Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will air from the campus of Full Sail University with fallout from the Great American Bash.
Category: WWE
WWE RAW Preview 7/13/20
Tonight’s RAW on the USA Network will be the final episode before WWE’s “The Horror Show at Extreme Rules” pay-per-view.
Kevin Owens Reportedly Confronts Vince McMahon Over Masks At TV Tapings
Kevin Owens reportedly confronted Vince McMahon over the lack of masks at WWE TV tapings during the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE French-language commentator Pat Laprade noted during a recent episode of the Les anti-pods de la Lutte podcast and revealed that Owens raised concerns with the WWE Chairman & CEO at the TV tapings held on Friday, July 3 at the Performance Center. This reportedly led to the mandatory mask policy, and the fines for not wearing masks while in the building.
Owens reportedly told McMahon that he was not comfortable with the lack of masks being worn by people in the Performance Center, and people being too close to each other. Owens also told McMahon that he was going home, apparently due to COVID-19 concerns. Vince then asked Owens what he wanted him to do, and Owens allegedly responded by saying Vince is the only person that the WWE crew will listen to.
It was also said that Vince asked Owens if instituting a mask policy with fans would work. Owens then said that he once swore on SmackDown, was fined and never did it again, with the idea that the fine was a deterrent. Vince apparently listened and took action as Owens stayed to work the tapings after noticing that people were starting to wear masks and practice better social distancing.
Friday’s RAW tapings were for tonight’s episode, which will see Owens take on Seth Rollins in singles action.
As we’ve noted, WWE is now issuing $500 fines for not wearing masks, unless a person is performing in front of the camera. The second offense reportedly brings a fine of $1,000.
It was reported back in June that Owens skipped a set of TV tapings after a developmental talent tested positive for the coronavirus. Owens’ wife’s grandfather had passed away from the virus a few weeks before. Owens would later post a heartfelt message about the COVID-19 pandemic, which you can see at this link.
WWE officials told their employees a few months ago that they did not have to work during the pandemic if they didn’t feel comfortable doing so, and that the decision would not be held against them in the future. Owens appeared on WWE’s The Bump in late June and talked about how the company reacted to his decision to miss the tapings in June.
“Due to the circumstances that happened last week with the positive coronavirus test, I just thought it was wiser for me to stay with my family,” Owens said. ” I told the people in charge my decision, and they were like, ‘Yeah, ok.’ I think they know that once I make my mind up on something, that’s the way it’s going to be. They were respectful of my decision. I’m glad I did it because I think this was the best decision for me to do for my family.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Recently Released WWE Superstars To Become Free Agents This Week
Several former WWE Superstars are set to become free agents later this week.
WWE released dozens of employees and talents back in mid-April due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The main roster wrestlers who were cut will see their 90-day non-compete clauses expire on Wednesday of this week, July 15.
It’s believed that at least some of the former WWE Superstars will end up in AEW and Impact Wrestling. Impact has been teasing some of the recently released wrestlers for their Slammiversary pay-per-view on Saturday. Eric Young, EC3, Heath Slater and others have been rumored for spots on the Impact roster, and it’s been reported that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have already signed.
A number of WWE NXT talents were also cut back on April 15. They were under 30-day non-competes and were free agents as of May 15. That is how Deonna Purrazzo was able to make her Impact debut last month. WWE also released or furloughed several producers in April, and it’s been reported that some of those furloughs will be brought back as WWE begins to resume normal operations amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The following former WWE main roster Superstars will become free agents later this week:
* Aiden English
* Curt Hawkins
* EC3
* Epico Colon
* Eric Young
* Erick Rowan
* Heath Slater
* Karl Anderson
* Kurt Angle (believed to be under non-compete)
* Lio Rush (may have been under NXT deal)
* Luke Gallows
* Maria Kanellis
* Mike Kanellis
* No Way Jose
* Primo Colon
* Rusev
* Sarah Logan (pregnant)
* Zack Ryder
WWE Announces This Week As Women’s Evolution Week
WWE.com has announced that this week will officially be “Women’s Evolution Week” on all digital and social channels.
The platforms will be releasing content centered around the growth of the WWE women’s division, especially over the past five years since the “Four Horsewomen” of WWE (Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair) arrived on the main roster.
The full article from WWE reads:
Five years ago on July 13, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks arrived to Raw, signaling a change for women’s wrestling in WWE. In honor of this landmark night in sports-entertainment history, WWE will celebrate Women’s Evolution Week on its digital and social channels all this week.Check back with WWE’s digital platforms each day this week for exciting looks back at landmark Women’s division moments in WWE, the trailblazing Superstars who paved the way and what lies ahead for the intrepid female competitors of the future.
WWE’s first and only all-women pay-per-view event, Evolution, took place on October 28, 2018. The card featured multiple standout matches including a brutal Last Women Standing Match between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Charlotte Flair Explains Why She Is Taking Time Off From WWE
Charlotte Flair will be out of action for a while due to personal time and having surgery done.
Charlotte took to Twitter to explain more on why she is going to be gone from WWE for a while.
She explained how in 2018 she had silicone poisoning from her breast implants. She went to the doctors and picked the option that would be the fastest recovery time, which didn’t solve the problem. A few months ago, the same issue happened again to her.
Charlotte now has decided to go with the option that she believes will solve the issue this time, though the recovery time is longer than she would like. She also stated she doesn’t have silicone poisoning right now.
She ended her explanation with the tweet, “I’ll be back when I’m ready. The body will be rested, and the mind still focused on legacy. Focused on this job. Focused on being better. Always being better.”
Below is her full statement:
My air conditioning is broken, and we have a little free time. These tweets may be spaced out a bit, but we’re going to talk time off, plastic surgery and boobs. The entire world having an opinion on the topic bothers me more than I care to let on, so we are going to discuss it.
I’m going to save the history of my boobs for a different bedtime story, so:
Picture it. Charlotte, North Carolina, 2018. A young queen, shortly after a career-defining Wrestlemania victory, finds herself sicker than sick at her brother’s house. A trip to the doctor tells us the likely culprit is silicone poisoning, and that my implant had been leaking for quite some time. It was one of the worse cases the doctor had seen.
At that time, I had a few options to fix the issue. Each option had a specific recovery time. I love this job more than anything, so I picked the option that allowed me to return the soonest. That was the choice I made. Fast forward to a few months ago. Something felt off, so I went back to the doctor. Same issue again. This time, I’m going with an option that I believe will solve the issue long time, even though the recovery period is a little longer than I would like.
To clarify: I do not have silicone poisoning this time. The surgery is cosmetic to fix an issue from a prior surgery. I’ll be back when I’m ready. The body will be rested, and the mind still focused on legacy. Focused on this job. Focused on being better. Always being better.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Rusev Test Positive For Coronavirus, Gives Update On Lana’s Parents (Video)
Below is video of former WWE star Rusev, where he gives and update on Lana’s parents who have the coronavirus and announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19.
WWE SmackDown Preview 7/10/20
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX episode will air from the Performance Center in Orlando with more build for “The Horror Show at Extreme Rules” on July 19.
AJ Styles Calls Paul Heyman “A Boldface Liar”, Responds To Reports About Their Relationship
As seen below, WWE Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles took to his Mixer video game streaming channel yesterday and had some strong things to say regarding his former boss on RAW, Paul Heyman. It was previously reported that Styles and Heyman did not get along when they were working together.
“There were some rumors going around that AJ Styles left RAW to go to SmackDown because he was being bullied. That may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Styles said. “I mean, I’m a grown man. If there were some bullying going on that upset me enough to leave RAW and go to SmackDown, I would handle it. And whether I got my tail beat or not, I’d still handle it. I’m a grown man. So, I’ll just throw that out there.
“When it came to the rumor about Paul Heyman and being upset with him because he didn’t take up for Gallows and Anderson before they got released, that’s not what it was at all,” AJ continued. “It’s not even close. I’ll give you a snippet of what me, Gallows, and Anderson already know – [Paul Heyman] is a liar. Now you know; I’m sure you’ve heard that before if you go back to his ECW days, you’ll hear that. He’s a boldface liar. So, that’s my take on that. I will let Gallows and Anderson [add to it].”
Styles was reportedly “furious” over Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson being released in April. Styles reportedly blamed Heyman for their releases, even though Vince McMahon was the person who made the call.
Anderson and Gallows have reportedly come to terms on a deal with Impact Wrestling. The deal would allow “The Good Brothers” to wrestle on Impact as well as New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE NXT: ‘The Great American Bash’ Night Two Preview 7/8/20
Night Two of the WWE NXT Great American Bash will air tonight on the USA Network from the NXT Arena at Full Sail University.
