Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas with the final hype for Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
* Mr. McMahon to moderate “The New” Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles’ face-to-face
* Rey Mysterio and Andrade to collide in 2-out-of-3 Falls Match
* The Miz and Cesaro to battle with their partners in their corners five nights before Royal Rumble
* Naomi and Mandy Rose to square off
WWE claiming that John Cena was injured on Monday prior to The Royal Rumble is actually a work, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
Cena started filming another movie in Vancouver this week. The injury angle may have just been a way to write Cena out of this Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Meltzer reported earlier this month that WWE was planning for Cena to face Lars Sullivan at WrestleMania 35. He speculated that the original plan might have been for Sullivan to injure Cena to take him out of the Rumble. This would have started the build toward their scheduled match at WrestleMania and kept Cena off of WWE television while he filmed his new movie. Sullivan ended up not making his main roster debut at the RAW and SmackDown television tapings earlier this month reportedly due to an anxiety attack.
There is still no update yet on Sullivan. WWE Royal Rumble takes place on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at Chase Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. Join us here at Wrestling Inc. for live coverage beginning at 5 pm ET.
Source: WrestlingINC
Last night’s WWE RAW main event from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK saw Sasha Banks and Bayley defeat RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and Natalya in tag team action.
Viewers on the USA Network saw the screen go black for about two seconds as Banks was going at it with Natalya at one point during the match. The screen went black because Banks suffered a wardrobe malfunction when her trunks came down, exposing her backside.
The malfunction was available to some satellite viewers. It was not seen on the USA Network.
Alexa Bliss announced on tonight’s WWE RAW that she will return to the ring in the 30-W
oman Royal Rumble Match at Sunday’s Rumble pay-per-view. Bliss has been out of action due to issues from concussions, her last match coming at a WWE live event on October 20.
Lacey Evans also announced her entry into the Women’s Royal Rumble Match.
Here is the participants announced so far for the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match:
30-Woman Royal Rumble Match
Carmella (at #30), Alexa Bliss, Lacey Evans, Bayley, Tamina Snuka, Lana, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Sarah Logan, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Ember Moon, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Mickie James, Nia Jax, Nikki Cross, Naomi, Zelina Vega, Charlotte Flair, TBA
WWE announced that John Cena re-aggravated a left ankle injury that he sustained last week. His status for the Royal Rumble is unknown.
According to WWE.com, the injury seemingly occurred when McIntyre applied an ankle lock on Cena during the fatal four-way contender’s match on RAW, which was won by Finn Balor. It was noted that Cena was favoring his left ankle while leaving the ring after Raw went off the air.
Cena then re-aggravated the injury yesterday while training his legs at the gym, which has cast doubt on whether he will be able to compete in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match this Sunday.
WWE and Cena will be providing an update over the next few days in regards to his Royal Rumble status. The Royal Rumble takes place this Sunday, January 27 inside Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Aiden English hasn’t been used on TV much since his breakup with Rusev, but that’s about to change … because he’s joining the 205 Live team.
WWE issued the following announcement:
Beginning tonight on WWE 205 Live, SmackDown Superstar Aiden English joins Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness as a guest commentator through WrestleMania season. English will still compete on SmackDown LIVE, but he’s seizing the opportunity to show off his abilities at the announce table.
WWE 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick explained his decision behind the addition of The Drama King.
“The McMahons have been shaking things up on Raw and SmackDown LIVE, so I’m going to follow suit,” Maverick said. “Aiden English is an active Superstar and is very opinionated, and I believe those opinions and perspective will add to the current commentary team, only adding to the entertainment value of The Most Exciting Hour of Television.”
Senior Director of On-Air Talent and Raw commentator Michael Cole also praised the move.“We wanted to do something special for WrestleMania season, and Royal Rumble week kicks off the Road to WrestleMania,” said Cole. “We’ve been working with Aiden at the WWE Performance Center to see if he has the chops, and it turns out he’s pretty good.”
Don’t miss Aiden English’s debut as part of the WWE 205 Live announce team tonight!
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with the red brand’s final hype for Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
* Finn Bálor believes he can slay The Beast
* Ronda Rousey & Natalya to square off against Sasha Banks & Bayley this Monday night
* New Superstars make their presence felt
* What’s next for Braun Strowman?
* The Bobby Lashley era has begun
Matt Hardy was on Twitter earlier today and in a response to an individual asking if he had retired, Hardy revealed that he has been physically greenlit and doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. Hardy was originally suffering from pain stemming from his lower back and his pelvis fusing together and he used this time away from the ring to rehab the afflicted areas.
Hardy’s last televised match was August 13, 2018, when he and Bray Wyatt lost to “The B Team’s” Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in a match for the Raw Tag Team Championships. His final match before taking time away to rehab was at a WWE Live Event in Corpus Christi, Texas on September 25, 2018.
Hardy recently had an interview with Akhilesh Gannavarapu from Wrestling Inc. and during the discussion, Hardy explained that he sees himself returning sooner rather than later.
“As far as a timetable of when I’m going to return, I don’t have an exact timetable but I would say sooner than later,” Hardy said. “There is not a set timeline [for me returning]. Whenever I was ‘going home’ there were some issues, some nagging injuries I was dealing with. I had to go home and do some rehabilitation.”
Matt responded to the individual on Twitter with, “No, I am not retired & not going to be retiring anytime soon. I’ve worked my ass off to rehabilitate & have physically been greenlit. My body is in the best shape it’s been in in years & I’m the lightest I’ve been in 20 years.” You can read the full tweet below:
Source: WrestlingINC
Former WWE RAW Tag Team Champion, Akam from The Authors of Pain has been sidelined with a leg injury, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer explained that the injury is the reason AOP hasn’t been used on TV in recent weeks, and Akam is expected to be out for at least a few months.
Akam’s last television match with The Authors of Pain was on the December 17, 2018 episode of WWE RAW, losing a Fatal-4-Way tag team match to The Revival’s Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder. They would compete in a handful of WWE live events shortly after that, but remain off TV.
Along with their recent reign as the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions, AOP has also held the NXT Tag Team Championships once and won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2016.
Source: WrestlingINC
In case you missed it, Bodyslam.net first reported Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson made the request following their match on Raw and Fightful reported that there was fear The Revival were on the way out of the company.
According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, sources tell them that the tag team’s decision to ask for their releases was based on how little time and respect the division is given. We’re told the duo is frustrated about the lack of promos, backstage segments and direction of the division. Not just for themselves, but the entire division … such as the tag match on Monday being used as a cutaway segment.
One source also pointed to The Club being an afterthought on TV after coming to WWE as a major signing and Authors of Pain being absent from television not long after their debut as additional examples.
Pro Wrestling Sheet says they we’re told the The Revival’s feelings on the subject boiled over last Monday after the tag team champions Bobby Roode/Chad Gable weren’t even featured on the show, so they asked WWE officials for their release. At this point, the request has been denied.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, The Revival’s contracts don’t expire until April of 2020.
Sources: Pro Wrestling Sheet and Wrestling Observer
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