WWE has released the schedule of programming for WrestleMania week and it’s a busy one.
It turns out that the final SmackDown before WrestleMania 37 won’t air live, but rather it will be taped. Fightful Select reports that as of right now, the plan is to tape the April 9th episode of SmackDown before the April 2nd episode airs live on FOX from St. Petersburg, Florida at Tropicana Field.
That same week will also see the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony tape over the course of two days. The current plan is to have as many of the inductees live on the stage as possible in addition to having some of the roster and invited guests in attendance.
The 2020 class will feature Batista, John “Bradshaw” Layfield, “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, The Bella Twins, and The NWO (Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean “X-Pac” Waltman) while Molly Holly and Eric Bischoff are the only names confirmed for the 2021 class.
The lineup for WrestleMania week will see the following schedule:
Tuesday, April 6: WWE Hall of Fame ceremony
Wednesday, April 7: NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver – Night One
Thursday, April 8: NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver – Night Two
The betting odds for most of the matches that will take place at the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view event have been released.
The card for the show that takes place this Sunday (March 21, 2021) from St. Petersburg, Florida at the Tropicana Field is close to being finalized as only six matches have been announced with WWE expected to announce a pre-show contest and perhaps more matches on SmackDown.
The only title change expected is the Intercontinental Championship, which would see Apollo Crews be crowned champion. Roman Reigns is a major favorite to retain the Universal Title over Daniel Bryan while Alexa Bliss is actually the big favorite to beat Randy Orton in a match.
There\’s been speculation The Fiend could return at this show to interfere in the bout, which could be why the former WWE Raw Women\’s Champion is favored.
The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Odds call for all three titles to change. Here are the final betting odds courtesy of BetOnline:
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns -1000 vs. Daniel Bryan +525
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler -300 vs. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks +250
WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E +200 vs. Apollo Crews -300
The March 17, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Dexter Lumis def. Austin Theory.
Legado del Fantasma def. Breezango
Dakota Kai (w/Raquel Gonzalez) def. Zoey Stark.
Tommaso Ciampa def. Marcel Barthel.
LA Knight def. August Grey
NXT Tag Team Champions Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan def. Finn Balor & Karrion Kross.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Finn Balor Opens
The WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver main event is now official as Finn Balor will defend the NXT Title against Karrion Kross. WWE had Balor come out to the ring for a promo. He listed off everyone he’s beaten and now Kross is waiting for him to do the same.
Balor said at TakeOver, Kross’ time is up. This led to Kross and Scarlett walking down to the ring. Kross said that this whole situation wasn’t going to happen until they settled their separate affairs. He said they need to know who the real champion is in NXT. He said the entire world needs to know it.
Balor said everyone wants to be a champion until the real champion walks into the room. Balor said Kross walks and talks like a champion, but Balor is the champion and Kross doesn’t have what it takes to beat him. Kross promised him at TakeOver that Balor will know what it feels like when he chokes him out.
Balor responded by saying Kross will know what it’s like to be in the main event and choke. Scarlett said she’s already seen this in the cards – two champions draped in gold and the world in awe. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch came out for a promo and told Balor that he should be facing Pete Dunne.
They said that Dunne can also beat Kross and in time, Pete Dunne will become champion. This led to Scarlett throwing out the idea of Burch and Lorcan defending the tag team titles against Kross and Balor. They agreed to it for later in the show.
The main event saw Balor get pinned after Balor accidentally kicked Lorcan into Scarlett. Kross attacked Balor, which led to the finish. After the match, Kross laid out Balor with a choke then a forearm shot to the back of the head.
The Way’s storyline with Dexter Lumis continued on this show as NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell & Austin Theory have been clashing with the mysterious figure.
Lumis vs. Theory was booked in a singles match. Lumis dominated early while Theory got some spots near the finish. However, it was Lumis who locked in his sleeper hold for the win.
Theory’s been through a lot on TV including having to go to therapy for having stockholm syndrome Theory was showing after being abducted by Lumis at TakeOver: Vengeance Day last month as he walked with the group to the ring, which featured Gargano retaining his North American Championship against Kushida.
Adam Cole Reacts
Adam Cole came out to the ring to give his reaction to the return of Kyle O’Reilly last week during his NXT Title match with Finn Balor.
