The world of WWE head Vince McMahon will once again be covered by HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
As reported by PWInsider Saturday and discussed on Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, the long-running sports journalism show will cover the current travails of McMahon given the multiple allegations against him of various hush funds to former female employees, covered in full by the Wall Street Journal.
In their report, PWInsider reported said HBO has “been attempting to reach out to former female employees of the company.”
It’s unknown when the piece is being targeted for. The show airs monthly year-round.
This is not the first time WWE, McMahon and the pro wrestling industry has been featured on Real Sports.
The most notable feature was in June 2003 when Armen Keteyian did a focused piece on the then-growing amount of early deaths in pro wrestling. Roddy Piper was prominently featured, essentially forecasting his own passing, in addition to McMahon himself.
In an infamous outburst from the piece, McMahon bristled at the notion he had anything to do with the aforementioned deaths due to drug use and other factors, slapping Keteyian’s papers in an angered outburst:
Even before he debuts in the new “The Suicide Squad” movie next year, John Cena has a deal in place to play his character in a TV series ordered by HBO Max.
Deadline reported Wednesday that the DC Universe show will be named after Cena’s character (“The Peacemaker”), a show that will be written and mainly directed by James Gunn who is handling the same duties on the movie.
Gunn also wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel which starred former WWE star Dave Bautista.
Scheduled to begin production early next year, the first season will be eight episodes and will explore the origins of the Peacemaker character. Cena is a co-executive producer on the series. The new Squad movie, which also stars Margot Robbie and Idris Elba, is set for release in early-August.
It will be a busy 2020 for the former WWE star as he will appear in the ninth Fast & The Furious movie (currently in post-production) and the reboot of the Wipeout game show for TBS.
His most recent WWE appearance was in the cinematic Firefly Fun House match against Bray Wyatt at April’s WrestleMania 36.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s next project for HBO will have a pro wrestling theme.
Variety first reported today that Johnson is developing a series called “TRE CNT” (aka TRE COUNT) for HBO. The fictional series will have half-hour episodes and is about the creation of a backyard wrestling promotion.
The show “focuses on Cassius Jones, a young dock worker and struggling pro-wrestler, who uses inherited life-insurance money for start-up cash and the deed to a shotgun house from his grandfather to start a hip-hop centric backyard wrestling empire in Houston’s Third Ward (The Tre) with the help of his working-class family, neighbors, and friends.”
In addition to Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia of Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions are also executive producers for “TRE CNT.” Issa Rae, who stars in HBO’s “Insecure,” and Montrel McKay of her production company are also among the executive producers for the show.
Mohamad El Masri is writing the show, while Judah Miller is the showrunner. Both are also executive producers for the series.
Johnson previously worked with HBO on his series “Ballers,” which ran from 2015 to 2019.
We’re looking for your thoughts on UFC 237, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
We’re looking for reports from these weekend shows:
Raw Marseilles, France on Friday
Revolution Pro Wrestling from York Hall in London on Friday
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS DAY ONE IN SENDAI ON MONDAY AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yota Tsuji and Ren Narita vs. Taichi and DOUKI
Yuya Uemura, Rocky Romero and Bandido vs. Jado, Robbie Eagles and El Phantasmo
Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoh & Ren Narita
Will Ospreay & Toa Henare vs. Tetsuya Naito & Bushi
Tiger Mask vs. Taka Michinoku
Titan vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Marty Scurll vs. Jonathan Gresham
Sho vs. Shingo Takagi
Dragon Lee vs. Taiji Ishimori
Raw will be Monday from the O2 Arena in London while there will be a Smackdown house show on Monday in Bornemouth, UK. Raw has announced Roman Reigns on Miz TV, Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Dana Brooke, Ricochet vs. Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS DAY TWO IN SENDAI ON TUESDAY AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yota Tsuji, Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask vs. Taichi, Taka Michinoku and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Juice Robinson & Dragon Lee vs. Sho & Shota Umino
Brody King & Marty Scurll vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
Titan & Toa Henare vs. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi
Ren Narita vs. Douki
Rocky Romero vs. Robbie Eagles
Bandido vs. Phantasmo
Will Ospreay vs. Bushi
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoh
Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday at the O2 Arena in London while Raw has a house show in Paris, France. Announced for the London show is a possible Kevin Owens Show with Kofi Kingston, Finn Balor vs. Ali vs. Andrade vs. Randy Orton and Kairi Sane & Asuka vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville plus for 205 Live, Tony Nese vs. El Ligero non-title and a four-way with Humberto Carrillo vs. Jack Gallagher vs. James Drake vs. Mark Andrews.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS DAY THREE IN AOMORI WEDNESDAY AT 5:30 A.M. ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yuya Uemura and Ren Narita vs. Robbie Eagles and Jado
Ryusuke Taguchi & Shota Umino vs. Taichi & Douki
Juice Robinson & Will Ospreay & Bandido vs. Rocky Romero & Yoh & Toa Henare
Tetsuya Naito & Bushi vs. Phantasmo & Gedo
Jonathan Gresham vs. Taka Michinoku
Tiger Mask vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Titan vs. Shingo Takagi
Marty Scurll vs. Taiji Ishimori
Dragon Lee vs. Sho
Wednesday has Raw in Birmingham, UK and Smackdown in Magdeburg, Germany.
