Category: WWE

Backstage News On WWE Raw Moving To TV-14

“WWE Raw” potentially moving to a TV-14 rating is reportedly a USA Network decision, not a WWE call.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has yet to acknowledge the change in direction of the programming, but a source within the company confirmed that it is a USA Network decision. Furthermore, the fact that the memo for the change from TV-PG to TV-14 came from USA Network executives would also indicate the same.

Meltzer noted that it’s highly unlikely “WWE Raw” reverts to bloody matches and bra & panties-like content, but could incorporate more swearing and profanities when the change to TV-14 happens.

In particular, USA Network was said to be “accepting” of Brock Lesnar using the word “shitkicking” during the first hour of the 7/11 episode when they received the script. However, when Lesnar actually uttered the word, because they were aware in advance, USA Network producers did a sound edit of the cuss word. “We don’t know if this had to do with that or not but the timing is notable and a sound edit of something that was in the script and approved is also notable,” Meltzer wrote.

Earlier on Thursday, Fightful Select also reported that there have been conflicting messages internally at USA Network about the change to TV-14. The WWE sources Fightful reached out to “hadn’t heard of the change yet but were looking into the move.”

The report added that those expecting significant changes could be in for a disappointment. While “NXT 2.0” has racier content than “Raw” on a regular basis, it’s still rated TV-PG, and the content that airs is up to WWE, not USA Network. It was noted that unlike MPAA for movies or ESRB for video games, cable TV shows are not required to meet certain criteria to retain TV-PG status or move to a TV-14 rating. As an example, WWE could have self-rated as a TV-PG show during the Attitude Era without oversight ramifications. Although input from the network and sponsors is always taken into effect, the content that airs is still up to the creator, in this case, WWE.

Andrew Zarian retracted his earlier report that the internal memo sent by USA Network called for “WWE Raw” to shift to a TV-14 rating starting from the 7/18 episode. According to Zarian, the memo was sent out prematurely, and the day for the shift from TV-PG to TV-14 has yet to be finalized. The change “is still in consideration for a later date,” he added.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Big E Addresses Possibility Of Never Wrestling Again

Big E has been out of action since the March 11 episode of “WWE SmackDown,” and while his future remains unclear, the former WWE Champion is potentially staring down the idea of never wrestling again.

The New Day star broke his neck when taking a belly-to-belly suplex outside the ring from Ridge Holland and landing directly on his head, but admitted to TMZ that he’s “doing really well.” It is a good update from a man whose attitude has been relentlessly positive throughout the entire experience, and he has been able to remove his neck brace. But while Big E is obviously working towards competing in the ring again at some point, there is a chance that will not be a possibility for him. He recently revealed that his C1 is not ossifying (growing bone), and that it’s something that his doctors are going to look at around the one-year mark post-injury.

“I can live my life pretty normally,” Big E said. “But [my neck’s] not in a position where I should be ramming my head against other things, immovable objects. So wrestling doesn’t make sense right now. For me right now, March of next year is very far off. So, I don’t want to spend a lot of time worrying or stressing about that. I’m just kind of living my life.”

Doctors previously told Big E that the consequences from the injury could have been much worse. From that perspective, even if we have seen the last of him in a wrestling ring, he admitted that he’s okay with that, even if it’s not something fans want to hear.

“Honestly, my philosophy as a human being is learning to be content with whatever life brings you. I’m so grateful to not be in a wheelchair, but if I was, I would have to adjust to life in a wheelchair, that’s just how I am programmed,” he said. “If I spend hours or days or weeks kind of mourning where I’m at in life, and not being what I wanted to be, that doesn’t serve me.”

While Big E won’t be stepping back into the ring for the foreseeable future, he’s still available to be used in other ways by WWE, including at WWE SummerSlam weekend later this month. It was recently revealed that Big E will be working on July 27-29 in Nashville at a talent tryout for current and graduated college athletes, where he will be helping to assess the prospects involved.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Raw Preview 7/11/22

Brock Lesnar is back and set to return to WWE “Raw” tonight.

Backstage News On Talent Reaction To Vince McMahon Allegations

After the Wall Street Journal reported that Vince McMahon has paid over $12 million in ‘hush money,’ there have been mixed reactions backstage from the talent, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio.”

The allegation claimed that McMahon had paid off three other women whom he had supposedly been sexually involved with, one of which was a former wrestler that claimed to have been coerced into having oral sex, while another was sent unsolicited nudes from him.

Meltzer heard from several different wrestlers who were at “WWE SmackDown” and they provided a varying degrees of thoughts when it comes to the latest allegations surrounding McMahon. One believed that people know what they are getting themselves into when they enter the wrestling business.

Another talent revealed that McMahon is not selling anything right now, and nobody backstage is talking about the situation as they believe that if you are heard doing that there is a chance of getting in trouble, which nobody needs right now. Then a third person gave a very different take, as they were said to be very concerned about the situation.

They believe that it is one thing for him to pay money in order to cover up an affair, which was the first allegation that was made against him, but it is something else when it becomes coercion, as they are viewing that as a concerning situation.

McMahon was backstage at “WWE SmackDown” this week, although unlike when the first allegation was made against him, he did not appear on television this time. Despite that, it was being viewed as ‘business as usual behind the scenes when it came to running the show and what was happening.

The original report against McMahon took place on June 12, which claimed he had paid off a former paralegal regarding an affair that they had. Since that point, WWE’s board of directors have been investigating him, while he also stepped down as the WWE CEO, with Stephanie McMahon taking over on an interim basis.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Rock’s Daughter, Ava Raine, Debuts Nickname In First WWE NXT Promo At NXT House Show

WWE NXT held another live event last night in Orlando, Florida, headlined by Bron Breakker successfully defending his NXT Championship against Tony D’Angelo. Elsewhere on the card, the leader of Toxic Attraction, Mandy Rose, defeated Ivy Nile to retain her NXT Women’s Title, and The Creed Brothers defeated Joe Gacy and a member of the DYAD to retain their Tag Team Titles.

But one of the biggest stories coming out of the show isn’t about the in-ring action at all. Fresh WWE NXT talent Ava Raine, the real-life daughter of The Rock that signed with WWE in February 2020, cut her first promo at last night’s event. She was presented as a heel to the audience as she talked down to Cora Jade and the rest of the NXT women’s locker room.

Raine also revealed what her nickname will be going forward and it’s possibly a nod to a recent horror film. Raine, a fan of cinema influenced by the supernatural, apparent by the many references to “The Craft” (1996) on her social media, was referring to herself as “The Final Girl” during her in-ring promo. The film, “The Final Girls” was a horror/comedy film released in 2015 that first debuted at the SXSW Film Festival before receiving a wider release in the United States later that Fall. The premise of the movie sees the protagonist, Max, along with her group of friends, getting trapped inside a B-horror film where they must use the tropes they’ve learned from watching horror movies to survive. There’s no certainty this film influenced the new description Raine is giving herself in NXT, but the connection is possible.

“The Final Girl” is also a common trope in horror cinema as a whole. She is recognized as the last girl or woman surviving in the film as the story becomes centrally focused on her.

As seen in the photos below, Raine was trending after she dropped the promo last night, signifying that we might be approaching a televised debut for the 20-year-old. She has been teasing her debut for several weeks until last night when she finally revealed her persona to a live crowd.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/8/22

WWE SmackDown, tonight at 8/7 C on FOX.

As of Friday morning, here is the lineup announced for tonight’s show:

  • Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns returns
  • How will Ronda Rousey respond to the new “SmackDown” Women’s Champion Liv Morgan?
  • Maximum Male Models to unveil their 2022 Tennis Collection

Vince McMahon Allegedly Paid Four Women $12 Million To Silence Sexual Misconduct Allegations

A new report has revealed Vince McMahon may have paid off multiple former employees to stay quiet.

Last month, allegations that Vince McMahon paid a former WWE paralegal $3 million in hush money after the two had an affair surfaced via the Wall Street Journal. That report led to McMahon stepping down as WWE’s CEO pending the result of an investigation by the company’s board. Today, those allegations have become far more serious as new reports that McMahon has paid off multiple women have emerged.

The report once again comes from the Wall Street Journal which has now revealed McMahon allegedly paid off as many as four women going back 16 years. Those payments apparently total $12 million, with one of the four unnamed women included in the report being paid $7.5 million by McMahon. The report claims that amount was paid to a former wrestler who McMahon allegedly coerced into oral sex before demoting her and then eventually neglecting to renew her contract in 2005.

The wrestler wasn’t paid off at the time, but reportedly met with McMahon and negotiated a deal for her silence along with her attorney. The second of the two women mentioned in the report apparently approached the company with unsolicited nude photos of their boss, presumably threatening to leak them should she not get paid. WSJ reports the former WWE contractor was paid $1 million in return for not sharing the photos online.

The third person mentioned in the new report doesn’t include as many details as the previous two. Just that a former manager with the company was paid $1 million in 2006 in return for their silence regarding an alleged sexual relationship between her and McMahon. The three new instances combined with the previous reports of a $3 million payment mean McMahon is now being accused of paying more than $12 million across almost two decades in return for the silence of former employees with who he has allegedly had sexual encounters.

WWE’s next move in all this remains unclear. The first report resulted in McMahon stepping back as CEO, but then appearing on SmackDown that week seemingly just to prove that he could. The new report also includes a $1.5 million payout to someone for allegations made against John Laurinaitis. The head of talent relations has been absent since the first report, replaced by Bruce Prichard pending the results of the investigation.

Source: TheSportster

Details On WWE Enduring An “Upswing In Interest” [Report]

A new report details several factors that suggest WWE is benefitting from an increase in fan interest.

Several factors suggest that things are looking up for WWE, at least as far as general fan interest is concerned.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestleTalk), Dave Meltzer used several examples which indicate that WWE is benefitting from a jump in interest. Meltzer cited the success of recent shows even though Roman Reigns (the company’ s top star right now) hasn’t been used as much lately.

“Whatever it is, there’s definitely an upswing in interest in the product, for whatever reason,” Meltzer stated.

According to Meltzer, ticket sales have been soaring, and merchandise sales were through the roof at Money in the Bank. He also cited the recent increase in television ratings for WWE. The drop in ratings have been well-documented over the years, so WWE has to be pleased with this trend even if it’s a short sample size.

“Also at the Vegas show on Saturday (Money in the Bank), they did monster merchandise numbers in Vegas,” Meltzer explained. “They had a hot crowd as well, but they did monster merchandise numbers. It was blowing people away. It was like double per head what they did last year at SummerSlam in the same market, which is incredible because when you have those big shows like SummerSlam or WrestleMania, the merchandise sales are way up from a usual show, and this was just a regular pay-per-view compared to a SummerSlam.”

WWE just finished running the Money in the Bank 2022 pay-per-view in Las Vegas, Nevada. Though the company has been heavily criticized for several recent business and booking decisions, Money in the Bank was largely praised by the wrestling world. Now it’s on to SummerSlam 2022 season, which will be headlined by Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing bout for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Meltzer noted before Money in the Bank, that the show had sold out, and that the “get-in price” on the secondary market was $84. So from a ticket sales standpoint, WWE made the right decision to relocate MITB from Allegiant Stadium (in Paradise, Nevada) to the smaller MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas.

Only time will tell if this is a temporary trend, or if merchandise/ticket sales and TV ratings will continue to increase for WWE. It’s a short sample size, sure, but Vince McMahon and officials won’t complain about the short-term improvement they’re seeing here. It’s now on the higher-ups and WWE creative to keep the product interesting and enticing for fans. That has been a challenge for a while now, but with so many different superstars to push, WWE has the chance to make this product far more enjoyable compared to previous years.

Source: TheSportster

Tony Khan Reportedly Open to an AEW and WWE Supershow

AEW’s Tony Khan said it was unlikely, but he’d be open to discussing the possibility of a cross-promotional show between his company and WWE.

According to the President of AEW himself, Tony Khan, he’s open to the idea of AEW and WWE working together to put on a supershow, much like he did with NJPW for Forbidden Door. While he admits the idea seems far-fetched, he’s not opposed to it and would be open to discussing with the higher-ups in WWE.

The comments stemmed from a conversation Khan had on the The Ringer’s “The Masked Man Show.” podcast where he was asked about AEW stars appearing on WWE programming recently for the 20-year celebration of John Cena. Khan said he was approached about it and said yes because it was for a good cause. When the follow-up question was about whether he would be open to a pay-per-view with WWE, he didn’t shy away from answering yes.

Khan said, “I’m not sure if that’s gonna happen (AEW and WWE doing a joint show). But, I would be open to talking about that type of thing. It’s not crazy but it’s a bold prediction.”

Like the scene from Dumb and Dumber where Llyod Christmas was told by the female lead that it’s a million-to-one odds she’d ever be interested in him, his response was, “so you’re saying there’s a chance”. AEW and WWE working together seem incredibly unlikely, but Khan is not ruling it out as something worth considering down the line. As for whether WWE would like to pursue it, that might depend on who is in charge. Being a publicly-traded company, every decision is about revenue and the shareholders. If there’s a good financial reason to do so, WWE might be open to it as well.

The question fans will immediately ask is, what matches would make the most sense? Bobby Lashley teased on Raw this week that no one could beat him for his United States Championship, including anyone from another promotion. He seems to be thinking about it already. From there, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Riddle, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair would be names at the top of WWE’s list. For AEW, CM Punk, Hangman Page, Kenny Omega, Jade Cargill and Britt Baker would be among the more intriguing options.

Source: TheSportster

WWE NXT “The Great American Bash” Preview 7/5/2022

WWE presents a special The Great American Bash episode of “NXT” tonight, with four title matches on the card.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • NXT Championship Match: Cameron Grimes vs. Bron Breakker (c)
  • NXT North American Championship Match: Grayson Waller vs. Carmelo Hayes (c)
  • NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez vs. Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne (c)
  • NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp vs. The Creed Brothers (c)
  • Tiffany Stratton vs. Wendy Choo
  • Trick Williams vs. Wes Lee