While the title change was apparently in works, Daniel Bryan’s heel turn during the latest episode of SmackDown Live was still a last minute decision, so it came as a shock to most of the WWE Universe.
However there was one star who wasn’t surprised with Bryan’s actions at all and he is none other than a former WWE Champion on his own rights, the Miz.
The A-Lister made the following post on Instagram commenting on Daniel’s heel turn, saying that he told everyone who the real Daniel Bryan was but they chose to ignore and boo him:
We noted before how the Rock finally released the trailer of Paige’s biopic titled Fighting With My Family from his twitter account earlier this week.
The trailer was generally praised by the fans and the SmackDown General Manager reacted to it via the following tweet, thanking fans for believing in her:
Fighting With My Family will see actress Florence Pugh portraying the role of the former Diva’s Champion and Lena Headey and Nick Frost acting as her parents. The film is set to be released in February next year.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions has produced a feature film based on the life of the Knight family including Saraya Knight aka Paige. The film was produced in conjunction with WWE Studios and Film 4, and the title is “Fighting with My Family.” Paige will not be playing herself but rather will be portrayed by actress Florence Pugh. Lena Headey and Nick Frost will play Paige’s parents in the film. Vince Vaughn as Jake Roberts and Zelina Vega as AJ Lee. The Rock will also make a cameo. You can see the trailer here:
It was reported byDeadline back in April that the movie had been pushed back from September 1st, 2018 to early 2019. The reason for the delay was due to the heavy competition on the weekend of September 1st. Now, the film is slated to be released in February. Here is the synopsis:
Based on a true story, FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY follows reformed gangster Ricky, wife Julia, daughter Paige and son Zak as they make a living wrestling together in tiny venues. When Paige and Zak get the opportunity to try out for WWE, the family grabs a once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn their wildest dreams into a dazzling future. However, brother and sister quickly discover that to become superstars, both their talent and their relationship will be put to the test.
WWE fans are still dealing with the fact that Paige is no longer able to compete in the squared circle.
Thus, when rumors started to go around online on Tuesday morning that the former WWE Divas Champion and current SmackDown General Manager had been cleared to return to the ring and is able to bump if needed, fans were excited to see what it may lead to. It was also noted in the rumors that WWE officials WWE doesn’t want her in a physical role despite being cleared.
That joy didn’t last long as Paige responded to a fan who brought up the rumors by writing the following on her official Twitter account, “Nope. I’m not. At all. One more knock to my neck could result in paralysis. Don’t read “facts” on the internet. As much as I want that to be true it’s 100% not.”
Her in-ring career ended when she was in a six-woman tag match back in late December at a live event that needed to be called off after she took a hard kick to the back from Sasha Banks that she wasn’t ready for and it stunned her. The early belief was it was just a mild stinger, leading to her losing feeling in her extremities.
WWE pulled her from the ring and set up further testing that led to the call being made that she would not be cleared by WWE doctors to wrestle again. It was a situation described as similar to Edge’s medical disqualification from competing in the ring.
Since then, she has made a great transition from being an active wrestler to being an authority figure on weekly WWE television.
Paige responded to a fan on Twitter recently who said WWE makes their female talent wear revealing clothing. According to the Smackdown General Manager, WWE does not force or coerce female talent to wear anything they are uncomfortable with.
“Wrong. We dress the way we wanna dress. We aren’t coerced or forced into dressing like anything other than what we feel comfortable, confident and beautiful in. The men technically show more skin than the women… does that make them “whores” or?”
Paige’s Wrestling Career Moving Forward
Despite only being 26, WWE’s doctors have said they will no longer clear Paige to compete. She has suffered wear-and-tear damage to her shoulder and neck area that doctors are no longer comfortable allowing her back in the ring. Part of her history with injuries can be attributed to her having scoliosis. The condition causes a curving of the spine and while not serious, can be challenging for athletes.
Paige had the following to say regarding her retirement during a recent appearance on Lillian Garcia’s podcast.
