Tag: WrestleMania 35

ESPN To Air Classic WWE WrestleMania Events

ESPN is set to air classic WWE WrestleMania events to build to WrestleMania 36, according to a press release sent to us by WWE today.

ESPN will air classic WrestleMania events over the next three Sundays, on their flagship cable network, and then on their mobile app.

The first showing will be this Sunday at 7pm ET as ESPN airs WrestleMania XXX from 2014. WrestleMania 32 will then air on Sunday, March 29 at 7pm ET, and WrestleMania 35 will air on Sunday, April 5 at 3pm ET.

Variety noted that this is the latest example of ESPN working to fill its schedule with “unorthodox content” in the wake of the nation’s coronavirus pandemic, which has put a stop to many sporting events.

“It is a privilege for us to deliver historic WrestleMania content to our world-class partners at ESPN and provide more premium programming to our fans; putting smiles on their faces particularly during this trying time,” said WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon. “We look forward to celebrating WrestleMania history with ESPN as we head into our two-night pop culture extravaganza on April 4 and 5.”

Below is the full announcement sent to us by WWE:

ESPN To Air Encore Presentations of WrestleManiaSpecial Content Initiative Begins This Sunday with WrestleMania 30 on ESPN

ESPN today, in collaboration with WWE, announced it is airing encore presentations of historic WrestleMania events over the next three Sundays on ESPN and streaming via the ESPN App. The special content initiative begins this Sunday, March 22, at 7 p.m. ET with the airing of WrestleMania 30. The full schedule is below:

WrestleMania 30 (airs Sunday, March 22, 7 p.m. ET) – from April 6, 2014

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Hulk Hogan and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin kick off the 30th anniversary of the “Showcase of the Immortals” before a record-breaking crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar attempts to end the most celebrated streak in WWE history, Undertaker’s 21 consecutive victories at WrestleMania; witness the emotional culmination of Daniel Bryan’s “Yes! movement” in a championship triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton and Batista.

WrestleMania 32 (airs Sunday, March 29, 7 p.m. ET) – from April 3, 2016

The largest crowd in WWE history filled Jerry World at AT&T Stadium for WrestleMania 32, as more than 101,000 fans witness the “Show of Shows.” Roman Reigns takes on Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event; Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks in a match to crown the first-ever WWE Women’s Champion; the world famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders welcome The Rock to AT&T Stadium; and Shane McMahon stuns the WWE Universe with a death-defying leap in his Hell in a Cell match against Undertaker.

WrestleMania 35 (airs Sunday, April 5, 3 p.m. ET) – from April 7, 2019

WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium features a significant moment in WWE’s Women’s Evolution as the “baddest woman on the planet” Ronda Rousey takes on Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a “Winner Take All” Triple Threat match for the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships, marking the first time women were the main event at WrestleMania; Kofi Kingston finally gets a shot at realizing his lifelong dream of becoming WWE Champion against Daniel Bryan; and Batista faces his one-time friend and mentor Triple H in a “no holds barred” match.

“This unique opportunity is a byproduct of the terrific working relationship we’ve enjoyed with WWE over the years and the unprecedented circumstances we all find ourselves in,” said Burke Magnus, executive vice president, programming, ESPN. “WrestleMania is one of the most popular global events in sports and entertainment and the spectacular content it provides will be a treat for fans.”

“It is a privilege for us to deliver historic WrestleMania content to our world-class partners at ESPN and provide more premium programming to our fans; putting smiles on their faces particularly during this trying time,” said Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer, WWE. “We look forward to celebrating WrestleMania history with ESPN as we head into our two-night pop culture extravaganza on April 4 and 5.”

These three encore presentations will air in advance of this year’s WrestleMania, which for the first time ever, will be held as a two-night event streaming live on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m. ET on WWE Network and available on pay-per-view. WrestleMania will be hosted by three-time Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski. As WWE previously announced, only essential personnel will be on closed sets at multiple locations, including WWE’s training facility in Orlando, during the production of WrestleMania.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sasha Banks And Bayley Reportedly Caused A Bad Scene Over WrestleMania 35 Loss

Sasha Banks and Bayley reportedly caused a few scenes during WrestleMania 35 Weekend in New York City.

We noted before that Banks felt “blindsided” by the decision to put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on The IIconics and reportedly tried to quit the company. It was noted that she expected to have a strong run with Bayley and the titles. According to the report, which you can read at this link, Banks has been given time to think everything over before making a decision.

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet took to Twitter today and reported that Banks and Bayley were laying on the floor of the locker room at Met Life Stadium on Sunday, “loudly making it known they were unhappy” about dropping the titles. It was also noted that they made a similar scene back at the WWE hotel.

“Heard from a few sources now saying Sasha Banks and Bayley were laying on the floor of the locker room on Sunday, and back at the hotel in front of one of their rooms, loudly making it known they were unhappy about losing the tag titles,” Satin wrote on Twitter.

Satin defended his report and said he heard the same information from multiple sources. “This info is from four different sources I’ve spoken with the past day. All independent from each other and all came to me about it, not the other way around,” he wrote in one tweet to a fan. He continued in another tweet, “Was told this by four separate people who have no relation to each other. There were a lot of people staying in the hotel during Mania weekend.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sasha Banks Reportedly Tried To Quit WWE Due To WrestleMania 35 Title Change Decision

Sasha Banks reportedly tried to quit WWE over WrestleMania 35 Weekend, according to one higher-up source to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

It was noted that Banks felt blindsided when she found out at the last minute that she and Bayley were dropping the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 35. That Fatal 4 Way saw The IIconics capture the titles by defeating Banks and Bayley, Nia Jax and Tamina Snuka, and Natalya and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.

Banks was reportedly under the impression that WWE would be giving them a chance to have a strong run with the titles, to bring credibility to the new belts and to establish them as serious titles. The decision was then made to go with The IIconics as champion, a team that some say will make the titles feel like gimmick comedy belts.

Regarding her WWE status, Banks has been given a few weeks to think things over before making a decision on a choice that WWE officials believe may have been made as a rash decision. Another source noted to The Observer that Banks has been given time to figure out if she wants to leave the company or stay, but that source couldn’t confirm the reason why, and said Banks probably would not have known about the WrestleMania 35 finish until late, and did believe that Banks and Bayley were going to be given a chance to make the titles mean something. It was also noted that it was logical for Banks and Bayley to assume they would have a run of defending the titles on WWE NXT, RAW and SmackDown, just because that storyline was started in the first place.

Another source just said Banks was clearly unhappy, which has been speculated on at various points over the past few years of Banks’ WWE career.

As we’ve noted, Banks’ strange post-WrestleMania 35 week began when WWE had Alexa Bliss call out Banks and Bayley for RAW on Monday night. Bayley would appear for a loss to Bliss, but Banks was nowhere to be soon. Banks did post a cryptic message during RAW that mentioned a line she had used before, about wanting to feel magic again. The cryptic post read like this:

“There is something about the way life happens today that makes it hard to look ahead. There are things that make it difficult to laugh; difficult to live the way you want. There are things that make it almost impossible to trust where you are, or to believe in where you want to be. You look around and life is happening way too fast. Sometimes it feels like the moments are gone. Everything happens all at once and right away. We’re marching towards a destiny we cannot understand, towards the kingdom of convenient. Then one day you look up and you can’t find the meaning. Your crisis of purpose and passion is acting up, but they tell you that that’s suppose to be normal. Well… I don’t want normal, I want magic; cause that’s the place that feels like home to me. That’s the place where I remember what dreams look like, where meaning is effortless, and purpose is simple. That’s the place where love still matters. I want that feeling of coming home again. I want to feel like myself….. I want that magic.”

Banks then pulled out of a Tuesday appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, causing issues with the staff of the show because it was a late cancellation out of nowhere. Banks announced the cancellation on Twitter and cited personal reasons. Sasha added the “#IfYouOnlyKnew” hashtag to the cancellation post, indicating more to the story. She wrote, “Due to personal reasons, I had to pull out of my appearance today on @WendyWilliams . Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it. Hopefully the opportunity will be there again later. #IfYouOnlyKnew”

Wendy noted on Wednesday’s episode that Banks had a family emergency, which is why she canceled her appearance on the show. Williams wished the best to Banks and her family, indicating they had smoothed over any issues they had with her from the late cancellation. It was also revealed that Banks’ people contacted the show just after midnight the night before filming to cancel. Banks has not commented on the family emergency, but it was revealed that she is currently on a post-WrestleMania vacation to the Dominican Republic with Kalisto and their significant others. Social media posts indicated that they flew out the day that Banks was scheduled for the TV appearance.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Daniel Bryan Injured At WrestleMania 35?

Daniel Bryan may have suffered an injury during his WWE Title loss to Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Bryan was waiting to be examined this week, but word coming out of Sunday’s big event was that Bryan may have been injured.

This is why Bryan was sent went home earlier this week and was not backstage for Tuesday’s SmackDown from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AJ Styles Reveals When WrestleMania 35 Injury Happened, How Soon He Might Return

AJ Styles confirmed his injury on Wednesday while playing the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds video game on his Mixer account with fans.

We’ve noted how Styles suffered a hip injury during his WrestleMania 35 win over Randy Orton, one that forced him to miss Monday’s Axxess meet & greet appearance and then Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown Live. Styles confirmed that he was sent home because of the injury and to undergo x-rays on Wednesday. It was previously reported that the belief was Styles suffered the injury while doing the forearm from the ring to the floor, but he said he was injured while taking a superplex.

“When you take a suplex from about 15 feet in the air… You know, I think I hit my left side before my right, just a little bit, and that’s totally on me, totally my fault,” Styles said of the injury. “It kind of knocked my hips out of place and then everything else, all those muscles in your butt and your back, swell up and then those muscles press on your nerve endings, and next thing you know you can’t walk the next day.

“But, got x-rays [on Wednesday] and they were all positive, I didn’t break anything. So, as far as that looks, I should be good to go here soon.”

Styles said the injury came on the superplex that Orton hit towards the end of the match, right after a headbutt and right before a 2 count then uppercut by Orton. The x-rays indicated soft tissue damage and he’s already up and walking around, hoping to return to the ring next week.

There’s no word yet on if Styles will be at the Superstar Shakeup edition of RAW and SmackDown from Montreal next week, but we will keep you updated on his in-ring status.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Becky Lynch Says Ronda Rousey Could Not Handle The WWE Schedule

RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch spoke with Sports Illustrated this week and said she is resolute in the belief that she was built for this business, unlike Ronda Rousey.

“Only four months after having a part-time schedule, after making her debut at WrestleMania—having been on the cover of everything, just handed everything, she was crying in her kitchen about how she couldn’t make her husband breakfast,” Lynch said. “She couldn’t hack our schedule. Yet we do this every single night, 52 weeks a year, yet she couldn’t handle it for four months.”

Regarding her recent rise to being one of WWE’s most popular Superstars, Lynch said she treats her spot like a political campaign.

“I approach this as a political campaign,” she explained. “Any time I’ve the opportunity to get my voice out there, get myself heard and my message across, I use it. I want to make sure I do the people proud.”

It was noted that Lynch now hopes to headline the grandest stage of them all two years in a row with the WrestleMania 36 main event in Tampa on April 5, 2020.

“This is when the hard work starts. I’ve got two championships to make,” said Lynch.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Pat McAfee Details Backstage Blowup At WrestleMania 35 Over His Shorts

Moments before the WrestleMania 35 pre-show was set to begin, Pat McAfee says he was on the verge of walking out due to Michael Cole yelling at him for wearing shorts.

McAfee detailed the tense backstage moment on his show this week and said it began with him being told not to wear jorts to WrestleMania. Pat obliged by making tuxedo pants into tuxedo shorts.

However, when Michael Cole saw him wearing them backstage before the kickoff show, he got angry in front of everyone who was around … saying Pat looked unprofessional and sloppy.

“He was like yelling. Real. This wasn’t like a rib, or like a gimmick, you could tell there was actual panic,” McAfee explained. He then walked to the room where the WrestleMania watch-a-long was going to film and began packing his things. When the digital person in charge of the stream asked what was going on, Pat said, “You can tell Michael Cole to go f*ck himself, I am leaving. I am not getting punked and yelled at like a child in front of everybody like that.”

The WWE employee then said he’d go talk to Vince McMahon and asked Pat to hold tight.

He returned moments later with Michael Cole and the two explained how they showed Vince a picture of Lebron James wearing suit shorts. Vince apparently told them “yeah, I’m hip. I’ve seen it” and said he loved the idea of Pat wearing them.

Cole then apologized for yelling at him and said he was worried the shorts would ruin his chances in WWE, because this was the first time he was being seen on TV by Vince McMahon.

Watch Pat explain how it all went down HERE.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Wrestling News Blog Podcast Episode 6 – WrestleMania 35, WWE HOF, NXT TakeOver, RAW After Mania

Wrestling News Blog Podcast Episode 6 – WrestleMania 35 Podcast Special

Wrestling News Blog Podcast is available on all major podcast apps such as Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts and Stitcher.

Segment One – WrestleMania 35

Segment Two – 2019 WWE Hall of Fame

Segment Three – NXT TakeOver: New York

Segment Four – RAW After Mania

Segment Five – Length of Mania

Segment Six – Final Thoughts on Mania

Backstage News On WWE Wanting To Do A Big WrestleMania 35 Rematch

Multiple sources have confirmed to Sports Illustrated that the finish of the “Winner Takes All” WrestleMania 35 main event with Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey and SmackDown & RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch went off as planned.

As previously reported, the match was scheduled to end with Lynch pinning Rousey. According to SI, the finish with Lynch pinning Rousey while Rousey got her shoulder up was designed to protect Rousey and keep her character strong. The controversial finish allows Rousey to say Lynch did not legitimately defeat her.

SI also reported that WWE officials reportedly have Rousey tentatively planned to face Lynch in a singles rematch at WrestleMania 36 on April 5, 2020 from Tampa. Dave Meltzer added on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE officials do want to do the rematch, but there’s no date for her return yet and there’s no date or plans confirmed for the rematch.

Rousey is expected to step away from WWE for now. She has stated in media interviews in the past that she wants to have children with husband Travis Browne, which throws out any timetable for a return if they plan to do so during her break. She will also need to recover from the broken hand that she suffered during the match while throwing punches.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AJ Styles Injured At WWE WrestleMania 35

AJ Styles reportedly suffered an injury during his win over Randy Orton at WrestleMania 35 Sunday night.

There’s no word yet on details of the injury but PWInsider reports that AJ was pulled from yesterday’s Axxess VIP meet & greet appearance due to the injury.

Fans who had tickets to meet AJ today were told that he was removed from the signing due to an injury. They were offered full refunds and the promise of a Styles 8×10 photo that would be mailed to them, or the chance to meet new WWE Champion Kofi Kingston today.

Styles is scheduled to miss tomorrow’s WWE SmackDown from Brooklyn, according to Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com. A fan spotted Styles at the airport and said he was moving slowly.

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Styles has a hip injury. The severity of the injury is not known.

Source: Wrestling Inc.