WWE just announced the following:

Special Olympics and WWE announce international partnership

STAMFORD, Conn. – Special Olympics and WWE today announced an international partnership to help create change through sports. Through this new partnership, WWE will support Special Olympics’ Play Unified campaign, which fosters friendships, understanding and inclusive communities among people with and without intellectual disabilities by uniting them through the power and joy of sports.

WWE Superstars will participate in Play Unified events with Special Olympics athletes from around the world, including China, India, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Additionally, WWE will utilize its global platforms, including WWE Network, television broadcasts, live events, and digital and social media, to generate awareness and support for Special Olympics.

“Special Olympics and WWE have an authentic, shared value of creating understanding and inclusion, and celebrating diversity. We are thrilled that WWE is joining us in Playing and Living Unified,” said Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis. Davis added, “When an influential entity like WWE publicly demonstrates its support for Special Olympics and marshals its support around us, that’s an incredibly validating signal to our 4.5 million Special Olympics athletes that says, ‘You count, you’re not invisible, your life matters.’”

“WWE is proud to expand our support of Special Olympics globally and help spread the message of acceptance and inclusion to people all around the world,” said Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer. “The heart, passion and dedication of Special Olympics athletes has served as inspiration to all of our Superstars, and we are certain that anyone who has the honor of joining these athletes in competition will walk away focused on helping us build a unified generation.”

WWE’s partnership with Special Olympics dates back to the 1995 World Games in New Haven, Connecticut, and more recently has included partnerships with the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games in New Jersey and an on-going corporate partnership with Special Olympics

Connecticut.To read more about the partnership and learn about the Play Unified campaign, visit www.specialolympics.org and www.playunified.org.

It appears WWE’s plans for The Balor Club are no more.

The company abandoned their trademark application for “Balor Club” on 6/22. No reason was given.

The application had been in an “OPPOSE TO REGISTER” stage since January of this year due to Baylor University filing an opposition. The name being dropped was not due to Baylor as their opposition had not been filed as of 6/22.

Here are a few news items related to the upcoming WWE Draft, scheduled for the first live Tuesday night SmackDown on July 19th:

– It’s worth noting that John Cena is only being advertised for RAW shows taking place after the Draft. Top stars advertised for SmackDown shows after 7/19 include WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles. These lineups are always subject to change and it’s unlikely WWE would spoil any big Draft storylines in this manner, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross wrote the following about the upcoming brand split in his latest blog:

“As a fan I would love to see the two brands, RAW and Smackdown, be creatively positioned as two separate companies who are competing for the market share on the USA Network with their back to back days of live TV. There is more than one way to produce good, weekly TV wrestling.

Still of the mindset that with a little luck and timely execution that the WWE Brand Extension can be one of the most prolific things that WWE has strategically done from a business perspective in a good while. I can see the brand extension significantly helping the WWE Network as well and that’s the heartbeat for the big dog in the yard these days.”

– There’s talk of Bayley, Nia Jax and Carmella being drafted to the main roster next month, according to PWInsider. It’s expected that upwards of 10 NXT performers will be getting called up. 

Today marks 14 years since John Cena made his WWE television debut. Cena’s first match took place back on June 27, 2002 when Cena answered an open challenge from Kurt Angle. Cena came up short against Angle in his first match on the scene, but showed “Ruthless Aggression” during the match and earned the respect of WWE’s top stars in the process, including The Undertaker.

Of course, Cena would go on to become the top star in the industry for a longer period of time than anybody else in history. He’s the ultimate company man and the lead babyface Vince McMahon always dreamed of. Many other top stars have come and gone, a few have been pushed as “the guy” but John Cena remains The Face That Runs The Place and it doesn’t look like that’s changing any time soon.

I would like to thank the @WWE and its @WWEUniverse for allowing me to live everyday as a dream come true for the past 14 years #NeverGiveUp

— John Cena (@JohnCena) June 27, 2016

Former WWE & WCW star Lex Luger recently appeared on the  Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast, hosted by John and Chad. They sent in these highlights of what Luger said about:

If he thought Sting would ever make it to WWE’s Hall o Fame: “I wasn’t sure but I was extremely happy that he did. That was probably the only thing in such a stellar, amazing career spanning almost or literally three decades that he hadn’t been involved in with them and it was the cherry on top of just an amazing career. I was thrilled that he finished his career with the WWE.”

His Relationship with Sting: “He has been an amazing, loyal, faithful friend and I really can’t even put it into words. To this day our friendship is better and stronger than it’s ever been. We get to see each other every month or two in person and we stay in touch by texting mostly, we are both texters now. We have just a great friendship and relationship and are really just like brothers.”

What made them click as friends: “We actually didn’t “gel” right off the bat. I definitely pushed him away with my arrogance when we first met but thankfully he didn’t give up on me (laughing) and we ended up ironically close outside of the ring with our common interests such as how to train and workout. He taught me a lot coming from the body-building world because I came from football. He helped me out with my training and how to do more towards what the bodybuilders did and it was very helpful in my career and helped maintain my condition on the road. We ended up virtually spending all of our time outside of the ring together as well due to those common interests and forged that truly brotherly type friendship.”

How was he able to stay “over” with the fans either as a hated heel or loved babyface:  “I can’t take any of the credit for that. The fans picked and maintained guys that were the generational type of stars and no matter how brilliant the promoter’s story-lines try to predict or predicate that and lay the ground work, it is the fans that really do it. It is one of the things that I think makes professional wrestling and the business and entertainment around it what it is being global now. It is because the fans end up in the long run picking the long term generational stars. No matter how hard they want to cram a guy down their throats as a good guy or make people hate them if the fans don’t embrace that I think there are a lot of intangibles and things that we don’t even know why that is. Some guys look like they are going to be great stars and have all the tools and never do achieve that and some guys look like a nobody but there is something about him and you guys nailed with the “it” factor and they become huge stars. It is pretty cool how the fans play such a huge enormous role in that.”

Shocking the wrestling world on the very first Monday Nitro:  “Not surprisingly and behind the scenes it was Sting that arranged all that. I was just having a casual conversation with him on the phone and mentioned that my contract had expired with the WWE but I planned on staying with the WWE and we were trying to work out a long term agreement for me to stay there. He just asked me in a casual conversation how things were going and I was about to sign a new deal with them and when he asked if my contract was coming up, I said well it is up. My contract had expired in like February or March and we were trying to work out a long-term deal and I was looking forward to that. He said, so you are on their television and you are working their house shows and you are not under contract? He said you could literally come back here (WCW) tomorrow? He was blown away. He mentioned it to Eric Bischoff and at the time Bischoff didn’t feel I was the type of guy he wanted to bring in for whatever his reason are. Sting pressed the issue and Eric ended up embracing the idea and they both came up with the idea of bringing me on as the first big surprise on a Monday show. Why not give it a shot? Eric actually low -balled what he offered me because he really didn’t want to bring me in and Sting said take the offer because your salary will go up and you will be a huge hit here again and to go for it. So really Sting was behind the scenes and arranged all that and I came out and the rest is history.”

Did he hit his peak in WWE and did he feel Vince had lost interest in pushing him as a top star?  “Well, we will never know now will we because I went back to WCW. If anybody is great at recycling or reinventing a character it is Vince McMahon so if I had re-signed with them who knows what would have happened to Lex Luger. I might have got repackaged as something totally different and maybe even become a bigger star than I ever became going back to WCW. I never lacked confidence so who knows and we will never know. I am thrilled with how it worked out going back to WCW. I feel like I had a great 15 year career and got to work main events and main event guys and there are always some periods where you are heavily involved and utilized more than others and sometimes a period or restart button can be great for a career. So who knows?”

