Author: John Bass

Impact Wrestling Announces More Upcoming Cancellations

AXS.com, the website that handles tickets for Impact Wrestling Rebellion, posted that the April 19 event in New York City is cancelled.

Impact Wrestling has now announced the PPV is indeed not happening due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, Against All Odds on April 17 and the April 24 and 25 TV tapings in Columbus are also not taking place.

Below is Impact Wrestling’s full statement:

As a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, IMPACT Wrestling will not be hosting “Against All Odds” on April 17th in Toronto, the April 19th “Rebellion” pay-per-view event at New York City’s Terminal 5 and the April 24th & 25th TV tapings in Columbus, Ohio. We are monitoring the situation closely and are looking at alternative ways that we can produce the events. All tickets will be fully refunded from point of purchase.The safety of our fans, talent and staff is of utmost importance and we will continue to adjust plans as necessary while still delivering as much IMPACT Wrestling as possible.

As noted, Impact also postponed the Lockdown PPV scheduled for March 28 in Windsor, Ontario, and the March Breakdown event scheduled for March 29 in Belleville, Michigan.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 3/27/20

Tonight’s taped WWE SmackDown on FOX and WWE 205 Live on the WWE Network will air from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando as the Road to a taped WrestleMania 36 continues.

* Bray Wyatt opens the door to The Firefly Fun House

* Alexa Bliss and Asuka look to settle the score this Friday

* The New Day & The Usos put WrestleMania fate on the line

* Drew Gulak collides with Shinsuke Nakamura in a match with major WrestleMania implications

 

205 Live is scheduled to feature Joaquin Wilde vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Tony Nese vs. Oney Lorcan.

Seth Rollins’ Stable Loses AOP Due To Rezar’s Injury

The injury to Rezar of The Authors of Pain has led to a significant change to Seth Rollins’ WWE RAW stable.

Rezar suffered a torn right biceps during the March 9 RAW episode on the USA Network. The injury occurred when Rezar took a crossbody from RAW Tag Team Champion Montez Ford during the eight-man main event of the show, which saw AOP, Rollins and Murphy defeat The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits. Rezar caught the crossbody, but his biceps went out.

There had been speculation on WWE keeping Akam on TV with Rollins and Murphy while Rezar is out of action. In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports this week that right now the decision is to not use Akam without Rezar. As of right now, there are no plans for either of them to appear on TV.

This means the stable with Rollins, Murphy, Akam and Rezar has now been reduced to just the tag team with Rollins and Murphy. There’s no word on if WWE plans to add to the team to make it a faction again while AOP is off TV.

It was also noted that Rezar has already undergone surgery to repair the torn right biceps. This has not been confirmed, but he’s expected to be out of action for 7-8 months, which means AOP may be out of the storylines until after the SummerSlam pay-per-view in August. There was some talk that Rezar may have been able to avoid surgery, which would have had him on the shelf for just a few months, but he ended up going under the knife and will likely be out for closer to 8 months.

Rollins is scheduled to face Kevin Owens in a singles match at WrestleMania 36, during either Night One on Saturday, April 4, or during Night Two on Sunday, April 5. Samoa Joe had been involved in the Owens vs. Rollins feud before he was suspended for 30 days due to his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy, going against Rollins, but there’s no word yet on if he was brought back at this week’s TV and WrestleMania tapings because his suspension did expire. It could be interesting if they have Joe turn on Owens, putting him in the group with Rollins and Murphy.

At one point AOP had been discussed for a spot in a possible RAW Tag Team Titles match at WrestleMania 36, but that idea was nixed due to the injury to Rezar. As noted earlier in this new report on WrestleMania changes and plans, WWE also discussed champions The Street Profits vs. Angel Garza and WWE United States Champion Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo, but that idea was also nixed. The red brand tag team titles match at WrestleMania will be Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins defending against Andrade and Garza.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 3/25/20

Tonight’s taped WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will air from the NXT Arena at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. The show was taped and will air from a closed set with no crowd due to the coronavirus pandemic.

* Triple H appears with an announcement

* Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will have to answer to Triple H for their recent brawl at the WWE Performance Center

* NXT Champion Adam Cole shares a special message

* Austin Theory vs. Tyler Breeze

* Roderick Strong vs. NXT Tag Team Champion Matt Riddle

* Ladder Match Qualifier: Candice LeRae vs. Kayden Carter

* Ladder Match Qualifier: Xia Li vs. Aliyah

AEW Dynamite Preview 3/25/20

Tonight’s episode will air live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida on a closed set. Cody will be special guest announcing with Tony Schiavone.

* Kenny Omega (c) vs. Sammy Guevara (AAA Mega Championship)

* Cody vs. Jimmy Havoc

* Matt Hardy and Chris Jericho to have a one-on-one confrontation

* Luchasaurus vs. Wardlow (Lumberjack Match)

* Chuck Taylor and Trent vs. Pentagon Jr. and Fenix (Parking Lot Street Fight)

WWE Offering Most Of Their Network Content For Free

WWE announced today that they are unlocking a vast portion of the WWE Network library for a limited time.

Starting today, WWE is extending free access to thousands of hours of on-demand content, including every WrestleMania in history, past pay-per-views, original documentaries and more.

The two-night WrestleMania 36 event is only available to WWE Network subscribers. However, this offering allows fans worldwide to watch all of the past WrestleManias as well as every Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series event; every NXT TakeOver and NXT UK TakeOver; and originals such as the entire WWE 24 docuseries, Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions interview show, the recent five-episode WWE Ruthless Aggression series, and its 20-episode predecessor, The Monday Night War series.

Recent episodes of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, every episode of WWE Untold, and the A Future WWE: The FCW Story documentary are also included.

To start watching now for free, visit watch.wwe.com and create your account to start streaming on your favorite device.

WrestleMania 36 airs on the WWE Network next Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 at 7 ET/4 PT.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan On This Week’s Special Edition Of AEW Dark, Six Matches Announced

AEW has announced a loaded card for Tuesday’s special double episode of AEW Dark, which premieres at 7pm ET on the official AEW YouTube channel.

The matches were taped last Wednesday before & after the AEW Dynamite episode at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida, with no normal crowd. AEW President & CEO Tony Khan took to Twitter today and said the special edition of Dark was taped to give fans something “fun and free” to watch while they’re stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, and as a way to give chances to indie wrestlers who are out of work.

Khan wrote, “With fans at home who deserve fun (and free) wrestling content, we’re streaming a double episode of #AEWDark tomorrow! 6 matches on the card & it will feature top stars from AEW + with many independent wrestlers out of work, we’re giving chances to several of them tomorrow night!”

The following matches have been announced for the show:

* Jake Hager vs. Joe Alonzo

* Kip Sabian vs. Suge D

* Colt Cabana vs. Brandon Cutler

* SCU’s Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels vs. Shawn Spears and Robert Anthony

* Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall vs. Jon Cruz and Matt Sells

* Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss vs. Corey Hollis and Mike Reed

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Planned WWE NXT “Takeover: Tampa Bay” Matches To Air On NXT TV Next Month

The matches originally planned for the nixed WWE NXT “Takeover: Tampa Bay” event will air during NXT TV episodes on the USA Network in the month of April, according to Sports Illustrated.

“Takeover: Tampa Bay” was cancelled when WWE pulled the plug on WrestleMania 36 Week due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was announced today that beginning on Wednesday, April 1, the planned Takeover matches will begin airing on the weekly NXT TV series.

Triple H will appear on this week’s NXT episode to give more details on the planned Takeover matches that will air. As noted, Triple H will also be on this week’s NXT episode to deal with Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano after their recent brawl through the WWE Performance Center.

“Takeover: Tampa Bay” was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 4 at the Amalie Arena.

The only Takeover match made official before the cancellation was the Women’s Ladder Match to crown a new #1 contender to the NXT Women’s Champion, which would be the winner of the WrestleMania 36 match between champion Rhea Ripley and challenger Charlotte Flair. Tegan Nox, Chelsea Green and Mia Yim had already qualified for that match. Candice LeRae vs. Mercedes Martinez was scheduled to be the next qualifying match, but that match was nixed due to schedule changes related to the COVID-19 outbreak. SI notes that potential candidates for the remaining spots would be LeRae and Bianca Belair, or a returning Io Shirai.

Other potential matches to air during the month of April are Ciampa vs. Gargano, The Velveteen Dream vs. NXT Champion Adam Cole, and Finn Balor vs. NXT North American Champion Keith Lee. Dominik Dijakovic and Damian Priest are also potential challengers for Lee.

Stay tuned for updates on the NXT matches that will air in place of Takeover. Below is WWE’s announcement:

Triple H to appear on tomorrow night’s NXT on USA NetworkTriple H will appear on tomorrow night’s edition of NXT on USA Network, as first reported by Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated also reported that several of the matches originally scheduled for NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay will instead take place over the next few weeks on NXT, starting with the April 1 edition of the weekly USA Network spectacular.

Could The Game’s appearance have anything to do with this news? Tune in to NXT tomorrow night at 8/7 C on USA Network to find out!

 

 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WrestleMania 36 Matches Changed Due To Rey Mysterio And Dana Broke Being In Quarantine

WWE Superstars Dana Brooke and Rey Mysterio are currently in quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Brooke had been pulled from the SmackDown Women’s Title match at WrestleMania 36, which was changed from a Six-Pack Elimination Match with Brooke, champion Bayley, Tamina Snuka, Naomi, Lacey Evans, and Sasha Banks, to a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match with everyone except for Brooke.

Brooke was pulled from the match because she’s currently sick and in quarantine. WWE officials did not want to take any chances with her, so they pulled her from the match. It was noted that officials are concerned for her, but no other details on her health were provided.

Regarding Mysterio, he’s also currently in quarantine due to concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak. WWE considered multiple ideas for the United States Title match at WrestleMania 36, and the likely match was going to be Andrade defending against Rey after Rey won the non-title match on last week’s RAW. Rey has now been pulled from WrestleMania 36 due to the quarantine. WWE announced on Monday that Andrade will be teaming with Angel Garza to challenge RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits at WrestleMania 36, with the tag team titles on the line.

Brooke and Mysterio have not publicly commented on being in quarantine as of this writing, but as seen below, Brooke did reveal on Instagram that she’s working out at home instead of the gym.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

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.