Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will be the WrestleMania 36 go-home show with the final hype for the big events on Saturday and Sunday.
Tag: WWE
Backstage Note On How WWE Will Air The Top Matches For WrestleMania 36
WWE officials were still working on the final line-ups for both nights of WrestleMania 36 this week, but word is that two of the bigger gimmick matches will air on different nights.
It was reported today by @Wrestlevotes that both of the “off location” matches will likely air on different nights. That would be the Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles, and the Firefly Fun House Match between John Cena and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt.
It’s also believed that the two main title matches will also air on different nights – Drew McIntyre vs. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns’ replacement vs. WWE Universal Champion Bill Goldberg. The same is likely for the two top women’s matches – Charlotte Flair vs. WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, and Shayna Baszler vs. RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.
Source: Wrestling Inc
Roman Reigns Will Be Removed From WrestleMania 36 Title Match In A “Unique Manner”
WWE has yet to confirm on TV that Roman Reigns will be out of the Universal title match at WrestleMania this weekend … and now Paul “Triple H” Levesque has explained why.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Levesque said the following in regards to the match:
“Well it’s a funny thing. I think you can watch our business in multiple different ways and one of them is the storyline aspect of it, and follow the storyline. Another way is the online component of it and the reality of it behind it. Roman has his situation and his reasons for doing the things that he’s doing, but I will say from our standpoint and the storyline standpoint, it’s going to play out in a unique manner and we want it to play out that way. It’s not necessarily putting me in an awkward position. It’s just, for me, saying I don’t want to give away the ending of the movie before the movie takes place. So I think everybody just has to watch and see how this unfolds. But it will unfold in a unique way and I think it will be meaningful for everybody.”
Reigns confirmed his absence from this weekend’s event on Instagram and said he made the decision for him and his family. WrestleMania was pre-taped last week and Roman was scheduled to face-off against Goldberg for the Universal Championship.
During the interview with Helwani, Triple H additionally addressed criticism of WWE for continuing to run events at the Performance Center during this pandemic.
“Look, there’s going to be critics of everything. I think we’re doing this to provide what we believe is an essential service in entertaining our fans, entertaining people around the world,” he stated.
“We’re working with the government officials very closely,” Levesque added. “We’re taking all of the precautions, we’re screening our talent. We’re making sure that there are no risks. Anybody that’s uncomfortable doing this doesn’t have to. The crew and the staff is very, very limited. We’re working the talent in waves, where we bring them in for their particular stuff and then they can leave, and keeping people as separated as possible. Trying to do this in as safe a way as possible, while still being able to perform a vital service.”
Listen to the full interview at this link HERE.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
WWE NXT Preview 4/1/20
Tonight’s WWE NXT episode will air on the USA Network on a tape delay, reportedly from the NXT Arena at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
- Keith Lee defends NXT North American Title against Dijakovic and Priest tomorrow night on USA Network
- Second Chance Gauntlet Match tomorrow night to determine final entrant in No. 1 Contender’s Ladder Match
- The Velveteen Dream takes on Bobby Fish tomorrow night on NXT
WWE Apparently Cancels All Events In April, Speculation On Touring Resuming In May
As we’ve expected, it looks like all WWE events for the month of April have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. This means that the WWE Performance Center tapings will continue.
We noted last week how WWE taped recent WWE NXT, 205 Live, RAW and SmackDown episodes at the empty WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. They also taped both nights of WrestleMania 36, plus matches for the post-WrestleMania RAW on April 6 and the April 8 NXT episode. It’s been reported that WWE plans to air the April 10 SmackDown episode live from the WWE Performance Center, instead of taped, but that hasn’t been confirmed. It also appears that they are airing the April 15 NXT episode live from the NXT Arena at Full Sail University.
The Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut announced today that the RAW scheduled for Monday, April 27 has been canceled. Ticketmaster’s Fan Support will be contacting ticket holders soon with more details, including instructions on how to get refunds.
It will be interesting to see if WWE resumes regular touring at arenas across the country, with fans in attendance, during the month of May. Everything is up in the air due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and some see May as being too soon for some of the coronavirus-related restrictions to be lifted.
It’s worth noting that the Times Union Center in Albany, New York is still selling tickets for the SmackDown on FOX episode scheduled for May 1.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE RAW Preview 3/30/20
Tonight’s taped WrestleMania 36 go-home edition of WWE RAW will take place from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando with the final red brand hype for next Saturday and Sunday’s big event.
WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s show, but they have announced several top Superstars who will be appearing to push their WrestleMania 36 matches – The Undertaker, WWE Hall of Famer Edge, RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.
WWE SmackDown Preview 3/27/20
Tonight’s taped WWE SmackDown on FOX and WWE 205 Live on the WWE Network will air from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando as the Road to a taped WrestleMania 36 continues.
* Bray Wyatt opens the door to The Firefly Fun House
* Alexa Bliss and Asuka look to settle the score this Friday
* The New Day & The Usos put WrestleMania fate on the line
* Drew Gulak collides with Shinsuke Nakamura in a match with major WrestleMania implications
205 Live is scheduled to feature Joaquin Wilde vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Tony Nese vs. Oney Lorcan.
Seth Rollins’ Stable Loses AOP Due To Rezar’s Injury
The injury to Rezar of The Authors of Pain has led to a significant change to Seth Rollins’ WWE RAW stable.
Rezar suffered a torn right biceps during the March 9 RAW episode on the USA Network. The injury occurred when Rezar took a crossbody from RAW Tag Team Champion Montez Ford during the eight-man main event of the show, which saw AOP, Rollins and Murphy defeat The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits. Rezar caught the crossbody, but his biceps went out.
There had been speculation on WWE keeping Akam on TV with Rollins and Murphy while Rezar is out of action. In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports this week that right now the decision is to not use Akam without Rezar. As of right now, there are no plans for either of them to appear on TV.
This means the stable with Rollins, Murphy, Akam and Rezar has now been reduced to just the tag team with Rollins and Murphy. There’s no word on if WWE plans to add to the team to make it a faction again while AOP is off TV.
It was also noted that Rezar has already undergone surgery to repair the torn right biceps. This has not been confirmed, but he’s expected to be out of action for 7-8 months, which means AOP may be out of the storylines until after the SummerSlam pay-per-view in August. There was some talk that Rezar may have been able to avoid surgery, which would have had him on the shelf for just a few months, but he ended up going under the knife and will likely be out for closer to 8 months.
Rollins is scheduled to face Kevin Owens in a singles match at WrestleMania 36, during either Night One on Saturday, April 4, or during Night Two on Sunday, April 5. Samoa Joe had been involved in the Owens vs. Rollins feud before he was suspended for 30 days due to his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy, going against Rollins, but there’s no word yet on if he was brought back at this week’s TV and WrestleMania tapings because his suspension did expire. It could be interesting if they have Joe turn on Owens, putting him in the group with Rollins and Murphy.
At one point AOP had been discussed for a spot in a possible RAW Tag Team Titles match at WrestleMania 36, but that idea was nixed due to the injury to Rezar. As noted earlier in this new report on WrestleMania changes and plans, WWE also discussed champions The Street Profits vs. Angel Garza and WWE United States Champion Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo, but that idea was also nixed. The red brand tag team titles match at WrestleMania will be Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins defending against Andrade and Garza.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE NXT Preview 3/25/20
Tonight’s taped WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will air from the NXT Arena at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. The show was taped and will air from a closed set with no crowd due to the coronavirus pandemic.
* Triple H appears with an announcement
* Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will have to answer to Triple H for their recent brawl at the WWE Performance Center
* NXT Champion Adam Cole shares a special message
* Austin Theory vs. Tyler Breeze
* Roderick Strong vs. NXT Tag Team Champion Matt Riddle
* Ladder Match Qualifier: Candice LeRae vs. Kayden Carter
* Ladder Match Qualifier: Xia Li vs. Aliyah
WWE Offering Most Of Their Network Content For Free
WWE announced today that they are unlocking a vast portion of the WWE Network library for a limited time.
Starting today, WWE is extending free access to thousands of hours of on-demand content, including every WrestleMania in history, past pay-per-views, original documentaries and more.
The two-night WrestleMania 36 event is only available to WWE Network subscribers. However, this offering allows fans worldwide to watch all of the past WrestleManias as well as every Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series event; every NXT TakeOver and NXT UK TakeOver; and originals such as the entire WWE 24 docuseries, Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions interview show, the recent five-episode WWE Ruthless Aggression series, and its 20-episode predecessor, The Monday Night War series.
Recent episodes of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, every episode of WWE Untold, and the A Future WWE: The FCW Story documentary are also included.
To start watching now for free, visit watch.wwe.com and create your account to start streaming on your favorite device.
WrestleMania 36 airs on the WWE Network next Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 at 7 ET/4 PT.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
