Impact Wrestling will present Rebellion live on pay-per-view tonight from The Rebel Complex in Toronto, Canada. The show will also be available to stream online at FITE.TV for $19.99. The full card is as follows:
Johnny Impact vs Brian Cage for the Impact World title with Lance Storm as the special guest referee; The Lucha Bros vs LAX in a full metal mayhem match for the Impact World Tag Team titles; Rich Swann vs Sami Callihan in an oVe rules match for the Impact X Division title; Taya Valkyrie vs Jordynne Grace for the Impact Knockouts title; Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard; Moose, Josh Alexander, and Ethan Page) vs Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, and Trey Miguel.
Another local TV ad has also seemingly spoiled the participants of the women’s Money In The Bank ladder match after showing seven of the eight participants from the men’s ladder match.
The eight women shown on screen as being part of the ladder match are Tamina, Sasha Banks, Natalya, and Naomi from the Raw side and Bayley, Carmella, Ember Moon, and Sonya Deville from the Smackdown brand. The Raw participants will be officially announced tomorrow during the Moment of Bliss segment with Alexa Bliss.
Commercials and local ads are prepared ahead of time and do not necessarily mean that whoever is shown here will be part of the match. Sasha Banks, for example, is on hiatus from WWE following WrestleMania and her status with the company is still unknown.
The women’s MITB ladder match has only taken place twice so far, with Carmella and Alexa Bliss being the previous winners. Both successfully cashed in the briefcase to win the title.
WWE stocks had one of the best and worst weeks ever since hitting the stock exchange in 1999. From reaching $100 for the first time to dropping 16.2% in a span of two days after their Q1 2019 financial results, it’s safe to say that it’s been a roller coaster week for shareholders.
On Friday, WWE stocks traded 2.18% lower than Thursday’s massacre, driving the price down to $83.52. On Wednesday night, stocks closed the day at $98.5, so in two days it shed $14.98 off its value.
But WWE is still on track of hitting $1 billion in revenue for 2019 which would be a record for the company. Several analysts said that while this quarter was bad, WWE is not “broken” and it will be rebounding quickly. The new TV contracts with both NBCUniversal and FOX will help drive revenue up while the upcoming new India and UK television deals are also expected to add to WWE’s business.
Five analysts have revised their WWE target, with CFRA putting it at $90, Morgan Stanley at $100, KeyBanc to $101, Guggenheim at $105 and MKM at $110.
Yes, it was an unflattering quarter for WWE and some egos were certainly bruised but despite this, things are looking up.
In a post on Instagram, NXT referee Tom Castor thanked fans and fellow co-workers for their support after he broke his leg during a non-televised live event in Omaha, Nebraska on Thursday night.
“I sincerely want to thank the WWE Universe and the NXT/WWE Superstars for their kind words and positive vibes. It’s been heartwarming and humbling to say the least. My utmost gratitude to the WWE Medical Staff and ER staff at Nebraska Medicine for your care and support. I’m ready to heal up and rejoin my NXT family doing what we all love to do,” Castor wrote.
The referee, after getting super kicked by Tyler Breeze, went down with his leg twisting beneath him, snapping it in two. Despite the gruesome injury, Castor still soldiered on and crawled to hit the three count to end the match.
Castor received praise from his peers for what he did and he was accompanied to the hospital on Thursday after the match by a few NXT stars as well.
Dark Side of the Ring director Jason Eisener and producer Evan Husney revealed during an AMA on the popular Reddit SquaredCircle forum that they were originally supposed to do more than six episodes for the first season but they had to scale it back.
Husney said that they were already working on two more episodes, focusing on French Canadian Dino Bravo and the Brawl For All concept, before they halted production. “If we get the season two order, these will be looked at first,” he said. Season two hinges on television ratings and amount of views that the shows get online.
The first three episodes that aired, chronicling the death of Macho Man Randy Savage, the murder of Bruiser Brody, and the Montreal screwjob, received rave reviews from critics and fans alike. Eisener and Husney spent a lot of time doing recreations with actors who portray the subjects which morphed beautifully with the narration. Eisener said that the recreations were inspired by filming with his Hasbro action figures in slow motion and using a flashlight as the spotlight effect.
