Week in Wrestling #3 - August 13, 2015
Wrestling News From the week of
August 7- August 13, 2015
August 7- August 13, 2015
Summerslam
The lineup for SummerSlam that has been announced thus far has Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker, Seth Rollins vs. John Cena presumably WWE title vs. U.S. title, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper, Ryback vs. The Miz vs. Big Show for the IC title, a four-way tag title match with The Prime Time Players vs. New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons, Neville & Stephen Amell (who is clearly very athletic) vs. Stardust & King Barrett, and a three-way trios women’s match with Team Bella (Bella Twins & Alicia Fox) vs. Team BAD (Sasha Banks & Naomi & Tamina Snuka) and Team PCB (the new name of Paige & Charlotte & Becky Lynch).
Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens looks likely and possibly Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev. Ziggler vs. Rusev was originally planned but it depends on the completion of filming of the movie “6:42.”
As lineups go, this looks loaded.
The lineup for SummerSlam that has been announced thus far has Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker, Seth Rollins vs. John Cena presumably WWE title vs. U.S. title, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper, Ryback vs. The Miz vs. Big Show for the IC title, a four-way tag title match with The Prime Time Players vs. New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons, Neville & Stephen Amell (who is clearly very athletic) vs. Stardust & King Barrett, and a three-way trios women’s match with Team Bella (Bella Twins & Alicia Fox) vs. Team BAD (Sasha Banks & Naomi & Tamina Snuka) and Team PCB (the new name of Paige & Charlotte & Becky Lynch).
Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens looks likely and possibly Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev. Ziggler vs. Rusev was originally planned but it depends on the completion of filming of the movie “6:42.”
As lineups go, this looks loaded.
Summerslam Weekend Sold Out
The 8/22 NXT show officially sold out on 8/10, or nearly two weeks in advance, with more than 13,000 tickets out. This would be the first time I believe that WWE in its history would have ever sold out three straight nights in the same NBA-sized building in North America.
SummerSlam on 8/23 and Raw on 8/24 were immediate sellouts (at press time there were seats available for Raw that had been opened up).
It goes without saying how impressive this is and how successful this new business model of doing NXT shows the same weekend as major shows looks to be.
In the secondary market, the average price being charged for tickets is $428.55 for SummerSlam, $150.12 for NXT and $140.46 for Raw. The SummerSlam asking prices are about double what they were last year, which speaks to greater demand and greater willingness to spend in the New York market.
The 8/22 NXT show officially sold out on 8/10, or nearly two weeks in advance, with more than 13,000 tickets out. This would be the first time I believe that WWE in its history would have ever sold out three straight nights in the same NBA-sized building in North America.
SummerSlam on 8/23 and Raw on 8/24 were immediate sellouts (at press time there were seats available for Raw that had been opened up).
It goes without saying how impressive this is and how successful this new business model of doing NXT shows the same weekend as major shows looks to be.
In the secondary market, the average price being charged for tickets is $428.55 for SummerSlam, $150.12 for NXT and $140.46 for Raw. The SummerSlam asking prices are about double what they were last year, which speaks to greater demand and greater willingness to spend in the New York market.
WWE TV Ratings
Tough Enough on 8/11 did 1,025,000 viewers, up 20 percent from the prior week with the show built around John Cena’s return to television after his broken nose.
Total Divas that followed did 1,176,000 viewers, up 16 percent from the prior week and by far the highest number of this season. This was built around clips of Alicia Fox throwing a drink in Naomi’s face.
Raw on 8/10 did a 2.71 rating and 3.84 million viewers (1.48 viewers per home), the most total viewers for the show since 6/15, which was the show right after the death of Dusty Rhodes and the day after Money in the Bank.
It was notable the show did numbers well up from the average this summer even without Cena, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman or Stephanie McMahon.
It will be interesting to see if next week, with the rare heavy push of both Undertaker and Lesnar being there, and the SummerSlam go-home show, will build from this. The 8/24 show after SummerSlam, would be expected to be well up.
Smackdown on 8/6 did a 1.70 rating and 2.41 million viewers (1.51 viewers per home), which was 12th place for the night on cable, although most of the shows beating it were news shows revolving around the Republican debates. The big debate drew 24 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-sports show in the history of cable TV.
Tough Enough on 8/11 did 1,025,000 viewers, up 20 percent from the prior week with the show built around John Cena’s return to television after his broken nose.
Total Divas that followed did 1,176,000 viewers, up 16 percent from the prior week and by far the highest number of this season. This was built around clips of Alicia Fox throwing a drink in Naomi’s face.
Raw on 8/10 did a 2.71 rating and 3.84 million viewers (1.48 viewers per home), the most total viewers for the show since 6/15, which was the show right after the death of Dusty Rhodes and the day after Money in the Bank.
It was notable the show did numbers well up from the average this summer even without Cena, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman or Stephanie McMahon.
It will be interesting to see if next week, with the rare heavy push of both Undertaker and Lesnar being there, and the SummerSlam go-home show, will build from this. The 8/24 show after SummerSlam, would be expected to be well up.
Smackdown on 8/6 did a 1.70 rating and 2.41 million viewers (1.51 viewers per home), which was 12th place for the night on cable, although most of the shows beating it were news shows revolving around the Republican debates. The big debate drew 24 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-sports show in the history of cable TV.
Roddy Piper’s Funeral
It was a private service with family and some friends. Ric Flair spoke. Those notable attending included HHH, Bret Hart, Brian Knobbs, Michael Hayes, Chyna and Chael Sonnen. HHH and Chyna were in the same room for about an hour and never spoke.One would have thought it was going to be the day after Smackdown so talent could be there. Vince McMahon wasn’t there. He’s usually in Orlando on Tuesdays for Tough Enough.
Another service was held on 8/10 outside what was once the Portland Sports Arena, the home of Portland Wrestling on Saturday nights when Piper worked the territory, for Portland area wrestlers such as Lynn Denton, The Grappler, his longtime business partner and friend, and Billy Jack Haynes
It was a private service with family and some friends. Ric Flair spoke. Those notable attending included HHH, Bret Hart, Brian Knobbs, Michael Hayes, Chyna and Chael Sonnen. HHH and Chyna were in the same room for about an hour and never spoke.One would have thought it was going to be the day after Smackdown so talent could be there. Vince McMahon wasn’t there. He’s usually in Orlando on Tuesdays for Tough Enough.
Another service was held on 8/10 outside what was once the Portland Sports Arena, the home of Portland Wrestling on Saturday nights when Piper worked the territory, for Portland area wrestlers such as Lynn Denton, The Grappler, his longtime business partner and friend, and Billy Jack Haynes
Billionaire Vince
With the stock rise, Vince McMahon is back to being a legitimate billionaire. Forbes this past week listed his worth at $1.14 billion and as the 1,613th richest man. It would be slightly below that with the stock price dropping since that listing.
The stock closed today at $20.80 per share, giving the company a market value of $1.57 billion.
With the stock rise, Vince McMahon is back to being a legitimate billionaire. Forbes this past week listed his worth at $1.14 billion and as the 1,613th richest man. It would be slightly below that with the stock price dropping since that listing.
The stock closed today at $20.80 per share, giving the company a market value of $1.57 billion.
Fan Attacks Roman Reigns
At the 8/8 house show in Victoria, BC, a fan in the front row threw a replica Money in the Bank briefcase into the ring and nailed Reigns hard in the back of the head. WWE security as well as the referee got involved in taking the guy and his friends out the building but there was an altercation out of the ring. It was actually pretty amazing from where he threw the briefcase that he managed to hit his target, even though it was something he should have been arrested for. Reigns didn’t see it coming and was knocked down.
They had to stop the match for him to recover. He continued and worked the rest of the match as scheduled. The fan had been getting the wrestlers on the undercard to sign the briefcase earlier in the show. No charges were pressed against him after he apologized for what he did. The fan, a 31-year-old male, was banned for life from attending WWE events, although I have no idea how they are going to enforce that outside of the city.
At the 8/8 house show in Victoria, BC, a fan in the front row threw a replica Money in the Bank briefcase into the ring and nailed Reigns hard in the back of the head. WWE security as well as the referee got involved in taking the guy and his friends out the building but there was an altercation out of the ring. It was actually pretty amazing from where he threw the briefcase that he managed to hit his target, even though it was something he should have been arrested for. Reigns didn’t see it coming and was knocked down.
They had to stop the match for him to recover. He continued and worked the rest of the match as scheduled. The fan had been getting the wrestlers on the undercard to sign the briefcase earlier in the show. No charges were pressed against him after he apologized for what he did. The fan, a 31-year-old male, was banned for life from attending WWE events, although I have no idea how they are going to enforce that outside of the city.
Tough Enough Recap
Gigi was sent home from Tough Enough this week leaving Amanda and Sara Lee as the final women. Sara Lee was put in the final three and was again the high vote getter and there’s no way she’s not winning a fan vote with Amanda. Amanda is a lock to get offered a contract if she wants one no matter the outcome.
On the guys side, they stopped burying ZZ and he wasn’t in the bottom three. Josh is still the favorite and is a lock to get a contract either way. He or ZZ will win the fan voting on the guy side. There are two weeks left in the season as there will probably be a guy elimination next week and then it ends on 8/26.
Gigi was sent home from Tough Enough this week leaving Amanda and Sara Lee as the final women. Sara Lee was put in the final three and was again the high vote getter and there’s no way she’s not winning a fan vote with Amanda. Amanda is a lock to get offered a contract if she wants one no matter the outcome.
On the guys side, they stopped burying ZZ and he wasn’t in the bottom three. Josh is still the favorite and is a lock to get a contract either way. He or ZZ will win the fan voting on the guy side. There are two weeks left in the season as there will probably be a guy elimination next week and then it ends on 8/26.
G-1 Climax tournament
The G-1 Climax tournament this past week featured a ton of upsets leading into the final three shows at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
The A block has come down to Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. A.J. Styles, who both have 6-2 records. They meet on the 8/14 show with the winner going into the championship match.
The B block comes down to this. Kazuchika Okada has a 7-1 record, and faces Shinsuke Nakamura (6-2) on the 8/15 show. Also alive are Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson, with 6-2 records. Anderson faces Satoshi Kojima and Goto faces Yuji Nagata.
What may be a giveaway is the listed order of matches, as one would think Nakamura vs. Okada would be the main event, but right now it’s scheduled to go on early. Nakamura would be expected to win that match. If Goto beats Nagata, he ties, but if he loses, he’s out. Anderson is in the same situation. If he beats Kojima, he ties for first. If he loses, he’s out.
It then comes down to head-to-head among those who are tied, so that depends who is in and out involving Anderson and Goto. If it’s just Nakamura and Okada tied, Nakamura goes to the finals based on the win over Okada. If it’s Nakamura, Okada and Goto, then Nakamura would advance since he has beaten Goto and will have beaten Okada. If it’s Nakamura, Okada and Anderson, then they would need a playoff because each is 1-1 against the other two. So it’s likely not going to be that.
If all four are tied, then Nakamura is 2-1 against the field, Okada is 1-2, Anderson is 2-1 and Goto is 1-2, meaning Anderson would then have to face Nakamura. Either way, charting it out, it looks most likely like a Nakamura vs. Tanahashi final with the winner in the main event at Wrestle Kingdom 10 against whoever is IWGP champion, currently Okada.
Since Tanahashi vs. Okada headlined last year and in 2013, and Nakamura vs. Okada has never headlined and only been done twice at all since Okada was elevated to world champion level (Okada won the first in last year’s G-1 finals, Nakamura likely winning the second this week), all signs point to the latter. Plus, if everything plays out like this, Nakamura is the guy who knocked Okada out of the G-1 final with Tanahashi.
With Goto having beaten Okada in the tournament on 8/1 in Osaka, most likely Okada vs. Goto for the IWGP champion will headline a fall PPV, most likely the October King of Pro Wrestling show at Sumo Hall. Nakamura will likely have to put his briefcase and title shot up once or twice during the fall, with Anderson likely getting one of shots based on his win.
The standings, going into Sumo Hall are:
A BLOCK: 1. Tanahashi and Styles 6-2; 3. Bad Luck Fale and Tetsuya Naito 5-3; 5. Katsuyori Shibata and Togi Makabe 4-4; 7. Toru Yano and Kota Ibushi 3-5; 9. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Doc Gallows 2-6.
