British tabloid newspaper The Sun is once again reporting that WWE is in talks to bring a major pay-per-view to the United Kingdom as the landmark 30th anniversary from the 1992 SummerSlam approaches.
The Sun says that the talks intensified after BT Sport took over the television rights for WWE in the country from Sky Sports, treating the brand with golden gloves and giving it the proper coverage and marketing that lacked from Sky as years went on.
WWE’s last major pay-per-view in the UK was in 1992 with over 80,000 fans packing the old Wembley Stadium in London. The new Wembley Stadium is more than capable of packing more fans than that if WWE decides to hold another major show and with a retractable roof, weather would not be an issue.
AEW will hold a double header at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as the fallout from Double or Nothing will also take place at the same location in Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 27.
Tickets for this Dynamite episode will go on sale this Friday, February 21 at Noon ET at AXS.COM and they start from $25.
Double Or Nothing this year has not sold out in one day unlike last year and there are still many tickets available although it’s likely that the show will be close to full by the time it comes around. Tickets for Double or Nothing are also available through AXS.COM.
Raquel Gonzales made her presence felt during NXT Takeover: Portland yesterday, interfering in the street fight match between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai and eventually helping Kai beat her former best friend.
Gonzales showed up towards the end of the match and bumped Tegan Nox from the top rope and on a table set up in the ring. The spot was supposed to break the table but Nox’s weight wasn’t enough to break it despite the impressive move. After Kai pinned Nox, Gonzales helped Kai and raised her hand in victory.
The Texan, who participated in both Mae Young Classic tournaments in 2017 and 2018, has been signed to a WWE deal since 2016 and has made her fair share of NXT televised appearances under her previous name Reina Gonzales.
The next NXT UK Takeover will take place from Dublin, Ireland on Sunday, April 26. The news was announced last night during Takeover: Portland.
This will be the first UK Takeover not in Blackpool or Cardiff and the fourth installment in the Takeover series for the UK brand. The show will take place at the 3Arena located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands.
NXT Cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin has been requesting a match against NXT UK champion Walter and with the show taking place in his home country of Ireland, Devlin has upped his public request. “Give me WALTER, you cowards,” he tweeted after the announcement was made.
WWE interviewer Cathy Kelley worked until the very last second of her WWE deal last night, hosting a Q&A with Triple H following the conclusion of NXT Takeover: Portland.
Triple H dedicated the final five minutes of the live Q&A to honor Kelley, who had been working for the company for the past four years and was one of the most liked individuals backstage. The Game went over how many people do different things to make a show like Takeover happen, from those who pull cables, to those who plug things in, to catering, lights and to people like Kelley who are the “heart and soul” of what WWE does.
Kelley got super emotional and did not take long before tears started flowing. He called her one of the smartest and most professional and said he couldn’t come up with enough good things about her.
“The one thing about this is when I say we are NXT, it’s all of us. The great thing about NXT also is you can’t get away from us,” HHH said as Kelley smiled and cried at the same time. “So, we are NXT. You will always be NXT. This is not goodbye, this is see you down the road.”
Triple H said this is what’s great about NXT. “We create them and then we ship them out of the door to make amazing things!” He said that he’s crushed that she’s leaving but proud of her for following her dreams and said that the door is always open for her to come back.
The Undisputed Era then came in to say goodbye and wanted to make her the fifth member of the group. It started as a joke as they kept pushing her behind them until she wasn’t seen but then things turned serious and they thanked her for what she did to them and said they’re going to miss her. They gifted her with some “vitamin donuts” and Triple H presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
Kelley’s last day was yesterday and she did not reveal yet what she will be doing in her post-WWE career.
Charlotte Flair attacked NXT champion Rhea Ripley yesterday at Takeover: Portland and then accepted her WrestleMania challenge.
Ripley had just beaten Bianca Belair to retain the gold but her celebration did not last long as the 10-time women’s champ crashed the party by attacking her from behind. Flair then got a microphone and said she thought about it…”and I’ll see you at WrestleMania” to a big pop from the crowd. Flair then held up the NXT Women’s title and dropped it on Ripley who had just taken the Natural Selection.
But Flair was not ready yet. As soon as she exited the ring, Charlotte attacked Bianca Belair, sending her through the steel steps.
Ripley vs Flair is the second official match on the WrestleMania card and the first time that an NXT title will be defended at WrestleMania.
Hello everybody! @TheMagnumDA here with a special Pick’em report for NXT TakeOver Portland!
Tonight, we’re going to start a Pick’em series to decide the Undisputed WOPC Champion. Last month at the Royal Rumble, yours truly became the WOPC Champion by having the highest Pick’em score! However, the title was previously vacated under dubious circumstances, so the previous champion (Colin) is going to get one last crack at the title before WrestleMania. To win, he’s going to have to survive the THREE STAGES OF PICK’EM HELL. Over the next few weeks, Colin and I will provide Pick’em reports for tonight’s show, Super ShowDown, and AEW Revolution. If Colin can win a best-of-three over the next three shows, he will walk into WrestleMania as the WOPC Champion!
With all that said, ON WITH THE PICKS!
NXT Women’s Championship
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Bianca Belair
Magnum: I definitely look at Ripley vs. Flair as the money match here, but Belair’s time will come very soon. For tonight, Ripley retains and looks ahead to WrestleMania.
Colin: Now that they teased us Ripley vs Flair, I don’t think they’re going to put the title on Belair just yet. She’ll probably get a bigger rub if she defeats Flair for the title down the road so I say Ripley retains.
Finn Bálor vs. Johnny Gargano
Magnum: This is going to be an incredible bout. Balor will win, and could become #1 Contender for the NXT Championship if the opportunity presents itself.
Colin: Interesting match which could and probably will be match of the night. Balor is best in NXT and moving back there was the best decision. Balor wins.
NXT Tag Team Championship
The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) (c) vs. The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne)
Magnum: Even though they’re filming vignettes together and they’re working as a team…I wouldn’t be surprised if Dunne takes a page from the late Owen Hart and turns on his partner, at some point. In a surprise, Fish and O’Reilly retain!
Colin: Riddle and Dunne are hilarious together. Total polar opposites. But it’s working. It’s time for new tag team champions I think and it will be great when Riddle and Dunne turn on each other down the road. #AndNew
Street Fight
Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox
Magnum: Tegan Nox deserves a huge win…but I think she’s going to have one more setback before that happens. Tonight, give me Dakota Kai. If they have a blowoff around WrestleMania, Tegan will finally overcome the odds.
Colin: This is the match that I’m looking forward to the most. After watching the Nox special on the WWE PC YouTube, I have more respect for her. This is going to be awesome. I say this will have a non-finish where both of them will beat the shit out of each other and then have one final match down the road. No Contest
NXT North American Championship
Keith Lee (c) vs. Dominik Dijakovic
Magnum: For some reason, I think there are much bigger and better plans for Keith Lee. That could open the door for an upset tonight, but I think Keith Lee is in a good place right now. This will be an intense power struggle. I’ll take Keith Lee to win, but Dominik will turn heads with his performance.
Colin: Keith Lee is a Superstar. Whole package in my opinion. I don’t see him losing the title just yet although Dijakovic is pretty good himself. But Lee gets the W.
NXT Championship
Adam Cole (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Magnum: Ciampa vs. Balor for the NXT Championship makes sense to me down the road, especially as we get closer to WrestleMania. Cole’s had a fantastic run, but I think Goldie’s finally coming home to Daddy. Ciampa once again becomes the NXT Champion.
Colin: I love Adam Cole as champion. I see this feud going into Takeover during WrestleMania weekend and probably Adam Cole retains here somehow, either via help from The Undisputed Era or some screwy finish, leading into a rematch at the next Takeover where Ciampa wins. But for now, Cole remains champion.
That’s going to do it for Round One of the THREE STAGES OF PICK’EM HELL, enjoy NXT TakeOver Portland and we’ll see you later this month for Super ShowDown! @TheMagnumDA signing off.
It’s NXT Takeover Sunday, the first Takeover that will not take place on a Saturday night as all previous Takeovers. The yellow brand is ready to rock Portland from what looks like to be a close to a sold-out crowd.
This afternoon we take a look at all the odds for the full card which contains six matches, the biggest so far.
After having the same odds yesterday, Adam Cole is edging out Tommaso Ciampa in the NXT championship match with the reigning champion having odds of 4/5 and Ciampa is very close with odds of 10/11.
Women’s champion Rhea Ripley remains the favorite to retain the title in her match against Bianca Belair. Ripley has odds of 1/8 while Belair is at 9/2 for the upset.
Keith Lee, the NXT North American champion, has odds of 1/10 to beat Dominik Dijakovic who is still at a distant 11/2 so it looks like the North American title will remain with Lee.
The Undisputed Era will be defending their Tag Team titles against the winners of the Dusty Tag Team Classic tournament, Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne. The champs are favorites to retain with 6/4 odds while the Broserweights are at 1/2 to win.
In the other two singles matches, Finn Balor is 1/5 to win against Johnny Gargano who is 10/30 and Dakota Kai is 2/7 favorite to win the street fight against Tegan Nox who has 5/2 odds.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson uploaded an eight-minute video of him spending the day at the WWE Performance Center when his daughter Simone was present training in the ring.
The video is a bit old as Simone had shorter hair and ACH, the man formerly known as Jordan Myles, was also spotted in the video. Simone had been training at the PC while she was still attending school but she only was formally signed to a deal lately, starting her training full time.
“There’s only one place I would trust my daughter and that is with my own family, meaning the McMahon family and the WWE and this Performance Center,” The Rock said as video clips of his daughter performing in a match are shown. Simone said that being in the wrestling business as well now has brought her even closer to her father.
At one point, The Rock stepped in the ring to give out some pointers as students looked on in complete silence absorbing the tips that the former WWE champion was giving. After physical training was done, The Rock also held a Q&A session with the students.
Live from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, WWE presents NXT Takeover: Portland exclusively on the WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
Adam Cole vs Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT title; Rhea Ripley vs Bianca Belair for the NXT Women’s title; Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly vs Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne for the NXT Tag Team titles; Keith Lee vs Dominik Dijakovic for the NXT North American title; Finn Balor vs Johnny Gargano; and Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox in a street fight match.
The NXT pre-show will start at 6:30PM ET with Charly Caruso, Sam Roberts, and Mansoor on the panel.
NXT’s Taynara Conti returned to the brand yesterday at the non-televised live event in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
The 24-year-old Brazilian had a disagreement last month with management and walked out after an episode of NXT on USA Network, with many suggesting that she was gone for good.
But Conti remained under contract with WWE and it looks like cooler heads prevailed this time around. She returned last night and was involved in a six-woman tag match, teaming with Jessi Kamea and MJ Jenkins versus Valkyrie, Rita Reis, and Mia Yim. Conti wore a shirt that had “Released” printed on it.
This is Conti’s fourth year with WWE and she has two Mae Young Classic tournaments under her belt and also a WrestleMania appearance when she was part of the women’s battle royal two years ago.
We are just over 24 hours away from NXT Takeover: Portland and today we will be looking at the early odds for the top three matches of the show.
The NXT title will be on the line as Adam Cole will defend his gold against Tommaso Ciampa. Bookmakers are still undecided on this one as both NXT stars have odds of 5/6. The odds for this match might have a better picture tomorrow when we revisit the latest numbers.
The NXT Women’s champion Rhea Ripley is the clear favorite in her match against Bianca Belair. Ripley is 1/8 to win while Belair is at a distant 9/2.
And in the NXT North American title match, champion Keith Lee is 1/10 favorite to retain while Dominik Dijakovic is at 11/2, with his odds worse than Belair winning the women’s title.
A look at all the odds for the whole card will be published tomorrow hours before the show.
Friday Night Smackdown on FOX pulled in 2,481,000 viewers yesterday off hours 2,521,000 and 2,442,000. That is down 66,000 viewers from the previous week. Smackdown did a 0.7 in the 18-49, sharing the #1 spot with the CBS shows. In terms of viewers, this week Smackdown beat The CW and the first hour of 20/20 on ABC. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
After missing out last year’s WrestleMania, The Undertaker is set to return at the show of shows this year with his opponent being the phenomenal one AJ Styles. The news was broken by WrestleZone and later confirmed by other sources.
The Undertaker has not wrestled since Extreme Rules last year where he teamed up with Roman Reigns to take on Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon. Prior to that, he wrestled in Saudi Arabia against Goldberg. He last appeared on WWE television in September of last year, chokeslamming Sami Zayn on Smackdown. Despite being fit, The Undertaker did not participate at all at WrestleMania, marking the first WrestleMania since 2000 which was Undertaker-free.
Styles is currently out injured with a shoulder problem but is set to return to the ring at the upcoming Super ShowDown pay-per-view from Riyadh. The two have never met in the ring so this would be the first Taker/Styles match.
The Smackdown Women’s title will be on the line at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia, marking the second women’s match in the country and the first women’s title defense in Saudi.
The news was announced yesterday with Bayley defending the title against either Carmella or Naomi, both of whom will meet on next week’s Smackdown to determine the number one contender.
WWE managed to make history last November when Natalya and Lacey Evans squared off during Crown Jewel, becoming the first two women to wrestle in Saudi. It was the first in four attempts to green light the match as Saudi officials pulled the plug a few months earlier on a match between Natalya and Alexa Bliss. Both Natalya and Bliss had traveled to Saudi Arabia but both were forced not to participate when the government made a u-turn on the match hours before the pay-per-view.
