Tag: WWE

WWE Confirms New Signings Including Priscilla Kelly (Gigi Dolin)

WWE has confirmed that female wrestlers Lacey Ryan, Priscilla Kelly, and Elayna Black are officially part of the company’s roster.

The signings were announced on the NXT Twitter account on Wednesday.

All three women have undergone WWE name changes:

  • Lacey Ryan will be performing under the name Zoey Stark
  • Priscilla Kelly will now be known as Gigi Dolin
  • Elayna Black’s new moniker is Cora Jade

Stark, Dolin and Jade will all participate in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Dolin and Jade will team up to take on Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell in the first round, while Zoey Stark will join forces with Marina Shafir to take on Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon.

Gigi Dolin will already be familiar to some WWE fans as she performed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE To Have Fans At WrestleMania 37

WWE is set to have actual fans in attendance at Raymond James Stadium for WrestleMania 37, which will take place across two nights on April 10 and April 11 in Tampa, FL.

As seen in the video above, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon spoke with TMZ Sports this week and said the current plan is to have fans in the crowd at WrestleMania 37.

“I’m thrilled and excited because, hopefully, this will be the first opportunity for us to have our fans back in attendance,” she said of WrestleMania 37. “You know, that’s the current plan. Of course ticket information is not available yet because we’re still trying to figure out all the different machinations.

“We’re really lucky though because the NFL Super Bowl is our lead-in this year, from Raymond James Stadium. So, we’re going to learn a lot from them, logistically, etc., and really best practices, what works, what doesn’t work. But man, we can’t wait to come in and for two nights, hopefully, really rock that pirate ship.”

Stephanie later reiterated that the current plan is to have fans at Raymond James Stadium. She was asked how they determine if they go forward with that plan, and how the COVID-19 pandemic affects things.

“I mean, pretty much it really is working with the local organizing committee and all of the health professionals,” she said. “Health & safety is first and foremost, of course. You know, for our fans, for our performers, for the employees, for the staff working the building.

“There’s a lot of different logistics that need to be determined, but hopefully it’ll all work out and this will be the first WWE event where we actually bring the WWE Universe back together, in person, and I cannot wait.”

Stephanie was later asked if WWE knows how many fans they want to try and bring to Raymond James Stadium for the big event. She said they do have a plan but she wouldn’t announce it yet.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre also confirmed that there will be a limited crowd at WrestleMania 37 during a new interview with FOX 13 in Tampa.

McIntyre talked about why WrestleMania 36 was disappointing to him as he hoped to win the WWE Title from Brock Lesnar in front of 90,000 people before the coronavirus pandemic forced the event to move to the closed-set WWE Performance Center. He then confirmed that tickets for WrestleMania 37 will be announced soon.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 1/20/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will see the return of the Fight Pit, plus the kick off to the first-ever NXT Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

WWE RAW Preview 1/18/21

Tonight’s WWE RAW will feature more build for the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

WWE has announced that Alexa Bliss will return to action on tonight’s RAW, her first match since defeating Nikki Cross on the November 23 RAW. She will be facing the RAW Women’s Champion and one-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions tonight – Asuka.

RAW will also see Randy Orton react to last week’s fireball attack by Bliss. WWE announced a storyline injury update last week, noting that Orton suffered minor burns to the face.

WWE has not announced any other happenings for tonight’s show, but we know that WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will not be appearing live in person due to his COVID-19 diagnosis. There’s no word on when WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg will appear again to promote the Royal Rumble match with McIntyre.

WWE Announces WrestleMania 37 Location Change, Venues For Upcoming WrestleManias

WWE has announced that the location for WrestleMania 37 has changed. The location was Los Angeles, California but now WrestleMania 37 will be at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

The Raymond James Stadium was the original location for WrestleMania 36. As noted, the location was moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando due to COVID-19.

The dates for WrestleMania 37 are April 10 and April 11. In the coming weeks, WWE will be announcing ticket availability and safety protocols for the event.

WWE also announced dates and locations for WrestleMania 38 and WrestleMania 39.

WrestleMania 38 will be in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium on April 3, 2022.

WrestleMania 39 will be in Los Angeles, California at Sofi Stadium on April 2, 2023.

Below is the “WrestleMania Report” that WWE posted on Twitter. The video features Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, and Paul Heyman.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 1/15/21

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

WWE Reportedly Planning A New WrestleMania 37 Date

WWE is reportedly planning to move the WrestleMania 37 date from March 27 to April 11.

It was noted by Fightful Select that everything is still subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but internally the current plan is for WrestleMania 37 to take place on April 11.

A date change was rumored several months ago, to either April 11 or April 18, but now it looks like they have decided on April 11.

The WrestleMania 37 location is also up in the air. It was revealed a few months back that WWE was possibly planning to move the event from the previously-announced location of SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles, CA area, to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL which was the originally planned location for WrestleMania 36 until the coronavirus pandemic forced that event to be held at the closed-set WWE Performance Center.

In an update on the WrestleMania 37 location, the show will not be held in California but it was noted that if the date of April 11 holds up, then WrestleMania won’t be taking place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL or at the Amway Center in Orlando, as MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays and the NBA’s Orlando Magic will be using those venues. Raymond James Stadium is not a lock for WrestleMania 37 as of now, but the venue currently does not have any events planned for WrestleMania 37 Weekend.

WWE should be making official announcements on WrestleMania 37 Weekend soon, but as of now the internal calendars list Sunday, April 11 as date for The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Mystery WWE NXT Team To Debut, Full Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Brackets Revealed

The full brackets have been announced for the 2021 WWE NXT Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

The tournament will feature 16 teams. WWE previously announced 12 teams but 4 more were revealed today.

One mystery team on the bracket is called MSK. WWE had filed to trademark the “MSK” name but there’s no word yet on who this is for. WWE posted a teaser tweet for the MSK team today, seen below, and fans are speculating that this could be the new name for Desmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz, formerly known as The Rascalz in WWE. Xavier and Wentz recently signed with WWE but there’s no word yet on when they will debut.

The first round of the tournament will kick off tonight with The Undisputed Era vs. Breezango and Ever-Rise vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans. The winners of the tournament will receive the Dusty Classic Cup and a future title shot from NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.

Below is a look at all 16 teams for the tournament, and the full bracket. Stay tuned for more.

FIRST ROUND
* The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong) vs. Breezango (Tyler Breeze, Fandango)

* Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari vs. Ashante “Thee” Adonis and Desmond Troy

* Kushida and Leon Ruff vs. The Way (Austin Theory, NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano)

* Ever-Rise (Chase Parker, Matt Martel) vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake, Zack Gibson)

FIRST ROUND
* MSK vs. Jake Atlas and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott

* Killian Dain and Drake Maverick vs. Curt Stallion and August Grey

* Imperium (Marcel Barthel, Fabian Aichner) vs. Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik)

* Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde, Raul Mendoza) vs. The Bollywood Boyz (Sunil Singh, Samir Singh)

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 1/13/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature the beginning of the 2021 Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

WWE Officially Announces “Superstar Spectacle” Event With Jinder Mahal And Other Top Stars

WWE has officially announced the Superstar Spectacle event for Tuesday, January 26.

There’s no word yet on when the two-hour event will air on the WWE Network, but it will air at 8pm IST in India on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3, and Sony MAX. There will be commentary in English and Hindi. It’s been reported that the event will tape next Thursday, from the WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.

The event will feature Superstars from WWE NXT, RAW and SmackDown. Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal has been announced for the show. It will be his first appearance since undergoing knee surgery in June of 2020.

Other Indian talent announced include The Bollywood Boyz, Indus Sher, Jeet Rama, Kavita Devi, Guru Raaj, Giant Zanjeer and Dilsher Shanky. Also announced for the card are WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair, SmackDown Tag Team Champions Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, AJ Styles, Bayley, The New Day, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Ricochet, among others, plus an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.

“We love the passion and support from the huge WWE Universe in India, so we’ve teamed up with SPN, the exclusive home of WWE in India, to surprise our fans with an incredible event to kick off 2021,” said Triple H in the official announcement. “WWE Superstar Spectacle will be an epic event with electrifying matches featuring some of the biggest names in WWE along with our incredible Indian performers, plus thrilling and authentic Indian-inspired entertainment.”

Stay tuned for updates as WWE will be announcing matches for Superstar Spectacle in the coming days. Below is the full announcement issued today:

WWE and Sony Pictures Network India announce WWE Superstar Spectacle

WWE Superstar Spectacle, an unprecedented two-hour television special event for India featuring WWE’s Indian performers alongside Superstars from Raw, SmackDown and NXT, will premiere exclusively on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3 and Sony MAX on India’s Republic Day, Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. IST, with commentary available in both English and Hindi.

The unique showcase of Indian-inspired action will emanate from the state-of-the-art WWE ThunderDome and incorporate stunning elements of traditional and contemporary Indian culture among epic matches featuring WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, Bayley, The New Day, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, Ricochet and many more plus an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.

“We love the passion and support from the huge WWE Universe in India, so we’ve teamed up with SPN, the exclusive home of WWE in India, to surprise our fans with an incredible event to kick off 2021,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development. “WWE Superstar Spectacle will be an epic event with electrifying matches featuring some of the biggest names in WWE along with our incredible Indian performers, plus thrilling and authentic Indian-inspired entertainment.”

“WWE has consistently featured among the top watched sports properties in India over the years,” said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India. “We are excited about presenting WWE Superstar Spectacle to WWE fans and viewers in India on Republic Day which will showcase and celebrate the best of the next generation Indian talent in WWE.”

With matches announced in the coming weeks, WWE fans can look forward to witnessing appearances by 10 Indian WWE talent, including:

* WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal, the first WWE Champion of Indian descent.

* The Bollywood Boyz, WWE Superstars Samir and Sunil Singh.

* The first all-Indian tag team in WWE, Indus Sher, featuring Rinku and Saurav.

* NXT Superstar Jeet Rama.

* Kavita Devi, the first Indian woman to sign a WWE contract.

* The Great Khali trainees Giant Zanjeer (7ft 2in, 340 pounds) and Dilsher Shanky (7ft, 310 pounds).

* Guru Raaj, the first Indian-born high-flyer in WWE.

The arrival of WWE Superstar Spectacle comes at a time when WWE’s popularity in India continues to increase. WWE is one of the most-watched sports properties in India, and India ranks No. 1 for WWE YouTube consumption and No. 1 in WWE Facebook followers. In addition, WWE has been actively recruiting elite athletes and performers from the country. In 2019, WWE hosted its largest tryout in history, where more than 70 top athletes from India showcased their abilities in Mumbai and four Indian recruits were selected to train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, U.S.

Follow WWE social channels for all the latest updates on WWE Superstar Spectacle.

Source: Wrestling Inc.