The September 11 episode of Friday Night Smackdown on FOX drew 2,261,000 viewers, up 196,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show had 2,236,000 viewers in the first hour and then climbed to 2,286,000 viewers in the second hour. This was the most-watched episode of Smackdown since April 10. Smackdown won the 18-49 and 25-54 demos with 0.6 and 0.75 rating respectively and came second in the 18-34 with a 0.3. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
A very happy Miro says he’s now in the best wrestling promotion
A smiling Miro said that Wednesday was “the best day ever” in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel after he made his debut for All Elite Wrestling.
He said that he really meant everything he said in the promo about the glass ceiling and imaginary brass rings and he spent 10 years there trying to break out.
Miro said that in the three days leading up to his debut, he was super excited and had to tune out of all the emotions to calm down. He went back and forth all day on things that he should say but he felt all those things and everything in his promo was real.
He noted that there are “95,000 people he never worked with” in AEW but everybody was so nice and receptive and mentioned how he got goosebumps walking out and being in front of people again.
Miro said that he will continue gaming and doing Twitch but wrestling is his love and that’s why he came to the United States of America.
“And now I am in the best professional wrestling promotion, and that’s All Elite Wrestling, baby,” he concluded.
His debut on the AEW official YouTube channel got over a million views in less than 24 hours.
Is Carmella the mystery woman in Smackdown teasers?
For the past couple of weeks, WWE has been running videos hyping up the arrival of a woman to the brand.
The teases from yesterday’s broadcast revealed more, including an important tattoo that probably gave out the identity of the woman.
The tattoo is exactly the one that Carmella has and the gimmick seems to be going back to her NXT roots, with high heels and fur jackets.
The 32-year-old Superstar has been absent from WWE television for the past several months and last wrestled on Smackdown during the April 25 tapings, defeating Mandy Rose.
“In Your Face” Raw set for Monday against debut of Monday Night Football
The upcoming Monday Night Raw will carry the tagline of In Your Face, with several big matches already announced in a bid not to get trounced by the debut of Monday Night Football on ESPN.
A steel cage match was announced featuring Seth Rollins taking on Dominik Mysterio and a non-title match between Drew McIntyre and Keith Lee. The Raw Women’s title will be defended with Asuka taking on Mickie James and a champions vs champions non-title match between The Street Profits vs Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro.
AEW reschedules four already-announced Dynamite shows to new dates in 2021
Four upcoming AEW Dynamite tapings which were already announced at taking places at different locations around the United States have been rescheduled much to no surprise due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The October 7 Dynamite from the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, has been rescheduled for June 23, 2021.
The October 28 Dynamite from the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been moved to July 14, 2021.
The November 4 episode from the University of Houston’s Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas, will now take place on June 30, 2021.
The November 11 show from the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, has been rescheduled for June 16, 2021.
Fans who have already purchased tickets to all the above shows can keep their tickets and use them for admission to the new date. Those who wish to receive a refund can do so via the point of purchase.
All Out 2020 early PPV buy rate estimate
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that early buys estimate for the All Out pay-per-view look to be in the 100,000 to 110,000 range, similar to what the Revolution pay-per-view did in February.
That figure would be down up to 15% from the Double or Nothing 2020 pay-per-view in May which broke the AEW record for the most successful PPV event so far. Meltzer notes that out of the six pay-per-views the promotion has produced so far, All Out 2020 would be in the middle of the pack in terms of buys.
The next AEW pay-per-view will be in November as the company returns with Full Gear.
How to get fit for your first wrestling tournament
Picture this — the hustle and bustle of the crowd around you are deafening as the ref calls out your number. With an encouraging nod from your coach, you step out onto the mat and shake hands with your opponent. You’ve been preparing for this for months, and months and months.
There’s nothing quite like stepping out onto the mat with no doubts; no doubts that your training has been sufficient, that you’ve been practicing and getting stronger, more technical, and above all, your fitness is the best it’s been in years.
Wrestling is a unique sport in that it requires the perfect balance of technique, strength, and – perhaps most important of all – endurance. To be physically fit enough to keep going when you are at your most heightened state of emotion is a skill that can be honed, and today we’re going to share with you a couple of key tips on How to Get Fit For Your First Wrestling Tournament.
There is one type of cardiovascular training that every wrestler and an aspiring wrestler can and should add to their training regime, and it’s called High-Intensity Interval Training.
What is High-Intensity Interval Training?
High-intensity interval training, better known by it’s abbreviated form; “HIIT” is the name for an exercise method that consists of intervals performed at maximal effort, followed by a rest period, and then repeated for a prescribed number of rounds. HIIT has been popularized by the media and research alike for its usefulness in training the body to recover quickly from intense bouts of effort. Given wrestling is a short-round sport, HIIT is a perfect fit for getting your central nervous system primed and ready for this kind of competition format.
How is it performed?
There are a couple of different pieces of equipment and ways to go about performing HIIT, and these are just a few:
Hill Sprints
This one requires absolutely no equipment, and the cardiovascular adaptions it can provide are wildly useful to wrestlers! There are no set time prescriptions for this one, but a good target to shoot for is anything between a 1:2 or 1:3 work to rest ratio. An example of this would be a 1-minute all-out effort up a hill, and then a slow, approximately 2-to-3-minute walk back down to the base. This can then be repeated 6-8 times, depending on your current state of fitness.
Cardio on a bike
In one study, HIIT performed three times per week on a bike was able to produce cardiovascular endurance adaptations that were nearly ten times greater than that of a standard steady-state cardio training protocol1. This speaks not only to the efficiency of HIIT when it comes to bang-for-buck in your training but also the time efficiency that it provides2, leaving more time for wrestling practice and especially recovery.
There are a few different ways to go about doing HIIT cardio on a bike. Given that wrestling rounds are approximately 2-3 minutes depending on where you compete and the level of competition, it’s a good idea to start with a 30-second-to-1-minute work interval, followed by a 1 to 3-minute rest interval, and then slowly work your way up to a 2-3 minute work interval and corresponding rest. This working up should be done over time, only adding 10-20 seconds to the work interval every 1-2 weeks. This kind of training can be done 2-3 times per week, depending on how taxing the wrestling practice load is.
Practice, practice, practice
If there is one piece of advice that can be given to new wrestlers, it’s that there is no training quite like actual practice. The multitude of stimuli and stress load that is placed on the body during training with others is impossible to replicate anywhere but on the mat itself, but it can certainly be prepared for.
By following the above protocols and hitting the gym to supplement the agility with some strength, your fitness is bound to have you nothing but prepared and ready to hit the mats come competition day.
Barry Scott, the voice of TNA video packages, passes away
Barry Scott, the man who lent his voice to countless of TNA/Impact Wrestling videos, passed away yesterday at the age of 65.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Barry Scott. For years Barry was the iconic voice of TNA Wrestling, lending us gravitas and credibility. He will be dearly missed,” a statement by Impact Wrestling read.
Impact posted several videos that Scott voiced over throughout the years as a tribute after his death was announced.
Dixie Carter, the former TNA President, also sent her condolences. “I am heartbroken to hear about Barry’s passing,” Carter said. “Not only was he an amazing talent, he was a true gentleman that I adored. You will be missed Barry. Sending love and prayers to your family.”
Mike “IRS” Rotunda and Sarah Stock also gone from WWE
As part of the releases yesterday, WWE has also terminated the services of Mike “IRS” Rotunda and Sarah Stock. The news was originally broken by PWInsider.com.
Rotunda has been serving as a producer for 14 years, not counting the several years he worked for WWE when he was also a performer. He is the father of Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas.
Stock was hired in 2015 as a WWE Performance Center coach and also producer and worked mainly with the women’s division. She never wrestled or worked for WWE before but had a successful career in AAA and TNA wrestling under the names of Dark Angel and Sarita.
Both individuals were furloughed in April and never brought back. The two join Gerald Brisco, who was also fired after 36 years of service.
Dynamite rating for 09/09/2020
AEW hit the 1 million-viewer mark for the first time since October 16, 2019, with the post-All Out show getting 1,016,000 viewers yesterday on TNT. The show also had a 0.37 rating in the 18-49 demographic, placing it #7 in the top 50 cable chart. Dynamite came close of hitting a million viewers several times during the year but helped with the post-PPV show and running unopposed from NXT, this was finally the week to break it! (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament announced
WWE today announced the NXT UK Heritage Cup, an eight-man tournament playing out over the next several weeks using the old British wrestling rules. The announcement came by Sid Scala, assistant to NXT UK General Manager on the NXT UK episode on the WWE Network.
The rules, explained by NXT General Manager William Regal, are different from your typical wrestling match. Each match will consist of six, three-minute rounds with just 20 seconds break between each round. All matches are two-out-of-three falls and you can win via pin, countout, or submission. Once a fall occurs, the round ends and a DQ or KO instantly ends the match. If a match goes to six rounds, whoever leads wins.
Announced for the tournament are Flash Morgan Webster, Noam Dar, Alexander Wolfe, A-Kid, Dave Mastiff, Joseph Connors, and Trent Seven. The last competitor was not revealed.
NXT UK returns with new episodes from the BT Sport Studios in London next Thursday.
John Cena announced as new host of Wipeout on TBS
John Cena will be hosting another television series, this time for the show Wipeout on TBS. Cena will be joined by Nicole Byer and Camille Kostek.
The original series ran for seven seasons and 130 episodes on ABC between 2008 and 2014 with now the show moving to TBS with a new format. Each game now consists of three rounds, featuring a three-stage, obstacle course consisting of multiple strategy and decision points designed to further challenge, and wear out, the stamina of the competitors.
“I couldn’t be more excited for what’s in store for this radically absurd show that has its own fair share of legendary faceplants.” said Cena. “The power of Wipeout is its ability to gather people of all backgrounds for fast paced, physical FUN! I look forward to seeing fan responses both new and existing. This’ll be a hosting experience unlike anything I’ve ever done! I can’t wait to get started in rooting for our contestants!”
John Cena will also serve as an executive producer. Wipeout is produced by Endemol Shine North America with Sharon Levy, DJ Nurre and Shyam Balsé serving as executive producers. Matt Kunitz, the creator of the original series, will serve as executive producer and showrunner.
Two NXT UK “huge announcements” set for today on WWE Network at 3PM ET
WWE is promoting two huge announcements for the NXT UK brand today at 3PM ET on the WWE Network.
One of the announcements will be the number one contender for the NXT UK Women’s championship, currently held by Kay Lee Ray. Ray has held the title for over a year so far, winning it at NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff in August 2019 from Toni Storm.
No hint was given for the other “massive announcement” but everything will go down on the WWE Network at 8PM GMT.
New regular episodes of NXT UK will kick off next week on Thursday, September 17 exclusively on the WWE Network.
WWE axing many staff members who were furloughed in April due to COVID-19 pandemic
WWE is notifying many of their staff members who were furloughed five months ago that they are being let go from their job.
According to PWInsider.com, a select amount of individuals who were furloughed in April were brought back over the past few weeks but the majority of them will not be so lucky and are being axed from the company.
PWInsider adds that the live events and travel departments will have the most casualties because there are no live events planned for the foreseeable future around the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The releases look to be only affecting office employees at the moment although it would be not surprising if any producers and coaches from the Performance Center are also given the pink slip. WWE put most of them on furlough in April after live events stopped and the PC was turned into an arena for Raw and Smackdown.
Gerald Brisco terminated from WWE after 36 years of service
Gerald Brisco, who has been working for WWE for the past 36 years, has been officially let go.
Brisco wrote in a tweet today that he received a call from Vince McMahon last night to let him known that he is no longer needed. “I’m ok with this. I will still be around to help talent,” Brisco wrote, with obvious disappointment noting that he served the company with 36 years of dedication.
The 73-year-old WWE talent scout and occasional producer, was furloughed by WWE in April due to the coronavirus cost-cutting measures.
He was regarded as one of the most loyal employees and one of McMahon’s most trusted lieutenants.
The WWE Hall of Famer was last seen on WWE television at the Raw Reunion show where he won the 24/7 title from Pat Patterson, only to lose it to Kelly Kelly in another backstage segment that same night.
NXT rating for 09/08/2020
This week’s episode of NXT which crowned a new champion failed to attract a bigger audience and pulled in a total of 838,000 viewers, down 11,000 viewers from last week’s show. The broadcast did 0.22 in the 18-49 demographic and placed #15, also down from last week’s rating. The show returns to its regular Wednesday night slot next week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Cody to serve as a judge on new TBS talent competition titled Go-Big Show
Cody will be part of a judging panel on a new talent competition titled Go-Big Show which will air on TBS.
The former TNT champion revealed the news in a video that was part of the last segment of Dynamite yesterday night. Joining Cody are Snoop Dogg, Rosario Dawson, and Jennifer Nettles.
The series, hosted by comedian Bert Kreischer, is currently in production in Macon, Georgia and held at the Macon Coliseum under strict COVID-19 safety protocols.
According to a story on Deadline, Go-Big Show features “monster trucks, alligator trainers, stunt archery and other feats, celebrating daring acts alongside personal, behind-the-scenes stories from the challengers as they battle head-to-head to impress the judges and advance toward the finale’s ultimate $100,000 prize.”
Go-Big Show will launch in 2021.
Matt Hardy addresses injury from All Out, vows to chase AEW World title when cleared
Matt Hardy was at Dynamite last night to address his injury from All Out and cut a promo in the middle of the ring in front of fans for the first time since his arrival earlier this year.
Matt said that the outpouring of love and support was overwhelming, humbling, and mind blowing and thanked everyone for caring.
He said that after several tests, doctors expect him to make a 100% full recovery. “I will take being the luckiest man alive,” Matt said, adding that he’s lucky because he has a beautiful family and a supporting wife, pointing out to Reby in the stands.
Matt apologized to fans and family for putting them through everything last Saturday and said the match wasn’t what it was supposed to be but it’s now time to get healthy.
He said when he’s cleared again to compete, he’s going to chase for the AEW World title. “My journey is not over,” he said, putting over the fans once again.
Former WWE Superstar Rusev debuts on AEW Dynamite
Former WWE Superstar Rusev, now going by his real name Miro, was unveiled as Kip Sabian’s best man for his wedding.
“The beast from Bulgaria! Miro is the best man,” said Excalibur on commentary.
The crowd was pleasantly surprised with his introduction, giving Miro a standing ovation and chanting “Miro Day!”
“10 years in the same house, under the same glass ceiling, with an imaginary brass ring. Well you can take that brass ring and shove it up your ass,” Miro said, saying that elite recognizes elite.
Miro added that he’s Kip’s best man because he is the best at what he does, he’s the best gamer on Twitch, and those who will tune in every Wednesday, will see him devour everyone on Dynamite.
“My name is Miro and I’m all Elite,” he concluded, slamming the mic.
The former WWE United States champion was released from his contract in April as part of the COVID-19 cost-cutting measures and spent a decade wrestling for the promotion, going from FCW to NXT and to the main roster. He held the United States title on three different occasions but was never given a solid push even when he was super over with his Rusev Day gimmick.
You can see his arrival on Dynamite below.
Raw rating for 09/07/2020
Monday Night Raw suffered a hefty decline in the ratings this week, getting only 1,725,000 viewers, down 171,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast.
Hour one started with 1,762,000 viewers, then grew slightly to 1,800,000 viewers, before ending the night with 1,613,000 viewers.
The show was #5, #6, and #8 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic with 0.50, 0.48, and 0.45 respectively.
Things are going to get scary from next week with the return of Monday Night Football and ratings are expected to reach record lows in the weeks to come. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)