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WWE will be happy. We are in a weird time in the world as it isn’t clear when anything will be back to normal. That is the kind of thing that can make long term planning nearly impossible, but at the same time it makes the present strange too. One of the weirdest issues for wrestling is having no fans in the building, but that could be changing in the very near future.
The crowds at wrestling events make everything feel more alive. There is something about the audience being that that makes the shows more energetic, if nothing else for the sound alone. That is the kind of thing that you can’t fake in an empty arena and it would be a big help to have it back. As it turns out, we might be getting fans back in the arena a lot sooner rather than later.
According to Local 10 News (Miami, Florida), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a three phase plan to reopen the state. Phase 1 of this plan includes a statement about sporting events:
“Large spectator sporting events should use ..

It had been previously reported that UFC 249 was going to be canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the world. However, it would seem that the tides have turned and the event is back on, with some slight modifications.
According to ESPN, the event will take place on Saturday, May 9, in Jacksonville, Florida, and will be headlined by an interim lightweight championship bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.
From this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
The show will air with ESPN fights from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., with Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey, Charles Rosa vs. Bryce Mitchell, Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price, Uriah Hall vs. Ronaldo Jacare Souza, Michelle Waterson vs. Carla Esparza, Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksei Oleinik and Anthony Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone.
The PPV fights at 10 p.m. are Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro, Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar, Jairzinho Rozenstruk vs. Francis Ngannou, Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight t..

NXT UK
Date: April 30, 2020
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Andy Shepard
Host: Tom Phillips
It’s another special edition of the show but this time around it’s something you have seen before. This week’s theme is Hidden Gems, which means we are looking at matches that aired for the live crowd at TV tapings but were filmed for whatever reason. That could make for some interesting footage as it’s all new to us. Let’s get to it.
Tom welcomes us to the show and explains the idea.
From the Download Festival in Derby, England, June 14, 2019.
NXT UK Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo Storm is defending and they fight over wristlocks to start. Storm takes her to the mat but Purrazzo headstands out of a headscissors. Purrazzo gets in her own headscissors so Storm slips out as well to give us a standoff. Some uppercuts give Storm one and we hit the half crab. A rope is grabbed in a hurry so Storm kicks her in the chest for two more. Storm misses a charge into the corner though and Purr..

That’s some high praise. There are very few true institutions in pop culture. There are things that you’ll see over the years but there are not many things that have been around for decades. Professional wrestling is one of them, but its run pales in comparison to the game show Jeopardy, which has run regularly on American television for over thirty five years now. This week, the two came together as one.
There is an incredible deal of history in professional wrestling. The sport has been around for over a century and is not likely going anywhere anytime soon. That sort of history leaves a lot of room for trivia and questions, though you don’t see them too often outside of professional wrestling circles. That was not the case on an episode of Jeopardy though, as WWE made it onto the show.
During Thursday’s episode of Jeopardy, WWE was the subject of an answer. In the category of “What Does It Stand For”, the $400 clue asked for the meaning of the first W in WWE and mentioned Kofi Kin..

That’s a cool thing to see. The spread of the Coronavirus has changed the way the world works and those changes do not seem to be going away anytime soon. Those changes have impacted almost everyone in the world and it has not been in a good way. Even the day to day ways of life have been changed and while a lot has been lost, there is still a way to make things work. A wrestling legend will be helping out with something just like that.
One of the things that a lot of people are not going to get to participate in this year is their high school or college graduation. That is something that people from different age ranges might not think about but it is a big deal in that person’s life. It’s a shame that they won’t get to walk with their friends and see their families smiling back at them, but a bit of a remedy might be available.
John Cena will be delivering the keynote address as part of a virtual graduation ceremony being broadcast Friday at 12pm EST on Facebook as well as Cena’s T..

From somewhere out there. Over the last few weeks, you have been able to throw the rule book out the window with everything wrestling related. The spread of the Coronavirus has caused so many changes that there are likely going to be more asterisks than wrestlers in the record books. It has made for some interesting moments though and we saw another one on Wednesday.
There are very few things more important to a wrestling show than commentary. The broadcast team serves in a variety of roles, including guiding the audience in the desired direction and telling them where the story is supposed to go. Calling the action is important too, as giving fans someone they are familiar with and can trust goes a long way. The long way part was in play this week, albeit in a very different way.
According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, neither Mauro Ranallo nor Beth Phoenix were live in the arena for this week’s NXT broadcast. Both recorded their commentary from home, with Phoenix in North Carolina and Ra..

It could be a new home. Wrestling is in a weird situation at the moment as it can run events but can’t have any fans in attendance. That makes for some very strange dynamics on the shows but a few companies are making it work anyway. Some of these events may not be the most successful looking, but they are better than nothing. Part of the problem is finding a place to run them, but another option might be opening up.
In April, the Governor of Florida designated WWE an essential business in the state, citing its connection to the entertainment industry. The designation was looked at with some skepticism from outsiders but WWE certainly didn’t seem to mind. WWE now has a permanent home to run their evens from with the WWE Performance Center, but what about other companies? Another state seems interested in helping them out.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt wants to bring wrestling, boxing and mixed martial arts to the state in an effort to p..

It’s a unique idea. There are a lot of things going on in WWE at the moment and some of the stories are more popular than others. With so many things going on at once, it can be hard to see something that stands out. When it really stands out though, it stands out in a big way and one of the bigger stories over the last few weeks is now getting a boost from a cameo.
Earlier this month at WrestleMania 36, Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler for a major turning point in one of the more detailed SmackDown storylines in a good while. The story centers around Ziggler trying to steal Mandy Rose from Otis, with Sonya Deville helping Ziggler in his efforts. It has made for some interesting moments, and we might have seen the most interesting of all.
On Thursday, Ziggler released a Cameo video he purchased featuring former WWE star Hornswoggle saying that Rose should take Ziggler back. In the video, Hornswoggle talks about how the two of them belonged together and begged Rose to get back together wit..

Some people might be happy. WWE can do a lot of things that rub fans the wrong way and that is something that they have done for years. However, one of the least popular things that they do today are their shows in Saudi Arabia. It makes sense for fans to not be pleased with them as they are rarely of the highest quality on top of all of the political aspects to them. Fans who aren’t happy with them might be in for some good news though.
It’s pretty easy to understand why WWE keeps running these events. There is no secret to the fact that WWE makes a fortune from each show they run in Saudi Arabia and they would be crazy to turn down that kind of money. Saudi Arabia can certainly afford to run the shows and for all intent and purpose, WWE can’t afford to not agree to them. This time around though, they might be able to have a better deal.
According to Wrestlinginc.com, Vince McMahon spoke about the Saudi Arabian shows during Thursday’s quarter one conference call. WWE does have plans..

The numbers game. WWE has a lot of resources available to it and one of their most important is their video library. WWE has the largest collection of wrestling footage ever assembled and the stockpile continues to grow. Couple that with their regular pay per views and television and it is no wonder that fans are interested in access to the WWE Network. But how many are that interested?
The WWE Network launched back in 2014 and changed the way wrestling fans were able to view the product. The days of regular pay per view were mostly abandoned in a hurry with the option of streaming shows for a much cheaper price being a much more appealing choice. Throw in the video library and how could fans not want in? Well now we have a better idea of just how many people fit that description.
WWE released its first quarter financial report on Thursday, including their number of WWE Network subscribers. According to 411mania, the current count is 1.46 million, which is down 8% from the previous q..

It’s the biggest of the year. If you are any kind of a wrestling fan, or even if you are not, you have probably heard of WrestleMania. It is the biggest night of the wrestling year, though this year’s event was spread over two nights instead of one. That offered another chance for eyes to be on the show, and it turns out that there were quite a few of them this time around.
If there is one thing that WWE knows how to do, it is promote the heck out of their product. You cannot watch their shows for five minutes without hearing about what they have coming up next. There are some shows that are presented as bigger deals than others but nothing comes close to WrestleMania. WWE promotes it like no other and this year, it seems to have paid off.
WWE released their first quarter 2020 financial report on Thursday. According to 411mania.com, WWE set a record with 967 million video views over social and digital platforms during the week of WrestleMania 36. This number represents a 20% increase..

That’s a negative side of things. We are still in the middle of the Coronavirus and the situation does not seem to be changing anytime in the near future. The situation has changed all kinds of things around the world, including in the wrestling industry. That isn’t the only form of entertainment that has taken a hit and in this case, a specific area of entertainment and wrestling have been hit at the same time.
Wrestling and video games go hand in hand in a lot of obvious ways. As simple as it sounds, wrestling fans are going to enjoy being able to set up a match where they can control their favorite wrestlers against one another. It has worked for decades now and that will be the case for a long time to come. However, that long time might not be starting for a long time.
During Thursday’s first quarter 2020 financial call, WWE confirmed that there would be no WWE2K21 video game, according to Wrestlinginc.com. This comes after rumors began circulating earlier this month that another..