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====================================================
Monday, December 30, 2024 Issue #7446
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Not much going on today. Catch ya later.


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


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

LAST RAW ON USA NETWORK

- Tonight's Monday Night Raw will be the last one ever on USA Network as the show moves to Netflix starting from next week. The show, which made its debut on January 11, 1993, has always aired on USA Network apart from a five-year period between 2000-2005 when it moved to TNN/Spike TV. It moved back to USA Network in 2005. USA Network was the home of some incredible episodes of Raw, especially during the most important period during the Attitude Era. It has catapulted USA Network to the top of the cable chart for many, many years and its loss from the line-up will certainly be felt since it has constantly been the most-watched series on the cable network. But WWE is not ending its association with USA Network altogether as Smackdown remains on it for the next five years in a brand-new deal. Smackdown is also expanding to three hours starting from this Friday. Raw was originally supposed to end its USA Network run in October but the Netflix deal was not kicking in until January 6, ena
bling WWE and NBCUniversal to strike a separate, three-month deal worth $25 million to keep the red brand on USA. The show moved to two hours on October 7, ending its continuous three-hour broadcast after 12 years.

NEARLY 100,000 FANS ATTEND WWE HOLIDAY TOUR EVENTS

- Almost 100,000 fans were part of a very successful WWE Holiday Tour, a five-day, 10-event tour which will end tonight with the final two events. The tour kicked off on December 26 with over 12,000 fans at Madison Square Garden in New York and over 6,000 fans at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. On December 27 there were over 7,700 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and over 11,700 at Amalie Arena in Tampa for the live Smackdown on USA Network. December 28 had two shows more, with over 8,000 at the Kia Center in Orlando and over 8,300 at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. The Orlando house show out-drew the AEW Worlds End pay-per-view on the same day in the same city. On December 29, over 6,600 fans were at the Casey Center in Miami and then over 12,000 attended at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. It ends tonight with over 9,000 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and a sold out Toyota Center in Houston with over 14,500 expected. All attendance numbers are courtesy
of ticket tracking service @WrestleTix on X.

PUNK TAKES ON GUNTHER IN STEEL CAGE MATCH IN ROSEMONT

- Over 12,000 fans showed up at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois last night to witness CM Punk getting a WWE World Heavyweight title shot against Gunther inside a steel cage. This was Punk's first crack at a title since returning to WWE 13 months ago at the Survivor Series and it was the first Gunther vs Punk match ever as well. Unfortunately for the hometown boy, Gunther came out victorious thanks to the interference of Dominik Mysterio, who showed up just in time to slam the cage's door in Punk's face, blocking his exit and allowing Gunther to recover and walk out of the door. The match received rave reviews from fans in attendance and despite the ending which fans did not want to see, they still went home on a high due to the post-match antics. After the match, Dirty Dom was joined by Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Santos Escobar as they attacked Punk. Thankfully for Punk, Rey Mysterio, LA Knight, and Otis came out to save the day and the faces cleaned house.

RICKY STARKS APPEARS AT DEFY BLUEPRINT EVENT

- Ricky Starks, still exiled from AEW, showed up at the DEFY's Blueprint show yesterday night and had a stare down with Kenta. The show took place from the Washington Hall in Seattle, Washington and was headlined by Kenta defending his title against Schaff. The way this was set up suggests that Kenta and Starks will eventually meet each other in the promotion down the line. Starks has not been seen on AEW television since March and recently was pulled from an upcoming appearance with GCW. As a contracted AEW talent, he still has to clear his indie appearances with AEW so at least there seems to be at least communication between the two sides. AEW President Tony Khan has so far refused to answer why Starks has been kept off television or if he is coming back.

KONOSUKE TAKESHITA TO DEFEND AEW INTERNATIONAL TITLE AT WRESTLE KINGDOM

- AEW International champion Konosuke Takeshita could be pulling double duty this weekend wrestling on back-to-back days at the Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty events in Tokyo. New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that Takeshita will defend his AEW International title against Shingo Takagi and Takagi will put up his NEVER Openweight title on the line as well so this will be a title for title match. If Takeshita survives Takagi, he then has Tomohiro Ishii waiting for him the next night at Wrestle Dynasty, who will challenge for both titles whoever the champion might be.
Wrestle Kingdom takes place on January 4 while Wrestle Dynasty takes place on January 5, with the latter being the co-promoted show with AEW, ROH, CMLL, and Stardom. Both shows are at the Tokyo Dome.


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====================================================
Sunday, December 29, 2024 Issue #7445
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Nice to see Kenny Omega and Adam Copeland back. AEW sure can use them at the moment!


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


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

WORLDS END PPV RESULTS

- Here are the results from last night's Worlds End pay-per-view which took place from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida. ZERO HOUR: Toni Storm defeated Leila Grey; Jeff Jarrett defeated QT Marshall; Lio Rush, Action Andretti, and Murder Machines defeated The Outrunners and Top Flight in an eight-man tag team match. PPV: Will Ospreay defeated Kyle Fletcher in the Continental Classic semi final; Kazuchika Okada defeated Ricochet in the Continental Classic semi final; Mariah May defeated Thunder Rosa in a Tijuana Street Fight to retain the AEW Women's title; MJF defeated Adam Cole to retain the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring; Konosuke Takeshita defeated Powerhouse Hobbs to retain the AEW International title; Mercedes Mone defeated Kris Statlander to retain AEW TBS title; Kazuchika Okada defeated Will Ospreay in the Continental Classic final to retain the AEW Continental title; Jon Moxley defeated Orange Cassidy, "Hangman" Adam Page, and Jay White in a four-way match to retain
the AEW World title.

OKADA WINS THE CONTINENTAL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT

- Kazuchika Okada won the second Continental Classic tournament, retaining the title after a final match against Will Ospreay. Okada, who was the runner up of the blue league, defeated Ricochet, who won the gold league, in the semi final while Ospreay, who was the gold league runner up, defeated Kyle Fletcher, who won the blue league, in the other semi final. Okada finished the tournament with 10 points, winning against Shelton Benjamin, Mark Briscoe, and The Beast Mortos, while losing against Kyle Fletcher and drawing against Daniel Garcia. Ospreay was on nine points at the end of the tournament, winning against Claudio Castagnoli, Brodie King, and Komander, while losing to Darby Allin and Ricochet. The Japanese star originally won the Continental title in March of this year, defeating the inaugural Continental Classic winner Eddie Kingston.

KENNY OMEGA RETURNS

- Former AEW World champion Kenny Omega made his return on AEW television at the Worlds End pay-per-view. This was his first appearance since May when he was attacked by The Elite. Omega was introduced by Christopher Daniels after Kazuchika Okada defeated Will Ospreay in the Continental Classic final. Standing at the top of the stage, Daniels said he would normally come down to the ring and present Okada with the title, but effective immediately, he was no longer an EVP for AEW. "But he is," Daniels said, as Omega's music hit the speakers to a big pop from the crowd. The man known as The Cleaner then came down to the ring and presented Okada with the Continental Classic title, had a stare down and Omega then left the ring. Omega will return to the ring on January 5 at the Wrestle Dynasty show, a show promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling along with AEW, ROH, Stardom, and CMLL. You can see his return at https://www.wrestling-online.com/aew/kenny-omega-returns-at-worlds-end/.

ADAM COPELAND RETURNS

- Kenny Omega was not the only one who made his return to AEW last night as former TNT champion Adam Copeland also returned at the end of the pay-per-view. Following the chaotic main event which saw Jon Moxley retain the AEW World title in a four-way match, The Death Riders continued the carnage in the ring and specifically on Jay White. FTR came out for the rescue but stopped mid-way through the aisle. At that point, the lights went out and the graphic changed to Rated FTR on the big screen as Alterbridge's Metalingus hit the speakers and out came Copeland to another thunderous ovation. FTR and Copeland hit the ring and took on The Death Riders, with Copeland spearing Moxley while FTR took care of Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli. Copeland then applied a crossface with a piece of a broken chair across the champion's face. A trios match between FTR and Copeland against The Death Riders was then announced for the Fight for the Fallen Dynamite this Wednesday night. Copeland has been
out of action since May when he broke his foot after he jumped from the top of the cage and landed on his feet. He had to surrender the TNT title due to his injury, which required surgery to fix. You can see it at https://www.wrestling-online.com/aew/adam-copeland-makes-surprise-return-at-worlds-end/.

SKY SPORT ITALIA DROPS AEW

- AEW programming will no longer be airing on SKY Sport television in Italy according to one of its local commentators Salvatore Torrisi. The contract will expire at the end of 2024 and was not renewed by SKY Italy. SKY Sport Italia has been airing AEW shows since August 2020. It's unclear if the company is engaged with a different network to air AEW in the European country but Italian fans can still continue to get their AEW fix by subscribing to the AEW Plus streaming service which is offered through Triller TV. AEW Plus offers live Dynamite and Collision as well as 20% off discount for AEW pay-per-views and access to previous AEW shows for $4.99 a month.

WWE VAULT YOUTUBE CHANNEL SURPASSES 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS

- The WWE Vault YouTube channel has surpassed the 1 million subscribers mark this week, with more people tuning in lately as WWE continues its different approach of making their video library available on streaming services. WWE has been uploading full documentaries, shows, and other original content on the Vault channel as the WWE Network winds down worldwide with the move to Netflix. Netflix will not carry all the WWE video library so the majority of the content available currently on the Network will once again be unavailable to watch on-demand. With several ads from YouTube playing throughout shows, the WWE Vault channel will eventually be raking in some serious money, although not as much as if they were to license the full content to a streaming service. This weekend, WWE even uploaded a WWE/ECW house show from the ECW Arena which was held in 2006 featuring Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Sandman, Sabu, and others.


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====================================================
Saturday, December 28, 2024 Issue #7444
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Enjoy Worlds End tonight. I will watch on-demand as I have to be back at the airport at 5AM for my flight out of Prague back home.


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


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

WORLDS END 2024 LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW TONIGHT

- Live from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida, AEW presents its final pay-per-view of 2024, Worlds End. The full card is as follows: PPV: Jon Moxley vs Orange Cassidy vs "Hangman" Adam Page vs Jay White in a four-way match for the AEW World title; Mariah May vs Thunder Rosa in a Tijuana Street Fight for the AEW Women's title; Mercedes Mone vs Kris Statlander for the AEW TBS title; Konosuke Takeshita vs Powerhouse Hobbs for the AEW International title; Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher in the Continental Classic semi final; Kazuchika Okada vs Ricochet in the Continental Classic semi final; Okada or Ricochet vs Fletcher or Ospreay in the Continental Classic final for the AEW Continental title; and MJF vs Adam Cole for the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring. ZERO HOUR: The Outrunners and Top Flight vs Murder Machines, Action Andretti, and Lio Rush; Jeff Jarrett vs QT Marshall; and Toni Storm vs Leila Grey. The Zero Hour show starts at 7PM ET and airs on AEW's social media channels as well as Triller TV while the pay-per-view starts at 8PM ET and is available to purchase from PPV.COM, YouTube, and Triller TV. Internationally, the show can be purchased from Triller TV.

DYNAMITE RATING

- The Christmas episode of Dynamite on 34th Street drew 574,000 viewers this week, down 51,000 viewers from the prior week. In 18-49, Dynamite drew a 0.18, just 0.01 down from the previous show and was #2 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. This was the first time Dynamite aired on Christmas night and did similar to their November and December average, which should be considered a win. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

LADDER MATCH FOR WWE TITLE AT THE ROYAL RUMBLE

- The WWE championship match for the Royal Rumble was announced last night on Smackdown and Kevin Owens will get yet another crack at the title. During the final segment of Smackdown, Owens said that the match should not involve a referee that counts the finish after what happened to him at Saturday Night's Main Event. Cody did not object and suggested the two face off in a ladder match. Smackdown GM Nick Aldis signed off on the match and both Cody's WWE Championship and the Winged Eagle WWE title which Owens took after SNME will be suspended above the ring, with the first person who snatches them will be declared the winner. Owens continue to declare himself the true WWE champion and took out both Aldis and Rhodes at the end of the segment with his Winged Eagle title. Apart from the two Royal Rumble matches, this is the only other match so far announced for the show.

