WWE has responded to the reports of this week’s episode of SmackDown Live being canceled due to coronavirus, confirming that the show is scheduled to go as planned.
The company released the following statement to media outlets regarding the show. They announced that episode has not been cancelled yet but they are putting ‘contingency plans’ in place in case this decision is made by local authorities:
“WWE has not cancelled Friday Night SmackDown in Detroit;
however, based on the current situation, we are putting contingency plans in
place in the event that upcoming WWE shows are cancelled by government
officials, civil authorities and/or local venues.”
PWInsider, who originally published the report of the cancellation suggests that it’s possible that the company has reversed their decision or a final call has not been made yet.
Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, the venue for this week’s episode of SmackDown is the same arena where NBA Player Rudy Gobert played a game over the weekend.
Gobert later tested positive for coronavirus. After the Utah
Jazz player tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, the NBA officials have
decided to suspend their current season.
A decision on large scale events in Tampa area, where WrestleMania is expected to take place is also pending and we’ll keep you posted on any updates on the situation.
Coronavirus has affected people worldwide and the global epidemic has now started showing its effect on the world of professional wrestling as well.
PWInsider is reporting that WWE has canceled the broadcast of this week’s episode of SmackDown and 205 Live which was expected to take place from the Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit, Michigan due to the outbreak of the virus.
Both these shows will now be broadcasted from the WWE
Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, which was the venue for this week’s
episode of NXT as well.
Though the NXT episode was broadcasted from the PC because
its regular venue in Full Sail University had a previous commitment that was
booked before the show went live on USA Network.
An announcement regarding the cancellation of SmackDown is expected to be made soon. There is currently no word on if the company is planning the same for Raw as well.
It’s worth mentioning here that the upcoming weekly WWE
shows are not the only events in jeopardy due to the outbreak of the virus.
The officials of Tampa city are expected to make a decision regarding possibly canceling upcoming major events in the area soon and this includes WrestleMania 36 as well.
A decision is expected to be made in a meeting on Thursday
and we will keep you posted on the future of WrestleMania and other WWE events.
WWE has announced that the Cenation Leader and former World Champion John Cena will be making an appearance on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live.
Cena made his return to WWE programming during the February
28 episode of SmackDown after a long hiatus, where he announced that he won’t
be a part of WrestleMania this year.
The 16 time World Champion had made the decision to stay off
the show this year to leave the spot for the younger talents but things changed
quickly.
He was confronted by ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt as John was heading back and the former Universal Champion challenged John Cena for a match at the Show Of Shows by pointing towards the WrestleMania sign.
The former WWE Champion accepted this challenge made by the former Wyatt Family leader and WWE has since confirmed that these two will meet in a one on one match at this year’s edition of WrestleMania.
There is no word yet on what John Cena will be doing at the
show but the latest episode of SmackDown saw Bray sending a message to his
opponent in a Firefly Fun House segment.
So it’s likely that John will respond to the former Champion and it will be interesting to know if we see a confrontation between the two stars at the episode.
AEW Dynamite aired live from the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City. Hangman Adam Page teamed up with Dustin Rhodes to face Jericho and Guevara in the main event.
Hangman Adam Page & Dustin Rhodes def. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Lance Archer Made His Debut & Inner Circle Attacked Nick Jackson
Ortiz battled Cody in the first match of the night. Santana, Brandi Rhodes and Arn Anderson were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: Cody took Ortiz down with a Dropkick and followed it up with a Powerslam for a one count. Jake “The Snake” Roberts showed up with Lance Archer in the crowd during the match.
Cody was distracted for a moment but refocused and sent Ortiz into the steel steps. Santana distracted Cody and Ortiz capitalized with a punch to the face. Santana followed that up with a cheap shot on Cody and Ortiz hit a Splash for a two count.
Cody hit Ortiz with ten punches in the corner before Santana once again distracted the referee. Ortiz crotched Cody on the top turnbuckle and went for a Superplex but Cody blocked it. Santana tried to distract Cody again but Brandi hit him in the head with her belt.
Ortiz then hit the Superplex and went for the cover but Cody kicked out at the last moment. Cody took out Santana with a Suicide Dive and followed it up with a Suplex to Ortiz on the entrance ramp. Archer made it seem like he was going to jump over the barricade but Jake held him back.
Back in the ring, Ortiz connected with a Fisherman’s Suplex for a two count. Cody locked in the Figure Four on Ortiz for the submission victory. After the match, Santana attacked Cody from behind. Matt Jackson and Kenny Omega made the save.
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Jake Hager then appeared on the jumbotron. Jericho claimed that Inner Circle was going to beat the hell out of The Elite at Blood & Guts. The camera then panned back to reveal Nick Jackson laid out with a door shut on his face with blood everywhere.
The Butcher, The Blade, and MJF squared off against Jurassic Express tonight on Dynamite. The Bunny and Wardlow were ringside for the match. MJF was still wearing his “I pinned Cody” shirt.
Match Recap: MJF ran away from Luchasaurus to start things off and tagged in Blade. Everyone got in the ring and had a stare down as the crowd chanted “Luchasaurus!”. MJF distracted Luchasaurus allowing Butcher & Blade to attack him from behind. They then took turns beating him down in the corner and focusing their attack on Luchasuarus’ leg.
