WWE Reportedly Close To Bringing 3 Major PLE’s To Indianapolis

F4WOnline and Fightful are reporting, per WrestleVotes that WWE is said to be close to announcing a multi-year deal that would bring three of its signature events to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

It is being said that WWE and the Indiana Sports Corp are close to an agreement that would bring a future WrestleMania, a future SummerSlam, and the 2025 Royal Rumble to Indiana as part of the multi-year agreement.

Indianapolis last hosted WrestleMania 8 back in 1992, and then hosted SummerSlam in 2008. Indiana has never hosted the Royal Rumble.

Lucas Oil Stadium is home to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts since 2008. The venue has also hosted the NCAA Final Four back in 2021, Super Bowl XLVI, and the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship game.

https://twitter.com/WrestleVotes/status/1803893646757876222

Source: WrestleView

UPDATE

The Indianapolis Business Journal has provided some additional details on this prospective deal between WWE and Indiana Sports Corp., with the first being that it is likely to span at least seven years. Furthermore, this agreement would include several more events in addition to the aforementioned Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, and SummerSlam. Possible supplemental shows, such as “WWE SmackDown,” “WWE Raw,” non-televised live events, and smaller premium live events, would be held at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which is situated a six-minute car ride away from Lucas Oil Stadium.

IBJ also notes that the WWE- Indiana Sports Corp. welcomes the possibility for WWE to present shows in other nearby Indiana markets, such as Evansville and Fort Wayne. An official announcement on the deal is expected to take stage on next week’s episode of “Raw,” which emanates from Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Next week’s “Raw” is also slated to feature more Money in the Bank qualifying matches.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 6/21/2024

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown live on FOX from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.

  • An appearance by CM Punk
  • Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Randy Orton vs. Tama Tonga vs. Carmelo Hayes
  • Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Kevin Owens vs. Andrade vs. Grayson Waller
  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will respond to The Bloodline’s attack
  • LA Knight to confront Logan Paul
  • Will there be an appearance from the Wyatt Sick6

Video: Lights Go Out On Set Of The Pat McAfee Show, Seemingly At Hands Of Wyatt Sicks

The Wyatt Sicks made their chilling debut on this week’s episode of “WWE Raw” by laying out a path littered with incapacitated WWE officials and talents. Fresh off their introductory appearance, the quintet of Uncle Howdy, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, and Erick Rowan now seems to be targeting “Raw” color commentator Pat McAfee.

On Thursday, “The Pat McAfee Show” welcomed on former U.S. Navy SEAL and New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr as a special guest. Amidst the conversation, McAfee, Carr, and show staff turned their attention to some obscure, offstage phenomena, to which McAfee uttered, “What the f*** is that?” Upon Carr’s subsequent mention of security, all the lights switched off, causing the studio to be engulfed in complete darkness. Seconds later, the broadcast came to an abrupt end. While it’s unclear if the Wyatt Sicks are the forces behind the “The Pat McAfee Show” power outage, McAfee has been notably absent from social media since then.

The Wyatt Sicks’ arrival comes on the heels of a two-month long series of mysterious clues and QR codes teasing the introduction of a new “family” in WWE. Four of the five reported members were broken away from their previous “families” in storyline, while Uncle Howdy, portrayed by Bo Dallas, is the real-life brother of the late Bray Wyatt, whom the Wyatt Sicks are paying homage to. Looking ahead, the faction is expected to have a “widespread” effect on WWE programming, with a number of storylines reportedly set to be impacted. Based on the aforementioned events, it seems that Pat McAfee may have been one of the first figures, aside from a bloodied Chad Gable, to find themselves caught in the crossfire.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Injured WWE Star Charlotte Flair Provides Promising Update On Her Recovery

Charlotte Flair’s ACL, MCL, and meniscus injury wasn’t going to heal overnight, but after a series of optimistic reports from close confidantes and Flair herself, WWE fans have been waiting in cautious anticipation for the return of “The Queen.” Flair recently gave fans some more reason to hope for an imminent return, as she took to Instagram to post an injury update.

The video features Flair in a Biodex testing machine, furiously kicking her injured leg. “The Queen”‘s face is red, and her knuckles are white as she grips the seat’s handles to stabilize herself as she pushes herself to the limit.

Today marked Flair’s first Biodex test, specifically an isokinetic test. Isokinetic tests are considered one of the most objective ways to determine a moving muscle’s endurance, strength, and rate of force development, or how fast Flair can develop force in her surgical leg. According to Flair, she needed to be “in the 40% or less deficit” compared to her non-injured leg. Essentially, her injured leg’s strength needed to be no more than 40% less powerful than her non-injured leg in order to be considered on track for recovery. Flair excitedly shared that the deficit in her quad strength was “20% or less,” and that in some measurements, her injured leg was actually stronger than her non-injured leg. These hopeful statistics imply that her recovery is well ahead of schedule, and is going smoothly.

Flair ended the post by expressing an excitement to resume in-ring activity. Several WWE stars extended their good wishes to Flair, with Carmella posting several applause emojis and Dakota Kai expressing her support with some choice muscle emojis.

