JP Morgan analyst Dan Karnovsky upgraded WWE stocks from Neutral to Overweight and raised his price target from $84 to $87, resulting in WWE stocks trading at 4% higher at time of this writing.
Karnovsky said that since WWE dropped from $97 to the current mid-$70s, it’s an excellent buying opportunity for long-term WWE investors. “WWE has greater visibility into multi-year OIBDA growth and capital returns, driven by step-ups and escalators on US TV contracts, with upside from international agreements, mainly in India,” he wrote.
This is the second upgrade WWE received this week after Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker solidified the Buy rating and raised his price target from $100 to $105.
The season eight finale of Total Divas, episode titled Unbreakable Force, did a total of 412,000 viewers, the same number from episode nine. Over 10 episodes, season eight averaged 392,000 viewers, down significantly from the 583,000 average it did in the previous season. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Becky Lynch has been cleared to compete and will be ready to take bumps during the TLC match even though she just recovered from a concussion.
The Smackdown Women’s champion missed a few weeks of action and most importantly a high-profile match against Ronda Rousey at the Survivor Series after she got knocked out by Nia Jax on Raw. Jax broke Lynch’s nose and the punch to the face also resulted in a concussion.
Lynch, however, managed to pass the IMPACT concussion test that WWE administers to all its Superstars who are diagnosed with a concussion. With the addition of Asuka, it might be a bit easier to protect Lynch in the match both in terms of high-risk moves and even who takes the fall at the end of the match and if WWE plans to take the title away from her, she doesn’t have to be pinned to lose the title.
Alexa Bliss, who has failed multiple IMPACT concussion tests, remains not cleared to compete.
It’s November 29th, and World Tag League returns to Korakuen Hall, THE wrestling arena in Tokyo. But tonight’s main event is not from the tournament, it’s the first ever (confirmed by New Japan’s advertising) teaming of HIroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada. As the once heated rivals team with Light Heavyweight champion, Kushida, their opponents will be Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, and, most likely the light heavyweight challenger, Taiji Ishimori.
I will see you next in ten days, when New Japan returns for Korakuen for the first teaming of Tanahashi & Okada against their heated rivals.
World Tag League matches:
1. Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino
Still a bit puzzled over almost jobber/jobber team inclusion in this tournament. But their talent is certainly deserving. So far they have zero points. Let’s hope their first win comes over the two overbound, untalented Americans. Yoshida & Umino came very close to victory, but Cobb pinned Yoshida with a power slam. After the match Elgin patted Yoshida, shook Umino’s hand and applauded them, acknowledging the good effort.
2. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Robinson & Finlay are out in new Robinson grey shirts. It makes Finlay look like an ugly version of Seth Rogen, and that’s saying something. Unbelievable spot, considering who was doing it. where Nakanishi hit a flying cross body off the top rope on both men. Double dropkick turned the tide for the Caucasians, Robinson punched Nakanishi, Finlay stunnered him and Juice pinned him after a Pulp Friction.
3. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Killer Elite Squad
Tenzan pinned Smith after a bodyslam and a moonsault. As beautiful as the moonsault was, I have to point out that Smith had to very obviously turn himself all the way around, so his legs won’t be in the ropes, after the bodyslam. This is a huge upset as the veteran team beat one of the top teams in the league and one of the top tournament leaders.
4. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs Best Friends
Well, that escalated quickly! The second time Chuckie T tagged in against Henare, he just went to town on him. He took him outside, piled a whole bunch of chairs and slammed Henare onto them. He put a table into the ring, climbed in, and with the ref saying no, hit Henare with a chair for a DQ loss. Makabe came in and was winning for a while, but Chuckie turned the side and went to town on him with a chair as well. After destroying Young Lions who tried to stop him, Chuck slammed Toa onto the table. Beretta yelled at him to stop, but Chuck seemingly ignored him and started choking Henare with a belt. Beretta came in to stop the beating, but Chuck nailed him, apparently without seeing who it was, but didn’t seem to care. Next, doing his best Sid Vicious impression, he left the ring. I wonder if we discovered who Jay White’s spy in CHAOS was.
5. Guerillas of Destiny (with Jado) vs Adam Page & Yujiro Takahashi
There was one star in this match, and it was Yujiro–he looked very smooth, since he finally had a chance to do offense, and non-comedic offense as that. Jado nailed him, which distracted Page, and the Hangman got lariated by Tanga Loa and Nightfalled for the pin.
6. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs Zack Sabre jr & Taichi (with TAKA Michinoku)
When Suzuki ended up going against Sabre, he tagged out. Sabre then tagged Taichi. Taichi tried to convince Iizuka to tag in Suzuki. As Iizuka turned around, Suzuki ripped his mask off and tried to get him to attack Suzuki, but Iizuka attacked Taichi instead. Eventually after a lot of creative twists, Sabre pinned Iizuka with a backflip cradle. After the match, Suzuki offered opponents to bump hands, both accepted, but Taichi hesitated for a bit.
7. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs EVIL & Sanada
Excellent match. The finish came after Sanada blocked several of Yano’s attempts to low blow him or knock out the ref, and pinned him with a backflip cradle. This was a contest between two tournament leaders, so lots of effect for later on in the tournament and gives the Los Ingobernables team solo lead for now.
Non-World Tag League main event:
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada & Kushida vs Jay White, Bad Luck Fale and Taiji Ishimori (with Gedo)
Ishimori comes to the ring with an unknown belt and limping on a strange-looking black cast, which makes me wonder if he is hurt, and we’ll get Gedo instead. Okada comes down first for his team and gets in Jay White’s face, but all of OGs team to beat him up, until Tanahashi & Kushida rush the ring. Kushida was absolutely on fire in the match he had no business taking the lead in, but thank god he did, as the opening wasn’t very notable. When Tanahashi had to come in to save Kushida from Fale, he executed a dragon screw, at which point Jay White ran in, only for Okada to head him off and execute a dragon screw of his own. Nice! Kushida had Ishimori almost tap to the Hoverboard, but Jay White blade runnered him and one gutbuster later, OGs had won. Interesting choice, as I thought Fale was here to take the pin. Jay White managed to Blade Runner him. Tanahashi got in for the save, but, with help from Fale, he got the same fate.
Jay White got on the mic and said that a) he is facing Okada at WrestleKingdom b) they are the Bullet Club, not a version of it and c) this is the Cutthroat Era.
WWE today announced that Tribute to the Troops will be held in Fort Hood, Texas on Tuesday, December 4. This is the second time that Fort Hood will host WWE’s holiday show for the troops as the company held the event there before in 2010.
It was not announced when the show will air on television, if at all. Usually Tribute to the Troops airs around two weeks later on USA Network as the holidays gets closer.
It looks like the Raw brand will be doing the show as Smackdown is in Austin, Texas on that day. Apart from taping the show, several WWE Superstars will be spending time with military personnel and their families stationed on base. Activities include a Be a STAR bullying prevention rally, as well as hospital visits and military outreach initiatives at various installations across the base.
16-time World champion John Cena will be receiving the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award in honor of his leadership as a philanthropist. The award presentation will take place at SI’s Sportsperson of the Year event on December 11 at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles.
Cena has the record of granting nearly 600 wishes for Make-A-Wish Foundation and is an advocate for breast cancer awareness.
“I am truly thrilled to receive Sports Illustrated’s Muhammad Ali Legacy Award,” Cena said. “Ali’s commitment to helping others, his dedication to the sport and his generous spirit are incomparable and he was a role model to us all. To be linked with him in any way is an honor that means so much to me.”
Sports Illustrated Executive Editor Stephen Cannella, who helped select Cena for the award along with other SI editors, said he was selected based on his commitment to philanthropy.
“From his unparalleled work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to his support for a wide range of causes ranging from activism for military families to cancer research, John has made personal outreach and generosity of time and spirit his calling cards,” said Sports Illustrated Executive Editor Stephen Cannella. “He might just be the most charitable person in sports, and his dedication to philanthropy richly reflects the spirit of the Ali Legacy Award.”
The Legacy Award was created in 2008 and renamed after Ali in 2015 in recognition of his decades as a boxing legend, civil rights activist and icon. Previous recipients include Colin Kaepernick, Jack Nicklaus, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
E! announced that Total Bellas will return with a new season on Sunday, January 13 at 9PM EST.
The new season of Total Bellas will follow Nikki Bella as she moves forward with her new life as a single woman and dips her toe back in the dating pool for the first time in almost a decade, allowing Brie to play matchmaker and set her up on dates. The Superstar twins return to the ring with renewed focus and fervor to begin the road to WWE’s first-ever all women’s pay-per-view event, Evolution. Brie and Bryan discuss expanding their family, but with both of them back to in-ring competition and away from Birdie, they must decide if now is the right time to add another baby into the mix.
The third season of Total Bellas finished as its highest-rated season to date among all key demographics drawing in nearly 1 million total viewers per episode, up 22% from the previous season among the core P18-49 demographic. It has become E!’s #2 rated show, only behind Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Smackdown this week drew a total of 2,264,000 viewers, up 114,000 viewers from last week’s show. It was #1 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #9 in overall viewership for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
NXT UK star Rhea Ripley became the brand’s inaugural Women’s champion in an episode that aired last night on the WWE Network. The actual episode was taped in Birmingham, England on August 26.
Ripley, the 22-year-old Australian, defeated Mae Young Classic tournament winner Toni Storm in the final and main event of the show.
This is Ripley’s first title in WWE where she has been signed since last year. To win the title, Ripley went through Xia Brookside in the quarter final, Dakota Kai in the semi final, and Storm as the last hurdle in the final.
Since the episode was taped a couple of months ago, Ripley has already defended the title on a couple of occasions including in a dark match at the Evolution pay-per-view against her semi final opponent Dakota Kai.
Monday Night Raw drew an average of 2,368,000 viewers this week, down 125,000 viewers from last week’s show.
Hour one drew 2,612,000 viewers, hour two had 2,382,000 viewers, and hour three dropped to 2,111,000 viewers. This was the least-watched Raw since the October 1 episode.
Raw was #5, #6, and #7 in the top 50 cable chart among the 8-49 demographic and #9 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
The season eight finale of Total Divas airs tonight win an episode titled Unbreakable Force.
The synopsis for tonight’s broadcast reads, “On the season finale, the female superstars prepare for their historic Money in the Bank match, and are faced with pressures inside and outside the ring. While Nia prepares for her publicly anticipated singles match against Ronda Rousey, Trinity tries to get her relationship with Jon back on track after realizing her wedding ring is stolen. As a shock and heartbreak to all, the Hart Dynasty is shaken when Nattie and her family are faced with the devastating loss of her father, Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart.”
WWE stocks are up 7% today at time of this writing after Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker raised WWE’s price target from $100 to $105 based on the upcoming India television deal renewal.
“We are raising our outlook for WWE’s renewal in India from an AAV of $85mm to a $124mm AAV as India’s competitive, growing media ecosystem appears poised to deliver a win for WWE and its shareholders,” Baker wrote in a note.
WWE’s television deal in India, which is the largest along with the one in the UK outside North America, will be renewed in the first half of 2019 and Baker expects that WWE will bag five times the value of the current deal.
WWE stocks are hovering around the $70 mark today after a big drop from $97 of last month.
WWE Hall of Famer Edge announced on his social media accounts that his mother, Judy Copeland, has passed away.
“The only parent I’ve ever had. She was my rock. The backbone and bedrock that kept my balance through some very tumultuous years. She never doubted me. Ever,” Edge wrote in a touching tribute to his mother.
He recalled how she said “do it” when he told her he wants to be a professional wrestler and managed to keep him fed, clothed, buy toys, and even a WrestleMania ticket for him.
“She supported me and bred me to be the man I eventually became. Took some elbow grease, but I got there. A point where she knew I was going to be fine,” he continued.
Week 11 of season two of Mixed Match Challenge took place last night with the tournament now moving to the knockout stage.
In the first match of the night, Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox defeated Curt Hawkins and Ember Moon while in the second match, Finn Balor and Bayley defeated Bobby Lashley and Mickie James.
Ember Moon had not lost a single match in the tournament with Braun Strowman, finishing the round-robin matches with a 4-0 record. Unfortunately for her, Strowman got injured and Moon was given Curt Hawkins, who had a 236-match losing streak. Mahal and Fox were 1-3 in the tournament but advanced nonetheless, thanks to Mahal pinning Hawkins.
Balor and Bayley entered this match with a 2–2 record while Lashley and James had a better 3-1 record. But it was Bayley who came up with the victory this time as she pinned James with her Bayley-to-Belly finisher.
The two teams now advance to the semi final match where they will meet each other for the final spot at TLC. Next week it will be The Miz and Asuka versus Jimmy Uso and Naomi and R-Truth and Carmella vs Jeff Hardy and Charlotte Flair.
The Smackdown Women’s title will be on the line at the upcoming TLC pay-per-view in a tables, ladders, and chairs match.
The triple threat match will feature “The Man” Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Asuka.
Originally, the match was announced as Lynch vs Flair only but then the rest of the Smackdown women’s division didn’t take a comment from Paige lightly and confronted the Smackdown GM after she said that no one has showed more passion than Flair.
A battle royal was set for later in the show with the winner joining the title match, a battle royal which Asuka eventually won.
Lynch, who returned on the show last night, has been out with a broken nose and concussion ever since the Raw before the Survivor Series.
For the first time at a Royal Rumble weekend, WWE will be holding an Axxess event, a fan convention typically reserved for WrestleMania and sometimes SummerSlam.
This year’s Rumble will take place in Phoenix, Arizona and the Axxess convention will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center between Friday, January 25 and Sunday, January 27.
Tickets for Royal rumble Axxess will go on sale on Friday, December 7 at Noon EST with a special pre-sale taking place on Wednesday, December 5 at Noon EST using the code DOTCOM. Tickets will be available at Phoenix.Ticketforce.com.
In total there will be four Axxess sessions, one on Friday between 6PM and 10PM, two on Saturday, with the first session from 8AM to Noon and the second one from 1PM to 5PM, and then one session on Sunday between 8AM and Noon.
For those in possession of Premium VIP tickets, Dean Ambrose and Daniel Bryan will be signing autographs on Friday; Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, and Rey Mysterio will be there on Saturday; and Sasha Banks and Bayley, and Seth Rollins will be there on Sunday.
For those with a VIP ticket, Becky Lynch and Shinsuke Nakamura will be on hand on Friday; Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush, Elias, The Miz and Maryse, and The New Day will be on Saturday; and Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, and Charlotte Flair will appear at the Sunday session.
Former NXT Women’s champion Kairi Sane, who has been battling high fever for a few days, has now said that while the fever has gone down, she has symptoms of the Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease.
In a tweet, Sane said that she’s gone to the hospital and the disease usually affects small children, and wondered if the virus entered her body by mistake!
The Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease is a highly contagious viral illness that is common in infants and children younger than five years old. Despite usually attacking children, adults are not immune to it and typically patients recover in 10 days after some treatment. Sometimes, the disease can lead to viral meningitis which is much more serious.
NXT has television tapings tomorrow and considering that the HFMD is contagious, it’s unlikely that she would be participating. If the Pirate Princess is not at the tapings that means that she will be off television for s few weeks as WWE tapes several episodes of NXT in advance.
Ember Moon lost her tag team partner Braun Strowman for the rest of the Mixed Match Challenge tournament and his replacement isn’t exactly someone she probably would have chosen herself.
It was announced that Curt Hawkins will be joining Moon in the tournament which has reached the knockout stage. Hawkins is on a long losing streak, losing his last 236 matches, so Ember Moon’s chances of advancing in the tournament with her new partner have greatly decreased!
This particular team was doomed from the start as it was originally Alexa Bliss who was supposed to team up with Strowman again but injuries forced her out, leaving a spot open for Moon to fill. Then Strowman got injured and required surgery, taking him out of the team.
Hawkins and Moon will take on Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox tonight on Facebook’s Mixed Match Challenge.
Last week on Total Divas, we followed the ladies on a girls trip to Lake Tahoe which was full of drama from the beginning. On this episode, the drama continued as the divas revealed their deepest fears to one another, and try to help each other overcome them.
Apparently, Brie’s greatest fear is the Lake Tahoe monster, Tahoe Tessie. So Brie spent her time trying to convince the other divas that Tahoe Tessie was in fact real. However, even after trip to the Tahoe Tessie Museum, her friends were true believers. I personally think that Brie didn’t share her true worst fear because it was too personal. But she had no problem sharing her twin’s greatest fear…the fear of sharing her original poetry in public.
We also learned that WWE Superstar Natalya is terrified of heights and that Paige is petrified of deep water. After sharing their fears, the girls agreed to try conquering them during the remainder of their trip.
Natalya went first, conquering her fear of heights by parasailing. All the other girls, encouraged her along the way. Next, Paige tried to conquer her fear of deep water by going tubing, but she had an anxiety attack. However, later she was able to join the other girls in the celebratory leap into Lake Tahoe. Around the campfire, on the last day of the trip Nicole recited an original poem about her friends.
Lastly, trip ended with all the girls diving into the hot tub together; which seemed like a relaxing end to another dramatic trip for the Divas. I’m sure that there is still more relevant to come on the season finale of Total Divas.
