The scheduled title match between WWE United States Champion Apollo Crews and MVP did not take place during last night’s “The Horror Show at Extreme Rules” pay-per-view.
WWE announcer Tom Phillips noted that Crews was at the Performance Center earlier in the day, eager to compete, but he did not pass his pre-match physical. It was also said that Crews has a bulging disc in his back, from the recent Full Nelson attack by Bobby Lashley.
In an update, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that Apollo’s absence is due to issues related to COVID-19. It was noted that Crews will need to be re-examined again before tonight’s RAW.
There was a brief segment during last night’s show that saw Lashley and MVP come to the ring to joke about Crews being hurt. MVP then declared that he is the new champion by forfeit. He retrieved the title from ringside as the new belt was on display, but there was no official announcement made about a title change.
Apollo Crews won his first WWE United States Championship on the May 25, 2020 edition of RAW, defeating the previous champion, Andrade. After five years with the company, it is Apollo’s first championship.
It was announced that Apollo Crews would not be able to defend his United States Championship against MVP
Eye For An Eye: Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins
Winner: Seth Rollins
RAW Women’s Championship: Asuka (c) w/Kairi Sane vs. Sasha Banks w/Bayley
Banks grabs one of the belts to use it but the referee yells at her and grabs it. The referee and Banks have words. Asuka approaches from behind and sprays green mist as Banks turns around, but Banks ducks and the mist hits the referee in the face. Bayley comes from behind at Asuka but the referee is blinded. Bayley rips the referee’s t-shirt off and puts it on, sending him to the floor. Banks covers Asuka and Bayley covers for the 3 count. Bayley yells for the timekeeper to ring the bell. She goes to ringside and threatens him, so he rings the bell. Bayley grabs the RAW Women’s Title and takes it over to Banks on the floor. They celebrate as the boos get louder. Asuka isn’t happy. Banks’ music hits as we go to replays.
– After the replays, Banks and Bayley head to the back together with all the gold. There is no official announcement on the finish.
WWE Championship – Extreme Rules Match (for the Challenger Only) : Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Wyatt Swamp Fight(Non-Title): WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt
It’s time for the first-ever Wyatt Swamp Fight, which will be our non-title main event for the night. WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman drives his big truck up to Bray Wyatt’s home in the swamp. Wyatt is sitting on the front porch in his rocking chair, all smiles and laughs.
Braun approaches and says he’s home. Wyatt, still sitting down, just laughs. We go to black for a second and come back to just Strowman. Wyatt’s chair is moving but he’s not there. Strowman sees a sign on a tree that warns anyone who enters. Strowman smashes the rocking chair against a tree and we hear Wyatt’s laughs in the distance.
We hear some pigs squealing as Strowman apparently has flashbacks. He fights off a mystery masked attacker. Strowman yells out for Wyatt to show his damn face. A shovel hits Strowman in the back and he goes down. Strowman looks terrified as he sees himself standing above him, wearing the black sheep mask and holding the shovel. Strowman looks up from the ground as the other Strowman smashes him in the face with a shovel. Strowman comes to and he’s chained up in the house now for more wackiness. We see the swamp version of Wyatt walking outside, lantern in hand, as his music plays in the background. Wyatt walks into the room where Strowman is chained to a chair. Wyatt laughs and welcomes Strowman home, asking what he thinks about Wyatt’s changes to the house. Strowman says he hates Wyatt. Wyatt taunts Strowman while he’s chained to the chair. Wyatt plays some mind games and grabs Strowman, yelling at him that he is not Strowman’s enemy. Wyatt goes on about how people have invaded and turned against them, but they can come together and be the ones standing after everyone else falls, after governments and the rest of the world fall. Strowman says he’s sending Wyatt straight back to hell.
Wyatt goes on with the cryptic talk, saying Strowman is the weapon and he is the hand that controls it. Wyatt has to destroy the monster Strowman has become. Strowman doesn’t care what happens, he will never go back to doing Wyatt’s dirty work. A woman appears with a snake now. Wyatt tells Strowman not to be afraid. This mystery woman could be Sister Abigail? The snake attacks Strowman. He comes to and now he’s outside near a fire. He’s fighting off mystery men in black, including one very average looking guy swinging an axe. Wyatt takes it and beats the man down. The man catches fire and runs around as Strowman laughs.
We hear a woman’s voice, telling Strowman to come home. It’s Alexa Bliss in black, with a hood over her head. She’s telling Strowman that he’s always wanted to be with her, this can be their home together if he just comes home. Strowman approaches the image of Bliss but Wyatt attacks him from it. Strowman apparently gets the upperhand and knocks Wyatt into a small white boat. The boat starts riding out into a lake with Wyatt laid out in it. Strowman smiles and walks away from the lake. He stops and looks back at the boat, confused. The boat is now coming back to the dock. Strowman walks out into the water, up to his waist. He goes to the boat and it’s empty. No Wyatt.
Wyatt comes from the side and drops Strowman with a shovel to the head. They brawl in the water with Wyatt beating Strowman and holding him down, as we see flashes of alligators. Strowman eventually pulls himself up to the dock, struggling to breathe. He’s laying on the dock now as a female voice laughs. Wyatt attacks on the dock. Strowman fights back but Wyatt beats him down with some sort of stick. Wyatt screams out. Wyatt says look what you made me do. Strowman gets up as Wyatt has his back turned. Wyatt turns around and laughs at him. Wyatt tries to swing the stick but Strowman knocks him into the water.
Strowman kneels down at the water and apparently doesn’t see Wyatt. Strowman nods and says it’s over. He keeps looking around the surface of the water until Wyatt’s arm comes up from out of the water, applying the Mandible Claw to pull Strowman into the water. There’s a struggle. It looks like Wyatt comes back up out of the water for a second, struggling to breathe or get out. Wyatt is pulled back under and all is calm. The water then turns blood red and starts bubbling. The Fiend returns, coming out of the water and staring straight at the camera now. We hear Wyatt laughing in the background. WWE’s “The Horror Show at Extreme Rules” pay-per-view goes off the air as The Fiend growls, “Let me in!”
DATE: July 19, 2020 at 7:00 PM ET (Preshow at 6:00 PM ET) LOCATION: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida AVAILABLE ON:WWE Network (first month free for new subscribers)
WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler Ziggler to reveal stipulation at the PPV.
Wyatt Swamp Fight(Non-Title): WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt
RAW Women’s Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Sasha Banks
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Nikki Cross
United States Championship: Apollo Crews (c) vs. MVP
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX episode will air from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. This is the go-home show for this Sunday’s The Horror Show at WWE Extreme Rules.
Kevin Owens recently spoke with Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports and addressed rumors that he might be headed back to the WWE NXT brand.
Owens said he was excited to be called up to the main roster from NXT a few years back but it was bittersweet as he didn’t spend much time there. Owens is hopeful for a trip back to the black & yellow brand. He revealed that he even talked with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about another stint in NXT, and how he’s been vocal about wanting to return to the brand and help out. While the decision was made to keep Owens on RAW or SmackDown, he’s still interested in going back.
“I think Triple H touched on it in the past in some interviews,” Owens said. “For a while there, it looked like I was going to head back to NXT. I had even discussed it with Vince McMahon and stuff like that. I was excited about it. I don’t know if it would have been a long or short term thing.
“I’ve been vocal about wanting to go back there because I’d love to help make it grow even more and help make it as big as it can get and make it so we have three brands people know about. I would love for people to be just as aware of NXT as they are about Raw and SmackDown. I would have loved to be a part of that, but some decisions were made that I had to stay put on Raw and SmackDown. That’s fine, but I would love the chance to go back.”
Owens continued and said a NXT return sometimes comes up in his talks with Triple H.
“I talk to Triple H pretty regularly and we bring it up once in a while. It’s just about timing,” Owens said of a NXT return. “There’s a lot of opportunities. The landscape of WWE is changing quite a bit through this situation and I think it’s going to keep evolving.
“The ideal scenario for me would be for NXT to be viewed as a third brand, and if it’s not already, it’s pretty close. I’d love to be a part of anything. I love to contribute to SmackDown, to Raw, to NXT. I just want to go where I’m needed and try to make a difference.”
Owen signed with WWE in August 2014 and would make his NXT debut at “Takeover: R Evolution” on December 11 of that year, defeating CJ Parker. Owens would go on to become NXT Champion for the first time by defeating then-champion Sami Zayn at “Takeover: Rival” on February 11, 2015. He was sent to the main roster in the summer of 2015, shortly after losing the NXT Title to Finn Balor. Owens made a surprise return to NXT at “Takeover: WarGames” in November of last year, teaming with Tommaso Ciampa, Dominik Dijakovic and current NXT Champion & NXT North American Champion Keith Lee to defeat The Undisputed Era in the WarGames main event.
Owens is currently working the RAW brand and could be feuding with Seth Rollins again. You can click here for the latest backstage report on Owens, which includes news on his upcoming push.
Kevin Owens reportedly confronted Vince McMahon over the lack of masks at WWE TV tapings during the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE French-language commentator Pat Laprade noted during a recent episode of the Les anti-pods de la Lutte podcast and revealed that Owens raised concerns with the WWE Chairman & CEO at the TV tapings held on Friday, July 3 at the Performance Center. This reportedly led to the mandatory mask policy, and the fines for not wearing masks while in the building.
Owens reportedly told McMahon that he was not comfortable with the lack of masks being worn by people in the Performance Center, and people being too close to each other. Owens also told McMahon that he was going home, apparently due to COVID-19 concerns. Vince then asked Owens what he wanted him to do, and Owens allegedly responded by saying Vince is the only person that the WWE crew will listen to.
It was also said that Vince asked Owens if instituting a mask policy with fans would work. Owens then said that he once swore on SmackDown, was fined and never did it again, with the idea that the fine was a deterrent. Vince apparently listened and took action as Owens stayed to work the tapings after noticing that people were starting to wear masks and practice better social distancing.
Friday’s RAW tapings were for tonight’s episode, which will see Owens take on Seth Rollins in singles action.
As we’ve noted, WWE is now issuing $500 fines for not wearing masks, unless a person is performing in front of the camera. The second offense reportedly brings a fine of $1,000.
It was reported back in June that Owens skipped a set of TV tapings after a developmental talent tested positive for the coronavirus. Owens’ wife’s grandfather had passed away from the virus a few weeks before. Owens would later post a heartfelt message about the COVID-19 pandemic, which you can see at this link.
WWE officials told their employees a few months ago that they did not have to work during the pandemic if they didn’t feel comfortable doing so, and that the decision would not be held against them in the future. Owens appeared on WWE’s The Bump in late June and talked about how the company reacted to his decision to miss the tapings in June.
“Due to the circumstances that happened last week with the positive coronavirus test, I just thought it was wiser for me to stay with my family,” Owens said. ” I told the people in charge my decision, and they were like, ‘Yeah, ok.’ I think they know that once I make my mind up on something, that’s the way it’s going to be. They were respectful of my decision. I’m glad I did it because I think this was the best decision for me to do for my family.”
Several former WWE Superstars are set to become free agents later this week.
WWE released dozens of employees and talents back in mid-April due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The main roster wrestlers who were cut will see their 90-day non-compete clauses expire on Wednesday of this week, July 15.
It’s believed that at least some of the former WWE Superstars will end up in AEW and Impact Wrestling. Impact has been teasing some of the recently released wrestlers for their Slammiversary pay-per-view on Saturday. Eric Young, EC3, Heath Slater and others have been rumored for spots on the Impact roster, and it’s been reported that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have already signed.
A number of WWE NXT talents were also cut back on April 15. They were under 30-day non-competes and were free agents as of May 15. That is how Deonna Purrazzo was able to make her Impact debut last month. WWE also released or furloughed several producers in April, and it’s been reported that some of those furloughs will be brought back as WWE begins to resume normal operations amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The following former WWE main roster Superstars will become free agents later this week:
* Aiden English
* Curt Hawkins
* EC3
* Epico Colon
* Eric Young
* Erick Rowan
* Heath Slater
* Karl Anderson
* Kurt Angle (believed to be under non-compete)
* Lio Rush (may have been under NXT deal)
* Luke Gallows
* Maria Kanellis
* Mike Kanellis
* No Way Jose
* Primo Colon
* Rusev
* Sarah Logan (pregnant)
* Zack Ryder
WWE.com has announced that this week will officially be “Women’s Evolution Week” on all digital and social channels.
The platforms will be releasing content centered around the growth of the WWE women’s division, especially over the past five years since the “Four Horsewomen” of WWE (Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair) arrived on the main roster.
The full article from WWE reads:
Five years ago on July 13, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks arrived to Raw, signaling a change for women’s wrestling in WWE. In honor of this landmark night in sports-entertainment history, WWE will celebrate Women’s Evolution Week on its digital and social channels all this week.Check back with WWE’s digital platforms each day this week for exciting looks back at landmark Women’s division moments in WWE, the trailblazing Superstars who paved the way and what lies ahead for the intrepid female competitors of the future.
WWE’s first and only all-women pay-per-view event, Evolution, took place on October 28, 2018. The card featured multiple standout matches including a brutal Last Women Standing Match between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Wrestling News Blog 