=====================================================================
TO UNSUBSCRIBE : mailto:wrestling-online+unsubscribe@groups.io
=====================================================================

_ _____ ___ ___ _____ _ ___ _ _ ___
\ \ / / _ \ __/ __|_ _| | |_ _| \| |/ __|
\ \/\/ /| / _|\__ \ | | | |__ | || .` | (_ |
\_/\_/ |_|_\___|___/ |_| |____|___|_|\_|\___|
___ _ _ _ ___ _ _ ___
/ _ \| \| | | |_ _| \| | __|
| (_) | .` | |__ | || .` | _|
\___/|_|\_|____|___|_|\_|___|
_ _ _____ _____ _ ___ _____ _____ ___ ___
| \| | __\ \ / / __| | | __|_ _|_ _| __| _ \
| .` | _| \ \/\/ /\__ \ |__| _| | | | | | _|| /
|_|\_|___| \_/\_/ |___/____|___| |_| |_| |___|_|_\


====================================================
Thursday, December 19, 2024 Issue #7436
====================================================
Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Have a good one guys, back tomorrow.


========================================================


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

WBD ANNOUNCES FULL DETAILS OF AEW LIBRARY ON MAX

- Warner Bros. Discovery and All Elite Wrestling today announced details about the start of their new multi-platform media rights agreement that will provide fans with the widest available access ever to AEWs most popular programming. Starting Wednesday, January 1, 2025, WBD's networks and platforms will remain the exclusive home of AEW Dynamite (Wednesdays on TBS) and AEW Collision (Saturdays on TNT), and will also, for the first time, stream those programs live for Max subscribers in the U.S. WBD and AEW will ring in the new year, and the new agreement, with AEW Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen on TBS & Max at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 1, 2025 from Asheville, North Carolina. Fans will witness the aftermath of AEWs World End in a special New Year's Day event that will benefit victims of Hurricane Helene, which severely impacted the Asheville area in Sept. 2024. On Saturday, January 4 at 8 p.m., TNT and Max keep the high-flying action going with AEW Collision, emanating live from Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. All live AEW programming airing on WBD's networks will also be available to stream on Max and on demand after their live broadcast. Additionally, AEW Dynamite, AEW Collision, AEW Rampage and all AEW pay-per-view library content through the end of 2024, representing more than 700 hours of AEW action, will be made available on Max on a rolling basis. At launch, all AEW Dynamite episodes and pay-per-views from the company's inaugural 2019 year will be available, as well as more than two months of the most recent AEW programming that aired across WBD's networks (select episodes will be made available shortly after launch). As previously announced, AEW and WBD will also collaborate to distribute AEW live pay- per-view events on Max, with all marketing and promotions of those PPV events exclusively centered on Max. AEW PPV distribution on Max will begin later in 2025, with additional information and pricing to be shared in the coming months.

FTR SAY THEY WILL NOT COME ALONE FOR JANUARY 1 DYNAMITE

- Former AEW Tag Team champions FTR hinted last night on Dynamite that they're not coming to the Dynamite Fight For The Fallen episode alone and will have backup. The themed episode of Dynamite will air live from Asheville, North Carolina, the home of FTR. It will also be the first episode which will be simulcast on Max. FTR will be coming to get revenge on the Death Riders and while they're currently not cleared the compete due to the the backstage attack from last weekend, the duo will definitely be showing up in their hometown and not coming alone. The tease is for former TNT champion Adam Copeland, who was recently cleared to return to action following a broken foot. Copeland also lives in the area and is big friends with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler. The event will benefit victims of Hurricane Helene, which severely impacted the Asheville area in September.

CONTINENTAL CLASSIC UPDATE

- Two Continental Classic matches took place last night on Dynamite as the tournament is nearing its end. In the blue league, Shelton Benjamin of The Hurt Business defeated The Beast Mortos to get three points and move to six while Mortos remains with zero points along with Komander from the gold league. In the gold league, Darby Allin defeated Will Ospreay to get his three points and now the gold league has four stars - Ospreay, Ricochet, Claudio Castagnoli, and Allin - all with six points each. The action continues Friday on Rampage with Komander vs Brody King from the blue league and then on Saturday on Collision with Allin vs Castagnoli and Ospreay vs Ricochet from the gold league and Mark Briscoe vs The Beast Mortos and Daniel Garcia vs Shelton Benjamin from the blue league.

RAW RATING

- Facing an NFL double header on Monday, Raw drew 1,533,000 viewers this week, up 148,000 viewers from the previous week. The show started with 1,554,000 viewers in the first hour and then decreased slightly to 1,512,000 viewers in the second hour. The two NFL games on ABC and ESPN had a 17.8 million combined audience. In 18-49, Raw had a 0.475 rating, up 0.04 from last week's show and was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and #4 in all of television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

VENTURA PRAISES WWE'S BACKSTAGE ENVIRONMENT

- Writing just days after his return to WWE at Saturday Night's Main Event, Jesse "The Body" Ventura said it was "truly an honor" to come back home to WWE and it was an incredible feeling to return to the place where his career began. Ventura said that the biggest change he saw was the energy and vibe backstage. "You don’t feel a battle of ego’s like you often did back in my day," Ventura said. "From the executive level to the locker room level you instead feel a very strong sense of teamwork and creativity. Everyone is running in the same direction. Fueled by a desire to see everyone succeed, not just themselves." The WWE Hall of Famer heaped praise on Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Nick Khan for creating an environment which Ventura said he has never seen before in the world of professional wrestling.

MORGAN VS RIPLEY OFFICIAL FOR RAW ON NETFLIX

- Another huge match was announced for the Raw on Netflix premiere episode on January 6, with Liv Morgan defending her Women's World title against Rhea Ripley. The announcement came from Raw General Manager Adam Pearce at yesterday's Raw on Netflix Kickoff event which was held at the new, state-of-the-art WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Both women were in attendance for the event, an event which saw fans being welcomed inside the WWE Headquarters for the first time ever. This is the third match announced for the show so far, with Roman Reigns vs Solo Sikoa in a tribal combat rules match and Seth Rollins vs CM Punk.

LOGAN PAUL JOINS RAW ROSTER

- Logan Paul was unveiled as the newest member of the Raw roster yesterday at the Raw on Netflix Kickoff event by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce. Paul was making his first WWE appearance since losing the United States title against LA Knight at SummerSlam a few months ago. Coming out on stage, Paul said that the WWE product is amazing and incredible right now and getting to watch his peers wrestle every week made him realize...how much better he really is than everyone else! Paul said that he will stay humble but he's the best athlete and was the greatest United States champion ever, with all his matches being a banger. "Think about it. Mike Tyson wants to fight me, Conor McGregor wants to fight me. Of course they do...a payday with a Paul brother is a bucket list item for most all of these washed up fighters," Logan continued. Paul closed off with a warning to WWE Superstars on the roster, saying that if they have something that he wants, he's going to take it, and he's not going to ask for permission, he's simply going to take it from them. Last week, Paul said on his Impaulsive podcast that he's retired from WWE and would not be at WrestleMania 41, obviously a way to keep his appearance as a surprise.

NXT RATING

- NXT this week drew 708,000 viewers, up 28,000 viewers from the previous week and the highest since October 8, which was the second episode of NXT on CW. The show had a 0.16 rating in 18-49, down 0.01 from the previous show. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

NY TIMES SAYS WWE'S LEE FITTING WAS FIRED FROM ESPN OVER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

- In a blockbuster article by The New York Times it was revealed that current WWE's Head of Media & Production, Lee Fitting, was fired from his ESPN job after years of sexual misconduct. Fitting was ESPN's Senior Vice President of Production for 25 years before joining WWE in the beginning of the year. The New York Times reached out to 20 women, including six which brought forward their complaints to ESPN's HR department. An investigation into Fitting's allegations led to his firing from the Disney company. WWE and TKO Group did not provide any comments to The New York Times while a spokesman for Fitting denied most of the allegations while ignoring some other allegations in the story. The story comes at an awkward time for the company as it's going through the Janel Grant lawsuit, with sexual allegations against former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and the company itself. The full investigative story can be read at https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6000968/2024/12/18/lee-fitting-espn-college-gameday-allegations/

JANEL GRANT'S PR TEAM POUNCES ON WWE AFTER LEE FITTING STORY

- Following yesterday's New York Times story on Lee Fitting, who is now WWE's Head of Media & Production, Janel Grant's legal and PR team kicked into gear to advance their case against the company, which is a plaintiff in their lawsuit which also includes Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis. The New York Times revealed that Fitting was fired from ESPN after 25 years after years of sexual misconduct, with the investigative team interviewing 20 women during his time with the Disney company. "How can WWE claim they are committed to improving the company's culture, and at the same time, hire a man earlier this year who was accused of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment in his previous role?" wrote Grant spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff-Lamy in a statement. "The allegations against Lee Fitting during his time at ESPN are extremely concerning. Revelations like this are why Janel Grant's lawyers sent a letter to WWE and Endeavor, urging them to release all current and former employees from their NDAs," Barkoff-Lamy continued. She said that the same "old boys club" who enabled Janel Grant's abuse are continuing to put alleged predators in leadership roles, urging for this pattern to change once and for all! WWE and TKO did not make any comments after Fitting's story was published.


========================================================
ADVERTISING: http://www.wrestling-online.com/advertising
(C) Copyright 1996-2024 Wrestling-Online.com
========================================================