NXT and 205 Live commentator Nigel McGuinness missed the 205 Live and NXT tapings this week due to the birth of his daughter Amelia.
McGuinness worked the NXT Takeover: New Orleans show on the eve of WrestleMania but skipped the 205 Live show from New Orleans a few days later and the subsequent NXT television tapings at Full Sail University.
“Thanks to everyone for the congrats and well wishes. And to everyone at WWE for their understanding and support. Feel truly blessed,” McGuinness wrote on Twitter.
The former ROH and TNA star will take the next week off as well and will resume his WWE commentary duties with the April 24 episode of 205 Live.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will not be part of the WrestleMania 34 DVD release this year reports Wrestlingdvdnetwork.com. The ceremony has been included every year since WrestleMania 21.
The reason why it’s not there is because of the duration of the ceremony, which lasted four and a half hours on its own. The length of the Hall of Fame has been the subject of discussion for several years now but the company has done nothing to address the situation so far. This year, many of the WWE Superstars and their guests left their seats before Goldberg even took the stage, resulting in the main floor seats being around 80% empty.
Instead of the Hall of Fame, the WrestleMania 34 DVD will include the Kickoff show matches and the Raw after Mania episode.
The Andre The Giant documentary on HBO pulled in 930,000 viewers on Tuesday night. The doc is now streaming on HBO NOW and HBO GO apps on-demand. Subscription to HBO is required to watch. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Tickets for NXT Takeover: Chicago, went on sale this weekend, the second Takeover event in Chicago taking place at the Allstate Arena on the eve of Money In The Bank on June 16.
Ticket prices are $35, $55, $70, $95, $105, $261, $300, and $435 for platinum seats and they’re all available on Ticketmaster.com.
The first Takeover in Chicago took place in May of last year and it was headlined by a ladder match between The Authors of Pain and DIY. That night, Tommaso Ciampa turned on his partner Johnny Gargano to close the show. It was also the event where an epic match between Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne took place for the WWE United Kingdom championship, a match which was considered to be one of the best of 2017.
Nikki Bella was one of those who were not so happy with Ronda Rousey’s arrival at the Royal Rumble and was actually the first one to speak about it on Twitter the day after the Rumble. But it’s amazing how a few months can make a whole lot of difference.
For their YouTube channel, Nikki and Brie Bella recorded their reactions to the mixed tag team match at WrestleMania while backstage with Natalya and then were one of the first to greet Ronda Rousey as soon as she went backstage following her match.
“Look at how great she looks,” Nikki tells her sister as they sit backstage watching the show on TV. “She has such a beautiful smile, look I have chills for her everywhere.” The Bella twins and Natalya were then left open mouthed when Rousey went toe-to-toe with Triple H and lifted him on her shoulders. After the match was over, Nikki tells Brie that the match was amazing.
When the whole thing wrapped, the Total Divas trio then welcomed Rousey backstage. “Oh my God you killed it,” Brie tells Rousey as all of them hugged. “Match of the night,” Nikki replies, as Rousey was shaking her head in disbelief over what just happened.
“I’ve never had like…women supporting me like this except the Four Horsewomen,” Rousey tells them, referring to the cut-throat business in the UFC.
Speaking to SportingNews.com, Alberto El Patron explained the reason why he missed the Impact vs Lucha Underground live event last Friday that eventually led to his release from Impact Wrestling.
“I had a family situation that I needed to attend (to). As you know, my family, my kids are my priority. The situation was involving them and that’s why I decided to take care of business and take care of my family situation. And that’s all that happened,” El Patron said. “And that comes to what I was just saying to you. I know people wanted to know absolutely everything. This only concerns my family: my parents, my sister, myself and my kids. And that’s the way it’s going to stay.”
Impact did not waste time in firing the number one contender for the title and the next day, El Patron was gone from the company just 24 hours after he participated in a press conference to promote the Redemption pay-per-view where he was supposed to take on Austin Aries for the title.
El Patron added that his relationship with the company wasn’t pretty good and what happened on Friday was “something that ended up breaking it.” He said it’s difficult to go out that way but he’s fine and he’s still planning on leaving the wrestling business in the next year.
Impact did a total of 381,000 viewers this week, rebounding from last week’s 294,000 number and posting the second-best viewership of 2018. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
I believe it was the film “The Godfather”, or maybe it was one of my old columns, where the famous quote was uttered:
“Every time I think I’ve gotten out, they pull me back in!”
Or something to that effect….
But first, some backstory.
Sometime about three years ago, I started a podcast with my non-blood brother, my best friend Mike Smith, called “The Loki And Jabroni Show” (available on iTunes, GooglePlay Music, Spotify, and iHeartRadio)…. he wanted our first episode to cover the WrestleMania event that was due to happen the next day. The big match was Triple H vs. Sting. I had not been firmly entrenched in the business since the horrific weekend that Chris Benoit heinously murdered his wife and son then killed himself. (NOTE: conspiracy theorists need not apply…. I’m done schooling people.) So after that WrestleMania episode, Mike implored me to get back into the product.
“It’s not the same,” Mike said. “You’ll love it!”
I bought it. On The Loki And Jabroni Show, we’ve interviewed Road Warrior Animal. We’ve interviewed Gary “Pitbull #1” Wolfe. We’ve interviewed Bob Backlund. We’ve done shows with Gangrel, Adam Rose, Shane Douglas, Tito Santana and others….
3 years and 151 podcasts later, I am a semi-regular viewer of the WWE product, and as of last week, I am a subscriber to the WWE network (which you can get for just $9.99 a month if you go to www.lokiandjabroni.com/wrestling. Help a brother out!!)
But enough about me…. let’s talk about the good and the bad of the two World Championship matches at WrestleMania 34 from this past Sunday in New Orleans. First, I’ll break down the Universal Championship match between the reigning, defending, undisputed Universal champion Brock Lesnar and his opponent, the Big Dog, one Roman Reigns.
First, the good: I really thought that Brock Lesnar came off as an indestructible monster. There were not many times during this match that I seriously thought the Universal title reign was in jeopardy. Honestly, the few flurries of dominant offense shown by Reigns were not enough to sway me from my stone cold lock of Lesnar as winner *.
(* Stone cold lock is property of my second podcast, the C&J Speedway review, a NASCAR podcast, which is only available on our YouTube channel…please check us out!)
Reigns, to be honest, did look strong. His offense was believable, his attacks were crisp, and he showed a fire I don’t recall seeing from Roman in three years of watching the show again.
The bad points are simple: Too many finishes. FIVE F5’s?? 4 Superman Punches?? Remember when I was a kid (no, you don’t) when a wrestler hit his finish it was OVER?!?!?! Now, you have to hit 6 freakin’ finishes to kill off your opponent! Reigns SHOULD have been finished after ONE F5, not five! That said, Lesnar should have been tattooed after ONE Superman punch!
Hate to tell you young bucks, but a finisher means the match is FINISHED!!!!
Finito.
Over.
Done.
By allowing the two combatants to throw 11 finishes, the WWE succeeded in diluting the strength of both Reigns and Lesnar. And in the end, that can only diminish both men…. Unless they pull a proverbial rabbit out of their hat and find a way to make Brock or Roman superhuman again. See also: Hulk Hogan.
Now, onto the exciting match between challenger Shinsuke Nakamura and WWE Champion AJ Styles.
I’ll start with the bad: I, in my infinite wisdom, expected WWE to allow AJ and Nakamura to employ the same fast paced, true strong style that their Wrestle Kingdom 10 match had just a few years ago. Knowing what these two fantastic wrestlers are capable of versus what we got Sunday night wasn’t exactly a disappointment, but it was a small let down.
AJ and Nakamura could have had the chains removed from the stereotypical WWE formula match, and been told to just go out there and kill it. Tear the house down. Show the world why you’re here!
That didn’t happen.
The good side is that we were treated to the second best match on the show. A classic match that will stand the test of time. The sharp moves, the flawless reversals, the amazing near falls that had the crowd in New Orleans, as well as the folks at home, on the edge of their seats!
Nakamura looked hungry in the match, as if his entire life was on the line.
AJ looked angry, as if defending and retaining said title was paramount to life and death.
What made this match my second favorite of the night was that it featured two amazing performers, two of my favorites, and two entertainers that, together or separate, are the cream of the crop.
