Dana Brooke recently had the opportunity to share screen time with RAW Women’s Champion, Ronda Rousey. Having not been featured on WWE programming for some time, this provided a great chance for Dana to attempt to elevate her stock within the company. She would not only have promo time but a follow-up match against Rousey.

This almost didn’t happen, however, as Dana Brooke recently revealed she was actually close to quitting WWE.

“This Place Does Not Define Me”

Speaking with Lilian Garcia on Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, Brooke admitted that her scheduled matchup with Natalya being pulled caused her a great deal of frustration and reflection. This would lead her to contemplate leaving the company completely.

Clearly disappointed, she admitted that “I don’t know what more I can do at this point in time. This is not me. I am a strong competitor, inside the ring, outside the ring.”

“When I was told that ‘your match [with Natalya] isn’t happening,’ at that point in time I was just like ‘No. This place does not define me. I am stronger than this. I wanna go and prove to the world that you can’t keep me down.”

Brooke admitted she went backstage, put her head down and thought long and hard before saying to herself that “[…] if I quit now, what kind of example am I gonna be for everyone that’s followed me, who’s supported me, who’s been my backbone through the hardest times. I cannot give up now. I can’t.”

Although she was able to get face time with the champion herself, it’s still too early to determine whether Dana Brooke will be able to levy that into more TV time or a storyline opportunity. Given that her matchup with Rousey saw her leave injured, it may be while longer before Dana gets another shot.

WWE Hall of Famer Sunny has been jailed for alleged parole violations.

According to The Express-Times, Sunny was being held on Tuesday in the Carbon County prison for violating parole terms related to guilty pleas from three drunken driving cases from 2016.

Court records show that a bench warrant was issued for Sunny’s arrest on February 15 by a Carbon County judge, at the request of the Carbon County Adult Probation/Parole Department. This is because Sunny missed a scheduled drug test on February 11, and failed to maintain a stable residence and report her whereabouts to her parole officer, as directed.

She was then arrested on February 23 for driving while intoxicated in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. This would be her third DUI arrest in 12 months, and sixth overall.

She was sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2016 but was given credit for 97 days time served and paroled. She is now set for a hearing scheduled for April 5 in Carbon County Court on probable cause for revocation of her parole.

Sunny’s attorney filed a petition on Tuesday to withdraw as her defense counsel, court records show.

Oney Lorcan is the newest member of the 205 Live cruiserweight roster.

205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick made the announcement Tuesday night in a video seen below.

“WWE Universe, this is 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick. I said at the beginning of the year that you would be seeing some new faces here on 205 Live. We’ve already added Humberto Carrillo to the Cruiserweight Division. Now, I am proud to announce to you that Oney Lorcan will not only be competing for NXT but also going forward will be competing for 205 Live in the Cruiserweight Division. He is excited for this tremendous opportunity, and so am I.”

Lorcan was present at last night’s 205 Live episode and watched the main event match of Cedric Alexander vs. Ariya Daivari from ringside. Alexander was distracted from Lorcan, and the two were also involved in a brawl after the match.

This happened because during the match, Alexander knocked down Lorcan’s jacket and this angered Lorcan. Lorcan distracted Alexander and Daivari took the opportunity by defeating him with a surprise roll-up pin. The two engaged in a brawl and had to be separated by WWE officials.

• WWE 205 Live Results (3/26/19)

The March 26, 2019 edition of WWE 205 Live took place from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut after SmackDown on the WWE Network.

Below are match results from the episode:

• The Lucha House Party def. Humberto Carrillo, Drew Gulak & Gentleman Jack Gallagher

The six-man tag team match lasted well over a thirty minutes. The back-and-forth action came to an end when Gulak and Carillo started arguing.

Carrillo and Kalisto were the only legal competitior in the ring, and Carrillo went up the top rope to execute a high-flying move. Gulak, however interjected, and told Carrillo to come down. The both of them conitnued to argue while Kalisto took advantage by pinning Carrillo after hitting the Salida del Sol on him.

• Ariya Daivari def. Cedric Alexander

The main event of the episode. Before the match began, Oney Lorcan made his way to the ring and watched the match from ringside – which was a little distracting for Alexander.

Daivari took advantage of this and put down Alexander with some vicious strikes. Alexander however, was able to fight back and scored a near-fall with a Flatliner.

Alexander got on the top ropes but Daivari knocked him down. Daivari puts Alexander for a near-fall of his own. They both then exchange strikes in the middle of the ring with another near-fall for Alexander.

Daivari hits a Persian Lion Splash but is still unable to score a three count. Alexander fought back by throwing Daivari outside of the ring. Alexander knocked down Lorcan’s jacket and Lorcan started screaming at him. This confused Alexander and he was distracted as he reentered the ring, and Daivari capitalized by rolling him up for a shocking victory. Lorcan attacked Alexander after the match and the two of them had to be separated from their brawl.

This week’s episode of SmackDown saw a shocking title change as Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka to become an 8 time Women’s Champion in WWE.

After the show, both Charlotte and the former Champion Asuka, as well as ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch reacted to this surprising turn of event in their own way.

The Japanese star was the first to react, and commenting on the end of her short reign with the Blue Brand’s title, the former NXT Champion simply wrote ‘over’:

For Becky Lynch, this was another opportunity to take some shots at her arch rival, and she pointed out how Flair did nothing to earn this title opportunity in the following tweet:

Finally, the new champion herself posted a photo of her with the Women’s title and she also praised Asuka for being the most talented women she has shared a ring with:

Charlotte was also interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton where the SmackDown Star talked about her surprising victory during the show.

She took her own shot at Lynch saying that the one talking the loudest is also the one who will be walking into WrestleMania without a title:

There are speculations about WWE unifying both the Women’s Championships after this week’s SmackDown but nothing has been confirmed so far. We’ll keep you posted if any such news comes.

We noted before how WWE had announced a fatal four-way #1 contenders match for this week’s episode of SmackDown Live to determine Asuka’s opponent for WrestleMania.

However, this match was nixed without an explanation and Charlotte Flair instead ended up challenging and defeating the champion Asuka during the show.

After the show went off the air, all four announced participants took on their Twitter to react to their championship opportunity being scrapped.

Sonya Deville was the first to react and she wrote “I’m a very very patient person with a long fuse, but let me tell you when it blows, you won’t want to be the one in my way,”:

Her partner Mandy Rose reacted to the news in her own way and commenting on the situation via a tweet, she said that the WWE Officials are putting all the equity in the wrong blonde:

The other two participants in Naomi and Carmella also sent out tweets of their own and while they didn’t write a line like others, it was clear that they are also not happy:

So far there is no solid news on why WWE made the decision to put the SmackDown Women’s Championship on Charlotte Flair all of a sudden.

The obvious speculation is that the company is looking to unify both Raw and SmackDown Women’s titles but we’ll have to wait and see if it actually is the case.

The New Day finally pulled off the impossible when Xavier Woods and Big E won the gauntlet tag team match on SmackDown this week and earned their third member Kofi Kingston an opportunity to go to WrestleMania.

After the show, this trio of the former Tag Team Champions reacted to the events of the show in an unusually long and emotional post-show interview.

Kofi, who will now be facing Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania for the WWE title was the first to speak and he claimed that this moment is the epitome of New Day’s brotherhood.

When Kingston thanked both of them, Xavier Woods claimed the mic saying that he doesn’t need to thank them because this is what they came together for.

The trio then remembered their start and how they have come this far from being three people who were just trying to get an opportunity to get on TV.

Overall this interview is a great example which shows why this story of Kofi Kingston going to WrestleMania has worked so well despite all the odds being stacked against him.

The emotions flowing throughout the interview are very real and the way you can connect to them is everything we all love about professional wrestling:

Ring Of Honor and Being The Elite Star Flip Gordon has re-injured his right knee only a few days after being medically cleared to compete by the doctors.

This news was released by ROH itself. They sent out a press release detailing the condition of his knee while also revealing his status for their upcoming G1 Supercard Show.

Flip apparently injured his knee while wrestling for Over the Top Wrestling in Northern Ireland and according to ROH, he won’t be wrestling at their upcoming Madison Square Garden show.

While the exact details on his injury are not available, there are concerns that Gordon has suffered “bucket handle” meniscus tear, which will keep him out of action for somewhere between 4 to 6 months:

“There is concern that Gordon may have suffered a “bucket handle” meniscus tear, which would require surgery and keep him out of action for four-to-six months. The extent of the injury will not be known until the results of Gordon’s MRI exam are in.”

An injury is always bad for any star but to make matters worse, Flip Gordon had only returned from a knee injury he suffered in January, earlier this month.

He was diagnosed with a full tear in his MCL and after staying away from action for almost 3 months, Flip had given the news of his clearance on Twitter on 19th March.

While she hasn’t exactly been on a touring WWE schedule, the news of former Diva’s Champion Nikki Bella’s retirement still came as a surprise for many.

TMZ has now published a report on her retirement, revealing that the former Champion is not leaving on bad terms and she still has a great working relationship with the company.

The reasons for her retirement include the other business ventures she needs to focus on and the various wear and tears on her body Bella has accumulated during her time as a full-time WWE performer.

While she is not expected to return to full time touring schedule in future, people close to the former Champion claim that she still loves wrestling and WWE.

Not only that but the former SmackDown Star is still interested in making cameo appearances for the promotion every now and then, as long as the timing is right

As far as her working relationship with the company goes, word is that WWE will sign her as an ambassador. The Total Bellas reality show is also expected to continue.

Nikki Bella announced her retirement from Professional Wrestling during the season finale of Total Bellas aired this past Sunday. Her announcement came only days after her sister Brie Bella also confirmed her retirement during the March 10th episode of the show.

Kurt Angle is currently on his farewell tour and the Olympic Gold Medalist has been facing rivals who have had a history with Angle during his long and illustrated career.

Some of Angle’s final opponents include the likes of Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio and many believe that WWE has booked these bouts in response to the negative feedback to his WrestleMania opponent Baron Corbin.

However this isn’t the case and according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the opponents he has been facing recently were all handpicked by Kurt himself.

The opponent which he didn’t actually have a say in was his rival for the WrestleMania match in Corbin, and as we noted before, Kurt himself was hoping for a more high profile opponent for his final bout.

Kurt Angle faced Samoa Joe on last night’s episode of Raw and he defeated the US Champion by reversing a Coquina Clutch and getting the three count.

He is facing AJ Styles on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live and the company has announced that the Former Champion will go toe to toe against Rey Mysterio in his last ever Raw match next week.

There are speculations about him facing another popular opponent at next week’s SmackDown to conclude the farewell tour but nothing has been announced yet.

The March 26th, 2019 episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Here are 4 takeaways from this week’s show:

Vince McMahon Announced Another Gauntlet Match

New Day kicked off this week’s episode of SmackDown. Xavier Woods said that the past few months has been an emotional rollercoaster. Big E added that they have been together for almost five years and it has been an incredible journey. Big E brought up the countless obstacles placed in Kofi’s way and that the trio has considered walking away.

Woods said that it has been hard to watch how poorly Kingston has been treated for the past 11-years. Xavier then asked Mr. McMahon to come down to the ring and address them face-to-face. Woods added that they have no problem waiting in the middle of the ring until Vince comes down.

McMahon strutted down to the ring to a chorus of boos from the Uncasville crowd. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan immediately interrupted and told Vince not to waste another breath and suggested that he let New Day quit.

Bryan joked that they could call up three people from NXT and just call them Fresh Afternoon. They could throw waffles into the crowd and would be more popular than New Day. Bryan referred to Kingston as a B+ player and stated that Vince has been right about Kofi the entire time.

Woods accused Bryan of being scared to fight Kingston one on one. Vince shouted for everyone to shut up and mocked New Day for saying that they were going to quit. McMahon called Kingston a B+ player and questioned if Woods and Big E were a B+ team. Vince announced that they will compete in a Tag Team Gauntlet Match tonight and if they win, Kinston will get a title shot at WrestleMania.

Charlotte Flair Is The New SmackDown Women’s Champion

Becky Lynch called Charlotte a third wheel in a backstage interview and Flair’s music interrupted. Charlotte came down to the entrance ramp and said that she is about to show Becky how deserving she is to be in the main event of WrestleMania 35.

SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka then defended her title against Charlotte. Asuka controlled the match early and booted Charlotte out of the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Flair went to work on Asuka’s left knee in the middle of the ring.

Asuka battled back and connected with the Hip Attack and then a German Suplex. Asuka followed it up with a kick to the face for a near fall. Charlotte went for a Moonsault but Asuka countered into an Asuka Lock. Charlotte broke free as SmackDown went to another break.

Asuka made her way to the top rope but Charlotte caught her with a punch to the face. Charlotte connected with a Spanish Fly off the top rope and went for the cover but Asuka kicked out at two.

Flair elbowed Asuka in the face several times while yelling “give up!”. Asuka locked in a Triangle submission but Flair countered into a Powerbomb for a near fall. Charlotte locked in the Figure Eight in the middle of the ring and Asuka tapped out. Charlotte is the new SmackDown Women’s Champion.

The only way this makes any sense is if WWE is unifying the women’s titles at WrestleMania. I have no idea why WWE continues to bury Asuka, but it is what it is at this point. I was excited when Asuka won the title off of Lynch at Royal Rumble and hoped that she was going to have a great title reign. Ultimately, WWE had no plans for her and she was just a pawn in the RAW Women’s Championship storyline.

Shane Vs. The Miz Will Be Falls Count Anywhere At WrestleMania

The Miz came down to the ring to chants of “Miz is awesome!” from the crowd. Miz cut a promo on Shane and said that he made things personal when he put his hands on his father at Fastlane. The Miz added that he wants to destroy Shane McMahon at WrestleMania and suggested that it be a Falls Count Anywhere.

Miz vowed to beat the hell out of Shane all over that stadium. Shane McMahon interrupted and was accompanied by a security team. The Colons and SAnitY were also a part of Shane’s security team and stood on the entrance ramp.

Shane danced on the entrance ramp and demanded that Greg Hamilton announce him as the best in the world. Shane claimed that security was out here to protect The Miz from him. Shane joked that The Miz was as dumb as his father looks. He added that he watches his attack at Fastlane over and over again and that it makes him feel great.

Shane accepted The Miz’s stipulation and added that his only regret was not punishing Miz’s father for his biggest mistake, impregnating The Miz’s mother. The Miz flipped out and tried to get to Shane but the security was in the way.

The Miz beat them down and then battled with Epico, Primo, and Shelton Benjamin. SAnitY then attacked The Miz and beat him down. The action spilled into the crowd and The Miz wound up standing tall. The Miz hopped back over the barricade and walked up the entrance ramp as Shane retreated.

Kofi Kingston Will Face Daniel Bryan At WrestleMania

Big E and Xavier Woods defeated Gallows & Anderson in under a minute. They then defeated Nakamura and Rusev after hitting the UpUpDownDown. The Bar made their way to the ring next as Kofi was shown watching backstage.

The Bar isolated Big E in the ring for several minutes but finally he was able to tag in Woods. Xavier booted Sheamus in the face and followed it up with a DDT. Woods then flipped onto The Bar outside the ring and rolled Cesaro back inside. Woods connected with a Leg Drop off the top rope and went for the cover but Sheamus broke it up at two. Big E knocked Cesaro out of the ring and Woods rolled up Sheamus for the victory.

The Bar then attacked Woods and Big E after the match and grabbed a table from under the ring. Sheamus and Cesaro then slammed Big E through the table as The Usos made their way down to the ring. Jimmy and Jey grabbed a couple of microphones and stated that Kofi deserves to fight for the WWE Championship. They added that he has already earned their respect and announced that they forfeit. Daniel Bryan was shown backstage throwing a tantrum and Erick Rowan joined in by launching chairs around the room.

Daniel Bryan and Rowan then marched tot he ring and attacked Big E and Woods. Rowan slammed Woods’ head off of the ring apron as Bryan wrapped Big E’s leg around the ring post. Bryan then locked in a Half Crab on Big E in the middle of the ring. Woods broke it up and then flipped onto Rowan outside the ring.

Bryan went for the Running Knee but Big E caught him and slammed Daniel to the canvas. Big E connected with the Big Ending on Bryan but Rowan broke it up. Rowan launched Woods into the barricade and then tagged in. Rowan slammed Big E to the mat for a near fall.

Rowan cleared off the announce table as Woods planted Bryan with a DDT outside the ring. Big E Clotheslined Rowan over the announce table and then flipped the desk onto him. Big E and Woods got into the ring as the referee started counting. Rowan and Bryan were counted out and it was announced that Kofi was going to WrestleMania.

Kingston sprinted down to the ring and celebrated with Big E and Woods. Vince McMahon was interviewed backstage and said that Kingson was going to WrestleMania. Vince wondered if a B+ could beat Daniel Bryan and got into his limo. The SmackDown locker room then surrounded the ring and applauded Kingston.

Overall, this week’s episode of SmackDown was entertaining and much better than last night’s horrific episode of RAW. Hopefully, both shows are great next week and the build towards WrestleMania ends on a high note.

Kofi Kingston is headed to WrestleMania 35 to challenge for the top title on the blue brand.

The longtime WWE star has received the confirmation by WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon that he’ll be challenging Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title at this show. He got this match booked after Big E and Xavier Woods won a tag team gauntlet match on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live.

WWE presents the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 7, 2019 in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE WrestleMania 35 Card

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair – Triple Threat Match

WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston

Batista vs. Triple H – No Holds Barred Match with Triple H’s career on the line

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin – Angle’s Farewell Match

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

Shane McMahon vs. The Miz – Falls Count Anywhere Match

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. The IIconics – Fatal 4-Way Match

WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio

WWE Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese

6th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Braun Strowman, SNL’s Michael Che and Colin Jost

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

A stipulation has been added to the match between Shane McMahon and The Miz at WrestleMania 35.

During Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, The Miz wanted their match to be a Falls Count Anywhere Match, which McMahon accepted.

WWE presents the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 7, 2019 in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE WrestleMania 35 Card

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair – Triple Threat Match

WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins

Batista vs. Triple H – No Holds Barred Match with Triple H’s career on the line

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin – Angle’s Farewell Match

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

Shane McMahon vs. The Miz – Falls Count Anywhere Match

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. The IIconics – Fatal 4-Way Match

WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio

WWE Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese

6th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Braun Strowman, SNL’s Michael Che and Colin Jost

The reign of WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion is over for Asuka.

During Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live in Uncasville, CT at the Mohegan Sun Arena on the USA Network, Charlotte Flair challenged and beat Asuka to become the new champion.

WWE gave both women plenty of time to put together a compelling story, and they delivered. This was hyped as a WrestleMania 34 rematch as Flair beat Asuka at this show last year to snap Asuka’s undefeated streak.

WWE originally announced that Fatal 4-Way Match would take place featuring Naomi Carmella, Sonya Deville, and Mandy Rose to determine who would challenge Asuka for the gold. Obviously, those plans are scrapped for the time being as Flair already has a match booked at WrestleMania.

Flair will take on Becky Lynch and WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey in a triple threat match that will serve as the main event of WrestleMania 35.

The former NXT Women’s Champion won the title when she beat Lynch and Flair in the first ever Women’s TLC Match in December at the TLC pay-per-view from San Jose, California.

• Charlotte Explains Why She Is The Most Hated Character In WWE

Discuss: What do you think of Charlotte Flair winning the SmackDown Women’s title before WrestleMania 35?

Former WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns made an appearance on ESPN’s First Take program on Tuesday to talk his return to WWE from battling leukemia and more.

When asked about what he learned the most about himself and life during his second battle with leukemia, Reigns brought up how it’s OK to lean on people and to accept their support while dealing with the illness.

Reigns brought up how he felt he was on an island and very insecure due to him being a public figure and not wanting people to think that this is trying to benefit his performance and career.

“I wanted people to respect me for the work that I put in and the performer that I am. Sometimes life throws a wrench at you. It’s not exactly how you plan. It put me at a crossroads to where I had to figure out if I wanted to continue to keep this secret of mine or if I was able to tell my story and be able to connect with those who might be able to lean on it and use it as an inspiration.”

Moving along, Reigns then talked about how he dealt with this battle in private and putting on a positive face while in the public eye. The WWE star brought up learning how to compartmentalize stuff and different emotions. He takes pride in still being able to live his life while battling leukemia. He wants people to respect the work and time that he put into his craft.

“I put everything into sports entertainment and learning how to lead this life. As I said before, sometimes things just happen unexpectedly and not the way you plan. You just kinda have to adjust. It was one of the better things I’ve done with my life. It gave me new purpose.”

Reigns continued by stating that he’s still able to do what he loves to do and compete in the ring. He has a deep passion for storytelling, and that gave him a different purpose on the people he connects with. He added that the outreach and platform that they have gives him the chance to help people by sharing his story.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription

The March 26th, 2019 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT.

– The New Day comes out to the ring with microphones to kick off tonight’s show. They talk about how great of an experience it has been for them performing for the fans as The New Day. Big E say due to the countless obstacles put in Kofi’s way, they’re considering walking away. Woods says they can’t make that decision until they get some answers, and the only person with those answers is Mr. McMahon, so they ask Mr. McMahon to come out and talk to them face to face. Vince McMahon comes out to the ring and starts to address Kofi, but then Daniel Bryan immediately interrupts. Bryan steps out on the stage with Rowan and tells McMahon to let The New Day quit if they want, because they’re a stale novelty act. Bryan says Vince created The New Day, and he can create a new group by pulling up three guys from NXT and having them throw waffles into the crowd. Bryan again calls Kofi nothing but a B+ player, and says Vince’s instincts about Kofi not being Championship material are correct. Woods and Bryan start exchanging words, and Vince tells everyone to shut up. Vince gets in the New Day’s faces and tells them there’s not a bone in their body telling them to quit. Vince says Kofi is still in his view a B+ player, and his only question is if Big E and Woods are a B+ tag team. Vince asks if Big E and Xavier think they can put Kofi in the WrestleMania main event. Vince tells Kofi he’s done having opportunities, but if Big E and Xavier can win a Tag Team Gauntlet match tonight, then Kofi is in at WrestleMania. Bryan on the stage does not look happy with this news.

– Becky Lynch does an interview backstage about winning last night’s Beat The Clock challenge, and her upcoming main event match at WrestleMania. Becky’s interview time is interrupted by Charlotte’s music hitting and Charlotte coming out to the ring. Charlotte cuts a brief promo on the ramp taking issue with Becky’s comments about her, and saying she’s going to prove tonight that she’s deserving of the WrestleMania main event.

– Charlotte vs. Asuka (c): Asuka’s SmackDown Women’s Title is on the line in this one. The announcers act surprised that this match was made for the Women’s Title. Charlotte starts off strong and pulls Asuka down to the mat by her hair. Asuka fights back and hits a kick to the midsection, and Charlotte rolls outside for a breather. Back in the ring, Charlotte fights back and hits some knee drops on Asuka. They run the ropes and Charlotte looks for a spear, but Asuka shuts her down with a version of the Codebreaker. Asuka and Charlotte trade strikes in the middle of the ring now. Asuka throws Charlotte in the corner for a splash, then she hits a German suplex and a superkick. Asuka hits a running kick to the face for a two count. Asuka follows up with a series of kicks, but then she misses a running hip attack. Charlotte comes back with a big boot to the face for a two count. Charlotte looks for a Moonsault off the top, but Asuka blocks it and looks for the Asuka Lock, but Charlotte quickly fights away. They trade strikes and pin attempts, then Charlotte looks for the Figure Eight. Asuka fights out and connects with a kick to Charlotte’s face for a two count. They fight up to the top rope and Charlotte hits a flying Spanish Fly for a two count. Charlotte wastes some time and Asuka applies a triangle choke. Charlotte reverses into a sit out powerbomb for a two count. Charlotte looks for the Figure Four, but Asuka fights out and looks for the Asuka Lock. Charlotte fights out and applies the Figure Eight for the win via submission.

Winner & new SmackDown Women’s Champion: Charlotte

– AJ Styles does an interview in the back where he talks about facing Kurt Angle tonight in his final match on SmackDown Live. AJ says he’s honored to be Kurt’s last match on SmackDown, and he’s privileged to be part of Kurt’s career. AJ says this isn’t a warm-up match for WrestleMania, and he’s taking it very serious.

– AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle: AJ and Kurt shake hands before the match. Kurt starts off with a German suplex on AJ early on, then he looks for the Olympic Slam but AJ escapes. AJ looks for the Calf Crusher and locks it in. It looks like Kurt is going to tap, but he reverses the hold into an Ankle Lock. AJ fights out and slams Kurt into the turnbuckle. Randy Orton then runs in and hits the RKO on AJ Styles.

Winner via DQ: AJ Styles

– Orton stomps on AJ after the bell, until Kurt Angle gets up behind him and hits the Olympic Slam on Orton. Orton falls out of the ring and Kurt checks on AJ.

– We see footage of Rey Mysterio and his son doing an interview with WWE.com.

– The Miz comes out to the ring and gets on the mic. The Miz says going into WrestleMania this year, is him ripping apart Shane McMahon. He says Shane has lit a fire in him like he’s never had in his 13 years in WWE, because Shane made this personal. The Miz wants Shane in a Falls Count Anywhere match so he can show what he’s capable of. Shane McMahon comes out to interrupt, and he has security guards along with Sanity, Primo Colon and Shelton Benjamin. Shane tells ring announcer Greg Hamilton to announce him and do it right, and Greg does. Shane says the security here is to protect Miz from him, and Shane can’t believe The Miz is dumb enough to ask for a Falls Count Anywhere match with Shane. Shane puts an image of him grabbing Miz’s dad up on the big screen. Shane says he’s watched the footage of him turning on Miz over and over, and every time it makes him feel great. Shane says he’s going to beat Miz all over Met Life Stadium, because he accepts the challenge. Shane says his only regret is that he didn’t do more harm to Miz’s father for spawning such a great mistake when he impregnated Miz’s mother. The Miz exits the ring now and fights his way through the security guards on the ramp, but they’re able to hold him back. The Miz finally fights them off, then he comes face to face with Shelton and Primo. They start brawling on the ramp and Miz drops Shelton and Primo. Sanity then runs over and pummels on Miz at ringside, as Shane briefly watches from the stage and then leaves. The Miz starts fighting back and they brawl into the crowd. The Miz fights them off and heads to the back.

– We see a replay of Vince booking the Tag Team Gauntlet match for Big E and Xavier Woods tonight, where if they win Kofi gets a WWE Title shot at WrestleMania.

– They show a pre-taped promo from The Iiconics talking about competing in a Fatal 4 Way for the Women’s Tag Titles at WrestleMania.

– Tag Team Gauntlet Match: Kofi is barred from ringside. Xavier Woods and Big E start off in their first match of the gauntlet against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Woods and Anderson start this one off trading blows, and Woods stuns Anderson with a superkick. Big E gets the tag and cleans house. They hit the Up Up Down Down on Anderson for the three count within moments of starting the match. Anderson and Gallows are now eliminated. We see members of the SmackDown locker room watching on a monitor backstage with Kofi.

The second team in this gauntlet challenge is Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev. Lana is at ringside. Nakamura starts off against Woods and hits a hurricanrana on him. Nakamura comes back with some knee strikes for a two count, then Rusev tags in and pummels on Woods. Nakamura tags back in and puts the boots to Woods until Woods reverses a suplex attempt and tags in Big E. Big E drops Nakamura and hits the running splash on him. Big E misses a shot and Nakamura dumps him outside, then Nakamura tags in Rusev. Rusev follows Big E out to ringside, and Big E slams Rusev into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Nakamura cheap-shots Big E and Rusev kicks him in the head. They hit a double team suplex on Big E, then Nakamura knees him in the face. Woods runs in and drops Nakamura, then he dumps Rusev out to ringside and hits a baseball slide dropkick on him. Back in the ring, Nakamura looks for the Kinshasa, but Big E dodges it and throws Nakamura into the ring post. Woods tags in and they hit the Up Up Down Down on Nakamura for the three count. Rusev and Nakamura are now eliminated.

Cesaro and Sheamus are the next team in the gauntlet. Sheamus and Cesaro trade tags frequently in the opening moments and take turns working over Big E on the mat. Big E starts to fight back, but Sheamus shuts him down and prevents him from getting the tag to Woods. Big E finally fights back and knocks both Sheamus and Cesaro out to ringside. Cesaro gets back in and Big E hits a back body drop on him. Xavier finally gets the tag and he knocks Sheamus off the apron, then hits some kicks on Cesaro in the ring. Woods dumps Cesaro outside, then Sheamus runs in but Woods shuts him down with a DDT. Woods hits a suicide dive on to both Sheamus and Cesaro at ringside. Back in the ring, Woods hits a flying leg drop off the top on Cesaro, but Sheamus breaks up the pin attempt. Big E tags in and hits a powerbomb on Sheamus. Woods and Cesaro tag in, and Cesaro hits an uppercut on Woods for a two count. Cesaro chokes Xavier over the middle rope, then Sheamus hits a cheap shot behind the ref’s back. Sheamus tags in for a double team attempt, but Big E breaks it up. Woods rolls up Sheamus in a small package pin for the three count. Sheamus and Cesaro are now eliminated. Sheamus stomps on Woods, then Sheamus and Cesaro beat down Big E. Cesaro slides a table in the ring, and Sheamus sets it up. Cesaro and Sheamus hit a double chokeslam on Big E through the table.

The Usos come out next, and it appears they are the next challengers in the gauntlet match. The Usos wait while the referee throws the broken table pieces out of the ring. Woods tries to help Big E to his feet, but Big E is still down. The Usos get on the mic and talk about the wars they fought against the New Day, and they know Kofi deserves to fight for the WWE Championship. The Usos say they forfeit, then they leave the ring. We see Daniel Bryan in his locker room freaking out and kicking chairs and kicking his TV. Rowan then starts smashing chairs too.

Daniel Bryan and Rowan are the next team in the Gauntlet match, and ring announcer Greg Hamilton tells us they’re the last team in the gauntlet. Rowan and Bryan hit the ring and immediately start beating down both Big E and Woods. Rowan takes Woods out to ringside and slams him face-first into the ring apron, and on the other side of the ring Bryan is slamming Big E’s knee into the ring post. Back in the ring, Big E starts to fight back, until Bryan takes him down and applies a half Boston crab. Woods comes flying in with a dropkick on Bryan to break up the crab. Woods then dumps Rowan outside and hits a suicide dive on him. Back in the ring, Bryan looks for a running knee strike in the corner, but Big E dodges it and hits a side suplex. Big E picks up Bryan and hits the Big Ending, but Rowan breaks up the pin. Rowan knocks Woods off the apron, then tags himself in. Rowan hits a version of the Rock Bottom on Big E for a two count. Bryan yells at Rowan to clear off the announce table. Bryan walks over to Woods, and Woods hits a tornado DDT off the apron on Bryan. Rowan comes over and looks for the Iron Claw on Woods, but Woods shoves Rowan into the ring post, then Big E comes out and shoves Rowan into the ring post. Big E clotheslines Rowan over the announce table, and then he flips the whole announce table over on top of Rowan. Big E and Woods get back in the ring, and the referee counts out Rowan who is pinned under the announce table.

Winners: The New Day

– It looks like Kofi Kingston will now be competing for the WWE Title at WrestleMania. Kofi comes out to celebrate with Woods and Big E as we go to replays.

– We go backstage for an interview with Vince McMahon. He says that yes this means Kofi is going to WrestleMania, and now the question is can a B+ player defeat Daniiel Bryan for the WWE Championship.

– Back to the ring, members of the SmackDown locker room come out to celebrate the win with Kofi. The New Day celebrates in the ring as Bryan recovers on the floor and SmackDown goes off the air.

Monday’s edition of WWE RAW from in Boston, MA at the TD Garden averaged 2.589 million viewers, down from 2.695 million the previous week. Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

• Hour 1: 2.700 million
• Hour 2: 2.665 million
• Hour 3: 2.402 million

The episode was expected to increase in viewership as this show was heavily hyped but that was not the case. This episode finished fifth for the night in total viewers on cable.

It featured an appearance by Paul Heyman to do a promo segment with Seth Rollins to promote the upcoming WWE Universal Title Match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35. Triple H also did an in-ring promo to promote his contest against Batista.

Some of the matches that took place include Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch taking on members of The Riott Squad in individual Beat the Clock matches. Also, Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley & Jinder Mahal, Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. The Revival, Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe, and Drew McIntyre vs. Dean Ambrose in a last man standing match.

WWE hyped WrestleMania 35 and the matches taking place at that show. WWE will attempt to keep up this momentum with its viewership for RAW next week. In case you missed the show, you can check out the six takeaways here.

Watch: Top 10 Moments from Monday’s RAW (3.25.19)

Kenny Omega recently made an appearance on the Jay and Dan show for TSN to promote his upcoming documentary and during the interview, he spoke about a wide range of topics.

Halfway through the interview, he talked about his decision to go to AEW instead of joining WWE. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion started out by reflecting on having a stint in WWE’s developmental system at the time, Deep South Wrestling, and admitted that it just wasn’t for him.

“I learned a lot, there was a lot of things that helped me take the next step after I left WWE.” He would continue by stating that he always felt that whenever he had full creative control over his own person and ideas that he “could really be the true me and the real me and show my full potential.”

Omega added that “I was actually heavily considering going there earlier in the year. But AEW, this new promotion that we’ve got going, that just seemed right for me. And I always get really excited at the idea of having full creative control and just doing new things.”

Omega stated that there’s sometimes a job where you have to conform to a certain system, or you have to perform to a certain standard or way. Or people want to manage you and then micro-manage you. Thus, this is a situation where he’s going to be part of a multi-million dollar company (AEW), and they’re giving him the ball.

“And to me, that’s exciting, as a performer. I thought that was probably what was best for me as a performer.”

Bully Ray elaborated on his belief that despite what fans think, Charlotte Flair deserves to be part of the WrestleMania 35 main event.

The company has already confirmed that WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Flair will headline the show. 

Ray talked about the news on Monday’s episode of Busted Open Radio and gave his take about this historical match as it marks the first time ever that women will headline a WrestleMania.

In the eyes of Ray, he thinks Flair deserves to be in this match even though there are some fans who think WWE should’ve just booked Lynch vs. Rousey. The former multiple tag team champion says that Flair was placed in the match because she deserves it.

“If any one woman deserves to be in the main event of WrestleMania, then it’s Charlotte Flair, and it’s her by light years. Charlotte deserves to be there more than anyone else.” He would continue by stating that Lynch has also earned her right to be in the match, but Flair has proved herself for 5-7 years now.

Ray would recall the original plans for this show to be Rousey vs. Flair, but things changed in the last several months due to the momentum that Lynch has gained with the fans as being a big star.

“Ronda was brought in for this moment, Charlotte deserves to be there, and Becky earned her way in by getting over.”

Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) Wrestling has announced a big tag match for their WrestleCon event in April. Will Ospreay and Hiroshi Tanahashi will be teaming to take on Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki.

The show will be taking place on Friday April 5th from the Hilton New York Midtown Ballroom. Already announced for the show are Tomohiro Ishii and CCK (Chris Brookes and Jon Gresham).

Ospreay and PAC were originally scheduled to take on Brookes and Gresham. The two men had an incredible time limit draw at the recent High Stakes 2019 event in York Hall, Bethnal Green. Brookes and Gresham interfered during the bout which has lead to this match. There were originally rumors that Ospreay would be facing PAC as a way to give Rev Pro one of the ‘best’ in ring bouts of WrestleMania weekend. Unfortunately PAC had to be removed from the event for undisclosed reasons. Hiroshi Tanahashi is quite the replacement for the show.

Ticket information for the show can be found here.

Former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has signed with Mexico’s Lucha Libre promotion AAA.

At a press conference held on Tuesday, it was announced that Velasquez will be appearing at TripleMania XXVII this summer, which takes place August 3rd from Mexico City.

Lucha Libre site, LuchaBlog, has been live Tweeting reports from the press conference. They confirmed that Cain has 2-3 fights left on his UFC contract. Evidently, his deal with AAA will not impact his UFC career.

In terms of what role Cain will play on the show, that remains unclear.

Several luchadors, including Psycho Clown and Texano Jr, confronted Velasquez at the press conferences.

AAA’s partnership with AEW was also addressed at the press conference:

Velasquez defeated Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight championship on October 23rd, 2010. He’d go on to win a trilogy with Junior Dos Santos 2-to-1 before dropping the belt to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188.

Since that time, injuries have piled up for Velasquez. He’s only fought twice since losing the title in the summer of 2015, defeating Travis Browne and then losing to Francis Ngannou last month.

• Cain Velasquez Wants To Wrestle In WWE

Paul Heyman has made it known that he was the man years ago during a Q&A session to predict that Charlotte Flair would be in a WrestleMania main event during her career in WWE.

The company has already confirmed that WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Flair will headline WrestleMania.

Heyman shared a link to a video from his WrestleMania 33 Axxess Q&A where he made this prediction as well as tweeted out the following:

John Cena Trolls Baron Corbin

John Cena continues to have fun at the expense of Baron Corbin. The former WWE Champion shared a photo of Corbin last week and did so again this week on his official Instagram account. This is all due to the backlash from fans about the fact that WWE decided to have Corbin face WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle at the upcoming WrestleMania 35 event.

This will mark Angle’s farewell match, and Corbin will serve as his final opponent, which didn’t sit well with people due to the legendary career that Angle has had in the pro wrestling business. Cena shared a photoshopped image of Corbin’s face on his body while in the ring with Angle.

This image is actually from Cena’s in-ring main roster debut where he battled Angle on an episode of SmackDown in 2002 where they wrestled a match. You can see it here.

As noted earlier, famous dick wrestler Joey Ryan is among the performers who are finally free from their Lucha Underground contracts.

Lucha Underground’s contracts were very prohibitive and restricted where talent could work, despite the fact that they haven’t taped TV in a year and there has been no word on a fifth season.

• Lucha Underground Producer Says The Show Is “Probably Dead”

After filing a lawsuit against Baba-G Productions and the El Rey Network, Joey Ryan is now free agents able to work wherever he pleases.

On Tuesday afternoon, Joey Ryan released the following statement about the ordeal. He thanked fans for their support and sounds very optimistic about his future.

“It’s Official.

I am now a free agent. Free from ay contracts. Free from any bosses. Free from any restrictions. The last few years of my career haven’t been without highlights (being featured in many major media outlets, becoming a top seller on Pro Wrestling Tees, shocking the world at All In, Main Eventing the Cow Palace, a role on GLOW, the growth of Bar Wrestling) but now it honestly feels like I have a new lease on my direction and where I’m going in pro wrestling. Most of my accomplishments have been fan driven due to the overwhelming support I have recived so I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of the fans who have accompanied me on this journey so far and hope you will continue on the adventure.

– Joey Ryan”

Now the question is, where will Joey Ryan “pop up” next ?

Kofi Kingston has reacted to WWE advertising him against WWE Champion Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35.

As noted, one fan shared on social media of an advertisement from WWE that shows a graphic for Bryan vs. Kingston for the WWE Title, which you can see here.

Obviously, WWE has yet to formally announce this match due to the ongoing storyline involving Bryan, Kingston, and Vince McMahon that has been played out over the last few weeks on television.

The belief is that this match will indeed take place at WrestleMania with the company making the announcement shortly. Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live should be interesting due to the fallout from the gauntlet match featuring Kingston that took place last week. 

The longtime WWE star attempted to downplay this advertisement that has been making the rounds online. He did so in this post on his official Twitter account where he wrote the following:

WWE presents the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 7, 2019 in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium that will air on the WWE Network. WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair will headline the show. 

What do you think about this feud and WWE advertising Bryan vs. Kingston at WrestleMania before the match being made official?

Rock and Roll legend Joan Jett will perform her iconic song “Bad Reputation” live at WrestleMania 35.

The song, which serves as Ronda Rousey’s WWE entrance theme, will be performed as Rousey makes her way to the ring for the historic Women’s Triple Threat main event.

WWE sent in a press release touting the news. Neil Lawi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of WWE Music Group, was quoted:

“The Queen of Rock ‘N Roll, Joan Jett, is a music legend and icon for powerful women everywhere. Her performance at this year’s WrestleMania promises to be both exhilarating and inspiring, and we are honored to watch her join a distinct list of extraordinary performers who have lit up the WWE stage.”

• Ronda Rousey, Charlotte & Becky Lynch on ESPN SportsCenter (Video)

Joan Jett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Rolling Stone named her as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Previous live musical performances at WrestleMania events include Motörhead, Snoop Dogg, Pitbull, Kid Rock, Diddy, Run D.M.C and more.

WWE WrestleMania 35 takes place Sunday, April 7th at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.