– Earlier today SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon announced on Twitter that the Triple Threat match between AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn for the WWE Title at Fastlane will now be a Fatal Four-Way match. Next week’s SmackDown Live match between Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler will determine the fourth entrant. AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler took to Twitter to react to the news:
– As he was discussing SmackDown Live’s Top 10 list on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed why Tye Dillinger has been kept off WWE TV. Meltzer revealed WWE doesn’t want fans doing the “10” chant anymore:
“Dillinger is just a guy on the brand that works prelims and they put him at number 10 and it makes for a cute minute for people to chant 10, which they don’t even want people to chant anyway. That’s why they keep him off TV so much because they don’t want people chanting 10. So the whole thing is completely stupid.”
The hot topic in the professional wrestling world at the moment is the WWE’s signing of Ronda Rousey to a full-time deal. Rousey made her debut at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) following the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble. She pointed to the WrestleMania 34 sign, indicating her intentions to wrestle at the event.
Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, one “key reason” WWE brought the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion in is to help Stephanie McMahon become a bigger mainstream name. While McMahon is a big name in the world of professional wrestling, she isn’t as well known outside the context of WWE. Meltzer noted that although she didn’t fight in 2017, Rousey was still the most searched female athlete in the U.S last year.
The entire goal for a Rousey-Stephanie program is to help elevate McMahon’s mainstream star status outside of the company. The goal was compared to that of how Vince McMahon’s name was made – through his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. And Austin’s rise in mainstream media came with the help of his feud with Mike Tyson.
This explains why WWE is planning a Mixed Tag Team match between Rousey and a mystery partner (WWE hopes that can be The Rock) against the team of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34.
It turns out that Jason Jordan’s recent injury had some lasting affects on the Elimination Chamber match. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s original plans had Jordan and Seth Rollins being a part of the Elimination Chamber match. This was in order to set up an eventual WrestleMania match between the pair in New Orleans.
Due to Jordan’s recent injury neither man is now planned to participate in the match. Jordan underwent successful surgery to help his neck injury earlier this week. As for a possible WrestleMania match between Jordan and Rollins, Meltzer noted that it’s “not a dead issue” at this time. It’s currently unknown how long Jordan’s injury will keep him sidelined.
It should be noted that prior to undergoing surgery Jordan’s wife took to social media and called overexagerations of his injury on the internet ‘fake news.’ She also described the injury as ‘minor’:
“I will address this once…
“Yes, “Jason Jordan” is injured. I assure you everything you have seen online is “Fake News!” He has a minor neck injury and will be back in no time! Although, I am very excited to have him home for a bit, I promise, I will help guide him to a speedy recovery! Thank you to everyone who reached out to check on him! He is very positive and already planning his comeback! In the meantime, just please keep sending Nathan and I good vibes!!”
Ahead of WrestleMania 34, where he’s expected to defend his Universal Title against Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar is scheduled to work four live events next month in March ahead of “The Show Of Shows.” Lesnar is currently scheduled to face off against Kane from the United Center in Chicago on March 3rd. The next week on March 9th from the Target Center in Minneapolis WWE is promoting a Champion vs. Champion match-up between “The Beast” and Intercontinental Champion The Miz.
The week after that Lesnar will again defend his Universal Title in a Triple Threat match against Kane and Braun Strowman from Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday, March 16th. And finally, in his last match before WrestleMania 34, Lesnar is being advertised to perform on Friday, March 30th at the TD Garden in Boston. No opponent has been announced for that match as of this writing.
– WWE has decided to make some major changes backstage at 205 Live. PWInsider reports that the decision was made two weeks ago by Vince McMahon to let Triple H take the helm of the program. Triple H is currently the frontman at NXT and will now take on 205 Live as well.
While McMahon likes to focus on the characters on the program, Triple H has taken a different route – focusing on the in-ring product more instead. McMahon reportedly made the decision as an attempt to reboot and fix the show. People within the company have compared the past two weeks of 205 Live to NXT.
