A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House special.
Teagan Nox, Shotzi Blackheart & Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez in a Six-Woman Tag Team Match has been booked.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT, WWE confirmed the match booking after a brawl broke out featuring all of the talent mentioned above occurred in the opening segment following the Yim vs. LeRae contest that ended in a no contest.
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver: In Your House event on Sunday, June 7, 2020 in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University and will air on the WWE Network.
Updated WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House Card
NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. The Velveteen Dream – Dream can’t challenge for the title as long as Cole is champion should he lose, Backlot Brawl
Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa – Singles Match
NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai – Triple Threat Match
Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest
NXT North American Champion Keith Lee vs. Johnny Gargano
Teagan Nox, Shoti Blackheart & Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez – Six-Woman Tag Team Match
The fallout on television from WWE’s next pay-per-view event, Backlash, will be taped in advance.
Wrestling Inc has a new report that states WWE is going back to their previous idea regarding upcoming episodes of their weekly television shows – Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown.
WWE will be taping two weeks of television next week, which means the episodes airing after this PPV event will be filmed before the actual event takes place.
The company did the exact same thing with WrestleMania 36 back in April as they filmed the TV episodes before recording most of the pay-per-view.
After next week, stars will get the following week off. The current plans call for the next set of TV tapings after that will be the week of June 22nd.
Updated WWE TV Tapings Schedule
NXT Takeover: In Your House pay-per-view – Sunday, June 7th
RAW on the same night, SmackDown episode airing on June 12th and that week\’s 205 Live & Main Event – Monday, June 8th
RAW for June 15th and SmackDown airing on June 19th in addition to that week\’s 205 Live & Main Event – Tuesday, June 9th
WWE will tape two weeks of NXT for the same night and following week’s show – Wednesday, June 10th
WWE Backlash pay-per-view live – Sunday, June 14th
WWE and AEW may have gotten one step closer to having fans attend their shows in the state of Florida.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in March, WWE has been holding TV tapings in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center and Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. The same goes for AEW from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida for Dynamite shows.
On Wednesday during a press conference, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that bars, movie theaters, and other entertainment venues are re-opening. They’ll do so in 64 counties beginning this Friday.
The reason for this is due to the state moving into Phase Two of DeSantis\’ three-step plan to re-start the economy. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach are not included in this plan as they’ve been some of the hardest-hit counties in Florida.
DeSantis will allow businesses such as movie theaters, bowling alleys, and concert halls to run at 50% capacity with his new Executive Order. Of course, they’ll have to do social distancing.
Bars are allowed to open at 50% capacity indoors, and at full capacity outside with proper social distancing of 6 feet between tables. This is the same as restaurants and retail spaces.
These new guidelines could let pro wrestling promotions be allowed to have fans attend their shows in the near future as the state is allowing the re-opening of venues such as concert halls.
It appears that some stars who were released by WWE in April could make a return but there’s a catch.
Due to the financial hit of the coronavirus and WWE needing to keep profits up, the company decided to do mass talent and staff cuts.
Bryan Alvarez noted on Wednesday’s Wrestling Observer Live that several stars were contacted by WWE and offered new deals to return to the company. However, they wouldn’t be making the same amount of money that they had been before.
Alvarez stated that the money offered is a fraction of what they were making. This came after the interesting video package that aired on Tuesday’s episode of Impact Wrestling to promote Slammiversary.
Alvarez noted that the offers that he’s seen make him think there will be a fair number of people showing up in Impact rather than return to WWE. He added that there are definitely people that would definitely go to Impact Wrestling.
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 1.728 million viewers, which is down from the 1.735 million viewers last week.
SmackDown averaged 2.170 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is up from the 2.044 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.150 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.040 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.143 million viewers while the second hour did 2.157 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.076 million viewers while the second hour did 2.003 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.60 rating in the 18-49 demos, up from the 0.50 rating as last week’s show.
It turns out that Kurt Angle could’ve been the manager for Matt Riddle on WWE television.
The WWE Hall of Famer did an interview with CBR where he revealed that not only would he love to manage Riddle but also had the chance to do so. However, the reason for him not taking the gig all comes down to timing.
Angle started out by stating that he thinks Riddle is going to be one of the faces of the WWE because he has all the ability to do so and thinks his personality is great. He admits that at first, it’s odd but once you get to know him, he’s very likable.
Angle thinks that’s what he’s going to get from the fans as he thinks that they’ll love him and his in-ring work, which he called phenomenal.
“His whole bro gimmick thing works really well. And he’s going to do extremely well. WWE has offered me a job to manage him. Unfortunately, I turned it down due to a few different reasons, but I would have loved to manage him. It just wasn’t the right time.”
Angle worked as the special guest referee for Riddle’s Cage Fight against Timothy Thatcher last week on NXT.
Riddle, who was announced by Angle as the latest addition to the SmackDown roster, has yet to make his main roster debut.
Triple H spoke with TMZ Sports about whether WWE has any interest in working with Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor.
First up was Cormier, a former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, who could work in the ring as he has a wrestling background or on commentary, which is something that he’s doing in the UFC now.
Triple H stated that they’ve talked a lot in the past about him doing stuff whether that\’s in the ring, commentary, or doing different things.
He pointed out how Cormier is doing what he\’s doing and if he decided he\’s done or wants to leave UFC, then yes they would be interested. He added that he loves Cormier and every time he sees him, they have a great conversation.
Triple H noted that Cormier is a good due and that\’s what makes him good at commentary.
\”I think he\’s great, we\’d love to do something with him, if the time is right, obviously in respect to UFC and Dana White. We\’d love to chat with him and we have an open relationship as far as communication.\”
Up next is Conor McGregor, a former UFC Lightweight and Featherweight Champion.
\”I think Conor McGregor versus Vince McMahon with the billion-dollar walk on the line, I think that\’s a match made in heaven.\” Triple H joked. \”I think the nature of what we do — even being entertainment — it lends itself to combat sports. It lends itself to people like Conor McGregor or Ronda [Rousey], as it does with Tyson Fury. It did in the past with Mike Tyson and Floyd [Mayweather]. Entertaining people are what makes those fights, a lot of times.”
Triple H continued by noting that the styles and fight itself is part of that but also entertaining and the ability to capture people as a personality is what makes those fights.
He thinks that it is the same in WWE. Thus, he thinks if you can transfer that over and really now let yourself go and be larger than life, that\’s the key thing.
Jon Moxley took to social media to show off an interesting injury that he recently suffered.
The AEW World Heavyweight Champion posted a photo of a bruised tailbone injury on Twitter. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when he sustained the injury nor did he mention it. You can see the photo here:
Moxley made his latest title defense as the AEW World Heavyweight Champion against Brodie Lee at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event last weekend. This was a hard-hitting affair with a brawling style.
He also worked the AEW Dynamite TV tapings earlier this week in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place. Thus, he could have suffered the injury at the TV tapings or PPV event.
All Elite Wrestling has already confirmed that Moxley will make his next title defense against Brian Cage at the upcoming Fyter Fest special. However, the promotion has yet to confirm when this event will take place.
Cage won the Casino Ladder Match at Double or Nothing, which served as the opening contest, to earn this title match against Moxley.
The start of this week’s episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown was different as WWE did an interesting storyline involving Jeff Hardy.
Also, fans now know who will be in the finals of the tournament that will determine the new Intercontinental Champion as those competitors have been revealed.
The semi-finals of the tournament were supposed to take place on Friday’s episode of SmackDown in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center on FOX. The pair of matches were Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan and Elias vs. AJ Styles.
However, the show opened with a car parked on a curb with the hood open and Elias on the ground. Once EMT’s and police arrived, they found Hardy nearby and arrested him. Police found an alcohol bottle as well as the registration in the name of Hardy for the rental car. Elias was taken away by ambulance.
Hardy has a history of drunk driving and issues with alcohol abuse.
Thus, after a backstage meeting, it was determined that Styles would advance to the finals while Bryan would take on the winner of a 10-man battle royal in the opening contest.
This contest was won by Sheamus, who took on Bryan in the main event. As seen on the show, Bryan went over Sheamus thanks to a distraction from the returning Hardy.
The finals of the tournament between Styles and Bryan will take place in two weeks on SmackDown.
Just one week after making their promotional debut, FTR is slated to do their first AEW interview.
All Elite Wrestling announced on Friday that The Revolt, formerly known as The Revival, will be doing an interview with Tony Schiavone on next Wednesday\’s episode of Dynamite on TNT.
It should be noted that this episode has already been taped. The former WWE stars made their debut this past Wednesday after The Young Bucks & Matt Hardy defeated Private Party & Joey Janela in a six-man tag match.
They did so when they made the save for The Young Bucks from an attack by The Butcher & The Blade.
AEW President Tony Khan took to Twitter to hype next week’s show by writing the following:
“Thank you for making it one of the most successful weeks we’ve had at #AEW, with great viewership for Double or Nothing + Dynamite! #AEWDynamite is back Wednesday with a huge card!”
Update AEW Dynamite Card
AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Jungle Boy
AEW Tag Team Champions Hangman Page and Kenny Omega vs. Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc
Chris Jericho will be in action against Colt Cabana
The dispute between Ric Flair and WWE is over. It all started over the ownership of the rights to \”The Man\” trademark.
It was revealed on Friday that the WWE Hall of Famer recently reached a deal to transfer the rights to his two trademarks for the company.
USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office) shows in its listings that Flair\’s LLC assigned the entire interest and the goodwill of the trademarks to WWE on Tuesday, May 19.
These are the same trademarks that started the tension between the two sides as Flair filed for it on August 22, 2019 and August 26, 2019. This came after WWE had billed former RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch as \”The Man.”
The reason for that is due to his feeling that the intellectual properties belonged to him as he had used that name for years.
During this time, Flair went public about the issues in various interviews. In fact, he stated that he thought WWE should have paid him for use of the nickname for Lynch.
Flair mentioned in his original trademark filing that he first used \”The Man\” in commerce back in 1976. The former WWE Champion recently signed a new deal with the company.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War.
AEW won the night in total viewers and in the key 18-49 demo, but both shows were up. Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 731,000 viewers, up from last week’s 592,000 In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.19 rating, up from 0.13 last week.
The episode featured Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher with Kurt Angle as the special guest referee in a Cage Fight, Drake Maverick vs. Kushida vs. Jake Atlas in a Triple Threat to determine the Group A winner of Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, and Charlotte Flair & Chelsea Green vs. Io Shirai & Rhea Ripley.
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 827,000 viewers, up from the 701,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.32 rating, up from the 0.26 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured bouts such as Matt Hardy and The Young Bucks vs. Private Party and Joey Janela, A Battle Royal will take place to determine the first contender for the AEW TNT Championship, and a pep rally for The Inner Circle that led to a brawl with Mike Tyson.
Charlotte Flair & Chelsea Green def. Rhea Ripley & Io Shirai.
Tommaso Ciampa def. Leon Ruff
Timothy Thatcher def. Matt Riddle – Cage Fight
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Adam Cole Talks With Mr. Regal
Adam Cole (Photo: WWE)
NXT Champion Adam Cole was supposed to celebrate one year of his title reign but instead had a Zoom call with NXT General Manager William Regal to have an open negotiation.
Cole cut a promo about The Velveteen Dream and how he wants him out of his life for good. Regal said that it’s not all about Cole. He said that Cole will defend the NXT Title against The Velveteen Dream at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
Cole complained about Dream having his own spotlight and a couch. Regal said that both Dream and Cole want a spotlight. Cole called that insulting because he’s been the cornerstone of NXT and that The Undisputed Era has made Regal look better than he is.
Cole said that after he beats Dream at TakeOver then he wants the stipulation of Dream never getting a title shot again as long as he is the champion. Regal stated that he will find a setting that is worthy of such a match.
Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher with Kurt Angle as the special guest referee in a Cage Fight is in the books.
Whatever expectations that fans might have had heading into this contest, it seems based on feedback via social media, that those expectations were exceeded.
It looked like the old lion’s den set up with no ropes but just simply a ring with a steel cage around it and a scaffold above it. They implemented more of a fight style move set and submissions. Thatcher went over when he locked in a rear-naked choke and Riddle went to sleep.
It was even better thanks to Angle being in the ring. While he’s not under contract with the company anymore, it has been reported that many WWE producers who were let go weren\’t released outright but rather furloughed with the expectation that some of them could be brought back once WWE starts running more shows.
It’s also been reported that Riddle is headed to the main roster and expected to work on the SmackDown brand. If not the last match on NXT television then one of the last matches, Riddle had a memorable fight.
A Triple Threat to determine the Group A winner of Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament went down that saw Drake Maverick vs. Kushida vs. Jake Atlas.
WWE gave them the opening slot of the broadcast and around 15 minutes of screen time. The finish saw Kushida put Atlas in an armbar only to lay back on the mat and have Maverick pin Atlas for the win.
