Tag: WWE

WWE Announces Return To Touring With 25-City Schedule

WWE is officially returning to the road with fans in attendance.

It was announced this morning that a 25-city tour will begin on Friday, July 16 with a live SmackDown at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The Money In the Bank pay-per-view will then take place that Sunday, July 18 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX, and a live RAW will be held on July 19 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.

Tickets for all three of those shows will go on sale this Wednesday, May 26 at 11am ET.

WWE will be announcing the rest of the tour stops and on-sale dates in the coming weeks. It was noted that the 25-city schedule will run through Labor Day, which is Monday, September 6.

These dates will be WWE’s first regular ticketed events since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WrestleMania 37 was held this past April with fans in the crowd.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Velveteen Dream And Several Other NXT Talents Was Released By WWE

NXT star Velveteen Dream has reportedly been released by WWE.

The news was first reported by PWinsider and Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, and later confirmed by other outlets, including Ryan Satin of Fox Sports and Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer.

Several WWE NXT talents were released Wednesday – Jessamyn Duke, Vanessa Borne (Danielle Kamela), Skyler Story (Brandi Lauren Pawalek, Ava Storie), Ezra Judge (Ezekwesiri “EJ” Nduka Jr.), Alexander Wolfe (Axel Tischer), and Kavita Devi (Kavita Dalal). NXT referees Drake Younger (Drake Wuertz) and Jacob Clemons were also released.

FOX Reportedly Pushing For WWE Crowds To Return

FOX officials have reportedly pushed for WWE to return to live crowds.

It was reported today by @Wrestlevotes that FOX has privately pushed for a return to live crowds for WWE over the past few weeks. The network is reportedly actively seeking updates on timeframes and information related to the return to touring for the company.

It was noted that FOX wants their billion dollar investment in WWE to be on the same playing field as the MLB, the NBA and other sports leagues.

There is talk that WWE is headed on the road for at least one weekend in mid-July with fans in attendance at events. The report indicated that the Friday, July 16 would be a live SmackDown with fans, while Saturday would be some sort of live event, and then the WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view would be held on Sunday, July 18, with a live RAW being held on Monday, July 19. There’s no word on if this would be a test weekend for the full-time return to touring, but that has also been rumored.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 5/18/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature build for the upcoming “Takeover: In Your House” event, and will be headlined by a Steel Cage match.

* Prime Target preview for Finn Balor vs. NXT Champion Karrion Kross

* Arash Markazi interviews Pete Dunne

* Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark

* WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase appears live to continue storyline with Cameron Grimes

* NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano defends against Bronson Reed in a Steel Cage match

WWE RAW Preview 5/17/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will feature fallout from last night’s WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.

WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s show but it looks like the feud between Charlotte Flair and RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will continue based on Backlash. The Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Champion Bobby Lashley feud looks to continue as well.

MVP indicated in a post-Backlash interview that he has “some surprises” for Lashley on tonight’s RAW, indicating a possible vacation to celebrate Lashley’s recent success.

WWE will begin the build to Hell In a Cell with tonight’s RAW. The pay-per-view has been announced for June 20.

WWE WrestleMania Backlash Results 5/16/2021

KICKOFF
Sheamus defeated Ricochet

WWE RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Rhea Ripley (c) defeated Asuka and Charlotte

WWE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode (c) to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship

ZOMBIES LUMBERJACK MATCH
Damian Priest defeated The Miz

WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Bianca Belair (c) defeated Bayley

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
Bobby Lashley (c) with MVP defeated Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman

WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Roman Reigns (c) with Paul Heyman defeated Cesaro

– After the match, Reigns sits up as the music hits. Heyman hands him the WWE Universal Title. Cesaro also comes back to and he’s shocked at the finish. Reigns stands tall in the middle of the ring now, raising the title. Jey Uso runs down and hits the ring, carrying a lei. Jey places it around Reigns’ beck and Reigns nods at him. Jey stares at Cesaro and Reign tells Jey to go get him. Cesaro slowly gets up but Jey drops him with a big superkick, then mounts him with strikes as fans boo. Jey goes to the top to deliver a big Uso Splash but Seth Rollins’ music interrupts.

Rollins comes marching to the ring as Uso and Reigns look on confused. Rollins enters the ring and stares Reigns down. Rollins starts laughing, then leaps onto Cesaro and beats him up while he’s down on the mat. Rollins brings Cesaro to the floor and sends him into the steel steps, then slams his hurt arm into the steps. Rollins launches Cesaro over the announce table and then slams the hurt arm into the table. Rollins grabs a steel chair and talks trash while keeping Cesaro down with chair shots as the boos continue. Rollins wraps the chair around Cesaro’s hurt arm, twisting it around and holding him against the ring post. Rollins yells in Cesaro’s face that he’s Seth f’n Rollins and nobody makes a mockery of him. Rollins then slams the chair around Cesar’s arm into the ring post. Cesaro goes down but Rollins follows up with the Stomp into the floor.

WWE WrestleMania Backlash 5/16/2021

DATE: May 16, 2021 7:00 pm
LOCATION: WWE Thunderdome, Tampa, Florida
AVAILABLE ON:Peacock, WWE Network (outside of the U.S.)

Current card for WrestleMania Backlash:

WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Roman Reigns (c) with Paul Heyman vs. Cesaro

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
Bobby Lashley (c) with MVP vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman

WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley

WWE RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte

WWE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode (c) vs. Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio

LUMBERJACK MATCH
The Miz vs. Damian Priest

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/14/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature the go-home build for Sunday’s WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.

WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show and that’s Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defending the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against Natalya and Tamina Snuka.

WWE has also announced that Cesaro and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will make “one last stand” before their title match on Sunday.

It’s believed that Reckoning (Mia Yim) will make her blue brand debut on tonight’s show, but that has not been confirmed. She was reportedly scheduled to debut last week but the debut was delayed due to time constraints. The latest Aleister Black vignette was also nixed from last week’s show, and should air this week.

WWE NXT Preview 5/11/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be headlined by two big title matches.

NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez will make her first title defense against Mercedes Martinez. Also, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida will defend his title against Santos Escobar in a 2 of 3 Falls match.

Report: Becky Lynch Signs New Contract With WWE

If recent reports are accurate, “The Man” Becky Lynch has pledged her future to WWE.

WWE Superstar Becky Lynch has reportedly pledged her future to the company by signing a new contract.

According to a recent Ringside News report, WWE and Becky Lynch have agreed to terms on a deal ahead of her highly anticipated return to WWE programming.

Becky Lynch (real name Rebecca Quinn) has been absent from WWE since announcing her pregnancy on the May 11th 2020 edition of Raw when she relinquished the Raw Women’s Championship to Asuka, who had won the Money In The Bank briefcase the night before.

Later that month, “The Man” shared a series of pics to honor the 34th birthday of her partner Seth Rollins. Th post culminated with an ultrasound image of the couple’s yet-to-be-born child.

The former Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion gave birth to a baby girl named Roux back in December. Lynch took to Instagram to announce the birth and reveal her new daughter’s name.

Source: The Sportster