Tag: WWE

Backstage News On Kairi Sane’s Potential WWE Return Date

PWInsider first reported Saturday night ahead of SummerSlam that former “NXT” Women’s Champion Kairi Sane was set for an “imminent” return to WWE. While she didn’t make an appearance at “The Biggest Party of the Summer,” Dave Meltzer is now reporting that Sane’s return is slated for later this year.

“Yeah, maybe November,” Meltzer said during the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio.” “She’s got two more dates in Japan I think that she’s scheduled for. Yeah, she’s coming back. As far as that goes, there is something to that because she left [WWE] because she wanted to return to Japan. And then when her contract was up, she started working at STARDOM, and she was going to be the big international star. New Japan was going to use her to come to the United States and things like that. I think what ended up happening was then they signed Mercedes [Moné] to kind of take that spot.”

He continued, “When Bushiroad took over and bought STARDOM, there was a lot of hope of the idea of, ‘The talent will get paid more, we’re gonna get Io Shirai back,’ which they almost did. That was the idea, and what’s happened is the Bushiroad wrestling side has not nearly been as profitable as they expected it to be because New Japan business is down… Kairi was going to work big shows and at a certain price probably. And there we go, she’s going back to WWE.”

Sane wrapped up her WWE in-ring career in July 2020 before transitioning into an ambassador role. Once that contract ended at the end of 2021, she returned to Japan and went on to become the inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion.

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to “Wrestling Observer Radio”

WWE SummerSlam 8/5/2023 (Results)

Logan Pail def. Ricochet

Paul used brass knuckles for a knockout punch to get the win.

Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar

After the match, Lesnar shook Cody’y hand, hugged him and raised his hands in victory.

SUMMERSLAM BATTLE ROYAL:
LA Knight wins.

MMA RULES MATCH:
Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey by Technical Submission with a Kirifuda Clutch

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Gunther (c) def. Drew McIntyre

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) def. Finn Bálor

Damian Priest placed his MITB briefcase in the ring and distracted the referee but it backfired because Rollins hit Balor with a Curb Stomp on the briefcase to get the win.

WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLE THREAT MATCH:
Bianca Belair def. Asuka (c) and Charlotte Flair to become the New WWE Women’s Champion

After the match: Iyo Sky and Bayley came to the ring. Iyo cashed in the MITB briefcase.

WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLE THREAT MATCH:
Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair (c) to become the New WWE Women’s Champion

Dakota Kai joined Iyo and Bayley in the ring for the celebration.

TRIBAL COMBAT UNDISPUTED WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Roman Reigns (c) def. Jey Uso

Just as Jey Uso was about to win, in a shocking twist, Jimmy Uso returned only to pull Jey out of the ring and hit him with a Superkick. Roman then speared Jey through a table made the pin cover for the win.

WWE Shakes Up Commentary Teams, Michael Cole To Call Both Raw And SmackDown

WWE has played host to many iconic commentators in its long history, but at this point there may be no announcer more closely tied to WWE than Michael Cole. That’s despite Cole’s work often being divisive among WWE fans over the course of his now 25-plus-year tenure with the company. No matter how one feels about Cole, audiences should get ready to hear a lot more of him as a result of WWE’s latest commentary team shake-up.

As reported by Variety, Cole and current “WWE SmackDown” broadcast partner Wade Barrett are set to make the jump to “WWE Raw,” while current “Raw” announce team Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves are swapped over to “SmackDown.” However, rather than a straight-up trade, Cole will also remain part of the “SmackDown” team, working alongside Graves and Patrick.

The commentary team changes take effect this coming Monday, August 7. For now, it does not appear any changes have been made to the planned announcers for tonight’s SummerSlam premium live event. Most PLEs have been called by Cole and Graves since Triple H became Chief Creative Officer, with few exceptions. According to Variety’s sources, this move is not a sign WWE has lost confidence in Patrick, and they feel working with Cole will be to his benefit.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SummerSlam 8/5/2023 (Card)

WWE SummerSlam Saturday August 5th from Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan

TRIBAL COMBAT UNDISPUTED WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs. Finn Bálor

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLE THREAT MATCH:
Asuka (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair

MMA RULES MATCH:
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

Ricochet vs. Logan Paul

SUMMERSLAM BATTLE ROYAL:
Participants: LA Knight, Sheamus, Tommaso Ciampa, Shinsuke Nakamura, Otis, Chad Gable, Karrion Kross, Grayson Waller, Santos Escobar, Matt Riddle, AJ Styles and The Miz (with more to be announced)

WWE SmackDown Preview 8/4/2023

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown live on FOX, takes place at the Wright State University Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.

  • Jey Uso to appear ahead of his Tribal Combat Match, as he challenges Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam
  • Asuka, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair to appear. Asuka will defend the Women’s Championship in a Triple Threat Match against Belair and Flair
  • LA Knight vs. Sheamus. Both men will clash in singles action ahead of their participation in the SummerSlam Battle Royal on Saturday night

WWE Confirms Vince McMahon’s Recent Spinal Surgery

As previously reported, Vince McMahon underwent major spinal surgery last month.

WWE reported second quarter 2023 financial results on Wednesday. In company filings, WWE confirmed McMahon did undergo surgery.

The filing noted, “On July 21, 2023, Mr. McMahon went on medical leave after undergoing major spinal surgery. Mr. McMahon will remain on medical leave until further notice but will remain Executive Chairman of the Company.”

McMahon walked away from WWE last summer as WWE CEO and Chairman amid the sexual misconduct and hush money allegations that were being investigated at the time. He eventually returned in January and later signed off on the Endeavor Group acquiring WWE to merge the promotion into a new company with the UFC later this year.

Source: eWn

WWE NXT Preview 8/1/2023

WWE NXT tonight from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

  • Fallout from The Great American Bash
  • Schism Interrogation
  • Dijak vs. Eddy Thorpe
  • Lyra Valkyria vs. Jacy Jayne
  • Yulisa Leon & Valentina Feroz vs. Lola Vice & Elektra Lopez

The Latest Update On Rey Mysterio’s Injury

This past Friday night on WWE SmackDown, Rey Mysterio battled Santos Escobar in the United States Title Invitational Finals. 

This bout ended earlier than expected as it seemed Mysterio was injured after being hit with an outside dive by Escobar during the commercial break, leading to WWE’s medical staff checking on Rey. The referee called off the match, and Escobar was declared the winner. After the match, Mysterio congratulated Escobar on the win.

Dave Meltzer noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio that Mysterio was knocked silly twice in the match. Once it happened for a second time, the decision was made to call off the bout.

Meltzer added there’s still no word yet on how long Mysterio will be kept out of the ring.

Source: eWn

WWE RAW Preview 7/31/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

  • World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins & Sami Zayn vs. Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio
  • Valhallah vs. Maxxine Dupri 
  • What will happen with Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar under one roof?
  • Logan Paul back on RAW tonight.

WWE NXT The Great American Bash 7/30/2023 (Results)

KICK-OFF SHOW
Dragon Lee, Nathan Frazer, Yulisa León, and Valentina Feroz def. The Meta-Four (Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, Jakara Jackson, and Lash Legend)

NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
The Family (Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo) def. Gallus to become New  NXT Tag Team Champions

WEAPONS WILD MATCH:
Roxanne Perez def. Blair Davenport

Gable Steveson vs. Baron Corbin – Double Count Out

NXT NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLE THREAT MATCH:
“Dirty” Dominik Mysterio (c) (with Rhea Ripley) def. Wes Lee and Mustafa Ali

NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP SUBMISSION MATCH:
Tiffany Stratton (c) def. Thea Hail

Hail wouldn’t submit. Chase threw in the towel

NXT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Carmelo Hayes (c) def. Ilja Dragunov