B BLOCK: 1. Okada 7-1; 2. Nakamura, Anderson and Goto 6-2; 5. Tomohiro Ishii and Michael Elgin 4-4; 7. Yujiro Takahashi, Yuji Nagata and Satoshi Kojima 2-6; 10. Tomoaki Honma 1-7.
The G-1 Climax tournament this past week featured a ton of upsets leading into the final three shows at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
The A block has come down to Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. A.J. Styles, who both have 6-2 records. They meet on the 8/14 show with the winner going into the championship match.
The B block comes down to this. Kazuchika Okada has a 7-1 record, and faces Shinsuke Nakamura (6-2) on the 8/15 show. Also alive are Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson, with 6-2 records. Anderson faces Satoshi Kojima and Goto faces Yuji Nagata.
What may be a giveaway is the listed order of matches, as one would think Nakamura vs. Okada would be the main event, but right now it’s scheduled to go on early. Nakamura would be expected to win that match. If Goto beats Nagata, he ties, but if he loses, he’s out. Anderson is in the same situation. If he beats Kojima, he ties for first. If he loses, he’s out.
It then comes down to head-to-head among those who are tied, so that depends who is in and out involving Anderson and Goto. If it’s just Nakamura and Okada tied, Nakamura goes to the finals based on the win over Okada. If it’s Nakamura, Okada and Goto, then Nakamura would advance since he has beaten Goto and will have beaten Okada. If it’s Nakamura, Okada and Anderson, then they would need a playoff because each is 1-1 against the other two. So it’s likely not going to be that.
If all four are tied, then Nakamura is 2-1 against the field, Okada is 1-2, Anderson is 2-1 and Goto is 1-2, meaning Anderson would then have to face Nakamura. Either way, charting it out, it looks most likely like a Nakamura vs. Tanahashi final with the winner in the main event at Wrestle Kingdom 10 against whoever is IWGP champion, currently Okada.
Since Tanahashi vs. Okada headlined last year and in 2013, and Nakamura vs. Okada has never headlined and only been done twice at all since Okada was elevated to world champion level (Okada won the first in last year’s G-1 finals, Nakamura likely winning the second this week), all signs point to the latter. Plus, if everything plays out like this, Nakamura is the guy who knocked Okada out of the G-1 final with Tanahashi.
With Goto having beaten Okada in the tournament on 8/1 in Osaka, most likely Okada vs. Goto for the IWGP champion will headline a fall PPV, most likely the October King of Pro Wrestling show at Sumo Hall. Nakamura will likely have to put his briefcase and title shot up once or twice during the fall, with Anderson likely getting one of shots based on his win.
The standings, going into Sumo Hall are:
A BLOCK: 1. Tanahashi and Styles 6-2; 3. Bad Luck Fale and Tetsuya Naito 5-3; 5. Katsuyori Shibata and Togi Makabe 4-4; 7. Toru Yano and Kota Ibushi 3-5; 9. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Doc Gallows 2-6.
B BLOCK: 1. Okada 7-1; 2. Nakamura, Anderson and Goto 6-2; 5. Tomohiro Ishii and Michael Elgin 4-4; 7. Yujiro Takahashi, Yuji Nagata and Satoshi Kojima 2-6; 10. Tomoaki Honma 1-7.
Jeff Jarrett Hall of Fame
On the 7/29 TNA TV show, the Jeff Jarrett Hall of Fame segment was really great. It felt far more real than most, particularly since it was all about Jarrett not taking any credit and giving credit. One thing notable is Jarrett said that he and his father Jerry had reconciled about six weeks before that was taped after being estranged for about seven years, which is good to hear.
On the 7/29 TNA TV show, the Jeff Jarrett Hall of Fame segment was really great. It felt far more real than most, particularly since it was all about Jarrett not taking any credit and giving credit. One thing notable is Jarrett said that he and his father Jerry had reconciled about six weeks before that was taped after being estranged for about seven years, which is good to hear.
Thank you for Reading
And that's the news for the week. Be sure to check Causioncreations.com front page, everyday, for TV reviews, PPV previews, breaking news and commentary articles.
And that's the news for the week. Be sure to check Causioncreations.com front page, everyday, for TV reviews, PPV previews, breaking news and commentary articles.