Tag: WWE

Ember Moon Reportedly Injured

WWE could be without one of their top female stars for up to a year.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Ember Moon is suffering from an injury on either her ankle or Achilles. While it is not definite which one, an ankle injury would take months to heal. An Achilles injury would mean that she could be gone for at least a year.

This is not the first time “The War Goddess” has been injured this year. After the Royal Rumble in January, it was revealed that she underwent immediate elbow surgery.

Since then, she wrestled Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title at SummerSlam, but hasn’t been used all that much outside of that. Her last match was a losing effort against Lacey Evans on RAW in September.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On The Original Bray Wyatt Vs. Seth Rollins WWE Hell In A Cell Finish

This past Sunday at the Hell in a Cell PPV, fans were left disappointed when there was no definitive finish to Seth Rollins v. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the WWE Universal Championship. The referee stopped the bout after thinking about the safety of Bray.

While the idea was to stop the match after a Rollins sledgehammer shot, that wasn’t the original booking decision.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original finish to the Hell in a Cell match was for Wyatt to take a gimmicked bump off of the top of the cell. As a result, he would be unable to continue and the match would be stopped. Following the conclusion of the bout, “The Fiend” would pop up like The Undertaker and take Rollins out with the Mandible Claw. As you saw this past Sunday, a version of that was done.

Additionally, Dave Meltzer stated that while Vince McMahon didn’t want Wyatt to be beaten early, he also wanted Rollins, Brock Lesnar, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair as the champions heading into the WWE Draft.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Draft Pools For RAW And SmackDown

WWE has announced the preliminary Draft Pool for the 2019 WWE Draft that kicks off on Friday’s SmackDown from Las Vegas, then wraps on Monday’s RAW in Denver.

WWE earlier announced the rules for the 2019 Draft, including why RAW will receive more picks than SmackDown. They also announced which celebrities will be involved with announcing the picks. You can read that announcement by clicking here.

Regarding the WWE Draft Pools, several top Superstars will be eligible for selection on Friday night and Monday night. Stars like RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, The OC, Sasha Banks, The Street Profits, and others will be eligible on Friday. Stars like WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, The New Day, Daniel Bryan, AOP, Aleister Black, and others will be eligible on Monday night.

Preliminary WWE Draft Pools announcedSmackDown and Raw are officially on the clock.

The preliminary WWE Draft Pools have been determined and designate which WWE Superstars are available for selection on each night.

Below is the full list of draft-eligible Superstars organized by assigned night:

Friday Night SmackDown – Oct. 11
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
Roman Reigns
The O.C. (United States Champion AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Drew McIntyre
Randy Orton
Sasha Banks
Ricochet
Braun Strowman
Bobby Lashley
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
Lacey Evans
The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)
Natalya
The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado)
Cesaro
Kevin Owens
Humberto Carrillo
Akira Tozawa
Sin Cara
Eric Young
EC3
Chad Gable
Heath Slater
Drew Gulak
The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel)
Tamina

Raw – Oct. 14
Universal Champion Seth Rollins
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
Titus O’Neil
Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (with Sami Zayn)
Aleister Black
The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods)
Daniel Bryan
Bayley
Luke Harper
Erick Rowan
The Miz
Ali
King Corbin
Elias
Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode
Samoa Joe
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane)
Rusev
Cedric Alexander
Rey Mysterio
R-Truth
Carmella
AOP (Akam & Rezar)
Heavy Machinery (Tucker & Otis)
Apollo Crews
Andrade
Liv Morgan
Jinder Mahal
Buddy Murphy
Mojo Rawley
No Way José
Dana Brooke
Shelton Benjamin
Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder
The IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce)
Sarah Logan
Fire & Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville)
Drake Maverick

The WWE Draft begins with the Friday, Oct. 11 episode of SmackDown on FOX at 8/7 C. Catch the final picks on the Monday, Oct. 14 episode of Raw on USA Network at 8/7C.

WWE Clarifies Rules Regarding Draft

WWE has clarified the rules for its upcoming draft beginning tonight on Friday Night SmackDown.

The WWE draft rules are as follows:

  • More than seventy Superstars, including Tag Teams, have been placed into this year’s Draft pool
  • Thirty Superstars will be eligible to be drafted tomorrow night, while fourty-one Superstars will be eligible on Monday Night
  • For every two SmackDown picks, Raw will get three (since Friday Night SmackDown is a two-hour show and Monday Night Raw is a three-hour show)
  • Tag Teams will count as one pick unless FOX or USA Network specifically wants to pick one Superstar from the team
  • Any undrafted Superstars will immediately be declared free agents and able to sign with the brand of their choosing

WWE also confirmed FOX and NBCUniversal personalities who will Draft make appearances.

This includes FOX personalities like Alex Rodriguez, Troy Aikman, Jim Cramer, Joe Buck, Frank Thomas, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart , Charissa Thompson, Michael Vick, and more. Repping NBCUniversal will be Michael Che and Colin Jost, Christian Slater, Dulé Hill and James Roday from Psych, Marcus Lemonis from The Profit, Margaret Josephs and Melissa Gorga  from Real Housewives of New Jersey and more.

The press release also explains that “For the first time, executives from FOX and USA Network have direct influence over the WWE Draft as it will determine the Superstars competing for either Raw or SmackDown.”

The WWE Draft begins tonight at 8pm ET on Friday Night SmackDown, then continues Monday on RAW.

Backstage News On The Format For The WWE Draft

The WWE Draft begins this Friday with SmackDown on FOX. Superstars will be legitimately finding out which brands they will be going to on Friday, and the event will continue on Monday’s Raw.

According to the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, the WWE Draft will be different from previous years as it will be ran similar to the NFL Draft. Representatives from FOX and the USA Network will be announcing the picks.

The idea is to make the WWE Draft as authentic as possible thanks to the companies new TV deals. It was previously reported that various personalities from USA and FOX would be appearing, but WWE didn’t state if celebrities would be included.

Additionally, Dave Meltzer pointed out that WWE does not want authority figures involved in programming for now. It is unknown when WWE will be bringing them back.

It was also noted that all the major decisions regarding which stars will be drafted are complete, however WWE is keeping the moves very quiet.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 10/9/19

Tonight’s WWE NXT will air live from Full Sail Live in Winter Park, Florida on USA Network.

* Lio Rush challenges Drew Gulak for the NXT Crusierweight Championship tomorrow night

* Kushida and WALTER to clash on NXT

* Isaiah “Swerve” Scott to battle Roderick Strong

* How will Finn Bálor’s arrival impact NXT?

* How will Tommaso Ciampa’s quest to regain the NXT Title continue?

* Can anyone stop Shayna Baszler?

Jeff Hardy Had Bloody Nose From Domestic Incident During DWI Arrest, Was Uncooperative With Police

As noted, WWE SmackDown Superstar Jeff Hardy was arrested on the evening of Thursday, October 3 in Moore County, North Carolina, and charged with Driving While Impaired. Hardy was released from custody at around 11:30pm ET that night.

In an update, TMZ has revealed that the police report says Hardy had a bloody nose during the traffic stop, and he told officers that it was from an earlier fight with his wife Beth.

The police report also noted that Hardy was stopped by Carthage Police after receiving a tip about a careless & reckless driver at around 8:40pm ET on Thursday, October 3. Officers located the car and found Hardy parked in front of a liquor store. Hardy came out of the store and was carrying a case of beer. He got into the car and began driving while police followed closely behind him. They finally pulled him over after he was seen “weaving badly” in his lane.

The officer noticed what looked to be dried blood on Jeff’s nose during the stop, and asked him what happened. The report states, “The driver advised that him and his wife got into a fight.”

The police report does not give any further details on the possible domestic violence incident, but the officer did question Hardy about drinking alcohol. Hardy admitted to taking two shots of vodka earlier in the night, and admitted to being impaired. Hardy “bombed” the field sobriety test and was uncooperative when asked for a blood sample or Breathalyzer test.

The officer ended up getting a search warrant from a judge, to extract a blood sample from Hardy. Paramedics were called to draw the sample. Hardy was then arrested for Driving While Impaired and Driving on a Revoked License.

Police told TMZ that they are not investigating the possible domestic incident between Jeff and his wife, but they said they would if Jeff filed a complaint.

As noted, Jeff is scheduled to be in court for the charges on Thursday, November 7.

This DWI arrest comes after Hardy was arrested for public intoxication and impairment in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina back in July of this year. Jeff is currently out of action for WWE while he recovers from knee surgery that he underwent in May. It’s been reported that Jeff would be out of action for 6-9 months. He is still scheduled to appear at Ringside Fest in New York City on Sunday, November 3.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Hulk Hogan Undergoing Surgery Soon, Reveals Talks With Vince McMahon For A Possible WWE Ring Return

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan is set to undergo back surgery soon, but he’s still hoping for one more match in WWE.

The 66 year old Hulkster spoke with The Los Angeles Times this week and said he has a hard time moving around these days, which he blames on the “Seven unsuccessful back surgeries” that have led to the upcoming eight operation. Hogan blamed that on the Atomic Leg Drop finisher he used for 30 years, noting that he would have never used the leg drop if he knew then what he knows now. Hogan would have used the Sleeper hold instead.

“Everyone says they wouldn’t change anything about their life. If I could change anything, it would be my finisher,” Hogan said. “I would never use the leg drop. I’d use the sleeper. All the back surgeries I’ve had are because of that damn leg drop. I had scoliosis, brother. Dropping that leg for 35 years did me in. I said I had the largest arms in the word, and I should have used a sleeper hold or another finisher with my arms.”

Regarding one more match, Hogan said he’s had talks with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about a ring return, possibly at WrestleMania 36 in his hometown of Tampa, Florida next April. Hogan said he’s not sure if he can live with his last match being for TNA.

“I talked to Vince, and I said I really don’t know if I could live with myself knowing my last match was with TNA,” Hogan said. “If I can get fixed, I pray I can have one more match. I told Vince, ‘When I get through this back surgery, I’m going to get in the best shape of my life and we’re going to talk about me having one last retirement match.’ ”

Who does Hogan want to face in his last match, if it were to work out? Mr. McMahon himself.

“I’d love for it to be against Vince,” Hogan said. “I had such a great time with him in the ring at WrestleMania 19. I had no idea what to expect from him, but he’s a great bad guy. His timing is great. I loved wrestling him, but everything he does hurts. When you’re in the ring with someone and they’re hurting you, you kind of pinch them on the wrist, and the whole match I was doing that to Vince. I was like, ‘Vince, take it easy!’ Everything he does hurts, but I’d like to get in the ring with him one more time for my last match. That would be perfect.”

Hogan and WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will be involved in the upcoming WWE Crow Jewel event from Saudi Arabia on Halloween, October 31. They will lead their teams into a big ten-man battle. Team Hogan currently features Rusev and WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, while Team Flair currently features Randy Orton and King Baron Corbin.

Stay tuned for updates on a possible WWE ring return for The Hulkster.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Edge Reportedly In Pittsburgh For WWE Business Today

WWE Hall of Famer Edge was reportedly in Pittsburgh, PA earlier today on WWE business, according to PWInsider.

There’s no confirmation on what Edge was doing in Pittsburgh, but it’s interesting that WWE’s Dr. Joseph Maroon is based out of the city.

As we’ve noted, there has been a lot of talk about Edge possibly returning to the ring for WWE. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported last week that Edge negotiated with both WWE and AEW, which ended with a much higher offer from WWE to stay. It was also noted that Edge still wasn’t cleared by WWE doctors to do a full match, but that a ring return had been discussed among higher-ups. It was later reported by @fightoracle that Edge had been medically cleared by WWE doctors to return to the ring. There was no timetable given for a ring return, but it was noted that Edge was now cleared and under contract to WWE once again.

Edge took to Twitter that same night, before the SmackDown FOX premiere, and apparently dismissed the reports on his WWE status.

“No I’m not and no I’m not,” he wrote, as seen in the tweet below.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jeff Hardy DWI Update

Last Thursday, Jeff Hardy was arrested in Moore County, North Carolina for another DWI. This comes after Hardy was arrested for public intoxication and impairment in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina back in mid-July.

According to PWInsider.com, Hardy is expected to appear in court on Thursday, November 7th for the DWI charges. He also had his license revoked for at least 30 days pending his hearing.

Hardy has been out of action since April due to a leg injury. He suffered a right knee injury at the April 20th WWE live event in Madison, Wisconsin when The Hardys defeated The Usos. He is expected to appear at the November 3rd Ringside Fest event in New York.

Source: Wrestling Inc.