Tag: WWE

Vince McMahon Announces New “Wild Card Rule” For RAW And SmackDown

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon opened last night’s  RAW from Cincinnati. He was interrupted by SmackDown’s Roman Reigns who vowed he would be on RAW. Then Daniel Bryan and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston also came out. Vince was mad that they was out on RAW since they are assigned to SmackDown. Vince then said he had an epiphany. Vince announced a new Wild Card Rule that will see RAW Superstars appear on SmackDown each week, and SmackDown Superstars appear on RAW.

The idea is that 3 SmackDown Superstars “could be invited” to appear on RAW each Monday night while 3 RAW Superstars “could be invited” to appear on SmackDown every Tuesday night.

Vince made a two WrestleMania 35 rematches – Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre and Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship.

Reigns won by DQ when Shane McMahon and Elias (SmackDown) attacked Reigns. The Miz came out and chased Shane out to the limo. Miz got a couple of shots in on Shane with a chair before Shane escaped in the limo.

Lars Sullivan from SmackDown attacked and destroyed No Way Jose and his conga line.

Vince McMahon was in in office on the phone talking about the new Wild Card Rule and Lars walked in glaring at Vince and Vince decided to allow 4 instead of 3 for the wild Card Rule.

Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan to retain his WWE Championship in the main event of RAW.

There’s no word yet on which RAW Superstars may appear on SmackDown tomorrow night in the Wild Card Rule. AJ Styles teased that he may go to SmackDown and bring back of couple of his friends to RAW, but Vince cut him off and said the invites are not decided on ahead of time.

 

WWE explained the Wild Card Rule on wwe.com:

The latest wrinkle in the ongoing Superstar Shake-up emerged this Monday on Raw when Mr. McMahon announced a new “Wild Card Rule” in which a limited number of Superstars from Raw or SmackDown would be invited to cross brand lines for one-night-only appearances, with unauthorized jumps to be penalized by fines or even potential firing. The number of crossover Superstars was initially capped at three — WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns started things off by appearing on Raw this Monday — though Lars Sullivan evidently persuaded The Chairman to expand the limit to four.

Superstars crossing between Raw and SmackDown LIVE has, of course, occurred on rare occasion since the 2016 Brand Extension, but the “Wild Card Rule” is the first officially-sanctioned blurring of the lines between Team Red and Team Blue Superstars. (The exceptions before tonight had been Becky Lynch, who holds both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Titles, and The IIconics, who are eligible to appear on all brands as the free-floating WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions). And although this isn’t to say we’re about to go back to the days of Raw SuperShows or do away with the Brand Extension, there are some staggering implications to the rule depending on who decides to take advantage of it: The main event of the Wild Card’s maiden voyage was Raw’s first true WWE Championship Match since 2016, and AJ Styles has already openly speculated about getting some friends from SmackDown LIVE to back him up against Universal Champion Seth Rollins.

As always, it will take a while before the true impact of the “Wild Card Rule” is realized, but it’s sure to make things very, very interesting going forward. See which new matchups will be made possible by the “Wild Card Rule” by tuning in to Raw and SmackDown LIVE, Monday and Tuesday nights at 8/7 C on USA Network.

WWE RAW Preview 5/6/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

* Roman Reigns says he will appear on Monday Night Raw this week despite WWE’s official response that he won’t

* All about the mon-aay: Road to MITB continues

* Clashing styles: Will Seth Rollins respond to AJ Styles?

* You shave my back: What’s next for The Revival vs. The Usos?

* Mysterio-us ways: Rey Mysterio wants the WWE United States Title from Samoa Joe

* A Lady in a Man’s world: Has Becky Lynch underestimated Lacey Evans?

Roman Reigns Says He’ll Be Kicking Off WWE RAW

Despite being moved to the SmackDown roster via the Superstar Shake-Up, yesterday, Roman Reigns announced he would be on this week’s RAW. Reigns wrote on Twitter, “I’m back on #SDLive, but I still have some business on #Raw. I’ll see y’all Monday. #ProtectTheYard”

https://twitter.com/WWERomanReigns/status/1124683766453153792

Shortly after that, WWE responded to Reigns, turning down his offer.

“WWE officials have learned of Roman Reigns’ desire to appear on Monday Night Raw, but as of now, and due to his obligations as a SmackDown Live Superstar, he will not be appearing on Monday Night Raw.”

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1124693192148959233

Starting out with laughing emojis, Reigns reiterated not only will he be there, but he’s kicking off this Monday’s show.

“Just have my music ready,” Reigns responded. “I’ll be kicking things off on #Raw right at 8pm.”

https://twitter.com/WWERomanReigns/status/1125087160527458305

WWE postponed Monday’s SmackDown live event in Corbin, Kentucky as it’s expected a few SmackDown stars will show up tomorrow to help build towards Money in the Bank on May 19.

This past week’s historic low ratings may also be playing a factor into drumming up more interest in advance of next week’s shows. Both RAW (2.158 million viewers) and SmackDown (1.833 million viewers) were the lowest non-holiday ratings in each show’s history.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Speculation On Why Daniel Bryan Was Out Of Action

It was reported last week that  Daniel Bryan was cleared to return to the ring and could possibly get a storyline as soon as next week. Bryan has been absent from all WWE live events after his WrestleMania 35 match where he lost the WWE Championship to Kofi Kingston.

Bryan was initially scheduled to take on Kingston at WWE Money in the Bank on May 19, but his closely guarded injury forced WWE to call an audible and move Owens into that match.

Although it wasn’t confirmed, the speculation on this morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio was Bryan did sustain a concussion as that seems to be the assumption within the company. With Bryan’s past history with concussions and WWE not having a reason to hide a different injury, signs are pointing to that.

Dave Meltzer noted while getting a concussion is concerning going forward, it’s a positive it took this long for Bryan to get one since his return in early 2018, as opposed to getting one the week after returning. Another plus was Bryan getting clearance in a matter of weeks.

Bryan has previously mentioned wanting more of a part-time schedule in WWE, which will obviously cut down on the wear and tear from the ring. Last July, Bryan spoke to Gorilla Position about this topic.

“I’ve been talking to WWE about maybe doing a lighter schedule because when we first starting talking about this, when I sent that, when Vince [McMahon] told me to send the letter to Dr. Maroon, he said for me to say, ‘for a limited schedule’, like ‘revised concussion protocol for a limited schedule’, so then, they clear me and I’m just on everything!” Bryan said. “I was just like, ‘I wasn’t expecting this!’

“Anywhere between 50 and 100 matches a year, to me, [is ideal] because one of the doctors that cleared me at Barrow Neurological [Institute], Dr. Javier Cárdenas talked to me. He said, I think when he cleared me before in 2015, he said, ‘With all the stuff that [Bryan] had done on top of that, like, before I thought we dotted our Is and crossed our Ts, but the stuff you’ve done on your own, you’ve really scratched a big hole over the I and ripped, marked, through the T.’ And so, he said, ‘just so you know going forward, the less exposure you have, and this is for anybody whether you have a history of it or not, the healthier you’re going to be.

“So I was thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll do 75 to 100 matches a year or whatever it is.’ And now it looks to be way more than that, so if I were to change something, it’d be like I’d kind of like to do less, be away from home [less]. Like, for me, it’s not about wrestling less. It’s like I don’t want to be away from home this much.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Mick Foley Says He’d Wrestle In Saudi Arabia For The Right Price

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley appeared on The Pro Wrestling Show podcast earlier this week and said he would be open to wrestling a WWE match in Saudi Arabia, if the price was right.

Foley said a friend asked him how he would handle a potential return to the ring in Saudi Arabia, considering some of the controversy surrounding the Kingdom. Foley said he’s glad he doesn’t have to make that choice.

