[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by the Nia-maker:

Originally Posted by Observer WWE numbers fell from last week, which isn't a story because the Monday after Royal Rumble is likely to be one of the two or three highest rated shows of the year. But what was a surprise was how far they tumbled, as last night's show averaged 3.10 million viewers. To put that number into perspective, only five shows in 2016 outside of football season were lower, and this was with a fairly loaded show with Bill Goldberg and a fresh main event with Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe ... With the exception of two shows in August against the Olympics, two June shows against major NBA playoff games, and a Monday that fell on July 4th, this week's number was lower than any non-football Raw of 2016. It also had a bad drop and a very weak third hour. The three hours were: 8 p.m. 3.34 million viewers 9 p.m. 3.17 million viewers 10 p.m. 2.84 million viewers

Likely will be RAW's range for the Road to Mania since no more really big shows are left till the go-home Mania show.

Originally Posted by Observer Ivan Koloff, 74, one of pro wrestling's leading heels of the 70s and 80s, is battling liver cancer. Koloff is best known for his January 18th, 1971, win over Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden which ended up being Sammartino's only pinfall loss in that building in his entire career. The win ended Sammartino's nearly eight year run as WWWF champion.

For those interested in donating, Koloff's daughter recently started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with medical costs: http://www.gofundme.com/Ivan-koloffs...financial-need

Originally Posted by Observer WWE issued an update on Shinsuke Nakamura's storyline knee injury, noting that there were no tears in Nakamura's knee and that he wouldn't require surgery.

Originally Posted by Observer The custom WWE Championship that WWE sent the New England Patriots after their Super Bowl 51 win was heavily featured during the team's victory parade today. Rob Gronkowski posted a picture with the title before the parade began and it appeared several times on the TV broadcast.

Originally Posted by Observer EVOLVE announced that Michael Elgin and Donovan Dijak would be wrestling for the promotion over WrestleMania weekend, which probably says something about Dijak's future with Ring of Honor. Elgin & Dijak will challenge for Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi's EVOLVE tag titles on March 30th in Orlando, Florida. Elgin will also face Zack Sabre Jr. the next night.

Originally Posted by Observer Paige's life story could soon be making its way to the big screen. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced on Facebook on Tuesday that his Seven Bucks Productions company is producing a film based on WWE wrestler Paige (real name Saraya-Jade Bevis) and her family. The movie was inspired by a documentary that aired on Channel 4 in the UK that chronicled Paige and her family's career in the wrestling business. Based on the documentary, the film will be titled "Fighting With My Family." "Years ago (2012) while shooting Fast & Furious in London, I was up at 3am (too much caffeine) and stumbled upon a documentary on a UK station about a local wrestling family and their daughter's unlikely journey into the global spotlight," Johnson wrote. "That daughter, is current WWE Women's Superstar, Paige. The family element I saw in the doc, is what grabbed my attention. That no matter how crazy life gets, no matter how dysfunctional our families can sometimes be and especially regardless of how much we fight -- we're always there for each other when it counts. That's what families do." Stephen Merchant will write and direct the film, with Johnson noting that Merchant grasped how gritty and heartfelt the comedy-drama should be. Johnson also noted that they would be partnering with WWE Studios and Film 4 on the project. The Hollywood Reporter's story on the film said that Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden have been tapped for starring roles, with Johnson making a cameo as himself in addition to his position as executive producer. Paige's wrestling career is currently on hold after she underwent neck surgery last year. She was also suspended by WWE twice for wellness policy violations in 2016.

Originally Posted by Observer The WWE signed a multi-year deal with Dana Warrior, the widow of Ultimate Warrior. This is part of continuing to market the Ultimate Warrior name, have her be part of the annual Ultimate Warrior Award, etc.

Originally Posted by Observer Adding to a class that already includes Kurt Angle as its headliner, it was revealed on Monday afternoon that The Rock 'n' Roll Express would also be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. The announcement that Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson would be joining the Hall of Fame was made by CBS Sports, with WWE also posting an article about it on their website. Morton & Gibson were voted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame in 2014. "It was a surprise," Morton said to CBS Sports. "I had a message on my phone (from WWE) to call the number back. I think they got ahold of Robert at the time. When they called, it was just like a suckerpunch. It just knocked us off our feet." "It's an honor for Ricky and me to go into the Hall of Fame," Gibson said.

Originally Posted by Observer John Layfield will be doing a new "Legends with JBL" show on Wednesday talking with Stan Hansen. Those shows are always interesting.

Originally Posted by Observer Charles Robinson revealed in an interview on WWE.com that he tore his plantar fascia while refereeing John Cena vs. AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble and reflected on what it was like to be there for Cena's 16th title win.

Link to the interview: http://www.wwe.com/article/charles-r...ampionship-win

Originally Posted by Observer Don Callis makes his debut calling New Japan Pro Wrestling ... as he'll be calling the New Beginning in Sapporo with Kevin Kelly. The show will be headlined by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Minoru Suzuki.

Replaces Steve Corino who recently joined the WWE as a new NXT trainer.

Originally Posted by Observer Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Ricochet, and Will Ospreay will be appearing for OTT Wrestling at a big show in Ireland on April 15th at National Stadium. The promotion also had a show today with Drew Galloway making a surprise appearance and Mark Haskins wrestling for the first time since taking time off with a neck injury last year.

Originally Posted by PWI As we reported yesterday, Seth Rollins was back in Birmingham, Alabama regarding the MCL tear in his knee. The hope among those I've spoken to today is that Rollins will be good to go by Wrestlemania, pending any further complications. Erick Rowan is at the WWE Performance Center this week working towards being cleared from his torn rotator cuff. Rich Swann was pulled out of in-ring duties due to a foot or ankle issue. That's why he disappeared from his storyline against Neville. Hideo Itami is off the injured reserve.

Dave Meltzer noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE expects that Seth Rollins will be able to wrestle at WrestleMania 33. At this time, the Seth Rollins vs. Triple H match is on and that’s what WWE will work towards.

Originally Posted by Pro Wrestling Sheet Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned there’s some truth to rumors claiming Nikki Bella will be done in the ring after WrestleMania 33 … but we’re told she won’t be leaving WWE. Sources with direct knowledge tell us Nikki had been trying her best to deal with the pain her neck has been feeling while also traveling a full-time schedule … however, it’s become too much. As we previously reported, she had only intended to be a part-time performer upon her return. We’re told the pain often causes numbness to one side of her body, so she’s hoping some time away will allow her to wrestle every once in awhile for WWE at big events in the future. Our sources say Nikki’s contract is also up around the same time as Mania, but those close to the deal believe they’ll agree to a new one before WM33 that would keep her around for the foreseeable future.

Some other sheet news includes:

• Observer recently debunked rumors of Eva Marie leaving the WWE after she got rid of all WWE related stuff from her Twitter account. Past reports about her teased the WWE still hasn't been willing to use her even for house shows after her suspension ended months ago.
• ESPN had a recent interview with Sami Zayn about him wanting to help change the way Muslims are portrayed in wrestling and be a positive role model for them. http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/1...lims-wrestling
• For those interested, the Observer Radio recently had an episode dedicated to the XFL and some of the crazy stuff Vince did not covered by the 30 For 30 documentary last week. http://www.f4wonline.com/wrestling-o...out-xfl-229611
• WWE recently called up one of NXT's refs, Danilo Anfibio, to the Smackdown brand with this weekend's NXT house shows as his last there.
• During a recent Observer Radio show, Dave Meltzer implied the reason for lack of Stone Cold podcast shows on the Network is due to the WWE souring on Austin and him unwilling to filter or let them have complete control for the episodes. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCirc...n_new_network/
• Apparently someone recently tried to kill former WWE wrestler/announcer Ricardo Rodriguez while he was driving with his family. Had his car shot at but lucky the shooter only managed to destroy the car's back window. https://twitter.com/RRWWE/status/829024803428429824