As of writing, Flair has been out of action for six months. “The Queen” could resume in-ring action in September 2024, at the absolute earliest. There have been no reported plans regarding Flair’s return from a creative standpoint at this time.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Report On WWE’s Plans For NXT Debut On The CW

Late last year, WWE announced that their development show, “WWE NXT,” would be making the jump from USA Network to The CW Network. As the date of transfer looms over the heads of WWE’s newest stars, PWInsider Elite has offered more information regarding the nature and magnitude of this broadcast home transfer.

Starting October 1 at 8pm Eastern, fans can expect to tune into an episode of “NXT” filmed not within the walls of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, but “on the road in a major arena.” “NXT’s” debut episode on The CW is expected to be a high-profile event, with one internal source comparing it to the hallowed “NXT” Takeovers of the past in terms of significance to the overall brand. The reported spectacle comes from WWE’s desire to impress The CW as the two companies begin working together.

There are several locations being discussed for the location of “NXT’s” new network debut. As of writing, the most significant argument has been made for a Chicago-based show, as the Windy City is home to one of the Nexstar Media Group’s headquarters — Nexstar Media Group is The CW’s current owner, and the group that verified the “NXT” deal. However, it should be noted that the location for the October 1 episode of “NXT” is still in discussion, and may change in the coming months. There is also no announced special theme or premium live event planned in October for the developmental brand as of writing.

The shift in “NXT”‘s broadcasting home comes from an earlier deal to move “WWE SmackDown” off of Fox and onto USA Network. Despite gaining the rights to WWE’s Friday-based show, USA Network and parent company NBCU failed to outbid Netflix, who is slated to assume the broadcasting rights for “WWE Raw,” and The CW.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

TNA Impact Preview 6/20/2024

TNA Impact tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and TNA+. 

  • Fallout from Against All Odds
  • The System (Moose Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, and Alisha Edwards) will kick off the show
  • Chicago Street Fight: Frankie Kazarian vs. Ace Steel
  • Spitfire (Jody Threat & Dani Luna) vs. The Hex (Marti Belle & Allysin Kay)
  • PCO and Steph De Lander go on a date

ROH TV Preview 6/20/2024

ROH will air a new episode of its weekly television show tonight at 7 pm ET on HonorClub. 

You can sign up for the streaming service here. Below is the lineup for the show: 

  • ROH Tag Team Championships: The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) (c) vs. Angelo Parker & Matt Menard
  • ROH World Television Championship – Best Two Out Of Three Falls: Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Lee Johnson
  • Aaron Solo vs. Titan
  • Diamante vs. Leyla Hirsch
  • Anthony Henry, Cole Karter & Griff Garrison vs. Serpentico & The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean)
  • Iron Savages (Boulder, Bronson, Jacked Jameson) in action
  • Jacoby Watts vs. Brandon Cutler
  • Lance Archer in action
  • Marina Shafir in action
  • Billie Starkz and Athena to speak

Matt Hardy Hopes To Return to WWE, Says Jeff Hardy Wants To Prove He’s Changed

In an interview with Busted Open Radio (via Fightful), Matt Hardy spoke about he and his brother Jeff winding down their careers and noted that he hopes they end up back in WWE. Here are highlights:

On how he wants their careers to end: “I would like to do TNA and have a hell of a run there, and then I almost feel like now, just the destiny has revealed itself in many ways, I almost feel Jeff and I, we end up returning to WWE, do something small and then go onto the Hall of Fame. That’s a best case scenario.”

On Jeff Hardy wanting to prove himself: “That’s a great question. I think Jeff really wanted to come back to TNA to continue to build equity, and he knows that TNA and WWE are working together. I have friends in the WWE, I have spoken with people in WWE. So I think Jeff just wants to once again just show people how he is a different human being. The way to put equity into that is to go to TNA, have a kickass run, and show people he’s on his best behavior.”

Source: 411Mania

AEW Dynamite Preview 6/19/2024

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite live on TBS from the EagleBank Arena on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

  • MJF vs. RUSH to kick off tonight’s show – commercial-free!
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Match: The Young Bucks vs. The Acclaimed
  • AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. TBA

    All-Star Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Orange Cassidy, Dante Martin, Kyle O’Reilly and Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong, Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita and Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa sign the contract for the AEW Women’s World Championship Match at Forbidden Door.
  • AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay have a face to face
  • The Men’s and Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament brackets will be revealed
  • Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament Quarterfinals: Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander
  • Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament Quarterfinals: Claudio Castagnoli vs. PAC

TNA’s Frankie Kazarian & Joe Hendry Appear In Battle Royal On WWE NXT

Say his name and he appears – TNA Wrestling’s Joe Hendry appeared on this week’s episode of WWE NXT.

On this week’s edition of WWE NXT, a 25-man battle royal to determine Trick Williams’ challenger for the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave took place in the opening match.

Both Joe Hendry and Frankie Kazarian from TNA Wrestling competed in the battle royal. Hendry wound up being quickly eliminated by Kazarian, which the crowd at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL wasn’t happy with.

WWE main roster stars Dragon Lee, Angel, Berto, Apollo Crews, and Tyler Bate all participated in the match.

Kazarian wound up making it to the final four, with Je’Von Evans taking out Shawn Spears to win the match. We’ll now see Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams taking place at WWE NXT Heatwave.

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