Tag: Wwe Rivals

Premiere date revealed for new WWE LFG competition series

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s Sunday night programming block is returning to A&E in just under three weeks.

The programming block will resume on February 16 with the premiere of two new series and the return of a continuing one. The three-hour block will consist of:

  • 8:00 p.m.: WWE LFG (Legends & Future Greats)
  • 9:30 p.m.: WWE Rivals
  • 10:30 p.m. WWE’s Greatest Moments

LFG and Greatest Moments are both new additions to the WWE on A&E lineup. The LFG show is described as an “action-packed, competitive series” featuring 16 WWE prospects trying to earn a spot on NXT. Matches for the show have been taped prior to NXT episodes in recent months and feature recruits signed to the Performance Center.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Booker T, Mickie James, and Bubba Ray Dudley all have roles on LFG helping to guide talent.

“For the first time ever, viewers get an inside look at the grueling training process including intense in-ring matches and behind-the-scenes footage,” a press release said. “The participants receive world-class coaching from iconic WWE Legends such as Undertaker, Booker T, Mickie James, and Bubba Ray Dudley. In addition to the legendary coaches, a pair of WWE Hall of Famers – Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, WWE’s Chief Content Officer, and Shawn Michaels, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative – help guide the competitors as they earn points for their electrifying performances.”

WWE’s Greatest Moments is hosted by Michael Cole and features WWE wrestlers and legends looking back at iconic moments from company history.

“New series ‘WWE’s Greatest Moments’ offers fans a chance to count down the most iconic events in WWE history,” WWE and A&E wrote. “Hosted by legendary play-by-play announcer Michael Cole, each half-hour episode will feature WWE Superstars and Legends – including ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and more – sharing their personal memories from some of the most unforgettable moments in WWE history. The series will count down the most unforgettable moments from every era of SmackDown and Monday Night Raw to premium live events like Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. It will also explore legendary moments from Superstars like CM Punk and the groundbreaking factions of DX and NWO.”

Comedian Gabriel Iglesias is back as the host of WWE Rivals. Among the panelists who will join him for this new season are Cody Rhodes, Kevin Nash, Kevin Owens, and John Bradshaw Layfield. The rivalries that will be examined are Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior, Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T, Shawn Michaels vs. Scott Hall, Steve Austin vs. Undertaker, The Rock vs. Mick Foley, Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch, and more.

The programming partnership between WWE and A&E began in 2021 and has included other series like Biography: WWE Legends and WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, which are not part of this season.

WWE on A&E programming returning this April, new Rivals host named

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though the current run of episodes is set to wrap up this weekend, it won’t be long until WWE programming is back on A&E.

It was announced today that new episodes of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures and WWE Rivals will premiere on A&E this April. Most Wanted Treasures makes its return at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday, April 14. WWE Rivals is then back with new episodes the following week (Sunday, April 21). Rivals will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Most Wanted Treasures follows it at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

On Most Wanted Treasures, Booker T, Mick Foley, and Lita “travel across the country in search of priceless [memorabilia] pieces from WWE’s history.” Hulk Hogan, The Miz, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus, and more are set to appear on this season.

A press release said:

This season, viewers will be captivated by the star-studded journey to find artifacts from WCW, and the team will attempt to reclaim pieces of WWE history such as Dusty Rhodes’ polka dot gear, Triple H’s signature sledgehammer, items from The Ultimate Warrior’s illustrious career, and much more.

Rivals will have a new roundtable host for this run of episodes. Comedian Gabriel Iglesias is replacing Freddie Prinze Jr. in the role. Cody Rhodes, Natalya, Kevin Nash, and others are joining Iglesias to discuss some of the most iconic in-ring feuds in pro wrestling history.

There will be Rivals episodes focused on Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage, Steve Austin vs. Booker T, Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes, Triple H vs. Seth Rollins, John Cena vs. Batista, and Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock.

Additionally, Biography: WWE Legends is slated to return on Sunday, May 26. There will be documentaries on Mark Henry, Eddie Guerrero, The Miz, Ricky Steamboat, Rob Van Dam, Ted DiBiase, The Steiners, Trish Stratus, Becky Lynch, Paul Heyman, Steve Austin’s final match, and ECW.

The current season of Biography concludes this Sunday (March 31) with an episode on Roman Reigns. That night’s Rivals episode is focused on the Daniel Bryan vs. Miz feud.

New seasons of WWE Rivals & Biography: WWE Legends to premiere next month

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s Sunday night programming block on A&E is set to return next month.

A&E issued a press release on Wednesday announcing that WWE Rivals and Biography: WWE Legends will return with new seasons starting on Sunday, February 25. The programming block begins with Rivals at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Biography then follows it an hour later.

This is season three of WWE Rivals, which is hosted by actor and former WWE creative team member Freddie Prinze Jr. He leads a roundtable discussion of current and former WWE personalities discussing the most iconic rivalries in company history.

The first episode of the new season will focus on the rivalry between The Rock and Triple H. Other episodes in the season will cover Randy Savage vs. Jake Roberts, The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, John Cena vs. Randy Orton, The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian, and The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan.

Biography: WWE Legends is starting its fourth season. The season premiere will be a documentary on Randy Orton. Other episodes in the season will focus on Sgt. Slaughter, Scott Hall, Diamond Dallas Page, “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, and Roman Reigns.

The partnership between WWE and A&E was first announced in 2019. The programming block debuted in 2021.

WWE Rivals ratings up for Steve Austin episodes

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

With two episodes focused on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, WWE Rivals drew some of its best ratings in series history on Sunday night.

The first episode, highlighting the feud between Austin and Bret Hart, averaged 445,000 viewers on A&E. It aired one hour earlier than the show normally airs so comparisons to previous weeks aren’t fair, but it was the second most viewed episode of the series to date.

That episode finished 24th on the cable charts with a 0.15 rating in the 18-49 demo. That tied two other episodes for the highest rating in the history of the series. That’s despite heavy sports competition from the NBA and NHL playoffs on Sunday, as well as MLB on ESPN, all of which dominated the cable charts.

The second episode of Rivals, airing in its normal time slot, was focused on the Austin vs. Shawn Michaels feud. It held nearly the entire audience of the first episode, averaging 433,000 viewers. It was the fourth most viewed episode of Rivals to date.

The second episode of Rivals finished just behind the first at 25th on the cable charts with the same 0.15 rating in the 18-49 demo. That also tied previous episodes focused on Austin vs. The Rock and WWE vs. WCW for the best rating in series history.

Austin stars in a new series, titled Stone Cold Takes on America, that premieres on A&E this Sunday (April 30). That night will also feature the season two premiere of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures.

Listed below are all episodes of WWE Rivals to date with their overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings:

WWE on A&E ratings: Biography steady, Rivals down

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s episode of Biography: WWE Legends, focused on The Iron Shiek, averaged 452,000 viewers on A&E, down two percent from last week’s Dusty Rhodes documentary. It’s still the second-highest audience total for the show since March 5.

Biography finished 21st on the cable charts with a 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demo, identical to last week. That matches Biography’s best rating in the key demo since February 19.

WWE Rivals, directly following Biography on A&E, averaged 357,000 viewers for an episode dedicated to the Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper feud. That’s down 16.4 percent from last week and is the lowest viewership total for the show since March 19.

Rivals finished 26th on the cable charts with a 0.11 rating in 18-49. That’s down 21.4 percent from last week and ties the second-lowest rating of the current season. 

Both shows went head-to-head with an NBA playoff game on TNT that topped the cable charts with a 1.93 rating in 18-49 and averaged over five million viewers.

Listed below are the overall viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for each episode of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals that have aired to date:

WWE on A&E ratings up for Dusty Rhodes Biography

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s edition of Biography: WWE Legends, focused on Dusty Rhodes, averaged 461,000 viewers on A&E. That’s up 31 percent from two weeks ago when the series last aired.

It’s the best audience total for Biography: WWE Legends since March 5 and the third highest of the current season.

In the 18-49 demo, Biography finished 21st on the cable charts with a 0.14 rating, up 16.7 percent from two weeks ago. It’s the best rating for Biography since the season premiere on February 19.

WWE Rivals, highlighting the feud between The Undertaker and Randy Orton, aired immediately following Biography and averaged 427,000 viewers. That’s up 18 percent from two weeks ago and is the highest audience total for the show since the season premiere.

Rivals finished 20th on the cable charts with a 0.14 rating in 18-49. That’s the same rating as two weeks ago and ties the third highest number in the history of the series. It marks the third straight week that Rivals has finished ahead of Biography in 18-49, despite the later start time.

Listed below are the viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for each episode of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals since their debuts:

WWE on A&E ratings: Rivals outdraws Biography

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s WWE programming block on A&E had an unusual ratings pattern with the 10 p.m. airing of WWE Rivals, focused on the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar feud, drawing a higher audience total than either Biography documentary that preceded it.

The Rivals episode averaged 362,000 viewers, up 33.1 percent from last week. It’s the best audience total for the show since March 5. Of the 15 episodes of Rivals that have aired to date, this is the ninth-highest viewership total.

Rivals finished 20th on the cable charts with a 0.14 rating, up 27.3 percent from last week. It’s tied for the third-highest rating in the show’s history. 

The Biography: WWE Legends special on Charlotte Flair at 8 p.m. Eastern averaged 338,000 viewers, down 3.4 percent from last week’s episode on Jerry Lawler in the same time slot. The second episode highlighting the career of Yokozuna averaged 366,000 viewers, up 23.2 percent from last week’s Paige episode. The 352,000 average for the two hours was the second-lowest in the history of the show, ahead of only last week.

The Charlotte episode finished 27th on the cable charts with a 0.11 rating in the 18-49 demo, identical to last week in the same time slot. Yokozuna’s special finished 21st with a 0.13 rating, up 18.2 percent from the previous week. The 0.12 average for the two hours was the second lowest of the current season of Biography.

Listed below are the viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for all episodes of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals that have aired on A&E:

Biography: WWE Legends draws record low viewership

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s Biography: WWE Legends special on Jerry Lawler averaged 350,000 viewers on A&E. A second episode, focused on Paige, averaged 297,000 viewers airing immediately after. The 324,000 average for the two hours is down 15.4 percent from last week and both episodes had record low viewership numbers for the series.

The Lawler documentary finished 38th on the cable charts with a 0.11 rating in the 18-49 demo, while the Paige episode placed 39th with a 0.10 rating. That’s also down 15.4 percent from last week and is tied for the second-lowest 18-49 rating in the history of the series.

The programming block faced competition from NCAA March Madness and the World Baseball Classic on Sunday night.

WWE Rivals, highlighting the feud between Trish Stratus and Lita, averaged 271,000 viewers airing after the Paige biography. That’s down 5.9 percent from last week and is the second-lowest audience total the show has done to date.

Rivals actually finished ahead of the two Biography specials on the cable charts in 18-49, finishing 37th with a 0.11 rating. That’s up 22.2 percent from last week and ties the seventh-highest rating in the show’s history.

Listed below are the total viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for each episode of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals to date.

Biography: WWE Legends draws lowest viewership in series history

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s episode of Biography: WWE Legends, focused on Kane, averaged 383,000 viewers on A&E. That’s down 20.3 percent from last week and is the lowest viewership total of the 21 episodes that have aired in the series.

Biography finished 33rd on the cable charts with a 0.13 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 7.1 percent from last week but is the third-highest rating of the last seven episodes that have aired. 

The show went head-to-head with the Oscars on ABC, which averaged nearly 19 million viewers to top all of television.

WWE Rivals, highlighting the feud between Triple H and Batista, averaged 287,000 viewers immediately following Biography. That’s the second-lowest audience in the history of the show and is down 25.8 percent from last week. 

Rivals finished 53rd on the cable charts with a 0.09 rating in 18-49. That’s down 25 percent from last week and ties the third-lowest rating in series history.

Listed below are the overall viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for each episode of Rivals and Biography that have aired to date:

WWE on A&E ratings: Biography up, Rivals down

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s Biography: WWE Legends, focused on Chyna, averaged 481,000 viewers on A&E. That’s up 6.2 percent from last week and is the second-highest viewership total of the last seven airings of the show.

In the 18-49 demo, Biography finished 20th on the cable charts with a 0.14 rating. That’s up 16.7 percent from last week and is also the second-highest rating of the last seven episodes.

WWE Rivals, which aired on A&E immediately after Biography, averaged 387,000 viewers for the episode highlighting the feud between John Cena and The Rock. That’s down 8.1 percent from last week and is the lowest audience for the current season. 

Rivals finished 27th on the cable charts with a 0.12 rating in 18-49. That’s tied with last week for the fifth-highest rating in the history of the show.

Listed below are the overall viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for every episode of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals that have aired to date:

WWE on A&E ratings down, Rivals finishes ahead of Biography

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s episode of Biography: WWE Legends, focused on Jake “The Snake” Roberts, averaged 453,000 viewers on A&E. That’s down 8.5 percent from last week’s season premiere but is still tied for the second-highest viewership total of the last five episodes that have aired.

Biography finished 25th on the cable charts with a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 20 percent from last week but is also tied for the second highest of the last five airings of the show. 

WWE Rivals, which spotlighted the Undertaker vs Mankind feud, averaged 421,000 viewers airing immediately after Biography. That’s down 5.2 percent from last week and was the fifth-highest viewership in the history of the show. 

A notable aspect to this week’s ratings was that Rivals finished ahead of Biography in the 18-49 demo. Rivals ranked 23rd on the cable charts with the same 0.12 rating as Biography but with slightly more viewers in that category.

Rival’s was down 14.3 percent from last week in 18-49. It’s also the fifth-best rating in the history of the show.

Listed below are the overall viewership numbers and 18-49 demo ratings for each episode of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals to date:

WWE on A&E ratings up for Biography, Rivals season premieres

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s season premiere of Biography: WWE Legends, which was focused on the nWo, averaged 495,000 viewers on A&E. That’s up 28.6 percent from the final episode of last season and is the best viewership for the show since August 14 of last year.

In terms of viewership, the nWo Biography would have ranked fifth out of nine episodes last season.

Going head-to-head with the NBA All-Star Game, Biography finished 25th on the cable charts with a 0.15 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s more than double the season finale from last year and matches the best rating for the show since August 7.

Last year’s season of Biography averaged 496,000 viewers and a 0.13 rating in 18-49.

WWE Rivals, which aired on A&E after Biography, highlighting the feud between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, averaged 444,000 viewers. It’s the second-highest audience total in the history of the series.

Rivals finished 27th on the cable charts with a 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s the third-highest number in the show’s history and nearly tripled the rating that last season’s finale drew. Rivals averaged 370,000 viewers and a 0.11 in 18-49 over the first season.

Listed below are the viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for all episodes of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals to date:

WWE on A&E ratings down for season finale

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s Biography: WWE Legends documentary averaged 385,000 viewers on A&E, down 13.3 percent from last week. That’s the lowest audience an episode of the series has drawn to date.

The episode, which was focused on WrestleMania I, was the season two finale of Biography: WWE Legends.

In the 18-49 demo, Biography finished 52nd on the cable charts with a 0.07 rating. It’s down 41.7 percent from last week and is the first time the show has finished outside the top 50 for the night. It’s also the lowest rating in the history of the series.

There was heavy competition on the night, including Sunday Night Baseball, US Open Tennis, and HBO’s House of the Dragon. Biography also went against AEW’s All Out pay-per-view.

WWE Rivals, which follows Biography and was focused on the feud between Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella, also set series lows. The episode averaged 251,000 viewers and drew a 0.05 rating in 18-49. That’s down 20.6 percent and 44.4 percent respectively from last week. Rivals was 70th on the cable charts in 18-49.

WWE Smack Talk, airing at 11 p.m. Eastern following Rivals, averaged 163,000 viewers and drew a 0.04 rating in 18-49 to finish 80th on the cable charts. That’s down 8.9 percent in viewers but even in 18-49 as compared to last week.

Listed below are the viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for all episodes of A&E Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals to date. 

WWE on A&E ratings: Biography viewership down, demo up

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s episode of Biography: WWE Legends, which was focused on Rey Mysterio, averaged 444,000 viewers on A&E. That’s down two percent from last week and is the lowest audience for the show since July 31.

In the 18-49 demo, Biography finished 33rd on the cable charts with a 0.12 rating. That’s up 9.1 percent from last week but is tied for the third-lowest rating for the series to date.

In addition to the usual airing of Sunday Night Baseball, Biography also faced competition from the MTV Video Music Awards and HBO’s House of the Dragon.

WWE Rivals, which immediately followed Biography on A&E and highlighted the feud between Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, averaged 316,000 viewers. That’s up 3.9 percent from last week. Rivals finished 54th on the cable charts with a 0.09 rating in 18-49, which was up 12.5 percent from the previous week.

WWE Smack Talk, airing on A&E at 11 p.m. Eastern, averaged 179,000 viewers and drew a 0.05 in 18-49. That’s up slightly from the 144,000 viewers and 0.04 rating that the show did last week.

Listed below are the overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for each episode of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals to date.

WWE on A&E ratings down for Edge Biography

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s episode of Biography: WWE Legends focused on Edge averaged 453,000 viewers on A&E, down 23.7 percent from the previous week’s D-Generation X documentary. It’s the third-lowest audience total to date for the series.

In the 18-49 demo, Biography finished 34th on the cable charts with a 0.11 rating, down 26.7 percent from last week. It matches the lowest 18-49 rating in the show’s history.

There was stronger-than-usual competition on Sunday night with NASCAR on the USA Network, ESPN Baseball, and the series premiere of HBO’s House of the Dragon, which topped the cable charts.

WWE Rivals, focusing on the Edge vs. John Cena feud, averaged 304,000 viewers on A&E. That’s down 29.5 percent from last week’s Triple H vs. Mick Foley episode and is the lowest audience in the history of the show.

Rivals also set a series low with a 0.08 rating in 18-49, finishing 49th on the cable charts on Sunday. That’s down 38.5 percent from the previous week and is 20 percent less than the previous low, which was the show’s premiere episode on July 10.

WWE Smack Talk, which follows Rivals on A&E at 11 p.m. Eastern, also set a series low with 144,000 viewers overall and a 0.04 rating in 18-49 to finish 98th on the cable charts.

Listed below are the total audience and 18-49 demo ratings for all episodes of Biography: WWE Legends and WWE Rivals to date.