Tag: WWE

WWE Reportedly Has Right To Purchase UK Indie Promotions Under New Working Agreements

Image result for WWE UK Indie Promotions

As we’ve noted, restrictions were recently placed on several of the contracted WWE NXT UK Superstars that will decide which indie promotions they can work for beginning in 2019. Talents will be barred from working for most indie companies in Europe, except for WWE partners ICW, PROGRESS Wrestling and wXw (Germany).

Regarding WWE’s working agreements with some of these promotions in the UK, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that part of the agreements originally offered & accepted included rights for WWE to purchase the companies if they want to.

WWE would reportedly have the rights, for the next several years if they choose, to purchase the indie promotions for an agreed upon price, which was in the high six-figures in at least some cases. WWE would then be able to shut the promotion down so they would no longer be “competing with themselves” with the idea that the transaction would take place when WWE was up to running full-time schedules in those same markets.

There’s no word on other terms of these agreements or what the reactions were to these purchase rights but it could make for an interesting story down the line.

Source: WrestlingINC

FOX Wants Ronda Rousey On SmackDown In 2019

Image result for According to Wrestling Inc, FOX wants Ronda Rousey on the blue brand when SmackDown makes the move in 2019.

WrestlingINC reports that FOX wants to have Ronda Rousey on the SmackDown roster when SmackDown Live! moves to the network. FOX feels that Rousey’s MMA background, popularity and credibility as an athlete will be a major selling point to promote the show.

FOX reportedly wants SmackDown to have more of a sports direction and feature less comedy to fit in with their other sports programming. The addition of Rousey to SmackDown Live is expected to make her a main player in their efforts to do cross-promotional campaigns between WWE and FOX’s other programs.

As noted, UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier was recently invited for a tryout to WWE as a commentator. According to reports, FOX likes Cormier and wants WWE to sign him as a commentator. Cormier had to postpone the tryout because of his title defense against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 earlier this month, but recently told Busted Open Radio that he still plans to audition.

Rousey is the current RAW Women’s Champion. While WWE usually executes brand trades shortly after WrestleMania, it will be interesting to see if they hold off until SmackDown moves to FOX in October of 2019.

Source: WrestlingINC

Punishment Martinez Makes NXT TV Debut At Full Sail Tapings (PHOTOS)

punishment martinez nxt tv debut tapings matt riddle

Former Ring of Honor wrestler Punishment Martinez made his NXT TV debut on Wednesday in a match against someone he’s got history with.

Martinez ,whose signing was confirmed last month, wrestled Matt Riddle at the TV tapings in a losing effort. According to those in attendance, he lost via submission.

In case you’re unaware, Martinez was one of Riddle’s trainers when he got into the business.

After the match was over … Kassius Ohno attempted to get some revenge for his quick loss at NXT TakeOver: War Games and attacked Riddle on the ramp.

Check out some of the photos below.

https://twitter.com/MrJacobCohen/status/1067925669764583427

https://twitter.com/Tarratastic/status/1067926193230487552

https://twitter.com/MrJacobCohen/status/1067926948272312326

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE SmackDown Live Preview 11/27/18

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota as the road to TLC continues.

* AJ Styles responds to Daniel Bryan’s shocking actions tonight on SmackDown LIVE

* SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch returns

* Jeff Hardy celebrates his 20th anniversary in WWE

WWE Mixed Match Challenge Preview 11/27/18

WWE MMC Week 3 Preview (10/2/2018)

Tonight’s WWE Mixed Match Challenge will take place from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The MMC season two continues this evening on Facebook Watch at 10pm EST., immediately following WWE SmackDown Live on the USA Network.

Tonight’s MMC episode will feature the beginning of the MMC Playoffs.

* Curt Hawkins and Ember Moon vs. Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox

* Finn Balor and Bayley vs. Bobby Lashley and Mickie James

ROH Star Spotted Ringside At Last Night’s WWE RAW

Image result for Silas Young Spotted Ringside At Last Night's WWE RAW

At last night’s Raw, a familiar face was in the crowd. No, it wasn’t Enzo Amore. In fact, it was the last real man.

According to PWInsider, Silas Young was at Raw in Milwaukee. He was sitting incognito in the crowd.

This appearance is coming after revealing to wrestlinginc.com exclusively on their recent WINCLY podcast that his contract with Ring of Honor is coming up at the end of the year. There are rumors going around that he will be signing with WWE once his contract expires.

Young is a former two-time ROH World Television Champion and has been a consistent member of the roster since 2012.

While an opponent has not been determined yet, Young is scheduled to fight at ROH’s Final Battle inside the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on December 14.

Source: WrestlingINC

Kairi Sane Suffering From Hand, Foot And Mouth Disease

Image result for Kairi Sane

WWE NXT star Kairi Sane revealed on her Twitter account that she is suffering from Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. This is something that children normally get, which confused Kairi when she made the announcement on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/KairiSaneWWE/status/1067283282738507787

Translating the tweet from Japanese resulted in this posting:

“The fever has gone down, but now my hands, feet and mouth have a mysterious eczema… Ouch you go to the hospital with it? ????(even in the United States, hand, Foot and Mouth Disease) It is a disease that infants under 5 years old have been examined, ??????? why did the virus enter my body by mistake? ?? lol”

There is no known cure but getting some rest usually helps, depending on the severity of it. If anything, Kairi should be back on her feet in no time.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Imposing Restrictions On NXT UK Talent

When WWE launched NXT UK in December 2016, it was seen as a way for top British talent to showcase their abilities on WWE’s platform, while also having the ability to work other promotions. But after just two years, WWE has decided to reverse course and will put restrictions on NXT UK talent from working for other promotions.

This news comes courtesy of WrestleTalk, which reports that several members of NXT UK will be given new contracts in the coming weeks with these restrictions in place. While the Superstars will be given raises, their meandering on the indie scene will cease come 2019.

Previously the NXT UK Superstars were only restricted from other promotions with distribution deals, but now they will be barred from all other promotions. The only exceptions are those companies that WWE had partnered with including Progress, ICW and wXw (Germany).

This WWE exclusivity seems to come from disappointing numbers at recent NXT UK house shows. If fans can pay £10 to watch these stars at local shows, then they would be unlikely to cough up more money to see the same Superstars on WWE shows.

WrestleTalk also reports that these new contracts aren’t being handed out to everyone, so the new restrictions will also not apply to everyone. Even so, those who are not barred from other promotions are still prohibited from wrestling anyone from ROH, Impact, New Japan or any other major promotion.

With these new contracts and new restrictions set to go into place at the start of 2019, Superstars will still be able to finish up their advertised bookings through the end of 2018. However, talent will only be able to work shows with a licensed paramedic on hand as a couple of members of the roster recently showed up to the NXT UK Performance Center with injuries that WWE was unaware of.

This is a big change from when WWE first established NXT UK as said they wouldn’t scoop up all of the top talent in the UK, leaving little else for anyone else. It remains to be seen how this impacts the UK indies.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE RAW Preview 11/26/18

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the road to TLC continues.

* Rollins to issue an Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge on Raw

* Braun Strowman out of action; Corbin to battle Bálor on Raw

* “The Facebreaker” awaits The Baddest Woman on the Planet

* Roode & Gable get their Raw Tag Team Title opportunity vs. AOP

* Elias walks into a showdown with “The All Mighty” Bobby Lashley

WWE Starrcade Full Results 2018

Dean Ambrose Seth Rollins Starrcade

The event, effectively a glorified house show with a stellar name, was taped Saturday night at Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena. WWE aired part of it last night as a WWE Network special.

Here are the full results, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer.

The show began with Elias’ advertised concert, where he was joined by special guest Ric Flair. Flair was said to have made eyes for most of the women in the front row, which will probably be left out of the Network broadcast. The skit ended with the eight women scheduled for a tag match coming to the ring.

Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon & Dana Brooke got the better of Nia Jax, Tamina, Alicia Fox, & Mickie James in a short contest, ending with Banks making Fox tap to her Banks Statement. As tends to be the case on house shows, Bayley received a reaction in contrast to her usual television reception.

A super popular Finn Bálor fell to Drew McIntyre‘s Claymore in a supposedly decent effort. Dolph Ziggler was also there, of course.

The B-Team went over The Revival in the night’s first toilet break, before The Barconquered The New Day to keep their grip on the SmackDown Tag Team titles.

An open challenge by an opponent-less Baron Corbin was answered by Bray Wyatt, who beat him in short order. It’s Wyatt’s first match for the company since September.

Charlotte Flair overcame Asuka in a repeat of their WrestleMania outing. Charlotte, who viciously assaulted Ronda Rousey at last week’s Survivor Series, hugged Asuka after the match like a true babyface. What are they doing?

Apparently continuity applies in Rey Mysterio‘s world, as he appeared on Miz TV wearing a neck brace to sell his attack at the hands of Randy Orton on SmackDown. Shinsuke Nakamura got in Rey’s face whilst waxed lyrical about the WCW talent who made Starrcade special to him. Obviously the pair then had a match, which ended in a DQ after The Miz intervened on the US Champ’s behalf.

Good ol’ Rusev came to Rey’s rescue, with a tag match emerging out of the mess. Mysterio and his new partner quickly vanquished Miz and Nakamura.

In the first steel cage match of the night, AJ Styles once more put Samoa Joe in his place. The cage was used again as IC Champion Seth Rollins escaped to defeat bitter rival Dean Ambrose. Apparently, the match was the highlight of the evening, which bodes well for their feud.

Source: What Culture