WWE Draft Officially Announced

Reports began surfacing earlier this month of a WWE Draft taking place in October as SmackDown makes its way to FOX on Friday, October 4.

Earlier today, during the 1 pm ET NFL game on FOX it was announced the WWE Draft will begin on the October 11 episode of SmackDown and will then continue the following Monday (October 14) on RAW on the USA Network.

The 2019 WWE  Draft has been confirmed to begin on the October 11 SmackDown episode, then wrap on the October 14 RAW episode.

WWE has announced that Superstars will be appearing on RAW and SmackDown along with personalities from Fox and NBCUniversal programming, who will announce the picks.

WWE issued the following press release to us this afternoon to confirm the Draft:

WWE® DRAFT SET FOR FOX AND USA NETWORK ON OCTOBER 11 AND 14

STAMFORD, Conn. – September 15, 2019 – The destiny of WWE’s Superstars will be determined during a two-night draft taking place live on Friday Night SmackDown® on October 11 at 8 pm ET on the FOX broadcast network and Monday Night Raw® on October 14 at 8 pm ET on USA Network.

On both nights of the draft, Superstars from Raw and SmackDown will appear along with personalities from FOX and NBCUniversal programming who will announce select picks from each brand. The draft will determine the Superstars that compete for Raw and SmackDown, which feature distinct casts, unique storylines and dedicated writing teams.

Friday Night SmackDown on October 11 will emanate from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas while Monday Night Raw on October 14 will take place at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Raw and SmackDown are the #1 and #2 longest-running weekly episodic television shows in U.S. primetime history. The programs have aired more original episodes than The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Lassie and Monday Night Football.

Raw will continue airing on USA Network while SmackDown moves to FOX beginning Friday, October 4.

WWE Clash Of Champions 9/15/19

September 15, 2019 at 7:00 PM ET (Preshow at 6:00 PM ET) from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina

Universal Championship: (C) Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman

WWE Championship: (C) Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton

RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair

Intercontinental Championship: (C) Shinsuke Nakamura w/Sami Zayn vs. The Miz

United States Championship: (C) AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: (C) The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. The Revival

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: (C) Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville

RAW Tag Team Championship: (C) Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

NO DQ: Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Drew Gulak vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado

 

MLW Fusion: War Chamber Special Preview 9/14/19

2 teams go to battle in the first-ever War Chamber match in Dallas, Texas!

Ross and Marshall Von Erich team-up with “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and Low Ki as they face off against the global dealers in violence: CONTRA Unit.  World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu, Josef Samael, Ikuro Kwon and Simon Gotch will rise up as CONTRA looks to tighten its grip on Major League Wrestling.

Locked in a carbon steel chamber with the perimeter of the top fortified with barbed wire, these two teams of four will clash in combat that only the War Chamber can contain.

Empresaria Salina de la Renta vows to make a announcement that will send shockwaves throughout the sport. What does the Puerto Rican powerbroker have in store? Tune in to see!

Also, Leo Brien returns after a mysterious trip to Diablo Canyon. What does the roughhouse wrestler have in store for Major League Wrestling? Find out!

Join Rich Bocchini and Tony Schiavone from the sold out NYTEX Sports Centre in Dallas for a night of Major League Wrestling.

Impact Wrestling Preview 9/13/19, Operation: Override 9/13/19

Tonight on Impact airing on Pursuit and Twitch at 9pm ET.

* Unbreakable Michael Elgin in action

* Ove (Sami Callihan & Jake Crist) vs. Tessa Blanchard & Tommy Dreamer

* Big Mami & Nino Hamburguesa vs. Desi Hit Squad

* Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Texano Jr.

* Ace Austin vs. Eddie Edwards

 

Impact wrestling presents “Operation: Override live tonight on Twitch at 7pm ET. from the Comanche County Fairgrounds in Lawton, Oklahoma

* The North vs. The Step Brothas

* Moose vs. Hawk

* KO Championship Fatal 4-way: Rosemary vs. Desiderata vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Taya Valkyrie

* Michael Elgin vs. Fuego Del Sol

* Chavo Guerrero vs. MVP

* Rich Swann vs. TJP vs. Rohit Raju

* Street Fight: Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards

AEW Allowing Fans To Pick The Final AEW World Tag Team Titles Tournament Spot

AEW is calling on fans to vote for which team will receive the final spot in the tournament to crown the first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions.

The options are the team of Jungleboy and Luchasaurus or the team of Angelico and Jack Evans.

As of this writing at 12:45pm ET on Friday, the poll has 8,937 votes and 85% have voted for Jungleboy and Luchasaurus.

The Best Friends previously defeated SoCal Uncensored and Private Party in a Triple Threat at AEW Fyter Fest to advance to All Out for a chance at a first round bye in the tournament. The Dark Order then defeated Jungleboy and Luchasaurus plus Evans and Angelico in a Triple Threat at Fight for the Fallen, for a chance to face The Best Friends at All Out. The Dark Order then defeated The Best Friends at All Out to earn the first round bye.

The first match of the tournament was announced for the second AEW TNT episode from Boston on Wednesday, October 9 – The Young Bucks vs. Private Party. The semi-finals of the tournament will take place on the fourth AEW TNT episode from Pittsburgh, and then the first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions will be crowned with the finals on the fifth AEW TNT episode on October 30 from Charleston, WV.

AEW has not confirmed any other tag teams for the tournament as of this writing.

Below are the tweets for the poll on the final tournament spot and as you might imagine, AEW is already receiving a lot of negative feedback on how the spot is being determined.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Trying To Buy The CMLL Tape Library For The WWE Network

It was reported earlier this summer, via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, that WWE officials were having some sort of talks with the legendary CMLL (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre) wrestling promotion of Mexico.

The original reports led to speculation on a possible talent exchange between WWE and CMLL, but the talks are actually for CMLL content to be featured on the WWE Network, according to Planeta Wrestling. WWE has reportedly approached CMLL about purchasing access to their video library.

The report from Planeta Wrestling noted that CMLL content would potentially be available under the tiered pricing system (details here and here) that will be introduced in the near future. It’s been reported that WWE will likely offer various indie wrestling content from other promotions under the tiered pricing system.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

New Details And Cast Photo For WWE And Netflix’s “The Big Show Show”, Big Show On SmackDown?

It was announced back in July that WWE veteran Big Show was set to begin working on his new Netflix show in Los Angeles on Friday, August 9. “The Big Show Show” is a live-action multi-camera family comedy series that will run for 10 thirty-minute episodes, also starring Allison Munn and kid actresses Reylynn Caster, Juliet Donenfeld, and Lily Brooks O’Briant.

According to information released over the summer, the show will focus on the teenage daughter of Big Show, a retired world-famous WWE Superstar, who comes to live with him, his wife and two other daughters. The big man quickly becomes outnumbered and outsmarted, and is no longer the center of attention.

In an update, Netflix is now offering free tickets for tapings on Friday, September 20 and Friday, September 27 at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. Tickets for tapings on Friday, October 4 and Friday, October 18 will be available soon. This means The World’s Largest Athlete will be in town for the October 4 SmackDown Fox premiere from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which will also be the SmackDown 20th Anniversary show. WWE has not announced him for the special.

The ticket page at this link notes that audience members must be at least 10 years old. They included this description:

See the BIGGEST family sitcom on NETFLIX… live!Starring Paul “The Big Show” Wight, this brand new family comedy is a must-see for WWE fans!

When the teenage daughter of The Big Show, a retired world-famous ex-wrestler, comes to live with him, his wife and two other daughters…he quickly becomes outnumbered, outsmarted and, despite being seven feet tall and weighing four hundred pounds, is no longer the center of attention.

Sign up now for FREE tickets!

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Shayna Baszler On WWE NXT USA Debut, Ronda Rousey, NXT Women’s Title

WWE NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler recently spoke with Muscle & Fitness and said the NXT USA Network premiere on September 18 will be the most important day in the history of the brand. She was asked what changes she has noticed since first walking through the NXT doors in 2017.

“There’s a lot of things,” Baszler responded. “I think I got into NXT at a very historic time. And I don’t mean just the USA [Network] stuff. NXT on USA is probably the most important day in our history. We’ll look back on it as the key day, but even going back to the first ever Mae Young Classic, I’ve been such a huge part of these historic moments with NXT and WWE that I’m so excited to see what’s next.

“I was sitting [backstage] at the Mae Young Classic and was thinking to myself wow, this is a pretty historic moment, and not thinking ahead to the next historic moment. But then you know, here we are with NXT on USA and I can’t wait to see what’s next!”

Baszler also talked about previously living with fellow MMA Horsewoman Ronda Rousey, and how they helped each other out. Baszler was asked if they provided each other with support or advice when they were both active in WWE at the same time.

“Yeah, a little bit,” she responded. “Rather than giving advice, it was just nice to have someone to talk about it [being in WWE] with. So, it was like sharing in the uniqueness of what we were both going through. Then, of course, Ronda getting to the position where she was in WWE, mirrored what I was going through in NXT, where we were both kind of at the top of the division. We would get together and train, of course, and we always did that in MMA too, so it was more like getting together and just sharing in the process of it, rather than tips and tricks.”

Baszler made her WWE debut in the 2017 Mae Young Classic, losing to Kairi Sane in the finals that September. Her official NXT debut came in August, before the finals, but on October 3 it was officially announced that she had signed and reported to the WWE Performance Center. Baszler would get her first taste of gold just 6 months later by defeating Ember Moon for the NXT Women’s Title at NXT “Takeover: New Orleans” during WrestleMania 34 weekend. She held the title for 132 days and then lost it to Sane at “Takeover: Brooklyn IV” in August of last year. The Queen of Spades would go on to make history by becoming the first-ever two-time NXT Women’s Champion by regaining the title from Sane at WWE Evolution in October 2018. She has held the title ever since, for 315+ days and counting. Baszler was asked how proud she is to be the first Superstar to hold the NXT Women’s Title on two occasions.

“In my opinion, the NXT Women’s title is a very prestigious title to have,” Baszler said. “So, the fact that I’m the only person to have ever held it twice is a huge thing that I definitely add to my list of accomplishments and I am very, very proud of it.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Corey Graves And Michael Cole Reportedly Will Be Calling WWE SmackDown Action

We’ve noted this week how there are significant changes in the works for the WWE announce teams, which goes with the plans for more brand exclusivity moving forward from October. One of those changes is rumored to be the return of the two-man booth.

It was reported this week, via @Wrestlevotes, that the working idea is to move Michael Cole from RAW to SmackDown, and move Vic Joseph from 205 Live to RAW as the lead man. There was no word on plans for Corey Graves, but multiple sources have reported that he will no longer be working two shows.

In an update, @Wrestlevotes reported today that the plan as of this Tuesday was for Graves to call the SmackDown action with Cole each Friday night on Fox. Graves will no longer pull double duty as he will be exclusive to SmackDown.

The new report does not specify if Graves and Cole will be calling SmackDown with a two-man booth. There had been talk of Renee Young becoming exclusive to SmackDown because she will be hosting the weekly FS1 WWE studio show on Tuesday nights, but if there will be a two-man booth, then we’re not sure where Renee will end up. She could still go to SmackDown to work with Cole and Graves if they keep the three-person team, which is the current RAW crew.

Graves currently calls SmackDown with Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton. We have not heard anything on where Phillips and Saxton will end up, but stay tuned for updates. It’s possible that Saxton and Phillips end up on RAW with Joseph. Joseph is currently calling 205 Live with Aiden English and WWE NXT Superstar Dino Maddin, who made his debut this week. Maddin is replacing Nigel McGuinness, who is headed to NXT full-time to call the live Wednesday night action with Mauro Ranallo and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Fox To Air WWE SmackDown Special Before October 4

The first WWE programming on Fox is scheduled to air on Friday, September 27 at 8pm ET.

The one-hour “SmackDown’s Greatest Hits” special is scheduled to air at 8pm ET that Friday night, on the main Fox channel, according to PWInsider.

The September 27 special is designed to be a preview for WWE coming to Fox. We noted earlier this summer that a preview special was being planned as a way to show non-WWE fans what to expect, as a way to introduce them to Superstars and the brand in general.

As noted, SmackDown will premiere on Fox Friday nights beginning with the October 4 episode. The show will then air live each Friday night from 8-10pm ET. The October 4 premiere will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will be the SmackDown 20th Anniversary special.

The final SmackDown USA Network episode is scheduled to air on Tuesday, September 24 in the regular time slot, which means there will be more than 7 days in between regular blue brand episodes. This September 27 special will make it so that there will be at least some SmackDown content on TV before the October 4 premiere.

Source: Wrestling Inc.