Category: WWE

WWE Reportedly Interested In Signing Joey Ryan, But Likely Going To AEW

WWE officials have had talks with Joey Ryan about coming to work in their developmental system.

Ryan was not given an official WWE offer as of earlier in the week, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, but he was contacted after the company got word that he was a free agent when he was let out of his Lucha Underground contract. Ryan was asked if he would be willing to move to Orlando, wrestle in WWE NXT for a few years, and then move into a coaching position.

The Observer notes that Ryan is expected to end up with All Elite Wrestling, but he’s not currently under contract with them. Ryan currently owns a home in Los Angeles and earns far more money working the indies than he would with an average NXT salary. The Observer adds that Ryan would have absolutely taken WWE’s offer if he was 29 years old, but at 39 he’s probably not interested in taking a pay cut to start with WWE, or anyone else offering far less than what he’s already making.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tommaso Ciampa Has Resumed Training Following Neck Surgery

It’s only been a little over a month since Tommaso Ciampa underwent neck surgery, but the former NXT champ has already resumed training.

Ciampa shared footage of his workout on Wednesday and wrote:

Day 48 post op cervical fusion. I am still at a 5 pound max on most lifts. Thanks to @tarahalaby for this burner. Use constant tension squeezing the ball against the wall with a neutral spine. 20 reps overhead, 20 reps lateral raise, 20 reps front raise. Great for recruiting stabilization muscles throughout the traps and neck.

As we previously reported, Tommaso had to undergo anterior cervical fusion surgery in March.

Watch the workout video below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwpwlNmngk4/?utm_source=ig_embed

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE Changing The Viking Raiders’ Name Again?

WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders were referred to as The Viking Warriors in the latest WWE Fan Council survey, seen below.

There’s no word yet on if this is just a typo or if WWE has plans to change their name once again. Ivar and Erik won a non-title match on last night’s NXT episode and were still being called The Viking Raiders.

As noted, The Raiders were brought to RAW last week in the 2019 WWE Superstar Shakeup and given a new name – The Viking Experience. WWE quietly changed the name this week, likely due to the negative fan reaction to the original name change, and they are now being called The Viking Raiders. Their tag team finishing move is now called The Viking Experience. It was reported that Vince McMahon did not like The War Raiders name, and wanted a new name. At one point the team was scheduled to be called The Berzerkers.

It’s possible that this is just a typo, but we will keep you updated on any other potential name changes.

https://twitter.com/HeelByNatureYT/status/1121138053333098502

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Nia Jax Reportedly Undergoing Surgery Tomorrow

WWE RAW Superstar Nia Jax will be undergoing surgery tomorrow.

Jax is scheduled to go under the knife on Friday to repair both of her torn ACLs, according to Casey of Squared Circle Sirens on Twitter.

There’s no word yet on how long Jax will be out of action, but they should have a better idea of her timeline after the surgery. It was believed that she could be out for up to 9 months.

Jax took to Twitter back on April 12 and said she would be out of action for “a while” due to the injuries. She also revealed that she has been working through the pain for the last year.

“Some of you may or may not know, but I will be out of action for a little while,” Jax wrote, “Unfortunately, I have been pushing through some pain over the last year due to injuries in my knees and I will be undergoing surgery to repair both of my ACLs. I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me! Thank you!”

Jax hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 35 where she worked the Fatal 4 Way with partner Tamina Snuka, Natalya and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics and former champions Sasha Banks and Bayley.

For those who missed them, below are Jax’s tweets from earlier this month:

https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1116775667989995522

https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1116745757133103106

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE “Worlds Collide: Women Collide” Special 4/24/19

The WWE “Worlds Collide: Women Collide” special will air on the WWE Network tonight at 9pm ET after WWE NXT goes off the air. This one-hour special was taped during WrestleMania 35 Axxess earlier this month. The following matches have been announced to air:

* Zelina Vega vs. Piper Niven
* Candice LeRae vs. Kay Lee Ray
* Sonya Deville vs. Io Shirai
* Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair vs. NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm with the title on the line

WWE NXT Preview 4/24/19

NXT, tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network

* NXT Champion Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong

* NXT Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)

* Aliyah  & Vanessa Borne vs. Candice LeRae & A Mystery Partner

* Jaxson Ryker vs. Humberto Carrillo

WWE NXT UK Preview 4/24/19

NXT UK, today at 3 ET/8 GMT on WWE Network

* Moustache Mountain take on Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews

* Kassius Ohno vs. Ligero

* Kay Lee Ray vs. Xia Li (NXT UK debut)

Daniel Bryan WWE Status Notes Following WrestleMania 35 Injury Report

Daniel Bryan was not backstage for last night’s WWE SmackDown in Lincoln, Nebraska, according to PWInsider. Bryan had been advertised for the show locally.

Bryan has been away since losing the WWE Title to Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35 on April 7. Word coming out of the big event was that Bryan was dealing with an injury, and that the nature of his situation was being closely guarded by the company. It was reported that Bryan was to be examined by doctors following the post-WrestleMania SmackDown, but there’s been no news on what they found.

There are no WWE live events this weekend due to the upcoming European tour, but Bryan is not scheduled for Monday’s blue brand live event in Huntington, West Virginia. There’s no word yet on if he will work the European tour, but he is still advertised by WWE and locally.

Bryan was cleared to return to the ring in March 2018 after being out of action since April 2015 due to a history of concussions and the problems that came with them. Bryan went through a lengthy process to get cleared by WWE doctors and part of the agreement with WWE to get cleared was that he would see WWE doctors backstage after every match, he would undergo Impact concussion testing, and he would undergo a neuropsychological evaluation until WWE felt like he was okay.

Triple H spoke with The Express in 2018 and said the company would be keeping a close eye on Bryan’s health.

“He’s cleared his return to the ring, we’ll absolutely keep an eye out,” Triple H said. “As I said the other day, our first and foremost responsibility is the health and well-being of our talent when they are on the roster with us, so we want them to be as healthy as possible. That is extremely important to us and we will always try to do what is best for their health, their well-being and this situation is no different.”

Bryan has not tweeted since early March and his Twitter profile photo still features the WWE Title, indicating he’s been off social media since before WrestleMania. Stay tuned for updates on his status.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Update On WWE Backlash And WWE Return To Saudi Arabia

The WWE Backlash pay-per-view will be happening in late June, instead of being canceled altogether.

There were reports of Backlash being canceled after originally being scheduled for June 16 in San Diego, due to the next Saudi Arabia event being scheduled for Friday, June 7. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Backlash is now scheduled for June 23 from Tacoma, Washington.

The date originally scheduled for Backlash, June 16 in San Diego, will now be a regular non-televised live event for the RAW brand. Tickets go on sale April 26.

 

The next event from Saudi Arabia has not been confirmed for June 7, but the company is moving forward with the idea that it will happen on that date because they have started making moves towards producing the event.

WWE still has domestic live events scheduled for the weekend that the Saudi show is to take place – Sunday, June 9 in Stockton, CA and Sunday, June 9 in Fresno, CA. The show planned for that weekend in Denver, CO was moved to Saturday, June 15 and the show planned for Salt Lake City, UT was moved to Sunday, June 16.

The change to Backlash was made because WWE did not want to run pay-per-view events two weekends in a row.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Another WWE Superstar Shake Up Roster Move Made Last Night, Updated RAW And SmackDown Rosters

It was announced on last night’s WWE SmackDown Live that Jinder Mahal and The Singh Brothers have also joined SmackDown in the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up.

Here’s a list of the roster additions from the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up:

RAW: AJ Styles, The Miz, Ricochet, Erik and Ivar of The Viking Raiders, Rey Mysterio, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso of The Usos, Naomi, EC3, Lacey Evans, Eric Young, Cedric Alexander, WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe, Cesaro

SmackDown: Roman Reigns, Elias, WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor, Ember Moon, Bayley, Kairi Sane, Buddy Murphy, Lars Sullivan, Liv Morgan, Chad Gable, Apollo Crews, Mickie James, Otis and Tucker of Heavy Machinery, Andrade, Zelina Vega, Aleister Black, Jinder Mahal, Samir Singh and Sunil Singh of The Singh Brothers

Note: Andrade & Zelina Vega was originally moved to RAW but was moved back to SmackDown a week later and Aleister Black was placed on RAW then moved a week later to SmackDown.

Below are the updated RAW and SmackDown rosters coming out of this week’s RAW and SmackDown episodes, according to the official WWE website:

RAW
AJ Styles
Akam
Alexa Bliss
Alicia Fox
Baron Corbin
Becky Lynch – RAW & SmackDown Women’s Champion
Bo Dallas
Bobby Lashley
Robert Roode
Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt
Brie Bella
Brock Lesnar
Cedric Alexander
Cesaro
Curt Hawkins – RAW Tag Team Champion
Dana Brooke
Dash Wilder
Dean Ambrose
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre
EC3
Eric Young
Erik – WWE NXT Tag Team Champion
Fandango
Gran Metalik
Heath Slater
Ivar – WWE NXT Tag Team Champion
Jason Jordan
Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Kalisto
Konnor
Kurt Angle
Lacey Evans
Lince Dorado
Lio Rush
Mojo Rawley
Naomi
Natalya
Nia Jax
Nikki Bella
No Way Jose
Rey Mysterio
Rezar
Rhyno
Ricochet
Ronda Rousey
Ruby Riott
Sami Zayn
Samoa Joe – WWE United States Champion
Sarah Logan
Sasha Banks
Scott Dawson
Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Champion
Tamina Snuka
The Miz
Titus O’Neil
Tyler Breeze
Viktor
Zack Ryder – RAW Tag Team Champion

SmackDown
Aiden English
Aleister Black
Alexander Wolfe
Ali
Andrade
Apollo Crews
Asuka
Bayley
Becky Lynch – RAW & SmackDown Women’s Champion
Big E
Big Show
Billie Kay – WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion
Buddy Murphy
Carmella
Chad Gable
Charlotte Flair
Daniel Bryan
Elias
Ember Moon
Epico Colon
Finn Balor – WWE Intercontinental Champion
Harper
Jeff Hardy – SmackDown Tag Team Champion
Jinder Mahal
Kairi Sane
Kane
Karl Anderson
Kevin Owens
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston – WWE Champion
Lana
Lars Sullivan
Liv Morgan
Luke Gallows
Mandy Rose
Maryse
Matt Hardy – SmackDown Tag Team Champion
Mickie James
Otis
Paige
Peyton Royce – WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion
Primo Colon
R-Truth
Randy Orton
Roman Reigns
Rowan
Rusev
Samir Singh
Sheamus
Shelton Benjamin
Shinsuke Nakamura
Sin Cara
Sonya Deville
Sunil Singh
Tucker
Xavier Woods
Zelina Vega

Note: Nikki Cross still has no brand listed for her.