A brother vs. brother match will be one of the key pieces of All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing card.
After weeks of teases, Dustin Rhodes was confirmed as his brother Cody’s opponent for Double or Nothing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 25. Dustin issued a statement about his status with WWE after the announcement was made, revealing that he had requested his release from WWE and was granted it. Dustin also posted a video where he said goodbye to his Goldust character.
An update on AEW distribution, PPV, television and streaming, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the full distribution around the world for Double or Nothing, as well as updating where things stand when it comes to television.
Look at pricing, preshow, who is carrying it, how strong ITV 4 is, how this compares with WWE’s distribution and probable viewership, where things stand with U.K. television, details on Casino Battle Royale plans, the main championship, updating the show and lots of new signings.
Go in-depth on not just the XFL television deal and finances, but the lessons of the deal and how the deal is a 180 from the UFC deal.
Also look at the changes in Raw and Smackdown this past week, why they were made, where NBC Universal and FOX stand, WWE star power, how the European tour affected this week’s television, how it affects touring, plus updates on the Money In The Bank show.
Also look at the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, including what matches to watch out for, the schedule, the positioning of Will Ospreay, and the schedule.
Look at the two New Japan Dontaku events, what the events say about both Japan and U.S. popularity, the story behind Okada vs. Sanada, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Our weekend show covering UFC, Bellator, AEW and WWE is already up on the site today.
ROH will be streaming live tonight’s ROH tag team title match from Chicago with Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defending against Mark & Jay Briscoe on Honor Club.
The advance for tomorrow’s Raw in London is well below what it has been in the past. On Friday we were told it looks like about 10,000 fans,which is a great number for Raw nowadays, but Raw at the O2 Arena used to be an easy sellout.
Kambi has released the over/under for star ratings for Money in the Bank as:
Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari ***
Men’s ladder match ****
Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans **1/2
Roman Reigns vs. Elias ***
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair ***1/4
The Miz vs. Shane McMahon **1/2
Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio ***1/4
Seth Rollins vs. A.J. Styles ****1/4
Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens ***1/2
Women’s ladder match ***1/2
AEW’s debut show is now official for all U.S. cable systems, plus DirecTV and Dish Network. The suggested price is $49.99. Shaw Cable in Canada is also carrying the shows. Not every system in Canada has it at this point but many do. Dish is also advertising the roast of Ric Flair the night before for $19.99. (thanks to Lou Pickney and Sammy Montanaro)
WWE
The HBO Andre the Giant documentary is now up on the WWE Network. It’s definitely a very entertaining doc even with the flaws and work mode and some people used for history that had no idea of the history they were talking about. It’s a great look at Andre and there’s a lot of info on his life that has never been released previously.
WWE tickets for the next Raw taping in Newark at the Prudential Center have cut back to $20 for the lowest priced tickets with attendance dropping. (thanks to Jeff Rozner)
DK Publishing just released the book “WWE Smackdown: 20 Years and Counting” this past Tuesday.
Primo Colon has been all over WWC television in Puerto Rico in recent weeks and will be on a show next week. (thanks to Fco Gaztambide)
As far as mainstream interest this weekend, UFC 237 was the third most searched item yesterday with 570,000 searches. It won’t get close to this number, but that’s the equivalent of a 100,000 to 150,000 buy show. With it being only available streaming, one would expect the final number to be much lower. The only names off the show that trended individually were Anderson Silva and B.J.Penn, and not Jessica Andrade for winning the strawweight title. Harold Lederman, the HBO boxing scorer who has been fixture on the broadcasts for decades, and passed away yesterday from cancer at the age of 79, was No. 10. Silver King was No. 11, both in the 50,000 range.
