Category: WWE

Details On Confirmed Deal For WWE SmackDown To Leave Fox, Return To USA Network

It’s official — “WWE SmackDown” will leave Fox next year (as previously predicted by Wells Fargo) and return to the USA Network. The company announced the move this morning, with a new five-year deal bringing “SmackDown” back to cable starting in October 2024. Included with the announcement was the news that “SmackDown” will remain on Friday nights, and there will also be four WWE specials aired on NBC’s broadcast channel each year.

“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” WWE President Nick Khan said. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”

Despite the new agreement, a report from the Sports Business Journal, which broke the “SmackDown” news ahead of WWE’s press release, states that WWE and USA Network parent company NBCU have yet to reach an agreement for “WWE Raw.” With “SmackDown” returning to the network, however, NBCU reportedly remains a favorite to retain the rights to the company’s longest-running show, though corporations such as Disney and Amazon are reportedly still interested in WWE rights.

The report does note that it’s possible “Raw” moves away from Monday nights, which would obviously be a major shift, as the series has been a staple of Mondays since its inception in January 1993. While WWE will maintain some kind of partnership with NBCU through at least 2028, it’s not yet certain that their catalog will remain available on the company’s streaming app, Peacock, for the long haul. The streaming deal between WWE and NBCU, which saw the dissolution of the WWE Network in the United States in favor of Peacock, lasts until 2026.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Randy Orton Is Working Out At The WWE Performance Center

Randy Orton has been spotted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL in recent weeks.

According to a report from Pwinsider, numerous people training at the Performance Center have seen Orton at the facility over the past few weeks. The Viper has been spotted in the building and is often seen working out in the gym at the facility.

It’s worth noting that as of August, Orton had not been cleared for a return.

Finally, it was added that WWE has a very strict rule that talent who are returning have to work out in some capacity. As of this writing, there is no word on when Randy Orton will be making his return to WWE television. Of course, it’s obviously a good sign to see that he’s back at the Performance Center and beginning to work out again.

Source: eWn

WWE NXT Preview 9/19/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT Live from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

  • WWE NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch to appear
  • Champion vs. champion non-title: NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio
  • Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice
  • NXT Global Heritage Invitational: Tyler Bate vs. Butch
  • NXT Global Heritage Invitational: Duke Hudson vs. Joe Coffey

Reported Reason Behind Late Changes To Monday Night’s WWE Raw

Some late changes were made to the lineup for tonight’s episode of “WWE Raw.”

According to PWInsider, Tegan Nox was originally set to answer the open challenge issued by the new “NXT” Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch. However, at some point before the show, Nox was pulled from the title match and replaced by Natalya, who has reportedly earned plenty of praise backstage following her involvement in the Superstar Spectacle in India.

The segment started with Lynch coming out and cutting a promo about how important the belt is to her and revealing that she would also be live on “NXT” tomorrow night with the belt. Natalya eventually came out, calling Lynch a “hypocritical ginger witch” and answering the challenge. The 15-year veteran ended up losing the match to Lynch, getting rolled up by the new champion following a back-and-forth match.

Getting back to Nox, she was relegated to a match against Xia Li that was recorded for “WWE Main Event.”

Another key change to tonight’s episode, according to PWInsider, was to push the match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet deeper into the show. The reported reasoning behind this was a desire by WWE officials to position more star power later in the episode, namely WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, who was involved in segments before and after the Nakamura-Ricocet match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 9/18/2023

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

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.