Author: John Bass

XFL Kicks Off This Weekend

The return of the XFL kicks off this weekend. Games will air on ABC, ESPN and FOX.

Below is the schedule for this weekend:

* Seattle Dragons at DC Defenders from Audi Field at 2pm ET Saturday on ABC

* LA Wildcats at Houston Roughnecks from TDECU Stadium at 5pm ET Saturday on FOX

* Tampa Bay Vipers at New York Guardians from MetLife Stadium at 2pm ET Sunday on FOX

* St. Louis Battlehawks at Dallas Renegades from Globe Life Park at 5pm ET Sunday on ESPN

For information on some of the league rules click HERE.

Full XFL 2020 schedule click HERE.

WWE Announces SummerSlam Week 2020 Details And Tickets

WWE has officially announced that SummerSlam 2020 tickets will go on sale Friday, March 6 at 10am ET. Travel packages will go on sale Tuesday, February 18.

WWE SummerSlam 2020 will take place on Sunday, August 23 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusettes.

WWE also confirmed today that the TD Garden will host SmackDown on August 21, the NXT “Takeover: Boston” event on August 22, and then RAW on August 24. Tickets for those shows will go on sale beginning Friday, April 17 at 10am ET.

Below is WWE’s full SummerSlam 2020 announcement released today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESUMMERSLAM ® TICKETS AVAILABLE FRIDAY, MARCH 6

TRAVEL PACKAGES AVAILABLE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18

STAMFORD, Conn., February 7, 2020 – WWE ® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that SummerSlam tickets will be available on Friday, March 6 at 10 AM ET. SummerSlam takes place Sunday, August 23, 2020 from TD Garden in Boston and streams live around the world on WWE Network.

Ticket prices range from $25-$500 and can be purchased via http://www.ticketmaster.com or in person at TD Garden Ticket Office. SummerSlam Week four-pack tickets will also be available.*

In addition, SummerSlam Travel Packages, which include tickets to SummerSlam Week events, hotel accommodations and exclusive WWE Superstar meet-and-greet experiences, will be available Tuesday, February 18 beginning at 12 noon ET at http://www.SummerSlamTravel.com.

TD Garden will also host three other spectacular WWE live events including Friday Night SmackDown ® on August 21, NXT ® TakeOver ® on Saturday, August 22 and Monday Night Raw ® on August 24. Individual tickets for those events will be available beginning Friday, April 17 at 10 AM ET.

SummerSlam Week also includes activities designed to give back to the local community including Be a STAR® bullying prevention rallies, hospital visits and Make-A-Wish events. Additional information on these events will be announced in the future at https://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam.

*All tickets are subject to service charges and facility fees.

WWE SmackDown Preview 2/7/20

Tonight’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown will take place from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg will return to the blue brand tonight, presumably to reveal his Super ShowDown opponent

  • SmackDown to reveal “Who’s next for Goldberg?”
  • “Firefly Fun House” returns after Bray Wyatt’s Royal Rumble victory
  • Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Carmella and Dana Brooke meet in high-stakes Fatal 4-Way Match
  • The Miz & John Morrison to bring back “The Dirt Sheet” this Friday night on SmackDown
  • Daniel Bryan returns to Friday Night SmackDown

Shayna Baszler Reportedly Headed To The WWE RAW Roster

Former NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler is headed to the WWE RAW roster, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Baszler is scheduled to be a regular on the RAW brand soon. The move has been planned for a long time, close to a year or so.

There’s no word yet on what WWE has planned for Baszler on the red brand, but she’s been rumored for a WrestleMania 36 match with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. It will be interesting to see how Baszler debuts on RAW in the next few weeks to set that match up, if that is the plan.

Baszler coming to RAW also opens the door for a potential storyline with fellow Horsewoman Ronda Rousey. There’s no update on Rousey returning to WWE, but she’s recently expressed interest in working a shorter schedule.

Bowling For Soup Made A Song/Music Video About Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss stars in the new music video from Bowling for Soup in which the band sings all about her.

The song is called, you guessed it, “Alexa Bliss” and the video begins with two young boys (as well as the band) puling a Weird Science-like move by creating a real-version of her using a computer.

Alexa then spends the day hanging out with the two boys playing on the trampoline, shooting pool, playing uno and of course watching a wrestling match.

The chorus for the song is as follows:

(HEY!) Why can’t every girl be more like Alexa Bliss?

(HEY!) How can a chick on TV make me feel like this?

She’s got a finishing move called Twisted Bliss

And it’s like my heart is caught in a sleeper hold

Whoah-oh-oh

Vince McMahon Talks Potential “Transformative” WWE Network Deal, Selling PPV Rights

WWE announced today that the company is evaluating “strategic alternatives” for the WWE Network.

During today’s 2019 earnings call, Vince McMahon discussed the possibility of selling the rights of their major pay-per-views to another streaming service. McMahon said that they could continue on with their current model by adding new tiers (WWE quietly added a free tier to the Network last December), or they can “exercise the selling of our rights to all the major [streaming services]” to increase revenue.

“We have a lot of options,” McMahon said (h/t to The Wrap for the transcription). “We could continue on as we are now, with an enhancement of a tier… we also have an option right now, there’s no more better time to exercise the selling of our rights to all the majors who, quite frankly, all the majors are really clamoring for our content.

“So that could be a significant increase, obviously, in terms of revenue.”

McMahon did not confirm that the company would move in that direction, just that it was an option. He did say that they are far along in negotiations for potential deals for the Network and that if it is finalized, it “will be announced this quarter, that’s how far along we are.”

McMahon added that the potential deal will be “transformative” for the company.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Shares Photo Of Cody Rhodes’ Back After Lashings From MJF

Cody Rhodes received ten lashings from MJF to close Dynamite this week … and the photo shared by AEW afterward shows just how painful it was.

In case you missed it, MJF took his time doling out each crack of the belt as Cody’s friends and family took turns trying to console the AEW VP throughout the segment. This included Dustin Rhodes, Arn Anderson, The Young Bucks and his wife Brandi Rhodes.

After the show was over, AEW posted a picture on social media showing Cody’s back … and it’s brutal.

This was one of MJF’s stipulations in order for Cody to receive a match against him at Revolution. Rhodes will next have to face MJF’s henchman Wardlow in a steel cage match.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Below is some video of the lashing posted by Bleacher Report:

Velveteen Dream Returns From Injury, Attacks Undisputed Era

The ominous tease showed on NXT last week was revealed to be for the return of Velveteen Dream last night, and he came back with a vengeance.

Last night’s show ended with Undisputed Era wrestling against Tommaso Ciampa, Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle to an apparent DQ finish.

Undisputed Era took advantage of the numbers game afterward and beat down their opponents. Adam Cole then grabbed a can of spray paint and tagged Ciampa’s back. As the show was ending, the tease for 2/5/20 hit the screen again and the camera panned back to show Velveteen Dream on the top rope. He then hit an axe handle smash on the group and went wild fighting them off.

Velveteen Dream continued his storyline with Roderick Strong, including wearing tights that said “Call me up Marina” and had Dream, Marina Shafir, and Strong and Shafir’s son airbrushed on them.

Dream has been out of action since October due to injury. He was written off TV with an attack angle in which Undisputed Era beat him down backstage.

Charlotte Flair Appeared On WWE NXT Following Rhea Ripley’s WrestleMania Challenge

Former NXT star Charlotte Flair returned to the brand on Wednesday night and learned there’s more unity on the roster than she remembered.

As you’ll recall, Ripley showed up on Raw this week as Charlotte was announcing who she’d wrestle against at WrestleMania due to her Royal Rumble victory. Rhea then dared Flair to challenge for her NXT Championship.

Last night on NXT, Bianca Belair was in the ring talking about what happened with Flair/Rhea this week when “The Queen” interrupted the promo.

Flair then made her way to the ring and received a “welcome home” chant from the crowd.

Charlotte pointed out how Rhea seems to have overlooked Bianca before their TakeOver: Portland match, but Ripley cut her off by making her entrance. The three women then had a war of words that ended with Rhea telling Charlotte “we are NXT,” then taking her down with Bianca Belair.

 

AEW Dynamite Preview 2/5/20

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will air live from the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

* Jon Moxley vs. Ortiz

* Britt Baker vs. Yuka Sakazaki

* Kenny Omega, Adam Page, and The Young Bucks vs. The Butcher, The Blade, and Lucha Bros (with The Bunny)

* Ten lashes to Cody by MJF

* PAC says he’s coming after Kenny Omega