Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon with fallout from WWE Stomping Grounds.
* How will Kofi Kingston react to Samoa Joe’s attack?
* Who will be next to step up to Bayley?
* Has Bryan & Rowan’s tag team revolution hit a roadblock?
* How will Shane-O-Mac & McIntyre react to The Undertaker’s return?
Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
* Time for a better WWE 205 Live? – Drew Gulak overcame the odds and became 205 Live’s new titleholder by defeating Akira Tozawa and WWE Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese in a Triple Threat Match at Sunday’s WWE Stomping Grounds.
* Will Gentleman Jack Gallagher get his match with Mike Kanellis?
Rusev’s WWE contract is reportedly expiring relatively soon, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.
There’s no word yet on if Rusev is interested in leaving WWE, but it would not come as a surprise to many as it’s believed that he is unhappy with his position in the company due to some of his comments in media interviews and on social media.
Rusev is currently away from WWE as he recently requested some time off. There’s no word yet on when he will be back, but it’s likely just a short hiatus. Meltzer speculated that the hiatus has to do with Rusev being unhappy. It was also speculated that WWE could extend the length of the contract due to the time off by freezing it, which they do when a talent is out of action with an injury.
Rusev would obviously generate interest from some of the top wrestling promotions, including AEW and NJPW, as was speculated by Meltzer, but that’s not confirmed. Depending on Lana’s contract status and future with WWE, there is also the potential for the Rusev – Lana package deal in other promotions.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The Undertaker made a surprise appearance last night on WWE RAW.
Taker made the save for Roman Reigns as he was being double teamed by Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre in their 2-on-1 Handicap Match. The crowd loudly cheered Taker on, for one of the loudest RAW pops in recent memory, as he chokeslammed Shane and dropped Drew. Taker would continue the attack on Shane and Drew before sending them retreating up the ramp.
There was no interaction besides Taker and Reigns, but Taker did briefly look down at Reigns as he recovered in the corner. The segment ended by going to commercial as Shane and Drew looked on from the ramp, shocked at The Dead Man’s return.
Later it was announced that The Undertaker will be returning to the ring at the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Taker will team with Roman Reigns against Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre.
The 2019 WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view will take place on July 14 from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. Below is the updated card:
Winners Take All
Lacey Evans and Baron Corbin vs. RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins (c)
The Undertaker and Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington with the fallout from Sunday’s Stomping Grounds pay-per-view.
* Roman Reigns to battle Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match
* United States Champion Ricochet to battle AJ Styles tonight
* Seth Rollins’ Universal challenges
* The Man might not be finished with The Lady in the aftermath of WWE Stomping Grounds
There was low attendance at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington for last night’s first-ever WWE Stomping Grounds pay-per-view. The arena had half of the seating curtained off to hide the empty seats, despite a decent line for walk-up tickets before the show, and a lot of free tickets given out on the day of the event.
DEFY Wrestling’s Matt Farmer noted on Twitter that there were around 6,000 fans in attendance, which would be one of the smallest WWE pay-per-view crowds in a long time. Farmer also noted that there were “tons” of comped tickets, and a lot of 2 for 1 ticket deals were sold.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the paid attendance for Stomping Groundswas around 4,000 – 4,500 fans. It was also noted that tickets were being given away at the mall earlier in the day. The Tacoma Dome can hold around 18,000 fans after production.
Despite the low attendance, we noted that social media talk pointed to how the crowd was hot for some of the pay-per-view. Furthermore, the part of the arena that was not sectioned off was full of fans.
Below are a few photos and a video of the crowd:
https://twitter.com/WrestlingInc/status/1142999744936960000
https://twitter.com/OllieMcClellan/status/1142918944359161858
https://twitter.com/KasumiNinja/status/1142929231917142016
https://twitter.com/TravisKauth/status/1142911425746104320
Source: Wrestling Inc.
(Kickoff) WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Tony Nese vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak –
Winner and new WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Drew Gulak
RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans –
Winner: Becky Lynch
The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn –
Winners: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
United States Championship: (C) Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet –
Winner and new United States Champion: Ricochet
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. Heavy Machinery –
Winners: Daniel Bryan & Rowan
SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss w/Nikki Cross –
Winner: Bayley
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre w/Shane McMahon –
https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1142959417228328960
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142961333643517952
https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1142962918679441408
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142963177145040896
Winner: Roman Reigns
WWE Championship – Steel Cage: (C) Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler –
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142965918714044416
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142968349921406976
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142968460214845441
https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/1142969685207502848
https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1142971149879369729
Winner: Kofi Kingston
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142973016470482944
Universal Championship – Special Guest Referee Lacey Evans: (C) Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin –
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142974475958308864
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142977022949392384
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142977109788221440
https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/1142977706235031552
https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1142978792790478850
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1142979350779715584
Winner: Seth Rollins
All Elite Wrestling applied for the trademark “Wednesday Night Dynamite,” on June 18, possibly leading towards which night their weekly TNT show will air. The show will premiere in the fall later this year.
AEW had also applied for “Tuesday Night Dynamite” last year, looking to possibly fill in Tuesday nights once SmackDown moves to Fridays on FOX on October 4. The fact that they have now applied for the Wednesday night trademark would suggest that the show will air on Wednesdays, not Tuesdays.
Back in May it was officially announced AEW would be partnering up with TNT, while also utilizing B/R Live as a platform to stream events. Despite the $50 price tag, last month’s AEW Double or Nothing was a success with an estimated 98,500-113,000 PPV buys worldwide.
The promotion is following that up with AEW Fyter Fest on June 29 in Daytona Beach, Florida, which will stream for free on B/R Live.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Vince McMahon reportedly held a meeting last week at WWE TV and told everyone that there will be no more wrestling during commercial breaks. It was noted that apparently you can have a match that goes through the commercial break, but there can’t be any actual wrestling during the break. This would explain why they had several 2 of 3 Falls matches on RAW and SmackDown last week.
John Pollock of Post Wrestling reported that the edict was announced last Monday during the usual pre-RAW production meeting. The idea is that legitimate sports don’t play during their breaks, so WWE is adjusting their match presentation.
It was noted that there would still be two matches on SmackDown that would that run through the commercial breaks with the picture-in-picture feature that airs the match in one window and the advertisement in another.
This new rule led to the 2 of 3 Falls matches and other ideas to pause the matches, and then resume after the commercial breaks. Pollock and Dave Meltzer both pointed to how it will b a challenge to come up with organic ideas to pause the matches, especially during RAW due to the multiple segment matches for the three-hour format. This will likely make the product harder to watch for fans on TV, and in the arenas.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
June 23, 2019 at 7:00 PM ET (Preshow at 6:00 PM ET) – Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington
Universal Championship – Special Guest Referee: TBA: (C) Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin
WWE Championship – Steel Cage: (C) Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler
RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans
SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss w/Nikki Cross
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
United States Championship: (C) Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. Heavy Machinery
The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Tony Nese vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak
