters who acquire some inside information. But the tech and speed of communications is so fast now the sportsbooks can quickly suspend the markets if anything leaks.
Anyway, we had a look at where the sportsbooks are finding an interest over the coming year, and below we have listed what looks the most interesting:
CM Punk is One of the Favorites to Win the Men’s Royal Rumble
There are two clear favorites with William Hill for the 2020 Royal Rumble: Roman Reigns at 7/2 (+350) and CM Punk at 9/2 (+450). Everyone else is way out behind in double figures. Punk’s potential return has been discussed to death, of course, and we aren’t going to go into that too deeply. However, we would be cautious about this one, as often bookmakers can set the prices of these kind of betting lines without really having any more insight than the rest of us.
Ronda Rousey Looks a Great Pick for the Women’s Royal Rumble
It’s almost certain that Ronda Rousey goes back to WWE at some point, and that makes SkyBet’s 7/2 odds for the former UFC champion to win the Royal Rumble look pretty decent. The bookies are also hot on Kari Sane, Shayna Baszler, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair, all of whom are 10/1 or below. However, the logic seems to be that if Rousey is in the match, she wins it. Those odds will tumble if her participation is confirmed.
Bookmakers Simply Adore Tyson Fury
Tyson Fury is quite the showman. And, as a consequence, he tends to draw a lot of interest from bookmakers. It’s not just wrestling, of course: Free bets, tips and promos for his boxing events can be found at sites like https://www.freebets.co.uk/sports/boxing/. As for his nascent WWE career, Betway have several special markets: 7/2 he enters the Royal Rumble, 5/1 he holds any WWE title throughout the year, 25/1 to headline WrestleMania and 50/1 to win the Rumble.
Nobody Has a Clue Who Will Headline WrestleMania
SkyBet has plumped for Roman Reigns vs The Rock has the favorite for WrestleMania main event status. But the odds of 10/1, plus the raft of other matches cited at similar relatively close odds, suggests that nobody really has an inkling. Interestingly, SkyBet, who also list CM Punk as the second favorite for the Royal Rumble, don’t have him listed anywhere in their markets to headline WrestleMania. That really doesn’t add up, and it backs up our assertion that you should always take wrestling odds with a grain of salt.
Interesting Suggestions for Men’s Money in the Bank
Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar were the last three holders of the Money in the Bank contract. Fine choices, perhaps, but not exactly creative. The list of favorites from William Hill is arguably a bit more intriguing, with Velveteen Dream, Adam Cole, Finn Balor and Big E all listed at 10/1 or under. The fact Big E is included is particularly interesting, as it has been rumored for a while that he is due a big singles push. Seth Rollins is also among the favorites, but we will reserve judgement until we see how his recent heel turn plays out.
AEW’s Dynamite pulled off its worse number to date, registering only 663,000 viewers last Wednesday, losing 230,000 viewers compared to the previous week. The show was #15 in the top 50 chart among the 18-49 demographic, getting a 0.26 rating, just 0.02 more than NXT. While last week the difference in viewership was of just 70,000 viewers, this week NXT beat AEW by 147,000 viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Coming off a strong Takeover and the Survivor Series pay-per-view, NXT registered its second win in a row in the ratings, getting 810,000 viewers, down 153,000 viewers from the previous week. The show was #19 in the top 50 chart among the 18-49 demographic, getting a 0.24 rating. This was the first time that NXT beat AEW without the help of Raw and Smackdown Superstars appearing on the show. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
It is being reported that Charlotte Flair and Andrade have trademarked four names associated with their wrestling personas and they have registered them as individuals.
Charlotte filed to trademark the name Ashley Flair and The Queen of Wrestling. Charlotte’s real name is Ashley so it made sense to trademark that one. Meanwhile, her real-life boyfriend Andrade trademarked the names La Sombra and El Idolo. All four applications were filed under apparel and entertainment services on November 27.
What’s interesting is that both of them used the services of attorney at https://www.tomkileylaw.com/ , the same attorney who helped Cody file for several personal trademarks including Bash at the Beach, Dusty Rhodes, and others.
Arrow star Stephen Amell will be appearing on WWE Backstage on FS1 tomorrow night in the promo school segment.
The huge wrestling fan has a WWE match under his belt when he teamed with Neville to take on Stardust and Wade Barrett at SummerSlam 2015. He is big friends with Cody Rhodes and that led to him also teaming up with The Elite at a Ring of Honor show in 2017 and wrestled Christopher Daniels at the All In pay-per-view.
The Hollywood star will be starring in a new television series based on professional wrestling called Heels which will air on Starz.
During the latest episode of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia, former NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa revealed that he informed WWE that he doesn’t want to go to Raw and Smackdown and if he’s forced to move, he will end his career and transition to a producer or coach at the WWE Performance Center instead.
Ciampa explained that his body won’t be able to do the travel that the main roster schedule demands and he does not want to stay away from his family either so staying in NXT is the only option for him. Ciampa said that Shawn Michaels was amused that he and Gargano refused to move, saying that he never met someone turning down more money to stay where they are.
The 34-year-old officially joined NXT in April 2016 after first making his debut there eight months earlier. Ever since then, he and his on-and-off tag team partner Johnny Gargano have been staples in the NXT brand. Ciampa was out for seven months due to neck surgery earlier this month, returning in October defying the odds of an early return.
Here are the results from last night’s Starrcade 2019 event, held at the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Georgia.
Seth Rollins defeated Erick Rowan; Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental title; The Street Profits defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson; Asuka and Kairi Sane defeated Sasha Banks and Bayley, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, and Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss in a fatal four-way match to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles; Bobby Lashley defeated Kevin Owens via disqualification; Aleister Black defeated Andrade; Ricochet defeated Andrade; Randy Orton defeated AJ Styles; Roman Reigns defeated King Corbin; The Fiend Bray Wyatt defeated Braun Strowman in a steel cage match to retain the Universal title.
There was also a Kevin Owens Show segment with the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Owens also substituted Rusev in his match against Lashley after Lana said she had a restraining order against Rusev in Duluth. Rusev showed up during the match and attacked Lashley, causing the DQ ending.
