>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
TNA announced Friday a major executive shake-up, removing Dixie Carter from her long-held position as TNA president.
Billy Corgan will now take over as TNA president. Carter will move into a business consultant-type role as “Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer.”
Corgan is taking over day-to-day operations, essentially following through on investing money in TNA to keep the company going under its new business name of “Impact Ventures” that PWTorch reported on earlier this summer.
In a press release, Carter noted that the more they discussed Corgan’s vision for the organization “the clearer it became that position needed to match his commitment.”
Carter’s new role will “focus on long-term planning, strategic partnerships, and global growth,” with the changes taking place “effective immediately.”
“Billy is a visionary, an iconic artist and savvy businessman with an incredibly gifted creative mind. He has built a decades-long successful global brand, and also has a deep passion and understanding for professional wrestling,” said Carter. “In working with Billy over the last 16 months, he has impressed me to the point that I’ve been in discussions with him to take an elevated strategic leadership role within the company.”
“I believe in this company, its passionate fans, the talented roster and the dedicated staff and crew,” said Corgan. “I am committed to this great opportunity and will use all of my resources and connections to drive the success of this company. This year we have made significant strides in establishing a strong foundation for our future and will be aggressive in continuing to evolve and grow the Impact brands.”
TNA had been looking for an outside investor throughout 2016, but they were unable to secure an investor while Dixie Carter retained control of the company as president.
Now, Carter has removed herself from the president’s role, but she is still remaining in a high-level business strategy role. It remains to be seen if this is the final executive move with Corgan essentially taking over the company’s direction, or if it leads to a follow-up investment deal with an outside party along with Corgan.
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
Additional notes by Bryan Rose
Brian Cage, who captured the Impact championship tonight from Johnny Impact at the Rebel Complex in Toronto, suffered a back injury in the match.
The injury is believed from the spot where he took a Spanish fly off the ramp and onto the floor. He continued the match, but shortly after the show was over, Cage was barely able to walk and was rushed to the hospital.
Cage had gone into the ring with cupping marks all over his back. Cupping is a therapy treatment popular in Japan since the 70s and gained some American use in the 2016 Olympics. But that would indicate that he went into the match with some back issues.
After the match was over, Cage was confronted by the debuting Michael Elgin. It ended up being physical when Elgin attacked Cage, laying him out with the Elgin bomb, setting up a possible future title match between the two.
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
The Undertaker and Shane McMahon got back together in a public setting Monday night in Austin, Texas.
Taker & Shane, who wrestled at WrestleMania 32 in April in Dallas, reunited at Clive Bar in Austin, reports Pro Wrestling Sheet.
Shane got in early to Austin before Smackdown Live Tuesday night at the Erwin Center.
According to the report, Shane and Taker visited the bar around midnight Monday night and stayed for an hour. Shane reportedly bought drinks for other patrons and generously tipped the bartender.
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
Last night’s SmackDown on the USA Network averaged 1.833 million viewers, the lowest number for the show since the 2016 brand split and its move to airing live on Tuesday nights.
The show was down 12 percent from last week and almost 25 percent from the same week in 2018. This followed a night in which Raw was down almost 30 percent year-over-year, and SmackDown retained the usual 85 percent of Monday’s audience. The SmackDown number is usually tied in some ways to the Raw number, so this is not at all surprising.
SmackDown usually finishes in the middle of the top 10 in terms of total cable viewers for the night, but it fell all the way to 15th yesterday. Perhaps more importantly, in the key 18-49 demo, where SmackDown is usually first or second, the show fell to seventh on the night with a 0.54 rating.
SmackDown did air opposite an NBA playoff game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics that did a big audience of 4.404 million. A later game featuring the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets did an even bigger audience of 6.073 million, starting at 10:30 p.m. Even an NHL playoff game finished close to SmackDown in viewers with 1.664 million, and it beat SmackDown in the demo.
Miz and Mrs., which follows SmackDown on USA Network, did another series low with 840,000 viewers.
As bad as these numbers are, they could get even lower with the NBA playoffs getting into the deeper rounds and network TV shows soon airing their season finales, which are often the highest rated episodes of the year. For instance, the May 1, 2018 episode of SmackDown did 2.436 million viewers, with the show falling to 2.195 million for the May 29 episode. If the number falls at the same rate this year, that could mean a number as low as 1.65 million by the end of the month.
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
Here’s a look at the last 10 weeks of SmackDown viewership as compared to the same week in 2018:
César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón, best known in the wrestling world as Silver King, passed away today during the course of a match in London, England at the age of 51.
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
thecubsfan on Twitter has confirmed that he has passed away. At this point, it is unclear what the cause of death is.
He was wrestling Juventud Guerrera for the Lucha Libre World promotion’s “The Greatest Show of Lucha Libre” event at the Roundhouse. King hit Juventud with a flying clothesline during the match then went for a cover. Juventud kicked out, but it appeared after this that King was struggling to move. Juventud kicked Silver King in the collarbone then went for a cover, but King was unresponsive as Guerrera tried to roll him over. The referee, Black Terry, paused before he hit his hand the third time, but eventually did make the three count, ending the match.
According to those in the arena, the rest of the show was cancelled.
Silver King, son of Dr. Wagner, started wrestling in November of 1985. After losing his mask a few years later, he began teaming with El Texano and together they were known as Los Cowboys. During the course of his career, he wrestled for UWA, CMLL and AAA among other promotions in Mexico.
King may be best known in the United States for his appearances in WCW, joining the promotion in 1997. He mainly worked with other luchadores in six man tag matches, though he also was a part of WCW cruiserweight division.
He continued to wrestle in Mexico after his release from WCW in 2000 and also wrestled in Japan as the third iteration of the Black Tiger persona for New Japan Pro Wrestling.
>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
WWE Smackdown got a solid post-Summerslam TV ratings bump to tie with the post-Battleground episode the first week after the Draft.
WWE Smackdown TV Ratings Tracking
August 23: WWE Smackdown scored a 1.92 TV rating, up 12 percent from the pre-Summerslam episode.
Smackdown tied with the post-Battleground episode on July 26, which also scored a 1.92 rating.
– Smackdown drew 2.714 million viewers, up 10 percent (243,000 viewers) from last week’s show.
– The demographic ratings were interesting. Smackdown shot up in adults 18-49, increased one-tenth in males 18-49, and was actually down in males 18-34.
Males 18-34 was Smackdown’s best demo during the first three weeks of the brand split, but the audience has fallen off the past two weeks.
A18-49: Increased 20 percent from last week
M18-49: Increased 12 percent from last week
M18-34: Declined 1 percent from last week
WWE Raw vs. Smackdown – TV Ratings & Viewership
RAW (1-0)
SD7/25/16
7/26/162.36
1.923,338,667
2,743,000306,000
293,0003,664,667
3,036,000
RAW +608,667
RAW (2-0)
SD8/1/16
8/2/162.30
1.863,314,333
2,681,000346,667
275,0003,661,000
2,956,000
RAW +705,000
RAW (3-0)
SD8/8/16
8/9/162.05
1.692,911,000
2,455,000278,667
336,0003,189,667
2,791,000
RAW +398,667
RAW (4-0)
SD8/15/16
8/16/162.12
1.722,915,333
2,471,000319,000
265,0003,234,333
2,736,000
RAW +498,333
RAW (5-0)
SD8/22/16
8/23/162.34
1.923,315,000
2,714,000305,333
339,0003,620,333
3,053,000
RAW +567,333
RAW (6-0)
SD8/29/16
8/30/162.38
1.953,413,000
2,835,000338,667
312,0003,751,667
3,153,000
RAW +598,667
RAW (7-0)
SD9/5/16
9/6/162.11
1.763,069,333
2,454,000365,333
312,0003,434,667
2,766,000
RAW +668,667
RAW (8-0)
SD9/12/16
9/13/161.88
1.862,690,000
2,658,000356,333
336,0003,046,333
2,994,000
RAW +52,333
RAW (9-0)
SD9/19/16
9/20/161.97
1.702,684,333
2,292,000356,000
299,0003,040,333
2,591,000
RAW +449,333
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
1964
Yokohama, Japan:
– Gene Kiniski & Cyclone Negro defeated Toyonobori & Michiaki Yoshimura to win the All Asian Tag Team Titles
1970
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Baron Von Raschke defeated The Viking
– Central States Heavyweight Champion Danny Little Bear fought Harley Race to a double-count out in three falls (referee Bob Geigel)
– Rufus R. Jones & Bob Ellis defeated Roger Kirby & Jon Soto in two straight falls
1973
Moline, Illinois:
– Wahoo McDaniel & Billy Robinson & Ken Patera beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens & Superstar Billy Graham
– Horst Hoffman went to a draw with Ric Flair
– Geoff Portz beat Greg Gagne
1974
Tokyo, Japan:
– Giant Baba won the 2nd All Japan Champion Carnival tournament by defeating Mr. Wrestling in the finals of the elimination tournament
1979
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Tommy Gilbert beat Danny Davis
– Kevin Charles beat Plowboy Frazier
– Dick Slater beat Kevin Sullivan
– Toru Tanaka & Mr. Fuji beat Bill Dundee & Robert Fuller to win the Southern Tag Team Titles
– Terry Boulder (Hulk Hogan) beat Southern Champ The Mongolian Stomper via DQ
– Jerry Lawler beat Jimmy Golden in a “no DQ loser leaves town” match
1981
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada:
– Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke beat Jerry Blackwell & John Studd
– Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell beat Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens
– Tito Santana went to a no contest with Sheik Adnan
– Brad Rheingans beat Jesse Ventura
– Adrian Adonis beat Curt Hennig
– Buck Zumhofe beat Rick Hunter
1982
St. Louis, Missouri:
– Andre the Giant and Dick the Bruiser defeated Dick Murdoch and Crusher Blackwell in 2 out of 3 falls
– Dewey Robertson defeated Ray Hernandez (sub for Jack Brisco)
– David and Kerry Von Erich defeated Ken Patera and Roger Kirby
– Bulldog Bob Brown defeated Superfly via DQ
– Ray Hernandez defeated Art Crews
– Jerry Brown draw Mark Romero
Houston, Texas:
– Junkyard Dog beat AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel on a 3rd fall dq
– Gino Hernandez beat Tommy Rich
– Wahoo McDaniel beat Tully Blanchard
– Manny Fernandez ddq Mil Mascaras
– Jimmy Golden & Ken Lucas & Ricky Morton & Scott Casey beat Billy Graham & Bob Sweetan & Killer Brooks & Hacksaw Duggan
– Bob Sweetan beat Ken Lucas
– Billy Graham beat Jimmy Golden
– Scott Casey beat Killer Brooks
– Hacksaw Duggan beat Ricky Morton
1983
San Francisco, California:
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel drew Mad Dog Vachon
– Ken Patera no contest Jerry Blackwell
– Greg Gagne beat Blackjack Lanza
– Jim Brunzell beat Sgt. Goulet
– Jesse Ventura beat Buck Zumhofe
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
– Carlos Colon defeated Ox Baker to win the WWC World Heavyweight Title
Portland, Oregon:
– Roddy Piper & Billy Jack Haynes defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair & Rip Oliver
1984
Memphis, Tennessee:
– Ric McCord & Brickhouse Brown beat A-Team #1 & The Japanese Assassin
– Bugsy McGraw beat Pork Chop Cash
– Jim Niedhart beat Scott Shannon
– Koko Ware & Norvell Austin beat Dirty Rhodes & Harley Davidson in a “biker roulette” match
– CWA International Champ Randy Savage pinned Austin Idol
– Southern Tag Champs Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert beat The Zambuie Express via DQ
– Rick Rude pinned Dutch Mantel
– Southern Champ Lord Humongous beat Mid-America Champ Jerry Lawler via DQ
– Jerry Lawler & Eddie Marlin beat Ox Baker & Jimmy Hart (Tommy Marlin was the referee)
Ft. Myers, Florida:
– NWA World champion Kerry Von Erich defeated Superstar Billy Graham
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
– AWA Champion Rick Martel beat Nick Bockwinkel
– Texas Tornado Match: Frenchy Martin & Mad Dog Lefebvre beat Gino Brito Sr. & Dominic DeNucci (sub Tony Parisi)
– Gino Brito Jr beat John White (sub Mr. Ito)
– Mike Saw & Rick Valentine beat Armand Rougeau & Antonio Ricco
– Richard Charland beat Louis Laurence
1987
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Rufus Jones beat Bulldog Bob Brown to win Central States Title
– AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Pork Chop Cash & Warlord
– Ric McCord drew Vinnie Valentino
– Earthquake Ferris beat Super Destroyer
– Bart Batten & Bobby Jaggers beat Mr. Pogo & Steve Sybert
– Dave DJ Peterson beat Rip Rogers
1992
Savannah, Georgia:
– Big Josh pinned Richard Morton
– The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip & Todd Champion) defeated Thomas Rich & Tracy Smothers
– Nikita Koloff pinned Steve Austin
– Ron Simmons pinned Diamond Dallas Page
– WCW U.S. Tag Team Champions Greg Valentine & Terry Taylor defeated Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin
– WCW World Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko
– WCW U.S. Champion Rick Rude pinned Ricky Steamboat
1993
Alexandria, Louisiana:
– Kent & Keith Cole defeated the Wrecking Crew
– Davey Boy Smith defeated the Barbarian
– Arn Anderson pinned Erik Watts
– Maxx Payne defeated Steven Dane
– Rick Rude defeated Kensuke Sasaki
– WCW U.S. Champion Dustin Rhodes defeated WCW World TV Champion Paul Orndorff
– NWA World Champion Barry Windham defeated Ricky Steamboat
– Sting defeated WCW World Champion Big Van Vader in a non-title strap match
1994
Johnson City, Tennessee:
– SMW Tag Team Champions Brian Lee & Chris Candido defeated The Rock N’ Roll Express in a best 2 out of 3 falls match
– Scott & Steve Armstrong defeated Well Dunn via disqualification
– Tracy Smothers defeated Jim Cornette & Killer Kyle in a handicap match
– The Dirty White Boy pinned Kendo the Samurai
– The Dirty White Boy won a pole battle royal
1995
WWF In Your House, Syracuse, New York:
– Jean-Pierre Lafitte defeated Bob Holly
– Bret Hart defeated Hakushi (with Shinja)
– Razor Ramon defeated Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie
– Mabel (with Mo) defeated Adam Bomb
– Owen Hart and Yokozuna (with James E. Cornette and Mr. Fuji) defeated The Smoking Gunns (Billy Gunn and Bart Gunn) to retain the WWF
