Ted DiBiase Jr had a successful run in WWE which started in 2007. So it was surprising for the fans when he not only left the promotion in 2013 but put a stop to his wrestling career as well.
The former WWE star recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet. He opened up about his time in the company and explained the reasoning behind his decision to leave the promotion.
DiBiase revealed that his contract had expired. While the officials had offered him a new deal, he made the call not to re-sign with the promotion because he was dealing with mental health issues:
“I was offered another 5 year deal. It was generous, but when it came down to it, I was battling some things internally; there were some mental health issues. I was going through depression and anxiety, and also being a new father. I just knew.”
Ted DiBiase Jr also talked about his experience of growing up as the son of an iconic father. He attributed this experience as another reason for leaving WWE and the wrestling world altogether.
The former champion explained that he loves his father but the wrestling veteran was not able to be present for important days in his childhood, something he didn’t want to repeat with his own son.
The WWE career of Lana was a rollercoaster ride. It included highs such as getting pushed to main event status during her storyline with Bobby Lashley to lows where she got punished for her real-life engagement with Miro, who was known as Rusev at the time.
The former WWE star recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho. She opened up about her time in the company and discussed her career there in detail.
During the interview, Lana recalled the time when she got engaged to Miro and the news got leaked. She remembered how WWE officials were not happy with the news getting out and explained how the duo got blamed for it. This resulted in her ongoing storyline with Dolph Ziggler getting cut short:
“I didn’t even put up a picture. I just sent it to my friend. Then I guess, someone leaked it. I never, ever posted it. TMZ got a hold of it, and then basically TMZ said we were engaged.
“The story [with Dolph] got cut, and we got blamed for it. Personally, I got blamed. It’s insane. I got in trouble. I wasn’t on television for three months. I was made to feel that it was all my fault. I had to take the blame. For years I thought, maybe it was my fault.”
Lana later revealed that she made up for this mistake during her storyline with Bobby Lashley. She promised Vince McMahon that she would not take pictures with someone she was feuding with. To keep this promise, she didn’t post any photos with Miro for almost a year.
The Ravishing Russian was signed by WWE in June 2013. She was originally paired with Rusev. The female star’s 8-year long stint came to an end when she was released from the company last month.
NXT star Mercedes Martinez apparently suffered a concussion during her tag team match on this Tuesday’s episode of the Black and Yellow brand.
Dave Meltzer talked about the female star on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. He revealed that the veteran wrestler suffered a concussion during her match on the show
Mercedes Martinez teamed up with Jake Atlas to face Xia Li and Boa in a mixed tag match on the show. However, the bout couldn’t reach its planned ending.
The NXT star got knocked out halfway through the bout thanks to a roundhouse kick from Lee. She started bleeding from her mouth and went down, forcing the referee to stop the bout. The match was then called off due to referee stoppage.
The team of Xia Li and Boa were declared the winners. Martinez was taken to a hospital for further checkup but the good news for fans is that she was doing better by the next morning.
Neither WWE nor the female star herself has commented on her health as of now. There is no word yet on if she will miss any ring time due to the injury. We will keep you posted on her status.
WWE is looking to fill a number of backstage roles in the company. The listing they have put out includes jobs such as writers and managers of talent operations & appearances.
The promotion posted about a number of openings they are looking to fill on their corporate website yesterday including full time opening for new backstage writers and more.
The key responsibilities for the writing job include developing “clearly defined, yet emotionally sophisticated, characters for a diverse group of WWE Talent.”
The qualifications include 5+ years of experience of writing TV or film content as well as the experience of working with on-screen talents and creative writers.
The listing interestingly does not require the candidate to have previous knowledge of wrestling. According to it, understanding of WWE’s audience is “a plus but not required.”
Other openings posted alongside the writer role include a full-time position as the manager of talent operations and appearances as well as a cybersecurity engineer for a remote consultant role.
WWE recently faced some criticism when a company writer revealed that she was not required to know anything about wrestling before joining the promotion. The officials have not changed the requirements for the job despite it.
