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Rampage TV report for 05/06/2022

By
Paul Hemming
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Arena: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
City: Baltimore, Maryland

It’s Saturday morning, and you know what that means…  it’s time for our Rampage Review!

BRITT BAKER & JAMIE HAYTER (w Rebel) vs TONI STORM & RUBY SOHO

Backstory: Lots of squabbling backstage; Toni & Jamie will meet in 1st round of OH Tourn

Finally, the match we’ve been waiting for.  Why, you ask?  NO MORE OF THOSE INTERMINABLE BACKSTAGE FOUR-WAY INTERVIEWS!  Please?

So this one got going to the soundtrack of ‘Pittsburgh sucks!’, Hayter proving too big for Toni to dislodge until she finally took her off her feet before a quick tag to Ruby.  Britt showing otherwise, she tagged in, unloading on Ruby before unleashing a slingblade, still one of the coolest moves in wrestling.  Sunset-flipping out of an air-raid crash, Soho nearly won it early.  Storm and Soho then double-teamed Baker.

In response, Britt introduced Toni to the middle buckle as the ads arrived.

Jamie Hayter was well on top upon our return, dominating Storm until a double tag led to Ruby running wild on Britt, then knocking Hayter off the apron.  Blind-tagging her way back in, the self-proclaimed ‘best ass’ struck with a hip attack in the corner but was blindsided by a big boot from Jamie.

Attempting a Pittsburgh Sunrise, Baker was cut-off by Soho, who was taken out by Hayter, who was taken out by Storm, leaving just the Doctor and the New Girl.

With a Storm Zero on the horizon, Britt countered into an air raid crash.  Returning the favor, Toni countered the Lock Jaw, afterwards striking with a German and then looking for a superplex until she was distracted by Rebel.

Allowing Baker to strike: a last-second save from Soho preventing Baker’s victory after a Curb Stomp.  With all four in the ring, Toni took advantage, rolling-up DMD for a rare loss.

Seems we’re heading for a Storm/Baker final in the Owen?  This one was all-action, a little uncertain in places, but did a nice job highlighting Toni’s struggles with Jamie ahead of next week’s tournament opener.

WINNER: Soho & Storm

Calling in to the commentary booth, Eddie Kingston said his wife, who’s used to seeing him hurt, was ‘broken’ by the sight of his face, her reaction will be ‘burned in his soul’ for the rest of his life and led to a promise to hurt Jericho ‘really bad’.  As with every time Eddie opens his mouth, this was excellent.  This felt real.  A long step from the usual Jericho and the Jobbers shenanigans.

Tony Nese and Smart Mark challenged Danhausen.

HOOK vs JD DRAKE

Backstory: Backdrop to the Hook/Danhausen story

Get the smelling salts, this one didn’t last long.  Countering a second chop from Drake after essentially ignoring the first, Hook suplexed JD before posing for his adoring public, then locked on the Redrum for the tap.

Attempting to bribe Hook with chips, Danhausen graciously requested his presence in his corner for next week’s contest with Nese.  Hook shoved him and left.

Loud ‘Hookhausen’ chants again this week, but we all know the real money’s in teaming ‘Captain’ Shawn Dean and Hook.

WINNER: Hook

Dax vowed to return to his ‘nasty bastard’ roots next week against Adam Cole.  Very honest, believable promo.  Good work from Harwood.

RIHO vs YUKA SAKAZAKI, OWEN HART QUALIFIER

Backstory: OH Qualifier

Flying out of the blocks at warp speed, these two exchanged holds on the mat before graduating to arm-drags, counters, pin attempts; culminating with Riho Matrix-ing up out of the way as Yuka went for a short splash.  Before a roaring crowd, Riho struck with a shotgun dropkick, a knee in the corner and a top-rope cross body for 2.  ‘Riho, Riho, Riho!’  Notably, she was in all-black, which being notable was noted by Excalibur.  Though she was still very much the smiley good-girl.

Fighting back, Sakazaki dropkicked her through the ropes, before taking to the air for a cannonball senton to the outside.

Ads time. (Jericho noted that Riho’s head got stuck in Yuka’s ‘genie pants’; Starks – ‘been there’.)

Back, Yuka struck with a northern lights bomb for a close 2, following up with the Magical Girl Splash but Riho got the knees up before unleashing a Violent (capital needed) dragon suplex.  Rolling back and forth with two-counts, Sakazaki just got the ropes to prevent the pin.  From the top, Yuka planted Riho with a top-rope front-Russian-leg-sweep for another close call.

Exchanging forearms, Riho ducked, slipping Sakazaki into a very cool inside roll-up via the legs to advance to the tournament.  My fingers hurt.  Fantastic.  It’s been a long time since a crowd were this into the ladies in AEW.

WINNER: Riho

Owen Hart Women’s Brackets:

Side 1 – Toni Storm v. Jamie Hayter ; Britt Baker v. JOKER

Side 2 – Riho v. Ruby Soho ; Red Velvet v. Hikaru Shida

See, told you it’d be a Baker/Storm final.  Maybe Toni vs Ruby? Riho?

The next-gen Jeff Jarrett took more shots at ‘Warpig’, calling him a giant but revealing a chair saying ‘GIANT KILLER’.  No, it didn’t say ‘INTEREST’ – but it should have.

Dan Lambert, Ethan Page and the new TNT champ were busy in the next segment.  Lambert totally heeling on the crowd; Page running down Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti but saying the mixed-tag was off; Sky saying he wanted to bring the belt back its prestige, so Lambert would have to retire his spare to the ATT trophy case ‘where it was supposed to be all-along’, and then granting Frankie Kazarian his shot next week after the latter came out.

Just as Excalibur was announcing next week’s action, Jungle Boy came for Ricky Starks, who ran away, leaving Jungle Jack and the FTW title, which Jack hoisted up.

On Dynamite:

  • Jungle Boy v. Ricky Starks, FTW Title.
  • Punk v. John Silver
  • Jericho Appreciation Society Victory Speech
  • Storm v. Hayter, Round One, O.H. Cup
  • Hardy v. Allin, Round One, O.H. Cup
  • Dax v. Adam Cole, Round One, O.H. Cup
  • Wardlow/MJF contract signing

On Rampage:

  • Scorpio Sky v. Frankie Kazarian, TNT Title.
  • Riho v. Ruby, Round One, O.H. Cup

KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs JAY LETHAL (w Satnav Singh & Sonjay Dutt)

Backstory: Takeshita’s TV debut; Joe has promised he’s coming for Lethal

If any of you play the Yakuza games, they’ve made a bit of a gag out of the Takeshita surname, for obvious reasons.  Here, the ring announcer was very careful to pronounce ‘Takesh-ita’ the Japanese way.

‘Lethal’ chants as we kicked off, down on the mat, exchanging holds targeting the arms before Lethal took the youngster down.  Takeshita exploded with arm-drags and a leg lariat, the pair exchanging strikes before yet another acrobatic explosion via a flipping lariat and a dive to the outside.

Where Singh sauntered over, causing the youngster to back-up, allowing Lethal to strike with a tope suicida, gaining the upper hand as we went to break.

An incredible lariat with both perched on the top buckle greeted us on our return.  Crowd enjoyed that one.  Following up with a sheer-drop brainbuster for two before countering the Lethal Injection and striking with his jumping knee finish.  Only a two resulted due to Dutt taking the ref, Excalibur making clear that the import had it won.

Going for the quick win, Lethal rolled-up the newcomer for 2.  Flung backwards as Takeshita kicked-out, the veteran took advantage, springing off the ropes for the match-ending Lethal Injection.

Post-match, Lethal & co. were interrupted from continuing the beating by the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy.  Singh took out Trent and Chuck with a choke, so day two of training must’ve gone badly.  (All jokes aside, I do sympathize with AEW’s position here, but boy does he suck).

‘Joe! Joe! Joe!’

Making good on his promise, Samoa Joe came down, pipe in hand, but was blocked by referees and security.

This one flew by, so fast-moving that it was tough taking notes.  Takeshita looked very good here: athletic, explosive, hard-hitting.

WINNER: Jay Lethal

Credit where it’s due.  After the Dynamite main event, it seemed you’d need Paul Bearer and an urn to wake this crowd.  But they were hot for the whole hour, a very good hour, of TV.

WATCH…

  •  Lethal/Takeshita
  • Riho/Yuka

Thanks for reading.  Have a great weekend!

Bracket revealed for the women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Seven of the eight women who will be participating in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament were made official last night on Rampage.

Toni Storm, Riho, Jamie Hayter, Ruby Soho, Britt Baker, Red Velvet, Hikaru Shida, and a surprise Joker entrant will be the eight stars battling in this tournament.

The bracket has Storm vs Hayter and Baker vs the Joker on the left side while Riho vs Soho and Velvet vs Shida on the right bracket.

While the men’s tournament starts on Dynamite next week, it was not announced when the women’s tournament will kick off. Both finals will take place at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view later this month.

Tammy Sytch arrested, facing 30-year prison sentence for fatal car crash

By
Colin Vassallo
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It took a minute, but Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is finally behind bars facing consequences of the fatal car crash from March.

Ormond Beach police officers took the WWE Hall of Fame into custody yesterday evening according to PWInsider.com and charged her with nine different offenses, including causing death, driving with a suspended license, and other charges related to damaging property and DUIs.

The former star is now staring at a 30-year prison sentence. The bail was set at $227,500.

The reason she was not arrested earlier was because the police department were still waiting for toxicology reports. Sytch denied she was going at a fast speed when crashing into a stationary car, causing the death of a 75-year-old man.

A few days ago, Sytch blamed a “light” heart attack for the incident. She and her boyfriend, whose car she was illegally driving, were sued by the family of the deceased man.

The mug shot, provided by PWInsider.com, can be seen below.

Smackdown TV report for 05/06/2022

By
Joe Adams
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Arena: Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum
City: Uniondale, NY

Show opens with highlights from the “I Quit” Challenge last week with Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey.

Charlotte Flair VS. Aliyah

Prior to the match Charlotte says she is going to make an example starting tonight. She then attacked Aliyah. She had Aliyah down and Rousey’s music hits and they begin fighting with Rousey throwing Flair into the ring pole, Flair then throwing Rousey into the ring barrier. Back inside they continue until officials run in to break it up. More officials had to come down to break up the fight.

Shayna Baszler VS. Sasha Banks

Back and forth pinfall attempts leads to Shayna rolling up Banks into a small package her feet landing on the ropes and Natalya holds her feet while the ref makes the 3 count.

Winner: Shayna Baszler

After the match, Baszler attempted to do a stomp on Banks’ arm while Natalya holds Naomi, but Naomi was able to kick Baszler and get free from Natalya before Baszler hit Banks’ elbow.

Happy Corbin out for Happy Talk. Corbin gets immediately interrupted by Madcap Moss who says, “These people don’t want to hear you talk they want me to tell jokes.” First, he asks Corbin if he is ready to sing, because it looks like he is there trying out for a Pitbull cover band. Corbin says Madcap might feel safe back there cracking his jokes but doesn’t have the guts to say things to his face and Madcap Moss comes to the ring. Moss jokes about Corbin’s different names over the years and says you can’t go back to Lone Wolf because wolves have hair, but you can be the Big Bald Wolf and the crowd starts chanting “Big Bald Wolf” and Corbin leaves the ring.

Drew Gulak VS. Gunther

Gunther manhandles Gulak, powerbomb for the win.

Winner: Gunther

Sheamus & Ridge Holland VS. Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods in a table match

Kofi puts Sheamus on the announce table but Butch slides out from under the ring and attacks Kofi. Holland leans out and holds Woods who then receives a brogue kick from Sheamus. Back in the ring Sheamus and Holland chokeslam Woods through the table set up in the ring for the win.

Winners: Sheamus & Ridge Holland

Another edition of the Lacy Evans’ life story is shown. Who then gets announced to the crowd and comes out to ringside and hugs a few fans.

They then show a Raquel Rodriguez highlight reel.

Sami Zayn VS. Shinsuke Nakamura

The action spills out of the ring and Zayn hits Nakamura with a hellluva kick and rolls in the ring but Nakamura cannot get back to the ring.

Winner by Count out: Sami Zayn

RK-Bro and Drew McIntyre in the ring talking about acknowledging things and The Bloodline come to the ring and the fight begins.

RKO to Jey, RKO to Jimmy, Claymore to Reigns. The Bloodline leave the ring.

Brock Lesnar seen at Arizona Coyotes home game

By
Daniel Street
-

WWE superstar Brock Lesnar hasn’t been seen on company programming since his loss to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38 weekend a month ago, but he hasn’t been entirely out of the public eye.

The former WWE Champion was in attendance for the Arizona Coyotes’ Apr. 22 home game against the Washington Capitals at Gila River Arena. The visitors left The Desert with a 2-0 victory.

Arizona had just two games left following the loss to Washington. They fell 5-4 to the St. Louis Blues in overtime on Apr. 23 but ended the season with a thrilling 5-4 comeback win over the Nashville Predators on Apr. 29.

The Coyotes finished with the worst record in the Western Conference at 25-50-7 (57 points). Only the Montreal Canadiens (55 points) finished below Arizona in the standings.

Caesars Arizona offers odds for all of the major sports teams in the Copper State — the Coyotes, NBA’s Phoenix Suns, NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks.

Caesars is offering customers in Arizona up to $1,100 in first bet insurance. There are many different bets sports fan can place through the sportsbook, including futures, total points, total team points and more.

The Coyotes finished up their last season at Gila River Arena. Beginning next season, the Desert Dogs will play at the new arena on the Arizona State University campus. The agreement is for three seasons, though there will be an option for a fourth year.

Lesnar Is A Jets Fan

Lesnar attended the University of Minnesota and tried out for the NFL’s Vikings in 2004, though he was released by the team before the regular season started.

Despite spending much of his life in The Gopher State, Lesnar is actually a fan of the Winnipeg Jets — a main rival of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Lesnar and his family live in Mayfield, which is located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

Winnipeg is the capital city of Manitoba, the province that borders Saskatchewan on the east. Lesnar has been spotted at several Jets home games over the years.

During Winnipeg’s Jan. 9, 2017 home game against the Calgary Flames, Lesnar told JetsTV that he and his kids are fans of the Jets.

Unfortunately, the Jets haven’t given Lesnar a whole lot to celebrate in recent years. Since their run to the Western Conference Final in 2018 — where they fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games — Winnipeg has only won a single playoff series.

That was in 2021, when the Jets unexpectedly swept the Edmonton Oilers in opening round play. However, the Montreal Canadiens returned the favor and stunned the Jets with a four-game sweep in round two.

Winnipeg entered the 2021-22 season with high expectations, but they never really found their game and finished with a disappointing 39-32-11 record to miss the 16-team postseason for the second time in three years.

Brock Lesnar Has Been Absent From WWE For Over A Month

Lesnar, then the WWE Champion, faced Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a Winner Takes All unified title match at the main event of WrestleMania 38.

In a back-and-forth match, Reigns managed to defeat Lesnar via pinfall to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Per WWE tradition, Lesnar is technically entitled to a rematch, but there is no timeline on when he could return.

Lesnar was away from WWE programming for 16 months after losing his WWE title to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36. The Beast Incarnate made an unexpected return at the end of SummerSlam 2021, confronting Reigns to set up a new long-term program between the two stars. The confrontation took place immediately after Reigns successfully defended his title against John Cena.

Lesnar’s babyface run was well-received by the WWE Universe, and he more than flourished in the role against Reigns. But it looks as though another former WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre, will be next in line to challenge Reigns.

The 44-year-old Lesnar remains a top money draw for WWE, and his latest babyface run shows that his popularity hasn’t waned much, if at all. With several marquee stadium pay-per-views coming up (Money in the Bank 2022 on July 2 in Paradise, Nevada, SummerSlam 2022 on July 30 in Nashville, Tennessee and Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales on Sept. 3), WWE would be wise to bring in Lesnar in order to enhance ticket sales and general fan interest.

 

Stu Grayson confirms departure from All Elite Wrestling

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Stu Grayson, formerly of The Dark Order, confirmed his departure from All Elite Wrestling in a post on Twitter.

Grayson, who has been part of AEW since the 2019 Double or Nothing pay-per-view, said that his contract with the promotion expired on April 30.

“Best of luck to everyone working for AEW, our great production and medical team and of course every man and woman who steps into the ring,” Grayson said. “And to my Dark Order family, I hope the world will soon see what you are truly capable of.”

The 33-year-old Canadian did not elaborate on his future.

Candice LaRae departs WWE after contract expires

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling is reporting through his Select service that Candice LaRae is officially gone from WWE after her contract expired and was not renewed.

LaRae has been absent from WWE television since this past Summer as she was pregnant. Her last time in an NXT ring was at the Great American Bash episode in July where she and Indi Hartwell lost their NXT Women’s Tag Team titles to Io Shirai and Zoey Stark.

The California native has been signed with WWE since 2017 and was always part of the NXT system during her time in WWE. She is married to Johnny Gargano and gave birth to their first child in February of this year.

Gargano left WWE after his contract expired as well in December of last year.

Dynamite rating for 05/04/2022

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Dynamite this week drew 833,000 viewers, down 88,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast as the NBA Playoffs continue to cut through the wrestling audience. This was the least-watched Dynamite since June 2021 in its usual time slot. The show was #4 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demo with a 0.32 rating, down 0.01 from last week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Big E says C1 vertebra not healing as hoped

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Former WWE champion Big E posted some not so good news on his Twitter, saying that his C1 vertebra is not healing as it was hoped.

“My C1 apparently isn’t healing optimally. I’ll spend another 4-6 weeks in a brace in hopes that I can avoid a fusion,” E posted, saying that he’s got a tremendous support system and “what shall be shall be.”

Big E suffered a broken neck on the March 11 episode of Smackdown during a tag team match with Kofi Kingston against Sheamus and Ridge Holland. E was on the receiving end of a belly-to-belly suplex at ringside from Holland and unfortunately landed on his head.

While no surgery was required, it was determined that both his C1 and C6 vertebrae were fractured, although not displaced, and there was no spinal cord damage either. The C1 vertebra controls the movement of the neck and supports the weight of the skull at the tip of the spine while the C6 controls wrist extensor muscles, biceps and and other muscles in the upper arm.

The initial diagnosis was that he had to spend 12 weeks with a neck brace in hopes of things healing naturally but undergoing major neck fusion surgery will obviously mean a longer road of recovery for The New Day member.

NFT in video games: good or bad?

By
Daniel Street
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Digital games have come a long way in the past 15 years. Gone are the days when you needed to lug around a bulky console and a pile of bulky game cartridges. Today, you can play a variety of high-quality video games on PCs, laptops, and mobile devices. In a digital game, the player is able to access a persistent, persistent world. An online world where they can go back to visit, level up their characters and earn new content. Statistics show that today, unlike in previous years, more than 80% of gamers play on their smartphones, tablets, laptops, or personal computers. These players have different kinds of needs and preferences when it comes to playing games. The flexibility of gameplay, the ability to connect with friends, and the storage are some of the top pros of creating a game that has an online component.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are the next big thing in the world of digital gaming. They’re a spin-off of the crypto craze that’s taking the world by storm and have been making their way into a variety of online and mobile games. In this article, we’ll be exploring the pros and cons of this exciting new tech. We’ll be looking at the current state of NFTs in the gaming industry, as well as where they’re heading in the future. For more gaming updates, you can visit casino Canada and enjoy a plethora of games to choose from.

What Are NFTs?

NFTs are digital assets that, unlike regular collectables, can be traded on the online market. They can also be sold and bought with cryptocurrency.

Similar to how you might buy a video game, you could use the same store of currency to purchase NFTs in online games like CryptoKitties. This allows for a number of advantages over traditional trade methods like bartering or trading.

Some advantages include:

  • The ability to easily trade items without any requirement for trust between parties.
  • A lower barrier to entry for trading as it doesn’t require as much human interaction.
  • Lower fees as there is no middleman who has their cut.

What Can NFTs Be Used for in Gaming?

NFTs can be used for a variety of things in the world of gaming. They can be used as collectables, for example, in games like CryptoKitties. This allows players to collect and trade digital cards, which can then be sold for real-world money.

Another use for NFTs is that they can generate income for the game developers. Players are able to buy and sell NFTs on the market and make money, meaning that developers earn revenue based on the popularity of their games.

In some games, NFTs have also been implemented as currency – a way to buy items or progress within the game, such as with online multiplayer battle arena (MOBA) games like Etherbots.

Where Are NFTs Used In Gaming?

NFTs are all the rage in the gaming world, and there are a number of games that use this unique digital currency. The most popular game to use NFTs is CryptoKitties, an online game that allows people to collect, buy, and sell virtual cats with varying characteristics. Since its release in 2017, CryptoKitties has become one of the most popular games in the world right now.

In recent months, it’s been announced that a number of new video games will be adopting NFTs as well. These include game franchises like World of Warcraft and Call of Duty.

The Benefits of NFTs

There are many benefits of using NFTs in video games. One of the most obvious benefits is that they’re cheaper. Compared to other digital assets, NFTs are much more affordable. For example, a digital card game may charge $10 for one single rare card, but with NFTs, you only have to pay $1-$2 for a token that has the same rarity.

Another advantage is that the ownership of tokens can be transferred and traded. This means that you can sell your tokens or trade them with someone else and earn some money in the process if you want to stop playing the game or don’t want to keep them anymore. You can also use these tokens as rewards in-game, as well as physical merchandise like statues and hats. Some companies even use them as loyalty points, which can be exchanged for discounts or freebies at their stores.

In addition, NFTs are easy to store and carry around on your phone or computer without any hassle. There’s no need for a physical item such as a card or dice when these virtual assets exist!

The Drawbacks of NFTs

One of the main drawbacks of NFTs in gaming is that they can restrict gameplay. If you have a game that’s designed for one person to play, like many card games, how does that game work with NFTs? One player could buy all the good cards on the marketplace and then not let anyone else play. It could be difficult to make games fairer than before when there weren’t any limits on what people could do.

Another drawback is the fact that these tokens are so new. As such, they could be subject to fraud and scams. For example, if someone created fake tokens and posted them on a marketplace or exchange site, other people might try to buy them without realizing they’re fake.

Final Words

NFTs are a big deal. We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of what they can do, and their uses will likely grow as time goes on. Just like there is are two sides to a story, here also we can expect both good and bad outcomes that will shape the future of NFTs in the long run. But for now, the only thing to keep in mind is that it is important to stay up-to-date with how NFTs work and all the different ways in which they can be used.

Nick Khan touts WrestleMania 38’s impressive numbers during conference call

By
Colin Vassallo
-

WWE President Nick Khan touted WrestleMania’s success during the conference call with investors yesterday.

“In terms of viewership, this WrestleMania was the most viewed event in our Company’s history, both domestically and globally,” Khan said.

He noted that this numbers affirms their “strategic bet” to team up with Peacock to move the WWE Network in the United States, enabling them to get more eyeballs on their product.

“This success comes as the increasingly cluttered streaming marketplace see subscriber numbers begin to slow, and in some instances, even fall and viewership stagnate, not for WWE,” Khan explained.

WrestleMania 38 saw a 61% increase from 2021 and also doubled WWE viewership in total on Peacock over the past WrestleMania weekend compared to the year prior.

“During WrestleMania weekend, nearly one-third of all Peacock accounts viewed WWE content. In fact, WrestleMania 38 was the second most watched live event in the history of Peacock, behind only this year’s Super Bowl,” Khan continued.

Khan reaffirmed that the numbers show that WWE is reaching new fans on the Peacock streaming service, growing WWE’s audience with the growth of Peacock.

WWE reports Q1 2022 financial results

By
Colin Vassallo
-

First Quarter 2022 Highlights

  • Revenue was $333.4 million, an increase of 27% and a quarterly record; Operating Income was $92.4 million, an increase of 42%; and Adjusted OIBDA was $111.7 million, an increase of 33% and a quarterly record
  • Returned capital to shareholders totaling $38.9 million, including share repurchases and dividends paid
  • Announced a multi-year expansion of the Company’s original programming partnership with A&E that includes more than 130 new hours of premium WWE-themed series and specials
  • Announced a broadcast partnership with MBC Group, the largest and leading group in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, to air WWE premium live events, live episodes of Raw and SmackDown as well as WWE Network’s vast library of content
  • Announced a comprehensive, long-term partnership with Fanatics to create a new, enhanced digital platform for e-commerce and licensed merchandise, as well as physical, digital, and non-fungible token (NFT) trading cards
  • WWE 2K22, the latest installment of the Company’s flagship video game franchise, was released to strong consumer demand and rave reviews

WrestleMania Highlights (April 2-3, 2022)

  • WrestleMania was held at AT&T Stadium in Dallas over two consecutive nights in front of a combined 156,352 fans. WrestleMania was WWE’s highest-grossing and most-attended event in company history
  • WrestleMania was the most viewed WWE premium live event of all time. Global unique viewership increased 54% and domestic unique viewership increased 61% year-over-year
  • WrestleMania was the second most viewed event on Peacock to date, behind only Super Bowl LVI
  • WrestleMania generated 2.2 billion social media impressions, more than the 1.8 billion impressions generated by Super Bowl LVI
  • WrestleMania viewership in India was a record 56.1 million, a 29% increase year-over-year

2022 Business Outlook

  • The Company reaffirms its expectations for 2022, which assume ticketed audiences at the Company’s live events for the full year, and target record revenue and an Adjusted OIBDA range of $360 – $375 million, which would be an all-time record. This range of anticipated performance reflects the continued ramp-up of live events, including large-scale international events, and increased monetization of content, partially offset by increased production, content-related, and other expenses.

STAMFORD, Conn., May 5, 2022 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2022.

“We are off to a strong start in 2022, highlighted by record quarterly revenue and Adjusted OIBDA,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “We continued to effectively execute our strategy, including staging the most stupendous WrestleMania ever in early April. WrestleMania, as well as our other successful premium live events such as Day 1, Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber, further expanded the reach of our brands and enhanced the value of our content as evidenced by increased ticket revenue and viewership. We continue to monetize our intellectual property across various platforms through our media rights agreements, both domestically and abroad, as well as through the monetization of new original series, including our expanded partnership with A&E.”

Frank Riddick, WWE Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, added “In the quarter, we exceeded the high end of our guidance. Adjusted OIBDA increased 33% reflecting 27% revenue growth. Our strong financial performance was primarily driven by our return to a full live event schedule, including the staging of a successful large-scale international event. These items more than offset the absence of one-time upfront revenue recognition related to the delivery of certain WWE Network intellectual property rights in the prior year period.”

First-Quarter Consolidated Results

Revenue increased 27% to $333.4 million, primarily due to the timing of a large-scale international event as well as higher ticket sales due to the return of ticketed audiences at our live events. These increases were partially offset by a decline in network revenues primarily due to the impact of upfront revenue recognition in the prior year quarter related to the delivery of certain WWE Network intellectual property rights.

Operating Income increased 42%, or $27.3 million, to $92.4 million, driven by the increase in revenue partially offset by an increase in operating expenses. The increase in operating expenses was primarily driven by return to live event touring, including the timing of a large-scale international event, partially offset by lower television production costs associated with the creation of the Company’s weekly, in-ring content. In the prior year period, WWE produced its weekly, televised programs utilizing the higher cost environment of WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in Tampa, Florida.

The Company’s operating income margin increased to 28% from 25%. Adjusted OIBDA (which excludes stock compensation) increased 33%, or $27.8 million, to $111.7 million. The Company’s adjusted OIBDA margin increased to 34% from 32%.

Net Income was $66.1 million, or $0.77 per diluted share, an increase from $43.8 million, or $0.51 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2021, primarily reflecting higher operating performance.

Cash flows generated by operating activities were $95.5 million, an increase from $59.9 million, primarily due to the timing of collections associated with WWE Network revenue and, to a lesser extent, higher net income. These increases were partially offset by the increased payout of management incentive compensation.

Free Cash Flow3 was $74.0 million, an increase from $53.8 million, primarily due to the change in operating cash flow, partially offset by an increase in capital expenditures.4 For the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company incurred $13.1 million of capital expenditures related to its new headquarter facility. Excluding the capital expenditures related to the new headquarter facility, Free Cash Flow for the three months ended March 31, 2022 was $87.1 million.

Return of Capital to Shareholders

The Company returned $38.9 million to shareholders in the first quarter of 2022, including $30.0 million in share repurchases and $8.9 million in dividends paid. Under the Company’s existing stock repurchase program, approximately 525,000 shares were repurchased at an average price of $57.21 per share. As of March 31, 2022, the Company had $221 million available under its $500 million stock repurchase authorization.

Click here to view full Press Release

Nikki Bella to host Blake Shelton/Carson Daly show Barmageddon on USA

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella will be hosting the upcoming Barmageddon show for USA Network, a new celebrity game show featuring Blake Shelton and Carson Daly.

Deadline.com is reporting that the show will be filmed at Shelton’s Nashville bar Ole Red, with Daly behind the bar, Shelton taking the stage with his house band for live music sing-alongs, and Bella hosting.

The synopsis for the show reads, “In each episode, two celebrities will play a unique set of five games in the bar to win a much-needed prize for a viral Internet sensation each has chosen to support. Plucked from obscurity following their epic misadventures on the Internet, these now-infamous stars find themselves at Ole Red hoping to be redeemed. The competition heats up when the losing rival of each round has a chance to even the score by spinning the Wheel of Redemption, a risky move with hilarious consequences. Shelton and Daly will offer words of encouragement – and heckling, of course – to their celebrity friends. On occasion, they might even step in to show off their skills and play a game or two. Ultimately, the winning team takes home a prize while the losing celebrity must accept the shame of defeat. But this is Barmageddon – even if they did not win, at least they had a ton of fun trying.”

Nikki was also one of the judges of America’s Got Talent: Extreme along with Travis Pastrana and Simon Cowell.

Impact’s W. Morrissey takes on Wardlow in AEW debut

By
Colin Vassallo
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Deonna Purrazzo was not the only Impact star who showed up on Dynamite last night as W. Morrissey, the man formerly known as Big Cass in WWE, also showed up as Wardlow’s mystery opponent.

MJF hinted at Morrissey’s arrival last week when revealing his plan to take down Wardlow, saying that his opponent would be smarter, stronger, taller, “and you can’t teach that!” That last part was obviously the hint since it was part of the Enzo/Cass entrance during their WWE days.

But Morrissey walked out of Dynamite without a win as Wardlow beat him with the power bomb to continue his feud with MJF. Morrissey was hyped as Wardlow’s largest opponent ever in AEW and fans chanted “How you doin?” when Morrissey got to the ring.

Cody’s chooses interesting word association for Triple H in interview teaser

By
Colin Vassallo
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In the word association teaser ahead of tomorrow’s release of the Cody Rhodes interview on the Steve Austin Broken Skull Sessions, Rhodes will surely be raising some eyebrows with the word chosen to describe Triple H.

Asked by Austin what word does he associate with Triple H, Cody immediately said that “It’s going to get me in trouble.”

But he didn’t think twice about the answer. “GOAT,” Cody responded. “He’s the GOAT.”

Cody had a habit of taking shots at Triple H during his time in AEW, including destroying the throne with a sledgehammer.

In other word associations, he chose “mentor” for Randy Orton, “CrossFit” for Seth Rollins, “over” for Roman Reigns, “gear” for Bianca Belair, “diamond” for Charlotte Flair, “underrated” for Edge, and “lean” for Becky Lynch.

The interview will air on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else tomorrow.

NXT rating for 05/03/2022

By
Colin Vassallo
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The NXT Spring Breakin’ themed episode on USA this week drew 661,000 viewers, up 84,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show dropped in the 18-49 demo by 0.01 from last week, getting a 0.13 rating and placing #33 in the top 50 cable chart. This was the second most-watched episode of NXT for 2022 so far. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Mercedes Martinez unifies ROH Women’s titles on Dynamite

By
Colin Vassallo
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There’s a new undisputed ROH Women’s champion and her name is Mercedes Martinez.

Martinez, who won the interim title at the ROH Supercard of Honor last month during WrestleMania weekend, defeated the reigning champ Deonna Purrazzo on Dynamite last night in the main event.

With Purrazzo under contract with Impact Wrestling, the change was highly expected to happen now that ROH is fully owned by Tony Khan. Purrazzo won the title from Rok-C, who is now wrestling in NXT, in January of this year.

Martinez, a former NXT star herself, signed with AEW at the end of 2021 after she was released from WWE in August.

Emerging trends in real estate 2022

By
Daniel Street
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The real estate industry is constantly evolving. Each season comes with a handful of trends as various stakeholders, from investors, consumers, and financial players, make their moves, impacting the industry. Nonetheless, the unseen Covid-19 global pandemic has significantly shaped the trends in the last few years. Covid-19 caused massive disruption globally, concerns that dealt a blow to the overall economy.

In a short span, many jobs disappeared, commercial and residential rental properties were vacated, and some businesses collapsed, the hospitality industry being among the most affected. Such changes affected the real estate industry, and the impacts continue to be felt to date.

Just when everything seemed to have hit a balance and economic recovery was quickly taking shape, the Ukraine invasion by Russia hit. As the two nations lock horns, others are suffering, especially with oil and gas prices hitting new highs, commodities that directly affect other industries, real estate included. Despite the challenges, the real estate industry in Kenya has seen massive shifts that continue to set the pace. Among the most notable trends to keep an eye on in 2022 and that will likely shape the future includes:

Digitization

The process is faster and more efficient with digital solutions when looking for a property. This includes e-Citizen. Using the e-Citizen means that you don’t have to visit the Ministry of Land and Physical Planning for land or property search to establish and ascertain ownership. The process is much more productive since you don’t have to travel across the country to find your desired property. Check out services like Hauzisha listings; you are only a few clicks away from finding the property you choose.

While digitization is not a relatively new thing, it is growing fast. This is partly due to Covid-19 and the measures implemented to curb its spread. Technology is at the heart of all modern real estate undertakings, from searches to closing deals, a trend that won’t slow down even beyond 2022.

More owners

More property developers are popping out by the day. This trend started a few years back, and with the growing property demand, it has only grown. More consumers are looking to own homes, a vivid trend considering the rising mortgage inquiries. Access to mortgages and friendlier terms gives buyers the power to own homes. It is a trend that developers have picked on and continue to capitalize on, building more units to satisfy the demand.

The developments have led to the rise of satellite towns, considering the land prices in major urban settings. Satellite towns in Kenya are quickly pulling more people, especially with their affordability. This is while making it possible to work/run a business in the busy cities. You’ve probably interacted with some adverts, for example, prime plots in the outcasts of Nairobi like Juja. This trend won’t slow past 2022, allowing more consumers to own rather than rent homes.

Spacious homes

Modern homes are a lot more than a dwelling space. They double as offices and gyms, among other functionalities. With more people uncovering the remote working gem, the ever-evolving technology that continues to provide better access and affordability to the Internet of Things (IoT), homes are turning into a comprehensive solution. This has seen a rise in demand for warehouses over office spaces. This is mainly as more businesses go online, requiring more storage space over office spaces. Apart from spacious homes, more consumers are looking for intelligent solutions. Smart locks, air conditioning units, security systems, blinds; the list is long and continues to be a favourite among prospective buyers.

Economic challenges will always be there, shaping the real estate industry in many ways. In the current arena, digitization and intelligent solutions, home demand for security considerations, and the need for more functional square footage continue to set the pace in the real estate industry.

AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door pretty much sold out during pre-sale

By
Colin Vassallo
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The pre-sale for the AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view started today on Ticketmaster and it was a massive success as the majority of the tickets were quickly sold with thousands left in queue.

Those who still want to go ahead and try to purchase a ticket can do so by using the code PB3XCBH. “Due to high demand for today’s sale, ticket availability is extremely limited. As you continue to shop some options may be unavailable,” a notice on Ticketmaster.com read.

Tickets go on sale for the general public tomorrow but at this rate, there won’t be any left for those who wait till tomorrow.

Just over 14,000 seats will be available for this highly-anticipated pay-per-view which will take place from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on June 26.

Bracket revealed for the Owen Hart Foundation men’s tournament

By
Colin Vassallo
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Seven out of the eight men who will be participating in the Owen Hart Foundation men’s tournament were fully revealed last night on Dynamite, with one more spot listed as the “Joker.”

The Joker will be a mystery entry who has not been revealed but is part of the bracket.

In the tournament bracket, Rey Fenix will take on Kyle O’Reilly and Samoa Joe will battle the Joker. On the other side of the bracket we have Jeff Hardy versus Darby Allin and Adam Cole against Dax Harwood.

The men’s tournament starts next Wednesday with Hardy vs Allin and Cole vs. Harwood. The tournament final will be at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view.

The women’s tournament entrants will be completed on Friday.

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