Tag: WWE

Corey Graves Invites Gable Steveson To RAW Following Second NCAA National Championship

Now that Gable Steveson has won his second NCAA National Heavyweight Championship, he will soon set his focus solely on WWE. As noted in the past, Steveson signed with the company shortly after his Olympic Gold Medal win in wrestling and has begun training for sports entertainment while finishing school.

But one person wants Steveson to show up on WWE television again sooner rather than later. As seen below, WWE announcer Corey Graves congratulated Gable Steveson on his second NCAA National Heavyweight Title and then invited him to WWE RAW.

“Congratulations @GableSteveson on an untouchable amateur career. Now, let’s get that next chapter started. You busy Monday? #wweraw,” Corey tweeted.

Steveson was actually a surprise pick for the 2021 WWE Draft, being chosen by the RAW brand. He officially signed with WWE back in September 2021 with a contract that allowed him to finish up his senior year at the University of Minnesota while training for WWE.

WWE set up a remote training facility for Steveson near the University of Minnesota campus, where he works with WWE coaches when he has time outside of class. He also has access to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, where his brother Bobby Steveson is training under his WWE contract.

Reports from September also note that Steveson’s multi-year WWE talent contract will officially begin once he graduates college in May 2022. The idea has been that he will be a full-time performer with WWE at that time, but will also appear on WWE TV as he finishes the school year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE To Broadcast WrestleMania In Movie Theatres

WWE fans hoping to see The Showcase Of The Immortals will be able to do so while enjoying the big screen cinema experience.

WWE’s biggest show of the year is well on its way and for those wanting to view the WrestleMania 38 Premium Live Event in the best way possible, then a big-screen movie theatre experience might be the way forward!

WWE has announced a partnership with Fathomevents.com to bring both nights of this year’s ‘most stupendous’ ‘Mania to cinemas meaning that people will be able to see Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns in a winner take all, title unification match for the WWE and Universal Titles and Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey in the comfort of a movie theatre.

Theatre’s all over the United States will be taking part in this cinematic event so to find out if there’s one near you click this link to open a PDF of the full list of participating locations.

For more information, check out the WrestleMania 38 page on the Fathom events website.

This year’s WrestleMania takes place across April 2 and April 3 with two roughly four-hour-long shows.

Night one of WrestleMania 38 boasts two top women’s title matches with Charlotte Flair taking on Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown women’s championship, and Becky Lynch facing Bianca Belair for the Raw women’s championship.

We’re also getting Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs vs. The Usos for the SmackDown tag team titles.

In terms of non-title matches, we’re getting Drew McIntyre finally attempting to settle the score against Happy Corbin, The Mysterios taking on The Miz and Logan Paul and Kevin Owens coming face-to-face with Stone Cold Steve Austin on the KO Show.

And then on night two there will be the big Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns main event with both the WWE and Universal titles on the line.

Joining that match will be a Fatal Four Way for the WWE women’s tag-team titles with Carmella and Queen Zelina Vega taking on Naomi and Sasha Banks, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley and the final team of Natalya and Shayna Bazler.

Johnny Knoxville and Sami Zayn will clash in an anything goes match, and Pat McAfee will take on Austin Theory.

Edge vs. AJ styles and the RAW tag-team title match between The Street Profits and RKBro have been confirmed but not announced for a day yet.

Source: TheSportster

WWE NXT Level Up Preview 3/18/22

Tonight’s WWE NXT Level Up episode is being billed as a “can’t miss edition” of the show.

Chen and Hayward to slug it out on thrilling edition of NXT Level Up

* Dante Chen vs. Bodhi Hayward.

*  Xyon Quinn vs. Damon Kemp (aka Bobby Steveson)

*  Lash Legend vs. Valentina Feroz

WWE SmackDown Preview 3/18/22

The Road to WrestleMania 38 will continue tonight as WWE SmackDown on FOX airs live from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC.

Brock Lesnar to collide with Roman Reigns ahead of WrestleMania

It’s likely that King Xavier Woods will make his return to SmackDown tonight. Woods had been out of action since suffering a calf injury in January, but he returned at last weekend’s live events because Big E suffered a broken neck on last Friday’s SmackDown. WWE had plans for a six-man match at WrestleMania 38 with The New Day vs. Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch, but now we should find out if that will turn into a standard tag team match with Big E being out.

The WWE Events website has Ronda Rousey advertised for tonight’s show. There should be a follow-up to last week’s show-closing brawl with SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.

Big E Gives Update On Broken Neck After Leaving Hospital

Big E was in good spirits, as usual, as he took to social media to update fans on his condition.

WWE superstar Big E has provided a further update on his status, having left hospital following a worrying injury. The former WWE Champion suffered a broken neck on last Friday’s episode of SmackDown, landing poorly off of a belly-to-belly Suplex from Ridge Holland outside the ring during a match between New Day, Holland, and Sheamus.

Big E landed directly on his head and was unable to continue fighting. The cameras panned off the 36-year-old, but subsequent reports claimed he was stretchered out of the arena.

Big E would reach out to fans via Twitter, posting a video in which he claimed to be alright. He later revealed he wouldn’t require surgery despite his neck being broken but also that his C1 and C6 vertebrae are fractured.

Former NFL team doctor David Chao reckons E is lucky to be alive and has cast doubt on a return to wrestling for the former champ.

“The C1 fracture is most dangerous as the top cervical vertebrae is a ring and is commonly associated with immediate death or complete paralysis. Thankfully the fracture was not displaced and he will not need surgery. However, this type of fracture often heals incompletely and it may mean the end of his wrestling career,” Chao wrote for Outkick.

“The C6 fracture is likely a compression injury to the vertebral body. This likely requires immobilization but not surgery. One would anticipate a minimum of three-month recovery with return to full function and activities for this lower cervical injury.”

Big E was back on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, this time walking around his neighborhood in some fine weather.

He wore a neck brace and was in good spirits, as has been the case throughout the whole ordeal.

“Life is good,” he said. “I got breath in my lungs, it’s a beautiful day. My neck might be broken, but my heart, it’s still in there, I think, yeah it’s in there.”

As noted above, E won’t be needing surgery. According to Chao, he could be back to his old self in three months, though he might not be able to wrestle again, at least not anytime soon.

Source: TheSportster

WWE Makes WrestleMania 38 Line-Up Change, Kickoff Pre-show Start Times Revealed

WWE has confirmed that there will be two-hour WrestleMania 38 Kickoff pre-shows, one for each night.

The WrestleMania 38 Kickoff pre-show is scheduled to begin at 6pm ET on Night One and Night Two. The Kickoffs will run for two hours, until the main card begins at 8pm ET.

There is no word yet on who will be featured on the Kickoff panels, or what matches will take place on the Kickoff.

In more news on the WrestleMania 38 card, WWE no longer has AJ Styles vs. WWE Hall of Famer Edge assigned to a specific night. The match was previously announced for WrestleMania Sunday, but now it is once again listed for Night One or Night Two. AJ is returning to RAW this coming Monday to continue the feud with Edge, so we should find out then if the bout will air during Night One or Night Two. Out of the 12 matches/segments announced for WrestleMania 38, only two have not been assigned to a night – AJ vs. Edge, and The Street Profits vs. RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro.

WrestleMania 38 will take place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Below is the current announced card, along with rumored and expected matches:

WRESTLEMANIA SATURDAY – APRIL 2:

SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair (c)

RAW Women’s Title Match
Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch (c)

SmackDown Tag Team Titles Match
Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs vs. The Usos (c)

Logan Paul and The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio

Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Baron Corbin

Kevin Owens hosts The KO Show with special guest WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin

WRESTLEMANIA SUNDAY- APRIL 3:

Winner Takes All Title Unification Match
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns

Triple Threat for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles
Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley vs. Naomi and Sasha Banks vs. Carmella and Queen Zelina Vega (c)

Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory

Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn

CONFIRMED MATCHES TO BE ASSIGNED A NIGHT:

RAW Tag Team Titles Match
The Street Profits vs. Randy Orton and Riddle (c)

WWE Hall of Famer Edge vs. AJ Styles

UNCONFIRMED, RUMORED OR EXPECTED MATCHES:

Seth Rollins vs. TBA

WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Sheamus and Ridge Holland

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
TBA vs. Ricochet (c)

WWE United States Title Match
Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor (c)

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Big E Returns Home Following Stint In Hospital For Broken Neck

Big E is back at home following a brief hospitalization for a broken neck.

As noted, Big E suffered a broken neck during Friday’s SmackDown in Birmingham, AL after taking a belly-to-belly throw from Ridge Holland at ringside. He was stretchered away from the ringside area, and then taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. Big E announced that same night that he suffered the broken neck when taking the move from Holland.

In an update, Big E revealed in a tweet that he is already back at home after being hospitalized at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital.

NFL star Andre Smith, who was born in Birmingham, tweeted Big E and offered to help him with anything he needed while he was in town for the hospitalization. Big E responded and revealed that he was already back at home in Tampa, FL.

“Appreciate you, man. I’m actually home now but Birmingham took good care of me,” Big E wrote.

On a related note, Drew McIntyre took to Twitter and wrote about spending some time in the hospital with Big E on Friday night. Several WWE stars visited with Big E in the hospital that night, and McIntyre commented on how he was feeling.

“I spent some time with @WWEBigE in the hospital last night and even in that situation you couldn’t take the smile off his face [face with tears of emoji] He really is remarkable. Love ya brother, can’t wait to hear the reaction when you return,” Drew wrote.

Big E responded, “It meant a ton to me. Thank you for being who you are, my friend.”

We noted before how Big E announced the broken neck in his first Twitter video on Friday night, but he then posted another video on Saturday morning and revealed that he fractured his C1 vertebrae and his C6 vertebrae, but would not need surgery. He also confirmed that there was no damage to his spinal cord, and no ligament damage.

There’s still no word on how long Big E will be out of action, but we will keep you updated. We noted before that WWE had plans for a big six-man match at WrestleMania 38 with The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods) vs. Holland, Sheamus and Butch, the former Pete Dunne.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage WWE Hall Of Fame Updates On The Steiner Brothers And Batista

The Steiner Family is reportedly scheduled to be in Dallas for WWE’s WrestleMania 38 Weekend.

The Steiner Brothers, Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner, are rumored for the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame Class. It was reported earlier this week that if Scott isn’t interested in being inducted, as he’s indicated in the past, then WWE would just induct Rick, but they want the brothers to go in as a tag team.

In an update, PWInsider confirms that WWE officials are considering The Steiners for a Hall of Fame induction this year. There has been a lot of talk about the induction in the past week.

Furthermore, it was noted that a number of Steiner family members are scheduled to travel to Dallas for WrestleMania 38 Weekend. Bron Breakker, Rick’s son, will challenge new WWE NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler at NXT Stand & Deliver on WrestleMania Saturday.

There’s been some speculation on Batista’s WWE Hall of Fame induction, but that likely will not be happening this year. WWE originally had The Animal scheduled for the 2020 Class, but the ceremony was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then announced that the 2020 Class would be inducted along with the 2021 Class last year, but Batista was removed from the list, and he later announced that he could not make the event due to previous obligations. He confirmed that WWE honored his request to induct him at a future ceremony.

Batista is expected to be in Dallas for The Undertaker’s WWE Hall of Fame induction next month, but word now is that he likely will not be inducted until WrestleMania 39 Weekend from Los Angeles.

WWE has announced The Undertaker, Vader and Queen Sharmell for the 2022 Class so far. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon will induct Taker, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will induct Sharmell, but there’s no confirmation on who will posthumously induct Vader. “Psycho” Sid Vicious is rumored for this year’s Class.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Cody Rhodes Hints During Seth Rollins Match On WWE RAW?

Soon after Seth Rollins lost to Kevin Owens in the main event of this week’s RAW, announcer Corey Graves would drop several Cody Rhodes hints.

Graves mentioned how Rollins’ WrestleMania hopes had been “dashed” and “his dream has become a nightmare.”

For those who missed RAW, Rollins set up a match with his friend Owens with the stipulation being that if he won, he’d get to replace Owens in the segment with WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38. Since Owens prevailed with the win, his KO Show segment with Austin will go ahead as planned.

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins is rumored to take place at WrestleMania 38. Earlier on Monday, Dave Meltzer reported that the match is still listed internally for next month’s event.

Meltzer’s latest update came a week after he reported that Rhodes’ WWE situation was “back up in the air,” with WWE creative being asked to hold off on plans until Rhodes signs a WWE contract.

Since Monday’s RAW was held in Jacksonville, the home of AEW, there had been a lot of speculation of Cody Rhodes returning to WWE TV this week. With WrestleMania 38 less than three weeks away, Seth Rollins is still without a match at the Showcase of Immortals.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1503566745243684869
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1503566816676921352

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 3/15/2022, MizTV

The Road to Stand & Deliver will continue during tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 episode on the USA Network.

Tonight’s show will be headlined by a special edition of MizTV with The Miz and his guests, new NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. WWE is also teasing appearances by Tommaso Ciampa and former champion Bron Breakker.