Tag: WWE

Backstage News On WWE Hall Of Famer Who Will Be Portrayed In Season 3 Of Young Rock

NBC’s “Young Rock” is making a huge addition to the show.

PWInsider is reporting that producers for the show are currently looking for someone around 6’7″ and 300 lbs. to play Hulk Hogan. The third season is set to begin filming next month in Memphis and will feature Hogan as a recurring guest star. With Hogan described as in “the prime of his wrestling career,” it’s expected for the upcoming season to feature the late-1980s/early-1990s “Golden Era” of what was then known as the World Wrestling Federation.

The television show makes numerous time jumps, with a framing device set during the 2032 presidential election, and has bounced around from the early ’80s to the late ’80s and the ’90s. While there’s no word yet on who will be playing Hogan, wrestlers including Luke Hawx and Colt Cabana have appeared on the show playing wrestlers from the business’s past, with Hawx playing Rock’s famous rival, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and Cabana playing legendary jobber The Brooklyn Brawler.

The third season of “Young Rock” is set to premiere on November 4th, the same month as the draft for Johnson’s version of the XFL. Johnson purchased the alternative football league along with his ex-wife Dany Garcia, as well as RedBird Capital Partners. It had originally been owned and operated by Johnson’s former boss, Vince McMahon. The new season is set to kickoff in February 2023.

Johnson is also set to star in the upcoming Black Adam film from Warner Bros. The film is set to be released on October 21st.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 8/22/2022, Trish Stratus Returns

WWE will take over the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, tonight with the latest installment of “WWE Raw.” The episode, which will be the first episode of “Raw” to take place at the venue since August 2019, will have an added Canadian flavor, with two Ontario-born WWE Hall of Famers advertised to be in the house. Edge and Trish Stratus

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1561442011990958082

Jeff Jarrett And WWE Have Parted Ways Again After Just Three Months

Jeff Jarrett has been a very busy man as of late. At the end of July, the Hall of Famer was the special guest referee in a Tag Title match at SummerSlam and then competed in Ric Flair’s last match 24 hours later. Jarrett may well have a lot more free time moving forward as he and WWE have reportedly parted ways yet again.

The news comes courtesy of PWInsider which reports Jarrett is no longer under WWE’s employ. This comes just three months after the former Intercontinental Champion was brought back into the fold. Jarrett was hired to be the senior vice president of live events. WWE also rolled a few TV appearances and the aforementioned referee spot into that since SummerSlam emanated from Jarrett’s hometown of Nashville this year.

The finer details of Jarrett’s departure from the company currently remain unclear. It might well be a case of him having a short-term deal with WWE and that deal has simply come to an end. PWI hammers home the use of the word “departed” by sources who revealed the news. No evidence as of right now that Jarrett was released, and it sounds as if this might have been a mutual decision.

What’s worth noting is the ongoing reshuffle backstage in WWE following on from the retirement of Vince McMahon. Jarrett was brought back into the fold under the old regime, meaning Vince was likely the one who made the call. Now Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are in charge, they may have decided Jarrett doesn’t have a place on the team. Or, the couple, plus Nick Khan, might have another name in mind for the role Jarrett occupied.

As already touched upon, Jarrett is a pretty busy man right now, even without WWE on the docket. A large chunk of his time is taken up by his My World podcast each week, the platform on which he might well officially address his WWE departure. New episodes of My World drop on Tuesdays, so expect some sort of explanation from Jarrett later this week.

Source: TheSportster

WWE SmackDown Preview 8/19/22, Zoey Stark Injured?

Tonight’s episode of “WWE SmackDown” will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,

Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre to go head-to-head

The Viking Raiders will hold a Viking Funeral for The New Day

The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament is also set to continue tonight, as “NXT 2.0” stars Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark will make their “SmackDown” debuts against Natalya and Sonya Deville

There are reports that Zoey Stark is injured and that she and Nikkita Lyons is out of the tournament and may be replaced by Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne).

Shawn Michaels promoted to WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative

Shawn Michaels has been given a promotion in WWE.

Following his retirement in 2010 after losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26, “HBK” took time away from wrestling to be with his family and do other things while occasionally making appearances on WWE television.

Michaels started helping at the Performance Center in late 2016 before becoming a trainer for the finishing class alongside Terry Taylor the following year. In 2018, he started working as a writer and producer for the NXT brand alongside Triple H, who oversaw the creative of the brand.

Michaels stepped up in September 2021 when his good friend was sidelined due to health issues and started running the day-to-day operations of NXT and being in charge of creative.

As previously reported, WWE announced that NXT UK will be rebranded as NXT Europe starting in 2023. NXT UK will go on hiatus before the relaunch. NXT UK will be part of the premium live event, Worlds Collide, with NXT next month. 

Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics pointed out that Michaels has been given a new title of WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative.

Source: WrestlingNews.co

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.