Tag: WWE

WWE NXT Preview 12/26/2023

Here is the lineup for tonight’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on the USA Network: 

All or Nothing Match: Bronco Nima & Lucien Price vs. Duke Hudson & Andre Chase. Duke 

  • Heritage Cup Championship Match: Noam Dar vs. Josh Briggs 
  • Cora Jade vs. Karmen Petrovic
  • Bron Breakker vs. Nathan Frazer
  • Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey.
  • Breakout Tournament Semifinals Match: Riley Osborne vs. Lexis King 
  • Breakout Tournament Semifinals Match: Oba Femi vs. Tavion Heights
  • NXT Underground Match: Eddy Thorpe vs. Dijak

WWE SmackDown Preview 12/22/2023

WWE SmackDown will air tonight on FOX taped last week from the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

  • WWE United States Championship No. 1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Santos Escobar vs. Bobby Lashley
  • WWE United States Championship No. 1 Contender’s Tournament Semifinals: Kevin Owens vs. Carmelo Hayes
  • NXT North American Championship Match: Dragon Lee defends against Butch
  • Holiday Havoc Match: Bianca Belair, Shotzi, Zelina Vega and Michin vs. Damage CTRL’s IYO SKY, Bayley, Asuka and Kairi Sane
  • AJ Styles vs. Solo Sikoa

Authors Of Pain Returning To WWE TV Soon

The Authors of Pain will return to WWE television soon.

Fightful Select reports that WWE plans to have the Authors of Pain return to live programming soon.

The current plan is to have Akam and Razer appear on SmackDown, though nothing is set in stone. WWE Hall Of Famer Paul Ellering has been expected to join the duo on TV.

Akam and Razer were released from their WWE contracts in September 2020.

The Authors of Pain had been re-signed with the WWE in 2022 before the return of Vince McMahon as chairman in January 2023 and they were on the internal travel list as of May 2023.

Source: eWn

Hulk Hogan Gets Baptized: ‘Greatest Day Of My Life’

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan announced on Instagram Wednesday, that he had been baptized in a special ceremony at the Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Florida.  

“Total surrender and dedication to Jesus is the greatest day of my life,” the 70-year-old posted to Instagram, along with footage of the baptism. “No worries, no hate, no judgment… only love!” 

“In my opinion, this is the greatest decision you could ever make. Can’t wait to hang out with you in heaven. #amen #merrychristmas #hulkhogan #hulkamania“

Hogan’s wife, Sky Daily Hogan, also took part in the baptism, which involved fully submerging themselves in a large body of water. 

Video footage shows Hogan and his wife both in white smiling as they are dipped into the water. Hogan also wore his trademark bandanna in white, along with a silver cross necklace for the occasion.

He was baptized in a special ceremony at Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Florida. The professional wrestler has spoken publicly about his Christian beliefs in the past. He says, he was saved when he was 14/yrs old and rededicated his life this past April. The woman with him is his wife, Sky Daily Hogan.

“I accepted Christ as my savior at 14yrs old and the training, prayers and vitamins kept me in the game but now that I am one with God, the main event theme of surrender, service and love makes me the Real Main Event that can slam any giant of any size through the power of my Lord and Savior and so it is, even now brother, AMEN!” Hogan shared on his X account, formerly known as Twitter, in April.

WWE NXT Preview 12/19/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center on the USA Network: 

  • WWE NXT North American Championship: Dragon Lee (c) vs. a member of the No Quarter Catch Crew
  • Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley
  • Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs. Gallus
  • Thea Hail & Jacy Jayne vs. Kiana James & Izzi Dame
  • NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament: Lexis King vs. Dion Lennox
  • NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament: Tavion Heights vs. Luca Crusifino

WWE RAW Preview 12/18/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

  • WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship Match: The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and Damian Priest (c) vs. The Creed Brothers
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Chelsea Green and Piper Niven (c) vs. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter 
  • WWE International Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. The Miz – If Miz loses, he will not be able to challenge for the title as long as Gunther is champion.
  • Seth Rollins will address Drew McIntyre

Backstage Update On Omos, Dexter Lumis, And Odyssey Jones WWE Absences

Omos, Dexter Lumis, and Odyssey Jones all seemingly vanished from prominent spots on WWE TV, leaving fans with little indication of their futures.

Fightful Select is reporting that Omos is off TV to keep the giant superstar’s appearances special so that he can transition into an attraction role like Brock Lesnar or in the past Big Show. Omos currently works on select Live Events against talent like Akira Tozawa. There are reportedly few pitches if any headed his way. Omos last worked a notable program with Brock Lesnar, which culminated in the opening match of Night 2 of WrestleMania 39.

Dexter Lumis is currently not injured, but not on tour. The popular NXT star is said to be ready to go whenever Creative has plans for him, but like Omos there are no plans at the moment.

One superstar that has been the subject of pitches is Odyssey Jones. Jones has reportedly been pitched as an addition to the faction of Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits, though there have yet to be any developments past the pitch stage. Jones has been on the road, working tag matches with Cameron Grimes against Austin Theory and Grayson Waller at Live Events.

Jones has actually been mentioned by Omos in the past as someone that he would like to wrestle. The future special attraction said that he feels a responsibility to his fellow giant wrestlers to help them learn to adapt to life on the road, which is often not friendly to people of their size.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Charlotte Flair Will Be Out 9 Months

Charlotte Flair appeared to suffer a knee injury during her match against Asuka on Friday Night SmackDown last week, as she was spotted yelling “my knee” at Charles Robinson who was tending to her after the match. We’ve been waiting for any kind of diagnosis in the meantime and the first bit of official news to come out is not good.

Indeed, WWE announced during this week’s show that Flair did indeed suffer a knee injury on a spot coming off the ropes and she will have to miss nine months of action.

According to a report from Pwinsider, Flair suffered a torn ACL, a torn MCL and a torn meniscus after falling from the top rope. Additionally, it is believed that she suffered a strain to her neck. While the surgery has not taken place just yet, it is expected to happen in the near future.

The timing of this couldn’t be worse, considering we’re just before the holidays and WWE is gearing up for its biggest time of the year, the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania 40 push. Flair was undoubtedly going to be a major part of both.

Source: SB Nation

Injured WWE Star Liv Morgan Arrested For Drug Possession

Former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Liv Morgan was arrested in Florida for drug possession after a traffic stop. According to PWInsider, the 29-year-old was arrested for possession of marijuana and possession of drugs, possibly that of a synthetic cannabinoid, on Thursday evening. The injured star was arrested after a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy saw the Jeep she was driving cross over the white and yellow lines of the road. 

When the deputy approached Morgan’s vehicle, they smelled marijuana, according to the arrest report. According to PWInsider, a small plastic bag of marijuana and a vape pen that “held an oil-like substance” that later tested for marijuana were found in the vehicle. Morgan bonded out of jail and was released Thursday night around 10:00 p.m. WWE has yet to either comment to the outlet or release a statement.

According to a report from Fightful Select, there is no heat on Morgan within WWE following her arrest. It is worth mentioning that although marijuana is included in the Wellness Policy, WWE has not conducted tests for it in recent years.

A WWE staff member said, “Liv has not been on TV, did not alter creative plans, and was honest about the situation. There are no issues with her whatsoever.”

A top wrestler said, “Everybody liked Liv before, everybody still likes Liv. We’ll get our jokes off, and she’ll get hers off, and nobody will be thinking about it soon enough.”

Morgan has been out of action since suffering an injury on a July episode of “WWE Raw” that saw WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley attack her before their advertised match, an angle to write her off television. Morgan had just returned to the ring from a previous shoulder injury before suffering another, reportedly to her opposite side. The initial injury led Morgan and tag team partner Raquel Rodriguez to vacate the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

Sources: Wrestling Inc. and eWn

AJ Styles Returns, Attacks Roman Reigns (But Also LA Knight) On WWE SmackDown

After LA Knight defied Randy Orton’s wishes, expressed near the beginning of Friday’s episode of “WWE SmackDown,” by coming down the ramp to thwart an attack from Solo Sikoa, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns took matters into his own hands, smashing Knight and hitting the ring to attack Orton.

AJ Styles Returns, Attacks Roman Reigns (But Also LA Knight) On WWE SmackDown
Christian Bertrand/Shutterstock
BY JON JORDAN/DEC. 15, 2023 10:41 PM EST
After LA Knight defied Randy Orton’s wishes, expressed near the beginning of Friday’s episode of “WWE SmackDown,” by coming down the ramp to thwart an attack from Solo Sikoa, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns took matters into his own hands, smashing Knight and hitting the ring to attack Orton.

And then AJ Styles’ music hit.

“The Phenomenal One” emerged through the WWE Universe, dressed all in black, and hit “The Tribal Chief” with a Phenomenal Forearm. But what looked to be a simple evening up of the numbers game — as well as Styles exacting revenge by association for Sikoa’s taking him out last we saw him — turned sideways when the leader of The OC turned his attention toward Knight, obliterating him with a clothesline. Styles then exited the ring and walked past the battered Bloodline, all of whom ogled him awkwardly as he went to the back without any further interaction.

Orton, who challenged Reigns earlier in the night for the Universal Championship, looked confused as most onlookers probably felt throughout these events and once Knight came to off the mat, he looked equal parts perplexed and livid while staring down the departing Styles. Though there’s no official answer as of yet to Orton’s challenge, it seems reasonable that an Orton/Reigns bout will take place at Royal Rumble and now possibly Knight and Styles as well.

Source: Wrestling Inc.