Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota as the road to TLC continues.
* AJ Styles responds to Daniel Bryan’s shocking actions tonight on SmackDown LIVE
* SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch returns
* Jeff Hardy celebrates his 20th anniversary in WWE
Tonight’s WWE Mixed Match Challenge will take place from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The MMC season two continues this evening on Facebook Watch at 10pm EST., immediately following WWE SmackDown Live on the USA Network.
Tonight’s MMC episode will feature the beginning of the MMC Playoffs.
* Curt Hawkins and Ember Moon vs. Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
* Finn Balor and Bayley vs. Bobby Lashley and Mickie James
Last week’s Impact Wrestling numbers are just now coming out due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Thursday’s Impact Wrestling episode, which aired on Thanksgiving and featured Eli Drake’s 2nd Annual Turkey Trot main event that saw the return of Disco Inferno, drew 124,000 viewers. This is up 23% from the previous week’s 101,000 viewers, which was the second-lowest viewership in the history of the show.
This is the fifth viewership for Impact in the 10pm timeslot on Pop.
Thursday’s show ranked #104 on the Cable Top 150. The show did not make the Top 150 the previous week.
A Hallmark Christmas movie topped the night on cable in viewership with 3.266 million viewers, ranking #1 on the Cable Top 150. The NFL games on Fox drew more than 70 million viewers with the pre-game, post-game and the actual game coverage.
Below is our 2018 Impact Viewership Tracker:
January 4th Episode: 309,000 viewers
January 11th Episode: 276,000 viewers
January 18th Episode: 309,000 viewers
January 25th Episode: 310,000 viewers (Genesis episode)
February 1st Episode: 319,000 viewers (Reboot)
February 8th Episode: 294,000 viewers
February 15th Episode: 300,000 viewers
February 22nd Episode: 262,000 viewers
March 1st Episode: 365,000 viewers
March 8th Episode: 325,000 (Crossroads episode)
March 15th Episode: 350,000 viewers
March 22nd Episode: 362,000 viewers
March 29th Episode: 399,000 viewers
April 5th Episode: 294,000 viewers
April 12th Episode: 381,000 viewers
April 19th Episode: 373,000 viewers
April 26th Episode: 308,000 viewers (post-Redemption episode)
May 3rd Episode: 299,000 viewers
May 10th Episode: 295,000 viewers
May 17th Episode: 326,000 viewers
May 24th Episode: 263,000 viewers
May 31st Episode: 283,000 viewers (Under Pressure episode)
June 7th Episode: 296,000 viewers
June 14th Episode: 276,000 viewers
June 21st Episode: 262,000 viewers
June 28th Episode: 254,000 viewers
July 5th Episode: 304,000 viewers
July 12th Episode: 284,000 viewers
July 19th Episode: 275,000 viewers
July 26th Episode: 299,000 viewers (post-Slammiversary episode)
August 2nd Episode: 248,000 viewers
August 9th Episode: 168,000 viewers
August 16th Episode: 210,000 viewers
August 23rd Episode: 212,000 viewers
August 30th Episode: 225,000 viewers (ReDefined episode)
September 6th Episode: 236,000 viewers
September 13th Episode: 258,000 viewers
September 20th Episode: 229,000 viewers
September 27th Episode: 222,000 viewers
October 4th Episode: 190,000 viewers
October 11th Episode: 183,000 viewers
October 18th Episode: 189,000 viewers (post-Bound For Glory episode)
October 25th Episode: 98,000 viewers (timeslot change to 10pm)
November 1st Episode: 105,000 viewers
November 8th Episode: 129,000 viewers
November 15th Episode: 101,000 viewers
November 22nd Episode: 124,000 viewers (Thanksgiving episode)
November 29th Episode:
2017 Total: 16.147 million viewers
2017 Average: 311,000 viewers per episode
Sources: ShowBuzz Daily and WrestlingINC
Below is the Top 5 Must-See Moments from Eli Drake’s 2nd Annual Turkey Trot main event:
At last night’s Raw, a familiar face was in the crowd. No, it wasn’t Enzo Amore. In fact, it was the last real man.
According to PWInsider, Silas Young was at Raw in Milwaukee. He was sitting incognito in the crowd.
This appearance is coming after revealing to wrestlinginc.com exclusively on their recent WINCLY podcast that his contract with Ring of Honor is coming up at the end of the year. There are rumors going around that he will be signing with WWE once his contract expires.
Young is a former two-time ROH World Television Champion and has been a consistent member of the roster since 2012.
While an opponent has not been determined yet, Young is scheduled to fight at ROH’s Final Battle inside the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on December 14.
Source: WrestlingINC
WWE NXT star Kairi Sane revealed on her Twitter account that she is suffering from Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. This is something that children normally get, which confused Kairi when she made the announcement on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/KairiSaneWWE/status/1067283282738507787
Translating the tweet from Japanese resulted in this posting:
“The fever has gone down, but now my hands, feet and mouth have a mysterious eczema… Ouch you go to the hospital with it? ????(even in the United States, hand, Foot and Mouth Disease) It is a disease that infants under 5 years old have been examined, ??????? why did the virus enter my body by mistake? ?? lol”
There is no known cure but getting some rest usually helps, depending on the severity of it. If anything, Kairi should be back on her feet in no time.