Cole said that deep down Kyle knows that he is jealous of him and won’t ever be as successful as him. He congratulated Kyle for writing his own death warrant. He won’t leave until Kyle shows up and he finishes it. William Regal came out and said Kyle wasn’t medically cleared last week.
Now, Kyle is out of action for longer due to the damage he suffered. He informed Cole that he has banned Kyle from the CWC. Kyle appeared on the big screen and said that they will settle their differences soon enough. Kyle said that he can’t wait and won’t rest until he gets him. Kyle said that he knows everything about Cole and is willing to do anything to take care of Cole.
Cole said that Kyle can’t hurt him unless he finds him first. Later in the show, we see both Cole and Kyle being arrested after a car incident.
Breezango vs. Legado del Fantasma took place in a tag team match. The match was solid with the heels going over.
There was an angle shot two weeks ago where Mendoza and Wilde attacked Breezango as they were making their entrance for a match against Ever-Rise.
Fast forward to last week, Fandango and Tyler Breeze got their payback by attacking Mendoza and Wilde after Mendoza and Wilde defeated The Grizzled Young Veterans. The finish of that match saw MSK distract The Grizzled Young Veterans. The babyfaces celebrated after taking out The Grizzled Young Veterans and Mendoza and Wilde.
Following the match, Santos Escobar questioned where Jordan Devlin was.
Jordan Devlin’s Appearance
Devlin appeared right after Escobar questioned his appearance. Devlin stated he didn’t need stooges to protect him. Santos got into the ring. Devlin told Santos to put his replica in the trash because the real champion was back. Santos said he has redefined what it means to be a cruiserweight and made history as champion. Santos challenged him to a champion vs. champion match at TakeOver. Eventually, Devlin headbutted him then hit an angle slam to end the segment.
WWE has announced that Devlin will defend his NXT Cruiserweight Championship against Seven on this Thursday\’s episode of NXT UK.
Devlin announced last week that he was flying to the United States to appear on this week\’s episode and mentioned next month\’s two-night NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver event where said it would be a shame if the biggest TakeOver in history didn\’t have the real NXT Cruiserweight Champion on the card.
Both Devlin and Escobar are both considered NXT Cruiserweight Champions by WWE. The reason for this is due to Devlin not being able to travel and defend the title due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, a tournament to crown an interim champion was booked last year. WWE later dropped the interim branding for the tournament. Thus, when Escobar beat Drake Maverick in the tournament finals, he was crowned the NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
LA Knight made his NXT in-ring debut against August Grey. It was a complete squash match. During it, Bronson Reed came out and put on Knight’s jacket, but ripped it while putting it on. It almost cost Knight the match, but he quickly recovered and hit his finisher for the win.
Last week in a backstage segment, Knight, formerly known as Eli Drake, announced his in-ring debut would take place. His interview was interrupted when he was attacked by Bronson Reed before they got separated by officials.
This same show also saw Knight cost Reed a match against Cameron Grimes. Two weeks ago, Knight had done an in-ring promo and right after it had ended, Reed\’s music hit and he came out for his match while Knight was still in the ring.
Knight made his promotional debut under this gimmick at last month\’s TakeOver: Vengeance Day pre-show. He is a former Impact Wrestling World Champion.
The WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver main event is now official.
WWE confirmed on Wednesday right before the NXT TV broadcast that Finn Balor will defend the NXT Title against Karrion Kross at this show. In the opening episode of the show, Balor and Kross exchanged words about the upcoming title match.
Balor talked about everyone who he has beaten and now it’s time for Kross to suffer the same fate. Kross came out to the ring where he stated this whole situation wasn’t going to happen until they settled their separate affairs and at TakeOver, the real champion will emerge in front of the world.
Balor stated everyone wants to be champion until the real champion walks in the room, but while Kross walks and talks like a champion, he doesn’t have what it takes to beat him. Kross disagrees and says Balor will find out what it’s like to be choked out while Balor told him that he will soon find out what it feels like to choke in the main event.
The next special for the NXT brand will be over the course of two nights with the first night being on April 7th on the USA Network while the second night will follow the next day on Peacock.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.843 million viewers with a 0.56 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is down from last week 1.897 million viewers, but up from a 0.55 rating).