The finish came out of nowhere, which in itself was exciting. Catching Nakamura and converting and executing the Styles Clash was not what any of us were expecting!
And the eventual heel turn after the match just added further drama going forward!
AJ vs Nakamura certainly has more legs in the coming months over Brock vs Roman. On one hand you have two superb, fluid, amazing, innovative performers who aren’t afraid to take risks.
On the other side, you have Brock and Roman.
Thanks for letting me vent. I’ll pop in again if the Exhalted Ruler and Editor allows it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chris Bernes is a former columnist for Wrestling-Online Newsletter, and current co-host of two podcasts, “The Loki and Jabroni Show” and “C&J’s Speedway Review”. He lives in Norwich CT with his Eternal Flame and their crazy kids.
Ticket prices for WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble event are super cheap compared to regularly-priced events and the Saudi Kingdom are probably subsidizing the prices to make the event more affordable for fans.
Upper section seats are just 10SAR, which is around $2.67. Lower section seats are 20SAR, or $5.33. Gold section seats are 100SAR, just $26.66 while VIP seats which includes refreshments and food are 300SAR which is $80. Gold and VIP seats are only available for families while the upper section and lower section seats are available for both families and singles. Single men and women can also sit together.
Tickets are available now from WWE.SA. The event will take place on April 27 at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah which holds 60,000 seats. It will be available live on the WWE Network starting at Noon EST.
The Orlando Business Journal is reporting that Orange County officials are planning another bid for WrestleMania along with the 2022 Special Olympics.
A new group that was set up last month to see the best use of resort taxes for sporting events approved the two events as its first proposal. Approval of the proposal is the first step toward being allocated the requested funds.
Orlando has already hosted two WrestleManias – 24 and 33 – and the Central Florida Sports Commission has now requested $1 million in resort taxes to work on bringing WrestleMania back to the city. Last year, WrestleMania 33 brought more than $161 million in economic impact to the city with more than 50,000 hotel room nights booked.
The Journal adds that WWE is planning the host cities for the event between 2021 through 2025 and Jason Siegel, CEO of the Central Florida Sports Commission, told county leaders during a meeting last week that the city’s best chance to land another WrestleMania would be either 2023 or 2025 based on the convention center’s availability.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is back in theaters starting today with the new release of Rampage.
Directed by Brad Peyton, Rampage is loosely based on the video game series of the same name by Midway Games. It follows a primatologist named Davis Okoye who must team up with George, an albino gorilla who turns into a raging creature of enormous size following a rogue experiment, in order to stop an invasion of monsters.
Johnson is joined by Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the leading stars in the movie. The Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema flick had a budget of $120 million and was shot for 3D and IMAX as well.
According to estimates, the movie is expected to pull in around $34 million this weekend. It already has $2.4 million from Thursday evening showing.
Tickets for the two-day United Kingdom Championship tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London went on sale this morning.
Ticket prices are £56, £67.20, and £83.40 each and are available at ticketmaster.co.uk and bookingsdirect.com.
The WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament will be spread over two days on Monday, June 18 and Tuesday, June 19. The inaugural tournament, taped in January of last year, aired live on the WWE Network although this time it wasn’t announced yet if the tournament will be live on the Network or not.
The UFC officially announced that former WWE champion CM Punk will be facing Mike Jackson at UFC 225 in Chicago, a pay-per-view event that will take place on June 9 from the United Center.
This will be CM Punk’s second professional mixed martial arts fight and his second in the UFC. His first outing was in September 2016 where he lost to Mickey Gall in the first round via submission. Jackson fought Gall a few months earlier for the shot to fight CM Punk and he also has a 0-1 MMA record.
The rumors of Punk fighting on this card started immediately when the UFC said it would be returning to Chicago. Having Punk on the card from his hometown makes the most sense business-wise for the company since he will certainly help move tickets considering the large following he has.
Another loss in the UFC would likely mark the end of his career there as Dana White was already skeptical about giving him another shot in the first place.
It’s not known if the Punk/Jackson welterweight fight will be on the Fight Pass portion of the card or on the main card on pay-per-view.
The planned casket match between The Undertaker and Rusev at the Greatest Royal Rumble has been changed and Rusev was swapped with Chris Jericho. This will be Jericho’s first casket match of his career.
The WWE.COM article announcing the change blamed Lana’s tweet to WWE objecting to the match, saying that she refuses to let her husband wrestle in a casket match because all over the world, little boys and girls celebrate Rusev Day “and they smile for the greatest Superstar ever.”
Interesting to note is that Rusev has removed all WWE references from his Twitter and Instagram account and now has an enquiries e-mail listed on his Instagram. Two days ago, Rusev sent out a tweet after his casket match involvement was announced saying, “Bury me softly, Brother.”
Ronda Rousey will be embarking on her first WWE European tour next month and will be wrestling in four of the dates.
Rousey will be at the May 16 show in Geneva, Switzerland, the May 17 show in Vienna, Austria, the May 18 show in Turin, Italy, and the May 19 show in Paris, France. No details were given as to who she will be wrestling against or with who she will be teaming up with.
The post-WrestleMania tour has been switched from April to May, a much-needed change since in previous years the long tour started the week after WrestleMania.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has just become the box office king for Sony as his movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle became Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing movie of all time.
With a domestic gross of $403,714,915, the movie surpassed Spider-Man which held the number one spot for Sony since 2002. Jumanji has a worldwide box office of $950,803,053 as of today and sits #2 behind Skyfall in the highest-grossing movie for Sony worldwide.
“Extraordinary box office run. Worked hard to produce something fun and heartfelt audiences could experience. Congrats to everyone involved and most important, thank you fans,” The Rock tweeted when the announcement was made.
Johnson is now busy promoting his next movie, Rampage, which comes out tomorrow.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that the new agreement between Brock Lesnar and WWE was made during Monday Night Raw last week and the contract was signed on WrestleMania Sunday.
Meltzer says that Reigns was only made aware of the deal on the morning of WrestleMania and the former Shield member walked into the Superdome with the idea that he was walking out with the title. This is similar to what happened to Reigns at WrestleMania 31 when WWE made a last-minute change to the script which allowed Rollins to cash-in his Money In The Bank contract, pinning Reigns to get the title.
Not a lot of individuals knew that Lesnar was going to keep the title belt at the end of the show and most of the writers and producers did not know. Both Reigns and Lesnar followed the original script but then switched to the agreed altered ending after Reigns was busted open.
The duration of the contract is still unknown and the outcome of the match at the Greatest Royal Rumble will shed better light as to how long Lesnar will stick around for. The former UFC Heavyweight champion has still not entered the USADA drug test pool as of today. Lesnar was tested a total of eight times when he rejoined the UFC for UFC 200, eventually failing two of them.
The WWE Home Video UK Twitter account which is run by the official licensee for WWE DVD and Blu-Ray releases in the United Kingdom posted yesterday that the upcoming Hardy Boyz release will feature footage from Impact Wrestling.
“We can exclusively reveal that WWE has worked with Impact Wrestling on Twist of Fate: Best of the Hardy Boyz. For the first time ever, a WWE DVD release will feature footage from Impact, as part of a candid look at the Broken Universe,” the tweet said.
Impact Wrestling has a good-sized library that WWE tried to take over when Dixie Carter was getting out of the game but the deal never happened. WWE paying Impact to license certain footage makes sense from a business standpoint for both companies as WWE gets the footage it wants while Impact’s parent company, Anthem, gets the money for it.
Twist of Fate: Best of the Hardy Boyz will be released on April 30 in the United Kingdom and May 8 in the United States.
FOX8 New Orleans reporter Allen Henry tweeted that a UK tourist who was hospitalized with measles on Saturday attended the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony the day before.
Henry wrote that attendees are receiving notifications from the Louisiana Department of Health to alert them about the situation and to get checked. “A few attendees of HOF got an email saying they were seated within two rows of the infected man and to call health dept,” Henry wrote in a tweet.
No other information is available as of this moment as the local FOX affiliate in New Orleans is still awaiting official details from the health department.
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days.
The Smackdown after WrestleMania drew a total of 2,952,000 viewers, up 487,000 viewers from last week’s show. It also eclipsed last year’s post-WrestleMania show which did 2.8 million viewers. This was the best number since the April 11, 2017 show which pulled in 3.1 million viewers.
Smackdown was #1 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #3 in overall viewership. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
