WWE RAW will air live tonight on the USA Network from the American Airlines Arena in San Antonio, Texas.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live on FOX from the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
On a recent edition of the “WrestleBinge” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler shared an update on the progress of his recovery from the stroke he suffered this past February.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On his recovery: “I’ve had a bunch of different things and I’m still in rehab three times a week, and probably the main thing that’s drawing me back now, that you can probably tell as you hear me talk, my voice is not the same as it was beforehand. It’s slowly coming back, but it needed to come back a little more before I could make sense with my speech and vocabulary… I really don’t do a lot, just staying around the house and do three rehab sessions a week where I go into the hospital, and then I do some more at home here in Memphis, and that’s pretty much it.”
On working to regain his speech: “One [rehab session] is speech – that’s my main one. That’s three times a week. When I just started this, right after I had the stroke, I could barely talk. Now I go in and I sit down with this rehab lady and we just talk about different things. She has me read stuff, and all of this stuff has just helped me day in and day out getting my vocabulary better.”
On the stroke affecting his ability to sign autographs: “My right arm and my right leg and everything on my right side of the body, it’s not hurt me where I can’t walk around. I can still walk around, but I don’t have really good control of writing my autograph. I can write my autograph pretty good, but I’ve been so proud of my autograph and artistic ability to it, but that’s all sort of taken a while to come back.”
On thanking those who sent him messages of support: “I would like to say thank you for being concerned and worried about my upkeeping and what I’ve had going on. It’s just awesome to know that there are fans out there wondering what am I doing during my time off. It’s nice to talk to them.”
Source: eWn
On a recent edition of the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, WWE Hall of Famers The Garcia Twins (Nikki and Brie Garcia) stated that they’re hoping for an in-ring return for one last run in pro wrestling.
However, their return completely depends on Nikki getting cleared by her surgeon.
Brie said, “Especially because my husband’s at AEW, but I’m still surrounded a lot by wrestling because he and I, we talk about it all the time. He’s fully in it, and he just had an incredible match this Sunday at their big pay-per-view, All Out. I watch everything, and when I see the women wrestle and all that, I always am like, ‘Ah!’”
Nikki, who suffered a broken neck in 2015, said, “We want one last run. Especially when our sons are a little older and they could sit and watch their mommies kick ass and if my surgeon allows me to.”
Source: eWn
Tonight’s WWE NXT live on USA at 8/7 C from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
WWE Hall of Famer and Memphis native and wrestling legend Jerry “The King” Lawler recently appeared for the special Wildfire Wrestling event which took place last Friday before the Memphis Tigers’ game against Tulane.
SportsZone posted footage to their YouTube Channel with Lawler returning to the ring as a guest manager. Lawler’s son Kevin posted a video clip and photos on Facebook.
The 73-year old Lawler has recently started making public appearances again after he suffered a stroke suffering a stroke in February of this year.
The season premiere of WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK.
The roles of Vince McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque in WWE’s creative department appear to have changed. While the latter has been in charge of these duties for quite some time, McMahon is known for having a very hands-on approach when it comes to the company’s television product. However, a report from Sports Illustrated states that Levesque is in charge in the wake of WWE merging with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings following the completion of the Endeavor sale.
According to the report, Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor, is behind the change as he believes that everyone in the company should focus on the jobs they’ve been assigned. McMahon is currently an executive chairman, and his main focus for now is to oversee media rights negotiations. As WWE’s Chief Content Officer, however, it’s Levesque’s role to spearhead the creative direction of “WWE Raw” and “WWE SmackDown.”
What’s more, McMahon is said to have an iron-clad contract that protects him financially. However, there doesn’t appear to be any clauses in the agreement that give him license to run the company however he sees fit. Emanuel has the final say over all matters.
Previously, it was reported that McMahon was involved in WWE creative prior to his spinal surgery, which led to him making several changes to the shows. That being said, it’s believed that he stepped away from the role willingly to allow Levesque to steer the ship in that department.
As of this writing, McMahon is under investigation by the federal government, presumably in regard to the hush money payments he made to several women in the past. The outcome of the case remains to be seen.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
It’s been almost 17 months since fans saw Randy Orton in a WWE ring, but if the latest murmurs are true, “The Viper’s” extended absence is coming to an end. Fightful Select is reporting that Orton and WWE are circling Survivor Series, which takes place November 25 in Chicago, as the date for the former WWE Champion’s return. Fightful previously reported that Orton was seen at the WWE Performance Center in September.
Orton last wrestled on the episode of “WWE SmackDown” that took place on May 20, 2022. That was the night “SmackDown” Tag Team Champions Jimmy and Jey Uso defeated Orton and Matt Riddle for the “Raw” Tag Team Championship, resulting in the titles being unified (still the case as of this writing). Orton and Riddle were beaten down by The Bloodline after the match, which served to write Orton off television. If November 25 is truly his return date, “The Apex Predator” will be back exactly one year after it was reported that he had undergone back fusion surgery.
It’s difficult to overstate how much WWE has changed in the time Orton has been gone, a period that has included Vince McMahon’s retirement, Vince McMahon’s return, and the merger of WWE and UFC into TKO Group Holdings under the broader umbrella of Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor. As a result, it’s unclear what role a returned Orton would play in the current landscape — even Riddle, his tag team partner for more than a year before his injury, was recently released from the company. But it’s worth noting that creative plans for Orton before he was put on the shelf reportedly involved an Undisputed WWE Universal Champion match with Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2022, and Reigns’ title reign is, ironically, one of the few things that hasn’t changed in Orton’s absence.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The season premiere of “WWE SmackDown” was always set to have an announcement from Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, but what we got was a triple-whammy, with Adam Pearce announced as the new General Manager of “Raw,” Kevin Owens as the trade chip returned to “SmackDown” in exchange for Jey Uso, and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis, introduced as the new GM of “Smackdown.”
After the appointment of Pearce, who Levesque acknowledged for doing a great job as the all-encompassing authority figure on both brands for the last several years and subsequently promoted to “Raw” GM, Levesque alluded to the “SmackDown” side of things. He was interrupted by “NXT” North American Champion — and The Judgment Day’s biggest heat magnet — Dominik Mysterio before calling Aldis into the ring.
Aldis, following a handshake agreement with Levesque, fought off Dom’s interjections and the ensuing crowd displeasure, to turn the conversation back to the completion of the Jey Uso trade. That’s when Owens’ music hit and “KO” made his way to the ring. Not showing any patience whatsoever, Owens immediately Stunned Dom, putting an end to the segment and seemingly kicking off a new era for both brands on the road to Survivor Series.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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