Tag: WWE

Photo: WWE Intercontinental Title Change Spoiled For Fans Watching RAW In Chicago

WWE ran a commercial in the Chicago last night promoting next week’s show in the city at the Allstate Arena.

As seen below, one of the matches advertised is WWE Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley defending his title against Finn Balor and Drew McIntyre in a triple threat match. The only problem is that it aired before the title change actually happened.

Lashley defeated Balor on Monday’s episode of RAW to win the Intercontinental title for a second time. Balor had held the belt for just 22 days when he defeated Lashley and Lio Rush in a handicap match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view last month after pinning Rush. He had just one title defense on television when he defeated Rush on the February 25th episode of RAW.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Harlem Heat To Be Inducted Into The WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2019

WWE has confirmed Harlem Heat’s Booker T and Stevie Ray for the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Class. This makes Booker a two-time Hall of Famer.

Harlem Heat join headliners DX (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chyna, Billy Gunn, “Road Dogg” BG James, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman), Torrie Wilson and The Honky Tonk Man as confirmed inductees for the 2019 class. Taz, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Jimmy Hart) are still rumored.

The 2019 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 6 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn during WrestleMania 35 weekend.

Below is WWE’s announcement on Harlem Heat:

Harlem Heat to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019

Booker T & Stevie Ray were one of the most dominant tag teams of the 1990s, steamrolling over the competition in WCW to become tag team champions on 10 occasions. Now, the brothers will be immortalized in sports-entertainment history.

Harlem Heat are the latest inductees in the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019. They’ll enter the fabled hall on the eve of WrestleMania 35, Saturday, April 6, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. With this induction, Booker T will become a two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee, joining Ric Flair and fellow 2019 inductee Shawn Michaels of D-Generation X. The news was first reported by USA Today.

Bursting on the scene straight off 110th Street in Harlem, N.Y., Booker T & Stevie Ray arrived in WCW in summer 1993, bringing a streetwise, in-your-face attitude to the squared circle. They stared directly into the camera on their way to the ring, warning fans at home that they were about to bust some heads when they stepped between the ropes. And bust heads they did. Harlem Heat wasted no time in mixing it up with the top stars of WCW at the time, like Sting, Ric Flair and British Bulldog. They even joined forces with Sid and Vader to enter the unforgiving battleground known as WarGames.

It was when the brothers took on the managerial services of 2006 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Sensational Sherri that their stars began to shine. With “Sister” Sherri in their corner, it wasn’t long before Harlem Heat captured their first WCW Tag Team Championship, defeating Stars & Stripes on WCW Saturday Night. Booker T & Stevie Ray brawled with the likes of The Steiner Brothers, Sting & Lex Luger and The Nasty Boys on their way to seven reigns as WCW Tag Team Champions.

By 1997, the two brothers went their separate ways, Stevie going on to become a trusted member of the infamous nWo, while Booker became a breakout singles star, capturing the WCW Television Title on several occasions.

After nearly two years apart, Booker T & Stevie Ray reunited and returned to a vastly different tag team landscape in WCW. However, Harlem Heat hadn’t lost a step, as they defeated The Jersey Triad to win their eighth WCW Tag Team Titles at Road Wild 1999. Before the turn of the millennium, they added two more reigns as champions to their incredible résumé, setting a WCW record that would not be broken before the company was purchased by WWE in 2001.

Though the brothers never competed as a team inside a WWE ring, there’s no denying their pure dominance of tag-team wrestling during The Monday Night War. That’s why Harlem Heat is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Don’t miss Booker T & Stevie Ray take their place in sports-entertainment history during the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on the eve of WrestleMania 35, Saturday, April 6 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Tickets are available now, be sure to take part in this historic night!

USA Today spoke with Booker T & Stevie Ray about the induction. They both said they were surprised to get the call from WWE.

Stevie Ray said he was surprised to get the call from WWE.

“I was speechless for a couple of seconds. The last thing I was thinking about was the Hall of Fame,” Stevie said. “I’m going to be honest with you, I hadn’t really thought about it. You know, I get the fans hitting me all the time with different things about Harlem Heat needs to be in the Hall of Fame, so on and so forth. But you never know, so I never gave it very much thought.”

Booker added, “It was surprising, actually, I guess because one reason, my brother and I, we never actually wrestled in the WWE. My brother took a step aside at that point in time because he had a daughter, and he wanted to see her grow up and see her go to college. He got a chance to do that. But our career in WCW was awesome. My brother and I were together for eight and a half years in WCW and together another two years prior in the Global Wrestling Federation. So we had a career as a tag team, and to be recognized as one of the great tag teams of all time…. [there were] a lot of great tag teams that we competed against back in the day, like the Steiners, the Nasty Boys and the Road Warriors, Sting and Lex Luger, Public Enemy – so many guys we got a chance to grapple with back then, and to be recognized, it’s pretty awesome.”

Booker was asked what he wants WWE fans to remember Harlem Heat for in 20 years. He responded, “It would just be keep passing it on more than anything. Young guys right now, the Usos, those two guys came out of my school. Authors of Pain, right now, two guys wrecking shop. You’ve got Street Profits out there representing Harlem Heat. That’s what it’s about. If they look back and say ‘Harlem Heat was badass,’ that’s the only thing that really matters, as well as we were good people.”

Content with their careers, Booker and Stevie both said they would have nothing to say if they could go back and give themselves some advice as the beginning of their careers. Booker did have some advice for the up & coming wrestlers.

“What would I tell myself? Nothing. Learn things as you go,” Stevie said.

“I wouldn’t tell us anything, man. We had a dream. We had a blueprint, though, a gameplan. We didn’t slip on a banana peel and find ourselves in this position. Trust me, it didn’t happen that way,” Booker said. “But I would tell the young guys these days, look at the state of the business. The party, it’s real, it only lasts for so long. Make sure you prepare for what’s next, because it’s going to come very, very quick. Relish that, then move on to what comes next, because life moves in seasons.”

Sources: WWE.com and USA Today

WWE RAW Preview 3/11/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA with the fallout from WWE Fastlane.

* The Shield to deliver farewell address at the start of RAW

* What will happen when Triple H comes face-to-face with Batista?

* Will chaos reign now that Becky has been added to RAW Women’s Title Match at WrestleMania?

* Who will stop Nia Jax & Tamina on The Road to WrestleMania?

* Who will emerge victorious in Intercontinental Title showdown? Finn Balor (C) vs. Bobby Lashley

Brie Bella Announces Her Retirement From Wrestling On Total Bellas

On last night’s episode of Total Bellas, Brie Bella made a huge announcement regarding her future in the ring. The former Divas Champion officially announced her retirement, while also stating her and Daniel Bryan will be moving back to Phoenix from San Diego. This decision comes after wanting to start another family with Bryan following the birth of Birdie.

“I know a couple months ago I told you I wasn’t ready for baby number two because I have a lot on my plate,” Brie stated to Bryan during the episode. “But I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I think the comeback really made me realize that I am actually ready. And I do want Birdie and our next baby to be close in age.”

After a brief hiatus, Brie returned to the ring in 2018 during the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match. She later teamed up with Bryan and won a match against The Miz and Maryse at the Hell in a Cell PPV. Brie’s last WWE appearance was at WWE Evolution back in October, where she accompanied her sister Nikki to the ring for her match against Ronda Rousey. Before that, she competed in several multi-woman tag matches against the Riott Squad.

On last night’s episode Brie announced, “I decided that after [WWE] Evolution, I’m gonna be fully retired,” Brie continued with a smile. “Fully done.”

While the future is unknown, Brie believes the move will be permanent. Besides committing to Total Bellas, Brie already has a future outside of WWE with Birdiebee, her wine label Belle Radici and Nicole + Brizee, a body and beauty line.

