Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.808 million viewers with a 0.57 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This was up from last week in total viewers, which did 1.778 million viewers and the 0.51 demo rating.
WWE went up against an NFL game that aired on ESPN, which was between the Buccaneers and Rams that had 12.612 million viewers.
To compare, just one year ago, RAW averaged 2.109 million viewers. This show served as the post-Survivor Series edition of the red brand and started a qualifying tournament for the #1 contender to the WWE Title.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Raw, courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com:
Hour 1: 1.904 million, 0.61 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 2: 1.826 million, 0.58 in the 18-49 Demo
Hour 3: 1.694 million, 0.51 in the 18-49 Demo
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.326 million viewers on FOX. This is up from the 2.234 that the show did for the previous week on FOX.
The overnight rating was 2.215 million viewers, which was up from 2.142 a week ago. The first hour did 2.202 million viewers while hour two did 2.228 million viewers. This was up from a week ago with hour one doing 2.111 and hour two doing 2.172.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.70 rating in the 18-49 demos, down from 0.60 rating as last week’s show.
The scheduled main event for this year’s WWE TLC pay-per-view event has been revealed.
Dave Meltzer noted in the Daily Update on F4Wonline.com that the scheduled headliner for this show is Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Title.
This will be the first time in a few months that Randy Orton won’t be featured in the main title picture on the RAW brand.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on which stipulation this match will have. Historically, WWE likes to add stipulations that are associated with the TLC theme whether that’s Chair, Tables, Ladder, and TLC matches.
WWE is expected to confirm this match booking soon. Also, it’s been reported over the last few weeks that WWE is planning a Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan feud.
Meltzer wrote the following about this program and its status at TLC:
“Right now regarding Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan for the Universal title, that match is scheduled to take place at some point, it could be TLC, but it\’s leaning toward a later date.”
WWE presents the TLC pay-per-view event on December 20, 2020 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida that will air on the WWE Network. This will be the final pay-per-view show of 2020 for the company.
One of the biggest news stories to come out over the last month or so has been regarding WWE’s decision to ban their talent from using third-party platforms, most notably Cameo and Twitch.
As a result, various stars such as AJ Styles and Cesaro have suspended their accounts until further notice. Vince McMahon even alerted talent that if they did not comply with the edict then penalties would be enforced. Zelina Vega was released from her deal due to this.
Dave Meltzer noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio this new policy currently has zero effect on talent in NXT.
Instead, the larger focus has been on the WWE main roster. A reader asked about Adam Cole continuing to stream on his Twitch channel, which led to the news being revealed.
Meltzer noted that rules can change at any moment and he wouldn’t be surprised if NXT stars become included in the edict.
I spoke about this on last week's @theLTGpodcast and have on Patreon as well, but from speaking with multiple sources, contract structure is the reason most of the NXT people have had no issue with Twitch streaming while #WWE main roster folks have. Base pay is a big part of it.
WWE told Sports Illustrated that Vega breached her contract by starting a Cameo account.
Since her departure, she has met with the President of SAG-AFTRA because she tweeted out that she supports unionization. During this meeting, the two sides talked about the representation of wrestlers.
Former Democratic Presidential Nominee Andrew Yang has also publicly called out WWE and its Chairman for outdated labor practices.
GLOW star Alison Brie opened up on the possibility of the television series having a proper ending in the way of a film.
Although Netflix had previously announced that GLOW had been renewed for its fourth and final season, the show was canceled last month.
The reason for the show coming to an end was due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The streaming service had committed to the fourth season of the show in August 2019.
Brie expressed doubt that a movie will be made to wrap up the canceled series.
“I certainly think a movie could tie everything up,” Brie told The Playlist. “Our creators, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, are incredible writers. And they’re so devoted to these characters that they created. I think a movie would be a great way to wrap it up.
“I’m a little pessimistic about it actually happening just in light of everything that’s gone on this year and how difficult it is to get anything back into production with COVID, and I’m also part of the “Community” cast, who’s been trying to get a movie going for six years, so what I’m saying is don’t hold your breath because if it does happen, it might take a minute.”
