WWE issued the following press release:
McMahon’s Millions Draw Ratings
June 18, 2008
STAMFORD, Conn., June 18, 2008 — Monday Night RAW® on the USA Network was the No. 1 program on television among males 18-49, beating all other TV programming on broadcast and cable. Additionally, RAW was the #1 cable program Monday night.
WWE Draft SPOILERS + How Triple H’s Fate In The Draft Affects The Undertaker!!
source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
— There are some rumors going around saying that TNA is interested in former WWE United States Champion Orlando Jordan. However, there is said to be no talk or interest in him.
— For the 5/29 TNA Impact, the show opened with a 1.06 rating for Team 3D & Booker T’s interview, which led to Joe, Christian, Rhino and LAX being involved. Lethal & Val’s wedding angle lost tons of viewers once again as a backstage segment featuring them discussing wedding plans lost 221,000 viewers. As if that isn’t enough, the Dutt & Lethal vs. Hoyt & Rave match with the Ace Young music video following it lost 180,000 viewers and did a 0.77 rating, one of the lowest rated quarters of the year. Between those two segments, the wedding angle managed to lose 401,000 viewers. The show’s biggest gain came from a match between Angelina Love vs. Roxxi Laveaux, as well as a backstage skit in Cornette’s office & Eric Young looking for Elvis (likely piggybacking), gaining 166,000 viewers. Cornette and Kevin Nash in the ring and Awesome Kong vs. a fan gained 152,000 viewers. A match between Rhino and Storm lost 138,000 viewers. The main event featuring Christian vs. Tomko gained 124,000 viewers to do a 0.99 final quarter. Overall, the 5/29 Impact did a 0.94 rating and 1.3 million viewers. The show did a 0.70 in Males 18-34 and 0.94 in Males 35-49, and 0.16 in Women 18-49.
— The 6/5 TNA Impact drew the lowest rating of the year with a 0.86 rating and 1.1 million viewers, although it was going up again the opening game of the NBA finals. The show did a 0.52 in Males 18-34 and 0.74 in Males 35-49, A match between Velvet Sky and ODB drew a modest 13,000 extra viewers. What followed was the lowest rated quarter hour for TNA in over a year. Eric Young looking for Elvis, a taped Sting interview, and a Jay Lethal bachelor party segment lost 128,000 viewers and did a 0.70 quarter hour, the worst quarter hour rating in over a year. The X-Division King of the Mountain match featuring Kaz, Chris Sabin, Curry Man, Jimmy Rave, and Johnny Devine gained 64,000 viewers. The Awesome Kong vs. Daffney match gained an astounding 320,000 viewers, one of Impact’s biggest rating growths of the year. An Abyss promo, Joe-Nash confrontation and another bachelor party segment gained 26,000 viewers. Kip James & James Storm & Lance Hoyt vs. LAX & Matt Morgan plus a Steiner & Williams promo and the Kurt & Karen face-off lost 154,000 viewers. The main event pitting Styles & Tomko gained 26,000 viewers and finished at 0.92.
See photos of 49-year-old Ultimate Warrior’s wrestling return with Jordan yesterday!
— Celebrity gossip site PerezHilton.com reports that Linda Hogan and her 19-year-old boyfriend Charley Hill had lunch at E.R. Bradley’s in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday. While Charley had a non-alcoholic beverage, Linda was seen “boozing it up” and paying for the meal.
— Speaking of Linda’s new boyfriend, Hulk Hogan was a guest on Bubba the Love Sponge’s Sirius satellite radio show this morning and said that Linda younger-than-Brooke boyfriend is causing him all sorts of trouble. Hulk claims that Charley, who was spotted this weekend with Linda in Palm Springs, has been driving Hulk’s uninsured motorcycle, going through Nick’s stuff and being the cause for Linda to call the cops on him. TMZ.com has posted an audio clip of Hulk Hogan on Bubba, which you can listen to at this link.
* PICTURES of LINDA HOGAN & Her New BOYFRIEND – CHARLEY The Poolboy [>]
source: www.f4wonline.com
— In a weird moment, John Cena sang “God Bless America” before his match with JBL at last Friday’s Raw brand house show in Panama. He said since it was July 4th in the U.S., he was going to sing “God Bless America.” The crowd went silent while he sang, and it took several minutes into his match with JBL before he got a reaction again. When the reaction came, most of the cheers came from children as the adults booed him.
— ECW scored a solid 1.4 cable rating for Tuesday’s show, the same number as last week.
— A news station out Chile conducted an 10-minute long video interview with WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James during WWE’s stop there last week. She talks about her career, Trish Stratus, Lita, and more in the interview. She’s asked her who her best friend in WWE is, and she names Maria. She also talks about why wrestlers date other wrestlers. She basically says that wrestlers understand wrestlers more because they are in the same bubble. {Video link}
Click here to see John Cena marriage proposal photos
Source: JRsBarBQ.com
Jim Ross is back with another blog update from his official website, which you can read here in its entirety. Some highlights:
Jesse Ventura Running for Senate: “I have no dog in the fight whether or not Jesse Ventura runs for the United States Senate or not as I live in Oklahoma and not Minnesota but I wish this matter would come to closure Sooner than later. Like my dad would say, do your business or get off the can, to put it in more acceptable terms for this forum. For the record, I do think that Jesse would be a voice that would definitely be heard in Washington D.C. which might be a good thing.”
Remembering Eddie Guererro: “I will never forget having a long talk with distraught Eddie Guerrero at a WWE PPV because he was in the first match of the night. Eddie looked at it as an insult which is understandable considering his background and old school values. However, Eddie eventually understood how important his role was for that particular show but without question if an athlete doesn’t want to “close the show” they should seek another vocation. Of course the argument can be made that if it is pay-per-view, so what does it matter what match starts the show because the promotion already has the customer’s cash? I think it does matter how the show starts and the earlier the momentum can be established the better. If wrestlers can’t follow the preceding match then they shouldn’t be booked.
Flair on WWE TV This Week?: “I read on the ‘net where Ric was being advertised to appear at Tuesday’s Smackdown taping in his hometown of Charlotte. My money is that this Flair sighting will not be on the broadcast but for the fans in the arena only. But then again, I could be wrong.”
* Rumored SUMMERSLAM Main Event, HARDY BOYZ Reuniting, New RAW GM & More [>]
The following is from WWE.com:
Betrayal at the Bash
July 22, 2008
ECW Champion Mark Henry is still the man to beat in the Land of the Extreme … but that might be mission: impossible. Now that the World’s Strongest Champion has Colin Delaney in his corner, in addition to WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas, it appears a person with the strength of 10 men may be needed to end this reign. How long will the Mark Henry era last?
The World’s Strongest Man will be getting some new competition soon, however. On Tuesday night, The Miz, John Morrison, Finlay and Matt Hardy will be facing one another in a Fatal Four Way to determine the No. 1 contender for the ECW Championship. Which one of these Superstars will move forward to face Mark Henry?
Also, what is in store for Tommy Dreamer? With Colin Delaney showing no regard for the man who helped him earn a WWE contract, the ECW Original appears to be on his own in his quest for Tuesday night success. Will he rebound from his loss at The Great American Bash? And what was Delaney’s motive for turning on his mentor?
Last Tuesday, Evan Bourne continued his impressive run since joining the Land of the Extreme, defeating Chavo Guerrero. Is Bourne the leader of a new generation of Superstars ready to take the reigns on Tuesday nights?
Find out the answers to all of these questions and more by tuning into ECW on Sci Fi, Tuesday at 10/9 CT.
* New RAW GM Revealed, UNDERTAKER’s WWE Return Date & More [>]
source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
— In the SmackDown Divas locker room, there is a bit of resentment from some of the ladies towards reigning WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool. Whether it’s true or not, the feeling is that McCool has some power as the star of the women’s division on SmackDown and that she comes across like the veteran leader even though she doesn’t really have that much experience in the wrestling business. This was actually the case before McCool won the WWE Divas Championship at The Great American Bash last Sunday as the belt doesn’t have anything to do with the resentment. A few weeks ago, Natalya Neidhart was reportedly upset with McCool due to a behind the scenes incident involving the two in which McCool tried to show her how to lock up correctly and how to work “WWE style,” which is more about telling a story in the ring than doing a bunch of random moves. On the other hand, McCool doesn’t really appear to be in the wrong, and all of this probably has more to do with the typical wrestler mentality of someone becoming a star when others think they’re not as good as they themselves are, and then they come up with reasons why. Also, since McCool in involved in a real-life relationship with Undertaker, it would appear that some of the resentment and jealousy towards her is due to that. In other words, when a Diva is dating a Superstar wrestler and then gets a push, that’s obviously going to get people talking.
— Here are some segment-by-segment ratings notes from last Monday’s Raw. The Lance Cade vs. Paul London match and beginning of Jericho’s promo lost 214,000 viewers. The conclusion of his interview as well as the Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix match gained 260,000 viewers. The “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Jerry Lawler, Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes segment gained 149,000 viewers. The Cena & Cryme Tyme vs. JBL & Rhodes & DiBiase match gained 343,000. The mixed tag match featured Kofi Kingston & Mickie James vs. Paul and Katie Lea Burchill lost 206,000 viewers. The Santino Marella vs. D-Lo Brown match and Marella & Beth Phoenix angle gained 34,000 viewers. The first-ever match between CM Punk and Batista lost 86,000 viewers. The post-match stuff featuring Cena, Batista and JBL gained 756,000 viewers and drew the show’s peak rating at 3.89. Overall, the show drew a 3.32 rating and 4.74 million viewers. It wasn’t the most watched cable show of the night as it finished in third place behind TNT’s The Closer and Saving Grace.
— An enhancement wrestler by the name of Jeff Lewis broke two ribs during his dark match with Charlie Haas at the 7/14 Raw taping in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Click here for Undertaker & Michelle McCool sightings! (>>)
— TNA has plans to release a DVD on the Knockouts entitled “Knocked Out” on October 7, 2008. Former WWE Diva and Playboy cover model Christy Hemme was originally slated for the cover of the DVD, but she’s since been replaced by homegrown star Karen Angle. You can see an image of the updated cover at this link. The new cover fits the DVD title better as Karen is shown wearing boxing gloves. The following Knockouts are scheduled to be profiled on the upcoming DVD release: Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, Christy Hemme, Gail Kim, Jacqueline, Karen Angle, ODB, Raisha Saeed, Rhaka Khan, Roxxi Laveaux, Salinas, Sharmell, SoCal Val, Traci Brooks, and Velvet Sky.
— The TNA website has posted footage of TNA President Dixie Carter at a house show event in Corpus Christi, Texas this past Friday night. You can see video of Carter’s rare house show appearance at this link.
— Thursday’s edition of TNA Impact featuring the main event of Velvet Sky & Angelina Love vs. Gail Kim and Taylor Wilde drew a solid 1.1 cable rating, the same figure as last week, reports f4wonline.com.
See tons of photos of Christy Hemme when she was relevant in WWE! (>>)
sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, PWInsider.com
— Catching up on some TNA Impact ratings winners & losers figures, here are the numbers for the 7/10 show. A match pitting Doug Williams against Masato Yoshino, a backstage segment with Kurt Angle & The Beautiful People, and a Dutt-Lethal brawl with kids in a gym lost 82,000 viewers. The Matt Morgan video and Kip James & Petey Williams & Tomko vs. B.G. James & Eric Young & Morgan match gained 69,000 viewers. The big Amazing Kong vs. Taylor Wilde title change match actually lost viewers. Wilde’s big win lost 41,000 viewers. The Kaz vs. Ultimo Guerrero match and Angle yelling at Beautiful People (with Angelina Love getting a tan) gained 137,000 viewers and drew the show’s peak rating at 1.08. The Booker/Joe confrontation featuring the return of Sting, plus a Gail Kim/Angelina Love video packaged lost 192,000 viewers. The main event featuring Kurt Angle & The Beautiful People vs. A.J. Styles & ODB & Gail Kim gained 178,000 viewers and did a 1.07 rating. Overall, the 7/10 show did a 1.02 rating a 1.4 million viewers, a number that was up from the past three months. In the demos, the show did a 0.56 in Males 18-34 and 0.74 in Males 35-49.
— For the 7/17 show, the show opened strong with a 1.14 rating. However, things took a turn for the worst as the show lost 286,000 viewers after the first 15 minutes. The Kaz vs. Petey Williams match and a Samoa Joe/Kevin Nash backstage interview lost 286,000 viewers. Matt Morgan wrestling Jimmy Rave and Lance Rock gained 29,000 viewers. Team 3-D & Kurt Angle cutting a promo gained 161,000 viewers. During this show, they featured a women’s battle royale gauntlet match for a shot at the Knockouts title (which Velvet Sky ended up winning), and it gained 264,000 viewers. The match drew a 1.25 quarter hour rating, which would be Impact’s highest quarter in months, probably since February. However, the next segment pretty much lost all of those gained viewers. A Jay Lethal & SoCal Val interview and Johnny Devine vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Eric Young match lost 249,000 viewers. Beer Money whipping a fan, Scott D’Amore, Pat Kenney and LAX lost 73,000 viewers. The main event featuring Consequences Creed vs. Booker T in a stretcher match lost 103,000 viewers and finished at 0.96. Overall, the 7/17 show did a 1.05 rating and 1.5 million viewers, the most viewers the show has done in three months. In the demos, the show did a 0.66 in Males 18-34 and 0.82 in Males 35-49, and 0.48 in Women 18-49. The Women viewership was way up, as they usually do half that, at most.
— As reported earlier, Team 3D’s TNA contracts are set to expire sometime next month. The two sides are discussing a new deal, but nothing has been signed at this point.
Click here for news on TNA breaking up a heavily featured act
— Eric Bischoff has posted a new blog at this official website, which can be read here in its entirety. Bischoff talks about the recent lawsuit filed by Scott “Raven” Levy and 2 other wrestlers challenging WWE’s independent contractor vs employee designation. Bischoff says this same issue came up during the AOL-Time Warner merger and the volatility of it was one of the factors that led the company to liquidate WCW. “This is a complex issue and it is going to be a very interesting situation to watch un-fold as it may have profound impact on WWE and TNA.”
He adds, “While the Chairman can stack the deck with a Board of Directors and executive management team that looks more like a friends and family reunion than anything else, should the IRS determine that WWE’s contracted talent are employees and not independent contractors, there is the potential for significant fines, expenses, and cost of doing business on a go-forward basis that could have a serious negative impact on WWE stock.”
— MMAJunkie.com is reporting that Bobby Lashley’s mixed martial arts debut fight for the American Fighting League might be pushed back. There are many MMA shows booked for October and the company is consdering pushing the show back a month or two.
*SPOILER* on HBK’s Role At SummerSlam & SEVERAL Debuts This Week on SmackDown