Former WWE RAW Tag Team Champion Jason Jordan is preparing for his return to in-ring action.
He’s been out of action since early 2018 due to a neck issue and was last seen on TV when RAW General Manager Kurt Angle sent him home until he was healthy enough to compete.
It was reported earlier this week that Jordan was expected to return from injury later this month to the RAW brand.
In a further update that surfaced this week, Mike Johnson of Pwinsider.com is now reporting that the Jason is slated to be backstage for this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Coliseum.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on what the sports entertainment company has planned for Jordan on television whether that be with his storyline involving Seth Rollins or the “father and son” storyline with Angle.
What are your thoughts on Jordan returning from injury? Sound off in the comments section below.
The final match has been announced for this Sunday’s WWE Backlash.
The sports entertainment company has announced that Ruby Riott would take on former WWE RAW Women’s Champion Bayley in a singles match on the Backlash Pre-show.
Backlash is slated to have a one-hour Kickoff Show and three-hour pay-per-view event on the WWE Network in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center. There is also scheduled to be a 30-minute post-show.
Tag Team Match: Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Pre-Show Match: Bayley vs. Ruby Riot
As a reminder, we have already posted our WWE Backlash Staff Predictions. Also, make sure to join us for our WWE Backlash Live Results & Discussion on Sunday night.
Do you plan on watching this event? Sound off in the comment section below.
It’s been well documented that former WWE Divas Champion Paige’s career is over as in-ring performer under the WWE banner. The news was reported a while ago, but WWE had yet to confirm the news up until recently.
It’s been reported that she will not be cleared to return to the ring after her most recent in-ring injury and that it’s a situation described as similar to Edge’s medical disqualification from competing in the ring. It all started in late December at a live event in Long Island. For those who may not remember, she was in a six-woman tag match that needed to be called off. Paige took a hard kick to the back from Sasha Banks that she wasn’t ready for and it stunned her. The early belief was it was just a mild stinger, leading to her losing feeling in her extremities. WWE pulled her from the ring and set up further testing that led to this decision.
Paige recently appeared on the E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness podcast with WWE Hall of Famer Edge and former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Christian to talk about various topics including her career-ending injury.
“When it actually happened and the accident happened in the ring, I lost all feeling in my legs and my arms,” Paige explained. “It was literally the most terrifying experience in my life and I would never wish that upon anyone. It was so scary. I literally was like ‘Oh my gosh, I’m done, I’m going to be in a wheelchair now, this is it, I’ve pushed myself too much.’ Because I really did, because every time I was in the match I was like ‘Its okay, I’ll do the comeback, I’ll take the bump, I’ll do this, I’ll do that,’ because I was just so eager to get back in the ring you know. I feel like I pushed myself too hard to the point of where my body was like ‘stop.’ You know I’ve been doing this since I was thirteen as well and my body was like “you need time to grow woman.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJmn64u9VME
I refused to believe I was hurt, I remember doing this. Coming back to Orlando to go get my MRIs and stuff and I felt good, I could get back in the ring again even though I just experienced temporary paralysis. I was like ‘No I’m good, I can do this, please don’t make me be out.’ And I was like begging them, ‘Please I don’t want to be out anymore, please don’t let me be out.’ I was just crying to the doctors and stuff. So then Dr. Maroon was like ‘I’m sorry you cannot get back in the ring again.’ It was horrible, it really breaks your heart….it really does.”
Paige added, “I remember being in the match too and experiencing that and like ‘maybe it’s just my arms right?’ So I’m like ‘No, I’m going to keep going.’ And I remember trying to grab Sasha’s legs and my arms felt like there was just no bones in them you know. So I’m trying to grab her legs and then like ‘wait let me try to stand up and then I’ll be good to do the comeback’ and Sasha is like ‘Noooo, absolutely not.’ Then I tried to stand up and I just look drunk. Like I just start stumbling and falling back. But actually I feel like the girls were more terrified than what I was at the time. Like I was petrified, but the girls were crying at ringside and stuff and then they see the stretcher coming out and I was like ‘Please, please’ and it’s just like horrible. I don’t know how you did it for so many years beforehand because it’s terrifying.”
