Wrestling Observer Live: Cain, RAW report, ratings, WrestleMania, more!

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including the Cain Velasquez shooting story update, AEW and Smackdown ratings and what’s amazing about them, THE WEEKLY RAW REPORT, WrestleMania and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Cain Velasquez arrested following shooting, booked on attempted murder charge

Update —

TMZ Sports reports that Cain Velasquez has been booked on an attempted murder charge after being involved in a shooting that took place in San Jose, California on Monday:

UFC legend Cain Velasquez spent Monday night in jail … TMZ Sports has confirmed the 39-year-old has been arrested and booked on an attempted murder charge.

Details surrounding the specifics of his arrest are unclear — though law enforcement sources tell us the former fighter was involved in a shooting in San Jose at around 3 PM near a local high school.

In the alleged incident, one person was shot while another was arrested. Nothing further surrounding the circumstances of the situation has been released.

Jail records show Velasquez is still in custody as of Tuesday morning … and has a court date set for Wednesday at noon.

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Former WWE, AAA, and UFC star Cain Velasquez has been booked into Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California following a shooting.

NBC Bay Area reported that the shooting was reported at 3:14 p.m. Monday afternoon. One man was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. People were asked to avoid the area after the shooting as police conducted the investigation. Velasquez is currently being held without bail.

A former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Velasquez left mixed martial arts in 2019 and started to make appearances for Lucha Libre AAA. He signed with WWE in October of 2019, building to a match between himself and Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, which Velasquez lost. He was later released due to budget cuts in April of 2020.

Velasquez returned to Lucha Libre AAA this past October to compete at Triplemania Regia II, where he teamed with Psycho Clown and Pagano to defeat LA Park, Rey Escorpion, and Taurus.

Wrestling Observer Radio: Cain shooting, WrestleMania, RAW report, AEW, more!

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including an update on the shooting incident involving Cain Velasquez, WrestleMania line-up after Raw plus the RAW report, BTE, AEW announcements, CM Punk in Esquire, Madison Square Garden and tons more. A packed show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:

Start: Cain Velasquez arrested

2:04: Death of Black Man

9:10: Latest WrestleMania lineup

11:20: AEW heading to California, BTE recap

18:55: Ratings

23:23: CM Punk Esquire interview

27:48: Johnny Gargano choosing to remain a free agent

28:35: Raw report

48:08: Mailbag

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Cain Velasquez returning to pro wrestling for AAA

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez will return to AAA in December. 

The company announced during Saturday’s Heroes Inmortales XIV event that Velasquez is set to return to the company on December 4, marking his first appearances for the promotion since 2019. 

No opponent was announced for Velasquez’s pro wrestling comeback. 

Velasquez has just four professional matches in his career. He debuted at AAA’s TripleMania XXVII show in August 2019 in Mexico City, teaming with Cody Rhodes and Psycho Clown. He also appeared in October for AAA at their Hulu Theatre event in New York. 

Just one month later, Velasquez signed with WWE and appeared on the first edition of SmackDown on Fox, where he confronted WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, a former UFC foe.  

Lesnar defeated Velasquez in his first and only televised WWE match at Crown Jewel 2019 in Saudi Arabia, a match that Lesnar won in just over two minutes.

Velasquez would make just one more in-ring appearance for WWE, wrestling at a Mexico City house show in November 2019. He was released from the company in April 2020 in the midst of the company’s COVID-10 pandemic mass releases. 

Velasquez is a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Lesnar for the UFC title in October 2010, lost the belt to Junior dos Santos on the first UFC on Fox show in November 2011, then regained the title from dos Santos in a rematch in December 2012. 

Fabricio Werdum ended Velasquez’s second title reign with a submission win in Mexico City at Arena Ciudad de Mexico in June 2015. Velasquez would make his pro wrestling debut in the same building in 2019.

Cain Velasquez returning to AAA in December

Cain Velasquez has said he will return to AAA in December.

Appearing on In This Corner with Cyrus Fees, Velasquez also said that he wanted to develop himself further as a wrestler.

“Actually, I’m doing a show in December for AAA,” he said. “So for me, I love AAA and I’m going to keep doing that right now. I love WWE as well, but I have to first develop myself in that way in order for me to go out there.”

A former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Velasquez started wrestling back in 2019, wrestling twice for AAA, with the most high profile match being a trios match teaming with Cody Rhodes and Psycho Clown in a winning effort against El Texano Jr., Taurus, and Killer (now Karrion) Kross.

Velasquez signed with WWE later that year and lost to Brock Lesnar in a quick match at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia in October. The following month, he teamed with Humberto Carrillo to defeat Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows at a house show event in Mexico, his last match to date. He was released from WWE in April of 2020 due to cuts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cain Velasquez’s coach dismisses possible UFC return: ‘He’s wrestling’

On Wednesday’s Luke Thomas Show on SiriusXM, American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez said that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez won’t be coming back to the Octagon.

“He’s wrestling,” Mendez, Velasquez’s longtime coach, said.

The 37-year-old was released in late-April during the recent round of WWE cuts after doing two matches, a quick defeat to then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar at the Saudi Arabia Crown Jewel event on October 31st, and a tag match with Humberto Carillo against Gallows & Anderson on a November 30th house show in Mexico City, Mexico.

After the Lesnar match, he disappeared off SmackDown. It was reported by our Dave Meltzer that he likely needed knee surgery.

As of this point, Velasquez hasn’t signed with any promotion or spoken publicly about the release or his plans for when he would like to return.

When he signed with WWE in the fall, Velasquez announced his retirement from MMA. His spent 13 years in the sport, winning the UFC heavyweight title twice. However, injuries ruined the last six years of that career, limiting him to just three fights over that span.

He then turned to pro wrestling in 2019, signing a multi-match deal with AAA, impressing many with his skills despite his size and experience level. He drew interest from both WWE and AEW before signing with the former.

Cain Velasquez released by WWE

Cain Velasquez is no longer under WWE contract.

Dave Meltzer confirmed on this morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio that Cain Velasquez was released from his WWE contract as part of a wider range of releases and furloughs that took place earlier this month.

Velasquez, who defeated Brock Lesnar to win the UFC Heavyweight title, made his debut for the company on the October 9 edition of SmackDown, confronting Lesnar. This eventually led to a match for the WWE title at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Lesnar submitted Velasquez quickly with a kimura lock. Velasquez had not been used by the company since.

Before his run with WWE. Velasquez worked several shows for AAA, including at Triplemania XXVI, teaming with Cody Rhodes and Psycho Clown in a winning effort against Texano Jr., Taurus and Killer Kross.

Meltzer also reported today that Gerald Brisco, who has been a part of the company since 1984, has also been furloughed.

Cain Velasquez episode of WWE Chronicle to premiere this weekend

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez will be the subject of the next edition of WWE Chronicle.

The WWE Network schedule for this week lists that a Chronicle episode focused on Velasquez will premiere after NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Saturday night. A description for the episode isn’t available, but it will likely follow Velasquez during his WWE debut and his match against Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

Velasquez’s first appearance for WWE was at SmackDown’s FOX premiere last month. He attacked Lesnar after Lesnar won the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston. In storyline, the attack was to get revenge for Lesnar laying out Rey Mysterio and Dominick.

After signing a multi-year deal with WWE, Velasquez had his first match for the company at Crown Jewel. Lesnar retained the WWE title by catching Velasquez in a Kimura and submitting him in just over two minutes.

Lesnar will defend his WWE title against Rey Mysterio at Survivor Series on Sunday (November 24).

Velasquez & Humberto Carrillo vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson is advertised for WWE’s house show in Mexico City on November 30.

New WWE Network programming will also debut after Survivor Series. The first episode of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions interview series will air, with The Undertaker joining Austin as his guest for the premiere.

Daily Update: Cain Velasquez, NXT UK TakeOver, Impact

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

AEW ON WEDNESDAY FROM INDIANAPOLIS ON TNT

  • Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
  • Rey Fenix vs. Nick Jackson
  • Private Party vs. Santana & Ortiz – Match dedicated to Matt Travis
  • 12 man Battle Royal

NXT ON WEDNESDAY FROM FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY ON USA

  • Adam Cole vs. Dominik Dijakovic for the man advantage in Saturday’s War Games match

F4W NEWSLETTER: Divisive main event headlines AEW Full Gear

Joseph Currier looks at the reactions to Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega’s unsanctioned match.

AEW’s first pay-per-view since debuting on weekly television was headlined by what will likely end up being the most divisive match of the year.

For some, Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega’s unsanctioned lights out match at Full Gear was a hardcore classic. To others, it was a gratuitously violent and long match that was a misstep for AEW. They wrestled for over 38 minutes and did everything they could to try and have the epic hardcore match that its biggest fans thought it was. A board covered in mouse traps, a chain, a screwdriver, glass, barbed wire, and a barbed wire spider web were just some of the weapons used. By the end of the match, part of the ring was deconstructed — and a Paradigm Shift DDT on the exposed wood finally put an end to things and gave Moxley the win.

Every move AEW has made in its brief history has been overanalyzed to the point of exhaustion. Each positive and negative moment has probably been assigned too much importance. But AEW is defining its identity over the course of the promotion’s first year. Moxley vs. Omega is now always going to be part of that. Full Gear was an opportunity for AEW to put their best foot forward to an audience that has sampled their first six weeks of TV. While it’s likely that some things were gimmicked and Moxley vs. Omega wasn’t quite as violent as it came off as, AEW not only didn’t shy away from the “blood and guts” criticism that Vince McMahon leveled at them — they leaned into it.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

WON NEWSLETTER: November 18, 2019 Observer Newsletter: CM Punk joins WWE Backstage, Full Gear review CM Punk joins WWE Backstage, Full Gear review, more.

The return of C.M. Punk to the pro wrestling scene and coverage of AEW’s Full Gear and the lessons after seven weeks of television of what we’ve learned from AEW and NXT are the lead stories in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

We examine the timeline of C.M. Punk and his deal with WWE Backstage, including the original approach, how things were viewed along the way, the last AEW offer and how much AEW wanted him, what he said that led to AEW going cold, and his debut on Backstage on Tuesday night.

We cover what has and hasn’t happened for NXT and AEW since getting television. We look at things like maintaining audience, live sales, PPV, NWA Powerr and its reaction and numbers, key demo ratings, how NXT came close once, PPV numbers, how the date backfired on AEW, how PPV changed with television with organizations in the past, plus full coverage of Full Gear with business notes, match-by-match coverage, star ratings and poll results.

The new issue also covers: 

Survivor Series update with booking changes made, how that affects TLC and early plans for that show, plus a key title match not yet announced.

Steve Austin’s new WWE Network show, the value of WrestleMania, how ticket sales this year differed from shows in the past, Johnny Gargano injury and how that changed the Takeover card, ACH update, Sin Cara talks wanting out, new John Cena movie, Rusev talks his angle with Lashley, Starrcade card, Evolve notes, as well as WWE market value, most watched shows on WWE Network and a look at all the WWE and NXT live events over the past week with results, highlights and business news.

Notes on New Japan’s coming to San Jose with match-by-match coverage.

Full rundown on the UFC show in Moscow and the stories behind it.

Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.

In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.

Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week. 

Subscribers can access the new issue on the front page of the site here.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw, BTE, Jericho Cruise, AEW PPV numbers and much more. You can send questions to the show to [email protected]

Ariel Helwani had Mick Foley on his MMA show today right after Ben Askren retired. He talked some about MMA, including his friendship with Leslie Smith, who was at his show in San Jose, as well as “Peanut Butter Falcon” and his touring shows.

Monday Night Football tonight is the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs, a nothing special game that isn’t going to do close to the numbers of last week, so by all rights Raw should be well up this week.

The NXT Takeover UK show on 1/12 in Blackpool, England sold out in two hours.  NXT UK’s next shows will be 1/17 and 1/18 in York, 3/6 and 3/7 in Coventry, 5/1 and 5/2 in Bournemouth and 7/24 and 7/25 in Glasgow.

Impact tomorrow night will be the Retro Wrestling show called Throwback Throwdown. The idea is that they are running a small Canadian independent group called the Impact Provincial Wrestling Federation in the early 80s, like Stampede Wrestling without a Dynamite Kid or Bret Hart. There will be a Commonwealth TV title loser leaves town match with Willie Mack as Downtown Daddy Brown, A body slam challenge with Kongo Kong and Muscles McGee (Brian Cage), an eight man match with Georgia Cobb (Jordynne Grace) & Ladybird Johnston (Jessicka Havok) & Mildred Moore (Alexia Nicole) & Blanche Ardmore (Tessa Blanchard) vs. a guys team of Tim Burr & Jim Nasium & Bill Ding & Ray Strack, the NASCAR driver. Geez, it’s like they’re doing the worst of a Disco Inferno acid trip. Cousin Jake & Cody Deaner are a tag team called Hall & Oats. And there is a blindfold match with Eddie Edwards and Cowboy Colt McCoy vs. Gama Singh, who will play Gama Singh, who actually was a star in his same gimmick in 1981.

WWE

  • Cain Velasquez is back on the 11/30 show in Mexico City, in a tag team match, teaming with Humberto Carrillo vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows.
  • The first full show appearance of C.M. Punk on WWE Backstage will be at 11 p.m. tomorrow night on FS1.
  • Arturo Ruas vs. Timothy Thatcher has been signed for the 12/7 Evolve show at the Logan Square Auditorium. They also announced Curt Stallion vs. Anthony Greene in an Extreme Rules match on 12/6 in Livonia, MI.
  • Walter and Thatcher are doing a seminar on 12/7 in Chicago.

AEW

  • Wednesday’s Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin match is a rematch of a bout from June promoted by Northeast Wrestling.  The match is on the Highspots network. 
  • Moxley will be in Chicago next Tuesday to do media to push the show on 11/27 at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, IL. That’s a tough date since WWE runs four shows in the market from Friday through Monday, and then AEW comes in Tuesday.  None of the five shows are sold out, although Survivor Series itself is close.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Warrior Wrestling has one of the most loaded indie lineups of the year on 12/13 at Marian Catholic High School. They are going head-to-head with the ROH PPV show and have a far better card. Plus Kurt Angle appears. The show airs on FITE TV. There will also be a meet and greet:
    Will Ospreay & Rocky Romero & Amazing Red vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel
    Minoru Suzuki vs. Tom Lawlor
    Lance Archer vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
    Michael Elgin vs. Sam Adonis
    Templario vs. Soberano Jr.
    Drago vs. Aerostar vs. Black Taurus vs. Rey Hours
    Savannah Stone vs. Holidead
    Carlos Romo vs. Blake Christian
  • There will be no New Japan show this coming Saturday night on AXS. AXS instead will be running an all day WOW marathon starting at 10 a.m., with ten episodes, plus the season finale for two hours from 8-10 p.m. Eastern.
  • A show called Storecade which Michael Lombardi of Northeast Wrestling is involved in promoting in Los Angeles at The Comedy store this coming Saturday at 2 p.m. is a night of live wrestling and comedy with Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. Matt Sydal & Darby Allin, Luchasaurus vs. Jervis Cottonbelly, nZo vs Brian Pillman Jr., David Arquette vs. ?, Priscilla Kelly vs. Joey Ryan plus an appearance of Josh Barnett.
  • Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore runs Saturday at the 2300 Arena with Willie Mack, Tommy Dreamer, Bully Ray,Trent Baretta, Chuck Taylor, Private Party, Mike Jackson, Ace Austin, Jacob Fatu, Fallah Bah, Orange Cassidy, Moose, Billy Gunn, Crazzy Steve, Johnny Swinger and an appearance by Stan Hansen.
  • Defy runs 11/30 and 12/1 in Seattle at Washington Hall.  The 12/1 show will be 5 PM, and all ages are welcome. The 11/30 show is 21 and older. They also announced a 1/3 show headlined by Matt Sydal.
  • Bill Apter talked to Teal Piper.
  • Shad Gaspard has a show about wrestling being looked at by several production companies including Film 44, Seven Bucks, and more.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Team WWF vs. The Alliance at Survivor Series 2001

CONTACT INFORMATION

Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez opens WWE Crown Jewel main show

In the opening match of the WWE Crown Jewel main card Thursday in Saudi Arabia, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar submitted Cain Velasquez in just a few minutes to retain the title.

Worked like an MMA fight and resembling more of a sparring session, Velasquez threw a few kicks to Lesnar before the two got into the corner and grappled like you would see in an MMA cage. Action moved over to another corner where Velasquez hit a knee to Lesnar’s midsection that dropped him, following up with some ground and pound. However, Velasquez erred and got caught in a kimura, tapping quickly after briefly trying to escape.

Lesnar kept the hold on which prompted Rey Mysterio to enter the ring with a chair. Lesnar dispatched him to the outside of the ring and went back to work on Velasquez, hitting him with chair shots and eventually giving his rival an F5 on the chair. Mysterio re-entered and went to work on Lesnar with wild chair shots before the champion left the ring with Paul Heyman, seemingly setting something up for the future.

After a pair of matches for AAA this year, Velasquez was making his WWE debut and showed none of the lucha style or moves he displayed in those first two matches. He recently signed a multi-year deal with WWE, but it’s unknown if the wrestling rookie will head to NXT or remain on the main roster.

The match was built as a rematch of Lesnar and Velasquez’s 2010 UFC fight where Velasquez defeated Lesnar to win the UFC heavyweight title.

WWE SmackDown video highlights: Lesnar ambushes Velasquez

Brock Lesnar got the upper hand on Cain Velasquez on last night’s episode of SmackDown.

Lesnar and Velasquez were supposed to go face-to-face ahead of their WWE Championship match at Crown Jewel, but that didn’t end up happening. The angle instead saw Lesnar and Paul Heyman appear on the video screen — and it was revealed that Lesnar had attacked Dominik backstage.

Mysterio and Velasquez went to the back to check on Dominik. While they were in the trainer’s room, Lesnar attacked them with a trash can. He gave Mysterio an F5 into the wall and Velasquez an F5 onto Dominik.

The build to the Team Hogan vs. Team Flair match at Crown Jewel continued with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and some of their team members appearing on Miz TV. The segment set up Roman Reigns, Ali & Shorty G vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin & Cesaro for the main event.

Reigns, Ali, Shorty G, Ricochet & Rusev will be on Team Hogan at Crown Jewel next Thursday. Randy Orton, Corbin, Nakamura, Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre will be on Team Flair.

More coverage from last night —

WWE SmackDown video highlights —

Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair appear on Miz TV, six-man tag set for main event

The New Day vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

Lacey Evans vs. Camron Connors

Firefly Fun House returns

Drew Gulak vs. Kalisto, Braun Strowman sends a message to Tyson Fury

Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn try to recruit Daniel Bryan

Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose

Brock Lesnar doesn’t come out for face-to-face confrontation

Brock Lesnar lays out Cain Velasquez and Rey Mysterio

Roman Reigns, Ali & Shorty G vs. King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro

SmackDown fallout: Ali is bringing all of his heart to Crown Jewel

SmackDown fallout: Nikki Cross vows to become SmackDown Women’s Champion

SmackDown fallout: Nakamura & Zayn don’t blame Bryan for not making his mind up yet

SmackDown fallout: It’s a frustrating time for The New Day

SmackDown fallout: Lacey Evans says she’s champion material

WWE SmackDown live results: Lesnar & Velasquez go face-to-face

Friday Night SmackDown takes place from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri tonight. Due to the World Series being on FOX, SmackDown airs live on FS1 for one night only.

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defends against Cain Velasquez in six nights at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Tonight, Lesnar and Velazquez go face-to-face in the ring. Paul Heyman and Rey Mysterio are both scheduled to appear as well.

The Miz hosts Miz TV with special guests Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. Team Hogan will take on Team Flair at Crown Jewel. Team Hogan members Roman Reigns, Ali, and Shorty G will also appear on Miz TV. As will Team Flair members Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin.

