Former Raw Tag Team champion Omos may have not yet connected with fans but those in the business have great things to say about him.
On this week’s The Bump, The Undertaker became the latest WWE Legend to praise the 27-year-old, saying Omos is the closest thing they have to Andre The Giant.
“There will never be another Andre,” Taker said. “But this guy is as close as we’ve come. I mean, and that’s a big statement. But he’s special. Omos is special.”
The 7’3″ star from Nigeria has impressed Kevin Nash and John “Bradshaw” Layfield and those two already came out public with their praises but a nod from The Undertaker is just on another level.
“The big thing for him to know and realize is that he is special and different from everybody else. There’s nobody. The average size of the wrestler, in general, is smaller than it was. So here’s this guy who is incredibly athletic, and incredibly huge,” Taker continued. “He is a big, big, strong, man. It’s important for him to make sure that he protects that. Sometimes guys don’t understand what that means.”
Reacting to Taker’s words on social media, Omos thanked The Undertaker for his comments.
“Man…I’m lost for words… Just grateful… Thank you,” he wrote.
While his original plan was not to miss any time whatsoever from the AEW announce desk, Jim Ross took the sensible decision to step away from his role while he undergoes radiation to treat his skin cancer.
The WWE Hall of Famer is targeting a return date of December 29, the last Dynamite of 2021 and the last one on TNT.
“Due to my skin cancer care totaling 22 radiation treatments starting Monday, I will hopefully return to the announce desk on December 29 in Jacksonville,” Ross said, adding that AEW President Tony Khan is supporting him on this strategy.
JR was diagnosed with his second skin cancer earlier this month and underwent surgery on his back earlier this week to remove two spots. His skin cancer was initially found in a growth near his ankle.
Just like many businesses and industries in 2020, 2021 was always going to prove to be a tough year for wrestling, but it would seem as though the WWE and others have managed to bounce back in a way that is rather encouraging.
Of course, the pandemic had a major toll on several sports all across the world as fans were unable to go, with the wrestling industry unable to put on a number of live events. This will have been detrimental to each of the promotions that exist in professional wrestling, as they put on a number of live shows each week, with their TV offering just a small part of the weekly calendar.
Attendances and viewing figures across a number of different sports around the world had suffered the same decline as the wrestling industry, with NBA basketball having been impacted significantly in 2020 as more and more fans were unable to enjoy the action that will have been provided on the court.
However, despite the disastrous year that 2020 was in regard to a host of things, it seems that there are a number of encouraging signs in 2021 suggesting that the industry as a whole is bouncing back in fine fashion, especially where the WWE are concerned.
WWE’s report shows significant levels of encouragement
When taking a look at the latest financial report that has been completed by the WWE, it would appear that the company is being able to benefit from an increase in interest once again with many of the figures starting to return back to pre-pandemic levels.
Of course, the WWE is not the only promotion that is involved within the wrestling scene and with the likes of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Impact Wrestling (Impact!), Ring of Honor (ROH) and National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) all representing the industry, it could be inferred that the figures shown by the organisation that is considered to be the premier promotion can provide some light on how the entire sector is doing.
Revenues have increased
When looking at the revenue that was generated over the second quarter of 2021, it would seem 2021 is allowing for wrestling to bounce back as the WWE managed to generate an increase of 19% ($42.2 million) compared to the same time period of last year with the return of live events, including the world-famous WrestleMania event that took place in Tampa, Florida. It was the first ticketed live event since the first quarter of 2020.
Operating income was shown to be down, though, although this will have largely been down to the expenses that were required to be used for the return of live events, as well as the need to bring back employees who had been furloughed during the pandemic.
Demand for tickets has soared
Since the WWE had returned to live events from July 16, 2021, they held five different events that aired between then and the end of September 2021. These events showed that demand for them was still as high as ever, as each of the events held had been at or close to fall capacity, whilst current demand for future events is currently on par with the numbers that were recorded in 2019.
Demand has also experienced an increase when it comes down to viewing figures, with digital video views being a record 11.2 billion, an increase of 13% whereas the hours consumed were another record, as 394 million (an increase of 5%) had been experienced.
Japanese television broadcaster J SPORTS announced today that it will stop airing Raw, Smackdown, and WWE pay-per-views effective December 27. The broadcaster will also cease the on-demand WWE Pack subscription service on January 31, 2022.
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has watched J SPORTS’ WWE programs for a long time,” a statement read.
J SPORTS aired Raw and Smackdown in their original commentary and another version dubbed in Japanese along with a highlight show.
WWE and J SPORTS last extended their television deal in 2018 and J SPORTS was one of the longest-serving partners for WWE, with over 20 years of WWE television in Japan carried by them.
It’s unclear where the television rights in the Land of the Rising Sun will be headed to.
Elisah Spencer, the 24-year-old from Brooklyn who attacked Seth Rollins on Raw this past Monday, spoke to the NY Daily News to explain his actions, blaming an encounter with a fake Seth Rollins online.
Spencer said that he met Rollins at a meet and greet a few years ago and they connected online via WhatsApp where the person operating the fake Rollins social media account asked for money in return to help him get started in wrestling, which Spencer sent.
“He was asking me to send him gift cards in exchange for money, mostly $500 or more to see if I was loyal,” Spencer said. “He asked me to be a wrestling blogger for him. I wanted to work my way up.”
After Spencer spent $3,000 in gift cards, the unidentified person operating the account sent him back a check of the same amount, which obviously bounced.
Spencer said his aim was to help Finn Balor on Monday and said that he likes his aura and attitude.
“I jumped from where I was sitting at. I ran and speared Seth Rollins. I busted his lip open and he caught me in a headlock,” he said. “I broke the headlock and I was trying to get him, then the referees and the security guards broke us apart.”
But now, the 24-year-old has apologized to WWE for his actions and admitted as a grown man he should have settled it in a different way.
“If I saw him today I wouldn’t attack him. I’ve moved on.”
Spencer was charged by the New York Police Department with attempted assault and attempted violation of arts and cultural affairs.
CM Punk and MJF had a promo face-off for the ages last night in Chicago, a segment which ran 20 minutes in total.
The promo brought out the best of young MJF who went toe-to-toe with one of the best on the mic and held up his own pretty well, hitting Punk with zingers which referenced his WWE days, mentioning how he was always second-best to stars like the “You Can’t See Me” man and the “King of Kings” referring to John Cena and Triple H. MJF was also offended how Punk never mentioned his name while doing media rounds but now has no choice but to face him.
Punk, obviously super over in his hometown, hit MJF by telling him that he’s just a “less famous Miz,” a statement which got a lot of “Oooh’s” from the crowd and a subsequent “Miz” chant. Punk told MJF that he didn’t mention him by design because he didn’t want to stroke his ego and he sold out MSG when MJF was still marking out for Rosie O’Donnell. Punk threatened to punch MJF in his “needle dick” but MJF left the ring before that happened.
This week’s episode of NXT drew 625,000 viewers, up 51,000 viewers from last week’s record low. While it was up, it’s still hovering on the lower-end of the usual NXT average, suggesting that the re-branding of NXT is not working as intended. The show did a 0.14 in the 18-49 demo, up 0.03 from last week and placed #31 on the top 50 cable chart. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
The first AEW TNT special will be named Battle of the Belts and will air on Saturday, January 8 in prime time. The date is just three days after Dynamite moves permanently to TBS.
The show will take place from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, a location which AEW has already performed in. Fans will be able to purchase tickets starting Saturday, November 27 at 10AM ET on AEWTix.com.
The graphic promoting the show featured all the AEW champions and this will be something similar to the Clash of the Champions NWA/WCW shows. WWE owns that trademark and AEW cannot use it and the company opted for The Battle of the Belts name which was used as for events promoted by the NWA and Championship Wrestling From Florida instead.
Although sports betting is a game of losses and wins, it is a lucrative game. Unlike buying the lottery every week depending on luck, with the right approach, you can make money off sports betting.
Winning the lottery largely depends on luck as the government controls lotteries. There is no denying that the cash prize is enticing, but your chances of bagging it are ridiculously low. Here’s a comparison between sports betting and a state lottery.
What is a State Lottery?
Typically, a state lottery is controlled and organized by the government of the state. In the United States, over forty states offer some lotteries such as PowerBall and Megamillions.
Furthermore, in lottery games, players are required to pick a series of numbers or just a number. For them to win the lottery’s grand prize, their numbers have to tally with the number generated by the number generator.
State lottery is centred on sheer luck while betting against the number generator. If you think about it, the chances of drawing the number you chose are quite low. Although you can get lucky sometimes, it doesn’t happen often. In fact, you’re likely to match two numbers and miss the rest.
What are Sportsbooks?
Legit Sportsbooks that know how sports betting works have a wide range of sports for you to bet on. You can find popular sports like golf, UFC, tennis, cricket, racing, etc, in good sportsbooks. Also, these Sportsbooks are likely to have international and national sports for bettors. However, the most common sports people bet on are basketball, football, baseball and soccer.
In addition, Sportsbooks can include several high-class events like who will win American Idol, presidential elections etc. As long as there’s money to make from the bet, place your bets.
Once you know the factors that can make you win any sports bet, you are sure to win big. However, it’s important you take into consideration the bookmaker. How much you make from sports bet largely depends on your bookmaker.
Bookmakers are out to make money just like you. The common means through which bookmakers make money is by big or margin. Although margin differs among sites, it’ll do you a world of good to check different sites before placing your bets. If you need a reliable site to prove you bet, place one here.
Reasons Sports betting is better than state lottery
Unlike lotteries, betting isn’t solely dependent on your luck. For instance, there is entertainment in sports betting. You get to watch your favorite sport and make money off it. Here are some reasons Sports betting outweighs lotteries.
To successfully win a sports bet, you need skill. You’re more in control as long as you’re confident in your skills.
You get more satisfaction in sports betting than randomly selecting numbers for state lotteries.
There’s more fun in watching your team play when you know you can win something in the end
In Conclusion
With the few reasons we highlight, it’s glaring that state lotteries are slowly becoming less popular. While thinking of making money off sports betting, invest your time in getting the right betting site for you. Casino gambling and Sportsbooks are better options and more lucrative than state lotteries.
During his latest episode of the Wooooo! Uncensored podcast, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair said that he will never work for WWE again as long as WWE President Nick Khan is there in the company.
Flair claimed that it was Khan who was the mastermind behind removing his “Wooooo!” from the opening WWE video, replacing him with fellow Hall of Famer the Ultimate Warrior.
“I could never work for Nick Khan in my entire life,” Flair said. “Vince McMahon…I could work for,” he continued, stating that he still talks to Vince every now and then and has zero issues with him.
But his animosity towards Khan is telling, saying that not even in a million years he’d go back to WWE with Khan in his current President position.
The Nature Boy, who said he’d never go work for Vince’s competition unless they do “something stupid” to him, said there have been no discussions with Tony Khan from AEW.
“Now, they’ve done some really stupid stuff. So that door is open. But I have not talked to Tony. I haven’t heard a word from them,” Flair said. There were rumors that Flair was going to AEW but then the Dark Side of the Ring episode of the Plane Ride From Hell aired and everything was put on the back burner until the story fades.
It was Flair who asked to be let go from WWE a few months ago and said that money was not an issue and now he’s making more money than ever before.
In an interview with UK-based talkSPORT during Survivor Series weekend, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon said that her oldest daughter is already getting in the ring, training to be a wrestler.
McMahon explained how a few years ago, her 15-year-old daughter, Aurora, said that she doesn’t want her or her dad’s job…but she wants her grandfather’s job!
“So, just like her grandfather, she wants to be the boss so we’ll see what happens with my oldest daughter who has already started training in the ring,” Steph said.
She also added that her youngest daughter, Vaughn, who is 11, is also interested in being a wrestler but she’s all about personality. “Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to see what she is going to do,” she continued.
Steph and Triple H also have another daughter, Murphy, who is 11.
In the same interview, McMahon also said that her husband is doing fine following the cardiac event several weeks ago. Triple H was spotted touring the new WWE HQ in downtown Stamford with Vince, Stephanie, Nick Khan, and others.
AEW is back in Chicago for tonight’s episode of Dynamite on TNT from the sold out Wintrust Arena where 7,000 fans will welcome back their favorite wrestling son CM Punk!
Punk will be wrestling on the show as he takes on QT Marshall while another Chicagoan, Colt Cabana, will take on the new number one contender for the AEW World title Bryan Danielson. A big eight-man tag match is also on the card as Cody Rhodes teams up with Pac and Lucha Brothers to take on Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo, and FTR. Plus, the TBS Women’s title tournament continues with Thunder Rosa taking on Jamie Hayter.
Tickets for the last Dynamite of 2021, titled New Year’s Smash, will be going on sale this Saturday at 10AM ET at AEWTix.com. The show will take place on Wednesday, December 29 from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
This will be the final episode of Dynamite on TNT and will have the tapings of the first episode of Rampage of 2022 as well. From the following week, AEW’s flagship show moves to TBS permanently in the same time slot and day while Rampage, first announced as moving with Dynamite, will remain on TNT.
AEW wants to keep holding the final show of the year from Daily’s Place, which served as the base for AEW during the pandemic months. The company had a live Dynamite a few months ago there as well titled Homecoming.
Speaking to TMZ.COM, Seth Rollins said that the fan attack on Raw happened very quickly and said it was “terrifying.”
Rollins told TMZ Sports after he landed at the Los Angeles airport that what he did was mostly a reaction to contain the assailant and hoped that their security team would come and do their job. “Which they did very quickly,” Rollins added. A WWE referee was quick in jumping on the fan and within seconds security officials and WWE referees were on the scene as well.
The former WWE champion said after it happened, he was trying to “detach and move on” and hoped that everyone involved was okay, confirming that he suffered no injuries.
But Rollins did admit that the attack was terrifying and hoped that the 24-year-old man would not be allowed at any future WWE events. The incident could have been much worse if the fan was armed. Footage from inside the Barclays Center showed the fan coming out of a blind corner and spearing Rollins. Rollins put him in a headlock until security came in to take over.
The attacker posted on social media several exchanges with some guy who posed as Seth Rollins, a possible reason why he decided to attack on Raw.
This was the second fan attack at the Barclays Center at a WWE event as a few years ago, Bret “Hit Man” Hart was also attacked on stage during the Hall of Fame ceremony. Several wrestlers jumped in to intervene and even had a parting punch or two at him.
The post-Survivor Series Monday Night Raw, which included an appearance from Vince McMahon, did 1,700,000 viewers on Monday, up 116,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast.
The show started with 1,806,000 viewers, then dropped to 1,734,000 viewers in the second hour, before ending the night with 1,557,000 viewers in the third and final hour. This was the most-watched Raw since October 4.
Raw did 0.51, 0.50, and 0.47 in the 18-49 demo, landing in #6, #7, and #9 spots in the top 50 cable chart for the night. It had an average of 0.49, up 0.07 from last week and again best number since October 4. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
The men’s NXT WarGames match was set up last night during the final segment of NXT 2.0 on USA Network and will feature a crop of “old” NXT vs “new” NXT in a four-on-four match inside the steel cage.
Leading the team of the old guard is NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa, who finds himself tagging again with his old partner Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, and LA Knight as they take on the new crop of NXT stars headed up by Bron Breakker, NXT North American champion Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, and Tony D’Angelo.
Meanwhile, in the women’s WarGames match, Kay Lee Ray joined Io Shirai’s team which also include Raquel Gonzalez and Cora Jade and they will take on NXT Women’s champion Mandy Rose, NXT Women’s Tag Team champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, and Dakota Kai.
NXT is back with another episode on USA Network tonight and three champions will be in action but only one of the titles is up for grabs.
The NXT North American title will be the only one on the line tonight as champion Carmelo Hayes defends against Pete Dunne and Johnny Gargano in a triple threat match. NXT Women’s champion Mandy Rose takes on Cora Jade as their build towards WarGames continues and NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa battles Grayson Waller. The other match announces is a women’s tag team match featuring Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter versus Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta.
NXT ratings hit a new low last week for the 2.0 reincarnation, with only 574,000 viewers tuning in and a horrible 0.11 in the 18-49 demo, the worst since August 3.
WWE Performance Center coach Scott Garland, better known to fans as Scotty 2 Hotty from his wrestling days, revealed on Instagram today that he asked for his release from WWE.
“30 years ago I stepped into a WWE ring for the very first time. I have lived my dream 100 times over. Some of my most special memories will always be from the last five years working with NXT,” Garland said.
But the former Too Cool member had some sort of a parting shot, saying that the black and gold brand was something special for him and he always promised himself that he would never be part of something solely for the paycheck.
“I told myself that I would walk away if I ever got to that point, so that is what I have chosen to do. Coaching and producing the stars of NXT will always be a highlight of my life. I love you all more than you will ever know,” he concluded.
The man who attacked Seth Rollins live on Monday Night Raw was identified as Elisah Spencer, a 24-year-old from Brooklyn according to a NYPD spokesperson. The information was published by ESPN today.
Spencer has been charged with attempted assault and attempted violation of arts and cultural affairs, basically disrupting a live sporting event. Rollins, who suffered swelling to his lip, refused medical attention.
WWE cameras quickly cut away from the action and put a replay to distract viewers from what was happening. It took several referees and security officials to contain the assailant, who speared Rollins after coming in from a blind corner at full force.
Chavo Guerrero, currently signed with All Elite Wrestling, took a shot at Seth Rollins following the publication of the video where he was attacked by a fan during Monday Night Raw.
Wrestlers nowadays rarely fight back when they are attacked and leave it to security to take care of the situation due to potential lawsuits they might encounter.
But Chavo didn’t see it that way and tweeted, “Remember when the wrestlers were tougher than the fans? Ah, the good ol’ days.”
The tweet did not go over very well with fans and as you can expect, they tore him a new one with over a thousand replies.
“Remember when you were relevant?” asked one person. “It’s funny how your velocity matches were so f*cking quick that no one even had time to run in on them,” said another.
“I also remembered when Rollins had more charisma in his pinky finger than you had in your entire body,” tweeted another person. “Remember how Eddie loved Rey more than, you blood? Ah, the good ol’ days,” another tweet read.
