All of the Four Horsewomen of MMA now compete in WWE. Shayna Baszler joined the company last year while Ronda Rousey, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir were all signed earlier this year. Rousey is dominating Raw as the Women’s Champion right now while Shayna is the champion on the NXT roster. Baszler has had some huge victories in her matches lately due largely to consistent interference from Duke and Shafir. After feuding with Dakota Kai and Io Shirai for quite some time, it was announced on NXT last night that Duke and Shafir will take on Kai and Shirai in a tag team match on next week’s episode of the show. The match will serve as the televised in-ring debuts for both Horsewomen.
.@MarinaShafir & @jessamynduke will make their in-ring debuts next week! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/etFUFEKaXh
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) December 13, 2018
While most fans have been pointing out the recent string of disappointing ratings for Raw, it is worth mentioning that the ratings for SmackDown have also been going down lately. This week’s edition of the show fell under two million viewers once again. Could the Fox network, which will begin airing SmackDown in October 2019, possibly have some concerns about the ratings dip for the show? Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer responded to a fan question on Twitter by stating that Fox is unlikely to back out of their agreement with WWE. Instead, it is more probable that Fox will continue to fulfill their contract with WWE, but may consider moving the show to a different time slot if the ratings are not to their satisfaction.
I don’t know the contractual clauses but I wouldn’t expect that to happen. They’ll run them for the term and at the end of the term (five years) then they’ll make decisions. FOX could switch days and times. https://t.co/JQYttb0AxG
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) December 12, 2018
Bobby Lashley has received a great deal of attention on WWE programming ever since he turned heel a while back. He also aligned himself with Lio Rush, and the two of them have become a featured act on Monday Night Raw. It is now being said that Lashley is receiving even more guidance backstage. Per PWInsider and Cageside Seats, Paul Heyman has been working closely with Lashley on a few of his segments and matches lately. Lashley himself has also admitted to being mentored by Heyman over the past couple of months. Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey confirmed that Heyman has helped her with some of her promos recently, but Heyman could now be assisting Lashley in addition to Rousey.