WWE Monday Night Raw will arrive on Netflix tonight, with a stacked show lined up for Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome. Ahead of what will be a historic night in wrestling, the Superstars of WWE shared what they choose to binge on the streaming juggernaut.
Jey Uso: The ‘Main Event’ talent loves watching Anime, including Good Night World and Terminator Zero. For live-action, Jey enjoys the Japanese drama House of Ninjas as well as Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
Liv Morgan: The reigning Women’s World Champion will battle Rhea Ripley on tonight’s Raw in an intense title match. When not training, Liv has been binging Stranger Things and is “super excited” for the new season.
Finn Balor: The Irish star enjoys watching one of America’s most successful sitcoms, Seinfeld, during his downtime. The Judgment Day star shared that he watches the show every night.
Damian Priest: The former World Heavyweight Champion enjoys action movies of the 80s and 90s on Netflix. Most recently, Priest has been watching The Last Dragon and Mortal Kombat.
Chad Gable: A man of range, Chad Gable has been watching slasher movies and World War 2 history documentaries as of late. When with his three children, Gable dials it down and trades in Nazis and slashers for “puppy movies.”
The Miz: Suits is the A-Lister’s go-to show on Netflix. The former WWE Champion explained that he watched the entire series in one month as he was clearly won over by the series.
Dominik Mysterio: WWE’s resident treacherous son has been binging Van Helsing, but also has a softer side. Mysterio has recently been rewatching Shark Tale, as he’s “a bit of a child at heart.”
Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from tonight’s historic WWE Raw on Netflix, with breaking news and live results from the supershow in Los Angeles.
The Judgment Day’s reign as WWE World Tag Team Champions came to an end during the December 16 episode of WWE Raw when the War Raiders dethroned Finn Balor and JD McDonagh. The finish of the match saw Balor attempt to use a steel chair to intentionally get disqualified, only to be thwarted by Damian Priest. Shortly after, the War Raiders hit War Machine on Balor to secure the win and the titles.
The Judgment Day captured the titles back in June, but their reign drew criticism for a lack of title defenses. In their first 100 days as champions, Balor and McDonagh defended the titles only once on television, with their entire reign featuring just three televised title defenses.
For Erik and Ivar, this victory marks their first taste of championship gold in nearly five years. The pair last held the Raw Tag Team Championships in October 2019, a reign that ended in January 2020 when they lost the titles to Seth Rollins and Murphy. Both Erik and Ivar returned to action this year after injuries kept them sidelined for several months.
After a long road back, the War Raiders have reached the top of the Raw tag team division once again. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest updates on the War Raiders and their reign as WWE World Tag Team Champions.
The card for Saturday Night’s Main Event continued to grow during this week’s episode of Raw, with two huge title matches announced for the show. In our first match of Raw, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defeated Damage CTRL’s IYO SKY and Kairi Sane. After the match, Rhea Ripley arrived and attacked Rodriguez, but officials quick came out to break up this post-match brawl.
It was confirmed during Raw that IYO SKY will face Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event next week. SKY won a Battle Royal last month to earn the coveted title shot against the Judgment Day member.
No matter who leaves Saturday Night's Main Event as Women's World Champion…
Raw also saw Finn Balor questioned about attacking Damian Priest at Survivor Series: WarGames, and Finn said he’d take care of Priest since Dominik Mysterio couldn’t. Later in the night, GUNTHER defeated Mysterio, only to be attacked by Balor after the match, with Finn telling Mysterio to watch how things are done.
Backstage, Finn Balor asks Adam Pearce for his title match against Gunther. The Raw General Manager told Balor that they’ll face each other at Saturday Night’s Main Event with the title on the line.
? IT IS OFFICIAL:
GUNTHER will defend his WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP against FINN BALOR at Saturday Night's Main Event! ??#WWERawpic.twitter.com/0RgevN14b4
The 37th Saturday Night’s Main Event will take place on December 14, 2024, from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The show will be WWE’s first SNME televised event since July 2008.
The card for the show so far is as follows:
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens (Undisputed WWE Championship)
Liv Morgan (c) vs. Iyo Sky (WWE Women’s World Championship)
Gunther (c) vs. Finn Bálor (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
Finals Of the WWE Women’s United States Championship Tournament
Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from Saturday Night’s Main Event, including breaking news and live results from the show.
Damian Priest wasted no time in seeking revenge on Finn Balor after being screwed out of the World Heavyweight Title at Survivor Series: WarGames. During the Vancouver PLE, Balor attacked Priest during his match with GUNTHER, which proved pivotal in the Ring General retaining his title against the man he dethroned at SummerSlam. Despite the assist, GUNTHER made clear that he didn’t want the help and attacked Balor at ringside.
After Survivor Series: WarGames went off the air, Priest attacked Balor in the parking lot at the Rogers Arena. Although Priest got the jump on his former friend, The Judgment Day would soon arrive to attack Priest while Raw General Manager tried to re-establish order.
It’s clear that the issues between Priest and Balor are far from over, despite Priest’s victory over Finn at WWE Bad Blood in October of this year. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from this feud as the personal issues between the two are only going to get uglier from here.
WWE’s new regime has proven to be vastly different from the old guard, as Superstars have been allowed to make appearances in other promotions. This week, The Judgment Day made its presence felt in Ireland’s Over-The-Top Wrestling promotion, in a warm homecoming for Finn Balor and JD McDonagh.
In the main event of the tenth-anniversary show, the pair faced off against The Social Elite in the first all-Irish main event for the promotion. The match ended with McDonagh hitting a top-rope moonsault before Balor hit the Coup de Grace for the pinfall victory.
Balor and McDonagh have held the World Tag Team Championships since the June 24, 2024, edition of Monday Night Raw, where they won the gold from Awesome Truth. Since then, the duo have had just three title defenses, with only one playing out on TV.
WWE Working With Others
McDonagh and Balor’s role at OTT’s 10th-anniversary event highlights how WWE’s current regime is more willing to ‘play’ with others than before. The same night, TNA Wrestling hosted its Bound for Glory pay-per-view, which featured NXT’s Brinley Reece on the pre-show. During the event itself, NXT’s Wendy Choo teamed with Rosemary to challenge Spitfire for the TNA Knockouts World Tag Titles, but came up short.
This year has also seen WWE partner with Marigold, Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and other promotions. On January 1, 2025, Shinsuke Nakamura will return to NOAH to face Ulka Sasaki at the company’s The New Year event. Stay tuned to SEScoops for all the latest from WWE and their work with other promotions.
Damian Priest was a “Lone Wolf” at WWE Bad Blood, but he persevered like his hero Scott Hall against Finn Balor.
The deck was stacked against Priest as he took it to his nemesis in a singles fight that was third on the card at Bad Blood, as Carlito and JD McDonagh interfered but Damian channeled ‘The Bad Guy’ both visually and physically in the ring to pick up the win.
Priest sauntered out in Atlanta decked out in homage to ‘The Outsider’ as Priest’s jacket had the signature blood drips that Hall wore in his NWO days alongside Kevin Nash. Priest also had blood dripping down his pants as well as his boots, but he also was sure to honor Hall with in-ring arsenal. Priest hit a Razor’s Edge on Balor not just on the canvas, but on the apron in an effort to defeat his former friend.
Priest ultimately fended off the likes of McDonagh, Carlito and Finn’s Coup de Grace to hit a South of Heaven and get the 1-2-3, perhaps ending the two’s feud which would allow Priest to move on to a fresh set of opponents.
On October 5, WWE will host its first Bad Blood PLE in over 20 years from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Surprises have been teased for the show, and on this week’s RAW, the card for the highly-anticipated event started coming together.
Hell in a Cell: CM Punk Vs. Drew McIntyre
The feud between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre has been one of the hottest angles of 2024 and will come to a head at WWE Bad Blood. Not only will the pair settle the score in a rubber match, but it will be contested inside Hell in a Cell. The iconic structure has been used at all WWE Bad Blood PLEs so far and that tradition will continue on October 5.
At WWE SummerSlam, Damian Priest (alongside Rhea Ripley) was betrayed by The Judgment Day, as Finn Balor aided GUNTHER against the Archer of Infamy. On this week’s Raw, Balor challenged Priest to a match at WWE Bad Blood which the former World Champion was quick to accept.
WWE World Tag Team Champions Finn Balor & JD McDonagh will be part of Over The Top Wrestling’s 10th anniversary show this October. During the most recent event from OTT Wrestling, it was confirmed that the Judgment Day allies will be part of the October 26 show.
— Irish Wrestling & Entertainment (@IRISHWRESTLING8) August 10, 2024
The upcoming event will mark Balor’s debut for the Irish-based promotion. McDonagh, as Jordan Devlin, debuted for OTT in 2014 and is a former OTT World Champion. His reign began in December 2017 and would see McDonagh retain against notable names like ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey, Timothy Thatcher, Angelico, Tyler Bate, and Zack Sabre Jr. McDonagh’s 253-day reign came to an end in August 2018 when he lost the gold to current WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER.
WWE And Other Promotions
The October 26, show is WWE’s latest example of working with other promotions which has become a trend for the company in 2024. Deals with Marigold, Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH has seen WWE talent compete outside their usual stomping ground. TNA Wrestling has reached an agreement with WWE NXT that has seen talent from both promotions step through the ‘prohibited portal.’
Having WWE talent at OTT’s 10th Anniversary event is a huge get for the Irish promotion and will increase interest in the show. After decades of Vince McMahon’s ‘don’t play well with others’ mentality, WWE’s willingness to collaborate with other has proven to be a breath of fresh air to fans. Stay tuned to SE Scoops for the latest on WWE working with other promotions.
The New and improved Judgement Day is here. SummerSlam saw the implosion of the group’s most recent incarnation, with Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest getting betrayed by Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor respectively. The big question coming out of the show was about the future of the faction and we got some answers on the latest episode of WWE Raw from CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
An angry Damian Priest stormed to the ring during the show and challenged Finn Balor to come out and confront him, although Balor did not show up. Priest cut a promo about how he had found a family in Judgement Day before confirming his face turn saying that all the fans were his family now.
Balor finally appeared on the Titan Tron and explained how their group was never supposed to have a leader until Damian won the World Title. Balor reminded the former champion that he cost him a world title opportunity last year and said that JD McDonagh will fight Priest on his behalf.
The former Bullet Club leader told Damian Priest that he will let Priest feel safe and comfortable before striking again and said that he won’t be alone. Balor then introduced the world to the new Judgement Day as Dominik Mysterio, Liv Morgan, Carlito, and McDonagh all walked into the frame.
The match between McDonagh and Priest took place later in the night with Carlito being at the ringside. The bout ended in a disqualification however, when Balor made a surprise appearance and blindsided Priest. The rest of Balor’s teammates joined him in attacking the former World Champion. This continued until Rhea Ripley’s music hit and she came down to make the save.
Liv and Dominik tried to retreat but Rhea caught Morgan and sent her crashing through the ring post twice. The Mami looked to deliver a Razor’s Edge on Morgan through the announce table but Dom saved her. Rhea then got back into the ring and delivered a headbutt to McDonagh. Priest followed it up with a South of Heaven and the segment ended with the two stars hugging each other.
Following this latest shakeup, the new Judgment Day does not contain a single member of the original group, led by Edge (Adam Copeland)
Finn Balor has broken his silence after the implosion of The Judgement Day faction as seen on last night’s SummerSlam 2024 event from Cleveland.
The former Universal Champion finally turned on Damian Priest after weeks of teases. He ended up costing the 41-year-old the match against Gunther, which signaled the end of Priest’s first world title reign with the company at 118 days.
The former Bullet Club leader took on his Twitter earlier this morning to react to the events of last night. He wrote a short message saying that he woke up in a good mood this morning:
Balor wasn’t the only one who made a comment. JD McDonagh posted some photos of himself ripping off a Judgement Day shirt, claiming that he never liked it:
The other side of the equation at SummerSlam was Dominik Mysterio’s betrayal of The Mami. Dirty Dom cost Rhea Ripley a women’s title match against Liv Morgan, leaving Ripley in disbelief. Morgan also made a post on Twitter this morning:
The big question coming out of the PPV event is if we will see the remaining members of the Judgement Day sticking together or if each star will go their separate ways.
The future of this storyline will depend on the revelation of whether Finn Balor acted on his own or Liv Morgan was the mastermind behind his turn as well. We will have to tune in to Raw this Monday night to find the answers.
Finn Balor is bruised and battered after sharing the ring with Gunther in the headlining match on last night’s Raw. It is needless to mention that ‘The Ring General’ is one of the hardest hitters inside the squared circle. He once again had his thunderous chops on display against Balor.
Following the match, WWE dropped a couple of photos of Finn Balor on social media. The photos revealed Balor’s bruised chest as a result of a series of chops from Gunther.
The highly anticipated contest featured some spectacular spots. The final moments of the match saw Balor climbing up to the top rope and attempting the Coup De Grace. However, Gunther managed to dodge the move and countered with a Sleeper hold. Balor eventually passed out and the ref awarded the win to ‘The Ring General.’
Following the match, Gunther tried to send a message to the World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest. He didn’t relinquish the hold on Balor even after the match ended. Priest rushed down to the ring to the aid of Balor. The show concluded with Priest and Gunther brawling outside the ring.
Gunther is posing to be a massive challenge to Damian Priest. ‘The Ring General’ earned a World Heavyweight Title shot after winning this year’s King Of The Ring Tournament by defeating Randy Orton.
On the other hand, Damian Priest has been a fighting champion and he has successfully defended his title against the likes of Seth Rollins, Jey Uso and Drew McIntyre. ‘The Archer of Infamy’ will now put his title on the line against Gunther at this Saturday’s SummerSlam PLE in Cleveland, Ohio.
Judgment Day teammates Finn Balor and Damian Priest shared a moment after the SummerSlam go home episode of Raw from Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota went off air.
The main event of this week’s episode of the Red Branded Show saw Gunther taking on Finn Balor in a singles match before he challenges Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Title at the PLE this Sunday.
The one half of the current World Tag Team Champion tried to do his best to take out the Ring General before the upcoming show but Gunther ended up winning the match with a sleeper hold in the end.
When Gunther refused to let go even after the bell rang, Damian Priest ran down to make the save. The two brawled around the ring to end the broadcast.
Priest got the upper hand with help from Balor after the show went off air. The two teammates then shared a hug before posing with their titles:
Balor was not the only Judgement Day star in action tonight. Dominik Mysterio took on Sami Zayn and Carlito tried to take care of Jey Uso. Unfortunately, both of them lost their respective matches.
The faction has been involved in a long-term storyline with the Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan. It’s very much possible that we may see the group imploding at the SummerSlam PPV.
Liv originally tried to take Dominik away from Rhea Ripley when the Mami was out of action but her efforts failed when Ripley returned.
She might still have a plan b however as fans have spotted clues of Morgan working together with Balor in some capacity. Their alliance might finally be revealed at the show this Sunday.
Finn Balor wanted to make sure Dominik Mysterio flourished as a heel in The Judgment Day, but Dom already had a hold on being “Dirty.”
Speaking on the “What’s The Story?” podcast, Balor mentioned how much Mysterio took to being a heel. Finn recalled Rey Mysterio asking him and Damian Priest to take care of Dom during his heel turn. Balor respected Rey so much that he was going to make sure Dom did his best as a bad guy, but when Balor approached Dom about help on his first heel promo, he was ready to call it in the ring.
“He said, ‘No, no. I’m good.’ I said, ‘You know what you’re going to say?’ He said, ‘No, I’ll figure it out when I’m out there.And here’s me like naively thinking that me, Damian and Rhea are supposed to be helping Dominik, but in reality it’s Dominik helping us get heat and making us more of a believable heel unit.”
Finn said how at the time, he, Damian and Rhea were having an uphill battle at being heels, but Dominik really made them “guilty by association” and his involvement really helped to establish the faction as a “bad guy” act.
Now as it stands, The Judgment Day are really the fulcrum that all of WWE RAW pivots on. Damian Priest is the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh are the World Tag Champs while Dom and Rhea Ripley are involved in the major Liv Morgan storyline in build for SummerSlam.
Please credit “What’s The Story?” and h/t to SEScoops for the transcription.
The Judgment Day member Finn Balor is willing to work with the cryptic group, Wyatt Sicks.
Finn Balor recently joined in for an interview on the What’s The Story podcast and shed light on possibly getting involved with the group led by Uncle Howdy. He is eager to work with them and believes they could create some great moments.
However, he clarified that he wouldn’t bring back his ‘Demon’ persona for the potential storyline. ‘Demon King’ or ‘Demon has been Balor’s alter-ego, possessing supernatural powers. The former WWE Universal Champion said that he wanted to keep his Finn Balor character as a heel and the Demon character as a babyface.
“I’d love to work with The Wyatt Sicks. I feel like we could do some cool s**t there… I would like to keep Finn as a heel and The Demon as the babyface and not blur the lines at all.
Poor execution
Following a successful showcase of Demon character in NXT, Balor introduced the character on the main roster. He has been using it rarely and saved it for big matches. While he usually won matches in his Demon character, things haven’t been going in favor of the gimmick in recent years.
The ‘Demon’ endured a loss against Roman Reigns and the last time Balor donned the body and face paint was at WrestleMania 39 when he faced Edge in a Hell In A Cell match. However, he suffered another loss at the show.
During the podcast, Balor said that the Demon character hasn’t been executed well in the recent years. He said:
“But it’s so hard and I feel like The Demon’s kind of something that we haven’t executed very well the last couple years and I’d rather not-not do it than do it in a way that I’m not happy with so, and look, in six years time, they can throw me out there in Demon paint and I’ll do the entrance.
Balor said that he might be performing in Demon gimmick again in the future but he is enjoying his current run as a heel. He might add more layers to his current character in comparison to his straightforward Demon gimmick. He explained:
“But now, Finn’s having too much fun and I feel like I can give a lot more layers as a heel Finn than The Demon. The Demon’s just very straight-forward. He’s like a bulldozer. He just goes straight for the kill, where Finn’s a little bit more sneaky and there’s more story arcs you can tell with Finn versus a supernatural Demon so…”
Finn Balor is one-half of the WWE World Tag Team Champions with JD McDonagh. Well, we might witness the return of Demon in the future as he is not leaving WWE anytime soon.
Finn Bálor has signed a new long-term deal with WWE that will keep him with the world’s top wrestling promotion for man years to come. The 42-year-old star has been with WWE for over a decade. The Prince of The Judgement Day faction inked his first contract to join NXT back in May 2014.
In April, nearly a decade later, the former WWE Universal Champion revealed on social media that he he’d re-signed with the Stamford-based promotion, exclaiming that he “…ain’t going nowhere.”
I would like to take this moment to say thank you to WWE for 10 incredible years. And after much thought and consideration , I have decided that now is the right time to say ‘I ain’t going nowhere!’ pic.twitter.com/CXUEASqak9
During his time on the program, Bálor revealed that his new contract with WWE is a 5-year deal, meaning the star’s contract would expire when he’s 47. During his conversation on the show, Bálor detailed his thought process before signing his new contract, even going as far as to say that he thought his run in WWE may have ended.
Finn Bálor’s New WWE Deal
The Irish-born star mentioned that he wanted to remain in WWE and expressed excitement about his future with the company.
“Yeah, another extension for five years…I’m super excited. You never know. I remember when I was 20, and I was like, ‘If I make it to 30, I’ll be doing well.’ Then, you’re in your 40’s, and I’m like, ‘Sh*t, do they want me to keep doing this? Am I able to keep doing it? How is the body going to feel?’ We sat down and had a couple of conversations, and the feelings were mutual. I wanted to stay; they wanted me to stay. We hashed it out, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Uncertainty
Despite all the success he’s achieved throughout his entire career, Bálor admits he wasn’t sure if he and WWE would reach an agreement to work together in the future. He wanted to remain with WWE, but feared his time as a WWE Superstar may be cut short.
“It was a weird time… It was six months to when my contract was coming up. ‘Sh*t, is It the end of my run? Is it time to move on?’ Ten years is incredible… Now, I’m ten years in with another five years to go; fingers crossed they don’t fire me. It’s a pretty wild journey.”
In his over 10-year career with WWE, Finn Bálor has accumulated an impressive resume as a member of the main roster and in the original “Black & Gold” days of NXT. Bálor became a Grand Slam champion in September 2023 and has feuded with some of the biggest names in WWE History. As of this writing, he’s one-half of the reigning World Tag Team Champions alongside JD McDonagh.
Listen to Finn Bálor’s appearance on the What’s the Story? podcst:
Liv Morgan shocked the WWE Universe when she defeated Becky Lynch in a steel cage match on RAW last week. Then she doubled-down on that by kissing Dominik Mysterio. They opened this week’s show by continuing that storyline.
The WWE Women’s World Champion started RAW by welcoming fans to the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour. She said that while some claim revenge isn’t as sweet as it seems, she disagreed. Morgan gloated about taking out Rhea Ripley and becoming Women’s World Champion. She added that she put Becky Lynch into early retirement last week, and the cherry on top was kissing Dominik Mysterio.
Dominik’s music hit, and he made his way out. The injured Judgment Day member said he didn’t know what game she was playing, but Rhea Ripley wasn’t playing it.
He also said that The Nightmare will “kill” her when she comes back. Morgan replied that Ripley will probably “kill” Dominik, too. This is interesting, because the term “kill” has been on WWE’s banned words list for a long time, because that’s just a promise you can’t deliver on in a pro wrestling match if you expect to keep making money in the business.
Liv Morgan then asked how long Dirty Dom would keep lying to himself. Morgan followed up as she said Dominik came to the ring last week to be closer to her. She moved closer to him, saying she wanted to take everything from Ripley, including him. Dominik backed away as Morgan flirted with him. Liv said that she meant it when she said she is going to take everything from Rhea Ripley, and that includes Dominik Mysterio.
Suddenly, Finn Bálor entered the ring and told Morgan that Dominik and Judgment Day wanted nothing to do with her. Morgan asked Bálor “what if Dominik didn’t want her to leave,” but agreed to exit the ring. Morgan flirted with Dominik once more by playing with his hair before she left.
This is obviously not the end of this storyline, as things are just heating up. Rhea Ripley is out of action with an A/C joint injury, which usually takes two to three months to recover. So, Morgan may not have much longer to play her games until The Nightmare returns.
Later on, in a backstage segment, Finn advised Dominik to not play with fire. When WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest asked about the situation, Finn assured him that it was taken care of. Dominik Mysrterio said that he has spoken to Rhea, and he’s giving Mami “her space.”
After WWE RAW was over, Morgan carried on with her Dirty Dom obsession. While quoting Katy Perry’s breakout hit, the WWE Women’s World Champion proclaimed that she kissed a boy, and she liked it.
Finn Balor was glad to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community as part of his entrance at WWE WrestleMania 34 in 2018.
Balor’s first time competing at the Showcase of the Immortals saw the Irish Superstar compete in a triple-threat match for the Intercontinental Championship. In the lead-up to the event, many had predicted that Balor would use his ‘Demon’ persona for the show. Instead, Balor donned a jacket that featured the LGBTQ+ rainbow design and had fans with him on stage.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Balor recalled his entrance and shared how his appearance at WrestleMania 34 came to be.
“It was about three weeks before ‘Mania, and I brought it to Hunter [Triple H] and Stephanie [McMahon], and they jumped on it straight away and said, ‘100%, you can do that.’ They helped me get in touch with the LGBT+ community in New Orleans, and they [the people who appeared] were actually members of the community from there. They weren’t extras or anything like that. It was legit having them up on stage.”
While some fans will have been disappointed that the ‘Demon’ didn’t rise at WrestleMania, being able to express inclusion meant a lot more to WWE’s first Universal Champion.
“For me, that was a more important moment than any Demon entrance could have ever been.”
LGBTQ+ Support
F inn Balor is hardly the only name to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community. For the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble, Chelsea Green wore an attire that featured the LGBTQ+ flag. The attire meant even more considering the event took place in Florida which many have criticized for its stance regarding LGBTQ+ rights. Green has previously teamed with Sonya Deville, WWE’s first openly lesbian Superstar, and is currently teaming with Piper Niven, who is bisexual.
In 2023, an AEW Rampage segment went viral as Harley Cameron spoke about Anthony Bowens being into her, oblivious to the fact that Bowens is gay. When Bowens corrected Cameron, this led to a positive ‘He’s Gay’ chant from the crowd. Many at the time noted how the response to a wrestler identifying as gay was vastly different to how things were like during the Attitude Era.
WWE has been doing record business, grossing $1.32 billion in sales last year. The company’s $5 billion deal with Netflix to bring WWE Raw to the streaming platform in January 2025 will bring another massive windfall of cash. However, many fans wonder how much of that trickles down to the athletes we see on television.
Top Superstars spark bidding wars and command multi-million dollar contracts. Setting aside stars like Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair, a new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter sheds light on the current annual baseline.
According to Dave Meltzer, the current minimum salary for WWE Superstars on the main roster is $350,000 per year. Most wrestlers sign multi-year deals, and you can be sure the top stars on each brand are making far more than the minimum. WWE is in a strong position to make lucrative financial offers to talent. However, there’s a trend emerging that should not be ignored.
Numerous Contracts Expiring
WWE is heading into an interesting dilemma as several featured stars on the main roster contract will expire soon. One of the most significant examples is Becky Lynch, who could be a free agent by the end of the week. As of now, it doesn’t seem they have yet to reach a new agreement.
Another talent that could test free agency is Chad Gable. Although he has been heavily featured on Monday Night Raw and involved in a feud with Sami Zayn, his contract will expire at the end of next week.
It’s unclear why so many talent contracts are set to expire so soon. Although numerous superstars are near free agency, they may ultimately re-sign with WWE. Wrestling fans should have more clarity soon as the company must expeditiously reach new agreements with their superstars.
WWE took its first steps towards crowning a new King and Queen of the Ring this week with a total of six first-round matches on the May 6, episode of Raw.
Both tournaments will culminate at the WWE King and Queen of the Ring PLE later this month which will take place in Saudi Arabia. WWE had initially planned on hosting the event last year but nixed the idea in favor of WWE Night of Champions. That event saw Roman Reigns reach 1,000 days as Universal Champion and Seth Rollins crowned World Heavyweight Champion.
King of the Ring Results
On Raw, the recently called-up Ilja Dragunov defeated new WWE Speed Champion Ricochet to advance to the next round. Meanwhile, Jey Uso got payback on The Judgment Day with a tournament victory over 2021 runner-up Finn Balor. Originally, Drew McIntyre was supposed to be in Jey’s spot but his injury forced changes to be made. Dragunov and Jey will face each other in the quarter-finals next week.
Queen Of The Ring Results
Raw also saw Zoey Stark advance with a win over Ivy Nile, while Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai. Like Jey Uso, Kai was a last-minute replacement for Asuka, who Damage CTRL confirmed is out with an injury. Stark and Valkyria will face each other in the next round on the May 13, episode of Raw.
What’s To Come?
While WWE promoted four matches from each tournament for Raw, only three took place. At a WWE live event this week, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio will face off in a first-round match. This was supposed to be Rey Vs. Xavier Woods but the latter has been replaced due to not being medically cleared. The winner will face GUNTHER next week.
Shayna Baszler and Zelina Vega will also do battle at a WWE live event, despite being previously promoted for the Raw taping. The winner will face IYO SKY on next week’s Raw with a spot in the semi-finals on the line.
First-round matches will continue on the May 10, episode of WWE SmackDown. Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight, and Santos Escobar have all announced their participation.
Finn Balor is sticking around WWE for years to come. After a decade with the world’s top wrestling organization, the former Universal Champion announced some big news on social media.
We knew Balor’s WWE contract was up soon and have been watching closely to see how this situation would unfold. He’s been wrestling since 2001 and is 42 years old, so it would make sense for him to at least consider working a lighter schedule with AEW or NJPW. Balor says he gave the decision a lot of thought and sounds confident he made the right choice.
I would like to take this moment to say thank you to WWE for 10 incredible years. And after much thought and consideration, I have decided that now is the right time to say ‘I ain’t going nowhere!’
Sean Ross Sapp notes the multi-year contract is for ‘big money,’ which a star of his caliber can certainly command.
Balor has taken a similar path to his former tag team partner, Damian Priest. Fresh off of winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40, the ‘Archer of Infamy’ revealed this past week that he’s also signed a new contract.
On this week’s WWE RAW the other two healthy members of The Judgment Day JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio are teaming up to face Andrade and Ricochet in tag action. Priest happened to kick off the show in a segment involving himself and his Backlash opponent, Jey Uso.
Jey Uso won’t be able to rest on his laurels despite being the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Uso earned that right on the WWE RAW after WrestleMania as he defeated Drew McIntyre, Bronson Reed and Ricochet in the main event with a little help from CM Punk. However, now it appears Jey may need a little extra help as he’s got more than Damian Priest to deal with.
WWE announced that on this week’s RAW, Jey Uso will face Finn Balor in singles action. Balor is fresh off a tag team loss as he, Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh were defeated by Awesome Truth and John Cena. WWE’s announcement for Balor vs. Uso is below:
Just one week after becoming the No. 1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, “Main Event” Jey Uso will take on Damian Priest’s teammate Finn Bálor.
Uso is looking to capture his first singles title in WWE, but standing in his way of getting to Priest is Bálor as well as the looming threat of “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh and Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley.
Will Jey Uso make it to his championship match against Priest? Find out live on Monday Night Raw at 8/7 C on USA!
Could We See Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso Reunite?
Jey Uso isn’t The only former Bloodline member to have his back against the wall. Just this past Friday on SmackDown, Jimmy Uso was beat down big time by Solo Sikoa and the debuting Tama Tonga, all but officially kicking him out of The Bloodline.
Jey defeated Jimmy at WrestleMania 40, but not before Jimmy tried pulling a fast one on his younger twin brother. However, now that Jimmy had a massive reality check, we may see the brothers form an alliance once more soon enough.
Welcome the Daily Drop, your daily roundup of wrestling news and rumors for Monday, April 1. We are officially less than one week away from WrestleMania 40. Let’s get right into today’s Daily Drop!
Okay, it’s April Fools’ Day, but you won’t find anything like that here at SEScoops. That being said, be careful what you see today on social media, because we live in a day and age where it’s getting easier to get fooled.
Days Until WrestleMania 40: 5
WWE
– WrestleMania 40 Change: WWE is discussing the idea that they may have to change one WrestleMania title match. A meeting is set up to talk about it later this week.
Eight-man tag match: DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) & The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. The Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh)
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell vs. Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri
Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed
AEW
– Parker Boudreaux’s AEW Status: A new report came out yesterday that broke down Parker Boudreaux’s current AEW contract status. He’s apparently still with the company, even though he hasn’t appeared on television in over a year.
– Omega Fires Back: Kenny Omega had something to say to anyone who wants to drag his ability to tell stories.
The Judgment Day member Finn Balor recently revealed that he suffered a forehead injury which looks pretty nasty.
As we get closer to WrestleMania 40 this weekend, fans and the WWE Superstars are preparing for an epic event. However, fans are worried after Balor posted an update on his recent injury.
Taking to his Twitter/X, one-half of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions posted a short video clip in which his forehead can be seen swollen due to an injury but he didn’t look much concerned.
It is currently not known when and how Finn Balor suffered the injury but that looks concerning, especially ahead of their tag-team title defense at WrestleMania 40.
Finn Balor and Damian Priest to have a high-stakes match at WrestleMania 40
The Judgment Day have a huge task at their hands to keep the gold around their waist at the ‘Show of Shows’.
Balor and Priest will put their Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Championships on the line in a Six-pack Tag-Team Ladder Match against some of the most popular teams: #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa), The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth), The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate) and A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller).
Meanwhile, the other members are also gearing up for the event. Rhea Ripley will defend her WWE Women’s World title against 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble winner Becky Lynch.
On the other hand, Dominik Mysterio will team up with Santos Escobar to take on LWO (Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee).
WrestleMania 40 takes place on April 6 & 7 at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
An update has emerged on Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Finn Balor following some concerning scenes at WWE Elimination Chamber 2024.
In the sole tag-team match on the card, Balor and Damian Priest retained the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships against New Catch Republic (Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne.) The British tag team qualified for this match by winning a four-way tag match and then became number-one contenders by defeating DIY.
Latest On Finn Balor
After the match, WWE’s camera team spotted Balor who was bleeding heavily from his thumb. On Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez gave an update on the Judgment Day member.
“We had Finn Balor who, at the end of the match, holds up his hand and his thumb is bleeding like crazy. And man, he sold that thing big. And we weren’t sure if he had broken his thumb or cut it open or whatever. But apparently, whatever it was, he’s alright.“
What’s Next?
With Elimination Chamber 2024 out of the way, Balor and Priest will be looking ahead to WrestleMania 40 and defending their titles in Philadelphia. The show will mark one year since the Undisputed WWE Tag Titles headlined WrestleMania 39: Saturday.
It’s unclear who the champs will face this April but the future is clear for Judgment Day ally Rhea Ripley. After retaining against Nia Jax in Perth, the WWE Women’s World Champion will defend against Becky Lynch, who won the Women’s Elimination Chamber match to earn a title shot at WrestleMania 40.
WWE’s roster has a few big contracts that are set to expire in 2024. Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre are just scratching the surface. Now, it has been confirmed that Finn Balor’s deal is set to end soon as well.
Finn Balor’s WWE Contract Is Expiring
Sean Ross Sapp reported on Fightful Select that another WWE contract is approaching its expiration this year. Balor’s deal with WWE is set to expire, which confirms a previous report.
On January 22nd, Wrestling Inc founder Raj Giri tweeted, “Finn Balor’s WWE contract is up after #WrestleMania. The word I’ve gotten is that he hasn’t been approached to renew yet.”
Finn Balor's WWE contract is up after #WrestleMania . The word I've gotten is that he hasn't been approached to renew yet
Fightful was able to verify with sources close to Balor that his WWE contract will conclude this year. His deal is expected to end “not immediately after WrestleMania.”
Fightful has confirmed with sources close to Balor that his WWE contract is up this year, but they claim it is “not immediately after WrestleMania,” instead saying it would be up within a few months of WrestleMania.
WWE Contracts After TKO Merger
The trend of WWE not initiating discussions about contract extensions has been observed for several wrestlers whose contracts are ending. There are several deals expiring soon, and it is interesting to see how WWE handles such a business move under new ownership.
Finn Balor is currently 1/2 of the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions alongside Damian Priest. As an important part of the Judgment Day faction, it stands to reason that WWE would want to keep the first-ever Universal Champion around.
