WWE handed out an electronic bracelet to everyone who attended NXT Takeover: WarGames last night to test a new interactive experience.
The bracelet, similar to a more bulkier FitBit, required a setup by sending a text message to a number and then once activated, the bracelet would change colors during entrances depending on who was coming out.
Judging by feedback posted online, the setup wasn’t as smooth for everyone and many bracelets failed to work when they were supposed to, while others functioned without any issues. WWE also tested some VR recording at Takeover and both the bracelet and the VR could be a sign of things to come to other pay-per-views.
Live tonight from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, WWE presents Survivor Series 2018 on pay-per-view and WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
Universal champion Brock Lesnar vs WWE champion Daniel Bryan in a non-title match; Raw Women’s champion Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair in a non-title match; Intercontinental champion Seth Rollins vs United States champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a non-title match; Raw Tag Team champions Authors of Pain vs Smackdown Tag Team champions Sheamus and Cesaro in a non-title match; Buddy Murphy vs Mustafa Ali for the WWE Cruiserweight title; Men’s Survivor Series traditional elimination match with Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, and Bobby Lashley vs The Miz, Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, and Jeff Hardy; Women’s Survivor Series traditional elimination match with Mickie James, Nia Jax, Tamina, Natalya, and Ruby Riott vs Asuka, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Carmella, and a mystery partner; and the Kickoff Tag Team Survivor Series traditional elimination match with Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, The Revival, The B-Team, Lucha House Party, and The Ascension vs The Usos, The New Day, SAnitY, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, and The Colons.
The Survivor Series is free for first-time subscribers to the WWE Network. You can start your 30-day free trial by going to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk.
ESPN.COM has a really good story on David Arquette, who this past Friday nearly killed himself wrestling in his first death match against Nick Cage that resulted in Cage slicing up his neck by accident with a broken light tube.
The focus of the story is Arquette’s first involvement with professional wrestling, winning the WCW title, and getting on every wrestling fan’s wrong side due to the storyline that he had no control over.
But Arquette is ready to prove himself and calls his return to the ring not a ploy to generate attention or a mid-life crisis. “It’s not a publicity stunt, that’s for sure. It’s too painful for that,” Arquette said. “It’s something that’s been gnawing at me for years.”
Here are the results from last night’s NXT Takeover: WarGames 2018 which took place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Matt Riddle defeated Kassius Ohno; Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane in a two-out-of-three falls to retain the NXT Women’s title. Baszler won the first fall, Sane won the second one, and then Baszler clinched the third fall; Aleister Black defeated Johnny Gargano; Tommaso Ciampa defeated Velveteen Dream to retain the NXT title; Ricochet, Pete Dunne, and War Raiders defeated The Undisputed Era in this year’s WarGames match.
One of the big four WWE pay-per-views takes place tomorrow night in Los Angeles with a total of eight matches on the card.
Today we will take a look at the betting odds of the top two matches of the show, with all the matches being featured tomorrow.
A surprise ending on Smackdown forced a change to one of the main events as Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles to win the WWE title in rare title change on free television. But Bryan faces the monster Brock Lesnar, who in betting odds, is rarely on the losing end. This time is no different as the Universal champion is 2/7 favorite to beat Daniel Bryan who is at 5/2 for the big David vs Goliath upset.
While the change in the men’s champion vs champion match was pre-determined, the change in the women’s champion vs champion match was forced due to an injury. Becky Lynch, the popular Smackdown Women’s champion was taken out of the show due to a concussion and a broken nose, leaving the match against Ronda Rousey for another time. Rousey, who just like Lesnar is usually always the favorite, is also the favorite for tomorrow with her odds at 1/10 to win the match. Her opponent, Charlotte Flair, is far away with 11/2 odds so a Flair upset would bag a lot of money.
As NXT’s popularity increased over the past several months, betting companies have started to offer odds on Takeover shows as well, odds that are usually reserved only for the company’s main pay-per-view shows.
The following NXT Takeover: WarGames 2018 odds are correct at time of this writing. Odds can and will probably change as the event gets closer to bell time.
In the main event of the show, The Undisputed Era are 1/2 favorites to win this WarGames match against the team of Ricochet, Dunne, and War Machine, who are at 6/4 in their odds. If The Undisputed Era wins tonight, they would keep their 100% WarGames record having also won last year’s match.
