In an interview with the Newsweek publication to promote the return of his series Dallas and Robo on SyFy, former 16-time champ John Cena was quizzed on his thoughts about Raw Underground, the fight club concept that made its debut on Raw this past Monday.
Raw Underground was introduced by Shane McMahon and occupied most of the third hour of Raw. It received mixed reviews from fans, and while mostly negative, it remains to be seen how the concept evolves.
“RAW Underground is an opportunity. I think any paradigm shift, any big announcement, anything in that world that is ever-changing, constantly-pivoting, there is always a search for growth,” he said. “It’s an opportunity, that’s exactly what it is. So, I think it needs a little bit of time to find itself. And in all things if it lacks creative definition from the top, I really hope performers embrace the unknown and they define it.”
Cena brought up the example of Stone Cold Steve Austin and how Austin wasn’t brought in to be Stone Cold, but he saw an opportunity, took it, and well, the rest is history.
“You have this newer thing not a lot of people know what all of it is and that is the absolute best for anyone that is going to be in front of the camera because they can define it and they can take advantage of the opportunity,” Cena added.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that the new WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan will have a base salary of $1.2 million and will make an additional $1.9 million per year if profits remain positive as part of the senior management incentive program. He signed a five year deal and was lured away from Creative Artists Agency.
Khan also got a nice $5 million signing bonus, which he would have to refund portions – or all of it – if he departs the company in the first few years. Meltzer says that if Khan leaves or gets fired in the first 12 months, the company is entitled to get back the $5 million in full. If Khan leaves or is fired in the second year, he has to refund $3.1 million of it and if he’s gone in the third year, he has to refund $1.2 million.
Apart from all that, Khan got 338,524 WWE shares, which as of time of this writing are worth $14,793,498.
If WWE fires Khan without any reasonable cause, he will receive his base salary in full through the end of his original contract, which would be September 2025.
When adding everything, assuming he gets the $1.9 million per year additional bonus, he would be getting a salary of $20 million over a period of five years and that is without his near 340,000 in WWE shares.
Khan is relocating to Stamford, Connecticut and will be working from the WWE corporate headquarters where he reports directly to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
NBA programming will be pre-empting AEW Dynamite on TNT for a few weeks starting later this month.
The August 19 show will be moved to August 22 on TNT and will air between 6PM and 8PM. That is a Saturday and the second hour of the show will air head to head with the first hour of NXT Takeover: XXX live on the WWE Network.
The August 26 show will still air on Wednesday, however it will start after TNT concludes its NBA coverage whatever time that will be. Dynamite will air another new episode the next night on Thursday on TNT in its usual time slot so this could be another opportunity for a two-night themed event.
The September 2 and September 9 shows will air in their regular time slot and those will be the All Out go-home and fallout episodes.
The September 16 show will not air that night but instead it will air the next day on Thursday on TNT in the usual time slot of 8PM.
James Kimball, the Vice President, Operations at UFC Performance Institute, has departed the company to join WWE according to Marc Raimondi of ESPN. WWE has not officially announced his recruitment.
Kimball, a veteran UFC employee, was promoted to the position four years ago and oversaw the build, planning, strategy and day-to-day operation of the athlete facility in Las Vegas. Kimball’s new title in WWE is not yet known although he will be occupying a senior operations role.
Prior to joining the UFC and now WWE, Kimball held positions with Lagardere Unlimited and the Washington Wizards. He has a BS in Health, Fitness, Recreation, and Sports Management from George Mason University followed by a graduate degree in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University.
On Twitter, Daniel Bryan remarked that he would love to have a match against The Rock just because of the many times his daughter Birdie made him listen to the song “You’re Welcome” from the Moana movie.
“And then of course it’s stuck in my head and I sing it all day,” Bryan wrote, tagging Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the tweet.
