[Emperor Smeat]

Today's Dirty Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Coming off last week's highly-rated 1,000th episode, SmackDown viewership dropped 18 percent this week to the second-lowest number of the year. At just 2.087 million viewers, this was also the fourth-lowest number since SmackDown moved to its live format. This came despite the fact that Raw was up this week, and was likely due to SmackDown airing opposite the World Series. Game one between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers averaged almost 14 million viewers, and ratings juggernaut NCIS on CBS cracked 11 million viewers. SmackDown was down over 22 percent year-over-year and retained just 82 percent of the Raw audience from the night before, which may have been inflated due to curiosity about the health of Roman Reigns. SmackDown finished eight for the night on cable in terms of total viewers, which is right in the normal range.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE and EVOLVE have made a couple of announcements concerning WWE wrestlers working upcoming EVOLVE shows. As was announced earlier this month, Mustafa Ali will be wrestling at EVOLVE 115 in Livonia, Michigan on November 9 and EVOLVE 116 in Oak Lawn, Illinois on November 10. Ali's opponents were revealed today, with him facing DJZ in Michigan and Darby Allin in Illinois. Kassius Ohno is set to wrestle at EVOLVE 117 in Queens, New York on December 15 and EVOLVE 118 in Deer Park, New York on December 16. He'll also be a guest trainer at a seminar that WWN is holding in Long Island on December 16. EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka issuing an open challenge has been set up for EVOLVE 114 in Ybor City, Florida this Sunday. On Twitter, it's being teased that The Street Profits (NXT's Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) will be the team to face Dickinson & Jaka.

Links: https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-205-li...olve-wrestling & https://twitter.com/AngeloDawkins/st...75916520841216

Originally Posted by PWI WWE Network News is reporting that the following Brothers of Destruction matches will be this week's "Hidden Gems" added tomorrow on the streaming service: RAW 04/16/2001 – Destruction After Dark The Brothers of Destruction look to put the brakes on Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H’s power trip in this rarely seen moment from RAW. OVW 06/30/2001 – Destruction Comes to OVW The Undertaker has a big surprise in store for the team of Diamond Dallas Page and Leviathan when he brings his brother Kane to OVW.

Originally Posted by PWI/Post Wrestling Indies Roundup: MLW issued the following: BRIAN PILMAN JR. VS. TOMMY DREAMER IN A BATTLE FOR RESPECT ON NOVEMBER 8 IN CHICAGO AT MLW FIGHTLAND. CHICAGO – Following a violent attack on Kevin Sullivan, the Hart Foundation’s Brian Pillman Jr. wants to add the head of another legend to his mantle: the “Innovator of Violence” Tommy Dreamer… and Dreamer has accepted the challenge. CMLL star Rush has been booked for the 12/13 and 12/14 MLW events in Miami, Florida. In regard to rumors of European star WALTER coming in [MLW], there are no current plans for that. The two sides had contact several months ago but nothing came of it and they've had zero communication since. Chris Jericho announced Wednesday that the Rock ‘N Rager cruise is now sold out. The cruise boards on Saturday from Miami and sails to the Bahamas and returns October 31st. There is a huge list of wrestlers and personalities that are part of the cruise, including a big tag match with Jericho & The Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega, Cody & Marty Scurll, as well as the Sea of Honor tournament. Talent from Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling will be on the cruise and the Bucks will have an inter-promotional match against Santana & Ortiz of LAX. Select matches will be airing on Honor Club and FITE TV on Saturday, November 3rd. The El Rey Network will be airing an all-day marathon next Wednesday Lucha Underground’s fourth season leading into the first part of Ultima Lucha at 8 pm Eastern.

Originally Posted by PWI Former WWF and WCW star Samu Anoa'i publicly revealed today that he is battling stage four liver cancer and is waiting for a liver transplant. Anoa'i revealed his battle during a Facebook post this morning addressing complaints about t-shirts he began selling this week, which some criticized as being exploitative after Roman Reigns announced the return of his leukemia. I want to take a minute to address the situation with myself and that of my family. I recently have posted I am selling shirts “Anoa’i Strong” These shirts have been for sale for many years and in light of the current situation that has struck myself and my family, I have decided to change the shirts to various colors for cancer. My cousins news has struck the world and we are all devastated at this time. What many of you may or may not know is I am also dealing with stage 4 liver cancer and am currently waiting for God’s grace to help me get a transplant. I am an elder member of my family and in no way am I or my family attempting to profit from any serious sickness. Instead, I want to use our name in order to help doctors and researchers find ways to cure this evil sickness. I do not endorse or will I ever endorse profit on the misfortune of others or myself or that of my family. I want all of my friends, family and fans to know we will always remain “Anoa’i Strong.” and these shirts will remain for sale and we will be speaking with various cancer organizations on how we can help. Until you can stand in the shoes we stand in you will never know the pain and the struggle we endure daily. Over the course of his run in professional wrestling, Samu has worked as the third member of the Wild Samoans, headlined Madison Square Garden, worked World Class and the NWA/WCW with Fatu (later Rikishi) as the Samoan SWAT Team and then returned to WWF with Fatu as the Headshrinkers. He currently operates WXW out of Allentown, PA and has competed for MLW at their BattleRiot event in NYC.

Originally Posted by PWI Do you think that the reaction to Becky Lynch is similar to that of Daniel Bryan, while inadvertently, making Charlotte the female Roman Reigns? Becky definitely has the Bryan role. The fans have gotten behind her and want to cheer her and see her reach the summit. I don’t think they hate Charlotte like they did Reigns, for the simple reason that Becky got the Title. WWE didn’t want to give the Title to Bryan so that made the fans angry at whoever got pushed in his place. Now, if that ends up being what they do with Becky, we can revisit it then.

From PWI's weekly Q&A articles on the similarities between Becky Lynch and Daniel Bryan in terms of crowd support and WWE's stubbornness.

Originally Posted by PWI With Roman Reigns' health issues, all early plans for Wrestlemania 35's main event picture are now out the window we are told.

Originally Posted by PWI As of this morning, tickets still have yet to go on sale for the 11/2 Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. However, the first set of WWE staff members working the show are scheduled to travel there within the next day with the remaining heading over there following the next set of TV tapings. The talk at this week's TV among staffers was about traveling to Saudi Arabia, so everyone is under the impression they are going as nothing else has been communicated to them by management. If WWE is going to change plans, they will have to do so very soon.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Inside the Ropes has announced three speaking events with The Undertaker for 2019. The Undertaker will be doing shows on April 30th in London, England, May 1st in Glasgow, Scotland, and May 2nd in Manchester. Tickets for the three shows go on sale next Wednesday at www.insidetheropes.co.uk.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc We've noted how Alexa Bliss reportedly suffered a concussion at Saturday's WWE live event in Hartford, which has her status up in the air for Sunday's Evolution match with Mickie James against WWE Hall of Famers Lita and Trish Stratus. PWInsider reports that the belief is Bliss suffered either a concussion or a broken nose as both stories are going around backstage. WWE kept Bliss off TV this week as they wanted her to heal up to make sure she's good to go for Evolution. As pointed out earlier this week, Bliss indicated that she's been at home but she's still planning on being at Evolution as she has new merchandise dropping.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc Triple H posted the following to reveal the following theme songs for the WWE NXT "Takeover: War Games II" event during Survivor Series weekend in Los Angeles - "Wonderful Life" by Bring Me The Horizon, "Mariana Trench" by Nita Strauss, "Voices" by Motionless In White. .@WWENXT's War Ensemble…@MIWband, @BMTHOfficial, and @HurricaneNita are #NXTLOUD. #NXTTakeOver: WarGames #WeAreNXT pic.twitter.com/LiI322BnD8 — Triple H (@TripleH) October 24, 2018

https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/1055190098013229058

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc Roman Reigns announcing on RAW this past Monday night that he was vacating the WWE Universal Championship due to his battle with leukemia continues to be the talk of the wrestling world. Reigns revealed that he's been living with leukemia for the past 11 years and it has returned. Leukemia is a serious form of cancer with an average five-year survival rate (the percentage of patients alive five years after the disease is diagnosed) of 57% in the United States. Reigns has not specified the type of leukemia that he has. There are many types of leukemia, however acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are the most common in young adults. According to Cancer.org, the total treatment time for ALL is 2 years. Treatment for AML varies depending on if chemotherapy is required, but in total it can be several months to a year. While Reigns had never publicly revealed his previous battle with leukemia until this week, an article at MLive.com in June of 2015 stated that Reigns was forced to leave the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL because of "a serious illness" before signing with the Canadian Football League. Reigns was released from the Jaguars in August of 2007 before signing with the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL in 2008 and playing for the Eskimos that fall. Assuming MLive.com's report is accurate, that would mean that Reigns was out of action for about 10 months, since his last game with the Jaguars was in August of 2007 and he played for the Eskimos in the 2008 CFL season, which started that June.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc SmackDown General Manager Paige was backstage for last night's TV show in Newark but she was not used in an on-camera role. The decision was made to put SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon on the show this week as he eases back into a regular TV role. PWInsider adds that WWE officials still love Paige in her role as General Manager.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc Could the nWo be up for a WWE Hall of Fame induction in the near future? Reddit user thegumpguy posted about meeting WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash at the Gump City Con in Mobile, Alabama this past weekend and said Nash claimed the upcoming nWo reunion is being done to gauge interest on a potential WWE Hall of Fame induction for the group. Thegumpguy wrote on Nash, "No line at his booth, so I had plenty of time to talk to him, even gave him a cigar. ... He did a Q&A panel and discussed the upcoming nWo reunion and how it's just a bunch of Q&A parties to gauge interest for inducting them into the Hall of Fame" ... There's no word yet on who the induction would be for but it could be for the original nWo - Hogan, Hall and Nash. The group featured more than 50 members since it was first put together in 1996. Nash revealed at the convention that he's a big fan of Bayley and Sasha Banks, and that they would have been a welcomed addition into the nWo. Thegumpguy also noted how Nash said Jim Cornette is bitter about how the wrestling business has changed, and how he doesn't get why Joey Ryan is so popular as he thinks Ryan's gimmick is crass & not in good taste.

Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCirc...in_nash_today/

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc The Rock has been pretty savvy about avoiding controversy throughout his career, but a months-old social media post has inserted himself into the Saudi Arabia situation. Six months ago, The Rock posted on Instagram that he had the pleasure of having dinner with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Rock described it as a "fascinating experience" and one that he "asked a lot of questions. Listened and learned." CNN reporter Oliver Darcy uncovered that old Instagram post and blasted The Rock for it. This Instagram post from @TheRock did not age well. Reached out to his publicist several times today to see if he has any new thoughts on MBS, but no response. pic.twitter.com/N538sD52X1 — Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 19, 2018 The Rock responded by calling Darcy's post "clickbait" and urged him to go back and read what he said in the Instagram caption. Such a silly, clickbait post, Oliver. Im surprised you'd post this. Go back and really read my words. I listened and learned then. As I listen and learn now. C'mon man — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) October 20, 2018 Darcy responded with a tweet of his own in which he asked Rock if his opinion on bin Salman has changed over time. You had dinner with a brutal authoritarian, playing a role in his PR campaign to convince the West that he was, as you'd say, someone with "modern views." Then you gushed about it on social media. Ppl look up to you. Do you regret giving him a platform? Has your opinion changed? https://t.co/yPHazTLIRt — Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 20, 2018 Rock hasn't responded to Darcy's latest post but he becomes the latest member of the WWE family to appear to, in some way, defend Saudi Arabia. However, Rock's post is from April 2018 and was before journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Others who have more blatantly defended Saudi Arabia include JBL who commended the country for promoting change and Randy Orton who said going to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel would "make things better everywhere."

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc WWE has a new poll asking fans who won the war of words between The Bella Twins and RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey over the last two weeks. As of this writing, 77% voted for Rousey.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• Hulk Hogan Says He’s “Looking Forward to Going to Saudi Arabia With WWE”
• Cody Rhodes Implies His Time With ROH Is Coming to an End + He’s Done With Bullet Club
• WWE: More on Dean Ambrose Heel Turn, Future Plans for Trish Stratus & Lita