It appears WWE Superstars is no longer airing. WWE taped Main Event matches instead of Superstars matches before tonight’s RAW in Charlotte and there is no Superstars episode scheduled for this Friday on the WWE Network.
Main Event matches taped tonight were Sin Cara vs. Bo Dallas and The Shining Stars vs. Darren Young and Curtis Axel.
We hope to have an update on Superstars soon.
The November 28, 2016 edition of WWE RAW airrf live from Charlotte, North Carolina at the Spectrum Center.
– Chris Jericho is in the ring to open up RAW with The Highlight Reel. Jericho immediately introduces his guest — his best friend, Kevin Owens. Owens rips on the American Thanksgiving and people fighting at Black Friday sales. Owens says they are superior because they’re Canadian, and that their Thanksgiving is on October because they’re ahead of the curve. Owens and Jericho talk about what they’re thankful for, and mention being thankful that Seth Rollins isn’t there tonight. With that, Roman Reigns is out next to interrupt and says that Owens is a joke of a champion. Reigns says that Owens is only the Universal Champion because of Jericho’s help. Jericho starts to explain to Reigns that he’s made the list, but Owens tells Jericho to shut up. Owens tells Reigns he can’t talk to him that way, but Reigns challenges him. Reigns says he wants to face Owens tonight, and Reigns proposes that if he wins tonight he gets a shot at the Universal Title at Roadblock. Owens accepts, and Reigns heads to the back.
.@WWERomanReigns doesn't want #JokeOwensJoke … he wants @FightOwensFight, and he wants him TONIGHT on #RAW! pic.twitter.com/mf7SvRPJ0b
— WWE (@WWE) November 29, 2016
– Backstage, Jericho asks Owens why he told him to “shut up” out in the ring. Owens says that he’s sick of people saying he wouldn’t be the champion without Jericho’s help. They argue and appear to officially break off their friendship before Jericho storms off.
– Braun Strowman def. R-Truth: Strowman starts off with some clotheslines then a splash in the corner. Strowman follows up with a running powerslam for the very quick win in a squash match. After the match, Strowman beats down Goldust until Sami Zayn comes out for the save. Strowman ends up dropping Zayn and tieing his legs up in the turnbuckle. Some referees slide in the ring to stop Strowman, then Mick Foley walks out. Zayn tells Mick he doesn’t need his help. Byron steps in the ring and asks Foley about why he’s stopped the action with Strowman and Zayn two weeks in a row. Foley says Zayn needs to be saved from himself because he won’t quit. Zayn says Foley is screwing him over, and Foley gets in his face and tells him that he’ll never beat Strowman because he’s a monster.
– Charlotte and Dana Brooke talk backstage about Charlotte’s homecoming tonight. Charlotte says tonight she’ll end her rivalry with Sasha Banks once and for all by beating her in the ring.
– Tony Nese def. Credric Alexander: After a couple minutes of back-and-forth action, Tony Nese hits the pumphandle slam for win after a very short match. Cole promotes the debut of 205 Live tomorrow on the WWE Network on commentary.
– Chris Jericho is shown walking through the arena with his luggage. An interviewer tries to talk to Jericho, but he yells at her and she backs off. Jericho goes to get into a limo, but the limo driver accidentally knocks down The List while opening the door. Jericho bends down to pick it up, and when he stands back up Seth Rollins is standing right in front of him.. Rollins chases Jericho around the limo and beats him down in the garage. Rollins pulls Jericho ontop of a car and hits the Pedigree on the roof of the car.
Did @WWERollins just make THE LIST? Probably, once @IAmJericho wakes up from THIS… #RAW pic.twitter.com/j46B6eKleB
— WWE (@WWE) November 29, 2016
– Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks – Double Count-out: Sasha gets Charlotte in the Banks Statement early on, but Charlotte reaches the ropes with the help of Dana. Sasha beats down Dana at ringside, then brawls with Charlotte around the ring. Charlotte throws Sasha into the fan barricade several times, then they brawl out into the crowd. The referee counts them both out, but Mick Foley comes out and says he won’t allow the match to end like this. Foley says the match will restart later tonight as a falls count anywhere, No DQ match.
– Enzo Amore def. Rusev via DQ: Rusev starts beating down Enzo as soon as the bell rings, then hits a kick blatantly below the belt. Rusev gets disqualified, and yells at Enzo for talking about his wife.
– Mark Henry is backstage promoting a new movie he’s in, until Titus O’Neil approaches him and complains that the movie role should’ve been his. Titus grabs Henry by the arm, but Henry shoves him down to the floor and walks off.
– Rich Swan def. Noam Dar: Brian Kendrick is on commentary for this one. After some competitive action in the opening minutes, Dar takes control of the match with some kicks and knees to the head. Rich Swan comes back with some kicks of his own, and hits a superkick on Dar out of nowhere for the win. After the match, Swan cuts a promo on Kendrick about already having beaten him twice.
– We see Sheamus and Cesaro in a bar arguing about why they aren’t the Tag Team Champions right now. Some other patrons start harassing the two, so they team up to beat them down then clear out the bar. Sheamus jumps behind the bar and starts handing out drinks, and it appears that Sheamus and Cesaro agree to be partners once again.
– Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens: Owens beats Reigns down before the bell. After the bell, the action quickly goes to the outside where both competitors take turns throwing each other into the barricades and ring steps. Back in the ring, Owens hits a running Senton for a two count. Owens slows down the pace and keeps Reigns grounded, then hits another Senton. Reigns comes back with a series of clotheslines in the corner, then starts trading right hands with Owens in the middle of the ring. Reigns hits a Samoan Drop for a two count, then sets up for a Superman punch. Owens rolls to the outside, so Reigns followers and hits the Drive-By. Back in the ring, Owens drops Reigns with a superkick for another two count. Owens goes to the top rope, but Reigns gets up and stops him with some right hands. Reigns leaves Owens sitting on the turnbuckle and hits a Superman punch that sends Owens rolling to the floor. Reigns follows Owens outside and hits a second Superman punch. Reigns throws Owens back in the ring and lets him stand up. Owens blocks Reign’s Superman punch attempt, but Reigns comes right back with a spear for the win.
– We see footage from earlier today of Michael Cole interviewing Paul Heyman. Heyman says that he and Lesnar underestimated Goldberg, and that Lesnar is embarrassed by what happened at Survivor Series. Heyman says that now Lesnar feels like he has something to prove, and that makes Lesnar more dangerous than he’s ever been. Heyman confirms that Lesnar will also be competing in the 2017 30-man Royal Rumble match.
What reason did @HeymanHustle give for @BrockLesnar's loss to @Goldberg? "We screwed up!" #RAW #SurvivorSeries pic.twitter.com/VGUdRHnTXy
— WWE (@WWE) November 29, 2016
– Big E & Xavier Woods def. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows: The New Day’s Tag Team Titles are on the line in this one. Anderson hits a powerbomb on Wooda early on, then tags in Gallows who continues the offense on Woods with a big boot. Big E eventually gets the hot tag and starts cleaning house until Anderson drops him with a spinning heel kick. Big E comes back with a spear on Anderson through the ropes down to the floor at ringside. Woods tags in and comes off the top rope, but Anderson catches him and hits a spinning spinebusters for a two count. Woods goes for the Honor Roll, but Anderson dodges it. Xavier and Anderson exchange elbows and uppercuts until a series of rollups leads to Woods grabbing the tights and rolling up Anderson for the win.
They escape with another one as @XavierWoodsPhD squeaks by @KarlAndersonWWE! #TheNewDay retains the #RAW #TagTeamTitles! pic.twitter.com/hF3U4V1Ibe
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 29, 2016
– Bayley walks into Sasha Banks’ locker room to wish her luck in her match tonight. Bayley starts talking about all that Charlotte has done to her, but Sasha cuts her off and says this is about the Women’s Title, and Charlotte repeatedly disrespecting Sasha. Sasha brings up how Charlotte disrespects her own father Ric Flair, and says she’s dedicating tonight’s match to Ric.
– Sasha Banks def. Charlotte: This time it’ll be under falls count anywhere & no-DQ rules. Charlotte rolls outside early on and Sasha follows up with a suicide dive through the ropes to the floor. Both women go down after a double clothesline, then Charlotte takes control of the match after hitting a backbreaker on Sasha. Charlotte goes for the Figure 4, but Sasha gets out and hits a double knee drop. Charlotte and Sasha start fighting on the ring apron, then Charlotte hits a big boot that drop Sasha down to the floor. Charlotte follows up with a Natural Selection on the floor for a two count. Sasha grabs a kendo stick from under the ring and starts attacking Charlotte with it. Charlotte fights her off and hits a neckbreaker, then gets her in the Figure 4 on the floor at ringside. Sasha grabs the kendo stick and hits Charlotte with it to break the hold. Charlotte and Sasha brawl up the ramp to the announce table, where Charlotte hits a moonsault off the announce table for a two count. They fight their way back down to ringside, where Sasha climbs on the fan barricade and hits a double knee drop on Charlotte for a two count. Sasha follows up with some kendo stick shots and brawls with Charlotte through the crowd. Sasha pulls Charlotte under one of the hand rails on the arena steps and bends her back across it, and Charlotte taps out. Ric Flair makes his way down to the ring as Sasha is celebrating with the Women’s Title. Flair enters the ring and raises Sasha’s hand and gets a big pop from the crowd.
In a #FallsCountAnywhere battle for @MsCharlotteWWE's #RAW Women's Title, The Queen will do ANYTHING to defeat @SashaBanksWWE! pic.twitter.com/DPDqc5K8J3
— WWE (@WWE) November 29, 2016
WOOOOOOOOO! Charlotte's own @RicFlairNatrBoy holds @SashaBanksWWE's hand high in victory at @SpectrumCenter! #RAW pic.twitter.com/pfWcfXFBjc
— WWE (@WWE) November 29, 2016
You may have noticed that the main event on Raw brand WWE live events at the moment is Roman Reigns defending his WWE United States Championship against WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens. Reigns is winning clean in the middle every night, retaining his title while getting decisive wins over the WWE Universal Champion. To some, beating the world champion clean every night doesn’t sound like a great idea, so a number of fans have been curious as to WWE’s reasoning for this move.
On this past weekend’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio for F4WOnline.com subscribers, Dave Meltzer laid out exactly what’s going on. Essentially, WWE wanted Owens-Reigns to be the main Raw house show program, and rightfully so, as it hasn’t been overdone on television and pay-per-view yet. The problem, though, is that WWE prefers to have the babyface win on house shows, as they are about a night of family fun that doesn’t really count in WWE television continuity. So as not to disqualification or count-out non-finishes in every main event around the horn, the main events were made as U.S. Championship matches to protect the Universal Championship, if not the champion.
– 16-time World Champion and 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is backstage in Charlotte, NC for tonight’s WWE RAW. His daughter Charlotte defends the RAW Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks on the show.
Backstage with @WWE while they prep for tonight's show. #WWECharlotte #RAW pic.twitter.com/HDCV5roUfC
— Legacy Talent, LLC (@LegacyTalentLLC) November 28, 2016
– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans if they want to see Brock Lesnar wrestle Goldberg again. Despite the attention coming out of their memorable encounter at Survivor Series, only 51% of fans say they want to see Lesnar vs. Goldberg III. The match is rumored to be one of the headliners of WrestleMania 33 in April.
#WWE is running an interesting Goldberg/Lesnar poll on their page right now. "Yes" is barely edging out the "No" vote, 51% to 49%. pic.twitter.com/gwzbJ4HYcC
— Jason Solomon ?? (@solomonster) November 28, 2016
– On Monday Triple H officially announced the next NXT Takeover special will take place on 1/28 from San Antonio, TX, the night before the Royal Rumble. Tickets go on sale this Friday.
Get ready…
The next #NXTTakeOver will be January 28th in San Antonio, TX
…the day before #RoyalRumble. Tickets on sale 12/2 at 10amCT. pic.twitter.com/KYKBrcdig5— Triple H (@TripleH) November 28, 2016
Haruka Eigen, a longtime cult favorite preliminary wrestler in Japan who most recently served as Executive Director of Pro Wrestling NOAH, has passed away at the age of 70. Longtime peer Shinya “The Great” Kojika was the first to break the news in a blog post on Monday. Eigen was an active, full-time pro wrestler from his debut in 1966 through his retirement in 2006, and given his schedule, has to be up there in terms of wrestlers with the most matches in the history of Japan.
Eigen is best known for his role in the “old man” comedy matches that permeated the undercard of All Japan Pro Wrestling starting in the mid-1980s before spreading to Pro Wrestling NOAH when he jumped to the new promotion in 2000. His trademark spot saw him doing ridiculously overdramatic spit takes to sell his opponents’ chops while draped over the ropes and facing the crowd. The spit would visibly travel several rows deep, and it was part of the fun of going to an AJPW or NOAH card to come prepared with a newspaper or an umbrella to protect yourself.
While best known for comedy, Eigen really was a good utility mid card wrestler who had solid matches when not focusing on his comedy shtick, usually against longtime rival Mitsuo Momota. He also holds the distinction of being one of Andre the Giant’s opponents in Andre’s last match, as Andre, Giant Baba, and Rusher Kimura defeated Eigen, Masa Fuchi, and Motoshi Okuma on December 4, 1992. Eigen also had the honor of being on the opposing team for the retirement match of The Intelligent, Sensational Destroyer (Dick Beyer), when Destroyer, son Kurt Beyer, and Baba defeated Eigen, Fuchi, and Masao Inoue.
– Besides Rich Swann and WWE Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick, other names booked for Tuesday’s WWE 205 Live premiere include Gran Metalik, Akira Tozawa and The Bollywood Boyz.
– Austin Aries revealed on Twitter that he needs titanium plates put into his jaw after suffering an injury at the hands (or foot) of Shinsuke Nakamura at a NXT house show several weeks back. Aries tweeted this crazy photo:
Permanent foreign object, temporary setback. Every cloud has a titanium lining…. pic.twitter.com/5PivwXNkpA
— Daniel Healy (@AustinAries) November 22, 2016
– The storyline between RAW GM Mick Foley and Sami Zayn will continue at tonight’s RAW in Charlotte as Foley tweeted about a meeting between the two. He wrote:
https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/803262900496437248
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrJazZkHj7E
WWE Superstar Big Show was recently interviewed by Chris Van Vliet from WSVN-TV out of Miami and revealed that he’s lost 70 pounds and currently weighs 396 pounds. Big Show said it’s the lightest weight he’s been since 1995, with his highest weight topping out at over 530. He was asked if he’s really 7-foot-4 and admitted he’s actually “over 7 feet” but not as tall as his billed height.
Regarding his supposed match against Shaquille O’Neil at WrestleMania 33, Big Show says a deal is not in place just yet and he can’t confirm it will actually happen. “We’ll see what happens between now and then,” he said. Both he and Shaq have “a lot of little people” that have to sit down and hammer out a deal. “The invitation is there. Show up and get smacked up.” Now there’s an offer.
Other topics discussed include Jon Cena being the strongest WWE Superstar to ever pick him up, the next generation of Superstars he’s got his eye on (Baron Corbin, Big Cass, Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks and Charlotte) and his upcoming match against Shaquille O’Neil at WrestleMania 33 in April.
– WWE announced on Monday that Snickers will be the exclusive presenting partner of WrestleMania for the second consecutive year. Michelle Wilson, WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer, stated in a press release, “We are excited to partner with SNICKERS for the second straight year as we aim to raise the bar in bringing their award-winning ‘You’re Not You When You’re Hungry’ campaign to life in entertaining ways that only our WWE Superstars can.”
Earlier this year, Snickers’ WrestleMania 32 campaign resulted in more than 1.5 billion impressions for Snickers across WWE’s and NBCUniversal’s global platforms, including TV integrations, digital and social media, retail activation, and appearances by WWE Superstars.
– During a recent “mailbag” episode of his Heated Conversations podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T spoke about The Undertaker’s return and how much gas the dead man has left in the thank. “He’s battle-tested, bruised, he’s battered, and he [has] been out of the game for quite some time. And he [has] been in the WWE for over 20 years solid. This guy [has] been in all of the big matches as far as the Hell In A Cell, every match you could possibly, exactly, you could think of, Undertaker has been there. And the thing is, he [has] held up. He has gone in there and he [has] pulled it off each and every year he’s asked to go out and perform and I commend Undertaker for that. But I tell you, there’s going to be a day Undertaker has to lay down and say, ‘I’m done with it’. There’s going to be that time when he goes into that casket and closes the lid on the career.”
Booker T also named Shawn Michaels as the one opponent he wanted to work with but never got a chance to.
One of New York’s biggest wrestling institutions is moving from the location it’s been in for decades. Deadspin reports that Gleason’s, the legendary boxing gym that serves as home to WWE Hall of Famer Johnny Rodz’ wrestling school, is leaving the location it’s had in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn for over 30 years. As noted in the article, DUMBO has completely transformed in the decades since Gleason’s moved there, as what used to be one of many warehouse-like buildings is now in the middle of a bunch of storefronts in a trendy neighborhood.
The new location is just around the corner, so life goes on for the most part. But for all of the wrestlers trained at Rodz’s school, like Tommy Dreamer, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley, Mat Striker, Big Cass, and Marti Belle, the strangely lovable sweatbox that they learned the ropes in will not be a place they can visit anymore. Hopefully Rodz’s office, which is akin to a miniature wrestling museum, will stay largely the same.
Former WWE Superstar (and Global Force NEX*GEN Champion) Cody Rhodes recently appeared on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast and had strong praise for NXT star Tye Dillinger. Cody called him the “Greatest human being alive” and can’t believe he’s still in ‘developmental.’
After a rocky departure from WWE earlier this year, Cody is not on the best terms with thec company. The strained relationship has led Cody to hold back on his public endorsements of Tye Dillinger. “I’m afraid of… all the time I want to tweet stuff about Tye Dillinger and I’m afraid if I do, someone will be like, because I’m not in the best graces with the office currently, I’m afraid someone will be like, because of my love of him,” Rhodes said.
How Dusty Rhodes would write that Dillinger is ready for the main roster?
Cabana asked how Dusty Rhodes would have evaluated Tye Dillinger and gotten him ready for the main roster. “If a guy already had it, he didn’t spend a lot of time on them,” Cody said. “Daniel Bryan is a great example. Barely kind of blew Dan off too. But in his reports, wrote, ‘this guy’s ready – what can I do?’ that’s the Tye Dillinger report from his fifth year in developmental. And, literally, that was what my dad always wrote about Tye, ‘what is he still doing here?’ … The mystery of Tye. It’s a mystery. I think the only way to fix it is to every time you go to these events, like fans who go to NXT events, you need to give him everything because he’ll give it back, man.
You can listen to the full episode here:
Props to Reddit user Hugmaker for the transcribed quotes
Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg was the shortest match at this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view, and because of that WWE’s announcers were reportedly told to call the match differently. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week that WWE instructed their announcers to call the main event “like a fight,” as opposed to how they called the rest of the card.
According to Meltzer, WWE’s goal was for the match to have an explosive MMA-style finish. The company reportedly felt that their audience is familiar enough with UFC that fans wouldn’t be disappointed by the quick match, especially if they present it more like a “fight” than how they presented the other matches. Before the show, announcers were instructed how to call the match differently to help WWE achieve their desired effect.
Goldberg is currently scheduled to take part in January’s 30-man Royal Rumble match, and is expected to have a rematch with Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 in April.
On the latest edition of the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Chris Jericho talked about the finish of the Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg match at Survivor Series. The former World Champion praised the match’s shock-value and called the idea “brilliant.”
“Everyone was shocked, everyone was surprised, but after thinking about it for a minute, I think it was actually a pretty brilliant finish,” he said.
Jericho feels that the 86-second Survivor Series match helped generate buzz while protecting both performers from a “plodding” longer match. Lesnar and Goldberg’s previous 13-minute match in 2004 was nearly universally panned in reviews.
“I loved the Goldberg finish. I think it was very smart,” Jericho said. “Had they gone out there for about a 10-minute match, and kind of been a little bit plodding, or maybe somebody blows up or whatever it may be, I don’t think it would have been as effective. It was a shock-value, water cooler moment. Everybody’s talking about it. It sets up for a huge main event rematch; and we have something to talk about, so I think it was a great idea.”
Jericho congratulated Lesnar and Goldberg on a successful match, and Goldberg on making an impressive comeback.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4PutpbKVvM
WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall recently spoke with Total Wrestling Magazine. Hall shared his thoughts about wanting to manage his son Cody in WWE, the success of NXT and much more.
Regarding which stars from NXT stand out to him, Hall said, “I think it’s great you have guys like Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE. I was reaching out to Finn before when he was still in New Japan, I was in contact with him. I really am happy for him and all his success and I hope he has a speedy recovery. He’s over like a rock star. Nakamura is another guy who didn’t have to change at all, he’s doing exactly what he did in New Japan, which was over like crazy. Now, he’s in NXT and killing it.”
Hall added that its important for WWE to keep big name talent in NXT to keep that brand thriving. “You can’t keep flooding the main roster with these guys,” he said. “I think it’s a great time to be a young pro wrestler.”
As for his own future in pro wrestling, Hall sees a unique opportunity for himself. His goal is to eventually wind up in NXT as the manager of his son, Cody Hall.
“The best thing for me though is to keep going places and to keep being charming and having my sh– together, because when I’m clear headed my phone rings. What I want to do is bring back managing in the wrestling business. Remember all the cool managers? My son Cody’s bigger than me, so I can get away with it in WWE, Vince doesn’t like the managers to be too big. But with Cody he’s bigger so I can get away with it. It would be my goal, I encourage it. They had Ric going out to the ring with Charlotte so there’s still that thread of hope that I can do the same with Cody.”
The November 2016 issue of Total Wrestling Magazine is now available.
– As part of today’s Cyber Monday shopping event, WWEShop.com is running a sale with up to 75% off select merchandise.
– Ahead of Sunday’s Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, WWE released this Top 10 video looking at Superstars getting smashed through ladders:
– Last week, Cesaro voiced his displeasure over the fact WWE left him off the promotional art for the May 2017 WWE live events from Switzerland. SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan assured the Swiss Superman he’d be on all the event posters for SmackDown if he switched over to the blue brand.
Sin Cara is the latest superstar to receive this treatment. As seen on this poster promoting an upcoming tour of Mexico, the masked luchador is nowhere to be found. Like Cesaro did, Sin Cara wonders why he’s not on the poster for an event taking place in his own country.
Cuando ni siquiera pude estar en el cartel del espectáculo en mi país…. @gowinmexico @wwe_mex pic.twitter.com/uu6wJiqGUJ
— CintaDeOro (@CintaDeOro) November 27, 2016
WWE fan Jesús Rondón fixed it for him:
— Jesús Rondón (@JesusMRondon) November 27, 2016
Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from Charlotte, North Carolina at the Spectrum Center. WWE is advertising the following items for the show:
– Charlotte defends the RAW Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks. The champion tapped out to the Banks Statement last week in the tag match involving Nia Jax and Bayley. Can Charlotte hold on to the gold in her home town?
– Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows challenge The New Day for the RAW tag team championships.
– Seth Rollins looks for revenge after Chris Jericho cost him a win last week against Universal Champion Kevin Owens.
– Ahead of Tuesday night’s 205 Live premiere, Rich Swann looks to dethrone Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick.
– After defeating Enzo Amore last week, Rusev issued a stern warning to Big Cass to stay out of his way. This appears to be setting up a match between the two.
As always, join us here tonight for our weekly WWE RAW Results & Live Coverage.
– The Rock’s new animated Disney movie Moana topped the box office for the Thanksgiving weekend. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, Moana has already pulled in $97.4 million ($81.1 domestic, $16.3 foreign) since opening on Wednesday. This is the second-highest-grossing 5-day Thanksgiving weekend ever behind 2013’s “Frozen.”
Not only is Moana a hit at the box office, but critics are also raving about the The Rock’s latest blockbuster. RottenTomatoes, an aggregate of critic rives, gives Moana a 98% rating.
Triple H says he and his family loved the film and congratulated his former WWE rival.
Went to see @DisneyMoana with @StephMcMahon and my girls. We loved it! Including me.. in a strong, manly way. Congrats @TheRock!
— Triple H (@TripleH) November 27, 2016
Ha we've been boys for 20yrs. "Strong and manly" is our jam!??
Thx bro and luv to all the girls from all of us Johnson's. #Moana https://t.co/PSX1BeZj2r— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) November 27, 2016
– Sasha Banks noted on Sunday morning that somebody hacked her Instagram account.
Thank you to whoever hacked and deleted my @instagram hope you have a incredible blessed day! ?????????
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) November 27, 2016
This morning, the BBC Archive YouTube page posted a segment (or at least an excerpt thereof; it appears to be cut off) on the national expansion of the WWF from a 1985 episode of BBC Newsnight. Vince McMahon is the focus, and the feature has a rare glimpse of his old office in the WWF’s pre-Titan Tower office building. In the above clip, McMahon primarily addresses the differences between “being in the sports entertainment business” and “being in the wrestling business” as well as defending the WWF as wholesome family entertainment. NBC’s Dick Ebersol joins him in the latter, trying to stave off a legislative attack from New York State Senator Abe Bernstein, who was attempting to ban pro wrestling in the state.
Bernstein’s Senate Task Force on Professional Wrestling didn’t end up going anywhere, but the hearings got a fair bit of mainstream coverage, including in the New York Times. Irv Muchnick was in attendance and provided additional coverage in a subsequent letter to the paper, as well, noting that Bernstein spent much of the time trying to prove that pro wrestling is worked.
– Enzo Amore and Big Cass will be the guests for Wednesday’s episode of “Unfiltered with Renee Young” on the WWE Network.
– It looks like the final work is being done on WWE Studios’ “The Marine 5: Battleground” but no release date has been announced yet. As seen below, Heath Slater and Naomi were doing audio work for the movie this week.
https://twitter.com/HeathSlaterOMRB/status/801299583527768064
– Seth Rollins is featured in this new “Pre-Match Moments” from Tapout:
Step into the gym with @WWERollins and see what it takes to work out like #TheMan! @tapout @jcpenney https://t.co/AHFJm8tS92 pic.twitter.com/k65GLDKF8B
— WWE (@WWE) November 26, 2016
– WWE Network will premiere “First Look: True Story of the Royal Rumble” this Wednesday at 4:30pm EDT.
– WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens tweeted praise for NXT Tag Team Champions DIY, The Revival and Tye Dillinger after watching TakeOver: Toronto this week. He wrote:
https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/801976455773220864
– WWE looks at a day in the life of NXT recruit Kishan Raftar in this new video:
– The second episode of WWE Story Time will premiere on the WWE Network this coming Monday night after RAW.
– The new all-cruiserweight 205 Live show on the WWE Network will air for just 45 minutes each week, according to the WWE Network schedule. Tuesday’s premiere is scheduled to air at 10pm EDT after SmackDown goes off the air, then Talking Smack is scheduled for 10:45pm EDT. 205 Live will be headlined by Brian Kendrick defending the Cruiserweight Championship against Rich Swann.
– Below is video from a recent invitation-only WWE Performance Center tryout with wrestlers Robby Smith & Ben Provisor, judoist Travis Stevens and kickboxer Chi Lewis-Perry. Mark Henry, Gerald Brisco and other WWE names also appear in the video.
WWE has released the promotional artwork for the May 2017 European tour and Cesaro is conspicuously absent from the poster for the shows taking place from Switzerland.
The Swiss Superman noticed the omission and used the hashtag #2tearsinabucket to express how he feels:
https://twitter.com/wwecesaro/status/802190690562109440
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan once again let Cesaro know that he’s more than welcome on the blue brand.
https://twitter.com/wwedanielbryan/status/802262221619363840
Cody Rhodes captured Global Force Wrestling’s NEX*GEN Championship from Sunday Dutt on Friday night. The match took place during WrestleCade weekend from Winston Salem, NC.
Here’s Cody is with Jeff Jarrett and his new title:
Your new NEX*GEN Champion @CodyRhodes!! pic.twitter.com/3ixrIPJlQ3
— My World with Jeff Jarrett (@MyWorldPod) November 26, 2016
The look of a champion #WrestleCade @CodyRhodes pic.twitter.com/wWjqY32Jqr
— Scottey (@s_holtzclaw88) November 26, 2016
Remember how when American Express sued TNA for not paying their bill to the tune of $269,049.50, the summons was served to a receptionist at TNA’s old office that they were evicted from months earlier? Well, that’s about to become an issue for TNA: This coming Wednesday, American Express will be in court arguing that they are entitled to a default judgment because TNA has not acknowledged the complaint. A default judgment is exactly what it sounds like, TNA losing by default. TNA has not filed anything in the case since it was fire filed back in July, and thus are currently listed on the court docket as having no legal representation recorded by the court.
As we have previously reported, it does not appear that TNA ever filed a change of address with the United States Postal Service after being evicted from their longtime offices at Cummins Station in Nashville, Tennessee (which is still listed as the company’s mail order address on ShopTNA.com). They do have an “authorized agent” (a third party proxy) in Chattanooga that can be served instead, but that option is not mentioned in American Express’s latest court filings, and neither is the TNA merchandise warehouse, where it’s been reported the company is now headquartered. In fairness, American Express has now repeatedly served the lawsuit and related documents to the address on file, which TNA never changed while becoming delinquent on their account.
For what it’s worth, as of a change on October 27th, the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website now lists Impact Ventures, LLC, TNA’s parent company, as being headquartered at 1404 51st Ave North in Nashville. According to Google Maps, that’s this red and white building building in what looks like an office park (zoom in up the driveway to get a better look):
The gist of American Express’s request for a default judgment is that the deadline to respond has expired, that TNA did not move for an extension, and that TNA had not yet responded by November 2nd, when the motion was written. So as a result, they think they should get their $269,049.50 and whatever else “the Court deems just and proper.”
In addition, one of the exhibits filed by American Express is TNA’s billing statement from May, the month that the account was cancelled. The new charges consisted entirely of late fees:
On top of that:
I have reached out to TNA for comment on if they will have legal representation present at the hearing. In the event that they respond, we will update this space and let you know what they say.
Goldberg is officially back on the WWE roster after defeating Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, but that wasn’t always WWE’s plan for the former undefeated WCW World Champion.
According to a new report by Dave Meltzer the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s original plan to have Goldberg lose in a one-off match against Lesnar was changed due to the recent decline in WWE’s TV viewership. The company decided that bringing Goldberg back for more than just that one match would be good for their viewership in 2017.
It sounds like now that Goldberg is back, that also means the plans original for Lesnar vs. Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 33 have been scrapped. Some in company management wanted to stay on course for Lesnar vs. Shane, but Vince McMahon ultimately made the call to start building to a Lesnar-Goldberg rematch at WrestleMania.
According to the report by Meltzer, Goldberg negotiated “phenomenal single-event deal” and is willing to wrestle any time for paydays like that.
– Eric Young vs. No Way Jose plus NXT Champion Samoa Joe’s return has been announced for next Wednesday’s NXT episode on the WWE Network.
– WWE is currently working on a “WWE 24” special for Goldberg’s return, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
– Wrestling veteran and Ring of Honor announcer Steve Corino will begin working as a full-time coach at the WWE Performance Center in January. There is a report going around that Corino has already signed with WWE, but he is currently under contract with ROH until the end of the year.
Corino spent a week as a ‘guest trainer’ at the PC earlier this month and called the facility “wrestling heaven.”
"I was sitting there in awe thinking, this is WRESTLING HEAVEN!" @KINGCorino upon seeing the @WWEPerformCtr for the first time. pic.twitter.com/RXA1cVrRpt
— WWE (@WWE) November 14, 2016