Tag: WWE

The Hardy Boyz To Address The Rumors Of Jeff Hardy’s Status On WWE SmackDown Live

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz will address rumors on Jeff Hardy’s status during tonight’s SmackDown Live.

Matt Hardy took to Twitter during last night’s RAW and announced the segment for tonight’s SmackDown.

The status of The Hardys as been up in the air since Jeff reportedly suffered a right knee injury at the April 20 WWE live event in Madison, Wisconsin when The Hardys defeated The Usos. It was rumored that Jeff may be undergoing surgery after this week’s SmackDown, but that was not confirmed.

There’s no word yet on if WWE plans to take the titles off The Hardys this week, but we will keep you updated. The Hardys just won the titles earlier this month.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Reportedly Offers Big Money To The Revival

The Revival’s Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were reportedly offered top guy money to stay with WWE.

Dawson and Wilder were reportedly offered new contracts that would run for 5 years, worth $500,000 per year, according to Fightful. The report was confirmed by Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com. The deals were not accepted, at least as of this week. Meltzer added that tonight’s RAW “may give you WWE’s reaction to that.”

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross, who now works with AEW, recently mentioned in an interview that WWE had re-signed an undercard performer, who’s not currently on TV, to a $500,000 deal to keep them from going elsewhere.

There’s no word yet on if The Revival will be sticking around with WWE, but it’s been reported that they requested their releases back in January after being unhappy with how they were used. They ended up winning the titles and getting a WrestleMania 35 appearance after that. They then dropped the RAW Tag Team Titles to Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. Dawson and Wilder look to be feuding with The Usos next on the red brand.

It was noted that as of this afternoon, it did not look like The Revival had plans to accept the deal. They were to meet with WWE officials this afternoon at RAW.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Karl Anderson And Luke Gallows Moved To RAW

Looks like the Superstar Shake-Up is continuing for a third week, as Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have been swapped to Raw.

The move was announced during Raw when The Good Brothers made their entrance for a match against The Usos. Unfortunately, it was a losing effort for Anderson and Gallows.

The two veterans were last used on TV in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35. They were last on the Raw brand in 2018.

Lets hope a couple of good brothers get a pushki on RAW.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

UPDATE:

Regarding the roster move, PWInsider reports that WWE officials decided on the change a few weeks back on the first night of the Superstar Shakeup, but didn’t make it official until last night.

It was also noted that there has been no change in the contract status of Gallows and Anderson. They are still scheduled to finish up with WWE this September when their contracts expire.

It was reported in mid-March that Gallows and Anderson were at a standstill in their WWE contract negotiations, which led to them being pulled from scheduled live events. The Good Brothers have reportedly turned down multi-million dollar deals as they are not happy with how they’ve been used in recent years.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 4/29/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky as the road to Money In the Bank continues.

* A WWE Money in the Bank edition of “A Moment of Bliss”

* A Phenomenal foe for The Beastslayer

* Call him Robert Roode

* Cesaro and Samoa Joe become RAW Superstars

* The Man down (but not out)

* The “Firefly Fun House” is open

Next NXT TakeOver Event Likely To Be Moved Due To Saudi Arabia Show, WWE Staying Quiet On The Event

WWE has yet to officially announce their next event in Saudi Arabia, although it’s rumored to take place on Friday, June 7th.

Triple H had officially announced in March that the next Takeover event will be on Saturday, June 8th from the San Jose State University Event Center in San Jose, California, which would be one day after the Saudi Arabia event. Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that he has been told that Takeover will most likely be moved. WWE will be taping NXT television this Wednesday and Thursday which would run through Takeover, so a final decision will most likely be made by then.

Despite the rumored Saudi Arabia event being less than six weeks away, WWE has been keeping very quiet about it. On last Thursday’s earnings call with Vince McMahon and WWE Co-Presidents, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson, Saudi Arabia was never mentioned by name by WWE brass. When asked about WWE’s second quarter and if the Saudi Arabia event would be part of it, Barrios gave a brief response.

“We’re going to stay away from guiding on specific elements of the quarter,” Barrios said, “So obviously, we’ll talk about it once we report.”

When asked again later in the call about when the Saudi events would be taking place, Barrios replied, “We’re not going to talk about that again, so our guide obviously reflects the best assumption, best knowledge we have right now.”

WWE has put tickets on sale for RAW and SmackDown live events in California on Sunday, June 9th in Stockton and Fresno, two days after the expected Saudi show. The Undertaker, who is expected to face Elias at the Saudi event, is also still advertised for the Niagara Falls Comic Con that Sunday.

WWE Stomping Grounds Replacing Backslash PPV

The first-ever WWE Stomping Grounds pay-per-view has been announced for June.

Stomping Grounds, which WWE recently filed to trademark, has been announced for June 23 from the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington.

WWE Backlash was originally scheduled for the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, CA on June 16, but Stomping Grounds is the replacement. The San Diego show is now a non-televised live event.

Stomping Grounds tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am local time. The pre-sale begins this Wednesday at 10am local time. Tickets start at $25 and will be available through Ticketmaster.

The Tacoma Dome is advertising Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton for the pay-per-view, but that could change as we get closer to show time. WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, Charlotte Flair and RAW & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch are also advertised.

You can check out the promo for the event below:

https://twitter.com/TacomaDome/status/1122914319270682624

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Firefly Fun House Director On Thought Process Behind WWE Vignettes, Compares Bray Wyatt To Will Smith

On his podcast, Wrestling Reality with Justin LaBar, Wrestling Inc.’s Justin LaBar had a chance to speak with Jason Baker, who directed Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse videos that began airing earlier this week. Wyatt has only worked a handful of live events going back to last July, but WWE is obviously looking to gear him up for a return through these vignettes.

In regards to the Firefly Fun House segment, Baker ran down his involvement and the creation of the puppets.

“I directed the segments,” Baker said. “I helped create the puppets over at Tom Savini studios. Tom Savini, Pittsburgh legend. I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to be Tom’s right-hand man for about 6 years. He’s the guy who got me introduced with WWE and allowed me to run with it. It’s been a really fun experience ever since.”

Baker said he wanted the presentation of Wyatt to be a monster hiding right out in the open, which he feels is scarier than any over-the-top style of monster.

“To me, personally, growing up before I got into special makeup effects I went to school for psychology,” Baker said. “All the monsters you see in real life, they look normal. If you looked at a picture of Ted Bundy and didn’t know that was Ted Bundy, you would probably think that looks like a nice guy. I mean John Wayne Gacy was a pillar of his community. True monsters hide right out in the open. They look just like you and me. To me, that’s more terrifying than any monster you can see on a film.”

Getting a chance to work with Wyatt, Baker was impressed with how involved and forward-thinking he was with the character, saying Bray’s level of thinking was on par with other big actors he’s worked with.

“Bray’s great, man,” Baker responded. “He’s intense. He’s always thinking. Then he’s thinking past what he’s thinking. What’s that old saying, ‘There’s a razor’s edge between genius and insanity’—that man walks that razor’s edge constantly. Very, very smart. Smarter than a lot of people give him credit for. Great to collaborate with. You think you’re going to throw an idea at him, he comes back with eight. You think you’re going to hit him up with a piece of trivia knowledge, he sees your trivia knowledge and raises you. He’s a unique, unique human being. Been an absolute pleasure and honor to collaborate with this gentlemen.

“Someone who puts such a thought process into his craft. I’ve had the opportunity to work on films with Russell Crowe, and Tom Cruise and Will Smith and bunch of others working here in Pittsburgh film industry. His mindset for his character development is on par with those guys. It’s a sight to see and something to behold. I was thoroughly impressed with how much dedication he brings to his art and craft.”

Baker also confirms the names of the puppets in the videos, talks props we’ve seen on WWE TV he helped make and more on Wrestling Reality with Justin LaBar. Download the podcast anywhere you can or listen at WrestlingReality.libsyn.com.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ivelisse Velez, Grandson Of WWE Legend, Others Announced For Current WWE Performance Center Tryouts

WWE has announced that the first domestic tryout of 2019 is currently underway at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, featuring 40 athletes.

The tryouts are being led by Head Coach Matt Bloom. Lance Anoa’i, son of former WWE Tag Team Champion Samu and grandson of WWE Hall of Famer Afa, is among the many wrestlers at the tryouts. Former WWE Tough Enough competitor, WWE NXT Superstar and Lucha Underground star Ivelisse Velez is also there, along with several former NFL players and others.

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry and William Regal are among those helping Bloom oversee the camp.

