WWE Raw airs live tonight on the USA Network, from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT.
- Two-out-of-three-falls match: The New Day vs. Viking Raiders
- Cody Rhodes vs Dominik Mysterio
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs Ricochet
- Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre
Category: WWE
Jade Cargill Expected To Start At The WWE Performance Center This Week
Jade Cargill is expected to begin training at WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, following reports that she is joining the promotion.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the former TBS Champion was ‘finishing up’ her time with AEW with sources in both promotions believing that she is WWE-bound.
Pwinsider is reporting that it is believed that Cargill’s AEW contract has now expired and she is expected to head to WWE’s training facility in Orlando, Florida this week.
Cargill competed on this week’s episode of AEW Rampage, where she lost to current TBS Champion Kris Statlander and the pair shared a sign of respect after the match.
Sources in WWE believe that Cargill will go straight to the main roster rather than spend time in WWE’s developmental program, NXT.
Cargill is the third AEW name to make the move to WWE, following Cody Rhodes & Brian Pillman Jr., though the latter has yet to appear on WWE programming.
Source: eWn
Cassie Lee Making In-Ring Return Next Month
Former WWE Superstar & Impact Knockout Cassie Lee will be making her return to the ring next month in her native Australia.
On her Instagram Stories, Lee revealed that she will be part of World Series Wrestling’s ‘Full Throttle’ tour that will see her appear in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane & Sydney.
Lee has not competed since April 2022, when she and Jessica McKay lost to Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood on the Impact Rebellion kickoff show.
In August 2022, Lee and her husband Shawn Spears announced they were expecting their first child and would welcome their son Austin Jay in January 2023.
Dana Warrior, 100+ Others Gone From WWE As Layoffs Continue Following Endeavor Deal
PWInsider is now reporting that Friday’s WWE layoffs have concluded, with Dana Warrior along with more than 100 employees fired. None of the layoffs were talent and talent releases were never scheduled for Friday. Breaking down the firings in totality, PWInsider reports that WWE’s Insights & Analytics team was cut from at least 20 employees down to three, and that the Marketing, Graphic Design and Live Events department was also impacted. In an email, WWE President Nick Khan reportedly informed employees based out of Stamford, Connecticut, that there would be a staff meeting at the new WWE headquarters Tuesday morning, and confirmed the conclusion of the layoffs.
More layoffs have been announced following WWE’s merger with UFC after Endeavor’s acquisition of the company, resulting in the creation of TKO Group Holdings. According to PWInsider, one of the more surprising layoffs included Dana Warrior, the wife of late WWE Hall of Famer Ultimate Warrior. She worked in creative from 2019 to 2022, and more recently was working with the company’s community outreach department.
PWInsider reported Friday’s layoffs included WWE’s Digital Campaign Manager, Alexa Gotthardt, who announced her departure on LinkedIn, and several members of the company’s marketing department, with Brand Director Kimberly Kirkegard and Affiliate Marketing Manager Saverio Brighina both gone. A higher-ranked official — Andy Levine, WWE Vice President, International and Platform Strategy — was also let go. Levine worked for the company since 2018 and wore multiple hats within WWE, including overseeing international social and digital strategy and working alongside other departments like marketing, programming, content operations, business planning, and many more. Other layoffs on Friday included WWE’s Executive Vice President of Development and Digital Jamie Horowitz, Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing Catherine Newman, and Director of Enterprise Master Data & Governance Amanda Bloom.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The Rock And Pat McAfee Appeared On SmackDown
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returned (alongside Pat McAfee) to run down Austin Theory in Denver, Colorado on Friday night, and those in attendance at the “SmackDown” Hotel made a lot of noise for the returning People’s Champion, who hadn’t been seen on WWE television since 2019.
McAfee, who had appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” an hour away on ESPN and will co-host “College GameDay” from the same location on Saturday, made the journey to the Ball Arena to greet the WWE Universe, but was interrupted by former foe Austin Theory. After telling Theory he was just out there “enjoying the local laws,” McAfee brought out The Rock, who had appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier in the day, to an objectively earth-shaking ovation from the Denver crowd.
The Rock soaked in the crowd’s adoration for a while before heading down the ring, taking off his jacket, and announcing that “The Rock has finally come back to Denver!” He soon had the crowd running down Theory as well, though those at home listened mostly to a muted broadcast as Fox opted to sensor the organic “holy s*” chants and somewhat less than organic “You’re an ahole” chants. Eventually, Theory tried to get the jump on Rock, but was denied and taken to the ground before the Hollywood star hit Theory with the People’s Elbow. The Rock then gestured for McAfee, who had been dancing and observing in the corner for the segment, to hit a People’s Elbow of his own. The pair celebrated in the ring while Theory was left laying.
In addition to his in-ring segment, Rock briefly encountered John Cena backstage, but as of this writing he has not been seen interacting with any current or former member of The Bloodline. During his “McAfee” appearance, Johnson said there had been plans for a match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, and said he’s open to a match with Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Johnson is also currently dealing with the Hollywood writers’ strike and its impact on his broader media endeavors.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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Speculation On WWE Cuts Cost-Cutting Plans Based On Endeavor’s UFC Acquisition
As noted, WWE President Nick Khan sent out a company-wide memo asking corporate employees to work remotely on Friday due to “workforce reductions.” This comes in the wake of Endeavor officially merging WWE and UFC to form TKO earlier this week.
Dave Meltzer noted in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel is looking to cut $50 million to $100 million in costs in WWE to increase profitability. UFC went through extensive layoffs in 2016 when Endeavor acquired the company, and it’s expected that WWE will suffer the same fate. It was also noted that Emanuel previously stated that there would be no underestimating TV rights and sponsorship potential.
While WWE’s on-screen product may not look much different in the near future, it’s the behind-the-scenes that will see potentially massive changes. There’s a thought that WWE creative and talent would go unaffected, but Meltzer reminded readers that UFC employees were also told things that didn’t turn out to be true. It’s currently being labeled a “wait-and-see” situation.
PWInsider has already reported the releases of Jamie Horowitz, Executive Vice President of Development and Digital, and Catherine Newman, Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing. Haus of Wrestling reported on Thursday that talent releases from both the main roster and “WWE NXT” are expected at some point, but it was not clear whether those would also happen this week.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE SmackDown Preview 9/15/2023
WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
- Grayson Waller Effect with John Cena
- LA Knight vs The Miz
Update on Jade Cargill’s Potential WWE Future
As previously reported, former AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill is expected to be joining WWE.
Dave Meltzer provided more details in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, reporting that Cargill and AEW didn’t come to terms on a new deal.
Meltzer wrote,
“Those in WWE believed she was coming and that it would be on the main roster rather than developmental, but I could see that going either way. Another person in WWE described it to us as that her name was being talked about a lot, but the deal was not completed at press time. The money it would take to get her would have been far more than they pay those in developmental, but while she has a star look and is a great athlete, her skill set and experience level is not at WWE main roster woman levels. But good workers are there to make the less experienced and more marketable workers look better than they are.”
The Observer also reported that former major league baseball star Aaron Phillips, Cargill’s husband, was in attendance in Cincinnati for her possible final AEW match and that there were reports that it was the best match of her career.
Meltzer continued,
“One person in WWE described this as coming out of the blue, but that they do expect her to be coming in. There are several factors involved here including money. Cargill was probably protected more in AEW than she would be in WWE, but that’s not to be sure. She probably can have better matches in WWE because on the main roster the level of the women is higher. From a travel schedule, for someone with outside interests and a daughter, WWE would have her do more matches, which is probably a good thing for her long-run, but travel far more extensive unless she got a sweetheart deal on the schedule. If she has goals outside of wrestling, such as acting since she’s got a superhero look, the WWE main roster exposure would help her more.”
Sources: eWn and Wrestling Observer
“Major Cuts” Are Coming To The WWE Main Roster & NXT, Office Employees Cuts Coming today
On Tuesday, Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group acquired WWE and merged it with the UFC to form TKO Group Holdings. The two companies will operate as separate entities.
WWE CFO and President Frank Riddick III will be ending his tenure with the company at the end of this month. This comes after he received a $5 million bonus from the sale.
Additionally, WWE President Nick Khan sent out a company-wide email to employees on Thursday (see below) to inform them that they should work remotely on Friday so WWE’s HR team can perform “workforce reductions” in private. Employees will be notified of their terminations as the decisions are made throughout the course of the day.
According to a report from Nick Hausman, it has been confirmed that major layoffs will be taking place at the Stamford, CT headquarters later today. Additionally, it was noted that “major cuts” are also expected to be taking place on the WWE main roster and the NXT brand. It remains to be seen whether the talent cuts take place today (Friday) or in the coming weeks. We know for sure the office cuts are coming today.
As you’d expect, the reason for possibly splitting up the timeframe between the office and talent cuts is due to the bad PR that always comes with massive layoffs. Usually, the office cuts take place first. But it’s possible both could end up happening today. We’ll see.
Nick Khan sent a email to WWE employees on Thursday, you can read that below:
“As part of WWE’s transition into the newly formed TKO Group Holdings, we are evaluating our existing operations and systems to identify potential synergies across the business. This effort includes workforce reductions, which will take place tomorrow.
Those whose roles have been impacted will be notified by our Human Resources Team, who will share the details of their severance package. We are asking that everyone work remotely, Friday September 15th, so we can insure all conversations are handled privately and respectfully. We’ll send out a company-wide email once all of tomorrow’s conversations have happened.
Our company is home to the most talented, creative, and hard-working employees in the world. WWE is a special place, which makes moments like this difficult. Just know that we have nothing but gratitude and admiration for everyone we have had the privilege to work alongside.
Thank you for all your contributions and dedication.
Nick Khan”
Source: eWn
Jagger Reid And Rip Fowler Reportedly No Longer With WWE
Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler are “gone” from WWE, according to Dave Meltzer on the “Wrestling Observer Radio” show. The veteran pro wrestling journalist noted that Fowler and Reid’s contracts with the Stamford, Connecticut-based promotion were up and presumed an angle would have played out on television. Meanwhile, a source within WWE had no information regarding the duo’s reported departure.
On “WWE NXT” this past Tuesday night, it was indicated by Joe Gacy and Ava Raine that the tag team formerly known as the Grizzled Young Veterans were no longer a part of the Schism faction. Reid and Fowler had been a part of the group for a number of months.
Back in April, the duo were denied their release from WWE. Reid, who previously performed as James Drake, wrote on social media, “As of today, WWE has denied my request for my release. I want to thank you all for your support throughout my career, I’ll never take that for granted. My contract with WWE expires on 14th October 2023. I’m excited to share our next chapter, once we are free agents.” Fowler, who previously performed as Zak Gibson, also posted a similar statement.
Despite wanting out of their contracts early, Reid and Fowler remained an integral part of the “NXT” show. During the “NXT” Battleground pre-show media call in May, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels mentioned that he wanted the duo to stay with the promotion. He also said that he understood how the tag team felt and that there would be no hard feelings. The former “NXT UK” Tag Team Champion’s most recent match in WWE took place on the August 29 episode of “NXT,” where they were defeated by Julius and Brutus Creed in a steel cage match.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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