[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Last night's Raw set an all-time record low for viewers with an average of 1.68 million, down seven percent from the prior week's record non-holiday low and showing the effects of the empty arena shows is siphoning away viewers at a larger rate each week rather than stabilizing, similar to that of SmackDown on Friday. This broke the all-time low of 1.78 million set on Christmas Eve of 2018, as well as the non-holiday record of 1.82 million set last week ... The first hour was the second lowest first hour in history, while hours two and three were the lowest hours two and three. The third hour was the least-watched hour in Raw history ... The three hours were: 8 p.m. 1.81 million viewers 9 p.m. 1.69 million viewers 10 p.m. 1.55 million viewers

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling In the 18-49 demographic, it was down 10% from last week generating a 0.46. To put that in perspective, prior to the empty arena shows, their previous low in the demo for 2020 occurred on January 13th where they did a 0.61 against the LSU vs. Clemson college championship game.

Originally Posted by Observer Non-medical WWE-themed face masks are now available for pre-order, with 100 percent of the net proceeds being donated to charity. The face masks were put on sale by WWE Shop today. WWE Shop wrote that the face masks are "comfortable, breathable, and compatible with the CDC's guidance for non-medical face coverings." Through October 31, all of the net proceeds for the face mask sales will be donated to Americares. The non-profit organization is delivering needed medical supplies to health care workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Link: https://shop.wwe.com/face-masks-and-neck-gaiters/

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc As noted, AEW Dynamite topped WWE NXT in viewership once again this past week. Dynamite averaged 693,000 viewers on TNT, topping the 637,000 viewers garnered by NXT on the USA Network by 9%. AEW ranked #16 in the Cable Top 150, while NXT ranked #51 ... The NXT main event between Damian Priest and NXT North American Champion Keith Lee actually topped the AEW main event between Lance Archer and Dustin Rhodes, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. These were the only two quarters of the show that NXT won, and they were the final two quarters of the show ... NXT was beaten badly in every quarter-hour segment for the 18-49 key demographic. There was a bigger gap than usual this week as NXT lost a lot of the overall quarter-hour segments, and every one of the quarters in the 18-49 demo. AEW's quarter-hour segment featuring the Bubbly Bunch segment and the No DQ match with The Best Friends vs. Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc was the strongest quarter in the key 18-49 demographic. The end of the match lost viewers but gained in the 18-49 demographic, which is key. AEW has dominated the so-called Wednesday Night War and has a streak of quarter-hour wins. There are some people in AEW who believe Orange Cassidy is drawing fans and helping the show out as he appeals to casual viewers who find him funny. There has been a lot of skepticism surrounding Cassidy among fans online, but he's usually over with casual fans and live crowds. It might be early to declare Cassidy a ratings draw, but week after week he's featured in strong quarter-hour segments. Cassidy's match with Havoc on the April 22 edition of Dynamite was the highest-rated segment on the whole show. NXT had a big gain for the segment between #1 contender Io Shirai and NXT Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, which also featured Dexter Lumis vs. Shane Thorne. While the brief Flair and Shirai segment did good, the non-title match between Flair and Mia Yim did not. Flair vs. Yim was the low-point of the show with just 170,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic, which was described as dreadful. This quarter-hour segment averaged a total of 589,000 viewers for the low-point in the 18-49 demo, and the second-lowest point of the show overall. It was noted that one of the main reasons WWE put the NXT Women's Title on Flair was so she could help boost the ratings, and there are people within WWE who are waiting to see if Flair is going to help like they wanted her to. It was noted that last week's title match with Shirai may perform, but the Flair experiment did not work with Yim last week.

Originally Posted by Fightful WWE seems to be going to great lengths to keep from mentioning Roman Reigns on television. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer previously reported that WWE announcers were told to not mention Reigns after it was announced that Reigns had pulled out of his WrestleMania 36 match against Goldberg. Any mention of Reigns by announcers has been limited at best, but WWE went to a different level on Raw when they scrubbed Reigns from the replay of the top Money in the Bank moments. Seth Rollins' cash-in at WrestleMania 31 was listed as the top moment and the replay showed Rollins hitting The Stomp on Brock Lesnar, a blank screen, and then Rollins celebrating with the title. Rollins pinned Reigns in the match, though fans wouldn't know it based on the clip. It's also been noted that Reigns has been edited out of recent Make-A-Wish video packages. It is unclear why WWE has attempted to keep Reigns and any mention of him quiet following his WrestleMania 36 decision.

Originally Posted by Observer In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Tama Tonga spoke about the differences between how NJPW and WWE and AEW have approached the pandemic: “There is a different sense of unity in Japan. Here in America, the show must go on. Money needs to come in, so the wrestlers are still wrestling. New Japan stopped holding shows. That’s not just for the safety of the fans, but it’s also for the health of the wrestlers. It’s a different culture in Japan, a lot different from ‘the show must go on’ mindset. The majority of our income comes from live shows, which has been cut out, but the company has held onto the staff and reassured us that no one will be let go. The company is more of a family in Japan.”

Originally Posted by Observer ACH appeared on the latest episode of Submission Squad Presents: Dollar Menu Midcarders. He discussed his departure from WWE: "I was having the time of my life there. I really was. I enjoyed my time there. I really did. But then when they released that shirt, is when I got angry. I made a lot of comments that I’m not gonna take back, because that’s just how I feel. Now, could I have said them a lot better? Absolutely. I said a lot of things out of anger. If I would’ve said those things a little bit more intelligently, and calmly, and came from a real place and not an angry place … I think it would’ve been ok.” ACH also said: "It wasn't even a wrestling matter. 'ACH is upset because he wasn't booked right.' This was some serious sh*t. I honestly wish I did things differently. I had people trying to tell me to use 'mental issues,' not as an excuse, but say it was the thing. 'You're depressed right, that's why you're out lashing out.' I was angry. I'm not gonna be like, 'Sorry, mental illness.' That's a serious issue. I'm not gonna say things like that to smooth things over. I had a meltdown in front of the entire world. I broke down in front of the entire world. I said so much stuff and if I was to go back and take it all back...it really sticks to me. I went from working my dream job, providing for myself. I was finally at a space in my life that I worked for to where I was starting to feel comfortable. I've sacrificed a lot of pro wrestling, and I don't expect anything back, but I made a lot of sacrifices. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm embarrassed. This is something that I'll never be able to shake. I know I embarrassed a lot of people. Most importantly, I embarrassed myself. I'm just not used to this type of negativity and attention. Waking up angry for no reason, mad at the world. Truth be told, it's all my fault. I'll take the blame for this. I could have put the phone down and deleted my Twitter app."

Originally Posted by Observer MLW announced that they’ve agreed to a deal with DirectTV for three past events to air on pay-per-view this month. Saturday Night SuperFight will air on May 7, Battle Riot II will air on May 14, and Opera Cup 2019 will air on May 21. It was also announced last week that those shows would be airing as PPVs on those dates through Indemand.

Originally Posted by PWI Yesterday, findings were released from an audit into the Mississippi Department of Human Services after arrests were made this past February in one of the largest embezzlement scandals ever in the history of that office, a scandal that saw direct connections the DiBiase wrestling family. Former WWE developmental talent Brett DiBiase was among those indicted several months ago as part of the scandal, which saw the former director of the state welfare agency and five others charged in one of the biggest embezzlement scandals in the history of the office. As PWInsider.com reported at the time, it was alleged that Brett DiBiase was given funds to go to a drug treatment facility in Malibu that was earmarked for Mississippi's welfare programs. According to documents, DiBiase was allegedly given the money as payment for classes that he didn't teach for drug abuse. The Associated Press later ran a follow-up story on the DiBiase family connection based on a revelation that WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase's non-profit religious organization Heart of David Ministries had reportedly received more than $2.1 million in welfare from the state of Mississippi after his son Brett began working for the State. The organization had received just $5,000 in grants in 2013, but pulled in $271,000 in welfare money, the same year Brett was hired as a senior official at the Mississippi Department of Human Services. DiBiase’s group received as much as $900,000 one year. Heart of David Ministries spent all $2,126,739 it received from May 2017 through earlier this budget year. DiBiase Sr. was paid $84,517 as president of the organization. Heart of David MInistrires pledged in a 2018 contract to “establish a network of partnerships, services and resources throughout Mississippi communities for faith-based and self activities" but there is no word on how the money was actually used. At the same time it was receiving money from the State of Mississippi, 98% of welfare requests were being turned down by the State. The Ministry is no longer receiving any aid from the State, according to the AP. The AP article revealed that the Mississippi Community Education Center also paid Brett DiBiase’s brother, former WWE star Ted DiBiase Jr., to provide training to human services employees in late 2018 and early 2019. According to the AP article, a woman who answered the door at the home of Ted DiBiase Sr. in Clinton, MS called the Clarion Ledger (the newspaper which initially broke the news) past reporting “fictitious.” but declined to comment. Yesterday's findings from the investigation reads as follows ... The audit’s formal finding is that over $94 million of that grant money has been “questioned,” meaning auditors either saw clear misspending or could not verify the money had been lawfully spent. Examples of questioned spending included: • MCEC and FRC used TANF money to hire lobbyists with TANF money, which is unallowable, often with no paperwork describing the work the lobbyists were hired to do. • MCEC awarded contracts to and hired former DHS Director John Davis’s family members, sometimes paying them up front in lump sums. • MCEC and FRC paid large sums to wrestlers Ted Dibiase, Ted Dibiase, Jr., and Brett Dibiase for work that was not performed, for unreasonable travel costs, or with little proof the programs helped the needy. • MCEC and FRC used TANF money to fund religious concerts with no proof they benefitted the needy. • MCEC made multiple donations with TANF money—like donations to the American Heart Association, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, booster clubs, pageants, universities—and provided no proof the donations were used to help the needy. FRC also made unallowable donations. Among the grantees, MCEC was particularly dependent on TANF funding and engaged in extensive misspending. From 2016 to 2019, MCEC was given over $60 million in grants from DHS, while raising just under $1.6 million from other sources. Examples of questioned spending at MCEC included: • MCEC paid Victory Sports Foundation TANF money for fitness programs for Mississippi legislators and other elected officials/staffers at no charge. • MCEC purchased three vehicles with grant funds, each for over $50,000, for Nancy New (Director of MCEC), Zach New, and Jess New. MCEC also paid salaries, cell phone bills, and other costs for a variety of members of the New family. • MCEC made many unallowable sports-related expenditures—like sponsoring a college baseball tournament—for services that could not be proven to benefit the needy. Some sports-related spending was for services that were not actually performed. • MCEC transferred over $6 million to a private school and organization owned by Nancy New and also purchased curricula and supplies with TANF funds for the school. • MCEC paid a speeding ticket for Nancy New with TANF funds. • MCEC issued a $3,000 check to the bookkeeper of MCEC with a handwritten note saying the payment was actually for John Davis. • MCEC paid a variety of consultants, including Jess New, for no clear deliverables or where there was no proof the spending met TANF requirements. • Zach New took a loan out against his MCEC retirement plan and repaid the loan with TANF money. • MCEC paid for extensive unallowable advertising, like using TANF money to advertise at the NCAA basketball tournament and a college football bowl game. TANF money was also used to purchase tickets to a college football game. • MCEC paid excessive rent well above market value to a holding company owned by Zach and Nancy New. Sometimes the rent paid for spaces that were not used for TANF-related purposes.

Originally Posted by PWI The season premiere of Showtime's Billions, which featured Becky Lynch, brought in 610,000 overnight viewers on Sunday 5/3.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling ‘Metro’ chatted with Drew McIntyre for an exclusive interview. McIntyre told the publication that he has been giving Heath Slater advice on his next steps following his release from WWE. “Heath’s already got a game plan he’s forming. I’m giving him advice on what to do. He’s gonna really get to show the world what he’s capable of. There’s no reason why he’s not gonna take over the world, be brought back to WWE and get that opportunity.”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling All Elite Wrestling ring announcer Dasha Kuret, formerly Dasha Fuentes will be a part of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s ‘Titan Games’ series on NBC.

Originally Posted by Fightful Otis explains the origin of the Caterpillar move that he's using in WWE. During an interview with Digital Spy, Otis revealed that he first used the Caterpillar, which is essentially the worm dance move, when he was a child at a dance party. Otis said no girl wanted to dance with him and he made the move in an effort to draw attention towards him. "It was at a dance party at Elementary School. No girls would dance with me so I had to get the crowd over with my moves. I started shaking my hips and getting going and I waited till everybody was watching – you know, it was a big circle dance, everybody's looking in there and checking you out. And that's when I dropped. Bam! It's a little bit stiffer on the floor than in the ring. And I got love from doing that move, so I just kept doing it. So now every wedding I get sore ribs the day after," Otis said. Otis also spoke about the time he spoke with Scotty 2 Hotty, who used the worm when he was in WWE, about using the Caterpillar. "I told (Scotty) this move means a lot to me and I know you're the king of The Worm but I want to continue this and we'll call it The Caterpillar," Otis said.

TPWW Frontpage:

• The Revival’s WWE Departure & Trademarks Update + The Revival on Talk Is Jericho
• WWE: FOX to Air Greatest Ladder Matches Special, Undertaker Series Update, Updated SD Ratings
• Lio Rush Says He May Not Wrestle Again
• Updated WWE Money in the Bank Card + Preview of WWE Headquarters
• Matt Riddle Talks About His “Backstage Heat” & Meeting With Vince McMahon