BIG EN ANNOUNCED AS CHIEF FIESTA OFFICER

- Big E has been announced as the Chief FIESTA Officer for the Fiesta Sports Foundation in a press release issued today by the Fiesta Bowl. In his role, Big E will enhance the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl experience through a variety of fan-centric activities while bringing unparalleled energy and fun to the first-ever CFP Quarterfinal. "The first-ever College Football Playoff Quarterfinal being played at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl is worthy of maximum hype and energy to mark this historic moment on the field," said Fiesta Sports Foundation Executive Director & CEO Erik Moses. "Big E, a college football player and one of WWE’s premier personalities, will elevate fan interactions and engagements before, during and after the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl." Big E's duties as Chief FIESTA Officer include fan engagement, interactive experiences, event participation, media and brand promotion, and community outreach. Big E was introduced to the Valley fans and visitors at the Rate Bowl on Thursday night and will continue to enhance the fan engagement around the Fiesta Sports Foundation’s events, including the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe, to make them unforgettable for all fans and participants. In addition to these engagements, Big E will partake in social media takeovers on the Fiesta Bowl channels offering up exclusive vantage points of the Fiesta Sports Foundation’s signature events. "I’m thrilled to step into this role as Chief Fiesta Officer," Big E said. "College football has always been close to my heart, and the Fiesta Bowl is one of the biggest stages to celebrate the game we all love. I’m here to bring the energy, connect with the fans and make sure this year’s Fiesta Bowl is unforgettable. Let’s have some fun and make some noise!"

MORGAN VS RIPLEY NOW A LAST WOMAN STANDING MATCH

- The WWE Women's World title match between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley on the Raw premiere episode of Netflix now has an added stipulation attached to it. The bout is now a last woman standing match as was announced during the international broadcast of Main Event. This will be Liv's fifth title defense since winning it at the King and Queen of the Ring premium live event from Becky Lynch in May. It's also the third match between the two for the title. The first match was at SummerSlam where Morgan came out victorious. The second match was at Bad Blood two months later where Ripley defeated Morgan via disqualification, so Morgan retained the gold. The last time Morgan defended the title was at the Saturday Night's Main Event broadcast on December 14 against Iyo Sky.

JORDYNNE GRACE WRAPPING UP TNA DUTIES AT GENESIS

- Fightful is reporting through their Select service that former TNA Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace is set to wrap up her commitments with the company on January 19, which is the Genesis weekend. Grace is set to face Tessa Blanchard on the pay-per-view that night to finalize her program and then she will be a free agent and expected to sign with WWE. The timing is perfect for a Royal Rumble return, a match she was a surprise participant in last year. The 28-year-old has been working for TNA since 2018 and was the first Knockouts Triple Crown winner, winning the Knockouts title, Knockouts Tag Team title, and the Digital Media title.


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====================================================
Friday, December 27, 2024 Issue #7443
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> 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!


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


//->> 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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(C) Copyright 1996-2024 Wrestling-Online.com
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====================================================
Thursday, December 26, 2024 Issue #7442
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Hope you all had a nice Christmas!


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


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

CONTINENTAL CLASSIC ROUND-ROBIN TOURNAMENT ENDS

- The final matches of the Continental Classic took place last night on the Christmas edition of Dynamite from the Hammerstein Ballroom. In the gold league, Will Ospreay defeated Brody King, putting Ospreay with nine points and King with six on the chart. The Darby Allin vs Ricochet match ended in a time-limit draw, with Ricochet increasing to 10 points and Allin with seven. The other remaining gold league match saw Komander defeat Claudio Castagnoli, with Komander earning his first three points while Castagnoli finished with nine. In the blue league, Kazuchika Okada beat Shelton Benjamin to earn three points and finish with 10 points overall while Benjamin remained with six. The final match was Kyle Fletcher defeated Daniel Garcia, with Fletcher moving to 12 points and Garcia staying put with seven.

SEMI FINAL MATCHES IN CONTINENTAL CLASSIC SET

- The Continental Classic semi final matches which will take place at Worlds End were revealed last night after the conclusion of the tournament. In the blue league, Kyle Fletcher topped the group with 12 points while Continental champion Kazuchika Okada was behind with 10 points. Ricochet topped the gold league with 10 points and Will Ospreay followed with nine. The semi finals will now see Fletcher taking on Ospreay and Ricochet taking on Okada, with the winners of the two matches then meeting later in the night for the Continental title. This year's Continental Classic tournament saw 12 AEW stars compete against each other in a round-robin tournament. Apart from the top two in each league, the blue league finished with Mark Briscoe with nine points, Daniel Garcia with seven, Shelton Benjamin with six, and The Beast Mortos with no points. The gold league also had Claudio Castagnoli with nine points, Darby Allin with seven, Brody King with six, and Komander with three.

TAZ RETURNS TO COMMENTARY

- Former ECW champion Taz made his return to the AEW commentary desk during last night's Christmas edition of Dynamite. Taz underwent knee replacement surgery in October and at the time wrapped up his AEW commentary duties at the end of September. It was alluded that Taz was attacked in the parking lot during the October 2 episode of Dynamite, an attack which was never shown on television but done to explain why Taz would be off television for weeks to follow. With Dynamite in New York, it was a quick and easy trip for the man known as the human suplex machine to make, although it's unclear if he will rejoin the commentary team weekly from now on.

TAY MELO RETURNING TO THE RING AFTER 22 MONTHS

- AEW star Tay Melo, who has not wrestled since March 3, 2023, will be returning to the ring for STARDOM in Japan at their New Year Dream 2025 event. The 29-year-old Brazilian will be teaming up with Mina Shirakawa to take on ROH Women's champion Athena and Thekla in a tag team match. Melo's last match at the NEW Wrestlefest XXVII event, teaming up with her husband Sammy Guevara to take on Encore and Tiara James. Her last AEW in-ring appearance was on the January 1, 2023 episode of Rampage in a street fight match, teaming up with Anna Jay in a losing effort against Ruby Soho and Willow Nightingale. Melo gave birth to a daughter in late November of the same year.

COLLISION RATING

- Helped by a big lead-in from the college football game which drew 8.6 million viewers, Collision on Saturday night drew 635,000 viewers, up a whopping 389,000 viewers from the previous week. This was the most-watched Collision of 2024 by a mile and the best number since July 29, 2023 and the third most-watched Collision ever. The show had a 0.20 rating in 18-49, up 0.11 from the previous week and also a year-high. It was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

LIV MORGAN APPEARS ON NFL NETFLIX GAME

- While CM Punk did WWE promotion during the Steelers vs Chiefs NFL pre-game show on Netflix, WWE Women's World champion Liv Morgan did her appearance on the second game later in the day. Morgan showed up at the Houston Texans vs Baltimore Ravens game to promote WWE's arrival on Netflix which is now just two weeks away. Interviewed on the field while holding the title on her shoulder, Morgan said if someone had told her she would be on Netflix weekly years ago, she would have cried tears of happiness. "This is so huge, the fact that WWE and Netflix are joining together to give all the WWE fans across the globe the opportunity to watch WWE Monday Night Raw in the same place for the first time ever, debuting on Netflix January 6th, we're so excited and we can't wait for everyone to watch us," Morgan said.

RAW RATING

- Raw this week drew 1,453,000 viewers, down 80,000 viewers from last week's broadcast against Monday Night Football's 14.6 million audience for the Saints vs Packers game which was simulcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. The first hour did 1,448,000 viewers and then the second hour climbed slightly to 1,458,000 viewers. The show had a 0.42 rating in 18-49, down 0.05 from last week's show and the lowest since October 28. Raw was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night behind NFL shows and #5 overall in all of television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

WWE HOLIDAY TOUR KICKS OFF TODAY

- The annual WWE holiday tour kicks off today with ten events in five days. The fun starts with two events, one at Madison Square Garden in New York and the other at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. On Friday it's a live event at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and a live Smackdown from the Amalie Arena in Tampa. Saturday the action moves to Orlando at the Kia Center and at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. On Sunday it's live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago and Kaseya Center in Miami. It all ends on Monday night with one event at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and a live Raw at the same time in Houston at the Toyota Center. Tickets are available for all shows at Ticketmaster.com.

WWE TO ROCK MSG WITH TRADITIONAL BOXING DAY SHOW

- Over 11,000 fans will be on hand for the traditional Boxing Day non-televised live event at the world's most famous arena - Madison Square Garden - for today's WWE Holiday Tour. It is going to be a loaded show headlined by a steel cage match for the World Heavyweight title between Gunther and Damian Priest. Liv Morgan will defend the Women's World title against Iyo Sky and Bron Breakker also puts up his Intercontinental title on the line against Sami Zayn in a two-out-of-three falls match. Seth Rollins will battle Dominik Mysterio and CM Punk makes a rare non-televised appearance against Ludwig Kaiser. Other stars scheduled to appear include The Miz, Wyatt Sicks, The New Day, LA Knight, Drew McIntyre, and more.

OMOS TO APPEAR AT PRO WRESTLING NOAH JANUARY 1 SHOW

- Pro Wrestling NOAH today announced that WWE Superstar Omos will be at their upcoming January 1 The New Year 2025 event which will take place at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. With 10 matches already announced for the show, it's unclear if Omos will be part of another match or just making an appearance. Omos last wrestled on the April 5 episode of Smackdown on the eve of WrestleMania during the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He remains under WWE contract but has not been used since then, although he does do media appearances for the company from time to time. Fellow WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura will also be at the January 1 event and will take on Ulka Sasaki in a singles match. The WWE United States title will not be on the line. NOAH The New Year 2025 will air as a pay-per-view on the Abema streaming service. Abema also airs all WWE programming in Japan.

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Wednesday, December 25, 2024 Issue #7441
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Not the super news day that I thought it would be. So here it goes Ho! Ho! Ho!

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

CM PUNK AT NETFLIX NFL GAME

- WWE Superstar CM Punk showed up at the Steelers vs Chiefs NFL pre-game show on Netflix on Christmas Day to promote the upcoming WWE move to the streaming giant. Punk, in a dark three-piece suit and blue tie, said just like the football world is excited to be on Netflix, he and WWE are also excited to be part of the Netflix family come January 6. "I think we have a tremendous global reach that’s only going to be compounded by being on Netflix, and that’s going to reach a lot of people," Punk said. "I’m very excited!" The Miz was also one of the celebrities who wished Netflix viewers happy holidays during the pre-show, followed by a new Raw commercial. Netflix is airing their first two NFL games today as part of their expansion into live broadcasting, with the Christmas Gameday graphic taking over the Netflix front page worldwide.

BECKY LYNCH FEATURED IN NEW RAW ON NETFLIX COMMERCIAL

- Before CM Punk appeared on the panel to promote WWE's move to Netflix earlier today, a new Raw commercial aired which showed Becky Lynch. The new commercial, which was filmed several weeks ago during a busy day with several WWE Superstars on hand, offered a quick glimpse of Lynch, wearing all black, with a graphic of a goat and GOAT on the back as she looked at the camera in a menacing look. Lynch has not been part of the WWE roster since her final match at the end of May against Liv Morgan on Raw. Her contract ran out on June 1 and opted not to re-sign with the company at the time. During her time away, Lynch joined the cast of the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series which will air on Paramount+ next year. She is credited under her real name of Rebecca Quin in the series. The commercial also featured Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Gunther, Liv Morgan, Bayley, Bianca Belair, and others. You can see the new commercial at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/becky-lynch-featured-in-brand-new-raw-on-netflix-commercial/.

EDDY THROPE ADDED TO NXT TITLE MATCH AT NEW YEAR'S EVIL

- Following the controversial ending of last week's NXT championship match which ended in a double pin, Eddy Thorpe will get another crack at the title at the New Year's Evil show. The original match between Williams and Iron Survivor Challenge Oba Femi is now a triple threat match which also includes Thorpe now. The match was announced last night on NXT, with Williams agreeing to turn this into a triple threat and NXT General Manager Ava making an appearance to sign off on it. The segment ended with all three in the ring brawling and eventually Femi standing tall over both Williams and Thorpe, holding up the NXT title above his shoulder. NXT New Year's Evil show will take place on January 7 on CW and will stream live on Netflix for international subscribers.

TRIBUTE TO THE TROOPS QUIETLY GOES AWAY

- Christmas is here and one WWE broadcast which was synonymous with spreading the Christmas cheer did not make it on the air this time around, and that's the annual Tribute to the Troops. Since 2003, WWE has held a Tribute to the Troops show every single year although the 2019 edition did not air on television. Since its inception, there were 20 television broadcasts with WWE Superstars sharing the screen with various armed forces of the United States. It's a concept that was floated by former WWE champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield to then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, and McMahon ran with it, holding the first seven Tribute to the Troops events in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, before moving the event Stateside in 2010. Since 2010, WWE held it at major arenas and military bases depending on the location, with hundreds of U.S. service members surrounding the ring in uniform. But the 2024 holidays came and unlike previous years, there were no mention at all of Tribute to the Troops and it looks like the event, although popular with the military, will not continue moving forward. The event got WWE several awards along the years, with the USO Legacy of Hope awarded in 2004, the Three-Commander Coin Award from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award which was awarded to Vince McMahon who then gave it to JBL for the idea of the show, and the Corporate Patriot Award at the GI Film Festival. Both President George W. Bush and Barrack Obama also recorded custom messages which aired in the 2008, 2011, and 2012 episodes of the show.

CHRISTMAS DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET TONIGHT ON TBS

- AEW will be spreading the Christmas cheer tonight with Dynamite on 34th Street, a special edition of the show from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City airing at 8PM ET on TBS. The show is built around the final five matches from the Continental Classic tournament where the top two finalists from each league will become clear after tonight. In the gold league, there will be three matches including Will Ospreay vs Brody King, Claudio Castagnoli vs Komander, and Darby Allin vs Ricochet. The blue league has two matches left with Kazuchika Okada vs Shelton Benjamin and Kyle Fletcher vs Daniel Garcia. Also set for tonight is Toni Storm vs Taya Valkyrie.

TNT OFFERS AEW-INSPIRED FIREPLACE-REPLACEMENT VIDEO

- If you have a big TV but no fireplace at home, you can make it look - and sound - like one thanks to TNT's YouTube channel which made an excellent background for wrestling fans for this special day. The live broadcast has Hangman Adam Page drinking whiskey on a loop, sitting in front of Swerve Strickland's old house as it burns in flames, with cozy crackling fire sounds that replicate the fireplace you're missing at home. Page has so far taken thousands of sips from the never-ending whiskey glass and still looks in great shape despite the alcohol intake. It's expected that Page will continue to drink in front of the burning home for hours to come, quite possibly until the end of the Christmas Day. So what are you waiting for, head over to https://www.youtube.com/live/3LJsEC_m4T8 and put this on the background on your television for your Christmas family lunch!

AEW ENTRIES POP UP ON MAX

- A week before it makes its streaming debut on Max, AEW entries have popped up on the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service. The Dynamite graphic features MJF, Swerve Strickland, Jon Moxley, Mercedes Mone, and Will Ospreay while the Collision graphic has Mariah May, Orange Cassidy, Christian Cage, Darby Allin, and Willow Nightingale. The Fight For The Fallen Dynamite will be the first AEW live simulcast on Max on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Both Dynamite and Collision will be streaming live on Max from now onwards as part of the new AEW TV media rights deal with WBD.


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(C) Copyright 1996-2024 Wrestling-Online.com
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Tuesday, December 24, 2024 Issue #7440
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it because not sure if there will be a newsletter tomorrow, probably will be a slow news day. Hope you have a good one and Santa gets you nice presents! :)

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

MAXXINE DUPRI ANNOUNCES ENGAGEMENT

- WWE Superstar Maxxine Dupri and NXT's Anthony Luke have announced their engagement via a post on social media. "Status: FOREVER," Dupri wrote on Instagram, sharing several photos from the special occasion and flaunting her new bling on her finger. Luke is a former San Diego State University football player and was signed to an NIL deal in 2023 following his trial during SummerSlam weekend that same year. He wrestles at NXT non-televised live events but has yet to make the jump to the NXT main roster. Congratulations to the duo!

SMACKDOWN RATING

- Smackdown last Friday suffered against the Indiana-Notre Dame College Football Playoff First Round game, with the show doing a record-low of 1,326,000 viewers, down 204,000 viewers from the previous week. This was the least-watched Smackdown of 2024. The college football game had an audience of 13.4 million across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. In 18-49 demos, the show drew a 0.37 rating, down 0.10 from the prior week and was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and #5 in overall television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

IYO SKY ADVANCES IN THE WOMEN'S INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE TOURNAMENT

- Former WWE Women's champion Iyo Sky advanced in the Women's Intercontinental title tournament last night on Raw. Sky beat Natalya and Alba Fyre in her triple threat qualifying match and completes the final four with Dakota Kai, Lyra Valkyria, and Zoey Stark. Both semi final matches will take place on next week's Raw, with Kai vs Stark and Sky vs Valkyria. The final will take place on the Raw Netflix debut on January 6.

ELIMINATION CHAMBER TICKETS UPDATE

- In the first count provided by @WrestleTix, the Elimination Chamber premium live event taking place from the Rogers Center in Toronto has 23,600 tickets moved so far, with just over two months left for the show. The former SkyDome currently is configured for 30,000 seats but as always, that will expand if necessary. The stadium can hold over 40,000 fans if every seat is in use. Tickets remain extraordinarily high for the event, with the cheapest being CA $170 and the most expensive for ringside at CA $4,000, both figures without the additional taxes and fees. The Elimination Chamber will be the largest wrestling gate in Canadian history, mainly thanks in part to the high ticket prices. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.ca.

DUSTIN RHODES SIGNS NEW MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH AEW

- Dustin Rhodes has announced that he has signed a new, multi-year deal with AEW and is staying put for the foreseeable future. "I want to thank my boss @TonyKhan for every opportunity he has given me," Rhodes wrote in a post on social media. "Since coming here and being an original since inception, I have truly had the time of my life." Rhodes added that everyone knows his story and how much he has been through during all his years in professional wrestling. "Lost my passion and found it again HERE in @AEW at the first Double Or Nothing. Did not expect this One Last Ride to last as long as it has, and man, what a run I have had!" Rhodes noted that he wants to finish his career in AEW as it feels it's his home and never felt the respect that he found in AEW. "This makes me want to do my very best for Tony and push myself harder than I ever have. I feel loved and wanted here. I love all of our roster deeply,” he continued. Rhodes is currently a double champion in Ring of Honor, sharing the ROH Tag Team titles with Sammy Guevara and the Six-Man Tag Team titles with Ross and Marshall Von Erich.

AEW AND ITV EXTEND UK TV DEAL

- British broadcaster ITV and AEW today announced that they have agreed to extend their TV broadcast deal into 2025. ITV will continue to show weekly episodes of AEW programming, with AEW Dynamite every Friday night and AEW Collision every Wednesday night on ITV4 and ITVX. The renewal for 2025 takes ITV into its sixth year as AEW’s free-to-air UK partner, first broadcasting AEW Dynamite in 2019. "We are thrilled to extend AEW's partnership with ITV to continue bringing the best wrestling action to fans all across the United Kingdom," said AEW CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan. "We thank all of our incredible fans in the UK as well as everyone at ITV for their loyal support of AEW since our inception." Richard Botchway, Commissioning Editor at ITV, said: “We are proud to continue to be the UK free-to-air broadcast partner for AEW. We’re looking forward to continuing our relationship into 2025, bringing the UK audience every minute of action across ITV and ITVX.”

RAMPAGE RATING

- Rampage on Friday drew 227,000 viewers, down 52,000 viewers from the prior week. It had a 0.13 rating in 18-49, up 0.02 from the previous week and it was #15 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)


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Monday, December 23, 2024 Issue #7439
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow!


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

RAW PREVIEW

- Tonight's Monday Night Raw is not live and was taped last week from Boston to give everyone a few days off for Christmas before the annual holiday tour. Scheduled matches for the broadcast include a triple threat in the Women's Intercontinental title tournament between Iyo Sky, Natalya, and Alba Fyre, Chad Gable vs Akira Tozawa, Damian Priest vs Dominik Mysterio, The Miz vs Dexter Lumis, and Sami Zayn vs Drew McIntyre. Jey Uso, The Bloodline, The Wyatt Sicks, Alpha Academy, R-Truth, and The New Day will also be appearing on the show in other segments.

WWE MOVING TO NETFLIX IN INDIA IN MARCH 2025

- The India-based Business Standard is reporting that WWE will be moving to Netflix in the country in March 2025. Currently, Sony Pictures Networks India has the rights for WWE programming in the country, a contract which will expire in March of next year. The company had a five-year deal estimated at around $200 million for the whole duration. Business Standard stated that Sony Pictures Network India wanted to retain the TV rights even though "WWE content on SPNI’s platform reportedly fell short of expectations during the current rights cycle." A Netflix India spokesperson confirmed that WWE content will be moving to their platform in Q1 2025. Netflix India has around 12 million subscribers and the streaming service hopes that WWE's arrival will boost their numbers a little bit more. This will mark the end of WWE's collaboration with SPNI after over two decades.

ALL IN: TEXAS MOVES 10,000 TICKETS SO FAR

- Ticket tracking service @WrestleTix is reporting that AEW has so far distributed 10,000 tickets for their upcoming All In: Texas pay-per-view. It was believed that AEW sold around 3,000 tickets during the pre-sale before tickets went on sale to the general public. The Globe Life Field hosts up to 40,000 seats but judging from the seating chart and open seats, it's configured for just 18,000 at the moment. That will obviously expand if the demand is there. AEW President Tony Khan has stated that the show has already surpassed the $1 million gate with strong VIP tickets which were sold at a much higher price. It's projected that All In will be the biggest attendance for AEW for 2025, although it will fall short from the previous two All Ins which took place from Wembley Stadium. Tickets on Ticketmaster.com start from just $31.

MAXIMUM CARNAGE DYNAMITE SET FOR JANUARY 14

- The Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, host of the January 14 episode of Dynamite, revealed that that week's show will be themed Maximum Carnage. Collision will also take place from the same venue the following day and will carry the same theme. AEW trademarked the name Maximum Carnage and a few others a few months ago. Tickets go on pre-sale on Thursday, December 26 at 10AM while the general on-sale will follow on December 30, with both dates being less than a month before the two shows actually occur. It will be the second themed episode of Dynamite in January following Fight For The Fallen which will take place on January 1.

BANDIDO SUFFERS CONCUSSION

- Bandido, who made his return to ROH's Final Battle after a broken wrist injury in June, suffered a concussion just seconds after he hit the ring. Bandido came out to save Matt Cardona from The Learning Tree and executed a missile dropkick on Chris Jericho as his first move. But doing so, he landed right on the back of his head. The injury was immediately noticeable as he took some time to recover and then continued his part by taking out Big Bill and Bryan Keith. Dave Meltzer of the Observer is now reporting that he was confirmed to have suffered the concussion and it's not known how long he will be out for. The former ROH champion signed an AEW deal in October 2022 but in June, he suffered a broken wrist during a match against Konosuke Takeshita on Rampage. He eventually underwent a couple of surgeries to repair the problem.

BANDIDO CONFIRMS CONCUSSION

- In a post on his social media, AEW and ROH star Bandido confirmed that he indeed suffered a concussion this past Friday at Final Battle. Bandido came to the aid of Matt Cardona after The Learning Tree ganged up on the indie star. Bandido immediately hit a missile dropkick on Chris Jericho and landed on the back of his head. The former ROH champion said that he hopes there's no brain swelling and it has been a hard few days filled with frustration since he had just returned from several months out due to a broken wrist. He said the toughest battle will be with himself and will do his best to try and return to the ring.

TNA SIGNS MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH SPORTSNET 360 IN CANADA

- TNA Wrestling has signed an exclusive multi-year agreement with Sportsnet to air its flagship weekly TV show, TNA iMPACT!, every Thursday from 8-10 p.m. ET nationally in Canada on Sportsnet 360, beginning on Thursday, January 2, 2025. Additional programming to air on Sportsnet 360 includes TNA’s Xplosion, TNA in 60 and other TNA Classics from the 20+ year library, showcasing over 6,000 hours of unforgettable matches and moments. Sportsnet is Canada’s No. 1 sports network. In addition to being the official Canadian NHL national multiplatform rights holder, and regional broadcaster for the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, Sportsnet also has extensive coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors, UFC and much more. “We are thrilled to bring TNA Wrestling to Sportsnet 360,” said Anthony Cicione, president of TNA Wrestling. “Anchored by our flagship weekly TNA iMPACT!, this partnership is a major step forward for TNA Wrestling as all our fans in Canada can now watch on one of Canada’s largest sports outlets.” TNA iMPACT! will continue to air on AXS TV and TNA+ in the US, in addition to being distributed internationally on TNA+ and other leading broadcast platforms.

SLIGHT CHANGE TO TNA+ FOR CANADIAN SUBSCRIBERS

- TNA+ will have a change to its Canadian customers due to the agreement with Rogers Sportsnet which was announced earlier today. Canadian subscribers to TNA+ will now be able to watch new episodes of Impact Wrestling two weeks after their initial TV broadcast in Canada. All monthly live TNA+ specials and pay-per-views will continue to stream on TNA+. The change, which goes into effect on January 2, 2025, helps support TNA’s growth in the country while still providing TNA+ streaming subscribers value for their money. WWE does the same with new episodes of Smackdown on Peacock. TNA+ will remain at $9.99 per month.

MOANA 2 DROPS FROM THE TOP OF THE BOX OFFICE CHART

- Dwayne Johnson's run at the top of the box office chart came to an end after three weeks, with Disney's Moana 2 slipping to fourth place following the highly-anticipated releases of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King movies. Moana 2 had a $13.1 million weekend and was surpassed slightly by Wicked which did $13.5 million according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. The movie now has a domestic gross of $359,068,328 plus an additional $431,100,000 in international box office receipts for a worldwide total of a staggering $790,168,328. Johnson's other movie, Red One, is still playing in theaters despite being available on Amazon's Prime Video. It was #10 on the chart with a domestic gross of $94,332,934 and $86,600,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $180,932,934.


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(C) Copyright 1996-2024 Wrestling-Online.com
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Sunday, December 22, 2024 Issue #7438
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Flying to Prague tomorrow for Christmas week so there might be some interruptions for the newsletter on some days. Website remains updated along with our social media accounts. Please follow us there for up-to-date stuff.

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

MORE SEATS OPENED FOR 2025 ROYAL RUMBLE

- WWE has added more tickets for the 2025 Royal Rumble at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with more sections on the side where the stadium was supposed to be tarped off opening up. Unless it's a WrestleMania, WWE uses half a stadium for their premium live events and then more sections are opened up depending on demand. According to ticket tracking service @WrestleTix, WWE has nearly 47,000 tickets out for the Rumble, with the stadium now configured for 53,500 seats. The cheapest tickets added are $150 plus taxes and fees and are in Section 400. The cheapest tickets are in Section 600, which is at the very top of the stands, with tickets at $125 plus taxes and fees. The most expensive tickets are second row for $5,100 and the majority of the floor area remains unsold. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com.

NXT SENIOR WRITER AND PRODUCER JIM SMALLMAN DEPARTS

- Jim Smallman, a senior writer and producer on the NXT creative team, has resigned from his position to return to the United Kingdom to "be a better dad" to his two children. Smallman, the co-founder of British indie promotion PROGRESS Wrestling, announced the decision himself via a post on social media. "This was an incredibly difficult decision as I was lucky enough to work with some of the most talented and excellent human beings on the planet, and yesterday was a very emotional day as I said goodbye - for now - to so many great friends," Smallman wrote. He cited that it's impossible to be a good dad from 4000 miles away and that combined with some health issues made it time to go home and "make up for lost time." Smallman said he wrote 216 episodes of NXT UK, 150 episodes of Level Up, worked on 190 episodes of NXT, and produced hundreds of in-ring and backstage promos. "I am forever grateful to Shawn and Hunter for giving me my chance, Johnny and the writing team for being amazing, Mr Regal for putting me forward for everything, Joe for showing me the ropes… and to every gifted talent that I’ve worked with in both Europe and the USA," he continued. "I wish I could have thanked every single person yesterday but we had a TV show to film! Thank you for tolerating a strange British idiot." He added that while this might be a goodbye to the NXT creative team, it's not a goodbye to WWE and he hopes to see everyone again down the line. "I’m a very lucky man to have lived this life, but even luckier to be heading home now to an 8 year old who wants to play Fortnite and Hot Wheels and a 21 year old who wants to come to Japan with me," he concluded.

PHOTO OPS FOR RUMBLE WEEKEND

- WWE is now selling photo ops and autographs with many WWE Superstars for Royal Rumble weekend. Price for each Superstar varies and does not include a printed photo unless you pay an extra $16.28 fee on top. Appearing on Thursday, January 30 will be Bayley, Bianca Belair, Jimmy Uso, and Tiffany Stratton. Appearing on Friday, January 31 will be Bron Breakker, Chad Gable, Dakota Kai, Damian Priest, Rey Mysterio, Iyo Sky, Jey Uso, Kairi Sane, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance, Kofi Kingston, Lyra Valkyria, Maxine Dupri, Natalya, Omos, Otis, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Rhea Ripley, The Miz, Tiffany Stratton, Wyatt Sicks, and Zelina Vega. Doing photo ops on Saturday, February 1 will be American Made, Dominik Mysterio, Ludwig Kyser, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro, Pete Dunne, Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, and Xavier Woods. Closing the weekend on Sunday, February 2 are Apollo Crews, Authors of Pain, Big E, Liv Morgan, Shayna Baszler, Sonya Deville, and Zoey Stark, and Sami Zayn. The event will take place at the Indianapolis Convention Center inside Hall E located at 100 South Capitol Avenue. For more information go to https://store.epic.leapevent.tech/wwe-royal-rumble-2025/2024.

CONTINENTAL CLASSIC UPDATE

- Four Continental Classic matches took place on last night's Christmas Collision from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. In the blue league, Daniel Garcia defeated Shelton Benjamin to move to seven points while Benjamin stays at six and second-to-last place. The other blue league match saw Mark Briscoe defeating The Beast Mortos. Briscoe is now at nine points and second in the table while Mortos is dead last with zero points. Over in the gold league, Ricochet defeated Will Ospreay to get to nine points and top of the table, leaving Ospreay with six following yesterday's loss. Claudio Castagnoli also sits at the top of the gold league with Ricochet with another nine points after he yesterday overcame Darby Allin thanks to his brass knuckles which he used to knock out Allin. Allin remains at six points. The remaining five Continental Classic matches will be held on Dynamite this Wednesday with three gold league matches including Ospreay vs Brody King, Allin vs Ricochet, and Castagnoli vs Komander. And the blue league matches will have Kazuchika Okada vs Benjamin and Garcia vs Fletcher.

TBS TITLE MATCH ADDED TO WORLDS END

- The TBS title will be on the line at the Worlds End pay-per-view next weekend after the match was made official last night on Collision. Prior to her match against Penelope Ford, Kris Statlander challenged the champion Mercedes Mone for the title. After the match was over, Mone came out with her answer, initially saying that she was going to take that weekend off, but since it's the holiday season, she would give Statlander a present and defend her title on the show. Statlander is a former TBS champion herself, winning the belt from Jade Cargill at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in 2023, ending Cargill's 508-day reign as champion. Statlander lasted 174 days as champion before losing it to Julia Hart at Full Gear later that year. Statlander was never pinned in that match as it was a three-way involving Skye Blue as well and Blue was the one who got pinned.

MOMO WATANBE JOINS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S CUP MATCH

- The last entrant in the International Women's Cup at Wrestle Dream is Momo Watanbe, representing the Japanese Stardom promotion. Watanbe beat Saki Kashima, Yuna Mizumori, and Hanan in a four-way match to punch her ticket to Wrestle Dream. She now joins Athena from Ring of Honor, Persephone from CMLL, and Willow Nightingale from AEW in this four-way match. The winner of this match earns a title shot for any title in any of the participating promotions.

ROH FINAL BATTLE RESULTS

- Here are the results from Friday night's ROH Final Battle 2024 event which took place live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York. ZERO HOUR: The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated The Dark Order; Hanako defeated Harley Cameron; The Undisputed Kingdom defeated The Infantry; Gates of Agony defeated LEEJ. PPV: Atlantis Jr defeated Mansoor; Katsuyori Shibata defeated Tommy Billington; Jay Lethal defeated QT Marshall; Red Velvet defeated Leyla Hirsch to retain the ROH Women's TV title; Lee Moriarty defeated Nigel McGuinness to retain the ROH Pure title; The Sons of Texas defeated The Righteous in a Texas Bull Rope match to retain the ROH Tag Team titles; Komander defeated Brian Cage, AR Fox, Blake Christian, Willie Mack, and Mark Davis in a Survival of the Fittest match to become the new ROH TV champion; Chris Jericho defeated Matt Cardona to retain the ROH World title; Athena defeated Billie Starkz to retain the ROH Women's title.

NIGEL MCGUINNESS RETURNS TO THE RING

- AEW commentator Nigel McGuinness made a surprise in-ring return at the ROH Final Battle event in New York, coming out to answer the open challenge for the ROH Pure title. McGuinness is a former ROH Pure champion himself, having held the title for a whopping 350 days between 2004 and 2005. The British star wanted the match to be contested under the old ROH Pure rules, which means no judges. Unfortunately for him, Moriarty came out on top and retained the title. This was his third match of 2024 after coming out from retirement at All In in August where he participated in the Casino Gauntlet match as a surprise entrant and then wrestled Bryan Danielson in September on Dynamite.

DANHAUSEN RETURNS AT ROH

- After being off AEW television for a year and absent from Ring of Honor for 10 months, Danhausen made a return at the Final Battle event. The popular star interfered in the opening match of the show where Mansoor was battling Atlantis Jr. Danhausen came out from under the ring and confronted Mason Madden, giving him a low blow and then doing his usual curse thing, offering enough distraction for Atlantis Jr to pick up the victory. The relationship between Danhausen and AEW took a nose dive in 2024 and the star admitted that the two sides had not talked for months apart from getting the go-ahead to work other indie dates. Danhausen was a big supporter of CM Punk, which might have played some part in him being somewhat exiled.

ASH BY ELEGANCE JOINS ONLYFANS

- Ash By Elegance, the TNA star formerly known as Dana Brooke in WWE, has joined the OnlyFans platform. She made the announcement via a video on her social media. "It's the time you've all been waiting for. I'm officially moving over to OnlyFans which is the gift that keeps on giving," she said while sporting a Santa hat. The recently-married star is selling subscriptions for $5.99 a month and already has 20 posts up. You can subscribe at https://onlyfans.com/ashamae4u.



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Friday, December 20, 2024 Issue #7437
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Five days until Christmas! Where did this year go!? I don't know about you, but the older I get, the faster the years fly by...especially when I'm on holidays LOL!


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

ROH FINAL BATTLE 2024 LIVE TONIGHT

- Live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York, AEW presents ROH Final Battle exclusively on the ROH HonorClub streaming service. The full card is as follows: Chris Jericho vs Matt Cardona for the ROH World title; Athena vs Billie Starkz for the ROH Women's title; Lee Moriarty vs TBD for the ROH Pure title; Red Velvet vs Leyla Hirsch for the ROH Women's Television title; The Sons of Texas vs The Righteous for the ROH Tag Team titles; Jay Lethal vs QT Marshall; Brian Cage vs Willie Mack vs Komander vs Mark Davis vs AR Fox vs Blake Christian in a Survival of the Fittest match for the ROH Television title; Mansoor vs Atlantis Jr; and Katsuyori Shibata vs Tommy Billington. ZERO HOUR: The Infantry vs The Undisputed Kingdom; Harley Cameron vs Hanako; LEEJ vs Gates of Agony; and The Dark Order vs Grizzled Young Veterans. Final Battle will air at 8PM ET and a subscription is required to watch the show. You can get a one-month deal for $9.99. The Zero Hour show will start an hour prior and will air on ROH's social media channels as well as on the HonorClub service.

DYNAMITE RATING

- The Holiday Bash themed episode of Dynamite drew 625,000 viewers, up 31,000 viewers from the prior week and their best number in one month. The show had a 0.19 rating in 18-49, up 0.02 from the previous week and was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

SMACKDOWN MOVING TO THREE HOURS

- WWE has confirmed that Smackdown will expand to three hours starting with the January 3, 2025 episode. A WWE.COM entry on where to watch the weekly WWE shows and premium live events come 2025 states, "At the start of 2025, SmackDown will expand to three hours starting with the Jan. 3 episode from Phoenix, Arizona." Rumors have been flying around for months that Smackdown was moving to three hours once the new year kicks in but WWE did not make any official announcements until now. Raw is also expected to revert to three hours once it moves to Netflix, although their run time will have no constraints on the streaming service since there's no other live programming before or after Raw. This will be the first time that Smackdown will move to three hours and WWE will obviously get more money on top of their current deal with NBCUniversal for 52 additional hours of original programming per year.

MORE WWE PLE'S TO BE HELD INTERNATIONALLY IN 2025

- Speaking on the Sports Business Journal Sports Media podcast, WWE's Executive Vice President of Talent Relations Chris Legentil revealed that WWE is looking into holding more premium live events internationally in 2025 and are working with Netflix to identify key markets. WWE held a total of eight premium live events outside the United States this year, a record for the company. "This year alone, we did more than half our [premium live events] outside the U.S...look for more of that when we’re in partnership with Netflix because we’re going to be working with them hand-in-hand to select locations across the world where we can grow our audience and hopefully gain some subscribers for them," Legentil said. In 2024, WWE held Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia, Backlash in Lyon, France, King and Queen of the Ring in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Clash at the Castle in Glasgow, Scotland, Money In The Bank in Toronto, Canada, Bash in Berlin in Berlin, Germany, Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Survivor Series: WarGames in Vancouver, Canada. WWE premium live events will be moving to Netflix internationally starting with the 2025 Royal Rumble.

CHARLOTTE FLAIR STEPS UP IN-RING TRAINING AHEAD OF RETURN

- Charlotte Flair has stepped up her in-ring training ahead of her impending return to the WWE. Flair thanked Lainey Reid, currently signed to NXT, for helping her in the ring for the past few weeks in a post on social media and urged her followers to keep an eye on the 26-year-old. Charlotte tore her ACL, MCL, and meniscus on the December 8 episode of Smackdown in a match against Asuka and underwent surgery in January of this year. She started light training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, in late July and is now set to return to the company in a matter of weeks. During her time away, the 14-time champ signed a new WWE deal and was also cast in an indie horror movie titled You Lose You Die with Freddy Rodriguez.

NXT LEVEL UP ENDING

- Fightful is reporting that NXT Level Up is being discontinued moving forward and this month will be the last time the show will air. The show aired every Friday night on Peacock, replacing the WWE 205 Live series. It made its debut on February 18, 2022 and gave a platform to those up-and-coming stars who were not yet ready for NXT television, but still offered a chance to wrestle in front of an audience. Level Up is being replaced by the new reality competition seres WWE LFG, which is set to air next year on A&E. Matches for Level Up usually taped before NXT went live on air and many of today's NXT stars all featured on the show throughout the past two years.


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Thursday, December 19, 2024 Issue #7436
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Have a good one guys, back tomorrow.


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//->> 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.


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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...

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


//->> 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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Tuesday, December 17, 2024 Issue #7434
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

There will be no newsletter tomorrow but the site will be updated regularly throughout the day. Back on Thursday.


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

PUNK VS ROLLINS OFFICIAL FOR RAW ON NETFLIX PREMIERE

- The second match for the Raw premiere episode on Netflix was made official last night and it is a big one with CM Punk taking on his arch nemesis Seth Rollins. Punk opened the show and was interrupted by Seth Rollins who was among the fans in the stands. That did not stop the two from having a big brawl, with Punk and Rollins coming together among the fans. Several WWE officials and referees broke up the fight with fans chanting "let them fight." Just when it looked like the situation was under control and Punk was walking back through the stands, Seth Rollins escaped the officials holding him and ran towards Punk for part two of the brawl. The match was then made official by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce in a backstage segment. Roman Reigns vs Solo Sikoa in a tribal combat rules match for the ula fala was also announced last week, with this Raw shaping up to be like a premium live event.

ZOEY STARK ADVANCES IN WOMEN'S IC TITLE TOURNAMENT

- Zoey Stark advanced to the semi final of the WWE Women's Intercontinental title tournament after she successfully defeated Kayden Carter and Raquel Rodriguez last night on Raw. Stark will now face Dakota Kai in the semi final while Lyra Valkyria will meet the winner of the Kairi Sane vs Natalya vs Alba Fyre match which will air on next week's Raw. The final of the tournament was not announced as to when it's taking place but it's highly likely happening on the Raw premiere on Netflix early next month. The Women's Intercontinental title will be exclusive to Raw and it's the second mid-card women's title introduced following the Women's United States title on Smackdown.

PRE-SALE FOR NXT NEW YEAR'S EVIL TICKETS KICKS OFF

- Tickets for the NXT New Year's Evil episode on CW went on pre-sale today on AXS.COM with the code NXTLIVE. The show will take place from the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday, January 7, the day after Raw debuts on Netflix. This will be the first NXT on Netflix for international viewers. The cheapest tickets are $127.15 or $344 for ringside, both prices including all taxes and fees. Tickets go on sale to the general public tomorrow morning. You can get the pre-sale at https://ms.spr.ly/6013oni7N.

RAW ON NETFLIX KICKOFF PARTY TOMORROW AT WWE HQ

- WWE is opening its brand new headquarters for the public tomorrow for the Raw on Netflix Kickoff event. The event will take place starting at 2PM ET at 707 Washington Blvd in Stamford and registrations quickly filled up, with the company not accepting new registrations. If you previously registered, be on the lookout for an email from tickets@... as selected participants will be notified by today 3PM ET. The event will stream live on the company's social media properties. Scheduled to appear are WWE World Heavyweight champion Gunther, WWE Women's World champion Liv Morgan, CM Punk, Solo Sikoa, Rhea Ripley, Seth Rollins, and Logan Paul.

MYSTERY Ø VIGNETTE AIRS ON RAW

- WWE is already promoting a new arrival to the Raw roster for the premiere episode on Netflix after a 23-second mystery vignette aired on the show last night. A big red 0 appears in the promo and then it changes to a zero with a strikethrough. The strikethrough zero then blinks three times before the Raw is Netflix logo appears and "Coming on 1.6.25" flashes on the screen. The vignette is most likely for the arrival of Penta El Zero Miedo, whose AEW contract expired at the beginning of the month. You can see the vignette at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/mystery-o-vignette-airs-on-raw-hyping-new-arrival/

SMACKDOWN RATING

- Smackdown last week drew 1,530,000 viewers, up 36,000 viewers from the prior week and the best number in three weeks. The show had a 0.47 rating in 18-49, up 0.03 and was #1 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and #1 on all of television, beating the second-placed show on CBS by 0.13 in 18-49. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

SATURDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT RATING

- Saturday Night's Main Event drew 1,590,000 viewers for the NBC return along with a 0.42 rating in 18-49, a demo number which has to be considered disappointing since both Raw and Smackdown on cable beat it. Variety is reporting that the show, which was also simulcast on Peacock, drew an additional 700,000 viewers on streaming for a total audience of over 2.3 million, beating the NBA Cup semifinal match on ABC. The last SNME on NBC in 2008 drew 2.4 million viewers.

REPORT: MATT CARDONA OFFERED AEW DEAL

- Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that AEW has offered a contract to Matt Cardona although it's not known if he has signed or not. Cardona is currently locked in a program with Chris Jericho for the ROH World title and the two will meet at Final Battle at the Hammerstein Ballroom this Friday. The former WWE Intercontinental champion has been appearing on AEW television the past couple of weeks to build his program with Jericho. He already had a couple of appearances in the promotion throughout the past couple of years. Cardona recently stated that he would love to end his career in WWE and have another WrestleMania moment as Matt Cardona as his previous gimmick, Zack Ryder, is "dead."

RAMPAGE RATING

- Rampage on Friday night rebounded in the ratings and drew 279,000 viewers, up 102,000 viewers from the prior week. This was the most-watched Rampage since September 20. The show had a 0.11 rating in 18-49, up 0.07 and also their best number since September 20. Rampage was #14 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)


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Monday, December 16, 2024 Issue #7433
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow!


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

NEW RAW LOGO FOR NETFLIX UNVEILED

- The brand-new Raw logo was revealed in a video on social media ahead of the Netflix premiere. The slick video shows Triple H arriving at the new WWE Headquarters in Stamford as he pulls up in a car. "A logo is an identity, tells you everything you need to know without saying anything at all," Triple H says as he opens the car and walks into the state-of-the-art building. "It's real, rebellious, raw," he continues. Triple H then walks in front of a large video screen and says, "Welcome to Raw on Netflix," as the new logo is displayed. Raw moves to Netflix on Monday, January 6 with a live broadcast from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Over 10,000 expensive tickets have already been sold for the show. You can see it at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/brand-new-raw-on-netflix-logo-unveiled/

BECKY LYNCH JOINS THE STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY CAST

- Former champion Becky Lynch today announced that she has joined the cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy which will start streaming on Paramount+ later next year. In a video shared on her social media, Lynch said, "When you've already been champion of the world there's really only one place where you can go next...and that's to the stars!" Lynch continued, "And I'm so excited to share with all of you that I'm joining Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as part of the bridge crew and this has been the most incredible experience acting alongside just a spectacular cast and crew." Joining the cast with Lynch are Holly Hunter, Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Diane, Zoe Steiner, Sandro Rosta, Robert Picardo, and Tig Notaro. Production on the 10 episodes began in August 2024 at Pinewood Toronto Studios in Toronto, Canada. A second season is already in development.

MONE VS SHIRAKAWA SET FOR WRESTLE DYNASTY

- Two titles will be up for grabs in the same match at Wrestle Dynasty next month in a bout involving Mercedes Mone and Mina Shirakawa. Mone last night headlined the NJPW Strong Style Evolved show and successfully defended the NJPW Strong Women's title against Hazuki. But after the match, Shirakawa made an appearance and said that she wants to take on Mone at Wrestle Dynasty in Tokyo. Mone agreed to have her NJPW Strong Women's title on the line as long as Shirakawa pus up her RevPro Undisputed British Women's title on the line as well. Shirakawa agreed to the deal and the two had a dance off the end the show. This means that if Mone beats Mina, she will hold the TBS title, NJPW Strong Women's title, and RevPro's Women's title, three titles from three different promotions and different countries. Shirakawa just recently lost a match against Mariah May for the AEW Women's title last week on Dynamite.

YOUNG BUCKS APPEAR AT NJPW SHOW

- The Young Bucks made a surprise appearance last night at the NJPW Strong Style Evolved show, coming to the aid of Jack Perry. The former AEW Tag Team champions attacked Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Yota Tsuji following their tag match against Perry and Konosuke Takeshita in the second to last match on the 10-match card. After all the dust cleared, Matthew Jackson grabbed the mic and said it was great to be back in an NJPW ring and come January 5, they will take the IWGP Tag Team titles. The two will face Great-O-Khan and a partner of his choice at Wrestle Dynasty, marking their first NJPW match since 2019. The Bucks were last seen on AEW television in October, losing their titles to Private Party.

HAMMERSTONE TO UNDERGO MINOR SURGERY

- TNA star Hammerstone will be undergoing surgery for a knee injury which kept him out of the Final Resolution event this past Friday. Hammerstone was scheduled to team up with Jake Something against PCO and Sami Callihan and The Rascalz in a triple tag team match but the company announced that he was not medically cleared to compete. In a post on social media, the 33-year-old said that for the first time in his career, he has to undergo surgery, "which really sucks," but he's confident it's a "pretty minor procedure" which will not keep him out of the ring for a long time. The former MLW champion joined TNA earlier this year and has also appeared on NXT as part of the talent exchange the two had going on for months.

DISNEY'S MOANA 2 WITH THE ROCK STAYS IN #1

- In its third week since its release, Disney's Moana 2 movie featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson retained its #1 spot on the box office chart with a $26,621,000 weekend. The movie is now at $337,516,469 in domestic gross and another $379,500,000 in international sales for a worldwide number of $717,016,469 according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. It has now surpassed both domestic and worldwide box office of the original Moana movie which was released in 2016. Johnson's other movie, Red One, slipped one place to #6 with a $4,400,000 weekend and a total of $92,604,000 domestic gross and an additional $82,600,000 in worldwide receipts for a total of $175,204,878. The Christmas movie is already streaming on Amazon's Prime Video.


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Sunday, December 15, 2024 Issue #7432
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

I really enjoyed SNME last night. Yeah, lots of commercials but that was to be expected. Thought the flow of the show was great. Was good to have McAfee back and Ventura was entertaining as well.


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

SATURDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT RESULTS

- The red, white, and blue ropes, bow ties and light blue referee shirts, the iconic Saturday Night's Main Event theme song, steel barricades, and Jesse Ventura's feather boas were all on display last night on SNME as WWE returned to NBC for the first time since 2008. Over 15,000 fans turned up for the event, held at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, New York, the same location of the first-ever Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC held on May 11, 1985. Joe Tessitore opened the broadcast as a host running down the card, sporting a red bow tie as a tribute to Mean Gene Okerlund. He then brought out Jesse "The Body" Ventura for some added flair before the action was thrown to ringside, where Pat McAfee was introduced as the guest commentator for the night. The two-hour night had five big matches which started with Drew McIntyre keeping his 100% record against Sami Zayn. Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky for the WWE Women's World Heavyweight title was up next and despite Morgan b
eing on the receiving end of a nasty knee to the face, she still won with the Oblivion. A triple threat for the WWE World Heavyweight title followed, with Gunther against Damian Priest and Finn Balor. It was a very good match which Gunther won. Chelsea Green then made history by becoming the inaugural WWE Women's United States champion, defeating Michin in the tournament final with the Unprettier. The Long Island crowd was certainly behind Green and popped huge for the victory. The main event had the extra color commentary of Jesse "The Body" Ventura, who informed Cole and McAfee that the snake skin on his jacket used to be Damien, the pet snake of Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who he said stole and turned it into a jacket! Yikes! Cody Rhodes, who came out with the beautiful Winged Eagle WWE championship for one night only, then defeated his frenemy Kevin Owens after a Cross Rhodes on a steel chair in a match which also saw two referee bumps.

KEVIN OWEN ATTACKS CODY RHODES AFTER SNME ENDING

- Cody Rhodes might have won the match last night against Kevin Owens but Owens had the last laugh after Cody had to be stretchered out of the arena following the ending of Saturday Night's Main Event. With Cody in the ring cutting a promo for the crowd, Owens attacked from behind and delivered a nasty package piledriver, a move which is rarely seen on WWE television. Several WWE officials and EMTs rushed to the ring and placed Cody in a neck brace and stretcher. Owens stole the title and walked back with it, only to be confronted by Triple H, who came out of Gorilla and pushed Owens for his actions. The two then had a shoving match and went face-to-face several times before Triple H then gave Owens a big push to his chest which angered Owens. Referees had to split the two apart before it got worse. You can see what happened at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/cody-rhodes-stretchered-after-match-following-kevin-owens-attack/.

WINGED EAGLE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS FOR ONE NIGHT

- The Winged Eagle WWE championship, considered by many the most beautiful design among all WWE titles, was back last night during Saturday Night's Main Event, albeit for one night only. Cody Rhodes, who in the past promised to try his best to bring back the popular title, walked out for his SNME match against Kevin Owens wearing the championship made famous by the likes of Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, and Ultimate Warrior as part of the nostalgia for the show. The particular design, by belt maker Reggie Parks, made its debut in February 1988 carried by Hulk Hogan and was last seen on WWE television in 1998 after Steve Austin won the title from Shawn Michaels. The design was replaced by the Big Eagle championship, a somewhat similar, but not as popular title. An autographed version of the title that Rhodes carried last night is being sold by WWE Shop for $699 (https://wwe-shop.sjv.io/WyyjE3). It has a gold Cody signature on the left side of the title and this special event item will be shi
pped no later than February 21, 2025. Orders for this item will be only be available until December 16. A non-autographed title is available for sale for a much cheaper price of $429 (https://wwe-shop.sjv.io/WyyjE3) and is basically the same replica belt while a modified, dual-plated version of the title, is on sale for just $300 (https://wwe-shop.sjv.io/WyyjE3). The title's strap measures 49.5" x 10.13" with the main center plate approximately 11.3" x 8.8". The title replica weighs almost 6 pounds and includes a cloth carrying bag. If you're still thinking about a Christmas present, this is the perfect gift for any wrestling fan!

CHELSEA GREEN WINS THE WWE WOMEN'S UNITED STATES TITLE

- Chelsea Green made history last night at Saturday Night's Main Event by becoming the inaugural WWE Women's United States champion. The title was introduced to the Smackdown brand on November 8 and a tournament to crown the first-ever champion kicked off a week later. 12 women took part in four, triple-threat matches with Bayley defeating Candice LaRae and B-Fab, Chelsea Green defeating Blair Davenport and Bianca Belair, Michin defeating Piper Niven and Lash Legend, and Tiffany Stratton defeating Naomi and Elektra Lopez. In the semi finals held on Friday's Smackdown, Green beat Bayley and Michin beat Stratton, sending both to the tournament final and a rematch from their previously well-received dumpster match of several weeks back. Green was the overwhelming favorite heading into the match, a testament to her hard work and character development over the past several months. Her victory was given the seal of approval from the usually-tough New York crowd who erupted following the Un
prettier finisher. You can see it at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/chelsea-green-wins-wwe-womens-united-states-title/.

HULK HOGAN WALKS OUT WITH COLBY COVINGTON AT UFC SHOW IN TAMPA

- While many thought Hulk Hogan would be part of the return of Saturday Night's Main Event last night, the Hulkster had another gig planned...with another TKO Group company by the initials of UFC. Hogan walked out with UFC fighter Colby Covington and former fighter Chael Sonnen for his fight against Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC on ESPN 63. Hulk's WWE theme song Real American was used for the entrance, with Hogan carrying and waving the American flag along the way. "A trio you didn't know you needed," the UFC X account posted along with the video. "An epic walk out for @ColbyCovMMA!" Covington cupped his ears the way Hogan did before he walked into the cage, although unfortunately for him, he lost the fight. The show took place from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. You can see the whole entrance at https://www.wrestling-online.com/general/hulk-hogan-accompanies-colby-covington-to-the-octagon-at-ufc-on-espn-63/.

WILLOW NIGHTINGALE TO REPRESENT AEW AT WRESTLE DYNASTY

- Willow Nightingale has got her ticket to Tokyo and will be representing AEW in the Wrestle Dynasty International Women's Cup match. The former TBS champion defeated Jamie Hayter in the qualifying match last night on Collision and she now joins Athena, representing Ring of Honor, and Persephone, representing CMLL in the match. Stardom has yet to determine who they will be sending. The winner of the four-way match, which takes place on January 5, will receive a title shot for a title in any of the participating promotions.

CONTINENTAL CLASSIC UPDATE

- Two more Continental Classic matches took place on Collision last night, with the blue league featured during the broadcast. In the first match, Kazuchika Okada, the reigning Continental champion, defeated The Beast Mortos to go to seven points. This loss leaves The Beast Mortos with zero points after four matches, joining Komander as the only one who still has yet to pick up a win. Also last night, Kyle Fletcher suffered his first loss in the tournament with Mark Briscoe beating him for the three points. Up until yesterday, Fletcher was the only one with a 100% record in this tournament. Fletcher still leads the blue league with nine points while Okada is behind with seven points and Briscoe with six. Daniel Garcia and Shelton Benjamin have four and three points respectively and Mortos remains with nothing.

CHRIS JERICHO APPEARS AT GCW EVENT ATTACKING MATT CARDONA

- The issues between AEW and GCW seem to have been ironed out as last night, Chris Jericho showed up unannounced at the GCW Highest In The Room event at UCC in Los Angeles, attacking Matt Cardona. Jericho interfered in the Cardona vs Effy match, showing up in a hoodie and mask and took out Cardona with a bat, allowing Effy to use the rough rider finisher on Cardona to get the pin. After the match was over, Jericho removed the mask to reveal himself to a big pop from the crowd and then hit the Judas Effect on Effy. He also removed his hoodie, revealing that he was wearing a shirt sporting the AEW logo. Jericho then proceeded to beat both Cardona and Effy with the baseball bat before he left the ring. Jericho and Cardona will meet each other at ROH's Final Battle event later in the month for the ROH World title.

LINDA MCMAHON DONATED OVER $21 MILLION TO DONALD TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN

- A report on CNN.COM states that Linda McMahon, the soon-to-be Secretary of Education under President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet, was the largest donor to Trump among his cabinet picks and his second most-generous donor. The person who pumped the most money into Trump's 2024 campaign was Elon Musk, but Musk does not form part of the cabinet. The former WWE President and CEO donated a total of $21.2 million, most of which went to Make American Great Again, Inc., the super PAC that spent heavily on advertising to aid his campaign. In comparison, Elon Musk donated over $262 million to pro-Trump super PACs. After McMahon's $21.2 million in donations, the closest cabinet member with the most donations is Howard Lutnick with a total of $9.4 million. He will be the Secretary of Commerce, a position which was originally thought it was going to McMahon. McMahon served as the Administrator of the SBA in Trump's first presidency and then transitioned to run organizations to help him get re-e
lected into office. She, along with Lutnick, headed up the transition team after Trump won the election. Apart from being a confidant of Trump, McMahon is also a long-time friend along with her ex-husband Vince McMahon.

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Saturday, December 14, 2024 Issue #7431
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Looking forward to watch Saturday Night's Main Event tonight. It's a good show on paper. Hopefully fans at the arena are up for it too!


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


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

FINAL RESOLUTION 2024 RESULTS

- Here are the results from last night's Final Resolution 2024 event which took place live from Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. JDC defeated Leon Slater in the pre-show; Frankie Kazarian defeated Jonathan Gresham in the pre-show; Moose defeated Kushida to retain the TNA X Division title; The Rascalz defeated Jake Something and PCO and Sami Callihan in a three-way tag match; Ace Austin defeated Trent Seven; Jordynne Grace vs Rosemary ended in a no contest after the interference from Tessa Blanchard; Joe Hendry defeated Josh Alexander, Mike Santana and Steve Maclin in a four-way match to become the #1 contender to the TNA title; Masha Slamovich defeated Tasha Steelz in a falls count anywhere match to retain the TNA Knockouts title; The Hardys defeated The System in a tables match to retain the TNA Tag Team titles; Nic Nemeth defeated AJ Francis to retain the TNA World title.

TESSA BLANCHARD RETURNS AT FINAL RESOLUTION

- Tessa Blanchard made her return to TNA Wrestling last night at the Final Resolution TNA+ event, attacking Jordynne Grace. Blanchard appeared with a jacket and ski mask and took out Grace during the match against Rosemary. After hitting a modified DDT, she removed her jacket and mask, posed in the ring and smiled as a stunned audience looked on. "Tessa Blanchard is back. The rumors are true. Has hell frozen over in TNA Wrestling?" commentary said. News broke out that Blanchard signed again with TNA Wrestling yesterday and her arrival was imminent. The former champ was fired from the company in 2020 after no-showing television tapings during the pandemic era and failing to send in promos to be included on TV. She was the Impact World champion at the time and had psychical possession of the title, which was eventually returned following her dismissal. You can see her return at https://www.wrestling-online.com/tna/tessa-blanchard-returns-at-final-resolution-attacks-jordynne-grace/.

FAN EJECTED FROM FINAL RESOLUTION AFTER SLAPPING EDDIE EDWARDS

- A fan at ringside got ejected from Center Stage in Atlanta last night during TNA's Final Resolution show after he slapped Eddie Edwards. The incident came after Edwards was at ringside arguing with the fans playing the heel and one fan gave him the middle finger. Edwards knocked the water bottle off the fan's hand and the two came face-to-face with the referee trying to tell Edwards to back away. At that point, the fan slapped Edwards in the face and Edwards quickly returned the favor. Security then stepped in and ejected the fan from his seat as the crowd chanted "you f*cked up." You can see the incident at https://www.wrestling-online.com/tna/fan-ejected-from-final-resolution-after-slapping-eddie-edwards/.

RHINO DEPARTS TNA WRESTLING

- Rhino is wrapping up his duties with TNA Wrestling tonight at the Impact TV tapings at Center Stage in Atlanta, the site of last night's Final Resolution show. He will be taking on Ryan Nemeth in his final match for the company, with his future currently unknown. He announced his departure last night via his Facebook page. "Tomorrow is my last day with TNA Wrestling. I am wrestling Ryan Nemeth. It will most likely be the last time EVER I will wrestle in a TNA ring," Rhino wrote. "If you can make it to Center Stage in Atlanta, come and be part of this 5 year chapter of my life and our journey. Thank you to all of the amazing wrestling fans for your support. I’m not done wrestling but TNA and I have parted ways." The 49-year-old returned to TNA Wrestling for his second stint in mid-2019. He has won the TNA Tag Team titles twice and the NWA World title when it was used as the company's top prize in its early days. In October, Rhino was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame during Bound For Glory.

SATURDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT LIVE TONIGHT ON NBC

- Live tonight from the sold out Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, New York, WWE is back on NBC in prime time with the return of Saturday Night's Main Event. Five matches are set for this two-hour show which will kick off at 8PM ET, the first SNME broadcast since 2006. Tonight's show will be a retro presentation, a nod to the original broadcast in the 80s which also took place from the same exact venue. WWE champion Cody Rhodes will defend his title against Kevin Owens, with the Winged Eagle title expected to be on display for one night only. Gunther puts up his WWE World Heavyweight title on the line against Finn Balor and Damian Priest. Liv Morgan's WWE Women's World title is also up for grabs against former WWE Women's champion Iyo Sky and a new Women's United States champion will be crowned as Chelsea Green battles Michin. Plus, Drew McIntyre continues his path of destruction as he faces Sami Zayn. Also, WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura will be on commentary plus other WWE Legends are expected to do cameo appearances throughout the show. The show will simulcast on Peacock and will air on WWE's YouTube in other parts of the world.

TRIBAL COMBAT ULA FALA MATCH ANNOUNCED FOR RAW ON NETFLIX

- Roman Reigns has challenged Solo Sikoa for a match with the ula fala necklace on the line in a tribal combat rules match for the January 6 episode of Monday Night Raw which will be the Netflix premiere episode. The match was later confirmed during Smackdown and is the first match announced for the blockbuster Raw. This will be the first one-on-one between Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa, although the cousins have been involved in matches against each other over the past few months with the addition of other Bloodline members involved. The ula fala represents being the Tribal Chief and Roman said that he did not take the necklace, but rather, it was bestowed upon him by his father Sika and uncle Afa. He promised that on January 6, he will take back his necklace, Bloodline, and respect and everyone will have to acknowledge him.

WOMEN'S U.S. TITLE TOURNAMENT FINAL MATCH SET

- The two semi final matches in the Women's United States title tournament took place on Smackdown last night. In the first match, favorite Chelsea Green defeated former WWE Women's champion Bayley to advance while later in the broadcast, Michin defeated Ms Money in the Bank Tiffany Stratton to secure her place in the final. Green and Michin will now face each other tonight on Saturday Night's Main Event to crown the inaugural Women's WWE United States champion. This is a return match from a few months ago when Green and Michin took part in an entertaining dumpster match which Michin won, although a different result is expected tonight!

NAOMI REPLACES JADE CARGILL AS WWE WOMEN'S TAG TEAM CHAMPION

- Naomi has replaced Jade Cargill as WWE Women's Tag Team champion after last night on Smackdown, General Manager Nick Aldis informed Bianca Belair that he has to strip her and Cargill of the titles since Cargill is out injured. Naomi, who was with Belair and still somewhat of a suspect in Cargill's injury, offered to step in and assume the role of one half of the WWE Women's Tag Team champions. Aldis agreed to swapping her but on one condition, that the two will defend their titles on next week's episode of Smackdown. Belair and Naomi will take on Nia Jax and Candice LaRae, with Jax in a position to become a double champion.

BRAUN STROWMAN RETURNS

- Braun Strowman made his return on Smackdown last night as the surprise opponent of Carmelo Hayes in a match that ended in less than a minute and a half. Strowman has been out of action since late September when he tore his groin in a last monster standing match against Bronson Reed on Raw. He has now officially moved to Friday Night Smackdown. Talent will be swapping brands over the next few weeks as part of a transfer window ahead of WWE's new era on Netflix. Strowman is the first Superstar to officially swap from Raw to Smackdown.


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====================================================
Friday, December 13, 2024 Issue #7430
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Have a great weekend, folks!


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


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

TNA FINAL RESOLUTION LIVE TONIGHT ON TNA+

- Live from Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia, TNA Wrestling presents Final Resolution exclusively on TNA+. The full card is as follows: Nic Nemeth vs AJ Francis for the TNA World title; Masha Slamovich vs Tasha Steelz for the TNA Knockouts title; The Hardys vs The System in a tables match for the TNA Tag Team titles; Moose vs Kushida for the TNA X Division title; Joe Hendry vs Josh Alexander vs Mike Santana vs Steve Maclin in a four-way match to determine the #1 contender for the TNA World title; Jordynne Grace vs Rosemary; Ace Austin vs Trent Seven; The Rascalz vs Jake Something and Hammerstone vs PCO and Sami Callihan in a three-way tag team match; Leon Slater vs JDC in the pre-show; and Frankie Kazarian vs Jonathan Gresham in the pre-show. Final Resolution will start at 8PM ET and a TNA+ subscription is required. It costs $9.99 for a month and can be canceled at any time. The Countdown To Final Resolution streams live and free starting at 7:30PM ET on TNA+ and TNA digital platforms.

REPORT: TESSA BLANCHARD RE-SIGNS WITH TNA

- Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that Tessa Blanchard has signed again with TNA Wrestling and is expected to show up on TV imminently. Blanchard was fired from TNA back in June 2020 while she held the company's top title. "IMPACT Wrestling has confirmed that it has terminated its relationship with Tessa Blanchard and stripped her of the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship," a statement read at the time. She won the title in January 2020 at the Hard To Kill pay-per-view but then vanished in March after the coronavirus pandemic hit, refusing to attend any television tapings. She refused to send any taped promos for the TV shows and also refused to drop the title, leading management to fire her. She is the only female to ever hold the company's world title, generally reserved for just the men. Blanchard was one half of the CMLL Women's Tag Team champions and today CMLL issued a statement saying that the titles have been vacated "following the departure of Tessa Blanchard from the company." Blanchard has a mixed past and was exposed by her peers for constant bullying against fellow female wrestlers throughout the years.

DOUBLE SMACKDOWN TV TAPINGS TONIGHT

- WWE will be taping two episodes of Smackdown tonight at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut so everyone can have a good amount of days off for Christmas with their loved ones. With Saturday Night's Main Event happening live tomorrow, it will be interesting to see what the second tapings will consist of considering the outcome of the WWE title match between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens and the winner of the inaugural WWE United States Women's title cannot be given away during the tapings. Rhodes and Owens will have their final promos tonight before tomorrow's championship match while the U.S. title tournament will have its two semi finals, Bayley vs Chelsea Green and Michin vs Tiffany Stratton. Carmelo Hayes will also face a mystery opponent. Raw and NXT next week will also have two tapings to cover Christmas week.

ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA EURO TOUR TICKETS NOW ON SALE

- Tickets for the WWE European tour on the road to WrestleMania went officially on sale to the general public this morning and the trend of very expensive ticket prices continued, at least for the TV portion of the tour. As part of this two-week tour, WWE will have six live television shows, three Raw and three Smackdown, across five different countries. The Smackdown in Barcelona on March 14 is the cheapest out of all TV shows, with tickets starting from €60 and going all the way up to €450 for ringside. Raw in Brussels on March 17 has tickets at €127 for the cheapest and €377 to the highest what's available right now. Smackdown in Bologna on March 21 has the most expensive starting point, with the cheapest tickets at €345 and the highest so far at €575. Raw in Glasgow on March 24 starts from £172.95 and all the way up to £897.70 for ringside. WWE will then tape both Smackdown and Raw in London on March 27 and 31 respectively. Only combo tickets are available and the cheapest are £183.50 and the most expensive shoot up to £1,504 for ringside. Tickets for the other non-televised shows in Dortmund, Hannover, Belfast, Nottingham, Vienna, and Amsterdam are also on sale.

DYNAMITE RATING

- The Winter is Coming episode of Dynamite this week drew 594,000 viewers, up 8,000 viewers from the prior week and makes it the third straight week in a row with viewership less than 600,000. The show had a 0.17 rating in 18-49, the same as last week and was #4 in the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

ROH WOMEN'S CHAMP ADVANCES TO WRESTLE DYNASTY FOUR-WAY

- Ring of Honor's pick for the Wrestle Dynasty International Women's cup will be the ROH Women's champion Athena. The qualifying match took place on last night's ROH episode with a four-way match between Athena, Red Velvet, Billie Starkz, and Leyla Hirsch, with Athena pinning Red Velvet to secure her ticket to Tokyo. AEW's pick will be decided tomorrow on Collision with Willow Nightingale taking on Jamie Hayter. Qualifying matches from CMLL and Stardom are also yet to be held. All winners will face each other at the Tokyo Dome on January 5 and the winner receives a title shot of their choosing from any of the four participating promotions.

DARK SIDE OF THE RING

- The sixth season of the popular Dark Side of the Ring series on Vice will return on March 25. Season five which aired earlier this year had 10 episodes in total, focusing on Chris Adams, Sensational Sherri, Terry Gordy, Black Saturday, Chris Colt, Sandman, Earthquake, Harley Race, Buff Bagwell, and Brutus Beefcake. No episode titles have been revealed for the new season yet. The series made its debut in 2019 and has Evan Husney and Jason Eisener as its executive producers. All of its previous five seasons are streaming on Hulu.


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====================================================
Thursday, December 12, 2024 Issue #7429
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

A bit late today, but here it goes...

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


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

TONI STORM RETURNS

- Former AEW Women's champion Toni Storm made a surprise return last night on the Winter Is Coming edition of Dynamite, minus her Timeless gimmick, reverting to her original character. After Mariah May successfully defended the AEW Women's title against her former friend Mina Shirakawa in the main event of Dynamite, Toni Storm's music hit the speakers to a massive ovation from the fans. Storm walked out to the top of the stage as Thunder Rosa held up a "WTF!" sign at ringside. "It's Toni Storm! I can't believe what I'm seeing," screamed Toni Schiavone on commentary as Storm removed her sunglasses and surveyed the arena. Storm looked emotional while May looked absolutely disgusted in the ring, looking at her other former friend. Storm was last seen at AEW All In in Wembley Stadium, losing her title to Mariah May. She had been using the Timeless gimmick since October of last year. You can see her return at https://www.wrestling-online.com/aew/toni-storm-returns-on-winter-is-coming-dynamite/

WORLDS END 2024 MAIN EVENT ANNOUNCED

- The main event for the Worlds End pay-per-view was announced last night on Dynamite with a four-way match for the AEW World title. AEW World champion Jon Moxley will defend his title against Hangman Page, Orange Cassidy, and Jay White and it was the champion who decided to give his challengers a shot at the title. After the Moxley and Pac vs Cassidy and White tag match ended in chaos, Moxley decided to deliver an early Christmas present backstage by offering to put his title on the line against Page, Cassidy, and White. Christian Cage, who still holds the contract to cash in any time, then reminded Moxley that at Worlds End he might cash in his prize.

CONTINENTAL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT UPDATE

- The Continental Classic tournament continued on Dynamite last night with two gold league matches taking place. Will Ospreay defeated Claudio Castagnoli to earn three points, sending him to six and giving Castagnoli his first loss in the tournament. In the other match, Ricochet also got a win and three points over Brody King, sending Ricochet to six points and sharing the top of the table with Ospreay and Castagnoli. Blue league matches for this weekend include Continental champion Kazuchika Okada vs The Beast Mortos and Kyle Fletcher vs Mark Briscoe. Fletcher remains the only man undefeated with three wins out of three.

ADAM COLE GETS MJF AT WORLDS END

- Adam Cole will get his chance to get back at MJF at the Worlds End pay-per-view after he defeated Kyle O'Reilly last night on Dynamite in an eliminator match. Cole and O'Reilly were the last two in the Dynamite Dozen battle royal last week and their one-on-one match last night determined who will go for the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Former AEW World champion MJF is the only individual to ever hold the Dynamite Diamond Ring since its inception in 2019. MJF and Cole have been involved in a storyline together since June 2023 but long injuries to Cole derailed everything. Despite being unveiled as the man under the devil's mask a year ago and the one who cost MJF the title against Samoa Joe, it was Cole who returned as the babyface at WrestleDream.

NXT RATING

- NXT this week with the post-Deadline episode drew 680,000 viewers on The CW, up 87,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.17 rating, up 0.04 from the last show. This was the best number since October 22 in both viewers and demo rating. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

WINGED EAGLE WWE TITLE RETURNING AT SNME

- The Winged Eagle WWE championship is returning for one night only at Saturday Night's Main Event this weekend. A video on social media showed Triple H talking to Cody Rhodes, gifting him a large Pelican case. “We keep talking about Saturday Night’s Main Event. You know, the whole theme of that thing is going to be retro," Triple H told Cody. "Jesse Ventura's going to be there. Long Island, New York, Nassau Coliseum. With that in mind, got something for you. Understand this...one night only, alright?” Cody agrees and Triple H taps on the case. Cody opens it up and a golden glow comes out of it as Cody smiles, closes it, and walks away with it. The much-beloved title was used between 1988 and 1998 and is considered to be the most popular WWE title design in the history of the company. Cody has in the past tried to bring it back and warned fans not to get mad at him if it does not happen. Saturday Night's Main Event is set to be a retro presentation, without the use of many lights and video screens. You can see the video at https://www.wrestling-online.com/wwe/winged-eagle-wwe-championship-returning-at-saturday-nights-main-event/.

JANEL GRANT LAWSUIT TO PROCEED

- The six-month stay ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice in the civil case filed by Janel Grant against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE has expired and will now move on after the go ahead from the U.S. Southern District for New York. In June, the DOJ asked Grant's legal team to pause their fight to pursue their own federal criminal investigation against Vince McMahon and this investigation will continue parallel to the civil case. Janel Grant's attorney, Ann Callis, said in a statement that they are pleased that prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have concluded that they can continue their criminal investigation while they bring forward new evidence in their civil case about the sexual exploitation carried out by Janel Grant’s abusers. "For the last six months, Ms. Grant has patiently waited to hold Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE accountable for the sex trafficking and abuse she endured at the company on a near daily basis. Her wait is over, and we now look forward to sharing Ms. Grant’s story,” Grant said.


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====================================================
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 Issue #7428
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
====================================================


//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

There were problems updating our Facebook page today since Facebook is mostly down. We'll get the stories up later when they're up and running.


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


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

FENIX DELETES CONTROVERSIAL POSTS FROM X

- Fenix has deleted all his comments related to the "inhumane treatment" saga on X, with the only trace of what was said being a December 7 post which reads, "I will have my chance to speak the truth." On December 8, Fenix posted a controversial message which read, "No one stays in a place where they received inhumane treatment," a comment which sparked several debates and discussions. The following day, he alluded that AEW ignored him for months when he needed a doctor and added that due to contractual issues he can't speak now, but he will have his time. All those comments and replies were deleted, suggesting that the two sides have at least talked since then. Fenix had his contract extended by several months by Tony Khan to make up for his time injured, preventing him from entering free agency and possibly joining his brother Penta in WWE. He last wrestled on the July 27 episode of Rampage.

WINTER IS COMING DYNAMITE TONIGHT ON TBS

- AEW's annual tradition of Winter Is Coming returns tonight live on TBS from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri where a healthy crowd of over 4,000 are expected. Five matches are set to take place including Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly with the winner facing MJF for the Dynamite Diamond ring at Worlds End, Mariah May defends her AEW Women's title against Mina Shirakawa, AEW World champion Jon Moxley teams up with Pac to take on Jay White and Orange Cassidy, and two Continental Classic matches from the gold league featuring Ricochet vs Brody King and Claudio Castagnoli vs Will Ospreay. A Winter Is Coming Rampage will be taped immediately following the conclusion of Dynamite and a Winter Is Coming Dynamite will be taped tomorrow night from the Chaifetz Arena in St Louis, Missouri.

COLLISION RATING

- Collision last Saturday, back in its usual time slot on TNT, drew 278,000 viewers, up 134,000 viewers from the prior week's record low. The show did a 0.07 rating in 18-49, up 0.04 from the previous week and was #8 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

WWE SELLS FORMER PRODUCTION STUDIOS LOCATION

- CTInsider.com is reporting that WWE has managed to sell its former production studios located on Hamilton Avenue in Stamford to Developer V20 Group who intends to convert the site into a high-end warehouse for distribution or other uses. The total value for the location plus two adjacent lands were approximately $7.5 million. The studios featured 33,000 square feet of space on the ground floor on a three acre lot and the adjacent properties had an additional four acres. WWE has moved all of its operations to their new state-of-the-art headquarters at Washington Blvd. Their previous HQ, known as Titan Towers, is still for sale.

RAW RATING

- It was a bad night for Raw this week with the show doing an average of 1,385,000 viewers, down a whopping 324,000 viewers from the prior week. The NFL game was simulcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 and drew 18.6 million viewers. Raw started with 1,385,000 viewers in the first hour and then increased slightly to 1,386,000 viewers in the second hour. This was the least-watched Raw since September 23 and the second least-watched of 2024. The show had a 0.43 rating in 18-49, down also a big 0.11 from the previous week. It was #3 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and beat everything else apart from NFL. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

WWE FILMS FOOTAGE FOR LFG SHOW BEFORE NXT

- WWE has started filming footage for the upcoming LFG reality/competition series on A&E, with tapings being held prior to NXT last night at the WWE Performance Center. Elijah Holyfield, the son of former boxing champion Evander Holyfield, was featured in the taping, which had the LFG logo up on screens. Holyfield is a former Cincinnati Bengals NFL player and signed with the company last month. He wrestled Anthony Luke during the taping. LFG will have The Undertaker, Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, and Mickie James appearing as coaches throughout the series, with Triple H and Shawn Michaels also part of the show. It will offer a behind-the-scenes look of what it takes to become a WWE Superstar, similar to what they did with the Breaking Ground series which aired on WWE Network.

BRONSON REED UNDERGOING SURGERY TODAY

- Bronson Reed is undergoing surgery today in Birmingham, Alabama to repair the broken foot he suffered at the Survivor Series: WarGames match. Reed's surgery will happen at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center, the go-to medical facility for WWE Superstars for such injuries. He suffered the injury when he leaped off the top of the cage for a tsunami splash on Roman Reigns but Reigns was saved by CM Punk, sending Reed crashing through a table. Unfortunately for him, he landed on his ankle first, shattering it. The Australian star is expected to be out of action for several months and will miss WrestleMania in the process.

NXT NEW YEAR'S EVIL LOCATION ANNOUNCED

- The NXT New Year's Evil episode on The CW will be taking place from Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California. Set for January 7 the day after Raw makes its debut on Netflix, New Year's Evil will be a loaded show with the top two matches already announced: Trick Williams vs Oba Femi for the NXT title and Roxanne Perez vs Giulia for the NXT Women's title. The Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall is located on W Jefferson Blvd in downtown Los Angeles next to the University of Southern California. It's a popular location for concerts and awards ceremony events, with the hall holding upwards of 6,000 spectators. Tickets will go on pre-sale on Tuesday, December 17 at 10AM PT and a general public on-sale follows the following day also at the same time. Those interested can register for the pre-sale at https://www.wwe.com/nye-2025-presale-registration.

SHOTZI RETURNS AFTER 10 MONTHS OUT

- Shotzi made her return to WWE television last night on NXT, aligning herself with Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley. Her return came after Dolin and Paxley were being attacked by the trio of Jazmyn Nyx, Jacy Jayne, and NXT Women's North American champion Fallon Henley, with Shotzi coming out to even the numbers. Shotzi was injured in February, tearing her ACL during an NXT episode, and has been out of action ever since. While away from the company, Shotzi also took care of a back injury by traveling to Mexico to get stem cell treatment.


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


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Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Issue #7427
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Visit our website at http://www.wrestling-online.com
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//->> OPENING WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Nothing to say today, back tomorrow.

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

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH SWITCHED TO TRIPLE THREAT

- The WWE World Heavyweight title match at this weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event show on NBC has been switched to a triple threat match. Originally Gunther vs Finn Balor for the gold, it will now have the addition of former champion Damian Priest as well after Raw General Manager Adam Pearce broke the news to Balor following a chaotic opening segment which saw Balor and Judgment Day attack Gunther and Priest. Another match was also added to the show, with Sami Zayn taking on the returning Drew McIntyre. McIntyre attacked Zayn last week on Raw and last night Zayn issued a challenge, only to get jumped again by the Scotsman.

SMACKDOWN RATING

- The post-Survivor Series Smackdown drew 1,494,000 viewers last Friday on USA Network, up 153,000 viewers from the prior week. Smackdown had a 0.44 rating in 18-49, up 0.04 from the previous show and was #1 on the top 50 cable chart for the night and was also #3 in all of television. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)

LYRA VALKYRIA ADVANCES

- The second woman to advance in the Women's Intercontinental title tournament is Lyra Valkryia. The former NXT Women's champion overcame Ivy Nile and Zelina Vega on Raw last night and will be facing the winner of the match between Kairi Sane, Alba Fyre, and Natalya. Dakota Kai advanced last week and will now face the winner of the match consisting of Zoey Stark, Kayden Carter, and Raquel Rodriguez. WWE has not announced when the final of the tournament will take place but it looks like it's being kept for the Raw debut on Netflix early next month.

PRE-SALE FOR SMACKDOWN ON EVE OF ROYAL RUMBLE OUT NOW

- The pre-sale for the Smackdown on the eve of the Royal Rumble started this morning on Ticketmaster.com using the code WWEVIP. Tickets start from $74 for a limited view seat and go all the way up to $454 for ringside seat. WWE Ringsider packages for floor are between $704 and $804. Most of the 200 section is not open but seats with great views from the 100 sections start from $94 plus fees. The show takes place from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, with the general on-sale tomorrow at 10AM as well. Over 45,000 tickets have been sold for The Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Field stadium.

BRYAN DANIELSON SAYS HE'S TRYING TO AVOID NECK SURGERY

- During the AEW All In: Texas ticket launch, former AEW World champion Bryan Danielson told Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture that he is trying to avoid undergoing neck surgery. "I’d like to avoid it as much as possible. The idea to me is that surgery is a last resort, not a first resort," Danielson said, adding that he's trying some alternative methods instead. "I’m going to try some other things first before going under the knife. And yeah, that’s kind of my plan now," he continued. Danielson put his chances of wrestling again at 50/50 and if it doesn't happen, he's okay with that. "I loved the time I got to spend doing this, but I also love what I’m doing now," Danielson said. Danielson remains without a full-time contract with AEW, having said multiple times that he was not looking at signing another performer deal once he loses his AEW World title. He lost the title to Jon Moxley at WrestleDream and has not appeared on AEW TV ever since.

RAMPAGE RATING

- Rampage on Friday night on TNT with three much-lauded Continental Classic matches drew 177,000 viewers, up 51,000 viewers from last week's record low and the second least-watched episode of Rampage in its regular time slot ever. The show had a 0.04 rating in 18-49, up 0.01 from the previous show and was #25 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Programming Insider)


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