[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer On the first Wednesday night in some time without NBA competition, AEW Dynamite was up 9.7 percent in total viewers, averaging 826,000 viewers on TNT for its anniversary show featuring all titles being defended. NXT was also up, by 1.9% from last week, averaging 651,000 viewers on the USA Network. The cable news programming on the night was up from usual levels due to coverage of the Supreme Court nominee hearings, which dominated the charts. As a result, Dynamite and NXT were down in the 18-49 rankings from usual -- but their actual numbers were close to normal levels. Dynamite charted at 15th on cable for the night with a 0.30 rating, down 3.2 percent from last week. NXT was up 6.3 percent, averaging a 0.17 rating, but only finished at 51st in the cable charts for that category. The total viewership of 1.477 million viewers was up 6.1 percent from last week, but it's still one of the lower numbers in the last few months. Detailed demo ratings for both shows are not available due to NXT finishing outside the top 50. AEW's strongest category was men 18-49, where Dynamite averaged a 0.41 rating, placing it in eighth place on cable and first among the non-news and non-sports programming.

Originally Posted by Observer ROH officials made a decision today that a number of talents brought in for the television tapings this week would not be used due to being in contact with people who tested positive for COVID-19 at The Collective series of wrestling events over the weekend in Indianapolis. Three wrestlers have publicly come forward from that weekend, AC Mack, Dan the Dad, and Cabana Man Dan, stating that they had tested positive from the series of events that included a lot of top non-WWE talent that included stars from AEW, ROH, and Impact Wrestling. We are told that the ROH tapings had to be rewritten due to a number of people being sent home after the company learned yesterday they were exposed to people who had tested positive due to the company's internal protocol being used in conjunction with working with the Maryland State Athletic Commission ... This was confirmed with multiple sources although officially Joe Koff would not comment on the specific matter.

Wouldn't be surprised if AEW, Impact, and ROH (and MLW once they resume) start putting their foot down on talent taking outside indie bookings since that's twice in recent weeks an outbreak has happened directly or indirectly with big indie shows.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling After the news of a positive COVID-19 test result from Dan the Dad following last weekend’s events at The Collective, many performers are getting tested. Effy has announced he tested negative but as a precaution is removing himself from a booking tonight in San Antonio, Texas. If there is a small silver lining, it’s that Dan the Dad only worked the Glory Pro show on Saturday, unlike others that worked multiple events. However, it’s unknown how many people he came in contact with between the performers and fans stationed at the Marion County Fairgrounds throughout the weekend in Indianapolis. Others that have reported they have tested negative are Lee Moriarty, Elayna Black, and AJ Gray.

Originally Posted by Observer For the first time since an allegation was made against him during the #SpeakingOut movement this June, Jordan Devlin returned to WWE television on NXT UK this week. Devlin appeared in a video that aired on Thursday's episode of NXT UK. Devlin called his NXT Cruiserweight Championship the one real version of the title and said Santos Escobar's NXT Cruiserweight Championship is just a replica that doesn't mean a thing ... Following the allegation that was made against Devlin during the #SpeakingOut movement, WWE issued a statement saying that they take any allegation of this nature very seriously and were looking into the matter. The allegation was made by a woman named Hannah who claimed that Devlin had physically abused her. She tweeted photos of bruises on her lower body and wrote: "This is scary. I'm really scared. Jordan Devlin did this to me. And this is just the physical damage. Not including my arse and back bruises....because I don't fancy posting that online." Devlin posted a statement on Twitter denying the allegation: "I didn't even want to address the hurtful allegation made against me, but for the sake of my followers and friends on this platform that may for whatever reason be unsure, I'm going to address this once. The recent allegation made against me is completely and utterly false and I deny it entirely. This is a case of a malicious personal agenda being executed against me on the back of a very brave telling of true experiences by other women. I completely denounce it. This is all I will say on the matter, and I am now working with a legal team to help decide how to proceed from here." Jack Gallagher, Travis Banks, Ligero, and referees Joel Allen and Chris Roberts were released by WWE following #SpeakingOut allegations that were made against them. Joe Coffey was also suspended by WWE. After being on hiatus since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NXT UK returned to airing new episodes last month.

Originally Posted by Observer A documentary on the intertwined career of the Undertaker and Kane will debut at the Austin (TX) Film Festival & Conference in October before debuting on WWE Network the following month. "Brothers of Destruction" will close out the week-long conference on the night of Thursday, October 29th while the Network debut is set for Sunday, November 15th, part of a month-long celebration of Undertaker's 30 years in pro wrestling ("30 Days of the Deadman"). The documentary description from WWE: "The film breaks new ground as cameras capture a candid discussion between The Undertaker and Kane about their storied careers for the first time. Intertwined since Kane was introduced as The Undertaker’s long-lost brother in 1997, The Big Red Machine and The Deadman have been both bitter enemies and fierce allies, but their relationship never failed to captivate the WWE Universe, resulting in one of sports-entertainment’s most incredible legacies."

Originally Posted by Observer Sam Roberts is getting his own weekly series on the WWE Network. Roberts announced today that "Notsam Wrestling" will premiere on the WWE Network at 10 a.m. Eastern time next Thursday (October 22). The show will air weekly on Thursdays and will be available on both the paid and free versions of the WWE Network. Roberts said he'll be producing and creating the series himself from his studio. Roberts said Notsam Wrestling on the WWE Network won't just be a video version of his wrestling podcast or any other content that's previously been available. He said it's a brand new show and his podcast and Patreon will remain the same ... Roberts, who co-hosts the Jim Norton & Sam Roberts Show on SiriusXM, made his debut as a panelist on WWE's pre-show in 2016. Roberts has hosted his wrestling podcast since 2014.

Originally Posted by PWI Tetsuya Naito has teased he will select a challenger from outside of New Japan Pro Wrestling for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship if he wins the G1 Climax in an interview with Tokyo Sports. Naito pointed out Keiji Mutoh won the G1 Climax in 1995 while holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and faced Nobuhiro Takeda – from UWF International – on January 4, 1996. The same situation occurred when Kensuke Sasaki won the G1 Climax in 2000 with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and faced Toshiaki Kawada – from All Japan Pro Wrestling – on January 4, 2001. Naito also mentioned Hiromu Takahashi as a possible challenger.

Originally Posted by PWI As reported earlier, the WWE NXT Halloween Havoc broadcast on 10/28 will see the return of former WCW Havoc PPV concept Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal. On the video screen behind Shotzi Blackheart when she announced the concept would be returning on tonight's episode of NXT were the following match stipulations: -Biker's Chain Match -Blindfold Match -Boiler Room Brawl -Buried Alive Match -Casket Match -Chamber of Horrors Match -Coal Miner's Glove on a Pole Match. -Devil's Playground Match -Shotzi's Choice Match -TLS -Trick or Streetfight -Weapons Wild Match

Originally Posted by PWI Ireland's Over the Top Wrestling announced the passing of Ryan Smile: Our team is devastated to learn of the loss of Ryan Smile. His talent and contribution set the standard for what British/Irish wrestling was to become. A tragic loss RIP pic.twitter.com/QWrcmHEv1c — OTT WRESTLING (@OTT_wrestling) October 14, 2020 Smile, who has retired officially in 2018, had wrestled for 11-12 years in different corners of the European wrestling scene. He had held the OOT and the Revolution Pro Championships.

Originally Posted by Observer Former wXw champion Karsten Beck (Karsten Pitann) passed away on Thursday morning following a battle with brain cancer. "Karsten Pitann aka Karsten Beck has passed away this morning after battling brain cancer for years," wXw announced. "We say farewell to a Hall of Famer wrestler, a Unified World Wrestling champion, a World Triangle League winner, our director of sports, our colleague, our companion, our friend. We wish Karsten's family and Ruth, those who have walked along Karsten until the very end, all the strength in the world. We miss you, Karsten." Beck was 33 years old. Beck's in-ring career began in 2006 and he last wrestled prior to being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016. Beck became an on-screen authority figure as wXw's director of sports after his diagnosis. In 2017, Beck announced that his plans to return to the ring had to be halted due to doctors finding during a routine checkup that his tumor was growing again.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling ESPN’s Ariel Helwani spoke with Paul Heyman on Wednesday to promote the season premiere of SmackDown and covered several subjects, among them: Heyman was asked about no longer serving as the Executive Director of RAW and said he was fine with the decision by Vince McMahon. He said he told McMahon when he took the job that he only wanted it for as long as McMahon woke up happy and excited that Heyman was running RAW, once that feeling eroded he didn’t want to be in a position where McMahon wasn’t happy with Heyman in the spot because he had been there in years past. Due to the platform he was on and Helwani co-hosting a show with the man, Heyman heavily pushed a potential match down the road with Daniel Cormier with either Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar. Heyman stated Lesnar wasn’t under contract to WWE and he’ll come back if he sees a challenge for himself and is incentivized to do so. He added that Lesnar is happy being a father and a farmer now. He doesn’t think Lesnar will do MMA again and thinks he scratched that itch at UFC 200 when he fought Mark Hunt. Although, UFC definitely thought they had a chance of putting the fight together between Cormier and Lesnar and allowed Lesnar to enter the Octagon after Cormier beat Stipe Miocic in July 2018.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer site got a further breakdown of the ratings from Friday Night SmackDown featuring the draft last week. While the overall viewership was only up slightly with 2,178,000 viewers, the 18-49 rating was a 0.65 that equals approximately 839,000 viewers and is a strong figure for SmackDown. It indicates that while the draft didn’t impact its entire audience, the demographic most valued did receive an increase due to it.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling IWTV has launched a very cool concept with The Masked Wrestler that premiered on Wednesday night. The eight-person tournament will take place over several weeks with all the participants competing under masks with their identities hidden. Once a person is eliminated, they will reveal themselves to the audience. The first episode is available for free

Link for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtZW07QyPto

Originally Posted by Cultaholic Since NXT TakeOver: 31, the black and gold brand has broadcast all programming from the Capitol Wrestling Center. Similar to the Amway Center, which hosts Raw and SmackDown, the ring is surrounded by LED screens filled with virtual fans. All the fans on the video wall during the broadcast seemingly aren't live, though. Wrestling fan Jessi Davin could be seen on the LED screens behind Fandango and Tyler Breeze on last night's NXT but she tweeted a video saying she was actually watching AEW: Dynamite. She wrote: "Why is WWE using stock footage of old Thunderdome participants in the Capitol Wrestling Center lololol I am NOT THERE I am watching #AEWDynamite. "Y'all I have zero problem with it. I'm actually flattered they thought my footage was good enough to use twice. I'm not outraged, either. When you agree to enter the Thunderdome you agree to the terms and conditions. I'm sure this was in there in the famed wall of text." Fightful Select later reported multiple readers have told them their image has appeared inside the Capitol Wrestling Center despite them not live streaming at the time.

Originally Posted by Fightful NJPW also announced that there will be live English commentary for the October 16, 17 and 18 shows which are the G1 Climax A Block Finals, B Block Finals and G1 Finals, respectively.

Originally Posted by HeelByNature.com During the summer, All Elite Wrestling dealt with a number of spoilers from taped shows leaking on Reddit. One of the major spoilers was Eric Bischoff working with the company, hosting a debate between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy during AEW Dynamite. Chris Jericho spoke on the situation during his Saturday Night Special live stream, claiming a ‘NXT reject’ was the person behind the leaks, but did not mention any names ... Following the leak of Eric Bischoff’s appearance, the Reddit user continued to post spoilers, up until 8/29, when AEW Dark taping results were leaked. These spoilers were revealed a week after Jericho called the leaker an “NXT reject”. Fightful Select (subscription required) has gained some insight on the situation, revealing former WWE NXT wrestler Tino Sabbatelli was blamed for leaking AEW spoilers. It’s not known if he was actually leaking information, but people backstage at AEW believe he is culprit. Sabbatelli was released from WWE as part of company wide cuts this past April, but has since returned. The report indicates he was listed internally as being part of the talent scheduled to be at the WWE Performance Center. It’s unknown if WWE has signed him to a new deal. Fightful was informed last week that Sabbattelli was listed internally as being scheduled to be at the venue, but that the sheet often has errors. However, Sabbatelli did end up showing up there. Sabbatelli worked one match for All Elite Wrestling in July under the name ‘Sabby’, teaming with Brady Pierce against Best Friends. It’s unknown how many tapings he present at.

Would explain why he only worked on one show despite AEW usually giving new people a few matches to help keep things fresh with their jobber pool and as tryout material.

Originally Posted by 411Mania According to a report by Fightful Select, sources within Ring of Honor (ROH) have stated that the company is planning a program revamp. This includes company officials informing new talent that the plan is to rejuvenate the brand and overhaul it “from top to bottom.” Per the report, ROH’s plan includes revamping the women’s division, which Jonathan Gresham previously took over at the start fo the year. Some of these plans were said to be in motion before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As a result, they won’t start to take affect until closer to the end of 2020. Additionally, Delirious has reportedly been reaching out to wrestlers to speak with them about working in ROH. Also, company officials have taken heavy feedback from wrestlers over the course of the last year in order to implement upcoming changes to the show’s overall presentation and production. Some of those recommendations from wrestlers have already been implemented for the weekly ROH TV show for the Pure Championship Tournament.

Originally Posted by Fightful Phillip Thomas, the man charged with stalking Sonya Deville, had a virtual court hearing on Monday with new information coming to light. Raj Giri of Wrestling INC reports Thomas' mail has been going to Deville's home as that was the address he gave when he was booked. Hillsborough County Jail has corrected the information, but the courts have not. Thomas was arrested on August 17 after breaking into Deville's home and charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief. He pled not guilty to all charges. Thomas remains incarcerated as his bail of $2 million was denied after the judge deemed him a threat to the community. The Hillsborough County Court ruled on August 24 they would not release any evidence to the public before the hearing in regards to the case. He has a court appearance on November 12 for the continuation of Deville's temporary protection injunction. After that, he is scheduled to return to court on December 15.

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