If you’ve been watching SmackDown Live for the past few weeks, it would have been virtually impossible to miss the astounding series of matches between Andrade and Rey Mysterio. The two have faced off a number of times now on SmackDown, and every matchup has left people talking about the quality of their encounters.
Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com recently commented on what WWE could have planned for Andrade in the near future. He claims that “While not a sure thing, the direction looks to be that Mysterio and Andrade end their program as a babyface tag team, with Andrade getting the rub from Mysterio as part of strengthening of the tag team division.”
It has been speculated that Sin Cara may also join Andrade and Rey Mysterio. The three would form a new Latino stable. Sin Cara has been training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, ahead of his expected return from injury.
Meltzer also noted that WWE is interested in positioning Andrade as a top Hispanic babyface for the company. With Mysterio having returned, the plan appears to be to use his star power to leverage Andrade into that position. This is despite recent reports over Andrade allegedly warning other Hispanic talent about WWE.
There is no word at this point in time on where Zelina Vega may fit into this group. The addition of Zelina Vega as Andrade’s manager helped to elevate him during his time in NXT to championship status.
What do you think of this rumored stable? Do you think they will be a force to contend with? Is Andrade the next big babyface for WWE?
In recent months, there have been several rumors that Smackdown Superstar, Andrade, is not happy with how WWE has used him. The 29-year-old signed with the promotion in 2015. Aside from participating in the 2018 Royal Rumble match, Andrade has never wrestled on a WWE main roster PPV.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Andrade has warned other luchadors from signing with the promotion.
“In the case of Rush, he’s very close with Andrade, who pretty much warned him and Dragon Lee about going to WWE,” wrote Dave Meltzer in reference to Rush’s signing with ROH.
“Andrade’s advice was that WWE wasn’t what it was cracked up to being,” Meltzer continued.
Andrade On Smackdown
Andrade has played a more important role on Smackdown as of late. He defeated Rey Mysterio in single’s action this week. Andrade is scheduled to face Rey Mysterio again this week in a best 2-of-3 falls match on Tuesday.
Tuesday will be the 3rd single’s match between Andrade and Mysterio in WWE. Mysterio beat Andrade in the first match back in November. Andrade and Samoa Joe defeated Mustafa Ali and Mysterio two weeks ago on Smackdown as well.
Recently, WWE shortened Andrade’s name from Andrade “Cien” Almas to just Andrade.
Tama Tonga Wishes Finn Balor For His Match With Brock Lesnar
This week’s episode of Raw saw a big change in the Universal Championship match for Royal Rumble as Braun Strowman was removed from the bout by Mr. McMahon and Finn Balor later won a couple of matches to earn that spot.
After the show, Balor’s former Bullet Club associate Tama Tonga took on his Twitter and wished the Inaugural Universal Champion for his upcoming match, saying that everyone in New Japan believes in him:
As we noted before, reports suggest that WWE decided to remove Braun Strowman from this bout because they didn’t want Strowman to lose to Lesnar once again after his loss at Crown Jewel.
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas On His Victory
This week’s episode of Smackdown Live saw Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas continuing his epic series with Rey Mysterio and facing the former World Champion in a one on one match.
The match was won by the former NXT Champion after Zelina Vega interfered in the bout and Almas hit a Hammer Lock DDT to Mysterio.
He was interviewed backstage after his victory and in the interview as seen below, Andrade claims that Rey Mysterio is the past while he is the future of the company:
It appears that the former NXT Champion Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas is the latest star to undergo a name change after moving to the main roster.
The former Champion was only referred by his first name Andrade during this week’s episode of SmackDown Live and as seen in the screenshot below; his name has been edited on his WWE.com profile as well:
So far there is no news on why WWE changed his name but it’s likely another case of Vince McMahon believing that the longer name is not a fit for TV. We’ll keep you posted on any update.
Humberto Carrillo Reacts To His Debut
We noted before how NXT Star Humberto Carrillo made his 205 Live debut during this week’s episode of the show and answered Buddy Murphy’s open challenge.
While Carrillo was not able to beat the Cruiserweight Champion during his debut, he put on an impressive match and his debut performance was praised by the fans.
Humberto was interviewed backstage after the show where it was revealed that he will be joining the roster of the Cruiserweight Exclusive show full time. You can check out his reaction to this news and his debut in the video below:
In recent weeks, Almas has shared the ring against the likes of Daniel Bryan and WWE Champion AJ Styles. Per a report from Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, Almas has impressed WWE officials backstage.
The report indicates that Vince McMahon is included in those that Almas has impressed. Sapp says that Andrade was initially put in a spot where he wasn’t supposed to shine. After some impressive performances inside the ring, however, Andrade has garnered some trust from WWE officials.
When Almas was initially called up from NXT, he wasn’t used much on TV. Since his rise, he has become a regular on SmackDown Live and is constantly sharing the ring with the company’s best.
This could mean good things for Almas’ future, especially after falling into the good graces of McMahon. Perhaps a championship opportunity could be coming soon for the former NXT Champ.
Discussion: What do you think about Almas reportedly impressing WWE officials? Let us know in the comments section below!
There were two dark matches on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live and they both consisted former Champions from NXT who have recently debuted on the main roster.
The first match saw the former NXT Champion Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas continuing his rivalry with Sin Cara as he defeated the Masked Star in a one on one match before the show started.
Though there was no clear winner in the second dark match of the night and the match between Sanity and The New Day which took place after cameras stopped rolling ended in a double disqualification after both the teams collided in the ring.
It’s worth mentioning here that this wasn’t the first time these two teams met during the night as Sanity interrupted New Day’s pancake eating contest and attacked the former Tag Champs during the broadcast of the Blue Branded show.
After the event, the trio lead by Eric Young was interviewed by Renee Young. She asked them about the reason behind the attack and replying to it Eric said that they don’t need to explain anything:
So far the trio does not have any announced match for Extreme Rules but it appears that WWE is building towards Sanity vs. New Day bout for the upcoming PPV.
However, the same cannot be said about Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and it’s hard to say whether WWE will have him compete in a match at the upcoming show or not.
Tonight (Tues. May 15, 2018) former NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas will make his main roster debut on SmackDown Live. Almas’ manager, Zelina Vega, took to Twitter and noted she has Almas “focused and ready” for his debut tonight:
Former RAW Tag Team Champion, and son of WWE referee John Cone, Nicholas has been uploading WWE-related videos on YouTube.
He first created the channel a few years ago for video gaming, but now he has been posting WWE-related content including showing off his WWE t-shirt and looking at some wrestling figures he has. Check it out here:
Nicholas was selected as Braun Strowman’s WrestleMania 34 tag team partner out of the audience. They took on The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) for the RAW Tag Team Championships and wound up winning the titles.
The following night on RAW, Nicholas and Strowman relinquished the titles due to a scheduling conflict with Nicholas (he’s still in school).
– We are about a month removed from the WWE Superstar Shakeup, and former WWE NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas has still yet to make his SmackDown Live debut.
Since it was announced that the sports entertainment company decided to call him up from the third WWE brand to the blue brand, WWE has aired video packages of his business manager, Zelina Vaga hyping the debut of the former champion.
It seems like it’s just a matter of time before he steps in between the blue ropes to make his in-ring SmackDown debut. Andrade sent out the following to tease his debut:
— “EL IDOLO” ANDRADE (@AndradeElIdolo) May 8, 2018
– It’s already been announced that Rusev will take on Daniel Bryan in a Money in the Bank qualifying match on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Baltimore, MD at the Royal Farms Arena on the USA Network.
The winner of this match will compete in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at the upcoming pay-per-view event that takes place next month. To promote the match, the former United States champion sent out the following tweet:
Cody Rhodes has made his name outside of the company since leaving the promotion but his career started in WWE so the talks about a possible return never gets old.
A fan recently again asked Cody if he will ever return to the company he started in, and replying to it, the former ROH World Champion said that it’s unlikely:
Unlikely. They have a huge place in my heart. They raised me.
But my music is my music and I play it how I want, I am literally incapable of taking direction. https://t.co/1OKmD58nVN
Cody Rhodes left WWE back in May 2016 and he has since become a big indie star. Since leaving the company, he has joined the Bullet Club, won the ROH World Championship among various other titles and is also set to host a wrestling event of his own later this year.
More Hype For Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas
WWE announced a major addition to the SmackDown Roster 2 weeks ago by announcing the debut of the former NXT Champion Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas.
After the announcement, the company started building the anticipation for his debut. They started airing ‘coming soon’ vignettes of the former Champion on SmackDown this week which was followed by this tweet from Zelina Vega:
Andrade made his NXT debut back in January 2016 and he won the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in November last year. He dropped the belt to Aleister Black earlier this month and is expected to make his SmackDown Live debut soon.
WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. McIntyre first discussed his recovery from the recent bicep injury that kept him sidelined for several months:
“I got injured on November 18th [NXT TakeOver:War Games], I was wrapping my arm around my injury [torn bicep], and I started to Google the fastest amount of time someone has healed with this type of injury, it said four months, so I set out to get healed in four months by WrestleMania weekend, and I have been working very hard to come back.”
The match McIntyre injured himself in was against Andrade “Cien” Almas, who defeated the Scotsman to become the new NXT Champion. McIntyre offered his impressions of the now-former NXT Champion, who was recently called-up to SmackDown Live:
“I think he is very, very good. I think the pairing with Zelina Vega was perfect. It was just something that was missing. He is very good in the ring; great high-flyer, but he never really got to show it until he wrestled against myself. He can do everything.
“There was just something that was missing until the pairing with Zelina Vega, and I think he is going to shine in every area of his game. There is no shame in losing against him. He hits very hard. I hit very hard. He has some cool moves up his sleeve.
“In the end he dropped me on my head, tore my bicep and won the title and put me out on four months. On that night, he was the better man.”
McIntyre was then asked who he would like to sign with WWE from the Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) promotion:
“There are a few of the guys that are already part of the NXT brand. Wolfgang is already over here. Guys like Killian Dain, Nikki Cross, Noam Dar, who is part of the Cruiserweight division. There are a few guys from ICW that I would like for them to come over here to show what they can do.
“Jack Jester and Sha Samuels perhaps. BT Gunn is another guy that I would like to see. He is amazing in the ring. We have so many. The entire Insane Championship Wrestling roster is very talented.”
Finally, McIntyre offered his thoughts on ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey now becoming a WWE Superstar:
“It is a huge deal. She is such a gigantic name on the mainstream. She is box office in sports and in the Octagon. I didn’t watch UFC much, but whenever she had a fight I would want to watch. She is such an attraction. She is such a big fan of our business, and isn’t just here for a payday. She genuinely loves this. I remember seeing her at a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show in Los Angeles, when she was in the crowd.
“Her rival was on next for a UFC pay per view while our show was going on, and myself along with Trevor Lee were having a match in the crowd. A photographer took a picture of us fighting in the crowd with her in the background watching our match instead of watching the UFC fight. That is how much she loves this business, and we saw her in the crowd all the time. She is not taking this lightly, and is doing a great job.
“This is not an easy job to get. It took me 17 years to get to the point where I am at. It took her two months to get to the point where she is at and I see her looking more and more comfortable in the ring as well.”
Some more names have been announced for SmackDown’s roster during WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up tonight. The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) were shown in a video promo during the show and they announced that they will be joining the SmackDown roster. Sheamus & Cesaro are still set to battle Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt for the vacant RAW Tag Team Championships at WWE Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th.
A brief video promo was shown featuring Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega. The former NXT Champion and his business associate will also be joining the SmackDown roster.
WWE aired a vignette during SmackDown that said that chaos was coming to SmackDown. This was in reference to SAnitY joining the blue brand. It was not confirmed at the time whether all members of SAnitY would be joining the main roster.
Right before the main event of SmackDown, WWE showed the following image that featured Eric Young, Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe. SAnitY’s Nikki Cross was not in the image and it does not appear that she will joining the main roster at this time.
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, General Manager Daniel Bryan fired both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for their assault on Commissioner Shane McMahon last week. After Bryan fired them Owens and Zayn brutally beat down Bryan as well, causing the former WWE World Heavyweight Champ to be carted out on a stretcher. To sell Bryan firing Owens and Zayn, WWE has removed their profiles from WWE.com
– Speaking of Owens and Zayn, Sami recently took to Twitter to comment on he and Owens beating down Bryan on SmackDown. Zayn sarcastically welcomed Bryan back (referring to Bryan recently being cleared to compete inside the ring again) and said he hopes he can live with his decision to fire the two best wrestlers alive:
Welcome back @WWEDanielBryan. Hope you can live with yourself after firing two of the best wrestlers alive (and two guys you've known for 14 years).
That is, once you're discharged from the hospital.
– NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas recently made an appearance on the Mexican morning show Sale El Sol. The interview is in Spanish but if you’d like to give it a view you can check it out here:
The current NXT champion, Andrade “Cien” Almas, revealed to a Spanish-language media outlet, Milenio.com, that not long ago, he wanted out of his WWE contract.
“When I came to WWE I thought about going back because of the lack of opportunities and criticism but I talked to Alberto Del Rio and he told me to stand up for my chance and I kept fighting for what I wanted.”
Almas’ comments are consistent with statements Del Rio made last September:
“I talked to my good friend Manny [Andrade Almas] and poor guy, he wants to come back. Unfortunately, when you go into that company you have to abide by their rules. That’s just how it is,” Del Rios said.
Alberto Del Rio and WWE
Alberto Del Rio currently spends his time wrestling in Mexico and for Impact Wrestling. There have been rumors of contract discussions between Del Rios and WWE, however.
Two weeks ago, it was reported Del Rios was at WWE headquarters to shoot footage for a Rey Mysterio project. It was also reported he met with Vince McMahon, who has always been a fan of his.
WWE will air a significant episode of NXT tonight. In the main event, Johnny Gargano takes on Andrade “Cien” Almas in a rematch from their well-reviewed match from Takeover: Philadelphia.
Almas’ NXT championship will be on the line but so will Gargano’s career.
Confirmed Matches for NXT Tonight
NXT Championship Match Career vs. Title Andrade “Cien” Almas (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
Gargano was goaded into putting his career on the line in order to receive one more title shot against Almas.
Now if Gargano doesn’t when the title, he has to leave the brand.
Nikki Cross (Sanity) vs. Vanessa Borne
Borne is a former Arizona Cardinals cheerleader and participated in the Mae Young Classic. She signed with WWE in April of 2016.
Cross has been at the top of NXT women’s division for some time. If this was MMA, you would say she is playing the gatekeeper role here for NXT women’s division. If Borne wins she graduates to contender status. If she doesn’t then she doesn’t.
No Way Jose vs. the Velveteen Dream
The Dream is coming off a big win over Kassius Ohno at Takeover: Philadelphia. A single’s victory on a Takeover show is generally a sign a wrestler is moving into contender status in NXT.
As for No Way Jose, he hasn’t been seen on television since early January when he defeated Cesar Bonani.
The winner of this match probably moves into a bigger storyline leading into Takeover: New Orleans. The loser most likely does not.
Thanks to Mark Montalvo for texting us the following WWE NXT TV spoilers from tonight’s tapings at Center Stage in Atlanta:
January 10th Episode:
* Shayna Baszler makes her in-ring debut and defeats Dakota Kai. Baszler wins in under 1 minute via referee stoppage. Baszler attacks Kai after the match but NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon makes the save
* Lars Sullivan defeated Lio Rush. Lars called out Killian Dain after the match and then turned his attention back to Rush. Lars destroyed Rush
* We see The Undisputed Era attacking SAnitY backstage where a steel cage structure is seen. Adam Cole and NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish come to the ring to taunt SAnitY. Nikki Cross runs out for revenge but she’s held back. Aleister Black and Roderick Strong come out for a face off. NXT General Manager William Regal makes Black and Strong vs. Fish and O’Reilly for the titles
* NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era retains over Roderick Strong and Aleister Black. Adam Cole provided a distraction and brawled with Black through the crowd. They came back to the ring and Black was beat down after. Regal came out and announced Black vs. Cole in an Extreme Rules match for Takeover in Philadelphia
* NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Kassius Ohno in a non-title match
January 17th Episode:
* Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss defeated Heavy Machinery
* Lacey Evans defeated Aliyah. After the match, Evans called out Nikki Cross to the ring. Shayna Baszler came out, stares Evans down and ended up beating on Aliyah. NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon made the save and issued a challenge to Baszler. NXT General Manager William Regal confirmed Baszler vs. Moon for Takeover in Philadelphia
* Roderick Strong defeated Fabian Aichner. After the match, Strong issued a challenge to Lars Sullivan
* Johnny Gargano comes out for a promo in the ring. He will face The Velveteen Dream next week with the winner facing NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas at Takeover in Philadelphia
* The Authors of Pain defeated The Street Profits to become the new #1 contenders for a title shot from NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish at Takeover in Philadelphia
* The Authors of Pain squashed two enhancement talents by attacking them before the bell. The match never started
* Johnny Gargano defeated The Velveteen Dream in an insanely good match. If Gargano lost, Dream would have received the NXT Title shot from Andrade “Cien” Almas at Takeover in Philadelphia. Gargano and Dream both got good pops throughout. Andrade and Zelina Vega came out to face off with Almas. End of tapings
Johnny Gargano became the new #1 contender to WWE NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas by winning a Fatal 4 Way on the final NXT episode of 2018. The other match participants were Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain and Aleister Black. Sullivan and Black remain undefeated in singles action.
Gargano will get his first big title shot at NXT “Takeover: Philly” during Royal Rumble weekend on January 27th. No other matches have been announced for Takeover as of this writing.
Above is video from tonight’s Fatal 4 Way and below is WWE’s announcement on Gargano vs. Almas:
NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Johnny Gargano
Johnny Gargano has gone from a struggling singles career to one victory away from becoming the NXT Champion. Johnny Wrestling’s NXT underdog story will reach its dramatic climax on Saturday, Jan. 27, at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia when he challenges Andrade “Cien” Almas for the NXT Championship.
Considering Gargano represents NXT’s version of Rocky Balboa, a true underdog who has come out of nowhere to find himself in a huge title showdown, there may not be a better city to host this matchup than Philadelphia, the city that was famously the backdrop for the “Rocky” movie franchise.
Gargano was never even supposed to be involved in the series of matches to determine Almas’ challenger in the first place. Yet, after learning of an injury to Velveteen Dream, General Manager William Regal inserted the talented Gargano into the fray. The former NXT Tag Team Champion — who had stumbled mightily since transitioning to singles competition — went on to defeat the highly acclaimed Kassius Ohno in a Qualifying Match before overcoming Killian Dain, Aleister Black and Lars Sullivan in a No. 1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match. That’s a Knockout Artist, two monsters and a previously undefeated Superstar, for those keeping count.
Before Gargano can claim the NXT Title, he must defeat the red-hot Almas, a Superstar who has similarly gone from a struggling singles career to the top of NXT. Almas’ career resurgence can be traced in part to the arrival of his business manager Zelina Vega, who has helped El Idolo focus and, at times, even offered a helping hand.
This title match won’t be the first time these two competitors have met, with Gargano coming out on the losing side in their previous two battles. However, both clashes included timely interference from Vega. Will Almas’ fiery manager make her presence felt in this title contest? And if so, can Gargano not only overcome the extremely dangerous Almas, but also Vega’s distractions to become the new NXT Champion?
See who prevails in this storied showodwn for the NXT Championship when Andrade “Cien” Almas and Johnny Gargano battle at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.
– Below is a new preview for tonight’s WWE 365 premiere on the WWE Network after Survivor Series goes off the air. As noted, the premiere episode will focus on Kevin Owens.
– WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin and WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz took to Twitter and wrote the following on their big champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series:
Every accolade is a trophy. Every title is a paycheck.
– Below is video of new WWE NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega talking to Kayla Braxton after the big win over Drew McIntyre at “Takeover: WarGames” last night. Vega says she told everyone what would happen with the new Almas, and now it’s time to celebrate.
– Below is video of Kayla interviewing The Velveteen Dream after his impressive loss to Aleister Black at Takeover. Dream is just happy that Black said his name at the end.
– As noted, Dustin Rhodes was among the Superstars shown in the crowd for Takeover last night. He tweeted the following on last night’s show, giving props to Triple H and the roster:
– Below is video of Lars Sullivan talking to Kayla Braxton after defeating Kassius Ohno in the opener of tonight’s WWE NXT “Takeover: WarGames” event in Houston. Lars says he feels pretty good considering Ohno hit him in the face about 50 times but he took it like a man. Lars told everyone from day 1 that he would be the man to mess with around here, the man to step through and tonight was only the beginning. Lars says tonight was his first Takeover, his first big test and he persevered and dominated – unequivocally, emphatically and categorically. Lars says he wants to send a message to the rest of the NXT locker room – if they want to step in his way, they will too be destroyed by his hands only.
– Stars shown in the crowd at tonight’s WarGames event were Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Mark Andrews, Wolfgang, Funaki, Finn Balor, Asuka, Kevin Owens (wearing a t-shirt for The Undisputed Era), Samoa Joe, Goldust (Dustin Rhodes) and WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson. As noted, Asuka ended up presenting the NXT Women’s Title to new champion Ember Moon.
– As noted, Takeover saw Drew McIntyre drop the NXT Title to Andrade “Cien” Almas in a surprising win. Triple H tweeted the following on Almas after the match:
Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Drew McIntyre to become the new WWE NXT Champion at tonight’s “Takeover: WarGames” event from the Toyota Center in Houston. The upset win saw interference from Zelina Vega several times.
This is Almas’ first title run with WWE. Drew just won the title back in August at NXT “Takeover: Brooklyn III” by defeating Bobby Roode.
Below are photos and videos from tonight’s big title change:
– Below is a new promo looking at the legacy of the WarGames match as we prepare for the return of the two-ring, three-team battle at WWE NXT “Takeover: WarGames” on Saturday, November 18th from the Toyota Center in Houston. The match will feature The Undisputed Era’s Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly vs. The Authors of Pain (Akam, Rezar) & Roderick Strong vs. SAnitY’s Killian Dain with NXT Tag Team Champions Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe. The video features comments from Goldust, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.
– Matches announced for next week’s NXT are Ember Moon vs. Mercedes Martinez plus tag team action with The Street Profits vs. Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss. Next week’s “Takeover: WarGames” go-home episode will also feature Andrade “Cien” Almas doing an in-ring face-off with NXT Champion Drew McIntyre.
– As noted, Takeover will feature Kassius Ohno vs. Lars Sullivan in singles action. Lars tweeted the following after the match was announced by NXT General Manager William Regal:
Thank you Mr. Regal. I can assure you Kassius will be the victim of a public dissection at Takeover. This will generate interest for future Takeover's. Everyone comes out a winner with this decision. ? https://t.co/wxUvNX1mDM
AJ Mendez Brooks (known in WWE as AJ Lee) filmed a new video that listed off things that irrationally scare her. The video was released by “Crazy Is My Superpower” publisher Penguin Random House. In the video, AJ stated that cats sitting on staircases, escalators and the wrath of shaman are things that irrationally frighten her.
Andrade “Cien” Almas Confronts Drew McIntyre At WWE Performance Center
WWE has released a new video of a confrontation between Drew McIntyre and Andrade “Cien” Almas. Drew McIntyre was working out at WWE’s Performance Center but was interrupted by Andrade “Cien” Almas. Almas informed McIntyre that he will see him next week and walked away.
Coming out of TakeOver: Orlando on Saturday night, WWE officials have plans to call several NXT Superstars to the main roster soon.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Andrade “Cien” Almas, Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger are set for call-ups to either RAW or SmackDown soon. Meltzer also speculated on The Revival coming up from NXT.
On a related note, it appears Elias Samson’s call up has been delayed or possibly nixed. Samson was believed to be headed to the main roster after recently losing a Loser Leaves NXT match to Kassius Ohno but Meltzer indicated that the call up may not be happening as soon as originally expected.
Next Wednesday’s NXT episode will feature Bobby Roode vs. Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade Almas vs. Roderick Strong in a Fatal 4 Way Elimination Match to crown a new #1 contender to NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
The winner of the Fatal 4 Way will get his championship shot at TakeOver: Orlando during Royal Rumble weekend.
Tonight’s NXT show saw the four Superstars win qualifying matches to advance to next week – Roode defeated Oney Lorcan, Strong defeated Elias Samson, Dillinger defeated Eric Young by DQ and Almas defeated No Way Jose. Here are post-match reactions from Almas and Strong:
– The opening segment for next Wednesday’s NXT episode will be new NXT Tag Team Champions DIY returning to Full Sail University as champions.
– There were complaints of offensive comments being directed at Andrade “Cien” Almas during Wednesday’s NXT tapings at Full Sail. At least one correspondent said the offensive chants were very quiet and not widespread, and another corredpondent did not hear them at all. It appears these two fans did hear the offensive comments:
– D-Von Dudley’s sons Terrence and Terrell are moving forward with their pro wrestling careers, seen in the video below from Conquer Pro Wrestling. D-Von tweeted about being proud of his sons, who are using the tag team name TNT.
