Rey Fenix has been forced to pull out of AEW\’s World Title Eliminator Tournament due to injury. Penta el Zero M will take his place in the semi-finals, which takes place next week on AEW Dynamite.
AEW released a video on Friday featuring Eddie Kingston announcing the change. Kingston did not specify the nature of Fenix\’s injury, but assured him this is not about him, it\’s about \’the family.\’
Dark Order member Alex Reynolds has provided another update on his condition after getting \’knocked out\’ during the main event of this week\’s AEW Dynamite.
In a statement issued Friday afternoon, Reynolds thanked everyone who has reached out to him this week. He wrote on social media:
\”Hey guys, just wanted to thank you for all the concerns for my health. It means the world to me. I truly believe the ref and our doctor handled the situation great on Wednesdays show. Injuries happen in wrestling, but I feel completely safe with our team here. Thanks again and I\’m looking forward to seeing you soon.\”
The incident took place during the 4-way tag team match that closed the show. Reynolds was injured while taking a series of moves from Private Party, which you can see below.
Jey Uso appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast this week to promote Sunday\’s WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. He challengres Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship inside the cage.
Uso says virtually everyone has been surprised at how good his feud with Reigns has been. To him, the rivalry feels real – and he hopes fans feel the same way.
When asked whose idea it was for him to work with the Tribal Chief, Uso said, \”That old man [Vince McMahon] is a genius for a reason.\” He joked that WWE\’s creative team probably questioned the matchup when they first heard about it.
Uso and Reigns had a great match at the most recent WWE pay-per-view, Clash of Champions. Not only did the match live up to the hype, but their promos have also been stellar. According to Jey Uso, most of their promos are improvised on the spot.
\”I am reacting to what he is saying because they can’t write our promos,\” he said. \”They can’t write how he feels about me and how I feel about him. We got to the level where they trust us and let us do our thing. It feels good to finally get to that level where they took the chains off us.”
Paul Heyman has been an integral part of this feud as well. Uso calls Heyman a \”creative genius.\” He was excited to see Heyman paired with Reigns and hopes to work with Heyman as much as he can.
Peyton Royce recently spoke to Kayla Braxton for her Braxton Beat online show. During the discussion, Royce spoke about WWE\’s decision to break up the popular IIconics tag tam.
Royce admitted that she is still adjusting to the abrupt split. The two of them got called up to the main roster at the same time and this is the first time they\’ve worked on different brands.
\”It’s so strange,\” she said. \”I’ve never had to be at TVs without her. She keeps me sane. She’s just like my safety blanket and I’m not going to have that and I’m going to have to put on my panties and work it out for myself.”
“So we both have our phones ready to go on Mondays and Fridays if we need anything, just emotional support or anything. So we’re pretty much both working Mondays and Fridays.”
After years working as part of a tag team, Peyton Royce now finds herself as a singles competitor. She again said it\’s a \”strange\” situation that she will have to get used to.
“The singles division is completely different to the women’s tag team division. I know it’s the same for the men, too, but there are so many people who, you know, I will hopefully have the opportunity to get in the ring with now that I’m in the singles division. But again, it’s going to take some getting used to even just doing my entrance without her. It’s just strange.”
You can watch Peyton Royce on Kayla Braxton\’s show in the video player embedded below:
The following are previews for tonight\’s AEW and NXT broadcasts:
AEW Dynamite
Chris Jericho and MJF will meet for a steak dinner in a segment dubbed, Le Dinner Debonair.
Fatal 4-Way Tag Title Match: The Young Bucks vs. Private Party vs. Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) vs. The Butcher & The Blade. The winners face FTR for the AEW World Tag Titles at Full Gear.
AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament (1st Round):
Penta El Zero M vs. Rey Fenix
Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela
Hangman Page vs. Colt Cabana
Wardlow vs. Jungle Boy
NXT
AEW Tag Team Champions Breezango vs. Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish)
Triple Threat: Kushida vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream
Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza vs. Isaiah Scott, Jake Atlas, and Ashante Adonis.
