Tonight’s WWE 205 Live episodes will take place from the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island with the final hype for Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
* How will Neville respond to Akira Tozawa’s championship celebration?
* Is the rivalry between Rich Swann and TJP no longer friendly?
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live episodes will take place from the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island with the final hype for Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
* John Cena faces Jinder Mahal tonight on SmackDown LIVE
* AJ Styles to apologize to Shane McMahon
* Natalya battles Becky Lynch before SummerSlam title showdown
* Breezango returns to “Fashion Peaks” one last time
WWE issued the following today:
WWE takes over New York City with SummerSlam WeekSummerSlam returns to the NYC-Metro area with a week-long lineup of events, including interactive fan experiences and community outreach programs. SummerSlam takes place this Sunday, Aug. 20, streaming live around the world on WWE Network with a special start time of at 7 ET/4 PT from a sold-out Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The events begin today and include:
Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game – Tuesday, Aug. 15
WWE, an international partner of Special Olympics, will support the Play Unified campaign by hosting a Unified Basketball Game at the Educational Alliance Boys & Girls Club: P.S. 64 Clubhouse. Special Olympics athletes and their unified partners will participate in the game as Superstars Cesaro, Sasha Banks and Sheamus and WWE Ambassador Dana Warrior, serve as honorary coaches. WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel and WWE Superstar Big Show will serve as the game’s announcers.“Be a STAR” Bullying Prevention Rally – Tuesday, Aug. 15
Superstars Apollo Crews, Bayley and Kalisto, WWE Announcer Charly Caruso and WWE Ambassador Dana Warrior will speak about the importance of bullying prevention to Club members at the Boys & Girls Club of Kips Bay. Last year, WWE and The Boys & Girls Clubs of America launched a multi-year partnership focusing on youth development and bullying prevention efforts around Be a STAR, WWE’s bullying prevention initiative.New York Yankees Batting Practice – Tuesday, Aug. 15
Superstars Braun Strowman, Alexa Bliss and Big Cass will visit Yankee Stadium to interact with players and take part in batting practice prior to the Subway Series game vs. the New York Mets. At the game, WWE will present a custom WWE Championship to New York Yankees All-Star outfielder and MLB Home Run Derby Champion Aaron Judge.Children’s Hospital Visits – Wednesday, Aug. 16
Superstars Finn Bálor, Natalya, Seth Rollins, Titus O’Neil and WWE Ambassador Dana Warrior, will visit children at The Brooklyn Hospital Center.Superstars Becky Lynch, Bayley, Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston, and WWE Ambassador Dana Warrior, will visit children at Montefiore Children’s Hospital in the Bronx.
During each visit, Superstars will visit children and their families, take pictures, sign autographs and distribute WWE Championships.
Project: OM Yoga Event – Thursday, Aug. 17
WWE, Susan G. Komen and Manduka have partnered to support Project: OM, which aims to battle breast cancer in support of Komen’s goal to reduce the number of breast cancer deaths by 50 percent in the United States by 2026. Superstars Natalya and Titus O’Neil, and WWE Ambassador Dana Warrior, will join more than 150 participants for a yoga class led by veteran Dan Nevins in the Barclays Center’s Geico Atrium.Brooklyn Cyclones Night – Thursday, Aug. 17
Superstars Apollo Crews, Carmella, Charlotte and Mark Henry will visit MCU Park in Coney Island and catch the first pitch, which will be thrown by local Boys & Girls Club members.Hire Heroes USA Veteran Career Panel & Networking Event – Friday, Aug.18
WWE, in partnership with NBCUniversal, will host a Veteran Career Panel and Networking Event at Rockefeller Center in support of Hire Heroes USA. The event will give more than 70 veterans the opportunity to receive one-on-one career coaching while networking with key employers from the Tri-State Area including Pepsi, Revlon, Unilever and more. Superstar Mark Henry will be on-site to speak with the veterans.New York Stock Exchange Closing Bell (NYSE) – Friday, Aug. 18
Superstars Braun Strowman and Sasha Banks will ring the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.New York Mets Batting Practice – Friday, Aug. 18
Superstars The Hardy Boyz, Curt Hawkins and Carmella will visit Citi Field to interact with players and take part in batting practice prior to the game vs. the Miami Marlins.Make-A-Wish One World Observatory Visit – Saturday, Aug. 19
Superstars Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair and Dolph Ziggler will visit One World Observatory positioned on top of One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, to meet with Make-A-Wish kids and their families.NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III – Saturday, Aug. 19
NXT Superstars take over Barclays Center for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. NXT Champion Bobby Roode will defend his title vs. Drew McIntyre, Asuka and Ember Moon go head-to-head for the NXT Women’s Championship, NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain take on SAnitY, Aleister Black goes up against Hideo Itami, and more.SummerSlam – Sunday, Aug. 20
A sold-out crowd will converge on Barclays Center for SummerSlam, The Biggest Event of the Summer. The Universal Championship will be decided in a titanic Fatal 4-Way Match when Brock Lesnar defends against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman, Shinsuke Nakamura will look to earn the biggest victory of his career when he challenges WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, John Cena takes on Baron Corbin, Natalya attempts to capture the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Naomi, Sasha Banks will challenge Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day put their titles on the line vs. The Usos, United States Champion AJ Styles will battle Kevin Owens, and more.Monday Night Raw – Monday, Aug. 21
For the third night in a row, WWE will invade Barclays Center with Monday Night Raw, where fans can see the fall-out from SummerSlam live on USA Network at 8/7C. With more than 1,200 episodes, Monday Night Raw is the longest-running, weekly episodic program in U.S. primetime TV history.SmackDown LIVE – Tuesday, Aug. 22
WWE caps off four consecutive nights of non-stop action at Barclays Center with SmackDown LIVE. SmackDown LIVE will air live at 8/7C on USA Network.
AJ Styles wants to face Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34 next year, a match that he prefers over one against Finn Balor.
Styles made the comments while speaking with fans while at Wizard World Columbus recently.
“There’s a couple guys that I’m looking forward to getting into the ring with whether it’s Shinsuke or Finn or Seth,” said Styles. “You know, guys like that – or even going back to Roman. I love wrestling those guys.”
Styles, who is on the SmackDown roster, said if he had to pick one of those guys to face at WrestleMania it’s Shinsuke Nakamura. He explained:
“I’m picking Shinsuke. Sorry, that’s nothing on Finn Balor,” said Styles. “The reason why I say this is because at Wrestlemania, it’s not going to happen with Finn Balor and I. Why? Because he’s on Raw. Shinsuke’s my best chance getting into that Main Event picture at Wrestlemania. That’s why he wins the championship. I hope he wins it so I can get in there and wrestle him at Wrestlemania.”
Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura signed with WWE together from New Japan Pro Wrestling early last year as part of what was literally a “talent raid.” Styles, the current WWE United States Champion on his second reign with the belt, is a one-time WWE Champion. Shortly before coming to WWE, Styles and Nakamura faced one-another in an IWGP Intercontinental Championship bout at Wrestle Kingdom 10.
“I think it’s great that Shinsuke is getting an opportunity to be – I don’t know if it’s going to be main event – but I think it’s cool that it’s going to be one of them,” said Styles. “This guy has paid his dues. He’s been in Japan for a long time and he’s so charismatic in everything he does. I’m looking forward to the match just like everyone else.”
Sources: WrestlingINC and ScreenGeek.net
Paige appeared with Alberto El Patron for the Malik Rose Bowling Tournament on Monday in San Antonio, Texas. The event raised money for the Salvation Army’s Emergency Family Shelter.
As seen below, KENS5’s Chelsey Hernandez approached Paige and asked her for an update on when she will be back to TV.
“Hopefully within the next couple of months, fingers crossed,” Paige said. “Now I have to get cleared by WWE doctors.”
Source: WrestlingINC
As Ric Flair remains hospitalized, earlier today Charlotte sent out thanks to all the fans for their support and posted a photo of her family. In the caption, she wrote:
“Hi guys, On behalf of my family and I, we want to THANK everyone for the prayers, texts, calls and support. Our Dad is a FIGHTER and your continued thoughts and prayers MEAN THE WORLD to us. ?????? We will update everyone when we have more information. ????????”
Yesterday, Ric Flair had undergone successful surgery (non-heart related) but the situation was still considered “extremely serious,” according to F4WOnline.com. TMZ added that Flair’s family is by his side.
According to F4WOnline.com, Flair was scheduled to have surgery this week but it’s unknown whether the surgery today was the original surgery scheduled or a new surgery. The reason for the WWE Hall of Famer’s hospitalization to an Intensive Care Unit in Atlanta, GA on Saturday is still not known. It’s believed Flair is dealing with a heart issue but nothing has been confirmed.
When Flair was first hospitalized, his manager, Melinda Morris Zanoni of Legacy Talent and Entertainment, indicated it was for routine monitoring and there was no reason to panic. Shortly after midnight on Sunday night, the situation seemed to worsen with her tweeting to pray for and send positive energy to The Nature Boy.
Source: WrestlingINC
Pro Wrestling Sheet has confirmed WWE announcer JoJo was not in attendance for Monday Night Raw in in Boston this week due to a death in the family.
The following statement, which we’ve verified is accurate, was posted from her fan site’s Twitter account: “JoJo will not be working tonight’s episode of RAW as she has been sent from Boston. This is due to her sister, Gigi, passing away.”
Mike Rome took over on announcing duties at the TD Garden tonight in her absence.
Our deepest condolences go out to the announcer and her family during this time.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the TD Garden in Boston with the final build for Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
* Every woman for herself: Sasha vs. Nia
* Joe is gonna get you
* Mizzed opportunity with The Miztourage and Jason Jordan
* Face your fear, Finn Balor
* Brothers on the mend, Rollins and Ambrose
“Free Agent” John Cena is expected to be working on Raw in the near future as he’s being advertised on the brand’s upcoming No Mercy PPV on September 24. The Barclays Center tweeted out that Cena is scheduled to appear on the Raw after SummerSlam on August 21.
Source: WrestlingINC
Scott Dawson suffered a ruptured biceps tendon tear while competing at a WWE live event in Halifax, Canada last Friday, as we previously reported. The injury occurred while Dawson was teaming with Dash Wilder against RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus.
It was noted in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter the only reason the match pitting heel teams against one another happened is because the original opponents for the champions were The Hardy Boyz. However, WWE wasn’t about to get things cleared up to insure that Jeff Hardy would be allowed to cross the United States border into Canada, so they were removed from the shows.
WWE was working on it but time ran out and Hardy had to be pulled from all shows. The original plan was for Matt Hardy to be in Toronto for RAW and shoot an angle with The Revival for their match, but after the injury to Dawson, that was removed from the show. It’s believed they’ll be able to clear things up before RAW’s next tour of Canada.
Border crossing issues have been an issue for Jeff Hardy due to being convicted on felony drug charges, including a drug trafficking charge in 2009. Hardy was arrested on September 11, 2009 and charged with trafficking controlled prescription pills and possession of anabolic steroids, after a search of his house yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and drug paraphernalia. He pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 30 months of probation and a fine of $100,000.
As for Dawson, surgery will likely be required and he’s out indefinitely.
Source: WrestlingINC