WWE returns to Riyadh for Super ShowDown on February 27. The event will start at Noon ET on the WWE Network.
WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan will be appearing on Smackdown live tonight on FOX, an appearance which WWE.COM just confirmed today. The preview states that Hogan will be on hand to address the nWo Hall of Fame induction but with WWE going to Saudi Arabia later this month it wouldn’t be a surprise if he also announces his involvement in the show somehow.
Today’s Valentine’s Day episode of Smackdown will also be a special one for Otis of Heavy Machinery as the angle with Mandy Rose reaches a climax with a date.
Also, two matches have been announced so far for the show, including Bayley defending the Smackdown Women’s title against Carmella and The Miz and John Morrison taking on Roman Reigns and a partner of his choosing.
The “goodbye” tweet from Matt Hardy earlier this week is getting slightly postponed as the multi-time tag team champion will have an opportunity to make one more televised appearance this coming Monday on Raw.
Hardy, who was on the receiving end of a con-chair-to from Randy Orton, will try to get his revenge as he goes one-on-one with The Viper on Raw in what is more likely to be his last televised WWE match…although in professional wrestling stranger things have happened. The match against Orton on Monday will be a no holds barred match.
Matt is not renewing his WWE contract which expires next month and is largely believed to be heading to All Elite Wrestling. His angle with Orton this past Monday was meant to write him off WWE television completely but Hardy lives on at least for another week.
The Clarion Ledger newspaper is reporting that the state of Mississippi gave WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase $2 million in welfare money for his ministry.
The newspaper said that the ministry, titled Heart of David Ministries, had meager funds available until DiBiase’ son Brett was hired as deputy administrator at the Mississippi Department of Human Services in early 2017. The ministry got $900,000 in one year from the department.
Brett DiBiase, the director who hired him John Davis, and four others were indicted last week as part of a massive alleged embezzlement scheme that also involved welfare money where more than $4.15 million were stolen.
The payment received by DiBiase’s ministry ran from May 2017 up until this fiscal year and a total of $2,126,739 in welfare money was given to the ministry by the department which his son worked at. There’s no record of where all the money went, money which was signed off by John Davis.
The newspaper tried to reach Ted DiBiase and his family but the woman who answered the door at his home called the Ledger’s reporting “fictitious” and declined to comment. Attempts to reach the board of directors and other officials connected to Heart of David Ministries were also unsuccessful.
There are no filed tax documents with the IRS for the past two years by the ministry and the $2 million in state aid dwarfs the donations and grants the ministry received over the years. Brett DiBiase left his post at the MDHS seven months after he was hired.
DiBiase founded Heart of David Ministries 20 years ago.
WWE interviewer and fan favorite Cathy Kelley announced that she is leaving WWE. Kelley revealed the news in a post on her social media.
“I’ve typed out and deleted this about 20 times over the past few days, still unsure what to write…I have come to the decision to leave WWE, with Sunday’s NXT Takeover being my last day. If you know me, you know this was more than a job, you know how much I loved it and how difficult this decision was. But sometimes in order to have room for growth, you have to step away,” Kelley wrote.
The 31-year-old said that she’s thankful for the “crazy dream” that were the past four years, thanking the WWE digital team, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and everyone who supported her over the years. “I’m not sure yet where my next chapter will take me, but I am damn excited for it. And I promise this isn’t a goodbye, it’s just a see you later.”
Kelley started with WWE in February 2016, first as a backstage correspondent for NXT before moving to hosting WWE Now and other shows. In January of this year she was also promoted to be the backstage interviewer on Smackdown.
Prior to joining WWE, Kelley was a host and panelist on AfterBuzz TV for Raw and NXT.
Five months after signing a WWE deal, former AAA and Lucha Underground star Hijo del Fantasma will be making his NXT debut tomorrow at the non-televised live event in Ft Pierce, Florida.
“Finally!!!! #OhLaLaTime Mexico’s greatest export… see ya this Saturday in Fort Pierce!!! Bring your #ohLaLaGam,” the 35-year-old tweeted yesterday.
In a video uploaded by NXT’s Kat Marino, she introduced Hijo del Fantasma with his real name Jorge Bolly and he was also revealed as Raul Mendoza’s new tag team partner.
Bolly is the son of lucha libre star Fantasma. He made his wrestling debut in 2000 and also went by the name of King Cuerno in Lucha Underground. He appeared three times for Impact Wrestling, wrestling at Slammiversary, Bound For Glory, and the Redemption pay-per-views.
He lost his mask in a match against LA Park at AAA’s TripleMania in 2018.
