Renee Young announced on last night on Talking Smack that WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler will return to commentary at the January 29th Royal Rumble pay-per-view from San Antonio.
Lawler will be calling the 30-man main event with Corey Graves and Michael Cole.
It was also announced that Lawler will be on the Royal Rumble pre-show with Renee Young and Booker T.
Lawler returned to WWE TV on last night’s SmackDown Live from Memphis and hosted a “King’s Court” segment with Dolph Ziggler.
Mickie James made her return to WWE last night on SmackDown Live during the SmackDown Women’s Championship Steel Cage Match. Mickie disguised as the masked La Luchadora, helped Alexa Bliss retain her title over Becky Lynch. Becky pulled La Luchadora’s mask off to reveal that it was Mickie James.
I Forfeit Match: Jack Gallagher vs. Ariya Daivari
Historic SmackDown Women’s Championship Steet Cage Match: (C) Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch
Shane McMahon to kickoff SmackDown Live with a huge announcement
Will Ziggler keep his cool as King’s Court returns hosted by Jerry “The King” Lawler?
Internal turmoil threatens the future of The Wyatt Family
Can The Miz rejoin the A-list
What will result from Carmella taking Ellsworth on a shopping spree?
Source: WWE.com
Word going around the UK scene is that WWE officials are close to finalizing a deal that will see top UK indie promotion Insane Championship Wrestling air on the WWE Network, according to PWInsider Elite. No word yet on if this will be on-demand content or live content.
The deal with ICW, who recently drew several thousand fans to the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, is said to be a multi-year deal, perhaps for 2-3 years. There is said to be an agreement in place and the deal could be announced some time in the next week.
ICW is closer to the original ECW or WWE’s Attitude Era but it was noted that there content will not be toned down for the WWE Network, at least for the most part.
WWE recently polled fans on which indie companies they would be interested in seeing on the WWE Network. It will be interesting to see if they bring more promotions to the Network in 2017 as they are currently in talks with several North American promotions.
Source: WrestlingINC
Angle spoke with ESPN after being informed of the news on Monday. He said:
“I was shocked. I’ve been out of WWE for a long time and out of touch with them so I didn’t really expect this. It’s a huge honor. This is the only Hall of Fame that I’m not in and probably [the one] I want to be in the most. This is the one that means the most for me. I had a lot of fun entertaining the fans for seven years with WWE, and I’m glad that my hard work paid off.”
Angle revealed that he received a phone call from Triple H on Monday with the news.
“I figured they either decided they didn’t want to do anything with me or they forgot. Hunter said they never forgot and he called and told me this is the first thing they want to do. And whether I wrestle or not after this — which is irrelevant right now — I’m just really proud to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I gave a lot of energy and time to WWE those first seven years, and I’m grateful that they recognized it.”
Angle also told ESPN that his current deal runs through the Hall of Fame ceremony but does not include a WrestleMania 33 match.
“We have not talked about any wrestling. Whether we do or not, that remains to be seen… There are no guarantees. I think right now the most important thing is the Hall of Fame — and I think both sides feel that way.”
Source: WrestlingINC
It’s true, it’s true! Kurt Angle will be taking his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017 just two days before WrestleMania 33, as first reported by ESPN.com.
Visit Angle’s Hall of Fame bio | View legendary photos | Watch career highlights
“Kurt Angle’s accomplishments both in the Olympics and WWE were extraordinary,” said WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul Levesque. “He was one of the most gifted athletes to ever enter the ring, and we are honored to welcome him into the WWE Hall of Fame.”
Before becoming a legend of the squared circle, the proud Pittsburgh native was a world-class amateur competitor, becoming a two-time All-American and a two-time NCAA Champion while wrestling for Clarion University in his home state of Pennsylvania. His incredible amateur career culminated at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where he fought off the incredible pain of a “broken freakin’ neck” to win the gold medal for the United States of America.
In 1998, Angle made the jump from amateur to professional wrestling by signing with WWE. One year later, the gold medal grappler made his debut at Survivor Series 1999, picking up the first win of an undefeated streak that saw Angle capture the European and Intercontinental Championships. His unbelievable rookie campaign culminated at WWE No Mercy in October 2000, where he defeated The Rock to capture his first WWE Championship.
Though his wrestling ability was unparalleled, Angle adapted to the entertainment side of sports-entertainment better than anyone could have expected. Whether it was preaching his “three Is” – intensity, integrity and intelligence – taking part in a five-second pose with Edge & Christian or joining “Stone Cold” Steve Austin for a backstage sing-along, The Olympic Hero was able to make the WWE Universe laugh when he wasn’t wowing them with his athleticism.
By the time he left WWE in 2006, Angle had become one of the company’s most decorated stars in a short period of time. His resume includes four reigns as WWE Champion, a World Heavyweight Championship, the WCW, United States, Hardcore, Intercontinental and World Tag Team Championships. In addition, Angle was the 2000 King of the Ring and even served as General Manager of SmackDown.
In honor of these accomplishments, along with his incredible contributions to the WWE Universe during his storied career, Angle will be enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Tickets for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony will be available starting this Friday, Jan. 20, at 10 a.m. ET. For complete information on how you can see Kurt Angle take his place in sports-entertainment history, visit Ticketmaster.com.
Click here for complete WWE Hall of Fame ticket information
Source: WWE.com
Angle told ESPN.com, “I was shocked. I’ve been out of WWE for a long time and out of touch with them so I didn’t really expect this.”
Angle posted on Twitter that he is coming home:
Brock Lesnar returns
Meet the new “faces of Raw” – Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens
Can Bayley and Sasha Banks attain retribution against Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax?
Neville aims to claim his crown at Royal Rumble
Who’s in the Royal Rumble Match?
Source: WWE.com
Quarter-final round match-ups:
Pete Dunne vs. Sam Gradwell – Winner Pete Dunne
Mark Andrews vs. Joseph Conners – Winner: Mark Andrews
Trent Seven vs. Wolfgang – Winner: Wolfgang
Tyler Bate vs. Jordan Devlin – Winner: Tyler Bate
Semi-Finals:
Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews – Winner: Pete Dunne
Wolfgang vs. Tyler Bate – Winner: Tyler Bate
Neville vs. Tommy End (Non-Tournament Match) – Winner: Neville
WWE UK Championship:
Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate – Winner and first-ever WWE UK Champion: Tyler Bate
WWE will crown the first-ever WWE United Kingdom Champion live on WWE Network during a special, two-night tournament on Saturday, January 14 and Sunday, January 15, 2017 beginning at 8:00 PM GMT.
Below is the full 16-man roster for the two-night tournament:
* Danny Burch
* Mark Andrews
* Roy Johnson
* Dan Moloney
* Joseph Conners
* Tyson T-Bone
* James Drake
* Tyler Bate
* Sam Gradwell
* Jordan Devlin
* Wolfgang
* Pete Dunne
* HC Dyer
* Trent Seven
* Saxon Huxley
* Tucker
Below is the full WWE United Kingdom Title tournament preview show from the WWE Network.
