Month: March 2020

ESPN To Air Classic WWE WrestleMania Events

ESPN is set to air classic WWE WrestleMania events to build to WrestleMania 36, according to a press release sent to us by WWE today.

ESPN will air classic WrestleMania events over the next three Sundays, on their flagship cable network, and then on their mobile app.

The first showing will be this Sunday at 7pm ET as ESPN airs WrestleMania XXX from 2014. WrestleMania 32 will then air on Sunday, March 29 at 7pm ET, and WrestleMania 35 will air on Sunday, April 5 at 3pm ET.

Variety noted that this is the latest example of ESPN working to fill its schedule with “unorthodox content” in the wake of the nation’s coronavirus pandemic, which has put a stop to many sporting events.

“It is a privilege for us to deliver historic WrestleMania content to our world-class partners at ESPN and provide more premium programming to our fans; putting smiles on their faces particularly during this trying time,” said WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon. “We look forward to celebrating WrestleMania history with ESPN as we head into our two-night pop culture extravaganza on April 4 and 5.”

Below is the full announcement sent to us by WWE:

ESPN To Air Encore Presentations of WrestleManiaSpecial Content Initiative Begins This Sunday with WrestleMania 30 on ESPN

ESPN today, in collaboration with WWE, announced it is airing encore presentations of historic WrestleMania events over the next three Sundays on ESPN and streaming via the ESPN App. The special content initiative begins this Sunday, March 22, at 7 p.m. ET with the airing of WrestleMania 30. The full schedule is below:

WrestleMania 30 (airs Sunday, March 22, 7 p.m. ET) – from April 6, 2014

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Hulk Hogan and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin kick off the 30th anniversary of the “Showcase of the Immortals” before a record-breaking crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar attempts to end the most celebrated streak in WWE history, Undertaker’s 21 consecutive victories at WrestleMania; witness the emotional culmination of Daniel Bryan’s “Yes! movement” in a championship triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton and Batista.

WrestleMania 32 (airs Sunday, March 29, 7 p.m. ET) – from April 3, 2016

The largest crowd in WWE history filled Jerry World at AT&T Stadium for WrestleMania 32, as more than 101,000 fans witness the “Show of Shows.” Roman Reigns takes on Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event; Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks in a match to crown the first-ever WWE Women’s Champion; the world famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders welcome The Rock to AT&T Stadium; and Shane McMahon stuns the WWE Universe with a death-defying leap in his Hell in a Cell match against Undertaker.

WrestleMania 35 (airs Sunday, April 5, 3 p.m. ET) – from April 7, 2019

WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium features a significant moment in WWE’s Women’s Evolution as the “baddest woman on the planet” Ronda Rousey takes on Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a “Winner Take All” Triple Threat match for the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships, marking the first time women were the main event at WrestleMania; Kofi Kingston finally gets a shot at realizing his lifelong dream of becoming WWE Champion against Daniel Bryan; and Batista faces his one-time friend and mentor Triple H in a “no holds barred” match.

“This unique opportunity is a byproduct of the terrific working relationship we’ve enjoyed with WWE over the years and the unprecedented circumstances we all find ourselves in,” said Burke Magnus, executive vice president, programming, ESPN. “WrestleMania is one of the most popular global events in sports and entertainment and the spectacular content it provides will be a treat for fans.”

“It is a privilege for us to deliver historic WrestleMania content to our world-class partners at ESPN and provide more premium programming to our fans; putting smiles on their faces particularly during this trying time,” said Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer, WWE. “We look forward to celebrating WrestleMania history with ESPN as we head into our two-night pop culture extravaganza on April 4 and 5.”

These three encore presentations will air in advance of this year’s WrestleMania, which for the first time ever, will be held as a two-night event streaming live on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m. ET on WWE Network and available on pay-per-view. WrestleMania will be hosted by three-time Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski. As WWE previously announced, only essential personnel will be on closed sets at multiple locations, including WWE’s training facility in Orlando, during the production of WrestleMania.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Matt Hardy Says The Second Coming Of “Broken” Matt Will Be Very Different

Matt Hardy has been tweeting about his AEW Dynamite debut last night and the early success of his first AEW merchandise. He also interacted with Cody Rhodes.

Matt continued tweeting this evening and said the second coming of “Broken” Matt Hardy will be much different than the first.

