[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer For the second straight week, NXT beat out AEW Dynamite in terms of total viewers but lost in the 18-49 demo. NXT averaged 692,000 viewers on the USA Network on Wednesday night, which was down 1,000 viewers from last week. The show fell to 58th in the 18-49 demo on cable with a 0.17 rating, down 10.5 percent. It's the fourth straight week the show has missed the top 50 in the 18-49 rankings for the night. Over on TNT, Dynamite averaged 683,000 viewers, down one percent from the previous week. Dynamite also fell in 18-49 to a 0.25 rating, which was down three percent from last week. The show finished 29th overall on cable in that demo. Factoring out the news programming that dominated the rankings, AEW would've finished 10th in the 18-49 demo and NXT would have finished 17th. The total Wednesday audience of 1.375 million viewers was down one percent from last week and was the second lowest overall total since both shows started airing in October.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling This week’s viewership ties Dynamite’s second-lowest since their launch with the lowest being 663,000 from Thanksgiving Eve last November ... AEW did a 0.25 in the 18-49 compared to NXT’s 0.17. AEW was down slightly in the demo from last week. There were moderate fluctuations for AEW among the key demos with females 18-49 down 11% while adults 18-34 increased 15% and men 12-34 were up 21%. Because NXT did not finish among the top fifty cable programs, we do not have a breakdown of their main demographics.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling WWE announced the adjournment of their annual stockholders meeting and below is the official press release concerning the news: STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE today announced the adjournment of its annual meeting until May 14, 2020. Such date was chosen in order to conform with the Delaware General Corporation law relating to adjournments, however, as that date remains within the effective period of Governor Lamont’s stay at home/stay safe executive order for the State of Connecticut, it is extremely likely that the May meeting will again be adjourned to a later date. The Company will keep its stockholders apprised of all updates relating to the annual meeting as they become available. WWE also declared their quarterly dividend. STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE: WWE) announced that its Board of Directors today declared the Company’s regular quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share for all Class A and B shares of common stock. The record date for the dividend will be June 15, 2020 and the payment date will be June 25, 2020.

Originally Posted by PWI Vince McMahon tweeted: Saddened to learn of the passing of my friend and WWE’s first employee, WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel. The grandest moments in sports-entertainment history were made all the grander thanks to Howard’s iconic voice. pic.twitter.com/aAMY2XaHsm — Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) April 16, 2020

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Shane “Hurricane” Helms joined Bully Ray and David LaGreca on Busted Open Radio just one day after he was furloughed from WWE. Helms did clarify that the company told him there may be an opportunity to return once the pandemic slows down but he’s waiting until it actually happens. Helms also revealed that he was the one who pitched the idea of the ‘Winner Take All’ stipulation for the main event of WrestleMania 35 between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey. “I believe there is and they told me there was [a possibility] so, we’ll just have to see until it actually happens. That’s my hope and I did some good things with them while I was there. The whole ‘Winner Take All’ at WrestleMania when the women main-evented, that was my idea. So I had some good stuff that I was doing there, but we’ll see. I’m personally concerned that this whole thing lasts a lot longer than what we’re being led to believe, as far as the whole ticket-paying audience being allowed back in buildings, stuff like that.” Another producer that was furloughed from the company was Billy Kidman. Helms revealed what exactly Kidman’s role was in the company and how important Billy was to the smoothness of the WWE product for their live TV shows. “So we got a guy that times the shows. Now basically, segments are given a certain amount of times. Like segment one is gonna open the show. It’s gonna have a certain amount of time. You got a crossover segment which is gonna happen at the end of the first hour going into the second hour. So anyway, say you and I have a match. Me against Bubba Ray. It’s gonna be segment four or five. Maybe segment four is gonna be five minutes and segment five is gonna be seven minutes, and that’s what we know we’re gonna have to do. Billy Kidman is kinda one of the ones who helps assign those minutes along with creative. He has to factor in commercial breaks, but then what happens is, sometimes segment one goes long. We had that recently. I believe it was the Randy Orton and Edge segment when Edge first came back. Went super heavy, really good, so if you go heavy as long as it’s good, nobody really goes crazy. But now, what Billy Kidman would have to do is he would have to make up that time elsewhere. Another segment that went heavy recently — I can’t remember what it was but it went eight minutes in, and so now he’s got to find time to make up for that eight minute slot in the show so he’s constantly sitting there calculating what he can do. ‘This match in seg 12 might be seven minutes. Well now it’s gonna have six. We gotta make up some time.’ Stuff like that. He’s constantly over there figuring it out, and it’s a pressure cooker and Billy was fantastic at it. Brisco did it for years, Gerald Brisco and now the guy that Kidman was training, Jason Ayers, he’s really good at it too. But that’s one of the most difficult jobs there so I was super surprised that Kidman was on the list.”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Muscle and Fitness released their sit-down interview with Roman Reigns that was conducted prior to WrestleMania 36. Reigns would reveal that he and his wife are going to be welcoming two new children into the world soon. “Three kids with two in the oven. So I’m looking to be a papa bear of five. Breaking news. We haven’t really shared that.”

That rules out Reigns returning any time soon and probably not until maybe by next year's Mania at the earliest going by current info regarding the coronavirus and potential vaccine.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Following the news of the many names within WWE that were released from the company or furloughed, Seth Rollins gave his thoughts on the situation on Instagram Live and his response was not well received on social media when he shared his displeasure about the comments that were directed to WWE about their handling of yesterday’s events. “It’s just a difficult day for all of us. My heart is broken for the guys and girls who I’m really close with that had it the worst today, and that goes for talent that you guys love on-screen but also everyone off-screen who may not get the social media fanfare that some of the talent is getting. But one thing I am seeing that is a little upsetting to me is all the negativity and hostility towards WWE. This is a difficult day for everyone, for all of us and I think if ever there was a moment for us to unify, for us to kind of band together and try to do the best we can to keep this business alive the best we know how, this is that moment, and I think pointing fingers or saying, ‘You should’ve done this, you should’ve done that’ is… I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel like the time or the place for it. I think this is a day for compassion and for empathy and for understanding and to try to support each other. You know, to pick each other up and that’s for everybody. That’s not just for the guys and girls that [were] let go but, for all of us who are fortunate enough at this moment to still be able to have a position where we can collect a paycheck and we can support those who love us and those around us. I think that we have to take it upon ourselves to work harder to make sure that there’s a place for all those who again, had it the worst today, to come back to. I think as a planet, we can rally around the idea that this is only temporary, and that those who have lost their positions and who are struggling to figure out what to do next.”

Guess Rollins didn't want Strowman taking the crown this year for most tone deaf comments by a WWE wrestler.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling AEW Co-Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes wrote a detailed message about Zack Ryder on Instagram and shared how proud he is of Zack and that he believes in him. “I’d like to take a moment to say how proud I am to be a friend of @zryder85 – In a world of weekend warriors and “play wrestlers”, this dude exudes passion and drive for pro-wrestling like no other. Through 14 years to see him CONSISTENTLY try to better himself (whether that be his in-ring work, or watching him physically mold himself and his body into such a specimen DRUG FREE with hard work and will). I have a little rule, and that’s that if you’ve ever “gotten over” in wrestling…you can always do so again. That rule being fully applicable to Matt now. At 34 years young, his best wrestling days are ahead of him. Cheers to a great start and 14 years of unrelenting blood, sweat, and tears. Future endeavors are limitless when you actually endeavor. I chose this picture because it was one of my last days at WWE, watching 80,000+ people applaud as Matt won gold was an eruption not only live in the arena but in the locker room as well. Hearing Dolph coordinate for his father to come over the rails(meanwhile I was ass deep into a broken ladder and stuck but had the best seat in the house) and seeing father/son embrace, I thought I’d be jealous or bitter, but I was truly happy and proud for one of my peers. Congratulations my friend, and good luck!”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Dolph Ziggler purchased over $200 in merchandise to support independent wrestler Christian Kobain.

Link: https://twitter.com/RealKobain/statu...940028933?s=20

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide welcomed Lio Rush onto his ‘Say Less With Kaz’ podcast prior to the announcement of Rush’s release from WWE. During their conversation, Lio recalled one of his strangest interactions with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and it occurred when Bobby Lashley was starting to do the butt pose on WWE TV. “Aw man, I think this was one of the first times where I had an actual long conversation with Vince, and it was by far the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had my life, and he described all of the poses, he described everything that he wanted from the biceps, to the chest curls, to just everything that I had no idea about. Me and Bobby [Lashley] had no idea what these poses were and then he said, ‘At the end of Bobby doing the side chest, the lat spread, I want him to bend over, face the crowd and you comment on his gluteus maximus,’ and I’m like, ‘Wha…’ My mind was gonna explode. I was like, ‘What is happening right now?’ And you hear about these stories about Vince on these podcasts, about these meetings and Vince reenacting what exactly he wants done. I will never forget me and Bobby just looking at each other being so confused and like, ‘What do you mean you want him to comment?’ And I’ll never forget — Vince stood up, got from behind his desk, stood in front of me and Bobby, bent over and tapped his ass and said, ‘That’s what I want you to do.’”

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Matt Cardona, the former Zack Ryder currently has the top selling shirt on Pro Wrestling Tees.

Link: https://twitter.com/TheMattCardona/s...112546308?s=20

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Karl Anderson tweeted out a teaser about him possibly returning to Japan and he also changed his Twitter handle to @MachineGunKA.

Link: https://twitter.com/MachineGunKA/sta...044973573?s=20

Originally Posted by PWI Today was a rough day for WWE staff for a number of reasons. One, obviously was the passing of Howard Finkel, but there was also the fallout of yesterday's cutbacks as staff came over the shock of the day. Today, they were acclimating themselves to the new normal of so much of the company being on furlough or let go. One person felt at least 40% of the company was gone today vs. yesterday and I've had four different people mention having some form of "survivor's guilt" over friends and co-workers being gone while they remained. It was a rough day, especially since those remaining have far more on their plate than usual going forward and now have less manpower to get the work done. Cuts were across the board in every division. We are told that the live events division was especially hit hard since there aren't any events currently and the digital area of the company also suffered deep cuts as well. Those who were furloughed were told the company hoped to have them back by July and that the company would cover their benefits during this time. There are, obviously, a lot of people wondering if and when they will return to WWE. The released WWE main roster talents would have the traditional 90-day no compete, which would make them available for other promotions around 7/15.

Originally Posted by Fightful WWE employees who were furloughed this week could be coming back in a few months. According to a report from Wrestling Inc., employees who were furloughed did get an information packet that explained why they were furloughed in the first place. The packet reportedly said those people were furloughed due to the "current level of work available as a result of COVID-19." The pandemic was referred to "an unforeseen circumstance, akin to a natural disaster." Although people were furloughed on April 15, they will remain on WWE's payroll until April 18 when the furlough officially begins. According to the report, the current end date is July 1, but that date is subject to be changed "given the current situation and ongoing uncertainties." The packet does not have a definitive end date but noted that the furlough period is expected to last less than six months. WWE added that it plans to keep all the employees that were going affected by this decision. Despite this, layoffs could still happen. In addition, WWE will also be covering health insurance contributions during the furlough period for employees enrolled in the WWE health plan and those employees will still retain their seniority within the company. Wrestling Inc. also reported that WWE said furloughed employees will not be receiving a paycheck, however they may be eligible for unemployment benefits as well as the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Originally Posted by Fightful Kyle O'Reilly's absence from NXT explained. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Kyle O'Reilly missed Wednesday's NXT as he's diabetic and is a higher risk for the coronavirus ... O'Reilly hasn't wrestled since the March 11 episode NXT, which was the last episode of WWE television with a live audience. It is unknown if he will appear live at the Performance Center during the pandemic.

TPWW Frontpage:

• A New Trademark From The Revival May Reveal Their New Team Name
• WWE Release Updates: Updated List, More NXT Releases Expected, WWE PC Coaches Released
• Killer Kross’s Name Apparently Changed to “Karrion Kross”
• Legendary WWE Ring Announcer Howard Finkel Passes Away at Age 69