– NJPW has announced that AXS TV will broadcast their Strong Style Evolved event live on Sun. March 25, 2018. It’s NJPW’s second-ever standalone North American event.
NJPW made the following announcement on the matter:
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING’S BIGGEST STARS RETURN TO AMERICA ON AXS TV’S EXCLUSIVE LIVE BROADCAST OF ‘STRONG STYLE EVOLVED’ ON SUNDAY, MARCH 25 AT 8pE/5pP
The Sold-Out Show Will Feature Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & More from Long Beach, California
‘STRONG STYLE EVOLVED’ Marks NJPW’s Second U.S. Event as Japan’s Biggest Wrestling Organization Continues to Expand Stateside
Leading up to the Live Broadcast, the Network will Premiere Matches from NJPW’s New Year Dash, New Beginning in Sapporo and More
Los Angeles (Feb. 7, 2018) – AXS TV—the exclusive U.S. television home for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)—will partner with NJPW and TV ASAHI to broadcast NJPW’s second U.S. event STRONG STYLE EVOLVED live on Sunday, March 25 at 8pE/5pP from California State University Long Beach’s (CSULB) Walter Pyramid.
The cable network’s acclaimed commentary team, Wrestling Hall of Famer Jim Ross and former UFC Heavyweight Champion and NJPW veteran Josh Barnett, will call the live action ringside at STRONG STYLE EVOLVED. The broadcast is expected to feature NJPW’s biggest stars including Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito among others in matches to be announced.
“New Japan Pro Wrestling’s popularity and ratings in the U.S. are at an all-time high,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon. “The G1 Special last summer sold out in a few hours, while STRONG STYLE EVOLVED, in an arena twice the size, sold out in less than 10 minutes. This second U.S. event is a great opportunity to further our relationship with NJPW and TV Asahi and we are looking forward to growing their strong style brand of wrestling in the states.”
AXS TV previously televised NJPW’s first stateside event—G1 Special in USA—live in July 2017 and also took over production of the Friday night series from distribution partner TV Asahi to air the Japanese events closer to the original air date. Continuing this trend, AXS TV aired a special presentation of NJPW’s biggest annual event—Wrestle Kingdom 12—on Jan. 6, 2018 just two days after it took place in Japan, which became the most watched broadcast in series history.
AXS TV wraps up its final night of Wrestle Kingdom 12 coverage on Feb. 9 at 8pE/5pP. Then, the network will showcase the best matches from NJPW’s winter events including “New Year Dash” (Feb. 16), three hours from “The New Beginning in Sapporo” (Feb. 23-March 9) and more to be announced leading up to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED.
AXS TV’s upcoming NJPW schedule is as follows (subject to change):
Feb. 9 – Wrestle Kingdom 12 Finale – Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito
Feb. 16 – New Year Dash – NJPW’s top wrestlers face off in a series of tag team matches and establish new rivalries for 2018.
Feb. 23 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki
March 2 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi 3K
March 9 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – Kenny Omega vs. Jay White
– A fan on Twitter recently asked 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Bully Ray who he’d like to have induct he and D-Von Dudley into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. Ray responded by saying that if it were up to him he’d have everyone who was in the ECW Arena in February of 1997 – where he and D-Von hit their first 3D – induct them. However, since it’s a WWE Hall Of Fame he admitted names like Paul Heyman, Edge & Christian, or The Hardy Boyz would also be good options:
If it was totally up to me, I would want something completely different.
I would have every fan who was in the ECW Arena in Feb. ‘97 who saw me and Devon hit our first 3D induct us.
– Rusev has been training Lana hard ahead of their Mixed Match Challenge bout against the team of Elias and Bayley next week. WWE posted the following video of Rusev having Lana break boards in preparation for the match:
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live Randy Orton hit the ring and delivered an RKO outta nowhere to United States Champion Bobby Roode. He then proceeded to hit Aiden English and Rusev with one as well. There has been some speculation that this was done to set up a United States Title match between Roode and Orton at Fastlane.
Discussion: How do you feel about a possible Roode vs. Orton match at Fastlane? Would you like to see Orton win the Title from “The Glorious One?”
– Lita recently released a lengthy statement explaining why she wore ‘Times Up’ gear during her appearance in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. Here’s what the former WWE Women’s Champion had to say:
“On January 28, I was fortunate enough to have been included in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match. Historically, it was tough to have the women even represented at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, much less have equal representation and be the main event. With only a few days notice between when I was asked to participate and the match itself, I had to wonder: As much as I wanted to be a part of history, could I pull this off?? After all, I hadn’t been in the ring in a decade, and while my full-time tenure at WWE sowed the seeds for the current Women’s Evolution (led by a roster of kick-ass women), I knew this historic event was going to be much bigger than myself and my own contributions to the industry. A big factor in deciding to go for it was the position I was now in to represent women everywhere.
“First, to all the women in professional wrestling. Women who passed away before they were able to their contributions as a rung on this ladder [sic]. I wanted to step in the ring for these performers who came before me and sacrificed so much of their lives for their millions of fans. But this evolution is bigger than even them. I wanted to be an entrant in this match for all women who have felt underrepresented, in all aspects of their lives. That is why, when I stepped through the curtain, I wore my #TimesUp gear. Watching these women step forward, hearing their #MeToo stories, as difficult as they are to share, has brought strength and unity to women who previously felt alone, ashamed or scared.
“This is so much bigger than one match. Everyone has their own journey and their own way to heal. I am still figuring out mine, but am so proud of all of you who have been able to come forward and join together for the sake of the evolution, and the re-education that this is not right. Women should not be discriminated against, and I support you in whatever makes you feel like you are doing the right thing for you. Taking legal action is only one of those ways, but it also happens to be one of the ways where our support can do the most good. Which is why 100% of the proceeds of this auction is being donated to the #TimesUp Legal Defense Fund to honor the strength of ALL women. I support you, and applaud your courage and your healing, in whatever way is best for you.
– After having both Dean Ambrose and Jason Jordan go down with injuries, Seth Rollins has received a new Tag Team partner for upcoming WWE live events. Finn Balor will tag with “The Architect” at upcoming live events against The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), however, it’s only the events Roman Reigns is unable to tag with his former Shield stablemate. Rollins will tag with Reigns at Friday and Saturday’s live events.
When John Cena joins the RAW live tour on Sunday he will participate in a Triple Threat match against Reigns and The Miz for the Intercontinental Title. On that night Rollins will team with “The Demon King” against The Bar.
– With the hype around HBO Sports’ documentary on Andre The Giant, WWE really wants to push this year’s Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania even harder. The documentary is set to premiere the Tuesday after WrestleMania 34, which will feature the fifth annual Andre Battle Royal.
The first-ever Battle Royal took place at WrestleMania 30 back in 2014 with Cesaro winning. Past winners since then include The Big Show, Baron Corbin, and Mojo Rawley. PWInsider reports that WWE officials understand if the HBO documentary draws good numbers then it could lead to more projects with the network.
– Last night Roderick Strong picked up a win over Hideo Itami on 205 Live in a Cruiserweight Title Tournament match. Following the loss Itami took to Twitter to post a cryptic Tweet that fueled speculation regarding his future with WWE:
– A production company producing an upcoming show in the Los Angeles area are seeking John Cena ‘superfans.’ There are very few details given off by the advertisement, but you can check it out here:
A TV production company is looking for the biggest John Cena superfans in the Los Angeles area for a new series. pic.twitter.com/GPvKI2P6vB
Earlier this morning WWE’s The Big Show appeared on Busted Open Radio to talk about a recent hip surgery, and complications he suffered from it as a result. He revealed he went under the knife in September but got a fever several weeks later. It turns out he contracted a surgical infection:
“I’ve been really quiet with what’s been going on with me. I’ve had a hip resurfacing surgery in September. The surgery went really well. I got home and after 3 and a half weeks I was walking a mile. Things started to feel good, then I got a fever. I found out I had a surgical infection. The more I find out about these metal implants, it’s quite high to get an infection. I just got the unlucky draw.
“The hospital I had it done in New York is one of the top in the world for least amount of surgical infections. They had to open me up again, take it out, clean it, flush it, etc. If the infection had got any worse, they would have to cut the metal pieces out, put in what they call a cement joint for 3 months and then do a full on hip replacement, which would have ended my career.
“Instead, we got a very aggressive cleaning down here in Florida. I got a thing called a PICC line, which is basically an IV line from my left arm to my heart. For 7 weeks, I was walking around with an IV bag, 3 times a day, total of 8 hours a day. It was almost like having a small baby in the house because you only got 3-4 hours of sleep before you had to change the medicine. It was very stressful because I couldn’t go to the gym or do anything. I couldn’t get my blood pressure up, I couldn’t do anything physical. It was pretty difficult. We finally pulled the PICC line out on January 2nd.
“Things right now are touch and go for another 6-8 months. The more I learned about infections, the more I learn that they are very aggressive and adapt to certain medicines. The main thing we tried to do was keep the infection off the metal plate. Once bacteria gets on that metal plate, you can’t get it off. We’ve done everything we could. I dropped 27 pounds since January 2nd and I’m back in the gym feeling right.”
Despite his recent surgery and sitting at 45-years-old, the former WWE and WCW World Heavyweight Champion feels he still has a lot to contribute to the business:
“There’s always something to do in our business. I have a lot to contribute. For the younger talent, simple things like in and out of ring etiquette, treating yourself like a brand. These kids are amazing with social media, but there’s a certain way to carry yourself as a star. Being a WWE superstar is about giving, and I think there’s a few guys who get that. A lot of times talent gets wrapped up in the ‘me me me’ instead of ‘we we we’. There is no I in team. WWE is a team.
“Out of the billions of people on this planet, the 75-80 men and women on the roster have the opportunity to call themselves WWE superstars. That’s a very small percentage of people. They are in a position to be thankful. Thankful that they have the opportunity to be a WWE star, thankful to be working with people who you’ve grown up to idolize. Little things like that are what I still feel like I have to contribute.
“Also, I’m still having fun. It would be different if I wasn’t having fun anymore. I have done everything The Big Show can do personally aside from going out to have fun. I’m not under any pressure other than to go out and have fun. For me, this is the best time of my career. I can go out and interact with my fans.”
Current WWE Champion AJ Styles recently did an interview with India Today to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the rumored match that was planned between himself and WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels at last year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV). It turns out that Michaels shot the idea down:
“He [Michaels] said no. I’m not doing it. But being in the ring with someone like Shawn Michaels or the Undertaker and being able to learn from those guys will be a blessing. I would love to be in the ring with Shawn Michaels. Similar size, similar styles and to be in the ring with someone like that and all the knowledge he has. It would be a classic.”
“The Phenomenal One” was also asked about how he thinks “The Modern Day Maharaja” Jinder Mahal is doing in WWE. Styles said Mahal is doing great and he has all the makings of being the star he already is:
“Jinder is doing great. He has everything that he has got here. Looks like a star, acts like a star. That’s why he is one. He is perfect for the WWE, perfect for India. He is great and to see him be the star and come along is really cool. This business is really tough and Jinder went through some tough times in this business and now to see him where he is after all the hard work he has put in, he deserves everything and he has earned everything in the WWE.”
You can read Styles’ full interview with India Today by clicking this link here.
– Vince McMahon and Alpha Entertainment recently applied to trademark their own and the XFL logo. They also filed to trademark terms related to Alpha and the XFL.
– WWE recently replaced their social media banners with the image of ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey pointing up at the WrestleMania 34 sign. A lot has been made of Rousey’s debut at the Royal Rumble at her pointing at the sign.
In an apparent shot at “The Rowdy One,” Charlotte Tweeted out the following picture of herself and captioned it “Champions don’t need to point.”
