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Originally Posted by Observer Hiromu Takahashi is off upcoming NJPW events due to a shoulder injury. NJPW posted on their website tonight that their medical staff has determined that Takahashi has suffered an injury to his left shoulder. As a result, Takahashi is off tomorrow morning’s card in Shizuoka and the July 31 card at Korakuen Hall. Despite the injury, NJPW wrote in their statement that they are still expecting Takahashi to return for his scheduled IWGP Jr. title match against Taiji Ishimori. That match is scheduled to take place at Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29.

Originally Posted by PWI Variety has a piece today blaming Vince McMahon for WWE's audience erosion for Raw and Smackdown, and backing up their case with data. It covers many of the points that we have covered here on the site. You can read it by clicking here.

Link: https://variety.com/vip/amidst-wwe-r...es-1234712446/

Originally Posted by PWI Lightshed Partners, a top technology, media and telecommunications research firm based in New York City, released a deep analysis on the WWE stock yesterday, citing their belief that unless WWE turns their television ratings around, the company will not be able to maintain the level of rights fees they currently receive from NBC Universal and FOX. Noting that WWE has “dealt well with the pandemic, managing costs down while fulfilling contractual content obligations,” Lightshed noted that they believed the Raw and Smackdown ratings in June might have been a “ratings bottom" but it has gotten worse since then. A big piece of blame was pointed at WWE Creative and Lightshed’s analysis specifically pointed to the “ousting of Paul Heyman” from his position of Executive Director of Raw as an issue. The analysis points out that WWE’s ratings have declined despite the money being brought in by their current deals and with that pressure, the “margin of error” for the company is smaller than ever. It noted that COVID-19 has impacted ratings for professional wrestling, but both WWE NXT and All Elite Wrestling’s numbers have been up while Raw (10%) and Smackdown (8%) are down from last month and down 15% from April 2020 with Raw hitting all time low ratings multiple times this summer. On where the blame falls, the analysis notes, “COVID or no COVID, creative appears to be at the center of the issues. Vince McMahon has acknowledged things need to change multiple times. However, while there have been short lived experiments, the content appears to continuously return to a similar formula under his absolute control. McMahon went so far as to hire creative heads for Raw and SmackDown a year ago, with Paul Heyman heading Raw and Eric Bischoff heading SmackDown. Neither are in their roles a year later. Bischoff was fired after four months on the job and Heyman was relieved last month. The role is now consolidated under Bruce Prichard.” They also stated that one of WWE’s “largest problems” is an “inability to create new Superstars”, noting that WWE has always been defined by its top stars but recent years have not had that star power, noting Roman Reigns has been closest but hasn’t hit on the same level as talents from eras before. Lightshed noted, “More broadly, there really has been very little younger talent that have broken through at all on their way to replenishing even the middle level of stars in the men’s division. This has made the company more susceptible to injuries / absentees of major stars. Much of the talent with drawing power is aging. And, the big draws for major events have been in bringing back even older wrestlers such as Goldberg and The Undertaker. That is a band-aid, not a long-term strategy" ... Lightshed pointed out that WWE has a few years before TV rights have to be negotiated again, so WWE has a chance to “fix” the roster and suggested that Paul Levesque could be the one to help right the ship. They suggest the company might need, “A longer-term approach, even if ratings return more slowly, is probably the right prescription" ... The analysis noted that Lightshed is “torn on the right future for the [WWE] Network. We still believe those companies that can have [Direct to Consumer] relationships are far more better off in the current media ecosystem. Admittedly, though, we have grown more skeptical of the Network with time. It might just be that WWE doesn’t have the DNA to be great at DTC / grow it far beyond what it is today" ... The analysis went on to state that they cannot recommend WWE’s stock right now because there are “still simply too many critical questions surrounding the company” at the moment, specifically the company’s creative direction ... Lightshed pointed out that WWE’s main success are their television rights fees and that the stock “crumbled” earlier this year when international rights did not match what WWE garnered from the USA Network and FOX. Lightshed also expressed their doubts that FOX and NBC Universal will want to spend more money on WWE rights when the deals come due given the current environment and how WWE has performed. Pointing out how FOX has dropped sports properties and cut back on WWE programming and how NBC is “backing away” from pay-tv with an eye on streaming success with Peacock, their worry is that the landscape may not be there for WWE to repeat or enhance the success of their most recent deals.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Lightshed Partners, which is a technology, media, and telecommunications research firm, has put out a piece arguing that WWE’s media rights will decline if viewership continues to drop. It’s impossible to predict what the media landscape will be like come 2024 when the rights are set to expire with NBC Universal and Fox. While viewership erosion is always a concern, it will come down to how valuable WWE is viewed by the players at that time, which may as well be multiple lifetimes from now and again, impossible to predict. If the USA Network falls at the same level and Raw is propping up its prime-time viewership average, then Raw will be considered as valuable as it was in 2018 when they received the enormous contract. Conversely, SmackDown is still #1 most Friday nights in the key demo for a show that runs year-round and at a cheaper cost than a drama or comedy with fewer episodes per year.

As long as USA Network (and FOX) keep failing to find a big hit program(s) that can do better than what WWE generates weekly and consistently for numbers, the amount of pressure on WWE to put in any real lasting effort to improve the quality of their shows will remain low.

Originally Posted by PWI With COVID-19 preventing a stockholders meeting in person, World Wrestling Entertainment held a virtual meeting on 7/16. The video of the meeting was uploaded to WWE’s Corporate site several days ago. This morning, I sat down to listen to the call. Below is my coverage ... They were asked about AEW taking their market share in ratings. Paul Levesque said there is a moment in time when something launches and it’s exciting and there’s some interest in that. He said it’s a big world and WWE continues to be focused on their product and stars. They have a very long track record of doing this successfully for many years and they will continue to do so.

Almost the same excuse and comments he gave months ago when he downplayed AEW's early success and them being any real threat to both NXT and WWE in general.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Cody was interviewed by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi to promote tonight’s match and discuss numerous topics associated with AEW. He said that he’d have a better answer in 4-6 weeks on the rumored third hour or second show for AEW to add and that it could feature talent both on and off the roster but designed to showcase people that always featured on Dynamite. Regarding Mike Tyson, he said there is a relationship with Tyson and AEW but only said that something would likely happen “if not now, then in the future”. Cody said they were at the finish line to sign Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows last year but the two made a business decision and denied there was any heat with them over what they did. He seemed high on the idea of pushing for AEW to sign Matt Cardona and Rusev noting the two have drawn money and have TV experience but did note the limitations of a two-hour show with so much talent already on the roster. He gave the following cryptic answer regarding the prospect of attempting to sign Rey Mysterio: "To me, the greatest luchador ever, of all time — hands down — is Rey Mysterio Jr. And he’s got friends here. Jericho and him are friends. Mysterio is not afraid to travel out there, either. He’s not a one-company individual. And I think Rey still has a lot left to give in terms of wrestling. That might be something that someone else is currently discussing with him at this point. You never know."

Originally Posted by Fightful Rusev is seemingly done wrestling. Since being released by WWE on April 15, Rusev has started streaming games online through Twitch. He's grown support with the Handsome Chatters and has become a Twitch partner. Now, it looks like this is his full-time profession. During a Q&A on his Twitch stream, Rusev was asked if he was done wrestling or if he would go back to WWE. He replied, "I'm done. I'm done, man. I'm just enjoying my Twitch. I'm a professional Twitcher, YouTuber, content creator." Later, when someone said Rusev was his favorite wrestler, he said, "I'm not a wrestler anymore. Can I be your favorite streamer?" Rusev's non-compete clause expired on July 18 and while many who were released in April have appeared on other programs or have hinted at continuing on with wrestling, Rusev has seemed rather content doing Twitch streams regularly.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Johnny Gargano spoke with Justin Barrasso at SI.com about tonight’s match with Roderick Strong and the competition with AEW for eyeballs on Wednesday nights: "I am very much a wrestling fan and very much of the belief that competition makes everyone better. I think both shows are great in their own ways, and I’m super happy that there is so much great content out there. As a wrestling fan, it’s a cool thing to be part of. I know a lot of people are very excited to see me and Roddy one-on-one. We are two guys that have been scratching and clawing for a very long time, and competition is going to bring out the best in us. We’re not tone-deaf, we know the stakes. We want to put out the best product possible, I want to put out the best product possible, and we’re going to go out there and put on a match you want to see."