This was the go-home edition of Raw for Sunday’s Fastlane pay-per-view event. Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Monday night:
The first hour did 1.874 million viewers and a 0.53 rating (A18-49).
The second hour did 1.873 million viewers and a 0.56 rating.
The final hour of the show had just 1.782 million viewers and a 0.59 rating.
This episode featured The Hurt Business (Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander) vs. The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships, Matt Riddle vs. Mustafa Ali for the United States Title, and Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus in the main event.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.171 million viewers. This is down from the 2.252 million viewers on FOX that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demos, up from the 0.60 rating the previous week’s show. The episode drew an average of 2.010 million viewers in the overnight ratings, down from the previous week that did 2.166 million viewers.
The first hour saw it pull in 2.028 million viewers while hour two did 1.992 million viewers. The show did 2.153 million viewers in hour one while hour two did 2.179 million viewers two weeks ago.
New matches have been announced for the WWE Fastlane PPV.
On Monday night, the company confirmed that Drew McIntyre would face Sheamus in a singles match at this show. Shane McMahon vs. Braun Strowman has also been booked.
McIntyre and Sheamus have been at odds since dating back to early February. It was originally reported WWE had plans for them to work a Last Man Standing Match at this show with the winner becoming the new #1 contender for the WWE Title and face Bobby Lashley for it at WrestleMania 37. However, WWE had other plans as they announced at the top of the Raw broadcast that McIntyre vs. Lashley would take place at Mania.
After a weird promo segment last week, WWE followed it up with them wrestling on Raw that ended with McMahon hitting an elbow drop off the top rope to send Strowman through a table. He then poured slim on Strowman to end the segment.
WWE presents the Fastlane pay-per-view event on Sunday, March 21, 2021 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida that will air on the WWE Network and Peacock.
Updated WWE Fastlane Card
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks
WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E vs. Apollo Crews
After being on the sidelines, Asuka made her return to in-ring action on Monday Night Raw.
The Raw Women’s Champion did so by taking on Shayna Baszler in a non-title match on the show. The match saw Asuka score the pinfall victory as the champion reversed the Kirifuda Clutch into a roll-up. Following the match, Asuka shoved Baszler’s face into the turnbuckle with a kick.
Asuka had been out of action since the February 22nd episode of Raw when she worked a tag team bout alongside Charlotte Flair against Baszler and Nia Jax. This is where she was kicked in the mouth and lost a tooth.
There was speculation that she suffered a concussion when this happened, but since WWE doesn’t confirm this type of injury it wasn’t known until Dave Meltzer reported it last week.
Before WWE had announced Asuka was back, the uncertainty about her WrestleMania 37 status was brought up as the problem with a concussion is that someone could be fine in a short amount of time while in other instances it will keep a wrestler out of action for a long period of time. Thus, her match at Mania was in jeopardy of not happening, but that’s no longer the case.
Asuka is currently penciled in to defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 37.
The New Day is not only just the top tag team on the Raw brand again, but they’ve also received opponents at WrestleMania 37.
During Monday’s Raw, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods beat Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander to win the Raw Tag Team Titles.
The finish saw Kofi catch Benjamin with a head kick then Woods hit with an elbow dive off the top rope and finally Kingston connected with a foot stomp off the top rope for the win.
As a result, the group has held gold 11-times. They have surpassed Dudley Boyz for the most Tag Team Championship reigns in WWE by a set of partners reigning together. Also, this marks Kingston’s 13th Tag Team Championship reign of his WWE career. He is just behind Edge for having the most total Tag Title reigns in WWE history by an individual Superstar.
The New Day Win WWE Raw Tag Team Titles, New WrestleMania Match Confirmed
After the match, AJ Styles came out to the ring for a promo where he talked about how he’s held all the titles in WWE except for the tag team straps. He and Omos challenged The New Day for the titles at WrestleMania 37.
Kingston questioned whether they were registered as a tag team or if they knew how to work as a pair. Woods accepted the challenge.
As expected, Bobby Lashley will defend the WWE Title against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 37.
WWE confirmed the match in the opening of Monday’s episode of Raw. The first segment saw Lashley cut a promo alongside MVP where he talked about how he destroyed McIntyre at Elimination chamber and will do so yet again at WrestleMania.
