Kenny Omega is getting ready for what’s arguably one of the biggest matches in the history of AEW against the World Champion Jon Moxley for his title at the upcoming December 2 episode of Dynamite.
However, it appears that the preparation for this bout is extra hard for the cleaner as he is not only trying to deliver a great performance but he is doing so while dealing with an injury to avoid surgery.
Omega revealed on his recent appearance on Wrestling Observer Radio that he has a torn labrum and he has been working through it to try and avoid having to miss time due to a surgery:
“So, you know, a torn labrum, as you know, is no laughing matter. That’s a surgery, but I have a very talented and unbelievable trainer, and you know our doctors, of course, are always monitoring and making sure we’re doing okay, but our trainer Bryce Ready is just next level kind of guy. He has kept me together and in a condition where I’m able to perform.
As long as I make that that I see him two or three times a week. I can lift; I have full range of motion. I just need to make sure that I can look after it, and I can avoid having that surgery.” said Kenny Omega, “I can’t afford having that time off. If things get worse that’s an option I’ll have to consider.”
Kenny Omega has wrestled Jon Moxley once before in the main event of the Full Gear PPV in November 2019 in an unsanctioned match but this will be the first time the two men will be wrestling in a standard match in the company.
While the former NJPW star seems to be doing fine despite the injury at the moment, it’s still an added concern for the AEW management and it would be interesting to see if Omega is able to deliver a performance living up to the hype of his upcoming match with the AEW Champion.
The old ‘Broken Dreams’ theme song of Drew McIntyre is considered to be one of the best themes in the history of the company and many believe that the current WWE Champion should bring it back.
The Scottish superstar recently had an interview with Battleground podcast where he talked about a number of things and also commented on the possibility of bringing back his old theme.
McIntyre explained that the theme is slower-paced compared to his current character but the former NXT champion said that he would like to bring it back for special occasions:
“Personally, I have visions of it coming back for a special occasion and then hopefully releasing it for download because it is talked about all the time. It was such a popular song. I personally think it’s great.
If you look up the ‘Broken Dreams’ lyrics and check the story, it kind of matches my career story, which is interesting. It’s just a little slow for me, right now. I love the bagpipes and war music. It doesn’t quite match the current Drew McIntyre, but I do want to bring it back for special occasions.”
Paul Heyman’s time as the Executive Director of Raw will be remembered for the rise of a younger generation of talent and the wrestling veteran is said to be responsible for bringing talents such as Murphy into the spotlight.
The former ECW owner had an interview with TalkSport.com recently where he talked about a number of things and also opened up about his time as the head of the Red Brand.
Heyman first said that he is one of those people who enjoys the behind the scene aspect of wrestling as he does the on camera aspects. He went on to claim that working as the Executive Director of Raw was a career highlight for him:
“Working as the executive director of RAW was a career highlight for me. I enjoyed every single solitary minute of the job and the biggest reason I enjoyed it so much was because I got to work with so many insanely talented people, such as the names you mentioned.
I’m very proud of your accomplishments and very proud of the individuals themselves for the success that they have all achieved” said Paul Heyman, “through the greatness of the performances that they overdelivered.”
Apart from this, the associate of the current Universal Champion Roman Reigns also talked about the WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, calling him ‘a god sent to WWE’ who will always be holding the secondary championship in the company.
Paul Heyman was appointed the Executive Director of Raw in June 2019. He stayed in the role for almost a year before being relieved from the position in June earlier this year.
TJP has been wrestling since he was 13 and his career of over two decades the high flying star has wrestled for many big promotions including Impact Wrestling, NJPW, ROH and more.
Though the run that got him the most recognization is his time with WWE which started with winning the Cruiserweight Classic tournament in 2016 and lasted until February 2019.
During his recent interview with ALL Real Wrestling Podcast, the former cruiserweight champion talked about his time in WWE and revealed what he told Vince McMahon before leaving the promotion:
“I was wanting to leave WWE. I had told them a year before that that it was my primary note. Well my primary note was that I felt like I was unhappy, but like, I wasn’t contributing anymore.
I didn’t want to waste resources to Vince and to the company, and I told him, I said, ‘Look, I’m wasting your money. I don’t want to waste your time, and I’m not happy.’ I’m not the type of person that is complacent that way,”
During the interview, the cruiserweight star also revealed that he originally didn’t plan to stay with WWE after the CWC tournament and he wanted to tour the world instead.
Since leaving the promotion, TJP has made his return to Impact Wrestling and started wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling again as well.
Posted November 22nd, 2020 in News, WWE. Tagged: TJP.
Sasha Banks is currently in her first reign as the SmackDown Women’s Champion after winning the title at the Hell In A Cell event and she is excited to defend her title against the talent at the Blue Brand.
The Boss appeared on WWE’s The Bump recently where she talked about a number of things including her recent interaction with Carmella, her role in the new season of Disney’s The Mandalorian, and more.
Talking about the potential challengers coming her way in the future, the new SmackDown Women’s Champion said that she is very excited for all the fresh match ups including opponents such as Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan and more:
“You guys have no idea how excited I am. When I won the SmackDown Women’s Championship, I was excited to know that I could wrestle girls like Carmella, Bianca, Liv Morgan, Natalya, these are all fresh match-ups.
I’m hungrier and more ready to face them all, but none of them are going to win.” claimed Sasha Banks, “I just want to chase all these girls because they’re awesome!”
Banks continued to praise Belair some more mentioning how she is a combination of strength and beauty and she claimed that she cannot wait to wrestle the former NXT star.
Sasha Banks has had multiple reigns with the Raw Women’s title but none of them have been very long and it’d be interesting to see how long her SmackDown title run lasts.
Jim Ross has been a part of the wrestling business for more than 4 decades and he continues to provide his services in his new role as the lead commentator for All Elite Wrestling.
The former WWE star has stated multiple times that the AEW role has given him a new purpose in his life and the wrestling veteran says that it’s going to be his ‘last gig’ in pro wrestling.
Ross recently talked about his role in the new promotion on the latest episode of his Grilling JR Podcast. He said that he is very lucky to get this job and explained that it’s going to be his last gig in the business:
“It’s been a great experience, I’ve been very lucky to get this gig. It will be my last gig in pro wrestling – I can promise you that. But I hope it doesn’t end anytime soon.”
Jim Ross also talked about the possibility of AEW adding another hour of television to their current programming saying that he would be shocked if the company doesn’t do it.
AEW has already announced that they are working on a second show with TNT but the company has not provided any timetable for its debut so it’s hard to say when we might see it on TV.
The WWE Network released the Chronicle episode on Lana that follows the WWE star around and covers various situations.
During it, she opened up on dealing with mental health struggles this year due to a wide range of reasons. This includes the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband, Rusev, being released by WWE, and more.
She noted that it’s been hard to go from being on the road 300 days a year to not going anywhere. She brought up not traveling with the same person (Rusev) that she’s been doing that with since her start in WWE and being with that person 24/7.
“For me, what was really, really hard was, usually going to arenas and people boo you, it’s something about the energy, you’re like, ‘oh, I’m in control of this,’ right? But then when all of a sudden I don’t interact with any people whatsoever and I’m just at home and I post something and everyone is just so mean.
I couldn’t handle it anymore, because that’s like my only interaction with human beings is my Instagram account or Twitter, and now everyone in comments are like, ‘you should be fired.”
This is so sad… I feel so bad for Lana like she doesn’t deserve any of that. Nobody does. pic.twitter.com/TRSL4TUqRR
She brought up people saying that she sucks and other various things.
“I remember, texting my parents and being like,’ please pray for me, my mental health is doing really bad, I’m really depressed. I just — I can’t take it anymore. I’m just… I’m so sad. Like, I don’t want to do anything.’”
She questioned everything because people will tell her mean stuff including to kill herself and more.
Lana will represent Team RAW in the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match against Team SmackDown.
The Undertaker opened up on why he doesn’t watch WWE programming as often as he’d like to.
He did so during an interview with USA Today. Taker had been a prominent television figure for wrestling fans worldwide, but that has changed as he has gone from full-time to part-time and now retired.
He talked about watching sports and various TV series. He noted that he doesn’t watch much of WWE as often because he feels like he should be there.
