WWE sent in the following press release detailing WWE Network programming for SummerSlam week:

WWE NETWORK® UNVEILS SUMMERSLAM® WEEK PROGRAMMING

STAMFORD, Conn., August 15, 2016 – WWE Network unveiled its SummerSlam Week programming line-up filled with a series of all-new episodes, specials and live events beginning today, Monday, August 15, including the summer’s biggest spectacle, SummerSlam, on Sunday, August 21 at 7pm ET.

SummerSlam Week will include a sneak peek at WWE Network’s newest original series, Holy Foley, brand new episodes of WWE 24, WWE NXT, Cruiserweight Classic, WWE Ride Along and Legends with JBL, as well as the premiere of Holy Foley. Plus, fans can also watch NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II and the week’s main attraction, SummerSlam, live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

New subscribers can get all of this programming as part of a free month trial by signing up at WWENetwork.com now. The schedule of SummerSlam Week programming on WWE Network is as follows:

Holy Foley: First Look Sneak Peek
Monday, August 15 immediately following Monday Night Raw® (approximately 11pm ET)
Corey Graves and Cathy Kelley sit down with Mick and Noelle Foley to give a first look at and discuss their highly-anticipated reality show, Holy Foley.

WWE 24: Women’s Evolution
Tuesday, August 16 immediately following Talking Smack (approximately 10:30pm ET)
This episode of WWE 24: The Women’s Evolution details the confluence of forces that elevated the Women’s Division to main event status at WrestleMania 32. The episode celebrates talent of the past, the current Superstars who powered the 10-Woman Tag Match, and the prodigious impact of NXT, with a special look at the emotional and pressure-filled moments for WWE Superstars Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Charlotte surrounding their historic Triple Threat Match for the new WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 32.

WWE NXT
Wednesday, August 17 at 8pm ET
With only a few days to go, take a special look at the upcoming matchups at this Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, including an exclusive sit-down interview with NXT Champion Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura. Plus, SmackDown Superstars return to NXT to help showcase the future of the Women’s Division as Carmella teams with Liv Morgan and Nikki Glencross to take on Alexa Bliss, Mandy Rose, and Daria Berenato.

Cruiserweight Classic
Wednesday, August 17 at 9pm ET
For the first time ever, WWE has invited 32 of the greatest cruiserweights in the world to compete in the 10-week long global tournament, Cruiserweight Classic. The second round action heats up as Akira Tozawa battles Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick faces Tony Nese for a spot in the quarterfinals.

WWE Ride Along
Thursday, August 18 at 9pm ET
This episode features one of the top tag teams in WWE today, Enzo and Cass and one of the top tag teams of all-time, The Dudleys, as they take a trip down memory lane to their old stomping grounds in New Jersey.

Legends with JBL
Friday, August 19 at 9pm ET
John “Bradshaw” Layfield interviews the Icon Sting in a rare interview that covers the Hall-of-Famer’s WCW career as well as his shocking retirement from WWE.

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II Pre-Show
Saturday, August 20 LIVE at 7:30pm ET
A panel of experts look at the matches and moments fans can expect at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II.

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II
Saturday, August 20 LIVE at 8pm ET
Samoa Joe defends the NXT Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura for the first time ever. Plus, the NXT Women’s Championship is on the line when Asuka defends against former champion, Bayley; Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa challenge NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival; and fans will see the much anticipated in-ring debut of Bobby Roode when he faces Andrade “Cien” Almas.

SummerSlam Kickoff
Sunday, August 21 LIVE at 5pm ET
Join Renee Young, Corey Graves, and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T as they share their thoughts and predictions for the evening’s matches at SummerSlam and discuss all the events that led up to WWE’s biggest event of the summer. Plus, the show will feature live matches from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

SummerSlam
Sunday, August 21 LIVE at 7pm ET
WWE turns up the heat for its biggest event of the summer. In a confrontation more than 15 years in the making, “The Viper” clashes with “The Beast” when Randy Orton goes one-on-one with Brock Lesnar. Plus, Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins for the right to be called the first WWE Universal Champion; Dean Ambrose defends the WWE World Championship against Dolph Ziggler; Sasha Banks defends her WWE Women’s Championship against Charlotte; and John Cena faces AJ Styles.

Holy Foley
Sunday, August 21 immediately following SummerSlam
Mick’s daughter Noelle has a secret and it’s a big one. While Mom, Colette, does her best to push Noelle to be a model, it seems Noelle has different ideas about how she sees her life playing out. When the family sits down to dinner, Noelle drops the bomb on her unsuspecting family and Mick is left wondering what else Noelle is hiding.

– Complex has released a video of Shane McMahon shopping for sneakers at Flight Club in New York City. Shane talks with Joe La Puma about his return to WWE SmackDown, his love for Air Jordans and his thoughts on Kanye West’s sneaker line.

– Bill Goldberg will be in New York City this weekend to be part of the WWE SummerSlam festivities, according PWInsider.com. Goldberg will be taking part in promotional events for WWE 2K17 and is scheduled to be backstage at SummerSlam.

– Former WWE Superstar Ryback is teasing that he could be heading to Japan in the near future. The Big Guy is releasing a new t-shirt with artwork that depicts him as “The Big Guyjin.” For those familiar with Japanese wrestling, gaijin refers to foreigners. As we’ve been reporting, he’s scheduled to make his first post-WWE appearances in September and would be free to work for New Japan Pro Wrestling after that time.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJG-iczg-df/?taken-by=thebigguyryback22

Summerslam is billed as the WWE’s second biggest show of the year. Are you interested in all of these feuds? Are you interested in any of them? There is one more episode of Raw and one more episode of Smackdown until Summerslam. Is it at all possible to salvage Summerslam? It is certainly possible that Summerslam will feature terrific wrestling matches. However, it seems to be severely lacking storylines that anyone cares about. The crowds that attended both Raw and Smackdown this week were dead silent. Was that just a couple of bad crowds or do you feel like Summerslam has almost zero hype behind it?

Feud #1: Titus O’Neal vs Darren Young

I’m assuming that this match will be featured on the Summerslam card due to both Superstars wrestling on Raw the past two weeks. Titus O’Neil won the first match by rolling up Darren Young and grabbing his tights during the pinfall. On the next episode of Monday Night Raw, Darren Young got the victory by rolling up Titus O’Neil and grabbing his tights during the pinfall. In summary, the storyline here is that two former tag team partners are feuding to see who can grab tights the best and after Summerslam both Young and O’Neil will go back to being irrelevant on WWE programming.

Feud #2: Becky Lynch vs Eva Marie

Eva Marie has yet to wrestle on Smackdown due to an injury and a wardrobe malfunction. Both times she was booked to face Becky Lynch. On last night’s Smackdown, Becky Lynch was distraught that Eva Marie once again weaseled her way out of the match and challenged anyone in the locker room to come out and face her. Alexa Bliss answered the call and got the victory due to an Eva Marie distraction. One can assume that at Summerslam the WWE Universe will be treated to Becky Lynch versus Eva Marie. It is likely that on next week’s episode of Smackdown, Eva Marie will once again have some kind of issue and will not wrestle. Thus, Eva Marie will finally be forced to wrestle at Summerslam against Becky Lynch. Odds are that this match will be less than five minutes and may even be placed on the Kickoff Show.

Feud #3: Braun Strowman vs ??

Braun Strowman has been demolishing local independent wrestlers for three weeks now. I’m guessing that the same thing will happen on Monday Night Raw next week, but someone will come out and challenge him. I’ve watched WWE my entire life and I’m predicting that person will be the Big Show. They are booking Braun Strowman as a monster so it just makes sense to have a giant come out and face him. Hopefully, the WWE isn’t this predictable but I’m guessing that will be the case simply because Big Show was drafted to Raw and we haven’t seen him yet.

