Becky Lynch has denied the report going around online that states she has in fact signed a new deal with WWE.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Lynch signed a deal for $1 million annually last year. As of late, WWE has been signing talent to contracts for five years and it’s believed that Lynch’s deal was that length as well.
Becky Lynch Denies Report
On television, the RAW Women’s Champion has claimed that she was waiting to sign a new contract before she got her match with Asuka. This is pure storyline.
It should be noted that Lynch has stated in the past that “nothing but work” gets done on social media, which was a hint at all the posts on her Twitter account is in-character at all times.
Becky Lynch took to her Twitter account where she denied the report. She also noted that she hasn’t signed anything in years. She wrote the following:
“Report not true. Haven’t signed anything new in years. Deal coming up soon.”
WWE presents the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 26, 2020 Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park and airs on the WWE Network. Lynch will make her next title defense against Asuka at this show.
WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin is getting another run with his “Straight Up Steve Austin” show as its been renewed by the USA Network.
On Friday, the television network announced through a press release they have picked up the hit unscripted series for a second season. The new season is expected to premiere this summer.
“Straight Up Steve Austin” Renewed
Season 2 will consist of 8 half-hour episodes and is produced by Line by Line Media with Steve Austin and Dave Barsky (“Dirty Jobs”) as executive producers. Although Straight Up Steve Austin has been renewed, season 2 guests are to be announced.
The show was described as “in every episode, Steve and a celebrity guest get real, heading out to different cities across America to take part in one-of-a-kind adventures, while swapping stories about their lives and careers. It’s a unique twist on the standard interview show, with no studio, no couch and no cue cards — just a straight up good time and good old-fashioned American fun.”
The network touted that the show was 2019’s #1 new unscripted cable series for Men 18-49 and Men 25-54.
The first season featured guests such as country singer and actor Trace Adkins, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr., comedian Gabriel Iglesias, WWE Superstar Becky Lynch, NFL Quarterback Baker Mayfield, actor and retired United States Marine Corps Reserve officer Rob Riggle, and star of “Impractical Jokers,” Sal Vulcano.
The USA Network has released this updated promo video for the Straight Up Steve Austin show now that its been renewed, which you can watch here:
A new episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown is here, so let’s take a look at a preview for the show.
With just hours until bell time, parts of what to expect to see on the show have been revealed to get fans excited about it. The company has released the official preview article for the show on their website.
Several segments and matches have been announced thus far for this show including The Usos returning to in-ring competition this Friday on SmackDown against King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler.
We will also see John Morrison appear on “Miz TV” with The Miz where the two WWE stars will talk about their decision to form an alliance once again, more on The Miz turning on the fans and Morrison returning to the company.
WWE will also be announcing matches for existing feuds that will take place heading into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event Sunday, January 26, 2020 Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park and airs on the WWE Network.
This includes competitors for both the men\’s and women\’s Royal Rumble matches to determine the two top matches at WrestleMania 36 in April.
WWE Friday Night SmackDown Preview
WWE holds this show from Evansville, IN at the Ford Center on FOX. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast as a way of a preview for SmackDown:
The Usos returning to in-ring competition against King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler
Lacey Evans and Sasha Banks to finally square off one-on-one
John Morrison to appear on “Miz TV”
More build for the Daniel Bryan-Bray Wyatt feud
Announcing more matches for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view
As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for SmackDown.
Join us here later tonight for WWE SmackDown Results and our post-show SmackDown Takeaways feature.
John Cena was on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week where he made some interesting comments while he talked about his status with WWE.
Right out of the gate, Cena was asked about his status with WWE, which is where Cena noted, “I’m officially moved, I’m not a regular player.”
Cena talked about how WWE is still in his heart and he’s still a part of the family as he keeps in touch with a lot of folks but he wants to be a mentor and help others.
The former WWE Champion brought up being 42-years-old and being proud of the effort that he’s put forth.
“I just want to make sure that I’m never in a position where paying customers like yourself look at the effort and go, ‘Eh, he’s just sticking around because he’s greedy.\’”
John Cena Talks WrestleMania 36
Cena was asked if he calls WWE to pitch ideas to him or if he calls them, which he noted that he always likes for WWE to give him ideas and he makes it his own. This is where Cena brought up WrestleMania 36 in April.
“I know that we have a small, large event called WrestleMania around the corner, just so happens to be in Tampa, that’s kind of where I live, so I’ll be in the neighborhood, so if Suicide Squad should be done, but it’s not like I call someone up and be like, ‘I want to be in WrestleMania.’ Those spots are very coveted.”
John Cena On WWE Boss
Cena continued by noting how there are performers that work all year to earn those spots. Make no mistake about it, he would love to earn one of those spots.
“The way you do that is by Vince McMahon, the head of creative, calling you up and going, ‘Hey pal, I’d like you to do this.’ And then I say, ‘Yes sir,’ and then I put my own spin on it.”
Cena ended by noting that McMahon is more than a boss to him but rather a friend, father figure, mentor, and trusted resource. He does still think of him as his boss.
He hasn’t wrestled at the biggest event of the year for the company since 2018 where he lost to The Undertaker in a quick match.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Worlds Collide event and it involves former NXT Champion Finn Balor.
On Thursday afternoon, WWE announced through the NXT Twitter account that Balor would battle Ilja Dragunov in a singles match at this show.
WWE also officially confirmed Toni Storm vs. WWE NXT Women\’s Champion Rhea Ripley for the show, which was made on Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
Another Match For Finn Balor
As of late, Balor has been featured in a top feud on NXT television with fellow former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano.
The company has already confirmed that Balor will battle Gargano in a contest at the NXT TakeOver: Portland show that goes down on Sunday, February 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon at the Moda Center. Thus, a match for each show involving Finn Balor has been set.
WWE presents the Worlds Collide event on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Worlds Collide Card
The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Alexander Wolfe, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) – Eight-Man Tag Team Match
NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm
Ilja Dragunov vs. Finn Balor
Balor was supposed to be moved from RAW to SmackDown once he returned to television after taking time off a few months ago. He was moved to NXT with the idea that his star power could make more of a difference there.
Since making his return to NXT, Balor got the wrestling world talking with turning heel by attacking Johnny Gargano.
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War.
This week, AEW won in total viewers. NXT didn\’t crack the top 50 shows on cable so all of NXT\’s demos weren\’t available as of this publishing.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 721,000 viewers, which is up from 548,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.19, up from 0.15 the previous week.
The episode featured Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Donavan Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest in a Fatal 4-Way Match to determine a new #1 contender for the NXT North American Championship, Undisputed Era vs. Gallus and Imperium (Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner) vs. The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler) in first-round matches of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament.
There was also the debuts of Chelsea Green & Robert Stone as well as a six-woman tag team match that opened the show.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 947,000 viewers, down from 967,000 the previous week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.36 rating, the same as last week.
Dynamite saw AEW Women’s Champion Riho vs. Kris Statlander, Sammy Guevara vs. Christopher Daniels, Cody and Dustin Rhodes vs. Lucha Bros, and The Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt) vs. Best Friends and Orange Cassidy.
In the main event segment, Jon Moxley gave his answer on if he planned on joining Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle.
This week’s episode of AEW and NXT marked the first head-to-head battle in viewership for the new year.
All Elite Wrestling took off Christmas night two weeks ago while WWE NXT aired some random matches.
Moving along to last week, NXT took the night off by airing best of content with big matches from TakeOver events and revealing the end of the year awards while Dynamite featured a stacked card that was live.
The January 8, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
Worlds Collide
WWE opened the show with several stars coming out to the ring looking for a fight. It started with NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley cutting a promo before being challenged to a title match by Toni Storm at Worlds Collide. Eventually, a six-woman tag team match was booked.
It was Ripley, Candice LeRae, and Toni Storm battling Bianca Belair, Io Shiri, and NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray. The babyfaces went over.
Obviously, this match and segment was done to promote the NXT UK Blackpool II event this Sunday afternoon where Ray will defend the title against Storm.
It was also a preview of what to expect at the Worlds Collide show that goes down on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center over Royal Rumble weekend.
A fun match but a perfect yet simple opening segment with microphone work.
Imperium (Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner) beat The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler) in a first-round match of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament as one of the hyped bouts featured on the show.
