Tag: WWE

Jinder Mahal Out Of Action Again After Knee Surgery

WWE RAW Superstar Jinder Mahal is back on the shelf again.

Mahal revealed on Instagram this morning that he had to undergo another knee operation. The surgery was a success and he says he will be back stronger than ever.

“Unfortunately I had to go under the knife again to fix some knee issues. The journey has hit a speed bump, but I will be back stronger than ever,” Mahal wrote in the IG post seen below, which was tagged in Birmingham, Alabama.

Mahal just returned to the ring in late April after being out of action for almost a year with a knee injury. He looked dominant in his return match on RAW against Akira Tozawa and appeared to be getting a big push.

There’s no word yet on when he will return.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 6/3/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature the final build for Sunday’s “Takeover: In Your House” event.

* Mia Yim and Candice LeRae take their hostilities to the ring

* El Hijo del Fantasma and Maverick clash for Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship

WWE RAW Preview 6/1/20

Tonight’s taped WWE RAW from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL will feature more build for the Backlash pay-per-view.

* Seth Rollins to host Rey Mysterio’s retirement ceremony

* Aleister Black to go one-on-one with Seth Rollins

* Asuka and Charlotte Flair clash in Champion vs. Champion showdown

* Apollo Crews defends United States Title against opponent of his choosing

WWE Announces New Weekly Post-Raw Show Called “Raw Talk”, Free Version Of WWE Network

The new free version of WWE Network is being rolled out today and the announcement reveals a new post-Raw show called “Raw Talk.”

The press release for today’s rollout states:

WWE today unveiled the Free Version of WWE Network, the company’s award-winning digital streaming service, unlocking a vast portion of its content library with more than 15,000 action-packed WWE titles now available for free.

The Free Version of WWE Network includes:

According to sources, “Raw Talk” will be similar in format to “Talking Smack.” It also appears to be hosted by Charly Caruso and Samoa Joe, based on the announcement for tonight’s episode.

The previous version of “Raw Talk” aired after pay-per-views.

WWE SmackDown Preview 5/29/30

Tonight’s taped WWE SmackDown on FOX will air from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL with more build for the upcoming WWE Backlash pay-per-view.

AJ Styles Admits Luke Gallows And Karl Anderson Being Released By WWE Still Bothers Him

On a recent After The Bell podcast, Corey Graves asked AJ Styles about his return to SmackDown after being traded to the brand. Styles said he needed a change of scenery after the releases of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.

“I mean it’s different for me. This is moving to FOX,” Styles stated. “I think they’re doing a really good job. So I’m excited about that, to be working with those guys, and it’s just doing something different man. It’s good for me. I needed a change, and I don’t mean to harp on this, but losing Gallows and Anderson really hurt me. So getting away from RAW helps me get over it. I don’t know that I’ll get over it, but it helps change the atmosphere around me, to do something different because my whole time on RAW was with them. So getting away from that and getting to SmackDown, where I’ve had a lot of success, it’s a good thing.”

Styles talked about his frustration over not doing more for Gallows and Anderson. He said that he was like an older brother to them and feels that he let them down.

“Looking back, I was the one that kind of brought their names to come to WWE and everything,” Styles reflected. “So when they got released, I immediately feel responsible for them because I helped them get here, and I wanted them to stay. I feel like if I had encouraged them to stay, maybe they would be fine right now. So a lot of that fell on me, and it and it destroyed me.

“I feel like I let them down, and I talked to them about this. I talked about it on the Mixer channel on the day after it was done. I was just crushed. I’m the oldest in this group, and they’re my little brothers. I didn’t take care of them, and that really bothered me. It really really bothers me. It still does.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to After The Bell 

Samoa Joe Reportedly Considered To Be A Permanent Member Of The WWE RAW Announce Team

Samoa Joe has reportedly permanently replaced WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler on the RAW announce team.

Joe has not returned to the ring because he’s still waiting to be medically cleared to compete from the concussion he suffered during the RAW commercial shoot back in February. He was brought back to RAW commentary in late April, filling in for Lawler, and now the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Joe is considered to be Lawler’s permanent replacement on the red brand announce team.

There’s no word yet on what this means for when Joe is medically cleared for in-ring action, but the Observer noted that Joe may have a role where he announces and then they shoot angles for him to wrestle using the other role. Things could change down the road if WWE runs into depth issues with the RAW roster, or if they feel they need Joe as a full-time wrestler, but they could also have Joe work both roles.

It was originally believed that Joe was filling in for Lawler due to concerns over Lawler being at a higher risk to work TV tapings during the coronavirus pandemic. It remains to be seen if WWE will bring Lawler back to the announce table once regular tapings resume.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 5/27/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode will air on a slight tape delay from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

* Rhea Ripley will team with Io Shirai to face Charlotte Flair and a partner of her choice

* Kurt Angle to referee Cage Fight between Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher

* Adam Cole to have live negotiation with William Regal regarding The Velveteen Dream

WWE Reportedly Preparing For Return Of Live Events

WWE officials are reportedly working on plans to resume regular live event touring.

It remains to be seen when WWE will be allowed to move forward with regular touring, but @Wrestlevotes reports that internally the company is slowly rebuilding their live event schedule.

It was noted that still nothing is expected to happen with fans attending events before July at least, but things are apparently happening behind-the-scenes so that the company will be ready when they are given permission to resume touring amid the coronavirus pandemic. There have been discussions about ticket sales for arena events moving forward, with social distancing guidelines remaining in place.

It will be interesting to see how the COVID-19 outbreak changes the WWE live event model when touring resumes. There was talk of keeping the new new Plexiglas “shields” and taller ringside barriers used at this week’s RAW and that being the new norm for WWE live events. WWE will obviously be faced with several tricky obstacles and factors to deal with due to the pandemic.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 5/25/20

The taped Memorial Day edition of WWE RAW will air tonight from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL.

* Drew McIntyre joins MVP on “The VIP Lounge” this Monday on Raw

* Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax and Natalya battle for the right to challenge Asuka at WWE Backlash

* United States Champion Andrade defends against Apollo Crews