Month: April 2019

The Uso Reportedly Sign New WWE Deals

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos have signed new WWE contracts, according to PWInsider.

The brothers reportedly signed new deals a few weeks ago as their current contracts were set to expire at the end of the month.

It was announced on last night’s SmackDown that The Usos will defend their titles in a Fatal 4 Way at WrestleMania 35 with The Bar, Ricochet and Aleister Black, and Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura. They recently spent some time away from working non-televised WWE live events but they returned to action this past weekend.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

2019 WrestleMania Weekend Events – WWE, ROH, NJPW, Impact Wrestling, MLW & WrestleCon

WrestleMania Weekend Events:

WrestleMania Axxess

NXT vs. NXT Alumni
Thursday, April 4 (6-10 p.m.)
The past meets the present as former NXT Superstars battle current Superstars from the black-and-gold brand. The matches will include Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze, Dominik Dijkaovic vs. Harper, SAnitY vs. Undisputed ERA, and Kassius Ohno vs. Aiden English.

Cruiserweights Collide
Friday, April 5 – Sessions 1 and 2 
Cruiserweights from 205 Live, NXT UK and NXT will soar to new heights in inter-brand bouts on Friday’s Axxess sessions. Featured matches will include Tyler Bate vs. The Brian Kendrick, Akira Tozawa vs. Jordan Devlin, Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews vs. Ariya Daivari & Mike Kanellis, and Albert Hardie Jr. vs. Gran Metalik. Session 1 runs 1-5 p.m., and Session 2 runs 6-10 p.m.

NXT UK Tapings
Saturday, April 6 – Sessions 1, 2 and 3
Each of Saturday’s three Axxess sessions will feature an NXT UK TV taping for future airing on the award-winning WWE Network. Don’t miss the rare opportunity to watch the United Kingdom’s best and brightest Superstars competing stateside. Session 1 runs 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Session 2 runs 1-5 p.m. and Session 3 runs 6-10 p.m.

Brands Battle
Sunday, April 7 (8 a.m. to 12 p.m.)
Two 20-Superstar Battle Royals — one for male Superstars and one for female Superstars — will take place the morning of WrestleMania. Both Battle Royals will feature Superstars from NXT and NXT UK, and the Men’s Battle Royal will additionally feature Superstars from 205 Live.

Women Collide
Monday, April 8 (12-4 p.m.)
One day after female Superstars main-event WrestleMania for the first time in history, the WWE Women’s Evolution continues to take center stage at Axxess. Watch top female Superstars from NXT, NXT UK, Raw and SmackDown LIVE collide, with matches including Io Shirai vs. Sonya Deville, Toni Storm vs. Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair, Piper Niven vs. Zelina Vega, Candice LeRae vs. Kay Lee Ray and more!

*Talent listed and depicted above are subject to change.

 

MLW -Rise of the Renegades (Fusion TV Tapings) April 4 – New York City, Melrose Ballroom

Impact Wrestling – United We Stand – April 4 – Rahway Rec Center in Rahway, New Jersey – Steaming on Fite TV

MLW – Battle Riot II (Fusion TV Tapings) April 5 – New York City, Melrose Ballroom -2 Hour Special airing on beIN SPORTS

ROH – NJPW G1 Supercard “Festival of Honor” April 5 – Hulu Theatre at MSG (Pro wrestling fans from all around the globe have an opportunity to get up close and personal with the biggest stars in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling with Meet & Greet experiences)

NXT TakeOver: New York – April 5 – Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

WrestleCon – April 5 & 6 – New York City Hilton Midtown

ROH – NJPW G1 Supercard – April 6 – MSG – PPV, Fite.tv, ROH HonorClub or NJPW World

WWE Hall of Fame – April 6

WrestleMania 35 – April 7

Backstage News On Lars Sullivan’s WWE Status

Lars Sullivan is reportedly returning “imminently” to WWE, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. While there is no timetable for his return, it was noted that it would likely be “sooner than later.”

Sullivan was scheduled to make his WWE main roster debut in early January, however his appearance was nixed after he apparently suffered some anxiety issues. Sullivan was rumored to face John Cena at WrestleMania this Sunday. Cena is still expected to be part of the show, however it is not known what his role will be.

During a media call last week, Wrestling Inc.’s Nick Hausman asked Triple H about the status of Sullivan. Triple H seemed more optimistic about Sullivan debuting than in the past, stating that “there’s much more to come.”

“It’s one of those situations where you just have to wait and see,” Triple H told Wrestling Inc. “There’s much more to come, you just have to wait and see.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Ankle Injury To Rey Mysterio

WWE has announced that Rey Mysterio suffered an ankle injury during Monday night’s RAW main event loss to Baron Corbin.

The injury was announced by Kayla Braxton in the video seen below, filmed backstage at SmackDown yesterday in Baltimore, Maryland. Rey’s match with Andrade had been nixed from last night’s WrestleMania 35 go-home edition of SmackDown.

Rey is still scheduled to challenge WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday. Braxton noted that Rey’s injury will be re-evaluated as we get closer to the pay-per-view.

No word on if this is a legitimate injury.

WWE NXT Preview 4/3/19

NXT, tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network.

* Kairi Sane and Bianca Belair fight for momentum before Fatal 4-Way

* Oney Lorcan and The Forgotten Sons’ Jaxson Ryker, collide.

* The War Raiders warm up for TakeOver: New York

WWE NXT UK Preview 4/3/19

NXT UK, today at 3 ET/8 GMT on WWE Network.

* Trent Seven battles Gallus’ Joe Coffey

* Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan battle Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner

* Kay Lee Ray takes on fellow Scotsman Isla Dawn

Top WWE Stars Announced For WrestleMania 35 Week TV Appearances, WWE Stars At Yankee Stadium (Photos)

WWE has announced the following WrestleMania 35 Week TV appearances for The Miz, Maryse, Elias, Kofi Kingston, RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns and Triple H:

WrestleMania Week takes over the airwavesIt all begins tonight when The Miz and Maryse – fresh off the announcement that “Miz & Mrs.” is returning for a second season – appear on NBC’s “Access” at 7:30 p.m. ET.

On Wednesday, April 3, Elias takes over Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning” at 6:30 a.m. ET and “MLB Central” on MLB Network beginning at 11 a.m. ET.

This Thursday, April 4, Kofi Kingston joins Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning” at 6:30 a.m. ET. Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey will appear on NBC’s “Today” at 9:30 a.m. ET, and The Miz and Maryse will be on NBC’s “Extra” at 7 p.m. ET.

Becky Lynch will appear on Fox 5’s “Good Day New York” this Friday beginning at 6 a.m. ET, before joining “Boomer and Gio” on WFAN at 8 a.m. ET. The Man will also appear on ESPN’s “First Take” at 11 a.m. ET and on “TMZ Live” on Fox 5 at 4 p.m. ET.

Also on Friday, Roman Reigns will appear on Z100’s “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show” at 7 a.m. ET. The Big Dog will also join “Strahan and Sara” at 1 p.m. ET on ABC before talking to Mike Francesa on WFAN’s “Mike’s On” at 3:30 p.m. ET.Additional Superstar appearances on Friday include Kofi Kingston on “PIX 11 News” at 8 a.m. ET and Triple H on FS1’s “First Things First” at 9 a.m. ET. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Titus O’Neil and Rey Mysterio will also ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange at 4 p.m. ET.

Braun Strowman, Natalya and Titus O’Neil was at Yankee Stadium in New York City yesterday to officially kick off WrestleMania 35 Week with last night’s MLB game against the Detroit Tigers. Below are a few photos of the WWE Superstars at batting practice in their custom jerseys:

Jim Ross Says AEW Deal Is Imminent, Talks How Much He Made Doing WWE 2K Voiceover Work

Recently on The Jim Ross Report, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross talked about his recent talks with AEW. Also, Ross shared the big paydays he received for his voiceover work on 2K’s WWE video games.

According to Ross, he has been in talks with AEW and a deal is likely imminent. Ross suggested that he is unsure whether the deal will be for a broadcasting role and/or a behind-the-scenes role.

“We’re talking to AEW,” Ross began. “I mentioned that before. They are an exciting young company. I’d like to think I could contribute to their success either at ringside, calling the play-by-play, or behind-the-scenes. Those details are still being discussed and when we get something finalized, I’m thinking within the next few days at most, we’ll let everybody know. So life is good, man. When one door closes, another door opens if you let it. And that’s my choice. Another door is opening and if all goes well, knock on wood, as I’m doing right now [knocks]. Hear it? I’m knocking on wood that everything’s cool. It’s going to be a good year.”

Apparently, Ross made over six-figures on multiple occasions from his work doing voiceovers on the WWE 2K video games.

“I see where Tommy Dreamer is back in the news,” Ross said. “Tommy’s House Of Hardcore will be in a video game, RetroMania Wrestling, so that’s going to be an interesting proposition, opportunity, I should say, for Tommy. He works hard, man. He’s a one-man band. But it could be a big deal. I can tell you this: I made six-figures plus on many occasions for my work on the 2K games for WWE. It’s a big deal, so if you’re lucky enough to get involved with the video games, and they sell, they’ve got to sell – it wasn’t like appearance money. It was like part of your royalties. The more they sold, the more you made.”

Check out the podcast at the link below:

https://omny.fm/shows/the-ross-report/tony-schiavone-and-kenny-omega/embed

Sources: Wrestling Inc. and The Jim Ross Report

XFL Faces One Less Barrier As AAF Announces It Will Suspend League Operations Immediately

Just eight weeks into its inaugural season, the Alliance of American Football (AAF) has suspended operations. The league was seen as the alternative to the NFL and started on Feb. 9 which was just six days after Super Bowl XLIII.

The league had been struggling financially since the jump and was going to have difficulty making payroll after the first week of the season. Tom Dundon, who also owns the NHL’s Carolina Panthers, had to pledge a $250 million investment to save the league at that point and he essentially became the league’s new owner.

According to sources, after Dundon’s investment it became clear that his goals for the league were very different than the original ones set forth by co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian.

“I am extremely disappointed to learn Tom Dundon has decided to suspend all football operations of the Alliance of American Football,” Polian said in a statement. “When Mr. Dundon took over, it was the belief of my co-founder, Charlie Ebersol, and myself that we would finish the season, pay our creditors, and make the necessary adjustments to move forward in a manner that made economic sense for all.

“The momentum generated by our players, coaches and football staff had us well positioned for future success. Regrettably, we will not have that opportunity.”

Darren Rovell says that Dundon’s plan was to make the AAF a minor league feeder system for the NFL immediately while Ebersol and Polian planned to develop the league for three years before it becoming a feeder system.

Sources also say that many of the league’s vendors have not been paid yet and it’s unclear if Dundon or the previous ownership should foot those bills.

Outside of financial problems, the league also had logistical nightmares including the Orlando Apollos being forced to move their practices three hours away to Kingsland, Georgia.

Just weeks before the planned championship game on April 27, the AAF moved the location of the game from Las Vegas to Frisco, Texas as there was never a signed agreement between the AAF and the owners of the stadium in Vegas where the game was to be played.

Not even the arrival of Heisman winner Johnny Manziel could save the league although Manziel did offer up advice to his fellow AAF players.

If this is the end of the AAF, then it won’t have lasted even as long as the original XFL did which was one season. AAF co-founder Charlie Eberson is the son of Dick Eberson who was a Chairman at NBC which owned 50 percent of the original XFL.

The AAF’s demise is one fewer barrier for Vince McMahon in his second version of XFL. McMahon, along with his company Alpha Entertainment, is the sole owner of the XFL which plans to begin play in 2020.

Outside of the AAF and XFL, other upcoming pro football leagues include the American Patriot League, Pacific Pro Football and Freedom Football League. All of those leagues plan to start play in 2020.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On WrestleMania 35 Plans For Elias

It looks like we could see Elias tangle with another WWE Superstar at WrestleMania 35.

There is a plan in place for someone to “shut Elias up” during his performance at WrestleMania35, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio. There’s no word yet on who may work the angle with Elias, but everyone from John Cena to The Undertaker to Bray Wyatt are being rumored.

WWE previously announced Elias as the featured musical guest for WrestleMania 35. He is not being advertised for the 6th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Source: Wrestling Inc.