Tag: beth phoenix

WWE Raw video highlights: Randy Orton RKOs Beth Phoenix

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

Randy Orton’s feud with Edge was taken to the next level on last night’s episode of Raw.

The show ended with an angle where Orton laid out Beth Phoenix with an RKO. It was announced that Phoenix would be on Raw to give a medical update on Edge, but she was interrupted by Orton immediately.

Orton said he owed Phoenix an explanation for why he attacked Edge. He went over his history with Edge dating back to them meeting backstage at a show in 1999. Orton said that when he saw Edge the night after the Royal Rumble, he realized that Edge thought he was back for good.

Orton claimed that he loves Edge and was doing what was best for him by making sure he wouldn’t continue wrestling. Orton said that — thanks to him — Edge would be able to be there for Phoenix and their kids Ruby and Lyric.

Orton then blamed Phoenix and called her an enabler. He said Edge was a junkie for the roar of the crowd and Phoenix did nothing to stop him. Orton said he loves Edge and Ruby and Lyric more than Phoenix ever could.

Phoenix responded by slapping Orton. Orton called Phoenix a bitch, she kicked him, and Orton gave her an RKO. Referees, officials, and Natalya, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, R-Truth, and Rey Mysterio came down and tended to Phoenix as the show went off the air.

More coverage from last night —

WWE Raw video highlights —

Drew McIntyre lays out Brock Lesnar with three Claymore Kicks

Seth Rollins & Murphy vs. The Street Profits for the Raw Tag Team titles

Seth Rollins & Murphy want a rematch against The Street Profits at Elimination Chamber

Riddick Moss vs. Ricochet for the 24/7 Championship

AJ Styles issues a warning to The Undertaker

Aleister Black vs. Karl Anderson

Aleister Black vs. Luke Gallows

Aleister Black vs. AJ Styles

Sarah Logan referees Liv Morgan vs. Ruby Riott

Erick Rowan reveals what’s in his cage

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Rey Mysterio & Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade & Angel Garza

Randy Orton RKOs Beth Phoenix

Raw fallout: Humberto Carrillo will challenge for Andrade’s US title at Elimination Chamber

Raw fallout: Liv Morgan knows that there will be no friends inside the Elimination Chamber

Raw fallout: The Street Profits are ready for their rematch against Seth Rollins & Murphy

Raw fallout: The Street Profits have their first photo shoot as new Raw Tag Team Champions

Raw fallout: Kevin Owens did what he had to do by interfering in the Raw Tag title match

Two matches set for WWE Raw next week, Beth Phoenix to appear

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has already made a few announcements for next week’s episode of Raw.

AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black will take place on Raw next Monday, along with Rey Mysterio & Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade & Angel Garza. This will be Andrade’s return to Raw after the conclusion of his 30-day suspension for a wellness policy violation. With the suspension up, he’ll be returning to the ring as part of the Tuwaiq Trophy gauntlet match at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia this Thursday.

Beth Phoenix is also set to appear on Raw next week. Her appearance will further the build to Randy Orton vs. Edge at WrestleMania 36, with Phoenix providing an update on Edge’s condition following the angle where he was attacked by Orton last month.

Black was attacked by The O.C. on Raw tonight and then challenged Styles for next week after defeating Erick Rowan.

After trading pinning attempts near the finish, Garza defeated Carrillo in their match on tonight’s Raw.

Next week’s Raw is taking place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It will be the first episode of the show after Super ShowDown.

Beth Phoenix joins NXT commentary team

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Beth Phoenix is the latest addition to the NXT commentary team.

She came out during tonight’s NXT tapings at Full Sail University and was announced as the newest member of the commentary team. Percy Watson, who usually joins Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuinness on commentary, was not there and his status on NXT is currently unknown.

Since entering the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017, Phoenix has been doing part-time announcing for the promotion. She took part in announcing the Mixed Match Challenge tournament followed by the Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34. She also called last year’s Mae Young Classic tournament.

Phoenix made her in-ring return on the 4/1 edition of Raw, then wrestled at WrestleMania 35 where she teamed with Natalya in a losing effort to the IIconics in a fatal four way match that also had the teams of Nia Jax & Tamina and Bayley & Sasha Banks.

Batista set for WWE Raw, Women’s tag title participants to face off

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Batista will officially be appearing on Monday’s go-home episode of Raw in his hometown of Washington D.C.

WWE has announced that Batista will appear on the show for a segment where he responds to Triple H ahead of their no holds barred match at WrestleMania. Batista didn’t appear on this past Monday’s Raw, but their storyline continued with Triple H reading a letter from Batista’s attorney. It said Batista wouldn’t compete at WrestleMania unless Triple H’s career was on the line.

Triple H cut a promo where he agreed to the stipulation and accused Batista of trying to quit again with the letter.

An eight-woman tag match has also been announced for Monday’s go-home show. It will feature all of the participants in WrestleMania 35’s fatal four-way Women’s Tag Team title match, with Sasha Banks, Bayley, Beth Phoenix & Natalya teaming against Nia Jax, Tamina, Peyton Royce & Billie Kay on Raw.

This will be the first time Phoenix has wrestled on Raw since 2012.

The Capital One Arena is hosting Monday’s Raw. Brock Lesnar will appear on the episode, Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair will face The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) in a six-woman tag match, and Kurt Angle’s farewell tour will continue with a match against Rey Mysterio.

There’s a stipulation where Rousey, Lynch, or Charlotte will lose their spot in the WrestleMania main event if they betray their team against The Riott Squad.

Fatal four-way Women’s Tag Team title match official for WrestleMania

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Four teams will be in the Women’s Tag Team title match at WrestleMania 35.

WWE has announced that Sasha Banks & Bayley will defend their titles against Beth Phoenix & Natalya, Nia Jax & Tamina, and Peyton Royce & Billie Kay in a fatal four-way match at WrestleMania.

Banks faced Natalya on this week’s Raw, with Jax & Tamina causing a disqualification. Phoenix hit the Glam Slam on Tamina after the match and put her foot on Banks’ title belt when she was trying to take it out of the ring. Banks & Bayley later cut a promo where they vowed to take on all of the teams coming for them at WrestleMania.

On last week’s SmackDown, Royce & Kay defeated Banks & Bayley in a non-title match.

Banks & Bayley became WWE’s first Women’s Tag Team Champions of this era at February’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey is the host of this year’s WrestleMania. The show will take place on April 7. Here’s what’s been announced thus far:

  • Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey defending against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match
  • Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Seth Rollins
  • Triple H vs. Batista in a no holds barred match (Triple H’s career is on the line as a stipulation of the match)
  • Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Shane McMahon vs. The Miz
  • AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton
  • United States Champion Samoa Joe defending against Rey Mysterio
  • Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin (Angle’s farewell match)
  • Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks & Bayley defending against Beth Phoenix & Natalya, Nia Jax & Tamina, and Peyton Royce & Billie Kay in a fatal four-way match
  • Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley defending against Finn Balor
  • Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Braun Strowman and Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost & Michael Che have been announced as entrants)
  • WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy defending against Tony Nese

Commentary team, broadcast schedule set for Mae Young Classic

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With the first night of tapings taking place today, WWE has revealed a few additional details about the 2018 Mae Young Classic.

It will begin airing on the WWE Network at 9 p.m. Eastern time on September 5. The episodes will air after NXT every Wednesday, leading into the finals being held at WWE Evolution on October 28.

There will be a three-person commentary team for the tournament, with Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, and Renee Young calling the action. Cathy Kelley and Shadia Bseiso, the first Arab woman to sign with WWE as a wrestler, will be the backstage interviewers, and Kayla Braxton will be the ring announcer. Bseiso also has experience working in television.

“A few years ago I was put in charge of all of the announcers in the company,” Cole said in an interview with ESPN. “My goal when I took over was to have, for the first time, a full-time female commentator on one of our main shows. That is still my goal today and it led to, for the first time, having two women in the announcing booth for the Mae Young Classic. It blows me away that this is happening because as little as two years ago I would not have seen this happening.”

Young has expressed renewed interest in doing commentary recently if the opportunity were to present itself. She was previously part of the NXT team. Phoenix also called WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge alongside Cole and Corey Graves.

A bracketology special hosted by Phoenix and Mauro Ranallo is set to air on the WWE Network at 9 p.m. Eastern on August 29.

Tapings for the Mae Young Classic will continue tomorrow and set things up for the finals. Here’s the full list of participants:

  • Kaitlyn
  • Rhea Ripley
  • Io Shirai
  • Nicole Matthews
  • Jinny
  • Kacy Catanzaro
  • Deonna Purrazzo
  • Tegan Nox (Nixon Newell’s WWE name)
  • Jessie Elaban
  • Reina Gonzalez
  • Taynara Conti
  • Mia Yim
  • Mercedes Martinez
  • Kavita Devi
  • Killer Kelly
  • Zeuxis
  • Isla Dawn
  • Lacey Lane
  • Karen Q
  • Toni Storm
  • Meiko Satomura
  • Ashley Rayne (Madison Rayne)
  • Priscilla Kelly
  • Xia Brookside
  • Hiroyo Matsumoto
  • Aerial Monroe
  • Vanessa Kraven
  • Allysin Kay (Sienna)
  • Xia Li
  • Rachel Evers (Rachael Ellering)
  • MJ Jenkins
  • Zatara

Guest commentators announced for WrestleMania pre-show

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Several special guest commentators are set for the WrestleMania pre-show this Sunday.

WWE announced today in an article on their website that former women’s champion and Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix will join the announce team for the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal. Meanwhile, Jim Ross and Jerry “the King” Lawler will be guest commentators during the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. The pre-show will also have the finals of the Cruiserweight championship tournament, which will pit Mustafa Ali against Cedric Alexander.

The panel for the pre-show, which will have breakdowns of most of the WrestleMania bouts, will comprise of Renee Young and Shawn Michaels, among others. The article also promises appearances from other wrestlers during the show.

The WrestleMania pre-show will start at 5 p.m. EDT on the WWE Network and will run for two hours. It will also be seen for free on WWE.com, the WWE App, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Google+. The second hour will air live on the USA Network.

Beth Phoenix joins WWE Mixed Match Challenge announce team

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: JJ Williams

Beth Phoenix will be part of the commentary team for WWE’s upcoming Mixed Match Challenge series.

WWE announced today that Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Phoenix would be calling the show. Mixed Match Challenge is a 12-episode series that will debut on Facebook Watch at 10 p.m. Eastern time on January 16th. It will air live for 20 minutes after SmackDown each week and will feature a single-elimination mixed tag team tournament that includes wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown.

Phoenix previously made a guest appearance on the Mae Young Classic announce team to call Jazzy Gabert, Kay Lee Ray & Tessa Blanchard vs. Sarah Logan, Santana Garrett & Marti Belle on the second day of tapings in July. Phoenix was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame over WrestleMania weekend last year.

Renee Young and Byron Saxton will be the hosts for Mixed Match Challenge. WWE has yet to reveal the teams for the show, but here are the wrestlers who will be taking part in the tournament:

Raw —

  • Alexa Bliss
  • Alicia Fox
  • Asuka
  • Bayley
  • Braun Strowman
  • Enzo Amore
  • Finn Balor
  • Goldust
  • Nia Jax
  • Sasha Banks
  • The Miz
  • A wrestler who will be selected by fan vote

SmackDown —

  • Becky Lynch
  • Bobby Roode
  • Carmella
  • Charlotte Flair
  • Jimmy Uso
  • Lana
  • Naomi
  • Natalya
  • Rusev
  • Sami Zayn
  • Shinsuke Nakamura
  • A member of The New Day (to be determined by fan vote)

Natalya to induct Beth Phoenix into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE continued to make Hall of Fame announcements on Wednesday by revealing that Natalya would be inducting Beth Phoenix.

The two are good friends and teamed together in the ring before Phoenix retired.

“There’s nobody that I can think of that deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame more than Beth Phoenix,” Natalya said in an interview with WWE.com. “She’s a pioneer for women in our division. Beth did extraordinary things for women in WWE.”

Phoenix tweeted about the news, “When it comes to friends, she is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. @NatbyNature thank you #DOD4Ever”

The Hall of Fame ceremony will be the first of WWE’s major events during WrestleMania weekend, with it taking place on Friday, March 31st at the Amway Center. The same building will be home to NXT TakeOver: Orlando the next night before Camping World Stadium hosts WrestleMania 33 on April 2nd.

This year’s WWE Hall of Fame lineup is:

  • Kurt Angle (inducted by John Cena)
  • The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (inducted by Jim Cornette)
  • Teddy Long (inducted by John “Bradshaw” Layfield & Ron Simmons)
  • Diamond Dallas Page (inducted by Eric Bischoff)
  • Rick Rude (inducted by Ricky Steamboat)
  • Beth Phoenix (inducted by Natalya)

Dana Warrior will also present Eric LeGrand with the 2017 Warrior Award at the ceremony.

WWE adds Beth Phoenix to 2017 Hall of Fame class

Posted on by Joseph Currier

As WWE gets closer to WrestleMania with each passing week, the company revealed another member of this year’s Hall of Fame class on Monday afternoon.

USA Today was chosen to break the news that Beth Phoenix will be inducted into the 2017 Hall of Fame class. She joins Kurt Angle, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Teddy Long, and Diamond Dallas Page as the already announced members of the lineup.

“To hear they find my career was worthy enough and that I did well enough in the ring to be honored among the greatest of all time was incredible and the biggest compliment I could ever ask for,” Phoenix told USA Today. “It’s still sinking in and is very surreal.”

With Phoenix’s husband Adam “Edge” Copeland having previously been inducted in 2012, the couple are now the only spouses currently in the Hall of Fame.

“He was like, ‘Oh, Ok.’ He wasn’t shocked by it at all,” Phoenix said about her husband’s reaction to the news that she would be joining the Hall of Fame.

“He’s like, ‘Of course, you deserve it.’ I was shocked by that response, too. I said, ‘You think I deserve this? Is this the right time?’ He was 100 percent confident and he made me feel like a million bucks about it. He is super excited. We’re still celebrating it and looking forward to seeing everyone at WrestleMania and enjoying the experience.”

Phoenix is both a former Women’s and Divas Champion and was one of the better workers in the division prior to the current period that WWE has dubbed as the “women’s revolution.” She debuted on the main roster in 2006 after a stint in Ohio Valley Wrestling before retiring in 2012.