Tag: WWE

WWE RAW Preview 8/8/22

WWE RAW tonight on USA Network at 8/7C.

The road to crowning new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions is set to begin on “Raw”. It was announced during Friday night’s “SmackDown” that a tournament for the vacant titles will begin on tonight’s episode. The titles have been vacant since the former champions Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE back in May.

WWE is promoting a United States Championship match for tonight’s “Raw”, with Bobby Lashley defending against Ciampa.

Rey Mysterio is set for another showdown against The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor

WWE Announces Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament to Start This Monday On Raw

WWE has announced that a Women’s Tag Team Title tournament will begin this Monday on Raw to crown new champions.

WWE has officially made a decision regarding the Women’s Tag Team Championships. They are not going away and, in fact, WWE has announced that a tournament to crown new Women’s Tag Team Champions will start next week on Monday Night Raw.

Michael Cole and Pat McAfee first shared the news during Friday’s episode of SmackDown, and WWE official Adam Pearce then confirmed after the show in a WWE exclusive video that the tournament would kick off this Monday night. Pearce said, “I am proud to be the bearer of some breaking news.” He added, “Beginning this Monday, live on Raw and emanating from Cleveland, Ohio, I’m happy to announce a tournament to crown brand new Women’s Tag Team Champions.” He then explained that both the Raw and SmackDown women’s rosters are in the process of putting together teams.

There will be plenty of questions heading into Raw. Who will comprise the teams? Which current stars will work together? Which stars might return? And, on the heels of Dakota Kai and Karrion Kross and Scarlett being brought back by Triple H, who else might be an unexpected entrant? One of the bigger questions will be whether Sasha Banks and Naomi are part of the tournament as rumors are swirling that WWE might have a deal in place to bring both stars back.

If that’s the case, it would explain why the tournament is happening and one has to wonder if Banks and Naomi will be the favorites to win considering the titles were last held by the duo before they relinquished the belts and walked out of Raw. Neither has been seen on WWE programming since.

WWE bringing back the championships is good news for the Women’s Division and one can only hope the tag team belts are pushed under Triple H’s creative direction. He’s been making a number of fan-pleasing decisions of late and if he makes those titles mean something, that will be another plus that the WWE Universe will be thrilled about.

Source: TheSportster

Karrion Kross And Scarlett Returns To WWE On SmackDown

Karrion Kross is back in WWE, and in a major way. He was dropped right into the main event scene between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre.

With rumors circulating that Triple H was interested in bringing back Karrion Kross to WWE, it didn’t take long for that rumor to be proven accurate. During Friday’s SmackDown, Kross, along with Scarlett and her hourglass, returned and took aim at one of the brand’s biggest stars.

The closing segment of SmackDown featured a showdown between Roman Reigns, with The Bloodline, and Drew McIntyre. Reigns talked about how much he hates Brock Lesnar before demanding the WWE Universe acknowledge him. That brought out Drew McIntyre who didn’t waste any time asking the crowd if they wanted to see him wipe out the entire Bloodline prior to their upcoming match at Clash at the Castle. Before he could make good on his threat, a strange video was projected onto the entrance screen with a familiar theme song. It was hard to make out who was in the entryway, but it was a female figure. As McIntyre and Reigns looked on confused, Kross came in from behind and attacked McIntyre.

The announce crew wasn’t sure who it was exactly, until Pat McAfee shouted, “Karrion Kross?” Michael Cole then confirmed that was the case when the camera zoomed in on Kross. Cole said, “Karrion Kross, a former NXT Champion has returned.” Scarlett placed the hourglass on the ring apron and turned it over. Kross was staring at Reigns and pointed and tapped his wrist – Tick Tock, as to say Reigns has ben put on notice and his time is running out.

This is a big play by Triple H creatively. Not only did he bring back a recently-released former NXT Champion, but he’s plopped him right into the main event scene on the blue brand. Just prior to a big showdown between McIntyre and Reigns at Clash at the Castle, Kross is now a big part of the picture and it’s unclear how WWE will include him in all of this. Triple H was known to be a fan of Kross’ during his NXT run, suggesting he had all the tools to be a huge star. Clearly, he’s putting his money where his mouth is.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 8/5/22

The fallout from SummerSlam will play out on tonight’s “WWE SmackDown” episode airing on FOX at 8/7C.

No matches have been announced for tonight’s show at the time of this posting.

There should be more build up for matches at Clash at the Castle.

Probably something about Ronda Rousey’s suspension after she attacked the referee following her loss to “SmackDown” Women’s Champion Liv Morgan at SummerSlam.  Rousey forced Morgan to tap out to an armbar. However, the referee did not see Morgan tapping out and instead counted Rousey’s shoulders down for the pin. In addition to attacking the referee after the match, Rousey also laid out Morgan.

Rousey’s “suspension” shouldn’t last long. Rousey is reportedly expected to return to WWE programming in time to set up a match for her at Clash at the Castle.

Pat McAfee is expected to be back at his usual post on commentary. He’s coming off a win over Happy Corbin at SummerSlam.

Glenn Jacobs Re-Elected As Mayor Of Knox County

WWE Hall of Famer Glenn Jacobs, AKA Kane, will remain mayor of Knox County, Tennessee for another four years.

Jacobs, a Republican, defeated Democratic nominee Debbie Helsley in the mayoral race Thursday night. According to The Knoxville News Sentinel, Jacobs led the unofficial vote tally by more than 4,400 votes when 63 percent of the nearly 43,000 votes were counted at 10 p.m. local time. The margin was reportedly enough to project Jacobs as the winner. The wrestling legend celebrated his victory with fellow GOP attendees at a watch party in downtown Knoxville, per his social media feeds.

“It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as mayor for the past four years, and I am just so grateful that you have trusted me to work hard to keep our economy strong and to protect our freedoms and our way of life,” Jacobs said of his victory [H/T The Knoxville News Sentinel].

In his press conference, Jacobs appreciated the other candidates who ran in the mayoral race.

“In this day and age, as contentious as politics is, we should respect anyone who is willing to put their name on the ballot,” Jacobs stressed. “I promise you, and I don’t make many promises because they’re hard to keep. But I do promise you that I will continue to work hard every day for the brightest future possible for our Knox County.”

Jacobs was last seen on WWE TV at last weekend’s SummerSlam premium live event, appearing in a brief segment to announce the attendance of 48,449 for the show at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. Earlier this year, Kane faced a lot of backlash on social media for his reaction to the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade – the court’s landmark 1973 judgment that made abortion a constitutional right. A plethora of wrestlers from across promotions called out Jacobs for his comments.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Lifts Ban On Forbidden Words [Report]

Reports indicate that WWE are easing up on restricted terminology amidst backstage shake up.

A constant complaint amongst WWE fans for years has been the companies strict avoidance of certain words and phrases in promos, interviews, media and on commentary. Having been an irritation for years, reports indicate that WWE are easing up on such rules, with banned terminology no longer forbidden from leaving talent’s mouths.

Reported in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer details that amidst the various changes going on behind the scenes at WWE, talent have had some restrictions on what they can say lifted. More precisely, Meltzer reports that ‘wrestling’ and ‘wrestler’ are ‘no longer dirty words’. Whilst talent are sure to still be referred to as ‘WWE Superstars’ as part of the company’s branding objectives, the easing of the rules certainly gives talent more freedom in what they say.

Previously, terms such as ‘wrestler’ and ‘wrestling’ had been forbidden under the last several years of Vince McMahon’s reign over WWE creative. Cody Rhodes had attested to this recently, sharing how he had been fined $1000 for uttering the term championship ‘belt’, proving just how forbidden certain phrases had become.

As part of these reports, Meltzer notes that this change to terminology comes along with ‘a positive and fresh vibe’ that has swept through the company following the installation of the new management regime. Amongst talent, Triple H is seen as a more caring figure compared to Vince McMahon, and whilst there is still some worry for certain individuals about losing their spot under the new creative direction, the overall atmosphere backstage is ‘more excitement and more positive about the future’.

Just over a week into the new regime, it appears that change is coming much quicker than fans, or talent, might have expected. So far, the initiative under Triple H certainly looks to be angled towards giving talent more creative freedom and making their jobs easier as a whole. Whilst the lifting of a ban on certain terms may appear as a somewhat small measure, it is indicative of a broader approach to WWE programming.

Source: TheSportster

Backstage News On Last Minute Plans WWE Made For Bayley’s New Stable

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, stories coming out of WWE SummerSlam last weekend was the return of both Bayley and Dakota Kai, along with the main roster debut of Iyo Sky (fka Io Shirai). The new stable has quickly made an impact between their appearances at WWE SummerSlam and “WWE Raw” two days later, and it’s even more impressive given the last-minute nature of the stable’s conception.

According to PWInsider, things came together for the group so late that Sky’s new name wasn’t trademarked until July 31, the day after SummerSlam, a wildly uncharacteristic move for the promotion, which likes to trademark character names well before they debut. Indeed, Sky’s debut at SummerSlam was accompanied by video graphics that still displayed the Io Shirai name. PWI also noted that while Bayley was expected to be at SummerSlam, there were no “concrete” plans for her to appear when the creative was overseen by Vince McMahon.

PWInsider also confirmed that Kai had not originally been in the plans for SummerSlam. The WWE star, who was released by the promotion back in April and whose noncompete clause had long since elapsed, was reportedly contacted at the last minute and didn’t travel to Nashville, the site of SummerSlam, until the night before. Kai herself stated the deal came together quickly prior to the PLE in an appearance on “WWE: The Bump” this Wednesday.

While the group doesn’t have a formal name as of yet, Bayley hinted that the group could be called Control in a tweet shortly after their SummerSlam appearance. On “Raw,” the trio set the tone for the show, attacking Becky Lynch and brawling with “Raw” Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss shortly after Sky’s match with Belair, which ended in a no contest.

https://twitter.com/itsBayleyWWE/status/1553775548580724737

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Monday’s Raw Registered The Show’s Highest Rating For More Than Two Years

Things are naturally going to start feeling pretty different now Vince McMahon has retired and Triple H is head of creative. In fact, some of those changes have already started to show through, perhaps a little earlier than expected. Monday’s Raw was effectively the first show during which The Game had full creative control since he is sort of able to hit the reset button on everything McMahon put in place following SummerSlam.

It seems a lot of fans were interested to see how a Triple H-led Raw would look. As reported by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, this week’s Raw pulled 2.23 million viewers. That’s the highest rating the show has achieved since the start of the pandemic. The last episode that bettered that number was on March 16, 2020. The first show of the pandemic era when fans were keen to see what exactly a Raw in an empty Performance Center looked like.

An impressive 2.433 million viewers were watching when Raw got underway, and that number naturally declined as the three-hour show progressed. Perhaps one of Triple H’s next moves will be to dial Raw back to two hours, although the amount of ad revenue generated by that third hour makes that unlikely, even without McMahon at the helm.

The good news keeps on coming for WWE when breaking down who exactly was watching Raw on Monday. Total viewership is all well and good, but that key demographic is 18 to 49-year-olds. 796,000 of those watching Raw fell into that age group, translating to a rating of 0.61. The next best rating for a show on at that time was Better Call Saul with a 0.36. Honestly, that the Breaking Bad spinoff was on at the same time just makes all of the above numbers even more impressive.

Even though some of the changes Triple H and his team have made so far have been plain to see, there still hasn’t been anything too drastic. Most will be subtle and will hopefully improve the quality of WWE’s product and increase the number of people watching on a regular basis over time. This was also the Raw after SummerSlam which is almost always guaranteed to do a good number. Now The Game needs to see if he can keep those new and lapsed fans tuning in every week.

Source: TheSportster

Major Update On Sasha Banks And Naomi’s Reported WWE Status

A significant update has developed regarding the WWE statuses of Sasha Banks and Naomi in WWE.

“Wrestling News Co.” reported yesterday that they were told an agreement has been reached for both Banks and Naomi to return to the company. Brian Alvarez of the “Wrestling Observer Live” podcast stated that a source confirmed the report to him. He said he believed the report was accurate but couldn’t say 100% definitively that it was true.

Banks and Naomi walked out of the May 16 edition of “Raw” after being unhappy about their creative plans for the show. The duo relinquished their Women’s Tag Team Titles soon after, stating that they didn’t feel respected as a team and felt unsafe working with specific colleagues in the ring. The two women had also been edited out of WWE content, removed from the internal roster, and changed their social media handles in the wake of the news. Dave Meltzer of the “Wrestling Observer” mentioned last week that he had been told that WWE would be attempting to reconcile with the two women while speaking on the “Sports Illustrated Media” podcast.

Wrestling INC.’s Raj Giri reported that Banks had been released from WWE in June after the two were given indefinite suspensions without pay. Banks’ contract was reportedly set to expire in July, and both women were said to be involved in ongoing contract negotiations with the company up until this point.

Banks and Naomi are slated to appear at the Chicago And Entertainment Expo Convention (C2E2) this weekend in their first fan signing experience outside WWE since the ordeal. AEW World Champion CM Punk, Danhausen, and Lita are also set to appear at the convention.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 8/2/22

Tonight on WWE NXT 2.0 at 8 pm ET on USA Network: