WWE Evolution is this weekend, and with it comes speculation about the long-rumored WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Becky Lynch, Naomi, and Sasha Banks are among the women who have discussed the possibility of adding tag titles to the women’s division of late.
In her interview with Maria Menounos this week, Banks again spoke on the issue. “We have so many great teams right now. We have the IIconics, Mickie and Fox, Absolution. We have tag matches on Raw every single week. So why not make the titles or belts to defend them?”
The timing of Sasha’s remarks (and other factors cited below) indicate that we might be on the verge of another historic moment for WWE’s female competitors.
Do The Belts Exist?
There has been speculation for months about the addition of tag titles. A reliable source, famed wrestling title belt collector and custom belt maker BeltFanDan, stated that the belts representing the championships were manufactured and ready to go as far back as July.
The new WWE Women's Tag Team Championship belts are done. White straps. Part of Stephanie's announcement on Raw.
Although the belts were not introduced when Dan had originally claimed, he is well-connected and has a proven track record of accurate reporting on championship belts.
That “Leaked Evolution Booking Sheet”
While its authenticity is still in question, the “leaked WWE Evolution booking sheet” that was circulating online a few months ago featured the announcement of WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
More Breadcrumbs
Longtime wrestling podcaster The Solomonster (Jason Solomon) retweeted a fan who was present at the Smackdown tapings this week, where it appeared that WWE was passing out these signs to fans. That would certainly suggest that the plans for the titles are already in place, and that the announcement is imminent.
While at the start it appeared that Matt Hardy’s WWE career may be over, Hardy himself has broken this myth and talked openly about his return in recent interviews.
He gave one such interview to Cultura Colectiva while promoting the upcoming WWE Live Event from Mexico on December 1st and discussed the upcoming show, his return to WWE programming and more.
Hardy first discussed his upcoming House Hardy Network special saying that there is going to be a regular series featuring Woken/Broken Matt Hardy and his family.
Talking about his TV return, the former World Champion revealed some interesting details on the plans for his Broken character upon his comeback:
” I feel like when I return to WWE TV it’s gonna be—have you ever seen The Incredible Hulk when Bruce Banner got angry and turned into this green monster?—well, I feel you’re gonna have Matt Hardy and then there’ll be something that causes Matt Hardy to transform into Woken or Broken Matt Hardy.”
Apart from this Matt Hardy also talked about the upcoming Mexican event. The show which was originally advertised as a Raw Live Event has now been converted into a Dual Branded show.
So Matt talked about possibly teaming with his brother Jeff Hardy at the event, saying that he is going to petition to have the Hardy Brothers compete in a tag match.
We noted before how Raw Star Bobby Lashley was working hurt but at the time there weren’t any details available about the type of injury he is dealing with.
Now the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter has revealed that Lashley has actually been dealing with a separated shoulder but still trying to work through the pain.
No word yet on if the injury will cause Bobby to take time off in future but it appears that the former Impact Star will continue to work as long as he can.
NXT Tag Team To Challenge For Indie Title?
EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka recently posted a video where they issued an open challenge to any tag team in the world to come and challenge them for their title at Sunday’s EVOLVE 114 event in Ybor City, Florida.
Interestingly, Angelo Dawkins who is one-half of the NXT Tag Team Street Profits made the following tweet indicating that they may appear at the show to answer this challenge:
It’s well known that WWE and EVOLVE have a working relationship. Many NXT stars have previously made appearances for the promotion. So it wouldn’t be a big surprise if the duo actually shows up at the upcoming event.
The war of words between Nikki Bella and Ronda Rousey reached another level when Rousey brought up Nikki’s relationship and recent break up with John Cena during a promo on Raw 2 weeks ago.
During her recent interview with New York Post in order to promote Sunday’s Evolution PPV, Bella talked about a number of things and also discussed this promo.
Nikki first discussed how women in the wrestling industry want the equality and they don’t want to be defined by their man or their relationships.
While talking about Rousey’s Raw promo, especially the John Cena jab, the former Diva’s Champion said that she has grown thick-skinned to such shots and she can’t wait for the day when it can stop:
“I’ve grown thick-skinned to it. I just can’t wait for the day it can stop and not every promo towards me brings up my ex and I think it will [stop]. I think there will come a day for that, but maybe there won’t, but I do hope so.”
Nikki Bella is currently scheduled to challenge the Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey for her title at the upcoming Evolution PPV. You can check out Nikki’s full interview at this link and watch the segment in question below:
Bray Wyatt recently resurfaced on social media, with tweets that appeared to be a tease for a new faction. However, latest reports make it seem like the former WWE Champion may actually be teasing a reunion.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has been discussing plans for Bray in recent times. Interestingly, one of the pitches that were made called for a Wyatt Family reunion.
Bray Wyatt has been away from the ring for a while, and apart from Braun Strowman, other members of the Wyatt Family have not been used on the WWE programming in last few months as well.
Erick Rowan is currently out with biceps injury. During his final appearance on SmackDown after SummerSlam, he and Luke Harper dropped the SmackDown Tag Team Championships to The New Day. Harper has not been used ever since.
On the other hand, Wyatt himself has been kept off TV from even before the SummerSlam PPV. He has been without a programme since Matt Hardy decided to take a break to rehabilitate from his injuries.
No word yet on if the mentioned pitch is the plan WWE is moving forward with but Bray Wyatt returning to social media could be taken as a sign that the company has something planned for Bray. We should get more details about what the Officials have in mind for him in the upcoming times.
After a long wait, WWE finally released a decisive statement on their upcoming Crown Jewel PPV yesterday morning announcing that they are moving forward with the Saudi Arabian event as planned.
Though as you can expect this statement has only fuelled the discussion about the show with people now debating whether or not WWE made the right call.
Since this topic was expected to be brought up in the 2019 third quarter earnings conference call that took place yesterday, Vince McMahon made it clear at the beginning that they are not going to talk about it:
“We’re not going to talk a lot about that it’s a very sensitive subject. I think our statement says all we’re going to say about that today.”
When brought back up later in the call, the topic was again dodged and this time it was CFO George Barrios who repeated the same words saying that all their thoughts are included in the statement:
Jason @ Citi #wweq3 Q: "Respecting you don't want to talk about Saudi Arbia, Can you frame what risks that relate to Saudi Arabia outside your control? Economic Sanctions risk?"
Barrios: "The complexity of the situation as Vince said. All our thoughts are in our statement."
With this call, it’s pretty clear that WWE won’t be talking much about the event in near future and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they don’t even mention it after November 2.
Though the upcoming go home episode of Raw and SmackDown are still expected to build the event and it’d be interesting to see how they reference the show on WWE programming in the upcoming week.
Sami Callihan had plenty to say on today’s Impact Wrestling Press Pass. Perhaps the most impactful statements he made, however, were in regards to the X-Division. Callihan echoed sentiment previously expressed by Brian Cage in regards to wanting to bring the title back to the prominence it once enjoyed.
Sami Callihan On The X-Division And Wrestling Kangaroos
I had the chance to ask Callihan on today’s call about what competing in the division means to him.
“I remember being a young little death machine and watching Impact and TNA PPVs back before I was even in the wrestling business,” Callihan said. “The X-division title was something I always wanted to be a part of. Now, getting a chance to actually make this division mean something again, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Callihan then spoke about how the importance of the X-Division decreased for a period.
“The fact the X-Division Championship isn’t up to where it used to be is sad,” he continued. “And I want to be one of the people, just like I’m saving Impact Wrestling, I want to be one of the people that saves the X-Division title.”
At this point, Callihan received a text message which he felt contained some disturbing information. He learned from the text that there are roughly 40 million people worldwide and only 8 million people in Ohio. Callihan then did some surprisingly quick math to work out each person from Ohio would have to fight 5 kangaroos. He was quick to say he felt OVE vs a trio of kangaroos would do great buyrates on PPV.
https://youtu.be/1IjpPakgm9g
Sami Callihan vs Brian Cage – X-Division Championship
At Bound For Glory, Sami Callihan became the first man in Impact Wrestling to pin Brian Cage. It took a barrage of super-kicks from OVE and a Cactus Driver from Callihan to do it, however. Last week on Impact, Callihan made his intentions to challenge for the X-Division title known.
X-Division History
When TNA Wrestling debuted in 2002, many feel it was the X-Division matches which separated it from other promotions. The early X-Division was dominated by guys like AJ Styles, Low-Ki, and Jerry Lynn. Other names such as Christoper Daniels, the Amazing Red, Frankie Kazarian, and Chris Sabin would follow.
