Monday Night Raw this week drew an average of 2,271,000 viewers for the post-Clash of Champions episode, up 142,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast.
Hour one started with 2,417,000 viewers, followed by 2,319,000 viewers in the second hour, before dropping to 2,079,000 viewers for the third and final hour. The NFL game on ESPN did 11,800,000 viewers head-to-head with Raw.
Raw was #5, #6, and #7 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #10 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
It’s a big day for NXT today as the brand makes its debut on USA Network tonight at 8PM ET with a new, two-hour weekly episode.
The first two episodes, tonight and next week, will air on both USA Network and WWE Network. USA Network will tackle the first hour of the show and then it moves to the WWE Network for the second hour. The change is due to USA Network airing the final two episodes of their original series Suits.
But starting October 2, USA Network will air the full two-hour shows every week in head-to-head competition with AEW on TNT. Triple H said in a recent interview that in the first two weeks, the company will give a “taste” of what NXT is but come October 2, fans will really get to experience what NXT is all about.
NXT became the third brand to have a high-profile television deal and while the rights for NXT were far lower than Raw and Smackdown, the two-hour primetime time slot on USA Network puts it on par with the other red and blue brands in terms of television audience.
Triple H will head up the NXT production team along with the usual people and no changes are expected for now. The show will continue to air live from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Beth Phoenix will provide commentary every week.
Speaking to the wrestling media ahead of tonight’s NXT debut on USA Network, Triple H discussed what will make him happy in terms of viewership once the numbers come in.
He said that he’s not necessarily looking at the numbers but he’s rather interested in the long haul what it does. Triple H said that this is about building another brand, another franchise, and it took them two years to get to USA Network and now is the right time for them to be on a bigger platform. He wants to see a great show week in, week out, building on each other. “I will be happy if the show is great and if talent has great performances,” he said.
The only time that NXT aired on USA Network was two years ago in December as part of WWE Week during the Christmas period and that night the show did just over 800,000 viewers. Triple H said that the brand has changed since then and that show had zero promotion so this time is different. “I will be happy if we did more than last time,” Triple H quipped.
HHH also discussed NXT UK talent crossing the pond to appear on NXT. Triple H explained that several UK talent will help raise awareness of NXT UK by coming over from time to time for a storyline and then heading back to the UK to continue their work there. He specifically mentioned Walter, Tyler Bate, Toni Storm, and Piper Niven.
WWE has announced that Starrcade will be returning once again this year, with the show taking place on Sunday, December 1 from the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Georgia.
WWE brought back the former WCW pay-per-view three years ago and used it as a “special” live event but it wasn’t televised. This year, the WWE Network will join in-progress live for an hour, similar to what they have done for The Shield’s final run and the Nashville special from a few months ago. For those watching on the Network, the Starrcade special will kick off at 6:30PM ET.
Tickets for this show go on sale on Friday, September 27 at 10AM ET at AXS.COM. Advertised so far for the 2019 Starrcade are Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Becky Lynch.
The previous two Starrcade events took place from the Greensboro and Cincinnati. The state of Georgia hosted four previous NWA/WCW Starrcades, all held in Atlanta, in 1985, 1986, 1989, and 1992.
It’s been a week of returns at WWE as Brock Lesnar made a surprise appearance on Smackdown last night, taking out WWE champion Kofi Kingston after his advocate Paul Heyman notified him that his client will be receiving a title shot on October 4.
Lesnar has not been seen since SummerSlam when he lost the Universal title to Seth Rollins. It was Heyman who talked, telling Kofi after The New Day’s six-man tag match against Orton and The Revival that Brock issued a challenge for the title and he’d like to have it on the Smackdown FOX debut.
Kingston accepted Heyman’s request and Brock’s title challenge but Lesnar then attacked Kofi, taking him out with the F5.
Lesnar was advertised for the FOX debut but his role was never specified. He has not wrestled on free TV in 15 years as WWE keeps Brock’s matches at select major-market non-televised live events and pay-per-views and a Network special here and there.
