The hits continued for the XFL as on Monday, the pro football league filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy statement noted that the economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the coronavirus forced the XFL to close down.
This comes after the XFL had suspended operations last week. The season was postponed after week five. The XFL issued a statement to TMZ:
“Unfortunately, as a new enterprise, we were not insulated from the harsh economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Accordingly, we have filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This is a heartbreaking time for many, including our passionate fans, players and staff, and we are thankful to them, our television partners, and the many Americans who rallied to the XFL for the love of football.”
It should be that once the relaunch of the league was made official, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon stated that WWE wasn’t part of his new project. Instead, WWE would be a separate company from the XFL, which was owned by McMahon under Alpha Entertainment.
The listing for the bankruptcy revealed that wasn’t the case. Instead, WWE owned 23.5 percent of the XFL’s Class B stock while McMahon owned the remainder of it.
As recently as February, WWE’s Interim CFO Frank Riddick stated on a conference call that WWE had no plans of investing in the XFL.
WWE is slated to release its quarterly financial report on April 23 and will hold a conference call for investors. WWE having an equity stake in the XFL could be brought up.
McMahon had sold nearly $300 million in WWE stock in order to fund the league.
WWE has announced several things in advance of next week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Among the matches revealed for this show include two qualifying matches that will determine the first batch of stars in this year’s Men’s and Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Matches.
Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro will take place for the men’s match while Dana Brooke vs. Naomi will take place in the women’s match.
Also on tap will WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion The Miz vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Big E in a Triple Threat Match with the titles on the line. WWE had John Morrison defend the titles in a Ladder Match against Kofi Kingston and Jey Uso at WrestleMania 36, which saw him successfully retain the titles.
WWE will be taping this episode of SmackDown Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center this weekend.
Updated WWE SmackDown Lineup
Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro – Money In The Bank Qualifying Match
Dana Brooke vs. Naomi – Money In The Bank Qualifying Match
Sasha Banks vs. Tamina – If Tamina wins, she earns a WWE Smackdown Women\’s Championship match.
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion The Miz vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Big E – Triple Threat Title Match
AEW announcer Jim Ross did an interview on this week\’s edition of the Top Rope Nation Wrestling Podcast where he spoke about The Revival.
Now that Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are no longer under contract with WWE, the belief is that they will be signing with WWE. When asked whether the former WWE stars could be headed to AEW, Ross noted how it’s a big IF it happens because he doesn’t know their goals.
\”I think they would fit into our team very, very well. You know, we\’re trying to be a little bit more athletic, athletically oriented, more fundamentally sound in our storytelling, and The Revival team certainly fits that bill. They are one of the best tag teams in the world, period, no matter where it is.
So I think they would do great in our company, whether that happens or not remains to be seen. There\’ll be gross speculation that it\’s a done deal, all that good stuff.”
Ross noted how he doesn\’t know why Tony Khan, who handles their talent relations, wouldn’t be interested in signing The Revival. Thus, he thinks there\’s a possibility they come to work for AEW.
Ross noted that he likes the style of the team and that he would love to call their matches. He likes them because they\’re a throwback team and fundamentally sound. He praised them for being old school-oriented in the process of telling a story.
Ross later added that based on what he’s read online, he isn’t sure whether they have a non-compete deal. It should be noted that it’s been reported that they do not have that clause and thus are available to sign with anyone right now.
Ross stated that he hopes The Revival will consider AEW. He stated that they were not sports entertainment type wrestlers and that was never a great fit for them.
The legendary pro wrestler added that The Revival is wrestling guys and they need to be in a wrestling company. Thus, for Ross’ money, that spot would be AEW.
WWE made a big announcement on Friday, which was that The Revival\’s Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder have been released from the company.
Now, the belief is that the former tag team champions are headed to WWE’s rival promotion, AEW. This move could happen earlier than originally expected.
Of course, this all comes down to whether they can reach a deal with All Elite Wrestling. On Friday afternoon, WWE Backstage reporter and Pro Wrestling Sheet owner Ryan Satin noted on Twitter that The Revival is not under a non-compete clause with WWE.
Thus, they are now free to work for any promotion they want including AEW. It comes down to WWE mentioning in the announcement of the Revival’s departure that they have been granted their \”immediate release\” from the company.
The Revival potentially going to AEW when their deals with WWE are up has been speculated about for over a year now.
On a related note, the tag team formerly known as The Revival has changed their names at least on Twitter. This is an indication as to what they’ll now be going by.
Scott Dawson has changed his name to @DaxHarwood Dash Wilder has changed his name to @CashWheeler. Dax Harwood’s real name is David Harwood and Cash Wheeler’s real name is Daniel Wheeler.
It appears that WWE’s hope of expanding in the Japanese market might have increased due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It was noted by Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE’s place in Japan has once again changed because of the virus. In fact, this time, the virus might cause them to benefit from it.
Last year it was documented that WWE had been making moves in the country because they’re planning to launch the next NXT brand there and opening up the Japan Performance Center just like they did in the UK.
The original goal was for WWE to launch the brand this year but with the coronavirus taking over the world, there’s no word yet on how it will impact the plans.
However, it was noted in the report that it seems to be inevitable that WWE will have the NXT Japan brand and Performance Center. Now, it all comes down to working everything out.
Prior to the virus, no promotion wanted to sell to WWE but now some companies in Japan are suffering from tough financial times due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Thus, it’s turned into a buyers market. Promotions are more willing to do so now, which could see WWE buy a local infrastructure in order to be a competitive force in the market.
Finally, Meltzer stated that with MMA no longer being a threat to NJPW, the only thing able to threaten New Japan Pro Wrestling would be WWE. Meltzer added that the odds are significantly higher for a deal to be made.
WWE was in talks with Pro Wrestling NOAH to buy the company last year and WWE was still having talks with All Japan Pro Wrestling as of early March.
WWE is gearing up for another string of TV tapings in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. The tapings start on Friday and run through next Thursday.
WWE plans to tape several episodes of NXT, RAW and SmackDown in addition to Main Event and 205 Live, according to PWInsider. The idea is to tape enough footage to get them to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on May 10th, which isn’t taking place in Baltimore.
Earlier this week, WWE issued a memo to wrestlers and staff regarding the coronavirus and how they are taking extra safety measures to keep everyone safe. Talent started to travel to Orlando on Wednesday morning while talent in the area is driving to the facility if they’re needed.
WWE will be taping as many as 4 episodes during this string of tapings. However, they have planned on cleaning the Performance Center and changing ring ropes, canvas and aprons as they go.
While new content will be filmed, WWE plans to air replays of matches from pay-per-view events on episodes of RAW and SmackDown.
With Money in the Bank needing a new location, it’s very possible that the event will take place at the Performance Center. WWE has still advertised the event for May 10, but no new location has been confirmed.
There’s no word yet on whether the show will air live or be taped. What is known is that this time that they have after taping TV will allow them to strategize and plan their next moves as they continue to work through the outbreak.
Since the announcement of the XFL relaunch, people had been speculating as to how long the league would last.
It turns out that it didn’t make it through its first season under the revised pro football league. On Friday, it was reported that the XFL will cease all operations immediately.
It was also reported that the league will not be returning for the 2021 season. This is due to the league being halted just like every other sports league in the world due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The season was postponed after week five. At the time, the XFL had announced that all fans will be allowed a return of their 2021 ticket investment.
NEWS: on a call today with COO Jeffery Pollock, XFL employees were just informed that the league is suspending operations and all employees have been laid off. Another sport impacted further by the current COVID-19 crisis.
Vince McMahon, the owner of the XFL and WWE Chairman, had sold nearly $300 million in WWE stock in order to fund the league under a separate LLC, Alpha Entertainment.
The league was able to reach TV deals through ESPN, ABC, Fox, FS1 that saw the first five weeks have strong ratings that dwindled as time went on. The idea was that they would be eventually able to get TV deals for guaranteed money.
Ronda Rousey made an appearance on the latest episode of the “Wild Ride! with Steve-O” podcast where she talked about her time in WWE.
This is where she made some interesting comments regarding her future with the company and ungrateful wrestling fans.
Rousey started out by stating that she loves the WWE and had a great time working there as she loves all of the girls in the locker room. She thinks having fake fights for fun is just the best thing. She loves the choreography, acting, and theater.
However, she was doing basically a part-time schedule and was away from home 200 days out of the year. That was a problem for her because when she did get home, she didn’t have any time for anything else but rather just wanted to sleep.
Rousey stated working that type of schedule wasn’t worth it for her family despite it eliminating all of their expenses and living a certain lifestyle that they didn’t need because they didn’t need the money.
“So it’s just like … what am I doing it for if I’m not being able to spend my time and energy on my family, but instead spending my time and my energy on a bunch of f*cking ungrateful fans that don’t even appreciate me?
I love performing. I love the girls. I love being out there … but, at the end of the day, I was just like, ‘F*ck these fans, dude.’ My family loves me and they appreciate me and I want all my energy to go into them.”
When she came to this decision, she made it known that she loves what all of the stars are doing and she tried to give them all of her momentum and push that she could in order to say, \”fly little birds, fly! I’m going f*cking home!’ And that was basically it.”
Rousey added that if she does return to WWE then it won’t be in a full-time capacity. Instead, she would rather work short chunks of time.
Viewership data is in for this week’s battle in the WWE NXT vs. AEW Dynamite Wednesday Night War. NXT didn\’t make the top 50 shows on cable for the night but did win in total viewers.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
WWE NXT Viewership
NXT on the USA Network averaged 693,000 viewers, which is up from 590,000 last week. In the 18-49 demo, they drew a 0.19 rating, from the 0.15 rating that the show did last week.
The episode featured a Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano in a singles match that served as the headliner, Chelsea Green vs. Mia Yim vs. Tegan Nox vs. Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai in a Women’s Ladder Match to figure out #1 contender to WWE NXT Women’s Title, and Indus Sher (Rinku & Saurav) (w/Malcolm Bivens) vs. Ever-Rise (Chase Parker & Matt Martel).
AEW Dynamite on TNT was watched by 692,000 viewers, up from the 685,000 viewers last week. In the 18-49 demo, Dynamite pulled in a 0.26 rating, up from the 0.25 rating that the show did last week.
AEW Dynamite featured such as Shawn Spears vs. Cody in an AEW TNT Championship Tournament Match, Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker, Best Friends vs. Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa, and Brodie Lee and Lance Archer in squash matches.
The April 8, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from the Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
The show was headlined by Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano.
WWE NXT Results (4/8)
Io Shirai def. Chelsea Green, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox Candice LeRae, and Dakota Kai – Ladder Match
Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar def. Ever-Rise
Johnny Gargano def. Tommaso Ciampa
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Rinku & Saurav In-Ring Debut
After making their television debut a week ago by attacking Matt Riddle, Rinku and Saurav made their in-ring debut.
They did so when they took on Ever-Rise in a tag team match that served as the second match of the night.
As expected and rightfully so, Rinku and Saurav went over in a dominating performance. They’re the latest tag team in NXT and one to see who will get a big push in NXT.
Malcolm Bivens, who is best for his time in EVOLVE, is the manager of the team made up of two big men. The tag team division in NXT is in need of some new blood as the latest feud had seen Riddle and Pete Dunne go up against The Undisputed Era.
It will be interesting to see if Rinku and Saurav get over with fans in attendance once things get back to normal.
The continuation of the slow build for the program between The Velveteen Dream and NXT Champion Adam Cole continues.
WWE had Cole cut another promo from the poolside at his home. Cole talked about how Dream went through one of the baddest stars on the NXT roster in Bobby Fish and he called it a lucky win.
Cole talked about how unfortunately for Dream, lightning never strikes twice especially when the lighting is the greatest NXT Champion, which is him. Cole stated that Dream is a guy who doesn’t deserve a title shot because Dream is a pretender and he’s the real deal.
Cole stated that if Dream keeps pushing then he’ll end the experience or shatter Dream\’s spotlight because Dream can’t do anything about it. It was another great promo to further their program.
WWE still has yet to announce when the match will take place but it’s likely sooner rather than later.
After weeks of build-up, WWE held a Ladder Match to determine the top contender to WWE NXT Women\’s Championship.
The competitors in the contest were Chelsea Green, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae, and Dakota Kai. It ended up being Io Shirai who won the match.
It was a wild match with several high spots. If you’ve seen one ladder match in WWE, the same formula is the same. It had a table crash spot as well as Knox going through a ladder off the middle rope. This was a nice way of building up a new #1 contender for the title.
Charlotte Flair beat Rhea Ripley to win the NXT Women’s Title at WrestleMania 36. One would think that Ripley would get an automatic rematch. Time will tell whether that happens.
In the meantime, WWE can have Flair feud with the new #1 contender if they wanted to hold off on Flair vs. Ripley 2.
In the main event of the show, as expected, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano took place. It was held in an unknown location that wasn’t the Performance Center or Full Sail University with a ring and a referee.
It was exactly what you thought it would be as it was a brawl. WWE shot it in a cinematic way somewhat like the Boneyard Match was between The Undertaker and AJ Styles from WrestleMania.
There were no commentators for the match. It was just the sound of the ring and the wrestlers reacting to moves. At one point, Ciampa brought out a crutch and they even brawled outside.
The finish saw Candice LeRae, who is Gargano\’s wife, hit a low blow to Gargano then to Ciampa. Gargano pulled out a cup afterward and laughed. Gargano hit his finisher for the win.
These two have been feuding with each other off and on for a few years now under the WWE NXT banner. The stipulation going into the contest was that after this bout, this would be the final one-on-one encounter between them in NXT.
Now, it’s pro wrestling and that could change at any time but with both guys making it known that they would like to stay in NXT for the rest of their careers. It appears that this might be the last match that we see with them going against each other. Time will tell.
The next challenger to WWE NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair will be Io Shirai.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT on the USA Network in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University, WWE held a match that would determine who is next line for a title shot.
A Ladder Match that saw Chelsea Green, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae, and Dakota Kai took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to the title.
It was a lengthy match that had a table crash spot as well as Knox going through a ladder off the middle rope.
Io Shirai was victorious, earning the right to challenge Charlotte Flair for the NXT Women’s Title.
WWE hasn’t announced exactly when this contest will take place as it will go down but it’s likely to be featured on an upcoming episode of NXT TV on the USA Network.
This match was supposed to take place at the NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay event during WrestleMania 36. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the event was canceled.
Thus, WWE made the decision to air matches planned for the show to take place on NXT TV.
Flair beat Rhea Ripley to win the NXT Women\’s Title at WrestleMania 36 – Night 2 this past Sunday night.
WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts is currently quarantined alone in a hotel room.
The legendary pro wrestler confirmed the news while doing an interview with The WrestlingInc Daily’s Nick Hausman. This is where he stated that he thinks everyone needs to stay home amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Other sports leagues have shut down but wrestling promotions such as AEW and WWE continue to run shows by holding TV tapings.
Roberts stated that we all have to buckle down. As much as he hates the idea, he thinks it’s the smart thing to do. He stated that everyone needs to pull together until the virus is gone. It upsets him to see people not follow the recommendations.
\”It shows you how selfish some people can be,” Roberts said.
Roberts stated that people who don’t go along with the recommendations cause this thing to last longer than it should. He thinks people like that should be arrested and put in jail.
Roberts revealed that he’s currently quarantined in an Atlanta hotel room. This will last a few weeks. He recently made an appearance on AEW Dynamite that had a makeshift crowd of talent.
The reason for him being in quartine is due to him living with Diamond Dallas Page. Before he left to go to the AEW Dynamite TV tapings, DDP told him if Roberts left then he can’t come back.
“Well, AEW wanted me to come out, so … what did I do? I went and did it but then I couldn’t go back to Dallas’ house,” stated Roberts.
There is a baby at DDP’s house and nobody wants to get sick especially around a baby, according to Roberts. Thus, DDP took the hard-line. Roberts added that he had to do it for AEW because he wants to help the promotion by being on TV to manage Lance Archer.
However, now admittedly, he’s paying for it. AEW has reportedly filmed content to last the next few weeks.
WWE has announced a match and segment for Friday Night SmackDown this week.
The company did so on Wednesday evening. First up, newly crowned WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman is slated to make an appearance on this week’s show. He’ll do so as he ushers in his new era as champion.
Also announced was new WWE Women\’s Tag Team Champions Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss making their first title defense against Kairi Sane and Asuka, which will be a rematch from the biggest event of the year for WWE.
Night One of WrestleMania 36 on Saturday saw Bliss and Cross capture the titles from The Kabuki Warriors.
This segment comes after Strowman beat WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 36 – Night 1.
Strowman was not originally supposed to challenge Goldberg for the WWE Universal championship. WWE never booked him in a match on the card. Strowman has recalled being up in Wisconsin where he has some land and was going to see his family to get away.
Roman Reigns was supposed to be in the contest against Goldberg. However, Reigns announced his decision to pull out of the event due to health concerns.
Some backstage news has surfaced regarding the latest match that WWE booked for newly crowned WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
Monday’s episode of RAW saw McIntyre battle The Big Show in the main event with the WWE Title on the line.
WWE revealed after the match, which saw McIntyre successfully retain the title, took place after he had won the championship on Sunday night.
WWE aired the match on Monday night during RAW. This was after he dethroned Brock Lesnar for the strap in the headliner of WrestleMania 36 – Night 2.
PWinsider.com reports that the match was done in order to show how strong McIntyre was coming out of the WrestleMania 36 win. The idea behind it was despite the physical drain of battling Lesnar, he overcame Big Show \”just 20 minutes before\” that.
It was also done to show fans that McIntyre beat two of WWE\’s biggest Superstar on the same night.
WWE showed footage that after beating Lesnar on Sunday night and getting his custom title plates installed, McIntyre came back to the ring for an interview with Sarah Schreiber. This led to him being interrupted by the returning Big Show. The former WWE Champion called for the first title shot and got that.
McIntyre was then interrupted by the returning Big Show, who wanted the first title shot.
With WWE planning to hold more TV tapings, officials have issued a memo to wrestlers and staff.
TMZ Sports reports that this memo was telling them how they plan to keep everyone safe during this time as the coronavirus continues.
The email outlined protocols for working during the COVID-19 outbreak. It was noted that the WWE medical team will continue to take the temperature for everyone who works the tapings before they enter the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
Talents are allowed to arrive early to the building due to the safety measures causing some delays in people getting into the training facility.
It was noted that WWE officials were very happy with the way things went down with the recent TV and WrestleMania 36 tapings two weeks ago. Thus, the company plans to use similar protocols for the tapings being held this week.
Once works are inside of the building, they are encouraged to wear a face mask. If they can’t get one then they are encouraged to make one. There were instructions on how to make a mask by sewing fabric, wearing a bandana, or ripping off an old t-shirt sleeve.
Per the memo, the masks will have to come off when cameras are rolling for the taped shows. There was a reminder of washing their hands before and after handling masks, and to wash hands with soap & warm water for 20 seconds was brought up.
WWE plans to start taping several episodes of RAW, NXT, and SmackDown starting this Friday through next Thursday.
The plan is to keep following the CDC guidelines for the outbreak and will have talent stay at one hotel and tape in waves.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 2.010 million viewers in on the USA Network, which is up from the 1.923 million viewers the previous week.
Last week’s show was the lowest viewership for 2020 thus far and the go-home edition of WrestleMania 36 for the RAW brand.
RAW Viewership
Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
Hour 1: 2.311 million (2.139 Last Week), 0.78 Demo (0.63 Last Week)
Hour 2: 2.063 million (1.986 Last Week), 0.69 Demo (0.61 Last Week)
Hour 3: 1.925 million (1.646 Last Week), 0.64 Demo (0.51 Last Week)
The episode was expected to increase its viewership from last week. The reason for that was due to it serving as the post-WrestleMania edition of RAW. WWE will attempt to increase its viewership for Monday Night RAW next week.
Some of the matches that took place include Asuka vs. Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair & The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs. Angel Garza, Austin Theory & Zelina Vega in a six-person tag team match, Aleister Black vs. Apollo Crews in a lengthy match that nearly went 30-minutes.
RAW featured Seth Rollins in action in a squash match following his battle with Kevin Owens at WrestleMania. The in-ring return of Nia Jax occurred after she was on the sidelines for nearly a year due to injury.
Finally, the main event saw the return of The Big Show, who challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE Title.
Jax did so on Monday’s episode of RAW by beating NXT\’s Deonna Purrazzo in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center on the USA Network. It was a dominating performance.
The former WWE RAW Women’s Champion had been out of action since last April when she suffered ACL tears on both of her knees that forced her to require surgery to repair them.
At the time of her injury, the expected timeframe for her return was nine months. Just last month it was reported that she was ready to return at any time, which is now.
While on the sidelines, she had been keeping fans updated with her status through social media by sharing photos and videos of her working out.
Over the weekend, Jax fired back after Killer Kross\’ comment about Liv Morgan’s WrestleMania gear on Twitter which got fans talking.
It all started when a fan stated that Morgan was wearing gear inspired by Scarlett Bordeaux, who happens to be Kross’s girlfriend.
This didn\’t sit well with Jax, who responded with, “You better take a f**ken seat real quick dude.”
It appears that WWE won’t take a break but rather is moving forward will live broadcasts of RAW and SmackDown.
In fact, it’s looking like WWE could return to airing live episodes of their weekly television shows as soon as later this week. It’s known that Monday’s episode of RAW, as well as Wednesday\’s WWE NXT episode, are already taped as WWE did film the shows several weeks ago.
With the outbreak of the coronavirus, there was some speculation that WWE could have an off-season if they can’t tape new episodes of these shows.
It turns out that WWE plans to air Friday\’s SmackDown and next Monday\’s RAW live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, according to @Wrestlevotes
Over the past few weeks, WWE had taped these shows in addition to both nights of WrestleMania 36. The belief is that the Performance Center will still likely be a closed set for the live episodes.
Friday\’s SmackDown on FOX could be the first live TV show since early March.
It should be noted that these changes have not been confirmed by WWE. As of this writing, there\’s no word yet on how the stay-at-home order in Florida will impact WWE\’s plans.
There have also been reports that WWE could film Friday’s SmackDown from a secret location in a shutdown state. There’s still no word yet on where the location is.
After two straight nights of WrestleMania 36, WWE is back with another episode of RAW.
With the biggest event of the year for the company in the rearview, it’s time to look ahead starting with tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
As of this writing, the company has yet to announce any matches for this show. WWE has released some articles looking at some teasers for the show as part of the fallout from WrestleMania.
The company taped this show several days ago. Brock Lesnar, who dropped the WWE Title to Drew McIntyre in the headliner of WrestleMania 36 – Night 2, is not advertised for the show.
WWE holds this show in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. It will be interesting to see if WWE airs any matches from WrestleMania 36 on this broadcast considering it is a taped show.
WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:
What\’s next for WWE Champion Drew McIntyre?
Will Edge continue his comeback run?
Will Shayna Baszler make another run at Becky Lynch\’s RAW Women’s Title?
Did Kevin Owens end Seth Rollins\’ crusade?
Join us here later tonight for our post-show WWE RAW Results and Takeaways feature.
Drew McIntyre has dethroned \”The Beast\” Brock Lesnar to capture the WWE Championship in dramatic fashion.
McIntyre did so at night 2 of this year\’s WWE WrestleMania pay-per-view event from Orlando, Florida. This mark\’s McIntyre\’s first reign as a World Champion in WWE.
The match was all about finishers. In a short match, Lesnar hit three F5’s while McIntyre connected with four Claymore Kicks to win the title.
This comes after McIntyre won the 2020 Men’s Royal Rumble Match at the pay-per-view event in Houston, Texas. In fact, with the help of Ricochet, McIntyre eliminated “The Beast” from the contest.
As a result of that victory, McIntyre cashed in his ticket to challenge Lesnar for the strap at the biggest event of the year for WWE.
Lesnar’s reign as WWE Champion started on October 4, 2019 when he beat Kofi Kingston for it on Friday Night SmackDown. This show marked the first episode on FOX and the 20 Anniversary Show.
In recent months, McIntyre has turned into a big babyface for the company. With this win, it only solidified his position in the company going forward as the face of the red brand.
What are your thoughts on Drew McIntyre winning the WWE Title from Brock Lesnar? Was this the right call by WWE officials?
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a rematch at WWE’s biggest event of the year was one of the more unique segments to take place under the WWE banner.
There wasn\’t a clear cut winner but it appears that Wyatt got his revenge by apparently beating the former WWE Champion.
They did a time warp where Cena reenacted his WWE debut in his old gear where he was supposed to slap Wyatt just like he did Kurt Angle in 2002 but Cena failed to do so. They did an old school Saturday Night’s Main Event skit where they were bodybuilders.
The next trip was Cena bringing back his rapper gimmick where he did some rhymes and Wyatt cut a promo about how Cena is a bully and will do anything for fame. Wyatt laid him out with a chain.
Wyatt then dressed up as his old gimmick and cut a promo about Cena was supposed to be a man of the people. He was in a barn-like structure. Wyatt wanted Cena to hit him with a chair because he didn’t do it at WrestleMania 30. Cena swung and Wyatt disappeared.
This led to Wyatt dressing up as Eric Bischoff and Cena dressed in NWO gear while acting like Hulk Hogan. Cena finally attacked him until Wyatt disappeared and came out dressed as The Fiend. He hit Sister Abigail then choked him out with the Mandible Claw to end the match. There was never the sound of the bell.
This comes after Cena beat Wyatt at WrestleMania 30 in 2014 from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the time, many fans thought Wyatt should’ve gone over in the contest. Years later, they finally got their wish granted.
Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns and Cena vs. Elias were reportedly scheduled for the show but plans changed when the decision to have Wyatt drop the Universal Title to Goldberg at Super ShowDown.
The reign as WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley has been extended.
Bayley successfully retained at the WWE WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event on Sunday night. A five-pack challenge match was booked with Bayley, Banks, Lacey Evans, Tamina, and Naomi.
Tamina was the first to be eliminated after a reunion with Team Bad. Banks eliminated Naomi after making her tap out. Evans eliminated Banks with the Women’s Right. Banks came back down to the ring and hit the back stabber that allowed Bayley to pin Evans to win the match.
While fans had hoped to finally see a one-on-one encounter between Bayley and Banks after all of these years, WWE had a different plan in mind.
WWE had Paige make an appearance via Skype on the March 20th episode of Friday Night SmackDown. This is where she did a segment with Bayley and Banks.
It was announced that Bayley would defend her title in the contest. Originally, Dana Brooke was supposed to be in the contest. However, she was ill and quarantined. Thus, she was pulled from the championship match.
What are your thoughts on Bayley retaining the WWE SmackDown Women’s Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
After months of building, Edge vs. Randy Orton took place.
It happened at the WWE WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event in Orlando, Florida in a Last Man Standing Match that saw the WWE Hall of Famer go over.
The two stars fought all over the training facility. From the backstage area to the weight room. Orton at one point hit a DDT on the back of a truck. Edge jumped off a structure to send Orton through a table after hitting an elbow drop.
At one point, they climbed up onto an equipment truck where Edge hit a spear. Moments later, Orton hit an RKO on top of the truck. The finish saw Edge place a chair pinned under Orton\’s head and then smashing it with another chair. The match went for nearly 40 minutes.
The Edge vs. Randy Orton feud kicked off when Edge competed in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match from the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas back in January. He entered at #21 and made it to the final three but was eliminated after nearly 25-minutes.
The following night on Monday Night RAW, the former WWE Champion was attacked by Orton. This led to Edge being off TV for several weeks after receiving the beatdown.
What are your thoughts on Edge going over Randy Orton? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
It turns out that it wasn\’t the night of WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley as she was dethroned by Flair.
Ripley dropped the title to the former RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion at the WWE WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event in Orlando, Florida.
This marks the second time that Flair has held the NXT Women\’s Title. It was a back and forth affair that opened the show.
It all started back on the February 3rd episode of RAW when Flair came out for the second straight week to reveal who she would be challenging at WrestleMania 36.
Ripley interrupted by walking out to the ring. Ripley cut a promo about how Flair has beaten many top stars but never defeated her. In fact, Ripley brought up how she holds a win over Flair.
Flair won the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park. As a result, she had the right to challenge for any title in WWE such as the RAW, SmackDown, and NXT Women’s Championship.
Ripley retained the title over Bianca Belair at the WWE NXT TakeOver: Portland event from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Post-match, Flair made her way through the crowd and attacked Belair. She cut a promo about how she would see Ripley at Mania.
A new episode of WWE’s The Bump premiered on Sunday and featured an interview with newly-crowned WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman.
Strowman was not originally supposed to challenge Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36 – Night 1 on Saturday night. In fact, WWE never booked him in a match on the card.
Roman Reigns was supposed to be in the contest against Goldberg. However, Reigns announced his decision to pull out of the event due to health concerns.
Strowman stated that it was probably the craziest 24 hours of his life as he loaded up his stuff when the state of Florida went into lockdown and was going to drive up to Wisconsin where he has some land. He was also going to see his family and getaway.
\”Drove 21 hours and was an hour away from home and I got a phone call. ‘There\’s been some last-minute changes. We need you, it\’s an emergency, we\’re sending a jet to get you and you leave at 9 pm.’
He continued by noting that, “I got into Wisconsin for three hours, went back, jumped on a jet, flew back to Orlando, and landed at 1:30 in the morning. Got up, hit the ground running and low and behold, came out of the back end as the Universal Champion.\”
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