Tag: WWE

WWE RAW Preview 11/8/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky with build for the upcoming Survivor Series pay-per-view.

WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show and that’s Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens.

It’s expected that Bobby Lashley will be back in the storylines with tonight’s show. He has not appeared on TV since losing to WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg at Crown Jewel, but he did return to action at the recent WWE live events in England, and just lost to WWE Champion Big E at Saturday’s show in London.

WWE RAW And SmackDown Survivor Series Teams Revealed

WWE revealed on Twitter both the Men’s and Women’s Survivor Series team for RAW and SmackDown.

This year’s PPV is on November 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

* Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio are members of Team RAW

* Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, King Woods, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin (with Madcap Moss) are members of Team SmackDown

* Bianca Belair, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Carmella, and Queen Zelina are members of Team RAW

* Sasha Banks, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi, Natalya, and Aliyah are members of Team SmackDown

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1457084628393775108

WWE Reportedly Did Not Give Warning Before Releasing Unvaccinated Stars

Earlier this week WWE released 18 talents: Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, “B-Fab” Briana Brandy, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Eva Marie, Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Nia Jax, Harry Smith, Oney Lorcan, Franky Monet, Ember Moon, Trey Baxter, Jessi Kamea, Jeet Rama, Zayda Ramier, and Katrina Cortez.

The company line was that the latest cuts were for budgetary reasons, although it was also reported that a handful of stars had refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine and were not big enough stars to get away with that.

It was noted that main roster talents cannot tour foreign countries without being vaccinated, which creates potential issues for the company. Age was also said to play a part in some of the releases as the company looks to get younger talent on TV.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, it was reported that at least a half dozen or more didn’t get the vaccine, which was a big reason for their exit. Apparently, no warning was given by WWE that if they were against getting vaccinated, they would be cut.

As previously reported, the New York Post reported that Nia Jax was released because she was unvaccinated. Jax stated on her Instagram that the company never mentioned her vaccination status when cutting her.

“I recently took a short leave of absence from WWE for a mental health break,” Jax wrote. “I’ve been working through so much — more than I can share — and so I took some time, the full support of the company, to take care of myself. Earlier this week, after WWE sent me my schedule to return to the ring for the November 15 show, I asked for an extension to my mental health break, feeling that I needed more time and hoping I would have the ongoing support of the company I have given my all to for the past 7 years. I did not receive a response. The next I heard, I was being released. My vaccination status was never mentioned. I wasn’t given any choices or options.

“It breaks my heart to be so abruptly let go, without consultation, while dealing with so much privately. I loved my career at WWE, I love the men and women I worked with, and I am going to need time to process this huge loss. I appreciate those people who have shown understanding and compassion during an incredibly difficult time.”

Older NXT talent were reportedly on the bubble for being released this week.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 11/5/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s SmackDown, but a teaser for the show asks if The Bloodline can maintain control over the new era of the blue brand.

“In the wake of King Woods & Sir Kofi’s victory over SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in a Champion Contender Match, can Universal Champion Roman Reigns and The Bloodline maintain their stronghold on the blue brand? Find out this Friday at 8/7 C on USA,” WWE wrote.

WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns did not appear on last week’s SmackDown broadcast, but he did work the dark main event. It’s likely that he will be back on TV this week.

Sheamus is rumored to return to action on tonight’s SmackDown. He recently underwent another surgery for his broken nose, and is scheduled to be back to work this week. The Celtic Warrior was recently drafted back to the blue brand, and was featured in a recent backstage vignette.

Nia Jax Among Four WWE Stars Released Reportedly Because They Were Unvaccinated

Nia Jax was reportedly released by WWE because she’d refused to be vaccinated. She might not have been the only one.

According to a report following the numerous talent releases by WWE on Thursday, some of the cuts were not made for budgetary reasons. Instead, as many as four different WWE Superstars, including Nia Jax, were released because they were unvaccinated.

Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast is reporting that possibly four wrestlers were released by WWE because they were not vaccinated. This comes following a report by the New York Post: “A source with knowledge of WWE’s operations told The Post that one of the reasons Nia Jax, a former WWE Raw Women’s Champion, was released is that she is unvaccinated.” The names of the other three superstars have not been released and at this point, any mention of stars beyond Jax would be pure speculation.

If Jax was refusing to get vaccinated, it may explain why she was off of WWE programming. She was written out of storylines after being attacked by Shayna Baszler in September. She’s not returned since. At the time, WWE wrote, “Nia Jax suffered an elbow posterior fracture and dislocation to her left elbow which will require surgery, and she will be out for an undisclosed amount of time.” The assumption was that this was storyline related and she’d pick up her feud with Baszler at a later date. Her release on Thursday obviously means that won’t be happening.

If the New York Post report is accurate and if Zarian’s follow-up that as many as four wrestlers were let go for this reason is true, one has to wonder if and when others will be released for the same reason. WWE is likely looking to limit potential outbreaks among the roster and this could be a policy that was not made public. If so, will this change the opinions of some who were not being vaccinated but will now have to be to save their jobs?

Source: TheSportster

WWE Announces $256 Million Revenue As It Blames Releases On Budget Cuts

The financial call took place right before news of Thursday’s releases started to filter through.

WWE announced it generated almost $256 million in revenue in one quarter on the same day it released multiple Superstars due to budget cuts.

The phrase too big to fail is often thrown around in the business world. Some fans might say WWE now falls into that bracket. It is a massive and well-oiled machine that has turned Vince McMahon from a millionaire into a billionaire. During the last quarter alone WWE generated $256 million, as was revealed during the company’s latest financial report.

The report was published on Thursday of this week and then dissected by a number of WWE higher-ups during a quarterly financial call. The $255.8 million of revenue is $34.2 million more than the promotion generated during the same three-month period in 2020.

Since that period took place during lockdown last year, WWE has attributed the uptick in revenue to ticket sales, for the most part. Fans were allowed to return to buildings, and WWE returned to touring, in late July, meaning almost the entire quarter included ticket sales for the first time since spring of 2020.

What won’t sit well with fans is the timing of this reveal. The financial call took place directly before news of WWE’s latest batch of releases started to filter through on social media. That likely means the talent being let go was called and informed they were losing their jobs while the financial call was in process. It has also been reported that those released were given little more than “budget cuts” as the reason for being shown the door.

The wrestling world is still trying to digest who WWE released on Thursday and figure out where the company went so wrong with some of the soon-to-be free agents. Karrion Kross and Keith Lee are at the top of the list when it comes to head-scratchers. Scarlett falls into that bracket too, as does Hit Row’s B-Fab who was only called up with the rest of the former NXT faction during last month’s draft.

Source: TheSportster

Karrion Kross, Keith Lee, Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Franky Monet, Eva Marie And More Released By WWE

WWE has reportedly released multiple members of its roster including Keith Lee, Ember Moon, Karrion Kross, Nia Jax, Oney Lorcan, Franky Monet, Mia Yim, and Hit Row’s B-Fab, who was recently called up to the main roster.

Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, the current list of released Superstars is as follows:

  • Keith Lee
  • Mia Yim
  • Nia Jax
  • Karrion Kross
  • Scarlet Bordeaux
  • Oney Lorcan
  • Ember Moon
  • Franky Monet
  • B-Fab
  • Jessi Kamea
  • Gran Metalik
  • Lince Dorado
  • Trey Baxter
  • Zayder Ramier
  • Jeet Rama
  • Katrina Cortez
  • Eva Marie
  • Harry Smith
https://twitter.com/_denisesalcedo/status/1456416341590642720

This week’s releases bring WWE’s total to 71 for the year.

WWE Office Departure Reportedly Shocks Many Within The Company

There were reportedly multiple WWE office departures this week.

Long-time WWE Senior Vice President of Creative Services Stan Stanski was reportedly released on Wednesday, according to PWInsider. Stanski had been with the company for almost 15 years.

Stanski joined WWE back in 2006 as the Vice President of Creative Services, and was promoted in March 2012 to the SVP role.

Stanski’s departure shocked many within the company on Wednesday. One person described the departure as “the ultimate proof no one is safe” and “yet another reminder this isn’t the same company it was a year ago.”

It’s expected that more departures will be confirmed soon, but Stanski was the most high-profile exit from the company on Wednesday.

WWE NXT Preview 11/2/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT 2.0 episode on the USA Network will feature fallout from last week’s Halloween Havoc special.

Toxic Attraction is also expected to appear tonight to celebrate last week’s title wins. Mandy Rose captured the NXT Women’s Title from Raquel Gonzalez, while Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne won the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles in a Scareway to Hell Ladder Match with Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta, and the former champions, Io Shirai and Zoey Stark.

AJ Styles Reportedly Out Of WWE Action With “Non-Injury Medical Issue”

AJ Styles and Omos lost their RAW Tag Team Titles to RK-Bro at WWE Crown Jewel. Since then, Omos has been at RAW working towards getting the titles back from RK-Bro while also dealing with The Dirty Dawgs and the Street Profits, all with Styles not be his side.

On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that Styles has been out these past few weeks with a “non-injury medical issue”. There were no other details beyond that.

On last night’s episode of RAW, Omos came out during the Street Profits vs. The Dirty Dawgs match. Omos’ distraction was enough to help Ziggler pick up the win for his team. Omos then threw Montez Ford over the barricade. After that, he confronted RAW Tag Champs Riddle and Randy Orton.

Omos has yet to have a match on his own since Crown Jewel, and Styles has rarely been mentioned on TV.