WWE announced today that Paul Heyman will induct Goldberg into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend. Goldberg captured the Universal Championship last year at WWE Fastlane and then lost it to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. Goldberg got the better of Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016 and eliminated him in the 2017 Royal Rumble match.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were fired by SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown. Bryan announced that he was medically cleared to return to the ring earlier in the night. Throughout the show, Bryan asked people backstage if Owens and Zayn had arrived at the arena yet. They finally arrived with about 15 minutes left in the show and Bryan stated that he would meet them in the ring.
Daniel then fired Owens and Zayn for their brutal attack on Shane McMahon the previous week. Owens and Zayn responded by brutally attacking Daniel Bryan and Powerbombing him on the ring apron.
WWE SmackDown held a Live Event last night in Trenton, New Jersey. During the event, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens rushed the ring and grabbed a microphone. Sami Zayn said in reference to Daniel Bryan, “we loved you man, we admired you just like all of these idiots. But now we see you for what you are, a corporate sellout!”. Shinsuke Nakamura’s music then hit and Owens & Zayn escaped as the lights in the arena went out.
SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan recently did an interview with The National to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Bryan first discussed what its been like working alongside SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon:
“I have really liked working with Shane. One of the things that is really nice about Shane is that he is a positive person. When we first started working together it was really interesting because we were shooting a shot back stage and it didn’t go as planned because the camera guy was new. But he didn’t chew him out or anything like that.
“‘Hey man, welcome here. This is how we do things here so next time do it like this’. And that is a great way for a leader to talk to people who work for him rather than being ‘Argh, you idiot, what are you doing’. So yeah, I really enjoy working with him.””
He then discussed his ongoing storyline with McMahon, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn on SmackDown. It’s expected Bryan will team with Shane against Owens and Zayn in a Tag Team match at WrestleMania 34 next month:
“I think there is so much that is similar between me, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. In terms of where we come from and also kind of the perception of some of the people in the office about Sami and Kevin and the way that people perceived me as far as thinking ‘Sami Zayn does not have the look to be a top level WWE superstar’.
“But he has the ability. Like people connect with him and I think the same thing with Kevin Owens and I think that makes it a very natural storyline to tell.”
You can read Bryan’s full interview with The National by clicking this link here.
This Tuesday on Smackdown, Daniel Bryan fired Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn. Last week, Shane McMahon had booked Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to face each other at WrestleMania.
There are just 17 days and two episodes of Smackdown left until WrestleMania. Both Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon will need to recover from their storyline injuries quickly in order to book another WrestleMania match or segment involving this storyline.
– 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:
Former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens recently took to Twitter to heap praise on one of Europe’s best up and coming independent performers.
Ilja Dragunov is the current reigning wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion, he captured the belt during last weekend’s wXw 16 Carat Gold tournament in a bout against WALTER and Bad Bones, he also successfully defended the belt on Night 3 of the tournament against Matt Riddle.
Check out the tweet that Owens sent below praising the Soviet star:
As we’ve noted, SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Kevin Owens would be taking on Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 34. This was announced shortly before Shane took an indefinite leave of absence from his duties as SmackDown Live Commissioner. Shortly thereafter, Owens and Zayn viciously attacked McMahon which caused a storyline injury.
Bryan Alvarez speculated on Wrestling Observer Live that he can’t imagine another scenario other than a Triple Threat match between Owens, Zayn, and McMahon at WrestleMania 34. He also expects General Manager Daniel Bryan to serve as the Special Guest Referee for the bout.
Alvarez said WWE has put too much effort into this storyline for it to simply conclude with Owens vs. Zayn in a singles match:
“There are four weeks left until WrestleMania, I presume it will be Shane McMahon, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens in a three-way with Daniel Bryan as the guest referee. I don’t know that for sure but I can not fathom the idea that they spent this much time building up something and then at the end of the day he’s just off the show because he got beaten up.
“I mean they played it up like it was near death but he’s a McMahon and I presume he will be back in a few weeks and build up that match with those two guys. So, I think that match will be added to Mania.”
– On last night’ episode of SmackDown Live it was announced that General Manager Daniel Bryan would be making his WWE TV return on next week’s episode. Bryan was absent from WWE Fastlane and this week’s episode of SmackDown last night. The reason for Bryan’s absence was because he was attending a family wedding.
– Speaking of SmackDown Live, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn viciously attacked SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon on last night’s show after McMahon announced he’d be taking an indefinite leave of absence from his duties on the show.
Before the beatdown he also announced Owens would be taking on Sami Zayn at WrestleMania as well. “KO” took to Twitter to comment on attacking Shane:
– After the beatdown of McMahon by Owens and Zayn, WWE announced a storyline injury sustained by the SmackDown Live Commissioner as a result of the attack:
Shane McMahon suffers several injuries while being attacked by Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn on SmackDown LIVE
After announcing he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from his role as SmackDown LIVE Commissioner, Shane McMahon was brutally attacked by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, whom he had just placed into a match against each other at WrestleMania. McMahon suffered several injuries during the attack, WWE.com can confirm.
“He sustained a laryngeal contusion when the steel chair was wrapped around his head and thrown into the turnbuckle,” WWE medical staff said.
KO & Zayn continued the onslaught by dragging McMahon to the back and powerbombing him onto a metal rack, resulting in further injuries.
“He was then thrown onto the metal rack, which resulted in trapezius and rhomboid strains,” medical staff continued.
McMahon is currently being evaluated to make sure his airway is not compromised. Further updates on McMahon’s status are expected in the next 24 hours. Stick with WWE.com for more details as they become available.
Last night on Monday Night Raw, Shane McMahon was shown on camera sitting next to his father backstage. This was during the 1st segment of the show where Roman Reigns walked to the back to confront Vince.
On Smackdown, Shane McMahon just cost both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens chances to win the WWE Championship at Fastlane. Shane broke up pin attempts by each competitor to prevent them from winning.
Kevin Owens took to Twitter last night to comment on Shane McMahon’s appearance on Raw:
After losing out on a WWE Championship opportunity on Sunday, Zayn and Owens, like Cena, have no clear path to WrestleMania.
Shane McMahon is advertised as having a special announcement for tonight’s Smackdown. His announcement may have something to do with Owens’ and Zayn’s role at this year’s WrestleMania.
– PWInsider is reporting that Aro Lucha’s Jason Brown, Ron Harris, and Don Harris were backstage at Friday’s Lucha Underground tapings. Two days later on Sunday, IMPACT Wrestling’s Ed Nordholm was in attendance for a taping as well. The visits were reportedly part of the organizations trying to build a working relationship with one another of some sort.
IMPACT is already set to partner with Lucha Underground April 6th for a Twitch live event special as part of WrestleCon in New Orleans on WrestleMania weekend. Aro Lucha is currently looking for talent for its upcoming TV tapings that are scheduled to go down later this year in Nashville, Tennessee.
– Kevin Owens recently took to Twitter to suggest he thinks he should be WWE Champion. During last night’s Fastlane pay-per-view (PPV) main event; a Six Pack Challenge between AJ Styles, John Cena, Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin, Owens looked as though he had the match won at one point.
SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon, who was sitting ringside for the entire match, interfered in both Owens and Zayn’s pinfalls that would’ve likely secured them the match. Owens took to Twitter to voice his frustrations:
AJ Styles defended his WWE Championship tonight at WWE Fastlane in a Six-Pack Challenge against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and John Cena. SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon was ringside for the match and wound up playing a pivotal role in the decision. Both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens had the match won, but Shane decided to intervene during both pinfalls. After WWE Fastlane 2018 went off the air, the SmackDown Commissioner joined Renee Young and Sam Roberts on Talking Smack.
Shane claimed that he was totally provoked tonight. Renee Young stated that Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan seem to constantly let their emotions get in the way of their job. Shane admitted that his emotions got the best of him tonight due to Kevin Owens accidentally Superkicking him in the face.
Renee asked where Shane draws the line on letting his emotions control his decisions. Shane McMahon stated that Daniel Bryan was correct in his assessment that he has let his emotions get in the way. Sam Roberts asked if Shane regretted his actions tonight and Shane quickly said he doesn’t know. Shane added that his adrenaline is still pumping and that he is not pleased with what happened tonight and once again brought up being kicked in the face.
Sam Roberts brought up that Kevin Owens was trying to kick Sami Zayn in the face tonight and Sami ducked, which led to Shane getting kicked in the face. Shane simply said “okay”. Roberts asked why Shane was even ringside for the match tonight but was quickly cut off by Renee Young. Renee brought up Owens attacking Vince McMahon last year and added that must have left a mark on Shane McMahon. Shane agreed that is where it all started and noted that he and Owens never liked each other. Shane said that he respected Owens’ talent but doesn’t care for him at all as a person.
Shane noted that he will never forget what Owens did to his father and that he has had this coming to him for a very long time. Shane complained about Sami Zayn interfering in the Hell in a Cell match against Kevin Owens last year, just as he was about to get his revenge on Owens. Sam Roberts asked Shane if it was time to let Daniel Bryan have more control as Shane works through these issues and Shane said that they have already tried that. Shane added that he and Daniel have a great relationship, but they don’t always see eye-to-eye. Shane once again claimed that Daniel Bryan is living vicariously through Owens and Zayn.
Shane admitted that he was happy to see neither Owens and Zayn walk away with the WWE Championship tonight. Shane claimed that he stayed out of the way tonight until he got booted in the face. Renee Young disagreed and pointed out that Shane McMahon deliberately cost both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn the chance to become WWE Champion on back to back occasions tonight. Shane once again admitted that his emotions got the better of him but claimed that he didn’t regret it at the moment. He continued to say that he might regret it later after he gets a chance to chill out and calm down.
There’s no doubt that Rusev is enjoying success outside of the stereotypical foreign heel. Since aligning himself with Aiden English, fans have taken note of Rusev’s more personable character. It also helps that he has a new catchphrase.
“Rusev Day” has not only taken over crowds, but also WWE’s merchandising. The company recently stocked up on more Rusev Day calendars after the first batch sold out quicker than expected. Despite the success, Rusev hasn’t exactly been booked to thrive on SmackDown Live. Some weeks he doesn’t even make an appearance and the Bulgarian hasn’t been shy to take issue with it.
At a recent ROH event, fans were seen chanting Rusev Day. The current WWE superstar had an intriguing response:
Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler Full Match (WWE Fastlane 2016)
As we get closer to WWE Fastlane, the company has been releasing past matches from the pay-per-view. They’ve already released Paige vs. Nikki Bella from 2015 as well as Bayley vs. Charlotte and Kevin Owens vs. Goldberg from last year. This time, it’s Owens vs. Ziggler from 2016. At the time, Owens was the Intercontinental champion and put his title on the line against “The Showoff.”
Back in May of 2015 then-NXT Champion Kevin Owens made his WWE main roster debut by answering John Cena’s United States Championship open challenge. Owens made quite the impression on the WWE Universe by laying out Cena and stomping on the United States Championship. Owens recently did an interview on Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, to talk about the debut.
Owens shared his first conversation with Vince McMahon backstage before the debut, and it was hilarious. McMahon didn’t want the other wrestlers to know what “KO” was doing at the show, and Owens wasn’t exactly sure how to accomplish this. When Owens asked McMahon for advice, his response was priceless. Here’s their exchange as described by Owens:
Kevin: “You want me in my gear right?”
Vince: “Yup.”
Owens: “When I put my gear on, and I walk in the locker room and stuff, and in the hallway, the other wrestlers will see me and ask me why I have my gear on. So, what should I tell them?”
Vince: “Well, why don’t you just tell them to go f**k themselves.”
You can listen to Owens’ interview on Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.
John Cena defeated WWE Champion AJ Styles in a non-title match on this week’s SmackDown and per the stipulation, Cena has earned a spot in the main event of the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view to make it a Six-Pack Challenge.
Fastlane takes place on March 11th from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH and will be the final WWE pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34.
Below is the updated confirmed Fastlane card:
Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Title
John Cena vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin vs. AJ Styles
WWE United States Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode
SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
The New Day vs. The Usos
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte Flair
– After last night’s Monday Night RAW went off-air a dark match main event between “Woken” Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt took place. Hardy defeated “The Eater Of Worlds” ahead of their clash at Elimination Chamber this weekend on pay-per-view (PPV).
– Kevin Owens made a selfie promo video on his way to the ring during a recent live event. Owens said that he has been doing selfie promo videos for the past six years and hasn’t gotten any credit for it, just like has hasn’t gotten any credit for being one of the most decorated WWE Superstars in recent years. He also vowed to win the WWE Title at Fastlane:
The main event of the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view will see WWE Champion AJ Styles defend his title against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a Triple Threat.
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan made the Triple Threat after tonight’s #1 contenders match between Sami and Owens ended with no winner and interference from the WWE Champion, who was on commentary.
Fastlane will be the final WWE pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34, where Styles is currently scheduled to defend against Shinsuke Nakamura. No other Fastlane matches have been announced as of this writing but we will keep you updated.
Fastlane takes place on March 11th from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Below are a few photos and videos from tonight’s SmackDown main event:
Next week’s WWE SmackDown in Kansas City will feature Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens to crown a new #1 contender to the WWE Title. The winner will go on to face WWE Champion AJ Styles in the main event of the March 11th WWE Fastlane pay-per-view from Columbus, Ohio, which will be the final pay-per-view before WrestleMania 34.
Sami vs. Owens was made after SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan acknowledged the referee made a bad call in AJ’s 2-on-1 Handicap Match win over Sami and Owens at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday.
Next Tuesday’s SmackDown will also feature WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode defending his title against Rusev. Rusev earned the title shot by winning a Fatal 4 Way over Kofi Kingston, Jinder Mahal and Zack Ryder on tonight’s SmackDown.
– Former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens hasn’t wrestled since January 9th’s episode of SmackDown Live when he and Sami Zayn suffered a loss to the team of Shinsuke Nakamura, WWE Champion AJ Styles, and Randy Orton in a handicap match. PWInsider is reporting that Owens is dealing with a back injury and he also missed this past weekend’s SmackDown live events. He is still expected to team with Sami Zayn against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble.
– Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon is set to appear at tonight’s RAW 25 after losing a Lip Sync Battle to Stephanie McMahon and Triple H last week. Fallon teamed up with The New Day and sung Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly.” McMahon and HHH performed Disney’s Moana’s “How Far I’ll Go.” The Rock was one of the stars in “Moana” and reacted to McMahon and HHH’s performance of the song on Twitter:
Samoa Joe will be out of action longer than initially anticipated. WWE announced that Joe injured his foot on the January 8th edition of RAW in a match against Rhyno. WWE Senior Ringside Physician Dr. Chris Amann evaluated Joe backstage at RAW that night and said it seemed Joe had a plantar fascia rupture, which is a thick tissue rupture under the foot.
Joe underwent an MRI later that week and will miss more than two months of action. According to the Wrestling Observer, Joe has been pulled from WWE live events through at least mid-March. There’s no good time to get injured, but it appeared Joe was once again on the cusp of starting a program with John Cena, a feud that would have elevated his position on the roster.
Hopefully Joe is back in time for a WrestleMania program, but the 38-year-old Samoan destroyer is at risk of being labeled injury prone by WWE officials, which would hinder his upside.
On SmackDown, Kevin Owens had been advertised to compete in the main event of this past weekend’s live events, but did not appear. He was backstage. The Observer notes that Owens is dealing with a nagging injury that is not considered to be anything serious.
Owens and Sami Zayn were also held off this week’s SmackDown Live episode. In all likelihood, WWE is letting Owens heal up before the 2-on-1 handicap match against AJ Style at the Royal Rumble on January 28th.
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This past September Kevin Owens and Vince McMahon put on one of the best segments of 2017 when “KO” attacked “The Chairman Of The Board” on SmackDown Live. Just after McMahon granted Owens a Hell In A Cell match with his son, Shane, Owens headbutted Vince as they shook hands. He also hit him with a superkick before finishing things off with a frog splash.
McMahon was busted open on his forehead and it added to how personal the rivalry between Shane and Owens had been getting over the weeks. Recently, “KO” and Sami Zayn joined Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, to talk about their run together on SmackDown Live. Owens was asked about his segment with McMahon and busting him open with the headbutt.
Owens revealed that McMahon was actually talking a ton of trash during their handshake as they lowered their microphones, as he colorfully told Owens not to hold anything back on him:
“And then he starts talking so much s**t. If you can read his lips, I was legitimately taken aback by it. So many swear words. People always ask me later, what was he saying when the mics were down? Was he telling you to make sure to get him good?….In a way, but not in those words…”
Just recently it was reported that Jason Jordan has been injured and now another top WWE star has reportedly been pulled from weekend’s house shows due to injury.
Former Universal Champion Kevin Owens did not appear on the last two SmackDown Brand Live Events despite being advertised for it which left people speculating.
Now Pwinsider is reporting that the SmackDown Live Star was pulled from these shows because of an existing injury he has been working through. Although at this point, no further details about his condition are available.
Thankfully, the belief is that his injury is not serious and Officials prevented him from wrestling at these shows as a precautionary measure so he is not too banged up to work at Royal Rumble.
As of this writing, Kevin Owens is still advertised for the SmackDown episode tonight but whether or not he’ll be wrestling at the show is yet to be seen.
Owens along with his partner Sami Zayn is scheduled to challenge the current WWE Champion AJ Styles for his title in a 2-on-1 handicap match at the Royal Rumble PPV next Sunday.
Former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens recently did an interview with AL.com to discuss several professional wrestling topics. “KO” discussed his activity on Twitter, as he’s famous for delivering some of the best smack talk on social media out of anyone on the WWE’s roster. He also was asked about possibly being a Grand Slam Champion, which he would be if he were to win the WWE Championship.
Owens has held the Universal Title after winning the vacated belt back in August of 2016. Finn Balor was the first-ever Universal Champion after defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for the inaugural strap but was forced to vacate it after suffering a shoulder injury during the bout. The former NXT Champion also discussed what winning the WWE Title would mean as opposed to having held the Universal crown.
And finally Owens revealed what was going through his mind when he headbutted Vince McMahon on an episode of SmackDown Live to hype his Hell In A Cell match with Shane McMahon last year. Here are the highlights:
You have a really great voice on Twitter, but you’ve also expressed concerns about the nastier aspects of social media. Where do you stand right now in terms of how you manage your social media presence and how you engage with fans both positive and negative?
“I really don’t go on Twitter as much as I used to. I feel like as you become more well-known, more and more people have access to you and know who you are. There’s a lot of people out there who are just miserable in their own lives I guess and just trying to make other people miserable as well to bring themselves up. There’s no shortage of that, that’s for sure. It’s taken a toll on my in terms of how much I love social media. I don’t enjoy it as much. But whenever I do, I get messages from people telling me how my work helps them in their life in the struggles they’re going through.
“That always means the world to me. It will never stop. There’s something very special about meeting fans you know you reach with your work. We do this every week, we get into a routine, and as passionate as we may be, it’s like any other job in a way. Once you do something long enough, you kind of get used to it. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to meet somebody that’s really touched by your work, and that always puts things in perspective and is really cool.”
How important is winning the WWE championship to you? Obviously you’d be a grand slam champion, but now that you’ve been Universal champion, which is a top title in the company, why would it still mean a lot to win the WWE title?
“Honestly, to me, the WWE championship and the Universal championship are the same thing. They’re the top championships on the respective brands. If the brand extension were to end or whatever may happen, those titles would just be fused into the WWE championship again. The point is, they mean the same thing. So of course I want to be WWE champion because of what it means, and that means you’re the top superstar. I don’t think that you necessarily have to be the champion to be the top superstar, but it certainly helps.
“It’s an accolade that everybody wants. Who doesn’t want to be WWE champion? I was Universal champion, and I’m very proud of that, and that’s always going to be a highlight of my career. But of course I want to be WWE champion, just like I want to be tag team champion eventually. All the titles just mean your work is being recognized, and you’re seen as someone who can represent the company. That’s always very gratifying.”
Can you paint a picture of what goes through your head when you find out that you’re going to headbutt Vince McMahon?
“No I really can’t, honestly. It’s pretty indescribable. But it’s something I’ll remember forever, I’ll guarantee you that. [laughs]”
You can read Owens’ full interview with AL.com by clicking this link here.
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live it was announced that WWE Champion AJ Styles will defend his title in a 2-on-1 handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) later this month. “KO” took to Twitter to react to the WWE Title opportunity:
– Last night’s episode of 205 Live continued the feud of Hideo Itami and Jack Gallagher as Gallagher beat Itami down with a pipe. You can check out the video of the segment here below:
– Early tomorrow morning Chris Jericho will be returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) for his highly-anticipated match-up against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Jericho took to Instagram to post some fan art that showed himself, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. “Y2J” said that he is dedicating his match tomorrow to his “fallen brothers”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdfXpUjlQnS/
– In the dark main event after SmackDown Live and 205 Live tapings; a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura took on the team of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jinder Mahal. “The Phenomenal One” and his team were able to emerge victorious to send the crowd home happy.
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan announced on tonight’s show that WWE Champion AJ Styles will defend his title against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in a Handicap Match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which takes place on January 28th from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
SmackDown also saw new Superstars confirmed for the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches – Baron Corbin, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan.
Below is the updated Rumble card coming out of SmackDown:
30-Man Royal Rumble Match
John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin, TBA
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match
Asuka, Naomi, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Paige, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Carmella, Tamina Snuka, Lana, Natalya, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, TBA
Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Title
Kane vs. Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar
2-on-1 Handicap Match for the WWE Title
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
WWE United States Title Tournament Finals
Bobby Roode or Zack Ryder or Mojo Rawley vs. Jinder Mahal or Xavier Woods
Former WWE Universal Champion and United States Champion Kevin Owens recently spoke to MLive.com to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. “KO” discussed not caring about being booed or cheered by crowds, wanting to wrestle Shawn Michaels, and if he’d let his kids wrestle. The highlights can be seen below:
Not caring if he is booed or cheered by a crowd:
“I just try to listen to strong reaction. To me the best reaction is a mix of both boos and cheers. John Cena and Roman Reigns get insane reactions where half the crowd loves them and half the crowd despises them. When you’re in the ring waiting for your opponent, whether it’s John or Roman, you get hit by this crazy noise. It’s people almost competing with each other. The guy who’s booing one of them is trying to be louder than the guy cheering. It makes for a special atmosphere. That’s really what I’m striving for.”
Wishing he could’ve wrestled Shawn Michaels:
“Michaels is the reason I became a wrestler in the first place. I saw him when I was 11. I was a scrawny kid at the time. People thought I was 7 or 8. So to see the smallest guy on the show be the best guy on the show really spoke to me. I said if he can do it, I can do it. Now I get to share different pieces of his wisdom with him when he comes to a show here or there. I try to sit as close to him as I can and listen to him and discuss wrestling, family and life. It’s so great to talk about those things with someone I look up to so much. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to have been in the ring with him.”
If he’d let his kids become wrestlers:
“I don’t hope for it, but if they want to then they’re more than welcome. I have no preference. I just want them to be happy. I always pursued this dream, but for the first 7 years that I was a wrestler, I worked at a gas station part time. I finished high school, but still needed a job to make money to live on. I was lucky enough to have the boss to give me time off I needed to wrestle. I think you can be happy doing whatever you want in life as long as it fulfills you can you get something out of it.”
You can check out Owens’ full interview with MLive.com by clicking this link here.
