Tonight’s WWE Raw comes to us live on the USA Network from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Chad Gable has been a central topic of conversation, not only on WWE television but also behind the scenes, where the off-screen drama surrounding Gable’s contract with WWE has begun to overshadow his rise to mid-card title contention on screen.
According to Fightful Select, Gable’s contract was said to expire this past Friday, June 7, but the former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion was announced for a match at the upcoming Clash at the Castle event in Scotland. While that would lead many to assume he’d re-signed with the company, there has been no confirmation of Gable putting pen to paper. There have been reports of wrestlers working on per-appearance deals with WWE during the immense contract turnaround currently taking place, though there is no word on whether Gable is one of those rumored to be per-appearance. There are sources within both AEW and WWE who are already under the assumption Gable has re-signed with the company.
According to PWInsider Elite, Gable and WWE are close to terms at the very least and Gable will remain with WWE for the foreseeable future. Like Fightful, there is no confirmation one way or the other, but sources indicate both Gable and WWE are carrying on as if his retention is a done deal.
Gable has become a prominent figure on WWE programming, as he heads into WWE Clash At The Castle: Scotland, where he will face WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn, with whom Gable has been feuding since just after WrestleMania in April. Gable’s contract is just one of many that are up for expiration, including former WWE Women’s World Champion Becky Lynch, as well as former WWE Speed Champion Ricochet, who is reportedly set to be written off WWE television on “WWE Raw.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Bo Dallas’ new stable themed around the late Bray Wyatt, as well as his own Uncle Howdy character, seemingly has a confirmed arrival date to WWE, with a new QR code seen on “WWE Raw.” On Monday, during Rey Mysterio’s entrance, an image popped up on the broadcast, complete with the code for fans to scan to find more clues about the mysterious faction. When scanned, it leads to a countdown, which ends next Monday during the broadcast.
“Your patience will be rewarded,” the staticky onscreen image during the broadcast read, before flashing again to read, “Your impatience will be punished.” The image then flashes to the code, then very quickly shows what appears to be a figure, assumably Uncle Howdy. When the code is scanned, the phrases “You refused salvation” and “The reckoning is inevitable” surround the real-time countdown.
The biggest clues surrounding the stable came from a Twitch stream almost three weeks ago. Those clues seemed to potentially spell out the exact date of the faction’s debut, which fans also determined to be next Monday, as well as who would be involved. Letters written to various “family members” seen on the stream seemed to include the recently re-hired Erick Rowan of the original Wyatt Family, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, and former Schism leader Joe Gacy. Alexa Bliss’ involvement with the stable has not been confirmed, though some eagle-eyed fans thought they spotted her backstage during a recent “Raw.”
The most recent code on Friday’s episode of “WWE SmackDown” led to a letter thanking fans, telling them, “this is all because of you.” Last Monday, a code featured Firefly Funhouse puppets when scanned, as well as poetry and images from a journal that seemingly belong to Uncle Howdy. After months of fans scanning codes and deciphering clues to be shared and speculated about online, it seems like the fun and games could be coming to an end after WWE’s Clash at the Castle premium live event. Or, knowing Wyatt and Uncle Howdy, this could be just the beginning.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE RAW will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.
Chad Gable’s WWE contract expired today. He’s expected to get interest from many different promotions. WWE is interested in re-signing him.
It is said that there will be a strong push from talent in various outside companies to vouch for him to be signed. He has been heavily featured on TV as of late as the leader of Alpha Academy as he undergoes a heel turn.
Dave Meltzer reported the following in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
“Both AEW and WWE have interest in Gable. The only thing we’ve heard is that WWE has made an excellent offer to keep him. AEW is not allowed legally to make an offer until his WWE deal expires. He does have key people in AEW pushing him to Tony Khan. Gable would have to allow his contract to expire to get an offer. He’s also in the middle of the best singles push of his career right now.”
Once again, an episode of WWE programming was interrupted by a QR code from Uncle Howdy, and this time, it promises to do so yet again later tonight. The familiar glitch flickered during the Sheamus/Ludwig Kaiser match, sending followers to a landing page at wwe.com/fleshofunifyeur (with that slug an anagram for “Firefly Fun House”), and all sorts of links, hidden or otherwise, to more and more mysterious content.
Of the straightforward links, the last one may prove most fruitful in the short term, with a link entitled, “interupption.jpg” showing a scrambled photo of “Raw Talk” hosts Sam Roberts and Megan Morant alone with the text “see you tonight.” Others include a video titled “Preparing for a Massacre” filled with instructions and ending with the familiar image of a veiled figure, a link to the “hacked” version of wwe.com with the “71enuj” slug in its URL hinting at a June 17 debut, poetry and images from a journal presumed to be Uncle Howdy’s, a rehash of one of the other landing pages from a previous episode, and a wav file that, when played backwards, says, “Cave will be no more. The end of all things. A massacre is coming. Run and hide. Run and hide. Run and hide.”
Some of the more obscure material included an “ad blocked” icon in the top right corner that, when clicked, brings up a gif advertisement for Ramblin’ Rabbit Bohemian Breakfast Spread, with “Yowie Wowie” positioned as a tag line along with “Available at finer retailers near you!” Additionally, there is hidden text at the bottom of the page, “vXT3gPef8zo,” which, when Googled, leads to a results page led by this YouTube clip of a “Gyre & Gimble Masterclass” episode called “Bringing a Puppet To Life.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE RAW will air live tonight on the USA Network from the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Once again, Becky Lynch has become the talk of the wrestling world, and not just because she lost the WWE Women’s World Championship to Liv Morgan this past weekend at WWE King & Queen of the Ring. Instead, it’s because Lynch may be set to his the free agent market for the first time in years, as her contract with WWE is set to expire this weekend, with no new deal signed between her and WWE at this time.
At the moment, it appears WWE is preparing to be without Lynch for some time. PWInsider reports that Lynch is currently not slated to appear on any WWE events in the near future. This includes an upcoming live event Saturday in White Plains, New York, with those in WWE believing Lynch will not be part of the show, despite still be advertised for it.
This should not be taken as a sign that Lynch is out the door, however, as her and WWE are still said to be discussing a new contract that would keep the former eight time WWE Women’s Champion in the fold. The belief within WWE is that Lynch, who is believed to be seeking one of, if not the, largest contracts for a women’s wrestler in history, will ultimately remain with the promotion, and that she isn’t looking to go elsewhere.
If last night was Lynch’s last appearance on WWE TV for the next little while, it wasn’t the most pleasant of nights, as she was defeated by Morgan again in a rematch for the Women’s World Championship, held inside a steel cage. Fan footage from after “Raw” showed Lynch in an emotional state, adding to the speculation regarding her future.
Taking to X a half an hour after “Raw” went off the air, a fan posted video of Lynch sitting in the ring for nearly two minutes, trying to contain her emotions. She would finally get to her feet and quietly acknowledge the crowd with a wave before exiting the ring, stopping quickly to interact with a fan at ringside.
The video will surely get fans speculating on whether the former eight time WWE Women’s Champion was legitimately getting emotional about this potentially being her last match in WWE, or if she was selling the disappointment of a second straight defeat against Morgan.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE RAW tonight live on USA Network from the EnMarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia.
WWE might have lost Rhea Ripley to the injury bug, but reinforcements for the women’s division arrived on “WWE Raw.” Rumors from Pro Wrestling Insider on Monday alluded to former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sonya Deville being backstage. The rumors turned out to be true during Monday’s episode, and Deville was seen backstage propositioning Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, introducing herself to the latter, with Baszler saying she wasn’t interested in what Deville had to say.
Deville tore her ACL in July 2023, in the midst of her tag title reign alongside Chelsea Green — she was replaced in the team by Piper Niven, who claimed one half of the championship without actually having won it. A late May/early June return would be about in line for the recovery time for an ACL tear. Deville has been a contracted WWE talent since 2015, but has never won a singles title in the promotion. Her former partner, Green, along with Niven, were recently drafted to “WWE SmackDown.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
