Scheduled for tonight’s Impact airing on Pursuit and Twitch.
* RVD Returns To The 2300 Arena In South Philly
* Knockouts Battle Royal
* Glen Gilbertti Returns
* Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards
* X-Division Champion Rich Swann vs. Michael Elgin
* First-Ever Demon Collar Match: Rosemary vs. Su Yung
In addition to SmackDown’s move to FOX this fall, WWE will also be getting an additional hour of programming. A WWE-themed studio show will air on FS1 and WWE Co-President George Barrios spoke more about it during a fireside chat at the 47th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference in Boston.
“We’re thrilled. We’ve seen around the world the value of these…clip shows, magazine shows, highlight shows. We’ve seen the value of shows like that to continue to drive engagement, not dissimilar to what we do on social platforms. We’re continuing the storytelling and try to do it 24/7 although Vince keeps reminding us we’re missing 10 minutes here and there,” stated Barrios.
“I think the FS1 show will be something similar where we will continue the excitement. I think people are gonna love it and FOX is gonna do an amazing job with it as obviously they have a lot of expertise doing shows like that. I think it’s gonna be great for fans.”
That FS1 show is expected to be in addition to the six hours of live programming that WWE already does every week. With three hours of Raw and two hours of SmackDown, currently that sixth hour is devoted to 205 Live.
Barrios was asked about WWE’s priorities when it comes to allocating content for that sixth hour.
“To your point, for a long, long time we have created live in-ring content across six hours on Monday and Tuesday. It used to be that Raw and SmackDown were two hours and the other two hours went to either ECW, the precursor to the current NXT, Main Event, WWE Superstars. So, this is not something new as we’ve done it forever,” said Barrios.
“Last year, to your point, it was primarily 205 Live, Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook for 20 weeks. So for us, when you say ‘What’s the focus?’ Our content is always one of three things: we’re trying to drive engagement, trying to drive some level of direct monetization or drive some level of indirect monetization as a promotional platform. That doesn’t change so we’re thinking for that sixth hour, across those three parameters what’s the best structure for the content? It’s not a new thing and is something we’re always working through.
“Right now it’s 205 Live… but we’ll see where we come out on that.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Lana recently spoke with Express UK and said she agrees with WWE fans who say husband Rusev is overlooked.
Lana also agreed with fans who say Rusev deserves many more world title shots than he’s received, like the WWE Title shot from then-champion AJ Styles at Extreme Rules 2018, the one he’s had in 6 years of being with the company.
“I mean, Rusev should get more title opportunities,” she said. “He should be champion, that’s just the bottom line. He’s been there six years and he’s had one title opportunity, I had three. I’m not the Super Athlete, my first Singles Match was for the title.
“There’s no question if Rusev should be champion. That’s just a given, it’s true, we all know that he’s the best and #1.”
Rusev also spoke with Express and claimed that almost the entire WWE roster feels underestimated because they are all very passionate and talented. It was noted that it’s up to every Superstar to figure out how to stick out because there are only a few titles for a large roster.
“It’s not just us, 99.9 per cent of the roster feels overlooked because we’re all so good and we’re all so passionate,” Rusev said. “Everybody wants to be a champion and everybody can be a champion because we’re that good. It’s just that there’s only so many titles. You gotta find what sticks out, you gotta be different.
“It doesn’t matter if [we hear] Rusev Day or Lana Day chants or whatever it is, the most hyped thing doesn’t make you a champion. There’s so many moving parts to become a champion, it’s beyond my head. Only Vince McMahon knows these things.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Former WWE Superstar Ashley Massaro has passed away at the age of 39, according to The Blast.
Massaro reportedly passed away today but details of her death have not been announced. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner in New York told The Blast that Massaro passed on Thursday and was brought to the medical examiner’s office. Her death is currently under investigation by that office.
Police sources told The Blast that a “rescue call” came in at 5:23am ET from Massaro’s home in Smithtown, which is about 1.5 hours from New York City. First responders then took Massaro to a local hospital and that’s where she passed. Police do not believe foul play was involved, and are classifying her death as non-criminal.
Massaro won the 2005 WWE RAW Divas Search and went on to sign with the company. She was with WWE until July 2008 but made just a few wrestling appearances since then. She had announced in March of this year that she was making a return to wrestling.
Massaro would have turned 40 on May 26. She leaves behind a daughter.
Ashley Massaro’s daughter, Alexa, reacted on social media to her mother’s untimely passing. In a post on Instagram Alexa wrote, “i love you mommy i want to wake up in your arms more than anything i want to give u a big hug please come back this can’t be real.”
In a second post she added, “please god this cant be it”
Funeral services will take place on Tuesday in New York, according to a good friend of hers who shared the details in a Facebook post.
WWE issued a statement on Massaro’s passing:
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1129175515921833985
Sources: Wrestling Inc. and Pro Wrestling sheet
We noted yesterday that WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair had been rushed to a hospital in the Atlanta area after suffering a medical emergency. It was also reported that Flair was facing a “very serious” situation. Flair’s son-in-law Conrad Thompson, while doing media for Starrcast II, downplayed the reports on Ric about an hour after TMZ’s original report. Thompson said Flair’s situation was not as serious as TMZ made it out to be, and that Flair underwent a surgery that he had been scheduled to undergo. Conrad said Flair decided to have the operation this week, instead of having it after he got back from Starrcast and his big roast event next week.
In an update, TMZ now reports that Flair’s wife Wendy Barlow issued a statement to this this evening. Barlow says The Nature Boy is expected to make a full recovery. You can see the full statement below:
“Due to ongoing health complications, Ric was taken to the hospital and is expected to undergo a procedure tomorrow morning, after which he expects to fully recover.”
On a related note, Flair has reportedly been dealing with some heart issues as of late, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. Their report stated that Flair’s trip to the hospital today was related to those issues.
Flair, who is 70 years old, suffered a medical scare back in 2017 and was placed into a medically induced coma before undergoing colon surgery. He spent nearly a month in the hospital. The situation was very serious, but Flair recovered and even married longtime girlfriend Barlow last year.
Flair underwent an operation back in March of this year but details of the surgery were never confirmed. He appeared on WWE TV at WrestleMania 35 for an angle during the No Holds Barred match between Batista and Triple H, and is 70th birthday party was the beginning to the build for that match. “The Roast of Ric Flair” will take place during Starrcast II weekend later this month.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
As noted, WWE announced yesterday that Alexa Bliss is not medically cleared to compete at Sunday’s Money In the Bank pay-per-view.
Bliss is reportedly out of action with a concussion, according to PWInsider. She last wrestled on the April 29 RAW, losing to Naomi.
Bliss has suffered several concussions during her WWE career and recently spent several months out of the ring due to issues related to the concussions.
WWE has announced that Nikki Cross will be replacing Alexa Bliss in the women’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match at Sunday’s WWE MITB pay-per-view.
The women’s MITB Ladder Match will now feature Cross, Naomi, Natalya, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Mandy Rose, Bayley and Ember Moon.
Ric Flair was at an Atlanta hospital this morning to undergo surgery. Flair’s son-in-law, Conrad Thompson, was on a media call today to promote Starrcast and said that the surgery was planned. Thompson added that it is not a grave situation.
Thompson noted that Flair had planned to have the surgery before the Starrcast II convention next weekend in Las Vegas. Flair will be getting roasted at the event next Friday, May 24th.
Thompson said he would not discuss the matter any further, and that it will be up to Flair or his wife to decide if they want to discuss any details.
TMZ reported this morning that Flair was “rushed” to a hospital in Atlanta this morning and that the situation is “very serious.” However, Thompson’s comments would suggest that the situation is not near as serious as TMZ reported.
Flair also underwent surgery back in March, however the reason for that procedure was never made public. Flair appeared at WrestleMania 35 several weeks later, helping Triple H to defeat Batista.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was rushed to a hospital in the Atlanta area earlier this morning, according to TMZ.
Flair was reportedly in the Atlanta area this morning when he suffered a medical emergency. The 70 year old was initially taken to the emergency room to be treated.
While details are unclear at this point, TMZ reported that the situation is “very serious.”
Flair had a suffered a medical scare in 2017. Flair was placed into a medically induced coma before undergoing colon surgery and spent nearly a month in the hospital. The situation was very serious, however Flair recovered and he even married longtime girlfriend Wendy Barlow last year.
