Author: John Bass

Update On Vince McMahon’s New WWE Wild Card Rule And A Potential Issue For The Company

Vince McMahon’s new WWE Wild Card Rule could end up leading to issues for the company, as described on Wrestling Observer Radio today.

As noted, the rule will see four RAW Superstars appear on SmackDown each week while four SmackDown Superstars appear on RAW each week. The gimmick was created as a response to ratings pressure from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox. Vince did not want to give up the idea of separate brands, but the networks want star power on both shows and there has been a feeling that the brands don’t have enough star power individually. Furthermore, it was also reported that Fox wants RAW and SmackDown storylines on the blue brand show when it goes to their network on Friday nights in October. There has been pressure from both networks to have the top WWE Superstars work both shows.

The Wild Card Rule will potentially cause issues for WWE live events, such as false advertising. Due to the way WWE creative operates these days, WWE likely won’t plan out these weekly Wild Card Rule appearances in advance, which could lead to incidents where Superstars have been advertised for live events, for weeks or even months, but they’re pulled from those live events to appear on TV at the last minute.

While WWE likely won’t plan out the Wild Card Rule appearances in advance, it was noted that Roman Reigns is expected to appear on both RAW and SmackDown often. We noted before how NBCU recently asked questions about why WWE gave up a star like Reigns to SmackDown in the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up.

We’ve reported on how WWE has made recent hires to help bring live event business back up, and they noted during the Q1 2019 earnings call that they are focused on bringing that part of the business back to where it should be. The WWE Wild Card Rule could create more of a decline in live event business, at a time where they’re focused on getting it back up. There’s no word yet on if the Wild Card Rule really will help with the TV ratings, but we should know within the next few weeks. It’s believed that the gimmick could bring a small increase in the numbers, but likely not a huge turn around.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ross And Marshall Von Erich Sign Multi-Year Deals With MLW

Ross and Marshall Von Erich have signed multi-year deals with MLW. The third-generation wrestlers will make their MLW on June 1st at Fury Road in Milwaukee.

“Signing with MLW is a big deal for us,” 30 year-old Ross told Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. “They are the promotion that has allowed us to be with our dad, help out around the ranch, and still wrestle.”

“We’re able to continue the legacy,” added Marshall, who is the younger brother. “It’s humbling, we’re honored, and it’s the perfect timing—we’ve never been this ready for this big a stage before.”

Ross and Marshall are the sons of the legendary Kevin Von Erich. Kevin and the Von Erich family were chronicled on an episode of Viceland’s Dark Side of the Ring last week. The episode looked at the tragedy of the Von Erichs. All five of Kevin’s brothers died premature deaths, three by suicide.

“The Von Erich name is not a burden,” said Ross, who is the elder brother at 30. “We are grateful for our name, it’s a blessing to be a Von Erich. God gave us the right equipment, and we’re going to go out there and do our best.”

MLW sent us the press release regarding their signing:

Major League Wrestling sign Ross and Marshall Von ErichThe Texas born athletes ink multi-year deal; will debut June 1st in Milwaukee at FURY ROAD

NEW YORK — Ross and Marshall Von Erich have joined Major League Wrestling, signing a multi-year deal with the promotion this week. The sons of Kevin Von Erich have emerged as accomplished wrestlers, competing around the world including for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, Israel, Australia, the United Kingdom as well as in their home state of Texas.

League officials can confirm that the 3rd generation grapplers will make their MLW debut June 1st in Milwaukee at FURY ROAD.

Earlier today, Sports Illustrated broke the news with a report, featuring exclusive comments from the Von Erichs and MLW CEO Court Bauer.

“Ross and Marshall are not only world-class athletes but world-class people,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. “I look forward to seeing their journey as they write a new chapter and usher in the future for their family and for pro wrestling fans around the world.”

About Ross and Marshall Von Erich:

Born in Denton County, Texas and now fighting out of Kauai, Hawaii, Ross and Marshall Von Erich are premier professional wrestlers. Dangerous competitors both in singles competition as well as a franchise tag team unit, the brothers have aspirations of both singles and tag team gold.

The massive 6’4″ 250-pound Marshall Von Erich loves three things: surfing, fishing and fighting. Without a doubt, the younger and physically bigger brother is a certified Hawaiian hoss. Combining explosive power with speed and agility, very few if any can match the charismatic grappler’s fusion of styles, especially at his size.

