Brodie Lee Passes Away

WWE has released the following statement about Lee's passing: WWE is saddened to learn that Jon Huber, known to WWE fans as Luke Harper, passed away today at age 41. Known as both Luke Harper and Brodie Lee in the ring, Huber found success in every stop of his sports-entertainment career, as his soft spoken yet imposing presence helped him create countless awe-inspiring moments in the ring. After a highly decorated run on the independent circuit, Harper debuted in NXT as a menacing enforcer for The Wyatt Family. Harper had a dominant tag team run with Rowan that would lay the groundwork for future championship success. As a member of The Wyatt Family, he engaged in heated rivalries with the likes of Kane, Daniel Bryan, The Shield, John Cena and The Usos. After being set free from the family, Harper authored an impressive singles run that culminated with him defeating Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. Harper & Rowan later comprised The Bludgeon Brothers and embarked on a path of destruction that was highlighted by a SmackDown Tag Team Title victory in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 34.

WWE Announces Superstar Gaming Series

WWE announced a new video game-centric streaming series is set to debut on Tuesday, December 29, at 8 p.m. EST. Known as the WWE Superstar Gaming Series, the show will air on both WWE social platforms as well as the free version of the WWE Network beginning next week. Advertised wrestlers for SGS include Ronda Rousey, The Miz, Liv Morgan, Adam Cole, Tyler Breeze, Shayna Baszler, and Jessamyn Duke. They will be joined by celebrities such as FaZe Adapt, Nick Eh 30, Lele Pons, Wale, and Greg Miller of Kinda Funny Games. Miller will host the series alongside Xavier Woods, who is being advertised as a "special guest." The first episode of SGS will see the aforementioned superstars and celebrities go head-to-head in an Among Us "Holiday Sus-Fest" and a WWE 2K Battlegrounds "Holiday Throwdown." Leading up to the 8 p.m. debut, WWE will air a "Best of UpUpDownDown 2020 Marathon" on their social platforms, beginning at 3 p.m. EST. This announcement comes months after Wrestling Inc. exclusively reported about WWE's third-party edict, a new regulation that forced WWE talent to stop working with outside platforms such as Twitch and Cameo. The edict was met with much criticism and controversy from within the company, and even led to a firing. Former WWE superstar Zelina Vega was released from her WWE contract due to being "extremely vocal" about maintaining her personal Twitch account. WWE officially closed their talents' Twitch accounts at the end of October.

Wrestling Legend Danny Hodge Passes Away At The Age Of 88

Combat sports legend and Olympic silver medalist Danny Hodge passed away late last night at the age of 88. Hodge is well known for his accomplishments in amateur and professional wrestling and in boxing. Hodge began his career as an amateur wrestler winning countless state and conference titles. Hodge's accomplishments have been honored through the Dan Hodge Trophy, the equivalent to the Heisman Trophy for collegiate wrestling. In the world of pro wrestling, Hodge was trained by Leroy McGuirk and Ed "Strangler" Lewis and went on to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship seven times and the Tri-State NWA North American HeavyweightChampionship three times. Hodge has received honors from amateur and pro wrestling as well as boxing.

News On Talks Of A WWE Lucha Libre Series

As Wrestling Inc. first exclusively reported, WWE has been planning to create a new NXT show, which apparently would be an NXT minor leagues system. Wrestling Inc. has learned that the company has also been discussing a Mexican Lucha Libre series, which would be an NXT Mexico of sorts. The show would reportedly air in the U.S. WWE has spoken with a few people about running the project, but it is very early on in the planning stages. One of the names being considered as a consultant on the project is Chavo Guerrero Jr. Chavo was an agent for Lucha Underground and was very involved with the promotion. One source compared the project to the WCW Telemundo "Festival de Lucha" pilot that was taped in Waco, Texas on January 27, 1999 that never aired. The pilot was added to the "Hidden Gems" section of the WWE Network last year. WWE has been looking to expand into international markets for awhile now. The company launched NXT UK in 2018, and has been considering creating NXT brands in several other countries as well.

Rumor Mill - USA Network Reportedly Upset With WWE RAW Ratings

Monday's TLC go-home edition of RAW drew an average of 1.527 million viewers, down 12% from last week's 1.737 million viewers. Monday's show drew a new all-time low in total viewership, a new all-time low in viewership for each hour, and a new all-time low in the key demographic. Furthermore, last week's AEW Dynamite episode drew a 0.45 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, which beat every hour of this week's RAW in that same demo. You can read our full report on this week's RAW numbers at this link. In an update, WWE officials aren't the only ones who had a big reaction to this week's record-low numbers as there was a similar reaction at the USA Network, according to Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT. It was noted that USA Network management is furious with the drop in ratings, and they want more dark and violent content. "USA Network are furious. They want more adult content. Not sexy adult, but dark and violent adult," the source said. It was also said that WWE officials are hoping that the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view can serve as some kind of a "big reset" for the company. This new report comes after it was reported earlier this week, via Wrestling Observer Radio, that the low numbers were a wake-up call for WWE. Dave Meltzer noted that everyone he knows in WWE were stunned at the numbers, and that people in WWE "got the message" as well. It was also reported this week, via @Wrestlevotes, that the record low numbers for Monday's RAW were not "sitting well" with WWE higher-ups. People in the company expected some "reactionary decisions" to be made, but no other details were provided. It will be interesting to see what WWE does to bring the numbers up, and if anything major happens at the TLC pay-per-view on Sunday. It will also be interesting to see if USA officials recommend any kind of major "reset" storylines as they have in the past.

Stephanie McMahon shares Paul Heyman’s reaction to her clash with Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon is the Chairman of WWE and his daughter Stephanie McMahon is the Chief Brand Officer. The two have not shied away from being involved in storylines over the years and have certainly butted heads over decisions made in the company. Stephanie McMahon recently spoke to David Meltzer of Sports 1 Marketing. During the interview, McMahon revealed a fascinating story that involved Paul Heyman. Stephanie McMahon recalled how she was once upset with her father Vince McMahon over an incident that took place long ago. Here is what she said: Paul Heyman actually said to me one time… I was really upset over something that had happened with my dad as my boss, and it really hurt. It was this one particular incident, and it just rocked my world. And Paul Heyman said to me, “You know what Steph? This is so good!” And I said, “Why is this so good, Paul?” And he said, “Because, if you can stand in a room and look Vince McMahon in the eye, and go toe to toe with him on whatever opinion you’re trying to share, anybody else pales in comparison. Paul Heyman is currently managing WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, which has seen great success since the start of their partnership. source: ringsidenews.com

Rumor Mill - Triple H Creates Team For New WWE NXT Show

Paul "Triple H" Levesque has created a team to oversee a new NXT show, which apparently would be an NXT minor leagues system. Gabe Sapolsky is leading the team. Levesque has given him several agents and writers to help him get more comfortable with writing television. Levesque is a big believer in Sapolsky, and this is said to be a case of Levesque giving him the ball. The idea is to create a show that was described to me as an "NXT for NXT". The biggest challenge has been to format the concept for TV. The original idea was for this to be akin to another promotion running in some of the smaller tier markets that NXT serviced. However, with house shows likely to not return, they are making it just a TV series. The goal was for the show to launch in early 2021, but it has been delayed before and probably will again.

AEW Dynamite Sees Big Drop In Viewership From Last Week, WWE NXT Viewership Rises

Week 62 of the Wednesday Night War saw AEW Dynamite defeat WWE NXT in viewership and ratings. Wednesday's live episode of Dynamite drew 806,000 viewers on TNT, topping the 766,000 garnered by last night's live NXT on the USA Network by 5.2%, according to Nielsen via Showbuzz Daily. AEW ranked #3 in the Cable Top 150, while NXT ranked #34. AEW tied for #62 in viewership, with CNN's New Day at 7am, while NXT ranked #67 in viewership. Last week's Dynamite show drew 995,000 viewers and ranked #2 in the Cable Top 150, and #55 in viewership. Last week's post-WarGames edition of NXT drew 659,000 viewers and ranked #37 in the Cable Top 150, and #75 in viewership. AEW drew a 0.32 rating in the 18-49 demographic, beating the 0.19 scored by NXT in the same demo this week by 68%. Last week's AEW show drew a 0.45 rating while the NXT episode drew a 0.17 in that demographic. This week's AEW show was down 19% in total viewers from last week, but on the higher end of what the show was doing before the past two loaded episodes aired. AEW was down 29% in the 18-49 demographic rating this week, but again, it was on the higher end of what Dynamite was drawing before the past two loaded shows aired. This week's AEW show was up 18% from the same week in 2019, but that same week last year, the December 18 show, was their worst number of 2019 - 683,000 viewers with a 0.25 rating in the key demo. This week's NXT show drew the best number of total viewers since Halloween Havoc, which drew 876,000 viewers on October 28. NXT's 18-49 demographic rating for this week was the second-best since Halloween Havoc, behind the November 25 show that drew a 0.20 rating. This week's NXT was down 3.7% from the same week in 2019. The Challenge on MTV at 8pm topped the night in the 18-49 demographic on the Cable Top 150, with a 0.45 rating, but drawing just 839,000 viewers. Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC topped the night on cable in viewership with 3.593 million viewers, ranking #11 on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.26 rating in the key 18-49 demo.

WWE Raw Draws Lowest Viewership Ever, Upcoming Booking Said To Be "Reactionary"

The ratings for this past Monday's WWE Raw are in--- and they're the lowest ratings that Raw has ever had.

WWE Monday Night RAW averaged 1.527 million viewers, which is down 12% from last week’s 1.737 million viewers.

The report has made it clear that people weren't tuning out of the show halfway through, but rather they just weren't watching it at all.

WrestleVotes is reporting that WWE higher-ups (including Vince McMahon) are said to be very unhappy about this development, and are likely going to do some reactionary booking to attempt to gain people's attention again.

source:  WrestleVotes

WWE NXT India Brand To Launch Next Year

WWE NXT India brand is reportedly scheduled to launch in 2021.

The new NXT India TV series will air in the Indian market and is expected to begin filming in January, according to a new report from Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and John Pollock of POST Wrestling.

There's no word yet on talent for the brand, but the plan as of several weeks ago was to feature an eight-man single elimination tournament for the new series. This was not confirmed, but the tournament could be to crown the first-ever NXT India Champion.

 new NXT India series is expected to air on linear TV in India, along with a digital window through the WWE Network.

WWE currently has a distribution deal with Sony Pictures Networks in India. A five-year renewal for that deal was announced in March of this year. The deal also includes Sony having the rights to the WWE Network for its audiences through SonyLIV, which is their own OTT (Over-The-Top) streaming platform.

NXT India will join the main NXT brand here in the United States, and the NXT UK brand based out of London, England.

Triple H And Stephanie McMahon Make List Of 2020's Most Influential Names In Sports

WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon and WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul "Triple H" Levesque have been named to Sports Business Journal's 2020 list of Most Influential Executives. SBJ presented a different take on their 17th annual list of the Most Influential names in sports business, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The list included 79 names who made an impact on sports business in 2020, from league commissioners and media executives, to union leaders and impactful athletes. The issue is available for purchase now. Triple H and Stephanie were the only pro wrestling-related names to make the list. The list included the following blurb for the husband & wife WWE power couple: "As other leagues suspended their seasons, WWE continued offering fresh content, starting with shifting 'SmackDown' to its Performance Center in Orlando on March 15. Under the guidance of Levesque and McMahon, WWE never missed a 'Raw,' 'NXT,' 'SmackDown' or pay-per-view event. And the ThunderDome concept for shows further demonstrated WWE's mastery of production, even on the fly."

Lemmy Kilmister Credited Triple H With Rejuvenating Motorhead

The friendship between Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister and WWE legend Triple H is one of metal’s greatest bromances, and it came from mutual respect. Triple H reached new heights in WWE after Lemmy Kilmister sang his entrance music, but the gravel-voiced frontman benefited even further, giving The Game credit for Motorhead’s career rejuvenation. Triple H recently appeared on Metal Injection’s Squared Circle Pit podcast to promote NXT TakeOver: War Games, which will air live Sunday, Dec. 6 on the WWE Network. During the chat, The Game spoke about a heart-to-heart he had with Lemmy before a Motorhead gig. “We were talking and [Lemmy] goes, ‘You’ve gotta look out there tonight. Wait until you see all the kids that are at our event. We didn’t have any of that before we started with you,’” Triple H recalls. “He said, ‘It used to be an old-timer event at our shows where it was all these old metalheads that had kinda aged out. All of a sudden, we’re like this cool, young band and we’ve got kids here and teenagers and young adults that are at our shows again. It’s been like a refresh for us.’ To me, there was no bigger compliment.” Triple H also revealed the music that WWE chairman Vince McMahon listens to, including his all-time favorite band AC/DC. “He’s sort of a classic rock kind of guy. AC/DC is the big thing for him,” the wrestler and NXT leader says. “The Stones, Bob Seger — those are the things that really resonate with him … He loves the music, but to him, it’s the experience. Kid Rock, ZZ Top — all that stuff where they can give you that performance as well. Not just the music, but the performance is big, too — he loves that.” Read More: Lemmy Kilmister Credited Triple H With Rejuvenating Motorhead | https://loudwire.com/lemmy-kilmister-triple-h-motorhead-career/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral