New Details And Cast Photo For WWE And Netflix’s “The Big Show Show”, Big Show On SmackDown?

It was announced back in July that WWE veteran Big Show was set to begin working on his new Netflix show in Los Angeles on Friday, August 9. “The Big Show Show” is a live-action multi-camera family comedy series that will run for 10 thirty-minute episodes, also starring Allison Munn and kid actresses Reylynn Caster, Juliet Donenfeld, and Lily Brooks O’Briant.

According to information released over the summer, the show will focus on the teenage daughter of Big Show, a retired world-famous WWE Superstar, who comes to live with him, his wife and two other daughters. The big man quickly becomes outnumbered and outsmarted, and is no longer the center of attention.

In an update, Netflix is now offering free tickets for tapings on Friday, September 20 and Friday, September 27 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. Tickets for tapings on Friday, October 4 and Friday, October 18 will be available soon. This means The World’s Largest Athlete will be in town for the October 4 SmackDown Fox premiere from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which will also be the SmackDown 20th Anniversary show. WWE has not announced him for the special.

The ticket page at this link notes that audience members must be at least 10 years old. They included this description:

See the BIGGEST family sitcom on NETFLIX… live!Starring Paul “The Big Show” Wight, this brand new family comedy is a must-see for WWE fans!

When the teenage daughter of The Big Show, a retired world-famous ex-wrestler, comes to live with him, his wife and two other daughters…he quickly becomes outnumbered, outsmarted and, despite being seven feet tall and weighing four hundred pounds, is no longer the center of attention.

Sign up now for FREE tickets!

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Shayna Baszler On WWE NXT USA Debut, Ronda Rousey, NXT Women’s Title

WWE NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler recently spoke with Muscle & Fitness and said the NXT USA Network premiere on September 18 will be the most important day in the history of the brand. She was asked what changes she has noticed since first walking through the NXT doors in 2017.

“There’s a lot of things,” Baszler responded. “I think I got into NXT at a very historic time. And I don’t mean just the USA [Network] stuff. NXT on USA is probably the most important day in our history. We’ll look back on it as the key day, but even going back to the first ever Mae Young Classic, I’ve been such a huge part of these historic moments with NXT and WWE that I’m so excited to see what’s next.

“I was sitting [backstage] at the Mae Young Classic and was thinking to myself wow, this is a pretty historic moment, and not thinking ahead to the next historic moment. But then you know, here we are with NXT on USA and I can’t wait to see what’s next!”

Baszler also talked about previously living with fellow MMA Horsewoman Ronda Rousey, and how they helped each other out. Baszler was asked if they provided each other with support or advice when they were both active in WWE at the same time.

“Yeah, a little bit,” she responded. “Rather than giving advice, it was just nice to have someone to talk about it [being in WWE] with. So, it was like sharing in the uniqueness of what we were both going through. Then, of course, Ronda getting to the position where she was in WWE, mirrored what I was going through in NXT, where we were both kind of at the top of the division. We would get together and train, of course, and we always did that in MMA too, so it was more like getting together and just sharing in the process of it, rather than tips and tricks.”

Baszler made her WWE debut in the 2017 Mae Young Classic, losing to Kairi Sane in the finals that September. Her official NXT debut came in August, before the finals, but on October 3 it was officially announced that she had signed and reported to the WWE Performance Center. Baszler would get her first taste of gold just 6 months later by defeating Ember Moon for the NXT Women’s Title at NXT “Takeover: New Orleans” during WrestleMania 34 weekend. She held the title for 132 days and then lost it to Sane at “Takeover: Brooklyn IV” in August of last year. The Queen of Spades would go on to make history by becoming the first-ever two-time NXT Women’s Champion by regaining the title from Sane at WWE Evolution in October 2018. She has held the title ever since, for 315+ days and counting. Baszler was asked how proud she is to be the first Superstar to hold the NXT Women’s Title on two occasions.

“In my opinion, the NXT Women’s title is a very prestigious title to have,” Baszler said. “So, the fact that I’m the only person to have ever held it twice is a huge thing that I definitely add to my list of accomplishments and I am very, very proud of it.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Corey Graves And Michael Cole Reportedly Will Be Calling WWE SmackDown Action

We’ve noted this week how there are significant changes in the works for the WWE announce teams, which goes with the plans for more brand exclusivity moving forward from October. One of those changes is rumored to be the return of the two-man booth.

It was reported this week, via @Wrestlevotes, that the working idea is to move Michael Cole from RAW to SmackDown, and move Vic Joseph from 205 Live to RAW as the lead man. There was no word on plans for Corey Graves, but multiple sources have reported that he will no longer be working two shows.

In an update, @Wrestlevotes reported today that the plan as of this Tuesday was for Graves to call the SmackDown action with Cole each Friday night on Fox. Graves will no longer pull double duty as he will be exclusive to SmackDown.

The new report does not specify if Graves and Cole will be calling SmackDown with a two-man booth. There had been talk of Renee Young becoming exclusive to SmackDown because she will be hosting the weekly FS1 WWE studio show on Tuesday nights, but if there will be a two-man booth, then we’re not sure where Renee will end up. She could still go to SmackDown to work with Cole and Graves if they keep the three-person team, which is the current RAW crew.

Graves currently calls SmackDown with Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton. We have not heard anything on where Phillips and Saxton will end up, but stay tuned for updates. It’s possible that Saxton and Phillips end up on RAW with Joseph. Joseph is currently calling 205 Live with Aiden English and WWE NXT Superstar Dino Maddin, who made his debut this week. Maddin is replacing Nigel McGuinness, who is headed to NXT full-time to call the live Wednesday night action with Mauro Ranallo and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Fox To Air WWE SmackDown Special Before October 4

The first WWE programming on Fox is scheduled to air on Friday, September 27 at 8pm ET.

The one-hour “SmackDown’s Greatest Hits” special is scheduled to air at 8pm ET that Friday night, on the main Fox channel, according to PWInsider.

The September 27 special is designed to be a preview for WWE coming to Fox. We noted earlier this summer that a preview special was being planned as a way to show non-WWE fans what to expect, as a way to introduce them to Superstars and the brand in general.

As noted, SmackDown will premiere on Fox Friday nights beginning with the October 4 episode. The show will then air live each Friday night from 8-10pm ET. The October 4 premiere will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will be the SmackDown 20th Anniversary special.

The final SmackDown USA Network episode is scheduled to air on Tuesday, September 24 in the regular time slot, which means there will be more than 7 days in between regular blue brand episodes. This September 27 special will make it so that there will be at least some SmackDown content on TV before the October 4 premiere.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW To Air Another Preview Special On TNT

The current plan for AEW’s next TV show on TNT is to air a preview show on Tuesday, October 1, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

This Tuesday night preview show would air to build to the premiere of the weekly AEW TNT series the next night, live from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. That Wednesday night premiere is scheduled to feature an appearance by Jon Moxley, Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara, Nyla Rose vs. Riho to crown the first-ever AEW Women’s Champion, plus The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega vs. AEW World Champion Chris Jericho and two mystery partners.

The idea is that the preview show will air at 8pm ET on October 1, which would be the first Tuesday night that SmackDown isn’t on the USA Network. The last SmackDown Tuesday episode will air on September 24, and the next episode will be the Fox premiere on Friday, October 4.

The Tuesday, October 1 preview special has not been officially announced, but has been scheduled for some time. The first AEW program on TNT was the “Countdown to All Out” preview special that aired the night before the recent All Out pay-per-view, and that special was not announced until the day before it aired. As noted, that one-hour All Out preview special drew 390,000 viewers and ranked #29 in the Cable Top 150 18-49 demographic.

There’s still no word yet on the name of the weekly AEW TNT show, but it should be announced soon. It’s believed that “Tuesday Night Dynamite” was trademarked as the name of the show back when the idea was that AEW would air their weekly show in the 8-10pm ET timeslot on Tuesday nights, which currently belongs to SmackDown, beginning the first week of October when SmackDown moved to Fox Friday nights. That plan didn’t work out because of TNT’s commitments with the NBA on Tuesday nights. AEW also trademarked the “Wednesday Night Dynamite” name but that has not been confirmed as the name of the weekly TNT series.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jim Cornette To Provide Commentary For Upcoming NWA Shows

One of the most recognizable names in pro wrestling will be staying with the National Wrestling Alliance in a big way. The company has announced that Jim Cornette will be providing color commentary for the NWA’s return to studio television on 9/30 and 10/1. He will be joining Joe Galli on the broadcast team.

A commentator for Major League Wrestling for several years, Cornette has been known for his controversial opinions. He returned to NWA TV at NWA 70, while also pulling broadcasting duties at the Crockett Cup.

According to the NWA, Cornette will be a part of the VIP experience for fans on 10/1 only. Additional information regarding the VIP experience, which is on sale now, includes:

* VIP is $100 per day
* You must enter early to pick your seats
* There will be a choice of a Special Edition poster or an Atlanta Event t-shirt (if you attend both tapings, you have a choice)
* You will receive a special Atlanta event pin
* Post-show Meet and Greet with NWA stars Nick Aldis, Kamille, Eli Drake, Allysin Kay and Billy Corgan

NWA President and Owner Billy Corgan recently discussed the need for the NWA to produce their own programming, especially in today’s wrestling scene.

“It’s one thing to say you’re rebooting the NWA, it’s another thing to run matches on someone else’s stage,” Corgan stated. “We’re very grateful to those people that shared their stage with us, most recently Ring of Honor, which was an incredible opportunity. But now it’s our time to step forward, and it’s time to bring the NWA back into the spotlight, and run on its own oxygen. So, we’re very excited to announce that in October, in Atlanta, we’ll be doing our own television again.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW’s Contract Ends With AXS TV In January 2021

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s current contract with AXS TV expires in January 2021, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

As of now, the future of NJPW remaining on AXS TV is unknown after this week’s news of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of Impact Wrestling, acquired a majority interest in Mark Cuban’s AXS TV and HDNet Movies. Anthem will now assume daily operations of the two channels with Women of Wrestling and NJPW currently airing on AXS TV.

