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Goldberg, Lesnar and Undertaker announced for next WWE show in Saudi on June 7

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE officially announced the return to Saudi Arabia for another show at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Friday, June 7, at 8PM AST.

The yet-to-be-titled event will feature all the top WWE Superstars…including The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Goldberg, who will wrestle his first match since WrestleMania 33.

Additional details on the event’s matches, ticket availability and pricing, and regional broadcast information will be announced in the coming weeks. The show will air on the WWE Network.

This is the second of the 10-year deal between WWE and the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia where WWE is contracted to do one to two shows per year in the country. The lucrative deal is worth millions and millions of dollars the events there make more money to WWE than a WrestleMania.

Smackdown rating for 05/01/2019

By
Colin Vassallo
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This week’s Smackdown pulled in just 1,833,000 viewers, down 239,000 viewers from last week’s show. This was the least-watched Smackdown since the December 31, 2015 episode and is the lowest-rated non-holiday show ever.

The NBA game head-to-head with Smackdown did 4.4 million viewers. Smackdown was #7 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #13 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Kurt Angle inks new, five-year WWE deal and gets producer role

By
Colin Vassallo
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In an interview with WrestlingInc.com’s podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle said that he signed a new, five-year deal with WWE that will see him doing a variety of work, including backstage as a producer.

Angle said that he might do some part-time work in front of cameras as a manager but the most important part of his new job is being a producer and helping the Superstars with their matches.

“The most important thing is I’m going to be a producer. I’m going to help the wrestlers with their technique. I’m going to help them structure their matches. It’s something I’m very good at,” Angle said.

Angle, who wrestled his farewell match against Baron Corbin at WrestleMania, was pulled from his Starrcast II appearance by WWE along with The Undertaker after both of them signed new deals.

WWE has added a few former wrestlers as producers such as Shawn Daivari, Shane Helms, Steve Corino, and Jeff Jarrett while Arn Anderson was fired and Dean Malenko quit.

Meiko Satomura to be a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center

By
Colin Vassallo
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The website Squared Circle Sirens is reporting that Meiko Satomura will be doing a stint as a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

Satomura appeared at the Mae Young Classic tournament last year and defeated Killer Kelly, Mercedes Martinez, and Lacey Lane before losing to the eventual winner Toni Storm in the semi-final.

The 39-year-old Japanese star is considered to be one of the best female wrestlers in professional wrestling and wrestled for Gaea Japan, WCW, Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling, World Wonder Ring Stardom, Chikara, and other independent promotions throughout her career so far.

She made her professional wrestling debut at the age of 15 and has nearly 25 years of experience as a wrestler.

Lilian Garcia joins the Professional Fighters League as cage announcer

By
Colin Vassallo
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Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia will be serving as the cage announcer for season two of the Professional Fighters League which starts on May 9 on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The PFL has dozens of fighters in six different weight-classes, competing in regular season events. The top eight in each weight-class face-off in bracket-style, single elimination playoff fights. The 2019 regular season consists of six events spanning from May to August. Playoffs consist of three events and the season culminates to the Championship Event on New Year’s Eve 2019.

“I’m looking forward to stepping in the cage and getting back to introducing fighters to the masses, something I truly love and have missed,” Garcia said. “What I find most intriguing about the PFL is that every fight matters. Each fighter enters the cage knowing they are competing for a shot at a title and million-dollar prize. “There is so much drama surrounding that moment, and I’m honored to help bring it to life for fans in the arena and watching at home.”

Garcia worked for WWE between 1999 and 2008 full time and then between 2011 and 2016. Since then, Garcia made sporadic appearances on WWE television and specials and was recently the special guest ring announcer for the Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35.

Dean Ambrose brings back the Jon Moxley name

By
Colin Vassallo
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With the clock showing five minutes past midnight, the man formerly known as Dean Ambrose reverted to his old wrestling name of Jon Moxley.

Now officially out of his WWE contract, the former WWE champion uploaded a video on his Twitter showing him breaking out of a prison, evading guards and guard dogs. A clip of him training is also shown as he has barbed wire wrapped around his fist.

All WWE references have been removed and with no 90-day compete clause, he can show up anywhere, any time he wants.

He began using the name of Jon Moxley when he made his pro wrestling debut in 2004 and kept using the name until he signed with WWE in 2011 and was given the name of Dean Ambrose.

His last match with WWE came last month as part of The Shield, a match which was televised live as part of a WWE Network special.

During his time in WWE, Ambrose won the WWE title once, the Intercontinental title three times, the United States title once, and the Raw Tag Team title twice, along with the Money In The Bank in 2016.

UFC President Dana White confirms Brock Lesnar is “done” and “retired” from MMA

By
Colin Vassallo
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UFC President Dana White told ESPN that Brock Lesnar informed him that he will not be returning to the Octagon and he is officially done…again!

“He told me he’s done. He’s retired,” White confirmed to ESPN.

Following WrestleMania, Lesnar was expected to go back to the UFC and get the much-anticipated Daniel Cormier fight for the UFC Heavyweight title done. This was going to be Cormier’s last fight as he is retiring as well and wanted a final big-money fight on pay-per-view.

Last month, White told reporters that Lesnar did not contact him at all but hoped he would be available in the Summer for the August PPV. The UFC is now moving forward with a fight between Cormier and Stipe Miocic to fill the void.

With Lesnar saying he is retired, he will also be struck off the UFC drug testing pool which is administered by USADA. That means USADA will not go knocking on his door unannounced again but if Lesnar wants to come back again to the UFC, he has to spend several months being tested before he gets back in the Octagon.

Lesnar re-entered the UFC drug testing pool last July and continued his remaining six-month suspension for his failed drug test at UFC 200. His win against Mark Hunt was turned into a no contest.

Brock last appeared for WWE at WresteMania 35, losing the Universal title to Seth Rollins in less than three minutes once the bell rang. Paul Heyman said at the start of the show that Brock was going back to Las Vegas after the match where he is “ultimately” appreciated.

Lesnar is expected to be part of the WWE Saudi Arabia show which is tentatively planned for June.

Smackdown gets its eight Money In The Bank ladder matches participants

By
Colin Vassallo
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Smackdown’s eight Superstars who will be part of the two Money In The Bank ladder matches in 18 days time were announced on the show.

The four men are Intercontinental champion Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Ali, and Andrade while the four women include Bayley, Mandy Rose, Ember Moon, and Carmella. Carmella is the only one who participated and won the match before, becoming the first-ever Ms Money In The Bank.

These eight will now join Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Natalya, and Dana Brooke from Raw in the two respective ladder matches where the winners will get the briefcase and a shot at their brand’s title any time they want within the year.

Money In The Bank takes place on May 19 from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

The Hardy Boyz vacate the Smackdown Tag Team titles due to Jeff’s injury

By
Colin Vassallo
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Matt and Jeff Hardy vacated the Smackdown Tag Team titles during Smackdown Live because Jeff Hardy is injured and the duo will not be able to defend the titles.

Appearing together in the ring, the multi-time tag champs said that Jeff was injured after the attack by Lars Sullivan. In reality, Jeff was injured at a non-televised event around 10 days ago and now requires surgery on his right knee.

Jeff said that he will be out for a long time but vowed that their journey is not over yet.

Sullivan once again hit the ring to attack the Hardy Boyz but R-Truth made the save before Lars could attack Jeff. Matt was not so lucky though and even Truth ended up getting a smackdown himself.

The Hardy Boyz won the Smackdown Tag Team titles three weeks ago on the show after WrestleMania, defeating The Usos.

Raw rating for 04/29/2019

By
Colin Vassallo
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Monday Night Raw drew a record non-holiday low rating yesterday with an average of just 2,158,000 viewers. The show was down 216,000 viewers from last week’s already record-low broadcast.

Hour one started with 2,336,000 viewers, followed by 2,241,000 viewers in the second hour, and then down even further to just 1,898,000 viewers in the third and final hour. Despite the low turnout, Raw still managed to lose 438,000 viewers from hour one to hour three. The NBA game head-to-head with Raw did 3,829,000 viewers on TNT.

Raw was #4, #5, and #6 in the top 50 cable rankings among the 18-49 demographic and #8 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Seth Rollins beats up both members of The Revival after Raw goes off the air

By
Colin Vassallo
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After Monday Night Raw went off the air, Universal champion Seth Rollins destroyed both members of The Revival in a segment solely for fans in the arena.

The former Raw Tag Team champions came out to beat on Rollins who went through a table courtesy of AJ Styles just moments earlier. But their upper hand did not last long as Rollins recovered quickly and then disposed of Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson with two super kicks and a double Curb Stomp for good measure.

Several industry insiders reported last week that The Revival were offered a new five-year deal worth half a million dollars every year but the offer was not accepted…yet. The two reportedly asked for their release a couple of months ago but were then rewarded with a tag team title run. They lost the titles at WrestleMania to Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins.

Jim Ross, who now works for All Elite Wrestling, also mentioned last week that he inquired about a mid-card talent that is not being used on WWE television at the moment and this particular talent was then offered $500,000 to re-sign with WWE, with JR saying it was done simply to keep him “off the street.”

https://twitter.com/JoshuaCaudill85/status/1123069756888821762

The Hardy Boyz to address rumors about Jeff tonight on Smackdown

By
Colin Vassallo
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In a video uploaded on his Twitter, one half of the Smackdown Tag Team champions, Matt Hardy, said that tonight on Smackdown, he and his brother will address the status of Jeff Hardy to put an end to all the rumors floating online.

“We will answer all your questions. We will address all these rumors,” Matt said in the video taped backstage prior to a non-televised live event in Huntington, West Virginia yesterday.

Jeff has not wrestled in 10 days and is believed to have suffered an injury that requires surgery according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. Meltzer says that Jeff will undergo surgery this week after Smackdown and if he will be out for a while, there’s no other alternative than the brothers to drop or vacate their Smackdown Tag Team titles.

The two won the titles from The Usos on the Smackdown after WrestleMania, paving the way for The Usos to cross over to Monday Night Raw in the Superstar Shake-up the week after.

Jeff was out for months in September 2017 due to a shoulder injury and returned to action on the Raw after WrestleMania 34 last year.

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson move to Raw roster

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Superstar Shake-up seems to be continuing every week even though the episode took place two weeks ago.

The latest to move from Smackdown to Raw are Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. The two have been pretty much wasted since moving from New Japan Pro Wrestling and their time on the main roster has not been so kind. Both Gallows and Anderson refused to sign a new deal last month which led them to be dropped from television and non-televised live events.

But it all seems to have changed as the “good brothers” are now back part of the red brand and last night they had their match – and lost – against The Usos.

The B Team – the team of Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas – have also moved the other way round and are now part of the Smackdown roster. The Big Show and Kane are also interestingly listed as part of Smackdown.

Steel cage match set between Shane and The Miz at MITB

By
Colin Vassallo
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A steel cage match will be taking place at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view as the feud between former champion The Miz and Shane McMahon continues.

The two have been going at it since Fastlane when they lost the chance to reclaim the Smackdown Tag Team titles against The Usos. The loss led to McMahon to turn on The Miz and attack his father as well who was sitting at ringside. Miz and Shane then went on to WrestleMania and wrestled in a falls count anywhere match, a match which ended when The Miz suplexed Shane from the top of a scaffold, and McMahon landed on The Miz after both fell from a considerable height.

Shane interfered yesterday in The Miz’s match against Bobby Lashley on Raw and then attacked him following the match. The Miz then challenged Shane to a steel cage match later in the broadcast, a match which Shane accepted.

This is the seventh match on the Money In The Bank card so far.

Raw’s MITB ladder matches participants announced

By
Colin Vassallo
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Raw’s eight Superstars who will be participating in this year’s two Money In The Bank ladder matches were announced last night on Monday Night Raw.

The four men will be Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, and Baron Corbin. The women will be Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Natalya, and Dana Brooke.

Three past winners – Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman, and Alexa Bliss – are once again participating. Only Bliss successfully cashed in the briefcase.

The eight opponents from the Smackdown brand will be revealed on tonight’s broadcast.

Impact Wrestling’s OTT streaming service rebranding as Impact Plus

By
Colin Vassallo
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Impact’s Global Wrestling Network over-the-top streaming service will be undergoing an overhaul come May 1 as it rebrands to Impact Plus.

The company said that this is not just a cosmetic change, but a new enhanced app will make things faster and easier to use with more content, original series, and a live special each and every month as part of the Plus subscription.

The service will still have past episodes of Impact dating back to 2004, every TNA/Impact pay-per-view in history, and content from more than 15 partner promotions.

No changes are required from current subscribers as their service will automatically switch to Impact Plus on May 1. A 30-day free trial is being offered to all new subscribers. No price was mentioned but the current GWN monthly subscription is $7.99 so probably the same price point will be kept.

Impact Plus will be available for iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, and at plus.impactwrestling.com.

New WWE pay-per-view Stomping Grounds to take place on June 23

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE logo

A new WWE pay-per-view has been announced for June 23 titled Stomping Grounds which will take place from the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The PPV is not yet on WWE.COM but the Facebook page of the Tacoma Dome showed the video promoting the show which lists Randy Orton taking on Roman Reigns.

A trademark was filed by WWE on April 15 for the Stomping Grounds name under the entertainment services section. While the mark is “live,” WWE has not been awarded the trademark yet as it takes a couple of months, even with no objections, for the United States Patent and Trademark Office to assign a trademark following an application.

This show will replace the Backlash pay-per-view which was set for June 16 in San Diego, California, a PPV which was canceled due to the planned Saudi Arabia show the week before.

Raw the following night will now take place from Everett, Washington at the Angel of the Winds Arena. The location was not previously announced yet. Smackdown that week is live from Portland, Oregon.

Tickets go on sale on Friday, May 3 at 10AM PT. A pre-sale kicks off this Wednesday, May 1, at 10AM.

New Impact World champ Brian Cage rushed to hospital with back injury after PPV

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The new Impact World champion Brian Cage ended the night in a Toronto area hospital following last night’s Rebellion pay-per-view.

Cage suffered a back injury during the match against Johnny Impact and after the show was over, he could barely walk, prompting medical personnel to rush him to the emergency room. The injury happened when Cage was on the receiving end of a Spanish Fly on the floor.

In a tweet later in the night, Cage said that this wasn’t how he imagined the “incredible” night would end. “I’ve chased this moment and have dreamt about this my entire life. And to have this be the outcome, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t break my heart,” he wrote.

Speaking exclusively to the SiriusXM Busted Open show today, Cage told co-host Bully Ray that he felt pain that he never felt before in his life, fearing that he needed back surgery. He kept hoping that it would go away but getting back in the ring didn’t solve anything. He said he felt slow, numb, and “robotic” and that’s where he thought this was serious.

Cage said that the doctor eventually told him that he has severe inflammation and bone bruise and a possible minor fracture but he would not be missing a lot of ring time and just needs his back to heal a little bit.

Dallas to host Impact’s next pay-per-view Slammiversary XVII

By
Colin Vassallo
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Impact’s next pay-per-view, Slammiversary, will be taking place in Dallas, Texas, but the company failed to provide the name of the actual arena which will host the show. The announcement of Dallas hosting Slammiversary XVII came yesterday during the Rebellion pay-per-view.

The show’s date will be Sunday, July 7, the day after New Japan Pro Wrestling runs their G1 show at the American Airlines Center in Dallas as well.

This is the third time that Dallas area will host Slammiversary. Slammiversary 10 and 12 were held at the College Park Center in neighboring Arlington.

Rebellion 2019 pay-per-view results

By
Colin Vassallo
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Here are the results from Impact’s pay-per-view Rebellion from last night which took place from The Rebel Complex in Toronto, Canada.

Ace Austin defeated Aiden Prince, Eddie Edwards, Jake Crist, Jake Deaner and Petey Williams in a six-way match; Scarlett Bordeaux defeated Rohit Raju in an intergender match; Moose, Ethan Page, and Josh Alexander defeated Dezmond Xavier, Trey Miguel, and Zachary Wentz in a six-man tag team match; Taya Valkyrie defeated Jordynne Grace to retain the Impact Knockouts title; Rich Swann defeated Sami Callihan in an oVe rules match to retain the Impact X Division title; Tessa Blanchard defeated Gail Kim; Brian Cage defeated Johnny Impact to become the new Impact World champion; LAX defeated The Lucha Bros in a full metal mayhem match to become the new Impact World Tag Team champions.

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