"[They're] embarrassed by your product,” Rupert Murdoch said of USA Network’s handling of the pro wrestling promotion before offering $1.025 billion over five years for 'Smackdown' while NBC will pay $265 million to retain Monday-night showcase 'Raw.’
On May 17 at 9:30 a.m., WWE executive Stephanie McMahon and her husband, Paul Levesque — better known as the fearsome wrestler Triple H — walked into a conference room on the 44th floor of 21st Century Fox's Manhattan headquarters. They were there for a pitch meeting with Fox leadership, who were eager to acquire WWE's programming, which includes the weekly Raw and SmackDown Live.

Both shows have been fixtures on NBCUniversal cable networks, and NBCU was fully expecting to keep things that way with a new 10-year deal worth $360 million, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. But Peter Rice, chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, knew that NBCU's exclusive negotiating window was due to lapse at 4:59 p.m. ET on May 16. By the end of the meeting, the two sides had shaken hands on a five-year deal for SmackDown worth $1.025 billion.

How the deal — which is not yet final but expected to close soon — went down says a lot about the importance of wrestling and other live events to network strategy, especially as the Murdoch family prepares to launch "New Fox" after most of its assets are sold to Disney or Comcast. Sports will become an integral piece of the new company, which will include sports cable nets FS1 and FS2 and the Big Ten Network.

A week after Fox's WWE handshake, rival ESPN closed the second half of a deal with the UFC — a five-year, $150 million annual linear pact that followed another streaming agreement to put 15 mixed martial arts events a year on ESPN+, the Disney-owned network's nascent OTT service. All told, ESPN will pay UFC $1.5 billion over five years.

At the WWE meeting with Rice were Fox Sports executives Eric Shanks and Larry Jones and Rupert Murdoch, Fox's 87-year-old patriarch. CEO Lachlan Murdoch joined the meeting on the phone. Along with McMahon, WWE's chief branding officer, were co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios as well as CAA's Nick Khan and Alan Gold, a partner at EMC (the investment advisory part-owned by CAA). When they walked into the conference room, they saw an enormous TV screen projecting a shot from WrestleMania 34, with wrestler Ronda Rousey lifting the 256-pound Triple H in a fireman's carry. That photo — displayed with the Fox Sports and FS1 logos superimposed on it — served as an icebreaker for a negotiation that would last two and a half hours.

The deal first sparked into life when Rice phoned Khan (repping WWE) weeks earlier and asked to meet immediately should NBCU not exercise an option to retain SmackDown, which averages 2.6 million viewers a week on USA. NBCU had the right to match any offer of $200 million or less per year, but decided not to pursue SmackDown and focus instead on keeping Raw, which averages 3 million viewers and features A-list superstars including John Cena. Fox came in with $205 million, but the company was offering more than cash. The elder Murdoch insisted NBCU was "embarrassed by your product." Fox, he said, would fully embrace WWE, with SmackDown promos airing across sports programming every night of the week, along with a weekly studio show on FS1. More than that, the deal, Lachlan Murdoch told McMahon during a private call at the end of the meeting, would herald the marriage of the Murdochs and the McMahons, rebel outsiders who had built media empires. (McMahon's father, Vince, took over WWE from his father in the '80s.)

That pitch sealed the bargain. Starting in October 2019, Fox will air SmackDown for five years, if the deal closes as expected. NBCU will retain Raw, paying $265 million per year, sources say, with the two deals valued at $2.35 billion over five years — a massive increase from the $130 million per year that NBCU currently pays for both programs.

Four days earlier, and a mere two blocks north of Fox headquarters at Radio City Music Hall, Stephanie McMahon, Rousey — recently defected from UFC — and female wrestlers Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax participated in NBC's annual glitzy upfront presentation. McMahon, 41 and a mother of three daughers. extolled WWE as a bastion of female empowerment and wholesome family entertainment. It was the most prominent placement yet for WWE at NBC's annual pitch to Madison Avenue buyers. As McMahon spoke, a wrestling ring containing Rousey, Flair and Jax rose from the depths of the Radio City stage.

"We could not sell UFC" at Fox, says a former staffer. "And wrestling is family friendly. If you have wrestling you can find cash. I think it's a big win for Fox; it's a great trade-off."

The deals mark a shift for both companies. ESPN needs to find an audience for its streaming network and stanch loses from cord-cutting. Newly minted ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro noted that his "top priority at ESPN is audience expansion [and] how we can be more relevant to more people, especially the younger generation? The median age for UFC is 35 years old. Combat sports in general are interesting to us. We want ESPN+ to be the destination for combat sports."

The deals are an enormous markup for WWE and also a significant increase for UFC.

"Live entertainment rights remain very important to the linear carriers," says Neal Pilson, a former president of CBS Sports who now runs a sports consultancy. "It's like beachfront property. They're not making anymore sports franchises,

But with sports rights climbing ever higher, is the scramble for rights at networks beset by dwindling appointment viewing sustainable? Fox will finish the 2017-18 television season down double digits among total viewers and the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic. ESPN's ratings have fallen with its subscriber base, which is now about 89 million, down from 100 million in 2011. (Technically, WWE is not a sport, since the outcomes are scripted and the performances rehearsed. But like UFC, it is at its core a live-event company with a robust pay-per-view and media rights portfolio.)

"I think that the theory that live entertainment and live sports rights have a ceiling is something media companies want to believe," says Mark Shapiro, co-president of WME-IMG, which owns UFC. "They want to believe that it's getting under control, that the leagues are going to get a comeuppance and things are going to level off. It's not happening. Live sports and live entertainment are more important than ever before. Other television fare just doesn't offer the same engagement."

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Smackdown Live kicks off with Samoa Joe! He comes down to the ring and grabs a ladder. He’s not messing around folks. Things are about to get real. He climbs up the ladder and grabs one of the MITB briefcases. Part of me hopes he’d just leave. Ultimate Statement. Instead, we are treated to a Samoa Joe promo. He cuts a fantastic, amazing, beautiful promo about MITB and his match with Daniel Bryan tonight. Daniel Bryan comes out to retort. This shit is about to go down. Nope…instead we get Big Cass. He says Dbry vs. Joe will not happen. He will face Joe for the last spot when he is cleared. Cass attacks Joe and Bryan.
 
Backstage stuff with Paige, Mandy Rose, Renee Young, and others. Paige makes Big Cass vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniel Bryan for tonight.
 
 
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tye Dillinger
 
Tye pushes Shinsuke to start things off and Nakamura starts laying into him. Heel Nakamura has been my favorite this year. Tye gets small bits of offense that are snuffed out by Shinsuke. Commercial time! Back annnnd Shinsuke and Dillinger are still playing the same game from earlier. Tye gets offense, Shinsuke uses his striking to keep him down. Everytime Shinsuke knocks Dillinger down, he gets the ref to start the count, poking at AJ Styles and their Last Man Standing match at Money in the Bank. Shinsuke wins after a killer Kinshasa.
 
 
Winner by being the foreign Heel: Shinsukeeeee NAKAMUUURRAAAAA
 
 
After the match Shinsuke grabs a mic and counts to 10. A message has been sent to AJ Styles.
 
 
Backstage interview with AJ Styles! Uncle Hoot rants for a few minutes.
 
 
Aiden English and Rusev are out to introduce Lana.
 
Lana and Naomi have a dance competition that ends with Lana attacking Naomi. She also slaps the shit out of Jimmy Uso for no reason. Naomi attacks her back, Rusev and Aiden get superkicked, and we, the WWE Universe are left confused still.
 
 
New Day is backstage yelling for no reason with Mr. Bootiesworth. Miz is in the locker room with The Bar, chopping pancakes like Karate Kid.
 
 
New Day vs. The Miz and The Bar
 
 
My distaste for 6-man tags still stands so you’ll get the highlights and you’ll like it! Just kidding, you don’t have to like it. Nothing special has happened so far. Miz did some heel things and Kofi paid for it. Sheamus is very, very pale and it just amazes me. I forgot about the SOS and how ridiculous that move is. Xavier Woods is probably the most over person in the New Day. This match has been awesome, everyone deserves the win, including Charles Robinson.
 
 
Winner by harnessing the power of a balanced breakfast: The New Day
 
 
Backstage is Renee Young with the Good Brothers. Absohootly is now a new word.
 
 
Carmella comes down to commentary for the next match!
 
 
Mandy Rose vs. Asuka:
 
 
Asuka is attacked by Sonya Deville on the way to the ring. Mandy takes it to Asuka right away. Beating her into a corner. Asuka eventually gets out of the corner but Mandy takes control again. They’re trying to make Mandy Rose look strong and they are doing it. Mandy beats the hell out of Asuka as we go into commercial. Carmella is just there talking trash as usual. Surprisingly good match between the two that ends with Mandy Rose tapping to an Asuka Lock.
 
 
Winner by being the only one wearing actual facepaint: Asuka
 
 
Carmella comes to the ring to go face to face with Asuka. She holds up the title and the crowd doesn’t seem to care.
 
 
Backstage is Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. They talk about Money in the Bank. Paige walks by randomly in the background and interjects herself. She talks about a tea party and walks away. That was…a thing.
 
 
Sin Cara and Andrade “Cien” Almas/ Zelina Vega backstage thing.
 
 
Samoa Joe vs. Big Cass vs. Daniel Bryan:
 
 
Everyone goes after Cass first. He rolls out of the ring and the real match can start. Joe slaps the hell out of him then starts with the punches. He beats on Bryan in the corner. Daniel goes for a backflip but slips. He still manages something, then does a suicide dive on Cass. Joe does a suicide dive as well because he doesn’t want to be shown up, and then Bryan jumps off the top rope into everyone. Commercial time. Back from break and Big Cass is no longer dead. He is battling with Joe, who is murdering everyone currently. Big Cass cant seem to catch a break in this match. Cass does add an extra element to this match and I cant say that im mad he is in it. Im by no means a Big Cass fan but the dude isn’t too shabby in the ring. Cass and Joe tango in the ring, but all the sudden Bryan comes in and starts destroying everyone. Daniel Bryan hits a top rope Hurricanrana and Joe goes flying. He goes for the running knees and is laid out by Cass. Things slow down as Cass works on Bryan. Things pick up after a commercial with Bryan hitting Yes kicks on any and every one. The end of this match got really chaotic so let summarize. Bryan gets the Yes lock on Cass, Joe breaks it up right away and gets a big knee from Bryan. Joe gets a Chocina (sp?) clutch on Daniel Bryan and the last spot for MITB!
 
 
Winner by sweet ass submission move: Samoa Joe
 
 
Cass kicks Daniel Bryan because he is mad. Be a star Big Cass.
 
 
That’s it folks. Smackdown was pretty alright this week. 3.5 pancakes out of 5. Eat it Meltzer. Check out our site for more wrestling goodies, check out my twitter @buuurch1 for shenanigans, and as always, take care.

Memorial Day episode of RAW. Lets get it!
 
 
Raw starts with a tribute to the sacrifices of all troops that didn’t make it home, or struggled when they came back and succumbed to their injuries, visible or not. As a veteran, this day strikes harder than most. Its not just American troops, anyone that can get out there and defend their country in the name of protection of their citizens is truly a special breed.
 
 
Braun Strowman comes out to kick the in ring action off. Braun has a mic and says he’s motivated for MITB. Braun as Mr. Money in the Bank would be insane. The crowd is totally into Braun. Braun talks trash for a few minutes before Finn Balor comes out. After the clobbering he took last week, Finn has shown some big ol balls. Finn brings up that he never officially lost the title. Braun says he put up a really good fight for a little guy. Finn then slaps the shit out of Braun. Braun tosses Finn and he rolls out of the ring. Uncle Kurt comes out to calm these silly kids out. Just kidding. He makes Finn Balor vs. Braun Strowman.
 
 
Finn Balor vs. Braun Strowman:
 
They lock up but Finn gets thrown right away. Braun controls this match early on with a few random shots and heavy irish whips on Finn. Kevin Owens is on commentary and the match seems to be mostly dominated by that. Braun is still killing Finn in the ring. Kevin grabs an arena mic and starts yelling at Braun. We go to commercial with Braun still murdering Finn. Back from commercial has Balor with a small glimmer of offense but Braun puts a stop to that nonsense. Balor catches a shoulder tackle and goes flying into the crowd. Braun carries him like a sack of potatoes back to ringside but Finn launches Braun into the ringpost and starts his offense. KO gets on the mic again and talks trash to him. The two have a great exchange, allowing Finn to get his big comeback moment against the Monster Among Men. Fin hits a Coup de Gras, goes for a second but KO interferes. KO pulls out a ladder and clobbers Balor. He tries against Braun but Braun is too freaking strong and takes the ladder away. He then throws it down the ramp area and KO scurries off. Braun chases.
 
 
Winner by DQ: Finn Balor
 
 
KO is backstage trying to get the hell out of dodge. Uncle Kurt stops him and tells him he made a match for him tonight…vs Bobby Roode.
 
 
Phone Promo with Sasha Banks…
 
 
Elias is in the ring for song time. He gets them to boo and my heart swells at how over this dude is and he doesn’t even have to wrestle. And in the case of tonight, he did not. Whatever works haha. We go to commercial and I think its over but as we come back from break Elias is still there. The crowd chants delete. Lucky for us, Crossfit Jesus, aka Seth Rollins, makes his way to the ring in new red ring attire. My wife says it makes him look fat, I agree. Elias seems to be a little irritated at Seth’s presence. Seth tosses Elias’s chair out of the ring and, with a sad face, Elias makes his way out of the ring. The Modern Day Maharaja makes his way out with Sunil Singh.
 
 
Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal:
 
Seth comes out swinging from the start and proceeds to beat the hell out of Jinder. Seth is fired up and so is the crowd. Jinder gets the upperhand with a little help from his minion and we go to commercial. Jinder holds on to control as soon as we’re back from commercial. Jinder has a monster looking abdominal stretch that turned into Seth almost coming back. He catches a big knee then big stomps on the mat. Rollins gets the turn around by throwing Jinder into the second rope turn buckle. This allows for the usual Seth Rollins power up sequence, Suicide dive and all. A big Blockbuster from Rollins leads to a 2 count. Jinder isn’t out just yet as the two clash again in the corner. Jinder hits a crazy looking Gutbuster and gets the 2! Holy hell that looks painful. There is an exchange of almost special moves, culminating with a Falcon Arrow that ends in a 2 count! Things really picked up! Sunil gets ejected after interfering. This allows Jinder to hit Seth with a chair but Seth ends up kicking out at 2! Sunil comes back and ends up getting powerbombed into Jinder Mahal. That looked actually painful. Rollins clobbers Jinder with a steel chair and is DQ’d
 
 
Winner by DQ: Jinder Mahal and all of Canada.
 
 
Seth continues beating the hell of of Jinder after the match. Seth stands on the announce table to celebrate and gets blasted with a guitar by Elias. Didn’t expect that actually. Kudos WWE.
 
 
Back from commercial and Seth is on a stretcher. He slowly gets up because he has Crossfit on his side and cant be defeated by indie music. People sing Happy Birthday to Seth as he stands in pain. I laughed too hard at that.
 
 
Nia Jax walks down to the ring. Ronda’s music hits before she even gets half way down ramp. SHAAADDDEEEE. Nia is pissed and Ronda walks to the announcer table. Nia has a mic and talks trash to Ronda. Rousey.
 
 
Nia Jax vs. Random lady who I thought was a new ring announcer:
 
 
Nia lets the girl put her in an armbar then slams her down right away. Nia continues to beat down this poor girl, whose name is Michelle Webb apparently, but doesn’t end the match. Nia keeps calling Ronda out, to which Ronda comes down to the ring. They go face to face in the ring. Nia laughs in her face. Nia turns her back and walks away. I guess that wasn’t a match? Whatever.
 
 
Winner by not actually being in a match: Nia Jax
 
 
Dana Brook backstage phone promo thing. Stats and Dana with a nose ring.
 
 
Woken Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt vs. The Ascension:
 
I had to take my dog out at this point since my wife was playing a game on her phone. When I returned, Ascension was in control of the match over Matt. Connor and Viktor have tremendous talent they just cant catch a break on the main roster. Bray eventually comes in and starts rolling through the Ascension. Bray and Matt hit the Kiss of Deletion for the win.
 
 
Winner by not wearing facepaint: Bray Wyatt and Woken Matt Hardy.
 
 
Uncle Kurt is backstage with the B team. They want a title shot. Funny segment.
 
 
Riott Squad phone promo.
 
 
Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens:
 
 
The two lock up in the middle, KO slamming Roode down by his head. Both me go back and forth, with lots of still shots. Its nice to see this level of aggression from Bobby Roode. We get a commercial break because why not go to commercial during a match?! Back and Kevin is hitting hard slaps on Roode. To Bobby’s credit, he sells like a champion. Its amazing. KO misses a Senton and things are back to even. Roode hits a wonderful Blockbust on KO but cant put KO away. Owens racks Roode on the top rope then goes for a top rope suplex but Roode knocks him off the rope. Roode hits a big clothesline. Owens rolls out of the ring but Roode lays chase and lays him out. In the ring, KO hits a surprise Super Kick and gets a 2 count. Kevin Owen gets a surprise win off of a roll up. Excellent match. Second to Rollins match from earlier.
 
 
Winner by Roll up shenanigans: Kevin Owens
 
 
A wild Braun Strowman appears and beats the hell out of Kevin Owens, with Bobby Roode cheering him on. Braun has a running powerslam for Bobby just for being there.
 
 
Sami Zayn comes down to the ring to apologize for that garbage ass segment from last week. Im not dignifying this with words other that this: Sami Zayn deserves better. Whether here or back on the indies, he deserves better. Bobby Lashley does too, but Lashley is established already in WWE and in his time at Impact/TNA/GFW/whatever else they were called. Lashley comes out and challenges Sami to a match at MITB.
 
 
Drew McIntyre vs. Chad Gable:
 
 
Drew dominates Chad from the beginning, he talks trash to him. Chad gets a quick reverse but Drew stops that nonsense right away and beats him down. Gable eventually even things out with his quickness. He hits a monster Moonsault that stopped everyone in their tracks. Drew eventually takes back over, hitting the Claymore and getting the win.
 
 
Winner by kicking a dude directly in the face: Drew McIntyre
 
 
There is a B Team BBQ. It ends in a food fight. You didn’t miss much here kids. Rhyno goes through a table.
 
 
Kurt Angle is backstage, again, with the B team. There is a battle royal next week!
 
 
Gauntlet Match for the last spot in the Women’s Money in the Bank Match:
Bayley faces off against Liv Morgan. Bayley wins right away. Sarah Logan is next. Bayley beats her after a minute or so with a quick roll up. Ruby Riott is next. Bayley was taken out after beating Logan so Ruby Riott is picking at the scraps. 

WWE INTERVIEW: RON SIMMONS "FAROOQ" INTERVIEW | WWE SHOOT INTERVIEW | WRESTLINGWITHWRESTLING.COM...
Andre Corbeil Interviews #WWE Legend Ron Simmons #Farooq Interview. Andre corbeil interviews Ron Simmons.
American professional wrestler. The 1st black world heavyweight champion in WCW, & Multi time tag champion in both WWF "A.P.A" & in WCW as a member of doom. Ron Simmons is Also a deserving WWE Hall of famer Ronald Simmons is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling under his real name, and in the World Wrestling Federation as Farooq...
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On episode 18 of 205 Jive host Jacob Grondy gives a brief history lesson of the two men who competed in 205 Lives main event Hideo Itama & Akira Tozawa, discusses all the 205 news from the rest of the WWE European tour & catches everybody up on what a former Cruiserweight Champion is doing now that he left the WWE. All that as well as a full review of 5/22/18 edition of 205 Live from Worcester Massachusetts.
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