Ronda Rousey vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair is being advertised by the venue and is still being listed in an updated ad for tonight’s show. The WWE Events website also has Rousey advertised for tonight.
The WWE Events website had Seth Rollins advertised for SmackDown at one point, but he was removed earlier in the week. PWInsider has reported that Cody Rhodes is scheduled to be at the show tonight, but there’s no word yet on if he will be appearing on TV or working a dark match.
New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Naomi are also scheduled to appear tonight, along with Drew McIntyre.
NXT had what was arguably its biggest show since becoming NXT 2.0 last weekend. Stand & Deliver, on which a number of titles changed hands including MSK becoming Tag Team Champions for a second time. A curious decision in the eyes of some fans as the new champs’ Nash Carter had some pretty serious allegations made against him by his wife Kimber Lee that same week.
Lee deleted the initial tweets following backlash from fans but posted new, potentially more incriminating ones after WrestleMania weekend. The Impact star shared two photos in which she has a mark above her lip. Lee claims the mark was a result of a busted lip, an injury she allegedly sustained after being hit by Carter when he was intoxicated.
Carter was released by WWE shortly after those photos were made public, but apparently, Lee’s allegations are not the reason why Carter’s NXT career has come to an end. At around the same time Lee doubled down on her own allegations, a photo of Carter performing a Nazi salute in which he appears to have modeled his mustache after Adolf Hitler’s also surfaced.
According to The Wrestling Observer, the Nazi photo is the reason WWE released Carter as opposed to the abuse allegations made against him. That actually makes sense and may explain why Carter’s release came so quickly after Lee published the photos. Lee’s comments will need to be investigated to determine exactly what happened and if Carter really did intentionally inflict the injury in the photo. The Nazi photo, on the other hand, there’s no disputing or defending that.
There have been a number of allegations made against wrestlers as a part of the Speaking Out movement over the course of the past two years. WWE claims to undertake internal investigations if it believes the allegations are serious ones, which ultimately led to the release of Velveteen Dream last year. Dream wants to return to NXT, but the likelihood of that seems low for the time being.
Shane McMahon’s son, Declan James McMahon, has committed to play college football at Indiana University. He is a running back.
The oldest grandchild to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon announced this week that he is set to become a Hoosier. Declan, born on February 13, 2004, noted on Twitter that he visited with several schools in recent months, including Rutgers and Duke, but finally decided on Indiana this week. Declan’s Twitter bio lists him as a 6-foot 190-pound running back, who attended Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, Class of 2022. He has also played the position of quarterback.
“I am extremely grateful and excited to announce my commitment to play Football at Indiana University. Go Hoosiers! #LEO,” Declan tweeted.
Declan and his two younger brothers accompanied their father to the ring for his WrestleMania 32 Hell In a Cell loss to The Undertaker in 2016, and they’ve been in the crowd for some of his more recent appearances. Shane was at WrestleMania 38 in Dallas this past weekend, and his sons were with him.
Shane responded to Declan’s announcement this week and wrote, “So proud to be Declan’s father. Hard work pays off. Go Hoosiers!”
John Cena also commented on the big announcement and joked about Declan’s potential WWE-inspired end zone celebrations.
“Soooo many choices for end zone celebrations! VKM strut, Shane O’ shuffle… end zone dance aside, congrats on earning an incredible opportunity!!,” Cena wrote.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon also commented on her nephew and his big news, writing, “So proud of my nephew!!!! Go Declan and Go Hoosiers!!!”
I am extremely grateful and excited to announce my commitment to play Football at Indiana University. Go Hoosiers! #LEOpic.twitter.com/Tpb0OxVzSg
WWE has reportedly released Nash Carter, one-half of the current NXT Tag Team Champions, following allegations of domestic violence from Kimber Lee.
MSK’s Nash Carter has reportedly been released by WWE following accusations of domestic abuse from his wife, Impact wrestler Kimber Lee.
On Wednesday, April 6, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that Carter (real name Zachary Green) was released by WWE. Sapp’s report comes just a few days after Kimber Lee publicly revealed that she was a victim of domestic violence and that Carter had physically assaulted her. Lee initially went public with her story on social media last week but deleted her posts soon after. On Tuesday, Kimber Lee again publicly alleged that Carter had hit her.
“Hey NXT this is my face after your tag champ Nash Carter got wasted and hit me so hard he split my lip open,” Lee tweeted, tagging both NXT and Carter in the post. She added that Carter told her after the incident that she’s a wrestler and wrestlers get “marked up” all the time. Lee followed up that tweet with another apologizing to her fans for backing away from the allegations last week. She also claims Carter had been messaging her over the weekend asking her not to say anything else publicly.
WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner was kidnapped by Joe Gacy and Harland on this week’s NXT 2.0.
Rick Steiner returned to NXT for the first time since his son Bron Breakker won the NXT Championship for the first time … but things went a little differently this time.
It all went down at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida during the cliffhanger climax of this week’s edition of NXT 2.0 on USA Network. Breakker had just successfully retained the NXT Championship with a victory over “Der Ring General” Gunther in the main event when his father, the legendary WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner, appeared on the big screen. Rick congratulated his son on the win, but as the camera panned out it was revealed that Rick was tied up and had been locked in a cage … by the villainous Joe Gacy and the brutish drone known as Harland.
As the show drew to a close, a concerned Breakker looked on and Gacy said he was going to teach the old dog some new tricks. Steiner’s involvement in this week’s show marks his first involvement in a WWE angle since he parted ways with the company back in 1994.
Steiner set foot in a WWE ring for the first time since 1994 following the conclusion of the New Year’s Evil edition of NXT 2.0 on USA Network back in January. Bron Breakker had just defeated the veteran Tommaso Ciampa in a thrilling main event to capture the NXT Championship. The show went off the air, but the WWE cameras didn’t stop rolling … and that’s when the Dog-Faced Gremlin himself appeared to celebrate with his boy.
Rick and his brother Scott joined WWF in 1992 and would go on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions. Despite tasting glory in the WWF, the brothers did not get along with Vince McMahon and ultimately left the company in 1994. Time heals all wounds, though, and both Steiner brothers were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during the induction ceremony last Friday.
Kimber Lee has shared photos of an injury she claims was intentionally caused by a drunken Nash Carter.
Impact Wrestling’s Kimber Lee, formerly known as Abby Laith during her stint in WWE, made some serious allegations against her husband and fellow wrestler Nash Carter last week. Carter is one-half of the tag team MSK who won the NXT Tag Team Titles for a second time over the weekend. Prior to that, Lee claimed she had suffered domestic abuse at the hands of Carter.
After opening up about the allegations on social media, Lee claims she was hounded by wrestling fans to the point she decided to delete the original tweets, only fueling those who didn’t believe her. Not wanting to be silenced about what she is claiming to have happened between her and Carter, Lee has posted fresh allegations this week, including photos of an injury she alleges was caused intentionally by the NXT star.
“Hey NXT this is my face after your tag champ Nash Carter got wasted and hit me so hard he split my lip open,” Lee tweeted, tagging both NXT and Carter in the post. She adds that Carter told her after the incident that she’s a wrestler so gets “marked up” all the time. Lee followed up that tweet with another apologizing to her fans for backing away from the allegations last week. She also claims Carter has been messaging her over the weekend asking she not say anything else publicly.
Lee and Carter got married in May 2020 and are still husband and wife now, though it’s assumed the two are separated at this moment in time. As for what will happen next, that depends on WWE and possibly the authorities should they get involved. A number of wrestlers were named in 2020’s Speaking Out movement, and each situation that involved a WWE Superstar was handled individually and in many cases, pretty differently.
Triple H has previously clarified all allegations like these are taken very seriously, and internal investigations are conducted. Velveteen Dream was let go from NXT following the allegations made against him, but Riddle managed to keep hold of his position in the company despite some thinking the issues involving him and a female wrestler he cheated on his wife with still being a pretty tangled web. Whatever happens, we could see Carter disappear from NXT TV pretty soon.
New NXT Champion Bron Breakker is expected to return to the brand as champion on tonight’s show. Breakker lost to Dolph Ziggler at Stand & Deliver, but won the title on last night’s RAW After WrestleMania episode.
WWE is also teasing that Tony D’Angelo and AJ Galante, the former Danbury Trashers hockey team GM who appeared on Netflix’s “Crime & Penalties” documentary, will continue their Stand & Deliver celebration on tonight’s show. Galante accompanied D’Angelo at Stand & Deliver for the win over Tommaso Ciampa.
It’s also likely that new NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes will appear on tonight’s show, along with new NXT Tag Team Champions MSK.
Below is the current line-up for tonight’s NXT:
* Fallout from Stand & Deliver
* New NXT Champion Bron Breakker returns as a two-time champion
* Tony D’Angelo and AJ Galante continue their Stand & Deliver celebration
* New NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez defend against former champion Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler is set to return to RAW commentary next week.
Lawler appeared on RAW Talk last night and revealed to Matt Camp and Jackie Redmond that he will work RAW commentary for a few weeks to replace Corey Graves while Graves is on his honeymoon with Carmella.
Lawler did not specify how many weeks he will be working RAW, but Redmond noted that he will be at the announce table with Jimmy Smith and Byron Saxton for “a couple of weeks.”
“I am looking forward to it,” Lawler said. “I’m going to be back behind the announcer’s table there on Monday Night RAW because that idiot Corey Graves is getting married!,” he joked.
Graves and Carmella are set to tie the knot in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this week. Graves spoke to The Athletic last week in the lead-up to WrestleMania 38 and commented on getting married this week, revealing that the ceremony is scheduled for Thursday.
“Tuesday morning, I get on a plane and fly to Fort Lauderdale. Because Thursday, we’re getting married. Why try to relax after a busy professional week? Let’s go right into the biggest life event we could possibly have,” Graves said.
Last night’s RAW saw Carmella and Queen Zelina Vega officially split up, which came after they dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles to Sasha Banks and Naomi at WrestleMania 38. The RAW segment featured a ringside make-out sessions with Graves and Carmella, which you can see below.
Elias has returned to WWE RAW with a new clean-shaven look and a new gimmick.
Tonight’s post-WrestleMania 38 edition of WWE RAW saw Kevin Owens come to the ring and admit how good WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin was at WrestleMania Saturday. Owens then said Austin’s win should be wiped from the record books because Owens wasn’t 100% going into the match as he had a bad back injury. Owens went on ranting about how great he is until the music hit and out came the former Elias.
Owens recognized this as Elias, but the man introduced himself as Ezekiel, the younger brother of Elias. This confused Owens but he insisted he was talking to Elias, while the former Elias reiterated that he is actually the younger brother to the former WWE Superstar known as The Drifter.
Owens ended up marching out of the ring without any physical action. Ezekiel watched Owens head to the back with a smirk on his face, and that was the end of the segment.
WWE began airing multiple vignettes for the re-branding of Elias last summer, but the last vignette aired on August 23, and that was the last we’ve seen of Elias until now. It was later reported that WWE had no end plan for the vignettes, and that WWE just filmed them to kill off Elias’ musician gimmick. At one point Elias had a new look in the works, reportedly similar to the look we saw on RAW tonight, but word was that WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon nixed it because he felt like it looked too much like WWE Hall of Famer Randy Savage.
Elias, or Ezekiel, has not wrestled since his Symphony of Destruction loss to Jaxson Ryker on the July 19 edition of RAW. He has also been quiet on social media since last summer.
“The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes makes his return to Monday Night Raw to a big reception. A loud “Cody” chant picks up. Rhodes is wearing a blue suit. Rhodes goes to speak, but then puts the microphone down to listen to the crowd. They chant, “Welcome back!” Rhodes smiles and looks around before getting pumped up. Another “Cody” chant picks up, and he plays to the crowd. Rhodes goes to speak, but the crowd keeps going.
Rhodes says, “So… what do you guys want to talk about?” It has been 47 days since the abrupt news that he was a free agent. Rhodes chose to remain silent. He heard stories and defamatory stories. Everyone thinks that the decision to return to WWE was difficult. It was not. It was simple really. The star that left them in the dust, the man standing here now having signed a multi-year agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment. A “You deserve it” chant picks up. If there was a glimmer of doubt or a shred of trepidation, when he rose up at WrestleMania and came back to beat one of the best wrestlers in the world in Seth Rollins, that doubt was irradiated. Rhodes read a quote that states, “A man often finds his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it.”
Rhodes has a picture of his late father Dusty Rhodes shown from a WWWF Title match at Madison Square Garden in 1977. Rhodes says there is his father, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. It’s so simple to say that’s his father. In reality, he’s a legend, the son of a plumber, and the common man. To him, he was his hero. Rhodes is getting very emotional. A “Dusty” chant picks up. This photo was taken in 1977 at Madison Square Garden. His father was holding the championship belt that Hulk Hogan would get his hands on (Hogan’s name gets boos), The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H as well. Rhodes says this very photo was on the mantle in his parent’s bedroom until his father’s last day. As he got hip to the industry, he worked up a little courage to ask him poorly if he was a champion like Hulk Hogan. His father told him with the same eyes his daughter has that he had won the match by count-out and did not take home the title due to the champion’s advantage. Rhodes was 8-years-old, he knew he needed to do something. Rhodes was going to win that championship belt and bestow it into the hands of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and no one can take it from him.
Unfortunately, that dream died in front of him. That opportunity passed… or did it? He cannot physically put that title into his father’s hands, but he can put it around the waist of The American Nightmare. The crowd loudly cheers that. A “You can do it” chant picks up. Rhodes smiles. With that in mind, the silence is broken. His intentions are clear. Rhodes stands before the crowd finally ready. Rhodes is going to do it. He’s going to give the distinction that his family has been denied. He’s going to do it for the people, for himself, and for his family… and he is going to do it for “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins dances out to the stage in a wild pink suit. Rollins gets in the ring and struts around Rhodes while the crowd sings his theme song. Rollins stops in front of him and looks into Rhodes’ eyes. Rhodes tosses his microphone away. Rollins smirks. Rhodes extends his right hand, and Rollins looks down at it. A “YES” chant picks up. Rollins cackles and shakes Rhodes’ hand. Rollins backs up and leaves the ring, and Rhodes looks a little taken aback.
![Nash Carter Released By WWE For Nazi Salute, Not Abuse Allegations [Report]](https://wrestlingnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/nash-carter.jpg?w=600&h=1&crop=1){kind=small}
