[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Last night's post-Full Gear episode of AEW Dynamite averaged 764,000 viewers on TNT, up 6.6 percent from last week. On the USA Network, NXT was up 3.6 percent in overall viewership, averaging 632,000 viewers. The total Wednesday night viewership was 1.396 million, almost identical to three weeks ago and one of the lowest numbers of the last several months. That's still up 5.2 percent from last Wednesday, where Dynamite and NXT both went against election coverage on the day after last week's presidential election. After failing to chart in the top 50 last week with cable news dominating the ratings, Dynamite was up to 17th on the cable charts in the 18-49 demo while averaging the same 0.30 rating as the show did last week. NXT was up 14.3 percent in the 18-49 demo, averaging a 0.16 rating but failing to make the top 50. NXT finished in 56th place on cable. That's a little higher than last Wednesday, but there still does not seem to have been any audience retention from the strong rating of Halloween Havoc two weeks ago. Year-over-year, Dynamite was down 20.2 percent in overall viewership and 30.2 percent in the 18-49 demo. NXT was down 15.7 percent in viewership and 36 percent in the demo. Detailed demo ratings for NXT aren't available due to it falling outside the top 50. AEW's strongest demo category was men 18-49, where the show averaged a 0.38 rating. That tied for eighth overall on cable in the demo and was first among non-news programming.

Originally Posted by Observer A day after her debut on Dynamite, AEW announced that Jade Cargill is now under a multi-year contract. Cargill, who played basketball at Jacksonville State University, debuted Wednesday to confront Cody Rhodes as an apparent representative of Shaquille O'Neal. Brandi Rhodes then showed up to address Cargill, teasing a mixed tag with O'Neal and Cargill against Cody and Brandi ... Cargill, 28, is a fitness model who offers diet and exercise subscription plans on her website in addition to having a master's degree in child psychology. Cargill was part of a tryout camp at the WWE Performance Center in April 2019, according to WWE.com.

Originally Posted by Observer Lana will be the subject of the next episode of WWE Chronicle. WWE has announced that a Chronicle episode on Lana will premiere on the WWE Network on Saturday, November 21. That's the day before this year's Survivor Series pay-per-view ... On WWE television, Lana has been put through a table by Nia Jax eight times over the last several weeks. Lana, Jax, Shayna Baszler, Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke will be on Team Raw for this year's Raw vs. SmackDown Survivor Series women's elimination match. Bianca Belair and Ruby Riott have qualified for Team SmackDown thus far. WWE.com wrote about the Lana episode of Chronicle: "WWE Chronicle: Lana will take you behind the scenes of the vivacious Superstar’s life away from the ring, including as she spends time with her family. Expect to see a side of Lana that you’ve never seen before when the next episode of WWE Chronicle drops Saturday, Nov. 21, only on the award-winning WWE Network."

Originally Posted by Observer Yoshinobu Kanemaru is out of this year's Best of the Super Juniors tournament. NJPW announced tonight that Kanemaru will be out of action with a knee injury, and thus will miss the tour. As a result, young lion Yuya Uemura will compete in Kanemaru’s place.

Originally Posted by PWI The Undertaker did an interview with The New York Post, discussing his final farewell at this year's Survivor Series, whether he will return for future matches, initial thoughts on his 1990 WWE Survivor Series debut and more. He noted that he knew he was done as a performer when filming his Boneyard match against AJ Styles at Wrestlemania 36, noting, "I realized I have taken every physical gift, tool that I have and have used it up. There’s no water left in the sponge, if I can use that analogy. I’ve rung everything I could get out of that sponge.” Undertaker was also adamant that he wouldn't be using additional cinematic-style bouts to extend his WWE run, stating, "It really doesn't appeal to me because basically what it is, is working around my limitations. It's capitalizing on some of my ability and some of my creative ability to tell a story but basically it's trying to mask some of the lack of my physical abilities at this point" ... On his returns over the years, Undertaker commented, “If Vince feels like there’s still something there, I have a place on the roster, then I had no problem doing it,” he said. “That’s where the internet and all that stuff kind of show up, ‘Just let him retire, just let him do this, let him do that.’ I’m a grown man. I can walk away anytime I want.” Undertaker also noted that he wishes he had a chance to work with the current version of Bray Wyatt, saying their bout at Wrestlemania 31 could have been used as a catalyst for where The Fiend is now.

Originally Posted by PWI AEW began teasing a storyline for Cody Rhodes and NBA legend Shaq tonight, something that Shaq has teased since signing a new deal with Turner Sports. Shaq was at Full Gear over the weekend.

