Tuesday’s edition of Smackdown Live, which aired live from Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the most-watched show on cable for November 27 in the 18-49 demographic and finished ninth overall for the night. Smackdown’s ratings were up from a 0.7 to a 0.8 in the 18-49 demo.
TV By The Numbers reports that the show, which featured the return of Becky Lynch, scored 114,000 more total viewers than last week’s episode, beating it 2.264 million viewers to 2.150 million.
The number is still below what the show drew two weeks ago, but finishing first for the night in the key demographic can’t be taken as a negative.
Curse Of Oak Island on History and the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC both topped Smackdown in total viewers, with 3.408 million and 3.315 million respectively. The other six shows that topped Smackdown for the night in total viewers all aired on Fox News Channel.
Without the benefit of quarter-hour breakdowns, it’s difficult to pinpoint a single reason for the uptick in viewership this week.
The show was built around the Smackdown Women’s Championship picture. The main event featured a women’s battle royal, with the winner being added to the Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair match at TLC next month. A strong promo segment between Lynch and Flair kicked off the show.
Ratings fell on Monday, and Smackdown nearly equaled Raw’s viewership this week. A growing sentiment among wrestling pundits is that WWE has become too heavy on heels.
That idea was propped up by an episode of Raw this week that featured Alexa Bliss installed as a new heel authority figure, and current heel authority figure Baron Corbin both opening and closing the show, in lengthy segments.
“I think that the company has been made famous for building fan favorites. The ‘babyface.’ Over the years, some of the biggest stars on the babyface side of the roster, have been products of WWE,” Ross said. “It seems like that’s not the focus right now.”
Ross clarified that his opinions do not always equate with the facts, but that currently, that’s what he sees.
“Maybe it is [the focus]. I’m going by what I see on television. That’s the extent of my interaction with this company.”
“I watch the product religiously, and those are my observations. They’re not tainted, they’re not influenced, they’re just what I see, and what I feel,” Ross said.
“The fan favorite machine, the babyface machine, needs to get back into business.”
The full episode of The Jim Ross Report can be found below. When referencing this transcript, please credit SEScoops.com. This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Cody, the Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, and Adam Page are all finishing up commitments in ROH and NJPW at the moment. When 2019 hits, however, it’s looking as though the group will be part of a new promotion, All Elite Wrestling.
Cody was asked recently at a Meet in Greet for World Series Wrestling in Australia about the promotion. He indicated an announcement would be made in January. Cody also stated the announcement will be bigger than expected.
Cody’s answer to the question was covered in this week’s Wrestling Observer.
“At a meet and greet in Melbourne, Australia, Cody was asked about a new promotion and said to wait for January as an announcement will be made, and said the announcement would be bigger than anyone expects,” Dave Meltzer wrote.
Cody and All Elite Wrestling
Cody has also doubled-down on his statements that he will be finishing up with Ring of Honor after Final Battle. He has said his title match with Jay Lethal will be his final match with the promotion. The angle is if Cody wins he’ll bring the title with him into free agency.
Cody also appears to be scouting talent. He sent the following out on Tuesday evening:
Curious
Who are some of the hottest male/female independent acts not signed anywhere?
James Ellsworth has released a statement regarding accusations he sent nude photos to an underage fan. Ellsworth and his legal team are stating the social media accounts which sent the photos are fake.
The statement also says Ellsworth and his legal team will take action against any party spreading the allegations against him.
“Recently, allegations of misconduct have been lodged against me which I categorically deny. I never have, nor will I ever engage in any activity that could be deemed as inappropriate or disrespectful. My delay in publicly commenting on this situation was based on the advice of my legal team, which has just completed a thorough investigation.”
Ellsworth then mentions in his statement that they have uncovered evidence he was being impersonated online by someone interested in ruining his reputation.
“My attorneys have pinpointed a trusted witness who is willing to testify on my behalf. In addition, they have uncovered concrete evidence that supports my innocence and proves that without a shadow of a doubt the social media accounts alleged to be mine are fake and the messages from the account were fraudulently created without my knowledge or consent.”
Ellsworth then said he hopes to restore his reputation.
“My only hope is to restore my reputation as I, along with my family, friends and supporters have suffered because of a social media stunt devised to end my professional wrestling career. My team and I are prepared to pursue legal action against any party that persists with the promotion of these lies.”
This Wednesday night, WWE held television tapings for NXT at Full Sail University which saw a number of major developments.
One such filmed segment consisted of Bianca Belair defeating Io Shirai, Mia Yim and Lacey Evans in a fatal four-way match to win a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship.
The episode will air on January 2 on the WWE Network.
The EST will also put her undefeated streak on the line when she goes against the champion as the #1 contender.
Bianca Belair will face Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship at the upcoming NXT TakeOver: Phoenix event on Saturday, January 26 from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
The NXT tapings will provide enough content for the remainder of this year and take us into the TakeOver: Phoenix event. WWE is scheduled to tape more episodes for NXT on 3 January.
A main roster member made a surprise appearance at the NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University this Wednesday night.
Ricochet was set to defend his NXT North American Championship that night as it was announced that he would be challenged by a mystery opponent on the show.
Tyler Breeze returned to NXT and took on Ricochet in a title match in a losing effort.
Breeze has also made some appearances on NXT house shows before but this is the first time that he has appeared on NXT television in three years.
Breeze joined WWE’s developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where he performed under the ring name Mike Dalton.
He would later work in NXT after the rebranding of FCW, and would début his heel selfie-taking pretty boy persona under the Tyler Breeze name. He made his main roster début in October of 2015.
Breeze’s partner Fandango of “Breezango” is injured and that has left Breeze out of the tag team division.
Currently directionless on the main roster, Tyler Breeze could have a fresh start once again on NXT as a singles wrestler.
While their experiences and reasons are not exactly similar, Edge knows the feeling of going out there in his prime and relinquishing a top championship due to severe health issues, much like Roman Reigns.
During his recent interview with Sports Illustrated, the Hall Of Famer talked about his SmackDown 1000 segment involving Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and more.
While discussing Reigns’ battle with luekemia and him relinquishing the Universal Championship on Raw not too long ago, the Rated R Superstar said that the Shield Member handled it with class:
“I feel for him, but the best thing he can do is surround himself with his family, and that’s what he’s doing. As long as he gets healthy, who cares if he ever wrestles again? I watched him on Raw and thought that moment had to be really, really difficult, but he handled it with poise and class.”
Continuing on the topic, Edge also discussed how he only had to retire but in Roman’s case it’s a matter of life and death. He said you don’t expect this to hear from a guy who is in the prime of his career and looks like a superhero.
Apart from this, the WWE Legend also talked about how his recent visit to SmackDown made him realise that he no longer needs pro wrestling like he once did. You can check out his full interview here.
Cody Rhodes Wants To Know About Independent Wrestlers
After we exclusively reported about it, new signs are emerging regularly, and they are all pointing towards the rise of a new wrestling promotions involving some of the biggest names of the independent circuit.
One of these names is none other than a former WWE Star and one of the three promoters of ALL IN, Cody Rhodes and he is having fun with these reports until the official announcement.
Cody is currently out of action with an injury, but he is not letting the injury keep him out of headlines, and he is playing with all the reports about AEW with tweets such as this:
Curious
Who are some of the hottest male/female independent acts not signed anywhere?
This week’s episode of 205 Live saw the former NXT Star Hideo Itami returning to the show. He wrestled a match on the episode and defeated a local talent.
After the match, we also saw the return of Ariya Daivari and the two had a confrontation. Daivari then proceeded to beat down the local talent Itami had just defeated, and these events make it seem like Ariya and Hideo have formed a team.
It’s worth mentioning here that the local talent who was used for this segment was Levy Cruise. He also appeared on this week’s Raw as part of the conga line with No Way Jose.
It’s a known fact that Raw is considered the flagship show of the company by WWE Officials and its given preference over SmackDown Live in every aspect.
However, things are expected to change after SmackDown moves to Fox Network next year and it’s very likely that WWE will have to find a balance between both their shows once they are not on the same network.
One of the top changes we can expect to see is the equal distribution of star power on both the brands and it appears that this can start with a current champion moving to the Blue Branded show.
WrestlingInc is reporting that Fox officials want current Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey to move to SmackDown in 2019 when the show debuts on the network.
The Network believes that Rousey’s MMA background, popularity, and credibility as an athlete will be a selling point for the Blue Branded Show.
These reports are in line with the previous update which said that Fox wants SmackDown to be more athletically oriented as part of their sports block.
Though it’s worth mentioning here that originally Ronda Rousey didn’t intend to stay with WWE for very long. She has stated many times that she wants to start a family soon and her contract is designed keeping that in mind.
So before making any such plans with Rousey in mind, WWE will first have to confirm what her long-term status with the company is and whether or not she actually intends to stay with them by the time these changes take place.
The Mighty Attacked Burch & Lorcan After Another Loss
Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan faced The Mighty (Shane Thorne & Nick Miller) tonight on WWE NXT. Burch and Lorcan started off the match in control and isolated Thorne in the corner. They focused their attack on Thorne’s injured shoulder but eventually Shane was able to battle back and tag in Nick Miller.
Lorcan rolled up Miller for a two count and then transitioned into a Half Crag. Thorne tried to break it up but Burch got in the ring and locked him in a Crossface. Miller and Thorne retreated out of the ring to regroup. Thorne provided a distraction and Miller capitalized by attacking Lorcan from behind and then sent him to the corner.
Thorne tagged back in and taunted the San Jose crowd. Shane got in a couple more shots on Lorcan and followed it up with a Clothesline for a two count. Oney tried to battle back but Thorne ended his momentum with a devastating uppercut. Thorne applied a Headlock as Burch tried to rally his partner from the apron.
Oney escaped and leaped across the ring to tag in Burch and Danny came into the ring and cleaned house. Burch launched The Mighty all over the ring and followed it up with a Dropkick off the middle turnbuckle to Thorne. Lorcan tagged back in but Nick Miller shoved him into Burch.
Miller tackled Burch out of the ring as Thorne connected with an uppercut to Lorcan’s jaw. Thorne followed it up with an impressive Dropkick to Lorcan’s face and both Superstars fell to the canvas. The crowd chanted “Oney!” as Lorcan climbed back to his feet. Lorcan connected with a Suplex that sent Thorne out of the ring.
Lorcan dove through the ropes and landed on both members of The Mighty. Back in the ring, Burch climbed to the top rope but Thorne shoved Lorcan into the ropes and Burch fell onto the top turnbuckle.
Lorcan was still able to pull out the victory by rolling up Miller. After the match, The Mighty got pissed off and attacked Burch and Lorcan from behind as the crowd booed. The Mighty slammed Lorcan into the steel ring post and the crowd responded by loudly chanting “you still suck!”.
EC3 Called Out Bobby Fish
EC3 squared off against Marcel Barthel on this week’s episode of NXT. “The Impeccable German” Marcel Barthel came down to the ring with his epic entrance and the match started off with the two Superstars locking up in the middle of the ring.
EC3 shoved Barthel across the ring and shouted “we’ve got a fight!”. Marcel then shoved EC3 and shouted “nein!”. EC3 responded by yelling “one!” and then locked in a Headlock. Marcel broke the hold by driving EC3 to the corner and hitting him with an Enziguri to his face.
Barthel stomped on EC3 , draped across the ropes and sent him to the apron with a running Dropkick. Marcel posed on the turnbuckle to a chorus of boos and then crowd transitioned into a “USA!” chant.
Marcel slammed EC3 to the mat and quickly applied a Headlock. EC3 battled to his feet but Barthel transitioned into a standing Arm Bar. EC3 launched Barthel into the turnbuckle and unloaded a flurry of punches to Marcel’s face.
EC3 followed it up with a Body Slam and an Elbow Drop. EC3 lifted Barthel up onto his shoulders and planted him with the One Percenter for the pinfall victory. After his victory, EC3 cut a promo on Bobby Fish and said that he didn’t finish the job when he tried to take him out on a previous episode of NXT. EC3 stated that he is coming after Fish because he is vindictive and wants revenge.
"I am coming for your head, your knees and EVERYTHING in between…"
Vanessa Borne battled Mia Yim on tonight’s show. The crowd was heavily behind Yim as the two Superstars circled each other in the ring. Mia wanted a handshake before the match but Borne opted to slap Yim in the face instead.
Yim got fired up and connected with a couple of Arm Drags before locking in an Arm Bar. Vanessa broke the hold by throwing Yim to the mat by her hair. Mia went after Borne as she desperately held onto the ring skirt. The referee became distracted by this and Borne capitalized with a poke to Mia’s eye.
Borne stomped on Yim in the corner and then bounced her face off the second turnbuckle. Borne followed it up with a Bronco Buster and called Yim pathetic as she crawled across the ring. Vanessa clubbed Yim in the back and followed it up with a Suplex for a near fall.
Vanessa applied a Headlock in the center of the ring as the crowd rallied behind Yim. Borne stomped on Yim once again and told the crowd to cheer for her. Yim tackled Borne to the mat and locked in another Arm Bar but Borne reached the bottom rope to break the hold.
Borne tripped Mia up and sent her to the corner. Yim locked in the Tarantula on the top rope and broke the hold before the ref counted to five. Mia hit a Dropkick and then a second one that sent Vanessa to the corner. Yim followed it up with running kick and then the Eat Defeat for the pinfall victory.
Kairi Sane, Dakota Kai, and Io Shirai backstage about what went down at NXT TakeOver: WarGames II. Sane lost her title rematch in a 2 out 3 Falls match against Shayna Baszler at the event. Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir interfered in the match, which led to Shirai and Kai running down to the ring to help out Sane. Baszler picked up the win by countering an Insane Elbow into a roll-up. Sane’s shoulders were off the mat but the referee didn’t catch it.
Sane stated that the referee’s decision was final in the interview tonight but added that she wasn’t done with Shayna Baszler. Kai stated that she simply doesn’t like Baszler for the way she treated her in the past. Shirai chimed in and said that Sane was her best friend and will fight with her. Sane, Shirai, and Kai then challenged Baszler, Duke, and Shafir to a fight.
Lars Sullivan and Keith Lee battled in the main event of this week’s episode of NXT. Sullivan drove Lee to the corner and shouted “this is Lars Sullivan territory!”. Lee showed off his strength and shoved Lars away but Sullivan responded with a massive shoulder tackle.
Lee responded with a Crossbody and went for the cover but Sullivan kicked out at one. Sullivan connected with a boot to Lee’s face and drove him back to the corner of the ring. Lars clubbed Lee across the chest and then drove his shoulder into Lee’s midsection. Sullivan picked up Lee with ease and launched him across the ring for a one count.
Sullivan connected with a Clothesline and followed it up with a headbutt off the middle turnbuckle for a two count. The crowd got behind Lee as Lars hit him with a few forearms to the face. Lars applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring and then clubbed him back to the canvas.
Lee fought back and tried to get Sullivan off him but Lars held onto a Bear Hug. Lee broke the hold by slamming Sullivan into the turnbuckle but Lars went right back to it. Lars shoved Lee to the corner and hit him with a gigantic Splash. Lars charged at Lee in the corner but Keith leaped over him and Sullivan crashed into the ring post.
Keith Lee blasted Sullivan in the face with a flurry of strikes. Lee bounced Sullivan’s face off the top turnbuckle and followed it up with a Crossbody for a near fall. Sullivan and Lee traded shots in the middle of the ring. Lee shoulder tackled Lars out of the ring and leaped onto him in an impressive fashion.
Lee rolled Sullivan back into the ring and went for the cover but Lars kicked out. Keith Lee went for a Moonsault off the second rope but Sullivan got out of the way and Lee crashed to the mat. Lars powerfully lifted him up and slammed him to the canvas with the Freak Accident for the pinfall victory.
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry recently gave his take while on Busted Open Radio about how WWE officials should book Nia Jax after she punched SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch a few weeks on RAW during an invasion angle where she would cause Lynch to suffer from a broken nose and concussion.
Henry stated that he wants Nia to not smile but rather brag about how she did what she did and if anyone has a problem with that, do the same to them. Taz also thinks that he could see Jax punching a guy to do one of those mixed challenge matches. This is after segments with Elias and Nia’s pairing with Tamina.
He thinks that they should incorporate a male superstar alongside Jax in order to convince her of her new ‘Facebreaker’ gimmick. “She should be knocking out everyone on that Women’s roster with that fits. Everyone.” Henry noted that the current state of professional wrestling is not so much thinking about wrestling but rather thinking about entertaining too much. “I’m tired of seeing everybody cry when they get a** whooping. There’s no crying in wrestling.”
Ronda Rousey will defend the RAW Women’s Title against Nia Jax at the upcoming TLC pay-per-view event that takes place on Sunday, December 16th, 2018 in San Jose, California at the SAP Center and will air on the WWE Network.
Tyson Kidd not only reflected on his accomplishments in the WWE but also talked about his future with the company in his new role during a recent interview. The former WWE Tag Team Champion spoke with SLAM! Wrestling.
For those who may not remember, Kidd was seriously injured three years in a dark match prior to a RAW TV event with Samoa Joe after taking the muscle buster. He ended up getting C1-C2 spinal fusion surgery, and doctors said that there was a 95 percent chance of death. Thus, at the time, it was considered a life-threatening injury as well but now he’s moved on as a producer with the WWE. “The night of injury, it was just one of those days where the show was being changed — up to the last minute — but the show was being changed and the next thing I know it’s me against Joe in a dark match,” Kidd said. “I’d never worked Joe before. I’d of course seen him. I’m a student of the game, I’ve seen everybody. But I’d never physically worked him. When we landed on the Muscle Buster, I saw the whitest light I’ve ever seen. I thought it was a concussion for a second. I remember thinking, ‘Man, I did this whole match, completely on the fly, I pulled it off and then I get rocked at the end.'”
Kidd would continue by stating that he thinks his hands were in the wrong position for the finish and that’s what caused the injury. He noted that it felt like it weighed a million pounds and completely paralyzed.
He recalled being airlifted a couple of days later from San Antonio to Tampa and the best doctor ended up being in Tampa. Kidd brought up how WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was the person who came to him about how he would return to the company and thought Kidd would make a great producer for the company. “That was his idea. He thought I’d be good at it or I could get good at it,” Kidd said. “(McMahon) said to me, ‘You’ll be like me.’ “ “I didn’t know if I’d be good at it and I didn’t know what all it entailed. I didn’t know if I would get any real fulfillment out of it. But right off the bat, maybe two weeks in, I was a part of a battle royal and I had an idea that Tye Dillinger would be one of the last three guys. I thought his ’10’ stuff was getting over and I thought it would be good and he could have a good showing.”
Kidd added that “I love my job. I’ve been doing this now almost a year and a half and I haven’t taken a week off yet.”
Punishment Martinez has made his television debut on the WWE NXT brand. Back in October, it was announced that the former Ring of Honor TV Champion had signed with the company.
He lost to Matt Riddle in a singles match at Wednesday’s NXT TV tapings Winter Park, FL at Full Sail University. This episode is expected to air next month on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network. He made his in-ring debut at an NXT live event back on November 3, 2018.
If you recall, Martinez finished up with ROH at the TV tapings on September 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Orleans Arena, which was the first batch of episodes taped since their Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view event. Martinez was saying his goodbyes to the locker room as this was his final scheduled date for the company. It was noted at the time in reports that he opted not to sign a new deal with the promotion as he wanted to be free going forward. Since then, he had been at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to begin training and eventually, be used on the NXT brand. For years now, once Triple H signs an independent star to a developmental deal to use them on the yellow brand he would have them sitting at ringside for NXT specials. It appears that Martinez might be no different considering that the next special is coming up next month.
We will have full spoilers from the tapings later tonight.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW from Milwaukee, WI at the Fiserv Forum averaged 2.369 million viewers, down from 2.493 million the previous week. Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
Hour 1: 2.612 million viewers
Hour 2: 2.382 million viewers
Hour 3: 2.111 million viewers
RAW had some notable moments including appearances by RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey as well as Dean Ambrose and Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley vs. Elias, AOP (Akam & Rezar) vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable to retain the RAW Tag Team Titles, Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler to retain the Intercontinental Title, and Baron Corbin & Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor serving as the main event of this show.
WWE also hyped TLC and the matches taking place at that show. WWE will attempt to continue to increase viewership next week. In case you missed the show, you can check out the results here.
Despite WWE putting some together some intriguing segments for the show, this episode faced some heavy competition. The show had to go up against ESPN which was averaging 9.735 million viewers for the Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans game as well as Big Bang Theory on CBS in hour one.
Watch: Top 10 Moments from Monday’s RAW (11.26.18)
Last night on Smackdown, WWE proclaimed that Jeff Hardy is celebrating his 20th Anniversary with WWE this year. This is not entirely accurate, however, as Jeff is actually a little over 6 months away from his 25th Anniversary with the company.
In terms of his overall tenure in WWE, Jeff has been with the company for approximately 14 years. He’s had 3 different runs with the company from 94-03, 06-09, 17-present.
Jeff Hardy in WWE
A possible reason for why WWE decided to fudge Jeff’s anniversary statistics last night is the age he was when he started. Jeff’s first match with the promotion was a loss to Razor Ramon on Monday Night Raw taped on May 23rd, 1994. He was only 16-years-old at the time.
Jeff would wrestle 3 more times for WWE in 1994, losing to the 1-2-3 Kid, Jim Neidhart, and King Kong Bundy. Hardy would even get a win over Razor Ramon on an episode of Superstars in late 1995 after he had turned 18. The match would air in early 1996:
The Hardyz would receive their first WWE Tag Team Championship match against the Smoking Gunns on May 28th, 1996 on another episode of Superstars. By early 1997, the Hardyz were a regular part of WWE programming. Why WWE decided to tell their audience Jeff is celebrating his 20th Anniversary with the company in late 2018 was likely just to give Samoa Joe an excuse to interrupt his celebration and kick-start their rivalry.
Former WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss mentioned in a recent Twitter post on her official account that she was back in the ring at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday to continue to work towards returning to in-ring action.
She has been reportedly out of action with multiple concussions as of late. There’s still no word yet on when he’ll make her return or if she has been cleared by WWE doctors. She wrote, “Day 1 #WWEPerformanceCenter.”
Bliss was originally scheduled to face Trish Stratus and Lita in a tag match at the WWE Evolution pay-per-view event in October but was pulled after suffering a concussion just days before the show. Then, Bliss was revealed as the captain for Team RAW at Survivor Series in a non-wrestling capacity last week. Bliss hasn’t competed in a WWE ring for the past few weeks due to a concussion.
Despite Bliss not being allowed to wrestle, WWE officials have given her a new role on television. General Manager-Elect Baron Corbin put Bliss in charge of the red brand women’s division on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Milwaukee, WI at the Fiserv Forum on the USA Network.
You can’t see John Cena on the new season of Total Bellas.
WWE and the E! Network have announced Total Bellas is returning in January. Season 4 premieres on Sunday, January 13th at 9pm ET. For the first time since the show’s inception, John Cena will not be a regular cast member. In fact, one of the main storyline arcs of the upcoming season will be Nikki Bella’s return to the dating scene for the first time in nearly a decade. Sister Brie will play “matchmaker” for Nikki by setting her up with new potential love interests.
Other storylines advertised for the new season:
– The Bella Twins return to the ring with renewed focus and fervor to begin the road to WWE’s first-ever all women’s pay-per-view event, WWE Evolution.
– Brie and Bryan discuss expanding their family, but with both of them back to in-ring competition and away from Birdie, they must decide if now is the right time to add another baby into the mix.
– Nikki, seeking a change, spontaneously decides she wants to move to Los Angeles, but these plans are put on hold when WWE asks Brie and Nikki to compete at Evolution. Nikki decides to plant her roots in San Diego where she can train with Brie for WWE’s historic event.
– Brie and Bryan talk about trying for baby number two, but Brie has reservations she isn’t sharing with her husband.
Ronda Rousey can’t wait to get her hands on Charlotte Flair again. The path these two found to one another was certainly an interesting one. Rousey, the RAW Women’s Champion, was set to face SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at Survivor Series. However, due to Lynch’s broken nose and concussion, she was forced off the show.
As a result, Flair was selected to serve as Lynch’s replacement and represent SmackDown Live. Flair and Rousey actually put on a very competitive match, but for whatever reason, Flair decided to get herself disqualified. She pulled out a kendo stick and began to viciously attack Rousey with it. The following Monday on RAW, Rousey vowed to get her revenge on “The Queen” at some point.
It looks like Flair isn’t shying away from the challenge. She recently took to Twitter to issue out a message to “The Rowdy One.” Sharing a photo of her attack on Rousey at Survivor Series, Flair suggested she’s ready for “round two” with the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion:
“Whenever you are ready for round two, Ken and I will be waiting. @RondaRousey#TLC#Raw”
The XFL is set to kick off in 2020, and the league is finally beginning to take shape. McMahon made the announcement of the league’s revival earlier this year. McMahon said he and the XFL wanted to ‘reimagine’ football. Exactly what that means is unclear, however, talk of rule changes and shortening the game were mentioned.
With that being said, after the initial announcement of the league, and hiring former NFL star Oliver Luck as the league’s commissioner, not much news about the XFL has come out. Now, however, it appears the first city to receive a team for the 2020 league has been announced. Per a report from KSDK, St. Louis is the first city to be receiving an XFL team.
The remaining seven cities are expected to be announced next week. Up until 2015 St. Louis was the host city to the NFL’s Rams. However, they soon departed and opted to move to Los Angles instead. The report states St. Louis’ XFL team will play 10 regular season games, with five being played at the Dome at America’s Center.
McMahon has put quite a financial interest into the new venture and is expected to have paid half a billion dollars after the first three years of operations. “The Chairman of The Board” sold $100 million to fund the XFL’s parent company, Alpha Entertainment. Per an SEC filing, WWE is listed as a minority owner of the XFL.
What other cities do you think will be receiving XFL teams?
It looks like reports suggesting Matt Hardy is done inside the ring might have been premature. Following a run with Bray Wyatt as the RAW Tag Team Champions, Matt began a hiatus from WWE TV. He instead began working backstage in various roles, including working as an agent and producing matches. While Hardy is preparing for the next chapter of his career in the business, he hasn’t completely shut the door on competing.
Recently, Hardy responded to a Tweet presenting a fun fact about his career and Mr. Perfect’s. The Tweet suggested that Mr. Perfect’s last match in WWE was actually against Matt Hardy. In turn, Matt’s last match in the ring involved Perfect’s son, Curtis Axel. Hardy responded to the Tweet, saying he hasn’t wrestled his last match in WWE quite yet.
He attached some photos of his young sons, suggesting the history of Hardys facing Hennigs inside the ring will continue on further:
“My last @WWE match hasn’t happened yet, so this particular cycle shall be #BROKEN.. But I’m sure the DELIGHTFUL cycle of Hardys & Hennigs doing battle shall continue in the future.”
My last @WWE match hasn’t happened yet, so this particular cycle shall be #BROKEN.. But I’m sure the DELIGHTFUL cycle of Hardys & Hennigs doing battle shall continue in the future. pic.twitter.com/GY0ou5nLU2
Daniel Bryan wasn’t on Smackdown last night. Former WWE Champion AJ Styles remarked that perhaps Bryan has been watching Raw and was hoping to have a schedule which more closely resembles that of the Universal Champion’s. Styles also mentioned that Bryan was not on the WWE live event schedule this weekend either.
Bryan responded to Styles’ comments earlier today on Twitter:
The old Daniel Bryan wrestled 227 matches in a calendar year, much more than AJ has ever done in his career. Shortly thereafter he needed neck surgery. The New Daniel Bryan is above that sort of masochism. https://t.co/F0BLWGRsf8
“The old Daniel Bryan wrestled 227 matches in a calendar year, much more than AJ has ever done in his career. Shortly thereafter he needed neck surgery. The New Daniel Bryan is above that sort of masochism.”
Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles at TLC
Styles mentioned on Smackdown last night that he was not medically cleared to compete at Survivor Series or on Smackdown last week due to injuries suffered during Bryan’s post-match attack. Not long after losing the WWE Championship, however, Styles posted the following to Twitter:
The thing about being a real Champion, a reigning, DEFENDING champion is that any day someone can beat you. But holding the title is more than just wins and losses, it’s about who you are as a man. Daniel showed us that last night. And the receipt is coming. #SDLivepic.twitter.com/m99WvL1JpJ
“The thing about being a real Champion, a reigning, DEFENDING champion is that any day someone can beat you. But holding the title is more than just wins and losses, it’s about who you are as a man. Daniel showed us that last night. And the receipt is coming. #SDLive”
AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan Head-To-Head Stats
Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles have met in single’s action 8 times, 3 in WWE, 3 in ROH, 1 in PWG, and once for IWA Mid-South. Outside of WWE, Styles leads the series 3-2. In WWE, they are tied at 1-1-1.
Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles teamed up against Samoa Joe and Randy Orton in the dark main event after Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown Live went off the air on the USA Network in Minneapolis, MN at the Target Center. Hardy pinned Joe to send the crowd home happy.
The televised main event featured the Women’s battle royal, which was won by Asuka, who earned her way into the triple threat match for the SmackDown Women’s Title at TLC. You can see a photo from the dark main event here:
An interesting stat about WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey has surfaced online. She has held the title for 100 straight days and now joins Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair as those who have held this title for 100 or more consecutive days.
Today, @RondaRousey reaches 100 straight days as the @WWE #RAW Women’s Champion. Rousey joins @AlexaBliss_WWE and @MsCharlotteWWE as Superstars who have held this title for 100 or more consecutive days.
Rousey is slated to make her next title defense against Nia Jax at the TLC pay-per-view event that takes place on Sunday, December 16th, 2018 in San Jose, California at the SAP Center.
Prior to interviewing fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ric flair on a recent episode of his podcast, Steve Austin pitched his case as to why Ric Flair should be considered the greatest of all time [GOAT] in the world of pro wrestling.
