Tag: WWE

Edge To WWE SmackDown Crowd In Toronto: ‘This Is My Last Time In Front Of Y’all’

WWE fans still don’t have a concrete answer as to whether the “Rated R Superstar” is officially retired from the company, but Edge cut a promo to the “WWE SmackDown” live crowd after the broadcast went off the air following his match with Sheamus — a match many believe could be the star’s final match with the company — shedding at least a little bit of light on the situation.

In a video posted to  Twitter by a user named Dylan Melanson, Edge is seen speaking in the middle of the ring following his victory. “What I can say, is this is my last time in front of y’all,” he said, to a chorus of boos from his hometown crowd of Toronto. “I don’t think I could make it a full… to get here again for another match. I’m just being honest with you.”

Edge also instructed the crowd to “not let that be a downer,” because the fans gave him an amazing experience. He said he will never forget it.

“And when I’m 84-years-old and don’t remember much, you’re damn sure I’m going to remember this,” he said before thanking the crowd and walking out of the ring to his theme music.

Later, WWE’s official Twitter account would post a snippet of the speech, in which Edge says he doesn’t know what the future holds and needs to ask his family, who were sitting ringside, what they want him to do.

Before the match, Edge addressed the retirement rumors, saying “SmackDown” was the final match on his current WWE deal. As of this writing, neither the star nor WWE have commented on any official retirement.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 8/18/2023 – 25 Years Of Edge Celebration – Edge Retiring?

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live on FOX from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON.

Tonight’s episode of “WWE SmackDown” might be Edge’s final match in the company he’s been part of since 1998. “The Rated R Superstar” claims that he doesn’t know if it’ll be his last outing.

According to the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter,” Edge’s trainer and friend, Ron Hutchison, reportedly claimed that the WWE Hall of Famer is pretty sure that he’ll hang up his boots after “SmackDown.” Edge hasn’t expressed this viewpoint publicly in the lead-up to the show, but he has given fans some information about where his mind is at.

Earlier this week, Edge addressed the retirement rumors by admitting that it’s the last match he’s contracted to compete in, and the fact it’s taking place in Toronto, Canada has led to speculation that it’ll be his farewell bout. However, while he admits that wrestling has become difficult for him, he’s still torn about retiring. WWE hasn’t advertised the match as Edge’s retirement either, presumably because the Superstar still doesn’t know if he’s going to hang up his boots when it’s all said and done.

The “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” report notes that Edge signed a three-year deal when he returned to WWE in 2020. However, that contract was supposed to have expired months ago, but it’s possible that he signed an extension. While Edge has openly stated that tonight’s bout is the last match on his current contract, it’s currently unknown if that means he’ll become a free agent afterward. WWE signs lots of retired Superstars to Legends deals, after all.

  • Edge 25 years celebration
  • Edge vs. Sheamus
  • The Grayson Waller Effect with guest United States Champion Rey Mysterio

Speculation As To The Reason Behind Lacey Evans’ WWE Departure

Lacey Evans is officially gone from WWE after her contract reportedly expired after August 15. During the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Dave Meltzer weighed in with what possibly led to her departure.

“I remember when she was in ‘NXT’ and she was brought to the main roster, she had that giant push at first,” Meltzer recalled. “She got the real big push at first. Then she would get the weekly vignettes and not a push at all. It was the craziest thing ever. But a lot of her lack of exposure had to do with Vince being gone because Vince was her proponent.”

Ever since Vince McMahon stepped back from being the head of creative in July 2022, Evans’ television time has decreased. At the beginning of this year, Evans was repackaged with a military gimmick similar to that of Sgt. Slaughter, but it only resulted in her picking up a couple of squash wins. Evans lost her last three televised matches this year, with her final one airing on “WWE SmackDown” in June.

The 33-year-old first signed with “WWE NXT” in 2016 and took part in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. She transitioned to the main roster at the start of 2019 and entered at number one in that year’s women’s Royal Rumble match. Her biggest feud came later that spring against Becky Lynch for the “Raw” Women’s Championship. Evans also made history alongside Natalya that year when they took part in the first WWE women’s match at a Saudi Arabia event. Her last high-profile feud took place in early 2020 when she turned babyface and challenged Bayley for the “SmackDown” Women’s title.

Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to Wrestling Observer Radio

Lacey Evans Gone From WWE

Lacey Evans is no longer with WWE, as Dave Meltzer reported today, that she is done with the company. No further details were given. 

Evans first joined WWE in 2016 and trained at the Performance Center before being assigned to NXT for development. Three years later, Evans was brought up to the main roster where she had numerous start-and-stop pushes and character changes.

Her latest match was with Zelina Vega last month. Evans hasn’t been particularly involved in a storyline with her in recent months. 

Fans began speculating that Evans was referring to her counting the days until her WWE contract expires when she shared a meme with the words “How Many Days Left” on social media. 

Later, Evans changed her social handles to LimitlessMacey. Over the past 24 hours, she also started using her real name, Macey Estrella.

WWE NXT Preview 8/15/2023

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

  • NXT Championship number one contender’s match: Wes Lee vs. Dijak
  • NXT Tag Team Championship: Tony D’Angelo and Stacks (c) vs. The Dyad 
  • Trick Williams vs. Drew Gulak
  • Dana Brooke vs. Blair Davenport
  • Mustafa Ali has a very important announcement

Piper Niven Declares Herself Chelsea Green’s New Partner, Claims Title Belt On WWE Raw

Chelsea Green didn’t have to look too hard to find a new tag team partner to help her defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship after Sonya Deville suffered a torn ACL, leaving her out of action indefinitely. On Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw,” Piper Niven declared herself Green’s new partner and took one of the title belts off of Green’s shoulder, seemingly getting her first taste of championship gold (outside of the defunct 24/7 title) in WWE.

In a backstage segment, it looked as though Adam Pearce was going to strip Green of the championships due to Deville’s inability to compete. Green argued with Pearce, saying she had worked too hard for the titles to see them vacated. Pearce asked Green what she would do in his situation, and she said she would “hold auditions,” which she had been doing on social media throughout the day leading up to the show, calling the video segments “Chelsea’s Got Talent.” Green was confronted by Kayden Carter and Katana Chance who said they wanted a shot at the titles when Green received a new partner.

Auditions never got underway on “Raw,” however, as Niven burst in attacks Carter and Chance and declared herself Green’s new partner. Green said Niven should submit her name, number, and Instagram handle to be considered, but Niven simply grabbed the title belt and reiterated that she was Green’s new partner. It seems Green and Niven will now be partnering as Women’s Tag Team Champions moving forward on WWE programming — their first match together has not yet been set up, but Niven did attack Katana Chance and Kayden Carter during the segment.

Green and Deville won the championships from Liz Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez on an episode of “Raw” last month.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Update on Bray Wyatt’s Return to WWE; Was Dealing With Life Threatening Illness

Bray Wyatt has been out of action for almost all of 2023 having not received clearance to return to in-ring activity by WWE medical personnel. Fightfulselect.com is reporting that Wyatt has been battling an undisclosed illness during that time, something that was termed both career and life threatening that caused him to be hospitalized at one point.

While rumors over the last couple of months leading into SummerSlam suggested that Wyatt was ready to return and simply waiting for proper “creative” to be drawn up for him, fightful reports that isn’t the case and that Wyatt was never ever considered for SummerSlam as no one was sure when or even if he would return. However, things have taken a positive turn lately and WWE sources now state that Wyatt is getting closer to a return and that internally, the company has discussed some creative plans for his return with September being tossed around as a target date.

Prior to his illness, Wyatt was set to be integrated with Alexa Bliss, Eric Young and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) in a stable but Bliss is now on maternity leave, Young requested his release after Vince McMahon returned and was granted it, while Dallas is the only active member of the group who is truly waiting for creative. For what it’s worth, Bray Wyatt’s father Mike Rotunda recently seemed to confirm the above report stating that he is “sure” that Wyatt would be returning to WWE hopefully in short order.

Source: RAJAH.COM

WWE RAW Preview 8/14/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Canada Life Centre from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

  • Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
  • Shinsuke Nakamura will explain his actions for attacking World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins last week

Arianna Grace Competing In Miss Universe Canada Pageant

Bianca Carelli (Arianna Grace) will be competing in the Miss Universe Canada pageant this week.

Grace, the daughter of Santino Marella, took to Threads to announce that she will be competing in the pageant this coming Saturday. The NXT star is one of 61 finalists. Grace wrote,

“Feeing so grateful for the life I live, I get to live two of my dreams at the same time this week. I am a WWE wrestler AND I’m competing for the title of Miss Universe Canada this week. It almost seems surreal, but I made it happen. Hard work always pays off.”

Grace is currently sidelined with an injury but disclosed at the start of the month that she is taking bumps again.

https://www.threads.net/@ariannagrace_wwe/post/Cv2ngycuUYj

Source: eWn

The Bloodline Saga Continues, Jey Uso Says His Out Of The WWE

On the latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown, the ongoing family drama within The Bloodline continued to unfold. Jey Uso, still reeling from his twin brother Jimmy Uso’s betrayal at WWE SummerSlam 2023, confronted Jimmy face-to-face.

Roman Reigns, flanked by Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman, first addressed the crowd in the ring. Roman called for Heyman to get Jimmy, who was unaware of Jimmy’s whereabouts. Jimmy appeared at ringside shortly thereafter, before getting into the ring. Roman proceeded to extend various offers to Jimmy, who declined, asserting that his actions at SummerSlam 2023 were not connected to Roman.

Jey Uso then made his entrance, seeking answers from his brother. Jimmy opened up, revealing that his betrayal was rooted in his love for Jey and not jealousy, and that he feared that if Jey would have become the ‘Tribal Chief,’ he would have been corrupted, much like Roman Reigns.

Following an emotionally charged exchange, Jimmy left the ring after asking his twin brother to take him out if that’s what he felt was needed. Jey, however, administered a superkick to Roman Reigns, leading to a skirmish involving Solo Sikoa. Jey fought back against Solo and Roman, eventually executing a Spear on Roman.

Meanwhile, Jimmy, seemingly conflicted, was making his way up the entrance ramp during this time and did not come to aid of his twin brother. Jey, who overcame the odds himself anyway, asked Jimmy to hold on. As both twins made their way toward each other, Jimmy extended his arms for an embrace, only to be taken out by a superkick.

Jey ended the episode by announcing his departure from both The Bloodline and WWE, leaving through the stands at the Saddledome.

Source: eWn