Tonight’s WWE RAW at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL on the USA Network at 8/7C.
Author: John Bass
AEW Dark: Elevation Preview 1/9/2023
The latest episode of AEW’s latest weekly show, Dark: Elevation, is slated to air tonight at 7pm ET via the official AEW YouTube channel.
* ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. Josh Woods
* Bandido vs. Christopher Daniels
* Athena vs. Viva Van
* Spanish Announce Project vs. Best Friends & Danhausen
* The Bollywood Boyz vs. The Kingdom
* Marina Shafir & Nyla Rose vs. Amira & Danika Della Rouge
* Eddie Kingston & Ortiz vs. Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl
* Ari Daivari, Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth vs. The House of Black
* Brian Cage vs. Schaff
* Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Vinny Pacifico
* Matt Hardy & Isiah Kassidy in action
WrestleMania 39 Breaks All-Time WrestleMania Gate Record
WWE issued the following:
WWE today announced that WrestleMania Goes Hollywood (WrestleMania 39), which will originate from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles across two nights, broke the company’s all-time gate record for any WrestleMania, despite having yet to announce a single match. The previous record announced was $17.3 million in 2016 at WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The record gate comes on the heels of unprecedented ticket sales demand for WWE in 2022, in which it produced the highest-grossing gates of all time for Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and WWE Extreme Rules. WWE Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, which marked WWE’s first major stadium show in the U.K. in 30 years, was the highest-grossing U.K. event in company history.
Additionally, WWE set in-market gate records for SmackDown and Raw events in more than 20 markets for the year, including the Dec. 30 SmackDown, which took place in Tampa, Fla., and heralded the return of John Cena.
WrestleMania 39 streams live on Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else.
Full Card Announced For The Great Muta’s Final Bye-Bye Event
The full card for The Great Muta’s Final Bye-Bye event presented by the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH has been announced.
Muta will wrestle in a six-man tag match and team up with AEW stars Sting & Darby Allin.
The event will take at the Yokohama Arena on Sunday, January 22, and air live on Abema TV. This will be Keiji Mutoh’s final match as The Great Muta. However, this is not going to be his final match as a pro wrestler. Mutoh’s actual final match will emanate from the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday, February 21.
-The Great Muta, Sting, and Darby Allin vs. Hakushi, AKIRA, and Naomichi Marufuji
-Kaito Kiyomiya, Hijo de Doctor Wagner Jr., Takashi Sugiura, and Satoshi Kojima vs. Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakamjima, Masakatsu Funaki, and Manabu Soya
-AMAKUSA, Ultimo Dragon, and Ninja Mack vs. YO-HEY, Kzy, and Dante Leon
-GHC Martial Arts Rules match: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Hideki Suzuki
-Jake Lee, Jack Morris, and Anthony Greene vs. Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba, and Yoshiki Inamura
-Yoshinari Ogawa, Eita, and NOSAWA Rongai vs. Junta Miyawaki, Alejandro, and Yasutaka Yano
-Timothy Thatcher vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
-Jungle Kyona and Saori Anno vs. Sumire Natsume and Maya Yukihi
-Atsushi Kotogi and Seiki Yoshioka vs. Hajime Ohara and Hi69
Some People In WWE ‘Want Out’ If Vince McMahon Is Back
The news about Vince McMahon’s return is a huge story for the wrestling business and it’s anyone’s guess what this means for WWE’s future. What is known for sure is that there’s a lot of people in the company who are shocked at the recent events.
PWInsider reported today that his return “pretty much shocked everyone we have spoken with.” The feeling is that other than people in his inner circle, this took most people in the company by surprise and there are a lot of people wondering what is next.
The morale in the company is said to have been much better since McMahon stepped down last July. PWInsider added that they heard from some who said that “they want out” if McMahon returns. Well, he is back so we’ll see what happens but one has to wonder if some people will be let go as Triple H has brought back a lot of names that were let go when Vince was in charge.
Mike Johnson at PWInsider wrote, “Vince is exercising ultimate control. Everyone in WWE is still processing that he did.”
An “all hands on deck” company meeting is scheduled for 3 pm eastern today so we may know more about Vince’s plans by then.
Source: WrestlingNews.co
AEW Rampage and Battle of the Belts Preview 1/6/2023
Tonight’s first AEW Rampage of 2023 will air live on TNT ay 10/9C, and emanate from the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. Immediately following Rampage will be a special live Battle of the Belts V, from the same venue, airing on TNT.
Rampage:
- Top Flight vs. Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson
- AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter & Britt Baker vs. The Renegade Twins
- Perro Peligroso vs. TBA
- TNT Championship: Darby Allin (c) vs. Mike Bennett
- The House of Black will speak
Battle Of The Belts:
- AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Kip Sabian
- AEW TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (c) Skye Blue
- AEW World Tag Team Championship (No Holds Barred Match): The Acclaimed (c) Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal
WWE SmackDown Preview 1/6/2023
WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX, and emanate from the FedEX Forum in Memphis, Tennessee.
WWE Holding Important Employee Meeting Later This Afternoon
As previously reported, Vince McMahon has officially returned to the WWE board of directors, adding George Barrios and Michelle Wilson as well. He announced that he was coming back to oversee media rights negotiations and any potential sale of the company.
PWInsider reports that there will be an employee meeting this afternoon which is being described as ‘all hands on deck’. The meeting happens at 3:30 PM ET.
Source: 411Mania
Read Stephanie McMahon’s Email That She Sent To WWE Employees About Vince McMahon’s Return
WWE has told their employees that there will be an “all hands on deck” meeting at 3:30 pm. This appears to be about Vince McMahon‘s return to the WWE Board of Directors.
WWE co-CEO Stephanie McMahon sent an email to all employees, attaching the latest WWE press release, and noted:
“Today, WWE announced the return of our founder Vince McMahon to our Board of Directors and a review of the company’s strategic alternatives. Please see attached. Nick, Frank, and I will discuss this exciting opportunity at today’s All Employee meeting. See you at 3:30.”
As controlling shareholder of WWE, McMahon removed JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey R. Speed, and Alan M. Wexler from the Board. Vince, George Barrios, and Michelle Wilson have been added to the Board.
Source: ewrestlingnews
WWE Confirms Vince McMahon Is Rejoining The Board, Stock Spikes
McMahon initially stepped down as CEO after an investigation found that he had paid nearly $15 million to four women over 16 years to quiet claims of sexual misconduct.
World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed on Friday that former CEO and majority shareholder Vince McMahon will be reinstated to the company’s board.
The company’s stock spiked 20% on the news of McMahon’s comeback.
“Today, we announce that the founder of WWE, Vince McMahon, will be returning to the Board,” WWE executives said in a Friday press release.
The Board’s confirmation follows McMahon’s own announcement on Thursday that he intended to reinstate himself as executive chairman and launch an effort to sell the company. He also said he would bring back former co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios as board directors.
Three current board members, JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey Speed and Alan M. Wexler, were removed from their positions. Two additional directors, Ignace Lahoud and Man Jit Singh, resigned from the board, effective Friday.
McMahon initially stepped down as CEO after an investigation found that he had paid nearly $15 million to four women over 16 years to quiet claims of sexual misconduct.
Even during his leave, McMahon maintained control over the company as a majority shareholder. In a November regulatory filing, WWE said, “Mr. McMahon can effectively exercise control over our affairs.”
McMahon saw a need to return to his board position as the company faces negotiations over media rights and strategic initiatives moving forward, according to The Wall Street Journal. WWE has been spotted as a target for acquisition recently.
Analysts at MKM Partners, which has a buy rating on the stock, said in a note Friday that “an immediate exploration of a sale for WWE makes a lot of sense.”
WWE confirmed Friday it would review “strategic alternatives,” but said, “There is no assurance that this process will result in a transaction.”
Shares of the company are up 75% in the last 12 months. The stock trades with a market capitalization of more than $6 billion.
Source: NBC News
