We see a recap of the cops trying to come after Dario, while The Mack tries to help Sexy Star overcome her issues with Mariposa. We see Dario tell Matanza to break Pentagon Jr’s back, and a recap of the match where he ate a million moves to the back. In the bathroom, Vampiro looks at his medication while Dario tempts him to assault him – but he respects Vamp as the voice of LU. He doesn’t want him to make Pentagon’s mistake, and Vamp takes his medication.
At the precinct, Reyes and Detective Reehan talk to Captain Vasquez about getting evidence on Dario. She wants them to be a team, and Cueto has put them in the Trios Title tournament tonight with Mr. Cisco. At the Temple, a band plays while Striker says that Fenix faces Matanza later. Ivelisse faces Kobra Moon in the opener.
Ivelisse vs. Kobra Moon
Kobra slithers and goes for takedowns, while Vamp commends Ivie for her gear making her look like a walking knife. Ivie kicks away and armdrags her into an armbar. Kobra Moon gets a triangle choke, but eats a powerbomb for 2. Dragon sleeper by Kobra, but Ivie escapes and hits a wonky armdrag. Corner rana is turned into a rope-hanging choke by Kobra. Vamp wonders if she slithers around like a snake because her name is Kobra Moon.
Liver shot results in a Bas shoutout by Vamp, and a tarantula with a neck crank. Butterfly suplex into a butterfly lock. Striker talks about the Gable grip while Vamp asks if that’s due to Dan Gable and Striker confirms it. Weird overhead angle makes it hard to see Ivie’s setup into a Russian legsweep. Big Yakuza kick leads to an exploder by Ivie for 2. Running code red by Ivie gets the win!
We get an interview with Killshot. He served in the military and had 37 confirmed kills – all bad guys, or so he was told. He was good with his hands too, so he was in the elite squad and he was the enemy’s prisoner for 13 months before escaping by kicking the asses of many lucha terrorist ninjas – who are totally different than the usual lucha ninjas. He isn’t sure if his partners survived, and he fights in LU to forget. Well, this was different and pretty good. Famous B gives Mascarita Sagrada his business card and wants him to call 423-GET-FAME.
He walks around and bumps into The Mack and Sexy working out. He wants her out for moral support tonight, but she can’t – until he motivates her saying he wants them to pay for what they did. We see the question mark being spray-painted above the Temple again. Joey Ryan jumps in front of the Crew and steals their thunder.
Joey Ryan & The Crew vs. The Mack/Mariposa/Marty the Moth
Joey Ryan teases a start before having Cisco start it off. Cisco and The Mack slap hands and Mack drops him with a tackle for 2. Cisco gets a wonky blind-diving armdrag, but Mack does a corner headstand and an armdrag. Slingblade armdrag by Mack before Mack flips up to his feet from his head. Joey tags himself in and wants “the girl”. He tries to give her his bodyoil lollipop, but she slaps him, so he pie-faces her. Rana gets 2 for Mariposa. Dropkick tot he knee sets up an axe kick, while Vamp hypes Andy Hug as the master of that.
High kick by Reyes leads to the drive by sliding kick by Cisco for 2. Mariposa knocks him off the ropes and Marty gets a 2 count. Double team wheelbarrow splash gets 2 for Mariposa. Cicso misses a basement dropkick, but Mariposa hits one. Marty comes in and hits a corner exploder for 2. Cortez comes in with a pop-in tornado DDT for 2 before Mariposa saves. Joey tags himself in to steal Cortez’s thunder, but Mack comes in and attacks with punches and a big slam before getting 2 off a legdrop.
Samoan drop into a standing moonsault gets 2. Mariposa prevents a Mack dive, so he knocks her down and he flip dives onto the pile. Marty and Mack chop each other before Marty eats a stunner and a shatter machine by The Crew for the win! Mariposa jumps The Mack before Sexy Star comes in to make the save in a very short skirt. Sexy Star is pissed off and chops the daylights out of her before snapmaring and kicking her. Mack says that “SHE GOT DAT ASS, B*TCH! SHE GOT DAT ASS!” Mack is great.
We go to the top of the Temple and we see Dragon Azteca Jr. and Rey – so I guess the question mark is the Rey Signal. Rey tells him that going for revenge isn’t good – fighting for honor is better, and revenge will come in time. Rey and Azteca have a match next week in the trios tournament and will team with Prince Puma. We close to a cool shot of all of them in their respective hoodies before going back to the ring for the main event.
Striker talks about Fenix and Matanza fighting before, but Fenix was 1 while Matanza was 21 in Aztec Warfare. Striker calls Matanza the eater of worlds while Vamp talks about how we don’t know what Dario has done to make Matanza like this.
Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto vs. Fenix
Dario tells Matanza to kill Fenix. Fenix avoids a shortarm clothesline before Matanza bowls him over and chokes him in the corner. Fenix hops over a Matanza charge, and hits a few superkicks to the knees, gut, and head – but gets caught and hit with a German INTO THE BUCKLE. Fenix knocks him into the ropes into a 619 position for a kick, but a dive is met with a rewind poweslam that Fenix escapes. Big German by Matanza! Fenix hits a missile dropkick and an apron elbow before Matanza punches him to the floor.
Fenix hits two apron superkicks and goes for a suicide dive, but is met with a World’s Strongest Slam on the floor leading to multiple “holy shit!”s by Vamp. Rewind powerslam hits for the win. Matanza climbs on top of Fenix and slugs away while the referee is threatened with firing. Catrina tells him to stop before Mil Muertes returns and attacks Matanza and sends him packing.
Striker wonders if he is showing mercy to Fenix, or if he just wants the title. Fenix and Muertes have been enemies for the last year and a half, but now find themselves as uneasy allies. This was a really good episode of the show and gave Matanza a very small chink in the armor to at least make him seem like a monster that could one day be beaten.
To see every screengrab for the show, just click here.
San Francisco, California: – Dean Detton defeated Vincent Lopez for the San Francisco Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title
1966
– Chief Little Eagle defeated Eduardo Perez to win the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1970
Memphis, Tennessee: – Al Greene and Frank Martinez defeated Johnny Walker and Tojo Yamamoto in a tournament final in to win the vacant Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1974
New Brocton, Alabama: – Ken Lucas defeated The Wrestling Pro for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title
1979
Tokyo, Japan: – Abdullah the Butcher defeated Jumbo Tsuruta to win the annual AJPW Champion’s Carnival tournament
San Juan, Puerto Rico: – Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk defeated The Invaders (I and II) for the WWC World Tag Team Titles
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – Jake Roberts defeated Big Daddy Ritter (Junkyard Dog) for the Stampede North American Heavyweight Title – Leo Burke and Bruce Hart won the Stampede International Tag Team Titles from Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada
1979
Tokyo, Japan: – Abdullah the Butcher beat Jumbo Tsuruta in the finals of the Champion Carnival tournament
1980
Monroe, Louisiana: – The Junkyard Dog and Buck Robley defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes) for the Mid-South Tag Team Titles
1981
Memphis, Tennessee: – Bill Dundee and The Dream Machine won the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles defeating Masa Fuchi and Mr. (Atsushi) Onita
1987
Memphis, Tennessee: – Rocky Johnson and Soul Train Jones (Virgil) defeated Big Bubba (Typhoon/Tugboat) and Goliath for the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1991
King’s Lynn, England: – Dave Taylor defeated Dave Finlay for the British Heavyweight Title
Osaka, Japan: – The British Bulldogs (The Dynamite Kid and Johnny Smith) defeated Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (subbing for the injured Johnny Ace) to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles
Tokyo, Japan: – Dynamite Kid & Johnny Smith beat Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace in Osaka to win the All-Asia tag titles
1996
Bayamon, Puerto Rico: – The Canadian Glamour Boys (Sean Morley and Shane Sewell) defeated Huracán Castillo, Jr. and Ray Gonzalez for the WWC World Tag Team Titles
1997
WCW Spring Stampede: Tupelo, Mississippi: – Rey Misterio, Jr. pinned Ultimo Dragon – WCW Women’s Champion Akira Hokuto pinned Madusa to retain the title – WCW World Television Champion Prince Iaukea pinned William Regal to retain the title – The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) defeated Jeff Jarrett and Steve McMichael – WCW World Tag Team Champion Kevin Nash (with Ted DiBiase and WCW Cruiserweight Champion Syxx) defeated Rick Steiner to retain the title – Lex Luger defeated The Giant, Booker T and Stevie Ray in a Four Corners match – Diamond Dallas Page (with Kimberly) pinned Randy Savage in a no disqualification match
2002
Caguas, Puerto Rico: – Eddie Colón won the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title from Rey Misterio, Jr. – Rico Suave defeated Ricky Santana for the WWC World Television Title
Carolina, Puerto Rico: – El Lobo defeated Super Crazy to win the IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title
2005
Dunbar, West Virginia: – Chris Hero defeated Mike Quackenbush to win the IWA East Coast Heavyweight Championship
2014
Wrestlemania XXX: New Orleans, Louisiana: – Daniel Bryan won the WWE World Title by defeating Randy Orton and Batista – Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker to end the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania – WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos defeated The Real Americans, Rybaxel and Los Matadores in an Elimination Match to retain the titles – Daniel Bryan defeated Triple H – The Shield defeated Kane and the New Age Outlaws – Cesaro won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal – John Cena defeated Bray Wyatt – AJ Lee won the Vickie Guerrero Invitational to retain the Divas Title
Tokyo, Japan: – Shinsuke Nakamura beat Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the New Japan IC title
Welcome to the biggest party of the year, the Total Divas after WrestleMania, where up is down and down is out of control. Sit back, strap it on, and enjoy yourself, WWE Universe, because this is going to be one hell of a wild ride.
In Cincinnati, JoJo, Mandy, and Rosa are sitting around in catering talking about Rosa’s baby shower. Paige sits at another table. She has too much on her plate to deal with baby stuff. Rosa and Fox go sit with her and try to make her talk about Rosa’s big, famous baby shower.
Brie shows Nikki a picture of a house in Washington. Nikki is so mad that Brie wants to move to Washington. Nikki is excited to go to the wine bar there, but she wants to wear heeled Timberlands when they go hiking.
Someone spanks Nattie.
Work has been going great for Fox, but due to Nikki’s injury, she is getting some time off, too. Which is good for her, because she has some family issues to take care of.
In a hotel bar, Fox and Paige have a drink and commiserate. Fox is so tired. Her family is coming in and she wants to have a family talk. A father figure in her life, Priechy, who her mother used to date, is dying, and it’s making her realize she has to deal with all the dysfunction. Paige tells Fox that she has to talk to her family. Fox is going to miss Rosa’s big, famous baby shower.
In a car in Washington, Brie’s brother points out a bumper sticker with a dick joke. Everyone loves it. Nikki likes Washington, but she hates how rural it is. Brie and Nikki argue over how high maintenance Nikki is. Bryan joins in.
Back in Florida, Fox tells Rosa she can’t go to her big, famous baby shower. Rosa doesn’t understand. She gets upset and walks away.
In Washington, they are in the backwoods, on a dirt road. It’s beautiful. Nikki hates it. She is wearing high heeled camping boots. Nikki is crazy. They are looking at an empty lot. Bryan and Brie consider building a house there. Nikki is pissed because she doesn’t want to go there when John is filming a movie.
In Florida, Fox is driving with her sister. She starts crying really hard, talking about her mother. Her mom recently blew her off in Houston. Her sister calms her down.
Back in Washington, the music is intense as everyone pulls up to a beautiful house where if you want water, you have to get it from a well. Nikki is pissed, and Bryan acts passive aggressive. Nikki tells everyone she is a good person.
In Florida, Fox’s mom arrives. They reminisce in the car. Fox and her sister don’t like their mom’s perfume. It smells gross.
At Raw, Rosa is backstage. She sits down with Mandy and Eva. No one is going to Rosa’s big, famous baby shower. Paige has a secret that she’s been hiding and she needs to tell it to Rosa. In the ring, Paige symbolically taps out to Nattie’s Sharpshooter. Big Show thinks Paige looks sad. He comforts her backstage and pulls her aside for a pep talk. Paige reveals that she once lost a baby, and that she had to have a cyst removed and she may never be able to have kids. That’s why Rosa’s big, famous baby shower thing has been so hard for her.
