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Friday, December 27, 2024 Issue #7443
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Last episode of Rampage tonight. Kinda crazy to think CM Punk made his debut on this show and now a few years later, it's over!


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

AEW BIDS FAREWELL TO RAMPAGE TONIGHT

- After a total of 177 episodes, Rampage is bidding farewell tonight with its final episode as the show was not picked up as part of the latest AEW media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. The show launched on August 13 2021, four months after AEW announced Rampage as its second weekly show which would air on Friday nights at 10PM ET. Its debut came from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with 740,000 fans watching live with a main event of Kenny Omega vs Christian Cage for the Impact World title. But perhaps its biggest episode was the following week, titled The First Dance, which saw the return of CM Punk at a sold out United Center in Chicago. 1.12 million fans tuned in and that was the only time the show did over a million viewers. Unfortunately over the years, ratings for Rampage took a nose dive and AEW started treating it more as a filler, rather than putting must-see matches. In its debut year, the show averaged 608,429 viewers and a 0.25 rating in 18-49. In 2022, it dropped to an average of 463,519 weekly viewers and a 0.15 rating in 18-49. 2023 was even worse, with average of 377,385 throughout the year and a 0.11 rating in 18-49. Excluding tonight's final episode, the 2024 average dropped to 297,667 viewers and a 0.10 rating in 18-49, with the show doing record lows this year alone. While Punk's episode in 2021 was the most-watched of the entire series, the November 1, 2024 episode will hold the record of the least-watched Rampage ever, with just 172,000 viewers tuning in and a 0.05 rating in 18-49.

FINAL RAMPAGE CARD

- Rampage's final show will air tonight at 10PM ET on TNT, a broadcast which was taped last weekend at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The New Year's Smash themed episode will feature four matches, with ROH champion Chris Jericho vs Anthony Bowens, AEW Tag Team champions Private Party vs Leo Sparrow and Alec Quest, Thunder Rosa vs Leila Grey, and Hook vs Nick Wayne. This is the 177th episode of the Rampage series and after tonight, AEW will go back to two shows - Dynamite and Collision - unless another one is announced in the new year.

ROCK 'N' ROLL EXPRESS RETURNING TO AEW FOR TWO SHOWS

- AEW today announced that Hall of Famers Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson of the Rock 'n' Roll Express will be appearing at two upcoming television shows in January. The duo will be showing up at the Collision on January 4 live from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Dynamite on January 22 live from the Knoxville Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. This will not be their first time on AEW television as the former champions have already appeared in the past, doing angles with Santana and Ortiz and FTR several years ago. They still occasionally wrestle on the indie circuit and make regular appearances at fan conventions.

NXT RATING

- The taped Christmas Eve episode of NXT this week drew 723,000 viewers, up 15,000 viewers from last week's broadcast and the highest since October 8 which was the second NXT on CW with Randy Orton on the show. In 18-49 however, the rating continues to trend downward with a 0.14, down 0.02 from the prior week, signifying an older audience watching. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)

NXT'S ARIANNA GRACE AND CHANNING LORENZO GET ENGAGED

- NXT stars Arianna Grace and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo announced their engagement today after a trip to Paris, France. Lorenzo proposed to Grace in front of the Eiffel Tower where a large heart with roses and candles served as the backdrop in front of the iconic monument. "Yes to forever. Last night was so perfect, and I am so in love. Excited to share… we are engaged!!!!!!!! Woooohoooo," she wrote on Instagram. Grace and Lorenzo, both 27, were the second WWE couple to announce their engagement this week after Maxxine Dupri and Anthony Luke. Grace is the daughter of former WWE Superstar Santino Marella who is currently working with TNA Wrestling.

CM PUNK SAVES DAMIAN PRIEST IN SHOWER CAP AND TOWEL AT MSG

- Fans at Madison Square Garden last night were treated to some comedic relief thanks to CM Punk in a towel. Dominik Mysterio and Ludwig Kaiser jumped Damian Priest in the steel cage after the main event of the show which saw Gunther retain the WWE World Heavyweight title against Priest. That did not last long though as CM Punk's Cult of Personality hit the speakers for the third time on the night, and Punk sprinted out barefoot in a towel and shower cap much to the amusement of everyone. Punk took down both Kaiser and Mysterio but the two eventually go the upper hand and went for a double clothesline, only for Punk to hit the brakes as he hit the ropes and Priest delivered one of his own. After the dust cleared, Punk put over Priest and said that Priest grew up in New York watching wrestling here and now he got to main event The Garden. Earlier, Punk defeated Kaiser in a rare non-televised match and he also had a nod to John Cena, doing several of his moves during his comeback. Last year in the same show, Punk wrestled Mysterio in his first match back with the company. You can see the funny segment at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/cm-punk-comes-out-in-a-towel-and-shower-cap-to-save-priest-at-msg/.

WWE RETURNING TO MSG FOR LIVE RAW ON MARCH 10

- WWE Raw will return to Madison Square Garden on Monday, March 10 for the first time in three years as the road to WrestleMania goes through New York City. The announcement was made yesterday during the annual Boxing Day WWE non-televised live event at The Garden. Tickets go on pre-sale on Wednesday, January 10 at 10AM using the code SOCIAL and they go on general sale on Friday, January 12 at 10AM as well through Ticketmaster.com. WWE avoids running The Garden for a variety of reasons, but the biggest one is costs that come along with it and using specific staff as dictated by MSG.

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