A new premiere date is set for WWE’s Broken Skull Sessions episode with Kevin Nash.
The Broken Skull Sessions episode with Steve Austin interviewing Nash is now listed among this week’s Peacock/WWE Network additions. It will premiere on Sunday, July 18, which is the day of WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
The Broken Skull Sessions episode was originally scheduled to premiere on July 11 but was pulled from the schedule before it aired. It was going to be part of “nWo Week,” with content on Peacock/WWE Network and across WWE’s social media platforms celebrating the 25th anniversary of the nWo’s formation.
This was the second time this month that new Peacock/WWE Network content was pulled from the schedule. A WWE Icons documentary on Lex Luger was set to debut on July 4 before it was pulled. A new premiere date for the documentary has yet to be announced.
The most recent Broken Skull Sessions episode prior to this premiered last month and featured Mick Foley as the guest. The Undertaker, Goldberg, Kane, Big Show, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Mark Henry, Jerry Lawler, Kurt Angle, Drew McIntyre, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and The Godfather have also been guests on the show in the past.
Steve Austin will interview Kevin Nash on the next episode of Broken Skull Sessions.
WWE Network News reported on Friday that a new Broken Skull Sessions episode with Nash as the guest will premiere on Sunday, July 11. It will be available on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network everywhere else.
Here’s the description for the episode:
Steve Austin and two-time WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash discuss everything from ‘Big Daddy Cool’ and The Kliq to The nWo and the Monday Night War, as well as never-before-heard road stories.
The most recent episode of Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions prior to this premiered last month and featured Mick Foley as the guest.
The Undertaker, Goldberg, Kane, Big Show, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Mark Henry, Jerry Lawler, Kurt Angle, Drew McIntyre, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, The Godfather, and Foley have been interviewed by Austin on past Broken Skull Sessions episodes. The Undertaker is the only guest who has been on the show twice.
Nash was also featured on Peacock/WWE Network programming when “WWE Untold: Two Dudes with Attitudes” debuted this May. It focused on Nash and Shawn Michaels’ team from the 1990s.
The next installment of the acclaimed docuseries takes you inside the life and career of The Total Package as he reaches the height of sports-entertainment success and overcomes deep, personal tragedy. From winning the World Heavyweight Title to traveling the country aboard The Lex Express, Luger reveals never-before-heard stories from his legendary career.
A new edition of WWE Icons: Revisited will also premiere alongside the WWE Icons episode. WWE wrote: “There will be even more Luger stories to hear afterward on Icons Revisited, hosted by Matt Camp and Ryan Pappolla and featuring interviews with the likes of Ric Flair and Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart.”
WWE Icons premiered this January with an episode focused on Yokozuna. There have since been episodes on Beth Phoenix and Rob Van Dam. There will also be a future episode on British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith.
This Fourth of July will be the 28th anniversary of Luger slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid.
– A pair of matches have been announced for the NXT UK episode that will air two weeks from today.
The Thursday, June 3 edition of NXT UK will feature Ilja Dragunov vs. Noam Dar and Rampage Brown vs. Joe Coffey. Brown vs. Coffey is a rematch from when Brown defeated Coffey this February.
On this week’s NXT UK, Dragunov appeared as the guest on Dar’s Supernova Sessions talk show. Dar mocked the anger issues that Dragunov has dealt with since losing to NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER last October. Dragunov said he’s not that person anymore but can still hurt Dar very, very badly. Dar claimed that Dragunov was scared of WALTER and is scared of him.
Brown defeated Coffey’s Gallus stablemate Wolfgang on this week’s NXT UK.
Nathan Frazer (formerly known as Ben Carter) vs. Sha Samuels has been set up for next Thursday’s NXT UK episode but hasn’t been officially announced.
– Two matches have also been announced for this Friday’s episode of 205 Live. Ikemen Jiro & August Grey will face The Bollywood Boyz in a tag team match, while Ari Sterling will take on Asher Hale in singles action.
Jiro (formerly known as Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio), Sterling (Alex Zayne), and Hale (Anthony Henry) are all recent additions to the 205 Live roster. Jiro made his 205 Live debut by teaming with Grey to defeat Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari two weeks ago. Sterling also debuted on that show, defeating Samir Singh of The Bollywood Boyz. Sterling lost to Nese on last week’s 205 Live.
Hale made his 205 Live debut by defeating Daivari last week.
– WWE has announced that a new limited-series event titled “The 50 Greatest Tag Teams” will premiere on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network everywhere else on Wednesday, June 2. It will be hosted by Breezango and will be narrated by WWE’s The Bump’s Matt Camp.
New episodes of The 50 Greatest Tag Teams will premiere every Wednesday leading into the final episode on Wednesday, June 30. The series “will count down WWE’s top tandems over the course of five episodes.”
“The series launch coincides with Tag Team Week, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the World Tag Team Championship taking place across WWE social channels May 31-June 6,” WWE wrote.
“The show is the second installment of The 50 Greatest series that premiered earlier this year. The first installment focused on WWE’s best female Superstars, a list topped by WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus.”
“WWE Evil” is described as “an entertaining ‘psychological exposé’ into the minds of the most diabolical antagonists in WWE history, and their impact on mainstream culture.” When the show will be premiering hasn’t been revealed.
“For every good guy, there has to be a bad one and @WWE has created some of the BEST bad guys (and ladies) in the history of entertainment,” Cena tweeted. “Excited to highlight those who made us boo, scream, and sometimes cry! WWE Evil on @peacockTV!”
Peacock is making new show announcements every day this week. This is the only WWE-related show that’s been announced thus far.
Peacock became the exclusive home of the WWE Network in the United States as part of a multi-year deal that was announced this January. The WWE Network officially launched on the NBCUniversal-owned streaming service in March.
A documentary on one of WWE’s most recognizable superfans is coming later this year.
WWE has announced that “Superfan: The Story of Vladimir” will premiere on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network everywhere else this summer. The documentary is focused on professional wrestling superfan Vladimir Abouzeide.
“The Story of Vladimir tells the life story of Vladimir Abouzeide, one of the most devoted and recognizable fans in WWE history, who came to Manhattan from Haiti as a child and quickly found his passion for living through the lens of sports-entertainment,” WWE wrote.
It was also announced tonight that WWE has named Vladimir as the company’s first-ever officially certified superfan. Vladimir was presented with the award by Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Stephanie McMahon while at WrestleMania 37 night one tonight. Levesque tweeted: “What better way to welcome back the @WWE Universe at #WrestleMania than naming Vladimir our first-ever officially-certified superfan!!!! @StephMcMahon”
The trailer for the Vladimir documentary is available to watch below:
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio. We talk about Chris Jericho being a guest on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions on Peacock.
We take a look at what WrestleMania 37 week entails, including all the content that will be on Peacock that week. We go over the AEW Dynamite and NXT ratings and look ahead to the two shows being on different nights after next week. We talk about Kota Ibushi’s title defense against Will Ospreay at Sakura Genesis.
Finally, we talk UFC news, the Olympic trials, and memories of WrestleMania weekend.
Peacock’s simulcast of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one won’t have commercial breaks.
On Friday’s pre-TakeOver: Stand & Deliver media call, Paul “Triple H” Levesque was asked about the logistics of producing a two-night event that’s airing on multiple platforms. Levesque said during his answer that there won’t be commercial breaks on Peacock’s feed for the live simulcast of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one. Night one of the event is taking place next Wednesday (April 7) and will be simulcast live on the USA Network and Peacock in the United States. Night two will be live on Peacock in the U.S. next Thursday (April 8). Outside of the U.S., both nights will be live on the WWE Network.
“In essence it’s almost like two TakeOvers happening within two days of each other,” Levesque said. “One being on USA — again, with potential commercial breaks. And also simulcast at the same point in time on Peacock where there won’t be those breaks. So you have to approach it differently,”
Levesque said the logistics with the night one simulcast is a process they’re working through and it will likely be a mild work in progress up until the start of the show.
