TPWW's Official Dirty Sheets News Thread [Archive] - Page 9

Emperor Smeat

06-15-2018, 12:47 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Nothing:

While there haven't been any names officially announced, a standout wrestler of her generation looks set for WWE's second Mae Young Classic.

Tokyo Sports reported today that 38-year-old Meiko Satomura would be participating in the tournament this summer.

Whether or not Satomura would have any involvement with WWE past appearing in the Mae Young Classic wasn't made clear.

Satomura is a founder of the Sendai Girls promotion in Japan and has been wrestling for over 20 years. She's also been wrestling on the United Kingdom independent scene fairly often recently, appearing for Pro Wrestling: EVE and Fight Club: PRO. She won the Fight Club: PRO title from Chris Brookes earlier this year.

The Mae Young Classic will be taped in Orlando, Florida on August 8th and 9th. Last year's tournament had a 32-wrestler field that included a mix of wrestlers who were under contract with WWE and those who weren't.

Link: https://twitter.com/reasonjp/status/1007151310003531776

It wasn’t that long ago when FloSports started an independent streaming service with grandiose plans, which collapsed quickly for a number of reasons.

The goals were too big, and more importantly, it was announced before it had key deals in place. And the key deals it needed to get, they never got. Hoping for tens of thousands of subscribers with EVOLVE as your home company just wasn’t going to cut it, and with just a few thousand subscribers, FloSports closed the entire pro wrestling division

This week, Pivotshare, which has deals with more than 100 companies in 15 countries, is trying to do what FloSlam failed, which is to be the destination for independent wrestling, with the creation of the Powerslam Wrestling Network.

The key differences are that Pivotshare already has deals in place with a number of promotions, and that they are starting out with a $5.99 per month price as opposed to the $20 per month price that FloSlam charged. They, being around wrestling for four years, also have a better idea of the independent marketplace ...

The service will be launching immediately on iOS and Android devices, as well as Apple TV, Roku Channels, Amazon Channels and at the portal powerslam.tv. They expect to release 40 to 50 events per month. At launch, there will be deals with 75 different promotions and 2,000
hours of archived content.
More details and list of promotions included: https://www.f4wonline.com/indies/pivotshare-launches-powerslam-wrestling-network-259696

2K has a press conference on Monday to announce the cover superstar for WWE 2K 19. The cover superstar will also reveal news about the new game and host a Q&A session. The press conference takes place at 11 a.m. Eastern at www.2K.com.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118118/cover-star-for-wwe-2k19-videogame-to-be-unveiled-monday-morning-complete-details.html?p=1

Indies Roundup:
Teddy Hart & Davey Boy Smith Jr., seconded by Brian Pillman II, face ACH & Rich Swann for MLW on 7/19 in Long Island City, NY. They will also be in he 40 man Battle Riot.

All Star Wrestling on 6/23 in Cloverdale, BC at the Fairgrounds headlined by Chris Masters vs. Tom Lawlor. They will also be honoring Diamond Timothy Flowers and Buddy Wayne.

AAW on 6/23 in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street has ACH vs. David Starr for the AAW title, Kimber Lee vs. Kylie Rae for the women's title, Trevor Lee vs. Trey Miguel for the Heritage title, Sami Callihan vs. Brody King, Hudson Envy vs. Su Yung, plus Eddie Kingston, Colt Cabana, Curt Stallion, Jake Something, Stephen Wolf, Moose, Myron Reed, Paco, MJF and Ace Romero.

WWE released the Flash Morgan Webster vs. James Drake WWE U.K. Championship Tournament First-Round Match today:

The remaining matches from the first round of the tournament will be released on the following days and times:

TODAY - Ashton Smith vs. Joseph Conners – 3 p.m. ET

Friday, June 15
Kenny Williams vs. Dave Mastiff – 12 p.m. ET
Ligero vs. Travis Banks – 3 p.m. ET

Monday, June 18
Amir Jordan vs. Zack Gibson – 12 p.m. ET
Tucker vs. Joe Coffey – 3 p.m. ET

Tuesday, June 19
Jordan Devlin vs. Tyson T-Bone – 3 p.m. ET
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-XZ1RaujEc

According to WWE Network News, the following will be today's selection of Hidden Gems which seem to have two themes going on. One, a look at fathers and sons in light of Father's Day on Sunday as well as early footage of Xavier Woods and Kenny Omega from their time in WWE developmental in light of their cross-promotional gaming showdown today when the The Elite faces off with The New Day at E3 today.

CWF 04/20/1976 – Bob Orton Sr. and Bob Orton Jr. Training Video / Bob Orton Sr. and Bob Orton Jr. vs Steve Keirn and Mike Graham (Reel Footage)

AWA 04/21/1985 – Curt Hennig and Larry “The Axe” Hennig vs The Road Warriors

NWA 04/11/1987 – Brad Armstrong and Bob Armstrong vs Lex Luger and Tully Blanchard (Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup 1987 Quarterfinals)

Deep South Wrestling 09/03/2006 – Kenny Omega vs Cru Jones

FCW 06/05/2011 – Xavier Woods vs Michael Tarver

A Las Vegas-based company titled KBN INC. CORPORATION NEVADA has applied to trademark 'Halloween Havoc' on 6/8, listing the trademark filing for "T-shirts; Baseball caps and hats; Clothing for wear in wrestling games; Graphic T-shirts" as well as for "Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services in the nature of a wrestling club; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network" ...

Also as interesting is that Caliifornia-based Tatevik Hunanyan (who wrestles independently as Tatevik the Gamer) applied to trademark the name 'Sister Abigail' on 6/5, listing the trademark as for "Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer also for wrestling purposes." WWE have never previously applied to trademark the name of the Sister Abigail character, which has been referenced the entire course of Bray Wyatt's WWE run.
Link: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118104/new-trademarks-filed-for-halloween-havoc-sister-abigailbut-not-by-wwe.html?p=1

Alberto El Patron said he was returning for TripleMania and said he would be wrestling through the end of 2019. I think he’s been retiring “next year” for the last four years. He said he also expects a farewell match at Arena Mexico. He said that if his plans don’t turn out, he may be doing more farewell matches. Still, he wasn’t at the press conference and isn’t planned for the main event

Vampiro announced he was leaving and going back too Canada because he suffered a broken neck from Killer Kross’ back suplex and has to retire. If you’ve followed Vampiro’s careers and retirements enough you’d know this isn’t much of a story. The last time he said he broke his neck and had to retire was a few months ago

A major note on the talent that worked the ITV tapings is that in a sense they were the first wrestlers in modern times to perform under a collective bargaining agreement since they were treated as television actors in the U.K. They adhered to the rules of the Equity UK/ITV agreement, and used the terms used primarily for those on soap operas on ITV. The Equity union negotiated the minimum rate through collective bargaining. The talent was able and was encouraged to negotiate above the minimum. The performers were treated like any other talent in a dramatic production as far as having their costs associated with being in the area and performing taken care of as far as travel and accommodations. During the old World of Sport days, wrestling was not treated in this manner and was unregulated, but this was a precedent for wrestling in the U.K. The hope is that if the first season is a success they’ll be able to collective bargain for better minimum rates for season two

Hogan, while appearing for a weekend talk show with Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff, said things are moving “quite quickly” about a return

Lots of rumblings about WWE making moves on opening communication with talent in New Japan as well as those announced for All In. Obviously the Rey Mysterio Jr., name will pop up, but WWE has had open lines with him about returning since January and that was before he agreed to the New Japan and All In dates so this is not suddenly having interest in a guy who is working big dates elsewhere in his case. I think it’s clear by how good a shape he’s in that they want him back and it’s just a matter of making the right kind of money and schedule deal. He’s doing very well working a limited schedule because he commands the highest price per appearance on the independent market right now. But WWE can afford seven figures for limited dates even more now than ever before. It is going to be a very interesting next several months

Regarding Paul Ellering, he is still listed on the NXT roster. Paul Levesque on the conference call this week said he wasn’t part of the decision-making process to take him away from the Authors of Pain. He said that he felt Ellering was valuable and is open for a role to bring him back in NXT

With a lack of new programming and the long gap between PPV shows, this was the top ten most watched shows of the past week on WWE Network: 1. NXT on 6/6; 2. Something Else to Wrestle With on 6/8 on the ECW revival; 3. Photo Shoot with Goldust; 4. 205 Live from 6/5; 5. NXT from 5/30; 6. Camp WWE episode 5; 7. Photo Shoot with The Godfather; 8. Backlash 2018; 9. Something Else to Wrestle With on 5/30 on John Cena; 10. WrestleMania 2018

Some other sheet news includes:

According to the Observer, Dr. Christopher Amann's contract with the WWE currently expires this October.
For those that actually care about Meltzer's star ratings, Omega-Okada IV got rated 7 stars.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE Reportedly Trying to Block ROH From Doing a Show at MSG (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/wwe-reportedly-trying-to-block-roh-from-doing-a-show-at-msg/)
Various: Authors of Pain Update, Eli Drake Signs Short-Term Contract (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/various-authors-of-pain-update-eli-drake-signs-short-term-contract-extension/)
James Ellsworth Update (Possible Spoiler) (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/james-ellsworth-update-possible-spoiler/)

Ol Dirty Dastard

06-15-2018, 01:02 PM

Even if Reigns finally defeats Lesnar for the belt, he's beyond damaged goods as a top star now. Maybe even worse than Luger or Diesel were as top star material.

Definitely worse than both. With Reigns this has been going on for almost 5 years. Nash had a bit of a spotty title reign but was over immediately after because he reinvigorated his character and really began delivering in his promos and in ring. It's almost a shame he went to WCW because there were legs with asskicker Diesel.

Luger is Luger - good booking or bad booking. He tended to fit in better in WCW.

Roman is the worst damaged goods I've ever seen.

LibSuperstar

06-16-2018, 02:23 AM

Definitely worse than both. With Reigns this has been going on for almost 5 years. Nash had a bit of a spotty title reign but was over immediately after because he reinvigorated his character and really began delivering in his promos and in ring. It's almost a shame he went to WCW because there were legs with asskicker Diesel.

Luger is Luger - good booking or bad booking. He tended to fit in better in WCW.

Roman is the worst damaged goods I've ever seen.

Definitely were legs! He was the Diesel we needed as champ especially since there weren't many credible heels. But WWE has been a babyface territory going back to Vince Sr. so no heel was staying champ for too long.

Mr. Nerfect

06-16-2018, 05:56 AM

I think Amann will leave the company quietly when his contract is up.

I'm hoping for an exodus of WWE talent over the next year. I want Brock, Bryan, Ziggler, Styles, Nakamura, Gallows and Anderson to all turn down WWE offers and go to New Japan/Pro-Wrestling Other.

LibSuperstar

06-16-2018, 12:14 PM

Don't see any of those leaving except for Lesnar and it'll most likely be UFC instead.

Mr. Nerfect

06-16-2018, 07:11 PM

I'm smoking the hopium a bit.

slik

06-18-2018, 09:09 AM

Coach cutting a promo

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Literally no one in the actual business talks to the observer. They hate me because I have always called them out on their lack of being accurate on ANYTHING. It’s no sweat they have to write something <a href="https://t.co/oJE5vViPe4">https://t.co/oJE5vViPe4</a></p>— Jonathan Coachman (@TheCoachrules) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCoachrules/status/1008558388974931969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mr. Nerfect

06-18-2018, 10:07 PM

Except sometimes Meltzer is right on point?

Lock Jaw

06-18-2018, 10:11 PM

Only to Meltzer sheep,,,,,,,,,,

Emperor Smeat

06-19-2018, 09:58 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Kyle O'Reilly Air Guitar Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/JuCckuy.gif

Raw last night, getting the PPV bump from Money in the Bank, was up six percent to 2.90 million viewers.

It was the best number the show has done since April 30, although it's also lower than every episode from the end of football season through April 30 ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 3.00 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.98 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.73 million viewers

With it being 6/19, today was declared “Rey Mysterio Day” in San Diego. Mysterio said he’s possibly getting ready to go back to WWE and indicated that it would be a three-year contract if they come to terms. Mysterio also mentioned that he has more dates with NJPW scheduled.

Mysterio tweeted about being honored today: “Honored & grateful with the city of SD 619 for officially naming today 6/19/Rey Mysterio Day! A Sincere Thank U to my fans [worldwide] for the support & unconditional love given through out my 28 yrs of career & please understand that without your support I would not be who I am now!”
Links: https://twitter.com/RealFRamirez/status/1009130579562938368 , https://twitter.com/RealFRamirez/status/1009132342995181568 , https://twitter.com/reymysterio/status/1009179147904507904

Cena and Ford settled out of court after Ford sued Cena for selling an exclusive car that he got the chance to purchase. Ford had claimed that Cena wasn’t supposed to resell the car as part of the agreement.
Link: https://www.autoblog.com/2018/06/19/john-cena-ford-gt-flip-settlement/

Triple H said that Jinny suffered a concussion at yesterday’s United Kingdom Championship tournament show at Royal Albert Hall. She got hurt when catching Isla Dawn on a dive, and the planned fatal four-way match was started again as a triple threat with Toni Storm, Killer Kelly, and Dawn. Jinny tweeted about the injury: “Heartbroken? Yes. Seriously hurt? No. I'm so grateful to have the people I have in my life, friends and family checking up on me. And, thank you to all the fans who wished me well #YassQueen”

Links: https://youtu.be/y2LYJbobjOs , https://twitter.com/JinnyCouture/status/1009117990661566464

Bobby Roode celebrated the 20th anniversary of his pro wrestling debut: “June 19 1998 was my very first pro wrestling match. It’s been an amazing 20 years in this business. Thank you to everyone who has helped me get to where I am today! #Glorious”
Link: https://twitter.com/REALBobbyRoode/status/1009130262171672577

Indies Roundup:
PCO, perhaps better known as former WWF Tag Team Champion Quebecer Pierre, is the first announced participant for this year’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournament. The 50 year old has had a lot of buzz on the indies lately, especially since his match against WALTER at Joey Janela’s Spring Break II over WrestleMania weekend. BOLA 2018 will take place at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles from September 14-16.

PCO has also been added to MLW’s 40-person Battle Riot match in Queens, New York on July 19, joining Johnny Mundo, Pentagon Jr., ACH, Kevin Sullivan, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Teddy Hart, Rich Swann, Barrington Hughes, Jake Hager, and Jimmy Yuta.

Pentagon Jr. & Fenix defending their Tag Team titles against ACH & Rich Swann has been added to MLW’s TV tapings in Orlando on July 12.

Jay Lethal vs, BJ Whitmer, Christopher Daniels vs. Delirious, Marty Scurll vs. Rhett Titus, Silas Young vs. Flip Gordon, Mark Briscoe vs. Will Ferrara, Hangman Page vs. Frankie Kazarian, Cheeseburger vs. Beer City Bruiser, and Jay Briscoe vs. Kenny King will be the first round matches in the Sea of Honor tournament on Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise. The winner will receive a future ROH World Championship shot.

The new episode of Being the Elite is built around the Elite vs. New Day E3 video game thing from Thursday and other shenanigans. There is a big tease at the end for a match between the two sides.

Io Shirai had her farewell match to Stardom on Sunday at Korakuen Hall. Shirai teamed on the show with Mayu Iwatani defeating Kagetsu & Hazuki. Shirai also came out after the main event where Momo Watanabe retained the Wonder of Stardom title over Jungle Kyona and Shirai put Watanabe over to the audience as the big star of the promotion.

Punishment Martinez won the ROH Television title on Saturday at the promotion’s ‘State of the Art’ card from Dallas, Texas. Silas Young was facing Martinez, Cheeseburger, Hangman Page, Scorpio Sky, and Jonathan Gresham in Proving Ground match, where Young would have to defend the title immediately if he lost the match. Martinez pinned Cheeseburger to receive the automatic title shot and defeated Young to win the title. Martinez is scheduled to face Hangman Page at the ‘Best in the World’ pay-per-view on June 29th in Baltimore.
PWG: https://twitter.com/OfficialPWG/status/1008892249814384641 , MLW: https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1008880135888568320 & https://mlw.com/2018/06/19/pentagon-jr-rey-fenix-to-defend-world-tag-team-titles-against-ach-rich-swann-july-12-in-orlando/ , Jericho: https://twitter.com/IAmJericho/status/1009138338555662336 , Elite: https://youtu.be/U0oG3ZjS5IE

The first Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi match in New Japan Pro Wrestling will be taking place this summer.

After announcing the participants for the tournament on Sunday, the blocks for this year's G1 Climax were revealed today ...

The G1 will begin on July 14 and conclude with three straight nights at Budokan Hall from August 10-12. Each wrestler will face everyone else in their block along the way, with the person with the most points advancing to the finals and facing the winner of the opposite block. Whoever wins the tournament, if it isn't the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, will receive a briefcase to challenge for the title at the Tokyo Dome next January. The title shot is usually defended a couple of times in the lead-up to the Tokyo Dome show.

For this year's G1, every show will air live on New Japan World with English commentary available. Here are the full blocks for the tournament:
A Block --

Togi Makabe
Michael Elgin
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Kazuchika Okada
Jay White
YOSHI-HASHI
Bad Luck Fale
Hangman Page
EVIL
Minoru Suzuki

B Block --

Juice Robinson
Hirooki Goto
Tomohiro Ishii
Toru Yano
Tama Tonga
SANADA
Tetsuya Naito
Zack Sabre Jr.
Kenny Omega
Kota Ibushi

Link: https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/participants-years-njpw-g1-climax-tournament-announced-259821

The Celebrity Undercover Boss episode featuring Stephanie McMahon brought in an audience of 4,087,000 overnight viewers. It was the most watched network TV program in the 8 PM hour on Friday 6/15.

AXS TV has announced a deal with WOW (Women of Wrestling) to begin shooting episodes later this year and premiere on AXS in 2019. WOW was revived by Jeanie Buss, Mark Burnett, and David McLane. McLane, who was heavily involved with GLOW, formed WOW alongside Buss in 2000. The promotion staged an infamous live pay-per-view in February 2001 that was built up through their syndicated television series. The promotion went dormant and was revived in 2014 with digital episodes produced for YouTube and their website, which has the 10-episode fourth season available for free at www.wowe.com. WOW will join New Japan Pro Wrestling as the two wrestling properties on AXS TV.

WWE has a new poll asking fans whose Spear is more effective - Roman Reigns or Bobby Lashley. 61% of fans have voted for Lashley as of this writing.

Some other sheet news includes:

Charlotte Flair was revealed to be among the athletes for this year's ESPN magazine Body Issue. https://www.si.com/tech-media/2018/06/19/espn-body-issue-athletes-full-list-saquon-barkley-breanna-stewart
NJPW recently announced the cards for this year's G1 Climax tournament in regards to Block matches. https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/njpw-reveals-full-g1-climax-tournament-schedule-260021
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 16th anniversary of TNA/Impact's 1st ever event which was held in Huntsville, Alabama.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Big Cass Released By WWE (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/big-cass-released-by-wwe/)
Sami Zayn Injured (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/sami-zayn-injured/)
WWE: Velveteen Dream Call Up? Reigns on Chicago Crowd, Maria Backstage (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/wwe-velveteen-dream-call-up-reigns-on-chicago-crowd-maria-backstage-at-mitb/)

slik

06-21-2018, 12:15 AM

A source in WWE indicated to BodySlam Managing Editor Brad Shepard that the internal list of Brock Lesnar’s scheduled dates in WWE going forward is blank.

The source is presuming that Lesnar will be at Summerslam but says that wasn’t concrete as of last week. This past week on Raw, a multi-person match was announced for Extreme Rules with the winner to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, at a date yet to be named.

The source indicated that Brock will obviously return, but the fact that his dates going forward aren’t known yet is unusual and would seem to indicate something else is going on.

- Bodyslam.net

I noticed Brock's disappeared from the most recent SummerSlam promo material as well, from Barclay's Center's website:

http://www.barclayscenter.com/assets/img/EVENT_PG_FEATURE_RAW_910x350-c6016854f5.jpg

http://www.barclayscenter.com/events/detail/wwe-summerslam-2018

erickman

06-21-2018, 01:35 AM

they could have strowman go to brocks farm with the case and a ref win the belt there on a raw, that would be cool.

Emperor Smeat

06-21-2018, 10:51 AM

Dirtsheets sponsored by CM Punk's long lost brother ... CG Punk:
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/KeenIncomparableDoe-size_restricted.gif

This week's WWE NXT episode opened with a graphic noting the passing of Leon "Big Van Vader" White. The Network's programming feed also ran a crawl noting Vader's passing with a number of comments from those within WWE about his passing.

I expect WWE will announce a Vader Collection will be added to the WWE Network at any point.

Coming off Sunday's Money in the Bank pay-per-view, SmackDown viewership was up six percent this week, posting its best numbers since May 1. The show averaged 2.315 million viewers on the night ...

It wasn't all good news, however, as the show was down eight percent year-over-year and retained just under 80 percent of the Raw viewers from the previous night. Raw was also down year-over-year, so again the biggest factor in SmackDown viewership seems to be whatever the Raw audience was the night before.

Two new title matches help round out the card for NJPW's G1 Special in San Francisco on July 7.

It was officially announced this evening that Hiromu Takahashi will next defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against longtime rival Dragon Lee at the Cow Palace ...

Also announced for the show was a NEVER Openweight Championship match pitting new champion Hirooki Goto against Jeff Cobb ...

Here is the full card for the event:

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defending against Cody Rhodes
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White defending against Juice Robinson
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defending against Dragon Lee
Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI
IWGP Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defending against EVIL & SANADA
NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto defending against Jeff Cobb
Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Hangman Page & Marty Scurll
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.
YOSHI-HASHI, Gedo, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH vs. Haku (Meng), Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens

Link: http://www.njpw1972.com/tornament/26145?showCards=1

Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned Big Cass doesn’t seem to have been fired for one certain reason, instead it was a mix of multiple things — the most noteworthy happening on WWE’s European tour.

As we first reported, Cass went against a directive from Vince McMahon last month during a segment involving a little person. We’re told this is when things began to go south for him.

According to Sports Illustrated, Big Cass was apparently drinking during the European tour which took place a week later and allegedly had “attitude issues.” They also claim “being intoxicated in public” is one of the underlying reasons for his firing.

Multiple sources tell us one of the incidents which rubbed people the wrong way happened in private, however, on the WWE bus chauffeuring talent.

We’re told the bathroom lock was apparently broken, but Cass didn’t realize it and thought he was being pranked. After being stuck inside for too long, a claustrophobic/angry Cass broke down the door. This meant people had to embarrassingly use the bathroom afterward with no door.

This, obviously, made some of the riders on the bus unhappy. It’s worth noting that some understood his frustration though and weren’t as angry as others.

Both of these incidents in such short time — coupled with 1-2 additional unverified incidents that we’re working to confirm with sources — seem to have been the final straw.

To answer every independent promotion that has asked, PWInsider.com has confirmed Big Cass has a 90-day no compete clause following his release from WWE this past Tuesday.

Indies Roundup:
Matt Riddle vs. PCO has been announced for Joey Janela’s Lost in New York in Queens on August 17.

KUSHIDA vs. Jonathan Gresham is set for ROH’s TV tapings in Fairfax, Virginia on June 30.

Impact announced World Series Wrestling in Australia as a partner for their Global Wrestling Network service.
Janela: https://twitter.com/JANELABABY/status/1009244818176954368 , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/kushida-vs-gresham-official-fairfax , Impact: http://impactwrestling.com/gwn-adds-australian-based-world-series-wrestling-to-lineup/

Austin Aries will again be wrestling for Ring of Honor later this month.

ROH announced Aries for their June 29 Best in the World pay-per-view in Baltimore, Maryland today. An opponent for Aries wasn't revealed, but potential programs with Kenny King and Silas Young were set up coming out of his last match for the promotion ...

Here's the updated card for the PPV:

ROH World Champion Dalton Castle defending against Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll in a triple threat match
ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defending against The Young Bucks
ROH Television Champion Punishment Martinez defending against Hangman Page in a street fight
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O'Ryan & Vinny Marseglia) defending against SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI
Jay Lethal vs. KUSHIDA
Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon
Sumie Sakai, Mayu Iwatani, Tenille Dashwood & Jenny Rose vs. Kelly Klein, Hazuki, Kagetsu & Hana Kimura

Link: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/austin-aries-returns-baltimore-best-world

As I mentioned on PWInsider.com Elite audio during our Takeover: Chicago post-game show Saturday evening, the first several minutes of Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet was a move for move tribute to the opening moments of Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania X8.

Undertaker is now the focus of Madison Square Garden's advertising for the 7/7 WWE return, including his face being shown in rotation on the digital screen outside the venue.

WWE Network News is reporting that today's "Hidden Gem" that will be added to the streaming service this morning will be from Smoky Mountain Wrestling: "SMW 01/27/1995 – Skip to my Boo. Before making their mark on ECW, the rivalry between Chris Candido and Boo Bradley comes to a fever pitch in this rarely seen contest.” The gem will feature promos leading to their bout as well.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla released the following updated list of competitors for the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles Tournament:

* Robbie Eagles.
* Joey Janela
* Puma King
* PCO (Pierre Carl Oulette)
* Brody King
* Jody Fleish.
* Ilja Dragunov.

Some other sheet stuff includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, this week was the first time in WWE history that a both RAW and Smackdown opened their shows with their Women's champion.
In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Seth Rollins recently passed John Cena for 3rd highest PPV win percentage following his victory at MitB. Cena has won 59% of his PPV matches while Rollins has won 59.3% during his career. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/8sigby/stat_028_after_his_victory_over_elias_at_mitb/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

NXT Results – June 20, 2018 – Belair vs. Kai, War Raiders vs. The Mighty (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/nxt-results-june-20-2018-belair-vs-kai-war-raiders-vs-the-mighty/)
All In Will Be Broadcast (Somewhere) (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/all-in-will-be-broadcast-somewhere/)

slik

06-21-2018, 07:46 PM

Sami Zayn out 5 months with torn rotator cuffs

:(

Emperor Smeat

06-21-2018, 09:11 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Vader Appreciation Day:
https://media.giphy.com/media/l3q2OMQddpUXWVHi0/giphy.gif

A day after announcing that he would be wrestling on the show, Ring of Honor has confirmed Austin Aries' opponent for Best in the World.

Aries vs. Kenny King has been added to the lineup for the June 29 pay-per-view in Baltimore, Maryland. The match stems from an angle that took place following Aries' last appearance for ROH ...

Here's the updated card for Best in the World:

ROH World Champion Dalton Castle defending against Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll in a triple threat match
ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defending against The Young Bucks
ROH Television Champion Punishment Martinez defending against Hangman Page in a street fight
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O'Ryan & Vinny Marseglia) defending against SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI
Jay Lethal vs. KUSHIDA
Austin Aries vs. Kenny King
Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon
Sumie Sakai, Mayu Iwatani, Tenille Dashwood & Jenny Rose vs. Kelly Klein, Hazuki, Kagetsu & Hana Kimura

Link: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/aries-and-king-go-one-one-best-world

Cody and The Young Bucks have released a documentary style video explaining the story of how "All In" came to be this afternoon. It's a very well done piece that is well worth checking out. I think it will do a lot towards raising the awareness of the origins of the show beyond the storylines that were run over the course of the Being the Elite Youtube series:
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-UOUryWijY

MLW issued the following:

JOHN HENNIGAN VS. TEDDY HART SET FOR MLW’S JULY 12 ORLANDO FUSION TV TAPING

ORLANDO – John Hennigan will make his return to Major League Wrestling this summer. Major League Wrestling today announced John Hennigan vs. Teddy Hart (of the Hart Foundation) as officially signed for MLW’s July 12th card in Orlando at Gilt Nightclub.

David Arquette will be wrestling on the 7/15 tapings for Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.

McMahon fired Big Cass at a meeting in Toledo prior to Smackdown. The reasons given were the 5/1 incident, as well as blowing off a rehearsal for a promo that Kevin Dunn has asked for and then going long on the live version of that promo. There was a lot of heat regarding the promo that Vince McMahon hated, and he fired the writer of it a few weeks ago. There was also an incident that happened on the European tour where he locked himself in the tour bus bathroom and then destroyed the bathroom and broke down the door when he couldn’t get out, because the lock malfunctioned and he believed he was being pranked. Because the door was knocked down, it meant the other wrestlers could not use the bathroom the rest of the trip in privacy, not to mention the damages it caused. There were said to be other issues regarding his behavior on the European tour. He also had enemies from years back from vociferously defending The Donald while in an argument with Sami Zayn about treatment of Muslims that ruffled many people’s feathers, although had nothing to do with his being fired.

There was also negativity from other producers that dated back to the feeling that the Big Show vs. Big Cass feud, which took place before his knee injury, didn’t go well and he took the brunt of the blame. There was also negativity of his work in the recent Bryan feud, but not performing up to par was also not the reason for someone to get fired in the manner that he did. We were also told the 5/1 incident was not the key incident in him getting fired, as the reaction to that was going to be done by changing his storyline, which would mean the two submission losses. What is notable is that a lot of independent promoters are already looking at reuniting Enzo (Eric Arndt), now calling himself Real 1, & Cass, who won’t be able to use that name going forward. However, the two had a major real-life falling out but that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t work together for the right price.

Bryan being announced at the WWE Australia show is not a sign that he has signed a new contract, as he has not. It is certainly possible, perhaps even likely, that he will. He also could go independent and do appearances with the company on shows like this, similar to what Rey Mysterio Jr., has done so far this year. The difference between he and Lesnar is that Lesnar would be extremely unhappy about being announced for a date he’s not agreed to and it would give him a lot of leverage at that point. With Bryan, it’s not going to be the same situation.

When Chris Jericho was talking about offers he had been getting, last year, as the Jericho vs. Kenny Omega Tokyo Dome build was going strong, Tony Condello, the veteran Winnipeg promoter, came to Omega and told him he had $100,000 in backing to run a rematch between the two in Winnipeg. But Condello went to Jericho and asked how much it would cost to get the match, and Jericho said $250,000, so that was the end of the discussion

The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Hall of Fame in Waterloo is doing its induction ceremony on 7/28, with Dan Severn and Owen Hart being inducted into the Hall of Fame ... Ben Askren is getting the George Tragos award which goes to someone with wrestling background who achieved success in MMA. Bruiser Brody is getting the Frank Gotch award. Booker T is getting the Lou Thesz award. Koji Miyamoto is getting the Jim Melby Award. Miyamoto definitely deserves this award. He’s one of the great historians in wrestling and there is a ton of very important information we’d have never known, particularly about the early days of Japan, but U.S. history as well, that would have gone lost forever without his research

Based on a listing from Fite TV, and this may be just for streaming, the price of Slammiversary on 7/22 is listed at $19.99. The prior PPV show, Redemption, was priced at $39.99. We’re told that price is only for iPPV and is not the television PPV price

Reigns, in a an interview with the ESPN U.K. web site, said that there’s no point in turning heel since people boo him anyway. But he did say he’d love to work heel and feud with Bryan. He said that for him, it’s not about being cheered but the audience making a lot of noise. That’s the funniest part of the vociferous booing of Reigns, in the sense that there are times the crowd is cold, most crowds give you the feel he’s the biggest, or at least one of the biggest stars on the brand

Hotel house cleaner Portia Williams is under investigation in the theft of $500 in cash and a Sony Digital Camera from the room of Miroslav Barnyashev (Rusev) and wife Catherine Perry (Lana) on 6/11. Rusev said he left his room at 12:30 p.m. that day, and returned at 1:10 p.m. and the items were gone. Police believed that Williams entered the room, even though it had a Do Not Disturb sign on it. Williams claimed she found the wallet inside a chicken box and returned it, but there was no money in it

Ahmad al-Khatib, who was the chief of the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority, was removed from his position due to criticism of his bringing in a Russian circus that featured women performers who wore tight costumes. The two key takes are that unlike with WWE, for whatever reason, they did allow women to perform in tight costumes, but in allowing it, it got enough of a backlash to cause the guy who approved it to lose his job. The General Entertainment Authority was looking at bringing in more than 5,000 festivals and concerts to the country. In addition, since the WWE left, the government has been cracking down on women’s rights activists with dozens arrested and detailed, some of which have were later temporarily released
Even though its not directly wrestling related, felt it was worthy to include due to WWE's ties with the government and their BS claims of also doing the deal to bring social change to the country.

Just for a clarification of the matches over the weekend at Money in the Bank, the women’s Battle Royal was completely rehearsed with T.J. Wilson and Fit Finlay in charge of putting the match together, mostly Wilson. They took all the women off the road this weekend to get in several days of work. Similarly, the Rousey vs. Jax match was laid out completely and practiced over the weekend before the show. Finlay put together the lay out of the match. Asuka vs. Carmella was not practiced ahead of time. That tells how the value of that. Old school would consider doing this as cheating, but really, if it makes matches that much better, it sounds like a good thing to me

Ashok Moore, an ESPN producer, has left to take a job with WWE

WWE has confirmed that Ronda Rousey will be appearing at Monday's Raw event in San Diego. They did not confirm she would be on the television show, only that she would be there. She is also scheduled for the Extreme Rules show in Pittsburgh in come capacity. However, she has been pulled from the Raw events upcoming in Boston and Buffalo.

I don’t know that anything will happen with this idea, given it’s now been years since Progress and ICW were talked with about being added to WWE Network and Vince has changed his mind on it after they even said at a conference call it was happening, but there is another independent show idea internally for 2019. This idea is a network special featuring talent not under contract to WWE. There would have to be a reason for it, but one would think it would be as a way to try and open doors to talent in other companies and use the relationship with WWN, ICW and Progress and perhaps others to use their talent.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Sami Zayn Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Out for Several Months (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/sami-zayn-undergoes-shoulder-surgery-out-for-several-months/)
WWE: WWE / NOAH Agreement? New Tryouts, Undertaker on Instagram (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/wwe-wwe-noah-agreement-new-tryouts-undertaker-on-instagram/)
Injury Updates: Jason Jordan, Charlotte, Dean Ambrose, Alicia Fox, Epico (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/injury-updates-jason-jordan-charlotte-ambrose-alicia-fox-epico/)
More on WWE Getting ROH’s MSG Show Canceled, Possible Legal Fight? (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/more-on-wwe-getting-rohs-msg-show-canceled-possible-legal-fight/)
WWE Announces Mae Young Classic 2018 Tournament + Dates (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/wwe-announces-mae-young-classic-2018-tournament-dates/)

Simple Fan

06-21-2018, 10:09 PM

Slammiversary still listed at $39.99 on my FITE TV app. Plan on buying at either price though.

Jordan

06-22-2018, 10:40 AM

Slammiversary still listed at $39.99 on my FITE TV app. Plan on buying at either price though.

It's good to support things you like :y::y:

slik

06-22-2018, 04:16 PM

Taker was rumored as wanting to wrestle Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania in 2014...hmmm

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Texting With A Source: The Undertaker has been presented w/ a story & match for SummerSlam. Source said him working MSG next month along with Australia in October should be a good sign for SummerSlam. I can add that the idea is something Taker was pushing for at one point. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TWAS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TWAS</a></p>— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestleVotes/status/1010244419621130240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ol Dirty Dastard

06-22-2018, 04:19 PM

Great, he can either squash someone or gas in 2.5 minutes (or both).

slik

06-22-2018, 04:30 PM

I think if Taker squashed AJ Styles or Daniel Bryan in 2 minutes the internet would be very grumpy.

Ol Dirty Dastard

06-22-2018, 04:32 PM

"THIS IS MY YARD"

slik

06-22-2018, 04:39 PM

"YOU WILL REST IN PEACE"

slik

06-22-2018, 04:40 PM

Phenomenal Forearm reversed into Chokeslam at :59 second mark of match.

"1-2-3, The Undertaker has defeated AJ Styles decisively at SummerSlam"

Ol Dirty Dastard

06-22-2018, 04:50 PM

"HE LOOKS BETTER THAN EVER", huffing and puffing, gassed as fuck after a 35 second match (because he's 60).

Emperor Smeat

06-22-2018, 05:03 PM

slik

06-22-2018, 05:09 PM

LMAO @ Smeat

I love it

Simple Fan

06-22-2018, 05:10 PM

It's good to support things you like :y::y:

Haven't bought one in a while as the past few years they've ended up airing them on TV a couple weeks later. They have some direction now and I like what they are doing so I'm going to buy Slammiversary.

#1-norm-fan

06-22-2018, 08:42 PM

Cena should get his win back from Taker after that debacle this year.

mike adamle

06-22-2018, 09:43 PM

Would love to see Taker vs. AJ and Taker vs. Bryan before he hangs it up. Taker vs. Cesaro would be a good tv match as well.

Emperor Smeat

06-22-2018, 09:49 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Ref Bump Appreciation Day:
http://i.imgur.com/UHBN2jm.gif

PWInsider reported that a decision was made on Wednesday for William Regal not to come to last night’s NXT TV tapings. He hasn’t appeared since before WrestleMania due to a medical condition.

Tucker Knight also wasn’t at last night’s tapings due to his family welcoming the birth of their daughter.

Wrestling DVD Network revealed some of the matches that will be included in the Shawn Michaels unreleased matches DVD that is being put out this October:

The Rockers vs. The Orient Express (London, Ontario, Canada, April 29, 1990)
Piper’s Pit segment with Michaels (Syracuse, New York, April 29, 1992)
Michaels, Diesel & The Undertaker vs. Sycho Sid, Tatanka & Kama in a six-man elimination match (Evansville, Indiana, July 25, 1995)
Michaels vs. Vader for the WWF Championship (State College, Pennsylvania, September 29, 1996)
Michaels vs. Brooklyn Brawler for the WWF Championship (Madison Square Garden, November 15, 1997)
Michaels vs. Batista vs. Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship (Atlanta, Georgia, November 17, 2008)

Link: http://www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com/first-match-picks-wwe-shawn-michaels-unreleased-dvd/156399/

A Vader collection has been added to the WWE Network.
Content listing: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118333/wwe-network-adds-vader-collection.html?p=1

Indies Roundup:
ROH announced that this year’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view will take place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on September 28. The show had taken place at the smaller Sam’s Town Live over the past couple of years. ROH will also have TV tapings at the Orleans Arena on September 29.

Konnan will be wrestling for the first time in five years as part of MLW’s 40-participant Battle Riot match in Queens on July 19.

Pete Dunne vs. WALTER is set for wXw’s show in Cologne on July 22.
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/death-dishonor-weekend-returns-las-vegas , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/06/22/konnan-enters-the-battle-riot/ , wXw: https://twitter.com/wXwGermany/status/1010092634969378817

The updated lineup for the 7/7 WWE return to Madison Square Garden is:

*The Undertaker & Roman Reigns & Braun Strowman vs. Elias & Baron Corbin & Kevin Owens in Undertaker's first MSG appearance since 2010.

*WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins.

*Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey with WWE Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss as the guest referee in Rousey's WWE debut in MSG.

Also advertised for the event are WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy, Jinder Mahal, Bobby Lashley, Bayley, Natalya, Bobby Roode and more.

The 6/14 edition of Impact did 262,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 276,000,overnight viewers.

After speaking with numerous sources this morning, we are told that AAA still has two holds on MSG in the Fall of 2018, including 9/16 and a back-up date as AAA was also looking at running Las Vegas on 9/16. Initially, we had heard that the second date was 9/23 but we were told this morning it is actually later in the Fall.

We are told that AAA is working on strategies for running this Fall but have also considered pushing back their debut until early 2019 as they want to maximize it and not waste the time, money and effort going into the debut.

So, while ROH has lost their date, AAA's holds on Madison Square Garden remain, at least as of this writing ...

If any promotion does end up running Madison Square Garden, they will become the first pro wrestling company to run the legendary "Mecca of sports-entertainment" outside of the McMahon Family dating back to 1961, when Vince McMahon’s father, Vincent J. McMahon took over running pro wrestling in the Garden. The McMahon-MSG relationship dates back, however to 1925 when Vince McMahon's grandfather Roderick “Jess” McMahon became the matchmaker for both professional wrestling and boxing in the venue. Both Vince McMahon and his father Vincent J. have been inducted into the Garden's "Walk of Fame."

AAA ran the Theater in Madison Square Garden in July 1994, headlined by Konnan & Cien Caras & Perro Aguayo vs. Eddie Guerrero & Art Barr & Jake Roberts. WCW (once in 1993 and once in 1996) and the original Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling also ran the adjacent Theater in the MSG complex but no promotion outside of WWE has ever booked a date in the 20,789-seat Garden.

Add Randy Orton, currently recovering from knee surgery, to the list of WWE talents seen in Birmingham, Alabama of late.

I'm catching up on ECW on the WWE network and am confused by something. On Hardcore TV Episode 24 it's mentioned ECW is now affiliated with the NWA and Bloodfeast 1993 is promoted as an NWA show. However according to online sources ECW was already an NWA territory or already affiliated with them upon launching in 1992? Which one is it?

ECW was not affiliated with the NWA upon launch. Tod Gordon decided to become a NWA member to lend credibility to the promotion towards the end of 1993. ECW maintained that relationship until August 1994 when doublecrossed the NWA and Shane Douglas tossed down the NWA title, declaring the ECW belt a World championship. At that point, ECW transitioned into the Extreme name and was done with the NWA.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles discussing ECW's history with the NWA prior to breaking away.

WWE announced the following:

The 2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament concludes this Monday on WWE Network, but if you’re looking to catch up on all the action that’s transpired so far, the ultimate primer — the U.K. Championship Tournament First-Round Marathon — is on its way!

Starting today at noon ET, the WWE Universe will be able to catch all eight First-Round Matches in their entirety as they stream back-to-back-to-back on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Catch the likes of acclaimed Irishman Jordan Devlin, “Liverpool’s No. 1” Zack Gibson, technical wizard Jack Gallagher, “Kiwi Buzzsaw” Travis Banks, “Iron King” Joe Coffey and more as they vie for the opportunity to challenge WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne for the title at the NXT U.K. Championship special, streaming this Tuesday on WWE Network.

The first ten participants for this year’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles have been revealed.

The most interesting name announced was the first: Pierre Carl Ouellet. The former Quebecer Pierre has had something of a career revival as of late, putting on a memorable performance at this year’s Joey Janela Spring Break event against WALTER.

Other international talent announced include longtime British indy star Jody Fleisch, WXW Unified Champion Ilja Dragunov, CMLL star Puma King and Chris Brookes, also from the UK wrestling scene who has wrestled for RPW and IPW, as well as CZW in the United States ...

Here are the full list of participants confirmed for the tournament so far, which takes place on September 14, 15 and 16 at the Globe Theater in Los Angeles, CA:

PCO
Brody King
Jody Fleisch
Ilja Dragunov
Robbie Eagles
Joey Janela
Puma King
David Starr
Rey Horus
Chris Brookes

As noted, female Superstars were held off last weekend's WWE live events so they could be in Chicago for Money In the Bank rehearsals. The women's Money In the Bank Ladder Match was rehearsed with Tyson Kidd and Fit Finley as the agents in charge, mostly Kidd, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax match at MITB was also completely rehearsed in Chicago before the show with Finlay laying the match out. The Asuka vs. SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella match was not practiced ahead of time.

Regarding Money In the Bank going so long that they nixed the post-show on the WWE Network, people were still being told that the show would end at 10:30pm as late as the week of the show. The show ended up going until 11:20pm, almost an hour longer than they planned. The plan during the week was to close the show with Rousey vs. Jax and Alexa Bliss cashing in to win the RAW Women's Title but the decision was made to go with the "happy ending" of Braun Strowman winning the men's MITB Ladder Match.

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of Talk Is Jericho podcast show had the Observer's Dave Meltzer as the guest. https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/tij-ep467-meltzeronmeltzer-fullshow
Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had Rhyno as the guest. https://player.fm/series/ecs-pod-of-awesomeness/ecw-legend-and-inaugural-smackdown-tag-team-champion-rhyno
In a "TPWW Did You Know" type fact, searching "Ref Bump Gif" in Google Images brings up this thread on the second row of results. The image shown is from page 46 and is a gif from WCW where Dustin Rhodes gives a running bulldog to a ref during a match.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Various: Velveteen / Hogan Twitter Exchange, Rousey BTS, All In Story Video (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/various-velveteen-hogan-twitter-exchange-rousey-bts-all-in-story-video/)
Spoilers: NXT Taping Results – June 21, 2018 – 3-4 Weeks of Shows (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/spoilers-nxt-taping-results-june-21-2018-3-4-weeks-of-shows/)
Impact Results – June 21, 2018 – Title Change, Pentagon/Fantasma vs. oVe (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/impact-results-june-21-2018-title-change-pentagon-jr-fantasma-vs-ove/)

slik

06-23-2018, 12:34 AM

WrestlingNews.Co reporting an exclusive that what caused Big Cass's release was manhandling Carmella backstage & The Uso's and Erick Rowan stepped in to remove him. It was 'the final straw' for Vince.

http://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news/exclusive-incident-with-carmella-was-the-main-reason-why-big-cass-was-released-by-wwe/

Mr. Nerfect

06-23-2018, 05:51 PM

That doesn't surprise me given that he wasn't wished well in his future endeavors.

slik

06-25-2018, 08:25 AM

WWE has filed copyright for "British Strong Style"

https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=118378

Emperor Smeat

06-26-2018, 10:01 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Bayley's fists hugging Sasha's face:
https://i.imgur.com/4u6WiWH.gif

Last night's Raw ratings had both good and bad news.

The bad news is the final number, of 2.67 million viewers, which would be the lowest the show has done in the modern era except against the NFL or NBA playoffs. It was an eight percent drop from last week's show which was boosted by coming the day after the Money in the Bank PPV ...

Ironically, the last time the third hour was the highest rated of the show was 52 weeks ago, on June 26, 2017.

Before that, you'd have to go back to March 14, 2016.

There is no television explanation for this. There was nothing that did big numbers on the networks -- and cable numbers weren't strong either. Raw was fifth on cable, trailing only news shows.

The explanation is the show itself.

What this means is there was lower than usual level of interest in the show, however, the show itself was good, in fact by current standards when it comes to keeping the audience, it was the best in a year. This caused the usual viewership tune-out not to happen. The lesson of the show was that, at least for this week, the idea of a nearly 30-minute main event was a huge ratings success.

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.60 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.68 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.71 million viewers

Just a few hours before it was supposed to happen, WWE announced that the Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura United States Championship match that was scheduled to headline tonight's SmackDown has been pulled from the show.

While offering few other details, WWE put out a video this afternoon noting that Nakamura suffered an injury last night and won't be able to compete today. Nakamura didn't work SmackDown's Monday night house show in Bakersfield, California, and Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Nakamura was bit in the leg by a police dog at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield yesterday.

Whether or not Nakamura will be able to wrestle at WWE's house shows in Japan this weekend is uncertain at this point.

According to what we were told, a law enforcement dog was being brought around the building as part of a pre-show security check. The dog was brought past Nakamura. We are told the dog sniffed Nakamura and then, without provocation, proceeded to bite him on the leg.

As a medical precaution, WWE pulled Nakamura from last night's live event, where he was slated to work a main event Fatal Four Way bout. The Bakersfield live event was headlined by Jeff Hardy defeating Samoa Joe, Rusev and Shelton Benjamin instead.

WWE has not yet cleared Nakamura for action. We are told Nakamura is backstage at tonight's Smackdown Live taping in Ontario, CA but his leg is still very sore from the incident.

WWE officially announced what had been widely reported on for the last month: SmackDown will be moving to Fox in October of 2019, while Raw will remain on the USA Network.

The company put out a press release today officially announcing the five-year agreement. SmackDown will air on Fridays starting on October 4, 2019 on the FOX network. It will remain a two-hour broadcast ...

Meanwhile, WWE concurrently announced that Monday Night Raw will continue on the USA Network in what is also a five-year deal with NBC Universal. It will start in October 2019 ...

These agreements increase the average annual value (AAV) of WWE’s U.S. distribution to 3.6 times that of the prior deal with NBCU.
Link: https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-officially-announces-new-tv-deals-raw-and-smackdown-260476

The official announcements of WWE's new television deals for Raw and Smackdown Live led to a big rise in the company's stock and it's still rising.

After closing at $66.62, the stock continues to rise in after-hours trading and is currently trading at $77, which would be an all time record for the stock, the highest since WWE went public in 1999.

Indies Roundup:
Kevin Harvey noted that Rise [Wrestling] was in trouble. He said the 6/29 show in South Gate, CA will go on as will the 7/7 and 7/8 shows. He said he doesn't want to cancel 10/19 in Berwyn, IL but ticket sales have been pulled. He said those who have tickets will be refunded if the show is canceled. Harvey said it's a real possibility that the 7/8 tapings in Naperville, IL could be their last show.

New Japan has put up the legendary Stan Hansen vs. Big Van Vader match from the Tokyo Dome for free on New Japan World in honor of Vader.

The 7/12 House of Hardcore show in Adelaide, Australia has been canceled. The rest of the tour is still happening. Bully Ray & Craven & ? vs. Spirit Squad was announced for a tables match on their show on 7/11 in Perth.

The 7/19 Major League Wrestling BattleRiot event in New York City will air on BeIN Sports as a two hour special, MLW announced today. We are told the negotiations for the special closed earlier today just before the announcement was made. There had been an offer on the table to make the show a taped PPV event, but MLW owner Court Bauer felt that making the show a special on broadcast TV would be a stronger play towards getting attention for the brand and getting the product in front of fans. The special will air on 7/27.

Here’s the updated lineup for the Battle Riot match: John Hennigan (Morrison), Pentagon Jr., ACH, Kevin Sullivan, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Teddy Hart, Rich Swann, Barrington Hughes, Jake Hager (Jack Swagger), Jimmy Yuta, Pierre Carl Ouellet, Lance Anoa’i, Swoggle (Hornswoggle), Konnan, Sami Callihan, Joey Ryan, Jason Cade, and Tom Lawlor.

Anthem issued a press release today announcing the hire of Peter Einstein as the new Chief Operating Officer of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, which includes Impact Wrestling. We are told that the hiring does not mean any changes to the Impact management team, headed by Ed Nordholm, Don Callis and Scott D'Amore.

Nick Gage vs. Meng is the second match to be revealed for Joey Janela’s Lost in New York in Queens on August 17, joining Matt Riddle vs. Pierre Carl Ouellet on the card.
NJPW: http://njpwworld.com/p/o_original_0075_61 , MLW: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118423/mlw-to-air-battle-riot-as-two-hour-special-on-bein-sports-july-27th.html?p=1 , Anthem: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118420/new-chief-operating-officer-for-anthem-sports-entertainment.html?p=1 , Janela: https://twitter.com/JANELABABY/status/1011412155781050368

MLW announced the following:

JOHN HENNIGAN VS. LOW KI SIGNED FOR MLW’s JULY 19TH NYC CARD; “FILTHY” TOM LAWLOR ENTERS BATTLE RIOT

NEW YORK – Major League Wrestling’s biggest show ever is coming to New York City this summer and the card just got bigger. On July 19th in New York City Low Ki vs. John Hennigan (formally John Morrison) has been signed.

The Big Van Vader autobiography is still scheduled to be released later this year. It was originally slated to be released around Wrestlemania time, but Vader kept going back to add additional material to the book, which kept pushing it back. It will still be released with Jesse White’s involvement, but there is no timeline for its release as with Vader’s passing, the book is being updated once again.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118415/john-hennigan-vs-low-ki-signed-for-mlws-july-19thnyc-card.html?p=1

Based on their appearances at the end of the WWE UK Championship Tournament Finale broadcast, it would appear the following talents will be part of the NXT UK roster going forward:

Mark Andrews
Travis Banks
Tyler Bate
Joe Coffey
Mark Coffey
Joseph Conners
Noam Dar
Eddie Dennis
Jordan Devlin
Pete Dunne
Jack Gallagher
Sam Gradwell
Saxon Huxley
Amir Jordan
El Ligero
Dave Mastiff
Trent Seven
Ashton Smith
Tyson T-Bone
Flash Morgan Webster
Wild Boar
Kenny Williams
Wolfgang
Isla Dawn
Jinny
Killer Kelly
Charlie Morgan
Nina Samuels
Toni Storm

Eric Arndt (formerly Enzo Amore and now going by ‘Real1’) was a guest on the Steve Austin podcast on Tuesday and went in-depth over his firing by World Wrestling Entertainment in January following allegations of sexual assault ...

The firing occurred the day after the Raw 25th-anniversary episode in January. Enzo said he became aware of the allegations on that day when the accuser publicly tweeted about it. In the interview with Austin, Arndt did clarify that a friend of his contacted him in December and the friend’s girlfriend did receive an email from someone stating they were an investigator (but not identifying themselves as a police officer) and a woman had made a claim against a wrestler (not stating Arndt’s name). Arndt was made aware, contacted his lawyer, who in turn reached out the Phoenix Police Department and asked if Arndt was being charged and was told no charges had been laid. Arndt went about his business until the day of Raw 25 in Brooklyn and once the tweets came out, he immediately contacted his lawyer and then went to Mark Carrano, a WWE lawyer, and WWE official Adam Hopkins before meeting with Vince McMahon.

Enzo was scheduled for several segments throughout the episode of Raw. He was supposed to be part of the APA poker game and a series of backstage segments were to be shot with Enzo losing his Cruiserweight title in the game to Ted DiBiase, leading to Nia Jax winning the title back herself and handing it back to Enzo. Enzo was also scheduled for a match with Goldust on the show that would culminate with The Dudley Boyz appearing and putting Enzo through a table.

After meeting with Vince McMahon, Enzo was sent home with McMahon noting the timing of these allegations when they are promoting the women’s Royal Rumble match that weekend and the “Me Too” movement. As soon as Enzo left the meeting with McMahon, he was informed by Adam Hopkins that he had been suspended a statement had just been released by the company with Enzo responding, “I won’t forget about this” and was furious that the company didn’t have his back. Enzo proceeded to drive from Brooklyn to his sister’s house in Delaware while recording himself for the entire drive and is holding onto that audio until he thinks of what to do with it ...

The way his storyline with Nia Jax was scheduled to go, was that Enzo would be caught with Alexa Bliss and revealed that he was using Jax as his “heater” to keep the Cruiserweight title while hooking up with Bliss.

He confirmed in the interview that he was dressing by himself backstage and came off as having a dismissive attitude toward the culture of the wrestling locker room, with certain outdated traditions such as Wrestler’s Court not appealing to him and refusing to participate in them.

Regarding a return to the WWE, he stated he can’t wrestle due to sciatica right now, adding that he broke his back for a company that didn’t have his back in the end. He has also blocked out all the numbers with a “203” area code in his phone, which is the Connecticut area code.
Link: https://www.podcastone.com/episode/Real1-fka-Enzo-Amore

Due to an injury in the middle of the match, the WWE had to edit around Monday’s multi-person women’s match on the UK Championship Tournament show. It was originally a fatal four-way match with Toni Storm, Killer Kelly, Isla Dawn, and Jinny. During the match, Jinny is believed to have suffered a concussion and they removed her from the match and redid it as a three-way, which is what you saw on Monday’s broadcast. The lone slip up was that the announcer introduced the match at the beginning as a “fatal four-way match”, which was a minor issue but one that I figured someone would have caught in post-production. Jinny has since come out stating she wasn’t seriously hurt and thanked those that checked in on her.

The WWE is running local ads in the New York market to promote their July 7th house show at Madison Square Garden that state, “Ronda may be banned from Raw, but she is not banned from Madison Square Garden.”

Rey Mysterio has not signed a new WWE deal as of Monday, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. It's believed that a deal will be finalized soon but Rey's involvement in the WWE 2K19 video game as the first pre-order bonus Superstar led to some speculation on his contract status. It was recently reported that the two sides were negotiating a three-year deal.

WWE's Raw this week featured a main event that set the arena off, and Fightful.com was able to learn who produced all of the matches from the show.

It should come as no surprise at this point that the main event of Monday's show was produced by Tyson Kidd, real name TJ Wilson. The match was an Intercontinental Championship rematch that saw Seth Rollins looking to regain his title against new champion Dolph Ziggler. The match received high marks by our own ratings system, as is often the case with Seth Rollins matches in general, but certainly seem to be the trend when Kidd is assigned to them.

Tag team great Michael "PS" Hayes helped put together the opening match of the evening, which saw the Revival take down the "superteam" of Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns. The barely existing match between Matt Hardy and Curtis Axel was assigned to D-Von Dudley, and Scott Armstrong was given producer duties for the Authors Of Pain's match.

WCW veteran Fit Finlay and Sarah Stock split the women's matches, with Finlay getting Natalya vs. Alexa Bliss, and Stock taking care of the six-woman tag match. While there wasn't actually a Mojo Rawley vs. No Way Jose match, Dean Malenko was listed as the producer for the segment. To round things out, Jamie Noble was given the Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens vs. Constable Corbin and Finn Balor match.

WWE has a new poll asking which is worse for Kevin Owens - 55% voted, "Being Braun Strowman's enemy because he threw Owens off a ladder." The rest went with, "Being Braun Strowman's friend because he flipped over Owens' car."

As noted, Wednesday's "Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard" podcast on the WWE Network will feature a discussion on The Undertaker's "American Badass" and "Big Evil" days. Below is a preview for the show with Prichard and co-host Conrad Thompson.

"In Taker's mind it was, if we make this change we can never go back," Prichard said of The Dead Man switching gimmicks.
Link: https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1011437393470111745

Becky Lynch was a part of a Q&A session at the Ace Comic Con, facilitated by Lillian Garcia. Among a series of questions, Lynch was asked what is the first thing she would do if she became the CEO of WWE.

After jokingly stating that she would "fire James Ellsworth," she stated that she would book a match against Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. She then stated that she would have a women's tag team championship division.

Lynch was asked a follow-up question on whether she would have just one set of Women's Tag Team Champions, or if she would have them for both Raw and SmackDown Live.

"So right now, numbers-wise, I don't think we have enough women to have one on each brand," said Lynch. "So, what I think would be pretty cool, is if they were traveling, and not just between Raw and SmackDown, but NXT too. And then you'd have a huge, huge range of women that you'd go against and so many possibilities. And I think that would get people excited to watch any of the brands, because you wouldn't know when people would be showing up [on] either Raw or SmackDown because it'd all be traveling."

Garcia asked Becky if she pitched this idea to WWE already. "Yep. Been pitching it for a year," said Lynch. "Maybe two." Lynch stated that she knew that WWE had a women's tag team division before, but she would bring it back.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45lgJCakgSM

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, yesterday was the 42nd anniversary of the famous Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki match in Tokyo, Japan that went to a 15 Round draw.
Developer Spike Chunsoft revealed the PS4 cover of Fire Pro Wrestling World features Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1011681587027763201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Various: Hideo Itami Returning to NOAH, All PWG BOLA Participants (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/various-hideo-itami-returning-to-noah-all-pwg-bola-participants-revealed/)
WWE’s Twitter Follows a Young Buck (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/wwes-twitter-follows-a-young-buck/)
Eli Drake Re-Signs With Impact Wrestling (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/eli-drake-re-signs-with-impact-wrestling/)
ESPN Releases Charlotte Flair “Body Issue” Photos (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/espn-releases-charlotte-flair-body-issue-photos/)
Oney Lorcan Injured, Will Require Surgery (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/oney-lorcan-injured-will-require-surgery/)

Emperor Smeat

06-27-2018, 09:56 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by British Flavored Artistic Combat:
https://i.imgur.com/gUW1M3j.gif

Coming off a night where Raw had an unusual ratings pattern and did the lowest number of modern times that wasn't against major sports competition, SmackDown followed suit with its lowest number of 2018, averaging just 2.135 million viewers. And, aside from Halloween night in 2017, it was SmackDown's lowest total in over a year.

The number was down eight percent from last week and down a whopping 18 percent year-over-year, which is the largest year-over-year drop the show has done since the brand split.

SmackDown finished seventh for the night on cable in terms of total viewers but did once again top the 18-49 demo with a 0.64 rating.

Bakersfield police have commented on the dog attack that has put Shinsuke Nakamura on the shelf.

They have issued the following statement:

“On Monday, June 25, 2018, officers of the Bakersfield Police Department Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Team were conducting a protective sweep of the Rabobank Arena in preparation for the WWE Live Summerslam Heatwave Tour" the statement says.

“During the sweep, the EOD Team, which consisted of an explosive detection trained canine team and bomb technicians entered an area of the arena where an employee of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was present. The canine entered the room to sweep for the presence of any explosive material. As the sweep took place the WWE employee was accidentally bit by the canine. The employee sustained an injury to his lower left leg. Medical aid was immediately summoned to the scene and the employee was transported to a local area hospital for medical treatment.”

It was reported yesterday afternoon that Nakamura was bitten by a police dog, rendering him unable to compete in a planned match against Jeff Hardy for the United States championship on SmackDown. His status for this weekend’s shows in Japan is also currently up in the air. There is no current timetable for a return.

Though Will Ospreay set up a match with Jimmy Havoc for PROGRESS Wrestling’s show at Wembley Arena on September 30, he won’t be able to work the event. PROGRESS put out an interview with Ospreay today where he said NJPW has booked a show in Los Angeles on or around that date that he’ll be wrestling on. NJPW hasn’t officially announced the show.

NJPW is releasing an English version of their mobile game on iOS and Android this summer.

MLW added Kotto Brazil to the lineup for their 40-man Battle Riot match that will take place in Queens next month.

PROGRESS: https://youtu.be/zHU-Xr54z-Y , NJPW: https://www.njpw1972.com/30764 , MLW: https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1012042269929680896

Finn Balor showed off the following bruise suffered on Monday Night Raw:

Thanks Constable Corbin....
But even when I bruise I’m Bálor Club pic.twitter.com/tsjiR4NNMX
— Finn Bálor forEVERYone (@FinnBalor) June 27, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/FinnBalor/status/1011995466102444032

The Rock took to Twitter to respond to Shane Helms about the night The Rock put Hurricane over on Raw:

Dude always a pleasure working with you. Never an ego and always down to do whatever it took to entertain the fans. And to be honest, I only did “the job and put you over” because you paid me in hamburgers. https://t.co/8wsHGmYlxI
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) June 27, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/1011953548970614784

WWE is going patriotic with this week's "Hidden Gem":

WWF All-Star Wrestling- February 4, 1981
American Pride
Two of WWE’s most patriotic Superstars collide when the militant Sgt. Slaughter faces off against Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

Note: WWE Network News reports that the footage is actually WWF Championship Wrestling with means it's probably from January 31, 1981 Cobra Clutch Challenge.
Link: http://wwenetworknews.com/2018/06/27/exclusive-information-on-tomorrows-wwe-network-hidden-gem/

It is a big test for both the WWE and Fox as SmackDown moves to a weekly network prime time slot. Unlike in 1999, when SmackDown became a shining light on the fledgling UPN, in 2018 they are going onto a major network that is paying a reported $205 million per year so the standards are significantly higher than in 1999 in terms of what is deemed a success.

In 2018, SmackDown Live is averaging 2,515,000 viewers on the USA Network, which is a very respectable viewership average on cable but falls below the network average for Fox. From October 2017 – February 2018, Fox averaged 5,892,000 viewers for their prime-time programming and were trailing NBC, CBS, and ABC. Unlike Raw, SmackDown will find itself in a position where they will need to grow their audience to maintain the status of a prime-time network show on Fox. It is also a new type of product that Fox is going to have to go out and sell to make back their big investment. We saw the lengths that NBC Universal has gone to since the last contract negotiation in 2014 to sell the product, by integrating the WWE with examples like John Cena regularly appearing on the ‘Today Show’, various campaigns they have run and what has led to the WWE having a higher status among advertisers and programmers.

The upside of the Fox deal far outweighs any concerns, as this will provide the WWE with their largest platform they have ever had for a weekly program. The ability to cross promote on Fox Sports programming and receive the promotional muscle that Fox wields could prove extremely effective in creating further awareness of their content and serve as a star-making vehicle ...

The structure of SmackDown won’t likely be addressed until much closer to the start date on Fox, which will air its first episode on October 4th, 2019. I cannot imagine SmackDown in its current form is the product you see in 16 months. Whether these deals signal the end of the brand split, it makes no sense to have major stars like Ronda Rousey exclusive to one show and the company needs to go all out for their debut on Fox. The move to Fox also coincides with the 20th anniversary of SmackDown (premiering in August 1999) and could easily build to a Raw 25 type of show for the Fox launch.
Post Wrestling's John Pollock on the expectations and struggles FOX will have with Smackdown. Same article also compared the differences FOX had when they carried UFC and why NBC is going to have a much easier time with RAW. Pollock also thinks the brand split era likely is going to end by the time the new contracts take effect. https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/06/27/pollocks-news-update-6-27-analyzing-smackdowns-move-to-fox-in-2019/

During the conference call, they confirmed that the digital rights to Raw and SmackDown Live were included in these deals so there will not be separate digital rights deal for those two programs. The episodes will continue to be added to the WWE Network 30-days after they air on USA and Fox. They did cite the potential for other digital distribution deals with the Mixed Match Challenge brought up by one investor as a possibility.

Some other sheet news includes:

Website Wrestling DVD Network recently revealed the entire content listing for WWE's upcoming Shawn Michaels DVD set. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118448/full-content-listing-for-new-shawn-michaels-dvd.html?p=1
Youtube channel So Catch by Hal had a recent interview with Adam Cole talking about evolving as a wrestler and his thoughts on the Young Bucks winning the IWGP Tag titles at NJPW Dominion. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0627/642257/adam-cole-talks-changing-his-style-to-protect-himself-and-the/
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 19th anniversary of Billy Gunn's King of the Ring 1999 victory. WWE's attempt to use the victory as a springboard for bigger stardom for Gunn ended up failing miserably after a few months.
In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 7th anniversary of CM Punk's pipebomb promo on RAW.
NJPW held a recent media call with Cody as the guest talking about issues with WWE's Creative process, differences between WWE's and NJPW's locker rooms, thoughts on New Day vs Elite Street Fighter V match at E3, and more. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0627/642243/cody-rhodes-on-wwe-covering-bullet-club-elite-vs-new-day-at-e3/
For those interested, PWInsider has highlights of the investors conference WWE held today in regards to their TV deals. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118436/complete-coverage-of-wwe-tv-deal-conference-call.html?p=1

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Rumor: Possibility of NXT on Fox Sports 1 Being Discussed (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/rumor-possibility-of-nxt-on-fox-sports-1-being-discussed/)
Various: Eli Drake Update, Owens at Shania Twain Concert, Goldberg (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/various-eli-drake-contract-update-kevin-owens-at-shania-twain-concert-goldberg/)
WWE Confirms New Five Year Deals With FOX and USA Network (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/wwe-confirms-new-five-year-deals-with-fox-and-usa-network/)

slik

06-28-2018, 11:53 AM

From the Observer this week:

https://i.imgur.com/cYtTVfI.png

https://i.imgur.com/SkXh7Az.png

Sepholio

06-28-2018, 12:38 PM

Repeating this for accuracy: Reigns wins title at SS, Braun cashes in and murders him. WWE sends everyone home super psyched.

Mr. Nerfect

06-28-2018, 05:19 PM

That makes sense given the current landscape. I get the impression from what I've heard recently that they're trying to make it sound like Brock is leaving with the belt? This is an attempt to heel him and get Reigns cheered (which is ridiculous at this point). They can go with Reigns winning the belt at SummerSlam, which will get booed, and then they can call the audible and have Braun cash in when it doesn't work and make it look like a master-plan.

This also explains why they tried to push Brock so hard as a heel that was leaving heading into Mania and pulled the plug on Reigns winning -- they didn't have the MITB fail-safe this time.

Mr. Nerfect

06-28-2018, 05:22 PM

It would make sense to go all-out with SmackDown on FOX. But thinking about things more clearly, FOX probably knows exactly what they bought. Their statement seems to be expectant of the SmackDown audience and not anything significantly larger. Meltzer said that Ronda Rousey was important in negotiating these deals, but it wouldn't surprise me if the deal is just on the WWE general product.

Honestly, I don't think much will have to change. Which pisses me off to no end, don't get me wrong -- but the goal for Vince is probably to get as much money for as little effort as he needs to put in. I imagine that there will be a big main event, lots of stars and maybe a new look when they debut, but I don't think they are going to put in any appreciable effort into changing the product or that they have to.

slik

06-28-2018, 05:47 PM

It won't work, re: Roman "the hero"...it will probably just piss people off and the live crowd will shit all over it (again).

Braun cashing in would get a massive pop but I feel like they'll tease Braun cashing in for a while.

Mr. Nerfect

06-28-2018, 05:50 PM

Maybe. I don't see why they just don't do what they want to do. This whole arrangement is very weird. Logically, you'd think they'd have cut bait on Reigns as champion, otherwise he'd had won the belt at either Mania or in Saudi. But I guess it doesn't really matter, and maybe surpassing Punk was something they wanted to do?

slik

06-28-2018, 07:31 PM

I think they are advertising Roman vs KO for HIAC in San Antonio a few weeks after SummerSlam so I don't think Roman will lose the belt right away...but I could be wrong and plans change

Emperor Smeat

06-28-2018, 09:50 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Mankind-Taker Hell ina Cell Anniversary:
https://i.imgur.com/4laAelC.gif

The WWE released information that the total worldwide value of its television deals, which were $215 million last year (this includes both U.S. and the rest of the world), increases to $235 million this year. In 2019, with the big deals kicking in for the last three months, it would be up to $314 million. The combination of the FOX and USA Network deals would be $435 million in 2020, $462 million in 2021, and escalate past $470 million in 2022. Right now the company is estimating $79 million for television rights outside the U.S. in 2020 and $80 million in 2021, but those numbers because of the various deals that haven’t come due, can change, meaning a projection of $542 million in 2021. The company should shoot past the $1 billion revenue mark by 2020.

Really, this is the make-or-break week for Lesnar and UFC. If he doesn’t enter the USADA testing pool by 6/29, he won’t be able to fight the winner of the 7/7 Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier heavyweight title match on 12/29, or fight Jon Jones if somehow they can figure out a way to retain a smidgen of credibility for their drug testing program and somehow give Jones less than two years on a positive steroid test ... If Lesnar doesn’t enter the testing pool, as he needs six months of clean testing before he can fight in UFC, it would indicate the whole leaving for UFC is a leverage negotiating play. Cormier, who is on friendly terms with Lesnar, said in an interview this past week with Ariel Helwani that his plan is to beat Miocic, defend against Lesnar and then end his career with another match with Jones.

Regarding AAA and Madison Square Garden, it is notable that WWE did not attempt to block their date. AAA still has a hold on 9/16, but it’s not going to happen as Konnan said that they won’t be ready. They were looking for a TV deal and a sponsorship deal where the chances of success would be better. If they ran with no television and no sponsorship, it would not be successful so there would be no point. But they are hoping to run MSG in 2019. It’s pretty clear WWE isn’t against anyone else running MSG as much as blocking people who they feel would be successful running MSG.

The 7/7 Cow Palace show is listed for four-and-a-half hours live on AXS after the eight hour Bullet Club marathon that starts at Noon Eastern time with wrap-arounds by the Young Bucks & Cody ... Cow Palace ticket sales are a little over 5,000 at ths point. However, almost all the tickets sold are the most expensive, so it is likely already the largest gate in the history of the building. One reader who regularly goes to Japan town in San Francisco said they’ve seen no advertising or publicity anywhere except for one poster at a super market, which lists no matches and only four names, Okada, Omega, Tanahashi and Naito. I’ve seen nothing anywhere and there’s no local awareness of the event from anyone outside the hardcore wrestling fan base. Most area fans have no clue there is a show.
Most recent check had ticket sales at slightly over 7400.

Vice TV will be doing a series of weekly pro wrestling documentaries starting on 10/19. There will be ten of them in total on subjects that include Gino Hernandez, Dino Bravo, The Von Erichs and Bruiser Brody. From what I understand, the Hernandez one will have a ton of stuff that has never been reported. Hernandez is a subject that most modern fans aren’t familiar with since he died more than 30 years ago and was only 28 at the time of his death from a cocaine overdose. When he was around, there were guys like Ric Flair and Roddy Piper who had similar roles of being the good looking arrogant top heel and were better at it. But by today’s standards, with no Ric Flair’s or Roddy Piper’s in the business today, Hernandez’s out of the ring stuff, his promos, and his arrogance and presence comes off even more impressive because there is no heel remotely like him.

I’ve seen the Brody trailer, which focuses on Tony Atlas, and it’s riveting. There are some really interesting things that will come up in all of them, but the Hernandez story is one that will be amazing with the many different paths it takes because unlike most of the stories that they are doing, which have been done in detail multiple times, the Hernandez death was one that happened, a million rumors came after, but nobody really did any investigation on it past the cocaine overdose aspect of the death. Kevin Von Erich said that he never opened up as much as he did as the crew came and spent several days with him and his family on Maui, where the entire family lives in a group of homes all together and raises fruit.

Just to clarify, the ROH contracts with the Young Bucks & Cody all expire at the end of this year. This is going to be one of the biggest stories to the year to follow because of the timing of all three, as well as Kenny Omega being due. All have indicated in different interviews that they are not looking at going to WWE, with Cody adamant about not wanting to go somewhere where he can’t write his own music. New Japan made a big move with the Bucks and Omega at Dominion and they are keys to their international expansion. But WWE can afford to put on paper terms that nobody else in wrestling can meet. These guys are the exceptions in the sense they can all make big money in wrestling away from WWE, and work their own programs, as has been shown in both ROH and New Japan, as well as have far more control of their matches and their schedules. They all work far less dates than WWE talent. They are also a lock to be in top positions outside of WWE, while there is no guarantee how WWE would use them ...

They will also likely be at the peak of bargaining power after All In, because don’t think for a second that WWE wants any doors opened to the idea that somebody else is significant in promoting wrestling in this country like happened when Hot Topic, a major chain, picked up the New Japan/Bullet Club merchandise and then it greatly outsold WWE merchandise, and all in was in many ways probably the third hottest pro wrestling ticket of the year behind WrestleMania and Royal Rumble and probably the second hottest traveling ticket. It’s early to speculate on how this goes down, as there are three different key acts involved, and there are a lot of landscape changes going on. New Japan’s expansion makes New Japan top talent that much more important for WWE to take. The MSG situation is likely to put WWE and Sinclair into a battle and these are Sinclair’s prime wrestling talents. There also could be someone on the periphery starting up, or joining in.

In something that may have significance down the line, Lightning One Productions, which is the company owned by William “Billy” Corgan as well as the parent company of the NWA, is producing “All Us,” which will be a series of videos promoting the “All In” show on 9/1 in Chicago. At minimum, the NWA is working with the show given the probable Nick Aldis vs. Cody NWA title match (as the storyline goes, Cody first has to win the ROH title, he’s getting a shot in a three-way with Marty Scurll and champ Dalton Castle on the 6/29 PPV show in Baltimore), that is pretty much the only match that’s been talked about publicly for the show.

Regarding Rey Mysterio Jr., the announcement of his return in the video game has led to expectations of a return. But this is like all the video game announcements of talent which are separate negotiations from WWE, but the historical track record with Sting, Bill Goldberg and Ultimate Warrior is that it ends up opening the doors and the deal is made. In this case, those doors were already opened a long time ago. Mysterio has met with Paul Levesque. At this point no deal has been agreed to but I expect to happen, maybe even going so far as to say I strongly expect it to happen in relatively short order. Really, it’s been pretty much more of a when than if since the reaction at the Royal Rumble and how well he was moving opened up strong interest from WWE. It’s a matter of working out the money and dates but my impression is they are close on both. This is one of those situations where WWE will likely announce it as soon as the deal is done because they very much want to break the announcement themselves. As far as what that means with All In, that I don’t know.

Cass has a 90-day non-compete in his contract ... Still, a ton of promoters, particularly overseas, would likely pay well for Enzo & Cass as a team. And the issue is the two of them hate each other right now. Enzo has clearly not gone headfirst into the indie scene and is looking at making it as a rapper. Before he was fired, he had openly talked of potentially leaving and trying to do other entertainment work, but his merchandise money was so big that he probably never would have made that break. Him saying basically that on a phone call that other wrestlers heard was essentially the reason he was kicked off the bus on that European tour.

Ric Flair will be undergoing surgery on 7/9. This is the last operation he’s scheduled for related to his bad health problems last year.

Almost all signs are that this upcoming version of the XFL will be every different from the first one. Oliver Luck, who was hired by Vince McMahon to be both CEO and commissioner of the new league, said he got assurances the league would be completely different from the original. Vince is also very willing to spend money because the Sports Business Journal reported that Luck’s multi-year contract guarantees him $20 million and it could grow to more than $30 million if the league is successful. Luck was considered the heir apparent to the position held by Mike Emmett as President of NCAA Football so it took that kind of an offer to take him out of that future ...

This is a league that will either succeed or fail based on one metric, which is media rights fees. The idea is Vince will pump money into it for years until it gets a foundation and then it can get those rights fees. Luck said that they have a long-term goal including spending big money to hire name coaches. The other difference is that Vince himself is in so much better financial state. He has readily said he expects to lose more than $100 million getting it started. The other difference is the competition, because as noted, there are a number of leagues planning to start, with Charlie Ebersol’s AAF being the most serious of them since it already has a deal with CBS and CBS Sports Network. The AAF also has announced Birmingham, San Diego, Atlanta, Orlando, Memphis, Salt Lake City and Phoenix as cities for its teams, which would make those markets very difficult for the XFL.

If Vince McMahon had known this was coming he’d have surely waited to sell so much stock.

In December, he sold 3,340,000 shares at $28.68 per share to raise $95,791,200 for the XFL start-up. If he sold those shares today at market value (and if he did sell, it would actually be at slightly below market value) he’d have raised $236,672,400 so had he just sat right for six months he could have retained far more stock while raising far more money, and funded a ton of XFL early losses. But either way, he’s at the stage where he can afford however large the losses will be at first. It’s just a decision of giving up or not giving up on the belief it’ll make it long-term. It’s long past the point that money will ever be an issue with him or the XFL.

MLW will be crowning a Middleweight Champion at their Battle Riot show in Queens, New York next month.

The promotion announced today that Joey Ryan will face Maxwell J. Friedman (MJF) at the Melrose Ballroom on July 19 to decide the inaugural champion. This will be MLW's third active title, joining their World Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships. Those are currently held by Shane Strickland and Pentagon Jr. & Fenix, respectively.
More details: https://www.f4wonline.com/indies/mlw-crown-middleweight-champion-battle-riot-show-260586

Indies Roundup:
Besides the ROH show tomorrow night, there is the Kenny Omega promoted New Japan show in Daytona Beach on Twitch and Bellator on Paramount Network.

PCW Ultra on 7/27 in Wilmington, CA on FITE TV has Penta 0M & Warbeast vs. OVE & Sami Callhan, Shane Strickland vs. Flip Gordon for the light heavyweight title, Tessa Blanchard vs. Britt Baker for the women's title, Matt Riddle vs. Brody King, Rich Swann vs. Matt Cross vs. Jake Atlas, Dragon Lee vs. ACH and Hammerstone vs. Timothy Thatcher. Jake Roberts will also be a special guest.

MCW's annual Shane Shamrock Cup is 7/13 and 7/14 in Joppa,MD. 2 Cold Scorpio will be on the show. Mark Henry, Danielle Moinet (Summer Rae), Milena Roucka (Rosa Mendes) will be making appearances on the 7/13 show.

Beyond Wrestling Americanrana on 7/29 in Worcester, MA at the White Eagle has PCO vs. Brian Cage, Brody King vs. Josh Briggs, Matt Riddle & Tom Lawlor vs Nick Gage & Matt Tremont, Tracy Williams vs. Wheeler Yuta, Jonathan Gresham vs MJF and more.

How come guys from Impact are allowed to work companies with nationally broadcasted TV shows? You see Aries working ROH & MLW; along with Callihan & Konnan?

Impact allows that because they simply can’t afford to pay the talents a full-time salary that keeps them exclusive to Impact and Impact alone. So, the talents work wherever they want, making sure Impact has the priority for TV taping dates. Until Impact Wrestling is in a different financial position, that’s how its going to be.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles on why Impact allows their stars to be on rival TV shows.

Variety reported that Dwayne Johnson's sequel to last year's "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" now has a release date of December 13, 2019. That is an extremely interesting date as it sets the film, the sequel to the biggest movie in Sony history, on a direct path with Disney's Star Wars Episode IX, which will be released the following weekend. While Star Wars has traditionally been a juggernaut, the divisive reaction to the franchise's Episode VIII and the lackluster success of the most recent film Solo: A Star Wars Story puts the Jumanji sequel in a position to, for the first time, be a film that can undercut the success of a Star Wars movie, something that would be unthinkable even a few years ago.
Ignoring debates on the quality of the films and diversity/SJW complaints online, Disney seriously damaged the box office power of the Star Wars series by making it an annual thing. Was a big shock last year Jumanji managed to be a big box office hit but if Rock does it again next year against Star Wars, would just cement his status as a big box office drawing machine for Hollywood.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Jax vs. Rousey Raw Women's Championship match was discussed to be the main event of the evening, with the major emphasis being Bliss cashing in the briefcase and winning the title heading into Raw to next evening ...

The WON noted that media was told Money in the Bank was going to end at 10:30 p.m. EST, with enough cushion for an overrun to end before 11:00 p.m., as the goal is for only the "big four" pay-per-views – Rumble Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series – to potentially run over 11:00 p.m. Early in the show, producers realized that the 10:30 p.m. finish was not going to happen, and the show ended at about 11:20 p.m. EST.

While the feeling was that it would have been a risk main-eventing Rousey in just her first singles match and second match overall, Rousey's performances has caused WWE to be much more comfortable with headlining her in the final match of the card on future events.

Some other sheet news includes:

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, an official announcement regarding NXT's future is expected to be made very soon. Current rumors are the show going to Fox Sports 1 as part of WWE's new TV deals. https://twitter.com/ryansatin/status/1012442234472370177
According to the Observer, WWE is currently considering suing the Bakerfield PD due to Monday's incident involving Shinsuke Nakamura. Main reason is due to Nakamua's return status is currently unclear and it affecting their plans for this weekend's tour of Japan.
Also according to the Observer, AXS TV currently has plans for their Women of Wrestling show to start next year.
In a "WWE Did You Know' type fact, today is the 20th anniversary of the famous Mankind-Taker Hell in a Cell match. Not only did the match end up as one of the most famous and influential matches in WWE history, it also cemented the legacy of the Cell and Foley's stardom status in the WWE. Post Wrestling recently released a retrospective of the famous bout. https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/06/28/one-night-in-pittsburgh-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-hell-in-a-cell-match/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: Jeff Hardy Wrestling w/ Leg Injury, Charlotte Flair Story in ESPN (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/wwe-jeff-hardy-wrestling-w-leg-injury-charlotte-flair-story-in-espn/)
Why the Cruiserweights Haven’t Been on Raw Recently (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/why-the-cruiserweights-havent-been-on-raw-recently/)
Laurel Van Ness and Robbie E Trying Out for WWE (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/laurel-van-ness-and-robbie-e-trying-out-for-wwe/)
WWE Says that Lars Sullivan Has a Broken Jaw (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/wwe-says-that-lars-sullivan-has-a-broken-jaw/)

Emperor Smeat

06-29-2018, 09:14 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random WWE UK Rasslin gif:
https://i.imgur.com/B1LVY2f.gif

Matt Cappotelli has passed away after his second battle with brain cancer.

Cappotelli's wife, Lindsay, wrote on Facebook: "Hey Team Capp...I’ve been struggling with what to say and how to say this, and I’ll probably end up rambling, but here goes. Today my love-my strong, sweet, beautiful love-took his last breath at 3:30 a.m. and went Home to be with Jesus...exactly one year after his brain surgery. You think you can be prepared for this when you know it’s coming, but you just can’t. The only person who’s comfort I want right now is the one who can’t give it to me. I miss him so much. I know where he is now is so much better, but it doesn’t change how much I miss him."

Cappotelli was 38 years old.

Last June, Cappotelli underwent surgery after being diagnosed with a grade four glioblastoma brain tumor. Ninety percent of the tumor was able to be removed, but the remaining portion was too close to his brain stem. Lindsay wrote last month that they met with Cappotelli's neuro-oncologist and it was decided that he was at the point where they should discontinue treatments.

Cappotelli, who appeared to be universally well-liked by those who knew him, was one of the winners of season three of WWE Tough Enough. He was an up-and-coming star in OVW until his first brain cancer diagnosis in 2005 led to the end of his in-ring career.

John Hennigan (John Morrison), the other winner of Tough Enough season three, posted about Cappotelli's passing: "My first best friend in the wrestling business and to this day one of the best people I’ve ever known Matt Cappotelli has passed on. I’m gutted about this news. Matt inspired everyone around him especially me early in my career. He is loved and will be missed."

Links: https://www.facebook.com/groups/432701287195168/permalink/461676064297690/ , https://twitter.com/TheRealMorrison/status/1012832662006816768

A number of college athletes and independent wrestlers were a part of the latest WWE tryouts held at the WWE Performance Center this past week ...

Here is a list of the more notable names that were a part of this tryout camp:

Jake Kasper, a two time All-American from Duke University. The article noted that Gerald Brisco compared him to a young John Cena.

Chelsea Green, formerly of Impact Wrestling as Laurel Van Ness who also competed in the Tough Enough 2015 reboot.

Terrell and Terrence Hughes, twin sons of D-Von Dudley who made a few appearances in Impact Wrestling earlier this decade.

Rob Strauss, also known as Robbie E. Former Impact wrestling star and also a competitor on the reality show Amazing Race.

Rory Gulak, brother of Drew Gulak. He has an amateur wrestling background and has competed in places like CZW and CHIKARA.

Link with more details: https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-reveals-more-names-weeks-tryouts-260671

The current plan for Ronda Rousey's official return from her "WWE suspension" is for it to happen on the Raw in Buffalo, NY the day after the Extreme Rules PPV.

Rousey will be working all of her currently advertised live event appearances including a 7/7 bout against Nia Jax at Madison Square Garden and a 7/8 Bridgeport, CT tag team bout teaming with Jax against Alexa Bliss and Mickie James.

In some interesting news, The Wales Comic Con announced that WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels would not be able to attend their December 2018 event, but that WWE would be sending Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro and Sheamus to appear instead. What is interesting about this is that Ziggler's current WWE deal was expected to expire this summer, so the booking could be a sign that they have come to terms on a new deal or that both sides are working under the agreement that a new deal is expected to be signed.

ESPN is reporting that Vince McMahon has told people close to him that he expects to spend in the area of $500 million when he relaunches the XFL in 2020.

Initially, the number being reported that he would spend would be around $100 million. Of course, since that announcement WWE's stock has more than doubled and they announced TV deals where they will be making 3.6 times more in programming fees in the US alone starting next October.

Suffice it to say, he has more money to spend now than he did when the deal was announced.

With a half billion being committed to the projected, the chances of attracting name players has gone up. And players are what will draw eyes to the product, in my humble opinion.
Link: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23947732/vince-mcmahon-expects-spend-close-500-million-xfl

Indies Roundup:
Major League Wrestling today announced 5 additional participants known as the “fearless 5” for the first-ever Battle Riot match on July 19th in New York City. Jimmy Havoc, Brody King, Low Ki, Head Shrinker: Samu and ½ of the World Tag Team Champions Rey Fenix will all vie for a world title shot as they compete in the 40 wrestler Battle Riot at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY.

Impact Wrestling has announced a four-way match for Slammiversary with Johnny Impact vs. Rich Swann vs. Rey Fenix vs. Taiji Ishimori, as well as confirming the Hair vs. Mask match between Pentagon Jr. and Sami Callihan for the show on July 22nd in Toronto.

Wednesday’s episode of Lucha Underground averaged 99,000 viewers on the El Rey Network that featured the three-way Grave Consequences Match. Their number was up by a small margin from 96,000 the week prior.

WWN announced that all events will be put up for VOD on their subscription streaming service within 72 hours instead of the prior two weeks, and noted last weekend's shows were up within 24 hours.

David Arquette, who was at the Bar Wrestling show last night, will face RJ City on 7/15 at the Oceanview Pavilion in California.

The 6/28 edition of Impact did 254,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 262,000,overnight viewers.

How is the All In event being distributed? Is it gonna be on IPPV? Will they have a distribution deal?

Nothing has been made official yet, but the show will air. I have heard AXS TV has made overtures about carrying the show, but we haven’t heard there is a deal in place.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles on current status of ALL In's broadcast plans.

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that there have been discussions of putting NXT on FS1. Satin says the announcement is “imminent”

Brad Shepard of Bodyslam.net confirmed the news as well, claiming that the deal was done last week, and the announcement should be made no later than next week

This is huge news for NXT, which will now be available to a much larger audience should the news prove to be true. It should be interesting to see what kind of success the program has on FS1.

It should also be noted that Shepard teased the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event to Saturdays on FOX.
Link: https://www.sescoops.com/huge-nxt-news-reportedly-coming-soon/

The National Labor Relations Board region has ruled that the claims by Leslie Smith have merit and will be filing a claim against UFC that the fighters are not independent contractors, but are employees. Obviously if the complaint goes through, this strongly relates to WWE in particular. This would also lead to a claim that UFC was discriminated against for being released for her out of the ring unionizing activities. Lucas Middlebrook, the attorney for Smith, told MMA Fighting that the complaint would be filed in one month. It would eventually end up with a hearing before an administrative law judge in Philadelphia. A very good story on this is here. In the big picture, this is a massive story.
Going to lead to some massive fallout on the WWE if Smith manages to win.

I'm not sure if this is the case for Brooklyn, it likely is, but it is definitely the case for November in Los Angeles, that NXT Takeover shows are permanently being moved up one hour to 7 p.m. starts on Saturday night. The NXT Takeover live events will start closer to 6 p.m. I was told the idea isn't longer shows, but that's probably what will wind up happening. Right now the directive is that the shows will be less than three hours in length, when before they were just over two hours, and then lengthened to close to two hours and 30 minutes.

Steve Austin recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho where he discussed how his adrenaline-pumping anthem was created thanks to the incredible talents of Jim Johnston. Austin said he was previously coming out to a much slower song from his Ringmaster gimmick and he needed a change. This is when The Rattlesnake went to Johnston with a CD and an idea of how they could make his music fit the new and edgier Stone Cold gimmick.

"I went down to the studio and back in the day you know Chris I was pretty hands-on you gotta be," Steve Austin said to Chris Jericho. "So I walked in there and I had a CD and I hand it to Jim Johnston and go, 'it's called Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine' and I played it.

"He got it," Austin continued, "and so I don't think my entrance music sounds anything like it but it was inspired by that and man I tell ya what the way he came up with that glass breaking I don't know how he came up with that idea when he looped in that siren, I don't know how or why he put that in a stroke of genius or luck or whatever it was that happened, magic?
Link: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0629/642302/steve-austin-reveals-which-song-was-the-inspiration-for-his-wwe/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Current Impact Slammiversary 2018 Card – Five Matches (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/current-impact-slammiversary-2018-card-five-matches/)
Shinsuke Nakamura Appears on Crutches at WWE House Show in Japan (http://www.tpww.net/2018/06/nakamura-appears-on-crutches-at-wwe-house-show-in-japan/)

Mr. Nerfect

07-01-2018, 01:03 AM

Jake Kasper is such a name for a two-time All-American. He actually does look like John Cena.

Emperor Smeat

07-03-2018, 09:58 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Rey Mysterio's alter ego ... Rey Mysterio:
https://78.media.tumblr.com/0197e71626c13efb2059a8ca21996ba3/tumblr_pawnqbOQhU1u1ljrzo1_540.gif

Raw last night drew an almost identical number to the week before, up one percent to 2.70 million viewers.

The ratings pattern was interesting, while not like last week where the third hour was the highest, this week the first hour was low, the second hour had a strong gain, and the third hour was down, but not badly. The third hour was actually higher than the first hour, which has been a rare occurrence in recent years ...

This week was down five percent from the same week last year.

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.64 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.82 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.66 million viewers

Indies Roundup:
Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix defend the MLW tag titles on the 7/19 show in Long Island City, NY against Aerostar & Drago.

MVP on Instagram noted that he was released by MLW saying it's for reasons he said he doesn't completely understand. He was wrestling and agenting for the group. Court Bauer just said that he wishes him the best, that he is fully released to appear anywhere immediately and that this quietly took place a few weeks ago. He said his final appearance with MLW, a Boiler Room Brawl with Sami Callihan which was the blow-off of their angle, will air on television Friday night.

Matt Riddle vs. Shane Strickland for the Evolve title has been announced as the main event for a show on 8/4 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. There will also be a show on 8/5 in Melrose, MA with Riddle vs. Austin Theory with stips to be announced and Tracy Williams & Josh Briggs vs. Catch Point. They also announced an 8/11 show in Chicago and 8/12 show in Livonia, MI.

WALTER vs. Tomohiro Ishii is set for Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Summer Sizzler show at York Hall in London on August 17. WALTER booted Ishii after Ishii’s match with Minoru Suzuki on Sunday, then had a staredown with Suzuki.

In episode two of “All Us,” Cody Rhodes said they’ll probably start rolling out matches week by week for All In any day now. He mentioned that he doesn’t think they’ll ever reveal a full card prior to the show.

MLW World Champion Shane Strickland will defend his title against Sami Callihan at MLW’s July 19 Battle Riot event in Queens, New York.

Ring of Honor posted the following : One of the most sadistic and masochistic wrestlers in the world makes his Ring of Honor debut in Edinburgh as part of Ring of Honor’s Inaugural International Cup! Jimmy Havoc has held championships from all around the globe, including the Progress Championship and CZW Tournament of Death 2016, and is the first competitor announced for the inaugural ROH International Cup!
RevPro: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1013884515536826368 , Cody: https://youtu.be/LbUlPXZTZWI , MLW: https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1014142652231667712

The book "Eggshells: Pro Wrestling in the Tokyo Dome" by Chris Charlton will be released on 7/17. We'll have more on that as the date comes closer.

Shinsuke Nakamura will be out for a couple of more weeks.

In an interview with Nikkan Sports, Nakamura said that it would possibly be two more weeks before he could return to the ring. He will continue to be evaluated over the next few weeks until a timetable for a return is more clear.

He was injured last Monday after a police dog, who was doing a sweep before a SmackDown house show in Bakersfield, California for explosives, bit Nakamura during the inspection. His originally scheduled match against Jeff Hardy for the United States title was canceled the following day and he hasn’t been able to wrestle since.

Nakamura did not wrestle on this weekend’s house show events in Asia, but did appear in front of crowds on crutches explaining that he couldn’t wrestle. Two times, Samoa Joe came out and the two got into it before AJ Styles made the save.

Link: https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/news/201806300000337.html

Jinder Mahal appeared on last night’s Main Event tapings and defeated Zack Ryder. The Ascension also defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno.
Apparently that was The Ascension's first tag win since February 2016. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/8vtqrx/significant_losing_streak_has_been_broken/

ROH tweeted the following:

#SeaOfHonor Tournament match on the @jericho_cruise!@theAdamPage vs @FrankieKazarian

Book your cabin NOW, maaan!https://t.co/weIdUJuRJS #JerichoCruise pic.twitter.com/Og6oVBYCIK
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 3, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/1013965602388697088

TMZ.com reported this evening that former NFL star D'Angelo Williams, who had an incredible performance at last year's Slammiversary PPV, will be returning to the company next week.

Williams will be getting involved in the Moose vs. Austin Aries storyline leading into their main event match at the 7/22 Slammiversary PPV in Toronto. Williams will appear on the 7/12 episode of Impact Wrestling, helping Moose with his training for the PPV bout.

Williams had an excellent first-time showing last year, teaming with Moose in a victory over Eli Drake and Chris Adonis, but announced afterwards that he intended his excursion into pro wrestling to be a one-time visit. Obviously, that has changed, although there's no official word whether he'll be stepping back inside the ring.

Impact is pushing the Williams return early, potentially as a way to reverse the recent dip in their weekly Impact Wrestling audience.

Daniel Bryan was interviewed on The Gorilla Position podcast during the recent European tour in May. Bryan said it’s been tougher than he imagined being on the road and away from his daughter, mentioning that he missed her first birthday and Mother’s Day that month as well. With the WWE’s event in Saudi Arabia at the end of April and the European tour in May, Bryan stated that he was only home three days in the stretch of one month. He would prefer a schedule in the ballpark of 50-100 dates per year with the initial plan prior to his clearance being “a revised concussion protocol for a limited schedule”, and instead of a limited schedule, he is booked on everything currently.
Link with some quotes and video: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0703/642411/daniel-bryan-on-wrestlemania-35-match-with-the-miz-do-you-trust/

Chris Jericho has announced he will be recording a special Eddie Guerrero tribute podcast with Konnan and Rey Mysterio on his Rock ‘N Wrestling Rager Cruise that takes place from October 27th – 31st and sails from Miami to the Bahamas.

There is a ton of news in this new Being the Elite including the tease of Chris Jericho & The Young Bucks teaming up, as well as the mock Joey Ryan funeral and all kinds of tongue-in-cheek strorylines, and the legit announcement of a Young Bucks children's book.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2iNXTXWoVU

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Sunday was the 27th anniversary of Ric Flair's firing from WCW. Flair was fired due to a contract dispute and even though he was stripped of the WCW World title, he later appeared on WWF television wearing the Big Gold belt due to the on-going dispute.
According to the Observer, Lesnar is currently rumored to be staying in the WWE due to not entering USADA's drug testing pool prior to the July 1st deadline. Won't be able to fight in UFC's final event of the year and still has a 6 month suspension to serve if he does resume his MMA career.
According to PWI, WWE is considering the idea of inducting Matt Cappotelli as the Warrior Award recipient for next year's Hall of Fame class. http://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news/early-news-on-a-possible-inductee-for-the-2019-wwe-hall-of-fame/
Recent episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast show had Jericho talk about Eric Bischoff being nicknamed "ATM Eric", his proposed WCW feud with Brad Armstrong, and being "drained" while working in WCW. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0702/642382/chris-jericho-responds-to-eric-bischoff-talks-being-drained-in/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Deonna Purrazzo Unable to Compete in “All In” Due to Signing With WWE (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/deonna-purrazzo-unable-to-compete-in-all-in-due-to-signing-with-wwe/)
Ruby Riott Injury Update (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/ruby-riott-injury-update/)
WWE: Brief Bray Wyatt Update, Main Event Results, Owens After Raw (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/wwe-brief-bray-wyatt-update-main-event-results-owens-after-raw/)
Various: Ricky Steamboat Surgery, Bret Hart’s Birthday (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/various-ricky-steamboat-surgery-bret-harts-birthday/)

Mr. Nerfect

07-04-2018, 07:56 AM

Come on Brock and Danielson to NJPW...

Emperor Smeat

07-04-2018, 10:51 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Swaggie Soaring Eagle Appreciation Day:
http://wrestlecrap.com/eaglestart.gif

Today is the 25th anniversary of Lex Luger slamming Yokozuna in the WWF’s body slam challenge on the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier in New York. Their match at SummerSlam 1993 ended with Luger winning by countout, with him never becoming WWF World Champion.
Link: https://www.wwe.com/videos/lex-luger-slams-yokozuna-july-4-1993

WWE set up a future Samoa Joe vs. Tye Dillinger match in a post-SmackDown video. It wasn’t specifically announced whether the match will be on next week’s episode or not. Joe wasn’t on last night’s SmackDown and hasn’t been on the show since the Jun 19 number one contender’s gauntlet match.

Andrade “Cien” Almas, who hasn’t wrestled on SmackDown since May 22, defeated Sin Cara in a dark match prior to last night’s show but didn’t appear on television. SAnitY vs. The New Day was the post-205 Live dark match, with New Day standing tall after a DQ.
WWE legit needs to do a much better job handling SmackDown's roster. Its one thing to not use every notable star each week, its another when your making notable stars become cold due to lack of use.

CM Punk’s career from 2006-2008 will be the subject of next week’s season finale of Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson on the WWE Network.
Link: http://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/07/04/exclusive-something-else-to-wrestle-season-finale-to-discuss-controversial-former-wwe-champion/

The first trailer has been released for “Miz & Mrs,” The Miz and Maryse’s reality show that will premiere on the USA Network on July 24. Miz described the show in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, we just want to make a shiny new wheel that people can look at and go, ‘Wow, this is something special, this is something nice,. What we set out to do was make this show [so that] when you watch it you don’t literally look at it and go, ‘Oh that was fake’ or ‘That was real.’ You watch it like you watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, like you watch The Office, like you watch Modern Family. You watch it, you get enthralled by the characters, you follow the stories, and you just enjoy the show. … We made a 30-minute comedy and it’s things that people can relate to and I think that’s what’s gonna set us apart from everybody else.”
Links: http://ew.com/tv/2018/07/03/wwe-the-miz-maryse-miz-mrs-first-trailer/ , http://ew.com/tv/2018/07/03/wwe-the-miz-maryse-miz-mrs-first-trailer

Indies Roundup:
ROH announced that Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm will be wrestling as a tag team on their Honor Re-United UK tour shows in Doncaster on August 18 and London on August 19. They won’t be appearing on the August 16 show in Edinburgh.

Impact will begin airing weekly on 52MX in Mexico starting on July 7. Its time slot is on Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. CDT.  
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/jody-fleisch-and-jonny-storm-make-their-roh-returns-uk , Impact: http://impactwrestling.com/impact-wrestling-to-broadcast-across-mexico-on-52mx/

On 6/29, WWE applied to register 'Dr. Shelby':

ROH is running a HUGE flash sale today 7/4 only with 75% off DVDs (and if you are a ROH Honorclub subscriber, you receive an additional 15% off your order). Complete details below:

TODAY ONLY!

Use checkout code "ROHUSA" for 75% of ALL #ROH DVDs at https://t.co/VgqPj8BfXC!#HonorClub always receives an additional 15% off!!https://t.co/vS7fcMBTTh pic.twitter.com/9IA8MpIhWo
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 4, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/1014358273141694464

We have had a number of readers ask about future WWE plans to add additional vintage content to the WWE Network's Vault section.

In speaking to several different sources, we are told that the plans for the next several months are to continue to add additional content to sections that have already been established, not debut any new sections, so if you were looking for Wrestling Challenge or other older WWE series, they will not debut in 2018.

The tentative plans for updates going forward include adding the remainder of Mid-South Wrestling episodes, more WWWF All-Star Wrestling, more WCW Saturday Night episodes and adding up to 75 hours of additional WWF Coliseum Home Videos from the 1980s and 1990s, specificially old VHS titles based around personalities.

We are told that the initial plan for this month was to add 75 more hours of WCW Saturday Night, but with the decision to finally upload Heat after legalities involving the now-dismissed Buff Bagwell and Raven lawsuit were resolved, Heat being added changed the originally planned schedule for classic additions to the Vault.

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, which was to be uploaded in May was pushed back to this month

Taeler Hendrix worked for ROH in 2011 and once again from 2015-2017. Hendrix announced her ROH departure on April 4, 2017, and the 29-year-old has been working elsewhere since.

Hendrix made claims today that she wasn't pushed in ROH or featured on television after turning down a sexual request from now-ROH Champion Jay Lethal. At this time there is no official word on the situation, but Hendrix wrote on Instagram that her attorneys are in an on-going investigation.
Link: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0704/642452/taeler-hendrix-claims-her-roh-career-was-sabotaged-for-not/

Some other sheet news includes:

Ratings and viewership numbers for this week's Smackdown are delayed due to today being the 4th of July.
Update to recent Shinsuke Nakamura injury news as WWE currently expects Nakamura to return by Extreme Rules on July 15th.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

More on Bray Wyatt Car Crash: Cited for “Careless Driving” (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/more-on-bray-wyatt-car-crash-cited-for-careless-driving/)
Updated + Rumored WWE Extreme Rules Card After SmackDown (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/updated-rumored-wwe-extreme-rules-card-after-smackdown-2/)
WWE 205 Live Results – July 3, 2018 – Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/wwe-205-live-results-july-3-2018-mustafa-ali-vs-buddy-murphy/)

slik

07-05-2018, 08:38 AM

Notes from the Observer:

https://i.imgur.com/ohYPdKX.png

https://i.imgur.com/LQTFgqO.png

https://i.imgur.com/l4MU2cx.png

https://i.imgur.com/RPlxzCb.png

https://i.imgur.com/uMjpjNX.png]

Meltzer also noted ROH's 'Best In The World' show drew 2,500 fans to Baltimore -- which is the largest crowd for a show w/ homegrown talent (not including Cody) in ROH's history.

Mr. Nerfect

07-05-2018, 09:22 PM

I'd be down with Styles and Joe having a feud. The two best in WWE going at it.

David Arquette is actually credible by today's standards.

Emperor Smeat

07-05-2018, 10:00 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by NOTHING:

For the third time in five weeks, SmackDown posted its lowest viewership total of the year, as this week's July 3 episode averaged 2.013 million viewers. That's actually the second-lowest number since the brand split, trailing only a November 2016 edition of the show that went up against coverage of the United States Presidential election ...

Year-to-year, the show was down 14 percent from last year's July 4 edition of SmackDown (which featured a heavily-promoted return of John Cena), the third straight week the show has been down double digits. It also retained just 74 percent of the Raw audience from the night before, which was actually up from the previous week.

If you are still feel patriotic following the 4th of July, this week’s Hidden Gem on the WWE Network has your back.

This week’s upload pretty much has everything regarding Lex Luger’s big push in the summer of 1993: the “I’ll Be Your Hero” music video, footage of Luger touring the United States on the Lex Express bus, b-roll footage of Luger’s babyface turn on the USS Intrepid on July 4, 1993 where slammed Yokozuna and the WWE title match at that year's SummerSlam. The footage runs slightly over the three hour mark.

The patriotic push came after Luger had an initial middling run as a heel, the Narcissist. The original plan was for him to defeat Yokozuna for the WWE title at SummerSlam 1993, but the win was pushed to WrestleMania X. By the time that show rolled around, plans changed again and ultimately Luger never got over in the way WWE was hoping for.

Luger jumped to WCW in 1995 and won the WCW title once before the company folded in 2001.

Link: https://twitter.com/WWENetworkChron/status/1014852348420739073

WWE will be announcing its second quarter business results on 7/26. Among the key items will be the value of the WWE Saudi Arabian deal, and how well network subscriptions held up after WrestleMania.

Indies Roundup:
The two New Japan shows from the U.K. from the weekend are now up on both the Revolution Pro and New Japan World streaming sites.

River City Wrestling tomorrow night in San Antonio at the Turner Club with Nick Aldis vs. Lance Hoyt for the NWA world title and Abyss vs. Joey Spector in Monster's Ball match for the River City title, and Rebel Tanea Brooks vs. Paige Turner.

AAW on 7/21 in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street has ACH & Davey Vega & Mat Fichett vs. David Starr & Eddie Kingston & Trevor Lee, Kimber Lee vs. Su Yung, Dave & Jake Crist vs. Brody King & Jimmy Jacobs, MJF vs. Ace Romero in a street fight and Rey Fenix vs. Dezmond Xavier.

Deonna Purrazzo faces Kylie Rae at the Rise TV tapings on Sunday in Naperville, IL.

Stardom announced there will be a Stardom & Rise tournament on 7/14 in Tokyo at Shinkiba First Ring. Two matches announced are Tam Nakano vs. Kikyo and Nasuko Tora vs. Britt Baker.

The Bakersfield Dome, which has housed pro wrestling for decades, is being demolished and replaced with an immigration detention center.

The ITV World of Sport wrestling show looks to be debuting on 7/21 in the 5 p.m. Saturday time slot.

Due to a carriage charge dispute, El Rey at press time is off Sling TV.

The latest announced Impact special set for the company's Twitch.TV channel is Sunday 7/29 at 3 PM as North Carolina's AML will host an event featuring their regulars vs. Impact stars at the Triad in Greensboro, NC.

Set for the event:
*Moose vs. Jaxon Stone.
*Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Payne.
*AML Tag Team Champions The Extreme Horsemen vs. The Heavenly Bodies.
*Matt Sydal vs. Caleb Konley.
*Fallah Bahh vs. Zane Dawson with George South.
*Suicide vs. Brandon Scott vs. Devin Driscoll vs. Sean Denny vs. Gifted One Yanya: Fan's Choice.
*Eli Drake vs. Axton Ray.
*Allie vs. Kristen Stadtlander.

Lavie Margolin, who is the author of “Trumpmania: Vince McMahon, WWE and the making of America’s 45th President”, has compiled data to assess Ring of Honor’s business at the mid-way point of 2018. The statistics were compiled through the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Wrestling Data, and the Internet Wrestling Database. It compares the numbers in each category to the first six months of each year of Ring of Honor’s existence dating back to 2002.

ROH’s average attendance for the first six months of 2018 is a record high 1,412 per show, greatly assisted by Supercard of Honor over WrestleMania weekend that drew ROH’s highest attendance in their history with approximately 6,000 people (Margolin has a figure of 5,879 for the show). The average is up 27.7% from the same period in 2017 and up 52% from 2016. In looking at the chart, one notable drop came in 2012. When the Sinclair purchase of the company went down in May 2011, they averaged 823 for the first six months of 2011 and one year later dropped to 671 per show.

Total attendance for the first six months of 2018 is listed at 32,484 (it is listed as total attendance for the six months and not a breakdown of paid and free), which is a giant leap of 42% from the same period in 2017. Again, Supercard of Honor is a big factor for the jump as they drew 6,000 for their biggest card of all-time, which was a net gain of 2,500 from the Supercard of Honor event in 2017 in Orlando. That said, even if Supercard of Honor drew the identical number as 2017, you would still have a record attendance number this year by a substantial margin from the previous high of 24,307 in 2017.
Link: https://twitter.com/Laviemarg/status/1014881550016679937

The awareness locally isn’t there. Really, none of my friends who might be interested in the Cow Palace show had any awareness of such a show. There was a Japan Day festival in San Francisco on 7/1 and there was no presence of anything publicizing the show and that would have hit a huge audience. One of our readers went through Japan Town while there and said aside from postcards in a display rack off a side alley in one mall, a poster on bulletin wall outside a market and a full page ad on Japan weekly, there was no publicity for the show in San Francisco, and we’ve heard or seen nothing in San Jose. One of the Japanese video store owners who is a pro wrestling fan had no idea there was a show at the Cow Palace, and he knew about the Long Beach shows

Michael Elgin, who has done limited indie dates in months, was back doing a few dates in the U.S. this past weekend. Because of social media reaction to him, he has done very little U.S. wrestling this year. New Japan didn’t even book him on their U.S. shows with the idea of a fear of a social media backlash. Even a number of promoters who wanted him on shows, including one national office, saw the reaction and tried to steer clear of it. He had worked a few U.S. shows and several Canadian shows without any incident or crowd issues but they fell under the radar and weren’t shows pushed hard through regular social media channels

Regarding rumors of WWE buying Evolve and putting it on the network, there have been talks of that from the start of the relationship between the two brands. It could happen soon or it could never happen. WWE allowing them usage of Adam Cole, but not on the WWN streaming service, isn’t a signal of anything because they’ve done that before. Whether it’s ICW, Progress or Evolve, WWE will put some or all on the network as soon as Vince McMahon makes that call. He’s gone back-and-forth on it for close to two years, including many times where he said yes and then changed his mind. If you understand the mindset, what would have spurred it on is if Flo Slam was a success, because it was ITV talking about doing wrestling in the U.K. that spurred the deals there, and FloSlam when it kicked off may have sped things up, but ITV then cooled down after the first taping and seemingly disappeared, and Flo Slam didn’t get off to a big start and is no longer around

Rollins was interviewed by the Asbury Park Press for an upcoming show. He noted that the attempts for the full-fledged Shield reunion tour kept falling apart, first when Reigns got the mumps, injuries that changed around shows and most notably due to the Ambrose surgery for a torn triceps. “It started off great I thought. The reconciliation over the summer, myself and Ambrose winning the tag team titles, and then bringing Roman into the fold was really well done and a lot of fun and exciting. And then, the mumps happened, and there’s nothing you can really do about that, so that threw a real wrench into the plans. And Ambrose got hurt, so what can you do? That’s part of the business. That’s part of the game. One thing that’s exciting about it is I think it leaves us a lot of room for future Shield reunions, so that’s cool to see. If we get an opportunity to do that at some point down the road, that would be great. You know, we haven’t done it, and thrown it away and wasted it. It just stuff happens, you can’t predict those variables of people getting sick or injured.” He said he hoped that Ambrose would be back by the end of the year. He had surgery in December so one would think he should be back a lot sooner than that, as originally they estimated September and later I’d heard they were hoping for August

The top ten most-watched shows on the WWE Network for the past week were: 1. Ride Along with Rusev, English and Lana; 2. 2018 Money in the Bank; 3. NXT on 6/27; 4. UK from London second show; 5. UK from London first show; 6. Something Else to Wrestle with from 6/27 on Big Evil Undertaker; 7. The Hardys: Woken; 8. NXT Takeover Chicago; 9. 205 Live from 6/26; 10. WrestleMania 2018. I’m not sure why, if there was a podcast about it or a story, but the 1998 King of the Ring PPV cracked the top 20 and it’s rare for something in that era ever to do that

Some other stuff includes:

Website DigitalSpy.com had a recent interview with Goldberg talking about his last run in the WWE. http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/wwe/interviews/a860979/goldberg-return-comeback-wrestlemania-roman-reigns-undertaker-sting-brock-lesnar/
Rumor going around the net hints that Rey Mysterio has recently signed a 3-year deal with the WWE. Source of the rumor is a bit sketchy in terms of reliability.
Also rumors of an official announcement regarding NXT going to FS1 were recently debunked by the Observer. According to Meltzer, the talks between FOX and WWE were only for Smackdown based on his sources close to the situation. He did hint it is possible future talks could result in a separate tv deal for NXT.
According to the Observer, Toni Storm's WWE contract is only a WWE UK one and not also a NXT one due to her recently revealing her schedule for the rest of the year includes a lot of events in Germany.
Recent episode of In This Corner podcast show had Bret Hart as the guest talking about CM Punk's recent defamation lawsuit and the time he punched Vince after the Montreal Screwjob incident occurred. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0705/642468/bret-hart-talks-punching-vince-mcmahon/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Okada vs. Scurll and Three New Names Added to All In (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/okada-vs-scurll-and-three-new-names-added-to-all-in/)
How Much Is WWE Paying Its NXT UK Wrestlers? (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/how-much-is-wwe-paying-its-nxt-uk-wrestlers/)
Injury Updates: Nakamura, Wyatt, Riott, Lorcan, Sullivan (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/injury-updates-nakamura-wyatt-riott-lorcan-sullivan/)
Kenny Omega Says It’d Be “Missed Opportunity” if He Didn’t Wrestle in WWE (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/kenny-omega-says-it-would-be-a-missed-opportunity-if-he-didnt-wrestle-in-wwe/)

Emperor Smeat

07-06-2018, 09:33 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random Braun gif:
https://78.media.tumblr.com/8cf47e734f2307ad5a4ca6ff22995882/tumblr_p57srdWmBT1s05wxzo2_400.gif

New Japan will be back in the Los Angeles area this fall with a number of events.

NJPW President Harold Meij announced today at a press conference in San Francisco that the promotion will be returning to Long Beach this fall with Fighting Spirit Unleashed. It will be held on September 30 and will once again be at the Walter Pyramid.

In addition, two shows featuring only Young Lion talent will take place in Anaheim on November 10 and November 11. These shows will be called The Lion’s Break, possibly similar to smaller scale young lion events held in Japan called Lion’s Gate Project.

This would be the third time New Japan has ran a big show in California this year. Along with Strong Style Evolved back in March, they will be running one of their most ambitious international events yet tomorrow with the G1 Special in San Francisco event at the Cow Palace.

On Wednesday, former Ring of Honor wrestler Taeler Hendrix (Taeler Conrad-Mellen) said on Twitter that she was taken off TV in 2017 due to her refusing to have sex with Jay Lethal (Jamar Shipman).

On Friday, ROH COO Joe Koff released a statement to F4WOnline.com via their PR company:

"We were troubled to hear the allegations that surfaced last night on Twitter. We take these matters very seriously and will be investigating this situation thoroughly, reviewing all evidence related to the matter. Ring of Honor strives to provide an environment and workplace where male and female wrestlers are free from any misconduct or abuse. We will take appropriate action upon the conclusion of our findings."

The statement was also provided to PWTorch who ran a story about the situation on Thursday.

When asked if the company would also release a statement from Shipman or provide a timeline in which their investigation would take place, their PR firm said the statement was all they had. At this point, Shipman hasn't made any public statement.

Link: https://www.pwtorch.com/site/2018/07/05/former-roh-wrestler-taeler-hendrix-claims-her-career-was-sabotaged-because-she-wouldnt-sleep-with-roh-world-champion-jay-lethal-roh-issues-exclusive-statement-to-pwtorch/

Indies Roundup:
The National Wrestling Alliance released the latest edition of their YouTube series Ten Pounds of Gold, focusing on the build to the 9/1 "All In" event where Champion Nick Aldis will defend against Cody Rhodes in Chicago

MLW issued the following: BAD BOY JOEY JANELA VS. MJF FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE BOUT SIGNED FOR MLW’S JULY 12 ORLANDO FUSION TV TAPING

The company announced Scorpio Sky will challenge Punishment Martinez for the ROH Television Title at the July 20 "Honor for All" event in Nashville. Also announced, Karen Q will have a Proving Ground match against Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai.

AXS' Mark Cuban spoke to Sports Illustrated ahead of Saturday’s show at the Cow Palace, which will air live on the channel. He hyped up NJPW as the “best pro wrestling in the world” and the “best in the business at long-term storytelling that has a payoff.” He also said AXS is excited about new NJPW president Harold Meij and his goal of increasing English-language content. On the subject of live shows on AXS, Cuban said: “They are a great way to reward viewers of the weekly show and to increase the fanbase in the United States. The viewership and social engagement for live specials in the U.S. explodes as it expands the audience outside of those who will stay up all night for events from Japan.”

Cody Rhodes appeared with his hair dyed black at a press conference today prior to challenging for Kenny Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the Cow Palace tomorrow. Brandi Rhodes said that Cody dyed his hair for a role on a television show.

NWA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx5V3lpcErY , AXS TV: https://www.si.com/wrestling/2018/07/05/wwe-njpw-news-mark-cuban-axs-tv-juice-robinson-matt-cappotelli , Cody: https://twitter.com/JustinBarrasso/status/1015335185036951553

When Cena and Batista both went over the top rope in the 2005 Royal Rumble, was that a legit botch? What was supposed to be the finish of that match? I thought the refs did a great job improvising on the fly.

It was 100% a botch. Batista was supposed to throw Cena over the top and win but the momentum sent them both over the top to the floor, which led to Vince McMahon coming out (getting injured entering the ring) and restarting the bout. It was one of those moments where reality crept into wrestling and they had to figure out a way to get back to the planned finish.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles involving the finish of 2005's Royal Rumble match.

Joe DeFalco, owner and operator of Las Vegas-based Future Stars of Wrestling posted the following on his Facebook:

It's time to let the cat out of the bag. The deal is finalized to bring Impact Wrestling to Las Vegas. Clear your calendars for 3 days in November. More details regarding pricing, VIP's, Meet n Greets, Seminars and More coming soon.

After announcing in May that they found insufficient evidence to press charges, Phoenix Police released their report on the rape allegation that was made against Enzo Amore. It noted that Amore wasn’t contacted prior to his accuser making the claim public, which is what Amore had said himself and through his lawyers. During an appearance on the Steve Austin Show, Amore noted that a friend’s girlfriend was emailed by someone who said they were an investigator and said someone had made a claim against a wrestler. He said his lawyer looked into that in December and couldn’t find anything that was going on. Amore was released from WWE on January 23, the day after the allegation was made public.
According to a report from Fightful, the victim going public about this alleged incident actually ended making things a lot harder for her case and the police's investigation. Links: http://www.prowrestlingsheet.com/enzo-amore-investigation-report/#.W0AGA9hKgW8 , https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/exclusives/police-report-confirms-enzo-amore-was-not-told-rape-investigation-accuser-went-public

A new episode of Table for Three with Alexa Bliss, Lita, and Trish Stratus will premiere on the WWE Network after Monday’s Raw.

Impact Wrestling was back over 300,000 viewers this week, with Thursday night’s episode averaging 304,000 on Pop TV. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.07. Last week’s 254,000 viewers was the lowest total of the year.

The New Japan Pro Wrestling card takes place Saturday from the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California and will air on AXS TV in the U.S. and New Japan World outside the country. Below is the lineup for Saturday’s show:

*Kenny Omega vs. Cody for the IWGP heavyweight title
*Jay White vs. Juice Robinson for the United States title
*Hiromu Takahashi vs. Dragon Lee for the IWGP junior heavyweight title
*Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Bushi
*The Young Bucks vs. EVIL & Sanada for the IWGP tag titles
*Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb for the NEVER Openweight title
*Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Hangman Page & Marty Scurll
*Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano
*Roppongi 3K, Yoshi-Hashi & Rocky Romero vs. Guerrillas of Destiny, Yujiro & Haku

Lucha Underground had their lowest viewership of the current season with 88,000 viewers for Wednesday’s episode on the El Rey Network. After an average of 143,000 viewers for the season premiere, the three episodes following have been unable to crack 100,000 viewers. After four episodes, the current season is averaging 106,500 viewers per episode.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: Miz in MLB Celebrity Softball Game, Goldberg Title Wins, Strowman (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/wwe-miz-in-mlb-celebrity-softball-game-every-goldberg-title-win-video-strowman/)
Kane Criticized By His Opponent for Still Wrestling While Running for Mayor (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/kane-criticized-by-his-opponent-for-still-wrestling-while-running-for-mayor/)

Sepholio

07-07-2018, 10:18 AM

I am thinking of actually moving to the Knoxville area, and if Kane wins the mayoral race, I'll be even more likely to just so that I can raise some issue with him at a council meeting, get overly belligerent and get choke slammed to HAYELL for my disrespect.

Emperor Smeat

07-10-2018, 09:58 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Rusev Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/qIpkWGC.gif

Raw last night did the all-time record modern low audience with 2.46 million viewers ...

The least-watched modern era episode was on September 26, 2016, which also did 2.46 million viewers against both the first Trump-Clinton Presidential debate and the NFL.

Last year on the same week Raw did 3.01 million viewers, so this is an 18 percent annual drop.

The show started out weak and fell throughout, meaning whatever they were hyping did not keep the audience ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.58 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.51 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.32 million viewers

The Sports Business Journal's John Ourand provided inside details on the recently completed WWE and UFC TV deals that saw the companies lock in more than $4 billion in rights fees over the next five years.

Here's some of the key details from the article (subscription needed):

- Due to what they believed could be a $400 million/year investment, Fox executives had resigned themselves to three options with the UFC: $200 million for less content, a split package with another network, or a complete exit.

- The reason Ari Emanuel of Endeavor was removed from the WWE TV rights negotations, despite being asked by Vince McMahon to head them up, was due to Fox Sports' Eric Shanks telling McMahon it was a conflict of interest to have Emanuel negotiate both deals. CAA, a rival firm, was hired instead, which irked Emanuel.

- WWE leadership met with ESPN four times from December 2017 through the spring of 2018, but giving 52 weeks to a product wasn't viable, nor was putting WWE content on ESPN+ due to the WWE Network.

- CAA presented NBCUniversal with a $265 million/year offer for Raw and $200 million/year for SmackDown. After the exclusive negotiation window passed and NBCU chose to retain Raw but let SmackDown go, Fox and WWE had essentially negotiated the SmackDown deal the next day.

- Turner Sports showed interest in both WWE and UFC, but due to their ongoing litigation with the Department of Justice over their prospective $84 billion merger with AT&T, they weren't a real player in either.
The irony of WWE going on a Turner channel would have been something special had the deal been made. Link with more details: https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/details-emerge-how-wwe-ufc-tv-deals-came-together-261306

As noted from the story earlier today, the Jim Ross/Josh Barnett stuff with Jay White and Juice Robinson was not a work. Ross suffered a rib injury. Barnett just reacted to what was happening. Ross was upset, besides being injured, because the night before he had spoken to officials about fighting outside the ring and near the announcers desk.

We previously reported Jim Ross was suffering from a possible broken rib after taking an unplanned bump at NJPW's G1 Special In San Francisco. Jay White heaved Juice Robinson through the guardrail outside the ring during their IWGP United States Championship match. The barricade was not properly latched together causing a chain reaction and Ross ended up being knocked from his chair.

F4WOnline reports Ross has been diagnosed with issues involving his ribs and lungs after the unscheduled spot. Ross must now cancel three commitments this week due to this injury.

The WWE Hall Of Famer is not happy about this spot and he assured fans this is not a work of any kind. Due to problems with his ribs and lungs, JR has also been advised by his doctors to be cautious of contracting phenomena.

Ross reportedly spoke to NJPW officials before the show to make sure nobody did any spots around the announce table because he knew how much action could take place outside the ring.

Ronda Rousey on Instagram said she cried happy tears like a baby at the end of the show in her debut in Madison Square Garden: "There are no words.... thank you New York and MSG for a night I’ll never forget. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry like a baby at the end of last night... happy tears, but what a whirlwind past few days have been.... I’m humbled, grateful, and far from finished"

Indies Roundup:
Cody & Brandi Rhodes were announced for the World Series Wrestling Elite tour of Australia in November.

ROH will be returning to the UMBC Center in Baltimore for a show on 10/13. That was the site of last week's PPV show, which did one of the largest crowds in company history.

Defy Wrestling on Friday night at Washington Hall in Seattle has John Morrison vs. Randy Myers, Shane Strickland & Artemis Spencer & Billy Suede vs. MJF & The Amerikan Gunz, plus Colt Cabana vs. Carl Randers, Taya Valkyrie vs. Nicole Matthews and the debut of Ricky Starks and Luchasaurus. You must be 21 or older to attend.

Progress announced Jimmy Havoc vs. TK Cooper for 8/12 in Livonia, MI.

The ITV World of Sport wresting show will debut on 7/28 at 5 p.m., or one week later than had it originally been talked about.

Viper (Piper Niven in WWE’s first Mae Young Classic) will make her Women of Honor debut at ROH’s Honor Re-United show in Edinburgh on August 16. She’ll be wrestling in her home country of Scotland.

NJPW’s G1 Special at the Cow Palace, a bit of fallout from the show, and Chris Jericho putting Marty Scurll on his List are featured on this week’s episode of Being the Elite.
Viper/Pipen: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/viper-makes-her-woh-debut-honor-re-united-edinburgh , Elite: https://youtu.be/TZ2bxuTtkHw

The storyline of Flip Gordon trying to get booked for All In will continue at Ring of Honor's show in Nashville, Tennessee later this month.

At the end of a video that was uploaded by the NWA today, it was revealed that NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis' next title defense will be against Gordon at "Honor for All" on July 20. The show is taking place at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville and will air live on HonorClub.

The storyline is that Cody Rhodes won't book Gordon for All In, and Gordon has fallen short in every opportunity he's been given to be added to the show. But whoever is NWA Champion on September 1 will defend the title against Cody at All in.
Link: https://youtu.be/0KrfgsCBP_M

While not confirming the exact injury that he suffered, New Japan Pro Wrestling provided a few additional details on Hiromu Takahashi's condition in an update overnight.

NJPW officially announced that Takahashi has been hospitalized after suffering a neck injury during his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship defense against Dragon Lee at the Cow Palace on Saturday night. They noted that Takahashi is currently undergoing a thorough evaluation but is conscious and is able to sit and talk.

Dave Meltzer reported yesterday that the original belief was that Takahashi had broken his neck on the Phoenix Plex spot that went wrong when he landed on his head/neck after being given the move by Lee. The match continued for a couple of minutes after that, with Takahashi retaining with the Time Bomb.
Link: https://www.njpw1972.com/31162

Fans were heckling Taelor Hendrix on her Friday night booking in San Antonio chanting "Jay Lethal," "ROH" and things a lot worse at her. She lashed back at them. Hendrix claimed she stopped being booked on ROH TV in 2017 when she refused to sleep with Jay Lethal. ROH, as noted yesterday, said it was Hendrix who quit the promotion and was still being booked when she quit. Lethal also responded saying there was nothing to the story and then asked not to use his words to attack himself or his accuser. "There is already too much hate going around in this world, so let's not add to it." He said he was confident the accusations will be proven to be completely unfounded and noted ROH is doing an investigation. Here's the deal, whatever you want to believe, please don't heckle either person involved regarding this situation. It's just hurts it for the fans who want to be entertained.

Tessa Blanchard has officially signed with Impact Wrestling.

Impact announced the news via Twitter this afternoon: "BREAKING: @Tess_Blanchard will continue to prove she's undeniable in the Knockouts Division as she has signed a long-term contract with IMPACT Wrestling."

Aside from it being a "long-term" deal, the exact length of the contract wasn't disclosed.

Blanchard debuted for Impact at their Redemption pay-per-view this past April and has been feuding with Madison Rayne since. On the most recent episode of Impact, she tried to interfere during Rayne & Allie vs. Knockouts Champion Su Yung & Yung's Undead Maid of Honor but was fought off by Allie.
Link: https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1016743868044279809

WWE filed a copyright on the term "Top Rope" for goods and services, specifically "Clothing, namely, tops, shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, hoodies; outerwear, namely, coats; bottoms, pants, shorts, underwear, dresses, pajamas, lingerie, clothing ties, scarves, gloves, swimwear; Halloween and masquerade costumes; footwear, namely, shoes, sneakers, slippers, flip flops, boots; headwear, namely, hats, caps; wrist bands; bandanas."

WWE and 2K each filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit brought against them by tattoo artist Catherine Alexander in the United States District Court of Southern District of Illinois yesterday.

Anderson sued each party back in April, alleging that they are infringing on her copyright for tattoo designs that she has imprinted on Randy Orton, having been his tattoo artist since 2003. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., 2K Games, Inc., 2K Sports, Inc., Visual Concepts Entertainment, Yuke’s Co., Ltd. and Yuke’s LA Inc. have also been named defendants in Alexander's lawsuit ...

In the response filed on 7/9, they 2K argued the lawsuit should be dismissed for several reasons, including that Alexander has not obtained copyright registrations on any of the designs that she has claimed to own.

2K noted that "Statutory damages and attorney’s fees are only available where the works were registered before the infringement occurred or within three months of their publication. Accordingly, statutory damages and attorney’s fees are unavailable to Plaintiff as a matter of law," basically stating that since Alexander had not filed copyrights on the designs within the allowed timeframe, she cannot retroactively claim damages. Since Alexander states in her lawsuit that she does not own those copyrights, the lawsuit must be dismissed for not meeting the standard of the law ...

Meanwhile, WWE's filing yesterday claimed that the lawsuit against them should be dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, providing a 22-page memorandum to the court that claimed Alexander has failed to prove that the court in Illinois has any jurisdiction over WWE, given they are incorporated in Delaware and are headquartered in Connecticut. WWE also argued that Alexander would have to demonstrate "specific activities that WWE has supposedly undertaken in Illinois with respect to the claims at issue" to the court in order for WWE to fall under Illinois jurisdiction and has not done that. WWE stated while they have purchased "limited quantities" of the WWE 2K videogames to sell on their website, that "cannot establish specific jurisdiction over WWE."
Link with more details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118738/wwe-and-2k-file-to-have-randy-orton-tattoo-lawsuit-dismissed.html?p=1

Vernice Gabriel, a female star in the Phillipines, has been booked for the Mae Young Classic, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The second annual women's tournament will be taped on 8/9 and 8/10 at Full Sail University in Florida.

Major League Wrestling's Court Bauer announced that Major League Wrestling will bring Wargames, the two ring steel cage match, to their 9/6 return to Fort Lauderdale, Florida:

Changed my mind. Fury Road isn’t coming to Fort Lauderdale September 6th. Instead, @MLW will be doing #WARGAMES.

Tickets on sale July 23rd 10am at https://t.co/Keo5it98oQ & https://t.co/AFJrIR1xX0

See you in September…
— Court Bauer (@courtbauer) July 10, 2018

The show will presumably take place at the War Memorial Auditorium. MLW had an excellent event featuring a Wargames match there back in September 2003 in Fort Lauderdale, featuring The Funkin' Army (Terry Funk, Sabu, Steve Williams, Terry Funk, The Sandman & Bill Alfonso) defeating The Extreme Horsemen (Steve Corino, Barry Windham, CW Anderson, Justin Credible & Simon Diamond.)
Link: https://twitter.com/courtbauer/status/1016496414120177664

Shinsuke Nakamura returned to the ring on Monday’s house show in Augusta, Maine following the dog bite he sustained last month. Nakamura worked against AJ Styles in the main event of the show with Styles retaining the WWE title. Nikki Cross also worked the house show Monday as she teamed with Becky Lynch and defeated Billie Kay and Peyton Royce.

AJ Styles spent a majority of his career traveling the world and raising the value of his name before coming to WWE. His surprise appearance in the 2016 Royal Rumble as the #3 entry was met with plenty of fan excitement. Styles picked up the WWE United States Title twice since his debut and held the WWE Championship on two occasions which he still has to this day.

Styles is currently sitting at 385 combined days as WWE Champion. Shawn Michaels held the title for 396 days. Therefore, if Styles can defeat Rusev at Extreme Rules, he will soon pass HBK's position of 13th longest-combined reign as WWE Champion.

If AJ Styles is able to top HBK's record of combined reigns, his next target would be CM Punk who is in the #12 entry with 463 days. Styles still has a long way to go before he is close to touching Bruno Sammartino's top record of 4,040 days though with Hulk Hogan coming in second with 2,185.

Some other sheet news includes:

Impact Wrestling's partnership with RISE Wrestling seems to be taking a hiatus soon due to RISE dealing with serious money issues at the moment. Current plans are for RISE to resume running events this October.
According to reports, Goldust recently underwent knee surgery to fix some lingering pain and injuries he has been dealing with for a while.
Recent episode of WWE Network's Table For 3 series featured Trish Stratus, Lita, and Alexa Bliss as the guests.
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Kevin Nash celebrated his 59th birthday yesterday.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Brock Lesnar Re-Enters USADA Testing Pool, Eligible to Fight in January (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/brock-lesnar-re-enters-usada-testing-pool-eligible-to-fight-in-january/)
Ronda Rousey Will Be a Pre-Order Bonus Wrestler in WWE 2K19 (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/ronda-rousey-will-be-a-pre-order-bonus-wrestler-in-wwe-2k19/)
WWE: Alicia Fox Returns, No WWE2K on Nintendo, Kurt Angle Documentary (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/wwe-alicia-fox-returns-no-wwe2k-on-nintendo-switch-kurt-angle-documentary/)
Lesnar Challenges Cormier at UFC 226 (Video) + When They May Fight (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/lesnar-challenges-cormier-at-ufc-226-video-info-on-when-they-may-fight/)

Damian Rey 2.0

07-11-2018, 02:53 AM

I watched the JR getting hurt clip. Barnett looked like he was gonna murder Juice.

Emperor Smeat

07-11-2018, 09:34 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by WWF Ice Cream Bars:
https://i.redd.it/k2zmfwsmn77z.jpg

Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live averaged 2,183,000 viewers on the USA Network.. It was up 8.4% from last week’s average, although last week was SmackDown number was the second lowest viewership average since the brand split in July 2016.

Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned WWE officials are internally discussing the idea of presenting an all women’s event for main roster talent in the fall.

As you may recall, women were not allowed to participate in WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble event earlier this year in Saudi Arabia. Sources tell us the company might make up for the controversial decision, however, as the idea of an all women’s show taking place in late September or October is seriously being kicked around by higher-ups.

It’s unclear if the event would additionally feature some of the women on the NXT roster, outside talent or former stars … because the show hasn’t been set in stone just yet.
Link: http://www.prowrestlingsheet.com/wwe-officials-womens-event/#.W0aMDdhKjVA

Today is TJ Wilson’s (Tyson Kidd) 38th birthday. Natalya wished him a happy birthday on Twitter: “Happy birthday @TJWilson! You’re such an inspiration to so many people. The best is seeing you happy and proving that we can succeed at anything we put our minds to. We all love you!”
Link: https://twitter.com/NatbyNature/status/1017065996119674881

Indies Roundup:

Kay Lee Ray will make her Women of Honor debut in her home country of Scotland as ROH comes to Edinburgh on August 16. Viper has also been announced for the show, which is part of ROH’s Honor Re-United tour.

The Young Bucks & Marty Scurll vs. The Briscoes & Punishment Martinez is also set for ROH’s show in Edinburgh.

Chuck Taylor will face Bully Ray at ROH’s Honor for All show in Nashville on July 20.

Dragon Lee said that Hiromu Takahashi is in his prayers, that he hopes Takahashi returns, and that he feels bad about what happened in their match. He said he loves wrestling against Takahashi and that their matches are the best and most beautiful he’s had in his career.

MLW has added Barrington Hughes vs. Leon Scott and a Simon Gotch Prize Fight Challenge to their TV tapings in Orlando tomorrow.
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/kay-lee-ray-makes-her-woh-debut-her-home-country-scotland , https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/epic-six-man-match-signed-edinburgh , & https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/chuckie-t-challenges-bully-ray-nashville , Lee: http://www.luchaworld.com/?p=84656 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/07/11/barrington-hughes-battles-callihans-death-machine-leon-scott-in-orlando/

The infamous “Black Saturday” episode of World Championship Wrestling will be this week’s Hidden Gem upload on the WWE Network, according to a report.

WWE Network News, who has broken similar stories in the past, first reported the news. While episodes of World Championship Wrestling have already been uploaded to the WWE Network, nothing has been uploaded before November 1985.

Viewers were in for a shock on July 14, 1984 when their usual World Championship Wrestling action was completely overhauled. Instead of Gordon Solie and wrestling stars from Georgia Championship Wrestling, Vince McMahon and the superstars of the World Wrestling Federation filled the hour time slot instead. While the Georgia show usually featured hot in-ring action and interviews, McMahon used the Saturday time slot mainly as a recap show that only featured the occasional in studio squash match.

Declining ratings due to viewership outrage over the drastic overhaul eventually led McMahon to sell the time slot to Jim Crockett Promotions, who took over in March 1985.

Link: http://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/07/11/exclusive-information-on-tomorrows-hidden-gem-full-historic-episode-featured/

New Japan Pro Wrestling has posted another update on Hiromu Takahashi's condition following the neck injury that he suffered at this past Saturday's G1 Special.

NJPW noted that Takahashi was able to travel back to Japan today, where he will proceed with treatment. He had been hospitalized in San Francisco after Saturday's match against Dragon Lee at the Cow Palace.

Takahashi injured his neck towards the end of the match when a Phoenix Plex spot went wrong and he landed on his head/neck as he was given the move. The match continued for a couple of minutes after that, ending when Takahashi hit the Time Bomb to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

NJPW has yet to officially confirm Takahashi's exact injury, but Dave Meltzer reported that the original belief was that Takahashi suffered a broken neck. NJPW wrote on Monday morning that Takahashi was undergoing a thorough evaluation but was conscious and able to sit and talk.

Link: https://www.njpw1972.com/31187

With Daniel Bryan having made public during interviews discussing his medical clearance and return to the ring that his current WWE deal was due to expire on 9/1, there has been a lot of speculation about his future and whether Bryan might leave WWE to pursue wrestling outside of their auspices.

Earlier today, WWE issued an announcement to fans in the Detroit area about the Tuesday 9/4 Smackdown Live taping at the Little Caesars Arena with Bryan announced for the taping, including a dark match main event teaming with AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy against Samoa Joe, The Miz and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Over the weekend, WWE also announced that Bryan would make his first appearance in Madison Square Garden in three years at the 12/26 return to the legendary venue in NYC.

So, while card is subject to change, these are the first potential indications that Bryan has signed (or is expected by WWE to sign) a new deal. Stay tuned.

Here are the plots for the first several episodes of WWE reality series Miz & Mrs, which will debut on Tuesday 7/24:

Episode One, airing 7/24: "A Simple Mizunderstanding" - Mike debates going full-frontal at Maryse's nude pregnancy photoshoot.

Episode Two, airing 7/31: "Miz Takes The Cake" - Maryse plans a spectacular and expensive baby shower the couple will never forget; Mike tries to save a few bucks on an extravagant cake but ends up paying the price when his scheme fails.

Here is an updated schedule of WWE DVD releases:

RELEASED on 7/10- The Shield - Justice For All
7/24 - WWE Money in the Bank 2018
8/14 - WWE Extreme Rules 2018.
8/28 - 30 Years of Summerslam
9/28 - WWE Summerslam 2018.
10/2 - The Showstopper Unreleased: Shawn Michaels
10/16 - WWE Hell in A Cell

Tentative 2019 Plans, based on surveys released to WWE Fans:
It’s a New Day, Yes It Is!
The Best of Roman Reigns
The Best of Andre the Giant
Sgt. Slaughter
The Miz: A-List Superstar
John Cena: The Face that Runs the Place
The Best of Alexa Bliss
Million Dollar Man
The Very Best of Braun Strowman
The Best of NXT 2018
The Best of Pay-Per-Views 2018
The Best of Raw & SmackDown 2018
The Best of WWE Superstars
Asuka: Empress of Tomorrow
The History of the ECW Championship
SmackDown 20th Anniversary
The Greatest Matches & Moments of Goldust
The Best of NXT Takeover
Shinsuke Nakamura
Finn Bálor
I Am Phenomenal: The AJ Styles Story
Four Horsewomen
‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper Unreleased
The Best of Ravishing Rick Rude
The Best of Charlotte Flair
John Cena Match Comp
The Best of Trish Stratus
The Best of Dean Ambrose
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118704/updated-schedule-of-wwe-dvd-releases.html?p=1

Legendary Japanese wrestler Shinya Hashimoto passed away on this date in 2005 at the age of 40. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Muto, the three were dubbed “The Three Musketeers” of New Japan as the pillars to lead the company into and through the 90s. The first G1 Climax featured the three booked prominently, including Hashimoto scoring victories over Riki Choshu and Bam Bam Bigelow in the round robin portion and Chono winning his first of five G1s. Hashimoto won his first IWGP heavyweight title in September 1993 from Muto, who had held the title for over a year. He won it twice more in his career, including a 489-day title reign from April 1996 until dropping it to Kensuke Sasaki in August 1997. Hashimoto’s record length as champion stood until Kazuchika Okada surpassed the mark with his most recent title reign.

Fightful.com was able to obtain some information included in this week's WWE Raw and Smackdown production scripts.

The conga line was instructed to be dancing as the show came back on the air for the Rawley/Jose match.
WWE telegraphed the James Ellsworth shark cage stipulation in the script, as well as the fact that Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles would be turned into a tag team match that also featured Jeff Hardy and Rusev.
The James Ellsworth entrance was instructed to have him "smiling ear to ear and happy loving life."
Sanity's team name is always styled as "SAnitY," even when all other team names are in caps on the run sheet.
The Smackdown Live entrances were all listed as "quick" entrances, with the exception of The New Day's.
The title for tonight's Smackdown Live was "It's Gonna Be Miz," which makes a whole lot more sense now than it did before the show. Raw's title was "get out of my way."
Tyson Kidd produced Rollins/McIntyre, Fit Finlay the women's tag match, Finlay and Scott Armstrong for Ember Moon/Liv Morgan, Jamie Noble for Balor & Roode/Corbin & Elias, Arn Anderson for Jose/Rawley, and D-Von Dudley for Bo Dallas/Matt Hardy
When twitter graphics are shown, they include the actual URL of the tweet to appear on-screen.

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 5th anniversary of WWE's opening of their Performance Center.
ESPN had a recent interview with Rusev talking about his upcoming WWE Championship match against AJ Styles at Extreme Rules. http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/24059031/rusev-excited-championship-match-aj-styles-wwe-extreme-rules
During a recent episode of the Busted Open Radio podcast show with Jonathan Coachman as the guest, Coachman claimed a big reason why WWE was able to land a major deal with FOX was due to the hard work he did in ESPN to help improve WWE's image with sports fans. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0711/642662/jonathan-coachman-says-wwe-fox-deal-is-thanks-to-the-work-he-did/
Sports Illustrated had a recent interview with Tama Tonga talking about his attack on the Elite at the G1 Special, his new goal for Bullet Club, and more. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0711/642660/tama-tonga-talks-who-made-the-call-for-the-attack-on-bullet-club/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Fandango and Goldust Undergo Surgeries, Post Pic With Each Other (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/fandango-and-goldust-undergo-successful-surgeries-post-pic-with-each-other/)
Former Divas Champ Kaitlyn Returning to WWE for Mae Young Classic (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/former-divas-champ-kaitlyn-returning-to-wwe-for-mae-young-classic/)
Samoa Joe Attacks Tye Dillinger Before SmackDown + Dark Match Results (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/samoa-joe-attacks-tye-dillinger-before-smackdown-sd-dark-match-results/)

Jordan

07-11-2018, 10:50 PM

LOL Coach.

BigCrippyZ

07-12-2018, 02:03 AM

:lol: Coach is such a mark for himself.

Mr. Nerfect

07-12-2018, 08:18 AM

Holy fucking shit at Coach. The guy sounds like an idiot every time he opens his mouth. I can't imagine him rubbing people in the business the right way. It honestly wouldn't surprise me to see him and WWE part ways sometime in the near future.

Mr. Nerfect

07-12-2018, 08:19 AM

Whenever I see a WWE match I like, chances are Tyson Kidd or Arn Anderson are the agent for it.

slik

07-12-2018, 08:58 AM

Same.

slik

07-12-2018, 09:52 AM

From this week's Observer

* UFC's declining buyrates and losing Ronda/Conor led to FOX lowballing UFC and being more interested in WWE

* The Bayley/Sasha storyline is going to continue through "at least" August. Vince thought about having them wrestle at Extreme Rules but changed his mind.

* Vince directed there would be zero mentions of Lesnar on RAW, because he wants to sell the idea Brock Lesnar has walked out on WWE, as he believes it will lead to Roman getting cheered when he faces Lesnar in the future, since Roman is on TV every week.

* Vince isn't sure if he wants Brock/Roman at SummerSlam or not, but Brock's contract is believed to end in August. Meltz speculates Roman/Lashley could continue at SummerSlam if Vince decides against a Brock match.

* FOX is in 20 million more homes than the USA Network and SDLive is expected to draw 3 -- 3 1/2 million viewers each Friday night. WWE anticipates SD being the most watched show, more so than RAW, and will be treating it accordingly once the show moves.

* FOX will air commercials for Smackdown Live during every NFL broadcast. There is early discussion about having top stars, like Roman Reigns, Bobby Lashley, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss, appear at NFL Games and cut promos when interviewed.

* Current WWE viewing demos are about 65% male each week for viewers 18-49 and 50% male for viewers 12-17. Typical breakdown of viewers in ratings is:

0.4 - ages 12-17
0.5 - ages 18-34
0.8 - ages 35-49
0.9 - ages 50 and up

Currently this means 2/3 of WWE's viewers are ages 35 and up. WWE expects the move of SDLive to FOX to attract younger and newer viewers, which will allow them to cater less to older fans. Vince expects newer fans to have less baggage on certain superstars, such as Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley, and that the move to FOX will help some top stars get better reactions as a result.

* 40% of NJPW's ratings on AXS TV are from DVR, which indicates fans want to watch, even if they aren't home on Friday nights. Mark Cuban might want the show in a different timeslot in October 2019, as it would go head to head with the first hour of SmackDown Live.

* Jonathan Coachman's joke about "Broken Ribs Going Around" after JR broke his ribs during the NJPW event at the Cow Palace, was believed to have been "A Vince McMahon joke" rather than a Jonathan Coachman original pun.

* Jim Ross specifically asked that wrestlers stay away from the commentators the day before the show and, understandably so, is very upset about what transpired.

https://i.imgur.com/0TR5ZGQ.png

slik

07-12-2018, 10:38 AM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Barn Burner Exclusive: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> Considering WCW Pay-Per-View Names. <a href="https://t.co/H6rPc3GQpf">https://t.co/H6rPc3GQpf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBarnBurns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheBarnBurns</a></p>— �� (@TheBradShepard) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBradShepard/status/1017221681037893632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My next <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> exclusive, which I’ll break next week, will be the granddaddy of them all...or something like that. �� <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StayTuned?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StayTuned</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBarnBurns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheBarnBurns</a> <a href="https://t.co/BILVTyL9JE">https://t.co/BILVTyL9JE</a></p>— �� (@TheBradShepard) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBradShepard/status/1017225340593278977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

KIRA

07-12-2018, 10:45 AM

* Vince directed there would be zero mentions of Lesnar on RAW, because he wants to sell the idea Brock Lesnar has walked out on WWE, as he believes it will lead to Roman getting cheered when he faces Lesnar in the future, since Roman is on TV every week.]

Lol wow. The disconnect between Vince McMahon and his audience is unreal

Ol Dirty Dastard

07-12-2018, 10:45 AM

lol Roman being on tv every week is what's leading to him getting booed. :nono:

slik

07-12-2018, 11:25 AM

THE BIG DOG

BigCrippyZ

07-12-2018, 02:03 PM

Lol wow. The disconnect between Vince McMahon and his audience is unreal

Vince is either stubborn, an idiot, or both, and I don't tend to think of him as an idiot.

If you treat your consumers as if they're stupid, by giving them a product that they'd essentially have to be stupid to enjoy, like the current WWE writing, etc., then the consumer's that have more options and exposure to other products, which "younger" people typically have more of, are going to eventually move on to a different product.

#1-norm-fan

07-12-2018, 02:49 PM

Breaking news: WWE nominated for 0 Emmy's.

Time for Kevin Dunn to upgrade the free video editing software he has on his laptop and shake the camera more.

BigCrippyZ

07-12-2018, 03:55 PM

:lol:

Emperor Smeat

07-12-2018, 09:28 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Nothing:

Martha Hart has responded to Bret Hart’s allegations that she is erasing the memory of her late husband.

The press release stems from a recent Bret Hart interview on CBS Sports' In This Corner podcast where he said that he felt Martha had done more to erase Owen Hart's memory than to preserve it.

“I think Martha, Owens’s widow, she is a very obtuse, square-headed person,” he said on the podcast. “I think she’s done more to erase my brother Owen’s memory than she ever did to remember him. I think it really bothers me that the fans that loved Owen so much don’t get a chance to remember him.”

Martha issued a press release yesterday defending her decisions, saying that she does not want WWE profiting off of Owen, as she blames the company for his death.

“Bret’s comments are rooted in the fact that I have steadfastly refused to work with the WWE to exploit Owen’s image for commercial gain,” she says in the release. “Owen was an incredible entertainer and I know that his many fans around the world enjoyed his wrestling career immensely. I encourage them to continue to do so. But I am firm in my belief that the WWE was responsible for Owen’s death. As a result, I cannot and will not support any efforts by the WWE to profit from Owen’s memory.”

“Bret Hart's comments are disrespectful and cruel,” she continued. “It is disappointing that so many in the media have chosen to report them without seeking my perspective.”
Link: https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/martha-hart-responds-bret-harts-criticism-her-261541

Brock Lesnar’s next WWE match is set for next month’s SummerSlam event.

Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Lesnar will be back in the ring for WWE’s premiere summer show. It isn’t known who he will face. A five way elimination bout was originally set for Extreme Rules that would have determined the next contender for the Universal title, but that was cancelled. Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley, who were the first two announced for the bout, will instead battle in a singles match.

Indies Roundup:
Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) have officially announced the return of international wrestling, TV and pantomime star Grado on night 2 of their annual Shug’s Hoose Party weekend event on 28-29 July 2018. The event will now take place at the legendary O2 Academy in Glasgow after a fire caused the closure of the city’s O2 ABC, the original venue for the event.

The ROH Dojo is proud to announce its affiliation with four of the top, internationally-recognized wrestling schools in the world. The World Famous Monster Factory, Team 3D Academy, Maryland Championship Wrestling, and the Power Factory will provide a pipeline of talent and well over 150 years combined in professional wrestling among their trainers and lineages.

While Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito were listed, it was somewhat notable that the other member of NJPW’s big four, Kenny Omega, wasn’t advertised along with them when ROH and NJPW announced their April 6, 2019 G1 Supercard for Madison Square Garden. It seems obvious that Omega will be added if he re-signs with NJPW.

Hangman Page is the seventh announced entrant for ROH’s International Cup tournament, joining Jimmy Havoc, Joe Hendry, Mark Haskins, Kip Sabian, Jonathan Gresham, and Christopher Daniels. There’s only one name left to be announced. The tournament has a United Kingdom vs. United States theme and will take place on next month’s Honor Re-United tour shows in Edinburgh and Doncaster, with the winner challenging for the ROH World Championship in London on August 19.

Santino Marella tweeted that his daughter is training to be a pro wrestler: “Today was day one of me overseeing my daughters training personally and acting as her head coach, @WWEPerformCtr is our goal for 2019”
ROH: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118788/ring-of-honor-announces-partnerships-with-four-wrestling-academies.html?p=1 , ROH Cup: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/can-page-leave-uk-roh-world-champion , Santino: https://twitter.com/milanmiracle/status/1017259193903079424

With the high ticket prices, this weekend's NJPW show was almost surely the largest or second largest gate ever at the Cow Palace, as the old record gate was set with 9,000 paid and 11,000 total but lower ticket prices for the 2004 No Way Out PPV where Eddy Guerrero beat Brock Lesnar to win the WWE title. WWE continued to run the Cow Palace as a regular rotation arena through 2012, and only hit 7,000 fans, roughly the same as this show, once since then.

According to the story, the feeling from the FOX side is the signing of Smackdown guarantees them good Friday night ratings for five years. We’ve spoken to some in television who question that, citing the numbers have fallen this year and Tuesday is a much better night to draw. They will do significantly better than they do now, simply because the move from cable to network makes the show available in 20 million more homes and it’s on a station with a much larger base audience. That should more than offset the losses of moving to Friday. The hope is solid 3 million to 3.5 million viewers. Whether that’s doable at first is a question, and at that point the key is whether, if numbers across the board continue to fall, if Smackdown falls at a slower or a larger rate than television at large. The belief is that with it being live, the drops over the five years will be smaller, and thus from a competition standpoint, it becomes more valuable.
Some more details regarding FOX & Smackdown that Slik posted earlier.

GLOW season two on Netflix has been a huge success. On the first three days the show was put up (6/29 to 7/1), the season averaged 700,000 viewers in the U.S. per episode, and 86 percent were between 18 and 49, the highest concentration of 18-49 viewers of any original streaming content on Netflix that Nielsen has analyzed. It also had viewership where the mean (meaning half above and half below) family income was $80,200 per year, the third highest of any Netflix series behind only “The Crown” and “House of Cards.” This is the opposite of the actual pro wrestling audience, although GLOW is not a pro wrestling but is considered by many one of the best television/streaming shows there is with the backdrop of the characters being woman wrestlers. Season two is said to be similar to season one, which several publications called one of the best television shows of 2017. Kia Stevens (Awesome Kong in TNA), a regular cast member, got great reviews for her work this season.

When talking about buildings that ROH or nobody but WWE can get, it appears the Staples Center in Los Angeles is another one. Cody noted this past week that he had tried to talk with them about hosting All In and was pretty much told that they weren’t interested in any wrestling that wasn’t WWE.

While Rey Mysterio has not signed with WWE, the discussions are close enough that they’ve talked about what commitments he has and doesn’t have left. All In is obviously a key thing. For obvious reasons, because of the nature of the show, he wants to do it and for the same obvious reasons, they would rather he doesn’t do it. He also wants to drop his Crash heavyweight title, which right now is most likely to be to Bestia 666, since that’s the direction it looks like it’s going, if he signs.

Jim Ross & Paul O’Brien are working on a second biography, the sequel to his “Slobberknocker” book, which would cover 1999 to the present, which includes a ton of things including his being phased out of full-time announcing, his working for WWE and New Japan at the same time, and of course, the death of his wife. Speaking of Ross, the fact he wasn’t placed as an announcer for the Mae Young Classic (which he did last year) or the U.K. show (which he did the first time) seems to indicate he’s probably not going to be doing lead announcing much if any going forward for WWE.

Garza Jr. and Ultimo Ninja were both supposed to have started here already at the same time as Keith Lee and Io Shirai, but actually haven’t because visa issues have to be taken care of. But they should be starting soon

We heard there was interest in Lacey Lane but not sure if it’s just as someone for the Mae Young Classic or for a developmental deal, but her name was being talked about

Goldberg did an interview and said that nobody has contacted him about doing anything since his match with Lesnar. He said he was never asked about doing WrestleMania this year. He said he talked to Vince about the Hall of Fame, since he went on last and the place emptied out. He said it was a disservice to the people being inducted and it was a disservice to the fans at home. He said before fans wanted to be entertained at wrestling but now they want to dictate what happens. He said some fans are poison to the rest of the fans and said it’s not fair to the guys who bust their ass and are on the road away from their families trying to entertain the fans. He said he’s be interested to come back to face either Reigns or Undertaker, but that’s not up to him.

Paul Heyman could be back working with WWE in a backstage capacity, if their own internal documents are to be believed.

Heyman is currently serving as the "advocate" for WWE Universal Champion, but that hasn't exactly kept him on television much these days. Lesnar instead has focused on his quest for another UFC Championship, appearing at UFC 226. It doesn't appear that this has prevented Paul Heyman from dipping his toes back in the WWE waters.

Fightful.com was informed on Monday afternoon that the former ECW owner and Smackdown Live head writer Heyman was backstage at WWE's show in Boston.

WWE had Paul Heyman listed on their production script as contributing to multiple segments on the show. He was listed alongside several writers, including Ryan Ward in putting together the opening live show of WWE Monday Night Raw that featured Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns' face-to-face backstage. In addition, Heyman was also listed for Bobby Lashley's "live shot" during segment 8, which aired after the Bo Dallas vs. Matt Hardy match.

Heyman was listed under "Road" which is a road writer, along with several others. There was also a name under "home." When asked for clarity about this term from a person familiar with it, they said "writers at home will be sent assignments to write scripts for an interview or backstage altercation and then fire it back to their point person in the trenches."

Fightful.com reached out to both WWE and Paul Heyman for comment or confirmation on the matter, but were told that Heyman would rather not comment, and WWE opted to instead ask me about the document as opposed to addressing the question, with one source telling me it could have been an error.
Link: https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/exclusives/exclusive-paul-heyman-was-working-wwe-behind-scenes-raw-monday

On the latest episode of the Pancakes and Powerslams Show, I had the pleasure to speak with Associate Producer of the new documentary, "350 Days", Evan Ginzburg. Among many other films, Ginzburg was also the Associate Producer of "The Wrestler", which was instrumental to him landing his role for 350 Days. Ginzburg was in charge of bringing in the 38 wrestlers who were a part of the documentary, which featured Bret Hart, "Superstar" Billy Graham, Lanny Poffo, Greg Valentine, Paul Orndorff, and others, with many conducting their last interviews before passing away ...

Among various topics, Ginzburg discussed the origin of the Hulk Hogan character. While many are aware that Hogan and others admit that their character was inspired from Billy Graham, Ginzburg explained that it goes even further back than that.

"[Hogan] had unbelievable charisma," said Ginzburg. "I mean, you'll never mistake Hulk Hogan for Lou Thesz or Billy Robinson, but the charisma was off the charts. Much of what Hogan took was from Billy Graham, who's one of the stars of the movie. Billy Graham.. I'll tell you the lineage; people are not really aware. Muhammed Ali went to a radio station. By sheer coincidence, he was on the same station as Gorgeous George. Muhammed Ali was very quiet, he was Cassius Clay at the time. Very quiet and soft spoken.

"And Gorgeous George was like, 'kid, you gotta hype it up. I'll show you how to move tickets.' And Muhammed Ali was like transfixed by the charisma that Gorgeous George had. So then you had guys like Billy Graham who patented themselves after Muhammed Ali! Okay? And then Hogan and [Jesse] Ventura stole half of Billy Graham's act, okay? So, there is a lineage there, and it's an interesting lineage that people aren't really aware of."
Link: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0711/642655/famous-associate-producer-explains-who-inspired-the-characters/

Jeff Hardy spoke to the Canton Repository about toning it down on house shows and doing the swanton bomb less because his lower back has been hurting him: “Lately, my lower back has really been bothering me to the point where I haven’t been doing the swanton as much in the live events just to protect it. I think looking forward I’m gonna have to be more like that, because nothing lasts forever. I’ve been real lucky, and naturally on TV I always want to go all out, but in the live events, I might have to hold back a little. I’m glad my face paint has come back. That’s always fun for people to see, because it’s original and unique each and every night, and I love doing that. Growing up I was a huge fan of Ultimate Warrior and Sting, and I wanted to be a little bit of both of them.” Hardy has been using a Twist of Fate that ends like a stunner as a finisher lately.
Link: http://www.cantonrep.com/entertainmentlife/20180711/xtreme-evolution-jeff-hardy-continues-to-electrify-audiences

Some other sheet news includes:

Maria Kanellis recently revealed on Instagram that she is heading to WWE's PC next month to get back into shape for an in-ring return within the near future. https://www.instagram.com/p/BlEiM1OhtIv/
According to the Observer, Tessa Blanchard's deal with Impact Wrestling was reported to be 2 years in length.
According to rumors going around the net, another indie wrestler is currently dealing with sexual harassment allegations this time involving leaking nude photos of female co-workers. The wrestler involved is named Joey Axl and already has been kicked out of two previously booked events as part of the fallout so far. Will Ospreay recently started a online campaign to get the wrestler kicked out of the industry. https://twitter.com/WillOspreay/status/1017105889025667073
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Brock Lesnar (41), Sami Zayn (34) and Shane Helms (44) all celebrated their birthdays today.
Recent episode of the Ross Report podcast show had Josh Barnett as the guest talking about NJPW's G1 Special in San Fran and Ross' recent rib injury. https://omny.fm/shows/the-ross-report/josh-barnett-looks-back-at-g1-special-future-of-br#sharing

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

ROH & NJPW Will Have a Show at MSG After All, on WrestleMania Weekend (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/roh-njpw-will-have-a-show-at-msg-after-all-on-wrestlemania-weekend/)
Injury/Return Updates: Charlotte Flair, Jason Jordan, Dean Ambrose (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/injury-return-updates-charlotte-flair-jason-jordan-dean-ambrose/)
WWE Gets Zero Emmy Nominations, GLOW Gets Nine (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/wwe-gets-zero-emmy-nominations-glow-gets-nine/)
Rhea Ripley Announced as Second Name for Mae Young Classic (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/rhea-ripley-announced-as-second-name-for-mae-young-classic/)

Mr. Nerfect

07-13-2018, 04:55 AM

Children and young people are not as fucking stupid as WWE thinks. They make the classic mistake of thinking that kids will fall for pantomime as if it is real. More kids were watching during the Attitude era when things were "cool." Good television should be their priority; not stupid television that they think will appeal to kids, but is really only watched by the people who formed their habits and fandom long ago.

Emperor Smeat

07-13-2018, 09:37 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by El Idolo Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/I7K5PH1.gif

All In has their broadcasting team set for the upcoming September event.

Their Twitter account today revealed that their broadcasting team will comprise of Impact backstage interviewer Alicia Atout, Impact and New Japan color commentator Don Callis, former WWE backstage interviewer and announcer Sean Mooney, ROH announcer Ian Riccaboni, PWG announcer Excalibur, ROH ring announcer Bobby Cruise and former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts. It wasn't announced what roles each would have on the broadcast, though the Young Bucks did ask Don Callis to do announcing when they made him part of All In last month during a New Japan's Dominion event.

Cody Rhodes talked to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio this past weekend about distribution methods for All In. Rhodes mentioned that there would be both internet streaming and pay-per-view options. Despite that, no specific details have been announced as of this writing.
Link: https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/1017876659180134406

With four more wrestlers being announced today, the lineup for this year's Mae Young Classic continues to take shape.

As expected, Io Shirai will be one of the participants in the tournament. After it was reported that she was signing with WWE, Shirai departed Stardom in June and then made an appearance at a WWE house show in Tokyo, Japan, where it was announced that she would be joining NXT this summer ...

Nicole Matthews, an indie wrestler from Canada who was an alternate for the first Mae Young Classic, will be an entrant this year. She began her in-ring career in 2006 and has long been a regular for Shimmer in the United States and ECCW in Canada.

Jinny, who recently signed a United Kingdom-brand contract with WWE, will also be taking part in the Mae Young Classic. She's PROGRESS Wrestling's current Women's Champion.

Rounding out today's announcements, former "American Ninja Warrior" standout Kacy Catanzaro has been confirmed for the tournament. She made her debut at an NXT house show in April after signing with WWE in 2017 and reporting to the Performance Center this January.

Kaitlyn, Rhea Ripley, Shirai, Matthews, Jinny, and Catanzaro are the first six wrestlers to be announced for the tournament, which will be taped at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida on August 8 and 9. There will be 32 participants in total.

The 7/12 edition of Impact did 284,000 overnight viewers, up from last week's 304,000 overnight viewers.

Anymore on why MVP was released from Major League Wrestling? Kind of a tough blow for him to be pretty much dominated in his feud against Sami Callihan then be released.

No one at MLW has been willing to comment on the situation.

When WWE performers appear at comic-cons, are they paid by the con or WWE?

Unless they have it in their contracts that they can make outside appearances, it usually goes like this: the third-party bringing in the talent books them through WWE, then pays WWE. WWE pays the talent.

When Smackdown goes to FOX, why are they saying it will be part of FOX Sports?

It will air on the FOX Network (the same network that airs the Simpsons, etc.) but they are being placed under the FOX Sports umbrella, nothing more.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

On Jim Ross’ podcast this week, he provided an update on his rib injury from this past Saturday at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Ross bruised the left side of his ribs and lung, which also caused some issues for his sternum with concerns about contracting pneumonia. As a result, he missed two appearances this week with one scheduled Asheville, North Carolina for the Headlock for Hunger organization of which Ross is a spokesman. Ross was also scheduled to appear in Knoxville, Tennessee for Glen Jacobs’ mayoral race in Knox County. Josh Barnett was a guest on the show and felt they were being disrespected during the sequence with Jay White throwing Juice Robinson into the guardrail that led to the injury to Ross. Ross and Barnett confirmed that the two apologized afterward and were sincere, with Barnett added that he gave them a lecture. Barnett called the ring crew’s lack of care for the set up “a gross oversight” and cited the timekeeper who had the guardrail come down directly on his knee in a separate incident.

Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff spoke to the New York Post on the promotion running Madison Square Garden over WrestleMania Weekend. Koff stated that there was “correspondence” between ROH and Madison Square Garden since the date was pulled last month. On the Garden’s change in stance regarding ROH running the building, Koff stated:

I think that’s a question better asked of Madison Square Garden because we were very aggressive in wanting that date and we thought we had that date, but we did what we had to do as a business. [MSG] did what they had to do as a business and I guess all of a sudden there was a phone call and we were able to work it out. That’s probably their story to tell because they made the call and said let’s get on the phone and see if we can work this out. They wanted us. They knew that we would be good promotion. I think they were just looking for a satisfactory outcome for all parties.
Link: https://nypost.com/2018/07/13/why-wwes-biggest-competitors-get-to-challenge-it-at-msg

Lucha Underground saw an enormous increase this week with 156,000 viewers watching Wednesday’s episode on the El Rey Network, up from 88,000 the prior week. This week’s episode featured Mil Muertes defeating Cage for an Aztec Medallion, as well as The Mack and Ivelisse securing medallions. The closing scene featured the first appearance of Killer Kross, who instructed Paul London to murder Mascarita Sagrada, and he obliged so it appears the Mascarita Sagrada character has been written off.

Impact Wrestling has added a 5150 Street Fight between the two versions of LAX as well as a singles match between Tessa Blanchard and Allie for the Slammiversary card next weekend in Toronto. Below is the updated card:
*Austin Aries vs. Moose for the Impact Wrestling title
*Su Yung vs. Madison Rayne for the Knockout’s title
*Matt Sydal vs. Brian Cage for the X Division title
*Tommy Dreamer vs. Eddie Edwards in a House of Hardcore Match
*Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr. in a Hair vs. Mask Match
*LAX vs. LAX in a 5150 Street Fight
*Johnny Impact vs. Fenix vs. Rich Swann vs. Taiji Ishimori
*Allie vs. Tessa Blanchard
Links: https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1017561242855096320 , https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1017581895150985216

A new Table For 3 episode with Eric Bischoff, JBL and Bruce Prichard will air on the WWE Network after Monday's RAW goes off the air. Below is the synopsis for the thirty-minute episode:

"Former adversaries turned allies Eric Bischoff, JBL and Bruce Prichard debate 'War' stories, trade insults, and pay respect to one another."

WWE has a new poll asking fans if Ronda Rousey should get a RAW Women's Title with the winner of Sunday's Extreme Rules match between Nia Jax and champion Alexa Bliss. Rousey will be at ringside for the match. As of this writing, 64% voted, "Yes. Her first opportunity was interrupted, and she should get another chance." The rest went with, "No. She only got the first match so quickly because Nia challenged her, and she should work her way back up for the next one."

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry and NWA owner Billy Corgan are wrestling stars that have been announced for the Concussion Legacy Foundation's inaugural National Advisory Board. WWE, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon have worked close with CLF, which was co-founded by former WWE Superstar Christopher Nowinski, and Triple H is a Board member. You can read more from CLF at the link below:

NEW: We're proud to introduce our inaugural National Advisory Board! Read up on @TheMarkHenry, @brandichastain, and the Hall of Famers, Olympians, Philanthropists, Business Executives and many more who are helping us lead toward a safer future: https://t.co/oNvQ3QNtUy pic.twitter.com/hLcTzb3xwX
— Concussion Legacy Foundation (@ConcussionLF) July 12, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/ConcussionLF/status/1017527905478463491

The top ten most-watched shows for the past week on the WWE Network were: 1. Table for 3 for Bliss, Stratus and Lita; 2. NXT from 7/4; 3. 2018 Money in the Bank; 4. Something Else to Wrestle with from 7/4 on Rock; 5. Ride Along with Kay, Royce, Rusev, English and Lana; 6. Hardys Woken; 7. 2017 Extreme Rules; 8. 205 Live from 7/3; 10. U.K. from Royal Albert Hall day one

Some other sheet news includes:

NJPW recently revealed the entire list of undercard matches for this year's G1 Climax tournament. https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/njpw-reveals-non-tournament-schedule-2018-g1-climax-261626
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 22nd anniversary of ECW Heatwave '96.
Recent episode of The Ross Report had Kenny Omega as the guest talking about his feud with Cody and who he considers as the next big stars for NJPW. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0713/642696/kenny-omega-reveals-who-he-feels-are-the-next-big-stars-for-njpw/
Recent episode of the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast had Haku as the guest talking about working with his sons in NJPW, where he ranks himself in legit tough wrestlers ever, and if the legends about him are true or fake. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0713/642700/haku-on-if-the-stories-about-him-are-true/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Various: Rusev Campaigns w/ Kane, 3MB “Reunites,” Arquette Wrestling (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/various-rusev-campaigns-w-kane-3mb-reunites-david-arquette-returns-to-the-ring/)
Tommaso Ciampa Debuted 13 Years Ago, Facing Off w/ Undertaker (Video) (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/tommaso-ciampa-debuted-13-years-ago-facing-off-with-the-undertaker-video/)
Rey Mysterio Returning to NJPW for G1 Climax 28 (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/rey-mysterio-returning-to-njpw-for-g1-climax-28/)

Mr. Nerfect

07-13-2018, 10:37 PM

So Paul London is a murder...the signs were always there.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z3uJCoPQeVA/maxresdefault.jpg

Mr. Nerfect

07-13-2018, 10:39 PM

I hope they don't fuck around with things too much and have Io Shirai take the Mae Young Classic. When they do the inevitable match with Kairi Sane, it'll have that story behind it.

Emperor Smeat

07-17-2018, 10:02 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by B Team Appreciation Day:
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DeliciousAlarmingAfricanharrierhawk-size_restricted.gif

Whether it was curiosity coming off the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, or more likely, over Brock Lesnar and the Universal title, Raw rebounded strongly last night to 2.86 million viewers, a 16 percent increase from last week even going up against the Home Run Derby, which traditionally has hurt Raw numbers ...

The three hours for Raw were:

8 p.m. 3.12 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.86 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.62 million viewers

During an appearance on “Conversations With Maria Menounos,” Charlotte Flair said she expects to be cleared to return on July 31 after undergoing surgery for her breast implants rupturing. Charlotte worked through the issue before having surgery.
Link: https://youtu.be/FF71dj5zKEw

Corey Graves tweeted that WWE Shop won’t be releasing the “Shut up, Saxton” T-shirt that they had already put up: “Sorry guys, no #ShutUpSaxton shirt. Out of my hands. We tried.”
Link: https://twitter.com/WWEGraves/status/1018979389789392897

Indies Roundup:
The FIght Network, which Anthem Sports & Entertainment (the parent company of Impact Wrestling) owns, will have a daily block of programming on Showcase TV in the UK starting at 9 p.m. every night. That will include Impact airing on the channel at the same time as it does on Pop TV in the United States, along with replays on Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m. Impact’s UK and Ireland Twitter account tweeted that the show will still be airing on 5Spike as well.

PROGRESS Wrestling revealed that, due to his commitments with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Zack Sabre Jr. won’t be able to wrestle at their Wembley Arena show on September 30. Sabre had been scheduled to challenge for the PROGRESS Championship in the main event. NJPW’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed show will take place in Long Beach on September 30, and Will Ospreay also had to be pulled from the PROGRESS card because of it.

Jimmy Havoc vs. Christopher Daniels, Mark Haskins vs. Jonathan Gresham, Joe Hendry vs. Hangman Page, and Kip Sabian vs. Flip Gordon will be the first round matches in ROH’s International Cup tournament in Edinburgh and Doncaster next month. The winner will challenge for the ROH World Championship in London on August 19.

Marty Scurll vs. Kenny King, Karen Q vs. Jenny Rose, and Jay Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels have been announced for ROH’s TV tapings at Center Stage in Atlanta this Saturday.

Evolve has announced for 8/4 in Philadelphia Matt Riddle vs. Shane Strickland for the Evolve title, Joey Janela vs. AR Fox in a non-title match, Darby Allin vs. Austin Theory and JD Drake vs. Jon Davis vs. Odinson vs. Josh Briggs.

Kotto Brazil vs. Myron Reed has been added to Thursday's MLW show in Queens, NY at the Melrose Ballroom.

Impact Wrestling has announced that Curtis Granderson of the Toronto Blue Jays will be appearing at Slammiversary this Sunday as the ‘title holder’ for the main event between Austin Aries and Moose. The co-promotion with the Blue Jays will also include John Hennigan throwing out the first pitch at this Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre.

In major wrestling news since it involves ROH TV exposure, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he has serious concerns about the Sinclair Broadcasting merger with Tribune Media and that the agency would not approve it. They felt that they had an issue with Sinclair selling a number of stations but retaining control of those stations. The decision surprised a lot of people. Those opposing the merger have the votes to keep it from happening. Had the merger gone through, Sinclair would have owned 215 stations in 102 markets, and would reach 59 percent of the country. The FCC has ruled that one company can only have local stations covering 39 percent of the country, so they were selling 23 stations to keep under that number, but the deal means they would still control the stations they were selling. The merger not being approved blocks ROH from television in places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles unless things are amended.

ROH updated their Honor Reunited lineup for 8/16 in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Corn Exchange:
*The Young Bucks & Marty Scurll vs. Punishment Martinez & The Briscoes.
*International Cup Quarter-Finals:
*Flip Gordon vs. Kip Sabian.
*Adam Page vs. Joe Hendry.
*Christopher Daniels vs. Jimmy Havoc.
*Also appearing are Tenille Dashwood, Viper, Mark Haskins, Jonathan Gresham, Kay Lee Ray, Chardonnay and more.

And will he keep the same direction on where the company is going or will he have his own vision?

I have said MANY times that anyone that is expecting WWE to become NXT if/when HHH takes over will be very disappointed. That won’t happen. But, what I do expect to happen is for more logic to come to the product. I also expect that there will be more explanations to things, as opposed to now when we are often expected to just accept things that often make no sense. So I expect a tighter, more logical product, but one that stays within the kid friendly confines that they are in now. And you know what? That’s OK. The Simpsons has been on for years because kids like it and their parents do as well.
From a recent PWI weekly Q&A article.

Christopher Jeter at FanSided has a piece on the WWE’s choice to get back into business with Hulk Hogan. Jeter looks at the many troubling portrayals of African-American performers in the past, as well as other minority depictions. In addition, there are the examples of others within the company using racist language either on camera or behind-the-scenes, with the Michael Hayes incident from 2008 one of the most prominent. During a WrestleMania after party, Hayes made a joke towards Mark Henry that included the n-word that was highly offensive and resulted in Hayes being suspended. Hayes also lost his title as an Executive but remained with the company.
Link: https://dailyddt.com/2018/07/17/wwe-bringing-hulk-hogan-back-unsurprising-infuriating

This past Sunday’s episode of Total Bellas from Paris dropped 17% with 594,000 viewers watching on E! The show was based around Nikki Bella’s bachelorette party where they traveled to Paris. It was a sizable drop from the 719,000 viewers the week prior. While there was a WWE pay-per-view airing at the same time, the show didn’t experience any viewership drop last month on the night of Money in the Bank.
The Nikki-Cena breakup stuff has been mostly a dud in terms of interest for this season and probably not what WWE, E!, and/or the Bellas were expecting coming into the season. Probably didn't help that Nikki "spoiled" the story by getting back together with Cena right before the season started making the whole thing feel fake.

WWE has a new poll asking fans if Ronda Rousey will honor the last week of her suspension in order to keep the SummerSlam match with RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss. As of this writing, 60% voted, "Yes. She won't risk her Raw Women's Title Match." The rest went with, "No. She wants to fight Alexa Bliss and won't be able to stop herself."

WWE is looking at adding more episodes of Mid-South Wrestling, WWWF All-Star Wrestling, and WCW Saturday Night to the vault over the next few months, according to PWInsider. The plan is to add the rest of those series before they start adding other classic series. They are also planning on adding up to 75 hours of additional WWF Coliseum Home Videos from the 1980s and 1990s, mainly some of the old VHS titles that were focused on various stars. They originally planned to add 75 more hours of WCW Saturday Night to the vault this month but that was delayed for more episodes of Sunday Night Heat to be added.

Above is a promo for new content on the WWE Network - Camp WWE, Ride Along, The Edge & Christian Show, Table For 3, Story Time, a WWE 365 special on WWE Champion AJ Styles, a WWE 24 special on Ronda Rousey, The Mae Young Classic, Elias Unplugged and more.
Link: https://youtu.be/XMyANfNPTyI

There was speculation on James Ellsworth's WWE future after Asuka destroyed him following her loss to SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella at last night's WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Ellsworth is not currently signed to a WWE contract and is still booked for indie dates. Ellsworth was not offered a contract with the recent return at Money In the Bank.

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of The Steve Austin Show podcast had Joey Janela as the guest. https://www.podcastone.com/episode/Bad-Boy-Joey-Janela
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 7th anniversary of Money in the Bank 2011 event which saw CM Punk defeat John Cena for the WWE Championship in Chicago and "walk out" of the WWE.
In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 30th anniversary of Bruiser Brody's murder in Puerto Rico at a wrestling event. During an interview with Hannibal TV earlier this year, Tony Atlas shared his memories of being backstage during this infamous incident. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0717/642856/tony-atlas-gives-detailed-account-of-bruiser-brody-murder/
WWE recently denied reports of Hulk Hogan's recent apology backstage to the locker room being taped for a future WWE Network special.
For those interested, PWI recently released an article about Hogan's apology to WWE's locker room and why he shouldn't be quickly forgiven. Went into details on how Hogan can actually rehab his image besides just doing PR fluff. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118923/hulk-hogan-shouldnt-be-let-off-the-hook-yet.html?p=1

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Cities Currently Being Considered To Host WrestleMania 36 (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/cities-currently-being-considered-to-host-wrestlemania-36/)
WWE Introduces New Recruits, Including Keith Lee and Io Shirai (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/wwe-introduces-new-performance-center-wrestlers-including-keith-lee-and-io-shirai/)
Mark Henry Says “50/50” Split Among Black Wrestlers Re: Hogan’s Return (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/mark-henry-says-its-a-50-50-split-among-black-wrestlers-re-hogans-return/)
NXT TakeOver: WarGames Returning in November (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/nxt-takeover-wargames-returning-in-november/)
Various: Daniel Bryan Contract Update, New Jericho Cruise Match, More (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/various-daniel-bryan-contract-update-new-jericho-cruise-match-funniest-backstage-moments/)
Former WWF Tag Team Champion Masa Saito Passes Away (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/former-wwf-tag-team-champion-masa-saito-passes-away/)

Mr. Nerfect

07-18-2018, 03:47 AM

Re: The Christopher Jeter story: It has begun.

slik

07-18-2018, 08:47 AM

I feel bad for ROH but Sinclair is a sh*tty company that encourages actual fake news and misdirectives, so good.

Juan

07-18-2018, 06:34 PM

I feel bad for ROH but Sinclair is a sh*tty company that encourages actual fake news and misdirectives, so good.

This is true. Fuck Sinclair

Mr. Nerfect

07-18-2018, 07:50 PM

Yeah, I don't feel bad for those folks.

Emperor Smeat

07-19-2018, 12:59 AM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Wrestlers Against Nuts Association:
https://i.imgur.com/kZM1Bs7.gif

With a jump to 2.293 million viewers on Tuesday night, SmackDown ratings increased for the second straight week. The show was heavily promoted around Shinsuke Nakamura defending his newly-won United States title against former champion Jeff Hardy.

This week's number was up from last Tuesday's 2.183 million viewers and 14 percent higher than the low-water mark posted two weeks ago ...

SmackDown continues to show huge declines in the year-over-year ratings, however, as this week's episode was down 10 percent over the same week in 2017, the fifth straight week the show has had a double-digit decline.

One of The Rock’s earliest matches in his pro wrestling career will be tomorrow’s WWE Network Hidden Gem upload.

WWE Network News reported tonight that tomorrow’s upload will be a dark match between Dwayne Johnson and Bodydonna Skip, also known as Chris Candido. The reported synopsis lists a March 11, 1996 date meaning this would be his second ever WWE match, with a dark match against the Brooklyn Brawler the day before at a WWE Superstars taping being his first.
Link: http://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/07/19/exclusive-this-weeks-wwe-hidden-gems-addition-revealed-huge-entertainment-and-wwe-star-highlighted/

Daniel Cormier told Instinct Culture at the Sports Humanitarian Awards that Seth Rollins texted him “Congratulations, now go kick Brock’s ass” after UFC 226. Cormier said he's friends with Rollins, and Cormier famously celebrated in the crowd when Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the WWE title at WrestleMania 31.

During an interview with ESPN, Cormier joked that he’ll win the Universal title from Brock Lesnar.

When asked about potentially wrestling in WWE, Travis Browne said he’s under contract with the UFC but would never say no to the possibility of wrestling. He said he’d love to work with Ronda Rousey and would want to be in a tag team with her. Browne is Rousey’s husband and said he’s never seen her happier than she is now.
Link: https://youtu.be/GO2ZAvnxlM4

The latest edition of the NWA’s Ten Pounds of Gold series focuses on the build to Flip Gordon challenging for Nick Aldis’ title at ROH Honor for All on Friday.

Gordon vs. Silas Young is set for ROH's TV tapings at Center Stage in Atlanta on Saturday.

TMZ reported that David Arquette had a warm-up match in Tijuana, Mexico while wearing a mask before returning to the ring for Championship Wrestling From Hollywood.
NWA: https://youtu.be/nt57c9TlUGg , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/flip-vs-silas-official-atlanta , Arquette: http://www.tmz.com/2018/07/17/david-arquette-tijuana-wrestling-match-mexico/

Ayako Hamada has been placed under probation following her arrest for possession of methamphetamines.

Initially, outlets in Japan and the US reported that Hamada had been sentenced to eighteen months in prison. Sister Xochitl Hamada, however, told Mediotiempo in Mexico that Hamada had been sentenced to three years probation, and that if she were to violate her probation she could face eighteen months in prison.

In a statement to media in Japan, Hamada announced that she is retiring from pro wrestling due to the situation. She stated that she hopes to find work as a interpreter since she is fluent in both Japanese and Spanish.

Hamada, 37, was arrested back on May 13 for possession of a banned stimulant, in this case meth.

The American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida began advertising WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar for the 7/30 Raw taping today.

The appearance would be Lesnar's first appearance on WWE programming since the Greatest Royal Rumble event back in April and would be the episode of Raw the week after his Summerslam 2018 challenger is determined.

NJPW kicks off three straight days of G1 Climax at Korakuen Hall this morning. Day 4 will be live on NJPWWorld.com at 5.30AM Est/10.30AM UK with the following B Block matches:

*SANADA vs. Tama Tonga
*Zack Sabre Jr vs. Toru Yano
*Juice Robinson vs. Kota Ibushi
*Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii
*Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto

Brian Fritz of Sporting News is reporting that a day after she officially reported to the WWE Performance Center, ROH and STARDOM alum Deonna Purrazzo is the latest entrant into the 2018 Mae Young Classic.

WWE also announced that Tegan Nox, Jessica Elaban and Reina Gonzales have been added to the tournament.

Already confirmed for the tournament are Rhea Ripley former WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn, Io Shirai, Nicole Matthews, Jinny, former American Ninja Warrior star Kacy Catanzaro and Vernice Gabriel, a female star in the Philippines.

The tournament, in its second year, will be taped next month for the WWE Network.

Ring of Honor will return this Friday 7/20 with "Honor For All" in Nashville, TN at the Municipal Auditorium which will air live for Honorclub subscribers, which you can subscribe to by clicking here.,

Announced for the event:
*ROH TV Champion Punishment Martinez vs. Scorpio Sky.
*NWA Champion Nick Aldis vs. Flip Gordon.
*Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai vs. Karen Q.
*ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. IWGP Tag Team Champions The Young Buck vs. The Addiction - Non-title.
*Kenny King vs. Chris Sabin vs. Shane Taylor vs. Jonathan Gresham to determine top contender for ROH TV Championship.
*Cody vs. TK O'Ryan.
*Matt Taven vs. Marty Scurll.

Austin Aires is set to defend his title at Slammiversary on this Sunday. Aries will put his Impact World Championship on the line against Moose in front of a sold-out Toronto crowd ...

The Belt Collector took part in a media call today where I had the chance to ask about other WWE Superstars who might not be happy and ready to strike out on their own. Aries said at this point there is such a vibrant array of options that it gives someone a world of possibilities outside of Vince McMahon and Company.

"I mean listen, if there's a number of men and women over there who feel they're in a position where they're spinning their wheels," Aries said. "Or maybe not getting the opportunities they feel they earned that are immensely talented. I'm not gonna name names but I think anyone in that position who wants to better themselves, I think Impact Wrestling provides a platform at least that's not gonna tie you down and lock you in and give you the opportunities to actually go and prove that."

While Aries declined providing specifics, he noted that talent have other options if they feel that they're not being utilized properly.

"They go and do that also independently across the world. So you know it's a unique opportunity. Listen, there's a lot -- they have a huge roster and there's a lot of talent on there. There's only so many spots and so many hours of television. So you know I'm sure there are people who feel like they're getting left out or they're not getting the shots that they want, and if they find themselves free and clear, it's cool. There's a nice vibrate professional landscape right now for people to go out and apply their craft."
Link: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0718/642908/austin-aries-has-advice-for-wwe-talent-feeling-underutilized/

Christian recently discussed the reason for his finisher's name change during a Q&A episode of E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness. Captain Charisma said the reason for this switch-up came down to how dangerous he wanted the move to appear.

"The name The Unprettier kinda came as a joke between myself and The Hardys and Adam we would joke around," Chrisian said. "I don't even remember how we came up with it but I jokingly called it The Unprettier because I hate how it makes you feel so damn unpretty. We would jokingly talk about it behind-the-scene and somebody and somebody heard it, I think it might have been Michael Cole or somebody.

"He said it on the air and it kinda just stuck from there. But I never thought the name matched how dangerous the move was. So when I came back from TNA to WWE I kinda wanted to repackage a few different things, the name of my finish being one of them. I had a conversation earlier that first day back with Vince and I told him my feelings on it and what I wanted to name it and he went, 'no that's great. Do it.' So that's how it got changed."

Some other sheet news includes:

The Sporting News had a recent interview with Deonna Purrazzo talking about her recent signing with the WWE, this year's Mae Young Classic tournament, and more. http://www.sportingnews.com/wwe/news/deonna-purrazzo-mae-young-classic-2018-wwe-performance-center-nxt/1ipzrgygtjshn1d25bk6ertf7x
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, yesterday was the 38th anniversary of Verne Gagne's 10th and final AWA Championship victory of his career. Gagne defeated then champion Nick Bockwinkel for the title.
In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, yesterday was the 8th anniversary of the first ever Money in the Bank PPV in the WWE. Miz won the RAW brand case while Kane won the Smackdown brand case.
NJPW's official website held a recent interview with Tetsuya Naito talking about his issues with how NJPW picks wrestlers for the G1, facing Omega and Ibushi in this year's tournament, and his thoughts on facing fellow LIJ member SANADA in this year's tournament. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0718/642887/tetsuya-naito-calls-out-how-njpw-chooses-g1-climax-entrants/
During a recent episode of The Ross Report podcast show, Jim Ross revealed he currently expects to not be involved with this year's Mae Young Classic tournament. He stated WWE has yet to contact him for the event and also admitted he could have done a better job on commentary in last year's tournament.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Impact: Slammiversary Sold Out, Knockout Sienna Gone From Impact (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/impact-slammiversary-sold-out-knockout-sienna-gone-from-impact/)t
Major Spoiler from Tonight’s NXT Tapings (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/major-spoiler-from-tonights-nxt-tapings/)
Titus O’Neil Releases a Statement on Hulk Hogan (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/titus-oneil-releases-a-statement-on-hulk-hogan/)
Kane Injury Update, Expected to Be Off TV for a While (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/kane-injury-update-expected-to-be-off-tv-for-a-while/)
The New Day Release a Statement About Hulk Hogan (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/the-new-day-release-a-statement-about-hulk-hogan/)

Mr. Nerfect

07-19-2018, 06:14 PM

That's awful news about Hamada. :(

Emperor Smeat

07-19-2018, 09:39 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by NJPW G1 Climax 2018:
https://www.njpw1972.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/DSC_4571.jpg

Taynara Conti defeated Vanessa Borne in a Mae Young Classic qualifying match at last night’s NXT TV tapings. Conti, who is from Brazil, was also in last year’s tournament and was one of the NXT wrestlers in the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal this April. Conti lost to Lacey Evans in the first round last year.
Spoiler tags used since its related to a Mae Young Classic qualifier match from the recent batch of NXT tapings.

On next week’s WWE Raw, Bobby Lashley will face Roman Reigns, with the winner moving on to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal title at Summerslam. According to cagesideseats.com, the current plan is for Roman Reigns to defeat Bobby Lashley and go on to win the Universal championship from Brock Lesnar at Summerslam.

Spoiler tags used since its related to rumored plans for Lesnar's match at SummerSlam.

On this week’s episode of his Dinner with the King podcast, Jerry Lawler said he’s heard Howard Finkel is in really bad health and that, while he emphasized that he’s not sure of this, Finkel may have suffered a stroke.
Link: https://youtu.be/scHz1vSbBYY

Bret Hart continued his public back-and-forth with Martha Hart, Owen Hart’s widow, by posting a lengthy statement on Facebook. Bret responded to the statement that Martha put out after he criticized her for not allowing Owen to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Bret wrote that the Owen Hart Foundation is a wonderful charity, but he doesn’t think it should be the sole outlet to remember Owen and that his wrestling career should be acknowledged.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/251123314442/posts/10156642506929443/

WWE unveiled Ronda Rousey’s first action figure and other new figures during San Diego Comic-Con.
Link: https://www.wwe.com/inside/mattel/gallery/mattel-san-diego-comic-con-2018-action-figure-reveals#fid-40240931

The G1 Climax continues at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo overnight/tomorrow morning, with Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Page headlining the show. The other A Block tournament matches are: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale, Togi Makabe vs. EVIL, Minoru Suzuki vs. YOSHI-HASHI, and Michael Elgin vs. Jay White. The show will begin at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time and will be available for free via the Japanese commentary live feed as part of “G1 Fan Appreciation Day.” Here’s the full card:

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Page
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale
Togi Makabe vs. EVIL
Minoru Suzuki vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Michael Elgin vs. Jay White
Hirooki Goto & Yoh vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Sho
Kenny Omega & Chase Owens vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Kota Ibushi & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Toru Yano & Jado
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taka Michinoku vs. Toa Henare & Shota Umino

Indies Roundup:
NJPW held a 10-bell salute for Masa Saito at Korakuen Hall at the start of today's G1 show.

Pro Wrestling: EVE announced Meiko Satomura vs. Toni Storm in a no time limit match for their Global Women Strike show in London on September 27.

Ayesha Raymond, who was in last year’s Mae Young Classic and lost to Toni Storm in the first round, will make her Women of Honor debut at ROH’s Honor Re-United tour show in London on August 19.

Due to a scheduling conflict, Juice Robinson is replacing Matt Riddle at OTT’s WrestleRama weekend in Dublin on August 18 and 19.

Stardom’s Mayu Iwatani tweeted that she wants to wrestle at ROH & NJPW’s G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden in April 2019.
NJPW: https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1019874779292151808 , PWE: https://twitter.com/ProWrestlingEVE/status/1020015104593661953 , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/ayesha-raymond-make-woh-debut-london , OTT: https://twitter.com/OTT_wrestling/status/1019938556867948544 , Iwatani: https://twitter.com/MayuIwatani/status/1019647512506916865

Carmella tweeted:

Two years ago today, I was the very last draft pick. From Ms Irrelevant to the FIRST ever Ms MITB & now SD Women’s Champion. A lot has changed in two years and I’m only gettin started! #MellaIsMoney #tbt ???????? pic.twitter.com/HZFVuI8IyF
— Smackdown Womens Champion (@CarmellaWWE) July 19, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/CarmellaWWE/status/1019985814732845056

The original plan for the show[Extreme Rules] was for the Iron Man match to open the PPV and for the last hour to feature AJ Styles vs. Rusev, Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss and to close out with Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley, but the match order was shifted late in the day.

Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion has collaborated with Impact, Billy Corgan’s NWA, and we’ve even seen Tommy Dreamer in Lucha Underground this year. According to Dreamer, however, WWE once offered him a lot of money to close his promotion. Dreamer commented on the matter during today’s Impact Wrestling media call.

“WWE asked me to sign a contract when I went back with the Wyatt’s,” Dreamer said referring to his brief 2015 run with the company. “They offered me a lot of money to close House of Hardcore and I refused.”
Link with more details and media call: https://www.sescoops.com/tommy-dreamer-wwe-offered-me-a-lot-of-money-to-close-house-of-hardcore/

We have been able to confirm that the second ever female referee in NXT who worked the tapings tonight at Full Sail in Winter Park, Florida is none other than Aubrey Edwards.

Female pro wrestling referee out of Seattle, working all over the PNW Area.

She joins Jessika Carr as the two female referees for WWE’s developmental brand NXT.

There have been a lot of rumors on Daniel Bryan's WWE contract status as of late. One rumor said Bryan turned down a contract extension and another claimed he signed an extension. Dave Meltzer noted on the Wrestling Observer message board that these reports are false. Meltzer wrote, "No extension has been signed or offered, as I had figured."

Former TNA Knockout Chelsea Green, a.k.a. Laurel Van Ness, cancelled her upcoming dates for Chaos Wrestling and IPW. Green was at the WWE tryouts a few weeks ago, however she noted on Twitter that she was having Visa issues. IPW issued the following statement regarding Green:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, which will become clearer in the next couple of weeks, Chelsea Green is unable to make her scheduled trip to the UK for Pro Wrestling Chaos & IPW.

We are working on a replacement at such short notice.

Chelsea does send her deepest apologies also..

Green also noted on Twitter that she is still planning on working the All In event on September 1st.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/IPWuk/posts/1790151401022641

Charlotte Flair recently took part in ESPN Magazine's Body Issue. She was in her full birthday suit in the ring for the photo shoot with nothing covering her except the ring itself and the angles the photographer used. Flair recently spoke to Instinct Culture by Denise Salcedo at the Sports Humanitarian Awards where she discussed what it was like to be a part of the shoot ...

Flair admitted there were parts of the photo shoot that got a little awkward like when she had to do forty-five nude moonsaults for the camera. She said it was a nightmare come to life but the professionalism of the shoot soon removed her worry.

"Doing forty-five naked moonsaults was awkward. Which it's like a backflip in the air. I'm like, 'ah this is my worse nightmare.' You know when you wake up and you have forgotten you like shoes or something for work, I forgot my ring gear."
Link: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0719/642925/charlotte-flair-on-how-many-nude-moonsaults-she-had-to-do-for/

Some other sheet news includes:

Merriam-Webster dictionary publisher revealed they are currently considering adding the wrestling term "kayfabe" as an official new word to their dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-origin-kayfabe
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, if Cena manages to not wrestle at this year's SummerSlam event, he will break his current streak of being on the card of every SummerSlam since 2003. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/908wlt/if_john_cena_doesnt_wrestle_at_summerslam_it_will/
Sports Illustrated had a recent interview with Jake "The Snake" Roberts talking about his issues with today's wrestling and his brief feud with Hulk Hogan in 1986. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0719/642941/jake-roberts-on-problems-with-today-pro-wrestling/
This week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter was delayed by a day due to Meltzer having some scheduling issues pop up.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Various: Former UFC Champ Trains w/ WWE, Alexa Bliss Gallery, Birthdays (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/various-former-ufc-champ-trains-w-wwe-alexa-bliss-gallery-birthdays/)
When Will Brock Lesnar Next Appear on Raw? (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/when-will-brock-lesnar-next-appear-on-raw/)
WWE: WWE Denies Cameras at Hogan Apology, Hardy Tweets, Flair Update (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/wwe-wwe-denies-cameras-at-hogan-apology-cryptic-hardy-tweets-flair-update/)

Bad News Gertner

07-19-2018, 10:11 PM

It's too bad Finkel never wrote a book. He's seen it all.

Mr. Nerfect

07-20-2018, 04:20 AM

If Merriam-Webster adds “kayfabe”, the dictionary will be the only place it is alive.

BigCrippyZ

07-20-2018, 01:00 PM

:lol:

owenbrown

07-20-2018, 01:22 PM

It's too bad Finkel never wrote a book. He's seen it all.

I would absolutely buy that book if he had written it.

LibSuperstar

07-20-2018, 01:34 PM

I would absolutely buy that book if he had written it.

Would be well worth the purchase.

Emperor Smeat

07-20-2018, 09:59 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random NJPW G1 2k18 gif:
https://i.imgur.com/76Hpbvs.gif

NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT LIVE AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN SATURDAY MORNING FROM KORAKUEN HALL ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

Michael Elgin & Ren Narita vs. Yoshi-Hashi & Sho
Evil & Bushi vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Loa
Jay White & Yoh vs. Minoru Suzuki & Desperado
Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. Hangman Page & Chase Owens
Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare
Toru Yano vs. Kota Ibushi
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Seiya Sanada
Tetsuya Naito vs. Juice Robinson
Kenny Omega vs. Tama Tonga
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto

ROH has had interest in C.M. Punk returning, presumably for the MSG show, but we're told that is a long shot. But feelers have been sent.

Titus O'Neil as a follow-up to what he wrote earlier in the week, wrote: "I'm nowhere near perfect, make mistakes as well as I have had to ask for forgiveness and give it as well. We can all grow in various areas of our lives. Accept full responsibility when you're wrong and in due season through actions, forgiveness and respect comes."

Indies Roundup:
Impact announced Scarlett Bordeaux debuting with the promotion soon.

Destiny Wrestling on 8/25 at the Battlarts Academy in Mississauga, ONT with Sami Callihan vs. Josh Alexander in a cage match and Michael Elgin vs. Petey Williams.

Kagetsu vs. Viper for the World of Stardom title headlines Sunday's Stardom show in Osaka.

Chelsea Green pulled out of U.K. shows this month due to a working visa issue she has to get taken care of.

Impact released the opening video for Sunday's Slammiversary PPV:

Slammiversary is the night where passionate fans from around the world come together.

To believe.

To celebrate.

And to dream.

Here's a #FirstLook at the Cold Open from this Sunday's Slammiversary LIVE on PPV and @FiteTV. This one is going to be for you. #SlamXVI pic.twitter.com/csxaZ38Tze
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) July 20, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1020128660584652800

According to the USADA website, Brock Lesnar has been tested once ince re-entering the testing pool in advance of a planned UFC return in 2019.

Lesnar's test was done sometime after July 11th.

The 7/19 edition of Impact did 275,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 284,000 overnight viewers.

In regard to the teased WWE announcement this Monday, there’s been talk in the last several weeks of a women’s PPV featuring talents from the main roster coming out of a report from ProWrestlingSheet.com.

Several female performers in the company have confirmed to PWInsider.com that they were told recently it was something the company has been working on developing.

PWInsider.com has been told by one source the show would take place in September at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island. There are a number of Sundays open at the venue. WWE does not have any events currently listed for Sunday 9/30, so that could be the date. That said, WWE does not have any TV tapings scheduled for the Northeast and Monday 10/1, they are in Seattle for Raw, all of which obviously would make staging such an event a lot harder than usual.

Attempts to get WWE to confirm thus far have been unsuccessful. Stay tuned.

ROH and MSG reached an agreement to drop legal action in exchange for getting their date back. The description was that MSG had no intentions of taking a lawsuit bullet for WWE. When asked by the New York Post how things changed, Koff said that MSG were the people to ask. Essentially after the legal situation got started, MSG called and offered them back the date.

WWE is looking at promoting Hogan’s redemption by doing charitable things
Meltzer stated Hogan's recent Boys & Girls Club award was mainly due to WWE's efforts behind the scenes and less of Hogan being sincere on doing charity for non-PR reasons.

While not shown on television, at the arena, they aired a video on the late Bruno Sammartino, all-time wrestling hero in Pittsburgh. The crowd cheered this video loudly, as one current wrestler after another sang the praises of the man who was the childhood hero to some, and their parents childhood hero to many others. Except when Reigns was shown. It didn’t matter what he said. The dye has been cast with Reigns. Daniel Bryan can endorse him and the fans will boo the guy they’d never boo. The Rock can endorse him and the same thing not only would happen, but already did happen.

In the dressing room after the Cow Palace show, after both Juice Robinson and Jay White apologized to Jim Ross, apparently Josh Barnett spoke to both of them, White in particular about why he was so upset about what happened. Ross, who had Barnett on his podcast, didn’t say anything negative about Robinson and White and blamed it on the crew that set up the ringside area for not hooking the barricades together so that they wouldn’t tumble over on impact. New Japan’s timekeeper in another whip into the barricades during that match ended up with the barricades smashing his knee. Ross is doing better, but was in pain all week to the point he couldn’t sleep laying down in his bed and had to sleep in a chair for a few days

Robinson had his broken left hand examined this past week and he hoped it would have healed. When he broke it, they said he’d need a cast for six weeks. That would be in a few weeks. He was told it was healing well, but slower than expected and he would probably need the hand in the cast until late September

Jeff Cobb debuts for ROH on the 7/21 tapings in Atlanta. He’s got four dates, which would be Atlanta, the 8/25 tapings in Philadelphia and 9/28 and 9/29 in Las Vegas. The impression we have is that he’s chosen ROH over Impact because he loves working for New Japan and with ROH he can get off if New Japan wants him for a tour while if he signs with Impact, they won’t stop him from working with anyone, but Impact tapings would have to be his first priority

According to those at Impact, the story that PCO was offered a contract and turned it down aren’t true. They claim PCO was just asked to come in for a taping to put Brian Cage over and that was all that was offered to start with

Regarding a potential sale of WWE to FOX down the line, the bidding for much of FOX’s assets, such as cable stations like the regional sports networks and FX and its movie studios, looks to have been bid up to a $71 billion sale to Disney. Comcast had offered $65 billion but Disney came back with a higher bid and Comcast dropped out of the bidding, but Comcast is interested in purchasing Sky in the U.K. The point of this is the price got so high than FOX has far more cash then they expected to get out of the sale

While not confirmed, there is a lot of talk about Undertaker wrestling at SummerSlam

Charlotte is scheduled to start back on the road on 7/31. She explained her problems with her implants. She first got implants at the age of 21 and they were saline implants that leaked. She got them redone with silicon, and they also leaked, actually both of them. She didn’t know but she had started getting a lot of pain in her back and in different parts of her body. She didn’t know what was wrong because she couldn’t remember an injury. So she finally got checked and they included a mammogram which found that her pain came from her silicon leaking to other parts of her body, so she her breasts redone to prevent further leakage. Because of WrestleMania and being booked on Backlash, and shooting for the ESPN Body issue, she made the call to just work through it, get the surgery after Backlash, so she’d be back before SummerSlam

Regarding Ellsworth, he is not under contract and just being used on a per date basis. Since this comeback, he has only been working TV dates and no house shows. This run has helped his indie bookings as there are very few guys featured on WWE television these days that indie promoters can use. But that also means they have no long-term plans for his role since if they had a long-term idea, he’d be signed

Barbara Blank, 30, who was with WWE as Kelly Kelly from 2006 to 2012, is open for a return. She is currently working on a movie and a new clothing line. She left wrestling and married former NHL player Sheldon Souray, but the couple separated this past October. She was a regular castmate on the TV show “WAGS,” a realty show on E! about wives and girlfriends of sports stars (Brandi Runnels is on another version of that show currently) from 2015 to 2017, with her run with the show ending when she got separated. She is also working on a clothing line
Came from a recent interview Kelly Kelly had with website WrestlingNews.co: http://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0720/642960/kelly-kelly-reportedly-interested-in-wwe-return/

Matt Riddle pulled out of 8/18 and 8/19 dates with Over the Top Wrestling in Ireland and will be replaced by Juice Robinson. Interesting that coincides with SummerSlam weekend given the talk that WWE has reconsidered its position on Riddle after four months ago not even allowing him to work at Axxess. Time will tell.

The ten most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network were: 1. Extreme Rules; 2. Table for 3 with Eric Bischoff, John Layfield and Bruce Prichard; 3. Extreme Rules postshow; 4. Something Else to Wrestle with on C.M. Punk; 5. Extreme Rules preshow; 6. NXT on 7/11; 8. Table for 3 with Trish Stratus, Lita and Bliss; 9. 205 Live on 7/10; 10. 2018 Money in the Bank

Above is a preview for the "Elias: Live from Bourbon Street" special that will air on the WWE Network this coming Monday after Table For 3 goes off the air. This was filmed at Razzoo Bar during WrestleMania 34 Week in New Orleans and will air for thirty minutes.

WWE also announced that a "Walk With Elias: The Documentary" special will air on the WWE Network after RAW goes off the air on July 30th. Next week is a big week for Elias as his debut album is supposed to be released on Tuesday.
Link: https://youtu.be/qZfdfKpIZqg

WWE has a new poll asking fans which milestone they are most looking forward to for Elias. As of this writing, 76% voted for his first title run while the rest voted for his debut album, which is supposed to be released on Tuesday.

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast show had the Observer's Dave Meltzer as the guest talking about Bruiser Brody and the 30th anniversary of his death. https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/tij-ep474-meltzer-bruiserbrody-fullshow
According to the Observer, official reason why Vince wasn't backstage at last week's Extreme Rules event is due to his annual mid-July vacation break.
Early designs of WWE's rumored Women's Tag Team Championship belts were recently leaked online. https://twitter.com/ifyouseekcasey/status/1020453228297760768 , https://twitter.com/BeltFanDan/status/1020456782114836481

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Rich Swann Injured, Slammiversary Match in Jeopardy (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/rich-swann-injured-slammiversary-match-in-jeopardy/)
Various: Mae Young Competitor Removed, WWN Streaming Service (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/various-mae-young-competitor-removed-wwn-streaming-service/)
Five More Wrestlers Announced for the Mae Young Classic (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/five-more-wrestlers-announced-for-the-mae-young-classic/)
Stephanie to Make “Historic Announcement” on Raw – All Women PPV? (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/stephanie-to-make-historic-announcement-on-raw-all-women-ppv/)

slik

07-23-2018, 09:55 PM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WGN America Set to Air Saturday Morning Wrestling Show: <a href="https://t.co/VKk9JHTNXU">https://t.co/VKk9JHTNXU</a> <a href="https://t.co/C9N5iaBv70">pic.twitter.com/C9N5iaBv70</a></p>— Pro Wrestling Sheet (@WrestlingSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlingSheet/status/1021573786540359680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trademark filed for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STARRCADE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STARRCADE</a> by WWE.</p>— 17ABay �� (@TicketDrew) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicketDrew/status/1021475631182303232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Emperor Smeat

07-24-2018, 10:12 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by SummerSlam's Main Event Preview:
https://i.imgur.com/sPJzl5r.gif

Raw last night averaged 2.77 million viewers, down three percent from the prior week ...

An interesting note, which is very much the exception to normal patterns, is that the women audience was more loyal, and actually grew, while the male audience was the one less interested as the show went on.

In women 18-49, the first-to-third hour growth was 10 percent while the male drop was one percent. With teenage girls, the first-to-third hour growth was 15 percent while the male drop was seven percent.

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.82 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.82 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.70 million viewers

205 Live will face competition from “Miz & Mrs,” which debuts on the USA Network tonight after SmackDown. The episodes of "Miz & Mrs" will be 30 minutes long.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque spoke to ESPN.com about people saying WWE’s all-women’s Evolution PPV is happening because the women’s division wasn’t allowed to wrestle at the Greatest Royal Rumble: "Let's take the Saudi Arabia show off the table, and let's just say it never happened -- would anybody question that they deserve this opportunity? To me, it's a ridiculous statement, the timing of it. You cannot effect change in a region that, culturally, is trying to change, you cannot help them affect that change without being there."
Link: http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/24177228/wwe-triple-h-stephanie-mcmahon-discuss-upcoming-all-women-evolution-pay-per-view

OVW’s Jaylee and ARW Pro’s Moxie Molly were the wrestlers that Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated in their tag match on Raw last night.

Indies Roundup:
Ring Warriors will be airing on WGN America at 8 a.m. Eastern every Saturday morning starting on September 15. They’ll be taping TV at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas on August 8 and 9.

ROH announced that everyone who joins HonorClub by August 1 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time will get access to the pre-sale for next April’s G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden. The pre-sale is through Ticketmaster and starts at 10 a.m. Eastern on August 8, then tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Eastern on August 10. In the days before the pre-sale, a code will be sent to the email associated with your HonorClub account.

Though how serious he is about this remains to be seen, Chris Jericho posted tweets today teasing that he’d be open to wrestling for Impact Wrestling and potentially competing at ROH and NJPW’s G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden. Jericho wrote Of course!” in response to a question asking if he’d ever consider going to Impact “and “Hmmm…” when asked about the MSG show.

PCW Ultra tweeted that Riddle is off their show in Wilmington, California on Friday due to “unforeseen circumstances”: “Due to unforeseen circumstances...Matt Riddle will not be performing at 'Sound The Alarm.' We will have a suitable replacement. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

David Arquette tweeted that he had two fractured ribs in his match against RJ City for Championship Wrestling From Hollywood.

Kenny Omega mentioned in this week’s edition of “Being the Elite” that he is working with a heel fracture in the G1 and has been getting by through adrenaline during his matches. He stated he injured the heel during his match against Cody at the Cow Palace earlier this month.
Ring Warriors: https://twitter.com/RingWarriorsNet/status/1021835074403225602 , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/join-honorclub-august-1-first-access-g1-supercard-msg-tickets , Jericho: https://twitter.com/IAmJericho/status/1021793827055656960 & https://twitter.com/IAmJericho/status/1021746327238193153 , PCW: https://twitter.com/PCWULTRA/status/1021805686173261824 , Arquette: https://twitter.com/DavidArquette/status/1021474109316841474

WWN/EVOLVE provided an update on Matt Riddle’s status with the company amid speculation that he could be signing with WWE: “EVOLVE Champion Matt Riddle has been the subject of rumors. Riddle is confirmed for all four August EVOLVE events, where he will defend the championship at EVOLVE 108 against Shane Strickland in a Hardcore Rules Match on August 4th in Philadelphia. If Riddle is successful, he will defend vs. Darby Allin at EVOLVE 110 on August 11th in Chicago. Riddle is set for non-title action vs. Austin Theory at EVOLVE 109 in Melrose, MA and JD Drake at EVOLVE 111 in Livonia, MI. If Riddle is still EVOLVE Champion after August, he will be added to additional dates. Riddle is currently scheduled to miss the September weekend due to previously approved personal obligations.”

TMZ reported that former WWE star "Grandmaster Sexay" Brian Christopher Lawler was arrested in front of his own for DUI on 7/7.

According to their reportl, authorities observed Christopher speeding and swerving around 1 AM. They attempted to pull him over, but Lawler failed to stop. He finally stopped and according to the police report, Christopher "reeked of booze" and had an open 12 ounce can in his car's center console.

The Discovery Channel's Ronda Rousey Uncaged special on Sunday 7/22 brought in 2,249,000 viewers overnight.

For those asking why some members of the Smackdown Women's roster were at Raw last night while others were not, WWE sent their corporate jet to pick up the women who were on the road for the Smackdown live events to bring them to Raw. We are told that it was a last second decision to include them in the segment, which is why the rest of the female roster wasn't there.

A few interesting things to think about regarding the 10/28 Evolution PPV: With the show be taking place in Long Island, NY, Monday Night Raw the next day is scheduled for Charlotte, NC. Traditionally, WWE holds PPVs in the same region as that week's TV to keep travel to a minimum, which won't be the case here. The next day, there will be a lot of production staff and wrestlers rushing from point A to point B. It should also be interesting to see if WWE decides to scale down the PPV show to use a smaller production model in order to allow the regular sets and production set-up staff to be in Charlotte to insure the usual set-up time for Raw. It's nearly an 11 hour drive with minimal traffic from Long Island to Charlotte, so the usual breakdown and set up for the next town schedule might not apply.

The NXT UK brand will hold its first TV tapings this weekend on 7/28 and 7/29 at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge, England.

Advertised for the tapings are WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, Mark Andrews, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, Zack Gibson, Toni Storm, Joe Coffey, Jinny, Jordan Devlin, Mark Andrews and Charlie Morgan.

PWInsider.com has confirmed that Noam Dar, Rhea Ripley, Nixon Newell and Dakota Kai, among others, are also scheduled for the tapings.

The timing of such a show could be interesting if the WWE has their rumored follow up show in Saudi Arabia in November, which was reported at the time of the first event this past April and stated that would likely run the next show in the capital city of Riyadh. I feel regardless of when the next Saudi Arabian event takes place, the same complaints will arise if the women are not part of that event. It is great they are promoting an all women’s show, but they have also entered a business agreement where they are heavily profiting from a Government that outright banishes female involvement on the shows.
Post Wrestling's John Pollock on the PR mess WWE is going to have going forward with the Saudi shows and the feeling of the all-women event only being done to lessen the backlash against them.

The Hollywood Reporter has a story here about HBO signing Bill Simmons to a new deal. It was noted that HBO's Andre the Giant documentary, which Simmons prodcued, was the most-watched documentary in HBO Sports history with nearly 7 million viewers across the network's linear and digital platforms.
Link: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/bill-simmons-inks-new-deal-at-hbo-1129447

Some other sheet news includes:

According to the Observer, WWE currently considering the idea of both Alexa Bliss and Carmella dropping their Women titles prior to October's Evolution PPV. Apparently WWE officials have not been happy with the quality of their matches as champ and don't want to end the historic PPV with a bad match.
WWE recently released the trailer for AJ Styles upcoming DVD collection set. https://youtu.be/QbYnffZZKcw
Based on recent SEC filings, several of WWE's high ranking members recently sold off large batches of their stocks with Kevin Dunn selling the most shares. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0724/644078/triple-h/
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 5th anniversary of Paige winning the NXT Women's Championship which is seen as one of the starting points of WWE's Women's Revolution and changing stance on women's wrestling. https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1021802558937944064?s=19

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

“Horsewomen” Marina Shafir & Jessamyn Duke to Make NXT In-Ring Debuts (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/mma-horsewomen-marina-shafir-jessamyn-duke-to-make-nxt-in-ring-debuts/)
Stephanie McMahon Comments on Possibility of Women’s Tag Team Titles (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/stephanie-mcmahon-comments-on-possibility-of-womens-tag-team-titles/)
Indie Superstar Matt Riddle Possibly WWE Bound (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/indie-superstar-matt-riddle-possibly-wwe-bound/)
Various: New Match Added to “All In,” Moose Possibly Injured (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/various-new-match-added-to-all-in-moose-possibly-injured/)
First All-Women PPV, “Evolution” Announced (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/first-all-women-ppv-evolution-announced/)

#1-norm-fan

07-24-2018, 10:26 PM

According to the Observer, WWE currently considering the idea of both Alexa Bliss and Carmella dropping their Women titles prior to October's Evolution PPV. Apparently WWE officials have not been happy with the quality of their matches as champ and don't want to end the historic PPV with a bad match.

It's absolutely the right move... But Jesus. Why have the title on someone you don't trust in that position in the first place.

It always annoyed me when they'd have a title change on the PPV before WrestleMania just to set up a WrestleMania-worthy PPV. Just have it on your top guy to begin with. It makes who holds the title just come off as more trivial and meaningless when you let someone hold it and then take it off of them because NOW it's important who the champion is.

Emperor Smeat

07-24-2018, 10:41 PM

Not sure about Alexa but WWE put themselves in a bind when they kept delaying Carmella's cash-in and causing self-inflicted problems afterwards.

Carmella pretty much cashed in at the worst time possible and to make sure her reign wouldn't be seen as a fluke, they had to hurt Charlotte's star status and ruin Asuka's status right after Mania. Them needing to bring back Ellsworth to regain her heat should have been a huge red flag that they messed up big time handling Carmella's cash-in.

Mr. Nerfect

07-25-2018, 12:28 AM

Mr. Nerfect

07-25-2018, 12:28 AM

Lol at Triple H: "Let's just pretend that the giant sexist show didn't happen..." Okay, boss.

Emperor Smeat

07-25-2018, 01:48 AM

They didn't need to do anything with Carmella though. It's their own fault. They gave her that stupid briefcase and held the Ladder Match in the first place. She should be nowhere near that sort of push. Nor should Bliss, for that matter. I'll believe the changes when I see them though.

They had the option to let her fail the cash in if after all that time, she still wasn't ready to hold a title. Wouldn't have been the first time a MitB holder failed and they had no problem having the first ever Women's Rumble winner fail at Mania.

Missed the boat not having her cash in while Ellsworth was originally around because they didn't want it to overshadow SummerSlam or Survivor Series Women's title matches. Then missed the window again because they didn't want it to overshadow the Women's Rumble and Asuka-Charlotte Mania match.

Then again, can probably just blame Vince for this mess since he originally wanted Ellsworth to win the case as one giant gag because he still isn't as receptive to women's wrestling in the WWE.

Mr. Nerfect

07-25-2018, 08:02 AM

The idea is just a shallow attempt to follow the men anyway. Money in the Bank itself is a bit tired as a gimmick, and doesn't really make sense anymore. Why give people that sort of lifeline as a title shot? The first Ladder Match between the women could have been built up as a big deal between two women having a deeply personal feud. Instead it was an arbitrary clusterfuck.

I mean, is Carmella even worthy of the main roster, objectively speaking, let alone being the star of the division, which they have been telegraphing since June of last year?

Emperor Smeat

07-26-2018, 12:12 AM

Dirtsheets sponsored by El Idolo Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/ep2yPMd.gif

Despite Raw's ratings on Monday being down, SmackDown was up for the fourth straight week, averaging 2.34 million viewers for Tuesday night's show.

The episode finished sixth for the night in total viewers on cable and fell from its usual number one spot in the 18-49 demo due to three separate shows celebrating Shark Week taking the top spots.

For the sixth straight week and the eighth in the last 10, SmackDown was down in the year-over-year ratings. It did manage to retain 84 percent of the Raw audience from the previous night.

The debut episode of Miz & Mrs. last night on the USA Network brought in 1,473,000 overnight viewers.

Triple H spoke to SKy Sports about WWE’s Evolution PPV and was asked about the concept becoming a mainstay: “It's a question to be answered down the road. Do we need to have a women's only event? No -- just like we don't need a men's only event or anything else. I think that the opportunity is there whoever is the best, the most prominent box office attraction that is the main event. It doesn't matter if that's Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Wrestlemania. So can they have their own event? Can it be a mainstay? Yes, and if our fans want it and it's the right thing then we'll give it to them. The WWE universe will dictate to us what the approach is."
Link: http://www.skysports.com/wwe/news/14203/11448488/triple-h-breaks-down-all-womens-ppv-to-sky-sports

The WWE Network has added Coliseum Home Videos on British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, George the Animal Steele, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Bret Hart, Jake Roberts, The Hart Foundation, Ken Patera, Macho Man and Ms. Elizabeth, Bruno Sammartino, and Captain Lou Albano, along with two on Hulk Hogan.

The Poffo family is featured on this week’s additions to the WWE Network’s hidden gems section. The matches that have been added are: Angelo Poffo vs. Pat Patterson (Championship Wrestling from Florida, 1977), Randy Savage & Magnum TA vs. The Mongolians (Georgia Championship Wrestling, 1983), Lanny Poffo vs. Nick Bockwinkel (Pro Wrestling USA, 1984).

After a few days off, the G1 Climax continues in Niigata overnight/tomorrow morning with B Block tournament matches. Here’s the card for the show, which will begin at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time:

Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA
Kenny Omega vs. Juice Robinson
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tama Tonga
Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano
Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Sho
Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare
Jay White & Yoh vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Loa
EVIL & BUSHI vs. Hangman Page & Chase Owens
Michael Elgin & Ren Narita vs. Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado

EVOLVE announced that Stokely Hathaway will enter the ring to team with Chris Dickinsin to face Tracy Williams in a "career vs. career" bout at the promotion's 8/12 return to Livonia, Michigan, climaxing a major storyline that has taken place over the last several months..

The Gamechanger Wrestling 'Janela Lost in NY' event on Friday 8/17 at the Melrose Ballroom in Long Island City, Queens will air live as an iPPV on Fite.TV.

The Summerslam weekend event features:
*Joey Janela vs. Hakushi.
*Nick Gage vs. Meng.
*Chris Dickinson vs. Teddy Hart.
*PCO vs. Matt Riddle.

Some other sheet news includes:

2K Games announced Ric Flair will be the showcase star for WWE 2K19's collector's edition. https://www.wwe.com/section/wwe-2k19/article/wwe-2k19-wooooo-collectors-edition-ric-flair-announcement
According to reports, Adam Cole's Twitter account was recently hacked by hackers trying to sell his social media info on the black market. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/pawkyk/adam-cole-wwe-twitter-hacked
ESPN had a recent interview with Stephanie McMahon talking about WWE's upcoming Evolution event and wanting it to become the "WrestleMania" for WWE's women's division. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0725/644147/stephanie-mcmahon-on-wwe-evolution-being-the-wrestlemania-of-the/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Titus O’Neil Says He Has “Zero Respect” for How Hulk Hogan “Apologized” (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/titus-oneil-says-he-has-zero-respect-for-how-hulk-hogan-apologized/)
James Ellsworth Seemingly Says Goodbye to WWE (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/james-ellsworth-seemingly-says-goodbye-to-wwe/)
Various: PWG Battle of Los Angeles Matches, New All In Announcement (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/various-pwg-battle-of-los-angeles-matches-new-all-in-announcement/)
Four More Wrestlers Announced for the Mae Young Classic (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/four-more-wrestlers-announced-for-the-mae-young-classic-2/)

07-26-2018, 04:55 PM

Carmella cashed in the briefcase in April, MITB 2018 took place in June. They could easily have run an angle where the clock was running out on her time to cash in, as she gets more and more desperate as June rolls around and the contract “expires”.

Emperor Smeat

07-26-2018, 10:09 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by The Ballonmaker, Kazuchika Okada:
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/WebbedFantasticIchthyosaurs-size_restricted.gif

The company [WWE]also has great interest in Juice Robinson. Robinson has started to appear the last few weeks as a cast member in Being the Elite, which seems to be the best avenue to raise the American profile for an independent wrestler. It didn’t work out for Robinson the first time he was there, but even then, in Dusty Rhodes’ interview classes he was considered the best. His current profile is the biggest it’s ever been by far based off the reaction to his interviews and his recent matches, particularly the Cow Palace match with Jay White and the reaction it got. A number of New Japan regulars actually aren’t under contract, similar to A.J. Styles when he was there, so legally WWE can approach them without it being tampering. Others it has to be more nuanced, but they are making plays right now.

Juice Robinson did an interview last night after his match with Kenny Omega and said he's not only not going back to WWE but he's never going. We noted WWE had interest in bringing him back.

While this isn’t a secret, on the 7/20 ROH streaming broadcast, it was outright said that the Young Bucks contract with the promotion expires after the Final Battle show in September. That is correct. It’s just interesting that they noted it.

Another name that has been talked about once again, although they’ve [WWE] talked about him on-and-off-for years, and at first the hold-up was his Lucha Underground contract, is Angelico.

Indies Roundup:

Pro Wrestling Revolver on 8/3 in Dayton at the Rockstar Pro Arena with Santana & Ortiz vs. OWE in the main event plus tag champs Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Neveah & Jessicka Havok, and Sami Callihan vs. Matt Palmer in a street fight.

PWA is doing a Will Ospreay vs. Robbie Eagles rematch on 8/11.

PCW Ultra tomorrow night on FITE TV from Wilmington, CA with Pentagon Jr. & Warbeast vs. Sami Callihan & OVE, Shane Strickland vs. Flip Gordon, Tessa Blanchard vs. Britt Baker, ACH vs. Dragon Lee, Brody King vs. ?, Hammerstone vs. Timothy Thatcher and Jake Atlas vs. Matt Cross vs. Rich Swann (if he's healthy).

Beyond Wrestling on Sunday in Worcester, MA has Joey Janela vs. David Starr in a no rope barbed wire match plus Matt Riddle & Tom Lawlor vs. Nick Gage & Matt Tremont, PCO vs. Brian Cage, Brody King vs. Josh Briggs, Tracy Williams vs. Wheeler Yuta, Jonathan Gresham vs. ?, Chris Dickinson & Jake & LAX vs. Jordynne Grace & Kimber Lee & Mia Yim & Skylar and Chuckie T & Orange Cassidy vs. Team Tremendous vs. Massage Force vs. Beaver Boys.

Tickets for the Major League Wrestling return to The Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY on 10/4 are now on sale at www.MLWTickets.com. The event, which will feature the return of L.A. Park (the original La Parka) has been titled Fury Road and will be taped for MLW's weekly Friday night series on BeIN Sports.

The following press release was issued to PWInsider.com: IMPACT WRESTLING & XCITE WRESTLING PRESENT ONE NIGHT ONLY PAY PER VIEW , Saturday Night, August 25th , American Legion Post 80 , 76 Main St - Binghamton, NY

Tickets for the upcoming NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed event will be going on sale next week.

New Japan announced this morning that tickets will go on sale August 1, next Wednesday, starting at 10:00 a.m. PST. Prices will start at $50 and will go up as high as $300 for Arena Premium Gold seats. Those who who get Premium Gold or Silver tickets will receive a currently unknown limited edition gift.

This would be the third show New Japan has ran in California this year. They started with Long Beach back in March, where the Golden Lovers defeated the Young Bucks in the main event. Earlier this month they ran the Cow Palace in San Francisco where Omega defeated Cody to retain the IWGP title. Fighting Spirit Unleashed will be bringing New Japan back to Long Beach for the second time this year.

Fighting Spirit Unleashed will take place on September 30 at the Walter Pyramid.

Another confirmation of one of pro wrestling's worst-kept-secrets is a Combat Zone Wrestling advertisement that just came out for the promotion's Saturday night New Heights show in Voorhees, New Jersey that is advertising, "Don't miss one of Matt Riddle's final indy appearances before going to WWE!"

Riddle has pulled out of a number of dates, most notably SummerSlam weekend and dates in September over the past week, including being replaced by Trevor Lee in PWG's Battle of Los Angeles.

It is widely expected WWE will announce Riddle at the NXT show in Brooklyn, or some time around that period and he will start in NXT imminently.
Link: https://www.f4wonline.com/sites/www.f4wonline.com/files/field/image/czwmattriddle.jpg

Ring Warriors announced today that current Impact Wrestling Champion Austin Aries will be working their TV tapings on 8/8 and 8/9 in Las Vegas following a back and forth on social media that ended with Aries declaring he was coming to the tapings and wouldn't be alone:

Well @RingWarriorsNet, I have plenty Title Belts. What I really want? My own playground with its own TV show...say on @wgnamerica?

So I’m coming for more than the @RingWarriorsNet Grand Championship. I’m coming for it all...and I’m not coming alone.#TheTruth #TheGameChanger https://t.co/WmiEuVn29l
— Austin Aries (@AustinAries) July 26, 2018

PWInsider.com has confirmed, however, that Aries will be doing a lot more than just performing at the TV tapings. Aries will be working behind the scenes on both the creative and operational aspect of Ring Warriors, which will debut on WGN America this September on Saturday mornings.
Link: https://twitter.com/AustinAries/status/1022518832034930688

The WWE reported their second-quarterly report on Thursday, which covered the period from April through June, including WrestleMania 34. ...

As of June 30th, the WWE Network had a total of 1,787,000 worldwide subscribers with 1,742,000 of those paid subscribers (1,272,000 U.S., 470,000 International). To analyze their retention rate from WrestleMania, on April 9th the network had a worldwide total of 2,124,000 subscribers with 1,808,000 paid and 316,000 free subscribers.

For the entirety of the second quarter, they averaged 1,800,000 paid subscribers as compared to 1,634,000 for the second quarter of 2017.

ROH is trying to book C.M. Punk for the Madison Square Garden show on 4/6. We’re told the chances of this happening are slim as he’s told those close to him that he doesn’t have any interest in doing pro wrestling.

Harold Meij visited Hiromu Takahashi in the hospital this past week. Takahashi’s actual injuries still haven’t been revealed, but given it’s 18 days as of this writing after the match at the Cow Palace and he’s not home, that wouldn’t be a good thing

The company currently has 24 full-time women on the main rosters, not including Stephanie McMahon and Nikki Bella. Stephanie McMahon didn’t answer directly as to whether or not she’d perform on the show. She did say that the rumored women’s tag team titles idea that went around during the week would happen, but not right now. Paul Levesque spoke to Sky Sports and said it was up to the fans if this would be a one-time thing, noting that they don’t need to do an annual women’s only or men’s only show, but can it be a regular show, he said it could be if the fans want it to be and they will decide based on the fan reaction. There are another 30 woman wrestlers under contract between NXT and the U.K. division.

Due to TNA taping on 8/12 and 8/13, Don Callis won’t be there for the final three nights of G-1, so Kevin Kelly & Rocky Romero are going to be the broadcast team. Callis is expected back for the big shows going forward as the way the tapings work and New Japan big shows fall, there won’t be another date conflict for the rest of the year as things stand right now

There are reports that Alex Shelley (Patrick Martin, 35) announced his retirement at the last tapings. He cut a promo saying what we had already reported, that he was taking time off to finish school and heal up. His contract here expires before he’ll be back in action so he’d be a free agent at that time. But ROH did bring him to television for a promo. There are wrestlers tweeting that thanked him for wrestling and acted like he is retiring, and those in ROH were of the belief he was retiring

Chris Jericho, who at first said that he would never work in the U.S. for anyone (and turned down New Japan’s Long Beach and Cow Palace shows), but WWE, has teased the idea he’d be interested in doing the MSG show. He’s also teased he’d be open to work for Impact. Don Callis, who was the brains behind the original Jericho vs. Omega idea, since he was friends with both, may open the door and Jericho did love their PPV this past weekend. Callis and Jericho talk all the time

WWE is attempting to trademark the term Starrcade for pro wrestling, which indicates they are going to follow up and do another Starrcade show in the Carolinas probably in November

The ten most watched shows of this past week on the WWE Network were: 1. Table for 3 with Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat and Angle; 2. Extreme Rules; 3. Elias Live from Bourbon Street; 4. NXT from 7/18; 5. Table for 3 with Bruce Prichard, JBL and Eric Bischoff; 6. 205 Live from 7/17; 7. WrestleMania 2018; 8. Money in the Bank 2018; 9. Something Else to Wrestle With with Conrad Thompson and Bruce Prichard on C.M. Punk; 10. Greatest Royal Rumble

Some other sheet news includes:

Seems Jason Jordan is currently dealing with a "Daniel Bryan" type situation in the WWE. PWI reported he still has yet to be medically cleared from his recent neck injury even though he's already past WWE's timetable for his return. Rumor going around online is Jordan's doctors have cleared him but WWE refuses to do the same for unknown reasons.
According to the Observer, a deal between Matt Riddle and WWE is likely already done but similar to other recent contracts, WWE is keeping things quiet until they make the official announcement first.
Also according to the Observer, NJPW is likely going to make a strong push to sign Shinsuke Nakamura once his current WWE deal expires in a few months.
Based on some data from WWE's recent investor's meeting, WWE's Saudi deal is rumored to be worth in the range of $49 million per year. https://twitter.com/mookieghana/status/1022462477643202560
Sports Illustrated had a recent interview with Chris Jericho talking about changing his character for NJPW, his new "goth" look, and the Alpha Club vs. Bullet Club match at his upcoming cruise event. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0726/644184/chris-jericho-talks-differences-with-his-character-in-wwe-and/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Toni Storm Added to Mae Young Classic (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/toni-storm-added-to-mae-young-classic/)
There’s Been Talk About The Rock Returning to the Ring at WrestleMania 35 (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/theres-been-talk-about-the-rock-returning-to-the-ring-at-wrestlemania-35/)
Various: Average Size of WWE Champs, Reigns vs. Tonga, Impact Schedule (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/various-avgerage-size-of-wwe-champs-reigns-vs-tonga-impact-schedule/)
WWE Reports Record Revenue in Q2 2018, Stock Hits All Time High (http://www.tpww.net/2018/07/wwe-reports-record-revenue-in-q2-2018-stock-hits-all-time-high/)

Emperor Smeat

07-27-2018, 09:20 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random NXT moment:
https://uproxx.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/izzy-finn-balor-1.jpg

The 7/26 edition of Impact did 299,000 overnight viewers, up from last week's 275,000 overnight viewers.

The first trailer for WWE: Outside the Box, which is being produced by the team behind Robot Chicken and Camp WWE, was released
Link: https://youtu.be/NT-e4uXRpGA

Do you guys think it's a great idea to have the ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden go head-to-head with NXT Takeover just across the river at the Barclays Center? That is some heavy competition right there. In my opinion, it would be better suited to that Friday instead where fans can attend all the big shows.

If it was my call, I would start the ROH/New Japan show at 2 PM Eastern on Saturday for several reasons. One, there’s no reason to split the audience with the NXT crowd. Two, it sets the stage for a show NXT has to beat from an in-ring perspective. Three (and most importantly) ROH likes to run long with their major events. They are going to be running a major league, union-run building and if they run late, it’s going to cost them an insane amount of money. The earlier they start, the more leeway they will have to go as long as they want. They won't run a three hour show and they don’t want to be running MSG until 1 AM, especially when it’s going to be the most expensive investment in the history of Ring of Honor.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

Indies Roundup:

The latest episode of the National Wrestling Alliance's Ten Pounds of Gold was released this afternoon, covering NWA Champion Nick Aldis vs. Flip Gordon over the weekend in Nashville and the "All In" showdown between Aldis and Cody.

This week’s episode of Lucha Underground averaged 125,000 viewers on the El Rey Network featuring the Gift of the Gods Match. The show was down 10,000 viewers from the week prior. After seven episodes this season, the show is averaging 120,000 viewers in their Wednesday night timeslot.

After advertising that their show in Voorhees, New Jersey tomorrow will be “one of Matt Riddle’s final indy appearances before going to WWE,” CZW has changed it to just say that it will be one of Riddle’s final indie appearances.

Gail Kim posted a tweet in response to someone who said they wanted to see her on WWE’s Evolution PPV: “Happy for the women in the company but if I ever made. Return, it would only be for @IMPACTWRESTLING.” She then followed up on that when asked why she isn’t interested in returning to WWE: “Bc I’ve been there twice. I have never been happy there. Life is about happiness. Impact Wrestling is my happiness. It’s not about money sometimes.... people just don’t understand that.”

ROH announced Tenille Dashwood vs. Chardonnay and Punishment Martinez vs. Delirious for their Honor Re-United tour show in Doncaster on August 18.
NWA: https://youtu.be/hTGCQgP_J9s , Kim: https://twitter.com/gailkimITSME/status/1022256635597578240 & https://twitter.com/gailkimITSME/status/1022257566556909568

The G1 Climax tournament has hit the mid-way point following the first nine shows and return Saturday in Nagoya. Saturday’s card will be a B Block show and kicks off at 5 am Eastern on New Japan World with the following card:
*Kenny Omega (4-0) vs. Sanada (3-1)
*Tetsuya Naito (3-1) vs. Hirooki Goto (2-2)
*Tomohiro Ishii (2-2) vs. Kota Ibushi (2-2)
*Juice Robinson (0-4) vs. Toru Yano (1-3)
*Tama Tonga (1-3) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (2-2)
*Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs. Michael Elgin & David Finlay
*Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shota Umino vs. Yoshi-Hashi & SHO
*Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado vs. EVIL & Bushi
*Jay White & YOH vs. Hangman Page & Chase Owens
*Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Loa vs. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare

Keith Lee wrestled at his first NXT house show tonight in Jacksonville. He defeated Dan Matha in 15 seconds.

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent SEC filing by the WWE revealed its role with Vince's plans for the XFL's revival. Mostly dealt with stuff that was previously reported in the sheets. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119181/wwes-connection-to-the-xfl-and-how-it-will-affect-vince-mcmahons-role.html?p=1
Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had Beth Phoenix as one of the guests talking about WWE's upcoming Evolution event. https://art19.com/shows/ecs-pod-of-awesomeness/episodes/cc32a4e3-6de9-4e3a-a8b6-f6bf46ab5a66
Website Collider had a recent interview with The Miz and one of the topics talked about included how Total Divas prepared him for his own reality series. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0727/644220/the-miz-on-how-total-divas-played-into-him-saying-yes-to-miz-and/
Florida newspaper the News-Press had a recent interview with Charlotte talking about getting reactions from crowds, being a homegrown talent in WWE, and WWE's Women's division. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0727/644212/carmella-talks-women-main-eventing-as-the-norm-now/
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Triple H (49), Dolph Ziggler (38), and "Hangman" Adam Page (27) all celebrated their birthdays today.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

MMA “Horsewoman” Marina Shafir Makes NXT Wrestling Debut (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/mma-horsewoman-marina-shafir-makes-nxt-wrestling-debut/)
Juice Robinson Says He “Ain’t Ever Going Back” to WWE (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/juice-robinson-says-he-aint-ever-going-back-to-wwe/)
Videos: Nikki on Cena, DDP at WWE PC, Tyler Breeze Wrestles at NXT (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/videos-nikki-on-cena-ddp-at-wwe-pc-tyler-breeze-wrestles-at-nxt/)
Japanese Wrestler Meiko Satomura Added to Mae Young Classic (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/japanese-wrestler-meiko-satomura-added-to-mae-young-classic/)

slik

07-30-2018, 03:38 PM

Flip Gordon signs new contract to keep him with Ring of Honor until 2020

-Fightful.com

Emperor Smeat

07-31-2018, 10:11 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Countdown till the Arrival of the Era of Joe:
https://i.imgur.com/mLDOZiv.gif

The return of Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey last night led to Raw doing 2.90 million viewers on average, actually beating the final average on June 19 by 1,000 viewers. It was the best number for the show since April 30.

The big takeaway was that the audience grew strongly in hour two, and while it fell in hour three, the 2.82 million viewers for hour three was the best since April ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.88 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.01 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.82 million viewers

Kazuchika Okada will return to Ring of Honor this September at Death Before Dishonor.

ROH announced this afternoon that he will be a part of a ten man tag team featuring stars from both Ring of Honor and New Japan. Okada will team with CHAOS teammates Baretta, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero and Chucky T against Bullet Club members Cody, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Marty Scurll and Hangman Page.
Link: https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/1024414255934779393

Sunday’s Total Bellas season three finale averaged 617,000 total viewers and a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demo. While the rating was down, viewership was slightly up from last week. The finale was down from the past two years, but average viewership for the season was up from season two and only down slightly from season one.

Indies Roundup:

A GoFundMe has been started to help with funeral expenses for Tracy Caddell, the father of Trevor Lee and a former wrestler and promoter. The campaign has reached more than its goal, with Lee writing that any extra will go to having a headstone made and to support Caddell’s fiancee.

LA Park has been announced for MLW’s War Games show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 6.

Daisuke Sekimoto is set for Fight Club: PRO’s August 31 show in Wolverhampton, England.

The band Downstait are releasing the official theme song for All In this Friday.

Major League Wrestling is moving to sign a number of their talents to contracts, PWInsider.com has learned. Former MLW Champion Shane Strickland is confirmed to have signed a "long-term" contract.

PWInsider.com has confirmed that Ring of Honor has signed Joey Matthews (aka Joey Mercury during his time in WWE) to a deal to work for the company both as a trainer at their training academy but also as a producer behind the scenes. Matthews has always had a great mind for the business so this is a big positive for the company.

For those who have asked about the Ring of Honor/New Japan G1 Supercard next year at Madison Square Garden, it will be a Saturday evening event.

Ring Warriors announced today that DDT star Shigiro Irie has been added to their TV tapings next month at the Sam's Town Casino in Las Vegas for the promotion's debut this September on WGN America.

Jado has been out of action since July 20th due to a left foot injury and New Japan has announced he will miss the rest of the G1 tour. Jado had been working on the undercards of the G1 shows in tag matches. Jado last wrestled on July 20th at Korakuen Hall in a tag match with Yoshi-Hashi against Tetsuya Naito and Bushi.
Trevor Lee: https://www.gofundme.com/unexpected-death-of-a-great-man , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/07/30/la-park-returns-to-mlw-september-6-in-fort-lauderdale/ , Fight Club Pro: https://twitter.com/Fightclubpro/status/1024367289402122242 , All In: https://twitter.com/DownstaitBand/status/1024328144256479232

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation stated they believe there was no foul play in the death of Brian Lawler, and nobody believed there was. Lawler was found hanging in the jail cell he was living in solitary on Saturday night. Corrections officers administered CPR until paramedics arrived. He was rushed to Regional One Medical Center in Memphis where he passed away.

WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall has been at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida this week, working in the ring with NXT and PC talents.

Beth Phoenix was at the PC last week.
Link: https://youtu.be/05ShjmogUO0

We are told that the current plan is for Mauro Ranallo to be one of the lead announcers for the Mae Young Classic tournament next month.

Former WWE Raw Women's Champion Nia Jax, who was off the road this past weekend, posted on social media that she was rehabbing. No word yet what her potential injury might be.

The current card for the WWE live event from Osaka, Japan on August 31 looks like this:

* Titus Worldwide vs. The Revival
* The Riott Squad vs. Ember Moon, Dana Brooke and Natalya
* Finn Balor vs. Jinder Mahal
* Elias vs. Bobby Lashley
* Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
* Kairi Sane vs. Mickie James
* Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax with RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss as special referee
* WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak
* Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre and WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler
* Appearances by RAW Tag Team Champions The B Team, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Bobby Roode and Bray Wyatt

No word yet on what kind of injury Mickie James is suffering from but RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss noted on last night's RAW that her best friend is currently out of action because she's injured. Mickie wrote the following on Twitter and told fans she will be back soon:

Thanks for all the love everyone. I'll be back soon. I tell ya what @AlexaBliss_WWE I couldn't have picked a better friend & ally myself than in @AliciaFoxy . You both looked and did so amazing last night! #FoxyLady ?? ??????? https://t.co/juBObMR0yc
— Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) July 31, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/MickieJames/status/1024314980588507137

WWE has a new poll asking fans if WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is above authority after he hit the F5 on RAW General Manager Kurt Angle last night. As of this writing, 53% voted yes while the rest went with no.

Brock Lesnar's behavior on Raw this week nearly cost Paul Heyman his job with WWE when The Beast Incarnate didn't want to leave his comfortable dressing room and appear in the ring. Lesnar is booked for one more Raw before SummerSlam to continue building toward his match against Roman Reigns.

Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Lesnar is scheduled to be at the August 13th Raw in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex will host the go-home Raw before SummerSlam.

Heyman is scheduled to be at the Raw in Greensboro as well. Angle came close to firing The Advocate this week on Raw, but Lesnar's last-minute appearance saved Heyman's job, although Lesnar assaulted Heyman as well.

Some other sheet news:

2K Games announced WWE 2K19 will include a new Tower mode feature. https://wwe.2k.com/news/wwe-2k19-towers/
WWE announced their Youtube channel recently reached 30 million subscribers. https://www.wwe.com/article/wwes-official-youtube-channel-reaches-30-million-subscribers?sf194555937=1
WWE recently released a tribute video in honor of the passing of Nikolai Volkoff. https://youtu.be/50LhVy4VUuk
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is both the 39th anniversary of Roddy Piper's WWF tv debut and 2nd anniversary of his passing.
Update to WWE's deal with Saudi Arabia as the Observer's Dave Meltzer reported the actual amount is around $45 million per year for 10 years.
Recent episode of The Ross Report podcast had Chris Jericho as the guest talking about ways to get Reigns cheered during matches and the biggest problem with heel turns in the WWE. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0731/644337/chris-jericho-on-problem-with-turning-roman-reigns-heel/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty Comment on Brian Christopher’s Death (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/rikishi-scotty-2-hotty-comment-on-brian-christophers-death/)
Jerry Lawler Makes First Public Comments on Brian Christopher’s Death (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/jerry-lawler-makes-first-public-comments-on-brian-christophers-death/)
Lince Dorado and Mustafa Ali Injured (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/lince-dorado-and-mustafa-ali-injured/)
Three New Wrestlers Added to Mae Young Classic, Including Madison Rayne (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/three-new-wrestlers-added-to-mae-young-classic-including-madison-rayne/)
Rey Mysterio/Young Bucks Match Added to All In – Updated Card (https://www.tpww.net/2018/07/rey-mysterio-young-bucks-match-added-to-all-in-updated-card/)

slik

08-01-2018, 01:06 PM

Daniel Bryan has heat on him for using the phrase 'WWE's announcement' during his promo on SDLive talking about EVOLUTION. Talent has been instructed to say 'Stephanie's announcement' or 'Stephanie and HHH's announcement' when referring to EVOLUTION in promos.

- Sean Ross Sapp, Fightful

08-01-2018, 08:45 PM

insert black dick here

Emperor Smeat

08-01-2018, 09:15 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Brock Lesnar's Stance on the Red Brand:
https://i.imgur.com/n7kEbvf.gif

Coming off the previous night's Raw posting a three-month high in the ratings, SmackDown followed suit with a three-percent increase from last week's number. This Tuesday's 2.401 million viewers was the highest total for the brand since the May 1 episode of the show.

The bad news is that the year-over-year ratings for SmackDown were down for the seventh straight week and 12th in the last 13.

SmackDown finished fifth for the night in total viewers on cable but topped the 18-49 demo with a 0.75 rating.

Miz and Mrs., which immediately followed SmackDown on the USA Network, had its ratings hold up fairly well from last Tuesday's season premiere. Episode two did 1.303 million viewers. It finished 12th for the night in total viewers and third in the 18-49 demo, much better than any of the non-WWE programming on USA.

Another member of the New Japan Pro Wrestling roster is set for Ring of Honor's next pay-per-view.

ROH announced today that Jushin Thunder Liger will be wrestling at Death Before Dishonor in Las Vegas on Friday, September 28. Liger last appeared for ROH as part of their War of the Worlds tour with NJPW in May. He also wrestled against Rocky Romero at NJPW's event with CEO Fighting Game Championships in Orlando this summer.

Link: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/jushin-thunder-liger-returns-roh-vegas

Tye Dillinger and Cedric Alexander have both issued apologies after old tweets where they joked about rape were uncovered. In 2011, Dillinger wrote “Its not rape if they’re sleeping.” He apologized for the tweet last night: “I have no excuse for my old tweets. I was a different person six years ago, and I’m beyond ashamed at what I considered ‘humor’ . I’m so damn embarrassed and I’m truly sorry to anyone I’ve offended.” In 2012, Alexander wrote “Its not rape if you yell SURPRISE!” and sent out another similar tweet later that year. He apologized today: “Six years ago I found ‘humor’ in bad jokes. At the time it was a harmless joke between friends. In those 6 years I've become a father, husband & grown into a much different man. I have offended and hurt many with my past and for that I am deeply sorry & apologize for my actions”
Tye: https://twitter.com/WWEDillinger/status/1024499519340400641 , Cedric: https://twitter.com/CedricAlexander/status/1024682126808174592

It's worth noting that Cedric activated the @Tweet_Delete app on his account yesterday to delete all old tweets, with the exception of a re-tweet before making the apology.

The WWE has not commented on either individual. The jokes were very tasteless and obviously, the subject of rape should never be joked about or to be made light of. The tweets were made years ago, and I feel the apologies for the jokes should be enough. That said, you cannot predict how the WWE will react to a story like this when the empowerment of women is such a major part of the promotion’s present image. This should also be a lesson for aspiring performers of properly using online media and understanding that what you send out to the world could have detrimental effects on your career years down the road.

The general election to decide the next mayor of Knox County, Tennessee is taking place tomorrow. Glenn Jacobs (Kane) is expected to easily defeat Democrat Linda Haney.

Kairi Sane and Akira Tozawa have been announced for WWE’s house show in Osaka, Japan on August 31.
Link: https://www.sportingnews.com/jp/wwe/news/8%E6%9C%8831%E6%97%A5%E9%96%8B%E5%82%AC%E3%81%AEwwe%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA%E5%85%AC%E6%BC%94wwe-live-osaka%E3%81%AB%E6%88%B8%E6%BE%A4%E9%99%BD%E3%82%AB%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AA%E3%82%BB%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E5%8 F%82%E6%88%A6%E6%B1%BA%E5%AE%9A-%E8%BF%BD%E5%8A%A0%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E7%99%BA%E8%A1%A8/13exdxoacwb321krq8ah6fiaj8

Indies Roundup:

After their last event at the venue sold out almost immediately, there are still plenty of tickets left for NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California on September 30. Tickets went on sale at 1 p.m. Eastern time today.

ROH announced that this month’s three Honor Re-United tour shows won’t be airing live on HonorClub. They’re being shown live exclusively on Fite TV, with ROH noting that they’ll be available on demand on HonorClub “at a later date.”

ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. Adam Brooks in a non-title proving ground match is set for the Honor Re-United show in Edinburgh on August 16. Brooks will get a future shot at the title if he wins.

beIN Sports, which is the TV home of MLW, has been taken off Comcast/Xfinity amid a carriage dispute between the two sides. MLW airs on the station on Friday nights and then uploads their TV shows on YouTube at 6:05 p.m. Eastern time the next day.

The build to Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes at All In continued in the NWA’s latest video.

There were a lot of eliminations from the B Block after Wednesday’s G1 card. Kenny Omega remains unbeaten in the tournament after pinning Zack Sabre Jr. and moving up to 12 points and a 6-0 record. Omega, Tetsuya Naito, and Kota Ibushi are the only ones alive in the B Block. Zack Sabre Jr., Tomohiro Ishii, Sanada and Hirooki Goto were eliminated after today’s show and join Tama Tonga, Toru Yano and Juice Robinson in those that are out. The big matches for the B Block this weekend are Saturday in Osaka with Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii.
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/honor-reunited-stream-live-fite-tv & https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/1024397442995970048 , Lethal: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/can-international-star-adam-brooks-prove-himself-against-roh-world-champion , NWA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YsCB4-lj-c

Another excerpt from Shinsuke Nakamura’s book:

You had no choice but to do what the company wanted. But then Kazuyuki Fujita refused to accept a match with Brock Lesnar for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship which was scheduled to be the main event. Given your previous track record, you were selected to take his place and be the challenger.

“Part of that was luck. But that match was seriously rough. First, Lesnar was saying all this stuff about how he respected New Japan, but it felt to me like that was just for show, that he didn't really respect the promotion. Like, somewhere, he was looking down on Japanese people. I lost the match, and that was the first time I cried at pro wrestling after a match.”

Why did you cry?

“It was the main event at Tokyo Dome. This was a pretty hallowed stage, and I knew I hadn't fought the way I imagined I would. And there was, like, this temperature difference between me and Lesnar. I didn’t get the sense he had any love for pro wrestling. It felt like he was just doing his job.”

Another match to defend the title was later canceled because of contract trouble with Lesnar. He was stripped of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but be never returned the belt itself; he ended up running off with it.

“I felt like this was too much; he was seriously scoffing at us. Lesnar won the championship and took the belt home, I told Simon if the company didn't get it’s shit in order, that belt was definitely going to get nicked. I didn't honestly believe that when we fought. But it ended up just like I feared. He has the physical stuff, plus a straightforward strength and a certain amount of flexibility, so there was a bit of the monster to him. But I didn't like his personality, you know? He might have made a real mark in UFC, but he didn't even seem to notice the audience booing. I was like, "Oh, this guy's a heel to the core."”
From Nakamura's recently released biography involving working with Lesnar in NJPW.

WWE uploaded a few more "Home Video Classics" yesterday continuing what will be the classic content for the month of August on WWE Network. They added the following titles:

*1989 - Ultimate Warrior
*1989 - Demolition
*1992 - Ultimate Warrior

Destiny Wrestling announced:

Its official - Bad Intentions Saturday Aug 25
will now be a One Night Only @IMPACTWRESTLING TV TAPING!
with special guests just added OVE and @Tess_Blanchard so get your tickets before its sold out https://t.co/gdcBimhMup pic.twitter.com/DBO4LL9A9V
— Destiny Wrestling (@DestinyWrestle) August 1, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/DestinyWrestle/status/1024476355201720321

WWE have applied to trademark Akam, Rezar, The Bludgeon Brothers, and Velveteen Dream.

WWE stock fell to $77.60 today, down $1.51 from yesterday's number, but a couple more executives were able to sell off more stock before the dip in price.

Several World Wrestling Entertainment executives recently sold a combined $160,000 worth of company shares. According to SEC filings, Kevin Dunn and Michelle Wilson have sold even more units of WWE stock.

According to the documents, Kevin Dunn sold another 1000,000 shares of WWE stock at different prices on July 30th. He sold 55,496 at $78.586, 26,804 at $79.683, and 17,700 shares at $80.306. This netted WWE's Executive Vice President of Television Production $7.92 million. He previously sold 122,926 shares for $10.2 million in July.

WWE Co-President Michelle Wilson sold 140,000 shares of WWE stock on July 31st at a price point of $80.03 for $11.2 million. The number is in addition to the $12.1 million she made earlier in July when she unloaded 121,181 shares at $82.52.

Dunn has a remaining amount of 214,170 shares left, while Wilson has slightly more with 223,426 shares of WWE stock. If Dunn and Wilson elected to sell off the rest of their shares in WWE at the current price of $77.60, it would net them an additional $16.6 million and $17.3 million respectively.

Mark Henry was really impressed by Brock Lesnar's performance on RAW this past Monday night. As Lesnar ended Monday Night Raw by not only attacking general manager Kurt Angle, but physically assaulting his long-time manager Paul Heyman, the "World's Strongest Man" took notice.

While appearing on SiriusXM's Busted Open on Tuesday morning, Henry not only complimented Lesnar, but he went so far as to say that it was his best promo ever.

"First of all, I'm going to go on record as saying something that I've never said about Brock Lesnar ever," Henry said. "Best promo he ever cut. When he grabbed Paul Heyman and he said you are not my friend, and he started ripping him. I was like he doesn't need Paul Heyman. That promo was fire. That's what Brock needs to do... I thought that segment was really good."

Henry didn't stop in his praise of Lesnar. He also complimented Heyman for his work, especially in the physical aspect of things.

"Paul Heyman was as spectacular as he always is, playing the role, not only that, but the physical part of it," Henry added. "Because you don't want to see Paul have any physical interaction and he did [on Monday] and he was tremendous. I'm just so happy we were blessed with that."
Link: https://twitter.com/BustedOpenRadio/status/1024369772581007362

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 12th anniversary of the infamous Batista vs Big Show ECW Championship match at the Hammerstein Ballroom and the 5th anniversary of the infamous August 1st Warning reveal in TNA.
Recent episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast show had both Mark Henry and Busted Open Radio's Dave LaGreca as the guests talking about WWE's legacy in MSG. https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/tij-ep478-wwemsg-fullshow
Matt Riddle recently confirmed rumors of him being in talks with the WWE for a possible contract and leaving the indies very soon. Was revealed during a recent interview he had with Sports Illustrated. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0801/644396/matt-riddle-confirms-recent-talks-with-wwe-and-njpw/
Void Magazine had a recent interview with Alicia Fox talking about her recent injury, thoughts on her current character, WWE's Women's division, and more. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0801/644389/alicia-fox-on-her-character/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: SD Dark Matches, Rousey on Colbert (Video), Otunga Robber Story (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-sd-dark-matches-rousey-on-colbert-video-otunga-robber-story/)
Three More Wrestlers Added to Mae Young Classic (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/three-more-wrestlers-added-to-mae-young-classic/)

Mr. Nerfect

08-02-2018, 03:51 AM

Had no clue Brock put his hands on Heyman on Raw. I wonder if when Brock leaves they pair Heyman up with a heel Roman Reigns in order to give Heyman something to do?

#1-norm-fan

08-02-2018, 09:57 AM

Nah. No way they pair Heyman with Reigns or turn him.

I can however see Heyman turning on Brock and then coming out the next night on Raw just assuming Reigns is gonna take him on as his advocate now and then taking a spear.

Mr. Nerfect

08-02-2018, 06:12 PM

Yeah, that's more likely.

Emperor Smeat

08-02-2018, 09:45 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Clothesline & Lariato Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/DqhkPIh.gif

While there are still five more wrestlers left to be confirmed for this year's Mae Young Classic, it doesn't look like one of those spots will be filled by Jazzy Gabert.

The 36-year-old Gabert wrote on Twitter today that she won't be returning for the 2018 tournament: "As you by now might know, I will not be at the #myc this year! The hope was high, I saw your tweets. Thank you for your support! Wishing all the fantastic girls on the Tournament lot of success and most of all FUN! I will be watching" ...

Last December, Gabert revealed that she was offered a WWE contract following the Mae Young Classic but was "disqualified" during medical testing due to having three herniated discs in her neck. She underwent neck surgery earlier this year and has returned to the ring.
Link: https://twitter.com/Jazzy_Gabert/status/1024941485777711105

Indies Roundup:
The ticket prices announced for the CMLL Anniversary show on 9/14 suggests that there will not be an L.A. Park vs. Rush mask vs. hair match as was originally scheduled. Tickets go on sale on Saturday at 11 a.m. Nothing has been announced. There are people in Mexico who are connected who told me earlier this week that the match was now off but they weren't with CMLL. The belief is if that match was happening, the prices would be higher than they are listed.

Matt Taven will be on Monday's CMLL show in Puebla. He was already announced for weekend shows. The top two matches on Monday, which does stream head-to-head with Raw, are Caristico vs. Volador Jr., and Atlantis & Octagon & Taven vs. Cuatrero & Forastero & Sanson.

AAW runs Saturday night in LaSalle, IL at the Knights of Columbus with ACH vs. Jeff Cobb for the AAW title, Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega vs. LAX for the tag titles, Kimber Lee vs. Jessicka Havok for the women's title, Trevor Lee vs. Myron Reed for the Heritage title, Eddie Kingston vs. MVP Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Allie Kat.

Defy Wrestling on 8/10 in Seattle at Washington Hall with Shane Strickland defending the Defy title against Brian Cage, Toni Storm vs. Nicole Matthews plus Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and guest ring announcer Melissa Santos.

Major League Wrestling announced the following: PENTAGON JR. & REY FENIX TO DEFEND MLW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES AGAINST LA PARK & EL HIJO DE LA PARK OCTOBER 4 IN NEW YORK CITY

Rumors all week are true that WWE has now decreed that wrestlers in the U.K. division are no longer allowed to take any bookings over a seven day prior period to a WWE U.K. event. Southside Wrestling noted that both Joseph Conners and Dan Moloney are off their 8/19 show due to that.

As was noted in the latest Observer that this was likely, it is now official that Verizon Fios viewers will no longer have access to Bein Sports due to the inability to come to an agreement on carriage charges with the current contract expiring. Antonio Briceno, the station's USA Deputy Managing Director said that the station offered to extend the current contract with the same rate and terms but Verizon chose to drop the deal. He said Verizon falsely claimed they were trying to get a significant rates increase.
Huge hit to Major League Wrestling due to the amount of markets they have lost for the time being. Official statement from Bein Sports: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119329/bein-sports-statement-on-removal-from-verizon-fios.html?p=1

WWE announced a new book called "Creating the Mania: An Inside Look at how WrestleMania comes to life" by Jon Robinson will be released this coming Tuesday by ECW Press. This will talk about how the storylines were come up with and more.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119326/wwes-newest-book-behind-the-mania-to-be-released-next-week.html?p=1

Kazem Famuyide, an MLW podcaster, has gotten a job with WWE on its writing team. He started earlier this summer on a three-month summer trial.

The third season of WWE Story Time, which features animated retellings of superstar stories, will premiere on the WWE Network following SummerSlam August 19.

WWE Network News revealed today's "Hidden Gem" that will be added to the streaming service will be another clip from OVW Christmas Chaos which happened on January 31, 2001 featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin.

OVW – 01/31/2001

“Raising Hell in OVW Stone Cold Steve Austin takes a rare trip to Ohio Valley Wrestling to leave a stunning impression on both fans and competitors.”

This is actually the second clip WWE has added from this Louisville Garden show recently. A few weeks ago, Kane versus Leviathan a.k.a. Batista was added which features a run in from Steve Austin.

The following "Home Video Classics" have been added to the WWE Network yesterday:
1993: UK Fan Favorites 1993
1994 Paul Bearer--Hits From the Crypt
1995: Shawn Michaels
1997 : Sunny

There has been no hinting on television regarding a John Cena vs. Undertaker match at SummerSlam, with two weeks of television left to take place. The match had gone around in certain circles including insider circles.

SummerSlam will probably have two or three pre-show matches and will go no less than five hours and could go as long as six hours.

This is the last word anyone had heard regarding Hiromu Takahashi and it’s based on the belief from a few weeks ago. The New Japan doctors believe it will be nine to 12 months before he can return. The belief is that he suffered a broken neck, which sounds terrible and that’s why nobody has said anything public. The good news is that they had found no evidence of nerve damage so it’s all about the healing of the bone and making sure it can absorb the type of punishment in a New Japan ring. They were thinking he could get back to training and being athletic in six months, but were looking at the extra three to six months before letting him wrestle because of the type of style he works

Here’s an amazing stat. From August 1995, when he returned to action after missing time after an operation to remove a brain tumor, until June 2018, Jushin Liger wrestled at least one match in every month, which covers 22 years and 11 months. He didn’t wrestle a match in July because he wasn’t booked on the G-1 tour.

For what it’s worth, the fact that not only is Jay Lethal still wrestling, but there was no move to even take the title off him, tells you pretty clearly in this day and age that ROH management doesn’t believe the Taelor Hendrix claim that she was taken off television for not sleeping with him. Even if there is a little bit of doubt that it could be true, in a public company, with the charge out there, in this day and age, the very least they’d do is quietly remove him from shows

A piece of trivia regarding however this ends up going down in the future. The reason Don Callis was brought in to run the company is because Leonard Asper of the Asper family, which owns The Fight Network, Impact and tons of things in Winnipeg (the old Winnipeg connection) had a conversation with Chris Jericho about how the company has lost so much money and all of its problems. Jericho told him that Impact had been run by snakes and that those type of people are only going to rip him off. He went so far as to say that he should hire Callis to run the company or fold the company

There’s been a lot of talk regarding the shoulder programming that FOX is going to do in conjunction with WWE. Keep in mind that FS 1 and FS 2 is losing tons of hours of programming with the loss of UFC, and when we listed the decline in hours for UFC, that was only live fight programming, not the loss of hype shows before and after the events and all the endless hours of replays on both networks. The idea of NXT on FS 1 makes all the sense in the world, but those involved in the process told us it wouldn’t be happening. WWE is interested in keeping that as exclusive network property but FS 1 gives the show wider distribution and my belief is that distribution would also lead to larger crowds for the live events and more merchandise opportunities, plus it’s more programming WWE can sell and it’ll help FS 1 ratings.

What has been talked about are things like FS 1 doing pre-game shows every Friday night before Smackdown and post-game shows on Sundays after PPV shows. Richard Dietsch just reported on the Friday & Sunday ideas this past week. It’s already been reported they are looking at a weekly studio show, perhaps on Wednesday, the WWE version of UFC Tonight. The problem is FS 1 shows of that ilk are supposed to be journalism and not pure hype. One can argue UFC Tonight was more hype but they discussed issues like lawsuits and fighter pay that I wouldn’t expect a WWE show to do on its own. UFC fighters also are a lot more open on interviews because the winning and losing on their own merit and lack of media training leaves them more unfiltered

Those at FOX have said there are no announcements planned right now regarding any new programming and those involved in those deals have said the original FOX deal as far as in-ring wrestling programming goes only involved Smackdown and there was no talk of any other wrestling

There’s been overtures to Fenix and Pentagon Jr., even though as far as I’ve heard both still have three seasons left on their Lucha Underground deals. But they are two of the key guys on the indie scene right now

Another note regarding the 10/28 women’s PPV is that October is the annual Susan G. Komen month on WWE television

Josh Thomson, one of Cain Velasquez’s long-time teammates, did an interview about Velasquez training last week at the Performance Center. Thomson said that Velasquez was looking to fight but he and UFC haven’t come to an agreement so he was looking at his options. Thomson thought that he could retire from fighting and go into pro wrestling, although technically both the UFC and WWE each have contracts that specifically forbid that. Even so, UFC did allow Rousey to do just that since she and Dana White are close, and also allowed Lesnar. C.M. Punk, on the other hand, needed to send legal threats to WWE after already being fired for WWE to not try and legally stand in the way of him fighting in UFC. This is not an athletic thing in the sense Velasquez is a great athlete, but he does come in with a lot of injuries and just turned 36 this past week. And I just don’t see him having a pro wrestling personality. As far as a young Velasquez with his drive, he’d blow everyone away in the drills, work harder than everyone and have more stamina than everyone, but the personality aspect would still be a challenge.

The one WWE should be looking at after he retires is Daniel Cormier as an announcer. Since the company has the doctrine they need an African-American guy in the same third wheel position on every show, Cormier would blow away Coachman on day one, blow away Saxton on day one, and fairly quickly surpass Watson. The only negative is that everyone knows Saxton is good but the role he plays makes him bad, and if they try to take Cormier out of his game and program him to announce WWE style, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t be good either
So if you ever wonder why WWE went with 3 man teams for commentary and why the 3rd guy was always an African American, turns out its because of a mandate from the WWE and not something by pure coincidence.

Regarding the debut of Marina Shafir on 7/26, one person internally noted to us that “It’s really scary how natural these four women (Rousey, Baszler, Shafir and Jessamyn Duke) are in the ring. Just wait until you see Jess and Marina. All four are tremendous in their own way. Maybe recruiting women MMA fighters is going too be the future of the recruitment process.” I could definitely see the idea of WWE going after charismatic or very pretty MMA fighters, especially if they come from markets WWE is looking at recruiting from, in the future. They’ve already had interest in the past in Paige VanZant and while you never know how someone will adapt, she seems a natural with how well she did on “Dancing With The Stars” and the fact she’s unlikely to ever be a championship level MMA fighter, and going forward, WWE exposure is going to be so much more than UFC, that they can open up more doors for them outside of the ring/octagon.

World of Sport did 937,000 viewers between ITV, ITV+1 and ITV HD, which meant that 8.6 percent of people in the U.K. watching television were watching the show. In the U.S. that would be unreal for a wrestling show to do that. Nothing like that has happened since the Attitude Era. A 10:50 a.m. Sunday morning replay did 155,000 viewers.

Big E revealed in his recent TampaBay.com interview that they have looked into releasing some sort of branded pancake product. WWE previously released the BootyO's cereal for the group.

"We've definitely explored trying to do something in that vain," Big E said when asked if there will be New Day frozen pancakes coming soon. "Cereal is easier. Right now our cereal is at FYE and FYE.com. … We're talking to people in licensing for a way for this pancake nonsense to be available to our fans."
Link: https://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/events/Tampa-native-and-WWE-superstar-Big-E-comes-home-with-pancakes_170379590

WWE has a new poll asking fans if Charlotte Flair stole Becky Lynch's thunder on this week's SmackDown. As of this writing, 80% went with yes while the rest went with no. As noted, Flair returned and defeated SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella in a non-title match, earning a spot in the title match at SummerSlam with Becky.

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 26th anniversary of Ron Simmons becoming the first ever African American to win a World Heavyweight championship in professional wrestling. Simmons defeated then champion Big Van Vader for the WCW World title.
WWE added a new collection set in memory of Nikolai Volkoff to the WWE Network earlier today. Entire list of contents in the set via PWI: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119330/wwe-network-adds-nikolai-volkoff-collection.html?p=1
Website Fan Fest had a recent interview with Mick Foley talking about his career being associated the most with Hell in a Cell 1998, Owens homage to Foley at Extreme Rules, and his 1996 Boiler Room Brawl against Taker being one of his favorite moments. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0802/644403/mick-foley-admits-he-was-bothered-by-being-mostly-remembered-for/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Kane Wins Election and Becomes Mayor of Knox County, TN (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/kane-wins-election-and-becomes-mayor-of-knox-county-tn/)
Aleister Black Injured (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/aleister-black-injured/)
Trent Barreta and Chuck Taylor Added to All In (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/trent-barreta-and-chuck-taylor-added-to-all-in/)
Rey Mysterio Likely Returning to WWE After All In (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/rey-mysterio-likely-returning-to-wwe-after-all-in/)
Big Cass Returning to Wrestling, Now Known as “Big Cazz” (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/big-cass-returning-to-wrestling-now-known-as-big-cazz/)
Daniel Bryan’s Contract Expires in a Month and He Still Hasn’t Re-Signed (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/daniel-bryans-contract-expires-in-a-month-and-he-still-hasnt-re-signed/)

Emperor Smeat

08-03-2018, 09:34 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Classic WCW Nitro gif:
https://i.imgur.com/8wkRZsg.gif

Impact Wrestling's positive momentum coming out of Slammiversary XVI hasn't translated to much ratings success.

Last night's Impact averaged 248,000 total viewers on Pop TV, along with a 0.05 rating in the 18-49 demo. That's the show's lowest audience of 2018 and down from last week's 299,000 viewers. There was a moderate post-PPV bump for last week's episode, with it up from the 275,000 that the Slammiversary go-home show did on July 19.

The previous low mark for Impact this year was 254,000 viewers for the episode that aired on June 28.

Impact was also down in the year-over-year ratings, with the August 3, 2017 edition of the show having done 276,000 viewers.

Impact did face competition from the NFL last night. The first preseason game of the year averaged 6.67 million viewers on NBC.

All 32 wrestlers have been confirmed for this summer's Mae Young Classic.

The final five participants were announced for the tournament today, with Sienna, Xia Li, Rachael Ellering, MJ Jenkins, and Zatara rounding out the lineup. Tapings for the tournament will be held at Full Sail University next Wednesday and Thursday, leading into the finals taking place at WWE Evolution on October 28.
Link: https://www.wwe.com/shows/maeyoungclassic/article/mj-jenkins-zatara-xia-li-allysin-kay-rachel-evers

Almost all the women in the Mae Young Classic, which will be taped on Wednesday and Thursday in Orlando, are in Orlando now. Most were in yesterday and the rest were supposed to be in today. They are all there to spend the weekend practicing their matches.

Brian Lawler's funeral took place today in Memphis. Jerry Lawler noted that this was the saddest day of his life. Spellbinder Del Rios, Reggie B. Fine, Kevin Lawler, Tony Williams and other family members spoke at the funeral. Dave Brown led the ten bell salute. They played his entrance music. They had a little red wagon with photos on display stemming from a little red wagon promo he did early in his career in Memphis. Doug Gilbert was one of the pall bearers. Also in attendance were Scott Garland (Scotty 2 Hotty), Rudy Charles from WWE, Matt Riviera, promoter Bert Prentice, Jerry Jarrett, Koko B. Ware, Downtown Bruno and Bill Dundee.

CW30 in Memphis will have a special Brian Christopher tribute edition of “Jerry Lawler’s Classic Memphis Wrestling” this Saturday at 11 am. The visitation and funeral for Brian are today in Cordova, Tennessee and he will be buried at Memorial Gardens in Bartlett, Tennessee.

Indies Roundup:
Michael Elgin suffered a right arm injury in his match with Kazuchika Okada on Monday in Takamatsu. He arm went out catching Okada on a move. There is no word on the severity of the injury but he's expected to get an MRI on it next week. He's still working through the tournament. While he was selling it as part of the story in his match with Bad Luck Fale yesterday, that was all selling and he was telling people it wasn't bothering him in the match.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Fenix for the AAA Mega heavyweight title is now official after last night's AAA TV tapings, for a TripleMania match on 8/25 at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City.

Northeast Wrestling has two major weekend shows, the first being tonight in Norwich, CT at Dodd Stadium with Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Darby Allin and Jack Swagger vs. Flip Gordon, as well as Matt Riddle vs. Brad Hollister and also making appearances are The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, Renee Young, Christian, Corey Graves, King Kong Bundy, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Hart and The Kingdom. They also run tomorrow night for what is annually one of the biggest indie events of the year, The Night Under the Stars at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY with Mysterio Jr. vs. Gordon, Swagger vs. Gunn plus Robbie E, Tenille Dashwood, Young Bucks, Christian, Renee Young, Corey Graves, King Kong Bundy, Tito Santana, Jimmy Hart and Marty Scurll.

Smash Wrestling on 8/26 in Toronto at The Phoenix with Jeff Cobb vs. PCO vs. Brody King, Joey Janela vs. Tyson Dux for the Smash title and Tessa Blanchard vs. Vanessa Kraven.

Tickets for the 9/28 Ring of Honor Death Before Dishonor PPV event at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas as well as their 9/29 TV taping in the same venue officially went on sale at 3 PM Eastern via Ticketmaster.com.

Former Quebecer Pierre Carl Oulette will be working pretty much all the scheduled MLW events going forward, starting with the 9/6 return to Fort Lauderdale event, which will be headlined by Wargames.

This past Wednesday’s episode of Lucha Underground was down to 114,000 viewers, which was their lowest number since July 4th. After eight episodes, the current season is averaging 119,500 viewers per episode on the El Rey Network.

The XFL was wanting to put a team in the Bay Area but isn't having much luck. Both the Oakland Coliseum and the Cal Stadium in Berkeley turned the league down. The Coliseum said the schedule would cause problems in getting the stadium ready for the Oakland A's opening games. Cal simply turned down the XFL's request to play there.

According to sources, there is some backstage speculation that WWE may once again be ending their brand split in 2019 in order to keep their new deal with FOX. WWE officials are reportedly concerned that FOX could back out of the deal due to ratings.

As previously reported here on eWrestlingNews.com, WWE and FOX agreed to a five-year deal back in May that is worth $1.025 billion for SmackDown! to air live on the FOX Network beginning in October 2019. WWE officials, including Vince McMahon, are reportedly worried that FOX could back out of a long-term deal due to the ratings for SmackDown! Live. If this were to happen, WWE would more than likely panic and end the brand split.

It should be noted that the exact details of the FOX-WWE contract are unknown and it’s said that FOX likely couldn’t back out of a deal worth that much so easily. The worst case scenario is that WWE SmackDown! Live would be moved to FS1 if it can’t compete live on Friday night’s.
Link: https://411mania.com/wrestling/new-speculation-wwe-ending-brand-split-due-fox-deal/

Wrestling DVD Network confirmed that there will be a best of WWE 24 DVD release by the end of the year. It had been one of the potential releases we noted earlier in the year was on the planning board. It will likely have a December release.
Link: http://www.wrestlingdvdnetwork.com/best-of-wwe-24-to-close-out-2018-dvd-schedule/158249/

Attorneys for World Wrestling Entertainment filed an application on 8/3 with the United States District Court of Connecticut, seeking to receive the attorney fees the court has ordered they are eligible to receive from attorney Konstantine Kyros following Kyros being sanctions by the court in regard to ongoing concussion-related lawsuits that have been filed against the company. WWE is seeking to be reimbursed for legal fees incurred in connection to the motion for the sanctioning ...

WWE is seeking a total reimbursement of $176,486.74, broken down to $154,745.50 in legal fees for K&L Gates LLP, $19,663 in legal fees for Day Pitney LLP as well as travel and lodging costs for Jerry S. McDevitt and Curtis B. Krasik in the amount of $2078.24 ...

Kyros has until 8/23 to respond to the court.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119355/wwe-seeking-almost-200k-in-legal-reimbursements-following-sanctioning-of-attorney-leading-concussionrelated-lawsuits.html?p=1

Scheduled for the remaining first season episodes of Miz & Mrs. on the USA Network:
8/7 - "When Daddy Mike and The Miz's worlds collide, mother-in-law Marjo steps in to daddy duties."

8/14 "The big day arrives! But can Maryse convince her mom that the delivery room will be off limits?"

8/21 - "Mike, Maryse, Monroe, Marjo, and four pets make the move from LA to Austin. What could go wrong?"

8/28 - "Mike and Maryse trade designer shoes for cowboy boots as they embrace their new life in Texas."

The election victory of WWE star Glenn "Kane" Jacobs in the race to become Mayor of Knox County, TN has received a LOT of mainstream media attention over the last twelve hours.

The former WWF Champion addressed his supporters last night in his acceptance speech:

Here’s a clip from his speech. pic.twitter.com/oeA85HefBp
— Travis Dorman (@travdorman) August 3, 2018

WWE issued the following:

Congratulations to @KaneWWE on being elected Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee! https://t.co/I4E5YQhYCC
— WWE (@WWE) August 3, 2018
Kane: https://twitter.com/travdorman/status/1025194715258519552 , WWE: https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1025190178602864640

As previously noted on PWInsider.com, WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall was at the WWE Performance Center helping with in-ring training of NXT and PC talents earlier this week.

PWInsider.com can also confirm that Hall was joined by Kevin Nash as well at the PC with the duo giving advise and assistance.

Cody Rhodes announced "All In" by Downstrait will be the official theme for the event. You can listen to it on iTunes, or hear a clip of it in the video below (12:55 mark).

Here it is! One of the official songs for @ALL_IN_2018 @DownstaitBand strikes again!

Here on iTunes: https://t.co/3OikpdGEyI pic.twitter.com/RBjOSkc75s
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) August 3, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1025388903455444993

Thursday marked the 20-year anniversary of Sunday Night Heat, which served as a supplement program to Raw as well as a preview show on pay-per-view nights. Heat holds a special meaning to Trish Stratus as she made her WWE debut on the show (on the March 19, 2000 episode). In honor of its 20th anniversary, Trish has counted down her top 10 Heat moments.

You guys, remember Sunday Night Heat?? Can u believe it premiered 20 years ago? Here's some of my Heat moments, including the kick off for my rivalry with @REALLiSAMARiE + number 1 is super special! https://t.co/tsBJyF86BI
— Trish Stratus (@trishstratuscom) August 3, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/trishstratuscom/status/1025456585437532160

Above is new video of Liv Morgan revealing the origin of her blue tongue - blue candy. Liv says she's been doing the blue tongue since coming to RAW with the rest of The Riott Squad, and it became a thing by accident but she likes it and no one has complained, so she hopes to keep doing it.
Link: https://youtu.be/3SedvdSnAxk

WWE SmackDown is scheduled to go to Friday nights on Fox beginning October 19, 2019, but it looks like there could be more WWE programming on the Fox networks.

There is said to be a very good chance that FS1 will air a SmackDown pre-show each Friday night, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. There's also talk of FS1 hosting post-shows following major WWE pay-per-view events, such as SummerSlam.

Regarding on-air talents for the potential WWE pre-shows and post-shows on FS1, Deitsch noted that the talents would be hired by Fox but there would likely be some kind of approval from WWE.

It was reported earlier this summer that there was talk of doing a weekly WWE studio show on FS1, perhaps on Wednesday nights.
Link: https://theathletic.com/446290/2018/07/26/media-mailbag-what-is-going-on-with-espns-get-up-how-a-school-goes-about-credentialing-media-how-to-cover-mike-trout-and-more/

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had Luke Harper as the guest. https://art19.com/shows/ecs-pod-of-awesomeness/episodes/eb965366-dd0c-4f39-92be-fd421edb3ce2
For those interested, PWI compiled a list of all the upcoming WWE DVD sets arriving during the rest of this year. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/118704/updated-schedule-of-wwe-dvd-releases.html?p=1

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy Added to SummerSlam – Updated Card (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/nakamura-vs-jeff-hardy-added-to-summerslam-updated-card/)
Johnny Impact Injured During Photo Shoot (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/johnny-impact-injured-during-photo-shoot/)
All 32 Competitors in Mae Young Classic Revealed (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/all-32-competitors-in-mae-young-classic-revealed/)

Mr. Nerfect

08-04-2018, 10:10 AM

I really doubt FOX would have entered a deal with WWE not knowing they were getting a B-show on Friday nights. I don't know why they'd gamble with the promise of a product the WWE just does not produce and has not produced in a number of years. I'm not TV contracts guy, but I imagine the deal is pretty set in stone with the out clause being if SmackDown performs woefully bad. I imagine it would have to be something out of the television norm. So ratings going down 10% is probably not going to affect them. Going down 20%? I can't imagine why FOX wouldn't have something built in to cut bait if SmackDown suddenly becomes poison property.

Emperor Smeat

08-07-2018, 10:01 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by NOTHING:

Raw last night, built around Ronda Rousey's show in-ring debut, did 2.80 million viewers, down three percent from last week, although last week was the best number since April 30 ...

Rousey kept the third-hour drop to be much lower than usual, only 126,000 viewers. Last week's third-hour drop was 197,000 viewers from hour two, and that was better than usual. If there was a Rousey effect notable, it was that women 18-49 grew five percent during a period it usually falls. However, the heavy-women emphasized third hour, with the final two bouts being women's matches, saw the men's 18-49 demo drop six percent from hour two to three, a demo that usually holds steadier.

Rousey's first match did not crack the Google search rankings, so it didn't have the mainstream buzz what would lead to unusually good numbers.

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.83 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.85 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.73 million viewers

PWinsider reported that Hogan, who lives in Florida, is backstage at SmackDown in Orlando tonight. They noted that Mae Young Classic participant Kaitlyn is also backstage
Link: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119446/backstage-at-smackdown-in-orlando-are.html?p=1

Madison Rayne and Mia Yim were interviewed by TVInsider ahead of the Mae Young Classic. Rayne spoke about wanting to be signed by WWE after the tournament: “That’s 100 percent my hope. That’s 100 percent my goal. That’s what I’m training for and mentally preparing myself for because I think if you don’t go into something like this prepared to make it to the finals and to win the finals and watch your career take off in an entirely new direction, then you're short-changing yourself.”
Link: https://www.tvinsider.com/707008/ashley-rayne-mae-young-classic-wwe-contract/

Indies Roundup:
Michael Elgin tweeted an update on his bicep injury and noted that no serious damage was found: “Update - no tear in the bicep. Some scratches to the muscle and bruising/injury to the bicep head. A couple weeks of light pulling movements (but I just trained back and a few sets of biceps so it's good to go) well ok, it was painful. But no servere damage”

MLW announced that John Hennigan, Tommy Dreamer, Shane Strickland, Kotto Brazil & Barrington Hughes will face Sami Callihan, Jimmy Havoc, Leon Scott, Sawyer Fulton & a partner that has yet to be announced in a War Games match at their show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 6.

ROH announced that they’ll be coming to Stage AE in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 3 for a set of TV tapings. Survival of the Fittest 2018 will then take place in Columbus, Ohio on November 4. The winner will earn a future shot at the ROH World Championship.

PCW has an iPPV on 9/7 with Tessa Blanchard vs. Diamante. Blanchard will be auctioning off her Slammiversary ring jacket. Warbeast vs. Reno Scum was also announced

Week two ratings for World of Sport do not look good. The preliminary number for yesterday's show was 609,000 viewers, down 34 percent from last week. The reality is they didn't have anything that compelled people to return, and since the show reached an older age group, they were likely watching due to nostalgia, which never holds up long-term. The final number will probably rise slightly, but this could not have been a worse sign.

Northeast Wrestling is bringing in Ultimo Guerrero to face Flip Gordon on its 8/11 show in Bethany, CT. JT Dunn, Brian Milonas, Brad Hollister and Robbie E are also on the show.

Eve has a double main event no 8/11 in London at the Resistance Gallery at Bethnal Green with Kay Lee Ray vs. Viper.

Based on the announced lineup of the "All In" event thus far, it would appear Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr. is the next headline bout to be announced. At one point in the planning of the event, Omega vs. Rey Mysterio was on the drawing board.

FITE TV will be carrying “Joey Janela’s Lost in New York”, which is being put on by Game Changer Wrestling over SummerSlam weekend. The event will cost $13.99 on FITE and will likely feature Matt Riddle’s final independent match for the foreseeable future.

The Crash has announced that women’s champion Tessa Blanchard will return on September 8th for a card in Tijuana.

Elgin: https://twitter.com/MichaelElgin25/status/1026725223683510272 , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/roh-returns-pittsburgh-and-columbus-november

New Japan has taken disciplinary action against Tama Tonga following what they are calling 'inappropriate conduct'.

NJPW’s official English site released a statement this morning saying “NJPW takes actions taken by our wrestlers seriously. In light of recent inappropriate conduct by Tama Tonga including SNS usage, the company has decided to take disciplinary actions against said wrestlers, and will issue updated guidelines to all wrestlers.”

Tama Tonga has been making waves on social media, specifically Twitter, since splitting from the Bullet Club and forming his own faction with the Guerillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale, including trading barbs with the likes of Roman Reigns. He was recently suspended from the service for a short period of time. Reasons for the suspension were not made clear, but tweets insulting fans using profane language have since been deleted. There was also an incident on a recent G1 card where he grabbed a fan by the throat after a match.

His most recent tweet was a video posted on August 5 where he was shown littering in a public area.

Link: https://www.njpw1972.com/33832

There was a lot of talk regarding an incident at the Revolution Pro show at the Cockpit in London today[Sunday]. Kurtis Chapman wrestled Chris Ridgeway. Sam Adonis came out and made a number of homophobic slurs, the f word, the h word and also used slurs directed at mentally disabled. The crowd was upset, with a large section turning their back on him and chanting "Don't bring him back." It hurt the crowd until the main event. Promoter Andy Quildan seemed upset and offered an apology before the main event started saying that everyone was welcome at RevPro.
For some reference, Sam Adonis is Corey Graves brother. Since the incident, Graves hasn't commented on this or his thoughts on what occurred at the event.

With his time as an independent wrestler soon coming to an end, Matt Riddle lost the EVOLVE Championship at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Shane Strickland defeated Riddle in a hardcore rules match at EVOLVE 108 to win the title. The story of the match was that Riddle refused to give up despite Strickland working over his left arm and repeatedly hiting double stomps, including one that was off a ladder and through a table while Riddle was hung on the ladder. Strickland eventually won with his JML Driver finisher.

This was the third time Riddle and Strickland have faced off in EVOLVE this year, with their previous matches ending in a no contest and a disqualification.

WWN confirmed last month that Riddle would be on all of EVOLVE's August shows and that he would be adding more dates if he was still champion after that. The company has EVOLVE 109 in Melrose, Massachusetts today, EVOLVE 110 in Cicero, Illinois on August 11, and EVOLVE 111 in Livonia, Michigan on August 12.

Former EVOLVE Champion Matt Riddle, who is expected to debut with WWE at the Takeover: Brooklyn event, suffered an injury during his hardcore match against Shane Strickland over the weekend in Philadelphia, PA.

According to an Instagram post made by Riddle's wife (which included a nasty photo of the injury), the former UFC fighter had the skin ripped off the tip of his finger due a deep cut suffered during a spot with a chair in the match ...

Riddle, who dropped the EVOLVE title in that bout, wrestled the next day against Austin Theory in Melrose, MA but has been pulled from some independent bookings since the injury.
Link: https://instagram.com/riddleolymom/?utm_source=ig_embed

In its breakdown of the August Collections added on WWE Network, the WWE website revealed that the Hardys and Stephanie McMahon will be getting their own Collections in September.

Former WWE World Champion Dave Bautista continued to speak out against the Disney firing of Guardians of the Galaxy Director and Writer James Gunn. In an interview with Shortlist.com, Bautista went as far as to explain he was willing to walk away from the film, which he is contracted to do, if Disney drops the existing script.

“Nobody’s defending his tweets, but this was a smear campaign on a good man,” Bautista explained, “I spoke to Chris Pratt the day after it happened and he’s a bit religious so he wanted time to pray and figure it out, but I was more like: f*** this. This is bulls***. James is one of the kindest, most decent people I’ve met.”

On where he stands on Guardians Vol 3., the scheduled sequel that is slated to be released in 2020, Bautista was adamant that he wanted Gunn's existing script to be used for the film. If not....

“Where I’m at right now is that if [Marvel] don’t use that script, then I’m going to ask them to release me from my contract, cut me out or recast me. I’d be doing James a disservice if I didn’t.”

Bautista also noted that he didn't believe the letter the Guardians cast released last week in support of Gunn would get Disney to reverse their decision, but would shed light on Gunn's character as a person.
Link: https://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/exclusive-dave-bautista-interview-james-gunn-guardians-of-the-galaxy-firing-quit-twitter/368730

This year’s SummerSlam event will feature the kickoff show beginning at 5 pm Eastern from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the main show beginning at 7 pm. The TakeOver card the night prior will have a one-hour pre-show at 6 pm followed by the main card at 7 pm.

John Cena has indicated he will be appearing on the WWE’s live event on September 1st in Shanghai, China. It will be Cena’s first match back since participating at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia this past April where he took on Triple H.

In a conversation with Rolling Stone, Kane shared whether he was return to WWE in-ring action.

"WWE is always going to be part of me and hopefully I'll always be part of it," said Kane. "I haven't ruled out making special appearances every now and then. My main priority is being mayor, of course. [My role in the WWE] does bring a lot of attention to Knox County, so that's cool. It's just a matter of making sure everything I do — WWE or any other outside stuff — does not impact my role as mayor."
Link: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/wwe-kane-mayor-707213/

Some other sheet news includes:

2K Games recently released the first official screen shot for WWE 2k19. https://twitter.com/AJStylesOrg/status/1026845463562125312
English version of Shinsuke Nakamura's autobiography called "King of Strong Style 1980-2014" was released today by book publisher VIZ Media.
WWE announced they will be airing a Parade of Champions special for this year's Mae Young Classic tournament on their official Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube accounts tomorrow at 7PM EST.
Recent episode of the Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia podcast show had Renee Young as the guest talking about Total Divas, how she and Dean Ambrose became a couple, and her work on commentary in the WWE. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0806/644530/renee-young-talks-issues-with-being-on-total-divas-because-of/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

All In Pricing + New Four Way Match Announced (Updated Card) (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/all-in-pricing-new-four-way-match-announced-updated-card/)
Sami Zayn Undergoes Surgery on His Other Shoulder (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/sami-zayn-undergoes-surgery-on-his-other-shoulder/)
All In Broadcast Information Announced + Three New Matches (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/all-in-broadcast-information-announced-two-new-matches/)
Dean Ambrose Expected to Return Around SummerSlam (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/dean-ambrose-expected-to-return-around-summerslam/)
Matt Hardy Injury and “Retirement” Speculation Update (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/matt-hardy-injury-and-retirement-speculation-update/)

Mr. Nerfect

08-08-2018, 06:10 PM

Emperor Smeat

08-08-2018, 09:05 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random AJ Styles gif:
https://i.imgur.com/7ux1IqU.gif

After a period of fairly steady growth over the last month or so, SmackDown ratings dropped nine percent last night from the previous week. The show averaged 2.197 million viewers, the lowest audience for SmackDown since July 3 ...

SmackDown retained a smaller-than-usual 78 percent of the Raw audience from the night before, which would lend credence to the speculation that some of that audience was interested in Ronda Rousey's match, not necessarily WWE as a whole.

SmackDown was down 15 percent year-over-year as double digit declines are becoming normal as of late. Over the last 10 weeks, they are averaging an almost 10 percent decline.
Starting to become apparent last year was very likely the peak for Smackdown during the current Brand Split era.

Brock Lesnar’s match at SummerSlam could tell a lot about the direction WWE is going to take from this point on. Although Roman Reigns is supposed to be the guy, who knows what Vince McMahon will end up doing?

Joe Peisich said on Barn Burner Radio’s Fired Up podcast that Lesnar had a very interesting meeting with Mr. McMahon last week before Raw.

“I’ll break some news. Brock Lesnar last week had a meeting with Vince and the higher ups with WWE and he has told them that he wants to work with both.”

“He wants to work with WWE and UFC. I don’t know how that’s going to happen, but if Brock does not lose the title at SummerSlam you could see him working for both WWE and UFC. Like I said, I don’t know how that works but he wants to work for both.”

Lesnar’s name is a highly valued commodity in sports so if anyone cold pull off that kind of deal, it would be Lesnar.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fired-up/id1275187926?mt=2

This scenario may not be popular, but what are the chances that Brock Lesnar keeps the title until his UFC match? Would WWE see this as promotion of their champion and their company?

Only Vince McMahon knows what the chances are but to me, I think it would be a really, really bad move. It would hold the Title hostage into next year, plus WWE doesn’t get much, if anything, out of Brock bringing their belt to a real fight, especially if he gets his butt kicked in that fight.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

Above, you can see tonight’s Mae Young Classic Parade of Champions starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time, where the full roster of women competing in this year’s tournament will be officially introduced. The first set of tapings is set for tonight at Full Sail University and will continue tomorrow.

Link: https://youtu.be/2yacnc0SUwI

With the first night of tapings taking place today, WWE has revealed a few additional details about the 2018 Mae Young Classic ...

There will be a three-person commentary team for the tournament, with Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, and Renee Young calling the action. Cathy Kelley and Shadia Bseiso, the first Arab woman to sign with WWE as a wrestler, will be the backstage interviewers, and Kayla Braxton will be the ring announcer. Bseiso also has experience working in television.

"A few years ago I was put in charge of all of the announcers in the company," Cole said in an interview with ESPN. "My goal when I took over was to have, for the first time, a full-time female commentator on one of our main shows. That is still my goal today and it led to, for the first time, having two women in the announcing booth for the Mae Young Classic. It blows me away that this is happening because as little as two years ago I would not have seen this happening"
Link: http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/24318709/wwe-beth-phoenix-renee-young-feature-mae-young-classic-commentary-team

The first pre-sale for Ring of Honor's G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden moved a huge amount of tickets today. PWInsider.com has been told by ROH sources that the company has already sold out about half of MSG. If you don't factor in the 9/1 All In event, that's a record amount of tickets sold for Ring of Honor and pretty much guarantees that ROH will shatter its existing attendance records. The pre-sale will continue until Friday morning, when the general on sale kicks off at 10 AM EST. Needless to say, ROH is absolutely thrilled.

Meanwhile, the "All Out" pre-show party put together by Pro Wrestling Tees, which will take place outside of the Sears Center Arena on 9/1 before the All In PPV, has already sold out.

Indies Roundup:
Tickets for the 10/14 Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory 2018 PPV at the Melrose Ballroom in Long Island City, Queens, NY will officially go on sale via Ticketmaster.com on Saturday 8/25 at 1 PM Eastern.

Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan in a Mexican Death Match has been announced for Impact’s TV tapings at the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto on Sunday.

WWE Hall of Famer and producer Arn Anderson will be appearing at the Midwest Wrestling Elite debut show "Make or Break" on Sunday, September 30 in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. This will be The Enforcer's first-ever Minnesota indie wrestling appearance. Anderson is scheduled to appear in front of the live crowd and he will participate in a pre-show meet & greet.

After Tetsuya Naito defeated SANADA in the G1 this morning, EVIL brought Hiromu Takahashi’s jacket down to the ring. Naito mentioned that Takahashi wasn’t with them and said he doesn’t know whether Takahashi will be back from his neck injury soon or a while from now. He told Takahashi to come back as soon as he can, the Los Ingobernables de Japon members fist bumped, and Naito fist bumped Takahashi’s jacket. Takahashi posted a picture of himself fist bumping the TV screen to join in with the rest of LIJ.

Karl Anderson tweeted this morning that he will welcome his newest child today:

Anyways...
Having my 4th son in the morning..
What a #PowerfulBrother I am ????
Love n respect to all of the @WWE fans, and my friends n family Worldwide .. ???? pic.twitter.com/jrpAOoRfhA
— Karl Anderson (@KarlAndersonWWE) August 8, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/KarlAndersonWWE/status/1027057622682398720

WOW, Women of Wrestling, will hold their first TV tapings for their weekly series on AXS TV on Wednesday 10/10 and Thursday 10/11 in Los Angeles, CA at the Belasco Theater. Tickets are already on sale via Ticketmaster.com, starting at $25.

AXS TV is handling the production and distribution for the series, which will debut in 2019. Talent scheduled for the taping include Amber O'Neal, Santana Garrett, Barbie Hayden and Katie Forbes.

The series is the latest incarnation of a women's wrestling promotion from David McLane, the original founder of GLOW in the 1980s.

were able to get some quarter-hour breakdowns from Monday’s Raw and this is from an internal WWE report. We were told that the lowest quarter of the show came from 10:30 pm – 10:45 pm, which featured the women’s tag match with Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. The Riott Squad and was listed as doing a 2.0 quarter. That number rose to a 2.2 for 10:45 pm – 11 pm and then up to a 2.5 for the overrun segment, which featured Ronda Rousey’s match with Alicia Fox. The report we were informed about listed the entire show as doing a 2.2 and I’m aware other places reported the show doing a 1.96. Both are basing the number off an average viewership of 2.8 million viewers for the entire episode. My assumption is that the rating is being calculated with a different total number of homes that the USA Network is in to explain the difference, although the rating is being calculated off the same number of viewers. We were not able to get a viewership figure for the Rousey vs. Fox match, only the rating for the overrun.

WWE posted this graphic with the top active WWE Superstars with the most Instagram followers, as of today - Ronda Rousey with 11.119 million followers, John Cena with 9.931 million, Triple H with 5.259 million, SmackDown General Manager Paige with 4.848 million and Randy Orton with 4.419 million.
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmOmTdjH9KP/?utm_source=ig_embed

WWE has a new poll asking fans which SmackDown Superstar plays the strongest mind games. As of this writing, 60% voted for Randy Orton while 18% voted for Samoa Joe, 17% for The Miz and the rest went with SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella.

How WWE negotiations are going:

"We started off with the Royal Rumble at the beginning of the year in January. There was another offer on the table to do the Greatest Royal Rumble, and in between those two events, we've been going back and forth in conversations, trying to work out the right deal. It's still up in the air. Nothing [is] secure, yet."
From a recent interview Rey Mysterio had with the Miami Herald: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0808/644593/rey-mysterio-talks-wwe-negotiations/

ROH did a "10 Questions" with Marty Scurll and asked him about his upcoming match against Kazuchika Okada at "All In" on September 1.

"It's a great opportunity to show the world what I'm capable of," Scurll said. "A lot of times this year I've been in big tag matches or multi-mans, which are fun, but I believe I thrive in singles competition. It's going to be special."
Link: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/10-questions-marty-scurll

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of the Pancakes and Powerslams Show podcast had one of WWE's belt makers as the guest. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0808/644607/wwe-beltmaker-on-who-responsible-for-penny-tag-title-design/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Aleister Black May Not Be Cleared in Time for NXT TakeOver Due to Injury (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/aleister-black-may-not-be-cleared-in-time-for-nxt-takeover-due-to-injury/)
Jerry Lawler Says He Has Doubts that Brian Christopher Committed Suicide (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/jerry-lawler-says-he-has-doubts-that-brian-christopher-committed-suicide/)
Various: Becky Lynch on Not Dating Wrestlers, Anderson Expecting Child (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/various-becky-lynch-on-not-dating-wrestlers-anderson-expecting-child-impact/)
Broadcast Dates & Commentary Team for Mae Young Classic Announced (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/broadcast-schedule-commentary-team-for-mae-young-classic-announced/)

slik

08-09-2018, 03:12 AM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A source informed me today that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> still has not finalized a location for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WrestleMania?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WrestleMania</a> 35 Axxess. They’re still considering different ideas, such as doing multiple store locations or a smaller version of Axxess somewhere. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Raw?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Raw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDLive?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SDLive</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBarnBurns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheBarnBurns</a></p>— Brad Shepard (@TheBradShepard) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBradShepard/status/1027347065247068161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Evil Vito

08-09-2018, 09:37 AM

Sam Adonis plays a Trump supporter as a heel down in Mexico last I checked. He's a heel. I doubt he actually believes the things he said. He's doing it to get heat, but wrestling is heatless now. Bring him back. Pay him to get his ass kicked.

He called his opponent a fag and said the crowd looks like they have downs syndrome.

Waving around a Trump flag and (in the case of this show) lapping it up about Brexit or whatever would've gotten him heat enough. You don't need to go for even cheaper heat.

Emperor Smeat

08-09-2018, 04:12 PM

Also seems he was becoming very frustrated with the direction of his character resulting in the outburst and going way beyond what was approved for his character.

https://i.imgur.com/H508Je4.jpg

slik

08-09-2018, 04:17 PM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Colt Cabana files lawsuit against CM Punk (includes court documents) <a href="https://t.co/q6JKJcCNnH">https://t.co/q6JKJcCNnH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> <a href="https://t.co/pu0rRDSiRm">pic.twitter.com/pu0rRDSiRm</a></p>— NoDQ.com - WWE Summerslam news #Summerslam (@nodqdotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/nodqdotcom/status/1027649166040809478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Emperor Smeat

08-09-2018, 09:42 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Scott Steiner's Official Stance on Fat Guys:
https://i.imgur.com/1O3sy9Q.gif

With Aleister Black out due to injury, WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa will defend against Johnny Gargano in a Last Man Standing match on 8/18 in Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center.

The change was announced this evening via a video interview with NXT General Manager William Regal:

There was talk of having the match inside a steel cage but the pitch was shot down.

The remainder of the Takeover card will feature:
*WWE NXT Women's Championship: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane.
*WWE NXT Tag Team Championship: Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain.
*WWE NXT North American Championship: Adam Cole vs. Ricochet.
*WWE EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream.
Link: https://youtu.be/ntU_o0sjPss

WWE Network News is reporting that this week's "Hidden Gem" is a dark match from a WWF Superstars taping in Salisbury, Maryland on November 21, 1995, which saw the final match of then-WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blayze in the company as she faced Japanese legend Lioness Asuka. Blayze aka Madusa would be released shortly after, setting the stage for her infamous appearance on WCW Monday Nitro, where she dropped the Championship belt into a trash can.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, the parent company of Ring of Honor, has lost its bid to purchase Tribune Media as Tribune officially announcing this morning that they had terminated the purchase agreement and have filed a lawsuit against Sinclair for breach of contract ...

Sinclair currently has over the air stations in 39% of the United States. The purchase would have brought that number up to 42%, but it remains to be seen if some miracle can occur that leads to the purchase being somehow salvaged.

Had the deal been completed, the expectations had been that Ring of Honor's footprint as a TV series would have greatly expanded on a national basis and eventually also land on WGN America with either an existing or new ROH TV series on the national cable station. ROH had created a two hour pilot episode earlier this year, using material from the 2017 Final Battle PPV event, to showcase what the series could be to Sinclair officials.

There has long been talk of ROH doing a two hour weekly cable broadcast if and when they had the proper forum. WGN America (which broadcast WWE Superstars several years ago) was expected by some to be that platform, although Ring of Honor never officially announced any plans. Today's lawsuit obviously scuttles those plans.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119490/tribune-media-cancels-sinclair-purchase-of-company-files-lawsuit.html?p=1

The Chicago Sun-Times reported this afternoon that Ring of Honor Star Scott "Colt Cabana" Colton filed a lawsuit against former WWE Champion Phil "CM Punk" Brooks in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois on 8/7 over alleged unpaid legal fees and breach of contract, stemming from the lawsuit that WWE physician Doctor Chris Amann filed against the two in regard to Punk's appearance on Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast ...

Cabana is alleging that when Dr. Amann's attorneys contacted him with a cease and desist letter related to the podcast in December 2014, Punk told him not to respond. When Amann filed his lawsuit against them, Cabana alleged that Punk told him, via text, that his legal bills would be covered.

However, Cabana alleges that he received an April 2016 email from Punk regarding a financial billing Punk had received from his legal representatives, Loeb & Loeb, with Punk writing, "To date I have spent $513,736 dollars on this Amman lawsuit. My outstanding bill is at least 300K. Half of all this is yours. Divide the 513,736 by 2 that is what you owe me and what I expect you to pay me. Starting now, I will no longer be paying your bills. You are on your own. Whatever my bill is currently, will be cut in half and half will be yours. If you choose to make this all ugly, that's fine too. I hope you won't, but I gave up on you doing what is right a long time ago" ...

Cabana retained Loeb & Loeb until March 2017, when he claimed that he was forced to hire his own representation. In the lawsuit, Cabana stated he was "informed and believed" that Punk caused Loeb & Loeb to withdraw as Cabana's attorney.

After their courtroom victory over Amann's lawsuit, Cabana's attorneys approached Punk, seeking payment of $200,000, the cost of Cabana's legal fees post-Loeb & Loeb. Punk turned that overture down, leading to Cabana's claim of breach of contract.

Cabana is also claiming that had he not listened to Punk and just responded to the original cease and desist letter, he would not have dealt with any "costs, expenses or losses" in regard to the Amann case.

Cabana is asking for $1 Million in punitive and exemplary damages and $200,000 (aka the cost of his representation during the Amann lawsuit) in general damages. He is seeking a jury trial. Obviously, Punk has not yet responded to the lawsuit..
More details and link to the report: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119511/colt-cabana-sues-cm-punk-updated.html?p=1

Indies Roundup:
Former ECW World Champion Mikey Whipwreck, who has trained a number of names, including Curt Hawkins, Tony Nese, The Amazing Red, Jay Lethal, and Zack Ryder, among many other names, is opening The Underdogs Pro Wrestling School in Hazleton, PA. The School, located at 601 South Poplar Street, will officially open on 8/20 and will be associated with Premier Pro Wrestling, also operating out of Hazleton.

Chris Charlton has been added to Friday’s G1 broadcast at Budokan Hall, they were very happy with his performance on Wednesday with Kevin Kelly & Rocky Romero.

NJPW are looking at touring Australia again at the end of this year. The actual announcement and schedule is expected to be made after the G-1 tournament is over

The Arkansas State Athletic Commission has voted to change Act 860, which deregulated pro wrestling events if they were held in conjunction with a charitable organization. The new regulations are that shows in conjunction with charity still need for the promoters to be licensed, all the wrestlers on the show will need to be licensed, have a physical and have blood work done. The question becomes how the athletic commission can change a law that was passed by the state legislature and signed by the Governor

Mysterio Jr., was going to start with MLW to work a tag program against Pentagon Jr. & Fenix starting next month before his WWE talks got serious. MLW has signed Brian Pillman II to a multi-year deal and they are looking to give a big push to Tom Lawlor. There was an idea to go a match in an MMA gym with Lawlor vs. Jake Hager in an MMA cage, but Hager opted not to do it, thinking Bellator wouldn’t like him to do so.

PCW Ultra has announced Rich Swann and Sami Callihan are off their 9/7 shows due to contract obligations, which means Impact, probably for the show in Manchester, England that weekend. Announced for the show is Daga vs. ACH, Shane Strickland vs. Rey Hours, Penta 0M vs. Hammerstone and Brody King vs. Eddie Kingston.

BCW on 8/30 in Melbourne, Australia has Tajiri vs. Nick Bury. 9/1 in Adelaide, Australia has Rob Van Dam vs. Jonah Rock vs. Syd Parker.

The ROH/NJPW show on 4/6 in Madison Square Garden had sold 12,000 tickets at last word, which was a few hours ago. They did a password sale today. Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow. It is not a lock that it will be sold out by the end of the day tomorrow, but it is certainly possible. It is a lock that the show will be sold out by the time the show takes place.

The eight first-round matches for the CHIKARA King of Trios tournament that takes place Labor Day weekend in Easton, PA at the Palmer Center:

Mighty Molly & Solo Darling & Aja Perera vs. Kikutaro & Los Ice Creams
Justin Gabriel & Michael Tarver & Darren Young vs. Juan Francisco de Coronado & Sloan Caprice & Rick Roland
Jean Pierre Lafitte (PCO) & Rey Bucanero & Katie Lea (Katarina) vs. Merlok & Hermit Crab & Cajun Crawdad
Madison Eagles & Jessica Troy & Shazza McKenzie vs. Shoko Nakajima & Yuka Sakazaki & Miyu Yamashita
Rezerhawk & Nytehawk & Dangerhawk vs. Adam Hoffman & Mick Moretti & Jack bonza
Volgar & Callux & Frantik vs. Fire Ant & Green Ant & Thief Ant
Chris Dickinson & Cameron Zagami & Brian Milonas vs. Dasher Hatfield & Mr. Touchdown & Boomer Hatfield
Air Wolf & ThunderFrog & Wildkat vs. Icarus & Tony Deppen & Travis Huckabee

President Harold Meij, in an attempt to help in marketing the product overseas, has banned English language swearing and middle finger usage from the product. In trying to garner more sponsors, things like the swearing in the Juice Robinson promos and heavy swearing in-ring were going to have to go. Those who have been swearing in English in their promos were privately spoken to and asked as best they can to clean up their promos. All the wrestlers were told this week to not swear or try not to offend people on social media. There are ideas for expansion of sponsorships in new markets that require a product suitable for all ages. The reality is the product’s popularity has nothing to do with any swearing and eliminating that won’t have any effect, so if it’s not necessary and impedes expansion, why allow it

There are other negotiations All In going on including the possibility of a regular television replay airing after the exclusive PPV window ends. The idea is to more get as many people watching as possible, so in a sense they are undercutting their own PPV by allowing it on Honor Club, with the idea of using the show to build up Honor Club subs ... It will be treated similar to a PPV by Honor Club, meaning Honor Club VIP’s will get the show for free while regular Honor Club subscribers can get the iPPV version for half price. The regular television PPV will run at $39.99 and $49.99, which was actually an insistence from their side at running it lower as the PPV companies wanted it at closer to WWE prices. Fite TV, which should be the key for outside the U.S., will be at $39.99. WGN America wanted to do the entire show live, but Cody and the Young Bucks had an idea for what they wanted from the show and live television of the big matches wasn’t going to work.

For what it’s worth, at the present time, the planned fall Raw live event main events are Reigns vs. Strowman. They could go face vs. face, but that indicates at least the possibility of one of the two turning

The reason Jessamyn Duke didn’t debut yet is because she was a little hurt although she did recently do a practice match at the Performance Center, did good things, but like anyone, just needs more ring time in actual match situations. We’re told that the feeling on her, at least by some, is that she’s a prodigy at this. With Ronda Rousey, everything has been so completely produced to such a degree that it’s really not fair to compare her progress but still, Rousey’s got something quickly that few have. But her match with Bliss is expected to be scripted move-for-move at the Performance Center. More and more people are really open to the idea that MMA is a great place to recruit new women because of how quickly people like Duke, Marina Shafir, Shayna Baszler, Ronda Rousey and Sonya Deville were able to adapt.

The photos on social media of Frank Shamrock and Shawn Michaels together were from the Performance Center this past week. Shamrock is the agent for Mauro Ranallo and they’re in negotiations. There is talk of springboarding the Showtime documentary on Ranallo into a major college speaking tour on mental health

Still no hints of a Cena return, past him being booked on the 9/1 show in Shanghai, where he has vowed to debut a new finishing move. Cena has dropped from 254 to 236 pounds and is ripped. At his age, it’s better for his joints and injuries to be lighter, plus it’ll allow him to be less typecast in Hollywood being less bulky. Then again Dwayne Johnson went in the other direction, from 220 (when the idea was to expand his acting range and get parts that didn’t rely on an overpowering physique) 260 to do the intimidating action hero roles

Keith Lee took to Twitter today and wrote the following after making his WWE NXT TV debut with a win over Marcel Barthel last night:

Humble gratitude for all the positive feedback on the debut last night. Let us see what kind of ride we can create. Only time will tell...#BaskInMyGlory for #iAmLimitless pic.twitter.com/Tl1uZbslpr
— Keith Lee (@RealKeithLee) August 9, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/RealKeithLee/status/1027574436801773576

In recognition of the worldwide growth and increased popularity of women's wrestling, Pro Wrestling Illustrated has announced that it will expand its annual PWI Female 50 issue to the Women's 100, effective this year. Like the annual PWI 500, the Women's 100 will include worldwide talent, including women from Mexico, Japan, Europe, and around the globe. In previous years, the Female 50 was exclusive to women competing in the U.S. and Canada.

"With the rise of women's wrestling in WWE, as well as the growth of promotions like STARDOM, Pro Wrestling EVE, and on the independents, there is an incredible amount of female talent out there today. It definitely seems like the right time to expand our ranking from 50 spots to 100," said PWI Senior Writer Dan Murphy, who also co-wrote the book Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling (with Pat Laprade). "I think this will be one of the most ambitious and timely projects PWI has undertaken and I'm very excited to be coordinating it," Murphy said.

The Women's 100 will be released this fall.

Some other sheet news includes:

According to the Observer, both Pentagon Jr and Rey Fenix have recently told promoters their status for 2019 indies dates are now currently in doubt due to WWE's recent interest for both of them.
DDP recently rebranded his DDP Yoga service to now be called DDPY going forward. https://www.instagram.com/p/BmQrhmCA5_4/?utm_source=ig_embed

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: No Current Plans for NXT on FOX, Bobby Fish Return Update (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-no-current-plans-for-nxt-on-fox-bobby-fish-return-update/)
WWE Interested in Top Indie Star Shane Strickland (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-interested-in-top-indie-star-shane-strickland/)
Jason Jordan’s Neck Injury Reportedly Worse Than Expected (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/jason-jordans-neck-injury-reportedly-worse-than-expected/)
Could Chris Jericho Eventually Wrestle for Impact? (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/could-chris-jericho-eventually-wrestle-for-impact/)
Renee Young Will Be on the Raw Commentary Team This Monday (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/renee-young-will-be-on-the-raw-commentary-team-this-monday/)

Simple Fan

08-09-2018, 09:53 PM

If New Jsoan is going PG then Juice might as well go back to WWE. I hope Impact becomes a non PG promotion and capitalize on some of these guys wanting to cut loose.

Mr. Nerfect

08-10-2018, 07:28 PM

He called his opponent a fag and said the crowd looks like they have downs syndrome.

Waving around a Trump flag and (in the case of this show) lapping it up about Brexit or whatever would've gotten him heat enough. You don't need to go for even cheaper heat.

I'm as PC lefty as they come. I don't mind this in wrestling if that guy is going to be a heel. It is inauthentic for a Trump supporter to come out and make intelligent points or be sensitive to the feelings of "liberal snowflakes." The whole gimmick should be based on a privileged perspective of free speech. If you want to be a PC lefty and get offended at heels getting heat, then maybe it's time to admit that wrestling is not for you. It's also probably time to admit that you're still capable of being worked. I'm just glad someone is making an effort in 2018.

Savio

08-10-2018, 07:30 PM

Just like you were worked last week eh?

Mr. Nerfect

08-10-2018, 07:33 PM

That being said, you don't need the gimmick. I'm fine with New Japan going PG for example, because you don't need that sort of content to be compelling. If Adonis cut promos where he talked about all the things he can't say, that would be enough, but this actual backlash for him just living the gimmick in the world of wrestling is a bit weird to me.

Like, what is the point of wrestling anymore?

Mr. Nerfect

08-10-2018, 07:34 PM

Just like you were worked last week eh?

I genuinely have no clue what you are talking about.

Emperor Smeat

08-10-2018, 10:06 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Heel Batista Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/Ohe5n7M.gif

The 8/2 edition of Impact did 168,000 overnight viewers, down drastically from last week's 248,000 overnight viewers. It is one of their all time low numbers.
Last time they hit a sub-200k number was December 14, 2017 and only two other times since January 2016.

A big main event has been signed for MLW’s television tapings in October.

Pierre Carl Ouellet, better known as PCO, will take on LA Park at the television tapings, which are being called MLW Fury Road. This replaces a match that was originally signed for the show, which was Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix teaming up to take on LA Park and El Hijo de LA Park. There wasn’t a reason given why the match was changed other than it was circumstances beyond their control.

This week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that there is interest within WWE to bring both Pentagon and Fenix in. However, they still have three seasons left on their Lucha Underground contracts, as well as indie dates for 2019, so it is unlikely they will be brought in anytime soon.

A year after a torn ACL kept her out of the inaugural tournament, Tegan Nox (the former Nixon Newell) suffered an injury to her other leg at last night's Mae Young Classic tapings ...

She tried to continue but wasn't able to, and the match ended by referee stoppage. Nox was looked at by doctors and was visibly emotional after the injury.

Paul "Triple H" Levesque spoke to the crowd about the situation and initially indicated that Nox had a broken leg, along with a broken heart over not being able to finish what she started. He said it would just be a bump in the road for her. Levesque later did an interview with espnW, noting that Nox was being taken to the hospital to determine the specifics of the injury.

"To come here tonight and be in a position to where, let me just say, it couldn't have been any more heartbreaking for her," Levesque said. "Emotionally, just couldn't have been any more heartbreaking. I don't know, at this point, what happened. She landed funky on a dive and hurt herself.

"The doctor looked at it and it was so painful at the point that he couldn't manipulate the disc to see if it was an ACL. So we have her headed over to the hospital now and check what it is."

Triple H praised the competitors in the 2018 Mae Young Classic:

The 2018 #WWEMYC showcased the triumph and heartbreak that makes our business so special. Incredible competition with phenomenal athletes over two historic nights. Thank you to the talent, @WWEPerformCtr coaches and @WWE staff for another @MaeYoungClassic. pic.twitter.com/bdxpyA0dWj
— Triple H (@TripleH) August 10, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/1027780886924849152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

After a week of issues between the two parties, The BeIN Sports Network has returned to Verizon FIOS, which means that users of that service will once again be able to watch the Major League Wrestling: FUSION TV series, which airs on Friday evenings at 8 PM EST.

Ring of Honor Chief Operating Officer Joe Koff provided the following comments to PWInsider.com regarding today's sellout of the ROH and New Japan G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden:

"We are humbled and appreciative of our fans and their belief and support of Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. All we can say is Thank You!"

Indies Roundup:
Tickets for the Thursday 4/4/19 Wrestlecon Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow at the NYC Hilton Midtown will go on sale on 8/28, it was announced today. The convention's annual Supershow is among the best independent events of the year.

MLW sources have confirmed to PWInsider.com that they have signed Brian Pillman Jr. to a "long-term" deal.

The promotion also announced that Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix are off their 10/4 taping in NYC. There's been a lot of rumors about the brothers' long-term future and the WWE's interest in them in the last several weeks. The two are signed to Lucha Underground contracts currently.

New Japan announced in storyline that if Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale or Tanga Loa interfere in any of the G-1 matches on Saturday they will be suspended for three months.

Kazuchika Okada has been announced for the 8/17 show at Arena Mexico. It will be the first time he's ever wrestled for CMLL in that building.

Announced for the Impact show at Mediacon in Manchester, England at the Bowlers Exhibition Center on 9/9 is Jimmy Havoc vs. Sami Callihan and LAX vs Jonny Storm & Jody Fleisch. The theme of the show is going to be Impact vs. U.K.

The latest NWA video on the Nick Aldis vs. Cody match and the MSG sellout.

Wednesday’s episode of Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network averaged 115,000 viewers, almost identical to last week’s figure of 114,000. This week’s show was built around a match between the Worldwide Underground and The Reptile Tribe.
NWA: https://youtu.be/_ptchVEftT4

My least-favorite thing about the Evolution PPV announcement was the same as the all-women Royal Rumble: Stephanie McMahon. Too much self back patting for my taste. I think it would have worked better as a quick aside; maybe a promo package or if Charlotte or somebody mentioned it in a promo. Why do they have to beat it over our head that they’re doing good things? Can’t they just have a women’s revolution without telling us about it constantly? You’ll never be equal if you keep telling people you’re not equal.

You have to understand that it's just not how WWE does things. They want to promote how great they are and how evolutionary their ideas are. It's as much a narrative about legitimizing the company and showcasing how important what they are doing is as much as it's a storyline week to week. They are promoting themselves to stockholders to partners to licensees and to fans and if they can get Stephanie and Triple H over as these benevolent, crusading execs who are trying to take the company - and in this case, the women - into the future, then it builds them as much as everyone else. It's totally self-promotion, but if it helps WWE push their agenda, the company is going to be happy to do it, as would any other company, wrestling or otherwise. Sometimes, a lighter touch works better, but WWE doesn't do subtle.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

Brian Danovich, who was on the 2004 season of Tough Enough, passed away from an apparent suicide at the age of 36. Danovich tore his pec on the show where they cut the competitors down to the ones who would make the season. He wanted to keep going and ended up getting a developmental contract out of it, but didn't last long, passed away this past week of an apparent suicide. That was the season of The Miz, The Boogeyman, Daniel Puder and Daniel Rodimar.

Hulk Hogan’s apparent return to WWE:

“Before he died, Bruno Sammartino and I talked a lot about this issue of why WWE would even want Hogan back in…. I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or a feeling that they owe him or something. But to forgive him for what he said. Apparently, he was in his early to mid-50s when he said this, he was a grown man. And his use of the N word, it wasn’t just once, it was a number of times in that conversation, and in such a disparaging, condescending, racist tone… And everyone always talks about forgiveness. Well he’s been forgiven many times, for lying about steroids, for lying about drug use, just for lying in general. How many times do you forgive the guy?”
From a recent episode of The Matt Riviera Show podcast with former WCW commentator Chris Cruise as the guest. More highlights from the episode: https://www.prowrestling.com/former-wcw-announcer-criticizes-hulk-hogans-wwe-return-offers-grim-prediction-for-ring-warriors-on-wgn-america/

There will be WWE Story Time and Table For 3 marathons on the WWE Network this coming Monday. A new Table For 3 with Xavier Woods, Matt Hardy and Zack Ryder will premiere after RAW goes off the air. Below is the synopsis for the thirty-minute episode:

"Matt Hardy, Xavier Woods, and Zack Ryder gather to discuss the power of using digital and social media platforms."

Some other sheet news includes:

Major League Wrestling announced both Pentagon Jr and Fenix have been pulled from their October 4th MLW Fusion tapings due circumstances beyond their control. Mexico's AAA promotion recently hinted both guys are very likely leaving the company after this month's TripleMania event.
According to PWI, it took about 19 minutes for ROH's MSG event to reach sold out status once tickets when on general sale. Observer reported last night's early sales were at 12,000 tickets sold.
According to the Observer, Wrestlemania 34 had around 59,900 paid tickets out of the 78,133 announced for the event's attendance.
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, WCW once considered the idea of having a wrestler named Spam Man as a way to get a sponsorship with Spam. https://twitter.com/JerseyAutentico/status/1027081889549635584
Rumor going around the net is that Nikki Bella is currently dating someone within WWE's management. Supposedly Nikki was never actually interested in ever hooking back with Cena and has been keeping this relationship in a hush status for at least the past 2 months.
Also apparently an old rumor involving Randy Orton pulling out his wiener for the sole purpose of rubbing his hand on it before shaking someone's hands has recently started going around the net. Supposedly that was his way of greeting newly hired writers to the WWE.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens Announced for WWE Super Show-Down (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/john-cena-vs-kevin-owens-announced-for-wwe-super-show-down/)
Tegan Nox Comments After Her Injury at Mae Young Classic (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/tegan-nox-comments-after-her-injury-at-mae-young-classic/)
ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard Sells Out Madison Square Garden Fast (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/roh-njpw-g1-supercard-sells-out-madison-square-garden-fast/)
Tegan Nox Suffers Bad Leg Injury During Mae Young Classic (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/tegan-nox-suffers-bad-leg-injury-during-mae-young-classic/)

Simple Fan

08-10-2018, 10:12 PM

Damn, was probably the best Impact since Slammiversary but NFL pre season probably played into that low rating.

Mr. Nerfect

08-11-2018, 12:32 AM

Also, it's TNA and it's a dead horse.

Mr. Nerfect

08-11-2018, 12:33 AM

The "ratings are low because people would rather be doing other things" argument never washes with me. People would rather be doing other things than watching dudes like Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan fight in a bush to some shitty musical score.

Simple Fan

08-11-2018, 01:53 AM

No the rating is because of the channel they are on. Impact has been on the upswing this year and are slowly making progress. They're not on the level of NJPW or ROH but they are embracing being an alternative which is good.

Mr. Nerfect

08-11-2018, 04:11 PM

They are on the channel they are on because they are TNA. They were on Spike TV. They got chased off. They were getting 1.1 million viewers. Then they were getting 300,000 viewers. Then they were getting 250,000 viewers. Now they are getting 150,000.

Mr. Nerfect

08-11-2018, 04:12 PM

Would not be surprised if WWE buys up their tape library sometime soon so they can pad out the Network and do a "LolTNA" documentary and have guys like Styles and Joe bury it.

Evil Vito

08-11-2018, 04:55 PM

Would not be surprised if WWE buys up their tape library sometime soon so they can pad out the Network and do a "LolTNA" documentary and have guys like Styles and Joe bury it.

Would also finally make TNA's history canon in WWE land. Remember when Sting apparently faded from existence for 13 years after WCW folded? Not even Jeff Jarrett was allowed to talk about TNA in his HOF speech.

Could be of use to them to add titles to AJ and Joe's legacies once it comes time to fill out more HOF spots in a decade.

Mr. Nerfect

08-11-2018, 05:50 PM

It'd actually be a useful archive to mine. It's like WCW for them, only less hurtful. They can do a Samoa Joe special, an AJ Styles one, a Sting one, a Kurt Angle one, a Bobby Lashley one. They can do a "What the fuck happened?" where they have the guys shoot on how incompetent it was. They can do a "What is its legacy?" and try and be optimistic about it. WWE have never really spoken about TNA, so it'd be interesting to hear them unload the gun. Getting Jim Ross to appear and take shots at the name of the promotion, for example. Hearing people go off on the email scandal and how hilarious it was they got kicked off Spike. It's actually a really amusing story. One of the best pops in recent memory was Angle telling Owens & Zayn that "TNA was hiring." There's something in it.

There's the PPV archive, which has some memorable stuff. They can do like a Mystery Science Theater 3000 type thing and have wrestlers do commentary over the shows. Just pay Jim Cornette and Bruce Prichard a bunch of money to sit in a studio on and do commentary over them. I'm not even being insincere with that idea.

Going through the roster, there is barely anyone worth taking. Again, I'm not being insincere. The talent that are good have either been in WWE before and were cut for reasons or are basically confirmed to be heading there. Maybe they give another look at Brian Cage or Evan Bourne. John Morrison is there, but he probably had an open door to go back anyway. I could see Sonjay Dutt going there, because they love snatching up Indian guys. Maybe Zema Ion for a Filipino team with TJP? The rest are either scrubs or have backgrounds involving domestic violence. So it's not like you even have the problem of where to put all the talent you'd be buying.

But yeah, it fills it the gaps and gives the WWE more footage. The good stuff can be presented as good, but the bad stuff can be presented as hilariously bad. Think The Rise and Fall of ECW, but with a satirical tone.

slik

08-12-2018, 11:57 PM

Sounds like SummerSlam 2019 is between Toronto (Rogers Center) and somewhere in the South or Texas. Stadiums/Domes -- not arenas -- for SummerSlam going forward. Hmmm....

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SummerSlam 2019 location this week. Two polar opposites on the map are the favorites. Announcement coming.</p>— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestleVotes/status/1028755574752718849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Update On Possible Location Of Next Year’s SummerSlam Event <a href="https://t.co/1ZuBt5u6Ph">https://t.co/1ZuBt5u6Ph</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/BodySlamDotNet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BodySlamDotNet</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SummerSlam?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SummerSlam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWESummerSlam?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWESummerSlam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SummerSlam2019?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SummerSlam2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bodyslam?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bodyslam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wrestling?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wrestling</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProWrestling?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProWrestling</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/News?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#News</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rumors?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rumors</a></p>— BodySlam.net (@BodySlamDotNet) <a href="https://twitter.com/BodySlamDotNet/status/1028793334024810496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mr. Nerfect

08-13-2018, 04:53 AM

Toronto would be a good place for it, given that they don't want to do Mania there because of the weather.

Emperor Smeat

08-14-2018, 10:15 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by The Anvil Appreciation Day:
https://i.makeagif.com/media/11-09-2015/Vr_cUU.gif

The go-home Raw for SummerSlam last night averaged 2.82 million viewers, up just under one percent from last week ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.85 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.87 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.76 million viewers

This has been a rough day regarding the death of Jim Neidhart ...

According to the police report, they were called at 6:41 a.m. today and told that Neidhart fell, hit his head and was bleeding. His wife Ellie said that Jim was having difficulty sleeping, told her he was cold and wanted to adjust the thermostat. She got out of bed and he walked over to the thermostat, then fell toward the wall, evidently having a seizure, and hit the ground and she called 911, believing he had a seizure. She saw blood, saw him gargling and told the operator she thought he was dead. He takes medication for seizures and last had one on 12/21. He had a cut on his face from the fall of 2-4 inches in length.

Michael Cole commented on Renee Young's performance on commentary for last night’s Raw: “Words can not express how proud I am of @ReneeYoungWWE. What she accomplished last night is no easy feat. That chair is a tough one to sit in. She brought poise, professionalism, a refreshing view. Renee and @WWEGraves were a great team. Thanks for helping me feel young again”
Link: https://twitter.com/MichaelCole/status/1029379385718136833

Indies Roundup:
Cody Rhodes & The Young Bucks defending their Six-Man Tag Team titles against Silas Young, Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas has been announced for ROH’s TV tapings in Philadelphia on August 25, along with Punishment Martinez defending his TV title against Aaron Solow. Solow won the title shot through the Dojo Pro wrestling series on Amazon Prime.

Revolution Pro announced its 8/26 show in Portsmouth at the Guildhall is being moved to 9/7 and it will be the biggest show they've ever run in the city. Jushin Liger, Kushida and Zack Sabre Jr. are all on the card.

A new match has been signed for MLW’s War Games event taking place on September 6. LA Park will compete against Pentagon Jr. in what is being billed as a Mexican Massacre match. Salina de la Renta, who in storyline manages LA Park under her Promociones Dorado promotion, will be in his corner while Konnan will be in Pentagon Jr.’s corner.

Bad Luck Fale has been announced for the 8/18 Melbourne City Wrestling show, which is that company's biggest show ever.

Tom Lawlor’s tenure with the UFC appears to be over, following a statement from Lawlor announcing he has been let go. MMA Fighting added that his release hasn’t been finalized yet, but they are in the process of completing it. Lawlor had been serving a two-year suspension issued by USADA that was set to expire this October with Lawlor requesting his release over the past two years and being denied.

The highs and lows of Daniel Bryan’s career will be experienced in this year’s WWE 2K19 Showcase mode.

The story mode, which was revealed on WWE's website this morning, will have you control Daniel Bryan as you navigate through 12 matches in his career. Along with the matches, there will be nine arenas that played a role in Bryan’s career, and there will be 11 different versions of Bryan playable, each with their own movesets and appearances. There will also be 15 interview packages and 20 video cutscenes that will be interjected throughout the mode.

The video to debut the new mode interjected footage of his retirement speech and the speech he gave when he was cleared to return to WWE action.

WWE 2K19 will be out on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on October 9. Pre-ordering now will enable you to obtain Ronda Rousey and Rey Mysterio as playable characters upon release. Pre-order the Deluxe edition and you’ll be able to play the game four days early.

Links: https://www.wwe.com/section/wwe-2k19/article/wwe-2k19-2k-showcase-mode-returns-daniel-bryan & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql6CTuC0ybQ

World Wrestling Entertainment has hired James Long, The Head Coordinating Producer and Video Editor for Impact Wrestling, PWInsider.com has confirmed.

Long was hired specifically for the WWE NXT brand and has been working for several weeks out of Orlando.

Long, who also wrestled for OVW and independently (including a recent appearance for House of Hardcore) under the ring name Paredyse, was intimately involved in a lot of the Hardys "Broken Universe" content alongside Jeremy Borash. He had been with Impact since July 2014.

During his time with Impact, Long was the Lead producer and coordinator of production of all taped and live vignettes and promos, managed multiple production teams at TV tapings and was involved in all facets of Impact Wrestling production, from graphics to video packages to creative and execution of digital and television content.

Local advertising for the Smackdown 1000 broadcast is listing The Undertaker as appearing at the 10/16 broadcast from Washington, DC.

Local advertising also touts the following "Triple Main Event" -
*WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe.
*Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz.
*Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy.

There will be an online pre-sale for the event this Wednesday 8/15 at 10 AM EST using code SMACKDOWN.

Ring of Honor has announced dates for their Global Wars tour this November with four shows scheduled and will all air on the Honor Club streaming service:
*Wednesday, November 7th in Lewiston, Maine at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee
*Thursday, November 8th in Lowell, Massachusetts at the Memorial Auditorium
*Friday, November 9th in Buffalo, New York at the Buffalo RiverWorks
*Sunday, November 11th in Toronto at the Mattamy Athletic Centre

"Vicious" by Halestorm has been announced as the official theme song for WWE's 2018 Mae Young Classic.

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Kofi Kingston (37), Johnny Gargano (31), Bob Backlund (69), and Bobby Eaton (60) all celebrated their birthday today.
In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 7th anniversary of CM Punk vs John Cena at SummerSlam 2011. This event saw Punk defeat Cena to win the Undisputed WWE Championship, Punk defeat Del Rio due to a MitB cash-in, and last PPV of the 1st Brand Split Era.
WWE recently launched a new website for customizable WWE shirt purchases. https://customtees.wwe.com/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Jeff Jarrett Suing Impact Wrestling’s Parent Company, Anthem Entertainment (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/jeff-jarrett-suing-impact-wrestlings-parent-company-anthem-entertainment/)
Renee Young Says Vince McMahon Only Spoke to Her Once on Commentary (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/renee-young-says-vince-mcmahon-only-spoke-to-her-once-while-on-commentary/)
WWE Airs Video Celebrating the Life of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart (Video) (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-airs-video-celebrating-the-life-of-jim-the-anvil-neidhart-video/)
Natalya Releases Statement About Death of Her Father, Jim Neidhart (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/natalya-releases-statement-about-death-of-her-father-jim-neidhart/)
The 1000th Episode of SmackDown Will Happen Later this Year (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/the-1000th-episode-of-smackdown-will-happen-later-this-year/)

Mr. Nerfect

08-14-2018, 10:28 PM

I take it Bryan isn't going anywhere.

slik

08-15-2018, 03:06 AM

Per the latest 20 minute Podcast on BarnBurner:

http://barnburner.ca/Html/Shows/show-NoHolds.html

* SummerSlam 2019 close to finalizing a deal for The Rogers Center (formerly the SkyDome, host of WM6 and WM18) in Toronto. Announcement expected around August 30th.

* nWo will reunite (possibly) on Chris Jericho's cruise

* Chris Jericho will possibly debut at BOUND FOR GLORY for Impact Wrestling

* Minneapolis has moved to more of a front-runner for hosting WrestleMania 36

* Los Angeles and it's new NFL Stadium is the front-runner for hosting WrestleMania 37

* FOX has expressed interest in airing WrestleMania 37 on the FOX Broadcast Network.

* Randy Orton had a meeting with WWE executives before SmackdDownLive about his allegations

* A closed-door meeting is scheduled between Brock Lesnar, HHH and Vince McMahon the afternoon of SummerSlam in Brooklyn.

Evil Vito

08-15-2018, 06:37 AM

I take it Bryan isn't going anywhere.

To be fair, video game stuff is decided way in advance. WWE 2k15 had a whole Showcase mode about CM Punk who had walked 10 months before the game was released.

Emperor Smeat

08-15-2018, 09:25 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Orton on the Hunt for His Next Handshake Victim:
https://j.gifs.com/APpNw7.gif

The 8/14 edition of Smackdown Live brought in 2,189,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 2,197,000 overnight viewers.

Another name has been added to the All In Over Budget Battle Royal that will take place an hour before the main card.

Impact X Division champion Brian Cage is the sixth entrant in the battle royal, confirmed today by All In’s Twitter account. Cage joins Ethan Page, Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero and Colt Cabana. Nine more participants have yet to be named.

The winner of the match will receive a ROH title match on the main card later in the evening against current champion Jay Lethal.

Link: https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/1029865403059720193

Indies Roundup:
MLW issued the following: BOUNTY HUNTER BRODY KING RUMBLES WITH PCO AT MLW’S SEPTEMBER 6 FORT LAUDERDALE FUSION TV TAPING.

Northeast Wrestling announced that Rey Mysterio is off their Wrestling Under The Stars show in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on August 24 due to “his upcoming contractual situation with WWE.”

ROH announced KUSHIDA will be headed to their Death Before Dishonor TV tapings in Las Vegas on September 29 at the Orleans Arena.

Tenille Dashwood is off ROH’s Honor Re-United tour due to a “non-serious medical condition." Chardonnay also won’t be able to wrestle due to injury. Kay Lee Ray will face Viper in Edinburgh tomorrow, Charli Evans in Doncaster on Saturday, and Ayesha Raymond in London on Sunday.

On Twitter, Chris Jericho teased that 2019 is going to be an interesting year for him: “2019 is gonna be an interesting year…. #FreeAgentJericho”

Kevin Kelly and Andy Boy Simmonz will be calling Revolution Pro Wrestling’s TV tapings at York Hall in London on September 5 and 6.

Kelly noted that NJPW World is going to start adding English commentary for some classic matches from the past very soon.

Haku/Meng, who was originally advertised as facing Nick Gage, won’t be appearing at Joey Janela’s Lost in New York on Friday because he’ll be attending Jim Neidhart’s funeral.
Mysterio: https://www.facebook.com/NortheastWrestlingNEW/photos/a.10151567597908764.1073741825.241230503763/10156500006478764/?type=3&theater , Tenille: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/debuting-kay-lee-ray-steps-due-injuries , Jericho: https://twitter.com/IAmJericho/status/1029793155598700545 , RevPro: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1029733789965148160 , NJPW: https://twitter.com/realkevinkelly/status/1029706645805441025 , Janela: https://twitter.com/GCWrestling_/status/1029795213760454656

I came across an interesting stat. Wrestlemania 34 was the seventh straight year a part timer was in the main event. Does this sort of stat not worry Vince McMahon?

After seven straight years, I think it’s clear that he isn’t concerned. And with the TV deals he just signed, he probably won’t be any time soon.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

WWE Network News is reporting that this week a dark match featuring AJ Styles versus Rick Michaels from the July 9, 2001 Raw taping at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia will be added to the Hidden Gems section this Thursday. This is the Phenomenal One's first official WWE debut.
Link: http://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/08/15/exclusive-this-weeks-wwe-hidden-gems-addition-revealed-another-interesting-dark-match-incoming/

The Big Show says that he's ready to return to action. The former WWE Champion hasn't wrestled since losing a steel cage match against Braun Strowman in September of 2017. The match was designed to write Big Show off of television to undergo right hip surgery.

Big Show told ESPN this week at a charity event at the Hackensack Meridian Health Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey that he hopes to be back in the ring as early as SummerSlam this Sunday.

"Hopefully within the next couple of weeks, I will be back in the ring," Big Show said. "That's the main goal. I'm actually going to try and get cleared Sunday, by [WWE's] doctors; moving around the ring a little bit. I could be back as soon as the Monday Night Raw after SummerSlam, if they have something for me.

"Just because I'm healthy, doesn't mean our creative team is healthy for me yet."
Link: http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/24377475/wwe-big-show-healthy-hoping-return-action-next-couple-weeks-11-months-out

After Young last appeared as a commentator for NXT in April 2014, her spot on the Raw announce table was a big step for the 33-year-old. She hopes to become a more frequent member of the announce team as she said "it just felt right" being in the moment alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves.

"I can't believe that I survived that and it happened," Young said. "My brain has not shut off since."

Busted Open co-host Mark Henry said WWE might have to add a microphone to the Raw commentary table.

"I hope so!" Young replied. "Oh my gosh, I would be so happy if that was the case.

"All I could think of afterward, and not even afterward -- like during -- you know like when you're in the process of something happening and you don't get to absorb it all? I mean I guess during a three-hour show you do get a moment to absorb it, but all I could think was, 'man I want to keep doing this.'

"It felt like so much fun, it just felt right. It felt right to me, and I loved that. It was great."
More highlights and link to the interview from Busted Open Radio: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0815/644843/renee-young-wants-to-commentate-more/

Triple H took part in a media call this afternoon to promote Saturday's NXT Takeover event in Brooklyn. During the call, the new NXT UK brand was discussed and it was noted that former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville would be a great fit for it. Triple H was then asked what Neville's status was with the company.

"To be honest, I'm not 100% positive," Triple H replied. "I would need to go back and look into that."

Neville had left WWE in mid-October, reportedly over frustration with his status in the company. He was scheduled to lose to then-WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore on the October 9, 2017 episode of WWE Monday Night RAW, and left the company after reportedly learning of the scheduled finish. The match resulted in Enzo losing the championship to Kalisto.

Triple H agreed that Neville would be a good fit for the NXT UK division and praised the work that he had done for the company.

"You are 100% right, [Neville] is one of the most talented guys in the world," Triple H admitted. "I love the time that he spent with us in NXT, he did a great job of building up the Cruiserweight division on 205 [Live]. Time will see where that ends up."
From today's NXT conference call held by Triple H. More highlights via WrestlingInc: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0815/644840/triple-h-nxt-call-fox-deal-affecting-nxt/

Brock Lesnar has reached rarified air as Champion.

At WrestleMania 33, Brock Lesnar defeated Goldberg to become WWE Universal Champion. Since that victory he has defended the Championship six times on WWE programming including two singles matches against his SummerSlam opponent Roman Reigns.

It has been 500 days since Lesnar won the Championship which puts him among some of the longest reigning Champions in the history of WWE. There are only a handful of wrestlers who earned this feat with the WWE Championship and one who reached 500 days as United States Champion.

Roman Reigns spoke to Yahoo Sports about the portion of fans who boo him, “I think they’re like closet lovers to be honest. You can say whatever you want, but it’s how you say it that matters. The way they deliver it, they’re more connected to me than their so called ‘favorites.’ For me to be able to pull on whatever string I pull on, it just goes to show there’s a deep rooting there.” Reigns added, “It doesn’t really matter to me, as long as they’re really loud, that’s all I really care about. There could be certain moments where they try to hijack shows and all of that, but by the end of the match, they’re standing up so I’ve been blessed. I really do think that if they love to hate you, they still love you.”
Link: https://sports.yahoo.com/roman-reigns-champion-wwe-fans-dont-realize-truly-need-203509809.html

Some other sheet news includes:

WWE recently added a new collection set based on Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart to the WWE. Entire list of contents via PWI: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119640/wwe-network-adds-jim-neidhart-collection-full-details.html?p=1
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 8th anniversary of Daniel Bryan's return to the WWE since being released after Nexus's debut and infamous tie strangling incident. Bryan returned at SummerSlam 2010 as part of Team WWE for the Nnexus vs WWE Elimination match.
Chris Jericho was revealed to be the guest for next week's episode of James Ellsworth's #Duhcast podcast show ... wait a minute, even Ellsworth has a rasslin podcast show now? Jokes aside, here is the link: http://www.wrestlingperspectivepodcast.com/
Edge revealed Mauro Ranallo will be this week's guest on the Edge & Christian podcast show. https://twitter.com/EdgeRatedR/status/1029832227029508115

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Wrestlers Lash Out at Dave Meltzer Over Peyton Royce Comments (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wrestlers-lash-out-at-dave-meltzer-over-peyton-royce-comments/)
Various: Sin Cara Has Surgery, Impact Removes GFW DVDs, Lance Storm (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/various-sin-cara-has-surgery-impact-removes-gfw-dvds-lance-storm-at-wwe-pc/)
WWE: Miz & Mrs Renewed for Second Season, SD Dark Matches (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-miz-mrs-renewed-for-second-season-sd-dark-matches/)

Emperor Smeat

08-16-2018, 09:33 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Rasslin Dancing Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/karoFAQ.gif

AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Brock Lesnar are featured in the matches that have been uploaded to the WWE Network's hidden gems section this week.

Styles and Joe's matches are from 2001, with Styles facing Rick Michaels in a WWE dark match and Joe taking on Tommy Dreamer for Ultimate Pro Wrestling in California. Reigns' is from 2011 and against Corey Graves, when Reigns was Leakee in WWE's Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory.

Lesnar's match is a 2003 title defense against the "American Badass" version of The Undertaker during an overseas tour in Finland.

The theme for the uploads is featuring the four wrestlers who will be in the WWE and Universal Championship matches at SummerSlam on Sunday.
Link: http://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/08/16/exclusive-three-more-wwe-hidden-gems-additions-coming-this-week-summerslam-main-eventers-highlighted/

Elias tweeted that his concert at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City on Saturday has been canceled: “WWE Management insisted I postpone my solo concert this Saturday in New York City, however they have given me the opportunity to perform that concert live at Summer Slam.”
Link: https://twitter.com/IAmEliasWWE/status/1030206158932459521

Seth Rollins spoke to Sports Illustrated about The Rock potentially working WrestleMania and if he’d like to face him: “That’s cool, too. Don’t get me wrong. I love Rocky. I think he’s great. Love everything he’s done for this business. But my gut, my first instinct, says we don’t need him. We don't need him. If we’re not the guys who can main event WrestleMania, then how are we ever gonna be The Rock? How are we gonna be Stone Cold Steve Austin? We can’t hold onto these guys forever. We just can’t. To me, let’s do Seth Rollins-Roman Reigns before we do Seth Rollins-The Rock. That's me.”
Link: https://www.si.com/wrestling/2018/08/16/seth-rollins-rock-roman-reigns-wrestelmania-35

Charly Caruso, Sam Roberts, and Pat McAfee will again be the pre-show panel for NXT TakeOver on Saturday. The pre-show starts at 6 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card beginning at 7 p.m.

Indies Roundup:
ROH has announced Los Ingobernables de Japon member EVIL for their post-Death Before Dishonor television tapings at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on September 29. Like with KUSHIDA, he’s just announced for the tapings and not the PPV. The tapings are taking place one day before NJPW’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed show in Long Beach.

A rematch between Marty Scurll and Shane “Hurricane” Helms, Hangman Page vs. Kenny King, Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai vs. Tasha Steelz in a non-title proving ground match (Steelz gets a future title shot if she wins), Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor vs. The Boys, and Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan vs. Coast 2 Coast have been added to ROH’s TV tapings in Philadelphia on August 25.

Revolution Pro Wrestling announced Rocky Romero, Sho & Yoh vs. El Phantasmo & Aussie Open for their show at the Portsmouth Guildhall on September 7.

Johnny Impact (John Hennigan) issued a challenge to the Bullet Club for Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling cruise this October.

The full TripleMania card is scheduled to be announced on 8/21, or just four days before the show, at a press conference. That has to be a record. Right now it’s all about the four-way mask match with L.A. Park, Pentagon Jr., Psycho Clown and El Hijo del Fantasma as the only real strong draw

ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/evil-signed-death-dishonor-tv-taping-vegas , RevPro: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1029779215938404352 , Jericho Cruise: https://twitter.com/jericho_cruise/status/1030167432831410178

Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned Justin Credible is behind bars for violating a protective order.

According to authorities in Connecticut, Credible was taken into custody on Tuesday and is currently being held on a $7,500 bond.

It’s unclear at this time what the 44-year-old did to violate a protective order, he was also booked for disorderly conduct, but there was an order issued for his wife last year following a domestic dispute.

Credible’s last tweet was on Monday evening. “Welcomening,” he wrote. “The beginning of blood lost sacrifice dreams and hatred. This is become the new show I love lust Hatred and the dreams. There is a new leg and nothing in between where clowns we are just yours we are killers among men welcome to the blood lost faith in dreams.”

We’ll report back once more information is made available by authorities.

The next participant in All In’s pre-show battle royal is none other than Billy Gunn.

Gunn was the seventh participant announced for All In’s Over Budget battle royal. He joins Brian Cage (who was announced for the battle royal yesterday), Jordynne Grace, Ethan Page, Colt Cabana, Moose and Rocky Romero. There will be fifteen competitors overall.

The winner of the pre-show battle royal will get a shot at the Ring of Honor world title later on the main card. The pre-show itself, called Zero Hour, will air on WGN America starting at 6 p.m. EDT. The Briscoes taking on the SCU contingent of Christopher Daniels and Scorpio Sky will also take place on the pre-show. Other names slated include Beretta, Chucky T, Dalton Castle and Moose.
Link: https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/1030227763364593664

In a new interview, Daniel Bryan noted that he was leaning towards staying with the WWE.

Bryan was on the Sam Roberts podcast when Roberts noted that since Bryan is featured in the new WWE 2K19 video game, that he might be staying with the WWE beyond September 1 when his contract expires. Bryan said that he didn’t want to give too many details, but did give a probability of the chances of that happening.

“I think at this point it would be 90-plus percent,” he told Roberts. “It’s very likely I’ll re-sign with WWE.”

Bryan further noted that as of the show’s recording, which would be around August 6, that he had not re-signed with the company yet and that it might be a few weeks before negotiations were completed.
Link: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sam-roberts-wrestling-podcast/e/55805679

Almost seven months after joining WWE, Ronda Rousey is thinking about extending how long she wants her pro wrestling career to be.

"I love this way more than I ever thought I would," Rousey told ESPN this week.

"We had a set timeline set, and now we aren't so sure about it because I love it so much," Rousey said. "I guess that's the best thing that could've happened, that I would love it so much it would be so hard to stop. I can see why people have a hard time leaving this industry because it's such a joy to be a part of every day."

ESPN noted that the "set timeline" was because Rousey, who is married to UFC fighter Travis Browne and has two stepsons with him, intends to start a family. During the interview, she joked about maybe having her baby be her manager in WWE when that happens.

Rousey is signed to a multi-year contract with WWE.
Link: http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/24388660/ronda-rousey-already-thinking-extend-wwe-career

Legendary singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin, the internationally renowned "Queen of Soul" passed away this morning from pancreatic cancer. She was 76 years old.

Franklin made several appearances at WWE's flagship PPV event, Wrestlemania. Franklin opened the iconic Wrestlemania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987, performing "America the Beautiful" with Vince McMahon introducing her.

When Wrestlemania returned to Detroit, Michigan twenty years later in 2007, Franklin returned to again perform the song ...

WWE issued the following:

WWE is saddened to learn that legendary singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin has passed away. The multi-time Grammy Award winner performed a rousing rendition of “America the Beautiful” at WrestleMania III and again at WrestleMania 23. WWE extends its condolences to her family, friends and fans.

There was a question in today's Ask PWInsider about who takes over WWE if Vince can't continue. Trips and Steph were mentioned as taking over creative. Folks at PWInsider have often stated that the wished Shane McMahon would have more control. What's his status "company" wise, and, what the possibility of his inheriting some control?

Shane McMahon has no power from a corporate sense. He is a performer, no different from any other pro wrestler on the roster, although he does get to give his creative input and has helped put together big matches, including Royal Rumbles together. He is not currently an executive for the company.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

On Thursday’s edition of the “Art of Wrestling” podcast, Colt Cabana acknowledged the lawsuit that was filed last week against CM Punk but wasn’t going to discuss it in any detail. He did state that the story of him being backstage a WWE house show after the lawsuit by Dr. Amann had been filed, was incorrect. Cabana stated the last time he was at a WWE show was probably around four years ago when he recorded a podcast with Hornswoggle.
Link: https://soundcloud.com/coltcabana

The Ring of Honor/New Japan Pro Wrestling show on 4/6 in Madison Square Garden sold out on 8/10 less than 19 minutes after the public on-sale began ... While ROH officials would not release a gate number, it was confirmed to be well in excess of $1 million, making it the largest gate for a non-WWE pro wrestling gate not only in the United States, but likely anywhere in the world except for the Far East.

The previous largest gate for a non-WWE show in North America was $1 million, set on September 11, 2014, for the Atlantis vs. Ultimo Guerrero mask vs. mask mach at Arena Mexico. The largest ever in the United States was $930,735 set on January 4, 1999, for an episode of Nitro at the Georgia Dome. The Hulk Hogan vs. Bill Goldberg gate at the Georgia Dome months earlier was $906,330. It is possible this would be the second largest gate ever for a pro wrestling show in Madison Square Garden for wrestling, trailing WrestleMania 20 that did $2,401,000. It was the fastest sellout since WrestleMania 20 in Madison Square Garden, and second fastest of all-time. It sold out farther in advance than any pro wrestling event at the Garden. And it was the first Madison Square Garden sellout for pro wrestling since 2015.

Regarding Penta 0M and Rey Fenix, who WWE has expressed interest in, they are under contract to Lucha Underground. They have told promoters they are working for that the deal would end with this season, as there was an opt-out. If that’s the case, they would be free agents roughly six months after the last episode of the current season ends. Obviously several companies, AAA and Impact (who work together) would like to sign them up and both are strongly in AAA’s plans going forward. So they are another set of wrestlers to watch.

The thing is with Fenix is that we’ve already seen with Gran Metalik what can happen with a super high flyer, although Fenix speaks good English and Penta is learning, and Penta cuts an awesome Spanish promo. Still, we’ve had people bring up Metalik and Super Crazy (who was a super worker when he went to WWE and did nothing there, although this is a very different generation when it comes to open mindedness regarding talent) and also noted that Penta’s physique and size aren’t the type that Vince McMahon would normally push

Week three of World of Sport on ITV on 8/11 fell to 539,000 viewers, another 11 percent drop. It was hurt because Premiere League soccer started this past weekend. When you figure that ITV was doing 1.5 million viewers with a game show in that time slot, this is really bad. ITV’s goal for the time slot would be second place, but it was only in fifth place including losing to a soccer game on BT Sports that did 546,000 viewers. BT Sports is a sports subscription channel while ITV is the No. 2 broadcast network available in virtually all homes.

One major U.K. wrestling figure said that besides all the quick camera cuts, the problem is they’ve made no connection between the audience and the characters, which is one of the reasons for the declining numbers. Even in shows like Ninja Warriors on ITV, they give you vignettes to introduce everyone. An issue is that those involved with the show react to all the criticism with the idea it’s not designed for hardcore wrestling fans, but for the general public. The problem, and this goes for the U.S. and the U.K., is that there is a hardcore audience that is more into wrestling than ever before and more willing to pay for it, but as far as the casual audience goes, it’s never been smaller except during the low points in industry history

It appears Rey Mysterio Jr. has either actually signed here or if not pen to paper, it’s now virtually a sure thing he’s coming. Northeast Wrestling posted that he has pulled out of his 8/24 date in Pittsfield, MA due to WWE contractual obligations. In actuality, WWE was wanting him to rest up and not risk a knee injury before he starts up and while we don’t know the start date, he is not doing any shows after 9/2. Because he’s been gone every weekend, the feeling was to limit his dates and he did a farewell to Northeast Wrestling at the Wappingers Falls, NY show, and with Japan and All In, it was an agreement with all parties involved to have him not work the date to allow him to rest up, since he doesn’t want to miss All In.

The Crash never got Rey back to drop their world heavyweight title to Bestia 666, which seemed to be a direction at one point. WWE wants to announce his signing on their own and throughout this I was told that if he signs, nobody can say anything until WWE makes the announcement. He has been very close to a deal for months and pretty much everyone considered it just working out final terms and that he’d be there very soon. He is still doing All In and the last date he has left on his schedule at this point is a 9/2 show in Chicago for Warrior Wrestling, so the teased New Japan stuff done over the past few months for matches with Marty Scurll, Kazuchika Okada, Jushin Liger and Will Ospreay isn’t happening unless something drastic changes

All the social media teases regarding The Four Horsewomen are that they are planning a Four Horsewomen vs. Four Horsewomen match at Survivor Series, which takes place 11/18 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This was also planned and angles were shot for that in 2017, but they didn’t do it then. But now there is definitely talk of it we’ve heard from several people and teases are being sent out. Whether they pull the trigger on it or not, who knows, since even though both are getting heavily praised, Marina Shafir has only had two matches so far and Jessamyn Duke hasn’t had anything but practice matches. Both are being brought to Takeover this weekend.

The feeling is Rousey is great on the big stage when the match is completely laid out, Shayna Baszler is clearly ready, Shafir had a successful debut built around using her judo which she does well, and Duke is getting real raves for her potential. A few different people told me that in the end, she’s going to end up as the best of the four. Having said that, since personality is so much a part of this, I don’t know how she’s going to be able to be her character like Baszler is, because Baszler does that better than almost anyone at the same stage, and Rousey is still learning but she’s got a superstar aura that nobody can teach and few can create. It’s also a potential match a few weeks earlier for Evolution, although the date we were told was Survivors at Staples Center

Ultimo Ninja is in Orlando already but Garza Jr., who was supposed to be in, still hasn’t arrived. I do know that he was worried that when doing medicals that he was worried that his shoulder could be a problem and we’ve heard talk he may not be coming in at all. The Garza Jr. thing may have fallen apart due to that injury. I was told this past week that they didn’t think he was coming in. Garza Jr. then said in Mexico that he won’t be wrestling for four to six months, but is still looking for bookings and meet and greets and was announced as a referee at the next Crash show

We now know why Matt Hardy has been teasing changes to his WWE status in a series of recent cryptic tweets. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Hardy is scheduled to take some time off due to injuries.

Hardy recently revealed that his lower back and pelvis have started fusing together, and while the pain isn't too bad, it is frustrating. Hardy is planning on starting new training rehab methods that should help with the pain.

Hardy and Bray Wyatt's match against The Revival and RAW Tag Team Champions The B Team on Monday's RAW was done as the blow-off to The Deleters of Worlds tag team, as Hardy teased in his post-show tweet with Wyatt.

There has been talk of Hardy shadowing WWE producers to "learn the ropes" with the idea of him working a producer job in the future.

Hardy is scheduled to undergo treatments for his various injuries and after that is done, a decision will be made in regards to a possible ring return, what capacity he might return in and if he will have to work a limited schedule.

The three indie wrestlers who worked as The Triple Threat for the handicap squash with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers on Tuesday's show were local talents Brad Attitude, Matt Lynch and ChrisifiX.

The indie wrestler who lost to Hideo Itami on this week's WWE 205 Live episode was local talent Tracer X, who used the name Trent Newman.
Randy Orton apparently joked about some of the recent allegations against him during the dark main event at Tuesday's WWE TV tapings in Greenville, South Carolina ...

Orton approached some of the WWE staffers at ringside before the match and offered his hand for a shake, shaking the hand of one guy while laughing. The whole group then broke out in laughter.

This appeared to be a crack at the recent sexual harassment allegations against the WWE veteran. Former WWE writer Court Bauer noted in an older MLW Podcast that Orton would greet new WWE creative writers by putting his hand down his pants, pulling out his penis, touching himself and then introducing himself ...

Those allegations recently resurfaced on Reddit and were picked up by mainstream media outlets. WWE responded to media inquires and noted that they were looking into the matter but it's believed that there will be no action taken. The reaction from Orton and the WWE crew members could be a sign of how the allegations are being looked at within the company.

Some other sheet news includes:

For those interested, Sports Illustrated had a recent article on the history of the Dave Meltzer's star ratings system and the effect its had on the wrestling industry. https://www.si.com/wrestling/2018/08/15/dave-meltzer-observer-star-ratings-wwe-njpw
Impact Wrestling recently announced the card for their next One Night Only PPV event on August 25th. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119675/card-announced-for-825-impact-one-night-only-pay-per-view.html?p=1
According to the Observer, Batista is considering the idea of one more run in the WWE before officially retiring from wrestling.
Recent rumor going online hints at WWE, Warrior's estate, or someone else has been quietly white washing Warrior's bigoted past from the internet. Got discovered by Deadspin's David Bixenspan while he was working on an upcoming episode for his podcast show. https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1029935765445390337

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: Big Cass Debuting for Indie, Maria Kanellis on “Divas,” UK Title Match (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-big-cass-debuting-for-indie-maria-kanellis-on-divas-uk-title-match/)
Various: SAnitY’s Weird New Gear, Samoa Joe on People Being “Offended” (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/various-sanitys-weird-new-gear-samoa-joe-on-people-being-offended/)
Hulk Hogan Posts a New nWo Video With Kevin Nash and Scott Hall (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/hulk-hogan-posts-a-new-nwo-video-with-kevin-nash-and-scott-hall/)

slik

08-16-2018, 09:54 PM

Chris Jericho will star in a horror film for Kevin Smith, that is currently filming:

https://www.slashfilm.com/kevin-smith-killroy-was-here-movie/

slik

08-17-2018, 03:40 PM

Sasha Banks accidentally told a reporter SummerSlam 2019 would be in Los Angeles
-credit ProwrestlingSheet

I guess Los Angeles and Toronto would be polar opposites -- will be interesting to see who nabs it. If it's LA I hope they do Dodger Stadium instead of Staples Center.

Mr. Nerfect

08-17-2018, 05:30 PM

The rumor is they want to take SummerSlam to stadiums, isn't it?

Emperor Smeat

08-17-2018, 10:18 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Joey Janela's Lost in New York event:
https://lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2018/06/NY2.jpg

Voices of Wrestling recently reported Vince/WWE are currently leaning towards Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Championship over Reigns at SummerSlam. Place I read the rumor from made no mention of Braun so its possible he won't be cashing in or also loses to Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Spoiler tags used since its related to possible Universal Championship plans at SummerSlam.

Although Sasha Banks said that SummerSlam weekend next year would be in Los Angeles in an interview this week, WWE has said that they have not announced the city, but it would not be Los Angeles.

Indies Roundup:
Tenille Dashwood said that she had to pull out of this weekend's ROH U.K. show due to psoriasis, which she has battled since she was a teenager and aid this has been the worse case of her life, triggered when she was sick. She said there is no cure but it feels like burns and its tearing her skin all over her body and it's almost undbearable. She said she worked with it but it escalated and she was recently hospitalized.

Pro Wrestling Revolver on 10/20 in Des Moines, IA at the Val Air Ballroom with PCO v. Walter plus Rich Swann, Jake & Dave Crist, Sami Callihan, Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Shane Strickland and Ace Romero.

Impact vs. NGW on Twitch Sunday at 4 p.m. with Sami Callihan vs. Matt Cross, Rich Swann & Matt Sydal vs. AR Fox & Menace, Moose vs Hoodrich, Eli Drake vs. Joey Ryan, Myron Reed vs. Trevor Lee, Su Yung vs. Nicole Pain and more.

SoCal Pro on 9/15 in Vista, CA at the Boys & Girls Club with Penta 0M vs,. Ultimo Dragon, managed by Sonny Onoo.

Lucha Underground’s television viewership dropped 15% this week with 97,000 viewers tuning in on Wednesday on the El Rey Network. The show featured The Mack, Son of Havoc & Killshot defending the Trios championships against The Reptile Tribe, which was set up in the opening segment.

Satoshi Kojima returns to New Japan Pro Wrestling on Sunday, September 9th on the Road to Destruction tour following an ACL injury this past January. Kojima will be turning 48 years old next month. They have not announced who Kojima will be working with for his return.

MLW has announced that Low Ki will defend the MLW title against Rey Fenix on September 6th at their television tapings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That same show is headlined by a War Games Match and will also feature Pentagon Jr. vs. LA Park in a Mexican Massacre Match, as well as PCO taking on Brody King. The card takes place from the War Memorial Auditorium.
Dashwood: https://twitter.com/TenilleDashwood/status/1030532117057470467 , Kojima: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmjKBbCAot_/?taken-by=njpw_english_official

There is some talk in Tennessee regarding adding to the ballot a measure where they would vote on building a new stadium for a Major League Soccer team. The stadium site would be the site of the Fairgrounds in Nashville, which, if it goes on the ballot and passes, would mean the end of the legendary wrestling arena.
Link: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/08/14/nashville-major-league-soccer-stadium-council-members-seek-public-referendum/990395002/

Chris Jericho recently revealed that he had pitched an idea that would have pitted him, the IWGP Intercontinental champion, against the WWE Intercontinental champion at the time, Seth Rollins.

Jericho mentioned in the latest episode of Talk is Jericho that he recently pitched the idea to “a certain head of a certain wrestling company”.

“I’ve got something for you,” he recalled when pitching the idea. “Boffo box office. I said what do you think about Intercontinental champion vs. Intercontinental champion: Jericho vs. Rollins?”

Jericho continued, saying that the match would wind up ending in a disqualification, with Rollins’ next challenger coming in and attacking. He also would have had time to come in and set up the angle on the Raw go-home show. He later went on to say that while it got a decent response, he never heard back from the company. Rollins is also no longer the Intercontinental champion, as he lost the title to Dolph Ziggler back on June 18.

Chris Jericho has been IWGP Intercontinental champion since June 9, when he defeated Tetsuya Naito at Dominion. He hasn’t appeared on New Japan programing since, though in his last appearance seemed to set up an angle between him and EVIL.

Link: https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/tij-ep483-summerslam2018preview-fullshow

Coming off a 32-percent drop in viewership for last week's show, Impact Wrestling ratings managed to rebound a bit on Thursday night.

Last night's episode averaged 210,000 viewers on Pop TV, up from 168,000 viewers for the previous week's Impact. Last Thursday was the third-lowest number for a new episode of Impact since the company debuted on Pop.

Jan Murphy at The Whig-Standard spoke with Jeff Hardy during an international media call ahead of SummerSlam this Sunday. Hardy addressed his physical issues he is working through noting the schedule he is keeping up with the WWE and limiting the use of the Swanton. He stated that his back is doing better than it was a few weeks prior but has dealt with nerve issues with his elbow that led to his hand being asleep for seven weeks until regaining the feeling recently. He added that two goals were to have a Hell in a Cell match (which is the September pay-per-view) and to do an Ultimate Deletion match in the WWE. When his DUI charge from this past year was brought up and the recent WWE Network special, Hardy stated:

Talking about all that stuff was hard. It just sucked. I was really nervous before I watched, but after watching it, I was like, ‘Wow, that was honest, and open, and raw, and I was really pleased with the outcome of it all.’ But … I’m not going to lie, it was tough and I’ll be starting my community service this week for my recent arrest. But everything’s over, I’ve just got to make everything right now, and I’m underway and that was my first and last DUI.
Link: https://www.thewhig.com/entertainment/television/from-hardy-boyz-to-men-jeff-hardy-reflects

In one of the few interviews he has done since being reinstated by WWE, Hulk Hogan said that those who did not accept his return to the good graces of the company and reinstatement to the WWE Hall of Fame were not living up to the brotherhood that professional wrestlers share.

Appearing on the debut episode of the Apter Cast, the new podcast from longtime wrestling reporter/photographer Bill Apter, Hogan talked extensively about being blackballed by WWE in 2015 after audio leaked of racist comments he made on a sex tape. WWE management ultimately welcomed Hogan back to the company, and he addressed the entire main roster prior to the Extreme Rules pay-per-view in July where he issued a wholesale apology for his racial comments.

"A lot of people accepted my apology," Hogan said on the podcast. "And a lot of people heard what they wanted to hear and a lot of the narrative that came out of the meeting was on point. A lot of the narrative was really different. I was surprised to hear some people interpreted what I said that I was just sorry I got caught. I'm on camera, whatever they interpreted, but I never said that."

After Hogan met with current WWE talent, several African-American members of the roster made public remarks still questioning Hogan's comments and motivations. Titus O'Neil said Hogan lacked true remorse while the New Day -- Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods -- issued a collective statement on Kofi's Twitter account that they were "indifferent" to Hogan's reinstatement and found it difficult to forget.

"I just hope the brotherhood can get back to the way it was," Hogan added, drawing a parallel to how wrestlers protect one another from injury during a match. "Outside the ring, you're supposed to protect your brother. In this case, it's a situation where 75, 80, 90 percent of the wrestlers are protecting me and they're giving me another chance to move forward. There's just a few wrestlers that don't understand the bond and the brotherhood of wrestling. If someone makes a mistake, you need to forgive them and move on and try to let them prove themselves.”

Hogan added that, at the meeting at Extreme Rules, he asked if anyone had any questions for him. The only person to stand and ask a question was Mark Henry.

"I just wanted to be able to, if anybody had any questions or anybody had anything to say at that time, I really just wanted them to say it to my face so I could address it," Hogan said. "Hopefully understand the issue and get them to understand me."
Link: https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/hulk-hogan-wrestlers-who-can-t-forgive-him-don-t-understand-brotherhood-wrestling

Earlier today it was announced Jimmy Jacobs will be involved in The Over Budget Battle Hour at All In: Zero Hour. 8 of the 15 entrants have now been announced for the match: Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, Ethan Page, Brian Cage, Billy Gunn, and Jacobs.

Jimmy Jacobs is ALL IN #ZeroHour

September 1st on @wgnamerica pic.twitter.com/Eqsn3diExc
— All In (@ALL_IN_2018) August 17, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/1030590269085949954

Matt Jackson announced TGI Fridays will be a sponsor for "All In." The restaurant currently has All-In deal including one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert for $10.

Go #ALLIN at @TGIFridays, one of the official sponsors of @ALL_IN_2018! https://t.co/7v37JHJThn pic.twitter.com/u3fyjcKeDQ
— The Young Bucks (@MattJackson13) August 17, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/MattJackson13/status/1030386709895233536

WWE recently filed for new trademarks on the following Superstar names: Mike Kanellis, Bobby Lashley, Sonya Deville, Sarah Logan and Mandy Rose.

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, AJ Styles recently surpassed JBL to become the longest ever reigning WWE champion in Smackdown Brand Split Era history. Styles recently commented on the milestone: https://youtu.be/BOkVxXV3MQo

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Ambrose Match + Three Other Matches Advertised for Hell in a Cell PPV (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/ambrose-match-three-other-matches-advertised-for-hell-in-a-cell-ppv/)
Oney Lorcan Returns to the Ring After Injury (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/oney-lorcan-returns-to-the-ring-after-injury/)
Tegan Nox Reportedly Booked for Mae Young Classic Finals Before Injury (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/tegan-nox-was-reportedly-booked-for-the-mae-young-classic-finals-before-her-injury/)

Mr. Nerfect

08-17-2018, 11:32 PM

JBL to become the new top heel manager to lead an army against Styles to dethrone him.

Mr. Nerfect

08-17-2018, 11:33 PM

Would love to see a WrestleMania in Tennessee, frankly.

Simple Fan

08-17-2018, 11:33 PM

I'm all for both happening.

slik

08-18-2018, 02:28 AM

The rumor is they want to take SummerSlam to stadiums, isn't it?

Yeah, rumor has it both Rumble And SummerSlam will be more medium-sized stadiums going forward.

slik

08-20-2018, 03:43 PM

***HOT NEWS*** courtesy of the Barnburner Podcast again

Daniel Bryan & Dolph Ziggler both declined to sign new contracts w/ WWE

Big Vic

08-20-2018, 03:54 PM

mmmm that's some niceeeeeeeeeeee Slikbait.

Fignuts

08-20-2018, 03:58 PM

SLIK NEWS

slik

08-20-2018, 03:59 PM

Time will tell if they are right or wrong, they seem to be right more often than wrong so far

slik

08-20-2018, 04:07 PM

I can't wait.

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/prowrestling/images/f/f6/StevieRichards.png/revision/latest?cb=20131029035213

Jordan

08-20-2018, 05:03 PM

Slik I don't know how you made it through more than 5 minutes of that podcast but they do have some good scoops. I'm glad you can be sacrifice for us all. I hope so badly this is true, there is no way WWE can lock him into a 1 year no compete, fucking assholes.

Jordan

08-20-2018, 05:06 PM

Would love to see a WrestleMania in Tennessee, frankly.

Are you from Tennessee?

I am originally from Knoxville which would be a great host city. Neyland Stadium seats over 100,000 and is beautiful. Thompson Bowling can seat over 20,000 for NXT, Raw and Smackdown. Knox County Civic Coliseum (my first wrestling card) seats up to 6,000 and is a wonderful place to watch wrestling would be great for HOF or ROH/NJPW. GREAT food, and it would be huge for the economy there.

Mr. Nerfect

08-21-2018, 01:35 AM

Nah, I'm not from Tennessee. I just think the aesthetic and the wrestling history would add a cool vibe to the show. They probably won't do anything with the history themselves.

Mr. Nerfect

08-21-2018, 01:37 AM

I would be so fucking stoked if Bryan and Ziggler left the WWE and signed Sinclair/New Japan contracts. Between the two entities, there's no reason they can't give these guys options comparable to WWE. And there's also the artistic catharsis.

Emperor Smeat

08-21-2018, 10:03 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by WWE's non-Emmy Award Winning Camera Work:
https://i.imgur.com/VekOsy1.gif

With the bump coming from being the day after one of the big three WWE events of the year, last night's Raw did 3.09 million viewers, its best number since April 23.

The show peaked in hour two, but even with a 305,000 viewer third-hour drop, it was still the best third hour of the summer ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 3.11 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.24 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.94 million viewers

AAA held a press conference on Tuesday to promote this Saturday’s TripleMania event from Arena Ciudad, which will be streamed on Twitch in English and Spanish. The English commentary team will consist of Matt Striker and Vampiro. Below are the matches they have announced:
*Pentagon Jr. vs. El Hijo del Fantasma vs. LA Park vs. Psycho Clown in a four-way mask match inside a steel cage, the last two remaining will have a match and the loser is unmasked
*Lady Shani vs. Faby Apache in a Mask vs. Hair match
*Jeff Jarrett vs. Brian Cage vs. Fenix vs. Rich Swann for the AAA Mega heavyweight title
*Pagano, Joe Lider & Murder Clown vs. Texano Jr., Rey Escorpion & La Mascara in a street fight
*Chessman, Averno & Super Fly vs. Juventud Guerrera, Jack Evans & Teddy Hart in a lumberjack match
*Maximo, Pimpinela Escarlata & Mamba vs. Tito Santana, Carta Brava Jr. & Mocho Cota Jr. vs. El Hijo de LA Park, Puma King & Taurus
*Aerostar & Drago vs. Bandido & Flamita vs. Laredo Kid & Golden Magic vs. Andrew Everett & DJZ in a ladder match
*Big Mami & Nino Hamburguesa vs. El Hijo del Vikingo & Vanilla vs. Dinastia & Lad Maravilla vs. Angelikal & La Hiedra
*Australian Suicide defending the AAA Cruiserweight title in a 10-way match

Indies Roundup:
Another member of the NJPW roster has been added to ROH's post-Death Before Dishonor television tapings in Las Vegas. ROH has announced that SANADA will be making his return to the promotion at their tapings at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on September 29th. EVIL (SANADA's Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate) and KUSHIDA are also set for the tapings.

Matt Jackson and Flip Gordon parodied the scene between Terry Funk and Dennis Stamp from Beyond the Mat on this week’s Being the Elite.

Matt Sydal vs. Rich Swann vs. Trevor Lee is set for Impact Wrestling’s show in Manchester, England on September 9, which is part of Wrestling MediaCon. Sami Callihan vs. Jimmy Havoc on the event is now a barbwire bat death match.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. ACH has been added to MLW’s War Games event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 6.

Low Ki vs. Jonah Rock has been announced for NHPW in Australia on 11/30. It will be an MLW title match if Low Ki is still champion on that date.
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/sanada-signed-death-dishonor-tv-taping-vegas , Elite: https://youtu.be/vGTfl1s5pdc , Impact: https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1031964150652698624 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/08/21/ach-looks-to-avenge-partner-as-he-goes-to-war-with-davey-boy-smith-jr-sept-6/

Arturo Diaz Mendoza, best known as Villano III, passed away today at the age of 66.

Diaz was considered one of the biggest stars in the history of Lucha Libre, and was the son of Hall of Famer Rey Mendoza.

Mendoza's sons all used the Villano name, and he was Villano III because he followed his two older brothers into pro wrestling in 1970.

Arturo was considered the best wrestler in the family and the second biggest star, behind his father ...

He was actually best known for his run as WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, a title that was never defended in the WWF, but was a major title within the UWA as well as New Japan Pro Wrestling.

His mask match loss to Atlantis on March 17, 2000, is generally considered one of the greatest matches in Lucha Libre history ...

Prior to the loss to Atlantis, he had retained his mask in at least 58 consecutive matches, which has to be among the most wins of that type in Lucha Libre history.

Three matches are official for NJPW's next show in the United States.

Cody Rhodes challenging for Juice Robinson's IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, The Young Bucks defending their IWGP Tag Team titles against Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa, and Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship tournament semifinal match have been announced for Fighting Spirit Unleashed, which will take place at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California on September 30.

Ospreay vs. Scurll is part of a four-man tournament to decide the next Junior Heavyweight Champion. KUSHIDA will face BUSHI at Destruction in Kobe on September 23 in the other semifinal match, and the finals will be held at King of Pro Wrestling on October 8.

Hiromu Takahashi had to relinquish the Junior Heavyweight title after suffering a neck injury at last month's G1 Special in San Francisco.

CMLL will be announcing its Anniversary show on Wednesday. The long pushed L.A. Park vs. Rush mask vs. hair match looks to be off. It's been rumored off for weeks even though both were pushing it the last time Park was at Arena Mexico, and he's booked there again on Friday. Rush & Cavernario vs. Volador Jr. & Matt Taven in some form of hair match was teased in challenges on Friday. They did a brawl on Friday with Volador and Rush, with Volador wanting a match. Rush asked the crowd if they wanted him to face Volador or L.A. Park, figuring the brawl would make them say Volador and that would be the way out of it. Except, the live crowd wanted Park.

As reported earlier today in the Elite section of PWInsider.com, the word backstage at WWE Smackdown today in Brooklyn, NY is that WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champion Erick Rowan will be heading to Birmingham, Alabama this week for surgery to repair a bicep tear.

All signs point to Rey Mysterio finishing his independent obligations at Lucha Expo in Las Vegas and "All In" next week before officially returning to WWE.

Ronda Rousey commented on her Raw Women's Championship victory last night at Summerslam:

The creativity of fate never ceases to amaze me... I do not take this responsibility lightly. I will devote every fiber of my being to carry on and elevate the legacy of the scores of women who gave their bodies and hearts to the @wwe to get us this far. #rawwomenschampionship pic.twitter.com/gUTMVDQyKO
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 20, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/RondaRousey/status/1031604736506716160

Following Saturday’s TakeOver card, there was a lot of speculation that Shayna Baszler may be set for a main roster call-up. While I don’t know if she is being called up imminently or not, I was told that she isn’t done with NXT yet. It’s possible that she could be called up and finish up a program in NXT, but as it was told to me, Saturday was not the end of Baszler’s NXT tenure.

It was on this date in 2005 that Hulk Hogan had his last great drawing match on pay-per-view at SummerSlam with Shawn Michaels. The match is more remembered today for Michaels’ antics during the match in overselling Hogan’s offense and appearing to work the match as his own protest over losing to Hogan, who made the call he was winning the match. The following night, Michaels cut a promo on Hogan that upset Hogan and the idea of the two having a series of matches was off. The actual build to the show was executed very well following a heel turn by Michaels in early July by superkicking Hogan and setting up the first-time meeting. Michaels did some of the best work of his career that summer as a heel, including a segment where he portrayed Hogan during a spoof of the Larry King Live show. The pay-per-view drew a reported 640,000 pay-per-view buys.

WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns made history with the SummerSlam win over Brock Lesnar by becoming the first WWE Grand Slam Champion to hold the Universal Title.

WWE has a new poll asking fans which of RAW's three new "fighting champions" will keep their title the longest. As of this writing, 56% voted for RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey while 29% voted for WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and 15% voted for WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins.

WWE recently filed to trademark the following names: ECW (for merchandising), Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe and Shayna Baszler.

Some other sheet news includes:

NJPW recently released the cards for next month's set of Destruction events. https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/full-cards-released-next-months-njpw-destruction-shows-264151
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 39th anniversary of Dusty Rhodes 1st ever NWA Championship victory. Rhodes defeated then champion Harley Race for the title.
In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, this year's SummerSlam was the first time since 2003 that John Cena was not on the card or involved in the show in any way.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Angle vs. Jordan, Rollins vs. Ambrose Were Planned for WrestleMania 34 (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/angle-vs-jason-jordan-rollins-vs-ambrose-were-planned-for-wrestlemania-34/)
WWE: Possible NXT Call Ups, Brock Lesnar Update (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-possible-nxt-call-ups-brock-lesnar-update/)
First NXT UK Women’s Champion Will Be Crowned This Weekend (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/first-nxt-uk-womens-champion-will-be-crowned-this-weekend/)
Erick Rowan Injured During SummerSlam (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/erick-rowan-injured-during-summerslam/)
Various: GLOW Renewed, Rousey Photos, Ambrose Top 10, Story Time BTS (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/various-glow-renewed-rousey-photos-ambrose-top-10-story-time-bts/)

Emperor Smeat

08-22-2018, 09:26 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by The Most Electrifying Woman in Sports Entertainment ... The Beck:
https://i.imgur.com/VvbFIg8.gif

Coming off SummerSlam, last night's SmackDown averaged 2.437 million viewers, the show's best total since April 24 of this year.

SmackDown was up 11 percent from last week and followed a big night for Monday Night Raw ratings as well, with SmackDown retaining 79 percent of that show's audience.

It was a strong night overall for cable TV viewership as, despite the big jump from last week, the show failed to crack the top 10 in overall viewership, finishing at number 11. SmackDown did top the 18-49 demo, as it usually does, with a 0.77 rating. Miz and Mrs., which follows SmackDown on the USA Network, did 1.235 million viewers overall and posted a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demo, tied for third place.

SmackDown was down nine percent from last year's post-SummerSlam episode, the 10th straight week the show has had a year-over-year decline.

CMLL has released the full card for their Aniversario show next month.

The biggest news is that after months of hype between Rush and L.A. Park, the match is officially not happening. During today's press conference, it was revealed that Rush will instead team with Barbaro Cavernario to take on the team of Matt Taven and Volador Jr in a hair match. L.A. Park will appear on the show, but instead will be in the co-main event as he will team with Hijo de L.A. Park and Caristico, squaring off against King Phoenix (Fenix), Penta El Zero M (Pentagon Jr.) and Dinamate Azul ...

Here is the full card for the 85th CMLL Aniversario show, which will run in Arena Mexico on September 14:

Volador Jr. and Matt Taven vs. Barbaro Cavernario and Rush in a hair match
Caristico, L.A. Park and Hijo de L.A. Park vs. King Phoenix, Penta El Zero M and Dinamate Azul
Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero and Euphoria vs. Ciber the Main Man, The Chris and Sharlie Rockstar for the CMLL World trios titles
Mistico, Atlantis and Soberano Jr. vs. Sanson, Cuatrero and Forastero
Niebla Roja, Ángel de Oro and El Audaz vs. Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas and Felino
Princesa Sugehit, Marcela and Jarochita vs. Reyna Isis, Dalys and La Maligna

It was announced today that for the first time, the Los Ingobernables de Japon stable will be making an appearance in Arena Mexico.

CMLL announced today during a press conference that Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and EVIL will make an appearance at the Friday 8/31 Arena Mexico show. They will be taking on the team of Volador Jr., LA Park and Dinamate Azul. Although Naito and BUSHI have made appearances for CMLL in the past, this would mark their first time they are coming in as a group. It would be EVIL’s first time appearing for the company.

In addition to the LIJ announcement, CMLL also announced that The Briscoes and David Finlay will compete in their CMLL Gran Prix tournament on October 5. Four more foreign wrestlers will later be announced on their talk show, Informa.

Indies Roundup:
Major League Wrestling has signed Myron Reed to a contract.

Taya Valkyrie will debut at the MLW Wargames event on 9/6, teaming with Joey Ryan against MJF & Aria Blake.

Brian Pillman II will make his in-ring MLW debut at the 9/6 event as well in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Impact Wrestling will be taping their post-Bound for Glory PPV TV tapings in Long Island City, Queens, NY at The Melrose Ballroom on Monday 10/15 and Tuesday 10/16. That is the same venue that MLW uses in NYC and that will host the Bound for Glory PPV on 10/14.

Revolution Pro Wrestling announced WALTER & Timothy Thatcher vs. Chris Brooks & Jonathan Gresham for their September 8 show in Manchester, which is night one of this year’s British J-Cup.

Low Ki is set to defend the MLW World Championship against Jonah Rock at New Horizon Pro Wrestling’s show in Perth, Australia on November 30.

Above is the latest NWA Wrestling video looking back at Cody Rhodes and Nick Aldis' road to their NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship match at "All In" on September 1. Some footage is shown of Cody working out with former WCW wrestler, Glacier, and WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page.
Taya: https://mlw.com/2018/08/22/taya-valkyrie-debuts-sept-6-in-mixed-tag-match-with-joey-ryan-vs-mjf-aria-blake/ , RevPro: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1032286578935250945 , NHPW: https://mlw.com/2018/08/21/world-heavyweight-championship-to-be-defended-in-australia/ , NWA: https://youtu.be/BBCn2KKRpKU

With hip hop star Wale appearing on last night's edition of 205 Live, we've gotten several emails about what that means for Major League Wrestling, which Wale has been associated with for a number of years.

We are told that of late, WWE has made overtures to talents and behind the scenes staffers who have been working for MLW, which airs nationally on BeIN Sports, in attempts to bring them in. Wale being used last night wasn't a coincidence and was seen as an extention of those efforts.

While everything is still up in the air, the odds of MLW running another Walemania event over Wrestlemania weekend (which was the plan for next year in New York City) are not looking good at the moment.

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler appeared yesterday on Memphis Local 24 discussing the death of his Brian Lawler.

The complete interview can be watched below, but Lawler noted that the family has still not heard any actual answers regarding Brian's death and that they are living in a nightmare they cannot wake up from.

Lawler noted that in his final conversation with Brian, which was recorded by the jail, and that Brian had about how bad the conditions in the jail were and that none of the things that had been stated would happen in a previous meeting had not. That was 10 AM in the morning. The call was only allowed to last 15 minutes and they were cut off.

Several hours later, Lawler's fiancee received a call around 2 PM advising them that Brian had gotten into a fight with another inmate and had been "acting a fool" but everything was fine and he had been stitched up due to a cut over his eye. They later learned from witnesses that that account they were told wasn't what really happened.

Later that evening, Lawler was called by a Deputy Sheriff and told, "Mister Lawler, I'm sorry, but your son Brian has hung himself in the jail." Lawler said that based on everyone they've heard from and spoken to, none of it adds up and they still haven't received any answers and "it just doesn't jibe."
Link: https://youtu.be/pCxy-s9ig3s

Within WWE, the remark that has been made regarding the future of former WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is that "the door is open" for a return down the line, but all expectations are that he will be focusing on his UFC return for early 2019. When his MMA return has completed its latest journey, WWE would be happy to have him back.

In regard to a rumor that has been making the rounds, there was no version of this week's Raw script that featured any appearances by Brock Lesnar. He was never, actually scheduled for Raw (despite the fact that the company advertised him all the way to the night before the show) and flew home Sunday right after the PPV on a private plane.

One story that has floated online is that the Triple H promo on Raw replaced a Paul Heyman/Brock Lesnar promo, but based on WWE Creative sources, that was never the case. As one source told us, if they needed a Brock-related promo inside the ring, they could have simply had Paul Heyman (who was indeed at Raw) cut the promo in front of the live crowd. Instead, they taped the Heyman-Kurt Angle vignette.

The only major change to the Raw script that we have heard of was Dolph Ziggler wrestling Dean Ambrose when the original idea was for Drew McIntyre to face Ambrose. Beyond that, the script remained the same most of the day and the HHH promo was always in there, designed to be a "local promo" to push the Super Show-Down Australia event.

WCCW Star Wars from 1981 is going to be added to the WWE Network as this week’s addition to the Hidden Gems section.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/08/22/exclusive-this-weeks-wwe-hidden-gems-addition-revealed-and-its-a-big-one/

Jericho appeared on today’s episode of James Ellsworth’s “#DuhCast” and said he’d be open to working for other non-WWE promotions if it’s creatively satisfying and something he can really sink his teeth into. He said he’s loyal to WWE, but the time of him saying he'll never work for anyone other than Vince McMahon in the United States is gone. Jericho said it’s a whole new world and different market than it used to be.
Link: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-vrt9m-97d444

WWE Chief Branding Officer Stephanie McMahon was a recent guest on #MaxOut with Ed Mylett to discuss the rise of the women's division, Ronda Rousey, and more.

McMahon was asked about how the Women's Revolution – now the Women's Evolution – began, and she explained the one match that only lasted for 30 seconds, which sparked a hashtag that lasted for three days. McMahon also elaborated on Triple H's influence in NXT, and how that further sparked the Revolution.

"It was a lot of what [Triple H] started to do at NXT, which NXT – for those of you who don't know – started off as our develpmental show, and is now really evolved into a third global touring brand in and of itself and is one of the most watched programs on the WWE Network," said Stephanie. "But my husband started to recruit elite athletes, men and women, and he started training the women same as the men and giving them the same opportunities, because – like anything else – repetitions is how you are gonna get better.

"So at our live events that we do, our local live events, which is where, non-televised, our talent often learn the skills. That's where they hone the craft, the live audience gives a reaction, and that's how you learn what's working, what's not working, and worse, what they don't care about... so he started giving them those opportunities, and them our audience responded in kind. Because these women were so awesome, and they started chanting, 'this is wrestling' and 'women's wrestling'."
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AogqXmgqPQA

A Kickstarter campaign was started at this link to fund printing and distribution of the authorized biographical comic book miniseries of WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino. The series has the full blessing of his family, as Bruno signed a contract for it last summer. The story is written by John Crowther, based on his personal interviews with Bruno in 2017, and is illustrated by DC & Marvel Comics veteran, Rich Perotta.
Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laporte/bruno-sammartino-the-true-life-story-of-a-wrestlin

Some other sheet news includes:

For those interested in the NJPW DLC pack for Fire Pro World on PC, developer Spike Chunsoft announced it has been delayed till late September. Those interested in the PS4 version will still get the DLC pack at the game's launch on August 28th. https://steamcommunity.com/games/564230/announcements/detail/1694929955865413470
Recent episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast show had Cody & The Young Bucks as the guests. https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/tij-ep484-allinwithcodyandbucks-fullshow

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Kurt Angle Training for Return to the Ring (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/kurt-angle-training-for-return-to-the-ring/)
Cody Says Bullet Club Will Make Their Next Move “Together” (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/cody-says-bullet-club-will-make-their-next-move-together-after-contracts-expire/)
Various: Impact UK Show, New Young Bucks Theme, Vice Wrestling Show (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/various-impact-live-uk-show-new-young-bucks-theme-viceland-wrestling-show/)
Jason Jordan Taking on Backstage Role, In-Ring Future Uncertain (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/jason-jordan-taking-on-backstage-role-in-ring-future-uncertain/)

slik

08-23-2018, 04:56 AM

Barnburner reporting DBry has come to terms w/WWE after much back and forth:

http://www.bodyslam.net/2018/08/22/update-on-daniel-bryans-contract-status/

WWE is discussing doing another Superstar Shakeup before 2018 ends

http://www.bodyslam.net/2018/08/22/another-wwe-superstar-shake-up-potentially-happening-later-this-year/

Rybak / WWE have had some discussions about him returning to the company

http://www.bodyslam.net/2018/08/22/former-wwe-intercontinental-champion-in-talks-about-a-return-to-company/

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BarnBurner has learned: <br>Their is a plan in place to have a Major <a href="https://twitter.com/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWE</a> event in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Toronto?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Toronto</a> Every 3-5 Years. Started Last year..<br><br>Survivor Series 2016 <br>Summerslam 2019<br>Royal Rumble 2022<br>Wrestlemania 2025-2027<br><br>Royal Rumble,Wrestlemania could be flipped <a href="https://t.co/ywQaQS9hEl">pic.twitter.com/ywQaQS9hEl</a></p>— BarnBurner (@TheBarnBurns) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBarnBurns/status/1031520478614224896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Brock has completed his contractual obligations w/ WWE. They are open to him returning in the future when he is finished with UFC, be it RR/WM or 18-24 months down the line, which is why it was scripted he would one day get a rematch for the Universal Title.

- PWInsider

Mr. Nerfect

08-23-2018, 08:28 AM

That's not really that surprising. WrestleMania 2022 would be Mania 38. We all know what that is an anniversary of...

Emperor Smeat

08-23-2018, 09:55 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random Attitude Era gif:
https://i.giphy.com/media/9ljA82yMH1N4s/giphy.gif

In what is being reported as an end result of a power struggle, Michael Luisi is out as president of WWE Studios.

Deadline reported this morning that Luisi is out following a clash with Michelle Wilson, who is co-president of the WWE alongside George A. Barrios. The report didn’t indicate that the clash was about. In the interim, the studio will be headed by Wilson.

Luisi had been part of the studio for the last eight years as WWE has continued to finance and produce films, mostly for the home viewing market though several of their films have also been released in theaters. He had previously served executive positions at New Line Cinema, Miramax and the Weinstein Company.
Link: https://deadline.com/2018/08/michael-luisi-exit-wwe-studios-shakeup-vince-mcmahon-dwayne-johnson-fighting-with-my-family-michelle-wilson-1202451189/

The locally advertised main event for the 10/15 Monday Night Raw in Philadelphia is The Shield vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin, so there are no apparent plans for the Shield reunion to also be a heel turn.

The WWE Network today added a near-complete card for the Big Time Wrestling Star Wars '81 event from the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas to their Hidden Gems area in the VOD component of the Network. Big Time Wrestling was the precursor to World Class Championship Wrestling, which officially kicked off when their TV series of the same name debuted.

The Star Wars '81 card, which took place 2/21/81, features:
*Mil Mascaras vs. Tim Brooks
*The Great Kabuki with manager Gary Hart vs. Fritz Von Erich: Texas Death Match.
*Kerry Von Erich challenges Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
*David and Kevin Von Erich challenge Hercules Ayala & Ali Mustafa for the World-Class Wrestling Association Tag Team Championship.
*Battle Royal.

Missing from the card is an undercard match featuring Bruiser Brody defeating Chan Chung.

The event was acquired by WWE from Kevin Von Erich as part of the World Class video library. It would be, to date, the oldest material featured from that territory on the WWE Network.
Teaser trailer released by the WWE: https://youtu.be/jiohpSsYXZI

The Giant Bomb video with Jack Gallagher in the message above is a great chat with the cruiserweight star. He discusses the origin of the Gentleman character, his origins and professional wrestling, living in Florida, WWE travel schedule and much more definitely worth a look.
Link: https://youtu.be/ii6XlJbIko8

On 8/17, New Japan Pro Wrestling applied to register US trademarks for G1 Climax, G1 Supercard and G1 Special.

Over the past few weeks, WWE applied to register the following

Mike Kanellis
Sarah Logan
Mandy Rose
Sonya Deville
Killian Dain
Alexander Wolfe
Shayna Bazler
Bobby Lashley
Corey Graves
Kairi Sane
Kyle O'Reilly
Bobby Fish

On 8/13, they also applied to register a new ECW trademark but for clothing purposes.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has stated that it will be several weeks before a final report is released into the investigation over the death of Brian Lawler. Jerry Lawler has been speaking publicly about the investigation and stories that have been relayed from inmates in the prison. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported this week that an inmate had been using Brian’s social security number to make outgoing calls with an affidavit filed last week accusing the inmate of identity theft. This included a call made on Saturday, July 28th (the day before Brian died) to Brian’s mother to alert her that her son had suffered a concussion during a fight inside the jail and to let Jerry know. Jerry’s lawyer, Ted Hansom, in unaware who filed the affidavit as this case continues to bring up many questions with few answers while the TBI continues to investigate.

Indies Roundup:
Lucha Underground did their lowest number of the season this week with an average of 94,000 viewers on the El Rey Network. It was a drop from last week’s viewership of 97,000.

WWN has announced the cards for their next weekend of EVOLVE shows on September 7th in Joppa, Maryland and September 8th in Queens, New York. Below are the cards for each night:
*EVOLVE 112: Joey Janela vs. Austin Theory for the WWN title, Chris Dickinson vs. AR Fox, Josh Briggs vs. Jon Davis, Jaka vs. Trey Miguel
*EVOLVE 113: Shane Strickland vs. Tracy Williams for the EVOLVE title, Chris Dickinson & Jaka vs. The Skulk for the tag titles, AR Fox vs. Austin Theory, Joey Janela vs. Trey Miguel in a non-title match, Darby Allin vs. Josh Briggs

While not yet announced, with the 5 p.m. Pacific (8 p.m. Eastern) start time, the NJPW Long Beach show, like the previous New Japan shows in California, will air live on AXS. We’ve been told that is scheduled right now but no official announcement has been made.

Week four of World of Sport on ITV did 545,000 viewers, which was up from last week, but still bad. It had a new lead-in as instead of the game show “The Chase,” they put in the movie “Scorpion King” starring Dwayne Johnson. ITV rarely runs Saturday afternoon movies but it appears they were using a Johnson movie to help the lead-in. Scorpion King from 3:15 to 5 p.m. did 609,000 viewers.

On his podcast this week, Jim Ross said that he thinks Josh Barnett will be unavailable for NJPW’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed show in Long Beach, California on September 30. Ross said one of Barnett’s fighters has a fight in Japan against Bob Sapp for Rizin and he’s not sure if Barnett will be back in time to call the show with him on AXS. Ross said it’s still being worked on, but they have a pretty good plan in place.

Michael Elgin, The Briscoes, Flip Gordon, David Finlay, Dark Magic, Okumura, and El Mesias will be the international team for CMLL’s Gran Prix on October 5.

PROGRESS announced that Jimmy Havoc and Will Ospreay will face off in a two-out-of-three falls, no DQ match at their show at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on Monday. Paul Robinson will be the referee. If Havoc wins, he advances to the main event of PROGRESS’ show at SSE Wembley on September 30. Tyler Bate vs. Mark Haskins is also set for Monday’s show, with the winner getting a spot in the Wembley Arena main event for WALTER's PROGRESS Championship.
Ross: https://omny.fm/shows/the-ross-report/all-in-primer-with-the-young-bucks-nick-and-matt-j , CMLL: http://www.thecubsfan.com/cmll/2018/08/23/cmll-gran-prix-park-rush-aaa-secret-cruiserweight-title-match/ , PROGRESS: https://twitter.com/ThisIs_Progress/status/1032705349793587200

I’ve been asked my a number of independent promoters about Rey Fenix and Penta 0M. The main thing is that both are not taking any dates in 2019, which is usually a sign of going to WWE. At the same time, the expectation is Fenix winning the AAA world title, and AAA has already been burned in the past when Alberto was champion years ago and then told them at the last minute (like a month after agreeing to the deal but a little before his secret WWE return) and vowed to come back and lose it and fulfill his remaining dates, only to do none of that ... But two different promoters in recent weeks when asking me about them said essentially that when it comes to going to WWE, that the American wrestlers are professional about it and work with them as best they can to make things right and tip them off, but that this is more mysterious. It is not clear they are going for sure, but once they became evasive on date and questions, the belief is it must be the case because if they were going to New Japan, and really New Japan is overloaded with talent at this point so that wouldn’t be likely, they’d have plenty of dates to work around the schedule. Impact and Lucha Underground don’t run full enough schedules to where they wouldn’t take any dates. Then they both worked in Mexico on 8/19 and we’re told Penta wasn’t outwardly showing signs of any back injury. Granted, things heal and all that. But the nature of missing the shows here combined with everything has people very skeptical right now. The question also regards Lucha Underground, as they would be under contract there until six months after the conclusion of the current television season

The lead idea for the Evolution main event on 10/28 at the Nassau Coliseum is Rousey vs. Nikki Bella, with the idea you are headlining with the two biggest mainstream women stars in the company. That was the match we heard as the scheduled main event last week and they seemed to start the tease at SummerSlam with the Bellas watching Rousey win the title and sharing in her celebration with Rousey and Natalya. It’s also not at 100 percent locked in as many think about Rousey vs. Charlotte for WrestleMania. It’s certainly an idea on the boards, but there are a number of ideas . They announced Bliss vs. Trish Stratus for the show over the weekend. This is probably a dream match for Bliss who internally has been patterned after the heel version of Stratus. Another match confirmed is the Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai Mae Young Classic final , and obviously both the Smackdown and NXT women’s titles will be defended on the show.
Spoiler tag used since its related to this year's Mae Young Classic finals.

Another note regarding Tegan Nox and her knee injury, it was very much not a lock that Storm was going to win the tournament and Nox was actually the probable winner. Storm vs. Nox was the scheduled Evolution match and Mae Young Classic final before Nox got hurt. But Nox was said to be in consideration for winning the whole thing
Once again spoiler tags used since its related to the MYC finals.

Lisa Riddle, Matt’s wife, on 8/12 did an interview where she acknowledged his signing (which was supposed to be a no-no, even though everyone knew as such a thing is hard to keep secret when one of the top indie guys stops taking dates). She said in June that Matt had gotten an offer from New Japan. When WWE found out about the offer as Matt told Gabe Sapolsky, who he was under contract with at WWN about it, and Sapolsky also works behind-the-scenes at NXT, so shortly after he told Sapolsky, Matt suddenly got a call from Paul Levesque. After a 30 minute discussion, Levesque offered a contract.

In Saudi Arabia, they said WWE would be coming back in November, while George Barrios at the investors call said it would be an annual thing.
The date that had been agreed on originally, at least the Saudi Arabian government believed and we’ve also heard this date is 11/2, the Friday immediately after the Evolution PPV

There is at least talk of Heyman being kept as a television performer. In a sense, he’s too good not to be. There has always been talk of Heyman and Rousey to be put together if Lesnar leaves, and actually it was something discussed before Lesnar extended his contract. I don’t think it’s time for Rousey to be a heel, and for a lot of reason, who knows when it will be the time. Plus if Rousey is going to work with Stephanie again, it’s hard to see where Heyman would fit in

What was expected to be the biggest match in Mexico of the year, a hair vs. mask match with Rush vs. L.A. Park, is not happening.

The story behind it is sketchy, because Park (Adolfo Tapia) came to Arena Mexico on 5/25, immediately started up a feud with Rush that had been hot in several independent matches around Mexico in recent years ...

Still, Park and Rush continually challenged each other to a hair vs. mask match whenever Park worked at Arena Mexico, which were five shows since late May, including a double count out in a heated singles match on 6/22.

The first sign was when Anniversary tickets went on sale a few weeks ago and they were less expensive than expected. The appearance is that CMLL is not interested in Rush losing his hair, which would be the way out of this match even if the whole thing started with Park being willing. Park has pushed that he is willing to lose the mask, but whether the payday wasn’t good enough, or more likely, his career being revitalized over the last three months at a level none expected made him feel, and correctly so, that the time wasn’t right.

Park is now in great demand all over Mexico, the hottest he has been in years and perhaps drawing the best he has in a long career. Park is scheduled to be one of the key players going forward with MLW, and he needs the mask to be at that level. There is also talk of interest from other U.S. promotions, notably Impact.

Recently on The Steve Austin Show, WWE Hall Of Famer Steve Austin weighed in on SummerSlam weekend. Specifically, Austin shared his thoughts on Kevin Owens getting "steamrolled" by Braun Strowman at SummerSlam. Also, Austin talked about the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.

On the subject of Owens vs. Strowman, Austin claimed that the match was "a lot shorter than [he] anticipated" before explaining that he did not appreciate Owens getting squashed.

"I hope Kevin Owens can claw his way back to where he was. Hopefully, they're booking him to get back to where he was. I'm a big fan of both guys. I'm friends with both guys, but, man, with Braun, Braun is a big guy. And Kevin has been in the picture for a lot of titles, held a lot of titles, and I just thought, 'man, he didn't get s--t in, so, eh, I just wasn't a fan." Austin continued, "yeah, I just didn't think Kevin Owens needed to get steamrolled because he's a top guy. And, obviously, Braun Strowman is still green, but he's a top guy. They're grooming him for bigger and better things, but KO didn't need to get squashed in the process."
Link: https://www.podcastone.com/episode/NXT-Takeover-Brooklyn-IV-WWE-SummerSlam-2018

Road Dogg responded to a fan on Twitter who said the story they’re telling on SmackDown between Becky Lynch and Charlotte has been Lynch fighting and struggling for a title shot while Charlotte was handed an opportunity and took away a moment from Lynch: “That’s not the story you were told, that’s the story you wanted to hear. She had to do the exact same thing as Charlotte did, beat Carmella! They both climbed the exact same mountain”
Road Dogg tends to get really pissy online whenever someone complaints or takes issue with the way he helps books SmackDown. https://twitter.com/WWERoadDogg/status/1032613048161370112

WWE.com has a poll asking fans whether they supported Lynch the entire time that she was trying to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Link: https://www.wwe.com/polls/did-you-support-becky-lynch-the-entire-time-she-was-trying-to-win-the-smackdown-womens-title

Some other sheet news includes:

According to the Observer, the finish for the NXT title match at Brooklyn IV was indeed the original plan for the match based on his sources. Also stated Gargano's injury is part of an upcoming angle Triple H has planned for NXT.
Also according to the Observer, there have been recently talks of ROH getting a new parent company due to several outside companies are currently interested in purchasing Sinclair.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Roman Reigns Is #1 Merchandise Seller in WWE, Overtaking John Cena (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/roman-reigns-is-1-merchandise-seller-in-wwe-overtaking-john-cena/)
Brock Lesnar News: Segment Pulled From Raw, Drug Tested by USADA (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/brock-lesnar-news-segment-pulled-from-raw-drug-tested-three-times-by-usada/)

slik

08-24-2018, 12:32 PM

Hmmm

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’d make sure if I was a fan, and want to see something that most likely won’t occur ever again, I would attend the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoyalRumble?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoyalRumble</a> this year.</p>— 17ABay �� (@TicketDrew) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicketDrew/status/1033028332009545728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Emperor Smeat

08-24-2018, 09:50 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Ambrose's News & Improved Non-Wacky Line:
https://i.imgur.com/puE5bax.gif

Ratings for Thursday's episode of Impact were about even with last week's numbers.

The show averaged 212,000 viewers on Pop TV, up just under one percent from last Thursday. At 248,000, 168,000, 210,000, and 212,000 viewers, the last four episodes have been the four lowest audiences for Impact in 2018. All four went up against preseason football ...

For a year-over-year comparison, the August 24, 2017 episode of Impact drew 296,000 viewers.

New Japan Pro Wrestling's next show in the United States will be airing on AXS TV a few days after taking place.

AXS announced today that Fighting Spirit Unleashed, which will be held at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California on September 30, will be premiering on the channel at 8 p.m. Eastern time on October 5. The show is taking place on a Sunday and then airing on AXS on Friday.

Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly will be the broadcast team for the event, with Kelly filling in for Josh Barnett due to Barnett having a scheduling conflict.

“I had a conflicting event with one of my fighters in Japan,” Barnett said, “otherwise I’d be there to call this event and have my partner Jim Ross’ back, as always. I’ll be back next time!”

“While I will miss working with my normal broadcast partner Josh Barnett, I am excited for the opportunity to work again with Kevin Kelly, whom I broadcast with for the first time 20 years ago," Ross said. “Kevin has great knowledge from working on NJPW World, so he’ll bring another perspective to the broadcast and, as we all know, anything can and usually does happen. It should be a heck of a night.”

Cody Rhodes challenging for Juice Robinson's IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, The Young Bucks defending their IWGP Tag Team titles against Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa, and Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight title tournament semifinal match have been announced for Fighting Spirit Unleashed.

KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI is the other semifinal match in the eight-man tournament, with them facing off at Destruction in Kobe on September 23. The finals are scheduled for King of Pro Wrestling on October 8.

Link: http://www.axs.tv/press_articles/axs-tv-premieres-new-japan-pro-wrestlings-next-u-s-event-fighting-spirit-unleashed-on-friday-oct-5-at-8pe-5pp/

For those asking, the 9/30 Long Beach New Japan show will air live on NJPW World. It won't air on AXS TV until 10/5 in its normal Friday night time slot. Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly will be announcing since Josh Barnett will be at the Rizin show at the Saitama Super Arena cornering one of his fighters that night.

Robin Leach, best known as the host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, which did a few episodes with WWE talent including a worked episode with Ted DiBiase putting his gimmick over, passed away today. Leach also appeared at WrestleMania IV.

Indies Roundup:
Pro Wrestling Revolver on 10/20 in West Des Moines, IA at the Val Air Ballroom with Sami Callihan & Jake & Dave Crist & Larry D vs. Shane Strickland & Matthew Palmer & Jason Cade & ?, Walter vs. PCO, Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega vs. Dustin Rayz & Aaron Williams, JT Dunn vs. Jimmy Jacobs, Rich Swann vs. David Starr vs. Trey Miguel and Marko Stunt vs. Ace Romero.

Rise on 10/19 in Berwyn, IL with Rise champion Tessa Blanchard vs. Mercedes Martinez in a 60 minute Iron woman match and Dust & Raven's Ash defend the tag titles against Delilah Doom & Shotzi Blackheart.

The UK based Revolution Pro Wrestling has announced they will be holding a television taping on Wednesday, September 5th at York Hall. They have announced KUSHIDA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Chris Brookes this far for the taping, which is being promoted as an “International Wrestling TV Taping” but have not announced the outlet.

MLW has announced singles matches with Teddy Hart vs. Rich Swann and Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Vandal Ortagun for their War Games card on September 6th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Chase Owens has been added to the Ring of Honor television tapings from Las Vegas on Saturday, September 29th.

Ronda Rousey's emergence in WWE has impressed many with her dedication to learning the art form of professional wrestling. Sasha Banks recently spoke to Peter Rosenburg on Complex's Open Late where she expanded on how she initially felt like WWE didn't need a distraction like Rousey, but that opinion changed in time ...

"I'm ready for her," Banks said on wanting to face Rousey. "Especially knowing her now I would be more than happy to have a match with her. I think she's awesome I think we could make magic together and I have don't have anything bad to say about her.

"When I first found out that she was going to come [to WWE] I was like 'ugh we don't need that taking away from what we're doing but she helps so much she works so hard. She always wants to learn and she loves it and respects it, and you know, I appreciate that. She works very hard."
Link: https://youtu.be/HfSwf0uqS5s

The September vintage WWE Network content will be more episodes of the old WWWF All Star Wrestling series from the 1970s and early '80s.

As PWInsider.com previously reported, the Network will be working on adding additional content to already established vintage wrestling content as opposed to adding new, older wrestling promotions or series that have yet to be presented in the Vault section of the WWE Network.

WWE has begun uploading 1981 episodes of All-Star Wrestling to the WWE Network.

Any word on Summerslam next year? There was nothing announced during the show and they usually make that announcement.

The rumor among those within the company was that the event was Toronto-bound, but we were unable to confirm that. Raw is in Toronto next week, so it makes sense to announce it then. Had they announced that during Summerslam, they would have risked the NYC audience being angry and turning on the show live.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa debuted a new entrance and finally came out with theme music at last night's tapings. Correspondent Will Henderson (@willh94) tweeted these photos of Ciampa making his entrance at the tapings:

It's his moment now. @ProjectCiampa #NXTFSLive pic.twitter.com/lcUvFWq2eE
— Will Henderson (@willh94) August 24, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/willh94/status/1032792509548777472

As expected, Madison Rayne's latest stint in IMPACT Wrestling has officially come to an end.

Earlier this week, her profile on ImpactWrestling.com was removed from the Knockouts roster and placed among the Alumni.

Last month at Slammiversary, Rayne unsuccessfully challenged Su Yung for the Knockouts Championship. Rayne passed out after Yung locked in the mandible claw, thus awarding the victory to Yung. Immediately following the match, Yung placed an unconscious Rayne inside the coffin and stood on top of it with the Knockouts Championship held high.

Yung's actions seemingly wrote off Rayne's character from IMPACT Wrestling and the promotion alluded to that on Twitter ...

A week later, WWE announced that she would compete as Ashley Rayne in Mae Young Classic 2018.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Chris Jericho Talks About Being Open to Working With Impact and Elsewhere (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/chris-jericho-talks-about-being-open-to-working-with-impact-and-elsewhere/)
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe Announced for Hell in a Cell (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/aj-styles-vs-samoa-joe-announced-for-hell-in-a-cell/)
WWE: Vince McMahon’s Birthday, Finisher Origins, Goldberg and Stone Cold (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-vince-mcmahons-birthday-finisher-origins-goldberg-and-austin-interact/)

Jordan

08-26-2018, 12:47 AM

slik

08-26-2018, 01:49 AM

The Rock competing in the RR is my guess

Mr. Nerfect

08-27-2018, 03:43 AM

Mr. Nerfect

08-27-2018, 03:45 AM

I posted that without reading what Slik said.

slik

08-27-2018, 11:43 AM

SummerSlam in Toronto likely to be announced this week while WWE is in Toronto for RAW

Big Vic

08-27-2018, 12:00 PM

slik

08-27-2018, 03:31 PM

One week after EVOLUTION

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WWE’s 2nd Saudi Show has been scheduled for November 2nd. Crown Jewel is one of the possible names.</p>— 17ABay �� (@TicketDrew) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicketDrew/status/1034161281740234758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mr. Nerfect

08-27-2018, 06:11 PM

Interesting to hear what Seth Rollins has to say about that.

Mr. Nerfect

08-27-2018, 06:12 PM

Burn it down, champ.

Lock Jaw

08-27-2018, 06:25 PM

Why Seth Rollins?

slik

08-27-2018, 06:28 PM

SummerSlam is official for TORONTO in 2019 @ScotiaBank Arena

Aug 11 will be the earliest date for SummerSlam in some time

Theo Dious

08-27-2018, 06:30 PM

Owenbrown!!!

Mr. Nerfect

08-28-2018, 02:04 AM

Why Seth Rollins?

Because he was one of the assholes that dog-piled Dave Meltzer. Yet here he is taking a paycheck from Saudi Arabia. It's so fucking dirty and hypocritical.

Emperor Smeat

08-28-2018, 10:09 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random Impact Rasslin gif:
http://i.imgur.com/f90Vo.gif

Even though the competition was much easier last night than the week before, Raw was down eight percent from last week with 2.84 million viewers.

But last week was unusually high due to coming the day after SummerSlam. Last night's number was almost identical to the 2.82 million viewers from two weeks ago ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 3.08 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.93 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.63 million viewers

Jason Sensation, who appeared on WWE TV in the late 1990s as an Owen Hart impersonator, created a scare before last night’s Raw by tweeting that he brought a gun through security and was going to kill himself at the show. Authorities were informed and the Toronto Police issued a statement saying that they were with Jason and that he was never at the arena: “We are with Jason Sensation now he was never at the Scotiabank Arena, all is in order." Jason sent out a tweet today apologizing to anyone who was affected and said that he was detained and forced to stay in the hospital: “I've been detained by Police & forced to stay in the Hospital after sending out that awful, thoughtless tweet last night. I honestly wasn't thinking strait. I am sincerely sorry & apologize to everyone & anyone this affected, especially my loved ones, @WWE & @TorontoPolice.”
Links: https://twitter.com/iamjohnpollock/status/1034258569888026624 , https://twitter.com/JasonSensationX/status/1034501275768049665

Natalya paid tribute to her father by pointing to the sky after defeating Alicia Fox on Raw. She also tweeted after the match: “Right about now, I’d be texting my dad about my night and how it all went...especially after I wrestled. I know my dad was there watching me tonight on #Raw. I did that dropkick just for him. I hope I made him proud!”
Link: https://twitter.com/NatbyNature/status/1034318924941287424

Indies Roundup:
The NWA also uploaded Nick Aldis and Cody’s face-to-face segment from Saturday’s ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia ahead of their NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship match at All In.

NJPW officially announced Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, and SANADA for Fighting Spirit Unleashed in Long Beach, California on September 30. Matches for those wrestlers have yet to be announced. Juice Robinson vs. Cody Rhodes for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, The Young Bucks vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa for the IWGP Tag Team titles, and Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll in a semifinal IWGP Junior Heavyweight title tournament match are set for the show.

Tom Lawlor will face Joey Janela at MLW’s War Games event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 6.

Jason Cade vs. Myron Reed has been added to the MLW show 9/6 in Fort Lauderdale.

MLW has announced that they will be holding an event during WrestleMania Week in New York on Thursday, April 4th. The company has announced that the event will feature several elements and will include a television taping for the MLW Fusion program on beIN Sports. In the release, the event was not promoted as “WaleMania”, which was the name of MLW’s annual WrestleMania Week event dating back to 2015. Wale recently appeared on WWE programming when he sat in on commentary for a match on 205 Live last week.

Shimmer provided an update on their streaming service yesterday, noting that it should be up and running within about a week. Shimmer 1-61 will be available in the archive at launch.

Smash Wrestling is also running a unique concept show on October 14th at the Rec Room where all the wrestlers will work for free and admission is free. They will be taking optional donations, with all the money going to the staff members at Smash Wrestling with the company and wrestlers taking nothing.
NWA: https://youtu.be/81ohUGyqpX8 , NJPW: https://www.njpw1972.com/34699 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/08/28/lawlor-vs-janela-added-to-war-games-next-thursday-in-south-florida/ , Shimmer: https://twitter.com/SHIMMERwomen/status/1034123223053553664

Ring of Honor has officially announced the Tag Team title match for next month's Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view.

It will be The Briscoes defending their titles against SoCal Uncensored members Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian at the PPV. The teams have been feuding since Best in the World in June, where SCU said they wanted the titles after making the save while The Briscoes were attacking The Young Bucks.

The Briscoes are also set to face Kazarian & Scorpio Sky in a non-title match at All In (during the Zero Hour broadcast on WGN America) this Saturday.

Death Before Dishonor is taking place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 28.
Link: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/tag-titles-line-death-dishonor

The updated lineup for the Friday 9/28 Ring of Honor Death Before Dishonor 2018 PPV in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena features:
*Kazuchika Okada & Trent Baretta & Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero & Chucky T vs. The Young Bucks & Cody & Marty Scurll and Adam "Hangman" Page.
*ROH TV Champion Punishment Martinez vs. Chris Sabin.
*ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. The Addiction.
*Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai vs. Tenille Dashwood.
*Jushin Liger, EVIL, SANADA and KUSHIDA in action.

Two more names have been added to the Over Budget Battle Royal at All In: Zero Hour.

Punishment Martinez and Brandon Cutler have been added to the match over the last couple of days. Martinez is the current ROH television champion. Cutler has been regularly working in the California area in the last year, and has previously wrestled for PWG and Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.

Already announced for the battle royal are Jordynne Grace, Brian Cage, Moose, Billy Gunn, Rocky Romero, Jimmy Jacobs, Marko Stunt, Colt Cabana and Ethan Page. This brings the current total to 11, with four more spots still unannounced. Also set for Zero Hour is a tag team match pitting the Briscoe Brothers against SoCal Uncensored’s Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky.

All In: Zero Hour is the preshow that will be held right before All In’s main card goes on the air. It will start at at 6 p.m. EDT on WGN America.

Link: https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/1034196002138255360

As we reported yesterday on PWInsider.com, Jeff Jarrett and his company Global Wrestling Entertainment had sought an order from the United States District Court of Tennessee regarding the Global Force Wrestling master copies, requesting an expedited discovery regarding the masters while also requesting ruling requiring Impact Wrestling's parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment to allow them access to the masters so they can be copied as Jarrett's side has filed a copyright on each hour of the 16 hours worth of footage.

Yesterday, the court denied that order, ruling that it has not even been confirmed that Anthem has even been officially served with the lawsuit, noting that the motion wasn't even sent to Anthem's attorney, but "only a registered agent" for Anthem. The court noted that even if they ruled in Jarrett's favor, they would "have no idea" who to send the order to, since there are not attorneys attached to the Anthem side as of 8/27.
More details via PWI: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/119957/jarrett-gfe-denied-expedited-discovery-regarding-gfw-master-tapes.html?p=1

WWE's website now lists Kevin Owens as a member of their alumni, playing up the idea he quit on Raw.

For those wondering what Kevin Owens said in French on Raw, it was: "Oh so you're not happy anymore? Earlier you were happy and now you are mad? But hey, it doesn't bother me, you already all paid for the new t-shirt anyway."

*One of the pivotal behind-the-scenes figures behind the rise of the World Wrestling Federation as a national touring entity has passed away. Ed Cohen, who previously served as the Senior Vice President of Live Events, had been in poor health prior to his passing on Sunday. Cohen was instrumental during the national expansion and growth period of the 80’s when it came to the touring department. Cohen secured deals with arenas and buildings throughout North America, including the booking of the Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania 3 in 1987. One of his colleagues said that he extremely well-liked by everyone, including Vince McMahon and was always seen smiling and greeting the guys when they arrived at the buildings. Cohen is one of those guys, much like the late Zane Bresloff, who had such an extreme knowledge of the business end of the company and the ins and outs of the touring side of the business that it would have been highly educational and informative if we had ever written a book or did a lengthy interview about his career. The WWE issued the following statement on his passing:

WWE is saddened to learn of the passing of beloved former WWE Live Events executive Ed Cohen. Cohen was instrumental in helping to transform WWE’s Live Event touring business into the global phenomenon it is today. The company would like to express its sincerest condolences to Mr. Cohen’s family and friends. He will be greatly missed.

Above is video of Mike Rome talking to WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus after her hometown appearance in Toronto last night. Stratus discussed the women's revolution and the upcoming match with Alexa Bliss at WWE Evolution.

"It's almost like, I feel like we were always trying to be part of the boys, and try to be welcomed into this community, this wrestling world," Trish said when asked about the progress of the women's division. "And I feel like we finally made it, we made our mark, we are viewed as equals and we have equal opportunities, and it feels really good. When you go into this world and you're doing your work, you don't know really what you're creating, you're creating this stuff behind you and to step away from it, and come back, and to see what we had a little part of... Amy Dumas (WWE Hall of Famer Lita) and I, and Victoria, and Molly Holly, and the girls. It's amazing, I'm honored to be part of it and I'm excited about October because I'm going to whoop Alexa Bliss' butt."
Link: https://youtu.be/GHk3kys9zFY

WWE recently filed to register trademarks on The Undisputed Era, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, Kairi Sane and Corey Graves.

Some other sheet news includes:

For those interested, the PS4 version of Fire Pro World was released earlier today.
Also for those interested, the WWE: 30 Years of SummerSlam DVD set was released today as well.
Justin Credible recently launched a podcast show called "I Hate This Podcast w/ Justin" http://www.crediblepod.com/
Seth Rollins recently celebrated the 6th anniversary of his WWE career. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm_YfkFhIpB/?utm_source=ig_embed

Some stuff from the New & Improved TPWW Frontpage:

Updated All In Card + Nick Jackson Has the Flu (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/updated-all-in-card-nick-jackson-has-the-flu/)
Hogan, Hall and Nash Announce nWo Reunion “2 Sweet Tour” (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/hogan-hall-and-nash-announce-nwo-reunion-2-sweet-tour/)
Various: Top 10 Failed MITB Cash-Ins, Top Great Khali Moments, MLW Signings (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/various-top-10-failed-mitb-cash-ins-top-great-khali-moments-mlw-signings/)

slik

08-29-2018, 01:55 PM

Kevin Owens will drop 25 lbs to get in "Chris Benoit shape" and return as "Silent" with his new manager....Paul Heyman

credit:
http://www.bodyslam.net/2018/08/29/more-news-on-plans-for-kevin-owens-upon-his-return/

Jordan

08-29-2018, 02:08 PM

It sounds cool but it's odd to make the best talker in the business go silent.

Innovator

08-29-2018, 02:21 PM

It sounds cool but it's odd to make the best talker in the business go silent.

Kinda like trying to turn faces that the crowd has a connection with all heel

slik

08-29-2018, 02:24 PM

Emperor Smeat

08-29-2018, 03:36 PM

If that does happen, Reigns ends up tying Hogan's Mania main events in a row record.

He breaks it if you count Bret-Yokozuna and not Hogan-Yokozuna as the real main event match of Mania IX.

Jordan

08-29-2018, 03:41 PM

Slik I see your point on Roman/Rock however I think that match would be so mega huge for WWE/Roman that they cannot pass it up if they can get it. I can see Roman/Rock having a really fun match and likely Roman would be selling the whole match which would please the Wrestlemania audience. So what if they lose their shit when Roman hits the spear 1...2.....3 WWE already has their money and won't be coming back to NYC for WM for probably 10 years.

slik

08-29-2018, 04:03 PM

True.

And a grumpy crowd reaction has not deterred WWE yet, because as I myself am a perfect example, many will likely attend another WM regardless or continue to watch.

Damian Rey 2.0

08-29-2018, 05:38 PM

Other than gate potential and additional network buys, Rock v Reigns is a dead end. Like Slik said, Rock shouldn't come back to lose, Reigns shouldn't lose, but winning doesn't really do anything for him either.

If they can draw Rock out for something like a 4 or 5 match run then maybe it'd be beneficial.

From a pure entertainment standpoint I'm all for it tho.

Emperor Smeat

08-29-2018, 09:37 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Kenny Omega Appreciation Day:
http://gifimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/kenny-omega-gif.gif

Pro Wrestling Illustrated released their annual PWI 500 online today, with Kenny Omega ranked at number one. The list factors in kayfabe accomplishments like title wins. The top 10 was revealed on this week’s episode of The Ross Report:

Kenny Omega
AJ Styles
Kazuchika Okada
Brock Lesnar
Seth Rollins
Braun Strowman
Roman Reigns
Cody Rhodes
Tetsuya Naito
The Miz

For some reference, PWI puts a lot of weight on the WWE title as the top belt and WWE as the top promotion for the basis of their lists. Lesnar being #4 is entirely due to the length of his Universal reign and the Universal belt being #2 or #3 in overall status.

The 8/29 edition of Smackdown Live brought in 2,350,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 2,437,000 overnight viewers.

PWInsider.com has confirmed that WWE's second event as part of their multi-year deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be Friday 11/2.

Ring of Honor has confirmed the Television title match for next month's Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view and announced one of NJPW's top stars for the post-PPV tapings.

Punishment Martinez will be defending his TV title against Chris Sabin at Death Before Dishonor. Sabin defeated Silas Young in a number one contender's match in June to get the title shot.
Link: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/sabin-challenge-martinez-tv-title-death-dishonor

WWE Network News reported that Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose & Damien Sandow vs. Seth Rollins, Derrick Bateman (EC3) & Johnny Curtis (Fandango) is being added to the WWE Network’s hidden gems section this week. The match took place for FCW in 2011.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/08/29/exclusive-this-weeks-wwe-hidden-gems-addition-revealed-a-more-modern-gem-featuring-top-stars/

Indies Roundup:
NJPW announced that All In will be available on-demand for New Japan World subscribers “shortly after the live broadcast.” Further details on when the show will be uploaded haven’t been revealed.

Episode six of “All Us” is largely focused on building to Christopher Daniels vs. Stephen Amell at All In.

Terry Funk told Sports Illustrated that a problem with his abdominal hernia is preventing him from traveling to Starrcast and All In. Funk said about the success of All In: “I think it’s wonderful that Cody is having success, and I was really looking forward to seeing him. Cody and Dusty are similar in so many ways, but they’re different also. I’ve never met anyone like Dusty. He was loved by everyone and everybody. He was a phenomenal in-ring performer who understood the business, and that was passed on to Cody."

FreeSports in the United Kingdom revealed that Revolution Pro Wrestling is going to start airing on the channel in September. RevPro has TV tapings taking place at York Hall in London on September 5 and 6, and they'll air on FreeSports later in the month. 5 Star Wrestling was formerly on FreeSports before the promotion shut down.
NJPW: https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1034615524812972033 , All In: https://youtu.be/FxiwLSyZOAI , Funk: https://www.si.com/wrestling/2018/08/29/wwe-news-all-in-cody-rhodes-conrad-thompson-starrcast , RevPro: https://twitter.com/FreeSportsUK/status/1034833285313126401

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross mentioned on his latest podcast that he has signed a contract with author Paul O'Brien to pen a follow up to Slobberknocker: My Life In Wrestling, noting he hoped to have the book out by holiday 2019.

The Thesz/Tragos Museum posted the following photo of Owen Hart's widow Martha Hart showing off his plaque following his induction into their Hall of Fame:

Martha Hart holding her husband’s Hall of Fame plaque. Owen Hart was inducted posthumously into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame on July 28. pic.twitter.com/ECYLzMKbFo
— Dan Gable Museum (@wrestlingmuseum) August 28, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/wrestlingmuseum/status/1034465944180088832

Tuesday's post-SmackDown episode of WWE's Miz & Mrs. on the USA Network drew 1.161 million viewers and ranked #6 for the night on cable in the 18-49 demographic.

This is down from last week's episode, which drew 1.235 million viewers and ranked #3 for the night. This is also the lowest viewership and lowest 18-49 demographic ranking for the show since it began.

Last night's episode was the season one finale of the show. The second season will begin airing some time in 2019 ...

Below is our Miz & Mrs. Season 1 Viewership Tracker with totals:

Episode 1: 1.473 million viewers
Episode 2: 1.303 million viewers
Episode 3: 1.225 million viewers
Episode 4: 1.162 million viewers
Episode 5: 1.235 million viewers
Episode 6: 1.161 million viewers

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of the Chasing Glory with Lillian Garcia podcast show had Bobby Roode as the guest. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0829/645328/bobby-roode-says-he-was-losing-his-passion-for-wrestling-in-tna/
According to Post Wrestling's John Pollock, WWE recently changed their plans for the Becky-Charlotte storyline due to poor reception. Instead of being a typical face-heel feud, both are going to be presented more evenly in terms of motivates and reasons. Same for Becky's heel turn being dropped in favor of being more anti-hero or Austin-like.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Toni Storm Injured (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/toni-storm-injured/)
Various: John Cena Looks Ripped, All In Match Stipulation Added (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/various-john-cena-looks-ripped-all-in-match-stipulation-added/)
WWE: Kurt Angle Backstage at Raw, Aleister Black Recovering Well After Surgery (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-kurt-angle-backstage-at-raw-aleister-black-recovering-well-after-surgery/)

Mr. Nerfect

08-30-2018, 02:31 AM

Mr. Nerfect

08-30-2018, 02:38 AM

Rock vs Roman possibly at WM35:

http://www.bodyslam.net/2018/08/29/wwe-has-huge-match-penciled-in-for-for-wrestlemania-35-main-event/

slik thoughts:
I heard Rock was maybe going to appear at SDLive 1000 and was negotiating for the Royal Rumble...but I can't see WWE doing Rock vs Roman because it doesn't help anyone. Roman gets booed out of the building if he pins Rock, Roman shouldn't lose to part-timers at WM and The Rock really shouldn't return to lose. A Rock/HHH or Rock/someone like Miz program makes more sense to me.

Rock/Hogan, Rock/Cena, Rock/Cena II.

Roman is going to get booed out of the building anyway. Reigns loses to part-timers anyway (three times in the past SummerSlam-to-SummerSlam year alone). He also lost to Bobby Lashley.

If Rock comes back, he is headlining the PPV, because nothing will be able to follow it. Why would you put Triple H or The Miz in another WrestleMania main event? Although Triple H would probably be down for it, and I think that was the plan a few years ago. Just let Reigns beat the advertised Mania main event record and never mention the fact that he's lost 2 or 3 of those 5.

08-30-2018, 04:58 AM

Rock/Roman as a one off would be great.

Emperor Smeat

08-30-2018, 10:08 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Rasslin Dancing Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/7ux1IqU.gif

Gabe Sapolsky tweeted about Velveteen Dream working EVOLVE 112 in Joppa, Maryland on September 7 and EVOLVE 113 in Queens, New York on September 8: “Dream was requested by us because of his history at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD. We wanted a homecoming. He was then asked to do Queens, to give the fans something special at La Boom. Dream was not ‘sent’ by anyone, he agreed and wanted to. This is WWE helping the independent wrestling scene. This is WWE, EVOLVE and Velveteen Dream giving fans a unique, memorable and exciting experience. This is what is good for our business. Thank you.”
Link: https://twitter.com/BookItGabe/status/1035283442873843713

Keith Lee told WWE.com about how Dusty Rhodes helped with his “Bask in my Glory” catchphrase: “When I first met and worked with him, he let me know how much and where I lacked. I applied his words and honed myself. During the 2013 tryout, if you were going to show who you were on a microphone, you had to do it in front of The American Dream. When I finished, he pulled me aside and said to me, ‘That's it, baby. You've got a presence I can literally bask in. Take it and do what you want.’ And thus, ‘Bask in my glory’ was born. It is now something I hold very dear.
Link: https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/keith-lee-interview

Indies Roundup:
ROH has officially announced that Jushin Thunder Liger will be facing Kenny King at Death Before Dishonor in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 28. Dave Meltzer reported that the match would be taking place at the PPV in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Along with continuing to build to Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes, the latest episode of the NWA's All Incoming features emotional comments from Cody about his father Dusty and wife Brandi.

beIN Sports is currently off AT&T, DirecTV, and DirecTV NOW amid a carriage dispute. In addition to airing on beIN on Fridays, MLW also uploads their TV episodes to their YouTube channel at 6:05 p.m. Eastern time on Saturdays.

El Hijo de LA Park vs. Jimmy Yuta is set for MLW’s War Games event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 6.

Hiroshi Tanahashi has been added to the Ring of Honor television tapings on Saturday, September 29th in Las Vegas. There will be a large contingent of New Japan talent on the tapings as the tapings are one day before New Japan’s next Long Beach card in California.
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/king-challenges-liger-his-hometown , NWA: https://youtu.be/3-1NIrp8V_4 , MLW: https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1034945201310257152

A few details have emerged regarding the injury that Toni Storm suffered at NXT United Kingdom's television tapings in Birmingham, England over the weekend.

Dave Meltzer notes that it was a spine injury that Storm suffered. She hasn't been evaluated yet, but the injury is not believed to be too serious at this point.

The referee put up the "X" sign to signal that Storm was hurt on Sunday after she lost to Rhea Ripley in the finals of the two-night, eight-woman tournament to crown the first NXT UK Women's Champion. Storm was able to walk to the back unassisted after the match.

PROGRESS and wXw announced yesterday that Storm is off their shows this coming weekend due to the injury. Storm had held the wXw Women's Championship, but the promotion announced that the title would be vacated since it would have gone over four months without being defended.

WWE Super-Showdown will air live at 5AM Eastern/2AM Pacific in the US on October 6 (in the US) according to WWE.com.

DK Publishing are currently working on books about the first 20 years of Smackdown as well as WWE's Greatest Grudges for 2019 releases.

The WWE has adjusted several European dates from the first weekend of November and moved the shows to October. It is widely believed this will clear their calendar for their second card in Saudi Arabia that weekend, with PWinsider.com reporting the event, is scheduled for Friday, November 2nd. Earlier this year, the WWE entered a ten-year deal with the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia that launched with an event in April in Jeddah. While some attempted to divorce the WWE from the politics of the region, it became impossible with so many concessions made by the WWE with regards to who could work the show and amplified by a public service announcement on the broadcast to promote the changes within the country. The event is expected to take place one week after the all women’s pay-per-view.
In another case of WWE being tone deaf with this deal, Saudi government recently announced they will be executing a female activist among a group of activist who were arrested for advocating for more human rights in the country. Since WWE's Greatest Rumble event, they have been cracking on female activists trying to promote for more women's rights in the country.

As I stated on Rewind-A-SmackDown, the portrayal of Becky Lynch has been slightly adjusted coming off last week’s reaction to her turn. The new idea is for Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair to have less of a babyface and heel dynamic and instead, they are two ex-friends that each have valid reasoning for their actions. It is not designed to be a double turn. The thinking behind turning Becky initially was to freshen her character and have her in a bigger spotlight, which they feel they can still achieve this way. While they are many examples of the WWE fighting the audience on specific characters, this is one where they seem to have realized immediately that there is a better option to achieving the same objective.

There were three ideas for venues for All In, one being the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, CA, which is near where the Young Bucks live; the other was the Cow Palace in San Francisco, ironically for a July date that New Japan ended up taking, because it was inexpensive to rent for a building of that size and was a legendary arena that Cody had drawn one of the bigger independent crowds in recent years at as the headliner for a cage match with Joey Ryan promoted by All Pro Wrestling. The decision was made for Labor Day weekend, and the Cow Palace had costs associated with streaming that didn’t make it viable. So they went for the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, IL, which had the advantage of being the same city as Pro Wrestling Tees, one of the events sponsors, meaning shipping tons of T-shirts could be done the most conveniently and the most economically.

Even if the show failed to sell out or draw 10,000 people, it would likely have been a success figuring in the merchandise sales ... Most notably, with the exception of WrestleManias, which also does about 75 percent of ticket sales outside the area of the show, this would be the most widely traveled to U.S. event in history.

Because there is no precedent historically for this show, promoted with no local television and off some out-of-market ROH syndicated television but mostly through their own YouTube show, there is no real way to read what this means. About the only thing for sure is they ran a building too small for the ticket demand, and priced the show far too low ... But going in, there was no track record and their idea was to keep the price affordable to make it so price was not a barricade in hitting the number 10,000.

The more successful, the harder it will be. A huge success will have WWE looking to shut it down as much as possible, and that’s not even mentioning the MSG success.

With the exception of Marty Scurll, who is under contract to ROH for about another year, and Mysterio Jr., who is all but gone to WWE already, almost every key player on this show will have contracts due before February.

Due to all the heat about Rush vs. L.A. Park hair vs. mask not being on the 9/14 anniversary show, CMLL has actually responded ...

Rush now says that Park was being disrespectful by working for AAA and that they couldn’t make the match when Park had put his mask up somewhere else. Actually that does make sense. Julio Cesar Rivera on the CMLL Informa show said it wasn’t Park’s fault, but the fault of AAA, which they said was threatening CMLL over using Park and because of that CMLL couldn’t sign him for the match. Well, that would make sense if Park wasn’t booked on that very show, and continuing to be booked regularly ...

By the way, AAA has made a lot of legal threats to wrestlers over the years, but this seems to be a story completely made up. Konnan actually said the story was made up. Park, who is working the anniversary show, posted legal papers showing that he owned the name and that AAA had given up any rights to the name, and AAA couldn’t stop him from doing the match ...

The issue, in the end, is because it’s the one nobody can say publicly because in Mexico they are still careful about how far they’ll go in saying results are not real and nobody can say this, is that Park came in to lose his mask for a big payoff on a big show figuring Dr. Wagner Jr. got his payoff and he’s 52 years old and it’s time. Then, he kept drawing big houses week after week and became the hottest wrestler in Mexico. Realizing that, plus he was able to work AAA’s big shows on top, and that unlike many, his gimmick is so important to his character that he will take a career hit as just Adolfo Tapia, the unmasked guy as opposed to the legend in the legendary outfit, he felt that maybe his career wasn’t just about over after all and reconsidered. We do know that Park has talked with promoters about being willing to lose his mask, but he’s trying to delay it until 2019 or later, as opposed to now.

The other half is what we mentioned last week, that CMLL could still have done the match, but had Rush lose his hair, which isn’t the end of the world although Rush has never lost his hair, but he’s got super charisma, could get mileage out of being bald and having it grow back and eventually it’ll grow back. But CMLL wasn’t going to let Rush lose his hair to somebody who also works for AAA and is an outsider.

Starting with the 9/1 show, World of Sport is moving up 30 minutes to a 4:30 p.m. start time and will remain in that time slot until all ten episodes are finished, which would be 9/29 ... It was considered a good sign that they didn’t take it off the schedule or just air it on a Sunday morning because this would have been a face-saving excuse. The real good sign was the ratings on 8/25 were up 28 percent to 700,000 viewers and peaked at 900,000. And while this isn’t exactly fair because of ITV’s reach and WWE on Sky, but a replay of Raw that went head-to-head with a replay of WOS saw ITV do 155,000 viewers and Sky do 1,000 viewers. Then again, two months from now there is a good chance there will be no ITV World of Sport so this one-sided victory means nothing in the big picture. Still, a 28 percent increase in ratings was a great sign and if there is another big increase this coming week it ups the odds for a renewal, that looked very unlikely a week ago.

Xavier Woods is now in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most subscribed to video game channel in the world which as of last week had 1,633,509 subscribers, which is really quite the accomplishment. The channel is also not under the Woods name, but the Austin Creed name (a prior pro wrestling name, his real name is Austin Watson), meaning he owns it and can control it if he leaves WWE

I’m not sure if this means main roster or just ideas, but WWE is looking to trademark about 15 new names, mostly newcomers and Corey Graves who are on the main roster. The names not on the main roster, and one would think this indicates they are on the call-up radar, are Shayna Baszler, Kairi Sane, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish.

Regarding this week’s rumors, the idea of A.J. Lee in the Evolution PPV would sound very difficult given the circumstances. As of two weeks ago, there was nothing to it and there were rumors, but it sounded like a very difficult deal. The whole situation with the lawsuit against her husband (C.M. Punk) would seem to make it almost impossible even with the suit being settled. Stranger things have happened but this would be high on that list

The @WrestleVotes Twitter account, which has broken several legitimate scoops in the past year or so, noted that Bray Wyatt is in line for a slight refresh to his character. They wrote, "The character should remain in tact once he returns to TV, but I'm expecting a renewed push along with a singles baby face run. Pivotal time in his career ahead."

Some other sheet news includes:

According to the Observer, WWE recently downgraded their ticket sales expectations for the upcoming Australian Super-Show from 80k to around 60-70k.
Also according to the Observer, early ticket sales for WWE's Evolution PPV are slower than usual for a WWE PPV event. Didn't hit sell out status in any of the pricing sections being sold.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE 2K19 Roster: First 75 Wrestlers Announced (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-2k19-roster-first-74-wrestlers-announced/)
Velveteen Dream to Wrestle for EVOLVE Next Week (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/velveteen-dream-to-wrestle-for-evolve-next-week/)
Various: Old Young Bucks TNA Video, SummerSlam BTS, Mae Young Brackets (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/various-old-young-bucks-tna-video-summerslam-bts-mae-young-brackets/)
WWE: Why WWE Refused to Release Neville, Kevin Owens/Paul Heyman Rumor Killer (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/wwe-why-wwe-refused-to-release-neville-kevin-owens-paul-heyman-rumor-killer/)

Emperor Smeat

08-31-2018, 09:13 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by NOTHING:

Impact Wrestling's ratings were up a bit for this week's special episode.

The show, called "Impact ReDefined," averaged 225,000 viewers on Pop TV last night. That's up from last week's 212,000 viewers but is the fourth-lowest audience that Impact has drawn in 2018.

Glenn Jacobs (Kane) was sworn in as mayor of Knox County, Tennessee at the Knoxville City-County Building today ahead of tomorrow being his first official day on the job. Jacobs did his first weekly Facebook Live video and also posted a picture of himself putting together a chair, captioning it with “Hard at work on my first day in office…” Dustin Rhodes, who’s good friends with Jacobs, was with him at today’s event.
Link: https://www.wate.com/news/glenn-jacobs-sworn-in-as-new-knox-county-mayor_20180831204040/1409981194 , https://twitter.com/GlennJacobsTN/status/1035549691155492865

Sami Zayn lobbied for Cyndi Lauper to be inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame: “I only today realized that @CyndiLauper is not in the @WWE Hall of Fame celebrity wing. As part of the ‘rock n' wrestling connection’ with MTV in the 80's, she was CRUCIAL to WWE crossing over into mainstream. Arguably no celebrity more deserving. #InductCyndi”
Link: https://twitter.com/SamiZayn/status/1035310836242411522

WWE is uploading collections on Stephanie McMahon and The Hardys to the Network on Monday.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/09/01/exclusive-full-listing-for-the-stephanie-mcmahon-brand-leader-collection-on-wwe-network/ , https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/08/31/exclusive-full-listing-for-the-hardys-team-xtreme-wwe-network-collection/

All In takes place from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois tomorrow. The show is available through pay-per-view, Fite TV, and HonorClub. All In is included with HonorClub VIP subscriptions, and other HonorClub subscribers can purchase it with a 50 percent off discount. All In: Zero Hour will air exclusively on WGN America at 6 p.m. Eastern time before the four-hour main card begins at 7 p.m. The show will also be uploaded to New Japan World, though when it will be added is “to be determined.” Here’s what’s been announced for the event:

The Young Bucks & Kota Ibushi vs. Rey Mysterio, Fenix & Bandido
Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr.
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis defending against Cody Rhodes
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defending against the winner of the Over Budget Battle Royale
Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Britt Baker vs. Chelsea Green
Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela (Chicago Street Fight)
"Arrow" star Stephen Amell vs. Christopher Daniels
15-participant Over Budget Battle Royale for an ROH World Championship shot against Jay Lethal later in the night (Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, Jordynne Grace, Ethan Page, Brian Cage, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Jacobs, Marko Stunt, Brandon Cutler, and Punishment Martinez have been confirmed) (All In: Zero Hour)
The Briscoes vs. Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky (All In: Zero Hour)

At today’s All In press conference/weigh-in, it was revealed that Earl Hebner will be the referee for Nick Aldis and Cody Rhodes’ NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship match. Hebner, Jerry Lynn, Rick Knox, Todd Sinclair, and Paul Turner were announced as the referees for the show in June.
Link: https://www.fite.tv/watch/all-in-weigh-in-press-conference/2o7pe/

Dustin Rhodes tweeted a message to his brother wishing him the best ahead of All In: “Hey little brother @CodyRhodes , I want to wish you the very best as you go #AllIn and fight for the coveted #NWAWorldHeavyweightChampionship . The world is watching you and what you have done is incredible. Try to enjoy the magic created. #ILoveYou #AllIn #BeAtHomeWatchin”
Link: https://twitter.com/Goldust/status/1035592468773982210

Travis Banks has had to pull out of this year's Battle of Los Angeles tournament.

Pro Wrestling Guerilla announced today that Banks won't be able to wrestle in BOLA due to an injury. He'll be replaced by Sammy Guevara, and two of the first round matchups have been shuffled. Banks was supposed to face Shingo Takagi in the first round, but Takagi will now take on Ilja Dragunov. Jonah Rock, who had been matched up with Dragunov, will now wrestle Guevara in the opening round.

Banks suffered a dislocated shoulder in July. He provided an update on the injury this week, noting that he initially thought he would be cleared to wrestle sooner rather than later but that hasn't been the case and he still doesn't have a return date to give everyone.

BOLA 2018 is taking place at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles from September 14-16. Banks is the second person to drop out of the tournament, with Matt Riddle having been replaced by Trevor Lee last month due to Riddle signing with WWE.

Link: https://twitter.com/OfficialPWG/status/1035634614717407232 , https://twitter.com/Travis_BanksPW/status/1033992023626461184

Ring of Honor announced the following Flash sale with 20% off DVDs at www.ROHWrestling.com:

Save 20% on ALL #ROH DVDs in the #ROHProShop through Labor Day with checkout code: ROHFLASH#HonorClub always takes AN ADDITIONAL 15% off!

Check out all the new DVDs at https://t.co/VgqPj8BfXC! pic.twitter.com/F3Udox5wAb
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) August 31, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/1035554099390046208

WWE has a new poll asking fans if we have seen the last of Kevin Owens on RAW after he "quit" this past Monday night. As of this writing, 67% voted, "No, he'll figure out a way to get back on Team Red." The rest went with, "Yes, KO is finished with the red brand."

"Leaping" Lanny Poffo will be bringing back stories of his brother, the late "Macho Man" Randy Savage, with his new podcast,, The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo. Lanny and JP Zarka of ProWrestlingStories.com will take you through his time in the NWA territories in the 1970s to becoming a star in his father Angelo Poffo's promotion, working in International Championship Wrestling (ICW), traveling with Randy to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in June of 1985 all the way up to today. Weekly features include the "Macho Man Clip of the Week", "Poem/Limerick of the Week" and more. The podcast drops this Monday here with new episodes each Monday at 3 a.m. ET.
Link: https://audioboom.com/channels/4971557.rss

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Jeff Hardy (41), Mickie James (39), and Ember Moon (30) all celebrated their birthday today.
Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had Drake Maverick as the guest.
According to ratings website ShowBuzzDaily.com, this week's episode of Lucha Underground had 83,000 viewers as its viewership.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Interview: Kevin Owens on Who His Best Friend Is and Who He Wants to Face at WM 35 (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/interview-kevin-owens-on-who-his-best-friend-is-and-who-he-wants-to-face-at-wm-35/)
Interview: Kenny Omega on the Possibility of Going to WWE (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/interview-kenny-omega-on-the-possibility-of-going-to-wwe/)
Videos: Jeff Hardy’s Top 10 Dives, Hardy Face Paint Time Lapse, 5 Superstar Returns (https://www.tpww.net/2018/08/videos-jeff-hardys-top-10-dives-hardy-face-paint-time-lapse-5-superstar-returns/)

Emperor Smeat

09-04-2018, 10:06 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Instant Regrets in Wrestling:
https://media.giphy.com/media/3Mi9hWXNeNcGl738d5/giphy.gif

After making her Raw commentary debut last month, Renee Young again filled in for Jonathan Coachman and called this week’s show with Michael Cole and Corey Graves. Coachman had obligations with his job as the host of The World Long Drive Association on the Golf Channel. Young wrote about doing commentary for the show: “I got to call Raw again and the Undertaker showed up!!! To call out Shawn Michaels!!! What is this life?! Thanks for letting me sit at the cool table @michaelcole and @wwegraves”
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BnT2wVkn-q4/?taken-by=reneeyoungwwe

Stone Cold vs. Vince McMahon (part three) and Ted DiBiase collections will be added to the WWE Network next month.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/09/03/two-new-wwe-network-collections-being-promoted-for-october-hall-of-famer-profiled-attitude-era-feud-revisited/

Indies Roundup:
PWInsider reported that Joey Mercury was arrested on Saturday morning after police were notified that he was sleeping in his car outside The Marriott in Schaumburg, Illinois. Mercury has no pending charges in Illinois, but police found an outstanding warrant from Florida and he was taken into custody. He’s being held on $2,500 bail ahead of a court day tomorrow. What the warrant was for isn’t yet known. Mercury works for ROH as a trainer and producer and was in Chicago to work backstage at All In.

In an article where they interviewed Pro Wrestling Tees owner Ryan Barkan, Sports Illustrated reported that Pro Wrestling Tees in Chicago generated almost $500,000 during All In weekend (Thursday to Sunday) and sold over 20,000 products.

Saturday’s episode of World of Sport averaged 400,000 viewers on ITV, a big decline from last week’s 700,000. The show shifted to a new time slot this week and started a half hour earlier.

Game Changer Wrestling announced that they’ll be holding a show in Los Angeles on November 16. That’s the Friday of Survivor Series weekend in LA.

The NWA had three different cameramen documenting the Cody vs. Aldis title change, which was the most emotional thing on the show, and their footage will be featured on their YouTube series going forward. One would think Cody will soon he showing up doing dates for the NWA going forward.

PROGRESS Wrestling has announced that Matt Riddle will be facing Mark Haskins on September 30th at the SSE Arena, Wembley in London. Following Riddle’s appearance at NXT TakeOver last month in Brooklyn, it was announced he would wrestle one final independent show for PROGRESS, which does have a relationship with the WWE. The card will be headlined by WALTER taking on Tyler Bate for the PROGRESS championship.
PWTees: https://www.si.com/wrestling/2018/09/03/pro-wrestling-tees-chicago-all-in-weekend-sales , WOS: https://twitter.com/the_watw/status/1036535560364609536 , GCW: https://twitter.com/GCWrestling_/status/1036355424876982273

Kurt Angle answered a question on Facebook about what he feels his best accomplishment in WWE has been: “Proving to everyone that a ‘shooter’ or ‘real wrestler’ could be the best entertainer of his era. I was very proud of what I was able to accomplish, whether I was loved or hated.”
Link: https://www.facebook.com/realkurtangle/posts/10157743561063047?comment_id=10157743709913047&reply_comment_id=10157744081898047&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%2399%22%7D

Batista hasn't wrestled since leaving WWE after a short five-month run in 2014. While Batista has expressed interest in returning to WWE, he has been concentrating on his movie career, where he had great success with his role as Drax the Destroyer in the Guardians of the Galaxy / Avenger series.

During a recent interview with talkSport, Batista discussed how his movie career would not have happened if he didn't leave WWE in 2010.

"It came about out of spite," Batista said of his transition from pro wrestling to acting. "First it came from me discovering I was a horrible actor. I wanted to become a better actor and I wanted to do it while I was still with WWE. They would not give me the opportunity within the company. I said that I should be given the opportunity to do it outside of the company, and they said 'absolutely not.' I said, 'Well, I'm going to let my contract run out, and I'm gonna leave.' So that's exactly what I did and I set out to be an actor."
Link: https://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0903/645460/batista-reveals-why-he-left-wwe-in-2010/

In his last run with WWE in 2013-2014, Batista wasn't thrilled with how things went creatively. If he did come back again, he would make sure he had more say with his stories and his opponents.

"I think, one, it would have to be the right time, and two, it would have to be the right opponent. That's pretty much it, and it would have to make sense," Batista said. "Yeah, I think the last time I went back was with really good intentions and I felt like I wasn't delivered what I was promised and that was just creatively. So, that would be it, I'd have to have a strong say of what I did and who I worked with. It would have to make sense as far as time, not only do I have to be free, but I also have to factor in there is a risk that I would be injured. If I got injured I would need some time to rehabilitate myself, so I always kind of factor those things in."
From another interview Batista had this time with WhatCulture Wrestling: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0904/645489/batista-discusses-what-it-would-take-for-him-to-return-to-wwe/

I know that Many people think that Vince McMahon will never retire. However with Triple H having more power now than anyone else has had since Vince took over from his father do you think that Vince could step aside sooner than we think?

In a word? No. WWE is his baby and his creation. Now, could he spend some of his time with another venture, like the XFL? Sure, but WWE is his domain and I don’t ever see him totally handing over the reins to anyone else.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

As I discussed in my 90 minute breakdown of the "All In" PPV earlier today in the Elite section of PWInsider.com, the show came dangerously close to going off the air without a finish. After The Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr. segment went nearly 15 minutes over its scheduled time (including the entrances and post-match angle with Chris Jericho attacking) and Marty Scurll vs. Kazuchika Okada bout went 12 minutes longer than planned, backstage there was a lot of scrambling. Plans to have separate entrances for everyone in the six man tag were scrapped and turned into one entrance for each team. They cut half of the match out in order to fit the limited time they had (18 minutes including entrances) and the production team was able to negotiate more time for the satellite feed, which had to go off the air on time due to the fact it was being aired on cable and satellite PPV as well as Internet streaming. They were able to get one additional minute and as it turned out, they needed it as the three count took place with 20 seconds of airtime left. Had the Bucks not been completely on point with going to the finish with perfect timing, it would have been an absolutely disaster. Instead, it was a home run.

During Scurll vs. Okada, production was losing their mind trying to get their attention to get them to go home. We were told during the show it was painfully obvious they were sending signals to Scurll and Okada.

Chris Jericho was snuck into the building during Nick Aldis vs. Cody and as soon as his segment was over, he was rushed to a private plane in order to make his concert in Kansas later that evening.

The show was far and away the most successful pro wrestling iPPV event ever carried by FITE.tv.

The WWE has announced a second season of the Mixed Match Challenge to air on Facebook Watch. The series will return Tuesday, September 18th, and air each Tuesday night with a pre-show at 9:50 pm and then begin at 10 pm Eastern following SmackDown Live. The following teams have been announced for the upcoming season:
*The Miz & Asuka (the winners of the first season)
*AJ Styles & Charlotte Flair
*Finn Balor & Bayley
*Bobby Lashley & Sasha Banks
*Alexa Bliss & Braun Strowman
*Kevin Owens & Natalya
*Lana & Rusev
*Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox
*R-Truth & Carmella
*Jimmy Uso & Naomi

The second season will consist of 14 episodes that will feature two matches per week. The finals will take place at the TLC event on Sunday, December 16th. In addition, the series will be available on Facebook Watch outside of the U.S. for the first time viewers in Australia, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, France, Germany, the Philippines, Spain, Vietnam, and Thailand able to watch it live.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKokI6vdFGU

The NWA came out of the weekend with more interest than it has had in decades and their next major event is their 70th-anniversary card. The show will take place from Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday, October 21st and will be airing on FITE TV. David Lagana was a guest on the Voices of Wrestling network on Sunday, reiterating that the NWA will bring back the National title and will have a video series to accompany that championship as well. Lagana added that the match between Aldis and Cody was the first chapter and there would be a rematch down the road, while also noting that Cody will be a free agent at the end of 2018.

The indie wrestler who played Jimmy James for the squash loss to The Authors of Pain on last night's RAW was James Alexander, who also appeared on WWE 205 Live earlier this year. No word yet on who played Keith Thompson.

The WWE Network has added even more episodes of All-Star Wrestling to the Vault section. WWE announced the following blurb for the addition:

Just added to WWE Network: 66 episodes of All Star Wrestling

This month, exclusively on WWE Network, enjoy 50 new hours of one of WWE's very first weekly televised series, All Star Wrestling. Harken back to the famed Hamburg Fieldhouse in the early 80s and witness the origins of WWE Hall of Famers like Pedro Morales, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Sgt. Slaughter, Hulk Hogan and many more. All Star Wrestling dominated the airwaves for 15 years and was at the forefront of expanding the exposure of WWE across America.

Some other sheet news includes:

RAW's ratings are delayed till tomorrow due to Monday being Labor Day holiday.
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Xavier Woods celebrated his 32nd birthday today.
In another "WWE Did You Know", last Sunday was the 16th anniversary of Eric Bischoff awarding the World Heavyweight belt to Triple H as RAW's first top champion during the 1st brand split era.
PWI had a recent article discussing why its time for ROH to hold their own Hall of Fame and who should be in the inaugural class. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120081/its-time-for-a-ring-of-honor-hall-of-fame-and-heres-who-should-be-inducted.html?p=1

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Bret Hart Releases Statement on the Death of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/bret-hart-releases-statement-on-the-death-of-jim-the-anvil-neidhart/)
Various: All In Attendance, Matt Riddle’s Final Indie match, Ratings Delayed (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/various-all-in-attendance-matt-riddles-final-indie-match-ratings-delayed/)
Lita vs. Mickie James Announced for Evolution – Updated Card (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/lita-vs-mickie-james-announced-for-evolution-updated-card/)
Big Cass Says He “Made a Lot of Mistakes,” Would Have Fired Himself Too (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/big-cass-says-he-made-a-lot-of-mistakes-would-have-fired-himself-too/)

Emperor Smeat

09-05-2018, 10:02 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by HBK's Greetings to the WWE Universe:
https://i.imgur.com/fuciAtr.gif

Raw on Labor Day was up very slightly from the prior week on a night that included college football on ESPN, but much lesser cable competition.

Monday's Raw did 2.87 million viewers, up one percent from 2.84 million viewers last week ...

It was slightly behind last week in the first two hours but held the audience better than last week in hour three.

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.95 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.93 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.74 million viewers

Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are now set for two high profile matches in the next couple of months.

WWE announced today on their website that Becky Lynch will face Charlotte Flair for the WWE SmackDown women’s title at WWE Super Show-Down. This is in addition to their match that has been announced for WWE Hell in a Cell later this month.

The two have been feuding since SummerSlam, when Charlotte took advantage of a prone Lynch and pinned her to become SmackDown women’s champion. Lynch didn’t like the outcome and jumped Charlotte, throwing her over the announcer’s table. The two have exchanged tense words since then and are first scheduled to meet in a title match at Hell in a Cell on September 16.

Here is the current card for WWE Super Show-Down, which will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia on October 6:

The Undertaker vs. Triple H
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE title
John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens and Elias
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz - winner gets a WWE title match
The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre
Ronda Rousey and the Bella Twins vs. The Riott Squad
Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy for the WWE Cruiserweight title
The New Day vs. Cesaro and Sheamus for the WWE SmackDown tag team titles
Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch for the SmackDown women’s title
Asuka and Naomi vs. The IIconics
An appearance by Shawn Michaels

Link: https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-super-show-down/2018-10-06/charlotte-flair-becky-lynch?sf196990012=1

Toni Storm will be returning in time for PROGRESS Wrestling's Wembley Arena show later this month.

PROGRESS announced today that the Women's Championship match for the September 30 event will be Jinny defending her title against Storm and Millie McKenzie in a triple threat match: "BREAKING: with confirmation from our medical team that @tonistorm_ will be fit to compete by 30th Sept, both she and @MillieMcKenzie0 take their title shots and look to dethrone the #Queen @JinnyCouture when we head to @ssearena!"

Storm also tweeted about the match announcement: "I’ll be back stronger than ever"
Link: https://twitter.com/ThisIs_Progress/status/1037403802276651008 & https://twitter.com/tonistorm_/status/1037407385537658880

Tessa Blanchard has signed with Women of Wrestling and is set for the promotion's first television tapings for AXS TV next month.

Blanchard will challenge reigning champion Santana Garrett for the the WOW World Championship at the tapings. Blanchard is also working as a trainer at WOW's Training Center in Southern California.

The first set of WOW tapings for AXS will take place at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles on October 10 and October 11. WOW will begin airing weekly on AXS in January 2019 ...

Blanchard will be wrestling for WOW while also being part of Impact Wrestling, where she is the current Knockouts Champion.

Heath Slater wrote a post on Instagram about the tag teams and factions he’s been in and wanting to do things his own way one day: “I got signed with @wwe when I was 22 years old. I’ve been through Deep South, Florida Championship Wrestling and The Foundation of @wwenxt Ive been in faction after faction and tag team after tag team none of them actually went the way I hoped. I just hope that one day before this is all over that I can do things my way. And as a grizzled young vet in the business I hope that time comes sooner than later.”
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BnWvqpEAmgS/?taken-by=heathslater_xxii

Indies Roundup:
In the aftermath of All In, the NWA and Being the Elite have both released fallout episodes from the show. The NWA’s Ten Pounds of Gold episode focuses on Cody and Nick Aldis backstage before their match and Cody’s NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship win. Being the Elite is over 47 minutes long and chronicles the weekend.

Ring of Honor issued an announcement via social media that the final group of tickets that will be released for their April 2019 Madison Square Garden debut are now on sale after production plans were finalized. This may be your only chance to get tickets unless you are going to attempt the secondary market.

The next season of “Survivor” featuring John Hennigan as a contestant, will premiere on Wednesday, September 26th with a 90-minute special at 8 pm Eastern on CBS.
NWA: https://youtu.be/ck4LnU7a3dQ , Elite: https://youtu.be/CSQdnl4n6CY , ROH: https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/1037363464614891520

Ric Flair and Charlotte Flair were the latest guests of the Photo Shoot series on the WWE Network. Both Ric and Charlotte are featured on the "Wooo" edition of WWE 2K19, and gave the viewers an inside look of the photo shoot that is placed on the video game cover ...

Flair also saw a picture of him and Ricky Steamboat, and called him the greatest babyface in the history of pro wrestling.

"There will be arguments about this, [but] not many that can stand. [Steamboat is] the greatest babyface of all time," said Flair. "I don't think anyone had better matches in the history of the business than Steamboat and I had. [His] physique, second to none. Legitimately tough, and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet in your life."
More highlights: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0904/645491/ric-flair-on-who-is-the-greatest-babyface-of-all-time/

Above is new video of Jeremy Borash talking to WWE NXT Superstar Tegan Nox about her Mae Young Classic match with Zatara that airs tonight.

"It's incredible, I'm still speechless," Nox said. "It's been a year in the making and tonight I get to finally show everybody in the WWE Universe exactly what Tegan Nox is all about."
Link: https://youtu.be/W1g_UqjuHmI

Lanny Poffo, better known as The Genius during his WWE run and the brother of Macho Man Randy Savage, didn't necessarily squash the rumor regarding his brother and Stephanie McMahon.

For decades there has been an urban legend about Savage having an affair with Stephanie McMahon in the mid-1990s. According to the unsubstantiated story, Savage was blacklisted from WWE until his passing once Vince McMahon learned of the affair years later.

Poffo addressed that rumor during the first episode of his new podcast, The Genius Cast.

"I don't know, and if I knew I wouldn't tell you because Randy was very private and I have absolutely no idea if that happened," Poffo explained. "I will tell you what did happen. Triple H had done an interview with a magazine and they said, what do you think of Hulk Hogan and The Macho Man? He said that they are great but they are dinosaurs. Evidently, Hulk Hogan didn't mind being called a dinosaur, but Randy Savage took big exception to it" ...

"I have absolutely no idea if the urban legend is true," said Poffo. "Like I said, if it were true I wouldn't tell you because it is nobody else's business. There is only one other person who knows for sure and that is Stephanie McMahon. Randy is not here and she is not talking, so, let's give him the benefit of the doubt and just talk about something else."
More highlights and link to the podcast: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0905/645519/lanny-poffo-addresses-rumor-regarding-randy-savage-and-stephanie/

Some other sheet news includes:

Ratings for this week's Smackdown are delayed till tomorrow due to this week being Labor Day holiday.
Recent episode of the Sam Roberts podcast show had Samoa Joe as the guest. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0905/645523/samoe-joe-reveals-that-he-was-the-number-two-merchandise-seller/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Marty Scurll Responds to Reports of Heat for Going Over Time in His All In Match (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/marty-scurll-responds-to-reports-of-heat-for-going-over-time-in-his-all-in-match/)
WWE: Mae Young Classic Tonight, NXT, AJ Styles Joins “300-Day Club” as Champ (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-mae-young-classic-airs-tonight-nxt-aj-styles-joins-300-day-club-as-champ/)
WWE Network Survey Reveals Potential New Show Concepts (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-network-survey-reveals-potential-new-show-concepts/)
All In: Zero Hour Ratings (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/all-in-zero-hour-ratings/)

slik

09-06-2018, 05:18 PM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Daniel Bryan Signs New Multi-Year WWE Contract: <a href="https://t.co/HfvbgJZYlr">https://t.co/HfvbgJZYlr</a> <a href="https://t.co/LyYTbhoFqZ">pic.twitter.com/LyYTbhoFqZ</a></p>— Pro Wrestling Sheet (@WrestlingSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlingSheet/status/1037811686210785280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Emperor Smeat

09-06-2018, 11:43 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by NOTHING:

Tuesday night's SmackDown averaged 2.319 million viewers on the USA Network, down one percent from last week and five percent from the post-SummerSlam show two weeks ago ...

SmackDown was down 10 percent in the year-over-year ratings, which has been the recent trend. This was the 12th straight week the show has had a decline from the same week in the previous year.

With network first-run shows set to debut in a few weeks, it's likely SmackDown's ratings will drop 5-10 percent from the current levels as it has done in previous years.

Two "Hiden Gems" focusing on Mae Young Classic competitors will be added today to WWE Network:

Heat 06/12/2006 – The Climb

Long before making a name for herself in the Mae Young Classic, Mercedes Martinez goes one-on-one with Victoria in this match from Heat.

Mae Young Classic competitor Meiko Satomura teams with WWE Hall of Famer Madusa against Japanese legend Akira Hokuto and Kaoru.

Below is the synopsis for the WCW Worldwide match:
WCW Worldwide 02/09/1997 – Legends in the Making

Indies Roundup:
Former Ring of Honor broadcaster Mike Hogewood died Wednesday at 63 years old. Best known for his work as a college sports announcer for the Atlantic Coast Conference and for various on-air roles at local broadcast stations, Hogewood became the ROH play-by-play man when the promotion had a run on HDNet in 2009, now AXS TV, despite having no wrestling experience.

Ring of Honor paid tribute to Mike Hogewood on their website. He did announcing for their ROH on HDNet show from 2009-2011.

Ohio Valley Wrestling will tape its 1,000th episode on 10/10. It will feature appearances from Hurricane Helms, Billy Gunn, Tommy Dreamer and Abyss.

New Japan has released the first part of a Katsuyori Shibata documentary called “California Dreamin’”, where he talks about his move to California.

Tickets for Wrestle Kingdom go on sale to New Japan Fan Club members on 9/10. An interesting note is that they are putting more tickets on sale, standing room tickets in the upper deck because with whatever they have planned and their business increases this year, they expect to have the first Tokyo Dome real sellout in 17 years.

Bein Sports has dropped DirecTV so that’s another blow for the reach of MLW
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/roh-mourns-passing-mike-hogewood , NJPW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25jrxw-E4yI

The NJPW Destruction Tour kicks off tomorrow in Korakuen Hall for the first of three consecutive Road to Destruction shows. This show will be live on NJPWWorld.com at 5.30AM EST/10.30AM UK.

Ran Narita & Shota Umino vs Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin, David Finlay & Aoya Yoshida vs Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Taiji Ishimori
Toa Henare vs Beretta
Hirooki Goto & Gedo vs Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI vs Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano
Tomohiro Ishii & Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi

Matt Hardy tweeted the following regarding the possibility of a new WWE Network show featuring House Hardy as mentioned in the recent WWE survey:

A possible @WWENetwork show starring #HouseHardy that emanates from The Hardy Compound? With the original team behind the helm? This sounds positively MAGICAL! --> https://t.co/XQtC8XIKd9 pic.twitter.com/2lrVdQ2Yee
— MATTHEW MOORE HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) September 5, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/1037410701634138113

The total attendance at All In was 11,263 (and a few days after the show they had already released an 11,263 T-shirt), which was, with the set up, was the fire department maximum they could put in ...

The live gate was $458,525. We don’t have final merchandise numbers but every item they had sold out, and the key event shirt, the All In shirt, sold out at 3:30 p.m., 90 minutes before the show started and 30 minutes after the doors opened ...

FITE TV grossed more than $1 million between iPPV sales and Starrcast iPPV sales. That would probably indicate in excess of 20,000 iPPV orders, which was well above expectations if you figure 80 percent of the revenue came from the show and 20 percent came from the convention. The Starrcast convention sold 11,000 tickets, but that doesn’t mean 11,000 people because people bought tickets for multiple events ... Pro Wrestling Tees did just under $500,000 worth of T-shirt business over the weekend through all channels, and most of the merchandise in the venue would be part of that total. Highspots reportedly had its biggest merchandise day ever at the convention as well as its biggest weekend ever, which is huge because they are a key part of every WrestleMania weekend.

The first hour, airing from 6-7 p.m. Eastern, did 196,000 viewers on WGN. It was the best number on the station for the day and is in line with what most of the station’s top rated prime time original shows do, even on the worst night of the week for television and being out of prime time ... PPV numbers aren’t available at this point, and with no prior reference point it was impossible to predict. Illegal streaming numbers were about the same as for a non-major WWE PPV event, which these days don’t do more than 20,000 to 30,000 buys. Google trends, historically an excellent predictor, showed that the show did not crack the top 20 for the day, so this had its cult interest but it didn’t have the mainstream interest of a major UFC and WWE event. But nothing in pro wrestling that isn’t WWE or the death of a major star has ever cracked the top 20 in recent memory.

A lot of people were upset by the Joey Ryan angle, which was a spoof of Undertaker’s druids. For those who watched BTE, they knew Ryan had to confront Hangman Page. The fans live expected it, but people who didn’t watch BTE and were watching with the idea of seeing a loaded PPV and thinking it would be like a New Japan match, weren’t thrilled. They showed a video of the “dead” Ryan on his back, and suddenly his penis got hard and erect and came to back life, and announcer Don Callis made reference to his being resurrected. Some were offended on religious grounds. Others didn’t like the fact that the druids were dressed up as white dicks. Ryan then did his routine, confronting Page and putting Page’s hand on Ryan’s dick and Ryan doing the dick flip. This was definitely a moment that was the one that separated the live audience, which reacted well to it and with the build, saw it as something that had to happen for storyline reasons and others who thought the white dicks were just like a bad WWE idea.

There were attempts to get both Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay to announce the Cody vs Nick Aldis match. Schiavone had a college football commitment. Aldis had asked for Tenay to announce it with the idea it would give it more of an authentic feel. Tenay never spoke to Cody directly, only Conrad Thompson, and they never made a deal.

The 10/28 Evolution PPV show at this point has sold 7,000 tickets to the Nassau Coliseum. It will end up close to full as a full house is scaled at 10,900. Of those 7,000 tickets, about 2,400 went to ticket brokers and the price to get in is $41

The key players in the ring, Cody, Omega, Young Bucks and Page (Scurll was not in the ring for the finish and he’s the only one whose contract doesn’t expire by the end of January) vowed to stick together in their upcoming negotiations and certainly left one with the impression they aren’t going to WWE. The best we can say right now is this. The vow to stick together among the five is legit. The decision of what that means hasn’t been made and WWE, which has made strong overtures, is an option. It’s not going to be an easy decision. There are many different things to weigh, some obvious and others not so obvious. The belief is that WWE is not blind to the obvious angle and has the same basic idea that would be obvious regarding how to use them at first.

While New Japan has had at least informal feeler talks with a number of WWE stars whose deals are coming due, you don't see people, even those whose fortunes are going nowhere, leaving to try and do what Juice Robinson has done.

Some other sheet news includes:

Based on estimates from a recent episode of the RBR Weekly Wrestling podcast show, WWE will be making roughly $1.1 million per segment/match shown on Smackdown once their new deal with FOX begins. The estimates assume Smackdown does not get an extra hour and is around 8 segments per week.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: WWE “Tell-All” Book Planned, WWE Yearbook Video (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-wwe-tell-all-book-planned-wwe-yearbook-video/)
Various: Pentagon & Fenix NXT Tease, NWA Title Match, Ballers Renewed (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/various-pentagon-fenix-nxt-tease-nwa-title-match-ballers-renewed/)
Daniel Bryan Signs New WWE Contract (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/daniel-bryan-signs-new-wwe-contract/)
Rumor: Shawn Michaels May Return to the Ring (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/rumor-shawn-michaels-may-return-to-the-ring/)

Emperor Smeat

09-07-2018, 10:11 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Stunner Selling Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/hPWJKGW.gif

A collection on The Undertaker and Triple H’s rivalry and one on Curt Hawkins will be added to the WWE Network this month.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/09/06/two-new-wwe-network-collections-being-promoted-to-arrive-this-month-feud-between-legends-to-be-highlighted/

Chris Jericho discussed his All In appearance on today’s episode of his podcast. He said Cody Rhodes called him months ago when the show was announced, and Jericho said he wasn’t wanting to work non-WWE shows in the United States at that time. Jericho said his mindset has changed and he’s enjoying being part of this “revolution” of wrestling that’s going on. Jericho said he’d consider it, but the idea had to be right. Cody pitched him on being under the Burnard the Business Bear costume and attacking Kota Ibushi, but Jericho said he wasn’t really interested. Cody called him again, they kicked around ideas, and Jericho came up with attacking Kenny Omega and keeping their angle alive from the Tokyo Dome and having it be a late promotional opportunity for his cruise. They were able to work the logistics out with Jericho’s Fozzy concert in Kansas and get it pushed to later in the night. Pentagon Jr.’s extra costume was silver instead of gold, so they had to find a Home Depot and get gold spray paint at the last minute.
Link: https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/tij-ep489-allinsaturday-fullshow

Indies Roundup:
Destiny Wrestling, a Toronto-based promotion, will have their first iPPV on FITE TV on November 25. Titled Fearless, it will be hosted by Alicia Atout, Scott D’Amore and the former Santino Marella.

Cody has announced today on Twitter that he is writing a children’s book similar to the Young Bucks’ book as part of the Elite Team Series. It will be released next spring.

Wednesday’s episode of Lucha Underground averaged 100,000 viewers on the El Rey Network, up from their season-low of 83,000 the week prior. It was Lucha Underground’s highest number since August 8th.

On Saturday, WWN Live will present a SHINE card at 3 pm with the SHINE championship tournament scheduled. EVOLVE 113 will be streaming live at 6 pm Eastern with Shane Strickland vs. Tracy Williams for the EVOLVE title, and the live audience will see Velveteen Dream vs. Darby Allin in the main event.

NJPW announced Wrestle Kingdom 13 tickets will go on sale to the general public on October 25 and have a couple pre-sales before that. Ticket prices range from 4,500yen ($40) to 50,000yen ($450). Ticket bundles for international fans should be announced in the near future.

Cody: https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1038139949340663808

The Hollywood Reporter has a story on a new biopic on WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson is in the works. The film entitled "Ring King" is being produced and written by Toronto-based filmmakers Jonathan and Justin Gajewski. The brothers have numerous assistant director credits for films and television produced in Toronto such as Suicide Squad, Scott Pilgrim Versus the World and Fox's Minority Report TV series. Dwayne Johnson has no affiliation with the film.
Link: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/biopic-dwayne-rock-johnsons-father-works-tiff-2018-1139787

Despite competition from the first game of the NFL season, Impact Wrestling ratings were up a bit this week.

The episode averaged 236,000 viewers on Pop TV, which is up from last week's 225,000. Viewership has increased each of the last four weeks, but the past five episodes are still the five lowest audiences Impact has drawn in 2018.

Ring of Honor has confirmed the date and location of this year's Final Battle pay-per-view.

Final Battle 2018 will be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Friday, December 14. This will be the third straight year that the venue has hosted the PPV. Aside from Final Battle 2015 being held in Philadelphia, the event has taken place in New York City since 2006.

Tickets for the show will go on sale to HonorClub members at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, September 12. They'll then be made available to the general public at 10 a.m. Eastern on Friday, September 14.

Do you think that the reaction to Becky Lynch is similar to that of Daniel Bryan, while inadvertently, making Charlotte the female Roman Reigns? I feel the audience will now be booing Charlotte, even when she is past this feud because the current storyline is dictating that she came in out of nowhere, is getting pushed at the expense of other talent, etc.

I don't think that was the plan, but it sure looks that way. Of course, it wasn't the plan with Bryan either and he ended up headlining Wrestlemania 30, so this could all end up being extremely beneficial to Ms. Lynch!
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

A few months back, Finn Balor cracked a joke about Acting General Manager Baron Corbin stealing his vest from TGI Friday's. Apparently, this got back to the restaurant chain who "fired" Corbin and sent him his severance package in the form of a gift card.

Thanks to @FinnBalor telling on me @TGIFridays fired me for "borrowing" a vest. It's a bummer but on the bright side I got my severance package in the mail yesterday. I'm getting boneless wings now who's going with me? pic.twitter.com/vvKP2u4mzM
— Baron Corbin (@BaronCorbinWWE) September 7, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/BaronCorbinWWE/status/1038148153256685569

WWE has a new poll asking fans which match they're most looking forward to at the Hell In a Cell pay-per-view. As of this writing, 38% voted for the HIAC match between Braun Strowman and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns while 18% voted for Samoa Joe vs. WWE Champion AJ Styles, 17% for Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, 15% for the HIAC match between Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy, 7% for Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse, and 5% for Alexa Bliss vs. RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey.

WWE Hall of Famer "Mean" Gene Oklerlund, Charly Caruso and Jonathan Coachman are the hosts for the new 30 Years of WWE SummerSlam DVD. The set is available now and can be purchased at a sale price via this Amazon link. Okerlund appears in this new promo for the set:

Join @TheGeneOkerlund @TheCoachrules & @CharlyCarusoWWE for an unprecedented look at THREE DECADES of #SummerSlam! pic.twitter.com/S3mLxw6A12
— WWE (@WWE) September 7, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1038155112890290177

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: Hell in a Cell Poster, First Mixed Match Challenge Matches (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-hell-in-a-cell-poster-first-mixed-match-challenge-matches/)
WWE: Harper and Breeze at NXT Show, Wrestlers Using Cena’s Moves (Video) (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-harper-and-breeze-at-nxt-show-wrestlers-using-cenas-moves-video/)
Interview: Joey Ryan on Why He Doesn’t Want to Sign w/ WWE, All In Entrance, Fan DMs (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/interview-joey-ryan-on-why-he-doesnt-want-to-sign-w-wwe-all-in-entrance-fan-dms/)

Emperor Smeat

09-11-2018, 10:15 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random WCW Era gif:
https://i.imgur.com/S6n8lvP.gif

Last night's Raw held up well against the first week of the NFL season, doing 2.74 million viewers, a drop of five percent from the prior week ...

ESPN ran a doubleheader, with the New York Jets blowout of the Detroit Lions doing 10.34 million viewers against the first two hours of Raw and part of hour three, while the last 52 minutes of Raw went against a Los Angeles Rams vs. Oakland Raiders game that did 9.61 million viewers.

Raw was seventh for the night on cable, trailing only the two games and news shows. It also beat out both FOX and CW programming ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.82 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.80 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.60 million viewers

On the 17th anniversary of her father (Michael Angel Trinidad) passing away in the 9/11 terror attacks, WWE posted a video with Zelina Vega (Thea Trinidad) being interviewed by Renee Young. Vega reflected on her memories of her father and that day. She also discussed how her father was a fan of professional wrestling and The Rock, how they bonded over wrestling, and her telling The Rock about him.

Vega wrote about her father: “Even 17 years later it’s still hard to breathe when they get close to reading his name at the #911Memorial ceremony but today and everyday I celebrate and represent for you Daddy. I’m on my way to Cajundome for #SDLive and live our dream. Thank you all for the luv #TRANQUILO”
Link: https://youtu.be/SUzbsVFrMU8 & https://twitter.com/Zelina_VegaWWE/status/1039559228514549769

Indies Roundup:
Revolution Pro Wrestling announced that Global Wars UK will only be a one-night event this year, with the show being held at the Brixton Recreation Centre on October 14. Minoru Suzuki will defend his Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii, and KUSHIDA will challenge for David Starr’s Cruiserweight title.

RIngside seats for the NWA’s 70th Anniversary Show are being priced at $70, with general admission tickets costing $19.48 (the year the NWA was founded). Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Central time this Friday. The show will take place in Nashville, Tennessee on October 21, and it’s being headlined by Cody Rhodes and Nick Aldis’ rematch for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

David Arquette will team with the Hurricane this Friday for Northeast Wrestling.

The second part of the Katsuyori Shibata documentary looking at his life in California has been uploaded.

World of Sport this week scored 0.5 million viewers with a 5% share, up slightly from last week.

New Japan has a Road to Destruction card in Hinagahigashi Tuesday headlined by Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Yujiro vs. Will Ospreay, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano. They have a show in Kyoto on Wednesday and Osaka on Thursday before Saturday’s big Destruction in Hiroshima card, which will stream on New Japan World.
RevPro: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1039529542484938752, Northeast Wrestling: http://www.northeastwrestling.com/ , NJPW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQbOMDmFxEk&feature=youtu.be

CMLL and ROH are partnering to make CMLL's 85th Aniversario event available via HonorClub.

ROH announced tonight that this Friday's CMLL anniversary show will be streamed live for all HonorClub subscribers. It will also be available to watch on-demand.

The broadcast will only be shown with Spanish commentary, with it being done by CMLL's announce team. CMLL has yet to announce if the show will be broadcast anywhere other than HonorClub.
More details and event's card: https://www.f4wonline.com/mexico/cmll-85th-aniversario-air-live-honorclub-265566

The talents decimated by The Author of Pains on Monday Night Raw were Wildkat Wrestling regulars Johnny Flex and Nathan Bradley.

The person attacked backstage by Braun Strowman and tossed painfully across the hallway was Wildkat Wrestling's Buku Dao.

Michael Cole took to Twitter to comment on Renee Young being moved into a full-time announcing position on Monday Night Raw:

Work hard and you will be rewarded. Simple but true. Tonight will be a top 5 highlight in my 22 year career. Congrats @ReneeYoungWWE
— Michael Cole (@MichaelCole) September 10, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/MichaelCole/status/1039159739035410432

CM Punk (Phil Brooks) appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN Monday to promote Ultimate Beastmasters, which was released on Netflix last month. Punk listed off the movie projects he has been working on and was non-committal on a return to mixed martial arts. He stated he would decide by the end of the year and added that it wasn’t “UFC or bust” for him, suggesting he would be open to fighting elsewhere if he wasn’t retained by the promotion.
Link with more highlights: https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/interview-cm-punk-on-not-being-made-an-offer-for-all-in-if-hes-interested-in-returning-to-wrestling/

WWE recently filed to trademark Walk With Elias, Adam Cole, Lars Sullivan and Danny Burch.

WWE Hall of Famer Sting was a recent guest on Apter Chat, with Bill Apter. During the chat, Sting discussed how his character developed over the years and even shared how he came to use the 'Scorpion Deathlock'.

"I was fortunate enough in those early days, while I was still with Bill Watts, (Giant) Baba from Japan wanted me to come do a show," Sting said. "Bill sent me to Japan and there was a wrestler named Riki Choshu. He used that hold and I went 'oh, I like that' and so then the scorpion kinda popped in all at the same time and attempting to brand myself."

The latest edition of Dinner With the King with WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler is now online. The show was recorded in Chicago during Starrcast, and featured Lawler speaking to a live crowd. Below are some highlights.

Jerry Lawler on being associated with the word “puppies” in WWE:

The thing with the puppies, I did not coin the phrase. I was not the first one to say the phrase on WWE TV; but, because like you said I am so associated with that word puppies, most people think that way. That is probably the reason I’m not on TV anymore and I mean that seriously because they [WWE] went so politically correct. It’s not necessarily PG because they’re not PG. They’re further south than PG. They’re PC. They’re so politically correct to a fault and especially like they got so right now into – starting with the Revolution – now it’s all about empowering women and that’s a big political correct thing these days and everything, so WWE jumped right on that, so it’s about empowering women. They actually came to us and said, ‘Do not ever say that women are sexy or that they’re good looking or that they’re beautiful. You must treat them exactly like you would a male athlete. You could say that they are powerful, they’re strong, they’re athletic, all this stuff; but, nothing that would be considered sexist at all.

Lawler on slipping in “puppies” during the Raw 25th Anniversary show and Vince McMahon’s reactions:

This is like early on the show and I said, ‘JR [Jim Ross], it’s so nice to be here tonight and we’re gonna go back in time or something and I might even say puppies tonight.’ Immediately I hear [Vince McMahon] in my earphone (grunts), ‘Let’s stay away from that tonight.’ That was the last time it was ever said on there.

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Paul Heyman celebrated his 53rd birthday today.
In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 2nd anniversary of AJ Styles first WWE Championship victory. Styles defeated Dean Ambrose for the belt at Backlash 2016.
PWG recently revealed the cards for this weekend's Battle of Los Angeles 2018 tournament. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120223/pwg-to-present-2018-battle-of-los-angeles-this-weekend-complete-lineup.html?p=1
According to the Observer, WWE hasn't been unable to get both Pentagon Dark and Fenix's contracts with Lucha Underground voided via a loophole. At the moment, WWE can't sign both to deals till after the current LU season ends and can't use them on tv for another 6 months later.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE 2K19 Roster: Final 54 “Legend” Wrestlers Revealed (Full Roster List) (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-2k19-roster-final-54-legend-wrestlers-revealed-full-roster-list/)
Various: Cody to Defend NWA Title, The Rock’s Fast & Furious Spinoff, GLOW Wins Emmys (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/various-cody-to-defend-nwa-title-the-rocks-fast-furious-spinoff-glow-wins-emmys/)
Edge Booked for SmackDown 1000 (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/edge-booked-for-smackdown-1000/)

Emperor Smeat

09-12-2018, 09:49 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Bread Club's Satoshi Kojima:
https://i.imgur.com/tRWCgVx.gif

Tuesday's go-home show for Hell in a Cell saw SmackDown average 2.229 million viewers, down four percent from last week and marking the third straight week that SmackDown ratings have been down ...

SmackDown was down almost 20 percent year-over-year. The edition of the show that aired one year ago this week saw Vince McMahon make a rare appearance on SmackDown to confront Kevin Owens, who was in the middle of a program with Shane McMahon.

This was the 13th straight week that SmackDown has had a year-over-year drop and the 16th week in the last 17 that the show has been down from 2017.

Young’s WWE audition tape is being added to the WWE Network’s hidden gems section this week. Beth Phoenix vs. ODB vs. Katie Lea (OVW, 2006) and Kaitlyn vs. Rosa Mendes (FCW, 2011) are also being uploaded.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/09/12/wwe-hidden-gems-focused-on-women-renee-young-audition-tape/

Indies Roundup:
EVIL & SANADA vs. WALTER & Timothy Thatcher is set for Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Global Wars UK event at Brixton Recreation Centre on October 14. Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship and David Starr vs. KUSHIDA for the Undisputed Cruiserweight title have also been announced.

Impact Wrestling announced that tickets for this year’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view have officially sold out, which was expected with the smaller building they’re running. The PPV is taking place at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York on October 14.

The first month of Impact episodes from the Spike TV era have been uploaded to the Global Wrestling Network.

WALTER vs. Will Ospreay for the OTT Championship will headline OTT’s show at National Stadium in Dublin on October 13.
RevPro: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1039937547823198214 , Impact: https://impactwrestling.com/bound-for-glory-sold-out/ , GWN: https://twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING/status/1039891385099345921 , OTT: https://twitter.com/OTT_wrestling/status/1039864202142396416

Marko Stunt has been added to this weekend’s PWG Battle of Los Angles tournament.

It was announced today by PWG's Twitter account that Stunt will replace Chris Brookes, who is out of the tournament due to an undisclosed injury. Stunt will face Trevor Lee in a first round match that will take place during night two.

Stunt gained notoriety last month when he was a part of Joey Janela’s Lost In New York event that took place during SummerSlam weekend. Despite his small size, Stunt managed to impress against the much larger KTB. Following the match, Stunt was added to the All In Over Budget battle royal where he eliminated Moose early in the match. He was later eliminated by Bully Ray.

This weekend’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament will start with first round matches on September 14 and 15, with the finals taking place on the 16th. All three shows will take place at the Globe Theater in Los Angeles, California.
Link: https://twitter.com/OfficialPWG/status/1040003082409525248

Stephanie McMahon was among the featured speakers today at the SportsBusiness Journal's 2018 SBJ Game Changers Conference in New York City, a one-day event focused on the multiple ways in which women intersect with sports. During a discussion panel called "Ideas That Move Us Forward: Storytelling In Sports Business," Stephanie revealed the reason behind WWE's success.

"We're successful for one reason only: We listened to our audience," Stephanie said.
:rofl: Link with more highlights:http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0912/645746/stephanie-mcmahon-reveals-the-reason-behind-wwe-success/

Recently on The Jim Ross Report, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross caught up with the newly crowned NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, Cody. Among many other pro wrestling topics, 'The Grandson Of A Plumber' talked about his role at All In and what he learned from his experience, planning a sequel to the wildly successful indie show, and the future of the NWA's top prize ...

During the interview, Cody hinted at planning another All In and noted that he learned a lot about time management [except for timing pro wrestling matches].

"Well, maybe we already started planning [laughs]." Cody added, "I kept writing these lists. And my dad was a big list guy and I have become a big list guy too. I kept writing these lists of these are the things to do to make sure you're in peak condition, and also make sure you're in peak mental state, and make sure you paid this guy and talked to this guy. I also learned I wanted to do every single thing with this show. I wanted to do payroll; I wanted to know elements of production; I wanted to know how many chairs were in the union catering room.

"Just, next time, I don't need to know all that stuff. I also learned you are only as good as the team around you and we've discovered some new teammates over the course of [All In] weekend."
Link: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0912/645722/cody-discusses-what-he-would-do-differently-for-all-in-2/

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 19th anniversary of Sting's 6th WCW World Championship victory. Sting defeated Hollywood Hogan for the belt at Fall Brawl 1999.
Recent episode of the SirusXM's Busted Open radio show had Chris Jericho as the guest. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0912/645750/chris-jericho-it-fun-to-not-work-for-vince-mcmahon-right-now/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Various: Eva Marie Starts a Podcast, Ric Flair Gets Married, Cody/NWA (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/various-eva-marie-starts-a-podcast-ric-flair-gets-married-cody-nwa/)
Various: Sami Callihan Calls Out Jericho, Foley Predicts Future Champ, E&C Show (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/various-sami-callihan-calls-out-jericho-foley-predicts-future-champ-edge-christian-show/)
The Rock’s Daughter Simone Has Been Training at WWE Performance Center (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/the-rocks-daughter-simone-has-been-training-at-wwe-performance-center/)

Emperor Smeat

09-13-2018, 09:50 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Curt Hawkins Losing Streak Appreciation Day:
https://78.media.tumblr.com/3c2a6e159ee8dec8458170545d19b366/tumblr_p1lfdsPAdL1u1ljrzo1_500.gif

WWE released a press release today announcing The World of The Rock, a comprehensive visual novel of The Rock’s WWE career. It will be out on October 2nd for $24.99, and will be published by DK.

A collection featuring the “biggest losers” in WWE history will reportedly be coming to the WWE Network on Monday. Curt Hawkins will be the host.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/09/13/exclusive-further-information-on-and-synopsis-for-curt-hawkins-nothing-to-lose-collection-on-wwe-network/

Kassius Ohno (formerly known as Chris Hero) posted a tweet yesterday marking his 20th anniversary in pro wrestling.
Link: https://twitter.com/KassiusOhno/status/1039925848202272768

Indies Roundup:
Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Brookes has been added to Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Global Wars UK show at Brixton Recreation Centre on October 14.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Timothy Thatcher has been signed for Over the Top Wrestling’s Fourth Year Anniversary show. WALTER will also defend the OTT World title against Will Ospreay.

Hart Foundation vs. Rich Swann, ACH and a mystery partner has been added to MLW’s television taping on October 4.

A number of unique bouts have been announced for the 9/22 ICW event in Woodside, NY at Ultimate Fitness Queens with Nick Gage vs. Psicosis, Joey Janela vs Jack Evans, Teddy Hart vs Eli Everfly, Homicide vs SHLAK, Rich Swann vs Danny DeManto, Alisha Edwards vs. Penelope Ford and more.

The Ironman match between Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham from this week’s episode of Ring of Honor can be watched for free on FITE TV. This was the best Ring of Honor television match this year and from a presentation standpoint, I felt it was one of the best television matches period this year.
RevPro: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1040207080408444928 , OTT: https://twitter.com/ott_wrestling/status/1040265494421487622?s=21 , https://mlw.com/2018/09/13/hart-foundation-to-battle-swann-ach-and-in-nyc-october-4/ , ROH: https://www.fite.tv/watch/roh-364/2oaie/

Ric Flair and Wendy Barlow have committed themselves to one another.

TMZ Sports first reported that Flair and longtime fiancee Wendy Barlow had a commitment ceremony on Wednesday at a resort in northern Florida. Video provided showed Flair walking down the aisle in what was said to be a custom suit, then Dolph Ziggler walking Barlow down the aisle. The Undertaker was also said to be there. Although initial reports said it was a wedding, including TMZ who first reported it, Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio last night said it was a commitment ceremony.

Ric Flair has been married four times in the past. Megan and David Flair were from his first marriage to Leslie Goodman. Reid and Ashley (Charlotte) were from his second marriage to Elizabeth Harrell. His most recent marriage was with Jacqueline Beems, who filed for divorce in 2012. Barlow and Flair became engaged in 2016.

Barlow was also briefly in WCW in the early 1990s as a part of the Flair For the Gold talk show segments as Fifi the maid.

FOX's CFO John Nallen praised the forthcoming debut of WWE Smackdown during an investor's call today, commenting, "It’s a 50 to 52-week-a-year sport with no repeats. It’s a new novella every week. For us to have that kind of appointment programming, that audience, every week of the year, is a really unique opportunity for us.” Smackdown debuts on FOX in October 2019.
I give FOX about 6 months to a year before they start having buyers remorse. Link to the interview: https://www.thewrap.com/why-21st-century-fox-cfo-is-so-hyped-for-wwe-smackdown-live/

Former TNA Champion James Storm, who debuted at last week's MLW taping in an angle designed to kick off a feud with Tom Lawlor is already done here. Yep, already. A source with the promotion said the two sides decided to "part ways." Storm attacked Lawlor during a bout with Joey Janela and later won a quick squash. My guess is none of that footage will ever appear on MLW TV ...

There were a number of executives from BeIN Sports (which is headquartered in Florida) and MLW sponsors at the Wargames event last week in Florida. BeIN Sports will be expanding the MLW's presence on their networks going forward ...

There was an attempt made to book the former home of WCW in Atlanta, the Center Stage Theater, but we are told that the attempt was dropped at the request of another promotion using the venue. The company is looking at other potential venues in that market. More as we confirm it.

During our coverage of the Wargames event last week in Florida, we noted that ACH was working the show with what was believed to be the flu. It was actually some sort of stomach bug that ended up hitting a number of others who work for the company during the same time period. ACH got really sick an hour before his match but still went out and performed, which you have to respect ...

The company is also looking to shift as many of its TV tapings and dates, which have traditionally been Thursdays since the company relaunched, to Saturday evenings.

No word yet on a WaleMania event over Wrestlemania weekend.

Last Tuesday's SmackDown Live was at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana. To promote the show, Carmella appeared as a guest on a local news station, KLFY News 10, and talked about how she went from dancing to being in the WWE.

"I was a dancer my whole life," Carmella said. "I've been dancing since I was three years old. Then I was a cheerleader in the NFL and in the NBA with the Lakers. My dad was actually a wrestler back in the day in the early 90's, he dabbled in it a little bit. So just kind of brought everything full circle with my dad's background and my love of and passion for entertainment" ...

Carmella has not been a bystander in the women's evolution, as she made history by becoming the first ever Ms. Money in the Bank. She talks about what it's like to currently be on the women's roster during the evolution and everything that has been accomplished so far.

"What a time to be a women in the WWE," said Carmella. "We're in the midst of this women's evolution and we actually have our first ever all-women's pay-per-view October 28th, which is huge! It's called WWE Evolution. It's going to be amazing. The first ever all-women's pay-per-view. The women, we're just taking over. [We've had] the first ever Hell in a Cell match. The first ever Money in the Bank ladder match, which I was the first ever Ms. Money in the Bank. So, it's just really cool to see the women just taking over."
Link: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0913/645768/carmella-on-her-journey-to-wwe/

Her WWE future:

"I hope to be around for a little bit. The Danielsons do want baby No. 2 so that's something that is on the horizon. If I can come back for a couple of months or more that's heaven for me.
Great even more nonsense Bellas stuff to look forward to watching for the next few months. Link with more highlights and interview itself: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0913/645764/brie-bella-talks-recent-suicide-dive-botch-on-raw/

Some other sheet news includes:

2K Games recently released a new gameplay trailer for WWE 2k19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L1Zmmbou3s
In another incident of him having thin skin for booking criticisms, Road Dogg once again got into a Twitter spat and this time towards those still upset at WWE's handling of the Lynch-Charlotte storyline. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0913/645778/road-dogg-bg-james-responds-to-fan-complaints-on-how-becky-lynch/
For those interested, wrestling merch retailer Highspots.com is currently selling official All In merchandise.
This week's edition of the Observer Newsletter has been delayed due to scheduling issues.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: Batista Says He Wasn’t Invited to SD 1000, Reason for Foley as Ref, Aiden English (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-batista-says-he-wasnt-invited-to-smackdown-1000-reason-for-foley-as-ref-aiden-english/)
Mae Young Classic Results – Sep. 12, 2018 – Round 1, Part 2 (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/mae-young-classic-results-sep-12-2018-round-1-part-2/)

Mr. Nerfect

09-14-2018, 04:35 AM

God damn, Road Dogg is such a little bitch. Why does the company let him get away with doing that?

Emperor Smeat

09-14-2018, 09:49 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Okada Eating Food Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/2KzfzEe.gif

Despite going against regular season NFL football for the second straight week, Impact Wrestling viewership was up again last night.

The episode averaged 258,000 viewers on Pop TV, up from last Thursday's 236,000. This is the fifth straight week that Impact viewership has been up, with the promotion climbing back after drawing just 168,000 viewers on August 9.

Indies Roundup:
PCW Ultra on 10/26 has announced Penta 0M, Shane Strickland, Tessa Blanchard, Jake Atlas, Hammerstone, Daga, Puma King, Abyss, Joey Janela, Sinn Bodhi, Brody King, Darby Allin, Eli Everfly and more.

The Monster Factory in Paulsboro, NJ, which has produced a number of stars over its decades-long existence, including Bam Bam Bigelow, Raven and current ROH TV Champion Punishment Martinez, will hold their first-ever TV taping tomorrow evening. The promotion will be announcing the broadcast outlet shortly.

In what will be the biggest test for the National Wrestling Alliance to date, tickets for their 10/21 70th Anniversary event at the Nashville Fairgrounds (aka TNA Asylum) are officially on sale, with ringside seats at $70 and general admission tickets at $19.48 at nwa70.com. It will be the biggest litmus test to date to see whether the promotion's excellent YouTube series will translate into ticket buying customers for the promotion's first full scale event since Billy Corgan purchased the company a year ago. The event will be headlined by NWA Champion Cody vs. Nick Aldis in a rematch from All In as well as the crowning of a new NWA National Champion. The three hour event will air live on FITE.tv, priced at $24.95.

MLW has announced that tickets for their WrestleMania Week card will be going on sale October 10th at 10 am Eastern. MLW’s event is scheduled for Thursday, April 4th in New York City and will feature a taping for their Fusion television program on beIN Sports.

Wednesday night’s episode of Lucha Underground saw the series hit their lowest average of the season with 79,000 viewers watching on the El Rey Network. It was a 21% drop from last week’s figure.

Anthem Sports & Entertainment filed a motion asking the United States District Court of Tennessee for an extension in time so they can properly respond to the lawsuit filed by Jeff Jarrett and his company, Global Force Entertainment. Noting that Jarrett's attorneys have already agreed to an extension, Anthem has asked that the court give them until 10/15 before they file a response.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120286/latest-on-jarrett-vs-anthem-lawsuit.html?p=1

Are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar under WWE deals anymore?

WWE has been very mum on the subject of Brock Lesnar. It was known he was finishing up at Summerslam, but it's never been stated that he's no longer under contract and any questions of that nature have been ignored. It's possible his deal expired, but it's just as possible he's still under contract but is being given the time off to pursue his UFC exploits, just as he was given the chance to compete at UFC 200.

As for Heyman, he has been backstage at recent TV tapings working in a behind the scenes capacity.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

Yahoo! Sports has an interview with Brie Bella about the challenges involved in returning to the ring after becoming a mother, including changes to her body after having given birth. On her dive mishap last week on Raw, Bella commented, "With any type of physical body change, it changes so much. Even last week on ‘Raw’ when I did the suicide dive and it was less momentum than I should have had, I forgot that I’m 10 pounds heavier than what I was. Gravity doesn’t lie. That was a little different for me. I don’t mind if I fail or if I succeed. No matter what, I want to look back with no regrets. If I fail, last week for example, I went to sleep at night and I was kind of bummed out, but I learned something about myself. I learned where my body is at, where I am at.”
Link: https://sports.yahoo.com/reclamation-wwes-brie-bella-015914952.html

Zack Ryder tweeted:

I started my journey to become a professional wrestler 15 years ago this week. It all started in this garage... @NYWCWRESTLING. My only “job” has been wrestling for @WWE for the past 12 years. Dreams come true if you do the work...and stay #AlwayzReady. pic.twitter.com/TygDDcCzJl
— Zack Ryder (@ZackRyder) September 13, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/ZackRyder/status/1040277517540712448

El Hijo del Fantasma said that he was staying in AAA and not going to WWE

For those wondering, he is King Cuerno in Lucha Underground.

The 9/30 Long Beach show is barely two weeks away and there are about 2,400 tickets sold, coming after a first show at the Walker Pyramid that sold out instantly. There was no way to get the traveling fans so soon after All In, but there was a feeling that after doing 6,333 paid in San Francisco, a different market, with largely local fans, in what is right now not considered as good a market as Southern California, that this is a disappointment.

Things are not going well for Pete Polaco, 44, best known as Justin Credible in ECW and WWE. His wife had taken out an order pr protection against him in March and he has been arrested twice since then for violating it. He was released from the New Haven Correctional Center after the second arrest on $50,000 bond over the weekend. He was bailed out by the people involved in doing a documentary on his life and went to rehab. He had earlier gone through WWE sponsored rehab, thanked them and said he had turned his life around

Konnan is now working as a senior agent for MLW and will be on almost all of the shows. MSL is head of talent relations, Bruce Prichard is a senior producer and Alex Greenfield is also a senior producer. Brian Pillman Jr. signed a three-year deal. They may try and work a deal to send him to New Japan as a trainee with the idea that for him to become a good worker and gain experience, he will progress far faster there than in US ...

MLW is also looking at moving tapings from Thursdays to Saturdays, which will be easier to draw fans, but tougher to get talent. Indie talent gets the majority of their bookings on Fridays and Saturdays and very little on Thursday, so they can get a lot more talent on those days, especially with the guys who are in demand, many will have Saturday bookings. But the key guys they are building around are under contract which means they’ll have priority on their dates and even the Mexicans who are in high demand are getting their dates well ahead of time

MLW wanted to run Center Stage in Atlanta and this was the first time they’ve tried to run a venue where the venue told them they wouldn’t rent to them based on a deal with other companies. The two companies that run Center Stage are ROH, which has no history of trying to block people, and WWE, which runs NXT shows there, and certainly does have a past history but it’s not as if there’s any direct tie that this came from WWE, just that they were told they couldn’t run the venue
Some more details on yesterday's batch of MLW news.

World of Sport was up to 500,000 viewers on 9/8, which is a 25 percent increase from the series low of 400,000 the week before. But it’s still the second lowest, and next week will probably do worse because it’s being moved up another half hour to 4 p.m. ...

Even though the first-run ratings have dropped from 937,000 to as low as 400,000, those with the project expect it to be renewed for at least a second season as ITV and Martin Goldsmith have the early 2019 tour which will need TV to make it work. My gut is the tour may be used as a barometer for the future as if ITV can make money off touring and merchandise with the project they may keep them on in spite of falling ratings. More bad news is that the 9/22 show is moving to 2:30 p.m., before soccer instead of after it.

Due to his size and look, both New Japan and WWE have interest in Killer Kross.

More notes on the All In rating from 6-7 p.m. on Sunday on WGN America. The 196,000 number was down from the 227,000 number that Blue Bloods did in the same time slot the prior week. However, it drew a much younger audience, with 107,000 of the viewers 18-49 whereas Blue Bloods had 75,000, and 72,000 of those 18-49 viewers (67.3 percent) being male as opposed to Blue Bloods where it was 25,000 males in the demo and only 34.7 percent of the viewers being male

According to a report we got, after a three-way tag title match on the 9/7 Raw show Birmingham where Ziggler & McIntyre retained over The B Team and Matt Hardy & Wyatt, a fan after the match begged Hardy not to retire. His response was, “Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice. This was probably my last match ever.” Hardy did work the rest of the weekend shows. He had already been pulled off television and reports from the weekend were that he was moving like he was hurting. Hardy had pretty much indicated that he wasn’t going to be wrestling for a while and has been learning the role of a producer while being out of action. Hardy then, after his match on 9/9 in Biloxi, wrote that it was the last match of Woken Matt Hardy. The last we heard, retirement was a possibility but not official, likely depending on how his body reacts to rest and injury rehab

This past week has seen more talk regarding Penta 0M & Rey Fenix, and at this point it does look like not only is nothing happening in this direction soon, nor can it because of their Lucha Underground contracts. Both have started making commitments to promoters for next year, which indicates they aren’t planning on doing anything here anytime soon. WWE has had interest, obviously, since they are Mexican stars who can work great with Americans and have names on the indie scene ...

They are under contract with Lucha Underground until a few months after the season ends. At that point, I expect they’ll have the option to go almost anywhere.

The belief right now is that Lucha Underground is solid for another season, and that El Rey is paying them enough to continue as flagship programming going forward. With Konnan having a strong hand in creative in AAA and them being his guys, and Fenix being world champion right now, obviously they’ll be able to get a joint deal from both groups which would also likely have them working for Impact as well, just like they are now, and be able to do U.S. indies. But they are in talks about a deal with AAA and Impact right now. AAA does want them exclusively for Mexico if they can get that deal done, to keep them from also working for The Crash and CMLL.

Stephanie McMahon spoke at the Sports Business Journal Game Changer conference on 9/12 and said “We’re successful for one reason only: We listen to our audience.” You can just imagine the reaction that drew. It was enough that reporter Katie Rosenberg, who tweeted that line, noted she woke up to a number of fans saying the opposite. Every writer I’ve ever spoken to, and most people who have run creative, have always said either these words or something approximating them, that the show is written for “the audience of one,” which is Vince McMahon

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Updates on Statuses of Neville and Matt Riddle (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/updates-on-status-of-neville-and-matt-riddle/)
Paul Heyman Has Taken on a Backstage Role in WWE (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/paul-heyman-has-taken-on-a-backstage-role-in-wwe/)
WWE May Be Bringing on More On-Air Managers (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-may-be-bringing-on-more-on-air-managers/)
WWE Offers Deal to Indie Star WALTER (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-offers-deal-to-indie-star-walter/)
Dean Ambrose Says He “Nearly Died” Due to Infection While He Was Injured (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/dean-ambrose-says-he-nearly-died-due-to-infection-while-he-was-injured/)

Mr. Nerfect

09-14-2018, 10:16 PM

Those All In numbers don't exactly scream "wrestling renaissance." They're only useful if you really want that 18-49 male demo, specifically. But that's compared to Blue Bloods, which is clearly preferred by women. If it was competing against a show preferred by men, then there isn't that straw to clutch onto. And who knows if those numbers are even sustainable?

Emperor Smeat

09-14-2018, 11:10 PM

Depends on how you view the numbers since both Meltzer and John Pollock mentioned normal comparisons don't really work for something unique as All In.

Zero Hour's 196k puts them towards the lower end of Impact's numbers since they moved to POP but I think better than what Impact was doing near the end of their Destination America run. Not sure about ROH or MLW since their numbers rarely get reported.

In terms of comparisons with WGN, it did worse than Blue Bloods the previous week but for that night it was both the highest viewed and rated show for the network.

If there is a renaissance of sorts, its All In proving there is enough room for non-WWE stuff to be very successful in wrestling. Them getting that number without anything really great for Zero Hour and the 10k in tickets sales as the proof. Even NJPW's recent US shows and ROH's MSG success is more proof.

slik

09-17-2018, 02:56 PM

Lesnar going to rassle at the November 2nd Saudi Arabia show

https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/9/17/17868528/brock-lesnar-returns-to-wwe-but-still-eyes-ufc-heavyweight-title

slik

09-17-2018, 03:56 PM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shayna Baszler and Undisputed Era are backstage at Raw. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Raw?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Raw</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1041774022206386182?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

slik

09-18-2018, 10:20 AM

Nothing came of their last scoop....but I'll give them another shot w/ this one

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bliss is injured. Ember will replace her in MMC. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Raw?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Raw</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1042054761149804545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

slik

09-18-2018, 12:47 PM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alexa Bliss has been pulled from live events as well. If she is cleared by the next MMC match then she will join Braun again. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MMC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MMC</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1042079309043785731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rey Mysterio is backstage at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDLIVE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SDLIVE</a>. He has gear with him Incase of return tonight. He was unable to reach a deal with WWE on a return date, he is still talking to them now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1042083031618670592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

ClockShot

09-18-2018, 12:56 PM

Gotta be actual WWE employees at HQ if their tweets are pinging from the Bridgeport/Milford area.

That's my theory at least.

Big Vic

09-18-2018, 12:57 PM

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Paul Heyman celebrated his 53rd birthday today.

Hmmm 4 years older than Batista.

slik

09-18-2018, 04:19 PM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WWE and Impact officials met last week. This is because Impact is for sale again. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Impact?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Impact</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1042144769793777665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ROH, WWE, and MLW are bidding.</p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1042146925271818240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WWE is trying to book Cyborg vs Ronda Rousey for the title at WM 35. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WM?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WM</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1041700703289438210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Current pitch: HBK vs Taker at Mania with HBK retiring Taker and they both go their ways out of wrestling. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WM?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WM</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1042094105147437056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DX vs Kane/Undertaker is planned as of now for Saudi Arabia. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1041780506449326081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Emperor Smeat

09-18-2018, 05:17 PM

That Ronda-Cyborg rumor sounds terrible if it also ends up main eventing next year's Mania. Pretty much telling the rest of their women's roster that they are useless and not even Charlotte is worthy of being involved in what could be the most high profiled women's Mania match ever.

That HBK-Taker rumor is equally terrible since not only did WWE toss away Reigns getting the rub from defeating and retiring Taker at Mania, that star making retirement rub is getting tossed away again because of WWE's ineptitude.

slik

09-18-2018, 05:28 PM

This account nailed Brock at HIAC before it happened and a few other things before they were reported (like Bliss being out of MMC this week due to injury and Ember replacing her) so we'll see how their accuracy is, I guess

ClockShot

09-18-2018, 06:23 PM

Impact is back up for sale. :rofl:

For fuck's sake. Someone just buy it and Old Yeller the damn thing.

Simple Fan

09-18-2018, 06:35 PM

Impact officials have said the meeting wasn't about a sale of either the company or the library but they would probably say that even if it was about a sale.

Emperor Smeat

09-18-2018, 10:01 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by WWE's Greatest Moment of 2018:
https://i.imgur.com/McEG5j0.gif

Raw did its lowest numbers since June last night, but that wasn't unexpected going against a big football game and the Emmy Awards.

Raw averaged 2.66 million viewers, down three percent from the prior week. Normally Raw would get a bump coming off a pay-per-view -- but with the Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears doing 11.72 million viewers and the Emmys on NBC doing 10.21 million viewers, that made the difference ...

Raw ended up in eighth place for the night on cable, trailing news shows and ESPN programming related to the NFL ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.84 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.75 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.43 million viewers

Stephanie Bell aka Mia Yim was at the WWE Performance Center today and was featured on a video from the PC released by WWE. The former Impact Wrestling star was a competitor in the Mae Young Classic. She has lived in Orlando for some time, so she is local, but it's also quite possible she has signed a WWE NXT deal. If so, that puts her back in the same company with Adam Cole, who she partnered with in CZW and other independent promotions years ago. We've reached out to WWE for confirmation, but most likely that won't confirm until it's time for the official announcement of the next set of talents coming into the PC..
Link: https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1042098121378029568

In support of Glenn Jacobs, WWE is donating $100,000 to the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation (a charity that supports first responders after they “suffer injuries, illness, death or other life-changing events).
Link: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2018/09/18/wwe-donate-knox-nonprofit-first-responders/1350491002/

Indies Roundup:
Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham will face KUSHIDA & Jushin Thunder Liger at ROH’s TV tapings in Las Vegas on September 29. Coast 2 Coast (Shaheem Ali & LSG) will also challenge for the ROH Tag Team titles at the tapings. The Briscoes hold the titles and will defend them against Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian at Death Before Dishonor on September 28.

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA vs. Shane Strickland, Bandido & Flamita has been made official for OTT’s Fourth Year Anniversary show at National Stadium in Dublin on October 13.

MLW announced that they’ll be taping TV in the Chicago area on November 8. The tapings will be held at Cicero Stadium in Cicero, Illinois, and tickets go on sale this Saturday.

Paul Richard, who has been the General Manager of New England Championship Wrestling for nine years, is retiring from the wrestling business and will be working with Christopher Nowinski in educating athletes on CTE. Richard himself said he was diagnosed with CTE and had nine concussions while wrestling.

David Arquette will be part of the Rise 10 show on 10/19 in Berwyn, IL at the Eagles Club. He will be attending a seminar put on by Mercedes Martinez, Rain, Cheerleader Melissa and Lexie Fyfe. It sounds like an angle where Arquette tries to join the all-women's promotion.

Marko Stunt will debut on the 10/4 MLW show in New York at the Melrose Ballroom teaming with Rich Swann & ACH against the New Hart Foundation of Brian Pillman Jr. & Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Teddy Hart. The main event on the show is L.A. Park vs. PCO.

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega will make his debut for Northeast Wrestling on Friday 11/9 in Poughkeepsie, NY, the promotion announced tonight:
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/epic-tag-match-signed-vegas-tv-taping , OTT: https://twitter.com/OTT_wrestling/status/1041611821034229760 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/09/18/mlw-debuts-in-chicago-this-november-tickets-on-sale-this-saturday/ , NEW: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120402/iwgp-champion-kenny-omega-to-make-northeast-wrestling-debut-this-november.html?p=1

Judge Vanessa Bryant in U.S. District Court in Connecticut threw out all of the Konstantine Kyros led-concussion lawsuits against WWE earlier today. The two key ones were the remaining counts in the Vito LoGrasso and Evan Singleton cases, as well as the case with 53 different wrestlers including Joe Laurinaitis, Paul Orndorff, Jimmy Snuka and many others. Bryant strongly admonished Kyros for his complaints being too long, having irrelevant or non-factual arguments and said she has told him over and over to rewrite the complaints, only to have them come back with similar problems. She stated that having him rewrite the complaints would seem to lead to the same thing. She also ruled that the complaints were time barred in that such a lawsuit would have to come within five years of suffering the injuries in question and almost all the wrestlers involved were long since retired when the complaint was filed.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120363/complete-details-on-why-and-how-wwe-was-victorious-today-in-all-the-concussionrelated-lawsuits.html?p=1

Early this morning, attorney Konstantine Kyros issued a statement to PWInsider.com, announcing he intended to appeal Bryant's dismissal order, which included ruling that Kyros would be responsible for reimbursing some of WWE's legal fees.

PWInsider.com contacted WWE's lead counsel Jerry McDevitt for comment on Kyros' plans to appeal. Below is the complete response from McDevitt:

"This is the same kind of drivel Kyros pawned off on former wrestlers when soliciting them to sue WWE by false statements that he had obtained a billion dollar settlement for NFL players and would do the same for wrestlers, when in fact he had absolutely nothing to do with getting that settlement. He was caught repeatedly making false allegations; has been admonished repeatedly by federal judges about his dishonest behavior; and has now been subjected to two different sanction orders of the kind that would make most lawyers embarrassed and ashamed. The rant he sent you now insults the federal judge who issued the decision, and he still fails to address the basis of her opinion. He may well have been able to mislead those he solicited to join his lawsuits, but he will never succeed in misleading us or federal judges. Frankly, he should be disbarred."

While there was a U.K. news story claiming WWE was confiscating pro-Becky Lynch signs at last night's show, the WWE has stated that they did not do so, but said it is possible if a fan was holding a sign in front of the hard camera, it may have been removed to prevent blocking camera shots.

Netflix's GLOW, based on the 1980s Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling troupe and TV series, ended up with two Emmy wins.

GLOW's Stunt Coordinator Shauna Duggins won the Emmy for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or Variety Program, becoming the first woman in history to score the accolade since it was instituted in 2002. The series also captured the Emmy for Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour or Less).

In response to the wins, GLOW's Twitter account commented:

Thank you to the @TelevisionAcad and congratulations to team GLOW on winning 2 #Emmys! Special shout out to our awesome Production Design team and Stunt Coordinator Shauna Duggins on a history making win.???? pic.twitter.com/K09jcOxUQ4
— GLOW (@GlowNetflix) September 18, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/GlowNetflix/status/1042068885988679680

Wrestling historian Tim Hornbaker, who has written several excellent books on the business, officially released his latest, Death of the Territories: Expansion, Betrayal and the War that Changed Pro Wrestling Forever on 9/18. The book provides an excellent, well researched account of the pro wrestling's world's reaction to Vince McMahon's push to take the WWF national and how Vince's moves and their reactions led, one by one, to the end of the promotions that had long carved out their own fiefdom in professional wrestling.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120391/excellent-new-book-traces-launch-of-wwfs-national-run-death-of-the-territories.html?p=1

I spoke with someone regarding Becky Lynch and the direction she is going. At SummerSlam, it was designed to turn Becky into a heel, however after the reaction that week in Brooklyn they decided to adjust and make it more about Becky and Charlotte’s issues with one another rather than making Becky a strong heel. The directive at the time was that Becky was a ‘Stone Cold’ type of character knowing she would be cheered, however, we are told that has somewhat changed. Internally, Becky is technically considered a heel, although she isn’t generally being received as one by the public. There are no plans to make Charlotte Flair a heel coming out of this.

It's no secret that Becky's popularity has been on the rise since turning on Flair at SummerSlam. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the idea of last night's match was to slowly turn Flair babyface.

Despite Becky pinning Flair in the middle of the ring clean, the idea was to end the match with Flair as a babyface after Becky "screwed" her to win the title. Apparently Becky's big heel move was the post-match handshake blow-off. There was supposed to be a few significant heel moves by Becky during the match but both of them worked most of the match as a babyface. WWE officials knew going into the match that Becky would be cheered.

Above is the intro for the new Curt Hawkins "Nothing To Lose" WWE Network Collection, featuring Hawkins as the host. The Collection is now live on the Network and features more than 20 videos with a look at major losses in WWE history.
Link: https://youtu.be/Hhr6MArhS5c

WWE has a new poll asking fans who they would rather have in their corner at WWE Super Show-Down - Kane or WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. As of this writing, 54% voted for Kane. As noted, Kane will be in The Undertaker's corner while Michaels will be in Triple H's corner for the big match on October 6 in Australia. It's believed this will lead to Michaels coming out of retirement for a big tag team match at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on November 2.

Regarding WWE using a red Cell structure at this year's Hell In a Cell pay-per-view, @WrestleVotes reports that Vince McMahon made the call as a way to do something new, similar to when they dropped the Roman numerals from WrestleMania. It was also noted that they did a visibility test and everything was OK for the broadcast.

Some other sheet news includes:

WWE recently revealed the entire soundtrack for WWE 2k19. https://www.wwe.com/section/wwe-2k19/article/wwe-2k19-soundtrack-announcement-apple-music
ROH recently uploaded a new 5 hour AJ Styles collection set to their HonorClub streaming service. Entire list of contents via PWI: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120382/roh-adds-five-hour-aj-styles-compilation-to-honor-club.html?p=1

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE and Impact Had a Meeting at WWE Headquarters Last Week (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-and-impact-had-a-meeting-at-wwe-headquarters-last-week/)
WWE Says Alexa Bliss Is Injured, Will Be Replaced by Ember Moon on MMC (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-says-alexa-bliss-is-injured-will-be-replaced-by-ember-moon-on-mmc/)
Impact: Andrew Everett Released, New Hall of Fame Nominee (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/impact-andrew-everett-released-new-hall-of-fame-nominee/)
Cody Rhodes’ First NWA Championship Defense Announced (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/cody-rhodes-first-nwa-championship-defense-announced/)
WWE to Hold Another Starrcade Show This Year (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-to-hold-another-starrcade-show-this-year/)

slik

09-19-2018, 02:30 PM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As I said last night, Rey was at Smackdown Live trying to get a deal done. He did sign a 2 year deal. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a></p>— WWE Talking Points (@WWETalkingPoint) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWETalkingPoint/status/1042476651567869952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Emperor Smeat

09-19-2018, 09:36 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Powerbomb Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/XvHgZ74.gif

Coming off Hell in a Cell and with Becky Lynch's Women's title victory over Charlotte Flair from the pay-per-view being the focus of the show, SmackDown viewership was up two percent over last week.

The show averaged 2.281 million viewers and finished eighth overall for the night in terms of total cable TV viewership. It was second in the 18-49 demo with a 0.78 rating -- almost identical to The Mayans on FX, which did a 0.79 ...

Year-over-year viewership was down nine percent, marking the 14th straight week the show has suffered a decline from 2017.

Indies Roundup:
SHIMMER’s StreamSHIMMER streaming service has officially launched. The promotion noted that the web player and Roku app are available and that they’ll be on Amazon FireTV soon. Their first 61 events are on the service now.

OTT announced Hirooki Goto & Sean Guinness vs. Satoshi Kojima & Michael May for their Fourth Year Anniversary show in Dublin on October 13.

All of the New Japan talents who are in for the ROH Death Before Dishonor PPV on 9/28 will be appearing at the TV taping as well.

As PWInsider.com reported last night, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega will make his debut for Northeast Wrestling on Friday 11/9 in Poughkeepsie, NY at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center ... PWInsider.com has also confirmed that former WWE and ECW Champion Rob Van Dam has been booked for the date.
SHIMMER: https://streamshimmer.com/ , OTT: https://twitter.com/OTT_wrestling/status/1042371156173631490

The WWE Network is working on a WWE Chronicles documentary about Paige.

The paperback edition of the WWE book Second Nature, about Ric and Charlotte Flair, was officially released today.

The official release date for the Smackdown: 20 Years Later book is 5/7/19.

As noted in recent weeks here on PWInsider.com, there had been a recent period where Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix had been noncommittal to promoters regarding independent dates in 2019. That, coupled with the fact that World Wrestling Entertainment was interested in the two brothers, led to a lot of speculation on the future of the duo, who have been involved in major storylines and matches in Mexico, The United States and beyond.

So, are they heading to WWE?

The answer to that is no.

PWInsider.com has learned from sources familiar with the duo's deals with Lucha Underground that they are still locked into a contractual non-compete for that series until 2020. If Lucha Underground gets picked up for another season, they would work that fifth season. If it does not, but there is a potential for the series to be picked up before their non-compete ends, they would be locked in and not be able to go and sign with WWE. So, they are not NXT bound.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120421/exclusive-the-future-of-pentagon-jr-fenix-revealed.html?p=1

Major League Wrestling has signed a deal with BeIn Sports to bring a Spanish language version of the MLW: FUSION series on beIN SPORTS en Español. This is being seen internally as a big clearance for MLW, potentially doubling the size of the series' weekly audience as as beIN en Español has a very strong audience thanks to their boxing and soccer rights. The first episode will debut this Tuesday and will be airing in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Canada. Konnan, Pentagon Jr., Fenix and LA Park have all filmed interviews and promos to support the launch. The announcing team has not been announced yet, but I'd be shocked if Konnan wasn't involved ...

Kaci Lennox, who has been working as a backstage interviewer on MLW TV, has signed a deal with the company.

There have been talks with New Japan Pro Wrestling about sharing Brian Pillman Jr. with the idea that sending Pillman, who is still very early on in his career, overseas will help his growth as a talent ...

For those who have asked about MLW not having returned to Orlando at the Gilt Nightclub, it is not for lack of trying. The venue has had conflicting events on the dates MLW has reached out to book. MLW are now looking to run Saturdays, which are a big event night for clubs. Previously, they had been using the venue on Thursdays, which aren't as busy. MLW is still hoping to return there soon. There's a feeling that without the Orlando audience, they wouldn't have been in the position to get the TV deal and they really don't want to abandon the fans in the market ...

PCO, Pierre Carl Oulette, will be in regularly going forward.

The company is working on making Brody King, who made a great impression at the Wargames event, in as a regular as well.

MLW is talking with Sammy Guevara and working on bringing him in.

The plan is to make the Wargames and the Battle Riot matches annual occurences.

There continues to be praise for Jessamyn Duke coming out of WWE NXT, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. WWE looks to be fast-tracking Duke and Marina Shafir, largely in part due to their connection to Shayna Baszler and RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey but also because of their progress.

It was reported earlier this summer that WWE had plans for a Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen match at the November 18 Survivor Series pay-per-view in Los Angeles but there's no word on if they still plan on doing that match ...

Meltzer also noted that a major pay-per-view match in November could be too soon for Duke and Shafir. Word is that Duke is way ahead of where she should be and Shafir is not far behind her. Rousey adapted quickly and Baszler could likely pull off a high-profile match like the Survivor Series match but it could be asking a lot of Duke and Shafir this early in their careers.

Regarding the rumored Flair vs. Rousey match at WrestleMania 35, the latest is that the match is not as locked-in for WrestleMania as everyone thinks, but it is definitely being talked about.

WWE revealed that Daniel Bryan has an 88 rating in WW 2K19. Of the ratings announced so far, the only wrestlers ahead of him are AJ Styles (91), Triple H (89) and Braun Strowman (89). Close behind Bryan are The Undertaker (87), Randy Orton (87), Finn Balor (85), Jeff Hardy (84), Asuka (84), Rusev (84), Adam Cole (81), Shayna Baszler (81) and Mustafa Ali (81).

Below is video of WWE Performance Center Coach Scotty 2 Hotty leading a class on in-ring stamina with the NXT Superstars earlier this week:

Some Tuesdays are easier than others. @TheScotty2Hotty has his class working on in-ring stamina this morning. pic.twitter.com/d5GnL2LQLd
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) September 18, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1042075208281202689

Impact Wrestling officials have reportedly reached out to MLW World Champion Low Ki to come in for their upcoming shows in New York next month. Despite Impact talent appearing on MLW shows recently, there are some that feel that this was a move by design to hurt MLW. Low Ki declined the bookings out of loyalty to MLW. Impact had recently booked MLW's Jimmy Havoc earlier this month for a match in the UK where he was beaten by Sami Callihan.

Tonight's season two premiere of WWE Mixed Match Challenge peaked at 52,400 viewers on Facebook Watch. It was down 61% from the season one premiere in January, which peaked at 135,600 viewers. Last season, viewership never reached the 100,000 mark for the live airing again until the finale, which peaked at 114,000 viewers.

This week's viewership hovered in the 35,000 - 50,000 range before peaking at 52,400 in the middle of the AJ Styles & Charlotte Flair vs. Jimmy Uso & Naomi match. Viewership dropped to 43,000 viewers for the finish. The Braun Strowman & Ember Moon vs. Kevin Owens & Natalya match that preceded it topped at 43,600 viewers.

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of Talk Is Jericho podcast show had both Tyson Kidd and Natalya as the guests. Episode was also held as a tribute of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/tij-ep492-jimneidhart-fullshow
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 10th anniversary of Bayley's wrestling career debut. Bayley celebrated the special occasion on Twitter. https://twitter.com/itsBayleyWWE/status/1042476038108917760

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Former Knockouts Champ & Mae Young Classic Wrestler Madison Rayne Signs With ROH (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/former-knockouts-champ-mae-young-classic-wrestler-madison-rayne-signs-with-roh/)
Rey Mysterio Officially Signs WWE Contract (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/rey-mysterio-officially-signs-wwe-contract/)
WWE 2K19: Downloadable Content/Wrestlers Announced (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-2k19-downloadable-content-wrestlers-announced/)

Emperor Smeat

09-20-2018, 09:51 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by The Beast Incarnate Remodeling Services, Inc.:
https://i.imgur.com/lNceYiZ.gif

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship was just announced for WWE Evolution at tonight's WWE NXT taping in Florida.
Spoiler tag used since its related to a new match announcement for WWE Evolution made during tonight's NXT TV tapings.

Indies Roundup:
After facing Pentagon Jr. at All In, Kenny Omega has a match booked against the other member of the Lucha Brothers. Northeast Wrestling has announced that Omega will be facing Fenix at their show on Friday, November 9 at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. The event is Northeast Wrestling's 23rd anniversary show.

wXw Femmes Fatales on 10/5 in Oberhausen, Germany has Melanie Gray vs. Session Moth Martina, Wesma vs. Meiko Satomura, Toni Storm vs. LuFisto, Kris Wolf vs. Killer Kelly and Audrey Bride vs. Millie McKenzie.

Another match added to the OTT Anniversary show on 10/13 in Dublin at the National Stadium is a five-way with Rocky Romero vs. Gino Gambino vs. LJ Cleary vs. Paddy M vs. a mystery fifth man.

Adam Page is auctioning off his gear and the phone he used to almost kill Joey Ryan to raise money for the North Carolina Relief Fund on Ebay.

Matt Taven will be sporting a new look, as his head was shaved in the aftermath of the CMLL 85th Anniversary event.

Ring of Honor noted this week that The Briscoes have officially broken 1,000 days combined as ROH Tag Team Champions.

MLW has added a match between Shane Strickland and Tom Lawlor for the October 4th “Fury Road” events in Queens, New York at the Melrose Ballroom.
NEW: http://www.northeastwrestling.com/20181109.shtml , Page: https://twitter.com/theAdamPage/status/1041454236603691008

A few notes on the talked about meeting with Ed Nordholm and Scott D'Amore with Paul Levesque at WWE headquarters. It was a meeting that WWE requested. There was said to be no substantial news out of it at this point. It was not Impact pitching ideas as was reported in the current issue.

Sami Zayn, who has been out of action after surgery on each of his rotator cuffs, will be making his first public appearance in months, representing WWE during a signing at the New York Comic Con on Saturday 10/6.

After her excellent match on the Mae Young Classic episode last night, Allysin Kay tweeted:

My FIRST match back after 7 months of an almost career-ending injury was main-eventing a WWE Network show. I knew my odds weren't great. But if I had to go out, this was the way I wanted to go. In flames ????????????#FrenemyWorldTour #MYC2018
???? @bobmulreninphotos pic.twitter.com/PMga4wFCjP
— Allysin Kay / Sienna (@Sienna) September 20, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/Sienna/status/1042822385500672000

In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, the following Hidden Gems were added to the WWE Network:

Lucha Legend: Rey Mysterio puts his WCW Cruiserweight Championship on the line against fellow luchador Super Calo in this rarely seen match from Nitro. (9/23/96)

Demolishing the Competition: WWE Hall of Famers unite when Tito Santana teams with the legendary Mil Mascaras to take on the tough tandem of Demolition. (8/28/87)

The Pride of Puerto Rico: The beloved Pedro Morales defends his WWE World Championship against WWE Hall of Famer Blackjack Mulligan as their rivalry reaches a fever pitch. (3/15/71)

The Fighting Fifties: Mexican legend Rito Romero battles Danny Savich in a 2-out-of-3 falls contest from the famed Sportatorium in Dallas, TX. (8/26/52)

Similarly, it was believed that Lesnar was done with WWE after SummerSlam, but the amount of money paid for the Saudi Arabia deal, a show that is far more lucrative now than WrestleMania, was enough to get Lesnar to return for the date.

The Lesnar deal was not a last minute deal. During the week prior to SummerSlam, it was expected by the Lesnar camp that McMahon would make a huge offer for the Saudi Arabia show, as well as WrestleMania. Lesnar had not signed a new UFC contract, where UFC would have the ability to block the appearance, although UFC and WWE are not operating as enemies and UFC may not have stood in Lesnar’s way of making such a big payday if he was under contract. It is not clear when the offer was made and agreed, but it was several weeks ago.

The exact nature of the deal is unclear past that Lesnar is looking at signing short-term deals, feeling that with all the money both UFC and WWE have, that the more he’s free, the more he can play both sides and get the best deal possible

Whether the $40 million to $45 million deal from Saudi Arabia was made for two shows this year, or that’s the price for each show individually won’t be known until the fourth quarter business numbers come out at the end of January or early February. The entire Saudi Arabia deal has a confidentiality clause, but WWE does, as a public company, have to report the income and it is put in a category where you can pretty much estimate pretty closely what the number is.

While the Melbourne Cricket Grounds can hold 100,000 people, the set up was to be for between 70,000 and 80,000. At first, in the scripted interviews, they had been using the number 70,000, which means, with the usual exaggerations on a stadium show, they were looking at probably 60,000. However, on Smackdown, the interviews were saying 60,000, meaning they are probably looking at closer to 50,000 as a real number. We’re told that a lot of tickets have been sold, and let’s face it, 50,000 for pro wrestling no matter where it is, is a great number, but there are plenty of seats available all over the stadium and in all but one price range.

The actual reason Katsuya Kitamura hasn’t been around is because one of his legs was crushed in a horrible scooter accident. It’s not 100 percent that he won’t be able to come back but we’re told it doesn’t look promising. That’s a real sad story because he had superstar presence and most figured he’d be fast-tracked, because of his age and look, to main event status. He was just starting to do some really good singles matches in prelims so he was getting it down.

World of Sport, moved up to 4 p.m. on 9/15, was down to 300,000 viewers, which was terrible, as it was down from 500,000 the prior week and well below the previous bottoming out number of 400,000. It also did a 3.9 share, a series low. Things look even worse since on 9/22 the show is being moved to 2:30 p.m., which is a worse time slot and the third time slot change since the series started.

Jeff Cobb is now expected to sign with ROH, which would remove him from the independent scene aside from working PWG and out of U.S. dates for 2019. He’s expected to work both here and New Japan but wouldn’t be signing until after whatever waiting period he has to wait after the completion of this season of Lucha Underground. He had gotten an agreement that if he returned for this season and they wrote about his Matanza Cueto character, that after the season he could get a release from his original seven season deal
Cobb revealed his status on a recent episode of X-Pac's 12360 podcast show.

I could see the idea of the U.K. show being put at that point in a Wednesday night block with NXT once the Mae Young Classic and Mixed Match Challenge runs end, but that isn’t official. Apparently the reason the U.K. show is on the network is because they had interest from BT Sports in the show, but BT is competition with Sky and it fell through, whether due to contract reasons with Sky or other reasons. WWE and Sky have had a long lasting relationship but there was a snag if you recall regarding the contract and the WWE Network. WWE never informed Sky about starting the network and Sky had just reached a deal where they would do PPVs of all the WWE PPV shows (previously they only did some on PPV and some aired on Sky).

For the WWE Network, one of the reasons the subscription numbers are kept up is that if you cancel your subscription, you are then given a free month to try and get you to keep it

Regarding rumors of Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg at WrestleMania that were going around, Ariel Helwani discussed them with Cyborg on his show and she didn’t act like there was a deal but obviously said she said she would be interested in doing such a match. She’s pushed the idea of late. I don’t sense there is anything to the story. One person in the company who would be in the loop on such things said that it has never been brought up to Rousey and without her approval it wouldn’t happen, and that it’s not something they think she’d want to do. There was legit bad blood between the two because of a public narrative of Rousey not wanting to fight her even though Rousey from the start had agreed to do so at 135, and continued to say that during her entire reign ...

While forgotten in history, the first UFC women’s fight in Anaheim was supposed to be Rousey vs. Cyborg. With the benefit of hindsight, history may have changed greatly. If they did that fight and Cyborg had won, the entire Rousey run never would have happened. Had Rousey lost that fight, who is to say the women would have ever drawn significant numbers since Cyborg never drew in Strikeforce after beating Gina Carano. Without the big Rousey run where she proved she could do big PPV numbers, the history of women in UFC, boxing, kickboxing and WWE would be extremely different to say the least.

In the segment last week where the police officer was going to arrest Corbin for filing a false police report, which led to Corbin making the Raw tag title match at Hell in a Cell, a key element is that the ID pin on the officer’s shirt read “Ambrose.” So the idea was that the officer was a relative of Ambrose and it was Dean and his relative working a swerve on Corbin. It still doesn’t make sense that an officer would risk his career to do an arrest in that situation but there was at least more of a storyline explanation for it

The belief is that the people running Progress like Jim Smallman will be ending up running the U.K. shows, particularly if they do house show tours. WWE has owned both the Progress and ICW libraries for some time but still has done nothing with them. It’s basically up to Vince McMahon when he wants to pull the trigger on it. For now, Vince hasn’t allowed any modern indies on the network. Some feel that will change and the stuff will start airing when they launch the more expensive tiered pricing where those type of things would be among the things put on the higher tier, which the expectation right now is will start in 2019. The only official word on the new more expensive tier is that it’s coming “sooner than later.

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 21st anniversary of WWE's first ever "One Night Only" ppv in the United Kingdom. Besides making history, the event is also notable for being the last singles match between Bret Hart and Undertaker in the WWF.
According to the Observer, Impact Wrestling's current tv deal with POP TV expires at the end of this year.
Observer had a lengthy piece on WWE's victory in the concussion lawsuit and stated because of the lawyer Konstantine Kyros' antics, future CTE/concussion lawsuits against the company are now almost impossible to succeed in court. Judge kept cutting down the window allowed to sue and added several stips that tipped the scales way too much in WWE's favor in the future.
According to PWI, WWE is in the process of changing their contract terms from being standard 3 year deals to 4 year deals going forward. Rumored to have already changed some NXT contracts to include the extra year. https://twitter.com/SoDuTw/status/1042577346950250496
Madison Square Garden officials recently debunked rumors of Vince McMahon and WWE holding a meeting with the arena in an effort to get MSG to pull out from hosting ROH's G1 Supercard event next year.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE Network Still Planning More Expensive Tier w/ More Content, Rumored for 2019 (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-network-still-planning-more-expensive-tier-w-more-content-rumored-for-2019/)
Vice to Air Six Wrestling Documentaries, Including Montreal Screwjob; Benoit Episode Cut (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/vice-producing-six-wrestling-documentaries-including-montreal-screwjob-benoit-episode-cut/)
Shawn Michaels Wrestling in Saudi Arabia Reportedly “Confirmed” (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/shawn-michaels-wrestling-in-saudi-arabia-reportedly-confirmed/)
Alexa Bliss Reportedly Legitimately Injured (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/alexa-bliss-reportedly-legitimately-injured/)

Emperor Smeat

09-21-2018, 09:32 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by WCW Era Chris Jericho Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/IurJh5P.gif

Indies Roundup:
Ring of Honor has added a stipulation match to the card for next week's Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. ROH announced today that Flip Gordon will be teaming with Colt Cabana against Bully Ray & Silas Young in a tables match at the PPV. Gordon and Bully Ray have been involved in a feud in ROH, with Cabana standing up for Gordon over the course of it.

World Class Revolution Wrestling on 9/29 in Ardmore, OK for OklaMania 3 has Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Jack wagger, Taya Valkyrie vs. Sajara Seven and John Morrison vs. Scott Steiner.

Brody King vs. Tommy Dreamer has been added to the MLW TV tapings on 10/4 at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY.

Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel headlines on 10/5 for Destiny World Wrestling in Sarnia, ONT at the River City Vineyard. Pete Dunne is also on that show.

LAX will make their Pro Wrestling Guerrilla debut on 10/19 in Los Angeles vs. The Rascalz. PWG Champion WALTER vs. Jeff Cobb has been announced for the event as well.
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/tables-match-official-death-dishonor

Tony Schiavone is set to call the main event for the NWA’s 70th anniversary show next month.

It was revealed during the latest episode of Ten Pounds of Gold that Schiavone will be calling the Cody and Nick Aldis match for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight title. Schiavone appeared briefly in a video message confirming the news. It appears to be a deal between the NWA and Major League Wrestling, where Schiavone currently works as a commentator for their television show.
Link: https://twitter.com/nwa/status/1043152920647278593

New Japan Pro Wrestling wraps up their Destruction tour with “Destruction in Kobe” this Sunday airing at 3 am Eastern on New Japan World. Below is the lineup:
*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada for the Wrestle Kingdom title shot
*KUSHIDA vs. Bushi in the IWGP junior heavyweight title tournament
*Tetsuya Naito, Sanada & EVIL vs. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taka Michinoku
*Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Toa Henare vs. Jay White, Will Ospreay & Yoshi-Hashi
*Killer Elite Squad vs. Chuckie T. & Beretta
*Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi & Ayato Yoshida
*Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
*Roppongi 3K vs. Ren Narita & Shota Umino
*Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura – these two have had 14 singles matches and each one has ended in a 10-minute draw

The 9/20 edition of Impact did 229,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 258,000 overnight viewers

Nikki Cross noted that today marked ten years in the wrestling industry for her:

Ten years ago yesterday, I made my pro wrestling debut at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall. Wrestling doesn’t own me a thing but it gave me the world. Laugh the loudest, cry the hardest, love the most. Be the whirlwind in the room. Be the weird girl nobody wanted to play with. Be you pic.twitter.com/hxmU6CxtWa
— Nikki Cross (@NikkiCrossWWE) September 21, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/NikkiCrossWWE/status/1043195140981051393

As noted last night, former NWA Champion and long-time TNA/Impact Wrestling stalwart Abyss has been named as the 2018 Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer. Abyss will be inducted officially on Saturday 10/13 at McHale's Pub in New York City. Tickets for the induction are already on sale.

Abyss took to social media to comment on his induction, commenting:

I’m absolutely over whelmed with the response to my upcoming @IMPACTWRESTLING Hall of Fame induction. Thank you ALL for your messages. This is one of the highlights of my career. I’m over come with emotion. Thank you to everyone who ever supported me. This is for all of YOU!!
— Abyss (@TherealAbyss) September 21, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/TherealAbyss/status/1042959518148243456

Wednesday’s episode of Lucha Underground averaged 97,000 viewers on the El Rey Network with Pentagon Dark dropping the Lucha Underground title to Marty the Moth Martinez to close the show. The number was up 22.7% from last week’s figure of 79,000. From July 11th – August 8th, the show averaged 129,000 viewers per week but since then has averaged 91,700 viewers.

The Knoxville News Sentinel has a story on Glenn Jacobs accepting a series of dates with the WWE this fall, beginning with the Super Show-Down event on October 6th. Jacobs spoke to the newspaper and said, “Basically, WWE contacted me, and they wanted to do a really big show, or series of shows, that they wanted to do. Of course, I was like, ‘Hey man, Vince (McMahon), I’m most likely going to be mayor’, and was the arrangement we came up to.” Earlier this week, it was announced that the WWE would be donating $100,000 to the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation as a favor for Jacobs going to work these upcoming events for the company. Jacobs recently hired an assistant, Brad Hair, who will stand in for any events that Jacobs cannot attend with the Knox County Law Department and human resources approving the hiring of Hair.
Link: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2018/09/19/knox-county-mayor-glenn-jacobs-wrestle-kane-australia/1357077002/

WWE Network has added a thirty-minute Q&A special with WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. The Q&A was filmed after the "20 Years of Hell" special was filmed in Pittsburgh a few months back. The "20 Years of Hell" one-man show is available in the Originals archive as well. Below is the synopsis:

"The WWE Universe joins Hardcore Legend Mick Foley for a fun 'Fan Q and A' from Pittsburgh, site of the Mick Foley: 20 Years of Hell special."

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had Adam Cole as the guest. https://player.fm/series/ecs-pod-of-awesomeness/nxts-adam-cole-bay-bay
Recent episode of The Steve Austin Show podcast had PCO as the guest. https://www.podcastone.com/episode/PCO

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: Curt Hawkins Says WWE Tried to End His Streak, 5 Rare Cena Matches (Video) (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-curt-hawkins-says-wwe-tried-to-end-his-streak-5-rare-cena-matches-video/)
Various: Browns/McMahon Meme, Next NXT UK Tapings, Next PWG Show Card (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/various-browns-vince-mcmahon-next-nxt-uk-tapings-next-pwg-show-card/)
Sasha Banks Pulled from Mixed Match Challenge Because of Injury (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/sasha-banks-pulled-from-mixed-match-challenge-because-of-injury/)

slik

09-25-2018, 10:01 AM

Minister and Chairman of the General Sports Authority in Saudi Arabia confirms Hulk Hogan returning to WWE at Crown Jewel.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="ar" dir="rtl">وش كأس العالم اللي ما أحد يحكي عنه ذا؟ <a href="https://t.co/xnlEho2OFI">pic.twitter.com/xnlEho2OFI</a></p>— تركي آل الشيخ (@Turki_alalshikh) <a href="https://twitter.com/Turki_alalshikh/status/1044260394733383682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Emperor Smeat

09-25-2018, 10:06 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Tensai Depreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/HCWdhuT.gif

A combination of network season premieres and a strong NFL game led Raw to what will undoubtedly be the lowest rated episode in its history last night.

The Raw rating is not available, but the total audience was 2.35 million viewers. The previous modern-era low audience was 2.46 million viewers set on July 9. The September 26, 2016 Raw, which went up against the Clinton-Trump debate, also did 2.46 million viewers.

While excuses can be made, and those were the reason for the low number, there are season premieres every year and NFL big games every season. Last year's Raw during the same week did 2.91 million viewers, so that's a 19 percent year-to-year drop.

The show featured what will almost surely be the two lowest rated hours, hours two and three ...

The new Observer will go into more detail about where the audience was lost, but the big drop from hour one-to-two was viewers over the age of 50, which is Raw's usual largest audience demo. It was unusual in that the third hour was actually slightly up from the second hour by 6,000 total viewers.

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.49 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.28 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.28 million viewers

Liv Morgan has officially been diagnosed with a concussion from the two kicks that hit her in the head in the Yes Kick flurry by Brie Bella last night on Raw in Denver, Colorado.

Morgan appeared knocked out by likely the first kick, and in slumping, she fell into a second kick. She was out of the match quickly, but did return for a triple suplex spot.

Those backstage reported last night that she was okay, but WWE officials reported the concussion.

The company issued a statement today: "Liv Morgan has a concussion and is going through the proper protocol under WWE’s comprehensive wellness program."

She will be out of action until she passes Impact testing procedures and there is no way to estimate a time frame for that.
Would be legit surprised if she gets cleared for Super Show-Down and depending on lingering effects, even Evolution could be in doubt. Two big pay checks at risk because Brie is horrendous as a wrestler.

After an errant Yes Kick rocked Liv Morgan and required her to leave the match during their six woman tag team bout on Monday Night Raw, Brie Bella issued the following comments on her Twitter account: “Every match on #Raw is an opportunity for us to entertain our fans. Our intentions as @WWE Superstars is to win the match, never injure our opponents. Thinking about @YaOnlyLivvOnce tonight.”

We were told by one person within the company that she was said to be okay and walking around backstage with Brie and Morgan both apologetic to each other in the back

Indies Roundup:
wXw and DDT will both be coming to the US during WrestleMania weekend. They will be a part of the WWNLive Experience, a group of collective shows that will take place at the La Boom nightclub in Queens, New York during WrestleMania weekend. Other promotions under the WWN banner will also run shows, including EVOLVE, SHIMMER, Kaiju Big Battel and their annual Supershow: Mercury Rising event. This is the first time DDT will run a show in the United States, while wXw previously ran shows in Philadelphia and New Jersey in 2010 and 2011.

Low Ki will defend his MLW World Championship against Daga at the promotion’s TV tapings in Queens, New York on October 4.

Kenny King vs. Chase Owens has been announced for ROH’s post-Death Before Dishonor TV tapings in Las Vegas on September 29.

Cody Rhodes will be donating 100 percent of his meet and greet proceeds for the NWA’s 70th Anniversary Show to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Women of Wrestling has announced that Shaul Guerrero, the daughter of Eddie & Vickie and the wife of WWE wrestler Aiden English, has joined the promotion as their ring announcer. Guerrero was in Florida Championship Wrestling from 2010-2014 and wrestled as Raquel Diaz before leaving the company. WOW will be holding their next television tapings on October 10th and 11th from the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles. The promotion will be premiering on AXS TV in 2019

WNN: http://www.morethanmania.com/ , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/09/25/low-ki-vs-data-world-title-match-signed-for-next-thursday-in-nyc/ , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/king-continues-his-battle-bullet-club-home-turf , WOW: http://www.axs.tv/press_articles/shaul-guerrero-signs-with-wow-women-of-wrestling/ , Cody: https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/status/1044353765887889419

Carmella spoke to TV Insider about teaming with R-Truth on Mixed Match Challenge: “I’m game to have a good time and play a character and know my role. Whether it was being a manager for Enzo and Big Cass in NXT and then with James Ellsworth and now with R-Truth. It’s cool to show different sides of myself and my character. I feel like not that many people get to do that. They sort of stay the same their entire career, but I totally am open to all aspects of Carmella.”
Link: https://www.tvinsider.com/718264/wwe-carmella-interview-2k19-smackdown/

The full card has been released for this Sunday’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed.

The show will headline with Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi teaming up to take on Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii ...

Here is the full card for this Sunday’s show, which will take place at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California:

Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega
Juice Robinson vs. Cody for the IWGP United States title
The Young Bucks vs. Guerillas of Destiny for the IWGP tag team titles
Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll in a IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title tournament semi-final
Hiroshi Tanahashi and KUSHIDA vs. Jay White and Gedo
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL and SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Killer Elite Squad
Flip Gordon, Chris Sabin and Jeff Cobb vs. Best Friends and Hirooki Goto
Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels vs. Chase Owens and Hangman Page
ACH, Ryusuke Taguchi and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Roppongi 3K

Rob Conway is a guest coach at the Performance Center this week. Conway is still competing these days in bodybuilding.

New Japan had a brief update on Yoshi-Hashi following Sunday’s closing angle in Kobe. The promotion stated he was hospitalized after suffering a head and shoulder injury after falling into the ring apron. He got up from the fall and was cut open on the forehead and was quickly sent to the floor after a quick interaction with Jay White.

The 8th annual Streamy Awards, which aim to recognize the best in web video, official nominations are out. WWE Mixed Match Challenge is nominated for a Sports Series Streamy Award "Lifeline" a YouTube Premium sci-fi series from Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions is nominated for Overall Sci-Fi/Action Streamy Award.

WWE announced the following:

Big Show is ready to take on a new role: He’s set to star in a recurring role on the second season of Syfy’s hit show “Happy!” The World’s Largest Athlete has been cast as Big Pink, the cellmate of Ritchie Coaster’s diabolical character, Mr. Blue.

“Happy” stars Christopher Meloni as Nic Sax, a corrupt ex-detective-turned-hitman whose life is changed forever when an imaginary and extremely positive blue-winged horse named Happy appears.

I notice MLW has recently used a couple of ex-WCW concepts such as Wargames and Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal. They are no threat whatsoever to WWE but I’m surprised they’re allowed to use anything that would be trademarked by WWE (okay, STWMTD probably isn’t). How are they able to do that?

The names are not owned by WWE as they didn’t keep the trademarks active after acquiring WCW in 2001. In the case of Wargames, that allowed MLW to trademark them and use it.

What did you guys think of WWE’s version of ECW when it first started with One Night Stand in '05 (one of the best wrestling PPVs ever) and '06 along with the follow-up? Was it originally the plan to make an alternative to Raw & Smackdown or did you already realize from the start that it would eventually be just another WWE-formatted show? I consider that one of WWE’s biggest blunders and looking back, what was the purpose of bringing ECW back anyway?

The success of the first ONS led WWE to bring back the brand. The original plan was to book a show that was similar to the original ECW for the first few months then slowly turn it into a WWE style (Vince McMahon-like) product. Instead, they went to the WWE style almost immediately and the brand lost its fan base. ECW fans weren’t interested in a WWE-ized version of the product.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

The top three matches for the 12/26 WWE Smackdown live event at Madison Square Garden are:
*WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe in a Steel Cage Match.
*WWE Smackdown Women's Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair.
*The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan.

The event goes on sale this Friday 9/28.

WWE recently filed to trademark the following names: Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Otis Dozovic, Tucker Knight.

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of the Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia podcast show had Stone Cold Becky as the guest. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/chasing-glory-with-lilian-garcia/e/56394374
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, last Sunday was the 17th anniversary of Kurt Angle's 2nd WWF Championship victory. Angle defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin for the belt at Unforgiven 2001.
Recent episode of WWE Network's Photo Shoot series had Scott Hall as the guest.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Various: Cage Match at MSG, Jim Cornette on Commentary for NWA, Goldberg’s 20th Anniversary (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/various-cage-match-at-msg-jim-cornette-on-commentary-for-nwa-goldbergs-20th-anniversary/)
WWE Signs Former TNA Knockouts Champion Mia Yim (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-signs-former-tna-knockouts-champion-mia-yim/)
WWE: Vince McMahon Reportedly Really Liked a Raw Match, Kofi Kingston Breaks a Record (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-vince-mcmahon-reportedly-really-liked-a-raw-match-kofi-kingston-breaks-a-record/)
WWE Network Planning a Matt Hardy / “Broken” Universe Sitcom (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-network-planning-a-woken-matt-hardy-woken-universe-sitcom/)
Saudi Official Tweets About Hulk Hogan; Could He Appear at Crown Jewel? (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/saudi-official-tweets-about-hulk-hogan-could-he-appear-at-crown-jewel/)

Simple Fan

09-26-2018, 02:24 AM

Broken Universe sitcom could be good if it's all Matt Hardy. Really think the WWE Network lacks stuff like that with it talent. Like the Kevin Owens Show and Miz TV should be nightly talk shows on the Network instead of throw away segment's on Raw and Smackdown.

Also wasn't impressed by Mia Yim/Jade in her time in Impact and they really tried to push her.

Cornette doing the NWA show should be interesting, just got it for free today.

Brie needs to retire from wrestling.

Enjoyed the first season of Happy and should be a good role for Big Show.

Emperor Smeat

09-26-2018, 09:33 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Truth TV:

Tuesday night's SmackDown on the USA Network averaged 2.193 million viewers, the lowest number since August 14 but probably a little higher than expected following Raw's record-low ratings the night before ...

SmackDown was also up against season premieres for NCIS, FBI, and This Is Us, which all did over 10 million viewers, as well as The Voice, which was just under that figure. There was no major sports competition for SmackDown, however.

Year-over-year, the show was down 14 percent as compared to 19 percent this week for Raw. Year-to-date, SmackDown is down on average by 5.3 percent after starting 2018 with year-over-year increases.

After the storyline where Aiden English asked Lana if she was going to tell Rusev about "one night in Milwaukee," English bringing video evidence of the accusation is advertised for next week’s SmackDown. It will be the go-home show for Super Show-Down, and WWE will follow up on the cliffhanger where Samoa Joe visited AJ Styles’ house and rang the doorbell as the show went off the air.

Big E tweeted about Kofi Kingston breaking the record for most cumulative days as WWE Tag Team Champion in his career: “@TrueKofi has the most days as a tag team champion in the history of WWE. Never failed a drug test. Never had a brush with the law. Always a professional to the highest degree. Give this man his flowers while he can still smell them.”
Link: https://twitter.com/WWEBigE/status/1044627190921326592

During an interview with The Mirror, WALTER answered a question about whether or not he would consider signing with WWE at this point in his career: “I don’t know if I mentioned this but being a part of the Raw or SmackDown roster is nothing I am interested in. I don’t want to live in the US. I really like NXT though, I think it's a great product, filled with the best talent in the world and is focused on competition in the ring, which is something I enjoy. I don’t want to say it will never happen because in wrestling things change so quick.”
Link: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/wrestling/progress-world-champion-walter-tyler-13309712

Indies Roundup:
You can't make this up, folks. The 2019 Wrestlecon event has announced that on Friday 4/7/19 they will present the first-ever Joey Ryan's Penis Party event. Yes, you read that correctly. We are told the event will feature ten matches (and I can't even fathom what else) with tickets already on sale now at www.Wrestlecon.com..

During the epilogue for the “All Us” video series, Cody Rhodes brought up the question of whether or not they’ll do another All In. Cody said the best answer he can give is that, while it could have just been a great night at the matches, the show felt like a revolution and revolutions aren’t just for one night.

With Joey Janela unable to wrestle at the show due to his knee injury, Darby Allin will instead face Trevor Lee at PWG's Smokey and the Bandido on October 19.

MJF will defend his Middleweight title against Jason Cade and Jimmy Yuta in a triple threat elimination match at MLW’s TV tapings in Queens, New York on October 4.
Joey Ryan: https://twitter.com/wrestlecon/status/1044726690872795136 , All Us: https://youtu.be/_Q6g13VHoyk , PWG: https://twitter.com/OfficialPWG/status/1045058127765241856 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/09/26/mjf-vs-cade-vs-yuta-for-middleweight-belt-set-for-next-thursday-in-nyc/

Although there has been no additional information released regarding the injury that required Sasha Banks to be pulled from the ring by WWE, the company did announce today that the former Women's Champion will be appearing on “Wild ‘N Out” this Friday at 10:30 PM.

The series released the following preview via social media:

.@BlocBoy_JB teaches us how to move, ???? and @SashaBanksWWE is ready to lay the smack down on the red squad! ????Catch all new #WildNOut this Friday 10/9c on @MTV! pic.twitter.com/76itGVVkZz
— Wild 'N Out (@WildNOut) September 25, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/WildNOut/status/1044730771787853825

Tonight's TPWW Dirtsheets will be right back after the dance break.
https://i.imgur.com/5CFO06l.gif

With the Crown Jewel main event being strowman vs Lesnar vs. Reigns, do you think this is a way for WWE to redeem themselves and still give Strowman a rub from Brock if he pins him to win a title. I know Lesnar isn't Champion anymore but under the Triple Threat rules I still think it could be a little bit of a rub if Strowman pins Lesnar clean, then they have a ready-made storyline where Roman can chase the title and come out every week saying Strowman may be the champ but he still couldn't beat me. What do you guys think of the scenario?

I think your scenario makes perfect sense but I don’t see it happening. WWE has shown no desire to have any younger talent get a rub from Brock. He has destroyed all of them. Even when he lost the Title at SummerSlam, it was on a fluke. So, I don’t see them suddenly doing a 180, even though I think that they should.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

A fan took to Twitter and claimed that his anti-Roman Reigns sign was taken away at Raw.

I just got my #RomanSucks sign Confiscated by @WWE staff #RAW #WWEDENVER pic.twitter.com/zZSwydmmi1

— Dominick A. (@Dnick235) September 25, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/Dnick235/status/1044417171277852672

Last week Abyss was announced as the next inductee into Impact Wrestling's Hall of Fame. He's been with the company since 2002 and, unlike many other TNA Originals, Abyss never jumped ship to another promotion.

Abyss is still with Impact today and also works as a creative producer. He joined Busted Open Radio where he discussed why he's stayed so loyal to the company.

"I know Tommy [Dreamer] can relate with the ECW thing. Impact is and was home. It's where I started," Abyss said to Dreamer and Dave LaGreca. "I spent practically my entire adult life there. Impact took a gamble on me when I was a nobody. I was coming out of Puerto Rico with a decent name but nothing to where nobody knew who I was stateside.

"TNA gave me that chance when nobody else was biting at the time. To see that growth, and be part of that growth, I always tell people, that meant the most. That's one of the reasons I never wanted to leave because I was there since the beginning. I was part of the original ground floor of the company."
Link: https://twitter.com/BustedOpenRadio/status/1044674783315734535

WWE issued a poll asking fans if they thought Dean Ambrose would turn on The Shield this past Monday. As of this writing, the vote is split at 50% for yes, 50% for no.

Above is new video of Renee Young talking about how excited she is to call Triple H vs. The Undertaker at WWE Super Show-Down in Australia.

"Before I even worked for WWE, I was down at WrestleMania 28 and got to see Undertaker and Triple H go at it, just from a fan perspective," Young said. "Fast-forward to where we are now to where I get to call their match at Super Show-Down, it's unbelievable."
Link: https://youtu.be/7upYttJaLZI

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan took to Twitter this week and posted the following message, causing some fans to speculate on some sort of WWE return for The Hulkster soon. As noted, Turki Al-Sheikh, who is the Minister and Chairman of the General Sports Authority in Saudi Arabia, tweeted out a photo of Hogan, which is naturally leading to speculation that he will be appearing at the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel event on November 2nd.

Back in the day the challenge was simple, work 300 days a year even if you're hurt if you want to keep your spot. Today? Well maybe we'll just have to find out, brother. HH #wwf #wwe pic.twitter.com/LHz2AiD1Ch
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) September 25, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/HulkHogan/status/1044601646590906369

WWE recently filed to trademark the following names - Fall Brawl, Halloween Havoc, World Championship Wrestling, WWE Hidden Gems, WCW Monday Nitro, All Star Wrestling, NWO New World Order.

Some other sheet news includes:

In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Asuka (37) and Buddy Murphy (30) both celebrated their birthdays today.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Joey Janela Posts Injury Update, Says He’s Going to Be Out for a Long Time
(https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/joey-janela-posts-injury-update-says-hes-going-to-be-out-for-a-long-time/)
Notes on a Possible Dean Ambrose Heel Turn (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/notes-on-a-possible-dean-ambrose-heel-turn/)

Emperor Smeat

09-27-2018, 09:37 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Seth Rollins Waluigi Laugh Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/VoYoOFm.gif

After signing with WWE, Mia Yim is scheduled to make her NXT house show debut this weekend.

WWE announced today that Yim will be wrestling at this Saturday's NXT show in Fort Pierce, Florida. Further details about the match Yim will be debuting in haven't been revealed.
Link: https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1045372627978788866

Ahead of their match at Super Show-Down, WWE Network has added an Undertaker vs. Triple H collection.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/09/27/exclusive-listing-and-synopsis-for-upcoming-the-undertaker-vs-triple-h-collection-on-wwe-network/

The WWE Network added several new Hidden Gems this morning, all featuring rare encounters between Triple H versus The Undertaker before the advertised final time at "WWE Super-Showdown" on Saturday 10/6 in Melbourne, Australia:

WWE 05/12/1996 – The Kuwait Cup

The very first in-ring battle between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and The Undertaker happens overseas in the Semi-Finals of the 1996 Kuwait Cup.

Shotgun Saturday Night 02/08/1997 – An Escalator Ride to Remember

In this memorable bout from Shotgun Saturday Night, Hunter Hearst Helmsley goes one-on-one with The Undertaker at Penn Station in NYC.

Friday Night’s Main Event 09/05/1997 – Friday Night Fight

On a special edition of Friday Night’s Main Event, Hunter Hearst Helmsley journeys to the dark side to battle The Undertaker.

Cody Rhodes vs. Will Ospreay will be the main event of Fight Forever Wrestling’s debut show that is taking place in Birmingham, England on December 6.

Nicole Matthews on Twitter regarding being banned from entering the United States following visa issues: “Timing, eh? I’ll be fine, everyone. That’s all I’m going to say about the elephant in the room.”

Joey Ryan will face Richard Holliday at MLW’s TV tapings in Queens, New York on October 4.

WrestleCon announced that Revolution Pro Wrestling will again be holding a show as part of WrestleMania week next year. It will take place in New York City at 4 p.m Eastern time on Friday, April 5.

On the same night as Cody Rhodes makes his first title defense, former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis will also be in action. Ring of Honor has announced that Aldis will be wrestling at their post-Death Before Dishonor television tapings at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday. Aldis is set to face Christopher Daniels.

Game Changer Wrestling has announced that Joey Janela’s Spring Break III will take place Friday, April 5th at 8 pm Eastern with no location announced yet. GCW is running shows at the White Eagle Hall but is not listing Spring Break for that venue. The interesting decision is that Spring Break will not be a Midnight show as it’s been presented in years past.

Game Changer has also announced that IWS Hardcore will be part of their collection of shows running at the White Eagle Hall over WrestleMania Weekend. IWS will host their event on Saturday, April 6th at 4 pm and I’d imagine would want their show wrapped up with plenty of time to spare for fans wanting to attend either TakeOver or Ring of Honor at Madison Square Garden.
FFW: https://twitter.com/fightforeveruk/status/1045351011647463428 , Matthews: https://twitter.com/nmatthewsninja/status/1045360919746830337 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/09/27/joey-ryan-swings-through-the-big-apple-next-thursday-for-mlw-fusion-tv-taping/ , WrestleCon: https://twitter.com/wrestlecon/status/1045427963880247302 , ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/christopher-daniels-and-nick-aldis-face-vegas

The 2019 WWE Royal Rumble, set for Sunday 1/27 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona will officially go on sale on 10/12. There will be an online pre-sale that week as well. Daniel Bryan threw out the first pitch at the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. LA Dodgers baseball game last night at the stadium to promote the on sale and spoke with FOX Sports Arizona
Link: https://youtu.be/CEbLMAVBBU0

I asked last week about gulak being in the shield beat down, related to drake maverick being aop manager, and you said dont look too far into it. Now this week lio rush is paired with lashley. Are they just phasing 205 guys into management roles?

We are told it's just that the talents are being tapped for roles on Raw. It will be interesting to see whether it has any greater effect on 205 Live overall, but we haven't heard that this is step one in phasing out that brand or anything that would be considered a negative.
From PWI's weekly Q&A articles.

Ring of Honor will present their 2018 Death Before Dishonor PPV event at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas tomorrow, Friday 9/28. Scheduled for the event:
*CHAOS - Kazuchika Okada & Trent Baretta & Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero & Chucky T vs. BULLET CLUB - The Young Bucks & Cody & Marty Scurll and Adam "Hangman" Page.
*ROH Champion Jay Lethal vs. Will Ospreay.
*ROH TV Champion Punishment Martinez vs. Chris Sabin.
*ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. The Addiction.
*Bully Ray & Silas Young vs. Colt Cabana & Flip Gordon in a Tables Match
*Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai vs. Tenille Dashwood.
*Jushin Liger vs. Kenny King.
*EVIL, SANADA and KUSHIDA in action.

Scarlett Bordeaux’s AAA television debut did WWE Raw YouTube top angle level numbers. At press time the video had topped 2.2 million views. There is interest in using her more

Bein Sports, which carries MLW on both its English and now Spanish language stations, has reached a new deal with both the Dish Network and Sling TV, but is still off both DirecTV and Comcast

Arquette is doing a lot of indie stuff for different groups like NEW, and he’s working the 10/6 Border City Wrestling anniversary show in Windsor. Some of it seems to be working with RJ City and helping him build his name. He did a FOX News interview and said his return to wrestling was fueled by a tweet from Bully Ray, who said about the change of IHOP to IHOB, that it was the worst idea since making David Arquette world champion. So Arquette saw that tweet and wanted to get back into wrestling and prove to be a real wrestler to I guess shut people up ...

Second, I don’t know of anyone mad at Arquette, that was a corporate decision. Everyone viewed Arquette as a person positively, and he donated all his WCW money to wives of wrestlers who had died young. If he’s having fun wrestling and people enjoy seeing him, more power to him ... Arquette said that although Rock has changed this somewhat, there is ignorance in Hollywood regarding wrestling. He also felt that he had become bullied in social media over being the joke of a world champion. He said he’s been training like crazy to be a wrestler. He also noted that he’s never taken any money for wrestling. Andy Kaufman was the same way. Kaufman never cashed any of those Jarrett checks during his program with Jerry Lawler. He said he’s already taken a knee to the face and broken three ribs

Cody did an NWA/Lagana video from his appearance at Championship Wrestling from Hollywood and they brought up his being a free agent on 1/1. Obviously he didn’t say anything definitive at this point past he said he’s making a decision based on his gut, and said the choices would be stay with ROH, pointing out how much fun he had in 2018, going to WWE, touring as NWA champion and trying to take Jack Brisco photos or going full-time with New Japan

Regarding rumors of Michaels working more than just the tag match in Saudi Arabia, the best we can get is that there are people who feel Michaels may do more than one match but that nobody on the inside can confirm anything other than the Saudi Arabia match at this point

In a story that also has repercussions when it comes to pro wrestling, the National Labor Relations Board dismissed the claims by Leslie Smith that UFC fighters should be reclassified as employees rather than independent contractors.

Former NXT North American Champion Adam Cole was a guest on a recent episode of Edge and Christian’s podcast, E & C’s Pod of Awesomeness. Cole revealed during the interview that due to his size, people often think he works in WWE’s office when tells them where he works:

"Because of me and my size I often get asked if I work in the office. I’ll get asked that. Uh huh. Oh my God, every time… it’s unbelievable! Right. The people who are the worst are the TSA agents, so when I traveled with the NXT North American Championship, that often times is when I would get the… they would take the championship out, and look at it, and say, ‘what’s this?’ I’d say, ‘oh, it’s a championship belt.’ And they’d say, ‘for what?’ And I’d say, ‘for wrestling.’ And they would look at the belt, look at me, look back at the belt with just the most interesting look on their faces. Like, ‘guy, I’m right here! I’m right here, man.’ There is nothing that makes me more falsely arrogant, like, wanting to defend myself, than a TSA agent. Like, automatically, I’m like, ‘I may be small, but I’m really good. Like, that championship says it right there.'”

Wednesday's episode of WWE's Total Divas drew 390,000 viewers on the E! network. This is down 14% from last week's episode, which drew 454,000 viewers for the lowest Total Divas premiere viewership in show history. This week's number is the lowest Total Divas viewership in show history, going back to last week. The second episode of the 6th season drew 461,000 viewers.

After 15 years in the wrestling business and stops in various promotions, Marty "The Moth" Martinez finally claimed his first major world championship. He won the Lucha Underground Championship after cashing in his Gift of the Gods title and defeating Pentagon Dark.

Marty talked with Wrestling Inc. President Raj Giri about that title win and what we can expect out of Lucha Underground going forward ...

Lucha Underground is currently in its fourth season and Marty responded to talk he's heard of a fifth season.

"I have heard rumors [taping would start] before the end of this year or the beginning of next year, but nothing official," Marty said.
Link: https://wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2018/0926/646183/marty-the-moth-on-when-he-found-out-he-was-winning-the-lucha/

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of the Jim Ross Report podcast had Cowboy Bob Orton and Cody Rhodes as the guests. https://omny.fm/shows/the-ross-report/cowboy-bill-watts-one-of-pro-wrestling-s-founding

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Sasha Banks Injury Update (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/sasha-banks-injury-update/)
205 Live Was Apparently Watched More on Wednesday Than Tuesday (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/205-live-was-apparently-watched-more-on-wednesday-than-tuesday/)
Neville Has “Gone Off the Grid,” Not Responding to Promoters (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/neville-has-gone-off-the-grid-not-responding-to-promoters/)
Impact: Impact Trying to Re-Sign LAX, TV Tapings in Las Vegas (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/impact-impact-trying-to-re-sign-lax-tv-tapings-in-las-vegas/)

Simple Fan

09-27-2018, 10:15 PM

Smokeshow Scarlett Bordeaux = ratings, since putting her in the title of the Impact thread more people have started posting in it.

Emperor Smeat

09-28-2018, 09:19 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Jim Cornette's Love for Flippy Rasslin Appreciation Day:
https://i.imgur.com/MPk4Wkd.gif

Ted Turner recently revealed that he is suffering from Lewy body dementia.

Turner, 79, talked to Ted Koppel during an episode of CBS Sunday Morning that will air on 9/30. Deadline reported on Turner’s comments regarding his diagnosis.

“It’s a mild case of what people have as Alzheimer’s,” Turner reportedly said. “It’s similar to that. But not nearly as bad. Alzheimer’s is fatal. Thank goodness I don’t have that.” It was reported at one point during the interview, Turner paused and was unable to remember what his disease was.

Turner was responsible for bringing pro wrestling to TBS the early 1970s. Turner Broadcasting eventually purchased Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988, which would later become World Championship Wrestling. It was Turner who approved a two hour block of wrestling, which would go on to be WCW Nitro, to square off against WWE Raw head to head on Monday nights in the fall of 1995. The two television shows battled for ratings supremacy for several years.

After Time Warner, the parent company of Turner Broadcasting merged with AOL in 2001, Turner found himself with diminished power within the conglomerate. After being battered in the ratings for several years, along with massive financial losses, WCW Nitro and sister show Thunder were cancelled in March of 2001, with WCW being sold to WWE shortly after. Turner did not attempt to get back into wrestling after WCW’s demise.

Link: https://deadline.com/2018/09/ted-turner-lewy-body-dementia-cbs-this-morning-cnn-founder-1202473068/

Indies Roundup:
The final episode of the first season of World of Sport on ITV in the U.K. will be tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Rampage defends his WOS title against Justin Sysum and Isteyn Rees & Kip Sabian defend the tag titles against Grado & Davey Boy Smith Jr.

MLW announced the Smash & Dash Connection vs. Samoan Island tribe for Thursday's TV tapings at the Melrose Ballroom in Long Island City, NY (Queens). The Samoan Island Tribe is Samu and his son Lance Anoa'i.

PCW Ultra on 10/26 has announced Shane Strickland vs. Darby Allin and Tessa Blanchard vs. Priscilla Kelly.

AAW debuts on 10/12 in Austin, TX at AFS Cinema with Eddie Kingston vs. ACH, Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega vs. Ricky Stars & Aaron Solow, Sami Callihan vs. Darby Allin, AR Fox & Myron Reed vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz, Thunder Rosa vs. Fuego del Sol vs. Barrett Brown vs. Kody Lane vs. Jazzy J Serious vs. Andy Dalton plus Brody King, Rich Swann, Trevor Lee and Laredo Kid.

Lucha Underground averaged 89,000 viewers this past Wednesday on the El Rey Network, which was down from 97,000 the week prior. Last week’s show featured Marty the Moth Martinez winning the Gift of the Gods championship from El Dragon Azteca Jr. and then cashing in his title shot to win the title from Pentagon Dark but didn’t lead to an uptick in the audience this week.

WrestleCon has clarified that the “Joey Ryan Penis Party” card over WrestleMania Weekend will be a wrestling show that features ten matches. Nothing has been announced yet beyond Ryan’s involvement with tickets going on sale this past week. The show will be going head-to-head with Joey Janela’s Spring Break on Friday, April 5th at 8 pm.

WWE announced this afternoon that Evolution (Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton and Ric Flair) will reunite on October 16 at the Smackdown 1000 show in Washington, DC.

This will be Batista's first appeance on WWE TV since he "quit" during Raw on June 2, 2014.
Link: https://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/article/evolution-reunites-smackdown-1000

The 9/27 edition of Impact did 222,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 229,000 overnight viewers

WWE announced the following :

British Strong Style will be in full effect this weekend at PROGRESS Wrestling’s Hello Wembley event in London, where WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and Trent Seven are set to compete in separate matches for what is already being dubbed the biggest independent wrestling show in U.K. history. Also highlighting the huge night are 2018 Mae Young Classic competitor (and 2017 semifinalist) Toni Storm, 205 Live’s Mark Andrews and NXT’s newest signee, Matt Riddle.
More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120580/wwe-uk-stars-appearing-for-progress-this-weekend.html?p=1

Some other sheet news includes:

Recent episode of The Apter Chat podcast show had Rey Mysterio as the guest and one of the topics discussed the famous trailer dart moment from his WCW career. https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2018/09/rey-mysterio-talks-being-darted-into-a-truck-by-kevin-nash-646217/
Recent episode of the Talk is Jericho podcast show had Brian Pillman Jr as the guest. https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/tij-ep495-brianpillmanjr-fullshow
CBS held a recent interview with Hangman Page mainly talking about the future of his career and if it includes going to the WWE. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120586/hangman-page-talks-about-his-future-the-bond-among-the-elite-death-before-dishonor-and-more.html?p=1
Recent episode of the Jim Ross Report had Renee Young as the guest. https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2018/09/renee-young-recalls-wwe-legend-telling-her-she-might-be-646231/
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Steve Blackman (55) and Jason Jordan (30) both celebrated their birthdays today.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Various: Cody on Using “Rhodes” Name, Edge & Christian Podcast on Hiatus (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/various-cody-on-using-rhodes-name-edge-christian-podcast-on-hiatus/)
WWE: John Cena Children’s Book, Birthdays, Wrestlers Who Won a Title Without Winning a Match (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/wwe-john-cena-childrens-book-birthdays-wrestlers-who-won-a-title-without-winning-a-match/)
Alberto El Patron Takes a Shot at Paige on Instagram (https://www.tpww.net/2018/09/alberto-el-patron-takes-a-shot-at-paige-on-instagram/)

Mr. Nerfect

09-28-2018, 11:29 PM

Interesting that they've reached out to Batista and he'll be doing something with Triple H in his hometown.

slik

10-01-2018, 09:04 AM

I've seen several of the Twitter sources I follow mention Undertaker possibly retiring at Survivor Series against HBK

(and also that HBK will be back for 4-5 matches)

Mr. Nerfect

10-02-2018, 03:09 AM

I'll believe he's retired after I've seen it with my own eyes two more times.

Damian Rey 2.0

10-02-2018, 05:55 PM

If HBK is back for that many matches I might re up my network sub just to watch him. I caught a clip of his promo last night about picking his bff everyday of the week, twice on Sundays. He is instantly the best promo in the company. I miss Shawn Michaels.

Mr. Nerfect

10-02-2018, 07:02 PM

As I have said (and #1-wwf-fan has echoed this sentiment), and it's not exactly a bold prediction: Shawn Michaels is going to be the best worker in the company when he comes back. Remember how he was so good 2002-2010? It's going to be an even greater gap this time, because he knows how to promo, sell and will work wisely.

slik

10-02-2018, 07:24 PM

Rumored that the Saudi Gov. wants The Rock at the next Saudi show in April 2019 after WM to appear as "The Champion".

Couple that w/ those rumors of Rock vs Roman at WM35....and that the Saudi gov is willing to shell out $20 million for the Rock to appear...and Rock winning/beating Roman at WM35 is an actual real possibility.

https://dirtysheets.net/2018/10/01/exclusive-saudis-make-staggering-offer-for-the-rock/

Damian Rey 2.0

10-02-2018, 07:28 PM

I'd pop for that

Mr. Nerfect

10-02-2018, 08:04 PM

I'm interested to see what The Rock's stance on that is. I had him pegged to win the Universal Title from either Reigns or Triple H at Mania (Trips wants that match and you know it), but working Saudi when he's dropped hints he wants to be President one day...it's dicey. But world leaders shake hands with pieces of shit all the time. It'll be interesting to see how that all turns out.

Lol if Rock takes the money and donates it all to women's shelters or something.

#1-norm-fan

10-02-2018, 08:14 PM

lol @ the idea of the Saudi government basically booking the main event of WrestleMania.

Emperor Smeat

10-02-2018, 10:00 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Smackdown's Glorious Becky Era:
https://78.media.tumblr.com/d278545a5c662d178eec2c7c9b09f26c/tumblr_pfbwvcrQD71xqklw6o1_250.gif

A big Monday Night Football rating led to yet another modern low as Raw last night fell another two percent from last week's mark with 2.29 million viewers ...

The actual rating isn't available but it would be expected to be the second-lowest Monday night rating for wrestling ever on the USA Network.

Raw lost to everything on the networks except CW and Raw was 16th for the day on cable, the lowest it has done in years ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.50 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.33 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.08 million viewers

Young spoke to The Mirror about her new role as a commentator on Raw and said she’d love to be an on-screen general manager if ever given the opportunity: “Would I like to do that? Oh my God, actually, I would love to do that. The way that I'm watching Paige navigate being the general manager of SmackDown, it looks like it it's so much fun. Who gets to yell at Samoa Joe and kind of put a little bit of fear in his eyes? Not a lot of people get to do that. If that was an opportunity that came down my way, I would definitely wear that hat, that would be really, really fun.”
Link: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/wrestling/renee-young-says-shed-love-13343795

Collections on Rey Mysterio and Sasha Banks are set to arrive on the WWE Network next month.
Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/10/01/two-new-wwe-network-collections-being-promoted-for-november-legend-and-top-modern-star-to-be-highlighted/

ROH has announced two title matches for Glory by Honor night one in Baltimore on October 12. Jay Lethal will defend his ROH World Championship against Silas Young, and SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) will challenge for The Young Bucks & Cody’s Six-Man Tag Team titles.

As was noted in our post on the card for the show, a new member of Los Ingobernables de Japon will debut at NJPW King of Pro Wrestling next Monday. They’ll team with Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI against Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, Sho & Yoh.

Pentagon Jr. & Fenix will defend their Tag Team titles against LA Park & Hijo de LA Park in the main event of MLW’s TV tapings in Chicago on November 8.

WALTER defending his PROGRESS World Championship against Zack Sabre Jr. has been announced for PROGRESS’ show at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on October 28.

After wrestling for the promotion on their United States tour, LAX (Santana & Ortiz) are set to make their UK PROGRESS debut in Manchester on December 8. They’ll also be wrestling for PROGRESS in Sheffield on December 9.

IPW UK revealed that they’ll be producing a weekly series for the Fight Network on Sky channel 455 in the United Kingdom. They noted that the premiere date will be announced soon.

ROH Honor Club will be streaming Friday night's Arena Mexico show featuring the World Grand Prix tournament starting at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time for subscribers.

ACH is expected to be in the Super Juniors tag team tournament that starts in two weeks in New Japan.

PROGRESS Wrestling’s “Hello Wembley” card on Sunday ran long and caused many fans to leave the building to catch their train home and missed the main event. As a cool gesture on the part of the promotion, they are going to post the main event between Walter and Tyler Bate for free as a make good on their Demand Progress streaming service. The entire show from Sunday should be up and available for purchase this week.

Game Changer Wrestling has announced “Joey Janela’s L.A. Confidential” card will take place from Los Angeles on Friday, November 16th (the weekend of Survivor Series in the city) with tickets going on sale tonight. Janela will not be wrestling on the show.

NJPW: https://twitter.com/njpwworld/status/1047124093982597121 , MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/10/02/lucha-bros-vs-la-park-hijo-de-la-park-to-main-event-chicago/ , PROGRESS: https://twitter.com/ThisIs_Progress/status/1046823397005647872 & https://twitter.com/ThisIs_Progress/status/1046843478557298688 , IPW: https://www.facebook.com/IPWuk/photos/a.689968841040908/1894190447285402/?type=3&theater

The full card has been released for next week’s King of Pro Wrestling.

As expected, the main event will feature Kenny Omega defending the IWGP title in a triple threat match against Cody and Kota Ibushi, which was set up this past Sunday at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. In the co-main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi will defend his WrestleKingdom 13 briefcase against Jay White ...

Meanwhile, a new member of Los Ingobernables de Japon will make their debut at the show, after a YouTube video featuring LIJ indicated that they would be bringing in a new pareja. The mystery partner will team with Naito, SANADA and BUSHI in an eight man tag against CHAOS ...

Here is the full card for King of Pro Wrestling, which will take place next Monday at Sumo Hall:

Kenny Omega vs. Cody vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White for Tanahashi’s WrestleKingdom 13 title shot briefcase
KUSHIDA vs. Marty Scurll for the IWGP Jr. title
EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Roppongi 3K vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI and a mystery partner
Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto and Will Ospreay vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi and Takashi Iizuka
The Young Bucks, Hangman Page and Chase Owens vs. Guerillas of Destiny, Bad Luck Fale and Taiji Ishimori
Togi Makabe and Tomoak Honma vs. Juice Robinson and Toa Henare
Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask for the IWGP Jr. tag team titles

The English commentary for King of Pro Wrestling will be feature Kevin Kelly with Chris Charlton

World Wrestling has continued their recent strategy of filing trademarks on older material ... On 9/27, WWE filed a trademark on the term "WCCW", obviously a reference to World Class Championship Wrestling. WWE purchased the rights to the WCCW video library from Kevin Von Erich in 2006.

On 9/26, the company also filed trademarks on the following terms:
-"Phenomenal One", obviously in reference to WWE Champion AJ Styles.
-"Fearless Nikki", for usage related to Nikki Bella.
-"The Awesome One", for usage related to Miz.
-"The Glorious One", related obviously to Bobby Roode.

WWE recently filed to trademark Saturday Night's Main Event, WCW Saturday Night and WCW Thunder.

Yesterday, Alberto Del Rio announced he is preparing for a return to MMA and will be fighting when Combate Americas holds its first PPV event: Del Rio made the announcement during an interview on the MMA hour
Link: https://youtu.be/D4hxaOTKbHQ

New Japan announced attendance at 3,007 for Sunday’s card at the Walter Pyramid. The empty seats were very visible throughout the show and acknowledged by Kenny Omega in his closing promo. As great a show as it was, shows don’t sell tickets in hindsight and it’s all about the promotion and anticipation ahead of time.

Mauro Ranallo, Kairi Sane, and Io Shirai were all seen in the audience at the New Japan card in Long Beach on Sunday.

On the WWE Network’s schedule, they are listing a timeslot of 5 – 10 am Eastern for the Super Show-Down event this Saturday from Melbourne.

WWE has a new poll asking fans which title should Dean Ambrose go after. As of this writing, 47% voted for Roman Reigns' WWE Universal Title while 11% voted for Seth Rollins' WWE Intercontinental Title. The rest, 42%, voted, "Neither as long as a member of The Shield holds them."

Above is a clip for tonight's post-RAW edition of Table For 3 on the WWE Network, featuring a 3MB reunion with Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and RAW Tag Team Champion Drew McIntyre.
Link: https://youtu.be/YoxcJPCComQ

Some other sheet news includes:

WWE recently released an official promo video for their upcoming all-women Evolution event. https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1046957736557195264
For those interested, WWE's Shawn Michaels 3-disc DVD set called Shawn Michaels: The Showstopper Unreleased was released earlier today.
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, El Dandy celebrated his 53rd birthday today. When asked for a comment, Bret Hart stated "Who are you to doubt El Dandy?"

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Bullet Club’s Hangman Page Reportedly Turned Down WWE Offer (For Now) (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/bullet-clubs-hangman-page-reportedly-turned-down-wwe-offer-for-now/)
Joey Janela Injury Update: Out for Longer Than Expected Due to Terrible Knee Injury (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/joey-janela-injury-update-out-for-longer-than-expected-due-to-terrible-knee-injury/)
More Past WWE Stars Being Advertised for SmackDown 1000 (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/more-past-wwe-stars-being-advertised-for-smackdown-1000/)
Rey Mysterio’s Rumored WWE Return Date (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/rey-mysterios-rumored-wwe-return-date/)
Neville Returns to the Ring at Dragon Gate Show in Japan (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/neville-returns-to-the-ring-at-dragon-gate-show-in-japan/)

Emperor Smeat

10-03-2018, 09:19 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by Classic WCW Rasslin gif:
http://i.imgur.com/PBgwvUX.gif

After a night in which Raw had its lowest audience total of the modern era, SmackDown followed with its second-lowest number of the year.

Tuesday night's episode drew 2.095 million viewers. That's the fourth-lowest total since the 2016 brand split, trailing only the night of the 2016 election, the July 3 show from this year (holiday weekend), and June 13, 2017, which went up against game seven of the NBA finals.

Content highlighting professional wrestling’s shooters is coming to the WWE Network tomorrow.

WWE Network News reports that this week’s WWE Hidden Gems content relates to professional wrestling’s shooters. These matches will feature shoot wrestlers/athletes such as Lou Thesz, Karl Gotch, Danny Hodge, Nobuhiko Takada and Billy Robinson. These matches span several decades in multiple promotions, including Stampede Wrestling, AWA, WWE and the Florida and Texas territories.

The matches that will be uploaded include:

Lou Thesz vs. Wild Bill Longson (Texas Rasslin’, 6/17/52)
Karl Gotch and Rene Goulet vs. The Rugged Russians (WWE MSG event, 1/31/72)
Danny Hodge and Jos Leduc vs. Pak Song and Toru Tanaka (Championship Wrestling from Florida, 11/12/74)
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Athol Foley (Stampede, 8/12/83)
Billy Robinson vs. Rick Martel (AWA, 10/18/84)

Link: https://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/10/03/exclusive-this-week-sees-five-wwe-hidden-gems-coming-to-wwe-network-from-three-decades-and-five-promotions/

The United States District Court of Connecticut officially closed the concussion-related lawsuits brought against World Wrestling Entertainment and Vince McMahon on 9/27 with the following judgment issued ...

ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that declaratory judgment is entered in favor of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. as to Ware and Billington; that judgment is entered for World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. as to Evan Singleton and Vito LoGrasso; and judgment is entered for World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Vincent K. McMahon as to Joseph M. Laurinaitis, Carole M. Snuka on behalf of Estate of James W. Snuka, Paul Orndorff, Salavador Guerrero IV, Kelli Fujiwara Sloan on behalf of Estate of Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara, Bryan Emmett Clark, Jr., Anthony Norris, James Harris, Dave Hebner, Earl Hebner, Chris Pallies, Ken Patera, Terry Michael Brunk, Barry Darsow, Bill Eadie, John Nord, Jonathan Hugger, James Brunzell, Susan Green, Angelo Mosca, James Manley, Michael “Mike” Enos, Bruce “Butch” Reed, Carlene B. Moore-Begnaud, Sylvain Grenier, Omar Mijares, Don Leo Heaton, Troy Martin, Marc Copani, Mark Canterbury, Victoria Otis, Judy Hardee, Mark Jindrak, Gayle Schecter on behalf of Estate of Jon Rechner, Barbara Marie Leydig & Bernard Knighton as co-representatives of Estate of Brian Knighton, Marty Jannetty, Jon Heidenreich, Terry Szopinski, Sione Havea Vailahi, Larry Oliver, Bobbi Billard, Ashley Massaro, Perry Satullo, David Silva, John Jeter, Charles Bernard Scaggs, Charles Wicks, Shirley Fellows on behalf of Estate of Timothy Alan Smith, Tracy Smothers, Michael R Halac, Rick Jones, Ken Johnson, George Gray, Ferrin Jesse Barr, Lou Marconi, Rod Price, Donald Driggers, Rodney Begnaud, Ronald Scott Heard on behalf of Estate of Ronald Heard, and Boris Zhukov.
Link: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120699/concussionrelated-lawsuits-against-wwe-and-vince-mcmahon-officially-closed.html?p=1

Charlotte Flair praised NXT’s Bianca Belair during an interview with GiveMeSport: “She is the future. She’s a real stud.”
Link: https://www.givemesport.com/1398043-charlotte-flair-calls-her-favourite-nxt-talent-a-real-stud-and-the-future-of-wwe

Indies Roundup:
Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham & a mystery partner vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) has been announced for ROH’s Glory by Honor TV tapings at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on October 14.

The promotion will also return to Philadelphia on Sunday 10/14 for a TV taping at the 2300 Arena.

LA Park vs. MJF and Sammy Guevara vs. Fenix are set for AAW’s show in Merrionette Park, Illinois on October 26.

House of Glory Wrestling will return to NYC this Friday 10/5 in Jamaica, Queens. The promotion issued the following in support of the event. New York's biggest Wrestling Promotion returns October 5th for "Extreme Warfare!" featuring the Crown Jewel Champion Sami Callihan taking on WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray!
ROH: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/huge-six-man-match-mystery-competitor-signed-philly , HoG: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120684/bully-ray-vs-sami-callihan-more-set-for-house-of-glory-this-friday-in-nyc.html?p=1

Ever since Shawn Michaels called it a career in 2010, he has constantly been asked about returning to the ring, not just by fans but by WWE as well. Rumors of Michaels' return have popped up again now that he's involved in the "Last Time Ever" match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down.

Michaels joined Inside the Ropes where he talked about the biggest temptation he ever had to return to the ring.

"It was probably about four years after I retired, there was an idea that was, it was with 'Taker again," revealed Michaels. "But it was just from a creative standpoint, it was easily the most intriguing idea, one of those ones where my wife said, 'oh, that's pretty cool.' And that was the one, when I said no, she said 'you really are done.'"
More highlights and link to interview: https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2018/10/shawn-michaels-reveals-the-most-intriguing-idea-pitched-to-646354/

It looks like WWE's main focus for this year's Survivor Series pay-per-view won't be the usual Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown theme.

There are plans to do a traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match between teams captained by RAW General Manager Kurt Angle and Acting RAW GM Baron Corbin, according to the @WrestleVotes Twitter account, which has broken several WWE scoops in the last year so. There most likely will be matches with the red brand vs. the blue brand but Team Corbin vs. Team Angle is currently scheduled.

There's no word yet on when Angle will be back on WWE TV but he was temporarily written out last month when RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon forced him into a vacation, naming Corbin as the Acting General Manager. It's been reported that Angle has been training for a return to the ring, possibly for more than one match. It's possible that the Survivor Series match could see the winning captain become the full-time General Manager.

As noted, WWE cameras were filming a Halloween-themed pilot episode for a potential WWE Network series at Matt Hardy's Hardy Compound in North Carolina last week. PWInsider reports that the crew was scheduled to wrap filming this week.

In an update on the project, the footage being filmed is for a Halloween special that will premiere on the WWE Network later this month. The footage is doubling as the pilot for a potential series titled "House Hardy" that would feature Matt, Queen Rebecca Hardy, Senor Benjamin, King Maxel and the others, including "Brother Nero" Jeff Hardy.

Word is that the content filmed is very much in-line with the "Broken Hardy" segments that were featured on Impact Wrestling while The Hardys were with that company. We noted before that former Impact producers Jeremy Borash and James Long, who now work with WWE, were working on the new project and it's said that the creative for this new project is very much being dictated by those who know what made the Impact content work so well.

Renee Young recently spoke with the UK's Express Sport and discussed Saturday's WWE Super Show-Down match between Triple H and The Undertaker. Renee, who will be one of the announcers for the match, called it history for the company.

"It's history. This is such a showcase match," Renee said. "It's the kind of match that dads can show their kids what they grew up on. I think it can be such a bonding moment for people that have watched WWE for so many years and now we get to see this again for the last time ever. [It's a chance] to show the new audience that have never seen Undertaker and Triple H. They might have been able to see some old matches of them on the WWE Network but to see these two men where they are in their careers - Triple H being the COO [Chief Operating Officer] of WWE [and] The Undertaker, The Phenom, stepping back into the ring to face Triple H - it's gonna be mind-blowing. This is going to be a match for the ages."
Link: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/wwe/1022313/WWE-news-RAW-Undertaker-vsTriple-H-Renee-Young-Shawn-Michaels-Kane-WWE-Super-Show-Down

Dewey Foley was the man who played Mr. Bootyworth in the SmackDown segment with The Bar and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day last night. Dewey works behind-the-scenes for WWE and is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. Dewey tweeted on Cesaro and Sheamus after the segment:

Sheamus and Cesaro are my heroes
— Dewey Foley (@DeweyHaveTo) October 3, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/DeweyHaveTo/status/1047285054282584064

Night 3 of WWE's Mixed Match Challenge Season 2 saw two teams pick up wins - Finn Balor & Bayley, Jimmy Uso & Naomi. Team B&B defeated Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal while Day One Glow defeated Rusev & Lana ...

Live Facebook Watch viewership for this week's episode peaked at 42,800 viewers. The premiere had peaked at 52,400 live viewers.

Some other sheet news includes:

WWE's website had a recent interview with several former Seattle SueprSonic players getting their reactions to Elias and Kevin Owens jab at the team and city during this week's episode of RAW. https://www.wwe.com/article/super-sonics-respond-to-elias-kevin-owens
In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 13th anniversary of WWE RAW's return to the USA Network after spending a few years on Spike TV. The card for the "Homecoming" episode included HBK vs Kurt Angle in a 30 minute Iron Man match.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

WWE: Jericho Says Wrestling Is “Boring,” Titus w/ Michelle Obama, Pete Dunne Milestone (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/wwe-jericho-says-wrestling-is-boring-sometimes-titus-w-michelle-obama-pete-dunne-milestone/)
Card for Tomorrow’s Major League Wrestling “Fury Road” Show (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/card-for-tomorrows-major-league-wrestling-fury-road-show/)

Emperor Smeat

10-04-2018, 09:20 PM

Dirtsheets sponsored by the Eugenigree:
https://giant.gfycat.com/AgitatedValuableBrahmancow.gif

Liv Morgan was cleared on 10/1 so she will be wrestling in the Ronda Rousey & The Bella Twins vs. The Riott Squad match. This match is supposed to set up the angle for the Evolution main event of Rousey vs. Nikki Bella for the Raw women’s title on 10/28 at the Nassau Coliseum, unless that plan has been nixed. Nothing has indicted that is the case.

WWE issued the following:
WWE® to Report Third Quarter 2018 Results

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- WWE (NYSE:WWE) announced that it will report its third quarter 2018 results on Thursday, October 25, 2018, before the opening of the market. The Company’s Chairman & CEO, Vincent K. McMahon, and Co-Presidents, George A. Barrios and Michelle D. Wilson, will host a conference call beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET to discuss the results.

Mercedes Martinez tweeted:

Thank you all for your kind words. See it for the first time or relive it again on @WWENetwork. The Latina Sensation vs. @satomurameiko was truly a battle where all combatants left everything in the ring. https://t.co/yEGdkehsSQ
— Mercedes Martinez (@RealMMartinez) October 4, 2018
Link: https://twitter.com/RealMMartinez/status/1047882574629154817

Lita has high praise for a NXT standout.

Bianca Belair is one of the fastest rising stars in NXT and she's already caught the eye of a WWE Hall of Famer. Speaking to The Sun's Gary Stonehouse, Lita revealed what she loves about the EST of NXT.

“She’s physically gifted, a great attitude, and when I very first saw her she had that intangible star quality that I just want to see more," she said. "Every time I see her I just want to see more. I can’t wait to see where her career goes. It’s crazy… no-one has ever used their hair as a weapon. It’s so cool how she thought of that and how it works. She sure has that star quality and uniqueness.”

Lita isn't the only one to take notice of Belair. Recently, Charlotte Flair called Belair "the future" of the division.
Link: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/7357757/wwe-nxt-lita-bianca-belair/

Indies Roundup:
4 months after being dethroned by Low Ki for the World Heavyweight Championship, Shane “Swerve” Strickland has optioned his rematch clause. Strickland will challenge for the World Heavyweight Title at MLW’s Chicago debut on November 8th as part of its FUSION TV taping for beIN SPORTS the Cicero Stadium. Shane Strickland’s World Championship Rematch is the second main event announced for the big MLW: FIGHTLAND card in Chicago November 8th.

Chris Jericho announced a James Ellsworth vs. Jenny Rose match for the intergender championship on his cruise.

Progress Wrestling ran its biggest show in its history, “Hello Wembley,” on 9/30 at Wembley Arena, drawing 4,750 fans, the largest crowd for a U.K.-based promotion in England since the 1981 Big Daddy vs. Giant Haystacks match that drew 7,000 fans. Everyone in the U.K. for years has used 10,000 as the attendance with the idea Daddy vs. Haystacks sold out Wembley, but the actual numbers for Daddy’s three Wembley shows were about 10,000, a legitimate sellout, for the 1979 show against Mighty John Quinn, about 5,500 for the 1980 show with Daddy & Wayne Bridges vs. Quinn & Yasu Fuji, and 7,000 for Daddy vs. Haystacks.

There will be two small [NJPW] shows as part of an expo at the Anaheim Convention Center on 11/10 and 11/11. Both will be four or five matches, focusing on younger wrestlers with a Lion’s Gate style programs. The 11/10 show will have Jeff Cobb vs. Hirooki Goto as the main event and 11/11 will be the first-ever meeting of Kenny Omega vs. David Finlay.

Wednesday's episode of WWE's Total Divas drew 367,000 viewers on the E! network. This is down 5.9% from last week's episode, which drew 390,000 viewers, and is a new historic low for the show.

This week's show ranked #63 on the Cable Top 150 in the 18-49 demographic. Last week's show ranked #56.
Total Divas and Bellas being mainstream draws for WWE is pretty much over. Last season started the serious decline and the show never really recovered since then.

There have been some notes from Chris Harrington and others regarding the drop in women watching Raw as compared to men. In the recent year-to-year declines it has hit women harder. Basically the key is this. When wrestling was at its most popular two decades ago, it was usually about a 70/30 men/women split, similar to most sports. Due to the popularity of Total Divas, the women’s had audience increased while the men’s audience decreased significantly ...

What has happened this year is that Total Bellas and Total Divas have declined greatly in ratings, and thus, that women’s audience has also declined. It’s notable that this is taking place at a time when women are being treated as characters with more respect. The belief was that this change might help the women’s audience but could hurt the men’s audience, with the idea women want to see women treated respectably and as athletes rather than sex objects, but a lot of men watch the women only because they are hot and could care less if they could wrestle well or not. In fact, the opposite has happened ...

But the decline in Total Divas, probably because of the show being on for so many seasons and shows like that run out of steam, and perhaps a big part if the Cena/Nikki break up since it was their relationship that was the key driver, has led to fewer viewers, and that “new” women’s fan base is now declining significantly. The funny part of that decline is it came at the same time Ronda Rousey became a regular character on Raw, and she was a huge mover among women on her UFC PPV shows. That also says that while Rousey is popular with wrestling fans, that the Rousey MMA sports fan and older women fan base, did not follow her in significant numbers to WWE television.

WWE on television was using the number 70,000 for Super Show Down, which means they have to announce a number in that realm or slightly higher. We were told that paid attendance expectations were 58,000 to 60,000. The MCG holds 100,000, and the Australian Football League (Australian Rules Football, like rugby, not soccer) on 9/29 drew a number in that realm. With the stage, WWE would have legitimately sold out with 80,000, which was the goal. But 60,000 for pro wrestling, WWE’s largest crowd ever outside of the U.S., Canada or England, would still have to be considered a major success.

Yoshi-Hashi’s shoulder is pretty bad off. New Japan rarely edits their stuff on New Japan World, and the only one I can recall was a blade job caught on camera, but they did edit Yoshi-Hashi’s run-in where he lost his footing and crashed into the ring. WWE would have replayed the same thing to death, and did with O’Neil

Lance Archer has been banned from doing his running around the crowd, drinking water and spitting it all over people ring entrance. He’s taken to social media trying to get fans to get behind him to get the decision changed

There is new regime in charge, not just Harold Meij as the new President, but also others that he’s put in key positions. The new people in charge for the most part don’t have any background in wrestling so there are things like some things said and etiquette that are different. They’ve replaced popular long-time officials that the wrestlers trusted and respected. The question a lot of wrestlers are asking is why a company that was on such a major business upswing has gutted the business team in charge during that upswing. Obviously the idea is to expand the business outside of Japan, but there is concern.

The reason WWE is filing for all kinds of trademarks on old wrestling terms from WCW, WCCW and other companies is because they were not happy that MLW trademarked War Games and has the ability to use the term
For some reference, WWE used to own the War Games trademark as part of their purchase of WCW but abandoned most of the WCW trademarks years ago.

The final episode of World of Sport was on 9/29. It was a good show, built around two title changes to end the first season. The bad news is that the audience dropped again, down to 200,000 viewers in a 2:30 p.m. Time slot. They opened on 7/28 with 937,000 at 5 p.m. There was major erosion after week one, and then secondary erosion with the time slot change in week six (700,000 down to 400,000). We didn’t have the 9/22 rating in last week’s issue but it was 300,000 viewers.

wXw announced major changes in hierarchy and business...

The company also confirmed a deal with WWE. We don’t know if this was the case with this deal, but WWE’s deals working with other companies are that WWE would allow its talent on shows and also have the right to purchase the promotion at an agreed upon price should they choose to do so, as well as own the library. We don’t NWO that this deal is similar to other deals. But WWE is looking for independent libraries when they add tiers to the WWE Network. Robbie Brookside and Canyon Ceman of WWE were at the training school scouting talent last week and were looking for talent to bring to a November tryout in Cologne

There is definitely talk about All In 2 and even 3, but the contract situation is what it is. We’ve heard Memorial Day and Labor Day both being talked about, as well as Southern California and Chicago. Nothing is definite. The Memorial Day drawback is that’s less than two months from the MSG show and that’s a quick turnarond since it’s going to be a major traveling audience, and even though the MSG show actually sold out mostly to those within driving distance of New York, a large percentage of the All In crowd base will be going to New York that weekend

WWE is looking at expanding talent and the NXT side with all the added revenue coming in from the new deals. Among the ideas are more international Performance Centers and international territories, which means being even more aggressive in locking down people who they spot having marketable potential

There are those in the company pushing for the idea of the NXT TV show going two hours because they have so much talent, and to also increase the time of their Takeover shows. I could see the idea of two different one hour shows if one moves to a television platform as I’ve suggested in the past, and even could see a 90 minute show, but two hours seems like too much product. Similarly, the Takeover shows are the one thing in wrestling that isn’t broken and doesn’t need fixing. A key is that they already have one hour in the building before Takeover since they have to tape then next week of TV. So if they try and increase from 2:15 to 2:40 or so and go over three hours, you’re talking about a four plus hour live event, and that’s the night before a five to six hour live show

Wrestle Talk magazine claims through their sources in Saudi Arabia that the Saudi sports minister’s tweet regarding Hulk Hogan was not meant as a hint of a Hogan appearance on the 11/2 show. The tweet read in their language, “What is this World Cup that nobody is talking about?” It was meant to be Saudi Arabia mocking that its political enemy, Qatar, got the 2022 World Cup. They didn’t rule out Hogan being there, just that the tweet itself was meant to run down Qatar

An interesting stat regarding retention of the audience, and maybe product interest. Miz & Mrs. being promoted on television and airing right after Smackdown was doing 1.1 million to 1.5 million viewers. Mixed Match Challenge, promoted even harder on Smackdown and featuring live matches, airing in the same time slot, but on Facebook watch, live, as far as average viewership for the 30 minute show, was doing just under 30,000

The top ten most-watched shows on the WWE Network this past week were: 1. NXT on 9/26; 2. Table for 3 with McIntyre, Slater and Mahal; 3. Mae Young Classic week four on 9/26; 4. 205 Live on 9/26; 5. Hell in a Cell 2018; 6. 19998 Kuwaiti Cup; 7. Photo Shoot: Scott Hall; 8. Mixed Match Challenge from 9/18; 9. Mae Young Classic from 9/19; 10. Mixed Match Challenge from 9/25. So the key takes on this are that 205 Live is doing better when moved from being live to Wednesday and the week of the second week of Mixed Match Challenge, interest declined so badly that the first week beat it during the second week, which coincides with the decline on that show of the live audience

Some other sheet news includes:

According to the Observer, WWE actually launched an internal investigation regarding Brie Bella injuring Liv Morgan with the initial blame going towards the ref for not checking Morgan afterwards. WWE's medical team also got looked at for why they allowed Morgan to go back into the ring for a spot.
Rumor going around the net hints at WWE working on a partnership deal with The Crash in order to help their chances with the Mexican market.
Another rumor going around the net hints at Vince becoming very impressed with Becky recently and even softened his stance against her promos due to her accent.

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

Johnny Gargano Hints That He’d Like to Stay in NXT for Now (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/johnny-gargano-hints-that-hed-like-to-stay-in-nxt-for-now/)
Various: Braun Strowman’s Parents, Super Show-Down Set, New NWA 70 Matches (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/various-braun-strowmans-parents-super-show-down-set-first-look-new-nwa-70-matches/)
WWE Reportedly Trying to Get The Rock for SmackDown 1000 (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/wwe-reportedly-trying-to-get-the-rock-for-smackdown-1000/)
Charly Caruso Now Works for ESPN Too (https://www.tpww.net/2018/10/charly-caruso-now-works-for-espn-too/)