Tag: WWE

WWE Reportedly Considering Domed Stadium For Temporary Home, Update On Amway Center Contract

WWE officials are reportedly looking at possibly setting up The ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

As we’ve noted, WWE’s current contract with the Amway Center in Orlando was extended to Tuesday, November 24, but WWE has to find a new home because the arena has to prepare for the ECHL and the NBA’s Orlando Magic. In an update, it was noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE was given around two more weeks, now putting their out-date at around Friday, December 4.

It was also reported that Tropicana Field has been discussed as a new temporary home during the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE is also looking at other indoor buildings in the Florida area.

Tropicana Field is a domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, which is around 1.5 hours from the Amway Center in Orlando. Tropicana Field is the current home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, and has a seating capacity of 42,735. The Trop has been rumored to host WrestleMania a few times over the years, but that obviously never worked out.

It was previously reported that WWE was looking for their next venue home to run into February, which means the 2020 Royal Rumble pay-per-view would be held wherever they decide to go. In addition to other venues inside the state of Florida, it’s been reported that WWE has also looked at potential locations in North Carolina, Illinois and Texas. There is no word yet on exactly which venues were being considered, but WWE needs to find an arena where no sports teams are playing, and one that can accommodate the weight and power requirements of the ThunderDome setup. A major travel hub city is also needed because the WWE crews will be flying in and out each week.

Regarding Tropicana Field, Jon Alba noted on Twitter that the venue would give WWE the flexibility to run bigger events, but it would be a downgrade in terms of facility quality, and there is an issue with electricity as power has gone out multiple times during Rays games over the past few years.

Survivor Series on November 22 will be held at the Amway Center in Orlando. The next WWE pay-per-view after Survivor Series is TLC on December 20. WWE has not announced a date or location for the 2020 TLC event or the 2021 Rumble event.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Rey Mysterio Gives A Timeline On When He Would Like To Retire

Following in his uncle’s luchador footsteps, Rey Mysterio began to study the technique at just 14 years old. In an interview with Lilian Garcia, he recalls all the sacrifices he made in the first two years while studying the art of Lucha Libre.

“So, at the time, I was living in San Diego. My dad would go to Tijuana to work on a daily basis. I would go to Tijuana to train,” Rey began. “But then, the roles switched. Now, my parents decided to move to Tijuana, and I was crossing every morning to go to school, and then go to work after school, and then take the trolly back to the border, get picked up, go home, do homework, and then go to wrestling school. I did this for almost two years. When I got my first opportunity to wrestle at the auditorium in Tijuana, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m finally here.'”

Thirty years later, from the first time he stepped in the ring, Rey created a worldwide presence that forever changed the industry as we knew it. Now that he’s pushing towards 45 next month, he admits that he has enough gas in his remunerative tank to last another five years or so before hanging his boots up for good.

“I’ll be 45 in December. And I don’t see myself going past 50, that’s for sure,” he admitted. “My body feels great right now. I’ve been doing new methods of therapy – STEM cells, hyperbaric chambers, cryo chambers, CBD’s, you know, a lot of things that benefit me. I think that has given me more longevity.”

He also adds that he would like to retire officially in WWE.

“Definitely, yes,” he replied on if he wants to retire in WWE. “Once you enter here, you can’t go any higher than this. This is where I’ve always envisioned myself finishing my career.”

While it’s still far yet from when he retires, Rey hasn’t put any thought as to who he’d like to have his retirement match with. Although the most obvious answer could be his son Dominik, he still doesn’t want to jump the gun just yet.

“Um, I really haven’t put thought to it, no,” he answered. “There are a lot of choices, though.”

You can watch Rey Mysterio’s full interview here. 

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to Lilian Garcia -Chasing Glory

WWE RAW Preview 11/9/20

Tonight’s WWE RAW on the USA Network will feature more build for the upcoming Survivor Series pay-per-view with Second Chance Qualifying.

The Second Chance Qualifier will feature Jeff Hardy, Riddle and Elias going at it in a Triple Threat to determine the final member of the Men’s Team RAW. The winner will earn the fifth and final spot, joining AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus and Braun Strowman.

RAW will also feature “A Moment of Bliss” with host Alexa Bliss tonight. Her special guest will be Drew McIntyre, to continue the storyline between McIntyre, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and WWE Champion Randy Orton. WWE noted in their official RAW preview that The Fiend will use the segment to deliver his own message to McIntyre on behalf of Bliss.

WWE has not announced any further matches or segments for tonight’s RAW.

WWE SmackDown Preview 11/6/20

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature more build for the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

WWE has announced just one match for tonight’s show – Bayley vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. The title will be on the line for this match as this is Bayley’s rematch from her recent loss at Hell In a Cell.

There will also be a follow-up to last week’s heel turn by Jey Uso. Last Friday’s show saw Uso attack Daniel Bryan as WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns looked on. Uso then attacked Bryan again after the show went off the air.

Tonight’s show will likely see more Superstars qualify for Team SmackDown at Survivor Series, but WWE has not announced any qualifiers as of this writing, or any kind of preview for the show.

WWE Announces The Undertaker’s Final Farewell For Survivor Series

WWE has officially announced The Undertaker for the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

WWE just announced that Taker will make his Final Farewell at the November 22 pay-per-view, wrapping his legendary 30 year career.

There is no word yet on if this appearance will lead to one more match for The Deadman, possibly at WrestleMania 37.

Taker will speak with WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin on “Broken Skull Sessions” right after Survivor Series goes off the air on the WWE Network. This interview will be the final part of the “30 Days of The Deadman” celebration of programming that kicked off last month. WWE noted in today’s announcement that the celebration also includes Taker photos, videos and features on the WWE website, a Taker challenge on Tik Tok, Instagram and Snapchat filters, exclusive Funko items from Amazon, feature space in 2,300 Walmart stores for an exclusive Mattel action figure, national media appearances, and more.

Stay tuned for updates on Taker’s WWE future. Above is a new promo for the Survivor Series appearance, and below is the full announcement sent to us today by WWE, along with a new logo for Taker’s 30 year anniversary:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNDERTAKER®’S FINAL FAREWELL SET FOR WWE® SURVIVOR SERIES®

#ThankYouTaker

STAMFORD, Conn., November 6, 2020 – Undertaker’s Final Farewell will take place at Survivor Series on Sunday, November 22 at 7 pm ET streaming live around the world on WWE Network, capping off The Phenom’s legendary 30-year career.

One of the most iconic Superstars in WWE history and a pop culture phenomenon, Undertaker made his WWE debut at Survivor Series on November 22, 1990. From his debut with Brother Love to his critically-acclaimed match vs. AJ Styles® at this year’s WrestleMania®, Undertaker has participated in some of the greatest matches in history against Hall of Famers such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair®, Triple H®, Shawn Michaels® and Mick Foley®; had multiple WWE Championship reigns; and held an unmatched and astounding undefeated streak at WrestleMania that lasted 21 years.

As part of Undertaker’s Final Farewell and 30th anniversary, WWE is celebrating “30 Years of the Deadman” throughout November, including recently debuted documentaries “Meeting The Undertaker” and “WWE Untold: The Phenom and The Legend Killer” on WWE Network as well as “The Mortician: The Story of Paul Bearer” premiering this Sunday, November 8 and “Brothers of Destruction,” which premiered in October at the Austin Film Festival, and will stream on WWE Network on Sunday, November 15. In addition, Undertaker will be a special guest on “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions” immediately following Survivor Series.

Activation will also include special Undertaker photo galleries, video highlights and features on WWE.com, Undertaker Tik Tok Challenge, Instagram filter and Snapchat lens, two exclusive product opportunities with Funko only available at Amazon, feature space in 2,300 Walmarts including an exclusive Mattel action figure, national media appearances including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and blocks of primetime programming from WWE’s distribution partners around the world dedicated to Undertaker.

In addition to Undertaker’s Final Farewell, WWE Survivor Series is the one night of the year where Raw® squares off against SmackDown®. Current matchups are highlighted by: WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns® taking on WWE Champion Randy Orton®; Raw Women’s Champion Asuka® vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks®; Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day® against SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits®; United States Champion Bobby Lashley® vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn®; as well as men’s and women’s 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination matches.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 11/4/20

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

There will be an appearance by new NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano tonight, following last week’s win over Damian Priest. Pat McAfee and NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch will also appear to continue their feud with The Undisputed Era.

WWE RAW Preview 11/2/20

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Amway Center in Orlando with more build for the upcoming WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.

WWE to host Wrestlemania 37 with 65,000 spectators?

WWE has been running its regular shows and main events without the crowd appearance for the last seven months or so, and now, WWE has come up with a masterstroke that WWE Wrestlemania 37 will have the crowd appearance as it has been stated by Jon Alba of Governor DeSantis.

Jon Alba of Spectrum Sports tweeted that Governor DeSantis has given the green light for the Miami Dolphins to run events at their 65,000 seat stadium. He followed by saying that WWE could do the same.

https://twitter.com/JonAlba/status/1313877929672278018

However, WrestleVotes also has provided the updates on the same that the state of Florida will begin allowing full capacity attendance for stadiums events.

Vince has been privately holding out hope for a full capacity WrestleMania. He gets his wish. Whether or not 65K fans show up is another question.

https://twitter.com/WrestleVotes/status/1313894463106842626

Source: insidesport.co

It was reported earlier this month that WWE has tentative plans in place to move WrestleMania 37 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

WWE SmackDown Preview 10/30/20

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature the fallout from the recent Hell In a Cell pay-per-view.

WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s show but it was noted that Jey Uso will be forced to face the consequences of losing to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Hell In a Cell.

New SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks is also advertised to appear tonight. She defeated Bayley for the title at Hell In a Cell.

* Jey Uso faces the consequences of losing to Roman Reigns inside Hell in a Cell

* What’s next for Sasha Banks on WWE SmackDown?

* Will Survivor Series teams be formed this week?

* Possible invasions from RAW?

Backstage News On WWE NXT Being Kept Off Survivor Series

There will be no WWE NXT involvement in the 2020 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The news was first reported by Ringside News.

There had been speculation on NXT being involved this year, like they were last year, but the NXT brand will instead start building to the next Takeover special on Sunday, December 6 instead.

Regarding the speculation on NXT and the Survivor Series, a logo for the pay-per-view was shown during WWE Hell In a Cell, and that logo still featured the red, yellow and blue colors for all three brands. However, new Survivor Series promotional material was revealed on the WWE website and social media accounts this week, and the yellow color has been removed.

It’s interesting that WWE is keeping NXT off this year’s Survivor Series event because the involvement made the show last year, and led to an increase in ratings on RAW, SmackDown and NXT TV for the month of November with the build-up.

The Observer notes that there are two explanations for WWE keeping NXT off the event this year. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon wants to keep the brands separate as much as possible to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. The second reason is that there is simply a mentality to not portray NXT as a major brand that is on the same level as RAW and SmackDown. This is the same reason why there were no NXT Superstars in the 2020 WWE Draft.

The 2020 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view will air live on November 22 from The ThunderDome at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

Source: Wrestling Inc.