In an interview on the Dan Le Batard show, AEW President Tony Khan said that several wrestlers on the roster have contacted him saying that WWE reached out and are trying to tamper with their contracts.
But after making the accusation, he said, “I can’t confirm that specifically. I can only tell you what the wrestlers have come to me and said.” He noted it was “very disturbing” to hear such accusations from his roster.
AEW legal sent WWE’s then co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan a letter last year advising them not to contact AEW talent under contract after someone reported the advance to front office.
Khan believes that AEW and WWE are in a war and they “truly” hate each other, adding that the wrestling business is very dirty.
“I think we truly, truly hate each other and I think it makes for really exciting TV and it makes for an exciting wrestling war,” Khan said.
The WWE championship received a good amount of publicity yesterday after Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes unpacked a brand new replica WWE title with the Chiefs side plates as the team celebrated their win.
Chiefs players danced around and took photos with the replica title, sent over to them by WWE, while Mahomes walked around everywhere with it and posed with the title on his shoulder and the Super Bowl trophy in his other hand.
WWE typically sends champions of different sports leagues their own replica title with their logo on the side plates and teams usually have no problem celebrating with it, giving WWE some free advertising in the process which is worth more than the $500 or so price that the title costs.
While WWE titles usually get a lot of bad publicity for looking “boring,” the massive WWE logo in the front comes in handy in these type of situations.
Patrick Mahomes opens the WWE championship that was waiting for him at his locker after the Super Bowl and presents it to his teammates. pic.twitter.com/vopIdT7sH4
The big rumor this week was that Trish Stratus will be the one who will be joining Becky Lynch and Lita in their war against Damage CTRL, with a six-woman tag team match penned for the Elimination Chamber show in Montreal.
Last Monday on Raw, fellow Hall of Famer Lita came to the aid of Becky Lynch, helping her win the steel cage match against Bayley in the main event. But the numbers are still tilted in favor of the heel group as it’s currently a three-on-two affair.
And that is where Trish Stratus comes into play. If this is indeed the direction that the feud is going, WWE has tomorrow’s Raw as the last chance to pull the trigger on a Trish return, unless they plan to keep it as a surprise until it’s Elimination Chamber day.
Stratus last wrestled a match at SummerSlam 2019, losing to Charlotte Flair in her hometown of Toronto. She did not appear on the RAW IS XXX episode and not even at the Royal Rumble. Stratus was originally set to be part of the WrestleCon event on the morning of the Rumble but canceled last minute due to her child being sick.
Are you an Xfinity subscriber and get to watch WWE for free on Peacock? Well, that is quickly ending.
Starting April 3, Peacock Premium will be removed for new Xfinity and Flex customers while starting June 26, existing customers will also lose their access.
Peacock Premium, which includes the WWE Network for those living in the United States, costs $4.99 with commercials or $9.99 commercial-free. If you are an Xfinity subscriber, the only way to get Peacock after the cutoff date is to subscribe directly at PeacockTV.com.
Comcast recently announced that Peacock has now more than 20 million paid subscribers and also removed the free tier.
Former IWGP Heavyweight champion Jay White has lost his loser leaves Japan match against Hikuleo at the NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka today.
There are rumors that White is on his way to either WWE or AEW as his contract with New Japan is about to expire in a matter of weeks.
White, who won held most major titles in New Japan, has previously appeared on both Impact Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling and many believe AEW will be the place where he lands.
The 30-year-old from New Zealand has been working for NJPW since 2017 and has another date for NJPW, against Eddie Kingston, next week at Battle in the Valley in San Jose, California.
AEW programming will still be airing on FITE TV’s AEW Plus service in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands following the announcement that ESPN has picked up the TV rights for AEW in the region.
All AEW shows, including Dynamite, Rampage, Dark, Dark Elevation, and Battle of the Belts remain part of the AEW Plus service on FITE and FITE remains the exclusive digital platform for live AEW pay-per-view events in the region.
AEW Plus is $6.99 per month in the Australian and New Zealand region, with a 7-day free trial.
Intercontinental champion Gunther has made history over the past few days, holding the record for the longest IC title reign of the 21st century.
The Austrian is at 245+ days as champion, surpassing Shelton Benjamin’s 244-day reign from 2004. You have to go back to 1991 for a longer reign, with Mr. Perfect holding on the title for 280 days before losing it to Bret Hart at SummerSlam.
The longest reign is held by Honky Tonk Man at 454 days, a historic title reign which came to a quick end at SummerSlam 88 courtesy of the Ultimate Warrior.
Gunther sits at #24 in the chart of longest-reigning champions overall. Only Greg Valentine (285 days), Macho Man Randy Save (414 days) and Honky Tonk Man have longer single reigns.
Former Smackdown Women’s champion Ronda Rousey returned on television last night and attacked her former friend Natalya.
Natalya was in the ring running down Shayna Baszler, calling her a Rousey knockoff, before she was interrupted by Baszler herself. Rousey then came out and after a little swerve, both of them attacked Natalya.
Shotzi came out for the save but the two were left helpless by the former MMA fighters. A tag team match featuring Rousey and Baszler vs Natalya and Shotzi was then made for next week’s show.
Rousey has been off WWE TV since the December 30 episode of Smackdown where she lost the Smackdown Women’s title to the returning Charlotte Flair. Rousey was kept out of the women’s Royal Rumble match and the idea is that Baszler and herself will go after the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles at WrestleMania.
Tonight’s show opens with a recap of last week’s story with the Bloodline and Jey Uso missing from the group and Sami Zayn attacking Roman at the end of the show.
Paul Heyman is in the ring first and says he has a bunch of spoilers for us all. He talks about Sami Zayn and says the first spoiler is Sami Zayn is not here this evening. He continues and says the Island of Relevancy is under attack not only on Smackdown but also on Raw with Cody Rhodes. As Paul says without the titles there is no Island of Relevancy and there is no Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn appears in the ring behind him and asks for the microphone.
Sami says Paul calm down; I am not going to hurt you. Sami said if he wanted to hurt Paul he could have dropped him like a bag of dirt by now. Sami starts questioning the Bloodline’s allegiance and then tells Paul he looks at Roman creepy. He then tells Paul, Roman has 8 days left. He then hugs Paul and tells him to tell Roman he does not need to worry about Cody because he is going to be the one that will take him down.
Hit Row VS. Sheamus & Drew McIntyre
Sheamus hit Ashante with the Brogue Kick for the win. Top Dollar never got tagged in.
Winners: Sheamus & Drew McIntyre
After the match, Valhalla package is played and the Viking Raiders send a warning to Sheamus and Drew McIntyre.
In the back Jimmy Uso is on the phone trying to get a hold of Jey to see if he is going to show up for their tag team title match with Braun Strowman and Ricochet tonight.
Lacey Evans VS. Carmen Harrass
Lacey locks in the Cobra Clutch and Carmen taps out.
Winner: Lacey Evans
Jimmy Uso still not getting a hold of Jey and Paul Heyman says you are going to have to do this alone. Jimmy says my brother will be there.
Sonya Deville talking to Adam Pearce and Chelsea Green walks up and says she wants to file a complaint against the Raw manager and she has facial amnesia and Adam says it’s me, same guy, and you two have so much in common you two are going to be in a tag team match against two women who are in the Elimination Chamber match Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez.
Braun Strowman & Ricochet VS. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship
Jimmy Uso comes out by himself. As they were being introduced, Jey Uso comes from the crowd.
Braun Strowman misses and takes himself out on the outside of the ring Jimmy sets Ricochet up for a superplex but Jey hits the blind tag and Ricochet knocks Jimmy off the second rope and hits the splash but on the opposite corner Jey flies with a frog splash of his own onto Ricochet and gets the pin.
Winners and Still WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions: The Usos
Rey Mysterio is shown and says Karrion Kross is an evil human being but he will win the fatal four way match tonight and become number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship.
In the back, Jey tells Jimmy he has his back every single day and Jimmy asks if he is in or out and Jey says he doesn’t know yet. Paul Heyman walks up and asks if Jey said anything, and Jimmy said no he just left.
Natalya is in the ring next and she says it’s great to be back on Smackdown and heading to the Elimination Chamber and says Shayna Baszler took her out and she saw red and she continued to see red and she took something from her: her spot in the Elimination Chamber. Natalya says Shayna is nothing more than a cheap knockoff of Ronda Rousey and after the Elimination Chamber she can go back to carrying Ronda’s bags.
Shayna came out and said she is sick of everyone dismissing her accomplishments and she said she was here winning titles before Ronda Rousey and Ronda comes out. Ronda gets in Shayna’s face and they then smile and Shayna hits Natalya in the face. Shotzi comes out but quickly sends her out of the ring. Ronda then held Natalya for Shayna to kick her arm.
Jey Uso is shown walking between the production trucks and Sami Zayn is standing there at the end. Sami tells Jey what he did at the Royal Rumble meant the world to him and in 8 days Roman is going down. Sami said he doesn’t know how he is going to do it just yet but he is going down and Jey does not have to go down with the ship because he has a way out and tells Jey that he acknowledges him. He holds out his fist and Jey says Sami you need to get out of here with all that and Sami says I will while still holding his fist out for Jey to bump. Jey does bump Sami’s hand before they part ways.
L.A. Knight is interviewed backstage and he is asked about the pitch Black match and he says no that is all done and behind us and we are looking to the future for L. A. Knight.
Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville VS. Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan
Raquel hits the Okada Bomb on Chelsea and tags in Liv who hits Oblivion and then Raquel Power Bombs Liv on top of Chelsea and gets the win.
Winners: Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan
Madcap Moss in the back talking about the upcoming fatal 4-way match and says he is going to win and face Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship.
Michael Cole interviews Charlotte Flair and talks about Rhea Ripley. Charlotte says she didn’t put Rhea in her place 3 years ago but now she will put her in her place once and for all.
Fatal four way match for a shot at the Intercontinental Championship
Karrion Kross VS. Rey Mysterio VS. Madcap Moss VS. Santos Escobar
Rey hits Kross with a 619, Scarlett trips Rey, while Rey is distracted he gets hit with the Kross Hammer. Santos comes after Kross and takes Kross over the top rope. Madcap Moss climbs to the top rope and drops an elbow in Rey Mysterio who is laying in the middle of the ring after the Kross Hammer and Moss gets the win.
Winner and New #1 contender to the Intercontinental Championship: Madcap Moss
In the back, Paul Heyman walks up to Jimmy Uso and tells him Roman was happy to see Jey had his back tonight and Paul couldn’t put him on the phone with Roman because there is no service in the building but Roman wants Jimmy to stay home next week and watch the program on TV because there are things you see on TV that you cannot see while on live TV. Paul then pats Jimmy on the shoulder which is holding both tag team titles and walks away leaving Jimmy standing there looking confused.
The guys in the ring, Yuta & Sabian got us started, chain wrestling, standing switches, Kip grabbed a headlock as Wheeler blind-tagged Claudio. Sabian clumsily vaulted back into the ring after faking a dive, unaware the Swiss was behind him.
Right into a press slam, leading to Kip scrambling for a tag to the now-bald Butcher. Who kinda looks like he might threaten to ‘break your back, humble you…’.
The two bulls banged chests without either budging, tag to Mox, big cheer as the former champ went to work with stiff kicks before tagging Yuta back in. Sabian back in too, his fisherman buster blocked, a second resulted in a sloppy stunner before the heels triple-teamed Yuta.
Quick tags maintained their advantage, along with ref distractions as the crowd chanted for the youngster. Until he caught Kip with a boot and a shotgun dropkick. Mox back in, ‘fists of fire’, chops in the corner, a pair of suplexes until Sabian slipped behind on a third. Mox transitioned into a kimura and H&A.
But then ended up in the wrong corner.
Kip took the ref, B&B dragged Moxley into the ringpost yambags first, leaving him outside where Kip fired a punt off the apron then a springboard moonsault to bring the break.
Sabian had Mox up top as we returned, where the vet turned a hurracanrana into a powerbomb from the top. Then walloped the Butcher with a lariat to bag the tag.
Claudio went to work on the Blade, launching splash after splash in the corner until Penelope Ford got in the way. Momentarily putting Blade on top. Claudio quickly picked up where he left off though, launching a flurry of uppercuts until Sabian interrupted the Swing. But ended up taking it himself.
Blade used this to bag two out of a roll-up.
Mox took out Butcher with a cutter, Kip=Mox via springboard dropkick, Claudio big-booted the Brit, B&B hit him with a press slam into a knee strike then a lariat for two.
Yuta dropped Butcher via German leaving Claudio & Blade. Castagnoli got another two with a DVD. Then propelled Yuta onto Butcher on the outside. Sabian had the Swiss in his sights until Mox shoved his teammate out the way to deliver a cutter, leaving Claudio to polish off Blade via pop-up uppercut.
Very nice ending sequence. Good match if a little long given the different levels these teams are on.
WINNER: BCC
Darby Allin package. Promised Ortiz he had his back after Ortiz helped him a few weeks back. Sting then talked about wanting to go out in a blaze of glory then screamed that both he and Allin were going to do exactly that.
Guess that means those two & Ortiz vs HOB?
…
They previewed Adam Cole’s interview with Renee which’ll air Weds. Cole said he already has a couple ideas who he’d like to face.
…
The Impractical Jokers came out and made a bunch of penis jokes about Jericho’s ‘small bat’. The JAS beat them up and put them through a table. If this had gone much longer, they’d have turned Jericho face.
…
Dustin Rhodes with Lexi. Gist was that Rhodes is pretty ticked off about Strickland disrespecting his family’s name.
Despite being in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, Swerve’s goons just happened to be there. They left Rhodes laying. Then Swerve stood over him and challenged Rhodes for next week.
Ruby Soho vs Marina Shafir
Backstory: None
They wrestled on the mat for about a minute, Shafir on top, until Soho kicked her way free as the ads arrived.
Soho bagged two with a shoulder-capture suplex, missed a foot stomp off the top, No Future was blocked, Soho launched headbutts then Destination Unknown for three.
After her win, Storm & Saraya were making their way down for a ‘chat’ with Soho (it was deliberately vague whether they were going to attack her or recruit her) until Jamie Hayter & Britt Baker flew in to attack.
Soho looked like she didn’t know which side to choose.
WINNER: Ruby Soho
Mark Briscoe was just starting to cut a promo when Mark Sterling interrupted to offer his representation. Briscoe immediately turned him down. Josh Woods got in his face.
Jack Perry vs Ryan Nemeth
Backstory: None
Fast-paced squash which Perry won with a running elbow strike to the back of the head (kinda like the Hidden Blade).
Brian Cage appeared on the ramp afterward.
WINNER: Jack Perry
Ortiz promo package. He realizes now he made a mistake and always has Kingston’s back, even if he has to beat sense into him. This storyline is stupid.
…..
Hangman with Renee to talk him and Mox.
She put across that they’ve both won, both pushed each other but noted that Page has lost two of the three matches. An irritated Page interrupted to wonder why it was always Renee doing these interviews, does it make her happy? Because the way their last match ended didn’t make him happy & he doubted it left Mox happy since ‘I ate his ass alive for the last two minutes… he got the sneakiest pin I’ve ever seen in my life’.
(Renee’s facials at this point were so fantastic, doing everything she could not to get annoyed.)
Page insisted it couldn’t and wouldn’t end like that. When Kip Sabian interrupted to say that he’d just lost to Moxley and wasn’t here crying about it. He’s taking it ‘like a man.’ Page lunged at him, Penelope – who now has a rotary-phone purse – menacingly aimed the receiver at him (cracked me up).
Page said he didn’t want to do this interview anyway and decided to leave ‘before I beat your ass’. Kip giggled.
Orange Cassidy vs Lee Moriarty, All-Atlantic Title
Backstory: None
Cassidy received the first, and only, televised entrance all night as Excalibur called this a ‘big-time main event’.
Loud ‘freshly squeezed’ chant as we got started. Moriarty used a hammerlock to pinch Cassidy’s sunglasses; Cassidy returned the favor as JR & Jericho wished the best to Jerry Lawler.
Moriarty slipped back behind, maintaining his grip around the waist until Cassidy put his hands in his pockets to break it. An aggravated Moriarty kept going after him and missing, Orange threw the kicks from his back then ducked a bunch of clotheslines before launching a shotgun dropkick and planting Moriarty into the buckle for ten.
But missed off the top, landing awkwardly on his wrist which Moriarty immediately targeted, including an STO on the apron with the arm hammerlocked.
Break time.
Cassidy hit a Michinoku driver for two as we returned. Then bagged a sleeper until Lee used the injured wrist to free himself, looking for the Border City Stretch. Cassidy escaped outside. Where Danhausen Cursed Stokely.
Allowing Cassidy to take advantage via diving DDT, Moriarty blocked the Orange Punch but ate Beach Break to kick out at two. Cassidy then hit the Punch but was slow to cover due to his wrist. Moriarty countered the pin into Border City Stretch, Cassidy used the ropes to sneak a cradle pin for the win.
Moriarty’s a very good athlete but doesn’t yet connect with the crowd.
Post-match, the crowd groaned as Lethal & Jarrett attacked Cassidy because you have to get them on tv EVERY F****** WEEK. The heels were taking care of Cassidy & the Best Friends until the Acclaimed ran them off. Quite the tag title picture we have in AEW.
WINNER: Orange Cassidy
…..
Next Dynamite:
Renee sit-down with Adam Cole
Britt Baker vs Toni Storm vs Ruby Soho (think this was the three-way they were doing a few weeks back until Britt got injured)
Mox & Claudio vs Rush & Preston Vance, Tornado tag
MJF is contractually obligated to appear
Hangman Page vs Kip Sabian
Wardlow sit-down with JR
Jack Perry vs Brian Cage
Mark Briscoe vs Josh Woods
More TBA
Next Rampage (starts 7pm Eastern, 4pm Pacific):
Swerve Strickland vs Dustin Rhodes
Daniel Garcia vs Ricky Starks
…..
Overall impressions
‘This the show that y’all been waitin on,’ claims the intro. Certainly not this edition.
WWE is bringing a Superstore to the Elimination Chamber weekend in Montreal from February 16 to February 18.
The WWE La Super Boutique will be located inside the Galerie PVM at Place Ville Marie in Montreal and fans will be able to purchase championship replica titles, exclusive Elimination Chamber merchandise, Superstar apparel, and so much more! WWE La Super Boutique will be free and open to the public.
The store is open between 10AM and 9PM on February 16 and 17 while on Elimination Chamber day it’s open from 10AM to 5PM.
Sami Zayn will be there for a meet and greet on Thursday at Noon while Bianca Belair will follow on Friday at 3PM.
In addition, an Elimination Chamber Shop will be located at the Bell Centre on Friday and Saturday, with Liv Morgan meeting fans on Friday at 2PM and Austin Theory on Saturday at Noon.
NXT Level Up has a new commentator as Blake Chadwick has been hired to provide the weekly commentary for the show along with Byron Saxton.
Chadwick, who will go by the name of Blake Howard in WWE, has replaced Sudu Shah who was let go from the company in early December 2022.
He has over a decade of experience in commentary and ring announcing, having worked for several independent wrestling promotions along with doing commentary for other sports such as football, basketball, soccer, etc.
WWE today announced that The Undertaker’s 1 deadMAN SHOW will add stops in Las Vegas and Los Angeles ahead of WrestleMania 39. The one-man show featuring WWE Legend The Undertaker will take center stage at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Friday, March 24, and The Novo at LA Live on Friday, March 31.
UNDERTAKER 1 deadMAN SHOW will feature The Phenom in an intimate setting, sharing never-before-heard stories from his WWE Hall of Fame career and taking questions from the WWE Universe in attendance. The show has sold out venues in Nashville, Philadelphia, Boston and San Antonio since debuting last summer.
Tickets for UNDERTAKER 1 deadMAN SHOW go on sale this Tuesday, February 14, at 10AM PT. Tickets can be purchased via ticketmaster.com for the March 24 show in Las Vegas and via axs.com for the March 31 show in Los Angeles. A limited number of VIP tickets, which includes premier seating and a meet-and-greet with The Undertaker, will also be available for each show.
This week’s Dynamite on TBS drew 899,000 viewers, down 2,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show did a 0.30 rating in the 18-49 demo, down 0.01 from last week, and placed #5 in the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Vince McMahon, also known as Vincent Kennedy McMahon, was both the chairman and CEO of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) – he shockingly resigned in July 2022, which completely shook the wrestling world. Although he has retired, he remains a majority shareholder. Despite his reputation as a well-known American business magnate, he has been subject to many lawsuits as well as some controversies.
WWE started way back in 1980 and has increased in popularity ever since, with millions of fans around the globe. So many people enjoy watching WWE that you can even place bets on all of the action through an online sportsbook and cheer for your favorite wrestling star.
The Lawsuits
Lawsuits against McMahon were seen as early as 1994 – this was a case filed by the WBF (world bodybuilding federation). The lawsuit stated that Vince McMahon had allegedly been monopolizing the professional wrestling and bodybuilding events market – this resulted in the competition being severely damaged at times. This lawsuit, however, was dismissed three years later in 1997.
McMahon was also subject to a sexual harassment lawsuit in 1994, where former WWE employees attempted to sue him. An employee stated that Vince McMahon had not only made sexually suggestive comments toward her but had also made inappropriate advances. This case was settled in court – however, the details were not disclosed.
Another lawsuit in 1994 was the steroid distribution lawsuit – McMahon was being charged for distributing steroids to his WWE wrestlers and employees. Employees and wrestlers had claimed this. Although he was later acquitted of these charges in 1996 his reputation was severely damaged – as was the reputation of WWE.
Two years following the termination of his first lawsuit, Vince McMahon was once dealing with a case against himself in 1999. Unfortunately, the former wrestler Marc Mero suffered a series of head injuries sustained while working for WWE. WWE was expected to hold responsibility for any medical expenses and any other damages that may have occurred. This case ended up being settled in court – however, the amount is undisclosed.
More WWE (former) wrestlers began to file lawsuits – in 2007, Vince McMahon was subject to a class action lawsuit. This was filed against the company (WWE) and the former CEO. Allegedly the proper health insurance (and other benefits) were not supplied for the wrestlers. This case, like the 1997 case, was dismissed as the wrestlers failed to have any standing to sue.
Another wrestler who sued Vince McMahon was Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka. In 2012, Snuka alleged that WWE owed him money for his time working with the company. This case was settled in court.
Billy Jack Haynes attempted to file a lawsuit in 2016 – the former WWE wrestler had allegedly suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This was correlated with his time wrestling at WWE; he claimed that the company was responsible for any medical expenses he had as well as any other damage. Unfortunately for Haynes, a year later, in 2017, this case was dismissed in court.
How Was WWE Affected?
After a joint press release issued by the WWE board of directors, the role of co-chief executive officers of WWE was given to Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie McMahon was later given the position of chairwoman of WWE’s board. Her husband, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, was seen as a possible candidate to run the company and replace Vince – allegedly, his health is a factor that may be stopping this. Levesque retired after going into heart failure, but this did not prevent him from returning to WWE to work as a recruitment officer. There was talk of Vince McMahon’s son, Shane McMahon, returning to WWE – though this has not been confirmed and appears to be stated by Vince McMahon.
McMahon’s Attempt to Get Back Power
In the first week of January 2023, McMahon attempted to regain power. He appointed himself and his former co-workers George Barrios and Michelle Wilson. This resulted in two board members quitting and Stephanie McMahon announcing her resignation as co-CEO and WWE chairwoman. Yet another class action lawsuit has been filed against Vince McMahon by fellow WWE shareholder Scott Fellows, claiming that McMahon has breached the fiduciary duties of a controlling stockholder.
In addition, a second lawsuit was launched, this time by the Fire Retirement System and Detroit’s Police. There is a request in the suit, filed in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, which is asking it to be recognized as a class action lawsuit. It also asks other shareholders of WWE to get behind it. The consequences of this lawsuit may lead to the time taken for the company to be sold to be increased significantly.
Jerry “The King” Lawler continued to improve following his second stroke in five years and was moved out of ICU and will be discharged from the hospital during the day today.
Lawler will return to his Florida home for outpatient rehab for his limited speech and cognitive skills.
His Twitter account, which has provided updates throughout the past few days, wrote that doctors are hopeful for a full recovery and Jerry is looking forward to returning to his fans very soon.
Lawler had a visit from his longtime friend Jimmy Hart a few days ago and shared several photos of the two together in hospital.
Impact Wrestling did 81,000 viewers last week, down 14,000 from the previous episode. The show did a 0.01 in the 18-49 demo and did not chart. This tied the least-watched episode of Impact for 2023. (Ratings credit: F4WOnline)
In what is fantastic news for AEW fans in the Australia region, the company announced a broadcast agreement with ESPN which will enable ESPN to air Dynamite, Rampage and pay-per-views to its subscribers subscribers in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
This is the company’s first TV deal in the region and the agreement kicks off on Thursday, February 16th.
Each week, Dynamite will air on Thursday AEDT and Rampage on Saturday AEDT, with same-day replays and episodes made available on-demand. The four AEW pay-per-views will be made available for fans on ESP on delay as well.
AEW programming will be available on ESPN in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Niue, Nauru, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Northern Marianas, Tokelau, Tahiti, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, American Samoa, Marshall Islands, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and Wallis and Futuna.
ESPN and ESPN2 are available on Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV, and SKY NZ.
In an interview with UK-based Metro, Paul Wight revealed that he hopes to be back in an AEW ring next month following several health issues and a knee replacement surgery.
The man formerly known as The Big Show hasn’t worked too many matches since he arrived in AEW, in fact, he’s only been involved in four matches.
“I’ve had a couple of injury setbacks, had to get a knee replaced in August. That knee was bad for 12 years, so it could’ve gone any day,” Wight said. “It’s like kind of like that tire on your car that you know you should change but keep driving anyway. But we’re good now, and hopefully we’ll be back in the ring in March. Everything’s on schedule, so we’re looking good!”
His last match aired in March 2022 on AEW Dark where he defeated Austin Green in just two minutes. He had two other matches on Dark, both three-on-one handicap matches, and one more match at the All Out 2021 pay-per-view against QT Marshall.
Facing U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, NXT drew just 562,000 viewers on Tuesday, down 25,000 viewers from the prior week which was already the least-watched show of 2023. The show suffered in the 18-49 demo as well with just a 0.11 rating, down 0.02, and placed #50 in the cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
