Tag: WWE

WWE SmackDown Preview 8/26/2022

WWE SmackDown returns tonight to Detroit, Michigan – airing live on FOX at 8/7C.

After it was revealed earlier this week that Gigi Dolin’s injury has taken her out of action, WWE made a major change to the Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament. Toxic Attraction was initially added to the tournament following an injury to Zoey Stark and an unspecified medical issue for Nikkita Lyons, which ultimately saw the “NXT 2.0” team of Stark and Lyons removed from the tournament. Now, instead of finding a second replacement team, WWE has confirmed that it’s scheduled a Second Chance Fatal Four-Way Tag Team Match to find out who will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-finals bout will also happen tonight against Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah, meaning that winning team — Dana White and Tamina, Shotzi and Xia Li, Nikki A.S.H. and Doudrop, or Natalya and Sonya Deville — will compete twice in the same evening.

WWE Backing Away From Plans To Go TV-14

Any plans by WWE to go TV-14 with their programming are potentially on hold, according to a report. As per PWInsider, while there was some truth to the idea that WWE was considering making their product TV-14, they’ve backed off of those plans, at least for now.

The report notes that the company will not be making the change with its TV rating. WWE Raw on USA and SmackDown on FOX will remain as TV-PG shows for the foreseeable future. This comes after a report in July from Andrew Zarian that an email was sent out among people at the USA Network about Raw becoming a TV-14 show. Future reports noted that the email went out prematurely, and now it sounds like the company has changed their minds altogether.

“WWE will be remaining TV-PG for the foreseeable future on both FOX and the USA Network.” noted Triple H in a company call Thursday morning. The plan seems to be to remain a family-friendly product that can gear its programming towards children not include foul language and blood.

While there will be some fans disappointed that WWE isn’t going to get into some of the more adult content, this isn’t the worst news. With Triple H in charge creatively, the company can still base its storylines on reality and find creative ways to appease the older fans.

So too, some fans believed WWE was only going TV-14 as a response to AEW’s programming and it might not be the best move for WWE to be seen as reactionary. One critique of AEW is that there’s too much blood and foul language for no reason.

The PG audience is a much bigger audience so it makes sense for WWE to cater to it. As for when TV-14 might be back on the table, that could all depend on business and how well or not well things are going for WWE.

Source: TheSportster

AEW’s Chief Legal Officer Has Contacted WWE About Alleged Contract Tampering

It might not be a war, but the healthy competition between WWE and AEW appears to have been ramped up since Vince McMahon retired and Triple H took over as head of creative. Tony Khan has admitted wrestling fans who had grown disillusioned with WWE would naturally be tuning back in to see what’s changed, even admitting there has been an improvement in the quality of his rivals’ product since The Game took over creative.

Outside of the quality of the shows, the biggest talking point since WWE’s backstage changes has been which wrestlers will be going where. Triple H has been bringing people back left and right, leaving some fans wondering if they now regret becoming All Elite. There have even been reports WWE approached someone currently under contract with AEW, presumably to gauge their interest in coming back.

It’s still unclear if that actually happened, and the wrestler approached has not been named. However, according to PWInsider, the topic has been taken very seriously behind the scenes in AEW. Khan held a company-wide meeting hours before Dynamite on Wednesday, and one of the many topics apparently discussed was the alleged approach by somebody from WWE.

According to the report, talent at the meeting were informed that AEW’s chief legal officer Megah Parekh sent an email to Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan. The email warned WWE’s co-CEOs against tampering with contracted AEW stars in the future. Parekh might not be a name many fans are familiar with, but apparently she is effectively Khan’s number two in AEW.

Approaching a talent who is under contract with a rival company is obviously a big no-no. Depending on what exactly is discussed, of course. If someone within WWE did do what they have been accused of, and plan on doing it again, it’s hard to imagine they would do it so overtly that they would leave themselves open to legal action. As for who that talent might be, that will be left to fans’ imaginations for the time being.