It should be noted that Netflix had been trying to find ways to get the show back into production since the pandemic started. If Netflix had attempted to do so then that the season wouldn’t have premiered until early 2022.
The series was inspired by the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling promotion that was started in 1986. It premiered in 2017.
The Undertaker made an appearance at Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event in which was promoted by WWE as his “Final Farewell.”
WWE had also hyped this show as being a tribute to the former WWE Champion and touted it as “capping off The Phonem’s legendary 30-year career.”
In the final segment of the show, WWE brought out various people ahead of Taker’s entrance. Those brought in for it included Shane McMahon, The Big Show, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, The Godfather, The Godwins, Savio Vega, Rikishi, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Triple H, and Kane (in his full gear).
A special video package aired. Vince McMahon gave a speech in the ring about Taker being in WWE for three decades despite injuries. He even name-dropped WWF. McMahon said tonight we say goodbye and the legacy of The Undertaker lives on for eternity. He brought out Taker.
It was his iconic entrance as The Deadman. Taker started out by saying for 30 years he has walked to the ring to lay people to rest. He said that now his time has come to let The Undertaker rest in peace. He tossed the microphone out of the ring and did his famous pose with the ‘Oh yes!\’ soundbite from Paul Bearer with a hologram of Bearer appearing on the big screen.
The reason for this show being a tribute was due to him making his promotional debut at the 1990 version of Survivor Series.
The Undertaker beat AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match, which served as the headliner of WrestleMania 36 – Night 1, in what was Taker’s most recent match.
Chapter 5 of The Last Ride on the WWE Network ended with Taker stating that he had no desire to wrestle again, which many took as a hint at the possibility of retirement. He has since confirmed in various interviews that he\’s retired.
As expected, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns ended up in the main event of this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
In what will be the final WWE PPV event held from Amway Center for the foreseeable future, WWE booked a champion vs. champion match with the top stars on RAW and SmackDown.
McIntyre represented Monday Night RAW while Reigns defended the pride of the blue brand. Neither title was on the line.
The match saw Reigns dominate the early portion of this match until McIntyre rallied back. It was a back and forth lengthy match. They trade their signature moves such as McIntyre’s DDT and Reigns Superman Punch yet reversing finishing moves.
Reigns speared McIntyre through the barricade. They did a referee bump spot with McIntyre hitting Reigns with a Claymore Kick that sent Reigns into the referee. Reigns connected with a low blow to McIntyre only to have Jey Uso superkick McIntyre before Reigns hit a spear and locked in a guillotine choke for the win.
McIntyre has been feuding with Randy Orton for months while Bray Wyatt has recently entered the title picture after “The Fiend” was sent over from SmackDown to RAW in this year’s Draft. Orton won the WWE Title by beating McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell Match at the themed pay-per-view event last month, but McIntyre beat Orton last Monday night.
On the flip side, Reigns had been feuding with his cousin Jey where they worked a handful of PPV matches. In recent weeks, Jey has joined “The Tribal Chief” and turned heel by attacking Daniel Bryan, who is expected to be in the title hunt coming out of Survivor Series.
This year’s Traditional 5-on-5-on-5 Elimination Match for the female roster at the Survivor Series event is in the books.
This was the fourth straight year that Vince McMahon had decided to do the brand vs. brand theme with the women for one of the big four events of the year for the company.
Team RAW featured Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Peyton Royce, Lacey Evans, and Lana) while SmackDown had Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley, and Natalya.
At Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event, Team RAW won the contest.
Royce hit her finisher to Bayley for the first elimination. Bayley was the Team SmackDown captain. Natalya locked in the sharpshooter to Royce for the elimination to tie it up 4-4. Team RAW went up 4-3 when Evans eliminated Natalya with a big right hand. Baszler eliminated Ruby that led to RAW going up 4-2. Morgan eliminated Evans that made it 3-2 with Team RAW still in the lead. Jax with a samoan drop to Morgan for the elimination to give Team RAW the lead again with 3-1. Belair was the last to rep SmackDown. Belair passed out while in a rear-naked choke by Baszler and fell onto the bottom rope, but Baszler wouldn’t let go so she was eliminated via DQ. Belair and Jax were eliminated when they were both counted out. As a result, Lana was the last person standing and won the match.
Last year, WWE decided to change things up by adding NXT talent and making it a three-way contest. Team NXT (Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae and Io Shirai) ended up winning by beating Team RAW (Charlotte Flair, Sarah Logan, Natalya, Asuka and Kairi Sane) and Team SmackDown (Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross).
Another high profile champion vs. champion match saw RAW Women\’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women\’s Champion Sasha Banks.
They battled it out in a non-title match at Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event in Orlando, Florida.
Asuka represented the red brand while Banks defended the pride of the blue brand. Neither title was on the line.
The match had a slow build that was given plenty of time. They presented a technical style of bout in the early going. Things started to pick up after they brawled to the floor and Banks hit a backstabber for a near fall. The finish saw Banks hit a frontflip roll up for the win.
Banks had been feuding with Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title after the two best friends split up once Bayley turned on Banks on an episode of SmackDown. At last month’s WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, Banks beat Bayley to win the SmackDown Women’s Title.
During an episode of SmackDown earlier this month, Banks successfully retained the title over the former champion.
This year’s Survivor Series event featured a Traditional Elimination Match for the male roster as usual with some notable star power.
Unlike last year, WWE went back to its normal formula of having stars from Monday Night RAW and SmackDown featured instead of also having NXT.
Team RAW featured Keith Lee, AJ Styles, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, and Matt Riddle while SmackDown had Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, Baron Corbin, and Otis.
The first elimination saw Rollins offer himself as a sacrifice and Sheamus hit a brogue kick. Styles eliminated Owens with the Phoenmal Forehearm, which gave TeamRAW a 5-3 lead. Riddle hit a dive off the top rope to Corbin for the elimination to post Team RAW a 5-2 lead.
Strowman eliminated Otis, which caused Jey to be the final Team SmackDown member standing. Lee hit the Spirit Bomb to Jey for the elimination. It was a clean sweep for Team RAW.
This was the fifth straight year that Vince McMahon had decided to do the brand vs. brand theme for one of the big four events of the year for the company.
The WWE Network released the Chronicle episode on Lana that follows the WWE star around and covers various situations.
During it, she opened up on dealing with mental health struggles this year due to a wide range of reasons. This includes the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband, Rusev, being released by WWE, and more.
She noted that it’s been hard to go from being on the road 300 days a year to not going anywhere. She brought up not traveling with the same person (Rusev) that she’s been doing that with since her start in WWE and being with that person 24/7.
“For me, what was really, really hard was, usually going to arenas and people boo you, it’s something about the energy, you’re like, ‘oh, I’m in control of this,’ right? But then when all of a sudden I don’t interact with any people whatsoever and I’m just at home and I post something and everyone is just so mean.
I couldn’t handle it anymore, because that’s like my only interaction with human beings is my Instagram account or Twitter, and now everyone in comments are like, ‘you should be fired.”
This is so sad… I feel so bad for Lana like she doesn’t deserve any of that. Nobody does. pic.twitter.com/TRSL4TUqRR
She brought up people saying that she sucks and other various things.
“I remember, texting my parents and being like,’ please pray for me, my mental health is doing really bad, I’m really depressed. I just — I can’t take it anymore. I’m just… I’m so sad. Like, I don’t want to do anything.’”
She questioned everything because people will tell her mean stuff including to kill herself and more.
Lana will represent Team RAW in the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match against Team SmackDown.
The Undertaker opened up on why he doesn’t watch WWE programming as often as he’d like to.
He did so during an interview with USA Today. Taker had been a prominent television figure for wrestling fans worldwide, but that has changed as he has gone from full-time to part-time and now retired.
He talked about watching sports and various TV series. He noted that he doesn’t watch much of WWE as often because he feels like he should be there.