In Florida, Fox and her family go to a really nice outdoor restaurant right on the beach. It’s the kind of place you go on vacation, but Fox can eat there whenever she wantsbecause she lives in town. I’m getting so chilled out just imagining being there. This is, by far and away, my favorite place I have ever seen anyone ever eat on Total Divas. It’s a shame that this has to be the place for Fox to hold her big family meeting, and she can’t just relax with a cold drink. But maybe the chill vibes are just what she needs to make a tense situation manageable for her. I think she made a great choice in restaurants. Priechy shows up. Fox’s mom already knew about his illness, but she never told her daughters. This pisses Fox off.
Back in Washington, Nikki and Bryan make a bet that she can’t last the night camping outside. Nikki tries to set up a tent, but she’s having trouble. Bryan teaches her and shegets it. Bryan tells her she has to use the bathroom outside. Nikki says no way, and Bryan wins the bet and fifty dollars in cold, hard cash.
In Los Angeles, Rosa and Paige are driving around. Paige tells Rosa that she can’t go to Rosa’s big, famous baby shower because she has to go on MTV. Rosa is so pissed.No one is coming to the party now.
In Washington, Bryan is chopping wood. Nikki remembers her victory over Bryan in a wood chopping contest many years ago on another season of Total Divas. Thisawakens the competitive fire in Nikki’s heart, and she decides she wants to go fly fishing. Nikki chops wood.
In Florida, the Fox family are going to another chill looking outdoor restaurant in Jacksonville. This episode is doing a great job making me want to move to Florida. Fox confronts her.
In Washington, Nikki goes fishing and Brie and Bryan go shopping. Brie comments on the irony. They look at baby hiking books. Meanwhile, Nikki is learning to fish. She isstarting to come around to the Washington lifestyle. She realizes that her problem isn’t with Washington, it’s that everyone is moving to the next step in their lives, but she isn’t ready yet.
Back in Florida, Fox and her mom leave the restaurant, and start fighting. Her mom is acting like a total nut. Fox feels guilty, but she really doesn’t need to. Her mom appearsin this episode as the dictionary definition of dysfunctional. Fox drops her mom off, and she is really sad about what happened.
Back in LA, It’s time for Rosa’s big, famous baby shower. There is a photo booth. Rosa is so sad that none of her work friends are there. She is especially mad at Paige. Lillian Garcia shows up, and they take a picture together.
On the MTV set, a strange guy talks to Paige. Paige feels like she is betraying Rosa. Perhaps all the Divas’ problems would be solved with a little truth and transparency.
At Rosa’s party, Rosa talks smack about Paige, and then Paige surprises everyone and shows up. Paige tells Rosa her secret. They hug, and Rosa realizes she’s been a little selfish. Paige hopes to one day be a mom, as good of a mom as she has. They play a game called suck the nipple.
Back in Washington, everyone goes to this really nice North Western styled bistro. Nikki loves it. She tells Brie she is pissed that Washington is too far from her. Nikki tells them she feels like they are moving there to get away from her. She said she went fishing to prove to them that she can be a mountain mama and hang with them in the Wilderness. They tell her that they love having Nikki be their third wheel. Everyone feels a lot better. Brie tells them that they probably aren’t going to move to that particular town anyway.
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) beat The Ascension with the Midnight Hour
Baron Corbin beat Fandango with the End of Days
Paige beat Emma with the Ram-Paige. Good match. They had time, much more than the three previous matches. The crowd was really behind Paige. Greg Hamilton announced the match as a women’s division match
SmackDown:
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns opened the show. Because it’s more of a casual crowd than the ones for Mania and Raw, he got a lot more cheers than the previous nights. Actually, it might have been 50-50, with kids and women cheering for him. He used the “I’m not a bad guy. I’m not a good guy. I’m THE guy” line again. He said what matters to him was to beat AJ Styles.
Styles came out to a huge pop and a big chant of “AJ Styles” when he got in the ring. He shook hands with Reigns congratulating him for the title, saying Roman had a good WrestleMania, but that he had a heck of a Monday Night Raw. Reigns told him that to be THE champ, he needs to beat THE guy. He said that Styles beat guys all over the world, but he never beat him, and he will never be. He tapped him on the shoulder and left.
– The Vaudevillans beat Lucha Dragons with the Gentleman’s Congress
Weird thing. The Vaudevillains’ music started, but after 20 seconds or so, it stopped. Then, after a minute, the Lucha Dragons’ theme started and they made their entrance. Obviously, someone messed up in the back and mixed up the order. Apparently, the music mess-up was not a mistake and just a teaser. The Vaudevillains got very little reaction. Those who were reacting were clapping to the sound of the music, only to realize that they were not babyfaces. Clearly, a lot of the fans didn’t know who they were.
– Natalya beat Summer Rae with the Sharpshooter in a short match. Charlotte and Ric were doing commentary for this match. They are building Natalya as the next contender.
– Intercontinental champion The Miz beat Zack Ryder
Maryse removed one of the bottom corners and threw it in the ring. As Charles Robinson was trying to put it back, Miz raked Ryder’s eyes and hit the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win. Good match, and the crowd got into it.
Maryse got her own entrance, the old one she used to have. She cut a promo, saying her name was Maryse, but that everyone should know that, and that she’s the living proof that behind every great man there’s a great woman and there’s no greater man than her husband. She then introduced The Miz. Ryder didn’t get much of a reaction during his entrance, but it got better during the match. Maryse got some heat during her promo.
– Social Outcasts played a game of rock, scissors and paper to decide who would face Apollo Crews. Curtis Axel had paper while the others all had scissors, but said it was actually an axe, therefore he’s in the match.
– Apollo Crews beat Curtis Axel with a spin-out power bombeat in a total squash match.
– We got two big screen interviews: Baron Corbin did a short one saying the end of days is here, and Becky Lynch saying she would be back in the title picture. Emma cut her off and made fun of her black eye. I guess that’s the next program for both of them. We also got another Colon “Greetings from Puerto Rico” vignette.
– Dean Ambrose beat Tyler Breeze in basically a squash match.
– Cesaro & AJ Styles beat Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Cesaro clotheslined Jericho and both ended up outside. Cesaro then hit a European uppercut on Jericho. As Owens was to throw Styles in the ropes for the pop up powerbomb, Sami Zayn made his way to the ring. He had his left elbow wrapped up and was followed by some referees trying to stop him. Styles schooled boy Owens for the pin. Following that, they did a pull apart between Owens and Zayn.
– The Dudleys then came to the ring and attacked AJ. Roman Reigns came to clean house. Reigns and Styles were alone in the ring and looked at each other for a long time before they finally shook hands. Jericho took the mic and asked AJ to shake his hands in apology for calling him Y2Jackass. Styles hit the Styles Clash on him, followed by Reigns’ Superman punch.
In Last week’s main event, Drew Galloway defeated Jeff Hardy in a hard fought battle to retain the TNA World title. Additionally, Matt Hardy, Tyrus and “Miracle” Mike Bennett defeated Ethan Carter III and Beer Money in a six-man tag. In an interesting note and potential spoiler for those who haven’t heard, one half of the Tag Team Champs, Beer Money’s Booby Roode, appeared in the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Dallas this past Friday night. He was shown and acknowledged on TV by the announcers. Roode was granted his release a few weeks ago from TNA and finished up at the last set of tapings. He is expected to appear tonight and in the coming weeks on Impact due to the show being taped several weeks in advance.
Tonight:
TNA is promoting tonight’s Impact with the theme Revenge. Tonight’s show is all about getting back what the wrestlers feel they so rightfully deserve. TNA World Champion Drew Galloway will defend his title against the very man he defeated for the title, Matt Hardy. Jeff Hardy battles Eric Young one on one in a Six Sides of Steel Cage match. Additionally, The Pope takes on “The Destroyer” Lashley in a street fight.
Show Recap:
– Josh welcomes us to Impact with the heavy news that tonight is all about revenge and vengeance. Jeremy Borash joins Josh on commentary because The Pope will be in action later.
Six Sides of Steel Cage: Jeff Hardy vs. Eric Young
We kick off the night with Hardy’s Revenge. We get a recap of Eric Young piledriving Jeff through a table and injuring him back in January. EY promises to piledrive Jeff from the top of the cage. Jeff comes out and brings a table with him.
Before the match officially starts, EY, Bram and Jeff brawl around the ringside area. Bram and EY throw a table and chairs into the ring. Young sends Jeff into the ring briefly having the advantage until Jeff makes a comeback. Jeff hastily knocks Bram off the apron.
Back from commercial, the match has officially begun and Jeff is in control. Jeff sets up four chairs in the center of the ring. He attempts to give EY a twist of fate through the chairs, but EY countered and piledrove Jeff though the chairs creating a pretty sick looking spot. Jeff won the match after hitting a swanton bomb from the top of the cage onto EY who laid weary on the table.
– Backstage, TNA President Dixie Carter is sick of the beef between Maria Kanellis and Knockouts Champion Gail Kim. Dixie asked both whom they spoke with in TNA management that gave them the authority to make two separate number one contenders matches. Neither had an answer for her. Dixie made Gail Kim defending against Jade and Madison in a triple threat for later. Maria started to annoy Dixie so Dixie walked away and Maria chased after her calling her name.
– Backstage, Jeff ices his neck and quotes Vanilla Ice by saying “Ice, ice, baby.” Jeff acknowledges the he will be watching the world title match between Matt Hardy and champion Drew later.
– In the ring, J.B. hosts “The Final Word” and brings out the participants in tonight’s main event to have their final words. First, Matt Hardy and The Brand (Reby, Maxell, Tyrus & Rockstar Spud) make their way to the ring. J.B. goes to introduce TNA World Champion Drew Galloway, but Matt interrupts and does the introduction. Matt did a pretty poor job introducing Drew, but that might have been the point.
This was just a basic segment where they argued back and forth setting up the main event. Matt became irate when Drew brought up Jeff. Tyrus took the mic and reminded everyone that he is the number one contender after winning Bound For Gold back at Bound For Glory. Tyrus teased that he might use his title shot tonight. Matt was shocked after hearing this news.
– Backstage, The Pope gets ready and pumped up for the street fight, which is coming up next.
– Back from commercial, Ethan Carter III congratulated Tyrus for contemplating cashing in his title shot. EC3 reminded Tyrus that he cost him the world title. Tyrus told EC3 that he hates him and EC3 told him he hates him more.
On commentary, Josh and J.B. point out that the Bound for Gold title shot is not like the Feast or Fired. Apparently, Tyrus can’t just cash in his title shot and must inform TNA Management ahead of time.
Street Fight: “The Destroyer” Lashley vs. The Pope
Lashley jumped The Pope has he made his way to the ring. This was basically a glorified squash match. Lashley dominated The Pope and got a majority of the offense. Pope smashes a trashcan into Lashley’s face, gaining him the brief advantage and allowing him to use the Singapore cane. It wasn’t enough as Lashley speared The Pope to win the match.
Post match, Lashley wasn’t satisfied with beating The Pope and gave him two more spears. Ethan Carter III came down for the save, but once again Lashley just backed off and walked away from EC3. As Lashley walked away, “Miracle” Mike Bennett blind sides EC3 and jumps him with the steel chair, and then left him lying in the ring.
– Back from commercial, EC3 is still in the ring and calls out Bennett to come back to the ring. “The First Lady of Pro Wrestling” Maria Kanellis comes out to introduce The Miracle, but EC3 interrupts and demands Bennett come out. They argue back and forth and setup a match for next week. Bennett and Maria started to leave, but EC3 chased after Bennett. Mike pushed Maria into EC3 and ran into the back.
EC3 and Bennett fought all over the backstage area and into the parking lot. Bennett hit EC3 with a tire iron and escaped in his car.
– Backstage, Rockstar Spud met with Tyrus. Spud came up with a plan, which he wrote on crumpled piece of paper. Tyrus didn’t care about Spud’s plan and doesn’t need it.
Knockouts Champion Gail Kim vs. Jade vs. Madison Rayne
Josh recaps the events that lead to this triple threat match. Match starts with Gail and Madison taking turns beating on Jade. Jade hit a dive through the ropes onto Madison on the floor. Gail went to climb to the top, but Maria came out and hit Gail with the belt behind the refs back. Jade pinned Gail Kim to become the new Knockouts champion.
– They’re teasing that Tyrus might be added to the main event to make it a triple threat or he’ll just use his title shot.
– Backstage, Jade is celebrating becoming Knockouts Champion and her victory. Jade said The Dollhouse was holding her back.
– Next we get a recap of TNA Producer, Al Snow attacking Grado and breaking his arm last week.
Al Snow is talking to Billy Corgan and he’s upset that TNA management let someone like Grado into TNA. Billy informed Al that he is suspended and must give a public apology.
– In the ring, X Division champion Trevor Lee and Gregory Shane Helms call out Eddie Edwards. Last week, Helms gave Eddie a week to decide if he wants to tag team with Helms to challenge Beer Money for the belts. Eddie turns down Shane’s offer and tells him “No”. Shane is not happy to hear that. Shane and Trevor are about to jump Eddie. Beer Money comes down to the ring and Shane and Lee leave immediately.
Beer Money is left alone in the ring and they turn their attention to the other tag teams in the TNA. James Storm did most of the talking here and Roode paced back and forth. Suddenly, Decay came out and demanded a title shot. Beer Money and Decay brawled around ringside, eventually making their way into the ring. Security came out to break up the brawl.
– In the back, Matt Hardy gives his final words for tonight’s main event (despite the segment earlier). The story here is that during the promo, Matt was unaware that Tyrus slowly approached in the background.
– Backstage, Beer Money issues an open challenge to any or all tag teams for next week.
TNA World Champion Drew Galloway vs. Matt Hardy w/ Tyrus and Rockstar Spud
Josh reminds us that Tyrus must decide if he’s going to be a part of the match. Tyrus teases using his title shot but it’s all just a distraction to give Matt the early advantage. Matt jumps Drew and is in control right out of the gate.
Back from commercial, Drew and Matt are trading shots on the apron. Spud grabs Drew’s leg, which gives Matt the chance to hit the side effect on the apron. Matt faked an ankle injury and took his boot off, which he then used, but only got a near fall. Drew hit the future shock DDT on Matt, but Tyrus pulled the referee out before the three. Jeff ran out and brawled with Tyrus. Matt screamed at Jeff, “Get out of my life!” like any other typical family drama. Drew made Matt tap out to the Iron Maiden to retain the TNA World title.
Next Time on Impact:
Next week’s Impact features Ethan Carter III taking on “Miracle” Mike Bennett for the first time ever. Also, Beer Money issues an open challenge to any and all TNA tag teams. Plus, the feud and bad blood between Jeff and Matt continues next week.
The Raw after WrestleMania, usually the highest rated episode of the year, did 4.08 million viewers, down from 5.35 million for the same show in 2015.
The number was the largest for the show since the day after the Royal Rumble (when Dwayne Johnson made an appearance) and was only the second show to hit four million viewers on average since June.
However, the number is well below what would have been expected for the show. For a comparison, the audience grew 1.2 million viewers from the go-home Mania show to the day after Mania show last year, while this year, the increase was just 318,000 viewers.
Raw was fourth for the night on cable, and all three shows that beat it were focused on the NCAA championship game on TBS. The game did 13.85 million viewers, the pregame show did 9.67 million viewers, and the postgame show did 4.97 million viewers. The basketball barely impacted ABC’s Dancing With the Stars which did 11.72 million viewers, down from 11.97 million the week before.
RAW had a familiar pattern with the big drop in the third hour when the game was in its second half. RAW’s main event was a #1 contender’s match between AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and Chris Jericho.
Honolulu, Hawaii: – Bobby Bruns and Bobby Managoff defeated Al Kashey and Tom Rice to win the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Titles
1961
Mobile, Alabama: – Bobby and Don Fields defeated The Mysterious Medics for the Gulf Coast NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
Columbus, Georgia: – Skull Murphy defeated Guy Mitchell to win the Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1968
Houston, Texas: – Spoiler #1 (Don Jardine) defeated Fritz Von Erich for the NWA American Heavyweight Title
St. Joseph, Missouri: – Harley Race defeated Sonny Myers to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
1974
Sydney, Australia: – Pat Barrett and Tony Kontellis won a tournament for the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Titles
1976
Memphis, Tennessee: – Big Bad John and Bill Dundee defeated Roger Kirby and David Schultz for the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1978
Baton Rouge, Louisiana: – The Assassin and Ernie Ladd defeated Ray Candy and Steven Little Bear to win the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Titles
Blackburn, England: – Steve Grey defeated Bobby Ryan in a tournament final for the British Lightweight Title
1980
Chattanooga, Tennessee: – Roger Mason defeated Steve Travis to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
1982
Memphis, Tennessee: – Andy Kaufman defeated AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler by disqualification
1984
Kansas City, Kansas: – Jerry and Ted Oates won the NWA Central States Tag Team Title defeating The Grapplers (Tony Anthony and Len Denton)
1986
Yokohama, Japan: – Riki Choshu defeated Stan Hansen to win the NJPW PWF Heavyweight Title
1987
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – Bruce Hart and Brian Pillman defeated Kerry Brown and Duke Meyers to win the vacant Stampede International Tag Team Titles
1991
Dallas, Texas: – Bill Dundee won the USWA Texas Heavyweight Title from Eric Embry – Jeff Jarrett defeated Tom Prichard for the USWA Heavyweight Title
1992
Wrestlemania VIII: Indianapolis, Indiana: – Bret Hart pinned WWF Intercontinental Champion Roddy Piper to win the title – Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) pinned WWF Champion Ric Flair (with Mr. Perfect) to win the title – Shawn Michaels (with Sensational Sherri) pinned Tito Santana – The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) pinned Jake Roberts – The Big Bossman, Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter and Virgil defeated The Mountie, The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) and Repo Man – Tatanka pinned Rick Martel – The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Money, Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster (with Jimmy Hart)) by dq – Owen Hart pinned Skinner – Hulk Hogan defeated Sid Justice (with Harvey Whippleman) by disqualification
Mexico City, Mexico: – Satanico defeated Lizmark for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title
1997
Caguas, Puerto Rico: – Carlos Colón won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title by defeating Jim Steele
1999
Uniondale, New York: – Kane and X-Pac defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett (with Debra) to win the titles
2002
Manatí, Puerto Rico: – Ricky Banderas and Shane the Glamour Boy defeated The Starr Corporation (Chicky Starr and Victor the Bodyguard) to win the IWA World Tag Team Titles
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: – Bruce and Teddy Hart defeated Apocalypse and Dave Swift in a tournament final for the Stampede International Tag Team Titles
OVW Spring Breakout: Louisville, Kentucky: – Leviathan (Batista) pinned both Chris Cage and Johnny Jeter in a handicap match – Flash Flanagan and Trailer Park Trash defeated Big Bad John (Heidenreich) and Bull Buchanan – The Dogg Pound (Shelton Benjamin and Redd Dogg) and Nidia defeated The Disciples of Synn (Damien and Payne) and Synn – Danny Davis and The Lords of the Ring (Rob Conway and Nick Dinsmore) defeated Victoria and OVW Southern Tag Team Champions Doug Basham and Damaja – David and Ric Flair defeated Sean O’Haire and OVW Heavyweight Champion The Prototype (John Cena)
2003
Bayamón, Puerto Rico: – Ray Gonzalez won the IWA World Heavyweight Title from Ricky Banderas
2006
Louisville, Kentucky: – K.C. James and Roadkill defeated The Untouchables (Deuce and Domino) for the OVW Southern Tag Team Titles
2013
ROH Supercard of Honor 7: New York City: – Jay Brisco defeated Kevin Steen to win the ROH World Title – ROH World Tag Team Title Match: reDRagon defeated American Wolves to retain the titles – ROH TV Title Match: Matt Taven defeated Adam Cole and Matt Hardy to retain the title – Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson defeated Roderick Strong – #1 Contender Match: Michael Elgin defeated Jay Lethal – Mike Bennett beat Shelton Benjamin
In an interesting promotional move, the UFC has announced that the 24th season of The Ultimate Fighter will be a 16-man tournament for a December shot at the UFC flyweight title. That season kicks off on August 31st on Fox Sports One.
The current champion is Demetrious Johnson, who defends the title against Henry Cejudo on 4/23 in Las Vegas. Based on the timing of when the TUF winner would get the title shot, there could be a Johnson/Cejudo rematch before that if something controversial happens.
The company announced tryouts for season 24 would take place on 4/25 at the Palace Station in Las Vegas, and that they are looking for fighters between the ages of 21 and 34, with at least three pro fights and an above .500 winning percentage. The season will be filmed in June and July.
The finalists will compete in the final regular episode of the season, meaning the opponent for the champion would likely only be advertised for a short period of time, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, before the title match takes place.
What’s notable is that if they are not including fighters on the roster like Joseph Benavidez, Louis Smolka and Zach Makovsky on the competition, it’s pretty ridiculous to bypass legitimate top contenders and bring in only unknowns in a division where virtually every top fighter in the weight class is already in UFC.
Tonight is the most anticipated Raw of the year, the famed Night After WrestleMania show where the fans who traveled in often take over the program, leading to a wild evening of live television. Now the question is, after building up to WrestleMania for three months, where does the company go from here and who do they trust? It’s a given that Roman Reigns will get a profoundly negative reception after his victory over HHH to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. In regards to the Authority, the usual pattern is the night after they lose in a blowoff match, they get their heat back immediately. Perhaps Stephanie McMahon will return with her WrestleMania haircut as Aunty Entity from Mad Max Beyond Thuderdome as an added bonus.
Our coverage starts tonight at 8 ET.
The Big News: More than just a night after WrestleMania show, this felt like a milestone program where new stars debuted. And playing in front of a crowd that instantly got acts over, it made for as good a 3-hour Raw as possible. There were negatives, namely in the first hour. Shane McMahon was given “control” of the show by Vince McMahon, which is exactly what Vince was fighting against for weeks. There was no trace of the Authority. After winning the Intercontinental Championship last night, Zack Ryder dropped the title to the Miz after Maryse returned to distract Ryder. Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Enzo and Big Cass all debuted from NXT. Of that group, Enzo and Cass made a huge sensation and felt like guys who could be top faces. A.J. Styles will be the next challenger for Roman Reigns after winning an excellent four-way match against Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and the returning Cesaro, who also came off like a potential star if the company will only let him.
Michael Cole said right at the top that the fans would be different from the standard Raw crowds, with JBL and Byron Saxton saying they were having fun.
Roman Reigns came out for his victory speech. No…..Vince McMahon came out. The fans even sang his theme song. Vince gloated over the Undertaker’s victory over Shane McMahon, but admitted when Shane climbed to the top of the Hell in a Cell, Vince thought to himself “Don’t do it.” He had no idea Shane would risk he life to achieve his goals, but it also reminded him of how foolish Shane was. Vince said this Raw would be one the fans never forgot.
Before Vince could leae, Shane came out. He was carried out on a stretcher last night and he gradually walked out. Vince thought Shane would be in a hospital bed. Crowd chanted “Thank you, Shane.” Shane, who had a scare on his left eye, said he was the only man in the family, he came out to shake his hand like a man and admit his father won. Shane thanked the fans and started to tear up. Fans chanted “You still got it.” Vince chastized the fans, saying it was because of them that Shane got the hell beat out of him. Shane then said goodbye.
Vince got mad and accused Shane of upstaging him. Vince said he thought of how crazy it would be for Shane to run Monday Night Raw. Fans chanted “Let him run it.” Vince said, to prove his point, he told Shane to run the show tonight. And with that, the point of last night’s match, in addition to five weeks worth of buildup, was largely rendered pointless.
The New Day came out next and the fans chanted along with Big E’s introduction routine. Big E. admitted that not everything went according to plan last night for them, but Kofi Kingston acknowledged getting to twerk with Shawn Michaels. Kingston also admitted Xavier Woods got stunned by Steve Austin. They held up the last flake of the giant box of “Booty-O’s,” and Woods held it up and sang in tongues last he was Indiana Jones holding the prized grail from “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Fans knew the catchphrases before Big E. could even say them, and everyone looked elated at the response they got. Came off like they were the modern day New Age Outlaws or Edge and Christian.
The New Day (C) defeated King Barrett and Sheamus to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles (8:45)
Kingston pinned King Barrett after the Midnight Hour. Barrett collided with Sheamus before the finish. As will be the case all night long, the match was a backdrop for the crowd, who started doing the wave and chanted “We are Awesome” only a half hour into the show. Woods had to get on the PA mic and say the wave meant the fans liked Sheamus. That stopped the wave dead in its tracks.
Postmatch, Sheamus said the League of Nations are a group of elite athletes that should be champions, but aren’t. He said it was time to identify the weak link. Rusev and Alberto Del Rio held up Barrett, and Sheamus gave Barrett the Brogue Kick, then kicked him out of the ring. Fans chanted goodbye at Barrett.
Then, for whatever reason, Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowman showed up and started brawling with the remaining League of Nations members, ending with Wyatt giving Sheamus Sister Abigail.
Vince left in a limo. He told Renee Young that he didn’t want to stay around a witness a disaster. Why the hell did he stay around last summer? He said Shane being in charge of Raw was only temporary.
Summer Rae did a prematch promo saying if she had been in charge of the Bad n’ Blond team, they would have won. She started running down Sasha Banks, who came out. Banks said she was still the boss and slapped Rae.
Sasha Banks defeated Summer Rae via submission (1:40)
Banks beat Rae with the Bank Statement. Even at 1:40, Rae was exposed.
Apollo Crews will make his debut tonight, and he and Shane shook hands bacstage. So how did Shane know his father would put him in charge before the show, allowing Crews to be booked? I know these shows are frequently booked with very little time in advance, but still.
They showed the mainstream media articles from various outlets that WrestleMania received. Every time Roman Reigns was shown, loud boos could be heard.
Apollo Crews defeated Tyler Breeze (1:54)
A standard debut squash where Crews pinned Tyler Breeze with a Spinout Power Bomb. Crews got a good response, but he’s not going to fly with the standard interview procedure.
Reigns and Charlotte were shown on the Today show.
Reigns came out to get booed out of the building. I mean, when Hulk Hogan got booed on Nitro in 1995, at least there was a vocal minority cheering him. This was an unanimous negative reception. There were “Reigns is Booty” signs. Reigns, who knew it was coming, said “I’m not a bad guy, I’m not a good guy. I’m THE guy.” That only made things worse. He challenged anyone from the back to fight him for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Chris Jericho came out and tried to turn the crowd against him. He might as well have been the Philadelphia 76ers facing the 1997 Chicago Bulls with this crew.
Jericho shouted down the fans, saying they weren’t going to hijack the show on his watch. He bragged about beating the “Internet favorite” A.J. Styles at WrestleMania and challenged Reigns. Then Styles came out, followed immediately by Kevin Owens (selling injuries from last night’s ladder match). Sami Zayn (not selling injuries from last night’s match). Fans sang Zayn’s theme song, which Reigns got a kick out of. Zayn got in the ring, and he and Owens immediately started brawling. Styles and Jericho also fought while Reigns hanged out by himself. Zayn did a flip tope on Owens. Jericho threw Styles out of the ring. Reigns gave Jericho a spear and got booed some more.
Backstage, Shane told Reigns that tonight’s main event would be a Fatal Fourway between Owens, Jericho, Styles and Zayn, with the winner becoming number one contender.
Baron Corbin debuted after winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Corbin stood in front of the Andre trophy and said he’s carved a path of devastation and destroyed dreams to get to Raw, and devastation awaits anyone who gets in his way.
Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler battled to a double countout (8:32)
Strange way to book Corbin in his debut. They have a whole crew of Social Outcasts back there waiting, but they put a solid midcarder in Dolph Ziggler in there with him. And Corbin doesn’t even get the win. Instead, he sells for half the match, which he doesn’t do well. Ziggler kicked out of his backup finisher, the Deep Six. Then they brawl into the crowd for a countout. Corbin looked like he had never heard of a countout and screamed “You’re the cause of this” to the referee. He gave Ziggler the End of Days on the floor, which is basically Sister Abigail with a deeper dip. Crews had a simple and standard debut. Corbin had a debut where the fans chanted for a beach ball, then got mad when it was taken away.
Titus O’Neal, in a commercial taped before he was suspended, invited fans to register for a contest where the prize is a trip to Disneyland where they would spend the day with his family.
Zack Ryder came out to a nice reception. Crowd chanted “You deserve it, Wo Wo Wo.” Ryder showed a photo of him as a child where he was with Razor Ramon holding his Intercontinental Championship. Last night, he had a chance to take a picture with Ramon, this time with Ryder’s Intercontinental Championship. He thanked his father, who looks like he could make bicep curls with Vince. Seriously, if he becomes a regular character like John Cena’s father in 2009, USADA may pay a visit while he’s in the garage changing oil. The Miz came out and said Ryder was lucky to win the match last night, and said if Ryder wanted to put his name alongside Shawn Michaels, Ramon and Miz, he would put the title right now. Ryder declined, but Miz said Ryder was just all hype. That got the match started.
The Miz defeated Zack Ryder (C) to win the Intercontintal Championship (10:26)
Miz won is a sequence where Maryse made her return. Miz started arguing with Ryder’s father, who shoved him down. This led to Maryse walking out of the crowd and confronting Ryder’s dad, and then slapping him. Ryder was distracted by all this, and Miz gave him the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin. Sad to see Ryder drop the title so soon, and it further devalutes the championship when it winds up back around Miz’s waist.
Owens did an interview blaming Zayn for him losing the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania, but Zayn wouldn’t cost him a chance for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He said the road to KOMania 2 begins tonight.
The Vaudevillains will debut on this week’s edition of SmackDown. This team getting called up to the roster so soon smeels like a total Ascension job.
Lita was in the ring with all of the women’s wrestlers in the company. She put over the effort they put in their matches at WrestleMania, then formally introduced the first WWE Women’s Championship belt. Charlotte and Ric Flair (who, no doubt, had to be pulled away from the National Championship game, where his beloved UNC Tar Heels were playing) came down. Fans chanted for Bayley, which Cole acknowledged as saying “She isn’t here.” Fans sang soccer songs over her interview, as she was trying to put over her fellow wrestlers. She held up the title and said this was the future. Fans chanted “Women’s wrestling,” which made everyone in the ring smile. Charlotte said she wouldn’t have gone down in the history books as the new women’s champion without her father. She thanked everyone in the audience, whose energy fueled her to victory.
Charlotte said some of the wrestlers had been there 7 or 8 years, but she hasn’t even been here 1 year and she’s still champion. Charlotte turned her attention to Becky Lynch and Banks, saying they did it, but she did it. Lynch walked out, as did Paige, Tamina, Brooklyn, Eva Marie (not acknowledged), and everyone else. Then Nataliya told Charlotte she needs to learn something about humility. Natalya said she had given Charlotte some of her most difficult matches. Charlotte talked down to her and spoke badly of the entire Hart family. Natalya shot a double leg and briefly put her in the sharpshooter until Flair pulled Charlotte out.
Styles was interviewed by Young. He said this is a day of new beginnings. Shane is running Raw, Regins wants to face all challengers as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and he came to the company not to lose one match at WrestleMania. He came to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Another debut, this time a vignette with the artists formerly known as Los Matadores. This time, they had sans masks, outfitted in dress shirts and shorts putting over how great it was to live in Puerto Rico “unlike where you live.” No name was given for the act.
The Dudley Boyz defeated the Usos in a tables match (8:53)
There was a mix-up at the finish. Jimmy and Jey Uso were ready to perform simultaneous splashes to the Dudleys on each table, but Bubba Ray Dudley and Devon Dudley moved and the Usos crashed through the wood. The bell sounded, but it wasn’t supposed to. Bubba Ray then threw Jey threw a table stationed in the corner for the official finish, and Bubba yelled at the timekeeper for the screwup. Standard spots you see in every tables match, including where the Dudleys give Jimmy a double suplex, but Jey moved the table.
Zayn did a promo where Young actually asked him if he had ever been in a four-way match before. I could hear Gabe Sapolsky groaning from here. Zayn said tonight was bigger for him than WrestleMania. He said he was known as the Underdog from the Underground. Owens jumped Zayn from behind and power bombed him through a table backstage.
The Dudleys were still out there when Enzo Amore and Big Cass made their debut to a huge ovation. Enzo Amore did his whole routine and he was over instantly. Enzo called the Dudleys a couple of haters, then said Hate was nothing but love disguised as jealousy. Enzo cut down Devon saying he would put his lazy eye back to work. He said Bubba better think twice, it would be two more thoughts than he had all day. Fans started chanting “Enzo Amore” to the tune of “Seven Nation Army.” Cass challenged them to come down to the ring. Dudleys went to the ring, then retreated. Cass did his “Sawft” catchphrase and the fans knew it by heart. This debut couldn’t have gone any better for Enzo and Cass.
They’re back to doing guest stars. Next week, Dr. Phil will be featured.
It was announced by Cole that Zayn was out of the main event after getting attacked by Owens. Instead, Lillian Garcia announced Shane had appointed a replacement: Cesaro, who came out dressed like Bautista, then stripped down to his trunks.
A.J. Styles pinned Chris Jericho to win a four way for the number one contendership for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Fatal Fourway that also included Cesaro and Kevin Owens (16:44)
This was a Raw match on the caliber of some of those John Cena U.S. Championship Series bouts last year. An excellent match where Styles won after hitting the Styles Clash on Jericho. Cesaro had his moments to shine, as well, and did the crowd ever love him. He threw forearm uppercupts to opposite corners with the fans eating up every one. There was a Tower of Doom spot where Styles took a bump off the top rope, which had to feel like hell after his back injury from earlier this year. Styles did a 450 Springboard Splash on Jericho. Later, Jericho attempted the Walls on Cesaro, who made the ropes. Excellent stuff.
SUMMARY: It felt like a new company. New faces abound with guys that are fresh acts who are already over. There was a great main event. No Authority, which seemed to make a difference in the fact that the show wasn’t built around who controls the company. It’s simply about who can get the championship from Reigns. This is a fresh start that a lot of fans have wanted for quite sometime. Can they sustain this? Or will the laziness of prior years take over, as it has done so often? We’ll see.
WWE just announced that there were 1,824,000 subscribers to the network as of today, the day after WrestleMania.
That number sounds fantastic on the surface, and isn’t necessarily negative, but of that, 370,000 ordered the month for free and all growth from last year was from adding new international markets, as the number of paid domestic subscribers was actually slightly down from the day after WrestleMania last year.
The real key will be the retention rate from those 370,000 free subscribers and comparison with last year.
They expect that with the free subscribers expiring and turning into paid subscribers at the same rate as usual, that the free month will lead to an average of 1,480,000 to 1,550,000 subscribers during the second quarter, an increase of from 1,233,000 last year.
George Barrios in the conference call noted that because of the free offer, that comparisons of paid vs. unpaid would be misleading and the difference after how many of this group transforms into paid after the one month trial.
They also said that overall, they are expecting first quarter OIBDA of $19 million this year and talked about a $70 million to $75 million range for this year. That figure would get profitability back in the range of where it was before the network was launched.
Paid subscribers as of today are 1,109,000 listed in the U.S., down from 1,123,000 listed in the U.S. last year. Keep in mind that the difference is a lot of outside the U.S. subscribers in foreign countries were listed as U.S. last year, so true U.S. numbers are likely up.
International paid went from 192,000 to 345,000.
Of the free subscribers, 281,000 are listed as U.S and 89,000 are listed as outside the U.S.
The WWE averaged 1.29 million paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2016, up from 927,000 last year, so there is significant year-over-year growth, but because of the ease of getting Mania free, the paid growth for day after Mania isn’t as significant.
Had they not offered WrestleMania free, no doubt paid would be significantly higher, but the question is where paid is one month from now before you can evaluate whether this was a success or not.
