This Day In Wrestling History

Ric Flair wins his first World title. Flair teams with Greg Valentine to beat Gene and Ole Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championship
December 25, 1976

Kevin Von Erich defeated Bruiser Brody to win the NWA American Title and Ernie Ladd defeated Ray Candy by forfeit to win his 4th Mid-South North American title
December 25, 1978

World Class Championship Wrestling holds the first "Christmas Star Wars" event at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas, drawing a crowd of 18,000 fans (and a Texas record gate at the time) for a show that featured one of the most famous heel turns of all time, a turn that sparked arguably the greatest feud in Texas wrestling history, the Von Erichs vs. The Fabulous Freebirds.
December 25, 1982

Magnum T.A. & Mr. Wrestling II defeated Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart to win the Mid-South Tag Team Title
December 25, 1983

The Rock 'N' Roll Express defeated Ted DiBiase & Hercules Hernandez to win their 3rd Mid-South Tag Team Title
December 25, 1984

UPN airs the first ever WWE Smackdown "Christmas In Iraq/Tribute To The Troops", which was taped at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq on December 20th for an audience of soldiers overseas. The show included Vince McMahon knocking down Santa Claus for not bringing him a gift, only for "Santa" to reveal himself as Steve Austin. Austin then gave McMahon a stunner.
December 25, 2003

Special Theme Announced for the First WWE RAW of 2014 in Baltimore, MD

WWE is advertising the January 6th RAW, the first RAW show of 2014, as having an "Old School" theme. The show will be held in Baltimore, Maryland at the Baltimore Arena.

The dark main event being advertised is John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Title with Booker T as special referee. At this point, no other Legends are being advertised yet.

More Like First Screen - Social Media and Second Screen Engagement

Using social media and second screen technology to enhance storytelling is a given for cable networks these days. But it takes plenty of planning and pre-production to make that happen—particularly in the live sports realm, where outcomes can vary moment to moment. Here are some of the ways in which channels are currently increasing engagement using social and second screen apps to entertain viewers, as told by sports production and marketing execs at last week’s SVG Summit in NYC.

WWE relies heavily on its second screen app to engage audiences, even going as far as letting fans control the storylines. “It’s a part of our show. We don’t consider it second screen anymore,” said Rob Bernstein, WWE, vp/editorial director, digital and print. “It’s adjunct programming.” And they staff it as such. For every “Monday Night Raw” show, there are 10 people who are just responsible for managing the second screen, including writers, a producer, a camera guy, a talent wrangler and full tech support, he said. And after the show, the network evaluates what the fans thought of the programming by analyzing the social chatter. Each Tuesday morning a full report goes out explaining exactly what the fans thought about it. Then, “we take that content and it becomes a big part of the writing process,” he said.

WWE sees its highest engagement during its live shows, Bernstein confirmed. Its strategy is to provide video clips via social media, but additionally, “we want them to be able to bend the story,” he said. That’s done through polling during the show, which gives viewers a level of control. The net also brings fans into the programming and gets them to participate, thereby creating more live video content on the second screen.

Similarly, HBO Sports incorporates video, visuals and stats into its live sporting events such as boxing matches, according to Jason Cohen, director of live events. That entails pushing stats from the truck straight to Twitter, taking Instagram photos and incorporating those into visuals in the linear broadcast, and cutting video clips using Snappy TV. The goal of every network is to drive eyeballs to linear TV, he reminded the audience, so “that same philosophy has to take place with the second screen as well, especially if 90% of your audience is looking at it,” Cohen said, in reference to a recent study revealing that 90% of audiences have a phone in their lap while watching TV.

HBO pushes the content out via social channels as much as possible before the fights but it also has a social media person on the ground tweeting stats as they come in. And the social media person is right behind the talent, Cohen said, so he or she can tweet quotes from them as they happen. Additionally, cameras are set up in the locker room, the staffer snaps and publishes Instagram photos and Snappy TV is used to create a viral effect.

source: cablefax.com

WWE’s Bruno Sammartino, Triple H on MSG’s ‘The Garden Transformed’

WWE refers to Madison Square Garden as “the house that Bruno built.”

Now area pro wrestling fans will get a chance to see Bruno Sammartino receive a VIP look at the Garden being rebuilt.

Sammartino and 13-time WWE champion-turned-executive Triple H will be featured in Part 2 of the five-part MSG series “The Garden Transformed: Year Three” on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. The series will begin Friday night at 11 p.m. for the first of five consecutive nights, in conjunction with the completion of the final phase of the Garden’s $1 billion transformation.

The series will feature notable figures from some of the sports that define the Garden’s history, including the Knicks (Raymond Felton and Tim Hardaway Jr.); Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist); college basketball (coaches Jim Boeheim and Steve Lavin); and boxing (former world champs Larry Holmes and Miguel Cotto, and Long Island’s own Gerry Cooney).

But Sammartino was arguably the Garden’s biggest draw. According to WWE.com he was responsible for selling out the building 187 times during his career, which included runs as champion from 1963-71, and 1973-77.

“Even around the world, this is how they know me,” Sammartino, who along with Triple H donned a hard hat to view the construction, said in a quote released from Saturday’s episode “…In Argentina, in Brazil, I remember going to Australia, all the trips I did in Japan, you know how they’d advertise me? ‘From Madison Square Garden, Bruno Sammartino.’”

The appearance dumps yet another shovel of dirt on the hatchet buried between Sammartino and WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. Sammartino, who wrestled for Vince’s father, Vincent J. McMahon, engaged in a longtime feud with the younger McMahon, largely for content on TV Sammartino felt was inappropriate.

Sammartino returned to the WWE fold this year -- largely thanks to Triple H helping to facilitate a truce -- and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last April 6 at MSG, the night before WrestleMania XXIX at MetLife Stadium.

Show schedule:
Friday: Episode 1 – 11:00 p.m. (following Knicks vs. Raptors)
Saturday: Episode 2 – 10:30 p.m. (following Knicks at Raptors)
Sunday: Episode 3 – 10:30 p.m. (following Rangers at Lightning)
Monday: Episode 4 – 10:00 p.m.
Tuesday: Episode 5 – 8:30 p.m. (following Rangers at Panthers)

source: newsday.com

Raw Results 12/23/13

Batista Returns to WWE on January 20th

Jeff Jarrett Resigns From TNA

On December 22nd, 2013 I officially resigned from TNA Entertainment. Thanks to everyone involved for all the fantastic memories! #grateful

— Jeff Jarrett (@JeffJarrettTNA) December 23, 2013

Jarrett co-founded TNA along with his father Jerry in 2002, and has most recently been a minority company owner.

This is the official release from TNA regarding Jeff Jarrett:

TNA Entertainment, LLC announced today that it has accepted Mr. Jeff Jarrett’s resignation from the company effective January 6th, 2014. Dixie Carter, President, commented “On behalf of TNA, we would like to thank Jeff for his contributions to the Company. We wish him the very best and look forward to his continued participation as an investor in TNA Wrestling.

WWE Releasing "Best of RAW: Not on RAW" DVD In 2014 with Dark Matches and Segments

WrestlingDVDNews.com reports that WWE will be releasing a "Best of RAW: Not on RAW" DVD in 2014. The set will be made up of post-RAW dark segments, skits and matches. It will be a three-disc DVD set coming out in April and a Blu-ray is also expected.

Here's the early synopsis:

"Never before released moments after RAW has gone off the air and the cameras keep rolling. Stone Cold singing to the fans, Vince doing a Spinnarooni, dark matches Cena vs. Edge, etc."

Batista Update

WWE is no longer advertised Batista for the February 16 live event in Las Vegas, Nevada. The advertising that featured Batista has been removed. Either someone really screwed up or WWE wanted to get some pre-return buzz generated for Batista's return. My guess is the former is accurate, as the company is normally very secretive about major returns.

Gerald Brisco Gives Props To Fit Finlay For His Work With WWE's Divas Division

In The Miami Herald's nine-part series on women's wrestling, WWE Legend Gerald Brisco, who now scouts talent for WWE, gave props to Fit Finlay for his work with the WWE Divas division:

"It's like building a house in 1920 or building a house in 2013. What do you start with? You start with the foundation. You lay that foundation, and everything else will fall into place…I'm going to give props to where it's due. The divas, the ladies are better athletes now than they have been ever before, not taking away from anyone before. Props go out to David Fit Finlay also because he has handled the divas and turned them into tough workers. It's outstanding to see, and I can see his fingerprints all over it. He has done a tremendous job. He has taken that charge because some people would have been, 'Oh no, not the divas.' He said, 'Give it to me.' Now they come to him to see how to make it a little bit tougher and rougher. He takes that time to sit down to explain it to them and breaks it down into details to where they are able to understand it. He is a tremendous asset to the division and WWE."

Triple H and John Cena High on Injured WWE NXT Star

Chris Hero (Kassius Ohno) revealed in his newest RF Video shoot interview that Triple H and John Cena are high up on WWE NXT star Enzo Amore. Amore is a product of DeFranco's Gym in New Jersey, where Triple H and Stephanie McMahon regularly train. Enzo has been out of action since November with a broken leg. It was reported he would be out of action for 6 months.

WWE Superstar John Cena Appointed Captain of Team Fruity Pebbles

Post® Pebbles™ Cereal Enlists Top Athletes and Entertainers to Lead the Charge in the Showdown Between Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles

WWE® Superstar John Cena® Appointed Captain of Team Fruity; Professional Basketball Player Kyrie Irving to Lead Team Cocoa

Today, Post Foods, LLC, launched a friendly competition between Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles to see which cereal is most popular among fans. Online and mobile competitions from January through September 2014 will rally support for each flavor. WWE Superstar John Cena returns to the front of Post Fruity Pebbles cereal boxes and will serve as captain for Team Fruity. Professional Basketball All Star Kyrie Irving will take his long-time love for Cocoa Pebbles to the next level by appearing on Post Cocoa Pebbles cereal boxes as captain of Team Cocoa.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please visit: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/64790-post-foods-fruity-cocoa-pebbles-competition-wwe-john-cena-nba-kyrie-irving

In 2014, Pebbles will ask fans of all ages to choose a side - are you on Team Fruity or Team Cocoa? Fans can declare their love for their favorite Pebbles flavor by visiting a microsite and downloading an interactive app encouraging fans to vote, take photos, and play minigames. They will be asked to complete simple challenges such as making team spirit items like pennants out of Pebbles boxes, and sharing them through Instagram using their team's hashtag (#TeamFruity or #TeamCocoa). Fans who complete these online missions and choose a side will be able to win prizes like giftcards, iPads, or John Cena and Kyrie Irving signed merchandise.

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