“I can to a certain degree. But a lot of times I catch myself talking to the TV like they can hear me. It’s hard to be just a straight fan, because I want everybody to succeed and to develop into their potential. So I’m kind of like, ‘Oh man, don’t do it. It didn’t make sense.
Don’t do that. Why would you do that?’ You would actually laugh if there was a camera watching me watch wrestling. I have these conversations and it’s pretty amusing, I’m sure.”
The Undertaker is set to do his ‘Final Farewell’ at Survivor Series on Sunday night. He has confirmed in various interviews that he\’s retired from pro wrestling.
Even though AEW has faced some challenges from WWE, Kenny Omega isn’t against the idea of the promotion working with WWE should if a potential scenario comes up in the future.
The All Elite Wrestling EVP spoke about the idea of WWE approaching AEW for a potential working relationship while doing an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio.
“If, for some reason, WWE came knocking on our door and said, ‘hey, we would love to do a talent switch or tradeoff, or work together on something, I’d be all for it,\’”
Omega joked that he wasn’t sure whether AEW President Tony Khan would welcome such a deal. He does think a talent exchange would help pro wrestling’s popularity.
“Whatever benefits the wrestling fan must always come first,” Omega stated. “When you start thinking about fantasy scenarios, if wrestlers crossed over like that, it gets really exciting.”
Omega thinks it would be a win-win situation for current fans and they won’t ever know until they try.
Omega challenges Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Title on the December 2nd episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
Shayna Baszler ruled the women’s division for a long stretch of NXT\’s recent history.
Aside from her singles accomplishments, Baszler was NXT Women\’s Champion for over a year during her second reign as champion. That came to a halt when she was dethroned by Rhea Ripley.
Earlier this year after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, WWE decided to move her to the Monday Night RAW brand permanently.
The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion did an interview with Kayla Braxton on her IGTV series where she admitted that she does miss a part of NXT.
“When you watch Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, there\’s a certain aura, energy, that each show kind of specifically has on its own. There is this kind of gritty energy that NXT has, you know, and it is something that I miss.
But I ruled that division and so it was time to move on. If you want to keep fresh, you gotta do stuff like that, even if it seems like it sucks. It\’s like graduating high school. It sucked kind of, but you have to do it.”
Baszler is one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions with Nia Jax. she also wrestled then-RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36.
Drew McIntyre did an interview with Sports Illustrated to promote this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event where he’ll take on Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a champion vs. champion match, which means it’s non-title.
The WWE Champion spoke highly of Reigns and the new character that he’s portrayed since he made his return back in August.
“Roman is fully embracing his character, without restrictions, and he’s gone to another level. He’s got Paul Heyman by his side, and he’s genuinely so compelling. This is the ultimate opportunity, in the ring with him, to prove I am the top guy in WWE.”
The two stars did work a notable program heading into WrestleMania 35 two years ago. However, McIntyre understands that at the time it was Reigns’ moment because he had just returned from his battle with leukemia.
How this matchup differs from their WrestleMania 35 showdown:
“This is way different than 35. He’s done a lot since then, but I have risen up the card, too. I have a lot to prove to him this Sunday.”
The card for Sunday’s (November 22, 2020) WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event has been finalized.
The company hasn’t officially announced the main event of this event that takes place in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center that will air on the WWE Network but it will most likely be WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special on Sunday evening starting at 6 PM EST.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
RAW Women\’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women\’s Champion Sasha Banks
WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits
Team RAW (Keith Lee, AJ Styles, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, Matt Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, Baron Corbin, Otis) – Men\’s Traditional 5-on-5 Elimination Match
Team RAW (Team Captains: WWE Women\’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, Peyton Royce, Lacey Evans, and Lana) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley and Natalya) – Women\’s Traditional 5-on-5 Elimination Match
No competitors have yet to be announced – Dual-Brand Battle Royal (pre-show)
WWE has added some things to this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
On Friday afternoon, WWE announced that a dual-brand battle royal will take place on the Survivor Series pre-show. It will feature wrestlers from RAW and SmackDown. However, the participants for the match haven\’t been announced.
