The next Superstar Shakeup finally has a confirmed date!
WWE aired an advertisement in Canada stating the first-ever “International Superstar Shakeup” will take place on April 15 and 16 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
If it’s anything like the last Shakeup that took place, there’s sure to be some shocking changes to the rosters. Hopefully a few NXT call-ups as well.
Watch the announcement below.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon as we move towards the Elimination Chamber PPV on February 17.
* Stephanie McMahon invites Becky Lynch to the red brand.
* Kurt Angle will address his future with WWE.
* Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Alicia Fox and Nikki Cross (Qualifier for Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match)
* Does Seth Rollins regret choosing Universal Champion Brock Lesnar as his WrestleMania opponent?
* Will Braun Strowman get payback against Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin
* WWE Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley (with Lio Rush) vs. Finn Balor (Title Match)
* Jeff Jarrett comes swinging for Elias – Jeff Jarrett (with Road Dogg) vs. Elias
As we previously reported, WWE confirmed that Dean Ambrose will be leaving the company when his contract expires in April.
PWInsider is reporting at this week’s SmackDown, WWE officials were meeting backstage with any WWE Superstars who’s contracts where going to expire within the next two years in an attempt to sign them to new deals.
WWE has been looking to sign their Superstars for five-year deals for awhile now with Kevin Owens and The Miz as recent examples. At the moment, they obviously don’t want talent heading off to the newly formed All Elite Wrestling, which was partially set off by Ambrose’s deciding to exit from the company in April.
The report continued that many of the talent backstage “were in amazement” as they watched WWE officials try to lock up new deals.
Source: WrestlingINC
The SI news does conflict with a report from two days ago on Wrestling Observer Radio that said the match would eventually become a triple threat with the addition of Charlotte somewhere down the line. Dave Meltzer did note the match could always be changed.
The only other announced match so far for WrestleMania 35 is WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar taking on Seth Rollins. Rollins won the Men’s Royal Rumble and chose Lesnar as his upcoming opponent.
Lynch replaced an injured Lana at #28 in the Women’s Royal Rumble match this past Sunday after losing a WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship Match to Asuka earlier in the night. Lynch would last eliminate Charlotte from the Rumble to guarantee herself a Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 35.
Earlier this week on RAW, Lynch made an appearance and announced her opponent would be Rousey.
Source: WrestlingINC
According to a report from Fightful, Hideo Itami is the latest wrestler within WWE to ask for his release from the company. Unlike others who reportedly did the same, however, they are also reporting it’s likely he will be granted his wish.
Not long after the aforementioned report was published, Itami changed his name on Twitter back to Kenta and tweeted this:
https://twitter.com/HideoItami/status/1090473371924492289
His issues, unsurprisingly, apparently have to do with being dissatisfied with his creative direction. He felt like a truly hot commodity when he originally debuted in NXT but never seemed to get off the ground, with various injury issues partly to blame. When he was put on 205 Live, there was some hope but the cruiserweight division hasn’t done much for many and Itami is likely much better off heading back to Japan.
Hideo Itami has not yet received his WWE release, according to PWInsider. He will be receiving it, and when he does, he will be subject to the 90-day non-compete clause. Itami is expected to return home to Japan.
Sources: CageSideSeats, PWInsider, Fightful and WrestlingINC
WWE has confirmed that Dean Ambrose will not be renewing his WWE contract when it expires in April.
WWE issued the following statement:
Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April.
We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE
R-Truth defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on tonight’s WWE SmackDown to become the new WWE United States Champion.
It looked like they may have botched Truth’s roll-up on Nakamura. Truth’s post-match celebration was interrupted by Rusev and Lana, leading to Truth granting a title shot to Rusev. Truth then retained the title over Rusev. Nakamura and Rusev double teamed Truth after the match and beat him down in the middle of the ring.
Truth is now a two-time United States Champion. Nakamura won the title from Rusev on Sunday during the WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show.
Below are photos and videos of tonight’s title change:
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1090419752160247808
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1090421641941680128
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1090421820098920454
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1090422610859454464
WWE officials want to air Sunday’s Halftime Heat special live so there are no spoilers, and so it’s another piece of original live content for the WWE Network, according to PWInsider.
The current plan is to hold the match inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, streaming it live to the WWE Network and other WWE digital platforms. WWE could bring local fans into the PC so there’s a crowd, or they could use a bunch of wrestlers as extras in the crowd. They could also do an “empty arena” match like they did with The Rock and WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley years ago. It was previously speculated that the match would be taped at Wednesday’s WWE NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University.
As noted, the match will air during halftime of the NFL’s Super Bowl LIII on Sunday. It will be NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole vs. Ricochet, Aleister Black and The Velveteen Dream. WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will serve as a guest commentator.
Source: WrestlingINC
Former WWE Superstar Shawn Daivari has been hired to work as a producer for WWE. It was first reported by Last Word On Pro Wrestling.
Daivari left WWE in 2007 but has stayed active in pro wrestling, including a run with Impact Wrestling. He also opened a wrestling school in Minnesota with former WWE star Mr. Anderson. Daivari returned to WWE in 2018 for the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia, appearing with his brother – WWE 205 Live Superstar Ariya Daivari.
WWE continues to hire wrestling veterans to work in roles behind-the-scenes. As noted, they have recently hired WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett, Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt and Abyss.
Source: WrestlingINC
After weeks of promises, Daniel Bryan has finally come through on his vow to create a more sustainable WWE Championship to wear to the ring.
It all went down on SmackDown Live this evening after Daniel cut an intense promo about the WWE Championship while standing next to a trash can. He then dumped it in the garbage and asked Rowan to present him with the new belt.
The new belt, seen in the video below, is made out of “sustainable, organic hemp.”
Shortly after the announcement … Triple H appeared on the Titantron to announce Daniel Bryan would be defending his new championship inside the Elimination Chamber against Mustafa Ali, Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy.
Wrestling News Blog 