Both nights of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver will have a pre-show starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The pre-shows will air on Peacock in the U.S. and the WWE Network everywhere else, along with airing on WWE’s social media platforms. The main cards will then start at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Here are the lineups for both nights of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver:
TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one —
NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai defends against Raquel Gonzalez
NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER defends against Tommaso Ciampa
Triple threat match for the vacant NXT Tag Team titles: MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) vs, The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde)
Gauntlet Eliminator match to determine NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano’s challenger for TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night two (Leon Ruff, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis, and LA Knight are the Gauntlet Eliminator participants)
Pete Dunne vs. Kushida
TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night two —
NXT Champion Finn Balor defends against Karrion Kross
Unsanctioned match: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Ladder match to determine undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion: Jordan Devlin vs. Santos Escobar
NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano defends against the winner of the Gauntlet Eliminator match from night one
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon defend against Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell
AEW star Chris Jericho is set to make his first appearance on WWE-produced programming since 2018.
WWE announced today that Jericho will be the next guest on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions. The episode will premiere on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network everywhere else on Sunday, April 11. It will air on the live stream following the second night of WrestleMania 37.
The WWE Network’s Twitter account had teased the announcement yesterday by posting a 24-hour Austin-themed countdown clock with audio from the countdown clock that was featured in Jericho’s WWE entrance music.
“I was having a beer one night after my Broken Skull Sessions interview with The Undertaker aired, and out of the blue, Chris Jericho reached out and said, ‘Man, that was a great interview,’” Austin said. “I sent him back a couple of those emojis, one of a beer mug and the other of an eagle, and then he called me right then and there.
“We got to talking. I’ve always respected the hell out of his career, and I’m glad they’re around — it gives the guys and girls in professional wrestling more places to work. I said, ‘I’d love to have you on the show.’ And he said he’d love to do it, so I checked with Vince about it.”
Austin told Sports Illustrated about Vince McMahon approving the interview with Jericho: “I texted Vince and said we had this badass idea about Jericho coming on the show. Vince goes, ‘It’s cool. Go ahead.’ But me and Vince don’t always do well with phones and texts and all that, so I texted one more time, ‘Are you sure it’s OK to have Chris Jericho on the show?’ Vince gave me the thumbs up, and Chris came out to do the show.”
Sports Illustrated noted that AEW’s Tony Khan also gave his approval for Jericho to appear on Broken Skull Sessions.
Austin has interviewed Undertaker, Goldberg, Kane, Big Show, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Mark Henry, Jerry Lawler, Kurt Angle, Drew McIntyre, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Randy Orton on past Broken Skull Sessions episodes, with The Undertaker appearing on the show twice.
Jericho had his final match for WWE at the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018. He joined AEW when the promotion launched in 2019.
On this coming Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, The Inner Circle (Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Santana, Ortiz, and Jake Hager) will appear live for the first time since MJF turned against them three weeks ago and formed his Pinnacle stable with Wardlow, FTR, Shawn Spears, and Tully Blanchard. The Inner Circle laid out The Pinnacle in a backstage angle on the most recent episode of Dynamite.
As previously reported, NBCUniversal has indeed been reviewing and editing WWE Network content as it moves over to the Peacock streaming service.
In a New York Times story about the changes, both NBCU and WWE made their public comments acknowledging the editing process that has raised the ire of some fans:
NBCUniversal: Like with other shows on the Peacock platform, “(we are) reviewing WWE content to ensure it aligns with Peacock’s standards and practices.”
WWE: “Peacock and WWE are reviewing all past content to ensure it fits our 2021 standards.”
Some of the more controversial content that has been removed already includes the Roddy Piper promo and match with Bad News Brown from WrestleMania VI where Piper appeared painted half in blackface and Vince McMahon using a racial slur during a backstage segment with John Cena, Booker T and Sharmell at the 2005 Survivor Series.
Peacock is continuing to add WWE content to its service with nearly all of the content currently available on WWE Network expected to be ported over by this August’s SummerSlam. In the U.S., the standalone version of WWE Network will cease to exist starting on April 4th as the big pre-WrestleMania push to get subscribers to add Peacock begins in earnest.
In January, WWE announced a five-year deal reportedly worth $1 billion for Peacock to be the exclusive U.S. home for the WWE Network.
WWE is now two weeks away from WrestleMania, and there is at least a semblance of a lineup of what will take place on what night.
The idea is for three-and-a-half to four hours shows on both 4/10 and 4/11 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. It will be the first WWE show with more than a few hundred fans in more than one year, and with the exception of 1/4 at the Tokyo Dome, the first pro wrestling shows of any kind with more than 10,000 fans in attendance.
Announced for the Saturday night show is a main event of Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE title, plus Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the Smackdown women’s title and The Miz vs. Bad Bunny.
The Sunday main event will be Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Edge for the Universal title (at this point it is announced as Reigns vs. Edge but that has been changed, and the change is expected to be announced after an angle on the 3/26 Smackdown show), Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley for the Raw women’s title and The Fiend vs. Randy Orton, likely in a stipulation match.
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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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.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Scheduled for 205 Live tonight is Bollywood Boyz vs. Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari and Ashante Thee Adonis vs. August Grey.
Andrade confirmed in a tweet that he does not have a 90-day no compete clause, writing on Twitter: “Start my new goals and we are in talks, no waiting for 90 days. A empezar mis nuevas metas y empezamos pláticas, nada de esperar 90 días!”
PWInsider is reporting that in addition to content being removed from Peacock’s version of WWE shows, the same edits are being applied to the shows on the WWE Network.
Sportskeeda spoke to Robert Roode. He told them that it was Paul Heyman that came up with the idea of putting him and Dolph Ziggler together as a tag team. “Well actually it was a Paul Heyman idea, to be honest with you that… I can speak for myself, that during that time period, I wasn’t really doing much,” he said. “You know? I was on the live events and I was coming to TV, but sometimes I’d do Main Event. You know, the Main Event tapings. Sometimes I get sprinkled in on RAW doing something, but a lot of times I wasn’t doing much. At the time, Paul had an idea to put Dolph and I together and he thought we’d be a great tag team.”
Daniel Bryan expressed interest in wrestling William Regal’s son Bailey Matthews, who has recently started in NXT UK. “If I could do a match ten years from now, and this is assuming that I’m still capable of doing it and that he progresses to a level like that, one of the things that I think would be really cool… William Regal’s son, Bailey Matthews,” he told Talksport when asked who he would like to wrestle in the future. “He just recently started on NXT UK. For his experience level, he’s doing really well.I loved being able to wrestle William Regal the times that I did in WWE, but I’m not sure people know how much he has affected my career. He has affected it so much. What he’s given to me and he’s never asked for anything from me.”
Big E spoke to Uproxx about the creation of his project Our Heroes Rock, as well as evolving his WWE character.
ROH World Champion Rush spoke to Sports Illustrated ahead of tonight’s 19th Anniversary show. Speaking about Andrade, Rush said “Andrade is one of the greatest in all of the world. People know we are friends, and everyone wants to know about our recent conversations. La Facción Ingobernable is full of surprises. In the future, in the next few months, people will see that.”
Chris Bey wrote on Twitter that he isn’t cleared to compete currently: “Struggle is only a minor setback. Not cleared to compete. Cleared to rebuild.”
Impact announced that their ‘Wrestle Week’ block will return to AXS TV starting on April 20, with:
Impact in 60: Title vs. Title on April 20 at 8 pm ET, followed by This Is Rebellion, a look at the build for the show, at 9:00 pm
The final Impact prior to Rebellion will be on April 22. Following Impact, the Good Brothers will host an episode of Bad A$$ Movies With The Good Brothers at 8 pm ET, where they will screen the 1979 movie Meatballs.
April 25 will close out the week with the broadcast premiere of this year’s Hard to Kill at 3 pm ET.
Peacock is reviewing the entire WWE Network video library and removing content that does not align with its standards and practices. That information comes via a report from The Hollywood Reporter.
THR cites sources that say that Peacock is reviewing all WWE content in its archive and making WWE aware of any editing.
THR specifically states that Peacock has removed “Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. Bad News Brown from WrestleMania VI, where Piper appeared in half-blackface, as PW Insider first reported. The other specific segment mentioned in the article as being edited out comes from Survivor Series 2005, where Vince McMahon used the n-word in a backstage segment with John Cena and Booker T.
News broke on Monday, January 25 that WWE and NBCUniversal had reached a deal where WWE would license the WWE Network to Peacock in the United States for five years and a reported $1 billion.
Last Sunday’s Fastlane PPV was the first of the Peacock era, but was still simulcast on WWE Network, which will remain a standalone service in the United States until April 4.
A look at how WrestleMania tickets, the COVID situation, UFC running Jacksonville all tie together is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer.
We look at WWE’s attendance goals, foreign attendance, ticket prices, Super Bowl COVID spreading, Spring break, the WrestleMania card updated, Dana White’s decision to run a full house indoor show, his planned big card, why so many people UFC fighters have gotten COVID than wrestlers, as well as a look at the most recent COVID outbreak in NXT.
Also in this issue:
New Japan Cup with coverage of all the shows of this past week, with results, notes and star ratings for all the Cup matches.
WWE’s move to Peacock and the functions, Eric Bischoff Hall of Fame story, Charlotte Flair movie starring role, Tyson Fury vs. Drew McIntyre, WWE Network gift cards, how WWE & AEW did against sports programming this past week, Canadian WWE ratings, Danny Burch injury, new WWE signees, A&E schedule for WWE programming, UFC star talks going to WWE, WWE market value, most-watched shows on WWE Network and Paul Weight talks how WWE nixed his business idea.
Saturday’s UFC show, with the stories from the fight, future direction as well as match-by-match coverage.
A story that isn’t there now, but based on things being worked on that will greatly change all combat sports as well as pro wrestling and look at what changes can and can’t be done.
A major feature on Buddy Colt, one of the biggest pro wrestling stars of the 1970s, who passed away last week. We look at his career, his similarities with an all-time legend and the plane crash that led to the end of his in-ring career. We go into detail on the crash, the injuries he and the others had, his thoughts on the business, his interaction with Muhammad Ali, his breaking in Brian Blair and what he taught him, the first interracial match in Georgia, the death of Eddie Graham and the end of Championship Wrestling from Florida and much more.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, we have how every segment on NXT and AEW did as well as how it did with different age groups, genders and more, plus a look at all other wrestling shows of the past week.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
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.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
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
Some WWE content on Peacock has been edited from their WWE Network versions. Most notably, a WrestleMania VI promo and match where Roddy Piper wore blackface for a match against Bad News Brown has been removed, as well as a Survivor Series 2005 segment where Vince McMahon used the n-word when talking to John Cena.
Mustafa Ali wrote on Twitter: “To clear some confusion, I am not getting surgery in the foreseeable future. I’ll be okay. Thanks.”
PWInsider is reporting that both WWE and Gabe Sapolsky have been removed from the Samantha Tavel lawsuit.
Young Rock on NBC last night scored 2,872,000 viewers, down from last week’s 2,955,000.
Lince Dorado announced that he was taking time off following the passing of his grandfather. “My grandpa has passed this morning,” he wrote on Twitter. “Thank you everyone who has reached out, shared, and donated. I’m devastated and will be taking time off to get my head straight. I love you pop!”
George Barrios, former co-President of WWE, is now a chairman of the board for Make-A-Wish.
Triple H commented on both The Great Khali and Kane entering the WWE Hall of Fame.
John Cena commented on Randy Orton’s recent episode of Broken Skull Sessions: I’ve known @RandyOrton for nearly two decades and have been vocal about his in-ring ability and natural talent. This was a great interview and an honest look at the man I know, hosted by @steveaustinBSR who has seen it all & done it all in @WWE. GREAT interview. @peacockTV”
A&E has released a trailer for their upcoming eight-part Biography event focusing on WWE legends that premieres on April 18. Those being profiled include Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Macho Man Randy Savage, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Ultimate Warrior, and Bret Hart.
Kross also spoke to DAZN on TakeOver, his return from shoulder surgery, and more.
The Los Angeles Times has a story on Bad Bunny wrestling The Miz at WrestleMania.
WWE has filed a trademark for “Swing is in The Air”.
The Undertaker turns 56 years old today.
Other Wrestling
Cody Rhodes wrote on Twitter that there will be a special announcement from The Nightmare Family tonight on Dynamite.
Impact’s Hardcore Justice event on April 10 will have a start time of 3 p.m. EST, meaning it will run prior to WrestleMania.
Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura (NOAH) vs. face Konosuke Takeshita and Yuki Ueno (DDT) is the first cross-promotion match announced for the Cyber Fight Festival event that will take place on June 6.
Canadian subscription service Crave has added the first three episodes of Dark Side of the Ring.
David Marquez wrote about a return timeline for the UWN Primetime Live series: “This is the question I hear the most, so here’s an update,” Marquez wrote on social media. “What we learned is a paywall does not work. No matter how inexpensive we think it may be for the public, it’s not going to be financially successful. I’m happy as a producer that we weren’t too much in the red but we definitely want to be in the black. So my team has been negotiating with broadcasters, streaming services and brands to cover the cost of the programming so you don’t have to pay to watch it. I can say we’re close to closing a deal and it’s my goal to be back on the air by this summer.”
Sting spoke to Bleacher Report on his street fight earlier this month at Revolution. “The cinematic was fun,” he said. “I would like to do more of those for sure, but I came out of it in shambles. It took its toll on me. It was two nights of filming and that was pretty tough. It can be taxing on the body especially at my age. It was 12 hours instead of being in the ring for 30-40 minutes. I love filming. I have done movies and TV, and I always have fun with that stuff. The tough part was all of the hours and the recovery time.”
Here is a clip featuring Britt Baker as a guest on this week’s Oral Sessions with Renee Young.
We have an update on what the technical capabilities are expected to be for WWE content on Peacock, particularly when it comes to live events.
The line in the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter about features like rewind/fast forward or the ability to start live programming at the beginning if you log in after the show starts not being available right now, and possibly never being available, is correct about right now, but the part about them possibly never being available is not the case according to sources at Peacock.
The features mentioned are not in play right now, but changes are expected to be made as time goes by.
Those at Peacock say that they anticipate making live pause, restart controls, and scrub bar previews available before SummerSlam.
Regarding search, entity-based discovery is on the product roadmap, and they are anticipating offering searching by the name of the performer by September.
The WWE Network launched on Peacock yesterday. Peacock will become the exclusive home of the WWE Network in the United States when the standalone WWE Network service ends for US viewers on Sunday, April 4.
WWE announced Monday that the WWE Network will launch on NBCU’s Peacock streaming service starting Thursday, March 18th with the standalone service ending on April 4th.
However, the automatic migration for current Network subscribers that was thought to be part of the move is not happening after all, confirming recent reports that said as much.
From the release:
“To continue streaming WWE Network content, fans will need to sign up for Peacock. As previously announced, WWE Network, including all PPVs, will be available on Peacock Premium for $4.99—a $5.00/month savings.” They are currently offering a special $2.50/month offer for the next four months while Comcast and Cox subscribers can get Peacock for free.
The WWE Network will remain active for U.S. subscribers through April 4th with April’s WrestleMania 37 fully exclusive on Peacock. It’s unclear whether an existing Network user signing up for Peacock will automatically cancel an existing WWE Network subscription or if an additional action is needed.
After signing up, Peacock streamers can access every PPV show from the last calendar year, every WrestleMania, the most recent/current episodes of Broken Skull Sessions, Chronicle and Icons, NXT the day after it airs on USA, both Raw and SmackDown episodes 30 days after they air live, WWE documentaries and more. The release said the entire WWE Network archive will be available on Peacock by this August’s SummerSlam.
The Verge reported Monday that match markers won’t be making the trip from the Network, but that Peacock is working on “visual scrub bar previews to help viewers find what they want when fast-forwarding through WWE videos.” Additionally, the search functionality won’t be as robust but that is expect to be improved through time.
Peacock’s free tier will also feature a WWE channel with select WWE original shows, reality TV shows like Total Bellas, recent in-ring content, and new episodes of Raw Talk and The Bump.
In late-January, WWE and NBCU announced the Network would move to Peacock in a deal rumored to be five years and more than $1 billion.