Last night’s segment on Monday Night RAW, in which General Manager Kurt Angle told his ‘son’ Jason Jordan to go home until he’s medically cleared to return, was a way to write Jordan off WWE TV while he deals with a legitimate neck injury. PWInsider now reports Jordan has been pulled from traveling on the road with WWE and will not be at upcoming TV tapings or live events.
WWE has been doing their best to work around Jordan’s injury in recent weeks. It was recently reported that if Jordan needs surgery to repair his neck that he could be out for up to a year. It should be noted, however, that Jordan’s wife recently took to social media to confirm the injury. But she did note that recent reports have been greatly exaggerated and called the injury ‘minor’:
“Yes, “Jason Jordan” is injured. I assure you everything you have seen online is “Fake News!” He has a minor neck injury and will be back in no time! Although, I am very excited to have him home for a bit, I promise, I will help guide him to a speedy recovery! Thank you to everyone who reached out to check on him! He is very positive and already planning his comeback! In the meantime, just please keep sending Nathan and I good vibes!! ”
– WWE is allowing fans to vote on who they want to serve as tonight’s Special Guest referee for tonight’s Mixed Match Challenge match – SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan or Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle. Tonight’s match will be between the teams of Jimmy Uso and Naomi vs. Goldust and Mandy Rose:
– WWE has announced a new Embroidery partnership with LIDS Sports Group. Here’s the official press release:
LIDS Sports Group Partners with WWE for Custom Embroidery
Leading retailer offers fans custom embroidery of WWE Superstars and Legends names, logos and autographs on headwear
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 6, 2018) – Leading omni-channel sports licensed retailer LIDS Sports Group announced today a new partnership with WWE, gaining the licensing rights to create on-demand WWE headwear. The new licensing agreement allows for LIDS to embroider the names, logos, and autographs (EmbroidiGraph) of WWE Superstars and Legends on WWE-licensed headwear within its stores and upon orders online.
“The passion that runs through the veins of WWE fans is indisputable, so we are thrilled to be able to further connect with this fanbase by offering them a new way to demonstrate support for their favorite Superstars and Legends,” said David Baxter, president and CEO of LIDS Sports Group. “Customization is an important aspect to our brand, and we hope to continue the expansion of our WWE customization offerings in ways that take customers’ fandom to the next level.”
The new agreement also allows for the on-demand creation of custom WWE headwear. Customers can select from a wide selection of blank headwear options offered by LIDS – which covers all styles from fitted to flex to snapbacks in a wide variety of colors – and then choose from the new library of WWE custom embroidery options to create personalized, one-of-a-kind looks. Thanks to LIDS’ unique customization capabilities, creating a custom WWE hat in-store will take only minutes.
LIDS’s WWE on-demand customization program launched a select assortment of logos and autographs ahead of WWE’s Royal Rumble event, and LIDS will continuously add new WWE Superstars and Legends on a monthly-basis.
“LIDS shares our vision of fan engagement by providing customized offerings that connects our passionate fans with their favorite Superstars,” said Casey Collins, WWE Executive Vice President of Consumer Products. “We’re excited to launch this new on-demand initiative with a brand who can offer WWE products in real-time alongside our biggest events.”
Nearly 1,000 LIDS stores nationwide are outfitted with comprehensive embroidery capabilities, providing shoppers the ability to customize their headwear and apparel with names, phrases and images. Shoppers are also able to customize headwear online at www.lids.com. LIDS’s unique EmbroidiGraph service also allows consumers to embroider any current professional athlete’s signature (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL) on any team-licensed hat.
LIDS Sports Group operates more than 1,200 retail locations across North America and has sold approximately 300 million hats since its founding. To learn more, visit www.lids.com.
– On last night’s episode of RAW WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz qualified for the Elimination Chamber match by defeating Apollo Crews. The winner of the Chamber match will go on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34. Miz took to Twitter to ask his doubters over the years if they ‘feel stupid yet’:
– Speaking of the Elimination Chamber match, next week’s episode of RAW from San Jose will feature a Fatal Four-Way match between Finn Balor, Matt Hardy, Bray Wyatt, and Apollo Crews. All of these men lost their initial qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber.