WWE.com wrote about the battle royal: “The battle of The Best of the Best will start off with fireworks, as Raw and SmackDown Superstars will clash in a Dual-Brand Battle Royal on the Survivor Series Kickoff. Who will step up for the red and blue brands to send the night’s first message?”
During this week’s SmackDown episode, Otis was added to the men’s team while Bayley and Natalya were added to the women’s team to take on Team RAW in traditional 5-on-5 elimination tag team matches.
The men’s team will be Otis, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin & Seth Rollins against Team RAW (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) while the women’s team will see Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley & Natalya vs. Team RAW (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce).
WWE presents the Survivor Series pay-per-view event on November 22. The pre-show will be an hour long with the main card starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
When Randy Orton beat Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Universal Title at last month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, some fans were caught off guard for two reasons.
The first being WWE booking Orton to lose to McIntyre twice before on pay-per-view. The other being the company building towards a non-title match between Orton and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
It was reported that the plan as of last Friday was for Orton to face Reigns at Survivor Series but those plans changed by the time they went on the air.
Of course, McIntyre won back the WWE Title by beating Orton on Monday’s episode of RAW.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that all of the key players were under the impression before RAW went live on Monday that Orton was still planning to wrestle Reigns at Survivor Series.
As a result, things changed between that time and when the decision was made to have a title switch.
Meltzer brought up the belief among many people in the company that Orton likely figured out that he was losing the title when McIntyre appeared on last week’s SmackDown.
In September, John Cena revealed that he would be hosting “Wipeout” on TBS. Unfortunately, a tragic incident has happened on the show.
TMZ is reporting that a contestant has died after competing on the show. Per the report, a male contestant needed medical attention after completing the course. He was treated on-site until paramedics arrived after experiencing chest pain after completing the course.
Per the report, the contestant suffered cardiac arrest just before noon on Wednesday. TBS issued the following statement on the incident:
“We are devastated to have learned of his passing and our deepest sympathy goes out to the family.”
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on how this will affect future episodes of the show as it\’s currently in production.
He’ll be joined by co-host Nicole Bayer and Camille Kostek. The show first premiered on ABC in 2008 and moved to TBS this year.
The legendary WWE Superstar and Shay Shariatzadeh were married on October 12th in Tampa, FL. Cena took part in the Firefly Fun House match against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 earlier this year. This was his most recent WWE appearance.
WWE has found closer to a lawsuit regarding their business relationship with the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia.
WWE announced the news in an SEC filing, which states a settlement of $39 million will be paid to City Of Warren Police and Fire Retirement System, stockholders who made a complaint earlier this year.
Basically, the lawsuit alleged that WWE executives artificially inflated stock prices, sold shares, and failed to disclose failed negotiations regarding a new broadcast deal in Saudi Arabia.
“The Term Sheet was reached in connection with a voluntary mediation which involved the Plaintiffs and their counsel, the Company and its counsel, and the Company’s insurance carriers. Aside from the Term Sheet, there will be other standard and customary terms of class action settlements in the stipulation of settlement. The settlement is subject to notice to the class and preliminary and final approval by the Court.
The Company believes that resolving the matter is the right business decision and that it is prudent to end the protracted and uncertain class action process.”
The defendants listed in the lawsuit were WWE, Vince McMahon, and former WWE Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson. WWE expects the settlement to be paid by their insurance carriers.
Seth Rollins is expected to take some time off from WWE, but for his fans, the good news is that he won’t be gone for long.
It was reported last week that WWE has planned for Rollins to take some time off next month to be with Becky Lynch as their first child is set to be born.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Rollins isn\’t expected to miss much ring time. In fact, the belief is Rollins will be back on WWE TV fairly quickly.
As of this writing, there is still no word on the exact date that Rollins’ break will start, but it was indicated that he will be off for the month of December.
With this timeline, it could put him back in time for the Royal Rumble build in January and the beginning of WrestleMania 37 season. As it stands right now, WrestleMania is still expected to take place in late March.
WWE booked Rollins in a singles match against Murphy on Friday Night SmackDown. He’ll also work the Traditional 5-on-5 Elimination Match against Team RAW as he’ll be on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.
