Here's more wrestling news for December 4th 2021
And your headlines for Afternoon include
AUSTIN THEORY TELLS ALL ON BEING SLAPPED BY VINCE MCMAHON
WWE TO STOP MAKING DVDs AFTER DECADES OF HOME VIDEO RELEASES
FORMER WWF COMMENTATOR SADLY PASSES AGED 61
WHY WRESTLERS SPOTTED BACKSTAGE IN AEW IS BAD NEWS FOR ROH
WHY DID AEW USE A FLAMING TABLE SPOT THIS WEEK?
AEW DYNAMITE VIEWERSHIP FALLS TO LOWEST IN OVER HALF A YEAR
FINN BALOR AND CONOR MCGREGOR TEAM UP TO HELP PARALYSED IRISH FIGHTER
HUGE RETURN MATCH ANNOUNCED FOR NEXT WEEK’S SMACKDOWN AND MORE!
We’re kicking off today with Austin Theory, who has quickly rose up the ranks since returning to RAW earlier this year.
Drafted to the red brand in October, Theory has been given a prominent role on TV alongside Mr. McMahon, after the young Superstar stole Cleopatra’s Egg at Survivor Series.
Rewarded with a WWE title match for his brazenness, Theory’s relationship with the Chairman took a swift turn this week, after he was slapped in the face by McMahon.
Speaking on After the Bell, Theory shared his experience of the slap, saying:
“When you think wrestling, and Wrestling God, it’s Vince McMahon. When I’m sitting there and talking to him, it’s like, ‘Wow, it doesn’t get bigger than this.’
’ I probably watched the video of getting slapped 100 times.
“I would say, just don’t upset Vince McMahon. He’s got some hands.”
Even at 76 years old, Vince is still very strong, something that Austin Theory learned first hand, pardon the pun, on RAW.
Despite being slapped, the future looks very bright for Theory, who has also feuded with the veteran Jeff Hardy this year, and we imagine his WWE title match
will be the first of many for the young Superstar.
For the past year and a half, dozens upon dozens of Superstars have lost their jobs in WWE due to budget cuts, an interesting defence given that the
company has never been more profitable. Part of what’s made WWE so profitable, both now and in years gone by, is their merchandise, but
this week, it’s been confirmed that one piece of merch is being discontinued. Wrestling DVD Network reports that WWE will
no longer be selling DVDs Of Pay Per Views and documentary specials, at least in North America, as they report:
The update sadly means 2021 will have been the last year for WWE Home Video in the home market, which includes Canada too since those releases were closely
aligned with the US. WWE DVDs will still be on the shelves for as long as retailers are allowed to sell them, but Vince
McMahon’s company won’t be making any new DVDs to add to anyone’s collection. WWE has been in the Home Video market since 1999
and before then, Coliseum Video provided VHS copies of classic events, but with the WWE Network and Peacock now a thing, the era of physical WWE media
is coming to an end.
We’ve got some sad news to report next, as former WWF commentator Kal Rudman had died aged 61.
Rudman’s death was confirmed by PW Insider, and sadly, his wife Lucille also died just days after her husband.
Rudman worked with the World Wrestling Federation in the 1970s and 80s, and was a well-known media personality, especially in the Philadelphia area.
Working with Gorilla Monsoon in WWF broadcasts tailored for the Philly market, he also did backstage interviews during live broadcasts of Madison
Square Garden Shows on the MSG Network. Away from wrestling, Rudman was a regular on the Merv Griffin Show and the Today Show,
where he used his knowledge as a music industry publisher to provide expert information.
Rudman and his family also formed the Cal and Lucille Foundation, which helps out charitable, education and civic causes in the Philadelphia region.
Online, tributes have poured in from the likes of Dean Media Solutions as well as music industry legend Clive Davis, and we’d like to extend our condolences
to the family of Kal and Lucille at this sad time.
Now, Ring of Honor is heading into a very uncertain time, as they will be taking a hiatus following their Final Battle Pay Per View on December 15th.
Although ROH have insisted that this is just a temporary break, and they’ll be back by April next year, they’ve released a ton of people from their
contracts, with Jay Lethal already showing up in AEW. In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was reported that more ROH names may be All-Elite
soon enough, as Matt Taven and Jonathan Gresham were both backstage at this week’s Dynamite. Taven will team with Mike Bennett to face ROH World
World Tag Team Champions the Briscoes at Final Battle, while Gresham will challenge Bandido for the Ring of Honor World title.
Both Taven and Gresham are big names who’d be a great fit in AEW, especially as WWE is opting against signing indie talent right now, in favour
of growing their own stars in WWE’s style. ROH may have said that they’ll be back soon, but many people don’t believe that at all, and the fact
that two wrestlers who could soon be champions in ROH are already backstage at AEW shows isn’t going to calm any fears for the future of the company
Speaking of AEW, this week’s Dynamite saw a fiery main event, as Cody Rhodes took on Andrade El Idolo in an Atlanta Street Fight.
In the final moments of the match, Cody superplexed Andrade onto a flaming table to get the win, seemingly ending his program with the former NXT Champion.
This spot wasn’t perfect, as Rhodes took to brunt of the bump through the flaming table, while Andrade missed it, but there’s a specific reason
AEW used this spot. In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it’s reported that the flaming table spot came around because
Cody wanted to “create a new memory” for his hometown of Atlanta, where Dynamite was being held.
The last time Dynamite was in Atlanta was in February 2020, where Cody squared off against Wardlow in a steel cage, a match that is memorablefor Rhodes
moonsault off the top of the structure. It’s safe to say that Rhodes’ goal was achieved this week, even if he took the brunt of the damage
from the flaming table, and the next time AEW comes to Hot-Lanta, you can expect a huge moment by the former TNT Champion
Cody’s match with Andrade was certainly a spectacle for the crowd to see, but it wasn’t enough to win over the fans watching at home.
Showbuzz Daily reports that 861,000 viewers tuned in to TNT this week, the lowest watched episode of Dynamite since the June 4th episode
which did 462,000 viewers on Friday Night. If we’re looking at only Wednesday night episodes, this is the lowest viewership
since May 19th, as that show did 821,000 viewers. This week’s figure marks a 4.12% drop
from last week’s Thanksgiving Eve Dynamite which did 898,000 viewers, but the two shows tied in the 18-49 demographic with
with a 0.31 rating. This week’s show saw World Champion Hangman Page replace Jim Ross on
commentary, as well as a quarterfinals match for the AEW TBS Title Tournament, but the company will have to find something else
to coax fans after these disappointing numbers
In the word of professional fighting, injuries can happen at anytime, and that’s something Irish fighter Ian Couglan has sadly learned.
While training, Couglan suffered a spinal cord injury that has left him paralysed from the waist down, but he’s receiving
support from some pretty huge names. The cost of Stem Cell treatment to potentially repair the injury is 73,000 euros, which is
over $82,000 American, and both Finn Balor and Conor McGregor have donated. On the GoFundMe, Balor, under real name
Fergal Devitt, pledged 1000 euros, while the Notorious UFC fighter gave 10,000 euros.
At this time, over 40,000 euros have been donated to the fund, and we’re sending our best to Couglan as he embarks on the
biggest fight of his life.
And we’re ending today with SmackDown which next week should see the in-ring return of Sonya Deville.
Last night, Deville made it clear that Naomi can’t touch her as long as she’s represent WWE as an authority figure, but confirmed
that a match between them will happen next week. If WWE doesn’t swerve the fans, this’ll be
Deville’s first match since her No DQ Loser Leaves WWE match at Summerslam 2020. WWE has promised Deville vs. Naomi before
but instead of a singles match, the October 15th SmackDown saw Shayna Baszler destroy the former SmackDown Women’s
Champion, before Deville made the pin, winning a 2-on-1 handicap match which the WWE Authority figure never really
got physical. Time will tell if Naomi finally gets her hands on Sonya Deville next week, as after
months of an intense rivalry, we can only hope they pay off is worth the wait.