Tonight’s WWE SmackDown is live from the Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO at 8/7c on FS1. SmackDown is airing on FS1 due to the MLB World Series airing on FOX.
Tag: WWE
NJPW Reveals Karl Anderson Will Forfeit His Title If He Competes At WWE Crown Jewel
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson returned to WWE earlier this month, backing up AJ Styles as he was seriously outnumbered by The Judgment Day. That raised a lot of questions regarding the tag team’s current status with NJPW. Not only is Anderson the promotion’s Never Openweight Champion, but he is slated to defend that title at Battle Autumn on November 5.
The plot thickened considerably when WWE announced The OC and The Judgment Day will clash at Crown Jewel, a WWE event taking place on the same day as Battle Autumn. In case it wasn’t clear, Anderson confirmed that despite his NJPW booking, he will be competing for WWE on November 5 and will not be in Osaka to defend his title.
After an initial reaction to that news from NJPW’s president, the promotion has now revealed a full statement (thanks, Fightful). “NJPW has for the past several days attempted to negotiate with Anderson, but has not been met with a response,” the statement reads. “Should Anderson decide to renege on his scheduled championship match, he will be required to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship and return the title belt to NJPW immediately.”
When Anderson confirmed he will be heading to Saudi Arabia on November 5 and not Japan, the Never Openweight Champion also claimed the title defense was booked without consulting him. NJPW denies that was the case, highlighting in the statement above that the match was booked on October 4, and that Anderson was complicit in that process.
What happens next remains unclear. What appeared to be an arrangement between WWE and NJPW when Gallows and Anderson first showed up on Raw now doesn’t seem to be an official deal at all. It now seems like Anderson won’t be at Battle Autumn, and that he will be stripped of the Never Openweight Title. As for returning the championship to the company, that might be a little tricky and could make the situation even more problematic.
Source: TheSportster
The Rock’s Daughter Ava Raine Revealed As Mystery Schism Member On NXT
The masked wrestler who has been aiding The Schism is Ava Raine.
Someone in a yellow mask has been appearing on NXT recently, and then that mysterious figure helped The Schism attack Cameron Grimes. Clearly, whoever they are, they have been better swayed by the group’s message than Grimes ever was. Schism’s leader Joe Gacy promised a reveal after Halloween Havoc, and that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday.
All three members of Schism were joined in the ring by their mysterious masked fourth. The unnamed fourth member then removed their mask, revealing themselves to be Ava Raine. Raine cut a short promo covering her appreciation for the group’s acceptance before the other three members of Gacy’s stable embraced her in the middle of the ring.
If you’re unfamiliar with Raine, well, there’s a good reason for that. Tuesday night was the first time she has ever appeared on NXT TV. If you do know Raine, that’s probably because she has received a little bit more attention than most other Performance Center recruits. That’s due to the fact she is The Rock’s daughter. Her real name is Simone Johnson, and she’s a fourth-generation Superstar.
Not only is Raine following in the footsteps of her movie star dad, but she also follows her grandfather Rocky Johnson into the wrestling business, and her great-grandfather Peter Maivia before him. Not to mention the countless other members of the Samoan Dynasty that have wrestled in WWE and beyond, and continue to do so to this day.
Raine has previously appeared at NXT live events but hasn’t actually wrestled her first match yet, at least not in front of fans. It remains unclear what exactly WWE has planned for her on that front. Whether she will aid Schism in tormenting other Superstars, or she will compete in matches right away. If The Bloodline is still around when she is eventually called up, perhaps the plans for her to be its first female member are already tentatively in place.
Source: TheSportster
WWE NXT Preview 10/25/2022
Tonight’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network at 8/7C. Fallout from Halloween Havoc.
NJPW President Addresses Karl Anderson Being Double Booked For November 5
NJPW President Takami Ohbari has taken to Twitter to address WWE Superstar Karl Anderson being double booked for November 5.
Anderson is scheduled to defend the NJPW NEVER Openweight Championship against Hikuleo at NJPW Battle Autumn, which is the same day he is scheduled to team with AJ Styles & Luke Gallows against The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, & Dominik Mysterio), at Crown Jewel on Saturday, November 5.
Back on October 4, NJPW announced Karl Anderson would be defending the NJPW NEVER Openweight Championship against Hikuleo on November 5 at NJPW Battle Autumn. Then on October 10, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows made their surprise return to WWE on Raw, as a back up for for AJ Styles in his battle with The Judgement Day.
It was then announced during the October 17 episode of WWE Raw, it was made official for Styles, Anderson, & Gallows and The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, & Dominik Mysterio) to have a six-man tag match at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on November 5.
In a video posted to Twitter on October 19, Anderson claimed NJPW never confirmed the NJPW November 5 date with his booking agent The Big LG – Doc Gallows. Anderson then said he will not be defending the NEVER Openweight Title at the Battle Autumn event.
Source: WrestleView
WWE RAW Preview 10/24/2022
WWE RAW tonight live from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC at 8/7C on USA Network.
- Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair will face Bayley in a non-title match.
- Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley, Matt Riddle and WWE United States Champion Seth Rollins are advertised to appear.
- WWE Hall of Famer JBL is expected to be back on the show with Baron Corbin.
- Brock Lesnar is not advertised for the show.
WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 10/22/2022 (Results)
NXT NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER MATCH:
Wes Lee defeated Carmelo Hayes, Nathan Frazer, Oro Mensah and Von Wagner
Toxic Attraction pulls up to a haunted area where a zombie butler greets them. There’s a really cheesy haunted house vibe about the place, and the trio walks around the area looking for Alba Fyre. The trio splits up to find Alba, and she ends up taking Jacy. Gigi finds Chucky and has tea with him, then Alba attacks Gigi and fights her in the kitchen. Gigi smashes some plates on her face and hits her with the fridge door, but a demon comes out of the fridge and pulls her inside. Alba and Mandy are left, and Alba hits her in the stomach with a bat. Some masked guy runs in and slides across the ground, and Mandy tries to hit Alba with a bat. A pumpkin-headed guy stops her, then Alba knocks Mandy out and puts her in their car. Alba knocks Jacy and Gigi out, then drives away with Mandy.
(SPIN THE WHEEL, MAKE THE DEAL) CASKET MATCH:
Apollo Crews defeated Grayson Waller
WEAPONS WILD MATCH:
Roxanne Perez defeated Cora Jade
AMBULANCE MATCH:
Julius Creed defeated Damon Kemp
* Bonus Stipulation: If Damon Kemp wins, Brutus Creed must leave NXT *
NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Mandy Rose (c) defeated Alba Fyre
NXT CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLE THREAT MATCH:
Bron Breakker (c) defeated Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh
WWE SmackDown Preview 10/21/2022
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown live from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA at 8/7c on FOX.
- Logan Paul returns to SmackDown en route to WWE Crown Jewel
- Liv Morgan continues dark descent in battle against Sonya Deville
- Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi seek to pry Women’s Tag Titles from Damage CTRL
I’m sure there will be more on the feud between Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross, plus more from Bray Wyatt.
WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 10/22/2022 (Card)
Date: Saturday, October 22, 2022
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (pre-show), 8 p.m. ET (main show)
Location: WWE Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida
CARD
Shotzi and Quincy Elliott to co-host Halloween Havoc
NXT CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLE THREAT MATCH:
Bron Breakker (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh
NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Mandy Rose (c) vs. Alba Fyre
NXT NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER MATCH:
Carmelo Hayes vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Oro Mensah vs. Von Wagner vs. Wes Lee
WEAPONS WILD MATCH:
Cora Jade vs. Roxanne Perez
AMBULANCE MATCH:
Damon Kemp vs. Julius Creed
* Bonus Stipulation: If Damon Kemp wins, Brutus Creed must leave NXT *
(SPIN THE WHEEL, MAKE THE DEAL TBD) MATCH:
Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller
Backstage News on What AEW Requested for Billy Gunn to Appear on WWE RAW With DX
With Triple H, Sean Waltman, Shawn Michaels, and Road Dogg reuniting to close the October 10th edition of WWE Raw, D-Generation X celebrated their 25th anniversary.
Billy Gunn of AEW was noticeably absent from the reunion. According to reports, WWE considered bringing Gunn back for the reunion, but that did not happen.
Gunn’s longtime tag team partner, Road Dogg, stated on his podcast that Gunn wanted to appear and that it broke both of their hearts that it didn’t happen. He also stated that Triple H, Michaels, and Waltman were upset that Gunn didn’t appear.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reported that WWE and AEW were in “meaningful talks” about having Gunn appear on the show. Money was not a factor because neither WWE nor AEW President Tony Khan offered or requested money.
According to Meltzer, “Khan agreed to let him do to the show, but on the air, they would have to mention he’s from AEW, or that AEW allowed him to appear or some wording, but there had to be one mention that in some form he works for AEW, just as WWE already did when they got Mickie James for the Royal Rumble this past year.”
According to the report, WWE stalled when responding to Khan and would not agree to the terms at the last minute.
Source: PWMania
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