Tag: WWE

Backstage News On Queen Zelina Vega’s Absence From WWE TV

Queen Zelina Vega recently suffered an in-ring injury for which she required surgery, according to PWInsider.

The report didn’t specify the type of surgery or when Vega got hurt, but she was last seen on the April 11 episode of Raw. Prior to that appearance, Vega and Carmella dropped their Women’s Tag Team Titles at “WrestleMania 38” in a Fatal Four Way Match.

Vega is expected to be out of action for another 6-8 weeks, which would mean she’d be available to return in time for the July 30 “SummerSlam” premium live event.

The report added there’s been talk within WWE creative about Vega receiving a push upon her return. The Queens native has reportedly been praised backstage for her “willingness to do what was requested of her” and for her work ethic.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE’s Brand Split Format “Is Essentially Done” [Report]

WWE went back to the brand split six years ago. According to a new report, the format “is essentially done” now.

It’s been six years since WWE went back to the brand split for its main roster stars, but a new report suggests that the format will end soon.

In recent weeks, WWE has been showcasing plenty of Raw stars on SmackDown and vice versa. There is only one world championship for the male superstars (Roman Reigns is the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion) right now, and The Usos defeated RK-Bro on SmackDown last week to become the “Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions.”

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Ringside News), Bryan Alvarez reported that the brand split format “is essentially done” now, pointing out that several Raw stars are going to be on this week’s edition of SmackDown. Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com recently reported that Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are scheduled to appear on SmackDown this Friday.

“This isn’t anything official, but the brand extension is essentially done,” Alvarez reported. “Half of the RAW crew is going to be on SmackDown Friday. Cody’s gonna be there, I think Seth is gonna be there. Edge doing whatever and it makes for a better show, as we’ve mentioned a thousand times.”

Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a “Winner Takes All” unified title bout at WrestleMania 38 to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He and The Usos have appeared on Raw frequently over the last two months, and RK-Bro has made several appearances on the SmackDown brand.

For the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, Vince McMahon introduced a “Wild Card Rule” which allowed four superstars on each brand to appear on the opposite brand per week. The rule was taken out following the 2019 WWE Draft and SmackDown‘s move over to Friday nights on FOX.

WWE’s decision to go back to the brand split in 2016 was a great success in many ways. Having differnet championship belts on each brand really helped the company build new main event stars, after all. So it’s certainly interesting to see the company basically move away from the brand split formatting and rules, at least for the time being. Instead of pushing different tag team and world championship holders on Raw, WWE has put all of its eggs into one basket here. Only time will tell if the decision to go all-in on The Bloodline’s historic push pays off over the long run.

Source: TheSportster

Alexa Bliss Alerts Authorities To Fan Threatening Her And Her Husband

Alexa Bliss has dealt with her fair share of crazed fans over the years. On Tuesday night, Bliss exposed another such person for threatening to shoot her and her husband Ryan Cabrera.

As seen in the screengrab below, Bliss responded directly to the fan, informing him that she had turned in screenshots of their direct messages to the authorities.

In response, the fan seemingly laughed off the idea of Bliss wanting to impose a restraining order on him. Through several other posts, the fan claimed he speaks regularly to Buddy Matthews, Bliss’ ex-fiancé, on Twitch, and that he burned all of Bliss’ merchandise.

Bliss’ original Instagram post was an invitation to a fundraiser IG live session on Friday, May 27. The session intends to raise money for “Saving Huey Foundation,” a nonprofit organization that specializes in the rescue of abused animals. The session will also celebrate the life of Larry-Steve, Alexa Bliss’ former pet pig that passed away last May.

“Let’s celebrate my Angel piggy in heaven Larry-Steve by raising money for animals in need,” Bliss wrote in her post.

On this week’s Raw, Bliss continued her momentum with another singles victory over Nikki A.S.H. Bliss has now won three consecutive matches since her return on the May 9th episode of Raw. Bliss returned earlier this month from a three-month hiatus dating back to the “Elimination Chamber” event in February.

https://twitter.com/WrestleOps/status/1529311335757975552

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 5/24/22

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 broadcasts live from the WWE Performance Center.

The following line-up is announced for tonight:

  • NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Duke Hudson
  • NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Indi Hartwell
  • NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly vs. Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp
  • Edris Enofe & Malik Blade vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo & Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan
  • Alba Fyre vs. Elektra Lopez
  • Wes Lee vs. Sanga

WWE RAW Preview 5/23/22

WWE RAW takes place tonight from the Ford Center in Evansville, In.

Possible WWE Contract Ramifications For Sasha Banks And Naomi

WWE reportedly has the option of freezing both Sasha Banks and Naomi’s contracts while they are suspended by the company.

According to Dave Meltzer on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, this is due to the wording of the contracts both wrestlers signed. Because the former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were suspended for failing to perform when they walked out of the building prior to last week’s “Raw,” WWE has the option to freeze their deals. This would mean that the time frame of their contracts would be paused, and they would be stopped from progressing rather than continuing to roll towards expiration. This is normally done when talent is unable to perform, as WWE doesn’t want to lose out on potential dates.

Right now it is unknown whether or not WWE will actually be freezing Banks’ or Naomi’s contracts, but the company has done this in the past when it comes to talent going out with injuries, including cases like Bryan Danielson and Rey Mysterio. Both women’s deals are reportedly set to expire in the near future, though Naomi, at least, was supposedly working on a contract extension prior to the walk-out.

As for Banks, she was spotted this weekend at a Steve Aoki concert, and she has received support online from her cousin, Snoop Dogg. But on Sunday, the WrestleVotes Twitter account, which has provided reliable information in the past, claimed this situation “is going to get worse before it gets any better.”

On WWE “SmackDown” last week, Michael Cole officially announced that Banks and Naomi had been stripped of their Women’s Tag Team Championship and were suspended and that a tournament will be held to crown new ones. No tag teams have been officially announced for the tournament, and no date has been set for it, nor is there any indication as to how long Banks’ and Naomi’s suspension will go on.

Neither Banks nor Naomi has made a public comment since they chose to walk out during WWE “Raw” last week, for what is currently believed to be creative issues. The company had reportedly been planning on Naomi challenging for the “Raw” Women’s Championship at WWE Hell In A Cell, while Banks would get a shot for the “SmackDown” Women’s Title. Both women were set to lose their respective matches.

WWE has also removed both ladies from the, ‘Then. Now. Forever.’ graphic that the company uses before the shows, with Cody Rhodes taking their place. On top of that, online merchandise for them has been removed from WWE Shop, but they were still available physically at live events over the weekend.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Some Current WWE Stars ‘Wish They Had The Guts To’ Walk Out Like Naomi And Sasha Banks [Reports]

The WWE locker room is divided after the Women’s Tag Champs upped and left – but some are thinking of following suit.

While Naomi and Sasha Banks are getting trashed by commentary on RAW and SmackDown for walking out of the company following a booking dispute, reports suggest that there are those who wish they could do the same.

The Women’s Tag-Team Champions weren’t happy with the creative direction for their titles exacerbated by the booking of a Six Pack Challenge to main event Monday Night RAW, that would see the tag-team used more as singles wrestlers going forward – something neither Naomi, nor Banks approved of.

Although they have received the backing of many fans online, the duo have been slated by the company. Since it happened Corey Graves and Michael Cole have criticized the pair for their actions. WWE even released a statement completely breaking kayfabe which labeled the women unprofessional for not wanting to work with other Superstars.

Despite the slating they’ve received from Vince McMahon’s business, Wade Keller made a recent PWTorch.com audio update and indicated that the locker room is divided on how it feels about the situation and how it was handled.

I can say there are people who in that locker room – colleagues of theirs [including] active wrestlers, and otherwise, who are disappointed and not sympathetic to the way Sasha and Naomi handled this,” Wade Keller said. (h/t Sportskeeda)

Clearly some current stars are aggrieved at their colleagues for walking out, but Keller would go on to say that others are supportive and some even wish they could do the same thing.

He added: “And there are others who, yes, think this is a cool thing that they did. And they sort of wished that they had the guts to do something like that and take a stance.”

The situation between Naomi and Sasha Banks and WWE is ongoing.

Source: TheSportster

Triple H’s WWE Office Duties Have Reportedly Changed

In the wake of Stephanie McMahon’s shocking announcement that she was taking a leave of absence from WWE yesterday, many have been wondering what this means for the status of her husband, retired WWE star and Executive Vice President of Global Strategy & Development Triple H, with the company. The answer is he’s still around, in a way.

A new report from Fightful Select noted that Triple H is officially back working at WWE offices full time following his cardiac event last year that forced him to retire. But despite his return and retaining his current corporate role, sources told Fightful Select that Triple H’s current duties are drastically different than they were before his absence. It was not reiterated further what that means.

It should be noted that Triple H was part of WWE’s annual meeting with shareholders yesterday, where he took questions on WWE’s NIL (Next In Line) program and WWE’s overall approach to developing talent. He also stated that WWE was continuing to explore plans to expand the WWE Performance Center, both domestically in the US and abroad.

WWE sources also denied to Fightful Select that marital issues played any part in Stephanie McMahon’s decision to take a leave of absence from her duties as WWE Chief Brand Officer. Rumors had emerged of potential marital strife between McMahon and Triple H, who have been married since 2003 and have three daughters, after photos of McMahon without her wedding ring from WrestleMania 38 weekend emerged on the internet recently. One of which, featuring GCW owner Brett Lauderdale, can be seen below.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sasha Banks & Naomi Suspended Indefinitely, Women’s Tag Team Titles Now Vacant

Last night’s edition of “Smackdown” included a huge announcement regarding Sasha Banks, Naomi, and the future of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

At the announce desk, Michael Cole stated that Banks and Naomi had “let us all down”. He recounted the statement WWE had put out on social media earlier this week. He says the pair have both been suspended indefinitely and a tournament will be held in the coming weeks to crown new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Banks and Naomi had walked out of “Raw” on Monday night. The pair were reportedly not pleased about the creative plans for them. A “6 Pack Challenge” match was announced at the beginning of “Raw”, which included Banks and Naomi.

WWE said Banks and Naomi walked out during the broadcast. According to WWE’s statement, they went into Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office, gave him the women’s tag team titles, and left the arena.

The main event match was hastily changed to a one-on-one match between Asuka and Becky Lynch. Asuka won the match to earn a title shot against “Raw” Women’s Champion Bianca Belair at the upcoming “Hell In A Cell” event.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/20/22

A title unification match that’s been anticipated for weeks is being promoted for tonight’s WWE “SmackDown”.

Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) will face the SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos. The match is being promoted as “winners take all”.

The match was first announced for the WrestleMania Backlash event. However, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre were later added to the match, making it a 6-man tag team contest. Reigns and The Usos went on to win the match.

RK-Bro reissued their challenge for a title unification match during the show-closing segment on last Friday’s SmackDown. The Usos accepted and the match was officially announced.

As of the time of tis posting, that is the only match announced for tonight’s “SmackDown”.