Daily Update: Raw sets record, Ryback talking to Bellator, Scurll & Ospreay vs Young Bucks

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RAW RATING RECORD LOW

The last 10 weeks of RAW ratings compared to previous years

As expected, Monday Night RAW set a record low TV viewership number last night with the 2nd and 3rd hours going up against the presidential debate, which did an estimate 80.9 million viewers.

The show opened stronger than last week, coming off the Clash of the Champions PPV, with an opening hour of 2.85 million viewers. That plunged to 2.351 million in hour 2 when the debate started and hour 3 fell further to 2.203 million. The average for the 3 hr 10 min show was 2.454 million.

It was the highest rated show on cable outside of programming related to the debate on various news channels and Monday Night Football, which also was hit hard by the competition, at just 8.047 million viewers.  In the 18-49 demo, the show finished 11th, 14th and 15th for the 3 hours in the 18-49 demo behind various debate coverage programming, NFL Football, ESPN Sportscentre and Love and Hip Hop Hollywood.

This capped off a month with the lowest average viewership in over 20 years for the WWE’s flagship show. For the month of September, the show averaged 2.719 million viewers. As a comparison, the show averaged 4.127 million viewers in September 2012, the year the show moved to 3 hours.

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

It’s a work, brother~!

ARTICLES

AUDIO

Figure Four Weekly, 9/26/2016: The unlikely story of TJ Perkins (Part II) – When T.J. Perkins went to Florida Championship Wrestling without a WWE contract in 2009, it was a very different picture from how Ohio Valley Wrestling treated non contract talent before FCW took over for it as the primary developmental promotion. Subscribers click here to continue reading.

F4W YouTube Page: Tons of clips and full free audio shows that you can tell your friends about, and much more to come! Make sure you subscribe today!

Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 26, 2016:Clash of Champions preview, new concussion test, more – The first Raw brand exclusive PPV takes place on 9/25 in Indianapolis, headlined by Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins for the Universal title. There are two business aspects to look at immediately. The first is whether these PPVs lead to a ratings bump, although the Raw the next day is expected to be at near all-time record lows due to the Presidential debate. The second is how it draws. The Smackdown only PPV on 9/11 in Richmond, VA, only drew 7,000 fans, and they were papering heavily… Subscribers click here to continue reading.

Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to Dave@WrestlingObserver.com. 

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WON Back Issue, September 6, 1999:Week of both high and low ratings, doctor under investigation for prescribing drugs to wrestlers, more – The television season of wrestling overexposure began this past week with both good and bad news. But when the numbers came in, virtually all the good news was limited to the World Wrestling Federation. Subscribers click here to continue reading.

TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • It was announced on last night’s episode of Raw that Charlotte will defend her Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks and TJ Perkins will defend his Cruiserweight title against Brian Kendrick on next week’s show. Also on last night’s Raw, it was revealed that both Cesaro and Sheamus will receive championship opportunities following their best-of-seven series, but it will be as a team as they challenge The New Day for the Raw tag titles.
  • Daniel Bryan and Cesaro exchanged tweets about Cesaro’s storyline contract status with Raw.
  • D-Von Dudley tweeted from Raw last night that he’s liking his new role in WWE. Dave Meltzer reported in last week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there had been talk of D-Von taking a job as an agent with the company.
  • “The Drifter” Elias Samson and Chinese signee Bin Wang will be in action at NXT’s live event in Lakeland, FL, on Thursday.
  • With Roman Reigns winning the United States Championship against Rusev at Clash of Champions, every member of the Shield has now won both the World and US Championships. Chris Featherstone breaks it down in his latest article.
  • In this article, Alexa Bliss is interviewed about her potential as a WWE Superstar.
  • This article discusses entrance music with Sami Zayn, and why he chose punk rock.

PRO WRESTLING

  • Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll will team up to take on The Young Bucks during Ring of Honor’s upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. The match will take place at ROH’s stop in Leicester on November 19th.
  • KUSHIDA will replace Lio Rush on ROH’s All Star Extravaganza pay-per-view this Friday. He’ll team with Jay White and ACH to take on The Briscoes and Toru Yano in ROH’s six-man tag tournament.
  • Timothy Thatcher will defend his EVOLVE Championship against Ethan Page at EVOLVE 70 on October 15th in Orlando, FL.
  • After signing with TNA as an active wrestler, Brandi Rhodes is training with Chris Hero.
  • Hulk Hogan, the recent winner of a 140 million dollar settlement with Gawker, just purchased a beach cottage for 1.6 million. The new house, located directly next door to his current house, is 2,000 square feet and features a beachfront deck among the sand dunes and has panoramic beach views. Must be nice.
  • WWN contracted wrestlers Drew Gulak and Tony Nese wrestled on WWE Raw last night in Cruiserweight Division matches. Both Gulak and Nese are now featured on the WWE.com Raw Roster section. This is another step in the building relationship between EVOLVE/WWN and WWE. We are very happy to say that Gulak and Nese will continue to wrestle in EVOLVE while they compete in the WWE Cruiserweight Division. Gulak is set to team with Tracy Williams to challenge EVOLVE Tag Team Champions DUSTIN & Drew Galloway at EVOLVE 70 on October 15th in Orlando, FL. The losing duo can never team again. Tony Nese returns to EVOLVE on November 12th in Queens, NY and November 13th in Joppa, MD.
  • Ethan Page sent in this somewhat demented video explaining his next goal after ruining Johnny Gargano’s farewell. He’s doesn’t have a long plan this time.

