Austin Aries took to Twitter on Saturday night to address some rumors that had been spreading on the web about him.
There were reports online that Aries supposedly “no showed” this weekend’s NXT live events. Aries that this isn’t true, and that him not being on certain shows wasn’t unexpected. While he wasn’t in front of the crowd at this week’s NXT TV tapings, he was backstage for pre-tapes.
Aries may have been advertised locally for the events, but there have been many cases in the last year where WWE advertises names for events who aren’t booked for the shows.
The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion is scheduled to be back on the NXT live event circuit later this month for events in San Antonio, Robstown, and Houston
1) I was at NXT TV tapings on Wed. 2) I didn't "unexpectedly miss" or "no show" NXT Live Events this wknd. 3) I had a very nice swim today.
NXT was in Louisville, KY on Saturday night for their last live event before Tuesday’s WWE draft. After the show, Finn Balor teased fans that he may be a part of the draft to determine the RAW and SmackDown rosters.
The show was headlined by an 8-person tag match where the team of Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, American Alpha & Bayley defeated Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe, The Revival, Alexa Bliss. After the match, Balor grabbed the mic and asked the crowd if someone left a door open because he “feels a draft.” Balor also said that we’ll see everyone who performed in that match at WrestleMania events in the future.
– TM-61 defeated Mustafa Ali and Sean Maluta in the dark match before Thursday’s WWE Cruiserweight Classiv tapings at Full Sail.
– No word yet on why but Austin Aries was absent from Thursday’s NXT house show in Indianapolis. He was advertised to wrestle Hideo Itami but was replaced by Angelo Dawkins. Aries was also absent from Wednesday’s NXT TV tapings.
– Below is an interesting new promo from Enzo Amore, hyping the WWE Draft like only he can. Not only does Enzo name-drop Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, he predicts Rich Swann to win the WWE CWC.
WWE Games has announced that a special NXT edition of WWE 2K17 will be released on Tuesday, October 11th for only $99.99 .Here are full details:
2K to release collectible NXT Edition of WWE 2K17
NXT is about to step into the spotlight on the grandest virtual stage of them all.
On Thursday, 2K announced details regarding the upcoming release of the collectible NXT Edition of WWE 2K17. The limited edition version – of which only 50,000 copies will be made available worldwide – will shine a spotlight on NXT, the WWE global brand whose presence in WWE video games has grown substantially in recent years.
The NXT Edition of WWE 2K17 will offer grappling gamers a wide variety of exclusive features, from in-game enhancements to collectible WWE memorabilia.
In addition to the WWE 2K17 video game itself, the NXT Edition will include:
-The NXT Enhancement Pack, which includes three playable NXT Superstars (Shinsuke Nakamura, Nia Jax and Apollo Crews) as well as a 50-percent point bonus at NXT in WWE 2K17’s MyCareer mode;
– An exclusive Canvas 2 Canvas lithograph designed by WWE portrait artist Rob Schamberger and autographed by NXT Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura;
-An exclusive eight-inch “Demon” Finn Bálor collectible figurine;
– An exclusive Topps NXT TakeOver: London Mat Relics Card, which will feature one of the Superstars who competed that night as well as an authentic piece of the event’s ring canvas; and
– Access to all features available in the WWE 2K17 Pre-Order Bonus, including the availability of Goldberg as a playable character.
2K will present these exclusive items in specially designed NXT packaging to house the NXT Edition of WWE 2K17. This creative touch echoes 2K’s recent reveal of the official WWE 2K17 and the announcement of Brock Lesnar as the game’s featured WWE Superstar.
Triple H recently spoke at-length about NXT in an interview published by ESPN today. Triple H oversees the NXT brand, and says it’s hard to imagine that just a few years ago NXT was just a concept, and now it’s something “so much more” than that. The Game talked about the importance of NXT not just being a recreation of RAW or SmackDown.
“To me, our industry is kind of like music. There are all different kinds of genres in music and with Raw and SmackDown you are trying to hit the most mainstream level of enjoyment of the product that you can, sort of like in pop music,” Triple H said. “NXT is a bit more of a style of music. It’s a bit more intimate, it’s a bit more designed to hit our hardest core fans and give them something that they will enjoy. To me, at the end of the day, that’s the core of what we do.
“But it’s still understanding that Raw and SmackDown are completely different where you are trying to hit the biggest audience possible,” he continued. “I’m excited that people like NXT so much, obviously, but I’m excited that we have that variety. If it was all the same, I don’t know that the interest level would be the same and that’s part of the magic of what [NXT] is. It’s different. One is not better, they are different.”
The former multi-time World Heavyweight Champion also talked about how the upcoming brand split and draft on the 19th will change NXT. Triple H says NXT isn’t doomed when talent leaves for the RAW or SmackDown rosters, because they make new characters.
“It’s always fresh, it’s always different, it always feels like there is something new going on to me,” HHH said of NXT. “With NXT being different, it complements Raw and SmackDown. You have the opportunity to see these guys come in and make a name for themselves on a bigger platform. They can grow themselves while helping to create NXT’s brand. Then, if you’re following NXT, you’re ahead of the curve when they come to Raw and SmackDown. You know everything about them and their back stories. It’s like being a fan of the band before they hit it big. You have that claim to fame. And to our most passionate fan base that’s an exciting vibe that we have.”
HHH also theorized that the reason why WWE’s social media numbers are strong is because their fans like to be head of the curve and be the first to know new things about their programming.
You can read The Game’s entire interview with ESPN here.
– Cruiserweight Classic competitors Kota Ibushi and Sean Maluta worked last night’s NXT TV tapings for the 8/3 and 8/10 episodes. Ibushi faced Murphy for the 8/3 episode while Maluta faced Hideo Itami for the 8/10 episode. That will also be Itami’s return to NXT TV.
Below are full WWE NXT TV spoilers from Wednesday’s tapings with the final episodes before Takeover:
7/27:
* Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Blake
* William Regal announces Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT Champion Samoa Joe for Takeover
* Billie Kay defeated Santana Garrett
* TM-61 defeated Adrian Nails and Rob Ryzin
* No Way Jose defeated Steve Cutler and cut a promo on Austin Aries after
* Kota Ibushi defeated Murphy
* Samoa Joe cuts a promo and isn’t happy about Takeover. He has words with Regal and then Nakamura comes out and taunts him before leaving Joe confused
8/3 Episode:
* Hideo Itami defeated Sean Maluta
* Backstage segment with Bayley and Asuka
* Asuka defeated Aliyah. Bayley watched from ringside and made the save for Aliyah after
* Bobby Roode comes out and cuts a babyface promo but quickly turns on fans. He says he is a superstar and will soon have the NXT Arena filled with VP’s and businessmen, not losers like now
* The Revival defeated TM-61. Gargano and Ciampa taunted The Revival after the match and hit a double team move on Dash, then celebrate with The Revival’s titles
* Mojo Rawley vs. Chris Atkins ended when Samoa Joe ran out and destroyed both men. Joe cut a promo on Nakamura and was attacked by Mojo. Joe tapped him out to end the episode
8/10 Episode:
* William Regal hosts a contract signing with Bayley and Asuka, ending in a staredown
* The Authors of Pain defeated Nails and Ryzin. American Alpha attacked The Authors after
* Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Angelo Dawkins. After the match, Bobby Roode confronted Almas and revealed they will wrestle at Takeover
* Billie Kay defeated Liv Morgan
* Gargano and Ciampa defeated Tucker Knight and Patrick Clark
8/17 Episode:
* Hideo Itami defeated Mustafa Ali
* Carmella, Liv Morgan and Nikki Glencross defeated Daria, Mandy Rose and Alexa Bliss
* Samoa Joe defeated Mojo Rawley. Nakamura makes the save after and officials prevent a big brawl. Nakamura taunts Joe and leaves. The episode ends after Joe attacks security
On Friday night WWE taped the next 3 weeks of NXT shows. Here are the results:
– Tye Dillinger defeated an enhancement talent in a dark match.
Airing July 6th:
– Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss. Nia Jax came out and stared Bayley down after the match.
– Hype Bros. and Blake & Murphy goes to a no contest when Rhyno shows up and takes everyone out
– The Revival retained the NXT Tag Team Championships over American Alpha by winning a Best of 3 Falls match.
Airing July 13th:
– Samoa Joe cuts a promo and says whoever wins between Balor and Nakamura is the top contender. Rhyno interrupts and challenges him, but Joe walks away.
– Austin Aries defeats Patrick Clark. No Way Jose attacks Aries after the match.
– Andrade “Cien” Almas defeats Angelo Dawkins
– Asuka defeated Eva Marie
– Samoa Joe defeated Rhyno
Airing July 20th:
– The Authors of Pain defeated American Alpha. AA demanded a match after being attacked by the AOP.
– Bayley defeated Nia Jax.
– Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Finn Balor. The two embraced after the match and fans chanted “Please don’t go” presumably at Balor.
It was announced on this week’s episode of NXT that the highly anticipated Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura dream match will take place on the July 13th episode of NXT.
It was expected that NXT would hold off on this match until Takeover: Brooklyn, especially after Triple H strongly hinted this on Twitter. It’s also worth noting that the July 13th episode of NXT takes place just days before the WWE Draft. Jus sayin’.
WWE will tape the next 3 weeks of NXT television on Friday from Full Sail, which will include the July 13th episode and Balor vs. Nakamura.
Four of NXT’s top competitors have been added to Sunday’s WWE live event from Orlando, Florida, a show Roman Reigns will miss due to his 30-day suspension for violating the company’s talent wellness policy.
Orlando’s Amway Center now is advertising a bonus NXT tag team match that is a pretty damn good consolation prize: NXT Champion Samoa Joe and Austin Aries will team up against Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Other top stars advertised to appear include Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Alberto Del Rio, Sasha Banks, Eva Marie and “Members of The Club.”
The NXT tag match comes just weeks before the WWE Draft, when up to a dozen NXT performers are rumored to be joining RAW and SmackDown. While Samoa Joe is still NXT champion and Nakamura/Balor appear to be on a collision course for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, you’d be hard pressed to find anybody in NXT more qualified to be drafted than these four.
Former TNA Champion Bobby Roode just made a surprise appearance at the Download Festival in the UK. Roode was met with a huge reaction from the live crwod and defeated Angelo Dawkins in his NXT in-ring debut.
Roode been rumored to be joining NXT since his appearance at Takeover: Dallas during WrestleMania weekend. He made a brief cameo at this week’s NXT Takeover: The End event and is now officially part of NXT’s active roster (at least until next month’s WWE Draft).
The Revival defeated American Alpha to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions at NXT Takeover: The End tonight. This is the second reign for Dash and Dawson.
TNA World Champion Bobby Roode backstage at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, site of tonight’s NXT Takeover: The End event. The following photo of Roode arriving at the show has been circulating on social media since earlier today:
Roode’s first and only WWE TV appearance took place at Takeover: Dallas, when he was shown ringside during the event. During yesterday’s NXT media conference call, Triple H said that WWE is negotiating with Roode and Eric Young and looks forward to working with both men.
Join us here later tonight for our Live Coverage of NXT Takeover: The End.
Ring of Honor star Moose is in the Orlando area, setting off speculation that he could be attending tonight’s NXT Takeover: The End event.
Moose is one of two top ROH wrestlers that WWE is reportedly interested in signing this summer. It’s believed that he’s still under contract with ROH, but a tweet he sent out this morning is curious to say the least:
Later in the day, WWE Superstar Apollo Crews noted on social media that Moose picked up him up from the airport in Orlando. Moose then followed up with this photo of them together:
Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries says he doesn’t know if he’ll appear at next year’s WrestleMania 33, but it is a goal of his. Aries spoke at-length about his career to Brian Fritz for Sporting News, and revealed that even after his in-ring days are over, he hopes to fill a behind-the-scenes role in WWE.
“I’m going to work toward it,” Aries said of possibly appearing at WrestleMania 33. “I’m going to do the best I can with everything they put in front of me. 33 is one of my favorite numbers and it’d be pretty fitting if WrestleMania 33 right here in Florida was the one that I broke through at. I still have enough left in the tank so if I don’t make it to next year’s, there’s the year after and the year after that and I don’t plan on going anywhere for a long time in the wrestling industry.”
Aries arrived in WWE about 15 years after he started his career, and the landscape of the wrestling world has changed greatly since his early days. He recalls several of his contemporaries from his training camp landing high-paying jobs with the now-defunct WCW and other companies, and says his goal was simply to have a job in the wrestling business. Aries says he was okay with the possibility of never arriving in WWE as an active wrestler because of his numerous accomplishments outside of the company, but that he always wanted to test himself on the biggest stage in wrestling.
“When I started back in 2000, there were more entities than just WWE. A lot of guys who were coming out of my camp at that time like Lenny Lane were working for WCW making very good money,” he recalled. “There were a few different places where you could go and make a living. When I started my journey, my goal at the beginning was I want to do this for my job. When people ask me what I do for a living, I want to say I’m a professional wrestler. Beyond that, I didn’t have any parameters of what I could or I couldn’t do. Everything is timing, everything is the right fit at the right time. To WWE and myself, it just never quite gelled for one reason or another but I continued to ply my trade and get to do a lot of great things at a lot of different places.
Aries says he’s very grateful for the opportunity to work for WWE now, and also promoted his match against Shinsuke Nakamura on tonight’s NXT Takeover. You can read his entire interview here.
The End is upon us. Tonight on the WWE Network, NXT presents Takeover: The End live from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. In the main event of the evening, NXT Champion Samoa Joe and Finn Balor will settle their score once and for all. After headlining the past two Takeover specials, Joe and Balor will square off inside a steel cage with NXT’s richest prize on the line.
Here’s the final card for tonight’s show:
NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Finn Bálor (Steel Cage Match)
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax
NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha vs. The Revival
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries
Tye Dillinger vs. The debuting Andrade “Cien” Almas
Join us here later tonight for complete results of NXT Takeover: The End.
After speculation that we might see “the end” of NXT’s Takeover events, Triple H confirmed on Monday that Takeover: Brooklyn is in fact scheduled for Summerslam weekend. The event will once again take place from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, with tickets going on sale this Saturday.
After some confusion at Ticketmaster caused concern for the future of the event, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn is now officially confirmed for SummerSlam weekend. Triple H & the official NXT account both Tweeted that the event will take place on Saturday, August 20th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Back in May, Ticketmaster removed the event listing from the website. According to F4WOnline.com, this had caused concern among the NXT roster about the company’s plans for them this summer.
NXT General Manager William Regal has announced the debuting Andrade “Cien” Almas will face Tye Dillinger at next week’s NXT “Takeover: The End” event. This comes after Dillinger begged Regal for a shot on social media.
I love when I can accommodate talented competitors' requests. @WWEDillinger, you will compete at #NXTTakeOver against, @AndradeCienWWE!
The former “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” made their NXT debuts last night, now known as “TM61.”
Tom Phillips and Corey Graves introduce TM61 in the video below and it’s revealed that their names are Shane Thorne and Nick Miller, which is where the “TM” comes from. The “61” stands for the Australian calling code.
WWE has announced that NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha will face The Revival in a “Takeover: Dallas” rematch on June 8th at the next Takeover event from Full Sail University.
As of this writing, the only other match announced is Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe in a Cage Match for the NXT Title.
NXT General Manager William Regal announced on Tuesday morning that Samoa Joe’s upcoming NXT Championship defense against Finn Balor at Takeover will be a steel cage match. The next NXT Takeover is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8th from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
NXT newcomer No Way Jose recently spoke with Byron Saxton’s for WWE.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
When asked to describe himself, Jose said he’s one-man fiesta. When he was younger, he used to have a volatile temper. “The way I see it, there ain’t no way you’re wiping this smile off of my face. That’s what I’m all about now: a nickname to remind me of where I came from, along with a smile and carefree attitude to show where we can end up.”
Having traveled the world, he’s experienced many different cultures. One thing that’s stood out to him as a constant theme no matter the location is dance. He explains that dance and several other influences contribute to his unique in-ring sstyle.
“From the samba in Brazil, merengue and bachata in the Dominican Republic, to polka in Germany and even the can-can in France, dance is universal,” he said. “I’m trying to create my own from the lessons I’ve learned, and it seems like dance-fighting is becoming a thing. It’s like capoeira, but not as smooth. Incorporate that with some of the highlights of my childhood sport, baseball, which is huge in the Dominican Republic, and it all just fits naturally for me in the ring.”
When asked which NXT wrestlers he’s looking forward to getting in the ring with, Jose named NXT Champion Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura and Manny Andrade.
Lana made her NXT in-ring debut on Friday night from Largo, Florida. WWE’s Ravishing Russian teamed up with Mandy Rose in a tag match against Carmella and Daria. Despite the fact that Carmella and Daria picked up the win, fans in attendance noted that Lana looked good in the ring and was very over with the crowd.
Just last month, Lana spoke to WWE.com about getting in the ring and revealed that she has great aspirations to be remembered as one of WWE’s greatest female competitors in history.
“I know I can fight. I know I have kicks that can destroy people. Just because I haven’t gotten in the ring in my career, that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of crushing people …”
“I will be the greatest woman to ever enter WWE, and I will leave the greatest legacy that WWE has ever seen.”
Here are some highlights from Lana’s NXT debut:
My first promo with @RusevBUL was at #NXTLargo & my first @WWENXT match was there tonight! #Thankyou for being fierce I had so much fun ??
