Tonight’s 205 Live will take place from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
* Can Austin Aries make Neville tap out at WWE Extreme Rules?
* “The Boss” Sasha Banks arrives on WWE 205 Live
Tag: WWE
SmackDown Live Preview 5/30/17
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
* SmackDown Women’s Title No. 1 Contender’s Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match to take place tonight
* Will Sami Zayn be back in action?
* Can anyone stop The Usos?
* WWE Money in the Bank momentum at stake
* Will Mahal avoid The Viper’s fangs?
WWE Cancels Manchester NXT Live Event Due To Terrorist Attack, Issues Statement
WWE announced today that they are cancelling the June 4th NXT live event in Manchester our of respect to those affected by the terrorist attack in the city earlier this week. WWE issued this statement:
“Out of respect for all those affected by the Manchester tragedy, WWE is cancelling the NXT event on Tuesday, June 6 at the Manchester Arena, and giving fans who purchased tickets to the show a full refund and offering them the option to receive a free ticket at point of purchase to the NXT show on Wednesday, June 7 at First Direct Arena in Leeds.”Our Superstars will be in Manchester on June 6 visiting with those affected by the tragedy and WWE is making a donation to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund. We look forward to returning to the Manchester Arena on Monday, November 6 for Raw and Tuesday, November 7 for SmackDown Live.”
WWE ATL Fans To ‘Rock The Red’ For AJ Styles
WWE Shop is selling exclusive red “Untouchable” t-shirts for AJ Styles as he prepares to return home to Atlanta for next week’s SmackDown episode. AJ and WWE are asking fans to “rock the red” when they attend next week’s show. AJ speaks on the shirt in this new video:
Source: WrestlingINC
Photo from shop.wwe.com
Update On Emma’s Injury And Her WWE Return
Emma is expected to be cleared to return to action in mid-June, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Emma suffered a shoulder injury at a WWE live event earlier this month on May 7th in Liverpool, England. She was teaming with RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax against Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Mickie James. She took a bad landing on her right shoulder after a double knee drop from Sasha on the turnbuckle, which caused the referee to throw the “X” signal and have the match stopped early.
Emma had returned to action on television last month on the April 3rd episode of RAW. She had suffered a back injury last May, and was scheduled to return as “Emmalina” earlier this year. The gimmick was dropped the day it was scheduled to debut this past February, and she reverted back to her “Emma” name.
Source: WrestlingINC
WWE Women’s Tournament To Be Named The Mae Young Classic, Possible Plans For Tournament
Triple H announced that the tournament will be called the “Mae Young Classic.” The name honors Young, who the company has long held up as a legendary figure in women’s wrestling. She was 90 years old when she passed away in January 2014.
WWE announced the following:
WWE has announced that the first-ever Mae Young Classic women’s tournament will take place Thursday, July 13, and Friday, July 14, from Full Sail Live in Orlando, Fla.
Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. ET via www.nxttickets.com.
The tournament, named after WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest WWE Superstars in history, Mae Young, will feature 32 of the top female competitors from around the world participating in a single-elimination tournament. The unprecedented event will stream later this summer exclusively on WWE Network.
“The Mae Young Classic will mark a significant moment in the evolution of WWE,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events and Creative. “We are proud to provide this unique opportunity for the best female talent from around the world.”
Additional information on the Mae Young Classic will be announced in the coming weeks.
Click here for additional information on the life and legacy of WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young.
The current plan is for the tournament to have a very strong female presence, besides the talent roster, according to PWInsider. There has been talk of using female announcers, something like 2 female announcers and 1 male. No word yet on who the female announcers would be but they could go with something like Renee Young and Charly Caruso or with a guest WWE Hall of Famer, perhaps Lita or Beth Phoenix. We already know that WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross will be working the announce table that week.
There’s also been talk of using female referees for the tournament. We noted a few weeks back that indie women’s wrestler Kennadi Brink has been signed to work as a referee for the company. She will likely call at least some of the matches but there’s no word yet on if there will be another female referee brought in.
WWE has confirmed that the tournament will tape on July 13th and July 14th but they have not announced an air date yet. We do know that the tournament will air later this summer and as noted, the plan is to release 3 or 4 episodes at a time instead of one new episode each week. There are also plans to hold a live WWE Network special with the tournament finals on Tuesday, August 29th but that date could change.
Sources: WWE.com and WrestlingINC.com
NXT Preview 5/24/17
* Drew McIntyre and Wesley Blake settle their differences
* “The Velveteen Dream Experience” arrives in NXT
* Aleister Black is back in action
* What’s next for NXT following an unforgettable TakeOver: Chicago?
Women’s Money In The Bank Match Being Planned For Next Month’s Pay Per View?
Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned WWE officials are planning to announce a women’s Money in the Bank match for next month’s event … and if all goes accordingly, we’ll be getting the first of it’s kind.
Sources tell PWS the SmackDown Live brand pay per view will not only feature the men’s MITB, but as it currently stands they’re planning to announce a women’s match as well in the next few weeks.
Thats right, 2017 is more than likely going to feature the inaugural Women’s Championship briefcase.
No word yet on participants, or if there is any added stipulations, but the fact they are having this match alone is just another large step forward in women’s equality in WWE.
This past October WWE stepped up and featured not only the first ever women’s Hell In A Cell, but also the first ever women’s PPV main event. And just this past Wrestlemania, #givesdwomenachance ended up moving those wrestlers from the pre-show to the main card.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
I really hope WWE goes through with these plans. The women are very capable of putting on a great MITB Ladder match.
Backstage News On Why WWE Is Staying Out Of Matt Hardy – Impact Wrestling Situation
Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm revealed in an interview with the LAW this week that even though he felt that it was “unquestionable” that Impact Wrestling owned the “Broken” gimmick, he received word from WWE that they weren’t interested in it anyway.
“As far as I know, the WWE doesn’t want the gimmick, and indeed, from every conversation I’ve had with them, I’ve been told they have no interest in it,” Nordholm said. When asked if WWE has been actively pursuing the gimmick from them Nordholm replied, “Oh god, no. We’ve been in communication because there’s all this chatter about how we’re keeping it from them. [Laughs] I’m taking heat because I’m keeping something from you. If you want it, why don’t you call me? And their answer to me has been, ‘No, not interested.'”
On Tuesday, Nordholm leaked an email exchange he had with a WWE employee who stated that WWE had “no interest” in getting involved with acquiring the gimmick.
Dave Meltzer reported on the most recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE is not getting involved because they don’t want to set a precedent of buying a gimmick or idea from someone else. Hardy is actively pursuing acquiring the rights to it, and Meltzer noted that if WWE was not interested in the gimmick, they would tell him to stop doing the “Broken” mannerisms that he’s been using on television. Meltzer added that it’s clear that they have interest in the gimmick if Hardy can get the rights for it, however they have no desire to get involved in the process.
Source: WrestlingINC
Matt Hardy Responds To Impact Wrestling President Leaking His Contract Details
Matt Hardy commented on Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm sending PWInsider a log of the communications between the company and Hardy over the ownership of the “Broken” gimmick. Nordholm included an alleged four-page excerpt from Hardy’s contract with highlighted passages which stated that the company owned all intellectual property after their relationship ended.
Nordholm also posted an email exchange with a WWE employee who stated that WWE had “no interest” in getting involved with acquiring the gimmick.
Hardy responded on Twitter:
Source: WrestlingINC