He vowed that he will reign supreme going forward because it’s the all-mighty era. McIntyre later came out to do a promo about facing Lashley and regaining the WWE Title. He said that they will knock the hell of each other and also called Lashley a \”big bald b*tch.\”
This match was expected to happen, but the way WWE handle it wasn’t as just like week it was reported the plan was for McIntyre to battle Sheamus at the upcoming Fastlane pay-per-view event in a Last Man Standing Match to determine the new #1 contender for the title. That clearly changed.
WWE presents the pay-per-view event on Saturday, April 10th, and Sunday, April 11, 2021 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Updated WWE WrestleMania 37 Card
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair
Leyla Hirsch has officially signed with All Elite Wrestling.
On Monday afternoon, the company’s president, Tony Khan, announced the signing on social media by writing the following:
“Congratulations and welcome aboard officially to @LegitLeyla Hirsch, I’m thrilled to have you signed to @AEW,” he wrote. “Thank you very much to Leyla and to all of you great fans who support @AEWonTNT for making this possible!”
Since last October, Hirsch has been wrestling regularly for AEW as she made her promotional debut in a losing effort against Hikaru Shida on an episode of AEW Dark. She continues to work Dark episodes in addition to appearing on AEW’s flagship show, Dynamite, on TNT.
She most recently worked the AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator tournament where she ended up losing to Thunder Rosa in the first round.
Hirsch broke into the business in 2017 where she regularly competed in CZW in addition to training in their dojo. She also worked for various promotions such as Stardom, Beyond Wrestling, and wXw. Hirsch also competed on a Bloodsport card last October.
On Monday, it was reported that WWE NXT is dealing with another outbreak of those exposed to COVID-19.
Fightful first reported that there will be changes made to Wednesday’s NXT episode due to several wrestlers being pulled from the show outright or at least told to quarantine. It was later reported there were “lots of positive tests” over the past week. There was a meeting last Thursday seeing Performance Center trainees required to attend and some people were not taking the proper COVID-19 precautions.
It appears the outbreak may have started when wrestlers were doing ring crew work this past Thursday. Pwinsider.com reported this situation is being looked at as a possibility how the outbreak started as dozens of wrestlers were moving and resettling rings in Orlando. It was said many were not wearing masks during that process.
One person told the media outlet there needs to be far more enforcement of masks than there has been in some time and hopes this outbreak will cause the company to crack down on enforcement of people wearing masks.
Dave Meltzer reported wrestlers started getting sick last Friday and the rings were being moved at a building next door to the Performance Center. He mentioned people who have tested positive were there for the ring work while other people who have tested positive were not there for the ring work.
There’s still no word yet on which wrestlers tested positive for the virus, but no main roster wrestlers have been impacted by this latest coronavirus outbreak. It was said there are “substantial numbers” of positive tests for this outbreak in NXT.
Charlotte Flair is slated to take part in the remake of the “Walking Tall” movie.
On Monday, Deadline reported writer/producer David Eick is currently developing a remake of the 1973 feature film. It was later remade with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the leading role.
It should be noted the new version with Flair is being produced for the USA Network with the idea of first doing a two-hour TV movie and hopefully making it into future installments as an ongoing series.
The WWE star will portray a Tucson, Arizona police officer who finds herself caught in a web of fraud, exploitation, and murder. She is forced to go full vigilante to protect her hometown from falling victim to modern corruption.
For fans of the films, it is similar to the role that Joe Don Baker played in the original movie and then for the remake in 2004 starring the former WWE Champion.
It’s being produced by Village Roadshow in association with WWE Studios, Mosaic, and Three Rivers. As of this writing, there’s no word yet as to exactly when the movie begins filming, or if Flair will need to take time off from WWE to do the project.
WWE NXT referee Tom Castor is on the shelf with an injury.
Castor shared the news in a post on Twitter this past Thursday. He tore his bicep off the bone. As a result, he will now have to undergo surgery to fix it.
In the post, he mentioned that he worked the match that saw NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai retain over Toni Storm on this week’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network.
This was the last match he officiated before suffering the bicep tear. For those who may not know, he also suffered a brutal leg injury during a match between The Velveteen Dream and Tyler Breeze in April 2019 at the NXT live event in Omaha, Nebraska
In late February 2020, after being out for several months following that injury, Castor returned to the ring. As it stands right now, there’s word yet on how long Castor will be out of action this time.
The Shaquille O’Neal & Jade Cargill vs. Cody Rhodes & Red Velvet match took place earlier this month on an episode of AEW Dynamite and received rave reviews.
This was the in-ring debut under the AEW banner for the NBA Hall of Famer. The AEW Executive spoke about the contest during an appearance on Action Sports Jax On ESPN690.
In addition to the limited experience of Shaq, Velvet and Cargill were also green, which is totally understandable for fans to have low expectations, according to Rhodes.
He said he is part of the hardcore audience as well, but he’s always surprised when people doubt him because he never does anything without a gameplan and being extremely organized. He noted that he took on a lot of responsibility with completely new talent.
“After it was over, I can tell you, he’s got the bug. It happens. I’ve seen it happen to older wrestlers. I’ve seen it happen to people coming for the first time. Stephen Amell, very similar situation. He’s got the bug. We didn’t converse much, but I said, ‘I think you’re a wrestler now,’ and I really mean that. I’d love to have him back.”
Rhodes continued by noting that there are obvious matches that fans want to see and Shaq is taking training seriously, which is a good thing. He brought up how Shaq brings more eyes to AEW’s product and perhaps those fans will stay.
There’s no word yet on when Shaq might work another match.
The March 10, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Io Shirai defeated Toni Storm to retain the NXT Women’s Championship
Pete Dunne defeated Jake Atlas
Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon defeated Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions
Xia Li defeated Kayden Carter via DQ
Legado Del Fantasma defeated The Grizzled Young Veterans
Finn Balor defeated Adam Cole to retain NXT Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Singles Match
Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter took place in a singles match. WWE had Kacy Catinaro at ringside for the match and on crutches. Li was the one who in storyline injured her. Li worked over the right knee of Carter throughout the match. Catanzaro
The referee rang the bell while Li was attacking Carter and Kacy hit Li with the crutch. Kacy got into the ring after the match and hit her with the crutch several times. Li’s brother got into the ring and Kacy tried to hit him with the crutch, but he blocked it. Carter hit him in the back and he sold it.
William Regal had an announcement that would \”change the landscape of NXT’ in addition to another big announcement. So what were the announcements?
Regal did a promo in the opening segment of the show. The first announcement was NXT TakeOver: Stand And Deliver, which will take place on April 7th during the usual NXT time slot on USA Network while the second night will air on the WWE Network on April 8th.
The other announcement was the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles, which were given to Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament winners Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. The storyline reason for why they were given the titles was due to the question finish that saw Kai and Raquel losing to WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler last week.
Kai and Raquel later made their first title defense against Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon. However, WWE ended up doing a title change with Moon and Blackheart winning.
Toni Storm vs. WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai took place on this show. This was the first match on the show and it tore the house down. A very good opening contest.
The finish saw Io lock in her submission hold or the win.
Last month, Shirai retained the NXT Women\’s Championship by defeating Storm and Mercedes Martinez in a triple threat match at TakeOver: Vengeance Day . The finish saw Storm go in for a pin on Martinez, but Shirai flew in with a moonsault and pinned Martinez to get the win. A few weeks ago, Storm attacked Shirai during a photoshoot.
There was later a promo segment where Storm claimed that Io was afraid of her and she knows she can’t beat her. She dared Shirai to prove her wrong. Thus, Io asked NXT general manager William Regal to make the match happen.
Finn Balor put the NXT Title on the line in the main event of the show.
The match featured a very good match with Balor selling his jaw after getting kicked in the face. It wasn’t a technical match, but rather a brawl with the two stars hitting their best moves.
There was a few near falls such as Cole hitting a running knee and then Cole connecting with the candian destroyer. Near the end, Kyle O’Reilly showed up and stood at ringside. This allowed Balor to get the advantage. Post-match, Cole tried to hit a low blow to Kyle, but Kyle blocked it and a brawl broke out. The show ended up with Karrion Kross standing behind Balor and they had a staredown.
Ironically, after Karrion Kross vacated the NXT Title due to a shoulder injury last September of last year, Balor won the NXT Championship by defeating Cole. WWE booked a four-way Iron Man match between Balor, Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa to decide the new champion.
However, that ended in a tie between Balor and Cole. Thus, it set up a singles match where Balor defeated Cole to win the title.
Adam Cole stepped up to the plate to challenge Finn Balor for the NXT Championship but fell short.
The title match happened in the main event of Wednesday’s episode of NXT TV on the USA Network in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. The match was hard-hitting with them even using the steel steps as a weapon, but it was legal.
Kyle O’Reilly showed up and stood at ringside. Balor won with the double foot stomp off the top rope. After the match, Cole tried to apologize then went for a low blow to Kyle, but O’Reilly blocked it and attacked Cole. The show ended up with Karrion Kross standing behind Balor and they had a staredown.
Balor made his previous title defense against Pete Dunne at TakeOver: Vengeance Day. Post-match, WWE started a new feud as Balor was beaten down by Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, and Dunne until Undisputed Era ran out to make the save. This led to Cole taking out Balor with a superkick and turning heel by attacking fellow UE member Kyle O\’Reilly.
Since that time, Cole has laid out Balor two more times. During a segment on last week’s show, Balor announced during a segment with Roderick Strong that he would face Cole on this episode. Later in the show, Balor defeated Strong in the non-title main event. Post-match, Cole and Balor had a staredown.
Balor actually started his most recent title reign by beating Cole in September of last year after the title was vacated by Karrion Kross due to injury.
WWE had been hyping up since last week that NXT General Manager William Regal had an announcement that would \”change the landscape of NXT.” A second announcement was also made.
There was speculation that it could be about an NXT TakeOver special or the big move for NXT TV. Regal confirmed NXT TakeOver: Stand And Deliver would take place over the course of two nights.
Last week, it was reported that WWE had talked about holding the next special over the course of two nights with the first night being on April 7th while the second night will follow the next night. The reason for doing so is the idea for the Wednesday show to air during the usual NXT time slot on USA Network while the second night will air on the WWE Network. That is true.
The second announcement featured the NXT women’s division. He brought in Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament winners Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez to award them the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles.
Kai and Gonzalez lost to WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler last week with the titles on the line. The match featured Kai getting submitted even though she wasn’t the legal person and there was a referee bump.
WWE is just a few weeks away from the Fastlane pay-per-view event and just like with Elimination Chamber last month, not much has been announced in advance for the show.
This past Monday’s episode of Raw featured Sheamus and Drew McIntyre wrestling each other for the second straight week that saw them go to a no contest in a No DQ Match after both men were unable to get back up to their feet. The previous week saw them work a singles match with McIntyre going over.
The finish was done to set up a third match, which was expected as it is slated to take place at Fastlane in less than two weeks. Bryan Alvarez noted on Wrestling Observer Live that the plan is for them to wrestle each other in a Last Man Standing match.
There is speculation that WWE will announce the winner of this match will earn the right to challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 37.
As it stands right now, WWE has only announced two matches for Fastlane – Roman Reigns defending the WWE Universal Title against Daniel Bryan and Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defending the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair. More matches are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Monday’s edition of WWE Raw averaged 1.897 million viewers with a 0.55 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This is up from last week 1.884 million viewers with a 0.58 rating).
Here’s the hourly viewership breakdown for Monday night:
The first hour did 2.031 million viewers and a 0.58 rating (A18-49).
The second hour did 1.921 million viewers and a 0.55 rating.
The final hour of the show had just 1.738 million viewers and a 0.53 rating.
This episode featured The Miz vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Title, which was a rematch from last week. When WWE did this match a week ago, WWE kept building it up every hour as it got delayed for various reasons. Thus, with the promise of a likely title change continuously being moved back, the fans who wanted to see the title change stayed tuned in. This week’s show, WWE had it take place early in the show.
SmackDown Viewership
Friday’s SmackDown averaged 2.252 million viewers. This is up from the 2.145 million viewers on FOX that the show did for the previous week.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demos, up from the 0.54 rating the previous week’s show. The episode drew an average of 2.166 million viewers in the overnight ratings, up from the previous week that did 2.051 million viewers.
The first hour saw it pull in 2.153 million viewers while hour two did 2.179 million viewers. The show did 2.090 million viewers in hour one while hour two did 2.012 million viewers two weeks ago.
After much speculation, WWE has released ticket information for WrestleMania 37. The event takes place on April 10th and April 11th at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
There will be a limited amount of tickets that will go on-sale on Tuesday, March 16th at 10 am ET with tickets ranging from $35-$2,500 U.S. As of this writing, it wasn’t mentioned what capacity will be limited to at the stadium, but they will be coordinating with local partners and government officials
This marks the second year in a row where it is separated over two nights. Obviously, last year’s show didn’t have fans and was held at the WWE Performance Center early in the pandemic.
WWE’s Official Announcement
STAMFORD, Conn., March 8, 2021 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that a limited number of tickets to its two-night pop culture extravaganza, WrestleMania presented by SNICKERS, will go on sale next Tuesday, March 16 starting at 10 AM ET. WrestleMania will take place Saturday, April 10, and Sunday, April 11, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay and stream live exclusively on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.
Ticket prices for WrestleMania range from $35-$2,500 and can be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com. Two-day combo tickets will also be available. All tickets are subject to service charges and facility fees.
WWE is coordinating with local partners and government officials regarding safety protocols for WrestleMania and will share details in the coming weeks. Information on additional WrestleMania Week events is forthcoming.
Edge vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair has been announced for the show thus far.
CazXL, formerly known as Big Cass in WWE, has opened up his battle with alcohol addiction.
He did so during an interview with Wrestle Talk. He started out by talking about how it’s been a long journey and everything started to click in January 2020.
\”I had been in and out of rehab a few times and it just wasn’t clicking, and then I went back to rehab last January and everything started clicking at that point. I embraced the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous which I beforehand thought was silly, and I really, really started focusing on my recovery and myself, and magically when you do that you just start to get happier. It’s as if it’s this thing that millions of people had done successfully all over the world, but for me, I was like, ‘No that’s not for me’, but when I finally embraced the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, everything started going good mentally, I was a happy person for the first time in a really long time.”
Cass noted that he wasn’t sure he would return to pro wrestling because he thought it wasn’t for him anymore, but one day, he woke up with a clear head and realized he loves wrestling as its first love and passion. Thus, at that moment, he knew he needed to get back.
“I could have let my addiction stop me from doing what I really want to do, I could’ve taken the easy road and done something a lot easier and less fulfilling, but instead I decided I was gonna come back to wrestling.”
He stated that he went back to the gym and took it very seriously. He brought up how he’s been open in the past about his addiction and struggles with mental health.
“I feel like there’s a stigma around addiction where people don’t like to admit it or they tell themselves that they’re not an addict, and I feel like, more on a human being side, you know performance-wise I’m gonna go out there and be myself, be a turned-up version of myself and kick ass, and I really think that I have the ability to get over and do some things in this business as being myself.”
Cass stated regarding the aspect of a human being, he wants to show people that it can be done no matter how far you get down. He said that there are some things that he’s not ready to talk about that the public hasn’t seen
“But I got to really, really low points, and I really wanna show people that if you love something and you’re passionate about it, it doesn’t matter how low you get, just get up every morning and fight and fight and fight. Because you can accomplish what you wanna accomplish if you believe in yourself. The only person in this world that I need to believe in me for me to succeed, is me.
He said that if you believe in yourself, and you’re going through anything and you feel like the world is against you, it’s possible to get back and to accomplish some great things. That’s his goal going forward. He said the first step to that is reaching out for help, which is something that took him a long time to do.
Cass was released by WWE in 2018. At the time, it was reported that his release was due to behavioral issues such public intoxication during a WWE tour and disobeying direct orders from Vince McMahon.
Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley had one of the most memorable matches in the young history of AEW again.
Omega put the AEW World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Moxley in an exploding barbed wire deathmatch at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event. There was a 30-minute clock ticking away and when it expired if there wasn’t a pinfall or submission, the explosions would go off.
The match featured most of the ropes being wrapped with barbed wire ad various weapons. Early on, Moxley got sent into the ropes and fireworks went off. He was bleeding early on. Moxley hit a DDT off the apron through two boards with wire and there was an explosion. Omega was also busted open. The Good Brothers came out at one point. Omega hit the One-Winged Angel onto a chair for the win. Post-match, Moxley was handcuffed and beaten down. As the clock started to countdown, Eddie Kingston came out to make the save and covered Moxley as the explosions went off. Unfortunately, the big explosion was a let down.
The two wrestlers had worked two prior singles matches against one another with their first being at AEW Full Gear back in November 2019 when Moxley defeated Omega. Their second match took place this past December on an episode of Dynamite as Omega defeated Moxley to win the AEW World Title with the help of Don Callis, which kicked off his heel run.
All Elite Wrestling made this match official on the February 17th edition of Dynamite as Omega and The Good Brothers attacked Moxley after he, Fenix, and Lance Archer defeated Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, and The Blade. Omega did a promo where he granted Moxley his rematch, but wanted it in this type of brutal match.
Sting worked his first match since 2015 when he teamed up with Darby Allin to take on Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Street Fight at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view event in Jacksonville, Florida.
The match was obviously cinematic and there was a ring set up in an abandoned warehouse. They shot it in different camera angles. Sting was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Will Hobbs and Hook came out to attack Allin. Sting was hit with a board and tossed into some walls as well as getting speared. Allin was sent through a glass window setting up against a wall. Allin dove off the second floor and crashed onto Cage. The finish saw Sting hitting the Scorpion Death Drop to Starks for the win.
AEW set up this contest back in January when Taz issued the challenge to Sting and Allin. Sting’s previous match came in the way of a loss to then-WWE World Champion Seth Rollins at the Night of Champions pay-per-view in 2015. He took a buckle bomb and suffered a neck injury. Soon afterward he learned he had spinal stenosis.
Originally, the belief was that this would be a cinematic match due to Sting’s physical condition, which was the case. The WWE Hall of Famer made his surprise AEW debut at December\’s Winter Is Coming edition of Dynamite on TNT. He teased feuding with Cody Rhodes, but went into the direction that AEW presented after Team Taz\’s attacks on Allin.
What are your thoughts on Sting’s performance in this match?
After much speculation, Christian Cage turned out to be AEW’s big talent signing.
This past Wednesday night, AEW had Paul Wight, formerly known as The Big Show, do a promo where he stated AEW was going to sign a “Hall of Fame-worthy talent” at the Revolution pay-per-view event.
At Revolution, Cage came out to his old TNA theme music. He grabbed the contract then walked to the ring and signed it. He never said a word. That was it.
Before this announcement was made, there was a lot of speculation about who it could be. The names fans thought it could include the likes of CM Punk, Batista, Christian, Kurt Angle, and more.
AEW President Khan did note that the signing was one of his all-time favorite wrestlers. In a past interview, he named Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, and Steve Austin as his Mount Rushmore of wrestlers.
On Saturday, it was reported Christian was a free agent, and not under contract with WWE. The report noted, “there were some ideas discussed between WWE and Christian, and the company was interested in signing him. However, talks apparently fell through.” Fightful reported Christian had not been backstage as of late at WWE events and there were no creative plans spoken about.
In addition, fans also picked up on how AEW’s Chief Legal officer Megha Parekh recently followed then unfollowed Christian on Instagram. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion made his in-ring return this past January at the Royal Rumble by working the Men’s Royal Rumble Match. He had been retired due to a history of concussions.
All Elite Wrestling held its Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match, which had a mystery entrant that turned out to be Ethan Page.
It happened at Sunday’s (March 7, 2021) AEW Revolution pay-per-view event. Other competitors in the contest included Cody Rhodes, Scorpio Sky, Penta El Zero M, Lance Archer, and Max Caster.
It had the stipulation of the winner receiving an AEW TNT Championship match on the March 10 episode of AEW Dynamite against Darby Allin. The match featured Penta hitting the Candian Destroyer to Cody on the ladder wedged between the apron and barricade. Cody was taken to the backstage area. Rhodes later came back out and attacked Page. There was a big bump by Sky through a ladder. The finish saw Sky shoved Cody off the ladder and got the ring.
This is still anyone's game! Who will be the Face of the Revolution and go on to challenge Darby Allin for the TNT Championship? Order #AEWRevolution now on all major providers, @brlive, and @FiteTV (international fans) pic.twitter.com/GL1wOXWg3Q
AEW President Tony Khan stated during this week’s AEW Unrestricted podcast that the title match would happen, but if Allin couldn’t make the defense then he would be stripped of the title.
On this same pay-per-view event, Allin teamed up with Sting against Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Street Fight.
There had been some speculation as to who this mystery entrant would be. In fact, there was some confusion between this and the Hall of Fame-worthy talent signing promised by Paul Wight. Khan later clarified as the two were separate from each other.
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