WWE SmackDown Preview 5/21/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature fallout from the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.

WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show and that’s a Fatal 4 Way with WWE Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews defending against Big E, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

A WWE preview for tonight noted that WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be looking to maintain his status as The Head of The Table following the Backlash win over Cesaro and the issues with The Usos.

The Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro feud should continue on tonight’s show based on how Backlash ended, and an appearance by new SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Mysterios is also likely.

Tonight’s SmackDown should also feature the first blue brand build for Hell In a Cell.

WWE Announces Return To Touring With 25-City Schedule

WWE is officially returning to the road with fans in attendance.

It was announced this morning that a 25-city tour will begin on Friday, July 16 with a live SmackDown at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The Money In the Bank pay-per-view will then take place that Sunday, July 18 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX, and a live RAW will be held on July 19 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.

Tickets for all three of those shows will go on sale this Wednesday, May 26 at 11am ET.

WWE will be announcing the rest of the tour stops and on-sale dates in the coming weeks. It was noted that the 25-city schedule will run through Labor Day, which is Monday, September 6.

These dates will be WWE’s first regular ticketed events since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WrestleMania 37 was held this past April with fans in the crowd.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Velveteen Dream And Several Other NXT Talents Was Released By WWE

NXT star Velveteen Dream has reportedly been released by WWE.

The news was first reported by PWinsider and Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, and later confirmed by other outlets, including Ryan Satin of Fox Sports and Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer.

Several WWE NXT talents were released Wednesday – Jessamyn Duke, Vanessa Borne (Danielle Kamela), Skyler Story (Brandi Lauren Pawalek, Ava Storie), Ezra Judge (Ezekwesiri “EJ” Nduka Jr.), Alexander Wolfe (Axel Tischer), and Kavita Devi (Kavita Dalal). NXT referees Drake Younger (Drake Wuertz) and Jacob Clemons were also released.

Impact Wrestling Preview 5/20/21

Tonight on Impact Wrestling at 8/7c on AXS TV

  • Fallout from Under Siege
  • At last Saturday’s main event, Moose shook the competition by taking his righteous place as the new number one contender to Kenny Omega’s Unified Impact World Championship. With a ferocious former TNA World Heavyweight Champion lingering nearby until Against All Odds on Saturday, June 12, how will Omega manage his new foe?
  • Impact World Tag Team Championship: FinJuice (c) vs. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton
  • Kiera Hogan vs. Tenille Dashwood
  • Rohit Raju vs. Jake Something
  • XXXL vs. Johnny Swinger & Hernandez will kick things off on Before The Impact

FOX Reportedly Pushing For WWE Crowds To Return

FOX officials have reportedly pushed for WWE to return to live crowds.

It was reported today by @Wrestlevotes that FOX has privately pushed for a return to live crowds for WWE over the past few weeks. The network is reportedly actively seeking updates on timeframes and information related to the return to touring for the company.

It was noted that FOX wants their billion dollar investment in WWE to be on the same playing field as the MLB, the NBA and other sports leagues.

There is talk that WWE is headed on the road for at least one weekend in mid-July with fans in attendance at events. The report indicated that the Friday, July 16 would be a live SmackDown with fans, while Saturday would be some sort of live event, and then the WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view would be held on Sunday, July 18, with a live RAW being held on Monday, July 19. There’s no word on if this would be a test weekend for the full-time return to touring, but that has also been rumored.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Moving To TBS Next Year, New AEW Rampage TV Show To Premiere Soon

AEW President, CEO, General Manager & Head Of Creative Tony Khan appeared on Busted Open Radio and announced a new agreement with WarnerMedia.

The new agreement will see AEW Dynamite move to TBS in 2022.

It was also revealed that a new TV show, called AEW Rampage, will premiere on Friday nights at 10pm ET. The one-hour TNT show will premiere on Friday, August 13.

Rampage will move to TBS with Dynamite in 2022.

Khan also revealed that AEW will begin airing quarterly TV specials on TNT in 2022.

Khan noted that AEW has renegotiated their contract with TNT and TBS. More details will be announced soon as the WarnerMedia Upfronts are being held today, which explains the timing of Khan’s announcement. The 2019 Upfronts are when WarnerMedia presented AEW for the launch of Dynamite.

On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer answered questions from fans regarding the deal. About the four supercard specials that will be airing TNT, it is similar to WCW’s “Clash of the Champions” specials, however that is trademarked by WWE. AEW will have to use a different name similar to AEW using “Beach Break” instead of “Bash at the Beach.”

Rampage is scheduled to air on Friday nights at 10 p.m. ET on TNT, which will be after SmackDown has ended. Meltzer noted that the show is expected to be aired live at times, especially on a week before a PPV. While everything is up in the air right now, the expectation is that Rampage, on most nights, will tape on Wednesday.

