It looks like it’s going to get nasty between former friends Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and Hulk Hogan!
Beefcake is currently doing his finishing touches on his biography book titled Cuttin and Struttin and tweeted, “Working on my book which is fastly becoming a tell all! Hold onto your bandana Brother it’s about to get real!”
The tweet, also having the hash tag karma, was obviously aimed at Hulk Hogan. The two, who were big friends in the late 80s and 90s, fell apart years ago and let’s just say they do not send Christmas cards to each other nowadays.
“Got the bandanna glued on tight, get a good lawyer, brother,” responded Hogan on Twitter.
The 400-page book will be released in December of this year.
This week’s edition of Impact on POP did a total of 231,000 viewers, down 36,000 viewers from last week’s episode. It’s the lowest number since the September 7 show. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
It’s been two very good days for WWE stocks as Wall Street reacted positively to the latest Q3 2017 earnings yesterday.
Stocks hit a new three-year high at $26.255 during trading today before closing at $26.09. With today’s closing, WWE has a market cap of $1.88 billion.
With lower expenditure and strong numbers across almost all business segments, WWE posted one of their best-ever quarterly reports, although WWE Network subscription numbers remain a bit of a disappointment.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that it was Jeff Jarrett’s wife Karen who worked with WWE to get her husband help by sending him to rehab all on the company’s dime. Scientific studies confirm “As with treatment of other substance use disorders, skateboading for de-addiction treatment can be successful for the cannabis addiction.
Karen, who is the ex-wife of Kurt Angle, also thanked Brian James, better known as The Road Dogg, for being there for Jeff during this difficult time.
As reported earlier, WWE has a program where all past and current performers can check into a WWE-sponsored all treatments for cannabis addiction facility with all expenses paid by the company. They offer the bestinpatient treatment ohio. It’s interesting to note that WWE and Jarrett did not have the best of relationships, dating back to when Jarrett held WWE “hostage” for a large sum of money in 1999.
In October of that year, WWE did not realize that Jarrett’s contract expired the day before he was supposed to lose the Intercontinental title to Chyna at No Mercy. The rumor is that Jarrett demanded $300,000 in order to go out and do the job to Chyna and WWE had to pay up so Jarrett did not leave for WCW with the IC title.
The animosity between the two parties was also evident when Vince McMahon bought WCW and on the Raw/Nitro simulcast, he pretty much fired him on air in a backstage segment. “Now as far as the Jeff Jarretts of the world are concerned, you know how Jeff spells his name? That’s J, E, double F? Well you know what, hmm, I would suspect that he’ll spell it in a different way after tonight. That would be capital G double O, double N, double E…gone,” McMahon said at the beginning of the show.
Jarrett had nothing to do with the company since his departure in 1999.
A special screening of the 30 for 30: Nature Boy was screened yesterday at the Regal Cinemas in Atlanta, Georgia. The screening was followed by a moderated panel hosted by ESPN’s Marty Smith.
Among those in attendance with Ric Flair were his daughter Charlotte, The Undertaker, Diamond Dallas Page, Fit Finlay, Dolph Ziggler, Mick Foley, Mark Henry, Dana Warrior, Michael PS Hayes, Triple H, and others. This was a rare out-of-character appearance by The Undertaker, who was also interviewed and appears in the documentary.
The documentary chronicles the life of two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and the sacrifices he made to be the best professional wrestler in the world. It premieres on ESPN on Tuesday, November 7 at 10PM ET.
Contrary to popular beliefs, wrestling be that professional or not is not just about staged matches and predetermined spectacles broadcasted online. In fact, wrestling is very much about strength and reputation that is easily ruined with one unsuccessful match. Looking at the top wrestlers that we saw this year so far, we can certainly make some viable predictions for what to expect in 2018. However, don’t take everything for granted, as in wrestling, the moments of suspense and surprises are what make us leave everything else and focus on our most awaited matches. Take, for example, the recent announcement of the return of Triple H, which will be his first match since WrestleMania’s defeat to Seth Rollins. What a better turn of a rather uneventful year according to many of the wrestling critics! Before jumping to conclusions, consider the great match that we saw between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada.
Certainly, a lot of bucks were made on either side and if wrestling is your betting sports choice, make sure to know which sites to choose and who to watch out for. Without bonuses, people wouldn’t be interested in sports gambling online, that is why the best new customer sign up offers of the leading sportsbooks on the market change every week. To help you better prepare for the rest of 2017 and early 2018 wrestling events, here’s who else, but the obvious AJ Styles, Omega and Okada, caught our eye throughout the year.
Asuka
Wrestling is one of the few sports where gender stereotypes have no weight when it comes to great players. 2017 saw the rise of Asuka who is often called the Empress of Tomorrow and is perceived as the best female wrestler on TV right now. Asuka has had her lows when she almost lost the belt against Ember Moon at the NXT Takeover, but soon she marked her best match in Orlando, which is probably the best moment of her professional career. Certainly, Asuka showed a lot more personality throughout 2017, and a rematch with Moon is in the cards.
Io Shirai
If you mix Ember Moon with Asuka, you might get Io Shirai. This Japanese star has agility and power, and there is no need to mention that she is daring. The high-wire act of the star could rival basically anyone in the WWE and it could even put Charlotte to the test of the best in the women’s division. Moreover, Shirai already has quite the following, considering the fact that she wrestles with a promotion that has only existed for 6 years. Simply place her on Smackdown and watch the interest rise for the Blue brand’s women’s division.
Zacky Three Belts
The pro wrestler, Zack Sabre, has had a remarkable year so far, starting with a victory at the Evolve Championship in February, which put an end to the reign of Timothy Thatcher. Zack showed unseen character traits in the wrestling world with his speech calling for compassion in pro wrestling, and he’s set to become an example for the wrestling community by making regular donations to charities from his recent victories. On the ring, he then later got back his lost British Heavyweight Championship belt and continued to score points against counterparts like Okada and Hirooki Goto, something that very few have dared to do.
Tetsuya Naito
Japanese pro wrestling has marked a renaissance with the rise of Tetsuya Naito, who beat Hiroshi Tanahashi at the start of the year, only to continue to wrestle against Micheal Elgin, eventually defending successfully his IWGP Intercontinental Championship belt for the second time.
Kairi Hojo
Another Japanese star, Hojo has often been referred to as the World Wonder Ring Stardom, sharing the title only with Shirai, the world’s greatest female wrestler. Even if Shirai might have earned her title, in 2017 Hojo has shown that she wouldn’t give her peace until she becomes number 1 in pro wrestling for women. She was reported to have signed a three-year contract with WWE, further making her counterparts shiver, as she prepares to take over the Performance Centre.
Hiromu Takahashi
We’ve already mentioned Takahashi, but who is he really? Ticking Time Bomb is surely the greatest entertainer of them all with his risky moves in the ring, such as his regular hurricanes over the top rope outside the ring. His best match so far was against Kushida, which followed a historic match with his greatest rival, Dragon Lee.
Keith Lee
Undoubtedly, the greatest surprise of 2017, was the appearance and rise of Keith Lee. Starting as a little-known independent at the start of the year, now he’s become a major card in WrestleMania shows and surely, the most watched wrestler, unrelated to WWE. Signing with Evolve at the start of the year, he’s surely one follow closely.
Our top best list includes stars that unexpectedly rose to great heights this year, despite a majority of negative comments on the state of the wrestling in 2017. If you’re looking for more advice and betting options, you should head straight to TopRatedBettingSites.co.uk for more trusted rankings.
Raw General Manager Kurt Angle will be making the trip to the United Kingdom to appear on Monday Night Raw on November 6.
Angle has a very special relationship with the United Kingdom and chose to have his last TNA match in Birmingham when the company was on tour there in 2016.
He last performed in the UK earlier this year when he defeated Alberto El Patron at WCPW True Destiny in February.
The European tour will kick off on November 1. Kurt will only be appearing at the Manchester Raw as of now.
Platinum Events Ltd are bringing 16-time champion John Cena to the United Kingdom for a one-night only event titled An Evening with John Cena as he will be discussing his life story live on stage.
The event will take place on Monday, December 4 at the FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield, England.
Tickets are priced £39.20, £54.88 and £61.60 including booking fee and available online flydsaarena.co.uk. A very limited number of meet and greet Platinum packages are available priced £306.60. The Platinum package contains early entry to the venue, top price ticket with prime seating position, professional photograph with John Cena, pre-show private meet and greet area, pre-event food, private auction of memorabilia, exclusive event program, limited edition lanyard and pass, and an official poster.