When asked if there was something cool that was left in the editing room, Eisener said that in the Savage episode, Bruce Prichard was describing an angle they pitched which involved the Sensational Sherri slapping Miss Elizabeth, something that Savage was completely against, making him livid to the point where everyone ended up in front of Vince McMahon arguing about it. “Sherri felt bad and didn’t want to do it, Randy was yelling at Bruce and Vince, then Elizabeth spoke up and said ‘Just do it.’ With everyone watching Sherri slapped Elizabeth very lightly. Liz spoke up again ‘Do it harder.’ Then Vince started yelling ‘Slap her, just slap her.’ It was cool to hear about Elizabeth getting excited and prepping an angle,” he recounted.
Husney also discussed the Bruiser Brody episode where he said that the main protagonists, José González and Carlos Colón refused to be interviewed. González was the one who murdered Brody while Colón was the promoter of the show the night the murder happened. He also said that Abdullah The Butcher “took a little while” to warm up to them because he might have saw them as “marks with cameras.” Eventually, the two managed to open him up while Tony Atlas and Dutch Mantell were very forthcoming with their story.
The Montreal Screwjob episode also has Vince Russo and Jim Cornette going at it, with both of them calling each other a liar over who came up with the idea of Vince screwing Bret. When asked if there’s a lot of other material from the two that didn’t make it on the air, Husney said, “There’s probably a solid 45-minutes of uninterrupted, although entertaining, ranting that we have on a hard drive somewhere!”
The three remaining episodes of the Dark Side of the Ring include The Last of the Von Erichs airing on May 1, The Mysterious Death of Gorgeous Gino airing on May 8, and The Fabulous Moolah airing on May 15. The episodes air on the Viceland network and on Viceland.com.
Vin Diesel, the leading star of the Fast & Furious franchise, dropped a massive hint about somebody from the wrestling industry joining the franchise for the upcoming ninth installment of the popular movie and that somebody is none other than John Cena.
Recording a video for his social media, Diesel said, “Guys, as you know I’m always thinking fast and thinking about the responsibility of making something iconic and deserving of your loyalty. I know this sounds crazy but every blue moon I feel like Pablo up there sends me someone. Another soldier for the fight for truth.”
At that point, Vin Diesel starts moving and says, “Today, someone came by the Toretto gym that speaks to what Pablo would have brought.” Then out of nowhere, the camera turns to John Cena, wearing a suit and tie, whose wave to the camera turns into the “you can’t see me” hand motion. Cena then winks to the camera as Diesel ends the video.
Cena joining the franchise would be a huge deal for the former 16-time World champion and he would be joining The Rock who is also an integral part of the franchise with his character of Luke Hobbs. Johnson now has his own F&F spinoff based on his character and that of Jason Statham.
Local television ads airing in Hartford, Connecticut for the Money In The Bank pay-per-view next month are showing the probable line-up – minus one – for the men’s MITB ladder match.
Seven WWE Superstars – four from Raw and three from Smackdown – are featured in the advert for the ladder match. These are Drew McIntyre, Cesaro, Rey Mysterio, and Ricochet representing the red brand and Aleister Black, Andrade, and Lars Sullivan representing the blue brand. The match is expected to have eight competitors so one is missing from Smackdown.
The Raw participants for both the men’s and women’s Money In The Bank ladder matches will be revealed on Monday Night Raw by Alexa Bliss during her Moment Of Bliss segment.
The winners of the two ladder matches will receive a title shot for their respective brand’s titles and can cash in any time they want.
Over 40 athletes from all walks of life have descended upon Orlando, Florida for a tryout at the WWE Performance Center where coaches and scouts will trim down the list considerably and offer those who stand out an opportunity to join the Performance Center full time and eventually NXT.
Professional football players, independent wrestlers, mixed martial artists, fitness models, basketball players, cheerleaders and everything in between are all competing for a spot under the watchful eyes of WWE PC head coach Matt Bloom, NXT GM William Regal, PC coaches and WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry.
Ivelisse Velez, who was part of WWE developmental between 2011 and 2012 and also a former Tough Enough competitor is one of those who are having the tryout. Velez, now a 15-year ring veteran, was part of Lucha Underground and just recently received her release which enabled her to try out.
