Tag: RAW

Ring Announcer Samantha Irvin Announces WWE Departure

In a surprising move, Samantha Irvin has announced that she has finished her run as the ring announcer for “WWE Raw” and is leaving the company. Irvin took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to reveal the news, with a lengthy statement offering a goodbye.

“WWE Universe, my time has come to an end as your Monday Night ‘Raw’ ring announcer,” Irvin wrote. “I love you all tremendously and this does not mark the end of my art, I have a lifetime more to share. Thank you to every WWE fan who accepted me.”

Irvin went on to give a special thanks to the wrestlers, especially her fellow women in the WWE locker room, as well as the company’s crew and a number of people behind the scenes who have helped her along the way. That list included Paul Heyman, Michael P.S. Hayes, Michael Cole, Brian “Road Dogg” James, and more.

It’s currently unknown if Irvin intends to stay within the world of professional wrestling or will look to branch out into other areas of broadcasting. Irvin is engaged to Ricochet, who recently departed WWE before arriving in AEW this past August. While that may lead some to speculate Irvin is bound for AEW, it’s worth noting that she also had a career as a singer prior to becoming a wrestling announcer.

Along with posting the announcement, Irvin updated her X page to black out her profile picture and banner. Additionally, her bio simply reads: “ARTIST.”

Irvin first joined WWE in 2021 and credits Mark Henry for helping her enter the industry. After a short time on “205 Live,” Irvin was made the announcer for “WWE NXT” before being promoted to main roster duties in early 2022, less than a year after she started.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

UPDATE

Pwinsider has shared details on the factors contributing to Irvin’s WWE exit.

According to the report, WWE was taken aback by Irvin’s decision to resign, as she was held in high regard within the company.

Several factors played a role in her choice to leave, with a major concern being her scheduling conflicts, as Irvin was juggling her responsibilities between WWE and her family.

Even though WWE’s travel demands have decreased compared to past years, Irvin still had to be away from her daughter for long periods.

Moreover, there had been conversations about Irvin possibly taking on a lighter schedule, but those plans fell through, which may have impacted her decision to resign.

With her partner Ricochet no longer part of WWE and having a different schedule in AEW, this scenario might also have contributed to Irvin’s decision to leave WWE, though sources have not explicitly confirmed this.

Furthermore, the absence of a reduced schedule made it more challenging for Irvin to explore outside ventures. The fame she gained via WWE television also drew greater interest from external parties, creating opportunities that influenced Irvin’s decision to resign months ahead.

WWE Raw Preview 10/21/2024

WWE Raw will air tonight on the USA Network from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

  • WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Jey Uso (c) vs. Bron Breakker
  • WWE World Tag Team Championship Contenders Tournament: New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs. Authors Of Pain (Akam and Rezar)
  • WWE World Tag Team Championship Contenders Tournament: LWO (Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee) vs. American Made (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed)
  • Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed go face-to-face

Erik & Ivar Return To WWE Raw As The War Raiders

The War Raiders’ Erik and Ivar made their triumphant return from injuries on “WWE Raw” on Monday, defeating Alpha Academy’s Otis and Akira Tozawa to advance in the recently-announced tournament for the World Tag Team Championships. “Raw” General Manager Adam Pearce had just announced the tournament to champions JD McDonagh and Finn Balor earlier in the night, and the returning War Raiders (previously known as the Viking Raiders) won the first match of the tournament, their first win together since September 2023. Their return had been alluded to in video teasers featuring the runic alphabet in weeks prior.

Otis and Ivar started off the match before Tozawa was tagged in. Erik slammed Ivar on top of Tozawa and the returning team took control of the match. Erik and Ivar took turns sending the smaller man into one another’s knees. Otis attempted to turn the match back around, but Ivar interrupted his caterpillar attempt. Tozawa tried to hit a missile drop kick, but was caught by Ivar. The War Raiders hit their new finishing move on Tozawa, with Erik throwing his opponent into the line of fire of Ivar’s splash from the top rope, for the victory. The bracket for the tag team tournament had not yet been revealed as of this writing, but the War Raiders are moving on for a shot at the World Tag Team Championships.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Raw Preview 10/14/2024

WWE Raw will air tonight on the USA Network from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill (c) vs. Damage CTRL (IYO Sky and Kairi Sane)
  • The Miz vs R-Truth
  • Bron Breakker vs Kofi Kingston
  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes to appear
  • WWE World Heavyweight Champion Gunther to appear

WWE Raw Preview 10/7/2024

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Raw reverts back to a 2-hour format for the rest of the year.

  • Fallout from Bad Blood
  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Jey Uso (c) vs. Xavier Woods
  • Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook: Pete Dunne vs. Sheamus
  • Seth Rollins set to appear following his return last week

Braun Strowman Injured In Last Monster Standing Match On WWE RAW

This week’s edition of WWE Monday Night RAW ended on a high note with Braun Strowman defeating Big Bronson Reed in a Last Monster Standing match that saw not only the ring collapse, but the return of Seth “Freakin’” Rollins to interfere and cost Reed the match.

Unfortunately, that victory for Strowman didn’t come without its negatives, as it appears he may have suffered an injury during the brutal brawl.

On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez claimed Strowman sustained a torn groin injury. He said,

“I did get it confirmed – if you watched the Raw show last night, the Last Monster Standing match. They went to a commercial break, and they came back, and Braun Strowman got hit by Bronson Reed with a Samoan Drop. Braun Strowman grabbed his thigh/groin area, and then they were gonna do a spot where he knocked Bronson Reed off the apron through some chairs. (Strowman) starts running, and I knew immediately, this guy’s hurt. He normally can’t run all that fast, but he couldn’t even walk the ropes – he was limping the ropes. He knocks (Reed) off the apron and there was a long period where he just kind of laid there in the corner and the ref’s furiously communicating with the back. He may have torn his groin is what it’s looking like. That’s certainly what they thought yesterday.”

Source: eWn

A New Woman Appears To Be Coming To The Wyatt Sicks Faction

On this week’s episode of WWE RAW, a new message from The Wyatt Sicks aired that featured the unveiling of a mysterious woman.

Some of the messages in the new video read as follows,

“We see your intent.

“Anger festering into rage.

“Do not go down this path.

“It ends in demise.

“You know better.

“Do not force our hand.

“Heed our admonition.”

Additionally, the following message was shown in a QR code that aired in the video, “BROTHER, DO NOT BE SO DISTRACTED BY THE BEAST THAT YOU MISS THE SERPENT IN THE WEEDS.”

Source: eWn

WWE Says Ilja Dragunov Suffered Torn ACL At House Show, Will Miss Six To Nine Months

WWE dropped some unfortunate news regarding a former NXT Champion on Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw” before a promo segment featuring World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER. Commentary informed the audience at home that Ilja Dragunov suffered a suspected torn ACL and will be out of action for around six to nine months. Dragunov was injured wrestling GUNTHER for a shot at the championship during a live event in Columbus, Georgia over the weekend. In a video WWE posted to social media as well as airing on the broadcast, Dragunov was seen leaving the ring on his own volition following the injury, though he hobbled up the ramp without putting weight on his right leg.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1840938600906608994

Dragunov’s most recent television match was a loss to Jey Uso in a fatal four-way match also featuring Braun Strowman and Pete Dunne for a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship on the September 9 episode of “Raw.” Before the IC Title tournament, Dragunov had been working with GUNTHER on house shows in Germany before Bash in Berlin. Dragunov was called up from “WWE NXT” to the main roster’s red brand at the end of April in the fourth round of the 2024 WWE Draft, following his NXT Championship loss to Trick Williams at “NXT” Spring Breakin’.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Raw Preview 9/30/2024

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

  • Last Monster Standing Match: Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman
  • Newly crowned Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso will appear
  • We will hear from CM Punk and Drew McIntyre
  • Rey Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods
  • Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio, Carlito and JD McDonagh vs. LWO’s Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro
  • Kofi Kingston vs. Chad Gable
  • Lyra Valkyrie vs. Zoey Stark

Mysterious Runic Graphic On WWE Raw Suggests Potential Return Of Injured Tag Team

A cryptic video on Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw” may be alluding to the return of a popular tag team that has been on the shelf for quite some time.

During the broadcast, a video vignette was shown of a burning circle, similar to a shield, with runes burning inside. The only audio in the promo outside of the crackling flames was a man’s voice saying, “Fate is woven.” Social media users translated the runes from the oldest form of the runic alphabet into “WAR,” leading many fans to believe the video was a teaser for the return of Erik and Ivar, the Viking Raiders.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1838397500165701761

It was revealed back in May that Ivar’s future in wrestling was uncertain. He had been working on “WWE NXT” before being written off TV for the injury, to the confusion of many of the legitimacy of the injury. Ivar clarified on social media at the time he was indeed injured, and that is was “very serious,” but he had not had surgery at that point in time. However, it was revealed by Andrews Sports Medicine on X (formerly Twitter) that Ivar had undergone surgery on his spine in May. Erik underwent neck fusion surgery, prior to his partner’s injury, in September 2023. The pair’s last match together came on an episode of “WWE Main Event” that year. A timetable was not provided for either of the Viking Raiders’ injuries.

Source: Wrestling Inc.