The NXT title looks like it’s set to remain around the waist of Tommaso Ciampa if bookies are correct. Ciampa is 1/4 favorite to retain the title while his opponent Velveteen Dream is at 11/4 for the upset.
The same can be said for the NXT Women’s title as Shayna Baszler is at 1/3 to win the two-out-of-three falls match against former champ Kairi Sane who has odds of 9/4.
And in the fourth and final match of this card, Aleister Black is 1/2 favorite to defeat Johnny Gargano who is at 6/4.
Live tonight from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, WWE presents NXT Takeover: WarGames 2018 on the WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong vs Ricochet, Pete Dunne, and War Raiders in a WarGames match; Tommaso Ciampa vs Velveteen Dream for the NXT title; Shayna Baszler vs Kairi Sane in a two-out-of-three falls match for the NXT Women’s title; Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano.
NXT Takeover: WarGames is free for first-time subscribers to the WWE Network. To start your free 30-day trial, go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk.
David Arquette, the Hollywood star who is also a former WCW champion, made headlines yesterday for participating in an indy wrestling death match that sometimes was too uncomfortable to watch.
Arquette has lately decided to give professional wrestling a go and has been working his butt off to win the respect of his peers and fans. The 47-year-old star, who is a long-time wrestling fan, won the WCW title in April 2000 after he was brought in for a storyline to coincide with his leading role of the WCW movie Ready to Rumble.
His involvement last night at the Joey Janela LA Confidential show for Game Changer Wrestling saw him wrestling Nick Cage in a death match that was filled with blood, light tubes, pizza cutters, and everything else that might make you go “Holy sh*t!”
At one point, after Arquette got hit in the head with a light tube, Cage proceeded to continue to hit him with the broken tube, slicing up his neck which resulted in blood being sprayed all over the ring. Arquette looked a bit freaked out from the videos, started holding his neck and walked out of the ring, before returning for the finish, where he lost. The Hollywood star though no-sold the finish and walked right out after the pinfall.
Later on Twitter, Arquette said that he got all stitched up and doing okay but admitted that death matches aren’t his thing so it looks like his first death match is going to be his last one!
You can see some videos from the match below. Be warned that they are very graphic.
Ticketmaster.com is displaying only around 350 tickets left available for WrestleMania, with only a few standard ticket prices and a lot of official platinum ones which have bumped-up prices.
A ringside seat which was going for $2,500 when it went on sale is now listed at $7,000 through the Ticketmaster website and floor seats are going for $1,000, $4,500, and $6,000 as well.
The demand for WrestleMania 35 has been higher than previous WrestleManias mainly because New York is also easily accessible from most major airports around the world and cheaper airline ticket prices due to the thousands of flights that operate to the city every day.
Despite Ticketmaster running out of tickets, thousands of tickets remain on the secondary-market for a higher cost.
Impact Wrestling this week drew 101,000 viewers, down 28,000 viewers from last week’s episode. The move to a 10PM EST start has not been so kind to the company which continues to struggle to get eyeballs in front of televisions for the flagship program. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
WWE Network will air a one-hour special presentation of this year’s Starrcade event which will take place at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Saturday, November 24.
The Network show airs the day after, on Sunday, November 25 starting at 8PM EST with highlights from the nine dual-brand matches that are set to take place, headlined by Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose in a street fight.
WWE resurrected the popular WCW pay-per-view last year as a non-televised live event in Greensboro and held it at the same place where the first-ever Starrcade took place. The show was sold out although there are still some tickets for this year’s show remaining. Ticketmaster is running a special 4-pack offer for the tickets. Some ringside tickets are also available for $304 each.
Episode nine of season eight of Total Divas, titled A Sisterhood Beyond Blood, did a total of 412,000 viewers, the second-best number of the season. It was up 25,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Former WWE Superstar James Ellsworth might soon find himself in hot water after he was accused of sending nude photos to an underage girl.
The 16-year-old, named Kenzie and using the Twitter username of KliqKid, said that she met Ellsworth at an indie show on November 9 and gave him her Twitter handle so he can follow her. After DMing him later, Ellsworth allegedly asked for her Snapchat. In a video message, Kenzie said that she has screenshots of his nudes, screenshots of his mirror selfies, screenshots of him asking her for her Snapchat, as well as videos of nudes he sent her.
In a tweet, Ellsworth denied all the allegations against him and directed all queries to his attorney. His attorney from Bates & Garcia later released a statement saying, “My client, James Morris, known publicly and professionally as James Ellsworth has become aware of a number of baseless allegations. Mr. Morris has the utmost respect for women and categorically denies these inflammatory and despicable accusations.”
The alleged victim also posted a screenshot of a DM she received on Twitter from a female wrestler whose name has been removed saying, “Hey love! I saw your tweets and just wanted to check in with you. Us women wrestlers have had very uncomfortable experiences with Ellsworth so hearing that he sent you nudes especially if you didn’t ask for them is unsettling.”
Kenzie then proceeded to post some of the photos that Ellsworth sent her and showing proof that what’s she saying is true.
WrestleMania 35 tickets went on general sale this morning at Ticketmaster.com after two days of pre-sale.
Ticket prices are $35, $50, $75, $100, $150, $200, $250, $300, $400, $600, $850, $1,000, $2,000, and $2,500. Tickets will also have an additional fee and taxes on top of it.
Judging from the Ticketmaster seating chart, sales have been very encouraging with not much empty seats left although WWE will more than likely release additional seats plus release those which were reserved for travel packages but left unsold.
As it is with every major event, ticket scalpers end up getting a ton of tickets for resale at a higher price so avoid purchasing tickets from any other place that is not Ticketmaster as you will pay higher than face value. Prices on those secondary-market tickets will go down as the event gets closer so they can get rid of their stock.
The use of performance enhancing drugs such as steroids has plagued the wrestling business for a long time. Organizations such as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) have taken steps to discourage the use of steroids. They have gone as far as letting money-making performers go in a bid to discourage the use of steroids.
The list of professional wrestlers known to have used legal steroids is long. Let us look at the biggest 5.
Hulk Hogan
Terry Eugene (Gene) Bollea, better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan is regarded by many wrestling enthusiasts as the greatest wrestler ever. The Hulk’s use of steroids led up to the famous trial that threatened to topple the WWF. When the Steroids scandal hit WWE initially, it was Hogan’s face that was plastered all over. In his 1994 testimony, he declared that he not only used steroids but that he was on them for 14 years. The intention was to maintain his physique as well as to aid in quickening recovery from injuries he sustained in the ring. Hogan assumed that since the steroids were prescribed by a physician, then they were legal.
Chris Benoit
Born Christopher Michael Benoit, the Canadian born wrestler’s career in the ring spanned 22 years. He was considered one of the top 10 if not top 5 of the greatest wrestlers and was a two-time world champion. He had WCW and World championships under his belt. The toxicology report indicated that he had high levels of testosterone which pointed to a regular use of steroids and
Buy Testosterone Supplements for Men or köpa testosteron tillskott för män. Additionally, he used painkillers regularly and developed a dependency on them.
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon is best known as a professional wrestling promoter and executive. Going by his ring name Mr. McMahon, he is a two-time world champion having won the WWF championship in 1999 and the ECW one in 2007. He also won the 1999 Royal Rumble. His body is one of the most ripped in the wrestling world and confessed to having used steroids back in the 80s. The confession was made in a federal court trial in 1993. He also confessed in 1994 to having distributed steroids to performers
The Ultimate Warrior
Born James Brian Hellwig, he wrestled under the ring name The Ultimate Warrior. He has had a rather strained relationship with the WWE in the past. It is believed his steroid use is the reason for this. In fact, it is alleged that he was fired from the company due to his steroid usage. McMahon pointed out that it was Warrior’s indulgence of growth hormones that got him the sack. The Warrior admitted to his steroid use in various interviews and also in court. Owing to his iconic body, many wrestling fans hardly surprised by his admission.
Eddie Guerrero
Known for his catchphrase, “I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!” Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes performed for WCW, ECW and WWF/WWE. He was known to do anything to win a match. It was also clear that he was on steroids due to his bulked-up physique. The suspicions became facts when it was reported he received testosterone and nandrolone steroids combined with an estrogen-blocker known as anastrozole. This drug is popular with men on steroids to block development of breast tissue. Guerrero died in November 2005 aged 38.
ProWrestlingSheet.comis reporting that former WWE Cruiserweight champion Enzo Amore was kicked off of a Delta Airlines flight which was leaving from New York to Los Angeles.
Amore was ordered out of the plane before takeoff after he didn’t stop vaping on the plane.
Vaping and smoking on planes are illegal and Port Authority police were called in but they did not arrest him.
TMZ, which also had details on the story, added that Delta Airlines refused to put Amore on a different flight so he had to make different arrangements.
The former WWE star has been released from the company since January after rape allegations surfaced but police eventually dropped all charges and closed the case after not enough evidence to support the story was found.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that the decision has been made to keep Rousey vs Lynch on the shelf until WrestleMania 35.
“Both Vince McMahon and Rousey decided that the best course of action was to do the match at WrestleMania. Rousey and Lynch immediately went at it hard on social media, even though Rousey’s new opponent on the PPV is Charlotte Flair,” Meltzer wrote.
Meltzer also adds that the idea is floating around to have Rousey and Lynch main event the show, going out last to close the pay-per-view. If it happens, it would be the first time ever that two women have main evented WrestleMania, something that up until a few years ago would have been unheard of.
Lynch’s injury could be a blessing in disguise because delaying the match against Rousey to WrestleMania is certainly a step-up from the Survivor Series not to mention that if it happens in the main event, the two would have the honor to say they were the first females to headline the biggest WWE pay-per-view of the year.
Impact Wrestling champion John Hennigan is currently participating in the 37th season of Survivor: David vs Goliath on CBS.
But his time on the show as a player ended yesterday after he got blindsided in one of the most exciting tribal councils ever. Hennigan was not even on the chopping block but when the two alliances played a hidden immunity idol to save their own members, two other players from the David tribe gambled big, writing John’s name, and it paid off.
“That was off the top rope, bro!” said one of the players as Hennigan’s torch was snuffed by host Jeff Probst. But the Impact star took it in good stride, admitting the awesome blindside. “Ironically I was talking about a Brochacho blindside tonight, but I was talking about Christian…and it ended up being me!”
Earlier in the show in one of the one-on-one interviews with players, Hennigan told cameras that Christian, an “honorary Brochacho member” would get the axe tonight in a blindside, and told the camera “hashtag Brochacho Blindside”
Hennigan will still be part of the rest of the show as a jury member.
In post-show comments to Entertainment Weekly, Jeff Probst said that the producers really wanted John on the Goliath tribe but there was a scheduling issue and they were notified that he couldn’t make it, calling the decision a major disappointment.
“Then one day, I got a call — “His schedule changed, he can do it!” It was one of the best days in casting because we knew John would bring the physical representation of a Goliath but also many more layers that would surprise people,” Probst said. “John’s a deep thinker and a smart guy. We hated to lose him. I think if he played again, he might play a bit more aggressively, but I really enjoyed having him on the island.”
Hennigan then explained the problem with going to the show saying that he left for Fiji just 36 hours after he finished Lucha Underground season 4. “The producers of Lucha Underground had to bend over backwards to get me wrapped out of the season to leave for Survivor,” John said. “And then certainly I am the Impact Wrestling world champion and I had just signed a deal with Impact Wrestling at the time, and they had to bend over backwards to agree to let me miss two months of wrestling bookings based on a contract that I had just signed recently. So two wrestling organizations both bent over backwards to make the schedule work.”
The champ added that he lost around 25 pounds while he was on the island but said he regained them in just three days…although it wasn’t muscle!
“I didn’t feel like regular Slamtown for a couple of months. More than just muscle mass, it was the athletic functional ability and cardio and muscle and balance and endurance. The fatigue and starvation actually affected me more physically than I anticipated,” he told EW.COM.
Former ROH and NWA champion Cody has said on Twitter that his upcoming match against Jay Lethal next month at Ring of Honor will be his last one for the company.
“Jay was the first match I had in ROH two years ago. He will be my last. And I will take the World Championship into free agency,” Rhodes wrote. The event, titled Final Battle, is taking place at The Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday, December 14.
Cody’s contract with ROH expires at the end of this year and there have been a lot of speculation about what he will be doing after that. Cody, along with The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, and Kenny Omega, have said that they will be sticking together no matter where they go next.
A return to WWE, although possible, is a long shot at this point considering the freedom he’s enjoying not to mention the possibility of All In 2 next year.
Smackdown did 2,312,000 viewers on Tuesday night for the Survivor Series go-home show, an increase of 224,000 viewers over last week’s broadcast. The show 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)
