Welcome to SEScoops: the Daily Drop, your go-to for the latest news and rumors in wrestling for Saturday, March 16. A lot of things changed in the past 24 hours, including Mercedes Mone’s AEW debut at Big Business.
Days until WrestleMania 40: 21
First off, it’s 3:16 day, so celebrate by giving someone the Stunner, flipping them the bird, and downing a Steveweiser. Oh, HELL YEAH!
WWE:
– Candice LeRae dissing Maxxine Dupri’s dead brother wasn’t just received poorly by fans. I was told that this was not received well by anyone backstage. Here’s hoping it didn’t do too much damage to anyone involved.
I was also told that "it wasn't received well by anyone." So, to clarify, IDK who TF actually thought it was a good idea to put that creative idea on television this week. https://t.co/Iitr2BOI1T
— Aaron (@AaronVarble) March 15, 2024
– The report about CM Punk and Booker T having a tiff backstage at NXT was not accurate. Booker T was just being himself and hyping things up, but there was nothing there. So, bets are still on if you have money on how long it will be until CM Punk starts a controversy in WWE this time around.
– Rey Mysterio returned during SmackDown this week. He got right back to business, as he challenged Santos Escobar to a match on the blue brand’s show next week.
– The Rock’s next movie starts shooting in May. Take that for what it’s worth, but it may give us a clue about his availability after WrestleMania 40.
– The Rock also had an epic musical segment on SmackDown in Memphis this week.
– WWE made a ton of additions to the WrestleMania 40 card during SmackDown this week. You may check out the updated card below.
WrestleMania 40 Card:
- Night 1: The Bloodline (The Rock and Roman Reigns) vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin” Rollins
- Night 2: Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship
- Night 2: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
- Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton – Triple threat match for WWE United Stated Title
- Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship
- Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch for the Women’s World Championship
- Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
- The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) (c) vs. Legado Del Fantasma (Angel and Berto) vs. Four teams TBD in a Six-Pack Ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
- AJ Styles vs. LA Knight in a Singles match
- Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso in a Singles match
AEW:
– Some people within the company were pretty upset about Mercedes Mone saying that she will go back to WWE eventually. She’s just getting started in AEW, but to be fair, she said that before her “unannounced” debut for the company.
– Darby Allin won’t be climbing Mount Everest after all, because he broke his foot. He was still going to climb the dangerous mountain after cutting his back to ribbons at AEW Revolution.
– AEW Collision will not air on March 23. They are being preempted by NCAA March Madness.
– Mercedes Mone said that she felt like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin during her AEW Dynamite debut at Big Business.
– Kyle O’Reilly would have been okay with retirement after his last injury.
AEW Collision Card for 3/16:
- AEW TBS Championship Open House Match: Julia Hart vs. Trish Adora
- Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bryan Keith
- Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata
- Komander vs. PAC
- AEW World Tag Team Tournament kicks off
Upcoming Major Pro Wrestling Events:
- WWE NXT Stand & Deliver is slated for the afternoon of April 6th, just before the start of WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
- WrestleMania XL is set to take place on April 6th and 7th at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a two-part event.
- AEW is coming to St. Louis, MO with AEW: Dynasty LIVE on PPV on Sunday, April 21st at Chaifetz Arena
- Backlash France is scheduled for May 4th at LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu, France.
- WWE NXT Battleground is booked for May 26th at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia, exclusively available on the WWE Network and Peacock.
- WWE Money in the Bank will be held on July 6th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, followed by WWE NXT Heatwave on July 7th at the same venue.
- WWE SummerSlam is taking over Cleveland’s Cleveland Browns Stadium on August 3rd.
- WWE Bash In Berlin is marked for August 31st at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany.