“I’m lucky I don’t have to make that choice,” Foley said. “I have to be honest, I can be had for a certain price.”

Foley also said he would be open to doing a Hell In a Cell rematch with The Undertaker, if the Saudi officials wanted it.

“If they wanted a rematch of the Cell badly enough and willing to pay for it, they’d probably get it. Working slower than I did 21 years ago, but I’d be out there,” he said.

The Saudi shows have ended up being very lucrative paydays for the WWE talents who get booked. Some of the top names are earning as high as seven figures for the events.

It will be interesting to see what kind of criticism WWE faces over their controversial working relationship with the Kingdom as we get closer to the event. WWE will return to the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7 for the third WWE Network special under the 10 year big money deal with The Saudi General Sports Authority. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and AJ Styles have been announced.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Sasha Banks’ WWE Status, Who Is Getting Banks’ Spot AT WWE Money In The Bank?

Sasha Banks was set to compete in the upcoming women’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match, but she was pulled from the show due to her ongoing issues with WWE.

Banks was replaced in the match by Dana Brooke, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The match at the May 19 WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view will feature Brooke, Natalya, Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Mandy Rose, Bayley, Carmella and Ember Moon.

Banks was originally earmarked for the match but she has not agreed to return to work for the company after recently requesting her release.

There’s no word yet on if WWE will grant the release, but it doesn’t look like. The Observer noted that no talents will be granted their release if WWE officials feel like they would be able to help All Elite Wrestling. WWE also continues to try and re-sign everyone with big offers if they have contracts coming up, months before those contracts actually expire, due to concern over AEW.

We noted in late April that Banks was at a stalemate with WWE. She reportedly tried to quit the company during WrestleMania 35 weekend because she and Bayley were upset about being split up, and over the decision to put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on The IIconics as they believed they would be given a lengthy title run to make them mean something. Word from within WWE was that Banks wanted to sit out the rest of her contract, and she still hasn’t agreed to return to action as of this week. There’s still no word yet on when Banks would be eligible to leave the company, but the Observer previously reported that that the company could add time to Banks’ contract for the time she spends not working, similar to the recent situation with Neville. Banks could end up being out of action for a significant amount of time if WWE adds time to the contract.

WWE did want Banks back in action and involved in the storylines, at last word, but Banks wants a lot of things to be different with how she’s booked. Banks was still scheduled for Money In the Bank when the news of her request release came out, but now she’s no longer factored into the plans for that pay-per-view.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Bill Goldberg’s WWE Return, WWE Reportedly Concerned About Goldberg And AEW

WWE may have signed WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg for the June 7 Saudi Arabia show to keep him from All Elite Wrestling.

It was noted in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE reportedly approached Goldberg for the show, figuring he was the one star left who could potentially bring back lapsed fans if he were to work with AEW. The situation was compared to how Vince McMahon, without the benefit of hindsight, left the door open in the 1990s for WCW to sign names like WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Roddy Piper.

WWE officials did have a concern that Goldberg would eventually sign with AEW, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

There’s no word yet on who Goldberg will face in Saudi Arabia, but a Lesnar vs. Goldberg match has been rumored.

Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker had been expected for the Saudi show, but Goldberg came out of the blue. Goldberg is believed to be making major money from the new contract with WWE. The Saudi shows usually bring a big payday to the wrestlers, as high as seven figures for some, but the fact that Goldberg rarely wrestles says a lot. There’s no word yet on if Goldberg’s deal is just for the Saudi show, or for more dates, but WWE could have made a strong offer to Goldberg if they are serious about keeping him away from AEW.

Randy Orton joked about Goldberg’s pay for the Saudi Arabia show this week, as seen below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

What Happened With Brock Lesnar’s UFC Return Negotiations, Possible WWE Match For Lesnar

As noted, UFC President Dana White revealed this week that Brock Lesnar recently informed him that he will be retiring from MMA.

There’s a lot of speculation on Lesnar’s UFC future and if he really is retired from the Octagon. It’s important to note that this is White saying Lesnar has retired, not the man himself or anyone close to him. Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Lesnar had been negotiating with UFC for the summer 2019 fight with UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, and a deal could not be reached.

Lesnar reportedly wanted a flat fee from UFC for the Cormier fight, instead of a percentage of pay-per-view buys, but UFC felt like he was asking for too much. Meltzer noted that UFC is no longer under pressure to draw strong pay-per-view buys because they are getting about the same money through their deal with ESPN. We don’t know how much Lesnar asked for, but it was a certain price that was worth it to him to go through a grueling training camp at age 42, for a fight against a top athlete and fighter in Cormier.

It was revealed this week by TMZ Sports that Lesnar was still submitting to USADA drug testing as recent as April. We don’t know how long Lesnar has been considering the retirement, but the timing is interesting. Meltzer noted that Lesnar had to enter into the USADA testing program to negotiate with WWE and UFC, because if he didn’t, then WWE would know that he couldn’t fight for another 6 months, and wasn’t really serious about possibly returning to UFC over WWE. UFC has always been Lesnar’s leverage in WWE contract talks. There’s no word yet on if Lesnar has pulled out of the USADA testing but if he has, he could come back and would have to wait another 6 months before being eligible for a fight. If he does pull out, that’s a good sign that he has really decided not to fight. Meltzer noted that if he doesn’t pull out, this all could be a public negotiation by White in an attempt to get Lesnar to lower his price.

White noted that Cormier will likely face Stipe Miocic next, at the August 17 pay-per-view from Anaheim, California. This could have been the date they wanted to do Lesnar vs. Cormier on.

There’s no word yet on what the MMA retirement will mean for Lesnar’s WWE future. He has been announced for WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7, but his opponent has not been named. The Observer notes that he will likely face WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins in a rematch from WrestleMania 35. The Lesnar vs. Rollins rematch was expected but that was before WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg was also announced for the Saudi show, leading to speculation on a Lesnar vs. Goldberg rematch.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On WrestleMania 36 Plans For Becky Lynch

It was previously reported that WWE wanted to do Charlotte Flair vs. current RAW & SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36 in 2020, but they now have a new plan in mind for Lynch.

WWE is doing Flair vs. Lynch at the WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view on May 19 because they have a new match planned for Lynch at WrestleMania 36, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There’s no word yet on who the match will be against, but word is that it’s not Flair or Ronda Rousey.

Lynch is currently scheduled to be the top female Superstar booked on the WrestleMania 36 card.

It was noted that if Rousey wants to return for WrestleMania 36, then a match with Lynch isn’t out of the question, but it’s not the planned match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Lio Rush Reportedly Turns Down New WWE Offer But Says He’s “Broke”, Mark Henry Responds

Lio Rush continued to respond this week to some of the reports on his backstage heat and issues with WWE.

Rush said in an interview with Fightful that his issues are not with Bobby Lashley or working with him, but with not being paid for merchandise that uses his catchphrase, and not being paid what he feels he’s worth.

“My issue has never been with Bobby Lashley. Being with Bobby has helped the both of us out tremendously,” Rush said. “It’s given me speaking confidence I didn’t know i had. I never was a promo guy on the indies. But being with Bobby made me a promo guy. My issue isn’t with my on screen role. My issue is the fact that I haven’t been on meet and greets with Bobby, haven’t been getting paid for merchandise for us that has my catchphrases on them. (I) have been sent to live shows and TVs and forced to pay for my own rental for 5 days as well as hotel while not making enough money to do so. Walking around broke in the biggest sports entertainment industry that there is while having two kids and a wife to support.”

Rush also said he believes someone in WWE is leaking false information to get him released.

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry appeared on Busted Open Radio earlier today and spoke on the Rush situation. Henry noted that he started with WWE in 1996 and helping WWE Hall of Famer Yokozuna was one of his responsibilities.

“It’s not a race issue, it’s an ego issue,” Henry said. “Who are you? Nobody is exempt from being respectful to the business and paying homage to the guys drawing money. We all have done it. Steve Austin did it, The Rock did it. You’re better than The Rock? Get the hell out of here.”

Henry also said he recently approached Rush to ask him about some of the issues. He said, “I pulled him aside the last time I saw him and told him, ‘I’m hearing stuff in the locker room, what’s wrong?’ He said nothing’s wrong, but it was a blatant lie to my face. I let him know that if he has a question, right now is the time to do that.”

Regarding Rush’s issues on pay, Henry said he needs to change the way he spends. Henry said, “If you can’t pay for a rental car and you can’t pay for a hotel with the money that you’re making every week, you need to change the way you’re spending. You can’t blame that on the office. If you spent everything before you got it, that’s your problem.”

Henry is said to be a huge supporter of Rush behind-the-scenes, according to PWInsider. PWInsider also reported on the issues, noting that there has been a lot of talk about Rush’s future within WWE, and there were rumors of Rush being moved back to WWE NXT in the near future.

PWInsider also reported that Rush has been a polarizing figure backstage for some time among the other wrestlers, going back to the November 2018 tour where he blew off what has been considered standard backstage etiquette for junior members of the roster on overseas tours, including being at the Gorilla position backstage to provide water to talents as they returned after their matches, and carrying coolers and drinks into the hotels where talents were staying, to set up a common area where everyone could privately socialize together. These tasks are often done to show respect to the locker room and the business as a whole. Several veterans reportedly tried to explain to Rush that he was making a mistake then, but he blew off the advice and complained to WWE officials, which didn’t do him any favors. Things with Rush have calmed down in recent months, but there have been other issues. Rush allegedly has brought his friends and relatives backstage without the proper credentials, and there have been other moments where he has blown off counsel from senior members of the RAW roster.

As we’ve noted, Rush has been off WWE TV for a few weeks now due to the heat he has. Rush previously addressed the reports on Twitter after it was reported that he has heat due to how he makes it very clear that he should be the top guy on the RAW brand, and he’s not shy about sharing these thoughts, as seen below:

https://twitter.com/itsLioRush/status/1123364413145255941

https://twitter.com/itsLioRush/status/1123364496054079490

https://twitter.com/itsLioRush/status/1123365537336254465

https://twitter.com/itsLioRush/status/1123369337342103553

In an update, PWInsider reports that there were multiple complaints made about Rush bringing his wife backstage and allowing her to change clothes in the women’s locker room, dating back to the 2018 European tour. There was another incident where Rush brought a group of people backstage at a 2018 TV taping. The group allegedly were stopped for not all having proper credentials and they loudly began yelling at a female member of WWE’s security crew, which obviously didn’t sit well with others backstage. A veteran talent, not Balor, reportedly tried to talk to Rush about the issues but he was told by Rush that he “works for Vince, not you.” WWE officials later approached that veteran talent as Rush complained about getting spoke to by the talent, because he was not an executive in the company and was “Rush’s equal, not his boss.” Word of this made the rounds and that led to Rush being removed from the locker room for a period of time after the tour and that’s when his issues became less of a regular occurrence backstage. That has changed in recent weeks.

Despite the problems, Rush was reportedly recently offered a new five-year contract, said to be in the range of $300,000. Rush reportedly turned that offer down and asked for double the pay. His current contract expires in 2020 some time. Regarding the rumors of sending Rush back to NXT, the idea would be to build him a new character and present him as something more than just a mouthpiece. Rush reportedly suggested, at least once, that WWE should release him so he can “show them” what he can accomplish outside of the company. There’s no word yet on when Rush will return to WWE TV, but he has reportedly been pulled from the upcoming European tour, a decision made a week ago. Rush has been backstage for RAW, but obviously not used.

Source: Wrestling Inc.