In an emotional video during a Twitch stream, Paige lashed out at WWE for making her and her fellow peers shut down their Twitch accounts to comply with the new WWE rule about talent doing their own deals with third-party services such as Cameo, Twitch, etc.
“I cannot deal with this company anymore,” Paige said, wiping tears. “Now I have to make a very important decision. I’m f*cking tired man. I broke my f*cking neck twice for this company dude.”
Paige said that the Twitch isn’t just about subscribers, but they are a community and a family where it’s an escape for most individuals like herself.
“I worked so hard for WWE that my neck is f*cked. I got all my dreams taken away from me and I had to have something that fulfilled that huge f*cking void that I lost with wrestling. A huge f*cking void,” she continued.
Paige has been very active on Twitch ever since her wrestling career came to an abrupt stop. Apart from that stint on WWE Backstage, Paige no longer does any on-screen work for WWE and is just sitting out her contract.
In his return to the cage, AEW’s Jake Hager remained undefeated after he got a split-decision win yesterday during the Bellator preliminaries at the Mohegan Sun Arena against Brandon Calton.
Hager now moves to a 3-0-1 record in mixed martial arts although this was the toughest one for him so far, going all three rounds for the first time and getting some punishment along the way.
The Inner Circle member made sure that AEW got some extra free advertising out of his fight, wearing an Inner Circle shirt to the ring and his shorts had the AEW logo on the front.
It has been a year since Hager fought professionally in MMA and his last fight ended in a no contest after repeated low blows delivered to his opponent.
Tickets for the upcoming AEW Full Gear pay-per-view will go on sale today, Friday, October 30 at 10AM ET.
Tickets are being sold in packs of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 and are obviously very limited due to social distancing rules and will follow the same seating pattern which is held during Dynamite. They will be available for purchase at AEWTix.com.
The show will take place next Saturday, November 7, at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
Netflix is partnering with WWE to produce one of the most-expensive docuseries in the history of the streaming giant, and the subject is none other than WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
Announced by President and CRO Nick Khan during the Q3 2020 conference call with investors, he said that this groundbreaking deal is one of the biggest-budgeted documentaries ever commissioned by Netflix.
The yet-to-be-titled documentary will be directed by Chris Smith, the man behind the Fyer Festival documentary which also is on Netflix and Bill Simmons will be the executive producer.
Simmons is a huge wrestling fan and has directed the incredible Andre The Giant documentary on HBO. WWE will also be heavily involved in the making of the documentary.
No release date was announced for the docuseries which will involve multiple episodes.
WWE today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2020.
Revenue was $221.6 million, an increase of 19% or $35.3 million compared to the prior year quarter. Operating income was $63.4 million, an increase of nearly 9x or $57.0 million. WWE Network average paid subscribers were 1.6 million, an increase of 6% and eCommerce revenue was $9.1 million, an increase of 60%, offsetting the loss of venue merchandise sales due to 74 fewer events in the quarter.
“Our third quarter financial performance was strong and reflected our ongoing creativity in a challenging environment,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “We continue to adapt our business, as demonstrated by the creation of WWE ThunderDome, focusing on increasing audience interaction and engagement to support the value of our content globally.”
Kristina Salen, WWE Chief Financial Officer, added “In the quarter, we delivered revenue of $221.6 million and Adjusted OIBDA of $84.3 million based on increased rights fees for the Company’s flagship programming. With $638 million in cash and short-term investments at quarter-end, we believe WWE has substantial capital resources to manage challenges that may lie ahead and to deliver on key strategic initiatives.”
Dynamite did a total of 781,000 viewers this week, up 28,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. It had a 0.32 in the 18-49 demo and placed #12 in the top 50 cable chart. In terms of viewership, Dynamite lost against NXT’s Halloween Havoc this week with a difference of 95,000 viewers swinging in NXT’s favor when last week AEW won by 109,000 viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
NXT’s Halloween Havoc special paid off in viewers as 876,000 tuned in to watch the show, an increase of 232,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show did 0.25 in the 18-49 demographic, good for #21 on the top 50 cable chart. This was the most-watched episode of NXT since the November 20, 2019 episode. It was also the first time in seven weeks that the show hit 800,000 viewers. It also beat AEW Dynamite in viewers for the first time since The Great American Bash special. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Impact Wrestling is reviving the Knockouts Tag Team titles with a tournament to crown the new champions.
The eight-team tournament will kick off on Impact on AXS TV on Tuesday, November 17. While the announcement of the return of the Knockouts Tag Team titles was made during the Bound For Glory pay-per-view, it was on Tuesday that the company revealed a bit more details, saying that the finals will take place on the January 2021 Hard to Kill pay-per-view currently scheduled for January 16.
No teams have been announced for the tournament yet.
The Knockouts Tag Team titles were originally created in 2009, and then vacated and deactivated in June 2013. There were nine champions during its existence, with Sarita and Taylor Wilde being the inaugural champions and Eric Young and ODB being the last champions to hold it.
WWE announced the appointment of Carlo Nohra as Vice President & General Manager, Asia Pacific. Previously, Nohra served as WWE Vice President & General Manager, MENA, where he successfully oversaw the consolidation of the company’s media rights agreements, launched WWE’s Arabic-language programming efforts, and expanded its live events strategy in the region.
In his new role, Nohra will lead WWE’s strategic business initiatives and day-to-day operations in the APAC region and work with partners across all of WWE’s lines of business, including television, live events, marketing, sponsorship, digital, licensing and merchandising. He will continue reporting directly to James Rosenstock, WWE Executive Vice President, International.
“Carlo is an experienced executive who has effectively built and maintained strong relationships with our partners in the MENA region,” said Rosenstock. “We are confident Carlo will continue to enhance WWE’s presence and increase engagement for our passionate fanbase in APAC.”
Prior to joining WWE, Nohra held Chief Executive Officer roles at Al Jazira Football Club, Al Ain Football Club and the UAE Football League. Prior to that, he served as Assistant General Secretary and Director of Competitions at the Asian Football Confederation and Vice President for Corporate Strategy at the World Sport Group.
The Full Gear pay-per-view continued to take shape last night on Dynamite with a few more matches added to the card.
The TNT title will be on the line with Cody facing Darby Allin once again. The AEW Women’s title will also be defended in another rematch as Hikaru Shida takes on Nyla Rose. The future of The Inner Circle will be decided in terms of if another will be added or not as Chris Jericho battles MJF with the stipulation being that if MJF wins, he will join the group. And announced for The Buy In Show is Orange Cassidy vs John Silver of The Dark Order.
The AEW World Tag Team title match also got a stipulation attached to it as The Young Bucks announced during a sit-down interview that if they don’t win the belts at the show, they will never challenge for the AEW World Tag Team titles again. This is similar to Cody’s challenge for the AEW World title, which he lost last year and so far has not fought for the title.
WWE is the pinnacle of professional wrestling in the USA and although the event is generally scripted to offer fans wholesome entertainment, the bouts are genuine. WWE is very popular among sports betting enthusiasts and the legendary rivalries between professional wrestlers have been known to keep the fans and sports bettors on the edge of their seats during high-flying competitions.
Betting on WWE is a major industry and if you’re looking to try your hands at sports betting, visitCasino Bee for the entire list of reputed operators in your region. WWE is unlike any other wrestling event, and if you plan on placing a wager here there are certain tips and tricks for success. Before we get started, it’s crucial to understand the basics of the sport and how WWE works.
What is WWE?
WWE is a part of the World Sports Entertainment franchise that focuses on wrestling. Glitz and glamor are the major highlights of the event and the wrestlers play a crucial role in upholding the craziness that the fans love. Generic rules of wrestling apply during the bouts although certain special matches dictate the rules of the game.
Prime examples include Royal Rumble where the last guy inside the ring wins. Other examples include the Table, Chair, and Ladder match where the first person to climb the ladder inside the ring and collect the belt hanging from the ceiling wins. Similar bouts include the notorious Cage Match and Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Betting on WWE
The hosts keep the story well protected and hence rigging the outcome is impossible. Although many bouts end up one-way, the odds of winning are usually even. Betting on results is the most common form of gambling and is preferred by fans. This is ideal for one-on-one bouts. Although, predicting the outcome can be a little difficult in tag-team matches involving multiple wrestlers.
Betting on retain titles is the next popular variation on the list, although be warned such events can lead to inconclusive results. For instance, matches ending in disqualifications, forfeit, draw, or submission will end without a result. Betting on a wrestler to retain their title has similar odds as winning the match.
The next interesting variation is near fall where you bet on the wrestler who almost wins the match but fails in the end. Pin down is the most common confirmed way of winning, although knockout and submissions are equally popular. Lastly, WWE has two brands, Raw and Smackdown. There are periodic competitions between wrestlers from both brands. Cross betting is quite popular during such events.
Apart from the two mentioned above, WWE also created NXT back in 2010 as a viable franchise. The plan worked better than initially expected and NXT became a brand of its own over the next few years. NXT UK was formed shortly and televises bouts outside North America. NXT matches are very popular with sports bettors as these events are hosted a few times every year.
Pete Dunne has come back to NXT and has found new allies in the form of Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, and Pat McAfee.
Dunne threw Kyle O’Reilly of The Undisputed Era a curve ball and after it looked like he was going to help O’Reilly fend off the trio, Dunne clocked O’Reilly with a chair. The former WWE United Kingdom champion then joined Lorcan and Burch in delivering a brutal beatdown to O’Reilly.
The British Superstar has not appeared on NXT since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March. Stuck in the United Kingdom, Dunne’s time as an NXT Tag Team champion with Matt Riddle was done and he was replaced shortly by Timothy Thatcher.
Since then, Dunne has helped relaunch the NXT UK brand by being one of the integral people backstage directing traffic while also appearing on-screen.
Former AEW World Tag Team champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page will be taking on each other in the finals of the AEW World Title Eliminator tournament at Full Gear next month.
The two won their semi final matches yesterday against Penta El Zero M and Wardlow during Dynamite last night to set up the anticipated, yet predictable, tournament final.
The winner of the tournament will be receiving an AEW World title shot after Full Gear against either Jon Moxley or Eddie Kingston.
Omega and Page were tag team partners until the All Out pay-per-view earlier last month, losing the titles to FTR. The duo were champions for 228 days after they won the titles in January 2020 against SCU during the Chris Jericho Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea Part Deux cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl in Nassau, Bahamas.
Damien Priest’s NXT North American title run only lasted two months as Johnny Gargano won the title yesterday during NXT’s Halloween Havoc in a Devil’s Playground match.
The Devil’s Playground stipulation was basically an anything goes match, with no DQ, no countouts, and falls count anywhere and it was determined by the Spin The Wheel, Make A Deal.
Gargano won the match thanks to an assist from an individual who was wearing a costume from the movie Scream. The masked person hit Priest with a pipe from behind and then Gargano followed with a DDT. After the masked individual handed over a tombstone to Gargano, Gargano hit Priest with it, shattering it, and pinned him for the title win.
This is Johnny’s second reign with the NXT North American title. He won it first at the NXT Takeover: Phoenix in January 2019, beating Ricochet, but then lost it less than a month later to Velveteen Dream. He is the first NXT Superstar to hold the title twice.
Priest got the title at NXT Takeover: XXX in August, beating Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Johnny Gargano, and Velveteen Dream in a five-way ladder match to win the vacant title.
NXT will have the first themed episode since The Great American Bash and it’s another former WCW pay-per-view name with the revival of Halloween Havoc.
The popular event has been brought back to life after 20 years collecting dust, with the last Halloween Havoc taking place in 2000 with Goldberg vs KroniK in a handicap match main event.
Another favorite gimmick is also being brought back for tonight’s show with Spin The Wheel, Make A Deal returning for two matches. Io Shirai vs Candice LaRae for the NXT Women’s title and Damien Priest vs Johnny Gargano for the North American title will both have their stipulations decided by the wheel.
Three additional matches are also announced for tonight, with Rhea Ripley taking on Raquel Gonzalez, Cameron Grimes vs Dexter Lumis in a Haunted House of Terror match, and NXT Cruiserweight champion Santos Escobar takes on Jake Atlas in a non-title match. Pat McAfee will also be making an appearance.
The NXT Halloween Havoc on USA Network is being hosted by Shotzi Blackheart.
Tracy Smothers, the 58-year-old professional wrestler who wrestled in countless promotions including WCW, WWE, USWA, ECW, and others, passed away today. No official cause of death was announced.
The Springfield, Tennessee native was diagnosed with lymphoma in December 2019 and Smothers himself announced the cancer diagnosis on his Facebook page.
Smothers made his debut in 1982, teaming with Steve Armstrong and in 1990, the duo joined World Championship Wrestling as the Southern Boys and the Young Pistols. After leaving WCW in 1992, Smothers moved to Smoky Mountain Wrestling and later the USWA before joining the World Wrestling Federation in 1996 under the name of Freddie Joe Floyd. In 1997, Smothers joined ECW and then went on to tour the independent circuit after he left ECW in 2000. In 2010, he had a short stint with TNA participating in the ECW alumni angle.
His Facebook page is full of tributes from those who knew him and worked with him throughout the years.
In a short post on social media, WWE wrote, “WWE is saddened to learn that Tracy Smothers passed away today at the age of 58. WWE extends its condolences to Smothers’ family and friends.” All Elite Wrestling also sent its condolences through Twitter. “AEW and the wrestling world mourn the passing of Tracy Smothers, our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans.”
With NXT presenting Halloween Havoc tonight on USA Network, AEW is presenting another strong show to counter-program NXT’s special.
The two semi final matches from the AEW World Title Eliminator tournament will take place with Adam Page vs Wardlow and Kenny Omega vs Penta El Zero M.
Cody will have the TNT title on the line in a lumberjack match against Orange Cassidy, Matt Sydal takes on Eddie Kingston, Serena Deeb will defend the NWA Women’s title, and The Inner Circle with MJF will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the future of the group.
For a limited time only, WWE has put the whole series of Undertaker: The Last Ride on the free version of the WWE Network in celebration of The Undertaker’s 30th year anniversary in WWE.
Filmed over a period of a few years, The Last Ride chronicles The Undertaker’s final years as a competitor in WWE, going through different powerful and emotional moments in his career – from losing the streak, to the fiasco with Goldberg in Saudi Arabia, to his last match against AJ Styles and everything in between – with exclusive, never-seen-before footage and an extensive sit-down interview with the man behind the gimmick.
The Last Ride is split in five different chapters: The Greatest Fear, The Redemption, End of an Era, The Battle Within, and Revelation.
The documentary is probably one of, if not the, best work on the WWE Network to date.
AEW’s Serena Deeb won the NWA Women’s title yesterday, defeating Thunder Rosa during an episode of UWN Primetime Live.
This is not the first time that an under contract AEW star won a title from another promotion with Kenny Omega also the current AAA Mega champion. Thunder Rosa previously appeared on AEW television and also wrestled for the AEW Women’s title.
After congratulating Deeb on winning the title, AEW President Tony Khan said that she would be defending her title on tonight’s episode of Dynamite against Leyla Hirsch.
Deeb, a former WWE Performance Center coach, signed with AEW last month.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has reported that there was another coronavirus outbreak inside the WWE Performance Center last weekend and those who were in the building on Friday were ordered to quarantine for the next two weeks regardless if they tested positive or negative.
Meltzer adds that according to some rumors, a few individuals who are supposed to be part of tonight’s NXT Halloween Havoc broadcast are now under quarantine so certain parts of the show would have to be re-written. He also says that those who are on regular NXT television all tested negative.
NXT has switched to live shows ever since they moved to the Capitol Wrestling Center and around 100 fans are allowed inside the building. WWE tests fans 24 hours before each NXT show at a different location and if they show a negative result, they are allowed inside the building. Tonight will be no different and fans are still planned to be part of the show.
It has been a rough several weeks for the company as this is the second COVID-19 outbreak in two months.
