This Wednesday night, WWE held television tapings for NXT at Full Sail University which saw a number of major developments.
One such filmed segment consisted of Bianca Belair defeating Io Shirai, Mia Yim and Lacey Evans in a fatal four-way match to win a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship.
The episode will air on January 2 on the WWE Network.
The EST will also put her undefeated streak on the line when she goes against the champion as the #1 contender.
Bianca Belair will face Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship at the upcoming NXT TakeOver: Phoenix event on Saturday, January 26 from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
The NXT tapings will provide enough content for the remainder of this year and take us into the TakeOver: Phoenix event. WWE is scheduled to tape more episodes for NXT on 3 January.
A main roster member made a surprise appearance at the NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University this Wednesday night.
Ricochet was set to defend his NXT North American Championship that night as it was announced that he would be challenged by a mystery opponent on the show.
Tyler Breeze returned to NXT and took on Ricochet in a title match in a losing effort.
Breeze has also made some appearances on NXT house shows before but this is the first time that he has appeared on NXT television in three years.
Breeze joined WWE’s developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where he performed under the ring name Mike Dalton.
He would later work in NXT after the rebranding of FCW, and would début his heel selfie-taking pretty boy persona under the Tyler Breeze name. He made his main roster début in October of 2015.
Breeze’s partner Fandango of “Breezango” is injured and that has left Breeze out of the tag team division.
Currently directionless on the main roster, Tyler Breeze could have a fresh start once again on NXT as a singles wrestler.
Former NXT Women’s Champion Kairi Sane revealed on Twitter that she is diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is an infectious illness and often seen in young children. The 2017 Mae Young Classic Winner is confused as to why she has contracted a disease that children under age 10 are most likely to catch.
“The fever has gone down, but now my hands, feet, and mouth have a mysterious eczema… Ouch you go to the hospital with it? (even in the United States, Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease) It is a disease that infants under 5-years-old have been examined. Why did the virus enter my body by mistake?”, wrote the 30 year-old on Twitter in Japanese.
?????????????????????????…Ouch ??????????????????????????????????Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?????5???????????????????? ?????????????????????????????
The viral infection can be contracted by adults too, even though it commonly only affects children. There is no treatment required as it is not serious and it generally goes away within a week or two.
The team of Braun Strowman and Ember Moon was going strong at the Mixed Match Challenge with winning all four of their matches and they surely seemed like the favourites of this season.
But since Braun has been injured on last week’s Raw, Ember needed a new partner to continue competing in the event.
WWE announced that Curt Hawkins will be replacing Braun Strowman as Ember Moon’s partner at the Mixed Match Challenge. Hawkins, known for his losing streak, has lost 236 matches without a single win.
Moon had a singles match against Alicia Fox on this week’s Raw where Fox was accompanied by her Mixed Match partner Jinder Mahal as well as The Singh Brothers. Curt Hawkins was at ringside for Moon and she ended up winning the match.
“Mahalicia” and the team of Ember Moon and Curt Hawkins will face each other on tonight’s episode of the Mixed Match Challenge following SmackDown Live.
EXCLUSIVE: With @WWEEmberMoon as his #WWEMMC partner, could @TheCurtHawkins' losing streak soon be coming to an end?? #Rawpic.twitter.com/KXRhYZngF7
On the other hand, there is no information on when Braun Strowman will return, as he was attacked by Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin last week, shattering his elbow in the process.
Trevor Lee says that he would love to work for the WWE and it has been his dream to do so.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, the former Impact X Division Champion said that he is keen on signing with the WWE or New Japan Pro Wrestling after he becomes a free agent in January.
“I would love to go to WWE or New Japan,” Lee told SI. “I’ve done a lot in the United States in terms of big independent companies, I’ve wrestled in Mexico, Canada, England, and India, but I’d love to go to Japan.”
The 25 year-old has worked with Pro Wrestling Guerilla since 2014 and has been in the ring with names such as the Young Bucks, Kevin Owens, and Cody Rhodes. He believes the best work that he’s done yet hasn’t been on TV and he wants his fans to see the real Trevor Lee.
“The best work that I’ve ever done in my life has never been on TV. My TV work has been to help the product, but outside of that is where you see the real Trevor Lee.”
Lee’s says he wants to do something for his father the late Tracy Caddell, who was the co-founder of the OMEGA Championship Wrestling promotion.
“I’m not chasing my father’s dreams, but I do want to do something for him,” said Lee. “And it’s for me, as well. Ultimately, I would like to go to WWE.
“That’s the dream. It’s always something my father really wanted for me. He was actually an extra the first time the Hardy Boyz won the tag team titles in Fayetteville. He was an extra in the segment before that, the one with the APA. My father was very much in love with the business.”
He also revealed that he is willing to try anything and wouldn’t mind giving 205 Live a shot too.
“I’m willing to try anything,” said Lee. “I wouldn’t mind wrestling in the 205 Live scene. It’s a good spot with great talent, I like those matches. I feel like I can compete in the top guy scene, too. Guys like Rollins and Balor aren’t that big, and I feel like I could be right there with them.
At last night’s NXT TakeOver: WarGames event from the Staples Center, Los Angeles, the War Raiders, Ricochet and Pete Dunne defeated The Undisputed Era in a WarGames match.
After the match, fans expressed concern over the status of Undisputed Era member Bobby Fish, who reportedly had to be helped out by officials.
During the conference call after the event, Triple H provided an update on Bobby Fish’s health condition. He said in the conference call that Bobby Fish was just fine and nothing serious happened.
Fish had just returned to the squared circle after several months as he was out with a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee in March. He underwent surgery for his knee and was out of action for six months. He returned to NXT in October and assisted his fellow Undisputed Era members in their match against The War Raiders.
After his WarGames match at last night’s NXT TakeOver: Wargames pay-per-view event, NXT North American Champion Ricochet took to Twitter to express his belief that NXT is the number one brand in all of sports entertainment and wrestling according to him.
He wrote, “It gets thrown around a lot, but I firmly believe that @WWENXT is the #1 in sports entertainment/wrestling whatever you like to call it. Top to bottom, everyone always delivers.
Luke Harper has been in the WWE since around 2012 and has held a SmackDown Tag Team and NXT Tag Team title in the company. Apart from the tag titles, the only singles title he has held has been the Intercontinental Championship. The 38 year-old reflected on his reign as the IC Champion from four years ago as he won the title from Dolph Ziggler on Raw.
He tweeted the following:
“4 Years ago today I reversed a @heelziggler attempt at a Bella Buster and became @wwe Intercontinental Champion. It didn’t last long but man was it special. It also led to one of my greatest matches ever at TLC that year.”
4 Years ago today I reversed a @heelziggler attempt at a Bella Buster and became @wwe Intercontinental Champion. It didn't last long but man was it special. It also led to one of my greatest matches ever at TLC that year. pic.twitter.com/PjM2xGsu8i
Charlotte Flair has some high praises for Ronda Rousey. She recently spoke with ComicBook.com and talked about Rousey’s transition from UFC to WWE.
Charlotte said that Rousey has avoided a mistake that is a hurdle for most beginners in the WWE.
“Well, they’re just thinking about the moves and not the meaning behind them. Watching her, she looks like she’s been doing this for years. And that’s very hard to do. It looks effortless. It’s one thing to be an athlete, but it’s another to, just because you’re an athlete doesn’t mean you’re going to be a good WWE Superstar,” Flair told ComicBook.
Charlotte also praised whoever is teaching Rousey and said that they are doing a phenomenal job in teaching her the moves of the squared circle.
“Who’s ever talking to her or teaching her is doing such a phenomenal job, because the whole goal is to make it look like you’re not thinking. There’s not a second that you think she’s thinking,” said Flair.
Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey are set to go against each other at the Survivor Series pay-per-view event this Sunday.
The NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler went into the NXT TakeOver: Wargames pay-per-view event to defend her title against her challenger Kairi Sane in a 2 out of 3 falls match.
She scored the first fall in the match with the help of her fellow Horsewomen at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Dakota Kai and Io Shirai came to the aid of Kairi but Baszler was able to retain her title and won the match.
In a backstage interview after the match, Baszler declared herself the most dominant woman in the division.
As Cathy Kelly mentioned the fact that Baszler was able to secure the win with the help of the Horsewomen, Baszler interrupted her mid-sentence.
“Listen, I am the most dominant woman that this division has ever seen. The only two-time defending champion. Ask me more about that and we can do these interviews, okay?”
She also expressed that she was more than confident about her victory when asked.
Velveteen Dream had a memorable match with Tommaso Ciampa at the NXT TakeOver: Wargames pay-per-view where he challenged Ciampa for his NXT Championship. Dream laid it all out there and it looked like he was going to win the title last night.
After the event, a TakeOver post-show interview was conducted where Triple H spoke to Cathy Kelley and gave opinions about the superstars performances’ at the show.
Speaking of Velveteen Dream, Triple H said that he is unbelievable and it is scary that he is at this level at just 23 years of age.
“Here is where I sit with Velveteen Dream. Unbelievable. Everything about him is not to be believed that how good he is and then I remember he is only 23 years old. 23 years old, to take the champion with as much experience as he has, Tommaso Ciampa, to take him to that limit.
To make a little mistake and to lose in what could have gone either way at 23 years old. To have the whole world thinking this is yours at 23, it is scary how good he will be.
It is scary to think how dominant on every level that he will be. If he is not there now in a few years, you know, it is crazy to think that.”
Velveteen Dream is an amazing performer and we can’t help but agree with Triple H that it is surprising to see how talented he is at his age and how crazy he will be in a few years.
You can check out the results from NXT TakeOver: Wargameshere.
This week’s episode of Impact Wrestling has seen the second lowest viewership numbers. The episode which aired on November 15 was able to draw in only 101,000 viewers. In comparison, last week’s episode had 129,000 viewers with a steadily increasing rate for two weeks.
The ratings for the episode went further down from 0.05 to 0.01 in the coveted 18-49 year-old demographic.
The episode featured an X Division Championship match between Brian Cage and Sami Callihan, as well as the Impact World Champion Johnny Impact went against Matt Sydal.
The viewership numbers were the lowest since October 25’s 98,000. The show was unable to make it to the Cable Top 150 list this week.
This was Impact’s fourth week in the new late 10PM time slot on Pop TV.
Here are the viewership stats for the last four episodes:
Nov. 15: 101,000
Nov. 8: 129,000
Nov. 1: 105,000
Oct. 25: 98,000
You can check out the results and the takeaways from the episode here.
Even though Hall of Famer Edge has retired from professional wrestling since 2011, he has been part of the WWE in one way or another, particularly with his podcast E&C Pod of Awesomeness. Recently he discussed the possibility of himself making an in-ring return and which current WWE superstars has caught his eye.
Speaking to The New York Post, Edge revealed what he thinks his comeback to the ring would look like. Since Shawn Michaels came out of retirement recently, Edge was asked whether he thinks of making a return at his age.
“Ah no. (Laugh.) Well, here’s the thing: People as much as they want it, it’s not going to be what they want. It’s very rare. Especially when you get performers into their 40s and 50s, it’s not an easy job. It’s a very, very difficult thing physically.”
“I personally think your body isn’t meant to do it past 40 years old. It’s just a really, really physically demanding, taxing thing. And I know people hop in and they do one-offs here and there, but I just think it’s a matter of time before eventually they are going to get hit with some kind of injury bullet, because it’s not normal to do to your body, especially once you start getting up in middle age.”
Edge also thinks that former WWE Champion AJ Styles and IC Champion Seth Rollins could have a classic match with him, but it simply isn’t possible anymore for him.
“So, hey, do I know A.J. Styles and I could have an amazing match, Seth Rollins and I could tear it down and have a classic, yeah, if it were me at 35, not me at 45. And not me at 45 not having stepped in a ring for eight years.”
Edge made his debut in the WWE in 1997 and went on to hold 31 championships in his decorated career in the company. He retired in April of 2011 due to cervical spinal stenosis as he was deemed unclear to ever compete. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.
The Rated R Superstar also discussed about the current WWE stars Becky Lynch and Drew McIntyre who have grabbed his attention.
“I’ve been kind of touting Becky for a while, just from the kind of organic reaction she’s gotten from the audience. They want her as the focal point of the division, and it was very, very obvious and thankfully they listened and kind of allowed it to happen, which is real cool and fun to watch.
I really like watching McIntyre right now. I think he reinvented himself. I’ve always really liked Drew and it’s great to see him come back with the right mentality and get this opportunity because he’s has that right mentality.”
Pac recently returned to the ring after a one year absence from professional wrestling. He faced Flamita in an International Special Single’s Match at the Gate of Destiny event for the Dragon Gate promotion.
You can check out the match here on Dragon Gate’s new streaming service, which was first announced by Pac himself as he appeared in the promo for the streaming service.
Pac is also set to make his return to Revolution Pro. On 22 November, Pac will be appearing for Rev Pro at the Portsmouth Guildhall. It is not known who he is going to face yet.
Posted November 13th, 2018 in News. Tagged: Neville, PAC.
Led by Lynch, the entire SmackDown women’s roster attacked the Raw women’s team in the ring. Ronda Rousey attempted to rescue her Raw colleagues but she apparently had too much damage done to her arm by Lynch earlier, and was unable to do much. She was attacked by Lynch again but with a steel chair this time.
During the chaos, Becky had her nose busted open. Her face was pretty much bloodied from the damage.
She proved that she really is The Man and the entire segment was much more impressive because of her. Seeing Becky smiling after destroying the Raw team without even caring about her half-bloody face was surely the moment of the episode for many.
WWE Superstars and Hall of Famers reacted to the invasion segment with much praise for The Irish Lass Kicker.
The “Lunatic Fringe” has finally revealed what made him turn on his partner Seth Rollins a few weeks ago on Raw.
After defeating Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre in a tag-team championship match on the October 22nd episode of Raw, Ambrose turned on his partner Rollins, which was a big surprise move.
It was the same night when Roman Reigns revealed that he has been fighting from leukemia.
Ambrose again attacked Rollins last week after he lost the tag team titles to The Authors of Pain in a handicap match.
On this week’s episode of Raw, Seth Rollins was looking for answers about the betrayal from his Shield brother, and it was finally revealed in a weird promo.
Ambrose, sitting on a car next to a lit barrel, explained that he attacked Rollins because he believed that Rollins and Reigns made him weak because he had to watch their backs. He used to believe that the Shield vest made him strong, but he doesn’t think so anymore.
Saying that, he poured gasoline over the vest and threw it onto a burning barrel.
The 11/8 episode of Impact Wrestlingon Pop TV is seeing better numbers in viewership since it moved to the new time-slot. The episode drew in over 129,000 viewers, which is a significant increase from last week’s 105,000.
The main event of the episode featured Johnny Impact retaining the World Championship over Killer Kross. The new time-slot is seeing steadily increasing viewership numbers for the show since it shifted from 8pm to 10pm three weeks ago.
The episode moved up in the ranks from 147 to 143 on the Cable Top 150.
In the first week on the new time-slot, the show drew the worst rating in history, with only 98,000 viewers for the October 25 episode.
Numbers have since been consistently getting up every week. Here are the viewership stats for the last three episodes:
Nov. 8: 129,000
Nov. 1: 105,000
Oct. 25: 98,000
Impact has announced matches that will take place at next week’s tapings from Las Vegas. It will feature a X-Division Championship match where Brian Cage will defend the title against Sami Callihan, and Johnny Impact vs. Matt Sydal.
You can check out the results and the takeaways from the episode here.
Mark Henry spoke to Heavy, where he revealed what suggestions he offered Hogan to redeem himself again.
“I wasn’t going to roll out the red carpet and start going to have dinner with him if he wasn’t willing to do all the s**t that I said he needed to do,” Henry told Heavy. “To start, he needs to go to some of these black universities, to these law students and let them grill him and own it and apologize. Not because you got caught, but apologize because you honestly feel remorse. He said that he found God and he touched my heart when he said that, because I know what God will do, so if God touched him, God will also say speak up, and when you reveal your past, you can go on in the future and I still don’t think he’s still completely revealed it.”
Henry said he has spoken to other wrestlers of color and the opinions are divided about the situation. Some wrestlers are of the belief that if he does certain things in the right way to apologize, he could redeem himself, whereas others don’t want to do anything with him.
Titus O’Neil also recently voiced his opinion on the situation: “I have no ill will towards Hulk Hogan whatsoever,” he said.
“I do feel like he genuinely wants to clear his name. He sees people that used to respect him, they look at him different. And it hurts. And he brought that on himself. But, he’s trying his best to clear that up,” Henry said.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was an attendee at a Trump rally held in Mississippi this week.
He was seen wearing a Donald Trump t-shirt sitting right behind Trump in the front-row at the Landers Center.
In the rally, President Trump mocked Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate Judiciary Committee testimony where she alleged that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.
Jerry Lawler told TMZ that he got backlash from fans on social media and got hate mail for attending the rally.
“We were asked by some people to go to the rally, and I went and unbelievably received from some social media some actual hate mail just for going to the rally of Donald Trump.”
He clarified that he wasn’t there to support Trump, he just went there to “see a fellow WWE Hall of Famer.”
Lawler was also asked if he thinks Trump would return to the ring once his presidency is over. Lawler said he wouldn’t doubt it as Trump “did pretty good the first time.”
Peyton Royce and Billie Kay debuted on SmackDown Live from NXT on the April 10 episode and immediately put every female superstar in the locker room on notice. With their savage attack on Charlotte Flair, the duo allowed Carmella to cash in her Money in the Bank contract to become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion.
In the WWE Network’s show Ride Along, Peyton and Billie were featured in a recent episode and they talked about the day when they came to know that they are going to debut on SD Live.
WWE’s Twitter shared a clip from the moment when they were informed of their main roster callup, which captured both their reactions as Triple H informed them the news:
The WWE Raw Women’s Championship match set to take place at Extreme Rules was spiced up with the Extreme Rules stipulation yesterday, and the challenger Nia Jax has some thoughts about it that she shared on her Twitter:
It isn’t about just about winning the #Raw Women’s Championship back. It’s about putting an end to this. An #ExtremeRules Match means I can use ANY means to make you pay for what you’ve done. This ends the #MomentOfBliss.
Cody Rhodes revealed on Twitter that Deonna Purrazzo will not be making an appearance at the All In event after he was asked who she was going to face. Deonna Purrazzo is currently signed to WWE’s developmental territory NXT.
Click here for more news on the All In event.
Deonna is unable to do All In. We love her. She’s phenomenal. She’s kicking ass/breaking arms no matter where you see her.
WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat went through hip surgery on Monday in North Carolina. He posted a picture on his Twitter account after his successful surgery, stating, “Got up and walked down the hall about 4 hours after surgery with zero pain. Thx for all the love and prayers sent my way….prayer works!”
Steamboat has been a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and has had an illustrious career in the WWE and WCW. He has been a WWE Intercontinental Champion and eight-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. He was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
Nakamura and Tanahashi have faced each other a number of times before in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and were considered the top rivals in the company.
Both of them have main evented Wrestle Kingdom, in 2008 and 2014 for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental Championship respectively.
Another Match Added To Chris Jericho’s Cruise
Ring of Honor Wrestling has announced that their Sea of Honor Tournament on Chris Jericho’s upcoming Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager cruise will feature another match. “Hangman” Adam Page will go against Kazarian in singles action:
Col. Robert Parker discussed “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s departure from World Championship Wrestling to World Wrestling Federation, and more while speaking to Wrestling Epicenter. Here are some highlights from the interview:
On Steve Austin leaving WCW for WWF:
“I was with Steve for about a year, maybe more, in WCW. We had the run with Brian Pillman and the Chicken Match and all that. It was just a real good time. During that time, I was making a trip with Steve and he told me he would be leaving. I was just shocked because he had a good contract, a really good contract. One well up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars! He had said he was done with WCW and wanted to go to WWF. As an old timer, I advised him ‘You don’t burn these bridges because if you do, you can never go back. If you do, things are never the same. Maybe you should do your year up and finish your contract and doing business on the up and up and then going in [to WWE].’
He was like, ‘No, no, no. I’m very unhappy.’ Of course, he did not advise me about the new character of ‘Stone Cold’ and shaving his head and all the stuff that had happened that made a lot of his success take place. Nevertheless, he went against my advice. When I saw Steve when I went in there in 1998 in WWF and he was doing so well and he and Vince were having the big feud. That year, he had made $10,000,000! [Laughs] He was able to look at me from across the dressing room and laugh. He said, ‘You know, Col. He’s got all his stuff together. He’s got everything. But, don’t let him handle your money!’ [Laughs] He was exactly right!”
On the growth of Major League Wrestling:
“To get back out of the box, at that time, they weren’t on Bein Sports yet. They were just, I guess, on YouTube. But, I knew this was a growing company. You can just walk into the back and see the people they have involved in every element of it. You can see, for a guy like myself, I can see they are going places and they are going places very quickly. So, being with these two boys [Dirty Blondes] and being with this company has been a real pleasure for me.”
You can listen to the entire interview in the video embedded below, or read more highlights here.
IMPACT Wrestling’s Dezmond Xavier spoke to the Wrestling Epicenter for an interview where he discussed Impact working with other promotions, doing high-risk moves and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On the larger talent working in the X Division of late:
“I am still a firm believer that it is not about weight limits, it is about no limits. If you feel you can stretch the boundaries of reality, go ahead and step into the X Division and lets see what you can do! Brian Cage felt he can and has proven he can do so. It definitely goes to show it isn’t about size, it is about what you can do.”
On zero fear in doing the high risk moves:
“I kind of walked in with that mind set being influenced by some of the smaller guys and the X Division stars. Seeing the capabilities of the human body, I just went for it! I have a fearless nature so I was ready to dive in and see what my body could and couldn’t do. I think that is what put me in the position I’m in right now. I do know what my body is capable of doing and I’m capable of doing more. When the time is right, I do plan on bringing that out.”
On Impact working with external companies like Lucha Underground:
“I think that it is awesome. Unity in wrestling is something that I’ve always hoped would come about more. Instead of us trying to belittle someone else’s craft, lets uplift it! Ultimately, it is bettering overall wrestling. The unity between companies and breaking that 4th wall and it is going to reap beautiful benefits for multiple parties.”
On Impact Wrestling’s new direction under Scott D’Amore and Don Callis:
“I 100% support it. It is moving us towards our ultimate goal which is to be seen by more fans so they can have an appreciation for a different style of wrestling – New stars, new things to be seen! Just, different! We’re here to show you that wrestling is not just one way. There is another way you can have your ice cream, there is another way you can have your pizza, there is another way you can have your chicken wings. There is another way you can enjoy something you’ve been watching for a lot of years. It might be the way that you like it initially but, hey, you might come around to it!”
On his goals in Impact Wrestling going forward:
“(laughs) Number one is to win the X Division championship. Number two is to go down as the greatest X Division champion. And three, who knows? Maybe be a triple crown winner!”
Xavier also discussed his previous matches, his finishing move, his upcoming matches, and more. You can listen to the entire interview in the video below or read more highlights by clicking here.
Ricochet and Velveteen Dream both failed to capture the NXT North American Championship to become the inaugural champions at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. On May 9 Dream confronted Ricochet which led to a match the next week which ended in a no contest as Lars Sullivan attacked them both. The two then teamed up to take on Sullivan in a handicap match a week later but Dream back-stabbed his partner Ricochet during the match and they lost. On last week’s episode of NXT Dream challenged Ricochet for a match at NXT TakeOver: Chicagowhich Ricochet accepted.
The two will face off each other at WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II which will take place on June 16 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago.