AEW updated its rankings on Friday, April 24th, 2020. The promotion normally releases its new rankings every Wednesday. The rankings were briefly available on AEW’s website on the 22nd but that edition has since been removed.
The updated rankings involve Chris Jericho dropping out of the top-5 altogether. The tag-team and women’s rankings are unchanged from the ones posted on April 22nd.
Darby Allin also goes from unranked to #3 after defeating Sammy Guevara in the TNT title tournament this week. Jake Hager had been ranked #4 and Lance Archer #5 but they switched places between the April 22nd and 24th rankings despite neither of them competing on Dynamite this week.
The image of the rankings posted on April 22nd is below:
The updated rankings as of April 24th are below:
It is possible that Chris Jericho’s 0-1 single’s record in 2020 is why he was removed from the top-5. His only single’s match this year was when he dropped the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley at Revolution.
AEW Women’s and Tag Team Rankings
Both the women’s and tag-team divisional rankings stayed the same between the Wednesday and Friday editions of the rankings. They are below:
Last night’s edition of WWE Smackdown featured tributes to Triple H’s 25 years with WWE. Vince McMahon also sent out a tweet commemorating Triple H’s time with the company. President of the United States, Donald Trump, replied to the post stating he believes Triple H is a “total winner.”
Donald Trump is a WWE Hall of Fame inductee. He was inducted into the celebrity wing of the HOF in 2013. Other inductees that year include Mick Foley, Bruno Sammartino, Trish Stratus, Booker T, and Bob Backlund.
Triple H’s 25 Years In WWE
Triple H’s quarter-century in WWE was celebrated on Smackdown this week and several people have been congratulating him online as well. In a recent interview with ESPN, Triple H commented on some of his favorite matches from his career.
“Probably myself vs. The Undertaker in “Hell in a Cell” [at WrestleMania 28]. They billed it as an “End of an Era” match. Shawn Michaels was the guest referee. I think it was the most meaningful for the three of us — the end of all of our time together, the last big hurrah in the ring. So that one really stands out to me.”
WWE is celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the in-ring debut of Triple H and the Game has been doing media rounds on the occasion, talking about various things.
He recently had another such interview with ESPN where the
former World Champion talked about things like the talent adapting to shows
without an audience and more.
When asked which is the favorite WrestleMania match of his
career, Triple H said that it’s probably his End of an Era bout against The
Undertaker at WrestleMania 28:
“Probably myself vs. The Undertaker in “Hell in a Cell” [at WrestleMania 28]. They billed it as an “End of an Era” match. Shawn Michaels was the guest referee. I think it was the most meaningful for the three of us — the end of all of our time together, the last big hurrah in the ring. So that one really stands out to me.”
When asked if he has a favorite opponent, H said that there
are a bunch of them and the honorable mentions include people like The
Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley and The Rock.
However, if there is one guy he could roll out of his bed on
five minutes’ notice and can still tear the house apart with in a 45 minutes
match, then it’s definitely Shawn Michaels.
Apart from this, Triple H talked about his favorite non-WrestleMania match, his favorite behind the scene moment in WWE and more.
WWE successfully managed to produce WrestleMania 36 as a two-night event and after this, Triple H made the case for the show to be a multi-night event in the future.
The Game’s comments made many wonder if it was an indication of things to come and if the company was planning to stretch future WrestleManias into two nights after the change this year but it doesn’t appear to be the case.
Dave Meltzer discussed the event on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter and confirmed that currently there are no plans for WrestleMania 37 to be a two-night event.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the top brass could not consider the change in format for the show in future but the report confirms that Triple H’s comments are not an indication of the same.
“Like, it’s a week long festival and I think that the big main-stage attraction needs to be those two nights and it’d be this weekend of events. I do think that’s probably a change that; with chaos comes the genius and maybe that is the genius of it.”
Triple H continued by saying that he knows people who have
been rooting for this for a period of time but this is a major shift that
doesn’t come easy.
What do you think about WrestleMania possibly being a two-night event in future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
There have been some speculations that WWE might be looking to re-sign Drake Maverick and Sarah Logan but latest update on the situation suggests that this is not the case.
Drake Maverick is being used for the ongoing Cruiserweight
title tournament and he has cut a number of emotional promos claiming that he
is fighting to save his job.
However, while the company has worked his departure into the storyline, as of this week the decision of his release still stands, according to Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Sarah Logan was also rumored to be rehired after it was revealed that the company had planned to use her on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
Though the plans were changed at last minute and Logan was not used for the show despite being backstage. Observer is now reporting that there are no plans for her to be re-hired by the promotion either.
The idea behind her planned Raw appearance was that since
the company is still paying her during the 90-day non-compete period they could
use the female star for a storyline if required.
There is no word yet on what the company had planned for Sarah Logan on Raw but it’s believed that they can still use her on the show before the 90 days period expires.
The non compete clause for the recently released stars will be expiring on July 15 and as of this writing, all the fired wrestlers including Maverick and Logan are expected to be done with the company after that.
The Big Show has been a part of WWE for over two decades and over the years he has participated in many unique WrestleMania angles and storylines.
During his recent appearance on WWE’s The Bump, the former
World Champion talked about a number of things and also revealed his favorite
Mania storyline.
The Giant said that if he had to pick a promotion that he
thought was the best, then he would pick his WrestleMania 24 storyline and match
with boxer Floyd Mayweather
“If I had to pick a promotion that I thought was the
best, I’d have to pick with Floyd Mayweather [Jr.] and I during WrestleMania
24, that was an incredible opportunity for me, and the media pushed into it.
[Plus], all the trash talking going into it.” said The Big Show “I mean, that is an exceptional one that will always stick out in my mind like, ‘Wow, that was an incredible WrestleMania [moment].’
The former World Champion also recalled his WrestleMania 20
match with John Cena. He mentioned how it comes up a lot and revealed that he
himself had chosen Cena as his opponent for the show.
The Big Show faced Floyd “Money” Mayweather in a no disqualification match at WrestleMania 24. Mayweather won the bout after he knocked Show out with a shot to the jaw with brass knuckles.
WWE had announced a special celebration for the 25th anniversary of Triple H’s in ring debut for the company and wrestling stars from around the globe have been coming forward to wish the Game on the occasion since then.
One such surprising wish came from former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho who has drifted apart from the WWE world in recent times due to his association with AEW.
The former WWE star posted a video on his social media accounts recently to congratulate Triple H. In the video as seen below, he claimed that time and circumstances may change but the chemistry between the two does not:
“Times and circumstances may change but one thing that never changes is the amazing chemistry that I had with Triple H. So I just wanna wish him a happy 25th anniversary.
To one of the greatest to ever step inside a wrestling ring and a guy I had killer chemistry with. Every match we ever had was great. Happy 25th anniversary. Lemmy would be very proud of you.”
After his one year contract with WCW ended, Triple H signed
a deal with WWE and he made his in ring debut for the company on the April 30,
1995 episode of Wrestling Challenge.
Since then he has went on to build a Hall Of Fame worthy career in the promotion including over a dozen world title victories and many memorable moments throughout the years.
The Revival has decided to have some fun with their latest t-shirt design by playing off an idea that recently surfaced online.
Last week, photos of the artwork for the new idea that WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon had for the tag team emerged.
Last year, WWE was once again trying to get them to sign new long-term deals. However, the tag team didn’t want to do so but rather wait out their current contracts until they expired.
At the time, McMahon had plans to turn The Revival into a comedy tag team. He came up with the idea to them portray a comedy version of The Fabulous Ones tag team.
After McMahon finally realized that they were not going to sign new deals, plans were dropped for them and they were eventually pulled from television. They would’ve had new gear and music.
Scott Dawson has changed his name to Dax Harwood while Dash Wilder has changed his name to Cash Wheeler. Dax Harwood’s real name is David Harwood and Cash Wheeler’s real name is Daniel Wheeler.
Harwood showed off the new t-shirt that has the planned artwork for their comedy characters featured, which you can see here:
The April 24th edition of WWE SmackDown aired from the Performance Center in Orlando. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross defended their Women’s Tag Team Championships against Carmella and Dana Brooke. Lacey Evans battled Sasha Banks and Drew Gulak will faced King Corbin in Money in the Bank Qualifying matches. WWE also celebrated Triple H’s 25 years with the company during tonight’s show.
WWE SmackDown Results (4/24)
King Corbin def. Drew Gulak to qualify for the Money in the Bank Ladder match
Sheamus def. Daniel Vidot
Lucha House Party def. Miz & Morrison
Lacey Evans def. Sasha Banks to qualify for the Money in the Bank Ladder match
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. Dana Brooke & Carmella to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s episode:
The Forgotten Sons Sent A Message To The SmackDown Tag Team Division
The Forgotten Sons made their debut on SmackDown. Image Credit: WWE.com
SmackDown Tag Team Champions New Day kicked off tonight’s episode. Kofi stated that Big E was responsible for them being champs once again. Kingston said that they have more title reigns than great teams like the Hart Foundation, New Age Outlaws, etc.
Big E added that they have 8 championships and that is more that new Tampa Buccaneers QB Tom Brady. Lucha House Party interrupted and congratulated New Day on being champions again and said that was “Lucha lit”. They were about to challenge New Day but Miz & Morrison interrupted.
Miz said “really” a few times before claiming New Day weren’t legit champions because they won the titles in a single’s match. Morrison noted that New Day has never beaten them in a traditional tag team match. The Miz told New Day that they make the titles look like jokes and they want them back right now.
The Forgotten Sons joined the party and Miz joked that he had no idea who they were. Steve Cutler stated that they have served their country and ever since they came home they have been treated like trash. Jaxson Ryker called Miz a poser for playing a marine in the movies but he is a real marine.
Wesley Blake added that they are savages that will strike anywhere and a brawl broke out. The Miz and Morrison retreated out of the ring and stood on the entrance ramp. The Forgotten Sons beat everyone down and Powerbombed Kofi on top of Big E.
King Corbin Qualified For The Money In The Bank Ladder Match
King Corbin faced Drew Gulak in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match tonight on SmackDown. Daniel Bryan accompanied Drew Gulak to the ring.
Match Recap: Corbin controlled the action early and sent Gulak out of the ring. Drew battled back and applied a Headlock. Corbin broke free and shoved Drew up against the ropes. Corbin connected with a couple punches but Gulak connected with a boot to the face that sent Corbin out of the ring. Gulak Dropkicked Corbin over the announce table as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Corbin was back in control and hit a massive Clothesline for a near fall. Corbin followed it up with a slam for another two count. Bryan tried to fire up Gulak as Corbin taunted him. Baron stomped on Gulak’s knee in the corner of the ring while shouting at him to give up.
Gulak fought back with several forearms to the chest of Corbin. Drew hit King Corbin with a Dropkick and followed it up with a Crossbody for a two count. The action spilled out of the ring and Gulak sent Corbin into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Gulak hit a Dropkick off the top rope for a two count.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro came out of nowhere and attacked Daniel Bryan. Corbin capitalized on the distraction and shoved Gulak into the ring post. Corbin then planted Gulak with the End of Days for the pinfall victory. King Corbin has qualified for the Money in the Bank Ladder match. After the match, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro held up Drew Gulak and Corbin hit him with the scepter.
Lacey Evans Qualified For The Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Lacey Evans
Sasha Banks faced Lacey Evans in a Money in the Bank Ladder match tonight. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley accompanied Sasha to the ring. Banks had a picture of Lacey Evans’ daughter with her.
Match Recap: Bayley hopped on the apron with the picture for a distraction and Banks capitalized. Lacey quickly battled back and sent Banks into the barricade. Bayley once again distracted Evans and Sasha slammed Evans’ hand into the ring post.
Back in the ring, Banks slammed Lacey’s hand into the post and followed it up with Double Knees for a two count. Sasha connected with a Powerbomb and locked in the Bank Statement in the middle of the ring. Lacey escaped but Banks stomped on her injured hand. Lacey hit the Woman’s Right and went for the cover but Bayley put Sasha’s foot on the rope.
Sasha Banks then rolled up Lacey but the referee was distracted by Bayley. Sasha got pissed off at Bayley and told her to stay out of this. Lacey then leveled Sasha with the Woman’s Right for the victory. Lacey Evans qualified for the Money in the Bank Ladder match. Tamina then leveled Bayley with a Superkick on the entrance ramp.
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross defended their Women’s Tag Team Championships against Dana Brooke and Carmella tonight.
Match Recap: The action spilled out of the ring right away and Dana hit Nikki with a Crossbody off the barricade as SmackDown went to a break. When SmackDown returned, Carmella and Alexa were battling in the ring. Carmella hit a Bronco Buster and followed it up with a kick to the face for a near fall.
Dana Brooke leveled Nikki outside the ring as Carmella rolled up Bliss for a two count. Alexa and Nikki slammed Carmella to the canvas for the pinfall victory. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are still the Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Vince McMahon Interrupted Triple H & Shawn Michaels
Vince McMahon
Triple H came down to the ring to celebrate 25 years in WWE. Shawn Michaels immediately interrupted and joined Triple H in the ring. Michaels said Triple H is one of the greatest WWE performers of all time. Triple H went for a hug but Shawn said that they need to social distance.
Shawn asked Triple H what was his favorite moment of his 25th anniversary show before shouting that he never had one. Michaels said he was joking and brought up how much fun he had in DX with Triple H. They then rolled highlights of DX bloopers and funny moments.
Michaels complimented Triple H on his WrestleMania resume and rolled footage of all of Triple H’s losses at the biggest show of the year. Shawn joked that Triple H wasn’t that good. Triple H thanked all of his opponents and claimed his career would be nothing without them.
Shawn then brought up Stephanie McMahon and called her “Stephanie no fun”. Stephanie then Facetimed in and wondered why Shawn was talking about her. Michaels started mocking her and Stephanie poked fun at Shawn’s lazy eye. Ric Flair called in and congratulated Triple H. Flair told Triple H to not let Michaels Superkick him at the end of the segment.
Road Dogg poked fun at Flair before Michaels told Triple H to stop answering his phone. Michaels brought up the Katie Vick before Vince McMahon interrupted. Vince joked that if there was an audience here they would be chanting “boring”. McMahon poked fun at thinking the Gobbledy Gooker was going to work and the terrible Bayley “this is your life” segment.
Vince told Triple H that he loved him and Triple said the same. Shawn hopped into frame and said that they loved both of them. McMahon told Triple H that his performance tonight was horrible and joked that he is ashamed of them. McMahon told them to wrap it up and the lights went out. Crickets sounds played as SmackDown went off the air.
Opinion: I think a lot of people were expecting an attack from someone to happen at the end of this segment but I still thought it was entertaining for what it was. It was essentially a roast of Triple H for twenty minutes. Overall, tonight’s episode of SmackDown was an interesting show. Lucha House Party upsetting Miz and Morrison makes me believe that they are heading towards a break up as a team.
The Women’s Tag Team Championship was pretty bad and there simply isn’t enough established teams to care about that division. Banks blaming Bayley for her loss and then just standing there when Tamina attacked her was great. WWE has been airing vignettes on Jeff Hardy and the final part is next week. I’m looking forward to see what they have planned for him when he shows up on SmackDown.
An update has surfaced online regarding the futures of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
The two stars were released from WWE last week when the company decided to make mass firing of staff and talent. The wrestlers who were released are now under a 90-day non-compete clause, which prevents them from officially signing a deal with any promotions.
Since being let go, Anderson and Gallows have gone back to the gimmicks that they portrayed in NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) on social media.
It was reported by Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that NJPW has not offered contracts to Gallows and Anderson that would see them make a return to the promotion.
It should be noted that NJPW hasn’t held a show since March due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Meltzer noted that if NJPW wasn’t dealing with the financial impact of the virus, “such a deal would be a given as far as getting an offer to return.”
Thus, it’s possible when NJPW starts running shows again, perhaps a deal will be offered to Anderson and Gallows.
Anderson and Gallows had reportedly turned down lucrative five-year deals due to being unhappy last year.
There was speculation that they would leave the company in the fall once their contracts expired. That changed when WWE offered them more money and they signed new deals.
WWE Hall of Famer Triple H recently spoke with Newsweek to talk about a wide range of topics.
During the interview, he was asked whether he wishes he was able to work a Money In The Bank Ladder Match.
“I have no desire to climb a high ladder and get pushed off of it,” he said. “There are certain guys that are built for ladders and guys who are and I’m not one of them.
My ladder matches have normally involved me whacking someone with it or getting whacked with it a lot. So climbing and falling off of it is not my forte.”
Triple H continued by noting that when these types of matches started to come around, it was built around an additional match at WrestleMania. He pointed out how he had various storylines going on at the time of these matches taking place and was never involved in the matches.
Triple H noted that he has worked ladder matches in the past but not working the Money In The Bank Ladder Match is something that he never regrets not being able to do because no one has ever seen him do a moonsault before.
WWE holds the Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on May 10th with both men’s and women’s ladder matches taking place at WWE’s headquarters.
While original plans for AEW’s next pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, didn’t go accordingly, the promotion is moving forward with the show.
All Elite Wrestling was planning to hold this show from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 23rd. However, the impact of the coronavirus on the world including the United States has changed that.
With Las Vegas being shut down like many other cities and states, the promotion will have to hold the show at a different location.
According to a report by Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com, current plans call for the show to take place from Jacksonville, Florida. The belief is that the show will air from Daily’s Place, which is the same venue as the Dynamite and Dark TV tapings that will start on May 6th.
AEW Double or Double or Nothing will be available for purchase via BR Live, iN DEMAND cable operators, DirecTV, DISH. AEW fans outside the United States can order via the FITE streaming service.
No matches for the show have been announced thus far. We do know the finals of the AEW TNT Title Tournament will be held at the show.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Lance Archer and Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin has been confirmed for next week’s episode of Dynamite. The winners of these contests will then square off in the finals to determine the inaugural champion.
Jon Moxley plays the role of Randy Stone in the upcoming film “Cagefighter: Worlds Collide.” The film also stars Chuck Liddell, Christian, Luke Rockhold, Gina Gershon, and more. Moxley’s character is a former pro-wrestler transitioning into MMA. Footage of Moxley from AEW is shown in the film’s trailer.
Moxley spoke with “With Spandex” recently about how Christian got him involved in the film.
“I got a call from Jay Reso, who wrestling fans know as Christian. He was working as an executive producer on the movie,” Moxley said during the interview. “It was very shortly after I had left the previous place, WWE, and was a free agent, and he said they were looking for somebody who was a recognizable pro wrestler who’s available and I had just happened to become available.”
Several big names from the MMA world appear in the film in addition to Rockhold and Liddell. Matt Hardy, Bully Ray, Tommy dreamer, Drad Pickett and Rigan Machado,
“From being friends with Christian I knew that he wouldn’t be involved in some real crappy movie, so I just said, ‘Let’s go’ and pretty much jumped in right away,” Moxley continued.
The film will be released on May 16th digital on-demand at FITE.TV for those outside of the United States. Details about a wide release in the United States are coming soon.
Jim Ross has called some of the most important wrestling matches and moments in history. Recently on an interview with the Roman Show, however, JR talked about the one match he didn’t call that he wished he had.
“Yeah I would have loved to call Mick Foley’s first WWE title win,” Ross said on the show. “I was off work with Bell’s Palsy facial paralysis at the time. But I was very pleased cause Mick was one of my favorite hires. I hired him over the objections of several, including Vince. So, when Mick got that first title win, I would have loved to have been there for that moment but I did watch it on TV. That’s the one match I can think of that I would have really liked to have called if given the opportunity.”
Mankind won the WWF title for the first time on December 28th, 1998. The title change aired on the January 4th, 1999 episode of Monday Night RAW. He would only hold the belt a few weeks before losing it, however. The Rock defeated Mankind to win the title back at the 1999 Royal Rumble in an “I Quit” match.
JR’s full comments can be heard in the player below:
Earlier this month, WWE announced they would run episodes of RAW, Smackdown and NXT live from the Performance Center. Last week, WWE confirmed this was no longer the plan. WWE will return to pretaping several episodes at a time from its Orlando location beginning this weekend.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, WWE was informed by its television partners that switching from live to taped content would not impact their ongoing agreement.
It had been reported that WWE’s contracts with both Fox and NBC Universal only allowed for a certain number of pretaped shows a year. Speculation then held that WWE was worried that pretaping episodes during the pandemic could lead to the networks stating the agreements had been breached thus putting them in jeopardy.
“The change (from live to taped content) was made when both NBC Universal and FOX made it clear to WWE after getting numerous media questions (which neither company answered) that in this pandemic situation they would accept non-live programming despite the contract,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
All tapings are expected to take place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Tonight’s Smackdown is expected to be the last live show for the foreseeable future.
Arn Anderson went through several rounds of talent cuts during his time working backstage in WWE. On a recent episode of “The Arn Show,” Double-A gave his thoughts on WWE’s recent layoffs. He also spoke about the impact such cuts had other times the company laid off several wrestlers at the same time.
“Well, I’ve seen it before,” Arn Anderson said when asked his thoughts on the recent cuts. “I couldn’t tell you the year but one year after WrestleMania, there were 17 guys let go. And there was no pandemic, no coronavirus. It was one of those things where you went ‘Jesus’ and then you ended up getting to TV, ‘Ok, 17 guys got fired, who are we going to beat today?’ We got all this TV to produce, who are we going to beat?”
“Should have never let those guys get out of here without at least doing business on the way out,” he continued.
Arn Anderson on WWE Recent Talent Cuts
Anderson then commented on WWE cutting talent when the company is on pace to have a very profitable year.
“When you got a world crisis now, like we have, and things are the way they are and things are shut down. For all these people, and a lot of them are very good friends of mine. A lot of these people, to lose their job, just breaks your heart. The reality of the matter is, which I read and I’m sure its accurate, after cutting all these guys but before that the company was in line, even with all the things that have happened in the last 6 or 8 weeks, the company was still on pace to have their highest-earning year. Now unless that’s a bald-faced lie coming from an independent source, why did you need to cut all these guys if you are inline to have your biggest year yet?”
AEW is reportedly going to tape more content beginning on May 6th, 2020 from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. The most recent episodes have been from tapings held at the Monster Factory gym in Georgia. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, unless circumstances change, AEW is planning to return to taping content in the first week of May.
“The plan right now is for AEW to go back either weekly or more often starting on 5/6 from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
AEW did not use people who would be traveling from areas highly-impacted by the ongoing pandemic at their last set of tapings. As a result, wrestlers from California and the New York area were not used. Several of these wrestlers are expected to take part in upcoming tapings, however. It is being reported that the company believes they will have twice as many wrestlers available for the next tapings. Wrestlers traveling from areas highly-impacted by the coronavirus will quarantine at least two weeks before being brought in.
Wrestlers from outside the United States will still be unable to travel in. This includes any roster members currently in the U.K, Mexico, or Canada.
The last set of tapings focussed on the TNT championship tournament. The next set is expected to focus on the build to Double or Nothing on May 23rd, 2020, however.
WWE 2K21 is officially canceled. The news was first reported by @VikingSizeGamer and @JustinLeeper. WWE Interim Chief Financial Officer Frank Riddick confirmed it at Thursday’s WWE investor conference call.
WWE 2K20 was a train wreck. Gaming website Destructoid referred to the title as a ‘prolific disaster.’ The WWE 2K video game engine had been limping along for years, but the dam finally broke with last year’s installment. The game was plagued with glitches and was resoundingly ridicules in reviews and on social media.
The game’s developers were well-aware of the product they put out. Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick admitted the company was “disappointed that WWE 2K20 did not meet our expectations, both in terms of sales and quality.” Take-Two is the parent company of 2K and Rockstar Games.
Righting the wrongs of last year’s WWE video game was going to be an arduous task. The Coronavirus pandemic hindering the development of 2K21 certainly did not help matters.
On Monday morning, 2K will publicly address the future of the WWE 2K franchise, as well as some additional “exciting” news.
We will be sharing details on the future of the WWE 2K franchise as well as some exciting news on Monday at 7:00 a.m. PT.
Justin Leeper noted that in addition to the cancelation of 2K21, 2K still plans to release a WWE-branded video game in the near future. Leeper served as the Road to WrestleMania writer, designer, and director for WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Discussion: If 2K does release a new WWE video game that is different than the simulation style we’ve seen from the WWE 2K series, what type of game do you want to see? Let us know in the comments section.
WWE released more than a dozen talents as part of their budget cuts recently due to coronavirus and people have been speculating about the future of these released stars.
One such star in Deonna Purrazzo recently had an interview with SportsKeeda where she talked about a number of things and also discussed her future.
The former NXT star was asked which company she could end up
working in and she said that ideally, she would like to join AEW and be part of
their kick-ass women’s division:
“I guess, ideally, like, I haven’t been to AEW yet, so… Britt Baker is my best friend, she works there, they have a kick-ass women’s division now.” said Purrazzo. “It’s a lot of people I’ve never worked with, and it’s a brand-new product – so I would love to experience that and be part of it.“
Deonna Purrazzo continued by saying that if an AEW run is not an option then she would be interested in joining impact, noting that they also have an amazing women’s division right now with stars such as Tessa Blanchard and Kylie Rae.
The former NXT star signed a development contract with the company in May 2018 and competed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic. She made a couple of appearances on Raw as well but was never officially called up to the main roster.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on the ongoing ’empty arena’ shows that AEW and WWE have been producing. These have obviously been a necessity, due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that is affecting the entire globe.
Bully Ray mentioned the flagging ratings for both shows, with RAW recently hitting below 2 million viewers, something that would be unheard of even just five years ago. Ray would offer his own solution to the problem, saying that WWE needs to create more of an ‘ambience’ for the shows. Bully Ray’s solution? Bring back Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon to do WWE commentary.
Bully Ray on WWE Commentary
“All right, this is gonna sound crazy. If somebody said to me, ‘who should be on WWE commentary every week right now?’ Considering the times that we’re in, considering what needs to be done? You know who I would put a commentary? Vince McMahon and Steve Austin” Bully Ray began on Busted Open. “Would you tune in just for the commentary? Of course you would.”
Bully Ray would elaborate further, saying how he believes Austin and McMahon would be hugely beneficial to the talent in-ring. “Do you think Vince McMahon and Steve Austin could get the talent in the ring over? Yes. Now, is there a chance that you’re going to be more invested in Steve Austin and Vince McMahon than you are the talent on the ring. Yeah, but you got to do everything you possibly can do to keep a rating right now.”
Credability
Bully Ray would finish by discussing the credibility that Austin and McMahon could bring to the talent on screen. “Vince McMahon has been one of the best people behind that announce desk ever Right? Because he’s getting across the stories that he wanted to tell. So if you put the greatest rivalry in the history of wrestling behind behind the announce table, holy crap what the hell are these two guys gonna say to each other? And when the time is right they bicker, and when the time’s right they lay out and tell stories. ‘Well you know these New Day guys they’re really good you know they’re sitting on 8 Tag Team Championships, only a matter of time before they break the record.’ Holy sh*t Steve Austin just put over the New Day!? Instant frickin’ credibility.”
Bully Ray
Do you feel that WWE need to change up the commentary booth to bring some more life to the broadcasts? Let us know in the comments
Former Executive Director of WWE’s SmackDown brand Eric Bischoff recently discussed AEW and what he feels they need to improve. Whilst Bischoff was very clear in that the company have a lot of positives, he believes that more “storylines” and removing the “sameness” of some of the roster could help them exponentially going forward as a brand.
Eric Bischoff on AEW Overall
“I think they’re doing a lot of things well” Bischoff began on this week’s episode of After 83 Weeks w/ Christy Olson. “I know it’s gonna sound like a criticism I guess. I’m gonna try to make sure it doesn’t. When I look at my Twitter feed? When I read it, it’s like, people think I’m anti AEW!? I’m not at all. I mean I have a lot of friends there. And, people who I have a lot of respect for, who I may not be friends with them because I don’t really know them. But I know OF them and have a tonne of respect for them, so I’m pulling for them.”
Leveraging Social Media
Eric Bischoff would then go on to praise how the company has leveraged social media, from Being The Elite all the way to getting a slot on the TNT Network. “They’ve certainly captured the imagination. They’ve certainly figured out a way to build their brand and [have] brought/build awareness on social media. To YouTube in particular. [They have] converted that to a live event phenomenon, that they were able to convert to a television opportunity. By the way, that’s a lot to be proud of. And that’s a lot of doing sh*t right right there.”
Making Improvements
Bischoff would then move into how the company could improve, discussing the aforementioned ‘storylines’. “In terms of what I think they could do perhaps differently? Again I’m gonna qualify this because this is what I like. What I’m about to suggest, this is what appeals to me as a 65 year old guy who’s been in the business for over 30 years. Which is not the same thing that necessarily appeals to a 25 to 49 year old, or 18 to 34 year old, or 18 to 39 year old audience. So just because it appeals to me? Doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the right way to go.”
Emphasis on Story – Eric Bischoff
‘Easy E’ elaborated further, saying “I really do believe that they need more emphasis on story. I know they have stories, I’m not suggesting that they don’t. Please don’t misunderstand me, that’s not what I mean. But what I do mean is, I think the storytelling? Could be vastly improved. I think the character development could really be improved. Not AS much as the storytelling, because they’ve got some great characters. But I do believe that the characters could be developed to be a little bit more unique. To be a little more different from each other. There’s a ‘sameness’ to the characters. It’s just the way I see things, in the way I interpret things.”
WWE Also Being “Guilty of This”
Eric Bischoff would finish by pointing out that it isn’t just AEW who could improve on their storytelling. “For the most part? This is across the board, not just AEW. WWE is probably more guilty than AEW. I think the story, the emphasis on storytelling, has been abandoned for the most part. There’s a story there, yes technically, and I know that they try hard to try to create story. But in my opinion? The storytelling in WWE is no better.”
Do you think that AEW need to improve the way that they tell stories on television? Let us know in the comments
There have been reports of a drop in WWE morale due to the difficult working conditions amid the coronavirus outbreak but the boss Vince McMahon believes that the talent are taking this as a challenge instead.
The WWE Chairman recently took part in the 2020 Q1 earning calls with others where the WWE officials detailed the financial performance of the company in the first three months of 2020 and answered many questions.
When asked about the talent morale amid the coronavirus
outbreak, Mr McMahon claimed that their talents have taken this as a challenge
and risen to the occasion:
“Our only natural resource, obviously, is talent, and our talent have taken this as a challenge, have taken this almost as a duty, which has always happened with us, and they realize that, people are sitting at home, they’re bored.
And we can entertain them like no one else can entertain them. So, I think that they look at this as a challenge and they’ve really risen to the occasion. It’s amazing actually.”
Vince McMahon also mentioned how there are a few talents who are unable to perform due to certain pre-existing conditions, though he did not take the name of Roman Reigns or anyone else:
“There are a few that are unable to come down due to certain existings… certain things that exist, but nonetheless, by and large, kudos to them. They are a very, very special people, they’re extraordinary athletes. They love to give.
The boss continued by saying that the business is all about
giving and performing for the audience. He gave another kudos to the performers
for working without an audience in the attendance and said that he is proud of
them.
Apart from this, Vince McMahon also talked about their deal with Saudi Arabia and provided an update on the status of their next Saudi show. You can check out his comments on the matter at this link.
Triple H was recently a guest on After The Bell podcast of Corey Graves, where among other things; he explained the process of putting together the boneyard match between Undertaker and AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36.
The Game first explained how he got assigned to produce the match and revealed that he went to Vince McMahon. He asked the Boss what he needed to look at and McMahon assigned him to the boneyard match without even knowing what it was going to be:
“I then went to Vince and was like, ‘what do you think needs the most for me to look at it?'” recalled Triple H. “And he was like, ‘the Boneyard match’, and I was like, ‘OK, great. So what is the Boneyard Match?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know, like a graveyard. It’s in a graveyard.’ I said, ‘OK.'”
The former World Champion then explained the tough conditions they had to shoot in. He remembered how he was only assigned one cameraman for the match because the company was shooting WrestleMania simultaneously at the Performance Center.
Triple H spoke to Vince McMahon about it. He got the approval to get the NXT crew including Jeremy Borash and a team of digital shooters involved in the production and they finally began the shooting:
“So we gathered everybody up and we started laying it all out together and then set it up like a movie and went and shot it. I think we had seven cameras and we used a couple of drones in the process to shoot some of Taker’s arrival and things like that.
“Literally when we were shooting into the graveyard, if it was light out, there’s a house right there, but luckily the guy that owned this place over here was his house and he had all lights off so you couldn’t see it on the other side of the darkness.”
The King Of Kings later also revealed that the set they were
shooting at was a one-acre land that was behind a barn at the end of a
residential neighborhood.
Previous reports have revealed that it took them 5 days to build the set and 8 hours to complete the shoot of the highly praised cinematic match. You can check out some more backstage details and behind the scene photos of the production here.
Dean Malenko ended his 18-year long stint as a road agent with WWE last year. AEW was quick to act on the opportunity and sign the veteran producer to their brand.
During the recent episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, the former WCW star joined Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone and talked about a number of things.
Malenko also explained the reasoning behind his WWE
departure, saying that he thought it was time to move on and claimed that he
hasn’t looked back since:
“I thought it was just time to move on. There’s a little birdie that sits on his shoulder and tells you it’s time to make the next move, it’s time to move on,
And I haven’t looked back since. I’ve had nothing but fun and some really good group of guys here working” said Dean Malenko. ” With Tony and Cody and everybody here in the office just marvelous to work with.”
He later admitted that he was a little nervous in AEW because it’s a startup but at the same time, he likes taking chances and taking risks.
Dean Malenko explained that he did the same when he left WCW with The Radicalz to join the WWF in early 2000. He said that it’s always been a lot of fun for him and he likes anything that’s new or exciting and gives him a challenge.
The coronavirus has forced the world to cease all nonessential operations. This includes WWE and their deal to produce shows for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well.
Vince McMahon talked about the company’s performance in the
first few months of 2020 during the Q1 2020 earning calls recently and he also
provided an update on the status of their next show in the Middle Eastern
country.
The Boss revealed that the current plans are for them to do their second Saudi show of the year in November or December later this year after the Super Showdown 2020 event.
He is not sure if the authorities will be able to give them ok to perform at the time but according to McMahon the Saudis really want them to hold another show later this year.
Though even if the event is canceled, it will not have a negative impact on the company’s finances because they will be able to “tack it onto” the backside of their deal.
Per Vince McMahon’s explanation, this essentially means that
the show will be postponed to a later date and not canceled completely meaning
that the company will not lose the potential revenue from the event.
WWE signed a ten-year contract to put on two shows per year in Saudi Arabia in 2015 and the company put out their fifth show under the deal in Super Showdown 2020 in February earlier this year.
