[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer The knee injury to Lars Sullivan that kept him off SmackDown Tuesday is worse than originally believed. There are no definitive details until he undergoes an MRI, but it doesn't look like a small thing and he'll be back Monday at this point.

Originally Posted by Observer The GoFundMe Campaign launched to assist Ashley Massaro's daughter Alexa with her education in the wake of Massaro's passing hit its $100,000 goal this evening, in part due to fundraising efforts by Mick Foley, who donated the proceeds of autographed Cactus Jack shirts over the weekend to the campaign.

Originally Posted by PWI The Main Event, the first WWE Studios-Netflix collaboration will be shooting this summer in Vancouver, British Columbia. The filming will begin later this month and run through late August. As PWInsider.com exclusively broke back in February, WWE Studios have been working develop new, original feature films in conjunction with Netflix, with plans to release them via the streaming service. The films will be directed towards family audiences. The Main Event tells the story of a ten-year old boy who is bullied but dreams of growing up to become a WWE professional wrestler. However, he gets to live his dream earlier when he discovers the secret to having super-strength in his breakfast cereal, becoming "The Spaghetti Kid." We are told that John Cena is referenced in the film and has a cameo role late in the film. The screenplay features small roles for Sheamus, The Miz and Bray Wyatt, with a number of references to WWE NXT as well.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter WWE returned to Saudi Arabia this weekend, but what could have been its biggest story coming out of the show never happened. WWE had been told some time back that they would be able to use women on the show. And then they were told they couldn’t. It was going back-and-forth. It’s hard to explain why they wouldn’t be allowed to. When OSN still existed and WWE was on television in the area, people in the area saw women’s wrestling. It’s kind of crazy trying to protect people in a live setting from seeing something available on television. Still, making sense in our culture doesn’t exactly work either, because MMA was on television in New York for a decade and shows were held everywhere but called amateur shows, but pro shows weren’t allowed. Granted, there was an insane political reason, essentially the speaker of the house was beholden to a union that had an affiliation with another until that wanted to unionize Lorenzo Fertitta’s casinos in Las Vegas. Because of that, for years, he blocked any vote to allow the sport in the state. So who knows how government works there. What we do know is that women participate in sports there, Women appear in entertainment now. Mariah Carey just did a show a few months ago, and was heavily criticized for going. Lindsay Lohan is going soon. Then again, when the Russian circus had women performers, it was heavily criticized. Alexa Bliss and Natalya made the trip. When they got there, they were still told it was up in the air whether they would have match or not. The WWE pushed for the Sports Authority to make a call, and in the end, they turned them down ... Before the show, the women found out that they wouldn’t have a match, nor appear on the show. Eventually in this ten year deal there will almost surely be a women’s match and WWE will take credit for changing a culture. It’ll be no more real than the story about WWE leading a revolution in women’s sports in the U.S. when they were more than 50 years behind tennis and golf and probably nothing made more of a mockery about women being respected as athletes as the entire presentation of the old divas division. Since OSN closed up shot, WWE is on MBC Action, a satellite network. It airs an edited version of Raw, Afterburn (edited Smackdown) and an Arabic recap show. WWE Network has almost no subscribers in the area. WWE is said to be very big with children in Saudi Arabia but not with any other age group. From a kids standpoint, it’s much bigger than the U.S., but it’s one of those cultural things few other than children pay much attention. It’s just as well. Super Showdown wasn’t much of a show. It got among the worst poll results in our history. Even though it was pushed like it was equal to or bigger than WrestleMania, it’s clear WWE announcers have no credibility left because nobody bought it as such. Google searches of 100,000 for the show were less than ten percent of what UFC did the next day. With a Friday afternoon time slot, it would be a shock if it wasn’t the least-watched main roster PPV show of the year. There wasn’t much positive to say other than the crowd went crazy when they put Mansoor from Saudi Arabia over in the biggest Battle Royal in history. Of course, that ended up meaning nothing since Mansoor followed by not appearing on Raw, Smackdown or NXT tapings so far this week. So it was just to give the local audience a pop, and perhaps smooth things over for their hosts and maybe they won’t dick them around so much on letting women wrestle ... Super Showdown drew about 21,000 fans at King Abdullah Sports Stadium in Jeddah. It was nowhere close to full, like last year’s show. The crowd was pretty dead, aside from a few pops here and there for trademark spots.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsleter Some more names added to the list from last week of women at the recent U.K. Performance Center tryouts. The biggest name is Karen Glennon, better known as Session Moth Martina, 28, from Scotland, who has wrestled all over the world. Sabrina Casiraghi from Italy, who has worked in Italy and ICW in Scotland ... We’re told that Martina is in. In the U.K. there are people talking as if she’s already signed. There was a lot of heat among non-WWE wrestlers in the U.K. because just days before the camp she was posing wearing an anti-WWE pro-independents T-shirt with David Starr, and then she went to the camp and is expected to sign with them

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter I don’t know if this week was a first, but Vince McMahon, Stephanie, HHH and Kevin Dunn all didn’t come to the California tapings. Stephanie is not a regular at TV these days. She only comes when she’s needed which hasn’t been the case of late. HHH decided to go to Florida since they were doing two days of television with four hours each day (eight television shows from 6/19 to 8/8). It’s everything leading into the Toronto Takeover/SummerSlam weekend show. So he felt he needed to be there getting everything ready. Vince had some corporate items that he felt he needed to take care of, and Kevin Dunn isn’t coming to television when Vince isn’t there. Ed Koskey was running around like crazy at Raw kind of in control. Dana Warrior was there working hands on with Lacey Evans. I don’t know that Evans is a Warrior project but she does work heavily with Evans on her promos

Originally Posted by PWI Impact Wrestling star Killer Kross appeared on Petey Williams' podcast last night and when asked about PWInsider.com's report last month that he had requested a release from his Impact Wrestling contract, commented that our story was "100% correct" but that he was upset the story came to the public light, which is understandable from his perspective ... Kross noted that he liked everyone at Impact and everyone had been professional with him, but intimated that when he signed his deal, he did so after being led to believe there were not other opportunities for him elsewhere. Now that he's learned there are, and he's aware of what others within Impact are getting paid, he sought to be paid something on that level or be allowed to leave to prove he could draw and earn that money elsewhere. Kross noted that he has family members he is responsible for and as a man, it's on him to provide for them ... Kross noted that Scarlett Bordeaux's situation with the company is unreleated to his and is "worse" in that she's still living at home with her mother and needs a "side job" to support herself in order to perform in professional wrestling. PWInsider.com can confirm that Impact officials sat down with Bordeaux last week in New York City and both sides are discussing the situation, but as of this writing, nothing has been resolved. Kross and Bordeaux both worked the most recent TV tapings. PWInsider.com has been told by sources that both Kross and Bordeaux wish to remain and work for Impact but want to be paid at a better scale in order to do so.

Originally Posted by PWI Former WWE and Impact Wrestling star Brodus Clay aka Tyrus (real name George Murdoch) is at the center of the latest sexual harassment allegations at FOX News ... After leaving UN-PC, Tyrus has been given his own series on FOX News’ streaming platform. Last night, McHenry responded to the FOX News statement, tweeting (and later deleting), "You act like I don't like have proof," she wrote. "Smh [Shaking my head]. Carry on." McHenry has now hired attorney Douglas Wigdor, who has filed a number of lawsuits for clients allegedly wronged by FOX News ... Murdoch has not responded publicly to the allegations but when asked by The Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr whether his departure from UN-PC was related to McHenry via private messaging on Twitter, Murdoch responded, "No comment and don't message me again," before blocking Barr on the social media platform.

A few new details regarding the Brodus Clay sexual harassment allegations.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Jon Moxley, Shingo Takagi, Will Ospreay and KENTA all challenged to get into this year’s G-1 Climax tournament at Dominion on 6/9 in Osaka, amidst a lot of changes with New Japan Pro Wrestling in the U.S. market. The tournament will be the key in trying to establish Saturday night as New Japan night on AXS TV. They are moving it away from the Friday night lead-in to live MMA, in order to stay away from WWE competition when Smackdown moves to Friday on FOX in October. AXS airs the first night of G-1, the show at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, live on 7/6, a Saturday. They are moving both New Japan and Women of Wrestling to Saturday, with WOW replays airing at 8 p.m. every Saturday starting on 7/13, and up-to-date New Japan episodes starting at 9 p.m.,and will be expanded to two hours weekly. During G-1, they will be airing the Saturday night show from Japan each week, with the top matches on each show edited to two hours, on a same day tape delay.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter There was a question regarding Jericho’s entrance music, “Judas,” not playing on the streaming replay when it had in all of his previous matches with the company. What happened was, unbeknownst to Jericho, Sony had contacted New Japan and wanted a $2,500 rights fee for usage of the music. New Japan turned it down and instead put over a cover song. Jericho said that if he would have known about it, he’d have paid the $2,500 himself.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The big thing that was major buzz on 6/9 was the Laredo Kid vs. El Hijo del Vikingo cruiserweight title match from the TV tapings that night at Arena Coliseo in Monterrey. I know of several people who thought it was better than the Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay match the same day. I wouldn’t go that far as far as a match where spots were built, or had the same level of drama, but for innovative and amazing moves, believe it or not, it was on par, and perhaps better as far as new things. What I will say is that whether it’s AEW, AAW, PWG, Impact, MLW or anyone who has access to these guys really should match them up. Vikingo can be one of the major stars of the future of the business as his flying is out of this world and he’s only going to get a lot better over the next three years, particularly if he gets to work more places. Right now what’s keeping him from the U.S. scene is that he doesn’t have a visa. So that leaves him right now down to a group that will get him one, and if that happens, he’ll probably be booked all over the place. There’s talk AAA would get him a visa and put him on the MSG show and then he’d be able to take U.S. bookings. We know that Vikingo wants in Battle of Los Angeles this year. AEW had interest in him for Double or Nothing but the show was loaded as it was. Barring injury, this is a guy on the indie scene who will blow up immediately and eventually he’s almost surely ending up in AEW or WWE, although I don’t know how he makes it in WWE because they’ll try and change him and re-program him and spend years on it and the tone him down. It will the hot indie feud and match in the U.S. for 2019. I went ****½ but most ratings I saw were *****.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Fenix & Pentagon Jr. seem to be done here [Impact Wrestling]. They weren’t used for television and were moved on the web site to the alumni page. I think it’s inevitable once (if) they get a Lucha Underground release that they will sign with AEW at least for the U.S. market and retain rights to work AAA and Mexican indies

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The Buy In show on ITV 4, the Double or Nothing pre-show, did 74,000 viewers, which for a Saturday night at midnight would be a good number, but not a great number. For comparison, for numbers the next week in the U.K. Raw did 42,500 viewers, Smackdown did 63,000 and MLW did 24,900. Impact did 14,900 on UK Fight Night on Showcase but their largest audience would come on 5USA and we don’t have that figure

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The situation with Brian Cage at the Double or Nothing show is that they contacted him to be in the Casino Battle Royale. The idea was they would given him some spots to look good before eliminating him. Cage hadn’t cleared it with Impact, who he has an exclusive contract with and is their world champion. They called Don Callis shortly before the match and his take was that he didn’t think his world champion should be in a pre-show Battle Royal, just based on the idea of an old school positioning of your world champion. Based on the mentality of protecting your world champion and having him positioned as a star, he wasn’t wrong. So Cage was pulled from the match. Impact wasn’t against him appearing per se, in the sense that if they made the deal ahead of time they probably could have worked creative out and worked out something that made sense to both sides like AAA did by giving the Young Bucks their tag titles

Originally Posted by PWI In honor of the anniversary of his passing this week, the NWA released a classic Dusty Rhodes vs. Gino Hernandez bout from Houston:

TPWW Frontpage stuff:

• WWE: Botched Ending in Gable vs. Gallagher 205 Live Match, Lars vs. Hardy Match Pulled
• Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega Announced for AEW All Out

* Likely won't be posting a sheets report for Friday due to being out of the house for most of the night tomorrow. Either one gets posted very early Saturday or might just skip doing it if nothing major happens that's not on the Frontpage.