The Great American Bash 2007 managed 230,000 buys, with an estimated 143,000 domestic. The 2006 event did 232,000 with 141,000 domestic but it was a Smackdown-only show, which was rebooked a number of times due to suspensions and injuries. This year’s event was a tri-branded event headlined by John Cena vs Bobby Lashley, which was billed, for better or worse, as a dream match of some sort. However, it was the first WWE PPV after the Benoit murders, which perhaps played a part in keeping the buyrate down. Then again, the previous PPV, Vengeance, did only slightly better at 243,000 buys.
The final segment of the 03 September episode of Raw, focusing on the McMahon family, did the highest numbers of any WWE segment since the Vince/Trump/Austin contract signing on the 12 March. It gained 1,238,000 viewers and reached a 4.76 rating for the over-run.
The Wrestling Observer is under the impression that King Booker did not sign his new contract offer before leaving WWE. That would mean he is free to work wherever he wants to without waiting out a non-compete clause. However, he probably wouldn’t be able to use the “King” gimmick elsewhere.
Also, Dave Meltzer thinks Sandman’s release was linked to an incident in Green Bay on the 10 September at the Raw tapings.
The backstage consensus on WWE starting to test for marijuana is that it is little more than a tax. WWE will only test people for it four times a year, with a $1,000 fine for a positive result, which wouldn’t count as one of the three strikes under the Wellness Policy.
WWE has given the go-ahead for a UK developmental territory to be set-up.
Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 17 September 2007 (click here for subscription information)