It’s been reported that WWE rushed this singles match and rushed to the blow-off to the Rey Mysterio feud on last week\’s SmackDown due to Rollins taking time off.
The November 18, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Leon Ruff def. Johnny Gargano via disqualification to retain North American Title
Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes ends in no contest – Blindfold Match
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell def. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro
Kushida def. Arturo Ruas
Ember Moon & Toni Storm def. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
Timothy Thatcher def. August Grey
Io Shirai def. Rhea Ripley to retain NXT Women’s Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Finn Balor Update
Finn Balor gave a live address to his fans for the first time since suffering a broken jaw and undergoing surgery to fix it.
Of course, he broke it in two places while retaining the NXT Championship against Kyle O\’Reilly in the main event of TakeOver 31 last month. Following the match, it was revealed that he suffered the injury.
On the post-edition of NXT from that special, WWE noted at the time that they were going to give it a few weeks in order to see how Balor recovers before deciding what to do with the NXT Championship. That’s exactly what happened.
On this show, WWE saved Balor’s appearance for the very end of the show, He got in the ring to grab a microphone and congratulated Io for the win. He said that he has three plates in his jaw that says he’s bad SOB. Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Onley Lorcan, and Danny Burch interrupted. Pat recapped what they’ve done since Balor has been gone.
Patt demanded that Balor hand over the NXT Title to them or he would end up like everyone else that stood in their way. Balor brought out Undisputed Era and the two groups brawled to close the show.
NXT Women\’s Champion Io Shirai defended the title against Rhea Ripley.
WWE gave these ladies plenty of time to tell their story. The match took place in the last hour of the show.
Ripley brought a fighting effort and a challenge to the champion. She shined for the majority of the contest. In the end, Io rallied back. Ripley was bleeding from her left ear. Io countered the Riptide into an armbar at one point. The finish saw Io hit a moonsault for the win. A really good match.
These are the top two stars in the promotion and when WWE first announced the contest it came as a surprise. Not because of booking the match, but just doing it on an episode of NXT TV as the brand has an upcoming special taking place on December 6th.
Plus, WWE has been building up Ember Moon as the next title contender. Perhaps this is what WWE has in mind for the next TakeOver special.
NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff defended his title against Johnny Gargano.
This rematch came after last week’s shocking title change when Gargano was distracted by Damian Priest and lost the title to the former EVOLVE star.
WWE played this up as Gargano wanted to break his title defense curse by retaining the championship against a \”worthy opponent.\” Of course, WWE had Gargano\’s Wheel of Challengers land on Ruff’s name.
Ruff got some early moves that caught Gargano off guard, but the heel star took over and dominated most of the contest. Priest once again came out and watched on from the stage.
The finish saw Priest knock out Ruff with a right hand. After the match, Priest picked up Ruff and laughed at Gargano.
Did you know you can wear the #NXTNATitle as a hat?
Ember Moon & Toni Storm vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
A tag team match saw Ember Moon & Toni Storm vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez take place.
This comes after Moon and Storm both returned to NXT at TakeOver 31 last month. In fact, their first match back saw Moon team up with Rhea Ripley to defeat Kai & Gonzalez. Just two weeks ago, Kai beat Moon in a singles match thanks to a brief distraction by Gonzalez. On last week’s show, Candice LeRae beat Storm when she put her feet on the ropes for leverage to get the pin.
WWE gave these ladies plenty of time to work. Basic match with the heels dominating until Storm got the hot tag for the comeback. Storm got the win thanks to a roll-up.
However, after the match, the heels laid out both babyfaces. Hartwell and LeRae watched on in approval.
The feud between Cameron Grimes and Dexter Lumis continues.
During this show, WWE decided to have them battle in a Blindfold Match. It’s exactly what you would think this match would be. Both guys had hoods on, which was interesting considering this is pro wrestling.
It was pure comedy with Grimes not being able to find Lumis and nearly taking out the referee and finally did. Once Grimes realized that he attacked the wrong guy, he tried to hit Lumis, who punched him before laying him out.
The two stars have been feuding for the last month or so. Grimes scored a victory in their Haunted House of Terror Match at NXT Halloween Havoc. Since that time, Lumis has been haunting Grimes.
For the fourth straight year, WWE is bringing back WarGames as an upcoming NXT TakeOver special.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT, the company announced that the NXT TakeOver: WarGames 4 event is slated to go down on Sunday, December 6th.
WWE aired a video package featuring Shotzi Blackheart. She also was included in the video package for Halloween Havoc that served as a special themed episode of NXT TV last month.
What’s interesting is that Shotzi stated in the video that both she and Candice LeRae will be going to war. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on if they will be featured in a Women’s WarGames Match, but it’s possible.
Blackheart and LeRae have been feuding in storylines dating back to before the NXT Great American Bash event. LeRae and Indi Hartwell took out Blackheart on NXT after LeRae had picked up a victory over Toni Storm.
WWE has yet to announce a location for the show, but it’s expected to take place in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
Last year’s show was headlined by Team Ciampa (Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic & Kevin Owens) defeating The Undisputed ERA (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong).
The gimmick match was originally used in the NWA and later held annually in WCW.
Charlotte Flair reacted to a post sent out by WWE’s Twitter account looking back on her match against Ronda Rousey.
They wrestled at the 2018 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view that saw the former UFC star go over by disqualification. The finish of that match featured Rousey trying to attack Flair at ringside, but Flair used a kendo stick to counter.
Flair hit Natural Selection on Rousey before stomping a chair on her neck to end the post-match attack. In her response to WWE’s post, Flair noted that this was the night Rousey stopped wanting to be a pro wrestler.
As of this writing, Rousey has not responded to Flair\’s tweet.
Rousey is still under contract with WWE but went on hiatus after losing the WrestleMania 35 main event in 2019 to Becky Lynch in a triple threat match that also featured Flair.
There\’s no word yet on when Rousey will return to WWE. It should be noted that there have been some rumors about her potentially returning for WrestleMania 37.
On the flip side, Flair has been out of action since mid-June for a cosmetic procedure. There\’s also no word yet on when she\’ll return.
Darby Allin has made himself into a star on AEW television, but in the process, has drawn comparisons to various wrestlers by fans.
Most people remember Sting for the crow-inspired version of the character, but there was a bright-colored version earlier in his career.
Allin talked about the comparisons he gets to the legendary pro wrestler while doing an interview with TV Insider. He is flattered by the comparison but insists he’s not trying to be like Sting.
“My face paint just comes from my real life. That’s not really a character thing I try to rip off of anybody. I’ve always just liked the dark stuff. I’ve always been a fan of the gothic aesthetic. Just weird stuff. I’m flattered by [the comparison], it’s cool, but it’s definitely not what I’m thinking about while I’m doing it.”
Darby Allin & Sting
Allin just scored the biggest win thus far in his pro-wrestling career as he beat Cody Rhodes to capture the AEW TNT Title earlier this month at the Full Gear pay-per-view event.
Sting has been retired from the pro wrestling business after suffering a neck injury while working a match with Seth Rollins.
The Undertaker made an appearance on today’s episode of WWE’s The Bump to discuss his 30-year career in WWE and promote his appearance at Survivor Series.
During the interview, he reflected on the long driven ride he\’s taken over the years and who he would want to face for one last match. This is where he noted that it would be Bray Wyatt\’s alter-ego, The Fiend.
\”At this iteration now, man, the possibilities are limitless. He\’s really taken his character to the next level. It\’s original and so different from what everybody else does.
I would have loved to be able to work a program with The Fiend. I mean, my goodness, there\’s no telling what kind of matches we would have come up with.\”
For those who are questioning this, yes, the former WWE Champion did wrestle Wyatt at WrestleMania 31 in 2015. However, Taker isn’t necessarily talking about the Wyatt character of old, but this new gimmick as Wyatt works matches differently.
Taker has confirmed in various interviews that in his mind he is retired as an in-ring performer after being in the pro wrestling business for 34 years.
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