In August, Raw Underground debuted with Shane McMahon introducing an MMA style fight club to Raw’s third hour. It was introduced to combat plunging ratings in the third hour, as WWE feared the record lows they experienced in third-hour viewership would become the norm. It also doubled as a means to create a new star in Dabba-Kato, who had developed a dominant winning streak until WWE inexplicably had him face and lose to Braun Strowman on the September 21 episode.
According to this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it now looks Raw Underground could be done or has at least gone for the foreseeable future. Dave Meltzer reported that it had been dropped because of fears that the extras in the crowd could cause an outbreak to the rest of the roster, and WWE wants to keep main roster talent as isolated as possible for obvious reasons.
Raw Underground’s eight-week run started brightly and did generate the ratings increase WWE had hoped for. However, fans were beginning to turn on the concept of seeing predetermined MMA fights when real MMA fights are so widely available and much more exciting.
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In June 2019, Vince McMahon made Paul Heyman an instrumental part of WWE by giving him the role of executive director of Raw. During that time, he gave several talent opportunities such as Andrade, Zelina Vega, Aleister Black, Murphy, Apollo Crews, Humberto Carrillo, Akam, and Rezar. However, Vince wasn’t overly impressed and replaced him with Bruce Prichard one year later. He is still a talent and is aligned with Roman Reigns on SmackDown, but it would be understandable if he were disgruntled with McMahon and WWE. However, speaking to Ariel Helwani on his MMA Show, he revealed he has no hard feelings, and it ended with a handshake and a hug.
I served at the pleasure of the Chairman Vince McMahon and there came a day I was no longer at the pleasure of the Chairman Vince McMahon. When I took the role of Executive Director, I made an agreement with Vince McMahon. I want this job as long as every morning Vince McMahon woke up, he said thank God or whatever deity he subscribes to Paul Heyman is looking after the store on Raw. And the day that Vince McMahon didn’t wake up and feel that way, I didn’t want the job anymore.
Apparently, on that day on that given time and given moment, Vince didn’t wake up that morning thanking whatever deity he subscribes to that Paul Heyman was in charge of Raw. We left with a smile, a handshake, and a hug. Absolutely no harsh feelings and actually better feelings about each other because of the way that it ended because it’s ended miserably before.Paul Heyman
Heyman was also asked about Brock Lesnar, who is currently a free agent, and whether he would consider returning to WWE.
It depends on if there’s a worthy challenger and enough box office appeal, right now, he’s very happy being a farmer and a magnificent father to his children. However, if there’s something that WWE can offer that intrigues, motivates, or inspires Lesnar, and if the money is right and the business is solid, I’m sure he would be willing to do it.
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Lesnar usually does well when it comes to negotiations with WWE, and once WWE can run in arenas and stadiums again, his phone will likely ring. In terms of box-office attractions and worthy challengers, he has a ready-made opponent in Roman Reigns due to the Heyman connection, and a babyface Lesnar would be something different. Alternatively, a feud with The Fiend would likely pique fan’s interest and be a fresh matchup.
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To go alongside their famous PWI 500 list, Pro Wrestling Illustrated introduced the Female 50 in 2008 and a decade later renamed it the Women’s 100. Wrestlers to place first on the list include Awesome Kong, Mickie James, Gail Kim, Charlotte, Asuka, and Ronda Rousey. Last years #1 was Becky Lynch, who had a career-defining year which saw her main event WrestleMania 35. However, this year she had to make do with the #2 spot, as Bayley has topped the 2020 version.
The evaluation period is October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020, and in kayfabe takes into account championships won, quality of opposition, technical proficiency, win-loss records, and overall activity and momentum. Print copy are available from November 10, but you can read the top 20 below, which is dominated at the top by WWE.
1) Bayley
2) Becky Lynch
3) Asuka
4) Charlotte Flair
5) Sasha Banks
6) Hikaru Shida
7) Tessa Blanchard
8) Riho
9) Io Shirai
10) Mayu Iwatani
11) Rhea Ripley
12) Jordynne Grace
13) Shayna Baszler
14) Thunder Rosa
15) Kimber Lee
16) Nyla Rose
17) Taya Valkyrie
18) Kay Lee Ray
19) Kylie Rae
20) Nikki Cross
It’s hard to argue against Bayley being placed atop the list, as both Becky Lynch and Charlotte have missed time over the relevant period, and Bayley’s heel turn in September 2019 and 368 days (as of writing) title run has been one of the highlights of SmackDown.
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Twitter user Jessi Davin is known on the platform as an AEW superfan and was watching the anniversary of edition of Dynamite last night. So it must have come as a shock when she was made aware she was visible on that evening NXT’s, that was airing at the same time. She’d post the below video on Twitter, drawing attention to this.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”bn45otaX” upload-date=”2020-10-15T12:12:45.000Z” name=”@JessiTheBuckeye Twitter” description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]
When a fan registers for the WWE ThunderDome, they have to agree to a wall of text where WWE owns the footage, can edit it as required, air it around the world, and they won’t receive any payment for this. You can read an excerpt below, which shows that Jessi did agree to this when she signed up and could even appear in a future video game.
By participating in WWE ThunderDome and inputting your name below, you certify that you understand you will be photographed, videotaped or otherwise recorded (video and/or audio) by WWE (“Footage”). You grant WWE the sole, irrevocable and exclusive right, including the right to authorize others, to use and incorporate the Footage, in whole or in part, in conjunction with other photographs and Footage, and the right to use your image, name, screen name, voice, likeness and/or biographical information (collectively, “Likeness”) in connection with the exploitation, advertising, promotion and/or packaging of the Footage or any WWE initiatives, promotions or campaigns and/or any product into which the Footage may be incorporated, including but not limited to, inclusion as part of the WWE ThunderDome of another WWE program, editorial, commercial, trade, print, advertising, promotional, radio, television, home video, motion picture programs, sound recordings, video games, social media related activities and games or for any other purpose at such times and in such manner as WWE may elect throughout the world in perpetuityWWEThunderDome.com
This is probably a smart decision for WWE when you consider so-called fans have trolled them with offensive content in the past, and this allows them to get the reactions they require.
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Radio host Mike Calta has revealed on his show, which aires on 102.5 The Bone in Tampa, FL, that John Cena has married his Canadian girlfriend, Shay Shariatzadeh. It’s believed the couple married during a private ceremony this past Monday. Cena and Shariatzadeh initially meet in a restaurant, and they were first spotted together in Vancouver, where Playing With Fire was filmed in 2019.
This is Cena’s second marriage, having married his high school sweetheart Elizabeth Huberdeau in 2009 but divorced in 2012. Later that year, he started dating Nikki Bella, and they famously got engaged at WrestleMania 33 in 2017. They eventually separated, and Nikki Bella is now engaged to Russian dancer Artem Chigvintsev, with whom she recently had a son.
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NXT Champion Finn Bálor’s jaw was fractured in two places at TakeOver 31 in a match against Kyle O’Reilly. While it isn’t believed he is in any danger of having to vacate the title, he has required surgery. That surgery occurred last Friday at the Orlando Center for Advanced Plastic Surgery, and he ended up needing a tooth removed and having three plates screwed into his jaw. While it sounds like that kind of surgery could keep him out of the ring for a significant amount of time, it’s believed he should be able to return in around six weeks.
Five days on from his operation, Bálor took to social media to share the below photo showing a very swollen and sore looking face.
Bálor now faces a race against the clock to be ready to represent NXT at Survivor Series on Sunday, 22 November.
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Andrade was a Paul Heyman project, and when Heyman lost his creative powers, the former United States Champion’s stock began to fall. Reportedly Vince McMahon isn’t a fan, and over the last few months, when he wasn’t teaming with Angel Garza, he was losing quickly on Raw or wrestling on Main Event.
Curiously Andrade wasn’t drafted, and it seems the reason is that WWE is considering moving him back to NXT, where wrestled between 2016 and 2018. During that time, he won the NXT Championship from Drew McIntyre and had a match of the year contender with Johnny Gargano.
While nothing is yet confirmed, Andrade tweeted a photograph of himself with the NXT Championship earlier today, which certainly adds credibility to the claims he could be NXT bound.
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During the Speaking Out movement, Impact Wrestling talents Joey Ryan, Michael Elgin, and Dave Crist were accused of misconduct. Ryan and Crist’s contracts were terminated, and Elgin was suspended and then left the promotion.
It’s now been revealed by PWInsider that Joey Ryan has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Impact Wrestling’s parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment, in Nashville, TN. He is claiming breach of contract as they did not follow the terms of his agreement by failing to notify him of the issue in writing and allowing him a five-day cure period. Anthem now has until Saturday, October 24th, to respond to the suit.
This is the sixth lawsuit that Joey Ryan has filed in the past several weeks, with the others being against his accusers, who he claims damaged his reputation and cost him $20,000 in monthly income.
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Last week Alberto Del Rio was indicted by a grand jury for aggravated kidnapping and four counts of sexual assault. He is accused of hitting a woman he was in a relationship with, forcing her to wear a dress and dancing in front of him. The victim also claims he threatened to take her son and leave him on the road.
Del Rio will now have his day in court on January 25th, 2021. If convicted, Del Rio could face life imprisonment, but if it is deemed he that he released the victim willingly, then the prison sentence would be between two to 20 years and/or a fine up to $10,000.
Back in March, Del Rio claimed he had held talks about a return to WWE for later this year, but unless he fully clears his name, it is unlikely he will wrestle for any national promotion again.
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Natalya Neidhart pulled double duty last night, first competing in a tag match, and then later in #1 contender’s women’s battle royal. During the battle royal, while wrestling Lacey Evans, she had her tooth knocked out. It wasn’t clear exactly when it happened, but following the match, Natalya would share the below tweet with her followers showing where her tooth had been.
Such a whirlwind of emotions tonight on #WWERaw ~ One thing I know for sure, @LaceyEvansWWE strikes are NO joke!! She’s a bad ass…knocked my tooth out…but I still eliminated her in the match! So there’s that!
This isn’t the first dental injury for Natalya as back in 2016, she lost her two front teeth when wrestling Alexa Bliss and Carmella. Like this time, she shared a photo with her fans, that you can still see on her Instagram.
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We recently posted that WWE was making plans to move out of the Thunderdome after telling talent to make themselves available to resume touring. It now appears those plans are on hold as the company has extended their rental of Orlando’s Amway Center until at least November 28th, meaning the Survivor Series on November 22nd will also be inside the ThunderDome.
WWE had initially planned to have left the Amway Center by October 31st, having been there since mid-August, and having paid $450,000 for this period use. There has also been some speculation that they may continue with the ThunderDome until January, but that has yet to be confirmed.
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Eva Marie announced in August 2017 that she had left WWE after four years with the company. She intended to focus on other projects and started her own podcast, competed on Celebrity Big Brother, became an ambassador for Monster Energy’s Reign brand, and launched her a fashion range with Ryderwear in Australia.
However, it looks like she is returning to the ring with WWE according toa report from Cultaholic. They state she could make her television return as soon as tonight’s episode of Raw.
Eva Marie initially joined WWE in 2013 after impressing during a casting call and signed a developmental contract. She appeared in E!’s reality show Total Divas and was therefore rushed to the main roster. She’d eventually disappear from television and extensively worked with Brian Kendrick to improve her in-ring ability. This lead to her debuting on NXT in 2015 and then returning to the main roster in 2016.
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