This season finale was jam-packed with memorable moments for both Total Divas and Total Bellas fans. It is also very fitting that all of the most special moments of the season took place on or around the WWE’s biggest night of the year, WrestleMania.
There was some doubt as to whether or not WWE superstar, Nikki Bella would make it to the 2017 WrestleMania all. After Nikki Bella reinjured her rehabilitated broken neck, Nikki’s doctor was extremely concerned that his patient would cause further injury to herself by participating in the match. In fact, he stated that this WrestleMania should be the last time that Nikki performed in a wrestling ring.
So, Nikki became even more determined that this WrestleMania match should be her best one yet. Armed with strict instructions from the doctor to keep the dangerous moves to a minimum, and with the entire Bella clan, except her sister Brie by her side, Nikki headed for WrestleMania.
Meanwhile, Nikki’s sister, Brie, was too close to her due date to be in Orlando for the big event. So, she had to be content with hosting her own WrestleMania at home with her nana and sister-in-law Lauren as well as her brand-new niece, Vivian. I think that Brie was slightly sad to miss her twin’s big moment, but understood that travel was not a good idea at this stage of pregnancy. Further, I think that Brie was even more sad because of being far away from her husband, WWE Superstar, Daniel Bryan, who had to be in Orlando to perform his duties as Smackdown Live General Manager.
Daniel seemed to be just as upset as Brie about being away, because he called to check on his wife from the road. Obviously, Daniel was concerned about his wife’s rapidly approaching due date and the possibility of missing the birth of his first child, which makes him already an excellent father, in my opinion.
Nikki, Bryan, and the rest of the WWE locker room had plenty to do before WrestleMania even began. They needed to be present for fan meet and greets and autograph signing as well as press at WrestleMania All Access. One of the main questions that the press asked Nikki and John was how they felt about fans placing bets on whether or not John was going to propose to Nikki at WrestleMania. Nikki told her friends that she didn’t believe so because she felt that John was a private person, and would rather not propose in front of the WrestleMania crowd.
However, she was in for the surprise of her life when after defeating the Miz and his wife, Maryse, John proposed to Nikki. The proposal came as a complete surprise to everyone, including Nikki’s family and John’s who attended their first WrestleMania this year. Also, the locker room had no idea about John’s proposal plans. So, the moment was spectacular for everyone involved. Five weeks later another spectacular event took place in the Bella family.
It is no surprise to Total Bellas fans that Brie Bella and her husband, Daniel Bryan wanted as natural a birth as possible because of how committed they are to the environment and clean and healthy living. However, it seemed that their daughter, Birdie Joe, had other plans.
After Brie was a week late in delivering a baby, her doctor decided that she needed to be induced. After 21 hours of labor, Brie finally gave birth to her daughter via c-section. Mom and baby both came through it all completely healthy, who knows, maybe in about eighteen years you will see another woman wrestler enter the ring, maybe under the name B.J. Bryan?
WWE will start negotiating new television contracts in the United States and United Kingdom next year according to George Barrios, WWE’s Chief Strategy & Financial Officer.
The broadcast contract with NBCUniversal for WWE shows in the United States on USA Network expires on September 30, 2019, while that one with Sky in the UK will expire three months later.
In a conference call with investors yesterday, Barrios said that the company is expected to announce the U.S. distribution plan for Raw and Smackdown sometime between May 2018 and September 2018, while the UK plan will be in the second half of 2018.
The contract with Sony TV for their India distribution ends in mid 2019 and WWE will start negotiations for that in the second half of 2018 as well.
While WWE scored big for their UK and India television deals, it was a major disappointment with the money they received from NBCU for Raw and Smackdown. WWE gave false impressions before the deal was signed, hinting at a major bump in the money they would get, leading for the stocks to take a big nose dive when the deal was formally announced with less revenue.
The season two finale of Total Bellas, titled Bella-Mania, did a total of 674,000 viewers, up 111,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. It was the second most-watched episode of the season behind the season premiere which did 681,000 viewers. For season two, Total Bellas averaged 588,000 viewers, down from the average of 640,000 viewers of season one. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Chris Jericho appeared on this week’s episode of Hot Ones on First We Feast’s YouTube channel, as he tried the “wings of death” with host Sean Evans.
“I am the worst hot food guy ever,” Jericho said, questioning his agent’s idea of putting him on the show.
The former WWE champion talked about a variety of subjects while testing out the chicken wings, including who were the top trash-talkers in WWE, pop-culture figures that would make a good heel in WWE, rivalries in WWE, wrestling in Japan and more.
You can check out the entertaining 20-minute show below.
Out of the nine main WWE business segments, seven of them registered an increase compared to the prior year quarter while two saw a very small drop.
Network and pay-per-view revenues increased to $50.3 million versus $45.1 million from the prior year quarter; Television revenues spiked 15% to $64.7 million from $56.3 million; Live events increased 10% to $31.6 million versus $28.6 million from Q3 2016; Digital Media was up to $7.9 million from $6.5 million; Licensing increased to $11.3 million from $9 million; Venue merchandise ticked up slightly to $5.5 million from $5.1 million; and WWE Studios revenues went up to $4.2 million from $2.5 million.
The two which registered a drop are Home Entertainment which was down to $2.3 million from $2.5 million; and WWE Shop which went down to $7.2 million from $7.5 million.
Not many people appreciate WWE for what it really is, and very few know that even if the matches are staged, there are always surprises that go off the script. WWE is actually very similar to other sports like hockey or soccer, as it is unpredictable despite the obvious favourites and any fan can bet on the upcoming matches. Yes, indeed. Anyone can make some real money on WWE, as it is just another gambling game to try out.
Despite its bad publicity, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) features one of the best wrestlers of our times and it’s worth keeping an eye on. Being the largest wrestling promotion and a synonym of professional wrestling, WWE made more than £155m in the first half of 2017, so no wonder a record of 1.5m subscribers stay up during the small hours eager to see yet another weekly spectacle at either the WWE Raw or Smackdown. The former is highly regarded as the ultimate proof of stamina and force, as it lasts for 4 hours, while the latter is shorter but equally exciting and fast-paced. Stars like Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, and Triple H play the Raw championships, and the Smackdown features the likes of the veteran John Cena, Kane, The Undertaker and Dolph Ziggler. This year’s WWE World Championships in Raw and Smackdown are held by Brock Lesnar and Jinder Mahal, respectively.
Most keen wrestling fans are of the opinion that 2017 has been terrible for WWE, but with the final performance of Bill Goldberg, the world of WrestleMania and WWE saw one of the most spectacular title matches in the history of the PPV.
WWE Royal Rumble with Owens & Reigns
Even if not so spectacular as the AJ Styles and John Cena contest for the WWE Championship title, the No Disqualifications match between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns featured a suspenseful game of objects including chair suplexes and table smashes when surprisingly Braun Strowman came to the rescue of Owens and completely shattered Reigns.
WWE UK Championship Tournament
The United Kingdom has long established itself as a lucrative field for WWE with its ever-growing fanbase and this year’s Championship tournament shed light on some new, unpredictable WWE talents that you should definitely keep an eye on. The final match between Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne made it clear that the Brits have a lot to offer when it comes to professional 5-star wrestling. Little known by the majority of American fans, Bate and Dunne told their stories at the beginning of the match emphasising injuries and keeping the suspense up in the air until the very end when Bate finished Dunne, ending on top of him as the first-ever UK champion in WWE. In fact, it was a win-win for Dunne as well, as he reaffirmed his title as one of Britain’s top grapplers.
WrestleMania 33
As part of WWE club, WrestleMania 33 brought some initial disappointment to the fans when AJ Styles was to compete against Shane McMahon. However, as soon as the match began there was no trace of anger left in the fans, as this was the best game of the evening. In fact, every match Styles comes in, it’s a joy for anyone out there anticipating great suspense and entertainment. However, what made this match different was the fact that even if Styles eventually won, it wasn’t a convincing victory for the long-time WWE title-holder. Shane O’Mac is certainly not a wrestling superstar, but he kept up with Styles all the way down to the decisive moment, making him a very plausible betting choice in any future match.
WWE Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber matches are usually negatively associated with the 2015 edition which featured disappointing matches and nearly disbanded the show altogether. 2017 show made up for the past disappointment, as it featured AJ Styles, John Cena, Baron Corbin, Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt in a final contest for the WWE Championship. The final match between Cena and Wyatt gave the spectators goosebumps of suspense and drama when Wyatt surprisingly stealing the title from Cena.
Cena vs Styles at the WWE Royal Rumble
Since the beginning of 2017, every true wrestling fan should have been excited about the Cena-Styles match at the WWE Royal Rumble. Styles and Cena have met twice before, with this year’s match being their third and greatest match. Both being very technical wrestlers, it was a tight battle for the title with a good portion of suspenseful action and multiple finishers on both sides. Cena won the Championship for the 16th time, but this only lasted a few weeks until his next match at the Elimination Chamber.
WWE ended the third quarter of 2017 with a total of 1,578,000 subscribers to the WWE Network, of which 1,522,000 are paid while the rest are on a free 30-day trial.
Both numbers are down from the previous quarter, where in Q2 2017 they had a total of 1,633,000 subscribers and out of that number, 1,568,000 were paid subscriptions. While the Q3 2017 number is 4% higher than the same period of last year, the company has 46,000 less paying subscribers compared to the previous quarter.
In the United States, there are 1.1 million subscribers while just over 400,000 subscribers are coming from the rest of the world. A total of just over 450,000 subscribers decided to ditch the service during the quarter while a bit over 390,000 were new subscribers.
WWE added more than 70 hours of original content to WWE Network’s featured programming and more than 600 hours of archival content, which resulted in an on-demand library of over 8,900 hours at quarter-end.
There will be 13 different ticket prices for WrestleMania 34 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, with the cheapest going for $35 and the most expensive once again at $2,000.
Judging from the stadium configuration, there will be areas of the Superdome which will be blocked and unlike the last WrestleMania, seats behind the stage will not be utilized.
Prices are $35, $50, $75, $100, $150, $175, $200, $250, $350, $450, $850, $1,000, and $2000. All prices do not include other taxes and fees.
The seat map follows the traditional stadium layout with a long entrance ramp and a large stage across the south side of the Superdome.
Tickets go on sale on Ticketmaster.com on November 17 at 11AM EST.
Wrestling-Online.com is offering accommodation at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans with rates at nearly 50% discount from the going rate at the hotel during WrestleMania weekend. For more information go to http://w-o.it/wm34hotel.
WWE today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2017. For the quarter, the Company reported Net income of $21.8 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, as compared to Net Income of $11.1 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.
“We are pleased with our continued success in growing and engaging a large, global audience across multiple platforms. The increased production of original content, our focus on localization and the further development of a diverse talent base contributed to that important achievement, reinforcing the significant scale and power of our brands,” stated Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
George Barrios, WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer, added “We achieved a 14% increase in revenue from the monetization of video content and generated results that exceeded the range of our guidance. As we continue to drive WWE’s digital and direct-to-consumer transformation, we have increased our 2017 guidance, which calls for record revenue, record Adjusted OIBDA results, and record subscriber levels.”
Former WCW and TNA champion Jeff Jarrett has checked himself into a rehab facility, just days after he was accused of showing up to an independent wrestling event in Canada drunk and passing out in the locker room.
According to multiple sources, WWE is picking up the tab for Jarrett’s rehabilitation stay. The company offers to pay for rehab to battle drug and alcohol addiction to any past or present individual who worked with the company.
Alcohol Withdrawal and Symptoms occurs when a person abruptly stops drinking after heavy alcohol use and may trigger life-threatening health complications. One of the most clear signs of alcohol dependency is experiencing alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol withdrawal is the changes the body goes through after a person suddenly stops drinking after prolonged and heavy alcohol use. Over time, both the body and the brain becomes dependent on drinking frequency and patterns. When you abruptly stop drinking, your body is deprived of the effects of alcohol and requires time to adjust to functioning without it. This adjustment period causes the painful side effects of alcohol withdrawal, such as shakes, insomnia, nausea, and anxiety.
Last week, Anthem Sports and Entertainment announced that it has terminated its business agreement with Jeff Jarrett, firing him after he was given a leave of absence to tackle personal issues.
The final women to be added to the NXT Women’s title fatal 4-way match at NXT Takeover: WarGames was decided on last night’s NXT television show.
Nikki Cross won a 16-women battle royal, with Billie Kay being the last one remaining with her. Kay tossed Nikki over the top and celebrated, not realizing that Cross held on. She got back in the ring and tossed Kay over to secure a spot at Takeover.
Cross will join Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane, Ember Moon, and Peyton Royce in the match for the vacant NXT Women’s title. The title has been vacant for several weeks, ever since Asuka relinquished it to move to the main roster.
