Dynamite rolls into West Valley City, Utah tonight with a show from the Maverik Center as the anticipation for The Exalted One and leader of the Dark Order continues.
So far, only three matches have been announced for the broadcast including Hangman Page and a mystery partner taking on Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara, The Death Triangle versus Joey Janela and Private Party, and Jurassic Express taking on The Butcher, The Blade, and MJF.
Tickets remain available for tonight’s broadcast and are available at AEWTix.com.
Tonight’s NXT will be taking place from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, as the state-of-the-art facility is turned into an arena. WWE had to move out of Full Sail for this week due to an event which was already booked and couldn’t be relocated.
Two title matches will take place tonight with Keith Lee defending his North American title against Cameron Grimes and The BroserWeights versus The Undisputed Era for the Tag Team titles. Mia Yim and Dakota Kai will also face each other for a spot in the #1 contender’s ladder match at the upcoming Takeover.
Other feuds that will certainly continue on the broadcast are Adam Cole’s reaction to last week’s ass whopping by Velveteen Dream and the next chapter in the Gargano/Ciampa story.
“Today is the day it ends. Today is the day it begins.” That was a tweet that Matt Hardy sent this morning as once again Wednesday is upon us.
In the newest episode of Free The Delete released at Noon, which also featured The Young Bucks, Matt Hardy is buried in a coffin. “You two are the only ones who can disconnect Zenith. Please, save us!” Hardy says as Matt and Nick Jackson question his option to get buried. They then proceed to each super kick him but Hardy comes back up, saying that they couldn’t bury anyone, calling them “vice pussies.”
At that point, Matt and Nick deliver a double super kick and knock Hardy out. “I guess that’s why they call him Fat Hardy,” Matt Jackson says as they lift him up to place him in the coffin.
Hardy’s son Maxel also makes an appearance. In one of the outtakes, published by Reby Hardy, Maxel comes up to the Young Bucks and asks them if Randy Orton is with them as they both burst out laughing. You can watch the insanity below.
Meanwhile, Hardy will be appearing at WrestleCon during WrestleMania weekend on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4. Both his appearances will be at the George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa starting at 11AM. Prices are $50 for a photo or $60 for a printed photo. Tickets can be purchased at here. A WrestleCon admission ticket is required on top of those prices.
City of Tampa officials will be meeting with Mayor Jane Castor tomorrow to discuss the possibilities of either canceling or postponing major events due to the coronavirus.
One major, and probably the biggest, event coming to Tampa over the course of the next few weeks is obviously WrestleMania. Taking place at the Ray James Stadium with week-long activities around the city, WrestleMania is expected to bring in some 80,000 fans from all around the world descending upon the city for shows, meet and greets, and all kinds of other fun. If the show goes ahead as planned, there will be new guidelines for meet and greets. WWE already implemented a no-touching policy so no one will be shaking hands or giving hugs.
WWE is not the only game in town that weekend as several other independent promotions will be holding several shows as part of WrestleCon.
Over the past 24 hours, Tampa Bay registered three new coronavirus patients, with two in Pinellas county and one in Pasco county. Florida as a state had five additional cases.
Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet revealed last night on WWE Backstage that former New England Patriots player and huge WWE fan Rob Gronkowski is close to signing a deal with WWE.
It was not revealed in what way Gronkowski would be used once he signs on the dotted line but the three-time Super Bowl winner who recently retired works as an analyst for FOX Sports right now so a similar role wouldn’t be far fetched. Satin suggested that the first time that Gronk could show up as a WWE employee is on the March 20 episode of Smackdown.
Gronkowski is big friends with Mojo Rawley and made an appearance at WrestleMania 33 when he helped Rawley win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He recently hosted Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at his Super Bowl party.
The 30-year-old spent nine years in the NFL and was the Patriots’ tight end receiver. Apart from three championship rings, he was a four-time first team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl. He was also nominated in the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time team.
Gronk retired due to injuries he suffered on the football field saying that all the injuries during his career had taken a toll on his mental health.
Heading into the WrestleMania stretch and coming off the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Monday Night Raw not only did not get the usual post-PPV bump but actually registered the lowest number since January 13, with an average of 2,162,000 viewers, down 94,000 viewers from last week.
The first hour started with 2,157,000 viewers, then went up slightly to 2,222,000 viewers, before falling to 2,109,000 viewers in the third and final hour. This was one of the least-watched Raws with no sports competition head-to-head in over two decades.
Raw was #1, #2, and #3 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic but was #10 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Just like WWE, All Elite Wrestling has no plans to cancel any of their upcoming live events due to the coronavirus. The company issued a statement today as COVID-19 continues to dominate the news and spreads across other states.
“All AEW events are currently moving forward as scheduled. Of course, the safety and well-being of AEW fans, partners and talent is always our top priority, so we will continue to closely monitor the rapidly evolving situation related to COVID-19 and be guided by government officials, health organizations and venue management,” the statement read. “AEW will update ticket purchasers if there are any changes to the event schedule, and we encourage everyone in the AEW family to be good to themselves – and each other – by taking preventative actions as recommended by the CDC and WHO.”
As more major events get canceled across the United States and the rest of the world, it looks like it might be a matter of time before AEW or WWE shows get nixed too until the situation calms down.
In recent years, martial arts have changed in many ways, mostly due to most of the competition being transferred outside of particular martial arts and into MMA rings and cages. In MMA, combatants can use many different combat techniques and this has led to sportsmen of all types entering the cage.
Those who used to compete in WWE certainly have all the prerequisites to compete in MMA as well, which is why so many WWE combatants ended up transferring and competing in MMA as well. The main reason for that may be monetary, as MMA matches are often well paid for since UFC betting is so popular and many more sponsors want to get involved with it, but also competitive as the matches require even more dedication to win than those in WWE.
We take a look at five of the biggest WWE stars who ended up fighting in UFC and MMA and what it brought them.
Ken Shamrock
One of the first competitors in UFC, Ken Shamrock made his debut all the way back in UFC1. Ken managed to fight his way to the UFC Superfight Championship title in UFC 6 and held the title all the way into UFC 9.
After losing to Severn in UFC 9, Shamrock made a transition into WWE and was dubbed the world’s most dangerous man while he competed there. After winning both the intercontinental and the tag team titles in WWE in 1998, he returned to the octagon and made his final appearance against Ortiz, ending his career in UFC.
Phillip Brooks
Better known by his nickname CM Punk, Brooks was one of the top WWE stars over the years. CM Punk won pretty much everything you can win in the competition and was the 13th longest holder of the WWE Champion title. Apart from his competition in WWE, Brooks also competed in the UFC octagons and made a name for himself in the MMA circles as well this way.
Brock Lesnar
Being the youngest to ever win the WWE Champion title after defeating The Rock at 25 years old, Lesnar is a true WWE legend. After a successful career in WWE, he made a transition into the octagon and started competing in UFC in 2008.
He won the UFC heavyweight champion title in his fight against Randy Couture and defended his belt a total of three times. Lesnar made a return to WWE after losing two consecutive fights against Velasquez and Overeem and has been mostly dedicated to wrestling ever since.
Ronda Rousey
A lady on our list, Ronda Rousey is one of the biggest names in female MMA. While her career was mostly focused on MMA with occasional WWE fights mixed in there, she made a full transition into the less competitive WWE following WrestleMania 34.
Dave Bautista
Also known as Batista, Dave Bautista is one of the legendary WWE combatants. His first interaction with MMA happened in 2012 when he faced off against Vince Lucero, winning it on technical knockout. Now 51 years old, Bautista has never returned to UFC but remains undefeated in the octagon. Bautista also made quite a name for himself in Hollywood, appearing in multiple blockbusters that gave him a name outside of the wrestling community as well.
In a letter sent to WWE shareholders ahead of the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in April, it was revealed that Paul “Triple H” Levesque received a new title within the company.
As of February of this year, Levesque now serves as the Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development. Prior to that, he had been the Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events & Creative since August 2011.
In his current role, he oversees WWE’s talent relations and talent development departments in addition to playing an integral role in the company’s creative process, helping shape the creative direction and storylines of WWE’s programming.
The annual meeting will seek to re-elect all 10 members of the WWE Board of Directors.
The state of Florida issued a strict advisory on people coming back into the state due to the coronavirus but hours later retracted the statement.
Under the original policy, anyone returning to Florida from abroad was to self-isolate for 14 days, a stricter rule than what the federal government imposed. Had the ban not been overturned, any fans coming into town for WrestleMania next month would have basically missed all the festivities unless they were rolling in at least 14 days before.
But the announcement was soon changed when the Florida Department of Health rewrote its advisory, putting the ban only on people who traveled to China, Italy, Iran and South Korea.
Things, however, could quickly change depending on how fast this COVID-19 virus spreads. So far, 14 people in Florida were infected and a few have already died.
WWE remains steadfast that it will not cancel WrestleMania but the decision ultimately remains in the hands of the state. If Florida, or federal government, imposes certain bans on mass events, there’s no way WrestleMania will take place.
Both Jeff Hardy and Paige are being advertised to appear on Friday Night Smackdown on FOX later this week. The announcement came during the Raw broadcast.
The former WWE champion was cleared to wrestle a couple of weeks ago and has been backstage at Smackdown over the past two weeks. Hardy gave the news that he has the green light during an appearance on WWE Backstage last week and said that he’s just waiting for the right moment to jump back into action. Jeff has been out for nine months and hasn’t been in a WWE ring on TV since then.
Meanwhile, the former Smackdown General Manager will be on the broadcast to confront the current Smackdown champion Bayley. Paige underwent emergency surgery last week to remove an ovarian cyst. The WWE.COM article hyping up her appearance notes that she’ll be on the show to “set the Smackdown Women’s champion straight.” Paige has been working as a panelist on WWE Backstage ever since the show started on FS1.
Deadline.com is reporting that WWE Superstar Lana is joining the upcoming Bruce Willis sci-fi action movie titled Cosmic Sin.
Lana, real name CJ Perry, will have the role of the character Sol, a character which was originally written for a male. The character is described as “the best sniper in the galaxy and lead assassin fighting for the human race against an alien invasion.”
The plot of Cosmic Sin follows a group of warriors and scientists who must fight to protect and save their race when a hostile alien species with the power to infect and take over human hosts sets its sights on a futuristic human society.
Filming is currently taking place in Atlanta and that’s the reason why Lana has not been on WWE television since the Saudi show.
Mars and WWE today announced an expansion of their long-standing partnership for 2020 in which Snickers will once again serve as the exclusive presenting partner of WrestleMania. The partnership marks the brand’s fifth consecutive year as presenting sponsor of WrestleMania.
The expanded partnership will include three pieces of custom creative, featuring WWE Superstars promoting the new Snickers “Fix the World” campaign. In the videos, the Superstars find their unique daily annoyances are solved after Snickers has fixed the world. The spots will air on WWE TV beginning March 23 during Monday Night Raw on USA Network and March 27 during Friday Night SmackDown on FOX. The third spot will air during WrestleMania on WWE Network.
“Our partnership has historically shown the power of Snickers to satisfy when WWE Superstars are hungry, and now we’re taking it to the next level by fixing things in their daily lives that are out of sorts,” said Josh Olken, Brand Director, Snickers. “We’re excited to be back for the fifth year as the presenting sponsor of WrestleMania as we find new and relevant ways to provide satisfaction to the WWE’s passionate fan base.”
“We are proud to partner with Mars Wrigley for the fifth consecutive year and incorporate WWE Superstars’ larger-than-life personalities into the next evolution of the popular Snickers campaign,” said John Brody, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Head of Sales & Partnerships. “Our long-term partnership illustrates WWE’s unique ability to connect with fans across our global platforms and deliver valuable exposure for blue-chip brands.”
The partnership includes Snickers brand presence at WrestleMania Axxess, plus custom digital and social content sponsorships on WWE.com and WWE’s YouTube channel. Snickers will also serve as a promotional partner of WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view event in July 2020, and for the third consecutive year will be supported by a nationwide retail program available at all Dollar General stores to support the sale of co-branded WWE Snickers bars. The bars will be available mid-March through mid-April, while supplies last.
WWE’s expanded partnership with Mars will also highlight Skittles as the presenting partner of WWE’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event in October 2020. Skittles will be prominently featured as part of cross-platform media assets promoting WWE Hell in a Cell and will collaborate with WWE on production of a co-branded custom integration that will air in the telecast. Additional partnership activations will be unveiled in the coming months.
Tampa Bay Daylife will be organizing a party at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with Hulk Hogan on Monday, April 6, titled Hogan’s Beach Party.
Apart from Hulk Hogan, the party will feature a DJ set by Lil Jon. Hogan’s son Nick will be on hand as well and other wrestling stars are scheduled to appear, although no names are being advertised for now.
The poolside party will start at 11AM and will go through 4PM and will take place rain or shine. You must be 21 or over to attend. Tickets are available for $30 which will get you access to the party but food or drinks are extra. Tickets are available now on Ticketmaster.com or at the Rock Shop on location.
The Undertaker made his presence felt last night at the Elimination Chamber and attacked The O.C., helping Aleister Black beat AJ Styles in the no disqualification match.
Towards the end of the match, Gallows and Anderson interfered and were holding up Black as Styles was about to hit the flying forearm. But before Styles took flight, the lights went out, the iconic gong played, and when the lights came back up, it was The Undertaker holding both Gallows and Anderson by the throat. Styles decided to fly anyway but went right into a chokeslam.
The house lights were turned off again, enabling Taker to escape, and by the time they were up again, Taker was gone and Black hit a nasty looking Black Mass on Styles for the pin.
Styles taunted Taker during the match and was also going for a tombstone piledriver.
Here are the results from the Elimination Chamber 2020 pay-per-view which took place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A total of 14,853 fans were in attendance.
The Viking Raiders defeated Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins in the Kickoff match; Daniel Bryan defeated Drew Gulak; Andrade defeated Humberto Carrillo to retain the United States title; The Miz and John Morrison defeated The Usos, The New Day, Heavy Machinery, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, and Lucha House Party in an Elimination Chamber to retain the Smackdown Tag Team titles; Aleister Black defeated AJ Styles in a no disqualification match; The Street Profits defeated Seth Rollins and Murphy to retain the Raw Tag Team titles; Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro defeated Braun Strowman in a handicap match with Sami Zayn become the new Intercontinental champion; Shayna Baszler defeated Asuka, Liv Morgan, Natalya, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan in an Elimination Chamber match to become the new #1 contender for the Raw Women’s title.
The Inner Circle and The Elite will be taking on each other in AEW’s first-ever Blood & Guts match on Wednesday, March 25 when Dynamite rolls into Newark, New Jersey.
The Blood & Guts match is pretty much the same as WarGames, with two rings and a huge cage that covers both rings. The rules of the match will be announced this coming Wednesday night on Dynamite on TNT. AEW cannot use the WarGames name because WWE holds the rights for it and Tony Khan said during a press meeting that WarGames will not be referenced at all.
Representing the Inner Circle will be Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Ortiz, and Santana while The Elite will consist of Cody, Hangman Page, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks.
Here are the full betting odds for tonight’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. There will be no WWE and Universal or women title defenses on the show tonight, one of the handful of pay-per-views not to feature a big singles title defense.
In the women’s Elimination Chamber match, Shayna Baszler remains the absolute favorite to win this match with odds of 1/16. Asuka is 9/1 second favorite, with Ruby Riott at 20/1, Natalya 25/1, Liv Morgan at 33/1, and Sarah Logan a long shot at staggering 40/1 odds. Interesting to note is that Ronda Rousey has 4/1 odds even though she’s not even officially part of this match and has better odds than others who are announced in it.
The current Smackdown Tag Team champions The Miz and John Morrison are favorites with 8/15 to retain their titles in the second Elimination Chamber match of the night. The Usos follow with 9/2 odds, Heavy Machinery at 5/1, The New Day at 13/2, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode at 25/1, and Lucha House Party way far off with 50/1 odds.
The team of Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn are slight favorites with 8/11 odds of beating Braun Strowman in the IC title match. Strowman has 1/1 odds to retain. The United States champion Andrade is 4/5 favorite to retain his gold against Humberto Carrillo who is at 10/11 to win. In the other remaining title match, The Street Profits are 1/3 to win and keep their Raw Tag Team titles against Seth Rollins and Murphy who are 9/4 to regain.
In what could be a great match, Aleister Black is currently 4/7 favorite to beat AJ Styles in the no disqualification match with Styles having 5/4 odds. And in the last match added to the card, Daniel Bryan is 2/9 favorite to beat Drew Gulak who is at 3/1.
Live tonight from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, WWE presents Elimination Chamber 2020 on pay-per-view and WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
Natalya vs Liv Morgan vs Shayna Baszler vs Asuka vs Ruby Riott vs Sarah Logan in an Elimination Chamber match to determine the #1 contender for the Raw Women’s title; The Miz and John Morrison vs The New Day vs The Usos vs Heavy Machinery vs Lucha House Party vs Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in an Elimination Chamber match for the Smackdown Tag Team titles; Braun Strowman vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn in a 3-on-1 handicap match for the Intercontinental title; Andrade vs Humberto Carrillo for the United States title; The Street Profits vs Seth Rollins and Murphy for the Raw Tag Team titles; Aleister Black vs AJ Styles in a no DQ match; Daniel Bryan vs Drew Gulak; and The Viking Raiders vs Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins in the Kickoff match.
Elimination Chamber is free for first-time subscribers to the WWE Network. Subscribing today will also get you all the WrestleMania week activities free as it would fall within your 30-day trial. To start your free subscription go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk.
