SEScoops

Category: NXT

  • Stephanie McMahon At NXT Tonight, Rhodes/Eden Buy Home, Paige Praises Diva, More

    – Stephanie McMahon is scheduled to be at NXT Takeover: “Unstoppable” tonight.

    – Ahead of tonight’s NXT special, WWE has released new t-shirts for Hideo Itami, Enzo Amore and Big Cass and Becky Lynch, which says “Lass Licker.”

    – Real-life WWE couple Stardust (Cody Rhodes) and ring announcer Eden recently bought a house together in Texas and noted that they plan to move into the home this week.

    – On social media, WWE Diva Paige praised third generation wrestler Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Tully Blanchard. Paige tweeted the following:

    https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/600954592533344256

  • Former Bellator MMA Fighter Signs Deal With WWE

    20-year old Albanian MMA fighter Gzim Selmani has signed a deal with WWE this week.

    Selmani, who has fought with professional level MMA companies such as Bellator MMA, which has clearance on Spike TV, and BAMMA, which is another respected pro MMA organization, signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment.

    Selmani was at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida this week and is reportedly scheduled to officially move to Orlando in the near future.

    As a pro MMA fighter, Selmani’s current record is 4-2.

  • Final Card For Tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable

    WWE NXT presents TakeOver: Unstoppable tonight live on the WWE Network. Previous TakeOver events have set the bar incredibly high and there’s no doubt we’re in for another can’t miss show.

    The action kicks off at 7:30pm EST with the TakeOver: Unstoppable Pre-Show, hosted by Corey Graves, Renee Young and Byron Saxton.

    Following Triple H’s announcement that Hideo Itami has been pulled from the #1 Contender’ match due to his shoulder injury, here is the updated lineup:

    NXT Championship Match
    Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sami Zayn

    NXT Women’s Championship Match
    Sasha Banks (c) vs. Becky Lynch

    NXT Tag Team Championship Match
    Blake & Murphy (c) vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady

    NXT Championship No. 1 Contender’s Match
    Finn Bálor vs. Tyler Breeze

    Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno

    Bayley & Charlotte vs. Emma & Dana Brooke

  • Triple H Conference Call Notes: Sami Zayn Injury Update, NXT Coaching Staff

    Triple H noted during today’s conference call that Sami Zayn has been cleared and will face Kevin Owens on Wednesday night at the NXT Takeover: “Unstoppable” live special on the WWE Network.

    “The Game” also noted during the call that Matt Bloom has officially been promoted to head coach, which we had already pretty much known, and that Sara Amato will be the number two trainer as assistant coach, as well as working as an agent and producer.

  • Tommy Dreamer On NXT & TNA On The Same Night, Jericho/Barrett, HHH On Kevin Owens

    – In addition to the previously reported Chris Jericho vs. Finn Balor match scheduled for an upcoming WWE live event, Jericho is also officially booked to work a match against “King” Bad News Barrett at the San Diego live event on Friday, July 31st.

    – Tommy Dreamer, who worked the NXT live events in Philadelphia and Albany this weekend, losing to Baron Corbin at both shows, acknowledged the fact that he appeared on a NXT show and a TNA show (Impact Wrestling) on the same night this past Friday. Dreamer compared it to Rick Rude appearing on RAW and Nitro on the same night during the Monday Night Wars. He tweeted the following:

    – Speaking of the NXT Albany event on Saturday night, Triple H tweeted the following photo of Kevin Owens making his entrance for the triple-threat main event with Finn Balor and Tyler Breeze, which he went on to win via pinfall.

  • Finn Balor’s Entrance Messed Up At NXT Albany Show (Video), Balor Comments, More

    – Finn Balor’s ring entrance was screwed up during the NXT live event in Albany, New York on Saturday night. NXT had a few issues with the sound system throughout the show, but the most glaring issue came during Balor’s entrance for the main event. Tyler Breeze came out first to his usual ring music and had to stall in the ring for several minutes while the NXT production crew was presumably working on fixing whatever the issue was. Unfortunately, they didn’t fix it fast enough, so Balor ended up coming out to no music. By the time he hit the ring and was posing in the corners, his music finally played. Kevin Owens would follow as the third competitor in the triple-threat main event, and by that point, the audio issues had been cleared up.

    Balor tweeted the following about his entrance mix-up on Saturday, and re-tweeted the following video of the entrance itself.

    https://twitter.com/mrskimboto/status/599787866055663617

    – NXT Diva Bayley’s boyfriend Aaron Solow posted the following audition video for the new season of WWE Tough Enough. In the video, Solow addresses the fact that he’s dating Bayley in real life.

  • Brie Bella Not Injured, Sami Zayn Trademark, Jason Albert Proud Of NXT Crew

    – Brie Bella ended up working the WWE live event in Atlantic City on Saturday night, so apparently whatever injury she suffered during the Friday show wasn’t that bad, or she wasn’t injured at all and it was simply part of the match.

    – WWE filed a trademark for former NXT Champion Sami Zayn back on May 12th.

    – The new NXT head trainer Jason Albert tweeted the following message about NXT’s three live events outside of Florida this weekend. WWE ran two NXT events in Philadelphia and one in Albany, New York this weekend.

  • Triple H To Host NXT Conference Call, NXT Takeover: Unstoppable News & Notes, More

    – Triple H will be hosting a conference call on Tuesday morning to promote Wednesday’s NXT Takeover: Unstoppable live special on the WWE Network.

    – Speaking of Wednesday’s “Unstoppable” special, the pre-show is scheduled to begin on the WWE Network at 7:30pm EST. The hosts of the pre-show will be Renee Young, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton. There is no post-show scheduled at this point.

    – Tommy Dreamer announced that The Young Bucks and Rhyno will be appearing on his next “House Of Hardcore” event, which is scheduled for Saturday, July 18th in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

  • Jesse Sorensen On What Led To His TNA Release, If He Wants To Join NXT & More

    Former TNA star Jesse Sorensen recently appeared as a guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Podcast to talk about how he parted ways with TNA and if he has interest in joining NXT.

    Below are some highlights from the interview:

    On whether there were legitimate hard feelings with Zema Ion: “It was up and down. The thing that fired me up and wanted to wrestle again was TNA used my story of breaking my neck to get Zema over, which was cool. Owen Hart did it with Stone Cold, so it happens, but I hadn’t talked to anybody from TNA about that or anything. I was like, ‘oh I’ll watch TNA,’ and I turned it on and watched that and was like, ‘Oh, wrestling is gonna get a bit real when I come back.’ I didn’t talk to him for probably six months after I broke my neck. Him and I got on the phone and talked for about an hour and squashed everything. I think we both kinda put each other in each other’s shoes. From my situation, I thought I was just sitting at home with a broken neck and this dude just didn’t call me, and the way I thought of it is if I did that to him, I would be calling everyday. He felt so bad that he didn’t know what to say, so that was why I never heard from him. So we squashed it and we’re cool now.”

    On what happened in between that time that eventually led to his TNA release: “I did learn a lot from [the backstage position], but I always wanted to wrestle and be a wrestler. I remember sending videos like every week to Bruce Prichard and Dixie [Carter] of me wrestling, but it never seemed to go anywhere. I don’t know on there end if creative just didn’t have something planned for me or what the deal was. But I was appreciative of my time there, doing the production thing, and although I did want to come back and wrestle there, I guess it wasn’t what they had planned at the time. I guess they were doing budget cuts and my position wasn’t really needed.”

    On whether it’s a desire of his to be on NXT: “Actually, I watch NXT every week and that product has gotten huge. It’s its own WWE, pretty much. The people they have there are really talented wrestlers. They have a lot of names that came from Ring of Honor and the indy scene that are really cool, and I see a lot of guys on there that I know I can have good matches with. And, if that opportunity presents itself, that would be something I’d definitely consider. I know there was a point were people were kinda wondering who the next stars are gonna be, but NXT stepped up and showed them that they’re gonna be just fine.”

    Check out the complete blog at BlogTalkRadio.com.

  • Bayley Talks Training With Sara Del Rey, Working With Charlotte, Her WWE Legacy

    NXT Diva Bayley recently spoke with AfterBuzz TV about a number of topics. Below are some highlights from the interview.

    On how it’s different working with Sara Del Rey compared to the male NXT trainers and how Del Rey has changed the women’s division down at NXT: “I’ve trained with men before I got here and now training with Sara…Sara understand the women’s side of you too…It’s always been kind of a dream to train with Sara Del Rey. Even before I got here, before Sara was the trainer, I remember emailing her, wanting to move actually to Philly, wanting to move to wherever she was to train under her wing and learn from her. It’s really cool that now I do.”

    On getting started in pro wrestling: “There was this whole promotion by my house, it was called Big Time Wrestling in Newark, California. I started going to their shows when I was 13…I would go to every single one of them. I knew once I turned 18, because that was their age limit, I wanted to start training with them. So I showed up and the promoter [Jason Styles] because I actually got close to him throughout the years, the promoter actually sat down with me and called my mom and asked her if it was okay, ‘So I have Bayley here with me and she wants to start training. Does she have your permission?’ And she’s like, ‘Well, it scares me but she’s right there in front of you and I’m going to support her the rest of the way.’ I was the only girl in the class, I started with four other guys, but within a month they were gone. So I had been the only girl for such a long time.”

    On what she wants her WWE legacy to be: “This started as I was a kid, since I started training. The thing I want out of it is for women’s wrestling to be looked at in a whole other way. I want us to be able to main event pay per views. I want people to buy tickets to come see us. I want them to buy a ticket and say, ‘I want to see Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky, Bayley, everybody.’ I want them to buy tickets to see us. But the main thing, and I think all of us here, we just want the girls in the crowd, the kids to feel motivated or inspired to do whatever they want to do. It doesn’t have to be wrestling.

    On why she enjoys working with Charlotte: “I mean, Charlotte is amazing. Who wouldn’t want to team up with Charlotte? I’ve been in so many battles with her, so I know what it’s like to be against her, because I’ve failed so many times. One day I will beat her. I know what a great competitor she is…she’s a Flair. We have a really good chemistry together, no matter if we’re against each other in the ring or if we’re teaming up together, we just have a really good bond.”

    Check out the complete interview at AfterBuzzTV.com.

  • Samoa Joe’s WWE Status & Potential Debut Date Revealed

    Fans who have been eagerly anticipating the WWE debut of longtime wrestling veteran Samoa Joe may not have to wait much longer. (more…)

  • Reason Why Chris Jericho vs. Finn Balor Is Happening, Hideo Itami Update

    Chris Jericho will be wrestling Finn Balor at the upcoming WWE live event in Tokyo, Japan on July 4th.

    Originally, Jericho requested to work with Hideo Itami because he wanted to work a match that would be special to the Japanese fans. When Itami went down with an injury, Jericho then asked to work with Balor.

    Speaking of Itami, despite his injury, he is still scheduled to head to Japan at the end of May to do some promotional work for WWE during their tour.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • Updated Card For NXT Takeover: Unstoppable (New Matches)

    NXT has added a tag-team match with Bayley and Charlotte against Emma and Dana Brooke to next Wednesday’s NXT Takeover: Unstoppable event, which airs live on the WWE Network from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.

    As of this writing, despite their respective injuries, both Hideo Itami and Sami Zayn are still advertised for their originally scheduled matches on the show.

    With that said, below is a look at the latest official lineup for NXT Takeover: Unstoppable:

    NXT Championship Match
    – Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sami Zayn

    NXT Women’s Championship Match
    – Sasha Banks (c) vs. Becky Lynch

    NXT Tag Team Championship Match
    – Blake and Murphy (c) vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass

    Triple Threat #1 Contenders Match
    – Hideo Itami vs. Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze

    – Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno

    – Emma and Dana Brooke vs. Bayley and Charlotte

    Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com for the best NXT Takeover: Unstoppable live results coverage on the we

  • NXT Preview: Owens & Zayn Faceoff, Balor & Itami Teaming Up

    The following is a preview for this week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network:

    – NXT Champion Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn square off to hype their match at Takeover: Unstoppable.

    – Finn Balor and Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze and Adam Rose

    – NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. KC Cassidy

    – Baron Corbin vs. Solomon Crowe

    – Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella

    – Bayley vs. Jessie McKay

  • Backstage Update On Sami Zayn’s Status For NXT Takeover

    As of Saturday’s NXT live event in Orlando, WWE is still advertising a NXT Championship match between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for their upcoming NXT Takeover event on May 20th.

    WWE is not expected to officially announce Zayn’s status for the show until after next Wednesday’s NXT episode.

    Zayn, as noted earlier this week, suffered an injury while hyping the crowd up prior to his match with John Cena at Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.

  • Kevin Owens On NXT Deserving Praise, Learning At WWE Performance Center

    NXT Champion Kevin Owens recently spoke with Vaughn Johnson of Philly.com to promote the upcoming NXT live event in Philadelphia. Below are some highlights from the interview.

    On returning to Philly: “To come with NXT as NXT champion is cool because the last time I was in Philly it was with Ring of Honor and I knew it was the last time I’d be coming to Philly with Ring of Honor. In my head I didn’t know when I’d be back in Philly. Now to do it with WWE, with NXT and as the champion, it’s a pretty good feeling.”

    On learning at the WWE Performance Center: “Everything I knew, and I think I knew quite bit, it was still nothing compared to the wealth of knowledge that NXT and the Performance Center allows you to have access to. If you think you know everything when you get there you’re in for a big surprise. I didn’t know everything, I knew I didn’t know everything and I was so excited to get to learn from all of those people.”

    On the NXT brand being praised: “I think [the praise is] well-deserved. Everybody works so hard. I see it everyday. That’s the thing. People watch NXT once a week on the [WWE] Network, and they see one hour of the work we put in. I see every single day the people that are there working hard. The praise that we get is not surprising because we work really hard. We’re going to put on a show Thursday with the knowledge that Friday we have to be better because we have to live up to what we do Thursday and we know we’re going to kick ass on Thursday, so Friday we have to make that even better and we will.”

    Check out the complete interview at Philly.com.

  • Bruno Sammartino Documentary Preview, The Rock’s Cousin Makes NXT Debut (Photo)

    – WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino’s new documentary, “Bruno Sammartino: La Mia Mama,” premieres on Sunday, May 10th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The documentary, which focuses on his childhood and his family, airs on the CBS affiliate KDKA from 4-6pm and will be replayed from 8-10pm on the local CW station. Sammartino talks about the documentary in a new interview, which is available now at CBSLocal.com.

    – The Rock’s cousin, Lina, made her official in-ring debut at a NXT Diva at the NXT live event in Jacksonville, Florida on Thursday night. Lina worked a six-Divas tag-match on the show. Below is a photo of her at the event.

  • Adam Rose Reacts To E:60 Documentary, Says It Was Hard For Him To Watch

    WWE Superstar Adam Rose recently spoke with the folks at Sporting News to discuss this week’s ESPN “E:60: Behind The Curtain” documentary, which profiled Rose, Xavier Woods, Tyler Breeze and other up-and-coming NXT talents.

    “I thought it was really well done,” Rose said of the documentary. “I think it was a really good look at all the different aspects of first what it takes to become a WWE superstar and secondly a personal look at what the guys go through to get there.”

    Additionally, Rose admitted that it was hard for him to watch. “It makes you a little vulnerable when you see things that personal coming out,” he said. “For my wife, I think it was hard because she has been with me through the entire journey. She’s been with me through all the ups and all the downs. It’s hard for her to watch me go through all of that. And then to see it all pay off at the end of the day, I think we all share in the reward of that.”

    Check out the complete interview at SportingNews.com.

  • Sami Zayn Out For Months?, WWE Forced To Change SmackDown & NXT Takeover Main Event

    Former NXT Champion Sami Zayn’s match with WWE U.S. Champion John Cena was laid out this week to include Bret Hart’s involvement, as we all saw on RAW on Monday night, however things didn’t quite go as planned from there.

    The plan was for Zayn to lose but in the process, get over as a big star in front of an audience in Montreal that WWE was sure he would get a huge reaction.

    What’s interesting is that this was not apparently going to be Zayn’s official full-time debut on the main WWE roster, even though he was originally scheduled to wrestle on SmackDown again this week. Due to the injury he sustained at RAW, SmackDown this week had to be re-written.

    While there’s still no definitive word regarding the specifics of the injury, reports from those close to the situation have described it as “serious.”

    There was talk in the locker room on Tuesday night at the SmackDown television tapings that Zayn would be out of action for a few months. Others claimed WWE had not yet received a report from the doctor yet, so it could be anything.

    If Zayn is going to be out of action for a few months, WWE would have to cancel his match against NXT Champion Kevin Owens at the NXT Takeover: Unstoppable special on May 20th.

    With Zayn out of the picture, if that turns out to be the case, the leading candidates for his replacement in the match with Owens would likely be Finn Balor or Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze in a number one contender match, with the winner of that buot earning the shot at Owens.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • WWE Executive Leaves, Developmental Happy Without Bill DeMott, NXT Ticket Sales

    – WWE’s Chief Digital Officer Lou Schwartz, who has been with the company since October 2014, left WWE a few months ago. Schwartz is now working as the Chief Strategy Officer for over-the-top company “WorldNow.”

    – NXT live events scheduled for June 11th in Columbus, Ohio and June 13th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are sold out with approximately 1,500 seats for each show. The 5/14 show in Philadelphia is close to being sold out, and the 5/15 show in Philly has just under 800 seats remaining. Philadelphia is being set up to hold about 2,000 seats per show. The 5/16 NXT event in Albany, New York has only a few hundred seats still available.

    – Backstage morale at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida is said to be much higher ever since former head trainer Bill DeMott resigned. New head trainer Jason Albert has apparently been a pleasure to work with thus far.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • Rose, Graves, Breeze & Woods Comment On "E:60: Behind The Curtain" Documentary

    Several of the wrestlers who were featured in last night’s “ESPN E:60: Behind The Curtain” documentary on NXT posted their reactions to the special on social media shortly after it concluded.

    Below are comments from Adam Rose, Corey Graves, Tyler Breeze and Xavier Woods, all of whom were featured prominently in the special.

    For those who missed the documentary last night, you can read a detailed recap by clicking here.

  • Sasha Banks On Standing Out With Her New Look, Her Cousin Snoop Dogg, More

    NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks recently spoke with the Miami Herald about her current run in WWE. Below are some highlights from the interview.

    On standing out with her look: “I’ve always known that I wanted to be different. I wanted to stand out so my gear is very elaborate, very blingy, very loud, because I want people to notice me, want to look like me. The Boss necklace, the ring. I want everything big.”

    On winning the title in a Fatal 4 Way at Takeover in February: “Just to be a part of that, it’s really indescribable. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, but I never really saw it happening. So to be in the moment and see it happening was just crazy. I’ve never had so many tweets in my life. Afterward, people were tweeting ‘That match was Match of the Night.’ ‘You women are [going above and beyond].’”

    On her cousin Snoop Dogg: “I hope one day he can make my entrance music. All my family on that side are big WWE fans, huge.”

    Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.

  • Latest On Samoa Joe Coming To WWE, Jim Ross Working With WWE Again

    As noted, Samoa Joe and Jim Ross were both in Orlando, Florida for last week’s NXT television tapings in Winter Park, Florida.

    While in Florida, Joe met with Triple H about coming into the company. While the working plan is that Joe will be starting with NXT in June, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that June is not official just yet. One of the reasons could be the multiple pre-signing tests that talents have to go through.

    Jim Ross also spoke with the company about working on various projects together while he was there.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • WWE Releases Sixth Wrestler From NXT This Weekend

    As reported on Friday evening, WWE has released five developmental talents from NXT this weekend — Dustin Mueller, Leyvonna Zakari, Laszlo Vandracsek, C. Denzel Freeman and Tony Briggs.

    There now a sixth release to report – Courtney Freeman, who had yet to wrestle a match at a live event. Freeman was an amateur wrestler from the University of The Cumberlands and was signed by WWE right out of college.

  • Triple H Posts Photo Of 11 New WWE Performance Center Recruits, WM31 Veteran Career Panel

    – Executives from WWE, Hire Heroes USA, San Francisco 49ers and Orion International answered questions and provided career advice to veterans at the WrestleMania 31 Veteran Career Panel & Networking Event last month. WWE recently posted the following video of the event.

    – Triple H recently tweeted out a photo of himself with the 11 new WWE Performance Center recruits, touting the fact that they are from seven different countries. “The Game” tweeted the following: