Wrestling News & Rumors

[Jordan]

Originally Posted by RP Ya critics are so jealous over a woman who sounds like she has a bag of marbles in her mouth and walks around like she has a dick in between her legs. Seth is not very bright.

Truth.

[Evil Vito]

LOL the Observer is reporting that Bischoff will actually have no involvement in SmackDown creative and his role is mostly just to maintain the relationship with FOX.

[ClockShot]

Sooooooooo?

Eric Bischoff is really a front man for SmackDown?

So who's really the shot caller?

[Droford]

Originally Posted by RP Ya critics are so jealous over a woman who sounds like she has a bag of marbles in her mouth and walks around like she has a dick in between her legs. Seth is not very bright.

She does call herself The Man

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by ClockShot Sooooooooo? Eric Bischoff is really a front man for SmackDown? So who's really the shot caller?

Vince is the shot caller. Just like he always is.

Find it hilarious that Bischoff relocated his family to Connecticut for a role that has no actual creative power.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Joey Janela is set to take part in the 2019 Battle of Los Angeles. On Wednesday, PWG announced Janela as the latest entrant for this year's tournament. He's the 13th participant to be confirmed, joining A-Kid, Jonathan Gresham, Artemis Spencer, Darby Allin, Mick Moretti, Orange Cassidy, Bandido, Caveman Ugg, Jake Atlas, Tony Deppen, Fenix, and Lucky Kid. Janela made his PWG debut in BOLA 2017, losing to Sammy Guevara in the first round. He made it to the semifinals last year but lost to Bandido.

Also recently announced was Brody King.

Originally Posted by PWI Seth Rollins did a Q&A with Yahoo Sports in which he talked about Monday's "Raw Reunion", the legends returning, SummerSlam and more. During the interview, Seth was asked whether there is an online sentiment that is cool to hate WWE in which he responded: "We’re the New York Yankees. It’s easy to hate the New England Patriots. We’re those teams, we’re the dynasty. It’s easy to hate us, but we’re still the most popular company in the world at what we do. We’re so far beyond being a wrestling company that it’s very easy to point the finger and hate on us. That’s the cool thing to do, it makes perfect sense to me, it’s how it’s always been in sports and entertainment, you always hate the big guy. It’s fine, I’m not upset about it at all. I just want people to understand and appreciate the things we go through and the fact that we’re always trying to do our best. Nobody is taking it easy, nobody is just getting by. Everybody from top to bottom, every department in the entire company is putting in as much work as they possibly can to make this the best."

Originally Posted by PWI Add Melina and Candice Michelle to the list of names scheduled for this Monday's Raw Reunion event. Melina will be making her first appearance on WWE programming since her release from the company in 2011.

Originally Posted by PWI I noticed in my email this morning a message from WWE Shop with the title "Because You Watched Extreme Rules" with recommendations for merchandise worn at the event this past Sunday. It appears that WWE is beginning to use the viewer data to customize experience which is said to be at the core of the company's "Network 2.0" plan integrating more user customization features like advertising tickets based on your geolocation, showing you merchandise or video featuring your favorite superstar, etc.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter A number of major executives with Turner were at the [Fight for the Fallen] show live and came out of it with the idea from the packed crowd, and how over the talent was to that audience that this was more impressive than they had thought.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter There is a reason you don’t do PPV shows two weeks apart. The number of FITE TV buys were down, but with the higher price charged per buy, the actual FITE revenue was the same as for the show two weeks earlier. They went with a higher price because the added revenue was to be part of the charity benefit. B/R Live numbers were down about 10 to 14 percent, depending on the category, from Fyter Fest, when it comes to live viewership. The decrease is likely due to the amount of competition that night with some also likely due to being just two weeks between big shows. The audience was said to be very consistent, as from the start of the show to the finish the audience never varied by more than about 500. B/R added 18,000 new subscriptions that day, so there were that many new people who didn’t watch the two previous shows, a number that officials were pleased with. Most of the B/R Live executives were described as pleasantly caught off-guard by the success of the last two AEW shows and the PPV numbers from the first show, particularly that there has been a significant increase in subs every show.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Regarding the story itself, Evolve had the show booked and the talent on the show booked as well at the 2300 Arena before this date was publicly announced (although privately this date was pretty much known first). Evolve doing a show in Philadelphia on this date was not a WWE counter. The Evolve show airing on WWE Network, given the timing and the WWE track record historically, that’s a different question. WWE did have a PPV in Philadelphia the next night so a lot of production people were around. Still, do I believe Vince McMahon would have put a non-WWE live event on the WWE Network without this show being taken place and not as a counter? History of every move, whether you want to go back to the 80s gives you the same answer. The creation of NXT U.K. and its slow rollout (countering ITV World of Sport), the huge offer to Jim Ross (who they didn’t want on ITV as the face of a new promotion that would have far greater viewership due to the platform), pretty much doing nothing in that direction, then all of a sudden coming back with it when ITV really did shoot a season is a recent example. As was signing up deals to essentially have control of a number of European companies when FloSlam was launched and having all those deals in place years ago to debut them on WWE Network and then McMahon changing his mind on airing any of it for years. Three years ago, WWE attempted to strip New Japan of all its foreign talent and WWE made huge offers to the key people who AEW was going to need to get off the ground ... Then, suddenly, on this night, McMahon not just changed his mind, but also, on both Raw and Smackdown, promoted the Evolve show harder than they’ve ever pushed a Takeover on those shows

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The Evolve show more than 800 fans and overall for what it was, it had to be considered a positive. Whether Vince McMahon would consider, or even care about a broadcast that did look out of place from a production standpoint, was on the network is an interesting question. In that sense, for the comparison of what McMahon has pushed as a well produced show, his wrestling show couldn’t touch the two rival shows. But everyone knew that going in.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter A public mass for Paco Alonso took place on 7/12 in the afternoon in Mexico City. Fray Tormenta, the famed priest who the movie “Nacho Libre” was somewhat based on, presided over it. Atlantis Jr., Negro Casas and Amapola all spoke and lots of wrestlers were there, including Rayo de Jalisco Jr., who flew in for it. Both CMLL and New Japan had ceremonies for him at shows this past week.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The announcing situation ended up being a really big story this past week. At the two Ota Ward Gym shows in Tokyo, Kevin Kelly, Rocky Romero and Chris Charlton were at the table, but Charlton said almost nothing. Basically a decision was made that Charlton would be used only as a translator and not to announce the matches, although he did occasionally say stuff ... The problem is that the decision came from outside New Japan. It was believed to have been made by TV-Asahi, which is partners in NJPW World. The situation is that TV stations have this idea of voice and look for announcers and Charlton doesn’t have the traditional voice that they would expect. He’s more a guy with incredible historical and trivial knowledge of New Japan that would appeal to hardcore fans, and NJPW World, in English, is a pure hardcore fan service ... But the announcing for the Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi G-1 final last year was one of the better announced matches I’ve ever seen (granted, a match like that has its advantages like Omega vs. Okada IV had) and since then Charlton was someone I always looked forward to on the shows that he did. After answering a question about what fans should do on the 7/16 show, both New Japan and TV-Asahi were flooded with correspondence regarding Charlton’s role. New Japan was always behind him but the outside forces who made the decision, in seeing so much reaction, made the call on 7/17 to have Charlton back in his former role starting with the shows this week

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Viceland has reached a deal to air a second season of Dark Side of the Ring, with the pro wrestling documentaries. This would include documentaries already shot on the death of Dino Bravo and one on Chris Benoit. There will also be some new topics that are likely to be announced over the next week. I expect we’ll see more topics related to Jim Cornette, who was considered a big hit in several of the episodes

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter There was more this week to the story of George Murdoch, formerly Brodus Clay and Tyrus, and now a host on the streaming Fox Nation service, and his former co-host Britt McHenry. The two did a show together until she complained about texts he had sent. He was never suspended and was instead given his own new show. The Huffington Post ran a story covering the content of the text messages that created the situation. In one text, Murdoch told his former co-host “Just pull your boobs out now why don’t you. Just grin and bare it.” In another he wrote, “Keep being negative and I’ll send you another dick pic.” Murdoch was pulled off the show in April after McHenry complained to FOX management. She claimed he sent sexually harassing texts between November (when the two were assigned to the same “UN-PC” as co-hosts) and January. Another one said, “I love the fact you (sic) always working if we ever had sex I feel like after an orgazzum (sic) you say speaking of feeling good did see the story on the puppy rescue we should do a segment on it hand me my phone.” McHenry had showed the text messages to friends before going to management, asking them how she should handle the situation. Murdoch is still a regular guest on Saturdays on The Greg Garfield Show on Fox News and regularly appears on Dana Perino’s “The Daily Briefing.” I have no clue how they can still employ him

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The Young Bucks did an interview with Chris Van Vliet and said there was a time when they and Kenny Omega were in a room together last year and all three believed they were going to WWE. He said that Tony Khan made the right offer and the one thing AEW offered that WWE couldn’t match was the ability to control their own destiny. They also said that the tag team tournament brackets are almost finalized and that the tournament will be part of the early television shows. Regarding Pac, they said it’s about 99 percent that he’s coming in and it’s just a question of when. Essentially when he’s agreeable to lose within doing programs which would likely be after he drops the Open the Dream Gate title. Once they know a date that he’s dropping the title, one would think they’ll come up with a program for him and it’s pretty much working out a schedule that works for both sides. But he would still likely have to sign a long-term deal at some point and before he was hesitant on that. They also said that, depending on the size of the market, that the TV’s will be taped in 5,000 to 12,000 seat arenas. Keep in mind that with the staging, that most of the NBA arenas these days are going to sellout with 13,000 to 14,000 fans for a pro wrestling TV set up. Given it’s midweek and that Smackdown often draws in the 3,000 to 5,000 range, and WWE is so much larger, doing 3,000 a week in the current economy in theory would be the expectation

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Kylie Rae has been out of action. The situation has been kept quiet but it is a medical issue and she is expected back soon

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter WWE failed to get the Emmy nomination for Raw that they had pushed for in the category of Outstanding Structured Reality Program. Well, not that this played a part in it, because I’m sure it being pro wrestling would have made it difficult to begin with, but the show this past year was about as far from outstanding as the distance between the Earth and Alpha Centauri

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Paul Heyman for Raw is trying to go with the idea of having backstage interviews have less of the fake dialogue and come across more realistic, and that there would be more consequences, essentially what AEW promises with the idea that wins and losses will matter and that angles won’t just be forgotten and dropped, and if someone gets hurt one week they won’t be fine the next week. Obviously with Strowman, that was barely the case, as he was supposedly gravely injured, missed one week of TV, and returned selling nothing. Wrestlers for the last 15 years have complained about how they’ll do a big match and want to sell the beating the next day on Raw, and Vince will allow mid-card guys to do that but when the top guys want to, Vince nixes it because the guys he wants to protect he doesn’t want to have on television appearing to be weak

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter There was a report that Harper is going back on the road. If that’s the case, it’s a secret since key people in the company don’t know it, nor do those close to he say that he’s heard a thing. He’s pretty much been told nothing since the decision was made not to use him in early April when Vince didn’t like his match with Dominic Dijakovic

TPWW Frontpage:

• WWE Announces “Smackville” Special Airing on WWE Network
• Eric Bischoff Apparently Won’t Be Involved in SmackDown Creative Process
• WWE/FOX Update: Talks for NXT on TV, 20th Anniversary Show, More
• CM Punk Will Appear on Starrcast III During AEW All Out Weekend
• AEW: All Out Price, Tony Schiavone Working for AEW? Tully Blanchard Signs Deal
• Shawn Michaels Will Be on Commentary for This Week’s SmackDown

[slik]

No AJ

Drew

Bray


Ricochet?

Paul Heyman's run down of the men in Monday's #Raw battle royal (Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Cesaro, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins) is believed to be his intended main event scene as Executive Director. #WWE

— Tom Colohue (@Colohue) July 19, 2019

[Splaya]

They will more than likely re-push Drew on Smackdown Live. Bray needs to be rebuilt up so him being away from the main event scene is good. Riccochet is going to be big in the upper mid card. I would expect him to get a title shot out of necessity sometime before Mania, then he captures the MITB contract next summer.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Tomorrow's Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay match is a somewhat rare IWGP heavyweight champion vs. junior heavyweight champion match. It has been done a handful of times in history, including those two including a March 6, 2018, match that Okada won. No junior heavyweight champion in history has ever beaten the heavyweight champion in a singles match in New Japan

Originally Posted by Observer Also, late tomorrow night is the biggest Dragon Gate event of the year, the Kobe World Festival. We have an interview up on the site with Larry Dallas talking about the show. It is the first time a Dragon Gate show from Japan will be broadcast live in the U.S. on a streaming service in English. Dallas and Rich Bocchini, who are having the times of their lives in Japan this week, will be doing the announcing. The thing with Dragon Gate historically is that it has always been the group in the last 15 years that is years ahead stylistically, so if you want to see what pro wrestling may look like in 2025 or so, this may be a good look. The main event result, if Ben K wins, would also at least open the door for talks for Pac in AEW.

Originally Posted by Observer While never advertised, we've been asked a lot about Bret Hart. Hart was asked but declined the offer. Shawn Michaels announcing Smackdown on Tuesday is a one-time thing.

Hart stuff is in regards to the upcoming RAW Reunion show.

Originally Posted by Observer Ring of Honor has announced the dates for their next three shows in the United Kingdom. This year's Honor United tour will take place across three days in October. The tour will begin at York Hall in London, England on Friday, October 25. It will continue at The Newport Centre in Newport, Wales on Saturday, October 26 and will conclude at Bolton Whites Hotel in Bolton, England on Sunday, October 27. Tickets for the shows will go on sale to HonorClub members at 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday (July 24). They'll then go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. local time next Friday (July 26).

Originally Posted by PWI WWE has announced the main event of this Tuesday's episode of 205 Live will feature Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott aka the former MLW Champion Shane Strickland. It would be Strickland's 205 Live debut. Scott was announced as signing with WWE's NXT system this past April. Strickland, a former MLW and CZW Champion, also worked for the El Rey Network's Lucha Underground promotion as Killshot. Prior to signing with WWE, Scott had also been a regular for WWE conduit EVOLVE Wrestling, debuting there in August 2018. Scott has been competing since 2009 and recently debuted on WWE NXT TV in the Breakout Tournament.

Originally Posted by PWI The 2019 WWE Hell in A Cell PPV will be Sunday 10/6 at the Golden Center in Sacramento, CA. Tickets will officially go on sale 7/26. Locally advertised for the PPV is WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton and Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre.

Originally Posted by PWI UPDATED LINEUP FOR WWE SMACKVILLE SPECIAL ON WWE NETWORK Local advertising in Nashville on the Bridgestone Arena's website features the following matches listed for the 7/27 WWE Smackville special on the WWE Network: *WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Samoa Joe. *WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Bálor. *WWE Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss (with Nikki Cross). *WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions The New Day in action. *A musical performance by Elias

Originally Posted by PWI A WWE graphic for this Monday's Raw reunion features the following names who had not been previously disclosed for the USA Network broadcast from Tampa: *Jillian Hall. *Eve Torres *Jonathan Coachman. *Kaitlyn. *Alicia Fox

Originally Posted by PWI Local advertising in Tampa for Raw Reunion lists a DX Reunion featuring Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg and X-Pac. Billy Gunn, obviously, would not be available due to his AEW position. WWE's website is also now selling a DX Reunion shirt listing the date of Monday's Raw, July 22, 2019.

Originally Posted by Fightful WWE has filed trademarks on "Smackville" and "Shorty G"

Originally Posted by Fightful Speaking to Collider, Chris Jericho gave his thoughts on CM Punk potentially joining AEW. "I haven't been asked about CM Punk [by the Executive Vice Presidents]. Do we need him? No. Would it be a huge pop to get him? Yes. I don't know what his attitude or mindset is, but I think our roster is jam packed right now. We're not looking to headhunt WWE. We never were. We don't want to be WCW in 98 or IMPACT in 2011 where you're just bringing in old WWE guys. We have a lot of young guys. WWE doesn't have 23-year-old kids. They put them in NXT and five years later, they come up. We wanted to focus on the younger demographic. The teenage heartthrobs that they used to have in every wrestling territory." Jericho specifically mentioned MJF and Jungle Boy as young talent who can capture the "teenage heartthrob" demographic. When asked about the women's division, Jericho had one talent at the top of his list of who he would like to see in AEW. "There's a lot of great women performers out there. There's a couple we have our eyes on that are working for other companies. Tessa Blanchard. She's a killer. She's amazing. From WWE, you can't go wrong with Charlotte. Becky Lynch is great too. But if you're talking about someone we might be able to get, Tessa is someone we might be able [to sign]." Blanchard is currently signed to IMPACT Wrestling. Her father, Tully Blanchard, recently signed on with AEW to be the "executive advisor" of Shawn Spears.

TPWW Frontpage:

• MJF Signs New Multi-Year Contract Extension With AEW
• AEW: Britt Baker Injury Update, Kylie Rae Out With Medical Issue
• WWE: Finn Balor Engaged, Liv Morgan Getting a New Look?

[James Steele]

CM Punk joining AEW could be a huge game changer for AEW. I keep waiting for him to want to scratch that itch again.

[RP]

Why wrestle when you can bang AJ Lee all day?

[xrodmuc316]

Originally Posted by James Steele CM Punk joining AEW could be a huge game changer for AEW. I keep waiting for him to want to scratch that itch again.

CM Punk would get a great pop at All Out, but he lost all cred with his UFC trash career. He is good enough to bump interest, but he isn't gonna be a game changer the way Moxley was. Punk has simply been gone too long and failed so hard on everything since leaving WWE, I just don't see him getting back up to that level.

Also, I thought everybody was trying to get out of WWE to go to AEW. Every week somebody reups with the E, and AEW hasn't inked anybody new or meaningful since Mox months ago.

[James Steele]

CM Punk can talk them into the building though. It’s hard to turn down WWE money especially now that AEW has some product and it has a lot of Indy stink to it.

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by xrodmuc316 Every week somebody reups with the E, and AEW hasn't inked anybody new or meaningful since Mox months ago.

The worst thing AEW could so is sign a thousand people and end up with half their roster stuck in catering every week.

[Splaya]

AEW needs to keep their roster thin epsecially with only having two hours of TV per week. You don't need to overload your roster and think that people are just going to watch youtube for you to feature wrestlers.

Ironically there's an indy promotion by me who started in March this year. They originally had 15 guys, then expanded to 24 for a show in May. They will have another show in August where they will have 42 wrestlers on their "active" roster. I understand that it's just an indy promotion but still.

[Bad News Gertner]

Originally Posted by RP Why wrestle when you can bang AJ Lee all day?

Banging a ladyboi gets old after a while I guess

[Mr. Nerfect]

Would like to see them get Punk and Tessa.

I think they would benefit themselves by working with other promotions. When Spears’ heat begins to die down, send him to MLW or something. Get someone else in. Cycle in an out.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer The Raw Reunion show, as expected did Raw's biggest audience of the year, with 3.09 million viewers. The previous high of 2.92 million came on the Raw after WrestleMania. Last night's Raw was the most-watched episode of the show since April 23, 2018 ... It was up 26 percent from last week and 11 percent from the same week last year ... The rating is still an aberration in the sense that the best comparison number, the Raw 25th anniversary show, also bringing back all the stars from the past with a similar format, did 4.53 million viewers 18 months ago, so in a sense it tells you over 18 months they've lost 32 percent of viewers who would come back once for nostalgia purposes, and this show also had Hogan on it ... The three hours were: 8 p.m. 3.02 million viewers 9 p.m. 3.18 million viewers 10 p.m. 3.08 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer Variety, of all places, had a major story on the decline in WWE television ratings. The story was titled that basically Vince McMahon has run out of excuses as they lead into Thursday's investors conference where the second quarter numbers will be released. With WrestleMania and the Saudi Arabia show in the quarter, the theory is it should be tremendously profitable. But WWE did indicate there won't be big profits this year until quarter three, when the new TV money kicks in. They noted Raw down 20 percent and Smackdown down 17 percent year-over-year. AEW was also mentioned. (thanks to Christopher Cruise and many others)

Link: https://variety.com/2019/tv/opinion/...es-1203273548/

Originally Posted by PWI The WWE stock, which was trading near $100 before they announced the first quarter numbers and then dropped signficantly, is currently trading at $69.90 as I write this. It will be very interesting to see what happens when the company reports on Thursday. The stock run up was largely based off of the new TV deals so if WWE has a bad quarter, it's very possible that the stock will drop even lower. I fully expect them to announce on Thursday that they have brought Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff in to fix the problems. I hope that the callers that get through will really press Vince on whether he will give them a legitimate chance to do so or whether he will keep overseeing things.

Dropped down by another dollar today. Took just 2 months for WWE's stocks to decline over 30% in value.

Originally Posted by PWI 7/22 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: VINCE MCMAHON BEATS THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IN COURT 1994 - After 16 hours of deliberation, a jury finds WWF owner Vince McMahon not guilty of conspiracy to distribute steroids to wrestlers.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling It was seven-year ago today that WWE presented Raw 1000, which marked the beginning of the weekly three-hour format for the show. That show in July 2012 was promoted much more than this year’s Raw Reunion but to compare to seven years ago, the three-hour episode averaged 6,040,000 viewers and the 25th Anniversary of Raw in January 2018 averaged 4,500,000.

Originally Posted by PWI Earllier today, Chief Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. of the U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee today shot down Global Force Entertainment and Jeff Jarrett's attempt at an interlocutory appeal regarding the court's decision to to dismiss their copyright infringement claim against Anthem, the parent company of Impact Wrestling.

Originally Posted by Observer AAA’s show at Madison Square Garden on September 15 and their event at The Forum in Inglewood, California on October 13 will be available to purchase as live iPPVs on Fite TV.

Originally Posted by Observer Jushin Thunder Liger will be in action at NJPW's Super J-Cup shows, but he won't be one of the entrants in the tournament. NJPW has announced that Liger will be wrestling in non-tournament action at all three of next month's Super J-Cup events. Liger is also being billed as the "producer" of the Super J-Cup. Liger's matches for the shows have yet to be revealed. Liger wrestling at the events comes in advance of him retiring at the Tokyo Dome in January. The list of participants for the Super J-Cup has also yet to be announced. The tournament will feature 16 entrants. Will Ospreay, Dragon Lee, Caristico, El Phantasmo, SHO, and YOH have been included on advertising for the tournament.

Originally Posted by PWI The Hashtag #GiveWWEWomenAChance has been trending on Twitter since Monday Night Raw presented last night’s Raw Reunion event, mostly centered around complaints about how little time female stars were given on last night’s USA Network special. Last night’s Raw Reunion broadcast featured several segments devoted to promoting Becky Lynch vs. Natalya for Summerslam next month as well as Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle and Alundra Blayze (Madusa) all winning the WWE 24/7 Championship, but in short segments. The fact the women were featured in short segments, that there were no women’s wrestling bouts last night and that Melina (in her first WWE appearance in 2011) and Jillian Hall (her first appearance since 2010) were relegated to supporting, cameo roles all factored into complaints featured under the hashtag, which began showing up last night and were trending highly in different areas as late as this morning ... The hashtag comes on the anniversary of the week that WWE announced the first-ever all women’s WWE Evolution PPV, a follow-up to which has not been announced. This summer has been the first in several years that a Mae Young Classic Tournament has not been announced, either. This led to some complaints that the women's roster is back to where they started several years ago, which isn't exactly true. The hashtag brings forth memories of the #GiveDivasAChance hashtag that hit the Internet in 2015 after a short women’s tag match on Raw led to droves of fans complaining about the lack of opportunities WWE’s female cast were receiving ... WWE has not, as of yet, publicly acknowledged the response to how women were utilized on Raw.

Originally Posted by PWI Ric Flair was holding court at the hotel last night after the show, ordering round after round of drinks for WWE guests in a VIP area of the bar and having a slew of pizzas delivered. Flair's wife, the former Fifi the Maid in WCW, was with him. A number of WWE NXT stars were backstage at the Raw Reunion. Nicholas Cone, the son of referee John Cone, who held the Tag Team titles with Braun Strowman, was backstage visiting. Maryse was backstage ... Katie Forbes aka Chloe Hurtz in WOW was backstage with Rob Van Dam.

Originally Posted by PWI As noted earlier, Viceland officially announced the second season for Dark Side of the Ring today. We are told the current plan is for ten episodes ... There will also be an episode dedicated to 1999's Brawl for All tournament in the WWF. Jim Cornette and Butterbean, among others, have already sat down with producers to discuss the WWF's lone attempt to create a shoot tournament, which resulted in scores of injuries and not much else.

Originally Posted by Fightful The Heartbreak Kid has been part of plenty of memorable moments through the history of WWE Monday Night Raw. But it wasn't a match or a fiery promo in the middle of a heated feud that stands out to Shawn Michaels. “If I had to pick a favorite Raw moment, and that’s very tough to do, it would be Hunter and I with and Chyna when we were wearing the Christmas thongs,” said Michaels in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “That sticks out to me because it had absolutely nothing to do with wrestling and it was so unbelievably silly. But it was our job that day, we actually called that ‘work.’ That’s still funny to me. It’s not something many people could say they do at work.”

Originally Posted by Fightful When Seth Rollins stated WWE has the "Best pro wrestling on the planet. Period," he became the flag bearer for WWE. Since that comment, Rollins has adamantly defended the promotion he works for in the face of criticism from online fans and anyone who questions WWE's place in the wrestling landscape. “It just felt to me nobody was standing up for WWE when we have a lot to be proud of," Rollins told TV Insider. "If taking on a leadership role is what you want to call it, it’s certainly something where I stepped forward and put my foot down...The fact I had people from different departments shoot me texts to let me know they had my back because they felt I had their back. That was cool and validating. I felt really good I was representing many people who felt the way I felt." Rollins continued, "We try to put out the best show possible every single time. And I’m not just talking about Monday Night Raw or PPVs. I’m talking about every live event. I’m talking about every department. So, if you see a t-shirt that comes out that you don’t love, nobody is trying to put out a crappy t-shirt. Every department, everybody who is trying to do their jobs. Everybody that writes stories and gets in the ring, even if it’s two minutes to have a match. Everyone gives one thousand percent effort all the time. The expectations are just so high every single time WWE does anything that I guess there is disappointment at times because expectations are through the roof." The Beastslayer finished by saying, “Fact is everyone loves what they’re doing and wants to be the best. That’s where all the negativity I think stems from. The fact everybody wants to be so good at it and the product to be as great as it possibly can be that it’s easy to point fingers and say, ‘Well, I can do better.’ Or say things like, ‘They’re not trying hard enough.’ Until you put yourself in a talent’s shoes or anyone’s shoes in any department. You can’t throw stones. You just don’t understand the type of work that goes into it. Just having that negative viewpoint sets a bad precedent and a tone for everybody."

Originally Posted by Fightful Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe had to stall for time during their promo to reach the commercial break.

Vince's "no wrestling during commercials" rule seriously needs to be canned.


TPWW Frontpage:

• Possible Name for WWE’s New FS1 Talk Show
• AEW: Announcement Scheduled for Wednesday, TV Viewer Number Expectations
• Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring Officially Renewed for 10-Episode Second Season
• Raw Reunion: Sid Vicious Cancels, Scott Hall, Bella Twins, Bray Wyatt & JoJo
• Raw Reunion: John Cena Left Early, Rikishi & Pat Patterson Not Cleared
• Ricochet Was Not Cleared for Raw Reunion, So Seth Rollins Took His Spot
• Two WWE Lead Writers Were Let Go Last Week

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer For the second straight week, SmackDown posted its highest viewership total since the April 16 Superstar Shake-up episode. Tuesday night's show averaged 2.162 million viewers, up two percent from last week. There was little carryover from Monday's huge rating for Raw Reunion. SmackDown only retained 69 percent of the Raw audience, the second-lowest percentage since the show's move to Tuesday nights. Not so coincidentally, the lowest was the January 23, 2018 episode, which followed the Raw 25th anniversary show, which did over 4.5 million viewers. SmackDown followed with 2.58 million viewers that week. For the second straight week, SmackDown had just under an eight percent drop year-over-year, the third week of the last four that the drop was in the single digits

Originally Posted by Observer The Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas noted that Brock Lesnar has been added to next Monday’s (July 29) episode of Raw.

Originally Posted by Observer Ahead of tomorrow’s second quarter earnings report, WWE stock closed today at $68.73 per share. That’s up under one percent from yesterday.

The stock price after tomorrow's fiscal report is going to be really interesting. Very little of the company has improved since the last report and its rumored WWE will officially announce the Network suffered its first major quarterly decline in the service's history.

