Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature the final build before next Friday’s special WrestleMania 37 go-home edition of the show.
NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/4/21
DATE: April 4, 2021 4:00 am
LOCATION: Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan
AVAILABLE ON:NJPW World
CARD
IWGP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Will Ospreay
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. SHO and YOH
DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr., and Taichi vs. Jado, Tango Loa, and Tama Tonga
YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, and Kazuchika Okada vs. Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori, Yurijo Takahashi, KENTA, and EVIL
Shingo Takagi, SANADA, and Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, and a mystery partner
Satoshi Kojima and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale and Jay White
AEW Star Chris Jericho Announced For Steve Austin’s Next Peacock And WWE Network Interview
AEW star Chris Jericho has been announced for an upcoming episode of Broken Skull Sessions with WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin on Peacock and the WWE Network.
WWE announced today that the interview will premiere on Sunday, April 11, which is Day Two of WrestleMania 37.
As seen in the promo video below, this is why WWE tweeted the teaser with Austin’s logo and Jericho’s theme on April Fools’ Day. The interview is real.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal Moved To SmackDown, Participants Announced
Next Friday’s WWE SmackDown on FOX, the go-home show for WrestleMania 37, will be a special WrestleMania edition of the show.
Adam Pearce has announced that next Friday’s SmackDown, taped this week, will feature the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and a Fatal 4 Way for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles currently held by Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler.
WWE has confirmed that this year’s Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal will take place on the SmackDown before WrestleMania 37.
The company announced the change on social media on Thursday. They also revealed which Superstars will be competing in the match.
WWE.com announced the following ATGMBR participants:
- Akira Tozawa
- Angel Garza
- Cedric Alexander
- Drew Gulak
- Elias
- Erik
- Gran Metalik
- Humberto Carrillo
- Jaxson Ryker
- Jey Uso
- Kalisto
- King Baron Corbin
- Lince Dorado
- Mace, Murphy
- Mustafa Ali
- Ricochet
- Shelton Benjamin
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Slapjack
- T-BAR
- Tucker
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was no Andre Battle Royal last year. The last one took place at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 and was won by Braun Strowman.
The very first ATGMBR took place at WrestleMania 30, and was won by Cesaro. Big Show won in 2015, King Corbin in 2016, Mojo Rawley in 2017, and Matt Hardy in 2018.
It looks like there will not be a WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal this year. That match was also not held in 2020 due to the pandemic. The inaugural winner was Naomi at WrestleMania 34 in 2018. Carmella won in 2019.
8-Year-Old Boy Says John Cena Helped Him Save His Sister’s Life
WWE legend John Cena might have unknowingly helped an eight-year-old boy save his sister’s life.
According to WNEP, Jaxson Dempsey used a technique he saw demonstrated by Cena on an episode of Nickelodeon’s The Substitute to help his sister from choking.
While speaking to Amanda Eustice, Dempsey recounted the incident from last week when his sister started choking from a chicken nugget.
“We were driving to my haircut, and I noticed she was starting to choke from a chicken nugget from McDonald’s,” he said. “I told my dad to pull over. Then I was starting to pat her back, and it got out.”
Jaxson said he learned how to perform CPR from watching Cena’s TV show.
“It’s called The Substitute on Nickelodeon, and in the very first episode, John Cena was on it, and in the last part, he showed how to save someone when they’re choking,” added Jaxson.
Matt Dempsey, the father of Jaxson, said he was thankful for his son’s quick thinking.
“If I was by myself and Jaxson wasn’t with me, and I stopped and gave her a chicken nugget, I couldn’t hear her because she was choking. She wasn’t coughing; she wasn’t panicking. She just had no air going through; she wasn’t breathing,” Dempsey said. ” Thank God Jaxson was there because, without him, I don’t know if Lelia would be here.”
Cena, a 16-time World Champion, has been lauded by mainstream media for his work with Make-A-Wish. He holds the record for the most wishes granted by a single individual, at over 650 wishes.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE NXT “Takeover: Stand And Deliver” Night One To Also Air On Peacock And WWE Network
WWE NXT “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” Night One and Night Two will both air on Peacock and the WWE Network.
