Originally Posted by Noid (Post 4857384)

So the drop was during the show? I wonder who takes the blame for that? Kevin Owens for being a shitty champion? Sami Zayn for being a shitty challenger? Triple H for not being there? It'll be interesting to see.

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4856949)

Originally Posted by Observer

Ahead of a press conference he has scheduled in Mexico later today, WWE officially announced that they have mutually come to terms with Alberto Del Rio on his release from the company.

The company's statement: "WWE and Jose Rodriguez (Alberto Del Rio) have mutually agreed upon the terms of his release as of today, September 9, 2016."

Del Rio tweeted on Friday morning: "My business relationship with @WWE has come to an end in good terms...thanks for the opportunities they gave me. Termine mi relación con WWE."

Originally Posted by Observer

Del Rio held a press conference in Mexico on Friday afternoon to address the situation.

Notes from the conference:

• Paige was there but didn't sit down at the table or give any interviews.
• Del Rio said that he didn't feel comfortable in WWE anymore and thought about leaving for a couple of months. He wasn't happy with his second stint with the company and was losing his passion for wrestling in WWE. He felt that he'd done everything in WWE and had nothing left to prove.
• Del Rio asked to be released from his contract and came to a mutual agreement with the company.
• WWE's traditional 90 day no-compete clause doesn't apply to Del Rio. He's free to work in Mexico now and will be able to work in the US soon.
• Del Rio said that he's in negotiation with AAA, CMLL, and Elite, but doesn't want to be exclusive to any promotion. In a point of confusion, he later said that Elite hasn't contacted him. He only wants to work 60 matches a year and has already started to think about retirement. He wants to retire in two years and said he's in talks to work in management for an MMA promotion.
• Del Rio would like to return to Arena Mexico.
• The banner at the press conference identified Del Rio as Alberto El Patron. He will once again be wrestling under that name.
• Del Rio is in negotiations for a commentating job somewhere, but didn't specify if it was in pro wrestling or MMA.
• Del Rio didn't mention either his or Paige's wellness policy suspensions.

Originally Posted by Observer

Paige was there at the press conference but wouldn't talk to any reporters.

According to those with direct knowledge of her situation, she was basically in the same situation A.J. Lee was on when C.M. Punk left. At one point this week it did appear she was gone, right now that isn't the case, but it can change and the situation will be weird. The big difference is there is no legal action being taken against Alberto like there was against Punk.

Originally Posted by Observer

Crossface, the long-talked about movie about the life of Chris Benoit, is back on the radar after many years with the official announcement that director and Academy Award nominee Lexi Alexander is attached to the project.

Variety reported the news Thursday, although Alexander (Punisher: War Zone, Johnny Flynton) has teased it on Twitter. It also had been reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter several months ago that she was in talks to do the piece.

The project is based on the book "Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and The Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry" by Matt Randazzo V. Randazzo V and Ram Getz are the executive producers of the movie, while Alex Ginzberg and Tony Lee (Let it Play) are the producers.

No anticipated release date was mentioned.

Originally Posted by Observer

I don't know the story behind this but on Wednesday, WWE sent out word to everyone who works in the web department to not promote Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks at Clash of Champions and if there are any stories with any language where the match is mentioned to amend it.

Originally Posted by PWI

The 9/9 edition of Impact Wrestling, featuring the "Delete or Decay" spectacle, dropped to 337,000 viewers, down from the previous week's 351,000 viewers. The kickoff of the NFL season on NBC certainly took a bite out of TNA.

Originally Posted by Observer

Ethan Carter III appears to have signed a new deal. They had wanted to get him on a deal where the office books his indie dates. He’s told indie promoters that he’s worked for that they have to go through the office going forward so that would seem to confirm it

Originally Posted by Observer

Metalik will be moving his family to the U.S. so there may be a delay in him relocating and being in full-time, although he is in and it was announced that Raw this week that he was part of the division. That’s why he’s still taking bookings in Mexico as Mascara Dorada, but he is coming in for the cruiserweight division.

Originally Posted by Observer

The company applied for a trademark for the term “Skull King,” for a performer. It also could be used as the new nickname for HHH

Originally Posted by Smelly Meatball (Post 4857756)

Originally Posted by Observer

Everyone knew that the first week of football season was going to take a bit out of the Raw ratings, but even in a worst case scenario, I don't think anyone expected this.

The feeling was that Raw would struggle to top 3 million viewers, and fall under it some weeks, and probably start out in the 2.9 million viewer range, similar to how it did against the Olympics.

Last night's Raw did 2.68 million viewers, barely beating out the 2.62 million for the July 4th show this year. Aside from that show, from a ratings standpoint this will probably be the lowest rated show since October 14, 1996, and that's when it was going head-to-head with another wrestling show, major league playoffs and an NFL game ...

The individual hours were:

8 p.m. 2.83 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.72 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.52 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer

Ryback has been unable to go by his former wrestling name since leaving WWE, but that's something he's trying to change.

On an episode of his podcast that was released on Monday, Ryback said that he was attempting to change his real name to his wrestling identity.

“It’s not uncharted territory, but it kind of is too in a way. I legally went and changed my name to Ryback, for many reasons, one of which it was one thing that I did not own, and I created and I used before my time with WWE.

And it is something that is associated with my brand and who I am that I am very proud of. So, I went through the proper steps in Clark County in Las Vegas. And it cost a little bit of money, and I go in front of a judge September 1st. But when this airs, you know, hopefully everything is approved and I would be known as Ryback Allen Reeves moving forward.”

As of now, it isn’t known if the attempt was successful. He still goes by “The Big Guy” on Twitter and is still being advertised under that name for his wrestling appearances going forward.

Originally Posted by Observer

Vince McMahon was injured recently. WWE has confirmed that McMahon did get injured and in fact had surgery, but the nature of the injury and surgery are still unknown. The story going around in the company is Vince suffered a torn quad while squatting.

Originally Posted by Observer

Alberto Del Rio did an interview with Mas Luchas claiming that he failed the WWE drug test because he was using legally prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. It's not exactly a secret that WWE had banned all TRT usage years ago but may have amended that, but even when amended, even if prescribed by a doctor it has to be approved by the WWE's own medical staff. He also said that Andrade Cien Almas wasn't happy and wants to return to Mexico. He said the problem is that when you go from Mexico to WWE you have to learn English and also start from scratch and forget everything you know. He said Almas asked him if things get better when you make the main roster, and he said he told him that things get worse.

Originally Posted by Observer

In reply to a fan asking if he would ever fight in UFC, Randy Orton tweeted, “I like making $. Over and over. Not once every 6 months… plus I'd prob fake punch the guy and get choked out. #lol”

Originally Posted by Observer

After Decay “kidnapped” Senor Benjamin at the end of last week’s “Delete or Decay” edition of Impact, Matt Hardy tweeted a photo saying that they found Benjamin and the footage of the rescue will air on Impact this Thursday.

Originally Posted by Observer

After wrestling each other all over the world for the last few years, Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay will be bringing their rivalry to Ring of Honor.

ROH announced in a video update on Tuesday that Scurll will face Ospreay on the promotion’s upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. It was recently revealed that both men would soon be making their ROH debuts.

Originally Posted by Observer

Madison Square Garden has made it official that the show on 12/26, a Monday night, head-to-head with Raw, will be a Smackdown brand event advertising John Cena, Dean Ambrose, A.J. Styles, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Becky Lynch and Naom

Originally Posted by PWI

EVOLVE set new attendance records for their events in Long Island and Queens. There was a lot of fear going into Long Island in particular because the advance was so bad, but in the end, they sold out and had people standing, so they will be back in Deer Park down the line. Queens was expected to be down because they were running opposite the Backlash PPV but in the end, the crowd was actually up from the previous show. Queens' return date is 11/12.

As noted previously, TNA's Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana were at the show in Queens. The story backstage among wrestlers is that they were actually at a nearby restaurant and since they were in the neighborhood, came by to see the show. There were no business talks between the companies or anything like that and EVOLVE didn't even know they were coming until 15 minutes before they arrived.

Originally Posted by PWI

Emma, who has been out of action with a back injury, was backstage at Raw last night in Baltimore, Maryland.

Originally Posted by Observer

The 9/13 edition of SmackDown Live garnered 2,658,000 up from last week's 2,454,000 viewers. Smackdown had the best audience for anything on cable last night.

Originally Posted by Observer

Paige took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to address her recent wellness policy violation, being suspended by WWE, and rumors that she would be leaving the company.

Paige's statement (with paragraph breaks added) is available below:

"First, I’d like to thank all my fans for their love and support the last few weeks. Let me begin by saying that the rumors that I’m leaving the WWE are completely false! I certainly look forward to returning back to action at some point, once my injury is treated and on a healthy return.

Although I was disappointed by my suspension, I respect the WWE’s Wellness Policy. However, let me be clear that I was not suspended for failing a drug test, it was merely due to a procedural issue. I took the test, I passed it. I arranged said test to happen after I wasn’t at my home when aegis contacted me. So I drove 200 miles to do it. Unfortunately I didn’t do it in time, according to Aegis. Once again, thank you for all the love and support!”

Originally Posted by PWI

While there has been discussion about the WWE future of former WWE Divas champion Paige given the departure of her boyfriend, Alberto Del Rio, from WWE and her Wellness Policy suspension last month, PWInsider.com can confirm that she will be returning to the road next week.

We have been told by multiple sources the two sides have been communicating over the last several days. Paige is booked for next week's Raw taping in Memphis, TN as well as subsequent live events for the Raw brand.

Paige's WWE Wellness Suspension officially ends on 9/17.

Originally Posted by Observer

While making an appearance to throw out the first pitch at a Philadelphia Phillies game on Monday night, Daniel Bryan spoke to the Associated Press about his concussion history and retirement from in-ring competition earlier this year.

And as he has done in most recent interviews, Bryan once again expressed uncertainty about closing the book on his in-ring career.

"I honestly do," Bryan said about hoping to wrestle again. "All the real concussion specialists who deal with concussions every day, all of them think I am fine."

But Bryan noted that he understood why WWE wouldn’t clear him.

"You can see it from their point of view," Bryan said. "If something happens to me...and then they let me back in the ring, and something happens to me, even if these other doctors say I'm cleared, they're not the ones who the media will blame. Because concussions are such a hot topic issue and everyone's afraid of that sort of thing, that's one of the reasons why I wasn't cleared" ...

Bryan said that there are times where he gets worked up and wants to call and ask for his release, and that he might have tried harder to get out of his contract and wrestle elsewhere if he didn’t have a family to look out for.

"Hell, I might even be wearing a mask at an independent show next week dressed up as Star Man," Bryan said. "Because it's what I love to do. But, it becomes different when you have a wife and you're trying to have kids."

While laughing, Bryan claimed that he wasn’t given a choice about accepting his new role as general manager of SmackDown. He said that he’s under contract so he shows up when he’s told to.

Originally Posted by Observer

ROH World Champion Adam Cole will appear on the ROSS REPORT hosted by the legendary Jim Ross this coming Tuesday, September 20th, 2016 at 9pm Eastern and it will be available on iTunes and PodcastOne.com.

Originally Posted by Observer

Katsuyori Shibata is reportedly off this weekend’s house shows for NJPW after suffering an undisclosed spinal injury.

Originally Posted by Observer

A student at Seth Rollins wrestling school died recently. The autopsy was inconclusive but no foul play is suspected. The student began feeling ill during practice and was told by instructors to sit out. His condition worsened and he was taken to the emergency room where he died shortly after.

Originally Posted by PWI

We've been asked about the TNA status of Rebel over the last few hours as she removed TNA from her social media. We are told that her TNA deal expired and she is done with the company. She's been appearing regularly for OVW of late, so she is still pursuing the business.

Originally Posted by PWI

Gene Snitsky was backstage at Smackdown Live in Philly last night. Snitsky lives in Pennsylvania.

Originally Posted by PWI

For those who asked where Kalisto has disappeared to, the word we are getting is that he is dealing with a back issue.

Originally Posted by PWI

The New York Comic Con announced there would be a Lucha Underground panel with Rey Mysterio Jr., LU Executive Producer Eric Van Wagenen, Ivellise Velez, Katrina, Marty Elias, Taya, Doran Roldan and more appearing.

The series will debut in Japan on Samurai TV this October.

Originally Posted by Observer

Paige was with Del Rio at the press conference but never spoke. At one point this past week she did quit WWE, but there were talks afterwards of attempting to mend fences and at press time things had been settled and she was scheduled to return, perhaps as early as the 9/19 Raw in Memphis, which would be after her 30 day suspension expired. In actuality, her return depends on her various injuries and there is no date scheduled as of yet, but that would be the earliest date possible. It was a touchy situation since a decision was almost made to fire Paige several weeks ago, to the point I was alerted about a firing to come on deadline, which was to be her, but at that point there was a change of heart. That was back during the week where several people had been let go and before the announcement of her Wellness policy failure. She had gotten legal representation this past week.

Originally Posted by Observer

With the exception of Sabre and Ibushi, everyone on the final episode of the CWC has been signed by WWE, along with people like Rich Swann, Jack Gallagher, Akira Tozawa (finishing up in Dragon Gate) and possibly Ho Ho Lun, because of the company wanting to create stars for China. Several will be starting this coming week. Metalik is still working Mexico until he moves his family in, so TJ Perkins was the only one of the four who could have won.

Originally Posted by PWI

As we reported yesterday in the Elite section of PWInsider.com, Brian Kendrick, Rich Swann and Jack Gallagher are all scheduled for the Raw taping this Monday in Memphis, TN. I would think you can add Perkins to that list as well.

There is already talk of doing a similar CWC style series in 2017, perhaps focusing on female talents. There's been early discussion of doing something in the first quarter of 2017 but that was nowhere written in stone.

Originally Posted by PWI

As we noted earlier this week, Emma was backstage at Raw in Baltimore.

We are told that Emma, who has been out of action with a back injury, is slated to be on the road this coming week for WWE so she will be returning shortly.

Originally Posted by Observer

The 9/26 Raw could do a disastrous number because it's up against both the NFL and the Presidential debate. What could save it is that there is a traditional Raw bump the day after a PPV show.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE is advertising a 9/25 show in State College, PA with A.J. Styles vs. John Cena for the WWE title, Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt and The Miz vs. Apollo Crews for the IC title.

Originally Posted by PWI

Restrictions & limitations in the CWC: We had agents. We had to deal with agents as well and plan it out. I know for me personally, I wanted to do a stalling suplex from the second rope and they completely scrapped that. They said no way can you do that. For whatever reason, Me & Zach were supossed to be 50/50 right up to the end and it was more of a showcase for Zach which is understandable, right? I get it. There weren't major handcuffs put on, but they did want to steer the ship the way they want to steer it. So as we go along and get more progressive into it, they're easing up on it. Tozawa is known for that snap german suplex with a hold for the pin and they were adamant on saying no absolutely no head drops at all and when push came to shove, Tozawa did put (Ken) Johnson directly on his bean for that snap German suplex. Its the same as anything. It's wrestling politics. Either you kind of bite the bullet and ask for forgiveness later or you just do your stuff. I'm sure to God that burning hammer (Brian Kendrik's) was not discussed. WWE doesn't even let the tombstone fly other than the Undertaker.

Originally Posted by PWI

TNA President Billy Corgan posted the following video on Facebook, responding to reports (not sure where these may have originated) that he was lining up investors to buy TNA, stating that he was using his own money to attempt to purchase the company and has been using his own money to invest thus far into the process.

Originally Posted by PWI

Bray Wyatt did a media jaunt for WWE this week. When asked by The Springfield News-Leader if he had any heroes in the pro wrestling world, Wyatt commented, "Oh, man. I have a lot of heroes. I have a lot of people that I’ve looked up to. We touched on Dusty already. As far as, you know, me having a hero, I would say Blackjack Mulligan (Wyatt's grandfather), who just passed away, you know, not too long after Dusty did. He’s up chasin' down shots of Jack and gettin' in fistfights with Dusty in heaven. Blackjack was just a man bigger than life. He was huge, by the way, 6'9". He was just a huge man. Just seeing him come into a room, how he handled himself. You couldn't help but look up to someone like that. He was the last cowboy — maybe the last real cowboy outlaw that will ever be. Wyatt noted that Dusty Rhodes gave him the "Eater of Worlds" moniker. To read that complete interview, click here.

Wyatt was also interviewed by Tupelo, MS's Daily Journal. On growing up in a pro wrestling family, Wyatt commented, "Growing up in that environment is a strange thing,” he said, laughing. “Most people couldn’t imagine it. When I was a child, I thought everyone was a wrestler. I thought when you went to work, you went to go wrestle. It was weird hearing kids talk trash about your family from what they see on television, but it kind of molded me and made me what I am today – thick-skinned."To read that interview click here.

Originally Posted by Observer

Backlash only drew 7,000 fans, and that was with a lot of papering around town in the days before the show. There were reports of tickets being given away at night clubs as well as outside a Comic book convention the day before the show. In addition, for the first time in recent history, a WWE PPV show didn’t crack the No. 20 searches for that day

Originally Posted by Observer

It’s notable that the recent WWE Network commercials have more and more Hulk Hogan on them, including two voice clips in the latest commercial. In the past, they’ve not pushed Hogan on network commercials. We’ve all known that WWE was looking at bringing back Hogan when they thought the time was right and when they wouldn’t get a backlash for doing so. I sense this is some testing of the waters. Most wrestling fans don’t care, and Hogan will always have a nostalgia thing going for him no matter what he does, but the racist comments are a tough one to come back from, and the company can’t plead ignorance if a sponsor gets mad over it. Still, while this is not a perfect analogy at all, but seeing Ryan Lochte doing “Dancing With The Stars” so soon after he basically became the poster boy for the ugly entitled American abroad with no sponsor backlash says a lot

Originally Posted by Observer

Eric Barnes, who was the last person left in the marketing department, is no longer a full-time employee. Barnes’ official title was Senior Director of Consumer Engagement and Integrated Communications. He is still having an involvement with the company as a consultant. He was the last person left in the marketing department.

Originally Posted by Observer

It looks like the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic may become an annual tradition.

William Regal announced at Thursday night's NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, FL, that the tournament would return for its second annual edition. It will begin at tonight's tapings, with the winning team being crowned at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on Saturday, November 19th.

The tournament debuted last year to honor the life of Dusty Rhodes and what he meant to NXT.

Originally Posted by Observer

In addition to new WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins, WWE.com confirmed six more names that will be joining Raw's upcoming cruiserweight division when it launches next Monday night.

Brian Kendrick, Rich Swann, Gran Metalik, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Noam Dar are all headed to the Raw roster. But WWE didn't reveal which wrestlers will be in action when the revamped cruiserweight division launches next Monday.

Notably, the list seems to indicate that Akira Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa won't be headed to Raw immediately. All four were featured in videos hyping the division in previous weeks. Lince Dorado wasn't included in those videos, but will apparently be joining the division right away.

Originally Posted by PWI

The 9/15 edition of Impact Wrestling did 366,000 viewers, well up from last week's 337,000 viewers.

Originally Posted by Observer

TMZ is reporting that Brandi Rhodes, wife of Cody Rhodes, has signed a deal to wrestle for TNA. The article notes that while she was a ring announcer before leaving WWE shortly after her husband did, she is coming into TNA to be a knockout and wrestle.

Originally Posted by PWI

Variety reported today that WWE Studios' "Killing Hasselhoff" will open the San Diego Film Festival on 9/28 ...

This is the WWE Studios film that ended up being delayed due to scenes featuring Hulk Hogan that was edited out of the final product after Hogan was let go by WWE in the summer of 2015 when taped revealing Hogan making racially-tinged comments were leaked to the public.

Originally Posted by PWI

Speaking of the Rock, his Seven Bucks Productions and WWE Studios are now in pre-production on "The Fall Guy" feature film adaptation, which will be the first time Rock has starred in a WWE Studios film.

Originally Posted by PWI

Ring of Honor announced that former TNA Knockout Jessicka Havok would debut tomorrow at the ROH event in Lockport, New York.

Originally Posted by Observer

Since the subject of Adam Cole’s contract has been asked about, since it’s no secret WWE wants him and was at one point directly saying they’d fast-track him to the NXT title, but he’s now the ROH champion, this is the situation. He’s under contract through 12/31, but because he missed four months due to his injuries, ROH is claiming the contract continues through the end of April

Originally Posted by Observer

New Japan’s total gross revenue from wrestling operations in the September to August fiscal year was $32 million, up 18.5 percent over the past year. That’s significant because they did that with lower attendance and with the loss of a number of key people like Shinsuke Nakamura and A.J. Styles. They or CMLL would be the No. 2 pro wrestling company in the world right now, but they are less than five percent of that of WWE when it comes to total revenue

Originally Posted by Observer

Billy Corgan has publicly talked of wanting to buy a majority interest in TNA. It is believed that as of right now, TNA is owned by Dixie Carter, Corgan and Aroluxe. Corgan and Aroluxue got their points in the company by funding the recent television tapings. Carter at this point still owns in the neighborhood of 70 percent of the company, but Corgan was able to get control and the Presidency of the company for putting recent money in. Aroluxe didn’t raise enough money by the end of August to buy the company, which had been expected to happen. Corgan and his investors are working on putting together a deal. The winner in this appears to be John Gaburick. The feeling was he was gone if Aroluxe had gotten the company, while he’s apparently on Corgan’s good side. Carter apparently wants at least $4 million for her stock in the company. There is the feeling this deal needs to go through because they need the money to do the next set of tapings which start on 10/2, which will cost somewhere between $600,000 and $800,000 total. If they get the tapings done, TNA will at least have everything in the can through the end of November, at which point the new ownership would have to fund another set of tapings

Originally Posted by Observer

The WWE filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Connecticut on 9/8 attempting to get a ruling that would ban Robert Windham (Blackjack Mulligan, who has passed away), Thomas Billington (Dynamite Kid), James Ware (Koko B. Ware) and Oreal Perras (Ivan Koloff) from filing suit against the company for any damages related to concussions. WWE, who has sued all four wrestlers, basically in an attempt to keep them from suing, is attempting to get a ruling from the court that all four cases are time barred. That is strategic because if they get that ruling, then all the other wrestlers from that era in the other case will have had a court precedent set as far as a statute of limitations from brain injuries

Originally Posted by Observer

Shelton Benjamin had his surgery on 9/7 to repair a torn rotator cuff. He’s expected to start working at WWE after recovery, which is likely in about six months

Originally Posted by Observer

With all three Shield members as faces, there is talk of setting up another Shield reunion type spot at one of the joint branded PPVs, whether it be in the Rumble or something at Survivor Series

Originally Posted by PWTorch

Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling are looking to sign several stars to combined deals for 2017 and beyond.

ROH is facing a potential big roster turnover with several deals set to expire at the end of the year, but they are hopeful that working with NJPW will prevent that.

New Japan is also looking to prevent what happened at the start of 2016 when the company lost Shinsuke Nakamura, A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows to WWE.

NJPW has also expressed interest in running solo shows in the U.S. in 2017, prompting their attempt to sign U.S. stars to mix with the New Japan roster.

One of the first ROH/NJPW stars to be offered a combination deal is Matt Sydal, who is currently under contract to New Japan for another year. To our knowledge, Sydal has not signed the offered combo deal.

Notably, the ROH contracts for Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly of the ReDragon tag team are set to expire at the end of the year.

New Japan has expressed interest in signing Fish and O’Reilly once their ROH deals expire. However, talent believe New Japan and ROH will work together in free agent situations to offer combination deals that would prevent the two companies from bidding against each other.

Originally Posted by Observer

It was bad news for WWE for a second week, as the ratings for Raw last night were almost identical to the week before, which at the time were considered shockingly low.

The three plus hour broadcast averaged 2.68 million viewers, identical to the week before. Actually there were 2,000 more viewers last night, so it would just barely beat out last week's show as the lowest non-holiday episode of the show since 1996 ...

Unless the company does something major, or gets a pay-per-view bump, next week, with the presidential debate, has a good chance of being the lowest rated episode of the 23-year history of the program. The record low rating number is a 1.78 on October 14, 1996, a show which went against a live Nitro, as well as the NFL and major league baseball playoffs ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.73 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.69 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.63 million viewers

Originally Posted by PWI

It was reported over the weekend in a number of German newspaper outlets that WWE's current TV home in Germany, TELE 5 will not renew it's current contract when it ends in March 2017. The decision was made despite the fact that Raw is one of the most successful series on the network.

Stefan Kastenmüller, General Manager and WWE VP Europe, has told local media that Smackdown may also leave move as the current deal it has with Pro7 Maxx ends also in March 2017. Kastenmüller noted that WWE has a lot of interest from broadcast, digital and paid subscription channels in the market and expects to sign a new deal shortly.

Originally Posted by Pro Wrestling Sheet

Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned it’s only a matter of time before Luke Harper returns to the ring … sources with direct knowledge tell us he’s officially been cleared for action.

Originally Posted by Observer

Emma tweeted that she's been cleared to return to the ring for six weeks.

Originally Posted by PWI

As noted, Paige was backstage at Raw but not used.

Originally Posted by Observer

ESPN posted a critical recap (written by Brian Campbell) of last night’s Raw. “As far as go-home episodes are concerned, this week did almost nothing to build excitement ahead of Raw's first exclusive PPV since the July brand extension and draft. If anything, the majority of Sunday's compelling storylines were set back.” Campbell wrote.

Originally Posted by Observer

AXS TV’s “Inside MMA” is coming to an end with the final episode of the show set for September 30th.

Originally Posted by Observer

After TMZ reported last week that Brandi Rhodes had signed on with TNA Wrestling as an active wrestler, the company confirmed the news in a video on Monday morning.

In a short interview with Josh Mathews, Brandi noted that she was excited for the opportunity and had wanted to get in the ring for a long time.

“I am so excited to finally be in battle. I have wanted to wrestle for some time, and now that the opportunity has presented itself to be a part of the TNA Knockouts, I am just, just so excited. I cannot wait to get out there with some of those great, great Knockout gals and see what I can do.” Brandi said.

Brandi said that her intent when she entered the wrestling business was to compete inside of the ring but had other talents that she explored.

Originally Posted by Observer

We have no update on Terry Funk past what was talked about last night. Funk was reported as being dizzy and that he probably shouldn't have come from Texas to Philadelphia for the show, but it's Funk and he wasn't going to miss a booking for Tommy Dreamer. He got in the ring to cut a promo and said that it might be for the last time.

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE Superstars:
*Darren Young pinned Curtis Axel.

*Goldust and R-Truth defeated Jinder Mahal and Titus O'Neil.

Originally Posted by CageSideSeats

WWE is apparently going to tone down the cruiserweights on Monday Night Raw, so they aren't doing as many big flips and high spots.

Originally Posted by CageSideSeats

Enzo & Big Cass vs. The Shining Stars could be added to Clash of Champions as a second pre-show match.

Originally Posted by Observer

TNA is teasing a debut for Thursday's episode of Impact, and all signs point to it being Cody Rhodes.

The company released a video on Wednesday afternoon advertising that "He is coming." The video claims that the debuting wrestler's past is behind him, his future is now, and all roads lead to tomorrow night. The video features a man in a suit, but never reveals who it is.

Thursday's episode of Impact has already been taped without Rhodes or anyone else debuting in front of the audience, so it seems likely that whoever debuts will be doing so in a pre-taped segment that wasn't seen by the crowd.

Originally Posted by Observer

Austin Aries, The Godfather, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Kerry Von Erich, Mojo Rawley, Papa Shango, Tye Dillinger, and Eddie Guerrero were announced as playable DLC characters for WWE 2K17.

Originally Posted by Observer

The Mexican Senate designated today as Dia del Luchador, basically it’s the Luchador Day.

Originally Posted by Observer

Chris Featherstone, host of Pancakes and Powerslams, has written an article on former WWE Tag Team Champion Rico Constantino’s declining health. Featherstone started a campaign for him to raise money to cover medical bills and ongoing hospital visits. Please share.

Originally Posted by Observer

Ian Hamilton has a column at backbodydrop.com about how certain British groups are potentially ruining parts of the British scene for themselves and others with by cutting ticket prices.

Originally Posted by PWI

A new book "Rowdy: The Roddy Piper Story", which began as an autobiography Piper began writing himself before he passed away, later being completed by his son Colt Toombs and daughter Ariel Toombs will be released on 10/4 by Random House.

Originally Posted by PWI

It's time for my road to WrestleMania 32 documentary be released. You can help by mentioning @WWE and using #ReleaseTheBear
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) September 21, 2016

On last night's edition of "Talking Smack", Daniel Bryan noted that he wanted to ask fans to push WWE to release a produced but never seen documentary on a planned Daniel Bryan return to the ring at Wrestlemania 32 that would have seen Bryan wrestle a bear. Yes, a bear.

Bryan mentioned the documentary a few weeks back while being interviewed by Michael Cole, stating that actually wrestling the bear was the hardest thing he had ever done

Originally Posted by Fignuts (Post 4863400)

Damn, super best friends movingnup in the world.

Originally Posted by Observer

Matt Hardy has gotten feelers from intermediaries that HHH wants him when his contract expires, which would be next spring. The problem is that he’s got pretty much creative control of his character here in TNA, plus can make his own schedule and he does extremely well on the indie scene, particularly when you throw in merchandise. With WWE there’s the killer schedule which probably isn’t the best thing for him physically right now. Granted, if something happens to TNA, that equation changes because he’s loaded with ideas for his character and he would need television to get them over

Originally Posted by Observer

As expected, Cody Rhodes has signed with TNA. He tweeted the following about joining the promotion.

When I released wwe I had no idea the opportunities & places I was bound for...#BoundForGlory https://t.co/hN3J7AbQO8
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 23, 2016

Originally Posted by Observer

The political situation with Alberto El Patron is that at least for now, he’s debuting in the main event of the 10/2 Heroes Inmortales show. AAA is apparently the only promotion in Mexico that was willing to pay $4,000 per appearance as CMLL simply isn’t going to pay anyone that much. Elite was paying bigger money to AAA guys to jump, but with the limited capacity of Arena Naucalpan, where they are now running, it just makes no sense to pay that much for one guy. The problem is that working here dooms Alberto for New Japan. New Japan made him an offer for a schedule similar to that of A.J. Styles when he was there, but he’d have to work CMLL in Mexico. He wasn’t interested in being in Japan that much anyway.

Originally Posted by Observer

This may not happen, especially since it would be months away if it does happen, but there’s been a pitch for Benjamin, Swagger and Ziggler as a Varsity Club/shooters type group on Smackdown. The thing is from an international standpoint, the most accomplished wrestler on Smackdown would be Gable, who went to the Olympics, although Benjamin, who placed third in the nation as a senior would be the most accomplished NCAA wrestler on the brand. Gable in NXT at one point headed up a shooters group and it was dropped because of the idea that Vince hates those kinds of gimmicks and it would hurt everyone involved

Originally Posted by Observer

Talent has been told over the last week or so that New Japan is looking to expand into new international markets. This may lead to more of the foreigners getting contracts, similar to Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Rocky Romero, Tama Tonga and Michael Elgin where they are New Japan as their home group. .. Expect Adam Cole & Young Bucks to work together as a trio more going forward as key players in the trios division.

Originally Posted by Observer

TNA has announced a Bound for Gold match for the 10/2 Bound for Glory PPV. Essentially it's a Royal Rumble match with the winner getting a title match.

Originally Posted by 411Mania

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it doesn’t look like Ricochet will be heading to WWE like many thought. The reports says that he is looking at staying with New Japan for the foreseeable future. Lucha Underground also made him a very good offer, and he may choose to keep working there and filling the rest of his dates with indie and NJPW dates. He recently posted, “Think I just got some great news. 2017 may just be my best year to date! Not WWE,” on Twitter, which the WON says is in regards to his NJPW opportunities.

Originally Posted by Observer

Ryback has legally changed his name to Ryback Allen Reeves, in his attempt to continue using the Ryback name for wrestling and other marketing ventures after WWE claimed ownership of the name.

Originally Posted by 411Mania

John Cena’s hiatus that beings midway through next month for the second season of American Grit will be over by the end of the year. Wrestling Inc reports that Cena, who will likely work Survivor Series in the middle of his hiatus, is scheduled for the December 26th Smackdown house show in Madison Square Garden in New York City. This is about on par with when he returned last year.

Originally Posted by PWI

Former WWE and TNA talent Kia Stevens, best known as Awesome Kong and Kharma, has joined the cast of Netflix's forthcoming comedy "GLOW", based on the 1980s female wrestling league The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, which aired for several years and even did a national tour based on the success of the series' syndicated TV series, according to Deadline.com.

Originally Posted by Observer

There really isn’t much of an update on the future of TNA in regards to a sale. Billy Corgan is the President as is running the company, and Dixie Carter is largely out of decision making power. She still owns about 70 percent of the company but is looking to sell because the company needs money to continue and she doesn’t have it, and the company is heavily in debt, which is a key. Corgan is said to be the most likely buyer.

Originally Posted by Observer

The Dudleys may not be doing a lot of indie stuff as there is talk of Devon taking a job as an agent with WWE while Bubba would continue to work as a single on the indies, and both would continue to co-own their Florida wrestling school

Originally Posted by Observer

Ryan Reeves (Ryback) did an interview with Sports Illustrated, and gave some clues as how he was able to keep his physique in a drug tested environment. For years several in WWE would bring up to me how guys weren’t happy because he was allowed to keep his physique, so to speak. I always thought that meant he just had access to stuff that you couldn’t catch, but in actuality he was given a testosterone use exemption because he had burned out his own system by taking steroids. He said that he had low testosterone, saying he used steroids when he was younger, his natural production was shut down and it never came back. He said he was given an allowance for TRT. WWE had banned usage of TRT for its talent in 2007 except for those who they had already given approval to before that time. In theory, that makes sense, because if you allow people usage of TRT, the theory is the body becomes dependent on it and won’t function well without it.

Originally Posted by 411Mania

Bleacher Report writer Jason King, the author or “The Great Fall of Chyna,” was recently on X-Pac 1,2,360. During his appearance, he spoke about working on the article and revealed that Chyna left WWE over a contract issue. King shared the information, which came from Chyna’s sister, Kathy…

“Getting ahold of Kathy [Hamilton, Chyna’s sister] to me was the key to the whole story. She and Chyna’s mom had never really spoken much to the media and there was just a lot of questions about what was Chyna really like before she became a wrestler. And not only that Kathy and her were still very close during the time she was in the WWE and that was obviously when she was dating Triple H, and that was when she had the contract issues. And you know Chyna had kind of pushed a narrative once she was no longer in the WWE that she was let go or fired or however you want to call it, or didn’t get her contract renewed, and that wasn’t entirely true. According to her sister she was offered $400,000 a year to renew the contract and she turned it down. She wanted a base salary, downside of a million.”

Originally Posted by Observer

From sources in Germany, Tele 5 had enough of WWE. WWE is attempting to set up a bidding war for rights since both Raw and Smackdown deals are about to expire. ProSieben told WWE that the shows produce adequate ratings but are net money losers due to them not being able to sell advertising inventory. In Germany, nobody except WWE licensees have showed a lot of interest in advertising on the shows, even German subsidiaries of companies that advertise on the USA Network. A lot of the deal was based on ProSieben getting PPV revenue from WWE shows, but with the PPV revenue dead, there was no economic incentive. The feeling is if WWE loses broadcast TV and goes back to Sky (pay TV) in Germany, they’ll be back to half houses.

Originally Posted by PWI

So, I am watching old WCW on the WWE Network. Can you explain to me WHY Robocop appeared at Capital Combat? Was he in storylines? Why did they subject the great Gordon Solie to silly vignettes? WHY?

The appearance was a promotional appearance to help promote the Robocop 2 film, which was about to be released theatrically. He appeared on the PPV and a few commercials with Sting but that was it. It was beyond silly.

Originally Posted by Observer

Today would be the 99th birthday of El Santo, the most famous wrestler in Mexico and most of the Spanish speaking world. When you go to google.com and see a Lucha Libre depiction, it is meant as a celebration of Santo's birthday.

Originally Posted by PWI

The 9/22 edition of Impact Wrestling did 377,000 viewers, up from last week's 366,000 viewers. It was the second increase in as many weeks and was the highest audience for the series since the original "Final Deletion" episode back in July. It was also the highest audience for the series on Thursdays on Pop.

Originally Posted by Observer

Regarding Cody Rhodes, he will be doing Bound for Glory on 10/2 but is still scheduled for ROH starting with Final Battle on 12/2 and will be working somewhat regularly with ROH in the first few months of 2017. He can't use the name Cody Rhodes which is why last night on TNA he was just called Cody, but they can call his wife Brandi Rhodes, and she will be wrestling there as well. While Mike Bennett is working with Moose at Bound for Glory, the eventual program is Cody & Brandi Rhodes vs. Bennett & Maria Kanellis, which will probably be pushed at the post-BFG tapings.

Originally Posted by Observer

This is notable because Cody can’t use the Rhodes name, particularly in TNA or ROH, at least as of right now. The difference is that WWE registered the name Cody Rhodes and he had no prior usage before WWE. WWE never registered Brandi Rhodes as a name, and she never used that name in WWE, so she can use it anywhere she wants. The clever aspect is that if she’s there as Brandi Rhodes and they do mixed tag feuds, they can bill it and the announcers can say Cody & Brandi Rhodes, with the idea that his ring name is just Cody (which he can obviously use as his real name). The last I’d heard, he was going to just use the name “Cody” when doing television

Originally Posted by Observer

Kurt Angle was on the Dan LeBatard show and claimed at his worst he was taking 65 extra strength Vicodin daily. He noted that everybody was drinking in TNA so he drank and took meds and would save them all for the night, noting it led to four DUI's in five years. He finally went to rehab in 2013 and claimed until that point that the drug addictions were ruining his life.

Originally Posted by Observer

Randy Orton will be the guest on Booker T's radio show "Heated Conversations" on Sports Radio 610 in Houston on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. Eastern). He's going to talk about his Tweets on the flag, the national anthem and more.

Originally Posted by Observer

There will be a Lucha Underground panel on 10/9 at the New York Comic Con at 4 p.m. in Room 1A06 with Rey Mysterio Jr., Eric Van Wagenen (Executive Producer), Ivelisse, Catrina, Taya, Dorian Roldan and others.

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE's William Regal made a surprise appearance at tonight's Chaotic Wrestling event in Woburn, MA. Regal, who was not advertised, appeared as a guest General Manager for the promotion, setitng the stage for a championship match between Chaotic champion Chase Del Monte and challenge Scotty Slade.

Regal was at the promotion tonight because he was scouting talent for WWE.

Originally Posted by PWI

In regard to a story making the rounds online about ROH champion Adam Cole being angry the company has extended his contract several months, that is blatantly incorrect. As PWInsider.com Elite subscribers may remember, when I interviewed Cole back on 6/23, we discussed the extension and how that was something that he requested the company do - because he felt loyal to Ring of Honor for paying him for several months even though he was out with his arm injuries.

Originally Posted by Observer

Emma (Tenille Dashwood, 27) was brought to television last week and went on the road this week as a referee on the Raw tour. I don’t know that makes it a lock she’s on the Raw brand or not, and wouldn’t be until she’s actually on television, but it does look likely. If that’s the case it would be splitting up of a couple since her boyfriend, Ryder, is on Smackdown. She’s been out of action since May with back surgery. She wasn’t expected to be back wrestling until around November but has been cleared to perform

Originally Posted by Observer

Add Summer Rae to the injury list. She’s out of action with a neck injury, as well as back and elbow issues and hasn’t worked in about a month. There’s no listed return date

Originally Posted by Pro Wrestling Sheet

A GoFundMe page has been set up in support of former WWE Superstar Rico Constantino … and the fund has grown considerably today thanks to a sizable contribution from Chris Jericho.

Jericho — using his real name — donated $3,000 to the fund, which was established to help Constantino pay for medical expenses, as he’s recently been dealing with serious health problems.

According to the GoFundMe’s description, Rico has visited the doctor five times and was forced to stay twice. It also says he has two leaky heart valves, two blood clots, and traumatic brain issues — which they claim is due to his time in the ring.

Constantino is hoping to raise $10,000 in total. At present he has raised $3,467.

Originally Posted by Observer

In a number that you can basically throw out as not being indicative of much of anything, WWE Raw did set its all-time low mark last night doing 2.46 million viewers.

The rating itself, not yet in, is a virtual certainty to be the lowest in the history of the show, and lowest for any WWE wrestling television show ever on Monday night dating back to the Prime Time Wrestling era ...

It will likely be the lowest rating for the for a long time, but the circumstances or judging anything by it are as silly as saying the NFL is dying because it dropped 34 percent in one week. Raw was down eight percent, but it would have been a lot worse had the debate started at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.85 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.38 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.20 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer

This capped off a month with the lowest average viewership in over 20 years for the WWE’s flagship show. For the month of September, the show averaged 2.719 million viewers. As a comparison, the show averaged 4.127 million viewers in September 2012, the year the show moved to 3 hours.

Originally Posted by Observer

D-Von Dudley tweeted from Raw last night that he’s liking his new role in WWE. Dave Meltzer reported in last week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there had been talk of D-Von taking a job as an agent with the company.

Originally Posted by Observer

With Roman Reigns winning the United States Championship against Rusev at Clash of Champions, every member of the Shield has now won both the World and US Championships.

Originally Posted by Observer

Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll will team up to take on The Young Bucks during Ring of Honor’s upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. The match will take place at ROH’s stop in Leicester on November 19th.

Originally Posted by Observer

After signing with TNA as an active wrestler, Brandi Rhodes is training with Chris Hero.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWN contracted wrestlers Drew Gulak and Tony Nese wrestled on WWE Raw last night in Cruiserweight Division matches. Both Gulak and Nese are now featured on the WWE.com Raw Roster section. This is another step in the building relationship between EVOLVE/WWN and WWE. We are very happy to say that Gulak and Nese will continue to wrestle in EVOLVE while they compete in the WWE Cruiserweight Division. Gulak is set to team with Tracy Williams to challenge EVOLVE Tag Team Champions DUSTIN & Drew Galloway at EVOLVE 70 on October 15th in Orlando, FL. The losing duo can never team again. Tony Nese returns to EVOLVE on November 12th in Queens, NY and November 13th in Joppa, MD.

Originally Posted by Observer

Over a year after being released by the UFC, former MMA fighter Shayna Baszler is receiving a tryout at the WWE Performance Center.

Baszler, a longtime pro wrestling fan, made the transition from the Octagon to the squared circle after asking for her release because her contract didn't allow her to do pro wrestling. She made her in-ring debut in September of 2015 and has gone on to wrestle for a number of promotions.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE announced a new television deal in Germany for both Raw and Smackdown after the current deals expire in March 2017.

7Sports will be airing both shows, making it the first time WWE has been able to get over-the-air deals for both of its flagship shows in that market.

They will moving from Tele 5 (Raw) and Pro 7 Maxx (Smackdown). The former announced the decision last week not to renew its contract.

Originally Posted by Observer

Randy Orton appeared last night on Booker T's radio show in Houston. He talked about going AWOL before he was a wrestler saying, "I didn't have the courage to die for my country. You could see from them the courage to die for this country, that they would be willing to risk everything for this country, for our freedom. that's why you should stand for the pledge. That's why you should stand for the anthem." He also said he respects what Colin Kaepernick was kneeling for but doesn't respect what he's doing.

Originally Posted by PWI

The NXT Twitter account just noted that "The Drifter" Elias Samson would be returning to action at the NXT house show in Lakeland, FL on Thursday.

Samson fractured his ankle at a June NXT show in Nashville.

Originally Posted by PWI

Kofi Kingston received 8 stitches after his bout on Raw against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.

Originally Posted by Observer

Former WWE star Ryback has been in talks over the last week with Bellator MMA about fighting. He teased an announcement on Twitter and Bellator has confirmed there have been talks, but nothing serious.

"Spoke, but nothing close," said Bellator CEO Scott Coker.

Sources close to the wrestler confirmed to us that he's interested in fighting and in the end it will come down to money. He spoke about the situation today on Las Vegas radio.

Originally Posted by Observer

The Tuesday, September 27th edition of SmackDown Live on USA Network drew 2.340 million viewers, headlined between WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose.

That number was up 2% from last week, which was the lowest the company had experienced for SmackDown since the brand spli ...

Smackdown is now averaging 2.564 million viewers since the brand split, which is well above what the show had been doing when airing taped on Tuesday nights. Over the same time frame, Raw has averaged 3.004 million.

Originally Posted by PWTorch

scored a 1.75 TV rating, down 11 percent from last week’s show.

The previous standard-week, low-point for Raw was a 1.8 back in October 1996. However, there was a Christmas Week episode on December 23, 1996 that scored a 1.5 rating to set the all-time low-point.

Raw’s three hours averaged 2.478 million viewers, down eight percent (about 206,000 viewers) from last week.

It was the least-watched show of the year, but the first hour helped the show avoid falling completely off the table.

First Hour: 2.850 million viewers, the most since Labor Day
Second Hour: 2.381 million viewers, down about 300,000 viewers from last week
Third Hour: 2.203 million viewers, down about 430,000 viewers from last week
The third hour of Raw was likely one of the least-watched hours in the history of the show. It also continued the streak of Raw’s third hour declining from the second hour for the 28th consecutive week.

Originally Posted by Observer

Daniel Bryan tweeted a video clip of the mockumentary he’s trying to get WWE to release chronicling his supposedly scheduled WrestleMania 32 match with a bear.

Originally Posted by PWI

Billy Corgan appeared on SiriusXM's "Busted Open" radio show discussing TNA and where things stand for the company this afternoon leading into Sunday's Bound for Glory PPV.

Corgan said there were a lot of people "at the table right now" and said, "Whatever is going to happen this week or this weekend is going to change the director of the company forever...and this is not a wrestling angle."

When asked about the potential that Bound for Glory would not take place this Sunday, Corgan said he would be in Orlando "rain or shine" and said that the last three rounds of tapings, he has been the person who agreed to financially float those PPV/tapings so they could take place, noting they were deals where the "ink was drying" as TNA went to the ring. Corgan said that he's done everything in his power to make sure that Bound for Glory takes place from a personal and financial level - noting that he was using money from "his own pile" to attempt to purchase the "majority ownership" of TNA - and that he had put everything in place on his end. He said that at the end of the day, it's not up to him but he would personally be in Orlando "rain or shine."

Corgan said that the funding is part of the negotiations and the question is, what are the people funding the show getting for their money? Corgan said that where it gets complicated is that it's one thing to fund the company, but it's another to set the company up to be solvent and successful. Corgan said he didn't want to be having the same conversation with Busted Open in three months. Corgan said he has the funds to step forward, but if that means in two months, talents are in the same boat yet again, then what would be the point. Corgan said that all of talents he's spoken with are on board and hopeful he can "win" and steer the TNA ship going forward ...

Corgan also noted that he met with Pop TV President Bradley Schwartz last week in Los Angeles and Schwartz was very much on board with TNA and the "culture" Corgan wanted for the company.

Originally Posted by Observer

On October 29th in Baltimore, MD, Ring of Honor will tape television focusing solely on the Women of Honor.

Originally Posted by PWI

Seth Rollins wrote the following on Twitter:

Wrestling hurts, but that's part of the price paid to live in dreams. Crushed ribs or not, I'll be in LA for #Raw next week..ready to fight.
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) September 28, 2016

Originally Posted by PWI

For those who have asked, Noam Dar is scheduled to debut next month on Raw for the Cruiserweight division. Gran Metallik will be in regularly once he completes his Mexico commitments.

Originally Posted by Simple Fan (Post 4866552)

Corgan really seemed like he wants to then TNA around but he has realistic doubts about the future of the company. Part of me would like to see WWE buy them but I also would like to see what Corgan has in mind for the company as it seems he wants to make a lot of changes. Might start the Impact thread early as it might be the last Impact.

Originally Posted by Black Widow (Post 4866554)

I wish Cena would just leave nobody gives a FUCK anymore!

Originally Posted by Simple Fan (Post 4866589)

I think his best bet is to just hope WWE buys it and he takes what they dont wants and starts his own promotion. I don't imagine WWE would want a whole lot of their talent but I could be wrong with a lot of veteran's turning them down for returns.

Originally Posted by Observer

With Bound for Glory and television tapings scheduled for this week, the expectation was that TNA would be sold by now, although that’s been the feeling for weeks.

As of press time, it still hasn’t happened.

This puts the company in a tough position because Dixie Carter is still the majority owner of the company with 70 percent of the stock. But, she has no money to fund this coming week’s shows.

This has been the case for every set of tapings going back several months, where in the end, either Aroluxe at first and Billy Corgan of late, have funded the tapings in exchange for ownership. We’ve also heard word that Fite TV has a stake in the company.

The shows are all written. The talent has tickets for Orlando. But the money isn’t there to produce the shows, which would be around $600,000. The frustration across the board has grown with fingers pointed at Carter for making a mess of the sale negotiations.

“There are a lot of hurdles and games being played,” said one person with knowledge of how the sale talks are going. “She (Dixie Carter) has really made a mess and is responsible for all of it.”

Originally Posted by Observer

Billy Corgan was on the Dan LeBatard show on ESPN and said he doesn't believe a WWE purchase of TNA is going to happen and said there was a standoff among different sides as far as what is going to happen. He said that since he's a part owner, he'd know if a WWE deal was going to happen. He couldn't answer when asked if Bound for Glory would happen on Sunday past saying he doesn't believe people want to do something that would put people out of work. Corgan is attempting to finalize ownership of the company this week but it's been a slower process than hoped for.

Originally Posted by PWI

Dixie Carter Tweeted the following this evening, obviously in reference to all the stories surrounding the company:

Look forward to sharing news soon! @IMPACTWRESTLING has the BEST fans & and an amazing show on NOW #ImpactOnPop
— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) September 30, 2016

Originally Posted by Observer

As far as the big question of the today besides what is up with TNA, Kota Ibushi has not signed with WWE. He has agreed to work dates in the tag team tournament and is open for taking any dates in WWE, but at this point not willing to sign a full-time deal.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE had a victory in court this past week in getting the concussion class action suit (the one headed by James Laurinaitis, Jimmy Snuka, Paul Orndorff, Butch Reed and 50 other former wrestlers) transferred to Judge Vanessa Bryant's court. Bryant has in the past made favorable rulings in WWE's favor on other concussion suits regarding cases being time barred. Based on her own past rulings, virtually every case would be thrown out. They are also trying to get the Buff Bagwell/Raven case regarding WWE Network royalties transferred to Bryant's court. (thanks to Chris Harrington).

Originally Posted by Observer

Paige will be undergoing neck surgery so it likely to be out of action for some time to come. She tweeted that she had two different surgery options.

Originally Posted by Observer

Regarding Royal Rumble, the announcement is expected to take place this coming week of the location. The cities mentioned the most are San Antonio and Los Angeles. WWE officials have consistently denied Los Angeles to us.

Originally Posted by Observer

BOOM Studios new WWE comic book series will be launching in January. The first story will be about Seth Rollins trying to win the WWE championship.

Originally Posted by Observer

Revolution Pro announced an 11/10 show at Bethnal Green in London featuring Chris Hero vs. Tomohiro Ishii.

Originally Posted by Observer

Scott Coker was on Eric Bischoff's podcast and asked about Ryback in Bellator and said: "I can comment on it and really it's a very short conversation because their management did reach out. We had a very brief conversation. I'm not sure where it's at but I don't think it went very far. If they don't have some type of background in either Jiu Jitsu or collegiate wrestling or Thai boxing or a combat sports background, it's tough for them. It's like someone from a martial arts background trying to be a pro wrestler. If you're not schooled and don't go through the education process of how to do it, then you're going to have a hard time. I think that's what you saw with the C.M. Punk situation."

Originally Posted by Observer

A number of prominent unsigned wrestlers are receiving a tryout at the WWE Performance Center this week.

In an article on WWE.com on Thursday afternoon, WWE revealed many of the wrestlers receiving tryouts and highlighted former UFC fighter Shayna Baszler and Eddie Kingston among the names. Our Dave Meltzer confirmed earlier this week that the 36-year-old Baszler would be receiving a tryout at the Performance Center.

Some of independent wrestling's top women's wrestlers are trying out alongside Baszler, including Heidi Lovelace, Nicole Savoy, Kimber Lee, and Su Yung. WWE also noted that a female referee is receiving a tryout, along with endurance athlete Ella Anne Kociuba.

Cedric Rougeau, the son of former WWE wrestler Jacques Rougeau, is among the male wrestlers in the group. Other male names confirmed by WWE are Jacob Fatu of the Anoa’i wrestling dynasty, Canadian tag team Jeff Parker and Matt Lee, and former Buffalo Bills fullback Corey Knox.

Originally Posted by Observer

The Cruiserweight Classic finale won't be the last we've seen of Kota Ibushi in WWE.

WWE announced on Thursday afternoon that Hideo Itami would be teaming with Ibushi in the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Originally Posted by Observer

There’s nothing new on the proposed Lucha Underground house shows in October. Talent was contacted about dates for three shows in October, but from what we’re told, nobody has heard anything since and a lot of the talent because of hearing nothing, started taking bookings for those dates. At this point nobody has been told anything about when the fourth season filming will begin

Originally Posted by Observer

Will Ospreay is going to be in ROH as a regular starting as soon as his Visa goes through. The same goes for Marty Scurll. Both are starting on the November tour of the U.K

Originally Posted by Observer

The stuff about Andrade Cien Almas not being happy was no surprise in Mexico as what Del Rio said was common knowledge among fans there nor him speaking out of turn. It’s possible the higher ups in WWE didn’t know

Originally Posted by Observer

Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada) did an interview in Mexico saying he won’t be leaving Mexico until the end of October because he wanted to fulfill all of his promised bookings. He said he didn’t want to burn any bridges in Mexico as he hopes to return some day. The one thing about him is that most guys on the way out would have done the bookings and worked safe matches, as he’s talented enough that he doesn’t have to do as much as he does. But for the last couple of months, every time I’ve seen him, it’s all out and the match he did at the cruiserweight classic with Akira Tozawa was really his usual level of performance I’ve seen on a number of shows over the past few months

Originally Posted by Observer

The story of James Gibson (Jamie Noble) being stabbed twice and hospitalized is correct but. Pro Wrestling Sheet reported the story this morning and WWE sources confirmed the story is accurate and the company was also hoping to get more details. The Mercer County (West Virginia) Sheriff's Office is listed as saying Gibson returned home this morning after a long drive (Cleveland most likely) and left the house to get a snack while his girlfriend took a bath. Upon his return to his Mobile home park, a driver pulled up behind his car and started yelling at him for cutting him off on the road. The story is that Gibson apologized but the two men in the other car continued to yell at him. Gibson took one of them down and two more men got out of the car and one pulled out a knife and stabbed Gibson in the upper back and mid-spine before they sped off. Gibson was rushed to the emergency room. The story said he was no longer in the emergency room but still was hospitalized.

Originally Posted by PWI

The 9/29 edition of Impact Wrestling did 365,000 viewers, down from last week's 377,000 viewers.

Originally Posted by Observer

Wednesday's episode of Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network drew a total of 123,000 viewers - down from last week's total of 134,000 viewers and the lowest total going back to season 2, according to PWTorch. The previous low came on June 15th during season 2, 128,000 viewers.

Originally Posted by Observer

The Royal Rumble will be held on 1/29 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, the same building that they drew 60,525 fans in (48,014 paid) in 1997, so this is the 20th anniversary of that event. Tickets go on sale on 10/14 for the Alamodome show.

Originally Posted by Observer

Regarding TNA, this is what we know. The talent has been told to come to Orlando and that everything is on. Nobody knows who is paying for it. Nothing has been announced regarding a sale. Nobody has officially said the shows are on, particularly Bound for Glory, but talent is under the impression that the shows are on.

Drew Galloway is off the show Sunday. No word on who will face Aron Rex in the finals of the Grand Championship tournament. Galloway will be on the show in some form most likely, but isn't able to wrestle due to a neck injury.

Stories regarding flights being canceled to Bound for Glory as far as we can tell are untrue. Everyone we're aware of who would be booked on the show is still booked on the show in some form or another.

Originally Posted by PWI

According to multiple sources, TNA's crew arrived this morning at Universal Studios Orlando to begin loading in the company's set, lighting, ring, etc. for this Sunday's Bound for Glory PPV.

Meanwhile, TNA's Dixie Carter posted the following on Twitter: "I don’t make it a habit to reply to speculation, but I'll say if you're close to Orlando this Sun-Sat YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THESE TAPINGS! Going to be an INCREDIBLE live #BoundForGlory on Sunday and big things planned for @ImpactWrestling shows. @PopTV"

Originally Posted by Observer

Michael Elgin may become the first person ever to headline a PPV in the U.S. and Japan within a seven day period, which will make for an interesting trivia note, since he headlined the Destruction in Kobe on Sunday and is headlining ROH All-Star Extravaganza tonight. You have to remember that PPV wasn't a thing in Japan in the early 90s when Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan would headline in the U.S. and Tokyo Dome shows.

Originally Posted by Observer

More 1993 and 1994 ECW episodes have been added to the WWE Network. Some apparently were taken from old VHS tapes because the masters are either unusable or not there. The September 28, 1993 and October 5, 1993 episodes are actually identical. What is listed as the November 8, 1994 issue is actually the November 1 issue. The real November 8 issue wasn't uploaded as of yesterday.

Originally Posted by PWI

In what was described to PWInsider as a "mutually agreed upon decision", WWE has released NXT performer Stuart Tomlinson aka Hugo Knox, 31. Knox had not worked a match for the brand since this past August.

Knox, a former soccer goalkeeper from Great Britain, had been signed to a WWE developmental deal in December 2013. He had not been a featured regular on the NXT TV series.

Originally Posted by Observer

The recent exodus of so many wrestlers from AAA is because of pay issues. There are guys who are as much as two months behind on pay, which doesn’t sound good. TripleMania payoffs were much lower than expected and we also heard it wasn’t that hard in Mexico City to find free tickets to that show. The top guys are being paid on time because they have to do that

Fenix is this week’s AAA departure, but that’s been expected ever since he moved from Mexico City. He’s now working as Rey Fenix. Nobody yet knows how this will affect his standing in Lucha Underground. Because of the value of the dollar vs. the peso, he can make far more working indies in the U.S. than in Mexico, like his brother, Pentagon Jr., who is still affiliated with AAA. Venum has also quit the promotion.

Originally Posted by Observer

New Japan owner Takaaki Kidani gave the annual company financial rundown. In the 2015-16 fiscal year which just ended, the company grossed $32 million and posted a $4.1 million profit, which would be high points for the company in both categories dating back probably 15 years. Last year’s numbers were $27 million in revenue and $3 million in profits. WWE is roughly 20 times larger than New Japan. He noted that New Japan is more popular in Japan and throughout Asia, but he also said it’s rare to find an industry where the No. 2 group in the world is that far behind the No. 1 group. His goal remains $100 million in revenue. The big thing is that while live attendance is not up, like in the U.S., those who are going are really hot for the product as the merchandise numbers at the house shows are great.

Originally Posted by Observer

For those wondering about the negotiations for the next TV contract with USA, even with the lower ratings, USA’s inability to create new hit shows continues to make WWE more valuable to the station. So much can change in TV in three years so it’s not something you know about until we get to 2018 and the lowering audience may not justify a rights increase, or maybe it will depending on the television landscape. But WWE is more valuable to USA than it was three years ago even with the big ratings drop. For the week ending 9/18, USA averaged 1,346,000 viewers in prime time, putting it in fifth place overall. But take Raw and Smackdown out of the picture, that average falls to 932,000, putting them in 11th place. It was only a few years ago that USA was not only No. 1, but would have remained No. 1 even without WWE programming.

Originally Posted by PWI

The Bellas are in New York City this week promoting next week's series debut of E! reality series "Total Bellas" and appeared on AOL Build, an afternoon streaming interview series that airs live from a small studio in NYC.

During the interview, Brie Bella admitted that when she retired, she had two months to go on her own WWE contract and wanted to enjoy them and have a happy ending, but the retirement of Daniel Bryan and wanting to support him as he exited the ring made that difficult. She noted they were already filming the series when the decision from WWE came to retire Bryan came about and there was talk of shelving the series. Bella admitted that she didn't want to retire at that point but it was a hard place to be in and now she is concentrating on the next stage of her life, joking that back bumps and baby bumps don't mix.

Brie noted that some of the material in the series is very sad because Bryan was dealing with his "dreams being taken away" but fans know there is a happy ending coming because he is back on screen as the Smackdown General Manager.

During the interview, Nikki Bella told a story of confronting Bryan because she felt he wasn't being supportive enough of Brie, which led to a massive argument including Bryan cursing, which was out of character for him.

Originally Posted by Observer

Here’s a scary stat. Between everything, the WWE writing team will this year be responsible for 580 hours of first-run programming in 2016 (with all the various shows including shows for the network and international). That explains why the TV is often not inspired and the burnout and turnover rate on the team is so high

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE has officially released the Daniel Bryan vs. The Bear "documentary", which Bryan has been talking up and pushing fans to get WWE to release via Twitter:

Watch Part 1 of Daniel Bryan's "Documentary," #DanielBryanVsTheBear. @WWEDanielBryan pic.twitter.com/n456dItvuh
— WWE (@WWE) September 30, 2016

"Do you know how much heart it takes to defeat a BEAR??!!" - @WWEDanielBryan

Watch Part 2 of #DanielBryanVsTheBear. pic.twitter.com/CG9FEQsGUJ
— WWE (@WWE) September 30, 2016

“This is going to be ME and the BEAR … TO THE DEATH!” - @WWEDanielBryan

Watch the conclusion of #DanielBryanVsTheBear. pic.twitter.com/2UaXyyVTfn
— WWE (@WWE) September 30, 2016

Originally Posted by Observer

Raw last night, built around the Sasha Banks Women's title win over Charlotte, did its best numbers since the NFL season began.

While 2.79 million viewers during football season would have been viewed badly if you said that's where things would be one month ago, it solidly beat the 2.68 million number of the first two weeks of football season and last week's low point of 2.46 million viewers going against the presidential debate ...

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.88 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.87 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.64 million viewers

Originally Posted by 411Mania

UPDATE: Top Rope Press reports that Erick Rowan suffered his torn rotator cuff at a recent house show. He last competed at the September 26th show in Wheeling, West Virginia where he lost to Apollo Crews.

The site says Rowan might be out of the ring until March.

ORIGINAL: According to prowrestling.net, WWE Smackdown performer Erick Rowan underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. The surgery was performed this morning in Birmingham, Alabama. Typical recovery time for a torn rotator cuff is four to six months.

Originally Posted by Observer

After no-showing AAA's Heroes Inmortales show on Sunday night, the wrestling world was left wondering what happened to Alberto Del Rio (real name Jose Rodriguez) and where he would end up next.

But it turns out the reason Rodriguez missed the show may have been out of his control. He took to social media on Monday night to set the record straight, and alleged that he had been attacked by a knife-wielding criminal inside of a restaurant prior to the Heroes Inmortales show.

AAA released a statement wishing Rodriguez a speedy recovery.

Rodriguez posted a graphic photo of the wounds he allegedly suffered in the attack. He also released a statement (with paragraph breaks added) on his Instagram account:

"Mr. Rodriguez (“Alberto El Patron”) shortly after eating a meal before his flight was assaulted by a criminal with a knife outside the restaurant. Mr. Rodriguez suffered multiple lacerations on his arm and other parts of his body defending against the criminal as Police were called by witnesses. Mr. Rodriguez received medical attention and went back to the Police Department and was unable to make his flight."

"Mr. Rodriguez has spoken with the ownership of Lucha Libre AAA WorldWide and given them the documentation of the incident. Mr. Rodriguez greatly regrets not being there yesterday for his fans in Mexico and promises to everyone he will make this up as soon as possible. Despite the graphic lacerations Mr. Rodriguez will not miss any of his shows for the remainder of the year and is ready to compete this weekend in the UK."

Originally Posted by Observer

Tony Nese & Drew Gulak and SAnitY were the final teams announced for the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Added to the Dusty Rhodes tag team tournament are HoHo Lun & Bin Wang and Rich Swann & No Way Jose.

Originally Posted by Observer

What was started as an autobiography of Roddy Piper, which, after his death was completed by his children, will be released tomorrow by Random House books. They are pushing the 400 page book as the biggest book release since the Bret Hart release.

Originally Posted by Observer

Ex WWE big man Ryback will be making his first UK appearance since leaving the WWE for Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) at the end of the month. He'll be taking on a well known UK tag team called The Legion of Lords made up of UK indy workers Prince of Mumbai Rishi Ghosh and Lord Gideon Grey.

Originally Posted by Observer

Former WWE and WCW superstar Marc Mero talks about his recent heart surgery and how he is feeling today: “I had heart surgery just three months ago and they, about a four and a half hour surgery they replaced my heart valve and they fixed in it my aorta and about a four and a half hour surgery they stopped my heart for 40 minutes to complete the surgery and I feel like a kid again. It’s amazing. I’m back in the gym. I’m back to most of the same weights I was doing before working out.” Marc also talks about speaking out after Chris Benoit's death, his professional boxing career that never was, a message to the wrestling fans and much more.

Originally Posted by ProWrestlingSheet

Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned Sara received the news on Friday, but there’s no word at this point on why she was cut from the company.

Lee beat out 7 other women last year to earn a $250,000 contract. She debuted at an NXT live event in March, but hasn’t been used much since.

Runner-up Mandy Rose, who the trainers clearly wanted to win, was instantly signed to a deal and given a role on Total Divas. She’s since made multiple appearances on NXT programming.

Originally Posted by Observer

There's nothing new to report on the TNA front. What we do know is that the money that allowed them to pay for the downlink, so the PPV could be broadcast, came in on Thursday, but who is funding this is still unknown.

Originally Posted by PWI

TNA majority owner Dixie Carter held a locker room meeting last night prior to the TNA Impact Wrestling taping in Orlando, Florida. According to several sources we have spoken to, Carter spoke to talents about a number of different issues and allowed talents to ask questions.

One of the issues we were told was discussed was regarding late payments to the talents and Carter stated that there are times were payments are made late, stating that is because the company is waiting for money they are owed to come in.

Carter was also asked about rumors that WWE was about to buy the promotion. Carter, we are told, acknowledged that WWE did want to purchase but stated that she would not let that happen, although she could have. Carter also stated that the company still owns their own tape library in regard to rumors that WWE was purchasing that.

Carter made it clear that she is still the majority owner of TNA but acknowledged there has been some in-fighting and a power struggle amongst the other owners of the company.

In regard to the financial issues leading into Bound for Glory, Carter said that the show was never not going to happen but acknowledged that they "scrambled" leading up to the PPV.

Originally Posted by PWI

Jay Briscoe vs. Dalton Castle for the first time has been announced for the 10/14 Ring of Honor "Glory By Honor Night One" event in Chicago Ridge, IL. The promotion also announced Colt Cabana vs. Mark Briscoe and ReDragon vs. ROH champion Adam Cole and Adam Page.

Originally Posted by Observer

Last night's episode of SmackDown averaged 2.316 million viewers, down less than one percent from last week's show.

The show had heavy competition on cable with baseball's American League wildcard game scoring 4.195 million viewers, and debate coverage on various networks dominating the top of the ratings charts.

This was the second lowest total since the brand split, beating only the September 20th show, which did 2.292 million viewers.

Originally Posted by PWI

Former WWE and WCW World champion Bill Goldberg is set to appear on ESPN Sportscenter tonight with Jonathan Coachman to promote the release of next week's WWE 2K17 videogame and possibly announce his return to WWE for the first time since departing at Wrestlemania 20 in March 2004.

As previously noted on PWInsider.com, the two sides have been in discussions since at least August. While Goldberg was in New York City for WWE 2K17 promotional material, the two sides had discussions that amplified after WWE officials saw how loud chants for "Goldberg" were all three nights in New York City after the trailer for the game played in the Barclays Center.

Goldberg, in speaking to PWInsider.com that weekend, noted that if WWE wanted to come to the table with an offer, he would consider it, but a deal wasn't something he was pursuing. He admitted he was surprised that WWE even signed off on him appearing in the 2K videogame as a pitch by videogame producers to include Goldberg had been shot down by WWE years prior.

Originally Posted by Observer

At this point, a Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg match is all but confirmed for WWE Survivor Series on November 20 in Toronto.

There had been rumors from inside WWE that a deal for such a match had been completed over the weekend and two WWE sources over the last two days also indicated such a match was either finalized or at least in heavy negotiations.

We had reported on Monday night on the subscriber-only edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that serious negotiations were going on for a Lesnar vs. Goldberg match. On Twitter, Jim Ross indicated the same with more than one source.

Numerous sources have stated this is the battle plan for the show.

Originally Posted by Observer

Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan are expecting their first child in the spring of 2017. "It has always been a dream of mine to become a mother," Brie said in an interview with E! News. "Now that it is finally real, it fills me up with so much happiness. I can't wait to see my husband, Bryan, be a father to our child. I am so excited for this new chapter in our lives."

Bryan said, “The day we found out, I just couldn't stop smiling. We are so excited to be parents. Every time I look at Brie's stomach, I'm amazed that there is a little life in there."

Originally Posted by Observer

NXT has rescheduled two Florida house shows this week because of the impending threat of Hurricane Matthew. Friday’s show in Crystal River has been rescheduled to October 29th, while Saturday’s show in Fort Pierce will now take place on October 14th.

Originally Posted by Observer

Despite Hurricane Matthew potentially threatening the area, Dixie Carter tweeted that the remainder of this week’s TNA Impact tapings will go on as scheduled as long as Universal Studios remains open. (UPDATE: TNA tweeted that they will tape at 1 p.m. on Thursday, not tape on Friday, and tape twice on Saturday)

Originally Posted by 411Mania

Johnny Jeter, one of the original members of The Spirit Squad, was not part of the min-Spirit Squad reunion on Smackdown (Kenny, Mikey, and Dolph Ziggler were part of the segment; Mitch and Johnny were not). The Pancakes and Powerslams Show contacted Johnny and asked him if he had been asked by WWE to appear. He told them that he was asked to appear, but that he declined because it would have been a conflict of interest with his current employer and that he is no longer in the pro-wrestling business.

Originally Posted by PWI

Las Vegas' Future Stars of Wrestling announced the following today:

Future Stars of Wrestling Heavyweight Champion, Kevin Kross has officially signed with Lucha Underground, and will start full time for Season 4.

Kross has performed in a number of dark matches during the third season's filming. The belief is that Season Four of the series will begin production towards the end of 2016/early 2017.

Originally Posted by Observer

As seen on Monday's RAW from Los Angeles, the announcers referred to the crowd as "fans" instead of the WWE Universe when Rusev kicked United States Champion Roman Reigns over the ringside barrier. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, this was an intentional change.

No word yet on if this is a permanent change but Meltzer indicated more minor changes could be coming:

"They've taken stock of things. Last week's rating... believe it or not, after all the ratings, last week's rating made them... I don't know exactly everything but the verbiage isn't supposed to be as bad now."

He also indicated that WWE is actually trying to improve RAW, pointing to the upgraded entrances with the use of the ramp and the big screen.

Originally Posted by Observer

The WWE has announced that this year’s Rumble will be 30 men (always subject to change) featuring wrestlers from Raw and Smackdown, with the winner getting a title shot at WrestleMania on April 2, 2017, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

Originally Posted by Observer

The next few days of TNA Impact tv tapings in Orlando were canceled due to Hurricane Matthew bearing down on central Florida.

The original plan was to do an afternoon taping today as they would be unable to run a show tonight due to expected weather issues. They plan was then to cancel Friday and return for two Saturday tapings.

However, based on the weather, the tapings tonight, Friday, and Saturday afternoon are off. They will now run at 6 pm Saturday night, and two Sunday shows set for 1 pm and 6 pm.

In related news, NXT rescheduled two Florida house shows becasue of Matthew. Friday’s show in Crystal River has been rescheduled to October 29th, while Saturday’s show in Fort Pierce, FL, will now take place on October 14th.

Originally Posted by Observer

There was a bad scene at a Seth Rollins autograph signing today in Santiago, Chile, at the Costanero Center. A huge crowd showed up and fans started skipping in line and it led to shoving and fights. One fan tried to steal Rollins' hat. It got so bad the entire session was canceled, which led to more fights and fans looting at the center.

Originally Posted by Observer

Alberto Del Rio worked his scheduled What Culture Pro Wrestling show in Newcastle today. He flew in last night. He wrestled in a T-shirt and the arm that was stabbed was all taped up, but he was out there taking bumps. I watched some of it but not enough to tell what kind of a match it was. Jim Ross & Jim Cornette, at least early on, were fun to listen to and had their old chemistry back immediately even if neither knew who Desperado was when he kept interfering in the Minoru Suzuki vs. Joe Coffey match. They very much knew Suzuki. Suzuki blew off a Jim Ross handshake in playing heel after his match after Ross had been putting him over like crazy on the commentary. Bret Hart made a surprise appearance and really put over Ross as an announcer, as well as put over Cody Rhodes and Kurt Angle.

Originally Posted by Observer

The San Antonio police have yet to confirm any records of a Del Rio stabbing. They have asked for an address and those close to Del Rio have not been able to provide an address. Plus, there are some different stories that are out there. Paige was there when the incident took place but has not said anything publicly about it.

Originally Posted by PWI

Alberto El Patron (Del Rio) was interviewed by The Record in Mexico to discuss the stabbing incident that he claims led to him missing the AAA Heroes Inmortales event in Mexico over the weekend, claiming that WWE star Paige was on the scene during the incident and was actually assaulted by the perpetrator.

According to The Record, Del Rio and his girlfriend Paige were in the parking lot of a restaurant when a drunken homeless man approached them. Del Rio turned his back to the man, who turned pulled out a knife and attacked, causing two wounds to Del Rio. According to the story, Del Rio managed to take down the attacked, who still wielded the knife and Del Rio again again. The attacker was able to hit Paige and when Alberto went to check on her, the attacker ran. By the time, Del Rio was able to file a complaint and get medical attention, it was too late to travel to Mexico for the event. The article stated that Del Rio's flight was scheduled for 6 PM and by the time he was done dealing with everything, it was 11 PM.

Originally Posted by Observer

Total Bellas last night debuted with 632,000 viewers, which given the level of the promotion of the show, has to be considered a major disappointment.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE sent out an e-mail today to some former WWE Network subscribers offering them a free month and pushing you can get No Mercy free.

Originally Posted by PWI

Tony Nese is booked on all EVOLVE shows going forward after October and you can expect him to get a massive push to coincide with his Raw appearances in the Cruiserweight division.

Originally Posted by Observer

John Gaburick last week visited with Kevin Dunn, who he has been close friends with for decades, and brought WWE back to the table so there were talks with them as late as this past week. The WWE deal would have been to purchase the TNA tape library as they had no interest in buying anything else the promotion had.

Originally Posted by Smelly Meatball (Post 4870720)

Originally Posted by PWI

The 10/6 edition of Impact Wrestling did 305,000 viewers, down from last week's 365,000 viewers.

Originally Posted by Observer

Corgan has ideas, including a name change. It’s been said that they are looking at a different location for taping as well, but the reason they’ve stayed at Disney all along is because it’s far less expensive than taping on the road, as the road tapings put the company heavily into red ink.

Originally Posted by Observer

T.J. Wilson, 36 (Tyson Kidd), is starting to talk publicly about the injury he suffered that nearly killed him. Wilson was wrestling Samoa Joe on June 1, 2015, in San Antonio and suffered a badly broken neck on a muscle buster. His injury was similar to the injury that Christopher Reeve suffered. Essentially, there was a 95 percent chance of death, and when he didn’t die, there was almost no chance of anything but paralysis. However, due to a lot of incredible luck, he’s been able to live a largely a normal life. But his head is numb and his range of motion in his neck is limited. The feeling in his head was expected to come back after surgery and never has. He had not talked about the subject publicly at all, although it had become clear that he would never be able to return to wrestle, which is what he’s done since he was very young, growing up as practically a member of the Hart family with Teddy Hart and Harry Smith, among others, before marrying into the family.

Originally Posted by Observer

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and WWE have joined forces for a Ninja Superstars action figure line. They will be marketed by Playmates Toys and available exclusively at Walmart starting in early November. Leonardo will be John Cena, Raphael will be Sting, Donatello will be Undertaker and Michelangelo will be Randy Savage.

Originally Posted by Observer

Tim Wiese, the former German star goalkeeper, makes his pro wrestling debut on the 11/3 show in Munich, teaming with Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Carlito & Primo & Bo Dallas.

Originally Posted by Observer

Another issue, now that we are in October, is that the annual late January tour of the U.K. hasn’t been announced. That tour usually takes care of six weeks worth of television, and with larger and hotter crowds (although the crowds were way down this past year) it’s the one time where TNA comes across as a major league looking group. However, television ratings on Challenge declined greatly in the past year, and as noted, TNA had cut back to three shows last year and none of the three drew well.

Originally Posted by Observer

Bret Hart on being embarrassed about WWE Hall of Fame

"I'm never going to take anything away from any of the inductees that they've had. But to me, the HOF this year I have a voice of protest as sort of a legendary figure of the industry. I am embarrassed that there's so many great wrestlers out there that have never been given their credit. Never got their due."

Hart went on to identify Ric Rude, the Fabulous Rougeaus, the Demolition and the Hart Foundation as deserving potential inductees. He was also critical of recent inductees the Freebirds:

"Why have they been overlooked when you can induct the Freebirds who never did squat in WWE? Ever. Never drew any money, never did anything. When I remember the Freebirds, they were all drunk and passed out at the gate at one of the airports in my first day in WWF. None of them even made the show that day, they were too drunk to make their plane."

Bret Hart on Andre the Giant "firing" The Freebirds, Owen Hart in the Hall of Fame:

"A few weeks later—when I was wrestling, I was just starting in WWF—they showed up at the building at about 9:30 in Providence, Rhode Island. And I remember Andre the Giant said 'you guys are fired,' and I remember Michael Hayes cutting a promo on Andre telling him 'you can't fire me,' and 'who do you think you are?' and 'we'll see who's fired tomorrow!' And I remember Andre saying 'we'll see who's fired tomorrow.' They were fired, they were gone the next day."

"I've always gotten along with [Michael Hayes], but as far as their contribution to wrestling, gimme a break. They were all pill heads and, for lack of a better word, they were all screw-ups.

"They're not picking the cream of the crop, they're picking whoever the first person they see on the list and they go 'he would be easy to fly in.'"

"If you're going to have a Hall of Fame, you've got to have Owen Hart in the Hall of Fame."

Hart has a petition online to get Owen Hart into the Hall of Fame which you can visit at OwenHartForHallofFame.com.

Originally Posted by PWI

Wrestling DVD Network is reporting that the first confirmed WWE DVD/Blu-ray release in 2017 is a career retrospective on former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page.

Originally Posted by PWI

Former WWE champion Alberto El Patron (fka Del Rio) will be appearing for an autograph and photo session at the 20th Anniversary Jersey All Pro Wrestling event this November in Rahway, NJ

Originally Posted by Observer

TMZ asked Cena if he was offered, would he take a co-host spot on “Live with Kelly.” He said that if they give him that chance, he would take it and do the best he can. “I’ll answer the phone, but I’m not going to sit by the phone.” But he gave an answer to make sure to not garner the ire of wrestling fans to chant “You sold out,” saying, “It’s really cool to sit down with a suit and tie in the morning and then fly to Smackdown Live and be a WWE Superstar.” If he does get the gig as a daily host of the show, I don’t see him being able to do pro wrestling except for major shows

Originally Posted by Observer

Expect big pushes between now and the end of the year for O’Reilly, Bobby Fish and Ricochet. In particular, New Japan wants to establish Fish & O’Reilly as credible foreign heavyweight division stars. Owner Takaaki Kidani, a big MMA fan, in particular is high on O’Reilly because of his ability to work Jiu Jitsu into having great pro wrestling matches. Ricochet will remain in the junior heavyweight division but become higher profile

Originally Posted by Observer

Yuki Shiraishi, who is from Seoul, South Korea, but best known as Nikkan Lee, worked at NXT over the weekend. The shows were tryouts and she has not been signed. Shiraishi, 41, who is married to Japanese wrestler Ryuji Ito, was one of only two female referees on male promotion shows in Japan. She had been the main referee for Big Japan Pro Wrestling for some time, and has more than 17 years of experience as a referee. and has also wrestled

Originally Posted by Smelly Meatball (Post 4871075)

Originally Posted by Noid (Post 4871148)

Am I the only one who finds Kyle O'Reilly incredibly boring?

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4871232)

Originally Posted by Simple Fan (Post 4871250)

Nope. Im not a fan of the guy. He's trying to beef up a bit and has but still looks skinny. His in ring style reminds me of Daniel Bryan which could also be a reason I don't like him. Feel like he's in line for a big push in ROH and will probably be the one that beats Adam Cole for the ROH World title. I can stand him with Bobby Fish as Red Dragon but Fish is the better singles competitor between the two.

Originally Posted by Observer

Raw ratings were once again good when you look at everything, as going against both Major League playoffs and the NFL, Raw did 2.75 million viewers, down only slightly from the 2.79 million viewers last week ...

The three hours of Raw were:

8 p.m. 2.79 million viewers
9 p.m. 2.88 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.61 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE is attempting to set the record straight on Paige's suspension.

In a statement to the New York Post, WWE publicly pushed back against claims Paige and her family had made that she failed a wellness test for prescription painkillers.

“Saraya-Jade Bevis tested positive for an illegal substance, not a prescription drug,” WWE said in a statement to The Post. “In addition, WWE is providing world-class medical care for her in-ring injury.”

Almost immediately after her suspension was announced on Monday, Paige spoke out on Twitter. "Same sh*t different day. Kids..Please don't get prescriptions or doctors notes. Not acceptable." Paige tweeted. "Rules apply depending on your status."

Her comments were then followed on on by her family, with her father posting on Facebook that Paige has had a long-term neck injury that he didn't feel was being dealt with. He claimed that she had been prescribed painkillers that were apparently against the wellness program.

Originally Posted by PWI

Matt Hardy posted the following today on his Twitter:

I am interested in purchasing @IMPACTWRESTLING if the owners will sell to me.

I would inject my #BROKENBrilliance into every iota of it.
— #BROKEN Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) October 11, 2016



If I buy, 1st move is to DELETE the OBSOLETE TNA acronym.

The poor play on words retards the brand from reaching its full potential.#TND
— #BROKEN Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) October 11, 2016

Originally Posted by Observer

Becky Lynch missed last night's show and is expected off the road for a short period of time due to a perosnal health issue that is not serious. The stories going around of a neck injury have been denied to us. She may be hurt in the sense everyone is hurt, but that's not the issue.

Originally Posted by Observer

It was announced on Raw last night that TJ Perkins would officially defend his WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick at Hell in a Cell later this month.

There will be three Hell in a Cell matches at the PPV, with Kevin Owens defending the Universal title against Seth Rollins and Sasha Banks defending the Raw Women’s title against Charlotte inside of the structure. The two matches join the already announced US title Hell in a Cell match between Roman Reigns and Rusev.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE uploaded a clip from the Samoa Joe vs. William Regal match that took place 16 years ago today. The full match is available on the WWE Network as part of the Hidden Gems collection.

Originally Posted by Observer

The WWE announced that the 14th annual Tribute to the Troops show would be taped as part of the SmackDown tapings on December 13th at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

The show, which previously was taped overseas at military bases, in recent years had been taped in cities with large amounts of servicemen. This will be the first time it's been taped in DC.

Originally Posted by Observer

New Japan tonight announced the Power Struggle lineup, which is the final major show of the year on November 5th at the Edion Arena in Osaka.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Michael Elgin for the IC title is the main event, although Elgin suffered a broken eye socket in his left eye at yesterday's King of Pro Wrestling show in Sumo Hall from a low dropkick by Naito. As of right now, there is no word on whether he'll need surgery, which could force a change in the main event.

Originally Posted by Observer

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship was officially set for Wrestle Kingdom 11 on January 4th of 2017 after Okada successfully retained his title against Naomichi Marufuji and Omega defeated Hirooki Goto to retain his Tokyo Dome title shot on NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling pay-per-view.

Originally Posted by Observer

The pre-show match on King of Pro Wrestling drew significant attention after it appeared that Kota Ibushi was wrestling under a mask as Tiger Mask W. The match was based off of the recently released Tiger Mask W anime series, and Tiger Mask W used many of Ibushi’s usual moves during the match. Assuming it was Ibushi under the mask, it would be the first time he has worked for NJPW since October of 2015.

Originally Posted by PWI

Former WWE champion Alberto El Patron/Del Rio was officially announced as the President of MMA promotion Combate Americas this evening during a media event at Stage 48 in New York City. We should have additional details forthcoming.

Originally Posted by PWI

The second season of FOX's "American Grit" is slated to begin production next week, so Cena will take a leave of absence after this week.

Originally Posted by PWI

As previously reported on PWInsider.com, TNA is planning an episode of Impact Wrestling that will be filmed at the Hardy compound in Cameron, North Carolina as their final episode of the year featuring original content. The episde will be titled "Total Nonstop Deletion" and is scheduled to be filmed the first week of November.

The episode is set up by a Matt Hardy promo where he invites tag teams from around "time and space" to compete in the main event of the episode, Tag Team Apocalypto. We are told that this is going to be a Falls Count Anywhere on the compound match. During the promo, Hardy invited "The Bucks of Youth", "The Express who Rocks and Rolls", "The Bulldogs who are British" and "The Days of The New." The idea is that TNA will be bringing outside teams in for the match. We have confirmed that Jeremy Borash and Matt Hardy have been contacting outside teams over the last few days to book them for the taping.

The episode will also feature the "in-ring debut" of King Maxel, the son of Matt and Reby Hardy as well as a planned "match" between Grado and Smoking Joe Frazier, the kangaroo that appeared before "Delete or Decay" with the story being that he is the reincarnation of boxing great Frazier.

Originally Posted by Observer

In the SmackDown version of a post-PPV bump, ratings were up six percent for Tuesday night's show following Sunday's No Mercy PPV.

The show averaged 2.448 million viewers, up from 2.316 million the previous week.

Originally Posted by Pro Wrestling Sheet

Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned Hideo Itami hurt his neck at a recent NXT live event and we’re told the injury will keep him from wrestling for months.

The injury occurred while taking a powerslam gone wrong during a tag match on October 1st where he teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura to take on Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli.

No word on his exact injury, but we’re told it’s related to his neck.

Itami recently returned from a shoulder injury that kept him out of action for over a year. He and Kota Ibushi were also just announced as a team in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic — which he more than likely won’t be able to participate in now.

Originally Posted by PWI

While WWE ran a promo from Curt Hawkins (seen above) to explain his disappearance from last night's Smackdown Live, where he was announced for an official in-ring debut, the real reason Hawkins did not appear is that WWE pulled his segment from the show at the last minute.

WWE sources indicate that several segments early on in the Smackdown Live broadcast ran over their alloted time, requiring later segments to be trimmed and Hawkins' segment to be cut. The plan is for the debut to happen next week.

Originally Posted by Observer

Brock Lesnar will make his return to WWE television on the October 24th edition of Raw from the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN.

Originally Posted by Observer

On last night’s SmackDown, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan proposed three traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team matches pitting SmackDown against Raw at the upcoming November pay-per-view. The matches would feature the best of the brand’s men’s, women’s and tag team divisions against each other.

Originally Posted by Observer

Shinsuke Nakamura will defend his NXT Championship against Samoa Joe in a cage match at NXT’s live event in Melbourne, Australia on December 8th.

Originally Posted by Observer

Mick Foley tweeted to Paige about her suspension: “Thinking of you @RealPaigeWWE and a song I've loved since I was 7 - 'Tomorrow's Gonna Be a Brighter Day.'" Alicia Fox also tweeted a message of support.

Originally Posted by Observer

Michael Elgin posted a video update on his injury status after suffering a fractured orbital bone at NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling earlier this week. He confirmed that he will need surgery, but vowed to get his IWGP Intercontinental Championship back. Elgin is scheduled to challenge Tetsuya Naito in the main event of Power Struggle on November 5th.

Originally Posted by PWI

During Smackdown, the woman who got an interview from Dean Ambrose was indy worker Desi Dereta.

Originally Posted by Observer

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Maria Kanellis-Bennett responded to unearthed footage of Donald Trump firing her from Celebrity Apprentice for “locker room” comments. She was also interviewed by the Providence Journal and Newsweek.

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE announced that John Cena made history at No Mercy by competing in a PPV main event for the 68th time, the most by anyone in WWE history. They also noted that prior to No Mercy, the last time he main evented a PPV was November 2014.

Originally Posted by Observer

Ahead of being announced as the new president of MMA promotion Combate Americas on Tuesday, Alberto Del Rio (now known as Alberto El Presidente) spoke to TMZ in New York about allegedly being stabbed recently and his future plans in professional wrestling.

Del Rio referred to the stabbing incident as a "street fight" and claimed that it was caused by someone disrespecting his girlfriend Paige. He said that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time while at a friend's restaurant in San Antonio, TX.

When asked if he called the police, Del Rio said that he didn't want to talk about it anymore and only put it out there out of respect for Dorian Roldan, the promoter of AAA. He said that the problem with putting something out there on the internet is that people make assumptions and try to tell a different story.

Dave Meltzer wrote in last week's edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the San Antonio police department has not responded to requests for any records regarding the incident, nor did they confirm that they have records of it.

The alleged incident caused Del Rio to miss AAA's Heroes Inmortales show earlier this month.

Also in the interview with TMZ, Del Rio commented on what's next for his career in pro wrestling. He claimed that he will be working dates for Ring of Honor, as well as TNA if they get the money to pay him. Del Rio made similar comments in a separate interview with ESPN.

Originally Posted by Observer

Billy Corgan has filed suit against Impact Ventures (TNA), Dixie Carter, Serg Salinas (Carter's husband) and COO Dean Broadhead in court today. The documents are sealed but the gist is that things between Corgan and Carter fell apart over the past week or so, where Corgan was expecting to buy the company and for whatever reason, that was not going to happen. Corgan then wanted them to pay him back the money he had put into the company in funding the recent tapings and obviously they couldn't do it. Corgan was asking for an injunction and will have a hearing on it this coming Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Corgan is requesting a jury trial. There are also issues with music rights for the show that airs tonight to the point at one point there was a question if Pop would air the show but the show is airing. The lawsuit being filed was not a surprise but everyone involved has gone silent since the suit was filed. There are also claims that in negotiations that key financial information was withheld.

Originally Posted by Observer

There is a second lawsuit that was filed two weeks ago by Audience of One Productions, LLC against Impact Ventures (TNA), Aroluxe LLC, Ron Harris of Aroluxe and Dean Broadhead as well. This suit, filed in Richmond, VA, was for Audience of One doing production for TNA TV tapings in June and July 2015, as well as for last year's Bound for Glory show. On October 23, 2015, Audience of One sent an invoice for $288,039.04 for the production of those events. On November 9, Broadhead of TNA sent them a letter saying TNA was working hard at closing a new television deal and to please hung in there with us. They sent another invoice of November 17, 2015. Broadhead continued to stall them from collecting. Broadhead on January 29, 2016, paid some of the workers a total of $29,001.57. Broadhead then proposed a payment plan for six payments from March through August. TNA made the first payment but haven't paid anything since, according to the complaint. They are asking for the remaining owed $222,123.43 plus interest.

Originally Posted by 411Mania

According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the TNA ownership situation is still in limbo as nothing was settled at last week’s tapings. TNA doesn’t have to worry about money for tapings until the beginning of January, and at that time some international TV revenue is coming in. But the company still owes a lot of money to several different people.

Aroluxe and Corgan are still both in the game in regards to buying the company, but things are reportedly heated behind the scenes involving Dixie Carter, Billy Corgan, Aroluxe and John Gaburick. There is a lot of heat on Carter for not getting deals done and the vibe was said to be depressing. The other group that was reportedly interested (that wanted to do live events and expand the company) is out of the running to buy the company. WWE is also said to be out of the picture right now.

There is no word on where the money came from to finance Bound for Glory and the TV tapings, but it was likely one of the three minority owners; Fight Network, Corgan or Aroluxe. Talent is hoping that Corgan gets the company, and are aware of how bad the situation is right now. The blame for the Carter/Corgan talks going south is on Carter with talent feeling that she had been deceptive and that she didn’t address any issues before the PPV. Some even thought that she was “playing dumb” to avoid addressing the situation.

Talent on guaranteed deals are scheduled to be paid on October 15th and the 30th. The talent not on guarantees and production people are also owed money for the last tapings.

Originally Posted by Observer

Due to a neck injury he suffered at an NXT live event earlier this month, Hideo Itami is officially out of the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Itami announced the news in a video on Thursday afternoon. He was scheduled to team with Kota Ibushi in the tournament before being forced out of action.

Originally Posted by Observer

Cena is once again in the news as his television show, “American Grit,” starts filming this week and he’ll be out of action for several months. His timetable is likely similar to last year, where he left in October and returned right after Christmas. He’s missing Survivor Series, and will likely miss the 12/4 TLC Smackdown brand show in Dallas. The No Mercy PPV was his final TV appearance, which explains his losing the fall in the main event, as well as why at the house shows in the three-way matches, he would lose the fall to A.J. Styles instead of Dean Ambrose, since Styles vs. Ambrose has to carry the brand the next few month.

Originally Posted by Fox Sports

Cena married Elizabeth Huberdeau in 2009, but the couple was divorced in 2012. Cena supported Laurinaitis' idea to sign a pre-nup, saying it was a necessary safety net. He then revealed that before Nikki Bella moved in with him, she had to sign a contract.

“Having been through that process, here is how I view it. It is like buying a handgun for home defense. It gives you a sense of security, and it gives you a failsafe in case something happens. And those who buy a handgun for self defense pray, pray they never have to use it. Without it, it’s a dog fight.

I had to have your sister sign an agreement to live in the house. And that’s - it wasn’t a one-page, it’s a 75-page agreement.”

Originally Posted by Observer

Regarding the Chris Benoit documentary, Matt Randazzo V, who is with the project said the current screenplay is based on his book, “Ring of Hell,” and will be a factual adaption of the movie and he’s had no talks about playing loose with the facts. He said as long as he’s been involved with the project that nobody has ever suggested anything to portray Kevin Sullivan as a suspect, nor giving Johnny Grunge the storylines of things that didn’t happen

Originally Posted by Observer

After fracturing his orbital bone at NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling show earlier this week, Michael Elgin is officially out of his scheduled Power Struggle main event match next month.

Elgin was scheduled to challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on the November 5th show, but the eye injury has forced him out of action for the time being. Jay Lethal will replace Elgin and challenge Naito for the championship.

Originally Posted by PWI

The official WWE Australia Twitter account announced that cameras will be filming material for WWE Network at the December 8 live event in Melbourne:

For one night only…we'll be filming content for the @WWENetwork at #NXTMelbourne. Be there for another NXT first! https://t.co/wwfJRsHb8j pic.twitter.com/1fjpbbjlHk
— WWE Australia (@WWEAustralia) October 13, 2016

The main event on that card has already been announced as NXT champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe in a steel cage match.

Originally Posted by Observer

Bret Hart on Facebook wrote an apology to Michael Hayes, HHH and Seth Rollins regarding things he's said about all three in the past. He said it was unfair what he wrote about The Freebirds because they did great business in Texas with the Von Erichs and that Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts and Ronnie (he meant Jimmy) Garvin always treated him with respect. But he did say that he believes Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Davey Boy Smith, Dynamite Kid, Jimmy Hart, The Rougeau Brothers,The Killer Bees, Demolition, Rick Rude, King Kong Bundy and One Man Gang should all be in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Originally Posted by Observer

Not sure if Hayes cut a promo on Hart on Ric Flair's podcast because I don't know if it has been taped yet. But Hayes was planning to do so as he wasn't happy with what Hart said about The Freebirds not belonging in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Originally Posted by PWI

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley penned a post on Facebook regarding Seth Rollins' in-ring style leading to the former WWE champion being labeled dangerous ...

"I have been hesitant to write this article, because one of the people advancing the opinion of Seth as unsafe is "Hitman" Bret Hart, a WWE Hall of Famer, certified legend, and one of the elite performers in the history of our business. I have nothing but respect for Bret and count him as a good friend going back 20 years. Let me make it very clear that I have absolutely no desire to get into any social media feud with Bret Hart. But because Bret is so highly thought of in the wrestling community, his words carry an incredible amount of weight, and that reputations of Rollins as a dangerous performer has been gaining momentum. I won't even pretend that I am the player in this business that Bret is, but I know quite a few people respect my viewpoint, and I feel like I owe it to Seth, and the fans who make his living possible, to share my feelings, and hope they are considered before a verdict on the safety of Seth Rollins is reached.

The evidence against Seth seems to focus on the two injuries from the Rollins "turnbuckle bomb", to Sting and Finn Balor, and the broken nose John Cena suffered in a match with Seth. I wrote about that injury to Sting in a Facebook post from September, 2015, in which I opined that certain moves become more and more difficult to pull off and to absorb as safely as we age. I speculated that while the old adage "the legs are the first to go" for a boxer at age 30, that in pro-wrestling, it's the muscles of the neck - so necessary for keeping the chin tucked firmly to the chest during landings - that may be the first to go. This could very well have been the reason why the Rolins turnbuckle bomb, used safely on hundreds of occasions, created a whiplash effect in the neck of Sting, 56 years old at the time of the match. In my opinion, the injury was not Seth's fault, not Sting's fault, or WWE's fault; it simply may have been a case of trying to push back the hands of time a little too far, a little too fast ...

The broken nose to Cena was just an accident. I broke Goldust's nose in WCW by accident, while Vader broke mine on purpose a few months later. Goldust does not blame me, and I do not blame Vader.

Sometimes, injuries just happen. It's part of what we do. Seth Rollins is a safe wrestler. He works an intense, highly physical style, as do most of the WWE Superstars. Those moves look good for a reason; there's a sense of realism to so many of them – a realism that is absolutely necessary in today's day and age, when there is such a vast array of alternatives to watch on television, tablets, laptops, YouTube – and even our own WWE network. Current fans often express their discontent with the direction of the company, especially the direction of Raw. That's fine. Sometimes I think the discontent is a little overblown, but I can live with it. But man, does it bother me when people overlook hard work, dedication and the willingness to try new things, often at great expense to themselves that today's WWE Superstars endure in their effort to excite, excel and entertain. Seth Rollins embodies this spirit. He deserves to be remembered for his dedication to his craft, and for his willingness to go above and beyond to participate in great matches for WWE fans around the world. That's the Seth Rollins you need to know - the real guy, not the rep!"

Originally Posted by Smelly Meatball (Post 4873864)

[*]For those in the UK, ITV announced they have plans to start taping wrestling shows for their channel with the idea of a pilot show to be taped by mid-November and consider the idea of a weekly series within the near future. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCirc...art_wrestling/

Originally Posted by PWI

The 10/13 edition of Impact Wrestling did 284,000 viewers, down from last weeks 305,000 viewers.

Originally Posted by Observer

The situation with TNA continues to get worse. We had an update last night covering the lawsuit filed by Billy Corgan as well as more on who the dots are connecting as far as who paid for the most recent Bound for Glory and TV tapings and what the status the company is in, some notes on what is believed to be in the sealed lawsuit and even how for a period of time yesterday it was possible that the TV show wouldn't have even aired and why.

A correction from last night's show is that MCC Acquisitions Corporation was listed as being owed money as of 9/30. Keep in mind that 9/29 was when the money came in to allow them to tape. MCC Acquisitions shares the same physical address as Anthem Sports and Entertainment, which is the parent company of The Fight Network. On last night's show, we said it was Anthem Sports that was just owed more money based on filings on 9/30. Anthem Sports is owed money as well. David Bixenspan and Kris Zellner have the story.

The total debt owed by TNA to Aroluxe, Anthem and MCC Acquisitions is listed at $3.4 million. TNA has already sold some of its tape library to Anthem.

The latest is a story by David Bixenspan who found out that the Davidson County Register of Deeds and the State of Tennessee had issued a tax lien against TNA Entertainment, LLC on 9/8. The company owes back taxes in an amount unspecified and got so far behind in paying it that the state has the right to seize company property if the debt isn't repaid. While the company is no longer TNA Entertainment, LLC, now called Impact Ventures LLC, Tennessee law allows the government to go after successor companies. It's a financial disaster, between this, getting evicted from their offices due to being unable to pay rent several months ago, and Corgan's attempt to buy the company falling apart.

Originally Posted by PWI

The Tennesseean featured an article today noting that the State of Tennessee has filed a lien against TNA for unpaid taxes. The amount owed is not listed in the article, which you can read by clicking here. Thanks to everyone who sent that along.

The New York Post featured an article on Billy Corgan filing a lawsuit against TNA, Dixie Carter, etc. The article claimed that Corgan was upset because his investment in the company did not gain him a "majority stake as he had been promised." The article quoted a source noting, "He expected to have more control after investing in TNA but it hasn’t turned out that way.” The odd thing about that quote is Corgan became President of the company and is currently the final word on the creative team, so the idea that he didn't have enough control just seems off.

Originally Posted by PWI

The music rights issues regarding themes that were pulled from Impact Wrestling last night are said to be that songs that were written for Dale Oliver and according to two sources, a pay issue for that material is at the center of whether TNA had the proper rights to the songs or not. A story making the rounds is that TNA President Billy Corgan informed Pop about the issue (I cannot 100% confirm this to be the case, but have heard it from multiple sources) and TNA production had to spend a few extra hours on last night's episode to make sure it was fit to see air. There were some in the production circle grumbling about Corgan because of the extra work but to be fair, if there wasn't a question about the rights to begin with, no additional editing would have been necessary. If the music returns down the line, that means TNA and Oliver were able to come to terms. We are told that Serg Salinas, Dixie Carter's husband, would be who oversees TNA's musical rights.

Originally Posted by PWI

In regard to rumors we have been asked about regarding wrestlers saying they are going to file breach of contract if their pay is late, it's possible that could happen as it was talked about by some at TV last week, but whether anyone actually does remains to be seen. TNA usually pays talents two weeks after they appear on television.

Originally Posted by Observer

Regarding the TNA sale, Aroluxe and Billy Corgan are still involved in trying to make the purchase but one unidentified party that was previously involved is no longer interested as they do not feel a deal is worth it. WWE has also apparently lost interest as they have backed out.

Originally Posted by Observer

After missing shows for New Japan Pro Wrestling last month, it appears we have some clarity on what happened to Matt Sydal.

According to a report from Nikkan Sports on Friday, Sydal was arrested at the Kansai International Airport on September 23rd after a flight to Japan. Sydal was allegedly caught with slightly over two grams of liquid cannabis that was contained in a hidden pipe, as well as a pipe attached to an electronic cigarette.

The entirety of the punishment that Sydal could face isn't immediately clear, but Japan is known to have strict drug laws. And he faces a potential, if not likely ban from the country.

Originally Posted by Observer

Royal Rumble tickets went on sale at the Alamodome for the 1/29 show, and it's kind of weird. Even though the lowest ticket price is listed at $25, all seats priced at $125 or less were held back to make sure the ardent fans who bought on day one and were going no matter what bought tickets of $125 or more. When I checked a few hours ago, all the $125 tickets were gone and the cheapest price to get in was $175.

Originally Posted by Observer

Pro wrestlers Kevin Nash and Mike Bennett are lead cast members of a movie called "Anders Manor." It's a horror movie. Nash will play a Reverend of all things. Bennett will play an unruly redneck character named Drasaw.

Originally Posted by Observer

Highspots.com has released a DVD called "I Never Quit: The Story of Magnum T.A." to commemorate today as the 30th anniversary of the automobile accident that changed the life of Terry Allen, going from the heir apparent to the NWA world heavyweight title and really, perhaps the role, mantle and career that Sting ended up getting (perhaps, because so many things were in play you never know what would have happened, but he was only 27 years old and was one of the biggest stars in wrestling when this happened). But Terry went on to live a very productive life outside of wrestling, raised a family (including one current pro wrestler, Tessa Blanchard) and is really one of the most inspirational characters this business has produced.

Originally Posted by Observer

Both Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will be appearing together, likely for an angle, on the November 14th Raw episode from Buffalo, NY.

As is WWE's usual custom, the Raw before a major PPV is considered an "all hands on deck" show so the key part-timers are generally scheduled for the show.

As things stand right now, this will be the only Raw where both Lesnar and Goldberg appear.

Both will be on alternate Raws over the next few weeks, while neither are scheduled for the November 7th show in Glasgow, Scotland.

Originally Posted by PWI

EVOLVE announced the return to AR Fox this Saturday with the storyline being that Drew Galloway was bringing him in . Fox and EVOLVE did have a falling out a year or so ago, which they are playing up as part of the storylne.

Originally Posted by PWI

While I cannot confirm whether The Spirit Squad have been signed to official full-time WWE contracts as of this writing, we were told by a creative source to expect them to pop up in the weeks ahead on Smackdown Live.

Originally Posted by Observer

This past week the decision was made to add the Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins Universal title match to the Hell in a Cell match at the HIAC PPV, apparently with the idea the big title would seem not as big if it wasn’t in the cage with the other two singles titles matches and that belt is supposed to be the brand’s focal point. In doing so, the other change was to take Chris Jericho out of the match. As it appeared from watching TV, they were building the three-way but when the decision was made to put it in the Cell, they dropped the idea. It is possible he could be inserted into the match as a referee, because he’s all over that match’s storyline.

Originally Posted by Observer

Lucha Underground is now working on house shows on 10/23 in Phoenix, 10/30 in Houston an 11/5 in San Diego, which is something doing a show on two or three weeks notice. All shows are expected to have free admission, with Rey Mysterio Jr. and Prince Puma booked as the top stars on the shows. All they key top talent has been contacted but not all will be on every show. The plan is if the shows go well, they will do a real tour after the end of season four.

Originally Posted by Observer

Shelton Benjamin has posted that he’ll start taking appearances and autograph sessions in November, but noted no physicality, as he’s still recovering from surgery for a torn rotator cuff. No word on whether WWE is still interested in him when he recovers, as he was slated to start on the Smackdown brand but upon an examination, they found he had a torn rotator cuff, which he wasn’t aware of and had been working on in Japan.

Originally Posted by Observer

While not officially announced, although the show itself has been announced, the plan right now if for a NXT Takeover special on 1/28 in San Antonio at the Freeman Coliseum, the night before Rumble. That’s the new general idea is the Takeovers will be the same weekend as the major PPVs and in the same city, with the idea of copying the Brooklyn success and try to draw more travelers to the shows. There will also be Evolve shows on 1/27 and 1/28 in San Antonio

Originally Posted by Smelly Meatball (Post 4874294)

Originally Posted by Smelly Meatball (Post 4873864)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">INVITED. If MeekMahan allows The Day of New to appear at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TotalNonstopDELETION?src=hash">#TotalNonstopDELETION</a>'s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/APOCALYPTO?src=hash">#APOCALYPTO</a>, I'll make an appearance on MeekMahan's Show. <a href="https://t.co/ouDAM6GT2A">https://t.co/ouDAM6GT2A</a></p>&mdash; #BROKEN Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) <a href="https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/786383273270382592">October 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4874632)

Originally Posted by Observer

It was expected that Bill Goldberg's return, with a full week of hype behind it, would lead Raw to its biggest numbers of this year's football season.

Going against both the NFL and baseball playoffs, Raw did 3.13 million viewers, up 14 percent from last week. It will be interesting if there is staying power and in particular, the ratings on November 14th when Goldberg and Brock Lesnar will appear on the same show ...

8 p.m. 3.17 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.11 million viewers
10 p.m. 3.12 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer

Another lawsuit for unpaid bills against TNA Entertainment, filed over the summer, was by American Express Travel Related Services Company for unpaid bills.

American Express filed suit in the Supreme Court in the state of New York on July 20th claiming nonpayment of $269,049.50 in travel related expenses. The claim is the company used their American Express Corporate account to charge various items and American Express was not paid.

The claim is that the company agreed to payments on the receipt of monthly billing statements as well as to pay court costs if the case went to court. It claimed the agreement included that the defendants were to pay all reasonable costs when it came to American Express collecting the money owed, including finance charges and delinquency frees.

The lawsuit asked for payment of the $269,049.50 as well all legal costs for having to go to court and rectify the bill.

Originally Posted by PWI

There have been pictures floating around the internet over the last week where The Undertaker was seen using crutches to walk.

From what we have been told, he recently had hip surgery and is using the crutches during his recovery.

What that means as to whether he will work at WrestleMania next year, I can't say. As usual, it's up to him if he wants to wrestle.

Originally Posted by Observer

Goldberg tweeted a thank you to the fans for the reaction he got on Raw last night and said he was humbled by the response.

Originally Posted by Observer

Adam Cole vs. Will Ospreay was announced by PROGRESS Wrestling for their show on December 11th in Sheffield.

Originally Posted by Observer

The jabroni in the red pants who wrestled Braun Strowman last night, is named Johnny Proof. He's the local champion for the New Era Wrestling promotion. (thanks to Anthony Sullivan). The red haired goofball from last Monday night, portraying Steve Splash, is Santa Cruz wrestler Seabass, aka stand up comedian Mikey G.

Originally Posted by Observer

One of the local guys in the Braun Strowman match cut his head pretty bad on the turnbuckle spot and was helped to the back with a towel on his head.

Originally Posted by Observer

Mick Foley announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning that Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte is set to main event Raw's upcoming pay-per-view later this month. If the match does main event, it would be the first time that a women's match has gone on last at a WWE PPV.

Banks vs. Charlotte will also be the first ever women's match to take place inside of Hell in a Cell. Banks will be defending her Raw Women's Championship against Charlotte in the match.

Foley's Facebook post: "Forget for a moment about Stephanie McMahon's jumping high-five or my awkward attempt to hug the #RAW Comissioner. The biggest moment of the night for us came when the #WWE cameras were off, and Stephanie and I just looked at the #HIAC poster, realizing that for #WomensWrestling, history is upon us - as Sasha Banks and Charlotte will main event the #HIAC PPV. I am so happy for Sasha, for Charlotte, for all the women who paved the way, and all those who aspire to follow in their footsteps. It is no exaggeration to say that looking at that poster gave me chills...and they were multiplying."

Hell in a Cell is scheduled for October 30th in Boston, MA.

UPDATE: Foley posted a clarification on Facebook, noting that the match order for Hell in a Cell is not yet final: "The match order for #HIAC Will probably not be finalized until hours before the actual show, so each member of the WWE Universe can decide for themselves what their main event is. Regardless of where the women's match is placed on the card, both Sasha and Charlotte should absolutely feel like they are the main event -- as should Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. It's a competitive business, and that competitive spirit should bring out the best in everyone on October 30th."

Originally Posted by Observer

Cricket Wireless announced Friday that they will be sponsoring the first Lucha Underground house show tour with events scheduled for October 23rd in Phoenix, AZ, October 30th in Houston, TX, and November 5th in San Diego, CA.

Originally Posted by Observer

Alberto Rodriguez and girlfriend Saraya Jade-Bevis are in the news one more time as they have just gotten engaged.

It was Bevis, better known as Paige, who popped the question earlier tonight while inside the ring in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Rodriguez, also known as Alberto El Patron, Alberto Del Rio and now El Presidente, was working the WWC Aniversario weekend when in the ring she pulled out a ring and popped the question and he accepted.

Originally Posted by Observer

There's been some mainstream press this weekend regarding Linda McMahon having donated $6 million to a super PAC that supported Donald Trump, with donations in August and September. The donations were noted because when Trump was going through primaries, she was critical of his remarks about women, and this goes back months before all the latest news stories came in. "He's not helping, certainly to put women in the best light," said McMahon a few months ago. "Maybe he regrets them, maybe he doesn't. I realize he punches hard when he punches back, but that's just over the top." But she since publicly stated she was a strong Trump supporter. For those thinking Trump's comments should kick him out of the WWE Hall of Fame, it would appear that isn't about to happen.

Originally Posted by Observer

Emma, even though listed on Raw, is working for the Smackdown brand this weekend as a replacement for Becky Lynch.

Originally Posted by PWI

Cody Rhodes was interviewed by Live Audio Wrestling in Canada for the Fight Network and when asked about potentially presenting the trophy for the Dusty Tag Classic finals, commented, "“I told them Truth can hand out the trophy this year – no I didn’t (laughs). I think this year is probably a really tough sell but I definitely don’t want people to think that’s because I don’t love my dad more than anything on earth. I think this year I will probably hand over my responsibilities as such to Dustin and maybe his daughter Dakota. They currently have a lot better of a situation with themselves in WWE than myself but again, that night has nothing to do with me or WWE, really. It has everything to do with young guys getting their shot and Dusty Rhodes in general so I don’t know. I haven’t been reached out to yet so if I was, I definitely would not just flat out say no.”

Originally Posted by Smelly Meatball (Post 4876095)

Originally Posted by PWI

The Twitter account for "Live Audio Wrestling" in Canada, which is operated by The Fight Network, sent out the following:

Have confirmed that the TNA / Billy Corgan hearing has been moved to next Wednesday, Anthem will be putting out statement today
— Live Audio Wrestling (@LAWradio) October 19, 2016



Anthem is also offering to fund TNA in order to repay the loans of Billy Corgan
— Live Audio Wrestling (@LAWradio) October 19, 2016

Anthem refers to Anthem Sports and Entertainment Corp, the parent company of The Fight Network, which acquired a minority stake in TNA several months back as part of a deal that saw them receive the worldwide streaming rights to the TNA Library. It should be noted that the financing for the most recent batch of TNA Impact Wrestling tapings, as well as the 10/2 Bound for Glory PPV came from MCC Acquisitions Corp. in Canada. MMC's address is exactly the same as Anthem Sports and Entertainment Corp.

Originally Posted by PWI

With all the talk surrounding the future of TNA, it should be noted that the company has reserved dates to film Impact Wrestling and One Night Only PPVs in January 2017.

PWInsider.com can confirm that there are dates on the Universal Studios Orlando calendar for the company to film at the Impact Zone from 1/4/17 through 1/10/17.

Originally Posted by Observer

Ratings for last night's episode of SmackDown on the USA Network were down two percent from last week's post-No Mercy show, coming in at 2.405 million viewers.

Originally Posted by Observer

WWE developmental talent Terrance Jean-Jacques was arrested on Sunday on charges of assault and battery, kidnapping, witness intimidation, destruction of property and threatening to commit a crime. He is alleged to have hit his pregnant girlfriend.

Originally Posted by Observer

ITV officially announced that they will produce a one-off World of Sport special later in the year. Jim Ross will be doing commentary for the special.

Originally Posted by Observer

Ricochet will miss shows for New Japan Pro Wrestling on October 21st and 23rd due to visa trouble.

Originally Posted by Pro Wrestling Sheet

The love story between Paige and Alberto Del Rio is not shied away from on the upcoming season of Total Divas … in fact, we’re told it’s her main storyline in the first few episodes.

Production sources tell us Paige is in every single one of first few recently completed episodes and spends most of her time gushing over Del Rio. E! first mentioned this week that Season 6 would feature the couple’s blossoming romance, and we’re told Alberto did film material for the show.

Viewers with a keen eye noticed the 24-year-old was absent from recent show promos — including the full cast commercial shoot — but we’re told it was due to her injury.

Our sources say the suspended wrestler was at the doctor when they were filming the footage.

No word on how much the relationship will continue to be shown after the first few episodes, since that’s all they’ve completed in the editing room at this point.

Originally Posted by Observer

Lance Storm's new podcast, disappointingly NOT called "A Serious Minute," with Lance Storm and Cyrus the Virus, discuss the return of Goldberg in their first episode. It is also available on iTunes.

Originally Posted by Observer

Though it had been known for some time that they would be headed to NXT, WWE officially announced on Wednesday afternoon that Tommy End, Big Damo, and "Crazy" Mary Dobson have reported to the company's Performance Center.

Originally Posted by PWI

Paige posted the following after her neck surgery today:

Thanks to @NatbyNature for taking the time to come visit me. What an angel ?????????? her day off and she just got home and saw me. #RealFriend
— PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) October 19, 2016



Also surgery went well. The hernia was bigger than expected and my neck was straightened now this girl has 3 screws in her neck. Pics soon????????
— PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) October 19, 2016



Thank you dr Uribe. Best surgeon out there and everyone here at the hospital for the great hospitality. ??
— PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) October 19, 2016



We've talked about you a lot. He's great!! Sending hugs and kisses your way. Thanks for the text too. Nothing but love to you and Brie ?????????? https://t.co/8ifDxWQz1h
— PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) October 20, 2016

Originally Posted by Observer

Paige was removed this week from the open on Raw. If you wonder why she’s still with the company, obviously there is the idea there would be litigation most likely if she was let go (unless she gets three strikes in which case she would probably be released) and the company policy, which there have been rare exceptions to, is not to release people who have an existing injury and are still recovering from it.

Originally Posted by Observer

The new network subscription number will be announced at investors call on 10/27. The company was hoping for 1.49 million subscribers on 9/30, but that was before they went to two PPVs per month instead of one.

Originally Posted by Observer

Early reaction to Roderick Strong is that they love him. That doesn’t always mean a major push, but it does mean they were impressed. He is one of the best workers in the business and his work translated into New Japan which is a different and usually tougher standard, definitely tougher than NXT although getting main roster over in WWE is the hardest of anything because of the booking and political land mines

Originally Posted by Observer

Hideo Itami is looking right now like he’ll be out of action for about two months from the neck injury when Riddick Moss dropped him on his head with a twisting powerslam off the ropes. That’s good news because with surgery he’d be looking at another six plus months off

Originally Posted by Observer

We’re not sure of the situation regarding James Ellsworth past as of a week ago he was also on a per date basis and not under contract. Still, as of the day before Smackdown, he wasn’t told of any future dates or bookings, and he probably wouldn’t know because he’d be one of those guys contacted late if there’s an idea for that week’s TV.

Originally Posted by mike adamle (Post 4876548)

How did Roderick Strong's work translate well to New Japan when he never worked there??

Originally Posted by The CyNick (Post 4876594)

Ryback is my new favorite delusional wrestling personality. Getting close to Cornette levels.