This Week’s Final WWE RAW Rating Hits New All-Time Low

This week’s episode of WWE RAW brought in 3.356 million viewers, higher than last week’s record-low of 3.285 million.

Despite the increase, the final WWE RAW rating still hit a record low, coming back with a 2.21 rating. This number is lower than last week’s 2.33 final WWE RAW rating, and is actually the lowest non-holiday show since RAW went to a three-hour format in 2012.

This Day In Wrestling History

Johnny Valentine defeats Abdullah The Butcher to win the National Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Title in Cleveland, OH.
October 19, 1972

WWE holds their No Mercy Pay-per-view in Baltimore, Maryland. The show is especially notable for an "I Quit" match between Vince and Stephanie McMahon in which Vince promised to give up ownership of WWE if he lost, and Stephanie agreed to step down as General Manager of Smackdown if she lost. Stephanie lost, and would not appear on WWE programming (in a storyline sense, as she did attend the WWE Hall Of Fame events) until October 3, 2005. It is also interesting to note that the Maryland State Athletic Commission had a rule that prevented male vs. female wrestling matches, and WWE had to pay a fine (which they were prepared to do in advance) in order to have the match. This match also occurred six days prior to her real life marriage to Triple H.
October 19, 2003

Michael Hegstrand aka Hawk of the Road Warriors/Legion of Doom passed away in his sleep at age 46.
October 19, 2003

The King of Kings slams on to canvas: WWE Canvas 2 Canvas

Sting Reveals Why He Lost To Triple H At WrestleMania 31

Sting revealed on his newly released "Into The Light" documentary that he lost to Triple H at WrestleMania 31 earlier this year because it is "the right thing to do" in your last match.

This thinking is a harp back to an old school mentally that you should put your opponent over in the way to go out in your last match.

Throughout the documentary, Sting says that he thinks WrestleMania is his last wrestling match. His deal since recording this footage has clearly been restructured, as he faced Seth Rollins at the Night of Champions event this year.

Popular WWE Tough Enough Contestant Reportedly Signs with WWE, Reports to the Performance Center

A source close to Patrick Clark has told the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show that the popular former Tough Enough contestant has signed to a WWE developmental contract and is currently at the performance center. Adding fuel to the speculation, Clark was missing from this weekend’s MCW shows where he was advertised to appear and last night in Delaware, his tag team partner Lio Rush dropped the Maryland Tag Team Championship in a handicap match.

You can listen to The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show on Washington DC’s 106.7 The Fan Wednesday Nights at 7pm and on iTunes, Play.it, and at: http://chaddukeswrestlingshow.com/

Sami Zayn Appears in the Ring After EVOLVE 49, Teases Big Things Between WWE and WWN Live

According to PWInsider.com, after last ight’s EVOLVE 49 iPPV went off the air, WWE NXT star Sami Zayn came down to the ring as Johnny Gargano and Ethan Page were recovering from their I Quit main event match.

Zayn said he got his start cutting his teeth in EVOLVE and added he has an “indy sized hole” in his heart. He thanked the fans for supporting him and EVOLVE.

Zayn then said this is the ground floor of something very, very big for EVOLVE and he teased more to the relationship between WWN Live and WWE. He put over Johnny Gargano, who participated in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, and told him that after seeing him in NXT and tonight, that there is no doubt Gargano is the man. Zayn said there’s there’s never been a more important time than now for him to step up and show it. This ended the night.

Adam Rose and Colin Cassady Injured

It appeared Adam Rose might have suffered a concussion during his match last night in Mexico, as his bout against Fandango was stopped and Rose had to be stretchered out. F4WOnline.com is reporting Rose “got his bell rung” but is fine, and Rose himself confirmed he is ok as he Tweeted the following:

"I am fine. Thanks for all the support and concern."

Colin Cassady appeared at last night's meet & greet before the WWE NXT live event in Tampa and was walking on crutches. This indicates that the injury shot with Cassady for the October 28th NXT episode was not just an angle.

Rumor Mill - Backstage News On What Led To Blue Pants Getting Heat In WWE NXT, Brooklyn Incident

PWInsider and The Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently noted that Leva "Blue Pants" Bates was likely done with WWE NXT after catching some backstage heat. The reports were that Blue Pants had heat for how over she got herself and for making comments about being more over than other talents. It was also noted that WWE officials kept using her because they knew she would get a big pop at "Takeover: Brooklyn" as the mystery partner for The Vaudevillains but once Alexa Bliss beat Blue Pants, that was supposed to be the end of her run.

Blue Pants didn't get the heat because of how over she was, but because there was a feeling that she did not appreciate the spot she had. She was often seen on her phone at and during NXT TV tapings, apparently not paying attention to what was going on.

There was also an incident during SummerSlam weekend in Brooklyn where Blue Pants became intoxicated in public. Following the SummerSlam pay-per-view, Blue Pants reportedly drank too much at an outing and acted highly inappropriate. There were WWE Corporate employees from Stamford at the gathering and her behavior did not go over well. This incident led to her missing the flight back to Florida the next morning with the rest of the crew.

WWE Breaking Ground, an explosive new reality show, comes to WWE Network October 26

Follow the stories of the men and women fighting to become WWE's next Superstars and Divas in the new reality show WWE Breaking Ground, debuting on WWE Network Monday, October 26.

WWN Live Statement On WWE Relationship

WWN Live issued the following today in regards to their status with WWE after NXT Superstar Sami Zayn was announced for live appearances at this weekend's EVOLVE shows in New York City:

"You have supported us and you deserve an answers. You want to know what's going on with WWE and The WWN Family. This is the absolute truth. There are no answers. Yes, there is obviously a growing relationship. What direction it will take is unknown. There are rumors and speculation, but this relationship changes and develops almost weekly. This is a road that has never been traveled before. There is no precedent. We don't know what to expect nor what is possible. All this means is that anything can happen. There are infinite possibilities. The only sure thing is that this will be a wild, unpredictable and thrilling ride. We will all find out where this road goes together. There is no telling what will happen next."

Update on WWE's "Gorgeous George" Biopic

WWE Studios will co-develop the George Raymond Wagner biopic “Gorgeous George” alongside Robert Halmi Jr.’s Great Point Media, with Josh Gad and partner Ryan Dixon writing the script.

“Gorgeous George” will chronicle the life and career of Wagner, the professional wrestler and sports entertainer credited with inspiring the flamboyant personas of performers such as Muhammad Ali and James Brown and helping bring sports into the TV age.

“Gorgeous George was a true pioneer in television,” said Michael Luisi, President of WWE Studios. “Josh is a true talent and we are thrilled to see him and Ryan tackle such a groundbreaking story.”

Gad recently wrapped production on the Disney film “Beauty And The Beast” opposite Emma Watson and Luke Evans. He will begin production in January on STX Entertainment’s “Russ And Roger Go Beyond” as Roger Ebert.

WWE Studios will handle worldwide rights and will use WWE’s platforms, including weekly TV shows, digital and social media and the WWE Network, to market this title.

ESPN's Partnership With WWE Is A Game-Changer

Professional wrestling is real.

That would be the implication of WWE highlights appearing on—or, as some may consider it, blaspheming—the hallowed grounds of the world’s premier sports network.

During Tuesday’s edition of SportsCenter, ESPN announced a partnership with WWE to feature weekly segments of wrestling highlights. The partnership couldn’t have come at a better time for both industry-leading franchises.

ESPN has been struggling with declining subscriber numbers and ratings. Ad revenue was off 3 percent in the three months ended June 27, according to the Wall Street Journal, which dissected the network’s troubles in detail here. ESPN’s ratings dip is tied in part to the rise in popularity of online streaming services like Netflix NFLX +0.91%, which is posing big problems for the television industry at large.

ESPN cut ties with three of its biggest stars this year — Keith Olbermann, Colin Cowherd and Bill Simmons – in an exodus that was not without its share of controversy. ESPN is now looking to regroup by ”nurturing big-name stars,” as President John Skipper put it, in a climate where ratings are shrinking.

Sound familiar?

WWE has had its own share of struggles that are eerily similar to that of ESPN’s. Monday’s edition of Raw once again drew a record-low viewership, 3.285 million. With John Cena nearing the end of his run on top of WWE, the promotion is in a transitional period as first-time champion Seth Rollins (who guested during the aforementioned SportsCenter broadcast) looks to be one of many fresh faces to lead WWE into the future...More?

source: forbes.com