“DAMASCUS is much older, more vicious & quite darker than my previous ESSENCE. The Second Coming of #BROKEN Matt Hardy will be very different from the first,” he wrote.

Hardy also touted the YouTube video views on the video of his AEW arrival from their official YouTube channel. As of this writing, the video has 1.4 million views. To compate, the reveal of Brodie Lee (Luke Harper) as The Exalted One has 423,000 video views while the outdoors segment with Lance Archer and Jake Roberts has 137,000 views and the segment with AEW World Champion Jon Moxley has 141,000 views.

Hardy tweeted the video yesterday and wrote, “The finale of last night’s #AEWDynamite has well over 1,000,000 views in just a matter of hours – WONDERFUL!”

Hardy also tweeted the Twitter “Trending Event” post on his debut and wrote, “Lots on buzz coming out of @AEWrestling last night.. And it wasn’t just Vanguard 1 flying into the ring. #BROKEN Matt Hardy makes debut for AEW on Dynamite”

You can see Matt’s related tweets below:

https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/1240796946677280768

https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/1240713129077510144

https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/1240750820242661376

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Update On WWE WrestleMania 36, RAW And SmackDown

There’s been a lot of speculation on WWE possibly changing the WrestleMania 36 card now that it is airing from the WWE Performance Center and other “multiple locations” with no crowds, instead of Raymond James Stadium as originally planned. The other locations have not been announced yet, but WrestleMania 36 is scheduled to air on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 at 7pm ET via pay-per-view and the WWE Network.

At one point WWE had 16 matches planned for the WrestleMania 36 card, but we’re not sure if that is still the plan. Pro Wrestling Sheet reports WWE confirmed to them that the 7th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the 3rd Annual WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal will not take place this year as a way to help limit the number of Superstars gathering in the ring. This is another change made due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The two battle royals have been pulled from the WrestleMania 36 card as another way to abide by guidelines and recommendations from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and other local governments as much as possible while producing the big event. This is one of the many precautionary measures that WWE officials are taking during WrestleMania 36 to help “flatten the curve” amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

WWE issued a statement to Sports Illustrated confirming that all talent and staff entering their closed sets are required to participate in medical testing. There’s still no word yet on where these other locations will be, but it was reported earlier today that most of the WrestleMania 36 content will shoot from the Performance Center, while some “gimmick matches” will take place elsewhere.

On a related note, WWE officials are currently planning an “ambitious” taping schedule that will get them through WrestleMania 36, according to POST Wrestling. The plan as of today is to tape the remaining episodes of RAW and SmackDown leading up to WrestleMania 36. There’s no word yet on when these tapings will take place. WWE will reportedly go ahead with this week’s SmackDown on FOX, featuring WrestleMania host Rob Gronkowski and the contract signing for Roman Reigns vs. WWE Universal Champion Bill Goldberg, but would then tape the March 23 and March 30 episodes of RAW, plus the March 27 and April 3 editions of SmackDown

One source indicated to POST that they also expect WWE to tape both nights of WrestleMania 36 over the next week as well, meaning The Grandest Stage of Them All will not air live on April 4 and April 5. Another source was unsure if that will happen. If WWE does tape both nights of WrestleMania 36, then the upcoming tapings schedule would include two episodes of RAW, two episodes of SmackDown, and two nights of WrestleMania. There’s no word yet on how the WWE NXT TV shows will factor into this.

Regarding the WrestleMania 36 card, a source indicated to POST that the only changes to the planned card is the elimination of the two battle royals, as noted above. The other planned matches are set to take place over the two night, with some matches that have not been announced on TV yet.

As noted before, the WWE website lists the following matches for Saturday night and Sunday night, but it should be noted that WWE has not officially announced line-ups for each night, at least as of this writing:

SATURDAY, APRIL 4
* Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
* Charlotte Flair vs. WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley
* The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
* Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins

SUNDAY, APRIL 5
* Roman Reigns vs. WWE Universal Champion Bill Goldberg
* Shayna Baszler vs. RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
* John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

It’s important to note that WWE has not officially announced which matches will air on each night. While the WWE website has these matches listed for Saturday and Sunday, the location is the same for each match – the Performance Center. That should change once they announce these other locations.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW #316Day Preview 3/16/20 – Show Moved To The WWE Performance Center

Tonight’s special “3:16 Day” edition of WWE RAW will take place from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando for the first time ever, due to the coronavirus pandemic. There will be no audience for tonight’s show.

  • “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to celebrate #316Day on March 16 Raw
  • The Undertaker and AJ Styles to sign their WrestleMania contract

WWE Hall of Famer Edge was advertised for tonight’s show before it was moved from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, but there’s no word yet on if he will still appear at the PC tonight.

Impact Wrestling Postponed Lockdown And March Breakdown Due To Coronavirus/Covid-19 Pandemic

Impact Wrestling has announced that the Lockdown pay-per-view scheduled for March 28 in Windsor, Ontario, and the March Breakdown event scheduled for March 29 in Belleville, Michigan, have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement from Impact noted that they will update plans as the situation evolves.

“As a result of the continuing developments regarding COVID-19, Lockdown on March 28 in Windsor, ON and March Breakdown on March 29 in Belleville, MI have been postponed. Please pursue refunds through your original point of purchase,” the statement on Twitter reads.

They continued, “We continue to monitor the situation actively and are reviewing the recommendations from the appropriate government agencies and local communities, particularly as they relate to There’s No Place Like Home scheduled for April 3 and Rebellion scheduled for April 19. We will continue to update our plans as the situation evolves. In the meantime, you can still join us on Tuesday nights at 8/7c on @AXSTV for IMPACT.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Officially Announces Jushin Thunder Liger For The WWE Hall Of Fame

WWE officially announced that the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020 year during WrestleMania 36 Weekend.

The 2020 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony is currently scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 2 from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, during WrestleMania 36 Week. WWE now has the following names announced for the 2020 Class – Liger, “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, Batista, The nWo (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman), The Bella Twins, and JBL.

WWE official announcement:

Jushin “Thunder” Liger to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020

Jushin “Thunder” Liger, one of the most revolutionary competitors in sports-entertainment history, is the latest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020.

Liger joins Batista, nWo members Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Sean Waltman, The Bella Twins, JBL and The British Bulldog in the Class of 2020. They will take their place in history during the 2020 Induction Ceremony on Thursday, April 2, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

The masked marvel emerged in Japan in the late 1980s, enchanting fans from the moment he emerged from the curtain, clad in a dazzling red-and-white body suit and a striking mask with three protruding horns. But as impressive as he was on first glance, Liger was even more remarkable once the bell rang. Inside the ring, Liger was an innovator in every sense of the word. His high-flying, hard-hitting style has influenced generations of competitors, and is credited as the inventor of the Shooting Star Press.

Liger made his way to the United States in 1991, arriving in WCW and engaging in an epic rivalry with Brian Pillman over the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship, the precursor to the Cruiserweight Title. Liger and Pillman’s incredible bouts are still talked about to this day as some of the most influential in sports-entertainment history.

Liger appeared for WCW sporadically throughout the 1990s, taking on competitors like Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko. Meanwhile, in his home country of Japan, he established himself as one of the greatest competitors of all time, becoming an 11-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, even after a brain tumor almost took his life. He went nearly four decades without competing in a WWE ring, until he made his WWE debut at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in 2015, defeating Tyler Breeze in a battle that brought the NXT Universe to its feet.

Jushin “Thunder” Liger retired in January, making him a grappler with the distinction of having competed in five different decades. And now, he will add another incredible accolade to his résumé: WWE Hall of Famer.

Don’t miss Jushin “Thunder” Liger take his place in sports-entertainment history at the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday, April 2, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., and streaming live on WWE Network!

MLW Announces Upcoming Event Is Postponed

Like many other wrestling promotions around the world, Major League Wrestling has announced changes it its schedule due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The upcoming April 18 event in Chicago has been moved to June 12 at Circero Stadium.

They have also suspended promoting live events for the next 45 days.

Below is MLW’s full statement:

Major League Wrestling has suspended promoting live events for 45 days, effective immediately, as the league continues to assess the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.At the appropriate time, the league will communicate plans for promoting live events outside of the 45-day temporary hiatus and update the status of league events.

MLW programming will continue to air Saturday nights on beIN SPORTS, MLW’s YouTube channel and with partners around the world during this period.

As a result of the temporary suspension of promoting live events, MLW’s April 18th event in Chicago has been rescheduled for Friday night June 12 at Cicero Stadium. All tickets purchased for the originally scheduled date will be honored at this time.

The MLW family would like to extend our appreciation and well wishes to all doctors, nurses, emergency services staff, first responders and medical professionals on the front line working to address the public health crisis in our nation and around the world.

Learn more about the coronavirus pandemic (CDC website).

https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1239253354364239877

Source: Wrestling Inc.

XFL Will Allow Players To Join The NFL Or CFL

A few days ago, the XFL announced it would be halting the remainder of its relaunched season after five weeks. This was due to the Coronavirus, which has affected the entire world. It joined the NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, golf and a number of other sports that halted action due to the epidemic.

“Currently, the XFL will not be playing its regular-season games,” the XFL stated in a release. “However, all players will be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season. All XFL ticket holders will be issued refunds or credit toward future games. The XFL is committed to playing a full season in 2021 and future years.”

While the XFL will look to continue next season, will it be with some of its original players? It was initially announced that the contracts of XFL players are only for one year. The XFL previously stated that players couldn’t sign with the NFL until after the XFL playoffs. That may change now that the season ended early.

According to ProFootballTalk, a player can be signed by the NFL or CFL, as long as there is a “credible contractual offer” made. A player could be invited to a workout, but they would need to sign a waiver while remaining under contract with the XFL.

Additionally, NFL.com is stating that once physicals are complete, players can sign where they please. A number of players have gotten interest from the NFL, including Houston Roughnecks QB P.J. Walker, who the Seahawks have looked into.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

MLW Fusion Preview 3/14/20 – Tom Lawlor vs. Killer Kross

What happens when WWE’s newest signee Killer Kross invades Major League Wrestling looking for a fight with 10-year UFC veteran and former MLW World Champion “Filthy” Tom Lawlor? Tick tock… viewers are about to find out on this week’s FUSION.

Tom Lawlor has been on a tear in 2020. Now he clashes with Killer Kross in a bout that has become an inter-promotional dream match.  With high stakes, Lawlor vs. Kross promises to be a historic fight and main event that you don’t want to miss.

Where is CIMA? What has CONTRA Unit done with the decorated wrestler? There’s chatter that CONTRA will release a video that will shock the wrestling world while hopefully providing critical information on CIMA’s whereabouts. Tune in to learn more!

The World Middleweight Championship will be contested as the reigning and self-proclaimed “GOAT” Myron Reed looks to continue his outspoken and unrivaled run as he faces off against the Laredo Kid in a highly anticipated title fight.

Reed, who was unofficially pinned by the popular AAA luchador after a tag team bout a few weeks back, looks for revenge against the man who embarrassed him.

Laredo Kid’s quest for MLW gold comes under the watchful eye of AAA co-founder Konnan, who has had his own problematic run-ins with the outspoken trio known as Injustice.

Weeks after his Uncle Moonman was attacked by Dynasty, Mance Warner gets his hands on one of their members for the first time in a one-on-one fight, as he faces off against Gino Medina.

Will the Southern Fried fighter be able to stifle the Dynasty’s newest edition, or will the numbers game come into play and put Ole Mancer out of commission?

Back in Hawaii, Kevin Von Erich drops some knowledge on his sons as they ready for their continued war against Team Filthy.

PLUS! Pro Wrestling Illustrated honors Brian Pillman Jr.

Join Rich Bocchini, AJ Kirsch and Alicia Atout from Philadelphia for a night of top ranked action.

Matches:

  • Interpromotional Fight: Killer Kross vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
  • MLW World Middleweight Title Fight: Myron Reed (c) vs. Laredo Kid
  • Mance Warner vs. “El Intocable” Gino Medina

WWE To Air Monday’s RAW Special “3:16 Day” From The Performance Center?

It looks like Monday’s special “3:16 Day” edition of WWE RAW will be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The episode, featuring WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin celebrating 3:16 Day, is still scheduled for the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA as of this writing, but an official update is expected some time today. @Wrestlevotes reports that RAW will likely air from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando on Monday, instead of Pittsburgh.

Besides Austin’s special appearance, Monday’s loaded RAW also has a WrestleMania 36 contract signing between AJ Styles and The Undertaker scheduled, plus an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Edge.

Tonight’s SmackDown on FOX episode will also air from the WWE Performance Center due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The show was originally scheduled for the Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit, MI.

Source: Wrestling Inc.