It’s official, Brodie Lee, formerly known as Luke Harper, is All Elite.
The former WWE Tag Team Champion has signed with AEW (All Elite Wrestling) as he made an appearance on their weekly television show, Dynamite, on Wednesday.
This is where he was revealed as The Exalted One, the leader of The Dark Order. He cut a promo about how Christopher Daniels wasn’t the only old man who didn’t believe in him. He would then attack Daniels and Kaz alongside The Dark Order.
Brodie Lee’s Road to AEW
Brodie Lee (Luke Harper) requested his release from WWE back in April 2019. He remained under contract until December when WWE finally granted the request.
At the time of his release, he had a 90-day no-compete clause with WWE, which prevented him from appearing on AEW television until late March 2020.
Harper’s time in WWE had both ups and downs as he found success as a singles star by winning the Intercontinental Title as well as a tag team competitor while with The Wyatt Family.
Things took a turn when it was reported that WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon didn’t see anything in him. Thus, they stopped using him, which resulted in Harper asking for his release.
WWE Hall of Famer Edge talked about his match with Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 36 while doing a recent interview with Gorilla Position.
It should be noted that WWE hasn’t officially announced the match yet but Edge did just challenge him to a Last Man Standing Match on this past Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network. The match is all but confirmed.
In this interview, Edge brought up how the match will be taking place in an empty arena at the Performance Center. The reason for that is due to there being no fans in attendance as a concern of the coronavirus outbreak.
Edge talked about how the crazy part is that it’s never been done before at WrestleMania. Over the years, WrestleMania has always featured fans in attendance. He brought up Mick Foley vs. The Rock in 1999 where they had an empty arena match but that wasn’t at WrestleMania.
“Sure, it’s not ideal. We all get it, but we have to make do, and we have to figure out, we have to adapt. And that’s what this whole thing will be. I know I feel confident because I know in Randy, I don’t say this lightly, one of the best ever or possibility, and it’s all subjective, the best to ever do this. You get my brain and his natural ability on this thing, and I’m excited.”
He added that he’s excited about what they can do and what they can bring to the audience because all bets are off, there are no rules. He concluded by stating, “It’s an entirely blank canvas.”
'It’s not ideal, but we have to make do, we have to adapt. In @RandyOrton I have the best to ever do this. With my brain & his natural ability, I’m excited' pic.twitter.com/9TLxfKObDn
WWE has not only announced a big change to WrestleMania 36 but also the fact that the host of the show has been officially announced.
On Wednesday, the company announced that their biggest show of the year will be held over the course of two nights. The first night of the show will be on Saturday, April 4 while the second night will take place on Sunday, April 5.
Both nights start at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and will air on the WWE Network. There will be no fans in attendance in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
It will also air live from “multiple other locations,” according to sources. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on where these other locations will be.
Former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski will be hosting the show on both nights. The former NFL star, who is slated to appear on Friday Night SmackDown this week, commented on the news:
WWE noted in the announcement that only essential personnel will be on the closed set during the production of WrestleMania.
It’s official! I’m hosting @WrestleMania this year…and it’s gonna be too big for just one night. For the 1st time, #WrestleMania will be a ?2-NIGHT?event: Saturday, April 4 AND Sunday, April 5 on @WWENetwork! Tell you more this Friday night on #SmackDown at 8 ET on @FOXTV.
All Elite Wrestling has announced the latest set of AEW Rankings for the week ending Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
The updated standings come after the results of Tuesday’s AEW Dark episode. These rankings are for the following divisions – men’s, women’s, and tag team.
The way the rankings work is the talent will be listed in rankings by their match records but doesn’t include the champions. It also helps fans keep an eye on the current push of certain wrestlers as they work their way up the ladder to an eventual title shot in their divisions.
Cody passed PAC to reach the fourth spot in the men’s rankings while former AEW Women’s Champion Riho has dropped to fifth in the women’s division. Finally, Private Party moved past Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara in the tag team division.
AEW Rankings
The rankings will be next week. You can see the rankings here:
A lot of plans have changed for WrestleMania 36 amid the coronavirus outbreak.
First, “The Show Of Shows” has been moved from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. This is due to the mass gathering bans imposed on the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time ever, WrestleMania will be held in front of an empty crowd.