A strategist inside the ring, Ross wastes no movement, systematically focusing on his opponents’ weaknesses until they are too tired to endure his blitzing offense. Featuring fast and furious brawling, cutting-edge grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsui mat work, his arsenal also includes uncanny aerial attacks.

Proud and serious, Ross Von Erich mixes technical wrestling, brawling, MMA and aerial attacks to make for a customized hybrid wrestling style.

Grappling and learning new techniques on the beaches of Kauai from their father, Kevin Von Erich, these Texas born bad asses are a force to reckon with.

Preferring to fight barefoot, like his father, Marshall is a 3rd generation grappler. Similar to his father, Marshall also possesses one of the best dropkicks in the sport, attaining a vertical leap that would put most athletes to shame. Shocking fans and devastating opponents with his signature moonsault, Marshall is exceptional in every way.

A top-level wrestler in both singles and tag team competition, Ross and Marshall fight for his family’s name and their future.

When not wrestling, the brothers can be found spending time with his family on their ranch in Hawaii, enjoying surfing, spear fishing and innovating new high flying moves off of waterfalls.

Growing up in Denton County (just outside Dallas), Marshall and Ross would tussle all over the family’s Texas ranch with hopes of one day wrestling in front of large crowds around the world. However, their legendary father, Kevin Von Erich, didn’t want his sons to grow up too fast. So much so he hid the weights in the barn at their Denton County farm and encouraged the boys to enjoy life. Wrestling would come soon enough if it was meant to be.

Both impressive athletes from an early age, the brothers exceed in all sports, Ross in football and Marshall at discus throwing.

In 2007, the entire Von Erich clan moved to Kauai, Hawaii, the state’s northernmost island where the brothers Ross and Marshall would begin their journey to become pro wrestlers.

Training under their father’s watchful eye on his Hawaiian farm, the brothers quickly took to professional wrestling. This would lead Ross and Marshall on a journey around the world to train and learn from some of the sport’s best, including Harley Race.

The brothers’ time training with Race in Missouri was invaluable. The brothers not only learned key fundamentals but world class technical and brawling skills from the hall of famer, which would serve them well in the years to come.

From Race’s camp in Missouri, Ross and Marshall would go on an excursion to Japan where they would live for the better part of two years in the Pro Wrestling NOAH dojo.

Under the tutelage of Naomichi Marufuji, the Von Erichs mastered the art of puroresu(Japanese wrestling). On and off for two years, Ross and Marshall would train and compete in one of Japan’s most competitive and prestigious wrestling circuits both in singles and tag team competition.

Competing around the world, including Israel, England, Australia as well as stateside in their home state of Texas, the rise of the 3rdgeneration of Von Erichs heralded a new era for the family. One of triumph, tranquility and hope. Along the way, they even collected championship gold in Texas and abroad.

In 2019, Ross crossed over into film, appearing in Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Hobbs and Shaw action movie. The brothers were also spotlighted in VICE’s Dark Side of The Ringseries, representing a new hope for a new chapter in the family’s fabled story in the sport.

Believing in the mantra to always look forward, never backward, Ross and Marshall have embraced their destiny: the fight for their family’s name and their future.

See the Von Erichs live June 1st in the greater Milwaukee area. Tickets start at just $10 at MLWTickets.com.

Daniel Bryan And Rowan Are New SmackDown Tag Team Champs

Last night on WWE SmackDown Live, Daniel Bryan and Rowan defeat The Usos to capture the vacant SmackDown Tag Team Titles.

As noted, the SmackDown Tag Team Titles have been vacant since The Hardy Boys relinquished them last week due to Jeff Hardy’s right leg injury. Hardy will be out of action for 6-9 months.

Shane McMahon originally announce Bryan and Rowan as the new champions. The Usos took of advantage of the new Wild Card Rule coming to SmackDown from RAW and took issue with Bryan and Rowan being crowned champions without earning the titles. This led to Shane making The Usos vs. Bryan and Rowan for the titles. Bryan and Rowan won that match to begin their first title run together.

 

Bryan noted that they will be switching out the leather straps on the title belts because they disgust him. It looks like Bryan and Rowan will be using eco-friendly straps like he used on the WWE Title before losing it to Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35.

 

WWE Made Change On Uploading Video Content From RAW & SmackDown On YouTube Reportedly To Help With Drop In Ratings

You may have noticed how WWE did not upload any YouTube videos from this week’s RAW and SmackDown episodes until late in the show. This was done as a way to potentially help combat the drop in ratings, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

The current plan is to cut back on the amount of uploads to YouTube during the RAW and SmackDown episodes. The feeling is that uploading videos as matches and segments happen on TV is potentially hurting the ratings.

WWE usually uploads clips from RAW and SmackDown matches shortly after they happen on TV, but that was not the case this week. WWE started uploading the first clips from Monday night’s show late into the third hour. All clips from RAW were uploaded within an hour of the show going off the air, which isn’t far from how they usually do it.

The big difference was that there were no YouTube clips from RAW while it was still airing on the USA Network, until the final hour. While WWE is changing their policy on YouTube uploads, at least for now, it looks like things will not change on Twitter. WWE uploaded photos and videos as usual on Twitter with content going up as it aired on TV.

As noted, WWE is currently facing pressure to bring the ratings back up from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox. This is part of the reason why Vince McMahon introduced the Wild Card Rule.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Live Preview 5/7/19

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

* Shane McMahon will crown new SmackDown Tag Team Champions

* Kevin Owens to respond to Kofi Kingston’s attack from last week

* Massive Six-Woman Tag Team Match to go down on the blue brand

* Ali and Andrade to square off tonight

* Which Raw Superstars will take advantage of the “Wild Card Rule?”

WWE 205 Live Preview 5/7/19

Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Can Kanellis defeat Tozawa at his own game?

Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Akira Tozawa is no stranger to No Disqualification and Falls Count Anywhere Matches. In fact, some of the most memorable matches in WWE 205 Live history have involved The Stamina Monster stopping at nothing to defeat the likes of his rival-turned-ally The Brian Kendrick. However, as Mike Kanellis looks to rack up some wins and prove that he belongs at the top of WWE 205 Live, his rivalry with Tozawa has reached dangerous levels.

Last week, The Opportunist attacked Kendrick as The Man with a Plan made his way to the ring, leading to a wild brawl between Tozawa and Kanellis that raged until they were separated by WWE officials. The incident was just the latest in a tit-for-tat struggle between the two Superstars that has often involved Kanellis’ wife Maria and Kendrick.

Now Tozawa and Kanellis look to settle the score in a No Disqualification Match. Can Kanellis prove his mettle – without the aid of his wife – against a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, or will The Stamina Monster silence his nemesis for good? Tune in to WWE 205 Live at 10/9 C, streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network!

WWE Introduced Wild Card Rule On RAW And SmackDown To Help With Star Power Concerns From Fox And USA

Vince McMahon’s new Wild Card Rule on WWE TV is a response to ratings pressure from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Vince McMahon reportedly did not want to give up the idea of separate brands. As noted, the Wild Card Rule will see 4 RAW Superstars be eligible to appear on SmackDown each week while 4 SmackDown Superstars are able to appear on RAW each week.

WWE has been facing outside pressure from NBCU and Fox to bring the ratings up. The networks will not be happy with how bad the ratings are this coming fall because of how much money they are paying WWE. Fox and NBCU want star power on the shows and there has been a feeling that the brands don’t have enough star power individually.

It was also noted that Fox wants RAW and SmackDown storylines on the blue brand show when it goes to their network on Friday nights in October. NBCU was reportedly upset about the recent drop in ratings, especially for the third hour, and they were asking questions about the decline, specifically why they would give away a top star like Roman Reigns to SmackDown. There has been pressure from NBCU and Fox to have the top WWE Superstars work both shows.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Rhyno Says He Turned Down Big Money Offer From WWE, Talks About AEW

Sounds like Rhyno will soon be done as an active competitor in WWE, as his contract expires in July and the wrestler says he’s not signing a new deal.

In a new video interview, Rhyno told Chris Van Vliet the following:

“July 17th is my last date there. They actually offered me more than twice my downside but it wasn’t where they would have to use me because the downside is so large and it wasn’t about money it was about me wanting to be on the road work and helping the younger guys kind of like a player coach.”

