– It’s worth noting that WWE Money in the Bank did not rank in Nielsen’s Twitter TV ratings on Sunday night. The top 5 Series & Specials were Game of Thrones, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Penny Dreadful, The Real Housewives of Dallas and The Last Ship.
– WWE has released this Swerved ‘extra’ video featuring 2016 WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg:
– Muscle&Fitness Hers magazine has released this behind the scenes look at Sasha’s recent cover shoot. The June/July issue is now available at newsstands everywhere.
In a promotional interview for this Sunday’s Money In The Bank event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Big E revealed who he would add to his crew if he had to.
In an interview with VegasSesven.com, The New Day member claims that he, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods always saw their group as a faction that would expand beyond the original three members. Big E says that although he thinks the group is a perfect fit right now with just the three of them, he would add Sasha Banks to the mix if he had to choose a fourth member.
“We’re all such big Sasha Banks fans—I think she would add a different dynamic, though she’s such a strong, beloved character that I don’t think she needs to be surrounded by anyone,” Big E said. “But if we were forced to pick someone, it would be Sasha Banks.”
Big E also talked about Money In The Bank, and said he’s excited to see Seth Rollins bounce back from his knee injury, and says Cena vs. Styles is a match fans have waited a very long time to see. You can read his entire interview here.
– Part 2 of Paul Heyman’s exclusive interview with Brock Lesnar will be released later today at HeymanHustle.com.
– Prior to Monday’s RAW from New Orleans, WWE taped Sasha Banks vs. Summer Rae and Baron Corbin vs. Jack Swagger for this week’s Superstars.
– Jim Ross noted several weeks back that he had went in for an in-patient skin cancer procedure and that the cancer was removed. JR posted the following update this week:
Good day. Getting stitches removed for skin cancer issue. All clear. ??
During a Q&A panel at Friday’s Wizard World Philly event, Sasha Banks addressed her recent absence from WWE television. Sasha confirmed that she suffered a concussion several weeks ago when a referee inadvertently kneed her in the head during a live event. The question about the concussion takes place around the 2:30 mark of the embedded video.
After taking the unexpected strike to the head, she was understandably dumbfounded at what had happened. She proclaimed that she’s now back and joked that she’s looking for revenge on the referee.
“The Boss” is rumored to be feuding with WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte this summer.
– Today’s wrestling birthdays include AJ Styles (39) and Lex Luger (58).
– The following is scheduled for tonight’s episode of SmackDown on USA:
Dean Ambrose & Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio
Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch
AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Dudley Boyz vs. Golden Truth
– Sasha Banks is scheduled to work a program with Summer Rae this month before moving on to a Women’s title feud at SummerSlam.
– There’s still some uncertainty regarding whether or not a 7th participant will be added to WWE’s upcoming Money in the Bank ladder match. WWE has been promoting that there will be 7 participants and WWE.com’s RAW preview for this week teased that we’d find out the identity of the 7th man. On RAW, a graphic hyping the event only listed 6 people and there was no mention of anybody being added to the match. That same graphic airs on this week’s SmackDown. The official match listing at WWE.com says the match will include only six competitors, however the graphic included with the article features 7 people (the 6 announced Supeerstars and another who closely resembles WWE legend Vacant).
Despite reports that Sasha Banks is expected to compete for the Women’s Championship at SummerSlam this year, it sounds like Vince McMahon isn’t her biggest fan. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Banks is getting a reputation with WWE management for being injury-prone. Meltzer says that Vince has told officials on numerous occasions that he believes she only knows one speed in the ring: all out.
Months ago, Vince was reportedly comparing Banks and Daniel Bryan to company management. Bryan’s career was cut short at the age of 34 due to numerous concussions.
Banks returned to in-ring action over the weekend at WWE live events after reportedly suffering a concussion at the May 15th house show in Charlottesville, VA. Meltzer sticks by his original report that her injury was a “significant” concussion, which happened after a freak accident where referee Darrick Moore accidentally hit Sasha with a knee to the head.
Last year, Banks reblogged a fan’s comment on her Tumblr that read:
All the marks and smarks will look up and shout “We want Sasha!”… and Vince will look down and whisper “No.”
Enzo Amore is scheduled to return to the ring working WWE house shows this weekend.
Enzo returned from his concussion on Raw but will be back in the ring this weekend, working house shows in Wisconsin and Illinois.
As noted earlier, Sasha Banks has also been cleared to return after recently suffering a concussion. She’s scheduled for house shows in Winnipeg and Wisconsin this weekend. No word on if she’ll will be on Raw or Smackdown next week but original plans for the MITB PPV had her on TV to build to a match on that show.
After being pulled from scheduled events due to a concussion, Sasha Banks has reportedly been cleared to wrestle.
According to F4WOnline.com, Banks has already undergone her evaluation and it’s believed she did in fact suffer a concussion back on May 15th. She’s has been cleared to return to action, and is booked for WWE’s live events in Winnipeg and LaCrosse this weekend. Her evaluation originally was scheduled for this coming Saturday.
Before her injury, Sasha was reportedly scheduled to return soon and work against Charlotte at SummerSlam for the Women’s Championship. There’s no word yet on when she’s scheduled to return to television.
As previously noted, Sasha Banks was rumored to have suffered a concussion at the May 15th house show at the hands of a referee. Referee Darrick Moore reportedly hit Sasha in the head with his knee by mistake in what’s being described as a “freak accident.”
To update on this, Uproxx reports that Banks is scheduled for an evaluation this coming Saturday. It’s anticipated that she will pass the evaluation and be cleared to return to action shortly.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Banks was being kept off TV after WrestleMania to keep her fresh for a Women’s Championship match against Charlotte at SummerSlam in August.
There are conflicting reports on why we haven’t seen much of Sasha Banks on TV after WrestleMania 32. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported on May 15th that Banks was still working a full schedule, and was kept off TV for storyline reasons. Squared Circle Sirens now reports that on the same day of Meltzer’s report (the 15th) Banks was injured at a house show in Charlottesville, VA. Banks was subsequently pulled from any upcoming live events she was advertised for, including an autograph signing on Monday the 16th.
There aren’t many details on her injury or how serious it is, but there was a spot at the Charlottesville house show where she landed on her head, so they may be keeping her out of the ring due to a concussion. She teamed with Becky Lynch and Paige to defeat Lana, Dana Brooke and Eva Marie that night.
Banks hasn’t wrestled on TV since April 1st, so it’s possible that Meltzer’s original report was accurate before she sustained the injury.
– Since coming up short in the WWE Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 32, Sasha Banks’ on-screen role has been considerably deemphasized. In the weeks since the night after the event, where she beat Summer Rae in a singles match, she has only competed one other time on television (an eight-women tag team match on the April 18 Raw). It was her last appearance on television.
In the meantime, Banks continues to work a full-time schedule with WWE and has been competing at non-televised events. While she could pop up on television at any time, she is purposely being kept out of a program for “long-term storyline reasons.” This is according to Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, who revealed her status Monday on Twitter.
After being asked, “whats up with @SashaBanksWWE? Injury? Any current plans for her or just dying on the vine for no reason?,” Meltzer responded, “Working a full schedule, just being kept off a TV program for long-term storyline reasons.”
Working a full schedule, just being kept off a TV program for long-term storyline reasons. https://t.co/uGjjtXp5nF
– The Bella Twins and John Cena represented WWE today at the NBC Upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The traditional event is where NBC Universal stars and executives pitch their television portfolio to advertisers.
Here is a photo of the WWE Superstars together at the event.
The “Women’s Revolution” is currently ongoing in the WWE. They’ve rid themselves of the term “diva,” and no longer are women’s matches focused around bikinis and dance contests.
It’s been a bumpy road to get to this point, but the WWE is seeing success in their women’s division once again.
Emma and Dana Brooke are in a good feud with Becky Lynch. Charlotte and Natalya are set for their rematch at Extreme Rules in a submission match. For the first time in years, there are two women’s rivalries that mean something simultaneously.
For those that missed it, the WWE announced their latest recruitment class. Five women and five men were signed to developmental contracts.
It’s fairly obvious that the WWE is focusing on women’s wrestling, just as much as the men. Being a great wrestler and mic worker is usually how they pick their male talent, but what about their females?
According F4WOnline.com and Wrestlezone.com, a guideline for female talent looking to get to the WWE has reportedly came out.
Someone within WWE sent out the following list of “guidelines” for female talents looking to get into the company or the reported women’s tournament:
Stop gigging on indie shows.
Get in your best shape possible
Start working on promos
Is this a surprising guideline for female wrestlers? They aren’t asking too much for new recruits. Most wrestlers should be in the best shape possible. Promos are very necessary in the business. Lastly, blading won’t happen in the WWE, so don’t do it at Indie shows.
This is a very fair guideline for potential female wrestlers in the WWE. All of their recruits have one, if not all of those. Dana Brooke is a great example of someone is great shape and didn’t blade. She was a former-fitness model. Now, she’s on the main roster.
Others were great Indie wrestlers, now one of them is Sasha Banks.
Should other guidelines exist, or is this too harsh?
Former WWE & TNA star Lisa Marie Varon recently spoke with the UK’s Total Wrestling Magazine.
Varon spoke about there being extra pressure on female wrestlers. Even with a stronger emphasis on the in-ring product, appearances are a big part of being successful. She said “Even something as simple as a haircut needs careful consideration because if you are on TV every week you can’t get something too drastic and as for a girl, well God forbid you age! We can’t get wrinkles we can’t put on weight so there is so much pressure. ”
When she was on the road and competing regularly, her body could take a beating and it didn’t affect her that much. After some time away from the ring, she feels aches and pains from wrestling 15-years straight.
Here’s what she said about the influx of talent in WWE’s Women’s division:
“You know I’m very lucky I’ve wrestled some of the greatest and I’m still wrestling now so yeah who knows who I may hook up with next. If you look at the match that Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks had at WrestleMania I think people are taking the women more seriously now. A lot of people said it was their match of the night. Hopefully the days of bra and panties matches are a thing of the past and we can concentrate on the wrestling.
I love Charlotte she would be so much fun to wrestle and I am a huge Sasha Banks fan. She’s got it, the reaction she gets from the crowd is amazing and she is going to go far in this business. I’d have to say though Paige is a given for me. I’d love to wrestle her. I’m friends with her mom but I think there are a lot of little subtle similarities between us and I’m sure we would have a great match.”
– Kalisto and Sasha Banks, who is known to be a big Eddie Guerrero fan, visited the Eddie mural in his hometown Las Cruces, NM earlier today before the WWE live event there. Sasha posted this image:
– Paige has been visiting with family in the UK for the past week and noted this morning that she’s headed back to the US this weekend after attending a wrestling show promoted by her dad today.
On Tuesday night Sasha Banks tweeted out a photo with the logo of Memorial Hermann in the background, a hospital in Houston, Texas. This suggesting she may have suffered an injury during WrestleMania weekend.
After competing in the Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania, Banks faced Summer Rae in a quick match on RAW. She did not appear at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings.
The nature of her potential injury is unknown at this time but we’ll follow up when additional information becomes available.
Update: It appears Memorial Hermann is a sponsor of the Toyota Center in Houston, where Tuesday’s Smackdown tapings took place. The image could have been taken at the arena backstage at SmackDown, so hopefully she never had reason to visit the actual Memorial Hermann hospital.
Stephanie McMahon says the new WWE Women’s Championship belt is a symbol of tradition. In an article she wrote for The Players’ Tribune about WrestleMania 32, Stephanie talked about the unveiling of the new Women’s title belt. Here’s what she had to say:
Lita made reference to all of the pioneers who have led the way for this transition, including “The Great” Mae Young, Fabulous Moolah, Wendi Richter, Sensational Sherri, Trish Stratus and recent Hall of Fame inductee Jacqueline. She spoke of her pride in the Divas Division, the evolution of the Women’s Division, and then she revealed the physical symbol of this transition: a brand new WWE Women’s Championship belt with the same aesthetics as the male WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt. This title belt represents the pinnacle of achievement, and that in WWE, it isn’t about gender, race or ethnicity — it is simply about being the best at what you do.
Charlotte successfully defended the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 32 on Sunday in Dallas, TX against Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks.
Sasha Banks recently spoke with The Press of Atlantic City to promote WrestleMania 32. Here are some highlights:
– Heading into her first WrestleMania, she can’t believe it was only 2 years ago that she was part of Triple H’s entrance at WrestleMania 30. She was very nervous but knew she’d be walking back on that stage by herself one day. Competing at WrestleMania has been a lifelong dream and she can’t wait to show the world that she’s the best. “I’m the baddest Diva there is. God, I am so excited.”
– Triple H has been the father figure to the NXT women and created the platform that allowed people like her to take women’s wrestling to the next level. “He’s beyond, beyond incredible and I can only think highly of him. He’s been absolutely amazing.”
– Sasha said it’s “so incredibly crazy” to be working with Becky and Charlotte at WrestleMania after their history in NXT. “It’s crazy how life, it legit comes full circle and it’s meant to be,” she said.
– She looking forward to Bayley getting called up to the main roster soon because, “I need her and I love our matches.”
Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte will square off at WrestleMania in a triple threat match for the WWE Divas Championship.
Here are some highlights from Sasha Banks’ recent interview with Guide Live to promote WrestleMania 32.
Her WrestleMania Match With Charlotte & Becky Lynch:
“It’s – I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it – It’s so crazy to see what this time has evolved into. We were in the ‘Diva’s Revolution,’ I was on a different team than them, but we’re kind of all brought back together to face each other in such a big event, the biggest there is, and to be with them I am beyond excited. We just need Bayley up here after that – but I am stoked.”
If Her Cousin Snoop Dogg Gave Her Any Tips About Performing at WrestleMania:
“Well, actually, I was at that WrestleMania with him because I begged him to let me go with him. So, I was backstage right before he went out, and it’s so crazy, right before Snoop Dogg went out is when Ric Flair came back from his retirement match. So, it’s crazy how things happen like that, and now I’m wrestling Charlotte at WrestleMania, and I’m pretty sure Ric Flair will be out there.
I don’t know if I should bring Snoop Dogg with me, but that would be awesome. Snoop is a huge wrestling fan, and he’s just always given me advice on doing what you want to do. If this is your dream, you have to go out there and you have to grab it and you have to make people take notice. I haven’t talked to him yet about WrestleMania, but you never know what’s going to be in the works.”
Her WrestleMania Entrance:
“Oh, you’ll definitely see something special. I won’t tell you, but it’ll be special. You’ll have to watch and see.”
– Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch has been announced for Monday’s RAW from Nashville. The winner will challenge Charlotte for the WWE Divas Championship at WrestleMania.
As noted last night, The Undertaker will also be appearing on RAW to address his Hell in a Cell match against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania.
– Today marks the 2-year ‘birthday’ of the WWE Network, which launched on February 24th, 2014.
– Sasha Banks has broken away from her former Team B.A.D. partners Naomi and Tamina. The split occurred at last week’s SmackDown tapings, but we’ve heard from a few readers that the segment did not air on Thursday’s show.
It’s worth noting that the WWE.com RAW preview for tonight (2/1) references Team B.A.D, but makes no mention of their phantom appearance on SmackDown.
“How will Sasha Banks prove that she deserves to be next in line for Charlotte’s prize on Raw? Additionally, with Team B.A.D. nowhere in sight since The Boss’ return, what do Naomi and Tamina think of their Team B.A.D. ally’s recent actions?”
WWE Diva Sasha Banks is currently out of action with an MCL knee injury. She was last seen at the final RAW of 2015 from Brooklyn, New York. Luckily, she won’t require surgery and she’s expected to be back in ring next month.
Last week, word was was going around that Sasha was dealing with an unspecified injury. She gave a brief statement on Tumblr:
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley took to social media to share his 2015 “Match of the Year” on Thursday, and anyone who has been reading Foley’s blogs over the past few months will probably not be surprised in the slightest who “The Hardcore Legend” gave the nod to.
Foley posted the following on his official Facebook page on New Year’s Eve to reveal who he felt had the best match in WWE during the 2015 calendar year.
MY MATCH OF THE YEAR
Sasha Banks vs Bayley: August 22, 2015 – ?#?Brooklyn?, NY.
My oldest and youngest son spent several hours today compiling the top 15 matches in WWE NXT or WWE in 2015. They were deadlocked on which match should be number one with one son picking Sasha Banks vs Bayley and the other picking Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose from MITB, June 14, 2015. So I got to pick the tiebreaker. I went with Sasha and Bayley because of the emotion, because it captured a moment in time, and created a memory that many wrestling fans will hold dear for years. Grown men cried. I know; I was one of them.
WWE has announced a Divas match for the TLC pay-per-view “Kickoff Show” live tonight on the WWE Network.
In singles action, former Team P.C.B. member Becky Lynch will square off against Team B.A.D. member and former NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks during the 60-minute WWE TLC pre-show at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
– WWE posted the above clip from the WWE Network show “Unfiltered with Renee Young” featuring WWE Diva Sasha Banks talking about what it’s like to have Snoop Dogg as a cousin.
– The Rock has earned himself a nomination for “Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series” at this year’s NAACP Image Awards for his work on his HBO show “Ballers.” As noted, the show was such a hit for HBO that the network ordered a second season after only one episode had aired. The Rock posted the following on Twitter about his NAACP Image Awards nomination for the show.
– WWE taped the following matches on Tuesday night in Jacksonville, Florida for tonight’s SmackDown, the final episode of the show heading into this Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.
* The Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day in a non-title match
* Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens contract signing
* Ryback vs. The Ascension
* Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze
* Promo from The Wyatt Family
* Becky Lynch vs. Paige
* Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs Sheamus and Kevin Owens
For complete WWE SmackDown spoilers for tonight, click here.