Tom Duquesnoy announced his retirement today.
MISCELLANEOUS
AAW from last night in Chicago before a sellout 550 fans: Jake Something (Cousin Jake Deaner) won three-way over Air Wolf and Trey Miguel, Kristen Statlander b Clayton Gainz, Josh Alexander b Adam Brooks (said to be great), Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz b Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett, Myron Reed b TJP, MJF b Mance Warner to keep Heritage title, Jake Something b MJF to win Heritage title, Jacob Fatu b Ace Romero, Jessicka Havok b Thunder Rosa to keep women’s title, Penta 0M & Rey Fenix b Dan Barry & Bill Carr, Sami Callihan b David Starr to keep the AAW title when Something turned on Starr.
John Morrison is doing a Q&A on 6/27 in Melbourne before his matches in Melbourne on 6/28 and Sydney in 6/29 for BCW. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
OVO, the channel that has PWA is contacting Australian promotions trying to do an Australian version of what FloSlam tried. PWA has pulled its recent shows off pivotshare.
Marty Scurll & Brody King vs. Flip Gordon & Brian Cage was announced for the 6/21 World Series Wrestling show in Melbourne, Australia.
Pro Wrestling Phoenix runs its 14th anniversary show on 5/22 in Omaha at the Waiting Room Lounge.
AAW debuts in Milwaukee on 7/12 at Turner Hall, the same venue that NXT and ROH use. Announced for the show are Penta 0M, Rey Fenix, Juventud Guerrera, Sami Callihan, Jessicka Havoc and Besties in the World.
Bar Wrestling from Thursday night in Los Angeles: Delilah Doom & Eli Everfly b Tyler Bateman & Brandon Cutler, Andy Brown b Luchasaurus, Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas b Heather Monroe & Jake Atlas, KC Spinelli b Joey Ryan, Taya Valkyrie & Daga & Zokre & Phoenix Star b Watts & Yuma & BHK & Ryan Taylor, Jungle Boy b David Arquette. Next show is 5/30 in Baldwin Park CA at the American Legion and then 6/12 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles. This was the show that got a lot of TMZ coverage because of the main event, plus it was also the show The Young Bucks showed up at to offer Rick Knox a contract when Joey Ryan thought they were offering him a contract. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemonsn.net)
A woman named Casandra Cass was the valet for Arquette on the show.
Warrior Wrestling had a loaded up indie show today in Chicago Heights, IL with Tessa Blanchard vs. Jordynne Grace with Molly Holly as referee, Austin Aries vs. Eddie Edwards in a cage match, Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix vs Daga & Kotto Brazil, Bran Pillman Jr. vs. Robert Anthony with Pillman’s hair at stake vs. Pillman getting five minutes with Frank the Clown, Sam Adonis vs. Pat Monix, Volador Jr. vs. Gringo Loco and Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Ridgeway. Brian Cage, their champion, was unable to wrestle on the show due to his back injury.
Brian Cage due to his injuries vacated both his WrestleCircus Ringmaster and Sideshow championship belts. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Cage is looking to start wrestling again on 5/18 for UCW outside of Chicago.
Michael Craven from New Japan has been in Australia helping promote the 6/29 show at Festival Hall in Melbourne.
Mikey Nicholls vs. Dan Steel was added to the 5/25 EPW show in Perth.
Sami Callihan vs. Mance Warner in a falls count anywhere match has been added to the 6/1 MLW show in Waukesha, WI.
Megan Anderson has joined the broadcast team for Warfare Sports, a new boxing digital platform. She debuted on a show over the weekend from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. She’ll be joined on the team by Al Bernstein and Marc Abrams.
MCW from last night in Preston, Victoria, Australia: Slex b Lochy Hendricks to keep the MCW title, Indi Hartwell b Millie McKenzie, Mike Burr b DCT 2/3 falls, Nick Bury & Mitch Waterman b Jett & Kaz Jordan to keep tag titles, Session Moth Martina b Avary.
MCW from today: Kellyanne b Lena Kross, Steph De Lander b Aria, Kellyanne & Tarlee b Viksin & Chanel Phoenix, Indi Hartwell b Session Moth Martina, Avary b Millie McKenzie. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Shine from Friday in Livonia,MI: Allysin Kay b Samantha Heights, Brandi Lauren b Thunderkitty, Lindsay Snow b Marti Belle, Santana b Kimber Lee, Shotzi Blackheart b Aja Perera to win Nova title, Ivelisse b Natalia Markova, Mercedes Martinez b Su Yung, Luscious Latasha & Gabby Gilbert b Thunder Rosa & Holidead in a lumberjills match to keep the tag titles. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
A DVD of the documentary 350 Days is available at Turner Classic Movies and all major retailers.
Pro Wrestling Eve from today in London: Jetta & Erin Angel b Kay Lee Ray & Viper, Charli Evans b Laura DiMatteo, Roxxy b Nicole Matthews, Jinny b Bobby Tyler, Nightshade b Rebel Kinney, Nina Samuels b Jamie Hayter. They announced Kay Lee Ray & Viper’s last matches with the promotion will be on WrestleKingdom 2 since they’ve signed with WWE. Announced for that show are: Kay Lee Ray vs. Viper for the Eve title, Hayter vs. Utami Hayashishita for the International title, Charli Evans & Millie McKenzie vs. ? for tag titles plus several more wrestlers from Japan’s Stardom group will be on the show. (thanks to Chris Gannon)
Defy sold out Friday night in Seattle: Josef Samuel & Jacob Fatu b Mike Santiago & Ethan HD to retain tag titles, Guillermo Rosas b Travis Williams, Penta 0M & Rey Fenix b Schaff & Chris Ridgeway, Tom Lawlor b Randy Myers, Cat Powers b Danika Della Rogue, Vaquero Fantasma b Cazador Del Alma, Sonico & Leon Negro b Eli Surge & Judas Icarus. Next show is 6/15 in Portland and they also have a show 6/16 in Tacoma. (thanks to Scott Janicek)
Comedy Central aired the debut episode of Klepper, a documentary series starring Jordan Klepper Thursday night.The episode was focused on three Afghanistan war veterans who wrestle for a Texas independent promotion. The veterans talked to Klepper—who was previously a correspondent on the Daily Show, then hosted The Opposition, a satirical show which exposed the phony hysteria of extremist media—about their experiences in Afghanistan, returning home, survivors guilt, and using wrestling as therapy, before ending the show with them putting Klepper‘s heel persona Mr. Red Tape through a table. Clips can beseenhere. (thanks to Denis Gorman)
Jake Hager talked to Sporting News about Kofi Kingston winning the WWE title and pro wrestling fans’ reaction to him in MMA.
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
As their biggest media week of the year began, WWE was again a subject on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver.
WWE and Vince McMahon were the focus of the main segment on Sunday night’s episode. The 23-minute segment covered how wrestlers have been treated by WWE, them being classified as independent contractors instead of employees, and the benefits they don’t receive because of that.
Old clips of Bret Hart, Jesse Ventura, CM Punk, Vince, and Roddy Piper were shown on the episode.
The segment ended with Oliver saying fans have a strong, independent voice in WWE. Oliver said Vince occasionally listens to them, bringing up “#GiveDivasAChance” and WrestleMania being headlined by a women’s match for the first time ever this year. The episode showed how fans have contributed to fundraising campaigns for healthcare and funeral expenses for wrestlers.
Oliver said there’s potentially an opportunity for fans to chant and make signs at WrestleMania about wanting WWE to pay for wrestlers’ long-term healthcare or for them to be classified as employees.
WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and the company going on with Crown Jewel as scheduled were featured on two “Last Week Tonight” episodes in October 2018 as part of the show’s coverage of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
For the second straight week, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver covered WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.
While talking about Crown Jewel being held in Saudi Arabia this Friday, Oliver mentioned reports that John Cena won’t be wrestling on the show and played a clip of The Undertaker’s promo from SmackDown 1000. The crowd went from chanting for Undertaker to booing when he said “Crown Jewel.”
“I think the WWE itself just turned heel,” Oliver said. “Do you know how clearly deeply bad something has to be to get wrestling fans to boo a wrestling event at a wrestling event?”
Oliver said WWE was pushing ahead with Crown Jewel despite the serious concerns of some of their wrestlers and own fan base. A parody video of what Oliver said WWE’s marketing should be then aired, advertising that no women’s wrestlers would be there, that Cena would be on the show if he’s willing to take a major PR hit, and ended with “If you care about human rights, WWE’s got two words for you — suck it.”
On a special edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, sports & music documentary filmmaker Jason Hehir dropped by the show to talk about his trip into the world of pro wrestling with the upcoming HBO documentary ‘Andre The Giant‘.
Even if you aren’t immediately familiar with his name, you know his work from ESPN (The Fab Five, The ’85 Bears), HBO (De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7, Mayweather-Hatton 24/7), and for his run on the outstanding UFC Primetime series.
On the docket:
– We discussed Jason’s past working on Primetime, what standout fighters he remembers from that run, and his perspective on the sport given that he wasn’t a fan of it.
– We talked about the Andre documentary and how things came together, his biggest challenges in making it, the cooperation level of WWE, his thoughts on Hulk Hogan after interviewing him, and the recent Ric Flair 30 for 30.
– We discussed the comparisions between Dana White and Vince McMahon as he’s spent time with both of them.
– We wrap up with a discussion on Michael Buble. Yep, that happened.
With its premiere just over a month away, HBO has released the second trailer for their documentary on Andre the Giant.
Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Gene Okerlund, and Jim Ross are featured in the trailer, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Ringer’s David Shoemaker. It also has snippets of interviews with Robin Wright, Rob Reiner, and Billy Crystal, who all worked with Andre on “The Princess Bride.”
The documentary is titled “Andre the Giant” and will focus on Andre’s life and career both in and out of the ring. It’s presented by HBO Sports and WWE, with JMH Films producing it in association with Bill Simmons’ Ringer Films.
HBO’s documentary on the life of Andre the Giant is set to premiere in less than three months.
It was announced today that the documentary, which is titled “Andre the Giant,” would be debuting on HBO on April 10th. HBO also released the trailer for the project, with Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jerry Lawler, and “Mean” Gene Okerlund among those featured in it.
The trailer focuses on Andre being a larger-than-life figure and the struggles he had due to his size. Our Dave Meltzer noted that he’s seen clips of the film and that fans of 70s and 80s wrestling will love all of the footage they were able to get.
HBO Sports, the Bill Simmons Media Group, and WWE are listed as producers of the documentary, and Jason Hehir is the director of the film. Going back to his time at ESPN and working on 30 for 30, Simmons has long spoken about wanting Andre’s life to be the subject of a documentary.
Coming off the premiere of ESPN’s 30 for 30 on Ric Flair, HBO has released a brief first look at their Andre The Giant documentary.
The project was officially announced this past February, with HBO partnering with WWE and Ringer Films on it. Bill Simmons, who is an executive producer on the film, has frequently cited a documentary on Andre’s life and career as being at the top of his wish list since he was with ESPN and was involved in the creation of the 30 for 30 series.
The documentary is officially titled “Andre The Giant.” The short 40-second trailer features footage of Andre, with The Ringer’s David Shoemaker calling him a god, the biggest celebrity in the world, and saying he was both a real human and a mythological figure.
Jason Hehir is the director of the film, which will debut on HBO in spring 2018. Patric Laprade also worked on the project and appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio this week to discuss Andre and the book he’s co-writing on him.
Click play below to watch the trailer for the documentary:
WWE is expected to announce Monday that they are working with both HBO Sports and the Bill Simmons Media Group on a documentary about the life of Andre the Giant.
Simmons is a lifelong fan who has always wanted to do such a project. The documentary would air on HBO who Simmons has a deal with.
This would mark the first time that WWE has ever worked on a joint project with HBO Sports and, in a sense, is a major breakthrough for the company since HBO is considered a prestige network.
In the past, A&E has done a documentary on the life of Andre, and there have been a couple of graphic novels on him as well.
It will be interesting to see how an HBO documentary will handle his size. While the legend was that he stood 7’4″, the last time he was actually measured while working in England in 1971 at the age of 24, he was measured at 208 centimeters, which is about 6’9″ 3/4.
Before coming to the North America, recruited by Frank Valois and Edouard Carpentier to come to Montreal and also by Verne Gagne, who saw him performing in Japan, he was usually billed at 6-foot-11 and 340 pounds in those younger athletic days. While in North America, he was billed mostly as being 7’4″ and sometimes 7’5″ and anywhere from 424 to 500+ pounds.
Andre Roussimoff was the biggest touring attraction in pro wrestling during the 70s, wrestling all over the world in every promotion, booked by Vince McMahon Sr. He was a babyface in most places, but was a super strong heel in Japan where he regularly feuded with Antonio Inoki. He later turned heel in the then-WWF in 1987 for two legendary matches with Hulk Hogan, as well as a few others during that run. The Wrestlemania III match against Hogan is arguably the most famous match ever held in the U.S.