Tag Team Championships
– Jerry Lawler defeated Bret Hart
– Diesel defeated Sid (with Ted DiBiase) by disqualification to retain the WWF Championship
– The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Kama (with Ted DiBiase)
– Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Tatanka (with Ted DiBiase)
– The British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart (with James E. Cornette) ended in a time limit draw
2000
ECW Hardcore Heaven, Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
– Masato Tanaka defeated Balls Mahoney
– Little Guido (with Sal E. Graziano) defeated Mikey Whipwreck (with The Sinister Minister) and Simon Diamond (with Mitch, Prodigy, Prodigette and The Musketeer)
– Kid Kash defeated C.W. Anderson (with Lou E. Dangerously, Billy Wiles and Elektra)
– Nova and Chris Chetti defeated Da Baldies (Angel and Tony DeVito), and Danny Doring and Roadkill
– New Jack defeated Angel (with Vic Grimes and Tony DeVito)
– Yoshihiro Tajiri defeated Steve Corino (with Jack Victory)
– Rhino defeated The Sandman to retain the ECW World Television Championship
– Jerry Lynn defeated Rob Van Dam (with Bill Alfonso and Scotty Anton)
– Justin Credible (with Francine) defeated Lance Storm (with Dawn Marie) to retain the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
2003
Nashville, Tennessee:
– Chris Sabin defeated Amazing Red & Jerry Lynn to win the TNA/NWA X-Division Championship
2010
Buffalo, New York:
– Kofi Kingston defeated Christian to win the Intercontinental Title
>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
On this week’s Smackdown show, WWE announced two more big matches for the Smackdown-branded Backlash PPV.
Included is Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt in a singles match at Backlash on September 11.
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
Plus, The Miz will defend the Intercontinental Title against Dolph Ziggler to continue promoting their KFC “feud.”
Backlash PPV Line-up
WWE World Hvt. Title match: Dean Ambrose vs. A.J. Styles
Smackdown Tag Title Tournament Finals
Smackdown Women’s Title Six-Pack match: Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Naomi vs. Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Natalya
IC Title match: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
Four WWE wrestlers are not expected to travel to Saudi Arabia next month.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful first reported that Kevin Owens told WWE that he did not want to go back and perform in the country. Dave Meltzer has since confirmed this.
John Pollock of Post Wrestling additionally reported that Sami Zayn and Aleister Black would not be appearing on the show. Zayn, who is of Syrian descent, also didn’t appear at the Greatest Royal Rumble last year due to tensions between Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Dave Meltzer reported this morning on Wrestling Observer Radio that Daniel Bryan would also not be appearing at Super Showdown. Bryan didn’t go to last year’s Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, though did appear at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
WWE’s decision to continue running events in Saudi Arabia has garnered much controversy in the wake of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder last year inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Despite outside pressure, WWE has continued to promote events taking place in Saudi Arabia but hasn’t mentioned the country’s name in advertising.
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
Their next show in Jeddah, Super Showdown, will take place at the King Abdullah International Stadium on June 7.
>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
New Japan star Shibata is currently injured with a reported “cervical spine injury.”
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
Shibata was pulled from New Japan’s “Road to Destruction” show Wednesday in Japan. New Japan did not disclose the severity of the injury. (PuroresuSpirit.net)
Shibata is scheduled to defend the NEVER Openweight Title against ROH TV champion Bobby Fish on Saturday night in Tokyo. It remains to be seen if the match takes place.
September 17 – Destruction in Tokyo Top Matches
(9) IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title match: KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI
(8) NEVER Openweight Title match: Shibata vs. Bobby Fish
(7) Team Elgin & Tanahashi vs. L.I.J.
(6) Will Ospreay’s Team CHAOS vs. Kenny Omega’s Bullet Club
(4) Ishii & Goto’s CHAOS vs. Chase Owens’s Bullet Club
FULL MATCH CARD