Also, WrestleMania is typically the time WWE Superstars utilize some spectacular ring entrances. It turns out WWE had quite the entrance planned for Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch in Tampa, involving the custom semi-trailer truck we saw on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. Lynch arrived at Raw in the truck, but according to PWInsider, this was originally to be used in her WrestleMania entrance.
The truck was also to be featured at WrestleMania 36 Axxess. WWE likely went ahead and used it this week on Raw since they’re not going to be able to do so in the way they had hoped at WrestleMania.
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently gave an update on his in-ring WWE career. The leader of the ‘Yes’ Movement recently appeared on The Bellas podcast and discussed how the upcoming birth of his second child with Brie Bella has changed his priorities in life, particularly pertaining to being a full time WWE contracted performer.
“It’s a little stressful because of the date that you’re due and all that kind of stuff” Daniel Bryan began. “But the WWE has been great. They’re gonna give me six weeks paternity leave, which so few places in the United States do that. So I’ll get to be home that first six weeks.”
“It’s not long until my contract is up”
– Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan would then reveal that his WWE contract is soon to expire. “Then after that it’s not long until my contract is up. We’ve been talking about, like, what we do from there? But to me, in my mind, it’s almost like I think I’m just done being a full time wrestler.”
Daniel Bryan’s Return To WWE
Bryan finished by saying “You know what I mean like, I love being a dad. I will always love wrestling, right, I will always love wrestling. And I always want to do wrestling, but when I say always do wrestling that means like maybe once a month or once every couple of months.”
Daniel Bryan made his return to in-ring WWE action back at WrestleMania 34. Bryan would team with Shane McMahon to take on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, shocking many who believed that the former WWE Champion would no longer be able to compete due to concussion complications.
More recently, Daniel Bryan has been utilized as a mid to upper card talent, now working alongside Drew Gulak in a program against Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio recently claimed during an appearance on Nos Cayó La Noche in Mexico that he was in contact with WWE about a potential return.
Del Rio and WWE’s relationship over the years has been rocky, to say the least, but the Mexican Lucha star claims they have mended that bridge and he’s hoping for a return to the company sometime in 2020.
“We have been in communication, ” Alberto said. “We have rebuilt the bridge. On their part, they were wrong on some decisions and I also did some things wrong on my part. I am hoping that we can reach an agreement sometime this year or by the middle of this year I’ll be back there.”
However, according to a report from talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy, that is not the case. McCarthy reports that Triple H, nor anyone else from WWE has contacted Del Rio about coming back to the company.
I’m told he absolutely didn’t reach out to Del Rio for what that’s worth. Nor did anyone.
Del Rio was last with WWE back in 2016 before ultimately securing his requested release citing empty promises, including a main event push upon his return in October of 2015. He was officially released from WWE in September of 2016, before going on to work with IMPACT Wrestling for a bit, as well as working the independent circuit.
He also competed in his first mixed martial arts (MMA) fight since 2010 this past December when he was submitted by ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz under the Combate Americas banner in the first round.
WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart is one of the most honest professional wrestlers you’ll ever come across.
“The Hitman” isn’t one to mince words, and will tell you his side of things regardless of how harsh they may be. That was no different during Hart’s recent appearance on fellow Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s “Broken Skull Sessions” on the WWE Network. During the program, Hart went in on WWE Hall Of Famer and current Universal Champion, Goldberg.
Hart called Goldberg “one of the most unprofessional wrestlers there ever was in the business,” before suggesting the ex-WCW World Champion “hurt everybody he worked with.”
“I always knew what I was doing and I would hurt myself before I ever hurt another wrestler,” Bret said. “I just wish some of the wrestlers I worked with, especially at the end like Goldberg. Goldberg to me was one of the most unprofessional wrestlers there ever was in the business.
“For Bill Goldberg to be in the Hall of Fame… he hurt everybody he worked with, so he might as well wrestle a real gorilla. He was the most dangerous guy to work with. He hurt everybody he worked with. I remember Curt Hennig being in pain all the time from the matches they had, and even when I worked with Bill…
“I always think, the last words I said to Bill before we went out and had that match where he injured, ended my career… I said, ‘Bill, whatever you do out there, don’t hurt me. Do whatever you want, we can do anything, just do not go nuts.'”
Hart’s beef with Goldberg stems back decades ago during the pair’s time together in WCW. A match between the two ultimately led to a career-ending injury for Hart. As for Goldberg, after a lengthy period of time away from the ring, he has since rekindled his relationship with WWE and is a two-time and current Universal Champion.
He’s scheduled to put that title up for grabs against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36 on April 5. This year’s WrestleMania is currently scheduled to broadcast in front of an empty crowd inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida due to the coronavirus pandemic.
CM Punk is no longer an active talent for WWE, but he certainly has some stories from his run with the company.
Recently, the former WWE Champion-turned-UFC fighter was a guest on Cody and Jennifer Decker’s Swing and Mrs. podcast, where he discussed his professional wrestling career. During the interview, Punk mentioned a recurring elbow injury he dealt with during his WWE run. The injury forced Punk to continuously ice his elbows and knees regularly.
As a result, Punk claims he was made fun of by other members of the WWE locker room for his icing practices. He was even compared to WWE Hall Of Famer Diamond Dallas Page. Punk discussed how childish he viewed this, and didn’t understand the “bully culture” for doing such a simple thing.
“It’s a bully culture. I remember somebody — every time I would ice my elbow, because I constantly had a chronically bad elbow. And I would ice my knees and that was more of a maintenance thing. After a while I did get a surgery on my knee. But they would always laugh and make fun of me.
“And they would look and point and say, ‘Oh, look, it’s DDP!’ And I’d be like, ‘Why are we making fun of somebody for icing?’ It was always the stupidest stuff. The bullies backstage, I would always think like — is that a weakness, really? And look at billion dollar NBA teams that are mandatory icing guys after games and stuff like that.
“But like, the macho bulls**t. I’m not a man because I’m icing my knees? Okay, cool.”
Currently, Punk is attached to the WWE brand once again by serving as a frequent guest on the FOX studio show, WWE Backstage. It’s not a return to the squared circle by any means, however, perhaps it could lead to exactly that down the road now that the bridge between Punk and WWE seems to be mended.
The identity of the Exalted One, the mysterious leader of AEW’s Dark Order faction, will be revealed on tonight’s episode of Dynamite.
For months, the Dark Order and AEW’s social media pages have been pushing propaganda signaling the Exalted One’s arrival.
The most recent tease can be seen below. At a glance, it appears to be a jumbled set of numbers. Some bright minds on Twitter figured out numbers contain an encoded “tap code” message that reads, “It’s Too Late Now.”
So, who is the Exalted One? There have been many theories going around. One plausible possibility is Brodie Lee (former WWE Superstar Luke Harper). The ‘non-compete’ clause on Brodie Lee’s WWE contract has expired. He is officially a free agent and rumored to be AEW bound. Tonight’s AEW Dynamite was originally scheduled to take place from Rochester, NY. This happens to be Brodie Lee’s home town. He would make a good fit as the leader of the cult.
Matt Hardy also a prime candidate to be revealed as the Exalted One. Hardy is a free agent and is almost certainly AEW bound.
Matt Hardy has also been dropping plenty of hints about the Exalted One. It’s getting so obvious that it might very well be a red herring. Perhaps he’s headed to All Elite Wrestling to save AEW from the Exalted One.
The twelfth and final installment of Matt Hardy’s Free The Delete YouTube series premieres tonight. Hardy is likely headed to AEW, but is he the Exalted One?
Dark Order member Evil Uno has been tweeting about who is NOT the Exalted one, including names like Ryback, Jim Ross, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, Max Headroom and others. We’ll find out who the Exalted One is in a matter of hours. Whoever it winds up being, kudos to AEW for crafting a pretty engaging mystery angle.
Paige has shared what the current WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, is like backstage and away from the ring. During an interview with Inside the Ropes, she confessed that “The Beast Incarnate” is just as intimidating behind-the-scenes at first. However, once you get to know him, she shared he’s actually “very sweet.”
“No. He’s scary—he’s definitely scary when you first meet him. He is an intimidating man, for sure. He’s massive,” Paige said. “But once you get to know him, he’s also very sweet. So, like, if I’d wanted advice from him, I could go to him and he’ll be like, ‘yeah, sure I’ll give it to you.’ He’s really wonderful, too.”
Since she was unfortunately forced into retirement from in-ring action, Paige has been a General Manager for SmackDown. She also helped manage the Kabuki Warriors before their betrayal. Paige has previously expressed interest in managing other talents including “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey.
Brock Lesnar, meanwhile, is set to defend his WWE Championship against the winner of the 2020 Royal Rumble, Drew McIntyre. The two will clash at WrestleMania 36 on April 5.
This decision was made in the wake of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. WWE officially announced their decision to relocate ‘Mania after days of speculation following a meeting with Tampa officials last week.
They are the latest organisation forced to reschedule and postpone events due to the coronavirus. Other events, conventions, concerts and tours have been cancelled.
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WWE Hall of Famer and current RAW commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler has opened up about travelling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking with Memphis’ Local 24 News, Jerry Lawler opened up about WWE’s schedule during the outbreak. He confessed that he’s never experienced anything like this before. Lawler also talked about how pro wrestling and television provides people with a distraction during such a worrying time.
“I really don’t know what to think about this. I’ve been in the wrestling business for nearly 50 years and traveled and seen just about everything but I’ve never seen anything like this so far.”
Lawler continued, “I think all you have to do is ask anyone who sat on a Sunday with no sports on TV. It was just unbelievable. I don’t know how many times I sat there looking at my TV and said, ‘oh my gosh, what is happening here.’ I think that it’s a good diversion. It gives people something to take their mind off with all this bad news.”
WrestleMania 36 is set to take place on April 5 from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It was initially meant to take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Both the Hall of Fame and NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay have been cancelled.
Scott Steiner made an appearance at New Era Wrestling in Jasper, Alabama this past weekend. It was his first public appearance since he collapsed at an Impact taping session a few weeks ago. At the show, Steiner took the opportunity to address his recent medical scare and subsequent hospitalization. He revealed how he had no recollection of Friday or Saturday night.
Scott Steiner’s Comeback Promo
“Everybody heard what happened last week. A lot of people came to me and said they were praying for me and gave me best wishes and I appreciate that,” Steiner said. “I tell you what. It happened on Friday night and I actually do not remember walking to the ring, talking, walking back to the ring, collapsing. I don’t remember Friday night, I don’t remember Saturday night.”
Steiner continued, “As I was sitting in the hospital bed, the doctor came up to me and said ‘the procedure that happened to you, normally you only have 80 percent chance of winning…of getting out of the bed…of living’ I said doc, every time I step in the ring I have a 140 and two-thirds chance of winning. What do you think my chances are of jumping out of this bed? So this goes to all my freaks in Jasper, Alabama. Big Poppa Pump is your hookup! Holla if you hear me!”
You can see the promo in the video below at approximately 8 minutes.
All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho will be narrating the upcoming premiere of Dark Side of the Ring. Season 2 begins with a documentary focused on the Chris Benoit tragedy. Given the controversial nature of the subject, Jericho stressed that neither he nor the show is “glorifying a murderer.”
“I didn’t want to hear how I was glorifying a murderer. I don’t want to hear that I’m ignoring this murder. I wanted to talk, specifically, about his life and times, his intensity, and his successes within the ring,” Jericho explained to SI.com.
“We’re not glorifying a murderer. We’re telling the full story. It was done properly, it was done for the right reasons, and we were able to portray the full story, emphasizing the tragedy that much further.”
Chris Jericho On Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero’s Friendship
Jericho shared how the episode will also cover the death of Eddie Guerrero. He explained that the connection between Benoit and Guerrero made it impossible to tell a full story without mentioning both wrestlers.
“[…] half the story is the story of Eddie and the other half is of Chris. I think we did the right way of portraying this, reminding everyone there were people behind this, not just sensational murder coverage. There is a story to tell of a friendship and a family, and a guy that was not a monster. This was someone you could trust and that was very respected in the wrestling community amongst his peers.”
Chavo Guerrero’s Involvement
According to Chris Jericho, Chavo Guerrero was instrumental in the production of the episode. He noted how Chavo helped produce it and is the reason he agreed to be a part of the show.
“His mindset was, ‘If we don’t do this properly, it’s going to get done anyway. Let’s do it for the right reasons and do it the right way.’ I think he was spot on with that. Chavo was involved, which got me involved, and David Benoit and Nancy’s sister were involved, then I was able to get Dean and Dean’s wife, and Vickie.”
He continued, “Suddenly it became this noble project instead of a hack job, which is what the media tends to do in situations with someone they don’t know. We knew the person behind this, not just the murderer.”
Dark Side of the Ring airs on VICE TV on Tuesday nights. Season 2 starts next week with a two-hour special.
CM Punk says the door is still open for a possible in-ring return. The former WWE Champion recently appeared on the Swing & Mrs. Podcast, hosted by former Major League Baseball star Cody Decker and his wife/AEW commentator, Jennifer Decker.
When asked if he would consider lacing up his boots again, Punk said nobody has made him the right offer to draw him out of retirement.
“The answer changes,” Punk said. “It’s a very fluid answer. Currently, if the business was right and I had somebody that motivated me across the ring from me, I think, might be able to get it done. Nobody has dangled the correct carrot.”
As long as the money was right and his opponent was somebody he wanted to face, CM Punk confessed he could be open to the idea. He listed previous opponents such as Daniel Bran, John Cena and Rey Mysterio as people he’d like to face again. He also pointed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Will Ospreay as a new challenge he’d be open to.
“As far as people that I’ve worked with before, if there was a clean slate, if the money was right, I think a guy like Daniel Bryan, I would go, ‘I would listen to your idea.’ If you said John Cena, I’d probably listen to your idea. Rey Mysterio, I would listen to your idea,” CM Punk said. “For people I haven’t ever wrestled before, I think Will Ospreay, I would listen to your idea.”
“There’s a lot of moving parts. I’m busy doing other stuff and nobody has found the right combination of ways to approach me. It’s not all up to me, ladies and gentlemen, it’s up to the people who actually run the company.”
Will Ospreay caught wind of Punk name dropping him as a possible opponent. The Aerial Assassin told Punk to mark January 4th on his calendar, the day of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual Wrestle Kingdom event.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has shared his thoughts on WWE moving WrestleMania 36 to the WWE Performance Center. Reflecting on how the show will take place in an empty PC, Booker T spoke about what a surreal experience it will be without fans in attendance.
“I’m just gonna keep it real on this. WrestleMania, of course, has always been about the payoff,” Booker T said during an episode of his podcast, The Hall of Fame.
“It’s always been about those great matches of course, but I always thought that WrestleMania was more so about the event, the spectacle for the crowd. The people to be a part of and for the fans not to be a part of WrestleMania is definitely going to be something I never thought I would witness in my lifetime because I always thought that was what WrestleMania was.”
Booker T also highlighted how WrestleMania has always featured stars, pointing at Muhammad Ali, Mr. T, Lawrence Taylor and Mike Tyson. He explained how WrestleMania has always been “another level” for everyone. He noted how it wasn’t just excitement for the fans, but that WWE Superstars looked forward to ‘Mania.
WrestleMania 36 takes place on April 5 from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It was initially meant to take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Both the Hall of Fame and NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay have been cancelled.
AEW will present the first-time-ever type of episode for their weekly television show, Dynamite due to the circumstances of the coronavirus outbreak. There will be no fans in attendance but only essential staff.
Thus, it’s time to look ahead to tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT. The show is expected to start with Lucha Bros vs. Best Friends.
Although not confirmed, the belief is that The Inner Circle vs. The Elite in a six-man tag team match will serve as the headliner. The winners will be receiving the advantage for the “Blood & Guts” match on March 25.
AEW holds this show from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. AEW is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
The Inner Circle vs. The Elite – Six-Man Tag Team Match
Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy vs. The Butcher and The Blade
Lucha Bros vs. Best Friends
The reveal of The Exalted One, The Dark Order’s leader
AEW will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds.
Join us here later tonight for our post-show AEW Dynamite Results and Takeaways feature.
Viewership data is in for this week’s episodes of Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night RAW.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
SmackDown Viewership
SmackDown averaged 2.470 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is up from the 2.456 viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.588 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.453 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.673 million viewers while the second hour did 2.503 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.579 million viewers while the second hour did 2.326 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.70 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.70 rating as last week’s show.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 2.335 million viewers at the same venue on the USA Network, which is up from the 2.163 million viewers the previous week. This show featured appearances by Edge, The Undertaker, and Steve Austin.
Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE programming, including WrestleMania 36 and NXT, has been relegated to the Performance Center for the foreseeable future as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.
The most recent episodes of NXT, SmackDown and Raw have taken place at the training facility, with live matches and non-wrestling segments taking place in front of an empty venue with no fans in attendance. It has made for an interesting, at times eerie, setting for pro wrestling shows.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, WWE has already changed gears on this format and will be going in a new direction for Wednesday night’s NXT broadcast.
Meltzer says it is confirmed that this week’s NXT will feature no live matches. He wrote on Twitter, “Studio setting, interviews, personality profiles, old footage.”
NXT, AEW Affected by Coronavirus
WWE announced earlier this week that the upcoming NXT Takeover show from Tampa Bay, FL during WrestleMania weekend has been canceled. The 2020 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony is rumored to be taking place during SummerSlam weekend. However, WWE has yet to announce the fate of Takeover: Tampa Bay.
NXT will not feature any matches, but rival show AEW Dynamite will. Until further notice, AEW Dynamite will take place in closed-set locations. Wednesday’s show has been moved to the Daily’s Place Amphitheater in Jacksonville, FL.
Top items hyped for AEW Dynamite include the Inner Circle vs. The Elite in a match to determine which team gets the upper hand in next week’s Blood and Guts double steel cage match. We’ll aslso see the Lucha Bros vs. Best Friends and the big reveal regarding the identity of the Dark Order’s Exalted One.
NXT has had a tough year competing with AEW Dynamite. It will be interesting to see how the two shows fare this week in light of the unique formats.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of the Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on the revelation that WrestleMania 36 will be held in front of no fans at the Performance Center in Florida.
Postponing WrestleMania
“They got to do it, I don’t think postponing WrestleMania is gonna work for them” Bully Ray began. “Who knows when it’s gonna get postponed to? I mean, this whole situation with coronavirus is so fluid [and] changing, day to day. We don’t know if we’re on a two week, four week or six week [situation]. Who knows how long we’re gonna have to practice this social distancing before things go back to normal?”
“You run into colliding with your own business”
– Bully Ray
Bully Ray would then talk about the actual logistics of ‘postponing’ WrestleMania. “If you start postponing WrestleMania too deep into the year? You run into colliding with your own business. [With] SummerSlam, you run into by obviously the start of Major League Baseball, NFL preseason. Which stadium is going to be available?”
“Remember the WrestleMania of 2020 at the Performance Center in front of no people?”
– Bully Ray
Bully Ray elaborated further, discussing the potential positives of the ‘no fans’ Mania. “This is going to be unique, it’s going to be different and in 50 years from now when we’re looking back on it? We’re going to say, remember the WrestleMania of 2020 at the Performance Center in front of no people? It’s gonna be unique, in some way, shape or form. This might be the way business is gonna be done in the WWE and all of wrestling that’s televised in the foreseeable future.
Coronavirus: A Benefit to WWE?
Bully would then finish by giving a very interesting take, saying that the situation may end up being beneficial for pro wrestling, especially WWE. “I think it’s actually going to help professional wrestling, and the WWE in an interesting way,” he said. That, I am not quite sure people are seeing. This is it because that there’s the opportunity now for more eyes to be on WrestleMania than ever before.”
He continued, “Because as you know there’s no other sporting events taking place, everyone’s kind of self contained they’re in their homes. Nobody’s venturing outside. So, you know people who haven’t watched wrestling the last 10 or 15 years and obviously, any wrestling fan?”
Bully Ray argues that some sports fans who are confined to their homes due to Coronavirus will purchase the WWE Network, watch WrestleMania 36 and like it so much that they’ll become regular viewers of RAW, SmackDown and NXT. Maybe?
“They’re gonna tune into WrestleMania 36 because there’s really no other choices or options. If you’re a sports fan. In the short term, that’s definitely one way I think it’ll benefit. People are going to be home, people are going to be basically hunkering down and quarantined to their homes. They’re going to be looking for some sort of entertainment so yes, we might get new viewers to the WWE Network we might get new viewers on pay per view we might get new viewers on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights for their products. But I think the interesting aspect of having no fans at the arenas, is that when the day comes when fans are allowed to go back to watch the WWE live, I think the floodgates are going to be open, you know, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Earlier this week, WWE announced some major changes to WrestleMania 36 weekend. As a result of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, WrestleMania will no longer take place ta the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, FL. Instead, the company’s biggest show of the year will be held at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL.
