Batista Ruins Ric Flair’s Birthday Celebration

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“The Animal” Dave Bautista showed up to Ric Flair’s birthday celebration during Raw … but he wasn’t there to wish his old buddy well.

The celebration began with members of the roster gathered onstage as Triple H and Stephanie McMahon introduced guests Shawn Michaels, Ricky Steamboat, Kurt Angle and Sting. Flair was introduced next, but he was nowhere to be found.

Instead … Batista was shown angrily storming into Ric’s dressing room. Then he was seen dragging Flair out. “Hey hunter, do I have your attention now,” Dave said over an unconscious Flair.

Triple H then rushed to the backstage area to make the save, but Batista was gone.

As we previously reported, Bautista has recently been in talks with WWE about wrestling a match at WrestleMania 35. Looks like things have now been solidified.

Roman Reigns Announces His Leukemia Is In Remission, He’s Back

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Roman Reigns made his WWE return on last night’s RAW in Atlanta, his first appearance since announcing his second battle with leukemia and relinquishing the WWE Universal Title back in late October 2018.

Reigns opened the show to a major pop and announced that he is now in remission and that he is back.

Later in the show Reigns and Seth Rollins came to the rescue of Dean Ambrose who was getting beat down by Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Elias.

WWE RAW Preview 2/25/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia as the Road to WrestleMania 35 continues.

* The Big Dog is back – Roman Reigns  is set to give an update on his leukemia battle.

* Ric Flair 70th Birthday Celebration

* NXT Superstars on the rise

* There’s something about Dean Ambrose

* Who will be The Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection’s first challengers?

Sami Callihan Re-Signs With Impact Wrestling

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Wrestling Inc. confirms that Sami Callihan has signed a new multi-year deal with IMPACT Wrestling. Wrestling Inc. also reports that more signings are expected this week including a former Impact Wrestling Champion.

Callihan made his Impact Wrestling debut on November 5, 2017, at Bound for Glory. He has since gone on to be named Impact Wrestling’s 2018 Wrestler of The Year. He also won the 2018 Impact Wrestling Moment of The Year award, for smashing Eddie Edwards in the face with his baseball bat.

Currently, Callihan leads oVe on Impact Wrestling TV and is attempting to bring Rich Swann into their ranks. His last Impact PPV match saw him picking up a victory over Swann’s friend, Willie Mack. For those who are interested, we are told that Callihan re-signing with Impact will not affect his ability to work with MLW.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Roman Reigns To Make Big Announcement On ABC’s GMA?

Roman Reigns / WWE Update

New promotional material for Roman Reigns’ appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America tomorrow notes that Reigns will be there to make “an announcement you can’t miss.”

Another promo for the appearance on GMA, seen below, says Reigns will go one-on-one with host Robin Roberts.

There’s no word yet on what that announcement will be but Reigns will return to WWE TV on tonight’s RAW from Atlanta to give an update on his battle with leukemia. Reigns has been away from WWE since announcing the diagnosis and relinquishing the WWE Universal Title back in October 2018.

There’s been speculation on a WWE ring return for Reigns after comments made by a personal trainer who recently worked with Reigns while he was in Hawaii. The trainer, Dave Gonyea, first noted that he had been helping Reigns prepare for his “in-ring return” while at the Island Club & Spa in the Waikiki area of Honolulu. Gonyea posted the photo below and told fans to tune into tonight’s RAW for more on the “in-ring return.”

Gonyea posted another comment to fans over the weekend and said Reigns is still recovering. He wrote, “Nah man he’s still recovering. He won’t be in action for another few months… keep in mind what leukemia is… and that he has been in remission this was a flair up that he needed treatment for. I was working out with him and he was definitely moving slow. It’s the PG era they aren’t working cancer.”

Stay tuned for updates on Reigns’ status.

Sopurce: Wrestling Inc

Backstage News On WWE’s Recent Hiring Of Bruce Prichard

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Bruce Prichard is set to return to the WWE in a top, full-time position as part of the company’s creative team.

Prichard has actually been traveling with WWE and working as a backstage consultant since January of this year, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. It is believed that the deal to advance Prichard in to his current, new role within the company was finalized this past Friday.

Apparently, the idea of bringing Prichard back to the creative team in a full-time position was first mentioned early last week. It was instantly well received and the idea gained enough momentum by the weekend that Prichard will now reportedly be Vince’s right-hand man and a “very key guy” to the creative functions in WWE.

Tonight’s WWE RAW from Atlanta, GA marks the first show that Prichard will be working directly with Vince McMahon. Already advertised for tonight’s RAW is Ric Flair’s 70th Birthday Celebration and the anticipated return of former WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.

Along with Prichard, WWE has had an influx of new hires backstage, including Steve Corino, “Hurricane” Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, Shawn Daivari, Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer “Abyss” Chris Parks and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett.

Source: Wrestling Inc

WWE Hall Of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch Arrested In New Jersey

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Sources at PWInsider have learned that WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch was arrested in Freehold, New Jersey yesterday. Sytch currently remains incarcerated at the Monmouth County Corrections Facility as we anticipate further details about her arrest.

A bench warrant was apparently issued for Sytch in the State of Pennsylvania on 2/15, as well. On that day, the Carbon County Probation Department started the process to revoke Sytch’s October 2018 parole. Court records indicate that Sytch paid a $120 fee in the months of October and November 2018 to begin reimbursing the State of Pennsylvania for the costs in her legal cases. Since then, Sytch reportedly did not make any additional payments.

Sunny’s legacy as a performer has been accompanied by run-ins with the law for a few years now. In October 2018, Sunny was released from jail after serving the necessary time for failing to appear in court following her two DUI arrests in New Jersey the same year. Prior to that, Sunny had also been booked for DUI on three separate in Pennsylvania. She was arrested for DUI on May 30, 2015 in Mahoning Township, PA after police witnessed her driving erratically into a Wal-Mart parking lot. She was then arrested again in Lehighton, PA on June 1, 2015 after her car crossed the center yellow line multiple times, then entered oncoming traffic. At the time, she was unable to provide proof of insurance or a valid driver’s license. Sunny was then arrested again on June 20, 2015 in Towamensing Township, PA after crashing her car into a ditch. She told police that her GPS told her to make a “sudden turn” and that’s why she turned wide into a ditch.

Following her arrests and among other consequences, Sunny was sentenced to 5 years of probation with bi-weekly alcohol testing, 125 hours of community service and $2,100 in fines. She was released but warned by the judge that she would be in trouble if she had any more issues during her 5 years of probation. 18 days into the probation, Sunny was arrested in Northampton County, PA. She plead guilty to driving without a license, driving an unregistered vehicle, operating a vehicle without insurance, displaying license plated on a car to which they didn’t belong, operating a vehicle without proper inspection and driving without evidence of an emission inspection.

Sunny’s troubles continued when she was rushed to a hospital in Palmerton, PA on September 12, 2016. She was then charged with possession of alcohol and being under the influence of alcohol, which led to a probation violation. She was released from the hospital on September 20 and arrested again on September 23 of that year after she was brought back to the hospital when police were called to her home. That experience would also see Sunny charged with being under the influence of alcohol, yet another probation violation. Sunny was then taken into custody, from the hospital, and taken to the Carbon County Correctional Facility. She was locked up for 5 months and paroled in February 2017.

UPDATE:

The Asbury Park Press reports that Sytch was arrested after being suspected of driving while intoxicated.

According to the report, Seaside Heights police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office stopped Sytch at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Sytch was charged by Seaside Heights police with DWI, reckless driving, open container in a motor vehicle and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. She was charged by the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office for driving with a suspended driver’s license, failure to stop at a stop sign, driving the wrong way on a one-way street and careless driving.

Sytch was released to the Holmdel Police Department on Saturday and booked in Monmouth County Jail on charges of contempt after Seaside Heights police found that she had a series traffic warrants out of Holmdel and Knowlton. She was released from Monmouth County Jail after seeing a judge via video conference.

Sytch has faced a half dozen arrests since 2015. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.

Source: Wrestling Inc

Backstage News On What Led To Recent Releases In WWE

As reported earlier this week, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson, former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJP, Tye Dillinger, and Hideo Itami were all released from WWE.

On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer went into detail about what has transpired backstage over the past couple of weeks as these releases have been taking place.

In the case of Anderson, he was reportedly fired from the company after continued conflicts with Vince McMahon. Details are scarce but something transpired at a WWE house show that evidently wasn’t handled to Vince’s liking. Anderson took full blame for the incident and was ultimately terminated from his role as a backstage producer.

Arn and Vince were said to not be on the best of terms prior to Anderson’s release. There were numerous situations over recent years where the two apparently weren’t seeing eye to eye on the different happenings within the company. Nevertheless, Arn is liked by key individuals backstage, including Triple H and John Cena. Some believe had Cena been around in a more prominent WWE role like before, perhaps it wouldn’t have escalated to the point where Anderson was released. Cena’s fondness for Anderson is shared with many other superstars that have competed in WWE over the years.

Meltzer added that he sometimes caught wind of performers speaking out about what they believed was a poorly made creative decision, and Anderson would actually support the talent’s objection, possibly causing conflict.

He also mentioned that some people feel like Anderson may flourish as a producer over in AEW. From the side of AEW, there have only been positive things said about Anderson’s work, and Arn is reportedly not too broken up about being let go from WWE.

Overall, WWE is making it a point not to fire anyone, so it apparently surprised a lot of people backstage when Anderson and TJP were let go from the company. TJP’s release in particular is said to be for disciplinary reasons, and WWE felt like parting ways with TJP is something that was needed to be done. A lack of creative ideas for TJP wasn’t a deciding factor in his departure because even the WWE superstars that haven’t been given much creative material as of late are being held to their contractual obligations.

The obvious exceptions come in the form of Tye Dillinger and Hideo Itami, who were also confirmed as being released from WWE earlier this week. We noted back in late January that Itami had asked for his release from WWE as a result of his frustration with how he was being used in the company.

Along with the releases, Bruce Prichard, Steve Corino, “Hurricane” Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, Shawn Daivari, Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer “Abyss” Chris Parks and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett have all started as backstage producers for the company.

Source: Wrestling Inc

Photos: World Wrestling Alliance (W.W.A.) Evansville, In. 2/23/19

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Last night I attended the World Wrestling Alliance (W.W.A.) show in Evansville, In. The show featured wrestling legends “Superstar” Bill Dundee and Tracy Smothers. “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton was also there for the meet and greet but I didn’t get a photo of him.

Both Dundee and Smothers competed in the Royal Rumble type match they called Indiana’s Biggest Battle Royal for the W.W.A. Championship.

Check out the photos below:

 

A Look At FOX Moving WWE SmackDown Live To Another Night Following October 4th Debut

Earlier this month, FOX Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier had some interesting comments about SmackDown coming to the FOX network in October. SmackDown is scheduled to debut on the network on Friday, October 4th. While it was originally announced the SmackDown would be moving to Friday nights; Collier admitted that SmackDown may only be there for the short-term.

Chris Hayner of Gamespot who covered Collier’s press conference reported that when asked about the future of the sitcom Last Man Standing, which currently airs on Friday nights, Collier said that for the “short term” Friday night was going to belong to WWE.

https://twitter.com/ChrisHayner/status/1093233580216438785

That kind of language seems to indicate that FOX is looking to move SmackDown to another night during the week, which would be in theory a win for WWE since Friday and Saturday nights are typically the worst nights of the week for television viewership. A move to any night Tuesday through Thursday would be an improvement for SmackDown.

However it can also be interpreted that FOX is unhappy with SmackDown’s declining viewership on USA, and while the show will almost assuredly draw greater viewership on network television, FOX should probably be concerned about the significant amount of fans SmackDown has lost in recent months. In 2018, SmackDown averaged 2.352 million viewers. So far in 2019, the show is averaging 2.060 million viewers. If that wasn’t troubling enough, add in the fact that the first quarter of the year is typically when WWE draws its highest viewership. At this time last year, SmackDown was averaging 2.566 million viewers, so in a single year SmackDown has seen it’s audience drop by 20 percent.

How does that compare to what FOX is currently showing on Friday night? FOX is in an interesting position since when it acquired SmackDown last June, it was under the assumption that it would be a huge boost to their typical Friday night lineup. However, FOX began broadcasting the previously canceled ABC sitcom Last Man Standing which began to draw a larger viewership on Friday night. Averaging around 6 million viewers per episode, and coupled with another sitcom The Cool Kids (around 4.7 million viewers) and long-standing reality show Hell’s Kitchen (around 3 million viewers), FOX had a very competitive Friday night lineup.

SmackDown will certainly receive some form of a boost being on FOX. FOX will advertise it’s investment heavily, and if nothing else FOX is in more homes (114 million) than USA (94 million) so more people will have access to the show. There are also some advantages SmackDown has over sitcoms or reality television; SmackDown will have 52 new episodes a year instead of 20 to 25, and SmackDown takes up a full two hours as opposed to relying on multiple shows to draw viewership.

Still, it’s unrealistic to expect SmackDown to be averaging 6 million viewers per episode, particularly given their recent trend in viewership. Perhaps the reason Collier is thinking about moving SmackDown is because he doesn’t believe it will be able to replicate the success the network has had on Friday nights. Could that mean SmackDown is being moved to another night?

It will be tough for SmackDown to crack another night; last fall FOX programming averaged 7.14 million viewers per night. It seems very, very difficult for SmackDown to match that total. Part of the reason that FOX number is so high is because the network secured a slate of Thursday Night Football games; giving Thursday nights a shot in the arm. However, the Thursday night games are only for 11 weeks a year, which means that there is theoretically an opening for SmackDown in the weeks there are not games. FOX is currently filling that timeslot with Gotham and The Orvilleboth of which do between 3-4 million viewers per episode, which SmackDown could potentially attain.

Ironically the weakest night of the week for FOX is Tuesday night, which is Lethal Weapon (down 23 percent in the 18-49 demographic from last year) and The Gifted (averaging just 2.58 million viewers per episode). SmackDown could conceivably take over the Tuesday night slot, because unlike the other nights of the week, it would not have to see a massive jump in viewership to outperform the shows that used to be on during that time period.

It should be noted that we don’t know the exact specifics of WWE’s deal with FOX. It is possible that when the deal was signed, FOX agreed to air SmackDown on Friday nights for a particular length of time, before it could be moved to another night. When Collier said that SmackDown on Friday night was for the “short term” it could imply that FOX is contractually obligated to keep SmackDown in that slot for a period of time before it can be moved.

There is also the possibility that the sliding viewership for SmackDown might prevent FOX from committing to it on the FOX network for a long period of time. Losing 20 percent of your audience over a single year is a difficult pill to swallow, especially when viewership has been trending downward for years. If that turns out to be the case, SmackDown may be moved off of FOX and onto FS1, FOX’s cable sports station. SmackDown would be a great fit on FS1 and be a huge boost for that station, but it would certainly take the wind out of WWE’s sails.

Source: Wrestling Inc