“I love WWE, but the one thing I learned is that I can’t do everything. I just can’t,” Brie continued. “I know deep down inside that I’m making the right decision, that the boots have to be hung, that I need to go back to Phoenix and just really put more concentration on the things that are in my future instead of what was in my past.”

Nikki was shocked to hear about the news. Her last appearance in a WWE ring was the loss to Rousey at Evolution.

“Talk about dropping two huge bombs,” Nikki stated. “I guess retirement I always thought would be something that Brie and I would talk about together. I just did not expect this big change after such an incredible comeback.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Fastlane Results 3/10/19

(Kickoff) The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura – Winners: The New Day

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: (C) The Usos vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz – Winners: The Usos

After the match, Shane McMahon turned om The Miz and assaulted The Miz and even roughed up Miz’s father who was at ringside.

SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Asuka vs. Mandy Rose – Winner: Asuka

The New Day plead with Vince McMahon to give Kofi Kingston the WWE Title match he deserves. Vince McMahon made the WWE Championship a Triple Threat match. Vince Says Kofi Kingston’s match is next, Big E and Xavier Woods are banned from ringside

WWE Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens vs. Kofi Kingston

It was announced that the WWE Championship will happen latter and Kofi will have a handicap match against The Bar

Kofi screwed by Vince again.

Handicap Match: Kofi vs. The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) – Winner: The Bar

WWE RAW Tag Team Championship: (C) The Revival vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black – Winners: The Revival

WWE United States Championship: (C) Samoa Joe vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade – Winner: Samoa Joe

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: (C) Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Nia Jax & Tamina – Winners: Sasha Banks & Bayley

After the match, Tamina & Nia attacked Sasha & Bayley. Beth Phoenix confronted Tamina and then Nia & Tamina beat down Beth and Natalya came out to help her friend Beth.

WWE Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens vs. Mustafi Ali – Winner: Daniel Bryan

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (If Lynch wins, she’ll be added to Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 35) – Winner: Becky Lynch by DQ

Ronda Rousey ran down into the ring and punch Becky causing a disqualification giving Becky the Win.

Becky is in the RAW Women’s Championship Match at WrestleMania 35

Elias trashing Cleveland in a song. Lacey Evan come out as Elias was watching her, Randy Orton with a RKO out of nowhere, then AJ Styles hits Orton with a Phenomenal Elbow.

The Shield (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose) vs. Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley – Winners: The Shield

Luke Harper Returned At WWE RAW Live Event In Rochester, NY

Luke Harper made his official in-ring return at tonight’s WWE RAW live event in Rochester, NY after being out of action since November 2018. Harper defeated Mojo Rawley in his first match back with the company.

Despite working some NXT live events in the latter part of 2018, Harper has been absent from WWE TV since last August when his fellow “Bludgeon Brother”, Erick Rowan, suffered a torn bicep at SummerSlam 2018. The team was forced to drop the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship to The New Day after the injury occurred.

As has been well documented, Rowan recently returned to WWE TV and essentially became the bodyguard to WWE Champion Daniel Bryan. Meanwhile, Harper was seen regularly attending the WWE Performance Center in Orlando while sporting a cast on his left hand, indicating that he had surgery.

https://twitter.com/JoeyShoots/status/1104544774554615811

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Trevor Lee Debuts In WWE NXT (Photos)

Former Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion Trevor Lee made his WWE NXT in-ring debut tonight in Dade City, Florida when he suffered a loss to NXT UK’s Luke Menzies.

Along with being a three-time X-Division Champion, Lee was also an Impact World Tag Team Champion with partner, Brian Myers. He’s also held titles in AAW, PWG, and was the OMEGA Heavyweight Champion.

Below are some photos from tonight’s NXT live event:

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1104206026734268417

https://twitter.com/FLWrestlingFan/status/1104187882913386497

https://twitter.com/Tarratastic/status/1104188211931373574

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson Reportedly Leaving WWE After Turning Down Deals

There’s now speculation on Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson possibly leaving WWE later this year.

Gallows and Anderson have reportedly turned down multi-million dollar contracts from WWE, according to PWInsider. Word is that The Good Brothers are now planning on leaving WWE when their current contracts expire.

It was reported back in December that they deals will expire in late September 2019, but then it was believed that they would be re-signing instead of returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling. This was before AEW potentially entered the picture.

We’ve noted how WWE officials have been approaching talents about signing new contracts as of late. Gallows and Anderson had multiple meetings with officials but word came out over the last few days that they turned down new deals. They are looking to leave WWE because they aren’t satisfied with how they have been used in recent years, according to the report.

It was also noted that Gallows and Anderson are brought to TV, but they aren’t currently being booked for non-televised live events. One source claimed to PWI that they were removed from the live event tours after initial contract meetings that didn’t lead to a new agreement between the two sides.

The Good Brothers are rarely featured on WWE TV these days. The former RAW Tag Team Champions lost to Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura on the February 5 SmackDown episode and then they lost to SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos on the December 18 episode. They haven’t been used much since being brought to SmackDown from RAW after WrestleMania 34 last year. They had a “Botch Club” WWE Digital series premiere earlier this year but it was nixed after the premiere episode.

The WWE futures of Gallows and Anderson were a hot topic backstage at this week’s SmackDown. While a lot can change between now and late September, word going around the wrestlers this week is that Gallows and Anderson are determined to continue their pro wrestling careers outside of WWE.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

How Much Money The XFL Has Already Paid WWE

In late 2017 there were rumblings that Vince McMahon was considering a revival of the XFL. In January of 2018, McMahon made it official and the league is entirely owned by Alpha Entertainment which is owned by McMahon and shares office space with WWE.

That marks a departure from the first version of XFL which was equally co-owned by WWE and by NBC. McMahon established Alpha to completely separate the XFL from the WWE this time around.

But that doesn’t mean that the two companies won’t work together and that is evident by recent SEC filings. They note just how much money is exchanging between WWE and Alpha/XFL and also detail the arrangement between the two”

“As previously announced, Vincent McMahon organized and owns a majority of Alpha Entertainment, LLC (“Alpha”), which owns and operates the professional football league XFL. Under arrangements made at the time of its organization, WWE received, among other things, an equity interest in Alpha without payment by, or other financial obligation on the part of, WWE; WWE sold certain intellectual property rights relating to XFL to Alpha for a payment in the amount of $1 million; and WWE entered into a support services agreement under which WWE provides Alpha certain administrative support services on a cost-plus margin basis. During the year ended December 31, 2018, Alpha was billed approximately $1,305,000 for services under the administrative support services agreement, of which $474,000 was due at year end and subsequently paid.”

In summary:

– WWE sold intellectual property rights to Alpha for $1 million
– Alpha was billed over $1.3 million for WWE providing administrative support
– Alpha paid WWE $474,000 for that administrative support

While the XFL does have its own Careers page on its website, WWE also has a job posting for an XFL position on its website. This could be part of the services agreement between WWE and Alpha/XFL as the latter gets up and running.

So, even though Alpha Entertainment was created to keep the XFL’s operations separate from WWE, the XFL is still leaning on its big brother named World Wrestling Entertainment.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Fastlane 3/10/19

March 10, 2019 – 7 PM ET /4 PM PT  – Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

Kickoff – 6 ET/3 PT

WWE Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (If Lynch wins, she’ll be added to Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 35)

WWE RAW Tag Team Championship: (C) The Revival vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black

SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Asuka vs. Mandy Rose

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: (C) The Usos vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz

The Shield (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose) vs. Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: (C) Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Nia Jax & Tamina

WWE United States Championship: (C) Samoa Joe vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade

(Kickoff) The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura