Category: WWE

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/2/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature more build for the upcoming Money In the Bank pay-per-view.

WWE has announced a Last Man Standing Money In the Bank qualifier for tonight’s show with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The winner will join Big E as the second blue brand entrant confirmed for the Men’s MITB Ladder Match. There will be two spots open for the men’s match after that. RAW Superstars confirmed for the match are Riddle, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet and John Morrison.

WWE Hall of Famer Edge will also be on tonight’s show as a follow-up to last week’s attack on WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

WWE noted that Reigns will respond to Edge’s return during tonight’s show. Edge vs. Reigns has been announced for Money In the Bank, with the title on the line.

Mercedes Martinez Reportedly Suffers Concussion On WWE NXT

Mercedes Martinez reportedly suffered a concussion on Tuesday’s WWE NXT show.

As noted, Martinez was legitimately knocked out during Tuesday’s mixed tag team match, which saw Xia Li and Boa defeat Mercedes and Jake Atlas. Li delivered a roundhouse kick to Martinez, which knocked her out and caused some blood to come from her mouth. Martinez immediately went down and the referee stopped the match.

Li and Boa won the match due to referee stoppage, and the finish was reportedly a shoot. Martinez was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation, but was said to be doing better by Wednesday morning.

It was noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Martinez suffered a concussion from the kick. There is no word on how long it might be before Martinez is medically cleared to compete, but she will likely be out of the ring for a few weeks, if not longer.

Martinez has not commented on what happened as of this writing, but has re-tweeted a few clips and tweets from the match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Martinez was taken to a local hospital

Former WWE Star ‘The Patriot’ Del Wilkes Passes Away At

Former WWE star ‘The Patriot ‘ Del Wilkes — most famous for his 1997 feud with Bret Hart — has tragically passed away at the age of 59.

Former WWE Superstar ‘The Patriot’ Del Wilkes has tragically passed away a the age of 59 according to a report from Mike Mooneyham in the Charleston Post & Courier.

Wilkes was born and raised in South Carolina and has a successful college football career in his home state as one of USC’s Gamecocks. When his football career came to an end, he pursued professional wrestling and went on to work for WCW and WWE, and All Japan Pro Wrestling.

To wrestling fans, Wilkes is best known for his two stints in WWE. Wilkes first began working with WWE in 1991 but parted ways with the company the following year. He rejoined WWE in 1997 but left again in 1998.

Wilkes often performed as his patriotic alter ego ‘The Patriot’ who wore a mask emblazoned with the stars and stripes and carried the American flag. Wilkes also used a rousing entrance theme that would later be repurposed for another American hero, Kurt Angle.

In 1997 while performing as his patriotic alter ego, Wilkes challenged the anti-American Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at Ground Zero: In Your House where Hart forced him to submit with the Sharpshooter.

In a 2019 episode of his Something To Wrestle With podcast, WWE executive Bruce Prichard spoke about how Wilkes’ relationship with WWE came about.

“I called Del,” Prichard revealed. “His deal in Japan was coming to an end, and he was getting ready to renegotiate. I said, ‘Before you do that, come up and talk to us.’ So, Del came up, and Vince really liked him and thought, ‘With this Patriot gimmick, with everything we have going, this may be one of those situations where we can bring a guy in, slide him right in on top,” he added. “He had the look. He could work. And let’s try it out. And that’s how Del came in at the time, and Jim Cornette was a big proponent for Del. Jim also was a Del Wilkes fan and thought The Patriot coming in would also be a good opponent for Bret. So, that’s how all that happened.”

WWE Comments:

Del Wilkes, known to WWE fans as The Patriot, passes away

WWE is saddened to learn that Del Wilkes, known to WWE fans as The Patriot, has passed away at the age of 59.

Before making a name for himself in the squared circle, Wilkes was a standout on the football field for the University of South Carolina, where he earned the distinction of being voted a consensus All-American. After making the switch to sports-entertainment, Wilkes competed all over the world before arriving in WWE in 1997 as The Patriot.

A Superstar quickly on the rise, The Patriot proudly donned the red, white and blue of America in the midst of a rivalry with The Hart Foundation, leading to a memorable match against Bret Hart for the WWE Championship at In Your House: Ground Zero just two months after his WWE debut.

WWE extends its condolences to Wilkes’ family and friends.

Wilkes began wrestling in 1988, and had runs with WWE, WCW, AWA, promotions in Japan, and more. He is a former two-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, and a former AWA World Tag Team Champion. Wilkes last wrestled for WWE in October 1997, losing to WWE Hall of Famer Jim Neidhart on Shotgun Saturday Night. He was released in early 1998.

Wilkes leaves behind a wife of more than 40 years, named Cathy. He retired from pro wrestling due to a triceps injury, shortly after leaving WWE. Wilkes had worked for the past 16 years as a car salesman in Columbia, South Carolina, but still made the occasional wrestling-related signing or appearance.

Sources: The Sportster and Wrestling Inc.

Mercedes Martinez Reportedly Taken To Hospital After WWE NXT Match

Mercedes Martinez was reportedly taken to a hospital for evaluation after taking the stiff roundhouse kick from Xia Li on last night’s WWE NXT episode.

As noted, Li and Boa defeated Martinez and Jake Atlas in mixed tag team action after Li hit Martinez with a roundhouse kick. Martinez went down, and had some blood coming from her mouth, while the match ended via referee stoppage. There had been speculation on Martinez possibly being knocked out.

In an update, Fightful reported that Martinez was checked out after returning backstage, and was then taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Martinez has not commented on her status as of this writing, but Atlas did make a post-show tweet where he called her a “TRUE badass” and shared a backstage photo.

“A TRUE badass. This ain’t over. Payback is a b***h. [sparkles emoji],” he wrote in the tweet seen below.

https://twitter.com/JakeAtlas_/status/1410069596435062787

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Confirms Becky Lynch And Seth Rollins Got Married This Week

As first teased by Seth Rollins himself on Tuesday, WWE has now confirmed he and Becky Lynch finally got married this week.

WWE has confirmed Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins really did get married on Tuesday. Congratulations to the two of them.

Seth Rollins got wrestling fans buzzing on Tuesday via a certain something he posted on his Instagram story. The Architect posted a photo of Becky Lynch off in the distance along with the caption “seems like a fine day to (finally) get married.” WWE has since posted confirmation that Rollins and Lynch are indeed man and wife, congratulating the two WWE Superstars in the process.

If you were under the impression Lynch and Rollins were already married, there’s good reason for that. The two were supposed to get married back in May of last year. However, as was the case for many couples around the world, those plans were scuppered by the pandemic. Clearly, the world is back to normal enough for the pair to have finally tied the knot.

While having to postpone their wedding for more than a year wouldn’t have been ideal, it does mean their daughter Roux was around for the big day. It has been a big year for the WWE couple. Not only are they now married, but Lynch and Rollins welcomed Roux, their very first child, into the world back in December.

More Lynch news and The Man’s return to the spotlight will renew fans’ want for the former Raw Women’s Champion to return to the ring. Lynch departed WWE over a year ago, revealing to the world that she was pregnant. The Lass Kicker handed her title over to Asuka in the process. The Empress had won the women’s Money in the Bank match the night before, and the title was inside the briefcase.

Lynch had been Raw Women’s Champion since beating Ronda Rousey for the title at WrestleMania 35. Since she was never beaten for the title, she has a built-in angle ready and waiting for her when she does return. That could mean a dream match between Lynch and current champion Rhea Ripley, or an additional chapter in the long-running rivalry with her best friend turned bitter enemy Charlotte Flair. Ripley and Flair will battle for the title once again at Money in the Bank.

Source: The Sportster

WWE NXT Preview 6/29/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be the go-home show for next Tuesday’s Great American Bash special.

WWE RAW Preview 6/28/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will feature more build for the upcoming Money In the Bank pay-per-view.

* Elias vs. Jaxson Ryker in a Strap Match

* Second Chance Money In the Bank Qualifier: Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre vs. RAW Tag Team Champion AJ Styles

* RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose vs. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina Snuka, and Charlotte Flair

* Kofi Kingston will come face-to-face with MVP to build to Kingston vs. WWE Champion Bobby Lashley at Money In the Bank

WWE Announced More Releases On Friday

WWE announced some more releases this past Friday due to budget reasons.

I wasn’t able to get the information posted until now. So if you hadn’t heard yet, below are the stars that was released.

– Fandango
– Tyler Breeze
– Sunil Singh
– Samir Singh
– Killian Dain
– Marina Shafir
– Chase Parker
– Matt Martel
– Ariya Daivari
– Tony Nese
– Arturo Ruas
– Curt Stallion

WWE SmackDown Preview 6/25/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature fallout from last Sunday’s Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.

Montez Ford Reportedly Undergoes Surgery

WWE SmackDown Superstar Montez Ford reportedly underwent surgery this week.

Ford took to Twitter this week and posted a photo from a hospital room, which you can see below. This came after WWE did an injury angle with he and Otis on the June 11 SmackDown episode. WWE issued a storyline injury update after that show, noting that Ford suffered a partial rib fracture and torn intercostal cartilage. Ford’s wife, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, then appeared on The Bump a few days later and noted that Ford was recovering from the broken rib at home, but he did not suffer any additional storyline injuries in the attack from Otis.

In an update, it looks like the injury angle with Otis was done as a cover story as Ford underwent surgery this week. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Ford underwent a voluntary surgery this week, one that was not related to any kind of injury, and not something that should keep him out of action for any significant length of time.

Ford reportedly underwent the surgery on Thursday of this week, which was the day after his 3rd wedding anniversary with Belair.

There is no word yet on when Ford will be back in action.

Source: Wrestling Inc.