Source: TheSportster

Title Unification Matches Announced For NXT Worlds Collide

WWE announced last Thursday that “NXT UK” will be put on hiatus before it relaunches as the rebranded “NXT Europe” in 2023.

WWE has officially announced title unification matches for its NXT Worlds Collide event on September 4.

“NXT” Champion Bron Breakker issued the challenge to “NXT UK” Champion Tyler Bate at the top of Tuesday night’s “NXT 2.0.”

Minutes after announcing “NXT” Champion Bron Breakker will face “NXT UK” Champion Tyler Bate in a title unification match, WWE has revealed another match at the upcoming Worlds Collide event to unify two more titles.

“NXT” Women’s Champion Mandy Rose will face “NXT UK” Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport in a Women’s Championship Unification Triple Threat Match on September 4.

The match was made official on Tuesday night’s episode of “NXT 2.0.” Satomura made an appearance during an in-ring segment between Rose and Davenport.

News On Next WWE Draft

Wrestling fans have been interested to see what’s in store for this year’s WWE Draft, but it seems as if their wishes may not be granted.

Fightful Select is reporting that sources from the USA Network have told talents that the Draft isn’t slated to happen right after Clash at the Castle as initially reported, but sometime after next year’s WrestleMania. Talents were initially told that the Draft was slated to take place the week after the upcoming event. However, several “Raw” talents were not booked for the September 9 edition of “SmackDown” (when the first night of the Draft was first expected to be held), meaning crossovers of talent between the two brands would be unlikely.

The Draft has not been officially announced by WWE, and there has been no confirmation of dates the Draft will take place, as talents haven’t been told about anything that is happening in the upcoming weeks. The Draft had been listed on the internal calendar for September. There had also been discussions about it being held this month, following SummerSlam. It should also be noted that dates for last year’s Draft were changed a few times throughout the year.

The WWE Draft made its debut in 2002 but was discontinued in August 2011. The company revived it in July 2016 before introducing titles that were specific to brands. In the years following, the company held a Draft every year, dubbing it the Superstar Shake-Up for a few years and including “NXT” as a third brand.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT 2.0 Preview 8/23/22

WWE NXT 2.0 airs live tonight on USA Network at 8/7C.

Road Dogg Has Been Rehired By WWE

Member of the legendary Armstrong family, Road Dogg (aka Brian James) has been rehired by WWE in an executive position, according to PWInsider. James had been released by WWE in January, after being one of the chief voices involved in the “Black & Gold” era of NXT. As revealed in a follow-up report by PWInsider, James will be assuming the position of Vice President of Live Events, a similar gig to that previously occupied by fellow wrestling dynasty member Jeff Jarrett.

Jarrett — whose title was Senior Vice President of Live Events — quietly left WWE sometime last week. Jarrett was responsible for introducing what would become James’ Road Dogg character on WWE programming back in 1995, as James was the onscreen roadie — and actual singer— for wannabe country music “star” Jarrett. Since his release, Road Dogg had been the host of his own podcast, “Oh You Didn’t Know?” on Conrad Thompson’s Ad Free Shows platform. A longtime friend of current Head of Talent Relations and Creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque, James had been openly asking for a backstage role with AEW, publicly calling out Tony Khan and the company to pick up the phone, while also peppering them with numerous critiques.

James had been a producer on “WWE SmackDown” until WrestleMania 35, when he stepped down due to Vince McMahon’s brutal schedule. PWInsider notes that James is the first member of Levesque’s inner circle to return to the company since Triple H assumed duties in the wake of Vince McMahon’s resignation. Levesque’s friend Shawn Michaels has also received a promotion since the company shakeup, as a recent press release referred to Michaels as “WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative.” James was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside D-Generation X comrades Michaels, Billy Gunn, X-Pac, Chyna, and Triple H.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Edge Tells WWE Raw Crowd He Intends To Retire Next Year In Toronto

Edge spoke to the live crowd in Toronto after Raw went off the air and said he intends to retire there next year.

Edge had a big night in Toronto, Canada on Monday. He was advertised well in advance for the show — one that was over a decade in the making — and he secured a big win over Damian Priest in the main event before his wife, Beth Phoenix helped him out against Judgment Day to close the show. While that’s what the television audience saw, there was more to the night for the live fans in attendance.

As seen in a video posted by WrestleOps, after Raw went off the air, Edge grabbed the microphone and he spoke to the fans in attendance. Toronto is Edge’s hometown and he let them know how much he appreciated them, was glad to be back, and he thanked the fans for their support. He then talked about how he grew from being a fan in this building to wrestling in front of a crowd in the same arena. He added that his intention was to retire in front of the same fans a year from now.

Edge has been quite public about how close he is to the end of his career. The recent A&E Biographies episode was about his career and he’s hinted that he’s going to be calling it a career soon. Raw might have been the first time he publicly put a timeframe on it and gave a specific place. WWE typically does this Eastern Canadian swing at the same time each year and it is likely they will be back in Toronto in August of 2023. It would make sense that he might know Toronto is the place where he wants to go out and say goodbye.

Source: TheSportster

Toxic Attraction Removed From Tag Title Tournament Due To Gigi Dolin Concussion

Fans had been waiting months for WWE to announce what it had planned for the Women’s Tag Titles after Sasha Banks and Naomi handed them over and walked out. It took Vince McMahon retiring for those plans to be put in place. A tournament to decide who the new champions will be. However, as that tournament nears its end, it has been wrought with issues.

Last Friday, as Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark prepared to make their main roster debuts, WWE revealed the NXT duo would not be competing in the tournament. Stark is legitimately injured, and Lyons is too apparently though whether that’s the case or not remains up in the air. Toxic Attraction replaced the pair and defeated Natalya and Sonya Deville to progress.

Three days later, the high Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne were likely riding after debuting on SmackDown and winning their first match has come crashing down. Right before Raw went live on Monday, WWE revealed that Toxic Attraction, who were replacements themselves, will now need to be replaced. WWE reported Dolin suffered an injury on SmackDown, and it has since been revealed (via Wrestling Observer Radio) that injury was a concussion.

It was a little unclear how exactly WWE would fill a tournament for the Tag Titles when there aren’t that many women’s teams to begin with. That reality has really hit home with yet another replacement needed. Instead of finding another team, the four duos who lost their first round bouts will get a second chance match. The Four-Way tag team bout will take place this Friday on SmackDown.

Elsewhere in the bracket, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai booked their spot in the final on Raw last night. Raquel Gonzalez and Aliyah are the other team left in, and they will face the winner of the 4-way match. When exactly that second semifinal, and then the final, will take place is unclear. Probably not at Clash at the Castle since Sky and Kai are already booked in a different match that night.

Source: TheSportster

Johnny Gargano Returns To WWE On Monday Night RAW

Former NXT Champion, NXT Tag Team Champion, and 3-time North American Champion Johnny Gargano just made his return to the WWE last night on RAW.

Johnny Wrestling is back in the WWE!

Johnny Gargano was last on TV about nine months ago; he fought in NXT’s annual War Games match alongside LA Knight, Pete Dunne, and Tommaso Ciampa against Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller and Tony D’Angelo. On the following episode of NXT, Johnny Gargano bid an emotional farewell to the fans as his contract with WWE expired and he chose not to renew it.

For the past several months, Gargano’s future in wrestling was very much up in the air. He wanted to take some time off to help raise his newborn son, Quill (also known as Baby Wrestling), alongside his wife Candice LeRae. Tonight, he made his long-awaited return to the world of wrestling.

Gargano gave an impassioned speech to fans in Toronto last night about the importance of betting on yourself. Gargano said that both for his own dreams, and for his son, he wants to become a WWE champion. He was then interrupted by Money in the Bank briefcase holder Austin Theory, but Gargano swiftly dealt a superkick to his former protege and left the crowd happy.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1561900115526295553