Category: WWE

Rock N’ Roll Express, Tony Atlas, Wildfire Tommy Rich & More Named to Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame 2021 Class

The 2021 class of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame has been revealed, with Rock N’ Roll Express, Tony Atlas and more set to be inducted. The Hall of Fame announced the following names as 2021 inductees, per PWInsider:

* Pioneer Division: Mad Mountain Dean & Paul Bowser
* TV Era Division: Tiger Conway Sr. & Jose Lothario
* Modern Era Division: Tony Atlas & Wildfire Tommy Rich
* Womens: Judy Martin & Juanita Coffman
* International: Leo Burke
* Executive: Don Owen
* Tag Team Division: Rock ‘n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton)
* Territory Era: Skandor Akbar
* Referee: Ronnie West

The induction weekend is currently scheduled for May 13th through the 15th and would be when both the 2020 and 2021 classes are inducted. Details on that event are still to come as they work towards a resolution for an event that is safe in the face of the pandemic.

Source: 411Mania

Mystery WWE NXT Team To Debut, Full Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Brackets Revealed

The full brackets have been announced for the 2021 WWE NXT Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

The tournament will feature 16 teams. WWE previously announced 12 teams but 4 more were revealed today.

One mystery team on the bracket is called MSK. WWE had filed to trademark the “MSK” name but there’s no word yet on who this is for. WWE posted a teaser tweet for the MSK team today, seen below, and fans are speculating that this could be the new name for Desmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz, formerly known as The Rascalz in WWE. Xavier and Wentz recently signed with WWE but there’s no word yet on when they will debut.

The first round of the tournament will kick off tonight with The Undisputed Era vs. Breezango and Ever-Rise vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans. The winners of the tournament will receive the Dusty Classic Cup and a future title shot from NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.

Below is a look at all 16 teams for the tournament, and the full bracket. Stay tuned for more.

FIRST ROUND
* The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong) vs. Breezango (Tyler Breeze, Fandango)

* Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari vs. Ashante “Thee” Adonis and Desmond Troy

* Kushida and Leon Ruff vs. The Way (Austin Theory, NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano)

* Ever-Rise (Chase Parker, Matt Martel) vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake, Zack Gibson)

FIRST ROUND
* MSK vs. Jake Atlas and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott

* Killian Dain and Drake Maverick vs. Curt Stallion and August Grey

* Imperium (Marcel Barthel, Fabian Aichner) vs. Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik)

* Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde, Raul Mendoza) vs. The Bollywood Boyz (Sunil Singh, Samir Singh)

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 1/13/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature the beginning of the 2021 Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

WWE Officially Announces “Superstar Spectacle” Event With Jinder Mahal And Other Top Stars

WWE has officially announced the Superstar Spectacle event for Tuesday, January 26.

There’s no word yet on when the two-hour event will air on the WWE Network, but it will air at 8pm IST in India on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3, and Sony MAX. There will be commentary in English and Hindi. It’s been reported that the event will tape next Thursday, from the WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.

The event will feature Superstars from WWE NXT, RAW and SmackDown. Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal has been announced for the show. It will be his first appearance since undergoing knee surgery in June of 2020.

Other Indian talent announced include The Bollywood Boyz, Indus Sher, Jeet Rama, Kavita Devi, Guru Raaj, Giant Zanjeer and Dilsher Shanky. Also announced for the card are WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair, SmackDown Tag Team Champions Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, AJ Styles, Bayley, The New Day, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Ricochet, among others, plus an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.

“We love the passion and support from the huge WWE Universe in India, so we’ve teamed up with SPN, the exclusive home of WWE in India, to surprise our fans with an incredible event to kick off 2021,” said Triple H in the official announcement. “WWE Superstar Spectacle will be an epic event with electrifying matches featuring some of the biggest names in WWE along with our incredible Indian performers, plus thrilling and authentic Indian-inspired entertainment.”

Stay tuned for updates as WWE will be announcing matches for Superstar Spectacle in the coming days. Below is the full announcement issued today:

WWE and Sony Pictures Network India announce WWE Superstar Spectacle

WWE Superstar Spectacle, an unprecedented two-hour television special event for India featuring WWE’s Indian performers alongside Superstars from Raw, SmackDown and NXT, will premiere exclusively on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3 and Sony MAX on India’s Republic Day, Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. IST, with commentary available in both English and Hindi.

The unique showcase of Indian-inspired action will emanate from the state-of-the-art WWE ThunderDome and incorporate stunning elements of traditional and contemporary Indian culture among epic matches featuring WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, Bayley, The New Day, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, Ricochet and many more plus an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.

“We love the passion and support from the huge WWE Universe in India, so we’ve teamed up with SPN, the exclusive home of WWE in India, to surprise our fans with an incredible event to kick off 2021,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development. “WWE Superstar Spectacle will be an epic event with electrifying matches featuring some of the biggest names in WWE along with our incredible Indian performers, plus thrilling and authentic Indian-inspired entertainment.”

“WWE has consistently featured among the top watched sports properties in India over the years,” said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India. “We are excited about presenting WWE Superstar Spectacle to WWE fans and viewers in India on Republic Day which will showcase and celebrate the best of the next generation Indian talent in WWE.”

With matches announced in the coming weeks, WWE fans can look forward to witnessing appearances by 10 Indian WWE talent, including:

* WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal, the first WWE Champion of Indian descent.

* The Bollywood Boyz, WWE Superstars Samir and Sunil Singh.

* The first all-Indian tag team in WWE, Indus Sher, featuring Rinku and Saurav.

* NXT Superstar Jeet Rama.

* Kavita Devi, the first Indian woman to sign a WWE contract.

* The Great Khali trainees Giant Zanjeer (7ft 2in, 340 pounds) and Dilsher Shanky (7ft, 310 pounds).

* Guru Raaj, the first Indian-born high-flyer in WWE.

The arrival of WWE Superstar Spectacle comes at a time when WWE’s popularity in India continues to increase. WWE is one of the most-watched sports properties in India, and India ranks No. 1 for WWE YouTube consumption and No. 1 in WWE Facebook followers. In addition, WWE has been actively recruiting elite athletes and performers from the country. In 2019, WWE hosted its largest tryout in history, where more than 70 top athletes from India showcased their abilities in Mumbai and four Indian recruits were selected to train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, U.S.

Follow WWE social channels for all the latest updates on WWE Superstar Spectacle.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kofi Kingston Injury Update

Kofi Kingston has provided an update on the jaw injury that caused him to miss this week’s edition of Raw.

The former WWE Champion was unable to accompany his tag partner Xavier Woods to the ring on Monday and he explained why in a recent Instagram Live video.

I gotta apologize, I feel like I’m talking out of the side of my mouth and I’m dealing with like a jaw injury right now and my mouth is only closing on one side,” Kofi revealed. “If I sound kind of funny, that’s why. Ordinarily, I do a lot of imitations and impersonations and impressions, but I’m not doing that right now,” he added. “I’m talking funny just trying to figure this situation out.”

The announce team on Raw referenced Kofi’s injury, but its level of severity has yet to addressed on air.

Kofi lost a couple of teeth during The New Day’s match with The Hurt Business at TLC last month.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE RAW Preview 1/11/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will feature more on the Road to the 2021 Royal Rumble, live from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.

WWE is advertising that tonight’s RAW will be a “huge night” for WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. McIntyre will face Randy Orton in a non-title singles match, and they are teasing a possible appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg to follow up on last week’s return. McIntyre has not officially answered Goldberg’s challenge for a title match at The Rumble.

It’s believed that more Royal Rumble Match participants will be confirmed on tonight’s RAW as well.

WWE SmackDown Preview 1/8/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature two title matches.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E will defend against Apollo Crews. This match was made after Crews quickly accepted an Open Challenge that Big E announced last week after helping him out with Sami Zayn and King Baron Corbin.

SmackDown will also see Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode challenge SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits for their titles. This match comes after Ziggler and Roode attacked the champs during a segment on last week’s show.

SmackDown should also feature more build to the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and fallout from last week’s show-closing segment that saw Jey Uso and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns toss Kevin Owens through a table.

WWE Reportedly Making “A Strong Play” At Jay White

Following his defeat to Kota Ibushi at the main event of day two of Wrestle Kingdom 15 for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles, Jay White said in the post-match press conference that he simply was done with pro wrestling and just wanted to go home after the sacrifices he made.

Many believed this to be an angle. However, the Super J-Cast is reporting that their sources of told them that there is doubt whether White would extend his NJPW contract and that WWE are making “a strong play for him.” They also reported that it is currently “50/50” as to whether he stays or leaves NJPW.

“Several sources have indicated there is some doubt whether Jay White will extend his NJPW contract, rumoured to be up at the end of the month,” Super J-Cast wrote. “WWE are believed to be making a strong play for him and it’s 50/50 whether he stays or goes.”

White has some connections in WWE as Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura were part of a group that recruited him to NJPW. White has stated in the past that signing with WWE was not on his radar.

You can view the Super J-Cast’s tweet below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT ‘New Year’s Evil’ Preview 1/6/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be the New Year’s Evil special, the first show of 2021 for the brand.

Host: Dexter Lumis

NXT Title Match
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Finn Balor (c)
Commercial-free from bell to bell.

NXT Cruiserweight Title Match
Gran Metalik vs. Santos Escobar (c)

Last Woman Standing Match
Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Karrion Kross with Scarlett vs. Damian Priest
Commercial-free from bell to bell.

Xia Li and Boa return from their transformation

It looks like the Fight Pit II bout has been pulled from tonight’s event.

The Fight Pit structure was scheduled to return tonight for Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher, but the match has been pulled from the WWE website. Furthermore, the official NXT Twitter account has removed a recent tweet announcing the match.

Fight Pit
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher

Several Advertised Stars Did Not Appear For WWE Legends Night, Carlito Reacts

Several stars did not appear for last night’s Legends Night edition of WWE RAW, despite being advertised ahead of time.

The WWE Hall of Famers and Legends who did appear for various cameos during the show, and on the stage to watch WWE Champion Drew McIntyre retain over Keith Lee in the main event, were Irwin R. Schyster (IRS), Melina, Jeff Jarrett, Jimmy Hart, Molly Holly, Booker T, Alicia Fox, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Torrie Wilson, Big Show, Mickie James, Mark Henry, Ron Simmons, Teddy Long, Sgt. Slaughter, and Tatanka.

Stars who were advertised but did not appear were Beth Phoenix, Candice Michelle, Carlito, Eve Torres, Hillbilly Jim, Ivory, Jacqueline, Kurt Angle, and Michael “PS” Hayes.

Carlito was one of the most anticipated returns for Legends Night and WWE had previously confirmed his appearance on social media and their website. There’s no word yet on why he never appeared but as seen in the tweet below, he tweeted a shrug GIF in response to the show:

Update

According to Wrestling Inc., Carlito was never officially booked for the show at all. WWE sent feelers out to a variety of talents, including Carlito, and someone internally in WWE apparently simply jumped the gun announcing his appearance. This was not an issue of travel problems or him being held up due to COVID-19 precautions.

We’re told there is no bad blood over the errant announcement since it appears to have just been a communication error.

Carlito’s appearance on RAW would have been his first RAW appearance in over ten years. His last appearance for WWE was as part of Edge & Christian’s Show That Totally Reeks Of Awesomeness on the WWE Network back in 2016.

Source: Wrestling Inc.