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Stephanie McMahon was a guest on the Fluid Fan podcast with host Angela Ruggiero discussing her role as Chief Brand Officer and how WWE has responded during the pandemic. This wasn’t as in-depth or newsworthy as McMahon’s interview with AdAge last week. McMahon spoke of her performance background on television as a key to understand what the fanbase wants and made the point repeatedly about listening to its audience through their platforms. McMahon described their “ecosystem” of traditional terrestrial television that builds to their pay-per-view events that are anchored by “the big four” tentpole shows of the year with the ultimate one being WrestleMania. She added that due to the success of “The Last Ride” on the WWE Network, they are exploring opportunities to find a second window for the series, which I’m still surprised an outside network didn’t come and make a deal for that series given the subject matter and the need for fresh content during the pandemic. McMahon said today’s performers don’t always need to stay in-character and fans want to know the people behind the characters and they help the performers grow their brands. She said at the end that they tabled the idea of having their fans appear virtually on the WrestleMania broadcast but the feedback they got was people didn’t want that and shelved the idea and have also taken constructive criticism regarding the crowd sweetening on matches being inauthentic when they have gone overboard with it.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling returns with another card at the Celebration Plaza Amphitheatre this Sunday at 5 pm Eastern airing on Fite TV. The card will be headlined by Joey Janela vs. ACH along with Nick Gage vs. Cole Radrick, AJ Gray vs. Chris Dickinson, Nate Webb vs. Mance Warner, KTB vs. Calvin Tankman, and Tre Lamar vs. Blake Christian. They have also announced that Ace Austin and Kylie Rae will make their GCW debuts on the show.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling WWE’s The Bump held its first-ever “Bumpy Awards” on Wednesday’s show with a long list of awards handed out but they included the following at the midway point of 2020: *Tag Team of the Half-Year: Bayley and Sasha Banks *Best Rivalry: The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles *Best In-Ring Match: Edge vs. Randy Orton at WWE Backlash (the nominees included Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens at WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles on SmackDown in June, and the men’s Royal Rumble match) *Best Cinematic Match: The Boneyard Match (The Viking Profits vs. The Ninjas was actually nominated) *Superstar of the Half-Year: Drew McIntyre

Originally Posted by Fightful Doc Gallows is hopeful that IMPACT could one day work with NJPW. During an interview with "This is Wrestling" on TSN 1200, Gallows spoke on signing with IMPACT and was asked whether or not this new contract that he signed with the company will be his last one, Gallows said it is not. "I’m in my prime. I’m not slowing down. I just want to grow this IMPACT brand as big as we possibly can and keep it pushing forward. Yeah, this ain’t my last wrestling contract. Oh hell no! I’m not going to stop," Gallows said. Now that Gallows, as well as Karl Anderson, have signed with IMPACT, Gallows is hoping that the company could enter a working partnership with NJPW. Both Gallows and Anderson wrestled for NJPW prior to coming to WWE years ago and they even held the IWGP Tag Team titles multiple times during their time wrestling in Japan. “I think it’s all about keeping momentum. I think there is more tag team championships in the future for us as a team. I think we’ll always be together but we can support each other through a singles run. One for him, one for me. That’s some stuff we’ve been talking a lot about. What we want to do is continue to grow IMPACT. I want IMPACT to continue to grow and get bigger and better so that when our friends are calling us and they got contracts up in other places we can go “hey we can do this for you over here. What do you think? Come jump on board, come have some fun, and come party with us?” I think it would be great. I would love to see New Japan and IMPACT form a working relationship at some point. I think it would be beneficial for both sides and I would really love to see that. Hopefully, (I) can be a part in making that come together," Gallows said.

Considering Impact's parent company kicked NJPW off of US television because of issues with Impact, Gallows probably has better luck hitting the Powerball jackpot than seeing a partnership between those two companies forming any time soon.

Originally Posted by Fightful The WWE 2K series will undergo a change this year as the realistic WWE 2K21 game won't be released due to the poor performance of WWE 2K20. Instead, WWE and 2K will release WWE 2K Battlegrounds, an arcade-style wrestling game with over the top action. Speaking to Sarah O'Connell, 2K Battlegrounds Executive Producer Sean O'Connor provided further details on the game. When asked about the development of the game, O'Connor said, "It's been in development for just under two years. We originally wanted to make a wrestling game that is accessible and easy to pick-up and play. Less serious, kind of over the top." He went on to note that there are over 70 WWE superstars, past and present, in the game. Each wrestler will have a different "class/style" that comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Each wrestler will also have at least one alternate attire. There will be multiple environments in the game and location-based environments such as New York, Scotland, and the Everglades will have interactive elements. Jerry Lawler and Mauro Ranallo provided commentary for the game. There is a "story mode" in the game where the user takes a group of seven superstars led by Paul Heyman and builds them as the next legends. It's not a gauntlet-styles story and does include an overall narrative. Both Create A Wrestle and Create An Arena are present in the game.

Originally Posted by Fightful Although the NWA has yet to have a new show in months, one of its champions will be defending her title very soon. Mission Pro Wrestling announced that Thunder Rosa will defend her NWA Women's Title against Lindsay Snow at "Hell Hath No Fury" taking place on September 18 in Texas. Face masks are required and social distancing protocols will be in effect.

Originally Posted by Fightful Ember Moon wasn't a fan of the finish to the Raw Women's Title match on Monday. Sasha Banks became the new Raw Women's Champion on Raw, defeating Asuka when Asuka was counted out as she went to save Kairi Sane from being attacked by Bayley in the backstage area. As a result of Sasha's victory, she and Bayley now hold the Women's Tag Team Titles, SmackDown Women's Title, and Raw Women's Title. Taking to Twitch, Ember recapped Raw for her viewers and gave her thoughts on the outcome. "Why do we need two double champions? Is SummerSlam going to be like low-key Evolution with Sasha and Bayley wrestling for their singles titles and also for the tag titles? Is that a thing? Are we just reliving Triple H [& Steve Austin, Two Man Power Trip] from 2001? Sasha & Bayley have done a great job with a limited roster, but there are too many people sitting at home to tie up all the titles with two people. I was kinda upset -- the match was superb -- I don't like the fact that knowing, it was Kairi's last [appearance], I don't know if that's the way you go. I feel you make it more of a threat than just Kairi getting beat up backstage. I think you have Bayley beat-up Kairi and then have her with a forklift about to drop some cinder blocks. [Asuka] had [Sasha] in the Asuka Lock, all she had to do was sit back. It makes more sense if Kairi is in more of a life or death situation versus her getting thrown into stuff and stomped. I get we're supposed to be angry, and kudos to them for making us angry. No one wanted Asuka to lose, everyone wanted NXT Asuka back and having an undefeated streak. That's what WWE does. I fell for the ploy of 'I'm angry because I saw my friend Asuka lose the title in a crappy way.' Are we gonna have Sasha just lose the title to Lacey Evans or transfer Naomi over? They're building to SummerSlam, right? As a fan, I feel like I got ripped because once again, I don't get Bayley vs. Sasha." She continued, "I feel like I lost the match I wanted to see two SummerSlams in a row. Maybe they're waiting for a bigger live audience. Maybe it's because Charlotte is gone and Becky [Lynch] is on maternity leave. They're killing me because I really want to see that match. Not only that, but you're sacrificing all of your other superstars for two people. That's what it feels like to me. Maybe I misjudge what's happening. I like to be angry about wrestling. I'm just trying to figure out the next step. Apart of me is like, 'I don't know what's going to happen, 'which is great, but apart of me is like, 'I don't know if that was the right call.' For me to be so upset that I had to turn off Raw because back-to-back-to-back...that first hour and a half to me was infuriating from a professional and fan standpoint." Ember did clarify that she believes WWE is doing what they can with the circumstances and that she isn't present at the Performance Center, so she isn't privy to the conversations happening inside the PC and behind closed doors. She does feel that WWE could use this opportunity to have someone like Bianca Belair, Naomi, or a new tag team step up to Banks and Bayley to potentially take one of their titles.

Originally Posted by PWI THE NWO ATTACKS NITRO & TURNS REY MYSTERIO INTO A LAWN DART, FLAIR WINS FIRST U.S. TITLE, SLAUGHTER MAKES WWF DEBUT, HEENAN ANNOUNCES THE 'REAL WORLD CHAMPION' IS COMING TO WWF & MORE: 7/29 THIS DAY IN HISTORY ... 1996 - WCW broadcast Monday Nitro from Disney's MGM Studios in Orlando, FL featuring the following result ... Sting, Randy Savage, & WCW TV Champion Lex Luger fought WCW US Champion Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, & Steve McMichael (w/ Elizabeth, Woman, & Debra McMichael) to a double count-out at 13:23 when all the participants went backstage after Jimmy Hart came ringside and said Scott Hall & Kevin Nash were backstage ... late in the match, a cameraman showed Hall & Nash, holding a baseball bat, standing over Arn Anderson and Marcus Alexander Bagwell; moments later, Scotty Riggs came out of a trailer and was laid out as well; WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. then leapt from the trailer onto Nash but Nash caught him in mid-air and threw him head-first into the trailer; moments later, Savage jumped on the Outsiders' limo as they drove off; after the commercial break, ambulances arrived as Sting, Luger, Alex Wright, the Horsemen, Hart, and Eddie Guerrero tended to the injured; during the segment, Mysterio said that there were four attackers; Mysterio was unmasked after he was placed on the stretcher but covered his face with his hands; Wright left with Mysterio, telling Guerrero to stay for his match

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