NXT will present one of the biggest nights in its history tonight on USA Network with night two of The Great American Bash. The show will feature a main event of title vs title with the winner walking out of Full Sail University with double the gold.
In the main event, it’s Adam Cole vs Keith Lee with both the NXT and North American titles up for grabs. Other matches so far announced include Mia Yim vs Candice LaRae in a street fight, Drake Maverick and Breezango vs Legado del Fantasma, and Isiah “Swerve” Scott vs Johnny Gargano. Mercedes Martinez is also scheduled to be re-introduced to the NXT audience.
There’s big pressure, especially on the main event, and the expectations are that the show will do the best audience of 2020 so far and continue momentum from the past two weeks.
In a video posted on his social media, Matt Riddle spoke about the accusations brought against him by indie wrestler Candy Cartwright.
Riddle admitted that he had an affair with Cartwright and in the process he cheated on his wife but he said that never in his life he sexually assaulted or abused anyone.
The former NXT Tag Team champ said that he felt sad and depressed about lying to his wife and friends because he didn’t want anyone to find out about his affair but the only way out was to come clean and tell his wife about it.
Addressing Cartwright, he told her that he kept blocking her on different forms of social media and she kept harassing and stalking him and his friends, showing up at hotels asking for him. “You’re crazy,” Riddle said.
“At the end of the day, I’m not perfect, we did have an affair, and i’m not happy about that,” Riddle continued, repeating that he never sexually assaulted anyone.
He said that when he wanted to end the affair, Cartwright refused and when she didn’t get her way, she used the #SpeakingOut movement to share false stories.
AEW will present night two of Fyter Fest tonight from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. The show lost its main event which has been rescheduled for next week and it looks like the AEW Tag Team titles will headline the show instead.
Six matches are so far part of the broadcast including Kenny Omega and Adam Page vs Private Party for the AEW World Tag Team titles, Orange Cassidy vs Chris Jericho, FTR and The Young Bucks vs The Lucha Bros and The Butcher and The Blade, SCU vs The Dark Order and Colt Cabana, Lance Archer vs Joey Janela, and Nyla Rose will be in action against an opponent yet to be determined.
AEW lost the previous two weeks to NXT in terms of total viewership although managed to get a healthy increase and come close to NXT last week. Dynamite has not lost three weeks in a row in total viewers ever since the shows started going head-to-head.
Monday Night Raw this week drew an average of 1,686,000 viewers, becoming the second least-watched episode of Raw in history. That is also down 48,000 viewers from last week.
Hour one started with 1,752,000 viewers, then went down to 1,697,000 viewers, before closing the third hour with 1,612,000 viewers.
Raw was #4, #5, and #6 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographics and was beaten by two episodes of 90 Day Fiancee and Below Deck Med. It placed #21 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Sportico has an article online which details how FOX is putting money aside to be able to afford the new NFL rights, an article which also explains why Smackdown has so far been a hit for the network.
The article states that no one should expect that FOX will try and walk out of the $1 billion WWE deal like they just did with the U.S. Open golf contract which they offloaded to NBC Sports. Sportico says that WWE is providing 52 weeks of programming to FOX for just $1.9 million per hour, considerably less than what FOX would otherwise pay for another show.
Two drama television shows which would occupy the Friday night 8PM to 10PM time slot would cost around $5 million an hour and that investment is only for just 22 nights of original content. That is much more than FOX is paying WWE and Sportico adds that Smackdown is currently drawing 5% larger audience in the 18-49 demographic than what was on the network before and that’s also when this year, overall primetime demos were down 13%.
The article also states that with the median age of 52.4 years, Smackdown viewers are nearly five years younger than those who were watching FOX in that time slot last season.
It looks like Taz will be making a “major announcement” tonight on Fyter Fest as AEW President took to Twitter to announce the segment.
Khan wrote that Taz and Brian Cage will be interviewed by Tony Schiavone during the broadcast and “Taz will make an announcement that I guarantee will send shockwaves through the world of professional wrestling!”
Taz and Cage were supposed to be part of the main event with Cage going for the AEW World title against Jon Moxley but Moxley remained at home last week as a precaution for coronavirus after his wife Renee Young tested positive. Tonight’s show was recorded last week after night one ended.
Moxley vs Cage will now take place next week on what AEW is listing Dynamite as Fight For The Fallen.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Triple H admitted that they are doing some counter programming because of AEW and said that it’s all part of healthy competition.
“Anyone that thinks it isn’t, to a degree, is being naive to the situation,” Triple H said, a clear dig at the folks at AEW who often said they’re not in competition with WWE.
“At the same point, it can’t drive your booking decisions. Obviously there are counter-programming decisions, but I can tell you exactly how this came about,” Triple H said referring to The Great American Bash. HHH said that there was a gap between In Your House and the SummerSlam Takeover show and they needed a “halfway point” which ended up being the two-night Great American Bash.
“So it doesn’t change our decision-making process. I don’t counter-book, I book what’s right for NXT,” Triple H added.
During his latest Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T took a dig at current Smackdown and Tag Team title holder Bayley while praising Sasha Banks and labeling her as a “major player.”
Booker said that while Bayley is the quintessential worker, “she may not be great at anything, but she’s good at everything.” The two-time WWE Hall of Famer said that Sasha is a person that the company can always go to and will always deliver in a big a match.
Booker praised Bayley though for changing up her gimmick and coming up with this cocky new character and added that while everything is sort of on a “holding pattern” due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s great to see both Banks and Bayley in this main event status position.
Reacting to his comments, Banks replied to Booker T in the same way she’s been dissing others. “We’re better than Harlem Heat! Now can you dig that SUCKA,” Sasha wrote.
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Two new matches were announced for Extreme Rules 2020 last night as WWE continues to hype the pay-per-view as the “horror show.”
Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins will finally be going one-on-one after weeks of feuding and this will be the first-ever WWE eye for an eye match. The winner of the match will only be determined after “extracting the opponent’s eye” so there will be no pinfalls or submissions for this match.
Perhaps, horror show was an aptly-chosen name after all!
Also, the United States title will be on the line as Apollo Crews will be defending against MVP with the winner walking away with the brand new U.S. title that was introduced on Raw yesterday.
WWE today announced the appointment of Kristina Salen as Chief Financial Officer reporting directly to Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, effective August 3, 2020.
Salen served as the first CFO of Etsy, where she grew the business from $895 million in gross sales to $3 billion in four years, led and executed the company’s IPO offering, and built and managed its Business Development, Strategic Planning, Investor Relations, Accounting, Tax and Data Analytics functions.
Salen also held CFO/COO roles with Moda Operandi and Translation Enterprises/United Masters, and managed global media and telecom funds with Fidelity Investments. Earlier in her career, she served in financial analyst positions with Oppenheimer Capital, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and Lazard Freres & Co. She sits on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee for both SiriusXM and Cornerstone OnDemand.
WWE introduced a brand new United States title last night on Raw which was unveiled by MVP who declared that he is the United States champion after beating Apollo Crews last week in a non-title match.
WWE brought back the United States title after buying out WCW in March 2001 and the title was back on WWE television on July 26 of that year when Booker T handed over the title to Kanyon on an episode of Smackdown. Booker T was both the WCW champion and United States champion when the last WCW broadcast went off the air.
The design was changed from the WCW one but now it also features the eagle, an American flag, and United States Champion written on it. It’s a beautiful design that looks way more better than the previous one.
The title has a history that dates back to 1975 with Harley Race winning the original title in the NWA during a live event in Tallahassee, Florida against Johnny Weaver. Lex Luger has held the title the longest, with five title reigns spanning a total of 950 days.
After first being advertised and then removed, Kairi Sane returned on Monday Night Raw yesterday.
Sane had her first match since the June 1 episode of Raw and wrestled WWE Tag Team title holder Sasha Banks. Sane was last seen in action in a match against Nia Jax, a match in which Sane suffered a nasty cut to the head after she was thrown into the steel steps by Jax from a short distance.
The former NXT Women’s champion also returned on screen later in the show to be in Asuka’s corner in her match against Bayley and next week, the Kabuki Warriors reunite to take on Banks and Bayley for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles on Raw.
Sane is believed to be leaving WWE at the end of her contract to return to her homeland of Japan and be with her husband.
ProWrestlingSheet.com is reporting that over 30 individuals in WWE have tested positive for the coronavirus ever since the company started swab tests following an outbreak a few weeks ago.
The positive tests have hit in-ring talent, production, and backstage employees, making the job of running multiple shows per week that much more difficult due to less resources.
WWE, while always flaunting that they have been doing everything to prevent an outbreak, never did the most important thing up until a few weeks ago and that is actually testing for COVID-19. But now, WWE administers swab tests to everyone before every show and Pro Wrestling Sheet adds that they have so far done around 1,500 tests.
The company cannot release the names of those who tested positive unless the actual person comes forward himself. Only Renee Young, Adam Pearce, Jamie Noble, and Kayla Braxton have come out to announce that they have coronavirus.
Since Florida is also seeing a major spike in cases again, WWE has made it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask inside the Performance Center, including those acting as fans. The only people who are allowed not to wear a mask are those who are performing in front of a camera at the time.
Surprise! Heath Slater, who was released from WWE in April, showed up on Monday Night Raw last night and confronted his former 3MB tag team partner and WWE champion Drew McIntyre.
Slater was brought out by Dolph Ziggler who accused him of leaving his friends behind ever since winning the title. Slater berated Drew and said when he was fired, Drew did nothing. The whole segment resulted in a very quick match that saw McIntyre beat Slater in 30 seconds.
After the match, Ziggler attacked Slater but McIntyre had a change of heart and came to the rescue. Both McIntyre and Slater then hugged to end the segment.
Slater is still going through his 90-day no-compete clause and officially is still getting paid by WWE. The company did something similar with Drake Maverick, making him work his notice but then rewarded with with a new deal after the Cruiserweight title tournament ended on NXT.
The former tag team champion uploaded a video on social media working out and ended with “July 18 watch the hell out.” July 18 is the day he can wrestle anywhere else and is also the date that happens to be the Impact Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Slater was teased on appearing at the pay-per-view in a taped promo last month by his former tag team partner Rhino on Impact who told Desi Hit Squad member Hakim Zane that he already has a partner for the show “and he’s got kids.” The tag line was famously used by Slater during his WWE run.
PWInsider.com is reporting that the SummerSlam pay-per-view in August is being moved from Boston to the WWE Performance Center.
Boston was set to get Smackdown, NXT Takeover, SummerSlam, and Raw with the usual big weekend reserved for the big four pay-per-views but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreck havoc, especially in the United States. A few months ago, the mayor of Boston also said that the city is not looking to hold any large events until the end of the Summer. The TD Garden, the planned host of SummerSlam, remains closed.
WWE has not officially made any announcements yet regarding yanking the show away from Boston. The schedule for television tapings released last week still has Takeover taking place on August 23, the day before SummerSlam, but the Smackdown that weekend is being taped on August 17.
Former WWE Superstar Sarah Logan today announced that she is pregnant with her first child. Logan is married to Raymond Rowe, better known to fans as Erik of The Viking Raiders.
The two received the positive test result during The Wild and The Free new YouTube episode with the camera capturing their reaction. Logan immediately started crying and embraced her husband and later showed the pregnancy test with the word ‘positive.’ Logan said that she is six weeks pregnant and the baby should be arriving in time for WrestleMania 37.
She was released from the company in April when WWE did the mass layoff due to coronavirus cost-cutting measures.
Wrestling-Online.com today officially launched Wrestling.bet, a new website that will look at the betting odds of wrestling-related shows and matches.
If you are a fan of wrestling betting odds and what oddsmakers are thinking for upcoming shows, Wrestling.bet will be the website for you as we will bring you the numbers from the major sportsbooks around the world.
From match outcomes to weekly TV ratings and other whacky scenarios, Wrestling.bet gives you all the information you need if you want are thinking of actually putting any real money on any bet.
Wrestling.bet has no banner advertising from third-party networks.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Rey Mysterio is currently appearing on WWE television without a contract and the former champion has not signed a new deal.
Mysterio and his son Dominik are currently locked in an angle with Seth Rollins and Mysterio has made it very obvious in the past that any new deal should include a guarantee for his son to work for the company. Dominik is training to follow in his father’s footsteps and has been involved on WWE television many times in the past, including getting manhandled by Brock Lesnar.
What happens with Mysterio going forward remains a mystery – no pun intended. Mysterio’s contract expired a few weeks ago and there seems to be a gentleman’s agreement that keeps Mysterio and his son on TV for now.
Rey signed a WWE deal in September 2018. Originally he wanted an 18-month deal but reports at the time suggest that WWE got a two-year deal instead with a clause in his deal where Mysterio could give notice once the 18-month mark hits.
There’s no doubt that online gambling is a growing industry in the United Kingdom. According to the statistics by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), the total gambling market was worth £14.3 billion in 2019. The statistics show that online gambling accounts for 38.60% of the overall sector, which is the largest share of the market.
Recently, both major political parties in the UK pledged to introduce additional restrictions that will make things slightly more difficult for UK online casino operators.
In this article, we’ll take a look at what the future holds for gambling and casinos in the UK.
The beginning of modern age gambling
The first legalized and regulated private casinos were established in the UK after the introduction of the Betting and Gaming Act in 1960. There were different kinds of casino establishments, with class playing a major role.
While most people were more likely to place an accumulator bet on football at the local betting shop, a player with sufficient bankroll would probably opt for a round of card games at a casino.
With this, betting and casino operators started emerging in the country. And by the end of the 20th century, most gambling venues were owned and operated by large companies that operated on a national level. Gambling became a large industry that generated millions in revenue.
In the late 1990s, the gambling community saw the rise of a new phenomenon: online gambling. The opportunities were massive, and casino operators quickly realized the potential of this new sector.
Gambling went online
Online gambling sites appeared in the 1990s, but they were more of a fringe thing at that time. In less than a decade, online gambling became an established industry. And it wasn’t just small companies that their luck in the UK casino sector, many industry giants decided to expand their operations and offer their services on the online platform.
The industry experienced unprecedented growth over the years, and the gross gambling yield grew from £8.4 billion to £14.4 billion between 2011 and 2018. It’s not just that online betting and casino gaming meant more convenience, but the variety of games offered also changed.
Latest developments and future projections
The UK is one of the countries that have the most liberal legalization regarding gambling. Many forms of gambling are permitted in the UK, and games like Bingo and even horse race betting are considered to be traditional.
Things have started becoming a lot more restrictive, though it doesn’t seem that the industry is on a decline. As such, many people want to know what the future holds for the gambling industry.
Many industry experts believe that the industry will strive away from the most dangerous forms of gambling in the coming years. The latest ban on credit card gambling is another move in that direction.
On the other hand, technology will keep on advancing, enabling game providers to develop new and exciting games that will attract even more people to online casino gaming.