It was a clever finish that didn’t take away from Kushida or Atlas while moving the underdog story along with Maverick. As a result of this win, Maverick has advanced to the tournament finals as he’s the winner of Group A.
Maverick will take on El Hijo Del Fantasma, the winner of Group B, on the June 3 episode of NXT.
Whatever the ref says goes…
It looks like @WWEMaverick continues to FIGHT ON as he defeats @KUSHIDA_0904 & @iamjakeatlas to advance to the #WWENXT#Cruiserweight Championship Tournament finals! pic.twitter.com/IVCgXD9n8Q
Charlotte Flair and mystery partner vs. Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley in a tag team match took place on this show.
While there were various stars who fans thought were going to serve as the partner of the NXT Women’s Champion, but it turns out that it was Chelsea Green.
It was a fine tag bout that saw Flair and Green go over when Green took a shot from Io then Io knocked Rhea off the apron. This allowed Flair to pin Io by using the ropes in a roll-up for the win.
This was the latest build for this program heading into the Triple Threat Match that will see Charlotte put the NXT Women’s Title on the line when she defends it against Io and Ripley at NXT TakeOver: In Your House special next month.
The third match of the night saw Raquel Gonzalez with Dakota Kai in her corner to defeat Shotzi Blackheart with Tegan Nox in her sidelines.
It was a hard-hitting affair with the most notable thing in the match was the bad botch by Shotiz, which saw her attempt to hit a springboard back dive to the floor but she overshot it and landed badly on the back of her head.
After the match, Candice LeRae came out to the ring to have some words with Nox.
This appeared to be a continuation of the Nox-Kai feud that started last November with the addition of LeRae. Perhaps, we’ll get a future match.
Here’s that rough looking landing from Shotzi Blackheart on NXT
Cody Rhodes has announced an \’open challenge\’ that will see him defend the new TNT Championship each week on AEW Dynamite.
The first challenger to the TNT Championship actually circumvents the Open Challenge stipulation. During Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Jungle Boy won a Battle Royal to earn a shot at the TNT title next week (June 3rd).
The final four participants in the Battle Royal were Jungle Boy, MJF, Wardlow, and Orange Cassidy. You can see footage from the Battle Royal here:
TNT Championship Open Challenge
The Open Challenge format creates some very interesting scenarios for the TNT Championship. Instantly, the belt has something unique that sets it apart from the AEW World Championship. It presents Cody as a \’fighting champion\’ and establishes the TNT title as a \’workhorse\’ belt that is defended frequently on television.
The Open Challenge format also presents the scenario of mystery opponents each week. Former WWE Superstar Zack Ryder, for instance, took notice.
Rhodes just became the inaugural AEW TNT Champion when he beat Lance Archer in the tournament finals at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event on Saturday night. Boxing legend Mike Tyson presented the championship.
Fan reactions to the title\’s design were mixed after it was presented by Tyson. Tony Schiavone had mentioned on the broadcast that due to the pandemic, the title wasn\’t actually finished yet.
It\’s a simple title belt design with a red strap and silver plates. The center plate has TNT in the middle while the side plates have a house on it, which is actually a replication of Ted Turners\’ mansion.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT, WWE NXT Champion Adam Cole had a Zoom call with NXT General Manager William Regal to address his problems with The Velveteen Dream.
This is where Regal announced that Cole will defend the NXT Title against The Velveteen Dream at the show with him finding a setting of his choosing.
However, Cole added a stipulation, which was if Dream loses then Dream can never get a title shot again as long as Cole is the champion.
The following matches are now confirmed for NXT\’s next big event:
NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. The Velveteen Dream – Dream can’t challenge for the title as long as Cole is champion should he lose, setting to be determined
Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa – Singles Match
NXT Women\’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai
Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver: In Your House event on Sunday, June 7, 2020 in and will air on the WWE Network.
The Revolt, formerly known as The Revival, has made their debuts in All Elite Wrestling.
The former WWE stars did so on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT after the opener that saw Matt Hardy and The Young Bucks vs. Private Party and Joey Janela in a six-man tag team match.
Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, formerly Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder, arrived in the arena in a truck and walked down to the ring after The Butcher and The Blade had attacked The Young Bucks. Wheeler and Harwood made the save for The Young Bucks.
They hit a spike piledriver to Blade then hit their finisher to Butcher. The segment ended when they had a staredown with Matt and Nick Jackson.
WWE released the former WWE Tag Team Champions from their contracts in April after they had requested to be let go. The Revival potentially going to AEW when their deals with WWE were up has been speculated about for over a year now.
Now, it’s a reality. The Young Bucks and FTR have talked about wanting to work with each other for years.
Becky Lynch recently did an interview with espnW where she spoke about the big news that she shared on an episode of Monday Night RAW earlier this month.
Lynch revealed that she was pregnant. In the interview, she was asked how it feels to know that she has the option to return to her career once she\’s given birth
The former WWE RAW Women’s Champion talked about how that’s something she’s always preached and wanting women to have that equality in addition to having the same treatment and pay as male talent.
She thinks this goes hand in hand where a guy can go and have a kid and doesn\’t have to miss a beat in his career, but that’s different for women.
She also looks at it as a fortunate thing because they get to experience things that men never will. She pointed out that it just doesn\’t mean that it\’s got to be the end for a career in any line.
Lynch also confirmed that she does plan to make a return to a ring when she’s able to.
\”Yeah. It\’s one of those things where I know what I feel and think as a person without a child,\” Lynch said. \”I don\’t know what that\’s going to look like when I do have one, and that\’s my priority. I\’ll tell you, it\’ll give me more motivation than ever, I could imagine. But this isn\’t the end of me, one way or the other.\”
Lynch is due in December with her first child with Seth Rollins, who proposed to her back in August.
CM Punk got fans talking over two posts on his official Twitter account that started out with responses.
Punk responded to a tweet from FITE TV asking fans about their favorite all-time Punk moments, which the former WWE Champion responded with a simple “TBD,” which means to be determined.
Of course, WWE has taken the interesting approach of building the rematch between Randy Orton and WWE Hall of Famer Edge as \”The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.\” This wrestling match will take place at the upcoming Backlash pay-per-view.
The two stars just worked a Last Man Standing Match at WrestleMania 36 in April. Punk promoted his appearance on next Tuesday’s episode of WWE Backstage on FS1 in another tweet.
This is where he called the episode the greatest show in the history of the series.
With Punk watching WWE programming again through his work on the WWE Backstage show that airs weekly, there have been some rumors about his status with the company.
However, as recent as March, it was reported that there\’s been no communication between the two sides about working together again. Time will tell whether that changes.
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 1.757 million viewers last week.
SmackDown averaged 2.044 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is up from the 2.042 million viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.040 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was down from the 2.043 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.076 million viewers while the second hour did 2.003 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.030 million viewers while the second hour did 2.055 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.
Matt Riddle reflected on his confrontation with WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg at last year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
The first news about this came from Riddle, who shared the story when he appeared on the SummerSlam Watch Along Livestream.
Due to the comments made by Riddle about the legendary pro wrestler in the past, when they ran into each backstage, they exchanged some words.
The NXT star made an appearance on today’s episode of The Bump where he was asked about his relationship with Goldberg.
Riddle started out by stating that they have differing opinions and mindsets about the business. He stated that he likes to push the pace and expects a lot from himself. Riddle understands that they don’t see eye-to-eye on that type of thing and how to work.
\”He doesn\’t want to be my bro, I completely understand. I didn\’t really want to be his bro. That\’s just how the cookie crumbled.”
Regarding the confrontation at SummerSlam, Riddle recalled how Shane McMahon was down the hall from them at the arena and watched the whole thing. It turns out that McMahon thought that they were going to fight.
\”And after, Shane was like, \’Thanks for not swinging on Goldberg.\’ Could you imagine? Matt Riddle punches Goldberg unconscious in the back. I can\’t do that. That is not a stallion move. You get a match set-up and beat him in front of millions. That\’s a Stallion move.\”
Riddle will take on Timothy Thatcher in a Cage Fight on Wednesday’s episode of NXT.
A new championship match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Backlash PPV.
During Monday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center, WWE held a match that would determine who is next in line for a title shot against Asuka.
A Triple Threat Match that saw WWE NXT Women\’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax and Natalya battle it out took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to the title.
Jax was victorious, earning the right to challenge Asuka for the RAW Women’s Title at Backlash.
WWE presents the Backlash pay-per-view event on Sunday, June 14, 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 Backlash Card
Edge vs. Randy Orton – Singles Match
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley
WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman vs. The Miz & John Morrison – Handicap Match
In an interesting twist, Drew Gulak is back at work for WWE as he was at Monday’s TV tapings in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. Fightful first reported the news.
It was noted in the report that Gulak wrestled in a battle royal that will air on Friday’s episode on FOX. He appeared in the ring with over a dozen other wrestlers.
Per the report, his absence from WWE television for a week wasn’t mentioned over the house microphones at least. That could be addressed on the broadcast.
A possible indication that he’s back under contract is due to WWE moving him from the alumni section to the active roster as part of SmackDown on WWE.com.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on whether or not Gulak has re-signed with WWE or not.
This comes after earlier this month it was reported that Gulak’s WWE contract expired earlier this month. At the time, it was said that the two sides had been discussing a new deal.
Gulak reportedly had asked for more money, which led to WWE officials deciding to pull the contract offer and allow his deal to expire.
Apollo Crews is the new WWE United States Champion. Crews dethroned Andrade as the champion by beating him in a match on Monday’s episode of RAW on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
After the match, Crews cut a promo in the ring about after all of the hard work and sacrifice he\’s been through, he won his first title in WWE. He brought up how after the “injury” setback, he fought forward and is now the new champion.
Last December, during a house show at MSG, Andrade defeated Rey Mysterio to win the United States Championship for the first time.
Back in April, WWE did the injury storyline when Crews faced Andrade for the title on an episode of RAW. This was done as a way to set up the replacement star for Crews in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
As a result of the injury, Crews was unable to finish the match and ultimately pulled from the ladder match. AJ Styles ended up replacing him.
A top WWE NXT star is slated to make his main roster debut soon and that’s Matt Riddle.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Daily Update on F4Wonline.com on Monday evening that “Riddle\’s main roster debut right now is scheduled to be imminent.”
WWE has already confirmed that Riddle is slated to take on Timothy Thatcher in Cage Match on this Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
Meltzer speculated that this match could either be his blow-off feud to send him out of NXT due to him going to the main roster or lead to it. As of this writing, there\’s no word yet on which brand he\’ll be on – RAW or SmackDown.
Riddle has confirmed in the past through various interviews that he does have some backstage heat within WWE but downplayed WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon not liking him.
Previously announced for Wednesday’s NXT includes Charlotte Flair & mystery partner vs. Io Shirai & Rhea Ripley, Adam Cole to do a segment that is likely to set up the NXT Takeover: In Your House Title match, and Kushida vs. Drake Maverick vs. Jake Atlas in a three-way for the A block in the Interim Cruiserweight Classic Tournament.
The Undertaker has opened up while giving some interesting details on the battle inside of his mind with retirement from pro wrestling.
The former WWE Champion did so during an interview with The Toronto Sun to promote his documentary series on the WWE Network.
Taker started out by stating that you might try to attempt to do this business, but if it’s not in your heart and soul, you’re not going to be a success. Instead, Taker thinks that you might be a flash in the pan. He said that he’s wrestled for the majority of his adult life and done it at a high level.
“I do realize that Father Time is tapping me on the shoulder. And I don’t want to turn around and face him. I feel like I’ve got a match (left) that is befitting what I feel like that the legacy of The Undertaker deserves.
But the hard part is, if I grade myself, I grade myself on where I was physically in the early 2000s. I don’t grade myself on the curve of it being 2020 and being 55 years old.”
Taker continued by noting that the expectations of what he has for himself with the limitations that he has physically is a delicate balance.
“You’ve got to take a really good look (and ask yourself), OK, is this the match that you’re looking for, is it in the realm of possibility and do I risk long-term damage?… I have young kids still. Do you run the risk of jeopardizing your long-term health?”
Taker admitted that all of this is what’s going on in his head while doing the documentary. He said that this is what he’s looking for and trying to achieve.
Taker added that trying to come to grips with leaving that aspect of the business.
![\"Adam](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2019/11/adam-cole-711x400.jpg\")
![\"Matt](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2020/05/matt-riddle.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2018/03/drake-maverick-635x357.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2020/04/charlotte-flair-raw-4-13-711x400.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://media.sescoops.com/uploads/2019/10/shotzi-blackheart.jpg\")
![ShowbuzzDaily](\"https://showbuzzdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Final-Cable-2019-Nov-20-WED.png\"){kind=link}