Renowned New York Times best-selling author and WWE fan Keith Elliot Greenberg has written a new book titled Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution, a book which chronicles the growth of indie wrestling from bingo halls to a viable alternative to the WWE and speaks to those involved in the alternative wrestling leagues with remarkable candor, gaining behind-the-scenes knowledge of this growing enterprise.
“Acclaimed wrestling historian Keith Elliot Greenberg takes readers back to the beginning, when a half century ago outlaw promotions challenged the established companies, and guides us into the current era. He paints a vivid picture of today’s diverse promotions and the colorful figures who’ve starred in each. This is both a dynamic snapshot and the ultimate history of a transformational time in professional wrestling,” the press release for the book reads.
Greenberg is a New York Times best-selling author and television producer who wrote for WWE’s publications for decades and co-authored the autobiographies of WWE Hall of Famers Ric Flair, Freddie Blassie, and Superstar Billy Graham, as well as the third edition of the WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment.
Too Sweet will be published on September 1 by ECW Press and has a total of 300 pages. It has a retail price of $19.95.
In a post on Instagram, former Raw Executive Director Paul Heyman paid tribute to Renee Young after news broke out that she is leaving WWE after eight years.
“Working with Renee has been an absolute pleasure. She always brought out the very best in everyone she worked with, and I am forever indebted to her for her on-screen generosity and trust,” Heyman wrote.
He said that he can only imagine the plethora of projects through her vivid imagination and he looks forward to whatever projects “she chooses to grace with her passion and personality, and thank her for the opportunity to work with such a professional.”
Young has not addressed her pending departure yet and yesterday during the NXT media conference call, Triple H refused to divulge any information, saying that he’s going to let Renee do that and said that the work she has done for the company has been “awesome.”
The whole world is facing a completely new challenge and a completely new reality. The reality we woke up in, was not expected by anyone. This is something that looks like the movies which we are not keen on watching. The pandemic has shown us all that none of the new reality aspects seem to be very pleasing.
Due to the global pandemic and the reality we have to live in, most of the industries all around the world have been affected and impacted hardly. Every single industry including the financial, banking, gaming, education, gambling sectors has been affected in the worst and the most unexpected way.
The uncertain reality where we live now does not give us an opportunity to plan anything or to know anything for sure. As most of the industries are now stuck in time and have no clear evidence that they shall continue operating normally soon, it is very important to keep track of the ongoing situation and quickly adapt to it.
One of the biggest industries such as sports is also experiencing some of the major changes and challenges, which have to be implemented and taken due to the major pandemic which is spewed all over the world. Sports events in every country were canceled or postponed and many people were left without favorite activity, as well as without major sources of entertainment.
Now, that everything is slowly getting back to normal, sports events have kicked off again. Sports players and fans are very happy about one of the major and most favorite industries being active again. Though, despite the fact that many games and matches are already scheduled and planned, some regulations and safety measures apply to the events.
New twist in Sports
One of the first events, besides basketball matches of the season that have already been planned, is the WWE SummerSlam event, which will take place despite the pandemic. Many fans were very happy to hear the news as nobody would have expected the events to be possible this year at all.
Though, as mentioned before, some things have changed and have to consider safety measures. According to the health guidelines that have been published by the World Health Organization, people still need to practice social distance in order to avoid spread of the virus. Gathering in the closed and indoor places is also still prohibited.
The organizers of the WWE found the perfect decision and the way out how to prevent the spread of the virus, while simultaneously holding the event. This is especially important for the fans who have been waiting for the event and have been waiting to place their bets on certain players. While people from all over the world watch the show, it is especially important for Canadian WWE lovers. Usually, they are the most active fans and the ones who take chances in top online casino sites of Canada, as well as with some other betting operators.
The decision is indeed very easy, which is appealing to most of the players. There will be 2500 sq feet LED screens all around the ground, with the virtual fans supporting their favorite teams from the other side of the screen. This is something, which became necessary in order to adapt to the new reality and in order to make sports events possible again. Having at least virtual fans on the ground is indeed very encouraging and very important for the players.
WWE is not the only one to come up with such a decision. NBA and basketball matches will also be organized in a similar way, and fans will be able to be involved in the live stream and be on the screens, supporting their favorite teams. The new interactive and innovative approach towards the audience of the sports events already gained a lot of ovations and applause among the society. The Superstars & Legends will be the first ones to host a similar event. Fans who want to attend the event virtually, have to fill out the application first. The rest of it will be live-streamed.
Johnny Gargano and Velveteen Dream won their respective matches on NXT last night to book their place in the NXT North American title ladder match at this Saturday’s Takeover: XXX.
Gargano, who was nearly knocked out after landing on his head in one of the spots, overcame Ridge Holland and Dream defeated Finn Balor in the main event which involved a ton of interference from those who already qualified for the ladder match. It was an attack from behind from Timothy Thatcher which ultimately helped Dream secure his victory.
Dream eventually started trending on Twitter as well, not because of his victory, but with the hash tag #FireVelveteenDream. During a media conference call with reporters, Triple H avoided the discussion of Dream’s grooming allegations like Keanu Reeves dodged bullets in The Matrix, telling everyone on the call that he would like to move on from the topic as WWE has already dealt with it.
Applications to participate in the WWE ThunderDome experience have finally opened at wwethunderdome.com.
Fans who will apply will have a chance to appear on television on the LED boards that will be displaying the virtual fans around the Amway Center as part of a brand new experience that will kick off tomorrow with Friday Night Smackdown.
WWE will be going live with every Raw and Smackdown moving forward and will also be piping in audio from virtual fans which will be mixed with arena sound.
Videos leaked from inside the Amway Center give a glimpse of what ThunderDome will look like, with LED display boards everywhere. WWE is also building a “roof” inside the Amway where they can do video projection for an immersive experience.
Footage from inside the Amway Center in Orlando, where WWE is working on its newest creation, the ThunderDome pic.twitter.com/WBx8Xx3U8a
The final two competitors in the NXT North American title madder match will be decided tonight with two, last chance matches involving four competitors.
With Cameron Grimes, Bronson Reed, and Damian Priest all having a spot in the ladder match it will be down to Finn Balor vs Velveteen Dream and Johnny Gargano vs Ridge Holland to book the final two spots.
Apart from these two matches, two others have been announced featuring a six-man tag team match with Isiah “Swerve” Scott and Breezango taking on Legado del Fantasma and Rhea Ripley and Shotzi Blackheart versus Mercedes Martinez and Aliyah.
Also, Adam Cole will be having a face-to-face encounter with his Takeover: XXX opponent Pat McAfee tonight, the first one since McAfee laid him out with a punt a few weeks ago.
NXT will have a rare night without any AEW competition tonight as Dynamite is being pre-empted by TNT due to the NBA game. But on a night when NXT can grab some extra viewers, the show will be facing one of the biggest nights of the Democratic National Convention.
Hour two of NXT will air head-to-head with the start of the convention which feature speeches from a few heavyweights, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Governor Tony Evers, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, and former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords along with a performance by Billie Eilish.
At least, NXT will be spared from keynote speeches from Senator Kamala Harris and former president Barack Obama, who are expected to start at 10PM when NXT ends.
The hope for NXT is that some of the younger viewership that usually tune in to Dynamite would be watching the show tonight. Dynamite will air on Saturday at 6PM on TNT.
With no SummerSlam Axxess taking place this year for obvious reasons, WWE is finding an alternative way of making fan interactive events during the SummerSlam weekend and also making a lot of money along the way.
Today, the company announced the SummerSlam Virtual Meet & Greet sessions with five WWE Superstars so far taking part.
WWE champion Drew McIntyre, Universal champion Braun Strowman, NXT champion Keith Lee, Seth Rollins, and Smackdown Women’s and Tag Team champion Bayley will all be spending a couple of minutes – literally – chatting with WWE fans in one-on-one video chats. All sessions will last just two minutes and cost $125 each.
