The NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool II event will be held on Sunday, January 12, the first time that a Takeover will be held on a Sunday rather than a Saturday night.
The date was confirmed by Triple H himself in a tweet who said that NXT UK was returning to the same building where the brand was born a couple of years ago – The Empress Ballroom. Tickets for NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool II will go on sale tomorrow at 10AM.
The main matches for the show were also confirmed during the NXT UK television tapings in Hull over the weekend with the WWE UK championship, NXT UK Women’s, and NXT UK Tag Team titles all set to be defended on the show.
A new episode of Untold on the WWE Network will drop on Friday, November 22 according to the website WWENetworkNews.com and will focus on Sting.
Titled WWE Untold: Sting’s Last Stand, this original episode will take a look at Sting’s last match ever against Seth Rollins for the WWE title at Night of Champions 2015 and will feature never-told-before stories regarding the match from Sting, Rollins, and others.
During that match, which was the first and only time that Sting challenged for the WWE title, he got injured and was forced to retire from in-ring competition. Rollins took the majority of the heat for the injury with Sting barely able to finish the match.
PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE Superstar Oney Lorcan has requested his release last month although unlike others before him, he did not make it public.
Lorcan, who used to wrestle as Biff Busick on the independent scene, changed his social media handles to reflect his old wrestling name and is also now selling his merchandise on ProWrestlingTees.com.
The 33-year-old has mainly wrestled on 205 Live, NXT, and NXT UK and is known for his hilarious Twitter feed. Lorcan signed a WWE deal in 2015 but despite his strong presence on the independent scene, he was never given the opportunity to shine in WWE.
Smackdown did 2,350,000 viewers this week on FOX, down 267,000 viewers from last week’s show and the lowest number the show has done since moving to FOX.
The show only beat The CW in terms of viewership, placing fourth out of five overall among networks and was matched by Hawaii Five-O in the 18-34 and 18-49 demo which is also the first time that happened. Usually, Smackdown easily beats other programming in those all-important demographics. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzsaily.com)
The WWE Superstars and crew have been on the road pretty much since Crown Jewel and today the second European tour of the year is wrapped up with one final show in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The tour kicked off on November 7 with everyone performing in 14 different events over 10 days across 7 different countries. Raw and Smackdown television tapings were also held in the United Kingdom with some NXT stars brought over just for the Friday tapings before being sent back home to get ready for the Wednesday NXT television show. The Smackdown crew left Europe a few days earlier due to the live show on FOX last night.
There is barely any rest though as everyone is gearing up for a busy Survivor Series weekend next week, with Smackdown, NXT Takeover, the pay-per-view, and Raw all taking place in Chicago.
The social media accounts of 2K were hacked last night and the WWE 2K Facebook and Twitter pages had some embarrassing moments before the accounts were reclaimed by the company.
“We are aware that social media accounts across the 2K label have been compromised and offensive material is being posted that does not reflect the values of 2K or our partners. We are actively working to fix this as soon as possible,” a tweet read.
The WWE 2K Facebook page had it’s header photo changed to Chris Benoit in front of a Hall of Fame logo, photos of All Elite Wrestling posted on the wall, stills from the leaked Paige sex video as the profile photo, and then a complete AEW takeover with profile and header photos.
Several posts were also uploaded including those saying “WWE IS FAKE,” “yo, let’s get 10k likes and I’ll release Randy Orton gangbanging a whore with Triple H,” and many others.
The WWE Universal title will be on the line at the Survivor Series as The Fiend Bray Wyatt will put his gold on the line against former WWE champion Daniel Bryan.
Daniel Bryan was a guest on MizTV last night on Smackdown and challenged Wyatt for the title. Wyatt, appearing via video, accepted the challenge by having his own version of the “Yes!” chant.
The Universal title also received some makeover, with the red strap gone and instead there’s a nice looking blue strap to go along with the Smackdown color scheme.
Wyatt and Bryan have a long history together dating back to when Wyatt recruited him to the Wyatt Family, only for Bryan to turn on him during the height of the Yes Movement. The Fiend attacked Bryan last week backstage at Smackdown in Manchester.
During the NXT UK television tapings in Hull today, WWE announced that the next UK Takeover event will take place once again in Blackpool.
Blackpool was the site of the WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament and also the location of the first NXT UK Takeover. This event will be titled NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool II and will take place next year although no exact date was given.
This year, WWE held Takeover: Blackpool on January 12 while Takeover: Cardiff on August 31. If WWE keeps the same schedule, the Blackpool II event would take place on January 11 from the Empress Ballroom.
The Kraken Black Spiced Rum today announced its most ominous challenge to-date, a high-stakes sweepstakes in partnership with WWE’s third global brand, NXT, challenging fans to tell NXT Superstars what finishing move it would take to bring down the mythical sea beast, The Kraken, for a chance to win a trip to WrestleMania in Tampa, on Sunday, April 5, 2020.
Launched around NXT TakeOver: WarGames, this sweepstakes will run from November 11, 2019 through December 13, 2019. During this time, Kraken Rum and NXT Superstars Shayna Baszler, Adam Cole and Pete Dunne invite WWE fans to tell them a finishing move that has the power to defeat the beast, for a chance to win.
Kraken Rum’s partnership with WWE takes fan engagement to the next level by allowing the WWE Universe to immerse themselves into the mythical sea story and connect with their NXT Superstar favorites. To enter, Kraken Rum tasks adults ages 21 years and older to tell their tale of how they would take down the beast on Instagram or Twitter, tagging @krakenrum with the hashtag #KrakenTakedown. One winner will be chosen by WWE after the sweepstakes closes on December 13 and will receive roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations for two nights, and two tickets for the winner and a guest to WrestleMania.
Smackdown is back live tonight on FOX as the Superstars from the blue brand have gone back home from the European tour.
A few matches have been announced tonight with the build for the Survivor Series as the main agenda. Bayley will be taking on Nikki Cross in a non-title match and if Cross wins she will be added to the Smackdown women’s team for the Survivor Series. Lacey Evans was added this week so there’s only one spot left.
The team of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode will be facing Mustafa Ali and Shorty G and if Ziggler and Roode get the win, they will replace Ali and G in the men’s elimination tag team match at Survivor Series.
The new Smackdown Tag Team champions The New Day will give The Revival their rematch for the titles, a week after they won them in Manchester. Plus, Daniel Bryan will be the special guest on MizTV.
The WWE Survivor Series has swept the world. Last year the hype was so real that it was thought it couldn’t be topped, but this year all of the superstars from NXT are allowed to join the Survivor Series. Along with the excitement of regular fans, it turns out that millions of online gamblers are eager and ready to place their bets on their favorite teams and wrestlers.
WWE Survivor Series Weekend Details
The event will be hosted at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, Sunday 24th November 2019 to Monday 25 November. Of course, the event will stream live on the WWE Network. This is a pay-per-view event in collaboration with the SmackDown, NXT and Raw brands.
Which matches to bet on?
There are several ways in which to bet on the wrestling. For example, there are dedicated slot websites; such as at LabSlots.com in the UK which allow you to bet on WWE themed slot games. But if you are a real WWE aficionado, by noting which teams and wrestlers are favoured to win during the survivor series- you can get a good idea of who the bookie’s favorites to win are and thus increase your chances of a big pay-out.
The showdown between Lesnar and Mysterio is much anticipated indeed! The ante was most certainly upped when the two battled it out on September 30th. Tensions have been high since Brock not only attacked Mysterio, but his son too! Mysterio called on aid from Cain Velasquez to action his revenge, which failed. Thereafter, a match between Mysterio and Lesnar spiraled into chaos with Rey beating Brock down with a chair and with a pipe in a match to follow. Wrestling fans are on the edge of their seats wondering what might happen between Lesnar and Mysterio at the Survivor Series.
Triple Threat Match: Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler
Wrestling fans are eager to see this Triple Threat Match play out between Raw, SmackDown, and NXT Champions. It’s easy to see how each wrestler is vastly different and that’s bound to add an element of interest, or chaos! Braszler, who is a former MMA fighter, is known to be particularly brutal in the ring. The fact that Lynch is known as “The Man” really says it all. Bayley, who has been a favorite amongst the fans, is considered somewhat ruthless. This one is bound to be an edge-of-your-seat kind of match.
Triple Threat Match – Tag Team Champions: Viking Raiders (Raw) vs The New Day (SmackDown) vs The Undisputed ERA (NXT)
Wrestling fans looking for a brutal attack with no holding back are set to get exactly that with this Tag Team Champions Triple Threat Match. The Viking Raiders of Raw are known for their brutal force, The New Day of SmackDown are known for their determination and swift attacks (and many wins), and The Undisputed ERA of NEXT are known for their dominance in the ring. How this one plays out will be very interesting.
Women’s Elimination Triple Threat Match: Raw, SmackDown and NXT teams
This is the first ever 5-woman elimination match and it’s set to be very exciting. Team SmackDown have Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Carmella, and Dana Brookes representing. The SmackDown team will go up against 5 Raw Superstars and 5 NXT Superstars. The Superstars are still to be advised, but rumour has it that NXT’s team includes Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai, and Candice LeRae, while Raw’s team includes Charlotte Flair and Natayla.
Men’s Elimination Triple Threat Match: Raw, SmackDown and NXT teams
This year, there’s a twist because the NXT team is included. On the Raw team, wrestlers include the ever-popular Seth Rollins with Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and Ricochet. Team SmackDown plans to dominate the ring with their team consisting of Roman Reigns, Ali, Shorty G, King Corbin, and Braun Strowman. Team NXT seems to be keeping their team a surprise, but rumour has it that Matt Riddle and Keith Lee may just be part of it.
Triple Threat Match: AJ Styles (US Champion) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Intercontinental Champion) vs Roderick Strong (NXT North American Champion)
Many wrestling fans are chomping at the bit to see this match in action. These wrestlers are known to be highly talented. Watching these three big names battle it out is going to be terrifying and exciting!
The Time to Place Your Bets is Coming – Who’s It Going to Be?
Everyone has their own ideas about who is going to claim the title at this year’s WWE Survivor Series. By looking at the various players, historical outcomes of matches, and the hype surrounding the match it’s easier to make a choice and place your bets!
WrestleMania 36 tickets officially went on sale to the general public on Ticketmaster.com today after two days of pre-sale.
Cheapest ticket prices so far are from $200 and they keep rising, with some seats in the bleachers tagged as official platinum going for $600! Other prices are $225, $250, $275, $300, $325, $400, $600, $850, $1,000, $2,000, and $2,500. Ringside tickets are also priced $6,000 and $10,000 and prices will fluctuate according to demand, a nasty Ticketmaster practice that doesn’t seem to be going away.
While many sections have been sold out, there are many more which have tons of remaining tickets and unlike last year when WrestleMania in New Jersey came close to selling out quickly, it will not be the case this time around.
WrestleMania 36 takes place from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The WWE on FOX social media account uploaded a seven-minute video of the behind the scenes logistics that took place to get CM Punk to the FOX Sports studios in Los Angeles in secret for his surprise debut on WWE Backstage.
At 7PM PT, Punk hopped in a car and was asked by one of the producers if he was nervous. Punk replied saying that he would not be able to tell him with a straight face that he is not nervous. “It’s a space I have not been in in five, six years, compounded by the fans who always clamored for me to come back to this space. Even if it’s not me wrestling, it still feels like it’s kind of a big deal. But nerves are good. If you don’t feel nervous it means you don’t care enough to make it entertaining,” Punk said.
43 minutes after he left his original location, Punk arrived at the FOX studios lot. Sporting a hat and a hoodie, Punk was told to cover his face with a fabric until he reached a conference room where he was held until it was go time.
With 15 minutes to go to his cue, Punk, still covered, moved out of the conference room and walked to the WWE Backstage studio where he was met by producers who mic’ed him up and gave him instructions on how the whole thing is going to pan out.
With the clock at five minutes until showtime, Punk was asked by the producer if he has any final words before he breaks the internet. “I’m not going to break the internet. I’m going to break the world,” Punk said while walking to his position. With two minutes to go, Punk was in the proverbial “Gorilla position” as Renee Young transitioned to the final segment of the show and the eventual surprise.
A female producer gave him the final instructions as he waited behind the doors. “3, 2, 1…” said Renee, as his music hits. Punk smiles when he hears the Backstage cast go crazy and a second or so later, the producer told him “Go” as the doors opened.
After coming close last week by 9,000 viewers, NXT this week dropped in terms of viewership, getting a total of 750,000 viewers for last night’s broadcast on USA Network, down 63,000 from last week. The show was #22 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. The gap between AEW and NXT this week was of 207,000 viewers, up 198,000 from last week’s broadcasts. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Coming off the Full Gear pay-per-view, AEW extended their winning streak to seven weeks, getting a total of 957,000 viewers last night, up 135,000 viewers from last week’s show. Dynamite was #5 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
All Elite Wrestling will be holding a battle royal on next week’s episode of Dynamite called The Dynamite Dozen with an odd prize for the eventual winner.
The battle royal will have 12 participants and so far none of them have been announced. The match will stop when there are two final wrestlers in the ring and the two will then square off the following week where the winner will get…a diamond ring! Yep, not a title shot, but a diamond ring!
The final match will take place on November 27 as the company revisits the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
During his latest podcast The Hall of Fame, former champ Booker T talked about the surprise that he got on Tuesday night when CM Punk walked on stage towards the final segment of WWE Backstage on FS1.
Booker said that he did not know Punk was there and he had not seen Punk at all during the day so when Renee Young brought him out, he was just as surprised as everyone. He said that when Renee said they were going to do something new in the final segment of the show, he was lost because nobody mentioned anything “new” to him leading up to the show. Booker thinks that the end game here is to see Punk lacing up his wrestling boots once again and that’s certainly something that the fans are expecting.
Asked about what we can expect from CM Punk starting from next week on the show, Booker replied, “I don’t know, I really don’t know what’s gonna happen with CM Punk because CM Punk is a wildcard,” and then joked that they might have to get security to restrain him and escort him out of the building.
Booker revealed that after the show they all went out to dinner in Los Angeles and did a bunch of “small talk” mainly around mixed martial arts, fighting, and some wrestling talk.
When quizzed about what he thinks Punk meant when he said that “I change the culture,” Booker said he doesn’t know what he meant by it and it’s like a riddle at this point.
Local advertising for next month’s TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view features the first-ever women’s TLC tag team match, with the WWE Women’s Tag Team champions The Kabuki Warriors taking on Raw Women’s champion Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
There has only been one women’s TLC match so far and that was held last year with three of the four participants advertised for next month’s match being in that match. On that night, Asuka defeated Charlotte and Becky in a triple threat TLC match to become the new Smackdown Women’s champion.
Also being advertised for TLC 2019 are Roman Reigns vs King Corbin in another TLC match and Rusev vs Bobby Lashley.
Episode 7 of season 9 of Total Divas, titled I Will Prevail, pulled in a total of 258,000 viewers, up from last week’s series low by 67,000 viewers. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
CM Punk’s return on WWE Backstage on Tuesday night has been, to no surprise, a big hit for FOX’s social media properties.
Apart from trending #1 (CM Punk) and #2 (WWE Backstage) worldwide on Twitter at around Midnight, the video of Punk being introduced did over 5.5 million video views across all FOX Sports social media platforms overnight and the number keeps climbing. The post, which simply has “THAT. JUST. HAPPENED. #WWEBackstage” and the 52-second video, is also the most retweeted post of the year on any FOX Sports handle.
The band Living Color, the ones who sing Punk’s theme song Cult of Personality, also got in on the action, tweeting Punk’s return video and writing, “That’s right! @cmpunk is back on @WWEonFOX.”
FOX also produced a video showing the immediate reactions from Renee Young, Paige, Booker T, and Samoa Joe after Backstage went off the air. “I’m just glad you don’t have to lie to anybody anymore,” a smiling Punk told Renee as she hugged him. Young said that she felt weird about it and certainly stressful about keeping the secret and leading up to the reveal. You can see the video below.
