With some announcements being made today, we now have a better idea of what the WWE Network’s one-hour Starrcade 2018 special is going to look like.
WWE announced today that the special will feature AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe in a steel cage match, a segment where Elias will perform with Ric Flair, and Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon & Dana Brooke vs. Nia Jax, Tamina, Alicia Fox & Mickie James in an eight-woman tag match. The special will also include a Miz TV segment with United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Rey Mysterio.
Starrcade 2018 is being held at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio tonight. It won’t air live, but the one-hour special will premiere on the WWE Network at 8 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow (Sunday, November 25).
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against Dean Ambrose in a steel cage match, Nakamura defending the US title against Mysterio, Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka, SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against The New Day, Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre, and The Miz vs. Rusev (w/ Lana) are also being advertised by the U.S. Bank Arena for tonight’s Starrcade event, though Dave Meltzer reported that WWE has said Miz vs. Rusev is no longer on the show since Miz will be in the Miz TV segment.
It appears that a portion of this year’s Starrcade event will be airing on the WWE Network in some form.
The WWE Network schedule lists that a one-hour “WWE Starrcade 2018 special” will air at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, November 25. That’s the day after the event takes place at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The brief description for the special is: “Catch all your favorite Superstars competing at WWE Starrcade, a special event where both the Raw and SmackDown brands collide.”
This is the second straight year that WWE has used the Starrcade name for a live event. It was brought back for a SmackDown-brand house show in Greensboro, North Carolina during Thanksgiving weekend in 2017, with Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson, and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express also making appearances in Greensboro for the event.
Here’s what’s currently being advertised for Starrcade 2018:
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against Dean Ambrose in a street fight
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe in a steel cage match
United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defending against Rey Mysterio
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against The New Day
Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre
The Miz vs. Rusev (w/ Lana)
A “special concert” with Ric Flair joining Elias
Appearances by Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Dolph Ziggler
An incredible amount of devotion from all involved resulted in WWE’s first all-women’s pay-per-view being a special night and a strong contender for the company’s best show of the year. Evolution wasn’t just an event that was worthy of its place in history — it elevated it. The wrestlers who competed in the ring, everyone involved with putting the PPV together, and the fans in attendance all worked in unison to make Evolution a show that exceeded all reasonable expectations.
A look behind-the-scenes at the decisions regarding Crown Jewel as the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the decision making process, how the last week went down, why the show almost didn’t happen, negative media reaction, why WWE can survive negativity more now than in the past, what happened with John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Hulk Hogan, different plans thrown out for Bryan vs. A.J. Styles and why they didn’t happen, decisions changed regarding promotion of Hogan’s return, Renee Young going, Glenn Jacobs situation, and how many ideas changed. We also look at plans for Survivor Series and TLC shows.
We’ve also got full coverage of WWE Evolution with notes on the business, notes on mainstream interest, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and a well as poll results from the show.
Also go in-depth on WWE business. We look at where the declines took place that led to the stock falling, and what is and isn’t significant about them. We look at the network numbers and compare the post-WrestleMania drop with last year. We also look at projections by the company for the fourth quarter drop in network subscribers. We also go in depth on the fallacy of how people view wrestling, as well as how Raw and Smackdown have held up compared to other USA Network programming as well as cable in general.
Examine the look at the house show business, including Vince McMahon’s comments on the decline, as well a breakdown on the merchandise business, NXT ticket sales and full 2018 attendance numbers for the main brands and for NXT.
A look at WrestleMania tickets, WWE content production, a Roman Reigns story, more on Reigns’ diagnosis, the WWE/Evolve relationship, changes to Evolve through usage of WWE talent, plans for the next Takeover show, injury updates. the plight of Sean O’Haire in WWE, Matt Hardy TV show, house show changes after angle changes, WWE performer dating NBA star, thoughts on the semifinals of the Mae Young Classic, as well as there most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
Details on all the WWE and NXT weekend live events, with results, highlights and business notes.
We look at Kevin Kay and his role in saving UFC and the rise of UFC, as well as in the pro wrestling genre. We look at the history of Spike TV with pro wrestling, UFC, and Bellator.
A run down UFC’s show this past week and the delve into the business aspects of that show, coverage of AAA’s Heroes Inmoratles show, with match-by-match coverage and who is to watch going forward. We also have full coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows,the key demos for the WWE shows and what can be learned from them.
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 Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
The Saudi Arabia General Sports Authority on Twitter has short interviews with Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley talking about Crown Jewel and meeting WWE fans in Saudi Arabia.
PWInsider noted that Lio Rush made the trip to Saudi Arabia with the WWE roster (with Bobby Lashley wrestling in the World Cup tournament) and that a contingent of WWE wrestlers are having dinner with representatives from Saudi Arabia tonight.
This week’s Hidden Gems on the WWE Network feature two D-Generation X matches. One is a match pitting Triple H & Shawn Michaels against The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin from November 15, 1997 and another Triple H & Shawn Michaels tag match, this time against Legacy in a steel cage from September 4, 2009.
Total Divas last night drew 385,000 viewers on the E! Network, down from last week’s 390,000 viewers. It ranked #40 for the night.
WWE’s YouTube page uploaded a video with Kassius Ohno “welcoming” Matt Riddle and Keith Lee to NXT.
WWE posted a slideshow featuring behind the scenes photos from Evolution.
Ronda Rousey placed first in this year’s Pro Wrestling Illustrated Women’s 100 list. The rest of the top ten (in order) are Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, Io Shirai, Asuka, Shayna Baszler, Carmella, Nia Jax, Mayu Iwatani (Stardom) and Kairi Sane.
Nia Jax spoke to Al Jazeera about breaking stereotypes and embracing her body as she started to train in the WWE.
Seth Rollins defending the Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose in a street fight is now listed on the card for WWE’s Starrcade house show in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 24. Braun Strowman vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in a handicap match is also now currently advertised.
CHIKARA has joined the Powerbomb.TV lineup and has uploaded a number of events. Hallowicked has issued a challenge to Tracy Williams, their Independent champion.
DDT/TJPW star Yuu will be leaving the company to work overseas. Her last show for Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling will be on 12/1.
UFC/MMA
Conor McGregor has settled a lawsuit between him and a security guard that was injured during the UFC 202 press conference brawl. The security guard was allegedly hit in the back by one of Conor McGregor’s Monster Energy drinks during the brawl between McGregor and Nate Diaz.
MMAFighting obtained police body cam footage of Stephan Bonnar being arrested for a DUI. He was arrested back on 10/28 and is scheduled to appear in court on 11/26.
Daniel Cormier talked to FloCombat about what match he would like to take after the Derrick Lewis fight this Saturday. While he realizes that the Brock Lesnar fight is the bigger of the two fights, he wants Jones. “It’s crazy that people say me and Lesnar would be a mega fight when the reality is the mega fight is Jones and I,” he said. “We’re the two greatest fighters of all time and we fight each other. It’s so easy to say, ‘This guy’s one of the greatest and this guy’s one of the greatest,’ but they never fight each other. Jones and I may be the two best fighters in the history of the sport. That should be the mega fight. Unfortunately, it will not net me the money that I would make fighting Brock Lesnar.”
Dana White told TMZ Sports that Khabib Nurmagomedov’s next fight will likely be against Tony Ferguson, saying that Ferguson never lost the title. He also said it was 70% likely that they and Floyd Mayweather would sign together for a future fight in the UFC.
White will also be filming his Lookin’ For A Fight show at a Island Fights event on 12/21.
The third and fourth episodes of UFC 230 Embedded are now up.
Sijara Eubanks talked to MMAJunkie about her goal of becoming the UFC flyweight champion.
WWE will again be holding a Starrcade event during Thanksgiving weekend.
The U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio announced this morning that they’ll be hosting WWE Starrcade 2018 on Saturday, November 24. Whether or not the event will be an un-televised house show like last year wasn’t officially announced, but it will be taking place less than a week after Survivor Series.
The show will include wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown and an appearance by Ric Flair. While the card is subject to change, here are the matches that are listed:
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in a Cincinnati Street Fight
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Samoa Joe in a steel cage match
SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Charlotte Flair in a steel cage match
United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defending against Rusev (w/ Lana)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defending against Cesaro & Sheamus
A performance with Elias and Ric Flair
Finn Balor, Alexa Bliss, and Kevin Owens are also advertised.
For the first time since the end of WCW, WWE brought back the Starrcade name for a house show at the Greensboro Coliseum last year. It featured Styles vs. Jinder Mahal and Charlotte vs. Natalya in steel cage matches and appearances by Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson, and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express.
Wrestling Observer Live with Mike Sempervive is back for MOTHERSHIP Sunday. We touch on the many events that took place over the weekend, including Starrcade, WrestleCade, Gastelum-Bisping, AAW, WAZZUP (FilthyCade), NOAH, Kane weighs in on Tennessee’s head football coaching position, your calls, tweets, and more. A fun show, as always, so check it out~!
If you’re not a subscriber, it’s time to change that with the sitewide Cyber Monday sale! For just $3.99, you can get a full month of access to our full array of newsletters and audio shows just like this one, Wrestling Observer Radio, Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan & Vinny, and more. After the first month, it’s just $10.99 per month or $9.99 per month if you pay up front for a year.
Following his first appearance on WWE television since his health scare, Ric Flair will be part of the company’s Starrcade house show later this month.
WWE confirmed today that Flair would be appearing at Starrcade in Greensboro, North Carolina on November 25th. The event is the first time WWE has used the Starrcade name since acquiring WCW in 2001 and the first time the Greensboro Coliseum has hosted the show since 1986, though there aren’t any plans for it to air on the WWE Network.
Flair returned to TV to celebrate Charlotte’s Women’s title win with her on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown. In a nod to Flair’s steel cage match against Harley Race at the first Starrcade, Charlotte will defend her title against Natalya and Jinder Mahal will challenge for AJ Styles’ WWE Championship in a double steel cage main event in Greensboro.
Dustin Rhodes, who is listed under that name, is scheduled to face Dash Wilder as well.
Here’s the updated card for Starrcade:
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Jinder Mahal in a steel cage match
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defending against Natalya in a steel cage match
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defending against The New Day, Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, and Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a fatal four-way match
United States Champion Baron Corbin defending against Shinsuke Nakamura
Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler
Dustin Rhodes vs. Dash Wilder
Appearances by Ric Flair, The Hardys, Ricky Steamboat, and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express
Though details are still sparse, WWE is reviving the Starrcade name for a SmackDown live event during Thanksgiving weekend.
The Greensboro Coliseum announced today that they would be hosting WWE Starrcade on November 25th, which would be the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The venue at least partially hosted the first four Starrcade events from 1983-1986, with the shows in 1985 and 1986 being split between the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina and The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia.
WWE has yet to indicate whether the show will air on the Network, but the timing of it would place Starrcade less than a week after Survivor Series and 22 days before SmackDown’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
A tentative card for the show was also listed by the venue, including two steel cage matches and appearances by The Hardys, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, and Ricky Steamboat:
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defending against Shinsuke Nakamura in a steel cage match
SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya defending against Charlotte Flair in a steel cage match
United States Champion AJ Styles defending against Baron Corbin and Rusev
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defending against The Usos in a tornado tag match
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler
Pro Wrestling Sheet had reported yesterday that WWE was considering reviving WCW show names for upcoming live events/specials.
The idea to turn WCW around is—the same idea Eric Bischoff came up with that helped turn WCW around three-and-a-half years ago.
The most important thing about the revival of the NWO with Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett, all holding the major WCW title belts, as the final act of the 12/20 Nitro in Baltimore is not whether it was just copying something from the past. Of course it was nothing original, but the object of wrestling is not originality.
The important question is whether or not it will work. The answer to that question should be obvious in weeks, not months, but if you’re looking at TV ratings this time for your answers as most everyone will, you’re about to be greatly misled.
The subject of Vince Russo as WCW booker/writer has been a polarizing issue, both inside and outside of the company. It’s basically come down to two arguments. His detractors point to the ratings not improving, falling last week to the second lowest mark in years, and use that as the argument that his new concepts of what wrestling is aren’t working. His defenders claim it took six months to turn the WWF ratings around, and it’ll take six months to turn WCW ratings around, and blame TNT standards and practices for nixing basically irrelevant wording and angles as to the excuse on why they’ve started a decline in recent weeks. There have been people internally complaining to Bill Busch that the new concept of wrestling without wrestling isn’t working and isn’t going to work, and Busch’s reaction has been that they have six months to one year to make it work because anything less would be unfair. There have been people complaining that it’s too inside for the casual fan and that’s why the ratings aren’t moving, or that they’re only perpetuated WCW’s image as the company filled with past-their-prime wrestlers by importing a new crew of retired wrestlers while not seriously pushing one wrestler under 30. But both sides largely miss the boat by basing the entire worth of everything on the ratings.
