Category: NXT

Backstage News On WWE’s Deals For The Young Bucks & Hangman Page, Kenny Omega’s Status

Image result for The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Kenny Omega

Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page turned down WWE offers in order to be a part of the new All Elite Wrestling promotion, headed by Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan.

Triple H reportedly had worked hard and offered unique deals in hopes of signing all four, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. According to Meltzer, Page’s deal was to work NXT for main roster money. Page was to have been pushed as one the top stars on the brand.

WWE also had a unique three-year deal for the Bucks, which would have been for the same amount of money as A.J. Styles. The WWE deal included having their Being The Elite show airing weekly on the WWE Network. It also had a unique six-month window that would have allowed them out of their contracts if they weren’t happy.

It was noted that The Elite had roughly 12 hours of discussions with Triple H, and they praised him for how things were handled. Apparently Triple H also saw the humor in the Being the Elite episode where the Bucks superkicked Kazarian, who was dressed like Triple H, repeatedly as their way of publicly turning down the WWE offer.

As noted, Kenny Omega’s contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling expires at the end of the this month and he is expected to sign with AEW after February 1st, when he is a free agent. It was reported in The Observer that the word is that Omega has already turned down WWE’s offer.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Announces “Worlds Collide” With Talent From Multiple Brands

Image result for WWE Worlds Collide Tournament

WWE today officially announced the WWE Worlds Collide Tournament during Royal Rumble weekend as part of Axxess. The tournament will feature talent from the NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live brands. The tournament will start as a 15 man battle royal on Saturday, which will determine the first round matches for the tournament beginning later that day. The winner of the battle royal will receive a bye in the first round.

The tournament will conclude on Sunday at the final Axxess session. The winner of the tournament will be awarded a future title shot.

You can check out the full announcement below:

The Superstars of NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live are set to battle in the first-ever WWE Worlds Collide Tournament, one of the most unique tournaments in sports-entertainment history, and it all goes down at Royal Rumble Axxess in Phoenix.

Brand-versus-brand dream matches will become a reality as 15 Superstars in total — five from NXT, five from NXT UK and five from 205 Live — will compete over the course of two days, with the tournament winner receiving a future NXT, NXT UK or 205 Live Championship Match of their choosing. That means anyone can become a champion on any brand!

The WWE Worlds Collide Tournament, which will be taped for a WWE Network special, kicks off with a 15-Superstar Battle Royal on Saturday, Jan. 26, at the 8 a.m. session of Axxess. The order of elimination in the Battle Royal will then determine the First-Round Matches for a 15-Superstar, single-elimination tournament beginning later that session. The Battle Royal winner will receive a first-round bye.

The tournament will continue at Saturday’s second session of Axxess, taking place from 1-5 p.m., before concluding at the final Axxess session on Sunday, Jan. 27, from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Featuring a veritable who’s who from all three brands, the tournament will include the following Superstars:

From NXT

From NXT UK

From 205 Live

Given the format of the tournament, there’s no telling who will fight whom when the brands collide. Which Superstar will rise to the occasion, beat out the best of his brand (and others), and claim a future title opportunity — and what championship will he choose to go after?

Royal Rumble Axxess, which takes over the Phoenix Convention Center Friday, Jan. 25, to Sunday, Jan. 27, will also feature NXT UK tapings on Friday and Sunday, as well as Superstar meet-and-greets, the WWE Superstore, photo opportunities, other live matches and much more throughout the entire weekend. Tickets are available now at Phoenix.Ticketforce.com.

WWE NXT Preview 1/9/19

WWE NXT, tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network.

* Will Adam Cole even the score with EC3?

* A chaotic ending to Belair’s undefeated streak?

* Johnny Gargano to speak out

* Barthel & Aichner’s “European Union” comes to NXT

WWE NXT Superstars Finish Up With The Brand At TV Tapings, When They Might Debut On The Main Roster

Image result for on their way to wwe

It looks like Nikki Cross, Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic of Heavy Machinery, EC3 and Lacey Evans finished up with WWE NXT at last night’s TV tapings. These 5 Superstars are headed to WWE’s main roster soon along with Lars Sullivan, who did not work the tapings.

These were the final tapings before the “Takeover: Phoenix” event during Royal Rumble weekend, indicating that the call-ups could come to RAW or SmackDown after the Rumble pay-per-view. There’s speculation on Lars being in the men’s Rumble match.

Cross and EC3 wrestled what appear to be their final TV matches to air next Wednesday. Cross faced Bianca Belair while EC3 faced Adam Cole. Evans faced Xia Li in a match that should air on January 16.

Heavy Machinery took part in the dark main event of the tapings. That match started after The Undisputed Era attacked Aleister Black and NXT North American Champion Ricochet after the tapings ended. Heavy Machinery made the save and then the babyfaces won an eight-man tag match.

Cross and Heavy Machinery all had post-match farewell moments, but EC3 and Evans did not.

