WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri.
Jay White is still a free agent after finishing up with NJPW.
White has interest from both promotions but has yet to make a decision about his wrestling future. He lost a ‘loser leaves Japan’ match to Hikuleo, followed by a ‘loser leaves NJPW’ match against Eddie Kingston.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that White is in talks with AEW and WWE.
“Regarding Jay White, we are told that White has been talking to WWE but has not signed. He is also talking to AEW. From someone familiar with the situation they described it as 50/50 which side he would go with,” Meltzer wrote.
Source: eWrestlingNews
WWE WrestleMania 39 from Hollywood will have some cutbacks regarding staff.
This comes after Vince McMahon returned as the Chairman of the Board position in January to oversee a potential sale.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the company is looking to maximize the profit margin of the show as McMahon explores a potential company sale.
“There are going to be cutbacks to the show, but not in ways that any fan would notice. Less personnel will be brought in and some of the foreign language announcers that had been brought in previously will be announcing via remote, which is also something that a lot of sports teams and networks are doing more of. The idea is to increase the profit margin of the show in getting the company ready for a sale,” Meltzer wrote.
WWE WrestleMania 39 takes place on April 1 and 2, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA on Peacock.
Source: eWrestlingNews
Kofi Kingston will need surgery following a recent injury.
The New Day member took to Twitter on Thursday evening to announce that he’ll be undergoing surgery on his ankle later today (Friday) in Birmingham, Alabama. The injury took place on an episode of WWE SmackDown earlier this month.
Kingston wrote:
“***Long post ahead. Y’all that don’t like to read, this ain’t for you lol***
Alabama folks are so kind. Earlier today instead of waiting 15 min for an Uber to take me to the YMCA Shades Valley to workout, I opted to take one of those electric street scooters. Big mistake. Half the trip was uphill and on semi highway roads! And I was wearing my air cast walking boot!
I got within a mile of the @BirminghamYMCA, and the scooter wouldn’t go further for some reason. Also, the Y was out of the drop off range, so I then had to call an Uber anyway, lol.
30 min later after 2 others canceled, one finally came to pick me up. I had him stop at target…I needed lotion (yes I was still ashy from this morning).
Finally got to the Y and the woman at the desk told me that in order to buy a guest pass, a member had to bring you as a guest… “but you can be my guest,” she said. And she vouched for me to workout. So kind of her to do for a stranger. I really wanted to move around a bit before I’m unable to do so after surgery tomorrow.
After the gym, I stopped at a stir fry spot called “Yummefy”. Tons of vegan options. The maps app said they were closed, but I was in luck! Nice lady gave me the best recommendations… I ordered all of them!
When I got my food, I went to inform the lady that the maps app said they were closed and they should probably fix their hours. She said, “oh we are closed. We just made that food for you anyway.”
My jaw dropped in disbelief. It was 15 minutes past the closing time! I thanked her profusely. So kind of her to go out of her way so that I could eat.
Anyway, a long message that can be summed up by saying that I am very grateful for the people I’ve come across here in Birmingham today.
Tomorrow, we march forward and into the hands of the best in the world at what he does! Let’s get this ankle right!”
Source: eWrestlingNews
Last week on the “WWE NXT” Roadblock special, “NXT” Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez successfully defended her title against Meiko Satomura. Following the momentous victory, Perez suddenly collapsed, and WWE have been providing updates ever since, including when she was discharged last Friday night. While the injury gives every indication of being storyline, separate outlets are reporting conflicting things as to its legitimacy.
Today on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that the situation was vague and that hopefully nothing is wrong, but there might be. He also suggested that until they know what the situation is, WWE has to be vague about it. However, Fightful Select were a lot more direct, reporting that Perez is fine and that her “injury” is and always has been for storyline purposes. It should be noted that WWE has not shied away from discussions or replays of the incident on “NXT” programming, which would suggest it is kayfabe.
In perhaps continuing with said storyline, WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels announced this week that with Perez’s health in question, “NXT” needed to take steps to potentially crown a new women’s champion at Stand and Deliver, beginning with a series of qualifying matches this past Tuesday. “With Stand and Deliver in less than three weeks I have the obligation to announce we possibly have to crown a New NXT Women’s Champion,” he tweeted
Tuesday night’s “NXT” saw both Zoey Stark and Gigi Dolin qualify for the Ladder Match at Stand & Deliver, which is slated for April 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Perez, meanwhile, has held her title since defeating Mandy Rose on the December 13 episode of “NXT.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The Great Muta’s induction into WWE Hall of Fame has now been officially confirmed via Ric Flair on “The Bump.”
Keiji Muto, aka The Great Muta, will enter the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023. Ric Flair officially announced Muto’s on WWE’s “The Bump.” It remains unknown whether Flair will induct him during the ceremony, which will stream on Peacock directly after “WWE SmackDown” on March 31.
Muto will be the second 2023 Hall of Famer announced so far, following Rey Mysterio, whose entry was announced on Monday’s “WWE Raw,” and reportedly preceding Stacy Keibler, who is believed to be another 2023 entrant. WWE is said to be keeping the list of inductees smaller than usual, with a shorter broadcast planned compared to years past. As of now, it’s unknown how many individuals will be part of the 2023 class. Last year saw the induction of The Undertaker, Vader, Queen Sharmell, and the Steiner Brothers, along with Shad Gaspard receiving the Warrior Award.
Despite his status as a legendary figure in professional wrestling, Muto’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame is slightly curious, as he’s never competed in the company over the course of his lengthy career. Still, it’s impossible to deny the impact of The Great Muta on the industry, and the company clearly thought highly of the performer; they recently gave permission for WWE star Shinsuke Nakamura to compete at a Pro Wrestling NOAH event on Muto’s farewell tour. Nakamura wrestled Muto there and walked away with a victory. Muto’s final match took place on February 21, with NJPW’s Tetsuya Naito defeating Muto after nearly 30 minutes.
Flair and Muto shared a rivalry in NWA, wrestling a number of times on both PPVs and at live events. Their feud culminated in a steel cage match featuring Flair, Arn Anderson, and Ole Anderson taking on The Great Muta, Buzz Sawyer, and Kendo “The Dragon Master” Nagasaki. Flair has been open about his high regard for Muto as an opponent, and the 16-time world champion is a natural fit to induct Muto into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
It appears that a new “WWE NXT” Women’s Champion will be crowned at the brand’s Stand & Deliver event. WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels took to Twitter and announced that there will be a series of qualifying matches starting on tonight’s episode to determine who will be competing at Stand & Deliver in a ladder match for the “NXT” Women’s Championship.
“As of Friday Morning Roxanne Perez was discharged from the hospital,” Michaels wrote. “However, after numerous tests, Roxanne’s health is still in question. With Stand and Deliver in less than three weeks, I have the obligation to announce we possibly have to crown a New NXT Women’s Champion. Starting tonight there will be a series of qualifying matches with the winners advancing to Stand and Deliver to compete to become the NXT Women’s Champion in a Ladder Match.”
The end of the March 7 episode of “NXT” saw Perez suddenly “collapse” after she retained her title against Meiko Satomura. Perez was stretchered out of the arena to an ambulance backstage. This happened after several vignettes showed her “exhaustive workouts” ahead of the big match with the former “NXT UK” Women’s Champion. Perez has been the “NXT” Women’s Champion since defeating former WWE Superstar Mandy Rose on the December 13 edition of “NXT.”
Stand & Deliver is set for Saturday, April 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. It will be on the same day as night one of WrestleMania 39 and will be starting at 1 PM ET. Other matches announced include Bron Breakker defending his “NXT” Championship against Carmelo Hayes and Grayson Waller will be facing Johnny Gargano.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
In a recent interview with Denise Salcedo on the “Instinct Culture” podcast, Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James touched on the current state of women’s wrestling, as well as her plans to attend WrestleMania 39 as a fan for the very first-time next month.
Citing Lita and Trish Stratus competing at WrestleMania 39, Saraya’s (Paige) recent in-ring return in AEW, and Impact Wrestling’s thriving women’s division, James said,
“How amazing, how exciting of a time is it in 2023 when we are looking at Lita as a Tag Team Champion with Becky? Now looking at Team Bestie going to be at WrestleMania, two women who I’ve shared a lot of history with, and who I admire, look up to, find hella inspiring, and I just adore. You see that happening there. You see, in IMPACT, I’m the Champion in 2023, and our tag team division is shining so bright, and the women in that locker room. Then you see over at AEW, Saraya comes back from a career-ending injury. Someone who they said, ‘Oh, she’s never going to wrestle again.’ What a freakin magical time in professional wrestling and not just in women’s professional wrestling, just in professional wrestling across the board,” James continued. “For a long time, it used to be like, ‘Oh, well, they’re retired,’ or ‘they’re this,’ and it would all be about this whole new — and it was never that way about the men as much as it was for the women.”
James also discussed her plans for WrestleMania 39 weekend, revealing that she plans to attend Night Two of WrestleMania as a spectator.
“I’m going to be there for WrestleCon. I’m going to be out there in LA. I’m really hoping — because we’re doing DressleMania this year and one of the things that we’re auctioning off is — I’ve already texted both of them, ‘I really hope you guys are wrestling on night two,’ because I’m actually going to be in a suite that we’re auctioning off for one of the winners for DressleMania and they’re watching. It is my first time ever watching WrestleMania as a spectator. I’ve never been. I could never go when we were kids. We didn’t have the money. Never went as a child have only been as a talent. For my first time ever, in the history of the world, in the history of Mickie James, I’m going to be going to WrestleMania as a spectator. I’m just praying that my friends are wrestling night two, so I can watch it there live, in-person, because I really would love to see it live in person.”
Mickie James is also slated to be a part of WrestleCon as she defends her Impact Knockouts World Championship in a four-way match at IMPACT x NJPW Multiverse United: Only The STRONG Survive, against Deonna Purrazzo, Gisele Shaw, and Miyu Yamashita.
Source: eWrestlingNews
Nikki and Brie will be using their last name Garcia moving forward after making the decision to leave WWE.
They won’t be able to use The Bella Twins’ name because WWE owns the trademark rights to the Bella name.
During their podcast, they discussed their decision to leave WWE:
Nikki: “When our contract came up with WWE, mutually, we all knew we needed to head into this next chapter. We are so grateful for the past 17 years. I have learned so much in and out of the ring. I have traveled all over the world, I have incredible fandom. It’s been amazing. This is part of relationships. Whether it’s business, love, this is relationships in life. Sometimes, you come to this part of your life where it’s like, ‘let’s go separate ways. It doesn’t mean it’s forever, but we just know that it’s right.’”
Brie: “It doesn’t mean that it’s bad either. When things like this happen, everyone wants to look for the negative. ‘What happened? It had to be something crazy.’ It wasn’t. It was actually something beautiful. [We] thought about it for awhile. This has been years coming. I want to thank Brie Bella. The character, the name, pretty much that I’ve been the last 16-17 years. Thank you to that name because it caused a lot of change in my life and many lives. It did a lot of great things for me. It’s really fun to end that chapter. For everyone, at some point in your life, to do a new change, a new journey. I’m so excited to close that chapter on Brie Bella, put that book to the side, and open up a new one, and see what Brie Garcia is going to do next.”
Nikki: “I’m so beyond grateful for Nikki Bella. She empowered me, she inspired me, she truly made me become fearless. I found so much of what I had, through pain, childhood, or certain things that happened in my life, I lost that person. It took Nikki Bella to bring her out. I will always be forever grateful for her and look up to who that person was and still is and the road that she has paved and what she’s done for women and the youth and will continue to do, just as Nikki Garcia. I’m grateful for it. What’s so amazing about starting this new chapter and with our names, our roots, what was from birth. it’s super empowering because we’re betting on ourselves. That leap of faith, we are taking that leap of faith, we’re re-introducing ourselves after 17 years and it shows…you and I have gotten to the point where we know our worth. We know what we’ve done and we know where we want to go. We’re at the point in our lives where we don’t want to hear no. We’ve worked on that for 17 years and this marks, finally, we put that in action a lot, but now we’re doing it in a different way. Something like that is super exciting and it’s great for other people to know.”
Brie: “It’s weird because I say ‘freeing,’ and a lot of people are like, ‘What does she mean?’ There’s something really freeing about going back to who you were. It’s like you can go back to being your unfiltered, uncensored self. I don’t have to apologize, it’s who I am. I always hate when I have to apologize or be like, ‘sorry, didn’t mean to do that,’ when I actually did.”
Tonight’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network:
Wrestling News Blog 