Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be headlined by two big title matches.
NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez will make her first title defense against Mercedes Martinez. Also, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida will defend his title against Santos Escobar in a 2 of 3 Falls match.
If recent reports are accurate, “The Man” Becky Lynch has pledged her future to WWE.
WWE Superstar Becky Lynch has reportedly pledged her future to the company by signing a new contract.
According to a recent Ringside News report, WWE and Becky Lynch have agreed to terms on a deal ahead of her highly anticipated return to WWE programming.
Becky Lynch (real name Rebecca Quinn) has been absent from WWE since announcing her pregnancy on the May 11th 2020 edition of Raw when she relinquished the Raw Women’s Championship to Asuka, who had won the Money In The Bank briefcase the night before.
Later that month, “The Man” shared a series of pics to honor the 34th birthday of her partner Seth Rollins. Th post culminated with an ultrasound image of the couple’s yet-to-be-born child.
The former Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion gave birth to a baby girl named Roux back in December. Lynch took to Instagram to announce the birth and reveal her new daughter’s name.
AEW has announced that they are returning to live touring with upcoming Dynamite tapings on the road.
AEW will run Dynamite on July 7 from the James L. Knight Center in Miami; July 14 from the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas; and July 21 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX.
Tickets for all three Dynamite shows will go on sale this Friday, May 14, and will start at $30. Each event will be held in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.
AEW has also announced two re-scheduled live event dates for St. Louis, Missouri and New Orleans, Louisiana. The June 23 taping at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis will now take place on Friday, November 5, and will be a TV taping to air on TNT, but apparently not as a Dynamite show. The event scheduled for the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans will now take place on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, and will be a Dynamite taping.
“We’re so appreciative of our fans in Jacksonville who have been with us these past nine months,” said AEW President, CEO, General Manager and Head of Creative Tony Khan. “Their support and incredible energy have lifted us week after week, and viewers have fed off their enthusiasm and support. Daily’s Place will always be our home.
“Looking ahead, we’re thrilled to welcome our fans back to become part of the action in Miami, Austin and Dallas. We’ve missed touring cities, meeting the fans and hearing their roar during our live shows. Please be assured, we are working closely with the venues to comply with state and local regulations in each city. Miami, Austin and Dallas are the first of many as we gear up the trucks to travel around the country again!”
Below is the AEW announcement with full details on the return to touring:
AEW Dynamite Is Back On The Road With Live Ticketed Events In Miami, Austin, & Dallas
— Rescheduled Dates Announced for St. Louis and New Orleans Shows —
May 10, 2021 – After safely hosting 27 live, ticketed events throughout the past nine months at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Fla., AEW is bringing the excitement of its flagship show AEW DYNAMITE to Miami, Austin and Dallas this summer. AEW will become the first major wrestling promotion to safely return to a traveling schedule since March 2020.
The dates for the live shows in Miami, Austin and Dallas are:
* Wednesday, July 7: James L. Knight Center in Miami.
* Wednesday, July 14: H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas (greater Austin area)
* Wednesday, July 21: Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas (greater Dallas area)
General tickets for the three shows will go on sale this Friday, May 14, at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT via AEWTIX.com. At the same time, tickets for the Miami and Austin shows will be available via Ticketmaster.com, while tickets for the Dallas show can be purchased at CurtisCulwellCenter.com. Tickets start at $30 (not including service charges or fees). Each event will be held in compliance with state COVID safety guidelines, and seating capacities will adhere to state and local mandates.
“We’re so appreciative of our fans in Jacksonville who have been with us these past nine months, ” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “Their support and incredible energy have lifted us week after week, and viewers have fed off their enthusiasm and support. Daily’s Place will always be our home.
“Looking ahead, we’re thrilled to welcome our fans back to become part of the action in Miami, Austin and Dallas. We’ve missed touring cities, meeting the fans and hearing their roar during our live shows. Please be assured, we are working closely with the venues to comply with state and local regulations in each city. Miami, Austin and Dallas are the first of many as we gear up the trucks to travel around the country again! ”
In the near future, AEW will be announcing additional live events for the late summer.
The company also announced two rescheduled dates for St. Louis and New Orleans:
* The show at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis on June 23 has been rescheduled for Friday, November 5, 2021. The live event will be an AEW TNT television taping.
* The show at the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January, 12, 2022, as an AEW DYNAMITE event.
Fans who have already purchased tickets to either show will have their original tickets valid for admission to the respective rescheduled show, or they can receive a refund via the point of purchase.
As AEW continues to deliver the best matches and most entertaining moments in professional wrestling today, be sure to tune into AEW DYNAMITE every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on TNT.
WWE officials “hated” the inaugural Blood and Guts match on last week’s AEW Dynamite, according to a report on PWInsider, which was first reported by Ringside News.
The report noted that one person in WWE management told Dave Scherer that the Blood and Guts match “set the business back 30 years.”
However, several active WWE Superstars, that Scherer spoke to, loved the match since “they would love to do something like that themselves.”
While there were no major injuries coming out of Blood and Guts, the 10 wrestlers involved in the match suffered a lot of bumps and bruises. Sammy Guevara of The Inner Circle posted a graphic photo to show off his nasty scars and welts, and Cash Wheeler tweeted a photo of his bloodied gear.
PWInsider noted that there was far more blood in the bout than originally intended.
The conclusion to the Blood and Guts match was a major talking point among fans. After MJF pushed Chris Jericho off the top of the cage, the camerawork exposed the cardboard-covered crash pad below the stage where Jericho landed.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will be a special “Go Back/Throwback” episode.
WWE has only announced one match for tonight’s throwback show and that’s Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins.
It’s also teased that the feud between Cesaro and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will continue tonight, and there may be some follow-up to Daniel Bryan losing the Career vs. Title match last night.
Tonight’s show should also see an update on the WrestleMania Backlash card.
NJPW announced today that the Wrestle Grand Slam shows in Yokohama and Tokyo Dome shows have been cancelled. The show were originally scheduled on May 15 and May 29, respectively.
The decision comes after the Japanese government announced an extension to the state of emergency currently in place in Tokyo and other prefectures. The state of emergency has been extended for three weeks until the end of May.
The only match that was announced for the shows was for the May 29 Tokyo Dome show that had Kazuchika Okada and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay in the main event. In their announcement, NJPW apologized for the news and announced that new dates will be finalized in the future.
During the interview, Bauer was also asked about a potential partnership with WWE. It was reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last week that MLW and WWE were in talks regarding a potential working relationship. A later report from PWInsider claimed there had been no talks between the two promotions.
Bauer played coy on while saying he’s open to all possibilities if the opportunity is right.
“A collaboration must have a long-term vision and a genuine commitment to enriching both parties,” said Bauer. “We’re having some interesting conversations with some interesting people, and if there is a two-way relationship that feels like it’s a win-win for the companies, the talent and the fans, and has a long-term sustainability to it, we’ll always examine it. You can’t do one-sided. I don’t kiss rings, I don’t need the validation.”
“We’re competing with two billionaires and still growing with deals like Vice TV and growing our footprint abroad with 20+ countries now airing MLW weekly. If, hypothetically, a company is motivated to pursue how it can disrupt a meaningful system or an opportunity where it enhances both parties’ businesses, yes you should evaluate the opportunity.”
Bauer continued, “It can’t just be that you get acknowledged by a billionaire, and then all of a sudden you say ‘okay, how can we serve you as a master?’ That’s not happening. If I do that, what’s the point of even being in business? It makes no sense. If both sides can get something out of it and it’s rewarding, and there’s a favorable strategy for both sides, that could be cool. Is it easy to get those type of things done? Absolutely not.”
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