Tag: WWE

WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 1 Preview 10/24/2023

Tonight is WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 1 live on USA Network from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

WWE also announced that Shotzi, Scarlett, and The Boogeyman as guests.

  • Devil’s Playground: Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James
  • NXT Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria
  • NXT Tag Team Championship: Tony D’Angelo & Stacks (c) vs. Chase U
  • Lights Out Match: Gigi Dolin vs. Blair Davenport
  • NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Lola Vice vs. Karmen Petrovic
  • NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Arianna Grace vs. Kelani Jordan
  • Lexis King (Brian Pillman Jr.) makes his in-ring debut

WWE SmackDown Preview 10/20/2023

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live on FOX from the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

  • WWE Women’s Championship: Iyo Sky (c) vs Charlotte Flair
  • Santos Escobar vs Montez Ford
  • Logan Paul to confront Rey Mysterio

WWE NXT Preview 10/17/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT live on USA at 8/7 C from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

  • Triple Threat Match: Carmelo Hayes vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dijak to decide No. 1 Contender to NXT Title
  • Bada Bing Bada Boom Battle Royal to determine No. 1 Contenders to NXT Tag Team Championship at Halloween Havoc – Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs, Charlie Dempsey & Drew Gulak, OTM, Hank Walker & Tank Ledger, Damon Kemp & Myles Borne, Chase U, Gallus, Creed Brothers, Angel & Humberto y Malik Blade & Edris Enofé
  • Lyra Valkyria vs. Tegan Nox
  • NXT Women’s champion “The Man” Becky Lynch comes back around to NXT

WWE RAW Preview 10/16/2023

The season premiere of WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK.

  • WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Bronson Reed
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Cody Rhodes and Jay Uso (c) vs. Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and Damian Priest
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler
  • Ricochet vs Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Also on last Friday’s SmackDown, Triple H appointed Adam Pearce as the new General Manager of Raw. Tonight is Pearce’s first night in his new role.

Details On Why Vince McMahon Backed Away From WWE Creative Reportedly Revealed

The roles of Vince McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque in WWE’s creative department appear to have changed. While the latter has been in charge of these duties for quite some time, McMahon is known for having a very hands-on approach when it comes to the company’s television product. However, a report from Sports Illustrated states that Levesque is in charge in the wake of WWE merging with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings following the completion of the Endeavor sale.

According to the report, Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor, is behind the change as he believes that everyone in the company should focus on the jobs they’ve been assigned. McMahon is currently an executive chairman, and his main focus for now is to oversee media rights negotiations. As WWE’s Chief Content Officer, however, it’s Levesque’s role to spearhead the creative direction of “WWE Raw” and “WWE SmackDown.”

What’s more, McMahon is said to have an iron-clad contract that protects him financially. However, there doesn’t appear to be any clauses in the agreement that give him license to run the company however he sees fit. Emanuel has the final say over all matters.

Previously, it was reported that McMahon was involved in WWE creative prior to his spinal surgery, which led to him making several changes to the shows. That being said, it’s believed that he stepped away from the role willingly to allow Levesque to steer the ship in that department.

As of this writing, McMahon is under investigation by the federal government, presumably in regard to the hush money payments he made to several women in the past. The outcome of the case remains to be seen.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE & Randy Orton Reportedly Have Targeted Return Date

It’s been almost 17 months since fans saw Randy Orton in a WWE ring, but if the latest murmurs are true, “The Viper’s” extended absence is coming to an end. Fightful Select is reporting that Orton and WWE are circling Survivor Series, which takes place November 25 in Chicago, as the date for the former WWE Champion’s return. Fightful previously reported that Orton was seen at the WWE Performance Center in September.

Orton last wrestled on the episode of “WWE SmackDown” that took place on May 20, 2022. That was the night “SmackDown” Tag Team Champions Jimmy and Jey Uso defeated Orton and Matt Riddle for the “Raw” Tag Team Championship, resulting in the titles being unified (still the case as of this writing). Orton and Riddle were beaten down by The Bloodline after the match, which served to write Orton off television. If November 25 is truly his return date, “The Apex Predator” will be back exactly one year after it was reported that he had undergone back fusion surgery.

It’s difficult to overstate how much WWE has changed in the time Orton has been gone, a period that has included Vince McMahon’s retirement, Vince McMahon’s return, and the merger of WWE and UFC into TKO Group Holdings under the broader umbrella of Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor. As a result, it’s unclear what role a returned Orton would play in the current landscape — even Riddle, his tag team partner for more than a year before his injury, was recently released from the company. But it’s worth noting that creative plans for Orton before he was put on the shelf reportedly involved an Undisputed WWE Universal Champion match with Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2022, and Reigns’ title reign is, ironically, one of the few things that hasn’t changed in Orton’s absence.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Triple H Introduces Nick Aldis As New WWE SmackDown GM, Kevin Owens Traded From Raw

The season premiere of “WWE SmackDown” was always set to have an announcement from Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, but what we got was a triple-whammy, with Adam Pearce announced as the new General Manager of “Raw,” Kevin Owens as the trade chip returned to “SmackDown” in exchange for Jey Uso, and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis, introduced as the new GM of “Smackdown.”

After the appointment of Pearce, who Levesque acknowledged for doing a great job as the all-encompassing authority figure on both brands for the last several years and subsequently promoted to “Raw” GM, Levesque alluded to the “SmackDown” side of things. He was interrupted by “NXT” North American Champion — and The Judgment Day’s biggest heat magnet — Dominik Mysterio before calling Aldis into the ring.

Aldis, following a handshake agreement with Levesque, fought off Dom’s interjections and the ensuing crowd displeasure, to turn the conversation back to the completion of the Jey Uso trade. That’s when Owens’ music hit and “KO” made his way to the ring. Not showing any patience whatsoever, Owens immediately Stunned Dom, putting an end to the segment and seemingly kicking off a new era for both brands on the road to Survivor Series.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown To Go Head-to-Head With AEW Collision Next Month

The latest battle between WWE and AEW was this past Tuesday between NXT and Dynamite, with NXT outdrawing the rival show in the ratings.  

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the next head-to-head ratings battle between WWE and AEW will happen on November 17. 

“The next head-to-head situations will be on 11/17, when Collision is moved to Friday from 8-10 p.m., meaning there will be a live three-hour block from the Forum in Los Angeles with Rampage at 10-11 p.m. So the first two hours will go against Smackdown on FOX.”

AEW can’t air its program in the normal timeslot because of the Full Gear pay-per-view event on November 18th. 

There will also be a head-to-head on November 25 with Collision against Survivor Series and on December 9 with Collision against NXT Deadline from Bridgeport, CT.

Source: eWn

WWE SmackDown Preview 10/13/2023

The WWE SmackDown ‘season premiere’ will air live tonight on FOX from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

  • The fallout from Fastlane
  • Triple H to appear
  • John Cena to appear
  • Roman Reigns returns
  • WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso to issue open challenge
  • Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson) vs. Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland and Butch)

Report: WWE Not Bringing Back CM Punk

According to F4WOnline, WWE has decided against bringing back CM Punk. 

There have been previous reports that Punk had intention to return to WWE and he and the company were said to be in talks.

Also per the report from F4WOnline, WWE turned Punk down, with Vince McMahon, Nick Kahn and Paul Levesque deciding on not to bring Punk back at this time.

It was further noted the main reason for not to bring back Punk, was the negatives out weighted the positives.

When Nick Khan spoke last month with ESPN about WWE’s potential interest in Punk, he said they “only have respect for Phil” and “wish him nothing but the best.”