Tag: nbc

Daily Update: NBCU spins off USA, Bullet Club ends, WWE Raw

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*Polls on Worlds End plus Continental Classic MVP and best match polls.

*The story of the WWE/UFC merger and Vince McMahon’s resignation, how real was it, the big unanswered question about the WWE Board of Directors, lots of Discovery information in the shareholders lawsuit against WWE, McMahon, TKO, Nick Khan and others, things behind the scenes about the merger, and the change in plans prior to the 2023 WrestleMania in more detail than ever before.

*Full coverage of AEW Worlds End and business notes on the show

*The retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi and the Tokyo Dome show

*The record setting 2025 at Arena Mexico and biggest attendance week in the 92 years of CMLL, a look at the last week as well as how many Americans are at the shows.

*The few times in history that a company sold out a major arena three times in the same week.

*A look at the  Stardom Dream Queendom show

*Pro Wrestling NOAH hosts the first major show of 2026

*Weekly ods

*2026 Observer award ballot

*Most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week.

*Weedings and engagements in pro wrestling this past week

*All Japan has its best match of 2025

*William Regal and others talk about neck injuries in pro wrestling and our thoughts on it as well as the reaction of some

*Who had the most great matches in 2025

*How Eric Bischoff’s new promotion is similar to Sam Muchnick starting out as a promoter

*Company does a  Vince McMahon/Janel Grant angle on its TV show

*AEW business partner delisted

*Tony Khan talks a ton of different subjects

*Top merch sellers in US outside of WWE

*Tom Aspinall update

*Don Frye talks health issues

*Lots of injury updates

This Week’s Back Issue

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Monday Update

Image Copyright: NJPW

— Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw, New Japan, and the rest of the news with Wrestling Observer Radio tonight.

— The breakup of NBCU became official today with the launching of Versant on NASDAQ. So the USA Network is no longer part of NBC. Versant will be the company that owns and controls the USA Network, CNBC, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, Syfy, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes and more. That’s the end of an era as NBC and USA have been under the same umbrella for 21 years.

— Also ending today is The Bullet Club, which formed in 2013. Yota Tsuji announced the remaining War Dogs members along with him, Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi, are forming a new faction called Unbound Co.

— Raw tonight from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn is the heavily promoted one year anniversary show with the promotional tie-in with Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things. They asked fans to dress up like the characters in the show. CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker for the world title goes on last. They were at 12,648 tickets out at last check, which means they sold 3,000 tickets since Adam Pearce did the Chris Jericho tease and will likely sell out or come very close. We have no confirmation that Jericho is there, since if he was he’s probably hidden and not flying in commercial, but it would be kept secret and not be on the script for the show. If he’s not, they’ll be unhappy people since WWE clearly teased he would be yesterday and that’s a lot of tickets moving late after an announcement. Nobody has denied it, but then again, the people who would know are likely a small circle. Lots of Netflix people are at the show. Other matches are Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky for the women’s tag team titles, Maxixine Dupri vs. Becky Lynch for the IC title and Liv Morgan vs. Lyra Vakyria.

— Seth Rollins is backstage because he was in New York for a football show, but it would make no sense to put him on television until he’s ready to come back, and that’s months away. This isn’t Will Ospreay in England where AEW could have done it, but chose not to, just for a babyface pop.

— We’re looking for your thoughts from WrestleKingdom at the Tokyo Dome, 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 also looking for live reports from Brooklyn tonight with any matches taped before Raw or anything else not on the live show, results and finishes to [email protected]

— Last night’s WWE results from Bridgeport, CT:

Carmelo Hayes b The Miz to keep the U.S. title in a good match.
Gunther b Sami Zayn with a roll-up in a very good match
A.J. Styles & Dragon Lee b New Day to keep the tag titles in a so-so match
Wyatt Six (Howdy & Lumis & Gacy & Rowan) beat MFTs (Tama & Talla Tonga & JC Mateo & Tonga Loa) in a weak match
Iyo Sky b Raquel Rodriguez in a fair match’
Jade Cargill did an open challenge for her WWE title, Cargill beat Bayley in a fair match
Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed b Viking Raiders in a so-so match
Cody Rhodes b Drew McIntyre with a photo finish landing in a cage match in an excellent match (Thanks to Ron Lemeiux and Justin Moore)

— Because of the holidays, we are still way behind on ratings being released. NXT on 12/30 did 604,000 viewers with a 0.07 in 18-49. It was last place on network TV in both categories.

— CMLL in Puebla tonight was sold out when I woke up with Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Atlantis Jr. vs. Yutani & Soberano Jr. & Barbaro Cavernario. CMLL has sold out nine of its last ten shows.

— Yota Tsuji announced the IWGP world heavyweight title is done and they are going back to the IWGP heavyweight title which was the historical name for the title. The Global title which he also has will be defended separately.

— Sanada strongly hinted that he was leaving New Japan. After his match earlier today, he had a guitar that read “Goodbye NJPW” and said in a post-match interview, “I’m leaving this ring for good today. I’m going out on a journey.”

— Aaron Wolf’s first Never title defense looks to be against Ren Narita. I expect all the major matches for February to be announced in the next 48 hours.

— Smackdown outside the U.S from Berlin will air on Netflix at 2 p.m. Eastern time. In the U.S. it’ll be on at the regular 8 p.m. on the USA Network. We’ll see if airing everywhere else six hours earlier will hurt numbers given the boost Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre in the three stage of hell title match in theory would boost it.

— Saya Kamitani is taking a few weeks off. Stardom announced she would return on the 2/7 show at the Edion Arena in Osaka.

— NXT tomorrow has New Year’s Evil, a heavily promoted major show with Oba Femi vs Leon Slater for the NXT men’s title, Jacy Jayne vs. Kendal Grey for the women’s title, Thea Hail vs. Blake Monroe for the North American title and Izzy Dame vs. Tatum Paxley.

— Alamo Drafthouse will be airing a screening of “Night Patrol” on Wednesday ahead of its theatrical release. CM Punk is one of the stars in that movie.

— WWE starts a European tour on 1/8 in Leipzig, Germany with a house show. The house shows will be headlined by CM Punk vs. Bronson Reed for the world title as they stand right now.

— Mistico was booed Saturday night at Arena Coliseo. He was booed all the time in his heyday. He also drew like crazy then and Saturday’s show was sold out farther in advance than any Coliseo show in recent memory.

— It will be interesting to see if Tuesday draws bigger as Three Kings Day would figure to have a bigger Arena Mexico crowd than usual. It’s more loaded than usual with Mistico & Dorada & Esfinge vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr, Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. vs. Euforia & Soberano Jr, (father and son teams), Blue Panther vs. Difunto and Tessa Banchred vs. Zeuxis vs. Jarochita.

–MLW announced its 2/7 show in Chicago at Cicero Stadium is already sold out. Bishop Dyer was announced for the 1/29 Battle Riot match in Kissimmee, FL.

— Marshe Rockett turns 41 today. Willie Mack turns 39. It would have been the 69th birthday of Jeep Swenson, who passed away yung. Alexis Smirnoff passed away seven years ago today at 71. Charlie Cook passed away six years ago at 78.

TKO exec speaks on WWE’s future with NBC Universal

Posted on by Josh Nason

If TKO head Mark Shapiro has his way, WWE will remain on NBCUniversal for as long as the broadcaster wants them to.

As part of the media rounds ahead of Saturday’s WWE kickoff on the ESPN networks/streaming platform, Shapiro spoke to Puck’s John Ourand on his Varsity podcast.

In talking about the UFC media rights deal, Shapiro was discussing the benefits of having various TV partners. WWE then came up and in talking about ESPN and Netflix, he brought up Comcast (aka NBC Universal and said, “We’re not going to leave (NBCUniversal) as long as they want to be with us.”

The relationship between WWE and NBCU notably changed last month, bringing WWE PLEs to ESPN seven months earlier than contractually expected. Archive content will remain on the Peacock platform through the end of 2025 while NXT PLEs will remain through March 2026 as of now.

