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Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Issue #7435
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Okay, well, I came back earlier than I thought and there was quite a bit of news today so here we go...

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//->> NEWS FROM THE WRESTLING-ONLINE NEWSWIRE
Web version at http://www.wrestling-online.com/

NXT TITLE MATCH ENDS IN DOUBLE PIN

- The NXT title match last night between champion Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe ended with no real winner as both stars were pinned by each other with two different referees making the three-count. With one referee out after a bump, a second referee joined the fray and when the champ hit his finisher, the Trick Shot, the first referee came to his senses and went for the pin...along with the second referee in the ring. Williams dropped on Thorpe but landed with both his shoulders on the mat too. One ref counted to three for Williams but the other referee simultaneously counted to three for Thorpe, who had his arm on Williams' body. Thorpe's right leg was under the rope, which supposed to mean a break in the count, but that did not seem like it had any effect on the planned finish. NXT went off the air with everyone arguing and NXT GM Ava trying to calm things down. After the show went off the air, Ava declared Williams still NXT champion. That did not sit down well with Thorpe, who got in Ava's face. That led to Shawn Michaels coming out at ringside as well and Thorpe got in HBK's face and shoved him as well. Thorpe was eventually escorted to the back after Williams took care of business. You can see the match and finish at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/nxt-title-match-main-event-ends-with-double-pin/.

ETHAN PAGE RECREATES SHAWN MICHAELS' "I LOST MY SMILE" SPEECH

- Ethan Page recreated the Shawn Michaels "I lost my smile" speech from the same building where HBK delivered it originally in 1997 at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts last night on NXT. But it was all a setup and Je'Von Evans found out the hard way what Page is really made out of. Page, who has been on a bit of a losing streak lately, cut a great promo in the ring, mentioning that all he wanted to do is provide for his family. A somber Page then said that he lost his smile, before he was interrupted by Je'Von Evans. Evans said that everyone wanted to see the real Page and said that he was proud of him, and NXT was proud of him too. An emotional Page responded saying that Evans was right, and now everything is clear for him...he should not be worried about losing his smile, but rather, he should worry about taking Evans' smile. At that point, Page whacked Evans with the mic as the crowd went crazy, realizing they fell for Page's ruse. Page then got a chair, wrapped it around Evans' head and he jumped on the chair as he screamed, "You want the real me? This is the real me?" As soon as Page jumped on the chair, Evans spit out blood everywhere in perfect sync, making it a fantastic shot. Officials quickly hit the ring and the show went to commercials. You can see what happened at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/ethan-page-recreates-the-shawn-michaels-i-lost-my-smile-speech-with-a-twist/.

KEVIN OWENS PROCLAIMS HIMSELF AS THE TRUE WWE CHAMPION

- Kevin Owens has proclaimed himself to be the "true" WWE champion and it seems that the angle stealing the title at the end of Saturday Night's Main Event will continue heading at least in the next couple of weeks. "I am proud to officially announce that I will be competing in my first matches as your new, true WWE Champion on this year’s Holiday loop starting in Jacksonville on the 26th, followed by 3 more shows in Florida and then one in Detroit for some reason," Owens wrote on social media. "Be there to witness history! Oh, the Raw crew has shows too. Whatever." Owens copy and pasted his head on Cody Rhodes' body in the WWE tickets graphic and added a bad edit of the WWE Winged Eagle championship on his shoulder. Owens laid out Rhodes after SNME went off the air with a package piledriver, took the WWE title, and then had an altercation with Triple H on the way back.

TONY D'ANGELO CAST IN CW SERIES

- NXT star and North American champion Tony D'Angelo has been cast in season two of the television show Wild Cards on The CW. The show follows a cop, played by Giacomo Gianniotti, and a conwoman, played by Vanessa Morgan, who have no other option but to join forces to solve crimes. Other stars announced for the show are Martin Sheen, Ally Shelly, Marie Avgeropoulos, and Katie Findlay. D'Angelo will play the character of Jaws, a "formidable and commanding criminal mastermind" according to Variety. The CW is the home of WWE NXT.

AXIOM TO WRESTLE AT INDIE SHOW IN SPAIN

- WWE NXT star Axiom will make a rare indie appearance when he returns to his home country of Spain in less than 10 days. Local promotion Tyris Wrestling announced that one half of the NXT Tag Team champions will be wrestling on their Snowball 30 event in Valencia on Saturday, December 28. The Madrid-born star formerly known as A-Kid has been part of the NXT roster since 2019, first with NXT UK and then moving to America. His opponent has not been named yet.

