Category: WWE

Report: Jesse Ventura Returning To Legendary Commentary Role For WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event On NBC

Another potential update has surfaced regarding WWE’s plans for an upcoming special on NBC this December.

As noted, WWE has filed to trademark Saturday Night’s Main Event to bring back the iconic show from the company’s past live specials on NBC.

The original WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event specials aired on NBC from 1985 to 1991, replacing Saturday Night Live. In 1992, WWE presented the special on FOX before it was discontinued.

In another update, on the latest Straight Talk with The Boss w/ Magnum TA and Greg Gagne podcast, Gagne noted that the reason WWE recently signed Jesse Ventura to a contract is to have him return to his old-school role as color-commentator for the WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC special.

“I mean, with what they’re paying those guys to come in, I think Jesse’s going to do the — they’re doing some NBC Saturday night shows, about four of them, they’re gonna use Jesse for that,” Gagne said.

This resurgence of Saturday Night’s Main Event is part of WWE’s broader media plan, and as part of it, they have inked a new agreement with NBCUniversal to bring Friday Night SmackDown back to the USA Network. The deal includes four prime-time specials on NBC each year, making the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event a fitting inclusion.

Sources: eWn and Wrestling Headlines

Nikki Garcia Files For Divorce From Artem Chigvintsev

Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev are calling it quits.

On Wednesday, the former Nikki Bella in WWE filed to divorce Chigvintsev just weeks after he was arrested for domestic violence.

The divorce filing comes nearly two weeks after Artem was arrested for felony corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant for allegedly attacking Nikki. He bailed out later that day.

Garcia is using Evan Craig Itzkowitz as her divorce lawyer.

Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev share a 4-year-old child named Matteo. Nikki and Matteo are currently staying at the family home in Napa Valley, while Artem has been staying with a friend.

Source: eWn

TNA Star Hammerstone Appeared On WWE NXT In A Match Against Oba Femi

NXT Anonymous posted a video on Twitter of Tony D’Angelo of The Don of NXT paying off a mystery person with the intent of him taking care of Oba Femi.

On this week’s season premiere of WWE NXT, it was revealed who that was, as the NXT North American champion found himself face-to-face with one of TNA Wrestling’s biggest powerhouses, Hammerstone.

Despite the impressive challenge Hammerstone put up against NXT’s behemoth, Femi was able to keep his win-loss record in tact, winning the match with one of his devastating powerbombs.

Backstage, The D’Angelo Family was shown distraught, with Tony D’Angelo walking off in anger after seeing his hired gun taken out.

Source: eWn

The Bloodline Ruins Tag Title Match In WWE NXT Invasion

In the opening contest of this week’s “NXT,” Axiom and Nathan Frazer defended their NXT Tag Team Championships against “WWE SmackDown” stars Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins, together known as the Street Profits. The Street Profits put forth a valiant effort against Frazer and Axiom and even appeared to be closing in on a victory. Unfortunately for them, Ford’s pinfall attempt on Frazer was interrupted by the surprise arrival of The Bloodline’s Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa, who currently hold the WWE Tag Team Championships via the Freebird rule.

Tama was the first to enter the scene when he pulled Ford out of the ring and sent him crashing into the nearby steel stairs. As Dawkins approached Tama in defense of his partner, Jacob Fatu came charging at him. Joining in on the action, Loa then wiped out Axion with a clothesline in the ring, while Tama laid out Frazer with a suplex. The Bloodline concluded their attack with a Swanton to Dawkins, courtesy of Fatu.

For Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu, tonight marks their first appearance on the “NXT” brand. For Tonga Loa, it marks his return to the “NXT” brand. Under his former ring name of Camacho, Loa wrestled over three-dozen “NXT” matches between 2012 and 2014, with his last taking form in tag team action against The Ascension at a June 2014 “NXT” live event.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 9/10/2024

WWE NXT tonight on USA Network.

WWE NXT General Manager Ava took to Twitter today to announce that TNA’s The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel) were unable to compete due to “somewhat conspicuous circumstances.”

Instead, The Street Profits will challenge Nathan Frazer & Axiom for the titles. This match will open the show.

  • TNA Knockouts Championship Open Challenge: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. TBA
  • NXT Tag Team Championship: Axiom & Nathan Frazer (c) vs. The Street Profits
  • NXT Heritage Cup Match: Charlie Dempsey (c) vs. Je’Von Evans
  • Last Man Standing Match: Trick Williams vs. Pete Dunne
  • Ridge Holland vs. Duke Hudson
  • Chelsea Green vs. Giulia

WWE Raw Returning To Two-Hour Format For Last Three Months Of 2024 Before Netflix Move

For over a decade, “WWE Raw” has been a three-hour affair. As the red brand’s time with USA Network draws to a close, however, it has been announced that WWE’s flagship show will be temporarily reverting to a two-hour weekly schedule. WWE took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make the announcement during the season premiere of “Raw” on Monday night. The reason for the format change was not disclosed.

The change is expected to begin on the October 7 episode of “Raw,” immediately after WWE’s upcoming Bad Blood premium live event, and last through the December 30 episode of “Raw,” which will be the show’s final episode on USA Network before it moves to Netflix in January. During this period, the show will air from 8pm to 10pm EST; as pointed out by Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, this means the Monday night 10pm EST television block will be free of wrestling programming for the first time in decades, as the previous two-hour format started at 9pm EST for much of its run.

Whether Netflix will maintain the two-hour run time, return the show to three hours, or implement some other plan is currently unknown. Despite USA Network’s recent acquisition of “WWE SmackDown,” there are no known plans to change the blue brand’s run time or that of “WWE NXT,” which is preparing its own move to The CW Network.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Update On Why Kiana James Was Removed From Internal WWE Active Roster

WWE quietly releasing stars has seemingly become more common than their mass “budget cuts” of years prior, presumably in an attempt to draw less negative attention. Recently, reports noted that “WWE Raw” talent Kiana James was moved off of WWE’s active roster page to the “miscellaneous” section, leading many to speculate that she might have been quietly released. 

Since then, PWInsiderElite has updated their original report, and while they initially hinted that a severe injury was likely the cause for her move on WWE’s website, they’ve now confirmed that this is the case. PWInsiderElite says their sources confirmed James suffered a leg injury that will likely keep her sidelined upward of six months. Notably, James was drafted up to “Raw” earlier this year, but has barely been used since, with “Fightful Select” even going so far as to inquire into her and former WWE star Dijak’s status on the roster at one point. Unfortunately, Dijak ultimately ended up being released, which is likely why many have been concerned for James’ future with WWE.

It remains to be seen when or if James returns to action in WWE, but the star got quite a vote of confidence from Booker T shortly after her main roster call-up, who believes she checks all the boxes that the promotion needs to cultivate a major star. The veteran also noted that he was excited to see her next step, that she had matured enough in “NXT,” and would someday set a lot of records. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 9/9/2024

The season premiere of WWE RAW tonight live on USA Network from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

  • WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart to appear
  • We will hear from Drew McIntyre
  • Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio vs. LWO’s Dragon Lee
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill (c) vs. The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn)
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contenders Match: Jey Uso vs. Braun Strowman vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Pete Dunne
  • Street Fight: Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, Erick Rowan and Nikki Cross) vs. American Made (Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, Chad Gable and Ivy Nile)
  • Lyra Valkyria, Zelina Vega, and TBA vs. Pure Fusion Collective (Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark and Sonya Deville)

WWE SmackDown Preview 9/6/2024: Final show on FOX

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will be the final live broadcast on FOX. The show returns to the USA Network beginning next Friday. SmackDown will take place from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Fallout from Bash in Berlin

  • The return of Giovani Vinci
  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will respond to Solo Sikoa
  • The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) and DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa)
  • Tiffany Stratton vs. Bayley

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will go head-to-head with a special Friday night (live) episode of AEW Collision on TNT.

WWE Reportedly Reviving Saturday Night’s Main Event

A revival of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event is in the works.

The original WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event specials aired on NBC from 1985 to 1991, replacing Saturday Night Live. In 1992, WWE presented the special on FOX before it was discontinued.

WWE brought Saturday Night’s Main Event back to prime time in March 2006 as part of RAW on USA Network. This continued until August 2008. WWE has previously used the theme for a limited number of house shows.

WWE is expected to announce its first NBC primetime special since August 2008 in the coming days. There has been internal discussion about whether WWE would use the Saturday Night’s Main Event name.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported, “WWE told us that the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event will be announced very soon so that would indicate this is accurate.”

The exact air date of the special remains unknown at this time.

Source: eWn