Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri with the final red brand hype for WWE Survivor Series.
* Stephanie McMahon returns to address the WWE World Cup controversy
* The Beast brings his Universal Championship to Raw
* Alexa Bliss’ Survivor Series squad revealed
* Can Baron Corbin evade Braun Strowman?
* Who will round out the Raw Men’s Survivor Series Team?
Luke Harper has been written off TV since Eric Rowan went down with a biceps tear during their SmackDown Tag Team Title defense at Summerslam this past August. They dropped the tag team titles two days later to The New Day on SmackDown Live.
Harper has not appeared on television since, although he lost to North American Champion Ricochet at a few NXT house shows back in September.
Harper appears to have caught the injury bug as well. Last night he appeared at a Brad Williams stand up show with a cast on his left hand, which can be seen below.
Source: WrestlingINC
According to Fightful, the days of WWE Monday Night Raw having an overrun past 11PM ET look to be over. The site reports that going forward, WWE Monday Night Raw has a hard “out” time of 11 PM ET, ending the overrun that the show has enjoyed since the 90s. This will reportedly start with next week’s show. The site adds that this is a change happening because of a directive from USA Network.
With New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 coming up in two months’ time, there have been talks about Jim Ross’s status for the show, and if he will be calling the matches for AXS TV. Ross is currently under contract with AXS TV, but also signed a new deal with WWE last year.
On the most recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer shed some light on Jim’s contractual status with WWE and AXS TV. Dave revealed that Ross’s contract with AXS TV expires on December 31st this year, and that he won’t be calling the pay-per-view for the network in January.
Meltzer also revealed that WWE told Ross he couldn’t announce for the QUINTENT event earlier this year in Las Vegas. Dave noted that Jim’s contract with WWE will run out on March 31st next year, and unless he signs an extension, Ross will be free to work with NJPW from April 1st, 2019.
Source: WrestlingINC
Stephanie McMahon took part in an interview on Tuesday with CNBC’s Elizabeth Schulze at Web Summit in Lisbon and was asked where she sees WWE in the next 10 years.
“10-20-30 years from now, there’s no reason we can’t be as big or bigger than Disney,” the WWE exec replied. “Now that’s a tall order, especially given recent transactions. However, there’s no reason why we can’t get there. You have to dream big, have big, bold goals, and go after them.”
In addition to the Disney talk, the interview also included a fun moment where Stephanie McMahon discussed the importance of empowering your audience to have a voice and how WWE listens to their fans — then noted, “I get railed on Twitter that we don’t listen, but we REALLY are!”
Watch the interview below:
New WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is reportedly scheduled for WrestleMania 35 under his new deal, according to MMAFighting.com.
There had been some speculation on Lesnar being done at the 2019 Royal Rumble pay-per-view but that’s not the case. Lesnar’s new deal is said to be for multiple events but the length of the deal has been kept quiet.
Lesnar’s new WWE deal reportedly allows him to fight for the UFC but there’s no word yet on if he still plans to fight UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier while he’s signed to WWE.
NWA Hall of Famer José Lothario has passed away at the age of 83.
Former NWA President Bruce Tharpe broke the news of Lothario’s passing on Twitter yesterday and The Cauliflower Alley Club later confirmed, as seen below.
Lothario previously accompanied WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels to the ring at WWE events in the late 90’s after training him years earlier. WWE issued the following statement on Lothario’s passing:
Jose Lothario reportedly passes away WWE is saddened to learn that Jose Lothario has reportedly passed away at age 83.
Despite never winning a WWE-sanctioned championship or competing at WrestleMania, Jose Lothario – born Guadalupe Robledo on Dec. 12, 1934 – made a lasting mark on the WWE Universe by simply agreeing to train a cocky teenager from San Antonio, Texas. A cocky teenager that grew up to become WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.
Lothario helped HBK find his footing for a career between the ropes, from selecting Shawn Michaels as a ring name to teaching The Showstopper how to effectively perform the signature kick that came to be known as Sweet Chin Music. HBK soaked up every last lesson taught by Lothario, a Saturday morning staple for wrestling fans of a certain age from the Lone Star State.
“I think every young boy who lived in Texas knew who Jose Lothario was,” Michaels told WWE Magazine in 1996. “I first saw him on TV when I was 12. He was the first Superstar to come across my screen. He is a legend in San Antonio, Cuba, Mexico… just about everywhere!”
Their relationship reached the summit at WrestleMania XII, when Lothario – having helped Michaels break into the business nearly 15 years earlier – watched from ringside as HBK realized his boyhood dream of becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Bret “Hit Man” Hart in an unforgettable WWE 60-Minute Iron Man Match.
Of course, Lothario became an effective mentor only after establishing his well-traveled reputation as a gritty grappler. As an NWA mainstay, he helped usher in popular Mexican wrestling styles to the sports-entertainment scene in the United States. His fans knew him best as “Super Sock,” a nickname recognizing the punches Lothario used to dole out during his past experiences in boxing.
Lothario even briefly displayed his considerable talents before the WWE Universe, most notably by humbling Jim Cornette in a match at In Your House 10: Mind Games.
WWE extends its condolences to Robledo’s family, friends and fans.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England with fallout from WWE Crown Jewel.
* How will Shane McMahon & Paige respond to Raw’s Survivor Series bombshells?
* Will Becky Lynch respond to Ronda Rousey?
* How will Shane McMahon’s WWE World Cup victory effect Team Blue?
* Is AJ Styles ready for Brock Lesnar?
Tonight’s WWE Mixed Match Challenge will take place from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
It’s week 8 of the WWE Mixed Match Challenge series.
The MMC season two continues this evening on Facebook Watch at 10pm EST., immediately following WWE SmackDown Live on the USA Network.
* Naomi and Jimmy Uso vs. Carmella and R-Truth
* Bobby Lashley and Mickie James vs. Finn Balor and Bayley
We noted earlier in the week how WWE recently filed to trademark the Tough Enough name for merchandise use. It sounds like WWE could be planning a revival of the reality TV competition.
There has been an idea pitched that would see a new version of Tough Enough with the competitors being placed on the road with the WWE roster as they all travel together on a tour bus, according to PWInsider. The idea is that there would be weekly competitions with eliminations, leading up to one winner being crowned. That winner would earn a WWE contract. The new series would likely combine elements of Tough Enough, the Diva Search and the reality era of WWE NXT as the company looks for a new female Superstar. WWE has wanted to revive the Diva Search for a while now.
There’s no word yet on if WWE will go with the Tough Enough name or if they will use another name if they decide to produce a new reality competition series but we will keep you updated.
Source: WrestlingINC
