Tonight’s Money In the Bank go-home edition of WWE RAW takes place from the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
* Strowman, Bálor, Roode and Owens collide
* Will Natalya and Alexa Bliss be able to compete in a Fatal 4-Way Match?
* Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax meet face-to-face before their title clash
* Roman Reigns accepts Jinder Mahal’s challenge for a match this Monday on Raw
* How will Raw’s new “Constable” settle into his new role?
Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair appeared together at the “Legends Of The Ring” event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL last night. WSVN-TV Entertainment Reporter Chris Van Vliet interviewed Hogan and Flair at the event, which you can watch in the video above. They sent us these highlights from Hogan:
Returning to WWE:
“Things are moving in that direction quite quickly. It’s all about execution and timing and the right place and the right time but things are good.”
Why he never faced Ric Flair at WrestleMania:
“We don’t know. We were on fire. We did some house shows in Chicago, Milwaukee, three or four shows in a row we set all kinds of records all over and we were pushing real hard towards that WrestleMania time and for me I have a personal opinion, the chemistry was so powerful between Ric and I, I hate to say anything bad about any of the other wrestlers, I hate to say anything bad about the company but with Ric and I heading into WrestleMania it kind of took over everything. If we would have wrestled at WrestleMania, we would have taken so much of the focus because there would have been the rematch and the cage match, the title would have dropped and hopefully I would have won it back and back and forth. I think that Vince knew that this was such a powerful turbulence between the two of us he could conquer and divide and make it work even better and pretty much that’s what he did. He sent me off in one direction and him in another and we drew money in both directions.”
Source: WrestlingINC
WWE.com issued the following:
Spain and Italy, get ready to get Rowdy this November.
Ronda Rousey makes her Spain WWE debut when WWE Live returns to Madrid on Saturday, 3 November, and Barcelona on Sunday, 4 November. Joining fellow Raw Superstars like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Nia Jax and more*, Rousey will take part in her first WWE Live Events in Reino de España, which promises to become two unforgettable evenings of in-ring action and entertainment.
During the latter half of WWE’s European Tour, The Baddest Woman on the Planet returns to Italy when WWE Live action commences in Bologna on Friday, 9 November, then in Rome on Saturday, 10 November. Rousey electrified the WWE Universe in Turin with her Italy debut last May, and fans can expect her to do so again in La Rossa (“The Red One,” in reference to Bologna’s red rooftops throughout) and The Eternal City.
Tickets to see WWE Live in Spain and Italy are available now, at the following links below.
SPAIN
Saturday, 3 November: WiZink Center, Madrid | Tickets available now at www.elcorteingles.es, www.ticketmaster.es and www.proactiv.es
Sunday, 4 November: Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona | Tickets available starting 24 May, 12 p.m. local time, at www.elcorteingles.es, www.ticketmaster.es and www.proactiv.es
ITALY | Tickets for all events available now at www.ticketone.it
Friday, 9 November: Unipol Arena, Bologna
Saturday, 10 November: PalaLottomatica, Rome
*Talent depicted and referenced above are subject to change.
Former British professional wrestler, Johnny Saint has been named the General Manager of WWE’s United Kingdom brand. He will be in charge of this years’ United Kingdom Championship Tournament at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Saint, whose real name is John Miller, began his professional wrestling career in the 1950s.
“Saint is considered a pioneering force in the U.K. scene, and he is widely hailed as one of the most technically gifted grapplers of all time.”
In 2017, Johnny spent six months at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando working with NXT Superstars.
Source: WrestleView
Tyler Breeze and Scott Dawson both seemed to vent their frustration with how they’ve been used on RAW lately. Breeze tweeted, “They say the cream rises to the top……. does anyone have some balloons or a life vest?” He also called a fan “dumb” for saying that comedy characters don’t reach main event status, as seen below:
Scott Dawson also took to Twitter, stating that he wants more of an opportunity so that they can prove what they can do. Breeze replied, “Get in line pal.”
https://twitter.com/ScottDawsonWWE/status/1004195137717768194
Tyler Breeze and Fandango won their first match on RAW against Cesaro & Sheamus when they were drafted to the brand in early April. They have wrestled on RAW only three times since that match, having lost each one.
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder had some success earlier this year, but have lost all of their matches on RAW since defeating Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows on the April 9th episode, before Anderson & Gallows left to SmackDown.
Source: WrestlingINC
23-year-old NXT phenom Lio Rush will be making his main roster debut as part of 205 Live.
A promo for Rush was shown during last night’s cruiserweight showcase on WWE Network. Rush has been part of the WWE development system since the middle of 2017.
Most recently, Rush has been working NXT events alongside the much larger Babatunde — who appeared as part of the Greatest Royal Rumble event.
Rush has been used sparingly on NXT TV since tweeting a joke about Emma‘s release in October 2017. While officials may have held him back for a little bit, it’s clear they believe he has a bright future.
Watch the promo hyping Rush’s debut below.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
It’s been eight years since he retired from in-ring competition, but Shawn Michaels now says he’d consider stepping back in the ring for one more match if it’s “done the right way.”
The WWE Hall of Famer spoke to Sky Sports to promote his upcoming appearance in London as part of the United Kingdom Championship Tournament later this month and said, “It would have to be done the right way and just for one match rather than something that ran for longer.”
Adding, “It could be possible but people would have to accept they wouldn’t be getting the Showstopper, Mr. Wrestlemania.”
Michaels said goodbye to the WWE Universe and in-ring action in 2010 after being retired by The Undertaker in the main event of WrestleMania 26.
So … if a dream match were to occur, who would Michaels wants to be in the ring with? Michaels says, “AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan would be good, and then there’s the guys in NXT too. Someone like a Johnny Gargano would be fantastic.”
Nevertheless, HBK noted “one more match” is much more likely to be a tag team situation where “Hunter and I can just do a few crotch chops and have some fun.”
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Jurors sided with CM Punk and Colt Cabana on Tuesday — clearing the pair in a defamation lawsuit filed by a WWE doctor upset with comments Punk made during a controversial 2014 podcast.
The decision came down around 4pm Chicago-time in Cook County Circuit Court, according to Wrestlezone, capping off a libel trial that lasted one week.
Over five days of testimony, Punk and Cabana’s lawyers tried to prove Punk believed what he said during the interview about Dr. Christopher Amann. Ultimately, Amann’s side had trouble proving any real monetary damage occurred. The doctor was seeking $4 million dollars (one dollar per each podcast stream) and additional punitive damages.
In the November 2014 podcast interview conducted by Cabana, Punk recalled his medical issues and treatments in the months leading up to him walking out of WWE following the Royal Rumble. Though he was rarely mentioned by name in the podcast, Amann felt Punk’s claims directly damaged his reputation and caused distress.
Amann told jurors he was harassed and humiliated by fans and that the podcast hurt his standing with patients. However, the WWE ringside physician couldn’t point to any monetary damages and he remains employed by the company.
Much of the testimony centered around a lump on Punk’s backside which Punk felt made him ill over an extended period. Punk contended Amann didn’t properly treat it. Amann claims he never saw it. His attorneys showed numerous texts and emails regarding Punk’s health and at no point did Punk put anything in writing with WWE doctors about the lump.
In the podcast, Punk said the lump ended up being a staph infection that ultimately could’ve cost him his life. It was shown it court that the lump was diagnosed by a physician’s assistant as a lump. Even so, the P.A. who treated Punk labeled it a possible staph infection — but never tested it.
Punk said the podcast was his way to “set the record straight for my fans” and tell his story. He told jurors he wouldn’t change anything about the interview.
At the end of the day, jurors didn’t see enough to prove Punk and Cabana legally defamed Amann.
With this trial now behind him, Punk has four days to get mentally prepared to step into the octagon. His second UFC fight is set for Saturday in Chicago against Mike Jackson.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Tonight’s WWE Smackdown Live will take place from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas as the road to Money In the Bank continues.
* Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch to square off
* Naomi & Jimmy Uso to face Lana & Aiden English in Mixed Tag Team action
* Paige to host contract signing for AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
* Carmella promises to “unmask” Asuka on SmackDown LIVE
Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
* Brian Kendrick vs. Lince Dorado
* Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali
