Tag: WWE

Video: WWE Alum Dwayne Johnson Surprises 21 Make-A-Wish Kids At Universal Studios

Pro wrestling and the Make-A-Wish Foundation have always been closely connected, with top stars like John Cena having granted over 650 wishes in 21 years. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has also been heavily involved with the organization, including donating over $100,000 to them just last year. Recently, he set out to top that by granting not one, but many wishes all in one day.

“The Today Show” posted on X a 4-minute video detailing Johnson’s meeting with 21 Make-A-Wish kids at Universal Studios Hollywood. Johnson would surprise all the kids, and their families, during the Universal Studios backlot tour, and proceeded to serve as the tour guide. All told Johnson would go well over the one hour he was supposed to spend with the kids and their families, ultimately spending 5 hours interacting with everyone. As Johnson explained to “Today’s” Jacob Soboroff, Make-A-Wish has always been something dear to him, ever since his father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, granted the first New Jersey Make-A-Wish in 1983.

“This little boy, Bobby, I’ll never forget it, his last wish was to meet my dad,” Johnson said. “It puts things into perspective for you right away.” When asked why Johnson had put so much energy into his involvement with Make-A-Wish, when he could realistically work with any charity in the world, an emotional Johnson pointed to how helpful and meaningful moments like this were to those going through something difficult. “These are kids,” Johnson said. “And the cards that they are dealt, they didn’t ask for it, but they’re playing these hands the best they can. These kids are so strong.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Potentially Major Update On Cora Jade’s WWE NXT Status Ahead Of Deadline PLE

WWE “NXT” Superstar Cora Jade could be making her WWE return this Saturday at the Deadline premium live event. According to “PWInsider,” there were reportedly talks about her return during this past week’s “NXT” taping.

If the former “NXT” Women’s Tag Team Champion does make her return on December 9, this will be the first time since she “cleaned” out of her locker on the August 1 episode of “NXT.” Her last in-ring match was a loss to former WWE Superstar Dana Brooke in a Kendo Stick match on the July 25 episode of “NXT,” which ended their summer-long feud.

This past October, Jade was asked on social media when she would return to the developmental brand. Her blunt response was to stop asking her because “it sucks there.” When she first said she was leaving the brand, there were rumors that she was going to join the main roster, which didn’t turn out to be true. 

Things are a little different since Jade was last seen on television; at the time the “NXT” Women’s Champion was Tiffany Stratton, while Lyra Valkyria now holds the belt, having won the title from Becky Lynch at Halloween Havoc. In her two-year tenure with WWE, Jade has won one title — the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Roxanne Perez.

Jade, who signed with WWE in January 2021, made her WWE in-ring debut on the January 20 taped episode of “WWE 205 Live.” Her “NXT” in-ring debut came about a month later on the February 10 episode of “NXT,” where she lost to Xia Li.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Wes Lee Off WWE NXT Deadline Card Due To Back Surgery, Will Miss Eight To 12 Months

The injury bug has once again bitten “WWE NXT,” this time taking out NXT North American Number One Contender Wes Lee. Lee announced on last night’s “WWE NXT” that he has an injury that will require treatment and he will be unable to compete for the foreseeable future. It was later announced that he would be out of action for eight to 12 months.

This left NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio without an opponent for the upcoming Deadline PLE on December 9. Mysterio initially gloated about this fact, until his father, WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio interrupted to announce that his ne’er do well son would still be competing at the event in Bridgeport, CT against former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Dragon Lee.

Dragon Lee and Dominik previously feuded over the title in August, with Mysterio coming out on top. Before that Dragon Lee had been a stalwart of the North American Title division. Dragon Lee last competed at WWE Survivor Series: War Games, where he defended the honor of Carlito in a match against Santos Escobar, in which Escobar was the victor, having seemingly graduated to the main roster after a top-notch showing on the developmental brand.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 12/5/2023

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

  • NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov and Baron Corbin face-to-face
  • Iron Survivor Challenge Last Chance qualifier: Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Fallon Henley vs. Thea Hail
  • Iron Survivor Challenge Last Chance qualifier: Carmelo Hayes vs. Eddy Thorpe vs. Joe Coffey vs. Tyler Bate
  • Alpha Academy (Otis, Chad Gable, and Maxxine Dupri) vs. Meta-Four (Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, and Lash Legend)
  • Andre Chase to address Chase U in a special assembly

AJ Styles Reportedly Set To Return To WWE SmackDown This Friday

This week’s “WWE SmackDown” promises to be a star-studded show, with Randy Orton now an official member of the blue brand, while CM Punk will be making his first “SmackDown” appearance in nine years. However, it appears that another former WWE Champion is also expected to turn up, as AJ Styles is set to return to television on Friday, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio.”

Styles was originally supposed to be back on television a couple weeks ago, but those plans ended up being scrapped. However, Styles is now back in the mix, with the veteran star returning just in time to kickstart the Road to WrestleMania. The “Phenomenal One” has been out of action since the start of September, written off after he was attacked backstage. That took him out of the Fastlane tag team match where he was originally set to team with John Cena, eventually being replaced by LA Knight.

Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso were the men responsible for his attack, therefore Styles could end up plugged back into that storyline working against The Bloodline, but that is unknown. Roman Reigns currently doesn’t have an opponent for the upcoming Royal Rumble, and while Orton has been discussed for that role, the creative team is also considering other ideas — possibly opening the door for Styles. It remains to be seen if Styles’ return will also lead to The Good Brothers coming back, which could help with the numbers game against The Bloodline. However, Luke Gallows has been on the sidelines after getting his knee scoped, so it will likely depend on his recovery.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 12/4/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the MVP Arena in Albany, New York.

  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Jey Uso
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
  • Two Out of Three Falls: DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) vs. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci)
  • Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax
  • Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Tegan Nox & Natalya
  • The Creed Brothers (Brutus & Julius Creed) vs. Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh
  • Cody Rhodes to address Shinsuke Nakamura

Backstage News On Randy Orton’s WWE Contract Status

Fightful Select is reporting that after being out of action from WWE for a year and a half before returning to WWE at Survivor Series last weekend, he might end up sticking around for longer than originally expected.

Orton was teasing free agency for the first time in 2019, before ultimately putting pen-to-paper on a new five-year WWE contract at a time when the company was mass-signing several talents to long-term deals. One particular WWE source noted he would be surprised if the company didn’t extend Orton’s current deal.

The original WWE contract for Orton was scheduled to last until the Fall of 2024, which would put him around one-year remaining. After missing nearly 18 months, there is a strong possibility that WWE could add “injury time” to the deal, which would keep him locked up by the company until 2026. Having said that, it is not a guarantee that this is how things will play out.

There have been similar situations in the past where talents were injured but didn’t have time added to their existing contracts because they worked in other roles, or in some other capacity that involved company-related projects or efforts. It is believed that the situation with Orton right now is not like those, however, and that it is ultimately up to the company as to whether or not they go the former route or the latter.

Source: Rajah.com

WWE SmackDown Preview 12/1/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

  • Fallout From Survivor Series
  • Randy Orton to appear
  • WWE United States Champion Logan Paul to appear
  • Kevin Owens vs. Grayson Waller
  • Damage CTRL segment

WWE NXT Preview 11/28/2023

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

  • NXT North American Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Wes Lee vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano
  • NXT Tag Team Championship: Tony D’Angelo and Stacks (c) vs. Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo
  • Andre Chase will break his silence
  • Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Bron Breakker vs. Eddy Thorpe
  • Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Kelani Jordan vs. Kiana James

Backstage WWE & AEW Reaction To CM Punk’s Return To WWE

CM Punk made his return to WWE this past Saturday at the Survivor Series: WarGames 2023 pay-per-view event.

Fightful Select has shared additional details on the backstage reaction of both WWE and AEW to Punk returning “home” at the pay-per-view event in Chicago, IL.

Several top WWE wrestlers are expecting to speak to officials in the company for “assurances” about Punk and his role in the company going forward.

The reaction backstage in WWE has been quite muted, similar to when Punk returned for AEW Collision.

There have been rumors about talents who do not wish to work with Punk and are considering leaving WWE.

Like AEW, however, there have been no reports of anyone actually requesting his/her release over Punk’s return to WWE.

Some top talent in WWE have reportedly asked friends in AEW whether Punk was involved in the ongoing Devil storyline. It has been reported that Punk was never considered for the Devil’s role.

As for AEW President Tony Khan, he reportedly seemed more concerned with losing Katsuyori Shibata, who had to fly back to Japan, than Punk’s WWE return.

Punk’s appearance was kept a top secret in WWE, although the former AEW World Champion either told or hinted to his very close friends that it was happening.

WWE is currently using renders from Punk’s previous stint with the company including the same Titantron video.

A source at Peacock suggested that the playlist of Punk content, which went online immediately after Survivor Series 2023, didn’t require any time to compile.

Prior to Punk’s return on Saturday, WWE talent and staff were advised to ignore any Punk chants at SmackDown and Survivor Series 2023.

Source: eWn