[Emperor Smeat]

Dirtsheets sponsored by last night's WWE Draft:

Originally Posted by Observer The SmackDown draft show, the first of the now-weekly Tuesday live shows, did 3.17 million viewers, which would be the best SmackDown rating since it moved to the USA Network. The rating was up from the 2.0 to 2.3 million that the show was doing on Tuesdays, but that was expected. The number was very slightly ahead of the 3.13 million viewers Raw did the night prior, but it figured to be since the show had been hyped for weeks and was considered the most important television show in months.

First time since 2003 Smackdown managed to beat RAW in ratings for a week.

Originally Posted by Observer Lesnar was originally slated to be the first pick. It’s not certain that was always the plan, but it was the plan last week, stemming from his win over Mark Hunt and the publicity it garnered. To get over the value of the title, Ambrose was scheduled as the second pick for Smackdown, followed by Rollins for Raw and then Cena for Smackdown.

Originally Posted by WWE UPDATE: In addition to the commentary booth updates on Raw, SmackDown Live and more, WWE Hall of Famers Booker T and Jerry “The King” Lawler will bring their decades of experience in sports-entertainment to recurring Pre-Shows and Kickoffs as key analysts, among other names still to be announced. Stay with WWE.com for additional updates.

Update in regards to the new commentary teams for RAW and Smackdown.

Originally Posted by ProWrestlingSheet Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned Daniel Bryan agreed to return to WWE back in May … and the initial pitch called for SmackDown Live‘s new General Manager to come back much sooner. Sources tell us the original suggested timeline called for Vince McMahon to announce the brand split and WWE Draft the night after Money in the Bank, as well as the return of Daniel Bryan. We’re told he would have also announced that Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon would continue running the flagship show and Bryan would’ve butt heads with them leading to the draft. No word on why the storyline was altered — or when Mick Foley was brought into the picture — but as usual, plans can change at the drop of a dime in WWE.

Originally Posted by Observer It’s official. Cody Rhodes has signed to compete at ROH’s Final Battle PPV, Friday December 2. ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness confirmed the signing of Rhodes for what promises to be the biggest event of 2016 in Ring of Honor.

Originally Posted by PWI TNA announced that Matt Hardy vs. James Storm's Bound For Glory playoff match will air this Thursday on Impact. Bound For Glory playoff matches already announced for Thursday: EC3 vs. Eli Drake Bram vs. Drew Galloway

Originally Posted by PWI WWE NXT referee Shawn Bennett announced the following on Twitter: So as of last night, my 3+ years w/ @WWENXT comes to a close. Extremely proud & humbled to join the #RAW brand of WWE in the coming weeks. — Shawn Bennett (@BennettWWE) July 20, 2016

Originally Posted by PWI Any news on Global Force Wrestling? Does it still exist? Seems like it had big hype then burned out. They are still around but given their business model, they aren’t going make a mark on the landscape as they are presently constructed. In order to really make their mark, they need a good television deal and the money it brings in. Without that, it will be hard for them to be any more than what they are now.

From a recent weekly Q&A session PWI had involving a variety of topics.

Originally Posted by PWI John Cena was the guest on Jonathan Coachman's weekly ESPN segment last night. When asked about Brock Lesnar's drug suspension, Cena said: “Well, there was certainly a lot of hype. I was actually on SportsCenter hyping that fight myself. My thoughts were in Brock Lesnar’s corner, as he was put as the underdog in that fight, and he ended up doing well. Anytime something like that comes out, it certainly affects your perception of the event. There’s no way that people aren’t going to perceive Brock Lesnar differently, and when something like this happens, you set yourself a long, hard road ahead of you, and Brock’s got a long, hard road ahead of him.”

Originally Posted by PWI Nikki Bella is slated to undergo an MRI this week to determine whether she will be cleared to return to the ring following neck surgery.

Originally Posted by PWI Ryback took to Twitter yesterday, updating fans on when his WWE deal expires and when he will be returning to the ring: Update for the good ones. One month left for nose before I resume wrestling/jiu jitsu/boxing regimen for return. Ear get cleared in 6 days — The Big Guy (@Ryback22) July 19, 2016 For weights. Contract up August 8th or Oct 17th depending on certain circumstances. The future is going to be great! #FeedMeMore — The Big Guy (@Ryback22) July 19, 2016

Originally Posted by PWI There was a minor surprise in Mojo Rawley being called up. There were some in NXT earlier today that expected No Way Jose to get that slot instead. This puts Rawley and his Hype Bros partner Zack Ryder on the same brand.

Originally Posted by PWTorch Last week in the U.K., Paul Heyman brought Will Ospreay on-stage during Heyman’s one-man show for a sales pitch to join WWNLive. It turns out Ospreay has signed an exclusive U.S. deal with WWNLive to be part of the EVOLVE roster, PWTorch has learned. WWNLive is paying for the U.S. work visa for Ospreay, as well as international star Zack Sabre, Jr., making their deals exclusive to EVOLVE ... Ospreay is expected to join the EVOLVE roster for sporadic dates when he is available with a busy international schedule. Ospreay will still be able to work U.S. indies, like PWG, per WWNLive’s booking arrangement. Ospreay already has an exclusive international deal with New Japan, who are currently working with Ring of Honor. But, ROH is unable to use Ospreay as part of the ROH-NJPW relationship because of Ospreay’s deal with WWNLive.

................. pic.twitter.com/WL7GHdN0HC

— Erick Rowan (@ERICKROWAN) July 20, 2016

Some other sheet news includes:

• For those that missed the Draft show and/or the supplemental draft show, the Observer has a list of all the wrestlers picked along with the new commentary teams. http://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/ww...s-named-216866
• WWE is currently teasing undrafted star Heath Slater might be heading to EVOLVE as an option. https://www.wwe.com/article/after-no...r-heath-slater
• According to the Observer, Cesaro's promo last night during the supplemental draft show was a "shoot" in regards to him being upset with his status in the company. https://mobile.twitter.com/davemeltz...18081742495744
• PWI and the Observer are currently debunking rumors of Luke Harper retiring or leaving the WWE soon due to his injury. Basis for the rumor involves a recent tweet Harper sent after not being drafted that implied he was leaving.
• Lucha Underground's Dario Cueto recently had a "Ask Me Anything" session on r/SquaredCircle with a variety of questions asked. The most important being Jiggypuff revealed as his favorite Pokemon. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCirc...rio_cueto_ama/
• In a "WWE Did You Know" type fact, New Day is around 150 days away from breaking the all-time record for longest ever tag team championship reign in WWE history. They recently broke the modern record earlier in the week which was previously held by London & Kendrick.
• For those interested, Matt Hardy will be tomorrow's guest for the Sam Roberts wrestling podcast show.
• According to the Observer, WWE is currently deciding between this Sunday and possibly September for Bayley's callup to the main rosters. Either she gets picked as Sasha's mystery partner or has to wait till the next wave of callups occur.