Last week, it was revealed that WWE came up with a mask policy for those who will be working TV tapings. This was the latest addition to WWE’s precautionary measures that have been implemented since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off in March.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that WWE had made several moves over recent weeks such as splitting the RAW and SmackDown tapings to separate days in order to have fewer people around at the shows. The move was said to help ease the mind of some on the roster that raised concerns.
Regarding the mask policy, apparently, it all started when a returning RAW star was said to have approached Vince McMahon shortly after his arrival last week for the TV tapings.
Per the report, the wrestler was said to have expressed his concerns about proper measures not being taken seriously enough to the WWE Chairman and CEO. These concerns included mask utilization and social distancing.
Sapp wrote, “This led to McMahon adding the rule that masks are mandatory and failure to comply will result in a fine.”
As to why McMahon hadn\’t already instituted the changes, a wrestler told him that McMahon is usually in his office at the Performance Center during the majority of the taping days.
Thus, he doesn\’t typically see whether or not the practices are put in play. It was added that McMahon does appear at Gorilla Position, as well.
Liv Morgan got WWE fans talking after taking to her official Twitter account where she made an interesting message.
The cryptic tweet appears to be teasing an upcoming reveal of some sort as she noted the date October 14, 2019 and said all will be revealed soon. Check it out here:
What we do know is the date, which marks when Morgan was brought back to television as a member of the RAW roster in the 2019 WWE Draft. She was the final overall pick.
Prior to this move, she had been a member of the SmackDown roster. This came after being sent there as part of the 2019 Superstar Shake-up on April 16.
Once being moved to the RAW brand in October of last year, WWE officials decided to keep her off of television before airing vignettes for her return.
Morgan ended up making her return to WWE television in December by crashing the wedding of Lana and Bobby Lashley. This led to a brief feud between Lana and Morgan but Morgan hadn’t been used on a regular basis after it. As of late, she had recent storylines with Natalya and former tag team partner Ruby Riott.
In fact, WWE has teased a potential reunion of The Riott Squad although Sarah Logan is not only no longer until contract with the company but recently announced that she was pregnant with her first child with her husband, WWE star Erik.
CM Punk noticed a tweet from AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes so he decided to respond to it.
It happened on Monday afternoon when Rhodes asked fans about who they would like to see answer his next open challenge.
This led to Punk reacting to it in a joking way by bringing up people like former WWE star Domino with valet Cherry, \”Fearless\” Jack Bull, former HWA star Dean Visk, and former ECW wrestler New Jack.
Sign guy Domino w/ cherry Fearless Jack Bull Dean Visk New Jack
AEW President Tony Khan then commented on Punk’s response by recalling how he witnessed Punk work a house show that also featured Deuce & Domino. He wrote the following:
\”Duly noted. Fun facts: I saw you on a house show in Champaign on Super Bowl Sunday 13.5 years ago with Domino and Cherry (and Deuce). Also, New Jack was really really nice to me when I was a 13 year old kid visiting Philadelphia. My dad loved New Jack.
Punk finds himself on the sidelines in the pro wrestling business as FOX Sports decided to cancel WWE Backstage, which Punk had been working on as a part-time analyst.
As of this writing, there\’s been no reports about any interest from WWE about bringing him back.
Following the latest round of COVID-19 testing, more people in WWE have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reported the news on Monday about those who were at the Performance Center last week during the most recent round of testing before TV tapings.
Since WWE started doing COVID-19 testing, there have been at least 30 people in total who’ve tested positive for the virus over the past three weeks. It should be noted that these numbers include behind the scenes workers and in-ring talent.
Per the report, the company has administered nearly 1,500 tests since doing the testing at TV tapings at the end of June.
So far only Renee Young, Jamie Noble, Kayla Braxton, and Adam Pearce have all confirmed that they tested positive through social media.
Just last month, WWE noted in a statement that they will “continue COVID-19 testing of its talent, production crew, and employees in advance of TV productions for the foreseeable future.”
It was reported last week that the company instituted an official face mask policy at tapings. This policy comes with a penalty for those who don’t follow along. People who do not wear a mask will be fined $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for each thereafter.
Taz took exception to a fan making the comment that WWE saved his in-ring career.
The ECW Original got fans talking earlier this week when he knocked WWE while doing a promo during Wednesday\’s Fyter Fest edition of AEW Dynamite to further hype the scheduled match between Brian Cage and AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley.
It’s been reported that people in WWE were upset with the line. Of course, Taz accused WWE of running a \”sloppy shop\” which was a reference to their COVID-19 testing and outbreak.
A fan wrote on Twitter, \”I agree to a point. #TAZ might be correct but IMO it\’s an unnecessary jab to a company that saved his career after wrestling & prepared him in a career of announcing. If Taz never had the opportunity to announce he may never of had his podcast & other gigs over the years.”
Taz saw the message from the fan and dismissed the idea. While he appreciates what WWE did for him, he’s under the belief that it helped both sides. He replied:
\”Saved my career??? Lmao, NO! They gave me opportunity (which I appreciated & accepted) but you NEED to understand…that\’s a 2 way street. I was supplying them with a need & providing my services. They did that to capitalize on $ invest in me & they NEEDED a new fresh voice.\”
Moxley is slated to defend the title against Cage on the July 15th edition of Dynamite that’s being hyped as Fight For The Fallen.
Big Show chatted with Connor Casey of ComicBook.com for a new interview where he spoke about the impact on WWE due to the coronavirus.
The virus has caused various changes for the company. Most notably, WWE had to move down to Orlando, Florida to hold shows at its Performance Center to hold shows in front of no fans.
For months after the outbreak in the United States, WWE stars had to work in front of no crowd. This was the way that WWE presented its weekly television shows until recently.
According to the former WWE Champion, younger WWE stars are actually getting the opportunity to really isolate and work on their craft.
\”There\’s a lot of things you can hide in a match when you have, 10,000, 20,000, 100,000 people in the audience. You can hide a lot of things when it\’s a situation that we have now with no live audience.
Everything is exposed between the execution of your psychology, the execution of your moves. There isn\’t any shortcuts that you can take. I think in the long run, this is going to be, I think it was difficult at first that I can personally see since this pandemic started how much better the matches are getting all the way around.”
Big Show continued by noting how he thinks it\’s going to be a good thing and once WWE gets over this hiccup, and starts to get in front of live crowds again, he thinks the talent is really going to appreciate that live crowd. He also thinks they’ll be able to use it better to their advantage.
The latest on what WWE has planned for the Swamp Fight between Bray Wyatt and WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman has surfaced.
Of course, Strowman is not putting the Universal Title against Wyatt at WWE’s next pay-per-view event, Extreme Rules.
Wrestling Inc reports that the match will be filmed next week although there’s no word yet on the location. WWE has also brought in stunt coordinator Ellis Edwards to help out with the stunts in the match, which is said to be several, but not all stunts will be big, in addition, to explain how everything should happen in a safe manner.
WWE came up with the idea of \”Three Faces Of Wyatt\” for this feud. Firefly Funhouse Wyatt has lost to Strowman and there’s a belief that Wyatt could win at Extreme Rules due to it being a non-title match.
With each star holding a win over each other it would lead to a third and final match that could take place at SummerSlam for the Universal Championship. If this third match is booked then Wyatt would portray “The Fiend.”
WWE presents the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 19, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center that will air on the WWE Network.
WWE is slated to air its night 2 episode of NXT Great American Bash next week. The company taped the show on Thursday, but due to one developmental talent, a major result got leaked.
Keith Lee and Adam Cole will be competing for both the NXT North American and World Titles in a Winner Takes All Match on the show that is likely to be the main event.
For whatever reason, one half of Indus Sher, Saurav Gurjar, decided to share a photo of the winner. We won’t spoil it here, but for those who haven’t seen it, click here.
Bryan Alvarez noted on the latest episode of the Bryan and Vinny Show that company officials within WWE are \”furious\” about the leak and this was purely a mistake on the part of Gurjar.
WWE NXT Great American Bash – Night 2
WWE has confirmed four bouts for the card. Here is the updated lineup:
North American Champion Keith Lee vs. NXT Champion Adam Cole – Winner Takes All match
Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza, Joaquin Wilde vs. Drake Maverick and Breezango – Six-Man Tag Team Match
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War.
NXT won the night in total viewers, but it was AEW, which won in the key 18-49 demo. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 792,000 viewers, up last week’s 786,000. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.22 rating, up from 0.19 last week.
The episode featured Mia Yim vs. Tegan Nox vs. Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match, Dexter Lumis vs. Roderick Strong in a strap match, Sasha Banks vs. Io Shirai in a non-title match, Rhea Ripley vs. Aliyah and Robert Stone, and Oney Lorcan vs. Timothy Thatcher.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 748,000 viewers, up from the 633,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.29 rating, up from the 0.22 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured bouts such as AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Jake Hager, AEW World Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega & Adam Page vs. Best Friends, AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford, Private Party vs. Proud ‘n’ Powerful, and Jurassic Express vs. MJF & Wardlow.
