The landscapes of WWE and the entire industry are changing rapidly. In just 5 weeks time, NXT will be airing on the USA Network live each week for 2 hours in prime time. SmackDown is moving to network television, giving WWE programming its largest platform ever. Then there’s the upcoming launch of AEW on TNT, dragging WWE back on to the battle field.

WWE held a Superstar Shakeup back in April, which reshuffled the rosters of Raw and SmackDown. However, this year’s Shakeup had a minimal impact on the makeup of the Raw and SmackDown rosters. Almost immediately, WWE blurred the lines between Rw and SmackDown by having superstars showing up on both shows. WWE eventually announced a Wild Card rule to justify the crossovers, but it’s been a futile effort.

Ahead of SmackDown moving to Fox and NXT moving to USA, there has been talk of WWE going back to a ‘hard brand split.’ According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE officials are discussing holding a WWE Draft in September to give Raw and SmackDown more-defined rosters:

“Right now there is a concept of another draft type of thing to build permanent Raw and Smackdown rosters. What we were originally told is that they wouldn’t be making major changes, but some changes, but this is Vince. Everything is being kept quiet and USA and FOX will be the first to know when the concept is decided.”

It will be interesting to see if this proposed idea comes to fruition. Over the past week or so, a few WWE Superstars have teased or outright stated their intentions to get more involved with NXT. Cesaro will attend this weekend’s NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff PPV. The Viking Raiders are vowing to wreak havoc in NXT once again. NXT is gearing up for a war against AEW, so expect to see that roster get infused with some Raw and SmackDown talent in the near future.

Visit f4wonline.com to subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Chris Jericho has a big weekend ahead. The 6-time World Champion looks to extend that record Saturday night. He’ll challenge Adam “Hangman” Page in the main event of AEW’s All Out pay-per-view to crown the first-ever AEW Word Heavyweight Champion.

Jericho is still demanding that AEW extend him a “thank you” for the company’s early success. His arrogance might be driving people nuts. However, according to Sportsbettingdime, it’s still highly likely that he is victorious in Chicago. A -200 favorite heading into this weekend’s PPV, Jericho and his star power are undeniably assets to AEW as they ramp up for weekly television.

• AEW All Out Predictions

Speaking of Jericho, he’s still touring regularly with his metal band, Fozzy. Last week, Jericho premiered Fozzy’s new single, Nowhere to Run, during an appearance on Busted Open Radio on Sirius XM. Jericho has announced the song will be released on on all major streaming platforms tomorrow (Thursday).

The release fulfills Jericho’s promise to have the song available to the public in time for September 14th, the night Fozzy opens for metal gods Iron Maiden in Los Angeles.

A new Fozzy album, a follow-up to the wildly popular Judas, is expected in early 2020.

The triple threat match between Joey Janela, Darby Allin and Jimmy Havoc scheduled for Saturday’s AEW All Out pay-per-view has now been dubbed, the Cracker Barrel Clash.

AEW sent in a press release Tuesday morning announcing a partnership with popular restaurant chain Cracker Barrel to present the company’s first match sponsorship. The sponsorship includes cross-promotional activities with AEW talent, customized co-branded graphics, in-venue signage and social media activation.

• AEW All Out Predictions

AEW’s top stars, The Elite, have been “super fans” of Cracker Barrel for several years. Cracker Barrel has sponsored several matches of The Young Bucks and they previously collaborated on “Biscuit Party” caps.

With 660 locations in 45 states, Cracker Barrel frequently hosts AEW wrestlers and their families across the country.

The Cracker Barrel Clash

Joey Janela, Darby Allin and Jimmy Havoc will go to war this weekend at All Out. However, it was not long ago that the three men were tag team partners.

This match come together after the partnership disintegrated at AEW’s last big event, Fight for the Fallen. The trio lost a six-man tag match against MJF, Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara.

After the loss, a disagreement amongst the three men devolved into a wild backstage brawl. AEW officials had to intervene and later signed this highly anticipated match.

