[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets (Observer Newsletter Edition):

WWE is also insistent on running WrestleMania, which will now be spread over two nights, 4/4 and 4/5, from a number of different locations with no fans, including the Performance Center in Orlando. From what we are told, the primary location both nights will be the Performance Center, but there were to be a few gimmick matches shot on different locations outside those walls as of 3/17, but that was also subject to change by the next day. To show how late a decision this was, WWE released the two days on 3/18, and the multiple locations a few hours later. On the 3/18 NXT show, which aired after both announcements were made, but clearly the Tom Phillips and HHH wrap-arounds were taped earlier in the day, they were still talking about WrestleMania being one show on 4/5. The multiple locations is to allow a number of people to be there while not exceeding 50 people in any location ... There was talk last week of delaying the show until 6/7 and while that may be earlier than everything is contained and there is no guarantee that date would be viable, delaying the show until you can have a large gathering seemed like the obvious solution. At this point you really have to question Vince McMahon with the idea of giving up revenue of $20 million or more and allowing fans to see the biggest event of the year live. Many have. We’re told that with so much uncertainty, and the fact there would be no for sure timetable, he made the call that he did. It was a shocking call because it removes the fans and the spectacle from the show, which is really what WrestleMania is about. It also devastated a number of smaller companies piggy-backing off the event. Some may have been, but if we go with the idea of, say an August Mania week, many of these companies also could have re-arranged their schedules. In many cases, with money outlaid for the weekend and no insurance, many are devastated. From an economic standpoint, at least right now, things are terrible for everyone, but it’s the most horrible for those who made their living from the business and are not under contract to one of the major companies. It’s the people who are the backbone of the future of the business.

When it comes to PPV, WWE officials have told us it will be different depending on the system. The idea is that whatever price would have been charged for WrestleMania, probably between $70 and $80, in some systems will be the charge and you get both shows, while other systems will offer the shows individually and collectively, and if you order individually, you would get the one night for half of the two-night price. The announcement of it being on the network and PPV is also that McMahon hasn’t been able to reach a deal regarding selling the PPVs to a major streaming service. The events of the past week are going to put a halt to most new high dollar commitments by a major company so wherever talks may have been, no deal is likely to be made at this point. There had been no talk of late that such a deal was close, although talks were most definitely going on.

From what we understand, WrestleMania is far from finalized. All the matches announced are done. The belief is the show will change forms in some ways. At first we were told there is a good chance they will do less matches, but also told nothing is definite, and now with two dates and different locations, I’d expect 16 or more matches total. The changes were all likely to be finalized this week. The lesser and as of yet unannounced Raw and Smackdown matches, including the Smackdown tag titles, the IC title, the U.S. title, Raw tag title and women’s tag titles are not etched in stone. Beth Phoenix & Natalya in the women’s tag title with Asuka & Kairi Sane and Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss is up in the air. They were still building Cross & Bliss for a title shot on Smackdown and Asuka was one of a relatively small number of people still used on Raw. Edge vs. Randy Orton last man standing and Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens are official additions to Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE title, Bill Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal title, Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler for the Raw women’s title, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt, Undertaker vs. A.J. Styles, Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the NXT women’s title, and a six-way with names to be finalized for the Smackdown women’s title held by Bayley (Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Carmella and Naomi and one other person was the last word on this match but it’s also not finalized). There are questions, notably the borders closing to Canada, regarding Lesnar, who lives in Saskatchewan. The belief right now is that Lesnar will be getting in and Raw this week in theory will show that one way or the other since he’s scheduled. For lesser names, like The Singhs, who still live in the Vancouver area, they tweeted that it looks like they won’t be able to work any time soon. People have asked about Owens, but he lives in Florida so there’s no issue ... Rey Mysterio beating U.S. champion Andrade in a non-title match would seem to set up a title match. We are told that match is possible but not a lock as no matches not announced right now are locks any longer.

Newsletter was written before news popped up of the Battle Royals being tossed out so Mania might end up with 14 matches at most.

The WWE has also shut down the Performance Center as far as the talent training there. There is no training or working there other than it will be open if needed for television shoots ... Vince McMahon wasn’t at Smackdown but was in communication all day. He and Kevin Dunn were at Raw ... Raw, Smackdown and AEW all had a limited crew kept to essential personnel. Raw had a few writers, a few producers, McMahon, Dunn, Paul Heyman and a few support people.

Smackdown on 3/13 did a 1.59 rating and 2,470,000 viewers (1.29 viewers per home), making it the most-watched sports program of the week. There were still sports that took place earlier in the week. The number was almost exactly the same as the 2,456,000 viewers the week before under normal circumstances. This was the first empty arena show, and also had John Cena and the return of Jeff Hardy advertised. The show did the usual 0.7 in the 18-49 demo. Shark Tank was first at 0.8 and everything else on ABC and CBS all did 0.7s, but beat NBC. Smackdown had the lowest total viewers of all network shows. Not that it means a lot, but last year in the same time slot FOX averaged 3,253,000 viewers and a 0.6 in 18-49.

So this is the updated situation on The Revival, which was first reported by Fightful.com. As mentioned last week, the two have been taken off all bookings. Because both have already earned more than their contractual downside over the course of the contract, they are no longer being paid, in this case Dawson through early April and Wilder through mid-June. Both have asked for releases multiple times. This does put great economic pressure on them, since they have families, to sign. One would suspect the idea is to go to AEW and feud with the Young Bucks, because they’ve turned down one offer after another over the past year. The timing looked great for them to leave for AEW two weeks ago, but things have obviously changed greatly with AEW economically, as with everyone. Dash Wilder, whose real name is Dan Wheeler, has applied for a trademark of the name Cash Wheeler

AEW talent is scattered all over the country and some are flown in from overseas, which looks to mean they would not be available for some time, such as Pac, Yuka Sakazaki, Cima, T-Hawk, Lindaman, Bea Priestley and others. Riho and Hikaru Shida both now live in the U.S. ... AEW ran with a light crew. The crew left the building after load-in before the wrestlers were allowed to enter the building. They had strict rules to never have more than 50 people in the large Ampitheater at one time. There were no congregations of people in discussions that numbered more than ten.

At both the WWE Smackdown show at the Performance Center, as well as the CMLL show that same night and the MLW show, there was a doctor who took the temperature of all the wrestlers. I believe that was also the case at the UFC show. It’s a necessary step but far from foolproof. The virus can sit dormant for a bit so accurate testing on the spot is impossible. You can do coronavirus testing, which neither WWE, CMLL or UFC did, because it takes time to get the results. Having a temperature or other symptoms is a sign but you can still be an carrier who exhibits no symptoms. Court Bauer of MLW, noted that he learned after the Tijuana show that he could have had everyone in the clear based on Center for Disease Control standards but that doesn’t mean people could not pick up the virus from somebody carrying it at an event. He noted that after the show he learned doing the recommended steps were just steps but far from foolproof. He then made the call, which was the only call anyway, of not running events until June. AEW will be running TV tapings from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville for the time being, with no fans, at least as long as they are able. Originally the plan was limited fans, media, friends and family, but within a day that was changed to no fans and no media. The plan is to do so at least through 4/15, if outside forces don’t scrap it, or if the promotion doesn’t change their mind about it.

At first, the Westshore Marriott would not refund either Highspots or fans who had purchased rooms their money when it was impossible for the event to take place. Highspots attempted to use the impossibility clause in its contract when signed with The Westshore Marriott in Tampa for the week. Highspots’ expenses just to the hotel for the week, not including talent deposits and flights that may or may not be able to be refunded was about $142,750. Marriott was at first claiming that it is neither illegal nor impossible for Highspots to run the convention that week and only offered to cut back the costs to $114,202, or 80 percent of the original total. Total losses for the week were estimated to be in the range of $200,000. They did vow to run another convention next year in Los Angeles. In addition, fans who had purchased rooms at the hotel have been told by the hotel that they are not refundable. However, after Florida was declared a state of emergency, the Marriott changed its tune and will be refunding all the money to WrestleCon. Both Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens vowed to stop staying at Marriott Hotels when Marriott would not allow the rooms to be canceled without payment. However, fans who had to put down a certain amount up front as a deposit for their rooms for the week ($227.86 per room was the deposit) were not able to get that back. Marriott claimed that the new Global Cancellation policy that would have refunded people’s deposits does not apply to either special events or peak season bookings.

Viceland’s award-winning Dark Side of the Ring series will have a two-hour season premiere, covering the 2007 story where Benoit murdered his wife Nancy, son Daniel and then killed himself. This debuts on 3/24, kicking off the second season of the show ... One person who has seen the piece, but not the Reelz piece, said that the Viceland piece was extremely difficult to watch. He said that Jericho and Toffoloni came off very well, very level-headed on a story that both had such close emotional ties to, and did a good job assessing the story with hindsight. He also said that you come out of it feeling sorry for David Benoit, whose father was his hero. His life was destroyed by this and he was completely innocent, having thus thrust on him at such a young age. You come out of it feeling awful for him.

With most viewers glued to the news, AEW, with its live show, did 932,000 viewers and a 0.35 in 18-49, up 21.7 percent in viewers and 34.6 percent in 18-49. The growth was a combination of no NBA, perhaps curiosity since they were still doing a live show with the promised debut of The Exalted One, and NXT not having any matches and having a big decline from usual numbers because of it. AEW finished No. 20 in 18-49, trailing 18 news shows and Real Housewives of New Jersey on Bravo. NXT, with no matches and just three huge video packages, did 542,000 viewers and a 0.16 in 18-49, a decline of 22.2 percent in viewers and 23.8 percent in 18-49. NXT was No. 81 in 18-49 ... AEW’s growth was mostly over the age of 35 as compared to last week. The show did a 0.13 in 12-17 (up 18.2 percent from last week), 0.19 in 18-34 (up 5.6 percent), 0.51 in 35-49 (up 50.0 percent) and 0.38 in 50+ (one of the best ever, up 15.2 percent). NXT not being in the top 50 meant demo breakdowns weren’t available.

A few more notes on the 3/11 ratings. AEW’s lead-in was 32 percent lower than usual so that hurt the first hour. But both AEW and NXT were down about ten percent in viewers and 20 percent in 18-49 in the first hour. That’s probably attributable to the news viewing. But in the second hour, when Donald Trump gave his speech, the news of Tom Hanks having the coronavirus and the NBA canceling its season all at once, AEW fell 21 percent down from last week and 30 percent down in 18-49. But this didn’t affect NXT, which in the second hour was down five percent in 18-49, but up five percent overall. While AEW did win in every key demo, and won all eight quarters in both total viewers and 18-49, when it comes to total viewers, from 9 to 9:45 p.m. the two shows were almost identical ... In segment one, AEW had Cody vs. Ortiz, which did 811,000 viewers and 356,000 in 18-49. NXT had Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes, which did 667,000 viewers and 259,000 in 18-49. In segment two, AEW had the end of Cody vs. Ortiz, the post-match, The Inner Circle destroying Nick Jackson and the beginning of Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander vs. Nyla Rose & Bea Priestley, and lost 22,000 viewers and 16,000 in 18-49. NXT had the end of Lee vs. Grimes, the post-match and beginning of Mia Yim vs. Dakota Kai, and it gained 10,000 viewers but lost 4,000 in 18-49. In segment three, AEW had the women’s tag match and lost 13,000 viewers and lost 34,000 in 18-49 . NXT had most of Yim vs. Kai and Tommaso Ciampa arriving and gained 13,000 viewers and 17,000 in 18-49. In segment four, AEW had Jurassic Express vs. Butcher & Blade & MJF, and lost 36,000 viewers and gained 26,000 in 18-49. NXT had Kushida vs. Raul Mendoza plus Tyler Breeze & Austin Theory interview, and lost 10,000 viewers and 9,000 in 18-49. In segment five, AEW had the end of Jurassic Express vs. Butcher & Blade & MJF and lost 12,000 viewers and lost 4,000 in 18-49. AEW had the Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley angle plus Tegan Nox vs. Deonna Purrazzo and gained 41,000 viewers and 16,000 in 18-49. This brought AEW’s lead to 728,000 to 711,000 overall and 328,000 to 279,000 in 18-49. In segment six, AEW had Joey Janela & Private Party vs. Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix & Pac, and lost 11,000 overall and 10,000 in 18-49. NXT had The Undisputed Era angle with Velveteen Dream, and lost 10,000 viewers and lost 1,000 in 18-49. In segment seven, AEW did promotional business for the next show and had the Jim Ross interview and beginning of the main event and gained 8,000 viewers and 6,000 in 18-49. NXT had Pete Dunne & Matt Riddle vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly and gained 6,000 viewers and lost 13,000 in 18-49. In the main event segment, AEW gained 114,000 viewers for Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Adam Page & Dustin Rhodes, and gained 61,000 in 18-49. NXT had the end of the Dunne & Riddle vs. Fish & O’Reilly tag and the beginning of the Gargano-Ciampa brawl and lost 39,000 viewers and only 13,000 in 18-49. Overall in the main event, AEW had an 839,000 to 678,000 lead and a 391,000 to 253,000 edge in 18-49. The overrun with more of Gargano and Ciampa tearing up the weight room gained 133,000 viewers, likely mostly from AEW, and 49,000 in 18-49. That’s less of a gain than usual.

The Dark Side of the Ring episode on the death of Nancy Argentino, the Jimmy Snuka case, is expected to air in the fourth week. We know that they spoke with Louise and Lorraine, Argentino’s two sisters, as well as Irv Muchnick, who spent more time and effort reporting on the case.

Even though he probably wouldn’t want this out because I know similar things he’s done anonymously, but there were Go Fund Me’s set up for independent wrestlers who have lost bookings and income and significant donations were made by Jon Moxley. There are a number of people who have done things like this over the years with no fanfare and not looking for attention

In Japan, there is more concern about WWE coming in with an NXT outpost than ever before. The feeling is that every company is weakened economically and WWE with its guaranteed TV money isn’t hurt nearly as bad. This was an unforeseen situation but from a timing standpoint, if the move is made later this year, WWE has a better chance at getting a higher level of Japanese talent