Veteran wrestler and former WWE and WCW star Del Wilkes better known to wrestling fans as The Patriot passed away this Thursday. The retired professional wrestler passed away due to a heart attack according to The Charleston Post & Courier. He was 59 years old.
The Patriot made his wrestling debut back in 1988 and competed for promotions such as the American Wrestling Association and Global Wrestling Federation during his early years. He wrestled a few matches for WWE in the early 90s. The late star wrestled under various personas including The Trooper, Del Wilkes, and The Patriot for the company but his bouts didn’t transpire in a long run.
The Patriot Del Wilkes
The former wrestling star first gained fame when he signed a WCW contract in 1994. He formed a team with Marcus Alexander Bagwell. The duo started wrestling as Stars and Stripes and they won the WCW tag titles a couple of times. His WCW run lasted until 1995 after which he returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling, the promotion he was wrestling for before his signing with WCW.
The Patriot finally signed a WWE contract back in June 1997. The former champion stayed with the company then known as WWF until early 1998. After leaving WWE, Wilkes retired from professional wrestling due to a torn triceps. We at SEScoops send our deepest condolences to the family of Del Wilkes.
Fans have been wanting to see a proper pro wrestling match between NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and Paul Wight (Big Show) for years. It appears that we might finally get to see this bout soon.
The former basketball player recently had an interview with PopCulture. He was asked about some recent comments from the former WWE star and replying to it, he teased a confrontation between the two for near future:
“I hear Paul Wight’s still talking trash, so I’m going to work out really hard this summer,” said Shaq, “And maybe we could do something very, very soon,”
A match between the two was rumored in WWE for a while but they ended up only having a brief confrontation during the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32.
Discussing why their rivalry couldn’t culminate in a one on one fight at the time, Shaquille O’Neal claimed that it was because of a lot of bureaucracy and red tape:
“Shouldn’t be any problems for us getting together now. Last time it was lot of bureaucracy and red tape, now there is no red tape. So, I’m going to go on because I’m still kind of sore from the table, so I’m going to go for it this summer, pump these muscles up here. I’ll be waiting for you, Mr. Paul.”
Shaquille O’Neal made his in-ring debut for AEW back in March. He teamed up with Jade Cargill to defeat the team of Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet in a well-received mixed tag match on Dynamite.
Paul Wight made his debut for the promotion on the same night. He has signed a deal to work as both a commentator and wrestler. The former world champion hasn’t made his in ring debut for the promotion yet and we will have to see if Shaquille O’Neal ends up being his debut opponent.
Update: Paul Wight seems to have taken note of Shaquille O’Neal’s for a match. The heavyweight star responded to the comments from the giant on Twitter and claimed that is not hard to find:
Former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed seems to be one of the prospects WWE is eying for a move to main roster during the upcoming drafts.
The NXT star recently appeared on El Brunch de WWE where among other things, he also shared his thoughts on a potential move to Raw or SmackDown.
Reed was asked which brand he would like to join if the company does decide to bring him up. Replying to it, the former champion picked up the blue brand as his preferred destination:
“That’s a tough choice, I think both [RAW & SmackDown] have benefits but if I had to choose, if I had to leave the black and gold NXT, I’d probably say the blue brand. I would say Friday Night SmackDown.”
Bronson Reed also discussed his experience of working WWE Main Event. He mentioned how he got to wrestle Drew Gulak during the bout and said that it was an opportunity to get more eyes on him:
“I feel great, I think it’s another opportunity to get more eyes on ‘The Colossal’ Bronson Reed. So I got to wrestle Drew Gulak and I hit my Tsunami Splash and beat him, one, two, three, so feeling very happy about it.”
Another NXT star WWE officials seem to be interested in bringing up is the NXT champion, Karrion Kross. You can check out the latest backstage news on potential future plans for both these names here.
John Cena is one of the most successful wrestlers in the history of the business. Not only was he the face of WWE for more than 15 years but he has carved a place for himself in Hollywood after moving on from the company as well.
However, his rise to the top was not an easy journey. The former world champion recently had an interview with The Sun where he opened up about his struggles before becoming a professional wrestler.