Flair turned 70 years old this past February and made a special appearance at WrestleMania 35last month, helping Triple H to defeat Batista. He was scheduled to be the subject of a roast at Starrcast next Friday, May 24th.
Stay tuned for updates on The Nature Boy’s status. We send our best wishes to Flair and his family.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
We now know why Nikki Cross replaced Alexa Bliss in the Fatal 4 Way on Monday’s WWE RAW – because Bliss is injured.
WWE announced today that Bliss has not been cleared to compete in the women’s MITB Ladder Match at Sunday’s pay-per-view. A suitable replacement will be announced soon.
There’s no word yet on who will replace Bliss but the match currently features Ember Moon, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Bayley, Natalya, Naomi and Carmella.
There’s also no word yet on Bliss’ injury but she has dealt with concussion-related issues for some time. She lost a singles match to Naomi on the April 29 RAW and that looks to be the last time she wrestled.
Below is WWE’s announcement on Bliss being pulled from Sunday’s Money In the Bank pay-per-view. Stay tuned for updates.
Alexa Bliss not medically cleared to compete at WWE Money in the BankAlexa Bliss is not medically cleared to compete at WWE Money in the Bank this Sunday, and has been removed from the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. A suitable replacement for Alexa will be announced.
Stay with WWE.com for more on this developing story.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
AEW will reportedly not be receiving any rights fees from their new television deal with WarnerMedia. While AEW, which will begin airing on TNT later this year, will not be receiving any rights fees, they will be receiving an ad revenue split, according to TSN’s John McMullen. WarnerMedia will also be paying for production.
“Context of #AEWonTNT AEW TV Deal — Platform is amazing and this is an unprecedented deal for a start-up,” McMullen wrote on Twitter. “Confirmed from a source on the television side there are no rights fees but as we have been saying here for weeks that should not have been expected. It’s being treated like a sports property so production fees are there and a ‘great’ advertising split for AEW.”
The deal is similar to XFL’s new agreements with ESPN and Fox Sports, where the XFL will not receive any rights fees, but the networks will pay for the production costs. However, there is no ad revenue split with the XFL deal, although they will handle sponsorships at the stadiums.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that while AEW will not be receiving rights fees, there will be a downside guarantee with the advertising revenue. Meltzer added that with production costs paid for and the ad revenue split, AEW expects to be profitable by 2020.
As I mentioned yesterday, with this new deal, AEW has become the first wrestling company outside of WWE to secure a television deal in the U.S. on a top 25 cable network since WCW folded. TNT is actually available in slightly more homes than the USA Network, although the USA Network was the eighth most watched network of 2018 while TNT was at #14. The Paramount Network, which used to be known as Spike TV and aired TNA programming for nearly ten years, was #44.
McMullen noted how great the new deal is for AEW, adding that the only reason it may come across as disappointing is due to some errant reports stating that the company would receive rights fees.
“Remember, it took Vince McMahon nearly 20 years of producing highly-rated television before he got a somewhat significant rights deal from Viacom at the turn of the century,” McMullen tweeted. “The monster deal took over 35 years. TNA/Impact once had Hulk Hogan, Sting and Randy Savage and couldn’t get this kind of platform. It’s an amazing deal that those in @AEWrestling are ecstatic about.
“If it comes across as flat to some that’s because they were expecting rights fees due to some shoddy reporting. Right now #AEW is set up like old #WWE where PPV numbers and advertising will be significant to growth. #WWE remains idiot-proof because of TV deal”
AEW has yet to announce their official start date, the day of the week that it will air and how long the episodes will be, although AEW’s Jim Ross noted last month that the show would be two hours. It was noted in The Observer that the show will air either on Tuesday or Wednesday nights, but that has not yet been determined. WarnerMedia is apparently doing market research to determine if the show should air on Tuesdays to fill the void of SmackDown when it moves to Fridays in the fall. The downside of Tuesdays is that the show would regularly be preempted during basketball season due to NBA games on TNT. While there are some NBA games on TNT on Wednesdays later in the season, most of the Wednesday games air on ESPN.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
