Dirtsheets sponsored by The Rollins Report:
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The return of Vince McMahon was something of a mixed bag when it came to ratings.
Last night's show did 3.17 million viewers on average, even with the advertising of Vince's return and the expectation he would announce who would be running both shows. Vince himself was a draw, because the third hour, which usually drops, was just slightly below the second hour.
It was the first hour that was down the most. With the exception of the July 4th show, which really shouldn't count, it was the lowest first hour for a non-holiday show of the modern era. That even includes going against the NBA playoffs. Overall, the three hour show it was the fifth lowest mark of 2016 ...
The three hours were:
8 p.m. 3.04 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.24 million viewers
10 p.m. 3.23 million viewers
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For some reference, two weeks ago was around 3.09 million as the average so slightly up overall. Biggest surprise was the 1st hour being close to sub-3 million.
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Originally Posted by CageSideSeats.com
Apparently, Vince McMahon was souring on Roman Reigns even before his Wellness violation. With that, there are others backstage lobbying his push should go to someone else - and Vince is listening.
One possible recipient could be AJ Styles, who a source says Vince has been telling people he wishes he’d signed ten years ago. AJ and Seth Rollins are viewed as frontrunners to headline each brand after the draft.
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Part of a batch of rumors Cagesideseats has as part of their weekly rumors article.
http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/7/...aj-selling-wwe
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Originally Posted by Observer
In a surprise angle at the Paul Heyman "Inside the Ropes" talk show in London at York Hall, Heyman offered an Evolve contract to Will Ospreay.
Ospreay, who regularly works at the venue for Revolution Pro Wrestling, including on Sunday, and is their cruiserweight champion, had been announced as a special guest at the show. Heyman said he was offering the deal on behalf of Gabe Sapolsky.
It was also made clear this deal wouldn't affect Ospreay's current contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
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Link with video of Heyman's apperance:
http://www.f4wonline.com/indies/paul...ontract-216296
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Originally Posted by Observer
For at least the moment, the WWE roster is closer to getting back at full strength.
Neville made his return to action on Tuesday in a dark match against Bo Dallas at the SmackDown tapings in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Originally Posted by Observer
While Brock Lesnar was the big winner, so was Vince McMahon. It was a risk, and a substantial one, to put one of his two biggest stars in that situation ... The win opened the door to bigger fights. The problem is the UFC heavyweight division is thin ...
Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem takes place on 9/10 for the championship. It becomes a question would they go with Lesnar for a title shot ahead of Cain Velasquez, who looked more impressive than Lesnar last night but wouldn't draw as much in the same position. UFC does book for business and Lesnar challenging would mean more money, but to give him a title match he and Vince McMahon would have to agree on several more matches.
Lesnar winning the UFC title would be remarkable. Lesnar himself said that he's got a lot he needs to work on but felt he did well on what he said was six weeks worth of training. Dana White told The Fight Network that the deal to get Lesnar was put together by meetings with both Lesnar's team as well as Vince McMahon and HHH. "Vince and I have had our ups and downs and Vince is a tough character to deal with. He's an animal. It's one of the things that I respect about him. I think he's loosened up a bit on the UFC."
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Originally Posted by PWI
Brock Lesnar's performance at UFC was a big topic of conversation yesterday at Raw among the wrestlers. So was his UFC salary, which is said to be in the millions.
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Supposedly got paid $2.5 million for the fight against Hunt but could earn between $8-$16 million with all the bonuses and stips attached to his deal.
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Originally Posted by Observer
Nikki Bella on Twitter wrote that her final CAT scan on her neck is in a few weeks. She's been teasing and hoping for a return.
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Originally Posted by Observer
TNA will do doing an eight-man Bound for Glory playoff starting with the first Thursday show on 7/21. It'll be a tournament for the Bound for Glory title shot at the champion. Drew Galloway, Matt Hardy and Ethan Carter III will be in the tournament. That show is billed as a "supersize extended episode" meaning there will be an overrun.
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Originally Posted by Observer
Revolution Pro Wrestling announced Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne for their August 12th show at York Hall in London. That means Ricochet will also be in the building the night that Will Ospreay faces Vader.
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Originally Posted by PWI
WWE Tag Team champions The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family in a six man tag has been officially added to the 7/24 WWE Battleground PPV.
WWE United States champion Rusev vs. Zack Ryder has been officially added to the 7/24 Battleground PPV.
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Originally Posted by PWI
WWE have applied to trademark "Solid Gold" for use as a new character name.
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Originally Posted by PWI
The Boston Globe reported yesterday that as part of their defense against the lawsuit brought against them by Vito LoGrasso and Evan Singleton, WWE has filed for a subpeona on the research Dr. Bennet Omalu has on professional wrestlers when it comes to the diagnosis of CTE via post-mortem examination of their brains. The Globe article notes that WWE is specifically interested in the research that led to the announcement that Chris Benoit was suffering from CTE before he took the lives of his wife, son and himself over the course of a weekend in June 2007.
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PWI goes into more details on why the WWE wants the doctor discredited before he finishes work on a new batch of wrestler brains.
http://www.pwinsider.com/article/103...wsuit.html?p=1
Some other sheet news includes: