[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets sponsored by long lost IIconics member Jinder Mahal:

Originally Posted by Observer Loading up Raw and giving it the In Your Face theme worked for at least the first two hours as while the total audience for last night's show was down, the key demos were up against the NFL, which was way down in its opening Monday night. Raw averaged 1.69 million viewers and 0.50 in 18-49, down two percent from last week in viewers and up four percent in 18-49. With anything less that a strong lineup with a Women's title bout, a champions vs. champions match, a cage match, and a Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee match, the show would have been expected to do near record lows. There was a 16 percent first-to-third hour drop, a larger drop than has been usual ... Conversely, Raw was down 26 percent in viewers, 31 percent in 18-49, and 34 percent in 18-34 from the same week last year. Raw was fourth in 18-49 behind both NFL games and the SportsCenter show that aired at 1:31 a.m. after the second game ... As far as the audience leaving from hour one to hour three, the drop was nine percent with women 18-49, 16 percent with men 18-49, a four percent increase in teenage girls, 14 percent decrease in teenage boys, and a 16 percent decrease in people over 50. The three hours were: 8 p.m. 1.81 million viewers 9 p.m. 1.73 million viewers 10 p.m. 1.53 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer The trailer for the second season of The Mandalorian dropped today and featured a familiar face to wrestling fans: Sasha Banks. Banks (Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado) will play an unspecified part, but there is speculation that her character will be a Jedi. A Disney Plus property, The Mandalorian is set in the Star Wars universe. Banks tweeted the trailer today, confirming her role. The Mat Men podcast first reported Banks's involvement in the series back in February.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_oqFtOULjs

Originally Posted by Observer On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of June but just got his results back: “About an hour ago from the CDC, and the CDC told me that, yes, I have tested positive for the coronavirus -- back at the end of June... I never got my result back, but they called me, rest assured, today to tell me that back at the end of June when I got tested, I tested positive. And I’ve had three tests since then, and they all came back negative. But it just goes to show how backed up we really are with this system that we’re working with as far as people finding out if they got this, or if they don’t got -- I’m living proof. I’m living proof. Thank God I’m still here, and I got a healthy immune system. And God spared me on this one, but I could have been one of the nearly 200,000 that didn’t know I had this and I was gone on my way to the next life. But man, it’s bigger than that. I know what I went through for, you know, it wasn’t a long time - a couple of weeks that I went through it. I had the headaches, I had the night sweats, I lost my taste and smell for two weeks. And I thank God I was smart enough to quarantine from the family. I stayed away from everyone. I put myself off in the west wing [laughs], you know what I’m saying? And I stayed there for a couple of weeks until I started feeling better, until everything started subsiding, even my taste, I waited until that started to come back a little bit before I started meeting up with the family and what not. Thank God I did, because I could be like The Rock as far as the whole family coming down with this. Like I said, I got my mother-in-law here with us. It’s something that’s so serious. I just want y’all to be so careful with this.”

Originally Posted by Observer In an interview with the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Mike Rotunda discussed his release from WWE: “Well, I got furloughed in the middle of April along with a number of other people so, it’s been quite some time and didn’t look like it was gonna open back up. I kind of prepared myself for it, but I wasn’t exactly sure what was gonna happen, which I’m fine with it. Like you said, I had a long run there, I’m 62-years old and to be honest with you, it was harder and harder to do all the traveling and keep that pace. It definitely helps being a little younger when you’re trying to keep the pace that you’d have to working for WWE. Especially, my whole time there, we did live shows. Like depending on which show you were on, we did both television shows and I did a ton of live events which were like Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then TVs were Monday, Tuesday until they switched to the Friday Night SmackDown. So I definitely put a lot of time in on the road and it’s kinda nice being home. My wife and I have been married, it’ll be 36 years in October and all but three years of that, I’ve been on the road so I mean, that’s a long time and I’m actually enjoying to be home more and be around my wife and see my grandkids some more and get a chance to go fishing more so, which I like to do living here in Florida. That’s my go-to, my relaxation so it’s given me an opportunity to do more, to me something that’s important to do and it’s fun for me.”

Originally Posted by Observer Chris Dickinson and Calvin Tankman have been added to Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, joining Deonna Purrazzo, Homicide, and Josh Alexander as wrestlers announced for the show. It’s taking place on October 11 as part of Game Changer Wrestling’s The Collective.

Originally Posted by Observer Edward “Teddy Hart” Annis, 40, was sentenced to ten days’ imprisonment in Richmond County Jail on 9/10 following a court hearing before the Richmond City Circuit Court, Criminal Division in Virgnia, but was arrested again after being incarcerated. As PWInsider.com has covered, Annis was arrested after being pulled over by authorities in Richmond on 2/12. Annis had been charged with possession of a schedule III narcotic and possession with intent to sell or distribute. During the court hearing on 9/10, it was ruled that there was probable cause in regard to the charges of possession of a schedule III narcotic and possession with intent to sell or distribute. Those charges will move on to a grand jury and should they decide to bring official charges against Annis after evaluating the evidence against him, Hart would stand trial for those charges ... During the 9/10 hearing, Annis was found guilty of being in possession of a schedule III narcotic. He was also fined $21 in fines and court costs for not carrying or exhibiting his driver’s license or registration. He was also fined $61 for failure to use lights with wipers. Charges of being in possession of marijuana and for improperly mounted license plates were dropped as it was determined there was not sufficient evidence to pursue those charges. However, court records indicate that Annis’ ten day jail sentence stemmed from a March 4th arrest, where he was taken into custody for violating his house arrest in Virginia. Annis had been staying at an apartment with Virginia-area wrestler Pork Chop Johnson. Johnson stated on social media that he removed Hart for his behavior in the apartment. Hart was also fined $232 in relation to that charge. Court records also indicate that Hart had been declared a fugitive from justice on 5/4. Record list him as arrested on that charge on 9/11, one day after he had been processed into Richmond City Jail. Hart is scheduled for another hearing on 10/13, facing charges of a felony arrest without a warrant.

Originally Posted by PWI The WWE concussion lawsuit court case was officially closed today by the Appeals Court in New York. The only remaining aspect of the case, which would fall under Connecticut Court, is the sanctions against the attorneys who represented the former WWF/WWE talents and how much the financial damages will be.

Originally Posted by PWI As viewers of Monday Night Raw may have easily realized, the finish of Mickie James vs. Asuka did not go as planned last night. The planned finish was for James to tap out to the Asuka Lock but the bell was rung prematurely while James and Asuka were grappling with James selling Asuka trying to lock her in a submission hold. PWInsider.com has been told by numerous sources that the decision was made to ring the bell out of concern that James might actually have been out on her feet due to the way she was selling the move. We are told James was actually fine and just did such an excellent job of selling that she was out of it that she fooled those overseeing the match, including the referee. We have heard different versions of who called for the finish, but the decison was made that the match be stopped out of concern for James, who was actually fine.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Mickie James chatted with Comicbook.com ahead of the 9/14 episode of RAW. Mickie stated that she would like to see a women’s only show be added to the WWE Network. Mickie explained that the fan base is there for it and it could be something similar to a one-hour format like 205 Live. “I feel that’s a very, it’s a big dream. It’s a big reach because it’s so much that’s involved when you’re creating something like that. I feel like where we are now, we have so much. First, we have the Network, which has so many outlets and so much stuff that we can do and different types of products that we can put out there. We have the largest female roster that we’ve ever had combined between RAW, SmackDown, NXT and NXT UK, and there’s a vast amount of female talent, more female talent than there’s ever been. It could be an opportunity within our shows. Sometimes there’s really only time for a female championship match or whatever. A whole show, even if it was just an hour, like a 205 Live or something like that, that is cultivated just for the women, is something I think would satisfy a market that really just loves women’s wrestling. It’s a chance for a lot of females that perhaps don’t get a chance to shine as much on TV to shine there, and then Evolution could be our big pay-per-view of the year.”

Considering WWE has over 40 women wrestlers just on RAW, SD, and NXT, a weekly 1 hour women's only brand could work out very well. 205 Live's biggest problems were Vince/WWE's historically poor handling of Cruiser/Lucha style wrestling and the roster kept shrinking due to the Draft and Shakeups and wasn't being replenished until way too late.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated interviewed IMPACT Wrestling’s Acey Romero about his journey to get healthier and drop down to the 200 pound range. While discussing his goals, Acey shared that he has two years left on his IMPACT contract. “I was pleasantly surprised with my results, but there is still a long way to go. Wrestling is a big part of it, but this goes much deeper than wrestling. Success doesn’t mean anything if I don’t have my health. I know people won’t believe what I want to do, but they won’t be able to believe the way I look, either. I have two more years on my contract, and my goal is to be Impact world champion. That’s my goal before the end of my contract. I’ll have to work my ass off to get there, but I wouldn’t want to do it any other way.” Romero opened up about how some in the wrestling business were not supportive of his weight loss venture. He said that some told him he was “killing his gimmick” and while he somewhat agreed, he said he was also killing his health. “A lot of people reached out and said I’m killing my gimmick, that I should stay big. Maybe they’re right, maybe I am killing my gimmick, but I was also in the process of killing myself. I understand that now, so I’m doing this for me. If I kept going the way I was going, I don’t know if I’d make it to 40. I don’t want to be that guy.”

Whoever gave him that shit advice about him "killing his gimmick" due to him wanting to be healthy can go eff themselves and good for him on not listening to those dumbasses.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Dave Marquez joined the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast to promote the Prime Time Live PPV special on 9/15. Marquez revealed that he had a health scare at an NWA Powerrr taping and had to go to the backstage area to be checked on by the doctor in attendance. He said that could’ve been a reason why Sean Mooney was brought onto the program ... COVID precautions are in place for the Prime Time Live special. Marquez said that one of their announcers tested positive and he was around said individual so he went to get tested and had a series of tests set up in the days leading up to the 15th. Temperatures are being checked and if the staff does not trust the situation, a physician will be on-hand to conduct the COVID-19 test. “You can’t necessarily trust the public getting tested and yeah, you could take their temperature and all that kind of stuff… we’re taking it pretty serious in our operation. I know that there’s others that don’t take it serious. Like today, I found out one of our announcers tested positive and I was with them four days ago so I went and got a test this morning. I’ll have another test next week and I’ll have another test on the 14th before the 15th to make sure everything is cool, and people are flying from across the country into this and so I have to take their word for it that they’re negative. Hopefully they have proof that they’re negative. We’ll take their temperatures and there is a COVID procedure at the stage if we really question it. There’s a physician or two to administer a test if we need it done. But, for the most part, we’re gonna be very cautious.”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Sugar Dunkteron, formerly known as “Pineapple Pete” was a part of the RAW Underground crowd on 9/15.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling revealed the bracket for the Lion’s Break Crown tournament. Logal Riegel is taking on The DKC. Clark Connors is facing off against Jordan Clearwater. Danny Limelight vs. Barrett Brown is set for the tournament as is Adrian Quest vs. Blake Christian.

Originally Posted by PWI Q - I know I don't pay attention to RAW and SmackDown 100% of the time like I used to but wasn't Nia Jax suspended indefinitely. Did they ever mention how she returned and won the Women's tag titles? A - The Smackdown hacker brought her back. Seriously, WWE is really good at not following up or explaining storylines

From PWI's weekly Q&A articles on WWE's way too often inability to follow through with their storylines.

Originally Posted by Observer The AEW one hour show that was originally set for Wednesday night will now air on both TNT and TSN on 9/22 after NBA coverage.

Originally Posted by Observer Hulu has purchased 100 hours of Vice TV programming including every episode of Dark Side of the Ring.

Originally Posted by PWI While Major League Wrestling has announced deals with Fubo TV and DAZN, we are told that the promotion is not done seeking out new potential TV or streaming deals. The promotion is currently being represented by their agency, ICM Partners, for additional media deas, for multiple series ideas beyond MLW Fusion. The promotion will still be seen on BeIN Sport on Saturdays.

TPWW Frontpage:

• More Gameplay Details and DLC Plans for WWE 2K Battlegrounds
• WWE: Bobby Lashley on Hurt Business, Mickie James on Career Goal, Updated SD Ratings
• The Identities of RETRIBUTION on Tonight’s Raw
• Jeff Hardy Signs New Contract With WWE
• Ivar Undergoing Surgery for Neck Injury
• The Mystery Woman on SmackDown Is Probably Carmella
• AEW Selling Season Pass Tickets for Dynamite