On slamming Yokozuna nearly 23 years ago in the “Bodyslam Challenge “aboard the U.S.S Intrepid: “It was a magical moment. The buildup was incredible. I thought Vince was half crazy when he told me the idea of going from being a narcissist with the mirrors and Bobby Heenan to being like the big “Yankee-Doodle-Dandy” patriotic hero on July 4th on the U.S.S Intrepid. I was scratching my head but it turned out fantastic and just a very special moment. The crowd went insane when that happened and it was a very special moment for myself and for so many fans who were there and watching on television. It is definitely one of the highlights of my career.”

Cody Rhodes has announced that he’ll be touring the United Kingdom later this year as part of his post-WWE independent run. The man formerly known as Stardust has booked shows in eight U.K. cities and promises that his opponents will all be “first-rate.”

No dates have been announced this this tour, but he’s already scheduled to wrestle in the U.K. in October and December.

Rhodes has been checking off names from his post-WWE wrestling bucket list and has matches scheduled against the likes of Kurt Angle, Zack Sabre Jr., Johnny Gargano and Mike Bennett throughout the remainder of 2016.

Confirmed cities for my tour of The United Kingdom ?? (more to come)

The opponents y'all…first-rate pic.twitter.com/JU68FOnSMm

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) June 27, 2016

Here are the full results from this weekend’s Chapter 32 event from the sold out Camden Ballroom in London:

SHOW DAY! VERY EXCITED! FAQ: https://t.co/aMnG8Y1VRW see you in the ballroom! #Chapter32 #5000to1 #ThisIsProgress pic.twitter.com/DO5d7b3nNl

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) June 26, 2016

• Nathan Cruz (w/Zack Gibson) b. Damon Moser – the match was changed to a No DQ contest as per Moser’s request

• TK Cooper b. Jack Sexsmith – due to interference from a debuting Travis Banks

•  Laura DiMatteo b. Jinny

• Mark Haskins b. Johnny Gargano – Haskins answered Gargano’s open challenge and beat him to come the NEW Smash Wrestling Champion

https://twitter.com/SenorLARIATO/status/747116513883262977

• It was announced that the London Riots would be defending their Tag Team Championships at Chapter 33 against Ring of Honor team WAR MACHINE

• Zack Gibson & T-Bone b. Iestyn Rees & Big Daddy Walter in the Atlas Tournament

• Rampage Brown b. Trent Seven – Brown pinned Trent Seven following a Piledriver

• Marty Scurll b. Tommy End – After a match filled with shenanigans Scurll rolled End up for the win to retain his PROGRESS World Title.

After the main event ‘The Pastor’ William Eaver ‘cashed in’ his opportunity for a championship match and defeated Marty Scurll to become the NEW PROGRESS World Champion.

https://twitter.com/SenorLARIATO/status/747142765448929280

– The Undertaker and Michelle McCool are celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary today, which the former WWE Diva acknowledged in a post on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHIY2WTB9bl/

They got married on June 26, 2010, in Houston, Texas.

– NXT wrestler Tucker Knight got married on Saturday in Denton, Texas.

I think it's pretty safe to say that today is the best day of my life pic.twitter.com/8EFw8GcN6p

— Tucker Knight (@TuckerKnightWWE) June 26, 2016

• WWE tag team possibly getting a makeover

WWE has hired another new announcer/host for NXT. Sports journalist, radio personality and YouTube sports show host Charly Arnolt has joined WWE and will be starting at NXT tapings soon.

As of a couple days ago, I am now living in Orlando because I have accepted a hosting job with the WWE,” she wrote on her official Facebook page. “This is a huge step in my career and I am beyond excited to get started this coming Monday.”

She joins the list of recently signed announcers after Mike Rome, Cathy Kelley and Andrea DiMarco.

https://www.instagram.com/p/7hAcaeCAC7/

https://www.instagram.com/p/7LEKVmiAG6/

https://www.instagram.com/p/-w0M9GCAH1/

https://www.instagram.com/p/-kDynLCAGC/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BD647dUiAMM/

• VIDEO: Former TNA Tag Team Champ Starts Real-Life Fight Backstage At Indy Event & Loses

Jim Ross says the upcoming WWE draft is a great way to bring in viewers for the first live episode of SmackDown on the USA Network next month. The WWE Hall of Famer posted a new blog entry at JRsBarBQ.com where he discusses the impending major change to WWE’s programming, and witnessing the first draft back in 2008.

“The WWE Draft which will facilitate the upcoming brand separation will occur on the first, LIVE Smackdown broadcast on the USA Network on Tuesday July 19. Great marketing idea to get more eyeballs on the first live SmackDown,” Ross wrote. “My memories of the 2008 Draft that emanated from San Antonio are not among the favorites in my career. Wah… Poor me!”

Ross also takes issue with how often wrestlers take the action outside the ring on WWE TV. He says leaving the ring just “for the Hell of it” takes viewers out of the moment, and is a “logical disconnect.”

“To throw someone from the ring or to chase someone down who’s on the outside, I get. But for two or more wrestlers to voluntarily take to the outside to do more of their sensational stunts screams of being illogical and overly “Show Biz,” J.R. wrote.

You can read his entire blog entry here.

https://twitter.com/BigDaddyYum_Yum/status/747138129727881216

The security video above was filmed Saturday night backstage before a Texas All-Star Wrestling show in Cypress, TX. Shawn Hernandez is seen in the top left corner approaching indy wrestler Brent McKenzie, who was sitting down. Hernandez is seen throwing a kick at the seated McKenzie, who gets up and hits Hernandez with a right hand that staggers him back into a table. A couple more blows were thrown, then they grabbed onto each other. Hernandez reportedly left bleeding from his mouth and the side of his head.

The scuffle was broken up quickly by other wrestlers. MECW wrestler Byron Wilcott was one of the wrestlers who broke it up, and says he saw Hernandez trying to bully McKenzie. Hernandez reportedly had a brief shouting match with Wilcott after he broke it up, then the former TNA Tag Team Champ left the building before the show started.

What nails? You're a bully that finally got what was coming. @SuperMexCTM @DirtyAndyDalton @BigDaddyYum_Y pic.twitter.com/Kl2Bl7Pj4c

— Brent McKenzie (@TheSuperTex) June 26, 2016

Haha show the black eye! Cmon now don't be shy! I showed my love scratches. https://t.co/gqq8pwSdXH

— Shawn Hernandez (@SuperMexCTM) June 26, 2016

Bill Goldberg was a guest on The Steve Austin Show this week, and talked about his brief run in WWE from 2003 to 2004. Goldberg told Austin he wasn’t having fun working for WWE because it seemed like there was always someone fighting against him, and it wasn’t worth the money.

“Life is not always about money, I wasn’t having fun anymore,” Goldberg said of his WWE days.

Goldberg also told an untold story about his time in WCW, during his infamous undefeated streak. Goldberg admits he had a certain level of power in the company, but not enough to call the shots even in an un-televised match. Goldberg shared a story about wanting to put over a hometown wrestler during his streak, and WCW management forbidding it.

“I always felt bad about guys who had been in the business for twenty fu–ing years and they’re jumping off a building for twenty bucks, and here comes Goldberg six months into the business, and I got the fu–ing belt, and I’m making whatever,” Goldberg recalled. “So as a businessman if I had no fu–ing heart then I wouldn’t have given a sh-t and I would have said, ‘You know what, my bank account is getting huge, f–k these other schmucks, put ’em in the backseat and who cares about them.’ But I cared. Bobby Eaton, I wanted to put Bobby Eaton over in his hometown on his birthday in a dark match during my streak. They wouldn’t let me do it”

Goldberg feels he gets a bad rep on the internet due to stories about him in WCW. The former wrestler says he had power at times, but never used it maliciously.

“Nobody fu–ing tells you about [the Bobby Eaton story], it’s always, ‘Goldberg, he was selfish, he was this-and-that,'” he said.

You can listen to the entire podcast with the two former World Heavyweight Champions here.

Scott Hall says that Vince McMahon was so mad at him during the Monday Night Wars that he stopped sending him royalty checks, even though Kevin Nash and other defectors still got theirs. In an interview with The Whig, Hall talks about leaving the WWE for WCW back in the mid-nineties, and says he’s “so happy” to be back with WWE and receiving royalty checks again.

“I got blamed for taking Kev (Kevin Nash) with me,” Hall said of leaving the McMahon empire for WCW. “I didn’t get a royalty check for 15 years, Kev [Nash] still got his… Vince took it personally when I left, to the point where I didn’t get royalties. As soon as I made the decision [to leave], I was dirty on a piss test that was six weeks old. I mean Vince came after me with everything. It was really brutal man.”

Hall explained that at the time Vince McMahon only guaranteed him 10 days of work for the year, and the contract didn’t allow him to work elsewhere during that time.

“Initially, the contracts that the WWE offered was 10 days, 10 matches you were guaranteed in one year,” Hall explained. “10 matches at $150 a match, which means you’re guaranteed $1,500, but you give up everything — you can’t wrestle, or promote, or do an interview or an appearance or anything for anybody but Vince. But he’s only guaranteeing you $1,500. I just didn’t want that contract to roll over, I wanted to talk, but he was furious.”

The Bad Guy revealed that he would have preferred to say with McMahon, but he’s glad the move helped move WWE in a better direction as far as paying talent goes.

“I would have stayed with Vince for less money than I took from (Ted) Turner. I just wanted it guaranteed and Vince just wouldn’t budge on that,” Hall recalled. “Now, guess what? Everybody, the NXT guys, everybody gets guaranteed money. You’re welcome fellas, you’re welcome.”

You can read the entire in-depth interview here.

• PHOTOS: WWE’s Hot New 27-Year-Old Female Announcer

Stone Cold Steve Austin says it was drug testing day when he was backstage at last week’s RAW, and that WWE is very strict about the anti-drug policy.

In an interview with ESPN Radio’s Russillo & Kanell show, Austin says he doesn’t know what drug Roman Reigns got suspended for, but thinks the former Champion will bounce back.

“He got popped, and that’s just the way it is,” Austin said. “He owned it, and he’ll live to come back another day. He owned it, so I think the kid did the right thing. Sometimes these things happen.”

Austin also commented on Brock Lesnar returning to the octagon at UFC 200, saying he’s rooting for Lesnar but Mark Hunt will be a tough opponent for him.

WWE has a new ECW DVD on their release schedule for this year, and it’ll include several talents from the original promotion.

OMG! ECW’s Top 50 Craziest Moments is scheduled to be released on November 15th in the United States. It’ll be released on the 14th in the UK. The main countdown feature of the DVD will be hosted by ECW alumni Tazz, Joel Gertner, and Tommy Dreamer.

Here’s the official synopsis for the DVD from Amazon:

OMG! It’s back and this time with by far the craziest moments to date, as ECW rears its head on this series.

ECW was extreme and there is no shortage of OMG moments throughout its history. Hear exclusive interviews from ECW legends as they tell stories behind some of the craziest moments in ECW history!

The cover for the DVD has yet to be released. You can pre-order on Amazon.com.

– A writer for Forbes claimed in a recent article that WWE is interested in bringing back Goldberg, Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy (who is under contract to TNA), John Morrison, Cryme Tyme (JTG and Shad Gaspard) and Shelton Benjamin, among other former Superstars. JTG is denying that he has been contacted by WWE.

Chris Featherstone of Pancakes & Powerslam, a podcast JTG appears on, issued the following statement.

I actually communicate with JTG relatively frequently, and had to reach out to see if these rumors are true as far as contacting him.

He responded, “Nobody called me lol.”

So, it looks like at least one half of Cryme Tyme can be extinguished from this rumored list.

– Following a three month absence from the ring, Billie Kay returned to action at Saturday’s NXT live event in Cocoa, Florida. She lost to Daria Berenato via submission.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHGTv7BBsmv/

• WWE tag team possibly getting a makeover

Revolution Pro Wrestling have announced that one of the most bizarre, unexpected and anticipated matches of 2016 will be taking place on August 12th at York Hall.

Ever since his polarising bout with Ricochet at this year’s Best of The Super Juniors tournament, Will Ospreay has taken criticism for his work from many corners of the internet, including some legends of the industry.

Vader’s outspoken view of the match led to a back and forth over Twitter that prompted Ospreay to add the ‘Vader Bomb’ to his arsenal, however in a fairly mocking way (allowing opponents to kick at 1 after taking the move).

Whether this was Vader’s plan all along is speculation at this point, however he has managed to be booked by one of the UK’s most prominent promotions with one of the fastest rising talents in the world…..it’s time.

Friday August 12th. York Hall,Bethnal Green. London. VADER VS OSPREAY #ItsTime #Uprising2016 https://t.co/LhHedYxXS8 pic.twitter.com/ioGUxqej4l

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) June 26, 2016

https://t.co/j8IvAYmc7s Enough said

— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) June 25, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Bf7E-CEdo

Stephanie McMahon and John Cena were at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week in Cannes, France. The two were there to represent WWE, and talked about how has connected with their audience over the decades.

In an interview with Ad Week, Stephanie said she wants to battle “preconceived notions” about WWE by teaching people about their brand at Cannes. She says one of her jobs as the company’s Chief Brand Officer is to educate people on their “misperceptions” about WWE.

“It still may not be someone’s cup of tea—I mean, we’re not going to appeal to everybody,” she said. “But it’s a heck of a lot of fun. If I can get someone to come to a show, that’s the best way for me to sell them on what we are because they experience it. That’s our company’s mission it to put smiles on people’s faces.”

She clarified that although on television she plays a villain, her off-screen job involves developing WWE’s brand and bringing in revenue. In an interview that same day with The Drum, she added that the company is looking at adding virtual reality content to their operation.

“We are definitely exploring that content because I have seen some of the early renderings and it is so cool,” Stephanie said of virtual reality videos. “I am a fan first and foremost – you have to be to be in our business and to be able to walk down the ramp and get in a ring and to see your opponent in the ring – it’s the most unbelievable experience. I can’t wait to see how that unfolds and of course we’ll be doing all of our due diligence and research and if it makes sense for us from a business stand point we will continue to evolve that model.”

After leaving the company on bad terms in May, Cody Rhodes and WWE are reportedly in talks about working together again in some capacity.

PWInsider.com reports that WWE has reached out to Cody Rhodes about possibly signing a Legends deal. The deal likely wouldn’t include any appearances, but would allow WWE to continue selling merchandise with his likeness.

Rhodes is booked to wrestle Kurt Angle on August 27th at the Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York. He recently took to Twitter to comment on WWE bringing back the Clash of Champions, which was a name and concept his father Dusty created for TBS in the late 80’s.

I'm not in the slightest bit perturbed…

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) June 25, 2016

…a new audience gets to feel clash. I hope all of Dream's originals eventually return. Havoc, Bash, Cade' and of course the war games

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) June 25, 2016

WWE is returning to Australia this summer and two fan-favorites have been added to the tour.

It was announced on Sunday that AJ Styles and Seth Rollins will be gong on the company’s tour of Australia with goes from August 10th to the 13th. Also announced for the tour are John Cena, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, The New Day, Kevin Owens, and Sasha Banks. Ryback is still listed on the official listing on Ticketek.com.au.

CONFIRMED: The Phenomenal @AJStylesOrg and @WWERollins join the #WWELive Australian Tour! https://t.co/I9pBzKbKS6 pic.twitter.com/ZOrIUXDTNf

— WWE Australia (@WWEAustralia) June 25, 2016

Here are WWE’s dates for the upcoming tour:

• Wednesday, August 10th – Vector Arena in Auckland
• Thursday, August 11th – Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne
• Friday, August 12th – Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Hindmarsh
• Saturday, August 13th – Quidos Bank Arena in Sydney

WWE is in the running to buy a large building from a bankrupt developer in their home base city of Stamford, CT. WWE wants to acquire the old AmeriCares headquarters on Hamlton Ave in Stamford and use it as their own TV production building.

According to a report by The Stamford Advocate, WWE put a $27 million bid on the property, which is $3 million above the minimum price set by the court-approved sale coordinator. There are more than 100 bidders in the running for eight different buildings from the bankrupt developer that were made available for bidding.

“An opportunity arose that made sense for us to pursue,” WWE in a statement to the Advocate. “If we’re successful in the purchase of the building, WWE would become the building’s landlord and assumes the previous owner’s lease obligations.”

WWE reportedly abandoned their plans to begin construction on building their own TV production facility.

This week’s WWE Smackdown on USA drew 2.145cmillion viewers, up from last week’s 1.996 million.

Smackdown was #3 for the night on cable – behind two airings of the NBA Draft.

WWE has uploaded a video of the full Cruiserweight Classic “parade of talent” featuring Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan introducing all competitors. The WWE Youtube channel has also begun to post background videos for the individual competitors.

NXT newcomer Mike Rome did ring announcing for Thursday’s Cruiserweight Classic tapings.

Several WWE Superstars stars were backstage, including Finn Balor and Becky Lynch. Other guests in attendance for Thursday’s WWE Cruiserweight Classic tapings were Teddy Hart and his cat Mr. Money, indie and reality TV star Chasyn Raynce and women’s wrestler Su Yung.

Here are all the matches taped for the first three episodes of the 32-man tournament, which premieres Wednesday, July 13th on the WWE Network:

First Round Matches (Full Spoilers)

• Gran Metalik vs. Alejandro Saez
•  Ho Ho Lun vs. Ariya Daivari
• Clement Petiot vs. Cedric Alexander
• The Brian Kendrick vs. Raul Mendoza
• Tajiri vs. Damian Slater
• TJ Perkins vs. Da Mack
• Lince Dorado vs. Mustafa Ali
• Akira Tozawa vs. Kenneth Johnson
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tyson Dux
• Drew Gulak vs. Harv Shira
• Tony Nese vs. Anthony Bennett
• Kota Ibushi vs. Sean Maluta
• Rich Swann vs. Jason Lee
• Noam Dar vs. Gurv Shira
• Jack Gallagher vs. Fabian Aichner
• Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa

– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is launching his own YouTube channel on July 18th. The channel produced by his Seven Bucks Digital Studios, will feature The Rock’s own videos as well as content from his Seven Bucks Productions. For more information, visit The Wrap.

– This coming Monday, WWE Games will unveil the cover for the upcoming WWE 2K17 video game, which will be released on October 25th. We know who is on the cover – any guesses?

#WWE2K17 cover reveal incoming… pic.twitter.com/QUP7LUsT1T

— #WWE2K25 (@WWEgames) June 24, 2016

This article is brought to you by MMANews.com, our partner site featuring daily coverage of UFC and the world of Mixed Martial Arts. 

UFC fighter and recent Dancing With The Stars runner-up Paige VanZant spoke with ESPN’s Hannah Storm on Thursday to discuss the news that she’ll be returning to the Octagon against Bec Rawling on August 21st at UFC on FOX 21. The news is particularly relevant because VanZant was rumored to be involved at SummerSlam, with her management team confirming they were in talks with WWE for an appearance.

During the ESPN interview, VanZant said she’s 100% focused on her UFC return right now but she would love to participate in anything WWE has to offer, as long as the timing is right in regards to her fight schedule. She added that she loves WWE and if they ever reach out again, she would want to work with them but her main focus is the Rawlings fight right now.