WWE NXT Preview 11/4/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature fallout from last week’s Halloween Havoc episode.

There will be an appearance by new NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano tonight, following last week’s win over Damian Priest. Pat McAfee and NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch will also appear to continue their feud with The Undisputed Era.

MLW Officially Announces Lio Rush’s Debut For The Restart

Major League Wrestling has officially announced Lio Rush for The Restart.

It was announced today that the former WWE Superstar, billed as a Middleweight and Influencer, will make his MLW debut for “#TheRestart” on Wednesday, November 18.

MLW CEO Court Bauer called Rush the top free agent in pro wrestling right now.

“It’s not very often someone as special as Lio Rush ends up on the open market,” said Bauer in a press release sent to us today. “Lio is hands down the top top free agent in the sport and I look forward to some of the dream matches on the horizon for fans… and for the record, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Wale the assist on this. He had a lot to do with facilitating this relationship and we’re all grateful for it.”

MLW previously announced ACH, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Laredo Kid for the Restart

Below is the full announcement from MLW on Lio Rush:

Lio Rush is coming to MLW for The Restart

•Stream on fubo Sports Network & YouTube – Wednesdays 7pm

•Watch nationwide on cable & satellite on beIN Sports – Saturdays 10pm

NEW YORK – Major League Wrestling today announced the arrival of Lio Rush when MLW restarts on November 18th with the return of the league’s flagship series FUSION.

“It’s not very often someone as special as Lio Rush ends up on the open market,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. “Lio is hands down the top top free agent in the sport and I look forward to some of the dream matches on the horizon for fans… and for the record, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Wale the assist on this. He had a lot to do with facilitating this relationship and we’re all grateful for it.

Fighting athlete. Musician. Artist. Influencer. Lio Rush is a new wave renaissance man. A force unlike any other in the sport, Rush is a human GIF generator, awing fans and overwhelming opponents with his innovative arsenal.

A wrestling prodigy, Rush emerged in the sport in his teenage years, rapidly ascending to the international stage by his early 20s. Now in his mid 20s, Rush has transcended into pop culture.

When not in the ring, Rush can be found recording in Maybach Music Group’s studios or working on projects with his close friend, Grammy nominated artist Wale.

Rush looks to move the world with his words and life experiences and continue to move up the ranks in the entertainment and sports world.

The next step in the evolution of Lio Rush: going major league at #TheRestart.

MLW returns Wednesday night November 18 at 7pm ET with the premiere of FUSION on Fubo Sports and YouTube.

Fans can also watch nationwide on cable and dish via beIN SPORTS on Saturday nights at 10pm ET.

Watch FUSION anytime, anywhere on DAZN.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Preview 11/3/20

IMPACT! tonight at 8/7c on AXS TV and Twitch!

* Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel

* Knockouts Championship: Su Yung (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo

* Doc Gallows vs. Ethan Page

* Eddie Edwards and Rich Swann vs. Sami Callihan and Eric Young

* Who shot John E. Bravo?

WWE RAW Preview 11/2/20

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Amway Center in Orlando with more build for the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

The Rock Biography Coming Out Later This Month

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: The People’s Champion – From WWE to Hollywood, a biography on The Rock’s career, is coming out on November 29 in Kindle eBook and paperback format.

The nearly 400 page book features a look at Rock’s rise through pro wrestling and transition to Hollywood. The book includes quotes from friends, family, coworkers, and Rock himself.

Below is the full press release:

FINALLY… from the author of the highly regarded Owen Hart: King of Pranks comes the wrestling biography every WWE fan and the millions… and millions of Rock fanatics around the world have been waiting for!

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: The People’s Champion – From WWE to Hollywood charts the personal life and wrestling career of ten-time WWF/WWE/WCW Champion and movie megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in-depth for the very first time.

Along with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vince McMahon and the concept of “Attitude”, the emergence of The Rock was instrumental in turning the languishing World Wrestling Federation, on the brink of downsizing, into a billion dollar entity within two years. With The Rock at the forefront, the WWF routinely broke viewership, box office and ticket sales records. In 2000, The Rock became the most well-known mainstream professional wrestler in the world and in 2001 Dwayne entered the Guinness Book of Records as the highest paid debuting lead actor for his star-making turn in The Scorpion King.

After several years of ever-decreasing in-ring appearances, Dwayne left wrestling behind in 2004 to fully focus on his burgeoning Hollywood career. Despite commanding eight figure sums for every starring role, the mid-2000s would see Dwayne’s career start to falter, with lukewarm critical reviews at best for his creative output. Dwayne had been forcibly separated from everything that had made him and The Rock character an overnight success until finally he decided enough was enough and took back control of his destiny. In 2011, Dwayne would return to his roots, not only as a pro wrestler but as The Rock, and has not looked back since.

Jam-packed with quotes from his friends, family, co-workers and the man himself, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: The People’s Champion is the most comprehensive and exhaustive biography ever created on “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports and Entertainment”. From childhood to getting cut by the Canadian Football League; from Flex Kavana in Memphis to Rocky Maivia in the WWF; from the Nation of Domination to The Corporation; from wrestling’s biggest box office attraction to the highest paid actor in Hollywood. All the big storylines and why they happened. All the backstage manoeuvrings and inside stories. All the on-screen feuds and all the rivalries behind the scenes. All the people that got him to where he is today and the co-workers who did their damndest to hold him back. At nearly 400 pages long, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: The People’s Champion has got you covered, if you smell what The Rock is cookin’!

Exclusive to Amazon, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: The People’s Champion is available from the 29th of November in Kindle eBook and paperback (Pre-order available now in eBook format only).

US Link
UK Link
Canada Link

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kylie Rae Says She’s No Longer A Professional Wrestler

Kylie Rae announced on her Patreon she is stepping away from pro wrestling, and taking a break from social media.

Good morning,

I’m truly sorry for the pain I’ve caused and miscommunication, I am currently unwell.

I’m also sorry that I wasn’t able to get this out before your monthly subscription charge.

I wanted to take this time to say I am no longer a professional wrestler and am currently taking a break from social media. It’s been a very hard decision to make but please understand.

When I am well, I will try to fulfill any obligations that have missed.

During this time, most tiers will not be able to be fulfilled, please feel free to unsubscribe from this membership/PatreonAccount.

Thank you for your understanding. ❤

She has since deactivated her Twitter account, but currently remains on Instagram.

The announcement comes after Rae didn’t appear at Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory on October 24 for her Knockouts Championship Match against Deonna Purrazzo. Rae was replaced by Su Yung, who went on to win the title. Rae had reportedly driven into Nashville on Friday, but didn’t show up at the building the next day for the PPV.

Back in March, Rae had worked out a long-term contract with Impact Wrestling. Before that, Rae had signed with All Elite Wrestling, leaving the company in September of last year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE to host Wrestlemania 37 with 65,000 spectators?

WWE has been running its regular shows and main events without the crowd appearance for the last seven months or so, and now, WWE has come up with a masterstroke that WWE Wrestlemania 37 will have the crowd appearance as it has been stated by Jon Alba of Governor DeSantis.

Jon Alba of Spectrum Sports tweeted that Governor DeSantis has given the green light for the Miami Dolphins to run events at their 65,000 seat stadium. He followed by saying that WWE could do the same.

However, WrestleVotes also has provided the updates on the same that the state of Florida will begin allowing full capacity attendance for stadiums events.

Vince has been privately holding out hope for a full capacity WrestleMania. He gets his wish. Whether or not 65K fans show up is another question.

Source: insidesport.co

It was reported earlier this month that WWE has tentative plans in place to move WrestleMania 37 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

WWE SmackDown Preview 10/30/20

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature the fallout from the recent Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.

WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s show but it was noted that Jey Uso will be forced to face the consequences of losing to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Hell In a Cell.

New SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks is also advertised to appear tonight. She defeated Bayley for the title at Hell In a Cell.

* Jey Uso faces the consequences of losing to Roman Reigns inside Hell in a Cell

* What’s next for Sasha Banks on WWE SmackDown?

* Will Survivor Series teams be formed this week?

* Possible invasions from RAW?

Backstage News On WWE NXT Being Kept Off Survivor Series

There will be no WWE NXT involvement in the 2020 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The news was first reported by Ringside News.

There had been speculation on NXT being involved this year, like they were last year, but the NXT brand will instead start building to the next Takeover special on Sunday, December 6 instead.

Regarding the speculation on NXT and the Survivor Series, a logo for the pay-per-view was shown during WWE Hell In a Cell, and that logo still featured the red, yellow and blue colors for all three brands. However, new Survivor Series promotional material was revealed on the WWE website and social media accounts this week, and the yellow color has been removed.

It’s interesting that WWE is keeping NXT off this year’s Survivor Series event because the involvement made the show last year, and led to an increase in ratings on RAW, SmackDown and NXT TV for the month of November with the build-up.

The Observer notes that there are two explanations for WWE keeping NXT off the event this year. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon wants to keep the brands separate as much as possible to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. The second reason is that there is simply a mentality to not portray NXT as a major brand that is on the same level as RAW and SmackDown. This is the same reason why there were no NXT Superstars in the 2020 WWE Draft.

The 2020 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view will air live on November 22 from The ThunderDome at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Closing Twitch & Cameo Pages?, AJ Styles Reacts, Paige Talks Unionization

It looks like WWE is in the process of shutting down Twitch & Mixer streaming channels owned by several Superstars. Cameo accounts are also being deactivated.

AJ Styles took to Discord this afternoon and announced that he was suspending his “Stylesclash” accounts on Mixer and Twitch due to WWE’s new policy on unauthorized third party platform activity. Styles thanked his fans for the support and memories. He also said he will be leaving his Discord server up to keep in touch with fans for future happenings.

“@everyone, I want to thank you for all the greatest memories on Mixer and Twitch,” AJ wrote. “I will cherish these memories and I love everyone of you that have made this possible and supported me. As many of you know WWE is making some changes that involve streaming. We will see what the future holds in that regard.

“With that being said I will be suspending Stylesclash stream. This isn’t good bye, but this is see you sometime in the future. We will leave discord open, but since it won’t be monitored we will be making changes. Chris or I will let you know what that looks like once we figure it out. If you see me at the arenas or wherever be sure to let me know you’re part of the phenomenal family. Again this isn’t the end it’s just a pause. Thank you again for your support.”

Mia Yim (Reckoning of RETRIBUTION) announced on Twitter that her “ItsMeSYB” Twitch stream is also being pulled down, right before her scheduled gameplay with Jessamyn Duke.

“Sorry guys, no more stream for the time being. Thank you for making these past few difficult months manageable. It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. [blue heart emoji],” Yim wrote.

Cesaro announced that he was suspending his “Claudio’s Cafe” channel on Twitch today during a stream.

“Well I appreciate everybody spending some time here with me,” Cesaro said. “I don’t know when the next stream is gonna be… I’ll definitely let you guys know. … Thank everybody for spending your time with me here. Thanks for the subs, thanks for the gifts, thanks for the follows. I really do appreciate it. I hope I’ll be back soon, but when? I don’t know. So, yeah… one last race, who are we gonna race today? So yeah, I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Paige got emotional during one of her Twitch streams this afternoon on her “Saraya Official” channel after finding out about co-workers shutting down their platforms.

“You guys. We have to make this… you guys. There may be a time where I have to stop streaming,” Paige said. “So, I just think in case I walk away, if I have to walk away, let’s make these next two streams crazy. I have to go off. If I have to leave, we make today and Saturday f–king crazy before I have to leave, because it might have to come to that.

Paige continued texting, apparently with co-workers on her phone, and came back to the camera. She was more emotional as she went back to addressing her viewers. She then commented that she “cannot deal” with WWE anymore. She also blamed the company for over-working her, to the point that she suffered the career-ending neck injury during a WWE live event match in December 2017.

“I’ve honestly got to the point where I cannot deal with this company anymore,” Paige said. “So now I have to make a very important decision. I’m f–king tired, man. I broke my f–king neck twice, twice for this company, over f–king worked. I broke my neck twice for this company and all I wanted was to… they don’t realize that this community isn’t just about f–king subs. It isn’t about that. It isn’t about that. We built a wonderful community, a wonderful f–king family where this is an escape for a lot of people, including myself.

“I can’t wrestle anymore, I was worked so hard in WWE that I can’t wrestle anymore. My neck is f–ked, my whole dream got taken away from me, dude, and I had to have something that fulfilled even a small part of that huge f–king void that I lost with wrestling. A huge f–king void. I couldn’t wrestle anymore, something I lived, breathed, f–king s–t wrestling since I was a fetus, dude, and it got ripped away from me, and I had to find something that even filled a little bit of that. Twitch was such a wonderful thing for me, it’s such a wonderful place for me.”

Paige continued and wondered why WWE is taking away her platform while she just sits at home, unable to wrestle.

“And I understand,” Paige said. “I understand if they’re like, ‘Hey, if you’re wrestling every day, if you’re doing shows every day, if you’re on TV constantly.’ That’s fine, but I’m a f–king injured wrestler. I can’t wrestle anymore. I get used for media stuff sometimes, you know? But at the end of the day I’m in my f–king house. I’m going f–king crazy, dude. I need something to keep me sane, man, and Twitch was my escape from that, you know? Right now I’m just sitting on my f–king ass.”

Paige also brought up her private photos & videos that were leaked on the internet a few years ago, and her failed drug tests, and relationship with former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio. She also accused WWE of treating her bad.

“I had a terrible couple of years where I had tapes leaked about me, where I popped a couple of drug tests because I was in an abusive f–king relationship, dude,” Paige said. “And that’s the only thing I could f–king do. See, people think I should be thankful that I still have a f–king job, right? And I am, but it doesn’t mean I should be treated like f–king s–t.”

Paige said at one point that she would keep streaming because her neck was taken away twice and she won’t allow WWE to take away her Twitch next. She also mentioned potential unionization in pro wrestling, revealing that she’s been in touch with a unionization lawyer.

“People don’t realize I’m outspoken as f–k,” Paige said. I will say how I feel. I don’t care who you are. I will say how I feel because I don’t like being walked all over. … You know what? I’m gonna start looking more into unionization. I’ve been learning about it by a unionization lawyer.

“This is bigger than Twitch, it’s about taking f–king control of your own life and not being controlled by anyone. I gave ten years, man. I poured my f–king heart and soul into this. I had a bad couple of years like every motherf–ker has. I’m not the only one who is f–king controversial around here, I’m not the only one. It’s f–king louder when it comes to me because I’m a f–king female. I hate using that because I’m a woman but it’s because I’m a woman and women don’t usually stand up for themselves.”

Paige went on and said she will continue to stream for her fans, and see how the situation plays out. Paige said she loves WWE but doesn’t agree with what is being done in regards to the third party activity. She noted that she understands that this is a business decision, and nothing personal, but she still doesn’t have to agree with it. She also noted that she felt sad at first, but now she feels empowered after speaking out on the latest stream. She told fans that she will be speaking out with more of what’s on her mind over the next couple of days.

WWE couple Zelina Vega and Aleister Black also discussed the situation on their “AtoZ” Twitch channel. They reiterated that they are not 100% sure of what will happen to the account as they have not talked to “the office” but they know there will be a conversation on the matter at SmackDown on Friday.

“In all fairness, we don’t know,” Black said. “We don’t know but it’s starting to look like, obviously that this might be the last one for a while. We haven’t been told anything, but obviously tomorrow is TV, and I know that there’s going to be a conversation tomorrow. But, like, it’s not definite, it’s not like this is the last final stream ever.”

Vega added, “Although it could be. I want you to be prepared for that, too.”

Black continued, “It could be but we don’t think it is, but you never know. I think what’s happening is they’re trying to find a way to make it coexist within the WWE Universe and whatever way that they want to do that, I don’t know, and if we agree to that, I don’t know. I literally can’t tell you anything because we don’t know anything.”

“Only because we haven’t been told anything from the office,” Vega added.

Black and Vega acknowledged the statements by Styles and Yim, and said they made those because they were told separately. Vega said it’s their business and she’s not sure if Yim and Styles have had conversations with the office, but she and Black have not.

“I think you can definitely say this is the last one for a while, for at least a while, and I don’t know how long that while is. Obviously tomorrow [at SmackDown] we’re going to get a little more clarity on things, but I don’t know,” Black said.

Like Styles, Black and Vega plan to keep their Discord server open so they can interact with fans.

“I’m just going to be candid,” Vega said. “And just like, we don’t know but we have a good idea, and there’s the whole ‘trying to make it work for everybody’ stage that we’re in right now, and we’re hoping that there is some kind of middle ground. Is there? There may not be because the thing is, that sounds great, you know? And I hope there is. It sounds like middle ground would be awesome, but I also want to prepare people.”

She added, “Because I don’t want to give you guys hope and then slap you guys in the face and go, ‘Sorry!’ You know what I mean?”

“We’re preparing you for both,” Vega said. “We’re preparing you for the, ‘Hey we figured out something and it’s kind of going to be different and it’s going to work somehow.’ But it’s not going to be exactly what this is because I don’t think it’ll ever be this, it’ll be different if there is that, but there’s also the side of, ‘We just have to stop.’ I want you guys to be prepared for both. I just want to be 100% honest with you.”

Black and Vega acknowledged Paige being upfront and honest with her viewers, and not holding anything back. Vega recalled how Paige also said officials have not said anything concrete to her either, but Vega is sure something will happen to the third party activity. Black and Vega also commented on how they built their platform together, with the fans, despite Black being a very private person.

On a related note, several WWE Superstars have deactivated their Cameo accounts as well, and are no longer taking requests from fans. RSN discovered that Big E, Riddle, Kevin Owens and others have all deactivated their Cameo accounts, which were big earners for some wrestlers. There are some WWE Superstars who remain on Cameo, such as Lacey Evans and Mandy Rose, among others. It remains to be seen if their accounts will be deactivated soon like the others.

Source: Wrestling Inc.