Below is WWE’s full announcement on the tryouts:

WWE holds tryout with pro footballers, Olympic grappler, third-generation wrestler and moreWWE’s second talent tryout of the year, featuring 40 athletes, is underway this week at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla.

The camp is WWE’s first domestic tryout of 2019. In March, talent scouts and WWEPC coaches ventured to Mumbai, India, to hold the first tryout in the country’s history.

This week’s tryout, overseen by WWEPC Head Coach Matt Bloom, includes athletes from all walks of life, highlighting the diverse backgrounds of prospective Superstars. Included in the mix is a slew of professional football players, a 2016 Olympian, champions from the independent wrestling circuit in North America and beyond, a former WWE Tough Enough participant, a member of the famed Anoa’i wrestling dynasty, martial artists and more.

Check out the full list of attendees below:

* Former NFL running back James Wilder (pictured above) currently plays in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder spent three years in the NFL.

* Emily Andzulis, a martial artist and amateur MMA fighter from Tennessee. Nicknamed “The Pitbull,” Andzulis was crowned the first female Titan on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s athletic competition TV series, “The Titan Games.”

* Taiwan Markis Jones, a 25-year-old footballer from Michigan who played linebacker for Michigan State University and the New York Jets. He stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 235 pounds.

* Pro football player Chris Martin, age 29. The 6-foot-6, 305-pounder played for the UCF Knights before turning pro in 2014. He’s had stints in the NFL, the Canadian Football League and, most recently, the Alliance of American Football.

* Third-generation wrestler Lance Anoa’i. The son of former WWE Tag Team Champion Samu and grandson of WWE Hall of Famer Afa the Wild Samoan, Anoa’i won last weekend’s 23rd annual ECWA Super 8 Tournament, the same event in which Superstars like Daniel Bryan, The Hardy Boyz and Tommaso Ciampa have competed. He attended a WWEPC tryout in February 2017.

* Jana Angel, a 6-foot-3 volleyball player. After graduating college, Angel played professionally in France in the middle blocker position. She also received an invitation to try out for the U.S. Olympic team.

* Maritza Ayala, a pink-haired 25-year old who wrestles under the alias Danika Della Rouge. Ayala learned the ropes under the late Buddy Wayne, a veteran of the Pacific Northwest wrestling scene, and has also trained in lucha libre.

* 22-year-old Nick Rodriguez, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and former NCAA wrestler from New Jersey. Rodriguez took bronze at Abu Dhabi Combat Club’s North American East Coast Trials last October, after training in BJJ for only six months.

* Former WWE Tough Enough competitor and NXT Superstar Ivelisse Velez. A 15-year ring veteran, Velez was known as Sofia Cortez during her tenure in Florida Championship Wrestling and NXT in 2011-2012. She brings international experience to the camp, having wrestled in China, the U.K., Australia and Ecuador.

* 25-year-old fitness model and former world bodybuilding champion Stephanie Ayala, from Texas.

* Andrea Benoit, aka NOVA on the independent wrestling scene. The Canadian played volleyball in college and has competed in obstacle course races. Trained by WWE Cruiserweight Classic alumnus Tyson Dux, Benoit made her in-ring debut earlier this year.

* Former Division I basketball player Jade Cargill of Atlanta. Standing 5-foot-10, Cargill played guard/forward at Jacksonville University. She led the team in rebounds (227) and steals (48) in her final season.

* 6-foot-7, 265-pound Kristopher Craig. A former college basketball player, the 29-year-old Craig began ring training under WWE Hall of Famer Billy Gunn at the Team 3D Academy in Florida within the past year.

* Michael Delbrey, a 26-year-old from Florida who competed in CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting events before making his wrestling debut in 2017.

* Donovan and Leandro Dongo, a pair of hulking brothers from Paramaribo, Suriname. The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Donovan is a former super-heavyweight powerlifting champion and national amateur wrestling champion, while Leandro is a 6-foot-6, 250-pound freestyle wrestler who currently works as a firefighter.

* Joshua Dudley, aka Edgrin Stone, a three-year wrestling veteran from Louisiana. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Dudley played tight end at Nicholls State University before training for the ring at Wildkat Sports and Entertainment.

* 22-year-old Sierra Erny, who wrestles in Florida under the name Skyler Moore. The former cheerleader and competitive dancer trains at Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley’s Team 3D Academy in Kissimmee, Fla.

