Category: WWE

Backstage News On Dean Ambrose’s Return To Pro Wrestling Following WWE Departure

Dean Ambrose is set to return to the indies as Jon Moxley sometime in June, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Ambrose released his first post-WWE promo as Moxley earlier this week, just minutes after his WWE contract officially expired, making him a free agent. Ambrose reportedly has bookings lined up with a number of different promotions, and those will be announced soon.

There’s no word yet on how much Ambrose will be making on the indies, but it should be very lucrative for him as the Observer noted that he will be able to command several thousand dollars per match, do meet and greets for more, if he wants, and have almost complete control over everything while working as much or as little as he wants.

Ambrose is now free to work for whoever he wants as there is not a non-compete clause with WWE. It’s believed that Ambrose wants a deal where he’s completely in control of his character and what he’s able to do.

There’s obvious speculation on a possible deal with All Elite Wrestling or New Japan Pro Wrestling, but there’s no word yet on if he’s talking with either promotion. The Observer speculated that WWE gave Ambrose a strong send-off because they believe he will be back at some point, which they might not do if they thought he was going to AEW or NJPW. WWE kept offering more money to Ambrose to try and get him to re-sign, but he kept turning their offers down, to the point that they realized he was determined to leave and there was nothing they could do to stop him.

Ambrose wrestled his last match for WWE at a recent live event two weeks ago in Moline, IL, teaming with Roman Reigns and WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins to defeat Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley. The match that aired live on the WWE Network and was dubbed The Shield’s Last Chapter.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Daniel Bryan WWE Return Update

Daniel Bryan has been cleared to return to WWE and will be written back into storylines soon, perhaps as early as next week, reports Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Bryan has not appeared at any live events or television tapings since suffering an undisclosed injury at WrestleMania last month. Bryan’s injury was reportedly being closely guarded. It is still not known exactly what the issue is.

The original plan was for Bryan to wrestle WWE Champion Kofi Kingston at the Money In the Bank pay-per-view on May 19th, however Kingston will now be facing Kevin Owens, who turned on Kingston last week despite just returning as a babyface two months earlier. The decision was made to turn Owens after Bryan was injured. It was noted in The Observer that if Bryan was cleared a couple of weeks ago, Owens would not have turned.

WWE does have Bryan advertised for the next SmackDown live event, which is on Monday at The Corbin Arena in Corbin, Kentucky, as well as Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Louisville. Updated advertising for summer SmackDown events also feature Bryan vs. Kingston.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces New Date For Next NXT TakeOver

The next WWE NXT TakeOver event has been announced for Saturday, June 1. Cathy Kelley makes the announcement in the video below.

As noted, tonight’s NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University featured the build to Takeover, but no date or location was announced. Wrestling Inc. has details on potential matches for the event at this link. It was previously believed that this TakeOver would air on Saturday, June 8 from San Jose, California, but the event was pushed up a week due to WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7.

WWE Noted that Triple H will announce the full details on TakeOver, including the location, this coming Monday on his social media pages.

Below is WWE’s announcement:

Next NXT TakeOver announced for Saturday, June 1The next installment of NXT’s critically acclaimed TakeOver series will take place Saturday, June 1. The event will stream live, exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.

Since its inception in 2014, NXT TakeOver has etched an unbelievable legacy of incredible action, career-making performances and unforgettable moments, with each TakeOver seemingly topping the one before it.

Stay tuned to Triple H’s social media this Monday afternoon for more information on the huge event!

Rhyno’s WWE Contract Expires In July.

Wrestling Inc. reports that they have learned that Rhyno’s WWE contract expires this July.

Rhyno last wrestled in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35 last month. The former ECW World Heavyweight Champion has only made a few appearances on WWE television since losing a storyline loser gets first match to Heath Slater on RAW last December.

Rhyno is starting to accept independent bookings, so it appears as if he will be leaving the company once his contract is up. As seen below, IWC announced that Rhyno will be returning to their roster this summer.

Rhyno had returned full-time to WWE in 2016 for SmackDown following the WWE brand extension. He went on to become one-half of the inaugural SmackDown Tag Team Champions alongside partner Heath Slater after the defeated The Usos at Backlash in September of 2016. After being drafted to RAW in April of 2017, he was used sparingly on television.

Below is the announcement from IWC:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Beth Phoenix Joins NXT Commentary Team

The NXT announce desk has undergone a minor shakeup, as Beth Phoenix is now part of the team.

Phoenix’s addition to the broadcast team was announced at the top of the NXT TV tapings on Wednesday when she joined Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuiness behind the headsets.

As you may recall, Beth has been doing commentary more frequently in WWE. This includes the second Mae Young Classic and Mixed Match Challenge. She also recently returned to the ring at WrestleMania alongside Natalya when they competed for the Women’s Tag Team titles.