Apart from the two-minute chat, you will also get a downloadable video of your meet and greets available within 48 hours of the event and the ability to purchase exclusive personalized autograph items.
Keith Lee’s sessions will be at 10AM on Saturday. Bayley will start at 10AM on Sunday and then followed by Braun Strowman at 1PM. Then on Monday Drew McIntyre will chat at 10AM and Seth Rollins will follow at 1PM.
Casinos have always been regarded as the epitome of aspiration, sophistication, and elegance. Some of the most gorgeous destinations are Park Hyatt Mendoza Casino, Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo, and Kurhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany and they are among the most prestigious and oldest casinos in the world where the elite, the fashionable, and the most affluent class are seen circulating. People are crazy about the casino experience but despite that, we have witnessed the emergence and phenomenal popularity of mobile casino UK that has taken gambling to the next level.
Today, you could enjoy the casino experience from the privacy and comfort of your home like never before. However, the brick-and-mortar casinos would never lose their significance or relevance thanks to the incredible amount of glamour, excitement, and attitude involved.
Casino Fashion: Stealing the Show As Always
Top casinos are associated with some of the best hotels and restaurants worldwide. The sophisticated and elite visitors and guests of these top five-star hotels would love to enjoy the culinary experience of their fine-dining restaurant and then have a stimulating gambling session at the attached casino that often necessitates a dress code to be adhered to.
Women would come dressed in gorgeous floor-length formal gowns. They would sometimes accessorize the outfit with gloves and wear a top knot. On a more casual note, ladies would wear smart cocktail dresses while stepping into the most prestigious casinos in the world. This seems to be the height of sophistication and élan in terms of casino fashion trends for women.
The Casino Fashion Scenario: Then & Now
What is dominating the casino fashion world today? A lot of fashion accessories from earlier days still continue to be in vogue and are dominating the casino fashion runaways. Shiny fabrics and glittering sequins are certainly in great demand in terms of casino dressing. For instance, in 2017, Moschino had organized an amazing Las Vegas-themed runaway casino fashion show where outfits were mostly in pastel shades but with dazzling sequins. Models walked the ramp in Betty Boop-inspired outfits. However, during the early 2000s, we witnessed the emergence of fast fashion. Readymade, affordable high street clothing that was inspired by celebrity fashion designers became the rage of the town. Women looked casual but glamorous in denim and lingerie-looking enticing tops while men flaunted their diamond rings with distressed jeans. The early 2000s seemed to be a wild combination of everything.
Flat Shoes Are Very Much In
No longer would women need to worry about being on the casino floor for hours at a stretch wearing a classy and stunning but uncomfortable pair of shoes with high heels. Now women have become more practical and they cannot and will not do away with the comfort factor in fashion and style. They now look ultra-sexy in designer flats as surely the most enviable and fashionable footwear just right for a prolonged gaming session at the casino.
The modern flat shoes come in a myriad of designs right from simple and chic leather shoes to outlandishly or vibrantly colored options. Your casino outfit could be incomplete without designer flats from renowned fashion houses and brands like Gucci. You may alternatively visit mainstream shoe outlets like Zara or Topshop for more reasonably-priced but stunning shoes. If you wish to experience unadulterated joys of gambling without having to worry about what to wear or how to look fashionable for the gambling sessions at the physical casinos, you could opt for playing slots or other such popular casino games online.
Neon Is Still in Vogue
During the 90s, it seemed that the fashion scene would be dominated by muted tones and there would be no room for bling in the casino fashion circuit. However, we know that fashion is not only dynamic, but it is also ‘a cyclical beast’. So we are in the midst of intense and eye-watering neon tones in terms of casino fashion. Today neon tones are back in fashion with a vengeance. Women come dressed hot in hot pink flowing evening dresses or even vibrant tracksuit combos that come with a cocktail of electric blue and lurid yellow. Both men and women like to wear neon fashion outfits that may look a bit brash in the daytime but they look perfect for the party atmosphere in a casino.
Conclusion
Dressing up for a pulsating gambling session at the casinos is a motivating factor for countless modern women who would like to feel great and look great too. They are all set to steal the show and win the jackpots too!
There will be no Dynamite tonight on TNT as the station is pre-empting the broadcast due to the NBA playoffs that will air during the same time.
Instead, this week’s Dynamite will be airing on Saturday at 6PM on TNT and will have an hour of it going head-to-head with NXT Takeover: XXX. Further pre-emptions will take place over the next few weeks until the NBA season is over.
Instead of Dynamite, AEW will air part one of last year’s All Out pay-per-view on YouTube. The broadcast starts at 8PM ET on the AEW YouTube channel.aew
One of WWE’s most loved personalities, Renee Young, is leaving WWE according to PWInsider.com. Young gave the notice last week although no final work date is known.
Young has been working for WWE since 2012 and has worked her way up from backstage interviewer, to hosting PPV panels, commentating, and also becoming the first woman to be a full-time commentator on Monday Night Raw. In October of last year she was given the job of hosting WWE Backstage on FS1 but the show was one of the many which got shut due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since leaving her role as Backstage host, Young has not done much work for WWE and occasionally appeared on Smackdown.
The 34-year-old is a hit with both fans and peers and her departure will certainly be felt within the company.
It remains to be seen what her future holds. Young is married to current AEW champ Jon Moxley.
Following the conclusion of this past Monday’s Raw, WWE wrapped up a five-month residency at the Performance Center, where all Raw and Smackdown – and some NXT – were held inside the 26,000 square foot facility.
The first show was held on March 11, which was the NXT Fan Appreciation Night. That particular show wasn’t held at Full Sail because of another event and the company transformed the Performance Center into an arena with stands.
And then, with the coronavirus pandemic in full force, the company decided to move all production to the PC starting with the March 13 episode of Smackdown on FOX.
Full Sail University, the home of NXT, also shut down for a month-and-a-half, leaving NXT to tape at the Performance Center as well all the way through the end of April.
With Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and even pay-per-views such as WrestleMania, Money In The Bank, Backlash, and Extreme Rules all taped at the smaller Performance Center, WWE is now looking forward to return to the big stage with a two-and-a-half month residency at the much larger Amway Center in Orlando.
The Performance Center is now being transformed back to its original layout, with seven rings and a 5,500 square-foot strength and conditioning gym, a state-of-the-art facility where many up-and-coming WWE Superstars spend their day training waiting for their big day.
Wrestling is one of the most paying sports of all time. Like in any other industry, wrestling has top earners and low earners. In this article, we shall look at the highest paid wrestlers of all time.
Braun Strowman
Earning: $1.9m (£1.5m)
Braun Strowman is now the universal Champion. He signed a new contract that had a $1.2 million guarantee last year.
Stephanie McMahon
Earning: $2m (£1.6m)
Stephanie McMahon is wife to Triple H. She also makes money though her real life job as chief brand officer. Her job as chief brand officer brings more money as she has rarely been on TV lately. Maybe you too can reach this amount if you play online pokies real money.
Shane McMahon
Earning: – $2.1 (£1.7m)
Shane McMahon wrestled only 15 times last year, however he contended in high profile events. These events include Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. He also worked behind the scenes at the 2020 Royal Rumble.
Goldberg
Earning: $3m (£2.4m)
Goldberg received $2m for wrestling The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia. He also wrestled Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam, making him more money.
Becky Lynch
Earning: $3.1m (£2.5m)
She headlined TLC and Survivor Series at the end of 2019 and made money out of it. Also, she a new deal which made her a lot of money. She however is taking a break from wrestling to start a family with Seth Rollins. The star publicized her pregnancy on RAW in mid-May and WWE will pay her during the time that she is taking to start a family. Did you know you can play WWE-themed online slots? You can visit francaisonlinecasinos casinofor more information.
Triple H
Earning: $3.3m (£2.6m)
Triple H earned $706,019 and he also earned $502,146 in stock awards as well as $102,950 in incentive plan compensation. He made $2m from performing in 2019.
Seth Rollins
Earning: $4m (£3m)
Seth Rollins was the Universal champion for half the year 2019. He went on to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania and SummerSlam.
