Category: WWE

Keith Lee Returns To WWE RAW, Answered Bobby Lashley’s Open Challenge

Former NXT Champion Keith Lee made his long-awaited return to WWE on Raw when he answered an open challenge issued by WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.

Bask in his glory! Keith Lee returned to WWE programming after a seven-month absence and confronted the WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.

It all went down on the latest edition of Monday Night Raw on USA Network which emanated live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.  “The All Mighty” Bobby Lashley and his associate MVP were talking themselves up in the ring and bragging about Lashley’s destruction of Kofi Kingston at Money In The Bank the previous night. Lashley issued a non-title open challenge, which was answered by former NXT Champion Keith Lee.

Lashley got the win after hitting Lee with a spear and was confronted by Goldberg as he celebrated his victory.

Before Monday, Keith Lee hadn’t been seen on WWE programming since February, and the reason for his absence is yet to be explained by either WWE or The Limitless One himself.

Recently, Lee took to Twitter for the first time in a week to check in with his fans.

“Many of you are reminding me of this day a year ago,” Lee captioned a photo of himself taken on the night he defeated Adam Cole to become NXT Champion. “So much has happened since then, it feels so long ago. Patience my friends….there is zero quit IN me. So don’t you quit ON me. I miss you. And I love you.

Prior to his unexplained leave of absence, Lee’s future in WWE seemed promising. While he was still a member of the NXT locker room, the big man stole the show at Survivor Series in 2019. The black and gold brand was victorious that night, but Lee’s face-to-face in the ring with Roman Reigns felt like a huge moment that was laying the groundwork for a tantalizing future feud. Lee’s staredown and battle with Brock Lesnar during the men’s Royal Rumble match two months later seemed to cement his status as a star of the near future, but sadly his main event push is yet to come to fruition.

Source: The Sportster

WWE RAW Preview 7/19/21

Tonight’s post-Money In the Bank edition of WWE RAW will take place from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, marking WWE’s first red brand show on the road since the return to touring last week.

WWE has announced that John Cena make his RAW return tonight as he opens the show to explain why he returned after last night’s Money In the Bank main event. As noted, Cena confronted WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns after his win over WWE Hall of Famer Edge.

Tonight’s RAW will also feature an appearance by new RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, who won the title from Rhea Ripley last night.

Nikki A.S.H. will also appear tonight to celebrate her win in the Women’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match on Sunday.

There are at least two rumored returns for tonight’s show. Becky Lynch is rumored to return at RAW or SmackDown this week, while WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg is expected to return and challenge WWE Champion Bobby Lashley for SummerSlam. Lashley dominated Kofi Kingston last night at Money In the Bank to retain his title.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Money In The Bank Results 7/18/2021, John Cena Returns

WWE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (KICKOFF)
The Usos defeated Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio (c) to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship

WOMEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK
Nikki A.S.H. defeated Asuka, Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, Zelina Vega, Natalya, and Tamina

WWE RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
AJ Styles and Omos (c) defeated The Viking Raiders

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
Bobby Lashley (c) defeated Kofi Kingston

WWE RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Charlotte defeated Rhea Ripley (c) to win the RAW Women’s Championship

MEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK
Big E defeated Ricochet, John Morrison, Riddle, Drew McIntrye, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamaura, and Seth Rollins

WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Roman Reigns (c) defeated Edge

Seth Rollins interfered, costing Edge the championship.

– After the match, Reigns recovers as his music hits. We go to replays. Rollins returns to the ring and snaps on Edge, counting him with strikes as Reigns is barely able to get out of the way in time. Heyman watches from the apron as he was bringing the WWE Universal Title belt in when Rollins snapped on Edge. Rollins and Reigns meet in the middle of the ring now. They have words as Rollins rants about how he should’ve been in the match. Edge attacks from the side and sends Rollins to the floor. Edge unloads on Rollins at ringside, then takes the brawl to the crowd. They fight through the fans and to the stage as it looks like Rollins is running away. The camera focuses back on Reigns in the ring as music starts back up. Heyman hands Reigns the title and he holds it on his shoulder. Heyman then hands Reigns a mic.

Fans boo as Reigns takes the mic in the middle of the ring. Reigns says now the whole world can acknowledge him. The music interrupts and out comes John Cena to a major pop. Cena poses on the stage as the crowd erupts. Reigns looks on as Cena rushes the ring. Cena meets Reigns in the middle of the ring and they face off. Cena does his “you can’t see me” taunt in Reigns’ face and the crowd blows up again. Cena hits the corner to pose as Reigns stares him down from behind. The 2021 Money In the Bank pay-per-view goes off the air with fans cheering Cena on as Reigns looks on.

WWE Money In The Bank 7/18/2021

DATE: July 18, 2021 8:00 pm
LOCATION: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
AVAILABLE ON:Peacock, WWE Network (outside of the U.S.)

CARD

WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Edge

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Kofi Kingston

WWE RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte

WWE RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
AJ Styles and Omos (c) vs. The Viking Raiders

MEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK
Ricochet vs. John Morrison vs. Riddle vs. Big E vs. Drew McIntrye vs. Kevin Owens vs. King Shinsuke Nakamaura vs. Seth Rollins

WOMEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK
Asuka vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross vs. Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega vs. Natalya vs. Tamina

Kickoff Pre-show: SmackDown Tag Team Titles Match
The Usos vs. Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio (c)

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/16/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas with the final build for Sunday’s Money In the Bank pay-per-view.

This show marks WWE’s official return to touring since the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down last year. WWE is expected to have several surprises this weekend, and a new set will debut on tonight’s SmackDown.

WWE SmackDown Event In Atlanta Has Been Canceled

The September 17 edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will no longer take place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

The arena announced today that the event has been canceled. No reason was given, but refunds are available at the point of purchase.

WWE has not announced a new location for the September 17 SmackDown as of this writing, but we will keep you updated. The WWE website still has the Atlanta event listed as of this writing, but that will likely be removed soon.

Fans on Twitter expressed frustration with the cancellation as the arena was still selling tickets as of yesterday.

https://twitter.com/StateFarmArena/status/1416021257829617664

Source: Wrestling Inc.

[Report] Possible Major Spoiler On When Goldberg Will Return To WWE

Goldberg’s last match took place against Drew McIntyre at the Royal Rumble. A new report gives us an idea on when he’ll return to WWE.

Goldberg will reportedly make his return to WWE programming very soon.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Ringside News), Goldberg will return to television on Monday Night Raw next week. Apparently, the plan is to run a program between the Hall of Famer and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley for SummerSlam, which will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Aug. 21.

Last year, Goldberg revealed that his WWE contract consists of two matches annually, and it runs through 2023. The 54-year-old has already wrestled one match this year, losing to Drew McIntyre in a WWE Championship bout at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

SummerSlam is one of WWE’s marquee pay-per-views, so this would obviously be a smart time to use up Goldberg’s second match of 2021. Lashley will defend his title against Kofi Kingston at Money in the Bank (at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth) this Sunday. Even if the former were to lose the title, it doesn’t mean WWE can’t run a non-title program between Lashley and Goldberg.

Next week’s episode of Raw will take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. This will be the first Raw show to feature fans since March 9, 2020. WWE spent over five months at the Performance Center in Orlando before launching the ThunderDome technology in August, which they used up until this week. WWE will return to touring this Friday, with SmackDown taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Monday Night Raw suffered its lowest viewership ever last week. Clearly, WWE has some work to do when it comes to fixing the product and regaining the interest of fans. Goldberg remains a giant fan favorite and main event draw, and a program with Lashley could go a long way in enhancing the television product. Simply put, Goldberg’s is coming back at a very opportune time.

Source: The Sportster

Possible Spoiler On Becky Lynch’s WWE Return

Becky Lynch is reportedly scheduled to be at the WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view.

There is no word on if Lynch will make her return at the pay-per-view, but PWInsider reports that as of this morning she is scheduled to be in attendance at Money In the Bank.

Lynch was working out in the ring with Indi Hartwell at the WWE Performance Center a few weeks back, as part of the process of getting cleared for her return to action.

Lynch gave birth to her first daughter, with Seth Rollins, back in December. She has been out of action since WrestleMania 36, where she retained the RAW Women’s Title over Shayna Baszler. She then relinquished that title to Asuka a few weeks later, announcing her pregnancy.

It’s believed that WWE is saving some of their bigger returns for when they return to the road later this week, beginning with Friday’s SmackDown on FOX from Houston. Money In the Bank will take place from the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT To Air On Syfy Due To The Olympics

WWE NXT is scheduled to be bumped from the USA Network by coverage of The Olympics later this month.

NBC Universal’s broadcast schedule for The Olympics currently shows that the USA Network will be airing coverage of the games on Tuesday, July 27.

NXT will air on Syfy that night at 8pm ET instead of USA, according to PWInsider.

There’s no word yet on if additional NXT episodes will be bumped from USA to Syfy as NBCU continues their coverage of the games.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Mandy Rose Will Be Staying On NXT And Aliyah Will Reportedly Be Heading To Raw To Take Her Place.

Mandy Rose’s move to NXT is a permanent one, and apparently Raw will be getting a Superstar from the black and gold brand in return.

The appearances of Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox, and the video package hyping Toni Storm, on SmackDown last week were somewhat expected. The three of them and other NXT stars have been competing in trial matches ahead of potential call-ups. However, Mandy Rose moving the other way will have taken most people by surprise on Tuesday.

Rose appeared on the ramp during a match on NXT this week, and again later during a backstage segment. It has since been reported that Rose’s move to NXT is a permanent one and she will no longer be appearing on Raw. Bad news for the red brand whose roster is somewhat lacking already.

Fear not, as according to WrestleVotes, Raw will be getting an NXT Superstar in return. A WWE source has told the Twitter account that Aliyah will be taking Rose’s place on Monday nights. That might be considered an odd choice by some. Aliyah hasn’t been reported to have competed in any recent trial matches on Raw or SmackDown, neither can she boast a lot of screen time in NXT. Aliyah has been in NXT longer than you might think though, debuting as Jasmin more than six years ago.

https://twitter.com/WrestleVotes/status/1415306502857019396

The news that Aliyah will be moving on over to Raw also makes sense after what happened to her on NXT this week. She and Jessi Kamea lost a match to Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter, at which point she snapped and blamed the loss on their manager Robert Stone. Frankie Monet swooped in to pick up the pieces, declaring that the Robert Stone Brand won’t have to worry about Aliyah anymore.

When exactly Aliyah will debut on Raw remains unclear. She technically has a couple of main roster matches under her belt already. Aliyah lost to Carmella on a 2017 edition of SmackDown, and also wrestled and lost to Natalya on Main Event last year. However, as has been proved by Karrion Kross, appearances on Main Event don’t seem to count.

Source: The Sportster