It looks like the WWE NXT Cruiserweight Title match may have been pulled from tomorrow’s NXT episode on the USA Network.
It was announced last week that this week’s show would see Santos Escobar defend the NXT Cruiserweight Title against Curt Stallion. The official NXT preview has been posted for tomorrow’s show and that match is nowhere to be found.
Stallion earned a future title shot from Escobar after winning a Fatal 5 Way on WWE 205 Live back in November. He recently responded to a fan on Twitter who asked when the title match would happen. The fan noted that Stallion became the #1 contender back in November, but Stallion cleared things up.
“Excellent question, Jhanlit. To answer: 1. I never won a number 1 contenders match. The match I won was for a future cruiserweight championship opportunity at any time. 2. I’m treating this like my own personal “money in the bank contract.” When the time is right, I’ll cash in,” Stallion explained.
Stay tuned for more on tomorrow’s NXT show and the status of the Cruiserweight Title match. The following matches are still official for the show:
* Kyle O’Reilly and NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch in a non-title match
* Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake, Zack Gibson) vs. Leon Ruff and Kushida
* Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Drake Maverick and Killian Dain vs. MSK (Wes Lee, Nash Carter)
* Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Aliyah and Jessi Kamea
Excellent question, Jhanlit. To answer: 1. I never won a number 1 contenders match. The match I won was for a future cruiserweight championship opportunity at any time. 2. I'm treating this like my own personal "money in the bank contract." When the time is right, I'll cash in. https://t.co/fsAGkP4t0f
Welcome to Wrestling Inc’s recap of AEW Dark, which airs every Tuesday at 7 PM EST on AEW’s YouTube Channel. Be sure to chime in on your thoughts about tonight’s show in the comments section below. Additionally, share our live coverage through social media. Make sure to click the REFRESH button to continue to get the most current up to date coverage. Below is what’s on tonight’s agenda:
TONIGHT on #AEWDark, we have a loaded fifteen match card featuring returning athletes, new tag teams, debuts, and much more! Watch #AEW Dark Tuesdays at 7e/6c via our Official YouTube Channel Rightwards arrow https://t.co/PfsgiFc62Ppic.twitter.com/zbHMh2j8t0
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre recently spoke with Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda and revealed that he’s not interested in mixing the WWE Title with the environment of a cinematic-style match because he thinks the title should be defended in a realistic wrestling match setting.
McIntyre has never competed in a cinematic match. He believes the character of “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt is incredible, but not something he wants to see involved with the WWE Title chase.
“Maybe eventually, not right now,” McIntyre said of working a cinematic match. “I’m WWE Champion and I think, in fact I know, like the way I’ve been building the title, it’s about the honor and respect and about wrestling. And there’s room on the show for everything, a little bit something for everybody, different characters.
“It’d be boring if everyone was the same and The Fiend’s unique character is so incredible, so out there, but I don’t think that’s something I think I want to mix the WWE Title with. Like that’s for, you know that portion of the audience and for me as a fan to watch and be blown away by the spectacle.”
McIntyre continued, “But when it comes to the WWE Championship, I expect it to be in a wrestling match. You know, like man-on-man, fighting over the title with respect and honor. And that’s what I’m all about, that’s how I’ve tried to represent the title and that’s how I think it should be represented. Not in a comedic fashion or an outlandish fashion, but a realistic wrestling environment.”
McIntyre will defend the WWE Title against WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg at Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon and WWE Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Triple H recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to promote WrestleMania 37.
WWE recently announced WrestleMania 37 for April 10 and April 11 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, WrestleMania 38 for April 3, 2022 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and WrestleMania 39 on April 2, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Hollywood, CA. They released a creative promo to make the announcements, featuring John Cena, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, and SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. You can see the promo below. It was noted that veteran Superstar Cena, who has been focusing on his Hollywood career, was a natural choice to make the WrestleMania 39 announcement.
Triple H was asked about Cena appearing in the promo, and if he will work WrestleMania this year. He noted that if there’s a way for Cena to work WrestleMania 37, then he will be there.
“I won’t put words in John’s mouth, but I can speak to his passion, and it’s WWE and WrestleMania,” Triple H said. “Once you do this at a high level, and John does it at the highest, it’s very hard to put down. If there is a way for him to be there, he will be there.”
As noted earlier at this link, Cena is reportedly now considered to be a 100% lock for WrestleMania 37.
Stephanie had big praise for Banks when asked about using her for the WrestleMania 38 announcement. She mentioned Banks’ WrestleMania 32 Triple Threat with Becky Lynch and current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair, which saw Flair win to become the inaugural WWE Women’s Champion.
“Sasha is a star, and she was a perfect choice to make that announcement,” Stephanie said. “That launched the rebranding of the women’s division on the biggest stage possible. Sasha, Becky and Charlotte tore it down in Dallas, and I can’t wait to see what they do at WrestleMania in 2022.”
Triple H also looked forward to WWE NXT Superstars headlining future WrestleMania events. He named NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi Blackheart, Candice LeRae, Raquel Gonzalez, and Dakota Kai as top stars of the women’s division.
“Our roster right now includes Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi Blackheart, Dakota Kai, Candice LeRae and Raquel González,” Triple H said. “The division is deep, and it represents the way we want to build our future. Not the future in five days—the future in five years. That’s what we’re doing in NXT. I hope we’ll see them tearing it up in the main event of WrestleMania 40, and it won’t surprise me at all if that happens.”
Monday’s live Royal Rumble go-home edition of WWE RAW, featuring the final build for Sunday’s pay-per-view with Alexa Bliss vs. RAW Women’s & WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Asuka in the main event, drew an average of 1.820 million viewers on the USA Network, according to Showbuzz Daily.
This is down from last week’s 1.855 million viewers.
For this week’s show, the first hour drew 1.904 million viewers (last week’s hour 1 – 1.991 million), the second hour drew 1.838 million viewers (last week’s hour 2 – 1.875 million) and the final hour drew 1.716 million viewers (last week’s hour 3 – 1.697 million).
RAW ranked #23 for the night in viewership on cable, up from last week’s #34 spot, and behind Rachel Maddow Show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Hannity, Last Word, The Five, Reidout, All In, The Ingraham Angle, 11th Hour, Beat, Deadline: White House, Special Report, Lead, Erin Burnett Outfront, Anderson Cooper 360, Cuomo Prime Time, CNN Newsroom at 2pm, CNN Newsroom at 3pm, Situation Room at 5pm, CNN Newsroom at 1pm, Situation Room at 6pm, and FOX News Primetime.
RAW ranked #1 for the night on the Cable Top 150, with an average 18-49 demographic rating of 0.52, down from last week’s #3 ranked 0.60. Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC topped the night on cable in viewership with 3.984 million, ranking #16 on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.27 rating in the key demo.
This is the second week where RAW had no football competition, and because of that the show took home the #1 spot in the key demo, but viewership was still low considering the lack of sports and cable news competition. This week’s RAW viewership was down 1.9% from last week, but down 13% in the 18-49 rating. This week’s viewership was down 24% from the same week in 2020.
The Bachelor on ABC drew an average of 5.245 million viewers on broadcast TV in the 8pm hour while The Neighborhood drew 6.410 million viewers on CBS, Ellen’s Game of Games drew 3.384 million viewers on NBC, 911 drew 7.208 million viewers on FOX and CW’s All American Stories drew 818,000 viewers, all in the 8pm hour on broadcast TV.
Below is our 2021 RAW Viewership Tracker:
January 4 Episode: 2.128 million viewers with a 0.68 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Legends Night episode) January 11 Episode: 1.819 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the 18-49 demographic January 18 Episode: 1.855 million viewers with a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demographic January 25 Episode: 1.820 million viewers with a 0.52 rating in the 18-49 demographic February 1 Episode:
2020 Total: 97.744 million viewers over 52 episodes 2020 Average: 1.880 million viewers per episode
2019 Total: 125.746 million viewers over 52 episodes 2019 Average: 2.418 million viewers per episode
2018 Total: 149.628 million viewers over 53 episodes 2018 Average: 2.823 million viewers per episode
2017 Total: 156.971 million viewers over 52 episodes 2017 Average: 3.018 million viewers per episode
– The new episode of WWE Playback went live on the WWE Network this morning. The special features Superstars looking back and reacting to the 2020 Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble Matches.
Above is a sneak peek at the new WWE Playback episode. The clip features MVP, Samoa Joe and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre reacting to Brock Lesnar’s strong start in the 2020 Men’s Rumble Match.
– Last Thursday’s new episode of WWE Total Bellas drew 352,000 viewers on the E! network, according to Showbuzz Daily. The show drew a 0.15 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, ranking #56 for the night on the Cable Top 150.
This is down from last week’s Total Bellas episode, which drew 381,000 viewers and ranked #44 on the Cable Top 150 with a 0.17 rating in the key demo.
You can see E!’s episode recap video below.
Below is our Total Bellas Season 6 Ratings & Viewership Tracker:
Episode 1: 416,000 viewers with a 0.19 rating in the 18-49 demographic (season premiere) Episode 2: 257,000 viewers with a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demographic Episode 3: 299,000 viewers with a 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demographic Episode 4: 219,000 viewers with a 0.08 rating in the 18-49 demographic Episode 5: 305,000 viewers with a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demographic Episode 6: 426,000 viewers with a 0.20 rating in the 18-49 demographic Episode 7: 381,000 viewers with a 0.17 rating in the 18-49 demographic Episode 8: 352,000 viewers with a 0.15 rating in the 18-49 demographic Episode 9:
Season 5 Viewership Total: 5.589 million viewers Season 5 Average: 508,090 viewers per episode (11 episodes)
Season 4 Viewership Total: 4.360 million viewers Season 4 Average: 436,000 viewers per episode (10 episodes)
Season 3 Viewership Total: 6.342 million viewers Season 3 Average: 634,200 viewers per episode (10 episodes)
Season 2 Viewership Total: 4.702 million viewers Season 2 Average: 587,750 viewers per episode (8 episodes)
Season 1 Viewership Total: 3.842 million viewers Season 1 Average: 640,000 viewers per episode (6 episodes)
Former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion Vik The Spacelord was on today’s episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast. Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman asked Vik about how The Ascension’s WWE contracts changed when they got called up from NXT.
“I made so much more money that first year. It was great,” Vik expressed. “So a lot of people back then used to get to double dip. You wouldn’t sign a new contract yet, but you would get a month or two on the road usually where your hotels and cars were taken care of, and you would get paid per show that you were doing or whatever. But then you’d still make whatever you were making in NXT.
“That was still your contract, and so for most guys, it was pretty sweet when you go because you’re like, cool, I really don’t have to pay for anything, and I’m just making extra money from being on the road. It was kind of how everything worked for me and Konnor. The minute we got up, that stopped. Immediately, we came up that week, and here’s a new contract. Everything switches.
“You have to pay for everything yourselves, and the thing was we kind of said, ‘Hey, don’t most guys usually get taken care of for a little while,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, okay. Well, yeah, I guess since you’re not used to the road yet.’ I think they got our cars and hotels for about a month, and by the end of that, we’re like, ‘I don’t want their hotels anymore.’ I know everything gets switched. Everybody that kind of came up after us all had kind of the immediate switch, and oddly enough, I think when we signed our new contract, when we first came up, it was almost exactly five years to the date that I had signed with NXT.”
Hausman asked where “The Spacelord” comes from in Vik’s new ring name. Vik revealed that it was inspired from current AEW star Jon Moxley.
“I am a comic book fan, but actually, it was Moxley that said it one day when we were training at Hard Knocks,” Vik revealed. “The song came on, and he just like looked at me. And he was like, ‘I see you getting up in the morning just having that song playing. You walk out in your living room and just light a cigarette and start making eggs, and you probably kick some girls out of your apartment or whatever,’ and I started laughing.
“And I was like, ‘Well, you’re right about the cigarette and eggs and definitely not kicking the girls out of my apartment at that time.’ It just kind of stuck. Everybody just kind of laughed and it just always stuck. All the guys that were around just kept calling me that. It’s one of those things that’s more or less true. I don’t know if I’m a lord of space, but I spend a lot of time out there.”
The Awakening (fka The Ascension) will be taking on The Headbangers at Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling on February 19th for the ARW Tag Team Championships. Vik recalled The Headbangers’ WWE return in 2016 and how surreal it was.
“I got to meet them because they came to RAW for a little while while we were there, and I know we were in one match with them for sure,” Vik recalled. “It was so weird. I’ll never forget that because I was standing on the apron with Aiden English, [Simon] Gotch and The Headbangers.
“There was The Spirit Squad, Mikey and Kenny. I just remembering thinking, this is so weird. Already Aiden English and Gotch are on my team, and then I’ve got The Headbangers here too. And we’re just like, this is weird. What year is this? We’re looking across the ring at Spirit Squad and I think it was American Alpha and The Usos.
“I remember it was really fun match, and it was cool to have them there, that’s for sure, because when I grew up watching wrestling, me and one of my buddies used to always try to steal their finish and do the powerbomb / leg drop onto one of our buddies through tables and other stuff that you’re not supposed to do.”
The Headbangers were on The Wrestling Inc. Daily last Thursday where they called themselves “the most underrated tag team of all time”. Vik gave his thoughts on if he agrees with that statement.
“Possibly now that I think about it,” Vik said. “I feel there’s a lot of teams that get underrated for sure, but when I think about it, yeah because they didn’t get a really long run in my opinion, and they were super cool. When I was a kid, I loved those two guys. I remember playing [WWF] War Zone, PS1 and always being The Headbangers.
“I would say they were in a tough time. WWE were transitioning into that Attitude Era where young guys like them had to deal with a lot of struggles against the older guys. It was just the lay of the land, and even just hearing stories from all sorts of guys like Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boys even Matt and Brian.”
The Awakening (fka The Ascension) battle The Headbangers for their Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling Tag Team Championships on Friday February 19th. You can find more info by following ARW on Twitter @WrestlingAtomic.
Viktor’s full interview aired as part of today’s episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it’s released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here. You can find the full interview in both video and audio form below:
WWE Hall of Famer Sean “X-Pac” Waltman is currently undergoing knee surgery.
Waltman posted the following Instagram clip as he was about 30 minutes away from going under the knife. He noted that he was being operated on by Dr. Chung at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California.
Waltman tweeted on Monday night and noted that he’s looking forward to trying out the new knee when he’s done with post-surgery rehab.
“ACL, MCL, & Meniscus. I’ve needed it since 2007 or 08(Dont feel like looking up the exact date). Somehow I managed to still have some good matches, but it really limited me. Looking fwd to trying the new knee out when I’m done rehabbing it,” he wrote.
Waltman stated earlier this month that he needed the surgery if he ever wanted to have another match, and that he’s needed the operation since 2007. He also said that he’s learned to work around the injury over the years, and could still perform that way, but he wants to be as close to 100% as possible if he’s going to have a few more matches before retiring.
As noted back in December, Waltman recently found out he’s been cured of Hepatitis C and said he has one more good run in him, perhaps a half dozen solid matches or so.
Stay tuned for more on Waltman’s status. You can see his related posts below:
Surgery tomorrow. ACL, MCL, & Meniscus. I've needed it since 2007 or 08(Dont feel like looking up the exact date). Somehow I managed to still have some good matches, but it really limited me. Looking fwd to trying the new knee out when I'm done rehabbing it.
Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman is back to host the latest episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast! The Wrestling Inc Daily is released Monday-Friday afternoon. Click HERE to subscribe on iTunes.
Today’s episode features:
Second City Chicago’s EJ Cameron joining Nick to talk all the pro wrestling news from the last twenty-four hours. Including:
* Randy Orton RKOing Alexa Bliss
* Edge entering the men’s Royal Rumble match
* A shoot count out happening on WWE RAW
* WWE Smackdown viewership continuing to rise
* WWE expecting a record 2020 financial report
* ESPN no longer airing WWE content
Nick’s interview with Vik The Spacelord (fka Viktor of The Ascension). Featuring Vik discussing:
* The Awakening’s upcoming match against The Headbangers
* Training at the Hart Dungeon
* How brutal Tokyo Joe was as a trainer
* Getting signed by WWE
* Transitioning from NXT to the main roster
* What is next for The Awakening
The latest installment of the Wrestling Inc. Daily mailbag discussing which RAW Superstar you would most like to see win the men’s Royal Rumble match
After making their way to the Impact Zone last week, AEW’s Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy of Private Party, along with TNA/Impact veteran, Matt Hardy, will return tonight on Impact Wrestling.
Last week, Quen and Kassidy surprised the Impact World Champions, the Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson), during a confrontation with Chris Sabin and his new partner James Storm when they issued a shot at the tag team championship.
When the main event between Private Party and Sabin & James concluded the show, AEW’s high flyers picked up the win with their Gin and Juice finisher to etch their names as the new number one contenders of the tag team titles.
On a similar note, an eight-man tag team match is scheduled with the TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose, Chris Bey, Sami Callihan and Ken Shamrock taking on the Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Tommy Dreamer, Willie Mack and a mystery partner.
Also on tonight’s card:
* Matt Cardona & Josh Alexander vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
* Joe Doering vs. Cousin Jake
* Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Myers
* Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary
* Fire ‘N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz) Fest
Following tonight’s broadcast of Impact Wrestling, AXS TV will feature an episode on Madison Rayne’s career through IMPACT in 60. This comes after she announced her official retirement while concluding Hard To Kill’s pre-show event.
