AEW will be spreading the Christmas cheer tonight with Dynamite on 34th Street, a special edition of the show from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City airing at 8PM ET on TBS.
The show is built around the final five matches from the Continental Classic tournament where the top two finalists from each league will become clear after tonight.
In the gold league, there will be three matches including Will Ospreay vs Brody King, Claudio Castagnoli vs Komander, and Darby Allin vs Ricochet. The blue league has two matches left with Kazuchika Okada vs Shelton Benjamin and Kyle Fletcher vs Daniel Garcia.
Also set for tonight is Toni Storm vs Taya Valkyrie.
Before CM Punk appeared on the panel to promote WWE’s move to Netflix earlier today, a new Raw commercial aired which showed Becky Lynch.
The new commercial, which was filmed several weeks ago during a busy day with several WWE Superstars on hand, offered a quick glimpse of Lynch, wearing all black, with a graphic of a goat and GOAT on the back as she looked at the camera in a menacing look.
Lynch has not been part of the WWE roster since her final match at the end of May against Liv Morgan on Raw. Her contract ran out on June 1 and opted not to re-sign with the company at the time.
During her time away, Lynch joined the cast of the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series which will air on Paramount+ next year. She is credited under her real name of Rebecca Quin in the series.
The commercial also featured Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Gunther, Liv Morgan, Bayley, Bianca Belair, and others.
WWE Superstar CM Punk showed up at the Steelers vs Chiefs NFL pre-game show on Netflix on Christmas Day to promote the upcoming WWE move to the streaming giant.
Punk, in a dark three-piece suit and blue tie, said just like the football world is excited to be on Netflix, he and WWE are also excited to be part of the Netflix family come January 6.
“I think we have a tremendous global reach that’s only going to be compounded by being on Netflix, and that’s going to reach a lot of people,” Punk said. “I’m very excited!”
The Miz was also one of the celebrities who wished Netflix viewers happy holidays during the pre-show, followed by a new Raw commercial.
Netflix is airing their first two NFL games today as part of their expansion into live broadcasting, with the Christmas Gameday graphic taking over the Netflix front page worldwide.
If you have a big TV but no fireplace at home, you can make it look – and sound – like one thanks to TNT’s YouTube channel which made an excellent background for wrestling fans for this special day.
The live broadcast has Hangman Adam Page drinking whiskey on a loop, sitting in front of Swerve Strickland’s old house as it burns in flames, with cozy crackling fire sounds that replicate the fireplace you’re missing at home.
Page has so far taken thousands of sips from the never-ending whiskey glass and still looks in great shape despite the alcohol intake. It’s expected that Page will continue to drink in front of the burning home for hours to come, quite possibly until the end of the Christmas Day.
So what are you waiting for, head over to https://www.youtube.com/live/3LJsEC_m4T8 and put this on the background on your television for your Christmas family lunch!
A week before it makes its streaming debut on Max, AEW entries have popped up on the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service.
The Dynamite graphic features MJF, Swerve Strickland, Jon Moxley, Mercedes Mone, and Will Ospreay while the Collision graphic has Mariah May, Orange Cassidy, Christian Cage, Darby Allin, and Willow Nightingale.
The Fight For The Fallen Dynamite will be the first AEW live simulcast on Max on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
Both Dynamite and Collision will be streaming live on Max from now onwards as part of the new AEW TV media rights deal with WBD.
Christmas is here and one WWE broadcast which was synonymous with spreading the Christmas cheer did not make it on the air this time around, and that’s the annual Tribute to the Troops.
Since 2003, WWE has held a Tribute to the Troops show every single year although the 2019 edition did not air on television. Since its inception, there were 20 television broadcasts with WWE Superstars sharing the screen with various armed forces of the United States.
It’s a concept that was floated by former WWE champion John “Bradshaw” Layfield to then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, and McMahon ran with it, holding the first seven Tribute to the Troops events in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, before moving the event Stateside in 2010. Since 2010, WWE held it at major arenas and military bases depending on the location, with hundreds of U.S. service members surrounding the ring in uniform.
But the 2024 holidays came and unlike previous years, there were no mention at all of Tribute to the Troops and it looks like the event, although popular with the military, will not continue moving forward.
The event got WWE several awards along the years, with the USO Legacy of Hope awarded in 2004, the Three-Commander Coin Award from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award which was awarded to Vince McMahon who then gave it to JBL for the idea of the show, and the Corporate Patriot Award at the GI Film Festival.
Both President George W. Bush and Barrack Obama also recorded custom messages which aired in the 2008, 2011, and 2012 episodes of the show.
Following the controversial ending of last week’s NXT championship match which ended in a double pin, Eddy Thorpe will get another crack at the title at the New Year’s Evil show.
The original match between Williams and Iron Survivor Challenge Oba Femi is now a triple threat match which also includes Thorpe now. The match was announced last night on NXT, with Williams agreeing to turn this into a triple threat and NXT General Manager Ava making an appearance to sign off on it.
The segment ended with all three in the ring brawling and eventually Femi standing tall over both Williams and Thorpe, holding up the NXT title above his shoulder.
NXT New Year’s Evil show will take place on January 7 on CW and will stream live on Netflix for international subscribers.
Rampage on Friday drew 227,000 viewers, down 52,000 viewers from the prior week. It had a 0.06 rating in 18-49, down 0.02 from the previous week and it was #15 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
British broadcaster ITV and AEW today announced that they have agreed to extend their TV broadcast deal into 2025.
ITV will continue to show weekly episodes of AEW programming, with AEW Dynamite every Friday night and AEW Collision every Wednesday night on ITV4 and ITVX.
The renewal for 2025 takes ITV into its sixth year as AEW’s free-to-air UK partner, first broadcasting AEW Dynamite in 2019.
“We are thrilled to extend AEW’s partnership with ITV to continue bringing the best wrestling action to fans all across the United Kingdom,” said AEW CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan. “We thank all of our incredible fans in the UK as well as everyone at ITV for their loyal support of AEW since our inception.”
Richard Botchway, Commissioning Editor at ITV, said: “We are proud to continue to be the UK free-to-air broadcast partner for AEW. We’re looking forward to continuing our relationship into 2025, bringing the UK audience every minute of action across ITV and ITVX.”
WWE Superstar Maxxine Dupri and NXT’s Anthony Luke have announced their engagement via a post on social media.
“Status: FOREVER,” Dupri wrote on Instagram, sharing several photos from the special occasion and flaunting her new bling on her finger.
Luke is a former San Diego State University football player and was signed to an NIL deal in 2023 following his trial during SummerSlam weekend that same year.
He wrestles at NXT non-televised live events but has yet to make the jump to the NXT main roster.
In the first count provided by @WrestleTix, the Elimination Chamber premium live event taking place from the Rogers Center in Toronto has 23,600 tickets moved so far, with just over two months left for the show.
The former SkyDome currently is configured for 30,000 seats but as always, that will expand if necessary. The stadium can hold over 40,000 fans if every seat is in use.
Tickets remain extraordinarily high for the event, with the cheapest being CA $170 and the most expensive for ringside at CA $4,000, both figures without the additional taxes and fees.
The Elimination Chamber will be the largest wrestling gate in Canadian history, mainly thanks in part to the high ticket prices.
Dustin Rhodes has announced that he has signed a new, multi-year deal with AEW and is staying put for the foreseeable future.
“I want to thank my boss @TonyKhan for every opportunity he has given me,” Rhodes wrote in a post on social media. “Since coming here and being an original since inception, I have truly had the time of my life.”
Rhodes added that everyone knows his story and how much he has been through during all his years in professional wrestling.
“Lost my passion and found it again HERE in @AEW at the first Double Or Nothing. Did not expect this One Last Ride to last as long as it has, and man, what a run I have had!”
Rhodes noted that he wants to finish his career in AEW as it feels it’s his home and never felt the respect that he found in AEW.
“This makes me want to do my very best for Tony and push myself harder than I ever have. I feel loved and wanted here. I love all of our roster deeply,” he continued.
Rhodes is currently a double champion in Ring of Honor, sharing the ROH Tag Team titles with Sammy Guevara and the Six-Man Tag Team titles with Ross and Marshall Von Erich.
Former WWE Women’s champion Iyo Sky advanced in the Women’s Intercontinental title tournament last night on Raw.
Sky beat Natalya and Alba Fyre in her triple threat qualifying match and completes the final four with Dakota Kai, Lyra Valkyria, and Zoey Stark.
Both semi final matches will take place on next week’s Raw, with Kai vs Stark and Sky vs Valkyria. The final will take place on the Raw Netflix debut on January 6.
Smackdown last Friday suffered against the Indiana-Notre Dame College Football Playoff First Round game, with the show doing a record-low of 1,326,000 viewers, down 204,000 viewers from the previous week. This was the least-watched Smackdown of 2024. The college football game had an audience of 13.4 million across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. In 18-49 demos, the show drew a 0.37 rating, down 0.10 from the prior week and was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and #5 in overall television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Tonight’s Monday Night Raw is not live and was taped last week from Boston to give everyone a few days off for Christmas before the annual holiday tour.
Scheduled matches for the broadcast include a triple threat in the Women’s Intercontinental title tournament between Iyo Sky, Natalya, and Alba Fyre, Chad Gable vs Akira Tozawa, Damian Priest vs Dominik Mysterio, The Miz vs Dexter Lumis, and Sami Zayn vs Drew McIntyre.
Jey Uso, The Bloodline, The Wyatt Sicks, Alpha Academy, R-Truth, and The New Day will also be appearing on the show in other segments.
In a post on his social media, AEW and ROH star Bandido confirmed that he indeed suffered a concussion this past Friday at Final Battle.
Bandido came to the aid of Matt Cardona after The Learning Tree ganged up on the indie star. Bandido immediately hit a missile dropkick on Chris Jericho and landed on the back of his head.
The former ROH champion said that he hopes there’s no brain swelling and it has been a hard few days filled with frustration since he had just returned from several months out due to a broken wrist.
He said the toughest battle will be with himself and will do his best to try and return to the ring.
TNA+ will have a change to its Canadian customers due to the agreement with Rogers Sportsnet which was announced earlier today.
Canadian subscribers to TNA+ will now be able to watch new episodes of Impact Wrestling two weeks after their initial TV broadcast in Canada. All monthly live TNA+ specials and pay-per-views will continue to stream on TNA+.
The change, which goes into effect on January 2, 2025, helps support TNA’s growth in the country while still providing TNA+ streaming subscribers value for their money. WWE does the same with new episodes of Smackdown on Peacock.
The Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, host of the January 14 episode of Dynamite, revealed that that week’s show will be themed Maximum Carnage.
Collision will also take place from the same venue the following day and will carry the same theme. AEW trademarked the name Maximum Carnage and a few others a few months ago.
Tickets go on pre-sale on Thursday, December 26 at 10AM while the general on-sale will follow on December 30, with both dates being less than a month before the two shows actually occur.
It will be the second themed episode of Dynamite in January following Fight For The Fallen which will take place on January 1.
Dwayne Johnson’s run at the top of the box office chart came to an end after three weeks, with Disney’s Moana 2 slipping to fourth place following the highly-anticipated releases of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King movies.
Moana 2 had a $13.1 million weekend and was surpassed slightly by Wicked which did $13.5 million according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
The movie now has a domestic gross of $359,068,328 plus an additional $431,100,000 in international box office receipts for a worldwide total of a staggering $790,168,328.
Johnson’s other movie, Red One, is still playing in theaters despite being available on Amazon’s Prime Video. It was #10 on the chart with a domestic gross of $94,332,934 and $86,600,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $180,932,934.
The India-based Business Standard is reporting that WWE will be moving to Netflix in the country in March 2025.
Currently, Sony Pictures Networks India has the rights for WWE programming in the country, a contract which will expire in March of next year. The company had a five-year deal estimated at around $200 million for the whole duration.
Business Standard stated that Sony Pictures Network India wanted to retain the TV rights even though “WWE content on SPNI’s platform reportedly fell short of expectations during the current rights cycle.”
A Netflix India spokesperson confirmed that WWE content will be moving to their platform in Q1 2025. Netflix India has around 12 million subscribers and the streaming service hopes that WWE’s arrival will boost their numbers a little bit more.
This will mark the end of WWE’s collaboration with SPNI after over two decades
