Lucha Underground Preview: 5/11/16

THE CASKET MATCH RETURNS

TUNE IN FOR AN ALL NEW EPISODE OF ‘LUCHA UNDERGROUND’

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11th AT 8:00 PM ET/PT ON EL REY NETWORK

 

In the newest episode of “Lucha Underground,” Mil Muertes goes to war with the Monster Matanza Cueto in an unforgettable battle, while Dario receives some unexpected news. The madness doesn’t stop there since there can only be one winner of the Lucha Underground Championship. The first luchador to place their opponent in a coffin and close the lid, wins! Tune in on Wednesday, May 11th at 8:00pm ET/PT on El Rey Network to witness the action for another explosive week. Don’t miss new one-hour episodes of the lucha libre wrestling series from Emmy Award®-winning producer Mark Burnett Wednesdays at 8:00PM ET/PT.

 

Adam Rose Arrested

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Superstar Adam Rose (Raymond Leppan) was arrested this morning at 1:30am by the Hillsborough County Sheriffs in Florida and charged with tampering with a witness, and battery domestic violence.

It looks like Rose is still in jail with no bond as of this writing. Rose is currently serving a 60 day suspension for violating the WWE Wellness policy.

According to the police report, Rose and his wife were arguing about their marriage when Rose allegedly grabbed her by the face and pulled her closer to his face while he screamed at her. Rose’s wife then called 911 but Rose took the phone to stop her from filing a report. Rose later admitted to police that he took the phone, which resulted in the felony tampering with a witness charge.

The Hillsborough County website says Rose is still in jail as of this writing, with no bond.

You can see his mugshot below:

Dana White Denies Reports That UFC Is Up for Sale

Source: WrestlingINC

Darren Rovell of ESPN reported that the UFC was in “advanced talks” to sell the promotion. According to the report, at least four bidders have submitted offers to purchase the company, including WME/IMG, The Blackstone Group, China Media Capital and Dalian Wanda Group. It was noted that the winning bid will be in the $3.5 billion – $4 billion range, with the Chinese-based Dalian Wanda Group being in the lead. UFC President Dana White responded to the report, telling The Las Vegas Review Journal that the story is “overblown.”

“The UFC is not for sale,” White said. “The ESPN story is overblown. Darren Rovell is not a fan of facts. His facts could not be further off.”

Rovell responded to White on Twitter, writing:

Kevin Owens And Tyler Breeze Launch GoFundMe Page To Help Victims Of Alberta Wildfire

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Kevin Owens and Tyler Breeze have joined together in hopes of raising money for those affected by the Fort McMurray wildfire that’s currently raging in Canada — and they’re asking for your support.

The WWE Superstars launched a GoFundMe page Saturday and Owens explains, “As I watched the footage on the news, I decided I wanted to try and help. It turns out I wasn’t the only one thinking that because fellow Canadian Tyler Breeze was also trying to figure out how to help these people.”

He adds, “So today, we come together in hopes of being able to raise money to help the victims of the fire get back on their feet. All the proceeds from this campaign will go to the Canadian Red Cross.”

K.O. says those who match their $100 donations will receive a personal video message from both wrestlers — and anyone who donates at all will get a follow on Twitter.

“It’s not much but this is about giving to those in need of help and with the crazy schedule we keep, it’s the best we can think of. We appreciate any help we can get with this campaign.”

The donation page can be FOUND HERE.

WWE Reports Strong First-Quarter 2016 Results

WWE issued the following today:

WWE® Reports Strong First-Quarter 2016 ResultsFirst Quarter 2016 Highlights

* Revenue increased 13% on a pro-forma basis to $171.1 from $151.3 million in the prior year quarter, excluding the timing impact of WrestleMania (which occurred in Q2 2016 vs. Q1 2015)

* OIBDA increased 31% to $27.6 million from the prior year quarter (29% on a pro-forma basis)

* WWE Network averaged 1.29 million paid subscribers over the first quarter 2016, which represented a 39% increase from the first quarter 2015, and reached 1.47 million total subscribers at quarter-end

* WWE’s YouTube channel reached 11 million subscribers and achieved Diamond Play Button status joining Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber; WWE content garnered 10 billion YouTube views over the last 12 months

* Announced new series spin-off, Total Bellas, to debut on E! in Fall 2016 along with the sixth season of Total Divas. Continued to develop exciting new content for WWE Network, including Camp WWE (May), Swerved Season 2 (June) and Holy Foley! (August)

Selected WrestleMania Highlights

* WrestleMania (April 3, 2016) achieved record breaking attendance, ticket sales, viewership, and social media activity

* WrestleMania broke WWE’s attendance record, attracting 101,763 fans at AT&T Stadium

* WWE Network reached a record 1.82 million total subscribers following WrestleMania (as of April 4)

* During WrestleMania Week, WWE Network featured 19 hours of prime-time, premier programming and subscribers watched nearly 22 million hours of content, averaging 12 hours per subscriber

* WrestleMania generated more than 2.5 million mentions on Twitter in one day and over 250 million video views across WWE digital and social platforms during WrestleMania Week

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its first quarter 2016. For the quarter, the Company reported Net income of $13.9 million, or $0.18 per share, as compared to Net income of $9.8 million, or $0.13 per share, in the prior year quarter.

“Our strong performance in the first quarter reflected the successful execution of our content strategy,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “The sustained year-over-year growth of WWE Network, the global consumption of our video content across all platforms, and the recent record breaking attraction of WrestleMania demonstrate the increasing strength of our brands. We believe we can continue to leverage these strengths to drive long-term growth.”

George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer, added “Our earnings growth was driven primarily by the increased monetization of our network and television content as well as higher licensing revenue from our franchise video game. Over the next year, we will continue to focus on producing engaging content across all platforms, investing in emerging markets, and deploying technology across the enterprise to drive our long-term growth.”

Q2 2016 Business Outlook

For the second quarter 2016, the Company projects average paid subscribers of approximately 1.5 million. The Company also estimates second quarter 2016 Adjusted OIBDA of approximately $5 million to $9 million.1,2 This range represents an expected year-over-year decrease attributed to three primary factors: incremental strategic investments, the timing impact of WrestleMania production costs, and the timing of a lower effective royalty rate associated with the Company’s franchise video game. (The lower video game royalty rate derives from an increasing rate structure over the 2015 year as compared to a flat rate structure in 2016. For the full year, the Company expects the rate for 2016 will be comparable to the average effective rate for 2015).

Click here for the full announcement on WWE Corporate.

 

TNA Impact Wrestling Preview: 5/10/16

Jeff Hardy has questions for The Decay?

What is Maria’s plan for the Knockouts?

“The Miracle” Mike Bennett has plans for EC3

Continuation of the ongoing rivalry between TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway and Lashley.

Vince McMahon Confirms WWE Returns, Touts Talents Coming To Main Roster

Source: WrestlingINC

Vince McMahon confirmed today that Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, John Cena and Seth Rollins will all be back in action in the next month or so. Vince also touted 13 new talents coming to the main roster and said in the next 30 days they will have more talents on the roster than they have ever had before.

RAW Preview: 5/9/16

Source: WWE.com

Will AJ Styles embrace his ruthless side?

Who deserves to challenge The Miz?

Where is Dean Ambrose?

Is Charlotte running scared?

Will Rusev devour Kalisto’s ‘big heart’?

Kurt Angle Returning To The Ring

Source: WrestlingINC

Besides the recent iPPV match against Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle hasn’t wrestled since the January 31st TNA Impact Wrestling tapings in the UK, a loss to Bobby Lashley.

Angle, who is supposed to be a few months into one year away from the business, has been announced to wrestle on November 20th at ICW’s “Fear and Loathing IX” event in Glasgow, Scotland. The promotion tweeted the following:

2016 ROH/NJPW Global Wars Results

#1 Contender To The ROH TV Title – Four Corner Survival: Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys) vs. Roderick Strong vs. ACH vs. Adam Page – Winner: Dalton Castle via pinfall (Bangarang)

The Addiction vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Cheeseburger – Winners: Jushin Thunder Liger & Cheeseburger via pinfall

ROH WORLD ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: War Machine (c) vs. The Briscoes – Winners: War Machine via pinfall (Fallout) to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championships

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kyle O’Reilly – Winner: Tetsuya Naito via pinfall (Destino)

Moose & Okada (w/ Stokely Hathaway & Gedo) vs. Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi – Winners: Moose & Okada via pinfall (Rainmaker)

ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP: Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Bobby Fish – Winner: Bobby Fish via technical submission (rear-naked choke) to become ROH World TV Champion

Bullet Club (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) vs. Kushida, Matt Sydal and The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) – Winners: Bullet Club via pinfall (Meltzer Driver)

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Jay Lethal (c) w/Taeler Hendrix vs. Colt Cabana – Official Result: No Contest – Adam Cole is new member of Bullet Club – They have a huge Superkick Party (46 Superkicks)- Young Bucks & Cole even Superkicked Young Bucks Dad