Originally Posted by Fightful According to a new SEC filing, WWE Executives Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, George Barrios, Kevin Dunn, Mark Kowal, and Michelle Wilson all sold WWE stock on July 22. - Vince McMahon sold 2,627 shares at $70.23 (estimated value: $886,794.21). - Paul Levesque (Triple H) sold 17,563 shares at $70.23 (estimated value: $1,233,449.49). - Stephanie McMahon sold 17,681 shares at $70.23 (estimated value: $1,241,736.63). - George Barrios sold 139,175 shares at between $69.46 to $70.62 (estimated value: $9,828,538). - Kevin Dunn sold 68,628 shares at $70.23 (estimated value: $4,820,430.72). - Mark Kowal sold 3,845 shares at $70.23 (estimated value: $270,034.35). - Michelle Wilson sold 65,318 shares at $70.23 (estimated value: $4,612,757.16).

Originally Posted by Observer The Spirit Squad (Kenn Doane & Mike Mondo) have joined MLW and will hold an “open workout” at MLW’s TV tapings in Queens, New York tomorrow night.

Originally Posted by Observer The National Wrestling Alliance and Ring Of Honor have decided to part ways amicably, with Nick Aldis no longer being advertised for next month’s Summer Supercard event. PWInsider were the first to report the split, with Dave Meltzer confirming soon after. The report also says that Dave Lagana, who has been producing pre-tapes for ROH over the last seven months, finished his commitments with the promotion this past weekend. It was also noted in the report that Billy Corgan, president of the NWA, will be focusing on producing a weekly NWA television show following the conclusion of a Smashing Pumpkins tour later this year.

Being rumored that Corgan had been in talks with ROH for a weekly NWA show to air on ROH's HonorClub as part of the partnership but now that's out the window.

Originally Posted by PWI Just read your article titled "Vince McMahon will not be happy today, not at all". The news of the continuing ratings drop I know came as no surprise to you or PWI readers. You reported that USA and Fox may be getting anxious. Do you think that maybe just maybe Vince has dug a hole too deep and WWE could actually end up in REAL trouble? As a fan who has been tuned out from Raw & Smackdown for quite some time now, it'll take good word of mouth over a period of time for me to commit to tuning back in. I think it'll be the same for many fans who have left. The networks may not have the patience! To be fair, Variety reported that the networks were getting anxious. Here's the deal, as far as I know there isn't an out clause in the TV deals. As long as there isn't one, WWE has years to turn things around. Even if there is some kind of clause, getting over two million viewers for the shows in 2019 is still good value for the price paid. The key is for WWE to stop the bleeding and start to build the foundation to get people back. It took a long time for them to all leave, and it will take a while to get them back, if they CAN get them back.

From PWI's weekly Q&A article. Found it really interesting that FOX doesn't have an opt out clause for their Smackdown deal. Even NBC had one when they got RAW back for USA Network and why WWE stuff stopped airing on their network after a while due to low ratings.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE Japan announced that they have made a donation of 193,947 Yen to the Yoshihiro Takayama 'Takayamania' Foundation. This was set up during the WWE Japan tour last month where fans were able to make donations. The foundation was created to assist Takayama and his family with costs relating to his injuries. Takayama, 52 years old, has been paralyzed from the neck down after suffering an injury in May 2017 while wrestling in Osaka, Japan for DDT.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling On Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, Charlotte Flair hinted she would have a match at SummerSlam to prove she is the greatest of all-time and called herself the ‘Queen of All Eras’. We can confirm through multiple sources that Charlotte Flair is scheduled to face Trish Stratus at SummerSlam on Sunday, August 11th in Toronto. Ryan Satin at Pro Wrestling Sheet was the first to report that the two sides were in talks and POST Wrestling can confirm that the match is happening.

Originally Posted by Fightful On this day in 2013, Paige defeated Emma on NXT TV to become the first-ever NXT Women's Champion.

Originally Posted by Lucha Blog Hijo del Fantasma says he has three more matches left as an independent (last 08/04 in Monterrey for NLL), and then he's moving onto a new adventure.

Originally Posted by Fightful But who does Austin consider to be at the top of the wrestling mountain? None other than the 16-time World Champion. "[Ric Flair] is the absolute greatest of all-time to ever lace-up a pair of boots and the greatest world champion of all-time," Austin told TMZ Sports. "Hulk Hogan was such a huge name in putting wrestling on the map and taking it to the heights that he did but Ric Flair is someone that I hold near and dear to me. Many people know Ric better than I do but we've become such good friends and I have such admiration for him. I've been down in the dumps too and I've had guys reach out to me and it's helped me when I've been in a bad time. Any kind of support that I can be there for Ric, I'm glad and proud to be his friend. I wish him nothing but the best. He's a very special human being. They broke the mold when they made that guy."

AXS is not interested in exploring a buyout with Anthem. Things appear very unstable at Anthem Media. Employees on edge.

— Fight Oracle (@fightoracle) July 24, 2019

Forgot to mention ... AXS declining interest from Impact/Anthem is the reason for the Twitch press release. An attempt to save face. The timing is no coincidence.

— Fight Oracle (@fightoracle) July 24, 2019

TPWW Frontpage:

• WWE: Notes on Eric Bischoff’s First SmackDown, John Cena’s Girlfriend
• Impact’s Parent Company Reportedly Trying to Buy AXS TV
• New, Re-Designed WWE Network Launching This Week (Screenshots & Video)
• Jungle Boy Pays Tribute to His Late Father, Luke Perry

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Prior to their investors' call Thursday morning, WWE released their 2019 Q2 numbers, showing a year-over-year decrease in revenue to $268.9 million and 1.69 million average paid WWE Network subscribers. They attributed the 5% year over year decrease from $281.6 million to declines in their media, live events, and consumer products divisions. WWE highlighted the following quarterly highlights in their release: - $17.1 million operating income, down from $21.2 million in last year's Q2. - $34.6 million adjusted OBIDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) which was higher than they previously forecasted for ... - Network subscribers were down 6% and they expect a further drop in Q3 to 1.53 million average paid subscribers, saying they do not expect a record number of subscribers this year. - A 17% increase in digital video views to 9 billion and a 22% increase in consumed hours to 324 million hours across digital platforms. Those are assumed to include YouTube and other social media platforms and not just WWE Network ... - They pointed to June for improvements in year over year decline of both Raw/SmackDown TV ratings and live attendance ... - Average North American attendance was 5800, down 2%. Average international attendance was 4900, a 14% decrease. - Merchandise sales were down 13% year over year to $23.1 million, attributed to lower online sales, lower toy product royalties, and less live events to sell merchandise at.

Stock market ended up being happy for some strange reason and WWE stocks rose to $75.83 afterwards.

Originally Posted by PWI George Barrios said today on the WWE Second Quarter earnings call that for the month of July, Raw's audience share is up. In a Greg Brady kind of way (for those who aren't aware, it's a classic moment from The Brady Bunch), it's true. But, there's a caveat. If you look at the first three weeks of the month, they were actually down over 9% from 2018 ... When you add in this week's shows, the numbers change. Last year Raw did 2,780,000 while Monday's show did 3,093,000 viewers. Of course, this year we had the Raw Reunion nostalgia show, which was designed to bring back lapsed viewers. And it worked, but it also allowed WWE to make a point that things were turning around that went unchallenged on the call.

Originally Posted by PWI Major League Wrestling has entered into an official working relationship with Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The relationship will be announced officially in the days ahead.

Originally Posted by PWI The Austin, Texas-based Wrestlecircus group has canceled its 7/28 date. Owner Al Lenhart sent an email to those booked on the show apologizing, stating that he was shutting down and was done with wrestling. The promotion has not announced the cancellation but a number of talents booked forwarded the email announcing the cancellation privately.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE Network News is reporting today's WWE Network "Hidden Gem" selection for today is the April 19, 1985 Pro Wrestling USA Show from East Rutherford, New Jersey at the Meadowlands. The description reads as follows: Pro Wrestling USA 04/19/1985 – Meadowlands Mayhem [Duration: 01:54:41] Sgt. Slaughter battles Kamala in a Ugandan Death Match, while Larry Zbyszko tangles with Bob Backlund in this Pro Wrestling USA spectacular.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The term Wednesday Night Dynamite was never used in the release and only All Elite Wrestling, but Tony Khan said that All Elite Wrestling would not be the name of the television show. It is believed the show name will be announced in the next week or two. Dynamite is a possibility but there are other names being test marketed ... The 10/2 date means it will go head-to-head with major league baseball playoffs, which are likely for at least three of the four Wednesdays up through 10/23 including the World Series on the latter date. There is a National League playoff game on 10/2, an American League playoff game on 10/16, and the second game of the World Series is 10/23. If there is a seventh game of the World Series, it would be on 10/30. But all wrestling in October will have major baseball competition. It’s also not a secret that WWE is looking to counter program this show with an FS 1 airing of NXT. Whether that show would be one hour or two hours, or live or taped, is not known. The talks are serious enough that in a FOX call to Northeastern affiliates last week, they brought up that possibility ... It should be noted that FS 1 had a contract to air Big East basketball on Wednesday nights, so there may be a scheduling issue in the early months. The idea of NXT on FS 2 would be counter productive since the goal is to beat AEW in ratings with a developmental show, not to draw lower numbers than AEW. AEW would have the advantage of being on a much stronger station that is also available in more homes. TNT is in about 89 million homes as compared to 82 million for FS 1 and 57 million for FS 2.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Among WWE plans for the show, if the deal is done, would be to have more main roster talents appear on NXT, but it would not be a haven for main roster talents. The idea right now is a few guys here and there and not to have them dominate the show. Even though A.J. Styles made a remark to Shawn Michaels about he knows he’s in NXT, which some felt was leading to the O.C. going to NXT for a program, we were told that was not the current plan. Of course, all plans will change greatly as time comes closer and in particular, after the early ratings come in.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter While we’ve heard nothing official on this, one idea that has been floated from both the AEW and TNT side has been to air the U.S. debut of “Omegaman,” the TSN in Canada documentary on Kenny Omega, as a promotion vehicle for the launch in some form and to expose Omega to a wider audience as a top superstar. The documentary is very strong in Omega coming across as someone who can carry a promotion, but the flip side is much of the documentary focuses on the Omega & Kota Ibushi Golden Lovers tag team, and there is no movement at all right now regarding Ibushi working for AEW. At this point it seems like it’s something that has been brought up, but I don’t know the odds of it happening are particularly good.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Fyter Fest ended up being the second biggest event ever on B/R Live. The only event the service has ever had that added more subscribers was the day they did the Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson golf head-to-head match this past November The goal right now is to run 100 to 120 live events per year, probably four PPVs, 51 television shows and many Saturday night house shows and on occasion more than one house show a week, but with the idea that in spreading the talent out, the top talent does maybe 75 matches, a number hopeful to keep their ability to work great matches high, since that’s probably more of a key goal is high match quality on top as compared with any other promotion

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter SummerSlam has been updated with six official matches as well as one other confirmed, and likely several more to be added over the next few weeks ... The other name from the past originally advertised for the show, The Undertaker, is not going to be there at least as of right now. He was never on the list of matches even though Undertaker vs. Drew McIntyre was the only match being advertised in the market prior to the Extreme Rules show. You have to always remember that WWE, for whatever reason, believes that they have no compunction to deliver advertised matches they do for the local market. It still boggles my mind how they do this regularly and because it’s wrestling, it’s acceptable ... Bray Wyatt, in his new character, The Fiend, will face Finn Balor ... This would seem to be a program that can lead to Balor’s split personality of The Demon coming out. The last we were told, Balor was not doing this match as The Demon, but it would seem that at some point down the road it would be logical.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter They haven’t done interviews for Benoit but the names they were hoping for were the first ones I would have picked, Sandra Toffoloni (the sister of Nancy Benoit who knows the case better than anyone), Chris Jericho (who has studied the case harder than any pro wrestler because he considered Chris Benoit his best friend in wrestling at one time), Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Who Benoit was close with, often traveled with, and who Benoit texted that weekend), Michael (Chris’ father) and David (Chris’ son from a first marriage) Benoit. They either have or will talk to Bravo’s widow soon for that piece. Brawl for All looks to be a certainty as a topic and they have already talked to Bart Gunn for that story. A piece on Jimmy Snuka has also been discussed

In regards to current plans for season 2 of Viceland's Dark Side of the Ring series.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Dr. Michael Sampson, who was a longtime WWE doctor and the guy who saved Jerry Lawler’s life, is the head physician at AEW

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The Saudi Arabia show is back to its original date on 11/1 in Riyadh at King Saud University Stadium ... So now it’s back to a situation where there is going to be a PPV on a Friday afternoon, and a few hours later there will be a live Smackdown from the Prudential Center in Newark, unless the decision is made to tape Smackdown that Monday or move the Newark show to Tuesday that week and tape Smackdown ahead of time. One way they could manage is promote the Friday show in Newark as an all-women’s Smackdown show. That would at least take the place of the Evolution PPV that for whatever reason isn’t on the schedule this year. They could heavily promote it as an all-women’s Smackdown, the first time ever and could use that to offset the obvious criticism of them running if Saudi Arabia doesn’t allow the women to come ... I really don’t know why they didn’t schedule an Evolution show this year and it is still possible they could but it’s not on the schedule. Last year’s show was considered a huge success as far as a show itself goes. Business-wise, it did sell out the Nassau Coliseum even though it was a slower moving ticket than usual and the secondary market tanked ... There is the feeling that without Ronda Rousey they didn’t want to risk an all-women’s PPV show, but that doesn’t matter if it’s a television show. We’re told that it being back on the same day as a TV taping, which is the plan right now so they aren’t planning on moving TV up at this point. As far as how all of this is handled, we’re told that is so far in advance that no discussions have taken place

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Paul Levesque met with officials from Dragon Gate when he was in Japan. WWE officials have also met with Stardom officials. So that tells you Japan is more of a target. Australia is also a major target right now as they have been actively recruiting all the top wrestlers there. Robbie Eagles, who many consider the best guy, is under a New Japan deal and Gino Gambino has been announcing for New Japan and is a member of Bullet Club but no word if he’s got a deal there

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Corbin was the first performer in WWE this year to hit 100 matches. At press time, he’s got 20 wins and 80 losses. Others with the most matches are Scott Dawson with 96 (which includes two matches on most shows in recent weeks the way they’ve been booking the tag title at house shows), Dash Wilder with 95, Kofi Kingston with 95 and Ricochet with 90

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The most notable name people asked about not being there was Bret Hart. Hart was asked, but declined. Some thought his being on the AEW show made him a persona non grata, and I’m certain they weren’t thrilled he was, but he was invited. He said that he’s loving the summer in Calgary and didn’t want to miss one day of it. He wasn’t taking any appearances this summer because of that, and won’t be until August. He’s in a unique position in life that he can do what he wants in life and has no need to do anything he doesn’t want to at this stage

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Regarding the 10/4 Smackdown debut on FOX in Los Angeles, the hoped for big hook would be Dwayne Johnson there live. At this point he has not committed to doing the show but that is something talked about Some have thought Balor would enter the club. Of course anything is possible at some point but right now there are no plans in that direction. There are actually no plans with Balor after SummerSlam since he’s leaving on a two-month sabbatical at that time Even though during the DX vs. The O.C. angle on Raw Styles made a remark about knowing you’re at NXT to Michaels, right now there are no plan for Styles, Gallows and Anderson to invade NXT. At this point, at least for now, there are no plans for The Street Profits to do anything but what they are doing on Raw, meaning no plans for them to wrestle at this time on Raw. By wearing the NXT tag titles in all of their segments, while this is not the main reason they’re on the show, it is considered an advertisement for NXT and that if you like them and want to see them, that NXT is where you see them wrestle

Didn't take long before WWE started messing up Heyman's plans since I doubt he actually wanted them to do nothing on the main roster.


TPWW Frontpage:

• Impact TV Update: Potential Bad News as Talks With AXS TV May Have Failed
• WWE: SmackDown Re-Written By Vince, Why Corey Graves Missed SD, HBK Not Wrestling
• Vince McMahon Says WWE Will Stay “PG,” Won’t Have “Blood and Guts” Like AEW
• CM Punk Says AEW Made Him an Offer Last Month, Talks the Probability of His Future in Wrestling
• WWE Network Launching Free & Premium Tiers Over the Next Few Months
• Jimmy Uso Arrested for DUI

[Tom Guycott]

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Victim Vito LOL the Observer is reporting that Bischoff will actually have no involvement in SmackDown creative and his role is mostly just to maintain the relationship with FOX.

Originally Posted by ClockShot Sooooooooo? Eric Bischoff is really a front man for SmackDown? So who's really the shot caller?

Well, that Bruce Pritchard news dried up. Maybe he's the actual Smackdown "intermediary" for Vince.

Also, that "no real power" thing might not be bad pending on the amount of money thrown at him. WWE has broadened the scope of their toy collection, and I'm sure Easy E isn't nearly as sore as some of the boys about getting a fat paycheck for basically nothing... especially if the rumor is true about basically hiring the man to keep him away from AEW.

I mean, if someone backed a Brinks truck up your house, would you say "But, I wasn't really interested in working there" or would you leave WWE up to their suppositions and just laugh to yourself all the way to the bank? It can't be peanuts being paid if it warranted a relocation.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Pensacola, FL, TV station WEAR-TV released more information from the police report regarding Jimmy Uso's arrest Thursday morning for DUI and an unlawful speeding citation ... After the deputy pulled Fatu over, he noted Fatu had issues holding his license, registration, and proof of insurance. He had bloodshot and watery eyes, droopy eyelids, dilated pupils, and slow/slurred speech according to the deputy. The deputy said he could smell an alcoholic beverage from the driver side window and asked Fatu several times to step out of the car. When he did, he appeared to be unsteady and the deputy asked him to ride with him to a flat parking lot to do a field sobriety test. Fatu agreed and then was reportedly confused and didn't know what was happening, asking if he needed a lawyer and if he was being detained. According to the report, Fatu took out his phone and attempted to put it toward the deputy's face. At that point, he was arrested for DUI and became uncooperative, eventually getting into the police vehicle after being asked several times. Fatu said he was uncomfortable with the police vehicle and wanted to speak with another deputy. The arresting officer said he had to roll down his back windows due to the overwhelming smell of alcohol in the car.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE stock closed the week at $75.99 per share, which was up an additional 1.75 percent from yesterday’s gains.

Originally Posted by Observer Wrestle Circus confirmed that their show that was scheduled for Sunday has been canceled and announced that the promotion is shutting down for good.

Originally Posted by PWI It looks like with the desktop/browser version of the WWE Network is a little different than its other versions. The main difference is search, it appears that when you search content you not only get content from the streaming platform but WWE.com as well. So it looks like it's become the master search. The top of the website is even adorned with the same menu items as you see on the streaming players.

Besides issues with missing content as part of the new design, seems its also a lot less accessible for those with certain disabilities according to Post Wrestling. Link: https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/0...mpaired-users/

Originally Posted by PWI There has been major media coverage of Dwayne Johnson showing his support of protesters who are against the construction of the TMT (Thirty Meter Telescope) that has been slated to be built at the base of Mauna Kea. The $1.4 billion project has been protestant since 2015. The native Hawaiians say the mountain is sacred. Johnson and his family have a long history in Hawaii going back to the Great One's grandfather and grandmother who ran Hawaii as a promotion.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Brandon Thurston, who was our guest on the Café Hangout Thursday, has an extensive breakdown at Fightful of the WWE’s earnings report and second-quarter report. Of note, is the WWE’s disclosure in the Key Performance Indicators regarding the paid attendance for this past year’s WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium. While the company announced 82,265, the paid number was closer to 63,000. Based on the KPI, you can arrive at a range of at least 60,399 and no more than 65,547 as the paid number. The show did a gate of $16.9 million, which is the second-highest in history behind WrestleMania 32 from AT&T Stadium in April 2016.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling One person within the company noted to us that the reason Daniel Bryan was off television this week was that he had vacation time. They do have a program scheduled for Bryan, but he was never set for television this week despite the tease on the website preview for SmackDown.

Originally Posted by Fightful Recently The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling welcomed to the podcast WWE RAW and Smackdown LIVE commentator, "The Savior of Mis-Behavior" Corey Graves. Corey Graves joins the show to tell us all about his clothing line collaboration "The Stay Down" Collection with FATAL Clothing. In this revealing interview, Graves holds nothing back about the current happenings in WWE to include the recent Executive additions to both RAW and Smackdown Live as well as the comments made by Seth Rollins to the rest of the pro wrestling world about WWE's stature as the top dogs in the industry ... Where does WWE go from here? "I am going to give you a weird analogy and I don't know if it is a good one or not. Even Disney every once in a while turns out a movie that sucks. It doesn't sink Disney and people don't stop loving Mickey Mouse, they go that movie sucked and I won't see it again and Disney says well that movie sucked and we need to make the next one better. WWE is not going anywhere and I'm excited for the state of the business. I like that the business is heating up and I don't want to call it competition yet but it is something healthy and respectable and I say the word “yet” with that being the operative word and I hope the best for everybody and I think the best thing that could happen for everyone is competition. When everyone has to be on their toes all the time nobody is complacent, everyone is at their best all the time and the only people who really win is the fans. I lived through the Monday Night Wars and just to tell you the entire time they were going on I was never not at my house on a Monday night from 8pm to 11pm my entire high school career and beyond."

Originally Posted by Fightful AEW's Luchusaurus was recently interviewed by Wrestling Epicenter's Interactive Wrestling Radio. You can see the full interview at this link, and submitted highlights below. Being murdered/killed off on Lucha Underground Season 4: "Well, it wasn't supposed to happen. What had happened is I had a match I was really happy with against Johnny (Impact) Mundo. It was kind of the culmination of everything I was working towards for 2 years between season tapings. Then, the next night I do a run in, freak accident, I tear my bicep getting clotheslined out of the ring. So, they had to cover. So, they killed me off. They were going to bring the character back if there was another season. But, it was really disappointing to be killed off right when I felt I was at the height of my career with Lucha Underground. But, it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because my entire style in the ring changed after that and I started to incorporate what I do now which is more martial arts and I've become known for a lot of the kicks that I do. It has kind of set me apart a little bit. It is one of the reasons AEW is interested. I couldn't really train the way that I had been training. So, I started kicking, learning the drills until I perfected it. It just opened up new pathways in the ring for me."

I would think so https://t.co/zAVIAJlF3l

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) July 26, 2019

TPWW Frontpage:

• Various: WWE Hires Important ROH Producer/Director, MJF on Jericho Podcast
• WWE: Why Maria & Mike Missed 205 Live, WWE Network Updates, Stone Cold’s Beer
• Cody Responds to CM Punk Comments, Says He Wouldn’t Be Surprised if Punk Went Back to WWE

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Raw last night did 2.32 million viewers, the lowest figure since the Paul Heyman regime began. The number was going to be down greatly from last week because of how Raw Reunion was going to be a number that couldn't be duplicated this year. The drop was 25 percent. But it was also down five percent from the show two weeks earlier. There is a mixed bag regarding the show itself. The first hour started low -- not a good sign after such a high number the prior week. But it held up better than usual with only a 7.2 percent first-to-third hour drop ... The three hours were: 8 p.m. 2.41 million viewers 9 p.m. 2.32 million viewers 10 p.m. 2.23 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer Marko Stunt is the latest addition to the AEW roster. Stunt announced today that he's officially signed with AEW: "It’s my 23rd birthday, and I can’t think of another way to celebrate, than by announcing something huge! I would like to announce that I have OFFICIALLY signed with @AEWrestling! Thank you to everyone who has supported me, and everyone at AEW! This is just the beginning"

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling During a media conference call on Monday, Becky Lynch spoke to POST Wrestling’s Wai Ting about her initial apprehensions regarding WWE’s use of her real-life romance with Seth Rollins in a storyline against Lacey Evans and Baron Corbin ahead of Extreme Rules: Honestly, I was very apprehensive. Just because… I don’t know that… I don’t know that we needed to see… What I didn’t want was everybody talking about the relationship. What I wanted was two bad asses, two people at the top of their game fighting side-by-side. Not for the world to be reminded every five minutes that this is Becky Lynch’s boyfriend or that’s Seth Rollins’ girlfriend. Which, of course, they didn’t do. They were the masters of subtlety.

Originally Posted by Observer ROH and CMLL are partnering together for a three-show tour this September. It was announced today that the Global Wars Espectacular tour will take place across three days in September. It will begin in Dearborn, Michigan on Friday, September 6. The tour will then continue in Villa Park, Illinois on Saturday, September 7 and then conclude in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Sunday, September 8.

Originally Posted by PWI Legendary World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champions Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin sit down at the 2019 Raw Reunion to record an episode of Austin’s self-titled PodcastOne show. During the interview, Hogan reminisces on the feeling of selling out arenas in the 80’s, the events that led to a major smackdown between Hogan and his tag team partner, Randy Savage, and the timeline behind being recruited by the infamous Eddie Graham. Below is an excerpt from the episode, available now on PodcastOne and Apple Podcasts. On Hogan’s Fight with Randy Savage: Hogan: “When I first met Randy, man, he was the best at everything. I loved working with him. The only really b*tch we had was in Paris, France one night… Elizabeth [Savage’s wife at the time] was my manager, and we went to the ring in Paris. There were no steps. Elizabeth was probably 95 or 100 pounds soaking wet. So, I reached over the top rope - reached all the way over where she’s standing next to me - and grabbed her by the armpits, picked her all the way up - she had a dress on - and put her in the ring. [Randy said,] ‘You son of a b*tch you grabbed her boobs…We walk up and he grabs a headlock on me, but he puts that side headlock on me. I’m hanging in - I’m hanging in there - and I didn’t want my eyeball to pop out, so I grab his waist and I squeezed. ‘Randy, if you don’t let go, I’m going to dump you on your head.’ He was so pissed at me. The match sucked. We had a horrible match…We went back to the dressing room in Paris, and I walked in. I said, ‘Randy, we need to talk right now.’ I reached to open the door, and when I pulled the door, I ripped it off the hinges. The door was so old and so rotted by termites...So, me and Randy went in the back and [he said] ‘Hey, man, I’m sorry I got mad.’ I said, ‘Randy, I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to touch her inappropriately – there were no steps.’ But I think the door is the thing that kind of cooled everything down, it was hanging on by a thread.”

Once again, Macho was right about Hogan having the "jealous eyes" for Miss Elizabeth.

Originally Posted by PWI If WWE's YouTube banner can be believed, we are getting a one hour Summerslam Kickoff this year instead of the two hour broadcast we have seen in the past. I also noticed that WWE began uploading the Raw clips on YouTube during the third hour of the show. Before, segments would usually appear on the YouTube channel within a half-hour of the East Coast airing. As previously discussed many times on the site, I wouldn't be surprised if USA Network didn't ask WWE to delay the videos to maximize live viewing.

Originally Posted by PWI With the expected drop from the Raw Reunion, there was a drop in the amount of wrestling by 25 minutes from last week ... Only officially announced 24/7 Title Matches will be considered for this column. Here is a breakdown of the matches on each show broadcasted this past week: WWE Raw * none WWE Smackdown * Ember Moon versus Charlotte Flair: 1 Minute 205 Live * none (no women's division) WWE NXT * Bianca Belair versus Xia Li: 3 Minutes * Io Shirai versus Kacy Catanzaro: 1 Minute WWE NXT UK * Jinny, Jazzy Gabbert, and Kay Lee Ray versus Toni Storm, Piper Niven, and Xia Brookside: 8 Minutes WWE Main Event * Naomi versus Sarah Logan: 5 Minutes

If it wasn't for NXT UK and Main Event, last week would have been a total disaster for women's wrestling in WWE in terms of ring time. Making things worse was last week was the 1 year anniversary of WWE officially announcing their first ever all-women's event Evolution.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling WWE is advertising a 6 pm Eastern start time for the SummerSlam kickoff show on Sunday, August 11th. This would mean the kickoff show will be one hour as opposed to the usual two for a big four event. It would also indicate fewer matches unless they plan to have the show run later than usual. I think this is a smart move as the big four events have become marathons to get through and the kickoff show being cut in half is a sign that ease of viewing is a priority compared to the “number of hours consumed”. The main portion of SummerSlam is still listed for a 7 pm start.

Originally Posted by Fightful Santino Marella is coming to DDT Pro Wrestling. Anthony Carelli, or better known by some as former two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella will be making his debut for DDT Pro Wrestling at the promotion's 'Summer Vacation: Memories Of 2019' show on August 25th at Korakuen Hall.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling On the B Block side, everyone is mathematically alive but if Moxley defeated Yano that would eliminate Jeff Cobb, Tetsuya Naito, Taichi, and Shingo Takagi. So, Moxley is probably due for a loss and Yano gets the big upset win over the undefeated leader of the block.

Originally Posted by Observer A number of people have noted that ICW from Scotland appears on the WWE Network when you search for it, as well as a weekly show "Fight Club" as a series. Both are locked at the moment. It appears this is getting ready for the new content that will appear on a more expensive tier when they start the three-tiered network.

TPWW Frontpage:

• Vince McMahon Calls for SmackDown Re-Write Again, New Match Announced (Updated)
• First Match Announced for AEW on TNT Debut
• SummerSlam Rumors & Card: Mask vs. Hair? Submission Match, New Match Added
• WWE: Paul Heyman’s Influence on Raw, Main Event Results
• AEW: Britt Baker Injury Update, Blink-182 in AEW Video

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer After a night in which Raw had its poorest showing since mid-June, SmackDown ratings fell 12 percent for Tuesday night's episode. The show averaged 1.911 million viewers after two straight weeks over the two million mark. Despite going up against the first night of this week's Democratic Party debates, SmackDown retained the usual 82 percent of the Monday night audience. The debate dominated the cable TV news ratings while averaging almost nine million viewers on CNN ... The show fell over 20 percent from the same week in 2018, a similar drop to what Monday's Raw suffered. It will be interesting to see if the Roman Reigns cliffhanger leads to an increase next week.

Originally Posted by Observer After being set up at Fyter Fest, Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears is now official for All Out. Episode three of the Road to All Out featured a contract signing for Cody vs. Spears. Tully Blanchard, who is managing Spears, had it stipulated that Cody and Spears will each only be allowed to have one person in their corner for the match ... Tully Blanchard was revealed as Spears' manager on the first Road to All Out episode.

Originally Posted by Observer WWE and 2K Sports released the first two screenshots for WWE 2K20 today, with the screenshots featuring Brock Lesnar and Bayley. The cover of WWE 2K20, game footage, and more information will be revealed on Monday.

Links: https://twitter.com/WWEgames/status/1156565209718259712, https://twitter.com/WWEgames/status/1156576210878513152

Originally Posted by PWI IDW Comics' Jim Cornette Presents: Behind the Curtain—Real Pro Wrestling Stories by Jim Cornette, Brandon Easton & Denis Medri has been officially released. The graphic novel's promotional material notes, "Pro-Wrestling's secrets and greatest moments are immortalized in this graphic novel from legendary wrestling personality Jim Cornette. A true-story style anthology, these insider tales will show the lengths that wrestlers went to uphold "kayfabe" (the old carny term for the presentation of legitimate conflict), as well as the noteworthy cultural, racial, and economic effects these events and characters had on society. This is the graphic novel that old school wrestling fans have been waiting their entire lives for: a no-holds-barred representation of the moments that wrestling insiders couldn't talk about for years."

Originally Posted by PWI LAX are advertised for the 8/15 and 8/16 Impact tapings in Mexico City at Frontón México Centro de Entretenimiento. Their current deals are slated to expire at the end of August. They have not agreed to a new deal with Impact as of this writing. Also advertised for the Mexico tapings are Impact Champion Brian Cage, Knockouts Champion Taya, Rhino, Konnan, Rob Van Dam, Moose, Tessa Blanchard, TJP, and Tenille Dashwood.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE NXT star Karen Q underwent surgery this morning to repair her broken ankle. Q suffered the injury over the weekend while working the Atlanta live event. There is no word yet how long she will be out of the ring.

Originally Posted by PWI MLW is teasing Kevin Von Erich will be appearing at their 9/7 debut in Dallas, which is being built around Marshall and Ross Von Erich and the first-ever War Chamber match, which looks to be The Von Erichs & Low Ki & Tom Lawlor vs. CONTRA Unit. Timothy Thatcher and Davey Boy Smith Jr. are also set for that show.

Originally Posted by PWI Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch did an interview with talkSPORT. The Man had the following comments on whether she sees a second Evolution pay-per-view happening, "Oh, absolutely! First and foremost, it was one of the best pay-per-views of the year. And that’s not me being biased, that’s a fact,” Lynch confidently stated. “It had Match of the Year on it, including yours truly. Absolutely, I don’t see any reason why not. I think we have a strong enough women’s division [without Rousey], as long as they tell the stories around us and let us go. And… that’s all I’ll say.”

Originally Posted by PWI THE GREAT 'ROWDY' RODDY PIPER PASSES AWAY: 7/31 THIS DAY IN HISTORY 2015 - One of the greatest performers and talkers in the history of professional wrestling, Rowdy Roddy Piper, passed away at the age of 61 from cardiac arrest in Los Angeles, CA.

Originally Posted by Fightful It was announced on today's episode of NXT UK that Tyler Bate will challenge WALTER for the NXT UK Title at TakeOver: Cardiff. Bate returned from a month-long absence to go after WALTER and the rest of Imperium. After the brawl, Sid Scala made the NXT Title bout official for Aug. 31.

Originally Posted by Fightful Fightful has learned a little more news on some current WWE injuries. We mentioned last week that Bobby Lashley had been sidelined with an undisclosed injury. While we don't specifically know the injury in question, WWE internally has him listed as being out well into the fall. On a recent list that Fightful Select was able to see, they have Bobby Lashley with a November 2 return date. Jeff Hardy, who has been sidelined with knee issues, is also listed to return on November 2. The list also featured the names of Peyton Royce and Ricochet who have since been cleared. Jinder Mahal's patella injury has him listed as a "January 1" return. He'd just signed a new five-year deal ahead of the injury. Previous reports had indicated a possible return at the end of the year. Tamina, who suffered a concussion, is listed as "TBD." Based on the listing we saw, Ronda Rousey and Jason Jordan were both listed as much of the same.

Originally Posted by Fightful Throughout the Monday Night Wars, one match fans clamored for was Hulk Hogan against Steve Austin. The bout would have pitted the top two stars in their respective companies and two of the biggest box office attractions of all-time against each other. When WCW went out of business and Hogan returned to WWE in 2002, the dream match looked possible. However, Hogan ended up working with The Rock at WrestleMania X-8 while Austin battled Scott Hall. In the end, Hogan and Austin never met in singles competition. On the latest episode of his podcast, Austin talked with Hogan about why the match never came together. "I was in such a different headspace when that window of opportunity presented itself. Sometimes I kick myself in the ass over it. I was so frazzled towards the end and was just in a bad space. It never happened. And it should have happened. I think if we could have just got in a room, you and I, and just talked," said Austin. "[When you came to WCW], I remember, I'm up-and-coming and here comes the biggest attraction in the history of the business to WCW and I'm thinking, 'Great, here comes the top attraction and now I'm another notch down the ladder.' I always had this grudge against you because you were the guy. How am I going to overtake [you] when I can't even get past midcard status? It was a competitive grudge. [When you came back to WWE], if we had ever got into a room, we probably could have done business together. That's one of the biggest regrets off my career outside of not showing up against Brock [Lesnar]. I would have loved to work a program with you."

TPWW Frontpage:

• Rumors: Ziggler Not Actually Facing Miz? New SmackDown Cameras, Ali vs. Nakamura
• Omega & Bucks vs. Jericho & Mystery Partners Announced for AEW on TNT Debut
• Updated NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Tournament Standings and Results

[Emperor Smeat]

Sorry for the delay for Thursdays news. Took a nap in the evening that was supposed to be short but ended up being several hours instead.

Anyhow, here are The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Garrett Gonzalez and I will be doing a show tomorrow night on Harley Race. There is so much to say about him. The NWA did a nice video of Nick Aldis talking about him and I'm sure there will be many others. Race epitomized blue collar pro wrestling, just a tough guy who did believable interviews and was a master performer inside the ring. An ironic part about Race is some modern fans who hear old-timers complain about using too many finishers and them not being finishes, nobody did that move than Race. It was always funny that he'd use every finishing of the 70s even in his TV squash matches, including piledrivers, and then job guy would kick out of all of them until he'd win with his delayed vertical suplex. A few people grumbled about it then, but not many. And in title matches, he did it even more. He was exceptional at the art of beating someone while elevating them at the same time. When he'd face the upcoming athletic young babyface as champion, he'd win at the end, but give them so much offense against the world champion that people left with the idea that in a few years that guy was going to be something. When Don Muraco first came to Florida in 1974, I can recall he and Race having a classic where Muraco came within a hair of beating Race, who was not the world champion at the time, but as a former champion and perennial top contender, was protected in booking and it was matches with Race and Jack Brisco that made Muraco into a babyface people thought would be world champion some day. You can now substitute Muraco with literally every top young wrestler of that era and the story was identical.

Originally Posted by Observer Crowbar Press is releasing what looks to be a major historical book in English called "The Rikidozan Years." Japanese historians Koji Miyamoto and Haruo Yamaguchi put this book together with Scott Teal, with more than 300 photos and coverage of 978 different live events. Rikidozan was the single most important and influential pro wrestler of the 20th century, bar none,and that includes Santo (who was more beloved and a bigger cultural figure, but not as influential). For more info go to http://www.crowbarpress.com/index.html

Originally Posted by PWI MLW announced the signing of Douglas James. He is a pro wrestler with a background in Jiu Jitsu under Eddie Bravo and MMA and has been a regular in California for a few years. He debuts on he 9/7 show in Dallas at the NYTEX Sports Center.

Originally Posted by Fightful It's been a big couple of weeks for Kiera Hogan as she revealed on July 20 that she is in a relationship with former IMPACT knockout Diamante. Now, she's signed a new multi-year deal with IMPACT Wrestling.

Originally Posted by Fightful British promotion Defiant Wrestling, which originally opened its doors in 2016 as WCPW, has now shut down. The company made it official on Twitter.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter World Wrestling Entertainment’s second quarter numbers largely exemplified the pattern that the company will continue going forward. Financially, things look great. The company will set profit records starting with the third quarter and particularly quarter four on top due to the new television deals with USA and FOX. But product popularity continues to fall, slowly but steadily. Every legitimate measure of popularity is down, network subs, house shows, merchandise, PPV, licensing and television ratings. The only revenue segment up is worldwide rights fees for Raw and Smackdown, which by contract escalate each year. Even television advertising revenue is down ... While Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff were never mentioned by name, McMahon talked about the change, which Wall Street has responded well to. The belief still in Wall Street, except in a few circles, is that Vince McMahon is the genius who runs wrestling and nobody else can. The idea is that with Heyman and Bischoff doing more of the grunt work, that McMahon will spend more time focusing on the big picture and long-term storytelling, and thus aspects related to creative, which is most revenue streams other than the guaranteed television money, will improve. But it’s clear, just from McMahon doing overhauls on Smackdown the past two weeks, that he’s hardly out of the weeds and leaving that work to Heyman and Bischoff ... Those within the company have spoken to us on the hirings. The key belief on the timing was that they needed something to show stockholders that they were making significant structural changes to offset questions abut the popularity declines. In addition, more for Heyman, but perhaps for both Heyman and Bischoff, the deals, which are very lucrative for both, keep them away from AEW. Heyman did have a talent contract. We don’t know how long but his deals have often been concurrent with Lesnar, whose latest deal is up at next year’s WrestleMania. Tony Khan was a huge ECW fan. AEW did put Bischoff on its Road To show before he signed with WWE. Those in AEW told us that they had no interest in either. Whether one, both or neither would benefit AEW a year from now in a war is speculative, and as noted many times, McMahon wants anyone who could be valuable on his side, whether their talents are made use of nor not ... It was very notable in the presentation that McMahon wanted to position his side as the sophisticated and evolved product and the opposition as heavily blood and guts oriented (there were two bloody matches and one accidental cut from a gimmicked chair shot in AEW’s first three shows) . Those at TNT immediately responded feeling he was trying to hurt their side sign up advertisers by the portrayal. Tony Khan has already said that television product wouldn’t go in that direction, but on occasion, PPV matches would have more latitude in that direction. Khan was a fan of both WCW when it was good, and ECW. Cody Rhodes is the son of Dusty Rhodes, who as both a wrestler and booker was involved in and later produced more bloody matches than all but a few in the history of the business ... It also should be noted that four days after McMahon said this, he produced a graphic bloody angle involving Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar that was as blood and guts as possible, not a simple blade job and facial blood like you would see literally any night watching a combat sport like MMA or boxing, but a beating with Rollins coughing up blood and the portrayal of internal bleeding, which is the ultimate in blood and guts.

Originally Posted by Observer One can make a very strong argument that the most important pro wrestling event this year will be the 10/2 debut of AEW on TNT from the Capital One Arena (formerly the Verizon Center) in Washington, DC. There are two key business aspects to the story. The most important is the television rating, a shot in the dark and even though people within the industry have made predictions (the television industry numbers expected about 500,000 viewers, a consistent number we’ve heard from people within the television industry that are completely up to speed on this story), it is a complete shot in the dark. One thing that will hurt ratings on a weeknight, although hardcore fans will be happy, is that, according to those at TNT, it will be treated as a sports event and go live on the West Coast. It’s far more beneficial to ratings to be 8-10 p.m. and taped on the West Coast on any night, but even more a weeknight, than to go live from 5-7 p.m. It was noted to me that is not a definite, but is the way everything is leaning ... The number of people who attempted to get tickets for All Out was substantially more than the number of American subscribers to New Japan World, and in most cases these were people willing to travel and spend money on a vacation to see the show as opposed to, in the case of New Japan World, spend $9 a month and get the hottest wrestling in the world multiple times per week this month in sold out arenas with hot crowds. The metrics that tell about actual mainstream level interest are not as impressive. I mean, it is impressive that Double or Nothing did 200,000 Google searches, beating some WWE PPVs and secondary UFC shows. But it’s the only show that has done that. Neither Fight for the Fallen or Fyter Fest had that level of mainstream interest ... Tickets go on sale on Friday, 8/2, at Noon Eastern time. The building is being set up for 14,000 tickets, something WWE these days only does for its biggest PPV shows. It does have the obvious hook of being the first episode of the show, and thus, viewers will be seeing history in some form, and perhaps major history if the promotion makes it long-term. Really, the more important numbers are shows two through ten, because then we’ll know the true level of what they can draw ... A first day ticket sales number under 6,000 would be another lesson. Anything north of 6,000, which is about what a first day ticket sale for a Raw event would do, but not a sellout, would be good, and north of 9,000 would be great. There is no logical reason to expect AEW to pull WWE numbers. They don’t have the time in, nor the exposure, nor do all but a few of their stars have the level of exposure as almost every top WWE star has ... Just as important, if not more, is the quality of the show itself. That doesn’t mean **** matches, although that would be good. It means the show has to look major league and not have gaffes. While some will jump on minor issues, they won’t make a difference. The key is a crowd that looks good on television, and WWE has made 4,000 fans in NBA arenas look fine through clever ticket distribution and shooting, reacts well, star reactions to the stars, good promos before the live audience, good storylines and no embarrassing storylines. It’s a balancing act because this is not and can’t be a show for the few hundred thousand BTE fans who know all the inside references. This has to be an introduction show. And you can’t introduce 30 new characters in one week and have any of them get over ... The fourth aspect is the effect on PPV numbers. There will be one PPV show after the debut of the show and before the end of the year, with the idea of probably four a year being the plan for 2020. UFC exploded on PPV in 2005 when it got on television. The perfect example is Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell’s fight prior to television did 48,000 buys and the first PPV in 2005 after getting on Spike did 280,000 buys for a rematch between the two. Now, that is not going to happen here. But if television creates a new fan base, it would make sense it would boost PPV numbers. It did to a degree with Impact, but in the long run Impact ended up being the case study for how large numbers of television viewers didn’t mean shit because they never drew well at the gate and in the long run, PPV’s dwindled.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Sofia Alonso, 28, who is now in charge of the company as the fourth generation Lutteroth family member, did her first major interview with Excelsior since the death of her father put the company’s future in her hands ... A number of ROH stars are headed here between now and the end of the year based on the strengthening of the business relationship and more CMLL guys going to ROH. This is part of the changes Sofia Alonso put into place as one of her first moves was to contact ROH and wanting to expand their working agreement. She will be meeting with officials from ROH in late August about more working together

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter There is a lot of talk on what happens at the end of the year when both Jeff Cobb and Bandido become free agents. The key to staying with ROH for both of them is the New Japan connection as both love going there

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The talks with AXS are not dead regarding television but we don’t know much more as there are NDA’s all over the place regarding the Anthem/AXS talks that started late last year.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Jorge Alcantar, 35, better known as El Hijo del Fantasma as well as King Cuerno from Lucha Underground, is expected to start in the September camp. There have been rumblings of a number of major names starting then. WWE has been wanting him since the first season of Lucha Underground aired, as he was a good worker and speaks perfect English. But his Lucha Underground contract kept it from happening for years.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The 7/30 Smackdown show in Memphis was rewritten hours before the show took place by Vince. Vince felt the show presented to him both didn’t do a good job following up from the prior week, nor did it build SummerSlam strongly enough. Eric Bischoff and Bruce Prichard are working together on the show, but Bischoff at this point doesn’t have much to do with any creative ideas as he’s just learning who is what and the system. Vince was still working on changes in the second hour while the first hour was taking place. Shane, Owens and Bryan pitch most of their stuff to the writers so segments involving those three often come from those three, but they are the only ones the writers seem to listen to. You can tell with Owens and Bryan as their interviews are so much different from everyone elses.

Originally Posted by Fightful With Roman Reigns set to have a role in "Hobbs & Shaw," fans are already starting to wonder if "The Big Dog" will be transitioning out of the ring and onto the silver screen. In an interview with TMZ, Reigns gave a potential timeline for his future. "I'm still in love with the ring and still holding it down for Raw and SmackDown. It's really neat to have many opportunities, but I still love doing my physical thing in the ring. I still have a few more years of being in the prime of my athletic career. If I can handle it in the ring, I'm willing to do it. I can hold this schedule for at least five more years of being full-time. Eventually, it'll be time to rest my body."

Originally Posted by WWE Network News We noted earlier in the week that it looked as though WWE Hidden Gems weren’t finished like some may have predicted. For those unaware, due to the WWE Network update, many of the Hidden Gems videos (along with collections and select other content) are at least temporarily no longer available. With there being no Hidden Gems folder added as of yet, some believed the concept was done altogether ... Tomorrow, on Thursday, August 1st, the WWE Network will be adding the 1993 Summerslam Spectacular show. The show is headlined by a steel cage match between the Steiner Brothers and Money Inc. and the video will be over 90 minutes long ... Below are the exclusive details for this week’s Hidden Gems addition: 08/22/1993 – SummerSlam Spectacular 1993 [Duration: 01:33:56] Money Inc. face The Steiners inside a steel cage for the tag titles while Shawn Michaels defends his IC title against Bob Backlund.

TPWW Frontpage:

• Seven Unannounced Matches That May Be Added to SummerSlam
• Cody Responds to Vince McMahon’s “Blood and Guts” Comments
• The First AEW Women’s Champion Will Be Crowned on AEW’s First TNT Show
• The Brand Split Will Reportedly Be More Strict When SmackDown Moves to FOX
• Goldberg Reportedly Will Face Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling AAA presents their biggest card of the year with TripleMania XXVII from Arena Ciudad on Saturday night in Mexico City. The show is streaming live on Twitch with the pre-show at 8 pm Eastern and the main card at 9 pm ... The English commentary for TripleMania is expected to feature Matt Striker and a new announcer. Rob Bihari was on our show this week and said he could confirm that. Vampiro has said publicly that he is calling the show but on his podcast this week, Konnan hinted that might not be the case.

Originally Posted by Observer Cain Velasquez said in an interview today that he has two more dates with AAA after TripleMania. He didn't say what they were but presumably that's the Madison Square Garden and Forum in Los Angeles shows. I do know that when the deal was made for Velasquez, the idea was he would do MSG if he didn't fight on 9/21 in Mexico City, and he's not fighting on that show.

Originally Posted by PWI Some updates on the WWE Netflix film The Main Event, which is currently filming in Vancouver, British Columbia: *WWE NXT star Babatunde has been cast in the role of the lead villain of the film. *NXT star Keith Lee will have a tremendously important and large role in the film. One source noted that they wouldn't be surprised to see Lee get a big push timed with the release of the film. *Otis of Heavy Machinery will also be featured. *A number of local independent wrestlers are working on scenes this week. We are told that Ace Steele (who played Donald Trump many years ago on Raw and recently was a Guest Coach at the WWE Performance Center) seemed to be producing/agenting matches involving those for the film ... We are told by one source who has seen the initial scripts that the show resembles "a Kevin James sort of sitcom comedy" but with Show in that lead role. We are told by those who has seen the initial scripts that they have been very funny.

Originally Posted by PWI DK Publishing will be releasing a WWE book titled WWE Beyond Extreme in March 2020. Promotional material for the book, by Dean Miller, notes: Top action from the most rip-roaring matches and incidents across the world-renowned WWE franchise. Hell in a Cell, No Holds Barred, Extreme Rules, Survivor Series, Last Man Standing, Payback--major WWE events like these convey just one thing: nail-biting excitement. WWE Beyond Extreme features WWE's greatest Superstars in their most edge-of-the-seat, over-the-top events. Celebrate iconic moments in WWE history, such as Big Show and Brock Lesnar's battle that collapsed the ring. Discover WWE's scariest and strangest Superstars. Get blown away by tougher than tough, one-time encounters, such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Booker T's supermarket clash. Marvel at spectacular takedowns and death-defying stunts, like Shane McMahon's elbow drop off a 20-ft-high steel cage. Sports entertainment doesn't get more extreme!

Originally Posted by PWI Broadwayworld.com has an article on a pro-wrestling related musical called "Rockquiem for a wrestler" by Philip Paul Kelley which had a first reading at the Triad Theater in NYC in March 2019. The musical is a dramatic parody inspired by the life of Ivan Koloff. There will be a second elevated reading set for spring 2020 also at the Triad Theater ... The official website for the musical is at https://www.rockquiem.com and notes the musical "is about a champion wrestler named IKAN KOOLOFF (I-Kin Cool-Off). A dramatic parody inspired by the legendary wrestler IVAN KOLOFF. The plot centers around Ikan revisiting his past while answering questions during a “Look Back At The Life Of A Legend” interview at a radio station. He struggles with his memories as if “wrestling” with the duality between his quest for success and fame and the price he paid for it. He recounts his pursuits beginning from youth as a reckless teenager ending up an ex-convict to his crazy days as a wrestler which lead to his struggle with alcohol and drugs and ultimately his choice for recovery. The play explores the social impact of Entertainment Wrestling in an age when the public’s hunger, thirst and fascination for spectacle entertainment and reality TV has become obsessive and insatiable. The action moves forward to flamboyantly and spiritedly dramatize his life, encompassing the dangerous, absurd and often tragic lives of wrestlers within the world of Entertainment Wrestling often transporting the audience to being at a Rock Concert."

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Jim Smallman has revealed he will be leaving Progress Wrestling at the end of 2019. He will finish with the company on December 30th at their Chapter 100 card. Smallman already works full-time on NXT UK and will be focusing solely on that position when he steps away after this year. Smallman launched Progress alongside Jon Briley in 2012 with Glen Robinson joining the three. Smallman was also the front-facing representative for the group as its ring announcer and was excellent in that role that was closer to an MC than strictly ring announcing. The promotion held its first card in March 2012 and grew to become a highly influential promotion contributing to a renaissance of the UK wrestling scene. The promotion will continue to operate under Briley and Robinson.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The G1 Climax heads into Osaka this weekend with back-to-back nights at the Edion Arena beginning Saturday with a show at 4 am Eastern with an A Block show with the following card ... For the A Block, it’s must-win for EVIL to stay alive and would also be eliminated if Okada defeated Sanada. If Okada wins, it would eliminate EVIL, Tanahashi, and KENTA with the latter two losing their tiebreakers even if they could tie Okada at the end. If Okada wins and Ibushi loses, Ibushi would be out. The B Block show takes place late Saturday night/early Sunday morning at 2 am Eastern and will feature the following lineup ... The block is led by Moxley with ten points and then there is a seven-way tie for second-place with that logjam of six points. The only ones eliminated from the B Block are Shingo Takagi and Taichi. If Moxley beats White, it would eliminate Tomohiro Ishii, Jeff Cobb, Jay White, and Tetsuya Naito. That seems an unlikely scenario as it would leave the block down to Moxley, Goto, and Yano.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The WWE stock closed at $69.37 on Friday, so it appears the Q2 report led to a short-term bump for the stock that lasted one week and has almost returned to the same level it was before the quarterly report was released.

Originally Posted by Fightful Being the biggest movie star in the world means that The Rock doesn't have as much time to appear in front of a WWE camera. But that doesn't mean The Rock isn't pining to return. Appearing on "Live with Kelly and Ryan," The Rock discussed his love for pro wrestling and how he still misses being in front of a live audience. "I miss wrestling. I love wrestling. I quietly retired from wrestling because I was lucky enough to have a wonderful career and accomplish what I wanted to accomplish. But there's nothing like a live crowd, live audience, live microphone." The Rock then discussed his debut match in WWF, which took place at Survivor Series 1997 inside Madison Square Garden. The Rock -- then going by Rocky Maivia -- teamed with Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, & The Stalker to defeat Crush, Goldust, Jerry Lawler & Hunter Hearst Helmsley. "I had my very first match ever in the WWE in Madison Square Garden. It was a big pay-per-view and, it's funny because I credit my journey in pro wrestling to getting me to where I am today — especially that particular night," said The Rock. "Generally, your first match, you have it in a small town, small crowd, non-televised. This is Madison Square Garden, sold out, one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year, Survivor Series. I was in one of the main events. No one knew who I was. There is the saying, 'If you can make it New York, you can make it anywhere' because it's the toughest crowd and they really test you, especially in the world of wrestling. At the 15-minute mark of my match, 22,000 people are chanting 'Rocky, Rocky, Rocky.' It just set me on a path in my career that I'll never forget."

Originally Posted by Fightful Gangrel is working at the WWE Performance Center this week. As previously reported, Chris Sabin is also working as a guest coach.

Originally Posted by Fightful The Wrestling Observer reports that Paul Heyman made the decision to have wrestling during commercial breaks.

TPWW Frontpage:

• AEW Tickets for First TNT Show Sell Out on the First Day
• WWE: Ronda Rousey Fake Horror Movie Trailer, Gangrel at WWE PC, Where Is Muhammad Hassan?
• Rachael Ellering Suffers Torn ACL, Undergoing Surgery
• WWE: WWE Says Reigns Attack Was Due to “Forklift Driver Error,” Bellas on Family Feud

[slik]

As I previously reported, a new set with an Attitude Era-feel is coming to #WWE #SDLive on Fox. I’m told the plan is for the new set to feature the return of the Smackdown fist. The fist is currently ready for use and in storage. #OYDKWS @ProSportsExtra

— Brad Shepard (@TheBradShepard) August 4, 2019

[Mr. Nerfect]

I do like the idea of the sets being very distinct from each other.

[Lock Jaw]

Clips of Daniel Bryan not giving a single fuck will always have a special place in my heart pic.twitter.com/bT35gHrHqo

— Hairy Wrestling Fan (@hairywrestling) May 28, 2018

[DaveWadding]

Originally Posted by Smeat Jorge Alcantar, 35, better known as El Hijo del Fantasma as well as King Cuerno from Lucha Underground, is expected to start in the September camp. There have been rumblings of a number of major names starting then. WWE has been wanting him since the first season of Lucha Underground aired, as he was a good worker and speaks perfect English. But his Lucha Underground contract kept it from happening for years.

This dude is so good, but I'm super afraid they'll ruin him. Also, his tope is probably the best in the world.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Lock Jaw Clips of Daniel Bryan not giving a single fuck will always have a special place in my heart pic.twitter.com/bT35gHrHqo — Hairy Wrestling Fan (@hairywrestling) May 28, 2018

Really disappointed the guy chose to re-up with WWE instead of leaving and possibly getting me so excited for AEW.

[Evil Vito]

He stayed with WWE so as to not jeopardize his wife’s relationship with the company only for her to retire not long after he re-signed

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don’t think Brie’s commercial ties with WWE are predominantly in-ring.

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer Raw saw good news in the ratings last night with a seven percent increase from last week, doing 2.48 million viewers and finishing third for the night ... The key was the lessening of the third-hour drop. The show grew in the second hour and fell in the third hour, but hour three actually beat hour one, which has been a rarity in recent years ... The three hours were: 8 p.m. 2.41 million viewers 9 p.m. 2.57 million viewers 10 p.m. 2.44 million viewers

Originally Posted by Observer During Monday Night Raw, WrestlePro owner Pat Buck was shown during the aftermath of the Roman Reigns car accident as one of several on the scene checking on Reigns. PWInsider.com has confimed that Buck was hired by WWE to work as a Producer for the company. Buck worked several weeks back as a Guest Coach at the WWE Performance Center and was given a Producer tryout recently as well.

Originally Posted by Observer The bouncer who stopped the shooter in Dayton, OH at the door of a bar was area independent wrestler Jeremy Ganger. Ganger is a close friend of James Yun, who many of you will remember as Jimmy Wang Yang.

Originally Posted by Fightful PAC has suffered an injury during a match at a recent TNT Extreme Wrestling show. A tweet posted by Ring Rules said he suffered a groin injury after competing in in TNT's Summer Explosion show in the United Kingdom, though the picture in the tweet looks more like it was closer to his inner thigh. The severity of PAC's injury was not revealed or if he will have to miss any future bookings he had already committed to.

