– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown taping from Dallas, Texas will feature Daniel Bryan & Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus & Bad News Barrett. Join us here later for live coverage of the taping.
– WWE will have a strong presence the USA Network’s “upfront” presentation today in New York City. John Cena, Nikki Bella and Titus O’Neal will be attending before they head overseas for the European tour.
– Finn Balor will be joining the WWE crew in Europe for this week’s tour.
– Lana tweeted the following photo with WWE Hall of Famer Edge on the set of the WWE Studios film, Interrogation.
Peter Rosenberg and David Shoemaker of the Cheap Heat podcast were at WrestleMania Axxess over the weekend and scored exclusive interviews with Paul Heyman, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Paige, Finn Balor, Stardust, Charlotte and Eva Marie.
The interviews with Heyman, Wyatt, Ambrose and Paige below, check out Rosenberg’s YouTube channel for the rest of them.
Paul Heyman talks about his history with New York’s Hot 97 radio station, working as a heel, Seth Rollins’ talent and much more.
Bray Wyatt talks about growing up in the business, working with Undertaker, finding himself, WWE vs WCW and much more.
Dean Ambrose sits down with Peter and David Shoemaker as part of their Cheat Heat Mania spectacular to discuss everything including the year he’s had, the WWE office not bothering him too much, loving house shows and much more
Finally — Paige sits down with Cheap Heat and meets David Shoemaker who professes his love (kind of). She also talks about her wrestling family, winning the WWE title her first night, and much much more.
As it turns out, Hideo Itami was not the first choice to be the NXT representative in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 31 Kickoff Show this past Sunday.
According to PWInsider.com, having Itami in the match was a late decision made by the company, as Finn Balor or Adrian Neville were originally considered for the spot. Once the decision was made to bump the battle royal from the pay-per-view to the pre-show, the decision was made to go with Itami instead.
Another reason Itami got the spot was due to the strong Japanese media presence at the show for Tatsumi Fujinami’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction.
NXT standout Finn Balor spoke with SportingNews.com to promote Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view, and admitted that he was apprehensive about making the move to WWE.
“I’ll be honest with you, I had a very comfortable life before I came here,” said Balor. “I was very on the fence about whether I was making the right decision. I was very apprehensive about the move to WWE and whether I was doing the right thing.”
Balor continued, “I had established a very good career in New Japan Pro Wrestling and a good life on the independent scene as well. I was very happy. There’s always that question, should I do it or should I not. I didn’t want to be looking back at 40 years old saying what if I had done this or what if I had done that.”
“I can safely say six months down the line, hands down the best decision I’ve ever made,” Balor concluded.
Check out the complete interview at SportingNews.com.
– WWE has published the latest “WrestleMania workout” video featuring Roman Reigns.
How do you prepare for a match against Brock Lesnar? Find out as WWE.com’s cameras grant you exclusive access into Roman Reigns’ workout as he gets ready for the fight of his life.
– WWE.com has published an interview with Jason Robinson, the man who designs the sets for WrestleMania. Here’s what he said about this year’s design:
“Expect something different from us. The atmosphere being West Coast and daylight presented some very unique challenges for us to overcome. The structure itself isn’t really tied to a particular thing like the city or arena, but we have this really unique thing where we can’t hide anything. We have to be open, [because] everybody’s going to see everything. I can’t do the theater magic and hide the bad parts. So we’ve had to work really hard. Everything had to tie in and feel like it was part of the image and the structure. It’s a unique set, a unique way of lighting the ring because of the sun. You’ll see some different search lights around there, and from a lighting point of view and the set, we’ve had to deal with having full sun on the set because you can’t hide anything. You’ll see it’s a different set from us this year.”
– NXT superstar Finn Balor tweeted this photo on Friday, teasing that he could be a Paul Heyman guy one day. Oh, the possibilities.
– Sting and The Undertaker are both scheduled to attend Monday’s post-WrestleMania RAW from San Jose, California. It’s not confirmed that they’ll be appearing on TV, but they will be at the show.
– Former Ring of Honor star Jimmy Jacobs will be joining WWE’s creative team on April 1st.
– NXT stars Adrian Neville and Finn Balor are both booked for the next several weeks of RAW and SmackDown tapings. There had been talk of NXT Champion Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn appearing on several shows as well, but since both are injured, neither will be wrestling any time soon.
– Hideo Itami is going to WrestleMania. He defeated Finn Balor in the finals of a 4-man tournament on Thursday night at the WWE WrestleMania Axxess event from San Jose, California. Itami will compete in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which has been moved to the WrestleMania Kickoff pre-show.
– Also at Axxess on Thursday night, WWE COO Triple H unveiled a statue of the late Ultimate Warrior in an in-ring ceremony that his widow and children were in attendance for. Triple H spoke about Warrior’s career, his intensity for life and how being with Warrior last year during WrestleMania weekend changed his life.
Dana Warrior also spoke about the incredible support from the WWE Universe over the past year and thanked Triple H for honoring her husband.
A tournament featuring NXT talent will be held next Thursday at WrestleMania Axxess, with the winner earning the right to compete in the second annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania.
Tournament participants will include Adrian Neville, Finn Bálor, Hideo Itami and Tyler Breeze.
WrestleMania Axxess takes place at the San Jose Convention Center Thursday, March 26, through Sunday, March 29. Details on the event are available here.
– SummerSlam travel packages for Brooklyn, NY are now available at WWE.com.
WWE RAW the night after SummerSlam (Monday, August 24th) will also take place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
– Dolph Ziggler has been added to “WWE Night” at the Phoenix Suns NBA game tonight. He’ll be joined by Daniel Bryan, The Bella Twins and Lilian Garcia.
– NXT star Finn Balor recently spoke to the Miami Herald. In response to his critics, Balor said, “If you believe the good, you’ll believe the bad.
– WWE has released a new video hyping WrestleMania 31:
This time, Jericho simply stated that he has a “ton” of thoughts on DeMott stepping down as head trainer in NXT, however he didn’t get into detail.
Jericho put over Bray Wyatt as an “excellent” performer, and also revealed Finn Balor, Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn to be his favorite talents in NXT.
Speaking of Jericho, he will be the subject of next Monday’s post-RAW special on the WWE Network, as WWE will premiere a 30-minute preview of the new “Road Is Jericho” DVD and Blu-ray immediately following RAW.
Below is the official synopsis for the special.
“A first look at Jericho’s new home video! Jump in a limo and ride with Chris as he shares his favorite stories while traveling the country.”
– WWE announcer Renee Young recently confirmed that she is dating Dean Ambrose. When asked about the rumor during an appearance on the Gorilla Position podcast, she said:
“It’s true, yes. I can’t give away too much, because we are very private about our relationship because we respect it. We don’t need people knowing about it or caring what we’re doing – I’m not going to post pictures of us on the internet… but people berate me no matter what I post on the internet. [I hear:] ‘Tell us about Dean, we hate you!’”
– This past Saturday NXT live event in Tampa, Florida drew over 500 fans, setting a new record for the venue.
– NXT star Finn Balor is advertised to appear at the WWE live event in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday, April 14th. Matches advertised for the show include Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett, Big Show vs. Roman Reigns in a street fight, The Miz & Damien Mizdow vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro.
– TNA President Dixie Carter posted the following congratulatory message to Hulk Hogan following his “Appreciation Night” at Madison Square Garden this past weekend.
Earlier this week, Samoa Joe took to Twitter to deliver a shocking announcement. After nearly ten years as one of the pillars of TNA, Joe announced he would be parting ways with the company, effective immediately. Much like an RKO, the announcement came from out of nowhere.
Since the announcement, there has been speculation that Joe could try his luck with the WWE, as former superstars such as Steve Austin and Mick Foley have publicly stated they believe the company should sign him. However, what role would Samoa Joe play if he and the WWE reach an agreement? Here are five worthwhile feuds for Samoa Joe if the two sides can reach an agreement.
5. Finn Balor
If Samoa Joe does sign with the WWE, he will have to do his best Drake impersonation and start from the bottom, with NXT being the starting point. Finn Balor is currently the number one contender for the NXT Championship, and should be in NXT for at least the rest of the year. With Joe’s agile, submission-based style, and Balor’s high-flying, strong style, the two could mesh well together and provide a nice juxtaposition of styles in an entertaining program.
As seen on tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network, former WWE Superstar Rhyno made his return to the company, squashing Elias Samson in a singles match. Rhyno also worked a backstage segment with Finn Balor and taped some work for future episodes of NXT.
It’s also worth pointing out that WWE’s official Twitter account linked to Rhyno’s Twitter account and while he hasn’t posted a new tweet since December of 2014, the most recent tweet on his page is a TNA Impact Wrestling logo.
In the above video, NXT General Manager William Regal discusses Rhyno’s NXT debut.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan praised Kevin Owens following his NXT TakeOver: Rival match with Sami Zayn on Wednesday evening. Hogan tweeted the following:
Congrats to Owenmania the new champ made me believe again brother!! WWE your in trouble HH
– In a recent radio interview in Milwaukee, CM Punk spoke about going from WWE to UFC and training with the Roufusport team. Punk noted the following during the interview:
“I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody this. If you watch NASCAR and you want to race in NASCAR, but you give yourself every excuse why in the world not to do it. I have a 9 to 5 job, a wife, kids, I can’t afford it. Too expensive. And then you eliminate all that and just go after what you want to go after. That’s just something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
– Following their performances at NXT TakeOver: Rival, Paul Heyman praises the efforts and abilities of both Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. Heyman tweeted the following:
Last night, NXT held their fifth special event, entitled Rival. It was a night of change, as two titles changed hands and a new number one contender was crowned.
The jewel of the night was easily the main event, where fans saw Kevin Owens destroy his former friend Sami Zayn and snatch away the NXT Championship almost as quickly as he won it. The match started off well, with Owens initially playing the cowardly heel, leading to an impressive spot where Zayn leaped over the referee and top rope in order to take out Owens.
In all, the match was booked perfectly. There was some great in-ring psychology between the two, as Zayn injured his head at one point in the contest after performing a moonsault to the floor. While being checked out by the medical staff, Owens capitalized, hitting multiple powerbombs before the referee was forced to stop the contest. In the end, the juxtaposition of Owens laughing and celebrating his victory while Zayn lay motionless was the perfect way to pass the title to Owens while furthering the “broken friendship” storyline.
The other title change involved Sasha Banks finally capturing the NXT Womens Championship from Charlotte in a fatal four-way match. Anyone who’s seen Charlotte and Sasha compete over the past few months knew this wouldn’t disappoint and it certainly didn’t, as each competitor had some time to shine.
One of the more impressive moments was Charlotte performing a diving crossbody to take out all three of her opponents. Overall, it was nice to see Sasha pick up the victory, and ultimately the title, by pinning the champ in the middle of the ring.
– Seth Rollins spoke about being in the ring with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar during the WWE press conference in Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning. Rollins stated the following:
“I have watched Brock Lesnar for a really long time and I thought I knew how strong he was, I thought I knew how fast he was. Being in the ring with him, he is a completely different animal. He is a beast. They call him the Beast Incarnate and that is real. Whether you are in the Octagon with him trading fists, or in the ring trading German suplexes it is on another level. It was a pleasure and I am glad I got to be in the ring with him and i think I proved to the entire world I can hang with the guy.”
– Finn Balor, who defeated Adrian Neville to become the new number one contender to the NXT Championship at last night’s NXT TakeOver: Rival special, posted the following photos of his body paint on Twitter.
The following are results of the NXT TakeOver: Rival special, which aired live on the WWE Network on Wednesday, February 11, 2015.
– Hideo Itami def. Tyler Breeze in an excellent opening match. This was a solid match to kick off the special. The crowd was hot for it throughout. In the end, Itami picked up the “W” with a running kick to the face.
– Baron Corbin def. Bull Dempsey in a No DQ match. Dempsey dominated a lot of the action throughout the majority of the match, however in the end, Corbin hit his End Of Days finisher for the 1-2-3.
– Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy def. The Lucha Dragons to retain the NXT Tag-Team Championships. This was a solid tag-team match with a ton of fast-paced, high-flying spots. In the end, Blake hit a top rope frog splash on Sin Cara for the pinfall victory.
– Finn Balor def. Adrian Neville to become the new number one contender to the NXT Championship. Balor did his elaborate entrance, which as usual, received a big reaction from the crowd. Neville dominated a lot of the action throughout, including multiple believable near falls, however in the end, Falor hit a giant double foot stomp off the top rope to score the win.
We’re all familiar with the WWE. It’s the most profitable and prevalent wrestling organization in the world, and the primary focus of our coverage here at SEScoops. However, what about the rest of the wrestling world?
I decided to compile a list of 25 non-WWE wrestling matches that every fan should see. In order to qualify, each match had to meet three conditions:
An organization other than the WWE put on the match.
The full-length match is available on YouTube.
The match is something every wrestling fan should see.
The matches are listed at random and not ranked. The intention here isn’t to inspire debate regarding where a match should be placed on the list, but simply to provide fans with the opportunity to catch up on some classic matches they may have missed over the past few years. Already seen every match on the list? Relive your favorite moments again. Never seen a single one of the matches? You’ve got hours of material at your disposal, so sit back and enjoy.
25. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xy7KkH7NdY
24. Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (Ring of Honor Weekend of Thunder 2004)
23. Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) vs. Davey Richards (NJPW Circuit 2010 New Japan Alive)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXyAM9-9gHc
22. Ricochet vs. Kyle O’Reilly (IPW 10th Annual Super Junior Heavyweight Tournament)
21. The American Wolves vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Indypendence Day 2008)
– As noted recently, Randy Orton has been advertised locally to return at several of the past WWE television tapings, but was held back due to creative decisions made by the company. Orton is being advertised for the February 16th edition of RAW in Orlando, which is the Fast Lane “go-home” edition of the show. With Orton scheduled to return in time for a program at WrestleMania 31, one would assume that if he doesn’t return on the 2/16 RAW show, he will be returning either at the pay-per-view itself, or at RAW the following night.
– The following matches were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida for tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network:
– Emma vs. Carmella
– Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin (Semifinals of the No. 1 Contender’s Tournament)
– Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
– Hideo Itami vs. Finn Bálor (Semifinals of the No. 1 Contender Tournament)
– Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville vs. Kevin Owens and Tyson Kidd
Check out the official video promo for tonight’s NXT show below.
As noted over the weekend, NXT star Finn Balor seemed to suffer some kind of leg injury during his triple-threat live event match with Hideo Itami and Adrian Neville in Cocoa Beach. When the match was over, Balor reportedly limped to the back and seemed to be in pain.
Balor did not work the NXT live event the following night and since then, it has been confirmed that Balor has been given time off from WWE to deal with an ankle injury of some kind.
Balor’s injury doesn’t appear to be too serious. In fact, the rising NXT performer posted the following photo of himself skiing on Twitter.
– There are some reports that claim Finn Balor suffered an injury during a triple-threat match with Hideo Itami and Adrian Neville at the NXT live event in Cocoa Beach on Friday night. After the match was over, Balor left to the back in a hurry and was apparently noticably limping. We will keep you posted.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan posted the following tweet this weekend, predicting Daniel Bryan to win this Sunday’s Royal Rumble match.
– WWE is considering the idea of having one or two NXT stars participate in Sunday’s 30-man Royal Rumble match.
WWE surveyed fans asking which NXT stars they would most like to see in the Rumble, with the options being — Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor, Kalisto, Tyler Breeze, Bull Dempsey and Enzo Amore.
– Xavier Woods has been out of action at recent WWE live events due to an injury. The New Day member was wearing a walking boot on Monday’s RAW and noted that his ankle is currently “out of commission.” Regardless, Woods is still advertised to wrestle in the six-man tag-team match against Tyson Kidd, Cesaro and Adam Rose this Sunday night.
The WWE’s next generation was back in class last night, meaning it’s time to grade their performances. Matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, crowd involvement, and overall impact on the storyline. Important promos will also be graded based on entertainment value, believability, and originality.
Without further ado, here is this week’s NXT Report Card.
Tyson Kidd vs. Finn Balor
This week’s show kicked off in a big way, as two of the most talented athletes in NXT locked up. Balor came out firing, going for the diving double foot stomp just seconds into the match.
Kidd eventually took control and slowed the match to a methodical pace, at one point driving Balor through the barricade into about the third row. Balor eventually turned it around after hitting the move Alex Riley so eloquently described as a “floating, spinning neckbreaker of some kind.”
After delivering a kick to the head and hitting a somersault over the top rope to the floor, Balor dominated the rest of the contest (aside from a minor Kidd offensive), eventually picking up the victory after hitting a diving double foot stomp.
Result: Finn Balor wins via pinfall
Analysis: Most importantly, I think it’s awesome that Tyson’s gimmick is basically a guy who loves cats and Beats headphones. With that said, these two worked very well together. The action was fast paced for the most part, and it was nice to see Balor get the win. He definitely needed the win more, and as much as I love seeing Balor and Itami together, I’m hoping he starts his solo career in the near future.