Cena recalled the time he left his home in Massachusetts and went to Los Angeles to pursue a career in bodybuilding. Due to the lack of resources, the former world champion slept in his car and showered in a gym he worked at:
“I slept in my car for a while, which happened to be a very roomy 1991 Lincoln Town Car. I had my clothes in the trunk and I slept in the back seat. I’d wake up, use the locker rooms and the shower and repeat the process all over again.”
Dad told me I would be home with my tail between my legs in two weeks. Sure enough, I went through my resources quickly and had to think on my feet. I didn’t want to go home crying.”
John Cena had previously ruled out the possibility of having kids. This is one of the primary reasons why his engagement with fellow WWE star Nikki Bella ended.
However, now that Cena is a little older and has a lot more experience on his hands, he is considering a change to his stand. Talking about it during the interview, he didn’t rule out the possibility of fatherhood completely:
“I’m a little bit older, a bit wiser. I’m realising there is life and life exists and it’s beautiful — and I think part of that is being a parent, so we’ll see.”
John Cena started dating Canadian engineer Shay Shariatzadeh in early 2019 after his breakup with Nikki Bella. The couple got married in a private ceremony in October 2020.
WWE has the long-standing tradition that the top star of the company also serves as the locker room leader. This creates some interesting dynamics when a former locker room leader returns and has to adapt to the change. One such scenario is likely to be presented when John Cena returns to the company later this month and confronts the current face of the company – Roman Reigns.
The Big Dog discussed this during a recent interview with Peter Rosenberg and Stat Guy Greg on Hot 97. The Tribal Chief was asked about this change and whether he sees himself being in a different position in the relationship with the Cenation Leader now that he has taken up the mantle. Replying to the question, the Universal champion reminded everyone that this won’t be the first time he is crossing paths with Cena after becoming the locker room leader:
“So I think there are a couple of different folds to this scenario because even before, I forget which year it was, I know it was at No Mercy, when me and John went to [fight for the] first time. I had already been in that position. John had been around periodically jumping in kind [of] on interval, stretches but I was still the main event. If he jumped in to a live event to help out a show he would go on before intermission. He would find himself in a different position. I would close us out.”
Roman Reigns admitted that things are different now after he has spent a lot more time in the top position. However, he claimed that they have respect for the superstars who came before them. Reigns said that it would be a lie if someone said that John Cena didn’t toe the train for a long time.
The reigning champion explained that their return is a good thing because the people who have moved on from WWE only bring new eyes to the product when they come back:
“What’s beautiful about it is the respect everyone has for our history and the respect we have for the superstars who pull that wagon and there is no question you know. It would be a bold face lie if anyone ever say [that] John Cena didn’t toe the train for a long time and we’re gonna always have respect for that, Vince will always have great respect for that. Guys like The Undertaker, that’s why we have these legendary contracts where we keep these guys. They paid their dues. They guided our business. They laid the foundation for us to continue this journey and continue this success that we have.
“So I think there is always gonna be that scenario out of respect. When they come back, it’s only to bring more eyes and kind of lift the tide up to make it a bigger event. But when you have someone like myself and John was in the same position with Dwayne. Hopefully one day I will be in the same position coming back and there will be a new head guy. There will be a new top dog. That’s what drives the business and that’s what makes us even greater is when our guys go out and find great success, and then they bring that limelight. They bring that shine back to what started them, back to their first love.”
On the topic of the people who can replace him as the face of WWE and locker room leader, Roman Reigns said that currently there is no one on his level. He was asked which current star has the potential to be the next face. He named the former WWE champion Drew McIntyre. Reigns claimed that McIntyre is the number two guy in the company currently but he is not on his level yet:
“There ain’t nobody. I can say my favorite number two [is] Drew. He’s my favorite number two. There’s a bunch of number twos, threes, whatever you wanna call them, we can rank them [but] it really doesn’t matter. They are under me. How far under? Who knows. Who really cares. I mean how strong of a number two do you wanna be? At this point, my favorite is Drew McIntyre,
“In a perfect world if there is an opportunity to pass the torch. He is the one guy that has captivated my attention in that manner but at the same time he ain’t there and it’s only because I am still here so solid within my foothold. The flag is fully planted in so I can’t even think about it now. Like John needed somebody to come in so he could move on and try new things and take care of his body. I would eventually need that but there is just nobody at this point.”
Subscribe to Cheap Heat on Apple Podcasts & Spotify to listen to the full interview. Please credit SEScoops for h/t if you use any quotes from this article.
The Shield helped launch the career of Roman Reigns as a main event star. He has only achieved new heights since then. The Big Dog has claimed WWE as his yard and he has become the face of the company. While many fans still have hope to see the group reuniting sometime in the future, the Tribal Chief is not interested in sharing the spotlight with his former teammates anymore.
The reigning Universal champion recently spoke to Peter Rosenberg and Stat Guy Greg for Hot 97 radio. The WWE star discussed a variety of things during the talk and also commented on a potential Shield reunion. Reigns was asked if he has any interest in reuniting with his old teammates in future. He replied with a straight ‘no’ for an answer. Roman Reigns explained that while he has respect for the time he spent as a part of the group, it’s a one man show for him now:
“No. I have respect for everything we did now. A lot of that time was really pivotal for me to learn and gain experience. Be around other performers. See their processes and how they attack things and how they think about things. But where I am at now it’s a one-man show. I have the family dynamic with my cousins but at the same time, I call the shots. It’s my thumb that’s down on this pole. So yeah, I don’t think I can share it anymore.”
Roman Reigns Wants To Work With Seth Rollins Again
A Shield reunion will also be hard because Jon Moxley has moved on from WWE and found a new home in AEW. What we can be certain about is that we will see the other two Shield members crossing paths sooner or later, something which WWE also teased recently. When asked if he thinks he and Seth Rollins can still pull off something special at a stage such as WrestleMania, Roman Reigns explained that the two can make anything special:
“Seth is a special performer, especially in ring. It can be a cold situation, you give us a crowd, you give us a ring and we’re gonna make something special happen. So you put us in a scenario like Wrestlemania or SummerSlam, a big PPV, no question. I mean that chemistry, that stride for greatness, the ambition for greatness between the both of us, it’ll always be there. So that’s what’s always gonna make it special. So that’s easy, that’s like insurance policy. When in doubt, throw me and him together.”
The Shield made their surprise debut in November 2012. The group’s original WWE run lasted until June 2014, when Seth Rollins betrayed his friends and joined The Authority. The following years saw the trio reuniting for a number of times. However, their final reunion took place in late 2018 after Jon Moxley chose not to renew his WWE contract. He subsequently left the promotion in April 2019 to join AEW in May.
Subscribe to Cheap Heat on Apple Podcasts & Spotify to listen to the full interview. Please credit SEScoops for h/t if you use any quotes from this article.
WWE returns to Madison Square Garden in New York City Friday, September 10th for a live SmackDown TV taping. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 9 at 10 AM ET at Ticketmaster.
Sonya Deville has taken a break from her in-ring career during the pandemic era. She has instead assumed the role of an on-screen authority figure on WWE TV.
With the company finally returning to the road next month with a big 25 city tour, a lot of people have been wondering if we will see the former Absolution member making an in-ring return as well.
Deville was asked about the possibility during her recent appearance on WWE’s The Bump and she claimed that she is content with her current role:
“You know, I love what I’m doing right now. I think it’s a natural fit. I’m a leader in life, and I think it transitions well into a suit and tie. I love being in charge, so I’m content with where I am right now,”
Sonya Deville confirmed that her in-ring career is not over yet. She indicated that she will return to the ring eventually but it won’t be happening anytime soon:
“At the end of the day, of course, I’m a fighter, but I’m really enjoying growing and learning in this role. I don’t see an end to it anytime soon.”
Sonya Deville had been off WWE TV since August 2020. She made her return to the company in a non wrestling role in January earlier this year.
She originally acted as an assistant to Adam Pearce but has started making executive decisions of her own since then.
Big E has been one of the top SmackDown babyfaces for a long time but his current run on the show might be coming to an end soon.
According to WrestleVotes on Twitter, WWE officials are considering moving the former Intercontinental champion to Raw from the blue brand during the upcoming drafts in August.
The idea is for E to reunite with his New Day partners on Mondays but not join them as a team again. The former NXT champion is expected to continue to focus on his singles career instead:
I’ve heard from a few sources an idea making the rounds – Big E moving from SD to RAW in the post SummerSlam draft while still be pushed as a singles. In essence, New Day back together without necessary being a team. If so, E would become a fresh face for the RAW main event scene
Drew McIntyre finished up his feud with the WWE champion Bobby Lashley at Hell In A Cell. With McIntyre out of the title picture, the red brand has an opening for underutilized babyfaces to step up to the All Mighty.
Fans have been demanding a world title push for Big E from a while now. Changing brands may help him get a fresh opportunity to gain momentum.
With people’s support behind him, it would not be a surprise if the New Day member ends up being the one to defeat Bobby Lashley for the WWE title somewhere down the line.
What do you think about Big E potentially changing brands during the upcoming WWE drafts? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Posted June 23rd, 2021 in News, WWE. Tagged: Big E.
John Cena’s next big project is DC’s Suicide Squad sequel directed by James Gunn. The cenation leader will be playing the role of Peacemaker in the movie.
During a recent interview with Collider, the 16 time world champion offered some high praise to Gunn and compared him to the WWE chairman, Vince McMahon.
Cena first discussed James Gunn’s approach to his projects, explaining that he is very hands on with all the different aspects of the production of a movie:
“James is everything, and the reason he is such a great director is because he assumes all roles. He creates the story from the ground up, he supervises the story as a producer, he manages all personalities.”
John Cena went on to compare the Guardians Of The Galaxy director to the WWE chairman Vince McMahon. He mentioned how the boss likes to be involved in everything, just like Gunn:
“I think his ability to have his hands in everything—he’s almost like the Vince McMahon of a movie. Vince is involved in everything and wants to be.
And I mean everything from—and this is James as well—marketing, certainly putting himself out there. ‘Suicide Squad: A James Gunn Film’, he’s putting his stamp on that which means he believes in the product.”
The former world champion said that Gunn is able to do all this very fluently because he is invested in every piece and has confidence in what he does.
The Suicide Squad sequel featuring John Cena and others is expected to hit theaters on August 6. You can check out the latest trailer of the movie below:
Many believe that WWE did not utilize the Broken Matt character to its full extent during Matt Hardy’s last run with the company. It appears that Vince McMahon being unaware of the character’s origin may have been the reason for it.
The former WWE star recently held his first Twitch ama. He answered questions related to a wide variety of topics including things such as crowds coming back after covid, his scariest bump, and more.
When a fan asked how much Vince McMahon knew about Broken Matt Hardy before their return at WrestleMania 33, the attitude era star revealed that the boss knew absolutely nothing about it:
“He didn’t know anything about it. We worked out the deal with Triple H, on the down low. Triple H was great. Really, I think we came back because Vince was like, “Why are all these people saying Delete?”
Hardy mentioned how he had to explain the whole story of the character to McMahon in 30 minutes. Though according to the former world champion, the boss kept an open mind during their discussion:
“Explaining the Broken Matt story to Vince McMahon in 30 minutes was one of my favorite moments of all time. I had to sound like a madman to him. But he stayed open minded. They said they’ve give us a compound deletion fight, and he kept his word.”
Broken Matt Hardy is one of the most popular gimmicks of the wrestling veteran’s long career. Originally created during his TNA run in 2016, he has taken the persona to multiple promotions since then. He has successfully utilized it in companies such as WWE, ROH, and AEW.
CM Punk hosted a Q&A session on Twitter earlier yesterday where the former WWE champion answered questions related to a wide variety of topics.
The Broken Skull Sessions hosted by Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the biggest shows on WWE Network and many have wondered if we will ever see the former WWE star on the show.
When asked what it would take for him to make an appearance on the show, Punk replied: “Money. Nobody gets any royalties for anything shown on peacock. Nobody. Yay wrestling biz!”
The recent multiple waves of WWE releases have been a topic of discussion among wrestling fans. The former leader of Straight Edge Society had previously blasted the company for the same.
