The dominant news story surrounding WWE as of late is, without question, the reported agreed-upon deal that will send SmackDown Live to Fox in October 2019 for an astonishing $1 billion over five years. While the deal still needs to be finalized, details are beginning to emerge that show how Fox was able to land professional wrestling on its network. One particular promise named in the negotiations is where we begin our look at some of the biggest WWE headlines for Wednesday, May 30. 

Fox promises WWE weekly studio show

Wednesday morning, The Hollywood Reporter dropped a report which reveals the recent negotiations in great detail. There were many interesting tidbits in the report -- including Stephanie McMahon and Triple H being at the forefront of the talks -- but one small detail seemed to stand out to WWE fans the most. During the pitch to WWE, the man responsible for putting Fox broadcasting on the map, Rupert Murdoch, assured WWE executives that they would not only be embraced by their new broadcasting home, but a weekly studio television show would be added to the deal as well. 

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.  

With SmackDown Live being the brand on the move as part of this deal, the quick assumption to make is that "Talking Smack" could be revived in some form. The post-SmackDown Live talk show aired weekly on the WWE Network and was an instant hit with the fans for the realism that it brought to the table, but was unceremoniously cancelled for reasons still unknown. A potential date and time for the weekly FS1 show was not included in the report, but Fox and WWE have ample time to figure all of that out. Renee Young, who headed up "Talking Smack," of course has already volunteered her services for the potential FS1 show. 

Whatever the case ends up being, this entire report from Wednesday makes it crystal clear why WWE ultimately decided to partner up with Fox for the foreseeable future. 

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More WWE news, rumors

  • The defamation trial pitting WWE and Dr. Chris Amann against CM Punk and Colt Cabana began on Tuesday. Gregory Pratt, a City Hall reporter for the Chicago Tribune, happened to be in attendance during the first day of the proceedings. Among the highlights from Tuesday's trial kickoff were everyone in the courtroom listening to the infamous November 2014 podcast that sparked this case in the first place, as well as Amann running through all of the calls to fire him following Punk's claims of mistreatment on the show. 
  • One of the best women's competitors in Japan, Io Shirai, is headed to WWE. Tokyo Sports revealed the news this week that the 28-year-old Shirai will be finishing up her Stardom dates through June and will report to the WWE Performance Center shortly after. Shirai attended a tryout last year with current NXT women's star Kairi Sane, but the company could not offer her a deal after her medical tests reportedly revealed a neck injury that needed to be taken care of. 
  • On Wednesday night's edition of NXT, Shayna Baszler will put her NXT women's championship on the line when she takes on Dakota Kai. EC3 will also be in action, NXT champion Aleister Black will make an appearance and we'll also get an in-depth look at one of the fastest-rising women's stars in NXT, Bianca Belair.