WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN.
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Triple Threat Matches: Edge vs. AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio and Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus vs. Austin Theory. The winners will square off in the main event later in the night. The sole winner will then move on to face Seth Rollins at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 27.
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman to appear.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Damage CTRL’s Bayley and Dakota Kai
Robert Roode took to Instagram earlier today to reveal that he underwent C4-C5 cervical fusion earlier this week on Thursday. This follows his C5-C6 neck fusion surgery in November last year.
Roode has been away from the ring since June 25th, 2022, when he suffered a loss against Omos at a WWE live event in Texas. The last time he appeared in a televised match was during SmackDown just before WrestleMania, where he participated in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Right around that time, he was a regular feature on Raw and NXT alongside then NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler.
Pat McAfee may be looking to deepen his relationship with ESPN. McAfee, of course, took a step back from his WWE commentator duties last September to fill an analyst role at ESPN for “College Gameday.” Now, The New York Post reports that McAfee seems likely to strike a deal with ESPN to bring his daily talk show, “The Pat McAfee Show,” to their platform as well.
In December 2021, McAfee signed a four-year deal with FanDuel to sponsor his show for $30 million a year. McAfee had a clause that allowed him to opt out of the contract after three years, but The New York Post recently reported that McAfee had contemplated walking out on his current endorsement deal early. As McAfee seems to close in on an exit from FanDuel, he has begun exploring potential new homes for his show. ESPN has been cited as the “leading candidate,” but as of now, no deal has been finalized.
While McAfee continues discussions with ESPN, network executives are reportedly wanting a guaranteed profit on the deal, as they and their parent company of Disney are in the process of laying off thousands of employees. As McAfee’s search for a professional home continues, his personal home recently welcomed a new addition. Last week, McAfee announced that his wife, Samantha, had given birth to their first child. The couple has been open about their previous troubles with fertility. After enduring surgery, blood tests, and about 150 shots, Samantha finally conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), and on May 4, their daughter arrived.
WWE NXT on the USA Network this evening at 8/7c from the Capitol Wrestling Center inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
Eddy Thorpe vs. Damon Kemp
Duke Hudson vs. Javier Bernal
Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak
Bron Breakker vs. Trick Williams
Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger
Tyler Bate vs. Charlie Dempsey with NXT North American Champion Wes Lee and Drew Gulak in their corners
Nathan Frazer hosts his second Hard-Hitting Home Truths segment
NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus defend against The Dyad
The WWE NXT Women’s Championship Tournament kicks off tonight.
Ahead of tonight’s NXT on USA show from the Capitol Wrestling Center inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL., the company has released the official brackets for the tournament designed to crown a new NXT Women’s Champion, as former champion Indi Hartwell vacated the title last week before moving up to the WWE main roster.
The tourney brackets are as follows:
FIRST ROUND (LEFT BRACKET) * Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton * Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jayne
FIRST ROUND (RIGHT BRACKET) * Lyra Valkyria vs. Kiana James * Fallon Henley vs. Cora Jade
Things get started with tonight’s episode of WWE NXT, as the first two quarterfinal matches (Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton and Lyra Valkyria vs. Kiana James) will take place.
Next week’s NXT on USA show will feature the other two quarterfinal bouts, with Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jane and Fallon Henley vs. Cora Jade.
Things continue with the WWE Battleground go-home show on May 23, with the Dolin or Stratton winner taking on the Perez or Jayne winner, and the Valkyria or James winner taking on the Henley or Jade winner.
Finally, the tourney wraps up with the NXT Women’s Champion being crowned when the finals take place at WWE NXT Battleground on May 28, 2023 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Fans in attendance at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot for last Friday’s “WWE SmackDown” and Saturday’s Backlash event certainly made a strong case for WWE to bring more major shows to San Juan, Puerto Rico in the future. According to PWInsider Elite, WWE performers are hoping that the promotion will make San Juan “a permanent home” for Backlash because of the crowd reactions received this past weekend. Wrestlers in the locker room felt the atmosphere was on a similar level to WrestleMania, which in turn made the first premium live event after “The Show of Shows” more significant than it had been in several years.
Wrestlers and fans took to social media to praise the crowd in San Juan following “SmackDown” and Backlash, including Damage CTRL’s Bayley, who also complimented the Paris, France crowd from a recent house show. She posted, “In just a one week span, #DamageCTRL performed in both Paris and Puerto Rico. Two of the absolute greatest crowds and shows I’ve ever been a part of and I am so proud of that. Thank you @ImKingKota and @Iyo_SkyWWE.”
Backlash was co-headlined by Cody Rhodes battling Brock Lesnar and Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny going up against The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight. It was revealed yesterday that the premium live event had broken several records, including becoming the highest-grossing and most-viewed Backlash of all time. The first televised WWE events in San Juan since January 2005 – “SmackDown” and Backlash – drew a combined 34,800 fans.
One of the great things about, and pitfalls of, live TV is that anything can happen. And that was the case last night for Becky Lynch, who made her triumphant return to “WWE Raw,” only to find herself being interrupted by her own theme music while trying to cut a promo. Fortunately, Lynch dealt with the situation quickly backstage. Posting a video on her Instagram, the former WWE Women’s Champion was seen confronting the culprit who played her music too early. While the problem seemed resolved, an angry Lynch proceeded to nail the sound guy with a forearm, sending him flying back into his seat.
It’s understandable why Lynch was so upset, given that this was her first appearance on “Raw” in nearly a month. “The Man” hasn’t been seen since she was betrayed by Trish Stratus on April 10, following her and Stratus dropping the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship to Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Despite being champions with Lita, Lynch defended the titles with Stratus after Lita was unable to compete due to a backstage attack, which Stratus later confessed to. While Lynch has returned to TV, Lita has not been seen since.
Since the betrayal, Stratus has made several appearances on “Raw” making harsh comments towards Lynch, including last night when she brought up Lynch’s two-year-old daughter. While no match between Stratus and Lynch has been announced, it would appear the two are well on their way to colliding in the ring in the near-distant future.
WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network and emanate from the ystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL.
Fallout from Backlash
The launch of the new Raw roster, which was established in this year’s 2023 WWE Draft.
The World Heavyweight Championship tournament is set to begin. Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, The Miz, Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Damian Priest will be featured in the tournament matches.
The social media storyline between Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville is expected to continue.
Possibly see more on the feud between Beck Lynch and WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus
SAN JUAN STREET FIGHT: Bad Bunny def. Damian Priest
Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor got involved helping Priest. Bad Bunny got help from Rey Mysterio and the LWO along with legends Carlito Colon and Savio Vega
The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa , Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso) (with Paul Heyman) def. Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn
WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tonight’s SmackDown is the final show before Saturday’s Backlash.
FOX Entertainment and Eureka Productions sent out a press release today to announce a new unscripted reality series, which is titled Stars on Mars.
In the presser, it was announced that WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey will be featured on the show alongside Lance Armstrong, Natasha Leggero, Marshawn Lynch, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Adam Rippon, Tom Schwartz, Richard Sherman, Tinashe, Porsha Williams Guobadia, Tallulah Willis and Ariel Winter.
You can check out the official announcement below:
FOX LAUNCHES 12 CELEBRITIES TO THE RED PLANET ON THE NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES “STARS ON MARS,” DEBUTING MONDAY, JUNE 5 ON FOX
The 12 Stars Are Lance Armstrong, Natasha Leggero, Marshawn Lynch, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Adam Rippon, Ronda Rousey, Tom Schwartz, Richard Sherman, Tinashe, Porsha Williams Guobadia, Tallulah Willis and Ariel Winter
FOX announces the 12 fearless celebrities who will pack their bags and prepare for launch to the red planet as crew members on Stars on Mars, an out-of-this-world new unscripted series, premiering Monday, June 5 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. This summer, professional athletes, reality world megastars, triumphant entrepreneurs, renowned television and film actors, uproarious comedians and trailblazing entertainers will colonize, compete and conquer “Mars” until there is one victorious space invader, who will claim the title of “the brightest star in the galaxy.” Celebrities will ditch their jerseys, business suits and red carpet gowns for the ultimate attire – an astronaut suit. Once on “Mars,” this group of stars will receive interstellar assignments from legendary actor and Star Trek icon William Shatner, who serves as Mission Control. Colonizing Mars could be our future… let’s send them first!
Meet the 12 crewmates joining Stars on Mars:
· Former Professional Road-Racing Cyclist and Investor Lance Armstrong · Comedian, Actress and Writer Natasha Leggero · Former Super Bowl Champion, Community Advocate and Entrepreneur Marshawn Lynch · Widely known Comedic Actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse · Olympic Figure Skater and TV Personality Adam Rippon · Professional Wrestler and UFC champion, Olympic Medalist and Actress Ronda Rousey · Television Personality and Restaurateur Tom Schwartz · Sports Analyst and Professional Football Player Richard Sherman · Multi-Platinum-Certified POP & R&B Disruptor, Singer, Songwriter and Dancer Tinashe · Television Personality, Actress and Author Porsha Williams Guobadia · Entrepreneur and Artist Tallulah Willis · SAG Award-Winning Actress and Producer Ariel Winter
This summer, adventurous celebrities prepare for take-off to the red planet, where they will live, eat, sleep, strategize and bond with each other in the same space station. During their stay, they will be faced with authentic conditions that simulate life on Mars, and they must use their brains and brawn – or maybe just their stellar social skills – to outlast the competition and claim the title of “brightest star in the galaxy.” The celebrities will compete in missions and will vote to eliminate one of their crewmates each week, sending them back to Earth. Cue the intergalactic alliances and rivalries. Stars on Mars will send these famous rookie space travelers where no one has gone before and reveal who has what it takes to survive life on “Mars.”
Stars on Mars is produced by Eureka Productions, a Fremantle company. Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wes Dening and Eden Gaha serve as executive producers, along with Charles Wachter, serving as executive producer and showrunner.
Stars on Mars is an original format created by Chris Culvenor of Eureka Productions. Fremantle has international distribution rights to the Stars on Mars format.
