Former WWE Intercontinental Champion John Morrison has signed a new contract to return to the promotion, according to PWinsider.
John Morrison effectively started his wrestling career in
WWE when he was chosen as a competitor for Tough Enough III in 2002 and he
became the co-winner of the show.
He spent some time in development after the win and Morrison, along with Joey Mercury and Melina made his main roster debut with a tag team championship win over Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero in April 2005.
After his debut, John went on to have a lengthy and successful run with WWE. Before his release from the company in November 2011, he had won over half a dozen championships in the promotion.
After his release from WWE, John Morrison started competing in the independent circuit. He has wrestled for a number of well-known promotions since his departure from WWE, including Lucha Underground, AAA and just recently Impact Wrestling.
There is no word yet on what is the length of Morrison’s new contract but in the current competitive environment, it’s not hard to imagine that the company has offered him a long term deal.
Now it would be interesting to see when the former Champion makes his return to the company and if he makes a surprise appearance during the SmackDown 20th anniversary show or the upcoming draft episodes.
WWE and Fox Sports have announced the launch of WWE Backstage, a weekly hour-long studio show coming to FS1 starting Tuesday, November 5th.
Hosted by Renee Young and ‘Studio Analyst’ Booker T, WWE Backstage will air 11pm (ET) / 8pm PT. A special preview episode will air Tuesday, October 15th following the Major League Baseball ALCS Game 3 on FS1.
According to a press release sent in to SEScoops, WWE Backstage will be devoted to all things WWE.
“WWE BACKSTAGE is a wrestling show for wrestling fans. From hardcore fans to people new to wrestling, we’ll give them a little bit of everything,” said Renee Young. “It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be loud, we’re going to give them a ton of opinions and I can’t wait to help spread the word about SmackDown coming to FOX.”
2-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T also commented on his role in the new project.
“I think this is going to be a tag team that’s going to last for a long time, and one that cannot lose. As I always say, now can you dig it, sucka?”
More information on WWE BACKSTAGE, including additional on-air personalities and special guests, will be announced at a later date.
Need more @WWE in your life? @ReneeYoungWWE and @BookerT5x can help.@WWEonFOX's new studio show — WWE BACKSTAGE — airs Tuesdays at 11:00 PM ET on @FS1, beginning Nov. 5.
Last night on NXT, Matt Riddle defeated Killian Dain in a street fight. The win earned Riddle an NXT championship match against Adam Cole next week. After his win over Dain, Riddle locked in a Fujiwara armbar on Cole after the champion came to the ring to confront his upcoming challenger.
WWE correspondents spoke with Riddle backstage after his match last night to get his comments on challenging for the NXT championship next week.
Matt Riddle Comments On Facing Adam Cole
Cole remarked after Riddle’s match last night that the Original Bro isn’t in his league. Riddle was asked about Cole’s comments backstage.
“I’ve already beaten Adam Cole before he was champion, and you know I’m going to beat him next week and become the new NXT champion,” Riddle said. “So it’s ludicrous for him to even say those things and I think I made him tap out tonight. And I think I heard something snap or crackle, or pop in his wrist or arm or somewhere. He’s not as big as me so once I get a hold of him, I snap him like a twig. So, I don’t know, I think those were bold statements and I think he’s going to eat his words.”
This week on Impact Wrestling the wedding between Melissa Santos and Brian Cage will air. The show was taped in Las Vegas earlier this month and it is being reported that the day they filmed this angle, in particular, ran rather long. According to a report from PW Insider, the promotion has paid the talent from the show a bonus as compensation for the long tapings.
“Impact Wrestling recently paid a bonus to talents who worked on a long pre-tape day in Las Vegas for the Brian Cage-Melissa Santos wedding,” PW Insider’s report reads.
Brian Cage and Melissa Santos Wedding
The wedding between Santos and Cage plays into a story which has been developing on the show for months now. After winning the Impact Wrestling World Championship at Rebellion this spring, Brian Cage has been dealing with several nagging injuries which impacted his ability to defend the title.
Recently on Impact Wrestling, Cage announced he will be medically cleared to defend the title at Bound for Glory against Sami Callihan on October 20th. He then proposed to Melissa.
Following this week’s episode, there will be just two more episodes until Bound for Glory. After that, Impact is gearing up for their move to Tuesday nights on Access TV beginning on October 29th.
The National Wrestling Alliance is gearing up for their upcoming studio TV tapings in Atlanta on September 30th and October 1st. One member of the NWA roster who is not happy about the promotion of the tapings is James Storm. The NWA National Heavyweight champion expressed recently he feels the NWA doesn’t promote him enough.
Storm made his comments regarding Billy Corgan and NWA world heavyweight champion Nick Aldis in a YouTube video published on the NWA’s official channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kqhXp3Xqac
James Storm Calls Out Billy Corgan & Nick Aldis
“You see, as you look at the posters and you look at the meet & greets and you look at the lineup, you see all these names, you see the NWA promoting these guys but you don’t see James Storm,” Storm said.
“Billy Corgan, you want to talk about our past, you want to talk about the backstage stuff. Do you? Do you really Billy Corgan? Do you want to, as we saying the south, open that can of worms? I don’t think so. But you see Billy Corgan, I’ve got something that belongs to you,” the NWA National Heavyweight Champion continued.
The NWA also confirmed three more names for the tapings yesterday:
Impact Wrestling executive Don Callis recently appeared on Konnan’s “Keepin it 100” podcast. During the conversation, he was asked by Disco Inferno about AEW and NXT. Disco Inferno implied during the conversation that AEW perhaps should have decided to go head-to-head with RAW on Monday nights.
The conversation was posted to the “Keepin it 100” YouTube channel:
Don Callis Comments on AEW and NXT Going Head To Head
“It seems like Tony Khan has wanted to make this their own thing and not make it about going after Vince, at least that’s what I think they have said publicly over and over again,” Callis said on the show after Disco suggested that AEW should have gone head-to-head with RAW. “So, if you want to do your own thing you say ‘you know what? We think people will follow us and we’ll be destination programming.”
Callis would continue to talk about the AEW roster.
“They’ve got some wonderful talent. Our boy, Chris Jericho, is the AEW World Champion,” Callis continued. Konnan then mentioned that Callis something of a mentor to Kenny Omega.
“I think the correct term is guru more than mentor,” Callis corrected Konnan. “Spiritual advisor to Kenny.”
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Amore addressed Cass’ issues. He stressed how depression and anxiety are diseases that can be triggered by a multitude of factors.
“I would like to extend a thank you to WWE,” Enzo said. “DDP has gotten in touch with WWE on our behalf and let them know that he’s been helping Big Cass and that there’s an issue here that needs to be remedied. Anxiety and depression is a disease and that disease is on-set by a multitude of things. There’s a company in the WWE that took some responsibility here and did the right thing and sent Big Cass to the best doctors that they could. We’re hoping that this is the solution.”
He also shared information on how fans can show support for Cass during this difficult time. Amore intends to set up a specific social media account so fans can send letters and positive messages to Big Cass.
“I will set up a place on social media [for fans] to get their letters over to Big Cass and let him know that you’re going through something similar or you understand what he’s going through because depression and anxiety is a serious battle.”
He continued, “When someone goes through it, it doesn’t matter how much money they have or what they’ve achieved or how great life may seem. It’s a disease. I do believe there is a remedy to it, and I think it’s prayer. I’m a naysayer of people who say the manifestation of words isn’t all-powerful. I know it is.”
Cody Rhodes took to Twitter a few days ago to announce that DC Comics’ Batman was “#AllElite.” He uploaded the post in honor of Batman Day. Now, however, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and TNT have revealed their new partnership with the comics publisher.
Taking to social media, AEW shared images of both Jon Moxley and AEW World Champion Chris Jericho as a part of their AEW x DC Collaboration. The images were drawn by Howard Porter, who has provided art for DC’s Justice League and Flash comic book series.
The first upload features Jericho with the AEW Championship slung over his shoulder. He is wearing his Pain Maker spiked jacket, hat and makeup with his hands raised. The following caption accompanied the image:
“Who can stop Le Champion, @IAmJericho? Stay tuned for more of our @DCComics collaboration and don’t miss @tntdrama Supervillain Weekend all weekend long this Friday, 9/27 through Sunday!”
Moxley’s image featured the AEW star cracking his knuckles, a toothpick in his mouth and the caption “Unleash the Moxley.”
At the time of writing, there is no further information as to what this collaboration will include and extend to, be it a comic book run or potentially limited edition art pieces.
AEW: Dynamite premieres next week on Wednesday, October 2nd on TNT.
It appears that WWE is following through in removing Shane McMahon from on-screen action. According to WrestlingNews.co, the current plan is to have Shane McMahon lose to Kevin Owens in their forthcoming ladder match. The two are scheduled to clash in a “loser leaves WWE” grudge match during SmackDown Live’s debut on FOX.
“I was told that the feud will end with Owens winning and McMahon no longer being involved as an authority figure,” WrestlingNews’ Paul Davis said. He explained the reasoning is because “[…] WWE is going to present a more sports-like product with more conclusive finishes and less interference from non-wrestling characters.”
There has been months-long speculation that Shane McMahon would be phased out of featuring on-screen. Kevin Owens’ promo highlighted the amount of time Shane took away from current SmackDown talent. His sentiments was said to have been based in reality. His use of bullet points in order to get his point across has been held in high regard.
Owens is one of the few Superstars given more free rein when it comes to his promo opportunities, though more have apparently been given greater freedom recently including Rey Mysterio, Bayley and ‘The Boss’ Sasha Banks.
Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon battle in their “loser leaves WWE” ladder match on October 4th. SmackDown’s FOX debuts also coincides with the blue brands 20th Anniversary.
Starting from next week, WWE’s NXT UK show will be airing in a different time slot. The news was announced during last night’s episode that the show will begin airing on Thursdays at 3PM ET and 8PM BST.
NXT UK has been aired on Wednesdays at 3PM ET/8PM BST since the brand launched in October 2018. The brand gave WWE an opportunity to expand its NXT efforts, utilizing talent from all across Europe and the United Kingdom. The company even opened a UK based NXT Performance Center for Superstars to train in.
The main NXT brand recently moved to USA Network away from the WWE’s own streaming service, the WWE Network. The premiere episode was last week on September 18th. The show is currently split into two halves: the first hour is shown on USA Network; the second on WWE Network. With NXT being shown live on Wednesdays, a replay of the show is scheduled to be added to the WWE Network 24 hours after initial airing. This would see WWE NXT UK join NXT in new dedicated time slots on Thursdays.
Beginning from next week, NXT UK episodes will be available at 3 PM ET on Thursdays. NXT will then provided on the WWE Network at 10PM ET.
Ahead of All Elite Wrestling’s TNT premiere next week, AEW wrestler Dr. Britt Baker has admitted there is undeniable bad blood between herself and Bea Priestley. It was thanks to Priestley’s actions that Baker lost out on being involved in the inaugural AEW Women’s Championship matchup.
“I could say that I would have possibly just washed my hands with it,” Baker told WrestleZone, “but then costing me my title match, my title shot opportunity—which, from day one, all eyes have been on me essentially—because I am one of the faces of the women’s division. And that opportunity, I was essentially cheated out of it because of Bea Priestley. So now it is a war.”
She continued, “Clearly this isn’t a clean fight anymore because she hasn’t fought clean since day one. The second she stepped into the ring, she gave me a concussion. Her very first offensive move in an AEW ring was giving me a concussion. So, moving forward, I have this whole story just ingrained into my head.”
Turning her attention to the matchup between Nyla Rose and Riho to crown the first-ever AEW Women’s Champion, Baker tells fans they might be surprised. She called Riho one of the fastest wrestlers she’s ever seen, and that if she can evade Rose’s offense she may just surprise a lot of fans by emerging victorious.
Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast, X-Pac 12360, Sean Waltman talked about Candice LeRae’s upcoming NXT UK Women’s Championship opportunity. He confessed that he’s really happy for LeRae, adding that she, like her husband Johnny Gargano, is currently one of the best babyfaces working in pro wrestling.
“I just want to congratulate Candice, ‘cause to me she’s kind of along the same lines as [Johnny] Gargano,” Waltman said. “She’s like that, as far as the women go, and not just women but she’s just one the best babyfaces in the industry, man or woman. And also, not the first choice, she’s not the one that they look at and go ‘she’s the chosen one’ but yet she still comes up and rises up past that … and the people love her and I don’t know I am just really happy for her.”
Candice LeRae earned her chance to become NXT Women’s Champion during last week’s premiere episode of NXT on USA Network. She defeated stiff competition from Bianca Belair, Io Shirai and Mia Yim in a Fatal 4-Way match. That victory saw her become the new number one contender for Shayna Baszler’s title. Their matchup takes place next week on NXT.
Current NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler believes that now is the “perfect time to bring this no-nonsense realism to wrestling.” Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Baszler spoke about her reign as champion, admitting her run is perfectly timed as she wouldn’t fit into any other era in WWE history.
“I am the champion of this division for a reason. I don’t mess around, it’s no nonsense, and I know exactly what I’m doing. Now that we’re on USA, everyone is going to know it,” she stated.
“I Wouldn’t Have Fit Into Any Other Era”
Reflecting on her rise to the top, Baszler brought up her MMA background. She credited Ronda Rousey as being instrumental in bringing attention to MMA and, subsequently, pro wrestling:
“No one brought eyes to MMA like Ronda did. She was the perfect storm of ingredients to bring eyes to mixed martial arts, and that snowballed into bringing eyes to professional wrestling. For me, I wouldn’t have fit into any other era in WWE, but Ronda’s success in MMA said this could be done.”
She continued, “When I started in professional wrestling, dreaming about how big this could get, the important thing for me was to stay true to who I am and what I’ve been brought up in. That’s the style I learned, and that’s the style I love. I’m excited that it was the right time and right place. It’s the perfect time to bring this no-nonsense realism to wrestling.”
Shayna Baszler is scheduled to defend her WWE NXT UK Championship next week against Candice LeRae. LeRae won the opportunity at the championship during NXT’s premiere episode on USA Network.
“It’s the perfect time to bring this no-nonsense realism to wrestling” https://t.co/OwuNWqhKPe
The Mercenary of Villain Enterprises, Flip Gordon, recently spoke with Sports Illustrated.During the interview, Gordon opened up about working with ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll, his goals in Ring of Honor (ROH) and who he’d like to wrestle in the Tokyo Dome.
“This is a chance to work with Marty, who is someone I’m really close with and someone I call a friend, and that’s been really special,” Gordon admitted. “It’s also showed me the opposite side in being a villain, which has been great. And an opportunity with the Television title would give me a chance to elevate that belt even higher. And for those who think I was ‘fired’ by Marty, I have some breaking news: I was rehired, but you need to go watch it on VETV to see more.”
When it comes to his Tokyo Dome ambitions, Gordon points to fellow ROH talent, and former ROH World Champion, Jay Lethal as his ideal opponent. He added that although he’s wrestled Lethal a few times, he’d want Lethal to be “gunning for me after I win the Television title.”
Beyond that, however, is his dream of becoming ROH World Championship: “I see myself being Ring of Honor World Champion someday. That’s something I have to accomplish. Once I set a goal, I go for it until I accomplish it.”
Flip Gordon receives his ROH TV Championship opportunity this Friday at Death Before Dishonor. He joins Tracy Williams and current champion Shane Taylor in a triple-threat match for the title.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently addressed Kenny Omega’s recent comments stating that All Elite Wrestling has real stars versus NXT being filled with developmental talent. He addressed Omega’s statements on an episode of his Hall of Fame podcast.
Booker T explained that Omega has “[…] got two hats he’s wearing in the company, and he made some disparaging comments about the talent in NXT, but I was reading earlier that he was talking in character and that a lot of those guys are his friends. My thing is this, does Kenny Omega have the right to say that? If you’re in character, is it okay to say that? When shouldn’t you be in character? When you’re talking to a reporter or someone in the media, should you be in character or not?”
As far as Booker T is concerned, staying in character is important when “working the masses” because, as a performer, every wrestler wants to make it as real as possible:
“When ‘working’ the masses, you always want to try and stay in character and make it as real as you possibly can to try and create something. I think Kenny Omega, when saying something like that and being in character and trying to create something, then all of the sites pick it up. [Omega is like,] ‘Hey, I did my job.’ He didn’t disrespect anybody. When he sees those guys, he goes, ‘Man, I was just playing. I’m working. That’s all I’m doing. It’s a work.'”
All Elite Wrestling premieres their debut episode of AEW: Dynamite next week on October 2nd.
WWE NXT aired live from Full Sail University tonight. Both hours of NXT will be moving to the USA Network starting next week. Here are 5 takeaways from the show:
Keith Lee Defeated Dominik Dijakovic In A Great Match
Keith Lee squared off with Dominik Dijakovic in the first match on this week’s episode of NXT. Lee dominated the match early and leveled Dijakovic with a shoulder tackle. Lee went for a Suplex but Dijakovic broke it up with a knee strike. Keith shrugged it off and hit Dijakovic with a headbutt. Dijakovic connected with a Chokeslam onto the ring apron as NXT went to a commercial break.
When NXT returned, Lee was back in control and slammed Dominik to the canvas. Keith knocked Dominik to the outside and flipped onto him. Back in the ring, Lee connected with a ridiculous Moonsault off the second rope for a near fall.
Dijakovic and Lee battled on the turnbuckle and Dominik connected with a Canadian Destroyer for a two count. The crowd chanted “holy sh*t!” as Dijakovic hit a Moonsault of his own for a two count. Lee deadlifted Dijakovic and planted him with a Jackhammer for the pinfall victory.
The commentary team pointed out that the series is now tied 1-1. Lee and Dijakovic work incredibly well together and I am already looking forward to their next match.
Dakota Kai made her return tonight and got a great reaction from the crowd. Kai battled Taynara on tonight’s show. Taynara started trash-talking Kai and got a kick to the face from Dakota.
Kai climbed to the top rope but Taynara tripped her up. Taynara connected with a kick to the back of Kai’s head for a near fall. Kai battled back with a flurry of kicks and followed it up with the Facewash Kick in the corner. Dakota then hit the GTK for the pinfall victory.
Matt Riddle Will Face Adam Cole Next Week For The NXT Championship
Matt Riddle and Killian Dain once again battled in a Street Fight tonight on the show. NXT GM William Regal announced that the winner of this match will get the opportunity to face Adam Cole for the NXT Championship.
Riddle and Dain traded shots to start the match off. Dain sent Riddle out of the ring but Matt got right back in and took Killian down. Both superstars got back up and had a staredown as the crowd cheered.
Killian lifted Riddle up in the Fireman’s Carry but Matt escaped and hit a kick to the face. Riddle connected with a German Suplex and went for the cover but Killian was able to kick out at two. Dain rolled out of the ring but Riddle chased after him and hit a forearm to the face as NXT went to a commercial break.
When NXT returned, Riddle was still in control and hit an Exploder Suplex in the ring. Riddle followed it up with two Brotons and then a Penalty Kick for a near fall. Dain slammed Riddle to the canvas and connected with a Senton.
Dain followed it up with a Powerbomb and then an Elbow Drop for a two count. Riddle planted Killian with an Alabama Slam and a Moonsault for another near fall. Killian Dain knocked Riddle out of the ring and hit him with a Suicide Dive as the crowd chanted “NXT!”.
Killian Dain threw a steel chair at Riddle and then hit him in the midsection with it. The action spilled into the crowd as Dain and Riddle traded shots. Riddle connected with three kicks to the chest and Killian fell to the floor. Matt then returned the favor and threw a chair at Dain. Killian then hit Riddle with a Crossbody that sent both superstars through a clearly gimmicked wall as NXT went to a break.
Riddle hit Dain with a Broton through a table as NXT returned from the break. Back in the ring, Riddle grabbed a chair but turned around into a Crossbody from Killian. Dain hit three Vader Bombs in a row and went for the cover but Riddle kicked out at two.
Killian placed the chair on top of Riddle and hit it with a kendo stick. Dain made his way back to the second rope but Riddle got up and hit Killian with the chair. Riddle followed it up with a Powerbomb and then a knee to the face for a two count.
Matt Riddle placed the chair on top of Killian and hit it with the kendo stick. Riddle hit Dain with the kendo stick once again and then went for the Bromission but Dain blocked it. Dain and Riddle traded shots but Matt locked in an Arm Bar in the middle of the ring and Killian tapped out.
NXT Champion Adam Cole made his way down to the ring with the title. Cole told Riddle that he isn’t in his league and he will never be the NXT Champion. Riddle locked Cole in an Arm Bar and Cole tapped out. Undisputed Era rushed the ring but Riddle was able to escape to end the first hour of NXT.
Riddle and Dain put on a solid Street Fight and the right superstar won. Riddle versus Adam Cole is a great main event next week when NXT goes to two hours on the USA Network.
Rhea Ripley faced Kayden Carter tonight on NXT. Carter connected with a DDT to start things off but Rhea responded with a massive Dropkick of her own. Ripley went for the cover but Kayden kicked out at two.
Ripley beat Carter down in the corner and connected with a Vertical Suplex for a near fall. Rhea unloaded a few forearms to Carter’s face and stood over her. Ripley went for a kick but Kayden dodged it and rolled up Ripley for a two count.
Carter hit a Hurricanrana and followed it up with a kick to the face for a near fall. Rhea battled back and planted Carter with the Riptide for the pinfall victory.
Aichner and Kushida started things off and Fabian beat him down in the corner. Kushida battled back with a Hip Toss and then a Dropkick for a two count. Wolfe tagged in and connected with a German Suplex for a near fall.
Fandango tagged in and leveled Alexander with a Dropkick. Tyler Breeze tagged in and hit a Suplex and followed it up with a Leg Drop for a two count. Imperium battled back and isolated Tyler Breeze in the ring.
Aichner and Barthel tied up Breeze in the Tree of Woe and hit him with Stereo Dropkicks. Aichner planted Tyler with a Back Body Drop for a near fall and tagged Barthel back into the match.
Breeze finally battled back and sent Barthel out of the ring. Marcel got back into the ring before Tyler could tag out and brought him back to Imperium’s corner. Aichner tagged in and Tyler connected with an Enziguri.
Fandango tagged in and lit up Wolfe’s chest with a couple of chops. Fandango did the same to Aichner and planted him with a Falcon Arrow. Fandango connected with a DDT on Wolfe and then launched Marcel to the outside. Fandango flipped onto Imperium outside the ring and Kushida tagged in.
Kushida locked in an Arm Breaker but it was broken up and then a brawl broke out. Kushida rolled up Barthel for the victory and celebrated on the entrance ramp. Walter showed up and leveled Kushida with a boot to the face. Imperium then posed on the entrance ramp to close the show.
NXT was another solid show tonight but the first hour was far more entertaining. Next week’s episode is setting up to be a huge show with multiple title matches. NXT is going all out to try and counterprogram the debut of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
There is a new #1 contender to the WWE NXT Title held by Adam Cole and that’s Matt Riddle.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT, WWE held a second Street Fight between Riddle Killian Dain. This comes after their original Street Fight last week went to a no contest.
WWE NXT William Regal added some big stakes to this match as it was announced that this contest will determine who will be next in line for a championship match.
As seen on the show, Riddle ended up winning it. As a result, Riddle has earned the right to challenge Cole for the WWE NXT Title on next week’s episode of NXT.
WWE is loading up the show as two previous title matches have been announced that includes NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Candice LeRae and The Undisputed Era defending the NXT Tag Team Titles against The Street Profits.
The obvious reason for booking a title match on this NXT episode is due to the hope of increasing ratings as they will be in for a big fight.