Randy Orton
Earning: $4.1m (£3.3m)
Randy Orton signed a new deal recently. He could make $6m and above during 2020.
Roman Reigns
Earning: $5m (£4m)
He signed in August last year. He has been the poster boy for a while.
Faced with the Democratic National Convention and NBA playoffs, Monday Night Raw dropped to an average of 1,643,000 viewers, down 79,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast.
Hour one started with 1,730,000 viewers, then dropped to 1,697,000 viewers, before ending the night with just 1,502,000 viewers. The third hour this week was the second-least watched hour in Raw history.
Raw was down to #9, #10, and #13 in the top 50 cable chart with 0.52, 0.49, and 0.44 among the 18-49 demographic. The show was #31 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
According to a story on the Tampa Bay News, the guest who was sleeping at Sonya Deville’s place the night there was the attempted armed kidnapping was none other than her best friend, and her on-screen rival, Mandy Rose.
In her police report account, Deville said that she saw the man walking towards her after she disarmed the alarm and ran to the room where Rose was sleeping, telling her that there’s an intruder and need to go.
The two managed to escape through the garage with Deville’s car, calling 911 along the way. Hillsborough police showed up within minutes, with the intruder Phillip A. Thomas II, still in the house.
Deville and Rose were able to avoid the intruder after following the video from her security system. While Thomas followed her, he thought she ran up the stairs when in fact, they made a dash to the garage instead, leaving them enough time to escape.
According to the report, there was a message on social media that Thomas left to Deville just a couple of hours before the attempted kidnapping which read, “Look outside, baby, by your pool. I’m here. I’m gonna kill that little b*tch you have inside with you.”
Deville discovered the messages in the message request folder which she does not check. “I’m a public figure with a social media following of almost 1 million so all his messages were in my ‘request’ folder, which is filled with thousands of messages from people I do not follow,” Berenato wrote in the petition to have a temporary injunction against him.
A judge granted her request and Thomas remains in jail after admitting to the whole plot. A hearing is scheduled Thursday on the prosecution motion to prevent Thomas’ release on bail.
Impact Wrestling will present night one of a two-week special event titled Emergence, airing on AXS TV. Night two will air next week on August 25.
The card consists of Kylie Rae vs. Taya Valkyrie in a Wrestle House match, Moose vs Trey Miguel for the TNA World title, Chris Bey vs TJP vs Rohit Raju for the X Division title, The Good Brothers vs Ace Austin and Madman Fulton, Motor City Machine Guns vs The North for the Impact Tag Team titles, and Eddie Edwards will also defend the Impact World title.
Night two of Emergence will feature the Impact Knockouts champion Deonna Purrazzo defending her newly-won title against former champ Jordynne Grace.
The AEW Deadly Draw women’s tournament final match has been set after the two semi final matches aired on YouTube last night.
The Nightmare Sisters, the team consisting of Brandi Rhodes and Allie, defeated Big Swole and Lil’ Swole to advance to Saturday’s final while Ivelisse and Diamante defeated Tay Conti and Anna Jay in the other match to reach the final match of the tournament.
The Deadly Draw tournament kicked off a few weeks ago on YouTube and featured 16 women, some signed, and some brought in just for the tournament. Each had to pick a color and the two matching colors were paired together for the show.
The final match will air this Saturday on a special episode of Dynamite on TNT starting at 6PM ET. This will be the first match from the tournament to air on Dynamite as all other previous matches aired on YouTube only.
When WWE Raw went head-to-head with night one of the last Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016, Raw actually drew more viewers than the previous week. But four years is a very long time and during those four years, more than a million of those fans who watched Raw that week have moved on from the WWE product.
On that night, Raw drew an average of 3,338,000 viewers, adding a total of 205,000 viewers from the previous week. It had hours of 3,412,000 viewers in the first, 3,350,000 viewers in the second, and 3,254,000 viewers in the third hour.
During that particular Raw, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley kicked off the show to announce the creation of the Universal title. Two, four-way matches were held during the broadcast where the winners advanced to the Raw main event for a spot at SummerSlam for the brand new title. Finn Balor won the first match, and Roman Reigns won the second one, with Balor then beating Reigns in the main event. That was also the Raw in Pittsburgh when Sasha Banks beat Charlotte Flair to become the new WWE Women’s champion.
But night one of the DNC easily won the night with a combined 25.8 million audience across three broadcast networks and three cable news channels. That night, the broadcast for the DNC kicked off at 10PM and featured keynote speeches by Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
The story will certainly be different tonight. Raw cannot even break the 2 million viewer mark nowadays and its audience got older along the way which typically favors the 50+ audience to gravitate more towards politics if they had to choose. The televised DNC will start an hour earlier this time around, at 9PM, leaving WWE with just the 8PM hour to build an audience.
Rey Mysterio returned on WWE TV last night, his first appearance since the Extreme Rules pay-per-view and his eye for an eye match against Seth Rollins which he lost.
Mysterio, who came out with Dominik, said that this Sunday at SummerSlam, he will be in his son’s corner for the street fight match. Street fight matches also have no DQs so technically Rey can interfere without causing his son to lose his match.
The two Mysterios got the upper hand on Rollins and Murphy last night on Raw, beating them with kendo sticks as a revenge for what happened last week when Rollins beat up Dominik pretty bad.
Mysterio was locked in a contract dispute with WWE and did not want to sign a new deal unless his son gets work with the promotion. It’s not known if Mysterio has signed a deal yet. He had been working on a handshake agreement for a couple of months.
On August 22 it’s finally time again! The NXT TakeOver events from WWE are some of the highest anticipated events in professional wrestling. This event also marks a milestone as the 30th NXT TakeOver event in history. The event hosts some pretty exciting fights, and since it is a milestone, we are sure to see some unexpected surprises along the way! The main card is still not one hundred percent decided, but it is no doubt going to be a good one. Fans of wrestling and gambling around the world are going to want to keep their eyes on this one. Let’s have a look at the upcoming fights!
Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross – Singles match
This has been an inevitability ever since Lee won his title. After Kross more or less tore Lee’s now ally Dominik Dijakovic apart to send a message Lee finally had enough and accepted the challenge. This singles match is for the NXT Championship, and it is bound to be a good one.
Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee – Singles match
This is one to excite wrestling fans and football fans alike. Former NFL all-pro player Pat McAfee used to be punter for Indianapolis Colts, but will it be enough to take on the former NXT Champion Adam Cole? The rivalry between the two started way back when Cole appeared on McAfee’s radio podcast, and tensions have been rising ever since, with taunts being thrown back and forth between the two. It’s finally time to “work things out” according to McAfee, who is obviously not playing a game anymore. It’s football vs wrestling, and the fans are gonna go crazy for this fight!
Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai – Singles match
This women’s singles match is for the NXT Women’s Championship. This is Io Shirai’s second attempt to defend the title she won in a triple threat in the NXT TakeOver: In Your House edition. This time against Dakota Kai, who earned her chance at the title during the August 5th NXT vs Rhea Ripley. When it comes to women’s wrestling, it doesn’t get much better than this!
Ladder match featuring Bronson Reed, Damian Priest, Cameron Grimes and more
This ladder match is for the vacant NXT North American Championship.It is the main card of the event. After Keith Lee gave up the North American title in order to let roster fighters gain an opportunity, a series of triple threat matches have been going on to decide the challengers of the upcoming ladder match. Dexter Lumis was originally intended to fight, but was removed due to injury. Instead we will see Bronson Reed vs Damian Priest vs Cameron Grimes vs Johnny Gargano or Ridge Holland vs Finn Bálor or Velveteen Dream. This is the prize fight, and the one you will wanna keep your eyes on!
The upcoming WWE Network NXT TakeOver: XXX pro wrestling event will be held at the Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida. The event was originally scheduled to take place in Boston, but had to change time and venue due to Boston suspending large-scale gatherings as a response to COVID-19. The show begins at 7 p.m. ET. Do not be late!
