Tag: WWE

John Cena Reveals When He Will Officially Retire From WWE

Former WWE Champion John Cena has become more and more of an honorary figure in WWE, his in-ring appearances dwindling with each passing year, leading many to wonder when the pro-wrestler-turned-Hollywood star will finally be calling it a career in sports entertainment. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Cena made it clear that the end is near.

“I never wanted to go out there just for the sake of going out there,” Cena said on the press tour for his latest film, “Argylle.” “I’m gonna be 47 this year. I feel great. So inside I feel great, but I know what it takes to be a WWE performer night in and night out and I don’t ever wanna just go out there and do it to do it. I wanna have the passion — the same passion as the fanbase — and I wanna give them exactly what they give me. The miles on this odometer say, ‘Hey, that’s gotta be done before 50.'”

Cena reiterated that he can’t perform in the ring while shooting films for insurance reasons, meaning that outside of extenuating circumstances (like the SAG-AFTRA strike that led to his most recent run) there’s no chance of him returning to WWE full-time.

“As long as the phone keeps ringing and we’ve had some good opportunities here, I’ll kind of preserve that for as long as I can,” he said. “But even coming back for these one-at-a-time things or short three-month periods, it takes its toll more and more, and I’ve just had an incredibly fortunate run with my health. I feel great. I just want to continue to feel great the rest of my life.”

When asked if he would be in Philadelphia for WrestleMania 40, Cena played coy, saying he may or may not be free that weekend. He also left things somewhat unclear about what exactly the end of his WWE career would look like. On the one hand, he was firm in his determination to continue his streak of 23 straight years with at least one WWE match even after retirement, saying “I’ve never missed a year, and as long as I can perform, I don’t intend to miss a year.” But he also wants to make room for those coming up behind him.

“When I say I’m done — in WWE, they say never say never and a lot of people retire and come back — I’m just being honest with myself,” Cena said. “There’s such a great new generation now as well. It’s time to pass the electric energy on to the folks that can be there every day.”

Accordingly, Cena’s role as of late has seemingly been to usher in the new generation of WWE stars. His last in-ring appearance was a loss to The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, after which he was brutally beaten down by the rising star. Before that, he put over LA Knight after their tag team victory at WWE Fastlane and lost a WWE United States Championship match to then-champion Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 1/23/2024

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

  • Vengeance Day WWE NXT Women’s Championship match contract signing with Lyra Valkyria & Roxanne Perez
  • Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinal: Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin vs. Nathan Frazer & Axiom
  • Lexis King vs. Trey Bearhill
  • Supernova Sessions with Lola Vice
  • Dijak vs. Joe Gacy
  • Blair Davenport vs. Karmen Petrovic
  • Lash Legend vs. Wren Sinclair

Seth Rollins Provides Injury Update On WWE Raw, Vows To Defend Title At WrestleMania

Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw” kicked off in a familiar way with Seth Rollins’ music and the crowd joyfully singing along, but things quickly took a somber tone, with Rollins announcing that an MRI showed that he suffered a Grade 2 MCL tear and a partially torn medial meniscus in his left knee. With surgery, that would mean a 3-4 month recovery period, which would cause Rollins to miss WrestleMania 40 — although it sounded like Rollins hadn’t committed to the doctors’ prescribed timeline as far as that goes.

Before the champion could detail his plan of action, he was interrupted by GUNTHER’s music and the WWE Intercontinental Champion hit the ring with his Imperium allies. After a promo from GUNTHER, Rollins said Imperium should have let him finish, because he “doesn’t give a damn what the doctors tell [him]” and he intends to keep his promise to take the title into WrestleMania, and do everything in his power to walk out with it. GUNTHER made it clear that he plans on winning the Royal Rumble and announced his intentions to choose Rollins as the titleholder that he would then go after.

The news was not a total surprise, as Rollins’ injury during last week’s title defense against Jinder Mahal was spotted in real time, with his legs taking more of the impact on a moonsault than he would have liked. Word got around soon after that it was indeed a legitimate injury, and we awaited word from the man himself tonight to see where things would go. As of this writing, whether WWE actually keeps the World Heavyweight Championship around Rollins’ waist in hopes that he’ll be back in time for the Showcase of the Immortals remains to be seen.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Netflix As The New Broadcast Home For RAW Beginning In 2025

WWE has announced this morning that “WWE Raw” — the promotion’s weekly flagship show — will move to Netflix in January 2025. The new long-term partnership will see the red brand show initially broadcast on the streaming platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Latin America. More countries will be added in the future. Additionally, Netflix will become the home of all weekly WWE shows, as well as premium live events such as WrestleMania, for international fans.

The WWE-Netflix deal is reportedly worth $5 billion over ten years. It means that WWE, owned by TKO Group Holdings, will earn $500 million a year from the new media rights agreement. “Raw’s” current deal with USA Network, which will expire in October, is said to be worth up to $260 million per year. Meanwhile, the new partnership with Netflix will see “Raw” leave linear television for the first time since the show began airing in 1993.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

It is still undecided where RAW will air between the end of the current USA deal and the start of the Netflix deal.

WWE RAW Preview 1/22/2024

WWE RAW airs live tonight on the USA Network from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA.

  • Seth Rollins will kick off the show to address his future as WWE Champion
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
  • Cody Rhodes and CM Punk face-to-face.
  • Chad Gable vs. Ivar
  • Ivy Nile vs. Valhalla
  • The Miz vs. Dominik Mysterio

Update On Seth Rollins Injury Sustained On WWE RAW

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins reportedly did not suffer an ACL tear when he was injured during his title defense against Jinder Mahal on Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw,” but he did sustain a torn MCL and partially torn meniscus, according to Fightful Select, which cited sources near Rollins. It’s not currently known if the injuries will require surgery or how WWE will alter creative plans going forward.

The champion was reportedly pulled from the lineup for this weekend’s WWE live events in Alabama and Mississippi and replaced by Randy Orton.

WrestleVotes posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Friday that Rollins will address his health and future as champion on the January 22 episode of “Raw,” the last Monday before the Royal Rumble.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 1/19/2024

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, LA Knight, and AJ Styles contract signing for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Fatal 4-Way Match at the Royal Rumble
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Kayden Carter and Katana Chance (c) vs. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn
  • LWO’s Carlito, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro vs. Legado World Order (Santos Escobar, Angel and Humberto)
  • Butch and Tyler Bate vs. Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson)
  • WWE United States Champion Logan Paul to be a guest on The KO Show

Grayson Waller Lashes Out At Disrespectful TV Host

Grayson Waller gained attention for his appearance on an Australian talk show alongside LA Knight today.

During their interview on the Sunrise news show, things took an unexpected turn when one of the hosts asked Knight to demonstrate his signature move on someone who was leaving that week. However, Knight declined the request and instead offered the opportunity to Waller. In a playful manner, the person raised his fists. However, Waller’s mood quickly changed when John Cena’s music suddenly started playing in the studio.

Waller made it clear that he wouldn’t fake a punch. Instead, he warned that the police might need to be called to the studio because he was about to deliver a real punch.

WWE Officially Confirms Cora Jade Injury, Likely Recovery Timeline On NXT

During Tuesday’s episode of “WWE NXT,” commentator Vic Joseph confirmed that former “NXT” Tag Team Champion Cora Jade has suffered a torn ACL and is expected to be out of action for close to a year.  Jade was injured last Friday at a house show during her match against “NXT” Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria. She reportedly had to be taken backstage by four officials.

Jade, who has been with WWE since 2021, had just made her return last month to the developmental brand. Jade had previously lost to former main roster star Dana Brooke (now Impact Wrestling’s Ash By Elegance) in a Kendo Stick match, before clearing out her locker on the August 1 episode. She ended up being gone a total of four months, finally making her return on December 9 at the “NXT” Deadline premium live event, where she attacked Valkyria.

Jade was scheduled to compete in Tuesday’s 20-woman No. 1 contender’s match (a battle royal that turned into a four-way) for Valkyria’s title; Joseph made the official announcement of Jade’s injury, which had been previously reported, immediately prior to the bell. Jade was replaced by newcomer Wren Sinclair (a debuting Madi Wrenkowski) in the contest, which was ultimately won by Jade’s arch-rival and former tag team partner Roxanne Perez.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 1/16/2024

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

  • NXT Women’s Championship number one contender Battle Royal (When it gets to the final 4 the match becomes a Fatal 4-Way)
  • Lyra Valkyria & Tatum Paxley vs. Lola Vice & Elektra Lopez
  • Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic quarterfinals: Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams vs. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe
  • Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic quarterfinals: Duke Hudson & Riley Osborne vs. Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde
  • Ridge Holland vs. Joe Coffey
  • We’ll hear from Oba Femi