Roman Reigns is the favorite to win the WWE World Heavyweight title tournament at the Survivor Series tonight according to online betting, with odds at 4/7 for Reigns and then followed by Dean Ambrose at 2/1, Kevin Owens at 11/2, and Alberto Del Rio the least likely at 9/1. In the semi finals, Ambrose is 2/9 to Owens’ 3/1 and Reigns is 1/12 while Del Rio is a distant 6/1.
The other matches have Kane and Undertaker at 4/11 to win with the Wyatt Family at 2/1, Tyler Breeze the favorite at 4/7 with Ziggler at 5/4, and Charlotte is the favorite to retain the Divas title at 1/3 with Paige at 9/4 for the upset.
These odds will change throughout the day especially later on tonight as “smart money” start to come in. There were rumors that Ambrose was being pushed as the favorite internally to win the WWE title since everyone is expecting Reigns to get it.
WWE issued a full statement on the alleged ISIS threat from yesterday at the Survivor Series, which takes place tonight.
“Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities have confirmed there is no specific or credible information involving a threat against tomorrow’s WWE Survivor Series at Philips Arena. However, WWE and Philips Arena have coordinated with the appropriate agencies and law enforcement, and significantly increased security measures to ensure the safety of all those in attendance, which is our highest priority,” the statement which was posted on Triple H’s Facebook read.
Additional security measures will be in place which means fans will take longer to enter the area. To compensate for this, doors will now open at 6PM, a full one hour early, so fans can avoid any delays. Meanwhile, everyone is encouraged to take public transportation (MARTA) to the event and are advised that bags will not be permitted in the arena.
With just one day away from the Survivor Series, WWE has still not announced which participants will be part of the traditional Survivor Series 5 on 5 match.
The match was announced on WWE.COM earlier this week however no information on the ten Superstars participating was given. A Divas traditional Survivor Series match was also in discussion at one point but the focus seems to be solely on Paige and Charlotte when it comes to the Divas division.
Over the years, the Survivor Series went from the usual 5 on 5 tag team matches to regular PPV matches with the occasional one or two traditional matches inserted in the card.
The Kickoff match has also not been announced as of today.
Anonymous, the hacker group who last week declared a cyber war on ISIS following the terrorist attacks in Paris, published a list of targets that ISIS plan to attack after managing to hack several Islamic State and affiliated accounts.
WWE’s Survivor Series in Atlanta is listed as a potential target, along with four other locations worldwide for tomorrow including Rome, Milan, Indonesia, and Lebanon. The report was also carried by the International Business Times today.
Mark Winne, a reporter for Atlanta’s WSB-TV wrote on his Twitter that when he reached out to the FBI he was told that they are taking the Anonymous report about the threat seriously. He then tweeted that fans should not panic and a statement from the FBI will be issued that will add “lots of clarity.” The Survivor Series, celebrating 25 years of The Undertaker, takes place at the Philips Arena.
UPDATE 1: WSB-TV tweets say that according to a source, there’s no active threat against the WWE event tomorrow although the event name on the list may purely be a suggestion for a “lone wolf” attack. The Atlanta Police Department is having ongoing discussions with WWE for security around the area.
UPDATE 2: The WSBTV.COM website now has the story on the front page. Reporter Mark Winne spoke with the director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, Jim Butterworth, who said his agency is working closely with the FBI, the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center and others in evaluating the threat.
UPDATE 3: An FBI statement issued to WSB-TV reads, “The FBI is aware of reports of an alleged threat that includes an Atlanta, Georgia venue and event. While we take all threats seriously, we do not have specific or credible information of an attack at this time. We have, however, made the proper notifications as we continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to keep our community safe.”
UPDATE 4: A tweet from Triple H said that the Survivor Series is currently scheduled as planned while they investigate reports with the authorities.
Ryan Satin from Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting that TNA is not footing the bill for airtime on their new home Pop TV as it was being speculated.
Rumors were that TNA paid Pop TV for the airtime with TNA then trying to get back their money by selling their own advertising that would air during the two hour Impact broadcast. Satin says that TNA signed a regular television deal unlike Paragon Pro Wrestling, who aired on Pop TV but had to pay for their time slot.
United Talent Agency represented TNA in television negotiations as they did when they brought Discovery Communications and Destination America on board. Time will tell if this time TNA can last longer on Pop as Discovery canned Impact from its Destination America schedule just after last year. TNA President Dixie Carter said that the two parties signed a multi-year deal, but then again the same was said when the deal with Destination America was announced.
Meanwhile it’s also being reported that TNA talent had no idea that the deal was going to be announced as the company held negotiations a secret except from a few top tier individuals.
The Tampa Police Department report on the Hulk Hogan sex tape extortion case was published on the “Bubba The Love Sponge” website, one of the men who was an integral part of the whole investigation.
Sgt. Ralph Fine, who wrote the 31 page report, writes that the victim (Hogan) reported that personal property taken from him in 2012, without his knowledge or permission, was tweeted to him in a photo on today’s date. The victim believes the tweeted photo was intended as a personal threat because the release of its content has the potential to negatively affect his reputation and his livelihood. The report was written on May 23, 2014.
The whole report goes over the Hogan sex tape and how the DVDs which were secretly recorded while Hogan and Heather Clem had sex were stolen including the allegations against Matt Loyd, a former employee of Bubba “The Love Sponge”, who is accused of leaking the tape to the media.
There are only 23 pages published from 31 with the last entry on November 13, 2015. You can read it at all here. (Document not hosted on Wrestling-Online.com so it could disappear at any time without notice.)
Thursday Night Smackdown! TV Report for November 19th, 2015
Introduction Segment: Welcoming
The regular Smackdown! video plays then Rich Brennan, Booker T., and Jerry “The King” Lawler greet us from the University Of Tennessee. They review the situation around the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which now is down to the Semi-Finals to be wrestled at Survivor Series between Roman Reigns/Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens/Dean Ambrose. Later tonight, they will all square off in Tag-Team action, with Reigns and Ambrose teaming against Owens and Del Rio.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
The Miz is in the ring, along with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that is propped on a cloth-covered table. He starts to introduce his guests, but one of them cuts him off right away. Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens struts out and pretty much tells Miz that people are not paying attention to him; United States Champion Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter join, and also pick apart Owens, but Kevin talks back about him not being noticed while absent. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns interject themselves, and all make fun of Miz. R-Truth surprisingly barges in and asserts that he’s an “underdog” and will go through all of them to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Miz reminds Truth that he’s not in the tournament!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single – The Miz VS. Cesaro
They wrestle around for a bit until Cesaro flips over and clutches on the Crossface for the victory!
Winner via Submission: Cesaro
Post-match, Stardust and The Ascension make their entrance, which does not impress Cesaro.
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Match #2: Tag-Team – Stardust and The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) VS. Neville and The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von)
Neville and Viktor start out, with Neville getting the better until Stardust is tagged in. Neville runs the ropes, but Konnor holds the middle rope and Neville tumbles to the floor, hitting the mat back-first hard!
Commercials.
Konnor and Viktor are dominating for a while until Neville makes the hot-tag to Bubba. The Dudleyz clean house until Stardust hits the Disaster Kick. He celebrates too early though, as Neville hits him with a high-kick after rocketing through the ropes onto … D-Von and Bubba finish this one with a 3-D!
Winners via Pinfall: Neville and The Dudley Boyz
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Match #3: Single – Zack Ryder VS. Tyler Breeze (with Summer Rae)
Despite distractions from Dolph Ziggler, Tyler takes this one pretty quickly!
Winner via Pinfall: Tyler Breeze (with Summer Rae)
Post-match, Ziggler superkicks Tyler on the outside and walks away!
Segment #3: Video Promo
Recap of The Undertaker and Kane’s feud with The Wyatt Family is shown.
Commercials.
Segment #4: Arena Promo
“Let it be said that the words trembling from my lips are the words of an honest man. ‘The Demon’ and ‘The Deadman’ may have started walking upright, but there are still pieces of them that belong to me. Last Monday night, I showed the world that the followers of darkness have now seen the light. I gave them what no other entity could – happiness, salvation, and peace. At Survivor Series, ‘The Brothers Of Destruction’ will be given a chance to redeem themselves. Of course, they will fail; but how will they fail? That is the question we should be asking. At the hands of Erik Rowan? Or will it be Luke Harper, a man whose moral code affords him the ability to inflict pain and suffering without the slightest bit of remorse. Or, of course, it could be ‘The Black Sheep’ himself, Braun Strowman.” He hands the mike to Braun, who declares that it will be an “end of an era” for ‘Taker and Kane.
The gong sounds and the lights go out; the arena engulfs in blue and fire lights up the stage. The Undertaker appears on the Titantron. “Bray Wyatt, you think you hold all the cards. But you will soon find out that you’ve got nothing but a ‘Deadman’s Hand.’”
The camera pans to Kane, who is holding a sheep’s mask that is on fire. “Ashes to ashes, they all fall down,” he quips. Undertaker quotes “rest in peace,” then the druids at ringside fall to the floor. Bray laughs, seemingly unfazed.
Ads.
Segment #5: Video Promo
We recall the contract signing and brawl between Divas Champion Charlotte and Paige from Raw.
Match #3: Single – Brie Bella VS. Divas Champion Charlotte (Non-Title)
They lockup and Charlotte gives Brie a waistlock and roll-up for one! She ducks Brie and clamps on another waistlock, but Brie reverses it into a headlock takedown. They run off the ropes and collide, but the Divas Champion is up first. She traps Brie in a Figure-Four-headlock, then slams her face to the canvas.
Brie elbows back and shoves Charlotte into the middle rope. Brie stomps away as Charlotte is laid against the bottom rope, then Brie runs at her with a knee. She dropkicks Charlotte, and gives her a few kicks, but Charlotte ducks the last one. She comes back with numerous chops then a splash in the corner. She hits a big boot but only gets two. She tries a knee drop, but Brie moves and goes for her facebuster. Charlotte shoves her away and ties her up in the Figure-Eight, forcing Brie to tap!
Winner via Submission: Divas Champion Charlotte
Segment #6: Backstage Promo
Rene Young is with Paige and inquires about her recent actions against Becky Lynch and Charlotte. Paige defends them fiercely and proclaims that she will win the Divas Championship back at Survivor Series.
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – Tag-Team Champion Big E. (with Tag-Team Champions and New Day partners Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) VS. Kalisto (with Lucha Dragon partner Sin Cara)
Kalisto is vastly all over Big E until he is distracted by Woods and Kingston; he is put to the mat by Big for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Tag-Team Champion and New Day member Big E.
Post-match, New Day continue to beat on the Lucha Dragon until Ryback charges out and helps! The Tag-Team Champions retreat as Ryback holds up Cara and Kalisto.
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The commentators reveal that Tyler Breeze will take on Dolph Ziggler at Survivor Series.
Segment #7: Backstage Promo
Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose talk about being on the same side tonight, but if it ends up being the two of them in the finals at Survivor Series, they both swear they will do what they have to to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens enters the arena for the main-event!
Commercials.
Match #5: Tag-Team – Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens and United States Champion Alberto Del Rio (with Zeb Colter) VS. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns
Ambrose and Owens begin, and both Ambrose and Reigns clean house on the champions.
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Del Rio is punching away on Roman, but he misses a splash in the corner. Reigns makes the tag to Dean, who is all over both Alberto and Owens. He springboards with a plancha onto the I.C. Champ, but the U.S. Champ catches him with an enziguri.
Kevin takes control in the ring, giving Dean a running senton-splash. He wears him down with a rear chinlock, then elbows Ambrose as he ran off the ropes. Alberto is back in and gives Dean a DDT for two! Both he and Owens double-team “The Lunatic Fringe” for a while.
Ambrose eventually gets to tag Roman, who also cleans house on Del Rio and Owens. He hits the running front-dropkick, floor-to-apron, then gives him eight clotheslines in the corner. He signals for the Superman Punch, but Alberto hits him. Kevin does the same, but is spun around with a tilt-a-whirl slam.
This breaks down, particularly with Dean clotheslining Del Rio over the announcer’s table! Roman hits the Superman Punch on Owens, but Alberto shoves Reigns into the steel steps. Charles Robinson, the referee, reaches the count of ten!
Winners via Count-Out – None due to Double-Count-Out
Post-match, Reigns and Ambrose send Del Rio and Owens to the floor and hug it out. They then approach the WWE Title and stare at it together to close the show.
End Of Smackdown!
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
Since I did not give my review of Raw in respect of both the horrible attacks in France and Nick Bockwinkel’s passing, and as this was just a filler show before Survivor Series, instead I will just type out my predictions for Sunday’s Network/Pay-Per-View show.
Roman over Del Rio; Ambrose over Owens; Roman to win it all. Breeze gets his first Pay-Per-View victory; “Brothers Of Destruction” and two other mystery opponents turn the Tag-Team Match into a Survivor Series bout – I predict that ‘Taker and Kane’s partners will either be The Usos or Mankind and Lesnar (credit to someone at work for thinking that one!) – then the super-team defeats Wyatts and The Family may disband again. Charlotte/Paige is non-finish to continue their feud/go off the “harshness” of it and they have a specialty match at T.L.C.
Until Raw, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Fans!
UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Holly Holm replied to the allegations that Taz put forward saying that her fight against Ronda Rousey was “a work” and that Rousey was in on it as she was departing the UFC for around six months to pursue other projects outside the world of mixed martial arts.
Speaking on Larry King Now, Holm said, “No. No. No MMA fight especially in the UFC is ever going to be set up.” Holm added that there’s a reason why Dana White puts out performance of the night and knockout bonuses so it keeps fighters motivated.
This past Monday on his CBS show, Taz said that the kick to the neck that Holm landed wasn’t enough to knock Rousey out while the following three ground and pound punches either missed or hit Rousey’s shoulder. The former ECW champion added that the referee wasn’t probably on it and not even Holm and the ref only stopped it as Rousey was not defending herself, in line with MMA rules.
You can check out the full 20 minute interview below.
Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services, came out with the top 10 streaming services on the Internet and listed the WWE Network in the 5th position. The company used figures and estimates from Parks Associates’ OTT Video Market Tracker using multiple consumer surveys, network traffic data, and service provider information.
Netflix took the first place which is no surprise to anybody and was followed by Amazon Video, Hulu, and MLB.TV. Behind the WWE Network and rounding up the top 10 are HBO Now, Crunchyroll, NFL Game Pass, The Blaze, and SlingTV.
“Among sports services, MLB.TV has peaked following the end of the 2015 World Series, and NFL Game Pass is going strong midway through the new NFL season. In contrast, the WWE Network is resisting the seasonality common to other sports OTT video services and continues to add subscribers,” the report states.
The WWE Network made its debut in February 2014 and has 1,233,000 paid subscribers as of Q3 2015.
John Cena will be appearing on the January 5 Smackdown television tapings, the first show on the new permanent home, USA Network.
While Smackdown has aired on USA Network in the past for live specials, including an upcoming one in December, this will kick off the “USA Network era” of Smackdown as it moves from SyFy after five years. The event page on WWE.COM lists Reigns, Sheamus, Del Rio, Wyatt, Ambrose, Owens, Ziggler, Harper, and Strowman as also appearing.
The show will be taped at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas, with tickets going on sale on November 23.
The Leschne Agency announced today that former WWE Divas champion AJ Brooks will be releasing her autobiography in Spring 2017.
Titled Crazy Is My Superpower, the book will chronicle the rise of the New Jersey native “from 100-pound nerd growing up in extreme poverty and enduring years of abuse, to international sex symbol and professional wrestling champion who fought against stereotypes, forced the men in her industry to view her with respect.”
Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, will be the publishers of the book.
AJ signed a WWE deal in May 2009 and spent five years with the company, winning the Divas title on three different occasions. She left WWE in April 2015 and is now married to former WWE champion and UFC fighter CM Punk.
WWE issued a short statement on the use of Reid Flair’s name during the Monday Night Raw angle between Paige and Charlotte which got a ton of negative responses.
“Subject matter this personal is only approved as a result of the strong advocacy of the talent themselves. Notwithstanding that, WWE is ultimately responsible for what airs in its programming,” the statement read.
The segment involved Charlotte mentioning her late brother Reid and how she will keep on fighting like the rest of her family did which was the cue for Paige to tell Charlotte that her baby brother didn’t have much fight in him.
PWInsider.com reports that Charlotte was not forced into saying anything and the whole thing was the subject of long discussions during the day leading up to the show between the creative team and those involved in the segment. The Divas champion was well aware what was coming and was okay with the whole thing as it was her who suggested the original idea in the first place.
Both her parents were not happy that WWE chose to go that route and her mother Beth slammed the company while Ric said that he cried when he watched the segment and heard his son’s name.
WWE has awarded four $10,000 scholarships to students at Full Sail University today, bringing the total of scholarships awarded to 18 that amount to $180,000 in just two and a half years.
The four students are Joanne Castillo, a Recording Arts student from San Jose, California; Travis Daniels, a Film student from Buford, Georgia; Brandon Mojica, a Sports Marketing & Media student from Bronx, New York; and Kas Soloman, a Recording Arts student from Gahanna, Ohio. All of them were selected for exhibiting exceptional professionalism, creative talent and maintaining good academic standing, while shadowing professional WWE staff and crew during the production of NXT events at Full Sail University.
“WWE and Full Sail University have established a partnership built on our mutual desire to nurture and build the next generation of entertainment and media professionals,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Creative & Live Events. “We wish all of today’s scholarship recipients continued success.”
Adult entertainment company Brazzers has offered WWE Diva Eva Marie a job if her wrestling career doesn’t pan out the way she wants.
“@natalieevamarie when this whole wrestling thing blows up in your face, give us a call,” read a tweet sent out today from their official Twitter account which has over 600,000 followers. The tweet was met with hilarious replies from users, with one in particular assuming that he thinks WWE’s Twitter account would not be retweeting that one!
The 31 year old WWE Diva gets a lot of heat from fans online for not being able to wrestle despite being trained one-on-one by Brian Kendrick. The NXT fans at Full Sail University are also pretty vocal whenever Eva Marie shows up at NXT tapings and she is usually met with “you can’t wrestle” chants.
Former TNA champion Austin Aries was photographed heading in to Full Sail University, the site of tonight’s NXT television tapings.
Aries was carrying luggage with him and signed autographs for fans who waited outside the premises in hopes of meeting NXT Superstars and Divas.
Aries is no longer under a TNA contract however he is part of the TNA World Title Series for the vacant TNA World title that is currently airing weekly on Impact. The series was taped in July and Aries is currently in second place behind EC3 in the Champions Group with 4 points from 2 matches.
Another star who recently made his debut in NXT, James Storm, is also in the World Title Series in the TNA Originals group, sitting in second place tied with Abyss. Storm has not appeared on NXT ever since but he’s been hinting another run on Twitter saying “that a lot of people’s luck could be changing real soon” at NXT. Storm is also present at Full Sail according to the same individual who snapped the Aries photo.
While being at Full Sail University doesn’t mean that he will be appearing during any of the tapings held tonight, the probability of that happening isn’t far off.
You can see the photo of Aries at Full Sail below.
Just like every year, USA Network will have a WWE Week during the Christmas week which will kick off on December 20.
On Sunday, December 20, USA Network will air Santa’s Little Helper at 8PM EST, the new movie featuring The Miz and Paige along with 90210 star AnnaLynne McCord.
On Monday, December 21, the 2015 Slammy Awards with a little bit of Christmas spirit will air on Monday Night Raw while a special live edition of Smackdown will also air on USA Network on Tuesday, December 22.
On Wednesday, December 23, the yearly Tribute to the Troops will be broadcast on USA Network with a two hour show that will be taped in conjunction with Smackdown the day before.
WWE will also take over USA Daytime from 11AM to 3PM from Monday, December 21, through Friday, December 24, as host Cat Greenleaf conducts interviews with different WWE Superstars and Divas.
WWE today announced that it has signed Manuel Alfonso Andrade Oropeza, of Mexico City, the man formerly known as La Sombra to a developmental deal and will be reporting to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
Oropeza signed with CMLL in 2007 and held the CMLL Trio and Tag Team titles and the NWA Welterweight and Middleweight titles. He has also wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling, winning the NJPW Intercontinental title in 2013.
The 26 year old luchador usually sports a mask but he has been photographed without one for the WWE.COM story.
With TNA’s move to Pop, the company has now been on four different networks since it started operating a weekly television series.
TNA started on Fox Sports Net in 2004 before it moved to Spike TV in 2005. The 9 year relationship with Spike ended this year and TNA moved its flagship television program to Destination America, a largely unknown network owned by Discovery Communications.
Earlier this year, just months after TNA moved to Destination America, rumors were running wild that Discovery is dropping TNA from its schedule. Just like they did with their Spike TV news, TNA flat out refused all the allegations until Dixie Carter revealed during a Sports Illustrated interview that TNA will be without a home after January 2016 as Destination America has not renewed its contract.
Airing on Tuesdays is also a new night for TNA, having previously aired on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.
After moving to Destination America from Spike, TNA’s ratings decreased by nearly 60% due to the the network airing in far more less homes. Pop is nearly as many homes as Spike, although around 15 million less.
The good news means that TNA will survive for at least another year. Several talent were concerned about their future as with no television clearance there would be no jobs.
TNA Wrestling will be leaving Destination America and will be debuting on Pop TV on January 5, 2016. The deal kicks off with a live two-hour broadcast and Impact will then start airing every Tuesdays at 9PM EST.
“Wrestling has been a fan-fueled staple since the ’50s and continues to be some of the most watched, appointment-tune content in all of television today,” said Pop president Brad Schwartz. “The die-hard fandom and extraordinary passion surrounding Impact Wrestling captures the spirit of Pop as a network that celebrates fan driven entertainment and excitement.”
TNA President Dixie Carter said, “Pop’s enthusiasm for our partnership and the network’s fan focus is a perfect fit for our company. Wresting has always been at the forefront of pop culture with the most passionate, loyal fan base. We’re thrilled to be in business with Pop and to bring IMPACT WRESTLING to more than 80 million homes.”
Pop is the rebranded TV Guide channel and it is a joint venture between CBS Corp and Lionsgate. The channel has been operating under that name since January 2015 and it’s available in around 80 million homes. In comparison, Destination America is only available in around 60 million homes, giving TNA an additional clearance of 20 million homes.
Deadline.com is reporting that John Cena will be hosting a new television reality show titled American Grit which will be airing on Fox next year.
Cena has been off WWE television for the past few weeks and is not scheduled to be back until next month as he is taping the show.
American Grit – which got a 10-episode order – will feature 16 of the toughest men and women who will be split into four teams as they work together to face a variety of military-grade and survival-themed challenges.
The mentors, dubbed “The Cadre,” include Act of Valor actor and Navy SEAL trainer Rorke Denver, 101st Airborne Division Purple Heart recipient Noah Galloway, U.S. Marines Gunnery Sergeant Tawanda “Tee” Hanible and the U.S. Army’s first African American sniper, Nick “The Reaper” Irving.
Contestants will play up to a million dollars with each episode finale featuring a “punishing” obstacle course.
“The U.S Military is the epitome of resolve and dedication, which is why I am so excited to be a part of American Grit,” said Cena. “This show will not only be a challenging and fierce competition, but it will give viewers a glimpse into the perseverance and training of the men and women of the Armed Forces.”