Replying to the tweet, Johnson joked that he can already see the writing on the wall “from miles away” that he’d be jobbing again in the spirit of being a girl dad. Johnson congratulated Bryan on the new arrival and said that they’re thrilled for him and Brie and the whole family.
Pat McAfee accepted Triple H’s challenge to face Adam Cole at NXT Takeover: XXX.
Filming a video on a deck chair while on his honeymoon, McAfee talked about what happened this past Wednesday on NXT when he punted Adam Cole in the head, leaving him out cold to end the show.
Explaining his actions, McAfee said, “I was pushed like 45 times, I was disrespected in my studio…in their studio,” adding that he had to do it because he was assaulted with a bottle.
He said that come Takeover: XXX, Triple H is going to have a big problem with his biggest star as he’s gonna make him famous “for eating another right foot to the mouth.”
McAfee said that two weeks is enough time to find enough anger inside of him, two weeks is enough to find enough motivation to “kick the sh!t out of Adam Cole.”
It was a big night for AEW on Wednesday as Dynamite’s audience reached 901,000 viewers, up 128,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The 18-49 demo number was also up to 0.36, putting Dynamite in #5 in the top 50 cable chart. This was the most-watched episode of Dynamite since March 18. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
NXT also saw an increase in its viewers compared to last week although definitely not as big as Dynamite’s number. This week, NXT on USA pulled in 753,000 viewers, up 46,000 viewers. NXT was #27 in top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic with a 0.20 rating. The difference between the two shows in terms of viewers was of 148,000, up from the 66,000 of last week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Marty Jannetty, who yesterday seemingly admitted to murdering a male individual when he was 13 years old, was a guest on Boston Wrestling Sports show and once again doubled down on his story.
Jannetty, now 60 years old, said that the bowling alley employee was a front desk clerk and sold weed. “What I didn’t know was he lured in little kids,” Jannetty told the hosts.
The former one-half of The Rockers said that when he tried to buy some weed from the man, he took him around the building and tried to rape him inside a car. But Jannetty fought back and used a brick to kill him.
“I can’t say he deserved to die…but he deserved to get his ass beat,” Jannetty said. “When I was beating him in the head with a brick, I was only trying to beat his ass, I wasn’t trying to kill him.”
Jannetty then added that he dragged the body to the river and threw him in. He said that it affected him bad when he found out on the news that the person was being reported missing.
The former wrestler said it was all an act of self defense as the older man tried to grab his genitals and then was held by the hair when he tried to escape, so he resorted to grabbing a brick and whack him.
Matt Hardy got busted open the hard way yesterday after Sammy Guevara threw a chair at him, hitting him in the face during their brawl at ringside.
Matt tried to protect his face and somewhat managed to break the speed a bit but the damage was already done. Guevara threw the chair from a short distance, resulting in Hardy suffering a gash just below his hairline.
“You cocky, weird, reckless little piece of sh!t,” Hardy tweeted afterwards. “YOU’RE DEAD!” Matt’s wife Reby also chimed in, calling Guevara a “f*cking dumbass.”
By the time the whole angle played out, Hardy was left with a crimson mask, not to mention going through a table as well.
Hardy was patched up backstage by AEW ringside doctor Dr. Sampson and required a few stitches to close the wound.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up this morning, Triple H issued a big challenge to Pat McAfee following last night’s altercation with Adam Cole where McAfee punted Cole, leaving him out cold to end the broadcast.
Triple H invited the NFL Pro Bowler to lace up his boots and get his ass in the ring at NXT Takeover: XXX against the former NXT champion.
“Pat McAfee has made the transition from NFL star to successful media and entertainment personality,” Triple H later wrote on Twitter. “But accepting a challenge from Adam Cole to step inside an NXT ring? I guess the ball is in his court.”
McAfee and Cole have been going at it for the past few weeks and then Triple H appeared on McAfee’s show to try and smooth things out, inviting McAfee to come over to NXT for a chat. McAfee did that – and more – last night, kicking the feud into a higher gear.
