WWE Introduced Wild Card Rule On RAW And SmackDown To Help With Star Power Concerns From Fox And USA

Vince McMahon’s new Wild Card Rule on WWE TV is a response to ratings pressure from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Vince McMahon reportedly did not want to give up the idea of separate brands. As noted, the Wild Card Rule will see 4 RAW Superstars be eligible to appear on SmackDown each week while 4 SmackDown Superstars are able to appear on RAW each week.

WWE has been facing outside pressure from NBCU and Fox to bring the ratings up. The networks will not be happy with how bad the ratings are this coming fall because of how much money they are paying WWE. Fox and NBCU want star power on the shows and there has been a feeling that the brands don’t have enough star power individually.

It was also noted that Fox wants RAW and SmackDown storylines on the blue brand show when it goes to their network on Friday nights in October. NBCU was reportedly upset about the recent drop in ratings, especially for the third hour, and they were asking questions about the decline, specifically why they would give away a top star like Roman Reigns to SmackDown. There has been pressure from NBCU and Fox to have the top WWE Superstars work both shows.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Rhyno Says He Turned Down Big Money Offer From WWE, Talks About AEW

Sounds like Rhyno will soon be done as an active competitor in WWE, as his contract expires in July and the wrestler says he’s not signing a new deal.

In a new video interview, Rhyno told Chris Van Vliet the following:

“July 17th is my last date there. They actually offered me more than twice my downside but it wasn’t where they would have to use me because the downside is so large and it wasn’t about money it was about me wanting to be on the road work and helping the younger guys kind of like a player coach.”

“It was a mutual understanding that we were not going to figure out a number. And they’ve been great, I can’t say anything bad about them. I had a lot of fun. I was afraid that they would say yes to a larger downside than what they offered me because I was afraid that they would still sit me at home. It’s not that they don’t like me, there is a lot of talent there and they have to cycle the talent which is normal because you want to get men and women out there to work. I was afraid that I would become miserable and that’s the last thing that you want to do when you’re doing something that you love. I would rather take a step back and work for some of these companies and work the independent scene.”

As for why … Rhyno says he wants to help the future generation of wrestlers find themselves, which he can’t do if WWE doesn’t book him to be on the road.

“On the indies, I can do that,” he explained. “And with other companies whether it’s AEW, Impact, Ring of Honor or New Japan … I’ve done that before in the past and that’s something I can do now in the future.”

Watch the full interview below:

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

XFL CEO Oliver Luck Talks Lessons From AAF Folding, More Details On XFL’s New Deal With FOX And ESPN

As we previously reported, the XFL announced that they have reached multiyear agreements with ESPN and Fox Sports to air their games in 2020. The games will air weekly on broadcast TV on ABC and Fox, along with games airing on cable on ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 and FS2. There will be back-to-back games every Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, along with two games on Sunday afternoons.

According to Sports Business Daily, there will be 43 games in the inaugural season. 24 of those will air on broadcast television, with 13 on ABC and 11 on FOX. Of the 11 games on FOX, two will air on Thursday in primetime in April of 2020.

Sports Illustrated reported that there will be no rights fees paid by ESPN and FOX. Sports Business Daily added that while the networks are not paying a rights fee, they will pick up production costs which are estimated to be $400,000 per game, which amounts to $17.2 million for the season.

Both networks will hold the streaming rights to games. They will cross-promote games during broadcasts and sell ads for the games. The XFL will handle sponsorships at the stadiums.

Despite the AAF not being able to last one season, ESPN Executive Vice President of Programming and Scheduling Burke Magnus is confident that the XFL will succeed.

“Spring football is going to work,” said Magnus. “The combination of Vince McMahon, WWE, Fox and Disney is an incredible one to take a really hard run at this and see if that’s not the combination that finally makes it work.”

XFL Commissioner & CEO Oliver Luck agreed, and felt that one of the factors that hurt the AAF was that they were not on broadcast cable every week.

“The only game that the Alliance had on broadcast was their opening game on CBS. One of the lessons we took away was that they had a pretty good rating,” said Luck. “It shows that Americans still want to watch football the week after the Super Bowl.”

The XFL will re-launch on Saturday, February 8, 2020, six days after Super Bowl LIV. Two games will air that day, with the first one being on ABC and the night game airing on FOX.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Announces New Name And Rules For Battle Royale At Double Or Nothing

All Elite Wrestling has announced a new name for the Over The Budget Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing. The match will now be called the Casino Battle Royale.

AEW also announced the following rules for the pre-show match:

* 21 wrestler over-the-top Battle Royale

* Starts with 5 men

* Every 3 minutes a new wave of 5 men enter

* Lucky 21 competitors will enter last

* Battle Royale entry numbers picked at a later date

There are currently 11 of 21 spots announced for the match – Chuck Taylor, Trent Baretta, Joey Janela, MJF, Brian Pillman Jr., Glacier, Ace Romero, Sunny Daze, Brandon Cutler, Kip Sabian and Sonny Kiss.

AEW Double Or Nothing takes place on Saturday, May 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena near Las Vegas, Nevada. Below is the current announced card:

AAA World Tag Team Titles Match
Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix) vs. The Young Bucks (c)

Cody Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes

Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega

Pac vs. Hangman Adam Page

Dr. Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose

Team All Elite Wrestling vs. Team Oriental Entertainment Wrestling
SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, Scorpio Sky) vs. Cima, El Lindaman and T-Hawk

Pre-show: Casino Battle Royale
Chuck Taylor, Trent Baretta, Joey Janela, MJF, Brian Pillman Jr., Glacier, Ace Romero, Sunny Daze, Brandon Cutler, Kip Sabian, Sonny Kiss, TBA

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Location Revealed For Next Month’s NXT TakeOver: XXV

Triple H has finally revealed the location of next months’ NXT TakeOver event.

“Florida, Toronto, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, Texas, BROOKLYN, Phoenix, Philly, New Orleans… …to our TWENTY-FIFTH take over,” the WWE exec tweeted. “NXT TakeOver: XXV is LIVE from the [Webster Bank Arena] Sat, June 1, 2019. ”

For those unfamiliar, The Webster Bank Arena is located in Connecticut.

As you’ll recall, WWE announced the date of the event last week.

Tickets for NXT TakeOver: XXV go on-sale on Friday at 10 am.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

RAW Head Writer Ryan Callahan Fired From WWE

WWE RAW head writer Ryan Callahan was released last week, according to new reports from Pro Wrestling Sheet and Fightful. Callahan, who previously worked on The Bachelor and Monster Laws, among other shows, had been with WWE since December 2016.

Callahan was let go on the evening of Thursday, May 2, after butting heads with WWE’s Senior VP of Creative, David Kapoor (Ranjin Singh). The release was not a response to the recent drop in WWE TV ratings. Callahan was a member of the “home writing team” that does not travel to WWE events.

Kapoor reportedly felt like Callahan took some of the WWE creative changes too personally, and was difficult work with. His feeling was that this did not set a good example for the rest of the WWE writing team. It was also noted that Callahan and Kapoor were butting heads often.

As we’ve noted, there has been somewhat of a shake-up on the WWE creative team as of late as RD Evans, Dave Schilling, Kazeem Famuyide and WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” Brian James also left or were released. Dana Warrior and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett have joined the team in recent months.

Sources: Wrestling Inc., Pro Wrestling Sheet and Fightful

Vince McMahon Announces New “Wild Card Rule” For RAW And SmackDown

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon opened last night’s  RAW from Cincinnati. He was interrupted by SmackDown’s Roman Reigns who vowed he would be on RAW. Then Daniel Bryan and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston also came out. Vince was mad that they was out on RAW since they are assigned to SmackDown. Vince then said he had an epiphany. Vince announced a new Wild Card Rule that will see RAW Superstars appear on SmackDown each week, and SmackDown Superstars appear on RAW.

The idea is that 3 SmackDown Superstars “could be invited” to appear on RAW each Monday night while 3 RAW Superstars “could be invited” to appear on SmackDown every Tuesday night.

Vince made a two WrestleMania 35 rematches – Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre and Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship.

Reigns won by DQ when Shane McMahon and Elias (SmackDown) attacked Reigns. The Miz came out and chased Shane out to the limo. Miz got a couple of shots in on Shane with a chair before Shane escaped in the limo.

Lars Sullivan from SmackDown attacked and destroyed No Way Jose and his conga line.

Vince McMahon was in in office on the phone talking about the new Wild Card Rule and Lars walked in glaring at Vince and Vince decided to allow 4 instead of 3 for the wild Card Rule.

Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan to retain his WWE Championship in the main event of RAW.

There’s no word yet on which RAW Superstars may appear on SmackDown tomorrow night in the Wild Card Rule. AJ Styles teased that he may go to SmackDown and bring back of couple of his friends to RAW, but Vince cut him off and said the invites are not decided on ahead of time.

 

WWE explained the Wild Card Rule on wwe.com:

The latest wrinkle in the ongoing Superstar Shake-up emerged this Monday on Raw when Mr. McMahon announced a new “Wild Card Rule” in which a limited number of Superstars from Raw or SmackDown would be invited to cross brand lines for one-night-only appearances, with unauthorized jumps to be penalized by fines or even potential firing. The number of crossover Superstars was initially capped at three — WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns started things off by appearing on Raw this Monday — though Lars Sullivan evidently persuaded The Chairman to expand the limit to four.

Superstars crossing between Raw and SmackDown LIVE has, of course, occurred on rare occasion since the 2016 Brand Extension, but the “Wild Card Rule” is the first officially-sanctioned blurring of the lines between Team Red and Team Blue Superstars. (The exceptions before tonight had been Becky Lynch, who holds both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Titles, and The IIconics, who are eligible to appear on all brands as the free-floating WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions). And although this isn’t to say we’re about to go back to the days of Raw SuperShows or do away with the Brand Extension, there are some staggering implications to the rule depending on who decides to take advantage of it: The main event of the Wild Card’s maiden voyage was Raw’s first true WWE Championship Match since 2016, and AJ Styles has already openly speculated about getting some friends from SmackDown LIVE to back him up against Universal Champion Seth Rollins.

As always, it will take a while before the true impact of the “Wild Card Rule” is realized, but it’s sure to make things very, very interesting going forward. See which new matchups will be made possible by the “Wild Card Rule” by tuning in to Raw and SmackDown LIVE, Monday and Tuesday nights at 8/7 C on USA Network.

WWE RAW Preview 5/6/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

* Roman Reigns says he will appear on Monday Night Raw this week despite WWE’s official response that he won’t

* All about the mon-aay: Road to MITB continues

* Clashing styles: Will Seth Rollins respond to AJ Styles?

* You shave my back: What’s next for The Revival vs. The Usos?

* Mysterio-us ways: Rey Mysterio wants the WWE United States Title from Samoa Joe

* A Lady in a Man’s world: Has Becky Lynch underestimated Lacey Evans?

Roman Reigns Says He’ll Be Kicking Off WWE RAW

Despite being moved to the SmackDown roster via the Superstar Shake-Up, yesterday, Roman Reigns announced he would be on this week’s RAW. Reigns wrote on Twitter, “I’m back on #SDLive, but I still have some business on #Raw. I’ll see y’all Monday. #ProtectTheYard”

https://twitter.com/WWERomanReigns/status/1124683766453153792

Shortly after that, WWE responded to Reigns, turning down his offer.

“WWE officials have learned of Roman Reigns’ desire to appear on Monday Night Raw, but as of now, and due to his obligations as a SmackDown Live Superstar, he will not be appearing on Monday Night Raw.”

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1124693192148959233

Starting out with laughing emojis, Reigns reiterated not only will he be there, but he’s kicking off this Monday’s show.

“Just have my music ready,” Reigns responded. “I’ll be kicking things off on #Raw right at 8pm.”

https://twitter.com/WWERomanReigns/status/1125087160527458305

WWE postponed Monday’s SmackDown live event in Corbin, Kentucky as it’s expected a few SmackDown stars will show up tomorrow to help build towards Money in the Bank on May 19.

This past week’s historic low ratings may also be playing a factor into drumming up more interest in advance of next week’s shows. Both RAW (2.158 million viewers) and SmackDown (1.833 million viewers) were the lowest non-holiday ratings in each show’s history.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

XFL Announces Broadcast Deal With Disney, FOX

The XFL will be making its re-debut under two major networks. A press release was sent out stating that FOX Sports and Disney will be the main distributors of the upcoming season. Games will be broadcasted on ABC, FOX, ESPN, ESPN 2 and FS1.

“We look forward to showcasing the XFL on ESPN and ABC, including the kickoff game and championship during the league’s inaugural season,” said ESPN Executive Vice President of Programming and Scheduling Burke Magnus.

“Vince McMahon and Oliver Luck are two of the sports industry’s most creative and experienced leaders, and they have exciting plans for this league. We believe in their vision for the XFL, which will be a great addition to our year-round commitment to football.”

“We welcome the XFL to the FOX Sports Family and are pleased to expand our relationship with Vince McMahon,” said Eric Shanks, FOX Sports CEO & Executive Producer. “Football is in FOX Sports’ DNA and a key component of our programming strategy. Alongside Oliver Luck and his incredible team, we’re excited for the debut of the XFL on FOX Sports.”

The XFL’s first season since 2001 will start on February 8, 2020, six days after Super Bowl LIV. Two games will be broadcasted that day, the first one being on ABC and the night game on FOX. The playoffs will be in April, with FOX hosting a game on the 18th and ESPN hosting one on the 19th. The XFL Championship game is scheduled for April 26 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN. NBC was the home of the XFL in its original incarnation, with UPN and TNN as weekend partners.

Both ESPN and FOX will be handling the marketing aspect of the league. There are eight total teams to start the XFL off, from California to New York. In addition to games, programming related to the XFL on each station will be announced in the future.

“We are thrilled to partner with ESPN and FOX Sports, two innovative media companies with extensive experience in world-class football production that will undoubtedly help us reimagine football,” stated XFL Founder and Chairman Vince McMahon. “The XFL broadcast schedule provides us with incredible reach and makes it easy for fans to watch our games consistently every weekend.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.