The final SmackDown Live before WrestleMania 33 will take place tonight from The Coliseum in Richmond, VA.
The final 205 Live before WrestleMania 33 will take place tonight from The Coliseum in Richmond, VA.
WrestlingINC is reporting that Eva Marie is apparently done with WWE. Below is the Exclusive report from Raj Giri of wrestlinginc.com.
With Wrestlemania just days away, there has been some speculation about Eva Marie being a part of the SmackDown Women’s title match this Sunday. Eva has not appeared on television since being suspended for 30 days on August 17, 2016 for her first violation of the company’s Wellness Policy.
After asking around, a source at WWE informed me that the company will not be renewing Eva’s contract. Eva had been with the company since 2013 and was a featured cast member of Total Divas for the show’s six seasons. No announcement has been made by either side, but Eva is apparently done with the company.
Since the suspension, Eva has changed her hair color back to black and filmed two movies. She has also stopped mentioning wrestling on her social media accounts, instead posting messages related to her movies and fashion line. She has also removed references to WWE on her Twitter profile, although ‘WWE Superstar’ still appears on her Instagram account.
Eva was drafted to SmackDown as part of last year’s draft on July 19th. She worked an angle where she would fake injuries and suffer wardrobe malfunctions to avoid wrestling. Her name was last used on WWE television in a negative light during an angle where then-RAW General Manager Mick Foley was supposedly going to trade Sami Zayn for her. Sami was furious, telling Foley that he was worth “1,000 Eva Marie’s.”
John Cena appeared on NBC’s “Today” show this morning and announced that weather man Al Roker will be the guest ring announcer for Cena and Nikki Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse for Sunday’s WrestleMania 33 pay-per-view in Orlando.
WWE announcement:
John Cena reveals that Al Roker will be a guest ring announcer at WrestleManiaDuring a guest hosting appearance on NBC’s “TODAY,” John Cena surprised Al Roker with the opportunity to be the guest ring announcer for Cena & Nikki Bella’s match against The Miz & Maryse at WrestleMania 33.
WrestleMania’s forecast is looking up!
Will Roker bring the thunder on the microphone at The Ultimate Thrill Ride? Find out this Sunday when The Showcase of the Immortals airs live on WWE Network!
The final WWE RAW before WrestleMania 33 will take place tonight from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
WWE and PPTV today announced that WrestleMania will be available live in China for the first time on PPTV Sports via pay-per-view at 7:00 AM Beijing time on Monday, April 3 with a choice of Mandarin or English commentary.
SHANGHAI & STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE® (NYSE: WWE) and PPTV today announced that WrestleMania will be available live in China for the first time on PPTV Sports via pay-per-view at 7:00 AM Beijing time on Monday, April 3 with a choice of Mandarin or English commentary.
PPTV customers can go to WWE.PPTV.com starting at 3:33 PM Beijing time on Thursday, March 30 to subscribe to WrestleMania for a one-time payment of RMB 30 using Alipay, WeChat or Bank Card. Subscribers will be able to stream WrestleMania live on Web iOS, Android devices and digital media players. WrestleMania will also be available for purchase on demand for 30 days after the live broadcast.
WrestleMania 33 will be held at Florida’s Orlando Citrus Bowl and will feature WWE Universal Champion Goldberg™ vs. Brock Lesnar™; WWE Champion Bray Wyatt™ vs. Randy Orton™; Raw® Women’s Champion Bayley™ vs. Charlotte Flair™ vs. Sasha Banks™ vs. Nia Jax™; Roman Reigns™ vs. The Undertaker™; and John Cena® and Nikki Bella™ vs. The Miz™ and Maryse™.
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with PPTV and distribute WWE’s biggest pay-per-view event, WrestleMania, live in China for the first time,” said Jay Li, Vice President & General Manager, WWE Greater China. “In addition to watching Raw® and SmackDown® on PPTV every week, fans in China can now watch their favorite WWE Superstars compete live on the grandest stage of all, WrestleMania.”
“I am extremely excited that PPTV Sports is able to launch a sports pay-per-view event for the first time in China,” said Yicheng Lou, Vice President of PPTV Sports. “Equally exciting is the fact that we can launch this feature with WrestleMania, one of the world’s most valuable sports and entertainment events. This is a solid step towards developing the largely untapped sports pay-per-view market in China.”
WrestleMania is one of the world’s top five most valuable sports events, according to Forbes, alongside the NFL’s Super Bowl, Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup. Over the past 10 years, WrestleMania has had a cumulative economic impact of nearly $1 billion for the cities that have hosted the event.
Visit WWE.PPTV.com or WWE China Weibo for more information.
Chuck Carroll has a story at CBS regarding rumors of a WWE purchase of Ring of Honor. Accoring to Carroll, multiple sources told him that WWE is not purchasing Ring of Honor with one high-ranking ROH source outright saying “there is no story here.”
ROH COO Joe Koff has previously stated that the idea of WWE purchasing the ROH tape library is unlikely, but they do have a good working relationship.
“I’m always open to any conversation,” said Koff. “We do business with them if they want to do a DVD or VOD if they need footage from early matches they do come to us. We are open to work with them on that basis because it doesn’t hurt us. It actually helps us.”
Carroll had asked Koff earlier this month about whether ROH will begin streaming on WWE Network.
“No, no, no, no,” Koff told Carroll. “It’s very flattering and humbling to us. It validates what we’ve done. A lot of their current performers and stars are ROH guys and we have their history. So maybe the content of the backstories of Kevin Steen before he became Kevin Owens or AJ Styles’ run in Ring of Honor, Tyler Black (aka Seth Rollins), Claudio (Castagnoli aka Cesaro) … all of the guys who have wrestled for us. We have their backstory and where it began… That’s our content.”
The full article with details on the relationship between WWE and ROH is at this link.
Source: WrestlingINC
Mauro Ranallo took to Twitter for the first time since last Tuesday to comment on his absence from Smackdown. Ranallo noted that his doctor has told him to “stay off social media” but that he wanted to thank fans for his support.
WWE said that Ranallo missed this week due to illness, while last week’s miss was attributed to travel issues due to weather conditions in the Northeast.
Ranallo has suffered from depression for much of his life, an issue he’s spoken of in depth in interviews, and there was some concern because he has been out of contact with longtime friends since March 14th, the day before he last posted on his usually-active Twitter account (and the day before last week’s Smackdown). However, the site reports that according to his closest friends, Ranallo is doing alright and is resting up.
Source: 411Mania
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels appeared on the latest episode of The Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast. During the interview with Roberts, Michaels revealed that he was actually offered a match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33.
“I guess I’m breaking something with you and I don’t even know if I should, but I could have had that match,” Michaels said (h/t to Sports Illustrated for the transcription). “They didn’t have an opponent for AJ at WrestleMania. I said that I hadn’t been asked because I hadn’t—but then I was.
“I said, I wish that young man was here 10 years ago, man. I honestly do. I think he’s very talented.”
Michaels has not wrestled since losing a “Career vs. Streak” match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI in 2010. He told ESPN earlier this year that Triple H and Vince McMahon had never approached him about a return match, but he thinks that a match with Samoa Joe would be something that he would have enjoyed.
“I look at Samoa Joe and I’ve told him a number of times that I see his stuff at NXT and think to myself, ‘Man, I could have a great deal of fun with you.’ He’s a guy I have sort of enjoyed, and one of those sleeper guys that no one talks about,” Michaels told ESPN in January. “We have contrasting styles. I get that everybody wants to see me and AJ or Seth or Dolph [Ziggler]. From my standpoint, I think really telling a great story out there [is most important]. I could do it with a guy like Samoa Joe. His stuff looks really good, and sometimes he just looks like he’s beating the tar out of somebody.”
Source: WrestlingINC
We noted on Wednesday via Pro Wrestling Sheet that WWE officials have been engaged in secret talks with Ring of Honor parent company Sinclair Broadcasting about a buyout of the brand. The takeover would reportedly see the weekly ROH TV show air on the WWE Network, among other changes, but there’s been no word yet on talents being kept.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE first contacted Sinclair back in August with the idea of buying the company for the tape library and to remove another competitor. A deal has been discussed within WWE and other promotions for a few weeks now but as noted, there is no concrete deal on the table. This could explain why John Cena recently posted a photo of ROH star Jay Lethal to his Instagram account.
The major part of the deal is the ROH tape library, which features early matches from the careers of WWE Superstars like AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Austin Aries and others.
The Observer adds that WWE has also sent at least minor inquiries and feelers to other indie companies, in the US and the UK, about buying them out.
Source: WrestlingINC