Source: WrestlingINC
When WWE launched NXT UK in December 2016, it was seen as a way for top British talent to showcase their abilities on WWE’s platform, while also having the ability to work other promotions. But after just two years, WWE has decided to reverse course and will put restrictions on NXT UK talent from working for other promotions.
This news comes courtesy of WrestleTalk, which reports that several members of NXT UK will be given new contracts in the coming weeks with these restrictions in place. While the Superstars will be given raises, their meandering on the indie scene will cease come 2019.
Previously the NXT UK Superstars were only restricted from other promotions with distribution deals, but now they will be barred from all other promotions. The only exceptions are those companies that WWE had partnered with including Progress, ICW and wXw (Germany).
This WWE exclusivity seems to come from disappointing numbers at recent NXT UK house shows. If fans can pay £10 to watch these stars at local shows, then they would be unlikely to cough up more money to see the same Superstars on WWE shows.
WrestleTalk also reports that these new contracts aren’t being handed out to everyone, so the new restrictions will also not apply to everyone. Even so, those who are not barred from other promotions are still prohibited from wrestling anyone from ROH, Impact, New Japan or any other major promotion.
With these new contracts and new restrictions set to go into place at the start of 2019, Superstars will still be able to finish up their advertised bookings through the end of 2018. However, talent will only be able to work shows with a licensed paramedic on hand as a couple of members of the roster recently showed up to the NXT UK Performance Center with injuries that WWE was unaware of.
This is a big change from when WWE first established NXT UK as said they wouldn’t scoop up all of the top talent in the UK, leaving little else for anyone else. It remains to be seen how this impacts the UK indies.
Source: WrestlingINC
Charlotte Flair called out the MMA Four Horsewomen today on Twitter, seen below. Flair tweeted a photo from her Survivor Series beatdown on RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and said the photo was missing Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke and WWE NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler.
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the road to TLC continues.
* Rollins to issue an Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge on Raw
* Braun Strowman out of action; Corbin to battle Bálor on Raw
* “The Facebreaker” awaits The Baddest Woman on the Planet
* Roode & Gable get their Raw Tag Team Title opportunity vs. AOP
* Elias walks into a showdown with “The All Mighty” Bobby Lashley
The NXT UK brand will host their first TakeOver event, NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool, on Saturday, January 12 at the Empress Ballroom. The Mirror first reported the news (h/t to WrestleTake). The special will air on the WWE Network, and there will be a TV taping the following day on Sunday, January 13. Tickets go on sale this Monday at 10 am for both shows at Live Nation.
“Two years ago, we told you we were coming to the UK to help you build your empire,” Triple H said. “Well you have done it, because here we stand today – NXT UK is one of the hottest brands on the planet – because of you. You have made this a success across the board. The reaction to it has been off the chart.
“Talent from around the world are begging to come into NXT UK, because it is one of the hottest things this industry has ever seen. We are going to go back to where it all began – Blackpool.”
Source: WrestlingINC
The event, effectively a glorified house show with a stellar name, was taped Saturday night at Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena. WWE aired part of it last night as a WWE Network special.
Here are the full results, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer.
The show began with Elias’ advertised concert, where he was joined by special guest Ric Flair. Flair was said to have made eyes for most of the women in the front row, which will probably be left out of the Network broadcast. The skit ended with the eight women scheduled for a tag match coming to the ring.
Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon & Dana Brooke got the better of Nia Jax, Tamina, Alicia Fox, & Mickie James in a short contest, ending with Banks making Fox tap to her Banks Statement. As tends to be the case on house shows, Bayley received a reaction in contrast to her usual television reception.
A super popular Finn Bálor fell to Drew McIntyre‘s Claymore in a supposedly decent effort. Dolph Ziggler was also there, of course.
The B-Team went over The Revival in the night’s first toilet break, before The Barconquered The New Day to keep their grip on the SmackDown Tag Team titles.
An open challenge by an opponent-less Baron Corbin was answered by Bray Wyatt, who beat him in short order. It’s Wyatt’s first match for the company since September.
Charlotte Flair overcame Asuka in a repeat of their WrestleMania outing. Charlotte, who viciously assaulted Ronda Rousey at last week’s Survivor Series, hugged Asuka after the match like a true babyface. What are they doing?
Apparently continuity applies in Rey Mysterio‘s world, as he appeared on Miz TV wearing a neck brace to sell his attack at the hands of Randy Orton on SmackDown. Shinsuke Nakamura got in Rey’s face whilst waxed lyrical about the WCW talent who made Starrcade special to him. Obviously the pair then had a match, which ended in a DQ after The Miz intervened on the US Champ’s behalf.
Good ol’ Rusev came to Rey’s rescue, with a tag match emerging out of the mess. Mysterio and his new partner quickly vanquished Miz and Nakamura.
In the first steel cage match of the night, AJ Styles once more put Samoa Joe in his place. The cage was used again as IC Champion Seth Rollins escaped to defeat bitter rival Dean Ambrose. Apparently, the match was the highlight of the evening, which bodes well for their feud.
Source: What Culture
