Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas with RAW’s final hype for WWE Super ShowDown.
* Heyman announces Lesnar will cash in on Rollins tonight on RAW
* Not dead yet: The Undertaker returns
* Roman Reigns to team with The Usos to battle Drew McIntyre & The Revival
* These colors don’t run: the injured Rey Mysterio will be forced to surrender the United States Championship.
* Ladies first: Lacey Evans continues feud with Becky Lynch
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1134958187449278464
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1134958329371824128
Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong –
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1134962650851434496
https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1134964371115761664
Winner: Matt Riddle
NXT Tag Team Championship (Vacant) – Ladder Match: The Forgotten Sons vs. The Street Profits vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Undisputed ERA (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) –
https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1134968641877757952
https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1134971458705215488
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1134970701557878784
Winners and new NXT Tag Team Champions: The Street Profits
NXT North American Championship: (C) Velveteen Dream vs. Tyler Breeze –
Winner: Velveteen Dream
NXT Women’s Championship: (C) Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai –
Winner: Shayna Baszler
After the match, Shirai attacked Baszler with a Kendo Stick and hit a moonsault on Baszler with a steel chair.
NXT Championship: (C) Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole –
Winner and new NXT Champion: Adam Cole
WWE commentator Corey Graves took to Twitter to point out some major plot holes with the current Brock Lesnar – Stephanie McMahon storyline.
Lesnar and Paul Heyman had said that they would announce on last Monday’s RAW if Lesnar would be cashing in his Money In the Bank title shot against WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins or WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. That announcement never happened as during a segment on RAW, Lesnar realized that he had one year to cash in the briefcase.
Stephanie released a video on Friday stating that WWE will take action against Lesnar and Heyman. The announcement was confusing, as Money In The Bank cash-in teases have been the norm since the gimmick started. My guess would be that there have been more cash-in teases than cash-ins themselves. Heyman then announced that Lesnar will be cashing in the Money In the Bank contract this Monday on RAW against Rollins.
Graves addressed how confusing the storyline is on Twitter, writing, “So, he’s is cashing in because the boss was mad at him for not cashing in when he said he was, even though the point of the contract is to cash in at the holder’s discretion? Where’s my new chair?”
If Lesnar does in fact wrestle on RAW this Monday, it will be his first match on RAW or SmackDown in over 15 years. The last time he wrestled on regular WWE television was on the March 2, 2004 episode of SmackDown where he defeated Hardcore Holly. His last match on RAW was years earlier in 2002, when he defeated Tommy Dreamer on the July 22nd episode.
You can check out Graves’ tweet below:
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The Authors of Pain should be returning to action on WWE RAW soon.
Akam underwent knee surgery back in January but he has now been cleared, according to John Pollock.
There’s no word yet on when AOP will be brought back, but word is that they have been set to return for a few weeks. They will likely be back on WWE TV when creative comes up with a new program for them. It was noted that their return has been delayed due to the WWE Wild Card Rule, which has tied up TV time.
Rezar has worked some WWE Main Event matches while Akam has been out.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE officials reportedly scripted Sami Zayn’s AEW mention into Monday’s RAW, according to a new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The idea behind the name-drop was that it makes RAW edgy because someone said something they might not be allowed to say.
We noted before how the AEW mention was edited off the YouTube replay, but it was left on the USA Network website and app replay. The mention was also left in the Hulu replay, which is usually heavily edited.
While multiple sources are now reporting that the line was scripted, many if not most people within the company were told otherwise. It was previously reported that Vince McMahon “flipped out” backstage when Sami made the mention, and he did act like he was freaking out, according to the Observer. The Observer notes that since the buck stops with Vince in WWE, either his behavior was a miscommunication, which is what the Observer was told, or an attempt to “work the boys” backstage.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE NXT TakeOver XXV
June 1, 2019 at 7:00 PM ET (Preshow at 6:30 PM ET) Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
NXT Championship: (C) Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole
NXT Women’s Championship: (C) Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai
NXT North American Championship: (C) Velveteen Dream vs. Tyler Breeze
NXT Tag Team Championship (Vacant) – Ladder Match: The Forgotten Sons vs. The Street Profits vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Undisputed ERA (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)
Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston is currently on a four-day tour of Ghana. He presented a WWE Title belt to President Nana Akufo-Addo on Thursday.
This is Kofi’s first trip to Ghana since 1993. He arrived in the capital of Accra on Thursday to a crowd of fans and members of the government’s 2019 Year of Return Steering Committee. Kofi then visited the President at Jubilee House to present the WWE Title.
Kofi was also scheduled to visit the Manhyia Palace to pay homage to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, host a children’s rally, visit the Mother and Baby Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and make other appearances. Kofi was also scheduled to visit Ejisu and Atwima Techiman, which are his paternal and maternal hometowns.
Below are a few shots from Kofi’s trip, along with part 1 of WWE’s Homecoming series for the WWE Champion:
https://twitter.com/TrueKofi/status/1134381283671302144
Source: Wrestling Inc.
There have been a lot of questions as to where Joey Ryan would be heading following his recent legal battle with Lucha Underground. While AEW and WWE had both reportedly been interested in signing him, Ryan has decided to go a different route.
Joey Ryan stated at a Bar Wrestling event last night that he turned down lucrative deals from multiple promotions. He will remain on the independent scene where he built and innovated his brand.
Over the years, Ryan has become the “King of Dong Style” and has been known for his intergender matches. It was before this promo that he actually faced Priscilla Kelly. He stated that he wouldn’t be able to be his true self if he took a deal with another promotion.
Ryan, 39, compared himself to Aladdin, stating that he wanted to be a prince but knew he had to be his true, authentic self. He went on to say that independent wrestling and its fans have become the blonde girl he’s been looking for on Being The Elite. He finished by saying he may be a big fish in a small pond, but it is his pond.
You can see the video at this link.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg has been announced for Tuesday’s SmackDown Live episode from the Sames Auto Center in Laredo, Texas, his first blue brand appearance.
Goldberg will appear on SmackDown just days before his match with The Undertaker at WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. Taker has been announced for Monday’s go-home RAW from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
Below is WWE’s announcement on Goldberg:
It has been a long time since Sasha Banks has been on WWE TV. The multi-time WWE Women’s Champion was last seen at WrestleMania 35, when she and Bayley lost the Women’s Tag Team Titles to The IIconics. There have since been reports of her wanting to quit the company.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sasha and Vince McMahon had a meeting on 5/23. Things have reportedly gotten better between the two, and while it is not official, she could be back sometime this summer.
It was reported a while back that Banks felt frustrated with WWE’s decision to take away her and Bayley’s tag titles at the last minute. The match with the IIconics also featured the teams of Nia Jax and Tamina along with Natalya and Beth Phoenix. She was under the impression that the duo would have a chance to have a strong run with the titles that they won at the Elimination Chamber PPV. The hope was they would help legitimize the titles.
Just recently, Sasha sent out a cryptic tweet that had that included lyrics from rapper Kendrick Lamar’s “Dumb It Down” single, as seen below:
https://twitter.com/SashaBanksWWE/status/1134185047710425088
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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