Home Blog Page 1557

Samoa Joe Discusses WWE SmackDown Live Moving To FOX, ROH Selling Out MSG Event

Andrew Ravens
-
0

Samoa Joe recently conducted an interview at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida to promote the upcoming WWE 2K19 video game where he talked about various topics.

The former NXT Champion spoke with Scott Fishman of TV Insider where he gave his take on WWE’s big TV deal with FOX. A few months ago, it was officially announced that Monday Night RAW would remain on the USA Network while SmackDown Live would move to Fox and air each Friday on Fox broadcast network. Both deals are for five years.  

It’s been reported that Fox is paying WWE $1 billion over the five years for the rights to SmackDown Live. The deal averages out to around $205 million annually for the broadcast rights.

“The move will have a massive impact. Something that is missing from the primetime, mainstream lineup is something that is live. To have SmackDown Live on Fox is a big opportunity for WWE and a lot of the superstars. It’s a big introduction back into a large portion of mainstream America. I’m looking forward to it.”

ROH selling out MSG

Joe also talked about the upcoming G1 Supercard event that is being co-promoted by Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling at Madison Square Garden in New York City next year during WrestleMania 35 weekend.

“I feel like the more buzz and competition that is out there creates a better marketplace for everybody. I’m excited, especially for the people involved. I still know a lot of guys in the office for a good amount of years. They work tirelessly. It’s good to see them thrive and doing well.”

Kane On How Talks Came About With Vince McMahon For His WWE Return

Andrew Ravens
-
5

Former WWE Champion Kane continues to talk about how his return to WWE programming came about. On this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Dallas, TX at the American Airlines Center on the USA Network, The Undertaker announced that Kane would be in his corner when he battles Triple H, who will have WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels in his corner, at the Super Show-Down event.

Earlier this week, it was then revealed that WWE is donating $100,000 to the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation in exchange for Kane, real name Glenn Jacobs and current Knox County, TN Mayor, to make appearances for them this fall.

Kane spoke with KnoxNews.com to comment on the conversation he had with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about his WWE return.

“Basically, WWE contacted me, and they wanted to do a really big show, or series of shows, that they wanted to do,” Kane said on Wednesday. “Of course, I was like, ‘Hey man, Vince (McMahon), I’m most likely going to be mayor,’ and (Australia) was the arrangement we came up to.”

Kane was last seen on WWE programming at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event when he teamed with Daniel Bryan to challenge Luke Harper and Erick Rowan for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles but was unsuccessful.

The WWE Super Show-Down pay-per-view event takes place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia and will air on the WWE Network.

Aleister Black Returns At Thursday’s WWE NXT TV Tapings

Andrew Ravens
-
1

Former WWE NXT Champion Aleister Black made his return to WWE television at Thursday’s NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University by interrupting a match. For more on that, please click here but keep in mind that it contains spoilers for upcoming episodes of NXT on the WWE Network. 

Black had been out of action since last month after undergoing surgery for a groin injury as he was injured at an NXT live event in Las Vegas after being crotched by Tommaso Ciampa in the main event of the show.

Ciampa was originally scheduled to defend the NXT Title against Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano in a triple threat match at WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 but those plans were changed once did an angle where Black was attacked by an unknown person and is looking to find out who it was. This led to him being written off of television.

Black held the title for 102 days once he won it from Andrade “Cien” Almas during WrestleMania weekend from New Orleans. 

WWE will hold another set of NXT TV tapings on October 17th where this storyline involving Black will continue.

Spoiler: Shawn Michaels’ Next WWE Appearance Revealed

Andrew Ravens
-
1

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has his next WWE booking set. PWinsider.com is reporting that he’ll be appearing on the October 1st episode of WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, in Seattle, Washington. This episode will serve as the go-home show for the Super Show-Down event.

Michaels is slated to be in Triple H’s corner for the match against The Undertaker, who will have Kane in his corner, at the Super Show-Down event. It’s also been reported that Michaels will be working another match under the WWE banner this year, which would mark his first contest since retiring from pro wrestling in 2010 after losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26.

The WWE Super Show-Down pay-per-view event takes place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia and will air on the WWE Network.

Updated WWE Super Show-Down Match Card

Triple H (with Shawn Michaels in his corner) vs. The Undertaker (with Kane in his corner)

#1 Contender’s Match: Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz

WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe – No Count Outs, No Disqualifications, There Must Be a Winner

John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias and Kevin Owens

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns) vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre – Six-Man Tag Team Match

WWE SmackDown Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Ronda Rousey & The Bella Twins vs. The Riott Squad – Six-Woman Tag Team Match

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy

Asuka and Naomi vs. Billie Kay & Peyton Royce

9 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling 9/20

Chris Stephens
-
4

Impact Wrestling presented the first of four shows to emanate from Mexico City last night. Following the next 3 shows in Mexico, the promotion will head to NYC for a PPV and 2 nights of tapings.

Impact Wrestling 9/20

Abyss To Be Inducted Into Impact Hall of Fame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhyc6x1DEk8

The top story coming out of Impact Wrestling last night was the revelation that Abyss will be the next person to be inducted in the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place the week of Bound For Glory.

Abyss joins the following names who have previously received the honor:

  • Gail Kim
  • Earl Hebner
  • Jeff Jarrett
  • Kurt Angle
  • Team 3-D
  • Sting

Johnny Impact Jumps Austin Aries In Mexico City

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5osF2f-4_Q

  • Impact World Championship
    Austin Aries (c) defeated El Texano

Aries has now been Impact Champion for 150 days. In that time he’s successfully defended the title 11 times. It was after the match, however, that Johnny Impact got the jump on Aries. A video played on the big screen that said Johnny was in LA but Aries didn’t buy it. Aries began scanning the crowd to see if Johnny was going to run through the arena and jump him. As Aries was scanning the crowd, however, Johnny came right down the entrance ramp and jumped the champ.

Last night was the first time in awhile that anyone has been able to outsmart the champ and his 2 allies Moose and Killer Kross.

The Lucha Brothers and oVe Earn Victories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4apQDLeV-Ik

  • Sami Callihan & oVe defeated Aerostar, El Hijo Del Viking, & Laredo Kid
  • The Lucha Brothers defeated Rich Swann & Matt Sydal

Callihan and oVe opened up this week by defeating a trio of luchadors consisting of Aerostar, El Hijo Del Viking, & Laredo Kid. Later in the show, the Lucha Brothers defeated the team of Matt Sydal and Rich Swann. Instead of facing each other as Swann wanted, Sydal arranged for the two to team up last night.

After the Lucha Brothers defeated Sydal and Swann, oVe hit the ring. Their 3-on-2 attack was broken up by Brian Cage, however.

Faby Apache Will Challenge Tessa Blanchard Next Week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pQz0rLmIZM

  • Faby Apache defeated Alisha Edwards

AAA’s Reina De Reinas Champion, Faby Apache, defeated Alisha Edwards and then challenged Tessa Blanchard to a match for next week. Blanchard and Apache got into an argument in the back when the Knockouts Champion was acting entitled in Apache’s locker room.

King Wants Konnan To Break The Ceasefire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvjJpq-K_Ak

  • King defeated Kronos

King sent a message to Konnan and LAX this week by defeating heavyweight luchador Kronos in single’s action. Homicide and Hernandez did most of the heavy-lifting in the match before it began, however. King then finished him off with a spinning back fist.

In the back this week, we saw King tell the OGZ he plans on getting Konnan to break the ceasefire.

The Desi Hit Squad Will Face LAX Next Week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4JPgHrVUZU

We learned this week that the Desi Hit Squad will face LAX in a non-title match next week. A win would likely put the team in a position to challenge for the Impact tag-team titles sometime in the near future.

The Great Gama Singh forced the faction to end their massage session early and train.

Eli Drake Continued His Open Challenge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_8rP-gdoa0

  • Eli Drake defeated Trevor Lee

Eli Drake continued his open challenge this week. He defeated former 3x X-Division Champion Trevor Lee. In previous weeks, Lee and Caleb Konley had attempted to align with Drake only to be rebuffed.

Joe Hendry & Grado Are Good Friends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTXYMZqEiQg

Joe Hendry and Grado debuted a new music video this week. This video focused on the good friendship between the two and how they would never let the affections of a woman come between them.

Next Week’s Impact Is Stacked

Finally, the lineup for next week’s episode from Mexico City looks stacked. Here is what has been announced thus far:

  • Su Yung & Udmoh vs Allie & Kiera Hogan
  • Brian Cage vs Jake Crist
  • Desi Hit Squad vs LAX
  • Scarlett Bordeaux’s announcement
  • Knockouts Championship
    Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Faby Apache

Quick Results:

  • Sami Callihan & oVe defeated Aerostar, El Hijo Del Viking, & Laredo Kid
  • Eli Drake defeated Trevor Lee
  • King defeated Kronus
  • Faby Apache defeated Alisha Edwards
  • The Lucha Brothers defeated Rich Swann & Matt Sydal
  • Impact World Championship
    Austin Aries (c) defeated El Texano

Bound for Glory
October 14th

  • Impact World Championship
    Austin Aries (c) vs Johnny Impact
  • Sami Callihan & oVe vs Brian Cage & the Lucha Brothers
  • Concrete Jungle Deathmatch
    LAX & Konnan vs OGZ & King

Alexa Bliss Suffering From Numbness In Her Arm

Steve Russell
-
5

We have an update on the injury that has taken Alexa Bliss out of action. The former Raw Women’s Champion was pulled from this week’s Mixed Match Challenge tournament. She is also being kept of this weekend’s WWE live events. WWE stated that Bliss injured her arm during her match against Ronda Rousey at Hell in a Cell. The Wrestling Observer has provided an update on the situation and it’s not good.

The Observer reports, “Bliss is suffering from numbness in her left arm. The storyline reason behind it is the armbar Rousey used to beat her at Hell in a Cell.”

As of this writing, Alexa Bliss has been cleared for “minimal exertion.” She won’t be wrestling full matches until she gets checked out again. Numbness in the extremities is a sign of nerve damage, which has shortened the careers of many Superstars.

WWE Statement

The official WWE response to the injury was reported this past Tuesday by Cathy Kelley. She highlighted that “despite appearing on Monday Night Raw last night, Alexa Bliss woke up this morning and sought medical attention complaining about numbness in her left arm.”

WWE is using Ronda Rousey’s armbar finisher to explain Bliss’ arm injury. Cathy Kelley continued ,”As a reminder, Alexa had a match against the Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey this past Sunday night at WWE Hell In A Cell, where Alexa tapped to the champion’s armbar. We can officially announce at this time that Alexa Bliss has not been medically cleared to compete at the WWE Live Events this weekend or in tonight’s WWE Mixed Match Challenge.”

We hope that the injury Bliss is dealing with isn’t too serious and wish her a speedy recovery.

NXT Spoilers From Full Sail University (9.20.18)

Staff
-
1

WWE held the latest round of NXT TV tapings results on Thursday night from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. These shows will take us through mid-October.

Dominik Dijakovic defeated Dan Matha in a dark match.

Airing September 26th

– NXT General Manager William Regal came out to start the show. He addressed the ongoing investigation into who attacked Aleister Black. Adam Cole out and demanded a rematch against NXT North American Champion Ricochet. Regal said Ricochet just wrestled Pete Dunne “this week” so Cole will have to wait two weeks before he gets his hands on Ricochet. When he does, it will be a triple threat with Pete Dunne also in the mix.

– Lars Sullivan defeated Victor Orchant (Vordell Walker) by disqualification when EC3 ran in an attacked Sullivan.

– The Mighty defeated the Street Profits.

– Kairi Sane beat Vanessa Borne. After the match, Shayna Baszler came out and demanded a rematch against Kari Sane. Kairi said she’ll put the NXT Women’s Championship on the line at WWE Evolution.

– Tommaso Ciampa defeated Otis Dozovic.

Airing October 3rd

– Lacey Evans over Candice LeRae.

– Forgotten Sons (Jaxson Ryker, Steve Cutler, & Wesley Blake) beat Kirsh, Mixon, & Rise.

– Johnny Gargano defeated Tony Nese.

– Lars Sullivan defeated EC3.

Airing October 10th:

– Tommaso Ciampa came out to cut a promo, but was interrupted by Velveteen Dream. Dream played mind games with Ciampa and this appears to be our next NXT Championship feud. Nikki Cross came out and teased that she knows a secret.

– Keith Lee over Kona Reeves.

– War Raiders defeated Undisputed ER by DQ when Bobby Fish attacked the Raiders with a steel chair

– Shayna Baszler defeated Britt Baker by submission and continued attacking Baker after the bell.

– Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan over Rocky & Tian Bing.

– Bianca Belair vs. Nikki Cross went to a no contest when the lights went out midway through the match. When the lights came back on, Aleister Black was seated in the ring.  Cross whispered something in his ear, which led to him running to the back and mad.

– Ricochet defeated Adam Cole and Pete Dunne to retain the NXT North American Championship.

Abyss To Be Inducted Into Impact Wrestling’s Hall Of Fame

Staff
-
8

Abyss has been announced as the next inductee into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 13th during Bound For Glory weekend in New York City

Abyss is an Impact Wrestling original. He wrestled as ‘Justice’ on the first-ever TNA Wednesday night pay-per-view back on on June 19, 2002. He would debut as Abyss one year later. Abyss has done it all in Impact and held virtually ever title there is to hold. He’s a former Impact Wrestling world champion and a ‘TNA Grand Slam Champion.’

As the latest inductee, Abyss will take his rightful place alongside Sting, Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Team 3D, Earl Hebner and Gail Kim. He issued this statement on Twitter in response to the news:

Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory takes place on Sunday, October 14th from New York City at the Melrose Ballroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhyc6x1DEk8

Spoiler: NXT Women’s Title Match Set For WWE Evolution

Andrew Ravens
-
3

A new title match for the upcoming WWE Evolution event has been revealed. WWE was in Winter Park, FL at Full Sail University on Thursday night for the NXT TV tapings and at the tapings, it was revealed that Shayna Baszler would get her rematch for the NXT Women’s Title against Kairi Sane at this show.

If you recall, Sane defeated Baszler to win the title at the WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 event in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center at the Center.

Sane is the eighth champion in the history of the NXT Women’s Title as the first champion was Paige in 2013. Baszler held the title for 133 days after beating Ember Moon to win it at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 weekend on April 7, 2018 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:

WWE Evolution Matches

Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss

Mickie James vs. Lita

NXT Women’s Champion Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Do Shows Like ‘Crown Jewel’ Dilute The Role of ‘Standard’ PPVs?

Jake Skudder
-
10

WWE returns to Saudi Arabia on November 2nd for Crown Jewel, a WWE Network special emanating the King Fahd International Stadium (capacity: 67,000) Riyadh. It’s the second event under WWE’s 10-year blockbuster partnership with the country. According to WWE’s financial reporting, the Greatest Royal Rumble netted WWE roughly $40-45 million. The Saudis have demonstrated that money is no object in presenting a top-flight show and securing marquee talent. Two Superstars poised to profit handsomely from this dynamic are Brock Lesnar (rumored to be earning a seven figure payday) and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.

The Return of HBK

Shawn Michaels is reportedly ending his retirement to face The Undertaker and Kane alongside his DX stablemate Triple H. In terms of high profile returns in wrestling history this has to be considered up there. Michaels has reiterated on several occasions that he planned on honoring the retirement stipulation when he lost to the aforementioned Undertaker at WrestleMania 26.

In recent months, Michaels has softened his stance on getting back in the ring. He has been apprehensive about working singles matches with top athletes like AJ Styles. He has, however, sounded open to the prospect of wrestling a legends match, which would come with lower expectations. With perhaps the biggest payday of his career dangled in front of him, how could he refuse?

The question now moves to the precedence of the Saudi Arabia shows. As previously mentioned these shows are extremely lucrative for WWE and as such certain promises must’ve been made…you don’t hand over multi-million paydays without some guarantees.

The Network Era

So, with the “Network Era” seemingly making all shows on equal footing due to the $9.99 pricing structure does the lure of a big four show such as the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania lose a lot of its lustre? The idea of Shawn Michaels returning at anything BUT a WrestleMania show is surely enough to make a longtime fan’s stomach turn, but there was no way that a WrestleMania payday could equate to that of the Saudi Arabia show. Michaels flat out refused to return at the 2017 Royal Rumble to face AJ Styles, but this isn’t a ‘standard’ show.

Should WWE be giving away such legendary returns at a ‘minor’ show (that also includes The Undertaker)? Maybe we as fans need to stop looking at the WWE calendar as we did during the PPV era. With every show being accessible and WWE trying to expand further into a global powerhouse we have to accept that maybe WrestleMania isn’t the sole ‘superbowl of entertainment’ anymore.

Does the inclusion of these extra special attraction events dilute the product? Absolutely, but WWE is well aware of the fact that the more content you can offer the audience the better. As an over the top service you need to differentiate to make that $9.99 a month seem attractive to the savvy consumer. Netflix is driving the streaming platform and giving it’s users more and more unique ‘original’ content, there’s no way that your casual viewer can watch ALL of what Netflix offers, it’s the same thinking that seemingly drives the WWE Network now.

Do you think that these extra shows are detrimental to the product?

Bobby Lashley Talks Turning Heel To Feud With WWE Champion

Jake Skudder
-
8

Bobby Lashley returned ‘home’ to WWE in 2018 and his career appears to have come full circle. Lashley was originally a member of the roster from 2004-2008 and held the ECW Championship in that time. Since then the Superstar has appeared for TNA/IMPACT and delved into the world of MMA.

Bobby Lashley recently appeared on The Big J Show and talked his decision to move away from WWE. Lashley also discussed the reasons why he returned to the company. “I wanted to work with some of the people that I probably would have never had the opportunity to work with before”.

When discussing his MMA career, Lashley said, “The MMA part was to show people that I can do it, a lot of people look at me as such a nice guy, they don’t understand how dangerous I can actually be.” He has a pretty impressive MMA record of 15 wins and 2 losses.

Lashley also expressed his desire to feud with WWE Champion AJ Styles. The two were both working for Impact Wrestling at the same time a few years ago, but never crossed paths there.  “He was going out while I was coming in and he was involved with these other things.”

He continued, “The thing with AJ is a crazed good guy needs a crazed bad guy. When I flip that switch and you see that bad side of me like I had in TNA, I believe I’m a perfect person to AJ’s good.”

Would you like to see an AJ vs Lashley feud?

H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcribed quotes

Tenille Dashwood (Emma) On Possibly Winning ROH Women Of Honor Championship

Jon Fuentes
-
0

Tenille Dashwood (formerly known as Emma) has made a name for herself since leaving WWE. Dashwood was released from her WWE contract back in 2016, which took some by surprise. She was a regular feature on Monday Night RAW and was coming off a pair of entertaining matches with Asuka.

Nonetheless, following a 90-day non-compete clause, Dashwood began working the indies. She’s currently a member of Ring Of Honor (ROH) and is chasing the Women Of Honor Championship. She recently participated in a “10 Questions With Tenille Dashwood” interview for ROH.

During the interview, Dashwood talked about what winning the Women Of Honor Title would mean to her. Here’s what she had to say:

“Although I’ve achieved a lot in my career so far, there’s also so much more I want to do. I’ve never held a championship at a professional level. I came to ROH to do what I love and that is to wrestle.

“I think my passion for wrestling and this business is clear to any fan out there – I don’t feel I need to prove myself to them, but I do need to prove to myself that I can do this.

“In my head, that Women of Honor championship has been mine ever since the tournament was first announced. The last time we went face to face during the tournament I was left empty-handed and disappointed.

“I couldn’t bring myself to step in the ring and congratulate Sumie that night because I felt I like I should have won. I felt like I let myself down and I let my fans down, I respect Sumie, but I don’t plan on letting that happen again.”

Do you think Dashwood will get her hands on the Women Of Honor Championship?

Report: Shawn Michaels To Wrestle at WWE Crown Jewel

Jake Skudder
-
31

It appears WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be lacing up the boots once again. In recent months, we’ve been covering that WWE wants Shawn Michaels to come out of retirement. HBK himself acknowledged incessant “one more match” chants during a recent appearance on RAW with The Undertaker. According to the Wrestling Observer, Michael’s upcoming appearance at Super Show-Down is to set up his official comeback match.

At Super Show-Down, Triple H vs. The Undertaker is being billed as the final chapter of their storied rivalry. Much like John Cena vs. The Rock’s “Once in a Lifetime” match WrestleMania XXVIII, we know by now – there is no finality in pro wrestling. If the Observer report is accurate, Triple H and The Undertaker will be standing on opposite sides of the ring once again just weeks later. The current plan for WWE Crown Jewel is for Shawn Michaels to team with Triple H against The Undertaker and Kane.

HBK Returns

This will be Michael’s first bout in 8 years. HBK lost in a retirement match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26 and he has vowed to honor that stipulation. The exact monetary offer for Michael’s was not revealed however Brock Lesnar will perform at the show for a 7-figure sum, so the potential payday is lucrative. The actual revenue that WWE could be potentially gaining from the Saudi Arabia shows is huge. The exact number will not be available until the fourth quarter earnings are revealed in January/February but it is believed to be in the $40-45 million dollar range.

One and Done?

It is also unclear as to whether this will be Michaels’ one and only bout. The lure of returning for a run against some top-tier talent such as AJ Styles could be right up HBK’s alley. Hopefully if the ‘Showstopper’ is still in good ring shape we could see some dream match type scenarios.

The other officially confirmed bout for the ‘Crown Jewel’ show is the main event. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be defending against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman. Lesnar recently returned at the Hell In a Cell PPV and interfered in the main event.

AJ Styles Offers His Thoughts On All In

Jon Fuentes
-
0

All In has come and gone, and the professional wrestling world is still abuzz following the groundbreaking show. Cody and The Young Bucks’ self-funded event sold out the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois earlier this month. WWE Champion AJ Styles has finally offered his thoughts on the show.

“The Phenomenal One” spoke to The Daily Star to promote the WWE 2K19 video game, which he serves as the cover athlete for. Styles admitted he didn’t see the show but watched some highlights. He said it’s good business for everybody and is happy for Cody and The Bucks’ success:

“I did not watch All In. I watched the highlights. And good for them, man, they did great. Those guys are my friends and I am happy for them. I am happy with their success, I hope they continue to do it.

“This is good for business for everybody. When there is someone to compete against it is good for everyone and steps everybody’s game up.”

While Cody and The Young Bucks enjoy the success of All In, Styles is enjoying some success of his own. He has been champion in WWE for over 300 days after defeating Jinder Mahal for the strap back in November. Styles currently feuds with Samoa Joe over the WWE Title over on SmackDown Live.

What do you make of Styles’ comments regarding All In?

Sheamus Doesn’t Want To Watch Total Divas With Rusev (Video)

Jon Fuentes
-
1

Sheamus has had enough of Total Divas. SmackDown Live star Rusev was recently doing an Instagram Live feed on his wife, Lana’s, account. Sheamus could be heard nearby in the background. Rusev joked that they were about to rewatch Total Divas together.

The Irishman didn’t like that at all. He responded by yelling “No, we’re not watching that s**t! We’re not watching that anymore! I just sat through the f**king – the episode.” Sheamus’ reaction is hilarious, and it doesn’t sound like he’s exaggerating at all. Check it out in the player below:

Total Divas has been airing on E! since 2013. Several women of WWE have been featured on the show over the years. It gives you a peek into the lives of WWE’s female talent, and their significant others, away from the ring. Also, the program’s success has led to a few spin-offs, including “Total Bellas” and “Miz & Mrs.” on the USA Network.

Currently, the show stars the likes of Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Natalya, Alexa Bliss, Lana, Rusev, and many more. However, male talents such as John Cena, Sheamus, Rusev, R-Truth, Daniel Bryan, and more have appeared regularly and sporadically over the years.

Total Divas is currently airing its eighth season.

What do you make of Sheamus’ comments on Total Divas?

WWE 2K19: Complete List Of Superstar Ratings

Staff
-
3

The upcoming WWE 2K19 video game by 2K games is set to be released on Tuesday, October 9th. The game will be available for Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One.

As we get closer to launch day, WWE and 2K have been releasing a ton of content hyping different aspects of the game. Today alone, the WWE Youtube channel has released 10 videos from the game, including Superstar entrance videos and dream matches, including Seth Rollins vs. Steve Austin and Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair. WWE has been rolling out Superstar Ratings on social media and we’ve received a complete list of ratings for every Superstar featured in the game.

WWE 2K19 Superstar Ratings

  • Adam Cole: 81
  • Aiden English: 73
  • AJ Styles: 91
  • Akam: 78
  • Akira Tozawa: 76
  • Aleister Black: 84
  • Alexa Bliss: 85
  • Alexander Wolfe: 76
  • Alicia Fox: 71
  • Andre The Giant: 87
  • Andrade “Cien” Almas: 81
  • Alundra Blaze: 85
  • Angelo Dawkins: 72
  • Apollo Crews: 76
  • Ariya Daivari: 68
  • Asuka: 84
  • Bam Bam Bigelow: 83
  • Baron Corbin: 84
  • Batista: 87
  • Batista ’10: 89
  • Beth Phoenix: 85
  • Bayley: 80
  • Becky Lynch: 83
  • Bianca Belair: 77
  • Big E: 84
  • Big Boss Man: 81
  • Big Show: 82
  • Billie Kay: 78
  • Bo Dallas: 77
  • Bobby Fish: 77
  • Bobby Roode: 81
  • Booker T:
  • Braun Strowman: 89
  • Bray Wyatt: 83
  • Bray Wyatt ’14: 87
  • Bret “Hit Man” Hart: 91
  • Brie Bella: 76
  • British Bulldog: 81
  • Brock Lesnar: 93
  • Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake: 82
  • Bryan Danielson: 76
  • Carmella: 80
  • Cedric Alexander: 83
  • Cesaro: 84
  • Chad Gable: 75
  • Charlotte Flair: 85
  • Christian: 83
  • Chris Jericho: 85
  • Chris Jericho ’00: 88
  • Chris Jericho ’10: 88
  • Curt Hawkins: 64
  • Curtis Axel: 77
  • Dana Brooke: 69
  • Daniel Bryan: 88
  • Daniel Bryan ’10: 80
  • Daniel Bryan ’12: 83
  • Daniel Bryan ’13: 92
  • Daniel Bryan ’14: 89
  • Dash Wilder: 77
  • Dean Ambrose: 86
  • Diamond Dallas Page: 86
  • Diesel: 87
  • Dolph Ziggler: 84
  • Drew Gulak: 79
  • Drew McIntyre: 83
  • Dusty Rhodes: 85
  • Dusty Rhodes ’85: 88
  • Eddie Guerrero: 89
  • Edge: 89
  • Elias: 82
  • Ember Moon: 81
  • Epico Colon: 72
  • Eric Young: 79
  • Erick Rowan ’14: 79
  • Fandango: 79
  • Finn Bálor: 85
  • Finn Bálor Demon: 87
  • “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher: 71
  • The Godfather: 79
  • Goldberg: 90
  • Goldust: 76
  • Gran Metalik: 73
  • Greg “The Hammer” Valentine: 79
  • Harper: 84
  • Heath Slater: 73
  • Hideo Itami: 76
  • Ivory: 80
  • Jake “The Snake” Roberts: 85
  • Jacqueline: 82
  • Jason Jordan: 78
  • Jeff Hardy: 84
  • Jey Uso: 84
  • Jey Uso ’14: 82
  • Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart: 79
  • Jimmy Uso: 84
  • Jimmy Uso ’14: 82
  • Jinder Mahal: 83
  • John Cena: 89
  • John Cena ’03: 82
  • John Cena ’13: 92
  • Johnny Gargano: 80
  • Kairi Sane: 79
  • Kalisto: 75
  • Kane: 80
  • Kane ’12: 83
  • Kane ’98: 87
  • Karl Anderson: 80
  • Kassius Ohno: 73
  • Kevin Nash: 88
  • Kevin Owens: 88
  • Kevin Owens ’18: 88
  • Killian Dain: 79
  • King Booker: 86
  • Kofi Kingston: 84
  • Kofi Kingston ’12: 82
  • Konnor: 72
  • Kurt Angle ’01: 86
  • Kurt Angle ’06: 89
  • Kyle O’Reilly: 79
  • Lana: 70
  • Lars Sullivan: 80
  • Lex Luger: 86
  • Lince Dorado: 73
  • Lita: 84
  • Liv Morgan: 71
  • Luke Gallows: 80
  • Luke Harper ’14: 84
  • Mandy Rose: 70
  • Maryse: 73
  • Matt Hardy: 84
  • Mickie James: 78
  • The Miz: 86
  • The Miz ’10: 84
  • Mojo Rawley: 75
  • Mr. McMahon: 73
  • Mr. Perfect: 83
  • Mustafa Ali: 81
  • Montez Ford: 72
  • Naomi: 82
  • Natalya: 83
  • Nia Jax: 84
  • Nick Miller: 72
  • Nikki Bella: 81
  • Noam Dar: 69
  • No Way Jose: 71
  • Oney Lorcan: 76
  • Otis Dozovic: 74
  • Paige: 83
  • Papa Shango: 77
  • Pete Dunne: 81
  • Peyton Royce: 78
  • Primo Colon: 72
  • R-Truth: 77
  • R-Truth ’12: 80
  • Randy Orton: 87
  • Randy Orton ’13: 88
  • “Macho Man” Randy Savage: 89
  • “Macho Man” Randy Savage ’92: 90
  • “Ravishing” Rick Rude: 84
  • Razor Ramon: 85
  • Rezar: 78
  • Rhyno: 76
  • Ric Flair: 91
  • Ric Flair ’88: 90
  • Ric Flair ’91: 90
  • Rick “The Model” Martel: 82
  • Ricky Morton: 84
  • Rey Mysterio: 86
  • Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat ’87: 87
  • Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat ’94: 85
  • Rikishi: 82
  • Robert Gibson: 83
  • The Rock: 93
  • The Rock ’01: 91
  • Roderick Strong: 79
  • Roman Reigns: 92
  • Ronda Rousey: 87
  • Rowan: 80
  • “Rowdy” Roddy Piper: 86
  • Ruby Riott: 80
  • Rusev:: 84
  • Sami Zayn: 82
  • Samoa Joe: 88
  • Sarah Logan: 70
  • Sasha Banks: 81
  • Scott Dawson: 77
  • Scott Hall: 86
  • Seth Rollins: 88
  • Shane McMahon: 81
  • Shane Thorne: 72
  • Shawn Michaels ’05: 88
  • Shawn Michaels ’97: 92
  • Shayna Baszler: 81
  • Sheamus: 84
  • Shelton Benjamin: 78
  • Shinsuke Nakamura: 87
  • Sin Cara: 72
  • Sonya Deville: 74
  • Stephanie McMahon: 77
  • Sting: 89
  • Sting ’91: 90
  • Sting ’98: 88
  • Sting ’99: 91
  • “Stone Cold” Steve Austin: 92
  • Sycho Sid: 86
  • Tamina: 74
  • Tatanka: 81
  • Ted DiBiase: 85
  • Titus O’Neil: 77
  • TJP: 76
  • Tony Nese: 70
  • Triple H: 89
  • Triple H ’01: 91
  • Triple H ’14: 89
  • Trish Stratus: 85
  • Tucker Knight: 75
  • Tye Dillinger: 75
  • Tyler Bate: 78
  • Tyler Breeze: 77
  • Ultimate Warrior: 90
  • The Undertaker: 87
  • The Undertaker ’02: 90
  • The Undertaker ’91: 88
  • Vader: 87
  • Velveteen Dream: 80
  • Viktor: 73
  • Xavier Woods: 83
  • Zack Ryder: 76

Rumor On Ronda Rousey’s Wrestlemania 35 Opponent

Steve Russell
-
14

There is an interesting rumor going around about Ronda Rousey’s WrestleMania 35 opponent. For months, there has been speculation that the RAW Women’s Champion was on a collision course with SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte. Wrestling pundits and fans alike have speculated that this bout could be the first women’s match to ever headline a WrestleMania.

Rousey vs. Charlotte could still very well happen. However, another name has surfaced as a potential challenger to Ronda Rousey on April 7th, 2019. It would be the culmination of a longtime feud that even UFC could not make happen. The latest rumored opponent for Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania is none other than UFC Women’s Featherweight champion Cris Cyborg. Cyborg called in to Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show and commented on the possibility of working with Rousey at WrestleMania.

Cyborg Call In

Ariel Helwani broached the subject of WWE wanting to bring Cyborg in to work with Ronda Rousey. “The WWE are considering trying to sign you to have you compete against Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania 35 next year in New Jersey, is this accurate?”

Cyborg was cryptic in her response, but seemed to be open to the idea, “I don’t know, I just heard this news today. If it is happening, maybe we can give all the fans the fight they’ve never seen…I think it would be great for all the fans that would like to watch but I’m not sure about that 100%, but…I’ll talk to my manager and see what’s going to be if its a good thing or not. I don’t know. Maybe it happens, maybe not.”

The topic ended with Helwani asking, “ So you’d be interested if the deal is right?”

Cyborg gave an responded with enthusiasm. “Yes, it would be great. I think it would be great.”

Ronda Rousey vs. Cyborg at WrestleMania 35?

Rousey and Cyborg actually have quite a storied history. Ronda arrived in Strikeforce in 2011, back when Cyborg was already a champion, before eventually carving a historic path in the UFC. It would take a while before the two women were once again in the same organization.

A dream match between the two competitors would never take place, unfortunately. The weight difference between the athletes is what was blamed for this, with the two women fighting at different weight classes and no catch weight bout ever successfully negotiated.

In the past, Cyborg has been critical of Rousey, believing Ronda was scared about facing her inside the octagon.

“[…] when you see her [Rousey] fight Holly [Holm] and Amanda [Nunes],” she said to The Ring Report, “you see why she ran from me. She didn’t want to fight me, for sure.”

Cyborg has also enjoyed poking light fun at her one-time potential opponent via Twitter:

If the match were to go down, it would be a coup for the WWE, bringing to a head a feud that has lasted many years, across numerous promotions, and even entirely different entertainment mediums.

Who would you rather see Ronda face off against? Charlotte Flair or Cris Cyborg?

Madison Rayne Signs One-Year Deal With ROH

Jon Fuentes
-
3

Ring Of Honor (ROH) has inked a 2018 Mae Young Classic competitor to a one-year deal. Madison Rayne revealed during an appearance on The Taz Show that she has signed a contract with ROH. This comes one week removed from Rayne’s defeat to Mercedes Martinez in the first round of the MYC.

Rayne said that, after 13 years in the business, 2018 was probably the biggest of her career. Appearing on WWE programming was a big milestone for her. She also competed on the historic All In card earlier this month. Rayne was a part of the only female match on the card. And finally, Rayne has found a home for herself in ROH :

“Let me preface this by saying that 2018 has been possibly my biggest year in wrestling,” Rayne said. “In 13 years, that’s saying a lot. It’s been very unexpected. A year and a half ago I wasn’t sure I was going to keep wrestling or what my professional career looked like.

“I’ve been able to work every big promotion, I got to do All In and I’m very humbled by all of those experiences. In doing that and having all of those opportunities, I was really give a chance to be able to get in there and see what was going to be best for me, my career, for my family and what made the most sense.

“After a really successful year of being kind of a wrestling nomad, I have found my home and I am so, so happy to announce that I have signed a one-year contract with Ring of Honor.”

Rayne’s Professional Wrestling Career

Rayne, 32, has been wrestling since 2005. She has worked for promotions such as Ohio Championship Wrestling (OCW), SHIMMER, and TNA. Rayne is a five-time TNA Knockouts Champion and a two-time Knockouts Tag Team Champion.

What do you think about Rayne signing with ROH?

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Update on NXT UK, Where Will The Show Air?

Jake Skudder
-
1

WWE has been running tapings over the past few months for the NXT UK brand. With several nights of shows already in the bank the question now remains when and where will the show be airing?

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently threw out the idea of the NXT UK show being added to the Wednesday night Network schedule once the Mae Young Classic and Mixed Match Challenge ends.

Allegedly BT Sport had interest in running the show on their pay per view channel, however this would be extremely unlikely as WWE already has an ongoing relationship with Sky Sports. Reportedly Sky and WWE are already on rocky ground as WWE did not inform Sky Sports of the Network launch, this has been extremely detrimental to Sky’s PPV business as the Network is such better value for money.

The more interesting claim comes in the form of PROGRESS Wrestling’s Jim Smallman potentially running the UK brand. Meltzer writes that the promoter may take over the running of NXT UK “particularly if they do house show tours.” It was also confirmed that the PROGRESS and ICW tape libraries are owned by WWE and a date for airing on the network is coming “sooner rather than later.”

 

Update On Jeff Hardy & Matt’s Compound After Hurricane Florence

Steve Russell
-
0

Despite having been written off SmackDown Live due to injuries sustained at Hell In A Cell, Jeff Hardy is still competing at WWE Live Events. Hardy worked a WWE Live Event in Oklahoma City this past Monday night. He competed in a 6-person tag team match, teaming with AJ Styles and R-Truth. They defeated the team of Samoa Joe, Randy Orton and the United States Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura. He is scheduled this weekend’s WWE live events

There is no indication as to how long the WWE will keep Hardy off of WWE programming as they continue to sell the severity of the injuries suffered. WWE previously provided a storyline update on Hardy, stating that he had complained of “severe abdominal pains backstage.” It was then reported that he had begun to cough up blood whilst in transit to a hospital.

Woken Warrior

His brother, Matt Hardy, has also been in the news recently, with what appeared to be a retirement announcement.

Matt’s WWE contract expires next March. His future opportunities with the company allegedly depend on the continued treatment of his lower back and pelvis. If the treatment goes well, there may be a chance he could return to in-ring competition within the WWE.

As if undergoing treatment wasn’t enough, he and his family are undergoing a major clean up effort at the Hardy Compound, thanks to Hurricane Florence.

First Details On Changes Made To WWE 2K19 MyCareer Mode

Andrew Ravens
-
1

The first details about the MyCareer mode in the upcoming WWE 2K19 video game have been released. In these details, there have been some big changes made to the mode for the latest installment of the franchise including an actual storyline, voice acting, indie wrestling and more.

In the details that were on released on Thursday, September 20, it was noted that the main focus in this game is to provide “a dramatic storyline with plot twists, surprises, and impactful player decisions offering a dramatic shift from previous entries. Over 200 cutscenes tell the story of your MyPLAYER character “Buzz” as he navigates a thrilling journey from the bottom to the top of sports entertainment.”

The publisher noted that they heard the feedback from their fans to have introduced fully-voiced characters in the mode that now includes Triple H, Braun Strowman, and Bray Wyatt. This mode alone has over 1,000 lines of voiceover.

Also, for the first time ever in the series, players are allowed to play as a character on the indie scene where they can wrestle “young upstarts in grungy rings and do anything you can to get noticed by NXT Head Coach Matt Bloom.” Although the trailer was released for this mode this morning, it has since been removed but could be re-uploaded at a later time.

The game will be released on October 9, 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As noted, WWE Champion AJ Styles will be on the cover of the game while Rey Mysterio and Ronda Rousey will be featured as the pre-order bonus characters.

Trish Stratus Hypes Her WWE Evolution Match, NXT Matches Booked For Next Week

Andrew Ravens
-
1

Trish Stratus Hypes Her WWE Evolution Match

WWE Hall of Famer and former Women’s Champion Trish Stratus is preparing for her in-ring return under the WWE banner as she went to social media to hype her upcoming match against former WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss at the Evolution pay-per-view event.

The last match that WWE Hall of Famer wrestled under the WWE banner was back in January at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event where she competed as a participant in the Women’s Royal Rumble match.

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.

NXT Matches Booked For Next Week

Two matches have been announced by the WWE for next week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network. Lars Sullivan is in action against an opponent that has yet to be announced as well as NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa vs. Otis Dozovic in a non-title match.

As a reminder, WWE will be taping episodes of NXT on Thursday night in Winter Park, FL at Full Sail University. As always, we have spoilers from this taping posted on the site later tonight.

Jim Ross Gives His Pick For The Best Heel In WWE

Andrew Ravens
-
4

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has given some high praise to one WWE superstar. The WWE Legend spoke about various topics including Sunday’s (September 16, 2018) Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center that aired on the WWE Network during the newest episode of his podcast, The Ross Report.

At the show, former WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss lost in a rematch to current WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey.

Ross stated he thought this was a fun match to watch and believes Bliss proved once again that she is arguably the best villain of any gender in the WWE at this time because she’s a natural and she is certainly as valuable as any female. His belief is backed up for many reasons and that one day, we will open our eyes to see that she is one heck of a hand as a talent.

Bliss is slated to take on WWE Hall of Famer and former Women’s Champion Trish Stratus at the Evolution pay-per-view event that 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.

Ross also talked about the finish of the main event of this show that saw Brock Lesnar make his return during the Universal Title Hell in a Cell match between champion Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman that saw WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley serve as the special guest referee as well as other topics. You can listen to the full episode here.

?

Nia Jax Discusses Desired Match At WWE Evolution, Wanting Ronda Rousey Rematch

Andrew Ravens
-
0

Nia Jax has spoken about various topics including who she would like to wrestle against at the upcoming Evolution pay-per-view event. The former WWE RAW Women’s Champion recently spoke with TV Insider to promote the return of Total Divas on the E! Network that aired on Wednesday.

Potential Match

Jax noted in this interview that she would be interested in teaming Tamina Snuka to face Natalya and Beth Phoenix at WWE Evolution because it would feature four powerful women and two powerhouse teams against each other.

Wanting to get back RAW Women’s Title

She had been out of action due to a leg injury but returned on this week’s RAW. Before this return, her last match came against Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women’s Title at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event where she was unsuccessful in regaining the title in an extreme rules match. Now that Jax is back as a full-time in-ring competition, she has her sights set on getting back the Women’s Title and facing the champion, Ronda Rousey.

“I’ll be at Evolution for sure. Now people are saying I’m doing so well, I feel I owe it to them to keep it up. The pressure. I got to go get it back from Ronda.”

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.

Impact Wrestling 9/20 Preview: Mexico City Debut

Chris Stephens
-
0

Impact Wrestling presents their first of four episodes which will emanate from Mexico City, Mexico. The promotion held tapings in the city from the 13th and 14th. Click here to check out Spoiler Results from the September 13th tapings.

Impact Wrestling Preview 9/20

Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs El Texano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpJ0OPz7t_Y

Former AAA Mega Champion, El Texano, will challenge for Austin Aries’ Impact World Championship tonight. Killer Kross and Moose will both be in his corner, however.

Another former AAA Mega Champion, Johnny Impact, will likely be watching this match closely as well as we draw closer to his title shot at Bound for Glory.

Impact Hall of Fame Inductee Revealed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuKNBMIgLrg

A new inductee to the Impact Hall of Fame will be announced tonight. The recipient will join the following names who have already received the honor:

  • Gail Kim
  • Earl Hebner
  • Jeff Jarrett
  • Kurt Angle
  • Team 3-D
  • Sting

OVE & Sami Callihan vs Aerostar, Hijo Del Viking, & Laredo Kid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CczGYLsbFEo

Trios action takes place tonight. OVE and Sami Callihan have been referring to themselves as the greatest trio on the planet. Tonight they will be in Mexico City where trios matches are quite common.

At Bound for Glory, the boys from Ohio will take on Brian Cage and the Lucha Brothers but tonight, they’ll take on Aerostar, Hijo Del Viking & Laredo Kid.

Faby Apache vs Alisha Edwards

Alisha Edwards will continue to try and rebuild her life tonight. Edwards and her husband Eddie have been separated since he was driven to the brink of madness by Sami Callihan. She’ll face a stiff test tonight in the AAA Reina De Reina Champion, Faby Apache.

King Delivers A Message For Konnan

A crime boss has ordered a ceasefire in the rivalry between the OGZ and LAX but King has been trying to bait Konnan into a physical altercation. It sounds as though King has a message he wants to send tonight.

Rich Swann Looks To Get His Hands On Matt Sydal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt6hvzI3rzM

While Matt Sydal says he’s spiritually awakened, he seems to be clouded by ego. He told Rich Swann last week he’s in no position to be giving anyone advice, that he needs to open his 3rd eye and be mentored by Sydal.

Swann has not been receptive to Sydal’s offer and looks to get his hands on him tonight. It’s not clear if this is a scheduled match or not, however.

Joe Hendry & Grado Music Video Release

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsPNPUIijFA

Joe Hendry and Grado are best friends and they’d never let a woman like Katarina get between them. Last week, Hendry dropped a music video which referenced an old pirate brother-sister storyline Katarina had been involved with for WWE in the past. Grado and Hendry promise they have a new music video to debut tonight as well.

1...1,5561,5571,558...3,404Page 1,557 of 3,404