The July 1, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from the Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
WWE NXT Results (7/1)
Tegan Nox def. Dakota Kai, Mia Yim and Candice LeRae – Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match
Timothy Thatcher def. Oney Lorcan
Rhea Ripley def. Robert Stone & Aliyah
Dexter Lumis def. Roderick Strong – Strap Match
Io Shirai def. Sasha Banks
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Handicap Match
Rhea Ripley
The fallout from Rhea Ripley no longer being in the hunt for the NXT Women’s Title continued she has been booked into a feud with Aliyah. The stipulation heading into this contest was the fact that Ripley must join Robert Stone’s faction if she lost.
Yes, the same Robert Stone who had been drinking because of sadness after being dropped by Chelsea Green, who was supposed to be headed to the main roster only to be forgotten about on NXT television and not called up yet.
The match was a fine comedy match with Ripley going over.
Heading into the contest, most fans didn’t think that Ripley, who is a much bigger star and arguably the second biggest star on the NXT women’s roster right now, would lose to Aliyah in this contest.
Not only for the fact that Aliyah hadn’t been built up as a serious player in the division up until this point, but also because Stone has been booked as a comedy figure since losing his client in Green.
The most random yet somewhat hyped up bout on the card was Oney Lorcan vs. Timothy Thatcher in a singles match.
It was set up on Twitter after Lorcan, who hasn’t done much as of late, randomly went on a rant about Thatcher for his submission school videos that have been airing on NXT TV as of late. This led to NXT GM William Regal making the booking.
The match was fine but stiff. Rightfully so, Thatcher, who needs something to happen aside from those videos, wentover with his armbar finisher.
While it was the clear outcome, it was the right call by the NXT creative team.
There was a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match between Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai. The winner of this match would become the number 1 contender for Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship.
As expected, a fun yet chaotic filled contest with all women hitting some cool spots and a few near falls. LeRae was first eliminated and followed by Yim.
In the end, it was Knox who ended up winning the contest to become the new #1 contender for the NXT Women’s Title currently held by Shirai. The finish of the match saw Knox hit a shining wizard for the win.
This was an interesting match booking as it came on the same show as Shirai vs. Sasha Banks in a non-title bout. Obviously, Knox will challenge Shirai down the line, but it will be interesting to see when the contest actually takes place.
Just one week after their first match, WWE booked Dexter Lumis vs. Roderick Strong in a Strap Match on this show.
Last week’s NXT saw Lumis win their singles match by count-out, which set up this interesting contest. WWE had hyped it as the first of its kind in the history of the black and yellow brand. And clearly due to the outcome of their previous match, it made sense although the two stars had their work cut out for them.
So how was the match? It was interesting. Not the most exciting thing you’ll ever see especially due to the Michael Myers’ like personality in which Lumis works, but Strong made it interesting and had to do so in order to make this match some kind of entertaining.
Lumis went over in the contest that opened the second hour.
One of the biggest matches booked on this show was WWE Women’s Tag team Champion Sasha Banks taking on current NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai in a non-title match.
Clearly, Banks hasn’t done anything as a singles competitor in NXT as of late so it did make sense as to why this was a non-title match.
The match was very good but you could tell that these two stars could put on an even better match should they go again. The finish saw Asuka come out from nowhere to spray mist in the face of Banks. This allowed Io to hit a moonsault off the top rope for the win.
This match was booked after Shirai attacked Banks and Bayley two weeks ago following them successfully defending the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart.
It was an interesting match booking especially with NXT crowning a new #1 contender for the title on the same show. the clear outcome, it was the right decision on the part of NXT creative.
In a precautionary move, AEW has decided that the scheduled match between Jon Moxley and Brian Cage should be slightly delayed.
Moxley was supposed to make his next title defense against Brian Cage as the AEW World Heavyweight Champion next week on night 2 of AEW Fyter Fest.
However, the promotion announced on Wednesday that the match has been moved back until the July 15th episode of Dynamite, which is now being hyped as Fight For The Fallen.
IN TWO WEEKS! Your #AEW World Champion @JonMoxley will defend his championship at #AEWFightForTheFallen against 'The Machine' @MrGMSI_BCage.
Last week it was revealed that Renee Young tested positive for COVID-19 and since he lives with her, Moxley took a test, but his results came back negative.
Moxley was informed by AEW’s doctor to start isolating himself. The original plan was if Moxley didn’t test positive or show symptoms for the virus, he was set to go ahead with performing for his title match on the July 2nd set of TV tapings. Clearly, that’s not happening.
AEW Fyter Fest Night 2 Card
FTR and The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers & The Butcher & The Blade – Eight-Man Tag Team Match
Samoa Joe made an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of WWE’s The Bump where he discussed a wide range of topics.
During the interview, he talked about his transition from being an active in-ring performer into a commentator. It turns out that injuries led to the move.
Initially, he made only a few appearances in this role, but later permanently replaced WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler in the spot.
\”I\’ve had zero media aspirations,\” Joe admitted. \”I just drift through life, and things just hit me as they come. I got on the commentary table – it was funny when the light shined on me, I started to hear the angels sing, I said to myself, \’You know, this might be a good fit.\’
I then put my headset on, and Vince [McMahon] came through and said, \’You know, this feels right.\’ I was like, \’I know!\’
Joe continued by noting that it’s been a weird journey, odyssey, and a quest, but he’s trying to take the world along with him as he has a very descriptive mind. He added that when he sees things, his observations are quick to come right out of his mouth and it’s working out well.
The “RAW: Must Be Monday” commercial that was filmed in February and released in March was where Joe suffered his latest concussion after going through a table.
Maria Kanellis has taken to social media to comment on being released just a few months after giving birth to her second child.
Both Maria and Mike were part of a large number of releases back in April. At the time, WWE claimed that this was due to budget cuts as a result of the coronavirus.
The former WWE star took to her official Twitter account where she called out the company. At the time, she was two months removed after giving birth. She later teased that she would elaborate on that some time soon.
Maria also claimed that WWE not only made the cuts during a pandemic but also told her another child would not be an issue.
She first wrote, \”Did you ever hear the one about the woman that was released from WWE during a pandemic 2 months postpartum after being told having another baby wasn\’t an issue…? #milkmoney #moreonthatlater #onlywrestlingcompanythatreleasedpeople #NonEssentialFamily.\”
A fan responded to her tweet by bringing up the fact that their release was part of cost-cutting measures. However, Maria brought up how WWE was the only company to release people.
Maria wrote, \”[Their] record numbers say differently. P.S. no other wrestling company released anyone!!\”
It should be noted that WWE is on track to have its most profitable year of all-time thanks to television deals with the USA Network and FOX.
Jake Roberts has previously worked for WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, but is now under contract with WWE’s latest rival promotion, AEW.
The WWE Hall of Famer recently did an interview with the Wrestling Inc Daily podcast. This is where he spoke about the latest attempt done by WWE to counter-program AEW with NXT content.
Over the next two weeks, AEW will be airing its Fyter Fest show on TNT while WWE will be airing editions of NXT with its Great American Bash thme. According to the legendary pro wrestler, WWE is feeling the heat.
\”Well, they feel the heat. You know, competition is good for everybody. It makes people step up their game. Obviously, I\’m gonna tell you who I\’m going for – AEW and just because I want to.
I think they have a good product. It\’s a different product and different is good, especially with where WWE is and different is good. At the end of the day, competition is good because it just makes people go out there and work harder and that\’s great for the fans. The fans reap the benefits of that.”
WWE announced the special weeks after All Elite Wrestling had already announced and was building matches for its Fyter Fest.
Once AEW signed a television deal with TNT, WWE was quick to react as they signed a deal with the USA network in order to counter-program the rival promotion.
Viewership data is in for Monday’s WWE RAW and Friday’s SmackDown. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
RAW Viewership
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.735 million viewers, which is down from the 1.922 million viewers last week.
SmackDown averaged 2.174 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is up from the 2.072 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.174 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.089 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.271 million viewers while the second hour did 2.076 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.147 million viewers while the second hour did 2.031 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demos, the same from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.
MLW CEO Court Bauer recently spoke to Sports Illustrated about a wide range of topics including when the promotion will return to putting on shows.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, MLW has halted holding events in order to maintain guidelines from health officials to keep everyone safe. In the meantime, MLW has been airing taped shows from before the outbreak and even archive footage.
“I will wait until we are sure it’s safe to return. We’re doing that for our fans, our athletes, and our crew, and all of their families. We do not want to put anyone at harm. We’ll see what the NBA looks like once they go live with their season, and we’re seeing what is happening with WWE. This [battle with COVID] is far from the rearview mirror. Our decision to proceed will be dictated by science and experts in the medical world. Until we know it’s safe, we’re going to be as judicious as possible.”
Tom Lawlor, who is under contract with MLW, is part of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Lion’s Break Collision series on New Japan World. As a result, there’s been speculation as to whether the two promotions have a working relationship.
This potential working relationship was asked about and Bauer addressed whether there is a partnership.
“All I can say is that the arrangement was worked out office-to-office as opposed to independently. I’m a big fan of what New Japan is doing, and we’ll see where this relationship can take us.”
Bauer continued by stating that Lawlor had a talk with New Japan and they explained the process of sterilizing the rings and testing. Thus, he left it up to Lawlor as to whether he wanted to pursue this.
He added that there was no pressure on Lawlor to not work for NJPW as MLW talent has been performing elsewhere during this pandemic, but he always cautioned them to take all the safety measures possible for themselves and their families.
Drew Gulak opened up on the situation last month where his contract with WWE expired only for him to sign a new deal with the company just days later.
Gulak became a free agent and his profile from WWE.com was even moved to the alumni section. At the time it was reported that he had asked for a pay increase, which the company declined to do and that’s why his contract expired.
It was later reported that he had signed a multi-year contract, but there\’s no word yet how many years the deal is for.
While doing an interview with Sports Illustrated, Gulak discussed his contractual situation with WWE.
“I actually never missed a TV. I never missed anything. My hiatus was just three or four days because the contract lapsed. It had nothing to do with anything else, just typical business that comes along with [a contract].
Gulak was also asked whether he was surprised at the amount of coverage that story received?
“I was surprised how much false information was put out there. At the same time, it’s a good thing that people were talking. There was nothing malicious intended behind any of it. The fact that I’m being reported on is a good thing. It just goes to show that people respect me as a performer.”
Gulak is currently in a feud with WWE Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles. A a match was originally booked for last Friday’s episode of SmackDown, but was pulled.
Matt Riddle has reflected on his first meeting with his new boss.
The newest addition to the SmackDown roster did so when he was a guest on the Ariel Helwani MMA Show recently. During the chat, he discussed his position on not wearing boots or anything for that matter while wrestling inside of the squared circle.
Riddle told a story about wearing a full suit and flip flops for a meeting with WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon at WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT months before WrestleMania 36 in April.
\”Still wrestling barefoot,\” Riddle said. \”Before all of this I had a meeting with Vince months ago before Mania, and I went to his headquarters with a full suit and flip flops and he saw that and he saw that that\’s my thing. I haven\’t worn shoes in years. \”I don\’t think anybody wants to change me. I think they know what they\’ve got and I bring something unique and original.\”
The interview was done before allegations surfaced against Riddle. A woman accused Riddle of sexual assault, a charge which WWE says they are investigating. However, Riddle has stated that he’s not guilty of this accusation.
The former NXT star made his SmackDown debut on the June 19th episode of the show when he interrupted AJ Styles’ Intercontinental Title celebration in the opening segment.
This led to Riddle beating Styles in a non-title match.
On Saturday, WWE confirmed a new match for the first week of WWE NXT Great American Bash.
WWE had NXT General Manager William Regal confirm on Twitter that WWE Women\’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks will battle NXT Women\’s Champion Io Shirai in a non-title match on this special episode of the weekly NXT show. The match will take place this coming Wednesday night.
Regal tweeted, \”It seems the past and the present are in conflict once again and the #WWENXT Universe will have the pleasure of seeing it happen. It is OFFICIAL. This Wednesday, on night 1 of #NXTGAB, it\’ll be #NXTWomensChampion @shirai_io vs. @SashaBanksWWE in a non-title match! #WeAreNXT.”
This bout booking comes after Bayley and Banks were attacked by Io Shirai two weeks ago on NXT following their successful defense of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.
The following matches have been confirmed for week 1, which is this coming Wednesday’s show on the USA Network.
Roderick Strong vs. Dexter Lumis – Strap Match
Aliyah and Robert Stone vs. Rhea Ripley – Ripley must join The Robert Stone Brand, if she loses
Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai vs. Candice LeRae vs. Mia Yim – Fatal 4-Way to crown a new #1 contender for the NXT Women\’s Championship
WWE Women\’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks vs. NXT Women\’s Champion Io Shirai – Non-Title Match
Earlier this week, Renee Young announced that she had tested positive for the coronavirus. It turns out that some top WWE officials have yet to reach out to her to see about her status.
The WWE personality was tested at home when she started to not feel well. Although she tested positive for the virus, her husband, AEW World Heavyweight Champion, Jon Moxley was tested and his results came back negative.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Young didn’t receive any contact from Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, Paul Levesque or Mark Carrano to see how she was doing as of June 25th. However, a lot of wrestlers did contact her.
The latest on Young’s condition is that she was tired and her chest felt heavy, but she has improved.
It’s been reported that WWE officials are keeping talent and employees in the dark regarding the names that have positive test results and how many positive cases of COVID-19 there are.
As of this writing, Moxley is still in the clear and still scheduled to defend the AEW World Championship against Brian Cage on July 8th, which will be night 2 of Fyter Fest.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Extreme Rules PPV.
During Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX, WWE held a match that would determine who is next in line for a title shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
A Fatal 4-Way Match that saw Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross vs. Lacey Evans vs. Dana Brooke took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to the title.
It was a decent match that saw Cross be victorious, earning the right to challenge Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Title.
WWE presents the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 19, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Extreme Rules Card
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Asuka vs. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Although only a few people in WWE have publicly announced that they have tested positive for COVID-19, the belief is there are more cases to be revealed.
So far, Renee Young, Adam Pearce, Jamie Noble and Kayla Braxton are among the names to announce the news.
However, it’s been reported that there are more than 2 dozen across the board in WWE who have already tested positive for the virus with more cases to come. Many are staying quiet regarding whether they have tested positive and that’s by design.
Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live that WWE doesn\’t want anyone to go public about their positive test. He stated that he has heard other names that have tested positive that have not tweeted about it.
Alvarez added that in-ring talent and staff are not the only people who have tested positive but also some friends and family.
The expectation is that more news will likely get out in the next couple of days. That belief was only backed up further when WWE postponed Friday’s Raw TV taping until Saturday.
The reason for that was due some COVID-19 tests coming back and WWE officials not being happy with the results.
It’s been well documented that Randy Orton had a social media exchange with Tommaso Ciampa, but the possibility of that match happening could come true.
WrestleTalk reports that the former WWE Champion wants a run with some of the WWE NXT Superstars. Per the report, Orton is said to be hoping to work with some of the NXT roster in the coming months.
Orton has pitched the idea of working with some of the NXT Superstars including Ciampa and current NXT Champion Adam Cole. While Cole is on the list, Ciampa is one of the people he would be keen on working with.
The feud would not necessarily take place on RAW as WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has reportedly been unhappy with NXT ratings. As seen in the past with other stars, it’s possible that WWE sends Orton down to NXT to help boost ratings.
At the time of Orton and Ciampa going back and forth on social media, it was reported that WWE had no plans to do Orton vs. Ciampa. That could change.
This would also fall in line with Ciampa being against moving to the main roster full-time due to its brutal travel schedule. Per the report, Ciampa is now more open to doing a one-off program with Orton on RAW because shows are being taped at one location – WWE Performance Center in Orlando – due to the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE is planning to do another cinematic match at its next pay-per-view event, Extreme Rules.
Braun Strowman will defend the Universal Championship against Bray Wyatt at this show. This is a rematch from the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event, which saw Strowman successfully retain the title over Wyatt.
Wrestling Inc. reports the plan is to have various spots and storytelling of their past to the present. Per the report, Wyatt is said to be heavily involved in creating this match.
Jeremy Borash and Triple H in addition to a few others will also be involved in putting the match together although the ideas for it are remaining close to the vest. Michael P.S. Hayes, who has worked on past matches like this, won\’t be involved as he is having hip surgery.
Locations are being scouted for filming as this will be another overnight shoot. The article mentioned how the contest was described as a cross between a Terminator and a horror movie.
The idea is for the match to be more action-packed than Wyatt\’s Firefly Funhouse match against John Cena at WrestleMania 36, which was essentially a bunch of segments thrown together with little wrestling.
WWE presents the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event on Sunday, July 19, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center that will air on the WWE Network.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War.
NXT won the night in total viewers, but not in the key 18-49 demo. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 786,000 viewers, up last week’s 746,000 In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.19 rating, down from 0.20 last week.
The episode featured Karrion Kross vs. Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes vs. Damien Priest, and NXT North American Champion Keith Lee vs. Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano with the winner advancing to the Winner Take All Match against Adam Cole on July 8th.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 633,000 viewers, down from the 772,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.22 rating, down from the 0.28 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured bouts such as Santana vs. Matt Hardy, Brodie Lee, and Colt Cabana vs. Sonny Kiss and Joey Janela, Wardlow vs. Luchasaurus, Brian Cage in action, a faceoff between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy, and FTR vs. SCU.
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