Former WWE/ECW star Francine has made it clear that she is not happy with WWE using her nickname for Liv Morgan and also referring to Lita with the moniker.
Francine spoke about it on her podcast where she noted that WWE using the “Queen of Extreme” moniker for Morgan is unacceptable in her eyes. During a recent edition of Raw, Corey Graves also mentioned Lita as the “Queen of Extreme,” a play on her connected to Team Extreme with The Hardy Boyz.
Francine owns the trademark rights to the nickname that she filed for months ago as she first used it when in ECW.
She explained that the process of getting a trademark takes time. She said that she’s not upset with Lita as she didn’t do anything wrong, but did note that she’s been building up the nickname for the last 30 years and doesn’t want to pass it up.
The Warning
Should WWE continue to use the nickname then she plans to file a cease and desist.
“Whether I’m in this business another day or another 30 years from now, if I do conventions, I’m going to sign the Queen of Extreme Francine and I’m going to get that trademark. And if they continue to use it, we’re going to file a cease and desist. And that’s it. because they would do it to me.”
Francine stated that she’s not bitter towards the two stars nor the company, but she is simply trying to protect her brand that she worked hard to build.
The Undertaker is someone who took the business and his character seriously. He took further than most will do, especially these days.
Keeping kayfabe has been an art that has been lost in the world of the pro wrestling business for the last few decades. It wasn’t until he was retired from the wrestling business that Taker started to do more out of character interviews and branch out on his own.
The Undertaker’s Advice
While speaking with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport, The Undertaker urged today’s WWE talent to protect their characters better.
“I do think a lot of our talent, not just our talent, in general they don’t understand any concept of protecting a character or even developing a character enough to protect it. They go and do something on TV and then you go to their social media and it’s completely different. I’m a dinosaur, I am, my mentality is still 20 years ago, but I guess there is a reason why I lasted as long as I did. I was like, ‘gosh live it a little bit. You don’t have to go to the extremes that I did, but man protect it.’ Kinda be like in real life just a little bit. If you’re going to post something, have it match kinda what you’re trying because that’s what you’re trying to convince people. You’re this or you’re that.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit BT Sports with an h/t to SEScoops for the transcription.
With WWE WrestleMania 39 taking place in just a matter of weeks, WWE has put the build for some of the top matches on the card into high gear including a match involving Charlotte Flair.
Flair is slated to defend the SmackDown Women’s Title against Rhea Ripley at the upcoming event in Los Angeles.
On Friday’s episode of SmackDown, WWE booked a segment with Flair and Ripley where they went face-to-face after Flair had scored a non-title match victory over Shotzi.
The Segment
The segment on the show didn’t go down as originally planned, according to a report by Fightful Select.
It was said the promo segment ‘deviated a little bit off the original plan’. However, the report didn’t specify exactly how the segment was different from the original plan.
WWE is using Raw stars on SmackDown and Smackdown stars on Raw in certain cases due to the cross-promotional feuds being booked such as Ripley vs. Flair. Another instance of this is The Judgment Day, a Raw act, appearing on SmackDown in recent weeks to continue to have Dominik feud with his legendary father, Rey.
On Friday’s show, Finn Balor, Dominik, and Damian Priest defeated Legado Del Fantasma.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has been able to have an up close and personal look at the NXT brand as a color commentator when he replaced Wade Barrett in the color commentator role last year when Barrett was moved to SmackDown to replace Pat McAfee.
Since then, Booker T has called several episodes and Peacock specials. The wrestling legend recently gave praise to an NXT tag team. Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker praised Indus Sher (Veer and Sanga).
Old School
“I love those guys, Indus Sher. Those guys are so old school. They take me back to, Sanga and Veer, they take me back to what tag team wrestling once upon a time was and it was all about going out there and creating havoc.”
Booker T thinks they have a bright future on the main roster and could make a splash on the main roster should Triple H give them the opportunity.
“I think Sanga and Veer could really make a splash on the main roster. Together that’s, that’s two big gears. I don’t need to have more than that.”
After returning to NXT last year after a main roster stint, he reunited with Sanga before being joined by Jinder Mahal. The faction just beat Bron Breakker and the Creed Brothers on last week’s NXT Roadblock show.
Madusa, also known as Alundra Blayze during her WWE run, is still looking to have one more match.
Madusa found success in WCW and WWE during her pro wrestling career. She is a former WCW Cruiserweight Champion and three-time WWE Women’s Champion.
While speaking with TV Insider to promote her forthcoming book, ‘The Woman Who Would Be King: The MADUSA Story,’ Madusa was asked about having one final match.
The Match
“I would love to have a retirement match. I’m not dissing any era, but there are other eras before the Attitude Era. There is still a woman under WWE legend’s contract that they can do something with. But they chose not to. A retirement match would be wonderful. We see Trish Stratus and Lita all the time. I think those girls are great. But that’s all we see. I’m not sick of them. I’m just sick of seeing just them. I have high respect for those two women. But damn it, if it was them at 60, they would be pounding the pavement just as hard as I am.”
Regarding a potential opponent, Madusa thinks a match against Charlotte Flair would be phenomenal.
“It would have to be somebody I can have a great match with. That if I bump my head and forgot something they can carry the match. Anything can happen. It could be a Nattie, Beth Phoenix, a Rhea Ripley. Everyone wants to see Charlotte Flair and Madusa. I still think that would be phenomenal.”
The new book was written by Greg Oliver and published by ECW Press. You can order it here.
Big E has been on the sidelines for exactly a year while away from in-ring action after suffering a career-threatening injury.
On March 11, 2022, Big E suffered a broken neck when taking a belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland and landing on his head during a tag team match on an episode of WWE SmackDown.
Big E fractured his C1 vertebrae and C6 vertebrae. The positive news was that he didn’t suffer spinal cord damage or need surgery. He decided to wait a year before getting another check-up to see how his recovery was going.
The Decision
Speaking to TMZ, Big E commented on how he feels as he prepares for the tests this month.
“I just want to make the best decision. I have to see what the scans say, talk to doctors, go from there. Right now, before I know anything, I’m not going to make any rush to judgments. Just see how everything looks. No anxiety. Everything is in permanent. If it comes to an end, cool, if it doesn’t, cool. What will be, will be. I’m good with whatever,” he said.
Like Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley has mostly been used as a singles star for most of his wrestling career. There are some things that the two WWE stars have in common such as their backgrounds in the world of MMA.
For years, Lashley pushed for a match with Lesnar and he had to wait for it. However, Lashley not only got a match with Lesnar but also three of them. They recently faced off once again at the Elimination Chamber premium live event.
Although they’ve made for good opponents for each other, Lashley is interested in potentially teaming up with Lesnar.
“This is completely far-fetched from a whole different angle. I thought me and Brock we fought a lot against each other. What if we were on the same team? We’ll be like the modern-day Road Warriors. It’ll probably be fun,” Lashley stated. “The crowd will probably get off on watching us go through dismantling people together. That would be pretty interesting.”
Lesnar will be wrestling Omos at WrestleMania 39, while Lashley is expected to wrestle Bray Wyatt.
April will be an important month for WWE, with the company holding WrestleMania 39 and meeting with potential buyers.
In February, WWE CEO Nick Khan stated that if a sale were to happen, it could be quick and threw out, “maybe three months.”
When Vince McMahon returned to the company in January as the Executive Chairman of WWE’s Board of Directors, exploring a possible sale and helping with the negotiations for the next round of TV rights were his reasons given as to why he forced his way back into the company.
The Meeting
CNBC reports WWE is set to meet with potential buyers for the company next month in preparation for first-round bids. However, there is no guarantee that a sale will happen.
Also, in February, it was reported that McMahon was seeking as much as $9 billion in a sale. As of this writing, WWE has a market value of about $6 billion.
WWE announced on January 12 that they had “engaged with outside advisors to review strategic alternatives in relation to upcoming media rights negotiations.”
One of their strategic alternatives is a potential sale of the company ahead of their TV rights talks for WWE Raw and WWE SmackDow. FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch said this week that they’re ready to talk with WWE about the media rights, but the talks have yet to take place.
Rey Mysterio has been officially announced as the first inductee into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame.
The SmackDown star was confirmed to be part of the class during Friday’s episode of SmackDown with a video package. Rey came out to the ring for a promo, but before he could make a statement, Dominik Mysterio came out with Judgment Day where he questioned WWE inducting a washed-up man into the Hall of Fame.
He reminded Rey of all the things he missed while Dom was growing up. Dominik said he was ashamed to be his son. Legado Del Fansasmo then came out for a six-man tag team match.
Rey began his professional wrestling career in 1989 at age 14. Throughout that successful career, he has worked for promotions such as CMLL, NJPW AAA, WCW, ECW, and WWE.
While in WCW, he won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship five times and the WCW World Tag Team Championship three times. In WWE, he’s won the Cruiserweight Championship three times, World Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the United States Championship twice for each title, the WWE Championship once, and the Tag Team Championship four times.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place after SmackDown goes off the air from the Crypto.com Arena on March 31.
Many expected to see Batista, real name Dave Bautista, be confirmed as the first inductee. Pwinsider.com reported earlier in the day that Great Muta (Keiji Muto) would be among the names inducted this year.
While WWE stars prepare for WrestleMania 39 in a few weeks, Alexa Bliss will seemingly not be part of the show while she is reportedly away from television.
Bliss was last seen on WWE programming at the Royal Rumble this past January when she lost to Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair. After the match, WWE aired a video of a playground and Uncle Howdy, indicating that Bliss would once again be aligned with Bray Wyatt in the near future.
Coming out of the show, it was reported that Bliss was on hiatus from the company, something WWE knew going into the match with Belair. She later refuted that.
Fast forward to today, a new report by Dave Meltzer noted that Bliss is on another hiatus and will be gone for a while.
The Tweet
Bliss took to Twitter to make it clear that she is not on hiatus because they know where she is. She wrote the following:
“Tired of seeing these tweets. I am not on a hiatus. They know where to find me.”
If that is the case then Bliss could return to WWE at any time. Perhaps, she will be figured into the build-up in the feud between Wyatt and Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 39 next month.
Tired of seeing these tweets. I am not on a hiatus. They know where to find me.
— Lexi (Kaufman) Cabrera (@AlexaBliss_WWE) March 10, 2023
Kofi Kingston’s road to WWE WrestleMania has taken a major hit due to an injury that has put him on the sidelines.
Kingston was sidelined when he suffered an injury on last week’s episode of SmackDown while doing a segment to set up this week’s fatal 5-way match.
Now, Xavier Woods has replaced him with the match now seeing Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. LA Knight vs. Karrion Kross vs. Xavier Woods. The winner will earn the right to challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 39.
The Latest
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Kingston’s ankle injury is only expected to keep him out of the ring for about 5 weeks.
Meltzer wrote, “Kingston suffered an ankle injury when McIntyre did a running flip dive on several people. It was just a fluke deal. The time frame we are hearing is five weeks. There was concern earlier it could be longer because he may have needed surgery and if he does need surgery it would be lengthy.”
The impression is that Kingston won’t need surgery. Unfortunately, it looks like Kingston will be missing WrestleMania though.
AEW Revolution marked the first pay-per-view event of the new year for All Elite Wrestling.
The show was headlined by a 60-minute Iron Man match pitting AEW World Champion MJF defending against Bryan Danielson.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports the show did between 120,000 to 129,000 buys, though Meltzer notes, “that number will probably grow to just under or a little over 130,000 with late buys.”
To compare, last year’s show drew between 165,000 and 173,000 buys. It was headlined by Hangman Page defending the AEW World Title against Adam Cole, but the biggest match featured on the card was CM Punk vs. MJF in a dog collar match.
The previous PPV event held by AEW was Full Gear in November, which drew 140,000 buys. The show was headlined by MJF, challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title.
Other Metrics
The ratings for both Dynamite and Rampage dropped heading into the show. Streaming and international numbers are also down right now for the promotion, although those two metrics can be hit-and-miss.
Regarding the Google searches, they were “big twice last year, after Double or Nothing and All Out with the brawl aftermath.” Revolution did 50,000 searches and was No. 12 in the United States for the day.
Posted March 10th, 2023 in AEW. Tagged: Tony Khan.
The WWE traffic accident case was closed on March 7th in Florida Middle District Court regarding the lawsuit brought against WWE regarding a 2019 traffic accident in Tampa.
The jury trial occurred after a lawsuit was filed against them by Jackson Parsons, who was injured in the accident. His representation convinced a jury to side with them, resulting in WWE being forced to pay $331,800 to Jackson. The percentage was based on the level of negligence in the incident.
The jury ruled that the negligence by WWE led to Jackson being injured. However, Jackson’s own negligence was a factor in the incident taking place as they stated that Jackson held 65% of the negligence while WWE was responsible for 35%.
The Lawsuit
Parsons filed the lawsuit in June 2021 after the incident took place in July 2019 where he alleged that a van rented by the company with a driver who was a WWE employee and prop expert, Gaitan Thomas, “who was on the job at the time” was involved in a traffic accident with Parsons, who had been riding a bicycle.
Parsons claimed he “suffered physical injuries, pain-and-suffering, disability and the inability and loss of the capacity to lead and enjoy normal life, inconvenience, disfigurement, scarring and mental anguish.” He also cited “suffered physical injuries, pain-and-suffering, disability and the inability and loss of the capacity to lead and enjoy a normal life, inconvenience, disfigurement, scarring and mental anguish,” while saying his injuries and suffering are permanent. He also claimed he has incurred past medical expenses and will incur future medical expenses on account of the motor vehicle accident, and that he has suffered “a loss of earnings and earning capacity, both in the past and in the future.”
Parsons had been looking for $76,500.00 for pain and suffering, mental anguish and inconvenience, and $401,500 for future pain and suffering.
Although Kane has not wrestled in a few years, he’s not retired.
The former WWE Champion last wrestled when he was part of the 2021 Men’s Royal Rumble match. Regarding a normal match, he hasn’t wrestled a singles or tag team bout since Crown Jewel in 2018, when he teamed with the Undertaker against Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
Kane was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021. His career will be covered on A&E Biography: WWE Legends on Sunday, March 12.
One More Match?
While speaking to PWMania, Kane was asked about the possibility of wrestling one more match.
“I’ll always leave that door open. In WWE we never say never. I don’t know what will happen. I do some stuff here and there in the WWE. That’s a part of me and it’s something I enjoy and want to do for the rest of my life. If it’s something in the ring, I don’t know. Maybe you have to ask Kane that question,” he said.
Kane did make an appearance at last year’s SummerSlam in Nashville, Tennessee, to announce the attendance for the show. While away from WWE, he continues to be the Mayor of Knox County in Tennessee.
WWE’s efforts to legalize gambling on its matches continue as the company has registered with another state in addition to the previously reported Colorado and Michigan.
As previously reported by CNBC on Wednesday, the company has met with regulators in Colorado and Michigan regarding wagering on “high profile” WWE matches. On Thursday, the same media outlet updated its report to confirm that the company registered with the Indiana Gaming Commission.
Consideration?
The Colorado Division of Gaming told CNBC that it is currently not even considering the idea of legalized wagering on WWE matches. The Colorado Division of Gaming also noted that the state has a statute that prohibits gambling on predetermined contests such as awards shows or, in this case, pro wrestling.
Should the Michigan Gaming Control Board approve legalized wagering on WWE matches, that information will be made public on the organization’s Sports Wagering Catalog.
To get this pushed through, WWE has partnered with the accounting firm Ernest & Young to secure match results and demonstrate to regulators that gambling on predetermined contests can be done safely.
It was a logical partnership as the firm already works to secure results for predetermined contests, including the Academy Awards.
WWE has proposed that to get this through, they will have match results locked in months ahead of the bouts taking place as a way to prevent the results from being leaked to the public, leading to wrestlers involved in the matches not knowing until right before the match takes place.
Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of FOX, is ready to engage in talks with WWE regarding their partnership together.
On Thursday, Morgan Stanley TMT held a media and telecom conference where Murdoch spoke and was asked about the evolution of the partnership with the wrestling promotion.
That partnership sees FOX air SmackDown every Friday night. It initially included the WWE Backstage show that aired on FS1, but it was canceled.
The Partnership
Murdoch would not describe it as an ‘evolution’ of the partnership but praised WWE for being great partners.
Regarding the potential sale of WWE, he noted that he hopes the new buyers keep the current management team together because they’ve done a great job from his point of view.
“So, I don’t think it’s an evolution of the partnership (between FOX & WWE). I think they’ve been great partners. They’ve been great partners throughout our partnership, our relationship. If they ultimately sell the business, I hope the acquirer, I’m sure they’ll be as good a partner as they’ve been. I hope the management team stays intact because they’ve done a tremendous job. From a rights point of view, we’re focused on their rights renewal. We’re ready. We haven’t engaged with them on the rights yet. We’re ready to engage with them when they ask, when they’re ready. But ultimately, our appetite for a renewal depends on what happens with the rest of our sports portfolio.”
FOX’s deal for SmackDown expires next year, but negotiations are expected to start later this year.
Former Impact Wrestling star Angelina Love and Fodder are tying the knot as man and wife.
Love took to her Twitter account to announce the news as she shared photos of herself sporting an engagement ring alongside the fellow wrestler.
The two have been wrestling on the independent scene and in the NWA. Fodder has only wrestled for two years while Love has been in the wrestling business for 22 years where she has competed in promotions such as TNA Wrestling, Ring Of Honor, Game Changer Wrestling, SHINE Wrestling, and AAA. They signed with the NWA last year.
The Announcement
Love, who is a former six-time TNA Knockout’s Champion, captioned the post that had photos with the following:
“It was so easy to say YES! to this man ? My King, my best friend, my soulmate and David’s Big Cheese ? love you always and forever @LoKeys910.”
Congrats to the happy couple!
Love most recently wrestled on NWA Powerrr on February 12th when she lost to La Rosa Negra. Fodder’s last match happened on this same episode when he beat VHS.
It was so easy to say YES! to this man ? My King, my best friend, my soulmate and David’s Big Cheese ? love you always and forever @LoKeys910 ?? pic.twitter.com/HyvcCBcnOy
WWE is looking to work with gambling regulators as a way to allow fans to legally bet on matches.
Alex Sherman of CNBC reported today that WWE has had talks with regulators in the states of Colorado and Michigan about legalized betting on “high-profile matches.”
The report added that WWE is working with EY (Ernst & Young) to secure the secrecy of match results to show the regulators that betting would not be impacted by results leaking before the bouts take place.
Other Possibilities
The report noted that should WWE be able to get this legalized then it could open the door for “legalized betting on other guarded, secret scripted events, such as future character deaths in TV series.”
The story added, “Allowing gambling on certain WWE matches would alter how matches are produced – and how storylines are created. In discussions about how gambling on wrestling could work, WWE executives have proposed that scripted results of matches be locked in months ahead of time, according to people familiar with the matter. The wrestlers themselves wouldn’t know whether they were winning or losing until shortly before a match takes place, said the people.”
WWE entered into an agreement with DraftKings in 2021 by naming them as their official gaming partner, which allows for free-to-play pools with DraftKings.
After Komander made his AEW debut recently, he not only has interest from the promotion, but also from WWE.
On the March 1st episode of AEW dynamite, he was part of the Face of the Revolution ladder match. During the bout, he hit a rope walk into a springboard dive to the floor to take out everyone. It’s one of his signature moves.
After the match, it was reported that both companies were interested in signing him, something that he is honored to hear.
Reaction
“It’s very humbling to hear that people want to know where I’m going next,” says Komander. “That is a huge honor, to be spoken of in such a manner. I came from nothing. I had absolutely nothing. I did this because it is what I love to do. I understand that my career could be just like my rope walk—it could be a great success, or it could be a failure. No matter what happens, I’m always going to get back up. I never did this for the fame. I do it out of love. Whatever comes next is a blessing,” Komander told Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated.
Regarding the rope walk, he noted that he’s been doing it since he was 12 and wanted to make it part of the lucha libre.
Komander most recently worked the NWA vs. AAA The World Is A Vampire event on March 4th, where he teamed with Octagon Jr to defeat Cyon & Homicide.
NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez defended her title against Meiko Satomura.
After Satomura and Perez defeated Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, Satomura grabbed the microphone where she told Perez that since she did something for Perez, then she could do something for her. She wanted the NXT Women’s Championship before Perez said it would be an honor. This was the set up.
The match served as the main event. Meiko controlled most of it as Perez couldn’t mount any offense for a while. Perez rolled her up for the win. Post-match, Meiko raised her hand, but Perez collapsed. She was checked on by the medical staff and was stretchered out. This closed the show.
Indus Sher & Jinder Mahal vs. The Creed Brothers & Bron Breakker in a six-man tag team match was booked.
The heels have been feuding with The Creed Brothers for several weeks now. The Creeds tried to get Damon Kemp, their former Diamond Mine teammate, to be their partner despite the bad blood between them, but he heeled it up. Breakker walked up and offered to team with them and it was made.
The match took place in the first hour. The babyfaces had matching attire and got the upperhand heading into the commercial break where they all hit outside dives. Once back from break, the heels took over. The Creeds pinned Sangh with their finisher.
Later in the broadcast, Breakker came out to say that he was saving this for next week, but figured he would do it now. He thinks the biggest match should happen at the biggest stage. There are no more roadblocks. He called out Carmelo Hayes, who came out and said it’s time for their paths to finally cross. Hayes said everyone wants it. Breakker said he’s been waiting for this match and anytime he would face anyone else, he was disappointed that it wasn’t Hayes. Carmelo said he has kept tabs on Bron this whole time. Bron recalled having a meeting with Triple H and Shawn Michaels about how they saw them two as guys who could take over NXT. Bron said there is nowhere else to go. Hayes told him that he would see him for the NXT Title at Stand & Deliver.
Gigi Dolan vs. Jacy Jayne in a grudge match took place.
Jayne turned on her a few weeks ago during a segment with Bayley after they lost a triple threat match at Vengeance Day while wrestling NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez. Two weeks ago, Dolan returned to attack Jayne before doing a promo last week about how she would make Jayne pay for the pain she went through.
The match was kept short with Jayne getting most of the offense. Dolin went over with her finisher. Post-match, Jayne attacked her.
The Grayson Waller Effect with special guest Shawn Michaels was booked.
Waller has been poking Michaels for weeks after losing to NXT Champion Bron Breakker in a steel cage match at Vengeance Day a few weeks ago as he interrupted Michaels during the post-event media scrum. Waller has since been wreaking havoc in NXT for Michaels.
Michaels said that they used to be cool and wanted to know what changed. Waller said that Michaels is treating him the same way that Vince McMahon used to treat him and holding him back. Michaels pushed back and proved him wrong. Michaels is the new Vince, according to Waller. Grayson wanted to know why. Michaels said Waller is not the guy because he lost to NXT Champion Bron Breakker at Vengeance Day. He said that Waller took his shot at being the guy and missed. Michaels said that Waller needs to look in the mirror. Waller said the only reason Michaels is in his spot is due to his good friend Hunter having a heart attack. Michaels said that he happily helped out a friend.
Michaels said that he’s in charge of the show now. Waller said that Michaels is sending the brand into an iceberg and he wouldn’t be surprised if he’s cut after WrestleMania because Michaels isn’t using him. Michaels said the brand has always been built around a group of guys, not one guy. Waller said he’s tired of being in NXT because he’s tired of Michaels not seeing his talent. Michaels told him to never run the brand into the ground. Waller wanted him to do something about it. Waller challenged him to a match at Stand & Deliver. Michaels said that people have asked him for a decade to come back. Michaels said it happened before and it will happen again, but the reality is there is someone who wants to whip him more than Michaels. Michaels said that Waller won’t face him, but his Stand and Deliver opponent will be Johnny Gargano. A brawl broke out with Gargano standing tall.
It’s time for Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes to share the squared circle. It will be a match that takes place in the main event of NXT’s next Peacock special, Stand & Deliver.
During Tuesday’s NXT episode, it was confirmed that Breakker will defend the NXT Title against Hayes at this show.
The Challenge
Breakker came out for a promo where he said that he thinks the biggest match should happen at the biggest stage because there are no more roadblocks in the way of it happening. He called out Hayes, who said it’s time for their paths to finally cross because everyone wants it.
Breakker said that whenever he would face anyone else, he was disappointed that it wasn’t Hayes. They said they had been keeping tabs on each other this whole time.
Breakker told a story about having a meeting with Triple H and Shawn Michaels in 2021 about how they saw them two as guys who could take over NXT. Bron said there is nowhere else to go and Hayes agreed before telling him that he would see him for the NXT Title at Stand & Deliver.
The event will take place on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California
Johnny Gargano made his return to WWE NXT on Tuesday’s Roadblock special and set up his match at NXT’s next special.
There was a Grayson Waller Effect segment with special guest Shawn Michaels where Michaels was trying to figure out why Waller had targeted him after losing to NXT Champion Bron Breakker in a steel cage match at Vengeance Day a few weeks ago.
The Segment
They traded words where Waller accused Michaels of holding him back and not seeing how he is NXT’s biggest star. Michaels pushed back and proved him wrong. Waller said Michaels was the new “Vince” [McMahon] and how Michaels only had his spot in WWE because his best friend had a health issue, referring to Triple H’s heart issues.
Michaels said Waller is not the guy because he lost to Breakker and he took his shot at being the guy and missed. After Waller said Michaels is sending the brand into an iceberg, it fired up Michaels. He demanded to know what Waller wanted. That was a match at Stand & Deliver.
Michaels said that people have asked him for a decade to come back, but he knows that people will just keep asking every year. Michaels introduced Gargano, leading a brawl with Gargano standing tall.
The event will take place on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California
WWE had to nix a planned angle after the controversial moment in a rival promotion, AEW.
MJF retained the World Heavyweight Championship over Bryan Danielson in a 60-minute iron man match on Sunday night at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event. During it, MJF grabbed a cup from a mother and threw her water on her young son as they sat at ringside. MJF then jumped over the barricade to get back into the ring.
MJF thought it was water, which turned out to be tequila. Amanda Huber and others came out to check on the fan, leading to them bringing back the mother and son to the backstage area, where they were given merchandise and will be attending Wednesday’s Dynamite in Sacramento.
AEW President Tony Khan confirmed during the post-event press conference that he had a serious conversation with MJF about the incident.
The Angle
Fightful Select reports there was originally a segment in which a wrestler would throw a drink in another’s face during a match on Raw. It was said throughout the day that some people at the show had “heard of the plans and thought that it was a shot at AEW or a reference to MJF throwing a drink on a child at AEW Revolution.”
The report stated that WWE had already come up with the plans that were sent to many people in WWE before Sunday’s AEW event, as much of the creative structure was done by that show.
Obviously, the segment didn’t take place, but it was included in some of the outlined plans as of Monday afternoon and evening. “One WWE talent theorized that the segment likely was nixed as a result of the AEW/MJF spot.”
2K Games is bringing back the MyGM Mode for WWE 2K23 after the mode returned in WWE 2K22.
It will be further expanded this year. On Tuesday, a video with Xavier Woods and Tyler Breeze posted on the UpUpDownDown YouTube channel shared details on the movements made to the game.
Fightful provided a rundown of all the new features added to the mode, which allows fans to take control of a brand and be the authority.
The Details
This year’s mode will have 4-player gameplay and more while brands can now have a mid-card title on their brands including SmackDown with the WWE Intercontinental Championship, Raw with the WWE United States Championship, the Hardcore Championship for WCW and North American Titles for NXT.
2K is also introducing new match types are included in the MyGM mode as well as Triple Threat, Fatal 4-Way, Steel Cage, Backstage Brawl, Falls Count Anywhere, Submission, Iron Man, Last Man Standing, and Tornado Tag matches are all selectable in the mode.
Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, Adam Pearce, and the option for an edited MyGM will be available. Xavier Woods, Tyler Breeze, Kurt Angle, Eric Bischoff, and Mick Foley are selectable GMs.
The mode also features seasons, allowing players to continue playing beyond WrestleMania while trying to reach the WWE Hall of Fame.
The standard edition of WWE 2K23 will be out on Friday, March 17, 2023, on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series XS, Xbox One, and PC. Those who get the Deluxe or Icon editions will have access to the game on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.
WWE WrestleMania 39 will be extra special for Logan Paul as the event will be taking place on his birthday. WWE is continuing the tradition of holding the show over the course of two nights – April 1st and April 2nd.
The YouTuber/boxer set up his match at this event on Monday’s episode of Raw against Seth Rollins. During it, Paul caught Rollins with a punch that knocked him out.
The Date
While speaking on his IMPAULSIVE podcast, Logan stated that the match is happening on April 1st, night one of WrestleMania.
“Yeah, me versus Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, it’s going down. It’s official. It’s going down, I got confirmation. Me versus Seth Rollins… He’s been beefing with me… WrestleMania, April 1st, in Los Angeles on my birthday. He’s very good at what he does, he’s very good at what he does. He’s probably top three in the business right now, and for that reason, it’d be an honor to take him on at WrestleMania. I’m really happy with this matchup.”
Paul also stated that he didn’t know who Rollins was before he got into pro wrestling. Aside from Paul vs. Rollins, the card has yet to be sorted out, but here is the current lineup:
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
John Cena vs. Austin Theory
Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Trish Stratus, Becky Lynch & Lita vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY)
