Brie Bella and her husband Daniel Bryan welcomed a baby boy yesterday, August 1.
“It’s a BOY!!! We are overwhelmed with joy and everyone is healthy,” a post on Brie’s Instagram said. This is the couple’s second child, with Birdie Joe arriving on May 9, 2017.
Brie and her sister Nikki announced on January 29 that they were both pregnant and that their babies should be arriving within days of each other.
Charlotte Flair is the latest WWE Superstar to join the Cameo family and can record your personal video messages for a cool $380.
With a bit of downtime on her hands, the former multi-time WWE Women’s champion is dedicating some of that time to recording video for her fans. While $380 might sound a lot, she’s not the highest-priced WWE Superstar on Cameo.
Roman Reigns charges $500 for a video while Alexa Bliss charges $399. Other WWE Superstars who do Cameo videos include Paige, Big E, The IIconics, Dominik Dijakovic, Matt Riddle, Dexter Lumis, Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio and others.
During his weekly Saturday Night Special YouTube broadcast, Chris Jericho revealed that former NXT star Taynara Conti will be part of the Deadly Draw women’s tag team tournament.
The 25-year-old Brazilian spent two-and-a-half years in NXT, participating in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament and even appeared in the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal that year. She was let go from the promotion in April after WWE made several cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jericho said that Conti will be teaming up with Anna Jay in the tournament. Apart from Nayla Rose and Ariane Andrew, two other teams were also announced by Jericho, including Allie and Brandi Rhodes, and Ivelisse and Diamante.
The tournament kicks off tomorrow night at 7PM on AEW’s YouTube channel.
During the conference call with investors, one of the questions was regarding WWE’s purchase of EVOLVE. Up until this week, WWE had not acknowledged publicly that the company acquired EVOLVE and no press release was ever sent.
Interim Chief Financial Officer Frank Riddick described the acquisition as a “content purchase deal” which was “very straightforward and very small in size in terms of investment.”
Asked if there were some other assets for sale in the current environment, including in mixed martial arts, Riddick said that they are not actively looking at any MMA opportunities but “hopefully they will come along.”
Riddick also said that the company is actively investing in new technologies in new areas and keeps looking for other opportunities but there’s nothing imminent.
Friday Night Smackdown on FOX did 1,892,000 viewers, down 32,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show had 1,873,000 viewers in the first hour and then increased to 1,911,000 viewers in the second hour. Smackdown tied #1 in the 18-49 demo with a 0.5 rating and was also #1 in the 18-34 demo with a 0.3. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
There will be a familiar face on TNT again this coming Wednesday night on Dynamite as former WCW President and Smackdown Executive Director Eric Bischoff will be part of the broadcast.
Bischoff is going to be involved in the debate segment between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy, a segment which AEW is hyping to be moderated by a mystery guest. The show has already been taped.
Eric was hired by WWE in June 2019 to be the Executive Director of Smackdown but was unceremoniously fired from the position a few months later in October.
This will be Bischoff’s first involvement with the promotion which is very often compared to the old WCW. If his time with AEW is going to be longer than just one appearance remains to be seen.
PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE plans to do two pay-per-views in the span of a week later this month, starting with SummerSlam on August 23 and followed by Payback on August 30.
Payback was a WWE pay-per-view which was last used in 2017 after a run of five years, starting in 2013. But the PPV name was missing from the WWE calendar in 2018 and 2019.
The idea seems to be to settle anything from the SummerSlam fallout on this Payback pay-per-view.
This will be the first time that WWE will be running two pay-per-views so close together since 1991. That year, WWE held the Survivor Series headlined by Hulk Hogan vs The Undertaker, a match which Taker won thanks to interference from Ric Flair, and then a few days later ran a second pay-per-view titled This Tuesday In Texas, with a rematch for the WWE title. Hogan won the title again that day, but it was eventually vacated and the WWE title went up for grabs at the Royal Rumble which Ric Flair won.
Eddie Kingston, the indie pro wrestler who challenged Cody for the TNT title last week on Dynamite, was signed by All Elite Wrestling after impressing the powers that be.
The 38-year-old was confirmed to have signed on the dotted line today in announcement on social media by AEW.
Kingston, who has been wrestling professionally since 2002, has worked for Chikara, Combat Zone Wrestling, PWG, Ring of Honor, NWA, and Impact Wrestling before finally landing a deal with AEW.
After his debut with AEW last week, fans started tweeting #SignEddieKingston and he vowed in an interview after the show that whatever happens next, he will keep marching on because there’s nothing else that he loves more than professional wrestling.
Two title matches will headline tonight’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown on FOX.
The Smackdown Women’s title will be on the line as Bayley will defend against Nikki Cross in a rematch from the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Also, the Intercontinental title is up for grabs with champion AJ Styles defending against Gran Metallic.
Also announced for tonight is Naomi taking on Lacey Evans in a one-on-one match and the return of Money In The Bank winner Otis and Mandy Rose.
Ratings was a big topic during yesterday’s conference call with investors following the publication of the Q2 2020 financial results. Several conference call participants quizzed the WWE leadership on why the ratings have gone down big time during the pandemic.
Raw and Smackdown ratings have dipped 19% and 15% respectively since March 13 and while that is a lot, Raw has remained the highest rated program on USA Network while NXT ranked the third highest.
Vince McMahon attributed part of the decline to having no audience, calling fans an integral part to their success. But he also admitted that a big part is their fault. “I think that we can have more compelling characters, better storylines, new characters coming in to where we are right now and more of content that’s not necessarily in the ring, but yet one that focuses on their personalities and their story outside of the ring,” McMahon said.
Asked why AEW and NXT bounced back better during the pandemic, McMahon said that he thinks the success is because they are new and the challenge they have is to make Raw and Smackdown “more youthful” and that’s where they plan to go.
The Chairman and CEO said that Paul “Triple H” Levesque helps out for both Raw and Smackdown and it’s all hands on deck for every television show. Vince also credited Paul Heyman for doing a “very, very good job in terms of creative.”
The WWE Network streaming service had an average of 1.66 million paid subscribers for Q2 2020, a decline of 1.5% compared to the same period last year. The good news is that by the end of the quarter, paid subscribers increased to 1.69 million, an increase of 6% to mark the first quarterly increase in subs since Q4 2018.
The Network, along with pay-per-view revenue, generated a total of $49.4 million for Q2 2020, a dip from the $51.8 million in the same period of last year.
During the quarter, WWE produced more than 600 hours of content for its television, streaming and digital platforms. Digital video views increased 10% to a record 9.9 billion and hours consumed increased 15% to a record 374 million.
Consumption includes videos viewed on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch, WWE.com, WWE App, and the Free Version of WWE Network.
NXT managed to cut the distance significantly this week in the ratings, getting a total of 707,000 viewers for the Wednesday broadcast. NXT was up 92,000 viewers from last week’s show and had a 0.18 rating in the 18-49 demo, placing it in #28 in the top 50 cable chart. The difference between the two shows this week was of 66,000 viewers, down from last week’s massive 230,000 difference. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Another week and another win for AEW’s Dynamite in the ratings although this time, it was much closer. Dynamite on Wednesday drew 773,000 viewers, down 72,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show did 0.3 in the 18-49 demographic and placed #6 in the top 50 cable chart. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
WWE today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2020.
Revenues were $223.4 million as compared to $268.9 million in the prior year quarter reflecting the timing of the large-scale event in Saudi Arabia. Revenues reached a record $514.4 million year-to-date, representing 14% growth from the prior year period.
Operating income was $55.7 million as compared to $17.1 million in the prior year quarter.
“Our second quarter financial performance was strong and demonstrated our ability to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “We continue to adapt our business to the changing environment, focusing on the development of new content for global distribution platforms and increasing audience engagement to drive growth and value for our shareholders.”
Frank Riddick, interim Chief Financial Officer, added “In the quarter, we delivered revenue of $223 million and Adjusted OIBDA of $73.5 million as we continued to offset the impact of cancelled events by reducing costs. Our cash flow remains strong, and we believe we have the capital resources to deliver on our strategic initiatives and growth opportunities.”
The full press release can be read at corporate.wwe.com.
The cast of The Bump announced the People’s Choice Bumpy Awards for the half year during yesterday’s episode, crowning winners in five different categories.
The Tag Team of the Half-Year went to Sasha Banks and Bayley to no surprise. Other nominees included The Street Profits, The New Day, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, and NXT’s Imperium.
Edge vs Randy Orton won the In-Ring Match of the Half-Year for their match at Backlash which carried The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever tagline. Other nominees included Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 36, Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 36, Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles for the Intercontinental title on Smackdown, and the 2020 Men’s Royal Rumble match.
The Cinematic Match of the Half-Year went to the boneyard match, with AJ Styles and Undertaker getting the award. Other matches included the Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36, the combined men’s and women’s Money In The Bank ladder match, Tommaso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano from NXT titled One Final Beat, and The Viking Profits vs Ninjas from Backlash.
AJ Styles and The Undertaker won another category, the Rivalry of the Half-Year. Their rivalry culminated at WrestleMania 36 with the boneyard match. The other nominees included Mandy Rose vs Sonya Deville, Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar, Becky Lynch vs Shayna Baszler, and Tommaso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano.
And for the big one, Drew McIntyre won the Superstar of the Half-Year. The Scotsman won the Royal Rumble and the WWE title at WrestleMania from Brock Lesnar. Other nominees for this category included Adam Cole, Keith Lee, Charlotte Flair, Otis, Bayley, Asuka, Io Shirai, Braun Strowman, and Becky Lynch.
In a very good segment on Dynamite, MJF held a state of the industry address and challenged current AEW World champion Jon Moxley for a title shot at the upcoming All Out pay-per-view.
MJF ripped Moxley throughout his speech, saying that he’s not his champion and referred to him as Dictator Jon who represented the old guard. “And that is why, Jonathan, a world champion is supposed to lead by example. He’s not supposed to let his roster mates come out here and play wrestle and he’s damn sure not supposed to come out here and cosplay as a specific wrestler, and that’s a stone cold fact,” MJF said, alluding that Moxley is ripping off the Steve Austin character.
MJF then proceeded to challenge Moxley and promised that he would carry All Elite Wrestling for the next 25 years.
All Out will be taking place on September 5, 2020 at a location still to be announced.
The AEW Deadly Draw women’s tag team tournament will be airing on the company’s YouTube channel starting on Monday night at 7PM ET.
Details of the tournament were announced yesterday on Dynamite. The eight teams will be chosen via a random draw and the selections cannot be changed. The 16 females participating in the the tournament will each draw a color and they will partner with whomever they match.
Nyla Rose, accompanied by Vickie Guerrero, made her pick yesterday during the show and drew the color purple. Dasha Gonzales informed Rose that someone already drew purple and it was none other than Ariane Andrew, the former WWE Diva known as Cameron.
“Nyla, lucky for you, I’m back! Girl hi!,” Andrew told Rose, who was not impressed herself with her new partner.
Andrew has not been active in professional wrestling ever since she was let go by WWE in 2016.
Here is the Ariane Andrew (FKA as Cameron in WWE) AEW debut segment.
She will be teaming with Nyla Rose for the AEW Women’s Tag Team Tournament pic.twitter.com/GbJ3SwlwIh
— Vindictive Bitch (@TheVindictive) July 30, 2020
With the advent of high-speed internet, casino players were finally able to play slots and other casino games from the comfort of their homes. And with the dawn of the smartphone era, players can access casino games on the move.
Slots have been a long-time favorite for online players, and that trend looks to continue for mobile gamers. Whether you like playing classic 3-reel mobile slots or want to try your luck at progressive slots, there’s a mobile slot game to suit every taste and style.
Here is a guide that will enable you to understand mobile slots.
Types of mobile slots
There are three main types of slots that are available for mobile. They include:
Classic slots – Classic slots are slot machines that use mechanical reels on any online slot game designed to imitate the look of any slots. They use fruit symbols and other symbols like bells, lucky 7s, and poker royals. Also, they have few paylines and simple features.
Video slots – Video slots are slot machines that commonly have five reels, multiple paylines, and some amazing bonus features like free spins and multipliers. Also, they boast immersive themes, high-quality graphics, and mesmerizing soundtracks.
Progressive slots – Progressive slots can be classic or video slots with progressive jackpots. These are the slots that have a progressive jackpot that keeps growing. The jackpot can potentially grow to millions of dollars, though they are hard to win.
Gaming buttons
Here are a few buttons that are critical when playing mobile slots.
Bet – First, you’ll find arrows next to the Coin or Bet value section that allows players to either increase or decrease the bet size.
Spin – The spin button is the option that turns the reels once and reveals the outcomes. It’s a common button that’s present in all mobile slots. Some slots can feature a Start button or a big round button for the same function.
Autoplay – This function spins the reels uninterruptedly for a predetermined number of times thus speeding up the game of the gameplay.
The Bet Max – Bet Max automatically places the highest possible bet.
Bet selection
Before you proceed to spin the reels on any mobile slot, you must first adjust your bets. Different slots have different betting options. The customizable ones include the coin size, the number of active paylines, the number of coins per line, or simply the wager size.
The biggest strategy of playing mobile slots is focused on the bet selection. You must place your bets according to your bankroll to keep playing longer. The more you spin, the higher your chances of winning.
Winning strategies
When it comes to winning in mobile slots, the strategies are just the same as online slots. For novice players, it’s best to start by playing free games to familiarize yourself with all the features of the slot. You can also test out the tips that you may have read on the internet.
Dexter Lumis became the second NXT star to qualify for the ladder match for the NXT North American title after yesterday he defeated Finn Balor and Timothy Thatcher in a triple threat match.
Lumis won the match when he locked Thatcher in the Lumis Silence chokehold and Thatcher passed out while he applied a leg lock on Finn Balor.
Lumis now joins Bronson Reed in the ladder match at NXT Takeover: XXX, set to take place next month on the eve of SummerSlam. Next Wednesday’s qualifying match will see Damien Priest vs Ridge Holland vs Oney Lorcan.
Matt Cardona, the artist formerly known as Zack Ryder in WWE, made his AEW debut last night on Dynamite, becoming the first former WWE Superstar who was released in April to jump to All Elite Wrestling.
Cardona made his presence felt after the match between Cody and Warhorse for the TNT title ended. The Dark Order attacked Cody following his win and then Cardona came to the rescue after The Dark Order were going to attack Arn Anderson. Cardona cleaned house and then shook hands with Cody. Announcers referred to him with his real name.
He will be stepping inside an AEW ring next week again as he teams up with Cody to take on Alex Reynolds and John Silver in his first match for the promotion.
The former WWE Intercontinental champion spent 14 years with the company before he was released with over 50 fellow Superstars and employees in April due to coronavirus cost-cutting measures.
