It looks like AEW purchased commercial time during WWE NXT and WWE SmackDown this week.
Fans on Twitter noted that they saw commercials for AEW on TNT during Tuesday’s SmackDown and during tonight’s NXT premiere on the USA Network.
The commercials aired in various markets, and it looks like DirecTV was the main provider.
You can see a few of the AEW ads on WWE TV below:
Source: Wrestling Inc.
FOX has announced two special preview shows to celebrate the arrival of WWE on FOX, and to build to the SmackDown premiere on Friday, October 4.
FOX will air a SmackDown’s Greatest Hits special on Friday, September 27 from 8pm-9pm ET. The special will be hosted by Charlotte Flair and The Miz. FOX will then air WrestleMania’s Legendary Moments on Sunday, September 29. The one-hour show will air at different times around NFL coverage in local markets. That special will be narrated by John Cena.
FOX will also air a thirty-minute Blue Carpet special on Friday, October 4 at 7:30pm ET, which will be the the lead-in to the premiere at 8pm ET. The special will feature Superstars and celebrities arriving to the Staples Center for the big SmackDown 20th Anniversary show that night.
It was also confirmed that SmackDown will air on the FOX Sports App. FOX Sports is also launching new social media accounts – @WWEonFOX on Twitter, @WWEonFOX on Instagram, and WWE on FOX on Facebook.
Below is the full announcement issued by FOX today:
FOX Sports Announces WWE Programming Ahead of FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN DebutSpecial “Blue Carpet” Preview Show to Celebrate Arrival of WWE on FOX
FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN Air Time Details Announced
Los Angeles – Leading up to the network debut of FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN on FOX on Friday, Oct. 4, FOX Sports presents a slate of special programming, pre-event coverage and cross-platform integrations in anticipation of the marquee event.
A pair of hour-long WWE specials lead the charge, beginning with WWE SMACKDOWN’S GREATEST HITS, on Friday, Sept. 27, on FOX (8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT/7:00 PM MT/8:00 PM PT). Hosted by WWE Superstars Charlotte Flair and The Miz, the show highlights the most memorable moments from the storied franchise. On Sunday, Sept. 29, John Cena narrates WWE WRESTLEMANIA’S LEGENDARY MOMENTS, offering viewers a chance to relive the most spectacular WrestleMania moments from the past 35 years. Check local listings for air times surrounding Sunday’s NFL on FOX singleheader action.
Less than a week later, FOX Sports rolls out the “blue carpet” at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN KICKOFF SHOW on Friday, Oct. 4 (7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT/6:30 PM MT/7:30 PM PT). This star-studded show features “blue carpet” arrivals and backstage access to celebrities and athletes, as well as past and present WWE Superstars to kick off the new era of WWE on FOX.
In front of a star-studded crowd in Los Angeles, FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN airs live at 8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT on FOX. For viewers in the Mountain and Pacific time zones, SmackDown airs at 7:00 PM MT/8:00 PM PT on FOX. For all authenticated viewers nationwide, SmackDown will be available to stream live at 8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT/6:00 PM MT/5:00 PM PT on the FOX Sports App.
Today, FOX Sports also launches its WWE on FOX social handles, which will provide insight, analysis and entertainment across social platforms. For more information, explore @WWEonFOX on Twitter, @WWEonFOX on Instagram and WWE on FOX on Facebook.
Additional details on FOX Sports’ WWE programming will be announced at a later date.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
History will be written this Wednesday when NXT expands to two hours and makes its live USA Network debut. The action kicks off at 8/7 C on USA Network and then continues on the award-winning WWE Network at 9/8 C.
NXT UK, streaming today at 3 ET/8 BST on the WWE Network.
It’s time for British Rounds rules
Following a rough ending to his matchup against Kassius Ohno several weeks ago, Assistant to the General Manager Sid Scala will now place himself into a British Rounds Match against The Knockout Artist.
The first-ever contest of its kind in WWE is made up of a series of six rounds of three minutes each, with a 30-second break between each round. To win the match, a competitor must earn two pinfalls or two submissions (or one of each) or win via knockout. If none of that happens after six rounds, the Superstar with the most falls is the winner.
Plus, Travis Banks will battle Tyson T-Bone, Rhea Ripley takes on Debbie Keitel, and Joseph Conners engages Kenny Williams.
The WWE RAW announce team is set to undergo a major change soon, according to @Wrestlevotes.
The current plan as of this week is for Vic Joseph and Dio Maddin to call the action on RAW each Monday night.
We’ve noted how WWE will be focused on brand exclusivity coming out of the WWE Draft in October, and that includes the announce teams. It was reported last week that the plan was for Michael Cole to move to SmackDown from RAW while Joseph moved to RAW from 205 Live. It was also reported that Corey Graves was set to join Cole on SmackDown Friday nights, and that Graves will no longer be pulling double duty on two shows.
RAW is currently called by Cole, Graves and Renee Young. There’s no word yet on where Renee will end up, but she is expected to host the weekly WWE FS1 studio show on Tuesday nights, which will air live from Los Angeles. SmackDown is called by Graves, Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton, but there’s no word yet on what will happen to Tom and Byron. Joseph and Maddin currently call the 205 Live show with Aiden English. Maddin (WWE NXT Superstar Brennan Williams) was just brought up to 205 Live last week, replacing Nigel McGuinness, who will be going exclusive to NXT on Wednesday nights with Mauro Ranallo and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.
Again, current plans have Cole and Graves on the SmackDown announce team together with Joseph and Maddin on the RAW announce team.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
It’s official! WWE has announced another Starrcade event will take place in December and air live on WWE Network.
The tradition of Starrcade carries on into WWE Network with a one-hour special event, streaming live on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. ET. Among the Superstars currently scheduled for the show are Universal Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair and Daniel Bryan.
Starrcade will air from the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Ga. The in-arena program will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. Tickets will be available at www.infiniteenergycenter.com on Friday Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. ET.
The iconic Starrcade event triumphantly returned in 2017 after a 17-year hiatus with a pair of intense Steel Cage Match victories for AJ Styles highlighting the last two years’ shows.
Be part of the action as the award-winning WWE Network presents Starrcade this December!
“The Beast” Brock Lesnar will face-off against Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship next month during the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.
Lesnar and his advocate Paul Heyman made their presence felt during tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live after a six-man tag match in which Kofi and New Day were victorious.
Brock and Heyman then walked to the ring and challenged Kofi to a title match on October 4.
Kofi said he made a promise to be a fighting champion after winning the title, therefore he was accepting Lesnar’s challenge. His acceptance was met with a swift F5 before Brock left the ring.
Lesnar vs. Kingston for the WWE Title is the only match announced for the big SmackDown Fox premiere as of this writing. This will be Lesnar’s first SmackDown match in over 15 years, since 2004. Lesnar has not worked a match on weekly WWE television since returning to the company in 2012.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live and WWE 205 Live episodes will take place from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia as the fallout from Clash of Champions continues.
Last night’s WWE RAW featured a new vignette with The Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar, re-introducing themselves as they prepare to return to the storylines.
“My name is Rezar,” the promo began.
“My name is Akam,” he continued.
“Together we’re known as AOP, The Authors of Pain.”
“No one has seen us in a match since before WrestleMania.”
“There’s a very good reason for that. We haven’t had one match since before WrestleMania.”
“We’re fighters. We’ve been fighting our whole lives. We earn money by fighting.”
“That’s the problem. We come here to fight and everyone complains we’re hurting them in the ring.”
“Neither one of us could make a living in mixed martial arts because no one wanted to fight us and now we come to WWE and no one wants to fight us.”
“Every tag team in WWE is soft. None of you are men. None of you are hard enough to fight us.”
“None of you have the heart to fight us.”
“None of you have the manhood to step up to us.”
“This is a warning. You give us the opportunity we earned. Or we’ll take the opportunity we earned.”
“We are the future of the WWE tag team division.”
“And that future will be written in pain.”
AOP returned to live event action at a SmackDown show in early July, losing to the team of Ali and Matt Hardy. They had been away for several months while Akam recovered from a knee injury, but they returned to the ring at WWE Super ShowDown in June, to compete in the 50-Man Battle Royal. Rezar did work some WWE Main Event matches while Akam was out. It looks like AOP will no longer be working with 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick. It was reported in late August that WWE almost brought AOP back for a Tag Team Turmoil match, but it looks like they delayed the return for a slower build. There’s no word yet on when they will return to the RAW ring.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Following a brief hiatus from WWE TV, Rusev returned on Raw this week and got involved in the baby drama between Mike and Maria Kanellis.
Last night’s edition of RAW featured a gender reveal party that ended with an angry Maria telling Mike that Ricochet was the father of her baby. Frustrated over the revelation, Mike challenged Ricochet to a match … even though the former United States champ denied the accusation.
Ricochet picked up the win with ease and Maria scolded her husband for it afterward. She then said Ricochet obviously wasn’t the father, but teased revealing the father in that moment.
That’s when Rusev’s music hit and he made his way to the ring in tremendous shape with a new look. After a brief interaction in the ring, Rusev demolished Mike Kanellis.
Rusev’s last match in WWE took place back in June at Super ShowDown.
According to sources, Rusev was kept hidden backstage before and during RAW to keep the surprise return a secret. It’s unclear if he’ll eventually be re-paired with Lana, and her status in all of this was also questioned during RAW.
Below are the videos of what happened from last night’s RAW:
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