Two other Mania weekend events, NXT Takeover: Tampa Bay and the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, are also affected.
Georgia Smith, daughter of WWE HOF Class of 2020 member “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, reveals that WWE is now considering SummerSlam weekend for this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony.
Smith noted that SummerSlam would be an appropriate setting for her father to be honored, a reference to his classic 1992 bout against Bret Hart from London’s Wembley Stadium.
WWE has since put out a statement addressing this report, simply reiterating that details about NXT Takeover and the Hall of Fame will be shared when they are available:
“The WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony and NXT TakeOver will not take place as previously scheduled. We will share further details as they become available.”
WWE RAW aired live from the Performance Center in Orlando. Stone Cold appeared on tonight’s episode.
WWE RAW Results (3/16)
Edge challenged Randy Orton to a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania
The Undertaker & AJ Styles signed the contract to make their WrestleMania match official
Rey Mysterio def. Andrade
The Man sent a message to Shayna Baszler
Kevin Owens will face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania
Stone Cold closed the show
Here are 6 takeaways from the show:
Edge Challenged Orton To A Last Man Standing Match At WrestleMania
Edge kicked off this week’s show and brought up his history with Randy Orton. Edge stated that it took a lot of grit to come back to WWE after being retired for 9-years. He referred to Orton to an entitled brat but added that he is one of the best to ever to do this. Edge
Edge claimed that Randy’s father handed him everything and it makes him jealous that Edge achieved success by hard work. Edge claimed that Beth Phoenix was going to retire for him again but Orton couldn’t let her finish what she was going to say. Edge challenged Orton to a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania.
The Undertaker and AJ Styles signed the contract to make their WrestleMania match official on tonight’s episode of RAW. Undertaker came down to the ring and flipped over the table as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, WWE rolled clips of AJ Styles’ promo as Undertaker paced around in the ring. The Undertaker was pissed because there was no contract in the ring.
AJ’s music hit but Styles didn’t come down to the ring. AJ’s music hit again but he didn’t show up. Styles appeared on the jumbotron with Gallows and Anderson. Styles blamed Michelle McCool for Undertaker returning once again and claimed that he was going to embarrass himself.
Styles said that Undertaker needs to let it go and he has no sympathy for him because he has twice stuck his nose in The OC’s business. AJ stated that he will gladly pay for Undertaker’s assisted living costs after their match at WrestleMania. Styles signed the contract and asked Gallows & Anderson to take the contract to Undertaker but they declined.
AJ bullied them into doing it and they made their way to the ring. Gallows and Anderson slid the contract into the ring as Undertaker’s gong went off. The lights went out and Undertaker was behind Gallows and Anderson. Undertaker beat them down before signing the contract and shoving it Anderson’s mouth.
Match Recap: Andrade controlled the match early but Rey battled back some chops to the chest. Mysterio went for a Crossbody but Andrade caught him with a Dropkick for a near fall as RAW went to a break. When RAW returned, Andrade connected with two Suplexes and went for a third but Rey countered into a Hurricanrana. Mysterio then hit 619 and followed it up with a Splash off the top rope for the pinfall victory.
Becky stated as long as she is the champ, nothing in Shayna’s world makes sense because she has gotten used to bullying her way to the top. Lynch referred to Shayna as an “animal scumbag” and claimed that she is the prey that killed it’s predator. Becky added that every action is designed to make Shayna think actually what she wants.
Lynch told Shayna to think of how it is going to feel when she beats her. Becky vowed to prove that Shayna’s whole life is a lie at WrestleMania and it is going to hit her like a truck. Shayna was shown backstage with a pissed off look on her face watching Becky exit the ring.
Kevin Owens was interviewed backstage during tonight’s RAW. Owens accepted Rollins’ challenge and announced that they will have a match at the Performance Center.
Owens said he has the home field advantage because Seth has never spent time at the PC. Kevin noted that he started his WWE career at the Performance Center and claimed that Rollins always doubted him and didn’t believe he would make it in WWE.
Kevin vowed to beat Rollins in the same building where he earned his place in WWE and he is going to do it at WrestleMania.
Stone Cold returned in the final segment of this week’s episode of RAW. Austin came down to the ring with a beer in hand and took a swig before getting in the ring.
Austin posed in the corners of the ring before someone threw him a few beers. Stone Cold chugged both beers and then fell backwards to the canvas. Austin grabbed a microphone and joked that he was already out of breath because of his entrance.
Stone Cold declared that March 16th is now a national holiday and asked the empty crowd to give him a “hell yeah!”. Byron Saxton shouted “hell yeah!” and Austin gave him the “what?” treatment.
Steve stated that 3:16 day was all about giving people the middle finger and Saxton held up a gigantic sign with the number 8 on it. Austin thanked Byron for participating and giving him ratings. Austin stated that you can open up a can of whoop ass on anyone you want and Byron gave that one a 6.
Austin said that the speed limit is only a suggestion and Saxton gave him a 10. Stone Cold added that 3:16 day is when your boss is working for you and Bryon gave that one a 7. Stone Cold announced that you can have beer instead of your morning coffee and Byron gave that an 8. Saxton gave a 5 for Stone Cold suggesting that four letter words are always acceptable on 3:16 day.
Stone Cold invited Saxton down to the ring and grabbed a couple more beers. Saxton said he was just being honest and loved Austin. Steve Austin told Byron that he appreciates his effort on the broadcast and toasted Saxton. Austin then hit him with a Stunner and drank some more beer.
Becky Lynch brought a cooler of beers to the ring and joined Austin. Stone Cold pointed out that the last time he was in the ring with Becky she hit him with a Stunner. The two then chugged some beers and Austin hit Byron with another Stunner to close the show.
Opinion: While it was great to see Stone Cold back, this segment was pretty terrible. WWE aired the entire men’s Royal Rumble match once again during tonight’s show. At the very least, WWE is providing a welcome distraction from the craziness going on right now. The shows may not be the best but it is better than nothing.
Steve Austin made his return to WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, in a special episode of the series.
He did so on the show that was held in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center on the USA Network. This marked the first time that WWE has aired RAW from their training facility, which was due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Steve Austin Celebrates 3:16 Day
Steve Austin’s returned to WWE programming to celebrate 3:16 Day (March 16th), commemorating his famous Austin 3:16 catchphrase. Austin is known for coming out to packed houses of screaming fans, but this night was different. Austin came out to empty bleachers in the Performance Center. He drank some beer and declared that 3:16 Day is now a national holiday.
He then read some cards that described the significance of 3:16 Day. The new holiday is symbolized by various rebellious activities, such as flipping people off, making your boss work for you and speeding in your car.
As this was going on, Bryon Saxton was holding up cards with numbers to rate what Austin was saying. This eventually led to Austin inviting Saxton down to the ring. Austin shared a beer with Saxton and then nailed him with a Stole Cold Stunner.
Steve Austin later shared a moment of mutual respect with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. The two stars saluted each other in the middle of the ring with a few beers.
Austin made a few appearances on RAW last year including for the special RAW Reunion at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
My sincere apologies to @ByronSaxton for kicking him dead square in the balls. I don’t know what hurts worse, his balls or my foot. I will go in for X-Rays tomorrow. Byron, Ice em down for 20 minutes every other hour. That’s what Vince did. All the best. #316day
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania 36 PPV event.
During Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network, WWE had Kevin Owens cut a backstage promo about how he accepts Seth Rollins’ challenge and that he has decided for the match to take place at the biggest event of the year.
He talked about how the show now being held from the Performance Center makes sense as this is where his WWE journey started.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
After weeks of speculation, WWE has confirmed The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles for its biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 36.
WWE confirmed the match on Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network when the two stars signed a contract for the contest.
After Styles signed the contract in the backstage area, he sent Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to the ring to give Taker the contract. Taker took them out before signing it.
Their first encounter came at the Super ShowDown show last month when Taker attacked Styles in the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet Match by hitting a chokeslam then pinned him to not only win the match but to kick off his next feud under the WWE banner.
Fast forward, Taker also cost Styles his No DQ Match against Aleister Black when Taker made the save for Black.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. Here’s the card:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