Feud #4: Carmella vs Natalya

I thought Carmella had an impressive in-ring debut on the main roster at this week’s Smackdown but the audience literally didn’t care. Natalya has been in the WWE for a long time and it seems doubtful that she would win this match if it took place at Summerslam.

Feud #5: Roman Reigns vs Rusev

Rusev is the United States Champion but the WWE books him as if he’s just another guy. He’s got an attractive wife and gets annoyed when people talk about her. That is Rusev’s character now. Roman Reigns is the face in this match, yet the majority of the WWE Universe don’t enjoy him. Having said that, I think most people would be shocked if Reigns didn’t leave Summerslam as the new United States Champion.

Feud #6: Apollo Crews vs The Miz

Apollo Crews earned a shot at the Intercontinental Championship by winning a battle royal on last week’s episode of Smackdown. On this week’s episode, Apollo Crews wasn’t even on Smackdown and The Miz had a segment with Scooby Doo. What an exciting feud for the Intercontinental Championship.

Feud #7: Baron Corbin vs Kalisto

Baron Corbin attacked Kalisto backstage on this week’s episode of Smackdown. I guess they will have a match at Summerslam that most likely will be featured on the Kickoff Show.

Feud #8: Sasha Banks vs Charlotte

Sasha Banks wanted this match to be a Handicap Match for some reason. However, she defeated Dana Brooke and she is now banned from ringside. Thus, there will be no outside interference in their match for the Women’s Championship by Dana Brooke. Odds are someone else will get involved at Summerslam to try and ensure a victory for Charlotte at Summerslam.

Feud #9: Randy Orton vs Brock Lesnar

Their match at Summerslam will feature a bunch of German Suplexes and maybe an F-5 or two. Orton will hit an RKO and either get the win or Lesnar will kick out and defeat Orton.

Feud #10: AJ Styles vs John Cena

Neither AJ Styles or John Cena were on this week’s episode of Smackdown. Summerslam is less than two weeks away, yet neither of these Superstars were featured on the show. Instead, there was a video package shown. If Styles wins, he can say he is better than Cena. If Styles loses, Cena can say he is better than Styles.

Feud #11: New Day vs The Club

The Club dragged Big E’s groin into the ring post. Oh and the Tag Team Championship is on the line as well.

Feud #12: Sheamus vs Cesaro

Both Sheamus and Cesaro are very talented Superstars whom also happen to generate little response from the WWE Universe. They’ll duke something out at Summerslam.

Feud #13: Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins

Finn Balor earned his spot for the new WWE Universal Championship, while Seth Rollins was just handed the oppurtunity. At Summerslam, Finn Balor will come down to the ring as the Demon King. The first ever WWE Universal Champion will be crowned.

Feud #14: Dolph Ziggler vs Dean Ambrose

As of now, Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan have not been put in a match at Summerslam. On this week’s Smackdown, Ambrose hit the Dirty Deeds on Ziggler to close the show. The Wyatts will most certainly play a role in the Ambrose and Ziggler match for the WWE Championship at Summerslam.

Feud #15: Jericho & Owens vs Big Cass & Enzo Amore

There are no titles on the line here. As of now, it is simply a tag team match between characters that dislike each other.

American Alphas may also have a match at Summerslam and maybe Nia Jax will get one as well. Maybe Heath Slater will make another cameo. Alberto Del Rio may also have a match as well, who knows?

If I missed a feud or a match possibility for Summerslam post it in the comments below. The main point of this list is to get your opinion of this year’s Summerslam card.

“These are not just stories, they’re a source of power.”

When Finn Balor’s limbs and flesh are not enough, he possesses the ability to tap into the myths and monsters of Irish folklore become a man greater than himself. In this vignette from Monday’s RAW, Balor looks deep into the soul of Seth Rollins and explains the history behind his Demon King alter ego. Learn how the spirits of Tuatha De Danann, Finn MacCool and Balor, the king of the demons, come together to transform Balor into a monster even he can’t control.

Balor has vowed to unleash the Demon at SummerSlam when he challenges Seth Rollins to determine WWE’s first-ever Universal Champion. Next week on the “go home” edition of RAW prior to the event, Rollins plans to call out his opponent.

It would be misguided to unveil the Demon King before his grand debut at SummerSlam, so expect to see some supernatural mind games like we’ve seen from The Undertaker ahead of past battles.

NEXT WEEK: @WWERollins plans to call out the #DemonKing @FinnBalor on the final #RAW before @SummerSlam! pic.twitter.com/543tXpbxdN

— WWE (@WWE) August 9, 2016

New WWE SummerSlam matches made on tonight’s RAW include Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens, and US Champion Rusev defending against Roman Reigns.

#USChampion @RusevBUL gets to work out his frustration against @WWERomanReigns at @SummerSlam for the #USTitle! #RAW pic.twitter.com/k0IujIKuu0

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) August 9, 2016

Here’s the updated card:

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar

WWE Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins to crown the first Universal Champion

WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

AJ Styles vs. John Cena

WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Gallows & Anderson

Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. Apollo Crews

United States Champion Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho

– Brock Lesnar has officially been removed from UFC’s Heavyweight rankings. Lesnar had been the #8 ranked heavyweight after his win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200. In related news, troubled fighter Jon Jones has also been removed from the Light Heavyweight and Pound 4 Pound rankings due to his own USADA infractions.

– WWE has released the following teaser videos for “Lesnar vs. Orton: 15 Years in the Making.” We’ll get extended versions of these sit-down promos tonight on RAW.

WWE has announced The New Day’s Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston will defend the tag team championships against Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson at SummerSlam. The teams have been feuding over the past several weeks, with Gallows and Anderson attacking the champions multiple times. Last week on RAW, the Good Brothers put Big E out of action with a groin contusion. With New Day’s powerhouse out of action, an argument could be made that the champions are underdogs headed into this title defense.

Updated SummerSlam Card:

• Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar
• WWE Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler
• Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins to crown the first Universal Champion
• WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
• AJ Styles vs. John Cena
• WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Gallows & Anderson
• Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. Apollo Crews

John Cena will face AJ Styles at SummerSlam after accepting a challenge from the Phenomenal One on this week’s SmackDown live. With that match set, here is the updated card:

– Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

– WWE Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

– Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins to crown the first ever WWE Universal Champion

– WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

– John Cena vs. AJ Styles

– Intercontinental champion The Miz vs. Apollo Crews

WWE SummerSlam takes place in less than 3 weeks on Sunday, August 21st from Brooklyn, NY.

Apollo Crews defeated Baron Corbin and Kalisto on tonight’s WWE SmackDown to become the new #1 contender to WWE IC Champion The Miz. The match will take place at SummerSlam.

Here’s the updated SummerSlam card:

WWE Universal Championship Match: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

WWE Championship Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

WWE IC Championship Match: The Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar

WWE confirmed on Saturday that Charlotte will get a rematch against Sasha Banks for the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Sasha captured the gold on Monday’s RAW after Charlotte reportedly asked for time off.

BREAKING: @SashaBanksWWE vs @MsCharlotteWWE for the WWE Women's Championship at @SummerSlam! https://t.co/EGCocA49PY pic.twitter.com/qc58InFmqW

— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2016

With that match set, here’s the updated card for WWE SummerSlam:

• Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar
• WWE Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler
• Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor to crown the first Universal Champion
• WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Following last night’s RAW, we’ve got another match added to WWE SummerSlam. Former NXT Champion Finn Balor won a fatal 4-way match and pinned Roman Reigns clean to earn a shot at the RAW brand’s new Universal Championship. As of this writing, confirmed matches for SummerSlam include:

• Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton
• Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor to crown the first Universal Champion

It’s safe to say we’ll also see title defenses from Dean Ambrose, Sasha Banks and The New Day.

On RAW, Gallows and Anderson attacked The New Day, so that looks to be a new feud in the coming weeks. After Sasha Banks’ Women’s Championship win, a SummerSlam rematch for Charlotte makes a lot of sense. This match has been rumored for SummerSlam for months, which made last night’s title change even more surprising.

A rematch featuring John Cena and AJ Styles has been discussed, but that doesn’t leave many challengers to Dean Ambrose’s title. Should WWE book Styles vs. Cena, that leaves Bray Wyatt and Alberto Del Rio as potential opponents for the champion. WWE has their work cut out for them with so few main event level heels on SmackDown. We’ll see how it all shakes out, but RAW has a lot more talent to work with, including Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Enzo and Cass, Rusev and Chris Jericho.

WWE SummerSlam takes place on Sunday, August 21st from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to our usual live PPV coverage, SEScoops will be on site for SummerSlam weekend, including Takeover: Back To Brooklyn and WWE RAW.

– RAW Superstar Finn Balor is celebrating his 35th birthday today. WWE is teasing that he could make his main roster debut tonight.

– WWE announced on Monday that Flo Rida will be holding a concert during SummerSlam weekend to benefit the Connor’s Cure charity. WWE, the Barclays Center and iHeartMedia are teaming up for the event, which takes place on Thursday, 8/18 from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Proceeds will help fund pediatric cancer research.

– After covering last week’s Republican National Convention for Fox Business and Kennedy Nation, DZ is heading to Philadelphia for this week’s Democratic National Convention.

https://twitter.com/HEELZiggler/status/757193786703351808

– Zack Ryder’s patriotic ring gear for last night’s Battleground was inspired by Sting, The Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage. Ryder tweeted this photo after the loss to US Champion Rusev:

#WWEBattleground pic.twitter.com/CMklk693zk

— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) July 25, 2016

– After previously expressing frustration on Twitter, the cryptic tweets from Curtis Axel continue. He wrote the following during Battleground:

https://twitter.com/RealCurtisAxel/status/757367539190140928
https://twitter.com/RealCurtisAxel/status/757368666136645632

– This backstage video from Battleground features WWE Champion Dean Ambrose talking to Andrea D’Marco after retaining over Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in the main event. Ambrose mentions that he and his former Shield brothers have been the faces of WWE for a while but after last night, he seems confident that he’s the man.

With WWE announcing Brock Lesnar’s WWE SummerSlam opponent on this week’s SmackDown, the speculation going around is that Lesnar will be facing Randy Orton at the show. Orton is scheduled to visit the WWE Performance Center next week to train as he anticipates being medically cleared to return to the ring. He’s been out since December 2015 with shoulder surgery.

Meanwhile, International sportsbooks are taking bets on who Lesnar’s SummerSlam opponent will be – and Orton is nowhere close to being the most favored pick. Courtesy of Wweleaks.org and betting site 32red.com, Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns are Lesnar’s most likely opponents. The next tier of possible opponents based on betting odds include Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, and Randy Orton.

Lesnar returns to UFC this Saturday night at UFC 200 in a fight that could very well result in injuries that would prevent him from competing at SummerSlam. WWE is taking a major gamble by having Lesnar fight at UFC 200 and they’ve compounded the situation by announcing Lesnar’s SummerSlam match before that show. The upside is that UFC will likely hype Lesnar’s SummerSlam match at UFC 200, which could result in some UFC fans subscribing to the WWE Network.

– It looks like SummerSlam will be a 4+ hour PPV once again this year. Ticketmaster.com now displays a 6pm start time for the event, a half hour earlier than the original listing. WWE has already confirmed that Brock Lesnar will be part of SummerSlam, as long as he’s healthy enough to do so after competing at next month’s UFC 200.

• WWE Negotiating With Female UFC Fighter For SummerSlam

SummerSlam takes place on Sunday, August 21st from Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center. It will be the 2nd of three consecutive nights at the Barclays Center, sandwiched between NXT Takeover: Brooklyn and RAW the following night.

– Over the weekend, Kevin Owens revealed that he’ll be getting his own Funko Pop vinyl toy this summer. Funko Pop has since announced that several other WWE personalities are getting Funko dolls this summer, including Bret Hart, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and one we know you’ll all be interested in – Eva Marie.

Coming Soon: New WWE! https://t.co/j6KUqc6I3l pic.twitter.com/4aiT4l5kWZ

— Funko (@OriginalFunko) June 13, 2016

– WWE.com has video from Scotty 2 Hotty’s recent visit to the WWE Performance Center.

– Triple H met with NWA President Bruce Tharpe at the WWE PC and NXT Takeover last week. Apparently they were discussing a deal on WWE to obtain the rights for the Paul Boesch Houston Wrestling library.

pic.twitter.com/OyailXwYXX

— R. Bruce Tharpe (@rbtharpe) June 8, 2016

Speaking of Triple H, he flew to China over the weekend after appearing at the UK Download festival, where he received the Spirit of Lemmy Award.

An unbelievable day at @DownloadFest yesterday. Unforgettable.

Next stop….. #TripleHWorldTour pic.twitter.com/3uKPcXZFQv

— Triple H (@TripleH) June 12, 2016

Some additional details regarding the upcoming brand split, courtesy of Wrestling Observer Live:

– Double announce teams at ringside during WWE PPV events once again. Raw announcers will call Raw matches while Smackdown announcers will do Smackdown matches.

– There is also talk of holding big dual-brand Raw episodes for the night after major pay-per-views like Summerslam and WrestleMania. Both rosters would be on the show that night.

– This year’s WWE SummerSlam event is already sold out at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, and so is RAW the night after. SummerSlam 2016 takes place on August 21st. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Barclays Center was set up to accommodate 13,438 fans for last year’s SummerSlam and the following RAW.

– John Cena will be on Centerstage on the YES Network on April 12th at 11 PM, with several replays following. Cena has yet to return to RAW after his appearance at WrestleMania as he’s been doing press for his new show American Grit, debuting on FOX on April 24th. There’s no word on when Cena is next scheduled to appear on RAW, but he is expected to be cleared to wrestle by mid-May or June.

– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson co-hosted the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday with Kevin Hart. There were some wrestling mentions when Chris Pratt won ‘Best Action Performance’ and thanked Johnson, Jesse Ventura, Roddy Piper, Lou Albano, Batista, Jimmy Snuka, Brutus Beefcake and others.

– Tickets for WWE SummerSlam 2016 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY will go on sale this Saturday, April 2nd. SummerSlam takes place on August 21st. The Ticketmaster pre-sale code is WWESUMMERSLAM.

– WWE Network’s Hall of Fame red carpet special on Saturday night will be hosted by Byron Saxton and Maria Menounos. Menounos hosted last year’s special with Michael Cole.

– Mojo Rawley vs. Christopher Girard has been added to Thursday night’s WrestleMania 32 Axxess session. Several NXT matches will reportedly be filmed during WrestleMania week at Axxess events. Speaking of NXT, below is a new promo video for Friday’s NXT Takeover: Dallas, airing on the WWE Network at 10 PM ET.

– The “Dusty Rhodes Tag-Team Classic” tournament is expected to become a new annual NXT event. There is talk of having the finals of the tournament take place as its’ own event that would be in conjunction with WWE’s annual SummerSlam pay-per-view.

– WWE is going around mainland China looking for prospective talent to train. WWE has been looking for a way to capitalize on the market for years now, as the brand isn’t nearly as established there as it is in other international markets. John Cena has been studying the language for years in hopes that he will be able to help do his part in making WWE as big in China as it is in many other foreign countries.

• (NEW: Jan. 7): Ronda Rousey Wearing NOTHING But Body Paint!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

https://youtu.be/n0emUF8jDOM

Two familiar faces made their respective NXT returns at the NXT television taping on Saturday night, as Blue Pants (Leva Bates) and former TNA World Heavyweight Champion James Storm both worked matches.

A while back, it was reported that Blue Pants had backstage heat on her in WWE and would not be brought back any time soon, due to an incident involving alcohol during SummerSlam weekend in Brooklyn, New York.

Blue Pants taped a match on Thursday night with Nia Jax that will air on the December 2nd edition of NXT. Her last match with NXT was a loss to Alexa Bliss at the August 13th NXT tapings. Her last NXT appearance was at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

In Storm’s case, he recently made his NXT debut at the NXT tapings held October 8th. Storm beat Danny Burch that night. On the 12/2 edition of NXT, Storm will return on NXT television for the first time since his 10/8 debut, as he taped a match with Adam Rose.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that Storm had yet to actually sign an official WWE contract. Whether or not that remains the case now that he has been brought back to NXT TV remains to be seen. We’ll keep you posted.

• Ronda Rousey Makes First Statement Since Losing: How Is She? What’s Her Plans?

Neville recently spoke with The Mirror while overseas on the current WWE U.K. tour. Below are some of the highlights.

On training with actor Stephen Amell for their tag-team match at WWE SummerSlam:

“It was very cool. That’s the thing with WWE, we have such a broad variety of acts and entertainments, so hopefully there is always something for everybody. That match was meant to be the spectacle, the celebrity attraction match, and I’m very proud of how it came off. I thought we pulled it off very well and Stephen Amell did phenomenally well. He’s a great athlete in his own right and it was such a cool experience in the Barclays Center in New York City, in the center of Brooklyn, to be able to do that with him.”

On WWE having several Europeans on the current roster:

“We are taking over. It’s pretty cool huh? I feel like recently WWE has been more dominated by Americans, but in the past five years or so the British and the Europeans are starting to come through again, which is a testament to the wrestling scene over here and the talent that we are producing. We did Glasgow and the reception received for myself and other British performers was exceptional. I’m so ready for Raw and Smackdown. We’re in Newcastle on Thursday again, I’m super excited for that, I’ll get to see my family, everyone is coming out, and I get to perform in the arena where I grew up watching wrestling. Whenever I talk about it I can’t stop grinning. It’s surreal and such a highlight of the year and of my life. Being able to do that in front of my mum and my dad and my family and the city, it’s the best man.”

On the Seth Rollins injury:

“Yeah, I mean it is the nature of this business and you know when you get into it that you have to accept this happens – because it does happen and often there is no way of avoiding it. And obviously the timing of it is terrible, but Seth is one of the most naturally talented, hardest working athletes I’ve ever met, so I know he’s going to bounce right back. It’s just going to be a case of taking a few months downtime and reassessing and rebuilding, but I’ve got no doubt he will be back better than ever soon enough. It’s just such a shame it happened now when he’s on such a run.”

• Video: Rousey-Holm Fist-Fight At Weigh-Ins + LIVE UFC 193 Results TONIGHT!

WWE Hall Of Famer Edge (Adam Copeland) recently spoke to WWE.com to promote his role as super villain Atom Smasher on the hit CW series, “The Flash,” which premieres on Tuesday night at 8pm EST. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On how physical his role on “The Flash” was: “It was a walk in the park compared to WWE! Anytime I was asked if I could do something physical, I said “no problem.” There is one scene where I was held by wires up on my tip-toes, perpendicular to the floor, with a giant fan blowing at me and had to stand perfectly straight without using my arms for about 30 minutes. Basically, I did a 30-minute plank. It was a great workout. The next day, my butt was sore. That’s probably too much information.”

On how Stephen Amell did in his in-ring debut at WWE SummerSlam: “He did a good job. No matter what kind of shape you’re in, wrestling is a different kind of cardio, and there is no way to prepare for it other than wrestling every night. I briefly chatted with him beforehand and was happy to find out that he’s a lifelong fan and fellow Toronto-kid. For someone who used to go see WWE at Maple Leaf Gardens and went to WrestleMania VI, he got to live out one of his dreams of competing in WWE.

He wasn’t there to promote the new season of “Arrow,” because it was nowhere near the season premiere. He was actually in the midst of filming the season, which is crazy. Being the lead of that series and having everyone depend on him to show up for work, if anything had gone wrong in the match, that would have been very bad for everyone who works on that show. I respect the fact that he just wanted to do it because of how big a WWE fan he is.”

Check out the complete interview at WWE.com.

• CM Punk INJURED While Training For UFC Debut — How Long Will He Be Out?!

– WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will be heading overseas for the upcoming European tour in early November. According to Digital Spy, Flair will serve as General Manager for the shows. As noted earlier, Daniel Bryan will also be part of the tour while John Cena is no longer scheduled to appear.

– Earlier this week, WWE announced that SummerSlam will be returning to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2016 and 2017. Prior to striking a deal with the venue, WWE was also considering holding next year’s SummerSlam at the Staples Center in Los Angeles or the new MGM Arena in Las Vegas.

– Here are this week’s SmackDown Fallout videos featuring The Dudley Boyz hyping their match with New Day at MSG this Saturday night and Ryback telling Keivn Owens he won’t be IC Champion for long.

https://youtu.be/_fU2X74xvXM

WWE announced on Monday that SummerSlam, Monday Night RAW and NXT are returning to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in August 2016 and August 2017.  The news comes on the heels of this year’s record-setting SummerSlam Week that saw WWE sell out Barclays Center for an unprecedented three consecutive nights.

2016 Key Dates:

• Saturday, Aug. 20 – NXT
• Sunday, Aug. 21 – SummerSlam
• Monday Aug. 22 – Monday Night Raw

2017 Key Dates:

• Saturday, Aug. 19 – NXT
• Sunday, Aug. 20 – SummerSlam
• Monday Aug. 21 – Monday Night Raw

“We are thrilled to build on the success of the 2015 SummerSlam and welcome WWE back to Brooklyn in 2016 and 2017. Big events like SummerSlam help cement New York City’s appeal as a dynamic, high-energy destination,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re thankful for WWE’s commitment to Brooklyn, and look forward to a long partnership that benefits the City.”

Ticket information for SummerSlam 2016 will be announced soon.

Featured below is a video from a WWE SummerSlam signing in New York City where it appears that a handler at the event tries to rush a group of fans through before they get their autographs and photo-opportunity with Roman Reigns.

It was at this point that Reigns spoke up and stood up for the fans. Also featured below is a fan commenting on what happened, as well as Reigns’ response.

https://twitter.com/realTonyFalcone/status/643945802612744192

All I got to say when it comes to the meet and greets of @WWERomanReigns …don't piss him off when it comes to his fans.

— Amanda OTC Fan (@RomanMoxFan2010) September 16, 2015

#RomanEmpire always has my back, you already know i have yalls! https://t.co/PFt33oGRBP

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) September 16, 2015

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Actor Stephen Amell and WWE Superstar Stardust teamed up today to deliver a check to the Emily’s House charity based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Amell and WWE raised $297,557 for the special t-shirt that was made for the build-up to WWE SummerSlam, where Amell and Stardust competed in a tag-team match alongside Neville and King Barrett, respectively.

WWE and the “Arrow” star were able to raise the aforementioned amount of money in just five days.

The following are some photos and comments from both Stardust and Stepheen Amell.

297 thousand-dollars
raised in just five days#StardustVArrow @PAChospice_care pic.twitter.com/ID7PBKTRki

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 13, 2015

https://twitter.com/amellywood/status/643101512227520516

• VIDEO: UFC President Dana White & TOP UFC Star Nearly Get Into FIST-FIGHT!