Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
* Is Samoa Joe prepared for Brock Lesnar’s return?
* Will Goldust be smacked by “the hand of Truth” during his movie premiere?
* What’s next for Enzo Amore?
* Will Bray Wyatt retaliate against Seth Rollins?
* Is an ambulance ride in Roman Reigns’ near future?
Former Ring of Honor star Bobby Fish wrestled his first match in NXT on Friday against one of the brand’s top talents.
In his debut match, Fish lost to rising star Aleister Black.
Just when you thought he was out, Mauro Ranallo gets pulled back in — because the announcer says he’s not sitting out his WWE contract after all, he’s just switching brands.
Ranallo revealed on Thursday that he’ll soon join the NXT announce team and explained, “WWE and I mutually agreed to end my responsibilities on SmackDown having nothing to do with rumors about disputes. As I remained under contract with WWE, we discussed a variety of options.”
As we previously reported, this is now the second time Mauro has shot down rumors that he intended to leave the company due to bullying at the hands of JBL.
Mauro adds, “Despite originally agreeing to part ways, there was always a desire to continue working together. We have come to terms on a new agreement that benefits both WWE and me, and I am thrilled to announce I will now be part of the NXT broadcasting team.”
According to Fight Network, he’ll be replacing Tom Phillips.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
NXT Signee Kimber Lee has been given a new name.
Kimber will now be known as Abbey Laith, as she changed her Twitter handle/name on Wednesday to make it official. She also tweeted saying, “Well guys….. there’s been a change.”
While her personal site still links back to the old moniker, everything else is reflective of Laith.
Abbey signed with WWE earlier this year along with Ruby Riot. She had been recently been using her real name Kimberly Frankele on shows, but it appears Laith is the permanent name going forward.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
https://twitter.com/AbbeyLaithWWE/status/877557926466125825
Laith is expected to be apart of the first ever Mae Young Classic.
On the independent scene, known as Kimber Lee, she teamed with current Impact Wrestling Star Allie (Cherry Bomb). They was known as The Kimber Bombs.
Mike & Maria Kanellis made their blue brand debuts at the WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view on Sunday but they did not appear on last night’s SmackDown Live. WWE did post this Fallout video with the happy couple appearing in front of the live crowd in Dayton, OH during a commercial break tonight.
Maria introduces herself as the First Lady of SmackDown Live, then introduces her husband. She talks about how she left WWE 7 years ago in search of love, and luckily she found Mike. Maria says this might be the closest some people ever get to love. They want everyone to embrace their passion and witness the power of love.
On WWE Network‘s Reborn By Fate – The Hardy Boyz Interview, Matt Hardy discussed whether the Hardys will ever use their broken personas on WWE programming.
When asked by interviewer Corey Graves whether going back to the Version 1 Matt Hardy character after portraying ‘Broken’ Matt for so long, the older Hardy responded in the affirmative and went on to say that he will unleash his broken brilliance on the WWE Universe when the time is right.
“For me, it was very odd going back to regular Matt Hardy, Version 1, or Matt Hardy – Team Xtreme, it was tricky at first. It was hard to be me, which sounds strange, but it was because I got so used to doing my other thing. Things that I had created or morphed into, I almost became. I felt like a broken man having to go back to plain old Matt Hardy in many ways. It’s still within me. It’s still contained. I think when the time is right, I will unleash it again.”
Matt said he likes their chances of using the broken characters in WWE and added that when it happens, it will be big business for the sports entertainment juggernaut.
“I definitely think there’s a chance. It’s something that’s a work in progress. Unfortunately, because of legal reasons, I really can’t go into that right now. But I find it very flattering and humbling that every time we come wrestle in front of the WWE Universe, they chant and they address it and they acknowledge it. Please, keep doing that. I mean, we love it when they do that. And hopefully sooner than later we’ll be able to go into more detail about everything. When it happens, I’m not even going to say ‘if’, when it happens, it’s going to be the most exciting thing to hit WWE programming in a long, long time.”
Source: WrestlingINC
Last night on SmackDown Live GM Daniel Bryan addressed the controversial finish of the first ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match. Bryan decided to strip Carmella of the MITB briefcase and announced a MITB Ladder re-match for next Tuesday’s SmackDown Live.
Women’s MITB Ladder Match: Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Tamina, Natalya and Carmella.
On last night’s edition of Talking Smack, Daniel Bryan banned James Ellsworth from next week’s MITB rematch between Charlotte Flair, Carmella, Natalya, Tamina and Becky Lynch. You can see a clip from the show below…
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Wright State University Nutter Center in Dayton, OH with the fallout from Sunday’s WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view.
* How will Carmella’s controversial Money in the Bank Ladder Match victory be addressed?
* The Lone Wolf reigns as Mr. Money in the Bank
* Will The Viper be looking for payback on Mahal?
* Will Mike & Maria Kanellis bring the power of love to Tuesday nights?
* Daniel Bryan returns to SmackDown LIVE tonight
Last night I was in attendance for WWE Monday Night RAW In Evansville, IN. I was sitting to the side of the stage behind the announce table. Here are some photos I took from the show:
Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Shelton Benjamin is once again in talks with WWE to return to the company … only this time he isn’t unknowingly injured while doing so.
For those who don’t recall, Benjamin was advertised as returning to SmackDown Live following the WWE Draft last year … but a shoulder injury derailed those plans and his deal fell through.
However, as we previously reported, Shelton was officially cleared for action back in March.
The next month he tweeted, “Let me clear this up now. I am not signed to @WWE. I never signed due to injury. While that could change, as of 4-16-2017 I am a free agent”
Sources tell Pro Wrestling Sheet that Shelton’s deal isn’t done quite yet, but things are heading in the right direction … so he’ll more than likely appear on SD Live once it’s finalized and creative plans are in place.
