Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature more build for the upcoming Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.
WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show and that’s The Usos vs. The Street Profits.
Tonight’s match will be the first time The Usos have teamed up since the March 27, 2020 SmackDown episode.
It’s believed that the first blue brand match for the Hell In a Cell pay-per-view will be announced on tonight’s show as well.
WWE is apparently in talks with New Japan with a view to becoming the promotion’s exclusive American partner.
If there has been a buzzphrase in wrestling so far in 2021, then it is almost definitely forbidden door. The make-believe barrier that previously prevented major companies from working together. AEW proverbially kicked it open by working with Impact, as well as the NWA and New Japan. The AEW Champion Kenny Omega is even holding the Impact Title right now, not to mention AAA’s Mega Championship.
One of the main reasons wrestling promotions working together has been seen as being forbidden for so long is WWE. Ever since WWE bought its competition in 2001, Vince McMahon has seemingly been averse to rival promotions existing, let alone working with them. However, in light of its rivals starting to work together, Triple H has previously insisted WWE is open for business on that front.
A new report suggests Triple H wasn’t just saying this to keep up appearances. According to Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, WWE is actively trying to build a relationship with New Japan. Apparently, WWE president Nick Khan has been heading up the talks and they may have been going on since March of this year. The deal would see WWE become New Japan’s “exclusive American partner”.
The word exclusive is the key here. New Japan has been very open to working with American promotions throughout the pandemic and even before it. An AEW star is currently the New Japan US Champion, and it has previously run joint supershows with Ring of Honor. Should it enter into an agreement with WWE, its working relationship with AEW would likely have to come to an end.
Details surrounding the potential deal are scarce right now, especially when discussions are in such early stages that it might not even happen. Early indications are the deal would very much be a two-way street. WWE Superstars would go to Japan and work shows there, with New Japan sending wrestlers the other way. Perhaps Daniel Bryan’s attempts to convince WWE to let its stars work elsewhere while remaining under contract actually worked.
Source: The Sportster
Longtime WWE announcer Tom Phillips is reportedly no longer with the company.
While not officially announced by WWE as of this writing, Fightful reports that Phillips has been let go. Nick Hausman noted on The Wrestling Inc. Daily on Thursday that there was another major departure expected on the WWE commentary team.
There is no word yet on details surrounding the departure.
Phillips signed with WWE in 2012. He has done work on just about every WWE TV show, including WWE NXT, 205 Live, Main Event, RAW and SmackDown. He has also hosted WWE YouTube and WWE Network shows, and done behind-the-scenes work. Tom was replaced by Adnan Virk as the lead RAW announcer the night after WrestleMania 37. Virk left the company this week after less than two months on the job, and is being replaced by Jimmy Smith.
Tom recently changed his social media handles to show his real name, Tom Hannifan. His bio lists him as a “WWE Broadcaster & Producer.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE has officially announced Jimmy Smith as the new member of the RAW announce team.
Smith will debut as the play-by-play voice of RAW beginning this Monday, May 31. He will call the action every Monday night with Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.
WWE acknowledged in their announcement issued last night that Smith worked as an analyst for WWE NXT, serving on the “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” pre-show panels, and working on special projects for the black & gold brand, which included the video package for Finn Balor vs. NXT Champion Karrion Kross. WWE also pointed to how Smith is the host of SiriusXM’s Unlocking The Cage, and previously hosted American Ninja Warrior.
As reported earlier, Smith has been working with Michael Cole and other WWE staffers as of late to train for a potential announcing role. Cole has reportedly praised Smith heavily, and found him to be very versatile.
The 43 year old Smith is best known for his run with Bellator MMA from 2010 – 2017. He worked as an analyst with Bellator and UFC. In addition to Unlocking The Cage, Smith also hosts ESPN International’s UFC Fight Camp show. He retired from MMA fighting in 2007, with a 5-1 record, and has also done commentary for pro boxing, and other combat sports leagues.
Smith will be replacing Adnan Virk, who parted ways with WWE on Tuesday after less than two months on the job.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE announced that they have mutually parted ways with Adnan Virk. Below is WWE’s statement:
“WWE and Adnan Virk have mutually agreed to part ways. WWE thanks Adnan for his work.”
Virk replaced Tom Phillips as the lead RAW announcer last month, making his debut on the post-WrestleMania 37 edition of RAW. That change also saw Graves replace Samoa Joe, who has since been released. There is no word on what WWE has planned for the red brand announce team moving forward, but we should have an idea soon.
Adnan Virk took to Twitter and thanked WWE for the chance to work with the company.
There’s no official word yet on who will replace Adnan Virk as the new WWE RAW lead announcer on Monday, but there is speculation on at least one name who has been on WWE TV as of late.
It’s been reported by PWInsider that if WWE officials have made a decision on Virk’s replacement for Monday’s RAW, it’s being kept very close to the vest so far. There’s a lot of speculation on former UFC and American Ninja Warrior announcer Jimmy Smith joining the red brand announce team as he has been putting in a lot of work to prepare for future WWE broadcast assignments as of late. Smith has done some WWE NXT work over the last several weeks.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be headlined by Finn Balor challenging NXT Champion Karrion Kross with the title on the line.
Tonight’s WWE RAW on the USA Network will feature more build for the upcoming Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.
* Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler get their second rematch from WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina Snuka
* Riddle vs. Xavier Woods
* WWE Champion Bobby Lashley will address last week’s actions by Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre
John Cena may be returning to WWE soon.
There were unconfirmed rumors going around on Friday that said Cena’s WWE return was set to coincide with WWE’s return to the road in July, beginning with Money In the Bank Weekend.
In an update, it was reported by F4Wonline.com that Cena’s return is still being discussed for the first show back with fans in the crowd, which would be the July 16 edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX, airing live from the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.
As noted, WWE announced on Friday that they will return to the road with a 25-city tour that begins with that SmackDown in Houston. It will continue with the Money In the Bank pay-per-view on Sunday, July 18 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, and a live RAW on July 19 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Tickets for those three shows go on sale this Wednesday, and WWE will be announcing the rest of the dates in the coming weeks. The 25-city schedule will run through Labor Day, which is Monday, September 6.
Cena has not been on WWE TV since losing to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in the Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 37 in 2020. It was recently announced that Cena will executive produce and narrate a new WWE Evil series for Peacock and the WWE Network.
Cena, who continues to focus on his acting career, recently spoke with Den of Geek and admitted that he really wants to get back to WWE, and he wants fans to return to the crowd.
“I really, really want to get back to WWE,” he said. “I really want audiences to get back to WWE. Heck I’m with everybody I think around the world saying I just want the world to get back to normal, but these are interesting times and I have a lot of interesting opportunities at my feet, and I really do appreciate the WWE universe understanding that after so many years of…”
You can click here for that full interview with Cena.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Ultimate Warrior’s widow Dana Warrior has labeled Dark Side of the Ring’s take on her late husband’s life “smut and filth”.
Dana Warrior has revealed she had no part in Dark Side of the Ring’s upcoming episode covering the life of The Ultimate Warrior.
Today is basically Ultimate Warrior week in wrestling. A&E’s documentary on the WWE Hall of Famer aired on Sunday night, and Dark Side of the Ring’s take on that exact same subject will air later this week. Odds are despite the subject matter being the same, the two tellings of Warrior’s life will be very different.
In fact, Dana Warrior, Ultimate Warrior’s widow, has all but confirmed that via a reply to a fan on Instagram. Dana posted a photo of Warrior with one of his daughters to mark the airing of A&E’s doc on Sunday night. A fan asked Dana if she knows about Dark Side’s doc coming this Thursday and asked if she had any part of it.
That’s going to be a no from Dana. “I had no part in this project,” Dana replied. “Smut and filth does not rise to my note.” Interestingly, while that obviously means Dana will not be featured in Dark Side’s Warrior episode later this week, it implies that she has already seen it. While A&E’s documentary touched upon controversial comments made by Warrior, it seems Dark Side’s episode will be diving a lot deeper.
Warrior’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014 and shocking death days later has resulted in some of the things he said very publicly years before being seemingly forgotten by some. Rather fittingly, the best place to find a recap of a few of the terrible things Warrior said can be found on Vice’s website. It seems as if those remarks and speeches will be covered in detail on Vice’s TV channel when Warrior’s Dark Side episode airs this Thursday.
This season of Dark Side of the Ring is three episodes old and has been largely celebrated so far. Season three kicked off with a two-hour special on Brian Pillman, followed up with an in-depth look at Nick Gage, and covered WCW and New Japan’s Collision in Korea last week. Ultimate Warrior is arguably the biggest topic covered so far this season and is already proving to be the most controversial.
Source: The Sportster
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature fallout from the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.
WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show and that’s a Fatal 4 Way with WWE Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews defending against Big E, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
A WWE preview for tonight noted that WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be looking to maintain his status as The Head of The Table following the Backlash win over Cesaro and the issues with The Usos.
The Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro feud should continue on tonight’s show based on how Backlash ended, and an appearance by new SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Mysterios is also likely.
Tonight’s SmackDown should also feature the first blue brand build for Hell In a Cell.
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