Former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee (AJ Mendez) has launched a new “Call Me Crazy for a Cause” GoFundMe campaign to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The campaign currently has raised $2,105 of a $25,000 goal with 16 people donating. You can see the campaign at this link.
Above is a video promo for the campaign and below are details on the campaign, which were sent out by GoFundMe today:
Call Me Crazy for a Cause
My name is AJ Mendez and I’m a fighter. I have fought to go from a scrawny kid growing up in severe poverty to a wrestling champion on international television. I have fought to go from a college dropout to a bestselling author. I have fought to go from being confused and scared lying in a hospital bed after a suicide attempt to being in charge of- and proud of- my Bipolar Disorder diagnosis.
I have always considered myself a one-girl revolution; responsible for making the change I want to see in the world- starting with myself. But headed into my next battle, I was so grateful to have an army alongside me. About a year ago, I teamed up with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I had written my book Crazy Is My Superpower as a way to reclaim hateful words like “crazy” and to showcase the beauty in our differences. But I needed the guidance of mental health professionals to continue the conversation and help shatter the stigma around mental illness. NAMI has given me invaluable support and the tools necessary to help educate others.
NAMI provides no-cost, essential information, education and support to individuals and families in need. They raise awareness and advocate for the 60 million Americans affected by mental health conditions. They give help and hope, so crucial to those still navigating their mental health journeys. NAMI saves lives.
As a NAMI Ambassador I want to help them keep up the good fight. This campaign will raise funds to support their amazing work–helping to equip NAMI’s grassroots volunteers with training for our no-cost education, support and awareness programs offered in communities across the country and supporting our no-cost HelpLine, which responds to tens of thousands of inquiries each year to people in need of essential support sand referrals. And you can earn fun rewards in the process! No donation is too small and anything you contribute will be greatly appreciated.
Please join me in this fight.
-AJ
Posted April 6th, 2018 in WWE, News. Tagged: AJ Lee.
Thursday’s Impact Wrestling episode, featuring a Case vs. Case main event with Eli Drake defeating Moose, drew 294,000 viewers. This is down from last week’s 399,000 viewers, which was the best Impact viewership since The Final Deletion episode in July 2016, which drew 410,000 viewers.
Impact ranked #128 on the Cable Top 150 this past week. Last week’s show ranked #104.
The Jersey Shore return on MTV topped the night with almost 5 million viewers across both episodes.
Below is our 2018 Impact Viewership Tracker:
January 4th Episode: 309,000 viewers January 11th Episode: 276,000 viewers January 18th Episode: 309,000 viewers January 25th Episode: 310,000 viewers (Genesis edition) February 1st Episode: 319,000 viewers (Reboot) February 8th Episode: 294,000 viewers February 15th Episode: 300,000 viewers February 22nd Episode: 262,000 viewers March 1st Episode: 365,000 viewers March 8th Episode: 325,000 (Crossroads edition) March 15th Episode: 350,000 viewers March 22nd Episode: 362,000 viewers March 29th Episode: 399,000 viewers April 5th Episode: 294,000 viewers April 12th Episode:
2017 Total: 16.147 million viewers 2017 Average: 311,000 viewers per episode
– Below is the latest episode of WWE Playback with Paul Heyman re-watching Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg for the WWE Universal Title from WrestleMania 33:
– Kane, Aiden English, Curt Hawkins, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable are now official for the fifth annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34. Below is the updated list of confirmed participants:
* Kane, Aiden English, Curt Hawkins, Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable, Primo Colon, Zack Ryder, Rhyno, Heath Slater, Goldust, Matt Hardy, Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Tye Dillinger, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Mojo Rawley, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, TBA
– Natalya revealed on Twitter that she’s filming a “Table For 3” episode with Nia Jax and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix in New Orleans. As noted, WWE will be filming several specials for the WWE Network this weekend. Natalya tweeted:
– Below is another new WrestleMania 34 Diary video with 2018 WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett and his family traveling from Nashville to New Orleans for the big weekend. Jarrett greets various WWE Superstars before being asked to spell his name at check-in for a throwback moment.
