NXT TakeOver to deliver?
WWE presented NXT TakeOver: WarGames II Saturday night, and if the show is like past TakeOver shows, it will leave fans talking and wanting for more.
The double-ring WarGames match pitted The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong) against War Raiders, Ricochet and Pete Dunne.
NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa defended against Velveteen Dream, Shayna Baszler defended the NXT womenĢƵ title against Kairi Sane in a two-out-of-three falls match and Johnny Gargano faced Aleister Black.
LesnarĢƵ new deal
Brock Lesnar and WWE came to a contract extension in mid-October and he only has a limited number of matches that he has to perform to fulfill his agreement.
After facing AJ Styles at Survivor Series, Lesnar is penciled in to wrestle at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.
How this factors into to his prospective UFC heavyweight championship match against Daniel Cormier is unknown.
Triple H recovering
Following tearing his right pectoral muscle at Crown Jewel, Triple H had surgery earlier this week.
WWE has not announced a timetable for his return, but it is believed that he will miss WrestleMania.
McMahon makes bold statement
At the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, earlier this week, Stephanie McMahon was asked about expanding WWEĢƵ reach in the global market.
“Ten, 20, 30 years from now, thereĢƵ no reason we can’t be as big as, or bigger, than Disney,” she said. “Now thatĢƵ a tall order, especially given recent transaction.
“However, thereĢƵ no reason why we can’t get there. You have to dream big, have big, bold goals and go after them.”
Survivor Series ticket sales slow
WWE presents Survivor Series on PPV one week from today, but the event is not doing well in terms of ticket sales in the Los Angeles area.
The STAPLES Center, which will host the event, sent out an email blast last week with a ticket offer for the L.A. Kings versus Minnesota Wild NHL game on Nov. 8.
The special, which cost $75, would get fans a ticket to the hockey game and also a free ticket to Survivor Series.
On This Day…
In 1991, Ted DiBiase defeated Virgil to regain the “Million Dollar” championship.
This weekĢƵ question:
WomenĢƵ sports have continuously taken the back burner to the menĢƵ. When looking at WWE, they are trying to change that by having the womenĢƵ “evolution” and did so with the PPV. Do you think that by them doing the Saudi Arabia how that it shows their greed because women are banned from wrestling there but have gotten paid millions to have shows there twice now? — Sam, Uniontown.
WWE has made a conscientious effort to build the womenĢƵ division for almost three years now, but I definitely think that WWE put on the all-womenĢƵ PPV to silence critics of the 10-year Saudi Arabian deal.
Fortunately, Renee Young announced the show and I expect female wrestlers to wrestle in Saudi Arabia in the future.
My concern with future all-womenĢƵ shows in the future is whether the events will draw.
The first time was cool, but will it having lasting drawing power to fill arenaĢƵ in cities other than large markets like the New York City metropolitan area?
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III.