The X-Division became so popular many felt it had risen to the same level (if not greater) that the World Title. Over time the title’s importance faded, seemingly relegated to mid-card status. 2018 has seen a change in how the division has been handled, however. With names such as Brian Cage and Matt Sydal leading the charge, the division has a larger spotlight on it now than it has in years. If Sami Callihan gets his way, the title will be back to main event PPVs sooner rather than later.
The Mayor of Slamtown, Impact World Champion, and current Survivor contestant, John Hennigan, recently revealed he has heat with Triple H stemming back to a rap battle he did shortly after he left WWE.
He made the comments while on Impact Wrestling’s “Behind the Lights” show with Anthony Carelli and Alicia Atout. Hennigan’s story comes in around the 1-hour mark in the player below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g_VpOQUaOA
John Hennigan/Johnny Impact on Rap Battle Incident
Apparently, Hennigan decided to perform both parts of a rap battle while dressed as Triple H and the Undertaker shortly after leaving WWE. He posted the video to his YouTube channel in March of 2012.
Johnny says he texted Triple H about it who gave him the OK but his feelings may have changed after the fact.
Apparently, Johnny was at a party the Miz was throwing a couple of years ago and the two got to talking about Johnny coming back to WWE. Johnny said he’d likely go back at some point but the Miz mentioned Triple H has mentioned this rap battle on a couple of occasions.
“Miz goes, ‘Oh, you know what? Hunter keeps bringing up that battle rap video,’” Johnny said. “He goes like, ‘Didn’t Morrison do some weird battle rap video where he’s burying me and ‘Taker?’ And until I heard that, I didn’t think it was even a thing. I would’ve thought he would’ve been too busy to even realize that.”
It was revealed on Monday during RAW that Roman Reigns had to relinquish the Universal Title due to his battle with leukemia. Later in the show, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins beat Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler to win the RAW Tag Team Titles. However, after the match, Ambrose turned heel by attacking Rollins.
Now, with Reigns being out of action, it appears that the feud between the RAW Tag Team Champions will be the top program on the flagship show of the company. WWE is already advertising Ambrose vs. Rollins for upcoming live events as well as Braun Strowman vs. McIntyre with Ziggler in his corner.
These matches are also advertised for the final episode of RAW before WrestleMania 35 that goes down on April 1st from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. Also advertised for this show is Alexa Bliss, Bobby Lashley, Sasha Banks, Finn Balor, Bayley, Elias, Nia Jax, Jinder Mahal, and Bobby Roode.
– WWE recently published a list of the 10 best WWE 205 Live matches due to this week’s episode celebrating the 100th show in the history of the cruiserweight series. Here’s the list: 10. Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Gentleman Jack Gallagher vs. Noam Dar vs. TJP – Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match to determine No.1 Contender to Cruiserweight Title: Feb. 7, 2017 9. Akira Tozawa vs. The Brian Kendrick – Street Fight: May 23, 2017 8. Mustafa Ali vs. TJP vs. Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese vs. Kalisto – Gauntlet Match: April 24, 2018 7. Rich Swann vs. TJP: July 4, 2017 6. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Buddy Murphy vs. TJP: March 27, 2018 5. Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong: March 13, 2018 4. Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy — WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: May 29, 2018 3. Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak – 2-out-of-3 Falls Match: July 18, 2017 2. Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali: Jan. 23, 2018 1. Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy – No Disqualification Match: July 3, 2018
WWE has announced that Matt Riddle’s official NXT TV debut will air next week on the WWE Network. WWE taped this edition of NXT on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, from Winter Park, FL at the Full Sail University. The company sent out this promo for his arrival:
It was revealed in August at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 that he had signed with the WWE as he was sitting front row at the show. Since then, he’s been training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to get used to the WWE system.
Big Match Set For 205 Live Next Week
The first two matches for next week’s episode of WWE 205 Live on the WWE Network in Charlotte, NC at the Spectrum Center have been announced. First up is a big contest as it will see Mustafa Ali vs. Tony Nese with the winner earning a title shot from WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy at a later date. Jack Gallagher vs. Brian Kendrick will also take place.
This title match could happen at Crown Jewel on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium or Survivor Series on Sunday, November 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center next month.
Impact Wrestling presents their second episode since Bound For Glory tonight. Already scheduled for tonight’s show will be Johnny Impact defending the Impact World Championship for the first time against Fenix.
Impact Wrestling 10/25 Preview
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) vs Fenix
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Johnny Impact said he would be a fighting champion. That brought out Fenix who said he wanted a title shot. Impact agreed and the match was made official for tonight.