Things heated up even more between Adam Cole and Pat McAfee last night on NXT, an episode which ended with Adam Cole getting knocked out by a kick from the former NFL player.
McAfee, who took a break from his honeymoon to appear on NXT, was on guest commentary during the main event which had The Undisputed Era trying to regain the NXT Tag Team titles from Imperium.
But McAfee kept talking trash about Cole and Cole had enough, confronting McAfee at the commentary booth, telling him that he’s standing a few feet away from him and can hear everything he says. McAfee said that he’s just trying to have fun and joking but Cole told him to chill.
To help him chill, Cole grabbed a bottle of water and threw it at McAfee. Several referees along with Triple H and Shawn Michaels came out to diffuse the situation. McAfee appeared to be leaving but then returned and told Cole that he will always be a “tiny, itty bitty, short, little bitch!”
At that point, Cole climbed over the commentary booth as he was being held by everyone, telling McAfee, “I am going to kill you!” At that point, McAfee got into his old NFL kicker role and punted Cole in the head, laying him out.
Triple H pushed McAfee pretty hard twice as officials tended to Cole who was on the floor out cold. “Very unprofessional place you guys got,” McAfee said as he exited Full Sail University.
McAfee and Cole seemingly “made up” earlier in the day, with photos of them shaking hands published on social media and McAfee thanking Cole for the opportunity to chat with him.
Eric Bischoff made his All Elite Wrestling on-screen debut last night on Dynamite, moderating the Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy debate.
This was the first time that Bischoff appeared on a wrestling show on TNT since 2000 when he was still involved with WCW. When he made his way out, Bischoff’s lower-third graphic on TV listed “Groundbreaking pro wrestling executive” under his name.
The former WCW President and Smackdown Executive Producer chose Cassidy as the winner of the debate.
Bischoff and Jericho share some questionable history, something that was brought up during the debate as well. “I haven’t liked you for 22 years,” screamed Jericho. “It’s been 24, and I know exactly how you feel,” replied Bischoff.
On Twitter, Eric said he had a blast and thanked the entire team at AEW for being great hosts.
There were some changes made to the NXT North American title ladder match qualifiers after NXT General Manager William Regal announced last night that Dexter Lumis suffered an ankle injury and will not be medically cleared to compete at Takeover: XXX.
Lumis was the second one to qualify for the ladder match after he choked out Timothy Thatcher in a triple threat match that involved Finn Balor as well.
Regal announced that the four individuals who have not been pinned or submitted in the triple threat matches will get a second chance in two weeks’ time to earn the final two spots in the ladder match.
So far, Finn Balor, Johnny Gargano, and Holland Ridge were not involved in the decisions so they will be in two, one-on-one matches which will happen in two weeks’ time. The remaining participant will be determined next week after the final triple threat match takes place on NXT. Kushida and Cameron Grimes are confirmed for next week’s triple threat match while the third participant remains unknown.
The winners of the two singles matches will then be added to the ladder match at Takeover: XXX.
WWE has already conducted a massive main event caliber match for WrestleMania 37.
According to a report from the latest Wrestling Newsletter, Edge and Randy Orton are set to resume their rivalry with a big rubber match at the WWE flagship show next March: “The current plan is for Edge vs. Orton in a match ‘I Quit ‘to be one of the best games next year in Los Angeles … WWE already had plans for the Edge vs. Orton trilogy to continue at SummerSlam this year, but that was before Edge suffered a triceps injury during’ The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever ‘at WWE Backlash in June, which was won by Orton.”
Immediately after WWE announced that SummerSlam will no longer take place in Boston, WrestleMania 37 status is up in the air due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as is the case with all of the company’s upcoming pay-per-view payments. The same is true for Edge, who is currently out of action after suffering a torn triceps while filming his polarizer “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” against Orton in Backlash last month. Although Edge has appeared on television since then and WWE kept his options open by making it clear that his feud with Orton has not ended, WWE was forced to scrap a major match between the two that was originally slated for SummerSlam.