* Independent wrestler “The Storm” Tony Eveland. In 2018, Eveland received the Cauliflower Alley Club’s Active Men’s Wrestler award. He has eight years of ring experience.

* 25-year-old Australian high-flyer Joshua “JXT” Fikret. Although he has spent most of his career in Australia, Fikret has also wrestled in the United States. He counts Rip Rogers and Orlando Jordan among his past coaches.

* Former NFL defensive tackle AJ Francis. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 330 pounds., Francis played five years in the pro ranks, including stints with the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins, before transitioning to sports-entertainment. Currently training at the Team 3D Academy, Francis wrestles under the name Suga Bear.

* 24-year-old Aaron Gillis, a 7-foot, 400-pounder from Ohio. Making his debut a little over a year ago, Gillis wrestles on the U.S. indies as Paxton Calloway. He also played Division II football at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania.

* Alexandria Gracia, 26, of Texas. Gracia was originally trained at the Texas Wrestling Academy and currently wrestles for Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling. She has competed in women’s wrestling organizations SHIMMER, Shine Wrestling and Rise Wrestling and toured with Stardom, the Japanese promotion where Kairi Sane and Io Shirai came to prominence.

* Greco-Roman wrestler Mahmoud Fawzy Sebie, who represented Egypt in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Wrestling since age 7, the 26-year-old has coached U.S. marines in combat training and self-defense and has also studied taekwondo and Jiu-Jitsu.

* Independent wrestler Randy Kaufman, aka Randall Floyd. Kaufman has trained under Rip Rogers and Al Snow, and he wrestled in the 197-pound weight class at the University of Indianapolis.

* 325-pound Makini Manu, a former football and rugby player at the University of Utah and Utah Valley University.

* 22-year-old wrestler Patrick McAlpine, a trainee of Steve Corino who has made appearances in NXT under the professional alias of Patrick Scott. He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 195 pounds.

* Professional bodybuilder EJ Nduka. The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder played pro football for four years and currently trains in mixed martial arts. He attended a tryout in December 2018.

* Albanian-born former NFL lineman Kristjan Sokoli. The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder registered a 38-inch vertical leap and a 4.8-second 40-yard dash before the Seattle Seahawks drafted him in 2015.

* Cirque du Soleil acrobat Sidney Bateman, 27. Bateman recently took his first steps in the squared circle as part of a joint workshop between the Performance Center and Cirque du Soleil.

* Australian-born wrestler Cadman Edward Turner, a former semi-pro cricket player who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 265 pounds. Currently residing in Canada, where he trains at the Battle Arts Academy, Turner has attended two previous WWE tryouts.

* 28-year-old multisport athlete Jeanette Horning. In high school, Horning was the only girl on her varsity wrestling team, and she played kicker for her school’s football squad.

* Team 3D Academy trainee Ana Kundzicz, 27, from Florida. Kundzicz has experience in dance, acting and singing.

* 24-year-old Florence Lortie, an independent wrestler from Quebec better known as Flo Riley. Trained by ring veteran Dru Onyx at the Torture Chamber Pro Wrestling Dojo, Lortie has competed in Spain, Ireland and France.

* Bikini competitor and bodybuilder Lauren Regno, of Modesto, Calif. Regno also competed on NBC’s “Titan Games” competition series.

* 5-foot-9 Courtney Lynn Roselle, an obstacle course racer who played college basketball for the University of Scranton.

* Indie wrestler Theresa Lee Schuessler. The 5-foot-7 Floridian has wrestled throughout the U.S., including in NXT, under the professional names of Tenilla and Tesha Price.

* 22-year-old Bryce Wollman, a 6-foot-7, 335-pound powerlifter and former college football player. He played Division II ball at Augustana University in South Dakota.

* Orlando-based wrestler Rafik Youakeem, who competes as Alexander Zane. Youakeem has a background in parkour and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

* 6-foot-4, 250-pound Jonathan Young from Alabama. A former swimmer at the University of Alabama, Young broke the world record last February for the most pullups in a minute with a 100-pound pack on his back. He’s also a protégé of Lex Luger.

For more information on the WWE Performance Center, including how to apply for a tryout, visit WWEPerformanceCenter.com.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Live Moving To Three Hours Appears To Be Likely

There may be more changes to WWE programming this fall once SmackDown moves to Friday nights on FOX starting October 4th.

During WWE’s earnings call, WWE Co-President George Barrios was asked about the direction that they would be going with SmackDown. Barrios stated that the company has been used to monetizing six hours of content for a long time, however now the sixth hour is being used on the Network (presumably referring to 205 Live). He said that they will decide in the next several months how to use the sixth hour, which could mean a third hour of SmackDown.

“We’ve been monetizing some way, shape or form six hours of content for a long time,” Barrios said. “Today, that sixth hour is primarily being used on the network and we’ll figure out here over the next several months, what we think the best use of, nothing to update now.”

There have been rumors of SmackDown moving to three hours when it moves to FOX, with the first two hours on the FOX network and the third on FS1. The show would not be able to be three hours on FOX alone due to scheduling conflicts with local news.

Earlier this week, JPMorgan analyst David Karnovsky raised his target price on WWE stock from $95 to $105. Karnovsky estimated that in addition to WWE’s current deal with FOX and USA Network, they will generate an additional $25 million per year in 2020 from a third hour of SmackDown on FS1. WWE currently will pull in an estimated $205 million per year with the FOX deal ($102.5 million per hour of SmackDown), as well as $265 million per year with their new deal for RAW with NBC Universal (about $88.3 million per hour of RAW).

RAW and SmackDown domestic ratings declined 14% and 13%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2019 from the prior year quarter while the ratings for the top 25 cable networks were only down 5% during that same period. Vince McMahon blamed talent absences due to injury and illness for the drop and said that all of their talent is back now.  Wrestling Inc. noted on Twitter, ratings are down even more since the talent have returned. While RAW was down 14% in the first quarter, the audience is down 28% so far this month from the same period in 2018. Regardless, McMahon feels that the company will have “a whole new beginning” this fall.

“In coming latter part of September, we’re going to have, it’s almost like, it’s not quite a metamorphosis, but we’re going to have a whole new beginning,” McMahon said. “The promotional value alone notwithstanding rights fees and what have you, promotional value alone in terms of Fox, in terms of commitments from NBCU is something we’ve never seen before, not even close, it’s extraordinary. It’s going to kick us into again an element we’ve never seen before in terms of promotion with everything, WWE talent, story lines, you name it! So it’s a rising tide situation that we’re really looking forward to and having that carry on throughout the year.”

Barrios added, “As Vince mentioned, we remain excited about the debut of SmackDown live on Fox on October 4. The debut will mark the first time WWE will be available live 52 weeks a year on a 120 million homes on a premier broadcast platform. Finally, as we said before, in addition to absolute performance, we believe relative performance is critically important as it illuminates the value of WWE within the PayTV ecosystem. In Q1, when excluding NASCAR’s premier event the Daytona 500, WWE delivered greater average viewership then any professional sports league, other than the NFL.”

While WWE stock hit $100 earlier this week, it dropped 13.35%  following the earnings call, closing at $85.38 per share.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jeff Hardy Injury And WWE Status Notes

As noted, SmackDown Tag Team Champion Jeff Hardy reportedly suffered a leg injury at the April 20 WWE live event in Madison, Wisconsin as The Hardy Boys defeated The Usos. Hardy appeared the next night in Rochester, MN to be in Matt Hardy’s corner for his win over Jimmy Uso, but he did not get physical and was said to be limping pretty bad. Hardy did not appear the following night in Sioux City, as Matt teamed with R-Truth for a win over Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, and he was not backstage for SmackDown on Tuesday.

Hardy appears to be suffering from a right knee injury, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and the severity of the injury is still unknown. Hardy has had a bad right knee since his 2015 dirt bike accident, and has worked with a torn PCL for the past four years.

Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that officials will have to make a decision on the titles this coming week as there are two versions going around from people close to the situation – one is that Hardy needs knee surgery and will have to do the title change, and the other is that he’s just banged up, but they’re not sure how bad.

It’s believed among the people in WWE who need to know Hardy’s status for storyline purposes that he is scheduled to undergo knee surgery this coming week after SmackDown. This could be why the injury is being kept a secret. People close to Hardy are saying he’s injured, but hopefully not too bad, and right now Jeff is just playing things safe, according to the Observer.

There’s on word yet on if The Hardy Boys will appear on Tuesday’s SmackDown in Columbus, OH, but they could end up doing a title change or an injury angle to write Jeff out.