One week from today, WWE’s annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view will be held in Boston, Massachusetts. The event has quickly become one of the most anticipated programs of the year, as it provides exciting action and sets up the storyline for months by allowing a WWE superstar to stalk his prey while holding a contract for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
There will be two Money in the Bank ladder matches this year. One will be held for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and the other will be a traditional contest for a shot at the title. The first contest will feature perennial title contenders such as John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, and Alberto Del Rio, as well as up-and-coming stars such as Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and Cesaro.
It seems like John Cena is once again the favorite to leave Boston as the champ.
The second ladder match will feature Seth Rollins, with the rest of the lineup to be determined in a series of qualifying matches. Thus far, only three matches have been announced for the entire pay-per-view, and with only one week left before the event, one has to wonder how the WWE will tie everything together in such a brief period.
Other than the two ladder matches, a matchup between the Usos and Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of the Wyatt family is the only confirmed contest on the card. It seems apparent that Dean Ambrose will be one of the participants in the traditional ladder match. Potential options also include those who did not qualify for the championship ladder match, including Bad News Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, and Rob Van Dam.
The two ladder matches will soak up a large portion of the roster, meaning the midcard will have to pick up some slack in order to fill up the three hours of airtime. Rumored contests include Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. RybAxel, Rusev vs. Big E, and a Divas Championship match involving Paige and all or part of the Funkadactyls.
The main event for the June 29th WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view will be the ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which features John Cena, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and Alberto Del Rio. As noted recently, Cena or Reigns (and Cesaro as a long-shot) will likely come out on top, as the winner is the likely candidate for Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Also confirmed for the 6/29 PPV is a WWE Tag-Team Championship match with The Usos defending against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of The Wyatt Family.
The second ladder match, which was made official recently and will be for the usual Money In The Bank briefcase, as of right now only features Seth Rollins. Additional names rumored for the match include Dean Ambrose, Big E., Rob Van Dam, Bo Dallas, as well as Bad News Barrett and Dolph Ziggler, the latter two of which will either be part of that match or in an Intercontinental Championship match with each other.
Additionally, the direction for the WWE Divas Championship match at Money In The Bank seems to be Paige defending against Naomi of The Funkadactyls.
It’s being said that Vince McMahon, who is still responsible for all of the key decisions in WWE, is still not sold on Bo Dallas, Adam Rose and Paige – three NXT talents that recently moved up to the main roster.
McMahon has a reputation of not being the easiest person to accept new talent as top stars.
The fact that Adam Rose was kept off of RAW this past Monday night is considered a sign that the company is starting to cool off on his character. Additionally, WWE producer Kevin Dunn reportedly buried Rose backstage in recent weeks.
As noted previously, Ultimate Warrior’s widow Dana Warrior and her daughters Indy and Mattie attended the WWE live event in Rio Rancho, New Mexico on Sunday night. At one point during the show, Paige and Natalya actually brought Warrior’s daughters into the ring. You can check out a photo below.
Dana Warrior wrote the following on Facebook after the event:
“”When WWE invited us to be their guests at the Rio Rancho show I was scared to go… it felt too soon. Still my Warrior girls insisted and for them I’ll do anything! Our warrior spirit got us there and our WWE family took us the rest of the way. Such a special night we will always remember. Our house may not feel like home without him… how lovely backstage at WWE still did. xo Dana”
Paige made perhaps the most memorable debut in Divas history after appearing on Raw a few weeks back and winning the Divas Championship from AJ Lee during her first match on the main roster.
Since arriving, Paige has been booked as a soft-spoken, overly modest underdog who has had to overcome the odds in order to retain her title. She will once again defend her title this Sunday at Payback against Alicia Fox.
Fox has been on fire in recent weeks, as she has secured a title shot and has also abused a number of ringside employees along the way. Perhaps most importantly, she earned the title shot by beating the Divas Champion clean two weeks ago on Raw.
Paige has been consistently booked as an underdog since capturing the Divas Championship.
