Tag: WWE

WWE Announces Crown Jewel Will Continue As Planned

Image result for wwe crown jewel

Despite growing concern regarding WWE‘s relationship with Saudi Arabia, the company just confirmed Crown Jewel will continue on as planned.

As WWE announced their Q3 earnings today, they also addressed the status of their November 2nd event. In their 2018 business outlook, WWE stated:

“WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled.”

As we previously reported, four U.S. senators called for WWE to re-think their relationship with the Saudi government. Pre-show panelist Sam Roberts also spoke out, saying the event should be moved.

For those unaware, Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was reportedly assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Turkey over two weeks ago. The team of people who allegedly murdered him reportedly dismembered his body with a bone saw at the order of the highest levels of the Royal Court.

This prompted WWE to release a statement saying they were monitoring the situation.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE 205 Live, NXT And Mae Young Classic Preview 10/24/18

Image result for 205 Live, NXT, Mae Young Classic

Below are previews for 205 live, NXT and the Mae Young Classic airing on the WWE Network beginning at 7/6 C.

 

Tonight’s WWE 205 Live was taped last night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

* Mike Kanellis vs. Lince Dorado

* Falls Count Anywhere Match: Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami

 

Tonight on NXT:

* The aftermath of Aliester Black’s surprise return

* Major NXT Championship announcement for NXT TakeOver: WarGames

* Mia Yim vs. Aliyah

* What’s next for Undisputed ERA?

* EC3 vs. Adam Cole

*  Kassius Ohno vs. Justin Xavier

 

Semi-Final matches of the 2018 Mae Young Classic:

* Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley

* Meiko Satomura vs. Toni Storm

Backstage News On Dean Ambrose’s Heel Turn, Who Knew About Roman Reigns’ Announcement, More

Image result for Backstage News On Dean Ambrose's Heel Turn, Who Knew About Roman Reigns' Announcement, More

Regarding Roman Reigns announcing his battle with leukemia on Monday’s WWE RAW, PWInsider reports that 99% of those in the company h ad no idea what Reigns was going to announce before he went out to the ring. The upper-level officials in the company, likely the McMahon family’s inner circle and Talent Relations, were the only ones who knew before the announcement was made on Monday that Reigns was ill, along with members of Reigns’ family. The announcers were not clued in to what the announcement was before it was made.

On a related note, Vince McMahon was not in attendance for Monday’s RAW.

Reigns taking time off and dropping the WWE Universal Title obviously changed some creative plans. PWInsider adds that most plans for the WrestleMania 35 main event picture are now “out the window” but as noted recently, the main event was not locked in. Reigns was still expected to be a part of one of the top matches.

Reigns’ announcement did not push up the heel turn by new RAW Tag Team Champion Dean Ambrose. That turn was planned for the future but officials decided to pull the trigger early. PWInsider adds that this was not a creative plan made at the last minute due to Reigns’ announcement but the turn was moved up.

Source: WrestlingINC

Latest Update On WWE Crown Jewel Plans

Image result for WWE Crown Jewel

In a story that could change at any moment, as of this morning, tickets have still not gone on sale for WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on November 2.

Some WWE staff members are expected to travel to the area within the next day though, according to PWInsider. Crown Jewel has obviously been a major talking point this week within the company and staff members haven’t been told of new plans by WWE management as of right now.

The report continued if WWE is looking to make any type of location change, they will have to do so very soon.

Tweeted out yesterday, WWE officials were reportedly scouting new locations for the Crown Jewelevent, according to Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports.

As noted, Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that the WWE creative team was told on Monday that John Cena would not be making the trip to Saudi Arabia for WWE Crown Jewel on November 2, seemingly confirming at least part of the report made on Monday by Barstool Sports’ Robbie Fox, that Cena and Daniel Bryan had told officials they were not going. Meltzer did not have an update on Bryan. WWE officials were reportedly looking to replace Cena in the World Cup tournament but he was still being advertised on RAW and he’s still listed for the event today.

Meltzer also noted that the entire Crown Jewel event is currently in jeopardy as the chances of the show happening as scheduled are looking worse than they did last week.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE SmackDown Live Preview 10/23/18

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey with the final hype before Sunday’s Evolution pay-per-view.

* AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan clash with The Usos in a SmackDown 1000 rematch

* Rey Mysterio to appear on “Miz TV”

* Rusev to do battle with Aiden English

* Naomi and Mandy Rose clash for the first time ever

* What will be the fallout of Charlotte and Becky’s WWE PC altercation?

News On John Cena & Daniel Bryan Refusing To Go To Saudi Arabia For WWE Crown Jewel, Event In Jeopardy

Image result for John Cena Crown Jewel

It was reported on Monday that John Cena and Daniel Bryan are refusing to work the WWE Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia on November 2nd by Barstool Sports’ Robbie Fox. Cena is one of the eight Superstars to compete in the World Cup tournament, while Bryan is scheduled to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship.

In an update to those reports, Dave Meltzer reported on the most recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that while he hasn’t heard anything about Bryan, the WWE creative team was told on Monday afternoon that Cena wouldn’t be taking part in the tournament and needed to be replaced. It’s not known if something had changed since then or if they feel that Cena will change his mind if the location is changed, but Cena was once again advertised to compete in the World Cup tournament on RAW later that night.

Meltzer also noted that the Saudi Arabia event is in jeopardy, and said that as things stand, it is a lot less likely to happen than it was last week. Tickets for the show were scheduled to go on sale last Friday, but never did.

WrestleVotes, who has broken several WWE scoops in the last year or so, reports that the show is back in “wait & see” mode. Regarding Cena being advertised for the World Cup on RAW last night, WWE may have kept Cena in the promos because officials want him to reconsider his decision or because Cena would end up being a part of the event if they decide to move locations. You can see their tweets below.

We will keep you updated on any developments regarding the status of WWE Crown Jewel.

Source: WrestlingINC

Alexa Bliss Reportedly Injured Again This Past Weekend

Image result for Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss is reportedly out of action with another injury, according to F4Wonline.com.

Word is that Bliss suffered a concussion at Saturday night’s WWE live event in Hartford, CT, but WWE has not confirmed that.

Bliss missed Sunday’s WWE Supershow in Boston, despite being advertised. Bliss had been out of action with an arm injury but she returned to the ring Friday’s live event in Bangor, ME. She then suffered the injury on Saturday in Hartford. The matches on Friday and Saturday saw Bliss and Mickie James lose to Nia Jax and RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey when Bliss tapped to Rousey. Tamina Snuka replaced Bliss on Sunday in Boston.

Bliss is currently scheduled to team with Mickie to face WWE Hall of Famers Lita and Trish Stratus at Sunday’s WWE Evolution pay-per-view.

Source: WrestlingINC

Sting On A Possible WWE Return: ‘I Would Only Consider Against One Opponent’

Sting was recently interviewed by 99.7 CYK for an appearance for an independent wrestling show. As frequently stated, Sting stated that he credits his match with Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions for “putting him on the map.” He also stated that he prefers appearing at smaller shows now because he likes to catch up with old wrestling buddies.

For respect to Owen Hart, who passed away in 1999 due to his descension from the rafters at the Over the Edge pay-per-view going tragically wrong, Sting stated that he does not like sharing many stories of his close-calls comng from the top of the arena to the ring. However, he did share that he was close one night to experiencing a fatal accident.

“If people knew what was going on up there,” said Sting. “On a handful of occasions, oh my gosh. I mean, put it this way: I was close to having a fatal accident one night. Chicago, at the UIC Pavilion. That was, wow; I’m sweating right now telling you the story, and you know, coming out of the helicopter, and you got a Vietnam vet who’s the pilot, who says, ‘Sting, [if] by some chance your rope or your cord gets caught up in my blades, I’m gonna have to cut you loose.’ And I kinda chuckle a little bit, and he’s looking at me with these cold eyes, I’m like, okay, you’re not joking, are you?”

Sting added that although the helicopter was swinging back and forth because of his weight while he was hovering over the water during an episode, which was also very frightening.

Although he has been asked many times before, and stated that he is fine with not coming back to the ring, Sting admits that he would be open to coming back only under one condition.

“I would only consider against one opponent, and that would be [Undertaker], and that’s it,” Sting said. “Anyone else, at this point, why? But, I have always loved the idea of the Sting-Taker thing. So many ideas in my head, you know, how to make it just a night that people would never forget.”

Sting added that he has thought about ideas about competing against The Undertaker “for decades.” He also stated that he would not consider being a General Manager, because it would tarnish his legacy and mystique as a character.

Sources: 99.7 CYK and WrestlingINC

Dean Ambrose Turns On Seth Rollins After Winning RAW Tag Titles (Video)

dean ambrose heel turn seth rollins video raw shield tag titles

As if Raw wasn’t emotional enough due to everything involving Roman Reigns, the show ended with Dean Ambrose turning on Seth Rollins after they won the tag team titles.

The Shield defeated Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre after Braun Strowman interfered and brawled with McIntyre to the backstage area. While Dolph was alone, Seth hit the Curb Stomp for the win.

Ambrose and Rollins began to celebrate in the ring, but Dean dropped the title and hit his tag partner with a Dirty Deeds DDT out of nowhere. He then continued to beat Rollins down while seemingly yelling about the conversation from Raw last week where Seth called him a lunatic.

Watch how it all went down below.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE RAW Preview 10/22/18

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island with the final red brand hype for WWE Evolution.

* Big man fall hard: Can Braun Strowman afford to fight a war on two fronts?

* You know who I am: Will Elias overreact to Apollo Crews taking his spotlight?

* As goes Dean Ambrose…: is anyone’s guess what this week will bring

* Lashing out: Will Finn Balor see how hard Bobby Lashley falls this week?

* Do something Bellas?: Can The Bella Twins keep RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey off their tails for one more week?