It was reported via Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Seth Rollins is currently dealing with a back issue. Seth Rollins has taken to Twitter to deny Meltzer’s claims.

Rollins wrote, “Guys, my back is fine. Has been fine. #fakenews”

Guys, my back is fine. Has been fine. #fakenews

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) February 2, 2018

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Dave Meltzer reported in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE officials are unhappy about the drop in viewership numbers for their new Facebook Watch series, Mixed Match Challenge. Apparently “key people” in the company are already sour on the tournament.

“Mixed Match Challenge dropped greatly in viewership. Even before this week’s numbers came in, we had heard they were very unhappy about the huge drop from week one to week two and key people were already souring on it. The second show was really bad. This week’s show felt like a harmless gimmick show but there feels like no important reason to watch.”

Here is the breakdown of the numbers since it’s debut:

Episode 1: 135,600
Episode 2: 91,900
Episode 3: 62,400

As you can see by the numbers above, the show is having a downward trend. It will be interesting to see if WWE makes some changes to the show to try to garner more viewers.

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Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host, Jeff Lane.

Russo addresses a tweet sent out by Kevin Gill this past week. Gill implied in the tweet that Russo attracts sexist and racist followers. Russo says that anytime someone says things like this it becomes a personal matter.

Russo’s been married to the same woman for 34 years so he has no idea how he can he be sexist. He says it’s fine to critique his work in the wrestling business, but don’t throw allegations like this around, especially when you don’t know the person you’re talking about. Russo says he hasn’t done a racist or sexist thing in his life.

Lane plays a clip of Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer from this past week, when Meltzer said that nobody goes as far back with the UFC as him and former referee John McCarthy. In the same sentence, Meltzer admitted that he doesn’t work for UFC. Russo laughs hysterically, pointing out that this is classic Meltzer, trying to take credit for things that he has nothing to do with.

The post Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Defending The Miz, Crying Over Professional Wrestling, Is Reigns’ Vest to Blame for Fan Resentment? More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host, Jeff Lane.

Lane mentions that Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer spoke out this past week, criticizing WWE fans who’ve attended recent shows for being quiet and “dead”. Russo says it’s hard to blame the crowd when they’re just going to see a good show, and it’s not their fault if WWE isn’t providing them that.

Alvarez went on to say that Ric Flair had a great career, but Okada has broke the “Observer scale” with 5 and 6-star ratings several times this past year. He says that we’re living through history right now, and there’s no denying that Okada is “the best”. Russo has no idea what history Alvarez is talking about, and he thinks it’s a joke that Alvarez compared Okada to Ric Flair. Russo adds that he wouldn’t be able to pick Okada out in a lineup.

Lastly, Alvarez spoke about Samoa Joe’s promo work, saying Joe is a much better promo than The Miz. Meltzer then agreed, saying Joe constantly cuts great promos and he delivers the goods whether the material is good or bad. Russo disagrees, saying Joe has no range and he cuts the same one-dimensional promo over and over again. Russo worked with Joe in TNA and can speak first hand about this.

The post Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Mixed Match Challenge, Booker T’s Commentary Work, Okada Greater Than Flair? More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

As previously reported, WWE issued a statement to The Associate Press and indicated that they have no plans to bring back Hulk Hogan to the company anytime soon

“At this time, WWE remains committed to its decision,” WWE said in the statement.

Dave Meltzer discussed the statement released by WWE on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio and indicated that the reason Hogan isn’t being brought back has to do with the sponsorship with WWE. The feeling right now is that advertisers aren’t ready to look past Hogan’s racist remarks he made in the leaked audio from his sex tape. Basically, not enough time has passed and WWE isn’t willing to take the risk.

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During the latest installment of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed Chris Jericho’s status for the RAW 25th Anniversary show and described the situation as “up in the air” for right now.

Meltzer said that as of Friday there wasn’t a finalized deal for Jericho to appear at the event. Meltzer said that both parties are still negotiating for the appearance on Monday and WWE will do everything they can to bring Jericho in because they are advertising him for the event.

We will keep you updated if Jericho’s status changes.

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WWE announced this past Monday that Bill Goldberg will be inducted into the 2018 Hall of Fame class. Dave Meltzer discussed the announcement in the last issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter and mentioned that the plan right now is for Paul Heyman to induct Goldberg into the Hall of Fame this year.

Other rumored names for this year’s induction ceremony include The Dudley Boyz, Ivory, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Kid Rock going into the Celebrity Wing.

The 2018 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, April 6th at 7:30pm EST from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

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Dave Meltzer reported in the latest installment of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Bill Goldberg was in talks with New Japan. While very few details were provided, the idea was to bring Bill in for their big shows.

With Goldberg going into the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame class, it seems very unlikely now that New Japan Pro Wrestling is an option at this time.

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– Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Reports that Ronda Rousey’s dinner meeting with Triple H that was reported by TMZ was a plant. It’s believed they did the story to get publicity for her pending arrival to WWE.

– The 25th Anniversary of RAW is expected to have two-hours from the Barclays Center and one-hour from the Manhattan Center. It’s believed that some talent may appear at both locations.

– There is talk that WWE may be filming backstage at the 25th Anniversary show for a documentary for the event.

– Ticket demand for the Royal Rumble event in Philadelphia is said to be an “all time record high.”

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As seen on Monday’s episode of RAW, The Miztourage attacked Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Jason Jordan and got the better of them as the show went off the air.

Dave Meltzer discussed this angle on Tuesday’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio and indicated that this was done to set up a match between Rollins, Reigns & Jordan vs. The Miztourage on next week’s show.

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