Monday Night Raw this week set another record, and not the good one, as it posted the lowest number in modern-day history…twice. The show pulled in an average of 2,285,000 viewers off three very lower hours which includes the worst number for a first hour ever.
Hour one pulled in a disastrous 2,262,000 viewers, followed by an increase to 2,399,000 viewers in the second hour, before dropping to 2,196,000 viewers in the third and final hour.
Raw was #4, #6, and #7 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #9 in overall viewership for the night on cable. The NFL game won the night on ESPN with 11.2 million viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
The pre-sale code for NXT Takeover: New York which will take place on Friday, April 5, 2019 is NXTLIVE.
The pre-sale kicks off tomorrow, Wednesday, December 5 at 10AM EST and ends on Thursday at 11:59PM EST. Tickets will be available at Ticketmaster.com.
Despite the show taking place in Brooklyn, WWE has opted to use Takeover: New York rather than Takeover: Brooklyn. There have been four Takeover: Brooklyn shows already with all of them taking place on the eve of SummerSlam.
NXT Takeover: New York has been moved to Friday rather than Saturday during WrestleMania weekend, mainly to avoid being head-to-head with the already sold-out ROH/NJPW show at Madison Square Garden.
WWE’s Tribute to the Troops will air on USA Network as a two-hour special on Thursday, December 20 at 9PM EST.
The company is taping the show today in Fort Hood, Texas, with the Raw brand doing the honors this year. Over the past few years, Tribute to the Troops has been taped along with Smackdown but this year it’s different with both brands running a show on the same day.
This is the 16th annual of the show and this year country star Morgan Wallen will be performing for those in attendance. Jon Stewart has also been announced as appearing. Apart from the show, WWE Superstars will be meeting soldiers and their family throughout the day as well as hospital visits.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon sold a total of 306,000 WWE shares on November 30, netting him over $22 million. The transactions were documented with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday evening.
A total of five transactions took place: 4,397 shares were sold at $75.26 each for a total of $330,918; 77,448 shares sold at $75.49 each for a total of $5,846,549; 65,279 shares sold at $75.22 each for a total of $4,910,286; 4,057 shares sold at $74.83 each for a total of $303,585; and 154,819 shares sold at $74.12 for a total of $11,475,184.
McMahon walked out with a whopping $22,866,522, presumably money to fund his new XFL venture and the Alpha Entertainment LLC parent company. But despite everything, McMahon still owns a total of 31,887,375 WWE shares which at today’s value are worth over $2.3 billion.
Back in December of last year, McMahon sold 3,340,000 WWE shares for a $100 million payout. If he sold that much with today’s value, he would have been able to get nearly $250 million instead.
A contract signing between Smackdown Women’s champion Becky Lynch and her two challengers Charlotte Flair and Asuka will take place tonight on the show.
The three will take on each other at the upcoming Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view in the first-ever TLC match involving the women.
The match was originally a one-on-one between Lynch and Flair but then Asuka won a battle royal to join the party.
Contract signings on WWE television rarely go without a hitch and considering Lynch’s current Stone Cold-like character, it seems inevitable that something will happen.
Last Thursday, Impact Wrestling on POP drew a total of 122,000 viewers, down 2,000 viewers from the Thanksgiving episode. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
During today’s Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN, former World Heavyweight champion Jack Swagger revealed that he will be making his Bellator debut next month.
Swagger, who now goes by his real name Jake Hager, said he will be fighting JW Kiser on the January 26 show from The Forum in Inglewood, California. Kiser is a 39-year-old who’s relatively new to professional MMA and holds a 1-1 record. He last fought two days ago for KC Fighting Alliance in Independence, Missouri where he defeated Michael Edwards who was making his MMA debut.
Hager signed with Bellator in November 2017 and is training at the Ybor City Jiu-Jitsu Club in Tampa, Florida. This will be his first professional MMA fight.
NJPW’s World Tag League has shown us numerous things recently. It looks like Tencozy can even go. And it looks like lies about Ishimori leg troubles. The friendship of Zack Saber Jr and Taichi is something vague. Furthermore, Chuckie T isn’t alright.
Let’s get back to NJPW at Korakuen Hall last week. Clearly frustrated by a Toa Henare headbutt, Chuckie T snapped and released the full power of his rage, hauling Henara into the group and exposing him to a seat based attack. Further seats were heaved into the ring, as a confused Kevin Kelly put it before Chuck hauled a table out from under the ring.
But it all started awful things deteriorated when Chuck brought Henare down mid-ring with a horrendous seat shot to the head, getting significant two points. Later he simply continued onward – free bettings tips. His temper was so inflexible that when Beretta ventured in to stop him, there suddenly he met with a Chuck’s punch. He cleared out without to such an extent as an affirmation, not to mention a statement of regret.
Amid the thousand crowd, the dead-peered toward smiling, and the obviously arbitrary blasts of awful savagery coordinated at his Tag League rivals, something is frightfully out of order.
What’s more, we would be neglectful not to consider the inexorably solid probability that the majority of this – Chuck’s irregular breakdowns, Beretta’s anxiety – is connected to Jay White’s affirmation that something is spoiled in the CHAOS camp.
But could really the burden of being the allegorical cuckoo in the CHAOS nest be overmuch for him? And what if it’s his method for sowing further disunity? It’s a solid probability, yet it appears to be excessively self-evident, and I speculate Chuck’s conduct isn’t his very own pointer contribution, however something different: Chuckie T knows who the guilty party is.
On the off chance that not Chuck, who? The Hell World situation paints Beretta as the no doubt suspect. Toss’ stressed grins, constrained sparkle and rehashed refusal to recognize Beretta could be characteristic of an evil kept mystery.
When Chuck realizes his closest companion is deceiving him – and without a doubt, all of CHAOS – it’s not really astounding that he’d battle to remain made under that sort out of weight. And keeping in mind that you may disclose away Beretta’s reaction to everything as that of a concerned and distracted companion, it’s similarly conceivable to decipher his abdication and snappiness to pardon as the activities of a liable man.
But what an amazing thing is Psychology, and Jay White uses it as a weapon; if distrustfulness and doubt are overflowing inside CHAOS, it may even spoil the best friendship relations tell meilleur bookmaker live.
WWE today announced that it will visit India in search of the next generation of WWE Superstars by holding the first-ever talent tryout in Mumbai in March 2019.
The four-day tryout will give up to 40 athletes from India the opportunity to showcase their abilities with the goal of being selected to begin training at the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
The talent pool will comprise of elite performers with a diverse background in sports and athletics including kushti, kabaddi, wrestling, American Football, basketball, combat sports, cricket and bodybuilding.
“India has an extremely large and passionate fanbase and remains a top priority for WWE as we continue to localize content globally,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. “I am confident this latest talent tryout will result in a world-class pool of athletes ready to pursue their dream of becoming the next WWE Superstar from India.”
Tickets for the NXT Takeover: New York, the 2019 Hall of Fame ceremony, and post-WrestleMania Raw and Smackdown will go on sale this coming Friday, December 7 at 10AM EST on Ticketmaster.com.
A pre-sale will be held this Wednesday, December 5 at 10AM EST and will run through Thursday, December 6 at 11:59PM EST. Pre-sale codes will be published once confirmed.
All four events will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and are expected to carry the same price for the same seats. Prices will range from $50 to $120 although exact ticket prices will be known on Wednesday.
WrestleMania 35 is practically sold out through Ticketmaster.com with only a few tickets left designated as platinum tickets due to the high demand.
WrestleMania has grown into a sporting institution and hosting it is right up there with the Super Bowl and even the Olympics. For that week tens upon tens of thousands arrive in a city for a real festival of wrestling. But which cities have pulled it off the best?
Over 20 different cities across the United States have hosted wrestling’s biggest event and as a special Christmas treat to us all, we’re taking a look at the five best venues.
Madison Square Garden
The true home of WrestleMania is Madison Square Gardens. It held the first event in front of 19,000 and set the benchmark for what it would become. The main event saw Hulk Hogan and Mr T defeat Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper on a card that also saw Andre the Giant, Junkyard Dog and Muhammad Ali as a guest referee. The arena has since held WrestleMania X and XX with some classic matches which have included Bret Hart taking the Heavyweight title and the Undertaker beating brother Kane.
Caesars Palace
Las Vegas is a real hub of fighting and in recent years has hosted the likes of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Floyd Mayweather and is even earmarked as the city to host Mayweather v Pacquiao 2. The bookmakers certainly want the fight go ahead, with the last bout seeing millions of dollars wagered in a fight in which Floyd Mayweather was 3/5 favorite to win on the day. The likes of William Hill are seeing it as -265 for Floyd and +215 Pacquiao with both fighters looking at a nine-figure payday. Vegas is the gambling capital of the world and the perfect city for an extravaganza of sport. Every year bets go crazy for WrestleMania in the casinos, yet Sin City has only hosted the event once. That happened at WrestleMania IX back in 1993, the first event held outdoors, and saw Hulk Hogan defeat Yokozuna to claim the Heavyweight Championship in an impromptu match that lasted just 22 seconds!
SkyDome
The SkyDome in Toronto has hosted WrestleMania twice and was the first Canadian city to do so. The first event, in 1990, welcomes over 67,000 spectators who witnessed an incredible bout which saw The Ultimate Warrior defeat Hulk Hogan. The venue also hosted the event 12 years later, in an event which saw Triple H, The Rock, Chris Jericho, Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin all on the bill.
AT&T Stadium
In 2016, WrestleMania broke the 100,000 attendance mark, marking a significant moment in the event’s history. The event saw a Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Shane McMahon and Roman Reigns beating Triple H in the main event for the Heavyweight title. The bouts themselves were heavily criticized by fans and journalists alike, but the stadium itself provided an important platform for the event to become even bigger than ever before.
Superdome
The Superdome in New Orleans has held WrestleMania twice in the last five years and has become a real favorite for fans. It provided the backdrop to this year’s event which was largely praised, with Brock Lesnar beating Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. Lesnar was also a key figure in the venue’s previous event, WrestleMania XXX, which saw The Undertaker lose at Wrestlemania for the very first time.
WWE’s Co-President George Barrios sold a total of 37,500 company shares on November 27 for a total profit of $2,437,011.
Barrios sold 25,685 shares at a cost of $64.82 and then got rid of another 11,815 shares when they were trading at $65.35. After this sell, Barrios now owns a total of 382,592 company shares which at Friday’s valuation are worth a whopping $28,296,504.
On Friday, WWE stocks closed at $73.96 following some activity in after-market trading.
It looks like another NXT star is gunning for an EVOLVE title, looking to replicate what The Street Profits and Fabian Aichner did last month.
The Undisputed Era member Roderick Strong wrote on Twitter that he might be going for the EVOLVE Championship currently being held by fellow NXT star Fabian Aichner.
“Thought of the day – NXT Superstars holding #EVOLVE titles? Well there are no bigger Superstars than the #UndisputedERA and I’ve won just about every @WWNLive title but the #EVOLVE title,” Strong wrote. “So Maybe Dec. 15th I come to La Boom and #ShocktheSystem? #OurERA.”
EVOLVE will be holding EVOLVE 117 on December 15 in Queens, New York. Aichner is advertised to be defending his title against Austin Theory already and The Street Profits will also be defending their Tag Team titles although opponents are now unknown since LAX were pulled out of the booking by Impact Wrestling officials. Another NXT star, Kassius Ohno, will be wrestling at the event against Darby Allin.
Joe Koff, the Ring of Honor Chief Operating Officer, told WrestlingInc.com during an interview that the company is expected to lose the services of Cody, The Young Bucks, and Hangman Page once 2019 starts.
Asked if the four popular individuals will be sticking around, Koff said, “I don’t think so, and I don’t think that that’s new news either. They definitely have something in mind…”
That “something in mind” is All Elite Wrestling, a new promotion in the works which is being funded by the Khan family, Pakistani-American billionaires and owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team and Fulham F.C. of the English Premier League.
“I’m very thankful for Cody and The Young Bucks and Page and their contributions to Ring of Honor. I think they were part of our great year – they played a big part. They’ll always be a part of the ROH family, and I’m always excited when people choose to take a different direction or go in a different direction because it’s exciting for them as they embark on whatever their next chapter in their lives are,” Koff added.
Individuals who purchased a WrestleMania Travel Package have received an e-mail today saying that WWE has switched the dates of NXT Takeover and the Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame used to be held on Saturday night but that changed for the past two years as WWE opted to instead put NXT Takeover on the eve of WrestleMania and move the Hall of Fame to Friday night. But that will change again this year as WWE reversed the two events, having NXT Takeover on Friday, April 5 and the Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 6.
The reason behind the change is unknown but ROH and NJPW will be holding an event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night and that event is sold out already. Considering tickets for NXT Takeover aren’t on sale yet, it was probably a smart idea to sacrifice the Hall of Fame ceremony instead of Takeover.
November 30, 2018 – Westwood One announces American entrepreneur, podcaster, professional wrestling writer/producer and on-screen personality Eric Bischoff just released a TEDx Talk that reveals professional wrestling and political news content follow the same formula. In the roughly 16-minute presentation titled, “Why The News Media is Stealing From the Pro Wrestling Playbook,” Bischoff formats his talk like a pro wrestling event, explaining how pro wrestling works, and how it’s eerily similar to cable news. Bischoff’s dramatic TEDx Talk is available now.
Bischoff says professional wrestling and news are two of the most enduring forms of content in America, and he comes prepared with proof that the two are the same. He says the goal of both is to make people feel, not think, and even shares current and past politicians connected to sports entertainment, in making his point.
“The first rule of producing professional wrestling is to know that when it comes to the audience, it doesn’t matter if they love or hate a wrestler. As long as they feel passionately one way or another, business will be good,” said Bischoff. “Cable news is a similar art. The next time you’re watching the news and you find yourself getting angry, you will realize that is how they want you to feel. It’s not about informing you or making you think. Just like professional wrestling. This is a bipartisan phenomenon, and we need to react with awareness of this tactic.”
About Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff can be heard on his weekly podcast 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff exclusively on Westwood One Podcast Network. The show features Bischoff and popular wrestling podcaster Conrad Thompson taking a deep dive into the highs and lows of Bischoff’s unparalleled success in the wrestling business. His story is extraordinary: In the mid-80s, Bischoff entered the wrestling community as a “C-Team Announcer,” and a few short years later, he was President of Turner Broadcasting’s World Championship Wrestling. He signed Hulk Hogan and started Turner Network Television’s Monday Night Nitro, created the nWo, and beat Vince McMahon’s Monday Night RAW head-to-head in Monday Night Wars 83 consecutive times. Listen and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,WestwoodOnePodcasts.com and the Westwood One Podcasts App.
About Westwood One Podcast Network
Westwood One Podcast Network is the fastest organically growing podcast network in America, engaging listeners with original content in political talk, sports and entertainment powered by a massive, multi-platform engine to grow this business. Westwood One Podcast Network’s content and advertising partners tap into the passion, energy and creativity of a startup within an audio powerhouse, capitalizing on our enormous promotional reach, established national sales team, and preferred relationships with major podcast buyers, as well as high quality production capabilities across the country. It was the first to launch multi-platform extensions with monetization at scale in the commercial segment, most notably with The Ben Shapiro Show. For more information please visit westwoodonepodcasts.com.
Becky Lynch became the first female WWE Superstar to top the ESPN WWE Power Rankings, a chart determined by the voting of a panel of WWE on ESPN contributors.
The Smackdown Women’s champion is credited for having one of the best wrestling stories of 2018, coming pretty much from the shadows to surpass Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair, the two women who everyone thought would be the ones spearheading the women’s evolution to the next level.
“But it’s the SmackDown champ who has the most ardent and passion fan base in the WWE today, and that includes the men. Her beeline to the top of the summit is one of the best wrestling stories of 2018,” ESPN’s Matt Wilansky wrote.
Reacting to the news on Twitter, “The Man” said, “The first woman ever to top the ESPN Power Rankings? You’re damn right I am, and we’re only getting warmed up.”
The list of husband-and-wife WWE Superstars kept growing as it was reported by WrestlingInc.com and confirmed later by multiple sources that former NXT champion Aleister Black and Zelina Vega have tied the knot.
The two have been dating for a while but always kept their relationship under wraps. But on November 23, Vega uploaded a video on her Instagram showing her boxing with Black in a home gym, the first public glimpse of the two together.
This is the first marriage for both the 6’1″ 33-year-old Black and 5’1″ 27-year-old Vega. Congratulations to the newlyweds!
WWE confirmed three more matches for the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view which will take place in two weeks.
The three new matches on the card are Finn Balor vs Drew McIntyre, Elias vs Bobby Lashley, and a triple threat tag team match for the Smackdown Tag Team titles featuring The Bar vs The Usos vs The New Day.
With these three new additions, the TLC card so far consists of nine matches with potentially one more to be added.
TLC is the last WWE pay-per-view of 2018 and will take place on December 16 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Two matches that were going to feature the Impact Tag Team champions LAX wrestling EVOLVE Tag Team champions and NXT stars Street Profits have been canceled after Impact officials pulled LAX from the booking.
The two tag teams from the competing companies were set to be in a triple threat and a six-man tag match on two different nights for EVOLVE 116 and 117 in December. The idea for the two matches was to avoid problems with Impact opposing losing to the NXT tag team which currently carries the EVOLVE titles. But that still didn’t work out as management decided to pull the plug completely on LAX appearing after agreeing to the booking.
“We are sorry to inform you that Impact Wrestling has pulled LAX off the upcoming EVOLVE dates. EVOLVE officials were contacted by LAX and informed that they were needed for something else that weekend. No other explanation was given. Impact Wrestling didn’t contact EVOLVE officials and left it up to LAX. There is no heat on LAX as WWN understands the situation they were put in,” a statement from EVOLVE read.
The statement continued saying that EVOLVE officials told LAX of the plan of the matches, including wrestling NXT’s Street Profits and they were told that LAX would not be able to lose. The two matches were drawn up to protect both tag teams.
“Unfortunately, Impact Wrestling waited until the matches were announced and then pulled the talent the next day. This all could have easily been avoided by not allowing LAX to take the dates in the first place. EVOLVE will no longer consider booking Impact Wrestling contracted talent moving forward,” the statement concluded.
Impact currently allows other independent promotions to book all their talent through the company.
