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Guinness World Records notes Orton’s and Natalya’s recent WWE records

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Guinness World Records website and social media acknowledged the records recently broken by WWE Superstars Randy Orton and Natalya at the Survivor Series.

Orton broke the record for the most WWE pay-per-view appearances by a male Superstar, beating Kane. His record now stands at a whopping 177 pay-per-views spanning over 21 years. Orton’s record-breaking match came teaming up with Riddle to take on The Usos in a non-title match. The Viper has another record which is the most matches on Monday Night Raw.

Natalya also broke the record for the most WWE pay-per-view appearances by a female Superstar, with a total of 68. Natalya has been with WWE since 2007, so that makes it 14 years for her so far. Natalya’s record-breaking match was the five-on-five traditional Survivor Series match.

Trish Stratus to host WWE live event in Toronto on December 29

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus will be hosting the WWE non-televised live event from Toronto, Canada at the Coca-Cola Coliseum on December 29.

“Excited to step through that curtain and feel the energy of the WWE Universe one more time. Let’s do this Toronto,” Stratus said in a short post on her website which was also plugged on her social media channels.

Stratus has not appeared on WWE television since the 2019 SummerSlam pay-per-view where she lost in a match against Charlotte Flair.

Tickets for this house show remain available starting from CA $56.50 each and are available at Ticketmaster.com.

The next project for the multi-time WWE Women’s champion is serving as a judge on Canada’s Got Talent which will soon be airing on Canadian television.

Triple threat match for WWE title set for Day 1 pay-per-view

By
Colin Vassallo
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The first WWE pay-per-view of 2022, titled Day 1, will now feature a triple threat for the WWE Championship as Big E and Seth Rollins got a new face in the mix – Kevin Owens.

The former Universal champion battled Big E in the main event of Raw with the stipulation being that if he defeats Big E, he would be inserted into the match as well. Seth Rollins interfered in the match, attacking Owens, forcing the referee to call for a disqualification and awarding the match to Owens.

This is the first match on the Day 1 card so far and the show takes place from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, January 1. This is the first-ever WWE pay-per-view to be held on New Year’s Day.

The show also got a slightly different logo than the one that was originally published when the event was announced.

Dynamite rating for 11/24/2021

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Thanksgiving Eve episode of Dynamite pulled in 898,000 viewers, down 86,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast but a very solid number considering it was the eve of a holiday. The show placed #6 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demo with a 0.31 rating, down 0.06 from the prior week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Miz and Maryse return on Raw

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Miz and Maryse returned on Monday Night Raw last night to confront WWE Hall of Famer Edge, who himself was back on the show after a short hiatus.

Miz has been off WWE television for a while due to his participation on Dancing with the Stars on ABC, where he placed ninth, a stat that Edge made sure to point out. Edge also said that people in other companies mention his name to get cheap heat, referring to CM Punk and MJF’s segment from Dynamite last week. The Rated-R Superstar told Miz that while he went to pursue other non-WWE activities, his former tag team partner – John Morrison – got fired.

The Miz slammed Edge for returning only for the big moments or after he gets injured and did not like the fact that Edge didn’t mention his name when earlier Edge said that he’s ready to fight someone new. Miz reminded Edge that he was a WWE champion a few months ago and unlike him, he has not won a title in a very long time.

The segment ended with Edge challenging Miz to a fight and it looked like it was going to happen…until Miz bailed out in typical heel fashion.

It’s not known if Maryse is back full time but it does look like she’s back at least for this feud, and who knows, maybe there’s a mixed tag match in the future with the addition of Edge’s wife, Beth Phoenix to the mix!

AEW returning to Washington D.C. for Dynamite and Rampage TV in January

By
Colin Vassallo
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All Elite Wrestling today announced its return to Washington, D.C., for two days of television shows.

This is the first time that AEW will be in D.C. since the inaugural episode of Dynamite back in December 2019. Back then, the company sold out the Capital One Arena quickly, but this time around, both the Dynamite and Rampage television tapings will be held at the Entertainment & Sports Arena, a much-smaller 4,000-seater arena located on the St. Elizabeth’s East Campus, in Congress Heights.

AEW will hold the January 19 episode of Dynamite on TBS and the January 21 episode of Rampage on TNT in the same location and tickets for both shows go on sale this Friday at 10AM ET at AEWTix.com. It’s rare that AEW doesn’t hold Rampage tapings following Dynamite unless it’s pay-per-view weekend or a special occasion.

Israeli promoter wants Flair vs Guevara, Flair asks for $100,000 and first-class tickets!

By
Colin Vassallo
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Ric Flair has claimed in his latest episode of Wooooo! Nation Uncensored podcast that a promoter in Israel asked if he’s willing to get back in the ring to take on AEW TNT champion Sammy Guevara.

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer said he’d consider it as long as he’s paid $100,000 for the match and gets two first-class tickets. “I’m there,” he told co-host Mark Madden. Flair also demanded 50% of the pay up-front as there’s no way he would cross half the globe just on someone’s word.

And the rest of the pay? “After I beat Sammy,” Flair quipped.

“Like I said…I’m going to die, and it’s either going to be next to my hot wife or in the ring next to Sammy Guevara,” the Nature Boy tweeted today. “Preparing for one or the other! WOOOOO!”

Guevara retweeted Flair’s comment and simply wrote, “Wrestling God vs Spanish God.”

John Morrison addresses fans following WWE release

By
W-O Staff
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In a four-minute video posted on his Instagram, John Morrison addressed his fans for the first time since he was released from the company earlier this month.

He said he was grateful for the support fans gave him in the last run and yes, he did get that phone call that effectively ended his WWE career…again.

“I did, in fact, receive a phone call from John Laurinaitis during which he told me that my services as a talent were no longer required by WWE,” Morrison said. “I didn’t even get a ‘best of luck in your future endeavors.’ At least if you’re gonna let me go, use your catchphrase, right?”

Morrison said that this run with WWE meant so much to him and he got to speak and see people he did not see in a decade, reconnected and made new friends, worked with some of the best wrestlers and production crew in the world, and the whole thing brought back feelings similar to what he had when he was starting in the business.

“I was always so nervous I wanted to do everything right,” he continued, mentioning how he arrived at the arenas super early all the time…which gave him more time to be nervous.

But if there’s one thing he learned was that people invest their time in their stories. “The great thing about being a storyteller is when one chapter ends, another begins,” he continued, suggesting that he’s far from done when it comes to being a pro wrestler.

WWE debuts at the brand-new UBS Arena in Long Island tonight…but ticket sales are disappointing

By
W-O Staff
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WWE will be making its debut at the brand-new UBS Arena in Long Island, New York tonight for Monday Night Raw.

However, tickets for this show have been moving really, really slow. In fact, after a dismal initial sale, WWE announced Roman Reigns would be appearing, probably in the dark match, and then this past Friday they also announced that Edge will return tonight as well.

Combined with that, WWE started offering a lot of discounts, including a two-for-one offer for Black Friday with prices below $20.

Despite all this, the arena has been configured for just over 7,000 seats and WWE sold a bit more than 5,000.

AEW will be running the same arena on December 8 for Dynamite and it has been configured for over 11,000 fans and AEW sold 8,500 tickets so far, out pacing WWE by a lot.

The $1 billion UBS Arena at Belmont Park was inaugurated this month and is the home of the New York Islanders NHL team. It can seat up to 18,500 for concerts.

WarGames advantage ladder matches on Tuesday, fans to chose men’s participants

By
Colin Vassallo
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Fans are in charge of choosing the two individuals who will be wrestling in the WarGames advantage ladder match this coming Tuesday on NXT on USA Network.

Wrestling at WarGames will be NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, and LA Knight who will be taking on Bron Breakker, NXT North American champion Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, and Tony D’Angelo.

One person from each team will be in the ladder match on Tuesday and the winner will determine who will get the advantage in WarGames. The winning team will have the numerical advantage throughout the match until the last person comes in.

WWE is not showing the percentages of the results so this is not the most transparent poll. You can vote now at wwe.com/WarGamesAdvantage.

Meanwhile, the women’s WarGames advantage ladder match will see Kay Lee Ray taking on Dakota Kai, a match also taking place on Tuesday.

Ticket sales for AEW’s Battle of the Belts off to a good start

By
Colin Vassallo
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Tickets for the first AEW on TNT special Battle of the Belts went on sale on Ticketmaster.com yesterday.

A pre-sale held on Friday saw AEW move nearly 3,000 tickets for the show according to ticket tracking service WrestleTix. The Bojangles Coliseum, where the show will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, holds around 9,000 fans when fully opened but will be downsized for a wrestling setting.

Many tickets in the upper bowl still remain but the floor is pretty much sold out and this could be another solid attendance for AEW as they kick-start their 2022 events.

Tickets for Battle of the Belts start at $30 and go all the way up to $355 plus fees.

Paramount Animation and WWE Studios movie Rumble to premiere on December 15

By
Colin Vassallo
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Paramount+ announced that the Paramount Animation movie Rumble, produced with WWE Studios, will be premiering on December 15 exclusively on the streaming network.

Starring Will Arnett, Rumble is an entertaining and original animated family film that explores the world of monster wrestling and celebrates moving to your own groove and paving your own unique path to success.

“We are thrilled to build on our recent success with family-friendly films and bring Rumble’s entertaining and inspiring underdog story to Paramount+ this holiday season,” said Tanya Giles, Chief Programming Officer, ViacomCBS Streaming.

Produced by Paramount Animation in association with WWE Studios, and with production companies, Reel FX and Walden Media, the film features an all-star voice cast, including Geraldine Viswanathan, Terry Crews, Stephen A. Smith, Jimmy Tatro, Tony Danza, Susan Kelechi Watson, Tony Shalhoub, Bridget Everett, Greta Lee, Ben Schwartz, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i, Becky Lynch, Michael Buffer and Charles Barkley.

In a world where monster wrestling is a global sport and monsters are superstar athletes, Rumble’s teenage Winnie seeks to follow in her father’s footsteps by coaching a loveable underdog monster into a champion.

Based on the graphic novel Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell, Rumble is directed by Hamish Grieve, screenplay by Hamish Grieve and Matt Lieberman and produced by Brad Booker and Mark Bakshi. Executive producers are Steve O’Brien, Chuck Peil, Frank Smith, Naia Cucukov, Jeff Fierson, Susan Levison and Richard Lowell.

Smackdown rating for 11/26/2021

By
Colin Vassallo
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It was another rough day for Smackdown standards in the television overnight ratings as the show registered 1,967,000 viewers, down 20,000 from last week’s overnight. Last week’s number eventually adjusted to 2,064,000 viewers on Monday which was the least-watched since July 30.

The first hour started with 1,872,000 viewers and then increased to 2,063,000 viewers for the second hour. The show did 0.50 in the 18-49 demo and won the night when it comes to network television. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV.com)

Sami Zayn wins battle royal to become #1 contender for Universal title

By
Colin Vassallo
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Sami Zayn became the number one contender for Roman Reigns’ Universal title last night on Smackdown after he won a Black Friday battle royal…a battle royal which offered no discounts, but a title shot!

The 18-man battle royal was the main event of the show and featured Angel, Cesaro, Drew Gulak, Erik, Happy Corbin, Humberto, Ivar, Jeff Hardy, Jinder Mahal, Mace, Madcap Moss, Mansoor, Ricochet, Rick Boogs, Ridge Holland, Sami Zayn, Shanky, and Sheamus.

The final four included Happy Corbin, Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, and Sheamus, with Corbin eliminating Sheamus and Hardy eliminating Corbin. With Sami Zayn recovering outside of the ring, but never eliminated, Jeff Hardy celebrated as if he won the match but Zayn sneaked in and eliminated Hardy to win the match.

As Zayn was going to be interviewed in the ring by Braxton, Kayla broke the news of Lesnar returning next week, leaving Zayn angry and without any proper celebration.

Ex-WWE Chief Financial Officer gets a year salary and benefits as part of termination

By
Colin Vassallo
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In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission it was revealed that WWE will be paying its former Chief Financial Officer Kristina Salen for another year after the two sides negotiated a separation agreement.

In the agreement, Salen will receive a continuation of base salary and health insurance coverage for a period of twelve months and will also receive in cash a total of $413,000 for certain forfeited restricted stock units.

The separation agreement contains other standard provisions, including maintaining Salen’s intellectual property, confidentiality and non-solicitation obligations.

The agreement suggests that it was WWE who opted to replace Salen in her role and it wasn’t her who wanted to leave the company after just a year in her position.

Brock Lesnar’s “suspension” lifted, to appear next week on Smackdown

By
Colin Vassallo
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Brock Lesnar’s suspension from WWE has been lifted and he will bring the pain with him next week on Friday Night Smackdown on FOX.

The news was broken by Kayla Braxton at the end of Smackdown last night much to the dismay of Roan Reigns, Paul Heyman, and The Usos, who did not like the news. The last time that Lesnar was on Smackdown, he and Reigns had a wild brawl and Adam Pearce ended up getting F5’d. Pearce later suspended Lesnar and fined him $1 million.

Braxton had been running after Heyman to confirm the rumor since last week but Heyman said it was not true. Braxton again asked Heyman on the show last night and he dismissed it, telling her to check her sources.

Lesnar will also be on the December 10 Smackdown from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Kofi Kingston and wife welcome third child

By
Colin Vassallo
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Former WWE champion Kofi Kingston and his wife welcomed their third child, a baby girl, earlier this week on Tuesday. They named the baby Lotus Selene Sarkodie-Mensah and she weighed 6lbs 2oz.

“Witnessing my wife give life to our precious baby girl left me in awe,” Kingston wrote on Twitter. Our tribe grows larger as our familial bond grows even stronger!” Kofi also added a couple of photos of the whole family with the new arrival.

Kofi and his wife Kori have been married since 2010 and have two sons, Kai, who was born in 2013, and Orion, who was born 2016.

https://twitter.com/TrueKofi/status/1464288152047267844

Black Friday special offer on WrestleMania 38 tickets

By
Colin Vassallo
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SeatGeek.com is offering a special Black Friday pricing for WrestleMania 38, allowing fans to purchase four tickets for the price of three and savings of up to 25%. This offer will run from today through Cyber Monday.

The offer is available for both nights of WrestleMania, although not through a combo deal. Tickets for night one and night two of WrestleMania at the AT&T Stadium must be purchased separately to be eligible for this offer. To take advantage of this offer, you must use the promo code meplus3 to unlock tickets.

Speaking of WrestleMania, Dave Meltzer of the Observer noted that the latest figures according to sources inside the AT&T Stadium show that WWE sold 57,311 tickets for night one and 51,875 tickets for night two, leaving around 24,000 and 30,000 seats available for each respective night.

Dwayne Johnson’s Red Notice stays #1 on Netflix chart

By
Colin Vassallo
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Dwayne Johnson’s Red Notice movie on Netflix continues to do really well on the streaming service and remains in the top spot – by a wide margin – in the Netflix Top 10.

For the week of November 15 to 21, Red Notice had 129 million hours viewed, with the movie in second place registering just 24.7 million hours. Another Dwayne Johnson movies, with Kevin Hart, is in fourth place with nearly 15 million hours watched.

Red Notice remains number one in 94 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, India, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and others.

The $200 million movie also features Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot in leading roles with the former WWE champion.

Johnny Gargano extends WWE deal for a week to work WarGames event

By
Colin Vassallo
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Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Johnny Gargano signed a one-week contract extension with WWE to be able to work the WarGames event on December 5.

Gargano’s deal was expiring two days before the show but now it’s extended to December 10 as a way to get him in the match and continue the negotiations as well.

The former NXT champion has taken his time to agree to a new deal and he might be following the footsteps of Adam Cole, extending his deal for a bit and then leaving, allowing him to show up anywhere he wants since he would have no no-compete for an expiring contract.

Meltzer says that Gargano and WWE are still locked into talks and was offered deal but he did not sign it, suggesting that NXT isn’t likely in his future.

Gargano’s wife, Candice LaRae, is still under a WWE deal but she is not appearing on television as she is pregnant with the couple’s first child.

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