Home Blog Page 888

Jon Huber, better known as AEW’s Brodie Lee, passes away at age 41

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Jon Huber, better known to fans as Brodie Lee in AEW and Luke Harper in WWE, sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 41. His death was announced by his wife Amanda on Instagram.

“My best friend died today,” his wife wrote. “I never wanted to write out those words. My heart is broken. The world saw him as the amazing @brodielee (fka Luke Harper) but he was my best friend, my husband, and the greatest father you would ever meet. No words can express the love I feel or how broken I am right now.”

Amanda said that her husband was suffering from a lung issue which was non-COVID related and thanked the Mayo Clinic for having the best team of doctors and nurses in the world. She also thanked AEW for the way they treated her family and kids, especially Cody and Brandi Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Tony Khan who have “helped keep me standing and pick up all the broken pieces.”

Huber made his pro wrestling debut in 2003, doing the independent shows until 2012 when WWE came knocking the door and offered him a developmental deal to be in NXT. He was teamed with Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan and the trio went on to have a successful run as The Wyatt Family. After a singles run where he also won the Intercontinental title, he returned to the Wyatt Family and later teamed only with Rowan as The Bludgeon Brothers. He requested his release from WWE several times and was eventually granted in December 2019.

This year, Huber joined AEW and was revealed as The Exalted One, leader of The Dark Order in March on an episode of Dynamite. He later quickly destroyed Cody to become the new AEW TNT champion but lost the title back to Cody on the October 7 episode of Dynamite in a dog collar match. It was the last time he was on AEW television and his time away from the ring was not publicly discussed.

During his time in WWE, Huber won the NXT Tag Team title once, the Smackdown Tag Team title twice, the Intercontinental title once, and in AEW won the TNT title once.

WWE launching Superstar Gaming Series on WWE Network next week

By
Colin Vassallo
-
WWE Network

WWE is launching the Superstar Gaming Series on the WWE Network on Tuesday, December 29, pitting WWE Superstars against celebrities in a series of video games.

Apart from airing on the free version of the WWE Network, Superstar Gaming Series will also air on WWE’s social media properties with episodes airing at 8PM ET. The show will be hosted by Greg Miller of Kinda Funny Games along Xavier Woods.

A star-studded crew will take part in the Among Us ‘Holiday Sus-Fest’ and WWE 2K Battlegrounds ‘Holiday Throwdown’ episode. Ronda Rousey, The Miz, Liv Morgan, Adam Cole, Tyler Breeze, Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke will represent WWE with celebrities FaZe Adapt, Nick Eh 30, Lele Pons, Wale joining as well.

Smackdown rating for 12/25/2020

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The Christmas Day episode of Smackdown delivered a huge overnight number although that could change come Tuesday when the final number is out. The show, headlined by three title matches, drew an average of 3,335,000 viewers with the first hour delivering 4,097,000 viewers and the second hour doing 2,574,000 viewers.

Smackdown started late due to the NFL so the first hour number has the NFL audience in it and that will be taken into account when the final number is out next week. The second hour number is more indicative of where the actual number will end up.

In the demos, which will also change on Tuesday, Smackdown did 0.65 in 18-34, 0.95 in 18-49, and 1.1 in 25-54. The NBA game on ABC took top spots in all demos. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Big E wins the Intercontinental title during Christmas Day Smackdown

By
Colin Vassallo
-

It took seven long years but finally, Big E has won another singles title in WWE after yesterday he successfully defeated Sami Zayn in a lumberjack match to capture the Intercontinental title.

With Zayn looking to outsmart everyone and get the count-out, The Street Profits, Chad Gable, Otis, and Apollo Crews had a different idea and carried Zayn back to the ring where he was met with a belly-to-belly, big splash, and The Big Ending for the pinfall.

The faces celebrated with Big E in the middle of the ring as confetti filled up the ThunderDome, signaling an end to a Christmas Day episode of Smackdown which had a total of three title matches.

The last time Big E won a singles title was on November 18, 2013, when he beat Curtis Axel also for the Intercontinental title on Raw. He remained champion for 167 days, losing it to Bad News Barrett in May 2014 at Extreme Rules. His only other singles title win was back in NXT where he was the second-ever NXT champion, beating Seth Rollins and holding it for 153 days.

Seth Rollins returning to Smackdown next week

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Former WWE champion Seth Rollins will be returning on television on next week’s New Year’s Day episode of Friday Night Smackdown on FOX.

Rollins has been off television for just over a month, taking some time off to spend time with his wife and newborn. His last appearance was at the Survivor Series pay-per-view where he was the first one eliminated from Team Smackdown, sacrificing himself for a Brogue Kick without having one offensive move.

Before that, he lost twice cleanly to Rey Mysterio and Murphy on Smackdown.

Rollins and Becky Lynch announced that they welcomed their first child on December 7. Lynch was last seen on the Raw after the Money In The Bank pay-per-view where she surrendered the Raw Women’s title.

Huge Christmas Day episode of Smackdown on FOX tonight with three title matches

By
Colin Vassallo
-

WWE has a huge Christmas Day episode of Smackdown on FOX lined up with three big title matches and an equally-big lead-in in the form of the NFL game between Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints.

Opening the show will be Roman Reigns defending the Universal title against Kevin Owens in a steel cage match with WWE trying to hook in viewers from the NFL to stick around for the remainder of the broadcast. The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles are also on the line with Asuka and Charlotte Flair defending against Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair and Bayley and Carmella in a triple threat tag team elimination match. There’s Daniel Bryan vs Jey Uso and the main event will feature Sami Zayn defending the Intercontinental title against Big E in a lumberjack match.

Shad Gaspard’s wife files claim and alleges negligence in the death of her husband

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Siliana Gaspard, the wife of the late Shad Gaspard, has filed court papers this week against the state of California, Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles, alleging negligence and dangerous condition of public property according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

Gaspard claims that on the night her husband was lost at sea, there were insufficient signs warning of the dangers of swimming there, that lifeguards who tried to rescue her husband and his 10-year-old son were understaffed and not properly trained, and that they did not bring the proper equipment. Gaspard also said that after lifeguards assisted her son, they left her husband in the water to die.

She is seeking unspecified damages and burial costs.

The former WWE Superstar passed away on May 17 in Venice Beach after a wave crashed over him and was swept out to sea just seconds after he saved his son from drowning. His body washed ashore on May 20.

AXS TV and Impact Wrestling join forces for Wrestle Week

By
Colin Vassallo
-

AXS TV and IMPACT Wrestling are joining forces for Wrestle Week, a week-long lineup packed with exclusive profiles, behind-the-scenes footage, cult classic movies and more, featuring some of the biggest stars of IMPACT Wrestling. Wrestle Week begins Tuesday, January 12 at 4PM ET and leads up to Hard To Kill on Saturday, January 16.

Wrestle Week roars into action with a Tuesday triple threat on January 12 at 4PM, as AXS TV presents the broadcast premiere of Impact Wrestling’s October pay-per-view event Bound For Glory. Next, at 8PM ET stay tuned for an all-new episode of the promotion’s landmark flagship series Impact, followed by the premiere of a special edition of Impact In 60 at 10PM ET.

The week continues on January 14 at 9PM ET as Impact takes viewers behind the scenes with This Is Hard To Kill, providing an in-depth look at the skilled athletes who will face-off at Hard To Kill. Then, on Friday, January 15, it’s Movie Night With The Good Brothers: Kickboxer, as tag team champions The Good Brothers host a screening of the 1989 Jean-Claude Van Damme cult classic Kickboxer at 8PM ET. Wrestle Week wraps up with Live Countdown To Hard To Kill PPV, a special live red carpet pre-game show featuring appearances by Impact athletes, and expert panelists weighing in on the night’s matches and intense rivalries starting Saturday, January 16 at 7PM ET immediately before the Hard To Kill pay-per-view at 8PM ET.

“The first-ever Wrestle Week in October was a major success, bringing two of our most popular individual brands, AXS TV and IMPACT Wrestling, together under the Anthem Sports & Entertainment banner,” said AXS TV General Manager Frank Tanki. “AXS TV’s viewers have embraced IMPACT Wrestling’s unique personalities and compelling storylines as evidenced by our record-setting ratings this month, giving the promotion the power to reach even more passionate wrestling fans across the globe. We wanted to follow up the success of the first Wrestle Week with something special for the IMPACT audience, and what better way to do that than to ring in a new year of IMPACT with a week of programming honoring the promotion’s past, present and future.”

“Hard To Kill is IMPACT’s first pay-per-view of 2021, so we wanted to go all-out to commemorate this special event,” said IMPACT Wrestling Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore. “Wrestle Week on AXS TV is the perfect way for our fans to get hyped for Hard To Kill with a slate of epic profiles, behind-the-scenes series, movies and more—giving them the ultimate front-row seat as their favorite IMPACT athletes prepare for one of the most-anticipated events of the year. We are proud to once again partner with AXS TV for this landmark programming lineup, and we look forward to sharing all of the Hard To Kill© festivities we have planned when Wrestle Week kicks off on January 12.”

NXT rating for 12/23/2020

By
Colin Vassallo
-

NXT, airing unopposed from AEW but head-to-head with NBA and football, pulled in 698,000 viewers on Wednesday, down 68,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. NXT did 0.19 in the 18-49 demo and finished #40 on the top 50 cable chart. The difference this week between the two shows was of 77,000 viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Dynamite rating for 12/23/2020

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The Holiday Bash themed episode of Dynamite which aired at 10PM after the NBA game did 775,000 viewers, down only 31,000 viewers from last week’s show. Dynamite retained a 0.32 rating in 18-49 demographic like last week and was #5 on the chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Mercedes Martinez returns to NXT and takes out Io Shirai

By
Colin Vassallo
-

After a short stint being part of the Retribution faction, Mercedes Martinez returned to NXT last night and attacked NXT Women’s champion Io Shirai.

Martinez made her presence felt after attacking Shirai from behind, destroying her as Shirai waited for Toni Storm after she called her out. Shirai was thrown around like a rag doll at ringside before she was sent through the announce table.

Martinez has not been seen on NXT television since September and was added to Retribution using the name Retaliation. However, just a month later, a decision was taken to remove her from the group and was not replaced. Her last time on NXT, Martinez wrestled Rhea Ripley in a steel cage match.

The 39-year-old Connecticut native has been wrestling for the past 20 years and joined WWE earlier this year.

NBA fans troll Chris Jericho on Twitter for looking out of shape

By
Colin Vassallo
-

There’s certainly a lot of new people on Chris Jericho’s list after yesterday as NBA fans trolled the former AEW champion on Twitter for looking out of shape.

Jericho ended up being the butt of jokes online by basketball fans who stuck around to see the opening of Dynamite which included the Jericho and Hager tag match against Top Flight.

“Man, what the hell happened to Chris Jericho?! LMAO,” tweeted one user, posting a screen grab of Jericho from the match. “Damn. Chris Jericho built like a baby mama,” continued another one.

Another Twitter user posted a side-by-side photo of Jericho, aged 50, and Ken Shamrock, shredded with a six pack at age 56. Another one posted a meme of “how it started” and “how it’s going,” with an in-shape Jericho from early 2020 to a photo from his match last night showing a clear difference.

“Bro what happened to Jericho!?! He got a dad bod now,” exclaimed another user. “Bruh what is Chris Jericho doing on this bootleg AEW Wrestling league…and why wrestlers bodies fall off so bad?” another NBA fan wrote.

The body-shaming did not stop there though. “Chris Jericho a king in this knockoff WWE huh?” one guy added. “Celtics win and Chris Jericho is fat, good vibes only,” said another tweet. “Chris Jericho looks awful” and “Chris Jericho fat as hell” were also tweeted.

But the in-ring veteran had others who came to his defense too, one asking if anyone else can do the Lionsault at age 50. “I hate that @IAmJericho is trending the way he is,” another person wrote. “Yes, Chris Jericho is getting old and putting on some weight. It’s not stopping him from doing lionsaults as if it was 20+ years ago. He loves wrestling and he’s damn good at it, even at 50 years old.”

There were thousands of tweets on Jericho and his name was trending worldwide. They say there’s no such thing as bad advertising but Le Champion might have something to say when he sees his Twitter feed today!

Two gimmick matches added to NXT New Year’s Evil broadcast

By
Colin Vassallo
-

WWE added two gimmick matches to the loaded NXT New Year’s Evil card which will take place on January 6 from the Capitol Wrestling Center live on USA Network.

The Fight Pit match will be returning for another round with Timothy Thatcher once again being part of the match. His opponent this time around will be Tommaso Ciampa. NXT last held a Fight Pit match in May when Matt Riddle lost to Thatcher with Kurt Angle as the guest referee.

The women will also be featured in a last woman standing match as Rhea Ripley takes on Raquel Gonzales. These two had a few gimmick matches already and this will most likely be the final match of the feud.

Jon Moxley returning next week on New Year’s Smash Dynamite

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Jon Moxley will be returning to Dynamite on next week’s episode which is titled New Year’s Smash.

Moxley, the former champion, has not been seen on television ever since he lost his AEW World title to Kenny Omega at the Winter Is Coming special earlier this month thanks to the help from Impact VP Don Callis.

Many thought that Moxley’s title loss and disappearance would result in him being part of the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom event next month but that did not happen and Moxley is not traveling to Japan for the show to defend the IWGP U.S. title.

New Year’s Smash is a two-night event, one taking place next week and the second night taking place on January 6 head-to-head with NXT New Year’s Evil show. Kenny Omega will headline night one in a title match against Fenix.

Impact rating for 12/22/2020

By
Colin Vassallo
-

This week’s Impact on AXS TV drew 133,000 viewers, down 44,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show did 0.03 rating in the 18-49 demographic and did not even make it in the top 150 cable chart. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Ford and Sabian AEW wedding set for February 3 Beach Break episode

By
Colin Vassallo
-

AEW announced that the wedding of Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford will be taking place during the February 3 episode of Dynamite which will be titled Beach Break.

Beach Break will be replacing the Bash at the Beach special which AEW held last year because now WWE owns the trademark to the former WCW pay-per-view. The trademark swap with Cody was apparently part of the deal for Cody to get his Rhodes name back from WWE.

Miro will be serving as the best man for the wedding and that was his actual introduction to AEW when Sabian introduced the debuting Miro several months ago on Dynamite.

AEW President Tony Khan also tweeted about the wedding saying, “It’s official, Beach Break on #AEWDynamite on February 3 on @tntdrama, a huge card with great matches + we’re all invited by @ToBeMiro to the wedding of @thePenelopeFord & @TheKipSabian Live at Beach Break! Thank you everyone joining us tonight on TNT for our @AEW Holiday Bash!”

Street fight for NXT Tag Team titles headlines NXT on USA tonight

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Tonight’s NXT will air unopposed from Dynamite as NBA on TNT pre-empted the AEW show till later in the night. This live episode of NXT, two days before Christmas, will have The Way present A Very Gargano Christmas…whatever that might mean.

Matches so far include Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch defending the NXT Tag Team titles in a street fight against Killian Dain and Drake Maverick, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs Jake Atlas, Rhea Ripley takes on Dakota Kai, and Bronson Reed returns as well.

Also, Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly will be reliving their NXT Takeover: 31 title match as they gear up for their second match at NXT New Year’s Evil.

Dynamite’s Holiday Bash to air after NBA game tonight on TNT

By
Colin Vassallo
-

AEW Dynamite’s Holiday Bash themed show will air later than usual tonight as it will start immediately following the conclusion of the NBA game on TNT.

Six matches have been taped for tonight’s broadcast including The Young Bucks vs The Acclaimed, Chris Jericho and MJF vs Top Flight, PAC vs The Butcher, Jurassic Express vs Colt Cabana, 5, and 10 of The Dark Order in a six-man tag match, Dustin Rhodes vs Evil Uno, and Hikaru Shida will also be in action.

Another Sting interview by Tony Schiavone is also being pushed for tonight’s broadcast.PAC

And the 2020 Slammy Awards go to…

By
Colin Vassallo
-

WWE presented the 2020 Slammy Awards today with a broadcast on the WWE Network hosted by R-Truth from an empty WWE warehouse in Connecticut. All the presenters introduced the nominees virtually and the winners accepted the award virtually as well.

In total, 10 Slammy Awards were handed out, five of which were voted by the fans. Drew McIntyre, The Street Profits, The Undertaker, and Edge both won two Slammy Awards each, the most this year.

McIntyre won the Male Superstar of the Year and the overall Superstar of the Year. Edge won the Return of the Year and Rivalry of the Year with Randy Orton. The Undertaker won the Moment of the Year for the Final Farewell and the Best Match of the Year against AJ Styles for the Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36. The Street Profits won both Best Tag Team of the Year and the Breakout Stars of the Year. The New Day got the Ring Gear of the Year while Sasha Banks won the Female Superstar of the Year.

Presenting the awards today were Mick Foley, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Trish Stratus, The Bachelor’s Demi Burnett, actors Clark Duke, Rico Rodriguez, and Ken Jeong, actress Raini Rodriguez, Jersey Shore’s Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, rapper Method Man, and Derek Baker from TikTok.

Impact’s Super X Cup tournament bracket published

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Impact Wrestling revealed the tournament bracket for the upcoming Super X Cup which will take place at the upcoming Genesis Impact Plus special event on January 9.

The left side of the bracket has Ace Austin vs Suicide and Daivari vs Cousin Jake. The winners will meet each other in the semi final match. The right side of the bracket consists of Crazzy Steve vs Tre Lamar and KC Navarro vs Blake Christian. Each winner of those two matches will also face each other in the second semi final.

There have been three Super X Cup tournaments in the past, specifically in 2003, 2005, and 2017. The 2017 one was held under the Global Force Wrestling name. Chris Sabin, Samoa Joe, and Dezmond Xavier are the previous Super X Cup winners.

1...887888889...1,688Page 888 of 1,688