Vice TV\’s hit series Dark Side of the Ring has ben officially renewed for a third season. According to The Wrap, season three will feature 14-episodes and premieres in 2021.
Jason Eisner, Vice TV\’s Executive VP and General Manager tells The Wrap that Dark Side is a \’knockout show\’ for the channel. He touted series Executive Producers Evan Husney and Jason Eisener as \”true heavyweight champions of the world.\”
Eisner continued, \”Seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Dark Side of the Ring’ are examples of the compelling, thought-provoking, and engaging storytelling we champion here at Vice TV. We can’t wait to see what the series will throw down in the third round!”
Eric Bischoff recently announced that he was interviewed for two episodes of Dark Side of the Ring season three. The subject matters he was interviewed for include Brian Pillman and WCW\’s Collision in Korea pay-per-view (1995).
Evan Husney and Jason Eisner both commented on the renewal on social media.
It’s been hard to keep this secret but Season 3 is finally announced and underway! Can’t believe we’re making 14 more documentaries! https://t.co/sKTfraARS5
The main event of tonight\’s WWE SmackDown season premiere will see Roman Reigns defend the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman. Bill Goldberg says he\’ll be tuning in as a special guest in the Thunderdome.
Goldberg posted a photo of himself with Reigns and Strowman. He teased, \”To say that I have interest in tonight\’s Universal Championship match on SmackDown is an understatement!\” The caption includes the hashtags, #spear, #jackhammer and#whosenext.
Goldberg has recent ties to both Reigns and Strowman. He was scheduled to defend the Universal title against Reigns at WrestleMania 36. Reigns pulled out of the show on short notice due to COVID-19 concerns. Strowman filled in and went on to defeat Goldberg for the title.
This marks Goldberg\’s return to WWE storylines for the first time since April. The 53-year-old legend is currently under WWE contract until 2023. His deal calls for at least two matches per year during that period.
Goldberg has already wrestled twice this year. Prior to the match against Strowman at WrestleMania, he defeated The Fiend at February\’s SuperShowdown event from Saudi Arabia. It remains to be seen if he will step inside the ring again in 2020.
Discussion: Are you interested in seeing Goldberg face Roman Reigns or Braun Strowman?
WWE\’s Raw Underground concept appears to be winding down. The latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter states that Shane McMahon\’s underground fight club concept is, \”considered done\” for now.
Raw Underground premiered in August and ran for approximately two months, but we haven\’t seen anything from it in recent weeks.
WWE did not film any Raw Underground segments for the September 28th episode of Raw due to the company\’s most recent round of COVID-19 infections. There was no sign of it on the October 5th or 12th episodes, either.
There is concern in WWE about another COVID outbreak. WWE had been using NXT talent, Performance Center trainees and outside extras Raw Underground fights and as extras in the crowd. The decision was made to isolate WWE Superstars as much as possible, which contributed to this \’hiatius.\’
Riddick Moss, Dabba-Kato and Arturo Ruas were featured prominently on RAW Underground. All three competitors were drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2020 WWE Draft. It remains to be seen how they will be used in the weeks and months ahead.
AEW scored another win over NXT this week with its Dynamite Anniversary special. Both shows were up this week and benefitted from less competition.
AEW widened the gap over NXT, but expectations were higher since this was a heavily promoted episode. Dynamite viewership was up 9.7% from last week, while NXT increased 1.9%. Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 826,000 viewers, 0.30 rating (15th on cable for the night)
NXT: 651,000 viewers, 0.17 rating (51st on cable for the night)
For comparison, Monday’s Raw featuring Night 2 of the 2020 Draft averaged 1.855 million viewers with a 0.57 in the key demo.
You can find full results and our takeaways from both shows below:
All Elite Wrestling\’s next pay-per-view, AEW Full Gear, takes place Saturday, November 7th from Jacksonville, Florida. Coming out of this week\’s AEW Dynamite, the following matches are confirmed for the eveent:
Darby Allin challenges for the TNT Championship
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR vs. #1 Contenders, to be determined next week on Dynamite.
Finals of the World Title Eliminator Tournament
With only three more episodes of Dynamite until Full Gear, we\’ll soon know who will challenge AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and AEW Women\’s Champion Hikaru Shida.
#1 contender Lance Archer came up short against Jon Moxley on this week\’s show. The next two challengers in the AEW rankings are FTW Champion Brian Cage (9-1) and MJF (9-1). Nyla Rose (11-2) is the top ranked woman and could be in line for a title shot as well.
Dynamite Preview (10/21)
The following matches are scheduled for next week\’s edition of AEW Dynamite:
AEW\’s World Title Eliminator Tournament begins (Full Brackets)
Chris Jericho & MJF will share a steak dinner, Le Dinner Debonair.
#1 Contender 4-Way tag team match: The Young Bucks vs. Private Party vs. Dark Order vs. The Butcher & The Blade. The winner challenges FTR at Full Gear.
Jon Moxley says he plans to wrestle for at least another decade and expects to retire in All Elite Wrestling.
AEW\’s reigning World Champion spoke with Jim Alexander of ReelTalker.com this week to promote the AEW Dynamite Anniversary special. Moxley spoke about his time in AEW thus far, his new movie Cagefighter and more.
When asked if he has any plans to wrestle for WWE before retiring, Moxley made it clear – he will \”definitely\” finish his career in AEW.
\”I\’ve become great friends with Tony Kahn, who is a great dude and the most successful promoter outside of Vince in many years,\” he said. \”We\’ve been able to create something as a team and to get through the challenge of this pandemic, and well, stay alive [as a promotion]. I\’m incredibly proud of everybody.\”
Moxley is the face of AEW, but also competes for New Japan Pro Wrestling and other companies, such as Bloodsport this past weekend. His AEW contract allows him the flexibility to work elsewhere, but the Jacksonville-based promotion will \”definitely always\” be his home.
\”It\’s just done so much for me, and I\’ve done everything I could to help build the brand and solidify it as a legit alternative,\” he said of AEW. \”It\’s vital to the wrestling industry that AEW be successful. I don\’t see that changing ever. I have loyalty to the people who treat me well and they have treated me extremely well.\”
As for how long he plans to continue wrestling, the 34-year-old Moxley says he\’d like to wrestle into his 50\’s.
\”I\’d like to wrestle till I\’m in my 50\’s, hopefully,\” Moxley said. \”Whatever that means? I don\’t know.\”
Visit ReelTalker.com to check out their full interview with AEW Champion Jon Moxley.
AJ Styles commented on WWE WrestleMania being too long during a recent live stream on his Twitch channel.
The length of WrestleMania has expanded dramatically in recent years. What used to be a 4-hour special has evolved into marathon events. This year\’s WrestleMania was \”too big for one night\” and was held over two nights for the first time in history.
\’More\’ is not always \’better\’ and AJ Styles agrees with the general fan sentiment that WrestleMania would be a more enjoyable experience if WWE cut back on the number of matches on the card. He believes the talent would benefit as well. It used to be an honor to be chosen for the WrestleMania card. Only the top performers who excelled on WWE\’s roster earned the right to be part of the most special night of the year. That honor has been diminished as the match count grew.
Less Is More
\”I wish we would not do so many matches on WrestleMania,\” Styles began. \”It used to be if you were on WrestleMania, you accomplished something. Now, everybody’s on it, so it’s not as big of a deal.\”
\”Hey, we’re gonna give you everybody you wanted to see, so by the time you see this match, you may be burned out or ready to go home and your kids may be falling asleep. It’s a tough day because when it starts, you’re in out in the sun, you’re watching it, and that sun will drain you quick. In my opinion, I think less is more.\”
Styles clarified that he\’s not pushing for WrestleMania to revert to a 3-hour format. However, he does feel that four hours is the sweet spot.
As for whether or not WWE should continue presenting WrestleMania over multiple nights, he\’s not sure.
\”We’re gonna have to find out together. So much has changed over these past couple of months, who knows what’s gonna happen? I was watching my intro video and I thought ‘Gosh, man, it was so great being in front of those fans.’ We took it for granted. No doubt about it. I certainly did.\”
AJ Styles\’ WrestleMania Record
AJ Styles has a 5-2 record at WrestleMania since joining WWE in 2016:
All Elite Wrestling marks the one year of Dynamite tonight with a special 1-Year Anniversary of their flagship show.
To mark the occasion, AEW has booked a stack card. For the first time ever, all [sanctioned] championship belts will be up for grabs.
There are five matches signed for this week\’s live AEW Dynamite:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends against \”The Murderhawk Monster\” Lance Archer. Archer earned the title shot by winning the Casino Battle Royal at All Out.
Best Friends will challenge FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. This bout will carry the \”Brush With Greatness\” stipulation with a 20-minute time limit.
AEW Women\’s Champion Hikaru Shida will face Big Swole.
\”The Best Man\” Miro & Kip Sabian will be in action.
In addition to these matches, MJF (with Wardlow) is scheduled to make a huge announcement.
Aleister Black was moved to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2020 WWE Draft. The former NXT Champion recently spoke to Sports Illustrated about the evolution of his character, battling mental health issues and much more.
The man formerly known by Tommy End achieved a great deal of success in NXT. Since transitioning to the main roster in February 2019, the results have been mixed. In recent months he turned heel, got new theme music and has been sporting an eye patch after getting viciously attacked by Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy.
Black spoke to Justin Barrasso about these changes. “I think the reason for that is we moved so far away from what Aleister Black was in NXT that people started getting confused about what exactly Aleister Black was supposed to be,\” he said.
\”After a few conversations, I said, ‘I need a different direction.’ That led to the creation of this new Aleister Black, where he is a little more human and people can latch on to him quicker.\”
Black clarified that being \’a little more human\’ does not necessarily mean being a good guy. It can also mean being a villain, but he thinks it makes it easier for fans to identify with the character\’s motives.\”
Aleister Black on the importance of character development for his success in WWE:
“I want to establish this character. I want to establish this entrance, I want to establish this aesthetic. I want people to understand this character to the fullest extent”https://t.co/YzoZIw9XBV
Black has struggled to find his footing on the main roster. However, he is not discouraged. He sees the opportunities presented on Raw and SmackDown as a \”great chessboard.\” If he does not get the opportunity to do what he needs to do, he\’s got no problem burning the whole chessboard.
\”If that means he’s sent to purgatory, that’s fine, because he’s been in purgatory. If you want to take it one step further and send him to hell, that’s fine, too. He’s accustomed to hell, his whole childhood was spent there. If Aleister Black doesn’t get his opportunity, then no one does.\”
Aleister Black acknowledges that this mentality is more relatable than what we saw from his first year on the main roster.
\”Before, that motive wasn’t as clear. A few months ago, what did he stand for? He was fighting for himself, then he got entangled with Rey Mysterio, and that left himself open to vicious beatings each week. It seemed like he never learned from his mistakes, which is strange for Aleister, because he seems so calculated. That got shuffled away a little bit.”
Head over to Sports Illustrated to read their full interview with Aleister Black.
This Wednesday night, All Elite Wrestling celebrates the 1-year anniversary of AEW Dynamite. TNT Champion Cody spoke with USA Today to discuss his biggest regret from the first year, AEW dealing with the the COVID-19 pandemic, how he\’s approaching the next 12 months and much more.
AEW has spent the past year establishing their identity and building a core audience. During that time, we\’ve also seen some crossovers with other promotions.
AEW World Champion also holds the IWGP United States Champion for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. AEW Executive VP Kenny Omega is the reigning AAA Mega Champion. NWA Women\’s Champion Thunder Rosa has been a regular on recent AEW programming. Last week\’s Dynamite even saw a cameo from the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Tanahashi vs Jericho not one, not two, but ten more times?!