They were the expected winners in this contest and rightfully so. For months now, WWE has been booking The Forgotten Sons on television and for the majority of their matches, they go over.
I still don’t understand why because they don’t have over the top charisma and do not put on classic matches.
When this match was first announced, the impression by many fans was that Imperium was going to go over in this contest.
With that said, it was a fine match but not one that you must go out of your way of seeing unless you are a fan of Imperium.
Austin Theory continues to impress fans who are watching at home and in attendance.
Theory took on Joaquin Wilde in a singles match and it was a fun match that saw both stars put together a nice match. Make no mistake about it though, this was a showcase for the former EVOLVE Champion.
Theory went over in the contest and rightfully so. Wilde is a talented wrestler and he had his gimmick down in TNA Wrestling as DJ Z. That isn’t the case in NXT as he seems to be still seeking what his character is supposed to be. That is evident by his ring attire.
Theory is someone to keep an eye on as he is a great wrestler but also a look of a WWE star and a ton of upside. He was the top star in EVOLVE and time will tell whether he becomes a player in NXT.
Undisputed Era vs. Gallus in a first-round match of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament took place and the obvious team went over in the way of Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly.
This match felt more like a preview of what’s to come at the Worlds Collide show that goes down on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center over Royal Rumble weekend.
Out of the two matches in this tournament that took place on this show, it was the better of the two.
I expect to see this type of match at the Worlds Collide show considering the main event, which will be The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Alexander Wolfe, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner).
Undisputed Era had to win this match whether or not they win the whole tournament considering they’re the NXT Tag Team Champions.
Chelsea Green and Robert Stone have made their NXT TV debut.
Mia Yim defeated Kayden Carter in a singles match. Post-match, Green attacked them. Stone walked out and said that he had signed the hottest free agent in Green to his brand that will take off in 2020.
This was a nice introduction for Green and to have Stone as her mouthpiece is a nice pair especially for fans of Impact Wrestling.
Before she signed with WWE in October 2018, Green established her name while competing under the Impact Wrestling banner as Laurel Van Ness where she was a Knockouts Champion.
Stone departed Impact Wrestling in the summer of 2017. He had a tryout with WWE in June 2018 later was a contestant on The Rock’s Titan Games show this year.
Stone, who portrayed Robbie E, signed with Impact back in 2010 where he would later find success. During his tenure with the promotion, he held the TV Title, X-Division Title, and Tag Team Title twice.
Keith Lee Is New #1 Contender
Keith Lee beat Cameron Grimes, Donavan Dijakovic, and Damian Priest in a Fatal 4-Way Match to determine a new #1 contender for the NXT North American Championship.
As expected, this was the highlight of the show as it had all of the components to be great with such different styles from all starts involved.
Lee was someone that many fans thought should be the top star in NXT as NXT Champion. WWE officials, which are high on Lee, had different plans as he wasn’t chosen as the NXT Champion.
In pro wrestling, when a talent has momentum behind them with a connection to vocal fans, the promoter must push that talent at the right time and it appears that NXT is doing just that.
Time will tell whether Lee gets the strap by beating Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Championship when the time comes.
The next challenger to WWE NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong will be Keith Lee.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network, WWE held a match that would determine who is next line for a title shot.
A Fatal 4-Way Match that saw Cameron Grimes vs. Donavan Dijakovic vs. Damian Priesttook place with the winner becoming the next challenger to the title. Lee was victorious, earning the right to challenge Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Title.
WWE has announced exactly when this contest will take place as it will go down in two weeks on NXT on the USA Network to help boost television ratings while they continue the war against AEW Dynamite, All Elite Wrestling’s weekly television show on TNT.
There was some speculation that the company could save it for the next TakeOver special.
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver: Portland event on Sunday, February 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon at the Moda Center and will air on the WWE Network.
What was clear was the fact it wouldn\’t take place during Royal Rumble weekend.
WWE holds the Worlds Collide event on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center and will air on the WWE Network. This show is replacing the traditional TakeOver special on this special weekend.
The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Alexander Wolfe, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) in an eight-man tag team match has already been confirmed for the show.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Worlds Collide event, which is Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University, NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley was cutting a promo before being interrupted by Toni Storm.
Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley
This led to Storm challenging Ripley to a title match at the Worlds Collide, which Ripley accepted. This also set up a six-woman tag team match with Ripley, Candice LeRae, and Toni Storm battling Bianca Belair, Io Shiri, and NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray. The babyfaces went over.
This will be an NXT star vs. NXT UK star match. It will also come a few weeks after Storm’s first title match as she will challenge NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray.
This championship bout will take place at the NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II event this Sunday in Blackpool, Lancashire, England at the Empress Ballroom that will be broadcasted on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network.
WWE presents the Worlds Collide event on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Worlds Collide Card
The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Alexander Wolfe, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) – Eight-Man Tag Team Match
NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
The viewership numbers are in for the latest and first episode of WWE Backstage, a weekly talk show, in 2020
The show that aired on FS1 at 11pm ET drew 124,000 viewers. This is up from last week’s 97,000 viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily.
In the 18-49 demographic, WWE Backstage drew a .04 rating this week, which is up as the previous rating last week of .03. Regarding the Cable Top 150, the episode ranked #145, the down from the #124 ranking last week.
This is the fifth-best Backstage viewership since the show officially premiered. Through the first nine episodes that aired in 2019, the show averaged 117,777 viewers per episode.
It’s an interesting number as the show was back to normal compared to the episode that aired on New Year’s Eve last week, which was expected to see a drop in viewership.
Renee Young, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, Lacey Evans, and The Miz were featured on the show.
It should be noted that former WWE Champion CM Punk didn’t make an appearance on the show. Instead, he offered entertainment on social media where he gave some harsh comments towards The Miz.
WWE Backstage Viewership Numbers
For those who are wondering, CM Punk will make his next appearance on the television show on January 21st. Here is how the viewership numbers look like since its premiere:
AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has addressed the potential working relationship between AEW (All Elite Wrestling) and NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling).
He did so when he recently spoke with The New York Post to promote this week’s AEW Dynamite Anniversary Show.
The working relationship between the two sides has been discussed since the launch of AEW last January. Although Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho are working for NJPW, they have separate contracts with NJPW aside from their deals with AEW.
Cody Rhodes Addresses Partnership
Rhodes started out after being asked about Jericho making it known that he thinks there should be a working relationship. Rhodes thinks it was strange that fans are asking for the partnership because he doesn’t know what a partnership would look like other than what you saw already.
He brought up Jericho and Moxley working Wrestle Kingdom 14 this past weekend.
“They both were successful. What did he call it? The forbidden door?” The forbidden door. It may be forbidden, but clearly the door is opening and closing and opening and closing. It’s public knowledge that some guys here, myself included, have exemptions to work New Japan Pro-Wrestling. But I know that New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s focus is New Japan and AEW’s focus is AEW.”
Rhodes continued by noting that it’s a partnership if made would see them share talent and creative but wouldn’t go down the path of an event like Super Clash III where Kerry Von Erich and Jerry Lawler were fighting over the title in 1988.
The reason for that belief is due to him being hesitant to combine banners versus just respecting each other’s banners.
“But I like how it’s referred to as the forbidden door. I don’t really think it’s forbidden at all.”
Rhodes stated that many people have the exemption to work there and praised NJPW for putting on a great Wrestle Kingdom as he thinks NJPW has amazing talent, particularly Will Ospreay.
Possible Timeline
“So, we’ll see where that goes. I know everyone pretty much feels the same about it. I think it’s something in the next year that we will hopefully all explore. We’ll explore on our end, they’ll explore on their end and we’ll see if it works.”
Another episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT is upon us and expected to be a great show, so let’s take a look at the preview.
All Elite Wrestling is hyping this show as its Anniversary edition of the weekly television show.
The show is expected to start with Sammy Guevara vs. Christopher Daniels in a singles match. Although not confirmed, the belief is that Cody and Dustin Rhodes vs. Lucha Bros in a tag team match, which is being hyped as the first-ever encounter between these two tag teams, will serve as the headliner.
AEW Dynamite Preview
AEW holds this show in Southaven, MS at the Landers Center on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. AEW is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
AEW Women’s Champion Riho vs. Kris Statlander
Sammy Guevara vs. Christopher Daniels
Cody and Dustin Rhodes vs. Lucha Bros.
Jon Moxley will give his answer on if he plans on joining Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle
The Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt) vs. Best Friends and Orange Cassidy – six-man tag team match.
AEW is also touting this show as a Tribute to Legends of Memphis Wrestling. The following names will be appearing and/or honored:
Angelo Poffo, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Lance Russell, “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert, Tommy Gilbert, Brian Christopher, Austin Idol, Dave Brown, The Rock & Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) and “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant.
AEW will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds.
Join us here later tonight for our post-show AEW Dynamite Takeaways feature.
After taking a week off last Wednesday night, WWE NXT is back, so let’s take a look at the preview for the show.
WWE is stacking this show as usual due to them being in a war with AEW (All Elite Wrestling). Tonight’s episode is live. Thus, it’s time to look ahead starting with the biggest match advertised for the program.
The company is building up this show around three matches including what will likely be the main event, which is Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Donavan Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest in a Fatal 4-Way Match to determine a new #1 contender for the NXT North American Championship.
WWE NXT Preview
WWE holds this show in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Donavan Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest in a Fatal 4-Way Match to determine a new #1 contender for the NXT North American Championship.
Undisputed Era vs. Gallus in a first-round match of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament
Imperium (Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner) vs. The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler) in a first-round match of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament
What’s next for NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley?
WWE will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds. We could also be getting more match announcements for the next special involving NXT and NXT UK talents.
That special is the Worlds Collide event on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center that will air on the WWE Network. The company has already confirmed the main event of the show.
The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Alexander Wolfe, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) in an Eight-Man Tag Team Match.
As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for NXT.
Join us here later tonight for WWE NXT Live Results and our post-show NXT Takeaways feature.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 2.385 million viewers in Oklahoma City, OK at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on the USA Network, which is down from 2.439 million viewers the previous week.
RAW Viewership
Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
Hour 1: 2.550 million – Last Week: 2.525
Hour 2: 2.409 million – Last Week: 2.464
Hour 3: 2.195 million – Last Week: 2.328
The episode was expected to increase in its viewership from last week. The reason for that is due to the company building up two championship matches as well as an appearance by WWE Champion Brock Lesnar alongside Paul Heyman.
Here is the hourly 18-49 demos breakdown:
Hour 1: 0.78 – Last Week: 0.80
Hour 2: 0.75 – Last Week: 0.78
Hour 3: 0.70 – Last Week: 0.72
The biggest competition that WWE RAW faced came in the way of a college football game on ESPN that did 1.446 million viewers.
Some of the matches that took place include WWE United States Champion Andrade (w/Zelina Vega) vs. Rey Mysterio, RAW Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) vs. The OC (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford), AJ Styles vs. Akira Tozawa, Drew McIntyre vs. No Way Jose, Aleister Black vs. Shelton Benjamin, and Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe & The Big Show vs. AOP & Seth Rollins (Akam & Rezar) in the main event.
There was also a segment with Lana and Bobby Lashley to make their marriage “official” that also set up Lashley vs. Rusev for next week.
WWE will attempt to increase its viewership for RAW next week but it won\’t be an easy task due to the competition that the show will face. RAW will be going up the NCAA National Football Championship game on ESPN that is expected to draw big ratings.
In case you missed the show, you can check out the six takeaways here.
The Big Show has made his return to WWE television.
He did so by being the surprise partner of Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe for their six-man tag team match against Seth Rollins and AOP on Monday’s episode of RAW in Oklahoma City, OK at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on the USA Network.
The previous run that the former WWE Champion had came back in October 2018 when Randy Orton beat The Big Show in a world cup qualifying match on SmackDown.
He was then briefly paired with Cesaro and Sheamus. Big Show and The Bar\’s alliance ended after a confrontation backstage. At the time, there were rumors that a hamstring injury put him on the sidelines.
Since that time, he hasn’t appeared on WWE television. Instead, he’s shifted his focus towards acting.
Big Show is getting his own show to debut on Netflix, which began filming on August 9th in Los Angeles.
The 10-episode series will feature the Big Show as he copes with being a retired wrestler who is married with 3 daughters.
“When the teenage daughter of Big Show, a retired world-famous WWE Superstar, comes to live with him, his wife and two other daughters, he quickly becomes outnumbered and outsmarted. Despite being 7 feet tall and weighing 400 pounds, he is no longer the center of attention,” Netflix’s description for the show reads.
Big Show will be getting his own travel reality TV show that’s titled ‘Big Show vs. The World: A Giant Abroad’ and will be produced by WWE Studios and ITV America’s Thinkfactory media.
Nick Jackson has spoken about a possible relationship between AEW and NJPW where he has been quoted by saying there’s not a working relationship.
In the last few weeks, there’s been speculation as to whether an agreement has been made. The issues go back to when AEW was launched and saw several talents leave NJPW for the new promotion. These stars include the likes of The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and Kenny Omega.
The Young Bucks made an appearance on ESPN West Palm where they discussed a possible working relationship between the two promotions.
Nick Jackson Says Nothing Is Happening
“Yeah, that was just a rumor, nothing happening. I think [Chris Jericho] just did that to get the internet to talk a little bit more about the situation. But the door has not opened up at all,\” says Nick Jackson.
We wish them luck in what they are doing because like Matt said with NXT, a lot of our friends work in New Japan. Most of them are our friends. We have friends everywhere in the wrestling world. If something came along then we would be open, but nothing is happening right now.”
The Jericho thing that Nick was referring to talking about was Jericho making it known at the press conference after Wrestle Kingdom 14 where he beat Hiroshi Tanahashi on Night 2 that he hopes a relationship is made.
The stipulation going into the match was that Tanahashi claimed that if he defeated Jericho he would ‘open the forbidden door’ by asking for an AEW Championship match.
We now know what Brock Lesnar’s role at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event will be.
WWE kicked off Monday’s episode of RAW in Oklahoma City, OK at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on the USA Network with a promo by Paul Heyman alongside the WWE Champion in the ring.
Heyman cut a promo about how Lesnar has done several historic things in his career but at the Royal Rumble, he will do something unprecedented. This is where Heyman announced that Lesnar won’t be defending the WWE Championship at this show.
Instead, “The Beast” will be competing in the actual Royal Rumble Match. Heyman also revealed that Lesnar will be starting out the match as the first entrant.
Heyman ended his promo by saying that Lesnar will be the first and last man in the match and that’s a spoiler, according to the humble advocate.
Lesnar joins Roman Reigns, Elias, Braun Strowman, and Cesaro as competitors thus far confirmed competing in this 30-man contest.
“The Beast” won this contest back in 2003 at the Fleet Center in Boston by last eliminating The Undertaker. The last time that he worked the Royal Rumble Match was in 2017 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas where he entered at #26 but was eliminated by Goldberg.
WWE presents the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 26, 2020 Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park and airs on the WWE Network.
WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks including competitors for both the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches
What are your thoughts on Brock Lesnar not defending the WWE Title but rather competing in the Royal Rumble Match?
The viewership numbers are in for Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX from Memphis, TN at the FedExForum.
SmackDown averaged 2.413 million viewers, according to ShowbuzzDaily. This is slightly down from the 2.431 viewers that the show did for last week’s episode of SmackDown on FOX.
The show averaged 2.417 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was slightly down from the 2.439 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
SmackDown Viewership
The first hour drew 2.467 million viewers while the second hour did 2.369 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.540 million viewers while the second hour did 2.337 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.70 in the 18-49 demos, the same rating as last week’s show.
This episode was expected to see its viewership stay steady as the holidays are over with as we start a new year after the show falling on Christmas and New Year’s week.
Matches
Matches that took place on this show included Dana Brooke & Lacey Evans defeat Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and Bayley & Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match, Shorty G defeats Dash Wilder, Kofi Kingston (w/Big E) defeats The Miz, Braun Strowman defeats Cesaro, and Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler & King Corbin in the headliner.
WWE is expecting to see an increase in viewership for the following episode this coming Friday night as that show will be back to normal and won’t have to case as big of bowl games from college football.
The next episode will also feature the fallout from last week’s show that was newsworthy for various reasons such as three big returns.
Watch: Top 10 Moments from Friday Night SmackDown (1.3.20)
Although John Cena isn’t as active as he once was, he hopes his lasting impression on fans is him as a member of WWE.
Cena expressed his feelings while doing an interview with the Belfast Telegraph to promote his “Playing With Fire” film.
John Cena Hopes Fans See Him Right Light
This is where he talked about his career with WWE as well as his venture as an actor. This is why he hopes fans will always remember him as a member of the WWE family because he got his start in the company.
“I hope they always view me as a member of the WWE, because I am,” he said. “Whether it’s watching the events or being able to participate, any chance I’m given to answer this question, WWE is my family. It’s weird that the culture is, you either do this or you do that, and for 20 years I’ve been trying to tell people, ‘No, it’s all really cool.’”
Cena talked about how he doesn’t ever want to not be known as a WWE superstar because he can’t perform as much as the current ones due to him being a little bit older.
He noted how he has these cool opportunities to do other stuff but he doesn’t want to come across as he’s shutting off the WWE world.
Instead, Cena brought up how he’s trying to bring this world with him so everyone can all be involved in a movie conversation or a WrestleMania conversation.
Cena has landed another movie role as he is set to co-star in the movie “Vacation Friends,” a film is a comedy that will see Meredith Hagner and Lil Rel Howery in the other co-starring roles.
Matt Hardy has yet to decide whether he’s staying with WWE but we do know what’s keeping him from doing that.
The latest update on the future WWE Hall of Famer has surfaced online thanks to a report by Pwinsider.com. The belief for quite some time was the fact that the exact date as to when his contract expires was unknown, but it was believed to be expiring in early 2020.
With the new year here, the exact date has been revealed, which is March 1st.
As of this writing, Hardy has not come to terms on a new deal with WWE. If he doesn’t re-sign, then he would be free to appear anywhere on that date.
Keep Matt Hardy From Re-Signing With WWE
According to the report, the major hurdle between the two sides is how he would be used going forward, not money. Thus, the reason why he hasn\’t signed a new deal yet.
WWE has been throwing out big money offers to re-sign its talent to longer deals than in previous years with most current deals seeing a star stay under contract for five years.
The former WWE Tag Team Champion made his return to WWE television on the November 25th episode of on Monday Night RAW where he lost to Buddy Murphy in a singles match.
Hardy would also suffer a defeat the following week in Greenville, SC, Hardy lost to Drew McIntyre. Both were short matches.
Paige has fans talking when she sparked speculation over the possibility of her future with WWE in a series of messages.
The former WWE Divas Champion and SmackDown General Manager took to her official Twitter account to talk about her career in 2020. This is where she declared that she has \”a lot of career left\” and that 2020 will be a good year for her. She wrote the following:
“I get told that my glory days are over w/ my career & that I’m a “slut” coz of the crap that got released about me. Just know again. Ppl make mistakes when they’re young. I’m not that person. Also my glory days are far from over. I have a whole a lot of career left in me. 2020 will be a good year for me.”
As of late, there have been a lot of rumors and speculation on Paige possibly returning to the ring for WWE in 2020.
Paige represented Asuka and Kairi Sane on SmackDown Live after her run as the SmackDown GM ended. She currently works as an analyst on the weekly studio TV show on FOX Sports 1, WWE Backstage.
Back in September, it was reported that she had signed a new 5-year deal with WWE.
After undergoing the knife again late last year for a hernia, she revealed that her doctor has told her that she has the neck of a 60-year-old.
Paige has spinal stenosis, which has kept her from not being medically cleared by WWE doctors to wrestle again.
AEW Dynamite is headed to new cities as All Elite Wrestling has announced the host venues for the two episodes of the weekly television show following up after the AEW Revolution pay-per-view.
The promotion announced on Monday that AEW Dynamite is heading to Denver, Colorado at 1st Bank Center on March 4th and Salt Lake City, Utah at the Maverik Center on March 11th. Tickets for both shows go on sale this Friday at AEWTix.com.
The announcement by AEW for the first show read like, “All Elite Wrestling makes its Denver debut on Wednesday, March 4th, when #AEWDynamite comes to @1STBANK_Center Tickets go on sale THIS FRIDAY, January 10th at 10am Mountain Time. For tickets visit http://AEWTIX.com.”
AEW Dynamite Schedule
The following is an updated look at the AEW Dynamite touring schedule through the end of March 2020.
The AEW Revolution pay-per-view event will take place Saturday, February 29, 2020 from Chicago, IL from the Sears Center.
AEW has loaded up the card for this Wednesday\’s episode of Dynamite on TNT as AEW Dynamite is headed to Southaven, MS at the Landers Center. The theme of the show is a tribute to the legends of Memphis wrestling.
AEW has already confirmed that some of the names being honored on the show include:
WWE is starting out the new year with an episode of Raw so let’s take a look at the show with a preview.
Unlike previous shows, WWE has had one week to build hype around this show as they have already announced several big matches.
Thus, it’s time to look ahead starting with tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade for United States Title and Viking Raiders defending the RAW Tag Team Titles against The Street Profits and The OC in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match are the bouts that have been confirmed.
We also have the return of WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, which marks his first appearance since Survivor Series. The belief is that we will find out who Lesnar will face in his next title defense as the top star on the RAW brand at the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.
WWE RAW Preview
WWE holds this show in Oklahoma City, OK at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on the USA Network. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to appear with Paul Heyman
Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade for United States Title
Viking Raiders defending the RAW Tag Team Titles against The Street Profits and The OC in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match
More on the Seth Rollins and Authors of Pain – Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens feud
Fallout from Rusev and Liv Morgan wrecking Lana and Bobby Lashley’s wedding
WWE will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds that will take place heading into the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.
As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for RAW.
WWE is advertising locally Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins (with AOP), along with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair vs. The Kabuki Warriors, which could play into the preview for Raw.
Join us here later tonight for WWE RAW Live Results and our post-show RAW Takeaways feature.
John Morrison appeared on WWE television which marked his official WWE return as he did so on WWE Friday Night SmackDown with a backstage appearance.
Morrison appeared in a segment on Friday’s episode in Memphis, TN at the FedExForum on FOX. This marked his first appearance on WWE television in years.
The segment before saw Kofi Kingston pin The Miz in a short singles match. After the match, Miz attacked Kingston from behind. Big E rushed into the ring only for Miz quickly escaped to ringside.
John Morrison Appears
Morrison\’s return happened when a backstage interviewer was trying to get a comment from The Miz but Morrison answered the door to his dressing room instead.
It was reported that Morrison had agreed to a deal to return to WWE back in September. Several weeks ago, WWE and Morrison confirmed the signing.
During his first stint with WWE, Morrison found success both as a singles and tag team star including a run with Miz where they were tag team champions.
Morrison, who worked for the company between 2002 and 2011, stayed busy outside of the company. He worked for promotions such as Lucha Underground, AAA and Impact Wrestling over the last nine years.
Morrison had been under contract with the promotion since 2017 where he became a top star for them with his Mayor of Slamtown” persona. He also became a top star for the El Rey Network’s Lucha Underground promotion where he performed as Johnny Mundo.
Sheamus has made his return to WWE television as he did so on WWE Friday Night SmackDown.
Sheamus appeared on Friday’s episode in Memphis, TN at the FedExForum on FOX. This marked his first appearance on WWE television in nearly a year.
His return happened when Dash Wilder suffered a submission loss to Shorty G in a singles match. Post-match, Scott Dawson ran in and attacked Chad Gable.
This led to Sheamus’ music hitting and he walked down to the ring. He scared off The Revival only to hit his signature finisher, Brogue Kick, to Gable. Thus, it appears that he will be a heel going forward.
Sheamus has his old theme song and previous look with spiky hair with his old beard.
In late November, he resurfaced on WWE television as he was doing a promo where he took shots at the WWE Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Shorty G and King Baron Corbin before talking SmackDown will soon be his. He did these promos for over a month ahead of his in-ring return.
Sheamus has been away from in-ring competition since this past April. He last competed in a six-man tag team match with Cesaro and Drew McIntyre. They lost to the New Day.
He reportedly suffered a concussion during this contest that took place on the post-WrestleMania 35 edition of SmackDown. He also has suffered from spinal stenosis.
Back in July, Sheamus started making some appearances for WWE again. In fact, he was backstage at the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena but didn’t appear.
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