Tag: WWE

Latest News On Why Stephanie McMahon Resigned From WWE

Earlier this month, Stephanie McMahon stepped down as Chairwoman and co-CEO of WWE. The news came just days after her father, Vince McMahon, reinstated himself to WWE’s Board of Directors after retiring last summer amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations. More details have now emerged regarding Stephanie’s resignation. 

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Stephanie was “about to be demoted” following her father’s return, so she ultimately decided to completely step away from the company with the knowledge that she didn’t require the job — or its paycheck — moving forward. Of course, Stephanie began a sabbatical last year, but was brought back into the fold when the allegations against Vince were made public by the Wall Street Journal. Additionally, WON notes that her departure signaled “a lot stronger move,” instead of resuming her leave of absence and remaining on WWE’s Board.

Stephanie, who became a full-time employee of WWE after graduating from Boston University in 1998, posted a statement online revealing her resignation and clarified that she would still support WWE “from the other side of the business.” Meanwhile, her husband, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, remains in charge of WWE’s creative as Chief Content Officer, despite Vince’s comeback. Her father, now serving as Executive Chairman once again, is seeking out “strategic alternatives” for the promotion regarding upcoming U.S. media rights negotiations and a potential sale of the company. WWE has brought financial experts JP Morgan on board to assist the sale process, with several suitors reportedly interested in buying the organization, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.  

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Royal Rumble Breaks Record For Largest U.S. Non-WrestleMania Gate

The WWE Royal Ruble 2023 PLE has broken the record for the live gate of any U.S.-based event that isn’t a WrestleMania.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that with a live gate of over $7 million, the show has beaten any non-Mania event in the U.S. and has surpassed most WrestleManias.

WWE was hoping that the gate would surpass $8 million, which would have seen the show surpass Clash at the Castle for the largest non-WrestleMania live gate in wrestling.

It was reported last November that the show had reached the highest live gate of any Royal Rumble event.

WWE is off to a strong start for next year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event as the company announced in a statement to Pwinsider that the event has broken the largest gate in the history of the event. The statement reads as follows,

“WWE Royal Rumble 2023 – slated for Saturday, January 28 – has broken the company’s record for largest gate in the event’s 36-year history.

Over the weekend, Royal Rumble surpassed the $5M mark and previous record holder from 2017 – the last time the event was held at San Antonio’s AlamoDome.

This carries a 2022 trend into 2023 where WWE set gate records for many of its events, including WrestleMania, Extreme Rules and Crown Jewel.”

The Observer adds that WWE is expected to announce an attendance figure in excess of 50,000 since they’ve already used that number on television.

Source: eWrestlingNews

MLW Sends WWE Cease And Desist Letter

Major League Wrestling has sent a cease and desist letter to WWE, according to Dave Meltzer.

The issue stemmed from WWE reaching out to several contracted MLW wrestlers to appear on the Raw 30th anniversary show this past Monday.

Meltzer said,

“One would think it would have been members of the Anoa’i and Fatu family for the planned family acknowledgment ceremony, which ended up falling through. MLW sources have said Court Bauer told the talent to have WWE reach out to them directly, and didn’t say he wouldn’t allow them to appear, just to go through him. They never did and the segment ended up being canceled for the reasons noted earlier. WWE didn’t respond to questions regarding the cease and desist or the claim.”

Source: eWrestlingNews

WWE NXT Preview 1/24/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT airs on USA Network, continues build for NXT Vengeance Day 2023.

* NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (c) vs. Alba Fyre
* Tiffany Stratton vs. Indi Hartwell
* Fallon Henley & Kiana James vs. TBA
* Women’s Title Summit with Roxanne Perez, Gigi Dolan, and Jacy Jayne
* Thea Hail Award Ceremony

Why Becky Lynch Vs. Bayley Steel Cage Match On WWE Raw Is XXX Didn’t Happen

Fans looking forward to the Steel Cage Match between bitter rivals Bayley and Becky Lynch on “WWE Raw is XXX” were left puzzled as the match ended abruptly, with the referee never calling for the bell. 

According to Fightful Select, WWE called an audible on the Bayley vs. Lynch bout due to the earlier “Tribal Court” segment featuring The Bloodline going longer than planned, which meant that “several segments needed to be trimmed” through the rest of the show.  

Fightful added that the original plan was for “the match and entrances to get two segments,” which would have typically meant a 10-14 minute match at the least. Once the opening Bloodline segment ran too long, WWE felt it made sense to “work an angle to set up to a full on match” at a later date, rather than having a short cage match lasting barely a few minutes. WWE obviously had a ton of segments already planned for the rest of its 30-year anniversary edition of “Raw.”

The angle in question was set up after Bayley and Lynch got their entrances, following which Damage CTRL’s IYO SKY and Dakota Kai jumped “The Man” and launched her into the wall of the cage with a double-team flapjack. Thereafter, Kai once again smashed Lynch’s back against the cage before locking the cage to deny WWE Official Adam Pearce and others entry into the cage. Following a moonsault from Kai, Damage CTRL hit a triple-team move planting Lynch face-first to the mat.  

Eventually, Pearce used a boltcutter to enter the ring, but Lynch was deemed unable to compete. The segment ended with Damage CTRL posing atop the cage. 

Both Bayley and Lynch are confirmed entrants in Saturday’s Women’s Royal Rumble Match. Lynch has the opportunity to win the annual battle royal for the second time in her career, following her victory in the second-ever Women’s Royal Rumble in 2019, meanwhile, Bayley has never won the Rumble. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Bella Twins Express Disdain For WWE Not Referencing Women’s Revolution On RAW Is XXX

The Bella Twins were originally scheduled for an appearance on RAW Is XXX, but the Hall of Famers didn’t show up at the venue. In fact, Nikki and Brie Bella seem to have an issue with how WWE didn’t acknowledge the Women’s Revolution during the 3-hour special.

Pwinsider reports that Nikki and Brie Bella flew out to the northeastern US this weekend. However, instead of appearing on RAW Is XXX, the twin sisters attended a Broadway show instead.

The Bella Twins went live on Instagram to express their disdain for WWE not addressing the Women’s Revolution on the 30th anniversary of Monday Night RAW. They also noted how WWE refrained from mentioning Mercedes Mone or Saraya among those (including them) responsible for the Women’s Revolution. The Bellas were briefly mentioned in Charlotte Flair’s promo on RAW Is XXX.

https://twitter.com/fetishsouvenir/status/1617735641911164929

Source: eWrestlingNews

WWE RAW Is XXX News – Brock Lesnar Returns

This week on RAW Is XXX, Brock Lesnar made his return to WWE programming by attacking arch-rival Bobby Lashley in the main event of the show.

Austin Theory put the WWE United States Championship on the line against Lashley in the closing match of the special RAW episode. With victory almost an inch away, Lashley put Theory through a table. It was at this moment that Lesnar hit the ring and decimated Lashley with an F5. The Beast then F5’d Theory onto Lashley, allowing the victimized champion to score the pinfall victory over the fallen challenger.

Lesnar last appeared for WWE at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event in November. The Beast defeated The All Mighty at the show despite Lashley dominating the majority of the match.

Source: eWrestlingNews

WWE RAW Is XXX News – The Undertaker Helps Bray Wyatt Take Out LA Knight

The 30th anniversary of WWE Monday Night RAW saw The Undertaker share the ring with current generation Superstars.

LA Knight cut a promo, challenging any of the legends to come out and face him in the ring. The Undertaker, in his American Badass gimmick, appeared on his motorcycle with the Kid Rock “American Badass” theme song buzzing in the arena. The decorated veteran hit the ring and Knight retreated, stating that he would let the old man live another day.

The lights then went out and Bray Wyatt popped up behind Knight, forcing the loud-mouthed wrestler to return to the squared circle. The Undertaker grappled with Knight and held him until Wyatt joined the ring. The Phenom then handed Knight over to Wyatt who nailed him with a vicious Sister Abigail. The Deadman then murmured something in Wyatt’s ear before making his way to the back.

Knight will collide with Wyatt in a Pitch Black match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Saturday, January 28th.

Source: eWrestlingNews

#WWEWomenDeservesBetter Trends After Lack Of Female Legends On RAW Is XXX

The WWE Universe was far from pleased with the lack of female legends during this week’s 30th anniversary edition of Monday Night RAW.

The show saw several legends from WWE’s past return, but very few females from WWE’s past were featured on the three-hour episode.

On Twitter, a hashtag called for the women of WWE to be treated better following this week’s snub.

WWE Hall of Famers the Bella Twins took to social media to express their frustration, with Brie saying “there is a bunch of us they don’t wanna show.”

This weekend will see WWE host its sixth Women’s Royal Rumble match as part of the Royal Rumble 2023 Premium Live Event.

Source: eWrestlingNews

WWE RAW IS XXX Preview 1/23/2023

WWE’s 30th Anniversary episode of Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network, and emanate from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Triple H, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Jerry Lawler,  Road Dogg, X-Pac, Theodore Long, Ron Simmons, DDP, Ted DiBiase, Mike “Irwin R. Schyster” Rotunda, Alundra Blayze (Madusa), The Godfather, Lita to appear