Author Archive

NXT Matches and Segments for Tonight

NXT tonight will be a taped show from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. It will be just the 2nd last episode before Takeover: New Orleans on April 7th, 2018.

Two semi-final matches in the Dusty Rhodes Classic will take place.

NXT Segments and Matches for Tonight

  • Aleister Black and Andrade “Cien” Almas Segment
    • With just two weeks until they wrestle for the NXT championship, Almas and Andrade should have some type of face-to-face meeting tonight.
  • Important William Regal Announcement
    • NXT Commissioner, William Regal, has said his announcement tonight will change the landscape of NXT.
  • Lars Sullivan vs ???
    • Lars Sullivan returns from injury on tonight’s show.
    • His opponent has not been announced.
  • Dusty Rhodes Classic (Semi Final #1)
    The Authors of Pain vs the Street Profits

    • Can the AOP win this tournament for a second straight time?
    • A win for the Street Profits would launch them into title contention and into the tournament finals.
  • Dusty Rhodes Classic (Semi Final #2)
    Sanity vs Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong

    • The makeshift team of Dunne and Strong will take on the former champions, Sanity, in the final semi-final match for the Dusty Rhodes Classic.

Johnny Gargano Shows up at Tommaso Ciampa’s House to Continue Rivalry

The rivalry between former tag partners, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, has spilled into several non-wrestling venues.

After Gargano was banished from NXT, he has been showing up in various places to get revenge on Ciampa. Last night, Ciampa turned his phone on to record Gargano showing up at his house.

https://twitter.com/ProjectCiampa/status/978897343058731014

Gargano also caught up with Ciampa in the WWE Performance Center parking lot recently:

https://twitter.com/ProjectCiampa/status/977645955418918913

Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa

Gargano showed up on NXT television last week. He was in the crowd and attacked Ciampa as he was making his way around ringside.

It’s not clear if NXT commissioner William Regal will make a match between the two for Takeover: New Orleans. With Gargano officially gone from NXT, it’s not yet clear how such a match could be made.

The Young Bucks To Team with Flip Gordon at SuperCard of Honor

Fans of “Being the Elite” will find it somewhat bizarre that Flip Gordon will be teaming with the Young Bucks at Supercard of Honor but that is what is happening. Gordon and the Bucks have been aligned on Ring of Honor television lately despite the Jackson brothers’ history or ribbing Gordon.

Ring of Honor officially announced today that Flip Gordon will team with the Young Bucks to take on SoCal Uncensored for the ROH 6-Man tag-team championships at SuperCard of Honor XII on April 7th, 2018. SoCal Uncensored won the titles from the Hung Bucks (Hangman Page and the Bucks) on March 9th at the 16th Anniversary show.

SuperCard of Honor XII Lineup

  1. Cody vs Kenny Omega
  2. ROH World Championship
    Dalton Castle (c) vs Marty Scurll
  3. Women of Honor Tournament Finals
  4. Hangman Page vs Kota Ibushi
  5. ROH 6-Man Tag-Team Championships
    SoCal Uncensored (c) vs the Young Bucks and Flip Gordon
  6. Tomohiro Ishii vs Punishment Martinez
  7. ROH TV Title
    Kenny King (c) vs Silas Young
  8. ROH Tag Team Championships
    the Briscoes (c) vs Jay Lethal and Hiroshi Tanahashi

Smackdown, MMC, & 205 Live Matches and Segments for Tonight

Smackdown, 205 Live, and the Mixed Match Challenge will all take place out of the PPG Paints Center in Pittsburgh, PA tonight.

Smackdown Live!

  • Will Daniel Bryan make it to Smackdown?
    • After firing Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens last week, Bryan was viciously attacked by the pair. He had to be carried out on a stretcher just hours after being medically cleared to compete for the first time in 2 years.
    • Will Bryan be at Smackdown tonight? If so, what will he have to say about what happened last week?
    • With Shane McMahon out of action, what direction will this angle take tonight?
  • Bobby Roode & Randy Orton vs Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh
    • Jinder will team with Sunil Singh tonight to take on the last two US champions.
    • He has defeated Orton and Roode in successive weeks.
    • Jinder vs Roode vs Orton will be the US championship match at WrestleMania 34.
  • the New Day vs the Bludgeon Brothers
    • All 3 members of the New Day have been cleared to return after the vicious beatdown at the hands of the Bludgeon Brothers at Fastlane.
    • New Day take on the Bludgeon Brothers tonight in a match that could have Smackdown tag-team title implications. The Usos will no doubt be watching.
  • Shinsuke Nakamura vs Shelton Benjamin
    • Last week, AJ Styles made the save for Nakamura as the Royal Rumble winner was being attacked by Rusev and Aiden English. This week, Nakamura faces Shelton Benjamin.
    • Benjamin will have Chad Gable at ringside with him, perhaps Nakamura will need AJ Styles’ help again this week.
  • Charlotte Flair vs Natalya
    • In a non-title rematch from last week, Flair will look to avenge her recent loss to Natalya.
    • Natalya and Carmella seemed to have formed an alliance as of late as well. Perhaps the Money in the Bank briefcase will come into play before WrestleMania 34.

Mixed Match Challenge:

  • Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs Bobby Roode & Charlotte Flair

205 Live:

  • #1 Contenders Match
    TJP vs Kalisto vs Buddy Murphy vs Akira Tozawa

NJPW Sakura Genesis Lineup Revealed

Following Strong Style Evolved, the NJPW roster is heading back to Japan. They will have two “Road to Sakura Genesis” shows on the 29th and the 30th, with the show on the 30th airing on New Japan World. Sakura Genesis takes place April 1st, 2018.

Only 2 matches had been announced for Sakura Genesis heading into SSE but now the company has released the full lineup for the card.

NJPW has uploaded the main event from last year’s Sakura Genesis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkS9ckSCqgw

Sakura Genesis 2018 Lineup

  1. Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi vs the Young Bucks
  2. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano vs Taichi and Takashi Iizuka
  3. NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships
    Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa (c) vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Michael Elgin, and Togi Makabe
  4. David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yoshi-Hashi, Jay White, and Hirooki Goto
  5. Sanada, Evil, Tetsuya Naito vs Davey Boy Smith Jr, Lance Archer, and Minoru Suzuki
  6. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
    El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs Roppongi 3k vs Hiromu Takahashi and Bushi
  7. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
    Will Ospreay (c) vs Marty Scurll
  8. the Golden Lovers vs Hangman Page vs Cody
  9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship
    Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr

Mark Henry Says He’s Retired But Not Ruling Out a Comeback

Mark Henry says he’s retired but he’s not ruling out a return to the ring either.

Whether or not Henry is officially done wrestling has been a topic of conversation the last few months. Rumors circulated earlier this year that he was retired but Henry seemed to half-heartidly deny those rumors. Henry clarified that he can’t see returning in the next year or two but something could happen down the line to bring him out of retirement.

He spoke to TMZ recently on the subject:

Mark Henry on Retirement

“If it was a perfect circumstance and something happened down the road, then yeah. Sometime this year and next year, you can put it out your mind.”

Mark Henry will be part of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2018.

Baron Corbin Says He Thought Wrestling Would Be Easier

33-year-old Baron Corbin spent 4 years in developmental trying to get to the main roster. According to him, he thought it wouldn’t take more than a year. In fact, Corbin thought wrestling would be a lot easier altogether.

Corbin spoke with Sky Sports recently about his WWE career, his transition from football, and several other topics.

Baron Corbin Interview with Sky Sports

“Honestly, I was a little bit arrogant because I came in and thought it was going to be easy and that I’d be on television in a year,” Corbin told reporters.

“Then you realize how many different things it takes to become a successful superstar, and it really is a rude awakening. I thought it would take a year, but it was three and a half years later that I got called up (to the main roster). It is not easy.”

Corbin has had an up-and-down career on the main roster so far. He’s won both the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the Money in the Bank briefcase. Although he was unsuccessful trying to cash in the briefcase against Jinder Mahal.

“The cool thing is that people have come in from UFC or from the NFL thinking that it’s going to be easy,” Corbin continued. “It instantly demands respect from them and it’s really cool to be a part of seeing the realism of how much this can hurt set in.”

Aaron Solow Upset with “Mr. Bayley” Remarks from Commentary Team

Aaron Solow, who is engaged to WWE Superstar, Bayley, publically voiced his frustration with WrestleCircus recently. On Friday night, Solow worked for the promotion in Austin, TX and the commentary team referred to him as “Mr. Bayley”.

The show was broadcast on WrestleCircus’ Twitch channel for subscribers. It also featured Pentagon, Fenix, Teddy Hart, Shane Strickland, Tessa Blanchard and Chelsea Green.

https://twitter.com/aaronsolow/status/977783665865515008

Bayley also commented:

Aaron Solow Wrestling Career

Solow is from the San Fransico area and was trained by Davey Richards. He’s been used as enhancement talent regularly on WWE programming, most recently in January in a tag-team loss to the Revival. He frequently teams with Ricky Starks, sometimes under the name “Extra Talented”.

Solow has wrestled several times for WrestleCircus in the past. He worked a set of AroLucha tapings recently and has also wrestled for Progress.

Mike Tyson Comments on Ronda Rousey and Returning to WWE

WWE’s Cathy Kelley was at the Kid’s Choice Awards recently. John Cena was hosting the event and Mike Tyson was also in attendance. Kelley caught up with Tyson to ask him about possibly returning to WWE someday and his thoughts on Ronda Rousey.

“I’m always willing to come back. I love the WWE, yes.” – Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson 

“I think she’s going to do well”, Tyson said when asked how thinks Ronda Rousey will fare in WWE. Tyson knows what it is like to come in from another sport and be asked to perform at WrestleMania. He played a big role at WrestleMania 14 in the main event between Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin.

Tyson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.

Kenny Omega Talks Getting Over Without Being in WWE

Kenny Omega recently made an appearance on the Busted Open radio show on SiriusXM. Bully Ray was serving as guest co-host and asked Omega how he managed to become so popular without the WWE media machine behind him.

“I think the digital age helped a lot,” Omega explained.

Kenny Omega: I’m Using My Life to Tell Stories in the Ring

Omega discussed the impact streaming services have had on wrestling. Omega believes advances in this technology has helped more fans discover different types of wrestling.

“Now with everything one-click away, they are able to see whatever they want. I think, I really don’t know, I, perhaps through word-of-mouth or whatever, somehow my matches became a topic of conversation outside of what happens in WWE. ”

Kenny Omega will team with Kota Ibushi to take on the Young Bucks this weekend. Strong Style Evolved takes place March 25th, 2018 from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.

AJ Styles Back on WWE House Show Schedule

After missing a house show in Odessa, Texas last weekend, AJ Styles is back on WWE’s house show schedule this weekend.

Styles suffered an undisclosed injury at the Madison Square Garden house show recently (or an angle was filmed on the show to cover for an already existing injury). Triple H commented on the possibility of Styles missing WrestleMania as a result.

“Right now he says he’s feeling a lot better and will be ready to go. Obviously, we’ll get him doctors to make sure that he is ready to go and get a medical clearance if that’s possible. He’s working very hard at it, so we’re hoping for the best.”

WWE House Show Schedule This Weekend

It’s a busy house show weekend as the company builds toward WrestleMania. Tonight, Styles will be at the “World of Wheels” Boston” convention at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center in Boston, Mass signing autographs. Styles and the rest of the Smackdown tour will be in Trenton, New Jersey on Saturday followed by Fairfax, VA on Sunday.

The Raw crew will be in Toronto tonight and Kitchener tomorrow. NXT also has house shows in Lakeland and Tampa on Friday and Saturday respectively.

Ric Flair Launches Custom Made Suit Collection

Ric Flair has opened a business for people who want to style and profile just like him. Flair has recently launched his own line of custom suits.

