Chris Jericho is next guest on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions…on WrestleMania Sunday!

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04/02/2021

Former AEW World champion Chris Jericho will be joining Steve Austin on the next episode of Broken Skull Sessions which will air on WrestleMania Sunday, April 11.

“No foolin’ around here. You’re gonna get … IT,” a @WWENetwork tweet with an exploding head emoji read. A video of Austin’s logo with Jericho’s countdown music then plays for 10 seconds…and then Austin and Jericho, who are sitting face to face, turn their heads around and smirk at the camera.

This will be the first time that Austin welcomes somebody on the show who is not part of WWE…and is actually part of the competition with All Elite Wrestling.

You can check out the video below.

https://twitter.com/WWENetwork/status/1378014457469763584

WWE launches WrestleMania app for mobile devices

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/02/2021

WWE has launched the WrestleMania mobile app for both iOS and Android devices, providing a one-stop shop for all things related to WrestleMania.

The app is geared more towards those who will be attending the show livened in person as the app will allow you to purchase and manage mobile tickets, order exclusive WWE Shop merchandise in advance and pick it up right at the venue, secure pre-paid parking, ride-share and directions to Raymond James Stadium, and fill out the short Health Screening Questionnaire required for entering the event.

The app also allows you to skip the line and order food and beverage directly from the app while you’re in the stadium. Raymond James Stadium will offer free Wi-Fi to everyone watching Mania.

You can download the WrestleMania app by visiting the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

WWE with final show in Tropicana Field tonight before move to The Yuengling Center

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/02/2021

WWE says goodbye to Tropicana Field today with tonight’s Smackdown on FOX being the last show taped inside the domed stadium.

The Tropicana Field residency started on December 11 also with a Smackdown live show after four months inside the Amway Center in Orlando. With the Major League Baseball season starting, WWE had to make way for the stadium to return to its original purpose.

WWE did not make use of the full Tropicana Field but only used a portion of it and curtained off the rest. The massive floor space did allow enough area though where WWE set up other rings and props for training.

With next week’s shows already recorded, WWE has a week to disassemble the ThunderDome setup in St. Petersburg and move to Tampa at The Yuengling Center on the campus of University of South Florida. The residency at the location formerly known as the Sun Dome will end on August 3.

Expected Mania matches to air on special episode of Smackdown on FOX next week

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/02/2021

Next week’s Friday Night Smackdown on FOX will be a special WrestleMania edition, with two matches which were expected to be on the pay-per-view taking place on FOX broadcast.

The Smackdown Tag Team titles will be on the line as Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode defend in a fatal four-way match against Rey and Dominik Mysterio, Chad Gable and Otis, and The Street Profits. This remains the only title which will not be featured on the WrestleMania pay-per-view this year.

The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal will also air on Smackdown instead of WrestleMania. 22 Superstars will be part of this match and these are (in alphabetical order): Akira Tozawa, Angel Garza, Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak, Elias, Erik, Gran Metalik, Humberto Carrillo, Jaxson Ryker, Jey Uso, Kalisto, King Corbin, Lince Dorado, Mace, Murphy, Mustafa Ali, Ricochet, Shelton Benjamin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Slapjack, T-Bar, and Tucker.

There was no word if the women’s battle royal will be happening but it looks like there will be no matches on the WrestleMania night one Kickoff show this year.

Next week’s Smackdown has already been recorded yesterday.

Kris Statlander returns on Dynamite after eight months injured

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/01/2021

Kris Statlander, who has been out of action for eight months, made her return on Dynamite last night to help Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor beat Miro and Kip Sabian in the main event of the show.

Statlander was hiding inside a claw machine and after Penelope Ford attacked Cassidy, Statlander came out of the machine and slammed the plexiglass into Ford’s face. She then hit a fisherman buster from the apron and through an air hockey table which was at ringside for a very impressive visual.

The 25-year-old tore her ACL during an episode of Dynamite in June when she teamed up with Hikaru Shida to take on Penelope Ford and Nyla Rose. She underwent successful surgery to repair the high grade tear a month later.

You can see her return below.

Hulk Hogan puts over Titus O’Neil’s community work in Tampa Bay area

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/01/2021

Appearing on After The Bell with Corey Graves, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan praised his fellow WrestleMania co-host Titus O’Neil for his charity and community work in the Tampa area.

Hogan said that he saw Titus’ work first-hand when he started working with the Boys Club again through WWE, noting that there’s no agenda behind Titus’ work and that he really cares about the kids. “This brother is for real,” Hogan said.

Hulk added that Titus is involved in every aspect of making life in Tampa Bay better and he does it 24/7. “He’s not messing around, he works with the community, he works with the town…for me to live here and see the local news and see the stuff that he does…it’s just amazing,” he continued. The Hulkster said he wished there were 10,000 more of Titus O’Neil because the world would be in a better place than it is.

The two had a rocky relationship since Hogan was outed in those videos where he made several racist remarks years ago but it looks like Titus has given Hogan a second chance at redemption.

“To come back here to my hometown and to have Titus with me…we’re coming in wide open, guns blazing, to show everybody that the Super Bowl was cool…but WrestleMania is the greatest show in the world,” Hulk said.

Impact rating for 03/30/2021

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/01/2021

Impact Wrestling drew 148,000 viewers this week, up 32,000 viewers from last week’s show. Impact had a 0.04 in the 18-49 demographic but did not chart in the top 150 list of cable shows for the day. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

LA Knight wins battle royal, five other advance to gauntlet eliminator match

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/01/2021

A battle royal to determine the six participants in the gauntlet eliminator match for a shot at the NXT North American title took place last night on the USA Network broadcast.

12 NXT stars were supposed to be involved but Roderick Strong opted out, leaving 11. The final six of the battle royal earned a place in the gauntlet match which will happen on night one of NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver.

The final six were LA Knight, Dexter Lumis, Cameron Grimes, Bronson Reed, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, and Leon Ruff. LA Knight won the battle royal after he eliminated Lumis. According to the process of elimination, Ruff will now be the first one in the gauntlet eliminator and Scott will follow him. Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis, and LA Knight will then follow in that order every three minutes and one can be eliminated via pinfall or submission.

The winner of that gauntlet match will then face Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American title on night two of Stand & Deliver exclusively on Peacock and WWE Network.

NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver night one to simulcast on Peacock Premium as well

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/01/2021

The first night of NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver will be simulcast live on Peacock as well apart from airing on USA Network. The news was announced last night during NXT.

Stand & Deliver is the first-ever Takeover to be spread over two nights and night one will be the last episode that will air on a Wednesday on USA Network. The following week, starting on April 13, NXT moves to its new home of Tuesday nights at 8PM ET, a move which effectively ends the Wednesday night war with AEW’s Dynamite.

Five matches will air on each night of Takeover, making it the biggest card ever for NXT. The first night will be headlined by the NXT Women’s title match between Io Shirai and Raquel Gonzalez while night two will see a main event of Finn Balor vs Karrion Kross for the NXT title.

Peacock is available for $4.99 a month for current subscribers. If you are a new subscriber, you can get 4 months of Peacock Premium for a single, one-time payment of $9.99. Upon conclusion of the 4-month offer period, you will be charged $4.99 a month.

Simply go to www.peacocktv.com/sports/wwe to subscribe.

Sasha Banks says she’s main eventing night one of WrestleMania 37

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/01/2021

In a video she recorded for Germany WWE television distributor ProSieben MAXX, Smackdown Women’s champion Sasha Banks said that she’s main eventing night one of WrestleMania 37.

“What is good WWE Universe in Germany? This is the Legit Boss Sasha Banks, aka the Smackdown Women’s champion and I’m so excited for WrestleMania 37 where I will be main eventing on day one,” Banks said as she promoted the show for ProSieben.

If that is official remains to be seen as WWE has not announced anything but over the past several days there has been an online campaign to have Sasha Banks vs Bianca Belair to main event night one of WrestleMania with fans using the hash tag #BanksVsBelairMainEvent.

Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, and Charlotte Flair became the first women to main event WrestleMania two years ago in New Jersey and if Banks and Belair manage to follow suit, they will become the first African American women to do so.

https://twitter.com/WWEDeutschland/status/1377231959127166978

Taya Valkyrie to make NXT debut on April 13 episode

By

Colin Vassallo

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04/01/2021

Former Impact Knockouts champion Taya Valkyrie will be making her NXT debut on the April 13 episode, the first one on a Tuesday night and the post-Takeover show.

Several videos of a Pomeranian dog running around the WWE Performance Center aired during NXT leading to a final video of the dog finding a woman in heels. The video did not reveal who the person was but an on-screen graphic aired “See you April 13th,” complete with a heart and signed Franky.

Franky Monet is the name that WWE recently trademarked and it will be Taya’s new NXT name.

The Pomeranian dog is named Prince Presley, which Taya and her husband John Morrison own. The dog, which has a Twitter account, had the first activity today in six months, replying to a tweet with emoji eyes after someone asked if he is “trying to tell us something” on NXT.

Battle royal for spots in gauntlet eliminator for North American title tonight on NXT

By

Colin Vassallo

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03/31/2021

Tonight’s NXT on USA Network is the go-home episode of Takeover: Stand & Deliver and will feature a battle royal to qualify for next week’s event.

To determine the challenger for the North American title, 12 NXT stars will be part of a battle royal where the final six will advance to next week’s gauntlet eliminator match on night one of Takeover. The 12 individuals participating tonight are Austin Theory, Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Jake Atlas, Kushida, LA Knight, Leon Ruff, Pete Dunne, Tyler Rust, and Roderick Strong.

Strong and Grimes will be pulling double duty as they will also be in a one-on-one match tonight and Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter team up to go against Tian Sha.

Young Rock S1 E6 rating

By

Colin Vassallo

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03/31/2021

Episode six of season one of Young Rock, titled My Day With Andre, drew 2,523,000 viewers, down 349,000 viewers from last week’s show and the least-watched episode of the series so far. The show did 0.2 in 18-34 and tied first, 0.5 in 18-49 for second, and 0.8 in 25-54 for third place. The show has already lost half its audience since its first episode. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Charly Arnolt comments on her departure from WWE

By

Colin Vassallo

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03/31/2021

Charly Arnolt, who fans know better as Charly Caruso, told TVInsider.com that there were no problems between her and WWE and her departure from the company after five years comes as she believes this is the next step in her career.

“There is always going to be chatter,” she said, referring to the rumors that she was late for several TV interviews with top talent. “The contract was coming up. Instead of renewing, I’m moving on. Everyone is going to have their own opinions regardless. I never had any issues while I was at WWE. Nothing bad happened. As far as I’m concerned, I’m leaving on a positive note and beginning what I believe to be the next step in my career.”

Arnolt noted that she stopped going to WWE TV once she knew her move was imminent. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell those who reached out to her until ESPN made the announcement.

“Now that it’s out, everyone has been so excited for me. The biggest thing I’ve heard within WWE is, ‘You deserve it.’ People know how passionate I am about my career,” she continued. “They know it’s a great thing for me, as much as it sucks not being able to see everyone every week. I know my relationship with friends will not be severed.”

Arnolt made her WWE debut in August 2016 and apart from being a backstage correspondent, she also hosted the pay-per-view Kickoff shows and Raw Talk.

Road Dogg thanks fans after hospital stay comes to an end

By

Colin Vassallo

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03/31/2021

Brian James, who was admitted to hospital last Thursday on a possible heart attack, is now home.

In a message on social media, The Road Dogg admitted that he has some work to do and some changes to make but he’s up to the task.

“I want to thank EACH and EVERY one of you for your thoughts and prayers and your kind words. So many reached out with positive vibes and it overwhelmed me with love. Thank you all and God is good! Let the journey begin,” he wrote on Twitter.

It is expected that James will be taking some time off from his duties as a producer of NXT before returning to work.

Christian Cage makes AEW in-ring debut tonight on Dynamite

By

Colin Vassallo

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03/31/2021

It’s two more shows to go before the Wednesday night war is over but it’s business as usual for All Elite Wrestling with another packed show and a big six-man tag match main event.

AEW World champion Kenny Omega will be teaming up with The Good Brothers of Impact Wrestling as they take on The Lucha Brothers and Laredo Kid in tonight’s main event. Christian Cage will also make his AEW in-ring debut as he wrestles Frankie Kazarian. Nightmare Family members Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall will square off in an exhibition match while the other two other matches announced are both tag team ones. The first is Miro and Kip Sabian versus Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy and the second is Hikaru Shida and Tay Conti versus Nyla Rose and The Bunny.

Chris Harris appears on Impact for James Storm’s 1,000th match

By

Colin Vassallo

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03/31/2021

Chris Harris, the former tag team champion, made an appearance during last night’s Impact Wrestling on AXS TV to accompany his former tag team partner James Storm to his 1,000th match in Impact.

Storm took on Eric Young in the main event and was joined by Jake Something, Chris Sabin, and Chris Harris for this milestone occasion. Storm won the match after Harris interfered and took out Young and Storm followed with a superkick for the pinfall.

The 47-year-old has not appeared on Impact TV since May 2011 and his last appearance was at the Sacrifice pay-per-view where he and Matt Hardy wrestled for the TNA Tag Team titles against Beer Money, Inc.

Harris won the NWA Tag Team titles with James Storm on six different occasions as America’s Most Wanted and once more with Elix Skipper.

Liger and Shatner miss the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony tapings

By

Colin Vassallo

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03/31/2021

Jushin Thunder Liger and William Shatner were not physically present at the WWE Hall of Fame tapings yesterday at the ThunderDome despite both of them being part of the class of 2020.

WWE taped the 2020 class ceremony, hosted by Jerry “The King” Lawler, and will do the 2021 class tomorrow. Both nights will air in a condensed version on April 6 exclusively on Peacock.

The annual group photo of those inducted had Vince McMahon, Georgia Smith, Davey Boy Smith Jr and Diana Hart Smith representing The British Bulldog, John “Bradshaw” Layfield, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, X-Pac, and Scott Hall representing the nWo, Brie and Nikki Bella, Titus O’Neil who received the Warrior Award, and Triple H.

Batista, who was also set to headline the class of 2020, has requested to be inducted at a later time because he could not be present for the ceremony.

Raw rating for 03/29/2021

By

Colin Vassallo

-

03/31/2021

Monday Night Raw this week drew just 1,701,000 viewers, down 115,000 viewers from last week’s show as it went ahead NCAA basketball on CBS which did over 6 million viewers.

Raw had 1,733,000 viewers in the first hour, followed by 1,697,000 viewers in the second hour, and then further down to 1,673,000 viewers in the third and final hour.

The show was still ranked #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic, getting 0.58, 0.56, and 0.53 ratings respectively, which was better than last week. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Road Dogg Jesse James being released from hospital today

By

Colin Vassallo

-

03/30/2021

WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg Brian James is being released from hospital today according to a Facebook post by his wife Tracy James.

“Wanna give everybody an update I just got the best birthday ever,” Tracy wrote. “My husband has no blockages and he’s getting to come home today. We still have some doctor visits to take him to but his heart is good. Thank you all so much for all the prayers I do believe in that.”

His brother, former WWE ref Scott Armstrong, also thanked fans for all their prayers. “I’m happy to say my brother is going to be released from the hospital today. There’s still work to do but, as of today, there future is bright!”

Road Dogg was admitted to a hospital on Thursday after a suspected heart attack, hours after he finished his duties running the NXT broadcast on USA Network with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The former tag team title holder underwent several heart and kidney tests following the scare.