DYNAMITE PREVIEW

- Tonight's Dynamite is the Holiday Bash themed episode and is live from the nation's capital of Washington, DC. Five matches have been announced for the broadcast including the main event of Jon Moxley, PAC and Wheeler Yuta vs Hangman Page, Orange Cassidy and Jay White in a trios match, Mercedes Mone defends her TBS title against Anna Jay, Hook teams up with Katsuyori Shibata against Christian Cage and Nick Wayne, and two Continental Classic matches with Will Ospreay vs Darby Allin from the gold league and Shelton Benjamin vs The Beast Mortos in the blue league. Appearances from MJF and FTR have also been announced.

COLLISION TO AIR ON USA NETWORK IN CANADA

- Bell Media in Canada announced that its Discovery channel will be rebranded as USA Network on January 1 after a major content and licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution. The press release says that with the brand change, AEW Collision will be moving to Canada's USA Network from the TSN+ streaming service and will air live on Saturday nights. Dynamite will remain airing on TSN. USA Network is available to Canadians via a nationwide free preview, from January 1 to February 28, through participating service providers across the country.

COLLISION RATING

- Collision on Saturday drew 246,000 viewers, down 32,000 viewers from the previous week. The show had a 0.09 rating in 18-49, up 0.02 from the prior show so the audience skewed much younger with less viewers. This was the least-watched Collision in its regular Saturday time slot and went head-to-head with WWE's Saturday Night Main Event. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

SLAMMIVERSARY 2025 PRE-SALE KICKS OFF

- The pre-sale for the TNA Slammiversary 2025 pay-per-view at the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York, started yesterday morning on Ticketmaster.com using the code TNAUBS. The show will take place on July 20 and could be the biggest TNA audience in years if it sells good. Currently, the arena is configured to host just over 4,000 fans with the 200 and 300 levels closed off. The cheapest tickets are $44.65 while front row seats are $735.10 plus taxes and fees. This is fairly ambitious from TNA who is using a large arena for the first time in many, many years. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, December 20.

TNA STARS EXIT THE COMPANY

- A few stars from TNA have exited the company. TNA Hall of Famer Rhino worked his last tapings during the weekend and has said his goodbyes. Also working her last tapings in Atlanta was ring announcer Jade Chung, who has opted not to renew her deal according to PWInsider.com. Chung's husband, Josh Alexander, is also leaving the company in February 2025 and is rumored to be WWE-bound. Japanese star Kushida and British star Trent Seven have also departed the company.

ASH BY ELEGANCE GETS MARRIED IN MIAMI

- TNA star Ash by Elegance, real name Ashley Sebera, announced on social media that she got married on December 12 to Ulysses Diaz in Miami, Florida. "Tale as Old as Time. What a magical moment.. We truly are Beauty and the Beast! Our fairy tale is so pure & real...& our love was felt on 12/12/24," she wrote. The artist formerly known as Dana Brooke in WWE got engaged to the Cuban boxer in July 2021. This is her first marriage. Photos from her wedding can be seen at https://www.instagram.com/p/DDrs25rOMRd/

DWAYNE JOHNSON'S RED ONE MOVIE SMASHES AMAZON PRIME VIDEO RECORDS

- While it was not the biggest box office smash that they have hoped, The Rock's Red One movie has smashed the Amazon Prime Video records, with 50 million worldwide viewers in its first four days on Prime Video according to Deadline. That’s the most watched Amazon MGM Studios’ film ever on the service, besting Road House from March 21 which reached 50 million global viewers alone in its first two weekends. The movie opened in theaters nationwide on November 15 and was #1 for one weekend and was #6 last weekend. “Given the audience response to Red One both in theaters and on Prime Video, the film will clearly be a perennial holiday favorite for years to come,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios. “Every film is different, and we are so grateful for the partnership with our filmmakers in collectively finding the right strategy to get this film in front of the widest possible audience. With Red One, there was no doubt that strategy needed to include a theatrical release and associated marketing campaign, which drove audiences to theaters and generated awareness for the film with viewers who would ultimately tune in on Prime Video. It’s rewarding to see our plan pay off for customers, and we are incredibly thankful to the entire filmmaking team and cast who helped make it happen."


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