Here is your news for November 21, 2019
We've got some news from the National Wrestling Alliance to start today's video,
as Jim Cornette has stepped down from his position on commentary for NWA Powerr.
This news comes after Cornette used a racially insensitive line about black people
during the most recent episode of the program, which led the NWA
to take down the episode and make a quick edit to mute what he said.
This isn't the first time Cornette has spread controversy, as earlier this year
he made light about suicide during comments on NWA Powerr, has used homophobic
and transphobic slurs when describing wrestler Sonny Kiss and infamously
spoke about wanting to kill Vince Russo, saying that if he could get away with the murder
its be the greatest accomplishment of his life.
Since the most recent episode of Power was pulled, several fans have wondered how
the insensitive line made it into the show in the first place, and while we dont
know what Cornette's next actions will be from here, one fan suggested that
the former manager should join WWE Backstage on FOX.
This idea got quickly shut down by Paige, one of the stars of the show who said "Nah we're good",
as the former Divas Champion has had enough controversy already in her career.
Backstage co-host Renee Young also said that it was a hard no from her as well
whilst Cornette said he will be discussing what happened on the
next episode of his podcast, the Jim Cornette Experience.
Not only that, Cornette also has a second podcast called the Cult of Cornette
so fans will still get to hear plenty from the controversial figure, but just not on NWA Power.
Though Cornette isn't joining Backstage anytime soon, the shocking return
of CM Punk has had a huge effect on the entire WWE, especially Seth Rollins.
On this week's episode of the show, Punk was asked what advice he had
for the Architect, who has suffered fan backlash this year, and suggested
that Rollins delete his Twitter as soon as possible. He said:
“Seth needs to stop tweeting and realize that sometimes it’s better to viewed
as the fool when you shut your mouth than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
It's no secret that Rollins' actions on Social Media hasn't exactly helped
the top babyface of the WWE, as he got into a Twitter Spat with Will O'Spreay earlier this year
which culminated in the Beast slayer comparing bank balances, in a very petty move.
Rollins was obviously watching the show, as he ironically took to Twitter
to comment on Punk's words, branding the former World Champion a coward.
Given that the Beatslayer tweeted this response, its clear Rollins isn't taking
Punk's advice, as many fans still hope for a match between these two.
More news from Backstage news as Punk made his views clear on plenty of topics
including what happened last week on SmackDown Live.
Discussing the segment which saw King Corbin embarrass Roman Reigns
with a man in a Big Dog costume, Punk said that the less said
about the awkward angle the better, but added:
"You can’t possibly defend that. The creative is bad, I don’t know anything about
Baron Corbin. He’s one of the newer guys that I gotta check him out but that’s a bad start
Punk looked over at Paige and said, “it was garbage, right Paige?”
Punk was also quick to criticise the new Universal title design, but when he tried
once again for Paige to agree with him, the former SmackDown GM said Punk was trying to stir the pot.
It wasn't just negativity from Punk though, as he did say he is looking forward to
the WWE Title match between Rey Mysterio and Brock Lesnar
at Survivor Series, two opponents he knows plenty about.
After nearly 6 years away from WWE, fans obviously wanted to hear
what Punk had to say, and this was reflected in the viewing figures of the show.
The first episode of Backstage did just 50,000 viewers, which rose to
100,000 thanks to Punk's shocking appearance at the end of episode two.
This week, the number again climbed to 180,000 according to Showbuzz Daily, making this
week's edition the most viewed episode since the show began as a weekly programme.
WWE may have been able to rope fans in with Punk's return
but time will only tell whether they stick around next week.
After all, now that WWE has given fans the return of the Best in the World, something that fans have
been asking for for years, we can't help but wonder what can WWE do next to avoid a drop in viewers.
Back to RAW now, and Dio Maddin hasn't been seen since he was attacked by Brock Lesnar on the
November 4th edition of the red brand, and fans have been wondering
what is the status of the former 205 Live commentator.
Despite Samoa Joe filling in for Maddin this week, the PW Insider reports that Dio is still very much a
part of RAW's announce team, and there are no plans to permanently replace him. The report reads:
“For those who have asked, Dio Maddin is still, as of today, officially part of the Raw broadcast team.
He is currently off TV selling the Brock Lesnar attack.”
Maddin will likely be back on WWE soon enough, perhaps even this Sunday at Survivor Series
and we have to give WWE credit for putting over just how dangerous
the reigning, defending WWE Champion can be.
We're looking at WWE's new Podcasting network next, as following the success of
After the Bell with Corey Graves, the company have announced their second program.
The New Day: Fell the Power, will be the second show as part of the WWE/Endeavour
podcasting family, and is set to debut on December 2nd, obviously hosted
by the reigning SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
Given that After the Bell is released on Wednesday, its likely that the New Day: Feel the Power will
release on Mondays, as the company is slowly filling up the week,
allowing new content for fans to listen to every single day.
We've got some legal issues brewing now between WWE and AEW,
as this contest outside of the ring is all over the term Bash at the Beach.
This week, the new promotion revealed their January 15th episode of Dynamite in Miami Florida
will be called Bash at the Beach, a reference to the classic WCW Pay Per View of the same name.
Given that the name is part of WCW history, fans immediately thought that WWE would own the
name, but it is actually Cody Rhodes who owns the term, after filing for copyright in March this year.
This isn't the only term the AEW founder owns, as he also owns terms
such as Dusty Rhodes, The Match Beyond and the American Dream.
It's interesting that the Match Beyond is owned by Rhodes, as that is technically
the second half of a WarGames match, and even though Cody has joked about
trademarking WarGames from WWE, that seems highly unlikely.
On Twitter, the Grandson of a Plumber hinted that WWE had
asked him to not use the name, saying:
"Feels like I’ll be going to court docket quickly, time to go swimsuit buying”
It'll be interesting to see whether this dispute does end up in the court-room,
as we can only imagine what numbers the real-life legal drama could do on Fite.TV.
Speaking about WarGames, WWE NXT will have their annual NXT TakeOver WarGames
event this Saturday, and Triple H recently had a conference call ahead of the show.
When asked about the recently flurry of Superstars requesting their release
the Game said that many were doing it publicly to get clicks, and he said that backstage
issues regarding contracts should be handled backstage, not on social media. He said:
"It’s a maturity issue and not how you handle it. You handle your business like a professional.”
This comment will certainly draw the ire of stars like Sin Cara and Luke Harper
who both publicly requested their releases in 2019.
In Harper's case, he will be free to leave in a few months when his contract expires,
whilst others have years left on their deals, and are stuck until WWE decides otherwise.
As we previously reported, there has been a push in WWE this month to allow unhappy wrestlers
leave, though some backstage, most likely Vince McMahon, do not want to grant releases.
Dave Meltzer reported last week that WWE may release stars
who they feel won't be signed, or make a difference in AEW.
It's hard to criticise WWE for being cautious when releasing stars, as former
talent like Tye Dillinger and Dean Ambrose have gone on to do great things in the
new promotion as Shawn Spears and Jon Moxley respectively.
We don't know whether WWE will end up allowing unhappy Super stars to be released from their
contracts, but what we do know is that the war between the two promotions is growing every month.
During that same conference call to promote WarGames, the Cerebral Assassin was asked about
Survivor Series, and given the amount of championship triple threat matches, was asked
why there wasn't a match between Brock Lesnar, Bray Wyatt and Adam Cole.
In response, Triple H said how a contest pitting the WWE Champion, the Universal Champion and the
NXT Champion would have been great, but the idea was eventually nixed for storyline reasons.
The Game explained that WWE couldn't step away from the Lesnar Vs. Mysterio match
and said that it didn't make much sense for the Fiend to become a loyal SmackDown
saying that the top SmackDown star works much better in his own storylines.
When asked about his particpation in Survivor Series, the Game said he has no interest
in working the event, but did promise a huge surprise for Team NXT,
as one spot of the group won't be revealed until the day of the show.
There's no shortage of Superstars who could make their debut at the show
including injured stars like Johnny Gargano and Velveteen Dream, whilst NXT trainer
Shawn Michaels could be a possibility, as a 15-man match would certainly be easier
for the two-time Hall of Famer.
Ultimately, the only man who knows what will happen is Triple H himself, and it seems
he is keeping his cards close to the chest, ahead of this Sunday's huge Pay Per View.
We've got some news from Alicia Fox for fans next, as the former Divas Champion
has had some very public issues with alchol, and this week set the record straight.
On Instagram, Fox described her self as "a few months" sober, which is great news for her
and her fans, who have been worried about what could happen to both her career and life.