NXT will be going head-to-head with AEW Dynamite that will air at the same time on TNT. All Elite Wrestling has loaded up the show as well.
WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin has addressed the idea of wrestling one more match.
On Tuesday’s episode of his PodcastOne show, The Steve Austin Show, Austin reflects on his final match in 2003 against The Rock at WrestleMania 19. This is where he discussed the possibility of returning to action inside the squared circle.
Austin stated that for the last few times that he was recently at RAW TV events, people would tell him that he was in really good shape and asked if he thought he had one more in him.
He told them that it’s a tough thing to think about as he thinks most definitely he’s physically able to work another match and that he could make it to that match without getting injured.
“Although the risks are always there, just because I think all of the surgeries, I had… where I had the spinal stenosis, and getting that bone spur taken off my spinal cord – I’m in a good place. Nerves are feeling a lot better than they use to. So, you know, in theory, could I have a match? In theory, yes.”
AEW has revealed a new subscription service in a partnership with FITE TV.
On Wednesday, FITE TV announced that AEW Plus will provide live and replay access to fans in order to watch AEW Dynamite on a subscription basis as well as an a la carte option.
It will be available in numerous countries and regions outside the U.S. and Canada including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Italy, Spain, Chile, Brazil, and the Middle East.
AEW Plus will feature the live two-hour show every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET for a $4.99 monthly subscription price on FITE. In addition, the monthly subscription will offer extra exclusive programming including behind-the-scenes footage.
Also, there will be a weekly a la carte option for $2.99 providing even more options for consumers.
It was touted in the press release that “for the first time ever, a TV series will be available LIVE worldwide at the same time through the innovative AEW Plus digital option.”
This comes after ITV announced a television deal with AEW for their weekly TV show to air on ITV4 on October 6.
The bad news for UK fans was the fact that they had to wait four days to watch new episodes of the show. That has changed with this new deal with FITE.
Tuesday’s edition of WWE SmackDown Live from San Francisco, California at the Chase Center averaged 2.099 million viewers, which is up from 2.064 million the previous week, according to ShowbuzzDaily.
The same SmackDown episode last year drew 2.193 million viewers. This was the final episode of the show on the USA Network as it moves to Friday nights on FOX starting next week.
The episode was expected to decrease in viewership just like Monday’s episode of RAW did. RAW did have big competition in the way of the NFL regular-season game on ESPN.
The show had to go up against Hannity that did 3,861 million viewers, Rachel Maddow Show with 3,323 and Tucker Carlson Tonight that drew 3,412. Also, the show didn’t go up against any big sports-related competition.
Matches that took place on this show include Erick Rowan defeats Daniel Bryan, Chad Gable defeats Mike Kanellis, The Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection (Bayley & Sasha Banks) defeat Carmella & Charlotte Flair, WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Ali in a non-title match, The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) defeat The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel), and The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) defeat Fire And Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville).
The show also featured a segment with Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon that served as the main event scene.
In case you missed the show, you can check out the 5 takeaways from it here.
WWE is expecting to see a big increase in viewership for the first episode on FOX, which should be interesting to see what number it pulls in.
Watch: Top 10 Moments from Tuesday’s Smackdown Live (9.24.19)
ITV has announced a deal with AEW (All Elite Wrestling) that will see their new weekly wrestling show air on the network.
They did so on Wednesday by confirming that the show will air for free starting next month. The run will start with the full two-hour show on ITV4 on October 6th then followed by a one-hour highlights program on ITV on October 7th.
The shows will run sequentially leading up to PPV events including the Full Gear pay-per-view. It was noted that more details including schedule information to follow soon.
This means that fans in the UK will have to wait four days to watch new episodes of the show.
? Announcement! ITV is to show brand new weekly wrestling show AEW: Dynamite on free to air television from next month. The run will start with the full two hour show on @ITV4 on Sun 6 Oct at 0820 followed by a one hour highlights programme on ITV on Mon 7 Oct at 11.45pm (1/2)
AEW President Tony Khan has commented on the deal by issuing a statement on his official Twitter account:
“We’ll work together to ensure there will always be a free to air broadcast of the most recent episode of AEW: Dynamite before Saturday PPVs including Full Gear. We’ll also be announcing a live viewing solution soon for the UK + many other countries with great AEW fans. Thank you!”
Starting Wednesday, October 2 in Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena, AEW will begin airing live two-hour weekly matches on TNT at 8 p.m. ET.
All Elite Wrestling Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has already confirmed that the show will be rated TV-14.
During the interview, he was asked about his contract expiring this month. This is where he noted that fans don’t get to have too many surprises in this business, so he’s keeping this one close to the vest.
“This is a life-changing decision and a million different things go into it, so I have to weigh my options. No matter what, I’m grateful for every opportunity I’ve been given so far in my career and I don’t forget where I came from. I’m just going into this with an open mind and let the chips fall where they may.”
As of this writing, there have been no reports on if he plans to stay with the Baltimore-based promotion or tests out the free-agent market. Taven is in a good spot either way.
The reason for that is due to several promotions such as WWE, AEW, NJPW, and ROH paying big money in order to keep or sign wrestlers.
Ring of Honor is slated to hold their latest pay-per-view event of the year in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Live this Friday.
Taven will headline the show by defending his title against Rush.
Another match has been announced for next Monday’s episode of WWE RAW.
On Wednesday, WWE officially announced that AJ Styles will make his next title defense as WWE United States Champion against Cedrick Alexander.
This match was set up when Alexander got the better of Styles during a brief brawl this past Monday. The two stars had been feuding over the last several weeks.
Styles and Alexander most recently competed against each other in a singles match when Styles beat Alexander to retain the title at the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view event in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Spectrum Center on the WWE Network. The contest aired during the pre-show.
This show takes place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. WWE is loading up the show and hyping it as a new season of RAW, they have done in the past.
Below is the updated announced line-up:
Brock Lesnar to appear
The Miz hosts MizTV with WWE Hall of Famers Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan
WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins defends against the winner of the Fatal 5 Way Match
Sasha Banks vs. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Alexa Bliss
WWE United States Champion AJ Styles defends against Cedric Alexander
A little over a year ago Lio Rush debuted on WWE Raw as the hype man and manager of Bobby Lashley. Rush’s promo ability was praised by many upon his call up to the main roster but problems backstage eventually led to him taking a sabbatical from the company.
He made his return to WWE on the September 18th edition of NXT. Rush defeated Oney Lorcan on the show in a number one contendership match for Drew Gulak’s cruiserweight championship.
The YouTube channel for the WWE Performance Centre released the following video today of Rush speaking about his return to NXT:
Lio Rush on Returning To NXT
“This is crazy because I’ve been in front of 80,000 people at WrestleMania and now I’m back here at NXT,” Rush says in the video. “I’m nervous as can be.”
“There’s always that thought in my head of ‘man, do I even still know how to wrestle? I haven’t had a wrestling match in almost half a year. I got into professional wrestling, to sports entertainment, to literally show the world that I’m one of the greatest and can be one of the greatest athletes, professional wrestlers, that has ever lived. No matter the age, no matter the experience.”
After months of waiting, All Elite Wrestling is set to premiere on TNT next week. The promotion recently announced a new match which will take place on their debut episode October 2nd from Washington. Hangman Page will take on PAC on the show.
Page is coming off a loss to Chris Jericho in the inaugural AEW world championship match from All Out while PAC won his first match in the promotion at the same event, defeating the slumping Kenny Omega.
AEW Dynamite #1
The updated lineup for AEW first show on TNT now looks like this:
Chris Jericho & mystery partners vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega.
Nyla Rose vs. Riho to crown the first AEW Women’s Champion
Cody vs. Sammy Guevara.
Jon Moxley to appear
AEW Full Gear
After the first 6 episodes of AEW Dynamite, the promotion will present their next PPV, Full Gear. The show will take place in the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore on November 9th. Two matches for that show have been announced thus far. Kenny Omega will face Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho is scheduled to defend the AEW World Championship against Cody.
