Tag: WWE

Triple H – ‘WWE-UFC Merger Has Slowed Down NXT Europe Plans’

WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H provided an update on the company’s plans for NXT Europe during Saturday’s 2023 Money In The Bank post-show media scrum.

WWE announced last year that NXT Europe would debut in 2023.

Now, according to Triple H, those plans have shifted due to Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE. He said,

“It’s just slowed down the process I think. At some point, end of the year, last year, whatever it is, we said in ’23 it would happen. Not having a crystal ball to see where everything was headed in that moment in time, obviously this transition with this merger with UFC with Endeavor and TKO, it’s changed the timeframe. But I think the intent is still the same.”

“I mentioned under the premise of WrestleMania and premium live events going global, we’re a global company. We’re looking to be everywhere. And I think … there are a lot of amazing talents here, internationally. And we’d love to explore that and give them opportunities to shine on the biggest stage possible and see what we can do with that. It’s just going to take a little bit of time.”

Source: eWn

WWE Money In The Bank 7/1/2023 (Results), Drew McIntyre Returned, John Cena Appeared

MEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH:
Butch vs. Damian Priest vs. LA Knight vs. Logan Paul vs. Ricochet vs. Santos Escobar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Winner: Damian Priest

WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez def. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler (c) to become the New Women’s Tag Team Champions

Shayna Baszler turned on Ronda Rousey. Shayna attacked Ronda and and choked her out and walked out on the match. leaving Ronda to lose to Liv and Raquel

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Gunther (c) def.. Matt Riddle

After the match, Drew McIntyre came out and confronted Gunther and took him out with a Claymore.

Cody Rhodes def. Dominik Mysterio w/Rhea Ripley

John Cena made a surprise appearance. Cena said he was there to try bring WrestleMania to London. Grayson Waller interrupted and said WrestleMania should be in Australia. Waller suggested Cena to his guest on the Grayson Waller Effect. Cena said no. Waller attacked Cena but in the end Cena took out Waller with a Attitude Adjustment.

WOMEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH:
Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Iyo Sky vs. Trish Stratus vs. Zelina Vega vs. Zoey Stark

Winner: Iyo Sky

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Seth Rollins (c) def. Finn Balor

After the match. Finn argued with Damian Priest for distracting him and costing him the match.

BLOODLINE CIVIL WAR:
The Usos def. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa

Roman Reigns was pinned for the first time in 3 and a half years.

Former WWE Wrestler Darren ‘Droz’ Drozdov Dead at 54

Former WWE wrestler Darren “Droz” Drozdov has died at the age of 54, according to a post by WWE. In a statement provided to the network, his family confirmed that he died of natural causes.

“WWE is saddened to learn that Darren Drozdov passed away on Friday, June 30, at age 54,” the company wrote in a tweet. “WWE extends its condolences to Darren Drozdov’s family, friends and fans.”

Droz played football at the University of Maryland before playing for various teams in the NFL (New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos). He made his professional wrestling debut with the WWE in 1998, and also became known as Puke because of his ability to vomit on command [via Pro Wrestling Stories].

In October of ’99, Droz suffered a neck injury during a WWF SmackDown match against D’Lo Brown that ended his wrestling career as he became quadriplegic. Eventually, he regained strength in his upper body, and thus he became a write for WWE.

“We are sad to share our beloved Darren passed away this morning of natural causes.  There are no words to convey the deep sense of loss and sadness we are feeling right now,” Droz’s family wrote in their statement.

“We would like to extend our deepest appreciation to everyone. All of his fans, teammates, colleagues, and friends for all the love and support he received over the years.  You all gave him meaning, purpose and something to live for.  He loved each and every one of you and cherished the conversations, notes and letters he received.  His faith in humanity never faltered, so know that for all the love you’ve shown him, he loved you back.

“We also would also like to thank WWE for treating him like family, and for all of their love, support and stepping up to make sure that Darren always had the proper care and treatment needed to live in his condition over the past 24 years… He would not want anyone to be sad at this moment and would want to this to be a celebration of his life, to be remembered for all the great things that he accomplished, the fun, the laughter, the great memories he shared with everyone.”

Many WWE fans have taken to social media to pay tribute to Droz, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

“Man I’m so sorry to hear one of our ring brothers has passed away. Darren Drozdov aka Droz. We wrestled on a lot of cards together,” he wrote. “Such an awesome dude. Great personality and great wrestling talent. We always talked about football and fishing. Sending love, strength, mana and light to his family. RIP brother.”

https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/1674860409981919239
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1674864055448657940

WWE Money In The Bank 7/1/2023 (Card)

WWE Money in the Bank Saturday July 1 at 3pm ET from the 02 Arena in London, England

CARD

BLOODLINE CIVIL WAR:
Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa vs. The Usos

MEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH:
Butch vs. Damian Priest vs. LA Knight vs. Logan Paul vs. Ricochet vs. Santos Escobar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

WOMEN’S MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH:
Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Iyo Sky vs. Trish Stratus vs. Zelina Vega vs. Zoey Stark

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor

Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio w/Rhea Ripley

WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Gunther (c) vs. Matt Riddle

WWE SmackDown Preview 6/30/2023

WWE SmackDown will air tonight on FOX, with the show taking place from the O2 Arena in London, England.

  • Roman Reigns to appear
  • Logan Paul to be a special guest on “The Grayson Waller Effect”
  • WWE Women’s Championship Match: Asuka (c) Charlotte Flair
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (c) vs. Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson)

Major Changes For WWE RAW Rumored To Be Explored When UFC Merger Finalized

WWE merged with UFC under the Endeavor umbrella back in April, but details on how the company will operate after its completion have been kept close to the vest, for the most part. However, a new report states that it could lead to some major changes being implemented on “WWE Raw.”

According to the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter,” the merger not being finalized is delaying some of WWE’s plans for its flagship Monday night show. The company reportedly wants to explore some changes when the merger is firmly in place, but the report doesn’t clarify what those plans might entail.

Since the merger was announced, some fans and pundits have speculated on the possibility of WWE and UFC running crossover events. However, UFC President Dana White has stated that both companies will remain separate, and their collaborations will pertain to helping each other behind the scenes. So, it’s unlikely that the aforementioned changes are related to bringing MMA stars to “Raw.”

Of course, the aforementioned “Raw” changes could relate to media rights deals. Back in May, WWE CEO Nick Khan said that WWE is negotiating with networks such as Fox and USA in an effort to land the best deals possible. With that in mind, it’s possible that WWE is waiting for the merger to be finalized as those types of decisions will likely require input from their new business partners.

Elsewhere, Khan has toyed with the possibility of “Raw” moving nights and making the show more adult-oriented. If that’s the case, WWE officials might need to run those changes by Endeavor before they make any final decisions. It appears that the UFC merger hasn’t been finalized yet, buts its completion could change the landscape of WWE programming.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Randy Orton’s WWE Return Rumored To Be Imminent

Randy Orton has been out of action for over a year now, but there’s been more buzz recently regarding his return.

Within the last week, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle mentioned on his podcast that Orton has recovered from the lower back fusion surgery he had in November and he believes “The Viper” will be back in action soon now that he’s feeling better and has been more active on social media.

To add to that, WRKD Wrestling tweeted that Orton is nearing his return and listed Saturday’s Money in the Bank premium live event as a possibility for his first appearance. It should be noted that there’s been no other indication that this is for certain.

For what it’s worth, Dave Meltzer reported in April that Orton was “nowhere close” to stepping back in the ring despite reports of him contacting his boot maker to have new boots ready. The multi-time world champion was also said to be at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, although that has not been confirmed either.

Orton’s last match took place on the May 20, 2022, episode of “WWE SmackDown” where he and Matt Riddle lost the “Raw” Tag Team Championship to The Usos in a unification match. The tag team titles have remained unified ever since, while Riddle transitioned over to singles competition. “The Original Bro” had his own hiatus that lasted a number of months, but he is now set to challenge GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship in London.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Trying To Vince-Proof Bookings From Last-Minute Changes

Vince McMahon has been making increasing changes to WWE RAW and SmackDown in recent weeks, thereby frustrating people in WWE to such an extent that there were recent attempts to minimize those changes.

According to a new report from Fightful Select, McMahon has generally avoided making changes to advertised matches. As such, WWE has been advertising some matches weeks ahead of their planned air dates to “Vince-proof” them.

McMahon reportedly requested new match orders, match times, and additional segments for the June 5th episode of WWE RAW.

However, McMahon’s influence was more significant during the June 19th edition of RAW, as he reportedly made changes to an important storyline segment and WWE World Championship match within the first half hour of the show.

In addition, several matches on the June 23rd episode of SmackDown were changed at McMahon’s command, marking the first time that the blue brand has seen any major alterations since Vince’s return to WWE’s Board Of Directors.

McMahon’s incessant tampering with creative plans has reportedly caused significant frustration throughout WWE.

Source: eWn

WWE NXT Gold Rush: Night 2 Preview 6/27/2023

WWE NXT Gold Rush Special Night 2 in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

  • NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Baron Corbin
  • NXT Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Thea Hail
  • NXT Tag Team Championship: Gallus (c) vs. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe
  • NXT Heritage Cup: Nathan Frazer (c) vs. Dragon Lee
  • Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James

Vince McMahon To Become More Involved In WWE Creative

While Vince McMahon has been working remotely since WrestleMania 39, he often makes last-minute changes to the RAW and SmackDown TV tapings.

According to a report from Pwinsider, Vince McMahon’s role in creative is expected to grow in the coming weeks. There were said to have been significant changes made to last week’s RAW and SmackDown TV tapings.

Additionally, it was noted that last night’s episode of RAW would have a lot of “Vince McMahon fingerprints” on it. The belief among some in the company is that this is directly related to WWE’s acquisition by Endeavor.

Finally, it was noted that Vince McMahon would not be n Savannah, Georgia, the site of last night’s WWE RAW TV tapings.

Source: eWn