In March this year, Fox reportedly refused to go to rehab after getting into a drunken
argument with Arn Anderson, and in August was sent home from Summerslam
in Toronto for getting in an altercation with a fan, again because of alcohol.
Debuting on WWE's main roster over a decade ago, Fox is one of WWE's longest
tenuring Superstars so its great to see that she's doing better with her personal issues.
We're focusing on the Wednesday Night Wars next, as the men and women of the Gold brand had their
final chance to make an impact before both TakeOver Wargames and Survivor Series this weekend.
In a huge opener to the show, RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch made her entrance flanked by
security, but the impromptu match between her and Rhea Ripley went to a no-contest, after
interference by NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler and her crew.
In another cross-promotional match, NXT scored themselves a huge win, when Matt Riddle defeated
Ricochet, after the former US Champion attacked Riddle's original opponent Kona Reeves.
Despite a distraction by Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro, Riddle was able to get the win, and NXT
had similar success when the Undisputed Era's Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly faced The Revival.
In a trend of the show, the NXT stars overpowered the invaders, as Fish
and O'Reilly got the win in non-title action.
In Women's Division action, NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray
defeated Dakota Kai, which was followed by a huge brawl from all three brands.
In a cool moment, Kairi Sane had a showdown with Io Shirai, but the end came
when SmackDown's Nikki Cross, armed with a trashcan lid, cleared everyone from the ring.
In more tag team action, RAW's Tag Team Champions the Viking Raiders got a big
non-title win over the Forgotten Sons' Steve Cutler and Wesly Blake
when Ivor pinned Cutler in this hard-hitting bout.
After so much invasion and cross- promotional matches, it was good to see the main event
of the show be a solely NXT affair, as NXT Champion Adam Cold faced
Dominik Dijakovic in a ladder match with some huge stakes.
A match that would determine which team would get the advantage in this Saturday's
Wargames, it was Cole who got the win, meaning his team will always have the
same amount of wrestlers in the ring, or one extra.
Though this is a huge win for Cole, his joy didn't last long, as he was on the receiving
end of a Superkick by Seth Rollins who received a mixed response by the crowd, and after
brawling with Tomasso Ciampa, that was all the time left for this huge edition of NXT.
While NXT was being invaded by RAW and SmackDown though, AEW Dynamite
was taking place on TNT, as Rey Fenix defeated Nick Jackson in the show's opener.
Receiving a standing ovation before they had even locked up, the finish saw Fenix
hit a muscle buster for the pin, and refused a handshake post- match by Jackson himself.
In a surprising result, Hikaru Shida defeated Britt Baker in Women's division action
getting a win after a running knee, which is siurely gonna put her name in the hat
for future challengers for AEW Women's Champion Riho.
After a recruitement video for the Dark Order, MJF and Hangman Page emerged victorious
after a Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal which also featured the return of Billy Gunn
and though the pair emerged victorious, a pull-apart brawl afterward
made it clear they're not on the same page
Up next fans saw a promised announcement by World Champion Chris Jericho, as the top star
said he will be hosting the great celebration party in the history of wrestling, but not this week.
Interrupted by SCU, Scorpio Sky recounted Jericho's first loss in AEW on last week's show
and these words quickly turned into a brawl involving the Inner Circle.
After Jericho promised Sky a title match next week, he proceeded to lay Sky
out with a Judas effect, sending a message to his challenger.
In a quick squash match, Luchasaurus defeated Peter Avalon in seconds
and Private Party also made quick work in defeating Proud and Powerful.
In the main event of the show, Jon Moxley faced Darby Allin, who arrived to the ring in a bodybag.
In an unsurprisingly physical match that saw both men bite the other, Mixley was able to hit the
second rope Paradigm shift for the pin, as AEW ended with Moxley celebrating in the ring.
We already mentioned that next week's Thanksgiving Eve edition of Dynamite has a huge title match
planned between Chris Jericho and Scorpio Sky, but the show in Chicago already has more scheduled.
After the events of the Dynamite Dozen battle Royal, MJF and Hang man Page will face off in the finals
for the Dynamite Diamond Ring, whilst Cody Rhodes will make his
first appearance since being attacked on Dynamite two weeks ago.
Being assaulted by MJF and Wardlow, Rhodes will no doubt be hungry for revenge
though its unclear whether he'll be wrestling or doing a promo.
In a rematch from All Out, Kenny Omega and PAC will face off one more time,
as next week's show is shaping up to be a night of must see Television for all wrestling fans.