During the contest, Paige got in very little offense and was dominated by her foe, with Fox ultimately picking up the winning and going on a tangent afterward. The decimation of Paige by Fox makes one wonder if Paige is perhaps being booked too weak.
It is one thing to be booked as an underdog. Take Daniel Bryan, for example. He had to overcome all odds in order to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. He lost a few matches along the way, but his losses were mostly due to outside interference or circumstances where anyone on the roster would succumb to the odds, such as receiving Sweet Chin Music from the referee of the match.
Paige, on the other hand, is supposed to be the best Diva in the company because she is of course the champion. She has never looked that way, however, largely because most of her matches consist of her taking most of the damage before picking up a win out of nowhere at the end.
Currently there are three matches officially announced for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view on June 1st in Chicago, Illinois. Those matches are The Shield vs. Evolution in a No Holds Barred Elimination match, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match and Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Other matches likely for WWE Payback include The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag-Team Championships, Paige vs. Alicia Fox for the WWE Divas Championship, Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship, Adam Rose vs. Jack Swagger, Rusev vs. Big E. and Summer Rae vs. Layla with Fandango as special guest referee.
As far as the No Holds Barred Elimination main event, a possible scenario being considered is one that would see Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins eliminated early, leaving Roman Reigns to make a huge comeback on all three Evolution members by himself.
The match will be Batista’s final match in WWE for several months, and based on plans for the future, could be one of Triple H’s last for a while as well.
Superstar John Cena® Heads Five WWE® Standouts To Attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, Aug. 21-23
WWE® Superstars John Cena®, Batista™ and Bray Wyatt™, WWE® Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino™ and WWE® Diva Paige™ will attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, Aug. 21-23 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. Special VIP packages now available.
Wizard World today announced WWE Superstars John Cena, Batista and Bray Wyatt, WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino, and WWE Diva Paige are scheduled to greet fans, sign autographs and pose for photo ops at its biggest and longest running event, Wizard World Chicago Comic Con on August 21-22-23 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
Cena will appear on Thursday, Aug. 21, from 3:30-7:30 p.m.; Bray Wyatt and Paige will attend on Friday, Aug. 22, from 3:30-6:30 p.m.; Sammartino is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 23 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and Batista is slated for Saturday from 2-5:15 p.m. followed by a Guardians of the Galaxy panel at 5:15 p.m. Tickets for all events are extremely limited.
“Coming back to Chicago is a great thrill for me,” says Cena. “The fans here have always been good to me, and I really enjoy all my Wizard World appearances.”
“It is so great to meet not only the WWE Universe, but also fans of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy,” says Batista (Dave Bautista). “I’m really excited to be joining my co-stars Karen Gillan and Michael Rooker at Wizard World for our Guardians of the Galaxy panel just weeks after the US debut.”
“I had so many great matches in Chicago during my Hall of Fame career, it’s such a thrill to be going back,” says Sammartino. “It’s great to relive these wonderful memories with the WWE Universe here in Chicago.”
In addition to the five WWE stars, top celebrities scheduled to attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con include David Boreanaz (“Bones,” “Angel”), Matt Smith (“Doctor Who”), Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who,” Guardians of the Galaxy), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Winter Soldier), Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead,” Boondock Saints) and many more.
It is the 10th of 16 events in the 2014 series produced by Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) and will also feature a top-drawer collection of well-known comics artists and writers and a variety of activities, exhibitors and special attractions. Wizard World Chicago Comic Con show hours are Thursday, August 21, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, August 22, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday, August 23, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, August 24, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On The Wyatt Family: “When the audience is encouraged to sing along to a supposed villain’s singing of a spiritual hymn and the antagonist also uses Mick Foley’s ‘cheap pop’ line of mentioning the city from which the show is emanating, those matters are not helping the talent become a ‘hated’ performer. Perhaps that’s the idea….perhaps the end game will be that Bray Wyatt isn’t a villain but Harper and Rowan might be. I have a crazy storyline idea on the new Ross Report Podcast that drops today (Tuesday) at 6 pm Pacific time at podcastone.com featuring @Goldberg. Check it out.”
