The first Smackdown of 2026 which was the return to a three-hour show drew 1,175,000 viewers, up 37,000 viewers from the prior week and their best since November 21. The show had a 0.28 rating in 18-49, up 0.01 from the last show and the best number since November 28. Smackdown was the #1 TV show on cable for the night and also the #1 TV show in all of television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Izzi Dame wins the NXT Women’s North American title
Izzi Dame pulled double duty last night on NXT, first losing to Tatum Paxley and then answered the NXT Women’s North American title open challenge.
The title was supposed to be defended by Thea Hail against Blake Monroe but Monroe attacked the champion during her entrance and the match was called off, with Monroe being ejected from the building by Ava.
After a few segments, Ava informed Hail that her match against Monroe would be pushed back but Hail wanted the open challenge to return and she wanted it on the show.
Limping to the ring selling the attack from Monroe, Hail said she promised a title match and she’s there for the open challenge. Many of the women tried to get to Hail but Tatum Paxley scared everyone with a chainsaw. At that point, Izzy Dame entered the ring from behind and kicked Hail, with The Culling throwing the referee in the ring and making the timekeeper ring the bell.
The match ended when Dame delivered her Super Dame Over finisher, covering Hail for the pinfall victory.
This is the first title for Dame in WWE.
NXT title left behind solo in the ring, suggesting Oba Femi is relinquishing for main roster call up
Oba Femi successfully defended the NXT title last night at New Year’s Evil against Leon Slater, but what happened afterward was the newsworthy part of the whole evening.
The ending of NXT saw Femi posing with the title and cameras moved to a scene backstage, where NXT General Manager Ava was talking to talent from EVOLVE about maybe coming up to replace the people who were recently called up to the main roster.
At that point, Mr. Stone stormed in and asked Ava if she was aware of what happened in the ring.
A live view of inside the WWE PC then showed the NXT title in the middle of the ring, with Oba Femi nowhere to be found, suggesting that Femi is departing NXT for the main roster, leaving the title behind.
As the camera panned backwards and the house lights slowly turned on, Tony D’Angel could be seen in the background among the fans, looking at the title in the distance.
“Opportunity knocks…” wrote the WWE X account. “Who will step up in 2026 and rise to the top of NXT?”
NXT preview for 01/06/2026
The annual NXT New Year’s Evil show will take place tonight live from the WWE Performance Center and airing on The CW in the United States and on Netflix internationally.
Four matches, three of which are for titles, will make up the card, headlined by Oba Femi defending the NXT title against TNA X Division champion Leon Slater. Kendal Gray also gets a shot at the NXT Women’s title against Jacy Jayne following her Iron Survivor Challenge win.
Plus, Thea Hail defends the NXT Women’s North American title against former champ Blake Monroe and Tatum Paxley battles Izzy Dame.
NXT kicks off at 8PM ET.
Joe Hendry to appear at TNA Genesis 2026 pay-per-view
Joe Hendry is returning to TNA Wrestling at the upcoming Genesis pay-per-view later this month.
His announcement came by Matt and Jeff Hardy during a video promoting the show, with Jeff saying he’s gonna let us on a little secret, and started singing Hendry’s theme song.
It’s not known if Hendry will be involved in a match or just doing an appearance at this point.
Genesis is live from the Curtis Culwell Center in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, January 17 and takes place just two days after TNA makes its debut on AMC.
Tickets are available from $34 via the arena website.
Hendry signed with WWE in November and has been part of NXT ever since.
Trio of AEW stars depart
A trio of AEW stars have been removed from the roster page, but one in particular who is believed to be a free agent, remains.
Mercedes Martinez, Matt Taven of The Kingdom, and manager Alex Abrahantes have all departed AEW and their profiles have been removed from the AEW website page.
However, Chris Jericho, who was reportedly becoming a free agent on January 1, is still on the page as part of the AEW roster, raising some questions if his contract really did expire at the end of 2025.
A hint by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce for Jericho while hyping up Raw did not amount to anything as Jericho was not part of the broadcast.
WWE Road to Royal Rumble tour in Europe kicks off this week
The WWE Superstars and crew are embarking on a 12-event tour in Europe on the road to the Royal Rumble which will see them performing in eight non-televised live events, two Raw tapings, and two Smackdown tapings.
The tour kicks off on Thursday, January 8 in Leipzig, Germany and continues on Friday, January 9 for a live Smackdown in Berlin, Germany.
The weekend has two more shows, one in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday, January 10 and then on Sunday, January 11 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
On Monday, January 12 it’s a live Raw from Dusseldorf, Germany and then another stop in Germany on Tuesday, January 13 in Mannheim.
Newcastle, England will play host to a show on Thursday, January 15 and then it’s a live Smackdown on Friday, January 16 from London, England.
The weekend sees two more shows, one in Gdansk, Poland on Saturday, January 17 and one in Nottingham, England on Sunday, January 18.
On Monday, January 19 it’s the final Raw from Europe with a live broadcast from Belfast, Northern Ireland and then the tour wraps up on Tuesday, January 20 with one final stop in Brussels, Belgium.
Smackdown’s TV home USA Network now part of Versant after split from NBCUniversal
USA Network, which holds the media rights deal for WWE Smackdown in the United States, is no longer part of NBCUniversal after the company was spun off to Versant.
Versant Media Group now includes most of NBCUniversal’s cable TV stations such as USA, CNBC, SyFy, E!, and others.
Smackdown will fall under the USA Sports banner, joining the English Premier League, Pac-12 Conference, NASCAR, PGA Tour, WNBA, and other major sports which the company has rights to.
The new company is also trading under the VSNT symbol on NASDAQ.
Dynamite rating for 12/31/2025
The New Year’s Eve episode of Dynamite, marketed as New Year Smash, had a record low 398,000 viewers, which is down 113,000 viewers from the December 17 episode. There’s still no rating for the Christmas Eve episode since it aired earlier. Dynamite had a 0.07 rating in 18-49, down 0.01 from the previous airing and it’s also a record low. Dynamite placed #9 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Je’Von Evans joins the Raw roster
Another NXT star has been officially called up and this time it’s the high-flying Je’Von Evans who is now part of the Raw roster.
The announcement came during a commercial break on Raw, with Raw General Manager Adam Pearce bringing out the youngster for the reveal.
Pearce handed Evans a brand new contract and the Young OG signed it, with Pearce saying it is now official!
The 21-year-old has been with the company since 2023 and is considered one of the best up-and-coming talent on the WWE roster.
Becky Lynch regains the WWE Women’s Intercontinental title
Maxxine Dupri’s reign as the Women’s Intercontinental champion came to a screeching halt last night on Raw as The Man, Becky Lynch, regained the title.
The finish did not come clean though as Lynch had to grab the ropes for some extra leverage after she was locked in the ankle lock and performed a bridge to reverse the maneuver, holding on to the bottom rope.
Lynch has been on a mission to win back the title since she lost it on the November 17 episode of Raw from Madison Square Garden thanks in part to some distraction from AJ Lee.
This was Dupri’s first-ever run with a title in WWE which ended after 49 days.
NXT rating for 12/30/2025
NXT last week drew 604,000 viewers, up just 2,000 viewers from the prior week. In 18-49, NXT had a 0.07 rating, which is down 0.01 from the previous two episodes and the lowest since November 11. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky win the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles on Raw
The popular tag team of Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are now WWE Women’s Tag Team champions after they defeated Asuka and Kairi Sane in the opening match of last night’s Raw from Brooklyn.
The crowd exploded after Ripley delivered the Riptide on Asuka and Sky hit the moonsault, with Ripley covering the former multi-time champ for the pinfall victory.
The victory ended the Kabuki Warriors’ 56-day reign as champions, winning them from Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair in November on Raw.
This is the first reign for the team affectionately known as Rhiyo, but it’s Sky’s third time with the title and Ripley’s second.
WWE announces Netflix as the home of the WWE video library in the United States
WWE today announced that Netflix has been selected as the official home of the WWE video library in the United States, and subscribers will get similar availability as those internationally.
The deal, announced through a press release, says it’s an expansion to the long-term partnership the two companies already have.
It also states that the premium live event library will include everything prior to September 2025, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble, as well as award-winning documentaries and original programming. All PLEs from September 2025 onward will be part of the ESPN video library since they own the rights.
WCW, ECW, and other territories that WWE own rights to are not available as part of this deal.
Peacock in the United States still has rights to NXT premium live events and it’s catalog and those rights will expire in March 2026.
No financial information was released and it remains unclear how much Netflix paid for this non-exclusive deal, if they paid at all.
Raw preview for 01/05/2026
Monday Night Raw goes upside down tonight for the Stranger Things crossover episode and it will be a big one with three championship matches as WWE celebrates one year on Netflix.
It’s also the first time since September that the show will not go head-to-head with Monday Night Football so a bigger audience is expected.
Headlining the broadcast is CM Punk defending the WWE World Heavyweight title against Bron Breakker. WWE Women’s Intercontinental champion Maxxine Dupri defends her gold against Becky Lynch, and The Kabuki Warriors put their WWE Women’s Tag Team titles on the line against Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky.
Plus, Liv Morgan wrestles on television for the first time in six months against Lyra Valkyria.
All this and more live on Netflix worldwide starting at 8PM ET.
Will Ospreay makes surprise appearance at NJPW New Year Dash event
Will Ospreay made a surprise appearance at the NJPW New Year Dash show held earlier today.
The former IWGP champion came out for an angle following the match featuring United Empire and War Dogs, with Ospreay trying to mend things between David Finlay and Callum Newman. Newman was not interested in Ospreay’s move and even tried to hit him with a chair before the rest of United Empire stopped him.
Speaking after the show, Ospreay expressed his wish to return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling for a few shows per year once he is fully recovered and said he is determined to make it happen.
The popular British star also gave an update on his health status, saying he still needs to recover from neck surgery and that’s going to take a long time.
“I’m getting better and better, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “When I’m good to go, I’m going to handle some business in AEW. I’m going to come back to New Japan Pro-Wrestling.”
Ospreay was also present for the Wrestle Kingdom 20 pay-per-view and was part of the Hiroshi Tanahashi retirement ceremony.
Limited number of tickets for Smackdown on the eve of Royal Rumble released
A limited number of tickets for the Smackdown on the eve of the Royal Rumble were put on sale today on Webook.com.
All the tickets are 50 Saudi Riyal, which is equivalent to around $14, and all are in the upper section of the seating chart.
Smackdown will be held in the same outdoor venue where the Royal Rumble takes place the following night. The venue is currently being constructed in the King Abdullah Financial District, an urban neighborhood in Riyadh.
Netflix publishes trailer of WWE: Unreal season two
Netflix has dropped the first trailer of season two of WWE: Unreal, which will premiere on January 20.
The second season will follow the WWE Superstars and the powers that be who make it all happen as they go on the road to SummerSlam following WrestleMania season.
A prominent part of this season will include behind-the-scenes of how WWE tried to fool everyone with the Seth Rollins injury which led him to be out for a few months, only to cash in his MITB briefcase at SummerSlam on CM Punk.
Just like the first season, season two will feature five episodes of 50 minutes each with Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Pat McAfee, Jelly Roll, R-Truth, Iyo Sky, Naomi, Chelsea Green, Penta, and Lyra Valkyria all part of the cast.
WWE: Unreal is produced by Omaha Productions, NFL Films, Skydance Sports, and WWE with Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, Ross Ketover, Keith Cossrow, Ken Rodgers, Jessica Boddy, Lee Fitting, Ben Houser, and Marc Pomarico serving as executive producers.
WWE constructing its own outdoor arena for 2026 Royal Rumble in Riyadh
The 2026 Royal Rumble will be held at a location in Riyadh specifically built for the premium live event, as images published online show that construction has started.
A specific location was never announced for the Rumble and it was only listed as taking place at the King Abdullah Financial District.
Rather than using any of the stadiums or arenas nearby which WWE has already used in the past for Saudi PLEs, it was decided to build from scratch a large arena similar to what the company did at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for WrestleMania IX in 1993.
The seating chart contains 39 sections with an estimated seating capacity of 20,000 to 25,000. There will be no seats behind the stage area as the design is in the shape of a U.
When tickets went on sale, over 800,000 people were in line on the Webook.com website looking for tickets.
أعمال مسرح رويال رامبل 2026 اليوم. 5/1#RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/fUsidnkQqM
— سوبر SUPER (@wrestlng) January 5, 2026
Nakamura on trying to be part of Tanahashi’s retirement: “I did everything I could”
Speaking to Tokyo Sports following Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match, WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura revealed that he did everything he could possibly do to be part of it.
But while Nakamura was previously given permission to work and appear at shows by Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, appearing on a New Japan Pro-Wrestling broadcast, a company with big ties to competitor AEW, was going to be difficult.
“I thought I did everything I could,” Nakamura told Tokyo Sports. “But the fact that it didn’t come to fruition makes me think that there was a (other) mission that was imposed upon me. That’s the only way to look at it. I think that’s dramatic in itself.”
Nakamura was, at one point, in consideration to be Tanahashi’s final opponent, but that spot unsurprisingly went to AEW’s Kazuchika Okada.