“I can to a certain degree. But a lot of times I catch myself talking to the TV like they can hear me. It’s hard to be just a straight fan, because I want everybody to succeed and to develop into their potential. So I’m kind of like, ‘Oh man, don’t do it. It didn’t make sense.
Don’t do that. Why would you do that?’ You would actually laugh if there was a camera watching me watch wrestling. I have these conversations and it’s pretty amusing, I’m sure.”
The Undertaker is set to do his ‘Final Farewell’ at Survivor Series on Sunday night. He has confirmed in various interviews that he’s retired from pro wrestling.
Even though AEW has faced some challenges from WWE, Kenny Omega isn’t against the idea of the promotion working with WWE should if a potential scenario comes up in the future.
The All Elite Wrestling EVP spoke about the idea of WWE approaching AEW for a potential working relationship while doing an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio.
“If, for some reason, WWE came knocking on our door and said, ‘hey, we would love to do a talent switch or tradeoff, or work together on something, I’d be all for it,’”
Omega joked that he wasn’t sure whether AEW President Tony Khan would welcome such a deal. He does think a talent exchange would help pro wrestling’s popularity.
“Whatever benefits the wrestling fan must always come first,” Omega stated. “When you start thinking about fantasy scenarios, if wrestlers crossed over like that, it gets really exciting.”
Omega thinks it would be a win-win situation for current fans and they won’t ever know until they try.
Omega challenges Jon Moxley for the AEW World Heavyweight Title on the December 2nd episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
Shayna Baszler ruled the women’s division for a long stretch of NXT’s recent history.
Aside from her singles accomplishments, Baszler was NXT Women’s Champion for over a year during her second reign as champion. That came to a halt when she was dethroned by Rhea Ripley.
Earlier this year after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, WWE decided to move her to the Monday Night RAW brand permanently.
The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion did an interview with Kayla Braxton on her IGTV series where she admitted that she does miss a part of NXT.
“When you watch Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, there’s a certain aura, energy, that each show kind of specifically has on its own. There is this kind of gritty energy that NXT has, you know, and it is something that I miss.
But I ruled that division and so it was time to move on. If you want to keep fresh, you gotta do stuff like that, even if it seems like it sucks. It’s like graduating high school. It sucked kind of, but you have to do it.”
Baszler is one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions with Nia Jax. she also wrestled then-RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36.
Drew McIntyre did an interview with Sports Illustrated to promote this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event where he’ll take on Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a champion vs. champion match, which means it’s non-title.
The WWE Champion spoke highly of Reigns and the new character that he’s portrayed since he made his return back in August.
“Roman is fully embracing his character, without restrictions, and he’s gone to another level. He’s got Paul Heyman by his side, and he’s genuinely so compelling. This is the ultimate opportunity, in the ring with him, to prove I am the top guy in WWE.”
The two stars did work a notable program heading into WrestleMania 35 two years ago. However, McIntyre understands that at the time it was Reigns’ moment because he had just returned from his battle with leukemia.
How this matchup differs from their WrestleMania 35 showdown:
“This is way different than 35. He’s done a lot since then, but I have risen up the card, too. I have a lot to prove to him this Sunday.”
The card for Sunday’s (November 22, 2020) WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event has been finalized.
The company hasn’t officially announced the main event of this event that takes place in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center that will air on the WWE Network but it will most likely be WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
As a reminder, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of this special on Sunday evening starting at 6 PM EST.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits
Team RAW (Keith Lee, AJ Styles, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, Matt Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, Baron Corbin, Otis) – Men’s Traditional 5-on-5 Elimination Match
Team RAW (Team Captains: WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, Peyton Royce, Lacey Evans, and Lana) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley and Natalya) – Women’s Traditional 5-on-5 Elimination Match
No competitors have yet to be announced – Dual-Brand Battle Royal (pre-show)
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed Zelina Vega’s release from WWE.
Thea Trinidad/Vega’s release came as a shock last weekend, and may questions have been raised regarding WWE and their ongoing ‘independent contractor’ status for their on-air talent. Bully Ray would give his perspective on the situation, saying that there may be more than meets the eye.
Bully would also address Aleister Black’s situation now in WWE. When talents leave the company and their partners are still on contract? It’s not always plain sailing, with Ray suggesting that Lana is a major example of this.
Lana has been put through the announcer’s table on RAW over the past few weeks, and he indicates (as many fans have) that this is clearly due to her husband leaving the company and heading to AEW. This whilst Miro/Rusev has made disparaging comments about WWE pubicaly and on AEW Dynamite.
Bully Ray on Aleister Black
“Obviously, Rusev comes on this show, says something that WWE doesn’t like, and now his wife is paying for it” Bully Ray began on Busted Open. “And she has been paying for it. Now whether you like it, or you don’t like it? Blah blah blah. Trust me, that’s what’s going on.”
“It’s gonna be interesting to see what goes on with Aleister Black” Bully Ray would continue. “Because, of course, they let Thea (Zelina Vega) go. He might be just fine? But now let’s see if they toy with him. This is how they [WWE] get you.”
Do you think that WWE will mess with Black on television? Let us know in the comments
WWE has a job advertisement out at the moment looking for a new lead writer. Both former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz and CM Punk responded to a story about WWE’s search for a new writer and cracked a couple of jokes at the company’s expense.
Gewirtz, who now works with the Rock’s “Seven Bucks Promotions”, joked about being the new writer and then pointing out problems with WWE’s booking of Survivor Series:
“Happy to get started! I assume we all realize the folly of fighting for brand supremacy one month after a draft when brand loyalty/identity cannot be properly established and with no meaningful stakes, the matches can feel forced and meaningless… I’m fired aren’t I?” https://t.co/JephYtfWrr
“The Lead Writer will have the opportunity to manage, mentor, and develop experienced Writers/Producers with a diverse creative background while simultaneously being accountable for compiling, editing, and developing weekly/long term scripts, storylines, and character development,” reads WWE’s job advertisement.
Gewirtz also recently gave a humorous response to a question posed by New York’s Public Theatre. The venue asked, “What ISN’T Shakespeare but FEELS like Shakespeare?” Gewirtz’s answer was when Eric Bischoff was revealed as the official of the marriage between Billy and Chuck:
Jon Moxley casually mentioned that he had a pregnant wife at home during a promo on this week’s episode of Dynamite and this is how the world found out about the pregnancy of Renee Young.
Young opened up about her pregnancy after the big announcement in her interview with People.com and said that they are beyond excited to start this new chapter of their lives:
“We are so beyond excited to start this new chapter, and now finally having the world know feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest.
I am the worst at keeping fun secrets! However I definitely couldn’t have predicted that the world would have found out on AEW Dynamite.”
Talking about the way the world found out about her pregnancy, Young revealed that she was still thinking about ways to make the announcement when Mox decided to let everyone know:
“I was thinking about all of these cute different ways that we could break the news to everyone and then bam, Jon just haphazardly spills the beans on Dynamite! But we’re a kinda no-frills couple, so I guess it actually fit perfectly.”
Renee Young then revealed that they don’t know the gender of the baby yet but said that they have options for baby names for both the scenarios.
The former WWE star also claimed that her maternal instinct is telling her that it’s going to be a girl. You can check out her full interview at this link.
Bianca Belair made her official main roster debut during the WrestleMania 36 event earlier this year and she then established herself as a member of the Raw roster the next night.
The former NXT star recently had an interview with Bleacher Report where she talked about a number of things and also revealed when she found out about her WrestleMania appearance.
Belair revealed that she knew there was possibility of her debuting at the Raw after WrestleMania but she then got a call at the day of the Show Of Shows telling her that she was needed for the PPV:
“I believe it was that morning I got a phone call saying, ‘Hey, you’re needed.’ ‘For WrestleMania?’ ‘Yes. You’re debuting with The Street Profits.’ ‘Oh, OK. Cool, great.'”
Belair went on to explain that it’s the nature of the business that you have to stay ready all the time and you might miss out on the opportunity if you are not ready.
Apart from this, Bianca Belair talked about her time on the main roster and a possible move to NXT. You can check out her comments about a possible return to the Black and Yellow brand at this link.
A lot of people still believe that Brock Lesnar was not the right choice to end the undefeated WrestleMania streak of The Undertaker and during a recent interview, The Dead Man revealed who he thinks should have done the job.
The former world champion recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he talked about many things and discussed the ending of his famous WrestleMania Streak in detail.
Taker first mentioned how he thinks that Brock Lesnar did not need the victory and the Last Outlaw later went on to explain that the win would have done much more for Roman Reigns:
“I don’t think Brock needed that victory,” said Taker. “Brock was huge. Brock was just coming back from UFC and he’s an attraction all to himself. And whether he loses to The Undertaker isn’t gonna hurt his stock one bit. He’s still gonna be the Beast Incarnate.
“It would’ve done much more for Roman Reigns than it would’ve for Brock Lesnar.” said The Undertaker, “Roman Reigns would’ve made a lot more sense for me than Brock.”
The WWE Legend was asked if he ever tried to change Vince McMahon’s mind about the decision and he mentioned how they have had several disagreements about various storylines over the years.
The Undertaker then recalled how Vince McMahon came down to the dressing room on the day of the show. The two had a discussion and it was there that they made the final decision to end the Streak.
You can check out Taker’s full interview at this link.
WWE is often criticized for scripting the promos and matches of the superstars and during a recent interview, Chris Jericho revealed why Vince McMahon started doing this.
Y2J was recently joined by Court Bauer on his Talk Is Jericho podcast where the two discussed the evolution of wrestling from the attitude era to this day in detail.
During the interview, Chris revealed that Vince McMahon originally started incorporating writers into wrestling because he wanted to beat Friends:
“The reason why writers became a thing was when we started SmackDown, which was right after I got there, August ‘99; Vince made it his motto that SmackDown was going to be bigger than ‘Friends’.
‘We’re going to beat ‘Friends’ on Thursday’, and his reasoning and idea and strategy was well ‘Friends’ has writers” recalled Chris Jericho, “Then we need writers too.”
Bauer then discussed how WWE is a hybrid system where they take aspects of TV, sports and show biz and combine them all to create the ‘WWE gumbo’.
Apart from this, Chris Jericho also talked about this transition and recalled how there were no writers when he first arrived in WWE and confronted the Rock during their famous segment on his debut.
NXT expanded its weekly programming from a one-hour show to a two-hour program last year and latest reports suggest that we might see a further extension of some sort for the Black and Yellow brand in the future.
According to reports from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Triple H is going through the budget and trying to find a way to expand the NXT programming with some type of show.
The idea behind it is to get more ring time and exposure for the stacked NXT roster. Though there is no word on if the company could be considering a second TV show for the brand.
It’s possible that the officials might be looking to do some sort of local event for the NXT stars but it was noted that they won’t be doing regular non televised live events as they were doing prior to the pandemic.
Before the coronavirus pandemic forced the promotion to halt live events, the brand used to run two separate sets of house shows. One set saw the top NXT stars touring the major US cities while another group consisting of younger wrestlers ran smaller venues in Florida.
This is not the first time we are hearing about a second NXT show and reports have suggested that the company was looking to expand the NXT programming before the pandemic hit.
Now it would be interesting to see where these rejuvenated talks about expanding the NXT programming lead and if we see a second NXT show sometime in near future.
WWE has reportedly released the Executive Vice President and Global Head of Sales & Partnerships and Head of International John Brody this week.
According to reports from PWInsider, the company executive was released either on Wednesday or Thursday. A significant portion of his team had been furloughed earlier this year and many were let go later on.
The Global Sales & Partnerships division he oversaw had been shifted under the company’s Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon in August. Brody who was previously leading the department had been reporting to McMahon since then.
John Brody has been with the company for almost 6 years. He worked as an advisor before joining the promotion in a full-time capacity.
John was apparently a key member of the company’s Executive Committee which was responsible for providing strategic vision for their global sales operations.
This is not the only big release which has been confirmed recently and the firing of Zelina Vega after her disputes with the company over their third party edicts is still a hot topic of discussion.
After Brody, there are talks that the company could be looking to terminate more executives in near future and we’ll keep you updated on any such news.
WWE SmackDown aired live from the ThunderDome in the Amway Center. It was the final episode of SmackDown before Survivor Series this Sunday. In addition to the takeaways below, Otis and Bayley were announced for Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.
New Day & Street Profits def. King Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode
Natalya def. Tamina via submission to qualify for Team SmackDown at Survivor Series
Murphy def. Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan def. Jey Uso
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
New Day & Street Profits Picked Up A Win
RAW Tag Team Champions New Day kicked off the show to hype up their match against SmackDown Tag Team Champions Street Profits at Survivor Series.
Woods and Kofi posed like Undertaker to give him a tribute before Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn interrupted. Zayn said we are a couple days away from one of the biggest PPVs of the year and told New Day to start talking about him.
New Day said Sami Zayn looks like a recently divorced dad that just bought an apartment. King Corbin joined the party and complained that New Day are RAW superstars and they do not belong on his show.
Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode interrupted and Dolph stated that he is bros with Corbin but doesn’t like Sami. Ziggler noted that it was really cute that New Day and Street Profits traded titles and claimed that they should be RAW Tag Team Champions. New Day suggested that Corbin & Zayn battle Roode & Ziggler and the winners get a shot at the RAW Tag Team Championships.
Street Profits then rushed down to the ring and hit Ziggler and Corbin with a Dropkick. Montez Ford then flipped onto Corbin, Roode, Ziggler, an Zayn outside the ring as SmackDown went to a commercial break. It turned into an 8-man tag match when SmackDown returned.
Match Recap: New Day and Street Profits isolated Roode in the corner and beat him down. Corbin tagged in and planted Woods with Deep Six for a near fall. Montez Ford tagged in and hit Corbin with a Clothesline. Montez followed it up with a Moonsault for a near fall. Kofi Kingston accidentally leveled Ford with a Crossbody as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Montez Ford was still trapped in the ring as Corbin beat him down in the corner. Woods and Roode tagged in and Xavier connected with a DDT for a two count. Dawkins tagged in and hit Roode with a Splash int he corner. Roode responded with a Spinebuster and tagged in Zayn.
Sami refused to get into the ring but Dawkins dragged him over the top rope. Angelo followed it up with a Spinebuster and tagged in Montez. Ford climbed to the top rope and hit the From the Heavens Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Sami Zayn was still complaining to referees backstage. Sami stumbled upon Daniel Bryan and told him that he and everyone else needs to start showing him respect. Bryan shoved Sami to the floor and Zayn retreated.
Opinion: The first 15 minutes of the show was spend building up a #1 contenders match between Roode & Ziggler and Corbin & Zayn. That never happened and the 8-man tag match was pretty pointless.
Seth Rollins squared off against Murphy tonight on SmackDown. Murphy came to the ring with Rey, Dominik, and Aalyah. Rollins caught Murphy with a right hand to the face as he tried to get into the ring. Murphy then got into the ring and the match officially started.
Match Recap: Rollins broke Murphy back out of the ring and launched him into the barricade. Seth bounced Murphy’s face off the ring post and rolled him back into the ring. Rollins tied Murphy up in the ropes and grabbed a kendo stick from under the ring.
Seth shouted that he doesn’t give a damn if he gets disqualified and Rey ripped the kendo stick away. Rollins bounced Rey’s head off the announce table and sent Dominik into the barricade. Murphy broke free and climbed up to the top rope. Rollins shoved Murphy off the turnbuckle and into the barricade.
Rollins started walking towards Aalyah and she fell down. Seth laughed at her as SmackDown went to a commercial break. When SmackDown returned, Rollins connected with a Slingblade and went for the cover but Murphy kicked out at two. Seth followed it up with a Superplex and then a Falcon Arrow for another near fall.
Murphy battled back and caught Rollins with a knee to the face. Seth Rollins hit Murphy with the Stomp off the second rope and went for the cover but Murphy somehow got his leg on the bottom rope to break it up. Rollins connected with a Buckle Bomb and went for the Stomp but Murphy hit another knee to the face. Rollins went for the Stomp again but Murphy countered with another knee to the face. Murphy then hit Murphy’s Law for the pinfall victory.
Natalya faced Tamina in a Survivor Series Qualifying match. Bianca Belair joined commentary for the match. Bayley interrupted before the match started and joined commentary as well.
Match Recap: Tamina knocked Natalya out of the ring and sent her into the steel steps. Bianca and Bayley started arguing and Belair told Bayley to stop messing with Team SmackDown’s vibe. Bayley declared herself team captain and the two argued as the action returned to the ring. Natalya hit Tamina with a Clothesline and locked in the Sharpshooter for the submission victory.
WWE has added some things to this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
On Friday afternoon, WWE announced that a dual-brand battle royal will take place on the Survivor Series pre-show. It will feature wrestlers from RAW and SmackDown. However, the participants for the match haven’t been announced.
WWE.com wrote about the battle royal: “The battle of The Best of the Best will start off with fireworks, as Raw and SmackDown Superstars will clash in a Dual-Brand Battle Royal on the Survivor Series Kickoff. Who will step up for the red and blue brands to send the night’s first message?”
During this week’s SmackDown episode, Otis was added to the men’s team while Bayley and Natalya were added to the women’s team to take on Team RAW in traditional 5-on-5 elimination tag team matches.
The men’s team will be Otis, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin & Seth Rollins against Team RAW (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) while the women’s team will see Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley & Natalya vs. Team RAW (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce).
WWE presents the Survivor Series pay-per-view event on November 22. The pre-show will be an hour long with the main card starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
When Randy Orton beat Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Universal Title at last month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, some fans were caught off guard for two reasons.
The first being WWE booking Orton to lose to McIntyre twice before on pay-per-view. The other being the company building towards a non-title match between Orton and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
It was reported that the plan as of last Friday was for Orton to face Reigns at Survivor Series but those plans changed by the time they went on the air.
Of course, McIntyre won back the WWE Title by beating Orton on Monday’s episode of RAW.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that all of the key players were under the impression before RAW went live on Monday that Orton was still planning to wrestle Reigns at Survivor Series.
As a result, things changed between that time and when the decision was made to have a title switch.
Meltzer brought up the belief among many people in the company that Orton likely figured out that he was losing the title when McIntyre appeared on last week’s SmackDown.
In September, John Cena revealed that he would be hosting “Wipeout” on TBS. Unfortunately, a tragic incident has happened on the show.
TMZ is reporting that a contestant has died after competing on the show. Per the report, a male contestant needed medical attention after completing the course. He was treated on-site until paramedics arrived after experiencing chest pain after completing the course.
Per the report, the contestant suffered cardiac arrest just before noon on Wednesday. TBS issued the following statement on the incident:
“We are devastated to have learned of his passing and our deepest sympathy goes out to the family.”
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on how this will affect future episodes of the show as it’s currently in production.
He’ll be joined by co-host Nicole Bayer and Camille Kostek. The show first premiered on ABC in 2008 and moved to TBS this year.
The legendary WWE Superstar and Shay Shariatzadeh were married on October 12th in Tampa, FL. Cena took part in the Firefly Fun House match against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 earlier this year. This was his most recent WWE appearance.
WWE has found closer to a lawsuit regarding their business relationship with the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia.
WWE announced the news in an SEC filing, which states a settlement of $39 million will be paid to City Of Warren Police and Fire Retirement System, stockholders who made a complaint earlier this year.
Basically, the lawsuit alleged that WWE executives artificially inflated stock prices, sold shares, and failed to disclose failed negotiations regarding a new broadcast deal in Saudi Arabia.
“The Term Sheet was reached in connection with a voluntary mediation which involved the Plaintiffs and their counsel, the Company and its counsel, and the Company’s insurance carriers. Aside from the Term Sheet, there will be other standard and customary terms of class action settlements in the stipulation of settlement. The settlement is subject to notice to the class and preliminary and final approval by the Court.
The Company believes that resolving the matter is the right business decision and that it is prudent to end the protracted and uncertain class action process.”
The defendants listed in the lawsuit were WWE, Vince McMahon, and former WWE Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson. WWE expects the settlement to be paid by their insurance carriers.