Another Halloween has come and gone, and for the Superstars of WWE, they once again have had the chance to dress up for the season. The Superstars are hardly strangers to portraying colorful characters on TV every single week and that has been the case with this year’s Halloween costumes.
On X, WWE showcased some of the Superstars in this year’s costumes. Otis and Akira Tozawa made quite the pair of Dudley Boyz while Maxxine Dupri portrayed the ‘Duchess of Dudleyville’ Stacey Kiebler. R-Truth dressed as his childhood icon John Cena while Chelsea Green and Piper Niven did their take on WWE GMs Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce.
Mia Yim channeled her inner Lita while Zelina Vega represented her LWO ally Rey Mysterio from his WCW days post-unmasking. Byron Saxton gave a royal replication of King Booker and, Indi Hartwell learned how to be Chelsea Green from the self-prescribed Hot Mess herself.
Halloween is always a fun time in wrestling, with WWE leaning into the spooky season with the recent NXT Halloween Havoc Premium Live Event. Stay tuned to SEScoops for all the latest from WWE as the company prepares for major changes, including Raw’s move to Netflix, in the coming months.
Je’Von Evans is proving to be one to watch at NXT live events and has been impressing officials according to Fightful Select. He is expected to be a regular on NXT TV moving forward. Evans, who previously competed as Jay Malachi, featured in a backstage segment on the February 13, edition of the show. He signed with the company in November of 2023.
Praise for Byron Saxton
Byron Saxton has received praise for taking up Booker T’s role as part of the commentary team. Shortly before NXT Vengeance Day, Booker announced that a medical issue would keep him from that show and upcoming events. He is expected to return very soon.
Plans for the War Dogs
WWE NXT Tag Team Champions Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker have proven to be a hit with fans and with those backstage. There have been discussions about Corbin joining Breakker on the main roster now that Bron has signed with SmackDown. There are also talks about renaming the group to ‘Spear of Days.’
Not Taking WWE NXT Off Air
Earlier this month, the WWE NXT crowd were told to watch their language after heavy profanity was sent the way of Carmelo Hayes. Despite rumors suggesting last week’s NXT could have been taken off the air due to the chants, there was ‘no chance’ it would be taken off the air by the USA Network.
Edris Enofe Injury
It was previously reported by the Wrestling Observer that Edris Enofe suffered an injury on the February 6, WWE NXT. Fightful reports that Enofe is said to have suffered the injury about halfway through the tag team bout with Nathan Frazer and Axiom.
The Superstars of WWE have weighed in as to whether it’ll be the San Francisco 49ers or the Kansas City Chiefs who stand tall at Super Bowl LVIII.
The Big Game is mere hours away with excitement for the Super Bowl at a fever pitch. The match will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, which WWE fans will recognize as the host of SummerSlam 2021.
WWE Stars Give Their Picks for Super Bowl LVIII: 49ers or Chiefs?
Football fans have their picks for who’ll be winning Super Bowl LVIII, as do the WWE Superstars. In a recent video, the Superstars were asked for their predictions for the Big Game.
In the 49ers’ corner, the team has Jey Uso, who made it clear he’s red and gold ’til he’s dead and cold and threw in a YEET for good measure. San Francisco’s own ‘Dirty’ Dominik Mysterio is unsurprisingly backing the 49ers, as is the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble match winner Bayley and Alpha Academy’s Otis.
The Kansas City Chiefs have some considerable star power of their own, in addition to Taylor Swift. R-Truth is backing the Chiefs, while Baron Corbin was practically offended anyone thought he wouldn’t be rooting for the team. Carlito is also backing the 49ers, as is WWE SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis. WWE Raw announcer Samantha Irvin is also backing the 49ers.
Not everyone had a clear-cut favorite, as Byron Saxton said that Taylor Swift was going to win the game herself. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane simply laughed off the question. When the pair were asked the question in 2020 (which again featured the 49ers and the Chiefs), the Kabuki Warriors made it clear that they didn’t care.
There’s some WWE involvement happening right now at Super Bowl LVIII…
The recent changes in WWE’s commentary teams have left some commentators hanging. Michael Cole and Corey Graves were moved to SmackDown on FOX from Raw, with no announcement from the company where the blue brand’s commentators Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton would go.
In a photo uploaded on Instagram, Byron Saxton is seen still on his old job but on a different show. Saxton has been moved WWE Main Event, and in the photo, he’s seen with Dio Maddin and Mickie James on commentary.
It is unknown if Mickie James would stay as part of the commentary team for Main Event or not. Saxton has seemingly replaced Vic Joseph on the show.
Saxton had been part of SmackDown’s commentary team with Corey Graves and Tom Phillips. Phillips has been moved to 205 Live where he would be commentating with Aiden English, and to NXT UK with Nigel McGuinness.
The new commentary teams were announced on September 26 by the company. Jerry “The King” Lawler returned to WWE programming as an analyst for Raw and joined Vic Joseph and Dio Maddin on the commentary booth.
After Monday Night Raw went off the air, it was revealed that Byron Saxton will be heading to Smackdown tomorrow night. In the WWE Raw Fallout video below, Saxton stated that he was shocked to learn that he joining the Smackdown announce team. Saxton said that he was going to take this as a positive and that he is going to start wearing blue now. Byron also admitted that he probably won’t miss Corey Graves too much. It was also revealed in the video that David Otunga will now join the Raw announce team.
Here is the full list of every Superstar that changed brands during the Superstar Shake-Up on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw:
NXT announcer Rich Brennan has been promoted to the lead announcer position for WWE SmackDown. Now that WWE Tough Enough is over, it looks like Booker T, who was on hiatus due to the show, will be headed to Thursday nights in two weeks while Byron Saxton will permanently replace him on RAW.
WWE RAW on Monday nights will be called by Michael Cole, JBL and Saxton while SmackDown will feature Brennan, Jerry Lawler and Booker T.
Booker T and Rich Brennan recently had the following exchange on social media.
Congrats to @RichBrennanWWE, enjoy the ride! #SmackDown
– The Wolfpac, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman were all sitting ringside at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event on Saturday. The trio were shown on camera during the event.
– Also sitting in the audience on Saturday night was music mogul Rick Rubin.
– A pre-taped vignette aired during the show promoting the upcoming debut of a new NXT Diva. The vignette simply read, “Nia Jax coming soon.”
– WWE Tough Enough finalists Josh, ZZ, Amanda and Sara Lee were also sitting front row during the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special.
– The following is the complete NXT Takeover: Brooklyn “Kickoff Show” pre-show, which features a panel consisting of Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton and WWE Hall Of Famer Amy “Lita” Dumas.
– For those curious, Michael Cole and Byron Saxton did the commentary for this weekend’s WWE “Beast In The East” live WWE Network special from WWE Studios in Stamford, Connecticut for the show in Tokyo, Japan. The two were not live in Tokyo, but instead worked from the main WWE offices.
– While many were surprised to see Finn Balor come away with the NXT Championship after the “Beast In The East” special in Tokyo, it has actually been the plan for a while. With Kevin Owens moving up to the main roster full-time, it was always the plan for Owens to drop the title to Balor on the way out.
– WWE will air a new episode of “Culture Shock with Corey Graves” on the WWE Network this Wednesday at 4pm EST. The official description for the show reads as follows:
“Corey Graves dives into a world where Hardcore Bowling and Punk Rock music collide on this thrilling edition of Culture Shock!”
– WWE Network has a one-hour Money In The Bank “Kickoff Show” scheduled to begin at 7pm EST. next Sunday night. The “Kickoff Show” panel will consist of Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves and Booker T.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley is celebrating a milestone birthday today, as the Hardcore Legend turns 50 years old. Foley was born on June 7, 1965. Also celebrating birthdays today are Howard Finkel (65) and former TNA Knockout Taeler Hendrix (26).
– WWE recently posted the following video of Superstars and Divas playing with puppies.
– The hosts for the panel on Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber “Kickoff Show” on the WWE Network will be Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves and Booker T. The preview special is scheduled to begin on the WWE Network at 7pm EST., leading into the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, which begins at 8pm EST. and ends at 11pm EST.
– The official Entertainment Weekly website has a list of the best and worst performances by pro wrestlers in movies. Of course part-time WWE performer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tops the list. You can check out the full list at EW.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart will be the guest on the next edition of Jim Ross’ weekly “Ross Report” podcast. The show is scheduled to drop at PodcastOne.com on Tuesday, June 2nd at 9pm EST.
– 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.
– There is talk that a former WWE Diva Search contestant will be hosting the new season of the show when it returns on the WWE Network. The only former contestants of the show that are still affiliated with WWE in some form or fashion are Layla, Rosa Mendes, Maryse, Michelle McCool and Eve Torres.
– With Michael Cole off of television selling the attack by Brock Lesnar at last week’s RAW, the commentary on SmackDown this week was handled by Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler and Tom Phillips. Main Event commentary was done by Rich Brennan and JBL.
– WWE executive John Laurinaitis praised the efforts of Summer Rae and Emma on Twitter on Tuesday, putting over the match the two had in Dallas last night, which was taped for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event. Laurinaitis wrote the following:
I really enjoyed the competition ton Main Event between Emma vs Summer. #PeoplePower@WWE @EmmaWWE @RealSummerWWE if you get a chance, watch
– The WWE Corporate website has added the full video of the company’s 2015 Business Partner Summit, which took place during WrestleMania 31 weekend and featured Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, John Cena and others. You can check it out by clicking here.
– Although it was rumored that Vince McMahon sent Jerry Lawler out to “rescue” Byron Saxton from doing commentary by himself, which McMahon was reportedly not a fan of, PWInsider.com is reporting that Lawler was also scheduled to come out and join Saxton right before the Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena match began.
– WWE United States Champion John Cena posted the following on Twitter to promote his “U.S. Open Challenge” for tonight’s RAW.
– The new documentary on the life and career of The Iron Sheik is now available on Netflix.
– The Rock’s new film, “Furious 7,” opened to an estimated $56 million to $60 million on Friday night.
– Speaking of The Rock, the following is a segment from the new “Lip Sync Battle” show which features The Rock performing Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” against Jimmy Fallon on the premiere episode.
– Below is Byron Saxton’s full sit-down interview with Roman Reigns, which aired on this week’s SmackDown. During the interview, Reigns claims he would have beaten Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 if he had 30 more seconds, and promises to beat Seth Rollins again.
The following matches were taped for tonight’s post-WrestleMania 31 edition of WWE SmackDown this past Tuesday in Fresno, California.
– Randy Orton vs. Big Show
– Natalya vs. Naomi
– Roman Reigns interview with Byron Saxton
– The Miz vs. R-Truth
– Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
– Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus
For complete spoilers for tonight’s WWE SmackDown, click here.
– WWE nixed plans for the usual weekly RAW pre-show due to the regular RAW show being canceled. There is talk of doing a pre-show on the WWE Network for this week’s live edition of SmackDown, which airs on Thursday night.
– WWE broadcast team member Byron Saxton will be hosting the new “Best Of RAW And SmackDown 2014” DVD and Blu-ray, which is scheduled for a February 3rd release. The project is listed as a 7 hour and 20 minute run time across three discs, with 20 RAW and SmackDown matches, alternate commentary, seven interview and promo segments and interviews with fans giving their take on some of the biggest RAW and SmackDown moments of 2014.
– Below is the latest edition of Matt Hardy’s “Thoughts From The Throne” video blog. In the fifth installment of the video blog, Hardy gives his thoughts on Daniel Bryan and the Royal Rumble, going to the U.K., TNA and more.
– On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, which was both the Royal Rumble “go-home” show and the “RAW Reunion” special, the “expert panel” for this Sunday’s pay-per-view was announced. Hosting the official Royal Rumble “Kickoff Show” this Sunday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will be Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves and Booker T.
– Below is the video package WWE aired at the beginning of Monday’s RAW to honor the Martin Luther King Jr. day holiday.
As noted recently, WWE switched up their television announce teams, with RAW now featuring Michael Cole, JBL and Booker T, and SmackDown with Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Byron Saxton. For those curious, the announce team for WWE pay-per-views, for the time being, will still feature Cole, JBL and Lawler.
The feeling within WWE is that the move of Lawler to SmackDown is the beginning of WWE phasing him out of the picture, as the company is age-conscious when it comes to their on-camera broadcasters, particularly for their key programs.
The idea of phasing Lawler out has been floating around for a while, however when he suffered a heart attack, it was pretty much a lock that they couldn’t make the move just yet.
When WWE moved SmackDown from Friday’s to Thursday’s, which begins this week on the SyFy Network in North America, it seemed like the perfect excuse to finally pull the trigger and make the transition of having Lawler move from RAW to SmackDown.
– WWE broadcast team member Scott Stanford will be back on the official WWE RAW pre-show on the WWE Network tonight. Stanford will join the regular RAW pre-show hosts Byron Saxton and Alex Riley in place of the usual third member of the team, Booker T.
– Ryback posted the following tweet to follow up on the “firing” storyline from last Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.
– WWE Superstar Tensai, who as previously reported is likely being transitioned into a television announcer, worked last night’s set of WWE NXT television tapings. Tensai was announced as Jason Alberts. Also on commentary last night were William Regal, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips and Alex Riley. The commentary team for the first set of tapings included Phillips, Saxton and Regal. The second set featured Phillips, Riley and Alberts.
– Speaking of last night’s NXT television tapings, NFL star of the New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski was reportedly in attendance during the show.
– There are several notable WWE Superstar birthdays today. WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T celebrates his 49th birthday today. Booker was born on March 1, 1965. Also celebrating birthdays today are WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. (28), WWE Diva Emma (25) and former WCW star Scotty Riggs (43).
– WWE’s new main roster backstage interviewer Byron Saxton and new WWE Diva Emma have been added to the “meet and greet” for tonight’s NXT live event in Orlando, Florida. Ticket information is available at NXTTickets.TicketForce.com.
– The following are the Blu-ray extras for the upcoming WWE DVD release, “WCW: Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches Vol. 1,” which is scheduled for a March 11th release:
Thunderdome Match
Ric Flair & Sting vs. The Great Muta & Terry Funk
Special Guest Referee: Bruno Sammartino
Halloween Havoc • October 28, 1989
Jean Paul Levesque vs. Alex Wright
Starrcade • December 27, 1994
Dennis Rodman vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
Road Wild • August 14, 1999
Billy Kidman vs. Hulk Hogan
Special Guest Referee: Eric Bischoff
Slamboree • May 7, 2000
– The latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast, which features Dave Millican, the man who makes a lot of the WWE Championship belts, is now available. You can check it out at PodcastOne.com.
– As noted, WWE had Byron Saxton appear on RAW on Monday night as the latest backstage interviewer. Saxton had previously worked on the main roster for the ECW on SyFy shows, and has worked most recently as part of the NXT roster.
– WWE is advertising John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Batista vs. Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio for the WWE RAW show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on March 24th.
– The newest member of the WWE broadcast team, Byron Saxton, made his official main roster debut at Monday’s edition of RAW. Saxton served as a backstage interviewer in a segment with Sheamus.
– It was confirmed on Monday’s RAW that at the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Batista and Alberto Del Rio will be squaring off in one-on-one action. The match was made in a backstage segment that featured Triple H and Batista. With that match set, here’s the updated card for WWE Elimination Chamber:
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship:
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus Cesaro vs. Christian
Factions Collide: The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
The Animal Returns To Singles Action: Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio
– WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper will appear on Matty P’s Radio Happy Hour tonight at 8pm ET. For more information, visit Mattypradiohappyhour.com.
– NXT announcer Byron Saxton is now a Creative Assistant at NXT. He had been training as a wrestler and manager but will now be working behind the scenes. We’ll find out at tonight’s NXT tapings if he’s still announcing.
– WWE employee Gerald Brisco attended this past weekend’s college wrestling meet between the University of Minnesota and Oklahoma State University. While there, Brisco had his eyes on two of the top heavyweight wrestlers in the country, Tony Nelson (Minnesota) and Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma).
Nelson is a junior and the defending NCAA champion. WWE has been staying away from signing talent before they graduate, so he’s probably at least a year away from being signed. Gelogaev is from Moscow, Russia and was a favorite to win the NCAA tournament last year but could not compete due to injury.
– Byron Saxton is still affiliated with WWE after his profile was removed from the roster page of the official NXT Wrestling website last week. He has been moved to an administrative job as a Creative Assistant. WWE has said he that he will continue working as an announcer.
– AJ Lee is featured in USA Weekend (link) with a query regarding her age (she’s 25). The WWE Diva notes to the publication that the soap opera aspects of professional wrestling “is what got (her) emotionally involved” as a fan.
“I didn’t have a lot of opportunities growing up and I had a pretty hard childhood, and this company and wrestling in general was the one bright light in my life,” said Lee, who was 12-years-old when she told her mother she wanted to be a professional wrestler.
– Former WWE Superstar Super Crazy turns 39-years-old Monday while Riki Choshu turns 61.