The former WWE Champion stated that if you know anything about professional wrestling, you know about Flair. “If you have any common sense, Ric Flair is the greatest professional wrestler that ever lived.”
He continued by stating that when you look at his body of work, all of the world title defenses, promos and in-ring skills, then everyone should know that Flair is the man. Austin stated that he tried to basically pattern the beginning part of his career after Flair, which is a sign of how big of an influence he was on Austin.
He sees Flair to be one of the toughest men he’s ever met in his life due to all of the spots that he has done and living the lifestyle that Flair had then he was burning the candle at so many ends and what a glorious career he had. He brought up how Flair did that for nearly 40 years.
Austin brought up how there shouldn’t be any discussion of how good Flair is. “Yeah, he is that good. He’s the greatest to have ever done it.”
The WWE Network will present an episode of 205 Live and NXT tonight. 205 Live could get moved back to their live Tuesday night timeslot next month, however, as the Mixed Match Challenge is scheduled to finish at the TLC PPV.
NXT 11/28 Preview
Tonight’s episode of NXT was filmed at a San Jose house show on the 15th. WWE will be back in San Jose next month for TLC.
Keith Lee vs Lars Sullivan
A battle of heavyweights tonight. Sullivan is main roster-bound but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll lose to Lee tonight. Lee is someone who could have a big future ahead of him in NXT and WWE as well so it’ll be interesting to see who comes out looking stronger in this clash tonight.
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs the Mighty
The NXT tag-team division will see Burch and Lorcan take on Australia’s the Mighty tonight. The Mighty have seen better results since they started breaking the rules but tonight they’ll be in tough against the hard-nosed team of Burch and Lorcan.
EC3 vs Marcel Barthel
EC3 could use a win after being bounced out of title contention before the last Takeover. He was also the target of an attack by the Undisputed Era which took him out of action for a few weeks. You can’t keep the top 1% down for long, however, and EC3 starts his road back to the top of the men’s singles division tonight.
Mia Yim vs Vanessa Borne
Mia Yim took a loss to Bianca Belair her last match out. In fairness, only Nikki Cross has faced Belair in NXT and managed to avoid taking a loss. Vanessa Borne has been progressing as of late, however, and won’t let Mia Yim get back in the win column so easily.
205 Live 11/28 Preview
Hideo Itami Returns
Hideo Itami has not wrestled since being defeated by Mustafa Ali in a Falls Count Anywhere match to blow-off their rivalry. Itami will be in single’s action tonight but his opponent has yet to be named, likely meaning they are enhancement talent.
Mustafa Ali & Cedric Alexander vs Tony Nese & Buddy Murphy
Things are tight atop the Cruiserweight division at the moment. Murphy’s reign as champ has included just the one title defense against Mustafa Ali thus far but a new challenger could emerge in this match here. Alexander has never received a rematch from his loss to Murphy in Australia and Alexander had previously defeated Murphy in a title defense as well. Their trilogy bout could be upcoming. On the other hand, Tony Nese recently defeated Alexander, so he could be in line for a shot at his training partner’s belt.
Former WWE Superstar and Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura spoke to TMZ Sports this week and had some newsworthy things to say about his future in pro wrestling and politics.
It’s been rumored that WrestleMania 36 will take place from Ventura’s home town of Minneapolis. The 66-year-old said he’s in great physical shape and teased that he could be part of WrestleMania one more time.
“I’m just telling you I’m in fighting shape,” Ventura said as he pulled up his shirt and showed off his abs. WWE has yet to announce which city will host WrestleMania in 2020, but Ventura says the company will bring the show to Minneapolis “if they’re smart.”
“I ain’t saying I am [wrestling again] but I’m just saying [WrestleMania] is in Minneapolis,” Ventura said. “If they were smart, if they’re smart, I’m not saying they’re smart.”
Ventura vs. Trump?
Jesse Ventura isn’t ruling out a Presidential run in 2020, either. In fact, Ventura said if he does run, President Trump won’t have a chance against him.
“If I do do it, Trump will not have a chance,” Ventura said. “For one, Trump knows wrestling. He participated in two Wrestlemanias. He knows he can never out-talk a wrestler, and he knows I’m the greatest talker wrestling’s ever had.”
Ventura also mentioned in the video he is getting a lot of interest from the Green Party about possibly running for President. His main points of focus are renewable energy and cannabis legalization.
