Category: WWE

WWE SmackDown Preview 12/30/2022

The final WWE SmackDown of 2022 will air live tonight on FOX, and emanate from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL.

AJ Styles Injured At WWE Live Event

Reports came out last night that AJ Styles suffered an injury during a live event in Hershey, Pennsylvania, as part of WWE’s holiday tour and PWInsider has confirmed that it is 100 percent legitimate, and isn’t part of any storyline. The situation is “likely” an ankle injury and the former WWE Champion is expected to be getting the situation checked out ASAP, but until that has taken place there is no way of knowing how serious it is, or how long he will be out of action. 

It was noted that Styles was having issues putting weight onto his left foot after the match, and he did have to be walked by WWE officials to get him to the back. Footage online from fans in attendance showcased the “X” symbol being flashed by the referee, which is the universal sign of a real injury in the wrestling business. 

Styles had been part of a six-man match that saw The O.C. (Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) compete against The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio), but it had to be stopped as a result of the injury. As of late, the Phenomenal One has been feuding against Balor and the rest of his group, with the two factions being at war which initially began because Styles didn’t want to join forces with his former friend, Balor. 

Neither Styles nor any other member of The O.C. has made any official comments about the situation, but further updates will come once Styles has been checked. He was originally expected to be facing Seth Rollins tonight at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Canada, but that is now likely to be changed. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AAA Is Finished Putting Championships On AEW Wrestlers

Don’t expect to see AEW talent draped in championship gold from AAA, with the possible exception of Kenny Omega.

At the recent Noche de Campeones event, FTR lost the AAA World Tag Team Championships to Dralistico and Dragon Lee, the latter of whom announced his WWE deal shortly after.

Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo were stripped of the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championships after Melo was pulled from the event.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AAA is finished putting titles on AEW talent for the time being due to the difficulties with booking them.

“Right now the plan is that unless it’s Kenny Omega, who they still want as their Mega champion because of his work and name value if they can get dates on him, they don’t want titles on AEW wrestlers because of the difficulty in confirming dates on them.”

Instead of appearing for AAA, Melo competed on this week’s Dynamite, teaming with Anna Jay to defeat Ruby Soho and Willow Nightingale.

Source: ewrestlingnews

Dragon Lee Signs With WWE –  Believed To Be The Highest-Paid WWE NXT Star

Dragon Lee has signed a contract with WWE.

Following a tag team match featuring Lee and Dralistico teaming up to face off against FTR at Wednesday’s AAA Noche De Campeones event, the AAA wrestler grabbed a microphone and cut a promo to announce that he’s heading to WWE. ESPN is reporting that Lee will be starting with WWE in January. He’s expected to begin on the NXT brand.

At Wednesday’s AAA Noche De Campeones event, Lee and Dralistico defeated FTR to capture the AAA World Tag Team Championships. This means Lee will be leaving the company as a champion.

Both Lee and Dralistico received WWE tryouts following their appearance on AEW Dynamite back in August. Lee told ESPN the following:

“I think I can become the new Rey Mysterio in WWE. I just need the opportunity. [Finn Balor] told me, ‘Would you like to be in WWE?’ [laughs]. I said, ‘Yeah, sure. Why not?’ … It was something special for me. It’s my challenge to learn more about promos. You will never finish learning in pro wrestling. But every time you wrestle, you learn. But about promos, it’s something new for me. I would like to learn something new, how to become not just a wrestler — an artist.”

Dave Meltzer addressed Lee’s signing on Wrestling Observer Radio where he revealed that the deal was made about two weeks ago and the luchador was asked to keep it under wraps for obvious reasons. Meltzer said,

Lee is a former ROH Television and ROH World Tag Team Champion. He’s also held the World Welterweight and Lightweight Championships in CMLL. Lee also had a reign as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.

Dragon Lee may be less than a week into his WWE contract, but the new signing is believed to be the highest earner in NXT.

Lee announced his signing with WWE after he and Dralistico dethroned FTR as AAA World Tag Team Champions, and the titles have since been vacated.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dragon Lee’s deal is believed to be the highest in NXT now that Mandy Rose is gone.

“The belief is that he would be the highest-paid NXT wrestler now that Mandy Rose is no longer working with the brand. It’s a three-year deal and does call for pay increases with each year, but the hope and certainly the feeling he was given is he would have a main roster contract and be brought up in 2024.”

WWE contracts have a confidentiality clause in that the talent and their representatives are not allowed to reveal the dollar amount of each deal.

Source: ewrestlingnews

WWE NXT Preview 12/27/2022

Tonight on WWE NXT on USA Network at 8/7C

WWE SmackDown Preview 12/23/2022

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX at 8/7C.

  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles: Hit Row Vs. The Usos (c)
  • 34th Street Fight: Braun Strowman & Ricochet Vs. Imperium
  • Gauntlet Match to determine a new challenger to SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey: Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Tegan Nox, Emma, Sonya Deville and Xia Li

Tama Tonga Invites AJ Styles To NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, Vows To Dethrone Karl Anderson

Karl Anderson will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tama Tonga in two weeks at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. This will be the first time that a WWE-contracted talent wrestles on the show.

Tonga took to Twitter to invite Styles to the Tokyo Dome show so that The OC Leader can watch The Good Bad Guy “smash” the WWE Superstar at the venue. He wrote,

“AJ can come too. He can watch me smash his boy. ( still got love for you #PhenomenalOne ) #Wrestlekingdom17 – January 4, 2023 #AndNew #NeverOpenWeightChampion.”

Earlier this year, Anderson defeated Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Title at NJPW Dominion. It will be interesting to see if Anderson can retain the title in his second outing with Tonga come January 4th.

Source: ewrestlingnews

Jeff Jarrett Claims Vince Russo Has “Serious Mental Health Issues”

AEW personality Jeff Jarrett has said that Vince Russo is dealing with “serious mental health issues.”

In 1999, both Jarrett and Russo left the WWF for WCW, where Double-J became a multi-time World Champion.

Russo, who was responsible for some of the WWF’s biggest moments during the Attitude Era, has been lambasted for decades due to his booking during his WCW tenure.

Speaking on the latest episode of his “My World” podcast, Jarrett spoke about Russo and his alleged issues. He said,

“Candidly, he’s got serious, serious, and I’m speaking from experience, he’s got serious mental health issues. There’s no doubt in my mind, and I’ve said it for years.”

Source: ewrestlingnews

WWE NXT Preview 12/20/2022

Tonight’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network at 8/7C.

Mandy Rose Has Made Half A Million Dollars Since WWE Release

Mandy Rose may longer be collecting a paycheck from WWE, following her recent release, but given the income she’s generating from her FanTime account — which was at the heart of her WWE exit – the former “NXT” Women’s Champion has no reason to worry about covering her bills.

According to TMZ Sports, Rose has taken in $500,000 in just the seven days since being given her walking papers solely from the content she posts on FanTime, a subscription-based platform similar to OnlyFans. Rose’s agent, Malki Kawa, predicted the 32-year-old wrestler could become a millionaire by Christmas. WWE officials seemed to find her FanTime material became progressively more suggestive over time. However, reports suggest that Rose was not presented with an option to tone down or remove some of what was seen as problematic with WWE choosing to just cut ties entirely instead. 

Rose has not budged in her support for her FanTime content, using the platform to thank her fans for their backing after being fired by WWE. “I am overwhelmed with all the love and support from you guys,” she wrote. “And don’t worry the page is still up!”

Rose participated in bodybuilding and fitness competitions before joining WWE in 2015 following the 6th season of “Tough Enough,” where she placed second. In shifting back to “NXT” after several years on the main roster, she captured the “NXT” Women’s Championship within months of her return and held the title for 413 days. She would drop the belt on December 13 to Roxanne Perez –- her termination from the company followed the next day. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.