Viewership data is in for this week’s episodes of Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night RAW. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership via ShowbuzzDaily:
RAW Viewership
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.842 million viewers, which is down from the 1.913 million viewers last week.
This was the lowest-rated episode of the show for the year. Here is the hourly viewership breakdown:
Hour 1: 1.940 million (1.994 Last Week), 0.59 Demo (0.59 Last Week)
Hour 2: 1.866 million (1.913 Last Week), 0.56 Demo (0.57 Last Week)
Hour 3: 1.720 million (1.832 Last Week), 0.54 Demo (0.52 Last Week)
RAW featured three Money in the Bank Qualifying matches – Rey Mysterio vs. Murphy, Aleister Black vs. Austin Theory, and Apollo Crews vs. MVP – as well as Nia Jax vs. Kairi Sane, Liv Morgan vs. Ruby Riott, and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Angel Garza in a non-title match that served as the main event.
SmackDown averaged 2.187 million viewers on FOX. This is down from the 2.317 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.192 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was down from the 2.304 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.239 million viewers while the second hour did 2.145 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.372 million viewers while the second hour did 2.235 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.60 rating as last week’s show.
Jake “the Snake” Roberts made a surprise debut in AEW last month. He confronted Cody on Dynamite and noted that he was bringing a client into AEW. That client turned out to be Lance Archer. The former member of the Killer Elite Squad was a guest recently on Busted Open Radio and spoke about working with the legendary Roberts.
During the conversation, Bully Ray asked Archer why Roberts was his manager in AEW and noted that Archer doesn’t need anyone to speak for him.
“He was one of the best speakers in this business today,” Archer said on the show. “I believe that I’ve grown in my ability to get out there and say what I need to say when I need to say it.”
Archer continued to talk about the benefits of having Jake by his side.
“I think it just helps me transition back into a full-time American fan base. I think that’s one of the biggest reasons why. And I think this is a good transition with someone they absolutely know and they adore that is Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts.”
Bully then suggested that Jake’s abilities could take the spotlight away from Archer. He asked Archer if he was worried about sharing that spotlight.
“Absolutely not,” Archer answered. “Once I step in the ring, I command the spotlight when I step in the ring. Jake commands the spotlight because he’s Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and when he speaks people are listening.”
Archer’s comments can be heard in the Tweet below:
Former commissioner of the XFL, Oliver Luck, is suing Vince McMahon. Luck is suing for money that he was guaranteed upon accepting the position to run the league in May of 2018.
His XFL contract was believed to be worth $20-25 million over 5 years. It stipulated he was to receive all money owed if terminated without cause.
Luck was not listed as a creditor from the XFL’s bankruptcy filings earlier this month. This was as a result of a judge approving Alpha Entertainment’s rejection of several top-executive contracts. As a result, Luck’s only recourse to recoup his losses from the league’s folding is to sue McMahon.
“Luck’s contract was not with McMahon personally. Will the court be convinced that McMahon’s pledge to provide his own money adds personal liability? Seems to be a stretch,” stated lawyer Darren Heitner with Heitner Legal in regard to the suit.
Several XFL coaches were listed as creditors in the XFL’s bankruptcy filings, however.
Bob Stoops – owed $1.08 million
Marc Trestman – owed $777,777
Jonathan Hayes – owed $633,333
The XFL officially filed for bankruptcy on April 13th, 2020. The league issued the following statement to TMZ:
“We have filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This is a heartbreaking time for many, including our passionate fans, players and staff, and we are thankful to them, our television partners, and the many Americans who rallied to the XFL for the love of football.”
Bankruptcy filings revealed WWE owned 23.5% of the league.
WWE Money in the Bank 2020 will be a pay-per-view like none other.
The event was originally scheduled to be held at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The Coronavirus pandemic forced WWE to make alternate plans.
Earlier this week, the company announced a unique stipulation for the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches. Instead of taking place from the WWE Performance Center, the MITB ladder matches will take place from WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT. Participants will start on the ground floor of the office building. They will work their way up to the roof, where they will “climb the corporate ladder” in hopes of securing a #1 contender’s world championship contract.
Photos of the rooftop setup can be seen below. It is believed WWE filmed the match in recent days. WWE has yet to announce where the remaining matches will take place. The Performance Center is the likely location.
WWE Money in the Bank Card
Money in the Bank takes place Sunday, May 10th and streams live on the WWE Network. The following matches are confirmed:
Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Aleister Black vs. Apollo Crews vs. TBD
Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke vs. TBD
Universal Champion Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Tamina
WWE HQ Rooftop Ring
Here is an updated look of what to expect from the rooftop of WWE headquarters, courtesy of Spanish wrestling Twitter account @Solo_Wrestling.
