As noted, WWE shot an angle on Raw with Bobby Lashley turning heel and injuring both of Owens’ knees to write him off of TV. While there was a report from POST Wrestling that the hope is that the knee surgery will be a minor procedure, Dave Meltzer noted in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the full damage won’t be known until his knee is opened up. While it’s hopeful that Owens just needed his knee to be cleaned out, it is possible that he would need major surgery.
Earlier today, Owens revealed on his Twitter that he ended up getting double knee surgery. No word yet on how serious the damage was or how long he’ll be expected to be out of the ring, although the initial timetable was four to eight months, depending on the seriousness of the procedure.
Wrestling fans use Twitter to complain about WWE, but Shane McMahon says his children are lucky enough to vent their booking frustrations in a different way — they just text Granda Vince.
Shane was a guest on the latest Opie Radio podcast and talked about how his appearance at WrestleMania 32 with his children was one of the highlights of his life.
Opie then suggested the WrestleMania moment probably inspired one of the kids to go into the wrestling business and Shane replied: “They talk about it. They LOVE it! They give me suggestions. Like, ‘This is what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna call Pop, because’ — that’s what they call my dad — ‘I’m gonna call Pop because that was crap’ or ‘I loved this thing and this is what they should do.’ And then they’ll call pop or text him.”
When the host asks if Shane’s kids will join the family business he says, “it’s probably gonna happen.”
The full interview includes McMahon telling the full story of his plane crash last year, his thoughts on Ronda Rousey in WWE, Hulk Hogan‘s inevitable return, going to the White House and more.
In the same year that Raw celebrated its 25th anniversary, SmackDown is also approaching a milestone of its own. Tonight the show will air its 1,000th episode and former WWE producer Bruce Prichard recently reflected back on the very first episode of SmackDown which aired in 1999.
The first seven years of SmackDown aired on UPN, and Prichard says that using that network didn’t come by accident.
“It was a big conglomeration with a lot of different things coming together at the same time, it was a perfect storm in a lot of ways,” Prichard says on Something to Wrestle With. “Part of the UPN deal also had to do with the XFL. The XFL was going to be debuting the next year, and Vince [McMahon] was getting out beyond that NBC bubble and was looking for different broadcast partners.
When SmackDown debuted on UPN, it became WWE’s first show on a broadcast network since Saturday Night’s Main Event ended it’s original run on NBC in 1992.
“The other thing was that UPN was a broadcast network,” stated Prichard. “It wasn’t cable cast. I don’t want to say that they were in dire straights at the time, but they were No. 5 of the 5 networks. It wasn’t like we were going to the strongest of networks, but they were looking for something to build them up. UPN-Viacom had seen what we had done for the USA Network and they felt that by bringing it onto a broadcast and putting it into a primetime slot it could be their signature show.
“We were reaching out and looking for partners for the XFL. Vince McMahon looks at all of the [UPN] programming and thought, what about pro wrestling? What about doing something else? Vince McMahon always wanted that broadcast spot; that primetime broadcast spot and when it became available he jumped at it.”
Prichard also talked about the possibility of making SmackDown an all-women’s show nearly 20 years before WWE Evolution became a reality.
“We definitely discussed it,” admitted Prichard. “We looked at it, but we just didn’t have the depth to do it on a consistent basis week after week. We really didn’t have enough talent to do that, and in addition to that, if you were going to do that maybe not do it on the broadcast show because Vince McMahon was looking at that the more eyeballs maybe if this broadcast show takes off to possibly make Raw an all-women’s show, but we definitely discussed that many times throughout the years.”
SmackDown stated on UPN and is currently on USA Network, but it also aired on four different networks in between. The show will then move to Fox in October 2019 and Prichard says many networks showed interest in becoming the home of SmackDown.
“We were talking to Viacom. We were talking to CBS, and talking to CBS and Viacom was when we came to terms with UPN,” Prichard revealed. “We were the prettiest girl in that dance. Here we are at UPN because they wanted us due to the fact that they knew what we could provide for their station, which we did. We were the #1 show on their station, and brought eyeballs to UPN and were able to help them with lead ins. If you wanted to do a new show on UPN you advertise on SmackDown; that was just the way it was.”
It looks like WWE has become a player in the ongoing diplomatic & proxy conflict between Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Dave Meltzer noted on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that the WWE World Cup tournament being held at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has to do with the Saudis being upset over Qatar landing the 2022 FIFA World Cup of soccer. The Saudis reportedly wanted the soccer World Cup but did not bid on it and couldn’t get it, so they went to WWE to hold their own World Cup of wrestling at Crown Jewel, according to the report.
The issues between the Kingdom and Qatar go back to the mid-1990s but have escalated in the past few years as the two countries fight for power in the region. The conflict is often referred to as the Second Arab Cold War and now it appears there is a WWE-related chapter to add to the history books.
You can read the latest on the controversy surrounding WWE, Crown Jewel and the Saudis at this link.
It looks like several WWE Superstars took to Twitter last night to vent on being in the Battle Royal at WWE Evolution. As noted, Torrie Wilson, Asuka, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Lana, Carmella, Naomi, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Ember Moon, Nia Jax, Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox and Tamina Snuka will do battle in the match to earn a future women’s title shot.
You can see what appear to be coordinated tweets from The IIconics, Naomi, Carmella and Lana below:
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