SEScoops

Author: Eric Lynch

  • Details On WWE’s Settlement & Non-Disclosure Offer To Mauro Ranallo

    Details On WWE’s Settlement & Non-Disclosure Offer To Mauro Ranallo

    Mauro Ranallo is not expected to return to WWE television, and now more details about the terms of his departure are surfacing online. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that WWE is currently working on coming to terms on a settlement with Ranallo.

    The settlement would reportedly include an agreement for the now-former SmackDown announcer not to speak publicly about his issues with WWE, and presumably some severance pay. The news of the settlement agreement comes shortly after former announcer Justin Roberts’ autobiography made headlines with his allegations of bullying behind-the-scenes in WWE.

    WWE is currently said to be in talks with Mauro’s representatives about the details of the settlement.

    Ranallo first appeared on SmackDown for the show’s USA Network premiere at the beginning of 2016. His current contract expires on August 12th.

  • Rumor & Possible Spoiler On Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman At Payback

    Rumor & Possible Spoiler On Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman At Payback

    There’s a good chance that the Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman match at Payback on April 30th will be a gimmick match. On Wrestling Observer Live this week Dave Meltzer reported that he expects the match to be named an Ambulance Match or a Stretcher Match.

    If the Reigns vs. Strowman match does happen, there’s a strong possibility we could see some outside interference from Brock Lesnar. WWE is reportedly setting up a Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman match for this summer, and the interference could be a way to start building up that match on TV.

    WWE Payback 2017 airs live on the WWE Network on April 30th from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

    • Discussion: Would you rather see Brock Lesnar put his Universal Title against Braun Strowman or Roman Reigns?

  • Jim Ross Has A Warning For WWE Talent After The Superstar Shake-up, Talks Nakamura & Styles

    Jim Ross says he’s a fan of WWE’s Superstar Shake-up concept that saw several wrestlers move between the RAW and SmackDown rosters this week. On his blog at JRsBarBQ.com, the WWE Hall of Famer wrote that he’s in-favor of WWE freshening up the rosters and creating new rivalries. J.R. thinks WWE “got their choices right” with their roster trades, but says it’s up to the talent to make it work. He says this is an opportunity for some members of the roster to “hit the reset button,” and warns talent not to fall into a comfort zone if they want to have long careers.

    “I love fresh starts for talents especially if they seize the moment and refuse to ‘settle,’” Ross wrote. “Competitive athletes generally embrace these fresh chances and new opportunities and those that don’t are often times prisoners of their own comfort zone which means that they have essentially stopped growing and are happy to remain status quo.

    “Comfort Zones are an enemy to us all no matter what we do for a living,” Ross continued. “Comfort Zones are hazardous to one’s career and if that specific problem can’t be solved it has to be eliminated.”

    Ross says that “legit stars” find a way to make the situations given to them by WWE work. He adds that they have to be willing to take chances and improve their game every day to some degree. Ross credits SmackDown stars Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles as being two of the best fan favorites on WWE television.

    “Nakamura is the most unique, main event, fan favorite talent that WWE has promoted in years and arguably forever,” Ross wrote. “Asian fan favorites are a rarity in North America but the fans seem to adore the charismatic former MMA star.

    “AJ Styles is arguably and potentially the hottest fan favorite currently residing on WWE TV who is not officially on that side of the fence. It’s tough to boo a wrestler in today’s presentation of the genre who is as good as AJ.”

    You can read the former WWE Head of Talent Relations’ blog entry at JRsBarBQ.com.

  • Justin Roberts: Triple H Is Not A Hero, He “Keeps Certain Guys Down”

    Justin Roberts: Triple H Is Not A Hero, He “Keeps Certain Guys Down”

    Former WWE announcer Justin Roberts says he told the truth about how he was treated in the company in his new autobiography Best Seat in the House: Your Backstage Pass through My WWE Journey. In a recent interview with Wrestledelphia.com, Roberts was asked about Triple H, JBL, and WWE executive Kevin Dunn coming off in a negative light in the book. Roberts says he only told the truth about his experiences with them, and readers have to come to their own conclusions about those individuals.

    “I didn’t really give my opinion on them,” Roberts said of Triple H, JBL and Dunn. “I just told the story of my experiences and how they came into my story and what their involvement was. By telling the story, you as a reader can say that guy seems like a great guy or that guy doesn’t seem like a great guy. I tell my story and the role everybody played and how I was treated by everybody. I didn’t make anything up – that’s the best part of the book. It’s completely honest.”

    The former WWE announcer added that if Triple H, JBL and Dunn had treated him better, he would have put that in his story. Roberts feels that aside from those three, everyone else in the book came off in a positive light.

    When asked about Triple H specifically, Roberts feels fans who think The Game is a “hero” because of his NXT leadership might be disappointed. He claims to have seen Triple H holding certain talent back from succeeding to protect his own interests, despite no longer being an active wrestler himself.

    “It’s hard when you’re on the outside and you read things,” he said. “We all see that Triple H is this hero among the internet. He’s the guy standing up for the wrestling fans, telling Vince to make this better. For us, internally in the company, we thought there’s a great chance he’ll be on our side and look out for us and try to help. Then you see him come in and clip the wings off certain guys and keep certain guys down. You realize he’s just looking out for himself.”

    You can read Roberts’ entire interview here.

  • WWE SmackDown Results & Discussion (4/11)

    WWE SmackDown Results & Discussion (4/11)

    The April 11th edition of WWE SmackDown aired live on the USA Network from the TD Garden in Boston, MA.

    – Tom Phillips, JBL and Byron Saxton welcome us to the last night of WWE's Superstar Shake-up tonight on SmackDown from the TD Garden in Boston.

    – WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens is out to the ring first to open up the show, he's now a SmackDown Superstar. Owens welcomes us to the “new Kevin Owens Show,” and says he just elevated the whole show by bringing the U.S. Title with him. Owens mentions he’s a Canadian holding the U.S. Title, and cuts a pro-Canadian promo. Owens says he can beat anyone on SmackDown, which brings out Baron Corbin to interrupt. Corbin says Owens can’t beat him, and says Owen ran away from RAW after being beaten up by Rollins and Jericho. Corbin wants a title shot, but so does Sami Zayn who interrupts next. Zayn is also now a SmackDown star, which infuriates Owens. Corbin tells Zayn no one cares he’s here, and then AJ Styles interrupts next. Styles says this is the show that he built, and this is his show. Daniel Bryan interrupts next, and says that Owens will have to earn his spot on the SmackDown roster by beating Chris Jericho at Payback. Therefore, the U.S. Title won’t be defended on SmackDown until after Payback. The #1 contender for that Championship will be decided tonight in a triple threat match between Baron Corbin, AJ Styles, and Sami Zayn. Bryan leads the crowd in a “yes” chant before leaving.

    – We see WWE Champion Randy Orton backstage getting ready for a match.

    – Randy Orton def. Eric Rowan via DQ: Just moments into the match, the lights go out and Bray Wyatt appears on the big screen. Wyatt says he’s everywhere, and that Randy should be looking forward to his “house of horrors” match. When the lights come back on, Orton is alone in the ring. Orton sees that Rowan is at ringside so he rolls outside, but Rowan immediately hits him with the ring steps and is disqualified. Rowan throws Orton back in the ring and hits a full nelson slam on him before leaving.

    – The Usos (c) def. American Alpha: The Usos’ Tag Team Titles are on the line in this one. The Usos use frequent tags and double team moves to keep Jordan isolated early on. Gable gets the hot tag and unloads with a series of belly-to-belly and t-bone suplexes on Jimmy. Jordan and Gable hit the top rope double team bulldog shortly after, but Jey breaks up the tag. The Usos throw both American Alpha members outside and go for suicide dives, but Jordan and Gable catch the Usos in mid-air and throw them with belly-to-belly suplexes. Back in the ring, Gable eats a superkick and gets confused about which Uso is the legal man. The Usos use the confusion to take advantage with a double team and Jey hits the big splash on Gable for the win. The Usos head backstage with the Tag Titles as the challengers recover.

    – After the match, The Shining Stars show up in street clothes and beat down Jordan and Gable to make their SmackDown debut in the Superstar Shake-up.

    – Mojo Rawley def. Jinder Mahal: Gronk from the New England Patriots is at ringside. Lots of stiff strikes between Jinder and Mojo in the opening moments of this one. Jinder gets the advantage but then gets distracted by Gronk at ringside. Jinder heads out to ringside to trash-talk Gronk, but then Mojo hits Jinder from behind. Jinder falls against the fan barricade right in front of Gronk, and Gronk throws a beer in Jinder’s face to get him back for the one at WrestleMania. Mojo throws Jinder back in the ring and hits the big running forearm in the corner for the win. After the match, Mojo jumps into the crowd to celebrate with Gronk and their friends and Gronk hits some chops on Mojo. Mojo puts on JBL’s hat and stands on the announce table to celebrate the win before leaving.

    – Shane McMahon is out to address the Superstar Shake-up and the future of the Smackdown women’s division. Shane introduces the current SmackDown women’s division, consisting of Naomi, Natalya, Becky Lynch, and Carmella with James Ellsworth. Ellsworth takes the mic from Shane and says Natalya is a horrible champion. Ellsworth says the only reason people tune into SmackDown are to watch Carmella and Ellsworth, together known as Carmellsworth. Naomi briefly has words with Carmellsworth, before asking Shane to continue with what he was saying. Shane introduces two new women to the SmackDown roster, and they’re both second-generation wrestlers with fathers in the WWE Hall of Fame. Tamina comes out first, and Charlotte comes out next before we go to commercial. They are both now on SmackDown.

    – We see Sami Zayn backstage warming up.

    – Aiden English is in the ring to cut a promo about being a singles wrestler now. He sings that the spotlight is solely on him now, but Tye Dillinger’s entrance music interrupts and we have a match.

    – Tye Dillinger def. Aiden English: Dillinger dodges English’ attacks early on and frustrates the former Vaudevillains member. English finally gets a hold of Dillinger and whips him in the corner for a big running splash. English takes a moment to sing to the crowd an Dillinger comes back with some flying forearms. Dillinger stomps a mudhole in English in the corner then hits the Tyebreaker for the win after a short match.

    – Dolph Ziggler comes out to the ring and cuts a promo about how SmackDown is the show he built, and he’s not going anywhere. He says eventually the fans will get sick of the new stars who just arrived, and he feels he’s the backbone of the show. Shinsuke Nakamura’s music hits and he interrupts. Ziggler asks who he is, and Nakamura introduces himself. Ziggler goes for a superkick, but Nakamura catches his foot and throws him down. Ziggler acts like he’s going to charge Nakamura, but he doesn’t and heads to the back. Nakamura does his pose in the ring as we go to commercial.

    – We see a video announcing that The New Day is moving to SmackDown.

    – AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn: AJ and Sami try to double team Baron early on, but Corbin reverses into a double vertical suplex on both men. Corbin clotheslines Styles to the outside then trades strikes with Zayn. Zayn hits a running hurricanrana on Corbin, then Styles rolls back in the ring to face off with Zayn. Styles throws Zayn with a hurricanrana, but Zayn comes back with a dropkick. AJ rolls outside and Sami gears up for a suicide dive, but Corbin pulls Sami outside and throws him into the fan barricade. AJ comes over and brawls with Corbin until Zayn hits a springboard moonsault onto both men at ringside. Back in the ring, Corbin takes control and beats on both Styles and Zayn in different corners of the ring. Corbin hits a side slam on Zayn for a two count. Corbin hits a big boot on AJ for a two count on him too, and Corbin starts getting frustrated with the referee. Zayn comes back with the exploder and then he measures up for the Heluva Kick. AJ blocks the Heluva Kick and hits a version of the Tyebreaker on Zayn, then AJ turns around into a clothesline from Corbin. Zayn throws Corbin outside then AJ knees Corbin in the face from the apron. Styles steps back in through the ropes and Zayn immediately hits him with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall. Zayn goes for a Superplex on Styles, but Corbin comes up behind and lifts up Zayn in the electric chair position. AJ goes to springboard off the top rope but Zayn dodges the attack and knocks down Corbin. Corbin hits the Deep Six on Zayn but AJ breaks up the pin. Corbin charges at AJ but The Phenomenal One moves and Corbin hits the ring post. AJ kicks Corbin down to the mat and hits a springboard 450 splash off the top rope, but Zayn breaks up the pin. AJ hits flying clotheslines on both Zayn and Corbin, then Corbin hits a splash on AJ and Sami. Zayn dodges and splash and hits big boots on both Corbin and AJ, but then AJ drops Zayn with a Pele kick. Zayn throws Styles out to the apron, then Zayn boots Corbin again and sends him to ringside. Zayn turns around into a Phenomenal Forearm from AJ. Styles pins for the three count, and he is now the #1 contender for the U.S. Championship after WWE Payback.

  • WWE RAW Results & Discussion (4/10)

    WWE RAW Results & Discussion (4/10)

    The April 10th, 2017 edition of WWE RAW aired live on the USA Network from the Nassau Coliseum in New York and featured the start of a “Superstar shake-up” between the RAW and SmackDown rosters.

    – The fireworks go off and Michael Cole welcomes us to RAW from the sold-out Nassau Coliseum with an attendance of 12,116.

    – John Cena’s music hits, but The Miz and Maryse come out instead of Cena. They’re dressed as Cena and Nikki Bella again. The Miz informs us that the first rule of Cena’s house rules is that the crowd isn’t allowed to chant “Cena sucks.” The Miz pokes fun at Cena’s proposal to Bella at WrestleMania, and says Hollywood doesn’t want them. Dean Ambrose’s music hits and he interrupts next. Ambrose talks to Miz as if he’s really Cena, until The Miz takes his hat off and Maryse takes her wig off. When Ambrose clues in, he decides to immediately hit The Miz with the Dirty Deeds and then celebrates with the crowd before heading backstage.

    – Sami Zayn approaches Kurt Angle backstage and starts talking about how he doesn’t want to go to SmackDown anymore. Angle starts to look bored and tells Zayn that SmackDown has a lot of interest in him. The Miz and Maryse interrupt next, and this leads to Angle setting up a match between Miz and Sami tonight.

    – The New Day is out next. They bring out a doll with dreadlocks since Kofi Kingston is out with an injury tonight. Big E and Xavier call out The Revival for a match right now, and the recent RAW signees come out to accept.

    – The Revival def. The New Day: It’s all Big E and Xavier in the opening moments after the bell. A distraction from the apron allows Dash to drop Xavier by his hair and tag in Dawson. Xavier tries to tag in Big E but Dawson stops him. Xavier hits a big forearm on Dawson and both men are down. Big E and Dash tag in and Big E launches him with a series of belly to belly suplexes. Big E follows up with a running splash, then Dawson runs in. Big E pushes Dawson out to the apron and Dawson pulls Big E’s neck down across the top rope. Dash gets a two count then tags in Dawson. Big E hits a belly to belly suplex on Dawson then tags in Xavier, who hits a long flying elbow off the top rope almost all the way across the ring. Big E and Xavier set up for the Midnight Hour on Dawson, but Dash makes the save and they reverse it into the Shatter Machine on Xavier for the win.

    – Neville does an interview backstage where he says Austin Aries isn’t on his level, and he’s quickly interrupted by TJ Perkins. Perkins says he’s the one who will take Neville’s Cruiserweight Title, but Neville objects and says Perkins’ career is a joke now. Neville says the opportunities that should’ve been given to Perkins were instead given to Aries, and Neville says he’s the only one with any respect for Perkins. Austin Aries interrupts next and says even though he has his sunglasses on inside at night, he can see that Neville is lying through his teeth. Aries asks Perkins if he believes Neville, but Perkins walks off without answering.

    – Curt Hawkins is in the ring to cut a promo about returning to Monday Night RAW. Hawkins asks where the welcoming committee is, and that brings out The Big Show. Hawkins goes to hug him, but The Big show hits him with one right hand and drops him, then leaves.

    – TJ Perkins def. Austin Aries: Neville is on commentary on this one. Aries hits a rolling senton in the opening minutes and follows up with a running elbow in the corner. Aries hits a flying elbow to the back of the neck of Perkins for a two count. Perkins lays on the ropes then ducks when Aries goes to spear him, sending Aries outside. Perkins comes off the top towards Aries on the apron, but Aries dodges it then knocks Perkins down to the floor. Aries goes up top and hits a splash on Perkins down on the floor. Aries climbs up on the fan barricade and taunts Neville at the announce table, which prompts Neville to walk down the ramp and get in Aries’ face. The referee starts counting him out so Aries rolls back in the ring, and Perkins immediately rolls him up in a small package for the win. After the bell, Perkins attacks Aries from behind and then hits the Detonation Kick. Perkins stares down Neville on the ramp before the Cruiserweight Champion heads backstage.

    – We see Seth Rollins talking to Enzo and Cass backstage before we go to commercial.

    – Rollins comes out to the ring and says he left it all in the ring when he faced Triple H at WrestleMania. Rollins tells the crowd that “we” beat Triple H, and he tells the fans they are just getting started together. Rollins indicates that he’s still planning revenge on Samoa Joe, and then plays the clip of Stephanie McMahon bumping through the table at WrestleMania. Rollins says when Stephanie heals and returns, she’ll be out to ruin him. Rollins says because of that, it’d be easier to try to jump ship to SmackDown. Rollins says that’d be the easy way out, but that he’s not going down without a fight. This brings out RAW General Manager Kurt Angle. Angle tells Rollins it’s true (it’s damn true) that Stephanie wants Rollins gone from RAW. Kurt says he saw something in Rollins at WrestleMania that he hadn’t seen before. Kurt said Rollins was a one-legged man who won an ass-kicking contest at WrestleMania, and that he wants Rollins on his show. Angle says that as long as he’s GM, Rollins will have a home on RAW. As Angle is making his way backstage, Samoa Joe attacks Rollins from behind. Rollins and Joe go back and forth until Rollins hits two superkicks on Joe that send him out to ringside. Joe starts to head back towards the ring, but decides against it and walks backstage instead.

    – WWE United States Champion Kevin Owens is backstage to do an interview about the Superstar Shake-up. Owens tells the interviewer to ask Jericho instead, because Jericho should want to go to SmackDown to get away from Owens. Owens says being the US Champion makes him the face of America, and that Ambrose’s Intercontinental Title isn’t as important. Owens says Ambrose needs to remember his place and that Owens is the man on RAW, or else he’ll beat the hell out of him.

    – Nia Jax def. Charlotte: Nia dominates the opening moments of this one and tries to keep Charlotte grounded. Charlotte starts coming back with chops to the chest and kicks. Charlotte takes out Nia’s knee and hits the Natural Selection for a two count. Charlotte throws Nia outside and follows up with a moonsault off the top turnbuckle all the way down onto Nia at ringside. Back in the ring, Charlotte attempts a Figure Four but Nia gets out and throws Charlotte into the turnbuckle. Nia comes back with a big splash in the corner and a Samoan Drop.

    – We go to the announce table where Michael Cole introduces a video package about Finn Balor’s return. Balor is up next.

    – Finn Balor def. Jinder Mahal: Finn opens up strong, but Jinder takes control of things early on after a big boot to the face of Balor. Mahal hits a stiff forearm shot to the face shortly after, which sends Balor down to the mat again. Finn comes back with an overhead kick, then a sling blade and a running dropkick. Balor follows up shortly after with the Coup De Grace for the win after a short but competitive match.

    – Immediately after the mach, Bray Wyatt appears on the big screen as Balor watches on from the ring. Wyatt announces that he has arrived on RAW, and this is his home now.

    – The announce team introduces video clips for Apollo Crews, Kalisto, Heath Slater and Rhyno all moving to RAW in the Superstar Shake-up.

    – Sami Zayn def. The Miz: Maryse is at ringside. Sami hits a series of arm drags on The Miz early on, then clotheslines him out to ringside. Zayn runs towards Miz for a suicide dive, but Maryse stands in front of The Miz at ringside so Zayn stops. Back in the ring, The Miz comes back with a backbreaker and a neckbreaker for a two count. The Miz takes Zayn to the top turnbuckle, but Zayn punches him off. The Miz dodges a splash and hits a DDT on Zayn for a two count. The Miz hits a series of kicks on Zayn until Zayn blocks one and comes back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Zayn goes for a big boot in the corner, but Maryse pulls Miz outside by the foot. Maryse then grabs Sami’s foot under the ropes behind the ref’s back, but it doesn’t pay off as Sami reverses a Skull Crushing Finale attempt into a rollup for the win.

    – Michael Cole is backstage with Roman Reigns for an interview about Reigns’ victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Reigns says he retired a legend, and now he’s the big dog here. The interview is very quickly interrupted by Braun Strowman who grabs Reigns and throws him into the wall. Strowman then throws Reigns high in the air and he crashes through a table. Strowman continues to beat Reigns down and throws him into the loading bay door multiple times. Strowman hits a running powerslam on Reigns onto some boxes, then he wheels another big box into Reigns’ head. Strowman finally leaves as referee and security guards check on Reigns. Reigns gets loaded onto a stretcher and we can hear the crowd in the Nassau Coliseum chanting “You deserve it.” Strowman comes roaring out of nowhere and grabs the stretcher Reigns is on. Strowman wheels Reigns over to another part of the loading bay and sends Reigns’ stretcher flying off of an approximately eight-foot tall drop. More referees and EMTs rush to Reigns and load him into an ambulance. They finally get him loaded in, but then Strowman comes back once again. Strowman closes the ambulance doors, and then literally lifts the ambulance from the side and pushes it over strongman-style.

    – Back from commercial, more EMTs take Reigns out of the overturned ambulance and put him into another one. This ambulance successfully leaves the building with Reigns.

    – The Hardy Boys, Sheamus & Cesaro def. The Shining Stars, Gallows & Anderson: Before the match, The Drifter from NXT appears on the stage. Matt, Jeff, Sheamus and Cesaro all get in some offense in the opening moments of this one. Cesaro hits a cross body splash off the top on Anderson for a two count. He goes for The Swing, but Gallows makes the save. Gallows and Anderson hit a back suplex/neckbreaker combo on Cesaro. Sheamus comes in to even the odds, but Primo hits a backstabber on him. Some of the brawling goes out to ringside and Jeff springboards off of Matt for a suicide dive onto the heels at ringside. Back in the ring, Matt hits the Twist of Fate on Primo then Jeff follows up with the Swanton Bomb for he win.

    – We see Dana Brooke backstage reading a book called “How To Be Your Own Protege.” Emma interrupts and tells Dana she was originally her protege before Charlotte. Emma tells Dana to go with her, but Dana declines and says the entire women’s division including her has gotten better while Emma was away.

    – Sasha Banks comes out to the ring and introduces Bayley because she has something to say. Bayley comes out and first she thanks the crowd for supporting her so she could have her WrestleMania moment. Sasha gets serious and says Bayley’s WrestleMania moment is over now, but then Alexa Bliss comes out to interrupt. Alexa says she’s sick of the saga between Bayley and Sasha, and she’s here for the RAW Women’s Title. Mickie James interrupts next to announce that she has also moved from SmackDown to RAW. Mickie tells Alexa that her nightmare is just beginning, but then Nia Jax comes from behind and attacks Mickie. Nia hits the ring and throws Sasha outside, then hits a Samoan Drop on Bayley. Nia poses with the RAW Women’s Title in the ring, then stares down Alexa on the ramp.

    – Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens: Ambrose takes things out to ringside early on and hits a suicide dive on Owens. Back in the ring, Owens slows things down and grounds Ambrose with a chin lock. Ambrose hits a headbutt and goes for a lariat, but Owens dodges it and throws Ambrose outside. Owens slams Ambrose into the ring post then continues the offense back in the ring. Ambrose comes back with a lariat then crotches Owens on the top rope and clotheslines him off. Ambrose throws Owens outside and follows up with a flying elbow off the top turnbuckle onto Owens on the floor. Back in the ring, Owens blocks a splash with a kick and hits a powerbomb for a two count. Owens goes for a Pop Up Powerbomb but Ambrose escapes. Owens hits a superkick but Ambrose continues to struggle and fight back. Ambrose then hits the Dirty Deeds out of nowhere for the win. As Ambrose is celebrating his victory, Chris Jericho’s music hits. Y2J makes his way down to the ring to confront Owens. Jericho ducks a clothesline from Owens and hits the Codebreaker. Owens is down on the mat as Jericho tells the crowd to “drink it in, man” and RAW goes off the air.

  • Apollo Crews Traded To RAW In WWE’s First “Superstar Shake-up” (Video)

    On Monday just hours before the opening bell of RAW in Uniondale, NY, WWE announced the first trade of their “Superstar Shake-up” between the RAW and SmackDown rosters.

    Former SmackDown star is the first wrestler to be “shaken up,” and tonight will be his first night as a member of the RAW roster.

    Join us tonight for live WWE RAW and Superstar Shake-up coverage and discussion on SEScoops.

  • Jim Ross Says Baron Corbin Is A Future WWE Main-Eventer, Talks Nakamura On SmackDown

    Jim Ross Says Baron Corbin Is A Future WWE Main-Eventer, Talks Nakamura On SmackDown

    WWE Hall of Famer and WrestleMania 33 guest announcer Jim Ross wrote a new blog on JRsBarBQ.com where he talks about SmackDown stars Baron Corbin and Shunsuke Nakamura. Ross says he has high hopes for Corbin, and thinks the former NFL offensive lineman and Golden Gloves boxing champion will headline pay-per-views one day.

    “Baron Corbin is improving at a good pace,” Ross wrote. “If he can continue to push himself athletically and in the ring psychology department, which is mostly on him, Corbin is a future main event talent for sure.”

    Nakamura made his debut on SmackDown this week, and Ross says he loved it. The former WWE VP of Talent Relations thinks Nakamura will advance quickly into the main event picture on SmackDown, especially if he can improve his English a bit for promos. Ross says he doesn’t think Nakamura needs a manager as a mouthpiece, but that he would be more effective if he can communicate more with the audience.

    You can read Ross’ entire blog post where he further discusses SmackDown at JRsBarBQ.com.

  • WWE SmackDown Results & Discussion (4/4)

    WWE SmackDown Results & Discussion (4/4)

    The first episode of SmackDown after WrestleMania 33 aired live on the USA Network on April 4th, 2017.

    – SmackDown is sold out tonight in Orlando, Florida and the broadcast kicks off with some pyro. Tom Phillips, Dave Otunga, and JBL welcome us, and then new WWE World Champion Randy Orton makes his way out to the ring. Orton begins to cut a promo about infiltrating the Wyatt Family and beating them, but he’s quickly interrupted by Bray Wyatt on the big screen. Wyatt says he wants to face Orton in what he calls a “house of horrors match.” Orton accepts, and challenges Wyatt to come down to the ring right now. The lights go out, and when they come back on Wyatt is in the ring. Orton takes out Wyatt with a spinning powerslam, but then Eric Rowan pulls Orton out of the ring and beats him down at ringside. Rowan and Wyatt take turns beating on Orton in the ring until Luke Harper comes out for the save. Save drops Rowan on the ramp, then hits the ring and escapes a Sister Abigail to hit a big boot on Bray. Wyatt and Rowan back up the ramp as Harper and Orton stare them down.

    – Backstage, The Miz and Maryse do an interview where they say Cena only proposed to Nikki at WrestleMania because they backed him into a corner. The Miz says he and Maryse are calling out Cena and Nikki again tonight, and says it’ll be the last time we see Cena and Nikki on SmackDown for a very long time.

    – Naomi (c) def. Alexa Bliss: Naomi’s Women’s Championship is on the line in this one. Naomi gets a good hometown pop and dominates the opening minutes of the match. After the commercial break, Alexa starts working on Naomi’s bad knee and takes control of the match. Things are looking bad for Naomi, but she locks Alexa in the Spider Twist out of nowhere for the win via submission.

    – Curt Hawkins comes out to the ring and issues an open challenge to anyone in the back. NXT star Tye Dillinger makes his SmackDown debut to accept, and we have a match.

    –Tye Dillinger def. Curt Hawkins: Hawkins controls things early on but Dillinger comes back with chops to the chest and a flying forearm. Dillinger follows up with more strikes and then punches in the corner. Dillinger pulls down his knee pad and hits the TyeBreaker for the win after a short match.

    – Mojo Rawley does an interview backstage where he says him and Gronk partied after WrestleMania to celebrate his win. He says his WrestleMania moment on Sunday was very important to him and he worked for it his whole life.

    – We’re told that Shane McMahon will be live on the show tonight. The Miz and Maryse are up next.

    – Cena’s music hits, but instead The Miz comes out dressed as Cena. Maryse follows, dressed as Nikki Bella. They come down to the ring and do their best Cena and Nikki impressions. The Miz says Cena’s relationship with Nikki isn’t real, and neither is the diamond ring he bought. “Cena” says that he and “Nikki” leaving WWE for Hollywood. The Miz and Maryse are about to leave, but then a guy appears on the stage playing a violin. Shinsuke Nakamura makes his SmackDown debut and comes down to the ring, and Miz and Maryse climb out to ringside. Nakamura stares into the camera the leaves without addressing the crowd or The Miz.

    – Baron Corbin def. Dean Ambrose: This one is a street fight. Corbin grabs a steel chair from under the ring early on, but Ambrose baseball slide dropkicks it into Corbin. Ambrose follows up with a suicide dive that sends Corbin falling over the announce table. Ambrose climbs on the announce table and jumps off with a flying forearm on Corbin. Corbin falls into the crowd, and Ambrose follows up with a flying elbow off the fan barricade. Ambrose sets up some weapons in the ring, and Corbin comes in and spears Ambrose through a table in the corner. Corbin grabs a strap from ringside and whips Ambrose with it in the ring. Corbin tries to throw Ambrose into a chair set up in the corner, but Ambrose reverses and throws Corbin into it. They exchange elbows in the ring until Ambrose gets the upper hand with a running clothesline. Ambrose grabs the strap and starts whipping Corbin with it before clotheslining Corbin out to ringside. Ambrose goes up top and hits a flying elbow on Corbin on the ringside floor. Ambrose lays Corbin on a table at ringside and climbs back to the top turnbuckle. Ambrose comes flying off with another elbow drop and hits Corbin through the table. Ambrose throws Corbin back in the ring and climbs up top again, but this time Corbin throws a chair at him. Corbin follows up with the End of Days in the ring for the win.

    – Shane McMahon comes out to address the “superstar shakeup” his father announced on Monday’s RAW. Shane says any star on RAW should hope they make it to SmackDown where they’ll have more opportunity. AJ Styles comes out to interrupt. The Phenomenal One tells Shane that he doesn’t want to leave SmackDown Live because it’s the house that AJ Styles built. AJ says after WrestleMania he feels like he owes Shane something, then shakes his hand. AJ pretends he’s going to punch Shane, but doesn’t and leaves.

    – Randy Orton & Luke Harper def. Bray Wyatt & Eric Rowan: Orton goes for an RKO on Rowan early on, but Rowan escapes and hits a spinning heel kick that sends Orton rolling out to ringside. Wyatt and Harper tag in, and Harper goes to work on Wyatt with a splash in the corner and a springboard senton over the top rope. Harper bumps Rowan to ringside then throws Wyatt outside and follows up with a suicide dive on Rowan. Wyatt dodged the suicide dive, and clotheslines Harper down on the floor. Back in the ring, Wyatt hits a senton on Harper then tags in Rowan who hits a splash for a two count. The Wyatts continue working on Harper until he comes back with a big side walk slam on Wyatt and gets the tag to Orton. Orton gears up for an RKO on Wyatt, but the lights go out and when they come back on Wyatt is at ringside. Rowan tries to attack Orton but Harper hits him with a superkick. Orton follows up with an RKO on Rowan for the win. Orton raises his title in the air and celebrates the win with Harper in the ring. Wyatt is on the ramp talking to himself as he heads backstage.

  • WWE RAW Results & Live Discussion (4/3)

    WWE RAW Results & Live Discussion (4/3)

    The April 3rd edition of WWE RAW was the first episode after WrestleMania 33 and aired live from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

    – RAW opens up with a video highlighting Roman Reigns’ victory over The Undertaker last night, and Undertaker’s exit. We go into the arena and the crowd is chanting Undertaker’s name. Reigns’ music starts playing and the crowd immediately begins booing him. Every time Reigns goes to speak, the crowd starts another chant against him. Reigns finally says “This is my yard now,” drops the mic, and walks backstage.

    – Michael Cole, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves explain that the crowd immediately after WrestleMania is always hot and they may “cheer who they usually boo, and boo who they usually cheer.”

    – Matt & Jeff Hardy (c) def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson: The Champions come out of the gate strong and Matt Hardy hits the Side Effect on Anderson early on. Matt and Jeff clothesline both Anderson and Gallows out to ringside as the crowd starts a “delete” chant. Back in the ring, Gallows and Anderson double team Matt with a back suplex into a neckbreaker. The crowd chants “F–k that owl” as Gallows and Anderson continue working on Matt. Jeff gets the hot tag and goes right to work on Gallows with right hands and flying forearm. Hardy follows up with an inverted atomic 0., then things go out to ringside. Jeff uses the ring steps to hit the Poetry In Motion on Gallows up against the fan barricade. Back in the ring, Anderson and Gallows hit the Boot Of Doom for a two count on Jeff. Matt interrupts a Magic Killer and Jeff hits a Twist of Fate on Gallows and a leg drop on Anderson. Matt tags in and hits a Twist of Fate on Gallows, then Jeff hits the Swanton Bomb for the win.

    – Neville def. Mustafa Ali: Neville starts off strong, but Ali quickly bounces back with a spinning heel kick that sends Neville out to the floor at ringside. Ali follows up with a springboard moonsault onto Neville on the floor before taking things back in the ring. Neville fights back until Ali hits a kick to the head, then he rolls into a neckbreaker on Neville. The crowd appears to be distracted by something off-camera. Neville comes back with a German suplex and a lariat for a near-fall. Neville takes Ali up to the top rope, but Ali takes him down with a springboard Spanish Fly into the ring. Ali hits a series of elbows and kicks, but Neville comes back with a kick of his own that drops Ali. Ali comes back with a kick and a reverse hurricanrana, and he follows up with a tornado DDT. Ali pins but Neville gets his foot on the rope. Ali goes for an inverted 450, but Neville rolls out of the way. Neville goes up top for a Red Arrow, but Neville changes his mind and comes down and locks Ali in the Rings of Saturn for the win.

    – We see a limo pull up backstage, and out gets WWE Chairman Vince McMahon! McMahon walks into the arena as we go to commercial.

    – “No Chance In Hell” hits in the arena and Mr. McMahon struts down to the ring. He gets a big pop from the crowd and they sing along with his entrance music. Before McMahon starts talking, the crowd chants “Roman sucks” at him. Vince says he wants to give a well-deserved thank you to the WWE fans. Vince says it’s time for a “superstar shakeup” and they will mix things up a bit. Vince shows footage of his daughter Stephanie being bumped through a table at WrestleMania. Vince says Stephanie will be out of action for some time, which gets a positive reaction from the crowd. Vince plays it up and gets more cheers from the crowd about Stephanie’s injury. Vince tells the crowd they’re being bloodthirsty, which gets a pop. Vince says since Foley was fired and Stephanie was injured, it’s time to name a new general manager. Vince says this new GM was just inducted into the Hall of Fame, then Teddy Long’s music hits, which seems to surprise Vince. Vince demands for his music to be cut, and he orders Teddy to stop dancing. Vince tells Teddy it’s not him, and Teddy says “my bad, holla holla” and leaves. Vince introduces the real new GM, but no music plays. Vince introduces him again, and this time introduces him by name: Kurt Angle. Angle’s music hits and the Olympic gold medalist makes his way down to the ring in a suit. Vince tells Kurt he’s glad he made it, and tells him he better do a good job, then leaves. The crowd pops huge for Angle and gives him his usual “you suck” chant. Angle says it’s great to be back on Monday Night RAW, it’s true, it’s damn true. Angle heads backstage to get to work, and Cole says on commentary that the “superstar shakeup” will happen next week.

    – The New Day comes out to the ring and they say the only downside of hosting WrestleMania last night was they couldn’t wrestle. So tonight they say they’re offering an open challenge to anyone in the back who thinks they can take them out. The Revival from NXT makes their debut to answer the challenge.

    – The Revival def. Xavier Woods: Xavier and Big E will be representing The New Day in this one. The Revival works on Xavier in the opening minutes of the match and appear to be working on Xavier’s left arm. Dash goes for a superplex but Xavier fights out and follows up with a missile dropkick. Dawson and Big E tag in, and Big E hits a series of belly to belly suplexes. Big E tries to spear Dawson through the ropes, but Dawson moves and Big E crashes onto the ringside floor. Woods and Dawson trade elbows to the face in the ring until Dash tags in. The Revival hits the Shatter Machine on Xavier for the win in their RAW debut. After the match, they beat down Kofi and try to injure his ankle.

    – Kurt Angle is backstage unpacking a box of his things when Enzo and Cass interrupt to introduce themselves. Enzo and Cass say they want a shot at the tag title, so Angle books them in a #1 contender match against Sheamus and Cesaro. After Enzo and Cass walk away, Angle realizes they misspelled “soft.”

    – Bayley, Sasha Banks & Dana Brooke def. Emma, Nia Jax & Charlotte: Emma stands on the announce table before her entrance. Emma starts things off with offense on both Dana and Bayley. Bayley comes back with an arm drag and a drop toe hold. Emma tags in Nia who takes control of things against Bayley before tagging in Charlotte. Charlotte lays into Bayley with chops, then hangs her upside down in the corner and stomps on her. Emma tags back in and stomps on Bayley and pulls her hair. Charlotte tags back in and hits a series of knees and chops on Bayley. Sasha tags in and cleans house. She hits a spinning headscissors on Charlotte and follows up with running knee strikes in the corner. Sasha follows up with a double knee drop off the middle rope for a two count. Dana and Sasha take out Nia with a double dropkick, then Bayley hits a cross body on Nia at ringside. Charlotte goes for a Natural Selection on Sasha in the ring, but Sasha dodges it and locks in the Banks Statement on Charlotte for the win. After the match, Charlotte blames both Emma and Nia for the loss. Nia beats down Charlotte and Emma heads backstage.

    – Sami Zayn is backstage telling Kurt Angle he wants to cultivate a good relationship him like he had with Foley. Angle says Sami has the three I’s: Intelligence, Intensity, and Integrity. Jinder Mahal interrupts and complains he got screwed over by Gronk at WrestleMania. Sami takes issue with Jinder interrupting him, so Angle says they’re going to settle their problems in the ring tonight and wants them to get out of his face.

    – WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are out to the ring next. Heyman gets on the mic and says that after Goldberg’s trip to suplex city he won’t be around anymore, which gets a pop from the crowd. Heyman says now that Goldberg is out of the way, Lesnar needs new challengers. Heyman mentions Seth Rollins, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy as possible opponents. Heyman says Lesnar isn’t going to cherish the Championship belt and take selfies with it, Lesnar is going to disrupt the status quo. Heyman says since Lesnar and Reigns both beat Undertaker at WrestleMania, they should face off to see whose yard it really is. Heyman says Lesnar wants to do something tonight that everyone will remember, but before Heyman can continue he is interrupted by Braun Strowman’s music. Strowman makes his way down to the ring and says he’s going to destroy Roman Reigns to get Lesnar’s attention, because Lesnar has his attention with the Universal Title. Strowman and Lesnar stare each other down and Lesnar challenges Strowman to come at him. Strowman backs down and heads backstage.

    – Chris Jericho is backstage where he does an interview about getting a U.S. Title rematch against Owens in four weeks at Payback. Jericho says the RAW after WrestleMania is one of his favorite nights of the year. Jericho says he’s going to get his revenge against that stupid idiot Kevin Owens tonight in a tag match tonight with Seth Rollins against the team of Owens and Samoa Joe. Jericho puts “the tip of Kevin Owens’ finger” on The List, but then Owens attacks him and they brawl through the backstage area. Samoa Joe joins Owens and they beat down Jericho together. Owens powerbombs Jericho through a table in the back, then a referee tries to pull away Joe and Owens.

    – Kurt Angle is seen leaving the trainer’s office and then telling Rollins that Jericho is injured and can’t wrestle tonight. Angle assures Rollins that he’ll find a replacement partner for him tonight.

    – Sheamus & Cesaro def. Enzo & Cass: The winner of this one gets a shot at Matt & Jeff Hardy’s Tag Team Titles. Enzo and Cass hit some double team moves on both Sheamus and Cesaro early on, which leads to Cass throwing Enzo down onto Sheamus and Cesaro at ringside. Back in the ring, Sheamus takes control of things against Enzo with a rolling senton. Cass and Cesaro get into it at ringside, and Sheamus hits a dropkick through the ropes on Cass. In the ring, Enzo hits a tornado DDT on Sheamus, but Cass is still down. Cesaro tags in and hits a running uppercut on Enzo, followed up by the swing. Cesaro locks Enzo in the Sharpshooter, but Cass breaks it up with a big boot, then kicks Sheamus out to ringside. Cass goes back outside and lets Enzo tag him in. Cass hits two running splashes on Cesaro in the corner, followed up by a side walk slam and an elbow drop. Cass hits a big boot, then tags in Enzo. They attempt the Bada Boom, but Sheamus big boots Cass, then throws Enzo off the top rope into a European uppercut from Cesaro. Cesaro pins for the three count, and now Cesaro and Sheamus get a shot at the Tag Titles.

    – We get a look at some the reactions on Twitter to The Undertaker’s loss at WrestleMania last night.

    – Sami Zayn def. Jinder Mahal: We’re shown highlights of Jinder Mahal’s run-in with Gronk from the New England Patriots at WrestleMania. Jinder knocks Sami off the apron during his entrance and beats him down around ringside before the bell. Back in the ring, the referee calls for the opening bell and Jinder continues the offense on Sami. Sami dodges a splash in the corner and comes back with a t-bone suplex and the Heluva Kick for the win.

    – A graphic is shown with Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan promoting the “superstar shake-up” between the RAW and SmackDown rosters next week.

    – Seth Rollins & Finn Balor def. Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe: Owens and Rollins start things off, but Joe quickly tags in and takes control of things. Rollins fights back with chops to the chest, but Joe shuts him down with a kick to the body. Owens beats on Rollins in the corner and taunts Balor. Rollins fights back and tags in Balor. Balor unloads with offense on Owens with a dropkick then a kick to the head. Owens rolls out to ringside but Finn chases him out and hits a running dropkick that sends Owens crashing into the fan barricade. Rollins tags in and this leads to Rollins hitting a suicide 450 splash dive onto Owens and Joe at ringside. Back in the ring, Owens targets Rollins’ knee then hits a DDT. Samoa Joe tags in and tees off on Rollins with strikes in the corner. Joe drops Rollins and starts working on his bad knee. Joe attempts the Coquina Clutch on Rollins, but Rollins gets out and hits a spinning heel kick on Joe. Balor and Owens tag in and Balor cleans house with forearm shots. Balor hits a dropkick on Owens then hits a series of chops to the chest. Balor drops both Owens and Joe with kicks to the head. After a series of reverals, Balor hits the sling blade. Balor goes for a dropkick, but Joe intercepts him with a Coquina Cluch. Rollins knocks down Joe with a flying knee to the head, then Owens superkicks Rollins. Balor drops Owens then hits a flying double foot stomp off the top for the win. Owens and Joe retreat up the ramp while Rollins raises Balor’s hand in the ring and RAW goes off the air.

  • WWE Network Subscriber Count Announced On Post-WrestleMania Conference Call

    WWE Network Subscriber Count Announced On Post-WrestleMania Conference Call

    WWE executives at the company headquarters in Stamford, CT held a post-WrestleMania 33 conference call today where they discussed the growth of the WWE Network.

    WWE Financial Officer George Barrios spoke on the call about the huge success of WrestleMania 33, and says the event drove new subscriptions to the WWE Network. He says the Network now has “nearly 2 million” subscribers, and subscriptions are up 11% domestically from this time last year. The official numbers are 1,949,000 subscribers of the WWE Network in total, with 1,661,000 of those being paid subscriptions.

    WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Michelle Wilson chimed in to say the company is pleased with how the Network is progressing, and says they’ll continue to “super serve” new programming.

  • Roman Reigns Comments On Beating Undertaker, Anderson Talks Matt & Jeff Hardy

    Roman Reigns Comments On Beating Undertaker, Anderson Talks Matt & Jeff Hardy

    – Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker in the main event of WrestleMania 33 on Sunday, and on Monday afternoon Reigns took to Twitter to comment on the victory. Reigns wrote that Undertaker “held down the yard for years” before his loss on Sunday, and thanked him.

    – Matt and Jeff Hardy returned on Sunday night to capture the RAW Tag Team Titles from Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a four-way ladder match. On Monday, Anderson wrote on Twitter that he plans to “delete” the Hardy boys on RAW tonight at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, and indicates that they only lost because they hadn’t prepared for the surprise entrants.

    Join us tonight at 8 PM ET for our live RAW coverage and discussion on SEScoops.com and the SEScoops app.

  • Preview For WWE RAW Tonight (4/3): WrestleMania 33 Fallout

    Preview For WWE RAW Tonight (4/3): WrestleMania 33 Fallout

    The April 3rd edition of WWE RAW airs live from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on the USA Network at 8 PM ET, with live coverage and discussion on SEScoops. This is the first episode after WrestleMania, and WWE is promoting the below items for tonight’s show:

    • What awaits Roman Reigns after the monumental feat of beating The Undertaker at WrestleMania?
    • With Rollins’ destiny now firmly in his own hands, how will the two-time WWE Champion begin his own personal new era?
    • The official RAW preview calls the return of Matt & Jeff Hardy “Delightful! Exquisite! Wonderful!” Which team on the RAW roster will be the first to challenge for their Tag Team Titles?
    • Will Chris Jericho try to take back the United States Championship from Kevin Owens?
    • Will a new challenger for Brock Lesnar’s WWE Universal Title appear?

    Join us tonight at 8 PM ET for our live RAW coverage and discussion, with the latest backstage news before and after the show.

  • WWE WrestleMania 33 Results & Discussion (4/2)

    WWE WrestleMania 33 Results & Discussion (4/2)

    The 33rd annual edition of WWE WrestleMania aired live on April 2nd at 7 PM ET, with the pre-show starting at 5 PM ET. The show was broadcast live on the WWE Network and on pay-per-view from the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

    WrestleMania 33 Kickoff Show

    – Fans have entered the Camping World Stadium and Shawn Michaels has joined the pre-show panel.

    – Neville (c) def. Austin Aries: The WWE Cruiserweight Title is on the line in this one. Neville gets frustrated in the opening moments as he has a hard time overcoming Aries’ offense. Aries hits a spinning elbow on Neville off the middle rope, and Neville rolls outside for recover. Aries goes for a suicide dive but Neville stops him with a kick to the head. Neville beats Aries down around ringside and then takes him back in the ring where he attempts a corkscrew moonsault. Aries rolls out of the way, then lays into Neville with chops. Aries follows up with a pendulum elbow and back body drops Neville outside to the floor. Aries goes up top and hits a splash onto Neville on the floor, then follows up with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Aries hits a wicked missile dropkick off the top rope. Aries attempts the Discus Fivearm but Neville blocks with a superkick and follows up with a German suplex for a near-fall. Aries comes back with a successful Discus Fivearm and it sends Neville falling out of the ring. Austin rolls Neville back in the ring, but the champion rolls back to the apron. Neville comes back with a kick to the head, and both men are down. Neville climbs up to the top rope, but Aries jumps up and Frankensteiners the champion down to the mat. Aries follows up with a running forearm in the corner and then a 450 splash off the top. Neville kicks out at two, so Aries put him in an STF. Neville gauges the eye socket of Aries, but the referee doesn’t stop the match. Neville follows up with the Red Arrow to retain the Cruiserweight Title.

    – Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: The Big Show and Braun Strowman are the only two entrants to have their entrance music played. Kalisto, Simon Gotch, and Heath Slater are the first three to be eliminated. Strowman and Big Show continue to eliminate anyone who comes across their path early on. The remaining talent gangs up on Big Show and Strowman, but Strowman then eliminates Big Show. Strowman is eliminated next, and the two early favorites to win are both out already. After a series of fast-paced eliminations, the final four is Jinder Mahal, Sami Zayn, Mojo Rawley, and Killian Dain. Dain quickly eliminates Zayn which gets him heat from the crowd. Jinder and Mojo brawl in front of Gronk from the New England Patriots. Jinder throws Gronks drink at him, and Gronk hops the fan barricade. The security stops Gronk, but it appears to have been a mistake and the referees run over and call off the security. Gronk gets in the ring and spears Jinder. Mojo high-fives Gronk and Gronk leaves. Mojo eliminates Dain after a series of running punches, and it’s down to Mojo and Jinder. Jinder tries to suplex Mojo outside, but Mojo blocks it and hits a running forearm on Jinder to knock him down for the elimination. Mojo celebrates with Gronk after the match. Winner: Mojo Rawley

    – Paul Heyman is backstage in the “social media lounge” to field some questions from fans. Heyman says his client Brock Lesnar will give Goldberg as many suplexes tonight as he deems appropriate. Heyman says Lesnar is the greatest athlete ever in WWE, and Goldberg’s comeback ends tonight.

    – On the pre-show panel, Booker T picks Goldberg to win tonight, while Lawler and Shawn Michaels pick Lesnar.

    – Dean Ambrose (c) def. Baron Corbin: The Intercontinental Title is on the line in this one. Corbin starts things off with a clothesline that drops Ambrose. Corbin continues to beat down Ambrose both in the ring and at ringside in the opening moments of this one. Ambrose mounts a comeback and sends Corbin to the outside. Ambrose goes for a suicide dive but Corbin punches him out of mid-air with a right hand. Corbin charges at Ambrose but Ambrose moves and Corbin crashes into the ring steps. Ambrose follows up with a flyign elbow off the top rope onto Corbin on the floor at ringside. Back in the ring, Ambrose hits a swinging neckbreaker on Corbin, but Corbin quickly comes back with a big boot and the Deep Six for a two count. Ambrose comes back with a lariat and attempts the Dirty Deeds, but Corbin fights out and hits a back suplex for another near-fall. Corbin gets frustrated and starts throwing elbows at Ambrose. Corbin goes for the End Of Days, but Ambrose escapes it and hits the Dirty Deeds for the win.

    WrestleMania 33

    – A singer name Tinashe comes out and sings America The Beautiful to open up the show, and we see fighter jets fly high above the arena. The “ultimate thrill ride” intro video airs, and WrestleMania 33 officially begins.

    – Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton are at ringside for commentary to start, and The New Day comes out to the ring to open up the show. They talk about being chosen to host WrestleMania because they rock, and how they’re glad to pull the level to start the ultimate thrill ride.

    – AJ Styles def. Shane McMahon: Styles and McMahon trade wrist locks and headlocks early on. AJ levels Shane with a shoulder block, then follows up with a snapmare and mocks Shane’s dancing. Shane comes back with some arm drags and takedowns, and AJ rolls outside to recover for a moment. Back in the ring they start exchanging punches and Shane gets the upper hand. AJ ducks a spear and sends Shane falling outside. AJ follows up with a baseball slide kick that sends Shane falling over the announce desk. Back in the ring, AJ tees off on Shane with kicks. AJ hits a big flying clothesline in the corner on Shane. AJ goes for a series of strikes on Shane, but Shane fights him off. AJ leaps up to the top rope, but Shane bumps him off. McMahon follows up with a series of right hands, then a flying elbow to the face. Shane follows up with a back body drop and an Olympic Slam. AJ kicks Shane in the leg and follows up with a fireman’s carry into a neckbreaker over his knee. AJ locks Shane in the Calf Crusher, but Shane reverses into a sleeper hold and then an armbar. AJ gets out and they collide with a double clothesline and both men are down. AJ goes for a springboard 450 splash, but Shane rolls out of the way and puts AJ in a triangle choke. AJ picks up Shane from the triangle choke position and hits Shane with the Styles Clash. AJ only had one of Shane’s arms hooked for the Styles Clash, and Shane kicks out at two. AJ and Shane trade right hands in the middle of the ring, and the crowd sounds in favor of Styles. Shane hits some knees on AJ and AJ goes to kick him, but he accidentally kicks the referee. Styles hits the Pele Kick on Shane. The ref is down, so AJ grabs a couple trash cans from under the ring. AJ sits Shane in the corner and puts the trash can in front of him. AJ gets up on the opposite corner and comes flying towards Shane, but Shane hops up and blocks AJ with the trash can. Now Shane sits AJ in the corner, and puts the other trash can in front of him. Shane goes up top and successfully hits the coast to coast dropkick on AJ. The referee finally gets up, but AJ kicks out at two. Shane puts AJ on the announce table at ringside and heads to the top rope. Shane goes flying for an elbow drop, but AJ rolls out the way and Shane crashes through the table by himself. AJ rolls Shane into the ring and goes for a Phenomenal Forearm, but Shane ducks it and hits a DDT on AJ. Shane goes up top for a Shooting Star Press, but AJ rolls out of the way and Shane crashes on the ring. AJ follows up with the Phenomenal Forearm for the three count.

    – Kevin Owens def. Chris Jericho: For Jericho’s entrance we have a huge “List of Jericho” book on the stage, and Jericho has a light-up scarf. Owens hits the cannonball in the corner early on, then Jericho rolls out to the apron and sits up against the ring post. Owens follows him to the apron and hits a cannonball against the ring post on the apron too. Back in the ring, Owens follows up with a senton splash for a two count. Jericho dropkicks Owens out to ringside and follows him to the floor where Jericho hits a back body drop. Back in the ring, Jericho hits a Frankensteiner off the top on Owens for a two count. Jericho hits a bulldog and goes for the Lionsault, but Owens stops him and hits a superkick. Owens goes up top for a Swanton bomb, but Jericho blocks it with his knees and both men are down. Owens starts laying into Jericho, but Jericho is able to put a stop to him with a back elbow and a successful Lionsault. Jericho goes for the Codebreaker, but Owens blocks it and locks Jericho in the Walls of Jericho. Jericho gets out, but Owens drops him with a superkick. Owens goes for a cannonball in the corner, but Jericho moves out of the way and puts Owens in the Walls. Owens reaches the ropes to break the hold. Jericho goes for the Codebreaker, but Owens blocks it and hits the Pop Up Powerbomb for a near-fall. Owens goes for another Pop Up Powerbomb, but this time Jericho reverses it into a Codebreaker. Things go to ringside where Owens powerbombs Jericho onto the corner of the ring apron. Owens rolls Jericho back in the ring and pins to win the United States Championship.

    – Bayley (c) def. Nia Jax, Sasha Banks & Charlotte: Nia starts off charging at Sasha right off the bell. Nia dominates the opening couple of minutes and hits a bonsai drop on Bayley, which Graves called a vertical splash. Bayley and Sasha are brawling at ringside, and Nia throws Charlotte at them like a bowling ball to knock them down. Bayley, Sasha and Charlotte all team up to wear down Nia. Bayley and Sasha double-back suplex Nia with a big boot assist from Charlotte. Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha triple-team powerbomb Nia off the middle rope, and pin her for the elimination. Nia is the first woman to be eliminated. The action goes to ringside, and Charlotte hits a corkscrew moonsault off the top rope onto Bayley and Sasha at ringside. Back in the ring, Charlotte continues with offense on Sasha and Bayley. Charlotte tries to rip the turnbuckle off and does loosen it and Sasha continues the offense on her. Charlotte throws Sasha face-first into the exposed turnbuckle and rolls her up for the elimination, and it’s down to Charlotte and Bayley. Charlotte goes for a moonsault off the top on Bayley but Bayley rolls out of the way and covers her for a near-fall. Bayley goes to the top but Charlotte catches her in mid-air and slams her. Charlotte goes into the Figure Four and Figure Eight but Bayley breaks the hold. Charlotte continues working on Bayley’s knee and goes for a spear in the corner, but Bayley moves. Bayley follows up with the flying elbow drop off the top rope for the win.

    – The WWE Hall of Fame class of 2017 comes out to the stage, with Kurt Angle coming out last with his own entrance music.

    – Matt & Jeff Hardy def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Sheamus & Cesaro, Enzo & Cass: The New Day comes out and announces that this match is now a Fatal Four Way — and then Jeff Hardy’s music hits. Matt and Jeff Hardy come out next and get a huge ovation from the crowd. Matt does appear to still be “broken.” The Hardy boys hit the Poetry In Motion early on against Gallows and Anderson. The Hardys hit their signature double team moves on Enzo and Cass next. Hardy hits the Whisper In The Wind on both Cesaro and Sheamus, and the crowd goes off with “delete” chants. Matt grabs a ladder and starts laying out everyone who comes near him. Gallows and Anderson grab a ladder and lay out the Hardy boys with it. Enzo and Cass take out The Club, and then Cass starts laying everyone out with big boots. Cesaro falls off the ladder and gets his leg tied up in the rungs. Enzo and Big Cass grab even more ladders and slide them in the ring. Matt and Jeff lay some ladders across the ring apron and fan barricade. In the ring, Sheamus hits the 10 Beats of The Baron on Gallows, and Cesaro swings Anderson. Sheamus hits a running powerslam on Anderson, then Cesaro hits a 619 on Gallows. Cass big boots a ladder into Cesaro and sends him off the apron. There’s some brawling at ringside, then Sheamus kicks Jeff off the apron onto everyone. Back in the ring, Gallows and Anderson powerbomb Cass into a ladder. Enzo almost grabs the title belts, but Anderson stops him. Sheamus and Cesaro go for a double Razor’s Edge on Anderson, but Gallows makes the save. They hit the Magic Killer on Cesaro and throw him and Sheamus out to the ladders that are propped up between the ring and barricade. Matt Hardy hits the Twist of Fate on Gallows, then gives Anderson a Twist of Fate off the ladder. Jeff Hardy climbs a ladder that’s nowhere near the titles, and hits a huge Swanton Bomb on Cesaro and Sheamus through the ladders. Back in the ring, Matt grabs the title belts for the win, and The Hardy Boys are now the RAW Tag Team Titles.

    – Jimmy Fallon is shown in the crowd.

    – John Cena & Nikki Bella def. The Miz & Maryse: Jerry Lawler replaces Otunga on commentary. Al Roker does the ring announcing and introduces himself as “Chocolate Thunder.” The Miz is hesitant to start things early on and takes a few opportunities to taunt the crowd. Cena charges at Miz but The Miz rolls out to ringside. Back in the ring, The Miz mounts some offense against Cena and taunts Nikki on the apron. The Miz hits a running clothesline on Cena in the corner and eats up the crowd’s cheers. Miz continues working on Cena with kicks and keeping him grounded. The Miz is playing to the crowd and hits Daniel Bryan-style kicks on Cena. Nikki and Maryse finally tags in and Nikki immediately spears down Maryse. Nikki levels Maryse with a elbow and then Cena hits the back suplex on Miz. They each hit back suplexes and and Five Knuckle Shuffles, then Cena hits the AA and Nikki hits the Rack Attack for the win. After the match, Cena gets a mic. Cena proposes to Nikki after the match and she says yes.

    – Seth Rollins def. Triple H: There are motorcycle cops all around the stage, and Triple H is on a three-wheeled motorcycle with Stephanie on the back. The police ride along with Triple H down to the ring an he circles the ring on his bike American Badass style. The Game and Rollins start off throwing punches as soon as the bell rings. Things go out to ringside very early where they brawl over the fan barricade. Rollins back body drops Triple H back onto the ringside floor, then hits a flying clothesline off the barricade onto Triple H. Back in the ring, Rollins continues delivering offense to the 14-time World Champion. Triple H rolls back outside and Rollins drops him with a suicide dive. They brawl onto the announce table and Triple H DDTs Rollins onto the table, but the table doesn’t break. Triple H grabs a chair and slams it on Rollins’ knee. Triple H is now focused in on Rollins’ bad knee and continues working on it both outside and inside the ring. Rollins tries to fight back but his knee prevents him, until he gets Triple H up and powerbombs him into the turnbuckle. Triple H rolls outside and Rollins follows him out and continues to beat him down. Back in the ring, Rollins comes at HHH with a chair, but The Game kicks out his bad knee. Triple H goes up top but Rollins hits him with a chair then superplexes him off. Rollins follows up with the Falcons Arrow for a near-fall. Triple H comes back with a variation of the Figure Four. Rollins attempts a comeback, but Triple H stomps on his knee and takes him out to ringside for more offense on the knee. Rollins crawls back in the ring, and Triple H grabs a sledgehammer. Rollins hits a superkick on The Game, but Triple H comes back with a clothesline, and both men are down. Rollins grabs the sledgehammer, but Stephanie gets on the apron and grabs it from behind it. Rollins turns around into a boot from Triple H, and HHH hits a Pedigree for a near-fall. Triple H takes Rollins up top, but Rollins throws him off. Rollins hits the Phoenix Splash off the top for a two. They trade Pedigree attempts until Triple H finally goes back to Rollins’ knee. Stephanie grabs Rollins from behind and Triple H goes to hit him, but Rollins ducks. Rollins superkicks Triple H and he bumps into Stephanie, who falls off the apron through a table! Triple H looks furious, and when he turns around Rollins hits him with a Pedigree for the win.

    – Pitbull and Flo Rida come out to perform for the crowd in Orlando.

    – Randy Orton def. Bray Wyatt: Wyatt’s WWE World Championship is on the line in this one. Orton starts off on the offensive with a powerslam, but Wyatt quickly comes back. Wyatt drops Orton with an elbow, then hangs backwards from the corner. The lights go out, and a projection of maggots is displayed on the ring apron. Orton freaks out and rolls out of the ring. Back in the ring, Orton attempts an RKO, and Wyatt attempts a Sister Abigail, but Orton escapes and Wyatt drops him with an elbow. Wyatt follows up with a running splash in the corner. Wyatt hangs from the corner again, and this time a projection of worms is shown on the mat. On the outside, Wyatt comes flying off the apron towards Orton but Orton stops him in mid-air with a dropkick. Orton hits an RKO on Wyatt at ringside, then a draping DDT over the middle rope in the ring. Wyatt comes back with a Sister Abigail for a two count. Wyatt hangs off the corner again and this time we see cockroaches in the ring. Wyatt goes for another Sister Abigail, but Orton comes back with an RKO out of nowhere for the win. Orton celebrates with the WWE World Championship in the ring before he leaves.

    – Brock Lesnar def. Goldberg: Goldberg’s got the security with him for his entrance. Before the match, Heyman steals the mic from Jojo to give Lesnar his ring introduction himself. As soon as the bell rings, Lesnar immediately circles behind Goldberg and starts a series of German Suplexes. Lesnar takes a moment to yell at the crowd, and he turns around into a spear from Goldberg. Goldberg hits another spear, then Lesnar rolls outside. Goldberg follows him out, and spears Lesnar through a fan barricade. Back in the ring, Goldberg goes for a Jackhammer, but Lesnar gets out and goes for an F-5. Goldberg gets out, and spears Lesnar. Goldberg goes for the Jackhammer again, and this time he hits it. Goldberg kicks out at two. Goldberg is surprised, and he backs into hte corner for another spear. Goldberg goes for a spear, but Lesnar jumps over him and Goldberg hits the turnbuckle. Lesnar follows up with German suplexes. Lesnar finishes after the tenth German suplex, then Lesnar hits the F-5 for the win. Lesnar and Heyman celebrate with the WWE Universal Championship in the ring.

    – Naomi def. Alexa Bliss, Natalya, Carmella, Mickie James, & Becky Lynch: All six women go at it as soon as the bell rings, and Naomi hits a hurricanrana on Natalya early on. Things go outside and Natalya hits a vertical suplex on Noami. Back in the ring, Becky starts laying people out, then James Ellsworth runs in. Ellsworth goes for the No Chin Music, but Becky catches him with a t-bone suplex. Natalya attempts a double Sharpshooter on Becky and Alexa but doesn’t quite get it. Naomi comes back in and starts cleaning house. She hits a suicide dive on everyone at ringside, then back in the ring she locks Alexa in a submission for the win. Naomi celebrates with her new Women’s Championship belt after the match with a dark-light dance demonstration.

    – The New Day comes out and Big E says there’s a new attendance record for the “Citrus Bowl.” Kofi announces it as 75,245.

    – Roman Reigns def. The Undertaker: Jim Ross makes his entrance before the match, complete with entrance music. This one is a no holds barred match. Undertaker backs Reigns into the corner with punches as soon as the bell rings. Taker throws Reigns outside, and when Reigns rolls back in, Taker hits him with right hands and throws him back outside. Each time Taker throws him outside, he tells him it’s his yard. Reigns pulls Taker’s neck across the top rope an then comes back in the ring and hits a Samoan Drop. Taker rolls outside and Reigns follows him. Taker starts unloading offense on Reigns at ringside until Reigns knocks him back and hits a running dropkick. Back in the ring, Taker and Reigns exchange right hands. Taker goes fr a back body drop, Reigns kicks him and Taker no-sells it. Taker takes Reigns into the corner with punches and headbutts, then measures up for a chokeslam but Reigns rolls outside. Taker follows Reigns outside and decks him with a right hand. Taker clears the announce table, and J.R., Cole and JBL get out of the way. Reigns comes back with a dropkick. Reigns goes for a superman punch, but Taker catches him an chokeslams Reigns into a different announce table. Taker gets up on the English announce table and Reigns spears him off through the Spanish announce table. Reigns rolls back in the ring, and Undertaker sits straight up. Taker rolls in but Reigns immediately starts dropping knees on him. Reigns hits a series of clotheslines in the corner, then mounts him for a series of ten punches. After the tenth, Taker hits the Last Ride for a two count. Taker brings a chair in the ring then big boots Reigns. Taker starts teeing off on Reigns with the chair, then measures up for the chokeslam, but Reigns comes back with a superman punch. Reigns hits another one, but on his next attempt The Undertaker grabs him and chokeslams him for a two count. Taker hits a Tombstone piledriver for a near-fall. Taker goes for another one, and they try to do the rollover reversal, but Reigns was unable to get Taker up. The reversal spot doesn’t look good, and Reigns settles for a superman punch instead. Reigns follows up with a spear, but when he goes to pin, Taker puts him in an armbar. Reigns reaches the bottom rope, and the referee breaks it up despite this being a no holds barred match. Taker goes for the chair, but Reigns gets it first and nails Taker with it several times. Reigns follows up with a spear for a near-fall. Reigns hits another spear and Undertaker kicks out again. Reigns hits a superman punch. The Undertaker sits up, but he falls over. When he gets up, Reigns appears to be going for a spear, but instead throws some punches. Reigns bounces off the ropes a few more times and hits another spear, this time it’s for the win.

    – Reigns makes his way to the back, and Undertaker is still down in the ring. Taker sits up as the crowd chants “thank you Taker.” Ross, Cole and JBL take us through some replays from the match. When we come back from the replays, Taker is in his trench coat and hat with the black lights on. The Undertaker looks out at the crowd as his music plays. The Undertaker takes off his gloves, trench coat, and hat, and lays them in the ring as the crowd gives him a standing ovation. The Undertaker walks over to his wife in the front row and kisses her before making the long walk back up the ramp. The Undertaker raises his fist while on the ramp, and then he lowers down into the ramp. The lights all go out and the gong sounds several times before the WrestleMania 33 broadcast from Orlando ends.

  • NXT TakeOver: Orlando Results & Discussion (4/1)

    NXT TakeOver: Orlando Results & Discussion (4/1)

    WWE’s NXT TakeOver: Orlando aired live on Saturday, April 1st on the WWE Network at from the Amway Center.

    – TakeOver: Orlando opens up with a shot of the arena, and we hear Triple H cutting a promo over the speakers. Triple H says the entire world is watching Orlando tonight, and tonight “we are home.”

    – Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe and Nikki Cross def. Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno and Ruby Riot: Ohno is replacing No Way Jose. Things start off with all eight competitors brawling through the ring. It comes down to Ruby and Nikki, and Nikki grabs her by the hair and slams her on the ring repeatedly. Ohno and Wolfe tag in, and Ohno drops him with a stiff right hand. Strong tags in and hits a series of suplexes and slams on Wolfe and Young. Dain tags in and turns the tides on Strong. Eric Young tags in and gets Strong in a Dragon Sleeper on the turnbuckle. Young follows up with a flying elbow off the middle rope for a two count. Young hits another flying elbow, this time off the top, but then Tye breaks up the pin. Young punches Dillinger off the apron, then punches Ohno off too. The aprons clear with everyone brawling, and Dillinger gets Young to himself in the ring and rains down on him with punches in the corner. Dillinger drops Young with a back body drop, then superkicks Dain. Cross jumps on the back of Dillinger, and Riot jumps on the back of Dain. Eventually Cross gets off and grabs Riot, and they brawl to the outside. Young hits a lariat on Strong at ringside, and in the ring Wolfe hits a big boot on Dillinger. Wolfe is the legal man, and he immediately follows up on the big boot and pins for the win.

    – WWE Hall of Famers Edge and Beth Phoenix are shown sitting at ringside.

    – Aleister Black def. Andrade “Cien” Almas: Black and Almas start off with a textbook collar-and-elbow tie up and go move-for-move on the mat in the opening minutes. Black whips Cien into the ropes and Cien takes the chance to relax for a minute. Black goes for a suicide dive, but changes his mind and waits for Cien to come back in the ring. Black hits a spinning heel kick and follows up with a side headlock. Cien backs Black up in the corner and follows up with chops and stomps. Cien controls the next few moments with offense until Black takes things outside and hits a moonsault onto Cien on the floor. Back in the ring, Cien comes back with several elbows and a boot in the face. Cien hits an armbar hanging over the top rope until the ref breaks it up. Cien comes off the top but Black catches him with a powerbomb for a two count. Cien comes back with another armbar, and follows up with some elbow strikes in the corner. Almas and Black are evenly matched offensively for the next few moments as they trade kicks, but Almas gets the upper hand and hits some running knee strikes in the corner. Almas hits a snap German suplex for a near-fall. Black comes back with a boot to the face, and follows up with a stiff spinning heel kick for the win.

    – We get a look at Ember Moon backstage preparing for her match tonight.

    – The Authors of Pain def. DIY & The Revival: This one is a triple threat elimination match for the Tag Team Titles. DIY sets up a table at ringside early on. The three teams are very evenly matched offensively in the opening minutes until The Authors appear to take control of things. Akam puts Gargano in a rack, until Gargano is able to get out and hit an enziguri on Akam. Gargano knocks Rezar off the apron, then tags in Ciampa. Ciampa unloads with offense and hits two German suplexes on Akam. Ciampa follows up with a running knee strike for a two count. Ciampa continues fighting both of the Authors, and eventually DIY assists them in putting Rezar through a table at ringside. Akam comes back and fights off his four opponents until Ciampa counters and powerbomb and tags in Dawson. Dawson and Gargano get Akam in a double submission hold, but Rezar finally gets up and breaks it up. The Revival ends up briefly joining forces with with DIY to take out the Authors, and then they quickly start brawling against each other. It comes down to Gargano and Dash in the ring, and they stop to hit double suicide dives on Akam and Rezar on the floor. A big superplex off the apron onto everyone on the ringside floor leads to The Authors hitting The Last Chapter on Ciampa in the ring for the elimination. The Authors double team Dash until The Revival comes back with assisted German suplexes. The Authors attempts to come back with a Last Chapter, but it gets reversed. The Authors powerbomb the Revival members in unison, an then hit the Super Collider shortly after for the win. The Authors and Paul Ellering celebrate with the Tag Titles after the bell.

    – Asuka def. Ember Moon: Things start off with a back-and-forth striking sequence after the opening bell, and Ember gets the upper hand shortly after with an elbow that sends Asuka to the outside. Ember follows up with a splash off the turnbuckle on the floor, then throws Asuka back in the ring. Asuka dodges a cross body off the top and capitalizes with a Shining Wizard for a two count. Asuka follows up with kicks and attempts the Asuka Lock. Ember fights out and back drops Asuka. Asuka goes for the hip attack but Ember dodges it and hits a kick to the face. Ember follows up with a hurricanrana and a neckbreaker. Ember hits a dropkick and several more kicks before a knee to the face. Ember hits a fallaway slam, but Asuka comes back with palm strikes and they exchange blows in the middle of the ring. Ember drops Asuka, and Asuka gets back up and attempts a kick, but Ember catches her leg and hits a t-bone suplex for a two count. Ember goes up top but Asuka pushes the referee into the ropes and Ember falls down. Asuka follows up with a kick to the head for the win to retain the NXT Women’s Title.

    – Drew McIntyre is shown sitting at ringside and he gets a nice pop from the crowd.

    – We get a look at Shinsuka Nakamura backstage preparing for his title match up next.

    – Bobby Roode def. Shinsuka Nakamura: Roode’s NXT Championship is on the line in this one. Roode and Nakamura start off cautiously, trading leg kicks. Nakamura tees off with some strikes early on and stomps on Roode in the corner, but Roode comes back with a bump off the apron that sends Nakamura crashing into the guard rail. Back in the ring, Roode takes control of things and keeps Nakamura grounded. Roode rains down elbows on Nakamura and puts him in another neck hold until the challenger fights his way up. Roode attempts a sleeper, but Nakamura gets out and drops Roode with a spinning heel kick. Nakamura lays into Roode with punches and kicks, then drapes Roode over the corner ropes for a running knee. Nakamura lays Roode down with his head hanging off the apron and hits a knee drop onto Roode that sends them both to the ringside floor. Back in the ring, Nakamura goes for a suplex but Roode elbows his way out. The trade strikes until Roode drops him with an elbow and both men are down. Roode is up first and starts working on Nakamura’s bad knee. Roode gets Nakamura in the Figure Four, but Nakamura gets out and attempts an armbar on Roode. Nakamura transitions Roode into a triangle choke, then back into an armbar as Roode tries to fight out. Roode finally reaches the ropes, but his arm is hurt bad. Roode recovers around ringside, and gets back in the ring to trade strikes with Nakamura. Roode gets frustrated and grabs the ring bell from ringside. The referee holds Roode back and Nakamura hits him with a kick to the head. Nakamura follows up with a suplex, but Roode comes back with one of his own. The crowd is really getting into the back-and-forth action. Roode goes for an implant DDT, but Nakamura spears him into the corner. Roode gets Nakamura in a front face lock and hops up on the turnbuckle, then hits a huge tornado implant DDT on Nakamura. Roode pins for the win to retain the NXT Championship. After the bell, Roode celebrates with his brand new NXT Title belt and shows it off all the way up the ramp. Roode yells “I told you” towards the ring as TakeOver: Orlando goes off the air.

  • Roman Reigns’ Fans Overflow Into Samoa Joe Signing Area At WrestleMania Axxess (Video/Photos)

    Roman Reigns’ Fans Overflow Into Samoa Joe Signing Area At WrestleMania Axxess (Video/Photos)

    Roman Reigns’ VIP autograph signing event at WrestleMania Axxess in Orlando reportedly had fans lining up an hour and a half early. Recent RAW signee Samoa Joe didn’t attract as many fans at Axxess, and Reigns’ lines were so long that they used Samoa Joe’s autograph area for the overflow. Joe’s signing ended a half-hour early. Nikki Bella’s line also reportedly had fans waiting over an hour in advance.

    The autograph sessions were at 8 AM on Saturday, just one day out from WrestleMania 33.

    As previously noted, Reigns is currently the top merchandise seller of WWE’s full-time performers.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BSWBU7qDnKZ/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BSWYbXulS-Z/

  • WWE Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony Discussion (3/31)

    WWE Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony Discussion (3/31)

    The 2017 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony aired live on the WWE Network at from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. A red carpet pre-show will aired immediately beforehand at 7 PM ET on the WWE Network. Join the discussion here on SEScoops.com and on the SEScoops app by commenting with your opinions!

    Here’s the full lineup for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017:

    Kurt Angle
    The Olympic gold medalist and former WWE World Champion will be inducted by John Cena.

    “Ravishing” Rick Rude
    The late Rick Rude will be inducted by Ricky Steamboat.

    Beth Phoenix
    The Glamazon will be inducted by Natalya.

    Diamond Dallas Page
    DDP will be inducted by Eric Bischoff.

    Teddy Long
    Former SmackDown general manager Teddy Long will be inducted by both JBL and Ron Simmons.

    The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express
    Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson will be inducted by Jim Cornette.

    Eric LeGrand
    Eric LeGrand will be presented The Warrior Award by Dana Warrior.

    Several former WWE performers have arrived in Orlando and will be attending the ceremony, including Scott Hall, Ric Flair, Sting, Shawn Michaels, and Edge & Christian.


    https://twitter.com/WWE/status/847859960776081409

    Sound off with your opinions on the show in the comments section!

  • WWE SmackDown Results & Discussion (3/28)

    WWE SmackDown Results & Discussion (3/28)

    The March 28th edition of WWE SmackDown aired live on the USA Network from The Coliseum in Richmond, VA, and was the go-home show for WrestleMania 33 on Sunday.

    – Daniel Bryan is out to the ring to kick off the show with a contract signing. He asks the crowd if they’re ready for WrestleMania, then introduces Shane McMahon and AJ Styles. Shane and AJ both sit down at the table in the ring, and Shane cuts a promo about how AJ was always part of their vision for SmackDown. Shane puts over AJ as one of the greatest talents in the business, but that his ego and arrogance has gotten out of control. Shane says he expects to win at WrestleMania and signs the contract. AJ signs next, then talks about how this is a traditional match and not the kinds of hardcore matches Shane had previously. Styles says he’ll embarrass McMahon at WrestleMania, then pushes the table aside. AJ and Shane come face to face but Daniel Bryan pulls them apart. Bryan says he wants to seal the deal with a handshake, but AJ declines and leaves.

    – Luke Harper takes on Bray Wyatt later tonight.

    – We see Becky Lynch walking backstage, and Carmella walking with James Ellsworth backstage. They’re in singles action next.

    – Carmella def. Becky Lynch via DQ: James Ellsworth is out first to give Carmella a special ring introduction. Mickie James and Alexa Bliss are both on commentary. Carmella spits out her gum and gives it to Ellsworth before the match. Just moments into the match, Alexa and Mickie get into it at ringside. The ringside brawl spills into the ring. Mickie hits Carmella and the ref rings the bell. Becky drops Carmella with a t-bone suplex, then Mickie drops Alexa with a spinning heel kick. Mickie and Becky come face to face and point at the WrestleMania sign, then we go to commercial.

    – Mickie James & Becky Lynch vs. Carmella & Alexa Bliss: This one was made into a tag match during the commercial break. Shortly after the match starts, Alexa and Carmella are alright in-fighting. Mickie hits a series of kicks on Carmella, then boots Alexa off the apron. Carmella drops Mickie with an elbow to the face and tries to keep her grounded. Alexa tags in and continues the offense on Mickie. Natalya’s music hits and she comes out to ringside to interrupt and join the commentary team. Natalya hits Becky from ringside which leads to Carmella getting the pin. After the match, Naomi runs in and hits a Frankensteiner on Natalya on the ramp. Naomi hits the ring and lays out the heels before getting on the mic. Naomi says she has been medically cleared and she’ll be entering the Women’s Title match at WrestleMania.

    – Tyler Breeze, dressed as Nikki Bella, approaches Daniel Bryan backstage and tries to enter the Women’s Title match at WrestleMania. Fandango walks in and they complain about not being on the WrestleMania card, so Daniel Bryan puts them in a 10-man tag match where the winners will enter the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

    – We see an anti-smoking PSA featuring AJ Styles and Natalya.

    – Back from commercial, The Miz and Maryse come out to introduce their latest Total Bellas parody. On this edition of “Total Bella Bulls***” The Miz continues to allude that Cena uses cue cards on the show and that Cena won’t marry Nikki Bella. This edition pokes fun at Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella, and ends in a cliffhanger of “Nikki” asking “John” to marry her. Back from commercial break, The Miz introduces the conclusion of the episode, which features “Cena” telling her “I do… never want to marry you” because it would tarnish his brand. The Miz says that Cena only loves himself and people “can’t see” him because there’s nothing worth seeing. The Miz breaks out of his “Cena” character and says to the camera that he’s going to end Cena at WrestleMania on Sunday. After the parody clip ends, the real Cena and Nikki come out. Cena says The Miz was right about some things, but other things couldn’t be further from the truth. Cena tells The Miz the only movies he’s been in are crappy bootlegs of ones he’s already made. Cena says The Miz begged WWE to hire Maryse again so he could be on Total Divas. Cena calls them gutless cowards, and challenges The Miz and Maryse to come at him and Nikki. The Miz takes his jacket off but ends up leaving up the ramp with Maryse. Nikki calls them haters as they’re walking away and says they’re coming to kick their ass on Sunday.

    – American Alpha, Rhyno & Slater, and Mojo Rawley def. Dolph Ziggler, The Usos, and The Fashion Police: This one starts off with Ziggler and Jordan, who trade dropkicks and suplexes. Gable gets the tag and tries to keep Ziggler grounded. Rhyno is in next and he continues the offense on Ziggler with a belly to belly suplex. Rhyno goes for a Gore but The Fashion Police pull Ziggler outside for the save. The Usos and American Alpha participate in the majority of the next few minutes, trading offense and tags. Mojo and Tyler get the hot tags and Mojo starts dropping him with running shoulder blocks. There’s a series of members of each team running in the ring and throwing or superkicking each other to the outside. Rhyno drops Ziggler with a Gore, then Mojo gets the pin on Breeze for the win.

    – Luke Harper cuts a promo in a dark room with one dim light bulb. He tells Wyatt that this time, he’s the one who should run.

    – Bray Wyatt def. Luke Harper: Harper dominates the opening moments and takes Wyatt out to ringside early on. Harper hits a splash on Wyatt up against the fan barricade, then throws him down by the timekeeper’s area. We go to commercial and when we come back, Wyatt has taken control of the match after a superplex. Harper fights back, but Wyatt drops him again and hits a Senton splash. Wyatt goes to follow up with the Sister Abigail, but Harper reverses into a Sister Abigail attempt of his own. Wyatt escapes and rolls out to ringside. Harper follows up with two consecutive suicide dives onto Wyatt at ringside, and the second one sends Wyatt falling over the announce table. Back in the ring, Harper follows up with a springboard senton for a two count. Wyatt goes for another Sister Abigail, but Harper escapes and drops Wyatt with two forearm strike for a near-fall. Harper and Wyatt lock eyes and Harper pauses for a moment before attempting a discus clothesline. Wyatt blocks it and hits the Sister Abigail for the win. As Bray is celebrating in the ring, Randy Orton appears on the big screen. He says he’s back at Wyatt’s building he burned down. Orton says there’s no salvation for Bray, an says when he drives a cross into the ground it will seal Bray’s fate and end his reign. Orton slams the cross into the ground, and the screen cuts to an image of a snake before SmackDown goes off the air.

  • WWE RAW Results & Discussion (3/27)

    WWE RAW Results & Discussion (3/27)

    The March 27th edition of WWE RAW was the go-home episode for WrestleMania 33, and aired live on the USA Network from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.

    – RAW’s intro video gets interrupted by footage of a graveyard with The Undertaker’s music over it. Eventually the video cuts back to the usual RAW intro. Michael Cole announces that the Wells Fargo Center is sold out with 17,293 fans in attendance.

    – Bayley comes out to the ring and cuts a promo about going to WrestleMania on Sunday. Charlotte interrupts very shortly after and warns her that Sasha Banks isn’t really her friend. Sasha interrupts next and says Charlotte is out of her mind, and Bayley is really her friend. Sasha says her and Bayley are friends, but that she will beat her at WrestleMania. Nia jax interrupts next and says she’s the one who will take the Women’s Title at ‘Mania. Charlotte says again that Sasha is only pretending to be Bayley’s friend, and then Sasha attacks Charlotte. Nia and Bayley start fighting, and we’ve got a tag match.

    – Charlotte & Nia Jax vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks: Sasha gets lots of offense in on Charlotte in the opening moments until Nia Jax gets the tag. Bayley tags in and they hit a double dropkick on Nia. Nia gets Bayley down then tags in Charlotte who continues working on Bayley. Sasha gets the hot tag and hits a flying crossbody off the top for a two count. Nia tags in and throws Sasha out to the apron before clotheslining her down. Back in the ring, Nia keeps working on Sasha and tags in Charlotte. Sasha finally gets the hot tag to Bayley who cleans house and then goes up to the second rope. Charlotte knocks Bayley off the middle rope and immediately starts working on Bayley’s knee. Charlotte locks Bayley in the Figure Four until Sasha makes the tag. Nia and Sasha brawl out to the floor at ringside while Bayley comes back and hits a belly to belly suplex on Charlotte for the win. After the match, Nia Jack lays out Sasha and Bayley. Nia hits a leg drop on Sasha and a Samoan Drop on Bayley. Nia then tackles Charlotte and holds the Women’s Championship before leaving.

    – WWE airs a video recapping the history between Seth Rollins and Triple H. Rollins and Triple H will have a contract signing later tonight.

    – Sami Zayn does an interview backstage about Mick Foley being fired last week. Zayn announces that he’s entering the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania, and he’s dedicating tit to Foley. Stephanie McMahon interrupts and says Zayn is going to have to earn his way into the match at WrestleMania. Zayn needs to win a no disqualification match against Kevin Owens tonight to get a spot in the battle royal. Stephanie threatens to fire Zayn if he loses tonight.

    – Austin Aries def. Noam Dar: Neville is on commentary for this one. He stares down Aries during Aries’ entrance. Alicia Fox is at ringside with Dar. After the opening bell, Dar turns his head to blow a kiss to Fox and Aries hits him with a big running dropkick. Dar rolls out of the ring as RAW goes to commercial. Back from commercial, Dar is in control. Aries comes back with a facebuster and a clothesline. He follows up with a chop to the chest and a neckbreaker, then a spinning elbow drop. Aries kicks Dar out to ringside and follows up with a suicide dive. Aries hits a neckbreaker on the apron, but then Alicia Fox distracts him. Dar rolls up Aries from behind but Aries kicks out at two. Aries hits an elbow to the face and follows up with a spinning forearm. Aries locks Dar in the Last Chancery for the win via submission. Aries yells at Neville from the ring after the match.

    – Seth Rollins is shown walking backstage with a crutch and a brace on his knee.

    – The ring is set up with carpet and a table for a contract signing. Rollins is out first, and he gets on a mic and asks for Triple H to come out and get this done with. Triple H comes out and gets on the apron and tells Rollins if he attacks him before the contract is signed, the WrestleMania match is off. Triple H tells Rollins to sit in the chair and follow his instructions. Rollins stays standing and tells at The Game, but Triple H insists that he sits. Triple H says the match is off if Rollins doesn’t sit down, so Rollins sits down. Triple H also sits down and cuts a promo on Rollins telling him what he’s going to do to him at ‘Mania. Triple H tells Rollins there has never been a one-legged man to win an ass-kicking contest, and say he’s going to end his career on Sunday. Rollins says he’s going back to the old person he was before Triple H brainwashed him, and he signs the contract then shoves it into Triple H. Triple H kicks the table at Rollins’ bad knee then starts kicking his knee. Rollins is down and Triple H picks up the crutch. Rollins spins around and hits Triple H with a Pele Kick. Rollins goes for a Pedigree, but Triple H gets out and goes back to working on the bad knee. Triple H goes for a Pedigree of his own, but Rollins back body drops Triple H out to the floor. Triple H comes back in the ring, but Rollins chases him off with the crutch.

    – Michael Cole tells us tonight that Brock Lesnar and Goldberg have one more chance to stand face to face in the ring tonight before their match at WrestleMania on Sunday.

    – Over-The-Top-Rope Elimination Challenge: Big Show and Jinder Mahal are in first. Big Show goes for a chokeslam early on but Jinder blocks it and starts working on the Big Show with strikes. Jinder backs up and goes for a clothesline, but Big Show grabs him and throws him outside for the elimination. Bo Dallas is out next and he gets some offense in on Big Show, but Big Show quickly eliminates him too. The Shining Stars are out next and they both try to push Big Show over the top rope, but Big show stops them with elbow strikes and back body drops them both outside. Big Show, R-Truth and Curtis Axel are in next, and then the eliminated wrestlers come back in the ring, and they all team up to eliminate Big Show. The Big Show is angry now and he gets back in the ring. Everyone gangs up on Big Show but he pushes them all off. The Big Show starts handing out chokeslams one by one until it’s down to Goldust and R-Truth. Goldust and Truth decide against fighting Big Show, and they roll outside and leave. Braun Strowman comes out to the stage with a mic and says if he wanted to, he could kick Big Show’s ass right now. Strowman says the fans want to see it, but he doesn’t want to yet, so everyone will have to wait until WrestleMania. Big Show calls out Strowman, but Strowman points at the WrestleMania logo and leaves.

    – We see more footage of The Undertaker in a graveyard, and this time he’s digging.

    – Roman Reigns does an interview backstage where he says he doesn’t believe in dead man, and he’s not worried about The Undertaker’s mind games.

    – Sheamus and Cesaro are cutting a promo backstage when Gallows and Anderson attack from behind. Gallows and Anderson beat them down with ladders before leaving.

    – Neville def. Jack Gallagher: Gallagher gets some offense in early on and hits his signature headstand in the corner. Gallagher hits some European uppercuts before Neville comes back with a release German suplex. Gallagher comes back and throws Neville outside, then takes out his umbrella. Gallagher jumps off the top turnbuckle with his unfolded umbrella for a splash on Neville on the floor. Back in the ring, Neville comes back with some strikes and hits a superplex off the top. Neville rolls into the Rings Of Saturn for the win via submission.

    – After the match, Austin Aries appears on the big screen for a “special post-match announcement.” Austin Aries brings up that Neville said earlier no one believes Aries can beat him at ‘Mania. Aries has the New Day as his guests, and asks them who they think will win the Cruiserweight Title match at WrestleMania. The New Day agrees Aries will win, and they start dancing.

    – Roman Reigns comes out to the ring and grabs the mic. He mentions he won the 2015 Royal Rumble match in Philadelphia, which gets him booed by the crowd. Reigns say this is his biggest WrestleMania yet, because he’s going to put The Undertaker down. Reigns says this is his time now, and this is his yard now. The Undertaker’s gong hits next, and we see the graveyard on the big screen. The Undertaker’s voice comes over and he says the ring is his yard, and the graveyard is doing to be Roman’s yard. Undertaker reveals a tombstone with Reigns’ name on it, and says he carved out a special section of hell for Reigns. The lights go out and the gong sound again. The lights come on and Taker is in the ring. He says at WrestleMania, Reigns will rest in peace. The Undertaker raises his arms and we hear thunder. The lights go out again, and we go to commercial.

    – Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass – No Contest: Enzo and Cass cut a babyface promo before the match, but they get cut off by Gallows and Anderson’s entrance. Before the match, Cesaro and Sheamus attack Gallows and Anderson from behind with a ladder. Cesaro and Sheamus hit the ring and start brawling with Enzo and Cass. Gallows and Anderson finally get back up and hit the ring, and they grab the ladder. The Tag Champions lay out everyone with the ladder. Enzo climbs up on the top rope, but Anderson and Gallows ram the ladder into Enzo and send him falling down to the floor.

    – WWE airs a video about Maya Angelou.

    – Kevin Owens does an interview backstage where he says he’s going to end Sami Zayn’s career tonight, and in six days he’s going to take the U.S. Title from Jericho and it will be Jericho’s “ultimate demise.”

    – Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens: This one is a no DQ match where if Zayn wins he enters the battle royal at WrestleMania, and if he loses he’s not going to WrestleMania. Things go out to ringside early on, where Zayn attempts to springboard off of the fan barricade but Owens pushes him from behind into the crowd. Owens and Zayn brawl through the crowd over to the announce table. Owens slams Zayn’s head into the announce table, but Zayn is able to fight him off. Zayn climbs on the stage and hits a swanton bomb onto Owens on the floor. The fight goes back to ringside, where Owens DDTs Zany onto the ring steps. Owens follows up with a senton splash off the ring steps onto Zayn on the floor. Owens hits some running clotheslines in the corner and attempts a cannonball, but Zayn hops up and hits a t-bone suplex on Owens. Owens and Zayn roll outside, and Zayn hits his trademark running tornado DDT on the floor, jumping through the corner ropes. Back in the ring, Owens comes back with a superkick and a frogsplash off the top for a two count. Owens goes for a Pop Up Powerbomb, but Zayn escapes and hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Samoa Joe comes down the ramp next and grabs a chair, then Jericho’s music hits. Jericho comes out from the crow and drops Joe from behin, then lays into him with the chair at ringside. Owens ducks through the ropes and punches Jericho, and Zayn takes advantage of the distraction to roll up Owens from behind for the win. Jericho runs in the ring with the chair and starts teeing off on Owens. Owens retreats up the ramp with Joe as the crowd chants for Y2J. Jericho gets on the mic and tells Owens that for betraying him, he just made the list, and Jericho officially adds Owens’ name. Owens screams at Jericho from the ramp before heading backstage.

    – Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are out next, and Heyman starts his promo on Lesnar’s behalf. Heyman says Lesnar will derail Goldberg’s “ultimate thrill ride” Sunday at WrestleMania. Heyman says his client wants and needs the WWE Universal Title, so he’s going to take it from Goldberg. Heyman mentions that Sting tried to accomplish what Goldberg did, but where Sting fell short Goldberg got the job done. Heyman says Goldberg is the man, but Lesnar is the beast, and he’s going to chew up and spit out Goldberg at WrestleMania. Heyman says Goldberg can’t survive the F-5, and that brings out Goldberg. Goldberg gets on the mic on the stage and says people didn’t come here to listen to them talk, they came here to see them fight. Goldberg drops the mic and his Universal Title belt and head towards the ring. Lesnar rolls out to ringside and charges at Goldberg, but Goldberg drops him with a spear. Goldberg climbs in the ring an holds his Universal Title up for the crowd while Lesnar and Heyman retreat up the ramp.

  • Rumored Names For SmackDown Women’s Title Match At WrestleMania 33

    Rumored Names For SmackDown Women’s Title Match At WrestleMania 33

    WWE appears to be planning for some surprise participants in the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is trying to keep the participants a secret aside from Mickie James, Carmella, Natalya, and Becky Lynch. Naomi may be cleared to return by WrestleMania on 4/2 in her hometown, and other rumored participants include Summer Rae, Tamina, and Eva Marie.

    It’s still possible that WWE may bring back some names from the past to take part in the WrestleMania match. Some names reportedly being considered include Kelly Kelly, Victoria and Lita.

    WrestleMania 33 takes place on April 2nd at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

  • WWE SmackDown Now Beating RAW In House Show Attendance

    WWE SmackDown Now Beating RAW In House Show Attendance

    It appears that WWE SmackDown events are now drawing more fans than RAW events. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, in February SmackDown averaged 4,980 fans at house shows while RAW averaged 3,450 fans at house shows.

    RAW had reportedly been beating SmackDown in attendance up until the end of 2016, but John Cena’s return is being credited for turning things around for the blue brand in the first months of this year.

    Monday night RAW and Tuesday night SmackDown each average approximately 8,600 fans per show. This time last year, RAW averaged 9,800 fans per show, and SmackDown averaged 7,300.

  • Updated Card For NXT Takeover: Orlando On 4/1

    Updated Card For NXT Takeover: Orlando On 4/1

    On Wednesday night’s edition of NXT it was announced that Aleister Black will be making his debut against Andrade “Cien” Almas at Takeover: Orlando. Vignettes promoting Black’s debut have been airing on NXT for the last two weeks.

    NXT Takeover: Orlando airs on the WWE Network on April 1st, the night before WrestleMania, at 8 PM ET from the Amway Center in Orlando, FL. Below the current card for the show:

    NXT Championship
    – Bobby Roode © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

    NXT Women’s Championship
    – Asuka © vs. Ember Moon

    NXT Tag Team Championship Triple Threat
    – Authors Of Pain © vs. #DIY vs. The Revival

    – Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Aleister Black

  • Jerry Lawler “Absolutely” Expects To See His Memphis Wrestling Library Added To WWE Network

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cahVBaaawI

    Jerry “The King” Lawler recently provided an update on the possibility of his Memphis wrestling tape library being added to the WWE Network soon. On the latest edition of Lawler’s Dinner With The King podcast, The King confirmed that he does own the Memphis tape library and feels confident that WWE will purchase it.

    “Yes, I do own [the Memphis library],” Lawler said. “There’s just some controversy about USWA footage, which would have been from ’88 to ’96. But all the other, from ’77 to ’88 and from ’96 on, yeah, I own that footage.”

    When asked about the WWE Network, Lawler says he “absolutely, without a doubt” expects to see the Memphis footage added to the streaming service.

    You can listen to Lawler’s podcast on iTunes.

  • WrestleMania 33 Set Under Construction At Camping World Stadium (Photos)

    WrestleMania 33 Set Under Construction At Camping World Stadium (Photos)

    WrestleMania 33 goes down on April 2nd, and construction has already begun on the set for WWE’s biggest pay-per-view of the year. Twitter user @TownNation tweeted photos this week from the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL showing workers preparing the arena for WrestleMania.

    The photos show a crew working on a structure high into the sky that may be the canopy that will cover the ring.

    https://twitter.com/TownNation/status/844606842231832582
    https://twitter.com/TownNation/status/844663683569664005

    Last time WrestleMania was at the Camping World Stadium (then known as the Citrus Bowl) in 2008, WWE built an eight-pillar canopy over the ring with four big screens on it.

    Photos have also begun circulating online of WrestleMania 33 promotional material all over the city of Orlando.

    WrestleMania 33 takes place on Sunday, April 2nd at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL at 7 PM ET with live coverage all day on SEScoops.com and the SEScoops app.

  • WWE Bad Blood Returning After 13-Year Hiatus

    WWE Bad Blood Returning After 13-Year Hiatus

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3j6m5heNX4

    At this week’s SmackDown in Connecticut, WWE announced to the live crowd that their next show in the state will be the official return of their Bad Blood pay-per-view.

    The first Bad Blood pay-per-view took place in 1997 and featured the first-ever Hell In A Cell match, between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. The event returned in 2003 for a Hell In A Cell match between Triple H and Kevin Nash, and again in 2004 for one between Triple H and Shawn Michaels. It was a RAW-exclusive show back in ’03 and ’04.

    Bad Blood 2017 will take place on July 9th at the XL Center in Hartford, CT, and will be the first pay-per-view at the XL Center since No Way Out in 2000.