At today’s Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting in Florida, a public comment was submitted by someone claiming to be a WWE employee. The person was referred to only as “Jon.” The statement reads:
“My employer, World Wrestling Entertainment aka WWE is forcing me to work the TV tapings for its weekly shows despite work-at-home orders for Coronavirus. I am unable to speak out as I need this job and I know I will be fired if I approach my higher-ups.”
“Despite sanitary precautions, we cannot maintain social distancing and have to touch other people. I request the government to shut down these tapings and enforce the stay at home order so my colleagues and I may follow social distancing rules without fear of repercussion of losing our jobs.”
As the comment was made anonymously, it cannot be verified if “Jon” really is employed by WWE.
Florida-based journalist Jon Alba has been Tweeting on the news:
At Tuesday's Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a #WWE employee named "John" submitted public comment they're being "forced to work" TV tapings despite stay at home orders. Says he's unable to speak out and feels he will be fired if he approaches his higher-ups. pic.twitter.com/UJTvX1RGc7
As we covered last week, #WWE had initially been ruled a non-essential business in Orange County, and the Orange County Sheriff had been called several times to the Performance Center. Then, an April 9 Executive Order by Gov. DeSantis included it as an essential business.
While there isn't really way to verify this is 100% absolutely a #WWE employee given the nature of the complaint, it should be noted there have been several within the company who have expressed concern, many privately, over the tapings continuing.
WWE has since issued the following statement denying the allegation:
“These accusations aren’t true. Employees know they can confidentially go to Human Resources, not the public. Notwithstanding the appropriate protocol, no one would be fired if they were uncomfortable with their surroundings. We’ve made accommodations for individuals upon request.”
There were numerous reports on Monday that a recently released wrestler from WWE would be returning on RAW. Further reports revealed that Sarah Logan was the wrestler in question. Her return did not happen, however. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer, Logan’s return had been scheduled but was pulled last minute.
According to the report, Logan’s return had been scripted but was pulled after the show had already started. It was also noted that Logan has not officially been rehired by the company. Additionally, it was noted that all recently released wrestlers are being paid for 90 days and WWE feels they can still use them during this time.
Former 205 Live General Manager, Drake Maverick, was released last week but will still be participating in the interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament.
Logan was shown on RAW last night in two different highlight packages. Shayna Baszler broke her arm in storyline the previous week and replays of the segment were shown on RAW. Logan was also featured in highlights packages of the Riott Squad before the Liv Morgan vs Ruby Riott match last night.
There are no further updates on if Logan will be rehired by the company or not.
The Revolt, formerly known as The Revival in WWE, will not be out of the spotlight for long.
Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler were released by WWE earlier this month. The company finally granted their requests to leave after months of unsuccessful attempts to sign them to new contracts.
In advance of their free agency, the duo has been registering various trademarks related to the next chapter of their careers. In addition to their new aforementioned ring names, they also filed to protect the phrase, Fear The Revolt and a new logo that will surely adorn merchandise in the months ahead.
The Revolt: Coming Soon
On Tuesday, the ‘Top Guys’ of tag team wrestling released a video on social media teasing their next move. The video (and caption) use the verbiage, “Resist. Revive. Revolt. Coming Soon” Check that out in the player embedded below.
Harwood and Wheeler have been in the news a lot since they became free agents. Wrestling promotions all around the world will be vying for their services. The industry’s top pundits have speculated where they will appear next. Below, please find several links to our recent coverage of The Revolt’s journey post-WWE.
EC3 is another superstar who was released from WWE last week. Now going by the name ‘Essential Character III’ on social media, EC3 gave The Revolt some credit for the innovative character development. He tweeted, “I like the imagery. I like the ties to past yet sights on future. I like this more than red lips and bowties. I’m invested.”
Following his release from WWE, EC3 revealed his own character transformation. He released a video and ‘synopsis’ detailing the evolution of his wrestling persona.
Hit up the comments section and tell us where you want to see The Revolt wind up.
Sami Zayn successfully retained his Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania over Daniel Bryan. He hasn’t been on Smackdown since, however. Zayn recently revealed on Twitter a possible reason for his absence. It appears the current IC champion recently had his wisdom teeth removed.
In lighter news, I had my wisdom teeth taken out last week so I've been on an #AllPuddingDiet for days and now I'm ripped to shreds.
The unofficial dentist of pro-wrestling, Dr. Britt Baker DMD, had some advice for Zayn as well.
Beware of dry socket
— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) April 21, 2020
Sami Zayn Critical Of Anti-Lockdown Protests
While Zayn is likely having trouble speaking in the aftermath of his surgery, he has been vocal on social media. Most notably, Zayn has been critical of the anti-lockdown protests in the United States.
Sami Zayn’s faction on Smackdown is now being referred to as “the Artist Collective.” The stable consists of Zayn, Cesaro, and Shinsuke Nakamura. He talked a bit about his current role on Smackdown during an episode of WWE’s “the Bump”
“It’s funny because even though I’ve made a name for myself as a guy who could go in the ring. Now I’m doing that just in a different avenue just by running my mouth, so it’s kinda interesting to me too,” Zayn said on the show.
Despite making a dramatic return to WWE during Lana and Bobby Lashley’s wedding, WWE reportedly had no real plans for Liv Morgan. She made her comeback during an episode of Monday Night RAW last December.
Liv Morgan’s return initially indicated she would become a major part of the soap opera-esque storyline. According to Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Radio, that was never really the case. RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman allegedly booked her wedding crash as a way to pop the WWE Universe. There were allegedly no follow up plans despite the impact Morgan had on the storyline between Rusev, Lana and Bobby Lashley.
Although WWE pursued a Lana vs. Liv Morgan feud for a few weeks after her comeback, it quickly lost momentum. The original return was apparently done to simply get Morgan back onto WWE programming. It also gave her something to do rather than just returning to the ring without any fanfare or promotion.
Lana & Bobby Lashley
With Rusev having been released by WWE, his real-life wife Lana continued the storyline via social media. Lashley has previously expressed his uncertainty whether the storyline had been concluded, noting that it didn’t have a definitive ending. It is unknown whether a continuation would have included Liv Morgan.
With Rusev no longer with WWE, however, it remains to be seen whether the company decides to continue the angle. It’s worth noting that Lana has been causing Lashley some difficulties on screen recently. Most notably, her bad decision led him to lose to Aleister Black at WrestleMania 36.
All Elite Wrestling announcer Jim Ross doesn’t believe that that the company should be hiring any released WWE Superstars. Not just yet, at least. Regarding WWE’s recent releases, Ross explained on The Roman Show podcast how sometimes “you have to let people go that you don’t think deserve to be let go.”
He shared how he gets people frequently asking him who he thinks AEW should hire. Ross then explained how he’s more concerned about “living to tomorrow” as he is high risk for the coronavirus. He stated how, if he were AEW, “I would hire nobody.”
Ross continued, explaining how there is no reason to hire anybody right now. Addressing the recently released Superstars, he shared how he hopes “none of them go on a massive pity party.”
JR stressed how they aren’t the only ones within wrestling to have been sat down, cast away or had their job taken away. Ross admitted how, ultimately, the situation is “unfortunate.” He then noted how some people have to wonder why they were let go, arguing there had to be a reason.
Jim Ross’ Advice to Released Talent
Now that the released Superstars are no longer with WWE, Jim Ross hoped that they would be able to motivate themselves:
“If I were these guys who were let go by the WWE, this situation wouldn’t be the end of the world. Trust me, I’ve been there. It won’t end your life.”
He stated how if WWE was all they wanted to do with their life, then they need to reset, reassess, and improve their personal brand to prepare for the future.
Elsewhere in the episode, JR spoke about the possibility of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson running for president. JR is confident of The Rock’s chances and feels The Rock would win the Presidency if he seriously pursued it.
Arn Anderson has revealed what former WWE Superstar Scott Dawson told him the night before The Revival was released by WWE. Speaking on the ARN Podcast, Anderson shared how Dawson hinted that there may be some “good news” that would come out the next morning.
Anderson explained he got a message from Dawson that informed him that “about 9 A.M. there will be some good news shop up.”
According to the WWE Hall of Famer, that’s all Dawson said. He noted how, at approximately that time the next morning, the news broke that both Dawson and his tag team partner Dash Wilder had been released from WWE.
Despite being given the cryptic tease, Anderson shared he was still surprised by the news. He was taken aback that WWE “would let them go scot free.” He added, however, how “that’s the way it should be.”
Arn Anderson Believes The Revival Will Be Wrestling’s “Hottest Commodity”
With both Dawson and Wilder no longer associated with WWE, Arn Anderson acknowledged how they are probably the “hottest commodity” in wrestling. He believes that every promotion will be vying for them. Anderson stressed that whoever ends up signing the pair will be better off for having them on their roster.
He shared how the pair are the most “unselfish, giving guys” he has seen in a long time. Anderson compared their mentality to himself, Tully Blanchard, and the original Four Horsemen.
Arn Anderson extrapolated his point, highlighting how that extended to going out and stealing the show. He believes they will do whatever they can to ensure everybody in the arena exhausts themselves. It doesn’t matter whether fans were cheering or booing. As long as fans “blow themselves up,” they’ll know they’ve done their job—just like the Horsemen.
All Elite Wrestling continues its TNT Championship Tournament this week. One of their quarter-final bouts sees Sammy Guevara clash with Darby Allin. Turns out, one wrestler, in particular, will be watching this match closely: Lance Archer.
Archer took to Twitter to share his interest, teasing how it “might be interesting” if he and Guevara were to face each other in the finals. He revealed how, despite both performing in Texas at the same time, he and Guevara have never wrestled each other.
Guevara would see Archer’s message, replying, “I welcome this fight.” Archer, however, was unconvinced.
According to him, Guevara is eager to grapple while he’s “safe at home.” When they’re inside the ropes from each other, “The Murderhawk Monster” believes Guevara may feel differently, stressing how: “your tune will change quickly as I Quicken you!”
Fun fact. @sammyguevara and I have never fought. Even in all our time in TX at the same time. Not once did we square off. Might be interesting if we faced off (well. His face in my chest anyways) in the finals of tha @AEWrestling #TNTChampionshipTournament Find out Wed @AEWonTNThttps://t.co/5sz0kLIfDE
— The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer (@LanceHoyt) April 20, 2020
The Journey To Lance Archer & Sammy Guevara In The Finals
Lance Archer advanced in the quarter-finals after defeating Colt Cabana on the April 15 episode of AEW Dynamite. He will face the winner of Dustin Rhodes and Kip Sabian. Both quarter-final matchups take place on this week’s episode of Dynamite. The episode airs tomorrow night on TNT.
Although both men may be interested in facing off, the finals are still a way off. If successful against Allin, Guevara would then have to defeat Cody Rhodes to meet Lance Archer in the finals—assuming Archer defeats the winner of Rhodes/Sabian. The finals are scheduled to take place on May 23 at AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
Seth Rollins got engaged in a twitter feud with Will Ospreay last year and the Architect’s harsh comments had attracted negative reactions from fans. Though the hostility between the two ended after Rollins publically apologized to the NJPW star.
Reports had later revealed that the Raw Executive Director Paul Heyman had talked to Seth about the issue and provided feedback leading to the apology.
During his recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Will Ospreay talked about the whole thing and commented on the rumors of Paul Heyman getting involved in the situation:
“I’ve heard rumors that Paul Heyman told him to
apologize to me and Paul Heyman is a big supporter of mine and, once again,
Paul Heyman is Paul Heyman, you know what I mean? I heard that he told Seth to
apologize so I don’t know if that’s true or not,
But there’s kind of rumors going around backstage and like I’ve got guys who are friends with Seth Rollins in New Japan who have told me this, and I don’t know if that’s true but it sounds about right. I just don’t know.”
Ospreay continued by saying that he had been a fan of Seth Rollins during his ROH days and if someone apologizes to him then he lets the issue go.
Apart from this, the high flying star talked about his move to the heavyweight division of NJPW and people asking him if he was using steroids or if he ‘was on gas’. You can check out his comments on the matter at this link.
Mike Kanellis didn’t do much during his time in WWE and one of his final storylines with the promotion was where his wife Maria Kanellis started berating him and started labeling the WWE star as an embarrassment.
During a recent interview with FightFul.com, the now-former WWE star talked about his time in the company and revealed who was the mind behind this storyline.
Mike surprisingly revealed that it was the Raw Executive
Director Paul Heyman who came up with the idea after hearing about Maria’s
pregnancy.
According to the former TNA star, Heyman had called the couple to discuss a match between them and the team of Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch but he changed the plans upon learning the situation and came up with a new idea:
“We had just found out like two days ago we were pregnant we
were just waiting for the right time you tell them. Maria was just like, ‘Paul
I’ve known you a long time, I have to, I’m pregnant.’ He went, ‘alright. Well,
this isn’t going to work then.
Then, in typical Paul Heyman fashion stops dead in his
tracks and he goes, ‘I think I have an idea. Do you mind if I tell the boss?’
Maria went, ‘no we were going to eventually anyways.” recalled Mike
Kanellis. “He goes, ‘alright I’ll call you back.’ He called his back and
pitched the whole angle that we did.”
The former Champion then continued by saying that neither him nor his wife had any problem with the storyline as long as it was going somewhere and there was a payoff.
Mike Kanellis had signed a new multi-year contract with WWE
in July last year but he asked for his release in October because he was
unhappy with his position in the company.
WWE Officials had denied his request at the time but they released both Mike and Maria Kanellis from their contracts alongside numerous other stars earlier this month as part of the company’s adjustments due to the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE has been teasing a new hacker gimmick on SmackDown recently and Mark Henry has a very interesting idea for the man behind the recent promos.
The WWE Hall Of Famer talked about a number of things during the latest episode of Busted Open Radio and also shared who he wants to be revealed as the man behind the hacker gimmick.
Henry made a very interesting suggestion saying that CM Punk
should be revealed as the man behind the recent promos and it could be his
introduction back to pro wrestling:
“I said it from the beginning that I was hoping that it would be CM Punk, that it would be his introduction back to pro wrestling. To be able to tell the story of ‘you want the truth?
I want to give you the truth, and I’ve been around here watching and I’ve exposed the truth at some small levels? But now I’m going to share the truth on everything.’”
Mark Henry went on to explain that this way you can have CM Punk “pipe-bomb the sh*t out of the wrestling business” and the former WWE Champion can be the lightning rod of hate in the company.
There is no word yet on what the company is planning for the hacker gimmick or who will be revealed as the man behind it but there are speculations that Mustafa Ali could be behind the recent promos.
What do you think about Mark Henry’s idea of revealing CM Punk as the hacker on SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
The Godfather is one of the veteran WWE wrestlers who is open about his use of marijuana during his time in the wrestling business and he doesn’t mind talking about it.
The WWE Hall Of Famer recently had an interview with
WrestlingInc, where he talked about things like his match at the Brawl For All,
what he is doing now and more.
During the interview, the Godfather was asked about Vince
McMahon’s views on marijuana. Replying to it, the WWE veteran said that Vince
is ‘up on the times’ and claimed that the Boss would not have a problem
supporting it if it was legal:
“[Laughs] Well, I’m not gonna go that far but Vince is up on the times. If cannabis were to become legal, then he would have no problem supporting it. He supported it when I was there, I’ve never smoked with Vince or seen Vince smoke.”
The Godfather was also asked if smoking weed was a common
thing backstage in WWE when he was there and the former Intercontinental
Champion said that there were very few guys who smoked at the time.
He went to reveal that he would try to get many people to smoke while he was there and claimed that he was never fined for smoking during his WWE career. You can check out his full interview at this link.
Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins has been announced for the upcoming WWE Money in the Bank PPV.
Last week on RAW, Rollins attacked McIntyre, who had just beaten United States Champion Andrade in a non-title match in the main event.
Fast forward to this week, McIntyre opened the show with an in-ring promo about Rollins’ attack. This is where he issued a challenge for a WWE Championship Match at the upcoming pay-per-view event.
Later in the show, Rollins cut an interesting promo about how he accepted McIntyre’s challenge and vowed that he would take the title from McIntyre.
Former WWE NXT star Dan Matha shared an incredible story in a recent post on social media.
Last week, WWE let go of several wrestlers, staff, and employees due to the financial impact of the coronavirus. One of the wrestlers who were cut was Matha.
The former NXT star took to his official Twitter account where he recalled a wild last few weeks that he had. He was in a car crash that sent him flying through the windshield of his vehicle that ultimately left him with a hole in the back of his head.
He was then informed by the company that the WWE was releasing him. All of this happened as the world is dealing with coronavirus and most of the United States being on lockdown.
In his own words, from the world dealing with the virus, his crash, and losing the job has been a “WILD 21 days.”
The photos that he posted in the message showed him in a bed with the gauze behind him bloody from the hole in the back of his head.
Also, there’s a photo of the whole closed up and the hole in the windshield by the driver’s side. You can see the post here:
He joined the company in 2016. He wrestled under the name Dorian Mak in NXT. Despite the accident, he stated during an Instagram live session that he wants to continue wrestling.
This week’s episode of RAW aired live from the Performance Center. Three MITB Qualifying matches took place and Drew McIntyre squared off against Angel Garza in the main event.
WWE RAW Results (4/20)
Drew McIntyre challenged Seth Rollins
Aleister Black def. Austin Theory to qualify for the MITB Ladder match
Shayna Baszler def. Indi Hartwell
Cedric Alexander & Ricochet def. Brendan Vink & Shane Thorne
Nia Jax def. Kairi Sane
Apollo Crews def. MVP to qualify for the MITB Ladder match
Liv Morgan def. Ruby Riott
Rey Mysterio def. Murphy to qualify for the MITB Ladder match
Charlotte def. Kayden Carter
Andrade def. Akira Tozawa
Bianca Belair def. Santana Garrett
Drew McIntyre def. Angel Garza
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Drew McIntyre Challenged Seth Rollins To A Match At Money In The Bank
Drew McIntyre. Photo Credit: WWE.com
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre kicked off the show and thanked the audience at home for tuning in. McIntyre quickly turned his attention to Seth Rollins’ attack last week and said he wasn’t surprised at all that it happened.
Drew stated that the title painted a bullseye on his back and everyone wants to be in his position. McIntyre wondered if Seth deserved an opportunity but said that if he wants to be a great champion he needs to continue to beat the best.
McIntyre challenged Rollins to a match at WWE Money in the Bank in three weeks. Zelina Vega interrupted with Angel Garza and Austin Theory. Vega said that everyone is sick of McIntyre’s speeches and claimed that he was looking past his match against Angel Garza tonight.
United States Champion Andrade came out of nowhere and attacked McIntyre from behind. Drew fought him off and then absolutely leveled Andrade with a Claymore. Zelina Vega asked Austin and Angel to go in the ring but they thought better of it. Drew McIntyre hit Andrade with another Claymore to end the segment.
Aleister Black battled Austin Theory in a MITB Qualifying match tonight. Zelina Vega joined commentary.
Match Recap: Theory and Black locked up to start off the match. Aleister brought Theory down to the canvas and applied an Arm Bar. Austin battled to his feet and connected with a shoulder tackle. Aleister went for Black Mass but Theory was able to avoid it and hopped out of the ring. Aleister hit him with a Dropkick and Zelina Vega started trash talking. Black became distracted and Theory capitalized by throwing him into the barricade as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Austin was still in control and hit Black with a Dropkick for a near fall. Theory slammed Aleister into the top turnbuckle but Black shrugged it off and planted Austin with a Body Slam. Austin connected with a Powerbomb and then sent Black into the corner.
Black hit a couple of Clotheslines and followed it up with a knee to the face. Aleister connected with a Moonsault and went for the cover but Austin kicked out at two. Theory hit a Superkick and followed it up with a Neckbreaker for a near fall. Black battled back and hit a German Suplex for a two count. Aleister followed it up with Black Mass for the pinfall victory. Aleister Black qualified for the MITB match at the PPV.
After the match, Byron Saxton asked what Aleister’s plan was to climb the corporate ladder at MITB. Black said that he will make sure to turn each floor of WWE Headquarters into his opponents personal hell.
MVP faced Apollo Crews in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match. Before the match, MVP said that Crews is the most talented man on the roster but he is outmatched here.
Match Recap: MVP controlled the match early and knocked Crews out of the ring as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, MVP had Crews trapped in the Camel Clutch in the middle of the ring. Crews broke free and hit MVP with a Splash in the corner of the ring.
Apollo then beat MVP down and followed it up with a massive Clothesline. Crews went for a Frog Splash but MVP got his knees up. MVP hit the Playmaker but Crews was able to kick out at two. Crews connected with a Standing Moonsault and then a Standing Shooting Star Press. Crews followed that up with a Powerbomb for the victory. Apollo Crews qualified for the MITB Ladder match.
Opinion: It is nice to see WWE give Crews a push these past couple of weeks. Crews had a great match with Aleister Black last week and picked up a big win tonight.
Rey Mysterio faced Murphy in a Money in the Bank Qualify match.
Match Recap: Rey controlled the action early and went for the 619 but Murphy got out of the way. Murphy slammed Rey’s hand into the barricade and then off the steel entrance ramp as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Rey hit Murphy with a Hurricanrana off the steel steps.
Back in the ring, Rey hit a Crossbody and set Murphy up for the 619. Murphy avoided it but Rey planted him with a DDT for a near fall. The action spilled to the outside and Mysterio launched Murphy into the barricade. Back in the ring, Murphy hit Rey with a knee to the face and followed it up with a Brainbuster for a near fall.
Murphy made his way to the top rope but Rey caught him with a kick to the face. Rey then hit 619 and followed it up with a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory. Rey Mysterio qualified for the MITB Ladder match.
Angel Garza squared off against Drew McIntyre in the main event of this week’s show. Austin Theory, Andrade, and Zelina Vega were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: McIntyre beat the hell out of Garza in the corner of the ring to start off the match. Drew launched Garza across the ring with a Belly to Belly Throw. Garza rolled out of the ring to try and regroup but McIntyre followed him out there.
Drew hit Angel with a couple of chops before rolling him back in the ring. McIntyre got distracted by Andrade and Theory and Garza capitalized with a Dropkick. Back in the ring, Angel hit a Dropkick from off the top rope and locked in a Half Crab in the middle of the ring.
McIntyre threw Garza out of the ring and then flipped onto Angel, Andrade, and Theory. McIntyre shouted at Vega that he can do it all before leveling Theory with a Claymore Kick. Back in the ring, Garza rolled up McIntyre for a two count. Drew hit the Claymore for the pinfall victory. After the match, McIntyre hit Angel and Thoery with another Claymore.
Opinion: The main event was short but McIntyre looked impressive. Overall, I thought this week’s episode of RAW was a good show. There were several good matches tonight and that led to the three hours flying by.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is teaming up with HBO once again.
Variety reported on Monday that The Rock, Issa Rae and Dany Garcia will be executive producing a new series for the creation of a backyard wrestling promotion that will air on the network.
The series is currently titled “TRE CNT” for “TRE COUNT.” Each episode will be thirty-minutes and comes from writer Mohamad El Masri.
The show is about Cassius Jones, a young docker worker and struggling pro wrestler, who uses inherited life-insurance money for start-up money, and the deed to a shotgun house from his grandfather, to start a hip-hop centric backyard wrestling empire in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas (The Tre). Jones creates the empire with the help of his working-class family, friends and neighbors.
In addition to writing the project, El Masri is an executive producer.
Judah Miller will executive produce and serve as showrunner. Rock and Garcia will executive produce along with Hiram Garcia as part of their Seven Bucks Productions company.
Rae and Montrel McKay will executive produce via their Issa Rae Productions. Dave Becky, Tom Lassally, and Jonathan Berry will executive produce for 3 Arts Entertainment.
The Rock’s involvement brings a layer of authenticity to the project due to his background in the pro wrestling business after having a successful career with WWE.
Johnson previously worked with HBO on his hit series “Ballers,” which ran from 2015 to 2019.
After a recent message on social media, there is now speculation that The Revival could be headed to the NWA.
Earlier this month, WWE released the former WWE Tag Team Champions from their contracts. The Revival potentially going to AEW when their deals with WWE were up has been speculated about for over a year now.
Now that Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are no longer under contract with WWE, speculation among fans as to where they would be headed next has begun.
Scott Dawson has changed his name to Dax Harwood while Dash Wilder has changed his name to Cash Wheeler. Dax Harwood’s real name is David Harwood and Cash Wheeler’s real name is Daniel Wheeler.
Wheeler responded to a tweet sent out by the NWA that fans which tag team they’d like to see in the Crockett Cup. He wrote, “FTR.”
— Daniel “Cash” Wheeler (@CashWheelerFTR) April 20, 2020
It should be noted that the tag team has trademarked “Fear The Revolt.” Whether his response was a reference to that name or “For The Revival” remains to be seen.
Either way, the possibility of this could happen even if it’s for a short run. On a related now, Harwood shared this photo that appears to be their new logo going forward:
Sarah Logan was one of several WWE stars handed their walking papers from the company last week. However, it appears that she might be back with the company very soon.
According to Fightful, several people ‘went to bat’ for Logan following her release and encouraged WWE officials to give her another look. There is a good chance that Sarah Logan will be back with WWE soon. She is married to Erik of the Viking Raiders tag team.
Sarah Logan has been with WWE since 2014. She worked primarily in NXT until 2017, when she was brought to the main roster as part of the Riott Squad faction with Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. She has not held any championships in WWE.
Her most recent match took place on the April 13th edition of WWE Raw. She lost to former NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Bazsler in a Money in the Bank qualifying match.
WWE Money in the Bank takes place Sunday, May 10th from WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT.
AEW’s California-based roster has not been competing on Dynamite as of late. Many of them have been wrestling at the BTE compound, however. Last week on BTE, a rather bizarre Royal Rumble type match took place with Nick Jackson coming out the winner.
With the win, Nick got to pick whatever match he wanted for BTE 200. The match he wanted is the one he said could prove that he was back to 100% health following the backstage attack by the Inner Circle last month. Nick’s pick was to face his own brother Matt in the main event of BTE 200. The match aired today on YouTube.
Nick Jackson vs Matt Jackson – BTE 200
The match actually started off on the tennis court as Nick attacked Matt before the bell. A “falls count anywhere” stipulation was placed on the match as well.
Nick put Matt on a golf cart and wheeled him around until they ended up at the BTE gym seen in recent episodes. The brothers would exchange near-falls from pinning combinations until the match then spilled into Nick’s backyard. It was in Nick’s yard that Matt would hit a series of 5 continuing Northern Lights Suplexes before Nick hit a tornado DDT using his fence for leverage.
As the match moved out from Nick’s backyard, the younger Young Buck started to play dirty by throwing dirt in Matt’s face. This allowed Nick to set Matt up on a table and jump off his roof with a senton for a near-fall. Nick then held Matt’s head underwater briefly before his brother fought back. Matt then hit a Canadian Destroyer off the diving board and into the pool for a near-fall with the ref counting on the surface of the water.
Nick then used his “Merch Freak” magic to send Matt Jackson to an alternate universe. All of a sudden, Matt Jackson was dressed as Marty Jannetty and Nick as Shawn Michaels. The brothers then recreated the famous “Barber Shop” moment that broke up the Rockers. When Matt came back to reality, Nick hit him in the back with a shovel and the two exchanged clotheslines on the deck.
After Matt delivered a tombstone to his brother, things started to get weird again. Matt brought out a pair of sharply spiked cleats and put them on. He then superkicked his brother in the face with them. They recreated the Shawn Michaels/Ric Flair “I’m sorry I love you” WrestleMania moment. Then Matt gave his brother an elbow from the deck for the win.
After the Match
After the match, the two brothers sat atop the deck and cleared the air. Nick noted that he is not 100% but he’s feeling pretty good. After 4 years of doing BTE, Nick noted it’s been the best 4 years of his life. An emotional montage then played before Nick and Matt were seen in the car saying there was one more thing they had to do. They did not mention what that is, however.
There is reason to believe it’s possible that one of the many wrestlers released from WWE last week will be on RAW tonight. There is no information on who the wrestler might be, however. Ryan Satin recently noted on Twitter that his sources are telling him one released wrestler might appear on RAW tonight:
Hearing it’s possible that one of the wrestlers who was released from WWE last week could be making an appearance on RAW tonight.
RAW will be live tonight as WWE doesn’t revert back to taping episodes until next week. Drake Maverick has already committed to finishing out the NXT cruiserweight tournament despite being announced as one of the roster cuts last week.
WWE Recently Released Wrestlers
The following names were officially released from WWE last week:
Drake Maverick
Luke Gallows
Karl Anderson
EC3
Curt Hawkins
Lio Rush
Heath Slater
Eric Young
Kurt Angle
Aiden English
Erik Rowan
Sarah Logan
Mike Chioda
Primo & Epico Colon
Mike Kanellis (Bennett)
Maria Kanellis
Zack Ryder
No Way Jose
Deonna Purrazzo
Additionally, several backstage producers/agents had their contracts furloughed (provided they were full-time WWE employees, otherwise they were released outright).
Dixie Carter brought Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff into TNA Wrestling in early 2010. The deal actually came together in late 2009 but both Bischoff and Hogan would be on TNA programming that January. On an episode of Bischoff’s “83 Weeks” podcast, Bischoff discussed the impact Hogan had on TNA and the limitations they both felt while with the company.
“I was excited, I was excited at the possibilities and the potential that appeared at least initially to be there,” Bischoff said about debuting in TNA alongside Hogan in 2010.
He continued to say he didn’t feel TNA as a company did much to capitalize on the momentum they had shortly after Hogan and his debut, however.
“Had TNA as a company done the things necessary to take advantage of some of that momentum it may have carried itself forward.”
Bischoff then said that as things continued in TNA, he became less confident in the company’s ability to capitalize on the star power they had.
“The deeper we got into it the more we realized that there were no real resources put behind any of this by TNA. It was really wishful thinking on their part that all you had to do was throw these big names out there.”
“There were a lot of big names that were in TNA when we got there that weren’t really moving the needle the way they should have and I think a lot of that is because TNA didn’t know what to do with them.”
Eric Bischoff on TNA Running Monday Nights
Bischoff also spoke about TNA’s brief run on Monday nights during that period.
“The idea of moving to Monday night wasn’t so much because we thought we could be competitive to the WWE,” Bischoff said. “I hope someone from AEW is listening to this. It wasn’t because we thought we were going to be able to be competitive but we knew when we went if we went head-to-head with Monday Night RAW much like making an announcement at Madison Square Garden we knew that going head-to-head whether it was for a short period, it was an experiment. We knew that it was an experiment. It was never intended to be or committed to be any kind of a long-term decision but we knew we would create a buzz.”