“Everything I knew my entire life, like literally for 26 years all I’ve known is wrestling and for it to be ripped out of my hands just like that – and it’s no one’s fault, it just comes with the business sometimes, like spinal stenosis with Edge and Stone Cold, it happens. For it to be cut short, it’s devastating. It’s horrible. My dad was just crying and he was like, ‘Everything is gonna be OK sweetheart. You’re gonna do bigger things now. Don’t worry this isn’t the end of your story,’ and I was like, ‘Thank you dad.’ That same day, I was just devastated, Hunter called me to make sure I was OK. I went to work and Vince [McMahon] gave me a big hug and said, ‘We’ll look after you. We just want you to look after yourself first.’”
Paige made an appearance Busted Open Radio last Tuesday to promote the 1000th episode of WWE SmackDown Live where she spoke with Mark Henry and Dave LaGreca. In this interview she talked about a wide range of topics including the feeling that she was a pioneer of women’s wrestling in the WWE and how she helped change the mindset of how women talent are seen in the company while training in FCW at the time, which was WWE’s developmental system before NXT was created.
The SmackDown Live General Manager recalled making a few girls cry when she first started as she would have to apologize to them because this is how she wrestles and trains. She brought up how she had to start doing like the bikini contest in FCW, which made her put her foot down and say how she was there to wrestle. She added that “I’m not here to flash my body, I’m not here to not be wearing wrestling boots.”
Now, that she’s no longer able to wrestle, she mentors the female talent on the SmackDown Live roster. She brought up talking with Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose after their matches and giving them advice.
She thinks that it’s great that they listen to her and included The IIconics. Paige stated that Billie Kay and Peyton Royce would come up to her after every match and ask for her take on it. She added that “I love it because I can’t compete in the ring anymore. Anything I can give back is amazing.”
Paige suffered a career-ending injury during a Live Event in December last year, and she officially announced her retirement from in-ring competition during the Raw episode after WrestleMania 34.
Though she didn’t stay away from WWE Programming for long after retirement and the former NXT Star was introduced as the new General Manager of SmackDown on the Blue Branded Show the next night.
During a recent interview with TV Insider, Paige talked about a lot of things including having chemistry with the Miz and R Truth, paying attention to Miz’s promos and more.
While talking about her role as the SmackDown General Manager, the former Diva’s Champion claimed that she was pitching ideas at the time and Vince McMahon already had this position for her in mind:
“I actually pitched the idea, too. I knew a few months back that I pretty much wasn’t going to be wrestling anymore, so I was constantly pitching ideas of what I could do. Maybe I could manage someone and be the female Paul Heyman. I was constantly pitching. I think Vince [McMahon] already had the idea to make me general manager. That was his idea.
Apart from this, Paige also recalled how Shane McMahon helped her during the first two weeks as the GM of SmackDown Live and said that she has been having fun in the role.
SmackDown Live General Manager Paige can’t compete inside a WWE ring. The 26-year-old has been medically suspended from ever competing for the professional wrestling juggernaut inside the ring again. She suffered a neck injury that could have serious ramifications on her longterm health if aggravated. For now, she retains a regular WWE TV role as General Manager of Tuesday nights.
Despite the disappointment of not being able to compete in the ring, Paige still holds out a bit of hope. This hope comes from seeing the amazing journey of current SDL star Daniel Bryan. Bryan was once in a very similar position to Paige. He was medically barred from competing inside the WWE ring as well. Up until earlier this year, he also served as SDL General Manager.
Upon Bryan’s resignation to return to full-time Superstar status, Paige was given the role. She spoke about being inspired by Bryan during a recent interview with TV Insider. Here’s what she had to say:
“His injury was a bit different, but he is still a superstar to me. Here is a guy who did not give up. It took three years since the last time he was in the ring. It gives me hope. I know it probably won’t happen for me because of the prognosis. But I just want a miracle to happen. Bryan is definitely an inspiration and would want to walk in his footsteps.”
What do you think about Paige drawing inspiration from Bryan’s WWE comeback?
SmackDown General Manager Paige was the latest guest on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast. She spoke about a wide variety of topics, including former fiancee Alberto El Patron recently trashing her on social media. Here are some highlights from the appearance:
Women’s Evolution
“I’m happy, but, you know, it’s kind of a bittersweet thing,” Paige said, when Lilian noted that her in-ring career ended just as WWE’s heavily branded Women’s Evolution kicked into high gear. “I can’t get back in the ring, but why do I have to dwell on it? Why do I have to be sad constantly?” she added.
Garcia pressed Paige on how difficult it must be to give up her dream career, likening it to an athlete or musician being forced to retire. Paige said that she dealt with the end of her wrestling career by focusing on what she could do next. “Like, I can’t just sit here and be sad,” she said.
Paige’s Neck Injury
She was also quick to deflect any blame that a vocal minority of the fanbase sent Sasha Banks’s way. Banks was in the ring with Paige and delivered the move that ended her career.
“I got the kick. It wasn’t Sasha’s fault. My neck just wasn’t as strong as it was before,” she said. “I’m not gonna hold Sasha accountable for what happened to me.”
She noted that she saw Dr. Joseph Maroon, the noted physician who oversees WWE’s medical program, who also operated on Bruno Sammartino and John Cena when they suffered broken necks. Maroon noted that Paige was fortunate not to be permanently paralyzed, as there was no spinal fluid surrounding the injured area.
She also said that the decision to delay her retirement promo on television was a joint decision, made with WWE. The company wanted to delay the announcement for creative reasons, as well as to make sure that she wouldn’t be cleared medically. Paige said that she also didn’t want word getting out before she could make the announcement herself.
Smackdown GM
Paige said that she loves her new role as Smackdown General Manager. “It’s great. I get to work with the girls, I get to work with the guys. That’s what the challenge is, to be mixed in with everybody,” she said.
Paige And Alberto Del Rio
As the interview wound down, Garcia brought up Alberto Del Rio’s recent social media post, where fans commented on the appearance of the woman he was photographed with, how they thought she was prettier than Paige, and how Del Rio egged them on with his own comments.
Paige gave a measured response, noting that she chose not to lash out with an immediate response. “I chose not to respond at that moment,” she said. “It hurt my feelings, but I didn’t want him to know that it hurt my feelings.”
“You’re making fun of someone who had mental health issues,” she said of Del Rio’s comments. “Who does that? I’m glad that he’s moved on and found someone. I love that. I want his family to be happy,” she said. Finally, Paige said she just wants him to leave her alone.
Paige also announced that she has a new makeup line on the way, and is also releasing a makeup line for Hot Topic, which will launch in January.
Note: If you use these transcribed quotes, please credit SEScoops.com
Two weeks ago on Monday Night RAW, Liv Morgan suffered a nasty injury on live WWE TV. During a match between The Bella Twins & Natalya against The Riott Squadd, Morgan was knocked unconscious. Brie Bella hit Morgan in the face with a “YES! Kick” and Morgan crumbled over and knocked out.
Morgan was dragged to her corner and tagged out of the match. She jumped back in and participated in a Triple Suplex before being taken to the back and undergoing medical attention. SmackDown Live General Manager Paige took to former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, to offer her thoughts. The former Divas Champion doesn’t think Brie would ever intentionally hurt anyone:
“I feel so bad for Brie,” Paige said. “She’s never hurt anyone, it’s the first time she hurt some and she gets blamed for it? Come on dude, it’s an accident. Liv doesn’t blame her. The thing I didn’t like about it is the fact her teammates brought her back in the ring to do a suplex when everyone knew she was knocked out. That’s the thing I don’t like.”
Paige then criticized The Riott Squad for not taking care of their partner better:
“Ruby and Sarah, take care of your teammate. You see that she got hurt, don’t let her back in the ring again. Referee, don’t let her back in the ring again.”
Liv Morgan then took to Twitter, seemingly responding to Paige’s podcast comments and firing back at her:
Tonight’s Smackdown and 205 Live taping will take place in the Moda Center in Portland, OR. It will be the go-home show before Saturday’s Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia.
Smackdown Preview 10/1
Paige Addresses Samoa Joe’s Actions From Last Week
Smackdown General Manager Paige has announced she will kick off tonight’s show by addressing Samoa Joe’s actions from last week. Joe showed up at the home of WWE Champion AJ Styles last week. Now just 4 days before Super Show-Down (less if you count the time change), what will Paige have in store for Joe?
Becky Lynch Planning A Surprise For Super Show-Down
Smackdown Women’s’ Champion, Becky Lynch, has some sort of surprise for Charlotte Flair. What it is will be revealed tonight.
“WWE.com has learned that The Irish Lass Kicker has a very special Super Showdown Surprise that she will reveal on SmackDown LIVE,” WWE stated about Lynch’s planned surprise.
R-Truth & Carmella vs Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega
Not only are R-Truth and Carmella teaming together in the Mixed Match Challenge they will also be in a mixed-tag match tonight on Smackdown as well. They take on Zelina Vega and Andrade “Cien” Almas tonight.
Between Miz and Maryse, Daniel Bryan and Brie, Vega and Almas, and Truth and Carmella, there is quite an inter-gender tag division brewing on Smackdown.
Zelina and Carmella got into a social media spat this week after the Fabulous Truth lost on the MMC.
Babe, #TruthTv was one of the best parts of #SDLive this week.. yano, the same show y’all weren’t even on. ?
Shelton Benjamin called out Smackdown General Manager Paige this week, stating he was not getting enough in-ring action on Smackdown.
I Am a warrior I am a competitor & I am DAMN GOOD! Yet I have not had a match on #SmackDownLIVE in months. I’m here to compete I thrive on competition @RealPaigeWWE Its time you Got me off the bench & LET ME FIGHT!
So Paige has given him what he wants, a chance to prove himself. Daniel Bryan and Benjamin will go one-on-one tonight. You have to wonder if Bryan’s Super Show-Down opponent, the Miz, will be watching closely.
New Day Reveal Recipe For Pancakes
New Day has been tag team champions so often that a little old upcoming title match doesn’t stop them from enjoying pancakes. While New Day will take on the Bar this Saturday, they will be sharing their secret pancake recipe during a segment on Smackdown tonight.
We noted before how a New Day segment was announced for this week’s episode of SmackDown Live and now Paige has revealed another segment and a couple of new matches for the show.
The General Manager continued the tradition of booking matches via twitter, and she confirmed a mixed tag match and Daniel Bryan’s bout for the night via a video posted from her official account as seen below:
The first bout she announced is between the teams of Zelina Vega and Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas vs. Carmella and R Truth. Both these teams had been teasing this match on social media last week.
Shelton Benjamin Gets A Match On SmackDown
Also after Shelton Benjamin sent out some tweets asking for a match on SmackDown, the former Diva’s Champion announced that he will face Daniel Bryan at the upcoming episode.
Apart from this, Paige also announced that she will be opening the show tonight. However, the video ended there and she did not explain what the opening segment will be about.
Though considering the ending of last week’s episode of the Blue Branded Show, and the fact that this will be the go-home episode for the Super Show Down, it’s very likely that the opening segment will involve the WWE Champion AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.
Paige recently did an interview where she spoke about how being the SmackDown General Manager has helped her fill the void of no longer being allowed to wrestle in a WWE ring. Although she is no longer allowed to compete in the ring, she has made a great transition from being an active wrestler to being an authority figure on weekly WWE television.
The former WWE Divas Champion was recently interviewed by Jozef Raczka of Vulture Hound about her new venture under the WWE banner. “I’m so proud of all the work I do and looking forward to everyone seeing the film but right now, I am committed to being the best GM I can and it’s different because I’m not getting in the ring but I’m doing 4 or 5 promos a night sometimes and I’m mixing it up with the men and the women and I love getting to work with Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan, R-Truth, Miz.”
She continued to say that it’s the difference as she doesn’t have to think about matches in the same way but she’s still there all the time which she loves and that’s fun. It’s also pushing her to be out of her comfort zone but is loving every single minute of it. She added that she’s back for this season of Total Divas which after missing last season, Paige is excited to show people a different side of her.
She also talked about the development of Sonya Deville and Many Rose as well as needing to have women’s tag team titles in the WWE. “First off, I absolutely feel there should be Women’s Tag Team Championships, I really want that to happen. Sonya & Mandy are doing so well together and separate but, it’s just hard, they hadn’t been in NXT that long then they’re brought up and after I had to bow out with my injuries, I don’t think I’d had a chance to help them get established enough before they were sent out on their own. But Mandy’s great, she’s kind of an old-school diva and Sonia, she was killing it in NXT, working with Asuka and Ruby Riott.”
She thinks that they both have so much potential and when the time is right, they will get their shot that will be amazing as she can’t think of any teams that aren’t already together.
Alberto El Patron (FKA Alberto Del Rio) recently took a crack at his former partner, Paige, during a social media post. El Patron was responding to a post from a fan on Twitter when he made the comments.
Alberto was found in the comments section of the post, taking a crack at his former love interest:
Paige and Alberto in 2018
Alberto has been wrestling sparingly thus far this year. His duties with Combates Americas keep him busy enough that he only wrestles about once per month. His last match was on August 7th, 2018. He defeated Savio Vega in a match for ICWA in Puerto Rico.
As for Paige, she announced WWE officials would no longer medically clear her for in-ring competition earlier this year. She made the announcement on the Raw after WrestleMania and then was announced as the new General Manager of Smackdown the following night.
Two interesting names were backstage at this week’s WWE Monday Night RAW TV event in Denver, CO at the Pepsi Center. Those stars were The Undertaker and SmackDown General Manager Paige.
Pwinsider.com is reporting that the reason Taker was backstage at the show was to be involved in a photo shoot. It should be noted that although not confirmed by WWE, Undertaker is currently scheduled to appear on next week’s episode, which marks the go-home show for WWE Super Show-Down.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has already been confirmed for the episode. Taker is slated to have Kane in his corner when he takes on Triple H, who will have Michaels in his corner, at Super Show-Down that takes place next weekend at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia and will air on the WWE Network. Regarding Paige, she was said to be working on some material related to the upcoming Survivor Series PPV. It’s possible that acting RAW General Manager Baron Corbin was included in this footage but that has yet to be confirmed.
Finally, it was noted that NXT Superstars Shayna Baszler and Dakota Kai were backstage for the show. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on why they were flown in for the event.
Paige recently opened up to the media about what role Sasha Banks played in the final injury she would endure in a WWE ring.
She isn’t blaming Banks for the injury in the least. Paige says she is the one who called for the move and was confident her neck was strong enough to take it.
“Nothing was ever Sasha’s fault,” Paige said to Give Me Sport recently. “She got so much backlash and even in the ring, when we were in there, people are chanting ‘Sasha sucks’ and it really upset me to hear that because it wasn’t her fault.”
Paige on Injury and Sasha Banks
She would continue to say the move she took from Banks is one she’s taken numerous times before.
“That move where she kicks me in the back, I had taken that so many times previously that I was so stubborn and I thought ‘I can still do these kinds of things.’” Paige continued. “I thought my neck was just as strong as it was before, but, unfortunately, it’s not.”
Paige then said after taking the kick to the back she lost feeling in her limbs. While the feeling would return, she was certain her career was over at that point.
Paige says Banks and her have a good relationship and speak often.
“But, I remember just telling Sasha ‘I can’t wrestle anymore’ and she was devastated, she started crying, crying her eyes out. I was like ‘I’m so sorry’, I think it’s just a British thing to apologize! But I was like ‘I’m sorry, it’s not your fault’ and she’s just been so, so supportive. She always texts me like ‘hey, how are you doing, how things going?’ you know, and she’s just always been really great.”
Paige has opened up about what has been a difficult last few years for her. The 26-year-old’s recent struggles will be the focus of an upcoming WWE Network documentary. Paige said she wants others to “learn from my mistakes.”
She recently spoke to the media about what fans can expect from the documentary.
“You hear a bunch of my stories, the year and a half I took out, just everything,” Paige said to the Mirror. “I was very open with the taped sex that unfortunately got leaked, and the [failing] of drug tests.”
“I was just very open about everything because I want people to learn from my mistakes, you know?”
Paige On Fan Support After Her Injury
While Paige said she’s had trouble dealing with her recent struggles, it was her fans who helped her pull through.
“I was at rock bottom for a year and a half and the people who got me out of my rut were my fans,” Paige said. “They were just like ‘I know you can get out of this, you’re stronger than what you feel right now, I know you can make a comeback’.”
Smackdown General Manager Paige has revealed two matches for this Tuesday’s Smackdown. After defeating the Miz in the Smackdown main event last week, R-Truth will face Andrade “Cien” Almas this week. Maryse will also face Brie Bella in this week’s Smackdown main event.
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs R-Truth
R-Truth’s victory last week was the first single’s win he’s had on WWE programming since July 2017. He defeated Curt Hawkins on Main Event for that victory. Before then, his last win in a single’s match had been on Monday Night Raw in October 2016 when he defeated Titus O’Neil.
Andrade “Cien” Almas has dropped his last two single’s matches on WWE programming. Both losses were to Daniel Bryan. In total, however, Almas is 6-3 in single’s matches since debuting on the main roster earlier this year. His only losses have come by way of AJ Styles and the two to Daniel Bryan.
Brie Bella vs Maryse
Brie Bella will have her first single’s match in 2.5 years tonight when she faces Maryse. She returned to the ring for the first time since 2016 at the Women’s Royal Rumble in January and had her first tag match back last week on Raw.
As for Maryse, this will be her first single’s match since 2011. It will be her first match since she teamed with her husband at WrestleMania 33.
WWE SmackDown General Manager Paige decided to make a change to her look and show it off in a recent photo that she shared on her official Instagram account.
In the caption of the post, she thanked her stylist by writing the following, “Thank you Wayne Tuggle Hair for absolutely KILLING the hair game. Amazing friend and amazing stylist.” You can see the photo here:
Although she is no longer allowed to compete in the ring, she has made a great transition from being an active wrestler to being an authority figure on weekly WWE television.
She was in a six-woman tag match back in late December at a live event that needed to be called off after she took a hard kick to the back from Sasha Banks that she wasn’t ready for and it stunned her. The early belief was it was just a mild stinger, leading to her losing feeling in her extremities.
WWE pulled her from the ring and set up further testing that led to the call being made that she would not be cleared by WWE doctors to wrestle again. It was a situation described as similar to Edge’s medical disqualification from competing in the ring.
Paige recently spoke with Alicia Atout for A Music Blog, Yea! in Pittsburgh where she spoke about various topics including being forced to retire from in-ring action as well as her transition to being the General Manager of SmackDown Live.
Paige noted that it was a surprise to her because she knew it was coming as a week before the decision because they told her that it might happen. She then lost her voice and they told her if she didn’t regain her voice then she wouldn’t be making the announcement at all. She stated that she was able to get it back and made it but then was told by WWE management via a text that she needed to stay the next day for SmackDown Live, which she felt like it “was like putting salt in the wound.”
She continued by stating that once she showed up, Road Dogg was there and told her that she would be the GM of the blue brand. Once she walked out it was good and she got goosebumps. “I thought it was the end for me, and then it wasn’t. It was a beautiful beginning, I love what I do now.”
She was in a six-woman tag match back in late December at a live event that needed to be called off after she took a hard kick to the back from Sasha Banks that she wasn’t ready for and it stunned her. The early belief was it was just a mild stinger, leading to her losing feeling in her extremities.
WWE pulled her from the ring and set up further testing that led to the call being made that she would not be cleared by WWE doctors to wrestle again. It was a situation described as similar to Edge’s medical disqualification from competing in the ring.
We noted before how SmackDown Live General Manager and the former Diva’s Champion Paige was spotted backstage at Raw and her presence had started many kinds of rumors.
However, the former Champion didn’t appear on the show as many were expecting and the SmackDown Official later revealed on Instagram that she was there for a photoshoot:
While Paige did not appear on the show, this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw featured a number of female talents in action, including the Raw singles debut of Ronda Rousey. You can check out the full result of the show here.
Braun Strowman On SummerSlam
As seen earlier today, Braun Strowman showed his monstrous abilities once again as he flipped the stage that was set up for the Kevin Owens Show on Raw before his match with Jinder Mahal.
After the segment and the bout, Mike Rome interviewed the Monster Among Men backstage and asked if this is what we can expect to see at the upcoming SummerSlam PPV.
Replying to it, the Money In The Bank contract holder said that over the years he has destroyed everything the company has put in front of him and the upcoming show will be nothing different:
It looks like a big name from SmackDown Live is backstage for tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
Tonight’s show goes down from Jacksonville, Florida and will feature the first match on RAW of Ronda Rousey’s WWE career. PWInsider is reporting that there could be another potential surprise for today’s show. It appears as though SmackDown Live General Manager Paige is also backstage for the show.
Paige was reportedly spotted getting her make-up done backstage. The former WWE Divas Champion could be doing a number of things; including appearing on RAW, filming for Total Divas or filming something for the WWE Network.
It’s unclear as of this writing what Paige’s role will be, if any, on tonight’s show but we’ll keep you updated. The report also revealed that former RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax is not at the show.
This is the second week in a row Jax has missed RAW, feeding rumors that she could be dealing with an injury. She leaves the Raw Women’s Title picture in the hands of Alexa Bliss and Rousey.
The pair will square off for the title at SummerSlam later on this month.
Paige As SDL General Manager
Paige announced her retirement from in-ring competition earlier this year. The 25-year-old made the decision after suffering a serious injury to her neck. She made the announcement on the episode of Monday Night RAW after WrestleMania 34.
WWE announced the following night on SmackDown Live that Paige would serve as the brand’s new General Manager. She has been running the blue brand for the past several months. WWE officials have reportedly been happy with her performance thus far.
Interestingly enough, she relieved Daniel Bryan of his duties who was actually reinstated as an in-ring competitor for the company after overcoming what was believed to be a career-ending injury.
“Well. @Zelina_VegaWWE and @LanaWWE have certainly been … ahem… vocal about their feelings this weekend. SO let’s take this off the internet and bring it into the ring. I am making it official. Zelina vs. Lana TOMORROW NIGHT on #SDLive”
Lana & Vega’s In-Ring Careers
Both women are primarily featured in managerial roles on WWE TV, so this is certainly an interesting pairing.
Vega, of course, is a lot more decorated in the squared circle. She is a former TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion and has competed in NXT. Lana has also had some in-ring experience, but not to the degree of Vega.
“The Ravishing Russian” was a part of the first ever Women’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match. She also competed in the Mixed Match Challenge with her husband, Rusev, and is a former SDL Women’s Title challenger.
Smackdown and 205 Live this week will emanate from Evansville, IN.
3 matches have been confirmed for tonight’s shows thus far.
On 205 Live, a fatal 4-way match will take place to determine a new #1 contender to Cedric Alexander’s Cruiserweight Championship. Meanwhile, on Smackdown, Paige will announce who AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against at SummerSlam.
Smackdown 7/24
Paige Reveals AJ Styles’ SummerSlam Opponent
Smackdown General Manager, Paige, has announced she will reveal who Styles’ new challenger is tonight. Whether she announces a match to determine AJ’s next challenger or just announces a name outright isn’t yet known, however.
Styles’ last title defense came against Rusev at Extreme Rules. Rusev had won a gauntlet match on Smackdown to earn the title shot.
Non-Title Match
Becky Lynch vs Carmella
SummerSlam title match implications will be on the line tonight in a match between Becky Lynch and Carmella. This match was made last week with the stipulation that if Lynch is victorious she will earn a title match against Carmella at SummerSlam.
Lynch has gone 4-0 since Money in the Bank on Smackdown. She’s won single’s matches on 4 of the last 5 episodes of Smackdown. In that time she has defeated Billie Kay, Sonya Deville, Peyton Royce, and Mandy Rose.
Smackdown Tag-Team Tournament
The New Day vs Sanity
In a rematch from Extreme Rules, New Day take on Sanity tonight. The winner moves on to the finals of the 4-team tournament and will meet the winner of the Bar vs the Usos.
Sanity defeated New Day on the Extreme Rules Kickoff show but tonight is the match which has title implications on the line.
Why Did Randy Orton Almost Rip Jeff Hardy’s Ear Off?
Twice now we have seen Randy Orton target Jeff Hardy during a match against Shinsuke Nakamura. Why is Orton targetting Jeff Hardy? What is the status of Jeff Hardy’s earlobe following last Tuesday’s encounter with the Viper?
We will hopefully have answers to these questions after tonight.
Is WWE Building Towards The Miz vs Daniel Bryan At SummerSlam?
All signs point to the long-awaited Miz vs Daniel Bryan one-on-one match to take place at SummerSlam. Last week, Bryan crashed a mock-funeral Miz held for Team Hell No. This week should only further the tension between the two vastly different Superstars.
205 Live 7/24 Preview
#1 Contenders Match
Mustafa Ali vs Hideo Itami vs TJP vs Drew Gulak
Just one match has been announced for 205 Live tonight. Mustafa Ali, Hideo Itami, TJP, and Drew Gulak will battle for the right to face Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship.
TJP is the only former Champion in the match. Alexander defeated Mustafa Ali for the vacant title on the WrestleMania 34 Kickoff show. He also defeated Hideo Itami on the July 10th episode of 205 Live. He’s faced Drew Gulak 5x in the history of 205 Live. Alexander has won 3 of those matches to Gulak and lost the other two. Gulak’s only victories over Alexander were both in early 2017.
After attacking both Kane and Daniel Bryan before their match at Extreme Rules, Harper and Rowen were able to defend their titles successfully against Team Hell No. Now, Smackdown General Manager, Paige, has announced a tag-team tournament to determine their next challengers.
The winning team will meet the Bludgeon Brothers at SummerSlam. Paige made the announcement on Twitter yesterday.
Paige stated that the tournament will be contested over the course of 3 weeks. The tournament will also consist of just 4 teams. That means a 3-match tournament with one match per week, most likely.
Assuming there will not be any debuting or newly formed teams in the 4-team tournament, here are the teams who could possibly be included from the Smackdown roster:
The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus)
Sanity (Alexander Wolfe, Killian Dain, Eric Young)
The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
New Day
Rusev & Aiden English
Smackdown Tag Team Championships
The Bludgeon Brothers are the 6th team to have won the Smackdown tag-team Championships. Harper was once part of a 3-person team with Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton who held the titles in 2016 briefly as well.
The Usos are the most decorated team in the history of the belts thus far. They’ve held the titles 3x for a combined 329 days. The longest single reign with the belts is also by the Usos, who held the titles for 182 days in their last reign.
The Bludgeon Brothers have currently held the titles for 105 days. They defeated the Usos and New Day for the belts at WrestleMania and have since defended the titles successfully against the Usos (1x), the Cub (3x), and Team Hell No (1x).
Former WWE RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair recently took to her official Twitter account to praise SmackDown General Manager Paige for her work as the GM of the blue brand. She wrote the following:
.@RealPaigeWWE is doing an awesome job all-around as GM! ?? #SDLive ??
If you recall, Paige become GM earlier this year after it was announced that Paige’s career was over as in-ring performer under the WWE banner after she suffered a neck injury during a six-woman tag match back in late December at a live event that needed to be called off after she took a hard kick to the back from Sasha Banks that she wasn’t ready for and it stunned her.
205 Live Match
WWE has announced the first match for next week’s episode of 205 Live. That contest will be Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy in a No DQ match.
As of this writing, the sports entertainment company has not announced any other matches for this show, which will be held in Omaha, NE at the CenturyLink Center Omaha
What are your thoughts on Paige’s work as GM thus far? Sound off in the comment section.