Rampage and Dynamite will both move to TBS in January.

It has been reported that this new deal between Warner Media and AEW has presented a “financial upside” for AEW. Some fans have questioned if AEW’s use of blood and profanity will change when they move to TBS with that station being more sitcom heavy. However, it was noted there will not be a change, and they’ll be under the same standards of practice.

Many fans have pointed out that the TNT Title might have to change its name due to changing stations. However, Meltzer said that the plan right now is to keep the title as is.

AEW is seeing an increase in revenue with this expanded TV deal. This has fans speculating on if this allows AEW to have the financial means to sign big free agents like Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan. Meltzer dismissed the likelihood of Lesnar signing with AEW. As for Bryan, he said that AEW’s added finances most likely won’t make a huge difference. Bryan is a free agent after his contract reportedly expired, but it is unknown what his next move will be.

In terms of financials, it was originally reported that AEW is making an “eight-figure payday”. Meltzer confirmed that AEW is making over $10 million with this expanded TV deal.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Says Austin Gunn Out 8-10 Weeks Due To Injury

AEW has announced that Austin Gunn, who faced Anthony Ogogo on this week’s AEW Dynamite, sustained injuries during the match and will be out of action for 8-10 weeks.

A few hours after Dynamite went off the air, AEW tweeted:

The one-sided contest saw Ogogo striking his opponent several times in the gut, which led to Gunn bleeding from his mouth. When the referee tried to stop the match initially, Gunn stopped him and went for a single leg takedown but to no avail. Ogogo eventually hit Gunn with a pop-up punch to the face, and the referee called off the match.

This was only Ogogo’s second televised match in AEW. His last match was against Cole Karter on the Apr. 14 episode of Dynamite. The English boxer-turned-wrestler will face Cody Rhodes at Double or Nothing on May 30.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 5/19/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. On tonight’s show, the entire Double or Nothing (May 30) PPV card will be revealed.

* The Inner Circle will respond to The Pinnacle’s Stadium Stampede challenge

* The full Double Or Nothing card will be revealed

* New TNT Champion Miro will speak

* Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston vs. The Acclaimed

* Christian Cage vs. Matt Sydal

* Anthony Ogogo vs. Austin Gunn

* NWA World Women’s Champion Serena Deeb defends against Red Velvet

* AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defend against The Varsity Blonds

* AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Rebel in a Women’s World Title Eliminator

Kenny Omega And Andrade’s Mega Title Match Confirmed For Triplemania XXIX

AAA has confirmed Kenny Omega will defend the Mega Championship against Andrade at Triplemania XXIX.

Kenny Omega has had time to think about it and decided he would like to defend the Mega Championship against Andrade at Triplemania. Omega will return to the Mexican promotion to defend its richest prize this summer at Triplemania XXIX. The promotion also confirmed its biggest event of the year will take place on August 14, 2021, with a limited number of fans in attendance.

Andrade made a surprise appearance in AAA via a video package earlier this month, at which point he challenged Omega to a title match. Omega responded, telling Andrade he was very busy and would have to get back to him.  The Mega Champion found some time in his busy schedule to properly reply to Andrade’s challenge, accepting the match and telling the former WWE Superstar he should be thankful Omega is flying the flag for lucha libre.

In defense of Omega, he is a pretty busy guy right now. Being the World Champion for three different promotions comes with a pretty packed schedule. Following the announcement of his match at Triplemania, Omega now knows when he will have to defend each of those titles next. The Mega Title at Triplemania, the Impact Championship at Against All Odds, and his AEW Title later this month at Double or Nothing.

The women’s divisions in Impact and AAA are also set to merge at Triplemaina. Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend her title against AAA Women’s Champion Faby Apache. As was the case when Omega faced Rich Swann earlier this year, the winner of this match will leave Triplemania with both titles. Wrestling’s forbidden door has truly never been more open.

Andrade fans won’t have to wait until Triplemania to see the lucha star back in action. The former NXT Champion currently has a match booked in June, and will also face Alberto Del Rio in July. As for where Andrade will land on a more permanent basis, he has teased a number of landing spots. The most recent reports suggest AEW will be his promotion of choice. Perhaps he will show up on Dynamite to confront Omega.

Source: The Sportster

WWE NXT Preview 5/18/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature build for the upcoming “Takeover: In Your House” event, and will be headlined by a Steel Cage match.

* Prime Target preview for Finn Balor vs. NXT Champion Karrion Kross

* Arash Markazi interviews Pete Dunne

* Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark

* WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase appears live to continue storyline with Cameron Grimes

* NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano defends against Bronson Reed in a Steel Cage match