Killer Kross & Moose vs KM & Fallah Bah
Austin Aries might be gone but Killer Kross and Moose aren’t slowing down their path of destruction. The team recently named “Money & Violence” will take on KM and Fallah Bah tonight. Remember it was Moose and Kross who assaulted KM and Fallah Bah back in Toronto at the tapings following Bound For Glory. They will be looking for a little revenge for that tonight.
Tessa Blanchard Replies To Taya Valkyrie
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Taya Valkyrie said she no longer respected Tessa. Valkyrie had just defeated Katarina when she made the comments in a post-match interview. She is upset that Tessa dragged the ring apron into the ring moments before Taya gave her the Road to Valhalla. The referee was momentarily out of position, which allowed Blanchard to get a shoulder up just before the 3-count. Blanchard then hit Taya with a Buzzsaw DDT, which Taya kicked out from, making her the first in Impact to do so. She then debuted a new move, however, a top-rope codebreaker she calls Magnum. After hitting Magnum on Taya, Blanchard got the pin and retained her title.
Tonight, Tessa Blanchard will respond to Taya’s comments from last week.
Su Yung vs Kiera Hogan
Su Yung locked Kiera Hogan in a coffin before Bound For Glory. Allie had to travel to the Undead realm to rescue her. When Su Yung locked Madison Rayne in a coffin, however, she just went to Ring of Honor. Regardless, Hogan will get a chance for revenge tonight but the real question might be how Allie reacts to all of this. Allie showed a new vicious side last week when she continued to attack Alisha Edwards even after defeating her single’s competition. We might find out more about Allie’s condition tonight.
The Great Gama Singh vs Rohit Raju
Arguably the biggest heel in the history of the Hart Family’s Stampede Wrestling promotion, the Great Gama Singh returns to in-ring action tonight. The 63-year-old will face his pupil, Rohit Raju tonight. Singh has said it will be Raju’s final test.
Raju defeated Gursindher Singh in a loser-leaves-the Desi Hit Squad match last week.
Skybet has released the early betting odds for the upcoming vacant Universal Title match between Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel.
It was revealed on Monday during RAW that Roman Reigns had to relinquish the Universal Title due to his battle with leukemia. Thus, he will not able to face Brock Lesnar and Strowman in a triple threat match at this show as originally advertised.
The odds for this new match are out as Strowman is a 2/5 favorite to win the title while Lesnar is a 7/4 favorite. For those who plan on betting on this contest, a $100 bet on Braun Strowman would return around $116. On the flip side, the same bet on Lesnar would return about $170.
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days.
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Vacant WWE Universal Title Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
World Cup Tournament: John Cena, Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins & Dolph Ziggler will represent RAW while Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Randy Orton & Jeff Hardy will represent SmackDown
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. The New Day
Nikki Bella talked with Matt Burke of Metro about her upcoming WWE RAW Women’s Title match with Ronda Rousey at this Sunday’s Evolution pay-per-view event in Long Island, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum that will air on the WWE Network. This is expected to be the headliner.
The former WWE Divas Champion stated that a fan recently told her that she has competed in well over 600 matches and that Rousey has only had 24 matches in WWE.
“This Sunday it’s going to be the best performance of my career, for sure. I’ll have my sister Brie in my corner, I have a new move set, and the Bellas always have a few tricks up their sleeves.”
Bella also talked about standing out in the WWE, which she said that you have to blend it all together as it’s charisma and likeability. Nikki noted that you have to bring something different to the table because the minute a woman walks out of that curtain it’s about how much she connects with that crowd.
She added, “Does she get their attention? How well does she speak on the mic? It’s all about confidence, and I only started to get better when I just started being me.”
Tom Lawlor and other members of the MLW roster were in Chicago yesterday to promote MLW: Fightland on November 8th. The event will be held in Chicago’s Cicero Stadium.
Lawlor confronted MLW Champion, Low-Ki, during a backstage promo but was then attacked from behind by Sami Callihan. The incident was caught on camera and posted by TMZ.
MLW Fightland
The promotion also announced Brian Pillman Jr. of the new Hart Foundation will face Tommy Dreamer at MLW: Fightland. Rush will also make his MLW debut against Sammy Guevara on the show.
No DQ
PCO vs Brody King
MLW Tag Team Championships
Fenix & Pentagon Jr. (c) vs LA Park & El Hijo de LA Park
Tommy Dreamer vs Brian Pillman Jr.
Rush vs. Sammy Guevara
Size Matters (Joey Ryan & Swoggle) vs The Dirty Blondes
MLW Fightland will be filmed for future episodes of MLW Fusion. The promotion’s weekly show airs Friday nights on BeIN Sports. Full episodes are released on their YouTube channel at 6 PM every Saturday.
Following their Chicago show next month, MLW’s December tapings will be held in Miami. Their Miami Fusion tapings will be held over a 2-day period and travel packages are available for fans wishing to attend the shows as part of a winter vacation to Florida.
WWE will be going to Saudi Arabia on November 2nd for Crown Jewel. The company released their 3rd Quarter Earnings report today and confirmed they will be following through with their contractual commitment to the event.
The company addressed the situation on the 1st page of the report:
“WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled.”
On this week’s edition of The Jim Ross Report, JR revealed that he will be undergoing surgery Thursday to remove skin cancer.
“I’m getting a little cancer surgery on Thursday. I’m having some more skin cancer removed from my shoulder. There’s just a little of it left, but you want to get all of it,” Ross said.
Although he will be going under the knife, Ross won’t be easing up on his scheduled appearances.
“That night I’m going to be working with Sean Grande on the Celtics Radio Network. Then I fly to Fort Lauderdale on Friday [for the Chris Jericho Cruise],” Ross continued.
Jim Ross On Roman Reigns
Ross also discussed the biggest news item of the week, Roman Reigns revealing his leukemia diagnosis on Raw on Monday.
“Sometimes in our lives in wrestling, when we think we’ve seen everything, something comes along once or twice in a career, maybe once in a lifetime, that can’t be replicated,” Ross said of Reigns’s promo.
“The fact that WWE allowed Roman to come to the ring and make this announcement in his own words, and I assure you, that was in his own words, I think is very admirable,” said Ross.
“When a guy can walk out there without a script and speak from his heart about something so serious… It’s a badass piece of business, man.”
“We can only hope and pray that he gets well. And I think that he will.”
JR also interviewed ROH’s Jeff Cobb and denied our report about his involvement in a startup wrestling promotion involving Chris Jericho, Barry Bloom, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks. Stay tuned.
When referencing this transcript, please credit SEScoops.com. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Sasha Banks returned to WWE television last week after missing time due to a previously undisclosed injury. Appearing on Conversations with Maria Menounos on SiriusXM Thursday, The Legit Boss provided details on the injury that caused her to miss time.
“I was having head pain. I couldn’t function, I couldn’t even drive, I couldn’t sleep,” Banks said. “I went to several neurologists and they pretty much told me I might have post-concussion symptoms, so just rest.”
Banks went on to discuss her reaction to the diagnosis.
“It was kind of scary. I wasn’t sure I would even make Evolution. We’ve been having a lot of concussion meetings with WWE, taking care of ourselves and our heads, and I said I’m not okay. I can’t function, I can’t wrestle, I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, so I need to go get checked out,” Banks said.
After making it through her ordeal, Banks is set to appear at WWE Evolution this Sunday, teaming with Natalya and Bayley as they take on the Riott Squad.
“Thank God I’m okay. I’m better, I feel back to normal, and I’m ready for Sunday.”
The full interview will be released on Friday on Maria Menounos’s podcast.
When referencing this transcript, please credit SEScoops.com. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Are you surprised to hear of the severity of Banks’s injury?
Unfortunately, it appears that the injury sustained by The Sky King, Will Ospreay, may be more serious than initially thought.
Ospreay was pulled from a number of events since first becoming injured at the NJPW/RPW Global War show on October 14th, including NJPW’s Road To Power Struggle tour. This was done to help Will rehab and recover for his match against Taichi on November 3rd.
According to NJPW, despite the time taken to try and heal, the treatment that Ospreay has been undertaking has “not progressed as quickly as we [NJPW] had hoped.”
Because of this, Will Ospreay will sadly have to miss the event, and will no longer be competing for the NJPW NEVER Openweight Championship at Power Struggle.
NJPW has not replaced Ospreay, however, instead simply canceling the matchup entirely against Suzuki-Gun’s Taichi.
The Sky King Stakes His Claim
Ospreay recently put himself into title consideration against Taichi, leading his CHAOS stablemates to victory against Suzuki-Gun at NJPW’s King Of Pro Wrestling event.
Ospreay pinned the current champion before cutting an impassioned promo backstage staking his claim at the title – one that Taichi was quick to dismiss.
Official Statement
The full official statement from NJPW1972.com can be read below:
“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce that Will Ospreay will miss the event in Osaka on November 3rd (Sat). As such the NEVER Openweight Championship match has been canceled.
Having become injured in the UK, Will Ospreay has been undergoing treatment. However, his treatment has not progressed as quickly as we had hoped and unfortunately, he will have to miss the event on November 3 (Saturday) in Osaka Prefectural Gym (Edion Arena Osaka).
As a result, the NEVER Openweight Championship match (Taichi vs Will Ospreay), scheduled for the same event, will be canceled.
We offer our sincerest apologies to our fans who were looking forward to this championship match. Good luck Will, we look forward to your return at upcoming events.
Backstage News On Trish Stratus And Lita’s Future After Evolution
Both Trish Stratus and Lita are expected to return to ring at the upcoming Evolution PPV but it appears that this won’t be their last match in near future.
According to Pwinsider, WWE expects these two to work more matches in the future. The company is planning to use them for big events like Royal Rumble and WrestleMania in upcoming times.
They both are set to face Alexa Bliss and Mickie James at the Evolution PPV. As we noted before, Bliss is scheduled to appear at the event but whether or not she will wrestle at the show is not clear.
Lana Gets Hacked
Strange posts started to appear from Lana’s Instagram account yesterday. The last few posts from her account claimed that she is giving away a number of iPhones and Apple Watches.
The SmackDown Star took on her Twitter account to address this situation later in the day and revealed that her Instagram had actually been hacked:
My instagram has been hacked !!!! Every message you are getting, post or IG story you are seeing in the last 2 hours is a HACKER
Lana is currently scheduled to take part in the announced Battle Royal for the Evolution PPV, with the winner getting a future title opportunity. You can check out an updated match card and betting odds for the event here.
A lot of superstars related to WWE have commented on the recent Saudi Arabia controversy and the Rock is the latest celebrity who has been dragged into this conversation.
About 6 months ago, the Rock had dinner with Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and he posted on Instagram about it, calling it a fascinating experience.
CNN reporter Oliver Darcy uncovered this old post recently and took on his Twitter account to blast the Great One, saying that this post did not age well:
This Instagram post from @TheRock did not age well. Reached out to his publicist several times today to see if he has any new thoughts on MBS, but no response. pic.twitter.com/N538sD52X1
The former World Champion responded to this tweet from Darcy, saying that it’s a silly and clickbait post and that he should go back and read his words:
Such a silly, clickbait post, Oliver. Im surprised you’d post this. Go back and really read my words. I listened and learned then. As I listen and learn now. C’mon man
Oliver was quick to respond to this tweet and he came up with a tweet blaming the Rock of playing a role in Salman’s PR campaign and asking if his views have changed with time:
You had dinner with a brutal authoritarian, playing a role in his PR campaign to convince the West that he was, as you’d say, someone with “modern views.” Then you gushed about it on social media. Ppl look up to you. Do you regret giving him a platform? Has your opinion changed? https://t.co/yPHazTLIRt
The post in question is before the controversy over the missing journalist went international so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the former WWE Star releases a statement clearing his views soon, though so far he hasn’t responded to Darcy’s latest tweet.
We are also waiting for WWE to take a decision on their upcoming Crown Jewel event scheduled to take place in the country on 2nd November, and we’ll keep you posted on any development in the situation.
We noted before how Hulk Hogan announced a nWo reunion tour back in late August and it became a topic of discussion after WWE started promoting it through their social media channels.
Now a latest development in the situation make it seem like WWE may have their own reasons to get involved with this tour and the company might be observing the reaction to it very closely.
Reddit user thegumpguy recently posted highlights from his recent meeting with Kevin Nash during a local comic con event, and he shared some interesting details about his conversation with the former WWE Star.
According to the fan, Nash did a Q&A session during his appearance, and he claimed that the upcoming reunion tour is to gauge interest for inducting the group into the Hall of Fame.
Apart from this Nash also talked about Jim Cornette being bitter and how Bayley and Sasha Banks would be a welcome addition to nWo.
With nWo featuring more than 50 members who were a part of the group at different times, it’s hard to say which one of them could be inducted if the story is really true.
Though it’s most likely that they’ll induct the original three members, namely Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, and Kevin Nash.
This obviously is not a confirmed report and we’ll have to wait for any trusted source to confirm it but the talk of nWo being inducted into the Hall Of Fame is still interesting.
The nWo ‘Too Sweet’ reunion tour will kick off from Orlando on October 27th.
We noted before how Alexa Bliss hinted at Evolution appearance after suffering an injury last week and now her partner for the event Mickie James has confirmed her status for the show.
James was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio where she was asked if the former Raw Women’s Champion will be at the PPV and she said that Bliss will definitely be there on Sunday.
Continuing on the topic, Mickie claimed that she talks to Alexa every day and she is doing better. She also said that they are going to be out there and it’s going to be amazing.
As far as Bliss’ in-ring return goes, Pwinsider confirmed the reports of her injury and revealed that she has been kept away from the WWE programming in order to give her rest so she can be ready for Evolution.
While it’s not 100% confirmed, the belief is that the former Champion will be ready in time for her match against Lita and Trish Stratus at the upcoming show this Sunday.
Though as we noted before, Alicia Fox was also a part of the Raw segment this week involving both the mentioned Hall Of Famers. It’s possible that she will replace Alexa if she is not cleared in time for the historic PPV.
As of this writing, Alexa Bliss is still scheduled to team up with Mickie James and compete against Lita and Trish Stratus in a tag match at Evolution.
The wrestling world is still abuzz from Roman Reigns’ shocking announcement during the latest episode of Raw where the Big Dog revealed his battle with leukemia and relinquished the Universal Championship.
During the latest episode of his X Pac 1,2,360 podcast, former WWE Superstar Sean Waltman talked about this announcement and the upcoming Crown Jewel PPV among other things.
Waltman talked about Reigns’ disease and said that the best treatment would be available for him and we are going to proceed with the belief that he is going to come through this and make a complete recovery.
Continuing on the topic, Sean talked about people expecting him to return to the ring soon and he said that the main thing is that we should forget about seeing him back in the ring and make sure that his daughter has a father while growing up.
Apart from this, Sean Waltman also discussed the vacant Universal Championship saying that you always need a plan b in today’s business. He said that he sees a big plan b in Braun Strowman and he thinks that WWE will go with him as the next Universal Champion.
As of this writing, not many details are available about Roman Reigns’ path of recovery so it’s hard to determine a timeframe for his return. You can check out some backstage details about his Raw promo here.
The finals of this year’s WWE Mae Young Classic have been set.
As seen on the latest episode of the TV series that has been airing over the last several weeks on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network, it was revealed that Toni Storm and Io Shirai will face-off in the finals of the Mae Young Classic at the upcoming WWE Evolution pay-per-view event.
Storm defeated Meiko Satomura while Shirai defeated Rhea Ripley in the semi-finals to advance in the tournament.
The Evolution pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, October 28, 2018 in Long Island, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and will air on the WWE Network.
Updated WWE Evolution Card
Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Alexa Bliss & Mickie James
NXT Women’s Champion Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella
SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair – Last Woman Standing Match
Mae Young Classic Finals: Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai
Sasha Banks, Bayley & Natalya vs. The Riott Squad – Six-Woman Tag Team Match
Battle Royal: Zelina Vega, Torrie Wilson, Asuka, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Lana, Carmella, Naomi, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Ember Moon, Nia Jax, Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox, Tamina Snuka, Michelle McCool, WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze, WWE Hall of Fame Ivory, Molly Holly, Kelly Kelly, and Maria Kanellis – Winner will a receive championship match
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Undisputed Era Brutally Attacked EC3 After He Defeated Adam Cole
Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish) came down to the ring to kick off this week’s episode of NXT. Cole said Bobby Fish is back and Undisputed Era is at 100%. Cole warned the NXT locker room and boasted about Undisputed Era demolishing War Raiders on last week’s show.
Cole stated that they are going to get people to fear NXT. He added that Ricochet has his North American Championship and demanded another rematch. EC3 interrupted and came down to the entrance ramp with a microphone in his hand.
EC3 told Adam Cole that he does not deserve a rematch for the North American Championship. EC3 added that it doesn’t matter that Undisputed Era is 100% because he is the top 1%. Cole demanded that a referee get out here right now so he can teach EC3 a lesson.
Cole then battled EC3 with the rest of Undisputed Era ringside for the match. Cole bounced EC3’s face off the turnbuckle and stomped on him several times in the corner. EC3 turned the tables and hit Cole with a chop and then bounced Cole’s face off the top turnbuckle.
EC3 connected with another chop and then followed it up with a Body Slam. EC3 connected with an Elbow Drop and then Clotheslined him out of the ring. Undisputed Era distracted EC3 and Cole tried to capitalize with a boot. EC3 caught him and slammed Cole face first to the ring apron.
Back in the ring, Adam Cole connected with a Superkick out of nowhere and sent EC3 back to the corner of the ring. Cole hit a Neckbreaker and beat down EC3 in the corner once again. Cole followed it up with another Neckbreaker and went for the cover but EC3 kicked out at one. Cole applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring as the crowd got behind EC3.
EC3 escaped but Cole hit him with a running kick to the face for another one count. EC3 battled back with a couple of chops and then went for a Splash but Cole got out of the way and hit another Neckbreaker for a near fall. Cole then went back to the Headlock in the middle of the ring as Bobby Fish shouted at the referee to ask EC3 if he wanted to quit.
EC3 countered into an awesome Suplex and both Superstars fell to the canvas. The crowd chanted “EC3!” as he connected with a flurry of jabs. EC3 followed it up with a flying forearm and then a German Suplex. EC3 dodged a kick from Cole and planted him with a Powerbomb for a two count.
Undisputed Era hopped up on the ring apron for a distraction and Cole capitalized with a Superkick. EC3 shrugged it off and leveled Cole with a massive Clothesline. EC3 knocked Undisputed Era off the apron and then rolled up Cole for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Strong and O’Reilly attacked EC3 on the entrance ramp. Cole and Fish joined them in beating EC3 down at the top of the ramp. Cole hit EC3 with a Shining Wizard and shouted that NXT belongs to Undisputed Era. Bobby Fish then grabbed a steel chair and bashed EC3 on his knee with it.
Later on the show, NXT GM William Regal informed Adam Cole and Bobby Fish that they will be facing War Raiders on next week’s show.
Aliyah faced Mia Yim tonight on NXT. The crowd chanted “Mia’s gonna kill you!” as the two Superstars locked up in the middle of the ring. Mia started off the match with a couple of Arm Drags and then a Dropkick that sent Aliyah tumbling out of the ring.
Aliyah battled back and hit Mia with a Clothesline and then a couple of Leg Drops for a two count. Aliyah applied a Chin Lock in the middle of the ring as the crowd got behind Yim. Mia broke free but Aliyah connected with a series of punches for a two count. Aliyah beatdown Yim in the corner of the ring and followed it up with a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count.
Mia hit Aliyah with a boot to the face and then a Clothesline. Yim followed it up with a Facewash kick in the corner and then a Cannonball. Mia then booted Aliyah in the face for the pinfall victory.
Justin Xavier faced Kassius Ohno tonight on NXT. Ohno and Xavier locked up to start off the match. Ohno mocked Xavier and got an elbow to the face. Ohno responded with a massive kick to Xavier’s face and then another one. Ohno followed it up with a Leg Drop and shouted: “this isn’t what I asked for Regal!”. Ohno followed it up with two Sentons in a row and a rolling elbow for the victory.
After the match, Nikki Cross came down to the entrance ramp with a smile on her face. Nikki told Ohno “he’s coming!” and then laughed before going backstage.
NXT GM William Regal came down to the ring at the end of this week’s episode of NXT. Regal said that we are four weeks away from NXT TakeOver: War Games and was going to announce who will face Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship.
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa interrupted and joined Regal in the ring. Ciampa told Regal to wipe the smug look off his face and stop staring at his title. Tommaso told Regal to make his announcement and then Velveteen Dream joined the party.
Dream told Regal that he wants him to say his name and then entered the ring. Lars Sullivan came down to the entrance ramp with a microphone and stated that everyone was standing in “Lars Sullivan territory”. Lars told Dream to move because the NXT Championship belongs to him.
Velveteen Dream told Lars to wear some pants and Sullivan grabbed him by the throat. Nikki Cross showed up again and shouted “he is coming!” and Aleister Black was shown beating the hell out of everyone in sight backstage.
Black marched down to the ring and hit Sullivan with Black Mass. Aleister shouted “where is he?!” at Regal and then turned around into a Superkick from Johnny Gargano. Johnny said “I’m right here” and stood over Black as NXT went off the air.