No word on what this means for Percy Watson’s role going forward.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Recent NXT Signees Make Debut Appearances At Full Sail TV Taping (PHOTOS)

Trevor Lee and Shane Strickland — who recently signed with WWE — made their first appearances on Wednesday night at an NXT TV taping.

The two wrestlers faced-off against each other this evening in Florida, with Trevor Lee picking up the win. Unfortunately, fans in attendance seem to think it was likely a dark match.

As you may recall, Lee’s signing was announced in February with wrestlers like Jonah Rock and Elliot Sexton. Strickland’s WWE arrival was made official earlier this month.

Check out a few photos from their first Full Sail appearance below.

https://twitter.com/MrJacobCohen/status/1123717289222770689

https://twitter.com/MrJacobCohen/status/1123717529753530370

https://twitter.com/HurriOwl/status/1123719516926746625

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Jeff Hardy Reveals How Long He Will Be Out Of Action Following Surgery

As noted, The Hardy Boys dropped the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Titles on last night’s episode due to Jeff Hardy’s right knee injury. Matt Hardy will likely be working as a singles competitor while his brother is out.

Below is post-show video of Jeff talking to Kayla Braxton about the injury. As we’ve noted, Hardy suffered the injury at a recent WWE live event, but the storyline is that Lars Sullivan put him out. Hardy revealed that he will be out of action for 6-9 months.

“You know, we had the greatest match with The Usos, we won the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, and then Lars attacked. My knee has been weak for a while, but he just put the finishing point on it, man. It was a massacre and this is my worst nightmare because I’m going to be out for 6-9 months,” Hardy said.

Hardy also confirmed that he will be undergoing surgery in the next few days. He said he’s going to have his whole right knee repaired, something he’s needed for a while.

“So, it’s a bummer, but at the same time I needed a new knee. There was a lot of wear and tear on it, so I’m pretty confident I’m going to come back better than I was, or have been for the last 4 years,” Hardy said.

Hardy told the WWE Universe that he will be back better than ever, and he will be able to put on a much better performance than he has as of late.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Singh Brothers Moved To WWE 205 Live

Last night’s WWE 205 Live episode saw The Singh Brothers return to the brand. They lost the opener to The Lucha House Party but indicated that they have returned to the show to stay. WWE officially moved the profiles for Samir Singh and Sunil Singh from the SmackDown roster to the 205 Live roster. They were just moved from RAW to SmackDown last week. The brothers tweeted the following after last night’s loss:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Goldberg, Brock Lesnar And The Undertaker Officially Announced For WWE Return To Saudi Arabia

Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker will be a part of WWE’s next event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

WWE today officially announced that they will return to the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, June 7th at 8 p.m. AST. In addition to Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker, WWE announced Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles for the event.

No matches have been announced as of this writing, although The Undertaker is rumored to be wrestling Elias. If Goldberg faces Brock Lesnar, it would be their fourth meeting on pay-per-view. Goldberg won the first two matches at WrestleMania XX and Survivor Series 2016. Lesnar, who recently announced that he would not be returning to the UFC, defeated then-WWE Universal Champion Goldberg for the title at WrestleMania 33 in 2017 in Goldberg’s last match for the company.

It will be WWE’s first event in Saudi Arabia since the controversial Crown Jewel show last November in Riyadh. WWE held the event despite backlash after Saudi Arabia was believed to have ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

You can check out WWE’s full announcement below:

WWE Superstars return to JeddahRIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA and STAMFORD, Conn. — The Saudi General Sports Authority, in partnership with WWE, will host an event at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, June 7, at 8 p.m. AST. The event will feature WWE Superstars Roman Reigns, Undertaker, Kofi Kingston, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Goldberg, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar, and stream live on WWE Network.

Additional details on the event’s matches, ticket availability and pricing, and regional broadcast information will be announced in the coming weeks.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Killian Dain Being Sent Back To WWE NXT

Killian Dain is headed back to WWE NXT from the main roster.

Dain’s roster move may come as soon as tomorrow’s NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University. Dave Meltzer noted on F4Wonline.com that Dain is headed back to the black & yellow brand after what happened to SAnitY in the 2019 WWE Superstar Shakeup.

As we’ve noted, SAnitY leader Eric Young was sent to RAW from SmackDown with no mention of SAnitY. Alexander Wolfe recently made his NXT UK debut and will be making his new home there. Dain is headed back to the main NXT brand from SmackDown.

WWE has not officially announced a brand for Nikki Cross, who is married to Dain, but Meltzer notes that WWE has confirmed that she will be on RAW. There’s no word yet on when Cross will make her return to the RAW storylines.

SAnitY spent some time together in NXT before being called up to the blue brand in June 2018. They have rarely been used since getting called up, having only made sporadic appearances on SmackDown Live.

Source: Wrestling Inc.