AEW All Out takes place this Saturday night from Chicago, IL at the Sears Center.

We have another update regarding which broadcasters will be calling the action when AEW premieres on TNT in just over a month.

On Monday, AEW sent in confirmation that Tony Schiavone has signed a full-time, multi-year deal with the company. Schiavone will serve as a Senior Producer of AEW events. The press release stated that Schiavone joins “AEW’s television broadcast team of Jim Ross and Excalibur,” but that does not mean it will be these three men doing commentary for each week of AEW on TNT.

• AEW All Out Predictions

AEW’s plans for the commentary team have been “in flux” and a work in progress. However, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer states that the current plan is for Jim Ross, Excalibur and “Golden Boy” Alex Mendez to comprise AEW’s 3-man booth. The trio worked together at AEW Fyter Fest.

• Details on “Golden Boy” Alex Mendez Joining AEW

AEW’s Broadcasting Team

In addition to the JR, Excalibur and Goldenboy, AEW has lined up a top flight crew of on-air broadcasters for its upcoming television series.

Tony Schiavone is not scheduled to be at AEW All Out this weekend, but will be present for most weeks of television. AEW’s Wednesday taping schedule allows Schiavone to fulfill his other obligations calling college football, minor league baseball and doing wrestling commentary for Major League Wrestling (MLW).

Expect to see Schiavone as on-air talent. He might do some backstage interviews, “control center” content and may sit in for select matches, but not part of the core commentary team.

Alex Marvez will be at All Out. He’s been featured on AEW’s Road To All Out digital series, but for now he’s been rotated off commentary.

Popular YouTube stars Chris Van Vliet and Alicia Atout are also on board for backstage interview duties.

• Jim Ross Talks In-Depth About AEW & NXT Going Head-to-Head

A new podcast starring WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson is set to premiere in September. The show is aptly titled, The Arn Show and is headed to the Westwood One podcast network.

Up until February of this year, Arn Anderson was working as a backstage agent/producer for WWE. He held that post since the fall of WCW back in 2001. Anderson is the latest in a long string of pro wrestling personalities to team up with Conrad Thompson for a podcast.

During an interview with Sporting News back in February, Conrad revealed that he struck a deal with Arn shortly after his WWE release. He explained what fans can expect from the The Arn Show.

“Everything in his career up until now,” Thompson said. “The high potential in doing a podcast with Arn is that Arn was John Cena’s agent. So all that stuff that Bruce missed because he was gone, Arn is there to fill in the blanks for. Everything from The Undertaker’s streak ending to CM Punk leaving. So it’s going to be everything in between including the territory days from Georgia Championship Wrestling, the Alabama territories and talk about matches in Pensacola and when he made the jump to Jim Crockett Promotions which led to the Four Horseman, where he made a name for himself.”

He continued, “Who else has had a career like that going from the territory days to the NWA to Jim Crockett Promotions? It’s WCW, and it’s WWE/WWF. It’s a unique story and one we have never had before because except for the show that I had with Ric (Flair), I have been with office and never an actual in-ring performer. So it’s a different take and coming from someone who’s never done a shoot interview or a real book and never really broken kayfabe. The idea that we get to do that now is great because everyone will get to hear what they have listened to for years backstage. It’s a unique combination. It’s going to be a really popular show.”

Conrad Thompson currently serves as the co-host for podcasts with Bruce Prichard (Something To Wrestle), Jim Ross (Grilling JR), Tony Schiavone (What Happened When) and Eric Bischoff (83 Weeks). He’s also the promoter behind Starrcast III, the pro wrestling convention taking place this week in Chicago as part of AEW All Out weekend.

• Arn Anderson Discusses His Release From WWE

All Elite Wrestling sent in a statement confirming that Tony Schiavone has signed a full-time multi-year deal with upstart promotion.

The former “Voice of WCW” will join Jim Ross and Excalibur as part of the AEW television broadcast team. Schiavone will also serve as a Senior Producer for AEW events.

• AEW All Out Predictions

AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes had the following to say about Schiavone joining the team:

“Tony ‘The Silver Tongue’ Schiavone was the lead voice of pro wrestling at a time when it was dominating the globe. It’s a pleasure to have him join AEW as a senior producer and member of the broadcast team. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a UGA fan either. I think Tony is one of the most underrated lead men with the narrative of pro wrestling there’s ever been. I’m thrilled to get into the studio with him. Let’s welcome Tony to All Elite Wrestling.”

In addition to his work with AEW, Schiavone will continue his role as producer for the University of Georgia Football and Baseball Network, and will call the play-by-play for the Atlanta Braves’ Triple A team, the Gwinnett Stripers.

The latest episode of Being The Elite has provided several noteworthy developments.

In addition to Kenny Omega reacting to the news of John Moxley being forced to pull out of All Out due to injury, AEW has confirmed the location of AEW on TNT Week 6.

AEW on TNT will be in Charlotte, North Carolina on Wednesday, November 6th. The host venue is the Bojangle’s Coliseum, which has a max capacity of approximately 9,600 people.

Tickets for AEW Charlotte go on sale next Friday, September 6th at AEWTIX.com.

The news of AEW coming to Charlotte was delivered by none other than Tony Schiavone. The star of the What Happened When podcast confirmed “the rumors are true” and he has in fact signed with All Elite Wrestling.

Here is an updated look at the AEW TV schedule:

• Week 1 (10/2): Washington, D.C.
• Week 2 (10/9): Boston, MA
• Week 3 (10/16): Philadelphia, PA
• Week 4 (10/23): Pittsburgh, PA
• Week 5 (10/30): Charleston, WV
• Week 6 (11/6): Charlotte, NC

Check out Being The Elite Episode 167:

There may be a war brewing between WWE and AEW, but wrestlers from the rival promotions have tied the knot.

WWE Superstar Peyton Royce of the IIconics and AEW star Shawn Spears were married over the weekend.

Based on her social media activity, Royce celebrated her bachelorette party in Las Vegas last month.

It’s a huge week for Shawn Spears. In addition to marrying the love of his life, the biggest match of his pro wrestling career takes place this coming weekend. He’ll wrestle Cody Rhodes at AEW All Out Saturday night from Chicago, IL.

Peyton Royce and Shawn Spears are not the only inter-promotional couple. Many fans are aware NXT Champion Adam Cole and AEW star Dr. Britt Baker are also an item.

SEScoops extends our warmest congratulations and good luck wishes to Peyton Royce and Shawn Spears!

WWE Hall Of Famer Edge has opened up about transforming his body this year after bouncing back from a series of personal setbacks that left him in a bad emotional state.

Wrestling fans know Edge as the larger-than-life performer who sacrificed his body in the ring and took part in some of the the most memorable matches in WWE history. Last fall, his mother and father-in-law passed away in a two-month span. As a result of the tragedies, he grew depressed and and stopped taking care of himself.

He wrote on Instagram, “Last fall we lost my Mom and my father in law John within a two month span. I didn’t fully grasp the emotional fallout until I looked in the mirror one day and I didn’t like what I saw. At all. I’d stopped training. I stopped dieting, to a huge degree. I just stopped…living like me. Living in the present. Stuck in that past. I was obviously in mourning.”

He ultimately came to the conclusion that his mother and step-father would have wanted better for him. He looked at his wife (WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix) and daughters and realized he needed to get his life in order for the sake of himself and his family.

Edge recommitted himself to eating healthy and training hard. It took some time, but he eventually broke out of the funk and is looking better than ever.

“Slowly but surely, I started coming out of the funk,” he said. “Less lethargic. I started feeling vibrant. Vital. Happy. Like me. Which makes me a better dad and partner. A better person period. I used every excuse I could to stay stuck. Injuries and everything else I already outlined. But the only way I got unstuck, was to JUST. GET. MOVING. So if this reaches even one person out there who may feel stuck, just know, you’re not alone and you can change it.”

• Edge Says, “I Could Do A Match Tomorrow”

Below, you can see the results of Edge’s hard work.

Earlier this month, MLW announced a strategic partnership with Mexico’s The Crash lucha libre organization. The two companies will co-promote their first show together Saturday, October 5th.

The event will take place from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico at the historic Auditorio Fausto Gutierrez. The venue seats over 5,000 fans.

This will be a TV taping for MLW Fusion and will be MLW’s largest crowd to date. Ticket information will be released in the weeks ahead.

“This partnership is starting with a bang,” said MLW CEO and founder Court Bauer. “One of the immediate goals of this partnership was to collaborate on an event of this size and scope. Tijuana is one of the hottest cities for lucha in the world and has been for decades. For The Crash to host this monumental event is history in the making for us, the sport and our fans.”

The card will feature top ranked MLW wrestlers and represents the first-time MLW has united with another company to present a co-promoted event.

For more information on this historic show, visit MLW.com.

Legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross is sharing his two cents regarding the upcoming ‘Wednesday Night War’ between AEW and WWE’s NXT brand.

On the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast, JR spoke with co-host Conrad Thompson about the news that NXT is moving to the USA Network starting Wednesday, September 18th. NXT is expanding to 2 hours and will broadcast live each week from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. Two weeks later, the war is on when AEW premieres on TNT and the two shows go head-to-head each week in prime time.

Ross says he’s not at all surprised that Vince McMahon made the call to move NXT to the USA Network right before the launch of AEW on TNT.

“I’m not surprised,” said Ross. “Knowing Vince as well as I do and working with him so closely as I did for over a quarter of a century, he ain’t gonna lay back and let AEW grow independently and freely. That was never going to happen. He feels threatened for some crazy reason and I think that’s interesting to me.

JR was adamant that All Elite Wrestling is focused solely on their own success and was not specifically looking to challenge WWE head-on.

“I’ve seen on Twitter where, well, AEW started all this because Cody busted up a prop, a throne or something, and the Bucks did something. You know, I can see where the point is made, but I don’t know if there were any gunshots at each other. But it did surprise me. Competition is good. It’s like a football scrimmage. Good vs. Good. We’ll be very happy to compete, it was going to be a competition all along, we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy road, but at no time in my interview process or short experience since March with Tony Khan and AEW, have i heard one person say, “We’re going to get WWE on this one. Oh, WWE’s not going to like this” It’s never been brought up. It’s brought up online. It’s brought up in the wrestling media.”

JR believes Vince moving NXT to the USA Network is a clear sign that Vince McMcMahon is at least ‘cautious’ about AEW’s early success.

“When Vince moved NXT off his own network, I’ve been a loyal subscriber to the WWE network since they started .. it tells us all we need to know. Is WWE is aware and cautious about the development of AEW? The answer is obviously, ‘yes.’ Should they be? I don’t really know if they should be or not.”

He continued, “No one is going to supplant WWE as the number one sports entertainment in the world. That’s just the way that it is. Big head start, great infrastructure, there’s power in numbers and they’ve got the numbers. But it’s irrelevant. The goal of AEW is to provide a great product to lapsed wrestling fans, among others, with an athletically-based old-school-oriented product. And to make, more importantly, a profit for the Khan family.”

“It’s all about [AEW] and not about them. So, I’m not surprised. I wouldn’t expect any less and this just shows you, USA paid a lot of money for the rights fees, so now they’re getting more cheese on their Whopper, and it’s also going to motivate our guys. Our guys should see this as a challenge. They should see this as a very competitive challenge and, “Are you ready to play?” All I give a damn about is how good our shows are going to be.” Bring it on. Bring it on, let’s compete and hopefully we won’t break down into some Mickey Mouse infantile bullshit, on either side.”

Conrad Thompson asked about whether or not NXT competing with AEW head-to-head will affect AEW’s storytelling. Without direct competition, they’d have more time to tell stories at a proper pace. If viewers are flipping back and forth between two shows, AEW might feel pressured to accelerate their presentation and re-evaluate their overall approach. JR said that was a good point and a good question.

“I would say, it’s on the radar big time, how do we write TV, how long are we away from action, factoring in how long a commercial break is, do we have a segment that’s only talking or no physicality? We might see less of those. But I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal for AEW anyway.”

You can listen to the full podcast episode at WestWoodOnePodcasts.com, other major podcast outlets like iTunes and in the embedded player below:

All Elite Wrestling will crown its first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions on the Wednesday, October 30th episode of AEW on TNT from Charleston, West Virginia.

A tournament to determine the best tag team will begin later this month. Although brackets have not yet been released, we do know a few teams that will be involved.

Later this month at AEW’s All Out pay-per-view (8/31), the Dark Order will face Best Friends. The winners will receive a first-round bye in the tournament.

The October 9th episode of AEW on TNT (Week 2) from Boston, MA will see the Young Bucks vs. Private Party in a first round match.

With the finals taking place just 3 weeks later (Week 5), expect to see a lot of tag team action on the first month of AEW programming.

Visit AEWTIX.com to get tickets for upcoming AEW on TNT tapings.

AEW’s Tag Team Division

AEW’s tag team division features the following teams:

• The Young Bucks
• The Lucha Bros.
• SoCal Uncensored
• Best Friends
• The Dark Order
• A Boy & His Dinosaur
• Private Party
• Angelico & Jack Evans

The tournament could also include wrestlers from AEW-affiliated promotions such as Oriental Wrestling Entertainment, as well as ‘free agent’ teams such as ..

• LAX Officially Done With Impact Wrestling
• nZo & CasXL Plotting Their Comeback

The big news of the day is WWE’s announcement that NXT TV is moving to the USA Network starting Wednesday, September 18th. The show is expanding to two hours and will air live each week from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.

SEScoops senior reporter Ian Carey has prepared a breaking news audio update recapping the major points of this story (embedded above). We plan to produce audio & video updates on a regular basis in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned for more content like this.

Subscribe to the SEScoops YouTube Channel for more Audio & Video updates.

Please let us know what you think about audio/video updates like this in the comments section of this article.

More on NXT To USA Network

The following are some additional articles we’ve published regarding NXT TV moving to the USA Network and going head-to-head with AEW on TNT each Wednesday night:

• WWE’s Official Statement on NXT To USA Network, Including Comments from Vince McMahon
• Triple H, Jim Ross, Chris Jericho & More Comment On NXT’s Move To USA Network
• News On Mauro Ranallo’s NXT Future Following USA Announcement

On Tuesday, WWE confirmed the big rumor that NXT TV is moving to the USA Network. The show is expanding to two hours and will air live each week from Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. NXT on USA Network will go head-to-head each Wednesday night against AEW’s new series on TNT.

WWE’s official announcement on the matter included some quotes from Vince McMahon. WWE’s Chairman and CEO said his goal is to develop NXT’s following so it can be monetized to the same level as Raw and SmackDown.

NXT moving to the USA Network changes the wrestling landscape in multiple ways:

• WWE now has a third weekly television show in prime time. This puts even more pressure on the company to produce compelling first-run content.
• NXT has moved even farther away from being a ‘developmental’ brand for the unpolished wrestlers of tomorrow. The upside is that NXT’s top performers are getting the USA Network spotlight.
• The ‘cold war’ between WWE/NXT and AEW just heated up in a big way.

This is a huge story that we’ll be covering in-depth in the weeks to come. Business is about to pick up in a big way.

Reactions to NXT Moving to USA Network

It did not take long for the wrestling world to react to this blockbuster news.

Below, you can find some first-impression takes from industry leaders such as Triple H, Jim Ross, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho and more.

All Elite Wrestling has announced two more host cities for the upcoming AEW on TNT weekly television series.

On the latest episode of Being the Elite, it was revealed that AEW TV is headed to Pittsburgh, PA and Charleston, WV.

The Pittsburg show takes place from the Petersen Events Center. The venue has a capacity of approximately 12,500.

The Charleston show emanates from the Charleston Coliseum, which accommodates over 13,250 people.

Tickets for both shows go on sale this Friday, August 23rd at Noon EST at AEWTIX.com.

Updated AEW Touring Schedule

The following is an updated look of the AEW touring schedule once the weekly television schedule kicks off in October:

• Week 1 (10/2): Washington, D.C.
• Week 2 (10/9): Boston, MA
• Week 3 (10/16): Philadelphia, PA
• Week 4 (10/23): Pittsburgh, PA
• Week 5 (10/30): Charleston, WV

Advertised Matches for AEW on TNT

In the lead-up to AEW’s premiere on TNT, the company has been advertising matches for the first few weeks of TV. The following is an updated look on what to expect thus far:

October 2nd

• Young Bucks & Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho & two mystery partners
• The first-ever AEW Women’s Champion will be crowned
• Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara
• Jon Moxley to appear

October 9th

• The Young Bucks vs. Private Party – AEW Tag Team Titles Tournament Match
• Jon Moxley vs. Shawn Spears

October 16th

• First-ever AEW World Title defense
• First-ever AEW Women’s Title defense

Being The Elite Ep. 166: “Country Roads”

Briana Brandy has signed a developmental deal with WWE. The news was first reported by Squared Circle Sirens. SEScoops has since independently verified the story. WWE.com has also confirmed Brandy is part of the latest class of Performance Center recruits.

Brandy participated in a WWE tryout back in June 2017. Other notable names who were part of that camp include former Impact Wrestling star Crazzy Steve, MMA fighter Nicolai Salchow and strongman competitor Nick Brewer.

Briana Brandy’s WWE Dream

Ms. Brandy is a hip hop artist, boxing trainer and extreme CrossFit athlete.

Her Instagram page shows that she’s been undergoing vigorous MMA training at the Fight Ready MMA & Fitness gym in Scottsdale, Arizona. This gym is home to reigning UFC Bantamweight & Flyweight champion Henry Cejudo.

• Nikki Bella Responds To Henry Cejudo’s Date Offer

Many of her Instagram posts talk about training for her dream job as a WWE Superstar. More recently, she’s written about embarking on a new journey and a new chapter in her life.

The Squared Circle Sirens report notes that Briana Brandy will soon report to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL.

WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will be appearing on tonight’s edition of WWE Raw from Toronto, Canada.

Austin will be calling in via Skype to give his thoughts on Seth Rollins defeating Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam.

Steve Austin’s new TV series, Straight Up Steve Austin, premieres tonight on the USA Network immediately after Raw.

• Steve Austin: “I Can’t Wrestle Anymore, I Don’t Live In The Past”

Previously announced for Raw from the Scotiabank Arena:

• Fallout from SummerSlam WWE SummerSlam
• Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross to defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against The Kabuki Warriors 
• The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
• What’s on tap next for Becky Lynch?
• Can The O.C. remain “Too Sweet” after SummerSlam?

Join us here tonight for our live WWE Raw Results and post-show Takeaways feature.

Popular independent comedy wrestler Orange Cassidy is the newest member of the AEW roster. The announcement of Orange Cassidy signing with All Elite Wrestling was made on the latest episode of Being The Elite.

As seen below, Cassidy was shown putting oranges and an AEW contract into a blender. After mixing up the unusual concoction, a graphic appeared on the screen stating: “AEW: Now serving freshly squeezed Orange Cassidy.”

The New Jersey native made his AEW debut back in May in the Casino Battle Royale match at Double Or Nothing. His quirky, irreverent humor are a good fit for the Being The Elite and AEW universe.

• Cody Rhodes says only 40% of AEW’s roster has been revealed

Major League Wrestling has entered into a working relationship with Mexico’s The Crash lucha libre promotion. Based out of Tijuana, Mexico, The Crash features some of the world’s premiere up-and-coming luchadores.

In a statement sent in to SEScoops, MLW CEO Court Bauer says:

“This deal represents the dawn of a new era for lucha as the fastest growing promotion in Mexico teams with MLW to take lucha libre to America and beyond. The opportunities are endless and include a talent exchange, content collaboration and some interesting projects you’ll learn about soon.”

The announcement comes just weeks after the news of MLW forming a similar partnership with Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH.

The partnership with Crash is the latest glimpse at a larger strategy that’s starting to come into focus. According to league officials, MLW is forming strategic alliances with international federations to create a “unified global system” to introduce pr o wrestling to new markets, exchange talent, collaborate on content and develop opportunities for the fans and athletes.

Major League Wrestling’s next live event, MLW War Chamber, takes place Saturday, September 7th from Dallas, TX.

Ahead of this weekend’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view from Toronto, the Boston Globe has announced Boston’s TD Garden will host the 2020 installment of WWE’s summer spectacular.

In addition to SummerSlam 2020, the TD Garden will host all of the ‘SummerSlam weekend’ festivities, including SmackDown LIVE, NXT Takeover and Monday Night Raw.

Here’s the official schedule for WWE’s 4-night takeover of Boston next summer:

• Friday, Aug. 21: SmackDown LIVE
• Saturday, Aug. 22: NXT TakeOver
• Sunday, Aug. 23: SummerSlam
• Monday, Aug. 24: Monday Night Raw

“We are thrilled to bring WWE’s biggest event of the summer to Boston in 2020,” said John P. Saboor, WWE Executive Vice President, Special Events.  “We are grateful to Mayor Walsh, Governor Baker and our partners at TD Garden and look forward to working with them to welcome the world to one of America’s great sports and entertainment cities.”

“On behalf of the City of Boston, we are excited to once again host WWE SummerSlam at TD Garden,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “SummerSlam attracts fans from all across the world, and we are excited to welcome them all to our city for this hallmark WWE event.”

“We have an incredible history with WWE and are honored that they have once again selected TD Garden as the home of SummerSlam”, said Amy Latimer, president of TD Garden. “We’ve dramatically enhanced the arena experience with the addition of The Hub on Causeway and recent arena expansion, and we are thrilled to showcase these tremendous upgrades with fans for one of WWE’s biggest marquee events.”

A new trademark filing by All Elite Wrestling, LLC reveals what could very well be the name of AEW’s new weekly television series on TNT.

The upstart promotion trademarked the term, AEW REVOLUTION last week on August 8th. Among the countless potential “uses” for the new trademark:

“Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing television show about professional wrestling; entertainment services, namely, the production in the nature of organization of exhibitions and performances of professional wrestling events rendered live and through broadcast media, namely, television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service.”

The trademark filings include the following (generic) graphic for AEW REVOLUTION:

• Cody Discusses The Relationship Between AEW And TNT

AEW Revolution

All Elite Wrestling’s weekly 2-hour live television series premieres on the TNT cable network Wednesday, October 2nd. The historic broadcast will emanate from the sold out Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

Earlier AEW trademark filings for “Tuesday Night Dynamite” and “Wednesday Night Dynamite” implied the company had already settled on Dynamite as the name of AEW’s flagship television show.

Last month, AEW and Turner executives were present for the Television Critics Association media event. At the AEW panel at TCA ’19, Turner executive Brett Weitz revealed they had not yet settled on a name for the AEW on TNT show. He mentioned that we could expect to learn the name soon.

The “AEW Dynamite” name got mixed reviews from opinionated wrestling fans on social media. AEW Revolution does have a nice ring to it and ‘Revolution’ certainly ties into AEW’s messaging regarding their mission in the pro wrestling landscape.

MLW has announced the main event for MLW War Chamber, the fight league’s upcoming show from North Richland Hills, Texas at the NYTEX Sports Centre.

The first-ever War Chamber match will feature CONTRA UNIT (and a mystery partner) facing “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Ross & Marshall Von Erich and a mystery partner of their own.

So what, exactly, is a War Chamber match? The battle will take place inside a “carbon steel chamber with the perimeter of the top fortified with barbed wire.”

MLW has laid at the rules as follows:

• A coin toss determines which team enters first.
• 1-on-1 for 5:00 in stage 1 of the War Chamber.
• The winner of coin toss comes out for 2-on-1.
• Alternating teams have wrestlers enter every 2 minutes.
• Once all combatants are in the War Chamber, victory is won by submission, surrender or pinfall.

If you’re in the Dallas area, head over to MLWTickets.com so you can attend this can’t miss event.

WWE SmackDown moves from the USA Network to the Fox broadcast channel on Friday, October 4th. The first SmackDown on Fox takes place just two days after AEW’s new weekly series arrives on TNT.

There is a lot riding on WWE’s new partnership with Fox sports. The 5-year deal is worth approximately $200 million annually for the world’s premiere pro wrestling organization.

Mark Evans, SVP of Sales at Fox Sports, recently spoke with The Big Lead about their plan to challenge ESPN and CBS for professional sports broadcasting supremacy. The article notes that Fox is taking a big leap with WWE by acquiring the rights to air SmackDown “at a time when WWE ratings are trending downward.”

Evans put a positive spin on that situation. He says Fox’s plans to present and promote WWE programming will inject the product with “new life.”

“We feel how we’re going to present and how we’re going to promote the WWE is going to inject it with such a new life,” Evans said. “It’s going to be a home run for us.”

Visit The Big Lead to read the full interview with Fox Sports exec Mark Evans.

• SmackDown on Fox to be pre-empted by Major League Baseball in October

Zack Ryder is fed up with WWE “fans” who take advantage of Superstars who are nice enough to greet people in public and sign autographs.

There are no written rules about how to act when you see pro wrestlers (or celebrities) in public. If a wrestler is eating or if they’re out with their kids, it’s probably best to back off and be respectful.

Fans have been known to camp out at various locations in hopes of meeting their favorite Superstars, including arena entrances, hotels and even airports. Then there’s another group of people who go overboard – surprising and asking them to sign merchandise, which they turn around and sell.

Unfortunately, Zack Ryder had one of these unpleasant experiences this week. The 12-year WWE veteran called out a “fan” who wanted him to sign 5 action figures.

After signing 3 action figures, Ryder politely refused to sign any more. The guy did not take ‘no’ for an answer and repeatedly asked the Long Island Broski to sign more. Ryder reused, knowing they were headed straight to “Edward Bay” (auction website, eBay).

Ryder says he’s all about the fans and will gladly sign merchandise they will cherish for years to come. However, when people blatantly abuse the etiquette of meeting celebrities, “these people ruin it for the real fans.”

Zack Ryder and longtime tag team partner Curt Hawkins host the Major Wrestling Figure podcast, which focuses on the world of pro wrestling action figures.

At Thursday night’s MLW Never Say Never event from New York City, Major League Wrestling announced it has entered into a working relationship with Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion.

Pro Wrestling NOAH issued a brief statement noting the MLW partnership is “in addition to our continuing partnership with Impact Wrestling.”

MLW sent in the following press release on Friday providing more details on this new strategic partnership:

MLW & Pro Wrestling NOAH

TOKYO & NEW YORK — It is with great honor that Major League Wrestling partners with Pro Wrestling NOAH to form an alliance.

This all-encompassing partnership will feature athletes exchanged between the two organizations as well as opportunities to share content in addition to other opportunities.

The partnership will commence with an MLW wrestler participating in the 2019 N-1 Victory tour that commences this August. The wrestler will be revealed at a later date.

“Pro Wrestling NOAH has a rich history of promoting some of the grandest wrestling bouts in the history of the sport,” said MLW CEO and Founder Court Bauer. “This is a very exciting partnership. We look forward to joining NOAH and beginning a new voyage for a new era.”