Kevin Owens was suspended by Smackdown General Manager Nick Aldis after he broke the only rule he told Owens not to break during the whole show.
Owens was on commentary and was told by Aldis that he will not tolerate him getting physically involved in any way. Of course, during the broadcast, Owens mocked Grayson Waller and Austin Theory multiple times including repeated replays when he hit them both at the same time with one punch.
The heels then confronted the former Universal champion and poured water on his head and threw the empty bottle at Kevin Patrick.
Owens had enough and attacked the two, hitting Waller with a Stunner for his actions.
After the show was over, Owens was interviewed in a WWE.COM exclusive and Aldis suspended him for breaking his rule.
Asuka has joined her compatriots IYO SKY and Kairi Sane along with Dakota Kai and Bayley as part of Damage CTRL after yesterday she turned on her tag team partners in the main event of Smackdown.
Bayley, SKY, and Sane took on Bianca Belair, Charlotte, and Asuka to close the show and towards the end of the match, Belair went for the hot tag and Asuka instead of getting the tag, removed her hand and misted Belair.
Asuka then invited her former Kabuki Warriors tag team partner Sane for a hug and she obliged, Sky joined next, and then Bayley continued the hug fest.
Charlotte got back in the ring and tried to take on all of them but was outnumbered. Shotzi then joined in to try and save the faces but to no avail. Charlotte ate a moonsault from Sky and Belair took a flying elbow from the top from Sane as Damage CTRL stood tall.
Kevin Owens is announced first as the special guest commentator for this evening due to the absence of Corey Graves who is celebrating the birth of his and Carmella’s baby boy.
The L.W.O. is out next. Rey starts out by welcoming everyone to Smackdown and saying he will do everything he can to get a rematch with Logan Paul. Carlito then comes out and wants to talk about Crown Jewel. He then blames Santos for leaving the brass knuckles on the apron. The rest of the L.W.O. held them back from fighting with each other and Santos left the ring. Rey and Zelina go after Santos and Joaquin and Toro talk with Carlito in the ring.
Bobby Lashley VS. Carlito
Great match but it was a spear from Lashley to get the win.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
After the match the Street Profits and Lashley continue beating on Carlito. Santos Escobar back at ringside gets up on the apron but does not come in the ring until Rey comes out to run off Lashley and the Profits then as Rey pleads with Escobar that they are all family and checks on Carlito. Escobar attacked Rey and kicked Carlito out of the ring and then leans down and grabs Rey by the mask and yells at him. Rey fires back and slaps Escobar to the apron and goes out and helps him up but Escobar shoves Rey into the ring post. Escobar yells at Rey, I love you, you were my hero, you made me do this. Zelina comes out and yells at Escobar and he backs away as Joaquin and Toro help Rey and Zelina holding her hands on her head.
Santos Escobar was walking in the back with a suitcase, when asked why he attacked Rey, Santos stopped and said he had it coming. And walked out of the building.
Bayley is out to the ring next. She says everything she wanted for Damage Control came true with winning Ms. Money in the Bank, WWE Women’s champion. And she wants Iyo to come out and talk like adults about Kari Sane returning at Crown Jewel. Iyo comes out with Sane and Dakota Kai. Iyo told Bayley she had her own plan to retain her title. Dakota told Bayley they brought Sane into Damage Control to make it stronger. Sane says she respects Bayley as leader of Damage Control, and she forgives her for how she beat her up when she was last in WWE.
Bianca Belair comes out. Bianca says she doesn’t forgive Damage Control, so she is going to have to beat all three of Damage Control. Charlotte Flair comes out to stand by her side, then Asuka.
Dragon Lee VS. Cedric Alexander
Another great match between these two but it was a knee to the face and a spinning slam move for the win.
Winner: Dragon Lee
LA Knight comes out and got the microphone and said Crown Jewel didn’t go as expected and he could come out and say he was sorry but says it was Jimmy Uso that robbed him of his win at Crown Jewel. He said they say you have to go to the back of the line but nah, nah I am not done with the Bloodline and the Bloodline is not done with me.
