Tag: WWE

Alexa Bliss Has Been Out With An Undisclosed Injury

It was announced last night on WWE Backstage that Alexa Bliss is out dealing with an undisclosed injury.

Bliss’ last appearance in the ring was at WWE Hell in a Cell on October 6 in Sacramento, California where she and Nikki Cross lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles to The Kabuki Warriors. Bliss did a run-in on RAW the next night, but that was the last time she’s been on WWE TV.

There is currently not timetable for her return.

Bliss was scheduled to appear at Ringside Fest in New York City this past Sunday, but had to cancel last minute due to a personal matter. She was replaced by WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.

According to PWInsider, Bliss has been absent from the past couple weeks of TV tapings due to a shoulder injury.

Scarlett Bordeaux And Three Other WWE Signings Confirmed

Former Impact Wrestling star Scarlett Bordeaux has officially signed with WWE and is now training at the WWE Performance Center.

Bordeaux’s signing had been rumored for weeks, but was finally announced Tuesday morning.

She joins the Performance Center alongside three other new recruits:

  • Shotzi Blackheart, who was offered a contract by William Regal last month at an EVOLVE show
  • Indi Hartwell, a 22-year-old standout on the Australian scene
  • Referee Stephen Smith, who graduated from OVW and worked in EVOLVE

As you’ll recall, Scarlett was released from Impact in June. She attended a private WWE tryout months later and was locked down with a deal shortly after.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE Announces Expansion Of Partnership With Saudi Arabia

WWE announced that they have expanded their partnership with the Saudi General Entertainment Authority through 2027, to include a second annual large-scale event.

WWE originally announced in March 2018 that the Greatest Royal Rumble event was to be the first of a new 10-year “strategic multiplatform partnership” between WWE and the Saudi Arabian government. WWE has now held 4 events under the deal – Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018, Crown Jewel 2018 in November 2018, Super ShowDown in June 2019, and Crown Jewel 2019 this past Thursday. It should be noted that WWE has been holding 2 events per year, but this announcement makes it official, perhaps to show solidarity amid the rumors coming out of Crown Jewel on Thursday.

The announcement comes after last Thursday’s Crown Jewel 2019 event, which ended with a travel debacle that you can read the latest on by clicking here.

There’s no word yet on when the next WWE event will be held in the Kingdom, but it should be in early 2020. They would then likely return in late 2020.

Below is the full announcement sent to us by WWE today:

For Immediate ReleaseWWE® AND THE SAUDI GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT AUTHORITY EXPAND EVENT PARTNERSHIP

STAMFORD, CONN. and RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, November 4, 2019 – Following the historic Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, WWE (NYSE: WWE) and the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) have expanded their live event partnership through 2027 to include a second annual large-scale event. WWE and GEA also continue to work towards the completion of a media agreement in the MENA region.

This long-term partnership demonstrates WWE and GEA’s commitment to bring sports entertainment to the region and supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Denies Crown Jewel Flight Issues Had Anything To Do With Saudis Owing Money To WWE

WWE has denied that the flight troubles coming out of Saudi Arabia following Thursday’s Crown Jewel event had to do with the Saudi government owing money to the company.

Alfred Konuwa of Forbes reached out to WWE for comment and reports that they “swiftly denied” the owed money allegations that were first brought up by former WWE and current AAA announcer Hugo Savinovich. Konuwa added how WWE confirmed to him that their relationship remains strong with partners in the Kingdom.

Regarding how Crown Jewel started almost an hour late on the MBC Action Network in Saudi Arabia, WWE told Konuwa that the TV feed issues in the Kingdom were “entirely unrelated” to anything regarding a payment. WWE reiterated that mechanical issues were a cause of the flight delay, pointing to how Atlas Air, the charter company, also issued an apology for the mechanical issues.

Savinovich said during a Facebook Live video that while WWE blamed the travel woes on a mechanical issue, he was told that they had to do with WWE not being paid for two of the shows held in the Kingdom. He did not know the exact figure owed, but speculated that it could be between $300 and $500 million. He also said Vince McMahon retaliated on the Saudis by pulling the live Crown Jewel TV feed in the Kingdom. Savinovich also alleged that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud was upset by Vince pulling the feed, so he ordered the WWE crew to be removed from the Atlas Air flight as it was preparing to take off to the United States. Savinovich claimed he heard this account directly from someone close to the situation.

It’s worth noting that the figure of $300 to $500 million is really high as WWE has been estimated to generate $40 – $50 million per event in the Kingdom.

WWE Co-President George Barrios revealed on Thursday’s 2019 Q3 earnings call with investors that WWE received a $60 million payment “for an outstanding receivable” at the end of the third quarter. Barrios did not specify on where the payment come from.

Savinovich continued to push the narrative that there was more to the Saudi situation than a mechanical issue.

“It was a very difficult and dangerous situation because of the fact that Saudi Arabia had already been in serious trouble when they killed that reporter in Turkey at the embassy. So the boys were a little bit – not a little bit, they were very, very concerned,” Hugo added in the new Hannibal TV interview. “Vince (McMahon) had left the country already and Brock (Lesnar) had his own plane. It was just about big, big money, millions of dollars that this guy did not send and Vince got upset and cut the feed for South Arabia.

“And that has the Prince upset, and it stopped them from leaving the country and got them off the plane,” Hugo continued. “So basically what they’re doing is they’re originally trying to make it look like it was just a mechanical situation, but an executive from the company – well, my wife had died, so they were just calling to comfort me. At the same time, I was told not to mention any names but they were concerned, they were very concerned.”

Savinovich went as far as to say that the WWE crew was “kidnapped” while waiting to fly out of the Kingdom. He affirmed that the talents are upset about what happened, and said there will be more people speaking out about the incident.

“A friend of mine that is from Saudi Arabia, that I’ve known for years and years since the era of VHS tapes that I used to do from Puerto Rico, he also gave me the scoop about what happened at the airport,” Hugo explained. “So a lot of people will be talking more about it. The boys are very upset, so I don’t know what the deal is.”

“Of course, we always know that money talks. And if Vince gets the millions of dollars, and maybe the Middle East – that big TV contract, because it didn’t happen and in one day he lost over 200 million dollars (in stock value). So, it’s a very complicated situation but the talent was, you know, I don’t want to use the word kidnapped but he ordered a kidnapping and the guys were stopped from leaving the country.”

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE wasn’t paid for the June 7 Super ShowDown event from Saudi Arabia, as of September 30. It was noted in the Q3 earnings call that WWE did receive $60 million after September 30, which is when the report closes, but before October 30, hours before the Crown Jewel event. Meltzer said there was “clearly money owed” by the Saudis. It was noted that because of the money, Vince didn’t air Crown Jewel live in the Kingdom, but it ended up airing on a delay after the two sides made an agreement during the show. It was also noted that WWE talents were apparently aware that money was owed by the Saudis.

As noted, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman flew out of the Kingdom on Lesnar’s private jet that he is given for these events, before the flight issues came up. WWE Hall of Famers Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart also left the Kingdom on their private jet. It’s believed that Tyson Fury also left on one of the private jets, but Cain Velasquez was with the group that was forced to stay longer. Vince and his inner circle left Saudi on the WWE private jet, before any of the flight issues even came up.

As noted, WWE has denied to Forbes that the flight issues had to do with any money owed by the Saudis. They have reiterated that their Saudi partnerships remain strong.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 11/4/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York with fallout from WWE Crown Jewel.

No matches have been announced for tonight’s RAW but WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is set to appear after he quit Friday Night SmackDown and said he was headed to RAW to come after Rey Mysterio.

WWE has not posted their official preview for tonight’s show as of this writing, but it’s worth noting that their events page has new WWE Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair, RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, and WWE United States Champion AJ Styles advertised to appear.

The arena has Rollins vs. Wyatt in a Steel Cage match advertised locally, which would be the dark main event as The Fiend is a SmackDown Superstar, plus appearances by Lynch, Styles, Flair, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Ricochet, Aleister Black, and The Street Profits.

It’s rumored that WWE NXT Superstars will appear on tonight’s RAW to continue the Survivor Series build that began on Friday’s SmackDown with the NXT invasion angles.

Seth Rollins took to Twitter today to issue his first wrestling-related comments since losing the WWE Universal Title to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at last Thursday’s WWE Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.

Rollins thanked Dubai Tourism for the trip he took with RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, and mentioned Ringside Collectibles for the Ringside Fest event on Sunday. He also revealed that he will address his WWE future during tonight’s RAW episode from Long Island.

He wrote, “So much swirling in my head after #CrownJewel. Thank you @dubaitourism & @RingsideC #RingsideFest & all of our incredible fans for the weekend. Will address my future tonight on #Raw.”

https://twitter.com/WWERollins/status/1191377720829267968

 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

A.J. Styles Discusses The Delayed WWE Plane Ride From Saudi Arabia

This past weekend there was some controversy surrounding WWE’s already controversial Crown Jewel event. There was a flight issue that kept several WWE stars and crew in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia following Thursday’s event. As a result, SmackDown was changed due to virtually from the brand nobody being there.

Several stars that were stuck in Saudi Arabia vented their frustration on Twitter, especially after a WWE statement regarding certain talent wanting to buy their own separate charter flight over others. One person who didn’t post anything was A.J. Styles.

Speaking on his Mixer gaming stream, Styles was asked several times what happened and why there was a delay. Styles gave his own perspective on the situation, based on all the facts he knew.

“We were supposed to leave after the show. We got to the airport, they weren’t letting us board,” Styles stated. “What was the problem? Not really sure, heard there was a fuel truck in the way, the guy who drove the truck had left to go home. I know, this makes no sense. Why would the fuel guy leave if he knows he’s got a plane that’s leaving? Then there were some paperwork issues.

“Finally, after at least 4-5 hours, we get on the plane. Then they found something wrong, the fuel or something or another was broken. People can say what they want, ‘It wasn’t broken.’ But I talked to the pilot. On that 14-hour flight the pilots, I guess they take naps as well. We were all chatting, sitting around on this flight and he said, ‘Listen, there was a problem. That’s a real thing.'”

There have been a lot of rumors going around whether this was planned by those in Saudi Arabia or if it was all a misunderstanding regarding convenience. Styles has heard the latter.

“The problem was, we spent all that time, from one o’clock all the way to six or eight in the morning, waiting to board this plane, they are telling us we can’t go anywhere because the pilots and everybody had timed out,” Styles continued. “They can only go so long before they are not able to fly because they’re not able to go 24 hours at a time. They had to go back to a hotel, we had to find a hotel.

“Were there guns? Were there people yelling ‘EVERYBODY OFF THE PLANE!’? No, that never happened. My wife called me in a panic, she’s scared to death. I go, ‘Babe, listen, we’re just not able to go anywhere. It is not a big issue, nobody has threatened to kill us.’ There was none of that going on. Nobody was going to get murdered, it never happened. There was no threat of physical harm or anything like that.”

Former WWE Spanish commentator Hugo Savinovich claimed that he heard from a source that WWE was owed money by the Saudis for past events and Vince McMahon retaliated by cutting off the Crown Jewel live TV feed in Saudi Arabia. On the WWE third quarter earnings call, WWE avoided answering questions regarding Saudi Arabia, although they did mention receiving a $60 million payment “for an outstanding receivable” after September 30 (when the report closes) and before October 31, hours before Crown Jewel. Crown Jewel also reportedly started nearly an hour later on the MBC Action network in Saudi Arabia than scheduled.

A.J. did admit he had the best sleep of his life on the flight due to jetlag. He also explained his understanding of what has been going on between Vince and the Saudi government.

“It is almost blown up, as if, we were on the verge of being killed. That wasn’t the case,” Styles went on to say. “I don’t know what happened between Vince and the King, the Prince or whoever it is. That’s not my job to say anything, my jobs to go to work, my jobs to get home. Was I pretty angry about not going home because I missed my son’s wrestling match? You have no idea. But, if this is out of our hands, if it is out of the pilot’s hands, then there’s nothing we can do.

“There is no point in getting mad, getting angry about something I have no control of. I’m home now, and I’m happy to be here. We’ll find out as we go along why things happened, or we won’t. I don’t know what’s going to happen going forward, it is just going to be what it is going to be.”

Several stars are sure to be wanting answers following the new Plane Ride From Hell. While Styles is not in a rush, he wants to make sure he himself has all the facts together.

“I’ll deal with it when I need to, but I’m not going to throw WWE under the bus, that’s not how I work” Styles stated. “I am a guy who’s committed to making the best product that I can and it is not going to do me any good to throw good people under the bus. There are a lot of good people that work for WWE, and I will not make them look bad. There are a lot of people that were on that plane with me. Until I know more I’m not going to say anything. And if I did find out, and I was offended, I will go to the source, believe me on that one.”

Source: Wrestling Inc,

Hugo Savinovich Continues To Say That There’s More To WWE Talent Being Stranded In Saudi Arabia

Statements from WWE talent and other people close to the situation in Saudi Arabia continue emerging after reports claimed people from the company were stranded in Saudi Arabia following their Crown Jewel event this past weekend.

As seen below via THE HANNIBAL TV, former WWE Spanish commentator, Hugo Savinovich, has continued to speak out about his claim that WWE stars were kept from flying out of the Middle East because the company was owed millions of dollars for two of the shows that the company held in Saudi Arabia.

“It was a very difficult and dangerous situation because of the fact that Saudi Arabia had already been in serious trouble when they killed that reporter in Turkey at the embassy. So the boys were a little bit – not a little bit, they were very, very concerned,” Hugo added. “Vince (McMahon) had left the country already and Brock (Lesnar) had his own plane. It was just about big, big money, millions of dollars that this guy did not send and Vince got upset and cut the feed for South Arabia.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On WWE Stars Being Delayed In Saudi Arabia, Talent Reportedly Felt “Deserted”

Saturday afternoon the remaining WWE Superstars and crew that were delayed in Saudi Arabia landed successfully at JFK Airport in New York City.

WWE confirmed flight issues coming out of Saudi Arabia, which led to a number of blue brand Superstars missing Friday’s SmackDown. NXT stars were flown in from Florida, making it to Buffalo at 7:55 pm ET and required a police escort to get to the arena in time.

Former WWE Spanish commentator Hugo Savinovich, who currently works for AAA, posted a video on Facebook discussing the situation. Savinovich noted that he had connections with people in countries like Saudi Arabia. This is very much a rumor, but according to Savinovich, WWE was owed millions of dollars for two of the shows that the company held in Saudi Arabia, between $300 to $500 million, which is incredibly high as WWE is estimated to bring in $40 to $50 million per event in Saudi Arabia.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio Dave Meltzer added some more details to the situation that WWE talent and crew had to deal with. It was reported WWE wasn’t paid for the WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia on June 7, as of September 30. It was noted in the WWE third quarter earnings call, WWE avoided answering questions regarding Saudi Arabia, although they did mention getting $60 million after September 30 (when the report closes) and before October 31, hours before Crown Jewel. Meltzer noted there was “clearly money owed” by the Saudis.

Because of this, Vince McMahon didn’t televise Crown Jewel live in Saudi Arabia, and it ended up being on a delay after the two sides made an agreement during the show. Talent was apparently aware that money was owed.

In regards to the plane having mechanical failures, a majority of the talent that reached out to Meltzer didn’t believe the story. Military police were there while they waited, not to mention it took 24 hours for them to finally go, and the second flight that was supposed to go was also delayed.

Some talent have reportedly said they will not go back to Saudi Arabia and “can’t wait to get out of the company.” A lot of people were upset that Vince left the country on his private jet and they were still stuck there. Superstars were said to have felt “deserted”—although it’s unknown if Vince left before or after problems began to arise with the flight leaving—and that they were “pawns” in this whole situation.

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman left on their own private jet. Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Jimmy Hart left the country on their private jet. It was believed Tyson Fury also left on one of those private plans while Cain Velasquez was among the group that stayed longer.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Lance Storm Hired By WWE As Producer

Former WWE star Lance Storm will soon be returning to the company as a producer.

Storm made the announcement on Saturday via Twitter. “For those wondering: After SWA closes I will be returning to the #WWE to work as a Producer. I’m really looking forward to working with such a high level of talent again,” he wrote.

Lance announced in August that his Storm Wrestling Academy would be closing at the end of the year.

The 50-year-old wrestler who has trained the likes of Tyler Breeze, Tenille Dashwood, Peyton Royce, Oney Lorcan and more last worked for WWE from 2001 to 2005.

As you may recall, Storm also worked as a producer for Impact earlier this year on a trial basis.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE Announces Special SmackDown Episode With Surprises Tonight, Confirms Saudi Arabia Flight Issues

Tonight’s WWE  Friday Night SmackDownSmackDown will not go off as scheduled, according to a new announcement from WWE.

As noted, there were flight issues that are keeping some of the WWE crew in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia following Thursday’s Crown Jewel event. WWE has just announced that tonight’s SmackDown will feature surprises due to the troubles.

Tonight’s SmackDown on FOX will take place from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY, and as usual we will have live coverage at 8pm ET.

Below is WWE’s announcement on the special episode and the flight issues:

SmackDown set for surprises with WWE roster delayed returning from Saudi ArabiaThe WWE roster is delayed in its return from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following a historic performance at yesterday’s record-breaking WWE Crown Jewel event.

More than 175 Superstars, production crew and employees boarded a 747 charter flight back to the United States on Thursday. After the door closed, due to several aircraft problems including mechanical issues, all passengers sat on the tarmac for more than six hours. With SmackDown set to emanate live from Buffalo, N.Y., several Superstars felt so strongly that they arranged for their own separate charter in order to make it back to the U.S. for the show. Due to unforeseen issues, that charter will not land until after the live broadcast on FOX.

The remainder of WWE’s Superstars, staff and crew will depart on a charter set to depart Saudi Arabia later tonight.

As always with WWE, the show must go on. Live at 8/7 CT on FOX, SmackDown will feature Superstars, such as Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Carmella, Nikki Cross, Dana Brooke — plus, additional surprises.

For the latest updates on this story and tonight’s SmackDown, check back with WWE.com and follow WWE on social media.

As previously noted, WWE announced a line-up for tonight’s SmackDown but those matches and have segments have been removed from the preview and website listing. Below is the original line-up, which has been nixed now:

* SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival defend against The New Day

* Roman Reigns vs. King Baron Corbin

* Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Nikki Cross, Dana Brooke and Carmella

* New WWE Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt appears on MizTV with The Miz