Big Cass issued an apology over his behavior this past weekend at the WrestlePro event which was the farewell for Pat Buck.
Cass got involved in several backstage alterations and ended up spitting in Buck’s face. Buck, who just signed with WWE as a producer, knocked Cass out with a punch before police were called in to eject the former WWE Superstar.
“I have been very honest with my past struggles, and it has been an ongoing battle. On Saturday night, I obviously let my demons get the better of me and I ruined an important night for a really great guy in an unfortunate series of events. I have worked incredibly hard to get where I am, and even harder to overcome my ongoing battle with depression,” Cass wrote in a statement released on Enzo Amore’s Twitter account.
“But I will work my absolute hardest to right the wrongs of Saturday night and apologize to Kevin Mathews, Pat Buck, Joey Janela, the entire WrestlePro locker room and all parties involved from the bottom of my heart. I’m getting help from family and friends as we speak and will be getting professional help in the near future and ask all to please respect my privacy in the meantime,” Cass continued.
He closed his apology by saying that when and if he reemerges as a public figure, it will be in good faith and he hopes to inspire those who struggle with the same mental health issues he does to seek the help they need.
“If Tyson Fury can do it…so can I. Remember…I ain’t dead yet. And neither are you. Peace and love, William Patrick Morrissey III.”
WWE had its second return in a week as Rusev made an appearance on Monday Night Raw, his first one since the Super ShowDown pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia back in June.
Rusev had been out of action from WWE since mid-May and after his one-night appearance in Saudi, he once again went on sabbatical along with his wife Lana, who also hasn’t been on WWE television for several months.
Rusev, sporting a new look, was revealed as the father of Maria Kanellis’ baby boy. He quickly defeated Mike Kanellis in his first match back. Earlier, Maria named Ricochet as the father of the baby during the gender reveal party hosted by The Street Profits. Mike slapped Ricochet and challenged him to a match, a match which Ricochet won in a very quick manner. Maria then came out and said that she named Ricochet only to rile up her husband before revealing Rusev as the father.
It was a not so happy return for the Big Red Machine Kane last night on Monday Night Raw which took place from the city he’s the mayor of – Knoxville, Tennessee.
The day for Mayor Glenn Jacobs started when he met R-Truth and Carmella at The University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium. “Don’t I know you?” said Truth, before guessing he’s Larry Bird! Jacobs invited Truth for a tour of historic Knoxville in his limo. At the stadium, Truth kept referring to Jacobs as the President and then Jacobs introduced a cop, who turned out to be another referee. As Truth tried to escape, he knocked himself out after hitting the post and Jacobs covered for the win. “I still got it,” chanted Jacobs as he exited with the title.
When Jacobs arrived at the arena for Raw in his limo, Truth was laying on top of the moving car. “Man it is great to be back on Monday Night Raw,” Jacobs exclaimed. At that point, Truth came down from the top of the limo and rolled him up for the three count to regain the title. Jacobs was going to transform into Kane, grabbing Truth by the neck but Truth talked his way out and the two walked together inside the arena.
But the night did not end there for Jacobs. During the main event, Seth Rollins found himself taking on AJ Styles, Robert Roode, Dolph Ziggler, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows when all of a sudden Kane’s music hit the speakers and out came Demon Kane for a big pop from the crowd. Kane took out all the heels, chokeslamming all three members of The OC in the process.
But as he was going to light up the ring post fireworks, The Fiend’s special effects came on, with the arena turning off section by section and then the music until it was all lights out. When the spotlight came back on, The Fiend was standing behind Kane and he took him down with the Mandible Claw for a memorable ending.
The two Hell In A Cell matches this year will both go to the Raw brand, one featuring the men for the Universal title and one featuring the women for the Raw title.
