Paul Heyman Tells One Of The Most Heartbreaking Stories In Mr. McMahon Doc, Puts Shane McMahon In A Different Light

Paul "Triple H" Levesque Reveals Brand New WWE Crown Jewel Championship at WWE Bad Blood

Paul "Triple H" Levesque appeared in front of the crowd at WWE's Bad Blood premium live event to make a big announcement regarding the company's next PLE in Saudi Arabia, Crown Jewel, on November 2. Levesque made his way down to the ring and addressed the fans, making an attendance announcement of 16,092 in the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, WWE's 60th consecutive sellout of 2024. Levesque said that at Crown Jewel, WWE will be making history once again, because it will be "the beginning of a new era."

He said that at Crown Jewel, the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion willbe taking on the World Heavyweight Champion, and the WWE Women's Champion will take on the Women's World Champion. He explained that none of the belts will be on the line, but the winners of the two matches will win the Crown Jewel Championship, a large belt Levesque unveiled in the middle of the ring.

WWE NXT Viewership Jumps 44% in CW Debut

The debut of WWE‘s NXT on The CW Tuesday night saw a significant jump in viewership.

The broadcast network debut of WWE’s weekly show featuring developmental talent averaged 895,000 viewers from 8-10 p.m. That is up 44% compared to last week’s episode, which aired on USA Network. Viewership peaked between 8:15 and 8:30 with 965,000 viewers. The episode was also the number one telecast on CW this year among adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 with 406,000 viewers and 354,000 respectively.

The viewership represented a 143% increase in total viewers over CW’s Tuesday primetime average this season, with affiliates in markets like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Detroit also notching triple digit increases in viewership versus last week.

source: variety.com

JBL: Triple H Is The Only One Who Could Have Taken Over For Vince McMahon

The latest legend to chime in with support for Paul Levesque is John Bradshaw Layfield. Even though he's currently on a world tour of sorts as the guardian of wrestling, making appearances in TNA Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, and Game Changer Wrestling, JBL took the time to talk about Triple H during a recent Q&A with Sportskeeda.

Bradshaw says he's amazed by what has been done since the new regime took over and believes that Triple H is the only one who could have taken over for Vince McMahon.

"Triple H is the only one, to me, that could have taken over for Vince. He’s not only taken over and kept the company the same, they made it better. What they’re doing is just amazing. The billion dollar TV contracts, the crowds they are drawing. I am blown away by what he and Nick Khan together, and the entire team, Bruce Prichard and all the guys, what they’ve done. It’s absolutely amazing to me."

source: fightful.com

Shawn Michaels and Paul Levesque Join Forces for Special Opening Segment at WWE NXT’s CW Debut

Last night, WWE NXT fans witnessed the dawn of a new era for the brand.

At the debut episode of WWE NXT on The CW Network, broadcast live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, WWE Senior VP of Talent Development Creative, Shawn Michaels, took center stage to kick off the show.

As previously noted, "The Heartbreak Kid" unveiled brand new WWE NXT World and WWE NXT Women's World title belts, proudly displayed on a podium in the center of the ring.

Following the unveiling, Michaels stated that with that business taken care of, only one question remained.

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from off-camera, delivering the iconic phrase, “Are you ready?” in its trademark baritone.

The camera panned over to reveal WWE Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, making his way up the ring steps, beaming with a wide grin.

Levesque and Michaels then stood together in the middle of the ring, united, to officially kick off the inaugural episode of NXT on CW, marking the beginning of a new chapter for WWE NXT.

Vince McMahon Criticizes Netflix Documentary for Misleading Portrayal of His Life

Vince McMahon has publicly voiced his disappointment with a new Netflix documentary that focuses on his life and career. In a statement, McMahon expressed regret over the portrayal of him in the film, criticizing how it conflates his on-screen wrestling persona, "Mr. McMahon," with his actual self.

McMahon contends that the filmmakers missed an opportunity to present a balanced and accurate portrayal of both his personal life and his business accomplishments. According to McMahon, the documentary distorts the truth by relying on selective editing, outdated soundbites, and out-of-context footage to mislead viewers. He claims that these editorial choices were deliberately made to push a deceptive narrative, which paints a skewed picture of his life.

A key point of McMahon's criticism is the documentary's handling of a past lawsuit and affair, which he says were presented in a way that reinforces the misconception that his fictional "Mr. McMahon" character is a true reflection of his real persona.

McMahon concluded his statement by encouraging viewers to approach the film with an open mind, reminding them that there are always two sides to every story.

Vince McMahon's Official Statement on the Netflix Documentary:

McMahon writes: "I don’t regret participating in this Netflix documentary. The producers had an opportunity to tell an objective story about my life and the incredible business I built, which were equally filled with excitement, drama, fun, and a fair amount of controversy and life lessons. Unfortunately, based on an early partial cut I’ve seen, this doc falls short and takes the predictable path of conflating the 'Mr. McMahon' character with my true self, Vince. The title and promos alone make that evident.

Much has been misrepresented or left out entirely in an effort to leave viewers intentionally confused. The producers use typical editing tricks with out-of-context footage and dated soundbites to distort the viewer’s perception and support a deceptive narrative.

In an attempt to further their misleading account, the producers use a lawsuit based on an affair I ended as evidence that I am, in fact, 'Mr. McMahon.'

I hope the viewer will keep an open mind and remember that there are two sides to every story."

Update On WWE Programming On Peacock

A new report provides an update on WWE‘s programming on Peacock.

WWE shows are on the move, as SmackDown has moved to USA Network, while NXT will premiere on The CW Network on October 1.

Steven Muelhausen of The Takedown on SI reports that, per a Peacock spokesperson, as part of their agreement with WWE, SmackDown’s complete past season library is available, while new episodes will be available only 30 days after airing on USA.

With RAW, new episodes will be available 30 days after airing, as the show will remain on USA Network through the end of 2024.

The spokesperson also said that Peacock will no longer have the libraries of NXT and RAW when their contracts expire. The streaming service will have countdown clocks to inform viewers of their expiration dates starting on September 19 and December 2, respectively.

Muelhausen also writes that a WWE spokesperson said that all PLEs will continue to air exclusively on Peacock.

WWE RAW will move to Netflix in January 2025. It is currently unclear how this may affect programming otherwise.

source: WrestleZone

WWE and NBC Just Announced a Big Returning Special Event That Fans Will Love

TKO Group Holdings and NBC announced this week that the network will air the first of its planned quarterly Saturday Night’s Main Event specials on Saturday, December 14, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and simulcast on Peacock. The move, which will offer another opportunity for Superstars to clash with one another on the 2024 calendar, is part of the duo's new five-year domestic media rights partnership that currently has both WWE SmackDown and Monday Night Raw on USA Network until the end of 2024.

What Is Saturday Night’s Main Event? For those too young to remember, Saturday Night’s Main Event started in 1985 during Saturday Night Live's timeslot when the sketch comedy show wasn't live. It stuck around on and off until roughly 2008. However, during that time it played home to cage matches, battle royal matches, tag team matches, and more between legends like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Dave Bautista, Roddy Piper, and many more!

In short, this new iteration will offer current WWE titans a chance to have high-profile, consequential matches that’ll help shape the landscape of WWE across its brands in the coming months.

Triple H Contributes To Lemmy Kilmister Tribute Book

In a post on Instagram, Triple H revealed that he has taken part in a book that pays tribute to the late Lemmy Kilmister, frontman of Motorhead. The book is called No Remorse and will be available tomorrow.

He wrote: “I’ll never forget the first time I met Lemmy. The role that he and Motorhead played in shaping “The Game” cannot be overstated, and it’s been the honor of a lifetime to pay homage to my friend by contributing to this novel. Make sure you get your copy today.”

WWE Will Hold Fewer Live Events In 2025

Mark Shapiro, the President and Chief Operating Officer of TKO Group Holdings spoke at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference on September 11. There, he commented on WWE cutting back on live events.

“We’re cutting events at WWE,” Shapiro said. “We’re taking our low-margin, marginally profitable events, untelevised events that Vince [McMahon] put in place to grow the brand. You’re taking the show on the road and we gotta go to every city we can get to grow the WWE brand. Well the WWE brand, while we still have to grow it, it’s on fire right now. We don’t need to carry these marginally profitable events … What was 300 [events] last year will be roughly 250 this year. And next year, we’ll be close to 200.”

Furthermore, Shapiro said that the tickets for WWE events were underpriced, and he hinted that WWE could follow the pattern of raising prices to meet the demand that has been evident elsewhere in the concert industry.

The company has already started making a change. They have already cut back on the amount of live events that will be held in the United States for the fall of 2024.

Backstage Update On WWE Raw Shift To Two-Hour Format

Some big news emerged from last night's episode of "WWE Raw," as commentator Joe Tessitore revealed that, starting October, "Raw" would be shifting to a two hour format for the remainder of 2024. The move would see the red brand leave behind it's three hour format for the first time since 2012, and had fans wondering if this change would just be through the end of the year, or would continue when "Raw" began airing on Netflix in January 2025.

At least right now, the answer appears to be the latter. Commenting on the programming shift on this morning's "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer revealed that "Raw" would revert back to three hours upon their move to Netflix. Furthermore, the shift from three hours to two was a call made by the USA Network, not by WWE, indicating the promotion was content to remain at three hours for the remainder of their USA tenure.

Further details were also provided regarding WWE's decision to remain with USA Network through the end of the year, something that wasn't always a given due to WWE's original deal with the network expiring in September. Meltzer noted that WWE had a choice on how to fill the gap between October and the start of the Netflix deal, and that the choices came down to USA and the Peacock streaming service, which currently houses WWE's video library. Ultimately, Peacock's unwillingness to pay extra led to WWE's short-term deal to remain with USA. As for the next three weeks, "Raw" will continue to air in its usual three hour block.

Vince McMahon Docuseries Sets Netflix Premiere Date

The Netflix docuseries on former WWE boss Vince McMahon has set its premiere date.

The series, titled “Mr. McMahon,” will debut on Sept. 25. It consists of six one-hour episodes. The official synopsis for the series states:

“‘Mr. McMahon’ chronicles the rise and fall of Vince McMahon, controversial businessman and co-founder of WWE. From his transformation of the WWE from a small, regional business into a global entertainment powerhouse to the explosive sexual misconduct allegations that led to his eventual resignation, this six-episode series offers a deep dive into McMahon’s life and his enduring franchise. Culled from over 200 hours of interviews with McMahon himself (prior to his resignation), his family members, business associates and some of the most iconic names in wrestling history, as well as the journalists who uncovered McMahon’s allegations — filmmaker Chris Smith (‘Tiger King’) and executive producer Bill Simmons (’30 for 30′) present an unflinching, no-holds-barred look at one of the most enigmatic figures in sports entertainment.”

The docuseries was originally announced back in October 2020. Less than two years later, McMahon announced his retirement from WWE amid an investigation into misconduct allegations by the WWE board of directors. He made a stunning return to the company in early 2023 to negotiate its sale, which eventually happened when Endeavor bought WWE and merged it with UFC under the TKO Group banner. McMahon then resigned from the TKO board of directors after a former employee filed a lawsuit against McMahon, accusing him of sexual abuse and trafficking her to other men.

“The goal behind ‘Mr. McMahon’ was to pull back the curtain and reveal the true Vince McMahon, obscured beneath the persona he presented to the world,” said series director and executive producer Chris Smith. “Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations. The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind.”

Along with Smith, Bill Simmons and Zara Duffy serve as executive producers on “Mr. McMahon.” The series is produced by Library Films in association with Ringer Films. source: variety.com