Below are photos of the outgoing Superstars:

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1080981852746334208

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1080984182086602753

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1081004333116915724

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1081018255626645504

https://twitter.com/xtadghostalx/status/1081021057870557185

https://twitter.com/MrJacobCohen/status/1080980652021952512

Source: WrestlingINC

Former TNA Knockout Works WWE NXT Tapings

Image result for Rebel Tanea Brooks NXT

Former TNA Knockout Rebel worked last night’s WWE NXT TV tapings. Using her real name Tanea Brooks, she teamed with Amber Nova to face Io Shirai and Kairi Sane in a match that should air on January 23. Below is a photo from their entrance and post-show comments from Rebel/Tanea:

Source: WrestlingINC

Mauro Ranallo Expresses Frustration With His Performance

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NXT announcer Mauro Ranallo took to Twitter and expressed frustration with his performance at last night’s NXT TV tapings.

Mauro mentioned his car accident from December 23 and wrote, “Like me or loathe me, I pride myself on performing my job at the highest level possible. Tonight, I failed. I know it will come across as an excuse to some but the car accident and other personal issues affected me more than I thought. I apologize to @WWENXT I WILL BE BETTER.”

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/1081017592243019776

WWE NXT Preview 1/2/19

NXT tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network.

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode will be a two-hour special with the announcement of the 2018 NXTYear-End Awards nominees and a look back at the black & yellow brand’s 2018.

* Matt Riddle and Kassius Ohno lock up in TakeOver rematch

* NXT Year-End Award nominees to be announced

* Relive NXT’s wild and crazy 2018

CBS Sports Names Becky Lynch Wrestler Of The Year, “The Man” Responds, Full List Of CBS 2018 Award Winners

CBS Sports has named Becky Lynch their 2018 Wrestler of the Year.

The Man took to Twitter today and responded to the honor. She wrote, “Start of 2018, I couldn’t even get on TV. You’re never truly down, you’re never truly out. Stand up and fight. Keep swinging even if you don’t know what you’re swinging for, or at. If you’re like me you’ll eventually slap a head that deserves it and the whole world will notice.”

CBS’ praise for Lynch included the following:

“In a year filled with stunning developments, no one shook up the world of professional wrestling more than Becky Lynch, who has turned both WWE and the business as a whole on its head over the last six months by not only winning the hearts and minds of fans across the globe but doing so while standing out as “The Man” in an industry historically dominated by men. The 31-year-old Rebecca Quinn — largely marginalized by WWE over the last two years despite being a clear fan favorite — has not only become arguably the most popular superstar in the company, she looks to have forced it to change its plans for its biggest show of the coming year, WrestleMania 35 in New York. And that is why Lynch is the 2018 CBS Sports Wrestler of the Year.How has she done it? Quite simply by showing a renewed confidence and natural swagger that has been compared to everyone from Steve Austin to Roddy Piper to countryman Conor McGregor. In actuality, the comparisons do not do Lynch justice and hardly explain why she is now “The Man.” Lynch has quite simply become the best version of herself, a take-no-prisoners bad-ass who is defying convention by exorcising the demons created from two years of being kept out of the championship picture.”

Becky Lynch responded with the Tweet below:

https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1078047928973967360

Below is the full list of the 2018 CBS Sports Pro Wrestling Award winners. Those marked with an asterisk (*) were WWE-only awards

  • Wrestler of the Year: Becky Lynch (WWE)
  • WWE Male Wrestler of the Year: Johnny Gargano
  • NJPW Wrestler of the Year: Kota Ibushi
  • Match of the Year: Kenny Omega def. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Dominion 6.9)
  • WWE Match of the Year: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (TLC)
  • NXT Match of the Year: Andrade “Cien” Almas def. Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia)
  • Tag Team of the Year: The Usos (WWE)
  • Rookie of the Year: Ronda Rousey (WWE)
  • Commentator of the Year: Mauro Ranallo (NXT)
  • Comeback Wrestler of the Year: Daniel Bryan (WWE)
  • Breakthough Wrestler of the Year*: Buddy Murphy (205 Live)
  • Feud of the Year*: Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT)
  • Best Pay-Per-View of the Year*: TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs
  • Best Moment of the Year*: Becky Lynch attacks Ronda Rousey on Raw
  • Best Promo of the Year*: Daniel Bryan before TLC
  • Smack Talker of the Year*: Samoa Joe
  • Worst Angle of the Year*: DeGeneration X vs. Brothers of Destruction

Source: CBS Sports and WrestlingINC

WWE NXT Preview 12/26/18

NXT, tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network.

* Will Heavy Machinery end Undisputed ERA’s reign of dominance?

* Belair, Shirai, Yim and Evans to clash in NXT Women’s Title No. 1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match

* Will NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa address the steel cage controversy?

* Jaxson Ryker plans to “Do unto others” and enjoy it

Mauro Ranallo Involved In Car Crash, Says Survival Was A Christmas Miracle (PHOTOS)

mauro ranallo car accident christmas miracle

Mauro Ranallo says he was the recipient of a Christmas miracle Sunday night after a car crashed into his vehicle at full speed and he managed to survive.

Ranallo shared photos of the accident scene on Instagram, which shows some pretty serious damage to both vehicles in the front, and wrote: “An Angel was looking over me last night. A car lost control and smashed into me at full speed.”

“Happy to report that no one was seriously injured,” the NXT announcer continued. “I’m still in shock. I guess my work here isn’t done yet.” He then hashtagged the post “Christmas Miracle.”

Photos of the crash scene can be found below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BryWh7ZgO03/

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet