The post-All In Dynamite this week drew 691,000 viewers, down just 7,000 viewers from the prior week, experiencing no bump from the pay-per-view. The show had a 0.22 rating in 18-49, down 0.02 from the previous episode but still was #1 on the top 50 cable chart for the day. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Nikki Cross signs new mutli-year deal with WWE
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling is reporting that Nikki Cross has signed a new multi-year deal with WWE.
Cross is now a member of the Wyatt Sicks faction after she was unused for several months. In fact, Cross has not wrestled on television since the November 2023 episode of Raw and prior to that most of her appearances were on Main Event.
The Scottish star is now portraying the role of Sister Abigail but has yet to wrestle under that gimmick.
The 35-year-old has been working for WWE since 2016 and is a former Raw, Tag Team, and 24/7 champion as well as the 2021 Money in the Bank winner.
Jon Moxley returns to AEW after two months out
For the first time since Forbidden Door, Jon Moxley showed up on Dynamite last night and caused more people to scratch their heads than ever before.
The former multi-time AEW champion was briefly interviewed by Tony Schiavone in the ring and called out Darby Allin, seemingly the first opponent he’s going to work with.
But before the segment was over, Mox had one more thing to say.
Speaking directly to Schiavone, Moxley said, “It’s going to take some time for everybody to wrap their brains around this, but we’re going to get started now. This is not your company anymore!”
Later in the broadcast, Marina Shafir aligned herself with Moxley after Shafir attacked several security personnel backstage when Moxley was looking for a fight.
Nikki Garcia’s husband Artem arrested for domestic violence in Napa
Nikki Garcia’s husband, Dancing With The Stars pro Artem Chingvintsev, has been arrested in Napa, California, and charged with felony domestic violence.
TMZ.COM states that Chingvintsev is currently in Napa County Jail but has no further details on what happened.
WWE Hall of Famer Nikki and Artem live in Napa Valley and celebrated their wedding anniversary earlier this week. The two got married in 2022 after meeting on DWTS in 2019.
The couple have one son together, Matteo, who is four years old.
‘Mr. McMahon’ six-part Netflix docuseries to premiere on September 25
Streaming giant Netflix announced that the six-part docuseries on Vince McMahon, titled Mr. McMahon, will premiere on Wednesday, September 25.
The long-awaited series, directed by Bill Simmons and from executive producer Chris Smith, will chronicle the rise and fall of the former WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“The goal behind ‘Mr. McMahon’ was to pull back the curtain and reveal the true Vince McMahon, obscured beneath the persona he presented to the world,” producer Chris Smith said. “Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations. The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind.”
The full synopsis describing the series reads as follows, “From his transformation of the WWE from a small, regional business into a global entertainment powerhouse to the explosive sexual misconduct allegations that led to his eventual resignation, this six-episode series offers a deep dive into McMahon’s life and his enduring franchise. Culled from over 200 hours of interviews with McMahon himself (prior to his resignation), his family members, business associates and some of the most iconic names in wrestling history, as well as the journalists who uncovered McMahon’s allegations — filmmaker Chris Smith (‘Tiger King’) and executive producer Bill Simmons (’30 for 30′) present an unflinching, no-holds-barred look at one of the most enigmatic figures in sports entertainment.”
Now estranged from the company he helped build into a multi-billion dollar empire, McMahon is the subject of a sex trafficking lawsuit and a Department of Justice investigation.
The official poster of the series has the words “mastermind” and “madman” with Vince McMahon pulling strings on…Vince McMahon.
Kayla Becker says her full time wrestling career is over
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, former Smackdown backstage correspondent and WWE host Kyla Braxton said that her full-time career working in professional wrestling is over, but would not mind popping in for a cameo.
Braxton, who is now using her real name of Kayla Becker, said that most wrestling fans think that when a female leaves WWE, the only option is AEW or open OnlyFans.
“It’s like the only two options that they think that you have,” she said, admitting that wrestling will always be a love of hers and those who work there will always be part of her family.
“I just really didn’t want to pigeonhole myself as a host and a broadcaster and just see what else I can do out there,” she added. “I mean, there’s always the possibility that maybe I pop back in for a fun cameo or something down the road. But yeah, I think my time is done.”
The 33-year-old worked for WWE for eight years and wrapped up her commitments for the company with the June 28 episode of Friday Night Smackdown from Madison Square Garden in New York. She is currently doing acting work.
Sid Vicious had stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, son says
In a post on his Facebook profile, Sid’s son Gunnar Eudy gave an update on his father’s death, revealing two previously unknown conditions.
Gunnar wrote that Sid was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation in 2016 and walked around with a pacemaker. But five years later in 2021, the former WWF and WCW champion received news that he had stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“Although he never told anyone about his fight against cancer, Sid lived his life to the fullest, attending the gym, boxing classes, making appearances for his fans, and of course t-ball games for the kids,” he wrote.
He added that his father passed away peacefully in his bed and left behind a legacy of strength and determination.
“I’ve never met anyone with a fraction of the strength as my father he truly was one of a kind,” he continued, thanking all the fans for the uplifting words and love shown in the thousands of messages the family received.
NXT rating for 08/27/2024
The No Mercy go-home episode of NXT this week drew 615,000 viewers, down 24,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.17 rating in 18-49, down 0.01 from the previous show and was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
More matches announced for All Out 2024
More matches have been announced for the All Out pay-per-view which is set for Saturday, September 7 live from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Former AEW American champion MJF will be taking on Daniel Garcia as Garcia looks to get revenge on MJF for turning on him after he lost his title opportunity against Will Ospreay several weeks ago on Dynamite. Garcia cost MJF the American title at All In, helping Will Ospreay win by distracting the then champion. Garcia had been MIA since the July 3 episode of Dynamite.
Also, the highly-anticipated third chapter in the Hangman Page vs Swerve Strickland feud will be contested inside a steel cage. The two already have two matches against each other, with Strickland winning both of them. Their first match was at WrestleDream and their second bout was at Full Gear.
In related All Out news, TNT champion Jack Perry was the first one to answer Bryan Danielson’s challenge and requested a title match at All Out. The match has not been made official yet.
Danielson says he will end his in-ring career when he loses the AEW title
AEW World champion Bryan Danielson announced on Dynamite that every match he has defending the title could potentially be his last one as once he loses the title, he’s going to call it quits.
Danielson said that he’s going to be a fighting champion and will not retire as the champion and challenged the AEW locker room to try and end his career.
The champion admitted that he requires neck surgery soon and he is wrestling in AEW without a contract as his full-time deal expired on August 1.
Danielson previously noted that he is expecting to stay with the company in some capacity after he retires from the ring and did not close the door on having one off matches after that.
Bryan Danielson to address his future tonight live on Dynamite on TBS
New AEW World champion Bryan Danielson will be addressing his wrestling future tonight live on Dynamite, three days after winning the title against Swerve Strickland in a fairytale ending.
Speaking of Strickland, the now former champion will be in the house also for his first comments since losing the title at All In and newly-crowned AEW Women’s champion Mariah May will have a championship celebration.
Matches announced for tonight include Tomohiro Ishii vs Hangman Adam Page, Ricochet vs Kyle Fletcher, Jamie Hayter vs Harley Cameron, and an eight-man tag team match featuring Chris Jericho, Big Bill, Bryan Keith, and Roderick Strong vs Hook, Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly and Mark Briscoe.
Raw to air from Saudi Arabia in November as part of Crown Jewel weekend
A press release issued by the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority chief Turki Alalshikh revealed that Raw will take place in Riyadh later this year when the company goes over for the yearly Crown Jewel show.
The Crown Jewel premium live event will take place on Saturday, November 2 and the press release says that the events will be back-to-back, meaning that Raw on November 4 will be a taped episode which will be recorded the day before.
“The WWE Crown Jewel & Raw show, set to take place over two consecutive days, this event will be one of the global events hosted by Riyadh Season this year, carrying on its annual tradition featuring a stronger lineup of wrestlers within the most powerful, comprehensive, and diverse entertainment season in the world,” the press release states.
WWE already held Smackdown before the King and Queen of the Ring premium live event in May and the company often tapes Smackdown when they go for overseas PLEs, but Raw is always held in North America.
Alalshikh announced that Riyadh Season 2024 will host 11 world championships and 10 exhibitions and festivals.
AEW International title match announced for All Out 2024
The second match for the upcoming All Out pay-per-view was announced yesterday.
The AEW International title will be on the line as new champion Will Ospreay will defend against one third of the AEW Trios champions, Pac.
The other match announced so far is Willow Nightingale defending the CMLL Women’s title against Kris Statlander. The match will have a stipulation which will be decided by Nightingale.
The show is fast approaching with a September 7 date and AEW will shift its focus to All Out starting with tonight’s Dynamite.
The show will take place from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Raw rating for 08/26/2024
WWE Raw climbed back in the ratings for the Bash In Berlin go-home episode, with an average of 1,796,000 viewers, up 155,000 viewers from the prior week.
The show started with 1,889,000 viewers and then dropped slightly to 1,848,000 viewers before ending the night with 1,652,000 viewers.
Raw had a 0.59, 0.57, and 0.53 ratings respectively for an average of 0.56, up 0.06 from the previous week. Raw was #1 on both cable and network television, almost doubling its nearest competitor on ABC. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)
Trick Williams to serve as guest referee for NXT title match at No Mercy
The NXT title match at No Mercy this Sunday will have a special guest referee in the form of former NXT champion himself, Trick Williams.
Williams will now referee Ethan Page vs Joe Hendry after NXT General Manager Ava revealed the news during the show-closing angle last night on NXT on USA Network.
The 30-year-old lost the NXT title in a fatal four-way match at NXT Heatwave which also involved Je’Von Evans, Shawn Spears, and Page. He held the title for a total of 75 day, winning it from Ilja Dragunov on night one of NXT Spring Breakin’.
Collision rating for 08/24/2024
Collision this past Saturday on the eve of All In drew 442,000 viewers, up 36,000 viewers from the previous week. This was the most-viewed show in a month. Collision drew a 0.13 rating in 18-49, the same as last week’s number. No cable ranking information is available. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
TNA’s Rosemary makes surprise appearance on NXT
TNA’s Rosemary made a surprise appearance on NXT on USA Network last night and was the opponent for Kelani Jordan.
Rosemary was Wendy Choo’s choice to take on Jordan but the TNA star fell short in her quest to defeat the NXT North American Women’s champion. Choo still had the last laugh and locked Jordan in a chokehold to end the segment.
Choo is set to take on Jordan for the title this Sunday at NXT No Mercy.
After her appearance, Rosemary posted on X, “If you cannot hear the Hive.. Go out and make them Louder.. That’s better.. Hello, #WWENXT.. and Welcome to the Hive.. Wendy’s promised such fun..”
Rampage rating for 08/23/2024
Rampage on TNT drew 290,000 viewers last Friday, down 5,000 viewers from the prior week. Rampage had a 0.10 rating in 18-49, the same as last week. No cable ranking information is available. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
Ricochet to wrestle on Dynamite for first AEW one-on-one match
Ricochet will be making his Dynamite debut tomorrow night on TBS and is facing Kyle Fletcher in his first one-on-one match in AEW.
The former WWE Intercontinental champion made his AEW debut on Sunday during the Casino Gauntlet match at All In, receiving a massive ovation from the crowd.
Ricochet signed a multi-year deal with the company last week and was expected to make his debut in Wembley. He comes to AEW after a six-year stint in WWE.