The “Ric Flair” collection features fabrics and styles picked by the Nature Boy himself.

“I’ve always been custom made from head to toe,” Flair told TMZ. “Now anyone can have a chance to style and profile like me.”

the Ric Flair Collection

Flair turned 69-years-old recently but is showing no signs of slowing down. He was at a horse race yesterday to support a racing horse he was gifted for his birthday. Flair will also participate in an upcoming movie titled, “Uncle Steamroller and Champion Rabbit”. He had this to say regarding the upcoming film:

“I really like this wonderfully written script and find it to be very entertaining,” he said. “The edgy sense of humor is great, but the story also has a good heart.”

Impact Wrestling Preview: Monster’s Ball

Impact Wrestling presents a taped show tonight from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. The company is gearing towards their next PPV on April 22nd, 2018 as well as their head-to-head show with Lucha Underground on April 6th, 2018. Impact will be heading to California this weekend as well where they will be partnering with Big Time Wrestling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOlGzRTWy4o

Matches and Segments Confirmed for Tonight’s Impact

  • Trevor Lee vs Fallah Bahh
  • Knockouts Championship
    Allie (c) vs Sienna
  • Rohit Raju (Desi Hit Squad) vs Matt Sydal w/Josh Matthews
    • Matthews was revealed as Sydal’s “Spiritual Advisor” last week.
  • Monsters Ball Match
    Abyss w/James Mitchell vs Kongo Kong w/Jimmy Jacobs
  • The unveiling of the Feast or Fired Briefcases

Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens Removed From WrestleMania Card

This Tuesday on Smackdown, Daniel Bryan fired Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn. Last week, Shane McMahon had booked Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to face each other at WrestleMania.

Now that they’ve been fired, the Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn match has been removed from WWE’s official WrestleMania lineup.

They’ve also both gone private on Twitter:

Screenshot 2018 03 22 08.45.05

Screenshot 2018 03 22 08.47.00

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 34

There are just 17 days and two episodes of Smackdown left until WrestleMania. Both Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon will need to recover from their storyline injuries quickly in order to book another WrestleMania match or segment involving this storyline.

Daniel Bryan Reveals When His WWE Contract Expires

Daniel Bryan’s contract with WWE expires on a rather interesting date. While there have been several rumored dates his contract is up, Bryan himself confirmed the exact date recently.

Bryan was interviewed by Al Arabiya English recently. He was asked when his contract with WWE expires and confirmed the date as September 1st, 2018. The date also happens to be when Bullet Club’s “All-In” event is scheduled for Chicago.

Daniel Bryan’s WWE Contract

During the interview, Bryan was asked about rumors regarding the expiration date of his contract.

“No, no. I had somebody say that to me on my Twitter. They said, does your contract expire on September 23rd? And I was like, how do people even know that?” Bryan said.

“My contract actually runs out September 1st, which is actually the day of the All-In show, but it’s funny because that doesn’t compute. I was in the Bahrain ComicCon the last two days, and we did Q&As, and at each one, somebody asked me about that. They said, ‘are you going to be at All In’? I’m not. I don’t know what to tell you. But yeah, my contract is up September 1st.”

Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler to Call the Greatest Royal Rumble

On the latest episode of his Dinner with the King podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler revealed that he and Jim Ross are headed to Saudi Arabia next month and will be doing commentary for the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble WWE Network special.

Lawler teased that he might even get involved as a participant in the match, although that’s highly unlikely due to his past health issues.

He joked, “Well, that would be a surprise, but one of the things that makes it appear more possible than before is, hey, we just saw Daniel Bryan get medically cleared.”

The Greatest Royal Rumble

The Greatest Royal Rumble takes place on April 27th from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The show will feature the first-ever 50-Man Royal Rumble and 7 title matches.

In addition to airing on the WWE Network, the event will broadcast live nationwide throughout Saudi Arabia.

It is notable that neither of the women’s championships will be defended and it is likely no matches featuring female performers takes place.

Matt Hardy Says He Will DELETE Vince McMahon

Reaction to this Monday’s “Ultimate Deletion” has had wide-ranging impacts. Clips of the match have been pulling in great numbers on social media and have even garnered some mainstream publicity.

TMZ reporters recently caught up with Hardy who appears to be riding high at the moment. He mentioned that his Woken Universe was never supposed to make it to WWE but now that it has, he will DELETE Vince McMahon if he did not enjoy the Ultimate Deletion.

Matt Hardy “I Will Delete Vince McMahon If He Didn’t Like My Ultimate Deletion”

Mick Foley also appeared via split-screen during the interview and gave his feedback on the Ultimate Deletion. Foley said he spent some time thinking about how Vince McMahon likely felt about the match.

Matt Hardy responded to “the Dude who Loves” and mentioned he hasn’t yet spoken to Vince McMahon about the segment but says his Woken Warriors loved it.

Lucha Underground vs Impact Wrestling WrestleCon Show Main Event Revealed

Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling will be going head-to-head at WrestleCon over WrestleMania weekend in New Orleans. Earlier today, Impact Wrestling announced the main event for the show as Austin Aries & Fenix vs Alberto El Patron & Pentagon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ry8l_Xq6iQ

Lucha Underground vs Impact Wrestling Lineup (April 6th, 2018)

  • Impact World Tag Team Championships
    LAX (c) vs. Killshot & the Mack
  • I Quit Match
    Eddie Edwards vs. Jeremiah Crane (Sami Callihan’s LU character)
  • Andrew Everett, DJZ, & Dezmond Xavier vs. King Cuerno, Aerostar, & Drago
  • Austin Aries & Fenix vs. Alberto El Patron & Pentagon

Limited tickets are still available for the April 6th show at 9PM.

Both Impact Wrestling and Lucha Underground announced changes to their wrestler contracts recently. Lucha Underground has relaxed the exclusivity clauses in their deals, allowing talent to work elsewhere from Lucha Underground. This had previously been an issue for the company when Ricochet voiced his frustration with his contract publicly.

Impact Wrestling has come under new management with NJPW color commentator, Don Callis, playing a key role. Callis announced the company would be allowing talent to keep ownership of all gimmicks created on their programming moving forward.

NXT Preview: Matches and Confirmed Segments (Non-Spoiler)

Tonight’s episode of NXT is a taped show from Full Sail University. It is the first show back in Full Sail since the set of tapings held at Center Stage in Atlanta.

3 matches and 1 segment have been confirmed for tonight’s show.

NXT Confirmed Matches

  • Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
    Roderick Strong & ?? vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch

    • Roderick Strong and a mystery opponent will take on Lorcan and Burch. Strong’s team is replacing Moustache Mountain who was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury to Tyler Bate.
  • Kassius Ohno vs Adam Cole
    • Both guys could use a win here.
    • Cole just challenged Pete Dunne unsuccessfully and Ohno just dropped a match to the Velveteen Dream at Takeover: Philadelphia.
  • Tommaso Ciampa Segment
    • For two weeks in a row, Ciampa has appeared in front of a live NXT crowd and said nothing as the fans cheered for Johnny Gargano.
    • Ciampa is expected to make an appearance tonight and we’ll just have to wait and see if he does the same thing again.
  • Ember Moon vs. Aliyah (non-title)
    • Ember Moon will have Shayna Baszler in the back of her mind during this match. Moon will defend her title against the Queen of Spades at Takeover: New Orleans.
    • As for Aliyah, the 23-year-old from Toronto finds herself in the biggest match of her career tonight. It will be her 11th singles match on NXT television dating back to April 2nd, 2016. She is 1-10 in those matches. Her only victory was over Billy Kay on September 15th, 2016.

John Cena Comments On Daniel Bryan Being Cleared to Wrestle

WWE announced their doctors have cleared Daniel Bryan to return to in-ring competition for the first time in two years. Reaction to the news has reverberated around the pro-wrestling world.

“A wonderful day for all of us who are close to Brian.” – John Cena

John Cena is the latest to comment on Bryan’s return. He spoke to TMZ Reporters recently.

John Cena on Daniel Bryan Return

“From a fan’s perspective, I think it’s wonderful because they all want to see him and know what he’s capable of” – John Cena

Daniel Bryan and John Cena are essentially brothers-in-law, as Cena will soon marry Nikki Bella and Bryan is married to Brie Bella. Cena speaks of him as a family member.

“From a family perspective, I’ve had a chance to talk with Brian (Danielson) at great length about his passion for wrestling. It is what he was born to do and I know deep down how feels about it.”

Cruiserweight Championship Match at WrestleMania Confirmed (205 Live Results)

Last night on 205 Live, the second semi-final match in the cruiserweight championship tournament took place. Drew Gulak and Mustafa Ali squared off in last 205 Live’s main event from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, TX.

205 Live Results

  • Hideo Itami (w/ Akira Tozawa) vs Lince Dorado (w/ Lucha House Party) – no contest
    • Itami and Gran Metalik got at each other on the outside and a brawl started between the Lucha House Party (Dorado, Kalisto, Metalik) and Itami & Akira Tozawa.

  • TJP defeated Kenneth Johnson
    • This was a squash match for TJP.
    • A selfie video featuring TJP stating his case for a title shot was shown as well.

  • Mustafa Ali defeated Drew Gulak
    • With the win, Mustafa Ali will face Cedric Alexander at WrestleMania for the cruiserweight championship.

The Ultimate Deletion Edited Off Hulu-Edition of Raw, Hulu Comments

Some fans who follow Monday Night Raw by watching the 90-minute version shown on Hulu are upset today. The Ultimate Deletion match was not featured in the Hulu version of the show this week.

Fans took to Twitter to ask Hulu why the main event of Raw didn’t make the cut for their edition. According to Hulu, they have no say in which parts of the show are edited out.

Upset fans are getting similar responses from Hulu on Twitter:

The Ultimate Deletion on Hulu

For the most part, fans tend to be in favor of the shorter versions of Raw which air on Hulu but missing the Ultimate Deletion have left some feeling dissapointed today.

Hulu first entered into a partnership with WWE in 2012.

Smackdown, MMC, & 205 Live Matches and Segments for Tonight

Tonight’s episodes of Smackdown, Mixed-Match Challenge and 205 Live will emanate from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Matches and Segments for Smackdown Live!

No matches have been announced ahead of time for Smackdown tonight. Many of the segments for tonight’s show will build towards WrestleMania, however.

  • Daniel Bryan Returns: Will Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens Face Repercussions?

    • Last week, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn attacked Shane McMahon to close the show. McMahon’s WrestleMania announcement had been to book a match between Owens and Zayn for WrestleMania.
    • This week, Daniel Bryan returns to Smackdown for the first time since before Fastlane. It will be interesting to see what Bryan has to say about Shane’s leave of absence and the match booked between Owens and Zayn for WrestleMania.
  • Will Jinder Mahal Get a Shot at the United States Championship?

    • Randy Orton is the new United States champion after defeating Bobby Roode at Fastlane. Roode attempted to announce he is cashing in his rematch clause at WrestleMania but he was interrupted by Jinder Mahal.
    • Mahal has defeated both Randy Orton and Bobby Roode in successive weeks and claims he is the uncrowned United States champion. Some order should be brought to this situation tonight.
  • Smackdown Women’s Division Response to Asuka

    • The Smackdown women’s division is in a state of flux at the moment.
    • Asuka has just shown up to challenge Charlotte Flair and Carmella is still ominously holding onto the Money in the Bank briefcase.
    • Carmella defeated Namoi last week on Smackdown and on Fastlane her and Natalya defeated Becky Lynch and Naomi. Ms Money in the Bank could be on the verge of a hot streak.
    • Other members of the division, such as the Riott Squad, may have something to say regarding the upcoming Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal.
  • The Bludgeon Brothers Put the Tag-Team Division on Notice

    • Since Fastlane, the Bludgeon Brothers have put the whole tag-team division on notice but specifically the Usos and the New Day.
    • Last week, only Big E and Jimmy Uso were cleared to compete from their teams. We’ll see if any other members of the New Day or Usos are available to fend off the Bludgeon Brothers this week.
  • AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura 

    • Nakamura saved Styles from a beatdown by Rusev and Aiden English last week. The two babyface WrestleMania opponents might find themselves watching each other’s backs until April 8th.
    • There are also rumors AJ Styles is dealing with an injury suffered at a house show over the weekend. PW Insider is reporting WWE plans to evaluate Styles at today’s show.

WWE Mixed Match Challenge

Tonight on the Mixed Match Challenge, one team will have a chance to qualify for the tournament finals.

Asuka’s streak isn’t technically on the line in this tournament as she has lost a tag-team match in WWE before. Asuka and Sonya Deville lost to Nia Jax and Lana on an NXT house show in 2016. Other than that, Asuka is 70-1 in WWE tag-team matches.

  • Miz & Asuka vs Alexa Bliss & Braun Strowman

205 Live

The final semi-final match in the cruiserweight championship tournament takes place tonight. Drew Gulak will face Mustafa Ali with a spot at WrestleMania on the line. Cedric Alexander defeated Roderick Strong last week to become the first competitor to qualify for the finals.

  • Drew Gulak vs Mustafa Ali

The Ultimate Deletion: Reactions to Last Night’s Show

Last night, in possibly the most bizarre main event in Monday Night Raw history, Matt Hardy battled Bray Wyatt in an Ultimate Deletion match.

Late last night, Hardy boasted about the success of the match:

Hardy would come out victorious in the match and pushed Bray Wyatt into the Lake of Reincarnation. Now Bray Wyatt has been deleted and the Woken Matt Hardy story moves into a new chapter.

We break down reactions to the Ultimate Deletion match below:

Reaction to the Ultimate Deletion

Mick Foley enjoyed but was confused by the match.

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/975934953090318336

Hulk Hogan compares his situation to Wyatt’s:

https://twitter.com/HulkHogan/status/975943998530621440

CBS Sports anchor Nick Kostos chimed in:

Nick Jackson revealed plans for his own Final Deletion style match with the Hardyz:

Matt Hardy speaks on Michael Cole’s comments on the Ultimate Deletion:

Jeff Hardy DUI & Injury Update

Last night on Raw, Jeff Hardy made a surprise appearance near the end of the Ultimate Deletion match. It is the first time Jeff has been shown on Raw since injuring his shoulder in September. Jeff suffered a torn labrum and a torn rotator cuff.

He was recently cleared to return to action and posted this photo with the physio clinic which helped him rehabilitate his shoulder.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgTlRmjBgyg/?hl=en&taken-by=jeffhardybrand

Jeff Hardy’s DUI

There has been some concern amongst fans that Jeff Hardy’s recent DUI charge will impact how WWE uses him moving forward. Jeff is due in court on the charges on April 16th, 2018. According to a report from PW Insider, Jeff caused $5000 in damages to the guardrail he hit and another $8000 in damages to his own vehicle. He also blew 3x over the legal limit on a breathalyzer after the accident.

While there was some concern that Jeff would not appear in the Ultimate Deletion match last night, he was there at the end.

It is possible WWE simply ignores Jeff’s latest DUI charge. That is how the company has handled the recent DUI charge of Jey Uso, who was similarly charged with the offense in January.

WWE released the following statement following Jey Uso’s arrest:

“Joshua Fatu is responsible for his own personal actions. We are investigating the matter and awaiting information from local law enforcement officials.”

WWE released a nearly identical statement for Jeff Hardy:

“Jeff Hardy is responsible for his own personal actions. We are investigating the matter and awaiting information from local law enforcement officials.”

WWE took no action in regards to Jey Uso. There is nothing to say that won’t also be the case with Jeff Hardy. It’s also possible WWE takes Hardy’s past substance-abuse issues into consideration though. There is no evidence thus far to say that is how they are handling the situation, however.