Daily Update: Hulk Hogan, Seth Rollins, John Cena

DAILY UPDATE

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F4W NEWSLETTER: Looking at Raw and Smackdown’s new rosters Joseph Currier takes a look at where things stand coming out of the WWE Draft.

With both nights of the draft, free agent roster additions, and even a trade now out of the way, the new rosters for Raw and SmackDown look to be set.

WWE’s handling of the draft may have been lackluster, but this is a pivotal time for the company. If WWE is really going to commit to the brand split and making Raw and SmackDown stand out as different from each other, they need to get the roster mix right. They’re also working with two different television partners and will need to make sure FOX and USA Network don’t feel like they’re playing second fiddle to the other.

WWE is a promotion that’s overloaded with talent. That would seem like the ideal environment for a brand split, but the company’s lack of top-tier stars has been a barrier to the roster split’s long-term sustainability. When there’s a ratings slip, it’s easy to say Becky Lynch or Roman Reigns not being on both shows is the reason for it. And while the Wild Card rule may not have been overly popular, any of its short-term effects were probably a positive for ratings.

Here’s what the new Raw and SmackDown rosters look like coming out of the draft:

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

WON NEWSLETTER: October 28, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Nate Diaz fight in jeopardy, NJPW US expansion, more

We have a huge double issue this week, with a special Hall of Fame feature, some shocking ratings news from overseas, New Japan’s international expansion, Randy Couture’s heart attack and coverage of the major shows.We also cover:

The situation with Nate Diaz and why the UFC 244 main event looks to be in jeopardy.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s opening up a new U.S. outpost.  We look at what the goals of the company are for 2020, who is in charge, why they are in charge, who surprisingly isn’t involved and why.  We look at how the U.S. market has changed for New Japan, ticket sales for the upcoming shows, how it would be best served for New Japan in this market and the lessons learned from what they’ve done so far.

The difference between the fans in Japan and the U.S. for New Japan, the type of buildings they are looking at running and the ultimate goals.

Update on the situation with Randy Couture.

WWE Crown Jewel, with the lineup and circumstances of the show.

AAA Heroes Inmortales with the Kenny Omega vs Fenix AAA title change as well as a look at the rest of the show.

Xavier Woods, have all the Canadian TV ratings, 2020 NXT plans, Randy Orton update, Seth Rollins talks Kenny Omega, WWE news regarding lineup for the Mexico City show, major WWE signing, Update on 205 Live, WWE 2K commercial news, former Lucha Underground star talking with WWE, Dana White talks Cain Velasquez in WWE, former New Japan star teaching at performance center, reasons for the stock price decline, most watched shows this past week on the WWE Network, as well as a rundown of all the NXT and WWE shows, with match-by-match coverage and business news.

Impact Bound for Glory, with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.

A huge feature looking at the 2019 Hall of Fame elections, strongest and weakest candidates with bios on a lot of the different performers.  We look at everyone’s strengths ad weaknesses as well as the leading still active candidates.

A complete rundown of the Wednesday night wars over the past two weeks, how both shows are doing in every segment and with every demo group.  We look at the median age of viewers, how the World Series affected viewing and more.

Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.

In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

The results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Hulk Hogan apparently had trouble getting to Saudi Arabia. In a video, he described a hard landing in Iceland, with tires and brakes suffering serious damage. He then explained that a friend of his from Minnesota had a plane that would take him and Jimmy Hart to Riyadh. PWInsider later reported that Ric Flair was also with them on the plane and they got a ride to Riyadh from Brock Lesnar.
  • John Cena announced yesterday that he is planning on donating $500,000 to a charity of Paramount Pictures’ choosing as long as it aids first responders. Paramount Pictures responded by saying they would be donating the money to the Los Angeles Fire Department and the California Fire Foundation. Fires have been raging in California in the last week, forcing evacuations.
  • Seth Rollins did a promo after his match last night talking about his perceived lack of respect, saying “There’s been a lot of disrespect lately, I feel like. The Fiend is cool, fresh, and new and has this cult following. And that just puts a chip on my shoulder. I feel like I’m out here every single week, busting my back, breaking my back, putting this whole company on my back sometimes. And I don’t get the respect I deserve because there’s this new flavor of ice cream.”
  • The dark match main event from last night’s Raw was Seth Rollins defeating The Fiend Bray Wyatt in a steel cage match after Rollins stomped Wyatt several times then escaped through the cage.
  • A one hour edition of last week’s NXT will be the lead-in prior to tomorrow’s show.
  • The company will be reporting their third quarter earnings on Thursday.
  • There has was a livestream on WWE’s YouTube that aired for about three hours featuring The Boogeyman.
  • Musician Poppy is advertised for tomorrow’s episode of NXT. 
  • The Chicago Cubs jobber team from last night’s Raw were Mike Sydal (brother of Matt) and Kyle Roberts.
  • Corey Graves spoke to CBS New York about the past year of his life, as well as Crown Jewel and the move to FOX.

Pro Wrestling

  • Here is the opening to tonight’s Impact premiere on AXS TV.
  • AEW has filed a trademark for the Inner Circle logo.
  • It was announced on NWA Powerrr Xtra that Jocephus has been (in storyline) suspended for 45 days following his attack on Colt Cabana on last week’s Powerrr.
  • Ohio Valley Wrestling will now be streaming their broadcast live on Tuesdays each week on YouTube at 8 p.m. EST.
  • Tenille Dashwood spoke to Chris Van Vliet on her WWE release, AEW and Impact.
  • Tickets for DEFY Wrestling’s Age of War go on sale this Friday, November 1. More information here.

MMA

  • Dana White says that Paulo Costa is out for eight months following bicep surgery and is currently looking for a new title defense for Israel Adesanya.
  • Henry Cejudo is refusing to fight Joseph Benavides and instead is looking at fights against Dominick Cruz or Frankie Edgar.
  • Uriah Faber says he has six fights on his new UFC contract.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: The Giant wins WCW title at Halloween Havoc 1995

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