On John Cena: “At the end of the night not one fan favorite came to John Cena’s aid as he was being beat like a Government Mule by three men. The humanity of it all. One would assume that at least one ‘good guy’ would wonder out to the stage in an attempt to ‘do right’ if not to only get beaten by the three, bearded, disenfranchised Duck Dynasty gone bad Swamp People. (I watch too much TV.)”
On Paige losing in London: “I wasn’t shocked whatsoever that Paige lost on TV in her home country and neither should anyone else who’s been alive for more than a few hours. Obviously, just as I did, WWE liked what they saw last week with Alicia Fox and wanted Alicia to get an impactful win and beating Norwich, England’s own Paige was the solution that was used. If you think about it long enough, it’s not bad casting. Hey, we’ve all seen worse.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
WWE Divas Champion Paige recently spoke to Digital Spy to promote WWE’s ongoing international tour. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
AJ Lee’s Eventual Return: “If she does come, great! I can’t wait, because then it gives me more competition and I know she’s going to be coming straight after me. She’s going to be full of anger and she’s going to be better than ever. The girls so far have given me a great fight. Alicia Fox on Raw the other day really, really stuck it to me! But I still came out victorious. Tamina’s always been very dominating so I’ve really had a good run so far – so I look forward to AJ one day.”
How NXT Has Revolutionized WWE: “NXT as a whole is fantastic. When I first started we didn’t have the TV. We had to try and start again and build our brand and no-one really knew us. We were doing the live events and training every day. When Triple H took it over and made it his baby he really, really jumpstarted it for us. I got a large fanbase just from NXT itself. It’s an amazing brand. NXT’s really, really helping. Everyone really enjoys it. It’s a really short show and it’s full of wrestling and people love the wrestling side of things too. They get what they want on Raw, they get what they want on NXT. I think it helps having NXT – you get to see the young talent before they come up here – it’s great for everyone.”
Emma’s Transition To WWE: “Emma is incredible, first of all. I really enjoyed every single match I had with her and she deserves everything that she’s getting so far. She’s really, really working hard – she’s definitely a workhorse. She’s just really happy. People have seen what she can do but not what she’s so freaking fantastic at. It’s good that people are seeing it bit by bit. If we just saw it all in our face already, people are going to get tired quickly. The way she’s growing at the minute, she’s doing great. You haven’t seen the best of her yet, definitely not.”
Her Dream Opponent: “Non-wrestlers, it’d be [UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion] Ronda Rousey, because she’s a badass and she’s a big wrestling fan anyway. Wrestling-wise I’ve wrestled a lot of the girls that I’ve really wanted to, like Natalya and Emma. I’d love to wrestle Lita, and Bull Nakano is one of my big inspirations.”
The undercard singles titles are all chilling across the pond these days, as Bad News Barrett, Sheamus, and Paige all won championships in recent weeks. New champions are a welcome sight in the WWE these days, especially considering how stale the previous champions’ runs had become.
Dean Ambrose’s reign as United States Champion will likely be the forgotten reign in years to come. He held the title for almost a year while only defending it a few times before finally dropping it to Sheamus during a battle royal a few weeks back.
The same holds true for Big E and the Intercontinental Championship. Although he did not hold the title as long as Ambrose held his US Championship, his reign was unmemorable and he engaged in no meaningful feuds during his months with the title. As for AJ Lee, her run with the title seemed fresh at first, but she eventually ran out of challengers and it seemed like the right time to crown a new champion.
Ambrose held the title for almost a year and hardly ever defended it.
With recent undercard title reigns being unmemorable, it leads one to wonder if unification is the answer. One of the primary reasons the titles go undefended is because it is difficult to have too many stories going at once, especially meaningful ones that involve championship contests. This leads to champions holding insignificant titles like the US Championship as a way to legitimize or build up the character, but in reality, the title does little because it goes undefended.
