[Emperor Smeat]

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This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw only did an average of 2,964,000 viewers on the USA Network. That’s down an average of (-328,667 viewers) from the week prior and the lowest audience of the year. Below is a breakdown of viewership by hour: Hour one – 3,190,000 viewers Hour two – 2,990,000 viewers Hour three – 2,712,000 viewers Average – 2,964,000 viewers

For some comparisons and historical stuff, this week's episode broke another new low and is even lower than the Christmas 2012 episode (2.0 rating vs 2.16 this week). Around 3rd ppv in a row the post-PPV bump has been very low or non-existent. RAW needs another 0.6 drop in ratings to match TNA Impact's highest ever rating (2.2 for their Monday debut). In terms of hour breakdowns, 8pm took the #4 spot with 9pm at the #5 spot and 10pm at the #10 spot.

Originally Posted by F4W WWE officials were still debating what to do with the WWE World Heavyweight Title as of Sunday morning and going into afternoon, according to Wrestling Observer Radio. The decision was made to have Sheamus cash-in Money In the Bank and defeat Roman Reigns to win the title just a few hours before the show began. While WWE officials still want Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Title soon, it was also noted by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio that they don't want Reigns to win the title and still have people boo him. They may be looking to build him up with angles and out-of-the-ring appearances before putting the title on him. No word yet on what they have planned for Sheamus' reign as champion but he should carry the title at least until the Royal Rumble.

WWE talent Zamariah "ZZ" Loupe was recently injured at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando during a training session. He's expected to be out of action for up to 6 weeks. The incident was described as a case of miscommunication but most of the blame was put on ZZ for not paying attention. There's definitely a feeling among some that ZZ does not have a very bright WWE future. ZZ was the male runner-up on the most recent season of WWE Tough Enough. It was announced in late October that WWE had signed ZZ, as well as 4 other competitors from the show, to developmental deals.

We've noted how Lana has major backstage heat with WWE officials. For what it's worth, it was noted on Wrestling Observer Radio today that she has "nuclear heat." There's a feeling that the heat comes from her leaking the news of her real-life engagement with Rusev, and some of the cryptic comments she's made on social media since.

F4W thinks Lana's WWE career is likely done and WWE is just waiting for her contract to expire or for her to ask for a release.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE NXT star Solomon Crowe, aka Sami Callihan prior to signing a WWE developmental deal in 2013, has left WWE, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The story making the rounds is that Crowe requested and received his WWE release yesterday. We don't know more than that at this time.

Originally Posted by Mick Foley's Facebook posting I'm going to quote an article from July, 2014, called "The Sad Case Of Zack Ryder" in which I wrote: "Eventually, people get tired of finding out that the WWE Superstars they have supported with their cheers, their signs, their purchases, their follows, and their likes aren't real Superstars - and, little by little, those fans lose interest in WWE, find other interests, and become former WWE fans." I am one of those people on the verge of becoming a former WWE fan. I'm tired of being told through Raw, Smackdown and PPV's that WWE superstars I have rooted for - from Ziggler to Cesaro to Kevin Owens aren't top stars - no matter how strongly crowd reaction seems to disagree. I'm tired of NXT stars getting their big "break" in WWE, just to be treated like jokes. Six months ago, my son and I traveled 12 hours – from Eastern Tennessee to Orlando, Florida to watch Sasha Banks wrestle Becky Lynch at #‎NXTTakeover.- One of the greatest women's matches of all time. Last night, in what I believe was their first singles match on #‎RAW Sasha and Becky were given four minutes. At a time when WWE desperately needs to make new stars – when they need to give wrestlers with talent the opportunity to break through – they gave Sasha and Becky four minutes. I turned the channel, and watched a pretty good football game instead. I think I can get used to watching football games on Monday night again. I will be watching RAW this Monday. Maybe, as is often the case in relationships, they will give me just enough to remind me why I love wrestling - just enough to keep me coming back. Maybe they will even give Sasha and Becky a rematch – and a legitimate chance to show the world what they can do. . There is an old saying in politics : as Ohio goes, so goes the nation. Think of me as the Ohio of wrestling fans. If I leave, it's not just one disgruntled former fan; finding something else to do on Monday nights. Instead, losing a long-time, die-hard fan like me might well be an indication of a larger exodus from WWE. I guess we'll see what tale the ratings tell. I want to stay. I really do. So please WWE - next week on WWE Raw... Just give me a reason. Let me know what YOU think. Oh yeah, #‎SockTuesday is one week away!

For some perspective, Foley has gone public a few times this year about considering a break from watching WWE stuff. Those were more of him believing they could still easily fix their current ills or had enough good stuff to keep him interested.

New WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus did a media conference call earlier this afternoon. Below are highlights: * In regards to pressure and scrutiny on this reign due to top WWE stars being out, Sheamus said he's been in this position before and faced a lot of scrutiny in the past, as a heel and babyface. He said he's been ready to go for a long time, since before winning Money In the Bank. He feels like the last few months he's been waiting and ready to go. He said there's always pressure and he looks forward to that. He's 6 years into his WWE career, at a different point in his career and is a different person. He knows what he's doing now. He knows a lot of top WWE stars are out right now and knows Seth Rollins will be coming back better than ever. Sheamus says he's not going to let the opportunity pass him by and will give it everything he can. He calls it an opportunity of a lifetime and says he's never felt better or more comfortable in his own skin * He was asked how he prepared for the weekend and asked if they ever thought there might not be a show due to the reports of a potential Islamic State terror attack. He says WWE took the threat very seriously and the talents were kept updated on what was going on. He talks about how the authorities handled everything. * Sheamus was asked how he celebrated the win last night - a few Monster Milks and a 4.5 hour drive to Nashville. He sat in the locker room for about an hour by himself last night and took it all in before getting in the car to drive to Nashville. He says the era of the Celtic Warrior begins on RAW tonight and he couldn't be happier. He was asked about working with Roman Reigns and possibly Brock Lesnar. He says he'd love that and has been ready to go for a long time. He talks about the WrestleMania match with Daniel Bryan and how Bryan went on to do big things. He was so proud of Bryan for winning the title at WrestleMania. Sheamus says but he knew he needed to switch things up when he returned the last time. He reiterates that he won't let this opportunity pass him by. He names Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens, saying there's a lot of people he's looking forward to facing

Originally Posted by Observer Jonathan Coachman is denying that WWE’s Sportscenter segment is a time buy. Coachman also had a classic line that he’s been defending himself on about how there weren't any wrestling insiders who had ever taken a bump.

Been a bunch of speculation that the WWE-ESPN deal isn't a real deal but just WWE simply paying for the advertising spot. Basis is how ESPN rarely reports any WWE related stuff outside that spot.

Originally Posted by Observer WESH TV in Orlando put up the video of the WWE Performance Center shooting from several months ago. It's not much. Well, aside from Armando Alejandro Montalvo being shot, though that seems to take place behind a police car. The first 15 minutes is him standing outside the Performance Center acting all crazy and trying to get inside. He does, in fact, rush the cops prior to being shot. He survived and is out of both the hospital and jail on bond, and will go to trial in February 2016. He is pleading not guilty to charges of resisting arrest, trespassing and aggravated assault on a police officer.

Footage of said incident: http://uproxx.com/prowrestling/2015/...hooting-video/

Originally Posted by Observer WrestlingDVDNetwork reported that the upcoming NXT’s Greatest Matches Vol. 1 DVD and Blu-Ray set will include a CM Punk & Seth Rollins vs. Antonio Cesaro & Kassius Ohno dark match from 2012. The set comes out on March 8, 2016.

Some other sheet news includes:

• Recent interviews by both Bret Hart and Ric Flair believed the WWE has done a bad job to improve Cesaro's star power. Flair suggested the idea of being his manager to take care of promo issues while Bret believed the WWE was wrong to purposely ignore Cesaro's popularity with the crowd.
• Former NXT writer recently ranted on Twitter at how horrible WWE Creative has become and how poorly they've handled call-ups from NXT. Said the majority of the problems are with Vince, Steph, and Triple H and how nobody in Creative is influential enough to tell them things are not working. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCirc...ts_on_twitter/
• WWE has recently started to upload NWA Championship Wrestling shows to the WWE Network.
• Lucha Underground recently released a teaser image for Season 2: https://41.media.tumblr.com/5424b7d1...rkhoo1_540.jpg