Tag: WWE

WWE Announces Upcoming NXT UK Rebrand And Hiatus

After a handful of “NXT UK” stars appeared on “NXT 2.0” this week, it has now been revealed that the UK-based brand will be undergoing a revamp, slated to take place in 2023. 

WWE has confirmed that “NXT UK” will become “NXT Europe” in 2023. It will continue expanding the current brand that has been active full-time since June 2018, although its beginnings can be traced back to 2016 with the first-ever United Kingdom Championship tournament which took place in Blackpool, England. “Following the success of our live events and talent identification efforts throughout all of Europe, we believe this is the perfect time to expand NXT beyond the UK,” Shawn Michaels, WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative said. It should be noted, this appears to be the first time Michaels’ new title with the company has been confirmed.

As it stands, “NXT UK” currently airs weekly on Peacock and WWE Network, with its most recent shows being recorded at the BT Sport Studios in London, England. Initially, shows were being recorded on the road around the United Kingdom, but the brand ultimately found a new home, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just last week, it was revealed that an upcoming television taping was canceled due to the BT Sports Studios being unavailable, which led many to speculate that the future of the brand was in doubt, but that hasn’t turned out to be the case. 

Furthermore, in addition to the “NXT Europe” announcement, WWE revealed that a special premium live event, Worlds Collide, will take place on Sunday, September 4 that will feature stars from “NXT 2.0” and “NXT UK.” While no location has been provided in the official press release, it should be noted that Clash at the Castle, WWE’s next major premium live event, will be taking place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, the previous night. AEW All Out will take place the evening of Sunday, September 4.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Triple H Outlines His Plans As Head Of WWE Creative

Triple H has highlighted a “massive opportunity” following his promotion at WWE.

Newly-installed WWE head of creative Triple H has outlined his goals following the retirement of former CEO and chairman Vince McMahon.

McMahon has been replaced by his daughter Stephanie McMahon, who is now chairwoman of the company, as well as co-CEO alongside president Nick Khan. Triple H has taken over as the creative lead and the changes are already evident.

The 11-time World Champion spoke during an earnings call this week, acknowledging how big of an opportunity there is to do something special while noting his experience behind the scenes with claims he’s had a hand in creative affairs for a very long time.

“I think the opportunity in front of us is massive, and as a great man once told me, first day on the job thinking, and that’s what we’re doing here is first day on the job thinking,” he said (H/T WrestleZone).

“For me, I’ve been doing this for a long time, from behind the scenes and creative, since really almost the very beginning of my career here with WWE. But I’m approaching it from a first day. What is working, what isn’t working, from the overall picture all the way down to the smallest of details and really trying to create from there.

“It all comes down to the same thing that it’s come down to since the beginning is creating iconic characters, putting them in amazing storylines, and fantastical storylines and whatever works for those characters the best, and then running with it and watching how fans react to that along the way.

Triple H would certainly love it if the WWE Universe deemed him responsible for the emergence of new stars, so he’s keen on creating at least a few.

“So I think the opportunity is massive, I think it’s an opportunity for us to not only engage with the stars that we have for our fans but to create new stars as well and create the platform and the opportunity for them to become bigger than anything we’ve seen prior to it.”

Stephanie, who paid tribute to her father during the call, revealed she offered to step in as interim CEO after details of the investigation into the latter’s misconduct leaked via the press (and wasn’t forced), despite having taken a leave of absence just prior.

Source: TheSportster

Sasha Banks And Naomi Attend Marvel’s She-Hulk Premiere

Three months have passed since Sasha Banks and Naomi handed over the Tag Team Titles and walked out of WWE. For the bulk of that time, the former champions have remained silent and hidden from the public. That has all changed in the last two weeks. The pair met with fans at C2E2, and this week they attended the She-Hulk premiere.

Naomi and Banks were pictured on the She-Hulk red carpet, which was actually purple, donned in plenty of green clothing to mark the occasion. Neither is actually going to be in the show, which debuts on Disney+ today, as far as we know, but Banks obviously has a connection to Disney having played Koska Reeves in The Mandalorian.

That doesn’t mean they won’t be, of course, so keep your eyes peeled if you plan on watching the latest MCU show over the coming weeks. As for whether the two of them were open to talking about their potential WWE futures, no one appeared to ask them about it during the official event. There is footage of someone chasing the two of them down in an attempt to get a scoop, but neither Banks nor Naomi mentions what they have planned, if anything.

https://twitter.com/SashaBanksWWE/status/1559394614196314112

As for the rumor mill, it does seem to be a question of when rather than if Banks and Naomi are back in WWE at this point. There have been countless reports claiming the two of them have either re-signed, returned, or are on the cusp of doing one or the other. Aside from the fact that nothing official has been confirmed, it’s hard to know what’s going on for sure when it was never revealed if the two were kept under contract during their hiatus.

A lot has changed in WWE since they walked out, of course. John Laurinaitis, the man they apparently handed the titles to, has gone, presumably due to the accusations made against him. The same goes for Vince McMahon, someone the two likely had a problem with since he was the one booking their runs. Now Triple H is in charge of that sort of thing, it seems likely they would be more open to a return.

Source: TheSportster

WWE NXT ‘Heatwave’ Preview

WWE NXT 2.0 presents its special “Heatwave” episode tonight at 8/7C on USA Network.

  • Bron Breakker vs. JD McDonagh for the NXT Championship
  • Mandy Rose vs. Zoey Stark for the NXT Women’s Championship
  • Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade
  • Giovanni Vinci vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship
  • Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo in a Street Fight

Fans And Wrestlers Have Voiced Resounding Approval Of Triple H’s WWE Booking, WWE Draft And WWE & Universal Title Plans

Ever since Triple H took charge of the creative direction of WWE programming, fans and wrestlers alike have voiced their resounding approval of The Game’s booking. The common consensus seems to be that both “Raw” and “SmackDown” no longer feature predictable segments, rematches and storylines going nowhere, and there’s a lot more focus on character development and in-ring action. The element of unpredictability has also seemingly returned, as evidenced by the shocking returns of Karrion Kross and Dexter Lumis and the bizarre backstage segments laced with easter eggs. Fans have also praised Triple H for allowing talents to cut promos that come across unscripted for the most part, specifically Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens’ passionate promo exchange on “WWE Raw” last night.  

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash has given his thumbs up to Triple H as well, praising his friend for “bringing it” again. 

“RAW produces again,” Nash wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. “Drew/KO. Lashley/A.J and Theory/Ziggler P.P.V worthy matches. Little things where guys are holding onto the ropes on the apron keep the action going and intensity high. This HHH guy seems to have an incredible grasp on this WRESTLING GAME. Keep bringing it!”

The shake-up of the WWE product is expected to continue in the coming months, with the likes of Bray Wyatt, Sasha Banks and Naomi rumored to return imminently. Furthermore, Triple H plans to hold the next WWE Draft sometime in September or October, with the idea of reshuffling the rosters. According to Fightful Select, there is also chatter of Triple H repackaging the likes of Max Dupri (FKA LA Knight) and T-Bar (FKA Dominik Dijakovic) by giving them their old “NXT” gimmicks back.

Several reports have also suggested that Triple H plans to ensure both brands get a full-time World Champion instead of a part-time Roman Reigns, who unified the WWE & Universal Titles at WrestleMania 38 earlier this year. McIntyre alluded to this on last night’s show, vowing to ‘wrestle every week, on every show, and at every live event’ once he dethrones the Tribal Chief at the at Clash of the Castle on September 3. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 8/15/22

Tonight’s live episode of “WWE Raw” will emanate from the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, airing on USA Network at 8/7C.

Drew McIntyre Reportedly Pulled From WWE Live Events Due To Injury

2022 has been rather unkind to pro wrestlers, putting the best of the best on the shelf for extended periods due to injuries. And just when you thought the injury bug was preparing to recede, it has threatened to raise its ugly head (or in this case, its back) yet again. According to multiple reports, Drew McIntyre is working through a lower back injury, which is why he was pulled from WWE’s live events at Atlantic City, NJ, and Salisbury, MD, over the weekend.

The story was first broken by Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net, who reported that McIntyre is currently dealing with “a lower back issue causing him soreness.” Subsequently, news outlets such as PWInsider and Fightful Select would confirm the report. Fortunately, all the reports noted that McIntyre isn’t expected to undergo surgery, his advertised match against Roman Reigns at Clash at the Castle is still on the table, and the decision to pull him from the live events is considered a precautionary move.

However, fans on social media are speculating whether the injury could alter WWE’s creative plans going into the match in Cardiff, Wales. Although Reigns is still the odds-on favorite to retain his unified world title, there’s been talk that McIntyre could be the man to dethrone the Tribal Chief in front of 70,000+ fans in his home nation of the United Kingdom. If that had indeed been the plan, WWE’s top brass could be forced to call an audible and keep the belts on Reigns, especially if they believe McIntyre’s injury would require surgery at some point in the future.

McIntyre is still expected to work the next two episodes of “WWE SmackDown” in the lead-up to Clash at the Castle on September 3.This past Friday, he called out the returning Karrion Kross for blindsiding him with a vicious attack the previous week, promising to send Kross “back to the dungeon he crawled out of.” Scarlett then walked down to the ring, distracting McIntyre enough to be jumped by The Usos. The segment led to a McIntyre/Usos handicap match, which was later changed to a tag team bout also including Madcap Moss, with McIntyre and Moss getting the win.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 8/12/22

WWE SmackDown airing tonight on FOX at 8/7C from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Plus, AJ Francis, better known simply as Top Dolla and Ashonte “Thee” Adonis are reportedly expected to appear.

And will we see more about last week’s shocking return of Karrion Kross along with Scarlett.

WWE Reportedly Bringing Back Hit Row’s Top Dolla And Ashonte “Thee” Adonis

Triple H, the new Head of Creative for WWE, may not be done bringing back released NXT stars.

WWE fans might be seeing the returns of two former NXT superstars. Earlier today, Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that AJ Francis, better known simply as Top Dolla, was slated to be at the August 12 tapings of Smackdown Live in Raleigh, North Carolina. In an update to that report, Johnson added that Top Dolla’s tag team partner, Ashonte “Thee” Adonis, is scheduled to attend the tapings as well.

Several other released talent have been brought back into the WWE since Triple H took charge, including Dakota Kai, Dexter Lumis, Karrion Kross, and Scarlet. Before their release in November of last year, Adonis and Francis were a part of the Hit Row stable alongside B-Fab and Swerve. There’s been no word on whether B-Fab will be returning to WWE as well. Swerve, now one half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions alongside Keith Lee, will obviously not be joining his former teammates.

The Smackdown tag team division has been struggling as of late, so an additional team could be a great benefit to the show. 

Source: TheSportster

WWE Officials Are Reportedly Confident That Bray Wyatt Will Return

It’s been more than a year since WWE released Bray Wyatt from his contact, but is a return on the horizon?

Bray Wyatt (real name Windham Rotunda) is reportedly among the former WWE superstars who could soon return to the company.

On July 31 of last year, WWE stunningly announced that they had released the former WWE and Universal Champion from his contract. Here we are just over a year later, and the 35-year-old Wyatt hasn’t stepped into a wrestling ring since his WWE release. But that could all change in the not-so-distant future.

More details will be released sometime today. But Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com tweeted on Wednesday evening that “some WWE higher ups believe they are more likely to regain Bray Wyatt now than before.”

Vince McMahon was in charge of the company when WWE released Wyatt from his contract. But the longtime WWE chairman announced his retirement after four decades at the helm three weeks ago, and Triple H (Paul Levesque) was subsequently named the new Head of Talent Relations and the new leader of the creative team.

Triple H brought back Dakota Kai (released in April) on a new contract, and she made her return at SummerSlam two weeks ago. Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux, who were both released in November, also signed new deals and returned to WWE on last week’s episode of SmackDown.

Wyatt was one of WWE’s most creative, accomplished and beloved superstars during his run on the main roster. That’s what made his release especially surprising, but it may just be a matter of time until he returns to the company under Triple H’s guidance.

Wyatt’s last WWE match took place against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 37. In a surprise, Orton quickly defeated his former Wyatt Family leader after Wyatt was betrayed by Alexa Bliss. On the post-WrestleMania edition of Raw, Wyatt stated that he was seeking a fresh start in a “Firefly Fun House” segment. That “fresh start” was never revealed, as WWE kept Wyatt off of company programming for nearly four months before announcing his release.

Source: TheSportster