Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia with more Royal Rumble Fallout as the road to WrestleMania has begun.
* The Road to WrestleMania kicks off for Styles & Nakamura
* Who will be next in line for a United States Championship opportunity?
* What’s next for The Usos?
* How will Ronda Rousey’s arrival affect the women of Team Blue?
Last night on RAW, RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon announced that the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match will take place at the Chamber pay-per-view next month.
The only Chamber participants we know as of now is RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss with her title on the line.
WWE has hired longtime Impact Wrestling employee Jeremy Borash, according to PWInsider. Borash has given his notice to Impact and is done with the company.
Borash was backstage at WWE events in Philadelphia over the weekend but was telling people that he was just visiting friends. Word going around at RAW last night was that Borash has signed but there’s no word yet on what he will be doing with the company.
Borash did voiceover commentary work for upcoming Impact episodes this past Thursday and filmed Impact content at the House of Hardcore event in Philadelphia on Friday, apparently his final duties with Impact.
Borash has been with Impact since 2002, most recently working as the lead announcer. He has also worked as a producer, creative writer and backstage interviewer, among other jobs. Borash was seen as a MVP for the company as he could always be counted on and was described by PWI as the glue that held things together behind-the-scenes at times. Borash leaving is a major loss for the company.
Source: WrestlingINC
Rey Mysterio returned to WWE TV in the men’s Royal Rumble match on Sunday under a one-time deal. It was noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the appearance could definitely end up being more dates but Rey is not going to work a full schedule. WWE and Rey have had on and off talks for the past year but the main issue has been WWE wanting Rey back under a full-time schedule.
The loud pops that Rey received did catch the attention of WWE officials, according to PWInsider. This is also helping the chances of WWE bringing him back for more dates.
WWE and Mysterio both went to great lengths to keep Sunday’s appearance a secret, as WWE did with Ronda Rousey and some of the other special appearances.
Rey remains a free agent as his Lucha Underground deal expired and his recent talks with Impact Wrestling ended without a deal. The talks with Impact, led by Konnan, were so close to coming to a deal that travel arrangements were made. There was talk of Impact getting Rey to debut at the recent TV tapings but officials wanted Rey to debut at their April tapings with the idea of his in-ring debut coming at the April 22nd Redemption pay-per-view.
It will be interesting to see if Rey’s future with WWE or Impact depends on a potential deal for his 21 year old son Dominick, who has appeared on WWE TV a few times over the years, as Rey has been training his son for a pro wrestling run as of late.
Source: WrestlingINC
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia with the fallout from Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view as the road to WrestleMania has begun.
* Will Raw get “Rowdy”?
* Can The Miz carry the Intercontinental Title all the way to WrestleMania?
* How will Seth Rollins respond to last night’s defeat?
* What havoc will Braun Strowman wreak?
WWE has announced that The Dudley Boyz, Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley, will be going into the WWE Hall of Fame.
The Dudleyz join Bill Goldberg as confirmed names for the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame class. The induction ceremony will take place on Friday, April 6th from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 weekend.
Below is WWE’s full announcement on the induction:
The Dudley Boyz to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018The WWE Hall of Fame will need to stock up on tables because The Dudley Boyz are moving in.
As first reported by CBS Sports, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley are the latest inductees in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018. They will be inducted, alongside Goldberg, during the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday, April 6, in New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 Week.
The Dudley Boyz’ journey to the WWE Hall of Fame began in Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1996, when Bubba Ray and D-Von, the sons of the unseen Big Daddy Dudley, were on opposite sides of a family feud among brothers clad in tie-dye and thick-rimmed glasses. Eventually, Bubba Ray and D-Von joined forces and kicked off two decades of tag team dominance.
In ECW, The Dudley Boyz were, perhaps, the promotion’s most reviled villains. Bubba Ray & D-Von could grab the microphone and antagonize audiences to the brink of full-scale riots. Once the bell rang, they were just as dangerous. With a predilection for punishing opponents by slamming them through tables and a devastating double-team maneuver known as the 3D in their arsenal, The Dudleys captured the ECW Tag Team Championship eight times before they left the land of extreme in 1999.
Bubba Ray & D-Von soon arrived in WWE, ditching the tie-dye for camouflage, but keeping the same nasty attitude that brought them success – not to mention a healthy stock of tables to drive their foes through. In WWE rings, The Dudley Boyz found a pair of teams just as willing to push competition to its extreme ends in The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian. The trio of tag teams turned the squared circle into their own demolition derby, using tables, ladders and chairs to punish one another. Their hardcore tendencies converged in the first-ever TLC Match at SummerSlam 2000 and led to a classic sequel on The Grandest Stage of Them All at WrestleMania X-Seven.
By the time they left WWE in 2005, The Dudley Boyz had racked up eight reigns as World Tag Team Champions, one as WWE Tag Team Champions and one as WCW Tag Team Champions.
Ten years later, the 17-time tag team champions returned to WWE to compete with a new generation of Superstars, introducing teams like The New Day and The Usos to their brand of hardcore wrestling … and a few tables. Though they left WWE again in 2016, the WWE Universe never forgot them, as evidenced by the raucous reception they received at Raw 25 when Bubba Ray & D-Von arrived to put Heath Slater through a table with a thunderous 3D.
And now, The Dudley Boyz will take their rightful place in sports-entertainment history on what is sure to be an incredible night.
Tickets for the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, taking place Friday, April 6, during WrestleMania 34 Week in New Orleans, are available now on Ticketmaster.
Ronda Rousey posted a photo of her husband Travis Browne and their two sons from Browne’s previous marriage, Kaleo and Keawe, popping when she made her surprise appearance at last night’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view:
WWE has announced that Jonathan Coachman signed a new deal to return to the company. He will join Michael Cole and Corey Graves as the new RAW announce team beginning tonight in Philadelphia. WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will resume his duties as a panelist on WWE’s pay-per-view Kickoff broadcasts and will continue to make appearances on Raw and beyond as a WWE ambassador.
WWE issued the following on Coach’s return:
Jonathan Coachman signs with WWE, joins Raw announce team tonightLadies and gentlemen, “The Coach” has returned.
Jonathan Coachman, a longtime WWE interviewer and broadcaster and former ESPN personality, has signed with WWE to once again be part of the Raw announce team, WWE.com can confirm.
Coachman’s TV announcing duties will officially begin tonight, when he joins Michael Cole and Corey Graves at the Team Red announce desk.
Meanwhile, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will resume his duties as a panelist on WWE’s pay-per-view Kickoff broadcasts and will continue to make appearances on Raw and beyond as a WWE ambassador.
The Coach began appearing on WWE television as an interviewer in 1999 during The Attitude Era as a frequent foil of The Rock, later expanding his role to include tenures as Raw commentator, Interim Raw General Manager and even as an in-ring competitor on multiple occasions.
Following nearly a decade as an on-air personality at ESPN — which included coverage of WWE with his “Off the Top Rope” segment — Coachman is back to call the action on Monday Night Raw.
Don’t miss The Coach’s return to Raw commentary tonight, beginning live at 8/7 C on USA Network.
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Alicia Fox was unable to wrestle in the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match last night due to a broken tailbone. She has also been taken out of the Mixed Match Challenge and Goldust will find a new partner. Her injury took place during the rehearsals for the match over the weekend.
Source: WrestlingINC
Former UFC champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey made her official debut as part of WWE on Sunday night at the close of the Royal Rumble PPV in Philadelphia.
According to ESPN.com, the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion has agreed to terms on a full-time contract with the WWE going forward.
Rousey provided a quote to ESPN about her WWE debut tonight.
“This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt. When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.’”
WWE had Rousey shake hands with Stephanie McMahon to close the PPV following an in-ring confrontation with Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Asuka (the winner of the first ever women’s Royal Rumble).
ESPN is already featuring an interview with Rousey about her WWE signing.
Source: WrestleView.com
Update:
The Jacket Ronda was wearing belonged to Rowdy Roddy Piper, given to her by his son.
