Another NXT Takeover and yet another debut. Adrienne Reese, who has wrestled on the indie circuit as Athena, will make her NXT television debut tonight in Brooklyn under the name Ember Moon.
The 27-year-old Texas native will be wrestling Billie Kay in her first televised match. She has been signed to a WWE deal since September 2015 and has been wrestling regularly during non-televised events. She wrestled a dark match at NXT Takeover: The End, defeating Peyton Royce, where she also debuted her new gimmick of Ember Moon.
Prior to joining WWE, she wrestled for Shimmer for five years as well as Women Superstars Uncensored.
In a hilarious interview with Sam Roberts at the WWE 2K17 media event yesterday in New York City, Brock Lesnar said he takes “shits bigger than that kid” when asked if he would like to face Conor McGregor in the WWE.
“I’m two hundred and f*cking ninety pounds. This guy is hundred forty five pounds, that’s if he’s lucky and gets up to eat his f*cking Wheaties, okay?” Lesnar told Roberts as Heyman kept staring at the interviewer.
Brock said that if Conor wants, he can come and say the things he said face to face to him otherwise he should leave him “and the f*cking WWE out of it.” He said he went to the UFC and kicked ass, now if Conor is “so f*cking tough” he can go to their arena and try to kick some ass.
As soon as he was done, Brock told Roberts to “get the f*ck out of here.” Paul Heyman joked that Roberts was great and that was the best interview he ever conducted as Roberts smiled and waved to the camera.
If you’re in Brooklyn and still without an NXT Takeover ticket, today is your lucky day as Ticketmaster just released several tickets in nine different section of the Barclays Center.
Tickets are available in sections 2, 23, 24, 25, 104, 122, 123, 124, and 125 with prices as low as $25.50 going up to $80.50. These tickets will not last long so if you really want to go, act fast.
Go to Ticketmaster.com and search for NXT Takeover to purchase your ticket.
Renee Young, Natalya, Summer Rae, Naomi, Alexa Bliss, Lana and Alicia Fox, participated at an event held at the Tapout Fitness in New York yesterday as part of the SummerSlam weekend community events. The event was hosted by Maria Menounos. The WWE Superstars held a fitness class for several women who attended the event.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, WWE Superstars Dolph Ziggler and Charlotte held a meet and greet at JCPenney in New York to promote the Tapout fitness clothing which WWE jointly owns.
With two main title matches on the card, which one do you put on last as the main event of the show? Well, in this case, it seems neither of them will be.
The plans are that Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton will go on last on the massive card tomorrow, a card that features 13 matches in total including three on the Kickoff show. Putting Lesnar vs Orton last is also another hint of something that might happen with Goldberg at the end of the show to send the fans home happy.
If something eventually happens with the former WCW champion, following whatever takes place would be a very, very hard task for whoever is next so putting the match last makes the most sense.
This will be the third year in a row that Lesnar main events SummerSlam. In 2014 he wrestled John Cena and in 2015 he wrestled The Undertaker. He also main evented SummerSlam in 2012 against Triple H. In 2013, Randy Orton took the top card match against Daniel Bryan.
Eva Marie, who was suspended for 30 days for her first violation of the WWE Wellness Program, submitted a statement to TMZ.COM to explain what happened.
Unlike her husband, who tweeted – and then deleted – that she was unjustly suspended and fans would be outraged when the truth will come out, Eva accepted the suspension and admitted her mistake.
“I am disappointed that this suspension has occurred, yet understand and respect that WWE upholds their Wellness Policy to the letter and won’t compromise on its integrity,” the statement said. “I violated policy by not turning in portions of required paperwork in the time frame WWE Medical deemed timely. I look forward to my return!”
TMZ says that Eva had a prescription for Adderall, a stimulant that can treat ADHD and narcolepsy. Adderall, which is the brand name for the drug amphetamine, is banned under the WWE Wellness Program unless proper prescription is submitted, something that Eva admitted on failing to do.
The final match on the SummerSlam card was just announced by WWE.COM, another Kickoff match that will be part of the two hour pre-show broadcast.
The Smackdown tag team division will be showcased in this match with The Hype Bros, The Usos, and American Alpha taking on Breezango, The Ascension, and The Vaudevillains. The other two matches on the Kickoff are Cesaro vs Sheamus and Sami Zayn & Neville vs The Dudley Boyz.
This final match brings the total number of matches to 13 on the six hour broadcast.
TNA Impact on POP did 355,000 viewers for last night’s show, an increase of 40,000 viewers over last week’s show. The Olympics on NBC did 21.7 million head to head with Impact. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
As the dust is settling on the latest new era in WWE, we’ve got the small matter of the biggest WWE show of the summer. They’re back in Brooklyn for SummerSlam!
We’re already back in familiar territory though, as the top two draws for the show will be an “interpromotional” match between Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar, plus the crowning of the first ever WWE Universal champion – a belt that’s suddenly ahead of the long-running WWE World title in the pecking order.
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton
Billed as “a main event”, this match really lost a lot of lustre in the past few weeks thanks to a third party: USADA. Booked before Brock’s UFC fight over Mark Hunt in July, WWE would have been able to capitalize on the hype surrounding Lesnar after his win… and then he went and spoiled it all by doing something stupid like get flagged. Twice.
As with most Brock Lesnar matches, we’ve got the question mark over his head of “what happens if he wins?”, and like usual, his limited contract will likely mean that a Lesnar win will see nothing, as he’ll take off and disappear until the next major PPV. A Randy Orton win, in theory, would build up Smackdown as “the better brand” in the first of what’ll be no doubt many “interpromotional” matches in the future. WWE’s done a good job of building this up, and have called on their history in developmental from the early 2000s, but as far as the relevance of this match in 2016? I’d hope this isn’t “the” main event, that’s for sure… Prediction: Randy Orton
WWE Universal Championship: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins
Since Smackdown has the WWE World title, Raw has to go one step further and create a new belt – the Universal title. I’ve a feeling it’s not quite a homage to the owners of USA Network, but it’d be quite nice if these title matches were led into by the Universal jingle and credits.
The result of this match is going to be a tough one to call, as either way it’s going to get criticism. Put the belt on Finn Balor on his first month on the main roster, and you run the risk of him peaking too early (Roman Reigns syndrome – how do you get excited for future big title matches at, say, WrestleMania). Put the belt on Rollins, and you run the risk of Raw going back to the groove we were in last year where it was heel Rollins vs. the world. Given that we’ve already got a babyface champion on Smackdown, I can’t see WWE doing the double, so… Prediction: Seth Rollins
WWE World Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Another unusual one – Ziggler won a six-way match to get the shot at Dean Ambrose, whose stock has taken an almighty hit after his appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast earlier this week.
As a world title feud, Ambrose vs. Ziggler feels distinctly “B-show” – especially with Ziggler being plucked from the booking purgatory he’s recently been in. Not too long ago, he was losing to Baron Corbin, and now he’s in a world title feud? Long term planning, for the win! I really don’t see Ziggler winning the title here, but I would hope for his own sake, we get a fired-up Dean Ambrose for his first “big stage” title defense. Prediction: Dean Ambrose
WWE Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte
Dana Brooke is banned from ringside, so this either means a clean finish, or we’ll get someone dressed as Dana interfering? This was apparently originally set to be the coronation of Sasha Banks… and then the title change was pushed up to the first Raw of the “new, new era”. Amongst rumors of Charlotte wanting time off (which, for now, appear to have been unsubstantiated), I really can’t see WWE hot-shotting the title back. But in the back of my head, I’ve got to believe that the stipulation is going to lead to something, even if it backfires for Charlotte. Prediction: Sasha Banks; Odds: Banks (1/15); Charlotte (6/1)
John Cena vs. AJ Styles
The continuation of their feud from when The Club was a three-man act, and this just seems to be a continuation, given that little has been done on TV to further this. Since Cena’s now pretty much just a part-timer, AJ Styles would almost have to go over, especially if he’s meant to be heading to the main events again. This’ll be a good match, but without much in the way of storylines, this is going to be hard to get invested in. Prediction: AJ Styles
WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (c) vs. Apollo Crews
So, after his non-finish over Darren Young at Battleground, the Miz was left without a feud thanks to the draft. Instead, Miz gets the winner of a triple-threat match, and it’s Apollo Crews – a man who has utterly floundered since his call-up after WrestleMania. Again, with the only build being “Apollo won a three-way”, I don’t see Miz losing the belt, particularly as part of his gimmick now is that he’s counting the days since he won the belt. Prediction: The Miz
WWE United States Championship: Rusev (c) vs. Roman Reigns
How’s this for a fall to the midcard? Since returning from suspension, Roman lost in a three-way, then won a four-way qualifier to make it to the finals for a shot at the newly-created Universal title, only to lose out to Finn Balor. Reigns hasn’t wrestled since on Raw, and all he’s done to get his title shot is… interrupt a wedding celebration? Seriously? Part of me is thinking that Reigns may actually get the title if Seth Rollins is winning in the main event, but I’m not quite sure if WWE’s done “punishing” Reigns. I’m going to toss a coin for this – Reigns isn’t getting the belt, but he’ll get the win. Prediction: Roman Reigns by DQ
WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) (c) vs. The Club (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)
A month ago, the WWE were all over the New Day as the “longest reigning tag champions”, and now all of a sudden they’ve remembered prior tag teams. Big E’s been put out of the picture with a storyline injury, which in my mind could open the door for the Club to snatch the titles. That being said, given that the storyline so far has mostly been all Club, I have a feeling Big E’s going to come back and have a say in the finish. Another screwy ending, methinks: Prediction: The Club by DQ
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Formed from the fall-out of a Sasha/Enzo vs. Charlotte/Jericho match, this is really just a filler match. On the surface, the Jericho/Owens pairing would suggest that somehow these two have actually lost out in the latest brand split, and I really can’t see these two lasting as a tag team, not when you’ve got established teams like Enzo and Cass, and, err, the Shining Stars. Either way, this could be a pick ‘em given how low in the card it is, but I’m going to go with Enzo and Cass. Prediction: Enzo Amore & Big Cass
Cesaro vs. Sheamus
This is the first match in a best-of-seven series, in what is the first time WWE’s wheeled out that type of storyline since that-guy-we-can’t-talk-about. These two have been feuding since the draft, specifically over a belief that they should have been drafted a lot higher up the pecking order by Raw. Of course, Sheamus losing both matches to Cesaro since then doesn’t exactly help his cause… and we’re not counting those two Raw matches in this series either. So, I’ll go for the obvious pick, since there’s no way he’s dropping three in a row… Prediction: Sheamus
Natalya, Alexa Bliss & (someone replacing Eva Marie) vs. Becky Lynch, Carmella & Naomi
This match will probably get rejigged, given that the “Eva Marie finds new ways to not compete” storyline was added to in real life with a 30 day Wellness suspension. I’ll assume that they’ll now push this to the pre-show, and will either add someone from NXT, bring back Nikki Bella as a heel, or have it a straight tag team match. Prediction: Natalya, Alexa Bliss & ???
Dudley Boyz vs. Neville & Sami Zayn
Wow… so, Sami Zayn beat Kevin Owens in the match of the night at Battleground last month, and his reward is to be completely out of any storylines, any pay-per-view matches, and a last minute addition to the pre-show, in a throwaway tag match? The Dudleys have been virtually enhancement talent in the last few months, and I don’t expect this to be any different. The guys who should be on the main show to get the win. Prediction: Neville & Sami Zayn
American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable), Hype Bros (Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley) & The Usos (Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso) vs. Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango), The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch & Aiden English) & The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)
Remember how we all had a moan about how Raw gave away a SummerSlam match when they gave us Rusev vs. Reigns last week? Smackdown’s gotten in on the act! With the tag team division undecided (as in whether there’s brand-specific or floating tag titles), all of SmackDown’s tag teams will congregate on the pre-show. I’m not expecting this to go long, and in the spirit of parity, the heel team will get the win. I know, American Alpha should be the team that they’re building around, but they haven’t even decided what they’re fighting for, so it’s a little too soon to build…. Prediction: Breezango, Vaudevillains & Ascension
Reproduced from BackBodyDrop.com, where we’re recovering from watching every day of New Japan’s G1 Climax… by aiming to watch New Japan, NXT, EVOLVE (twice) and SummerSlam this weekend. Yes, he’s crazy…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Ian Hamilton has been a wrestling fan since 1992, and when he’s not watching WWE, New Japan or his latest wrestling love, PROGRESS, he’s usually suffering through Sunderland AFC and the New York Jets. He’s got a couple of books out on Amazon – “Wrestling’s Sinking Ship” and “Gone Too Soon”, and can be reached via his website, BackBodyDrop.com, or on Twitter @theianhamilton
Nikki and Brie Bella will be on Monday’s episode of truTV’s Fameless starting at 10PM EST as they help prank a would-be reality star who thinks she’s helping a famous wrestler induct an old manager into a hall of fame with a big surprise, but is actually being pranked by everyone involved.
The prank involves Nikki Bella being placed inside of a giant cake and she comes up with an idea to pop out of the cake with sparklers. After the cake is rolled out for the surprise in front of the audience and the sparklers go off, the cake goes up in flames prompting the unsuspecting female to freak out. Eventually a “burned up” Brie Bella walks out and the girl getting punk’d asks everyone why they let her out since she should be in a hospital. Brie finally reveals that it’s a prank show and Nikki then walks out from behind as the girl screams “Oh my God!”
Fameless, from comedian and actor David Spade, is genre-busting prank show about how far real people will go for a moment in the spotlight. Each week, the series features a group of unsuspecting desperate-to-be-famous individuals who believe they’ve been cast on a reality show. However, unbeknownst to them, they are really filming a parody with improv actors creating over-the-top scenarios that steadily increase the absurdity and ridiculousness of each situation – testing the patience of everyone NOT in on the joke.
You can see the clip of the Bellas on Fameless below.
The second Kickoff match for SummerSlam has been announced and this will be the 12th match on the show, making the 2016 SummerSlam one of the biggest PPV cards ever.
Sami Zayn, who some expressed surprise that he was not on the show, will be teaming up with Neville as the two former NXT champions will take on the veteran team of the Dudley Boyz.
The other match on the Kickoff show is Cesaro vs Sheamus, their first in the best-of-seven series. Originally the match was on the PPV portion of the card but was moved. The PPV will have a total of ten matches now and two matches will be on the two-hour Kickoff.
Former WWE champion Seth Rollins appeared on ESPN’s First Take earlier today to promote SummerSlam and talked a variety of topics including Conor McGregor, the Wellness Program, Goldberg, and more.
When asked about Conor’s recent comments that he would slap the heads off the entire locker room, Seth said that Conor was just being Conor and he tried not to get involved in it too much. Conor is coming off a big loss and he has a big fight on Saturday and Rollins thinks that a second loss won’t be good for him so all this trash talking, if he wins against Diaz, will make him a bigger star.
Rollins said that there’s mutual respect between UFC fighters and WWE Superstars as both know what they go through. He still thinks that on the grand scale, people don’t really fully appreciate what WWE Superstars do, spending most days of the year on the road. “I’m an athlete in every sense of the word,” Rollins told the hosts.
The topic of Brock Lesnar came up and Rollins was quizzed why Brock was busted in the UFC and now he’s accepted back in the WWE. Is there a difference in PED usage between UFC and WWE? Rollins replied saying he doesn’t know if there’s any difference and he doesn’t know what Lesnar popped for but WWE had a terrible history before putting the Wellness Program in place. “WWE cares about the performers,” he said, adding that the company wants to keep everyone healthy and he has no problem being part of it. “It’s fantastic for us.”
One of the hosts also brought up Goldberg and asked if he would beat Goldberg. Rollins said Goldberg is retired and he would fight the former WCW champion any day of the week. “Bring Goldberg on, I will take him on,” Rollins said. He explained that Goldberg’s past his prime and can’t hang with him since he’s a young buck and a young stallion!
In reply to Seth’s comments, Goldberg wrote on Twitter, “@WWERollins …… Mind your business.”
WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch got lucky in court yesterday after she was sentenced to 90 days in jail for a triple DUI but the judge ruled that her 97 days in rehab can be used as her jail credit, and walked out a free woman.
Despite walking out of court with no jail time to serve, the judge gave her a 5 year parole with bi-weekly alcohol testing, 125 hours of community service and will have to pay $2,100 in fines according to TMZ.COM. The judge did warn her that there will be absolutely zero tolerance this time and on her first run-in with the law or failure to adhere to the conditions, she will be thrown in jail.
Each DUI carried a maximum of 90 days in jail, so she was facing 270 days behind bars in total if the judge decided to impose maximum punishment.
Eva Marie’s husband Jonathan Coyle did not take his wife’s WWE suspension very lightly and fired a tweet yesterday that will surely raise some eyebrows.
“When the public finds out why my wife was unjustly suspended they will be absolutely outraged,” Coyle wrote on Twitter. “Official statement and facts coming soon.”
Eva Marie was suspended for 30 days yesterday by WWE for her first Wellness Program violation. Just a day before, Alberto Del Rio and Paige were also given their first 30 day suspensions. It’s not known if the three incidents are tied to each other at this point.
For all the suspensions that WWE gave out over the years, there was only one person who fought back and sort of contested the suspension, and that was Adam Rose. Everyone else either acknowledged it on their social media profiles or else chose not to address the situation at all.
As a prelude to SummerSlam, NXT’s going back to the Barclays Arena for the second year running, with their latest Takeover event.
In amongst the brand split and the Cruiserweight Classic, it’d be easy to have lost focus on NXT as of late – and I’ll be honest, with New Japan G1 Climax, I’ve skipped a LOT of NXT since their last Takeover special. But, as usual with Takeover cards, they’ve got a decent line-up, with two televised debuts as well.
NXT Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Even though we’ve had the draft, there’s still rumblings going around of “X is getting called up”; and whilst that may still be true, I can’t see either of these guys going up to the main roster in the immediate future.
Save for a few pull aparts, and Nakamura taking Samoa Joe’s nose as if he were a small baby, we’ve not had much interaction between these two. “One and done” title feuds really aren’t the MO of NXT, and given that there’s already been a precedent of guys being called up whilst being NXT champion, the result of this one isn’t going to tip anyone’s hand’s either.
So, that’s why I’m predicting a Joe win, with Nakamura possibly winning it at the end of the year, but both of these guys should be on the main roster already! Prediction: Samoa Joe
NXT Women’s Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Bayley
A rematch from Takeover: Dallas, this could well go down as Bayley’s swansong in developmental. Having seen Dana Brooke, Carmella and Alexa Bliss called up ahead of her this year alone, Bayley’s got a real sense of the Simpsons’ “You’re Here Forever” about her.
There’s the obvious story of how Bayley’s back in the same building where she won the NXT Women’s title last year; but unlike last year, there’s not the same level of expectation here. Since losing the title, Bayley has really cooled down, and regaining the Women’s title is not going to help her in the long-term.
Unlike the men’s NXT title, having the champion move up to the main show with the belt hasn’t been done before, and I don’t think it would serve any purpose either, given how muddled the women’s divisions are right now. That being said, I’d wager that after SummerSlam, Bayley will be back on her way to the main roster, probably to slot back into that Sasha/Charlotte feud. Prediction: Asuka
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Bobby Roode
Glorious! Okay, we’ve all heard the memes, and we’ve all groaned at the imitators (seriously, it only works if you are Bobby Roode… random geeks using their laptop camera and nodding to the song isn’t funny! Even if you do change the lyrics…) Since his debut at June’s Takeover event, Almas hasn’t really caught on – with his house show record seeing him lose to the likes of Andrade Almas and Angelo Dawkins.
Not quite the record you’d expect for a guy who’s meant to be the latest WWE attempt at creating a Hispanic star. At 39, Bobby Roode is another name to the “this guy really shouldn’t be in developmental” list. At Takeover: The End, Almas didn’t set the world on fire, and I really sense that he’s no longer a priority… whereas Roode will get the usual push for a newbie. Only one way this is going, I’m afraid… Prediction: Bobby Roode
NXT Tag Team Championship: The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) (c) vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa
So, the NXT tag team division has been in flux since June – American Alpha went up to the main show, and that’s left us with a no clear challengers. Gargano and Ciampa have wins over the Revival on TV, and also DQ wins on the house show loops as well. This could well be the match of the night, keeping up the Revival’s tradition, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if Gargano and Ciampa won the belts… but perhaps not quite yet. The challengers don’t become members of the full time NXT roster for a few more weeks, so I can see a screwy finish, and a rematch down the road. Prediction: The Revival.
No Way Jose vs. Austin Aries
Since making his NXT debut over WrestleMania weekend, Austin Aries’ televised run has been pretty good, with Shinsuke Nakamura being the only guy who’s beaten him. That being said, his run has been fairly uninspiring, but that’s seemingly by design. Given that No Way Jose’s forever destined to be an opening match gimmick, I would say that Aries goes over, but since there’s not too much in the way of babyface wins here, I’m going to go for an upset. Prediction: No Way Jose
Ember Moon vs. Billie Kay
This is the debut of the former Athena/Adrienne Reese, and seemingly under a gimmick that’s straight out of Mortal Kombat. Expect nothing more than a squash, especially given that the opponent is someone who’s gotten a second wind in NXT because of a job she did on SmackDown recently… Prediction: Ember Moon.
Reproduced from BackBodyDrop.com, where we’re recovering from watching every day of New Japan’s G1 Climax… by aiming to watch New Japan, NXT, EVOLVE (twice) and SummerSlam this weekend. Yes, he’s crazy…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Ian Hamilton has been a wrestling fan since 1992, and when he’s not watching WWE, New Japan or his latest wrestling love, PROGRESS, he’s usually suffering through Sunderland AFC and the New York Jets. He’s got a couple of books out on Amazon – “Wrestling’s Sinking Ship” and “Gone Too Soon”, and can be reached via his website, BackBodyDrop.com, or on Twitter @theianhamilton
The third Wellness Program violation in two days was given to Eva Marie, who today was suspended by WWE after her first strike.
“WWE has suspended Natalie Coyle (Eva Marie) for 30 days effective immediately for her first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy,” the WWE.COM post said. Del Rio and Paige were suspended yesterday.
Eva Marie was scheduled to compete at SummerSlam in a six-woman tag team match. She was involved in an angle over the past few weeks where she was going to have her first match on post-draft Smackdown but different “issues” prevented her from wrestling.
With this suspension, she won’t be wrestling for real until the end of September!
Hulk Hogan’s legal war with Gawker Media has resulted in founder Nick Denton auctioning off his company last week which was purchased by Univision Communications for $135 million. However Univision is now shutting down operations of the website effective next week.
“After nearly fourteen years of operation, Gawker.com will be shutting down next week. The decision to close Gawker comes days after Univision successfully bid $135 million for Gawker Media’s six other websites, and four months after the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel revealed his clandestine legal campaign against the company,” a post on Gawker.com reads. Thiel was revealed as the one pumping the money behind Hogan’s legal case which is why Hogan never settled during the trial, gambling on a bigger payoff while Thiel paid the legal fees.
“Nick Denton, the company’s outgoing CEO, informed current staffers of the site’s fate on Thursday afternoon, just hours before a bankruptcy court in Manhattan will decide whether to approve Univision’s bid for Gawker Media’s other assets,” the statement on Gawker continued.
The case between Hogan, Gawker Media, Nick Denton, and AJ Daulerio continues as defendants will be appealing the judgment if they can come up with the cash.
SummerSlam weekend for WWE kicks off today in the New York area with several events planned over the next few days leading up to NXT Takeover and SummerSlam.
Today, Sin Cara, Natalya, Darren Young, and Sami Zayn will be at the Columbus Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx for a Be a STAR Bullying Prevention Rally where they will meet over 150 members of the club.
Also today, Big Show, R-Truth, Mark Henry, Zack Ryder, Naomi, Corey Graves, and Howard Finkel will host a Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game at the Navy Yard Boys & Girls Club in Brooklyn for 150 Club members.
There will be four events on Friday starting with Stephanie McMahon, Neville, Mark Henry, Dana Brooke, and Byron Saxton meeting with veterans for a Hire Heroes USA Veteran Career Panel & Networking Event. The New York Stock Exchange will host The Miz, Big Show, and Kane later in the day as they will ring the Closing Bell at the NSYE. Alicia Fox, Natalya, Naomi, Lana, and Summer Rae will lead a Tapout Fitness Workout followed by an exclusive health and fitness Q&A moderated by Maria Menounos at the Tapout Fitness Center in Manhattan.
On both Friday and Saturday, WWE Superstars will hold several meet and greets throughout the day with Dean Ambrose, Sasha Banks, The New Day, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Charlotte, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Enzo Amore and Big Cass all scheduled to appear.
On Saturday morning, Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, Natalya, Carmella, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso will visit One World Observatory, at the top of One World Trade Center, to tour the exhibits and learn about the historic building.
The community-related events stop there as then it’s all hands on deck for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II on Saturday night, SummerSlam on Sunday night, and Raw on Monday night, all happening live from the Barclays Center.
Speaking in front of a few thousand people at a packed Gamescom trade fair in Cologne, Germany, former WCW champion Goldberg said that he may be 49 years old, but he’s ready to go at any time, any place, anywhere, and all he need is a call.
Goldberg is in Europe to promote WWE 2K17 and tomorrow morning he’s flying to New York City for the WWE 2K17 launch event, an event promoted by 2K in associated with WWE.
“The only thing more exciting than this game is doing it in real life….but that’s what we have,” Goldberg told the crowd who constantly kept giving him things to sign, something that he was happy to do.
The host of the event asked Goldberg when he will be back in WWE and Goldberg replied by saying October 11…which is the date that WWE 2K17 officially comes out. “I can look at you honestly and tell you no idea. I’m not in control over that. Every single time that a WrestleMania comes up, SummerSlam comes up or when there’s an anticipation of me coming out, from the bottom of my heart, it’s not up to me,” Goldberg said.
“If it was up to me, I would come out and give you what you want. I’m telling you the truth, okay? So please don’t take it out on me if a Sunday goes by and I don’t show up, cause it ain’t me people,” he added.
Goldberg seemed genuinely excited to be there and even commented on Brock Lesnar, saying that Lesnar already felt his power in 2004 and if they meet again, Lesnar would suffer the same outcome.
WWE announced that former WWE Divas champion Paige has also been suspended for 30 days for her first violation of the Wellness Program. Her suspension is effective starting today, August 18.
Yesterday the company also said that Alberto Del Rio was suspended for 30 days for his first strike and the timing is interesting considering both Paige and Del Rio are dating in real life. Whether the two cases are connected or it’s simply coincidence is up in the air at the moment.
The suspensions of both Paige and Del Rio fell on Paige’s 24th birthday. The Brit has been nursing back and shoulder problems lately and has not appeared on WWE television lately. She was drafted to Raw while Del Rio was drafted to Smackdown, possibly WWE’s way of trying to break them up by placing them on different brands.
Paige has been active on social media due to her birthday but has not mentioned anything about the suspension.
