Afternoon Update: Linda McMahon and Henry comment on Crown Jewel, latest on Hogan-Crown Jewel, Cormier talks Lesnar fight, NWA Title, Bischoff, Austin, Riddle, Ohno, more
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
-UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier says he will be ready if Brock Lesnar chooses to make an appearance following Cormier’s title defense against Derrick Lewis this Saturday at UFC 230. Lesnar last showed up in July after Cormier won the title and shoved Cormier across the cage. “This time I will buckle up my heels into the mat, and I will be ready to push him or smack him upside his head,” Cormier said. Lesnar may or may not be the Universal Champion b Saturday night at UFC 230 as Lesnar wrestles Braun Strowman for the Universal Title Friday afternoon (U.S. time) in Saudi Arabia. Check out the full story at MMATorch.com.
-WWE sent out their email advertisement for Crown Jewel, which airs live from where on the globe (where is anyone’s guess, and WWE isn’t saying – at least not on their email flyer) starting at noon ET. It streams live on WWE Network. It’s sometimes noteworthy how the matches are prioritized and which wrestlers are most prominently featured by the graphics art department (presumably with considerable direction from higher-ups). The top graphic is the Universal Title match between Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar. They do have Braun positioned standing in front of Brock and his name comes first, for whatever that is worth (if anything). Under the logo and start-time, the next section of the email graphic features A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Title on the left and Kane & Undertaker vs. Triple H & Shawn Michaels on the right. Triple H is standing in front of everyone and almost crowds out Shawn Michaels (who is wrestling his first match since WrestleMania 26 in 2010 is almost as asterisk in this representation of who is in the match). Then in the line under it, it shows the eight wrestlers in the World Cup tournament with Seth front and center.
-Hulk Hogan is hosting Crown Jewel, but WWE is not advertising it on the Crown Jewel event page (he was included for a few hours yesterday and then removed) and Hogan isn’t talking about it on his Twitter account. Hogan was part of an NWO reunion this weekend in Orlando, Fla. with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, which he and Nash tweeted about.
Again Thank you for your continued love and support. pic.twitter.com/vWbhhQUrGx
— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) October 29, 2018
-On today’s new Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast “Thursday Flagship,” I’m joined by PWTorch Livecast “Deep Dive” podcast host Rich Fann and we go in-depth on the breaking Hogan news and discuss the exits of John Cena and Daniel Bryan from the event line-up.
-On Stitcher HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “Wade Keller” on your podcast app of choice
-Mark Henry told TMZ this week he thinks John Cena should have performed in Saudi Arabia “’cause it’s his job to perform.” He described Cena’s decision as “leaving people out to dry.” He said: “Our fans, they wanna see you. Give our fans what they want.” As far as WWE doing business in Saudi Arabia, he thinks Vince McMahon is being unfairly criticized. “The WWE is just 1 business. There’s hundreds of thousands of businesses doing business internationally. Why pick on one?” Henry isn’t scheduled to be on the show tomorrow. FULL STORY LINK
–TMZ also caught up with Linda McMahon. She said she is not responsible for WWE decisions, including the decision to run Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. “If you wanna talk WWE, you’re talking to the wrong McMahon,” she said. “I don’t run it and I’m not responsible for it … ya gotta talk to Vince.” FULL STORY LINK
-Vince McMahon was named to the Variety 500 list of entertainment leaders and icons. Dana White was also on the list. Here’s the excerpt on McMahon:
A lifetime devotee of the sport, McMahon led the venerable wrestling organization to record revenues this year ($281.6 million in Q2 alone, up 31 percent year over year) thanks largely to increases in subscriber growth for its streaming outlet WWE Network and licensing fees for content and merchandise. The spoils stay largely in the McMahon family, which owns approximately 70 percent of WWE and holds 96 percent of the voting power. In June, the 73-year-old third-generation promoter positioned the WWE for future success when he closed new multi-year media-right deals with USA Network and Fox Sports. Effective October 2019, those have 3.6 times the annual average value of its current U.S. distribution deal with NBCU.
-“Stone Cold” Steve Austin will be narrating a special show for the NBC Sports presentation of NASCAR Playoff coverage this weekend. He voices the opening package, embedded below.
-NXT wrestler Kassius Ohno has been added to EVOLVE 115 on Nov. 9 and EVOLVE 116 on Nov. 10. Ohno was originally slated for two EVOLVE events in December, but he will now face EVOLVE Champion Fabian Aichner at EVOLVE 115 and at EVOLVE 116 he will face Shane Strickland. Both matches will air live on iPPV at ClubWWN.com.
-Matt Riddle made his debut on NXT TV last night including debuting his persona and entrance music. He won essentially a squash match in his long-anticipated debut. For details, check out Justin James’s full PWTorch TV Report. Also, check out the new PWTorch Livecast episode today reviewing last night’s program HERE.
-On Stitcher HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “Wade Keller” on your podcast app of choice
-IWA Mid-South Wrestling after a short break in early fall is back to running weekly Thursday shows in Jeffersonville, Ind. at The ArenA (1416 Spring Street – Jeffersonville, Ind.). The first event is tonight with Aaron Williams vs. Logan James, Kevin Giza & Adam Slade vs. J.D. Drake & Anthony Henry, Thunderkitty vs. Amazing Maria, Pat Monix vs. Lukas Jacobs, Ace Perry vs. Jake Omen, Shane Mercer vs. Larry D, plus one more match. Tickets are $15 & 10.
-Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson will be bringing their “83 Weeks” podcast to Jimmy’s Famous Seafood for a live show this Saturday, Nov. 3. This won’t be recorded, and they tout that Bischoff will talk about things he can’t say on the podcast. More details: EricandConrad.com
-MCW Wrestling is promoting a NWA World Title match as the main event of its Nov. 9 event in Joppa, Md. at the MCW Arena (1000 Joppa Farm Road). Champ Nick Aldis will defend against Brandon Scott in a two-out-of-three falls match. Also, Dante Caballero vs. Joe Keys. Check out www.MCWProWrestling.com for more details.
NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: Afternoon Update: Hogan photo removed from Crown Jewel events page, Smackdown rating, Mixed Match Challenge results, NXT preview, Evolve-WWE connection expands