USA Touts WWE Success

The USA Network issued the following press release today, touting their successful 2018 as the #1 overall cable entertainment network in total viewers for the 13th year, which is the longest streak in TV history. They also touted finishing the year as the #1 cable entertainment network for the 18-49 demographic for the second year in a row. USA mentioned the success of WWE's RAW and SmackDown shows, and the success of the Miz & Mrs. series with The Miz and Maryse.

"GLOW" Comic Book

Netflix's GLOW wrestling show will be a four-issue comic series with IDW Publishing, according to Hollywood Reporter. The comic book will be an original story from the series and is scheduled to debut in March. While a date is still unknown, GLOW is scheduled to have a third season.

Vince McMahon And Triple H: The Fans Are Now The Authority

As promised, Vince McMahon graced Monday Night RAW with his presence tonight. He opened by saying that he can no longer do the show all by himself, and so he brought out his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, her husband, Triple H, and his son, Shane McMahon.

Stephanie opened by saying that “they haven’t been doing a good job lately” and that they haven’t been listening to the audience. However, that it was all going to change. “The days of absentee management is over,” said Triple H. “The four of us will be taking back Monday Night RAW.” Shane then went on to echo the same sentiment for SmackDown.

“We’re going to give fans what they want,” stated Triple H. “Something new. Something fresh. In the coming months you’ll be seeing new faces, fresh match-ups, and more of what you want. You are the authority.”

Shawn Michaels On His Relationship With Triple H Now, What He Enjoys Most About Coaching At WWE PC

What he enjoys most about being a Coach at the WWE Performance Center:

"For me to have a huge influence or impact on anybody is probably not a healthy thing. It's 30 years later and I still have no idea why this company still has me employed, or is letting me talk or instruct or coach younger talent, because it's obvious that it's not good for the wrestling business in any way shape or form. They're all going to be incredibly bad influences -- and hopefully, that'll all be because of me."

"I always wondered, after wrestling for 30 years, and in a sense never having to have a real job or really have to work a day in my life, what I would do after I was done doing that. Then I get to stumble into this job at the PC, and clearly I still do not have to grow up, which is phenomenal. You get to coach a bunch of other young men who you are encouraging not to ever have to grow up, and you can't beat it."

"I know, on one hand, us old guys are always getting asked to come back and do stuff. But I really am one of those guys that want [to let the young guys take the spotlight]. I'm thrilled with the direction of the WWE and NXT, and I want the business to move on into the future."

Working with Triple H to shape the future with WWE NXT, the evolution of their friendship:

"It's great. For he and I, other than the fact that he's in a suit all the time... it's very much the same relationship we had all those years on the road, that we sort of did in the car. Now we get to do it, in some form, in a much bigger, corporate setting. It's honestly still the same guys, sitting around and driving up and down the road -- that's what we do. It's just that now, somebody is actually driving us, because he doesn't actually drive himself anymore.

"We're sitting in the back, throwing out ideas, writing shows, coming up with creative things of that nature. Look, you cannot beat it -- honestly. I get paid to hang out with my buddy, and it is extremely tough to complain about that. I still have absolutely no idea how I've stumbled into the unbelievably blessed life that I have, but I try not think about it too much, for fear I might wake up one day."

source: espn

Eric Bischoff On Triple H's Short Stint In WCW

Eric Bischoff reflected on Triple H's time in WCW and said they didn't have too many interactions. Triple H would end up leaving WCW for WWE in early 1995 and Bischoff revealed there was nothing he could do to prevent that from happening.

"When Hunter came in it was at a time in WCW when we were really cutting costs. Expenses were a really big issue. I think it was Terry Taylor who first introduced Hunter to us. My biggest concern with him was that he lived in the Northeast. At that point things were so tight financially that we were looking to concentrate on the talent that lived in Atlanta, Georgia because we couldn't afford to fly people all over the country, so that was one big issue."

HHH was in his mid 20's at the time, and wasn't near as big of a name back then as we'd come to see later on in WWF/WWE. 

Bishoff notes that Triple H was never one to drink, smoke, or do any drugs.

"He didn't drink, he didn't smoke, didn't do drugs, didn't get loud. He was friendly, he was sociable, he was cordial, but he was kind of… I don't want to say aloof but he was one step outside the kind of inner circle of talent in the way he carried himself. And by the way, that is a compliment because he was a real pro even in this social environment, and I did notice that because it was early for me in management, but I did notice it. He was in control of himself almost at all times," stated Bischoff.

Justin Credible Arrested Again On Multiple Charges, Mugshot Photo Released, More On Recent Troubles

Former WWE and ECW star Justin Credible has been arrested for the third time this year.

Credible was arrested on Tuesday and charged with multiple charges, including misdemeanor assault, breach of peace, criminal mischief and three charges of violating a protection order, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. Credible reportedly lives with his family but some of the family members in the home have protection orders against him, in case of an incident. This could be why there are multiple violations of the protection order.

The Connecticut VINE website notes that Credible is currently in custody at the New Haven Correctional Center under a $50,000 bond. Below is the mugshot provided on the website:

As we noted before, Credible was arrested in August and September for various domestic charges, and he spent some time incarcerated. Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that sources say Credible has had multiple run-ins with police since he was last arrested in September.

Credible also allegedly walked away from going to rehab, which was being sponsored by WWE.

Credible continues to film the "CREDIBLE" documentary, which will feature footage of Credible dealing with his recent issues.

WWE Is Preparing For Global Domination And Everyone Is Finally Noticing

Becky Lynch Becomes The First Woman To Top ESPN's WWE Power Rankings, Lynch Reacts

ESPN announced today that SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch is the first woman to ever top their monthly WWE Power Rankings.

The Man of WWE easily topped the list by nearly sweeping the first-place votes, according to ESPN's Tim Fiorvanti. Lynch ranked #4 on the last set of rankings that was released. ESPN notes that "rankings are based upon the perceived value of a superstar to the on-screen product of WWE, which is determined by the voting of a panel of WWE on ESPN contributors. Number in parentheses indicates first-place votes."

ESPN's Matt Wilansky wrote the following on Lynch for this month's #1 spot: "When you step back and think of Becky's ascent, it's astonishing. We all assumed Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey would take the women's evolution to the next level, but it's the SmackDown champ who has the most ardent and passion fan base in the WWE today, and that includes the men. Her beeline to the top of the summit is one of the best wrestling stories of 2018."

This month's rankings saw WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins come in second. Others on the list are WWE Champion Daniel Bryan at #3, Drew McIntyre, RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at #10.

Lynch took to Twitter and wrote the following on topping the list:

The first woman ever to top the ESPN Power Rankings? You’re damn right I am, and we’re only getting warmed up. #IamTheMan

Eight Cities Revealed For XFL Relaunch, More Cities Considered For The Future?, XFL League Advisers

A "Contact Us" page on the XFL website has revealed all 8 cities that will host teams for the inaugural season in 2020. It looks like the pages were edited after the leak.

The following 8 cities were revealed:

* Dallas, Texas
* Houston, Texas
* Los Angeles, California
* New York (could be NY/NJ region but phone number was New York City)
* St. Louis, Missouri
* Seattle, Washington
* Tampa Bay, Florida
* Washington, DC

As we've noted, XFL has announced that they will reveal the 8 cities along with venues on Wednesday, December 5 at noon EST. It's been confirmed that the press conference will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, the site of WrestleMania 35.

In related news, it looks like there could be plans to expand to other major cities once the inaugural season has wrapped. DomainNameWire.com reports that the league registered several domain names for potential host cities and regions earlier this week. The domains use the format of XFLCity.com, CityXFL.com and XFLCityAbbreviation.com. For example, they registered XFLChicago.com, ChicagoXFL.com and XFLCHI.com.

The 21 cities or regions that they registered domains for are: Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas/Arlington, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Washington DC, Tampa Bay.

These locations could be a sign of where they plan to expand to with future seasons or places that have been under consideration. All 8 cities revealed for the inaugural season are included in the list of domains registered this week.

On a related note, the XFL website also lists several Advisers that will be working with the league. They are:

* Jim Caldwell - former NFL Head Coach (Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts)

* John Fox - former NFL Head Coach (Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos)

* Doug Flutie - former NFL, CFL & USFL Quarterback, NBC/NBCSN Analyst

* Donna Orender - WNBA President from 2005-2010

* John Kosner - President of Kosner Media, 20-Year ESPN veteran

* Kevin Guskiewicz - Dean of Arts & Science at UNC, Member of the NFL Head, Neck & Spine Committee

EVOLVE Reveals What Happened With Impact Pulling LAX From Matches With WWE NXT Team, Future Bookings

The LAX were set to work two EVOLVE events against WWE NXT Superstars Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins, The Street Profits, who also are the current EVOLVE Tag Team Champions.

LAX vs. AR Fox & Leon Ruff vs. The Street Profits in a Triple Threat for the titles was scheduled for the EVOLVE event on December 15 in Queens. LAX & Austin Theory vs. Ford, Dawkins and Darby Allin in a six-man match was scheduled for the next night in Long Island. Shortly after the match was announced a few days ago, EVOLVE's Gabe Sapolsky announced that Impact officials had pulled The LAX from both events.

EVOLVE announced today that they will no longer book Impact contracted talents because of this. They also stated that the two matches were booked "in order to avoid any political issues" and to give fans of both teams what they wanted, "while protecting all parties politically."

More?

16th Annual WWE Tribute to the Troops Event To Take Place At Fort Hood, Texas

WWE issued the following announcement, confirming details for this year’s WWE Tribute To The Troops event:

The 16th annual WWE Tribute to the Troops will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Fort Hood, Texas. This is the second time Fort Hood has hosted The Most Patriotic Show of the Year, first serving as host in 2010.

While in Fort Hood, Superstars will spend time giving back to military personnel and their families stationed on base. Activities include a Be a STAR bullying prevention rally, as well as hospital visits and military outreach initiatives at various installations across the base.

WWE Tribute to the Troops began in 2003 to honor our servicemen and women and their families. In the tradition of Bob Hope, WWE brings together the best of sports, entertainment and pop culture with celebrity appearances and performances from music’s most popular acts in what is considered TV’s most patriotic and heartwarming show of the year.

WWE also hosted the event at Fort Hood in 2010.

Rhea Ripley Becomes First-Ever WWE NXT UK Women's Champion

Rhea Ripley was crowned the first-ever WWE NXT UK Women's Champion on today's episode. She defeated Toni Storm in the finals of the tournament.

There was a post-match celebration with Triple H and NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint presenting the title to Ripley as the locker room looked on.

Ripley, who has defended the title a few times since winning it at the tapings back in the summer, will defend against Storm at the NXT UK "Takeover: Blackpool" event on Saturday, January 12 from the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England.