Night One was originally announced to air exclusively on the USA Network next Wednesday at 8pm ET, making it the final Wednesday night show for the brand before it moves to Tuesdays beginning April 13. However, WWE has announced that Takeover Night One will also air on Peacock and the WWE Network while it’s airing on USA.
Night Two will still air exclusively on Peacock and the WWE Network. It was previously indicated that Night One will be available for on-demand viewing on the WWE Network the following day, while Night Two would be available for replays immediately after it airs.
Takeover is scheduled to begin at 8pm ET on both nights, but there is a two-night Kickoff pre-show. That is scheduled to begin at 7pm ET.
Stay tuned for more on the NXT “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” event, which will air from the Capitol Wrestling Center at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL. Below is the current card:
NIGHT ONE – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 ON THE USA NETWORK:
NXT Women’s Title Match
Raquel Gonzalez vs. Io Shirai (c)
Triple Threat for the Vacant NXT Tag Team Titles
MSK vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado del Fantasma
NXT UK Title Match
Tommaso Ciampa vs. WALTER (c)
Gauntlet Eliminator for a NXT North American Title Shot
Leon Ruff (first participant) vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (second participant) vs. Bronson Reed (third participant) vs. Cameron Grimes (fourth participant) vs. Dexter Lumis (fifth participant) vs. LA Knight (final participant)
Winner challenges NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano on Night Two.
Pete Dunne vs. Kushida
NIGHT TWO – THURSDAY, APRIL 8 ON THE WWE NETWORK:
NXT Title Match
Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor (c)
Ladder Match for Cruiserweight Title Unification
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin vs. NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar
NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles Match
The Way vs. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart (c)
NXT North American Title Match
Gauntlet Eliminator winner vs. Johnny Gargano (c)
Unsanctioned Match: No Rules, No Liability
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Taya Valkyrie Getting New Ring Name And Bringing Her Dog To WWE NXT Next Month?
It looks like Taya Valkyrie is set to make her WWE NXT debut on the first episode after next week’s two-night “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” event.
Last night’s Takeover go-home edition of NXT on the USA Network featured a series of vignettes where a Pomeranian dog was seen running through the Capitol Wrestling Center at the WWE Performance Center. The dog finally ran up to a woman in boots. The only part of the woman shown was her boots, but it said she would be coming on April 13, which is the first NXT episode to air in the new Tuesday night timeslot on the WWE Network. The final part of the vignette featured writing on the screen that said “Franky” will see us soon.
Earlier this month WWE filed to trademark the “Franky Monet” name for general pro wrestling and sports entertainment use. It looks like this will be the name of the “Franky” teased in tonight’s promo.
Fans online noticed that the dog used in the vignette is Presley, one of the pets owned by Valkyrie and her husband, WWE RAW Superstar John Morrison. They have an Instagram account for both of their dogs, Presley and Bowie, at @the_pee_boyz. Taya has carried Presley at various wrestling shows in the past, including for a few Impact Wrestling appearances.
There is some online speculation that Valkyrie will use another name, and that the dog will go by the “Franky” name but that has not been confirmed, and it’s more likely that Valkyrie’s new ring name in NXT will be Franky Monet.
As seen below, WWE tweeted a screenshot from the April 13 teaser and indicated that Franky could be the name of the dog. They wrote, “How are we gonna wait that long? Franky stole our heart. [dog emoji][growing heart emoji] #WWENXT”
Valkyrie has re-tweeted several of the dog tweets from tonight’s show, and she also re-tweeted a USA Network tweet that teased her as the new character.
“If that’s who we think it is… @WWENXT is gonna be loca in April 13th. #WWENXT,” USA tweeted.
Valkyrie is a former Impact Knockouts Champion and a former three-time AAA Reina de Reinas Champion. She debuted for Impact in September 2017 and left in January of this year, leaving the company as the longest-reigning Knockouts Champion in history. Valkyrie signed with WWE in mid-February and reported to the WWE Performance Center to begin training in late February.
There is no word yet on what WWE has planned for Valkyrie, Below are shots from the related vignettes on tonight’s show, along with recent photos of Taya and Presley:
Kris Statlander And Trent Return From Injury On AEW Dynamite
Kris Statlander and Trent returned from injury on tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
The main event of tonight’s show was an Arcade Anarchy Match featuring Miro and Kip Sabian vs. Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor. Part-way through the match, Penelope Ford got involved, but was quickly put down when Kris Statlander popped out of an arcade machine and attacked her.
Statlander has been out of action since last June with an ACL tear.
Near the end of the match, a familiar van approached Daily’s Place with Trent jumping out of it. After getting a kiss from his mom, Sue, Trent joined the fight and went right at Miro — the man who put him on the shelf. Trent has been away since December due to a partially torn pec.
Taylor powerslammed Sabian off the stage and through some tables to pick up the pinfall victory for his team.
After the match. Cassidy, Taylor, Trent and Statlander came together for a big hug.
MLW ‘Never Say Never’ Preview 3/31/21
MLW presents Never Say Never TONIGHT at 7pm ET featuring a World Heavyweight Championship bout on Youtube and other platforms. (Learn more about where to watch.)
- World Heavyweight Championship: Jacob Fatu (champion) vs. Calvin Tankman (challenger)
- Myron Reed vs. Daivari
- Grudge Match: Simon Gotch vs. Jordan Oliver
The rampaging rookie Calvin Tankman challenges the 2-year reign of World Heavyweight Champion Jacob at Never Say Never, presented by newlawoffice.com.
Since his debut Calvin Tankman has crushed the competition en route to an impressive undefeated streak in the league. Now, the ground will shake as Tankman looks to make history and topple CONTRA’s kingpin Jacob Fatu.
What happens when the unstoppable momentum of “The Heavyweight Hustle” meets the unmatched force of the “Samoan Smashing Machine”, with the World Heavyweight title on the line? Tune in and find out!
The war between CONTRA and Injustice reaches its final battle as “The Young GOAT” Myron Reed steps into the ring with CONTRA’s Iranian super soldier Daivari.
Daivari staked his claim as a dangerous force in the Middleweight division when he blindsided Reed at Kings Of Colosseum. Now, revenge lingers in the air as Reed finally gets his chance to step up and face off with CONTRA’s top ranked Middleweight.
The National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone has requested interview time ahead of his gigantic title fight against Azteca Underground’s monster Mil Muertes!
Jordan Oliver gets one more shot at CONTRA’s elite ring general Simon Gotch and it is a GRUDGE MATCH! Can Injustice’s young heavyweight make the most of this opportunity at redemption and walk back the challenge from CONTRA’s devious grappler?
Former “Dynastic Bros” turned rivals Richard Holliday and Gino Medina go head-to-head in an exclusive interview with Alicia Atout!
Join Ray Flores, fight analyst St. Laurent and backstage correspondent Alicia Atout for a night of top ranked fights headlined by top ranked, undefeated Calvin Tankman challenging Jacob Fatu for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Fans can also watch nationwide on cable and dish via beIN SPORTS on Saturday nights at 10pm ET and on demand anytime, anywhere on DAZN. MLW airs on Fubo Sports Network and the Roku Channel on Friday nights 7pm / 10pm ET. Learn more about where to watch.
AEW Dynamite Preview 3/31/21
Tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode airs on TNT at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
* Jon Moxley vs. Cezar Bononi
* Christian Cage makes his AEW in-ring debut vs. Frankie Kazarian
* Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall in an Exhibition Match (Arn Anderson is guest referee)
* AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida and Tay Conti vs. Nyla Rose and The Bunny
* Miro and Kip Sabian vs. Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy in the Arcade Anarchy match
* MJF’s gift to The Pinnacle