Originally Posted by PWI Roman Reigns was interviewed about a number of topics by Martin Hoffman German of sports website Sports1.De to promote the forthcoming WWE 2K20 videogame: Over the course of the conversation, All Elite Wrestling was brought up. Reigns commented, "I’ll be damned if anyone is gonna disrespect what we do here, especially within our company. If you’re within our walls, within our locker room and not handling your business the right way, I have no problem with stepping up. I fear no man and if you don’t like what I’m coming from, there’s a couple of options we can do. I firmly believe in the history that my family has had in this business, the relationship they had with the McMahons and WWE. And I’ll be damned if anyone disrespects our way of life. I’ve been fed and I fed my family for years now from this meal plan and I’m not gonna let anyone step on that. If that makes me a locker room leader, then yeah, you can call me that. “I think Seth Rollins is being generous in calling them a competition. I don’t want to get too deep into this… I said it before: it’s an option and that’s great for professional wrestlers, pretty cool for fans. Before my family was WWE only, we’ve been a territorial family. You had to move, work with different promotions and territories. I’m always gonna be ‘pro pro-wrestler’, but at the end of the day, WWE is my home. It’s what I represent and we’re so far ahead. You can see it in other shows – it’s not easy to have a clean production. You have to have a lot of experience. Our talent is top-notch, we’ve got main eventers for days but it also is our crew. They’re busting their asses all night to get the show running. There are so many people that make this place work. When you see other people out there trying to do it, you see the flaws and it makes you respect what we do even more. It’s easy to complain and to say this and this on paper, but when it’s time to go out there and actually do it, nobody will do it like WWE. Period.”

Originally Posted by PWI WWE Network News reported the following: There will be a new episode of "Prime Target: Takeover" Wednesday at 7:30 PM Eastern before this week's episode of NXT focusing on Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano for the NXT Championship An episode of the audio documentary series "WWE Untold" will air this Friday at 8 PM and tell the story of WWE's most unlikely duo of Kane and Daniel Bryan otherwise known as Team Hell No. It will feature Daniel Bryan, Kane and others, discussing Team Hell No

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling After initially promoting a 6 pm Eastern start time, the SummerSlam kickoff show is back to its usual run time of two hours and begins at 5 pm this Sunday.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling All Elite Wrestling has announced locations for the second and third episodes on TNT. On Wednesday, October 9th they will be going to the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts and on October 16th they will be in Philadelphia at the Liacouras Center. The Agganis Arena has a listed capacity of 7,200, which will fluctuate based on the staging. The Liacouras Center is on the grounds of Temple University and is a big building at 10,200, which Impact Wrestling ran for their Lockdown pay-per-view in 2009 and Bound for Glory in 2011. Ticket information is going to be released on Friday. The advertising for both shows features Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, The Young Bucks, Jon Moxley, and Cody. In Boston, the larger TD Garden is already booked on October 9th for a Post Malone concert. In Philadelphia, there is nothing scheduled for the Wells Fargo Center on the 16th, so in theory, they could have the larger building that WWE just ran for Extreme Rules last month.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling According to our data, SmackDown Live averaged 1,988,000 viewers per episode in July 2019, which is down 11.5% compared to July 2018 when they averaged 2,246,000 per episode.

Originally Posted by PWI The third season of Netflix's acclaimed series GLOW will debut this Friday 8/9 with the complete third season available for streaming.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The G1 Climax picks back up on Wednesday as we go into the final stretch with five cards remaining. Wednesday’s show in Hamamatsu is an A Block show that streams at 5:30 am Eastern on New Japan World ... If Okada defeats or goes to a draw with EVIL then EVIL is eliminated. If Okada wins then Ibushi must win to stay alive. If EVIL wins and Ibushi loses, then EVIL is alive going into the final day and would win the block if he beats Archer and Ibushi beats Okada forcing a three-way tie at 12 points, which EVIL would win based off wins over Ibushi and Okada. I’m expecting Ibushi and Okada to win their matches tomorrow and then EVIL is out, and it comes down to Okada vs. Ibushi on Saturday to determine the block winner.

Originally Posted by Fightful All Elite Wrestling has held just three shows since its formation on January 1, 2019. AEW Double or Nothing was presented on pay-per-view and reportedly did nearly 100,000 buys. AEW Fyter Fest and Fight For The Fallen were presented free on B/R Live and were two of the most popular live-streaming events in the platform's history. But the decision to give away Fyter Fest and Fight For The Fallen came with a risk. “In terms of putting shows out there for free, we took a bath financially on that and I took a big hit, and I was willing to do it as a company because I believed in our brand of wrestling,” AEW President Tony Khan told The Decider. “There hasn’t been a legitimate other company [besides WWE] presenting weekly, high quality wrestling, and never before was HD available. [Once AEW premieres on TNT] the revenue streams are going to be huge.” Khan went on to say that his “dream” was to get AEW to the level “where WCW was.”

Originally Posted by Observer SmackDown again underwent changes this week, with Vince McMahon tearing up the show and having it rewritten today. Dave Meltzer noted that Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan is the latest main event planned for the show. It’s taking place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Kevin Owens inviting Shane McMahon to be on the KO Show has also been announced, and Kingston will respond to Randy Orton’s comments in an exclusive interview.

Originally Posted by Observer Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that Bobby Lashley recently underwent surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow and is on track to return in early November.

Originally Posted by Fightful During tonight's WWE SmackDown Live, Jessika Carr served as the referee for the women's match between Ember Moon and Natalya. The match ended in a no contest when Natalya kept the Sharpshooter locked on Ember Moon on the outside. Carr is the first full-time female referee in WWE history and has worked the Mae Young Classic and NXT.

TPWW Frontpage:

• FOX Exec Comments on WWE’s Declining Ratings, Says WWE Is “Going to Be a Home Run”
• AEW Announces Locations for Their Second and Third TNT Shows
• Roman Reigns Says He Disagrees With Jon Moxley About WWE’s Creative Process
• Matt Riddle Says He’ll “Beat the Sh*t Out of” Chris Jericho, Responds to Booker T, Lance Storm
• WWE 2K20: Lynch & Reigns on Cover, Commercial and More Info Released

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by Observer SmackDown's go-home show for SummerSlam averaged 2.088 million viewers on the USA Network, up nine percent from last week. With Raw also being up this week, SmackDown retained the usual 84 percent of Monday night's audience ... SmackDown was only down five percent from the same week in 2018, the third time in the last four weeks that the year-over-year decline has been in the single digits.

Originally Posted by PWI There were a lot of changes to last night's Smackdown episode. The original plan for last night's Smackdown episode was to feature Kofi Kingston vs. Andrade in the main event. However, once WWE had their production meeting for the show, plans were changed and the new main event was to be Xavier Woods & Kingston teaming against Daniel Bryan and Rowan. However, about an hour before the show went on the air, the decision was made to pull Kingston from the main event and replace him with Big E. We are told all the changes were Vince McMahon calls. Originally, the Summerslam card was to have featured Roman Reigns against Daniel Bryan, but the word making the rounds at TV last night was that the bout will likely be dropped in order to let the current storyline play out. The Daniel Bryan career announcement has also appeared to have been dropped, unless WWE decides to work that back into a storyline. There was zero mention of it last night backstage. Last night's Smackdown ended with a reveal that Rowan was responsible for the attacks on Roman Reigns, but we are told that may not be 100% set in stone as other ideas have been pitched. Reigns is slated to wrestle Daniel Bryan on a TON of live events coming out of Summerslam.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE is holding an invited tryout over this weekend in Canada, seeking new potential talents. The only name we have confirmed in taking part thus far in the tryouts is Canadian female talent Maddison Miles, a 19 year old talent from Halifax. We have not heard any additional confirmed invited talents as of this writing, but it's likely that WWE will disclose the names via their website in the forthcoming days.

Originally Posted by Fightful Triple H, who recently turned 50-years old sat down with the Performance Center's own Josiah Williams and talked about a variety of topics including the fulfillment he gets from seeing NXT talents have their shining moments. Triple H added that he receives more fulfillment from that than he did his in-ring career. “Shawn [Michaels] and I talk about this all the time: I think, in some ways [I] get more out of what I’m doing now than I did in my career where it was just about me -- now it’s, the ability… For me to sit in gorilla and watch kids realize their dream and their passion and have that light bulb moment or whatever that is or see their success, know how much they poured their heart and soul into it and have that success. To see you [Josiah Williams] go out there and tear it up -- knowing how that all came to be. Those are just really cool moments and I think that’s the passion now so to me, 50 is just a number.” He explained.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling In an interview with the Nikkan Sports outlet in Japan, Jon Moxley spoke about working with New Japan Pro Wrestling and his future with the promotion ... In the interview, Moxley confirmed his AEW contract doesn’t restrict him from taking future dates with New Japan beyond the summer and said: "Fortunately, there is no problem in fighting in New Japan while belonging to an American organization (AEW). In the future, I can always show up in Japan." He indicated that he wanted to wrestle on the Tokyo Dome shows next January when New Japan will stage back-to-back cards at the venue on January 4th and 5th. Regarding any future opponents he would like to face, Moxley said he wants to have a match with Minoru Suzuki along with other wrestlers with new and unique styles.

Originally Posted by Observer The National Wrestling Alliance announced that they will be holding television tapings this fall. The company posted a video with NWA President Billy Corgan talking about studio tapings from the 1970s and 1980s, leading to an announcement about the NWA starting their own television tapings. The video then announced that tapings would be held in Atlanta, Georgia on September 30 and October 1. No venue was announced, nor was it mentioned where the tapings would be airing.

Originally Posted by Observer After being part of the 24/7 title segment on Raw, NXT referee Jessika Carr appeared on last night’s SmackDown and 205 Live. She was the referee for Ember Moon vs. Natalya and Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado. Carr wrote about her main roster appearances: “These past few days have been an absolute blur and more incredible than I could have even imagined. The train keeps chugging along as tomorrow we head into our #nxttakeovertoronto weekend! See you soon #nxtalbany #nxtbuffalo. Grateful. Blessed. Determined. Never satisfied. Keep on working, always more to accomplish, there are no ceilings. #wwe #nxt #wearenxt #sdlive #raw #natalyawwe #embermoon #205live”

Originally Posted by Observer MLW announced that their War Chamber match in North Richland Hills, Texas on September 7 will be Tom Lawlor, Marshall Von Erich, Ross Von Erich, and a partner vs. Contra Unit (Jacob Fatu, Josef Samael, Simon Gotch and a partner). It’s a War Games-type match, with two wrestlers from each team starting off. After five minutes, the team that won a coin toss will have their second teammate enter. There will then be alternate additions to the match every two minutes until everyone is in. The match can be won by pinfall, submission, or surrender once everyone enters.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc WWE has had talks on possibly doing Roman Reigns vs. Buddy Murphy at Sunday's WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, according to a new report from @Wrestlevotes. The talks were held backstage at Tuesday's SmackDown. There's no word yet on if Reigns vs. Murphy will happen on Sunday, but it remains a possibility as we get closer to Sunday's big event in Toronto.

Originally Posted by Fightful AEW has revealed how they will determine who's going to challenge for the Women's World Title. The newest episode of 'Road To All Out' has been released and it featured AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes revealing how a challenger to the AEW Women's World Championship on October 2nd will be determined. Brandi stated that the Casino Battle Royale will be returning at All Out on August 31st and the rules are the exact same from the Casino Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing. There are not 21 members of AEW's women's division to compete in the match so coming into the fray to compete at All Out in the Casino Battle Royale is Ivelisse, former NWA World Women's Champion Jazz and Teal Piper, who is the daughter of late WWE Hall Of Famer 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper.

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc WWE, Converse and Foot Locker are partnering to release new sneakers inspired by WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch, and WWE Hall of Famers Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. The sneakers will be available this Friday at the Foot Locker flagship store in New York City, and at FootLocker.ca. You can see the sneakers below: Limited edition custom @Converse kicks inspired by @BretHart, @BeckyLynchWWE, @TrueKofi, and @ShawnMichaels will be available EXCLUSIVELY at @footlocker's flagship store and https://t.co/rP5QY814sS THIS FRIDAY! https://t.co/nXSsaNKTyG — WWE (@WWE) August 7, 2019

Link: https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1159164418703405057

Originally Posted by PWI Bret Hart announced he will be getting limited edition converse that will be sold in Toronto at Foot Locker's Yonge Street location over Summerslam weekend:

All I can say is WOW! Limited edition @converse Hitman shoes available this Friday August 9 online & in Toronto at the @footlockercanada 247 Yonge St. location. @alexanderjohndesign #summerslam pic.twitter.com/anAiUIADb2

— Bret Hart (@BretHart) August 6, 2019

TPWW Frontpage:

• AEW Files Trademark for “AEW Revolution”
• Daniel Bryan Responds to Roman Reigns Accusations
• Interview: Roman Reigns on People’s Criticisms of WWE and if AEW Is Real Competition to WWE

[slik]

BOSTON will possibly be named the host of SummerSlam 2020 soon. It's been between Boston and one other northeastern city. credit - Brad Shepard/OYDK Podcast

[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by PWI The following Harley Race footage will be today's "Hidden Gems" selection on WWE Network: * CWF 10/08/1974 – Harley Race & Bill Watts vs. The Brisco Brothers [Duration: 08:42] Harley Race teams with “Cowboy” Bill Watts to face the team of Jack and Gerald Brisco in this bout from Florida. * CWF 01/25/1978 – Harley Race vs. “Superstar” Billy Graham [Duration: 13:53] Harley Race and “Superstar” Billy Graham put their respective championships on the line as they face off at the Superbowl of Wrestling. * CWF 08/12/1978 – Harley Race vs. Jack Brisco for Heavyweight Title [Duration: 11:57] The World Heavyweight Championship is up for grabs as Harley Race defends the title against former champion Jack Brisco. * Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling 11/14/1980 – Ric Flair vs. Harley Race [Duration: 07:12] Witness film highlights of Ric Flair going to war with the legendary Harley Race in front of a rabid audience. * WWF 10/01/1987 – Superstars visit Napoleon’s tomb in Paris [Duration: 02:29] See exclusive outtakes of Andre the Giant, Harley Race and Frenchy Martin visiting Napoleon’s tomb in Paris.

Originally Posted by Fightful When Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff were named executive directors of Raw and SmackDown respectively, some were wondering why Triple H was not put in their position. There was a report floating around, which was quickly debunked, that Triple H turned down the role of executive director of SmackDown. On today's NXT media call, Triple H put the rumors to bed. "The way it's laid out, their scope of what they're doing is very specific to those shows. While I'm still at those shows, there are many weeks where, due to my schedule and other commitments, I can't be at every single Raw or SmackDown," said Triple H "The scope of the things that I do are way beyond that with live events and creative. In my role, creative encompasses a lot different things. It's not main roster creative, it's shirts and billboards and where everything else goes in the world. It's all the creative stuff where it's the things you don't see; they just sort of appear. And everything with talent. As our company continues to grow and our talent roster continues to grow, and talent development continues to grow and as we expand to our global localization overseas and everything else, there's only so many hours in a day. Even though the WWE and Vince are working very hard on creating an eighth day and extra hours so we can get more accomplished, there are only so many hours in a day. I already see the positive and the changes [under Heyman and Bischoff]. As this whole thing continues to grow, a lot of it comes down to organizational processes. To have somebody to spearhead the process is very helpful and smart. I'm thrilled it's those guys and I think they're gonna knock it out of the park. I'm excited to work with both of them. Heyman, I've worked with for a while. Bischoff, it's been a while, but this is the first time I've worked with him in this manner. So far, it's an exciting process. I already see positives from it. It's great."

Originally Posted by PWI On the latest edition of "Grilling JR" Jim Ross remembers Harley Race. JR mentioned that fundraising efforts in association with AEW/Starrcast to aid those affected by the tragedies in El Paso and Dayton.

Originally Posted by PWI Scottish star Joe Hendry, who was seen last year in Impact Wrestling, announced today he has officially signed with Ring of Honor

Originally Posted by PWI Several readers sent word that all four seasons of The El Rey Network's Lucha Underground series are now licensed and available to stream for free at TubiTV.com, an online streaming site. TubiTV has a Roku channel, so if you prefer to watch the series on your TV, you have that option as well.

Originally Posted by PWI WWE are in the process of trademarking Adam Cole. They were given an initial rejection on December 6th of last year, as they had to clarify whether Adam Cole identified a particular living individual. WWE responded on May 6th noting that "Adam Cole" does not identify a particular living individual. The USPTO quickly responded back with evidence from Adam Cole's Wikipedia page (which has his pre-WWE history) to show that it in fact identifies a real person, Austin Jenkins. They also provided the bio page for Cole from WWE.com for futher evidence to prove the name refers to a real person. They noted that WWE should provide written consent from Jenkins allowing WWE to trademark his wrestling name.

Probably the first time in recent years WWE wasn't allowed to trademark a name used on the indies that wasn't the wrestler's real name. Also pretty much revealed their real intentions of wanting to trademark the name so he couldn't use it after leaving the company.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter TripleMania, AAA’s biggest show of the year, was a mix of a variety of different stars and styles, and ended with a number of different headlines. In Mexico, the show was about a battle of legends, as Blue Demon Jr. beat Dr. Wagner Jr. in a mask vs. hair match before a near sellout of 18,000 fans, the largest pro wrestling crowd in the world since WrestleMania, on 8/3 at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City. But there were other headlines, including the debut of Cain Velasquez, which got great reviews, the return of L.A. Park and his family, plus the tease of a Fenix vs. Kenny Omega AAA heavyweight title match.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Pro Wrestling EVE, a women’s promotion that uses most of the top women stars in Europe and brings in Japanese (relations with Stardom, Pure-J, Ice Ribbon and has regularly used Meiko Satomura), and Americans (Su Yung, Mercedes Martinez and Jordynne Grace are semi-regulars) as well, has signed a contract agreeing to a Code of Conduct, with Equity U.K., a trade union for performers who are self-employed and work in the entertainment industry. One of the key aspects of this is insurance for competitors, because of the issues with injuries in the ring. Even though wrestling is essentially stunt performing, insurance companies who cover stunt performers were negative on covering pro wrestlers. Even at certain points companies actually said when asked that the difference is if somebody breaks a bone doing a stunt it is an accident but if they do so in wrestling, it’s done on purpose by the person they’re fighting. Which is ludicrous. Other arguments used were that stunt and circus performers were trained in their stunts while wrestlers were not. But Equity was able to convince its insurance company to change its mind and its classification of pro wrestlers and now they can get insurance that at least covers them in the event of an injury that takes place in the ring, or one that effects their ability to perform. There are many other issues that have come with this. There are questions regarding if talent should receive royalties for appearing on paid streaming services, which would happen in most entertainment forms but does not happen in pro wrestling. Those at EVE noted that this wasn’t an issue t them, but it was the last thing discussed and came to an agreement on that which was sufficient to the union. There were WWE U.K. talent that at first were publicly negative on the idea of a union, notably Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews, but after getting a negative reaction, they deleted their tweets. According to U.K. reporter Will Cooling, a rep from Equity UK was on David Starr’s podcast and said they had spoken at one point to Attack Wrestling, which is run by Dunne and Andrews, but Attack backed off and discussion ended. The next issue would be that of talent joining, because of fear that by being part of Equity UK, that would eliminate any chance of going to WWE. Other promoters have threatened not to book any talent that has joined.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter The first AEW TV show will be going head-to-head with the American League baseball wildcard game, which is usually good for six million or more viewers, so that’s very real competition. The question is now whether they can sustain this. Washington, DC, was chosen because their B/R stats showed Baltimore, Philadelphia and DC as some of their strongest markets. This sold out based on the history aspect if it being the first show on TNT, and really, the most important in some ways pro wrestling show of the year ... Week two will be in Boston at the Agannis Arena, and not the T.D. Garden where WWE would run, and it would be set up for 5,000, so it’s not a stretch to say it could be a quick sellout. Week three will be the real test as they are in Philadelphia, once again not going to the Wells Fargo Center but instead to the Licouras Center, which for a television set up would hold 7,000. The positive is that even if they don’t sell out, they’ll probably do reasonably well as far as the look for television, and no doubt these arenas are much cheaper to rent than the major buildings in the market. But there is also a stigma of establishing yourself as the secondary wrestling when the competition is running the top building where the major league acts play, and you’re not running those buildings ... Even in the late 80s JCP vs. WWE war when JCP was hot, the reality is that in the Northeast, everywhere but Baltimore (where JCP ran the big building in the market), JCP could draw well for big shows, but WWE always was considered major league by most because they played the big arena and JCP played the secondary arena ... The perception of legit selling out you can get running the Agannis Arena in Boston is if they sell out Boston quickly it’s a perception home run of always selling out for now ... To me, Philadelphia will answer a short-term question of sustainability, because it’s a good market, but it’s not that far from DC, and it’s no longer week one. It’s not the long-term, because the value of TNT won’t fully kick in until a few months in. When Nitro started, it was about four to five months in before we started seeing live attendance go up but they were also a company that had been on national TV for years, just not in as good a time slot ... Make no mistake about it, and nobody will say this publicly because they can’t, but a huge part of this story is the disenfranchised fan base which never had anyone to unify them. New Japan could have done it with their 2018 crew with the right backing. ROH had the chance. The talent was there but those groups were too conservative and in the case of New Japan, getting into a big-time fight with Vince while being based in Japan would be a tough decision. ROH could have done it, and Sinclair could have seen the signs with the 2018 success but they didn’t make the move, which left the key guys frustrated because after All In, and maybe even before that, they saw the opening. Even WWE could have nipped it in the bud, and they did try with big offers, but they way undershot and while Vince was adamant about not leaving in a crack in the bottom of the door open and being aggressive, and he did realize the Khan family’s wealth, he left the crack open and couldn’t pull the trigger on keeping Chris Jericho because he saw him as a 48 year old guy and with the exception of Kenny Omega, I don’t think he saw the others at the level that they saw themselves

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter While 10/2 will be the first live wrestling show, it will not be the first show on TNT. There is other programming yet to be announced to provide an introduction and build major shows After All Out, there will be one more PPV this year, with the plan with TV to do four PPV events in 2020 AEW will miss one week of television at least this year as the plan is to not run on Christmas night. New Year’s night, against the Bowl Games, is scheduled to be a live show head-to-head

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Pac, who is high on the list of those speculated on to be one of Jericho’s mystery partners against Young Bucks & Omega on the first TV show, suffered a leg injury in an 8/1 match for the TNT Extreme Promotion in Liverpool against Jodie Fleisch. At this point we don’t have any more info other than he finished the match, but that it looked bad visually although it appears to have been just a bad gash in the thigh Also heavily speculated on for Jericho’s surprise partners is LAX. Obviously WWE will be trying to stop that from happening. LAX starting in AAA in September would indicate they at least right now would not have a deal with WWE. Plus, if LAX comes in, the obvious program would be with the Young Bucks

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter While not announced, the NXT on FS 1 is tentatively set for 8-10 p.m. on Wednesday nights. For obvious reasons, that was the time slot expected but this was the first info we were given listing a time slot. Of course it wasn’t going to be finalized until TNT announced the time slot. Not sure when this starts or how Big East basketball on FS 1 affects this, or what this means for NXT on WWE Network, or what the start date will be. It’s not official until the announcement is made but this has been expected and as noted a few weeks ago, it’s far enough along that FOX told some affiliates already. The working idea is for a live two hour show with the feeling that a taped show will not work to head-off AEW. Where WWE feels they have the edge is they have an endless supply of main roster talent they can shuffle in whenever they want them. Whether this goes from Full Sail, which may get tough with shows weekly to keep crowd enthusiasm up int the same venue (although they’ll be using more main roster guys and the Full Sail crowd pops big for those every time out) or they tape it and tour with it is unknown. But we were told this was largely agreed to in late June. or early July. One would think WWE and FOX will heavily promote this on Smackdown each week and possibly on Raw, and FS 1 will see that they are in a war with TNT on Wednesdays which means FOX will be out there promoting it. The other psychology over who gets off stronger and how WWE reacts if they lose early or AEW reacts if they lose early will be very interesting. TNT is in more homes, is a much higher rated station, but WWE is the name brand to the masses and NXT would be promoted on the two most-watched shows In news that affects both WWE with its Hulu deal, and more UFC, Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ will be offered in a combined streaming bundle deal for $12.95 per month. At the same time, cable companies are losing homes at a faster rate to where traditional cable and satellite homes are expected to fall to 86.5 million (the peak was 100.5 million) by the end of the year. But many of the key television cable channels are coming close to maintaining coverage through streaming services. Paul Levesque couldn’t talk about it but did somewhat acknowledge it cryptically saying about talk of counter programming another announced show on FS 1, that Wednesday has always been NXT’s night and they are doing what they see as best for the company and not counter programming. So that will be the public reaction even though all the talk internally has used the term counter programming and how Vince is certain with their resources they will draw more viewers even when pointed out TNT is a stronger station and in more homes.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter There has been talk regarding the latest WWE doctrine that its U.K. talent can no longer appear on streaming matches. This is one of those deals where the word goes out, but then its kind of forgotten about with the key member promotions. It’s more a situation where those groups, which would be ICW, Progress and wXw, and whoever else WWE has financial ties to, will all be moving to the WWE Network sooner than later so obviously they’ll be able to do programs and use the WWE U.K. guys. There has been a lot of talk of late with the decline of interest overall in the U.K. because WWE has signed most of the top talent, and the few that they haven’t are under contract to someone else outside the U.K. like New Japan or ROH, that it’s killed the indie scene and the shows overall have a much lower level of talent depth than a few years ago. But everyone knew that was inevitable and on the flip side that talent is able to make more money and work less dates to make it, and have guarantees and if hurt will still get a check, so there are two sides. But it does greatly hinder the talent development side of things that created so many of these awesome young workers because there were so many shows in short geographical distances and enough good talent around to teach them. But that’s a cycle we’ve seen as well. But the WWE itself has also declined greatly in the market which led to Sky dropping them and NXT U.K. being unable to get a television deal ... It should be noted that WWE talent believed they could still work On Demand, meaning on streaming services that weren’t airing the matches live. Because this doctrine would cut way back on their ability to get non-WWE bookings. There are promotions who have had opportunities to do live iPPVs or even Fite TV events that have had to turn those down because they use WWE talent

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter WWE has had recent interest in purchasing Fite TV to the point there are meetings upcoming regarding it. What that would mean isn’t clear, as could they just own it thinking it’s a good future business and have it run separately, or incorporate it into a higher tiered network. One thing for sure, it would make indies that work with Fite TV in jeopardy in some form, and the key is, it would for sure shut down AEW’s leading streaming partner. That said, AEW can get a new streaming partner within the Turner family and may end up that way anyway, and WWE talks to a lot of people and that doesn’t mean a deal is getting done

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter Paul Levesque on a press call mentioned plans for a 2019 Mae Young Classic. He just said with so much of a workload, you can’t get to everything and time kind of ran out to do it at the same point in the year. But he gave the impression an announcement was coming. He also noted that both McIntyre and Cesaro have talked with him about being interested in working on NXT U.K. shows

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter There have been complaints from some fans which has gotten to NXT management over the actions of a very few but local other fans based on chants and actions of those fans. The complaints have been about too many racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic actions from fans at the Florida shows. Because they run such small buildings, one fan being obnoxious can really hurt the show. It’s essentially something I’ve seen at other shows and have written about, which is the clash between new fans who see wrestling as an art form and artists, and old fans who think wrestling is a night out to yell and scream and being able to say what ever you want based on what was okay 15 or 20 years ago, when those kind of remarks were commonplace at every show and the product encouraged them. One fan wrote to the company and said they and a friend avoid going to Daytona shows for that reason. Another noted that crowd was chanting “kick him out” at one fan who was doing a Nazi salute to back Marcel Barthel, who broke character and basically said that was not acceptable. But his not being kicked out was a common complaint. Another fan complained that on 7/18 in Lakeland a fan yelled the N word at black referee D.A. Brewer and was not kicked out. There were complaints that on 8/2 in Melbourne some guys were yelling out profanity around children and were very disrespectful in making remarks at Tegan Nox. There was also complaints about fans chanting “build a wall” during an Humberto Carrillo match in Daytona in May. Daniel Vidot, a rookie wrestler, also complained about racial slurs by fans saying there is no humor in any type of racial stereotyping or immature displays of racial gesturing and said that they should kick fans out of venues when they try to disrupt shows with those kind of remarks.

TPWW Frontpage:

• Why Potential SummerSlam Matches Happened on TV Instead
• MLB Releases Entire 2019 Playoffs Schedule Revealing WWE & AEW TV Shows Affected
• Trish Stratus Says SummerSlam Will Be Her “Final Match”

[Bad News Gertner]

Been saying this forever: NXT fans at these shows are the worst. The fucking worst. I might actually watch NXT from time to time if it weren't for them. I used to watch NXT regularly when it started, but these neck bearded Incels are so unbearably obnoxious.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Originally Posted by Iceman King Gertner Been saying this forever: NXT fans at these shows are the worst. The fucking worst. I might actually watch NXT from time to time if it weren't for them. I used to watch NXT regularly when it started, but these neck bearded Incels are so unbearably obnoxious.

the fucking losers doing the nazi gestures or the fucking losers who watch wrestling like it's an art form?

[Bad News Gertner]

The fucking losers at NXT shows telling everyone to be quiet so they can head Mauro's commentary