“Anthem has been public that it has not made any decisions regarding current programming,” said Ed Nordholm, Chief Corporate Officer of Anthem, and who is also in charge of Impact. “We have been long-time broadcast partners with TV Asahi for NJPW at Fight Network and hope to build on that relationship. We are in the middle of a season with WOW and about to tape another series of episodes next week, so no reason to make any decisions there in the short term. We’re looking forward to getting to know them better.”

NJPW originally made it to AXS TV, thanks to Adam Swift, the company’s former Vice President of Legal Affairs. Swift grew up tape trading Japanese wrestling, which sparked his idea to bring it to the channel. Due to the sale, a number of AXS TV staff members were laid off (including Swift), along with the Dallas office being shut down. Swift’s idea was given the okay by Andrew Simon, CEO of AXS TV Fights, who was also let go earlier this week.

AXS TV has been a NJPW broadcast partner since 2014.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

XFL Named One Of The Hottest Start-Ups In The U.S.

As the XFL’s reinsurance continues, several people in the business world are taking notice. LinkedIn ranked the XFL 22nd in its Top Startups of 2019 list.

Discussing the 50 hottest brands, LinkedIn’s Senior Editor at Large Jessi Hempel discussed how the list was formed. Using over 645 million LinkedIn members and their actions, the company collected information based off of employee growth, jobseeker interest, member engagement with the company and its employees and how well the startups pulled talent from LinkedIm’s Top Companies list.

“The annual Top Start-ups list is a reflection of how work is changing, what new industries are emerging and rapidly growing, and where people want to work now,” Hempel stated. “Over 11,000 positions were filled at the Top Startups over the last year, and there are thousands of open jobs available at the companies right now.”

Regarding the XFL, they have over 130 employees and continue to grow. Here is what Jessi had to say about the football league:

“Vince McMahon, best known as chairman of WWE, is personally funding a relaunch of the XFL, a professional football league seeking to reimagine the game on and off the field by making the game faster and fan focused. The eight inaugural teams, all owned by the XFL directly, will kick off in February 2020. In preparation, the company is looking to hire more than 50 social media editors, marketing directors and community managers.”

With the eight teams officially named, the XFL is looking to finish up its talent search before the season starts. The XFL Player Draft will be taking place in October, with each of the eight teams being allowed to draft 70 players. Those players who accept an invitation must sign a HIPAA release form while also consenting to and clearing a background check. Following the draft, every player must pass a medical examination and drug test.

The relaunched XFL season is expected to start in February of 2020, the weekend after the Super Bowl.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Drew McIntyre Reportedly Very Sick Before Recent WWE RAW Match, Update On His Status

As noted, Drew McIntyre is currently out of action after undergoing an operation to repair a lingering injury that came up after his recent promotional tour of Mexico. The idea was to get the surgery out of the way, so McIntyre will be ready for the fall TV push and the build to WrestleMania 36 season.

In an update, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the minor surgery was not bone or muscle related.

Besides the surgery, McIntyre was reportedly sick for a few weeks but just kept to himself and continued to work. His last match came on the August 26 RAW, a King of the Ring loss to Ricochet, and he was so sick that day that he could barely get out of bed. McIntyre just figured he had the flu and was run down, so he kept to himself and worked through it.

WWE officials told McIntyre to see a doctor when he returned from Mexico last week, and that’s when the doctor diagnosed him and ordered him into surgery just three hours later.

There’s no word yet on what WWE has planned for McIntyre, but he’s been rumored for a big singles push for the past year, and new speculation is that the push could really get going in time for the WrestleMania 36 build.

Drew is said to be ready to return to the ring now, but he’s waiting on the call from WWE and approval from their doctors. It’s believed that he could be cleared by WWE doctors as soon as next week’s post-Clash of Champions TV shows.

ROH Signs Session Moth Martina

Beating WWE to the punch, Ring of Honor has reportedly signed Session Moth Martina.

PWInsider stated that the Irish star has signed a full-time deal with the promotion, and she is set to make appearances soon.

A former ICW Women’s Champion, Martina has wrestled all over since 2011, including Progress, Over The Top and Discovery Wrestling. She is a frequent intergender wrestler, winning the OTT Gender Neutral Champion at one point. Recently joining STARDOM in Japan, the report states that her ROH deal will continue to allow Martina to work events there and other independent dates in Europe.

WWE was interested in signing Martina, at one point offering her a contract for the NXT UK brand. She is the latest star to sign with ROH, joining Maria Manic.

Source: Wrestling Inc.