[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by the Return of the Vince strut:

This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw did an average viewing audience of 3,884,667 viewers on the USA Network. That’s up an average of +830,667 viewers from the week prior and much more like it. Why on earth did it take Vince McMahon, Triple H and company so long to figure out they needed to start trying again? Below is how the show did each hour: Hour one – 4,043,000 viewers Hour two – 3,786,000 viewers Hour three – 3,825,000 viewers Average – 3,884,667 viewers

In terms of breakdowns, the third hour was almost a million more (975k) compared to last week and one of the biggest ppv bumps in recent months. Ratings wise, highest since late August. Next 3 weeks could be an issue since its either taped stuff or the Slammy show that gets rushed for stuff. Observer had a good breakdown of both the good and bad from last night's RAW with some historical stuff: http://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/po...ratings-203821

Originally Posted by ProWrestlingSheet Former Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett‘s noticeable absence from TV the past 2 days has been due to a nerve injury in his neck … but Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned he won’t be out long. For those who missed it, King Barrett was nowhere to be found when the League of Nations interfered in Sunday’s TLC main event — and he was absent from RAW as well. Sources close to Barrett tell us he received a bad stinger while wrestling a few weeks back and now he’s taking time to let it heal. However, we’re told it’s not serious and he should return soon. No word on how the injury occurred, or who he was wrestling.

Originally Posted by Bleacher Report I get the sense they want to make it kind of a hybrid between Raw, the flagship show with all the storylines and great performances from our Superstars in the ring, and what's happening in NXT. That's really been a phenomenon, and I'm a huge proponent of that style of storytelling. I think if SmackDown can become a hybrid of the two, we'll have a winning formula regardless of who's on the microphone. But since it's going to be me, I love that it's playing to my strengths. I think they want to set us all up to succeed. It's going to be a new look and a new sound with the move to USA on Thursday, January 7.

Portion of a longer interview new Smackdown announcer Mauro Ranallo had with Bleacher Report. Seems to be teasing another big change planned is for Smackdown to borrow from both RAW and NXT as part of its new look. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...e-of-smackdown

Originally Posted by 411Mania NXT Champion Finn Balor recently appeared on Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast, here are the highlights… On Posing In Front of the TNA Office:”Everyone kind of took it for what it was and it was just a bit of fun. It was literally a complete potluck. We arrived in Nashville, they dropped us off at a gym because we [had] four hours to kill, [and] the gym was below the TNA office. By coincidence, the bus pulled up right outside the sign. I was like, ‘that’s the TNA sign!'” Balor added, “all the boys were busy pulling their bags out from under the bus and stuff and I had one thing on my mind: retweets.” On a Possible Main Roster Move: “I really believe that what we’re doing here in the [WWE] Performance Center [and] what we’re doing with NXT is something that’s going to be remembered for years. I feel like to get quote, unquote called up to the main roster would be, maybe, like a step back for my career right [now]. Obviously, instant gratification, you get called up to the main roster, that’s great, but I think what we’re doing here in NXT will stand longer in history as kind of like a revolutionary period and to kind of pull myself out of that would be detrimental to my career in the long term.”

BEING FAIR TO FLAIR Based on the calvacade of comments I received over the past two weeks beginning with the words “Did you hear what Ric Flair said about you” or headlines reading "Flair critical of Foley" - complete with thoughtful links, to make the criticism so much easier to find - thought I would eventually have to respond. But then I clicked onto one of those helpful links and read Ric's actual words. There's no story here. No controversy. Ric’s criticism of me was mild at worst. Besides he’s Ric Flair. He’s pretty much earned the right to speak his mind about anything he wants in the wrestling world. I had the right to criticize WWE, which I did… Ric Flair had the right to criticize my criticism of WWE, which he did... But when we get to a point where I start criticizing Ric Flair’s criticism of me criticizing the WWE, the whole thing starts to sound pretty silly, doesn’t it? So let’s not go there. Instead of addressing a situation that isn’t actually there, let me share a little Foley-Flair story with you: following the Natalya vs Charlotte WWE NXT match at NXT Takeover on May 29th, 2014 - the match I still consider to be THE game-changer in ‪#‎WomensWrestling‬ in WWE - I spent several hours (more hours than any writing project I’ve done in the last three years) trying to express just how meaningful that match had been. I received a message from Charlotte telling me how much she appreciated my words, and I wrote back “You know, your dad and I might not agree on much...but we both believe in you.” WOOOOO!

From Mick Foley's official Facebook account. Flair basically claimed that it was unfair for Foley to be criticizing the WWE as a viewer because he didn't know what was happening behind the scenes.

Originally Posted by Observer William Regal has flown home from the NXT tour and will not be appearing on the final two events due to issues related to his recent neck surgery. Regal wrote on Twitter today, "I'm incredibly sorry, but I have to return to the U.S. to take care of some final details of my recent neck surgery that couldn't be avoided any longer. Again, I'm sorry that I cannot continue with the current tour, but I'll be back in 2016 to @WWENXT." The two has two shows left, an event tonight in Cardiff, Wales, and the live Takeover special on the WWE Network tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern from London's SSE Wembley Arena. Regal was also scheduled for a talk show on Thursday in Nottingham, that has been canceled.

Originally Posted by Observer Lucha Underground, Billy Gunn and Paul Orndorff have signed deals with Pro Wrestling Tees.

Some other sheet news includes:

• NJPW World was announced to support Chromecast now.
• Rolling Stones' wrestling awards were announced with New Day taking their Wrestler of the Year award. Worst/Lame Duck ended up being Sheamus and Rookie ended up being Kevin Owens for the major awards. http://www.rollingstone.com/sports/f...w-day-20151214
• Based on a recent tweet, Tommy Dreamer is currently rumored to have finished his tv deal with the WWE but will stay around for house shows and tours.
• A potential Shane McMahon dvd set for next year was rumored to have been canceled recently. The set was originally rumored to be a possible choice for one of the two months not yet set by the WWE for releases.
• Gawker managed a small victory so far in the on-going Hulk Hogan lawsuit as Hogan's side won't be able to access the company's servers to find more evidence to support their case.