WWE is partnering with Twitter to air the first 30 minutes of Evolution this Sunday free on the popular social network website on @WWE, @TwitterLive, and @TwitterSports in hopes of attracting more people to subscribe to the Network and watch the show.
In addition to the 30-minute simulcast, Twitter is also offering custom emojis for the hashtags #WWEEvolution, #RondaRousey and #NikkiBella. Writing #WWEEvolution will bring up a WWE women’s title with the color scheme of the Evolution logo. Writing #RondaRousey and #NikkiBella will get the Rousey’s RR logo and Nikki’s red hat.
Evolution starts with a Kickoff show at 6PM EST and then the pay-per-view at 7PM EST.
Total Divas episode six of season eight titled Welcome to Miami drew a total of 390,000 viewers, up 50,000 viewers from last week’s all-time low episode. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Perhaps the most alarming thing from WWE’s Q3 2018 financial results is how bad non-televised live events are performing.
For the last quarter, WWE had an average attendance of 4,500, down from 4,900 it had in the same quarter last year. When taking into consideration Q1 and Q2 of 2018, WWE had 5,400 in Q1 and 5,000 in Q2 so the attendance is steadily declining.
The touring business side in WWE’s portfolio barely broke even this quarter, something which has been unheard of in a very, very, very long time. Addressing the live event business during the conference call with investors, Vince McMahon acknowledged the poor attendance at live events and if things stay the same, WWE would be running tours at a loss.
McMahon said that they understand what’s wrong and they know how to fix it and said that the company will be reimagining non-televised live events very soon.
The undisclosed injury that kept Sasha Banks out of action for over a month recently has been revealed as post-concussion syndrome.
Banks herself talked about the situation in a podcast with Maria Menounos which airs today on Apple Podcasts. A preview clip released by Menounos’ PR team has Banks explaining what was happening to her and why she eventually had to be taken off the road.
“I was having head pain, I couldn’t function. I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t sleep. I’m like ‘I need to go get checked out,'” she told Menounos. “I went to several neurologists and they just pretty much told me that I have post-concussion syndrome so just rest, rest, rest.”
Banks said that it was a bit scary and she was worried that she wouldn’t be cleared in time to participate in the Evolution pay-per-view this Sunday. But all those fears are now gone as Banks made it in time for the show, returning two weeks ago on Raw and then wrestling on this week’s Raw ahead of Evolution.
The former Raw Women’s champion will be teaming up with her friend Bayley and Natalya to take on the Riott Squad in a six-woman tag team match this Sunday.
In a tweet responding to another message, former ROH and NWA champion Cody said that he will not be part of the historic ROH/NJPW show at Madison Square Garden on the eve of WrestleMania.
Cody’s deal with ROH expires in January and the future remains uncertain as he and fellow wrestlers The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page have committed to sticking together wherever they go next. Cody even hinted at another WWE run a few weeks ago saying he and his friends could end up anywhere.
ROH and NJPW will be running the SuperCard show from MSG becoming the first ones to run a wrestling show from The Garden which does not carry the WWE banner in over half a century.
The WWE Network ended Q3 2018 with a total of 1,614,900 subscribers, a 7% increase over the same period last year but a decrease from the 1,787,000 subscribers it had in the previous quarter.
Out of that 1.6 million number, 1,186,400 are subscribers based in the United States and 428,500 are international. Taking the average instead of an outright total number at the end of the quarter, WWE had 1,663,700 paying subscribers for Q3 2018 which is 9% more than same quarter of last year.
WWE noted that SummerSlam and the Mae Young Classic tournament were among the most-watched shows this quarter and the Super Show-Down pay-per-view was among the most-viewed of the year.
WWE today announced its Q3 2018 financial results, reaching $188.4 million and a record $657.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, representing 12% growth over the prior year period. Operating Income decreased to $18.1 million from $33.9 million in the prior year quarter
“During the quarter, we remained keenly focused on deepening engagement with our global fan base by delivering compelling original content across media platforms,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that deepening engagement will enable us to take advantage of favorable global industry trends and drive long-term growth.”
George Barrios, Co-President, added “We continue to effectively execute our strategy and achieved Adjusted OIBDA that surpassed our public guidance. Our performance maintains our path to achieve record revenue, record Adjusted OIBDA and record subscribers for the full year 2018.”
The Mae Young Classic tournament final match is set following last night’s semi final episode which aired on the WWE Network.
In the first match of the night, Toni Storm defeated Meiko Satomura to advance while Io Shirai defeated Rhea Ripley in the second semi final match. It’s good to note that Ripley was not supposed to go all the way to the semi final and Tegan Nox was the planned semi finalist but her injury derailed plans, working in favor for Ripley.
The final Storm vs Shirai match will take place this Sunday at Evolution.
Smackdown did not do well in the ratings on Tuesday against baseball, doing only 2,087,000 viewers, down 458,000 viewers from last week’s episode.
This was the second least-watched Smackdown of 2018 so far and the show was #1 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #8 in overall viewership for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Hulk Hogan told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper that he will be traveling to Saudi Arabia with WWE for Crown Jewel and will be making his first WWE televised appearance since 2015 when he got fired midway through the Tough Enough season where he served as a judge.
“There are a lot of plans in the works,” Hogan said. “I’m looking forward to going to Saudi Arabia with the WWE, looking forward to WrestleMania – but yeah, we’re moving forward at a rapid pace. It’s exciting to have this opportunity again after all these years where I was there and gone.”
The Saudi General Sports Authority chairman, Turki Al-Sheikh, recently tweeted a photo of Hogan, tipping off everyone that Hogan would indeed be making the trip.
The Hall of Famer had been a persona non grata in WWE for a few years but recently was invited backstage at Extreme Rules to apologize for the racist rant that was caught on tape from several years before.
With Wall Street taking a tumble today, WWE stocks took the fall as well, losing over 4% of its value as of this writing, trading currently at just over $78.
Tomorrow, the company will report its Q3 2018 financial results and it could either lift the stocks up a little bit or else continue its downward spiral that it has been in for the past week. A few weeks ago, WWE stocks were trading at $97 and was inching closer to $100 but the current stock market had its bad effect on them as well.
WWE’s conference call with the earnings will kick off at 11AM EST.
Episode six or season eight of Total Divas airs tonight on E! with an episode titled Welcome To Miami.
The synopsis for tonight’s show reads, “The WWE Female Superstars head to Miami to celebrate Nattie and Nia’s birthday with surprises in store while Nicole is hounded by the paparazzi wherever she turns, even when flirting with a hot bartender. All the while, the Superstars’ dancing skills are put to the test for a sexy dance battle at a Miami nightclub.”
This season of Total Divas has pulled in some horrendous numbers and is way down from past seasons. Last week’s episode was the least-watched of the entire run.
Week 6 of WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge took place yesterday with two more matches completed in this round-robin tournament.
In the first match, Finn Balor and Bayley defeated Bobby Roode and Natalya and in the second match, The Miz and Asuka defeated Jimmy Uso and Naomi.
With the wins, Balor and Bayley move to a 2-1 record while Miz and Asuka make it 3-0. Jimmy and Naomi are now 1-2 and Roode and Natalya have yet to win a match and have a 0-3 record.
Next week, Rusev and Lana take on AJ Styles and Charlotte Flair and Braun Strowman and Ember Moon wrestle Jimder Mahal and Alicia Fox.
Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch is reporting that almost nobody in WWE knew what Roman Reigns was going through until he went out there on Raw and announced that he had leukemia.
Keller said that none of the writers, announcers, and fellow wrestlers apart from a select few, were aware of the situation and everyone was caught by surprise.
The talent in the back were not even notified to take a seat in front of a television to see what he has to say and only realized what was going on when they heard the audio from the arena. Keller adds that the situation backstage was bad as everyone was “shocked to their core” by the sudden announcement.
Reigns did take off after his segment and did not stick around for the show.
In a message on Twitter, Reigns acknowledged the thousands of messages he received and wrote, “Thank you to everyone who’s reached out…I can’t put into words what it means to me. Your energy and positivity motivate me to get better quickly to get back in the ring, but for now I’m going to spend time with my family and focus on health. Thank you – Joe/Roman.”
WWE announced the broadcast team that will be handling the Evolution pay-per-view.
As expected, Michael Cole will be the leading play-by-play man and for the first time ever on a pay-per-view he will be flanked by two women – Renee Young and Beth Phoenix.
The Kickoff Show will be hosted by Renee Young, Beth Phoenix, and Smackdown General Manager Paige while Lilian Garcia, JoJo, and Kayla Braxton will be handling the ring announcing.
Braxton and Charly Caruso will also be on the red carpet arrivals while Dasha Fuentes, Cathy Kelley, and Sarah Schreiber will do all the backstage interviews.
Apart from Cole, the main players on this show are all women.
Monday Night Raw drew 2,548,000 viewers yesterday, up 152,000 viewers from the previous week.
Hour one started with 2,609,000, followed by a slight increase to 2,622,000 viewers, and then down to 2,413,000 for the third and final hour.
Raw was #4, #5, and #7 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and was #10 in overall viewership for the night. NFL on ESPN drew just over 10 million viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Waking up and seeing what happened with Roman Reigns was not exactly how I was hoping to start my day. Being on the other side of the world, I tend to see things a few hours later after they happen.
Watching his segment really did break my heart. Here was a man who for the majority of his WWE career was booed to hell and back and here he is in the middle of the ring, opening up about his personal life in a way that he didn’t have to.
Oftentimes, we do not see beyond the character and the gimmick. We just see the wrestling persona and sometimes we hate them because they are pushed down our throats after we reject their constant pushes to the top. Roman and Cena are two perfect names that fit this narrative. And we hate them as if they are the ones who decided to get that push. Maybe hate is a strong word but you know what I mean.
We see these people as real-life super heroes. Or villains. And for the most part, they are. They truly are. Until something like this happens and then we stop and reflect that the person behind that Roman Reigns gimmick is just an ordinary man with an unbelievable amount of talent who was put on this earth to entertain us fans. An ordinary man who has a mother and father. A wife or girlfriend. And children.
We did not see Roman Reigns yesterday. We saw Joe Anoa’i. Joe, who revealed that 11 years ago he was diagnosed with leukemia. Joe, who revealed that he beat cancer once and we and WWE made him live his dream. Joe, who revealed that his cancer is back once again and he has to go.
I’ve got to admit, I had a few tears in my eyes by the time that segment was over. You could see how much Joe meant to his fellow Shield brothers. You could tell how much Joe is respected backstage in that video that was shot after he made his way to the back. You could see how his peers feel about him in the tons of Twitter messages they left him.
I don’t know how long he will be out for. I don’t know when we will see him back in a WWE ring. What I do know is that I believed every word he said last night, that he will take this head-on and he will be back stronger than ever.
I was in that arena the night after WrestleMania 33 on Raw when the fans showered him with boos after he beat The Undertaker. It was the loudest and longest booing I’ve ever heard in my life. I just hope that the night he’s back, WWE fans will replace those boos with long, loud cheers. Because he deserves it. Plus, besides that, how can you ever boo him again after yesterday?
Good luck, Joe. Now it’s time for one more big Superman punch. We are all praying for you.
A lot of trickery and deceit caused plenty of drama on this week’s episode of Total Divas.
Nia Jax tricked her friends, Natalya, Trinity, and Lana into helping her with home improvement projects by inviting them over for a “fun girls weekend.” Once they arrived, however, she quickly put them to work assembling new bookshelves, and putting up shelf paper in her cabinets. Trying to be good friends, the girls at first went along with Nia’s scheme, but quickly they became bored with this. So, they ran away from Nia’s house. At first Nia was furious, but then once her friends explained that they had simply wanted to spend their weekend off having fun rather than working, Nia understood. My advice, Nia, is to simply be honest with your friends, instead of telling them that they are in for a weekend of fun and then making them work; tell them they’re working from the get-go just to avoid confusion.
Nia had another reason to be angry, however, Lana nearly damaged her new house permanently.
Lana had been upset about her lack of recent television time. So, she had been trying everything to get noticed by the talent management at WWE. So, Lana thought that changing her look might impress talent relations more. So she decided to dye her hair pink. The problem was, however, that she didn’t check with the creative team at WWE before dying her hair. Further, whenever Lana dyed it, she was leaning up against Nia’s brand new walls, so they were damaged. Luckily, Lana’s career wasn’t damaged because she dyed her hair back to blonde before anyone could notice.
Meanwhile Paige and the Bella Twins did some female bonding in San Diego. Paige has been having a hard time ever since an injury has sidelined her from wrestling permanently. So, the Bellas took Paige to a place where you can smash up cars with sledge hammers as a form of catharsis. This may not work as a distressing method for everyone, but it certainly added more drama to this episode of Total Divas.
WWE Superstars greeted Roman Reigns backstage with hugs and words of encouragement after he made his way back following his heartbreaking promo to kick off Raw revealing that he is battling leukemia.
Reigns was immediately hugged by Triple H and Shawn Michaels who talked to him for a bit before he proceeded to get a big hug from Paul Heyman. His cousin Nia Jax followed with an even bigger bear hug and then Strowman and Finn Balor joined in.
The female WWE Superstars gave him a group hug and then Reigns was approached by Jason Jordan and Titus O’Neil before heading out of the arena.
Reigns joked with the WWE camera crew not to get his rental car on video because it’s not a real-size SUV. “I came last minute, I wasn’t prepared!”
The wrestling world rallied behind Roman Reigns after he announced on Raw that his cancer is back after 11 years in remission.
Past and current WWE Superstars and fans flooded Twitter with positive energy for the now-former Universal champion making Reigns the top trending topic worldwide for several hours.
Comments from John Cena, Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Vince McMahon, Charlotte, Kevin Owens, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Natalya, Matt Hardy, Paige, Sasha Banks, JBL, Becky Lynch, Finn Balor, and hundreds of others all tweeted get well soon messages and to let him know what he means to them.
Even the New Japan Pro Wrestling Twitter account had a classy message for Roman. “A champion transcends any company. @WWERomanReigns, on behalf of NJPW we all wish you a speedy recovery,” they wrote.
Below are some of the powerful messages left to Reigns:
Vince McMahon: A warrior, through and through. @WWERomanReigns, your entire #WWE family stands with you. #ThankYouRoman
John Cena: ‘Courage – strength in the face of pain or grief.’ You have given us your everything including a courageously vulnerable moment. We, your WWE family, give you all of our love and support. #ThankYouRoman #NeverGiveUp
Braun Strowman: I’ve been in many wars with this man. He’s been my biggest rival on tv!!!! But behind the scenes he’s one of my closest friends!!!! He’s is one of the toughest men I’ve ever met and I have no doubt he’ll kick leukemia’s ass and and be back to battling with me soon and I can’t wait. You and your family are in my prayers. Love you Big UCE!!!!! #FUCancer
Samoa Joe: …. He will fight, he will win, he will return stronger, and I will be waiting….
Daniel Bryan: I’ve never seen the air sucked out of a locker room like it was tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with Roman and his family. #ThankYouRoman
Kurt Angle: I just witnessed @WWERomanReigns give the most heart felt promo I’ve ever seen. Much respect to you Roman. #PrayforRoman #thankyouroman
The Usos: We been here for u, and will stay here for u. Day one uce. We love you. @WWERomanReigns #ThankYouRoman
Kevin Owens: Roman is one of the best I’ve ever been in the ring with and one of the guys I respect and look up to the most in this industry. My thoughts are with him and his family. I can’t wait to see him overcome this and get to share a locker room with him again soon. #ThankYouRoman
Charlotte Flair: @WWERomanReigns YOU gave us the gift of your work ethic in NXT. You gave us the gift of your athleticism & determination in the ring. You gave us the gift of your knowledge in the locker room. But your comeback match will be the greatest gift of all. We are all looking fwd to it
Ric Flair: @WWERomanReigns My Family And I Are Thinking Of You And Are Keeping You In Our Prayers! We Are Here For You!
Matt Hardy: An amazing human being, an incredible performer & a man I’m proud to be friends with. My thoughts & prayers are with you & your family. Get well soon, champ! #ThankYouRoman
Johnny Gargano: Our job gives us the ability to portray larger than life characters who possess super human qualities and characteristics. After hearing his story it’s very apparent that Joe Anoa’i is just as much of a superhero as “Roman Reigns” is. #ThankYouRoman
Becky Lynch: @WWERomanReigns you are the definition of what it means to be a leader and a champion and one of the toughest lads on the planet. We are all behind you and sending love. You will beat this. #ThankYouRoman
Sami Zayn: I’m overseas and I just heard the terrible news about @WWERomanReigns and his battle with Leukemia. Totally shocked. Uce, you are a tough bastard and a true fighter, and you will beat this. Lots of love.
Paige: Sending all the love to @WWERomanReigns he’s a Superman and one of the hardest workers in @WWE and a true leader. #ThankYouRoman
Sasha Banks: Love you @wweromanreigns You taught me so much about what it means to be a superstar here. Can’t wait to see you back
John “Bradshaw” Layfield: Just saw the @WWERomanReigns news. Absolutely heartbreaking. Roman is one of nicest guys I have ever met in this business and was a pleasure every time I had the pleasure to work with him. My best wishes to him!
Natayla: THANKYOU, @WWERomanReigns. Praying for you and your family.
Cody Rhodes: Fucking terrible. So sad. Stunning. He will beat it.
Finn Balor: His real name is Joe & he’s a stand up guy! Inside the ring one of the best I’ve battled with. Outside the ring one of the most genuine people I have ever met & learned from. See you soon good brother #ThankYouRoman ( ..and he smells great)
Shinsuke Nakamura: Come on #bigdog. After your another fight, let’s do this again. #thankyouroman
Renee Young: Sending so much love to @WWERomanReigns and his family. You’re one of the strongest dudes I know and I can’t wait to see you back inside that ring. #thankyouRoman
Mick Foley: I’m just learning now of @WWERomanReigns leukemia diagnosis. Stunned. I liked and respected him from the moment I met him. Sending my very best wishes and prayers for you, Joe.
Bret Hart: Fight on to victory my courageous brother!
Nikki Bella: You’re in our thoughts & prayers Joe. You are our Superman! Forever and always! You have an army people standing behind you ready to support and fight with you!
Hulk Hogan: The power of the Big Dog is in the heart. The hulkamaniacs, the #wweuniverse and I stand with you. We pray for you and we’ll all be waiting for you to hurry back in good health. Gods got you. Only Love HH
The Miz: Whether you bleed blue or bleed red, we are family. Whether you work in the United States or you work in Japan, we are all family. Roman we stand next to you as we watch you give the ass whipping of a life time. #ThankYouRoman
Ronda Rousey: Life is a fight from the second you take your first breath,till the moment you exhale your last…theres a huge void left without Roman Reigns…but this is the fight Joe Anoa’i was always destined to win.
Kenny Omega: Cheering for you from the opposite side of the globe. Nothing but respect for Roman.