The number one contender for the Universal title is The Fiend, news which was actually announced a few weeks ago by the Golden 1 Center, the site of HIAC. Wyatt was going to take on the winner of Rollins/Strowman and it was Rollins who came out of Clash of Champions with the title. The Fiend attacked Rollins at the end of the pay-per-view and continued his mind games on Raw with some creepy, creepy segments.
The other match is Becky Lynch defending the Raw Women’s title against Sasha Banks. Banks won the Clash of Champions match via disqualification so that meant Becky kept her title. This will be the first time that Becky Lynch steps inside the steel structure but it will be Sasha’s second, as she and Charlotte Flair main evented the 2016 HIAC pay-per-view with the first-ever women’s HIAC match.
Baron Corbin became the 12th King of the Ring winner last night on Raw after he defeated Chad Gable in the 2019 final.
The former NXT star beat The Miz, Cedric Alexander, and Samoa Joe and Ricochet to advance to the final match and successfully beat Gable via his End of Days finishing move to get the victory.
He now joins the list of Superstars such as Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Booker T and others as King of the Ring.
The tournament has been absent from WWE television since 2015 and Bad News Barrett was the last one to wear the crown.
The official coronation and celebration will be held on Smackdown tonight.
LOS ANGELES – AXS TV announced today the broadcast premiere of LUCHA INVADES NY, presented by Lucha Libre AAA and IMPACT Wrestling from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, on Friday, Sept. 20 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Showcasing stars from the world’s premier Mexican professional wrestling organization, LUCHA INVADES NY features an impressive roster of leading Mexican and internationally-known Luchadores, showing off the colorful aspect of the wrestlers’ unique masks and outfits, as well as the dramatic, high-flying matches inside the ring.
LUCHA INVADES NY features former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez, as he competes in his second-ever professional wrestling bout, teaming up with IMPACT World Champion Brian Cage and Psycho Clown against Los Mercenarios, the team of Rey Escorpion, Texano Jr. and Taurus.
The AAA World Tag Team Championship will be on the line as the Lucha Brothers, Pentagon Jr. and Fenix, defend against LAX, the team of Santana and Ortiz, in the latest installment of their rivalry which has already produced numerous in-ring classics.
The event will also feature AAA Reina de Reinas (Queen of the Queens) Champion and IMPACT Wrestling star Tessa Blanchard in a defense of her title against former Reina de Reinas Champion and current IMPACT Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie.
Mexican legends Blue Demon Jr. and Rey Wagner will also face off in a no disqualification grudge match.
Lucha Libre AAA returns to U.S. soil on Oct. 13, as the organization hosts INVADING LA at The Forum in Los Angeles, Calif.
The November 20 episode of AEW on TNT will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The recently-renovated arena sits nearly 7,000 fans and is the former home of the Indiana Pacers. This is one of the smallest arenas that AEW will be performing in front of so far. Tickets start at $20 and go on sale this Friday, September 20 at Noon ET at AEWTix.com.
Ticket sales for AEW shows have slowed down lately and many tickets remain available for most of the announced shows, including the Full Gear pay-per-view. The debut episode on TNT set for October 4 has $8 tickets listed on secondary market websites.
The 2019 King of the Ring final match will take place tonight on Monday Night Raw after it was originally scheduled to take place at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
The two men in the final are Baron Corbin from the Raw brand and Chad Gable from the Smackdown brand, two unlikely finalists from a tournament filled with surprises.
Corbin went through The Miz in the first round and then defeated Cedric Alexander in the quarter-final. He wrestled Samoa Joe and Ricochet in a triple threat match in the semi-final, winning that one to advance to the final. Gable defeated his former tag team partner Shelton Benjamin in the first round and then beat Andrade in the quarter-final. He was set to take on Elias in the semi-final but Elias was injured and defeated Shane McMahon instead to reach the final.
The last King of the Ring was crowned in 2015 when Bad News Barrett defeated Neville.
Former Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero is the latest to jump into the podcast game as she is launching a new, weekly podcast titled Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show.
The new podcast will drop every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, and other podcast platforms. It will be co-hosted by podcaster Gerry Strauss.
“From no-holds barred opinions to tales from behind the curtain, Excuse Me: The Vickie Guerrero Show will be the can’t miss platform for the world to get to know the REAL Vickie Guerrero. Part A-list interview show, part personal confessional, part insiders look at her most popular story lines… all brand new revelations from one of the most polarizing personalities in Pro Wrestling history,” reads the preview for the podcast.
Guerrero worked full time for WWE between 2005 and 2014 and now works as a medical administrator. She was one of the participants of the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble last year but lasted less than a minute after many Superstars ganged up on her to throw her out.
Luke Harper made his return on WWE television last night at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view, helping his tag team partner Erick Rowan defeat Roman Reigns.
Harper was last seen at WrestleMania 35 where he participated in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. During that weekend, he also participated in a match against Dominik Dijakovic during WrestleMania Axxess. He had been out of action since the post-SummerSlam 2018 Smackdown where he and Rowan – as The Bludgeon Brothers – lost the Smackdown Tag Team titles to The New Day. During his time away from the ring, he underwent surgery for a torn right bicep and a wrist injury and has been out of action ever since.
In mid-April, Harper publicly requested his WWE release, posting a long note on Twitter. While some of his colleagues were released, his request was denied and not only that, but WWE extended his contract by six months for the time he was injured.
It’s rumored that Harper will team up with Rowan once again to take on Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan in an upcoming WWE pay-per-view.
Here are the results from the Clash of Champions 2019 pay-per-view which took place from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Drew Gulak defeated Humberto Carrillo and Lince Dorado to retain the Cruiserweight title; AJ Styles defeated Cedric Alexander to retain the United States title; Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode defeated Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman to become the new Raw Tag Team champions; Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair to retain the Smackdown Women’s title; The Revival defeated The New Day to become the new Smackdown Tag Team champions; Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defeated Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to retain the Women’s Tag Team titles; Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental title; Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch via disqualification so Lynch retained the Raw Women’s title; Kofi Kingston defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE title; Erick Rowan defeated Roman Reigns with the help of Luke Harper in a no disqualification match; Seth Rollins defeated Braun Strowman to retain the Universal title.
Hey everybody! It’s @TheMagnumDA with another installment of the PPV Pick’em report! Tonight, Colin will continue his miraculous run with the WOPC Championship by defending it at Clash of Champions! Heel Turn Tom and I will try one more time to wrestle away the WOPC Championship from the Editor, and I even included a Bonus at the end to shake things up! This contest will continue into tomorrow night! Without further ado, ON WITH THE PICKS!
WWE Cruiserweight Championship – Triple Threat Match
Drew Gulak (c) vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado
Colin: This is always a hard pick for me because I really don’t follow 205 Live so not sure exactly what’s going on storyline wise. Drew’s been the champ for a while but if they’re going to somewhat integrate this with NXT, if there’s a title change, I think it would be in one of the earlier shows on USA Network. Gulak retains.
Tom: I don’t see them changing the title on this match. This will be a fun kickoff show match with Drew Gulak walking out still the champ.
Magnum: For those of you who’ve had the chance to see Humberto Carrillo in the ring, consider yourselves lucky. The dude can go! Not sure about his haircut, though. Lince and Humberto both deserve this opportunity, but we know the division belongs to Drew Gulak. Drew retains.
WWE Smackdown Live Tag Team Championship
The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) (c) vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder)
Colin: I’m sick of The New Day being champions (almost) most of the time. Can’t wait for Big E to turn on them LOL! Give me The Revival for the win here and new champions.
Tom: I like The Revival, but this is not the day. Not to spoil a later pick but I see the New Day all hanging onto the gold a little longer.
Magnum: I’m torn on this one, because it feels like Legacy 2.0 is going to be one of the top stables in WWE as we go into the new year. After seeing Big E and Xavier get absolutely decimated by Orton/Dawson/Wilder after Summerslam, I can’t help but think that they’re going to pull the trigger on The Revival tonight.
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman (c) vs. Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler
Colin: I think it would be a mistake if they keep the titles on Rollins/Strowman. They’re going nowhere with them and neither of them need the title. Good way to have them implode in this match which makes the Universal title match more interesting. Roode and Ziggler new champs!
Tom: This match will see Seth and Braun thinking the other is out to get or hurt the other for later in the night. Braun will bump Seth into a roll up or something to make the Glorious Show-off (Roode and Ziggler) the new Raw Tag Team championships.
Magnum: This is such a weird set-up…the Ziggler/Roode pairing does not feel compatible in any way, but neither does the Rollins/Strowman duo. I feel bad for legitimate teams like Heavy Machinery and the Authors of Pain, who have to sit on the sidelines while Vince lives out his dream of trying to create tag teams out of singles stars. Anyways, I don’t see this ending well for Rollins and Strowman. Roode and Ziggler take the straps.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) w/Sami Zayn vs. The Miz
Colin: Shinsuke Nakamura should be in the WWE title picture not here but hey, at least he’s the IC champ. The Miz has been great lately but I predict a Nakamura win this time.
Tom: I don’t see how making the Miz champion right now would be good for the IC title. Shinsuke pins the Miz for the title retention.
Magnum: Honestly, Nakamura’s title reign is a joke, but they wouldn’t have The Miz go out there and just destroy Shinsuke and Sami on their first PPV together. This is obviously building towards something…but what is it? Either way, Nak’s not going down. Give me Shinsuke to retain via fluke pin.
WWE Raw Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks
Colin: Judging that Becky is being heavily advertised by Fox in Smackdown commercials and because Sasha had that WWE Network special this weekend, I’m betting that Sasha will actually win this match and the title.
Tom: This heel turn has to do something. The Man needs to be that babyface chasing the belt. Sasha, maybe with a little help from Bayley, is your new WWE Raw Women’s Champion.
Magnum: Finally a challenge for The Man – the newly revamped bad-ass Boss. It’s not a question of “if” – it’s more of a question of “when”. Personally, I think that they brought Sasha back with the intent of creating a new mountain for Becky to climb. I wouldn’t be surprised if the championship is passed back and forth between these two. For tonight, give me Sasha Banks to win the belt.
Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan
Colin: Still not sure why it was Rowan behind the wheel. Oh well. There’s two ways this can go: either kill the whole angle and have Reigns bury Rowan or keep having at it and find a way somehow for Rowan to come out on top. I’d say go all the way and help elevate Rowan a little bit. Reigns can do with a loss here and there. Rowan to win. Hopefully with some assist from Luke Harper!
Tom: Maybe Rowan’s character will develop more than I imagine. But as of now Romance must pose. A Superman Punch and Spear for the 1-2-3, and Reigns wins.
Magnum: For the last time, NOBODY cares about the freaking VINTNER. This storyline is beyond stupid. Quite honestly, if you think Rowan can actually be pushed as something marketable, just remember that this was the guy who lost to The Rock in less than 5 seconds at WrestleMania. As my Chicago friends would say, Erick Rowan is a chumbolone – end of story. Roman wins.
WWE Smackdown Live Women’s Championship
Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
Colin: Becky has already that she’s coming after Bayley one of these days. Bayley will retain this one and go in a feud with Becky heading into Smackdown. No one wants Becky vs Charlotte #1,543,940.
Tom: While Charlotte is a better heel, this Bayley character change can’t happen with her losing the title on the first PPV. With some chicanery from Sasha, Bayley pins Charlotte to remain your Smackdown champion.
Magnum: I’m not sure how I feel about Bayley’s turn, but I will say this – there’s going to be a point where both Bayley and Sasha hold both titles. I’m thinking that Sasha’s going to win the title tonight, so this may be their chance. Bayley retains.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (c) vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville
Colin: Rose and Deville are pretty good as a tag team and I think both deserve a singles run. Never thought this Bliss/Cross tag team would work, but it is and I expect them to win this one.
Tom: I want to see where this odd couple relationship goes. Bliss and Cross keep the titles.
Magnum: I heard that WWE is really high on Sonya Deville, especially since she’s come out as the first openly gay female performer in WWE. I think that’s awesome! So, of course, WWE is going to exploit this and make everyone involved look like fools. I don’t know if it’s time for Bliss/Cross to go their separate ways, but I don’t see them holding on to the straps for much longer. It only makes sense that, at the Clash of Champions, we see a bunch of titles change hands. Let’s stick with that gameplan – give me Fire and Desire to take it all!
WWE United States Championship Match
AJ Styles (c) vs. Cedric Alexander
Colin: I am going for the upset in this one guys. Cedric has been on a run lately and I would not be surprised at all if he wins against Styles today. AJ needs to move to a bigger title feud and not run around with the U.S. title.
Tom: WWE could have something if they book this OG Club of they book it correctly. With a little help from his friends, AJ beats Cedric.
Magnum: This match was just added to the Clash card – I think it will be an incredible bout, but this match serves two purposes – first, getting Cedric on the card in a championship match against a top-quality opponent. Also, it gives AJ a chance to save face after the ass-whooping Steve Austin laid on him. Man, I’d give anything for an Austin/Styles match. As for tonight? Give me AJ Styles to retain.
WWE Universal Championship
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Braun Strowman
Colin: A Braun Strowman vs The Fiend feud would be great because of the past Family Wyatt ties, but I am thinking that if The Fiend is going for the title after this one, there’s no way they will make him lose. Seth will keep the title, head into HIAC and lose it there.
Tom: Thinking of where they go after tonight I see more better matches with Seth as champ. A curb stomp out of no where and Davenport’s own is still the Universal Champion.
Magnum: Again, this is a weird set-up, because they’re basically two babyfaces. This strikes me as the kind of match where one of these two guys are going to turn on each other. It has that vibe to it – very much reminds me of the WWE Championship match from WrestleMania XXXIV (Nakamura vs. Styles). It’s likely that whoever turns, they’ll be the one who walks away with the strap. I don’t see this one ending clean, either…and while I am not 100% sure Seth’s going to turn on Braun, it seems likely that Seth is the one who’d have to resort to cheap tactics to retain.
WWE Championship Match
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton
Colin: I don’t think they will pull the trigger on a title change so soon before the move to FOX. Just for the shock factor, I think Kofi will lose the title on an episode of FOX. Kofi to retain the title.
Tom: I kind of spoiled it in the New Day pick. I don’t see where they go if they make Orton champ. Kofi-of-Champions continues as the New Day celebrates his win.
Magnum: You know, originally I thought Kofi’s run would continue into Hell in a Cell. The more and more I think about it, though…I think Legacy 2.0 is going to pull off the sweep tonight. Orton wins and becomes WWE Champion once more.
KOTR BONUS for 2 Points:
Who wins the King of the Ring on Monday Night?
Baron Corbin vs. Chad Gable
Colin: Considering how many surprises we got in this KOTR tournament I’m tempted to pick Chad Gable to win this one. But I think Vince McMahon receives sexual favors from Baron Corbin considering how much they bloody push him down our throats. LONG LIVE KING BARON CORBIN. Ugh.
Tom: Corbin must have some dirt on the McMahon family. He keeps getting pushed. Corbin will screw Gable to be the new King of the Ring and both will come out better from it.
Magnum: I’m not so sure about those favors, Colin. Thinking about it is going to make me ill, frankly! Haha…I’m just going to run with a shocker, because this whole tournament has been shocking. I can’t believe some of the finishes that have happened. So let’s go with one more surprise and call Chad the victor…which makes him the one and only King Gable.
Well fans, there you have it! We picked the KOTR finals as a bonus! This might spice up the final results, don’t you think? Either way, we’ll see you in a few short weeks for HELL IN A CELL. Feel free to let us know your thoughts on Twitter! @TheMagnumDA signing off!
Clash of Champions 2019 airs in a few hours and today we bring you all the latest odds for this pay-per-view. Odds are most likely to change as the event gets closer to bell time so please be careful when placing bets with real money!
Seth Rollins, the reigning Universal champion is favorite to retain the title tonight with his odds at 1/7 while Braun Strowman is at 4/1 to win his first major singles title in WWE. The situation with the WWE title is much, much closer as Kofi Kingston is 4/5 to retain, just barely the favorite, against Randy Orton who is at 10/11.
All Four Horsewomen will be involved in the two singles women title matches. Bayley is 4/7 favorite to keep the Smackdown title over Charlotte Flair who is at 5/4 while Sasha Banks increased her lead since yesterday, now 4/6 favorite to win the Raw Women’s title over Becky Lynch who is at 11/10.
Shinsuke Nakamura, the Intercontinental champion, is 4/6 favorite to keep the IC title while The Miz is 11/10 to win. AJ Styles is also the favorite to retain the United States title with odds at 2/7 against Cedric Alexander who is at 5/2. The Cruiserweight title will be defended in a triple threat match and champ Drew Gulak is 2/5 favorite over Humberto Carrillo who is at 3/1 and Lince Dorado who is at 13/2.
The Raw Tag Team champions might not have a good night as Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode are 1/3 favorites to become the new champions while Rollins and Strowman are 9/4 to retain. The New Day might have a better night as they’re favorites at 8/15 to keep the Smackdown Tag Team titles over The Revival whose odds are 11/8. And the Women’s Tag Team titles are also up for grabs with the team of Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross the favorites at 2/7 to win against Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville who are at 5/2.
The only non-title match on this card is Roman Reigns against Erick Rowan. As it’s mostly the case, Roman Reigns is the favorite at 4/9 while Erick Rowan is 13/8 for the upset.
Nikki Bella, the former WWE Divas champion, has denied rumors that she is pregnant and that she is ready to become a mother during the latest episode of The Bellas Podcast.
Pregnancy was one of the major reason that Nikki and fellow WWE Superstar John Cena split up after Cena did not want to commit to having kids. Eventually, the two made up after Nikki agreed not to bring up the subject of kids again. But after getting engaged, the two fell apart and Nikki started dating her Dancing With The Stars partner Artem Chigvintsev.
“Yeah. My ovaries are like cringing. Love is on my brain, and lust, but not babies,” Nikki said on the podcast.
Nikki also said that despite rumors online, she’s “not craving babies whatsoever right now” and she’s just enjoying her non-wrestling career and enjoying living life. “I’m enjoying my midriffs. Brie – and I know I’ve said this before – is an amazing form of birth control! Like her and Bird. I’m with them all the time…and I just don’t want that right now.”
It was announced during the NFL broadcast on FOX today that another WWE draft will be held on the October 11 episode of Smackdown and will continue the following Monday on Raw.
WWE is looking to completely separate the brands again once Smackdown moves to FOX, with different commentary teams as well as binning the “wildcard rule” that has been in effect over the past several months. Usually a draft is held after WrestleMania but this time WWE is doing it again to mix things up as WWE starts its most lucrative television deal in their history.
WWE later confirmed the news on WWE.COM adding that personalities from FOX and NBCUniversal programming will be on hand to announce select picks that will determine the rosters of each distinct brand.
With a Smackdown 20th anniversary show on October 4 and a draft episode on October 11, WWE is preparing to start on a high on FOX. Typically, anniversary and draft shows bring in bigger numbers than usual. In the past, the draft starts on Raw and then continues on Smackdown but it will be the other way round this time around.
FOX has been heavily pushing Smackdown on their NFL broadcasts with repeated commercials and hosts mentioning WWE coming over multiple times during the game.