UFC / MMA

  • During an appearance on SportsCenter, Dana White claimed that Conor McGregor will be forced to vacate a title if he becomes a double champion and wins the lightweight championship from Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205.
  • Dana White was on Boomer & Carton in NY, for about 20 minutes. He talked about not sleeping for days after the sale. He has a 5 year deal with the owners, said he owned 9% of the UFC before the sale, but now owns 7.5% of the UFC. Dana was pressed on McGregor as the biggest PPV star and Dana said that Ronda was actually the biggest PPV star in UFC history. He also confirmed that Weidman will be fighting Romero. (thanks to Jeff Rozner)
  • Next Sunday (Oct 2nd) the CNN network show “This is Life” with Lisa Ling is doing an hour episode on women in MMA. The show indicates that Lisa “steps in the cage” with 3 MMA female superstars. However the show does not indicate who the fighters are or what organization they fight with. “This is Life” is a weekly episode with Lisa Ling that airs every Sunday on different subjects. MMA appears to be the topic next week. (thanks to Jon Southerland)

VARIETY

  • Robert Whittaker was on Submission Radio to discuss his up coming fight with Derek Brunson at UFC Melbourne, if he believed he was going to fight Anderson Silva, Henderson fighting Bisping and why he believes this fight with Brunson will end quickly. If it was difficult for Rob not to buy into the speculation surrounding him possibly fighting Anderson Silva: “Yeah a bit. It was like a fleeting thought, because the middleweight division at the moment is completely tied up and it’s chaotic, everyone’s fighting everyone. Then I did some maths, and (I though) there’s no way they were going to afford putting Anderson Silva on a Fight Night (laughs).”
  • Dan Kelly, who meets Chris Camozzi at UFC Melbourne, joined Submission Radio to discuss his thoughts on why pro MMA fighters don’t belong in the Olympics, not getting the respect he deserves from the division and how he sees himself beating Camozzi and what’s next. On MMA one day making it into Olympics and if as a 4-time Olympian, if Dan would like to see that happen: “At an amateur level, yeah. I’ve got very strong opinions on what should be in the Olympics. Amateur sports should be in the Olympics, not professional sports. So I don’t think from a professional standpoint it really matters. As an amateur thing, potentially, yes, but as a professional sport, no, I don’t think it should be.”
  • Kayfabe Dojo Wrestling returns to Pineapple Jack’s Saturday October 8th for Monster’s Brawl. Doors open at 3:30 PM and bell time is at 4 PM. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door, and $10 for children 9 and under. Tickets are available through the UPW website
  • Despite it’s decrease in popularity since it was originally released this past July, Pokémon Go caused quite the interesting event to occur at last night’s RAW show. The Pokemon Gyarados made it’s presence felt as it was first noticed to have spawned at the US Bank Arena towards the end of the Cesaro and Sheamus tag team match. During the TJ Perkins/Brian Kendrick segment and subsequent commercial break, a significant amount of the people attending the show got up out of their seats to go after and attempt to catch the serpentine and fierce-tempered Pokemon, which is amongst one of the rarest of the rare to find in the wild. (thanks to Aaron Trell)
  • Today, 2K revealed details surrounding WWE 2K17’s Universe Mode in a new blog post. WWE 2K17’s Universe Mode provides players the ability to compete in rivalries and for championships in WWE shows and events – as well as create “what-if” and fantasy scenarios that could happen in WWE. With a new look and feel designed to emphasize WWE shows,WWE 2K17’s Universe Mode also lets players unleash their creative freedom with three save slots and increased customization options – including options to craft their own WWE brand split. For full details on WWE 2K17’s Universe Mode, check out 2K’s blog post here. Download screenshots for WWE 2K17 Universe Mode here.
  • AAW Friday October 7, 2016, 115 Bourbon Street (3359 w 115th Street Merrionette Park, IL) 7:15pm Doors – 8:00pm Bell Time. Tickets.
  • AAW Saturday October 8, 2016, Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 W 26th St Berwyn, IL), 6:15pm Doors – 7:00pm Bell Time. Tickets.
  • October 15th – LEGENDS OF THE RING PRO WRESTLING FAN FEST CROWN PLAZA HOTEL MONROE NJ DOORS OPEN AT  8:30 am! Meet Featured Guest: fka Ryback Superticket Guests: Kurt Angle, DDP, Cody Runnels, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Terri Runnels, Brandi Runnels fka Eden Stiles, Nidia, King Kong Bundy, Sean Mooney, JJ Dillon, Duke Droese. Vendor Guests: Howard Finkel, Ricky Steamboat, Fit Finley, Perry Saturn, fka Adam Rose, Steve Lombardi aka Brooklyn Brawler, Christy Hemme, Tammy Sytch, Mr Hughes, fka Santino Marella, Ariane Andrew fka Cameron, Lisa Marie Varon fka Victoria,  Pitbull Gary Wolf, Angel Orsini, Sam Houston, and more!
  • RESULTS: Pro Wrestling Eclipse September to Remember, Sept. 23, Oshawa, Ontario. Reckless Ryan Swift defeated Ryan Donovan after a Canadian Destroyer. It was announced that Tyler Tirva was stripped of PWE Championship do to an injury and a tournament will start tonight to find a new champion. Tournament match Freddie Mercurio defeated Buck Gunderson. Tournament match Diamond Tiger, Kobe Durst defeated Cody Deaner after Joshua James hit Deaner with TV Title belt when referee was distracted by Jamie Virtue. PWE Flame champion Stacy Thibault and Yasmin Christ defeated The Black Widow, Eve and Beautiful Bea. Thibault pinned Eve. Special referee Kat von Heez. After match von Heez attacked Thibault. Tournament match Walking Weapon, Josh Alexander defeated Bobby Sharpe. Johnny Devine defeated Joshua James to win PWA TV championship. It was announced that on Oct. 23 at Royal Canadian Legion 3 more Tournament matches will happen. Hacksaw Jim Duggan will also be on card.

EVENTS CALENDAR

Friday 9/30 – Sunday 10/2

Friday 9/30

  • ROH: All-Star Extravaganza Weekend Day 1; Lowell (Boston), MA, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 9:00 pm (PPV).
  • FIST Combat at the VFW in Santa Cruz. For more information go to ComedySuplex.com.
  • CWF presents Live Pro Wrestling at CWF Studios on 20 Hartzel Rd in St Catharines, ON. 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
  • Empire State Wrestling’s event will be in Salamanca, NY on September 30, 2016 featuring former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Adam Rose. Direct all inquiries to eswoffice@yahoo.com.
  • FIP returns to Orlando, FL at Gods & Monsters with a huge title match. It will be FIP World Heavyweight Champion Fred Yehi defending against the former champ, Caleb Konley. Yehi defeated Konley in a controversial match to win title, now Konley will get his rematch. Go to www.FullImpactPro.com for more info.

OCTOBER

Saturday 10/1

  • Cross Body Pro Wrestling Academy “The Beginning“! 69 Agnes St in Kitchener! Tickets are $10 and will be available at the gym.
  • ROH: All-Star Extravaganza Weekend Day 2; Lowell (Boston), MA, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 6:00 pm (TV Taping). Tickets.
  • VCW SOCKTOBERFEST: Super Wonder Gallery, 876 Bloor St W, 7pm Doors 8pm Bell, $15 in advance at Sonic Boom Records & CD”s and Eventbrite.com
  • HPW Wrestling in Columbus, IN, featuring Jimmy Valiant’s final appearance with the promotion.
  • MCW Presents “Autumn Armageddon 2016” Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department, 7:30PM Bell Time, Doors open at 6:00, 24801 Three Notch Road, Hollywood, MD 20636 – A Special Meet & Greet with WWE Hall Of Famer Scott Hall and all of the stars of MCW Pro Wrestling. Pre Show Meet & Greet stars at 6:30PM. You MUST have an event ticket in order to enter the pre show meet & greet.

Sunday 10/2

  • Destiny wrestling teams up with Global Force to present
  • GLOBAL SHOWDOWN. bell time 7pm. Tickets.
  • Northland Wrestling presents the Miller Memorial Cup: 3 PM – 6 PM École publique Odyssée 7e-12e année, 480, av. Norman, North Bay, Ontario P1B 0A8 – A portion of proceeds from this event will be donated to the athletes of the Special Olympics in North Bay.
  • GWN Championship Wrestling: 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM, Ukrainian Cultural Centre, 241 Kenilworth Avenue North, Hamilton, Ontario.
  • NWX presents Live Pro Wrestling CWF Training Facility 2:30 PM – 5 PM, 20 Hartzel Rd, St Catharines, Ontario, call 289-687-5610 for tickets. Holden Albright vs. Joey Paradice (c) – Hardcore Match for the NWX Northern Lights Heavyweight Championship.

​Daily Pro Wrestling History (09/27): Harlem Heat win WCW World Tag Team Titels

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