Another individual who is trying out is Lance Anoa’i. The last name should ring a bell as Lance is from the Anoa’i wrestling family and is the son of former WWE Tag Team champion Samu and the grandson of WWE Hall of Famer Afa. This is his second tryout after he already attended one in 2017.
The female winner of Titan Games – Emily Andzulis – has also been invited. The show was hosted by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on NBC. She is a martial artist and an amateur MMA fighter. Bikini competitor and bodybuilder Lauren Regno, who also appeared on Titan Games, is part of the tryout as well.
WWE has released a limited edition replica of the new Daniel Bryan Eco-Friendly WWE championship title.
Bryan introduced the title after he turned heel and started complaining about the lack of care for the environment by fans. The awesome-looking replica is crafted from natural wood so the color will vary slightly from title to title, making each unique! The strap is constructed from 100 percent burlap jute.
The titles are priced at $399.99 with a limited initial quantity in stock of 50. Additional titles will be available at the end of May with a second delivery. You can get your hands on one by going to http://w-o.it/wweshopcom.
NXT North American champion Velveteen Dream put over referee Tom Castro after he broke his leg while officiating his match against Tyler Breeze.
Calling him a husband, professional, and a badass motherf***er, Dream said that Castor has been an integral part of NXT’s rise over the past couple of years by being always on time, always kind, and adding to the body of work. He said that Castor was willing to sacrifice his personal health for the entertainment of the paying customer after he crawled over with his leg snapped in two to hit the three count after the second referee also went down as part of the match.
“We are blessed to have Tom Castor,” Dream concluded.
During the conference call with investors yesterday, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon praised former Raw Women’s champion Ronda Rousey for her contribution and as he put it, “extraordinary job” she has done for WWE.
“Her challenge was to bring the entire women’s division up and as you know, that was our main event at this year’s WrestleMania involving Ronda. So Ronda’s task that she chose and of course it’s great for us is to build that whole division, have more visibility on that division, and to make stars and to make stars that, now, you have stories where even after Ronda leaves,” McMahon said.
Vince then continued, “So when you look at what happened at WrestleMania, and with Becky Lynch and Charlotte and others, the entire division, the focal point and the stories that are coming out of that, Ronda did an awesome job, she did an awesome job.”
Ronda has decided to step away from the ring after one year to start a family. She also had to undergo surgery after she broke her pinky knuckle during the match at WrestleMania. She said that her future is still unknown and it all depends what happens if and when she becomes a mother.
It’s not only WWE Superstars who are at risk of getting injured in the ring. Just ask NXT referee Tom Castro.
Castro broke his leg during a non-televised NXT live event in Omaha, Nebraska yesterday while officiating the Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Breeze match for the North American title. The accident occurred when Breeze went to super kick Dream, but Dream ducked and Breeze nailed Castro instead. In reality, Breeze missed by a mile but Castro sold it like a pro, twisting his leg as it got caught underneath him, snapping it in two.
The referee stayed down clinching his leg as another referee, Drake Wuertz, came in 15 seconds later, throwing up the X hand signal to alert those backstage of a real injury. The match continued for around 40 seconds more before the second ref also got decked. When Dream went to pin Breeze, Castro – broken leg and all – crawled over and hit the three count.
Wuertz later wrote on Twitter telling fans to say a prayer for Castor. “When he was on the stretcher he squeezed my hand and proudly said “Drake I love the business.”
Sports Illustrated is reporting that Dean Malenko has quit his job as a WWE producer. No reason was given as to what led Malenko leaving the company.
Malenko held a WWE backstage job since his in-ring retirement in 2001 and was one of the senior agents in the company in charge of important matches.
His departure from WWE continues a major shift backstage, with the likes of Arn Anderson being fired and Brian James and RD Evans quitting the creative department.
Often referred to as “The Man of 1,000 Holds,” Malenko will certainly leave a huge void backstage considering his vast experience.
Nia Jax underwent a successful double knee surgery this week to repair both her ACLs.
“At home resting. All went well. Already walking with some assistance,” Jax tweeted yesterday.
The former Raw Women’s champion will be on the sidelines for the rest of the year as she recovers from the surgery. Jax announced that she would be going away for a while earlier this month after she had been wrestling with injuries for several months.
Her last match was at WrestleMania 35 where she teamed up with Tamina to take on Banks and Bayley, The IIconics, and Natalya and Beth Phoenix for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles.
Wall Street investors were busy laying the Smackdown on WWE stocks today as the Q1 2019 earnings drove company stocks down a whopping 14% at time of this writing.
Things went bad from the word go as WWE stocks started trading at $90, down $8 from yesterday’s closing. It took a hit during the pre-market trading which continued throughout the day and at one point reached nearly 15% in the negative. Stocks continue to slide and are trading at mid $84s at the moment.
WWE missed all projections in the past quarter and reported worse numbers than originally expected by investors.
Episode 10 of season one of Miz & Mrs on USA Network did 940,000 viewers on Tuesday, down 162,000 viewers from last week’s episode. This was the least-watched episode of the entire series so far. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that WWE has declined Luke Harper’s request for a release from his contract and actually added six months to his current deal to cover the time he missed from the ring due to an injury he suffered to his wrist.
On April 16, Harper announced on his Twitter that he requested his employer to let him go, a decision he said felt right both for him and the company. The way the note was wrote seemed like it was a done deal but much to his surprise, the goodbye letter before getting the release in hand ended up being a big mistake. WWE has let go of Tye Dillinger, Goldust, Hideo Itami, and also released TJP over the past couple of months.
Adding the time missed due to injury to the current contract isn’t something new and the clause is written in all contracts now.
Harper returned at WrestleMania and was part of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and also wrestled on the Worlds Collide special on the WWE Network during Mania weekend at Axxess.
WWE’s disappointing Q1 2019 earning results highlighted the decrease in viewership and attendance that the company is going through right now, a trend that has been recurring for the past several quarters.
McMahon and company are blaming the results on talent absences, a ridiculous suggestion to say the very least considering the vast amount of talent still on hand at their disposal.
When it comes to television ratings, Monday Night Raw fell 14% in the first quarter and Smackdown fell 13%. That is a huge drop when the average cable television drop in viewership at the moment is around 5%. The last time Raw hit a 3 million viewer average was in August 2018 while Smackdown last hit a 2.5 million viewer mark in October 2018.
But television ratings is not the only problem for WWE. For the past few years, live attendance has taken a huge hit. In the last quarter earnings results conference call, McMahon said they “know” what’s wrong and how to fix it, but that fix did not come, at least not for Q1 2019. In fact, WWE live events in North America declined 11% to just an average of 4,800 attendance per show.
And with less and less fans attending live events, merchandise also takes a hit with it. WWE recorded an 11% decrease in merchandising sales both on WWEShop.com and at live event venues, and WWE attributes the problem of the latter due to lower attendance.
Smackdown this week did 2,072,000 viewers, down 147,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The NBA playoffs seem to be denting WWE’s viewership earlier than usual this year as TNT led the night with the games. It was #4 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #8 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
WWE Network ended Q1 2019 with 1.58 million paid subscribers, a 2% increase over the prior year quarter but 100,000 less than Q4 2018, suggesting that even the Royal Rumble did not manage to move numbers.
The day after WrestleMania 35, WWE had 2 million subscribers getting the service. This year, the company did not hold a conference call to announce how many subscribers they got for their biggest pay-per-view of the year and it will take a few more months – during the Q2 2019 report – to see how many of those 2 million subscribers renewed their subscription or simply signed up for free to watch just WrestleMania. But the outlook isn’t good as WWE projects an average of 1.7 million subscribers for the next quarter which represents a year-over-year decline of 5%.
Among the most popular programs on the WWE Network apart from PPVs, WWE listed NXT Takeover: Phoenix, NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool, the WWE 24 and Chronicle documentary series and Halftime Heat which aired during the Super Bowl halftime show. WWE added more than 75 hours of original content to WWE Network’s featured programming and 420 hours of archival content, which resulted in an on-demand library of nearly 12,000hours at quarter-end.
WWE noted in the press release that their primary focus now for the WWE Network is the launch of its new platform in partnership with Endeavor Streaming and Massive. This new platform will provide flexibility to bring new features and experiences to fans and enable the delivery of content in multiple languages.