This “Second Chance Fatal Four-Way” will determine the sixth and final competitor in the Elimination Chamber match. WWE recently posted an interview with Finn Balor; who vows to win the Fatal Four-Way, go on to win the Chamber match, and topple Lesnar at WrestleMania to regain the Universal Crown:
– Nia Jax was left out of the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match, however, RAW General Manager did but her in a match that gives her quite the opportunity. Jax will instead take on Women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka in a Singles match. If she’s successful she’ll be thrown into the RAW Women’s Title match at WrestleMania, making it a Triple Threat match. She took to Twitter to react:
A place in the first women’s #WWEChamber match was what I wanted…
…but I’ll settle for breaking @WWEAsuka’s streak and a championship match at #WrestleMania. That’ll be just fine. #Raw
On last week’s episode of Monday Night RAW Braun Strowman destroyed Kane in their Last Man Standing match by dumping the entire announcer’s desk on him. Shortly afterwards in a storyline update WWE announced Kane was taken to a medical facility, where he sat up on the examiner’s table and crawled out of the hospital. There’s no word on why Kane has seemingly been written off WWE TV for now, whether it’s for injury or to campaign, but he has been removed from all upcoming WWE live events through this month.
He is, however, still being advertised for TV and live events in the month of March. Kane is set to hold a big campaign event for his bid for Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. He and The Undertaker will be appearing at the Rothchild Catering & Conference Center on Thursday, March 1st at 6:30 P.M. in Knoxville. Also, at the end of next week Chris Jericho will host a special Talk Is Jericho Live with Kane in Knoxville.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHqCKUqoAeE
Posted February 6th, 2018 in WWE, News. Tagged: Kane.
– Per Lavie Margolin on Twitter, Ring Of Honor (ROH) has sold nearly 4,000 tickets for its upcoming Supercard of Honor event – which goes down on WrestleMania 34 weekend – headlined by Cody Rhodes vs. Kenny Omega. The exact number of tickets sold at the time of the Tweet was 3,828, a new record for the promotion:
– WWE Hall Of Famers Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan will be participating in a Q&A session from the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa this upcoming Saturday. “The Nature Boy” took to Twitter to hype the event:
– Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reports that WWE’s Rusev Day calendar has been selling very well. So well, in fact, that the company ordered 5,000 more after their initial order of 2,500 dried up quicker than expected:
WWE ordered 5000 more Rusev Day calendars after their initial order of 2500 sold quicker than expected.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) February 6, 2018
For those of you who missed it, WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T recently went off on Corey Graves during an episode of his Heated Conversations radio show on Sports Radio 610 in Houston, Texas. The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion blames Graves for not being on the RAW commentary team anymore, stating WWE officials were afraid he’d ‘jump on’ him sooner or later.
Now Booker will likely only be used for pre and post-show panels. He also threatened to attack Graves if he sees him outside the realm of a WWE production before challenging him to a legit fist fight. More on that here. Graves later indirectly responded to Booker’s comments on Twitter with the following:
“Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.”
Graves took things a step further during last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW. During Bayley’s entrance to face Asuka in singles action, Graves told Booker T’s replacement on the commentary team, Jonathan Coachman, the following:
“You better be careful Coach, watch your tongue or you might be doing afternoon radio locally.”
This of course was a reference to Booker’s Heated Conversations show on Houston Sports Radio 610. If fans are hoping that this is a work and a match between the two is coming, that’s very unlikely. Graves is unable to get cleared by WWE doctors to compete due to his history of concussion-related injuries. It looks like the heat between the two is very real.
WWE posted a video in which they confirm two big matches set to go down on tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW from the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. One of the matches includes a Triple Threat match between Braun Strowman, John Cena, and Elias. The winner of that match will have the advantage of entering into the Elimination Chamber match last.
The other match is a RAW Tag Team Title rematch between The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) against Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan. Also confirmed for the show is an Elimination Chamber qualifying match between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt. Make sure to keep it locked here at SEScoops for live coverage of tonight’s show.
– It seems like Tyler Bate could have some backstage heat within WWE. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio had this to say about Bate’s current status with the company:
“Tyler Bate lost 4 matches this week. He went 0 and 4. He went from being the big guy that they were grooming for the UK for the future and he has fallen out of favor.” He continued, “He lost the title to Pete Dunne [and] there was a situation where they had a tour.
“They, at the last minute, wanted to book him on a main roster tour I think. This was a long time ago but this was right before they put Pete Dunne over him. They called [Bate] late and he had made other plans and that’s what happened.”
– TMZ recently published a story about Jay Z applying to trademark the diamond hand signal for “a variety of entertainment services in either music, video, TV or film.” It also referenced a lawsuit that Diamond Dallas Page filed against Jay Z back in 2005 that was settled out of court. The article also noted “it doesn’t look like DDP ever trademarked it for himself.” DDP took to Twitter to correct TMZ on that matter:
– Much has been made over the pointing Ronda Rousey did towards the WrestleMania 34 sign during her WWE debut at the Royal Rumble. Rousey came out to the ring after the conclusion of the Women’s Royal Rumble match to confront SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, and Rumble winner Asuka. Becky Lynch recently took to Twitter to post a picture of herself pointing up at the WrestleMania sign, captioning the photo “This is how you point.”:
– This past weekend former WWE Superstar Emma wrestled her first match outside the company since being released in October. She worked with former IMPACT Knockout Angelina Love and used her real name, Tenille Dashwood, for the WrestlePro match. She would go on to win the match. Check it out here:
– WWE Hall Of Famer and Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle took to Instagram and teased the return of his old “Wrestling Machine Mode” gimmick. Angle said the following:
“Kurt Angle “Wrestling Machine Mode” was my favorite character in WWE. He wasn’t very funny but he could take out anybody in an instant. Will the “wrestling machine” make a return? Stay tuned…. #itstrue”
– The Wendy’s fast-food chain has been rather active in the professional wrestling Twitter world as of late. They recently took a shot at Ronda Rousey’s WWE debut during the Royal Rumble. Now they have responded to future WWE Hall Of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley’s Tweet during the Super Bowl last night, in which he suggested Wendy’s is better than McDonalds:
– As per tradition, Triple H has posted the photo of The Philadelphia Eagles’ Championship Title belt after winning last night’s Super Bowl 52 match-up against the New England Patriots. Check out the title here:
– WWE has released the following video highlighting the “5 Things You Need To Know Before Tonight’s RAW.” The list names, Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt, Who will compete in the women’s Elimination Chamber?, Who will be The Miz’s next IC title challenger?, The Bar’s title reign, and The Revival’s hot streak as the five things. Here’s the video:
– Following last night’s Super Bowl The Rock appeared on Jimmy Fallon to announce the launch of his new reality competition series “Titan Games.” The series will air on NBC with 10 episodes in its first season; and is being produced by both A. Smith & Company (who produces American Ninja Warrior) and Rock’s Seven Bucks Productions. “The Great One” will serve as the host of the show in addition to executive producer. Here’s The Rock’s announcement of the show on Fallon:
– In reference to last night’s Super Bowl, Vince McMahon’s XFL Twitter account took a few shots at the NFL during the game. The XFL commented on the NFL’s catch rules, how dragged out their game is, and the complexity of the NFL rule system. Check it out:
– WWE recently released a video of Shayna Baszler, one of Ronda Rousey’s best friends, commenting on “The Rowdy One’s” WWE debut at the Royal Rumble. Baszler said she was just as surprised as everyone else, as Rousey kept it a secret from her friends because she wanted them to feel the same genuine excitement everyone else did. Baszler also noted that she believes Rousey will be just as dominant in WWE as she has been in everything else:
– SmackDown Live star Rusev was asked by a fan to bless his newborn baby, who just so happened to be born on “Rusev Day.” “The Bulgarian Brute” did in fact bless the child before responding to another fan, who asked Rusev to talk to his boss because he’s making him work on “Rusev Day.” Rusev said that his boss does the same thing: