[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by 411Mania On today’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that Bianca Belair returned on RAW last night and teamed with Ruby Riott to beat The IIconics because Liv Morgan is currently away. The match was originally set to be Morgan & Riott vs. The IIconics. It’s still unknown why Morgan has been away from RAW since the end of June.

Originally Posted by PWI Ring of Honor released the following first look at this weekend's episode of ROH TV, which will pay tribute to STARDOM star Hana, who took her own life in May

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoPp6nW_mXM

Originally Posted by PWI The State of Pennsylvania filed a motion yesterday in Carbon County Court to revoke the February 2020 parole of WWE Hall of Famer Tammy "Sunny" Sytch, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The motion was filed in the wake of Sytch's arrest in New Jersey on the morning of 7/13 in Middletown, NJ. Sytch remains incarcerated at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, charged with with the following: *Operating a Motor Vehicle during a second license suspension. *Eluding a Police Officer. *Contempt/Violation of a Domestic Violence Restraining Order. Obviously, the State of PA sees Sytch's arrest as a violation of her existing parole. Court records indicate that until her 7/13 arrest, Sytch had been adhering to her parole requirements, including monthly payments of restitiution. A hearing has not yet been scheduled but if the court sides with the State, they may rule that Sytch be returned to Carbon County Correctional Facility to serve her full original sentence.

Originally Posted by PWI In regard to rumors we've been asked about regarding a Charlotte Flair TV series making the rounds, there is some truth to the story about her involvement in a television project, but no deal has been completed as of this writing.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling AEW presents “Fight for the Fallen” tonight from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida, and will have a charitable component. This year, they are encouraging fans to donate to Florida’s First Coast Relief Fund and the Feeding Northeast Florida group ... While the competition from NXT is not as heavy this week, the larger question is the impact the NASCAR All-Star race is going to have, and the UFC prelims airing on ESPN. While the UFC main card doesn’t begin until 10 pm Eastern, UFC has been killing it on free television with their last Fight Night card on June 27th finishing #1 and #2 on cable that night with the main card and prelims. There are no stars on the prelims, but I don’t look at that as significant a factor as the UFC brand has drawn well on ESPN during the pandemic. NASCAR could take out a chunk of both AEW & NXT tonight, so those factors are ones to watch. It’s a precursor of what’s to come with so many sports leagues gearing up for their returns and seeing what effect the added sports competition has on all pro wrestling products and if UFC sees a dip from this phenomenal run of business on pay-per-view and cable.

Link for those interested in donating: https://www.betterunite.com/JaguarsF...covid-19relief

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Monday’s viewership for Raw ranks as the lowest in the history of the show (where data is available) falling beneath 1.6 million viewers. However, the 18-49 demo only fell by 2%. Because they have fallen to a baseline of dedicated viewers, there was less tune-out throughout the show with the larger loss in the third hour among males 12-34 which dropped 12%. So, even though fewer people are tuning in at the start of the show (indicating a lack of interest overall rather than the content turning them off), those that tune in are more likely to watch the entire show. It’s hard to make sweeping statements about the Raw viewership as their demo rating continues to be among the top shows on cable but you’d be foolish to ignore the major loss of audience during this period. If the USA Network chalks it up to the pandemic, you can make a reasonable case that it’s the largest factor but hardly a guarantee that whenever WWE can run major arenas with fans, that the lost audience returns overnight. Going a step further, if you’re going to throw your arms in the air and accept that the pandemic was going to negatively affect viewership, then this period may be viewed differently a year from now as a lost opportunity. Going with the notion that viewership will be down regardless, this was the time to double-down on new performers and getting the necessary experience to hopefully, have some fresh acts and more seasoned talent when fans return. This was the playbook that appeared in place for Raw over the past year since Paul Heyman’s appointment. It doesn’t mean a similar philosophy can’t be carried out by Bruce Prichard, but it comes down to Vince McMahon’s interpretation of why viewership is down and what vision he wants the show to reflect – are they just trying to stop the loss of viewers, or not concerned with numbers and building for the future? If it’s the former, then you’re likely to rely on established stars, save big matches for television, and book for that week’s audience rather than invest now with the hopes of it bearing fruit down the road ... It’s also a deeper question about how to create those new fans and what strategies are left? If there was a mandate to get Raw back over two million viewers, what is your plan? You could hot-shot for one major show and achieve that number but what about averaging two million viewers for a month? How long would it take to get to that status when Raw hasn’t hit that figure since the night after WrestleMania? We have gone through brand splits, trades, talent popping up on the other show, legends coming back, short matches on TV with more promo time, long matches on TV, show-long builds to a peak in the third hour, peaking for the second hour with less focus on the third hour, etc. The answer is that there isn’t a simple answer to get to the point where you find that breakout star that will lift business when they catch fire. The ability to take a talent with potential and properly build them into a draw has been an awfully difficult task for the company. Some times, you have to spot the potential and just go with it. Every talent will have his or her detractors, will have their weaknesses (not the “right look”, can’t work “main event style”, weak on promos, doesn’t have the “it” factor) and those are all ambiguous statements that often curtail risks being taken and shaking things up. Typically, fans respond to “new” and things feeling fresh where someone bursts onto the scene and catches fire quickly. Often, that flame gets extinguished or dies down because they aren’t all in, even though the crowd was ready. Long-term, Braun Strowman is not the guy to build SmackDown around. He was a band-aid solution to get the title off Bill Goldberg when the original challenger Roman Reigns was unavailable. If they were bound and determined to strap the rocket on someone – where an Adam Cole (or pick your star with main event potential) shows up on SmackDown and out of nowhere, challenges and beats Strowman, it would create that shock factor where lapsed fans would want to see what happened. At that point, you have people’s attention, so follow-up is key to retain those lost eyeballs. That is only one example and it’s not like there is a deep playbook of strategies but playing the long game with patience appears more logical than booking week-to-week and running in the same spot. It also comes with the risk of heavy investment on a vision with no guarantee it will bear fruit in six to nine months. If you want your viewership to average two million viewers per week, it will probably take months to create new habits for fans not watching Raw weekly and that comes down to an enticing program with characters they are behind and not having such a hard-and-fast rule on who gets over at the top. A lot of characters lose their edge on the main roster through poor attempts at comedy, limitations that handcuff them in match scenarios, and feeling like they are part of the WWE machine rather than individual stars that stand out on their own as a way to enhance the product instead of blend into it.

John Pollock had a very interesting take on WWE squandering a golden chance handed to them to fix their serious issues by not going all in on building for the future and instead still being stuck in their current mentality and band-aid approach to their declining ratings and star power woes.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Brandon Thurston at Wrestlenomics has an extensive study on television ratings and assessing the value of total viewers and the 18-49 demographic, which has become this hot-button issue largely spurred on by Tony Khan and Chris Jericho pointing out the reliance on the demo over overall viewers after Fyter Fest last week.

Link for those interested: https://wrestlenomics.com/2020/07/14...o-they-matter/

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling On that subject, AEW president Tony Khan gave the following answer to Justin Barrasso at SI.com regarding the television numbers and what is most important to them: "The key for us is TV rights. That is our primary revenue stream. Without a live gate, that revenue stream has become the lifeblood of our company. It’s very important for me to keep producing new shows and have those shows keep performing the way the way they want us to perform, which is performing well in the 18–49-year-old demographic. So far, we’ve been doing those things, and they’re very happy with us. Overall viewership is a nice, round number, and if you want to make the number sound as big as possible, you say the overall viewers. But the network looks at the numbers in the 18–49 demographic, that is what keeps us going. Over the past two weeks, Fyter Fest was a huge success. We look at that chart every week of where we rank in the 18–49-year-old demographic, and to be in the top seven two weeks in a row is a really good performance for us. It’s important to understand what the network actually looks at, so people will understand what we consider success. The key for us is to keep the demo number high."

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling For Fyter Fest last Wednesday, the show did 0.44 with 715,000 average viewers and 407,000 in the 18-49 demographic. For SmackDown, the show did 1.25 with 1,892,000 average viewers overall with 607,000 in the main demo. Saturday’s UFC 251 prelims did 397,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo and 809,000 overall.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Jake Roberts posted that he underwent an operation this past Monday but didn’t specify what he was being treated for. On Twitter, he added that he still planned to be in Jacksonville for AEW this week.

Originally Posted by Voices of Wrestling FITE (@FiteTV) announced they will be streaming Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling on July 22 and DDT Summer Vacation 2020 on July 23 in both English and Japanese. English commentators are Sonny Onoo (both shows), Dan Madigan (TJPW) & Rob Hochman (DDT).

Originally Posted by Fightful With talks about a second Evolution pay-per-view happening, Tegan Nox already has an opponent or two in mind if that show were to become a reality. Right before she faces NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai on NXT, Nox spoke with Comic Book to talk about the growth of women's wrestling in WWE within the past decade. Speaking on a potential Evolution 2, Nox said she would love to wrestle in it and says if she had to pick an opponent, it would be Ruby Riott and Molly Holly if she had to pick a legend. "It's got to be Ruby Riott," Nox said. "She's right at the top for me, but if it's a legends dream match, obviously it's Molly Holly, but Ruby Riott is my next pick. I mean, she's incredible. She's such a good friend, and an incredible athlete and an incredible wrestler. She's my main pick that I want to wrestle, so Ruby Riott at Evolution 2."

Current rumor is Evolution 2 is happening shortly after SummerSlam.

Originally Posted by WrestlingHeadlines.com According to Fightful Select, rising star Ricky Starks, who has since signed with AEW, was offered $1000 a month by the NWA to remain with the promotion but passed. He was featured regularly on Powerrr and was a former NWA Television champion. The man he lost the belt to, Zicky Dice, has also left the NWA. Reports are that Dice was only being offered $250 a month, an amount he wouldn’t take either. Dice did eventually re-sign to the NWA for the remainder of 2020, but was recently granted his release. As for the women’s division…Fightful states that current champion Thunder Rosa is still under contract with the NWA. Whether she plans on re-negotiating has yet to be determined. Former women’s champion Allysin Kay is expected to remain in NWA, and still plans on working with them much further into the future.

Originally Posted by Fightful On the second night of Fyter Fest on July 8, instead of facing Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship, Brian Cage was awarded the FTW title by Taz. Although Cage will face Moxley at Fight For The Fallen on July 15, Cage will also defend the FTW title against Brian Pillman Jr. on the July 14 edition of AEW Dark. Speaking to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, AEW President Tony Khan spoke on where the idea to bring back the FTW belt came from. Khan said it was something in the works for weeks and noted that he personally thought it was great that Taz was the one who presented it to Cage and that it was not the first thing the duo did since joining forces in May. "Well, it was a few weeks ago. Taz told me he had it. And immediately, that's when the idea struck me to do this. Then I asked him to bring it down and get it down here and Taz's son, Tyler, who is a great kid, traveled down with it and came down and got tested, and joined us in the bubble. Tyler brought it and then we had it. Taz presenting it to Brian was a really important part of the presentation. I think Taz and Brian, it was good that it wasn't the first thing they did together, because they really had become associated. Brian was always supposed to debut in that casino ladder match, as soon as we got his diagnosis that he was going to be out until May," Khan said. "This thing had been planned for a long time for Brian to make the big intro, and make the big splash, and challenge Moxley. Brian and Taz, they've established a rapport on television. When Taz told me he still had the belt, it was a perfect thing to add to the story I thought. And so, a couple weeks ago, when it came up, I really jumped on it. Once I found out he had it, and we were able to use it, I wanted to make it a part of the story. I wouldn't have done it without his blessing. I mean, he's the one who told me he had it. So once he said he still had possession of it, and I checked, and we're cleared to use it, then, at that point, I was like, 'This is, to me, almost like a no brainer. It adds so much to the story, to the presentation of Brian. It's so much credibility, the FTW title.' I grew up watching ECW, as you know, and that belt meant a lot. Even though it's not a recognized championship, when it was defended, or when you saw it, it felt like it was part of the presentation of Taz as one of the top wrestlers in the sport and I think it can be the same thing for Brian Cage. So I was really excited about it, as soon as Taz told me he still had that belt, and then when I realized that we could use it. It was a few weeks ago," Khan said.

Originally Posted by Fightful Bret Hart's autobiography "Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling" is regarded as one of the best and most detailed wrestling autobiographies ever written. Though fans saw Bret's career play out in the wrestling ring, and behind the scenes in documentaries, it could have played out in a different television format. Appearing on New Day: Feel The Power, former WWE writer Michael Notarile discussed his meeting with Bret Hart and how he wanted to develop Bret's book into a television show. "When I met Bret, I met him before WWE and I wanted to develop his book into a TV show. Long story short, he had my email from a letter I wrote him when I was a kid. Somehow, my email got into his address book, he sent me an email about something, I think by mistake, and I wrote back and was like, 'I want to develop your book into a TV show.' This is before I worked at WWE," he said. Notarile began working with WWE in 2013. He continued the story, saying he met with Bret at a hotel in California after the two exchanged emails. "At this point, I thought it was a prank. I put my wrestling figure in my bag and was like, 'If he could sign the figure, how awesome would that be?' I'm at the hotel, looking around like, 'I'm definitely on a prank show.' Bret Hart walks in. It's real. We sit down, talking about the book and the whole time, in the back of my head, I'm like, 'I've got to get him to sign this wrestling figure.' How do I do it? I go, 'My mom was like, you should bring your wrestling figure and get Bret to sign it.' I go, 'Mom, I'm going to be professional, it's a meeting.' Bret's like, 'Oh, I would have signed the figure for you.' 'Great, I brought it, it's right here,' and he signed it." The Bret Hart TV show never came to fruition, but Notarile did get to work with Bret in WWE, helping him with a promo in Montreal in 2014. Notarile called working with Bret his third favorite moment during his WWE tenure behind New Day winning their first tag team titles and Xavier Woods' initial New Day promo where he recruited Kofi Kingston and Big E.

TPWW Frontpage:

• AEW Fight for the Fallen & NXT Cards for Tonight + AEW Rankings
• WWE: Edge on AEW Competing with WWE, Kevin Owens on NXT Return Interest, Undertaker Series

* Smeat's note: There might mot be a sheets report tomorrow due to I'm going to be very busy with more important stuff during the usual time I read the day's sheet news and put together a report from various places.