Asuka made history on Sunday night when she stood victorious following the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match. It was a bold move for WWE to close out the show with the Women’s Rumble, but the event delivered on all fronts with surprise returns, a suspenseful finish and a fearsome challenger earning the right to choose her WrestleMania opponent.
Before Asuka could decide between RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte, she was interrupted by the debut of Ronda Rousey. Some fans felt Rousey’s debut overshadowed Asuka’s big moment, but now WWE has the chance to build some suspense about who will have to face Asuka on April 8th.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the word going around is that WWE is planning the following Women’s Championship matches for WrestleMania:
Asuka challenging Charlotte
Nia Jax challenging Alexa Bliss
Asuka and Alexa Bliss squared off on Monday Night RAW just a few weeks ago, with Asuka picking up the win in a non-title match. That could convince Asuka that the RAW Women’s Championship is hers for the taking, but there’s no question that SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte is a higher-profile opponent for Asuka at WrestleMania.
The recent announcement by WWE that the Rumble winner could challenge the champion from either brand adds more credence to the idea that RAW Superstar Asuka will pick the SmackDown Women’s champion as her opponent.
Within the past hour of this writing, Charlotte tweeted a photo that indicates she’s angling for the match against RAW’s most dangerous female competitor.
WWE announced on Monday that Jonathan Coachman has signed a new deal with the company and is the newest member of Monday Night RAW’s commentary team.
Coachman will be calling the action on RAW starting tonight alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves. WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will resume his duties as a panelist on WWE’s pay-per-view Kickoff broadcasts and will serve as a WWE ambassador moving forward.
Coachman began working with WWE back in 1999 as a broadcaster at the peak of the Attitude Era. After a successful run with WWE, he’d go on to work for ESPN for nearly a decade.
Throughout his career at ESPN, Coach was a champion of pro wrestling, hosting “Off the Top Rope” segment covering WWE news and serving as a correspondent for ESPN during big PPV weekends like SummerSlam and WrestleMania.
Coachman tweeted the following about his return to the WWE family, noting that an eventual return has been his vision for years.
World’s collide. Anything is possible. When you do the right things and believe in each other you can do great things. This has been my vision for years and today it finally happened. WWE Universe I am privileged to be back. And it feels amazing to come back home. Philly tonight. https://t.co/ZkOqrmUlMB
The big news coming out of Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view was the WWE debut of Ronda Rousey. The former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion made her intentions clear almost immediately upon entering the ring, interrupting Asuka and pointing to the WrestleMania sign.
Rousey also shook hands with a reluctant Stephanie McMahon at ringside – a clear foreshadowing of what’s to come in the coming months. According to Dave Meltzer, the current plan for Rousey at WrestleMania is for her and a male partner to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in one of the show’s top attractions.
Rousey has been training for her in-ring debut for several months now. That said, a mixed tag-team match will be a good vehicle to feature her in a prominent way without her inexperienced being exposed.
As for who her tag team partner will be, you can be sure it will be a high profile name. The best case scenario would be The Rock, since Rousey and The Rock had a memorable in-ring confrontation with The Authority back at WrestleMania 31. However, The Rock is obviously a very, very busy man it’s unlikely he’ll be able to clear enough time from his schedule to make this dream match a reality.
Opinion: This might also be somewhat of a long-shot, but I’m going to guess Dave Batista as Ronda Rousey’s opponent. Batista has mentioned in several recent interviews that he’d like to return to WWE once again – and Triple H would be his ideal opponent during his final run with the company. Batista is a high profile Hollywood name in his own right and this would be a big opportunity if presented to him.
Discussion: Who would make the best partner for Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon?
Tonight’s edition of WWE RAW will take place from Philadelphia, PA at the Wells Fargo Center.
Of course, the show will feature fallout from Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which saw a lot of events directly affecting Monday Night RAW. Asuka won the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble, but it’s unclear at this time if she will select RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss or SmackDown champion Charlotte Flair as her WrestleMania opponent.
Brock Lesnar retained the Universal Championship and The Bar captured the RAW tag team titles for the 4th time. Oh yeah, Ronda Rousey is now a WWE Superstar.
The top question posted by WWE.com’s RAW preview asks, “How will Ronda Rousey’s emergence in WWE be addressed tonight?”
– Will Raw get “Rowdy”? What was the meaning behind shaking Stephanie McMahon’s hand and what are her intentions for WrestleMania?
– Can The Miz carry the Intercontinental Title all the way to WrestleMania?
– How will Seth Rollins respond to last night’s defeat?
– What havoc will Braun Strowman wreak?
Join us here later tonight for our WWE RAW Live Coverage
RAW General Manager Kurt Angle announced on Sunday night that Alicia Fox has been pulled from tonight’s historic Women’s Royal Rumble match due to injury.
With Alicia Fox no longer cleared to compete, only 17 out of the 30 participants have been confirmed for the Women’s Rumble.
The nature of her injury has been been revealed, but Angle stated that Fox’s condition will prevent her from competing in Mixed Match Challenge as well. As a result, Goldust will select a new partner.
What’s strange is that Alicia Fox has been active on social media all weekend and expressing excitement for the Women’s Rumble. On Saturday, Alicia Fox posted a photo on Instagram with a caption stating that she was “#Royalrumble ready.” On Sunday morning, just hours before Angle’s announcement about her injury, she posted another photo on Instagram after getting her makeup done backstage for tonight’s PPV.
Alicia Fox has since confirmed the news with the following message:
History will be made tonight as WWE presents the 2018 edition of the Royal Rumble. In addition to 4 big championship matches, this year’s event will feature the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match. Here is the final card:
Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Title – Kane vs. Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar (c)
2-on-1 Handicap Match for the WWE Title – Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles (c)
30-Man Royal Rumble Match Confirmed participants include:
John Cena, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Elias, Baron Corbin, Matt Hardy, Bray Wyatt, Aiden English, Rusev, Titus O’Neil, Apollo Crews, Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods, Tye Dillinger, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Roman Reigns.
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match Confirmed participants include:
Saturday night’s NXT Takeover: Philadelphia event saw the WWE return of EC3 and the on-screen debuts of Ricochet, War Machine and Candice LeRae.
With tonight’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view just hours away, another familiar face rumored to be WWE bound revealed on Twitter that he is in town today.
Former Impact Wrestling star Rockstar Spud posted the following photo of Ben Franklin bridge in Philadelphia, a not-so-sutble indication that he’s in Philadelphia, site of tonight’s Rumble pay-per-view.
Spud has been rumored to be joining 205 Live in the coming weeks. With Daniel Bryan’s announcement that a General Manager for 205 Live will be announced on Tuesday, there’s a good chance that Spud will be filling that role.
There’s really no reason to believe that Spud will be participating in the Royal Rumble match, but he could be making his WWE television debut as soon as this week.
Candice LeRae made a surprise appearance during the main event to even the odds when her husband Johnny Gargano was being attacked by Andrade “Cien” Almas and his manager Zelina Vega.
Last month, WWE Superstar Rich Swann was arrested after an incident with his girlfriend (wrestler Su Young) that resulted in domestic violence charges, including batter” and kidnapping/false imprisonment.
The charges were dropped this week, reportedly due to lack of evidence. Swann’s lawyer Ian Pickens has since issued a statement hoping that WWE will lift Swann’s suspension and bring him back to television in the near future:
“We are very pleased with the resolution of these charges. We would like to thank the State Attorney’s Office for conducting a thorough investigation, as well as Mr. Swann’s family, friends, and fans that supported him through this.”
The statement continued, “During our representation of Mr. Swann, we have come to know him as a kind and humble young man, who we believe has a bright future ahead of him. We are hopeful that with the dismissal of these charges Mr. Swann will be able to return to the WWE and our firm will do everything we can to assist him in returning to the ring. Thank you.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross was on Busted Open Radio on Thursday to discuss the news of Vince McMahon re-laumnching the XFL, how he would run the league, Stephanie McMahon commentating the women’s Royal Rumble match & whether Vince would book Reigns to win it again in Philly. Here are some highlights sent in by the show’s producer:
If he ran the XFL, what would he change about the product vs the 2001 product:
“You’ve got to be very selective of your cities and how those cities and franchises are going to be managed and promoted. You need to sell tickets, and generally local promoters have a better handle on getting tickets sold vs outsiders, so local promotion is important.
Stadium selection is important. The LA Chargers are playing in a soccer stadium and no one seems to care. It will hold the costs down in that regards.
There was no kickoffs. I like punts and kickoffs because there’s a chance for a big play.
Another issue is where do you get good officials from? The NFL sure as hell doesn’t have a monopoly on them, because you see what they’re using.”
How important is talent for the new XFL:
“It would be a good move (referencing signing RG3, Tim Tebow, Tony Romo) if you’re creating a football league from scratch. We had Tommy Maddox. He was a UCLA QB, got drafted and cut from the NFL, got picked up for the XFL and was resigned to the Steelers. I think those are the kind of stories he would be looking for.
For me, any player that plays in the XFL would want to eventually end up in the NFL. To me, that’s a great selling point. The NFL won’t admit it because they will say ‘we get our players from college football’. The XFL doesn’t have to follow those rules.”
What went wrong with the XFL the first go-round:
“The teams didn’t have enough time to practice, gel and develop chemistry. They had very little time to practice. There was very little quality football. This will be interesting to see, to see who Vince brings together. This, I’ll bet, will be a who’s who in Vince’s inner circle.”
Why he believes Vince bringing back the XFL:
“He loves taking calculated risks. I had the first meeting with him after the first XFL went down, and I think we lost 50 million or something like that. We had a regular meeting and we talked about the XFL for a minute or two. He said ‘JR I took a calculated risk and it didn’t go down. I still believe in the concept.’
I don’t have an issue with the concept. I don’t know if he’s bored or he just loves the challenge. I know that was a challenge that went unfulfilled, didn’t succeed at it, and maybe there’s something to be said about his competitive nature. I can tell you that he sees something that is different than the last go-round. It should be exciting as it progresses.”
Stephanie McMahon announcing the women’s Royal Rumble match:
“To me, it’s a booking. It’s a casting. I see it as a special guest appearance. Simple as that. In my days I’ve worked with many people, some good and some bad, but we’ve always seemed to have worked through it. She will be produced just like anyone else out there, having someone in her ear. Let’s see how it plays out.”
If Vince would book Roman Reigns to win the Royal Rumble in Philly again:
“Hell yeah he would. If he thought it was the right thing for business. I don’t have an issue with marking a talent and going all the way with them. Promoters these days love 50/50 booking. He has a star appeal. I’ve always loved this kid. I worked with him in Florida Championship Wrestling when he was a large nose tackle and needed to work on his body to get to where he is today. If it’s the right thing for business, Vince will book him.
We can’t deny the fact that Reigns gets reactions. There’s a lot of guys in wrestling that don’t get the reactions we’d like them to get. They’re not over. Reigns is over. Maybe as a heel or a controversial figure, but they damn sure like to boo him, and as long as there’s an ass every 18 inches in the seats, I don’t care.”
Busted Open airs live every Monday–Friday9am-12pm EST on SiriusXM Rush 93
Posted January 26th, 2018 in News, WWE. Tagged: XFL.
On the latest episode of his Dinner With The King podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler discussed last week’s big RAW 25th Anniversary special, Royal Rumble memories and much more. Here are some highlights of what Lawler said about:
The photo showing him and Jim Ross “Sleeping” during RAW 25:
“Our monitors were small and they were down at the lower part of the desk. This picture was taken during a commercial break. The headsets were a little different. I don’t know what the deal was with the chairs, but they were not comfortable, they were not the chairs that were ordinarily used. So during the show, while we were doing the commentary, in order to see the monitor right, I would have to sit up straight and almost lean forward to be able to watch the monitor.
So then, when a commercial break came, I would take that opportunity to kind of sit back and really, just sort of stretch my back. JR was texting. I don’t know how he does it. JR multitasks. He’ll be texting while he’s doing the broadcast, so that’s what he was doing. Throughout the entire show, he did a lot of texting or maybe tweeting. I did a little bit myself.
But anyway, somebody catches that one particular shot and then they put it out on the internet and man, it was all over the place… I know JR was really sensitive to it. It upset JR because that just wasn’t the case. I mean, good gosh, nobody went to sleep during the broadcast of the 25th anniversary of Monday Night Raw.”
Lawler added that there was actually a lot of pressure for him and Jim Ross to perform ‘like old times’ and he felt a lot of pressure before and during the show. He felt it was very difficult to put on a good performance with minimal preparation time.
Overall, he thinks they did well but could have done a lot better if they had more time to practice and get back in their old groove.
Triple H Making Changes To The Manhattan Center Show On The Fly Due To The Upset Crowd:
“I think at first, some fans realized ‘We’re not going to get to see in person a lot of these people that had been advertised,’ when someone is at the Barclays Center and they started showing all these different guys. They started to complain and feel uncomfortable and everything.
I’m not sure, but I think Triple H is the guy who made a call over there and said ‘Hey, we’ve got to give these people more over here.’ So what they started doing, they started sending some of the superstars that were primarily, originally just booked to be at the Barclays Center, they started sending them, putting them in a car service or limos and sending them over to the Manhattan Center. So by the end of the night, the people at the Manhattan Center got to see a ton of the superstars.”
You can listen to the full podcast episode below. H/T to PWPodcasts.com for the transcribed quotes.
STAMFORD, CONN. – Professional football will be reimagined when the new XFL kicks off in early 2020, Vince McMahon announced in a live stream event today.
The XFL will deliver a fan-centric, innovative experience, including shorter, fast-paced games and a family-friendly environment, complemented by cross-platform viewing options and real-time fan engagement.
Plans for the XFL at launch include eight teams, 40-man active rosters and a 10-week regular-season schedule, with a postseason consisting of two semifinal playoff games and a championship game.
“The new XFL is an exciting opportunity to reimagine America’s favorite sport,” said McMahon. “As we move towards kickoff, we look forward to listening and implementing innovative ideas from players, coaches, medical experts, technology executives, the media and most importantly football fans.”
McMahon, a visionary and an accomplished business executive, is personally funding this venture through Alpha Entertainment, a new private entity. McMahon will continue as WWE Chairman & CEO.
Relive the full streamed announcement at XFL.com and YouTube (youtube.com/xflofficial). For the latest updates, follow the XFL on Facebook (facebook.com/xfl), Twitter (@xfl2020) and Instagram (@xfl), and be sure to join in on the conversation using #XFL2020.
Posted January 25th, 2018 in News, WWE. Tagged: XFL.
RAW’s 25th Anniversary special saw The Miz defeat Roman Reigns to capture the Intercontinental Championship for the 8th time.
This week, WWE’s focus is on Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. After that, it’s full speed ahead on the road to WrestleMania – and it appears WWE has locked in another top match for show. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
“At this point it appears nothing at the top has changed for WrestleMania. As of right now the plan is for The Miz to defend the IC title against Braun Strowman, which is why Miz’s win was as clean as it was, since the IC title will be one of the biggest matches at Mania.”
Reddit user crapusername47 has a pretty brilliant theory about how a hypothetical Mixed Match Challenge match could kick off the Miz vs. Strowman feud.
“Miz and Asuka beat Alexa and Braun but Miz refuses to tag in or immediately tags out whenever he’s supposed to face Strowman. Miz never actually touches Strowman or gets any offence in and Asuka carries the match. Asuka pins Bliss, furthering their own feud and then Miz can gloat about having beaten Braun Strowman.”
WrestleMania 34 takes place on Sunday, April 8th from New Orleans, Louisiana at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Visit f4wonline.com to subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
This appears to be confirmation that Vince McMahon’s “major sports announcement” scheduled for 3pm (Eastern) later today is indeed the return of the XFL football league.
The Alpha Entertainment press conference will stream across the company’s new digital platforms, including their official YouTube channel.
The company has already posted a “Live Video” as a placeholder for the press conference. During the live feed, viewers got a glimpse of what’s to come later today.
As seen above – the XFL is back. The league is expected to return in 2020.
Buckle up. Through his new venture Alpha Entertainment, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon will be holding a press conference later today at 3pm (Eastern) to make a “major sports announcement.”
Alpha Entertainment describes itself as, “a new enterprise founded by Vince McMahon to explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment arena.”
Last month, WWE filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that Vince McMahon was selling over $100 million in WWE stock to fund his new Alpha Entertainment venture.
Here’s a lesson – if you’re addressing The Rock, drop the attitude. If you talk trash to The Rock, prepare to get owned.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is The Rock’s latest runaway hit. It’s been the #1 box office draw since it premiered 5 weeks ago and has already grossed over $315 million worldwide. Minor spoilers ahead, per the official synopsis from Sony:
“In a brand new Jumanji adventure, four high school kids discover an old video game console and are drawn into the game’s jungle setting, literally becoming the adult avatars they chose. What they discover is that you don’t just play Jumanji – you must survive it.
To beat the game and return to the real world, they’ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, discover what Alan Parrish left 20 years ago, and change the way they think about themselves – or they’ll be stuck in the game forever, to be played by others without break.”
I saw Jumanji and really enjoyed it. Critics and moviegoers agree, with Rotten Tomatoes scoring it 76% and 90%, respectively. In the movie, the characters inside the video game are given 3 “lives” and must complete the mission or risk being trapped in the game forever. When your character loses a life, you re-spawn in the same place.
One moviegoer took issue with an aspect of the re-spawning and got a response from The Rock himself within minutes:
Actually my friend, in the JUMANJI Lore Handbook, it clearly states in article 72 of section 7, that “any character who loses a life, shall return to their original state with any item they possessed at the time of their demise”. So kindly go f*ck yourself James.
WWE got great news about Monday’s RAW 25th Anniversary when the viewership data was released and showed nearly 5 million fans tuned in, making it the most-watched edition of RAW in nearly 4 years.
On the flip side, fans in attendance at the Manhattan Center were largely dissatisfied with their live experience – with some going so far as to demand refunds from Ticketmaster.
The RAW 25th Anniversary broadcast itself got mixed reviews and more information has come out regarding extensive rewrites to the script that took place just hours before it went live on the air.
As noted earlier, the Enzo Amore sexual assault allegation that led to his release the following day caught WWE completely off-guard. The fact that the story broke on a major media day for WWE certainly did not help matters.
Enzo had been scheduled to face Goldust in a singles match at the Barclays Center, with the Dudley Boyz initially scripted to interfere during that match. With Enzo off the show, WWE had to scramble and the Dudley appearance ultimately occurred during an impromptu match that saw Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno.
Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon was shown ringside at the Barclays Center during the broadcast. According to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Fallon was originally scripted to have a much bigger role on the show. Barrasso reveals that Fallon as supposed to be part of several backstage segments involving WWE legends. For whatever reason, Fallon did not make it to the venue until much later than originally planned. As a result, a large portion of the show had to be re-written.
Extensive rewrites the day of a major show can certainly have a negative effect on the final product. That said, it’s hard to imagine many fans having a materially different opinion of the show had it included Enzo vs. Goldust and a few Jimmy Fallon backstage segments.
With just days until the 2018 Royal Rumble, we’ve got confirmation on the location of next year’s Rumble.
Chase Field in Phoenix, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball team, will host next year’s Royal Rumble on Sunday, January 27th. The retractable-roof Stadium holds approximately 48,500 for baseball games.
John Saboor, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Special Events, told AZ Central, “We have an incredibly rich history and heritage of presenting WWE events in the Valley of the Sun. In many respects, this serves as an exciting opportunity to work with longstanding and new partners in Phoenix to create four nights of memories.”
The other WWE events during Royal Rumble 2019 weekend, such as NXT Takeover, RAW and SmackDown Live, will take place from the nearby Talking Stick Resort Arena:
Saturday, Jan. 26: NXT TakeOver at Talking Stick Resort Arena
Sunday, Jan. 27: Royal Rumble at Chase Field
Monday, Jan. 28: Monday Night Raw at Talking Stick Resort Arena
Tuesday, Jan. 29: SmackDown Live at Talking Stick Resort Arena
WWE held last year’s Rumble from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The show had an (announced) attendance of 52,020.
Enzo Amore issued a statement on Tuesday night through his lawyers addressing the allegations of sexual assault levied against him.
“STATEMENT FROM COUNSEL FOR ERIC ARNDT
Over the last two days, Philomena Sheahan has made multiple public accusations against Eric Arndt (also known as Enzo Amore with the WWE), including allegations of sexual misconduct concerning an October 2017 incident in Phoenix. Mr. Arndt fully and unequiocally denies those allegations. He is cooperating with the authorities in this matter and looks forward to having it resolved in a timely manner. Neither Mr. Arndt nor his counsel will be making any further public comments on this matter.”
Monday’s big RAW 25th Anniversary Special from New York City averaged 4.497 million viewers, a 38.4% spike from 3.250 million the previous week.
The 4.5 million viewers makes this the most-watched episode of WWE RAW in nearly 4 years when RAW did 5.6 million viewers the night after WrestleMania 30.
The RAW 25th Anniversary Special aired from the Manhattan Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The show featured appearances from dozens of WWE legends, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin delivering stunners to Vince and Shane McMahon, The Undertaker’s first WWE TV appearance since WrestleMania 33, DX reunion and much more.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowBuzz Daily:
Hour 1 – 4.803 million
Hour 2 – 4.641 million
Hour 3 – 4.147 million
Almost 5 million viewers for that first hour of #Raw last night. Those "lapsed" fans are clearly still lurking, but imagine thinking that show last night did anything to make them wanna stick around.
Philomena Sheahan, the woman who has accused Enzo Amore of sexual assault, spoke with TMZ Sports on Tuesday about the alleged incident.
Sheahan claims Amore ripped off her tights and “completely started sexually assaulting me.” She says she told him “countless times” until she was thrown onto a bed which resulted in her striking her head and was “literally passed out.”
WWE released Enzo Amore earlier today.
You can check out TMZ’s full interview with Sheahan below:
WWE has announced that Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore (Eric Arndt) has been released. The news comes after Phoenix Police confirmed that they investigating Arndt for sexual assault from an incident that allegedly occured back on October 19th at the Clarendon Hotel and Spa. On Monday, a woman accused Enzo Amore of the assault and posted a detailed description of the alleged altercation.
WWE first responded to the news on Tuesday by suspending him “until this matter is resolved.”
“WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving sexual harassment or sexual assault. Until this matter is resolved, Eric Arndt (aka Enzo Amore) has been suspended.”
It remains to be seen what led WWE to release Enzo just one day after suspending him ‘pending investigation.’ Reporter Sean Ross Sapp states that WWE did not find out about the rape allegation and pending investigation until yesterday. If so, that would certainly be grounds for firing. Had WWE known Enzo Amore was under investigation for sexual assault, would they have made him Cruiserweight Champion and the focal point of 205 Live? Highly unlikely.
WWE’s decision to release him aside, Eric Arndt is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This is a developing story and we will provide an update when more information becomes available.