WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan says NXT is undergoing a revamp with production changes expected in the coming weeks.
Khan spoke with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport about the new vision for NXT as they want to change how talent will be developed.
“We are doing a complete revamp on NXT, led by Triple H, who is really one of the architects of the original NXT,” Khan revealed. “What we found — it’s part of why we did the tryout yesterday — what we want to make sure is easy for folks who want to be WWE Superstars, is figuring out how to become WWE Superstars.”
“In terms of an NXT re-brand, look for it in the next couple of weeks. It’s going to have a whole new look, it’s going to have a whole new feel — and we believe — because of a lot of the indie wrestlers, if you will, have come through our system and are in our system with SmackDown and RAW now. We don’t want to just keep doing that same thing, we want to look elsewhere for great, young talent.”
Khan was then asked what he meant by a new look and feel for NXT.
“The look of the show, the production of the show, everything is going to change in the next few weeks,” Khan confirmed.
WWE RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP Randy Orton and Riddle defeated AJ Styles and Omos (c) to win the RAW Tag Team Championship
Alexa Bliss defeated Eva Marie
– After the match, Bliss stands tall as her music hits. Eva is down at ringside, begging Doudrop to help her up. Bliss makes her exit with Lilly, laughing at Eva. Doudrop walks away from Eva and doesn’t help her up. Doudrop takes the mic and announces Eva as the loser of the match. Fans cheer Doudrop on. Eva is shocked at Doudrop’s behavior. Doudrop puts Eva’s jacket on and continues taunting her as Eva seethes, mouth open in shock. Doudrop walks away with Eva’s robe on as Eva yells about how she made Doudrop.
WWE US CHAMPIONSHIP Damian Priest defeated Sheamus (c) to win the WWE US Championship
WWE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP The Usos (c) defeated Rey and Dominik Mysterio
WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Bianca Belair (c) vs. Sasha Banks
Carmella makes her way to the ring and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair looks annoyed. The crowd seems deflated at the match change. Belair seethes as Carmella does her entrance, laughing at her. Belair takes the mic and says it may not be tonight but sooner than later it will be she and Sasha Banks in the ring, but until then… she’s just going to take her frustrations out on Carmella and beat her dusty little self, right now, Belair says. They argue as the bell hits but the music interrupts and out comes Becky Lynch to a big pop. Lynch is fired up as is the crowd. Belair is also hyped up as Lynch heads to the ring.
Becky’s shirt says “The Man’s Back In Vegas.” Becky looks at both competitors, then kicks Carmella and throws her out of the ring. Becky tells Belair she’ll be right back. Becky goes to ringside and sends Carmella into the steel steps. Fans chant Becky’s name now. Becky comes back in and faces off with Belair as fans cheer them on. The staredown goes on for a minute as the crowd gets louder. Becky asks for a mic and proposes she and Belair blow the roof off the stadium, for the title. Belair tares Becky down and gestures for the match to happen. The bell rings and the match is on.
WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Becky Lynch defeated Bianca Belair (c) to win the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
Lynch offers her hand for a shake but instead she decks Belair in the jaw, and drops her with the pumphandle slam to win the title in seconds.
Drew McIntyre defeated Jinder Mahal Veer and Shanky banned from ringside.
WWE RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Charlotte defeated Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley to win the RAW Women’s Championship
Edge defeated Seth Rollins
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP Bobby Lashley (c) defeated Goldberg by Referee Stoppage
– Lashley looks shocked as the referee calls the match. Lashley brings a steel chair int he ring and takes Goldberg’s leg out as he gets back up. Lashley goes to unload with chair shots now to keep Goldberg down until the referee stops him. Lashley screams at Goldberg while delivering chair shots. Lashley continues to focus on the leg while keeping Goldberg down. Goldberg’s son Gage runs in and jumps on Lashley’s back but Lashley puts him down with The Hurt Lock. MVP stands with Lashley now. MVP takes the mic and says there was no way Lashley could’ve know that was Goldberg’s son attacking him from behind, it could’ve been anyone. Lashley raises the WWE Title at ringside as MVP announces him as the champion. The music hits as MVP and Lashley head to the back. Goldberg checks on his son and yells out at Lashley, saying he’s going to kill the champ.
WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP Roman Reigns (c) defeated John Cena
– After the match, Reigns stands tall as Heyman rings the title to him. The music hits and Reigns celebrates. The music stops and Brock Lesnar’s familiar music interrupts, sending Allegiant Stadium into a frenzy. Reigns is riled up and Heyman looks very worried. Lesnar is jacked up as he marches to the ring. Lesnar stands on the ring steps and smiles while staring Reigns down. Lesnar enters the ring and stares Reigns down. Lesnar gets closer, nodding at Reigns and Heyman. Lesnar has a few words for Reigns but we can’t hear them. Reigns backs away as fans boo. Reigns exits the ring, still staring Lesnar down. Heyman backs away with Reigns, mouth still hanging open. Reigns raises the Universal Title in the air and says not tonight. Lesnar’s music starts back up as he raises his arms in the air, playing to each side of the crowd as they cheer him on. Reigns and Heyman head to the back. WWE SummerSlam goes off the air with Lesnar standing tall in the ring.
2 OUT OF 3 FALLS MATCH Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly First Fall (Pinfall or Submission), Second Fall (Street Fight), Third Fall, if necessary (Steel Cage)
NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Raquel Gonzalez (c) vs. Dakota Kai
NXT UK CHAMPIONSHIP WALTER (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov
MILLION DOLLAR CHAMPIONSHIP LA Knight (c) vs. Cameron Grimes If Grimes loses, WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase will be forced to work as Knight’s butler.
The SummerSlam go-home edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air tonight live from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
WWE has not announced any matches or segments as of this writing, but they are teasing a final pre-SummerSlam showdown between John Cena and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Tonight’s show should also include follow-ups on Baron Corbin stealing Big E’s Money In the Bank briefcase, and King Shinsuke Nakamura winning the WWE Intercontinental Title from Apollo Crews last week.
Toni Storm is also in Phoenix for tonight’s SmackDown. Storm made her blue brand debut back on the July 23 episode, with a win over Zelina Vega, but she has not been used since.
Finally, WWE 24/7 Champion Reggie is also at tonight’s SmackDown and will likely be appearing on the show.
Advertised locally for tonight’s show is Carmella vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, plus six-man action, likely the dark main event, with Cena and The Mysterios vs. Reigns and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos.
Goldberg appeared on The Bump this week and revealed that he only has two more matches left on his current WWE deal.
SummerSlam is almost upon us and Goldberg will be getting a WWE Title shot as part of the proceedings. The one title that has managed to evade the Hall of Famer for his entire career. Some fans are unhappy that Goldberg is able to waltz in whenever he likes and demand a title shot, while more casual fans are happy to see someone they know back and competing at the top of the card.
Goldberg’s age is one of the primary reasons some fans aren’t all that happy to see him back. When Goldberg’s age is combined with Bobby Lashley’s, it makes their WWE Title match this weekend the second oldest in the championship’s history. As for how much longer Goldberg thinks he can go, he may have shown his hand a little during an appearance on The Bump this week.
Goldberg was asked to pick a winner in the other World Title match taking place at SummerSlam, Roman Reigns versus John Cena. After declaring he isn’t backing either of them, he digressed into speaking about which one he would prefer to face. That conversation ended with the revelation he only has a couple of matches left on his current deal.
“I’ve only got one more match, or two more matches on my deal here so we’ll see what happens,” Goldberg says in the clip above. The hesitation over exactly how many matches he has left to wrestle might even suggest his showdown with Lashley could be one of those two matches. If so, he may have to choose between Cena and Reigns for his final match unless he plans on signing a new deal.
If Goldberg wins on Saturday, then perhaps the final match on his current deal will be against whoever he loses the title to. There’s even a chance both matches happen on the same night. Many are lobbying for Big E to cash in on Goldberg at SummerSlam so The New Day man can face his dream opponent and become WWE Champion on the same night. Whether a Money in the Bank cash-in counts as an official match in terms of Goldberg’s deal could be a little dubious, though.
WWE is reportedly considering “off-site events” for next year.
Due to the success of MLB’s Field of Dreams game last week, word now is that WWE officials are in the early stages of talks for a few “off-site events” to be held in 2022, according to @Wrestlevotes.
There’s no word on when these special events might be held, but some ideas discussed among the WWE creative team include a return to the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, more direct festival shows like Rolling Loud, and a RAW on the Roof special, which could see WWE return to the roof of WWE HQ like they did with Money In the Bank last year.
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