MJF tagged back in and took Luchasaurus down with a Dragon Screw for only a one count. Luchasaurus was finally able to tag in Jungle Boy and he quickly leveled The Blade with a Clothesline. Marko Stunt planted Butcher with a DDT and then went for a Suicide Dive but Blade and MJF caught him. Jungle Boy then hit a Suicide Dive of his own. Luchasaurus then flipped onto everyone as the crowd chanted “holy sh*t!”.
Back in the ring, Luchasaurus hit MJF and Blade with a Chokeslam. Butcher and Luchasaurus traded elbows to the face in the middle of the ring before Marko tagged back in. Marko stomped the hell out of MJF in the corner before Jungle Boy broke it up. The Bunny distracted Jungle Boy as Wardlow leveled Luchasaurus outside the ring. MJF then tapped out Marko with the Salt of the Earth Arm Bar.
Big Swole & Britt Baker Made References To Cedric Alexander & Adam Cole
Tony Schiavone interviewed Britt Baker once again tonight. Britt took a couple shots at the Utah crowd and called the crowd boring. Baker brought Tony a Starbucks coffee and claimed that she was seeing a lot of high BMI and poor oral health in the crowd.
Baker added that it looks like a giant family reunion in the crowd. Britt continued to insult the crowd by saying that they can become the janitor or the construction worker they always wanted to be. Britt added that she will be everyone’s role model and thanked the crowd.
Big Swole interrupted and Baker hid behind Tony. Swole told Britt that Tony doesn’t even like her. Britt claimed that they only care about Big Swole’s boyfriend (Cedric Alexander). Swole said that she was married and added a “bay-bay” in reference to Baker’s boyfriend Adam Cole. Britt then threw the coffee in Swole’s face before running away.
Joey Janela teamed up with Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) to face Death Triangle (Pac & Lucha Bros) tonight on Dynamite.
Match Recap: Death Triangle dominated early before Janela battled back with a leaping elbow off the second turnbuckle. Joey followed it up with a Clothesline that sent Pentagon to the canvas. Private Party then hit Lucha Bros with a couple Dropkicks that sent them out of the ring. Joey climbed to the top rope and hit a Crossbody onto Death Triangle outside the ring.
Private Party hit Gin & Juice and Quen followed it up with a Shooting Star Press on Fenix. Pentagon broke it up and tagged back into the match. Pentagon connected with a Slingblade and sent Marq to the corner. Pac tagged in and went for a German Suplex but Marq landed on his feet.
Janela tagged in and Pac greeted him with a kick to the face. Janela hit an elbow to Pac’s head and brought him to the apron. Joey connected with a Death Valley Driver on the apron and followed it up with an Elbow Drop off the top rope for a near fall. Fenix planted Joey with a Cutter as Pac made his way to the top. Pac connected with Black Arrow for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Death Triangle attacked Private Party and Janela but Best Friends rushed the ring and made the save.
Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara battled Hangman Adam Page and Dustin Rhodes in the main event of this week’s show. The rest of Inner Circle came down to ringside for the match.
Match Recap: Hangman and Dustin controlled the match early and isolated Sammy in the ring. Jericho grabbed a beer from the crowd and mocked Hangman by saying he is a cowboy. Page responded with a right hand that knocked Jericho to the floor. Back in the ring, Hangman hit a shoulder tackle and followed it up with a Suplex that sent Jericho on top of Guevara.
Dustin tagged in and planted Sammy with a Running Bulldog before knocking Jericho off the ring apron with a right hand to the face. Sammy connected with a Double Stomp and went for the cover but Rhodes kicked out at two. Hangman tagged back in and leveled Sammy with a boot to the face.
Rhodes and Hangman climbed to the top rope and took everyone out. Hangman went for the Buckshot Lariat but Jericho saw it coming. Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho but Dustin broke it up. Sammy tagged in and Hangman booted him in the face. Page set up for the Buckshot Lariat but Jericho tripped him up. Dustin hit a Destroyer and Hangman followed it up with the Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Inner Circle attacked Hangman Adam Page and Dustin Rhodes. Kenny Omega ran down to the ring with his cast on but the numbers game quickly caught up to him. Cody ran to the ring and beat Jericho down in the corner. Hager then slammed Cody to the canvas before throwing him out of the ring. Ortiz got some revenge from earlier in the night and Suplexed Cody on the entrance ramp. Inner Circle was about to Powerbomb Hangman off the stage but Matt Jackson broke it up. Matt then stared at Hangman Page before giving him the middle finger. Jericho leveled Matt and Hangman with a steel chair. Inner Circle then posed on the entrance ramp to close the show.
Opinion: I’m a fan of tag team wrestling but it was overkill tonight. Also, does every single episode of Dynamite have to end in a post match brawl? It seems like every week I am watching Cody, Omega, The Young Bucks, etc run down to the ring one at a time in an outnumbered situation. I know they are building towards the Blood and Guts match in a couple of weeks but the brawls aren’t exciting anymore. Overall, this week’s Dynamite was still decent but I thought it was one of the weakest episodes so far.
The March 11, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
The show was headlined by Pete Dunne & Matt Riddle vs. The Undisputed Era to for the NXT Tag Team Titles.
WWE NXT Results (3/11/20)
Keith Lee def. Cameron Grimes to retain the NXT North American Title
Mia Yim def. Dakota Kai to qualify for the #1 Contender’s Ladder Match
KUSHIDA def. Raul Mendoza
Tegan Nox def. Deonna Purrazzo
Pete Dunne & Matt Riddle def. The Undisputed Era to retain NXT Tag Team Titles
Here are the 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Keith Lee Retains NXT North American Title
Keith Lee
WWE NXT North American Keith Lee made his latest title defense against Cameron Grimes on this show.
It was a hard-fought battle and they went back and forth just as expected. The right call and likely predictable for most fans, Lee successfully retained the title.
WWE set up this contest last week when Lee was doing a promo in the ring and Grimes came out to rant about what he can do in the ring. Lee said that Grimes made the gravest mistake of his life.
Grimes bragged about beating Dijakovic in less time than Lee did, which led to Lee knocking him out of the ring.
This appeared to be a match that was for the title in hopes of getting a bump in the ratings and something to keep Lee busy heading into WrestleMania weekend.
Post-match, Damian Priest attacked Lee with a pipe but Dominik Dijakovic ran Priest off. Lee then got up and thought Dijakovic was the one who attacked him so he powerbombed him. Apparently, this feud with all three stars will continue.
The Broserweights (Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle) put the NXT Tag Team Titles on the line in their latest defense against The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish).
It was up there with the quality that their original match had and the same finish, which was Dunne and Riddle winning in their first televised defense.
Dunne and Riddle beat Fish & O’Reilly for the straps at the NXT TakeOver: Portland event at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon last month.
With WWE not waiting to book this rematch at NXT’s next special, TakeOver: Tampa next month, it appears that WWE has decided to go in a different direction for these two teams.
Tegan Nox vs Mia Yim with the winner being added to the #1 contender ladder match at NXT Takeover: Tampa was booked on this show in a late addition to the lineup.
It was a solid back and forth affair with the winner being Yim in a surprising move. After the match, Raquel Gonzalez beats down Yim.
Nox had been in a feud with Dakota Kai but it appears that the feud was ended after last week’s show that featured Kai going over in a Steel Cage Match.
Yim joins Chelsea Green in the contest to see who will be next in line for a shot at the title. Four spots remain with those being filled in the coming weeks.
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver: Tampa event on Saturday, April 4, 2020 from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida and will air on the WWE Network.
NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley came out for a promo where she talked about knocking Charlotte Flair on her a** come WrestleMania 36.
This led to Flair coming out and telling Ripley that she’s too much to handle.
Flair told her that she would take her into deep waters and drown the fastest rising star in the company. She added that Ripley wouldn’t do anything about it. This led to Ripley attacking her and a brawl broke out.
Flair hit her with a big boot then went for the Figure Eight submission but Ripley countered it until Flair knocked her down and attacked the left knee of the champ by hitting it against the ring post then locking in the Figure Four around it.
A solid segment with them actually getting physical to further their feud at WrestleMania 36 next month.
Tommaso Ciampa came out for a promo asking where Johnny Gargano was. This led to Gargano appearing on the big screen and telling him that they would do this on his time.
Gargano said that Ciampa is a horrible person and ran him down about being out due to neck surgery only for fans to chant his name when he returned. Ciampa walked to the backstage area and started a brawl with Gargano.
Security tried to break it up but Ciampa fought them off. They brawled all over the Performance Center. Gargano sent Ciampa crashing through a window in a door. Ciampa threw a weight at Gargano, who moved, and it crashed into glass. Ciampa and Gargano went crashing off a platform through the announce table to end the segment.
While not confirmed, this feud is expected to end at NXT TakeOver: Tampa next month.
As far as this segment goes, it was one of the best brawls in pro wrestling in recent memory.
Ricochet decided to take some time in order to send a message to fans.
He did so in a post on his official Twitter account after seeing fans comment on how they missed seeing him during this Monday’s RAW episode. Instead, he worked the Main Event TV taping before the show.
This is where he told them that they should be happy that he gets to perform for them at all.
“Okay, I just want to say everyone should be happy that I get to perform for you all every week. Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to me in what capacity. So let’s celebrate that and not dwell on anything else. #LifeIsGreat.”
Ricochet made another tweet earlier this afternoon where he wrote, “Bouncing back is my thing!”
This comes as his slump continues. He lost a squash to WWE Champion Brock Lesnar at the WWE Super ShowDown pay-per-view event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Mohammed Abdou Arena.
The following week, he lost another quick match to WWE 24/7 Champion Riddick Moss on RAW. Of course, this week Ricochet wrestled Eric Young on Main Event.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the original plan was for R-Truth to face Moss on RAW but WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon changed it to Ricochet being booked in the match.
After a week of speculation from fans, the client of WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts was revealed as Lance Archer.
The reveal was made during the opening segment of Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Salt Lake City, UT at the Maverik Center on TNT when Cody Rhodes was battling Ortiz in a singles match.
The two men walked through the crowd and were sitting at ringside for the match.
Roberts made his All Elite Wrestling debut last week when he did a promo segment with Rhodes about how he didn’t like what the AEW executive was doing.
