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Lesnar/Velasquez and Strowman/Fury officially announced for Crown Jewel

WWE today announced two huge matches for the Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia later this month at a press conference held inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the site of tonight’s Friday Night Smackdown on FOX.

Michael Cole presided over the press conference and kicked things off by introducing Triple H. Triple H said that WWE will present one of the most exciting cards in history for the millions of WWE fans in the Middle East and then showed a video of WWE’s past trips to Saudi. He then announced that Brock Lesnar will take on Cain Velasquez and Braun Strowman will take on Tyson Fury at the show.

Cole then introduced Braun Strowman for a few words and then Top Rank CEO and Founder Bob Arum came out to introduce Fury. Fury said he’s honored to be part of this event and he’s a life-long WWE fan so he’s excited to perform in Saudi Arabia. The two posed for the press and then got separated by Triple H after they got into a bit of an argument.

Triple H then did the introduction of Lesnar vs Velasquez by showing a video of what happened last week on Smackdown. Michael Cole introduced Rey Mysterio next, who talked about his son and what happened with Lesnar before bringing out Cain Velasquez to the podium.

Velasquez said he’s excited to be joining the WWE and Brock Lesnar crossed the wrong family. Cain struggled a little bit and looked like he almost forgot his lines with a lot of awkward pauses. He said Brock’s the biggest but not the baddest and promised to take down Lesnar.

Cole introduced Heyman next who immediately said he’s glad to inject some personality into the room, a clear shot at Velasquez. He said that at Crown Jewel Lesnar will conquer Cain and that is not a prediction but a spoiler. Heyman then brought out Brock who said that he usually doesn’t need to say anything when Paul is by his side but this time it’s different, warning Velasquez that this was his world, his house, his kingdom, and he’s the conqueror.

“For 10 years, for 10 long years I’ve been waiting for this moment, Cain. I get up every day and I have to look at the scar that you put on my face inside that Octagon. I can’t wait to get my hands on you again cause it will be a different story and it will be a different outcome, Cain. I’ll see you in Riyadh,” Brock said.

CM Punk merchandise on ProWrestlingTees gone apart from one item

CM Punk, who was one of the best sellers on ProWrestlingTees.com, had all his t-shirts removed from the site apart from one shirt, fueling more rumors that he is joining the WWE Backstage show on FS1.

His only t-shirt remaining now reads “CM Punk sucks” and it’s selling for $19.99. Punk had a total of 37 t-shirt designs on ProWrestlingTees with the headline of his store reading, “Exclusive and Official Merchandise Store of former pro wrestler CM Punk. Now you can buy never before seen apparel from the Straight Edge superstar.” The headline now reads, “He once crashed the ProWrestlingTees.com website. Stop chanting his name at live events. CM Punk sucks now.”

Punk had a tryout to be part of the WWE Backstage studio show on FS1 a couple of weeks ago and did his screen test in front of host Renee Young. Since then, Punk has openly talked about auditioning for the show and said that he’d be up for it if he gets the gig.

AEW owner Shad Khan talks about launching the new wrestling promotion

Shad Khan, the father of AEW President Tony Khan and the man who is funding All Elite Wrestling, spoke about the launch of AEW with Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit: Generational Opportunities.

Khan said that the whole concept started with his son Tony who had this idea and drive as a lifelong wrestling fan to launch his own promotion so he decided to support him financially.

“He kept talking about it, that we ought to do it, and here are the reasons why we should do it. I kept stress testing the idea, and then I struck a check to fund it because if you’re going to do it, it’s gotta be right,” Khan said. “That was the most important thing. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, but his idea, his passion, and his drive, and it’s off to a great start.”

When asked about WWE as their competition, Shad Khan told Yahoo! Finance that the promotion is focusing on building its brand rather than competition with WWE, noting that “WWE is a great company,” but in the late 90s, there were 10 million fans watching weekly and now it’s just to around 2 million.

“So we’re tapping into fans who were not engaged and quite frankly the younger fan who never got quite into it. Competition is good for everybody, but it’s very important for AEW to do our own thing,” he explained.

Khan also noted the difference between running an NFL team and a wrestling promotion, saying that the biggest challenge is finding talent. “It’s quite different, and that’s the question I had for Tony. His point to me was that the big difference here is there’s a huge amount of talent that’s on the street. Whereas in football and the NFL, the top talent is already there.”

The Pakistani American billionaire businessman is the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, and Fulham F.C. of the English Football League apart from owning AEW. He is worth $7.9 billion, more than double of what Vince McMahon is worth.

The Fight Network to air Impact Wrestling in Canada every Tuesday night

Impact Wrestling today announced that its weekly flagship show will move to Tuesday nights at 8PM ET in Canada and will air on The Fight Network and on the international feed including Portugal and Greece starting October 22.

A replay of the show will air on GameTV on Saturdays at 7PM ET.

The first episode in the new time slot will feature a special entitled This is Impact and will include non-televised matches from Bound For Glory plus profiles on Impact Wrestling’s biggest stars.

Impact starts its permanent Tuesday time slot in the United States on October 29 on AXS TV. AXS TV will also air This is Impact on October 22 so Canadian fans will get to see Impact shows during the same time as it airs in the United States.

List of Superstars eligible for the draft tonight on Smackdown

WWE will be putting up half of the roster available for the draft tonight on Smackdown, with the other half available next Monday on Raw.

As reported yesterday, for every two Smackdown picks, Raw will get three since Raw is a three-hour show. Tag teams will count as one pick unless FOX or USA Network specifically wants to pick only one Superstar from the team and any undrafted Superstars will immediately be declared free agents and able to sign with the brand of their choosing.

It’s being reported that all the draft picks will be announced by WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon while the many FOX and NBCUniversal celebrities will serve as “analysts” leading up to each pick.

Those available to be drafted tonight – in alphabetical order – are: Akira Tozawa, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, Becky Lynch, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, Chad Gable, Drew Gulak, Drew McIntyre, EC3, Eric Young, Heath Slater, Humberto Carrillo, Kevin Owens, Lacey Evans, Lucha House Party, Natalya, Randy Orton, Ricochet, Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, Sin Cara, Tamina, The B-Team, The O.C., The Revival, The Street Profits, and The Viking Raiders.

NXT rating for 10/09/2019

NXT on USA Network did a total of 790,000 viewers this week, down 101,000 viewers from last week. The show was #27 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Dynamite rating for 10/09/2019

All Elite Wrestling’s Dynamite on TNT pulled in a total of 1,018,000 viewers this week, winning the ratings war with NXT for the second week in a row. Dynamite dropped 391,000 viewers from last week’s premiere episode. The show was #8 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. Dynamite was also simulcast on TruTV, getting an additional 122,000 viewers so when adding both numbers, Dynamite did 1,140,000 viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

WWE Draft rules and celebrities scheduled to appear announced

WWE today announced the rules of the WWE Draft and the tons of FOX and NBCUniversal celebrities who will be part of the two-day festivities which will take place over Smackdown tomorrow and Raw on Monday.

Over 70 Superstars as well as tag teams are eligible for selection in this year’s WWE Draft. Smackdown will draft 30 Superstars, and Raw will select another 41 Superstars. Due to Smackdown being a two-hour show and Raw a three-hour show, for every two picks Smackdown makes, Raw will get three picks. Tag teams will count as one pick unless FOX or USA Network specifically wants to pick only one Superstar from the team and any undrafted Superstars will immediately be declared free agents and able to sign with the brand of their choosing.

A bunch of celebs who appear on FOX and NBCUniversal programming will help with the draft. Announced as appearing are Alex Rodriguez (FOX MLB analyst), Michael Che and Colin Jost (Saturday Night Live), Christian Slater (Mr. Robot), Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (NFL on FOX commentators), Jim Cramer (Mad Money), Kevin Burkhardt and Frank Thomas (FOX MLB analysts), Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson and Tony Gonzalez (FOX NFL Sunday), Ronde Barber, Charles Davis, Chris Spielman and Daryl Johnston (FOX NFL analysts), Charissa Thompson, Michael Vick and Peter Schrager (FOX NFL Kickoff), Rob Stone, Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Urban Meyer (Big Noon Kickoff), Joel Klatt (FOX College Football analyst), Dule Hill (Psych and Suits), James Roday (Psych), Marcus Lemonis (The Profit), Margaret Josephs and Melissa Gorga (Real Housewives of New Jersey), Rodney Harrison and Chris Simms (Football Night in America), and Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Mustoe and Kyle Martino (Premier League Live).

First overall pick in WWE draft to be determined by outcome of opening segment on Smackdown

The brand who gets the first pick in the upcoming WWE Draft this Friday will be determined via a match featuring the former two Shield members.

WWE announced today that Universal champion Seth Rollins, representing Raw, will be taking on Roman Reigns, representing Smackdown, in the opening segment of the show where the winner of the match will win the rights for the first overall pick in the draft.

The draft will start on Smackdown and will continue on Monday during Raw. In previous occasions, the draft always started on Raw and continued on Smackdown but this time around, it’s Smackdown who gets the honor to kick off the draft.

After next week’s Raw, WWE will once again completely separate the two brands which means that there will be no more wildcard rule and Superstars appearing on both shows. How long that stays remains to be seen as previous attempts to run both brands separately didn’t work out too well. NXT will not part of the draft.

Jericho introduces The Inner Circle faction on Dynamite

On Dynamite last night, Chris Jericho officially introduced The Inner Circle, the new faction featuring himself, Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, Ortiz, and Santana.

The AEW champion introduced each member of his faction one by one and even took on the fans for chanting “we the people” when it was Jake Hager’s time. Jericho told the crowd that “we the people” sucks and it’s dead and buried, blaming WWE creative for the silly catchphrase. That got a huge pop from the Boston crowd.

Later in the night, Jericho teamed up with Guevara to take on Hangman Page and Dustin Rhodes. The heels won with Jericho pinning Dustin but after the match, Cody came out to clean house after The Inner Circle continued to beat on Dustin. His offense was short-lived as Santana and Ortiz, the former LAX members, came out to help their team mates as Jericho took down Cody.

Reinforcements soon came for Cody with MJF coming down with a chair, clocking Ortiz, Santana, Guevara, and Jericho. The Young Bucks also showed up and Dustin came back to try and even the odds as Jericho escaped. But Jericho was met by Darby Allin who came down the ramp on a skateboard to attack him and after all the dust was cleared, Allin posed with the rest of The Elite in the middle of the ring.

It was a wild brawl that sent fans in the stands crazy and a fitting end to another good episode of AEW Dynamite.

Two title matches set for next week’s AEW Dynamite

Next week’s AEW Dynamite on TNT will feature two title matches as both the AEW World and Women’s championship titles will be on the line.

Darby Allin defeated Jimmy Havoc on last night’s episode, earning himself a title shot against Chris Jericho. Jericho is set to take on Cody at the Full Gear pay-per-view next month. Meanwhile, Dr. Britt Baker also got a title shot against the newly-crowned Women’s champion Riho.

The show will be live from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the only tickets remaining are those on secondary-market websites starting from $4 for the upper level seats. Ringside seats start from $96.

Tommaso Ciampa returning to NXT action next week

Former NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa will be returning to action next week on NXT after almost eight months away.

Ciampa vacated the NXT title in March 2019 with the planned match against Gargano at NXT Takeover: New York then switched to Gargano vs Adam Cole. Since March, Ciampa underwent neck surgery and was told not to wrestle again but Ciampa defied all the odds and is now fully healed.

Ciampa will take on Angel Garza, who made his NXT debut in June participating in the Breakout Tournament and in August he wrestled on an episode of 205 Live.

Also announced for next week are Keith Lee taking on Dominik Dijakovic and Pete Dunne vs Damian Priest.

Is pro wrestling here to stay?

This question has been plaguing fans and organizations themselves. The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has been doing its best to keep the sport in tip-top shape, despite challenges, particularly insofar as viewership and live attendance was concerned.

Let’s face it – the 90s were the sweet spot for the sport. Just like you would play roulette games online and have fun for a while, your fortunes may go up, or go down. Television rights deals were raining left and right and one could say that the segment definitely had a bright future ahead of it. Plain and simple. Yet, the subdued climate for TV right deals may now be showing signs of improvement.

As a result of fresh partnership with Comcast and Fox, RAW and SmackDown are back in the limelight, and this is definitely good news. Fox and Comcast have agreed to five-year partnerships with the organization, which is good sign for the sport – at least in the foreseeable future.

Not least of all, AEW’s Dynamite aired on Wednesday. The All Elite Wrestling show on TNT definitely came on top and beat WWE’s NXT, showing that competition in the sector is going to be taken seriously.

As with any new product there has been a lot of mistrust as to whether the creators can deliver on the desired quality. Judging by the Wednesday production, however, our weeks are going to be quite fun from here on. Back to talking numbers, however, wrestling – as a sport – has quite a bit of competition.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and basketball in general beat it by quite a bit in terms of viewership – and there are no inappropriate jokes in the NBA. Netflix also seems to be claiming far more of the viewership pie.

Yet, the WWE has pushed on. Challenges have been raining in left and right – weighing the organization down at every possible turn. Yet, the company has found a way to overcome those obstacles – establishing itself on social media, an interesting development.

Things Are Good Well, But Why Are Numbers Down?

And so, here’s the paradox that gambling is facing. Even though most subscriber numbers have been going up, why then attendance and merchandise sales dropping down? With these numbers falling steadily, the reasons for concern are not quite overcome.

Not only that, but talented WWE entertainers are also choosing another career as well. Chris Jericho, for example, has decided to bid the WWE goodbye and hop on the AEW bandwagon. Why trust AEW? There’s absolutely no reason for Jericho to be doing that, but one thing is apparent – the organization has come to a point where change is sorely needed.

One of the big hopes is that the WWE may be focusing on overseas markets as well. In fact, in the 1990s, the company was broadcasting its offer around the world without fear of ever slowing down. Then it just went bust – for whatever reason.

People started spending time on their smartphones, watching shows on demand and many other factors came to sort of dethrone wrestling.

Total Divas S9 E2 rating

Episode two of season nine of Total Divas, titled All is Fair in Love and War, did 261,000 viewers, up 9,000 viewers from last week’s season premiere. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Lio Rush wins the NXT Cruiserweight title

There is a changing of the guard in the Cruiserweight division as Lio Rush became the new NXT Cruiserweight champion last night on the NXT episode on USA Network.

For the second week in a row, NXT opened with a title match and just like last week, the match did not disappoint. Rush won the title after a big frog splash and received a standing ovation from the crowd who chanted “Lio, Lio.” NXT General Manager William Regal wrapped the NXT Cruiserweight title around Rush’s waist but Gulak stepped back in the ring and snatched it away. He then handed over the title to Rush and the two shook hands. “The man of the hour is soaring as the NXT Cruiserweight kingpin,” Ranallo said on commentary.

Lio returned to NXT during the first episode on USA Network after disappearing from WWE TV after WrestleMania 35.

Rush becomes the 13th different WWE Superstar to hold the Cruiserweight title in 14 reigns. Only Enzo Amore managed to win the title twice. Gulak was champion for 108 days, winning the title from Tony Nese during the Stomping Grounds Kickoff show back in June. He had the fourth longest reign with the Cruiserweight title.

Walter takes on Kushida on tonight’s NXT on USA Network

NXT will try to regain some of its viewers back tonight after losing week one of the new Wednesday night war with All Elite Wrestling.

Three matches have been announced for tonight’s show from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. The NXT Cruiserweight title will be on the line as champion Drew Gulak will take on number one contender Lio Rush. The NXT North American champion Roderick Strong will be wrestling Isaiah Scott, the man formerly known as Shane Strickland on the independent scene. And last but not least, Japanese sensation Kushida will be taking on the WWE United Kingdom champion Walter.

NXT airs on USA Network starting at 8PM ET. Tonight’s show will not have limited commercials and a 15-minute overrun so it will be on the same playing field as AEW’s Dynamite.

WWE referee Rod Zapata explains the Hell In A Cell ending

During this morning’s episode of The Bump, host Kayla Braxton published a statement from WWE referee Rod Zapata regarding the ending of the Hell In A Cell main event.

Zapata, who was in charge of the match, explained why he stopped the match, a decision which sparked an outrage among WWE fans inside the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento and those watching on the WWE Network. “With Bray motionless, and Seth clearly doing whatever it was going to take to win the match… I had to think of the competitor’s safety and at that moment, I did what I thought was best,” Zapata said.

The finish was met with an overwhelming negative reaction even on the WWE Watch Along live show where X-Pac wondered how can you get DQ’ed in a Hell In A Cell match. WWE later clarified that the match had a referee stoppage and not a disqualification ending.

The Bump is WWE’s newest online show hosted by Kayla Braxton and filmed live at the WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut every Wednesday where several topics are discussed.

Edge in Pittsburgh on “WWE business” as rumors of return intensify

Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE Hall of Famer Edge was in Pittsburgh this week on “WWE business,” and the location raised some eyebrows as Pittsburgh is where WWE medical chief Dr. Joseph Maroon is headquartered.

There have been rumors that Edge, real name Adam Copeland, is getting ready for his return to the ring although he denied these talks on Twitter last week. At SummerSlam in Toronto, Edge delivered his first spear since he retired on Elias during the Kickoff show, surprising the thousands in attendance.

Edge had not been allowed to do anything physical every time he appeared on WWE television and the mere fact that he was given the okay to hit the spear says a lot. During the E&C podcast after SummerSlam, Edge said that he probably could another match with the company.

“To be perfectly honest, I think I could do a match tomorrow. I might be blown up but I’d be okay,” Edge told Christian and his listeners back in August. But he said he knows that WWE medical staff would never clear him considering his neck issues. “It is what it is, right?”

Edge has also recently left his co-hosting duties at the Edge & Christian Pod of Awesomeness citing family commitments.

Is wrestling popular enough to make It back?

Wrestling is such a goofy pastime, some would say. Yet, it has been around for years now, and it’s returned on TNT with the Dynamite show. The two-hour national prime time broadcast is designed as an ambitious experiment, merging showmanship and the love for seeing people punched and hit with chairs together.

Of course, it is mostly a show, and while it’s one of the most ambitious illusions out there, there is a following steadfast build around the entire activity. TNT last tried to have a prime-time show back in 1995. Since that time, nobody has attempted to restore the sport to its former glory. Well, we say nobody, but there have been many wrestling games since! But where can you find these cool wrestling games? Well, it’s simple. Just visit https://holymolycasinos.com and find the casinos with the best gaming catalogs out there, including the ones that feature Lucha Libre.

Yet, TNT is back at it, and the Dynamite returned on October 2 under the critical and somewhat captivated gazes of hundreds of thousands in front of the main screen and live from the One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Wrestling as a Cultural Phenomenon

Believe it or not, wrestling is a cultural phenomenon. In the United States, the activity has been completely reinvented as showmanship, but then again – isn’t that what America does? We take something that you can call mundane and transform it into a glitz-and-glamour-covered end-product that is ready for consumption.

There haven’t been any complaints so far. Yet, the sport did indeed find itself declining in overall popularity. And for years now, the industry has been fighting back against more popular forms of entertainment.

Before Netflix and HBO made it possible to stream quality shows online, many of us would just switch the shows and watch. There was hype; there was anticipation. Not much of this remains today, although the fan base remains strong.

Of course, some of us remained utterly committed to the sport – no questions asked there. And our loyalty is simple to explain –it is a high entertainment cultural phenomenon, and even if it’s somewhat silly on occasion, it’s still a career-trampoline, a cool pastime and the ability to just let go and be amazed on time.

Other Places You Will Find Wrestling

Wrestling has spawned so many various activities – for ‘The Rock,’ it started his acting career. For ambitious actors with the athletic aptitude, it has been an immensely fun way to make a living. Yet you can find this event all over the place.

Even online gaming with games such as Lucha Libre and Lucha Libre 2 offers you a chance to be amazed and become a wrestler yourself, even momentarily!

When we look back at wrestling, the activity definitely stood high in its primer. Today, the numbers are a little more challenging. The old faces are not going to be featured in the Dynamite, so there’s no more Kane, Rikishi or Stone Cold for you, but then again – we can’t wait to see the new faces either!

Jericho, Moxley, Riho all in action tonight on AEW Dynamite

AEW returns for week two of Dynamite tonight with a show live from The Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Follow last week’s very successful debut, AEW is looking to increase, or at least retain, the 1.4 million viewers who tuned in to watch the show.

Five matches have been announced so far for tonight’s broadcast, a show which will be headlined by Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara taking on Hangman Page and Dustin Rhodes. Other matches taking place are The Young Bucks vs Private Party in the AEW Tag Team title tournament, Jon Moxley vs Shawn Spears, Darby Allin vs Jimmy Havoc with the winner getting an AEW title shot next week, and a women’s tag team match featuring Riho and Britt Baker taking on Emi Sakura & Bea Priestley.