Category: WWE

Kenny Omega Strongly Criticizes WWE For Streaming Evolve Show Opposite AEW Fight For The Fallen

WWE announced yesterday that the WWE Network will stream EVOLVE’s 10th Anniversary Celebration. It will air as the EVOLVE 131 event, on Saturday, July 13 from the former ECW Arena, the 2300 Arena, in Philadelphia, PA. . The special will feature WWE NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Akira Tozawa with the title on the line, Matt Riddle vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak in a non-title match. The event will also feature NXT’s Arturo Ruas (Adrian Jaoude) and Babatunde, plus EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory and EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy. A full line-up of matches will be announced soon.

“Evolve was the birthplace for many current WWE and NXT Superstars so it is only fitting that their 10th Anniversary Celebration will be showcased live on WWE Network,” Triple H said.

WWE began their working relationship and talent exchange with WWN Live’s EVOLVE promotion back in 2015. Booker Gabe Sapolsky now works behind-the-scenes for NXT and the WWE Performance Center.

Many fans have pointed to how the WWE Network EVOLVE stream is airing on the same night as AEW’s Fight for the Fallen event from Jacksonville, FL. This event will have a portion of the proceeds donated to victims of gun violence.

It should be noted that the EVOLVE 131 date was first announced back in mid-May. We don’t know when WWE began negotiating for the livestream. AEW first announced the details on Fight for the Fallen during the first week of March.

AEW Executive Vice President Kenny Omega has fans talking on social media today after a tweet he made on the EVOLVE – WWE special. He apparently called out WWE for working with Saudi Arabia.

“If lining your pockets with blood money is okay, then what’s wrong with trying to undermine a charity show for victims of gun violence? I hear that healthy competition is supposed to be a good thing and yet I can’t help but feel like I’m gonna be sick,” Omega wrote.

Omega has deleted his original tweet that apparently knocked WWE for their working relationship with the Saudis. His new tweet, also seen below, reads like this: “I’ve said my piece and it opened the door to a very toxic environment. It wasn’t a message to fans, or the boys, just the decision makers. I wish everyone wrestling on any show that day all the best. That is all.”

You can see Omega’s full tweets below:

If lining your pockets with blood money is okay, then what’s wrong with trying to undermine a charity show for victims of gun violence? I hear that healthy competition is supposed to be a good thing and yet I can’t help but feel like I’m gonna be sick.

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) June 26, 2019

https://twitter.com/KennyOmegamanX/status/1143980930203312133

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1143954386592423937

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Stomping Grounds Reportedly Draws Record Low Pay-Per-View Buys

Sunday’s WWE Stomping Grounds pay-per-view reportedly did an estimated 9,800 pay-per-view buys in the United States, according to Wrestling Observer Radio.

This would be a record-low number of buys for a WWE pay-per-view in this era. The previous low in the current era would have been 11,000 buys, reportedly for the recent WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view from Saudi Arabia.

It should be noted that almost no one buys WWE pay-per-view events these days due to the WWE Network, but around 10% of the viewership still buys them on traditional pay-per-view platforms. WWE pay-per-view events average around 15-16,000 buys in this era, with some of the bigger events doing around 20,000. WrestleMania 35 reportedly drew around 100,000 buys this past April.

The low number of Stomping Grounds pay-per-view buys just adds to the overall bad numbers for the first-ever event under that name. We noted before how around half of the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA was curtained off due to bad attendance. While there was a decent line for walk-up tickets on the day of the show, a lot of free tickets were given out on the day of the event and many 2-for-1 deals were sold. An estimated 6,000 fans attended Stomping Grounds, which would have been one of the smallest WWE pay-per-view crowds in a long time. The paid attendance for the pay-per-view was said to be around 4,000 – 4,500 fans, and the Tacoma Dome can hold around 18,000 fans after production.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Names Eric Bischoff And Paul Heyman As New Executive Directors Of RAW And SmackDown

WWE has named Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman as Executive Directors.

Bischoff is set to become the new Executive Director of WWE SmackDown while Heyman is set to become the new Executive Director of WWE RAW. Both will report directly to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

The new roles are full-time executive roles. According to Sports Illustrated, there are no current plans for these roles to be introduced as part of a TV storyline.

Bischoff will also work directly with Fox executives as the blue brand plans to premiere on Fox Friday nights in October, SI reported.

The major move will allow WWE to establish “two distinct creative processes for its flagship shows.”

Below is the full press release that WWE sent Wrestling Inc.:

WWE® NAMES PAUL HEYMAN AND ERIC BISCHOFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTORSStamford, Conn., June 27, 2019 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that it has named Paul Heyman as Executive Director of Monday Night Raw and Eric Bischoff as Executive Director of SmackDown Live, newly created positions reporting directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.

In their executive roles, Heyman and Bischoff will oversee the creative development of WWE’s flagship programming and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business. The creation of these roles further establishes WWE’s ability to continuously reinvent its global brand while providing two distinct creative processes for its flagship shows.

With more than 30 years of experience in the sports entertainment industry, Heyman served as President of ECW from 1993-2001, securing pay-per-view distribution for the company as well as a national cable television deal with TNN. After his time with ECW, Heyman joined WWE’s Creative team and is widely credited with helping launch the careers of many current and former WWE Superstars.

Bischoff is a former WCW President and New York Times bestselling author. During his WCW career, Bischoff oversaw the signing of some of the biggest names in sports entertainment and helped create and develop the NWO storyline. He was also instrumental in securing a television deal for WCW Monday Nitro on TNT and WCW Thunder on TBS. After WCW, Bischoff co-founded Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment, a production company that launched TV reality shows and mobile games.

PWInsider reports that WWE has been talking to Heyman about the new role as far back as February of this year. The deal with Bischoff came together within the past few weeks.

WWE reportedly made an offer to Heyman to come on full-time as a top member of the creative team around the same time Bruce Prichard was hired as Senior Vice President a few months ago. Heyman has been working on various storylines and with certain talents for months now, including Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey.

Bischoff has been working on pre-production of Netflix’s planned biography on WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan, and had a number of personal appearances booked. He likely came to terms with WWE over the last week as he started quietly canceling some of personal appearances.

While Bischoff and Heyman are still reporting to Vince, they are essentially running RAW and SmackDown now. It will be interesting to see how Triple H and others factor in to this latest creative shake-up.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 6/26/19

NXT, streaming tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network.

* Shayna Baszler and Io Shirai take their rivalry into the steel cage

* Street Profits tangle with Forgotten Sons

* Joaquin Wilde faces Angel Garza in the NXT Breakout Tournament

* Bask in the glory of Keith Lee

WWE NXT UK Preview 6/26/19

NXT UK, streaming today at 3 ET/8 GMT on WWE Network.

After besting Joe Coffey, Dave Mastiff and Jordan Devlin in a high-stakes Fatal 4-Way Match several weeks ago, Travis Banks will take on Imperium’s WALTER for the WWE United Kingdom Championship.

Plus, after Killer Kelly left Xia Brookside by herself to suffer the wrath of Jinny’s powerful employee Jazzy Gabert, the daughter of legendary Robbie Brookside will get her opportunity to get even with the retreating competitor. Also, Mark Andrews will attempt to quell the resentment of Joseph Conners, Ligero will lock horns with Noam Dar, and NXT UK Tag Team Champions The Grizzled Young Veterans will address the NXT UK Universe.

Backstage News On Fox Wanting Jerry “The King” Lawler To Work On Their WWE FS1 Studio Show

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler could be one of the hosts of the WWE studio show that is scheduled to begin airing on FS1 later this year, according to a new report from @Wrestlevotes.

The report noted that Fox officials have floated the idea of Lawler being a main part of the show to WWE. The feeling is that Lawler’s image and voice will be familiar to fans, something Fox is looking for, likely to help bring viewers back to the product.

There’s no word yet on who might work with Lawler to host the show, but it was recently reported that Renee Young was “highly likely” to land the role of host.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently revealed that a Fox executive wanted to bring him in as a host of the FS1 show, but that was before he parted ways with the company and signed with AEW.

Triple H revealed back in April that the weekly WWE studio show will air on Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday nights, beginning in the fall. This will be the second WWE-Fox show as SmackDown begins airing Friday nights on the Fox broadcast network on October 4.

The studio show on FS1 will feature discussions on the various WWE happenings, plus appearances by familiar faces from the past and present, according to Triple H. He also said this is something he’s wanted to do for a long time. Below is the clip from April where he revealed the show:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jinder Mahal Signs New Multi-Year WWE Contract

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Jinder Mahal recently inked a new WWE contract. Multiple sources confirm his new deal is 5-years in length.

Jinder made his return to WWE in 2016 after being gone from the company for 2 years. He went on to win the WWE title in 2017, the first of Indian descent to do so, and held onto the belt for 170 days.

As of late, he’s been involved in the 24/7 Championship scene with R-Truth and others.

Mojo Rawley, Mike Kannellis and Maria Kannellis also recently signed new multi-year WWE contracts.

 

WWE SmackDown Live Preview 6/25/19

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon with fallout from WWE Stomping Grounds.

* How will Kofi Kingston react to Samoa Joe’s attack?

* Who will be next to step up to Bayley?

* Has Bryan & Rowan’s tag team revolution hit a roadblock?

* How will Shane-O-Mac & McIntyre react to The Undertaker’s return?

WWE 205 Live Preview 6/25/19

Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

* Time for a better WWE 205 Live? – Drew Gulak overcame the odds and became 205 Live’s new titleholder by defeating Akira Tozawa and WWE Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese in a Triple Threat Match at Sunday’s WWE Stomping Grounds.

* Will Gentleman Jack Gallagher get his match with Mike Kanellis?

Backstage Talk On Rusev’s WWE Contract Status And Hiatus

Rusev’s WWE contract is reportedly expiring relatively soon, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

There’s no word yet on if Rusev is interested in leaving WWE, but it would not come as a surprise to many as it’s believed that he is unhappy with his position in the company due to some of his comments in media interviews and on social media.

Rusev is currently away from WWE as he recently requested some time off. There’s no word yet on when he will be back, but it’s likely just a short hiatus. Meltzer speculated that the hiatus has to do with Rusev being unhappy. It was also speculated that WWE could extend the length of the contract due to the time off by freezing it, which they do when a talent is out of action with an injury.

Rusev would obviously generate interest from some of the top wrestling promotions, including AEW and NJPW, as was speculated by Meltzer, but that’s not confirmed. Depending on Lana’s contract status and future with WWE, there is also the potential for the Rusev – Lana package deal in other promotions.

Source: Wrestling Inc.