Darby Allin previously fought all comers and did so successfully, but when he went up against Miro, he fell short.
As seen on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place on TNT, Allin defended the TNT Title against Miro in the main event. The lengthy fight saw Allin try to overcome the tough challenge that Miro brought, but it wasn’t enough.
Miro won the match with a rear=naked choke and now is the new champion. Post=match, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page tried to attack Sting, who fought them off. This led to Lance Archer coming out to the stage and was held back by Jake Roberts as he was trying to protect his guy.
— “All Ego” Ethan Page (@OfficialEGO) May 13, 2021
Darby Allin won the TNT Title from Cody Rhodes last November at the Full Gear pay-per-view event.
It will be interesting to see when Allin gets his rematch for the title. Based on the post-match angle, it appears All Elite Wrestling is building to a future match between Archer and Miro. It could take place at the upcoming Double or Nothing pay-per-view event later this month.
Fans found out who will challenge AEW World Champion Kenny Omega for the strap at Double or Nothing and that’s both PAC and Orange Cassidy.
All Elite Wrestling booked a number one contender\’s match on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite as PAC took on Orange Cassidy. The back and forth match saw it end in a double count-out.
As a result, both stars have earned the right to challenge Omega for the top prize in the promotion at this upcoming PPV event.
A Casino Battle Royale with the winner receiving a future title shot was made official. Christian Cage and Matt Sydal both revealed they are in that bout.
Adam Page vs. Brian Cage was also confirmed for the show.
It was also revealed on this show that Cody Rhodes will take on Anthony Ogogo at this show. He cut a promo about what it’s like to be an American so he will go by the name of “The American Dream” for one night only at this show.
This comes after Ogogo attacked Rhodes and then draped the flag from the United Kingdom over his body on last week’s Dynamite.
The AEW Double Or Nothing pay-per-view event will take place on Sunday, May 30, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. Here is the updated card:
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega vs. PAC and Orange Cassidy
AEW Women\’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Dr. Britt Baker
\”The American Dream\” Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo
Adam Page vs. FTW Champion Brian Cage
Casino Battle Royale: Competitions announced thus far include Christain Cage and Matt Sydal
Two weeks ago on NXT, MSK & NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida lost a six-man tag match to Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) in a six-man tag team match.
The finish saw Mendoza pin Carter to win the match. Last week, Mendoza & Wilde cut a promo saying that they want a title match against MSK. Thus, it appears this match will be happening sooner rather than later.
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan was booked in a singles match.
The match was a stiff back and forth match. It ended in a victory for Kyle who hit a flying knee strike off the top rope. Post-match, he was attacked by Dunne until the returning Bobby Fish ran out to make the save.
WWE set up this match by doing an angle earlier today where Lorcan interrupted an interview with O\’Reilly as O\’Reilly was arriving at the building. This is where Lorcan told him that he can\’t beat Karrion Kross, Finn Balor, or Pete Dunne and that he couldn\’t also beat him. Thus, O’Reilly challenged Lorcan to face him in the ring.
Last week, O\’Reilly, Balor, and Dunne all interrupted NXT Champion Kross on last week\’s NXT.
Santos Escobar got his rematch for the NXT Cruiserweight Title when he took on Kushida. This was a best two out of three falls match.
The match saw Escobar get the first follow and shortly after, Kushida got the second fall. The third fall saw Kushida pin him with a bridge suplex.
Escobar became the champion when he beat Jordan Devlin in a ladder match to become the Undisputed Champion at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver last month.
On the April 13th edition of NXT, Kushida answered Escobar\’s open challenge. This is where Kushida shocked him by winning the title.
Two weeks ago, Kushida was laid out by Escobar and Legado Del Fantasma. Last week, Kushida showed up to challenge Escobar to a title bout. Escobar had no issue accepting the challenge.
Karrion Kross battled Austin Theory in singles competition. This was a non-title match for the NXT Champion.
Last week, there was an in-ring segment with Kross interacting with the likes of Kyle O’Reilly, Finn Balor, and Pete Dunne where they all made their cases for why they should get a title shot.
A brawl broke out with Theory and North American Champion Johnny Gargano then getting the jump on Kross so they laid him out. NXT General Manager William Regal announced the match later in the show.
The match opened the show. Theory did get some offense in with cheap tactics, but Kross mostly dominated the match. Kross locked in the rear-naked choke for the win. Post-match, Balor came out to the ring and told him that he doesn’t wait in line, he wants his rematch. Kross agreed, but no date was given.
NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez defended the title against Mercedes Martinez.
The match was good and back and forth with each star getting their spots in. It was a fight between two powerful wrestlers. Raquel won with her finisher.
WWE confirmed this match booking last week after Gonzalez beat down Martinez when Martinez faced Gonzalez\’s tag team partner Dakota Kai and it ended in a DQ when Gonzalez attacked Martinez.
Martinez faced Gonzalez\’s tag team partner Dakota Kai on tonight\’s NXT, but the match ended in a disqualification when Gonzalez attacked Martinez. Gonzalez was at ringside during the match.
This attack came after Martinez had called out Gonzalez, but had to face Kai first. Martinez called Gonzalez a lapdog and said she would take out Kai so that nothing would be standing in the way.
Gonzalez became the champion when she defeated Io Shirai in the main event of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night one last month.
The rematch that fans have been waiting for has been booked as Karrion Kross will make his first defense of the NXT Title against Finn Balor.
It will happen on the May 26th edition of WWE NXT from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network. On this week’s episode, Kross beat Austin Theory in the opening contest and it was mostly a one-sided affair.
After the match, Balor appeared and told Kross that he doesn’t wait in line. He wanted the title match and Kross agreed to it. It was only until later in the show that WWE actually confirmed it.
Last week, WWE did a segment where Balor, Pete Dunne, and Kyle O’Reilly made their cases as to why they should get the next title shot.
Kross beat Balor last month on the second night of NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver special to become the champion for the second time.
WWE also confirmed that next week’s episode will see Johnny Gargano will defend his NXT North American Title against Bronson Reed, who became the new #1 contender by defeating Theory on the April 27th edition of NXT.
This is also a rematch from the latest TakeOver special as Gargano was able to retain after interference from Theory.
Keith Lee has fans talking after sending out two cryptic tweets. The WWE Raw star took to Twitter to say today is the day that can and will define the future.
He wrote, “Today is a day that can and will define the future. The wheels can have motion and move forward….or…. they can stop completely. ……Make your wheels turn. Accept no substitute.”
The Raw star also shared a photo of him standing next to a cage at WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames. This has caused some fans to think he could be headed back to NXT.
As it stands now, there’s been no word yet on if these tweets are related to anything on television.
His status has been up in the air for the past few months after being out of action since February. In March, it was reported he was actively trying to get cleared for a return to in-competition. He did make an appearance on the Watch Along livestream for the NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver Night Two show over WrestleMania 37 week.
The reason he’s been on the shelf is due to health reasons and WWE has not cleared him for in-ring action. He did undergo some testing in February, but it’s unclear what the results or exact reason for the tests.
Lee did send out some messages to his fans on social media during this time. One time he teased his return while the other was promising to explain everything that has kept him out of action.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.817 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is on pair from last week’s 1.872 million viewers and the 0.53 rating.
This week’s episode was the go-home edition of Raw for WrestleMania Backlash. Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Monday Night Raw:
The first hour did 1.912 million viewers and a 0.55 rating (A18-49).
The second hour did 1.828 million viewers and a 0.54 rating.
The final hour of the show had just 1.710 million viewers and a 0.51 rating.
This episode featured Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre in a non-title match, A.J. Styles, Omos, Jaxson Ryker & Elias vs. New Day, Randy Orton & Riddle, and Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler & Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.282 million viewers. This is up from the 2.018 million viewers on FOX that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demo, up from the 0.49 rating the previous week’s show. The episode drew an average of 2.080 million viewers in the overnight ratings, up from the previous week that did 1.923 million viewers.
The first hour saw it pull in 2.060 million viewers while hour two did 2.099 million viewers. The show did 1.875 million viewers in hour one while hour two did 1.971 million viewers a week ago.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania Backlash PPV.
WWE confirmed Damian Priest vs. The Miz. On Monday’s Raw, it was revealed that a singles match between Priest and John Morrison would see them battle it out to determine a stipulation for this match.
Thus, when Priest won the contest, it was confirmed what the upcoming match will be a lumberjack match. He has been feuding with Miz and Morrison since January. Priest teamed up with Bad Bunny for a special tag team match at WrestleMania 37 where they went over the heels. It appears this will be the blowoff match in this feud.
WWE presents the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event on Sunday, May 16, 2021 from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center that will air on Peacock. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days.
Updated WWE WrestleMania Backlash Card
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio
Jinder Mahal is back on WWE Monday Night Raw as he made his return on the May 10 edition of the program.
He did so when he beat Jeff Hardy in a quick match. He was joined by former NXT tag team Indus Sher (Rinku Singh and Dilser Shanky). They are now going by the names Veer and Shanky.
He appeared on the May 3rd Main Event TV tapings where he beat Hardy in a singles match. Mahal did work the Superstar Spectacle special back in January that aired on the WWE Network as he teamed up with The Bollywood Boyz to face Drew McIntyre and Indus Sher.
In June 2019, Mahal went to Birmingham, Alabama to undergo knee surgery at Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center.
While wrestling Ali, who won the match, at the WWE live event in Denver, Colorado in June he ruptured his patella tendon. Mahal had signed a new deal that was said to be for 5 years while on the shelf.
He returned to action in April 2020 before suffering another injury. WWE was forced to scrap a planned feud between Mahal and McIntyre.
Mia Yim, also known as Reckoning, was set to make her SmackDown debut last week, which was the throwback edition.
There were rumors that Yim had been pulled from the show due to unknown reasons. Fightful Select reported today she was slated to start a feud with Carmella but it was cut for time as WWE had to add in throwback content to fit the theme of the show.
The throwback idea came from FOX and WWE quickly accommodated their request. It was said that time was added to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns’ segment, but it’s unknown if this added to the time cut directly affecting Yim\’s delay.
Dave Meltzer reported in the daily update on F4Wonline.com that Yim is slated to make her debut on the blue brand this coming Friday night.
She was moved from Raw to smackdown after WWE broke up the Retribution group. Yim hasn’t worked a match since dropping a loss to Nikki Cross last December during a Main Event TV taping.
A new Aleister Black vignette was also scheduled to air this past Friday, but that was nixed due to time as well.
The third season of Vice TV’s Dark Side of the Ring started last Thursday. The first episode was about the life and career of Brian Pillman.
The topics for the third season were previously announced as there will be two parts of the season. The exact air dates weren’t known for the first part until now.
The Nick Gage episode will air on May 13th followed by Collision in Korea, Becoming Warrior on May 27th, Grizzly Smith episode airing on June 3rd, and the first part of the season finale on June 10th with Dynamite Kid.
Here is the synopsis for each episode:
The Ultra-Violence of Nick Gage – “Nick Gage is the self-proclaimed king of deathmatch wrestling, but his road to the top has been marked with a six-year prison sentence for armed robbery and personal tragedies.”
Collision in Korea – “In one of the most bizarre acts of political theatre ever conceived, professional wrestlers who were deployed to North Korea faced a terrifying ordeal that had them fighting for their lives.”
Becoming Warrior – “The Ultimate Warrior was a divisive force in and outside of the ring; his first wife reveals how an aspiring chiropractor morphed himself into wrestling’s most polarizing figure.”
In The Shadow of Grizzly Smith – “Having survived familial abuse at the hands of their father and the mysterious abduction of their sister, Jake The Snake and his siblings struggle to reconcile with their past.”
Dynamite Kid – “The Dynamite Kid earned worldwide fame with a riveting, self-sacrificing style, but violent confrontations outside the ring would destroy his family, his body, and his legacy.”
The following topics will be covered in the second part of the season:
Johnny K9 aka Bruiser Bedlam
The Steroid Trials (Vince McMahon’s 1994 trial)
FMW
The Plane Ride From Hell (Infamous WWE flight back from European tour in 2002)
Luna Vachon
XPW
Chris Kanyon
Official air dates for the first part of Season 3…
5/13 — Nick Gage 5/20 — Collision in Korea 5/27 — Ultimate Warrior 6/3 — Grizzly Smith/Jake Roberts/Rockin’ Robin/Sam Houston 6/10 — Dynamite Kid
Which episode are you most looking forward to? GIFs only…
— Dark Side of the Ring (@DarkSideOfRing) May 10, 2021
Dave Bautista has landed another movie role as his successful career in Hollywood continues. Deadline.com is reporting that he has joined the cast of the “Knives Out 2” film.
The film is directed by Rian Johnson and is the Netflix sequel to the 2019 murder mystery film. As it stands right now, there is no word yet what characters Bautista will be playing.
Daniel Craig will be returning for the second film as Benoit Blanc, who is the lead star. It will start filming this summer in Greece.
The plot of the first film reads like this, \”The circumstances surrounding the death of crime novelist Harlan Thrombey are mysterious, but there\’s one thing that renowned Detective Benoit Blanc knows for sure — everyone in the wildly dysfunctional Thrombey family is a suspect. Now, Blanc must sift through a web of lies and red herrings to uncover the truth.\”
Bautista’s latest film, “Army of the Dead,” is directed by Zack Snyder. The plot reads, “ARMY OF THE DEAD takes place following a zombie outbreak that has left Las Vegas in ruins and walled off from the rest of the world.”
It will be released in select theaters on May 14, 2021. One week later, it will be made available on Netflix.
WWE SummerSlam expected to be held on Sunday, August 22nd. The date has not yet been confirmed by WWE and the location is still \’to be determined\’ as of this writing.
WWE has talked about holding this year’s SummerSlam in various locations such as Phoenix, Arizona, or somewhere in Texas. There has also been some speculation about the event being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The company wants to have fans in attendance at SummerSlam and that is still the goal. While it’s expected to be held outdoors, the exact capacity will remain a big question as WrestleMania 37 had over 20,000 fans in attendance.
The belief is after SummerSlam will mark the beginning of WWE touring on a weekly basis with fans in attendance for TV.
WWE presents the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event on May 16th with WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman being billed as the top match.
After that, the Money in the Bank event takes place on June 20th and this year’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view show goes down on Sunday, July 18th. These three shows will be broadcasted from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center.
EC3 announced on social media last month that he had been hospitalized and now he has written a long blog to detail the situation.
He had been dealing with an infection that has caused him to miss out on work for the past month. The severe infection happened months after he had COVID-19 last year. He cited a torn toe tendon procedure and a cut suffered during a match.
“A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a swelling developing in my arm, and in other areas of my body,” he wrote. Paying it very little attention while using bro-science and internet diagnosis, I continued my daily missions and the overwhelming burdens I place upon myself in training, performing, business, and creative endeavors. When I thought about getting it looked at professionally, another thing would come up that I’d give priority.
This repeated and I lived life normally, consistently going, no rest,\” he continued. \”Finally, after an attempt at some athletic based therapy, my arm became a gigantic, swollen, horrifying, ungodly, painful atrocity and I went to the ER. Next thing I knew, words like cellulitis, staph, and stenosis were thrown around, I was being pumped full of fluids, antibiotics, and morphine, and was in an ambulance to my STAYCATION DESTINATION, Advent Health Downtown Orlando.\”
He continued by noting that for 10 days, he shut down both physically and mentally.
“It was a reminder of both a childhood spent very ill, and a career spent where when things were very promising, began to reach an apex, and accomplishments being achieved I would drasticly be shattered with catastrophic injuries (torn ligaments, tendons, concussions etc.) Completely unforeseen. Completely unnecessary.”
EC3 added that he is at home now where he can continue to heal and rest. He also circled three dates on his calendar with the first date being May 27th.
EC3 has not wrestled since April 9 where he lost to Moose by DQ at a Game Changer Wrestling event.
The main event from the SmackDown brand has been announced for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania Backlash PPV.
Cesaro will challenge WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at this show. It was confirmed on Friday’s episode of SmackDown after the company had WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long. Long announced that Cesaro would earn a title shot from Reigns if he could beat Seth Rollins in their singles match.
When Rollins ended up having words with The Usos at ringside, Cesaro managed to capitalize and get the win. Thus, he earned the right to become the new #1 contender for the top title.
Just last week on SmackDown, Reigns beat Daniel Bryan to retain the title, which had the stipulation that if Bryan lost then he would be banished from SmackDown. This was done to write Bryan off television as his contract expired.
WWE presents the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event on Sunday, May 16, 2021 from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center that will air on Peacock.
Updated WWE WrestleMania Backlash Card
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley
WWE Raw Women’s Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio
It happened in the opening segment of the Throwback edition of the show on FOX as WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns announced the return of Jimmy Uso, who came out to celebrate with Reigns, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman.
Reigns cut a promo about how after he beat Daniel Bryan on last week’s episode of SmackDown, which had the stipulation that if Bryan lost then he would be banished from SmackDown, he introduced Jimmy.
Of course, in all reality, Bryan’s contract with WWE expired and he is currently a free agent. Reigns said Bryan wouldn’t acknowledge him, so they replaced him with someone who certainly will and that’s when Jimmy walked out.
The former WWE Tag Team Champion suffered a torn ACL while working a Triple Threat Ladder match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Titles during Night 1 of WrestleMania 36.
This is where he wrestled Kofi Kingston and John Morrison. At the time of his undergoing surgery, the belief was that he would be on the shelf for 6-9 months.
In February, Jimmy was back training at the WWE Performance Center. He did make a few appearances on WWE TV last year when Jey was feuding with Reigns, but he wasn\’t cleared at the time.
WWE has announced that The Mysterios are getting a SmackDown Tag Team Title shot at WrestleMania Backlash when they challenged Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode for the straps at this show.
WWE confirmed the news on Friday afternoon. The Mysterios are looking to become the first father and son team to hold Tag Team Titles in WWE, which would mark history.
Ziggler and Roode became the champs when they beat The Street Profits this past January. At WrestleMania 37 last month, they were able to retain their titles against The Street Profits, The Mysterios, and Chad Gable & Otis in a fatal four-way match.
Just three weeks ago, they retained the straps against The Street Profits on SmackDown. Two weeks ago, the Mysterios defeated Otis & Gable. Last week’s show saw The Street Profits & Bianca Belair defeat Ziggler, Roode & Bayley in a six-person tag match.
This is the fourth match that\’s been announced for the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event on Sunday, May 16, 2021 from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center that will air on Peacock thus far.
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman and WWE Raw Women’s Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair are the top matches on the card.
All Elite Wrestling presented its highly anticipated Blood and Guts match on Wednesday night during a special edition of Dynamite.
Even though Dynamite is a 2-hour show, AEW booked the show around this match, which aired during the second hour as AEW wanted to build it up as much as possible. It was also a long match that saw The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz) battle The Pinnacle (MJF, FTR, Wardlow, and Shawn Spears).
It was a 10-man elimination match featuring ‘old school’ rules with no pinfalls. There were two rings with a big steel cage around it and a roof hanging over it.
The match saw various stars bleed, the top rope on one of the rings taken off, various weapons used, and part of the ring being exposed so Santana and Ortiz could hit a double piledriver on it to FTR. At one point, Sammy hit coast to coast.
Jericho chased MJF to the top of the structure and they brawled up there. When MJF threatened to throw Jericho off the top of the structure, Sammy surrendered to save his leader. After the match, MJF shoved Jericho off the cell and landed on a crash pad.
All Elite Wrestling has announced the first match for their upcoming Double Or Nothing pay-per-view event.
On Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, it was confirmed that Hikaru Shida will defend the AEW Women’s Championship against Britt Baker. This comes as Baker has won five straight television matches with notable victories AEW Dark: Elevation and Dynamite.
On Wednesday\’s edition of All Elite Wrestling\’s flagship show, she beat Julia Hart in a quick squash match. Baker has stated that she was climbing up the rankings in an attempt to get a championship opportunity. Now, that will happen.
It was also announced on this show that AEW World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega\’s opponent at Double Or Nothing will be determined by the winner of next week’s PAC vs. Orange Cassidy match.
The AEW Double Or Nothing pay-per-view event will take place on Sunday, May 30, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place.
The event is expected to begin at 8 p.m. ET and stream live on the BR Live platform in the United States. All Elite Wrestling will be announcing more matches in the coming weeks.
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell def. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart to win NXT Women’s Tag Team title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Legado del Fantasma Segment
Legado del Fantasma came out for an in-ring promo. Santos Escobar cut a promo about history and lineage. He said that he is the undisputed empire of lucha libre. He said that the fans witnessed an iconic moment. He said that he will get back the NXT Cruiserweight Title.
Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde pointed out how they didn’t get pinned at TakeOver last month in the triple threat match and they embarrassed MSK last week. They want the NXT Tag Team Titles.
Escobar said that a true master is best when he doesn’t do everything for himself, but what he can do for his brothers.
Kushida appeared on the big screen and challenged Escobar to a match for his title on next week’s show. Escobar accepted.
A Falls Count Anywhere Match between Leon Ruff and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott was booked.
This was a great way to kick off the show and they got plenty of time to do their story. At one point, Ruff hit a springboard reverse hurricanrana off the apron to the floor. Scott hit an AA to Ruff onto the apron.
The finish saw Ruff clothesline him over the barricade then was about to climb onto a platform, but AJ Francis caught him then hit a neck breaker onto the barricade. Scott hit his finisher for the win.
Francis, who is currently hosting WWE Hidden Treasures, has been training at the Performance Center.
Karrion Kross and Scarlett walked out to the ring for a promo. He said that he made things clear three weeks ago about challengers stepping up. However, no one has stepped up yet and people keep saying that they’re not afraid of him. He wonders what they’re waiting for.
Kross said that he doesn’t have to prove himself, but he’s not waiting. He told Austin Theory, who is facing Kross next week, that he will drop him on his head and leave him laying.
Kyle O’Reilly came out and told Kross that he’s not afraid of him and this is the match he wants. He said that he thinks this is the match Kross wants. Pete Dunne walked out and said he doesn’t care that Kross is champion because he’s the baddest man in NXT. He dared to prove them wrong.
Finn Balor came out and said that he’s wrestled all of them except for Kross. He punched Kross, but Kross knocked him down. A brawl broke out with them all going after Kross. Security eventually broke them up.
When Kross was left standing, Theory and Johnny Gargano attacked him. They hit a double superkick. Kross was left on his back.
This marked the first time that Balor spoke or even appeared on NXT TV since Kross defeated him to win the NXT Championship at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver night two last month.
Tag Team Match
Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Zack Gibson and James Drake in a tag team match took place.
Thatcher hit Gibson in the face with Wade Barrett’s shoe then locked in an arm submission for the win.
Both teams have stated that they want to challenge MSK for the NXT Tag Team titles. Just last week, The Grizzled Young Veterans cut a promo calling themselves the leaders that the NXT tag team division needs.
This led to Ciampa and Thatcher coming out to confront them and let them know they want the next title shot. The segment ended with Ciampa and Thatcher attacking Gibson and Drake.
These two teams did work with each other earlier this year as the Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Ciampa and Thatcher when they faced off in the men\’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinals.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart defended against The Way’s Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell in a Street Fight.
They used various weapons throughout the match whether that was chairs, kendo sticks or trash cans.
They did a spot where they hit Heartwell with a double dropkick with a trash can on her head. Moon hit a face buster off the barricade onto a chair. They then placed Heartwell on a stack of chairs and Blackwell was going for an outside dive, but LeRae sprays a fire extinguisher in their faces.
Shotzi hit a back splash off the top rope onto Heartwell who was on a ladder. Shotzi climbed a beam support and jumped off of it onto Heartwell on the announce table. Indie hit a spring board elbow drop to Moon through a table on the floor. LeRae hit a midfield curbstomp to Shotzi on a steel chair. The Way are the new Women\’s Tag Team Champs
Mickie James was released by WWE last month due to what the company blamed on budget cuts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Days later, she was part of the trash bag incident as her personal belongings were sent to her house by WWE in a trash bag that resulted in Mark Carrano being blamed for it and fired.
James’ husband and current NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis gave his take on the situation while speaking with Spencer Love of Love Wrestling.
“Well, I hope this doesn\’t destroy anyone\’s delusion of it. But, you know, the craziest thing about all that for us was that she really – it wasn\’t like she was super offended. It wasn\’t like she was really upset. She was kind of laughing at the symbolism.It wasn\’t like this thing where she went \’ah, I\’m devastated, I\’m heartbroken, how would they do this to me,\’ and I\’ve seen some people sort of refer to it like that as if that was the sort of tone.”
Aldis continued, If you go back and look at her post with the video and stuff, she was very tongue-in-cheek about it. She was very kind of, \’well, that\’s about fucking right!\’ In other words, they chew you up and spit you out, and that\’s just the way the business is.
And, look. She\’s been through a hell of a lot worse. The reality is, is that symbolism and sort of tone-deaf gesture, I guess, is the best way to describe it, it\’s not even in the top-10 of the most cold, heartless things that have happened to her or me in this business. So, it\’s kind of like, hey, man, we\’ve got thick skins.
She just thought it was enlightening, I guess, to sort of share with the world like, \’Hey, you think it\’s all special and glamorous? It\’s sometimes not so much.\’ I was very amazed at the level of traction it got.
And, I was amazed at the level of response on the corporate level from those guys. From Triple H, and Stephanie [to] Vince, they all – and, hey, I will say that Vince McMahon went out of his way to express to Mickie his respect for her and her contributions. That\’s at least some consolation to take from it. Although, I would politely suggest that maybe a little more respect could have been shown to her while she was there.\”
Aldis also talked about the return of the National Wrestling Alliance, why he didn’t headline the All In pay-per-view event with Cody Rhodes a few years ago and more.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.872 million viewers with a 0.53 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is up from last week’s 1.774 million viewers and the 0.49 rating.
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Monday Night Raw:
The first hour did 1.891 million viewers and a 0.54 rating (A18-49).
The second hour did 1.979 million viewers and a 0.57 rating.
The final hour of the show had just 1.746 million viewers and a 0.47 rating.
This episode featured WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman, Raw Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Omos vs. The New Day, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Lana & Naomi, and Randy Orton & Riddle vs. Elias & Jaxson Ryker.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.018 million viewers. This is down from the 2.121 million viewers on FOX that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demo, down from the 0.54 rating the previous week’s show. The episode drew an average of 1.923 million viewers in the overnight ratings, down from the previous week that did 2.042 million viewers.
The first hour saw it pull in 1.875 million viewers while hour two did 1.971 million viewers. The show did 2.046 million viewers in hour one while hour two did 2.032 million viewers a week ago.
WWE has confirmed the rumors of the return of Eva Marie during Monday’s episode of Raw.
The company aired a vignette on the show and used the tag line at the end of the teaser that was “Eva-Lution.” She also had a simple yet effective reaction to the video airing via Twitter:
News of her return was reported several months ago as she had signed a deal with the promotion to return. She inked the deal in September and was backstage at shows in October. However, she hadn’t been used up to this point. She was listed on the company\’s internal roster but had not been assigned to a brand.
She first signed with WWE back in 2013 where she was used on the E! Network’s Total Divas show and later got a big push in NXT then on the main roster.
She left WWE years ago to pursue a career in Hollywood. She has stated in the past that she would like to come back to WWE to help others in the company. As it stands right now, there’s no word yet whether she will be wrestling or if she will be used in a managerial role.
This Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown will be special as WWE is touting it as a throwback edition of the show.
The original \”SmackDown!\” logo appeared at the end of the announcement. Since the announcement, fans have been wondering whether this means WWE will bring back a special stage set for the show.
The logo they used is from 1999, but fans would love to see WWE bring back the fist stage that was used in the 2000s.
YouTuber TheKalClash uploaded the latest update video where he is building the stage set with the giant fist breaking through glass in his basement. It’s fully authentically scaled and stands over 4 ft tall. He used a 3D printer for the set. He provided other details in the video.
WWE has announced that Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins for this show, which is a rematch from WrestleMania 37, which saw Cesaro defeated Rollins.
Typically, WWE will do these types of shows to help increase viewership. Last Friday’s episode did 2.018 million viewers and pulled in a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demo.
WWE did have to go up against the first round of this year\’s NFL Draft, but had a main event of Universal Champion Roman Reigns retain the title against Daniel Bryan in which had a stipulation of if Bryan lost then he would be banished from SmackDown.
WWE has confirmed the latest title match that will take place at the WrestleMania Backlash PPV event and that’s Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair.
Ripley will put the Raw Women’s Title on the line against the former champion. Then on Raw, WWE confirmed that Flair had been added to the match and now it\’s a triple threat.
Ripley beat Asuka for the strap at the WWE WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event last month from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
There had been speculation that WWE would have Charlotte Flair wrestle either Asuka or Ripley at this show since she had been cutting promos about the two stars since returning to television a few weeks ago.
WWE presents the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event on Sunday, May 16, 2021, from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center that will air on Peacock. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman in a triple threat match and WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley have already been confirmed for this show.
Chelsea Green took to her Instagram account today to note that she recently underwent surgery to remove a plate from her arm.
She has suffered several breaks in the arm/wrist area throughout her career. Now that she is on the sidelines, she decided to get the plate taken out. She wrote the following in the caption:
“Post-surgery photo. The plate in my arm is out & I’m ready to get back to work!! It’s been a long 2 years of struggling with breaks, surgeries, hardware, and some complications but we’re finally at the finish line.”
SEScoops wishes Chelsea Green a full and speedy recovery.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CObWc43JuxJ/
Chelsea Green\’s Road to Free Agency
Green made her main roster debut back on the November 13, 2020 edition of SmackDown when she competed in a Fatal Four-Way match. In the match, she suffered a wrist injury and had to get the surgery done. As a result, she was put on the shelf.
Green had been making progress towards an in-ring return since before the Royal Rumble in January and it was reported that she had been cleared to make a return.
Green was released by WWE last month and since that time has done various interviews to share the story about her time in the company.
She is under a 90-day non-compete, which is up on July 14th. She has stated that she’s open to going to Impact, ROH or AEW.
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