TPWW's Official Dirty Sheets News Thread

[RP]

I hope Lita talks about her days of being a human toilet.

[LibSuperstar]

The number of entrants and the final two in that Japan Rumble match were interesting. Wonder how they decided on 18. That's a random ass number.

[slik]

Big Cass upset backstage officials in WWE last week when he went against a directive given to him during a segment involving a little person.

FULL STORY: https://t.co/JmWkT4PW9K pic.twitter.com/Gkeuh8c2SY

— Pro Wrestling Sheet (@WrestlingSheet) May 10, 2018

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by NJPW's Ace of the Universe:

Originally Posted by Observer A change in the card led to new champions last night at the first ROH War of the Worlds event in Lowell, Massachusetts. During the show Castle came out and said that due to accumulating injuries, he would be unable to defend the ROH championship tonight. He reiterated that he was not relinquishing the title, but would instead take time off to heal injuries. It was reported in the newest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Castle has back and hand injuries, including a possible break in the hand. An angle was set up during the Coast 2 Coast/Marseglia and O’Ryan bout where SoCal Uncensored came out from the back and took the ROH six man tag team titles from The Kingdom, who in storyline had recently stolen them. This set up a new match for later that night, where The Kingdom regained the six man titles from SoCal Uncensored, ending their two month reign with the titles.

Originally Posted by PWI ROH Champion Dalton Castle was held off of this week's events due to a broken hand as well as ongoing issues with his back. The hope is that he will return to the ring by next month's PPV. He's been dealing with the back issues for months and the timing of the injury has to be extremely frustrating for him. I wasn't a fan of the company not announcing the main event change until we were well into the show, but they did it very well as a way to build up to the Kingdom getting a nice pop winning the Six Man Tag Team Championship in their backyard.

Originally Posted by Observer The belief in the U.K. is that Toni Storm has signed with WWE. Apparently there was a video montage for the King of the Ring two-day event at Royal Albert Hall in London on 6/18 and 6/19 and her photo was shown. Storm was scheduled for June with Stardom and told the promotion that she needed to leave after the 6/17 show because she had a date she need to make on 6/18 in England. She could be working it without a contract, similar to when she was in the Mae Young Classic. WWE is also attempting to sign a lot of talent in the U.K. right now for both their own television show, and more, to keep them away from ITV, which started taping television today. But it is not confirmed she signed and if she did, she and WWE would be keeping it secret anyway.

Originally Posted by Observer We're waiting for more on this, but it appeared Charlotte Flair had a dental issue during her match today in Oberhausen.

Originally Posted by Observer Indies Roundup: Atlantis, Guerrero Maya Jr., and Stuka Jr. will be on the ROH shows on 6/15 in San Antonio and 6/16 in Dallas. This will be the debut of the Hall of Famer Atlantis in ROH. The All In press conference will take place on Sunday at Pro Wrestling Tees in Chicago at 2 p.m. Eastern live on Twitch and Facebook. Tickets for the show go on sale that today and some names and announcements of matches are expected. MLW announced a three-way match to determine its first tag team champions on the 6/7 show at Gilt Nightclub in Orlando with Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix vs. Jason Cade & Jimmy Yuta vs. Dirty Blondes. World Series Wrestling announced Marty Scurll vs. Robbie Eagles on 6/22 in Melbourne, as well as Jimmy Havoc vs Abyss plus Joey Ryan appears. On 6/23 in Melbourne they have Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jonah Rock and Brian Cage vs. John Morrison. 6/25 in Sydney has Rock vs. Cage.

Originally Posted by PWI We've had a few questions of late asking about the status of the planned Vince McMahion biopic Pandemonium. There has been no real change in the project. A new, updated draft of the screenplay was written (this would be a third draft) and we are told, was submitted to Bradley Cooper for his interest in playing McMahon. Sources tell us there's been no final word on a yay or nay from Cooper, as of this week.

Originally Posted by PWI It looks like being advertised on the WWE Network really paid off for IMPACT Wrestling. The Global Wrestling Network app went from the 669th position for the top free sports app of iOS to 101st tonight and growing. This is more than the night after Redemption when they peaked at position 130 and higher than any other day of 2018 and the same repeats in every country where the app is available. In Canadian charts they went from 1239th to 97th in a single day and in Great Britain they went from 1029th to 143rd.

Originally Posted by PWI New Japan Pro Wrestling's three US Trademark applications (Strong Style, King of Sports, Strong Style Evolved) were given initial refusals due to the applications being submitted unsigned, resulting in them being not properly verified. Major League Wrestling's two trademark applications for 'War Games' have been initially refused due to likely hood of confusion with MGM's trademarks of 'Wargames'. In addition to sounding similar in name, they were also refused due to the likely confusion with the use of services provided by both companies for their trademarks. MLW's use of service focused on providing wrestling and sports entertainment through various means while MGM's focused on production and distribution of DVDs featuring entertainment which was enough for the USPTO to claim confusion with consumers. They provided screenshots of WWE's, ROH's and Highspots' websites as examples of places that produces and distributes DVDs featuring wrestling and entertainment.

Originally Posted by 411Mania On WWE not having women compete at the Greatest Royal Rumble: “I understand that they are a business, a global business and they are always looking to expand their global presence. However, I do feel this was a direct conflict of interest with them maintaining any integrity or truth to the fact that they say they would like to push forward women, their roles and their reputations in this business as anything resembling equal to a male. Make the money, that’s fine, but don’t try to cover it up. Don’t say, “No, we are doing this because in the future we would like to help progress their culture forward!” No, you want the money, you’re a business and businesses make money. That’s okay. From my perspective over here, I don’t own your business so that’s your call. From a PR perspective don’t say you are doing it because, “We want to help progress that culture forward.” Uh no, it’s a direct conflict of interest, in my opinion.”

From a recent interview WrestleZone Radio had with Lita: https://411mania.com/wrestling/lita-...-royal-rumble/

Originally Posted by Observer Auleaga “Neff” Maiava, who is generally credited as the first Polynesian and Samoan pro wrestling star, passed away on 4/21 at the age of 93. Maiava was believed to have been the second oldest wrestler still living before his death (the oldest is believed to be U.K. wrestler/referee Joe D’Orazio, who is 95).

Originally Posted by Observer We still haven’t been able to confirm anything regarding the proposed show at 100,000 seat MCG Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on 10/6. It was mentioned on television and reported about in the Australian media. WWE was supposed to make the official announcement in early April and that came and. Obviously there are snags but nobody has confirmed what they are. WWE has not responded to any questions regarding the show. What we do know is that something that was part of the deal hit a snag, but don’t know if it was something repairable or not.

Originally Posted by Observer Ray Rowe, 33, of War Machine, and Sarah Logan (real name Sarah Brides), 24, have set a 12/21 wedding date. The two have been engaged for some time and were together as a couple before either was in WWE.

A funny story on the Undertaker vs. Rusev casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble show. If you recall, it was originally Undertaker vs. Rusev and then changed to Undertaker vs. Jericho and then changed back to Rusev. Jericho, as a courtesy, told McMahon that he was going to Fukuoka to shoot another angle with New Japan for his match with Naito at Dominion. Just a couple of hours later he was told that the Prince of Saudi Arabia asked for Rusev in he mach instead of him so they were taking him out. Given that the Prince clearly was wanting talent from years back (Hogan, Undertaker, Yokozuna, Ultimate Warrior) on the card and requested them, it is hard to believe he would have specifically on that day asked for Rusev for that match and not Jericho, particularly since the match had been changed to not be Rusev just a few days earlier. That probably also explains how the story got out that Jericho was going to Japan since in telling Vince the secret, it was no longer a secret. Bryan also talked about how much he hated being General Manager because he had to be around wrestling every week but wasn’t allowed to wrestle. He said had he not been cleared, he was 100 percent going to ROH, CMLL and New Japan starting in September. He said he was looking at working a program where he would feud with Bullet Club.

Originally Posted by Observer Lawler had a CAT scan after his recent stroke, and noted on his podcast that he has brain damage in a number of cells in his brain. He said he’s felling no ill effects whatsoever and the doctor told him he was phone even with the damaged cells, but was very lucky as it could have been far worse.

Originally Posted by Observer The top ten most-watched shows on the WWE Network for the past week were: 1. Backlash; 2. Table for 3 with Styles, Angle and Shane McMahon; 3. Greatest Royal Rumble; 4. Camp WWE episode one; 5. Greatest Royal Rumble pregame show; 6. NXT from 5/2; 7. Ride Along with O’Neil, Crews, Bliss and Strowman; 8. Backlash post-game show; 9. Something Else to Wrestle With with Bruce Prichard & Conrad Thompson on Shawn Michaels on 5/2; 10. 205 Live on 5/1.

According to PW Insider, Big E is being considered for a singles push and the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match may be the start of that.

Some other sheet news includes:

• Jim Cornette announced he is moving his podcast show from his longtime home of MLW Radio to become an independently produced show instead. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...other.html?p=1
• Website Pop Culture recently had an interview with Samoa Joe talking about WWE "raiding" indies, if indie wrestlers are paid their worth, and WWE hoarding talent. https://411mania.com/wrestling/samoa...ng-paid-worth/
• According to former WWE and current LU star Ivelisse, the official reason why she got fired from the WWE was due to her daring to stand up to Bill DeMott's bullying habits during his time as the head trainer of NXT and PC. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...er-wwe-firing/
• CBS had a recent interview with Tony Schivone talking about Ric Flair's antics during promos, working for MLW, and if he would have staid in WCW if the company didn't fold. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...-flair-promos/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• WWE: MITB Tag Match? Neville Update, Raw/SmackDown Taped This Week
• Charlotte Injury Update: Happened Before WrestleMania
• Rosemary Has a Torn ACL, Will Be Out for a While
• Current and Rumored NXT TakeOver: Chicago II Card (Spoilers)

[Sepholio]

Jeez Charlotte. At least she can heal her mouth while she's getting her droopy boob repaired.

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Neville's Reaction to WWE Coming to Town:

Originally Posted by Observer With him scheduled for a meet and greet at Pro Wrestling Tees' store in Chicago, CM Punk will at least be playing a small part in All In weekend. Pro Wrestling Tees announced today that Punk will be appearing at their store on Friday, August 31st. There are only 200 tickets available, with them set to go on sale on May 23rd at noon Central time. Autographs will cost $50, professional photo opportunities are the same price, and autograph/photo combos with an exclusive T-shirt will cost $90. The meet and greet being the day before All In is bound to increase speculation that Punk will play a further role that weekend, though he lives in Chicago and already partners with Pro Wrestling Tees for his online merchandise store.

Originally Posted by Observer Charlotte Flair flew home to get dental work done after having her bridge knocked out in yesterday's show in Oberhausen, Germany. She was going to be flying home Sunday from the tour already because she was scheduled to be part of the Needham Investment conference on Tuesday in New York with WWE President Michelle Wilson. So she was never scheduled for TV this week. She was scheduled to fly back for the rest of the tour after.

Originally Posted by Observer/PWI/Post Wrestling Indies Roundup: Appearing at today's World of Sport tapings in Norwich, England were Davey Boy Smith Jr., Grado, Primate, Joe Hendry, Martin Kirby, Iestyn Rees, Viper, Kay Lee Ray, Bea Priestley and Sha Samuels, Stu Bennett (formerly Wade Barrett) was both authority figure and TV announcer, along with SoCal Val and Alex Shane. Brandi Rhodes had shoulder surgery yesterday. She also wrote about her matches before the surgery in Japan that "If you feel inclined to criticize matches I worked with a double fracture, seek help." Tickets for the 7/19 MLW TV taping in Long Island City, NY at the Melrose Ballroom go on sale tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. at MLWtickets.com. Advertised for the show are Shane Strickland, Pentagon Jr., Rey Fenix, Barrington Hughes, MJF, Sami Callihan, Salina de la Renta and ACH. Although he is advertised for an eight man tag team bout tonight, PWInsider.com has learned that ROH Champion Dalton Castle will not be competing due to his back issues. His replacement has not been 100% confirmed from a creative standpoint as of this writing, but ROH is toying with a few ideas. Ring of Honor has announced that Ultimo Guerrero and Titan will be working the June 2nd television tapings at the Manhattan Center.

Originally Posted by PWI The 5/3 edition of Impact did 295,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 299,000 overnight viewers.

Originally Posted by PWI WrestleCon 2019 will be held at the New York City Hilton Midtown (the site of the 2004 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony) on Friday 4/5/19 and Saturday 4/6/19, which is the largest hotel in New York City and the largest Hilton hotel in the United States.

Originally Posted by PWI The Miz was interviewed by Sports Illustrated at this link, discussing, among other topics, how he gets upset when the WWE Championship isn't presented as the main event on PPV events. "My goal is to make the WWE championship as relevant and prestigious as it should be," Miz told SI's Justin Barrasso. "Now do I think AJ Styles is doing a terrific job as WWE champion? Absolutely. But that WWE Championship should be in the main event of every pay per view, and it upsets me when I see that it’s not. My goal is to not only win the Money in the Bank contract, cash it in, and become WWE champion. I want to put that title back where it belongs: the main event. Like I always say, the man makes the title, the title doesn’t make the man. I will make the WWE Championship the most prestigious and honorable title in all the WWE just like I did the Intercontinental championship."

Link: https://www.si.com/wrestling/2018/05...s-daniel-bryan

Originally Posted by PWI For those who have asked, there are no current plans for another round of 205 Live house shows at this time. They are giving the brand time to continue to grow and find itself before they attempt to bring it back out on the road independently.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE NXT stars Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli are both out injured, just as their program against each other was set to begin. Sabbatelli suffered a torn pec during a house show match while Moss suffered what we are told is a knee injury. He was on crutches at this week's NXT TV tapings. Sabbatelli was not at the tapings that we have heard. No word yet on how long they will each be out. The timing of the injuries really sucks for them.

Originally Posted by WrestleInc A new thirty-minute "Table For 3" episode will premiere on the WWE Network after Monday's RAW goes off the air. This episode will feature Elias, "Road Dogg" BG James and 2018 WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett, and will include a performance of the "Be With My Baby Tonight" single. Below is the synopsis: "Bonded by their love of music - Jeff Jarrett, Elias and Brian James come together to discuss their greatest hits and favorite stories."

Originally Posted by WrestleInc Dean Ambrose continues to spend time in Birmingham, Alabama to be near WWE doctors as he prepares for his return to the ring for WWE. PWInsider notes that Ambrose has been living just about full-time in Birmingham for the past month or so. Ambrose has been out of action since December with a triceps tear. We reported before WrestleMania 34 that Ambrose was seen wearing a sling around Birmingham while wife Renee Young was in town visiting. It was reported in December that Ambrose would be out of action for 9 months.

Originally Posted by WrestleInc The "Road To The Undisputed Championship" WWE Network Collection on current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was recently re-added to the service after being removed in February. WWE noted on Reddit that some of the more popular Collections that were removed will be re-added over the next two months.

Ok, you’re not gonna believe this but...

I lost tonight. #WWEDublin
The road to 200 is near.
0-196.

— Brian Myers (@TheCurtHawkins) May 11, 2018

Some other sheet news includes:

• Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had Renee Young and Tommy Dreamer as the guests. https://art19.com/shows/ecs-pod-of-a...4-231bd50607f9
• In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, William Regal celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday. WWE sent Regal a birth gift via Twitter to celebrate the special occasion. https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/994698717440757761
• Recent episode of The Wrestling Compadres Podcast show had Braun Strowman as the guest talking about the origin of his "Get These Hands" catchphrase, impact of the roar for his entrance, and being a WWE wrestler. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...t-these-hands/
• Recent episode of Sky Sports Podcast show had Triple H as the guest talking about balancing his office job and wrestling job, being impressed with Stephanie's effort at Mania 34, and Taker's future. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...his-own-shots/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• Charlotte Flair Says She Lost Her Teeth in Match in Germany
• Spoilers: NXT TV Taping Results – May 10, 2018 – 2 Weeks of Shows

[Mr. Nerfect]

The Miz can cut some good promos when he's not under WWE directive, but I just don't buy him as a main event guy.

[slik]

Interesting tidbit among all the TV news today: NBCU is letting WWE SMACKDOWN go to open bidding. They're keeping RAW but the deal is so big (3x current value, I'm told) that they're not re-signing both. Big sports opportunity for another network.

— Matthew Belloni (@THRMattBelloni) May 16, 2018

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Wrestling Gif Without Context:

Originally Posted by PWI The 5/15 edition of Smackdown Live brought in 2,298,000 overnight viewers, up from last week's 2,293,000 overnight viewers.

Originally Posted by Observer The Phoenix Police Department has concluded its investigation into a rape allegation that was made against Enzo Amore (real name Eric Arndt) and found that there isn't enough evidence to press charges. Tom Cargill, an attorney for Amore, issued a statement today announcing that police have informed Amore that the case is closed. The allegation against Amore, which stems from last October, was made public on January 22nd, with him being suspended by WWE that day and then released from the company on January 23rd. Cargill claimed that Amore only learned of the accusations after they were posted online. Phoenix Police confirmed that the case has been closed but could be reopened if new evidence were to come to light.

Statement from Enzo's Lawyer: https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/p...s-filed-257856

Originally Posted by Observer New Japan hit another milestone this morning by selling out Osaka-jo Hall. They made the announcement this morning on Twitter. The building holds around 16,000 people, though that does change to around 13,500 for stages set up for boxing/wrestling. It would be the first time New Japan has sold out the arena since moving Dominion from the Bodymaker Colosseum to Osaka-jo Hall for the 2015 Dominion show, which is where the show has been held every year since then. Last year’s Dominion attendance was announced at 11,756. Dominion usually winds up being one of the strongest cards New Japan puts together all year, feautring a number of high profile title matches. The fourth bout between Kenny Omega and IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada will headline this year's show. Unlike last year, the match will not only have no time limit, but will also be a 2 out of 3 falls match. Dominion at Osaka-jo Hall will take place on June 9.

Link: https://twitter.com/njpw1972/status/996636341507997696

Originally Posted by Observer/PWI/Post Wrestling Indies Roundup: In the latest episode of their "Ten Pounds of Gold" series, The National Wrestling Alliance documented their championship being defended against Cody Rhodes at the "All In" event on 9/1 Ring of Honor will be holding their Best in the World pay-per-view card at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, June 29th. Tickets are available now for the show and range from $25-75. It is a larger venue than they previously run in the city and the arena having a capacity of 5,000. MLW has announced a $20,000 Bounty Match between Shane Strickland and Brody King for their next television taping on Thursday, June 7th at the Gilt Nightclub in Orlando. Minoru Suzuki and Taiji Ishimori have been added to NJPW’s Strong Style Evolved UK shows in Milton Keynes on June 30th and Manchester on July 1st, joining Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii. ROH has confirmed three more matches for this month’s Honor United tour. Kenny King is facing Punishment Martinez in Edinburgh on May 24th, Cody Rhodes is wrestling King in London on the 26th, and Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven is set for Doncaster on the 27th,

NWA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vvctxWafAM , NJPW: https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/996842511921532929 & https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/996659307465854976

Originally Posted by pwi House of Hardcore will import the Impact Wrestling feud of Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan for the promotion's Hanover, MA debut at the Starland Sportplex this Friday 5/18 as the two will face off in a Boston Street Fight. Also announced for the event are HOH TV champion Willie Mack, Joey Mercury, Tommy Dreamer, Bull James, Alex Reynolds, MJF, The Squad, Brian Cage and more. This Saturday, the promotion returns to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA featuring Tommy Dreamer, Eli Drake, Moose, LAX, OVE, Joey Mercury, Sami Callihan, Eddie Edwards, Willie Mack, Bull James, Brian Cage, Alex Reynolds, MJF, The Squad, JT Dunn and more. There will be matches taped for Impact Wrestling TV at the event.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley/Bully Ray tweeted the following I pitched an idea for a game show to @WWENetwork called “SuperStar Squares” (think “Hollywood Squares”) Would be fun and entertaining w/ fans being the contestants. https://t.co/Xhs44hSZIb — Bubba Ray Dudley (@bullyray5150) May 16, 2018

Link: https://twitter.com/bullyray5150/sta...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

Originally Posted by WrestleInc Above is a preview for the latest episode of "Something Else to Wrestle" with Bruce Prichard on the WWE Network, featuring a discussion on WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

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

Originally Posted by WrestleInc NJPW spoke with the newest member of the Bullet Club, Ishimori (aka Bone Soldier), and asked why he decided to go with the Bullet Club. "That's a stupid question," Ishimori said. "The Bullet Club is the most famous group going. I can be in Japan and still have my name go worldwide. If I'm in Bullet Club, Taiji Ishimori's name goes global. And this way, I can pick fights with anyone in the junior division, except Marty Scurll."

Link: https://www.njpw1972.com/27440

Originally Posted by WrestleInc WKBW in Buffalo, New York notes that Ronda Rousey will make her Buffalo in-ring debut at the Monday, July 16th RAW show from the KeyBank Center. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10am and will cost between $19 and $119.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling It was announced on Tuesday that the WWE will be returning to the O2 Arena on Wednesday, August 29th for a special card featuring Ronda Rousey wrestling in the city for the first time. They are also advertising Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, and Finn Balor for the event.

Originally Posted by Observer Showtime released another trailer for their documentary on Mauro Ranallo and his mental health battles. Ranallo discusses his bipolar disorder, with the trailer including clips from him at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. The documentary will premiere on May 25th. Ranallo was also a guest on the RIch Eisen Show today.

Link: https://youtu.be/CEgJO-zrtyk


Some other sheet news includes:

• The Mirror had a recent interview with Chris Jericho talking about his recent surprise appearances, his feud with Naito, and remaining dream matches in the WWE. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...-to-work-with/
• During a recent J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference, WWE's Co-President George Barrios teased the WWE is considering the idea of RAW and Smackdown being on separate networks for their next tv deal. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...bly-moving-to/
• In an announcement that surprises nobody, 2K Gams announced the next WWE game will be arriving this Fall. https://twitter.com/WWEgames/status/996847860598505472

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• WWE: Jeff Hardy Injured? Mandy Rose’s Gimmick, Rousey’s Singles Debut
• Nikki Bella Says She Hopes She and John Cena Will Get Back Together
• WWE 205 Live Results – May 15, 2018 – UK Wrestlers

[Cool King]

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat Originally Posted by PWI WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley/Bully Ray tweeted the following I pitched an idea for a game show to @WWENetwork called “SuperStar Squares” (think “Hollywood Squares”) Would be fun and entertaining w/ fans being the contestants. https://t.co/Xhs44hSZIb — Bubba Ray Dudley (@bullyray5150) May 16, 2018 Link: https://twitter.com/bullyray5150/sta...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

I'd probably watch that.

Especially if most of, or all the questions were WWE related.

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Vacant Appreciation Day:

Originally Posted by PWI The WWE Network began uploading 1983 TV episodes of Mid-South Wrestling over the last few hours. PWInsider.com previously reported that WWE planned to add 76 new episodes of the series to the Vault section of the streaming service. Created in 1979 by Bill Watts, Mid-South ran the Gulf Coast territory through the mid-1980s when it was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions. The 1983 episodes will feature Hacksaw Duggan, Steve Williams, Kamala, Ted DiBiase, Matt Borne, Mr. Wrestling II, Gino Hernandez, The Great Kabuki, Andre the Giant, Junkyard Dog, a rookie Marty Lunde (who would go on to become Arn Anderson) and more.

Originally Posted by PWI/Observer Indies Roundup: Ring of Honor has added the "Kevin Steen: Ascension to the Top" compilation to the HonorClub streaming service. The nearly 7 hour presentation showcasing the early days of Kevin Steen (now Kevin Owens in WWE) in ROH, includes the following matches. The Global Wrestling Network now features every PPV from the Asylum era of the company. Evolve is running iPPVs on Saturday night from Summit, IL and Sunday from Livonia, MI. They also announced Darby Allin vs. Walter on 6/23 in Queens, NY and Allin vs. Jarek 1:20 on 6/24 in Melrose, MA. Jake Hager vs. Tom Lawlor for the MLW title and Brody King vs. Shane Strickland has been announced for the 6/7 MLW Fusion TV tapings in Orlando at Gilt Nightclub. AAW on 5/25 in Chicago at the Logan Square Arena with Jessicka Havok vs. Kimber Lee for the women's title, Darby Allin vs. Brody King, Penta 0M & Rey Fenix vs. AR Fox & Myron Reed, Eddie Kingston vs. Fred Yehi, Sami Callihan & Jake & Dave Crist vs. Shane Strickland & Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz plus Besties in the World, Zema Ion, Juice Robinson, Jake Something and Colt Cabana. Jay Lethal pulled out of the AWF tour in Australia this week due to his concussion. He was supposed to face Ryback earlier today. There were said to be less than 100 fans at the show which included Christopher Daniels, Ryback and Cima, as well as Lethal being advertised. Regarding the 6/29 show in Daytona Beach that Kenny Omega is promoting, they are in the same boat as the Cow Palace in the sense they can’t announce any matches until after Dominion, because things scheduled for Dominion affect this show Due to his duties with Impact, Don Callis won’t be back until Dominion. Kevin Kelly will be doing the 6/3 and 6/4 Korakuen Hall shows live, which are the final day of the Best of the Juniors round-robin and the finals the next day

ROH: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...mpilation.htmL

Originally Posted by PWI How is it that WWF was able to sign Lex Luger while he was the WCW Champion in 1992. There's no way WCW had him holding the title while not under contract? WWF didn't sign Luger to come over as a wrestling talent. He was signed to WCW, but the WWF signed Luger as a bodybuilder to come to the World Bodybuilding Federation as a performer for that brand, which technically didn't violate Luger's WCW contract. He finished up at WCW Superbrawl II, losing the WCW World title to Sting and moved on to the WBF. Luger even appeared on a Wrestlemania show, being interviewed "via satellite" while representing the WBF. As it turned out, Luger was injured in a motorcycle accident and wasn't able to do any posedowns for the lone WBF PPV broadcast. Luger was eventually shifted over to the WWF, debuting at that year's Royal Rumble as The Narcissist persona, likely after his original WCW deal would have expired. It was a case of WWF figuring a way to work around WCW's deals, to WCW's detriment.

From PWI's weekly Q&A articles about how Luger was able to work for the WWF while under contract with WCW.

Originally Posted by Observer Ahead of a possible title defense against Cody Rhodes at All In, Nick Aldis will be facing The Young Bucks on ROH's Honor United tour. ROH has announced that Aldis, the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, will be in action at Honor United: Edinburgh on May 24th. The storyline for the match is related to Aldis appearing at All In, with him making it one of the stipulations of him agreeing to defend the title against Cody. Aldis will be teaming with a "partner of ROH's choosing" ... This will be Aldis' in-ring debut for ROH, though he was shown in the crowd during Dalton Castle vs. Marty Scurll at Supercard of Honor XII last month.

More details & cards for ROH's UK tour: https://www.f4wonline.com/ring-honor...inburgh-257956

Originally Posted by Observer Variety said that the leading candidates for landing Smackdown are Fox, Facebook and Amazon. WWE stock had a giant day off yesterday's news of how high bidding for Raw had gotten, closing at $50.31 per share, its all-time record.

Link: http://variety.com/2018/digital/news...ve-1202814297/

Originally Posted by Fightful.com Below is an ongoing resource list featuring confirmed contract expirations, reported by respected news outlets or the talent themselves. You can also find Fightful's constantly updated injury report at this link. WWE: Brock Lesnar: August 2018 Mauro Ranallo: June 2019 Daniel Bryan: September 1, 2018 Kevin Owens: April 2023 (minimum; signed 5-year deal in 2018) Paige: 2019 Big Show: Spring 2021 Mandy Rose: Late 2020 The Miz: 2022 Stephanie McMahon - October 7, 2019 (as on-screen talent) Mojo Rawley- 2020 NJPW/ROH: Young Bucks: Through 2018 Kenny Omega: January 2019 Jim Ross: January 2019 (with AXS) Josh Barnett: January 2019 (with AXS) Jay Lethal: Through 2018 Michael Elgin- January 2020 Kota Ibushi- Working as freelancer Impact Wrestling: Moose- July 2020 Eli Drake- July 2018 Kiera Hogan- June 2018

Originally Posted by Observer The Hot Topic web site listing of top ten T-shirts on sale had Chris Jericho’s Ingobernables T-shirt (Lista Ingobernables de Jericho) that he wore in the attack of Tetsuya Naito on 5/4 in Fukuoka as not only the best selling shirt, but more than double No. 2 which was Steven U Pink Diamond. Jericho’s Alpha Club shirt was No. 5. No other pro wrestling shirt cracked the top ten on that list

Originally Posted by Observer Revolution Pro is no longer allowed to use any wrestler signed to a WWE U.K. deal. I presume that would also mean a lot of other promotions have found the same thing out. Defiant Pro is out as are all promotions that have a decent distribution or a streaming service, other than Progress and ICW, which have financial ties to WWE. It was a clear eventuality that anyone who understood the game would have known was coming, no matter how many times it was denied at first

Originally Posted by Observer The ROH War of the Worlds tour did well, but with less of the top stars from New Japan (only Tetsuya Naito as far as top stars went), it wasn’t the usual four sellouts. The 5/9 show in Lowell, MA, drew 1,900, which was close to full and their best showing in that market to date, particularly good for a Wednesday. 5/11 in Toronto did a sellout, but that was 1,400 paid. 5/12 in Royal Oak, MI sold out with 900 paid. The 5/13 TV tapings in Chicago did 1,800, which is the company’s second best number ever in the market. Kenny Omega drew 2,500 pretty much by himself (all that was announced for that show was Omega’s name and it sold out in three days with no matches announced), the last time they ran a major event in the Odeum in Chicago The next ROH PPV show is Best in the World on 6/29 in Baltimore at the 5,000-seat UMBC Center. That’s going to be interesting to see how it does. They are also doing TV tapings at the Eaglebank Arena in Fairfax, VA the next day, which is a 10,000-seat building. Obviously that will be scaled way down because ROH usually doesn’t draw much over 1,000 for TV tapings. The Best in the World main event is Dalton Castle vs. Cody vs. Marty Scurll for the4 ROH title, so they are teasing issues with Cody and Scurll

Originally Posted by Observer Right now, unless either side asks for a delay, the slander trial for the lawsuit filed by Dr. Christopher Amann against Phil Brooks (C.M. Punk) is scheduled to go to a jury trial on 5/21 in Chicago. I’m amazed it’s going this far because this is a case where either Punk was telling the truth or he wasn’t. If he wasn’t, he would want to settle because he could and probably would get hammered by the jury. If he’s telling the truth, there’s no case against him to begin with and with all the depositions and such, both sides should be able to figure out which way the wind is blowing. I’m sure there is more to it than that but I would think that one side, if not both, wouldn’t want it going to trial because of what would come out

Originally Posted by Observer Craig Hutchinson, one of the major sports media figures in Melbourne, said that the WWE show on 10/6 at MCG Stadium was confirmed. WWE has continued not answering any questions on this subject

Originally Posted by Observer Since people have asked about talent pay from the show, as of a few days ago, it hadn’t come in yet so nobody knew (well, those who made outside one-shot deals knew what they were getting paid). As of the last word I had, none of the women were paid bonuses based on the weekend nor were they expecting to be. It’s possible it could happen, because when I checked, the regular guys hadn’t gotten paid yet, but if it does happen, it will be a surprise to them. From a P.R. standpoint, I’d be surprised if they don’t, even though that would go against usual WWE protocol

Originally Posted by Observer Orton had the European tour off since he now works a more limited touring schedule

Originally Posted by Observer The top ten most-watched shows on the WWE Network this past week were: 1. Backlash; 2. Story Time episode 2; 3. NXT from 5/9; 4. WWE The Music WrestleMania 2018; 5. Something Else to Wrestle With episode on Ted DiBiase; 6. Story Time episode 1; 7. Greatest Royal Rumble; 8. Table for three with A.J. Styles, Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon; 9. NXT from 5/2; 10. Greatest Royal Rumble pre-show. Notable is that 205 Live was only ranked No. 13 this past week and actually trailed the NXT show from the week earlier as well as the Prichard show, let alone trailing the pre-show from Greatest Royal Rumble and barely beat out the Prichard show from the prior week

Originally Posted by Observer If that is accurate, that would mean a number in the range of a $240 million price tag for Raw alone. That would be far beyond what most analysts were expecting, which was $240 million to $300 million combined for the U.S. rights to both Raw and Smackdown. If Raw is really getting a number at that level, it would mean the combined number for both shows would end up closer to $400 million, a figure USA Network wasn't interested in spending. This continues the trend where the numbers are so high, that things like reaching the largest number of viewers, creating new stars, creating interesting matchups and storylines all really become a tiny factor in business, and business is all about producing as much overall product as possible and selling it to outlets looking for content, whether they be television or digital.

Meltzer on rumors of WWE's next tv deal value. Other rumors have the range between between $300 million to $500 million for RAW although the latter likely also includes Smackdown.


Some other sheet news includes:

• Recent episode of the Steve Austin show had Big Show as the guest. https://www.podcastone.com/episode/THE-BIG-SHOW
• NJPW recently released the cards for the first two nights of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...wo-events.html
• Update to recent Enzo legal news as Enzo's accuser recently released her own statement claiming Enzo is not innocent and some details from the police on why the case was dropped. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/e...igation-ending

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• WWE: Jeff Hardy Injury Update, Orton’s Schedule, Bayley’s Former Gimmick
• Shane McMahon Undergoes Successful Surgery for Hernia
• WWE Stock Reaches All-Time High After New TV Deal Reports

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Random Samoa Joe gif:

Originally Posted by Observer Ric Flair had to cancel all three of his weekend bookings due to catching a bug, which, with his current condition, made traveling risky. He said he's missing weekend bookings in New York, Dallas and Hot Springs, AR. The Sunday show in Hot Springs, AR for the CWA promotion has announced they are bringing in Lex Luger as a replacement. Flair's situation is thought to not be serious, but he was advised against traveling and making it worse.

Originally Posted by Observer Indies Roundup: Evolve is saying that it looks to be setting an attendance record for the promotion for Sunday's Matt Riddle vs. Keith Lee headlined event in Livonia, MI. The next Bar Wrestling show will be 6/28, and it will be the company's first anniversary show. Brian Cage & Melissa Santos headline against Delilah Doom & Eli Everfly. All Star Wrestling on 5/25 in Vancouver, BC at the Wise Hall & Lounge with Tommy Dreamer vs Adam Ryder and Sinn Bodhi vs. Randy Myers.

Originally Posted by Observer The animated comedy web series "Dallas and Robo," where John Cena will be one of the voices, debuts on 5/30 on the WWE YouTube channel. All eight episodes of the series will go up that day.

Originally Posted by Observer Tom Magee, a former bodybuilder best known for his run in the WWE, was severely beaten outside of his home on Tuesday. According to a CBS Los Angeles report, Magee, 59, was assaulted by as many as six men in what appears to be a conflict over a parking spot. Magee, who serves as a neighborhood watchdog, spotted the men outside and confronted them. He suffered a broken jaw, broken eye socket and a concussion in the process. He has since then been released from the hospital and is currently recovering at home. The Los Angles police department are investigating the situation. Justin Lee, 20, and Degrate Bryant, also 20, were taken into custody on charges of assault with a deadly weapon. Magee, who has a background in olympic weightlifting, gymnastics and a black belt in karate wrestled for the WWE from 1986 through 1990. Infamously, the story goes that Bret Hart did such a great job carrying him in his debut match that he was quickly pushed as a top prospect. Despite a tremendous athletic background, Magee never progressed as a wrestler and eventually left pro wrestling after his departure from the WWE. He later went into acting, with a notable role in the 1991 film Stone Cold with former NFL star Brian Bosworth.

Link: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/...-parking-spot/

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The Best of the Super Juniors tournament continues Saturday with a live show at 5:30 am from Korakuen Hall on New Japan World with the following card: *Shota Umino vs. Ren Narita *Will Ospreay, YOH & Yoshi-Hashi vs. ACH, Tomoyuki Oka & Tiger Mask *Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Flip Gordon & Toa Henare *Taiji Ishimori & Chase Owens vs. Sanada & Bushi *Dragon Lee vs. SHO – B Block *El Desperado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi – B Block *KUSHIDA vs. Chris Sabin – B Block *Hiromu Takahashi vs. Marty Scurll – B Block

Originally Posted by PWI The 5/17 edition of Impact did 326,000 overnight viewers, up from last week's 295,000 overnight viewers.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Earlier this week, The Hollywood Report reported that Raw was expected to remain with NBC Universal with a rights increase “up to three times” its current value. The specifics were not reported, but Sports Business Journal has reported that the entire WWE package on NBC Universal was worth $180 million in 2017, which includes SmackDown Live and Total Divas / Bellas. On Thursday, Variety had a story that Fox, Facebook, and Amazon as frontrunners to land SmackDown, which NBC would not be attempting to retain because of the high renewal rate for Raw. Variety also threw out the option of placing SmackDown Live onto the WWE Network, which sounds like a ridiculous idea given the rights fees at play and the new subscribers it would require to make that transfer viable for the WWE. The Variety piece also speculated on the idea of SmackDown becoming a three-hour program. While the wrestling consumer would scoff at that notion, many of the players bidding on the rights to the show would be unlikely to feel the same. It is a lot easier for a Fox to bid such a high amount spread out over 156 hours of yearly content versus 104 hours. If you’re a streaming property, the more content the better and as we have seen from the WWE Network, the statistic of “hours streamed” is a metric that a streaming service can boost with an additional hour of SmackDown each week.

He was Senior Vice President of Coca Cola Japan from 2006 to 2014, and was President and CEO of Takara Tomy, a major toy company, becoming one of the first foreigners to be a President or CEO of a top-tier Japanese company. Under Meij, Takara Tomy went from a money losing company to a profitable one, and its stock price tripled from when he took over in 2014. He was credited for putting toy machines in airports, licensed projects with many new companies and introduced a number of new lines based on animation, comic and film characters. The stock price dropped 11 percent the day he left the company in November. His leaving was a surprise because of how successful it was under him. It’s also noted that in taking a job with New Japan, he went from a huge company, which did $1.72 billion in sales, for comparison, a relatively small company that is hoping to do about $40 million in revenue this year. In an interview with Tokyo Sports, Meij said that New Japan was the No. 2 wrestling company in the world to WWE, but New Japan’s quality of wrestling is extremely high and is more exciting but in comparison with WWE, licensing income and digital media income is tiny. Kidani said Meij’s strength is in branding and marketing and Meij said his goal was to make New Japan the No. 1 wrestling organization in the world. He said the next steps were to sell out the Tokyo Dome and improve the company’s television situation.

Link: https://twitter.com/EvanDeadlySinsW/...36538542542848

Originally Posted by Observer The contracts all have terms where WWE have the right to break the contracts at both the four month and the eight month mark, so that seems to indicate they are still uncertain of their plans

Some details about the signing spree WWE recently did for their UK plans.

According to Omega, if he were to sign with WWE in the future, he has basically no interest in going to NXT, as it is not where he sees his career going. 'The Cleaner' went on to say that he could go the rest of his career and be fine with not wrestling Samoa Joe, NXT Champion Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura. Omega described taking his talents to NXT as a "waste". "I know NXT is kind of like the indie darling promotion of the WWE; however, I have, maybe, next to 0% interest in going to NXT, to be honest. I'm just saying it does not jive with the goals I have in mind for myself or my [professional wrestling] career to go to NXT. As great as a guy like Bobby Roode is or Samoa Joe or Shinsuke Nakamura, I could go my entire career from this point on not wrestle those guys, and not feel like I missed something. And I don't mean disrespect to them. I just feel that I'm on borrowed time. My style is very physical and I push myself very hard and to the limit all the time to try and change wrestling and give people a reason to subscribe to a New Japan World or WWE Network and I know what we do isn't always cool, so I want to give you all a reason to find it cool again. And it's tough on me, so I want to make sure when I do these high risk matches and when I push myself beyond my boundaries that there is a point. And doing that in NXT, for me, would seem like a little bit of a waste."

Originally Posted by WrestleInc Wednesday's new episode of the "Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard" podcast on the WWE Network will feature a discussion on Vince Russo. The show will be released at 4pm EST in the WWE Network on-demand section.

Originally Posted by WrestleInc A new Table For 3 episode will premiere on the WWE Network after Monday's RAW goes off the air. The guests will be WWE Hall of Famer Edge, Christian, RAW Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy and WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy. Below is the synopsis: "Legendary TLC icons Edge, Christian, and the Hardys reunite to relive the amazing matches, moments, and stories that defined their careers."

Originally Posted by WrestleInc WWE has a new poll asking fans which former WWE NXT Superstar has impressed the most since coming to the main roster. As of this writing, 52% have voted for Drew McIntyre while 16% voted for Andrade "Cien" Almas, 14% for No Way Jose, 10% for The Authors of Pain and 8% for The IIconics.

Some other sheet news includes:

• For those interested, wrestling merch retailer Ringside Collectables is currently holding a sale on a variety of WWE action figures. https://www.ringsidecollectibles.com/

Some stuff from TPWW Frontpage:

• Randy Orton Undergoes Knee Surgery
• WWE: Revival at NXT House Show, Nikki Bella on Ninja Warrior, More
• Final Eight Competitors Named for WWE UK Tournament

[Mr. Nerfect]

Sad news about Tommy boy.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Harold Meij's ambition impresses me, and I am curious to see if/where it all leads. A 3-hour SmackDown does not impress me. As lucky as Vince has been in the past to secure the deals he has, come along at the right time, find the right stars, etc., the way they are inflating themselves means that if that interest drops, you have a huge balloon to keep inflated with no air. If New Japan can get viable and get themselves into a position where a significant fraction of the people watching Raw each week would rather watch it, then I can see them cutting into WWE's viewing audience quite a bit.

I know which one I would rather watch if I had the option of two at the same time, or even in the same week.

[slik]

Report:

WWE Is Considering Selling Broadcast Rights To Their "Big 4" PPV's To Fox Or Other Major National Channels To Air These PPV's On Live TV Instead Of The WWE Network. This Change In Business Strategy Is Due To The Current High Demand Of Their Programming pic.twitter.com/HrZ2OPDFjG

— SW (@SliceWrestling) May 22, 2018

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Cena's Invisibility Juice Wearing Off:

Originally Posted by Observer Raw last night dropped three percent to 2.66 million viewers, making it the fourth lowest number in the modern history of the show outside of holidays and football season. The decline was even going live, with a weaker NBA game than last week, but a stronger NHL game ... It was also the lowest rating outside of football season since June 12th of last year, but none of this is unexpected as it was clear the NBA playoffs would hurt Raw until they ended. The three hours were: 8 p.m. 2.79 million viewers 9 p.m. 2.77 million viewers 10 p.m. 2.45 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer The media push leading up to Sunday and all of the hype over John Cena and Nikki Bella's relationship status didn't mean much for Total Bellas ratings. The show's third season premiere averaged 517,000 total viewers and a 0.27 rating in the 18-49 demo on E!. That's down from 674,000 viewers for the season two finale and 681,000 for last season's premiere. It's also the lowest viewership for an episode in series history, though Total Bellas was moving to a new night for this season after previously airing on Wednesdays.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE is looking at lengthening its pay-per-views by one hour starting with Money in the Bank. Sky Italia on Facebook posted that the Money in the Bank show would be moved to a four-hour window starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time, from the previous 8 p.m. start. Other cable providers were also contacted today with that information. They were told that most of the shows would run from 7-11 p.m., with the big four shows running from 6-11 p.m. It is unclear whether pre-game shows would be dropped or whether that would mean matches would begin 30 minutes to 90 minutes before the PPV start, depending on the show, as has been the case so far.

Originally Posted by Observer While he didn't make an in-person appearance, Chris Jericho continued his feud with Tetsuya Naito at NJPW's Best of the Super Juniors show at Korakuen Hall this morning. A video promo from Jericho played as Naito & BUSHI were in the ring after defeating Toa Henare & Tiger Mask IV. Jericho continued to act unhinged, swearing at Naito and saying, unlike Naito, he isn't tranquilo, he's "f*cking crazy." Jericho promised to win the IWGP Intercontinental title from Naito and become a 10-time Intercontinental Champion with his WWE reigns. He also insulted the Japanese fans and said Naito will be known as the person that Jericho made famous when Jericho beats him at Dominion on June 9th and brings the title back to the United States.

More details and link to the video: https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/vide...ominion-258251

Originally Posted by Pro Wrestling Sheet The libel trial pitting CM Punk and Colt Cabana against a WWE doctor has been delayed … Pro Wrestling Sheet can confirm. Sources familiar with the case say it was delayed on Monday because both sides are discussing a possible settlement. The case had been on the docket for trial on Tuesday, May 22. However, no start time was ever listed. It’s believed additional delays are possible. Dr. Chris Amann is asking for $1 million in damages for disparaging comments Punk made about him on Cabana’s podcast back in 2014. Punk, real name Phil Brooks, alleged Amann knowingly allowed him to work through serious injuries and misdiagnosed a staph infection — among other issues. After the comments were made, WWE released a statement saying they investigated the issue and found no evidence of wrongdoing. They also a released a weird video of Punk’s butt to “prove” he didn’t have a staph infection.

Originally Posted by Observer Ken Shamrock tweeted about last night’s segment where Sami Zayn brought “Bobby Lashley’s sisters,” which were men dressed as women, to Raw: “When it's good, #RAW is great entertainment and unparalleled athleticism. When it's not, it can feel awkward to watch. The overall reaction to the Lashley bit makes me wonder, they had something more controversial written and the sister skit won out?”

Link: https://twitter.com/ShamrockKen/stat...59243967758336

Originally Posted by Observer In an interview with Sportbible, Daniel Bryan detailed why he didn’t like playing the on-screen general manager of SmackDown: “It was very difficult. I disliked it, strongly. I would try and leave as soon as I could and if I found out they might not have a segment for me on TV, I would be texting the writers being like, 'Hey can I just stay home' -- a portion of that is not liking it and portion of that is because now I'm being away from Brie and my baby to do something I'm not passionate about. That was a weird mental thing for me.”

Link: http://www.sportbible.com/wwe/news-e...nents-20180521

Originally Posted by PWI The USA Network reality series Miz & Mrs, starring The Miz and his wife Maryse, will debut on Tuesday 7/24 at 10 PM, following that evening's episode of Smackdown Live. The series' first season will be six episodes, 30 minutes each. As PWInsider.com first reported last year, WWE had been seeking to grow their footprint with new reality series with one pitch in Hollywood, titled The It Couple, based around Miz and Maryse's life in Los Angeles. The original plan for the series was for it to focus on their in-ring exploits as well as their personal lives and adventures as a married couple in Hollywood, especially with the birth of their first child impending. Although initially titled The It Couple, it was later renamed Miz & Mrs. The series, as it had been pitched, would also feature Dolph Ziggler and musician Ryan Cabrera as well as Maryse's best friend and her mother as regular cast members on the series.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling North Carolina independent wrestler Victor Andrews played “Jessica”, one of Bobby Lashley’s sisters on the Raw segment Monday night.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The Best of the Super Juniors tournament has Wednesday off and return Thursday with a card from the Ukaru Chan Arena and features the following B Block tournament matches: *Tiger Mask vs. Bushi *ACH vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru *Taiji Ishimori vs. Flip Gordon *Will Ospreay vs. YOH

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Lindsay Cappotelli, the wife of former wrestler Matt Cappotelli, posted an update on her husband’s battle with brain cancer. She stated they have agreed to discontinue his radiation treatments and there doesn’t appear to be anymore they can do. Matt is having trouble communicating in full sentences with trouble chewing and eating. Cappotelli was one of the winners of the third season of “Tough Enough” in 2003 alongside John Hennigan and was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling and thought to be a future breakout star. In 2006, Cappotelli stepped away from pro wrestling after the discovery of a brain tumor, which was operated on in April 2007 and was OVW champion at the time of the diagnosis. Last summer, the tumor returned and Cappotelli underwent another surgery to have a large portion of it removed.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling/Observer/PWI/WrestleInc Indies Roundup: Keith Lee had his send-off at EVOLVE 105 on Sunday night in Livonia, Michigan. It was billed as “The Final War” with EVOLVE champion Matt Riddle retaining the title over Lee with a running knee strike. Riddle wished Lee the best as the audience was chanting during the post-match. It was reported in March by Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Lee had been offered a deal with PW Torch confirming that Lee has signed with the company. DEFY Wrestling is holding a card this Saturday at the Hawthorne Theatre in Portland, Oregon. They have announced Matt Riddle vs. Matt Sydal, Shane Strickland vs. Darby Allin, Joey Ryan vs. Randy Myers, and Nicole Matthews vs. Xia Brookside (the daughter of NXT trainer Robbie Brookside). Sammy Guevara vs. Fred Yehi has been announced for MLW’s TV tapings in Orlando on June 7th. Doug Williams will be challenging for Silas Young’s ROH TV Championship at Honor United: Doncaster on Sunday. Dalton Castle & The Boys vs. Bully Ray, Shane Taylor & Punishment Martinez and Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Toru Yano & Kenny King have also been added to that show. Mark Haskins will face Jay Briscoe in London on Saturday. Ring of Honor will return to Philadelphia on 8/25 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Tickets will go on sale 5/30 for Honorclub members, followed by an official on sale on 6/1. The All In Twitter account announced Flip Gordon and Brandi Rhodes will take on MJF and Madison Rayne at a WrestlePro event on June 8 in Rahway, New Jersey. The winner of the match will get booked for the sold out All In show on September 1. Brandi just had collarbone surgery, so we'll see how involved she is with this match.

MLW: https://mlw.com/2018/05/22/sammy-gue...ler-fred-yehi/ , All In: https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/stat...44881234960384

Originally Posted by WrestleInc As noted, Ronda Rousey was scheduled to face Mickie James in singles matches on the WWE European tour that just wrapped up but plans changed at the last minute and Rousey teamed with Ember Moon and Natalya to defeat Mickie, Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan in six-woman matches. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the matches were changed because officials did not feel like Rousey was ready for a singles match with Mickie. On a related note, Rousey is said to have a "100% tremendous" attitude backstage, according to multiple sources. Meltzer's report noted that some of Rousey's co-workers see her as having no negativity and none of the "stuck-up star issues" or ego-related issues that some of the other big names that come into the company have had in the past. It's said that Rousey is quite the opposite and people say how refreshing it is that she's so humble, especially for being a star as she is. Rousey was described as a hard worker, happy and one that loves doing what she's doing now. Rousey reportedly has great respect for the wrestlers and the craft of wrestling.

Originally Posted by WrestleInc Above is a sneak peek at WWE's "Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of The Macho Man" DVD set t hat comes out on May 29th, courtesy of WrestlingDVDNetwork.com. The three-disc set featured 41 rare matches, 8 non-match moments, the "Speaking from the Heart" music video with unseen outtakes. The set features around 8 hours and 50 minutes of content on the WWE Hall of Famer. As you can see in the video, host Corey Graves is joined by Sean Mooney, Bayley and WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9UNmBv9XTM


Some other sheet news includes:

• In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, Daniel Bryan celebrated his 37th birthday today while Brian Pillman would have celebrated his 56th birthday.
• In another "WWE Did You Know" type fact, yesterday was the 17th anniversary of Triple H's infamous quad tearing moment. The injury occurred during a tag match of Triple H & Stone Cold vs. Jericho & Benoit when Triple H hurt his quad trying to break up a Wall of Jericho submission on Austin.
• According to PWI, Big Cass might have actually suffered a legit injury last Sunday after faking being injured since last week's Smackdown.
• Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had Edge talk about if WWE needs an offseason and why that is almost impossible to do. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...-an-offseason/
• WWE announced another Hidden Gems collection set will be arriving on the WWE Network this Thursday. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...ackdown-match/

[Mr. Nerfect]

I doubt that they don't feel that Rousey is up to a singles match with Mickie, but is for Nia. There's something going on that Women's Title scene, and it wouldn't surprise me if they are working themselves with the idea to be to put the belt on Rousey in order to boost their standings with USA or whatever.

[XL]

Could be she’s “not ready for a singles match” and they’re planning a swerve at MITB. Could see Natalya winning the briefcase and cashing in before the Nia-Rousey match even starts, to set up something between Natalya (who would be more reliable to work with) and Rousey

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by First Ever WWE Championship Pillow Fight Match:

Originally Posted by Observer Against heavy competition from the NBA playoffs and network TV season finales, Tuesday night's SmackDown averaged just 2.195 million viewers, the lowest number of 2018. Aside from Halloween night, it was the smallest audience for the show since June 13th of last year ... For the second time in the last three weeks, SmackDown was down year-over-year. So far in 2018, the show is down an average of one percent as compared to the same time period last year.

Originally Posted by Observer One of CMLL’s biggest stars will be next to challenge the Ring of Honor champion. It was announced on Ring of Honor’s website that Ultimo Guerrero will challenge Dalton Castle for the Ring of Honor world title at New York City Excellence on June 2. It would be the first time a CMLL star has challenged for the title since the company forged a relationship with Ring of Honor back in 2016. They did an angle back at the 16th anniversary show where Ultimo Guerrero stole the ROH title during a match with him and Volador Jr. against Jay Lethal and Dalton Castle. He later handed it back, with announcers speculating that he might want a title match down the line. Titan, also from CMLL, has been signed for the event. He is set to face Cody.

Link: https://www.rohwrestling.com/news/cm...orld-title-nyc

Originally Posted by Observer With the lineup for it set, WWE has revealed the first round matches for next month's United Kingdom Championship tournament. Jack Gallagher vs. Drew Gulak, Ashton Smith vs. Joseph Conners, Flash Morgan Webster vs. James Drake, Kenny Williams vs. Dave Mastiff, El Ligero vs. Travis Banks, Zack Gibson vs. Amir Jordan, Tucker vs. Joe Coffey, and Tyson T-Bone vs. Jordan Devlin are the opening round matchups. Aside from Gulak vs. Gallagher, all of those will be taking place at Download Festival from June 8-10 ... The winners of the first round matches will advance to Royal Albert Hall on June 18th, and the winner of the tournament will challenge for Pete Dunne's WWE United Kingdom Championship at the venue the next night. The bracket for the tournament will be announced next Wednesday.

Link: https://www.wwe.com/videos/wwe-u-k-c...tches-revealed

Originally Posted by Observer Aleister Black teaming with Ricochet against EC3 & Velvetee Dream has been added to the lineup for WWE’s UK brand show at Royal Albert Hall on June 19th. That’s the second of two nights at the venue and will also feature Pete Dunne defending the WWE United Kingdom title against the person who wins the tournament on night one, along with NXT North American, Women’s, and Tag Team title defenses.

https://twitter.com/WWEUK/status/999349256736649222

Originally Posted by Observer Indie wrestler Kevin Bennett was the person who lost to Andrade “Cien” Almas on SmackDown last night. Christopher Guy, which is former ROH Wrestler Ace Steel’s real name, was played by CHIKARA’s Juan Francisco de Coronado.

Originally Posted by Observer Indies roundup: Nick Jackson responded to someone who said they were waiting to see The Young Bucks in WWE: “Not possible right now we have 6 months left on our current contracts. Never say never but we’re very happy with what we’re doing.” Austin Aries vs. Rich Swann has been announced for Impact Wrestling’s One Night Only PPV taping in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on June 3rd. Momo Watanabe won the Wonder of Stardom Championship from Io Shirai this morning. The NWA’s latest Ten Pounds of Gold focuses on the storyline fallout of Cody challenging for the NWA title being announced for All In. Joey Janela vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been added to MLW’s June 7th TV tapings.

Young Bucks: https://twitter.com/NickJacksonYB/st...77981020409856 , Impact: https://twitter.com/DestinyWrestle/s...73665407901698 , NWA: https://youtu.be/E90BdzUmaag , MLW: https://twitter.com/MLW/status/999329207275675648

Originally Posted by PWI WWE sources have confirmed with PWInsider.com that beginning with the 6/17 Money in the Bank PPV, all PPVs will commence at 7 PM Eastern with a Kickoff show prior to the event. We are told that this doesn't necessarily mean all PPVs will be timed to run four hours exactly. It is most likely that the shows will run in the area of three hours to three and a half hours, although the company will have the ability to go longer or shorter as needed. As we wrote a few days ago, major franchise events like Wrestlemania and Summerslam will obviously go much longer than the three hour-plus window.

Originally Posted by PWI Do you think that by booking Braun so dominant that they have created a problem? He is so dominant that they can't really put him up against anybody without it hurting them, because he's pretty much going to destroy them. Could that be why he's being booked in these meaningless tag team matches? That being said, who do you think they could put him in a credible feud with where the booking could be even? Also what would you like to see them do with him? I would love to see him go after and win the Universal Championship, which should have happened ages ago. But even then who could possibly take it from him down the line? At this point in time, it’s a problem because they don’t have him in the Title picture but they need to keep him strong. They could put him in a credible feud with Brock Lesnar or Seth Rollins very easily. If it’s me, I have one of those two beat Lesnar and free the Title belt, and then have the new champ feud with the other guy. Plus you can always have other guys feud with him. That is the beauty of booking, you can tell a story if you do it properly.

From PWI's weekly Q&A articles about the dilemma WWE has with The Bruan right now.

Originally Posted by PWI After having been backstage at Raw several weeks ago in Long Island, WWE star Jason Jordan is slated to be at this Monday's Raw taping in Richmond, Virginia, PWInsider.com has confirmed. Jordan underwent neck surgery on 2/5, described at the time as "a minimally invasive operation to decompress the nerve," by WWE Medical Director Dr. Joseph Maroon. WWE removed Jordan from all live events in January, but continued featuring him on WWE TV in non-physical roles despite him being one half of the Raw Tag Team Champions at the time.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE is wrapping up production on the new season of The Edge & Christian Show later this week. From what we have heard, there are a lot of fun cameos from a number of stars including Johnny Gargano, Funaki, Tommy Dreamer, Beth Phoenix and Kairi Sane. We have also heard there will be some sort of scene related to the old Police Academy films.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The Best of the Super Juniors tournament resumes Thursday morning with a card from the Ukaru Chan Arena at 5:30 am Eastern on New Japan World with the following card: *KUSHIDA & Shota Umino vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Yota Tsuji *Marty Scurll & Chase Owens vs. Chris Sabin & Tomoyuki Oka *Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado vs. SHO & Yoshi-Hashi *Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Dragon Lee & Toa Henare *Bushi vs. Tiger Mask – A BLOCK *ACH vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru – A BLOCK *Taiji Ishimori vs. Flip Gordon – A BLOCK *Will Ospreay vs. YOH – A BLOCK

Originally Posted by WrestleInc Above is a clip from the new "Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard" podcast on the WWE Network, featuring a discussion on Vince Russo claiming credit for Triple H's "The Game" nickname and his early success.

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

A fan on Twitter asked Cody Rhodes about streaming the September 1 All In event and Rhodes responded at this moment there's no plans to broadcast the event, which sold out in about 30 minutes. He did note they have some upcoming meetings that may change that though. Cody u gotta make @ALL_IN_2018 a ppv event please mate I gotta watch it here in Canada I'm @ALL_IN_2018 — Michael James Kelly (@ihateyanks27) May 21, 2018 We have no plans to broadcast at the moment. But we do have fun meetings in LA, Baltimore, and Dallas almost the moment we get back from the UK. Probably cover some of it on #BeingTheElite This is our first time in this role, we are exploring all options! https://t.co/cQVzUUOYA4 — Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) May 22, 2018

Link: https://twitter.com/ihateyanks27/sta...14284850008069 , https://twitter.com/CodyRhodes/statu...17439549558784


Some other sheet news includes:

• XFL recently opened a new online merch store for the league's revival. https://www.xflshop.com/
• Update to recent Hidden Gems collection news as WWE recently added more content for the upcoming new set on the WWE Network. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...twork.html?p=1
• In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 19th anniversary of Owen Hart's tragic death at WWF's Over the Edge 1999 event.
• Recent episode of the Edge & Christian podcast show had Cody as the guest talking about Rey Mysterio, thoughts on Ted DiBiase Jr, leaving the WWE, and more. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...of-former-wwe/

[slik]

From this week's Observer -- Meltzer on WWE (and UFC's) aging demographics and the changing landscape of things to come.

[#1-norm-fan]

Originally Posted by Slik From this week's Observer -- Meltzer on WWE (and UFC's) aging demographics and the changing landscape of things to come.

I'm actually surprised WCW's audience was that much older. I know even in 2000 they were still the promotion of choice for older "rasslin'" fans because it was much less removed from that. With the NWO and whatnot though, I figured the average fan would be closer in age.

[slik]

Summary:


* Average age of WWE viewer is 54.


* SD going to Friday nights is great for them b/c research shows people over 50 don't go out on Friday nights so WWE's largest viewing demographic will be 'primed for the kill'


* Fox will promote WWE during the NFL and other sports


* Meltzer speculates the biggest matches, minus WrestleMania, will probably be on Smackdown after the move happens because SD will make more money than the WWE Network does and he speculates WrestleMania might end up a FOX special instead of on the WWE Network.

[ClockShot]

The 54 age number is throwing me off.

I thought the game plan for like the last 10+ years was to draw in kids.

[slik]

Originally Posted by ClockShot The 54 age number is throwing me off. I thought the game plan for like the last 10+ years was to draw in kids.

It was -- but it didn't work as well as they hoped.
They drew in some kids obviously -- but IIRC he's stated in the past they mostly were kids of adults who already watched the show -- and their kids started watching too.

[Emperor Smeat]

Originally Posted by ClockShot The 54 age number is throwing me off. I thought the game plan for like the last 10+ years was to draw in kids.

That was mainly successful in terms of merch sales and live events but a bust when it came to trying to mold Cena's base as the future tv viewing base. Only reason its not even older as an average is due to more girls and younger women watching WWE shows than in the past.

WWE spent well over a decade trying to groom Cena's base as their future for tv and failed miserably. Worse is that base didn't carry over as the foundation for Reigns which is another reason why he's struggled as a top star. Even worse is supposedly Cena's base doesn't stick around as wrestling fans once they become older which wasn't the case with Hogan or Austin.

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Big Cass Depreciation Day:

Originally Posted by Observer The WWE’s deals with both USA and FOX, for a combined $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion over the five years, covers October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2024. The FOX offer for Raw was believed to be in the range of $240 million to $270 million ... For FOX, this past Friday in that time slot they aired two hours of MasterChef Junior, which did 3,288,000 viewers. One would expect Smackdown on FOX to do a figure in that same range, but at a far higher cost. Smackdown would be much stronger among males 18-49 and 18-49 in general, as well as kids, but far weaker among women. However, two weeks earlier that same show did 2,800,000 viewers (on 5/11 it was preempted for a much higher special that did more than Smackdown would have done), lower than Smackdown would be expected to do.

Originally Posted by Observer Regarding WrestleMania week, in theory this would move the Smackdown show in the city from the Tuesday night to the Friday night. That would put it against the major indie shows in the past that ran on Fridays. Saturday would likely be NXT and ROH’s big show, so most of the top indies would stay away from that night. So the question becomes if they would stay away from Friday as well and move to Thursday. The Hall of Fame would have to move to either Thursday or Tuesday, with Thursday making far more sense.

Originally Posted by Observer While Friday night is a worse night for drawing viewers than Tuesday, the increase in exposure from being on the FOX Network, both because it’s a far higher rated station, and because it is available in far more homes, will more than offset it. In fact, it would be expected that Smackdown would have more viewers than Raw, because of the power of FOX and far greater visibility. Another key aspect is the nature of the deal, which hasn’t been disclosed. If part of the deal is WWE gets exclusivity on FOX for pro wrestling, it could greatly hurt the ROH syndication package, since ROH is on a number of FOX affiliates, although usually not in prime time. But Joe Koff stated that this isn’t the case, and that it would not affect ROH clearances on Sinclair-owned FOX affiliates.

Originally Posted by Observer Confirming what had been reported, John Hennigan (formerly John Morrison in WWE and currently Johnny Mundo in Lucha Underground) will officially be on the next season of CBS' "Survivor." Hennigan was one of the contestants highlighted in the preview video for "Survivor: David vs. Goliath" that aired during last night's finale for the most recent season of the show. The reality series debuted in 2000 -- and "David vs. Goliath" will be its 37th edition. The person who wins the show receives a $1 million grand prize.

More details: https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wres...urvivor-258396

Originally Posted by PWI Competing on Survivor will not be the only major event coming for Johnny Impact, as according to his fiancée Taya Valkyrie, the couple getting married in a little over a week: My husband (well in 9 days he will be ????)..... tonight it became official, check him out on this next Season of @survivorcbs #Slamtown pic.twitter.com/ghPbXLAjWN — Lucha Royalty (@TheTayaValkyrie) May 24, 2018

Originally Posted by PWI WWE announced a show in Osaka, Japan at the Edison Arena on 8/31, featuring talent from the RAW brand including Ronda Rousey.

Link: https://twitter.com/TheTayaValkyrie/...06714343784448

In your opinion do you think its wise to give Ronda Rousey a title shot after only being with WWE for less than a year? Yes, for the same reason they’d give The Rock a title match if he came back. You must maximize Rousey’s star power and the investment the company has made into her. If they bang out a nice number or get an increase in subs because of the match or even put together a great match, mission accomplished.

From PWI's weekly Q&A articles on why Ronda got a title shot this early even though she claimed before she isn't in the WWE just to have special treatment.

Originally Posted by Observer Regarding the biggest shows in the U.S. over the next few months, the 7/7 New Japan show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, at press time, they were at less than 5,000 tickets sold. One of the reasons it was as low as it was is the secondary market brokers steered clear of the show. They had steered clear of the Long Beach shows as well, which sold out instantly. There are only 229 tickets available on the secondary market on 5/22, and the nature of how they are scattered indicates not much if any secondary market buys in the sense these were just people putting up two or four tickets individually, as opposed to buying large amounts in different places like at a WWE show. That’s notable because of how quick Long Beach sold out. But to this point there is nobody and nothing announced for the show, and won’t be until after Dominion.

Originally Posted by Observer Indies Roundup: In something of a major mainstream note, a movie called “My Dad is a Heel Wrestler,” starring Hiroshi Tanahashi, will be major cinema release in Japan this summer. It’s the movie filmed last year where Tanahashi cut his hair and darkened it for the role. Right now the official word on Katsuya Kitamura is still that he’s out of action due to damage from a recent concussion. At one point there was talk he wouldn’t be back, but of late the idea is he will be back at some point. Those at MLW have said the reason they are no longer using Matt Riddle is because WWN wouldn’t allow him to work their shows due to MLW getting television. Cody & Brandi Rhodes working on a training camp as well as an American Dream Scholarship for wrestlers. Impact announced a public Q&A on 6/4 in Toronto at 10 a.m. at the Real Sports Bar & Grille. Appearing at the sports bar will be Austin Aries, Moose, Madison Rayne, Su Yung, Gail Kim, Ed Nordholm, Scott D'Amore and Don Callis. They will be there selling tickets and promoting Slammiversary which takes place on 7/22 in Toronto. Rise will debut a weekly Internet show called Rise - Ascent with new shows every Wednesday on the Rise streaming service at www.riseascent.com. The shows will be building shows on 6/29 in South Gate, CA and 7/7 in Chicago. The service is $4.99 per month. Jimmy Jacobs will be working as the writer and producer of the show starting with the 6/29 show. Progress and Evolve will be doing a joint show together on 8/4 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. They will also be doing a show on 8/7 in Queens,NY at La Boom. Tickets for the shows for each promotion on those days (different tickets) go on sale Monday at NoonEastern. Also announced for Evolve on 6/23 in Queens, NY is Matt Riddle vs. Shane Strickland for the Evolve title. For 6/24 in Melrose, MA they've announced Riddle vs. DJZ, AR Fox vs. Walter and Chris Dickinson vs. Tracy Williams.

Cody: https://www.facebook.com/events/360348727709056/

Originally Posted by Observer While this has been said before, including at a WWE Investors call, and Vince McMahon changed his mind on it, right now the idea of ICW and Progress from the U.K. going to the WWE Network is back on, at least this week. But this is close enough that we’ve been told the announcement, if it happens, would be coming right around the time or at the Royal Albert Hall shows

Originally Posted by Observer Right now the working dates for the 2018 Mae Young Classic are 8/7 and 8/8 at Full Sail University. That is not official until an announcement is made but crew has been told to keep those dates free for those tapings

Originally Posted by Observer Orton had arthroscopic knee surgery for an MCL tear that he suffered late last year. He had been working with the tear for months and was waiting for a time to have a break and for all of his programs to be taken care of to get it done. That explains why he did such a clean job for Jeff Hardy at Backlash. He’s expected back in about two months

Originally Posted by Observer Toni Storm signed a U.K. contract. When she was asked about doing the Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix tournament in August and September (their version of G-1), there was no confirmation but probably not since she has to take any dates WWE offers. But at this point it’s a U.K. deal and not an NXT deal, as would be the case for almost all of the U.K. wrestlers recently signed

Originally Posted by Observer WWE has also gotten aggressive regarding trying to sign up indie talent with MLW as the target since they just got television. That will be interesting because the key guys MLW is relying on have signed contracts. There were reports that WWE approached several wrestlers under contract to MLW. According to legal papers sent, the talent advised MLW of the offers and told WWE they were signed, but WWE told the wrestlers they should still come to a tryout and be around the system. In the past, WWE would back off when approaching talent under contract to a degree due to what happened in the past with ROH. They’ll still get word indirectly to tell people not to renew their deals like they did with ROH (and there were guys in ROH based on promises made and such while under contract that one would think was tampering, and that’s what led to the legal situation last year where WWE had to pull all offers from ROH talent and waited months after their contracts expired before approaching them again, although in the end the guys like Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole and Bobby Fish all came. The MLW deals signed with its key talent were for multiple years. A key may have been MJF signing with MLW

Originally Posted by Observer Smackdown has been dying in the U.K. ratings as of the latest numbers. The live numbers for Raw were 69,000 on 4/16, 30,000 on 4/23, 19,000 on 4/30 and 49,000 on 5/7. The jump on 5/7 is likely because it was the week before the U.K. tour. We didn’t get the 5/14 and 5/15 numbers for the shows in London, but they would be expected to be way up. Smackdown on 4/17 did 22,000, 4/24 was 15,000, 5/1 was 16,000 and 5/8 is unavailable but was less than 12,000

Originally Posted by Observer The ten most-watched shows on WWE Network this past week were: 1. Camp WWE episode 3; 2. Table for 3 with Edge, Christian and Hardys; 3. NXT from 5/16; 4. Backlash; 5. Something Else to Wrestle With from 5/16; 6. Camp WWE episode 2; 7. 205 Live from 5/15; 8. Table for 3 with Elias, Brian James and Jarrett; 9. Greatest Royal Rumble; 10. NXT from 5/9

Originally Posted by Observer What this means for the wrestlers becomes interesting. If WWE was to pay even 13 percent of its revenue to talent (major sports are closer to 50 percent), on a $1.2 billion per year business (which WWE should be by 2020), that would mean an annual payroll of $156 million. If we figure 100 developmental wrestles at a $50,000 per year average, that leaves $151 million for a 126 person main roster. A $1.2 million average salary is weird, because wrestling is a business where the top guys skew the average anyway. But literally they could double everyone’s current pay tomorrow, and they would still be paying at the same rate as UFC, and at about one-fourth the rate of major sports. The point being, the idea of offering someone a $3 million per year guarantee to leave New Japan, whether they’d want to do it or not, is something they could easily afford to do now, but in 2020, they could offer someone $5 million without blinking an eye. Offering a superstar on the indies $500,000 would mean nothing, and even the guys happy at $100,000 to $200,000 on the indies who have no interest in WWE today could have their money multiplied easily if WWE decided to do so.

Meltzer on what WWE's new tv deals mean for when it comes to future indie raids.


Some other sheet news includes:

• FITE TV and Global Force Entertainment (owned by Jeff Jarrett) recently agreed to a deal where Global Force will provide wrestling-based content for FITE. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...nment.html?p=1
• According to the Observer, FOX moving Smackdown to Fridays will hurt NJPW and MLW the most since both air their weekly tv shows during the same time as Smackdown.
• According to the Observer, CM Punk's lawyers rejected an offer by Dr. Chris Amann's (and WWE) lawyers for a settlement decision for the on-going libel lawsuit against Punk. At the moment, Punk's lawyers are pushing for the case to go ahead since they feel confident they have enough evidence to prove their claims and for Punk to have a moral victory over the WWE. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...-case-against/
• Sports Illustrated had a recent interview with Pentagon Jr talking about his thoughts on Rey Mysterio, his favorite wrestlers as a child, and winning the Impact World Championship. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...-impact-title/

[slik]

Those UK ratings are bad

yikes

[XL]

Aren’t they the live numbers? It airs at like 1am.

[ClockShot]

Might have to tune into Survivor and see how John Morrison does.

Raw talent going to that Osaka show. Asuka is from there. She's on Smackdown. Wonder if they'll let her tag along?

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2018:

Originally Posted by Observer WWE better pray for a Houston Rockets win tomorrow night, because if there's a seventh game between the Golden State Warriors and Rockets, it will take a bite out of hours two and three of Raw. Like a big bite. If the Rockets win tomorrow, there is no game seven, and Raw will rebound to pre-NBA playoff numbers.

Originally Posted by Observer A four-way with A.J. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe will headline a 7/1 show at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.

Originally Posted by Observer/PWI/Post Wrestling Indies Roundup: Mark Dallas announced today that ICW and Firecracker Films are creating a new reality show for the BBC, somewhat similar to Tough Enough. They are looking for wrestlers to train for the show. WWN announced that Josh Briggs, James Drake and Anthony Henry have signed contracts. They are expected to make more signing announcements. The key to signing talent would be to keep them away from ROH or MLW among others. OTT have released the incredible Matt Riddle vs Will Ospreay match from Scrappermania for free. The full show, which took place at The National Stadium in Dublin is available at OTTonDemand.com. Pro Wrestling NOAH and Simon Inoki’s Toho Eiyuden are entering a working agreement to expand into China. According to Puroresu Spirit, Inoki split from his father-in-law Antonio’s IGF outfit to form Tho Eiyuden, which also goes by Oriental Heroes and runs out of Shanghai, China. NOAH helping to train performers for Inoki’s outfit and they will exchange talent. Toho Eiyuden performers are expected to perform on next week’s Korakuen Hall event and NOAH talent will be sent to China for shows in August. New Japan performer Ren Narita recently suffered a concussion and has been taken off the shows through June 2nd. At that time, they will re-evaluate Narita and determine if he can be cleared to return.

OTT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB-1AcF60mM

Originally Posted by Observer AXS TV is expected to announce imminently that they will be airing the July 7th New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Special show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco live. It was expected this would be the case when the show was announced with a 5 p.m. local start time, meaning it was designed for primetime viewing on the East Coast. The name of the show will be "G1 Special in San Francisco," and the official headliners on the show will be New Japan's big four, Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito. The Young Bucks are also officially booked for the show. Jim Ross and Josh Barnett will return as announcers. "As New Japan Pro Wrestling continues their U.S. expansion, we are proud to provide a platform for NJPW and TV-Asahi to bring their electrifying events to as many fans as possible through our live primetime broadcasts," said AXS TV Fights CEO Andrew Simon. "The Cow Palace has a rich history of major pro wrestling events and we are exited to continue that tradition with our presentation of the G1 Special in San Francisco."

Originally Posted by Observer Adding to the lineup for next month's events at Royal Albert Hall, WWE has announced that Shawn Michaels will be making an appearance on night one. What Michaels' role will be hasn't been revealed, aside from that he'll be appearing "alongside Triple H" and obviously won't be wrestling. Michaels currently works as a coach at WWE's Performance Center. The two nights at Royal Albert Hall will be taking place on June 18th and 19th. A tournament to determine the challenger for Pete Dunne's WWE United Kingdom Championship on the 19th is also set for the opening night, along with Dunne teaming with Tyler Bate & Trent Seven against The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong). The second night will have Dunne defending against the tournament winner, Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. EC3 & Velveteen Dream, and NXT North American, Women's, and Tag Team title defenses.

Link: https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-united...al-albert-hall

Originally Posted by PWI The 5/17 edition of Impact did 236,000 overnight viewers, down from last week's 325,000 overnight viewers.

Originally Posted by PWI Jury selection in the civil lawsuit brought by WWE Doctor Chris Amann against former WWE Champion CM Punk and Colt Cabana began yesterday in Cook County Court in Illinois yesterday, PWInsider.com has learned. The trial process was originally scheduled to begin this past Tuesday morning but was pushed back several days due to a new judge taking on the case as well as some last minute filings by Amann's side.

More details: https://www.pwinsider.com/article/11...pdate.html?p=1

Originally Posted by PWI WWE began contacting talents for the second annual Mae Young Classic tournament, which will, be taped starting this August at Full Sail Live in Florida over the past two weeks. WWE is reaching out to a number of talents, some of whom worked last year's tournament and some whom have gotten tryouts with the company in the past.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling There is a discussion that the WWE could have another card to play regarding their distribution rights. BTIG analyst Brandon Ross recently wrote that he believes the company might be able to split their rights and strike a separate deal for the streaming rights to Raw and SmackDown. This follows the reports that NBC Universal is expected to renew Raw with a significant upgrade in price with The Hollywood Reporter citing up to three times the current value. In addition, Fox has agreed to spend $205 million per year for the rights to SmackDown when the NBC Universal agreement expires at the end of September 2019. In the current deal with NBC Universal, the streaming rights for Raw and SmackDown went to Hulu, which NBC Universal has a stake in and after 30-days the shows are added to the WWE Network ... The BTIG report estimates that Raw itself could fetch $25 million per year in streaming rights and bring the WWE’s overall domestic rights total to $500 million per year. To put that figure into perspective, the entire WWE generated $800 million in revenue in 2017.

Link: https://www.fiercecable.com/video/ww...n-analyst-says

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The Best of the Super Juniors tournament continues Saturday in Aichi. The tournament matches are being uploaded later in the day to New Japan World and there won’t be another live show on New Japan World until the A and B Block finals on Sunday, June 3rd followed by the finals on Monday, June 4th. Below are Saturday’s A Block tournament matches and the point totals: *Flip Gordon (4) vs. Tiger Mask (6) *YOH (2) vs. ACH (2) *Taiji Ishimori (4) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2) *Will Ospreay (4) vs. Bushi (0)

Originally Posted by Fightful.com Hennigan is looking to continue to add to his resume' according to Dave Meltzer in his latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer is reporting that there is interest on Hennigan's behalf to compete for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Over the past few years the popularity of NJPW has increased greatly with a number of big-name talents competing for the company. The report notes that Hennigan's relationship with AAA may be what will prevent him from making the jump to NJPW. New Japan normally does not use talent from AAA seeing as how they have a working relationship with CMLL.

Originally Posted by WrestleInc On the recent episode of The Jim Ross Report, J.R. discussed who he feels which WWE Raw star will have a run as Universal Champion due to his stock rising. Ross commented on Braun Strowman, and reiterated on how he will be the top star of WWE. However, he feels that WWE should not book him to be the top name this year, but should wait until 2019. On a previous episode, Ross stated that he will be very happy to see a Roman Reigns (heel champion) vs. Braun Strowman (babyface challenger) main event match at WrestleMania 35. While he mentioned Strowman, J.R. highlighted a particular name who he feels will become Universal Champion down the road. "[Drew McIntyre] looks great, he sounds great, he's in great condition, he's just getting better and better," said Ross. "He's a big time player. I could see, very easily, Drew McIntyre being a Universal or WWE Champion down the road. Without a doubt. It's a lay-up; trust me on this one."

Some other sheet news:

• In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 24th anniversary of Jeff Hardy's debut in the WWE. Hardy wrestled and lost to the 1-2-3 Kid during a set tapings for WWE RAW in Erie, Pennsylvania.
• During a recent interview with Telemundo Las Vegas, Rey Mysterio reveals if given the chance, he would like to return to the WWE to help the company's Latino wrestlers. He also teased at the idea of wanting to lead a stable of them for a potential return run. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/r...nt-missing-him
• Musical website Rock Sins had a recent interview with Aleister Black talking about WWE's recent European tour, crowd reception for him during the tour, being the NXT champion, the creation of his entrance theme, and more. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...ce-of-wwe-nxt/
• The Mirror had a recent interview with Trent Seven talking about his goal to become NXT Tag Team champions, thoughts on WWE's UK expansion plans, and Toni Storm. http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...and-in-the-uk/

[Mr. Nerfect]

I would love to see Hennigan in New Japan.

[slik]

At least 1 TV network is interested in bidding for WrestleMania rights. Mania for free on TV essentially kills the idea of paying for wrestling on PPV. NFL makes more than $1B from SuperBowl TV rights. A fraction of that would be more than what WWE gets now thru PPV/subscribers.

— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) May 26, 2018

[Damian Rey 2.0]

What does that mean for the network tho?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Damian Rey 2.0 What does that mean for the network tho?

I imagine that there will still be exclusive content on there. You'll still have the old PPVs. I can imagine a lot of the documentary department focuses its effort onto creating content there. It might even be used as some sort of pilot territory zone in order to try and get things produced to shop around to other networks.

[slik]

My guess is WWE will likely start w WM (if they can get a great deal) and from there try for Royal Rumble and SummerSlam/Survivor Series/MITB


They've mentioned at investor calls more than once they've considered a 'tiered plan' for the WWE Network at some point. I would guess the smaller ppvs would stay as 'Network Exclusives' and same for NXT and NXT Takeover events. WWE long-term wants to open Performance Centers and international versions of NXT all over the World (and one on the West Coast as well) so I could see them amping up multiple versions of NXT and maybe used tiered plans for access to older ppvs.


That's just my guesswork.

[slik]

Ultimately, come October 2019 I would expect/guess to see more big matches on weekly TV and the b-shows as more 'extra'. I think they'll still throw in a match or two to garner the hardcore fan/Network subscriber's interest -- but with the most $$$ coming from SDLive and RAW starting fall 2019 -- it will make more sense to keep the product aimed at viewing the weekly tv series than to build to ppvs...with the exception of major shows like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam in particular.


WrestleMania makes a massive amount of money for WWE as is and if a Network is willing to pay them a large sum for tv rights then it only benefits WWE's financials even more so. I do believe both the RR and SSlam will still be treated as special events because WWE plans to start holding both in stadiums going forward as well. Alamodome lit the fire supposedly for WWE with the Rumble in 2017, and that is why Chase Field in Phoenix is hosting The Royal Rumble in 2019. Chase Field out-bid Safeco Field, home of WrestleMania XIX, to nab the show. Boston has already shown interest in hosting SummerSlam at Fenway Park previously and Tampa Bay has plans to bid on both a Royal Rumble and WrestleMania in the future. WWE's deal to keep SummerSlam at Barclay's Center ends after the upcoming event in August 2018.

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Per Meltz currently advertised as the main event of the Extreme Rules PPV:


Reigns & Strowman & Lashley vs. Owens & Zayn & Mahal

[Lock Jaw]

EXTREME!!!!!

[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by Nothing:

Originally Posted by Observer Despite heavily advertising a much-anticipated Samoa Joe vs. Daniel Bryan match all week (which was changed during the show), SmackDown averaged 2.195 million viewers on Tuesday night, the exact same total as last week. This was despite no major sports competition and with the networks airing reruns for the most part, which lends credence to the thought that the number one factor affecting SmackDown ratings is the Raw audience from the night before. Monday's Raw had the second lowest audience of the modern era, and while the retention rate was slightly higher than normal, SmackDown's ratings are still tied in with Raw. The show finished seventh for the night on cable in terms of total viewers but finished at the top of the 18-49 demo with a 0.66 rating. SmackDown was down year-over-year in the ratings by almost seven percent, which was a bigger decline than Raw had the night before.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE's working relationship with PROGRESS Wrestling will continue with an NXT wrestler challenging for the PROGRESS Women's Championship next month. PROGRESS announced today that Jinny will be defending her Women's title against Steffanie Newell (formerly known as Nixon Newell) on June 10th at the O2 Academy in Sheffield, England. Before Newell joined WWE, Jinny was also the opponent in her last match for PROGRESS. Newell, who is from Wales, made her NXT in-ring debut at a house show this April after recovering from a torn ACL. She was supposed to be part of the Mae Young Classic in 2017, but the injury kept her from wrestling in the tournament. She has yet to debut on NXT television. Jinny won the championship from Toni Storm earlier this month and will be making her first title defense against Newell. Though this has yet to be officially announced, Storm vs. Jinny vs. Isla Dawn vs. Killer Kelly is being advertised for WWE's United Kingdom-brand show at Royal Albert Hall on June 18th. The winner will challenge for the NXT Women's Championship at the venue the next night.

Links: https://twitter.com/ThisIs_Progress/...79835782275072 , https://www.livenation.co.uk/show/11.../2018-06-18/en

Originally Posted by Observer A number of stars, as well as a match have been announced for ROH’s upcoming Best in the World tour. Stardom’s Kagetsu and Hazuki were announced for the show on Ring of Honor’s Twitter account today. KUSHIDA has also been signed to compete. In addition to the talent announcements, ROH also announced a tag team championship match with champions The Briscoes defending the titles against The Young Bucks ... A triple threat match for the Ring of Honor title was previously announced back at the last set of television tapings. Dalton Castle will defend the title against Marty Scurll and Cody in a three way bout. Nick Aldis, who is currently the NWA champion, has said that he will only defend the NWA title if Cody not only wins the ROH title, but puts it on the line at All In. Best in the World will take place on June 29 at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland. There will be a TV taping the following day in Fairfax, Virigina.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE has confirmed the dates of the Mae Young Classic to be 8/8 and 8/9 at Full Sail University in Orlando.

Originally Posted by Observer In the time slot that Smackdown will be in, FOX debuts a reality show called Phenoms and it was a ratings disaster, doing 662,000 viewers.

For some reference, this new show is either replacing or covering for the off-season of the children's cooking contest show which did around 3+ million for its average.

Originally Posted by Observer Indies Roundup: Heroes of Lucha Libre on 6/2 at the Galen Center on the campus of USC in Los Angeles has Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Trumposo (Aaron Aguilera) as the main event and El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr. & Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. L.A. Park & El Hijo de L.A. Park. The promoters were expecting a huge crowd at the USC campus. We shall see. Cody and Nick Aldis are focused on in the NWA's latest Ten Pounds of Gold video. MLW is pushing the Tom Lawlor vs. Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) match on its 6/7 show in Orlando as a UFC vs. Bellator match. They also pushed a 40 wrestler Battle Riot match for 7/19 in Queens, NY at the Melrose Ballroom. It'll be Rumble style with eliminations by pin, submission or to rope elimination. The winner gets a title shot whenever they want. Tessa Blanchard vs. Madison Eagles has been announced for the 7/8 Rise TV tapings in Naperville, IL. Nick Bury vs. Tajiri takes place for BCW in Melbourne, Australia on 8/31. Evolve on 6/23 in Queens NY at La Boom has Matt Riddle vs.; Shane Strickland in a no rope break match for the Evolve title, Austin Theory vs. DJZ in an anything goes match for the FIP title, Walter vs. Darby Allin, Chris Dickinson & Jaka & Dom Garrini vs. Tracy Williams & Timothy Thatcher & Anthony Henry and John Klinger and AR Fox appear.

NWA: https://youtu.be/VfNhMTMS7Cg

Originally Posted by PWI WWE just announced that Seth Rollins will defend the Intercontinental Title against Elias at the Money In The Bank PPV.

Us Weeky tweeted the following. They are back together. Wow, I am shocked. Tune in soon to see it all unfold on Total Bellas. You know the cameras had to be there! Exclusive: Nikki Bella and John Cena are back together, a month and a half after their split https://t.co/ajRC6fVfin — Us Weekly (@usweekly) May 31, 2018

Originally Posted by PWI MLW announced the following: FIRST-EVER BATTLE RIOT TO MAIN EVENT MLW’S JULY 19TH NYC TV TAPING NEW YORK – MLW’s July 19th card will literally be the biggest Major League Wrestling show ever. MLW today announced that it will present the first-ever Battle Riot® featuring 40 participants as the main event of its July 19th card and FUSION TV taping in New York City at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY. A mash-up of a battle royal, royal rumble and anything goes street fight, this super-sized main event will feature 40 wrestlers with new participants entering the ring every 60 seconds ... What does the winner Get? The winner gets a World Heavyweight Title Shot anywhere, anytime! It could be that night; it could be in 6 months. The challenger has the key to unlock an instant title shot against whoever the champion is! Participants will be announced starting next week.

Originally Posted by PWI The WWE Network added the following "Hidden Gem" to their VOD section today, featuring the first-ever Georgia Championship Wrestling footage on the Network: BRISCO'S LAST GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY APRIL 07, 1984 In what would be his last attempt at glory, Jack Brisco takes to the ring to challenge Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Originally Posted by PWI Based on statements that he has made in interviews earlier this year, Eli Drake's Impact Wrestling contract is slated to expire this weekend. In checking with sources, we are told that the two sides have been discussing a new deal and that an offer is on the table for Drake. We have not confirmed that he has agreed to terms. Drake, 35, first broke into the business on the West Coast independent scene. After appearing in Dwayne Johnson's TNT reality series Hero, he was signed to a WWE developmental deal. After being released, he came to Impact in 2015.

Originally Posted by PWI Squared Circle Sirens is reporting that Deonna Purrazzo has signed with WWE for the NXT brand. PWInsider.com has independently confirmed that signing is taking place. We are told that she was signed to a deal to Ring of Honor, but the deal allowed Purrazzo to opt out after six months. She decided to take that option in order to sign with WWE and will be starting there this summer. Purrazzo, 23, has worked in Japan for STARDOM as well as making appearances in the past for WWE and Impact Wrestling, among other companies. She's long been on the WWE radar and really, it was just a matter of time before she landed there.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling At first, they focused on the Royal Rumble match from January 26th in Phoenix, where Punk worked over 49 minutes of the match after entering the match first. During the match, Punk took a hard clothesline from Kofi Kingston, which he described on the “Art of Wrestling” podcast in 2014, which led to the suit being filed. Dr. Amann consulted with Punk after learning he had been rocked and claimed to have instructed Punk to eliminate himself from the match, which Punk refused. Amann added that producer Michael Hayes later instructed Punk to eliminate himself before Kane was sent out to eliminate him. Punk was said to be agitated towards Amann backstage after the match .. They described an elbow injury from Dec. 2013, and a shoulder injury in Jan. 2014. Amann acknowledged prescribing antibiotics, including Z Paks to performers, including Punk, which he later said was for sinusitis. In the afternoon portion, Amann was asked about the emotional damage the podcast caused him, stating that there have been negative tweets directed at him and derogatory chants aimed at him. Amann stated that he hasn’t suffered any damages from the WWE over the interview and that the opinion of the wrestlers has not been altered. When Amann stated he couldn’t denounce the claims Punk made was due to HIPAA, the defense cited a text message exchange between Amann and Chris Jericho where Amann stated that Punk’s health was nothing like had described in the interview.

Some details from Day 3 of CM Punk's libel lawsuit. Other highlights during the trial included WWE's doctor claiming he never gave Punk Z-Packs and later admitting he doesn't write down all his presciptions he hands out, instances of him acting unprofessionally towards others who seeked his medical help or advice, and some disrecenies regarding the size of the cyst Punk claimed he had. http://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone...-morning-notes , https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/0...amation-trial/

Originally Posted by Observer Sources with full knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the expected, that Smackdown will be live, airing from 8-10 p.m. on Friday nights, meaning a likely change of that crew’s road schedule. It rarely figured into things, but in the past there have been those who had teenage sons who played high school football who had asked to be on the Smackdown crew because they didn’t work on Friday nights. Another aspect of the first night of the tour, rather than the last, being a TV taping with an early on-call time, it means that most Smackdown talent would have to use Thursday as a travel day to make sure to get to the building by early Friday, as opposed to Friday night if it was a house show. So that would mean a schedule of leaving Thursday and getting home on Tuesday. It would be more convenient to do a Thursday through Sunday schedule because talent wouldn’t have to be there until Thursday night, and they’d already be on the road for early Friday, and then could fly home Monday. It would also avoid the Smackdown Monday night house show that is hard to draw since it goes against Raw. These type of decisions don’t have to be made for a long time. NBC Universal was stunned at losing Smackdown, never believing the bidding for the “B” show would reach $200 million, a level the show got because of the multiple suitors. As noted last week, because of their own ratings situation, USA simply could not afford to lose Raw and used their contractual right to match any existing offer to keep the show, which FOX had hoped to put on its main network on Monday nights. They declined to do the same for Smackdown when the bidding came into the $200 million range.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE stock closed at press time at $58.96 per share giving the company a $4.549 billion market value. The latest increase was fueled by an analysis from Brandon Ross where he targeted the value of the stock’s future at $75 per share based on the new NBC Universal and FOX deals. That $75 per share figure would be 13.5 times what he believes EBITDA for the company will be in 2020. He feels other analysts aren’t seeing that the new television contract in India (the current deal expires at the end of 2019) will also have a huge increase. He noted that the value for content in India has skyrocketed since the last contract WWE signed. He also believes WWE can sell a digital rights package for $25 million by that time. With those numbers he expects revenue to increase by $283 million in 2020 over current levels, which would be in the $1.1 billion per year range. Most of that new $283 million would be profit, since they are already spending the money to tape those shows.

Originally Posted by Observer As of right now, the plan for Lesnar’s next Universal title match is SummerSlam, on 8/19 in Brooklyn. We’re told that Lesnar is tentatively headlining that show but that is not locked in stone. For Lesnar-watch, the key is whether he applies to be put back in the USADA testing pool for UFC by 6/30. If he does not, then he’s staying with WWE. If he does, there is a better chance he would be leaving and starting back in UFC on the New Year’s weekend show. Of course, with both companies cash rich, his timing of being about to be a free agent once again, while still holding the title, and the ability to play one side off the other is the best it has ever been.

Originally Posted by Observer President Masayuki Uchida said he would be forming a business alliance with Simon Inoki, who is now running the Toho Eiyuden promotion, also known as the Oriental Heroes promotion, based out of Shanghai. The aim is for both promotions to help develop pro wrestling in China, including finding and training new talent. The Chinese talent would be brought to train with NOAH talent and the two promotions would work together on several shows this year. The first joint show will be 6/26 at Korakuen Hall, and the NOAH wrestlers will be working 8/8 and 8/9 in Shanghai. Everyone is trying to be the first to crack the Chinese market, but at the end of the day, it’ll be WWE, just like in MMA, in the long run, it’ll be UFC

Originally Posted by Oserver The top ten most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network were: 1. NXT on 5/23; 2. Table for 3 with Edge, Christian and the Hardys; 3. This Week in WWE (which usually doesn’t make the top 15); 4. Something Else to Wrestle With; 5. Backlash; 6. 205 Live from 5/22; 7. Greatest Royal Rumble; 8. Camp WWE Episode 3; 9. WrestleMania 2018; 10. NXT on 5/16

Some other sheet news includes:

• According to a report from 411Mania, Enzo recently publicly thanked his fans who have been "stalking" his alleged accuser. https://411mania.com/wrestling/enzo-...lking-accuser/
• Enzo is also rumored to be considering filing a lawsuit against TMZ and his alleged accuser with TMZ as a target due to him likely feeling they were the cause for his firing from the WWE.
• Apparently one of the key WWE executives who helped put together WWE's deal with the Saudi government has a wife who is a noted online bigot according to a recent report from the Huffington Post. Making things interested is WWE supposedly was fully aware of this executive's wife's online past and did not want any of it becoming public during their talks with the Saudi government. WWE has been denying claims of them being aware but did admit this executive no longer works for the company. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...02d69cf0264?7z
• In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, today is the 3rd anniversary of WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 PPV which is notable for being the 1st PPV aired live exclusively on the WWE Network.
• According to The Hollywood Reporter via Post Wrestling, a major reason why FOX went after WWE instead of keeping UFC was due to their feeling of WWE being easier to market due to its PG-friendly nature and UFC being too expensive to retain and market in a new deal.

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Keeping my fingers crossed they go w/ Lesnar vs Rollins at SummerSlam -- and that Rollins wins instead of getting stomped by Brock in 4 minutes.

Dreading them going w/ Lesnar vs Roman again
Could also see a Lesnar vs Lashley match happen as well