Hiroshi Tanahashi appeared last night to wish @IAmJericho a happy 30th anniversary in the professional wrestling industry. pic.twitter.com/78KursQO1f
Fans are naturally interested in the prospect of AEW collaborating with other promotions. Cody says he doubts we\’ll ever see a big pay-per-view event co-promoted by AEW and another company. However, we could see relationships established which could result in talent exchanges.
“I think you’ll never see a full-scale, joint-promoted show,\” Cody said. \”We have too much pride in our individual brand. But in terms of the relationships, we’re never closing the doors and we’re never going to pull up the bridges.
Visit USA Today to read their full interview with Cody.
WWE filed to trademark a few new terms last week on October 8th. Among them are WWE Livewire, WWE Main Event and The Game.
WWF Livewire was a live call-in show on the USA Network that ran from 1996 through 2001. WWE.com has dubbed it \”the most uncensored show in WWE history.\”
Live featured a rotating cast of hosts and guest appearances from the likes of Todd Pettingill, Sunny, Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Vince Russo, Dok Hendrix (Michael Hayes) and Michael Cole.
The lengthy description of how WWE would use the phrase includes, \”Entertainment services, namely, a show about professional wrestling; entertainment services, namely, the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered live and through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing wrestling news and information through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media.\”
The filing may be in advance of WWE adding Livewire to the WWE Network.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q3sItE8xVo
The application for \’WWE Main Event\’ has the same usage description as Livewire. Main Event is WWE\’s weekly one-hour show that features primarily lower and mid-card talent. It has been airing across various platforms (television and digital) since 2012.
WWE\’s application for \’The Game\’ lists a long list of goods and services related to paper goods, including \”Cardboard and paper hangtags; packaging, namely blister cards; paper for wrapping and packaging; collector albums for sticker collectables; stickers; sticker albums; collectable photos; photo albums; photographs; framed pictures; labels, namely printed paper labels; folders; paper place mats, paper table mats, paper napkins; paper tablecloths; paper table linens\” and dozens of other similar products.
NXT announcer Wade Barrett continues to talk trash about WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
Barrett told Digital Spy last week that he could be lured out of retirement by the prospect of challenging McIntyre for the WWE Championship.
\”The only thing I didn’t achieve in WWE that I always wanted to achieve was to become the WWE Champion, and that title is now held by an old friend of mine, Drew McIntyre,\” said Barrett. \”So taking him on for that title is something that certainly might tempt me back for a match or two.”
Barrett is now antagonizing McIntyre and playing mind games with the champ. The two have a long history together. They were tag team champions in former WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. They they lived together earlier in their careers, where Barrett recalls mercilessly bullying the reigning champ.
He told BT Sport, \”The truth is, he knows I can batter and humiliate him. Whenever I feel like I\’m ready, it isn\’t a question of Drew McIntyre calling me out. Whenever I\’m ready, I can just step in the ring and take whatever i want from him. He knows that. He\’s aware of it. And one day, perhaps, the world might see it.\”
You can see footage of Barrett\’s comments in the tweet embedded below.
Drew McIntyre has since replied to the tweet, telling Barrett, \”Stay behind your desk grandpa, your stand-in has a better chance than you do\”
Stay behind your desk grandpa, your stand-in has a better chance than you do https://t.co/lt6JSscFK0
Drew McIntyre was the #1 pick in the 2020 WWE Draft. He will remain on the Raw brand. He\’s been WWE Champion since dethroning Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
WWE.com is teasing this trash talk could lead to a showdown between the two competitors.
Chris Jericho recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet about his faction, The Inner Circle.
The Inner Circle is one of the most dominant forces in All Elite Wrestling. During his discussion with CVV, the Demo God spoke about how the group was formed, who else was considered to be an original member and more.
In the lead-up to the first AEW Dynamite one year ago, Tony Khan approached Chris Jericho and said he wanted him to be part of a faction. Jericho was a bit reluctant at first, but grew to like the idea.
Jericho said he wanted the members of his new group to include a tag team, an up-and-comer and a heater/enforcer. For the tag team, he first looked at the Lucha Bros. before going with Santana and Ortiz. MJF was a great fit for the up-and-comer spot, but Cody had a longterm program in mind for MJF, so Jericho hand picked Sammy Guevara. Boxer Anthony Ogogo was suggested as the enforcer, but Jericho had Jake Hager in mind since he had so much untapped potential from his WWE days.
Before going with the name Inner Circle, Jericho thought about calling the group The First. During a cameo appearance on Being The Elite, Jericho casually mentioned his \’inner circle\’ and the Young Bucks loved the name. It stuck and the rest is history.
The Inner Circle officially formed at the conclusion of the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite. They did a photo shoot backstage after the show. Jericho says they looked like early Guns \’n Roses, since they were 5 guys that don\’t look like they belong together, but \”it just works.\”
Jericho is proud that the Inner Circle is still going strong one year later. He thinks WWE does not have the patience for longterm storytelling and would have broken them up after 3 months. He loves working with the group and says they\’ve become really good friends thus far.
He finished by saying that he would \”absolutely\” consider adding new members to the Inner Circle.
You can check out Chris Van Vliet\’s full chat with Chris Jericho in the video player embedded below:
Eva Marie is on her way back to WWE after a 3-year hiatus. Cultaholic was first to report this story on Monday.
With the WWE Draft in full swing, SEScoops.com has learned that Eva Marie is currently in Orlando, FL for this week\’s TV tapings. Pwinsider also has some new details. Her negotiations with WWE were finalized in late September. She has also already undergone all medical testing WWE requires.
During her time away from WWE, Eva Marie has made numerous television appearances, including Big Brother: Celebrity Edition. She\’s also launched a podcast, The Natalie Eva Marie Show. She has also appeared in several action movies, including Inconceivable (2017) with Nicolas Cage and Hard Kill (2020) with Bruce Willis.
It will be interesting to see if she returns as an active competitor or if she is simply an on-air personality. We should get more on this situation as early as tonight\’s WWE Raw.
Eva Marie has stated in multiple interviews that she\’s open to a WWE return. Last year, she told TVInsider.com that she absolutely loves wrestling and \’you never know\’ about a possible return. \”Of course, if the opportunity arises and the timing is how it’s supposed to be, I definitely would come back to shake things up because I can always bring the heat. That’s for sure.”
Fans of Eva Marie won\’t have to wait much longer to see her back inside a WWE ring.
The WWE ThunderDome is sticking around for at least another month.
WWE has renewed its partnership with the Amway Center in Orlando, FL. The residency was scheduled to expire at the end of October. A deal has been reached to extend the stay for another four weeks, according to Pwinsider.
Back in August, local journalist Greg Angel published financial details of WWE\’s agreement with the city of Orlando. The initial deal spanning 10 weeks called for WWE to pay the city $12.5K for Sunday pay-per-views and $10K for RAW and Smackdown television tapings.
WWE also paid $7.5K for each day that production work was performed inside the venue and $2,500 per day just to keep the building off the market.
The ThunderDome will now host the next four weeks of Raw, SmackDown and WWE Survivor Series on November 22nd.
Dark Side of the Ring, the Vice TV documentary series profiling tragic stories from the wrestling world, is returning for a third season. Season two aired earlier this year. In addition to critical acclaim, the second season of Dark Side was the highest-rated show in the history of Vice TV.
Season two averaged 423,000 viewers per episode, with the finale (\’The Final Days of Owen Hart\’) drawing 626,000 viewers. These figures are just a snapshot of the show\’s success across other platforms. Other topics covered last season include the Last Ride of the Road Warriors, Jimmy Snuka and the death of Nancy Argentino and the Chris Benoit family tragedy.
Season 3 In Production
Dark Side of the Ring Producer Evan Husney spoke to SI.com back in May and said Vice was interested in another season. Husney discussed the production challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. We now have a promising update on season three, courtesy of Eric Bischoff.
During the latest episode of the 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff told co-host Conrad Thompson that production for season three is underway. He is involved in two episodes for the upcoming season and revealed the subject matter for two episodes that fans of the show can look forward to.
Bischoff says he was recently interviewed for episodes about the late Brian Pillman and WCW\’s 1995 pay-per-view, Collision in Korea. That 2-day mega event was headlined by Ric Flair vs. Antonio Inoki and saw a staggering attendance of 355,000 for two shows. (165,000 and 190,000).
Visit ViceTV.com for details on how you can watch the first two seasons of Dark Side of the Ring.
What topics do you want to see covered in Season 3?
WarnerMedia, parent company of AEW television partner Turner Sports, is preparing a large-scale round of layoffs.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic\’s negative impact on WarnerMedia\’s bottom line, the company is planning to reduce costs by as much as 20%. This will result in thousands of people laid off, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Properties under the WarnerMedia umbrella include TNT, home of AEW Dynamite, as well as HBO, CNN, TBS, TruTV and many more.
TNT and TBS \”dodged disaster\” this summer when professional baseball and basketball returned, along with the viewers and ad dollars that come with them. Unfortunately, the television ad market has yet to fully recover.
WarnerMedia\’s plan to aggressively cut costs has been seen across the entire entertainment industry. Disney and ViacomCBS have laid off thousands of people, while NBCUniversal, home of WWE Raw, is expected to follow suit.
It remains to be seen if these layoffs, which will likely hit TNT, will impact AEW. Fortunately, AEW is at the start of a multi-year deal with WarnerMedia. Television executives are said to be very happy with
With that being said, AEW is unlikely to be affected as their current deal is set to last for several more years and the network is very happy with their steady ratings.
AEW programming costs them a fraction of what USA Network and FOX pay for WWE programming. As seen in the chart below by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, AEW programming is a great value that delivers a far superior return on investment (cost per share in the key demo) than WWE.
Viewership data is in for the October 7th editions of AEW on TNT and NXT on the USA Network.
Both shows were down this week due to the Vice Presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and candidate Kamala Harris. The debate drew over 50 million viewers across various network and cable channels.
Finn Balor will miss ring time due to a fractured jaw. The NXT Champion sustained the injury this past weekend at NXT Takeover 31.
WWE has released a video of Finn Balor and his doctor discussing his condition. According to Dr. Jeffrey Westerfield, Balor fractured his jaw in two places during his match against Kyle O\’Reilly.
Dr. Westerfield said it was amazing that either man was able to finish the hard-hitting match. \”Finn had two fractures in his jaw,\” he said. \”Once the swelling goes down in a couple days, Finn’s going to be able to talk very sparingly. Obviously it’s going to have to have him out for a little bit of time.”
Balor said people are questioning if his current NXT title reign will be as good as his last. Referencing his successful title defense at Takeover 31, Balor said, \”I think they just got their answer.\”
For what it\’s worth, Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Balor\’s injury is legitimate, however WWE is making the situation out to be worse than it is.
You can watch the video with comments from Finn Balor and Dr. Westerfield in the Youtube player embedded below.
Triple H tweeted the following regarding Finn Balor\’s tenacity in light of this latest setback.
Tonight\’s edition of NXT will be the first episode to take place from the new Capitol Wrestling Center arena at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL.
Expect to see plenty of fallout from Sunday\’s NXT Takeover 31 event. WWE is advertising the following:
Ember Moon will open the show after her surprise return at Takeover. Naturally, Moon has her sights set on NXT Women\’s Champion Io Shirai.
Kushida will face former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. WWE.com notes that this match will be the first match of the night.
We will also get injury updates on Finn Balor, Kyle O\’Reilly, Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream – all of whom sustained injuries at Takeover. WWE says Balor received a CAT scan and has potential facial fractures), while O\’Reilly cracked some teeth, Velveteen Dream has fractured wrist, and Cole has broken ribs.
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