Grayson Waller interrupts him and says stop embarrassing yourself. He said maybe you are just not the guy. Knight says hey look everyone it’s kangaroo jackass. Waller asked him do you really think you belong in the ring with Roman Reigns? Knight says I got a question the Grayson Waller Effect sounds like an STD and got dropped by a Saudi movie star at Crown Jewel and he is out here asking me questions. Knight tells him you are in the ring with an angry, frustrated me and I am going to take every bit of aggression on you as I beat you into the mat while everyone tells you who’s game this is. Knight hits Waller with a microphone and the fight spills out to the ringside area and Knight dumps K.O.’s water on Waller and Michael Cole says looks like Waller is already all washed up.
LA Knight VS. Grayson Waller
Good match with Knight hitting the BFT for the win.
Winner: LA Knight
Kevin Owens kept having them show where he punched Waller and Theory both in the face at the same time and using the telestrator and Theory and Waller come out and get in Owen’s face and pour water over his head. Owens’ said he can handle them pouring water over his head but not throwing the empty bottle at Patrick. Owen’s goes after them and gets them back in the ring, but Theory rolls out missing a stunner, but Waller grabbed Owens and gets a stunner.
Jimmy Uso says LA Knight you say your not done with the Bloodline, you want me next week Yeet. He gets a call and says yes Tribal Chief and then he said. No Yeet.
Kairi Sane, Iyo Sky & Bayley VS. Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair & Asuka
With Charlotte down, Bianca reaches to Asuka for the tag, but Asuka refuses and blows the mist in her face and Asuka hugs Kairi Sane and then a group hug for Damage Control and Asuka. Charlotte then comes in and gets mugged.
No Contest
Shotzi comes in to help Bianca and Charlotte. But Damage Control leave all three lying in the middle of the ring as the five women of Damage Control stand with hands raised and feet on the down Superstars.
AEW is taping tomorrow’s episode of Collision tonight in Oakland, California immediately following the conclusion of Rampage.
There will be a very rare live episode of Rampage on TNT today as fans in the arena will get to have a three-hour block of AEW action.
Since it’s on the West Coast, the live Rampage will start at 7PM till 8PM and then the two-hour Collision taping will run till 10PM PT.
The Collision taping will feature a trios match featuring Sting, Darby Allin, and Adam Copeland vs Lance Archer and The Righteous while tonight’s headline match of Rampage will have FTR vs Komander and El Hilo Del Vikingo.
In an exclusive story reported by Nick Hausman of Haus of Wrestling it was revealed that AEW President Tony Khan was approached by a high-level CW executive in June of last year to discuss the possibility of having Ring of Honor on the network.
Khan, however, refused to make a deal as he felt that he would have more leverage and options when the AEW television rights were up for grabs.
Warner Bros. Discovery eventually passed on on giving Ring of Honor a television deal and Khan ultimately resorted to relaunching HonorClub and have the weekly ROH show streamed on the platform only.
The AEW TV rights will be up in late 2024 as WBD picked up the option year they had in their contract with All Elite Wrestling.
ROH content is not part of the AEW television deal although that is something that Khan could package together down the road.
The CW Network and WWE announced this week that NXT would move to the network in October 2024.
Dynamite this week with two title matches drew 804,000 viewers, down 28,000 viewers from the prior week. The show pulled a 0.27 rating in 18-49 demo, down 0.01 from the previous episode and was #5 in the top 50 cable chart for the night behind NBA games. Dynamite also faced competition from the CMA Awards and the Republican Presidential Debate on network TV. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
John Cena’s movie Coyote vs Acme from Warner Bros. received the axe after production on the movie wrapped up.
This is the second movie Warner Bros. canceled after over a year ago, the movie studio axed Batgirl after the $90 million production was also completed.
Coyote vs Acme cost around $30 million according to Variety and was scheduled to be released for Max. It was directed by Dave Green and produced by DC Studios’ James Gunn.
“With the re-launch of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation in June, the studio has shifted its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases,” a Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group spokesperson said in a statement. “With this new direction, we have made the difficult decision not to move forward with Coyote vs. Acme. We have tremendous respect for the filmmakers, casts and crew and are grateful for their contributions to the film.”
Director Dave Green posted a message on X saying that he was surrounded by a brilliant team and everyone was determined to honor the legacies of the historic characters.
“I am beyond proud of the final product, and beyond devastated by WB’s decision. But in the spirit of Wile E. Coyote, resilience and persistence win the day,” he wrote.
In honor of Veterans Day, WWE raised one of the largest American flags in the country atop the new WWE corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
The flag measures a massive 3,040 square feet at 76 feet wide and 40 feet tall.
A press release stated, “WWE has a multi-decade commitment to the U.S. Armed Forces, which includes visiting nearly 400 military installations throughout the world, entertaining U.S. soldiers through Tribute to the Troops annual holiday specials, offering all U.S. military personnel free tickets to WWE live events, and partnering with military organizations, such as Hire Heroes USA and the National Medal of Freedom Museum to make an impact in the community.”
🇺🇸 WWE has raised a flag above its new headquarters in Stamford, CT to honor those who have served our country this #VeteransDay. pic.twitter.com/0tUkmJSzF4
The main event for TNA’s Hard To Kill 2024 pay-per-view was made official last night and it will feature champion Alex Shelley taking on Moose for the TNA World title.
Moose won the Feast or Fired briefcase back in September and is only cashing it now.
Hard To Kill will be the first show to be promoted under the TNA brand name as the company reverts to its original name from Impact Wrestling.
The pay-per-view will be held at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Bunny has departed All Elite Wrestling and is no longer part of the promotion, with AEW removing her name from the roster page as well.
The Canadian, real name Laura Dennis, joined AEW in March 2019 and made her debut a couple of months later. She did not see much ring time this year due to an injury and her last match was in September on an episode of Rampage.
Immediately after her release, The Bunny opened an OnlyFans account, where she is selling subscriptions for $19.99 a month.
“Hi, I’m Laura but you probably know me as Allie. I am a professional wrestler, content creator and horror nerd,” she wrote on her OnlyFans page. “Subscribe for exclusive content with some spice.” The page specifically lists that there will be no nudes.
The 36-year-old was formerly known as Allie in Impact Wrestling and wrestled under the name Cherry Bomb on the indies.
TKO Chairman Vince McMahon is selling a total of 8.4 million shares from his stake in TKO Group Holdings Inc., which amounts to around 30% of what he owns.
The shares are being sold for $79.80 each, which gives McMahon a total of $670 million. TKO shares went down 5% after closing when the press release was issued announcing the intent to sell.
In the SEC documents filed afterward it was noted that TKO and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and COO Mark Shapiro will be buying back a portion of the stock. Both took 12,531 shares each which amounts to around $2 million. Other officers are buying an additional $850,000 worth of shares, which amounts to 10,650. The company itself will spend around $100 million to buy a large chunk of that stock from Vince.
McMahon was listed as a risk factor by TKO in the latest financial disclosures with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Tickets for Friday Night Smackdown, 2024 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, NXT Stand & Deliver, and Raw after Mania will go on sale next week.
In a press release, WWE announced that the pre-sale for combo tickets for all these events will start on Wednesday, November 15 at 10AM ET and the general on-sale will commence on Friday, November 17 at 10AM ET.
Additional details on individual tickets being released for each event will follow.
The Hall of Fame ceremony will air immediately following the conclusion of Smackdown while NXT’s premium live event will take place Saturday early afternoon prior to night one of WrestleMania.
All these events will take place at the Wells Fargo Center.
In addition, WWE in partnership with Fanatics Events will also stage a first-of-its-kind, multi-day WWE fan and collector event in the heart of Philadelphia. No more details have been announced about this event so far.
NXT drew 794,000 viewers this week for the post-Halloween Havoc episode, up 120,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show did a 0.26 rating in 18-49, up 0.06 from last week and the second-highest of 2023 so far. The show finished #1 on the cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
Jim Ross is taking another break from his AEW commentary duties, this time on the orders of doctors who recommended him to stop flying for a few to let his leg heal.
During the latest episode of his podcast Grilling JR, Ross said he doesn’t know how many weeks that would be.
“Being off an airplane for a few weeks will be good for my leg to heal so what’s what I’m gonna do,” Ross said.
Ross had skin cancer on the lower part of his leg and has struggled since radiation treatment.
The WWE Hall of Famer also addressed his future with AEW, saying he still has a couple of months left on his deal and AEW President Tony Khan indicated to him that he would like him to stay.
British wrestling star and former Stardom wrestler Mariah May has officially joined AEW. Her arrival was expected for the past few weeks after she finished her duties with the Japanese company in September.
May was part of a backstage interview with RJ City on Dynamite and after the segment aired, Tony Khan posted the usual “is All Elite” graphic, welcoming May to the company.
The 25-year-old is a very popular star on the indie circuit and her stock rose when she joined Stardom in 2022. She is a former Goddess of Stardom champion.
NXT isn’t the first WWE show to be airing on The CW Network when it debuts there in October 2024 and WWE’s history with the network dates back to the start of Smackdown.
When Smackdown started airing in the United States on April 29, 1999, the show’s home was UPN and UPN later merged with The WB to become The CW. Officially, Smackdown moved to Friday nights on The CW in September 2005 and it remained on the network until October 2008 where it then moved to MyNetworkTV.
PWInsider.com, which broke the story about NXT making the move to The CW Network, said that the deal is in the range of up to $37 million per year, an increase from the $15 million a year that NBCUniversal were paying for the show on USA Network. The numbers however do not align with what TKO said on Tuesday during the conference call where TKO and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said that they are getting a 70% increase in television rights from The CW Network for NXT over their previous deal.
Brad Schwartz, Entertainment President at The CW Network, posted on his LinkedIn that he’s “not sure who is more psyched…teenage me or current me,” after news broke that NXT is moving. He also posted a link to a Deadline.com story adding, “Big news for wrestling fans!!!”
Schwartz was the Pop Media Group President when TNA Wrestling aired on POP TV and was instrumental in bringing the brand to that station. He became Entertainment President of The CW in November 2022.
The highly-regarded documentary Beyond The Mat, which was originally released in 1999, is getting the Blu-Ray treatment for the first time worldwide thanks to Via Vision Entertainment.
Directed, written, produced and narrated by Barry W. Blaustein, Beyond The Mat focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers outside of the ring, primarily Mick Foley, Terry Funk, and Jake Roberts, as well as some up-and-coming wrestlers of that time. Blaustein got exclusive access to WWF, ECW, and other indie events where he got unprecedented footage that lifted the curtain on professional wrestling.
Beyond the Mat was released in theaters in the United States in March 2000 and then hit VHS and DVD but was never released in high-definition.
This Blu-Ray release features the theatrical cut in HD, the director’s cut in SD and commentary and extended conversations with some of those involved in the doc. Special features include a conversation with Jesse Ventura, Mick Foley, and Blaustein, dinner with the legends, and other audio commentaries.
It is available for pre-order on Amazon with a price of $24.99 and a release date of November 24.
The Elite will be colliding at the Full Gear pay-per-view as the newest match for the show was announced last night on Dynamite.
The Golden Jets, the team of former AEW World champions Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, will take on former AEW Tag Team champions The Young Bucks and to up the stakes, The Bucks’ AEW Tag Team title shot which they earned at WrestleDream is on the line.
The match was made official in a backstage segment last night involving all four when Jericho and Omega were being interviewed by Renee Paquette, an interview which was cut short after The Bucks showed up.
Matt and Nick Jackson made fun of The Golden Jets name and Jericho blamed The Bucks for not protecting Omega, who is supposed to be their friend, when Powerhouse Hobbs attacked him. The Bucks said that once they beat them, The Golden Jets will be no more and Omega shot back saying that while he doesn’t want to wrestle them, if this will make them grow up and stop being spoiled bitchy kids, then that’s what he’ll do.
WWE Superstar Carmella and her husband WWE commentator Corey Graves welcomed their first child together yesterday. The two had a son, named Dimitri Paul Polinsky.
“11.8.23 8lbs 21 inches,” Carmella wrote. “…well worth the 60 hour labor,” she continued, adding that she would write more on that on another day.
Graves and Carmella started dating in 2019 and got married in April 2022. He already has three children from a previous marriage.
John Cena’s time with WWE is once again up as SAG-AFTRA announced that it has approved a deal on behalf of its members to end the historic strike after 118 days.
Cena made it clear that when the strike is over, he will be called back to work in Hollywood where several movie and television productions are waiting for him and other staff to resume. He shot down the idea of doing both wrestling and movies at the same time as it would endanger the livelihood of the staff working on his projects if he is injured in the ring.
The 16-time world champion had got the legal okay from SAG before returning to WWE for two months, starting in early September. That run ended on November 4 at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia where he was destroyed by Solo Sikoa in a singles match.
On his cryptic Instagram feed, Cena posted a photo of football/soccer star David Beckham playing his final professional match and followed it with “The End” graphic from Looney Tunes to signify the end of the strike today.
Major movie studios unanimously approved the deal to end the strike and giving SAG-AFTRA members what they wanted: a new contract worth more than $1 billion in total.