More specifically, how he was tired of hearing Rhodes complain and had a message for him. This is where he noted that he won’t take on Rhodes but his client will.
Archer was supposed to make his AEW Dynamite debut last week but it was pushed back after late-minute changes to the card.
Archer had a great year in 2019 that was highlighted with impressive performances in the G1 Climax tournament. He also earned his first title under the NJPW banner by winning the IWGP United States Title.
For those who may not recall, Archer, who’s real name is Lance Hoyt, had a run with WWE from 2009 to 2010 where he worked on the ECW and SmackDown brands as Vance Archer.
Tommaso Ciampa did a recent interview with Rick Ucchino of Sportskeeda where he spoke about the ongoing battle between WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite.
It’s been billed as the Wednesday Night Wars between WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite.
While the two shows don’t draw the same ratings that Raw and WCW Monday Night Nitro did back in the Attitude Era, it’s a real fight.
The former WWE NXT Champion made it known that he wants NXT to win and thinks that people should care about the ratings between the two shows.
“It makes it a little bit more fun. It brings that competitive edge out. I mean have friends over there and I also have people over there I’ve never met or ever shared a ring with. It’s awesome to see, you know, everyone just elevating their game. Everyone just wants it. I don’t know if people say ratings don’t matter… they sure as Hell matter. Like, you want to win.”
Ciampa stated now that NXT is on the USA Network, the promotion is doing live TV and no longer ‘yeah buts’ but rather the NXT roster is doing everything that you would constitute as a main roster player.
Ciampa added that he thinks that’s the main thing as they made a switch and the stink of NXT being a developmental brand is gone.
Aside from a few instances, NXT has lost the majority of the ratings battle against AEW in overnight and other TV ratings.
The ongoing story of Rob Gronkowski heading to WWE continues to evolve.
The first news to break about his status with the company started on Tuesday night when Ryan Satin reported on the weekly television show, WWE Backstage, on FOX Sports 1 that the former NFL player was close to signing a deal with the company.
Fast forward to Wednesday, The Wrap reported Gronkowski has indeed signed with WWE and is slated to make an appearance on the March 20th episode of SmackDown from New Orleans. This will make his debut on SmackDown.
Per the report, WWE already has plans for him in place including seeing him make an appearance at WrestleMania 36, WWE’s biggest event of the year, next month.
It should be noted that Gronk won’t be wrestling at the show. Instead, WWE plans for him to make an appearance in order to build-up to a match after WrestleMania.
While that is known, there’s still no word yet on who his opponent will be or when his in-ring debut will take place.
Pwinsider.com released a report of their own that stated Gronkowski will be working as an active pro wrestler and his deal was described as being similar to Ronda Rousey.
The former WWE RAW Women’s Champion worked a part-time schedule that included having matches at pay-per-view events and live events aside from making appearances on Monday Night RAW.
Jake “the Snake” Roberts shocked the wrestling world last week on Dynamite by coming out to confront Cody Rhodes. Roberts told Cody and the live crowd that he was not there to praise Cody but rather to slay him. He then said he was once told to never turn his back on someone he is afraid of or someone he respects before doing exactly that to Cody.
Roberts mentioned that he has a new client he will be managing and that client is going to face Cody. The legend posted the following details about his new client to his Instagram stories:
Previously, Roberts had posted a picture of his appearance on Dynamite last night with the following caption:
“Beware AEW…The Darkness has arrived. And to answer your questions: Yes I wrote what I said. No I don’t ever do “practice runs.” On the first shot I give you my heart and soul. I’m not giving up my sobriety. And…I have so much more left to do…the time is NOW.”
Jake “the Snake” Roberts
Roberts is arguably one of the most compelling wrestlers of all time and his debut on Dynamite last week garnered a strong response online from fans and those in the wrestling industry alike.
Bully Ray feels Roberts’ AEW debut should lead to a change regarding how the DDT is used in wrestling today:
Dear Wrestlers,
With Jake Roberts returning to #AEWDynamite last night…
If you’re working a match anywhere on the planet and use the DDT in any way, shape or form as a false finish, you should get shoot mafia kicked in the face.
With speculation that Matt Hardy could be AEW bound running rampant, the free agent teased that we could find out more about his future soon..
Hardy and the Young Bucks have been building a story via YouTube as of late. With Dynamite set to air tonight, Hardy is teasing that “Today is the Day.”
Hardy recently spoke to SI.com about his free agency. He mentioned that he has spoken with Impact, NWA, and NXT in addition to AEW.
“My goal is to legitimately surprise people and draw emotion from them. I always want to entertain the audience and keep them guessing. I’ll make a decision within the next 30 days, and it could be by next week. It all depends on how everything comes together,” Matt would say. “I am speaking with AEW, and I am very close with the Young Bucks. We’ve been great friends for a long time. They understand this business and know how to break the fourth wall and have fun with all of this. They really are special. I’ve also spoken with IMPACT and I spoke with the NWA. I had great conversations just this week with Triple H about NXT.”
Hardy’s time in Impact Wrestling came to a bit of tumultuous end but he has since offered much praise to the promotion. He seems to be into the angle with ICU:
AEW has released its weekly rankings for March 11th, 2020. The promotion releases new top-5 rankings every Wednesday for its men’s, women’s and tag team divisions.
AEW Men’s Division
World Champion: Jon Moxley (7-0)
Chris Jericho (0-1)
MJF (3-0)
Kenny Omega (1-0)
PAC (3-2) (+1)
Cody Rhodes (3-1) (-1)
The only movement in the men’s single’s division this week saw PAC move up to the #4 spot after defeating Chuck Taylor. MJF and Cody didn’t compete this week. Kenny Omega is on the shelf with an injured hand so he didn’t compete this week either. Jericho picked up a win in the main event of Dynamite as he and Sammy Guevara defeated Darby Allin. Jon Moxley was supposed to be Allin’s partner but was attacked pre-match by the Inner Circle.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Nyla Rose (4-1)
Hikaru Shida (4-1)
Riho (3-1)
Kris Statlander (2-2)
Yuka Sakazaki (1-1)
Britt Baker (2-2)
There was no movement in the women’s rankings this week. Big Swole picked up a win over Leva Bates on Dynamite this week so she might have earned some votes but still sits outside the top-5. Hikaru Shida defeated Abadon this week on Dark to retain her #1 ranking.
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (6-0)
The Dark Order (5-0)
The Young Bucks (2-0)
SCU (2-3)
Best Friends (3-2)
Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara (1-0) (previously unranked)
Private Party falls out of the top-5 rankings this week. They picked up a win on Dark against Brandon Cutler and Sonny Kiss but Le Sex Gods (Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara) crack the rankings after their win over Darby Allin & Jon Moxley in the main event of Dynamite, although Moxley never did make it to the match.
The Dark Order lost in 8-man tag action this week to SCU and Colt Cabana but that doesn’t count to their 2-on-2 record. Jurassic Express picked up a win on Dark as well over Kip Sabian and Peter Avalon but still sit outside the top-5.
Impact Wrestling presented a show from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas last night on AXS TV and Twitch. The main event this week featured the final match in the best-of-5 series between Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards.
Impact Wrestling 3/10/20 Quick Results:
Rhino defeated Madman Fulton
The Rascalz defeated Desi Hit Squad
Knockouts Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) defeated Lacey Ryan
Willie Mack & Ace Austin defeated the Swinging Disco Balls (Disco Inferno & Johnny Swinger)
Best-of-5 Series: Michael Elgin vs Eddie Edwards ends with no declared winner.
Triple Threat World Title Match At Rebellion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay84DGY4K_M
Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards met in the main event this week. The match was the 5th and deciding bout in their best-of-5 series. The winner would earn a shot at the World Title at Rebellion. It looked like Edwards had the match won after hitting the Boston Knee Party but the original ref was down and the replacement ref was not able to get into the ring in time.
Then with two refs in the ring, Elgin had Edwards locked in a submission but Edwards turned it into a pinning combination. One ref called for the end of the match after Eddie tapped to the submission but the other counted Elgin’s shoulders down for three.
As the referees argued, Tessa Blanchard came out and announced she’d take them both on at Rebellion and we now have our main event set.
Sabu Returns To Impact Wrestling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBJAjs7-VFU
Rhino defeated Madman Fulton this week in the opener with a Gore. The Crist brothers accompanied OVE’s monster to the ring but were quickly sent to the back by the ref. OVE returned to ringside after the match to deliver a post-match attack to Rhino. The lights went out and a fellow ECW alumni returned to the ring when Sabu appeared along with Super Genie. Sabu delivered a DDT on Fulton onto a chair.
Jordynne Grace’s Open Challenge Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArKTqcv7daY
Unlike the previous Knockouts Champion, Jordynne Grace has set out to be a fighting champion. She set out another open challenge for this week and Madison Rayne was only too happy to find a challenger to take her on.
Lacey Ryan answers the call this week and gave it her all but ultimately the champion retained with a Grace Driver. Madison Rayne did not seem pleased with the result.
Chris Sabin To Referee King of the Mountain Match At TNA: There’s No Place Like Home
Chris Sabin is a pioneer of the X-Division and his tag-team with Alex Shelley, the Motor City Machine Guns, is one of the most influential teams of the last two decades. Sabin will be returning to Impact Wrestling as the special referee of the King of the Mountain World Title match at the TNA: There’s No Place Like Home event on March 3rd.
Moose interrupted his interview and announced he will be in the match. Moose has had his issues with wrestlers from “TNA” as of late.
Taya Valkyrie is dealing with the impact of losing her Knockouts title while Rosemary is still reeling after the death of her friend the Bunny. Rosemary had thought that helping Suzie escape the clutches of James Mitchell would bring her peace but it hasn’t. The two unlikely allies found solace in each other at the bar this week.
Willie Mack Gets Help Against The Swinging Disco Balls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Mf0h2quCI
The Swinging Disco Balls (Disco Inferno & Johnny Swinger) wrestled in their second match for Impact this week. The match started as a 2-on-1 handicap match against Willie Mack but X-Division Champion Ace Austin ran to ringside to be Mack’s partner. Austin hit Disco with the Fold followed by Mack’s 6-Star Frog Splash for the win.
Is this a new side to Ace Austin?
Later in the show, Swinger and Disco were heard arguing and Disco stormed off.
The mysterious ICU has continued to hack into Impact Wrestling accounts. This week, they hacked into the official Impact Wrestling Twitter account but not only that, somehow ICU was able to hack into ShopImpact.com and put its own merchandise for sale!
ICU let it be known that the secret will be revealed next week:
The Desi Hit Squad has been on quite the roll since the return of Mahabali Shera but they weren’t able to handle the double-team moves of Wentz and Trey from the Rascalz this week. The loss will likely not sit well with Gama Singh. As for the Rascalz, they put themselves one step closer to a shot at the tag belts with the win.
Former New England Patriot player Rob Gronkowski is reportedly close to signing a deal with WWE. The news was announced by Ryan Satin during last night’s episode of FS1’s WWE Backstage.
At the time of writing, it is still unclear what kind of role WWE has in mind for Gronkowski.
“According to multiple sources, former NFL star, three-time Super Bowl champion and current Fox Sports analyst Rob Gronkowski is deep in talks with WWE and close to finalizing a deal,” Satin said.
“While the capacity in which he’d be used is unclear at this time, I’m told that Gronk could be making an appearance in WWE as early as March 20th on Friday Night SmackDown in New Orleans.”
This wouldn’t be the first time that Gronkowski has been featured in WWE. Back in 2017 during WrestleMania 33, he jumped the barricade in order to help his friend Mojo Rawley. Thanks to his assist, Rawley was able to win the Andrew the Giant Battle Royal.
Adding to the speculation, both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon recently attended Gronkowski’s Super Bowl beach party. Triple H has also publicly invited Gronkowski to this year’s SummerSlam event in Boston, Massachusetts.
Rob Gronkowski has previously shared his dreams of getting involved with pro wrestling. He noted how it probably wouldn’t be a full-time career, but he would love to have “one crazy match.”
With other notable celebrities and sports stars having recently had notable matches in WWE, including Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury, it seems that it will only be a matter of time until a marquee match might involve Rob Gronkowski.
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City officials and Mayor of Tampa Jane Castor will meet tomorrow to discuss the possible canceling or postponing of major events in the city. This could include WrestleMania 36, other planned WWE events in the city, and all independent wrestling events scheduled for the week.
.@CityofTampa and @JaneCastor will meet on Thursday to discuss canceling or postponing "major" events due to #Coronavirus. This weekend's River O'Green fest isn't likely to be canceled.
Santa Clara County in California has already banned all large gatherings in the area. The ban puts at risk several San Jose Sharks home games. Pearl Jam and several other music artists have postponed tours as a result of the outbreak. South By Southwest in Austin, Texas this year has been canceled. The Coachella Music Festival has been postponed until October.
Major sporting leagues such as MLB, NHL, and NBA have limited media access to locker rooms as a result of the outbreak. The NBA has discussed the idea of holding games in arenas with no spectators as well.
Ireland has canceled all St. Patrick’s Day parade events as well.
Chris Jericho has said that Fozzy’s tour will go ahead as planned unless they are told they can’t.
“Why wouldn’t it?” Jericho said after being asked if the tour was still on. “I don’t think the public should panic so much. [We’re still going on] unless the cops tells us we can’t.” He then referred to the coronavirus situation as “mass hysteria.”
NXT Superstar Lio Rush recently joined Sports Illustrated for an interview. During their conversation, Rush opened up about his six-month hiatus from WWE before sharing his future goals in the company. He also touched on his musical ambitions outside of the squared circle.
“Craved for Blood began during my time away from the WWE when my mind was in a tenuous space, all over the place, and that’s the vibe that created the song, I went through a negative place, and I worked to harness that and put it in the song,” Rush said.
“The entire song is a code that people have to crack, A line that means a lot to me is, ‘These tricky minds deep inside, we all think alike.’ Every job has its stresses, and the entertainment field is stressful. People need to find a release. A creative outlet for me outside of wrestling is my music.”
Lio Rush On His Time Away
Following his time away from WWE, Lio Rush admitted that his return was “pretty special.” He reflected on his first run in NXT, noting that he only had a short time there.
“Some people were surprised I am a wrestler after they were only used to seeing me beside Bobby Lashley as a manager on Monday Night Raw. People know I can talk on the mic, but I want to show the world I can do it all. It’s special to be back wrestling, and I want to show I am one of the best wrestlers in the world.”
When it comes to his future goals, Rush is focused on creating a bigger name for himself. He also wants to highlight that he is a hard worker and is ready for whatever may come, noting “I’m prepared for anything that comes my way.”
WWE NXT UK Superstar Ilja Dragunov discussed what his career has been like since signing with WWE. Speaking with talkSPORT, Dragunov also opened up about working with WWE Hall of Famers Triple H and Shawn Michaels, as well as sharing his ambition of facing RAW Superstar Aleister Black.
“I get the feeling people understand me and that’s very important to me, it’s why I love my work here so much,” Dragunov said. “They understand what I’m doing without really telling them a lot. And in WWE, I’ve seen absolute professionals on a whole new level that I’ve never seen before, I don’t regret a single day that I’m here.”
Ilja Dragunov On Growing As A Performer
Ilja Dragunov expressed how working with legends like Triple H and Shawn Michaels allows him to learn from the very best. Dragunov explained how his experiences in WWE are a “completely new horizon” for him. “I know things I never thought I’d know and I see them from a different perspective. I’ve grown as a performer every single day. This is the most exciting time in my life.”
Having previously faced off against Cesaro and Finn Balor, Dragunov isn’t content with that being his last crossover with a main roster Superstar. He admitted there are a lot of names he would love to face, but one stands out more than others: Aleister Black.
“I think when it comes down to European names, guys like Aleister Black, who I knew before his time in WWE. I think we would connect very well and that’s a fight people would want to see, maybe.”
Joining The New Day on their podcast Feel The Power, SmackDown tag team The Usos recounted how WWE told them they looked too much like Roman Reigns following their heel turn.
Jey Uso explained how “Obviously, for the heel change, we needed to change everything, but they were saying when they had first seen us working in all black, it was like, ‘you guys look too much like Roman. Don’t look like Roman.’ Man, who the hell else are we supposed to look like? We’re in the same gene pool, uce.'”
He continued, “Like, we fought to get that [face paint] off. They wanted us to keep it, but in my mind it wasn’t going to work. There was no way we could get away from that. Like, we were colorful, but then we had to get completely away from that. ‘They can’t tell who y’all are without the face paint.’ You know how that is.”
The Usos On Standing Out From Their Family
They confessed that separating themselves from their wrestling dynasty was a difficult task. Alongside Reigns and their late uncle Umaga, The Usos are the sons of Hall of Famer Rikishi.
Jimmy Uso shared how “[…] they all had their own style, right? And that’s why me and use [were] like, ‘man, that’s what we need.’ But we always knew our style is easy. It’s us. It’s hip. It’s cool. We can kick it with anybody. It’s neutral. To me, we’re just neutral to everybody.”
The Usos recently competed in an Elimination Chamber matchup for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Despite being one of the final two teams, The Miz and John Morrison would manage to defend their titles.
AEW will present a new episode of their weekly television show, Dynamite, tonight that will feature the build towards their Blood & Guts special show later this month.
Thus, it’s time to look ahead to tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite. The show is expected to start with Jurassic Express vs. MJF, The Butcher and The Blade in a six-man tag team match.
Although not confirmed, the belief is that Adam Page and a mystery partner vs. Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho will serve as the headliner. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on who the mystery wrestler will be.
AEW holds this show in Salt Lake City, UT at the Maverik Center on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. AEW is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
Adam Page and a mystery partner vs. Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho – Team Match
Cody Rhodes vs. Ortiz – Singles Match
Death Triangle vs. Joey Janela and Private Party – Six-Man Tag Team Match
Jurassic Express vs. MJF, The Butcher and The Blade – Six-Man Tag Team Match
AEW to reveal the rules for the Blood and Guts match in Newark, New Jersey later this month.
AEW will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds.
Former WWE Superstar Ryback has shared that some current roster members believe WrestleMania may be cancelled due to coronavirus concerns. Addressing the situation on Ryback TV Shooting Blanks Wrestling Report With Raj Giri, Ryback highlighted the spread of the virus in the United States. He noted how it would only take one Superstar to get sick. If they did, the entire locker room would be affected in no time.
“From a wrestler’s standpoint, [WrestleMania] is in Tampa and they’re gonna bring people from all over the world to this location. If I’m a wrestler – and I’m speaking from the talent as I’ve talked to a couple of people – the talent believe that WrestleMania is possibly going to get cancelled. This is a business and it will impact a lot of things but you have to protect the wrestlers at all costs.”
Ryback On Fan Interactions During Coronavirus Concerns
Ryback added how there should be no fan interaction between Superstars and fans at any Axxess events, noting how “[…] wrestlers should only have to show up to WrestleMania and if you do the Hall of Fame, you keep the talent away from the audience.”
He continued, “You have to be really protective of the wrestlers from a business perspective if you go through with this. I have a feeling [Vince] is gonna try to go through with it no matter what. He’s gonna have to be forced to say ‘No’ if it does happen.”
Multiple events, conventions, attractions and concerts have been shut down, rescheduled and cancelled in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus. With ‘Mania taking place next month, officials are reportedly in serious talks to ensure the safety of fans and talent.
WrestleMania 36 takes place on April 5 from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently shared his support in WWE’s decision to book Roman Reigns vs Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. However, during a recent episode of his podcastThe Hall of Fame, Booker T remained unconvinced about another headline matchup: Shayna Baszler vs Becky Lynch.
“I’m not sold on it. I’ll just say that. I’m not sold on it yet,” he confessed. “But I’m like this man. I’m thinking about the performance more than anything, I’m thinking about when you go out and perform, you know, in Elimination Chamber…WrestleMania. Those are big moments for me. Going into a match like that. I trust Becky Lynch. Becky has done a lot of good things over this last year, she’s put herself in position to, you know, be called ‘the man.’”
Booker T On Becky Lynch’s Past Opponents
Booker T noted how Lynch has been performing at a consistent quality against “really, really high calibre talent.” Booker T then pointed towards her matches with both Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks, adding how they can “go out there and really perform [at the] next level.”
“Now I’m wondering, Becky Lynch against Shayna Baszler. You know, how is that thing gonna go? How are they going to match up? As far as going out there and creating some beautiful magic? Because at the end of the day it really is all about Shakespeare. It really is all about going out there and performing for the fans.”
Becky Lynch aims to defend her WWE RAW Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler at WrestleMania 36. The event takes place on April 5 from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
WWE Superstar Rusev has opened up about his goals ahead of WrestleMania 36. Speaking with The Pop Break, he also shared his journey becoming a naturalized US citizen and reflected on his babyface turn.
“Oh, it’s my biggest accomplishment in life,” Rusev said on becoming a US citizen. “I’ve always admired the United States of America growing up. Call it brainwashing, call it destiny, call it whatever—I knew one day I was going to come here. Just to be able to be called a US Citizen here in America, it’s the proudest thing I can probably say that I’ve achieved.”
Rusev Day & Future Goals
When he first debuted with the company, Rusev was positioned as a monster heel. Since that time, however, his image has softened with the WWE Universe who now enjoys chanting ‘Rusev Day’ alongside him.
Reflecting on the babyface turn, Rusev admitted that he’s just being himself now. “The WWE Universe, they just appreciate all the body of works that I’ve done. And the commitment that I’ve done with every single character, and every single storyline that I’ve been put in.”
He continued, “Whether good, bad, or indifferent, or some just badly written stuff. I’ve always committed one thousand percent and so has [Lana]. Fans can see that and they appreciate it. That’s why my popularity just grew and we are where we are.”
Despite not having wrestled since February, Rusev is focused on achieving a few goals ahead of WWE’s biggest event of the year. The first one? Get back on TV.
“Well my goal is to get on TV, because I haven’t been on TV in a while,” Rusev admitted. “That’s my goal. Where’s my next opportunity? I’m just waiting for that. I just can’t wait to crush—pun intended—whatever they throw at me. I’m ready for it.”
WrestleMania 36 takes place on April 5 from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Former Executive Director of SmackDown Eric Bischoff has named which Superstar he was looking forward to working with the most. Talking about his time working with the blue brand on his podcast, After 83 Weeks, Bischoff shared an idea he had for a returning Superstar.
“I thought Sheamus was somebody that I was really, really excited to work with because I think there’s far more potential there than we’ve seen,” said Bischoff. “There’s a fresh character there that, at least, I saw in my head. It may not have worked. But I saw it in my head and I was anxious to try to make it work.”
Bischoff worked with WWE as SmackDown’s Executive Director for approximately four months before being replaced.
Eric Bischoff On Dennis Rodman
During the episode, Eric Bischoff also discussed Dennis Rodman. With WWE having announced that a WWE Network documentary is in the works on Rodman, Bischoff speculated about the chances of Rodman being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a celebrity entrant.
“If it was me, and I was on the Hall of Fame committee, or I was the person making that decision, or whatever the process is, you would have to consider it, because Dennis is a pretty high-profile individual.”
When asked who he thought might induct Rodman if he were announced, Bischoff declined to answer. He explained that he is already so fatigued by the amount of Hall of Fame related tweets he is receiving, so he tends to scroll by it now instead.
WWE will be presenting a different yet big episode of its weekly NXT television program. Thus, it’s time to look ahead starting with tonight’s episode of NXT.
The company is building up this show around two title matches – North American Champion Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grime and The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Broserweights (Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle).
WWE holds this show in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for NXT.
WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
North American Champion Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes.
The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) will challenge NXT Tag Team Champions The Broserweights (Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle) for the titles.
How will Adam Cole react to The Velveteen Dream’s actions?
What does Johnny Gargano have planned for Tommaso Ciampa?
Tegan Knox vs. Mia Yim with the winner being added to the #1 contender ladder match at NXT Takeover: Tampa.
WWE will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds heading into the NXT TakeOver: Tampa event that takes place on Saturday, April 4, 2020 from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
Join us here later tonight for our post-show WWE NXT Results and Takeaways feature.
Former All Elite Wrestling World Champion Chris Jericho won’t allow coronavirus concerns to derail his upcoming Fozzy tour. Speaking with TMZ Sports, Jericho explained how the tour would still be going ahead, stating how he doesn’t think the public should be panicking the way they are.
“Why wouldn’t it?” Jericho said after being asked if the tour was still on. “I don’t think the public should panic so much. [We’re still going on] unless the cops tells us we can’t.” He then referred to the coronavirus situation as “mass hysteria.”
Chris Jericho’s Tour Dates
Jericho reportedly chose the dates of the upcoming tour so that there would be no conflict with his AEW commitments. Fozzy’s “Save The World” tour begins on Thursday, April 16 in Savannah, GA. It will culminate on Sunday, August 9 in Sturgis, South Dakota.
His words come in the wake of multiple events, conventions, attractions and other tours being shut down in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Chris Jericho lost the AEW World Championship to the current titleholder, Jon Moxley, during AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view on February 29. Jericho recently competed in a match on AEW Dynamite. He promised that if Moxley walked away of his own accord, he would take a leave of absence from AEW for 60 days. Last week’s episode of Dynamite ended with the Inner Circle power bombing Moxley off the ramp and through a table.