Originally Posted by Fightful If you've ever wondered how AEW contracts work in terms of talent paid to appear on Dark or extras, Cody Rhodes offered some insight. Appearing on AEW Unrestricted, Cody was discussing some year two talent who he expects big things from and listed wrestlers like Ricky Starks, Sammy Guevara, Anna Jay, and Red Velvet. He was slightly confused as to Red Velvet's contract status, which led to the following exchange between Cody and co-host Aubrey Edwards. Cody - I don't even know if Red Velvet works here, yet. Aubrey - She does. That might be breaking news. Cody - She's on an 'agreed to appear,' right? Aubrey - I don't know what tier she's on. She ain't All Elite. She's not getting a graphic. Cody - Jeff is very particular about who gets a graphic. When asked by Tony Schiavone to clarify the contract tiers, Cody offered the following details, "'Agreed to appear' is tier zero, meaning you will get a bonus, and Tony is super generous. If you ask some of these extras what they're making down there...my dad would've lost it. It's the COVID era, they have no other work because there are no Indies. Tier zero is a signing bonus and exclusivity to us in terms of, we get a first option on you and we guarantee you X amount of dates. The exclusivity is case by case. The goal is, you don't want to pay someone who has agreed to appear and keep giving them their weekly versus tier one, which is our base contract agreement. We have tier one, two, three, four, and tier Jericho. Everyone is given a choice of things that are important to them, different pieces of the pie."

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Ryback welcomed David Benoit onto his YouTube show to discuss David’s aspirations in pro wrestling and what he’s enjoying about the current product. David stated that he does not want to go to WWE and would rather compete in other companies/promotions to gain experience. “I don’t wanna go there [WWE]. I’d rather go to New Japan, AEW, IMPACT, AAA, NWA. Get some experience underneath my belt.”

That is the best choice for him since WWE's developmental system under Triple H hasn't had a good track record these past few years when it comes to developing raw talent or those with very limited experience in the indies beforehand. Even William Regal sent his own son to NJPW's LA Dojo to get proper wrestling training instead of at WWE's PC.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Taylor Wilde welcomed Killer Kelly onto her ‘Wilde On’ podcast. Killer Kelly looked back at her time in NXT UK and how she was used on the brand. She feels that she was not used very well although she enjoyed her time in WWE overall. “I’m very grateful for the time I spent in WWE. Like very grateful. I trained with William Regal. Like that’s a dream. I was very, very happy there working with them and training and having promo class with Shawn Michaels. Like what the hell? And I had a lot of good friends there and everything but I wasn’t used very well. I didn’t get to showcase myself like I did on the indies. I was still working wXw and people would see what I would bring to the table and they’re like, ‘Why isn’t Kelly doing that? Why is Kelly just the person who puts over other talent?’ Which, by me, I’m totally fine. I’m totally fine. That means that the company trusts you to put over other people and they trust you to do that. But, at the same time I was like, ‘Okay, I need something more and now is the time to do it.’”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling To promote the next season of Miz & Mrs. on the USA Network, The Miz and Maryse were interviewed by TV Insider. Miz stated that his father George Mizanin owns a food truck called ‘Miz Steaks & Wieners’ and sells ‘Mike’s Little Wieners’. “You’ll see this on the show, but my dad is retired now. He comes in and says, ‘I retired.’ We’re like, ‘Does that mean you’re going to be here more?’ He is like, ‘Yep.’ So we try to find my dad a hobby. His idea of a hobby was buying a food truck. Buying a food truck is not a hobby—it’s a job. What does he call it? He calls it Miz Steaks and Wieners. His hot item that he sells is Mike’s Little Wieners. Yes, he utilizes my name, my brand to exploit me and make fun of me all in the same aspect. That’s what I’m dealing with.”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The latest guest on ‘Talk Is Jericho’ was Jake Hager. Towards the end of their conversation, Hager speculated on the idea of where WWE came up with the name “Swagger” for his in-ring last name. He recalled a time where Vince McMahon stated that he hated his [Jake’s] smile and said fans would hate it too. That somehow led to the name “Jack Swagger”. “It was just from WWE creative. It came after I had a meeting with Vince [McMahon], and I was smiling too much I guess. He was like, ‘See that smile, f*cking pisses me off,’ and so I wipe it off immediately being a rookie and he’s like, ‘No, no, it’s great. It’s gonna piss them off too.’ So I think something from that smile… Swagger came out.”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling NJPW hosted a fan Q&A with YOSHI-HASHI and the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion stated that the red stripes on his gear are a tribute to Shinsuke Nakamura.

Originally Posted by Fightful Jim Herd has cleared up one of the biggest rumors in WCW history. Herd and Ric Flair famously clashed during Herd's time as Executive Vice President of WCW in the late 80s and early 90s, leading to Flair leaving WCW for the WWF. According to Flair, Herd wanted to change his entire persona, turning him into a Roman gladiator and renaming him Spartacus. Speaking to Conrad Thompson on AdFreeShows, Herd said they pitched a bunch of different gimmicks and characters during meetings, but turning Flair into Spartacus was never under consideration. "When you're brainstorming those things, you get all kinds of feedback from those guys. That's where the lie that I wanted to change Ric Flair's name came from. That came from one of the meetings, but it was never considered. One of the things that was considered, and he didn't like it so it became -- there was a wrestler were going to call The Zodiac Man. Every match, at the end of the match, you could go out the door and they would throw these discs that were redeemable at fast food places. They would catch them and if you could prove you were a Leo after the match, you'd get another disc. It got so complicated, but his name was going to change every month with a different promotion. I think Ric heard we wanted him to be the Zodiac Man. It was just another lie that came out of those meetings. A lot of it was tongue in cheek in those meetings," said Herd. Flair would leave WCW in 1991, taking Big Gold with him to WWF.

Originally Posted by 411Mania Fightful Select has a report with details on the new WWE contracts that were signed by several wrestlers from EVOLVE. The initial “short-term” contracts they were signed to are reportedly worth $60,000 in their downside guarantees. The talents can receive added bonuses in the amount of $500 per each episode of WWE TV they appear on. These contracts are being described as “short-term agreements” that could increase to as high as $80,000 in January 2021. At that time, it’s said that the talents’ bonuses will have significant increases, and they could potentially triple in size for future TV appearances. Additionally, the report notes that several sources within WWE were happy that the company has opted for these type of “shorter-term agreements.” As a result, the shorter-term contracts would serve in helping WWE to avoid the “stockpiling and hoarding” of wrestlers who end up not being used on TV. WWE reportedly signed a number of former EVOLVE wrestlers earlier this year. Some of the signees included Leon Ruff, Anthony Greene, Josh Briggs, Brandi Lauren and Curt Stallion.

Originally Posted by 411Mania As we reported last month, VICE TV officially announced a third season of Dark Side of the Ring, which will premiere next year with fourteen episodes. In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that he was interviewed for several episodes and said that the producers have only finalized content for eight of them so far. He noted that there are six episodes left that have yet to be decided. He added that they are tossing around ideas but a lot of them “aren’t viable.’ He noted some were ‘cool stories’ but wouldn’t be ‘marketable in the United States.’ So far the only episodes confirmed by those who were interviewed include Brian Pillman, the 1995 WCW/NJPW Collision in Korea supershow and Grizzly Smith’s family: Jake Roberts, Rockin’ Robin and Sam Houston.

Originally Posted by 411Mania As we reported last night, Leon Ruff won the NXT North American title by defeating Johnny Gargano, who tried to defend the belt for the first time. In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, it was noted that the angle, as it was presented on NXT, was not done in a way to make Leon Ruff a star. Meltzer said that it was done as a joke, complete with the belt falling off of Ruff because he was too skinny and him tripping over it on his way out. It was only set as a shocking moment. It was said that WWE had the idea that while it was meant to be a comedy angle with Gargano, but only saw it as a comedy angle and had no intention to make a star.

SPOILER: show

Originally Posted by PWI As we discussed on yesterday's edition of The We Don't Need No Stinkin' Name Show, Savio Vega won't be alone in attending the 11/22 Survivor Series in honor of The Undertaker's Final Farewell. WWE Hall of Famer The Godfather is also slated to be in attendance at the event. The plan is for Kane, Undertaker's storyline brother and longtime partner/oppponent, will also be at Survivor Series, PWInsider.com has also confirmed.

Spoiler tags used since its related to WWE's plans for Taker at Survivor Series later this month.


TPWW Frontpage:

• Tony Khan Clarifies “Balance of Power” Comments, Talks NJPW Relationship & New AEW Show
• AEW: Moxley vs. Omega Title Match Next Month, Four Matches Announced for Next Week
• NXT Next Week: Finn Balor Returning, Women’s Title Match Announced