The changes also saw an adjustment to their Saturday Night’s Main Event broadcasts with the quarterly specials now airing exclusively on Peacock with SmackDown episodes available on the streamer 30 days after they initially air on USA.

During August’s Clash in Paris PLE, Michael Cole thanked Peacock to which NBC Sports president Rick Cordella replied with his own thanks to the WWE team for taking “a chance” with Peacock.

Following the official expiration of their initial Peacock deal this March, WWE’s lone remaining deal with NBCU expires in October 2029. SmackDown did initially begin airing on USA several weeks earlier than expected (September 13) and it’s unclear if the contract date changed with that move.

NBC Sports president thanks WWE ‘for taking a chance on Peacock’

Posted on by Josh Nason

Even though WWE worked its way out of its premium live event deal with Peacock seven months early, there is no ill will on the behalf of NBC Sports.

NBC Sports president Rick Cordella quote tweeted a clip from Sunday’s WWE Clash in Paris where Michael Cole thanked Peacock for their time as a PLE partner.

Cordella took the opportunity to thank WWE, company head Nick Khan, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon “for taking a chance on Peacock 5 years ago, as we were just launching. But it’s not goodbye.”

He went on to write that “We’re excited to stay a partner of the WWE, with must-watch, Saturday Night Main Events for years to come.”

As part of the restructuring of their deal that sees ESPN take over as WWE’s domestic PLE partner in September 2025 vs. April 2026 when it was originally announced, Peacock will become the exclusive home of the quarterly SNME specials beginning in November as part of a new multi-year deal that also includes archived SmackDown episodes 30 days after they air on USA. SmackDown will continue to air on USA as it has since last fall.

WWE archive content will remain on Peacock through year’s end while NXT PLEs will remain on the platform domestically through the original March 2026 contract end date.

WWE show to air on Peacock exclusively as part of new multi-year deal

Posted on by Josh Nason

This story has been updated.

Starting in November, WWE’s quarterly Saturday Night’s Main Event specials will air on Peacock exclusively as part of a new multi-year deal between WWE and NBCU/Peacock.

Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina first reported part of the news Wednesday, also noting WWE’s archive content will remain on the streaming service through the end of 2025 and “I would be shocked if it didn’t end up on ESPN after that.”

SportsBusinessJournal also reported on the story, noting that the exclusives begin with the next SNME on November 1st and “then one featuring John Cena’s retirement match on Dec. 13.” It had been previously speculated that Cena’s final match would air on an SNME opposite AEW Worlds End on Saturday, December 27th.

Revived in December 2024, the quarterly specials had also simulcast on NBC as part of a five-year deal that saw SmackDown return to USA Network on Friday nights. According to SBJ, the new arrangement will see SmackDown remain on Peacock on a 30-day delay.

The deal comes in the wake of a flurry of activity on Wednesday as it was announced that WWE PLEs will move to ESPN starting with September’s new Wrestlepalooza PLE instead of this April as originally planned. The final PLE on Peacock will be this month’s Clash in Paris.

WWE and Peacock’s contract was set to expire in March 2026 in a deal that included the PLEs, the archive content, and additional first-run content.

December 17, 2007 Observer Newsletter: Raw 15th anniversary, WWE & NBC extend deal

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

In the midst of controversy, Hulk Hogan returned to the WWE, doing a complete about face from his previous comments where just a few months ago he swore to friends that he’d never go back, and was always teasing starting up his own promotion, usually linked with Eric Bischoff.

As it turned out, with both appearing on Raw, and Hogan’s pending divorce, there has been no talk nor movement in that direction in months. The two were among the night of 1,000 former stars that was the 15th anniversary of Monday Night Raw that took place a month early, on 12/10 from Bridgeport, CT, before a sellout crowd of 7,000 fans.

The returns of Hogan, Bischoff, Trish Stratus, Steve Austin and Mick Foley were announced on television, and later names like Lita and Sunny (Tammy Sytch) were pushed on the web site. There were a few surprises, most notably Rob Van Dam and Bob Backlund.

Subscribers can read this issue here.

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event notes: Audio issues, HBK superkicks Owens, other legends appear

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Notes from WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event.

The start of SNME in San Antonio didn’t go smoothly. On the NBC feed, the show kicked off with simultaneous audio both in English and Spanish. This continued for several minutes until just before the start of the opening match, where Rhea Ripley successfully defended the Women’s World Championship against Nia Jax.

Much like the previous episode of SNME the show focused on a retro theme. Former WWE stars Ted DiBiase, Mark Henry, Dory Funk Jr., Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard, and Alundra Blayze were shown in the crowd.

WWE Hall of Famer and head of NXT Shawn Michaels appeared in his hometown to mediate the contract signing between Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes ahead of their ladder match at next weekend’s Royal Rumble premium live event. As Owens lamented about his struggles in WWE and with Cody Rhodes, Michaels said that he thought Owens was jealous. The situation eventually led to a confrontation that saw Owens strike Cody then attack HBK, setting him up for the package piledriver. Cody quickly broke things up as HBK quickly recovered and took out Owens with a superkick to end the segment.

Two new WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event dates advertised

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though they have not been confirmed by WWE yet, a couple of new Saturday Night’s Main Event dates may have been revealed.

Peacock’s WWE schedule lists that there will be Saturday Night’s Main Event shows on May 24 and July 12. Those would be the third and fourth episodes to take place since Saturday Night’s Main Event returned in December 2024. The show is back as a quarterly special with episodes airing live on both NBC and Peacock.

Locations for these two events have not been announced.

If Saturday Night’s Main Event does take place on July 12, it would be happening on the same day as AEW All In 2025, which is being held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

The May 24 date is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.

Saturday Night’s Main Event is a classic WWE series that originated in the 1980s. It briefly returned in the 2000s and is now back for a third run. Long Island, New York was the location for December’s return episode.

Up next is an SNME episode from San Antonio on January 25. That’s happening just one week before Indianapolis hosts Royal Rumble 2025.

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event returning this December, will air on NBC & Peacock

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has officially confirmed the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Airing live on both NBC and Peacock, Saturday Night’s Main Event will make its return on December 14. The special is taking place from the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York with a start time of 8 p.m. Eastern. No matches have been announced yet.

Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, and Seth Rollins are included on WWE’s graphic for the show.

Nassau Coliseum also hosted the first-ever Saturday Night’s Main Event in 1985, which featured Hulk Hogan facing off against Bob Orton. The show’s original run lasted from 1985-1992 before making a brief return from 2006-2008.

Saturday Night’s Main Event is now back as a quarterly special as part of WWE and NBCUniversal’s new five-year deal for SmackDown. SmackDown returned to USA Network last Friday after completing its run on Fox.

Tickets for the December 14 Saturday Night’s Main Event are going on sale to the general public this Friday (September 20). A pre-sale will begin on Thursday (September 19).

WWE has released a retro-style video promoting the show:

WWE files for new ‘Saturday Night’s Main Event’ trademark

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ahead of its likely return to NBC, WWE has applied for a new trademark for Saturday Night’s Main Event.

The filing was made on September 9 and is for the term “Saturday Night’s Main Event” relating to merchandising purposes. It’s listed as covering the following items:

Clothing, namely, tops, shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, hoodies; outerwear, namely, coats; bottoms, pants, shorts, underwear, dresses, pajamas, lingerie, clothing ties, scarves, gloves, swimwear; Halloween and masquerade costumes; footwear, namely, shoes, sneakers, slippers, flip flops, boots; headwear, namely, hats, caps; wrist bands as clothing; bandanas

Dave Meltzer confirmed last week that WWE will be announcing the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event soon. Four live in-ring specials per year on NBC are part of WWE and NBCU’s new deal for SmackDown’s return to USA Network. SmackDown will be back on the channel starting this Friday.

WrestleVotes reported that there’s been “internal speculation” within WWE that the first Saturday Night’s Main Event special back on NBC will take place this December.

Saturday Night’s Main Event originally existed from 1985-1992 and returned for a brief second run on NBC from 2005-2008. Recently, WWE has used the Saturday Night’s Main Event branding for its Saturday house shows.

WWE to announce return of Saturday Night’s Main Event NBC special soon

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The return of a classic WWE series could be imminent.

On Thursday, WrestleVotes reported that — within the next few days — WWE is set to announce an upcoming prime-time NBC special. The date and location for the event are not known yet, but WrestleVotes heard some “internal speculation” regarding a Saturday night in December.

Dave Meltzer followed up on that report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting that the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event will be announced very soon. Four in-ring specials per year airing on NBC are part of WWE’s new TV deal for SmackDown to return to USA Network.

Meltzer wrote:

Wrestlevotes reported WWE would be announcing a prime time special on NBC, perhaps on a Saturday night in December. The deal getting SmackDown on USA included four prime time specials per year on NBC. We were told by WWE that the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event will be announced very soon so that would indicate this is accurate.

WWE and NBCU’s deal to bring SmackDown back to USA Network is a five-year agreement. SmackDown airs its final episode on Fox tonight before moving to USA next week (September 13).

Saturday Night’s Main Event debuted in 1985 with an initial run that lasted until 1992. It then returned for a brief stint from 2006-2008. Recently, WWE has used the Saturday Night’s Main Event branding for its Saturday house shows.

Daily Update: WWE-NBC special, Mercedes Mone, Kevin Kelly

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • A look at the wrestling career of Sid Eudy, his death, his career highlights, the injury that basically ended his career, other major inopportune injuries, his going from place to place and more.
  • When he first started which is earlier than most have noted.
  • The Lord Humongous gimmick
  • The Skyscrapers and why it ended
  • The Four Horsemen period
  • His first PPV main event
  • A number of stories related to Brian Pillman including the squeegee story
  • His leaving WCW for WWF and his first WrestleMania main event and how that finish didn’t happen as planned
  • The failed drug test before WrestleMania
  • The Hoosier Dome match
  • Quitting WWF
  • Return to WCW and the plan for him to win the world title and how it fell through
  • Situation with Arn Anderson
  • How he ended up getting his WWF title run in 1996-97
  • The injury that ended his WWF career
  • The ridiculous win streak gimmick in WCW
  • All In coverage from London
  • The update on contract negotiations
  • Why the MAX deal didn’t happen last year
  • The upcoming stadium shows
  • Business notes on how All In did
  • All Out update
  • Notes on new contracts
  • Future of Bryan Danielson
  • WWE weekend preview
  • RevPro anniversary show
  • Look at the ratings over the past two weeks
  • International TV ratings
  • The longest match ever held at Arena Mexico
  • Japanese tournament updates
  • Oldest male wrestler ever to participate in a major match
  • Deaths of Villano V and Fritz Von Goering
  • Tony Khan talks creative process
  • Bryan Danielson talks his discussion with Vince McMahon about doing G1
  • MMA star Benji Radach passes away
  • Mark Shapiro talks new WWE ideas
  • Netflix doc notes
  • Shapiro talks Netflix deal

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Thursday Update

WWE

  • WrestleVotes reports that WWE will be announcing a live prime-time NBC special in the next few days. Four in-ring NBC specials per year are part of WWE and NBCU’s new deal for SmackDown returning to USA Network. WrestleVotes has heard “some internal speculation” about a Saturday night in December being the date for the first special.
  • On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Drew McIntyre discussed the reaction his photo with Jack Perry received on social media despite only being up for 45 minutes:
    • I think it lasted 45 minutes. The numbers I heard were two million impressions or something insane for 45 minutes. It was pretty wild. People enjoyed that immensely. So, yeah, I’m always dancing on that line of what’s acceptable, not acceptable. Make people question things.
  • McIntyre said he’ll never answer whether he was told to take the photo down or if he removed it himself. McIntyre posted the picture to troll CM Punk in their WWE storyline. The picture came as a result of McIntyre and Perry being on the same flight:
    • I was flying to LA and they just did a show the night before. I’d seen Roderick Strong at the airport, a buddy of mine, and we got to catch up, which was awesome. He was heading to an ROH show I believe. And then on the flight, just saw Jack, had a little chat with him and his missus, and then we snapped a picture, and the internet had a freaking meltdown. It was hilarious.
  • NXT wrestler Lash Legend is launching a new cooking show called Dash of Lash on her YouTube channel.
  • Kevin Nash shared his memories of the late Sid Vicious (Sid Eudy) on Kliq This.
  • WWE put together a photoshoot of former Intercontinental Champions Shawn Michaels, Kofi Kingston, Wade Barrett, and The Miz with the IC title belt.
  • Inside The Ropes interviewed Cody Rhodes.
  • Here’s the lineup for Friday’s episode of NXT Level Up:
    • Dante Chen vs. Drake Morreaux
    • Dani Palmer vs. Lainey Reid
    • Izzi Dame vs. Layla Diggs

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • AEW uploaded post-Dynamite promos from Mercedes Mone and The Conglomeration.
  • In her Mone Mag, Mone wrote about reuniting with Mustafa Ali and Fred Rosser backstage at NJPW Capital Collision:
    • Backstage at Capital Collision was incredible. Willow [Nightingale] stopped by to say hi as did Orange Cassidy. I also got to see one of my fellow WWE coworkers, Mustafa Ali. It was so incredible to see him as he gave me such amazing advice. Funny thing is, I was just as nervous to go out and wrestle in front of 2000 fans in DC as I was to wrestle in front of 50,000 at Wembley. But Mustafa got my head right. He told me to remember who I was and that I’m the best in the world. He even went over my match with me including details that helped me so much. After the match, he came over to give me a big hug and to say how good I was. I appreciate a good brother like him. I also saw Fred Rosser. Fred is someone I started with in Boston and have known for 10 years! He’s the New Japan trainer in Los Angeles, a good guy and great at what he does.
  • Mone noted that Tony Khan tried to come see her match against Momo Watanabe at Capital Collision but wasn’t able to make it in time:
    • Jen Pepperman told me that Tony [Khan] was jumping on his jet to come to catch my match. Unfortunately, Tony’s flight got stuck leaving Champagne, but he called me the moment he landed to say what a great job I did and that he will try to be there for my next fight! What an honor to know someone who shoulders so much responsibility as Tony does was trying to fly all the way to DC just to see my match! What an amazing boss and leader with such infectious passion. It makes me want to work even harder for him, the women and AEW.
  • Kevin Kelly responded to the comments Jim Ross made about the lawsuit Kelly and The Tate Twins have filed against AEW, posting on social media:
    • Lots of comments on our lawsuit and we will see what happens. I had hoped to settle this fairly and quietly with AEW but they left us no choice. And to my friend JR, this is not ‘frivolous’ in the least. We look forward to what comes next. Thank you all very much.
  • Jim Ross said he was not interviewed for Netflix’s docuseries on Vince McMahon but would have been happy to do an interview if he had been approached.
  • TNA Wrestling thanked all of their fans for helping the company reach five million subscribers on YouTube.
  • Keith Mitchell (formerly of AEW, TNA, WCW), Kevin M. Sullivan (WWE, AEW, TNA), and Timothy J. Walbert (WWE) will be part of the production team for Scott D’Amore’s new Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling promotion.
  • Takashi Iizuka and indie wrestler Yuma 24 have been announced for the 20-man Ranbo match at NJPW’s Road to Destruction show on Saturday, September 14.
  • The 2024 Opera Cup semifinals (KENTA vs. TJP and Mistico vs. Bad Dude Tito) and finals will take place at MLW Fightland in Atlanta on February 14.

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event helped fund early run of ‘Seinfeld’

Posted on by Josh Nason

Thanks to WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, comedian Jerry Seinfeld said he was able to keep the first season of his eventual hit show going on NBC.

Making an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show Thursday, the star and co-creator of the iconic “Seinfeld” TV show said that the network didn’t really care for the 1989 pilot when they saw it, then called “The Seinfeld Chronicles.”

However, it did have a believer in then-NBC vice president Rick Ludwin.

“And Rick Ludwin said, ‘I’m gonna take some money from Saturday night wrestling.’ In those days, professional wrestling replaced Saturday Night Live once a month. And he took the money from one of those and it was enough money for us to make four episodes. We made four episodes and they still didn’t like it,” Seinfeld said.

“Saturday night wrestling” was a reference to Saturday Night’s Main Event. Four episodes of the then-WWF product aired that same year.

A 2017 book revealed that Ludwin later canceled a Bob Hope special in order to finance the rest of the first season. The show eventually become a major hit for the network and has made Seinfeld more than $1 billion thanks to syndication and a Netflix streaming deal for the entire series.

Conversely, Saturday Night’s Main Event met its initial end in 1992 before returning for five episodes from 2006 through 2008.

Dana White says Vince McMahon nixed past UFC TV deal with NBC

Posted on by Josh Nason

UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Vince McMahon nixed a past TV deal that would have seen the UFC head to NBC and USA Network.

Speaking on the Triggered podcast, White was asked about his relationship with McMahon — a topic that has come up frequently with White in recent interviews.

White again spoke about how McMahon and the UFC had their battles in the past as McMahon saw everyone as competition and that “he was one of those guys who would f**king stick it to me for whatever reason.”

White then went into a specific detail he hadn’t delved into before, saying that the UFC was on “the one-yard line” to sign a deal with NBC to air fights on both NBC and USA Network. However, at that point, the WWE head had the final say on whether another combat sports property could come onto USA’s airwaves.

White said he and then-UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta flew out to Connecticut to meet with McMahon and get his signoff. After some small talk, they got to the point of their visit and McMahon sat back in his chair and said, “Yeah, I’m not going to do that.”

When they asked why, White said that McMahon said, “Eh, I’m not that interested in it. I don’t like the idea of you guys on USA Network.”

After the deal blew up, UFC then pivoted and eventually signed a seven-year deal with Fox in August 2011. While White didn’t specify the timeline of when the McMahon talk happened, it’s assumed to be in 2011 based on the timeline.

White said now that he and McMahon, executive chairman of TKO Holdings, are in business together, “he couldn’t be a better partner. He keeps me in the loop with everything going on, making sure I’m cool with decisions that could affect the UFC.”

NBC cancels The Rock’s ‘Young Rock’ TV series

Posted on by Josh Nason

NBC has canceled Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s “Young Rock” TV series as it will not return for a fourth campaign.

The news was announced by several entertainment media outlets Friday afternoon as the network cut several other series as well.

The show, which debuted in February 2021, was based on the life of Johnson, starting with his childhood growing up in a pro wrestling family. Throughout the series’ 37 episodes over three seasons, characters like Randy Savage, Steve Austin, the Iron Sheik, Hulk Hogan and others were introduced in addition to several football players and Johnson’s well-known family members. The time periods covered were 1982, 1987 and the 1990s.

The show’s third season was moved to Fridays opposite WWE SmackDown in a move that puzzled many.

The premise was Johnson reflecting on his life in both wrestling and football as he prepared to run for president in the year 2032.

Johnson was an executive producer on the show along with series creator Nahnatchka Khan who is the sister of WWE CEO Nick Khan.

As of this writing, Johnson has not acknowledged the show’s cancellation on social media.

WWE star Becky Lynch returning to NBC’s ‘Young Rock’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE star Becky Lynch isn’t done with her role on “Young Rock.”

Lynch posted a tweet on Monday revealing that she’s back filming on the “Young Rock” set. She’ll again be playing musician Cyndi Lauper on a future episode of the show.

“She’s baaaaaaaack! Delighted to be back on set with the incredible #YoungRock cast and crew playing the iconic Cyndi Lauper! Stay tuned,” Lynch wrote

Lynch first played Lauper on the season three premiere of “Young Rock,” which aired on NBC this past November. That episode included a young Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson meeting Lauper at a party she threw around WrestleMania I in 1985.

In a tweet after the season three premiere, Johnson thanked Lynch and gave her props for the job she did playing Lauper.

“Young Rock” airs on NBC at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time on Friday nights. The show returned last Friday after being on a break for the holidays.

“Young Rock” is based on Johnson’s life and tells the story of how he was shaped into the person he is today.

Lynch is currently involved in a feud with Bayley in WWE.