What are your thoughts on Paige’s comments?
Thanks to Reddit user FuzzyWuzzyMooMoo for the transcribed quote
There has been a big shift in betting odds for the WWE Backlash pay-per-view event.
Earlier this week, the odds called for no title changes, but on Friday (May 4) that all changed. Now, odds call for Shinsuke Nakamura to win the WWE Title from AJ Styles in what will likely serve as the main event.
Also, in the SmackDown Women’s Title Match, both champion Carmella and challenger Charlotte Flair are placed at -120.
The Backlash pay-per-view event takes place on May 6, 2018, in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center and will air on the WWE Network and some traditional pay-per-view outlets. Both Raw and SmackDown brands will be featured. Here are the betting odds:
WWE Championship – No Disqualification: AJ Styles (c) +160 vs. Shinsuke Nakamura -210 WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Carmella (c) -120 vs. Charlotte Flair -120 WWE Intercontinental Championship: Seth Rollins (c) -600 vs The Miz +400 Raw Women’s Championship: Nia Jax (c) -750 vs. Alexa Bliss+450 Roman Reigns -600 vs. Samoa Joe +400 Daniel Bryan -280 vs. Big Cass +200
What are your thoughts on these betting odds? Sound off in the comment section below.
New details have emerged about Daniel Bryan’s schedule with the WWE.
Bryan was forced to retire two years again due to his history with concussions. Despite that his run on top in WWE was short-lived, he no doubt made a mark on the history of the sports entertainment company.
Then it was revealed in March that Bryan had been medically cleared to return to in-ring competition and worked his first match back by teaming up with Shane McMahon to take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a Tag Team match at WrestleMania 34.
Since then, Bryan has been working matches on SmackDown Live and WWE’s latest pay-per-view event.
Bryan made history at last Friday’s WWE Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on the WWE Network in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah International Stadium by break an impressive record, which was beating Rey Mysterio’s previous 1:02:14 record for longest time in a Royal Rumble Match.
He was in the Greatest Royal Rumble for an astounding 1:16:05.
There was some speculation that he would be working a part-time schedule following his return but by looking at advertisements for upcoming WWE events, he will be working a full-time schedule.
The sports entertainment company is advertising him for upcoming SmackDown live events, including the U.K. tour. The only events that he’s not advertised for the blue brand are in Tokyo on June 29th and Taipei on July 1st.
Bryan is slated to take on Big Cass in a singles match at this Sunday’s Backlash pay-per-view event.
What are your thoughts on Bryan working a full-time schedule? Sound off in the comment section below.
A new report has shed some light on what the WWE has planned for Samoa Joe on SmackDown Live.
Although the sports entertainment company has moved him from their flagship show, Monday Night RAW, to SmackDown Live, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is still going forward with plans in place.
Those plans call for Joe to face Roman Reigns in a singles match at the upcoming Backlash pay-per-view event that takes place on May 6, 2018, in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center.
Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated is reporting that although the chances of Joe losing to Reigns at Backlash are pretty good, that doesn’t mean that the WWE doesn’t have big plans for the “Samoan Submission Machine.” It was noted that WWE is planning for Joe to feud with Styles for the WWE Title on SmackDown Live in the near future.
Thus, it will be interesting to see what direction the company goes in for the WWE Title Match between Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura at Backlash.
Keep in mind that plans change all the time in the WWE and this doesn’t rule out Nakamura winning the title at Backlash.
What are your thoughts on Joe feuding with Styles going forward? Sound off in the comment section below.
The early betting odds for the WWE Backlash pay-per-view event have been released.
It should be noted that these odds call for no title changes. Also, the odds for the United States Title Match between Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy have not been released.
The Backlash pay-per-view event takes place on May 6, 2018, in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center and will air on the WWE Network and some traditional pay-per-view outlets. Both Raw and SmackDown brands will be featured.
Here are the betting odds:
WWE Title No DQ Match: Shinsuke Nakamura +150 vs. AJ Styles -180 Singles Match: Daniel Bryan -250 vs. Big Cass +210 WWE SmackDown Women’s Title Match: Charlotte Flair -150 vs. Carmella +130 WWE RAW Women’s Title Match: Alexa Bliss +300 vs. Nia Jax -350 Singles Match: Roman Reigns -250 vs. Samoa Joe +210 WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Seth Rollins -210 vs. The Miz +180 Tag Team Match: Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley -350 vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn +300
Do you plan on watching this event? Sound off in the comment section below.
Samoa Joe’s replacement for a top match at an upcoming WWE live event has been revealed.
Originally, Joe vs. Roman Reigns in a singles match was promoted for the upcoming live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 7th.
However, earlier this week, the sports entertainment company pulled the SmackDown star from advertisements for the show.
The reason for this is due to the event being a RAW branded show, and they need a RAW star to take on Reigns.
Mike Johnson reported on a recent installment of PWInsider Elite Audio that the star would replace Joe at this event to face Reigns is former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, who is also slated to wrestle Reigns at other live events.
Here is what the longtime pro wrestling journalist had to say (transcript courtesy of RingsideNews): “He’s being pulled off a lot of those house shows. They’re going to be doing, including at Madison Square Garden I was told, Roman vs. Jinder.”
Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Elias, Matt Hardy, and Bray Wyatt are also being advertised for this live event.
What are your thoughts on Mahal replacing Joe? Sound off in the comment section below.
Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho is not done with NJPW after all.
Jericho made several surprise appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling including his match against Kenny Omega at the Wrestle Kingdom event at the Tokyo Dome in January.
NJPW held their New Year Dash 2018 event the following night in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall that aired live on their streaming service, NJPWWorld.com.
Jericho made a surprise appearance at the show when starting a new feud by attacking Tetsuya Naito at the event.
According to a report by PWinsider.com, despite the fact that Jericho stated in previous interviews that he was done working for the promotion, he is expected to appear at this week’s Wrestling Dontaku event in Fukuoka, Japan to shoot an angle that will lead to his in-ring return at the Dominion event in Osaka next month where he’ll likely be working against Naito.
What are your thoughts on Jericho returning to NJPW? Sound off in the comment section below.
The card for the upcoming WWE Backlash event looks close to being finalized.
Jeff Hardy will be defending the WWE United States Title against Randy Orton at the show. As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Montreal, QC at the Bell Centre on the USA Network, the sports entertainment company made the match official.
Also, WWE added a stipulation to the WWE Title Match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura as it is now No DQ Match.
The Backlash pay-per-view event takes place on May 6, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center and will air on the WWE Network and some traditional pay-per-view outlets. Both Raw and SmackDown brands will be featured. Here is the updated card:
Tag Team Match: Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
As a reminder, this Friday, we will post our WWE Backlash Staff Predictions. Also, make sure to join us for our WWE Backlash Live Results & Discussion on Sunday night.
Do you plan on watching this event? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE Champion AJ Styles has taken the WWE by storm since signing a few years ago.
Styles made his name known while in TNA Wrestling, now known as Impact Wrestling, from 2002–2013 well before he signed with the sports entertainment company.
Styles first appeared on WWE television in 2002 but turned down a developmental contract he was offered by the company. He signed a multi-year contract with WWE fourteen years later in January 2016 and made his re-debut at that month’s Royal Rumble. After appearing at his first WrestleMania 32 that April against Chris Jericho, Styles headlined multiple pay-per-view events and won the WWE Championship twice.
Styles was recently a guest on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast where he spoke about various topics including Daniel Bryan.
Ever since the former SmackDown General manager was recently cleared by WWE doctors, Styles, as well as other WWE Superstars, have gone on record by stating that they would like to wrestle the former WWE Champion.
“Selfishly, I was hoping he [Bryan] would have gotten cleared before. Did I expect him to be cleared? No, but the fact that he did is awesome. Reminded me of when Shawn Michaels came back. I remember just praying for him to not get hurt because you just never know, and then he goes out and becomes Shawn Michaels. I feel like I am in the best run of my career as well.” What are your thoughts on Styles’ comments about Bryan? Sound off in the comment section below.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America will induct nine new Club alumni into their Alumni Hall of Fame during a ceremony this week including Hulk Hogan.
The ceremony, which will honor alumni who have gone on from their Boys & Girls Club to make contributions in their professions, is slated to be hosted by Courtney B. Vance.
During the interview, he gave some high praise to WWE Champion AJ Styles, who is slated to defend his title against Shinsuke Nakamura in a No DQ Match at this Sunday’s Backlash pay-per-view event that takes place in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center.
“AJ has turned out to be one heck of a performer, one of the best in the world,” said Hogan. “Beyond that, he’s just such a good person.”
“What AJ does in the ring is phenomenal, and that’s why we call him the ‘Phenomenal One’, but when he’s outside the ring, he’s even more phenomenal,” said Hogan. “It’s so cool to see how he takes care of his family and loves his kids. If people saw him outside of when he wrestles, they’d have even more admiration for him.”
Hogan has been a household name in the world of professional wrestling for decades now. He has wrestled some of the biggest names in the history of pro wrestling, and although he has a long-lasting relationship with the company, there have been some hiccups between the two sides throughout the years. “So many people are so loyal,” said Hogan. “That support has given me my pulse. I’ve wrestled for four generations of people, but after all these years, I never thought the popularity would still be this big. I’ll be 65 in a couple months, and I had no idea there would still be this groundswell of interest. “People have stood by me through the good stuff, but also through the controversy. People were loyal and stood behind me even when big corporations made decisions based on their corporate policies. The fans stuck with me. It’s been amazing how loyal they have been to me.”
What are your thoughts on Hogan’s praise of Styles? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE will be releasing a 3-disc DVD set entitled “Then, Now, Forever: The Evolution of WWE’s Women’s Division” on June 25 and 26 in Europe and the U.S.
If you recall, back in 2016 at WrestleMania 32, WWE unveiled a new Women’s Championship title belt and re-branded the Divas Division to become the Women’s Division. Since then, WWE has placed a greater emphasis on its female performers, including recruiting female talent from around the world, as well as the recent signings of the first female recruits from the Middle East and India. Another milestone in WWE’s women’s evolution came as recently as January with the women’s Royal Rumble. This evolution has placed a spotlight on its female performers, involving them in more prominent storylines, with deeper character development and longer matches.
The set features a documentary about the evolution of the division, full-length matches, and some special features and interviews. Here is the full content listing for the set, courtesy of WrestlingDVDNetwork:
Disc 1
The Women’s Evolution Spotlight on: Wendi Richter WWE Women’s Championship Match: Wendi Richter vs. The Fabulous Moolah – “The Brawl to End It All” [Madison Square Garden] • July 23, 1984 Spotlight on: Sensational Sherri Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match: The Fabulous Moolah, Rockin’ Robin, Velvet McIntyre & The Jumping Bomb Angels vs. Sensational Sherri, Dawn Marie, Donna Christanello & The Glamour Girls – Survivor Series • November 26, 1987 Spotlight on: Alundra Blayze WWE Women’s Championship Match: Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano – RAW • April 3, 1995 Spotlight on: Ivory WWE Women’s Championship Match: Ivory vs. Chyna – WrestleMania X-Seven • April 1, 2001 Spotlight on: Victoria WWE Women’s Championship Match: Trish Stratus vs. Victoria – RAW • November 25, 2002 Spotlight on: Lita Steel Cage Match: Lita vs. Victoria – RAW • November 24, 2003 Spotlight on: Molly Holly Title vs. Hair Match for the WWE Women’s Championship: Molly Holly vs. Victoria – WrestleMania XX • March 14, 2004 Spotlight on: Trish Stratus WWE Women’s Championship Match: Trish Stratus vs. Lita – RAW • December 6, 2004 Spotlight on: Mickie James WWE Women’s Championship Match: Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James – WrestleMania 22 • April 2, 2006 Spotlight on: AJ Lee WWE Divas Championship Match: Kaitlyn vs. AJ Lee – Payback • June 16, 2013 Spotlight on: Paige NXT Women’s Championship Match: Paige vs. Emma – NXT ArRIVAL • February 27, 2014
Disc 2
Spotlight on: Natalya NXT Women’s Championship Match: Natalya vs. Charlotte – NXT TakeOver • May 29, 2014 Spotlight on: The Bella Twins Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon – SummerSlam • August 17, 2014 Spotlight on: Bayley Iron Man Match for the NXT Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – NXT TakeOver: Respect • October 7, 2015 Spotlight on: Charlotte Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women’s Championship: Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks – WrestleMania 32 • April 2, 2016 Spotlight on: Becky Lynch 6-Pack Challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella vs. Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella – Backlash • September 11, 2016 Spotlight on: Sasha Banks Hell in a Cell Match for the RAW Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte – Hell in a Cell • October 30, 2016
Disc 3
Spotlight on: Carmella Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Carmella vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Tamina – SmackDown • June 27, 2017 Spotlight on: Mae Young Mae Young Classic Tournament Final: Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler – Mae Young Classic • November 12, 2017 Spotlight on: Royal Rumble Participants Women’s Royal Rumble Match – Royal Rumble • January 28, 2018 Spotlight on: Alexa Bliss Elimination Chamber Match for RAW Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Mickie James vs. Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville – Elimination Chamber • February 25, 2018 Spotlight on: Ronda Rousey Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon – WrestleMania 34 • April 8, 2018 It’s Only The Beginning
Do you plan on buying this DVD? Sound off in the comment section below.
The Miz has been an important part of the WWE over the last decade.
The biggest match of The Miz’s career was when defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship back at WrestleMania 27 in 2011 in the main event.
This marked the only time that WWE had booked The Miz in the main event of the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company.
Miz was recently interviewed on CBS Sports’ In This Corner podcast to talk about various topics including beating Cena in the main event of WrestleMania. “I have pinned John Cena at WrestleMania, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my WWE career. To go into WrestleMania as WWE Champion and to walk out of WrestleMania as WWE Champion as the bad guy that people boo, that doesn’t really happen ever and it did with me because I make people believe. “
Now that Daniel Bryan has been cleared to return to in-ring action, it’s just a matter of time before the WWE books Miz and Bryan in a program on the blue brand. Miz gave an interesting response when asked if he was happy about Bryan being cleared.
“Am I happy? No. Good for him that he is back. Congratulations. Bravo. The thing is he was the one that said, ‘fight for your dreams?’ He didn’t fight for his dreams when he walked away like a coward on Talking Smack now did he? That’s real. Fight for your dreams. His playbook goes something like this: go out there, get sympathy, talk about your wife, cry a little and get your ass kicked.”
– WWE is scheduled to hold a live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 7th. The promotion recently updated the advertisement for the show.
Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe in a singles match is being promoted as the main event. Keep in mind that this is a match that is also being advertised for several other events this summer.
It should be noted that although the arena is advertising this match, WWE.com is no longer advertising Joe for the upcoming show. This may have been done due to Joe being moved from RAW to SmackDown Live as part of the Superstar Shake-Up. It’s possible that MSG updates the lineup in the coming days.
Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Elias, Matt Hardy, and Bray Wyatt are also being advertised for this live event. – WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry discussed WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins’ latest work in WWE on the latest episode of Busted Open Radio. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion gave high praise to Rollins and said he’s becoming an all-time great. “Seth Rollins is, right now, for your money, he’s one of the most exciting guys wrestling,” Henry said. “He’s getting into that ‘great’ stratusphere, like beyond elite. He’s becoming—dare I say—Hall Of Fame caliber. He’s going to be one of the best before it’s all said and done with.”
WWE is already starting to build the next feud for former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey.
Rousey made her WWE in-ring debut by teaming up with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a Mixed Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 34 last month.
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw in Montreal, QC at the Bell Centre on the USA Network, Rousey was ringside for Natalya’s match against Mickie James, which saw Natalya win. After the match, there was a post-match celebration angle that featured WWE RAW Women’s Champ Nia Jax, Rousey, and Natalya.
The previous week, Rousey made the save for Natalya and beatdown James. Mike Johnson speculated on PWinsider audio that this segment could’ve been done as a way to plant the seeds for a future match that would see Jax vs. Rousey at SummerSlam later this year.
“Nia Jax showed up as Alexa was standing on the stage and then Alexa ran away from her and dove into the crowd to get away. Then they did the moment of Nia and Rousey, kinda facing off, which of course they will build that as a dream match at some point. Before the two raised each other’s arms and they’re both happy, happy, joy, joy smiling. It was an interesting little thing. I looked at that and went, ‘there’s SummerSlam.’ That’s were my brain immediately went. That’s the initial tease for SummerSlam.”
Rousey vs. Nia Jax? Meh
The question remains if Nia Jax is the right opponent for Ronda Rousey this early into her in-ring career. Rousey is scheduled to work against with veteran competitor Mickie James during WWE’s upcoming UK tour. This seems like a wise booking decision, as Rousey can continue honing her skills against a seasoned competitor. Nia Jax has improved, but she’s no Mickie James in the ring. She’s also a babyface, as is Ronda Rousey. Who knows if Nia Jax will still be RAW Women’s Champion come August, but Rousey should not be anywhere near a championship match before WrestleMania 35.
Maybe Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax will cross paths eventually, but Rousey would be better suited against someone like Mickie or Alexa Bliss.
What are your thoughts on a potential match between Jax and Rousey at this event? Sound off in the comment section below.
– WWE has already confirmed that WWE Champion AJ Styles will wrestle Shinsuke Nakamura under the sports entertainment banner for the third time thus far this year. Their first match went down at WrestleMania 34 with Styles winning and their second match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event that saw no winner being declared as both superstars were counted out.
Now, Styles is slated to put his title on the line against Nakamura at the upcoming Backlash pay-per-view event in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center on Sunday. The WWE Champion sent out the following tweet to hype the upcoming match:
– WWE’s annual tour of the UK is right around the corner, and more lineups for these events have been revealed, which you can see here: Belfast, Northern Ireland (May 10th) — Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe — Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman — Elias vs. Bobby Lashley — Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler vs. Titus Worldwide with Dana Brooke — No Way Jose, The Ascension, Breezango vs. The Revival, The Authors of Pain, Curt Hawkins — Handicap Match: The Riott Squad vs. Ember Moon and Natalya — Raw Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn — Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley — WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Roode vs. Finn Balor vs. Jinder Mahal with Sunil Singh Dublin, Ireland (May 11th) — Roman Reigns, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin, Samoa Joe, Jinder Mahal with Sunil Singh — Bobby Roode vs. Elias — Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens — The Revival, The Authors of Pain, Curt Hawkins vs. The Ascension, No Way Jose, Titus Worldwide with Dana Brooke — Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon, Dana Brooke vs. Natalya, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan — Raw Tag Team Champions Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy vs. Breezango vs. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler — Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss — WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn
Despite being advertised for the show, former WWE Champion The Big Show did not appear at the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble.
The sports entertainment company advertised Show for the 50-Man Royal Rumble Match at last Friday’s event pay-per-view event on the WWE Network in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah International Stadium with the idea that having several big men working the match would appeal to the Saudi audience.
Dave Meltzer noted on the most recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Show couldn’t work the match because he got re-injured about three weeks ago while training for his in-ring return.
If you recall, Big Show had hip surgery last September. The former WWE Champion was last seen on WWE TV when he lost to Braun Strowman in a Steel Cage match.
What are your thoughts on Show not working this event and being re-injured? Sound off in the comment section below.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions will be producing a feature film based on the life of the Knight family including Saraya Knight aka Paige.
The film is being produced in conjunction with WWE Studios and Film 4, and the title is “Fighting with My Family.”
Johnson will have a role in the film but Paige will not be playing herself but rather will be portrayed by actress Florence Pugh. Lena Headey and Nick Frost will play Paige’s parents in the film.
According to a report by Deadline, the movie has been pushed back from September 1st, 2018 to March 1st, 2019. The reason for the delay is due to the heavy competition on the weekend of September 1st as the new Predator movie will be released that day.
Now, the film is slated to go up against the “How to Train Your Dragon” animated movie from DreamWorks.
Do you plan on watching this movie? Sound off in the comment section below.
PWG has announced the full card for their next event, which is titled Bask in His Glory.
The show will be headlined by WALTER defending his title against Sammy Guevara. In the co-main event, it will see Keith Lee vs. Adam Brooks in a singles match.
The event is slated to take place on Friday, May 25 at the American Legion in Reseda, California and will be the last show at the building because of the venue has been sold, and may be torn down. Here is the full card:
– PWG World Champion WALTER defending against Sammy Guevara – Singles Match: Keith Lee vs. Adam Brooks – Singles Match: Bandido vs. Robbie Eagles – Singles Match: Matt Riddle vs. David Starr – Singles Match: Jonah Rock vs. Timothy Thatcher – Singles Match: Jake Atlas vs. Rey Horus – Singles Match: Tyler Bateman vs. Trevor Lee
What are your thoughts on the lineup for this show? Sound off in the comment section below.
– For those who are wondering, WWE’s next pay-per-view event, Backlash, is slated to have a one-hour Kickoff Show and three-hour pay-per-view event on the WWE Network. There is also scheduled to be a 30-minute post-show.
With the WWE making the decision to feature both RAW and SmackDown brands on PPV events going forward, there was some speculation that WWE would be switching to four-hour main shows with the move to dual brand pay-per-views. However, that is not the case.
– Former WWE Superstar Summer Rae aka Danielle Moinet is officially set to make a return to in-ring action by making her independent scene debut on May 25th, 2018 by competing at a Battle Championship Wrestling event in Burwood East, Victoria, Australia.
She’s advertised to compete in the ongoing women’s championship tournament. This marks her first match since 2016 and her first appearance at a wrestling show since her departure from the WWE back in October.
What are your thoughts on WWE keeping pay-per-view events outside of the traditional big four just three hours? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon has been a major character on TV for the sports entertainment company for two decades now.
Currently, she serves the Commissioner for the WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, and was last seen on television earlier this month the night after WrestleMania 34, which saw her and Triple H lose to Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle in a Mixed Tag Team Match.
The daughter of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon spoke at the yearly Business Partner Summit to talk about the business.
During her speech, she explained why the company and its chairman decided to move away from using the term “pro wrestling” and coming up with “sports entertainment.”
“Advertisers either had an adverse reaction to the words ‘professional wrestling,’ or they simply didn’t understand what it was,” said Stephanie. “So, how could we create a term or a label that potential partners could understand? How could we describe the WWE was based on larger-than-life characters enthralled in relatable storylines? That was when we coined the term ‘sports entertainment’.” Stephanie brought up the fact that the greatest asset of the WWE is the company’s “ability to reimagine storytelling… whether it was capturing the all-American fervor of the 80s, the spirit of the antihero in the 90s, or the rise of the underdog in the 2000s.” WWE’s storytelling, according to Thom Loverro of The Washington Times, birthed the “entire reality television industry – scripted dramatic conflict posing as reality.”
Another change that WWE made was back in 2008 around August time when they decided to go into the PG era. “10 years ago, WWE once again reimagined our content and made the strategic decision to become more family-friendly, to grow our multi-generational audience and attract more blue-chip partners,” said Stephanie. “Looking around the room here today, it’s easy to see that this strategy worked.”
Mark Henry is coming out of retirement from in-ring competition for one special WWE event.
Henry has been with the sports entertainment company since 1996. He was just 24-years of age when he decided to get into the pro wrestling business. During his time with the company, he held the WWE World Heavyweight Title, ECW Title, and European Title.
If you recall, Henry hinted that he would be wrapping up his career as an in-ring performer in WWE when the WWE Network aired an episode of “Table For 3.” He would later officially announce that his 21-year in-ring career was coming to an end.
He has gone on record in previous interviews by stating that he wants to help all of the up-and-coming male and female talent develop and become successful in the company.
WWE has released this video of the WWE Hall of Famer talking about working the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event. As for the reason he’s coming out of retirement, Henry stated, “I’ve been retired now for 10 months and I’m only coming out of retirement this one time for you.”
What are your thoughts on Henry coming out of retirement for this show? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has had a storied career in the professional industry and will go down as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
Michaels headlined major pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2010, closing the sports entertainment company’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, five times.
He has held every big championship that WWE had to offer and had some classic matches as well as a feud with the biggest names in pro wrestling. Those names would include The Undertaker, Steve Austin, Triple H, and Ric Flair.
Although he turned his life around when he returned from hiatus in 2002, his final match before taking time away from the WWE was interesting, to say the least as he was dealing with some issues that have been well documented.
During the first episode of WWE Network’s Something Else To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard, the long-time WWE producer reflected on the issues that Michaels had leading into his WWE Title Match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14 in 1998.
Prichard talked about whether people believed Michaels back injury was real and how difficult Michaels was to work with at the time (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc).
“There were definitely grumblings and I would venture to say that there were far more skeptics than there were sympathetic ears at this point because of the timing and the fact that a year [before], his knee was injured and while talking about dropping the title due to a knee injury, he brings up losing his smile.” Prichard continued, “so I guess it was ‘suspect at best’ as my friend, J.R., would say. People doubted it. People didn’t know if it was legitimate, which, by the way, it was a legitimate injury and it was a very bad injury. The timing of it though, didn’t help. And it certainly didn’t help that, Shawn being Shawn, wasn’t talking to a lot of people and I think that he didn’t allow anyone to feel sorry for him, really.”
“At this time, during this whole run, earlier, you could deal with people who were assholes and people who were difficult because you knew what you got and how to deal with them. You can figure all that out. That’s not that difficult. Shawn, at this point, going into WrestleMania, and probably from January on, the injury on, he was a good 9.5 to deal with. Yeah, he was there.” Prichard recalled, “Shawn had made a lot of demands. Shawn wanted security when he arrived in Boston. And he felt that the unruliness of the fans at the [public] workout [where Michaels was struck by a battery] and in general he had a lot of heat on him in general. Steve [Austin] was so red-hot as a babyface that Shawn wanted protection 24/7, and he got it, and we got it for him. We had the police escort him everywhere that he went leading up to WrestleMania and all the way till WrestleMania and after, so that’s the reality and that’s something that we did do.”
What are your thoughts on Prichard’s recalling comments about Michaels at this time? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE is slowly but surely making changes to the way that they portray Shinsuke Nakamura on television.
It all started at WrestleMania 34 earlier this month in New Orleans when he turned heel after losing to AJ Styles for the WWE Title.
As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Louisville, KY at the KFC Yum Center on the USA Network, Nakamura received a new entrance song and video to go along with his new character.
While building up to the Styles vs. Nakamura match at this Friday’s Greatest Royal Rumble event on the WWE Network, Nakamura has been taking cheap shots at the WWE Champion by connecting with several low blows over the past few weeks on SmackDown Live.
This leads us to former TNA World Heavyweight Champion and current WWE NXT Superstar Ethan Carter III pitching the idea of a new name for Nakamura’s finisher to go along with his new heel tactic. He sent out the following tweet:
With the amount of low blows @ShinsukeN is dishing out, he may as well change the name of his finisher to the Peenshasa.#sdlive