Tag: WWE

WWE Reportedly Worried About Losing Teenage Fans To AEW, Backstage News On Ricochet’s Push

WWE officials have been very aware that they have lost touch with a key demographic – teenagers, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio.

There’s reportedly been concern that the company will completely lose their teenage viewers when AEW TV starts on TNT in the fall.

WWE’s recent attempts at an edgier product will work with keeping teenage fans and making new ones in that demographic. There was a feeling that they had to take this new edgier direction to help with the demo, and for other obvious reasons.

Regarding Superstars that could connect with teenagers, Meltzer noted that there aren’t many younger top talents on the main roster, but we could see some called up soon.

The new push for WWE United States Champion Ricochet is likely being done, at least in part, to help with the teenage demographic. New RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman is said to be very high on Ricochet. Meltzer noted that Ricochet is a talent that can likely appeal to teenagers and that is a new goal for the company – to make sure teenagers don’t go to AEW before their weekly TV show starts later this year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Wrestling Legend Jacques Rougeau Sr. Passes Away At 89

Canadian wrestling veteran Jacques Rougeau Sr. passed away on July 1st at the age of 89. He is succeeded by his sons Raymond, Jacques, and Armand. Leading up to his death, Rougeau had been suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.

Rougeau’s family had issued a statement for the public on his passing. After being translated from French, the Rougeau statement reads:

“It is with sadness and sorrow that we announced the death of Mr. Jacques Rougeau yesterday, July 1st, 2019, at the age of 89 years. He has struggled for some time with pulmonary fibrosis, but he has gone quietly, we loved him so much.

“This love is also shared with the public. In the company of his brother Jean, it is sunny in the four corners of Quebec, especially in the 60s and 70s.

“While the Quebec landscape was suspended several years and it was important to share it with those who follow, that we love, that we love in his public career. There is a name that resonates so much in this environment and these three sons, Raymond, Jacques and Armand, one of his daughters, Joanne, whom three of his grandchildren walked, he passed, every day, the middle of the fight at one time or another.

“But he was a popular wrestler, he was a husband, a father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather just as much loved and esteemed. He was the quiet strength of our family and his departure is and will be very painful.

“Friends of the media and wrestlers, we thank you for the love you gave him, that you were assured that this feeling was shared.”

Jacques Rougeau Sr. began his wrestling career in 1955. His wrestling journey moved onward after his brother Johnny Rougeau began operating Montreal based wrestling promotion All-Star Wrestling. Rougeau continued his wrestling career in NWF Buffalo and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Rougeau’s son, Jacques Rogeau Jr. won the WWE Intercontinental Championship and Tag Team Championship as part of The Quebecers. Rougeau’s daughter Joanne also worked for the WWF as local promoter in the Quebec region.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Luke Gallows And Karl Anderson Re-Signing With WWE?

The belief within WWE is that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have agreed to terms on new WWE contracts, according to PWInsider, but those new deals may not have been signed yet.

Gallows and Anderson reuniting The Club with AJ Styles is seen as a good sign that the former RAW Tag Team Champions will be staying with WWE. There had been strong speculation on Gallows and Anderson leaving WWE when their current contracts expire this fall. They had reportedly turned down lucrative five-year deals and were unhappy with how they had been used in the WWE storylines.

Gallows, Anderson and Styles have tweeted on The Club and Monday night’s RAW that saw Styles turn heel turn on WWE United States Champion Ricochet. You can see their comments below:

https://twitter.com/KarlAndersonWWE/status/1145931306083246080

https://twitter.com/LukeGallowsWWE/status/1145949567487287297

https://twitter.com/AJStylesOrg/status/1145900022208311299

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Live Preview 7/2/19

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live takes place from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas as the road to Extreme Rules continues.

* Can Kofi Kingston bounce back from Six-Man Tag Team loss to Samoa Joe?

* Is Bayley ready for Alexa Bliss?

* Will The New Day continue to chase after Bryan & Rowan’s titles?

* Will Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville continue to torment Ember Moon?

Backstage Notes On Paul Heyman Influence On This Week’s RAW, Was Corey Graves’ Line Scripted?, Eric Bischoff SmackDown Note

Paul Heyman reportedly had “his fingerprints” all over last night’s WWE RAW episode, with most of the material going through him, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. However, Vince McMahon and red brand head writer Ed Koskey were the main ones discussing the show at the big production meeting for this week’s RAW, not Heyman.

Last night’s RAW was not 100% Heyman’s show, but it was a “very heavy Paul Heyman” episode, essentially his first as the new Executive Director of the red brand.

It was speculated that Corey Graves’ “Holy s–t!” line after the stage explosion with Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley may have been scripted. Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the line was scripted. We had noted earlier how WWE didn’t use the 7+ second delay to bleep the word. There was reportedly a feeling that they did the line to add to the recent efforts to make RAW seem more edgier.

Fans online seem to be under the impression that Heyman ran last night’s RAW as it came off as a better episode compared to what we’ve seen in recent weeks. There was a light “thank you Heyman!” chant in the American Airlines Center following the stage explosion angle with Strowman and Lashley last night. Regarding that explosion angle, WWE used the overhead shot backstage because they wanted to make it look like it wasn’t a part of the planned show.

Heyman did appear on RAW as Brock Lesnar’s advocate, in a backstage segment to get WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Street Profits over, but there are still no plans for him to be an authority figure on TV. Heyman has been very adamant about not working an authority figure role on WWE TV, with the feeling that the role has been played out for years. One of the changes Heyman reportedly wants to make is doing away with the authority figures.

New SmackDown Executive Director Eric Bischoff is expected to be at tonight’s blue brand show from San Antonio. Bischoff’s “fingerprints” may end up being on tonight’s SmackDown, but word is that his first official episode will be the post-Extreme Rules show on July 16.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Mentions AEW In Social Media Error During RAW (Photo)

It’s very possible that a member of WWE’s large social media team was reprimanded during this week’s WWE RAW episode after All Elite Wrestling was accidentally mentioned by the official WWE Instagram account.

The AEW mention came when the WWE Instagram account posted a backstage photo of WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Street Profits, who made their first main roster appearances during backstage segments on RAW.

The original caption on the photo read, “The #NXT Tag Team Champions AEW here on #Raw!”

They meant to say, “…are here on #Raw!”, but for some reason AEW was on the mind of the social media employee who made the post, or they fell victim to auto-correct.

WWE’s Executive Vice President of Digital & Social Content Jayar Donlan spoke with Sports Business Daily in May 2018 and revealed that he then had a staff of 90 employees who worked WWE’s social media department. There’s no word on if that number included interns or how big the team is today.

The error received several thousand likes and comments on Instagram before it was fixed. The corrected photo, seen below, has many comments from fans about the botch, with most people joking about someone getting fired.

You can see a screenshot of the AEW botch below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Maria Kanellis Pregnancy Update Following WWE RAW

Last night on RAW, WWE shot a backstage segment with Mike and Maria Kanellis approaching Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins. Maria challenged Lynch and Rollins, referring to Mike as “my bi–h” and saying that they wanted to face Becky and her “bi–h,” which led to a mixed tag team match.

During the mixed tag match, Maria announced that she was pregnant. Maria took the mic and wondered how Mike got her pregnant because he wasn’t man enough. Maria continued to berate Mike on the air before he tapped to Lynch’s “Disarmher” finisher.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Maria is actually pregnant. That would be the explanation as to why she didn’t compete inside the ring.

Prior to Monday’s RAW, Mike had been wrestling on 205 Live. Both Mike and Maria recently signed new five-year deals with the company. The deal is reportedly worth $500,000 per year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Highlights 7/1/19 – AJ Styles, The Club, The Undertaker, Strowman & Lashley, Kanellis’s, 24/7 Title, Street Profits & More

Last night on RAW there was a heel turn by AJ Styles and The Club are officially back together as they beat down United States Champion Ricochet after he retained his title in the main event of RAW against Styles.

Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre called out The Undertaker and he came out to the ring and had a message for Shane & Drew.

Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley were both taken by ambulance to the hospital after Strowman speared Lashley through the stage’s LED boards which sparked some explosions.

Mike and Maria Kaneliis had a mix tag team match against Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch. During the match, Maria announced as Becky was about to hit her that she was pregnant, but that she doesn’t believe Mike was man enough to be the one to have impregnated her. After The Kanellis’ lost, she got on the microphone and further berated her husband.

Drake Maverick regained the 24/7 title from R-Truth just as he was heading out on his honeymoon.

Watch these highlights and more below:

WWE RAW Preview 7/1/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas as the road to Extreme Rules continues.

* Falls. Count. Anywhere.

* The New Day and The Viking Raiders to throw down in tag team action

* How will Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans exploit Seth Rollins’ “kryptonite”?

* The Big Dog and The Deadman unite

* Is AJ Styles in line for a U.S. Title opportunity?

* Is Samoa Joe our next WWE Champion?

Paige On WWE Creative Frustration With The Kabuki Warriors, Recent Vince McMahon Interaction

Paige recently spoke with The Sun to promote the DVD release of WWE Studios’ “Fighting with My Family” movie and was asked about Vince McMahon’s reaction to the film.

“I don’t know what Vince’s reaction to it was. But if you get a big hug from Vince McMahon you’re doing well. I saw him last week and he gave me a big hug and said, ‘I’m very happy for you.’ I don’t know it that’s about the movie or the fact that I’m healthy. I think he probably liked it if he did watch it,” Paige said.

Paige also spoke about being the manager for The Kabuki Warriors, Asuka and Kairi Sane. Paige is convinced the team can be a game changer for the WWE women’s tag team division, if they can get the TV time. She talked about being frustrated over how the team has been used.

“If we don’t get used I get really frustrated because we’re a good tag team and we need to be utilised. Sometimes the writers have so much on their plate with everyone else’s storylines, they put things on the backburner. I have to remind them, ‘Ok, but there is a women’s tag team title… I’m like, ‘What the hell dudes? Let’s make something happen.’

“It frustrates me but once you actually get to speak with Vince and Hunter about your problems and frustrations, they’re always the first to say, ‘Let’s change this.’ If you go up to writers it’s like talking to a brick wall sometimes, whereas if you go to Vince and Hunter they’re like, ‘If you have a problem we can change that for you.’ The Kabuki Warriors can be a force to be reckoned with and that was the plan from the beginning… After the match in Tokyo hopefully we’ll get to build towards a pay-per-view, which gives the girls something to look forward to. So I’m happy we have a boss that really listens to us.”

As noted, Sane and Asuka became the new #1 contenders to WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics by winning a non-title match in Tokyo this past week. There’s no word yet on when they will get their title shot.

Regarding her WWE future, Paige said she wouldn’t be interested in a role on the creative team, but she does see herself staying with WWE in some capacity, and she’s interested in pursuing acting.

“One way or another I’ll always be a part of WWE, whether it’s in front of the camera or behind the camera. I’d love to do a GM role again. I felt like I really found myself in that role. It really pushed me,” she said. “Also, I love acting, I truly really love it. Obviously wrestling always will be my first passion but unfortunately I can’t do that anymore.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.