A fan discussed how Samoa Joe was fired from the main roster only to be rehired on NXT. He asked CM Punk for his thoughts. Replying to it he said that it’s an instance of “the left hand not talking to the right hand.”
The retired wrestling star was then asked which is the one match of his career he would like to redo. He picked his last match before his retirement.
Apart from this, CM Punk answered questions such as his favorite Bret Hart match, if he has any of his previously worn wrestling gear, and more. You can check out his entire Q&A thread below:
Peyton Royce had a very awkward meeting with Vince McMahon before her release from WWE. According to her, it may have been the reason for her firing from the promotion. The former WWE star talked about a number of things on the latest episode of her Off The Chops podcast with her partner Billie Kay.
During the episode, she detailed a meeting she had with the boss before her departure from the company. Royce recalled the time after the officials had broken off their tag team and she wasn’t doing much on WWE programming. So she went to Vince McMahon to pitch an idea:
“I decided to put on my big girl panties and talk to Vince. I had in my head what I wanted to say but he brushed it off very quickly and I went ‘crap’. I had an idea that I wanted to present, and he wanted to discuss other ideas – but I didn’t have other ideas. This is what I wanted to talk about and put my time and effort into. Vince says “What do you do for fun?” Me being me, the introvert and the homebody that I am, I had to let him know that I like to sit on the couch with my dogs and watch TV.”
However, Royce went blank after Vince McMahon didn’t find her first idea interesting. She tried to make something else up but failed. Peyton finally decided to tell this to the boss. According to her, this encounter may have contributed to the decision of her release from the company :
“He just stared at me and in my head I’m just like, ‘make something up’ and I couldn’t make anything up – nothing was coming out. I’m not a liar. I feel like he could have seen right through that. I basically said to him ‘I’m sorry, I’m boring’ and I just like to be home on my off days’. I didn’t contribute much during that unfortunately and that’s probably why I lost the job.”
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce made their NXT TV debut as a team back in October 2016. Their main roster debut came in April 2018 and the duo had a reign with the women’s tag team championships before their release. The former champions have since confirmed that they want to continue wrestling as a tag team and teased both Impact Wrestling and AEW as potential future destinations.
After weeks of build-up, The Diamond Mine finally made their debut on NXT this week with a returning Roderick Strong as its apparent leader.
Mysterious MMA-themed vignettes have been airing on NXT TV for quite some time promoting the group’s arrival. The promo on last week’s episode of the show said that the mine will finally be opening this week.
This week’s episode of NXT then saw The Diamond Mine making their debut after the main event of the show which saw Kyle O’Reilly defeating the cruiserweight champion Kushida in a non-title one-on-one match.
O’Reilly got into a brawl with Adam Cole after the bout. They fought each other until the enforcer Samoa Joe brought some security and escorted them away.
A mysterious man then attacked Kushida who was still in the ring. He revealed himself as a returning Roderick Strong. Though Strong didn’t come alone as Hideki Suzuki and Tyler Rust watched this from the apron.
The two then entered the ring and stood tall with Strong. Malcolm Bivens got in the ring with the NXT cruiserweight title and he showed it to Strong before laying it over the champion.
Bivens introduced this new faction as The Diamond Mine. The Diamond Mine stood tall over the cruiserweight champion as the cameras went off air.
Roderick Strong had been off NXT TV in recent months. He walked out of the WWE programming after the breakup of The Undisputed Era, claiming that he was done with everything.
Bivens had been managing Rust but the two hadn’t been seen on NXT TV since March. Suzuki on the other hand was signed earlier this year to work as a coach though it appears the company has decided to use the Japanese wrestling legend as a performer as well.
WWE has announced that the NXT tag team champions MSK will be defending their titles against the team of Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa at the upcoming Great American Bash event.
Last week’s episode of the black and yellow brand saw the current tag champions exchanging looks with their future challengers in a backstage segment.
Thatcher and Ciampa then competed in a tornado tag team match against The Grizzled Young Veterans. The former picked up the victory in this bout which was the main event of the show.
WWE announced during this Tuesday’s NXT that the duo of Thatcher and Ciampa will get a title shot at the upcoming special edition of the show.
The company also confirmed several segments for next week’s episode including a face-off between MSK and their challengers.
This is the second match that has been announced for the upcoming event. They previously confirmed that former undisputed era partners Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly will be competing in a one-on-one match at the show.
WWE brought back the Great American Bash name for a two-night NXT special last year. They announced that the name will be returning for a special NXT episode on July 6 this year, making it an annual event.
Kevin Owens got fans talking with a tweet after his Hell In A Cell encounter with Sami Zayn where he teased taking time off from WWE.
Dave Meltzer provided some updates on the situation on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. He confirmed that the former universal champion will indeed be taking time away from the company.
However, Meltzer revealed that this absence is not the case of Owens taking time off for personal reasons or because of an injury. He is instead expected to stay away from WWE programming due to storyline reasons.
Last week’s episode of SmackDown saw the former NXT champion teaming up with Big E for a match against the Intercontinental champion Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez.
Azeez hit Kevin Owens with a Nigerian Nail to pick up the victory for his team. He delivered another Nigerian Nail to Owens after the match, leaving the former champion hurting badly after the bout.
Kevin Owens On Why He Is Conflicted About Winning The IC Title Again
The Hell In A Cell PPV on Sunday then saw Sami Zayn scoring a win over his longtime rival in a hard-fought match. Owens was seen communicating a shoulder injury to the referee after the fight.
There is no word on how long Kevin Owens is expected to stay away. We will have to wait and see what the company has planned for him when he finally returns.
Drew McIntyre has shown interest in facing John Cena multiple times in the past. With Cena expected to make his return soon, the Scottish Warrior is once again revitalizing the talks about a potential showdown between the two.
The former NXT champion recently had an interview with On Demand Entertainment where he talked about things such as his Hell In A Cell encounter with WWE champion Bobby Lashley and more.
When asked about a potential match with the 16-time world champion, Drew mentioned how he has been around Cena for so long without ever stepping inside the ring with him for a one on one match:
“I hope it does happen. I’ve been around John since I was 22 years old. I just turned 36 and we’ve never had any singles match, which blows my mind. We’ve been in tag matches and multi-man matches, but never a singles match.”
Drew McIntyre Believes John Cena Is The Biggest Match For Him
McIntyre then praised John Cena as an athlete who is on a different level than others before reiterating his comments about wanting a match with the former face of WWE:
“Where I’m at today in my career and managing to reach the top of the industry after so many ups and downs, and where John is at, he’s just on another level. He’s conquered WWE, [and is now] conquering Hollywood,
But he still loves WWE more than anything and wants to come back and help and have those big matches. There’s no bigger match, as far as I’m concerned than John Cena vs. McIntyre,”
John Cena has also been talking about his desire for making an in-ring return. Latest reports suggest that he might be returning to the company as soon as next month but his comeback has not officially been confirmed yet.
Do you think Drew McIntyre will get a chance to face John Cena when he returns to the company this time? Let us know in the comment section.
Andrade El Idolo made his AEW debut during the June 4 episode of Dynamite earlier this month. He was paired with Vickie Guerrero upon his arrival.
The former SmackDown general manager recently had an interview with It’s My House podcast, where she talked about her pairing with the former WWE star.
Guerrero revealed when she found out about her pairing with Andrade during the interview. She explained that president Tony Khan introduced the two on the day of his debut show itself:
“I knew the day of [his debut] that I was going to be working with him. Tony Khan makes all the decisions so when he said, ‘Hey, I have someone for you to come meet,’ and I went to the trailer and saw him, I was just ecstatic.”
Vickie Guerrero also discussed how Andrade was underutilized in WWE. She claimed that he is going to have a great time in AEW because of two reasons:
“He was really underutilized in WWE. He’s going to have a great time in AEW. Number one, because he’s working with me. Number two, there’s a lot of great wrestlers in AEW that he’s going to be able to have incredible matches.”
Andrade is a former NXT and WWE US champion. He had asked for his release from the company earlier this year after being unhappy with his booking. His request was granted by the officials in March.
The NXT champion Karrion Kross wrestled a match on this week’s episode of Main Event but his partner and fellow NXT star Scarlett was missing from his side.
In an update to this story, F4Wonline is reporting that there is talk of the female star receiving her own tryout, likely at this Friday’s SmackDown tapings.
Kross, Scarlett, and North American champion Bronson Reed were all first brought to the main roster last week. They were at Friday’s SmackDown tapings where both the champions wrestled in separate dark matches.
Both the NXT title holders were then brought back in during Monday’s Raw tapings. They once again wrestled during the show but their matches were taped for the Main Event episode this time.
The NXT champion Karrion Kross wrestled Shelton Benjamin during the taping but he did not have her female companion on the side. Bronson Reed competed against Drew Gulak. Both the champions had brought their titles.
The next WWE drafts are expected to take place after the SummerSlam PPV. The officials seem to be evaluating the current NXT champions for potential main roster call ups with these matches.
There is no word yet on why Scarlett was not present for the Main Event tapings or what it could mean for her future. Stay tuned for more updates.
SummerSlam is going to be the first of the big four WWE shows after their return to road. The company is looking to make the show huge. This includes some exciting surprises for the fans, as promised by Stephanie McMahon.
The WWE chief brand officer recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated. She talked about the planning for the upcoming event in detail.
Discussing how special the event is for them, McMahon mentioned how it’s only the second time they will be holding the PPV in a stadium. She said that she can’t wait to show off their surprises:
“SummerSlam is special, It’s the first time we’re going to an NFL stadium [for SummerSlam], and it’s only the second time we’ve ever been in a stadium. It’s about bringing people together and celebrating these huge moments.
This will be our biggest pay-per-view with full capacity [since Elimination Chamber in March 2020],” said Stephanie McMahon, “and we can’t wait to show off our surprises, too.”
This isn’t the first time the WWE official has promised big surprises for the upcoming show. She had told fans to expect other surprises while declining the possibility of a potential in-ring return for herself last week.
WWE SummerSlam this year will be taking place from the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, August 21. There are some interesting matches rumored for the show and you can check out a report about them here.
The overnight viewership for last week’s episode of SmackDown with Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio universal championship Hell In A Cell match main eventing the show had seen an increase in numbers.
This trend continued with the final viewership. According to Nielsen, the Hell In A Cell go-home episode of the show drew an average of 2.045 million viewers.
This is a big 5.2% increase compared to the final viewership of the preceding episode of SmackDown. It had a Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio segment for the main event and had drawn 1.944 million viewers.
This is also a 6.07% jump from the overnight viewership for the final show before the PPV. The number reported on Saturday morning was 1.928 million viewers.
The show drew a 0.54 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is a significant 12.5% increase from last week’s episode of the show which drew 0.48 ratings in the same demo.
This was the first time SmackDown managed to draw 2 million+ ratings this month. The last SmackDown episode to have an audience above this number was the May 7 episode of the show.
With no Hell In A Cell main event at this Friday’s episode, it will be interesting to see if the Blue Brand is able to hold these numbers or sees a decline again.
Edge is expected to work the SummerSlam PPV this year. Latest reports suggest that WWE officials may be planning a dream match for the former champion.
According to the WrestleVotes twitter account, the company is looking to load the SummerSlam card with big matches. A match between John Cena and Roman Reigns is the working main event idea for the show.
Though this isn’t the only big fight we can expect from the SmackDown side of things. The officials are apparently also discussing a big first time ever match between Edge and Seth Rollins:
Along w/ Roman Reigns vs John Cena for SummerSlam, WWE is planning on stacking the SmackDown side with another major matchup. Source says idea as of now is for a Seth Rollins vs Edge first time ever match.
The reports of the Rated R Superstar being considered for a SummerSlam match first came out earlier this month. It was said that he would be working as a babyface in a SmackDown brand match.
The company then started advertising Edge for several upcoming shows. The dates start from the July 16 edition of SmackDown from Houston, which will also mark WWE’s official return to the road.
The Attitude Era star will undoubtedly be one of the biggest attractions for the upcoming PPV. So it makes sense to put him in a big match like this which fans have been wanting to see since his comeback.
Though things change all the time in WWE. So we will have to wait for Edge’s official return to the TV to be certain about the direction for his future.
