– Former WWE Champion-turned-UFC welterweight CM Punk took to Twitter and defended the WrestleMania 34 crowd for chanting his name during the show, and playing with beach balls as well. Former 2011 Tough Enough competitor AJ Kirsch ripped fans for their antics during the show.
Punk responded with the following in defense of the crowd:
I wonder how much those fans spent to throw beach balls and chant @CMPunk's name.
I mean…tickets to the show, flights, hotels, food, and probably drinks and maybe merch.
That's a lot of money to spend just to show everyone you're an asshole.
– HBO posted the following clip on their YouTube channel of an interview with “Andre The Giant” documentary director Jason Hehir. Hehir described what it was like seeing Andre in the ring for the first time:
“When I was seven or eight years old, WWF – at the time – was on at eleven A.M. every morning in Boston. My brothers were huge fans, my older brothers, I wasn’t quite old enough to be that into it. But I vividly remember them coming and finding me and saying, “After the commercial break, this guy Andre The Giant is gonna be on, you have to see him!”
“I said, “Is he an actual giant? What’s the deal?” And I’ll never forget, watching him walk through the crowd and up into the ring in this moment of – you know I’m seven years old and I’m just coming off of reading fairy tales and these fictional, larger than life stories.
“And this guy is the physical embodiment of some of the characters who are in those fairytales, so I was immediately hooked seeing him as to who the guy was – I wanna know more about him: where he’s from, how big is his bed, what does he eat. Is this a real person? How is a giant walking around amidst these other larger-than-life wrestling characters.”
– Rusev is probably one of the most over talents on the WWE’s roster right now thanks to his “Rusev Day” gimmick. He was added to the Fatal-Four Way United States Championship match at WrestleMania this past weekend, but was the one who got pinned in the match to Jinder Mahal.
He got his shot at redemption last night on SmackDown Live, as he was part of a Triple Threat match against Randy Orton and Bobby Roode to determine the No. 1-contender for Mahal’s title. Unfortunately Rusev was neither able to win that match.
As a result of his recent slump, Rusev took to Twitter to tease some “change” that could be coming for himself. Perhaps this means the end of Rusev Day? Or he could simply be referring to the upcoming Superstar Shake-up, teasing a move to RAW:
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Daniel Bryan has returned to being a full-time WWE talent, and resigned from his role as General Manager.
With that being said, McMahon announced Paige – who recently announced her retirement as a WWE in-ring competitor due to injury – as the new General Manager of Tuesday nights. McMahon took to Twitter to congratulate Paige on her new role:
#SDLive has been and always will be the land of opportunities and second chances. It was my PRIVILEGE to name @RealPaigeWWE as the new General Manager. This is her house now. pic.twitter.com/3xXGMDEEIV
Next week’s RAW and SmackDown broadcasts will feature the annual Superstar Shake-Up. It’s a chance for WWE to reshuffle the rosters and create all new match-ups for the coming year. Ahead of the Superatar Shake-Up, we’ve put together a list of ‘trades’ that we think would benefit both the Superstars and the brands they’d be moving to.
To keep the logistics as simple as possible, we’ve avoided listing any champions being traded, although it’s entirely possible we could see such a move next week. We also limited our list to the top acts from each division – and there will likely be many more trades than we’ve listed here.
To SmackDown from RAW:
Roman Reigns
Jeff Hardy
Asuka
Sasha Banks
The Revival
The Bar
Elias
To RAW from SmackDown:
Daniel Bryan
Shinsuke Nakamura
Charlotte Flair
Becky Lynch
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
The Usos
Baron Corbin
These trades create a slew of new opportunities for the top stars on both shows. We’ll break down the reasoning behind the more significant developments below. Should these trades occur, here is a look at how each brand would look after the Superstar Shake-Up:
SmackDown:
AJ Styles (c)
Jinder Mahal (c)
Carmella (c)
Bludgeon Brothers (c)
Roman Reigns
Randy Orton
Jeff Hardy
Bobby Roode
Elias
Asuka
Sasha Banks
The Revival
The Bar
The New Day
RAW:
Brock Lesnar (c)
Seth Rollins (c)
Nia Jax (c)
Ronda Rousey
Daniel Bryan
Braun Strowman
Finn Balor
Shinsuke Nakamura
Samoa Joe
Baron Corbin
Charlotte Flair
Becky Lynch
Sasha Banks
Owens & Zayn
The Usos
Key Takeaways:
Roman Reigns:
Roman Reigns is the wrestler who is in most need of new surroundings. Reigns could very well capture the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at the Greatest Royal Rumble, but we’re going under the assumption that Lesnar retains. WrestleMania 34 was the strongest indication yet that WWE has come to terms with the fact that Reigns hasn’t gotten over as they hoped. Reigns defeating Lesnar just weeks later would allow him to win the belt in front of a more forgiving live audience, but it doesn’t address the underlying damaged foundation. On SmackDown, the pressure of being ‘the chosen one’ to slay Brock Lesnar is alleviated and Reigns will have a chance to find himself, tweak his character and get over more organically.
Daniel Bryan:
Daniel Bryan is WWE’s top babyface (sorry, Roman). If he can stay healthy, Bryan could move the needle for Monday Night RAW’s viewership in a time when WWE is in the midst of TV rights fees negotiations. Wherever Bryan wrestles, there will be a long list of prospective dream matches. We got a taste of Bryan vs. Styles this week on SmackDown Live, but on RAW – he’s got feuds waiting for him with the likes of Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and even monsters like Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar.
Jeff Hardy:
With Bray Wyatt now aligned with Broken Matt, it makes sense to move Jeff Hardy to SmackDown where he can pursue a singles career separate from the Broken Universe. Jeff looked good in his (surprise) return match on RAW and his popularity would allow him to be a featured act on SmackDown.
Charlotte:
After dropping the SmackDown Women’s Championship to Carmella this week, Charlotte moving to RAW seems like an obvious one. Over the past week, there has been a lot of speculation that next year’s WrestleMania will feature a showdown between Charlotte and Ronda Rousey. Done right, this could be the first women’s match in history to headline a WrestleMania. We will see if WWE can resist pulling the trigger on this match before then.
Braun Strowman:
Braun is my MVP in the entire company. With Brock Lesnar rumored to be gearing up for a UFC return, this leaves an opening for Braun to assume that role of unbeatable dominant heel champion. I would have Braun Strowman be the man to dethrone Brock Lesnar in the coming weeks. Put the title on him and let Daniel Bryan chase him until WrestleMania.
As mentioned above, Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Championship at WrestleMania was a major break in WWE’s longterm planning. Lesnar could be on his way out and they decided against pulling the trigger on Reigns at Mania. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to pull that trigger just weeks later on a smaller stage. Strowman has more than proven himself as a polished performer in and out of the ring. The Reigns experiment flopped – it’s time for something new.
What do you think about our ideas for the Superstar Shake-Up? Comment and let us know who you want to see change brands.
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin has released a new episode of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, in which he breaks down this past weekend’s WrestleMania 34 event. One match in particular Austin discussed was Undertaker’s squash match over John Cena.
Austin explained that WWE didn’t advertise the match so that it could be viewed as a bonus for fans at the event:
“It was a little shocking to me with Cena calling him out for so long.” Austin explained, “basically, it was an unadvertised match. I mean, Cena’s trying to call out [Undertaker] and I kept thinking, ‘there’s no way, no way that he’s going to get an acceptance on the day-of,’ so, yeah, it was teased and they paid off the tease, but it wasn’t really advertised. So nonetheless, the crowd felt like they got a bonus, but in that bonus was a very short match and Cena got squashed.”
The former WWE Champion believes that the match would’ve been a lot more effective had The Leader Of The Cenation gotten in a bit more offense against Taker:
“I’ve got nothing but respect for both guys,” Austin prefaced. “Undertaker has been around forever. He has had one of the best runs in the history of the [pro wrestling] business, so has John Cena.
“And, man, had it been a 15-minute bing, bang, boom kind of thing, I don’t know that that’s what they needed, but it just seems like maybe if Cena got in just a little bit more offense into that Tombstone, then, do the favors, maybe it would have been a little bit more effective.”
With all that being said, Austin said he respects Cena, arguably the greatest WWE Superstar of all time, for accepting the match and his willingness to lose the way he did at WrestleMania:
“It was what it was and I don’t know how Undertaker’s feeling on a physical level.” Austin continued, “he looked phenomenal and he’s one of the toughest guys, I think, in the business.
“But Cena’s probably moving on to do other things with movies, and series, and endorsements, and stuff like that. But he continues to be an ambassador for the company, and [has] a great attitude, and it not afraid to put somebody over. I respect him for that.”
You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.
New UK based promotion Frontline Wrestling has announced the main event for their debut show ‘Build Me an Empire’ which takes place on June 28th at Stratford Circus in London.
Pro Wrestling NOAH and Japanese legend Kenoh will be facing one of the UK’s standout talents; Chris Ridgeway. Ridgeway is one of the most hard hitting and impactful performers on the scene today and his style meshes perfectly with the ‘British Puro’ aesthetic that Frontine are looking to bring on their cards. Company owner Will Ospreay mentioned in an exclusive interview with SEScoops that he wanted to bring Strong Style to Great Britain in a way that was authentic to the Japanese wrestling culture but still highlighted some of the stellar talent that is being produced on UK shores.
Kenoh has been a part of Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion since 2014, following an extremely successful stint in the Michinoku Pro promotion from 2007 when he was scouted by Jinsei Shinzaki. As well as being a former GHC Heavyweight Champion he has held the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, GHC Tag Team Championship and Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Check out Frontline’s Twitter account below for more updates as they become available:
– Earlier this month, Bullet Club leader Cody noted that he’d love to recruit a female member to the group. Cody’s wife, Brandi Rhodes, responded to him on Twitter and said she deserves to join the club since she took a V-Trigger for him from Kenny Omega at Supercard of Honor XII.
Cody responded by saying he’s against nepotism but will consider her in his search:
Hi. I’m YOUR WIFE. I’ve been really helpful. I took a V-Trigger for you. My back STILL hurts: LET ME IN THE MUFUGGIN’ CLUB! Please ?? https://t.co/gid6uilSeh
– Ring Of Honor (ROH) has announced that New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) stable Los Ingobernables de Japon are set to join their War of the Worlds tour. The tour will hit Lowell, Massachusetts on May 9th, Toronto, Ontario May 11th, Royal Oak, Michigan on May 12th, and Chicago, Illinois on May 13th. Matches have yet to be announced.
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, the first since WrestleMania 34, Charlotte Flair came out to the ring to celebrate her victory over Asuka in New Orleans – ending the Japanese star’s undefeated streak of over 900 days.
Just as Flair was cutting her promo, NXT call-ups Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, The Iconic Duo, made their main roster debuts to confront The Queen. They proceeded to make a statement by attacking the then-SmackDown Live Women’s Champion.
Kay took to Twitter to react to she and Royce’s debut, and said she couldn’t be more proud of it:
I’m able to now take a breathe & soak in what happened tonight… The #IIconics have arrived at #SDLive & I couldn’t be more damn proud of us right now ??
– Speaking of Kay and Royce’s debut, their beatdown on Flair led to Mrs. Money In The Bank Carmella cashing in her briefcase and winning the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship. This morning Carmella took to Twitter to issue a message to her “haters.”
She seemingly took a shot at those who bought reports that said she was going to have an unsuccessful cash-in at WrestleMania this past Sunday:
Good morning, haters! Remember when y’all said I would fail my cash in, never be champ or have a successful career? Well, EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT! MELLA IS MONEY, BABY! ? pic.twitter.com/O92PIyMm5F
– WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey had a great weekend in New Orleans. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion made her professional wrestling debut in a Mixed Tag Team match at WrestleMania 34, teaming up with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
The Rowdy One completely blew fans’ expectations for her wrestling ability out of the water. With all that now behind her, Rousey is now set to make an appearance on E!’s “Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry” tonight at 9pm EST. Here’s the official statement:
Ronda Rousey to appear on E!’s “Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry”
Following her memorable in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34, The Baddest Woman on the Planet, Ronda Rousey, will appear on E!’s “Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry.”
Rousey’s enlightening experience with the renowned Tyler Henry airs Wednesday, April 11, at 9/8 C.
– New SmackDown Live General Manager Paige took to Twitter to react to a big first day on the job. NXT call-ups The Iconic Duo, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, made their main roster debut by attacking Charlotte Flair.
Soon after, Ms. Money In The Bank Carmella cashed in her briefcase and became the new SmackDown Live Women’s Champion by pinning The Queen. Here’s what Paige had to say about the two events:
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, Commissioner Shane McMahon announced a new General Manager for Tuesday nights. Daniel Bryan is now back to being a full-time in-ring competitor, leaving the General Manager position open.
McMahon announced that former WWE Divas Champion Paige, who recently announced her retirement from in-ring competition, will now be the new General Manager for SmackDown Live.
Former WWE Superstar Lance Storm recently took to Twitter shortly after the announcement, and presented an interesting idea for SmackDown Live now that Paige is at the helm. Storm suggested SmackDown become an all-female show run by Paige, with the addition of a tag team division as well:
Storm did note that WWE probably shouldn’t do this, but it’s still a fun idea to ponder regardless. What are your thoughts?
– 205 Live might not be the most exciting professional wrestling show available to fans, but one guy in the audience took things to a whole different level. After a long WrestleMania week, a photo surfaced of a fan falling asleep during 205 Live in the crowd.
Of course, he later woke up and resumed enjoying the show. Check it out:
WWE color commentator Corey Graves had some interesting feelings about the news of former WWE SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan being medically cleared to return to in-ring action after a history of suffering concussions.
The reason for such feelings is due to his career as an active wrestler being cut short because of the same reason. In August of 2011, Graves signed a developmental contract with WWE and he was sent to WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).
In the Spring of 2014, he was pulled from action in NXT after suffering a concussion, which caused him to be absent from television for several months. He announced his official in-ring retirement due to his concussion issues in December of that year. It was a bittersweet moment as the door on his wrestling career shut while his career as a commentator began.
Following the 2016 WWE draft, it was announced that Graves would be joining the RAW commentary team. Since then, Graves has brought his entertaining analysis to the main roster by breaking down the matches and storylines on both RAW and SmackDown Live.
Graves was interviewed by Justin LaBar of Triblive to talk about various topics. During the interview, he revealed that he considered trying to get medically cleared to in-ring action after Bryan’s return was announced.
“That day was tough for me. I didn’t know about it. Nobody gave me a heads up. For Bryan, I was stoked. He’s a friend. He’s incredible in the ring. That’s where he belongs. It caught me off guard. I started asking questions to myself, Should I? What if? I had a few conversations with few people [in WWE] who put it out there. If you want to pursue this maybe we can look into it. So I spent about a week and a half weighing the options. It was, do I become a wrestler again and what happens?”
“Exactly. Again, this is all potential of would this work out, do I end up on the sidelines. I talked to my wife, talked to some friends. I think as much as I don’t believe in fate, this all kind of worked itself out so I think this is where I belong so why step out of it?”
Grave also talked about his first night as a color commentator on WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, and more. You can read the entire interview here.
What are your thoughts on Graves’ comments about a potential return? Sound off in the comment section below.
TMZ Sports has published a video of WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley hanging out in a bar, when a fan (wearing a duck hat) approaches the former Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner and asks him to slap his chest.
Rawley laughs at him a bit before the fan, who is most likely intoxicated, shoves Rawley playfully. This seems to pump Rawley up a bit, who then overhand slaps the fan right on the chest.
The fan didn’t seem to be in too much pain, instead flexing and screaming after the slap. Another fan approached Rawley asking for the same. This fan, however, only got Rawley to play with his chest before laughing and waving for the cameras.
Check out the video here:
If you’re drunk and approach a WWE wrestler to slap your chest, Rawley probably shouldn’t be at the top of your list. Before joining WWE’s developmental program in NXT back in 2012, Rawley played professional football as a defensive lineman in the NFL for both the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals.
Six years into his training as a professional wrestler; Rawley is on the main roster as a member of SmackDown Live, a former Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner, and is currently chasing his first singles title of his career.
Discussion: What are your thoughts on Rawley’s professional wrestling career? How long until he finally gets his hands on a singles title?
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has launched a new podcast: The Jim Ross Report, powered by Westwood One. JR previously hosted the Ross Report at PodcastOne.
The show is new and better than ever as JR debuts new features including the ‘Slobberknocker of the Week’ award, the ‘Pet Coon Goofy’ award, his ‘This Week In Wrestling History’ segment, and the brand new ‘Mailbag’ feature where fans can submit ideas/questions for JR to answer in the show! ([email protected])
The show also features a guest appearance from Bruce Prichard.
Impact Wrestling returns to pay-per-view for Redemption on Sunday, April 22nd from Orlando, FL. This will be the first PPV under the new creative regime of Don Callis and Scott D’Amore. For all the ‘new eras’ and reboots we’ve seen from Impact over the years, the weekly TV show has been noticeably better in recent months and the company is finally getting traction with viewership and positive reviews from wrestling fans and media.
The following is the updated card for Redemption:
Impact Wrestling World Championship Match:
Austin Aries (c) vs Pentagón Jr. vs. Rey Fenix
X Division Championship Match
Matt Sydal (c) vs. Petey Williams
Impact Tag Team Championship Match:
The Latin American Xchange (Santana and Ortiz) (c) vs. Eli Drake and Scott Steiner
Knockouts Championship Match:
Allie (c) vs. “The Undead Bride” Su Yung
House of Hardcore Match:
4 Ohio Versus Everything (Dave Crist, Jake Crist and Sami Callihan) vs. Tommy Dreamer, Moose and Eddie Edwards
Join us here Sunday, April 22nd for our Live Coverage of Impact Wrestling: Redemption.
NXT tonight will feature matches taped on Saturday from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Only two matches have been officially confirmed thus far.
NXT April 11th, 2018 Preview
Kairi Sane vs Lacey Evans
With the departures of Ember Moon, Peyton Royce, and Billie Kay, the NXT Women’s division is wide open.
With a win here, either of these two could bump themselves up into title contention.
Sane is 1-1 against current champion, Shayna Baszler, having defeated her in the Mae Young Classic finals but losing to her on NXT television.
Heavy Machinery vs Tino Sabbatelli and Riddock Moss
The NXT tag-team division is also wide open at the moment with the departures of the Authors of Pain, who had been perennial top contenders.
Whoever wins here could graduate from low-level tag-team to championship contenders.
Who Will Step up with Recent NXT Departures?
No Way Jose, the Authors of Pain, the Iconic Duo, and Ember Moon are all gone. Who is going to step up to take their place in NXT? Perhaps we will find out more tonight.
Last night on Smackdown, Carmella finally cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase. She pinned Charlotte Flair after a beatdown from the Iconic Duo and won her first ever Smackdown Women’s Championship.
James Ellsworth, who played a key role in Carmella winning the MITB briefcase, had this to say about her victory last night:
Many Ring of Honor fans attempted to log in to their Honor Club accounts to watch Supercard of Honor XII this weekend. Unfortunately, the demand was so great that some fans were unable to login to their accounts during the live show.
ROH has sent out an apology to fans who experienced these issues and are offering discounts at their pro shop as a result.
Ring of Honor Streaming Issues
The company’s streaming service only launched earlier this year. While there were some launch day problems, the service has been generally well-reviewed. Not only are ROH PPVs available on Honor Club but all of the company’s non-televised shows as well.
“It is with regret that we continued to face issues with our stream at Supercard of Honor,” the company wrote on their website.
ROH also went into great detail regarding the cause of their streaming problems:
“The current belief is that a bug in the app caused certain IPs to infinitely and rapidly ping the servers with requests, leading to failure even as resources were added. This doesn’t change that it is ultimately our responsibility to deliver what you deserve and we will not stop improving until you get that and more.”
WWE announced on Wednesday morning that The Undertaker will battle Rusev in a Casket Match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event from Saudi Arabia later this month.
For newer fans, the casket match is one of the Undertaker’s signature events and has been used as the culmination of a feud. To win the match, you must wear down your opponent, place them in the casket at ringside and close the casket door. Some of Undertaker’s memorable casket match opponents include Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels and Mark Henry.
Undertaker returned to action this past weekend at WrestleMania 34. After weeks of unanswered challenges by John Cena, he emerged inside the Superdome and made short work of the 16-time world champion. While his bout with Cena was relatively short, there was no question that Undertaker appeared to be in much better physical shape than we’ve seen in recent years.
The addition of the Undertaker is another indication that WWE is going all out for this Greatest Royal Rumble event. In addition to names like Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho competing in the historic 50-man Rumble battle royal, other top matches announced include Brock Lesnar defending the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, John Cena vs. Triple H and an IC title ladder match.
The Greatest Royal Rumble takes place on Friday, April 27th from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium. A sell-out crowd would see over 60,000 fans in attendance. The event air live on the WWE Network at Noon ET / 9AM PT.
As of this writing, the following matches are confirmed for WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble special:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns inside a steel cage
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. either Woken Matt & Bray Wyatt or The Revival for the vacant RAW tag team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE is advertising 7 title matches for the show, so expect announcements soon for the WWE, Untied States and Cruiserweight championships.
– Tonight’s SmackDown Live episode saw a bizarre dark main event as Shinsuke Nakamura who turned heel at WrestleMania this past Sunday Night went against another heel Dolph Ziggler.
He ended up winning the bout after hitting a Kinshasa and it’s being reported that Nakamura was cheered by the fans despite his actions at Mania and the fact that he attacked AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan on SmackDown this week.
– As seen on SmackDown Live “The Iconic Duo” Peyton Royce and Billie Kay made their main roster debut by attacking the former SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte.
After the show, WWE posted the following video where the two commented on their arrival on The Blue Branded Show and said that they are happy to accomplish what they had planned for their debut- making a statement:
While there is no word yet on the possible male superstars switching brands during the Superstar Shakeup next week, it appears we may now have the name of the first big female star who will be moved.
Former NXT Women’s Champion Asuka is now being advertised for a couple of SmackDown Brand Live Events on June 10th and June 13th respectively.
Although not confirmed, many believe that it’s an indication that the former NXT Star will end up on SmackDown Live after the Superstar Shakeup.
As noted before, the original plans for WrestleMania were for Asuka to defeat Charlotte and win the SmackDown Women’s Championship from the Queen.
These plans would have seen the Empress Of Tomorrow being moved to SmackDown Live after her title victory and it appears that the company is moving forward with at least this part of their original idea.
The Superstar Shakeup will be a two-night event and will take place on next week’s episode of Raw and Smackdown Live.
There were rumors of Jeff Hardy returning to WWE as ‘Brother Nero’ prior to this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw and he had also made a cameo as the same during The Ultimate Deletion a few weeks back.
So some fans felt a little disappointed when the former World Champion didn’t introduce his alter ego while making his comeback during the latest episode of The Red Branded Show.
Though in a backstage interview posted on WWE’s official YouTube channel after the event, he talked about his brother’s ‘Woken’ persona and while giving an update on Nero, Jeff said that it will probably come and go:
“It’s a little hard to explain but it’s just Matt being Matt. It’s the way he is, it’s the way he lives his life, and he’s a very knowledgeable guy with history and everything that exists in the future. It’s Matt being Matt and I think it’s going to get better and better. As far as Brother Nero surfacing in the WWE, it’s probably going to come and go as well, like Matt’s many personalities and egos, alter egos.”
For those who don’t know, Jeff Hardy suffered a shoulder injury back in September last year which put him out of action for about 6 months. Hardy made a cameo appearance on Ultimate Deletion during March 19th episode of Raw and made his full-time return this past Monday Night.
Now it’d be interesting to see when Brother Nero makes his next appearance on the WWE Programming
The first episode of WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania 34 aired live from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
Paige Is The New SmackDown GM
Photo Credit: WWE.com
SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon kicked off this week’s show. Shane thanked the crowd for the great response. He thanked everyone in the crowd and at home for making WrestleMania a huge success. The crowd chanted back “thank you Shane!”.
Shane said that this Sunday was extra special because we all got to witness the return of Daniel Bryan and the crowd chanted “yes!”. He stated that because of Daniels toughness and resolve to never let anyone take away his dream, we not only competed, we also won. Shane added that Daniel Bryan was born to do this and that Daniel has crossed back over to become a full-time WWE Superstar.
McMahon said that he has accepted Daniel’s resignation as SmackDown GM and then introduced Paige as the new SmackDown GM. Paige came down to the ring to an awesome reaction from the crowd. The crowd chanted “yes!” as Paige stood in the middle of the ring.
Paige noted that she gave her retirement speech last night at RAW and the first person waiting for her was Shane McMahon. Paige thanked Shane as the WWE Universe chanted “this is your house!”. Paige said that the Superstar Shake-Up is next week and that as her first act as GM, she wants to make tonight truly special for everyone in the crowd.
Paige brought up Daniel Bryan and the crowd chanted “yes!”. Paige noted that Bryan hasn’t competed in a match on TV in over 3 years and asked the crowd if they wanted to see him in action tonight. The crowd chanted “yes!” once again and announced Daniel Bryan will face…
The crowd interrupted with chants of “Rusev Day!” and “AJ Styles!”. Paige then announced that Bryan will face AJ Styles in his first match back on SmackDown.
Opinion: This was a great moment for Paige. Last night’s retirement speech was brutal to watch. She is only 25-years-old and it absolutely sucks that she had to retire from in-ring competition so early. However, it is great that she will remain in WWE in the role of SmackDown GM.
The Usos Will Face The Bludgeon Brothers At Greatest Royal Rumble
Photo Credit: WWE.com
The Usos battled New Day tonight on SmackDown. The winners of the match will get the first shot at The Bludgeon Brothers for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Thus, if Jimmy and Jey lost, they would forfeit their obligatory rematch for the titles after losing them Sunday at WrestleMania 34.
The Usos controlled the match early and isolated Xavier Woods in the corner. Woods battled back and tagged in Big E. Big E planted Jey Uso with a Belly to Belly Suplex and then Woods got back into the ring. Woods lifted Big E up on his shoulders and Big E connected with a Splash for a two count.
Big E and Woods took turns stomping on Jey in the corner of the ring as Kofi threw pancakes everywhere outside the ring. Xavier connected with a Dropkick that knocked Jey Uso out of the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Jey Uso finally was able to tag in Jimmy and he leveled Woods with a Clothesline. Jimmy booted Big E in the head and then threw Woods out of the ring. Jimmy leaped over the top rope and connected with a Crossbody onto Big E. Back in the ring, Jimmy planted Woods with a Samoan Drop for a two count. Big E got back into the ring and connected with a Spear to Jimmy Uso on the apron and both Superstars crashed to the floor.
Woods connected with a couple of shots to Jey’s midsection, Jey connected with a boot to the chest. Jimmy Uso and Big E tagged in. Big E planted Jimmy with a Backbreaker onto Woods’ knees for a two count. Jimmy and Jey connected with Superkicks to Big E to knock him out of the ring. Jimmy hit Woods with a Superkick and tagged in Jey. Jey then hit a Splash off the top rope onto Woods for the pinfall victory.
The Usos will now face The Bludgeon Brothers for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WWE Greatest Royal Rumble later this month. After the match, Harper and Rowan came down to the entrance ramp and pointed their mallets at Jimmy and Jey in the ring.
Naomi battled Naomi tonight on SmackDown. The match started out back and forth. Naomi mocked Natalya’s chant and Natalya shoved her in the face. Naomi hung Natalya up on the ropes and booted her in the back. Naomi connected with a slingshot Leg Drop and Natalya rolled out of the ring as SmackDown went to break.
When SmackDown returned, Natalya had an Abdominal Stretched lock in. Naomi broke free, but Natalya dragged her to the mat by her hair. Natalya posed in the ring and then shouted at the crowd to shut up and then once again locked in the Abdominal Stretch. Natalya then planted Naomi with a Powerbomb for a two count. Naomi battled back and hit a split-legged Moonsault for the pinfall victory. Naomi then celebrated next to her women’s Battle Royal trophy after the match and high-fived the announce team.
Carmella Cashed In After Iconic Due Attacked Charlotte
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte came down to the ring and thanked Asuka for making her worker than she ever has before at WrestleMania 34. Charlotte boasted about still being the champ and stated that Sunday was special and magical. Flair then asked who is she going to make magic with next?
The Iconic Duo, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay interrupted and made their way down the entrance ramp. The crowd chanted “NXT!” as Royce and Kay claimed that one of them can make Charlotte’s disappear. Billie Kay said that Charlotte’s match at WrestleMania was good, but it just wasn’t iconic.
Peyton and Kay got into the ring and did an impression of Charlotte thanking Asuka and everybody she has every met in her life. The crowd chanted “Iconic!” as Royce told Charlotte to stop living in the past, when right now she is looking at the future.
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce attacked Charlotte in the ring. Charlotte battled back and threw Royce to the outside, but turned around into a boot to the face from Billie Kay. They then launched Charlotte over the announce table. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce slammed Charlotte into the ring post and laughed at her as Flair slowly tried to get up.
They then launched her shoulder-first into the steel steps and the SmackDown Women’s Champion screamed in pain. Royce and Billie Kay followed that up with a Powerbomb to the floor and then picked her up once again and dragged her into the ring. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce stood over Charlotte in the ring as WWE referees came down to the ring to attend to Flair.
Carmella then ran down to the ring with the MITB briefcase and started shouting at the referee to ring the bell. Carmella then connected with a boot to the face to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Opinion: Well, this makes me hate the decision to have Charlotte end Asuka’s streak even more. I would have preferred to see Carmella cash in at WrestleMania and have Asuka’s streak remain intact. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand that decision at WrestleMania and tonight just made it even worse. I have no problem with Carmella cashing in, I still just cannot get over that Asuka lost and now Charlotte dropped the title two days later. It makes no sense to me at all.
On a positive note, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are very entertaining and will make SmackDown more fun to watch on Tuesday nights.
Randy Orton Will Battle Jinder Mahal Again In A Fresh & Exciting Feud
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Randy Orton, Bobby Roode and Rusev battled tonight on SmackDown to determine who will face Jinder Mahal at WWE Backlash for the United States Championship.
SmackDown went to a commercial break right when the match started. Orton took control during the break and dropped Rusev on the announce table when SmackDown returned from the break.
Roode brought Orton back in the ring and connected with a Clothesline off the top rope. Orton battled back and connected with a Powerslam. Rusev brought Orton out of the ring and slammed him on the announce table.
Rusev connected with a kick to Roode’s face and then got pumped up as the crowd chanted “Rusev Day!”. Rusev hit Roode with a Machka Kick and locked in the Accolade in the middle of the ring. Orton broke it up and threw Rusev into the ring post. Orton then planted Roode with an RKO for the pinfall victory.
Orton will now battle Jinder Mahal once again at WWE Backlash for the U.S. Title.
Opinion: I don’t know what to say. This is like a nightmare that I cannot wake up from. It is surreal that they are putting on this feud again after WrestleMania 34. WWE wants to maintain some of the viewers that are checking in after WrestleMania right?
Shinsuke Nakamura Ruined AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Renee Young interviewed Shinsuke Nakamura backstage. Shinsuke said that he didn’t know what came over him at WrestleMania, maybe he got too emotional. Nakamura jokingly said “I’m very sorry for what I did to AJ Styles”. Renee noted that he was being sarcastic and asked if he had any explanation for attacking AJ after their WrestleMania match. Nakamura paused for a moment and responded “sorry, no speak English” and walked away.
Daniel Bryan faced AJ Styles in the main event of WWE SmackDown. The match started off slow. Bryan took Styles down to the mat and focused his attack on AJ’s arm. Dueling “Daniel Bryan!” and “AJ Styles!” chants broke out in the crowd as Bryan was still in control.AJ Styles connected with a Dropkick that knocked Bryan out of the ring. AJ followed it up with a forearm to the face as SmackDown went to break.
When SmackDown returned, the action had returned to the ring. Bryan sent AJ to the corner and hit him with a running kick to the face. Daniel followed it up with the Yes Kicks, but Styles caught him and dragged him to the canvas.
AJ planted Bryan with a Neckbreaker for a two count. Daniel battled back and tried to apply an Arm Bar, but Styles was able to escape. AJ quickly locked in the Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. Bryan countered and went for the Yes Lock but AJ countered into a roll-up for a two count. AJ connected with a Pele Kick and followed it up with a Clothesline for a two count.
Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm but Bryan dodged it and connected with a kick to the ribs. Bryan geared up in the corner and went for the knee, but Styles caught him and went for the Styles Clash. Daniel countered into the Yes Lock but AJ quickly got his foot on the bottom rope to break the hold.
Daniel hung up AJ in the Tree of Woe and booted him in the midsection a few times. Bryan went for a Suplex off the top, but AJ countered and both Superstars fell to the canvas. Nakamura ran into the ring and hit Bryan with a Kinshasa and the referee called for the bell. Shinsuke then hit a low-blow on AJ and followed it up with another Kinshasa.
Opinion: AJ Styles versus Daniel Bryan is a PPV worthy match, so it was a little surprising to see WWE give it away for free tonight. The match was pretty entertaining, but I was glad Nakamura interfered. I want to see Bryan and Styles have a meaningful match with something on the line in the future, tonight was just a teaser.
Nakamura got himself booed out of the building tonight after he ruined this match and that is a good thing. I’m hoping that WWE does this right and it turns Nakamura into a bigger star in WWE. I don’t have much faith in that though, given some of the decisions they have made this week. WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up is next week and tonight could be the last time Daniel Bryan is on SmackDown for a while. Time will tell if Bryan stays on SmackDown or joins the RAW roster next week.
Carmella is your new SmackDown Women’s Champion after cashing in her Money in the Bank contract on Charlotte Flair, who had just been attacked by a debuting Peyton Royce and Billie Kay.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte came down to the ring and thanked Asuka for making her worker than she ever has before at WrestleMania 34. Charlotte boasted about still being the champ and stated that Sunday was special and magical. Flair then asked who is she going to make magic with next?
The Iconic Duo, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay interrupted and made their way down the entrance ramp. The crowd chanted “NXT!” as Royce and Kay claimed that one of them can make Charlotte’s disappear. Billie Kay said that Charlotte’s match at WrestleMania was good, but it just wasn’t iconic.
Peyton and Kay got into the ring and did an impression of Charlotte thanking Asuka and everybody she has every met in her life. The crowd chanted “Iconic!” as Royce told Charlotte to stop living in the past, when right now she is looking at the future.
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce attacked Charlotte in the ring. Charlotte battled back and threw Royce to the outside, but turned around into a boot to the face from Billie Kay. They then launched Charlotte over the announce table. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce slammed Charlotte into the ring post and laughed at her as Flair slowly tried to get up.
They then launched her shoulder-first into the steel steps and the SmackDown Women’s Champion screamed in pain. Royce and Billie Kay followed that up with a Powerbomb to the floor and then picked her up once again and dragged her into the ring. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce stood over Charlotte in the ring as WWE referees came down to the ring to attend to Flair.
Carmella then ran down to the ring with the MITB briefcase and started shouting at the referee to ring the bell. The referee took forever to actually start the match, but eventually called for the opening bell.
— seiya suzuki enthusiast ? (@Cantguardzach) April 11, 2018
Carmella quickly charged at Charlotte and delivered a boot to the face to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship. This marks the first title reign for the Staten Island native.
After announcing her retirement from active competition on Monday’s RAW the night after WrestleMania, Paige has found a new role on SmackDown Live.
SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon kicked off this week’s show. He thanked the crowd for the great response and thanked everyone for making WrestleMania a huge success. The crowd chanted back “thank you Shane!”.
Shane said that this Sunday was extra special because we all got to witness the return of Daniel Bryan and the crowd chanted “yes!”. He stated that because of Daniels toughness and resolve to never let anyone take away his dream, we not only competed, we also won. Shane added that Daniel Bryan was born to do this and that Daniel has crossed back over to become a full-time WWE Superstar. McMahon said that he has accepted Daniel’s resignation as SmackDown GM and then introduced Paige as the new SmackDown GM.
Paige came down to the ring to an awesome reaction from the crowd. The crowd chanted “yes!” as Paige stood in the middle of the ring. She noted that she gave her retirement speech last night at RAW and the first person waiting for her was Shane McMahon. Paige thanked Shane as the WWE Universe chanted “this is your house!”. Paige said that the Superstar Shake-Up is next week and that as her first act as GM, she wants to make tonight truly special for everyone in the crowd.
Paige brought up Daniel Bryan and the crowd chanted “yes!”. Paige noted that Bryan hasn’t competed in a match on TV in over 3 years and asked the crowd if they wanted to see him in action tonight. The crowd chanted “yes!” once again and announced Daniel Bryan will face…
The crowd interrupted with chants of “Rusev Day!” and “AJ Styles!”. Paige then announced that Bryan will face AJ Styles in his first match back on SmackDown.
#SDLive has been and always will be the land of opportunities and second chances. It was my PRIVILEGE to name @RealPaigeWWE as the new General Manager. This is her house now. pic.twitter.com/3xXGMDEEIV
Littlstar, the largest global platform dedicated to immersive virtual and augmented reality content, has released a video depicting Augmented Reality (AR) holograms of WWE Champion AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Reddit user Reveller says that Littlstar worked with WWE and Microsoft (using their Hcap volumetric capture technology) to build the AR holograms. Members of the Littlstar team flew to Microsoft’s studio in Redmond, Washington with AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura to create the experience.
https://youtu.be/BqntTr8Rg6g
The WrestleMania AR holograms were built to promote the launch of Littlstar’s new Android ARCore application and subsequent launch feature with Google in the Play Store. For more information, visit Littlstar.info.
Check out these videos from WrestleMania weekend of the WWE AR holograms in the wild:
Monday’s post-WrestleMania edition of WWE RAW from New Orleans averaged 3.921 million viewers, a healthy 17% increase from 3.358 million the previous week.
This year’s ‘RAW after Mania’ featured a rowdy crowd, but one that was far less rebellious than previous years. That said, it was an eventful show to say the least. In addition to Ronda Rousey putting Stephanie McMahon in an arm bar once again and the news of the Superstar Shake-Up Returning this week, we got Bobby Lashley’s first WWE television appearance in a decade, the returns of Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy and the main roster call-ups of Ember Moon, the Authors of Pain and No Way Jose.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
