Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Bell Centre in Montreal with fallout from Greatest Royal Rumble and the final push for Sunday’s Backlash pay-per-view.
* Jeff Hardy to appear on “Miz TV”
* Shinsuke Nakamura demands a public apology from AJ Styles
* Charlotte Flair and Carmella lead trios in Six-Woman Tag Team action
* Will Big Cass revel in ruining Daniel Bryan’s Greatest Royal Rumble moment?
Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Who will be Cedric Alexander’s next challenger?
At the Greatest Royal Rumble event, Cedric Alexander faced his first major challenge since winning the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania. Following a highly-competitive Gauntlet Match on WWE 205 Live, former titleholder Kalisto earned the right to battle Alexander on a historic night in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Soul of WWE 205 Live and the lucha dragon certainly did not disappoint, but Alexander emerged victorious, retaining the title and proving his mettle as champion.
However, there will be no rest for the titleholder, as WWE 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick no doubt has machinations to keep competition fierce in the Cruiserweight division. Since taking over as General Manager earlier this year, Maverick not only initiated the WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament and the Gauntlet Match to determine Alexander’s Greatest Royal Rumble event opponent, but he has reinvigorated Superstars such as Drew Gulak and Gentleman Jack Gallagher and has featured NXT Superstars such as Buddy Murphy and Roderick Strong, creating a robust and competitive environment that permeates throughout the division.
Will a new challenger emerge for WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander? Don’t miss WWE 205 Live tonight at 10/9 C on the award-winning WWE Network!
Variety is reporting that WWE star John Cena will star in the new film “The Janson Detective” from Universal Pictures with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia producing through their Seven Bucks Productions company.
Rock issued the following tweet on Monday making the announcement:
Rock also released this video on Instagram about the big news:
Source: WrestleView
205 Live star Ariya Daivari says he received death threats due to the way his character was portrayed at Greatest Royal Rumble, so he’s released a statement to clarify that the show is fiction.
Daivari tweeted Monday night saying “some people” took offense to the segment involving his brother Shawn Daivari and four Saudi Arabian WWE prospects, which lead to threats on his life.
Therefore, he put out a statement stating:
During an appearance this past Friday, | portrayed a fictional character and played the role of the antagonist, no different than what other actors would do in a movie or TV show.
That character does not reflect my personal views and I apologize to anyone that may have been offended by the skit. l have an incredible amount of respect for the great people of Iran and I am very proud of my Iranian heritage.
Thank you.
Watch the segment below:
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Bell Centre in Montreal with the fallout from WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble event and the final hype for Backlash.
* Monster Among 49 Men makes history
* Brock Lesnar bests Roman Reigns in controversial Steel Cage Match
* The Era of Wokenness begins
* Who will dare step to Ronda Rousey?
* The Architect leaves Saudi Arabia with the Intercontinental Championship
Over the past 30 years, WWE has transferred a territorial promotion into a global enterprise. Over WrestleMania 34 Week, Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon spoke at the yearly Business Partner Summit to discuss the evolution of WWE from then to now. McMahon commented on how the company is able to touch every part of the world via digital and social media, and how the company has become a media powerhouse.
Stephanie explained how her father, Vince McMahon, started with a brand, and took that vision to transform shows inside a smoke-filled armory into a stadium with smoke from the pyrotechnic display at WrestleMania.
Although eight out of 10 adults recognize the term WrestleMania and nine out of 10 adults recognize the term “WWE,” it was not as popular in the 1980s. As a result, Vince McMahon made the decision to rebrand the company to a more expansive term than “pro wrestling.”
“Advertisers either had an adverse reaction to the words ‘professional wrestling,’ or they simply didn’t understand what it was,” said Stephanie. “So, how could we create a term or a label that potential partners could understand? How could we describe the WWE was based on larger-than-life characters enthralled in relatable storylines? That was when we coined the term ‘sports entertainment’.”
Now, television audiences can see the ripple effect when viewing other companies such as ESPN, as well as performances at the Super Bowl, World Cup, and news sites coining the term “infotainment.” Stephanie adds that the greatest asset of the WWE is the company’s “ability to reimagine storytelling… whether it was capturing the all-American fervor of the 80s, the spirit of the antihero in the 90s, or the rise of the underdog in the 2000s.” WWE’s storytelling, according to Thom Loverro of The Washington Times, birthed the “entire reality television industry – scripted dramatic conflict posing as reality.”
Stephanie went on to explain the advent of the PG era, which started in 2008.
“10 years ago, WWE once again reimagined our content and made the strategic decision to become more family-friendly, to grow our multi-generational audience and attract more blue-chip partners,” said Stephanie. “Looking around the room here today, it’s easy to see that this strategy worked.”
Now, according to Stephanie, WWE’s goal is to position the company alongside fortune 500 companies, be a part of pop culture, and enhance and expand their partnerships.
Source: WrestlingINC with credit to the WWE Business Partner Summit
Earlier this month, there was an incident between WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts and New Japan Pro Wrestling star Harry Smith (aka Davey Boy Smith Jr.) at WrestleCon in New Orleans. The two exchanged words and Smith threw a hot cup of coffee in Jake’s face. Security quickly cleared the area and police were called, but Smith left the building before police could speak with him.
According to F4WOnline, it now looks like Roberts will be dropping charges against Smith after the two spoke on the phone, which was set up by Bret Hart.
Smith wasn’t happy about things Roberts had said about his Father, Davey Boy Smith (aka The British Bulldog), during a podcast with Roddy Piper.
Both apologized privately, but Smith also apologized publicly earlier today.
https://twitter.com/DBSmithjr/status/990523284562292736
Source: WrestlingINC
Titus O’Neil entered the WWE Greatest Royal Match as number 39 and made probably the most hilarious entrance ever.
While running down the ramp he faceplanted so hard that he slid under the ring, causing the announcers to die of laughter.
In case you missed it, check it out below:
* The Briscoes defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (ROH World Tag Team Championship)
* Dalton Castle defeated Flip Gordon (Proving Grounds Match – Non-Title)
* Coast 2 Coast defeated The Dawgs, The Addiction, and Silas Young / The Beer City Bruiser (Four Corner Tag Team Survival Match)
* Cody (with Bernard The Business Bear) defeated Punishment Martinez
* Jay Lethal defeated Scorpio Sky
* Adam Page, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson defeated The Kingdom
* Marty Scurll defeated Kenny King
* Deonna Purrazzo defeated Kelly Klein
* Josh Woods defeated Shane Taylor
Daniel Bryan set a new WWE Royal Rumble record in the Greatest Royal rumble match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Bryan entered the match at number 1 and was in the final three with Big Cass and the winner Brain Strowman. Bryan lasted 1 hour, 16 minutes and 5 seconds before being eliminated by Big Cass.
WWE issued the following statement on Bryan’s record setting performance:
Daniel Bryan sets Royal Rumble Match record
Daniel Bryan may not have won the first-ever 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble Match, but he did make history.
Mere weeks after returning to the ring following a three-year hiatus, the former WWE Champion set a record for the longest time spent in a Royal Rumble Match. Entering in the No. 1 spot, Bryan fought his way through all 50 entrants, making it to the final three.
All told, Bryan was in the match for a staggering one hour and 16 minutes. This shatters the record previously held by Rey Mysterio, who lasted for one hour, two minutes and 12 seconds in the 2006 Royal Rumble Match, which Mysterio won.
Bryan was eliminated by Big Cass, who was tossed by winner Braun Strowman. The “Yes!” Man will have an opportunity to get some retribution against the big man, though, when the two Superstars collide at WWE Backlash on Sunday, May 6 on WWE Network.