That would have been the rubber match, and probably the escape bout, to what has been the biggest and best rivalry in WWE in 2020. The dispute between Edge and Orton had pretty much everything against him, including returning Edge. from a nine-year hiatus, the fact that it’s a dispute between two older stars and the reality that it’s being booked during an era when most major WWE rivalries simply have not been met. Edge vs. Orton, however, has over-delivered himself in every sense of the word.
This unmissable rivalry has not only highlighted Edge’s incredible talents after nearly a decade out of the ring but has helped cement “The Viper,” who has long been an incredibly polarizing figure in professional wrestling, as one one of the best fighters of all time. He fastened a pair of boots. The only downside to their rivalry came during their WrestleMania 36 match that was too long and lengthy, but the all-time pair of greats have more than made up for that disappointing match with their Backlash match, consistently stellar promotions and heated rivalry. that no other enmity has lived until this year.
The idea that two established veterans are on the way for a possible WrestleMania 37 main event game is not something that sits well with die-hard fans of WWE, who are known to loathe everything to do with part-time workers. But the rivalry between Edge and Orton has been so good that it was on its way to being the main event of SummerSlam before Edge’s injury forced WWE’s hand. Now, a rivalry that was forged for decades, but started at Royal Rumble 2020 in January, plays a key role in WWE programming even in early 2021, when Edge will likely fully recover from his latest major injury. Tickets4wrestling offers you 5% discount on WWE WrestleMania 2021 Tickets. You need to use “WWE-5” at checkout and you will get extra discount on WrestleMania 37 Tickets.
Although a clear timeline for Edge’s return has not been revealed, “The Rated R Superstar” recently said that he now “listens” to his body when it comes to injuries, indicating that his pending return will be a classic case of waiting and … see. If Edge returns, the obvious direction WWE must take is to rekindle his enmity with Orton, who is by far the best villain in the business right now and could very well have a WWE Championship reign on his way. near future.
Even though Orton is one of WWE’s most controversial stars, he’s likely to continue to push hard due to the great work he’s done lately and WWE’s new philosophy of focusing on stars of yesteryear, like Big Show and Ric Flair. As long as he’s performing at an elite level as he has been this year, Orton is poised to hold his place at the top of the card for the foreseeable future, virtually guaranteeing a WrestleMania 37 match despite that payout… by sight, it is very far away and its state remains in the air due to Covid-19.
Given that WWE recently made a series of last-second changes to its schedule, particularly on Raw, the Orton’s WrestleMania 37 match is far from set in stone, especially given the possibility of Edge returning sooner than expected. . while the WWE audience continues to plummet.
But if Orton vs. Edge is still the plan, it should be the rare ‘special attraction’ match resulting in a consistently great lineup.
The hiring of Nick Khan as the new WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer came as a “shock” in the industry as Khan was very instrumental in his old position at Creative Artists Agency, with many wondering how WWE even managed to get their hands on him.
Khan, who will be one of the most powerful executives in the company reporting directly to Vince McMahon, represented WWE in the television negotiations with NBCUniversal and FOX. Those negotiations landed WWE a combined TV deal worth over $2 billion for five years.
In an interview with Sports Business Journal, the 45-year-old said that last year, he and his wife were invited to a small 50th birthday party of Paul “Triple H” Levesque, held inside the home of the WWE Hall of Famer and Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon.
“We looked around the room and said, ‘It’s really kind of them to consider us friends,'” he said. “For a family-run business – albeit a publicly traded one – it just felt right. At that moment, I started thinking, ‘I wonder if there’s something bigger and better to do with them.'”
Khan admitted that during his 13 years as an agent, there were other opportunities which came along but he never contemplated any of them seriously. But, “When this opportunity emerged, it seemed like a no-brainer,” Khan told SBJ.
His former colleagues at CAA speaking highly of Khan and said that he left the company on very good terms. CAA board member and co-Head of CAA Sports Michael Levine said, “Nick is a proven leader, savvy business strategist and exceptional team builder. From helping grow our sports broadcasting group into an industry leader to his collaborative contributions across the entire agency, Nick has made a tremendous and everlasting impact.”
But now, the focus shifts on WWE and while profits are huge and the financial situation looks great, not everything is fine and dandy in the company, especially the sinking television ratings which will affect negotiations for a new TV deal in a couple of years.
“The first thing I want to do is figure out where the bathrooms are,” Khan joked. “We all have a lot of ideas in our head. It might be a little premature to share them in terms of when we are going to execute those.”
Dakota Kai booked her ticket to NXT Takeover: XXX by beating former NXT Women’s champion Rhea Ripley last night on NXT on USA Network.
With the victory, Kai becomes the new number one contender for the NXT Women’s title currently held by Io Shirai and Kai will get her chance at the title at the upcoming Takeover later in the month.
Kai’s win was not without any help though as Mercedes Martinez from the Robert Stone Brand interfered at a crucial point in the match to hand Kai an advantage when the referee was distracted. After the match was over, Martinez continued to beat up Ripley, leaving her with a bloody nose.
NXT Takeover: XXX takes place on Saturday, August 23 on the eve of SummerSlam.
Five matches have already been announced for tonight’s NXT on USA Network broadcast with one title on the line.
The NXT Tag Team champions Imperium will be defending their gold against former two-time NXT Tag Team champions The Undisputed Era. NXT champion Keith Lee will be taking on Cameron Grimes in a non-title match and Bronson Reed takes on Shane Thorne.
Two other matches with stipulations will also take place, including Rhea Ripley vs Dakota Kai with the winner becoming the number one contender for the NXT Women’s title, and a triple threat match between Damian Priest, Oney Lorcan and Ridge Holland with the winner advancing to the Takeover: XXX ladder match for the vacant NXT North American title.
The bombshell news from Marty Jannetty, where he appeared to confess to murdering a man when he was 13 years old, has sparked a police investigation according to TMZ.
Jannetty said that a man put his hands on him and dragged him to the back of Victory Lanes bowling alley back in the early 70s, and said that it was the very first time he “made a man disappear,” suggesting the body was eventually thrown in the Chattahoochie River.
The Columbus Police Department in Georgia has now confirmed that they are going to be looking into this allegation.
“The first step will be seeing if we have any missing persons or unidentified remains cases that match the limited information in the post,” a spokesman said.
Jannetty, who is now 60 years old, has since deleted the post from his Facebook page, but many fans took screenshots of the post and the subsequent comments. Jannetty was trending on Twitter as well following his claim.
All Elite Wrestling today launched AEW Heels, a new female-forward community led by Brandi Rhodes and the stars of AEW’s women’s division.
Powered by Wonderful Union’s secure digital platform, female wrestling fans can seamlessly access AEW Heels’ exclusive content and other special benefits — all in a safe environment for engaging in conversation and developing friendships worldwide – for an annual paid subscription of $49.
The $49 fee includes access to a variety of features including virtual meet-and-greets, video conference discussions with industry experts, exclusive AEW talent Q&A sessions, customized merchandise, special promotions, themed parties and more. The secure space enables AEW Heels members to connect, learn and thrive together through shared passions for women’s wrestling.
The first event for AEW Heels members is scheduled for Friday, August 7, which is included in the annual subscription. The virtual event will be curated on the platform and feature a Q&A session with Aubrey Edwards, a social media strategizing discussion with Brandi, and a special session on respect and empowerment in the workplace with Keisha-Ann Gray, partner at Proskauer.
“AEW Heels is a first-of-its-kind community designed to celebrate and inspire our female fans around the world,” said AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes. “With our new platform, we look forward to the next step in connecting the AEW Heels community and making this the best time ever to be a female wrestling fan.”
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