Date: Saturday, November 5, 2022
Start Time: 12 p.m.ET/9 a.m. PT
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Card
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match:
Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul
RAW Women’s Championship Last Woman Standing Match:
Bianca Belair vs. Bayley
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match:
The Usos vs. Butch & Ridge Holland
Steel Cage Match:
Karrion Kross vs. Drew McIntyre
The Judgment Day vs. The O.C.
Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley
Omos vs. Braun Strowman
Bray Wyatt appears
The future of WWE’s Crown Jewel event remains uncertain amid reports of a possible attack on Saudi Arabia by Iran.
It was reported this week that the Saudi government has informed the U.S that an attack by Iran could be imminent.
In an update, an official who spoke to the Associated Press said there has been “a credible threat of an attack within Saudi Arabia soon or within 48 hours.”
WWE has been assured any attack from Iran would be nowhere near Riyadh, where Crown Jewel is scheduled to take place.
WWE has insisted that the show will go ahead as planned but has said they are monitoring the situation.
In a statement, Iran has denied plotting an attack.
“Western and Zionist regimes spread biased news aimed at creating a negative mood towards the Islamic Republic of Iran and destroying the current positive trends with regional countries.”
WWE’s crew heading to Riyadh is reported to be concerned over a possible attack.
Brian Alvarez spoke about this subject on Wrestling Observer Live, noting that there are concerns behind the scenes.
“There was a lot of trepidation. Normally the people going on the trip are trepidatious normally going in, but now you have this on top of everything else, so … it appears that the show must go on, and hopefully, everything turns out all right.”
Source: EWrestlingNews
The third season of The Rock’s “Young Rock” series will premiere this Friday on NBC at 8:30 PM EST.
WWE’s Becky Lynch, billed under her real name of Rebecca Quinn, will be playing rock star Cyndi Lauper in the episode, according to PWinsider.com.
The episode will be about a party Lauper throws around WrestleMania 1 with actors portraying Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, Vince McMahon, Lou Albano, and Liberace.
When the series was being cast, Lauper was listed as a possible recurring character, so this may not be Lynch’s only appearance on the show. Here is the plot for the episode that is titled “The People Need You:”
“After losing the election, Dwayne Johnson is ready to withdraw from politics. In 1985, Rocky Johnson learns there’s consequences to crossing Vince McMahon.”
Lynch has been sidelined for the last couple of months due to a separated shoulder and unfortunately, it’s been reported that she is nowhere close to returning to in-ring action.
Source: WrestlingNews.co
Veteran WWE Superstar R-Truth apparently suffered a lower leg injury during his match against Grayson Waller on the 11/01 episode of “WWE NXT.”
During the early stages of the match, Truth attempted a Tope con Giro / Vaulting Senton with Waller in position to take the bump on the outside. However, Truth evidently slipped and landed on the floor, barely touching Waller at all. Truth immediately clutched at his leg as WWE cut to a commercial break. During the break, the picture-in-picture remained focused on Waller, who returned to the ring and spent several minutes mocking the crowd at the WWE Performance Center. When “NXT” returned on the air, it was announced that Truth was unable to continue the match, as he was helped to the back by WWE medical personnel.
Waller used the opportunity to generate more heat for his character, cutting a promo and even performing a spinaroonie to taunt 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T as he gloated about the win.
Truth has been a regular fixture on both “WWE Raw” and “NXT” in recent weeks, interrupting promo segments from the likes of Brock Lesnar, Baron Corbin, Johnny Gargano, and The Miz. During this time, Truth has been stepping out to the ring every time any Superstar has uttered the word “truth” during a promo.
The Waller vs. R-Truth match was set up on last week’s “NXT” after Waller undermined Wes Lee’s North American Title victory at Halloween Havoc, stressing that “the truth” was Lee did not deserve to win any championship gold in WWE. This led to R-Truth interrupting the segment, before erroneously welcoming the crowd to Halloween Havoc. The segment ended with Truth & Lee tossing Waller to the outside after Waller challenged Truth to a match.
WWE has yet to provide an update on R-Truth’s injury status at the time of this posting.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Saudi Arabian government has shared intelligence with the United States that warns of an imminent attack from Iran. Saudi Arabia will play host to this weekend’s Crown Jewel pay-per-view event put on by WWE.
The report states that Saudi Arabia, the United States, and several neighboring states to the Kingdom have raised the level of alert for their military forces. Pwinsider is reporting that WWE have indicated that Crown Jewel will move forward as scheduled. It was also reported that the company have security protocols and emergency contingencies in place, and are hopeful that everything will go as planned.
Iran has accused the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Israel of encouraging massive protests that have been happening in the country since September following the death of Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody. Amini was arrested by the nation’s morality police for not wearing a head covering.
Sources: EWrestlingNews and Wrestling Inc.
Tonight’s WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network:
WWE star Carmella shared a heartbreaking story to her social media accounts to close out Infant Loss Awareness Month.
On Monday, the 35-year-old revealed that she was treated for an ectopic pregnancy just weeks after miscarrying and spent 12 hours in the emergency room before receiving the devastating confirmation of an abnormal pregnancy. Concluding in her post:
“I’ve gone back and forth with myself about posting this because I’m not looking for any sort of sympathy,” Carmella wrote, noting that she wanted to share her story in honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. “Today, I was treated for an ectopic pregnancy,” Carmella continued. “I never thought something like this would happen to me, especially after suffering from an early miscarriage in September.” Carmella says she spent 12 hours in the emergency room this past Saturday, after experiencing pain in her side.
“After several tests and ultrasounds, I was given the devastating news that this was, in fact, an abnormal pregnancy.” Carmella said that the moment can feel “isolating,” but she felt sharing her story to keep women from blaming themselves for the tragic occurrence, crediting popular stand-up comedian Iliza Shlesinger for inspiring her by sharing her own story of pregnancy loss in a recent standup special.
“I’m part of this statistic and it’s happening to me,” Carmella professed. “Again, I’m not looking for sympathy, I know I’ll eventually recover from all of this mentally, physically and emotionally. For anyone dealing with ANY type of pregnancy loss, I want you to know your feelings and emotions are valid, there is NOTHING wrong with you and you are not alone.”
Carmella has been married to WWE commentator Corey Graves (Matthew Polinsky) since April of this year.
Tonight’s WWE RAW is live from American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX at 8/7C on USA Network.
Another former WWE star returned to the company tonight on Friday Night SmackDown.
As was noted last week, Ronda Rousey wanted to face all challengers and she issued an open challenge for this week. Before her match Friday night, Rousey was in full-blown heel mode as she talked about being an active champion.
After Rousey’s promo, Tenille Dashwood was revealed as her opponent and she is back to using the name Emma. This is Emma’s first time in a WWE ring in almost 5 years. Emma was very competitive but after raking the eyes, Rousey won after hitting the Piper’s Pit and the armbar submission.
Emma took to social media and reacted to Friday night’s match.
“5 years ago today I was heartbroken feeling like my dream had come to an end. Today my heart is so full! I’m overwhelmed by the amount of support I have. You guys are the best. Now… I’ve got some unfinished business to take care of!” wrote Emma.
Before last night’s match, Emma’s last WWE match was on the October 23, 2017 edition of “Raw,” where she lost to Asuka. A day earlier, on October 22, she lost to Asuka at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.
Emma recently left Impact Wrestling after three years with the company. During her time there, she held the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Titles.
After her WWE release and before Impact Wrestling, Emma had a stint in Ring of Honor. She was part of the ROH Women of Honor Title 2018 tournament. A year later, Emma made her All Elite Wrestling debut at AEW All Out 2019. She was one of the participants in the Casino Battle Royale. The winner ended up being former AEW Women’s Champion Nyla Rose.
WWE is now interested in bringing back “several” more former WWE Women’s Superstars including Tegan Nox. Nox was released on November 18, 2021.
Pro Wrestling NOAH announce this past weekend that WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura was crossing over to the company as part of Keiji Mutoh’s retirement tour, with the former Intercontinental Champion announced as Mutoh’s opponent for its 1 January show, The New Year 2023. It’ll be one of the last times the 59-year-old works as The Great Muta before he draws the curtain on his wrestling career later that month – and something those involved had to work hard to make happen.
Tokyo Sports reports (via translation) that NOAH had earmarked Nakamura as somebody it wanted to book for Mutoh’s retirement run as soon as the legend made the decision to retire. Initially, they were met with disagreement from WWE, though “tenacious” negotiations continued once Vince McMahon stepped down as Chairman and CEO in July.
The two sides then reached an agreement on 26 October. Now, the bout is official.
Nakamura revealed he was spurred on by people within WWE, calling the situation “a real ‘Forbidden Door'”, nodding to AEW’s working relationship with NJPW:-
“There were people in WWE who pushed me forward. I opened a door that no one could break in. Hahaha…it’s a real ‘Forbidden Door’.”
Continuing, Nakamura called the bout a meeting of “fate”, adding that he worked hard to make it happen:-
“I think it’s really fate, and I worked hard to make it happen. I’ve fought Keiji Muto twice in the past, but this was my first encounter with Great Muta, the first and last. I definitely think that I am in the midst of the miracle of the times.”
Nakamura has not wrestled in Japan on a show promoted by a native company since January 2016, when he left NJPW for WWE. His last tie with Mutoh came in October 2008.
Source: WhatCulture
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