– WWE Shop has released new t-shirts for Nia Jax, Triple H, WWE Champion AJ Styles, Carmella, Finn Balor and Matt Hardy, just in time for WrestleMania 34. Remember to visit WWE Shop via this link to save on your purchases.
– WWE veteran Goldust tweeted the following praise for the current locker room this week:
WWE has announced the following for the two-hour WrestleMania 34 Kickoff pre-show on Sunday – the fifth annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the inaugural WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal and the finals for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Title with Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali.
The WrestleMania 34 Kickoff pre-show will begin at 5pm EST on Sunday. As noted, the second hour of the Kickoff will also air live on the USA Network.
WrestleMania 34 takes place on Sunday, April 8th from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
Below is the updated confirmed WrestleMania card:
Confirmed Matches:
WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles
Triple Threat for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz
Fatal 4 Way for the WWE United States Title
Rusev vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton
RAW Women’s Title Match
Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
RAW Tag Team Title Match
Braun Strowman and a partner vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
Triple Threat for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles
The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Zayn and Owens will get their jobs back if they win, they will remain fired if they lose.
Kickoff Pre-show: Finals of the WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali
Kickoff Pre-show: Inaugural WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
Mickie James, Bayley, Naomi, Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Ruby Riott, Lana, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, TBA
Kickoff Pre-show: Fifth Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Baron Corbin, Tye Dillinger, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, TBA
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos is now official for WrestleMania 34, as announced on tonight’s SmackDown episode.
Tonight’s show also saw a change made to the WWE United States Title Triple Threat at WrestleMania. Rusev has been added to the match to make it a Fatal 4 Way.
WrestleMania 34 takes place on April 8th from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
Below is the updated confirmed WrestleMania card:
Confirmed Matches:
WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles
Triple Threat for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz
Fatal 4 Way for the WWE United States Title
Rusev vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton
RAW Women’s Title Match
Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
RAW Tag Team Title Match
Braun Strowman and a partner vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
Triple Threat for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles
The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos
Finals of the WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Zayn and Owens will get their jobs back if they win, they will remain fired if they lose.
First-Ever WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
Sasha Banks, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Naomi, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Natalya, TBA
Fifth Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Baron Corbin, Tye Dillinger, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, TBA
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is now official for WrestleMania 34. Bryan announced the match on Tuesday’s SmackDown. If Shane and Bryan win, Sami and Owens will remain fired from SmackDown. Sami and Owens will be reinstated to the blue brand if they can get the win.
Below is the updated confirmed WrestleMania card and what the final line-up might look like.
Confirmed Matches:
WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles
Triple Threat for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz
Triple Threat for the WWE United States Title
Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton
RAW Women’s Title Match
Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
RAW Tag Team Title Match
Braun Strowman and a partner vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
Finals of the WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Zayn and Owens will get their jobs back if they win, they will remain fired if they lose.
First-Ever WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
Sasha Banks, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Naomi, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Natalya, TBA
Fifth Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Baron Corbin, Tye Dillinger, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, TBA
Rumored Matches & Matches Expected To Change
SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos
The Road to WrestleMania 34 heats up on next week’s WWE RAW from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX two matches and a segment already confirmed.
Asuka will do battle with RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss in a non-title match that should see the confirmation of Nia Jax vs. Bliss for WrestleMania 34.
WWE will also air The Ultimate Deletion match next week, which was recently taped at The Hardy Compound in Cameron, NC. Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy will go at it in what may be the end of The Great War between the two.
Next week’s RAW will also feature an appearance by WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, according to Vince McMahon. Lesnar was once again off this week’s RAW, missing the scheduled face off with Roman Reigns, but Vince gave his word that The Beast will be back next week. As noted, Vince “temporarily suspended” Reigns with an angle on tonight’s RAW and there’s no word yet on when he will be brought back, or if he will be in Dallas next week to face off with Lesnar.
It will be interesting to see if The Undertaker returns to WWE TV on next week’s RAW in Dallas. WWE currently has John Cena advertised to appear and tonight’s RAW saw Cena issue a WrestleMania 34 challenge to The Dead Man. Taker lives in Texas.
Braun Strowman won a tag team battle royal on tonight’s WWE RAW to become the new #1 contender to RAW Tag Team Champions The Bar for a title shot at WrestleMania 34. Tag teams participating in the match were The Revival, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Heath Slater & Rhyno, The Miztourage and Titus Worldwide.
Braun worked the contenders battle royal by himself but the speculation is that he may be put with Elias to make it Braun and Elias vs. Cesaro and Sheamus in New Orleans.
Below is the updated card for WrestleMania 34, which takes place from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on April 8th, with John Cena vs. The Undertaker added:
WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles
Triple Threat for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz
RAW Women’s Title Match
TBA vs. Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Finals of the WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament
Cedric Alexander or Roderick Strong vs. Mustafa Ali or Drew Gulak
Handicap Match for the RAW Tag Team Titles
Braun Strowman vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H
Fifth Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
WWE announced on Monday’s RAW that the first-ever Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal will take place at WrestleMania 34. The match will feature women from RAW, SmackDown and NXT.
WWE’s decision to honor Moolah and tie her to the company’s Women’s movement has drawn strong criticism on social media. There have been long standing and widespread allegations about Moolah’s conduct in the wrestling industry as a trainer and manager of female wrestlers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4upD8cJtsZ8
Here is the updated card for WrestleMania 34, which takes place on Sunday, April 8th from New Orleans, LA at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (c)
WWE Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles (c)
Olympians vs. The Authority
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H
Triple Threat for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz (c)
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair (c)
RAW Women’s Title Match
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. TBA
Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals
Cedric Alexander or Roderick Strong vs. Mustafa Ali or Drew Gulak
It looks like John Cena vs. The Undertaker is finally happening at WrestleMania 34, which takes place on April 8th in New Orleans.
Cena appeared on tonight’s RAW in Detroit to officially challenge The Dead Man to the match. Cena said only one person is stopping the match from happening and that is Taker. Cena went on to rip into Taker, calling him self-centered and an egomaniac. Cena also said Taker isn’t washed up and isn’t broken down because if he was, he wouldn’t be posting workout clips to his wife’s Instagram account. Cena stated that he will be going to WrestleMania this year as a fan or as Taker’s opponent. Cena ended the promo by telling Taker that the ball is in his court but he should get over his ego and have just one more match.
No word yet on when Taker might return to WWE TV to answer the challenge but the match is likely happening if they went this far with the tease. Taker made a brief throw-away appearance back at the RAW 25th Anniversary show in January but he has not wrestled since losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.
Below are photos and videos from tonight’s segment with Cena:
Vince McMahon temporarily suspended Roman Reigns in the storylines during a heated opening segment on Monday’s WWE RAW in Detroit. No word yet on when Reigns will be brought back from the storyline suspension but we will keep you updated.
This week’s RAW kicked off with General Manager Kurt Angle announcing that WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was not there for his in-ring meeting with Reigns, his second RAW no-show during WrestleMania 34 Season. Angle did not have a solid reason as to why Lesnar wasn’t there tonight, which brought Reigns out. Reigns blamed Vince, saying Lesnar is Vince’s “boy” and saying being disrespected by Lesnar is one thing but he will not be disrespected by Vince. Reigns then marched into the Gorilla Position backstage and confronted Vince. RAW then went to commercial and came back to Renee Young outside of Vince’s office.
Reigns walked out and was in no mood to speak but Vince made it clear that Brock is not his boy or Paul Heyman’s boy, he’s nobody’s boy but he is a man, his own man. Vince admitted that Lesnar has privileges but said he believes Brock has earned those privileges. Vince also acknowledged that people often take advantage of what’s given to them and Brock may have gone too far now. Vince then gave his word that Brock would be here on next week’s RAW in Dallas and promised he would face Reigns in the WrestleMania 34 main event. Vince then temporarily suspended Reigns for his previous behavior.
We’ve noted several times how WWE’s goal for the Reigns vs. Lesnar build is to get Reigns cheered by fans, which is something that isn’t always guaranteed, which would hopefully lead to a positive reaction when he wins the title at WrestleMania. WWE officials also want the build to Reigns vs. Lesnar to come across like a shoot as much as possible.
As noted, Jeff Hardy was arrested for Driving While Impaired on Saturday night in Concord, North Carolina after an accident on Concord Parkway. The incident occurd at 8:11pm. Hardy was arrested at 10:39pm EST and released later that night. The police report notes that Hardy totaled his 2016 Cadillac CTS-V with an estimated $8,000 in damages. Hardy was not traveling over the speed limit but was going an estimated 50 mph at the time of impact.
According to TMZ.com, Hardy submitted to a breathalyzer test and blew a .25 – more than three times the legal limit.
Officer Kelemecz wrote the following on the accident in the police report:
“Driver of Vehicle #1 ran off the roadway to the right, in turn striking about 105 feet of guardrail before the back end of the car spun out 90 degrees to the left, coming to rest in the middle of the right N bound lane of travel. The driver was arrested and charged with DWI.”
The police report lists an estimated $5,000 in damages to the 105 foot of guardrail, owned by the NC Department of Transportation, which could be a factor in any restitution that the court orders Hardy to pay. As is standard in NC following a DWI arrest, Hardy’s license have been suspended. His first court date is scheduled for Monday, April 16th in Cabarrus County.
In an update, WWE issued the following statement on the arrest:
“Jeff Hardy is responsible for his own personal actions. We are investigating the matter and awaiting information from local law enforcement officials.”
While Jeff has not commented on the arrest, it looks like brother Matt Hardy did reference the arrest in a late tweet on Sunday. Matt tweeted:
EVAH since the #7Deities have come to me, I do not put alcohol, drugs, or foreign substances into my VESSEL.
As noted, Jeff Hardy was arrested for Driving While Impaired on Saturday night in Cabarrus County, North Carolina after an accident on Concord Parkway in Concord, NC. The accident happened at 8:11pm where Concord Parkway South meets Bruton Smith Boulevard. Hardy was arrested at 10:39pm EST and released later that night.
The police report notes that Hardy totaled his 2016 Cadillac with an estimated $8,000 in damages. The VIN listed on the police report is registered to a 2016 Cadillac CTS-V. Hardy was not traveling over the speed limit but was going an estimated 50 mph at the time of impact. The area of the accident is about 2 hours from Hardy’s home in Cameron, NC. The report also indicates Hardy underwent some sort of test for alcohol but that the results were pending at the time of the arrest.
Officer Kelemecz wrote the following on the accident:
“Driver of Vehicle #1 ran off the roadway to the right, in turn striking about 105 feet of guardrail before the back end of the car spun out 90 degrees to the left, coming to rest in the middle of the right N bound lane of travel. The driver was arrested and charged with DWI.”
The police report lists an estimated $5,000 in damages to the 105 foot of guardrail, owned by the NC Department of Transportation. This could be a factor in any restitution that the court orders Hardy to pay.
Hardy has had his driver’s license suspended for 30 days, which is standard in North Carolina following a DWI arrest. Hardy’s first court date is scheduled for Monday, April 16th in Cabarrus County.
No word yet on WWE’s reaction to the arrest or if this could delay his return to TV. WWE filmed The Ultimate Deletion with Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt last week at Matt’s home in Cameron, NC but we don’t know if Jeff was used in that match or not, or if WWE would edit him out. Hardy has been out of action since undergoing surgery in September 27th but he was recently cleared to return and was scheduled to begin training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando this month.
Below is Hardy’s mugshot photo from the weekend arrest:
Injured WWE RAW Superstar Jeff Hardy was arrested on the night of Saturday, March 10th for DWI in Cabarrus County, North Carolina.
UPDATE: Raj Giri of WrestlingINC reports that Hardy was arrested in Concord, NC and that the accident happened on Concord Parkway South. Concord is in Cabarrus County. The police report has the accident time listed at 8:11pm. The report also says Hardy ran off the road and struck about 105 feet of guardrail before spinning to the left and coming to rest in the middle of the northbound lane.
Hardy was arrested at 10:20pm EST and released that same night at 11:24pm. No word yet on what led to the arrest or the release from jail. As is law in North Carolina, Hardy has had his driver’s license suspended for 30 days until the case is tried.
Hardy is currently scheduled to be in court on Monday, April 16th for his first hearing on these charges.
Hardy has been out of action since suffering a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff in September 2017. He was recently cleared to return to the ring and has been scheduled to start training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando later this month. It’s believed that Hardy will be added to the current feud between brother Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt. WWE taped The Ultimate Deletion match with Hardy vs. Wyatt at Matt’s compound in Cameron, NC last week but there’s no word yet on if Jeff was used at the filming or if WWE would edit him out due to the DWI charge.
Stay tuned for updates on Jeff’s legal situation and status with WWE.
As seen at Sunday night’s WWE Fastlane pay-per-view, the title match between The New Day and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos ended in a no contest after The Bludgeon Brothers, Harper and Rowan, came to ringside and destroyed both teams.
WWE noted after the show that Woods was suffering from a thoracic spine injury, contusions to the spine, and that he was being taken to a local hospital to be checked out. This is likely a storyline injury but Woods was stretchered away from ringside while the others were helped to the back by officials.
It appears Rowan and Harper are up for some sort of title match at WrestleMania 34, perhaps a Triple Threat with The New Day and The Usos or a Fatal 4 Way with another blue brand tag team.
WWE announced Woods suffered an injury to his thoracic spine due to The Bludgeon Brothers’ attack.
“Our preliminary diagnosis is multiple thoracic contusions,” explained WWE medical personnel of Woods’ injury. “We’re currently in the process of having him evaluated with X-rays and possibly an MRI for any further damage, such as ruptured discs or fractures of the thoracic spine.”
WWE stated that we should have an update on Woods’ condition on Monday.
Guess who didn't want to see #TheNewDay and The @WWEUsos finish their rivalry…
Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair is now on for WrestleMania 34, making it the first and possibly the only RAW vs. SmackDown match to take place at this year’s big event in New Orleans.
Asuka, who earned a title shot by winning the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match back in January, confronted Flair in the ring after her title defense over Ruby Riott at Fastlane.
With that match set, here is the updated card for WrestleMania 34, which takes place from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on April 8th:
WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles
Triple Threat for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz
RAW Women’s Title Match
TBA vs. Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Finals of the WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament
Cedric Alexander or Roderick Strong vs. Mustafa Ali or Drew Gulak
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H
Randy Orton defeated Bobby Roode to become the new WWE United States Champion at tonight’s Fastlane pay-per-view.
This actually Orton’s first United States Title reign. Roode has been champion since January 16th after defeating Jinder Mahal in tournament finals for the vacant title.
Orton is now the 10th Grand Slam champion in WWE under the current format. He joins Big Show, Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Edge, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero.
Below are photos and videos from tonight’s big title change:
NXT Tag Team Champion Bobby Fish was at tonight’s NXT TV tapings but was on crutches after suffering a knee injury at a weekend live event. PWInsider reports that Fish is scheduled to undergo knee surgery later this week in Birmingham, AL.
There’s no word yet on when Fish will be back from the surgery but it was announced at tonight’s tapings that he and partner Kyle O’Reilly will put their titles on the line at “Takeover: New Orleans” during WrestleMania 34 Week.
In a change of plans, perhaps due to the injury, the finals of The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic came down to air on NXT TV instead of Takeover. Roderick Strong and WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain was set to begin as the finals but Adam Cole and O’Reilly attacked both teams for the contest. NXT General Manager William Regal then announced a Triple Threat for Takeover with Dunne & Strong vs. The Authors of Pain vs. O’Reilly & Fish with the winners being crowned Dusty Classic winners and NXT Tag Team Champions.
It was also confirmed at the NXT tapings that the Ladder Match to crown the inaugural NXT North American Champion will feature EC3, Adam Cole, Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain, The Velveteen Dream & Ricochet.
Here’s what looks to be the updated card for Takeover, which takes place on Saturday, April 7th from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Stay tuned for more updates & clarifications on the Takeover card.
NXT Title Match
Aleister Black vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
NXT Women’s Title Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon
NXT Tag Team Title Match, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals
Roderick Strong & WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain vs. The Undisputed Era
Ladder Match to Crown the First-Ever NXT North American Champion
Ricochet vs. Ethan Carter III vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Adam Cole vs. The Velveteen Dream
A new secondary singles title is being planned for the NXT brand.
General Manager William Regal announced at tonight’s TV tapings from Full Sail University that the NXT North American Title will be introduced at NXT “Takeover: New Orleans” during WrestleMania 34 Weekend.
No word yet on what kind of match would be held at Takeover or who the participants will be but we will keep you updated.
As noted, WWE is planning on introducing new Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles to the 205 Live brand after WrestleMania 34 as well.
It looks like Rey Mysterio may be returning to the ring for WWE at WrestleMania 34 in a huge match against John Cena.
We noted before that Mysterio was backstage visiting at Monday’s SmackDown live event in San Diego, his hometown. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated reports that Mysterio was also backstage for tonight’s SmackDown TV tapings in Los Angeles to finalize details for the deal that will see him work WrestleMania in New Orleans. Barrasso added that Rey’s rumored opponent is Cena.
Cena returned to SmackDown on tonight’s show and earned a spot in the WWE Fastlane main event, making it a Six-Pack Challenge with WWE Champion AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler and Cena. Rey made a surprise appearance for WWE at the Royal Rumble back in January and has been rumored to be in talks with the company about a return later this year or in early 2019.
The last Cena vs. Mysterio singles match came on the July 25th, 2011 RAW. That match saw Cena defeat Rey for the WWE Title. The two would then team up at a December 28th, 2013 WWE live event in Newark, NJ. They defeated Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio that night.
Breaking: Per WWE sources, Rey Mysterio is backstage working out details tonight at SmackDown for a match at WrestleMania. The rumored opponent is John Cena.
John Cena defeated WWE Champion AJ Styles in a non-title match on this week’s SmackDown and per the stipulation, Cena has earned a spot in the main event of the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view to make it a Six-Pack Challenge.
Fastlane takes place on March 11th from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH and will be the final WWE pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34.
Below is the updated confirmed Fastlane card:
Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Title
John Cena vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin vs. AJ Styles
WWE United States Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode
SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
The New Day vs. The Usos
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte Flair
Roman Reigns vs. WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is now official for WrestleMania 34 after Reigns won the men’s Elimination Chamber match at tonight’s pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
Order of Entrances
1. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz (started the match)
2. Seth Rollins (started the match)
3. Finn Balor (started the match)
4. John Cena
5. Roman Reigns
6. Braun Strowman
7. Elias
Order of Eliminations
1. The Miz (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
2. Elias (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
3. John Cena (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
4. Finn Balor (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
5. Seth Rollins (eliminated by Braun Strowman)
6. Braun Strowman (defeated by winner Roman Reigns)
Ronda Rousey signed her RAW contract at tonight’s WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in a segment that also featured RAW General Manager Kurt Angle, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Triple H confirmed during the segment that Rousey will be wrestling at WrestleMania 34. Angle ended up telling Rousey that Triple H and Stephanie have been plotting to keep her down in WWE due to how she embarrassed them at WrestleMania 31. Triple H tried to hush up Angle as he kept spilling their secrets but this backfired as Rousey slammed Triple H through the contract signing table. This led to Stephanie slapping Rousey and retreating before Rousey could get her hands on her.
As we’ve noted, the plan has been for Triple H and Stephanie to face Rousey and a partner at WrestleMania 34. Rumors on Rousey’s partner include The Rock, Angle, Seth Rollins and SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon.
Below are photos and videos from tonight’s segment:
