Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jul 29, 2013 18:09:20 GMT -6
PRO WRESTLING NEWS:
---It's worth noting that Rob Van Dam is being advertised for the October 6th WWE Battleground pay-per-view from Buffalo, NY. It's looking more and more like RVD will be sticking around at least through the end of the year. This is the former Over the Limit pay-per-view. Other names advertised include John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler and The Shield.
---Matt Hardy and Reby Sky have announced that they will be getting married on October 3rd of this year. They have launched a website at skyhardwedding.com. The couple met in January of 2011 and Hardy proposed to her in bed at their North Carolina home in March of this year.
---The official WWE website has released a poll asking fans which former Diva they would most like to see return to the organization.
With over 9,000 votes cast, Kelly Kelly is coming out on top with a figure of 23%. She is trailed by Lita (17%), Trish Stratus (13%), Eve (11%), Melina (8%), Beth Phoenix (6%), Victoria (6%), Michelle McCool (5%), Stacy Keibler (4%), Torrie Wilson (4%) and Maxine (2%).
---Former WWE Diva Beth Phoenix, current TNA Impact Wrestling star Mr. Anderson, as well as WWE Hall Of Famer and current weekly RAW color-commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler are all involved in a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new comic book project titled, “Headlocked: The Last Territory.”
The official Kickstarter page for the project lists the following synopsis:
What is Headlocked?
In one sentence, it’s a wrestling cable drama in a comic book!
Headlocked is a coming-of-age story chronicling a college theater major’s quest to become a professional wrestler. It begins from the moment he unexpectedly falls in love with wrestling and follows his journey through the insanity of the wrestling business as he chases his dream of making it to the bright lights and the big stage of the WFW.
On a deeper level, Headlocked is an examination of wrestling as an art form. Our main character, Mike Hartmann, is a college theater major that drops out of school to try and break into the wrestling business. So the reader will learn more about the craft of wrestling through the eyes of a performance artist.
To further our theme of wrestling as art, we use wrestlers to contribute to the book artistically. Our interior artist, Michel Mulipola, is a wrestler from New Zealand. And our cover artist, you might have heard of him….
WWE Hall of Famer, Jerry “The King” Lawler!
If you read further, you’ll see we have a metric ton of awesome guest contributors from the world of comics and wrestling lined up to help make this even better!
--- Prior to a Tables Match against John Cena at today’s WWE live event in Brisbane, Australia, Ryback angrily confronted a fan holding a sign reading “Feed Me More ‘Roids.” The WWE Superstar went on verbal outburst toward the fan and reportedly said he would “f*****g see him outside.” Additionally, he ordered security to confiscate the sign. The ordeal occurred as Cena was making his entrance to the ring.
Ryback acknowledged another taboo subject the day before at a WWE live event in Sydney as he goaded ringside fans chanting “Goldberg!”
--- The official WWE website currently has a poll asking fans which former Diva they would most like to see return to the company. Not listed among the choices is Maria Kanellis, who has claimed in recent weeks through Twitter that the Bella Twins blocked her from returning to the organization earlier this year. Despite not being listed in the poll, she acknowledged it on Twitter with the following message, “Awesome!! Haha… @wwe I’m with @ringofhonor now!! #ROH.” She then stated that she voted for Victoria in the poll.
Meanwhile, Kanellis will be live-tweeting during the series premiere of Total Divas tonight at 10:00 p.m. on E!. In reference to a video that surfaced online of Nikki Bella asking John Cena about marriage on the reality show, Kanellis stated on Friday, “I love watching women beg for a ring. Haha…”
---Jesse Sorensen's return to wrestling-
---WWE's upcoming Legends of Mid-South Wrestling DVD has a run-time of just 6 hours and 3 minutes. The Blu-ray exclusive content runs for 1 hour and 56 minutes so the total runtime for the Blu-ray is 7 hours and 59 minutes.
---Recently-released TNA Knockout Taeler Hendrix did not have kind words to say about TNA president Dixie Carter in a post-TNA interview released over the weekend.
Specifically, Hendrix claimed that Carter said she was too "heavy" to be on television. This was from Hendrix's match against Knockouts champion Mickie James in June.
"I do have my qualms. Don’t tell me on my birthday that I’m 'heavy' to be on TV. That really hurt and I was really upset by that. I'm a size 3, that's not fat at all," Hendrix said on the Greg DeMarco Show.
Hendrix says she put on weight for two reasons: she thought she was too skinny, which set a bad example for the audience, and she is trying to avoid cervical cancer. Regarding the cancer issue, Hendrix said she tried to put on weight to have a healthier frame that she hopes will help prevent cervical cancer from arising.
Regarding her future in wrestling, Hendrix said she is back at Ohio Valley Wrestling (TNA's official training school), but she feels like the "lone wolf" because TNA wrestlers who were released from their contracts have not returned to OVW.
Asked if the mood has changed in OVW since the TNA releases, Hendrix said, "Yes, actually." She added, "Now that I’m not signed anymore, I think I’m enjoying it more. ... I am loving my character right now, she’s awesome."
---7/28 WWE Results: Brisbane, Australia
* Natalya def. Aksana.
* The Great Khali def. Jinder Mahal.
* WWE U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose def. The Miz in a Street Fight match.
* WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel def. Antonio Cesaro.
* WWE Tag Team Champions The Shield def. Kane and Daniel Bryan via DQ.
* WWE Champion John Cena def. Ryback in a Tables match.
---BALTIMORE, JULY 29, 2013 — – Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) (the “Company” or “Sinclair”) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the stock of Perpetual Corporation and the equity interest of Charleston Television, LLC, both owned and controlled by the Allbritton family (“Allbritton”), for an aggregate purchase price of $985.0 million. The Allbritton stations consist of seven ABC Network affiliates, covering 4.9% of the U.S. TV households, and NewsChannel 8, a 24-hour cable/satellite news network covering the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and antitrust clearance, as applicable. The Company anticipates that the transaction will close and fund in the fourth quarter of 2013, subject to the satisfaction of the closing conditions. The Company expects to fund the purchase price at closing through a bank loan and/or by accessing the capital markets.
To comply with FCC local television ownership rules, Sinclair expects to sell the license and certain related assets of its existing stations in Birmingham, AL – WABM (MNT) and WTTO (CW), Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York, PA – WHP (CBS), and Charleston, SC – WMMP (MNT) and to provide sales and other non-programming support services to each of these stations pursuant to customary shared services and joint sales agreements.
The Allbritton stations to be owned and operated are:
Station Affil. Market DMA(1)
WJLA ABC Washington, DC 8
WBMA ABC Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston, AL (2) 42
WCFT ABC Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston, AL(2) 42
WJSU ABC Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston, AL(2) 42
WHTM ABC Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York, PA 43
KATV ABC Little Rock/Pine Bluff, AR 56
KTUL ABC Tulsa, OK 59
WSET ABC Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA 68
WCIV ABC Charleston, SC 98
(1) Represents television designated market areas according to the Nielsen Company. The numbers in the column represent the ranking in terms of size of the DMA out of the 210 generally recognized DMAs in the United States.
(2) WJSU and WCFT, along with associated low-power station WBMA, simulcast all local and network programming to the combined market.
In addition, the Company will acquire Allbritton’s NewsChannel 8, the region’s only 24-hour local cable/satellite news network dedicated to covering news, weather, sports and local information to over 2 million households in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
“We are thrilled to add the Allbritton properties to our growing portfolio and national footprint,” commented David Smith, President and CEO of Sinclair. “To buy a full-blown news operation in our nation’s capital and an infrastructure that allows us to be connected to our branches of government and be at the pulse of national issues is a once-in-a lifetime event. We are especially excited to acquire the NewsChannel 8 local news channel, not only for the content it can provide our existing news stations, but moreover because their regional cable presence provides the perfect platform should we decide to expand it into other markets, especially given the amount of local news we produce across our entire portfolio.”
Including the Allbritton station acquisitions, all previously announced acquisitions, and pro forma for expected synergies, the Company’s 2011 and 2012 net broadcast revenues would have been $1.609 billion and $1.865 billion, respectively. The $985.0 million purchase price represents an 8.7x multiple of the average 2011-2012 cash flow including $21.5 million of operating synergies, which excludes any synergies associated with rolling out a national news cable channel. At an 8.5x enterprise to cash flow multiple, the additional synergies create approximately $1.83 of added equity value.
---The premiere of Total Divas took it to the mat for E! last night. After some lackluster openings this year, the in-and-out-of-the-ring WWE reality show garnered the channel its most-watched debut since Married To Jonas premiered with 1.73 million viewers on August 19, 2012. First announced during E!’s upfront presentation in April, Total Divas pulled in 1.3 million viewers last night in its 10 PM time slot with 855,000 watching in the adults 18-49 demo. With a repeat at midnight, the wrestling-themed show had 2 million viewers total with 1.3 million in the key demo. It certainly benefited from its lead-in, even if Total Divas did see a big viewership drop-off: Keeping Up With The Kardashians had its second best show of its eighth season Sunday with 2.8 million viewers tuning in at 9 PM. That Ryan Seacrest-produced reality show returned in early June for its eighth cycle with 3 million viewers.
---ImpactWrestling.com has an article about the #August1Warning video that was uploaded last Friday, which you can watch above. The article contains a tweet by Bob Holly, who denied being behind the video. Former ROH star and Gut Check contestant Adam Pearce was a lot more cryptic, writing on his Twitter, "By the way, how many days til #August1?"
--- The @august1warning twitter account sarcastically "congratulated" TNA for their great detective work with the article, and then posted the following tweets earlier today.
---New Japan Pro Wrestling has released the full cards for the 2013 G1 Climax annual round-robin tournament, which will start on Thursday, August 1 and run until Sunday, August 11. All 9 shows will be on iPPV, for one total price of $150. To see the shows, go to www.ustream.tv/njpw.
The line-ups for the 9 shows in the G1 Climax are as follows:
8/1 in Shizouka, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano
(2) A BLOCK Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lance Archer
(3) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(4) A BLOCK Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(5) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(6) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
(7) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto
(8) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(9) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahshi vs. Satoshi Kojima
(10) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt
8/2 in Tokyo, Japan (Korauken Hall)
(1) B BLOCK Match: “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(2) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(3) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
(4) A BLOCK Match: Prince Devitt vs. Lance Archer
(5) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(6) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(7) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi
(8) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki
(9) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
8/3 in Aichi, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(2) B BLOCK Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(3) A BLOCK Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Prince Devitt
(4) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki
(5) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito
(6) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
(7) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Toru Yano
(8) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima
(9) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
8/4 in Osaka, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(2) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(3) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(4) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(5) A BLOCK Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(6) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Lance Archer
(7) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki
(8) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt
(9) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada
(10) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi
8/6 in Ishikawa, Japan
(1) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii
(2) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano
(3) A BLOCK Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Lance Archer
(4) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(5) B BLOCK Match: “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki
(6) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Kota Ibushi
(7) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(8) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(9) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Prince Devitt
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe
8/7 in Miyagi, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(2) B BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(3) A BLOCK Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(4) B BLOCK Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki
(5) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer
(6) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito
(7) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Prince Devitt
(8) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(9) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto
8/8 in Kanagawa, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(2) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(3) A BLOCK Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Prince Devitt
(4) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii
(5) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
(6) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer
(7) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
(8) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(9) B BLOCK Match: Minoru Suzuki vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(10) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Satoshi Kojima
8/10 in Tokyo, Japan (Sumo Hall)
(1) A BLOCK Match: Prince Devitt vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(2) B BLOCK Match: “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(3) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Lance Archer
(4) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata
(5) B BLOCK Match: Toru Yano vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(6) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii
(7) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki
(8) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(9) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
8/11 in Tokyo, Japan (Sumo Hall) - Finals
(1) Akebono & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI
(2) B BLOCK Match: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki
(3) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(4) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(5) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(6) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kota Ibushi
(7) A BLOCK Match: Lance Archer vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(8) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Kazuchika Okada
(9) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
(10) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Prince Devitt
(11) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(12) G1 CLIMAX 23 FINAL Match: A BLOCK #1 vs. B BLOCK #1
PRO WRESTLING EVENTS FOR:
Tuesday July 30,2013
HoPWF @ Superior Pro Wrestling Training Center in Hagerstown, Maryland
WLW @ Jaycees Fairgrounds (Miller Lite Arena) in Jefferson City, Missouri
CMLL @ Arena Coliseo in Guadalajara, Mexico
CMLL @ Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico
IWL @ Arena Aficion in Pachuca, Mexico
BJW @ Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan
DDT Pro @ Shinkiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan
IRW @ Warabi Dojo in Saitama, Japan
WWE @ Grand West Casino (Arena) in Cape Town, South Africa
ASW @ Butlins Resort in Bognor Regis, England
ASW @ Town Hall in Rhyl, Wales
FFCP @ Roger Faury Stadium in Le Thor, France
WWE @ Perth Arena in Perth, Australia
IWA @ Charters Towers Showground in Charters Towers, Australia
THE DEAD ZONE:
--- Sad to report the death of Nagaharu Imai, 53, a former All Japan Women and Big Japan Pro Wrestling announcer after a long battle with cancer.
---It's worth noting that Rob Van Dam is being advertised for the October 6th WWE Battleground pay-per-view from Buffalo, NY. It's looking more and more like RVD will be sticking around at least through the end of the year. This is the former Over the Limit pay-per-view. Other names advertised include John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler and The Shield.
---Matt Hardy and Reby Sky have announced that they will be getting married on October 3rd of this year. They have launched a website at skyhardwedding.com. The couple met in January of 2011 and Hardy proposed to her in bed at their North Carolina home in March of this year.
---The official WWE website has released a poll asking fans which former Diva they would most like to see return to the organization.
With over 9,000 votes cast, Kelly Kelly is coming out on top with a figure of 23%. She is trailed by Lita (17%), Trish Stratus (13%), Eve (11%), Melina (8%), Beth Phoenix (6%), Victoria (6%), Michelle McCool (5%), Stacy Keibler (4%), Torrie Wilson (4%) and Maxine (2%).
---Former WWE Diva Beth Phoenix, current TNA Impact Wrestling star Mr. Anderson, as well as WWE Hall Of Famer and current weekly RAW color-commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler are all involved in a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new comic book project titled, “Headlocked: The Last Territory.”
The official Kickstarter page for the project lists the following synopsis:
What is Headlocked?
In one sentence, it’s a wrestling cable drama in a comic book!
Headlocked is a coming-of-age story chronicling a college theater major’s quest to become a professional wrestler. It begins from the moment he unexpectedly falls in love with wrestling and follows his journey through the insanity of the wrestling business as he chases his dream of making it to the bright lights and the big stage of the WFW.
On a deeper level, Headlocked is an examination of wrestling as an art form. Our main character, Mike Hartmann, is a college theater major that drops out of school to try and break into the wrestling business. So the reader will learn more about the craft of wrestling through the eyes of a performance artist.
To further our theme of wrestling as art, we use wrestlers to contribute to the book artistically. Our interior artist, Michel Mulipola, is a wrestler from New Zealand. And our cover artist, you might have heard of him….
WWE Hall of Famer, Jerry “The King” Lawler!
If you read further, you’ll see we have a metric ton of awesome guest contributors from the world of comics and wrestling lined up to help make this even better!
--- Prior to a Tables Match against John Cena at today’s WWE live event in Brisbane, Australia, Ryback angrily confronted a fan holding a sign reading “Feed Me More ‘Roids.” The WWE Superstar went on verbal outburst toward the fan and reportedly said he would “f*****g see him outside.” Additionally, he ordered security to confiscate the sign. The ordeal occurred as Cena was making his entrance to the ring.
Ryback acknowledged another taboo subject the day before at a WWE live event in Sydney as he goaded ringside fans chanting “Goldberg!”
--- The official WWE website currently has a poll asking fans which former Diva they would most like to see return to the company. Not listed among the choices is Maria Kanellis, who has claimed in recent weeks through Twitter that the Bella Twins blocked her from returning to the organization earlier this year. Despite not being listed in the poll, she acknowledged it on Twitter with the following message, “Awesome!! Haha… @wwe I’m with @ringofhonor now!! #ROH.” She then stated that she voted for Victoria in the poll.
Meanwhile, Kanellis will be live-tweeting during the series premiere of Total Divas tonight at 10:00 p.m. on E!. In reference to a video that surfaced online of Nikki Bella asking John Cena about marriage on the reality show, Kanellis stated on Friday, “I love watching women beg for a ring. Haha…”
---Jesse Sorensen's return to wrestling-
---WWE's upcoming Legends of Mid-South Wrestling DVD has a run-time of just 6 hours and 3 minutes. The Blu-ray exclusive content runs for 1 hour and 56 minutes so the total runtime for the Blu-ray is 7 hours and 59 minutes.
---Recently-released TNA Knockout Taeler Hendrix did not have kind words to say about TNA president Dixie Carter in a post-TNA interview released over the weekend.
Specifically, Hendrix claimed that Carter said she was too "heavy" to be on television. This was from Hendrix's match against Knockouts champion Mickie James in June.
"I do have my qualms. Don’t tell me on my birthday that I’m 'heavy' to be on TV. That really hurt and I was really upset by that. I'm a size 3, that's not fat at all," Hendrix said on the Greg DeMarco Show.
Hendrix says she put on weight for two reasons: she thought she was too skinny, which set a bad example for the audience, and she is trying to avoid cervical cancer. Regarding the cancer issue, Hendrix said she tried to put on weight to have a healthier frame that she hopes will help prevent cervical cancer from arising.
Regarding her future in wrestling, Hendrix said she is back at Ohio Valley Wrestling (TNA's official training school), but she feels like the "lone wolf" because TNA wrestlers who were released from their contracts have not returned to OVW.
Asked if the mood has changed in OVW since the TNA releases, Hendrix said, "Yes, actually." She added, "Now that I’m not signed anymore, I think I’m enjoying it more. ... I am loving my character right now, she’s awesome."
---7/28 WWE Results: Brisbane, Australia
* Natalya def. Aksana.
* The Great Khali def. Jinder Mahal.
* WWE U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose def. The Miz in a Street Fight match.
* WWE Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel def. Antonio Cesaro.
* WWE Tag Team Champions The Shield def. Kane and Daniel Bryan via DQ.
* WWE Champion John Cena def. Ryback in a Tables match.
---BALTIMORE, JULY 29, 2013 — – Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) (the “Company” or “Sinclair”) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the stock of Perpetual Corporation and the equity interest of Charleston Television, LLC, both owned and controlled by the Allbritton family (“Allbritton”), for an aggregate purchase price of $985.0 million. The Allbritton stations consist of seven ABC Network affiliates, covering 4.9% of the U.S. TV households, and NewsChannel 8, a 24-hour cable/satellite news network covering the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and antitrust clearance, as applicable. The Company anticipates that the transaction will close and fund in the fourth quarter of 2013, subject to the satisfaction of the closing conditions. The Company expects to fund the purchase price at closing through a bank loan and/or by accessing the capital markets.
To comply with FCC local television ownership rules, Sinclair expects to sell the license and certain related assets of its existing stations in Birmingham, AL – WABM (MNT) and WTTO (CW), Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York, PA – WHP (CBS), and Charleston, SC – WMMP (MNT) and to provide sales and other non-programming support services to each of these stations pursuant to customary shared services and joint sales agreements.
The Allbritton stations to be owned and operated are:
Station Affil. Market DMA(1)
WJLA ABC Washington, DC 8
WBMA ABC Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston, AL (2) 42
WCFT ABC Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston, AL(2) 42
WJSU ABC Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston, AL(2) 42
WHTM ABC Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York, PA 43
KATV ABC Little Rock/Pine Bluff, AR 56
KTUL ABC Tulsa, OK 59
WSET ABC Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA 68
WCIV ABC Charleston, SC 98
(1) Represents television designated market areas according to the Nielsen Company. The numbers in the column represent the ranking in terms of size of the DMA out of the 210 generally recognized DMAs in the United States.
(2) WJSU and WCFT, along with associated low-power station WBMA, simulcast all local and network programming to the combined market.
In addition, the Company will acquire Allbritton’s NewsChannel 8, the region’s only 24-hour local cable/satellite news network dedicated to covering news, weather, sports and local information to over 2 million households in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
“We are thrilled to add the Allbritton properties to our growing portfolio and national footprint,” commented David Smith, President and CEO of Sinclair. “To buy a full-blown news operation in our nation’s capital and an infrastructure that allows us to be connected to our branches of government and be at the pulse of national issues is a once-in-a lifetime event. We are especially excited to acquire the NewsChannel 8 local news channel, not only for the content it can provide our existing news stations, but moreover because their regional cable presence provides the perfect platform should we decide to expand it into other markets, especially given the amount of local news we produce across our entire portfolio.”
Including the Allbritton station acquisitions, all previously announced acquisitions, and pro forma for expected synergies, the Company’s 2011 and 2012 net broadcast revenues would have been $1.609 billion and $1.865 billion, respectively. The $985.0 million purchase price represents an 8.7x multiple of the average 2011-2012 cash flow including $21.5 million of operating synergies, which excludes any synergies associated with rolling out a national news cable channel. At an 8.5x enterprise to cash flow multiple, the additional synergies create approximately $1.83 of added equity value.
---The premiere of Total Divas took it to the mat for E! last night. After some lackluster openings this year, the in-and-out-of-the-ring WWE reality show garnered the channel its most-watched debut since Married To Jonas premiered with 1.73 million viewers on August 19, 2012. First announced during E!’s upfront presentation in April, Total Divas pulled in 1.3 million viewers last night in its 10 PM time slot with 855,000 watching in the adults 18-49 demo. With a repeat at midnight, the wrestling-themed show had 2 million viewers total with 1.3 million in the key demo. It certainly benefited from its lead-in, even if Total Divas did see a big viewership drop-off: Keeping Up With The Kardashians had its second best show of its eighth season Sunday with 2.8 million viewers tuning in at 9 PM. That Ryan Seacrest-produced reality show returned in early June for its eighth cycle with 3 million viewers.
---ImpactWrestling.com has an article about the #August1Warning video that was uploaded last Friday, which you can watch above. The article contains a tweet by Bob Holly, who denied being behind the video. Former ROH star and Gut Check contestant Adam Pearce was a lot more cryptic, writing on his Twitter, "By the way, how many days til #August1?"
--- The @august1warning twitter account sarcastically "congratulated" TNA for their great detective work with the article, and then posted the following tweets earlier today.
---New Japan Pro Wrestling has released the full cards for the 2013 G1 Climax annual round-robin tournament, which will start on Thursday, August 1 and run until Sunday, August 11. All 9 shows will be on iPPV, for one total price of $150. To see the shows, go to www.ustream.tv/njpw.
The line-ups for the 9 shows in the G1 Climax are as follows:
8/1 in Shizouka, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano
(2) A BLOCK Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lance Archer
(3) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(4) A BLOCK Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(5) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(6) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
(7) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto
(8) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(9) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahshi vs. Satoshi Kojima
(10) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt
8/2 in Tokyo, Japan (Korauken Hall)
(1) B BLOCK Match: “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(2) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(3) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
(4) A BLOCK Match: Prince Devitt vs. Lance Archer
(5) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(6) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(7) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi
(8) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki
(9) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
8/3 in Aichi, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(2) B BLOCK Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(3) A BLOCK Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Prince Devitt
(4) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki
(5) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito
(6) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
(7) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Toru Yano
(8) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima
(9) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
8/4 in Osaka, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(2) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(3) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(4) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(5) A BLOCK Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(6) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Lance Archer
(7) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki
(8) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt
(9) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada
(10) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi
8/6 in Ishikawa, Japan
(1) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii
(2) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano
(3) A BLOCK Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Lance Archer
(4) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(5) B BLOCK Match: “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki
(6) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Kota Ibushi
(7) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(8) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(9) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Prince Devitt
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe
8/7 in Miyagi, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(2) B BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(3) A BLOCK Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(4) B BLOCK Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki
(5) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer
(6) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito
(7) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Prince Devitt
(8) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(9) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto
8/8 in Kanagawa, Japan
(1) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(2) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(3) A BLOCK Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Prince Devitt
(4) A BLOCK Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii
(5) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
(6) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer
(7) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
(8) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(9) B BLOCK Match: Minoru Suzuki vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(10) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Satoshi Kojima
8/10 in Tokyo, Japan (Sumo Hall)
(1) A BLOCK Match: Prince Devitt vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(2) B BLOCK Match: “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(3) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Lance Archer
(4) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata
(5) B BLOCK Match: Toru Yano vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(6) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii
(7) B BLOCK Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki
(8) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(9) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
(10) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
8/11 in Tokyo, Japan (Sumo Hall) - Finals
(1) Akebono & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI
(2) B BLOCK Match: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki
(3) B BLOCK Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shelton “X” Benjamin
(4) B BLOCK Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(5) B BLOCK Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi
(6) B BLOCK Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kota Ibushi
(7) A BLOCK Match: Lance Archer vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
(8) A BLOCK Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Kazuchika Okada
(9) A BLOCK Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
(10) A BLOCK Match: Togi Makabe vs. Prince Devitt
(11) A BLOCK Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
(12) G1 CLIMAX 23 FINAL Match: A BLOCK #1 vs. B BLOCK #1
PRO WRESTLING EVENTS FOR:
Tuesday July 30,2013
HoPWF @ Superior Pro Wrestling Training Center in Hagerstown, Maryland
WLW @ Jaycees Fairgrounds (Miller Lite Arena) in Jefferson City, Missouri
CMLL @ Arena Coliseo in Guadalajara, Mexico
CMLL @ Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico
IWL @ Arena Aficion in Pachuca, Mexico
BJW @ Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan
DDT Pro @ Shinkiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan
IRW @ Warabi Dojo in Saitama, Japan
WWE @ Grand West Casino (Arena) in Cape Town, South Africa
ASW @ Butlins Resort in Bognor Regis, England
ASW @ Town Hall in Rhyl, Wales
FFCP @ Roger Faury Stadium in Le Thor, France
WWE @ Perth Arena in Perth, Australia
IWA @ Charters Towers Showground in Charters Towers, Australia
THE DEAD ZONE:
--- Sad to report the death of Nagaharu Imai, 53, a former All Japan Women and Big Japan Pro Wrestling announcer after a long battle with cancer.