Tag: pat mcafee

WOL: Vince on Pat McAfee, news, plus Dave Meltzer and Monteasy interviews!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with a PACKED show as we’re joined by both Dave Meltzer to talk the latest Observer and also MONTEASY, who will be performing TOMORROW as part of AEW Revolution weekend! Plus, Vince on Pat McAfee’s show and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Vince McMahon talks Undertaker, competition, WWE releases on Pat McAfee Show

Posted on by Ian Carey

Vince McMahon took part in what was promoted as his first live interview in 15 years when he appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday.

Here are some notes from the nearly hour-and-a-half long interview:

– McAfee asked McMahon if he ever envisioned being where he is today. McMahon responded that he “doesn’t believe in ceilings” and enjoys working toward milestones. He didn’t envision being where he is today — but he “didn’t not” envision it either. 

– When asked about the launch of the WWE Network in 2014, McMahon mentioned they had a great deal lined up with Comcast but it limited them in terms of ownership and creative control. Doing the WWE Network themselves was all about controlling their own destiny. 

– McMahon said he doesn’t listen to praise or negative feedback. He’s not about getting patted on the back or getting a thank you. He said if you listen to the positive feedback, then you have to listen to the negative and he doesn’t want to do that. He continued to say you can’t change what the media is going to say about you. McMahon said “you just can’t care” about people who say negative things about you.

– Regarding using the term “sports entertainment,” McMahon said he wanted to separate his company from everybody else. He compared it to his dad establishing his own branding separate from the NWA. McMahon joked that if his father knew what he was going to do with the company, he never would have sold it to him.

– McMahon announced that he will personally induct The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame. He referred to it as one of the most difficult things he’ll ever have to do because he loves The Undertaker and they’ve had such a long relationship. McMahon called Undertaker an extraordinary human being and said Undertaker and him never had one conversation about Undertaker going to WCW.

– McAfee brought up the Monday Night Wars and AEW when asking McMahon about competition. McMahon said he enjoys confrontation. He doesn’t fear it because he learned a long time ago that if you live through a beating, then you’re the winner. 

I’m probably one of the few people in the world who enjoys confrontation. I enjoy confrontation, it’s one of the things that really revs you up and one of the things that really puts you on your toes.

– Regarding the notion of success, McMahon said he doesn’t know how much money he has in the bank and he doesn’t care. He loves what he does and doesn’t consider it work. McMahon loves the people he does business with and the people within the organization.

– McMahon said he is always concerned about what’s best for business. If the audience wants a performer to come back, he would bring them back. McMahon said that’s why he brought back Hulk Hogan and other wrestlers who left him previously. McMahon said it’s not about ego, it’s about what’s best for business and the audience. 

– The topic of WWE’s releases came up. McAfee spoke about seeing guys get cut in the NFL. McMahon said that taking the company public helped him be a better businessman. Prior to that, he was making decisions with his heart — but when you are responsible to stockholders, you have to make decisions based on what’s best for business.

Once I took the company public, it helped me be a better businessman. Because prior to that, I was running the business with my head but mostly with my heart as well and these decisions are so damn tough when you do that.

Once you are a public company, now you owe stockholders.

– When asked about a favorite WWE moment, McMahon mentioned WrestleMania I. He put all of his money into it and there was so much riding on its success. 

– McMahon was asked about Saudi Arabia. McMahon said that Saudi fans are no different than any other WWE fans. WWE has had a presence over there for years. He said Western culture is loved all over the world and WWE fits in everywhere.  

People love Western culture all over the world, they don’t love our government, but they love Western culture and our form of entertainment with WWE fits in with everything.

– Working out is McMahon’s only socially acceptable outlet for aggression. He does it for his head more than he does it for his body. It helps him handle the workload in his life. 

– McMahon said he loves branding and marketing when talking about the use of “stupendous” for WrestleMania this year. He said it’s not a word you hear very much and it sounds good.

– McMahon talked about how performers in WWE learn how to treat people because they have to work with each other to both entertain and be safe.

– McAfee asked McMahon if he is going to live forever. McMahon mentioned that his mother was 101 when she passed away and that’s the benchmark. If he gets hit by a bus tomorrow, McMahon just hopes he has one moment to thank everyone.

– McMahon doesn’t think about what will happen with WWE after he’s gone. He said it doesn’t matter if a family member or a non-family member takes the company. You have to be objective and look at family just like other employees.

– McMahon said he knows McAfee loves WWE. McMahon praised McAfee and then offered him a chance to wrestle at WrestleMania. McMahon said he’d find a worthy opponent for McAfee.

– The reason McMahon calls wrestlers “Superstars” is because anyone can wrestle and he thinks WWE Superstar sounds better than being a professional wrestler.

– McMahon mentioned it’s important for a performer’s mental health to not be their character outside of the ring. 

– McMahon said he was determined to never miss a show when COVID hit. The ThunderDome era took away the live focus group which would tell them if something was working or not. While speaking about getting feedback online, McMahon said that he knows a portion of the online audience is biased and he doesn’t listen to that feedback. 

Sometimes the internet audience, a portion of it, can be relatively biased, a bit harsh, so I don’t listen to any of those, none of them.

– McMahon said he tries to give performers creative input because it’s important for them, but he needs to lead the creative process. Also noted that you can’t dictate to the audience what they are going to like.

– Speaking of Brock Lesnar, McMahon said he is an extraordinary human being. He continued to praise Lesnar for being intelligent. 

– McAfee and McMahon spoke about the Attitude Era, and McMahon said it was really fun. It was the Wild West back then and they just ran with it.

– McMahon said live TV is exciting. He lives for the pressure and the moments when something really great goes down. 

– McMahon jokingly referred to Michael Cole as a “horrible human being.”

– McMahon told a story about how he wasn’t going to graduate college because his grades weren’t good enough. He found out where his professors lived and visited their homes asking to have his grades bumped up from a B+ to an A-. One professor got really confrontational with him for doing so but ultimately changed his grade.

– McMahon said he related to Steve Austin because he grew up hating the boss and being the underdog.

– McMahon was asked about tearing both of his quads at Royal Rumble 2005. He said it takes talent to sever two tendons at the same time. Mentioned he had to learn to walk all over again. McMahon noted that he’s had neck surgery, tricep surgery, and back surgery. He said that the injuries were from a combination of things. 

– McAfee called McMahon a good guy. They spoke briefly about when McAfee wore shorts to WrestleMania one year. Then they wrapped up their conversation and the show ended.

Pat McAfee accepts offer to wrestle at WWE WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though his opponent hasn’t been announced, Pat McAfee is officially returning to the ring at WrestleMania 38.

While appearing as a guest on McAfee’s radio show on Thursday, Vince McMahon offered McAfee the opportunity to wrestle at WrestleMania 38. McAfee said it would be a dream and accepted the offer.

McMahon said he’ll find a “worthy opponent” for McAfee.

Dave Meltzer reported last Saturday that a match between McAfee and Vince McMahon was listed on WWE’s internal schedule for WrestleMania 38. There wasn’t any hostility between McAfee and McMahon during their interview today, and there wasn’t the start of an angle to build to a match between the two.

There was a segment on this Monday’s Raw where Austin Theory wanted to come to the Pat McAfee Show with McMahon so that he could be there in case anything went wrong. Theory didn’t end up appearing with McMahon during the interview.

This will be McAfee’s first main roster WWE match. He previously wrestled twice for NXT, facing Adam Cole in a singles match and also taking part in a WarGames match.

After retiring from the NFL in 2017, McAfee started a new career as a sports media personality. He first worked for WWE as a panelist for NXT TakeOver pre-shows.

McAfee joined the SmackDown commentary team in April 2021. He calls the show alongside Michael Cole.

AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas is hosting WrestleMania 38 on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3. Here’s the updated lineup for the show:

Night one (Saturday, April 2) —

  • SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defends against Ronda Rousey
  • Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bianca Belair
  • Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs. The Miz & Logan Paul
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin

Night two (Sunday, April 3) —

  • Winner-take-all championship unification match: WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns

Night to be determined —

  • AJ Styles vs. Edge
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Carmella & Zelina Vega defend against Sasha Banks & Naomi
  • Pat McAfee vs. to be announced

Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee match listed in WWE WrestleMania 38 internal schedule

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A match between Vince McMahon and SmackDown announcer Pat McAfee looks to be in the cards for WrestleMania 38.

Dave Meltzer reported this afternoon that the match between McMahon and McAfee is listed in the internal schedule for WrestleMania. This follows a Post Wrestling report from Friday where it was reported that a program between the two was expected to start and lead to WrestleMania.

It was announced on SmackDown that McMahon is scheduled to be interviewed live on Pat McAfee’s YouTube show this coming Thursday at noon eastern. It would be his first live interview since his interview with Steve Austin in 2014 on the WWE Network. His last match was in 2010, losing to Bret Hart at WrestleMania XVI.

In recent months, McMahon has appeared back on television, first promoting the movie Red Notice by taking part in a storyline where someone stole his golden egg that The Rock gave him. When it was revealed that Austin Theory stole the egg, McMahon took a liking to him and has since made appearances on television encouraging him.

Report: Vince McMahon expected to launch WWE WrestleMania 38 program with Pat McAfee

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A new report indicates that a program between Vince McMahon and Pat McAfee for WrestleMania 38 is expected to be launched.

Post Wrestling reported tonight that the two will start a program which will include WrestleMania 38. When asking their source if their involvement at the show was going to be billed as an official match, Post Wrestling was told “most likely”.

It was announced on tonight’s SmackDown that McMahon would be appearing live on the Pat McAfee show on YouTube this Thursday at noon eastern. It will be his first live interview since his interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin back in 2014.

McMahon, 76, last had a match at WrestleMania XXVI in 2010, where he lost to Bret Hart in a no holds barred match. He also engaged in a brawl with CM Punk in 2012 and took a headbutt from Kevin Owens in 2017.

McAfee originally started as an announcer for NXT, and later had a match with Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver XXX in August of 2020, with Cole getting the win. That was followed by a WarGames match, with The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong) defeating Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch. Last April, McAfee moved to the SmackDown brand, where he became a color commentator alongside Michael Cole.

WWE’s Vince McMahon to appear live on The Pat McAfee Show

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon will appear live, in-studio on The Pat McAfee show on Thursday, March 3 at noon Eastern time.

The show will air live on YouTube and on SiriusXM. The appearance was announced during tonight’s episode of SmackDown. 

The appearance will mark the most high-profile live interview with McMahon since the December 2014 Stone Cold Podcast episode on WWE Network. That appearance led to McMahon publicly responding to CM Punk’s recounting of the series of events leading up to, then following his WWE departure in 2014, including Punk receiving his WWE termination papers on his wedding day. 

In the 2014 interview with Austin, McMahon also spoke of his perception of the WWE roster lacking the ambition that previous generations did, invoking his infamous “brass ring” comment that has been lampooned by multiple companies since, and gave his thoughts on Cesaro’s potential as a main event star.

A WWE color commentator, McAfee has scored a number of WWE guests of late, including Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, and lead play-by-play voice Michael Cole.

Brock Lesnar talks Vince McMahon relationship, wrestling future, younger generation on Pat McAfee Show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ahead of the Elimination Chamber, Brock Lesnar stopped by The Pat McAfee Show for an appearance today.

Here are some notes from the 50-minute interview:

– Lesnar said McAfee “makes the show” with his commentary on SmackDown and McAfee’s color commentary is the best.

– Near the start of the interview, Lesnar broke the table that his microphone was on:

– Lesnar said he had no idea that WWE was going to be his career path. He started amateur wrestling at five years old but didn’t watch professional wrestling until it was on while he was at college. He watched it for a bit and was recruited to WWE while he was at the University of Minnesota.

– Lesnar said he felt total comfort when he got to the UFC because of his amateur wrestling background and because he had been fighting since he was a kid. Lesnar said he took it very seriously and hired the best coaches to work with. It was very humbling in his first UFC fight against Frank Mir because he had prepared for Mir’s knee bar so many times, but Mir still beat him with it.

– Lesnar was asked what his relationship with Dana White is like. “Dana’s all right,” Lesnar said. “I’ve got a lot of money from him. I probably should have got paid more, maybe.”

– McAfee said people have called White a spitting image of Vince McMahon who is just in a different fight game. McAfee asked Lesnar if he agrees with that.

“I don’t know. I really can’t compare the two guys. Honestly, my relationship with Vince is so different than it is with Dana over the years. Vince and I have had a love-hate relationship for the last 20 years. But it’s been good. We’ve got a lot of water under the bridge. I have a lot of respect for both men. Dealing with Dana, it’s just a totally different business approach,” Lesnar said.

“I met Vince when I was younger. I look at Vince more as a father figure, actually. I’ve learned a lot of things from him. I was able to carry those things over and handle business with Dana. Vince is a self-made person — so is Dana. You know, took the company and made it public and made big, big [money].”

– Lesnar said he doesn’t care whether he’s in the Hall of Fame or leaving a legacy. What he cares about is being a good person and a good dad. Like everything else in the world, pro wrestling is about making money. He feels fortunate that he can still be on top and do things like being part of the Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia.

– Lesnar said he’s having a great time in WWE right now and is more relaxed than he used to be. He’s 20 years into his career, having fun with it, and doesn’t care if he messes up.

– When asked how long he can see himself wrestling, Lesnar said while laughing: “As long as them dolla bills coming.” Lesnar said he doesn’t have to wrestle for the money, he’s doing it because he wants to. He’s been smart with his money after almost being bankrupt following his first run in WWE. He said he feels great physically and still gets butterflies when performing.

– At one point during the interview, McAfee asked Lesnar about the younger talent in WWE. When Lesnar said somebody needs to step up, McAfee asked him to explain what that means.

“That means get over. Figure out how to f*cking put asses in seats. Not worry about your next high spot. Figure out how the hell that I can be different. Like, how can I make money. That’s the business,” Lesnar said.

“The young generation thinks that if they go out and do a certain move and do it over and over — that’s not the business. There’s a good guy and a bad guy. You know, like Holyfield and Tyson, like mega heavyweights… I don’t like that guy, I like him, pitting people against each other, storylines.”

– Lesnar said what’s been fun about returning to WWE this time is his storyline with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman.

– Lesnar said the ponytail he has started as a joke. His kids were cutting his hair and bet that he wouldn’t wear a ponytail. Lesnar said that he would.

– To end his appearance, Lesnar vowed to kick ass in the Elimination Chamber and become WWE Champion:

Lesnar is set to appear on tonight’s Elimination Chamber go-home edition of Raw. He’ll be one of the six wrestlers in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship at this Saturday’s pay-per-view. Bobby Lashley is defending his title against Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Austin Theory, Riddle, and AJ Styles.

It’s already been announced that Lesnar will challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38 this April. If Lesnar wins the WWE Championship on Saturday, it will be title vs. title when he faces Reigns at WrestleMania.

WWE’s Michael Cole dealing with 65 percent hearing loss

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE’s Michael Cole revealed today on The Pat McAfee Show that he is dealing with 65 percent hearing loss. 

The revelation came after a commercial break on the program. Co-host AJ Hawk asked Cole’s SmackDown broadcast partner what the two had discussed during the ad break. “Mike Cole’s deaf, so he can’t hear a f—ing thing we say,” said McAfee. 

Cole confirmed the fact. “I’ve said three words to him in the three commercial breaks,” said Cole. “That is true, I’m actually, like, 65 percent hearing loss.”

Cole went on to explain how he is able to continue doing his job as WWE’s lead play-by-play announcer. 

“They make these special in-ear pieces that go underneath my headsets on-air so I can actually hear,” Cole said. 

McAfee commended his broadcast partner for his dedication to WWE. 

“I’m like, man, I appreciate your commitment to the entertainment, because that’s 100 percent because of you having a headset on for 25 years,” McAfee said. 

Cole sat in for all three hours of the McAfee Show today. He discussed his role as lead WWE announcer, plus commented on the sports news of the day.  A video replay of the show is available below. The section where Cole discusses his hearing loss begins at 1:48:36.

McAfee tests negative for COVID, set to return to WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

Following his bout with COVID-19, Pat McAfee will be back on commentary for this week’s SmackDown.

McAfee announced on Sunday that he’s now testing negative for COVID-19. Michael Cole said on this past Friday’s SmackDown that McAfee was feeling much better and would be returning for this week’s SmackDown at Madison Square Garden.

Despite being fully vaccinated, McAfee tested positive for COVID-19 on August 25.

McAfee had to miss the past two weeks of SmackDown episodes after testing positive. Corey Graves and Kevin Owens joined Cole on commentary the first week, with Graves also filling in for McAfee the second week.

Here’s what’s been announced for this Friday’s SmackDown at Madison Square Garden:

  • Brock Lesnar appears
  • Edge vs. Seth Rollins
  • A contract signing for Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair’s SmackDown Women’s Championship match at Extreme Rules

John Cena is set for Friday’s SmackDown, but WWE hasn’t announced that he’ll be appearing on television. He’s advertised to team with The Street Profits against Roman Reigns & The Usos in a dark match. It’s also advertised that there will be Raw wrestlers appearing at the show.

WWE commentator Pat McAfee tests positive for COVID-19

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Pat McAfee has revealed he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Calling into his show today, McAfee said that he had a fever of 104.5 degrees. Despite being fully vaccinated, he tested positive after the show had ended.

“Fully Vax’d. Very Positive,” he wrote on social media. “[Out] Indefinitely. It’s miserable but thankful that my wife and the boys at the office all took tests and they are all negative. This is obviously a sign from the universe, probably telling me that I stink & to stay home for a while. I’ll see yinz.”

McAfee has been part of the SmackDown announce team since April of this year. He appeared on last week’s episode and also was on announcing duties during SummerSlam this past Saturday.

This week’s SmackDown will take place at the Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Both Becky Lynch and Brock Lesnar, who made their returns at SummerSlam, have been advertised for the show.

Pat McAfee critiques WWE SmackDown commentary debut

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

On Monday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, new SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee assessed his first performance as a member of the show’s commentary team:

I do not think I was anywhere near where I can get to as a commentator for professional wrestling. I used a lot of the words a couple times over and over. I was scared to have too much bass in my voice ’cause I didn’t want people to think I was trying to dominate the call or anything like that, but sometimes I sounded a little bit too soft. The standing — natural instinct was for me to stand when something happened. I guess a lot of people didn’t enjoy that. I appreciate that because that was potentially something that could get me into some sh*t. A lot of people say like ‘oh, you need to stay so we can.’ The clip of us coming back to the two shot of me standing [and] him sitting and me kind of being caught in a situation where I’m like, ‘Well I don’t know if I should stand or sit right now.’ That was one of those kind of ad-libbed moments that pop up that is incredible. I had a blast. I think I stunk, but I have a chance to get better. I enjoyed it. I’m very thankful to all the people at the WWE and to anybody that happened to tune in.

It was announced last Friday that McAfee was joining the SmackDown commentary team and would be calling the show with Michael Cole going forward. McAfee said on his radio show today that the announcement was originally supposed to be made last Thursday night, but it was delayed due to something that happened in WWE that made it feel like announcing the news then wasn’t the right move. Ten wrestlers were released by WWE last Thursday.

When asked how interacting with Vince McMahon went, McAfee noted that McMahon wasn’t at SmackDown last Friday.

McAfee, a sports media star and former NFL All-Pro punter, first appeared for WWE as an NXT TakeOver pre-show panelist in 2018. McAfee has wrestled for NXT twice, facing Adam Cole at TakeOver XXX last August and teaming with Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch in a WarGames match against Undisputed Era (Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) at TakeOver: WarGames last December.

McAfee’s debut as a member of the SmackDown broadcast team was the second time he’s done commentary for the show. With WWE personnel stuck in Saudi Arabia following Crown Jewel 2019, McAfee made an appearance on SmackDown and did commentary.

Pat McAfee joins WWE SmackDown commentary team

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

Sports media star and 2020 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Rookie of the Year award winner Pat McAfee has joined the SmackDown commentary team.

It was announced on Friday morning that McAfee will make his debut as a member of the SmackDown commentary team tonight. He’ll be calling the show with Michael Cole going forward.

Cole and Corey Graves had been the SmackDown commentary team since the show debuted on Fox in October 2019. Graves has switched brands and is now on the Raw commentary team with Adnan Virk and Byron Saxton.

“For as long as I can remember WWE has been a company that I have admired, both for its incredible staying power of creating riveting entertainment and for its ability to connect people all over the globe,” McAfee said. “I’ve been fortunate to try a lot of cool professions but working for WWE was the one I looked forward to most. I am incredibly honored and grateful for the chance to give back to the business that has given me and many others so much and having the opportunity to sit at the same table that legends have graced is truly a dream come true. Now let’s go get it.”

McAfee, a former NFL All-Pro punter for the Indianapolis Colts, first appeared for WWE as an NXT pre-show panelist in 2018. He signed a multi-year deal with WWE in 2019.

McAfee has wrestled twice for NXT. He made his in-ring debut by facing Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver XXX in August of last year. At TakeOver: WarGames in December, McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch faced Undisputed Era (Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) in a WarGames match.

McAfee has done commentary for SmackDown once before. With WWE personnel and much of the roster stuck in Saudi Arabia following Crown Jewel in 2019, McAfee was part of the commentary team for the November 1, 2019 episode of SmackDown.

Tonight’s SmackDown will be the first episode of the show since WrestleMania 37. SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode will defend their titles against The Street Profits on the episode. Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs. Chad Gable & Otis has also been announced for the show.

Daily Update: Pat McAfee, AEW notes, Xplosion

Posted on by Bryan Rose

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WON NEWSLETTER: March 1, 2021 Observer Newsletter: 2020 Awards Issue, Elimination Chamber

The biggest and most-talked about issue of the year, the 2020 awards issue, is out today.  The issue covers the awards winners as voted on by the readership in these categories.  It also has all the top place winners for every category, comments on the awards for this year as well as a listing dating back to 1980 of all the awards winners in all the different categories.

We also have the performer and match of the week.

WWE Elimination Chamber show, with notes on direction, business, interest level, poll results and star ratings.

Also in this issue:

The new television war in Canada on Wednesday, how the first week went and what to look for, details on the WWE’s A&E Documentaries, who is being covered and more, reaction to Undertaker’s comments about current wrestlers being soft, migration of WWE Network to Peacock, Sasha Banks talks wanting to quit a few years ago, WWE business approaches, how WWE & AEW are doing as compared to televised sports this past week, Bill Goldberg on TV, notes on lots of new signees and are starting in camp including some not revealed yet, new WWE Network event, update on the Vince McMahon/Oliver Luck legal case, Ric Flair on why he doesn’t talk to the other Horsemen, Arn Anderson talks why a major international star flopped in WWE, WWE wins awards, the current WWE market value and the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.

This past week’s UFC show, the background, how it affects fighters going forward, and details behind the late changes in the show.

Television ratings of the past week, including segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown and more.

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].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

Other Wrestling

  • Pat McAfee responded to Cody Rhodes saying that McAfee was trying to get into AEW, saying “That is not true. I’ve actually talked about retirement more than contemplating going to AEW.” He said that he has had some spats with AEW talent like Miro and Shaq, but has not been trying to get a job. “I have enough jobs at this point,” he added.
  • Dave Meltzer has confirmed that tonight’s Dynamite is officially sold out.
  • Here is the pre-show for tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
  • PWInsider reported that Xplosion, their long-running secondary show that has been airing since November 2002, has been put on extended hiatus. The decision had been made to focus on their new show Before the Impact, which also has exclusive matches and airs prior to Impact. Xplosion had recently been airing on Impact Plus and on other international outlets.
  • The Countdown to AEW Revolution special will air on TNT immediately after tonight’s Dynamite. In Canada, it will air on the TSN app and website after the show.
  • Paul Wight has a new shirt out ahead of his AEW debut tonight.
  • Kenny Omega spoke to Sports Illustrated on the exploding barbed wire deathmatch set to take place at Revolution.
  • Jon Moxley spoke to Metro UK about some of his favorite matches.
  • Dante Martin of Top Flight turns 20 today.
  • Joey Ryan has dropped a case against one of his accusers after being awarded a default judgement.
  • This week’s edition of Aces High looks at Tanahashi’s month-long excursion to Mexico in 2005.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Sting wins TNA World title

CONTACT INFORMATION

Cody Rhodes AEW media call: Pat McAfee, NXT moving, new shows

Posted on by Josh Nason

Prior to Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite and Sunday’s Revolution pay-per-view, EVP and in-ring talent Cody Rhodes spoke to the media for nearly an hour, dropping a few interesting quotes along the way.

You can listen to the full audio for free by clicking the red button down below.

Perhaps most notable was when answering a question about Shaquille O’Neal and Pat McAfee exchanging tweets about how good their individual in-ring efforts would compare, Rhodes said that was weird because McAfee was contacting AEW every other day in looking for a job. McAfee tweeted at Rhodes and said he’s actually been contemplating retirement.

He was also asked about our report that NXT is close to a deal on moving to Tuesdays. He quipped whether he should make a similar statement to what WWE did when AEW launched. He said the locker rooms like each other and that it’s usually management who has the issues. He would love for them to be alone on Wednesdays, but expects something else could be there instead.

Rhodes said there is a name (which he loves) for the new AEW TNT show and that it is coming in 2021, that he feels Sting could work a regular match and that we likely haven’t seen the last of Maki Itoh in an AEW ring. 

He also discussed Paul Wight’s signing and what he brings to the table, Red Velvet hopefully getting a full time contract after tonight, tournaments, how the Norcross tapings helped save the company, Elevation, another new show featuring AEW talent, and plenty more.

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Undisputed Era vs. Team McAfee set for NXT TakeOver: WarGames

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The Undisputed Era are officially set to face off with Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch in WarGames.

After tonight’s episode of NXT went off the air, WWE uploaded a video with NXT general manager William Regal announcing that Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) will face McAfee, Dunne, Lorcan & Burch in a WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames next month. The event is taking place on Sunday, December 6.

Tonight’s NXT ended with Undisputed Era making their return and brawling with McAfee, Dunne, Lorcan, and Burch. All four members of Undisputed Era had been attacked by McAfee and his associates in recent weeks.

In the main event segment of tonight’s NXT episode, NXT Champion Finn Balor made his return for the first time since undergoing surgery for a broken jaw last month. McAfee, Dunne, Lorcan, and Burch interrupted Balor and surrounded him. Balor said it’s easy for the mice to play while the cat’s away, but the cat is back and look what he’s just dragged in. The lights then went out and Undisputed Era appeared. They brawled with McAfee, Dunne, Lorcan, and Burch as the show went off the air.

WarGames will be McAfee’s second-ever professional wrestling match. The former All-Pro NFL punter made his in-ring debut in a loss to Cole at NXT TakeOver XXX this August.

Undisputed Era have been part of every men’s WarGames match that has taken place in NXT. TakeOver: WarGames has been held annually since 2017.

This is the second WarGames match that’s been announced for next month’s TakeOver event. Shotzi Blackheart and Candice LeRae will be the captains of the two teams in this year’s women’s WarGames match.