“It was a mutual understanding that we were not going to figure out a number. And they’ve been great, I can’t say anything bad about them. I had a lot of fun. I was afraid that they would say yes to a larger downside than what they offered me because I was afraid that they would still sit me at home. It’s not that they don’t like me, there is a lot of talent there and they have to cycle the talent which is normal because you want to get men and women out there to work. I was afraid that I would become miserable and that’s the last thing that you want to do when you’re doing something that you love. I would rather take a step back and work for some of these companies and work the independent scene.”

As for why … Rhyno says he wants to help the future generation of wrestlers find themselves, which he can’t do if WWE doesn’t book him to be on the road.

“On the indies, I can do that,” he explained. “And with other companies whether it’s AEW, Impact, Ring of Honor or New Japan … I’ve done that before in the past and that’s something I can do now in the future.”

Watch the full interview below:

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

XFL CEO Oliver Luck Talks Lessons From AAF Folding, More Details On XFL’s New Deal With FOX And ESPN

As we previously reported, the XFL announced that they have reached multiyear agreements with ESPN and Fox Sports to air their games in 2020. The games will air weekly on broadcast TV on ABC and Fox, along with games airing on cable on ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 and FS2. There will be back-to-back games every Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, along with two games on Sunday afternoons.

According to Sports Business Daily, there will be 43 games in the inaugural season. 24 of those will air on broadcast television, with 13 on ABC and 11 on FOX. Of the 11 games on FOX, two will air on Thursday in primetime in April of 2020.

Sports Illustrated reported that there will be no rights fees paid by ESPN and FOX. Sports Business Daily added that while the networks are not paying a rights fee, they will pick up production costs which are estimated to be $400,000 per game, which amounts to $17.2 million for the season.

Both networks will hold the streaming rights to games. They will cross-promote games during broadcasts and sell ads for the games. The XFL will handle sponsorships at the stadiums.

Despite the AAF not being able to last one season, ESPN Executive Vice President of Programming and Scheduling Burke Magnus is confident that the XFL will succeed.

“Spring football is going to work,” said Magnus. “The combination of Vince McMahon, WWE, Fox and Disney is an incredible one to take a really hard run at this and see if that’s not the combination that finally makes it work.”

XFL Commissioner & CEO Oliver Luck agreed, and felt that one of the factors that hurt the AAF was that they were not on broadcast cable every week.

“The only game that the Alliance had on broadcast was their opening game on CBS. One of the lessons we took away was that they had a pretty good rating,” said Luck. “It shows that Americans still want to watch football the week after the Super Bowl.”

The XFL will re-launch on Saturday, February 8, 2020, six days after Super Bowl LIV. Two games will air that day, with the first one being on ABC and the night game airing on FOX.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Announces New Name And Rules For Battle Royale At Double Or Nothing

All Elite Wrestling has announced a new name for the Over The Budget Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing. The match will now be called the Casino Battle Royale.

AEW also announced the following rules for the pre-show match:

* 21 wrestler over-the-top Battle Royale

* Starts with 5 men

* Every 3 minutes a new wave of 5 men enter

* Lucky 21 competitors will enter last

* Battle Royale entry numbers picked at a later date

There are currently 11 of 21 spots announced for the match – Chuck Taylor, Trent Baretta, Joey Janela, MJF, Brian Pillman Jr., Glacier, Ace Romero, Sunny Daze, Brandon Cutler, Kip Sabian and Sonny Kiss.

AEW Double Or Nothing takes place on Saturday, May 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena near Las Vegas, Nevada. Below is the current announced card:

AAA World Tag Team Titles Match
Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix) vs. The Young Bucks (c)

Cody Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes

Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega

Pac vs. Hangman Adam Page

Dr. Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose

Team All Elite Wrestling vs. Team Oriental Entertainment Wrestling
SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, Scorpio Sky) vs. Cima, El Lindaman and T-Hawk

Pre-show: Casino Battle Royale
Chuck Taylor, Trent Baretta, Joey Janela, MJF, Brian Pillman Jr., Glacier, Ace Romero, Sunny Daze, Brandon Cutler, Kip Sabian, Sonny Kiss, TBA

Source: Wrestling Inc.