One of the best options would perhaps be to unify the United States and Intercontinental Championships. By unifying the titles into just the Intercontinental Championship, it could make the title seem important again. In the Attitude Era, the title held importance, with fans knowing that most superstars who held the strap were on their way to the main event.
That is not the case anymore, however, as the title is thrown on random superstars in an attempt to build interest, but then creative puts in no further effort. It is a little sad that the most interesting thing to happen involving the Intercontinental Championship in recent months was a tournament to crown a number one contender that did not even involve the champion at all (except for a few clips showing him standing in the back, angrily looking at a monitor).
The official WWE website has a new interview up with current Divas Champion Paige. In the interview, Paige reveals what The Rock told her at WrestleMania XXX earlier this year. The following is an excerpt from the interview:
“I’m just taking every day as it comes. I have goals that I want to reach. In the long term, I want to be on the pay-per-views, I want to have my first WrestleMania match, and later on, I want to earn a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame one day. But I’m just taking it as it goes. I actually got some good advice from The Rock, who took me aside the day of WrestleMania 30, right before my Raw debut. He knew the connection that my family had and how hard I worked, and he said, “I just want you to stay humble and hungry.” Those words have literally been stuck in my head for the last month. Never be satisfied, but always be hungry.”
WWE kicks off their European tour today with their first stop in Glasgow, Scotland. With Daniel Bryan off of the tour due to injury, here is the updated list of talent that is scheduled for this part of the tour: Kane, The Shield, Big E, Rob Van Dam, Bad News Barrett, Big Show, Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Paige, Layla, Fandango, Cameron, Naomi, Jack Swagger, Zeb Colter, Sin Cara, Rusev, Lana and more.
Originally, Bryan vs. Kane in a “Last Man Standing” match was being advertised, but with Bryan’s injury, that is obviously off the table. As of right now, no new opponent or match for Kane has been announced.
Also advertised for this leg of the tour is a six-man tag-team match featuring The Shield vs. Randy Orton, Ryback and Curtis Axel.
WWE has signed three new Divas to developmental cnotracts. The three new ladies went through orientation and met with WWE Divas Champion Paige at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on Friday. You can check out photos and information on the three newest Divas below.
– Savelina “Lina” Fanene has a background in sports. She is either related, or close to the family of The Rock.
She’s also said to be good friends with current WWE Diva Layla. She’s has been posting on Instagram about training to be a diva and just a few days ago mentioned that she moved to Orlando, Florida. She later posted a picture of the WWE Performance Center, saying she was blessed to be training there.
– Dasha Kuret has a past as a beauty queen, fitness model and gymnist.
She was also Miss UCF in 2009.
She tweeted on Friday that she was taking her first headshots for WWE and used the hashtags #newjob and #WWENXT.
– Dani Jackson is an independent wrestler and has been recently working for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
The following are results of the matches taped for this week’s edition of WWE Superstars. The matches were taped on Monday night in Albany, New York prior to the start of WWE RAW.
– The Usos def. 3MB in a non-title match. Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal represented 3MB in this one. The finish saw The Usos hit their top-rope splash for the 1-2-3.
– Paige def. Alicia Fox in a non-title match. The Divas champ picked up the win via her Scorpion Cross-Lock submission finisher.
WWE.com caught up with several of the wrestlers who competed at Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, including Paige, Bade News Barrett, Cesaro, Paul Heyman and Lana.
– Divas Champion Paige spoke to Tom Phillips, who said wrestling Tamina Snuka was like fighting King Kong and her win was a major career milestone. She said that she warned Tamina not to underestimate her and Tamina found out she’s the real deal.
– New WWE Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett spoke to Renee Young and bragged about dominating Big E and warning the WWE Universe that his Bullhammer elbow is “bad news.”
– Cesaro and Paul Heyman also spoke to Renee Young, with Paul Heyman asking Renee if he could get a congratulatory kiss for Cesaro’s win. When asked if this this match was a stepping stone for Cesaro, he told her off and walked away. Heyman blew her a kiss and said she should have given him the kiss instead of badgering his client with questions.
– Lana spoke to Tom Phillips about Alexander Rusev’s win. When asked why they dedicated the match to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lana said Rusev now resides in Russia and fights for Russia.
Videos of the post-show interviews can be seen at WWE.com.
– John Cena is advertised to appear on Tuesday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which emanates from Buffalo, New York. Daniel Bryan, however, is not scheduled to appear on the post-Extreme Rules edition of SmackDown.
– The following are the updated online betting odds for this Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Odds are courtesy of BetFair.com. The favorites are listed in bold.
The following are the betting odds for Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view according to PaddyPower.com.
Alexander Rusev is the biggest favorite on the entire card as of right now, as he comes in at -1800 for his handicap match against R-Truth and Xavier Woods. In this case, you would have to bet $1,800 on Rusev to earn $100 profit on the bet. On the flip-side of the coin, Truth and Woods, who come in at +650, would earn you $650 profit if you placed a $100 bet.
It should also be noted that these odds are indicative of much until the actual “smart money” comes in on the show, which is generally hours before the event starts on the day of the show.
The following are results for this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, which aired live on the WWE Network on Tuesday, April 29, 2014.
– Goldust def. Alberto Del Rio in a singles bout to open the show. The match saw a lot of back-and-forth action until Goldust counters Del Rio’s superkick attempt and blasts him with his Final Cut finisher for the 1-2-3 and the victory.
– After Goldust picks up the victory, Cody Rhodes comes in and congratulates him. Renee Young enters the ring and interviews both guys. She asks if their recent singles matches means they are going their separate ways. Goldust says that the Brotherhood is still together. He says they may work singles matches from time-to-time, but ultimately they have each others backs. Young asks Rhodes if he is proud of his brother. He seems offended at the question and asks if she thinks Goldust is better than him because he won tonight and Cody lost on RAW. Eventually he apologizes and reiterates the fact that the Brotherhood is together and says things will stay that way. The two hug and that’s that.
– Paige def. Alicia Fox in Divas action to retain her WWE Divas Championship. The match went back-and-forth, with Paige taking a lot of punishment before ultimately hitting Fox with a big DDT to score the pin fall victory. After the match, as Paige was walking up the ramp, Tamina Snuka comes out to the top of the stage and the two have a staredown.
– Backstage, Renee Young is with Sheamus. She asks Sheamus for his level of concern knowing he has to face Bray Wyatt in the main event tonight. Sheamus talks briefly about how he’s not afraid and informs Wyatt that tonight — it’s time to fight.
– Bad News Barrett def. Kofi Kingston in singles competition. Barrett cuts a promo before the match dressing down Big E., informing him that he’s going to take his WWE Intercontinental Championship this Sunday at Extreme Rules. The two have a solid back-and-forth match that ends when Kingston leaps in the air off of the ringside steps, but gets caught on the way down with the Bull Hammer Elbow from Barrett. Barrett rolls Kingston back in the ring and covers him. 1-2-3. Barrett wins.
– Bray Wyatt def. Sheamus in the headline bout of this week’s edition of WWE Main Event. Bray Wyatt sings along with the crowd, singing of course, “he’s got the whole world in his hands.” He sings along with them until Sheamus’ music hits to interupt him. The two end up having an extremely competitive match that sees Erick Rowan and Luke Harper distract Sheamus at the end, allowing Wyatt to hit him with his Sister Abigail finisher for the 1-2-3.
– After the main event ends, Rowan and Harper join Wyatt in a three-on-one beatdown of Sheamus until The Usos come out to make the save. The show goes off the air with all six guys staring each other down.
Following Monday’s Extreme Rules “go-home” edition of WWE RAW, here is your latest official WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view lineup for this Sunday night.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kane
Faction vs. Faction
– Evolution vs. The Shield
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Big E. (c) vs. Bad News Barrett
WWE Divas Championship
– Paige (c) vs. Tamina Snuka
Steel Cage Match
– John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
Handicap Match
– Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth & Xavier Woods
Pre-Show “WeeLC Match”
– Hornswoggle vs. El Torito
Rumored
– Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger
Make sure to join us here this Sunday night for the absolute best live WWE Extreme Rules results coverage.
Apparently WWE is booking Divas Champion Paige is a very specific way, with a design behind it. The feeling is she needs to connect with the WWE audience before competing in high-profile matches with top talent.
WWE is having Paige work with lower-level heels, such as Aksana and Alicia Fox, as a way to allow the fans to get to know her and have a reason to get behind her, before she advances into bigger matches, such as the one coming up with Tamina Snuka at Extreme Rules.
The following are results for the WWE NXT episodes that will air on May 1st, May 8th, May 15th and May 22nd. All four episodes were taped on Thursday night at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
Dark Match
– Alexander Rusev def. an unknown wrestler in a dark match to open up the tapings.
Spoiler Results for May 1, 2014
– Tyson Kidd def. Bo Dallas in the first television match of the evening.
– Sasha Banks (with Charlotte) def. Bayley in an opening round match of the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
– Adam Rose def. Danny Burch. After the match, Camacho appeared during Rose’s big after-match party.
– Natalya def. Layla in an opening round match of the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
– Mojo Rawley def. Oliver Grey. After the match, Aiden English came out and cut a promo on Rawley.
– Adrian Neville def. Brodus Clay in a no-disqualification match to retain the NXT Championship in a what that served as the main event for this episode.
Spoiler Results for May 8, 2014
– This show kicks off with Triple H in the ring for a promo. He talks about how NXT is the future and is taking over wrestling. He pushes the NXT Takeover special, which will take place live on the WWE Network on May 29th. Additionally, he announces a battle royal to determine the new number one contender to the NXT Championship.
– Charlotte def. Emma in a second round match in the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
– Kalisto & El Locale (Ricardo Rodriguez under a mask) def. The Legionnaires (Sylvester Lefort & Marcus Louise).
– Camacho def. Captain Comic from Adam Rose’s party group. After the match, Camacho came out and had a confrontation with Rose.
– Alexa Bliss def. Alicia Fox in another match in the NXT Women’s Championship tournament.
– Next up was the battle royal announced by Triple H earlier in the show to crown the new number one contender to the NXT Championship. The participants were Xavier Woods, Brodus Clay, Baron Corbin, Curt Hawkins, Aiden English, Jason Jordan, Danny Burch, Oliver Grey, Marcus Louise, Sylvester Lefort, Big Cass, Camacho, Mason Ryan, Kalisto, El Local, Mojo Rawley, Sami Zayn, Yoshi Tatsu, Tyler Breeze, Bo Dallas and Tyson Kidd. In the end, Breeze, Zayn and Kidd were the final three and all were eliminated at the same time. This leads to Triple H coming back out and announcing that the three will compete in a triple-threat match to determine the official number one contender to the title.
– The Ascension def. Buddy Murphy and an unknown wrestler in the main event of this episode.
For results of the May 15, 2014 edition of WWE NXT TV, as well as the May 22, 2014 edition of the show, click ahead to page two …
– As previously reported, WWE announced that Paige was stripped of her NXT Women’s Championship. The announcement was made in a video by JBL, but was removed from the official WWE website. For those who missed it, the announcement included JBL mentioning that a tournament would be held in NXT to determine the new champion.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley thanked fans for their support of his decision to turn down a WWE Legends contract offer. Foley tweeted the following on Wednesday evening:
Thanks for the support. Personally, I'll lose money and further strain my relationship with #WWE – but I hope that other talent benefits.
It was announced via the official WWE website that WWE Divas Champion Paige, who was also the current WWE NXT Women’s Champion, has been stripped of her NXT title. Paige alluded to this news in a new tweet posted today, telling the NXT Divas to “let the games begin.”
– Savelina “Lina” Fanene has a background in sports. She is either related, or close to the family of The Rock.
– Dasha Kuret has a past as a beauty queen, fitness model and gymnist.
– Dani Jackson is an independent wrestler and has been recently working for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).