Tag: WWE

Jeff Hardy Reportedly Sent Home

WWE SmackDown Superstar Jeff Hardy was reportedly sent home by officials this weekend.

Hardy missed Sunday night’s WWE live event from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, and word going around is that he was sent home from the road, according to PWInsider.

Hardy worked Saturday’s live event in Edinburg, Texas, teaming with King Xavier Woods and Drew McIntyre against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in the main event. After spending most of the match in the ring, getting worked over by The Bloodline and apparently becoming more sluggish as the match went on, Hardy made a hot tag to McIntyre but then immediately disappeared into the crowd.

Hardy reportedly went into the crowd at that point, followed by security, but never returned to the ring, and didn’t even participate in the post-match celebration with Woods and McIntyre. For what it’s worth, a fan at the Edinburg live event noted that Hardy stopped to greet just about every fan at ringside and on the entrance-way as he made his way to the ring before the six-man main event began.

Hardy was not backstage for last night’s live event in Corpus Christi, and was replaced by Rey Mysterio.

There is still no concrete word on what led to Hardy disappearing at Saturday’s live event, and why he was sent home from the road.

Hardy last worked on TV during Friday’s SmackDown as he and McIntyre interrupted an episode of Happy Talk with Madcap Moss and Happy Baron Corbin. WWE then announced Hardy and McIntyre vs. Moss and Corbin for next Friday’s SmackDown, which would be a rematch from the November 26 SmackDown match that Hardy and McIntyre won.

For what it’s worth, Hardy took to Instagram and posted selfie a video around 23 hours ago. There is no caption to the post, which he usually includes. The brief clip also does not have any sound, and can be seen below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXFpjoerfLP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT WarGames 12/5/2021

DATE: December 5, 2021 8:00 pm
LOCATION: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
AVAILABLE ON: Peacock, WWE Network (outside of the U.S.)

CARD

MEN’S WARGAMES MATCH
Team Old School (NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, LA Knight) vs. Team New School (Bron Breakker, NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes, Tony D’Angelo, Grayson Waller)

WOMEN’S WARGAMES MATCH
Team Gonzalez (Raquel Gonzalez, Io Shirai, Cora Jade, Kay Lee Ray) vs. Team Kai (Dakota Kai, NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose, NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne)

NXT CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
Joe Gacy vs. Roderick Strong (c)

NXT TAG TEAM TITLES MATCH
Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner vs. Imperium (c)

HAIR VS. HAIR MATCH
Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson

WWE SmackDown Preview 12/3/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will take place from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas as the road to Day 1 continues.

What will happen when Brock Lesnar returns to SmackDown this Friday?

Last week’s SmackDown saw Sami Zayn win a Black Friday Battle Royal to become the new #1 contender to Reigns, and there should be a follow-up to that this week.

It’s also expected that Kofi Kingston will return to TV tonight to assist King Xavier Woods. Kingston had taken some time off to be with his wife for the birth of their third child, but he returned last week in a dark main event.

There’s no word on if the top blue brand match for WWE Day 1 will be announced tonight, but it’s possible after this week’s RAW led to Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. WWE Champion Big E being announced for the New Year’s Day pay-per-view.

Beth Phoenix Reveals WWE NXT Announce Team Departure

WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix is moving on from the WWE NXT announce team.

Phoenix took to Twitter today to announce that Sunday’s WarGames event will be her final night on NXT commentary with Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett. She confirmed that she will remain a part of WWE, but she is stepping away from the weekly WWE gig to spend more time with family.

Phoenix thanked Joseph, Barrett, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Mauro Ranallo, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Michael Cole. She also said the brand will always be a part of her.

“Ahead of WarGames, I wanted to share that this Sunday will be my final night in NXT,” she wrote. “While I will remain a part of WWE, I have made the choice to step away from the weekly broadcast booth to spend more time with my family. This was not an easy decision, as I have loved my three plus years and 135 episodes with NXT and am incredibly proud of the brand. I will forever be grateful to Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Mauro Ranallo, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Michael Cole, and my entire NXT family both in and out of the ring for the amazing opportunity. NXT will always be a part of me and Auntie Betty will always be a part of NXT. Leave the porch light on for me!”

Phoenix, who is married to WWE Hall of Famer Edge, joined the NXT commentary team back on May 15, 2019. She recently got into the country music business, releasing her “Stone Rose & Bone” debut EP on November 12.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Groundbreaking NIL Program

WWE has announced a new NIL program that will provide a pathway for athletes to go from college to WWE.

RAW Superstar and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson was signed to WWE’s first NCAA NIL (name, image, likeness) deal back in September, shortly after the NCAA began allowing athletes to make money from their own name, images and likeness.

Now WWE has announced their own NIL (Next In Line – name, image, likeness) program to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes.

WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul “Triple H” Levesque noted in today’s press release that the WWE NIL program has the potential to change the business.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” he said. “By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close.”

The first class of NIL partnerships will be revealed in the coming weeks.

All athlete partnerships will have access to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, along with other resources such as brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing, and community relations. Some athletes will be offered a WWE contract after completing the program.

Stay tuned for more on the WWE NIL program. Below is the full press release issued to us today:

WWE® LAUNCHES NIL PROGRAM: NEXT IN LINE™

New Program to Provide Clear Pathway from Collegiate Athletics to WWE

STAMFORD, Conn., December 2, 2021 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced the launch of a groundbreaking NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program that will provide a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.

Following a historic new policy by the NCAA effective July 1, 2021, which ushered in the NIL era allowing college athletes the ability to monetize their name, image and likeness, WWE has constructed a comprehensive program to recruit and develop potential future Superstars. Dubbed “Next In Line™,” the NIL program aims to enhance the talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds.

“The WWE NIL program has the potential to be transformational to our business,” said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development. “By creating partnerships with elite athletes at all levels across a wide variety of college sports, we will dramatically expand our pool of talent and create a system that readies NCAA competitors for WWE once their collegiate careers come to a close.”

All athlete partnerships will feature access to the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., in addition to resources across the organization including brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations. Upon completion of the NIL program, select athletes may earn an exclusive opportunity to be offered a WWE contract.

In September, WWE announced its first NIL deal with heavyweight freestyle wrestler Gable Steveson who captured a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The agreement allowed Steveson to return to the University of Minnesota for his senior season where he is defending his NCAA National Championship while beginning his Superstar training with WWE.

WWE will unveil the first class of NIL partnerships in the coming weeks.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 11/29/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will air live from the UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

Nia Jax Gives Major Update On Her Pro Wrestling Future

Nia Jax has taken to social media to claim that it is “highly unlikely” she will ever wrestle again. The former WWE Superstar was released from the company on November 4 alongside 17 other talents.

The revelation came up after Nia had shared a link that some fans thought hinted at a new name. The link was previously to a fan-made website, NiaJax.com. However, that had been changed to LinaDanene.com, which some felt would be her new name.

Nia Jax took to Twitter to clarify this situation. In her post, she made it clear that a return to the ring isn’t on her mind right now.

Nia wrote:

“Lol! Newsflash…Lina is my real name. It’s not another “ring” name. It’s just MY NAME, the name given to me at birth. Calm TF down trolls. In all fairness, “Opponent Crippler” would be a SOLID front runner if I ever decide to wrestle again. but it’s highly unlikely”

If Nia Jax doesn’t step back into the ring, then her final ever match was against Shayna Baszler on the 9/20/21 episode of Raw. During her career, she was able to hold the Raw Women’s Championship and the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Baszler.

https://twitter.com/LinaFanene/status/1465333443726880776

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 11/26/21

The post-Survivor Series edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live tonight from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.

WWE previously teased SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Toni Storm for tonight’s show, but that match is not currently listed in the official preview.

Seth Rollins’ Attacker Apologizes, Claims He Was Just Trying To Help Finn Balor

The fan has given off mixed messages via his apology.

The biggest talking point coming out of this week’s Raw was an unplanned part of the show. As Seth Rollins made his way back to the locker room following an attack on Finn Balor, The Kingslayer was subjected to an attack of his own. The difference is the attack on Rollins wasn’t a part of the show as it was instigated by a fan who had jumped the barricade.

The fan has since been identified as 24-year-old Eliash Spencer. He has been charged with attempted assault for what he did, and since it happened it has become clear that the fan was catfished by someone masquerading as Rollins. In an interview with the New York Daily News (via ComicBook.com), Spencer explained that someone he believed to be Rollins had been asking him to send gift cards.

“He was asking me to send him gift cards in exchange for money, mostly $500 or more to see if I was loyal,” Spencer explained. Apparently, whoever it was pretending to be Rollins had asked Spencer to be a wrestling blogger for him and claimed it would get him into the business. However, after revealing he had apologized to WWE and “moved on”, Spencer started to give off mixed messages.

“My plan was to help Finn Balor … I jumped from where I was sitting at. I ran and speared Seth Rollins. I busted his lip open and he caught me in a headlock.” While Spencer may have apologized to WWE, and claims to have learned from what he did, the addendum that he was trying to aid a performer who had been laid out in an angle that was part of the show doesn’t paint the fan in the best light.

When asked about the incident by TMZ, Rollins said it was terrifying in the moment, adding that he believes the fan should be banned from future WWE shows. That Spencer believed Balor needed his help, and he jumped the barricade and attacked a performer to give him that help, is probably a sign that from now on, Spencer should stick to watching wrestling at home.

Source: TheSportster

Jerry Lawler Admits WWE Is Sometimes “Sort Of Hard To Watch”

WWE Hall Of Famer, Jerry Lawler, was a recent guest on Busted Open Radio. The former WWE commentator spoke about the current product, which he claimed is hard to watch at times.

“Sometimes it’s sort of hard for me to watch,” Lawler admitted. “I just got my schedule to be at Survivor Series, and so it’s almost like cramming for an exam back when you were at school. I really have to go back and watch some shows, and make some notes, and find out what is actually going on.”

Jerry Lawler went on to explain his thoughts on the product in greater detail. He admitted that the product is too short, stating it would be brutal to be a commentator now.

“I don’t see how the guys in the business — it’s so tough to be doing that on a daily basis,” he said. “Doing the commentary for Raw and SmackDown now, to me, it’s almost brutal to have to know and remember. The talent changes so fast and everything is so short now.

“It’s not the fault of wrestling, people love to talk about how wrestling has changed. Wrestling has not changed. It’s the fans, it’s the society that’s changed. We’ve got a short attention span now,” Lawler believes. “You have to, in the wrestling business, you have to realize there’s so much more stuff that fans can watch. So, you have to keep this here show so exciting every minute that people are watching or they’re going to switch over and start watching TikTok. It’s changed in that respect, and sometimes for me, it’s hard to follow.”

The King spoke about the variety of moves that are around nowadays with lots of names. He discussed the incident which saw him call a move the, ‘Ramen Noodle Moonsault,’ which he believes ended his commentary run.

“I really believe that may be one of the reasons I’m not doing commentary on Raw right now,” Lawler claimed. “I didn’t call a move a triple indie, I called a move a Ramen Noodle Moonsault. All of a sudden, I was the biggest racist ever for saying, ‘Ramen Noodle Moonsault,’ with a Japanese wrestler in the ring.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to Busted Open Radio