It’s Friday, and you know what that means, it’s time for the Daily Drop. Today’s edition should catch you up on everything you need to know before going out into the pro wrestling community today.
Before we get going, probably the biggest story in pro wrestling has to do with Janel Grant’s lawsuit. John Laurinaitis has changed his position in the ongoing legal case involving former WWE executive Vince McMahon. Previously, Laurinaitis had claimed to be a victim but has now filed a motion to support McMahon’s efforts to counter Janel Grant’s allegations. This change is a significant shift in the case. Initially, Laurinaitis distanced himself from McMahon, but his latest legal action aligns him closely with McMahon, forming a united front against Grant’s accusations.
WWE:
WWE SmackDown 5/3 Card:
- A-Town Down Under (Grayson Waller & Austin Theory) versus The Street Profits – WWE Tag Team Championship Match
- New Catch Republic (Axiom & Nathan Frazer) against Authors of Pain
- Cody Rhodes and A.J. Styles face off ahead of their Undisputed WWE Championship match at Backlash
- Debut of the RKO Show, hosted by Randy Orton & Kevin Owens
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C6ZWe2Ci4_Y
Rollins Isn’t Leaving: On Friday morning, news broke that Seth Rollins has inked a new deal with WWE. The details are not 100% clear at this time, but his new multi-year contract will keep him with WWE into his 40s. The Visionary is currently only 37-years-old.
SmackDown Plans: Tonight’s episode of SmackDown will air on a tape-delay for fans in America. That being said, it will be a rare treat for fans in the UK, as they get to watch a SmackDown show live for once at a decent time, 6:00 PM local time. WWE Backlash is going down tomorrow, May 4, and coverage starts at 1:00 PM EST.
AEW:
Ethan Page Gone: Although he entered AEW with a lot of momentum, coming off a great run with The North and tag team partner Josh Alexander in Impact Wrestling, Page didn’t do a lot in AEW. Now, he is gone from the company, as he had been wanting to leave the Land of All Elite since February.
Julia Hart Injured: The former TBS Champion confirmed that she is injured. She also may need surgery to fix her issue before making a return to the ring.
AEW Viewership: The May 1st edition of AEW Dynamite attracted 703,000 viewers with a 0.24 rating in the 18-49 demographic, showing a slight increase from the previous week’s 683,000 viewers and a 0.23 rating. Following Dynamite, Rampage aired a live episode and drew 431,000 viewers with a 0.15 demographic rating. This was a significant improvement over the last Rampage after Collision, which had 293,000 viewers and a 0.09 rating.
Here are the upcoming major wrestling events
- Saturday, May 25: King & Queen of the Ring (PLE)
- Sunday, May 26: AEW Double or Nothing (PPV)
- Sunday, June 9: NXT Battleground (PLE)