TThe New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode and Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose are also set for tonight.

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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SmackDown started with Miz TV. The Miz introduced his guests Ric Flair, Baron Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn, Hulk Hogan, Ali, Shorty G, and Roman Reigns. Flair noted he led many teams before, like the 4 Horsemen. He promised Team Flair is going to beat Team Hogan at Crown Jewel. Hogan noted Flair never beat him and pointed out the skills of Ali and Shorty G. 

Sami Zayn mocked Hogan for praising Shorty G and made some short jokes. Ali pointed out Zayn is just a mouthpiece and not a wrestler. Corbin bragged about being King and ruling with an iron fist. 

Reigns mocked Corbin for thinking he’s king. He noted the crown and cape are stupid.

He wants to punch Corbin in the face. Shorty G agreed and wants to knock some faces.

Hogan wants a preview and challenged the heels to a six-man tag. The heels turned down the offer and said they’d think about it. Hogan mocked the heels, and Zayn accepted the challenge. Zayn claimed he tweaked his neck on the flight over and brought out his replacement Cesaro. 

A brawl broke out on the floor. Shorty G hit a dive, and Ali followed up with a suicide dive. 

Backstage, Kofi Kingston and Big E. made their way to the ring while they talked to Xavier Woods on an Ipad. 

Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E)

Kingston was on fire early and hit a standing dropkick. He climbed to the top, but Roode cut him off. Ziggler hit a superkick, and Kingston crashed on the floor. Back from the break, Big E was on fire and hit a belly-to-belly on Ziggler.

Big E knocked Roode off the apron and threw Kingston over to the top rope on to Ziggler. Roode caught Big E with a spine buster, but Kingston knocked Roode out of the ring. Ziggler then rolled up Kingston from behind for the win. 

After the match, The Revival ran out and attacked New Day, but Heavy Machinery made the save. They showed B Team and Lucha House Party watching the match backstage.

Roman Reigns, Shorty G & Ali vs. Baron Corbin, Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura is official for later. 

In the back, Rey Mysterio spoke with his son Dominic and Cain Velasquez. 

They recapped the Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman feud, including Storwman attacking Fury at the Performance Center. Michael Cole and Corey Graves talked about Fury’s possible ankle injury. Graves noted a source claims Fury will be ready for Crown Jewel. 

Lacey Evans defeated Cameron Conners

Evans doesn’t want to face Conners or compete in Kansas. Evans left the ring and teased a count-out loss but ran back in and hit the Women’s Right for the win.

Michael Cole interviewed Nikki Cross in the back. Cross is excited to face Mandy Rose later tonight. 

They recapped Seth Rollins burning down the Firefly Funhouse. 

Bray Wyatt hosted a funeral for Ramblin Rabbit, who died in the fire. Wyatt took Rabbit out of his casket and kissed him. His kiss brought Ramblin Rabbit back to life, and they celebrated. Suddenly, Mercy the Buzzard ate the Rabbit. 

Kalisto (w/Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado) defeated Drew Gulak 

Before the match, Gulak continued his powerpoint presentation from last week regarding Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman. 

Kalisto jumped Gulak to start the match, but Gulak took over. Gulak set up for his finish, but Strowman’s music hit and distracted Gulak. Kalisto then hit the Salida Del Sol for the win.

Strowman attacked Gulak and hit two running power slams. Strowman noted that at least Gulak belongs in the ring, but Tyson Fury doesn’t. 

Michael Cole interviewed Daniel Bryan in the ring. Cole noted it had been a tough couple of months for Bryan. Reigns accused him of attacking him and was then betrayed by his friend Rowan. Cole pointed out that when Bryan pinned Shinsuke Nakamura last week, the fans broke into the Yes chant. Cole wondered if the Yes Movement is back. The fans broke into a Yes chant. 

Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura interrupted. Zayn showed footage of Bryan from last November when he said the old Daniel Bryan and the Yes Movement are dead. He noted the new Daniel Bryan is the real Bryan. Zayn said Bryan is a good person that cares about the environment, but the people are disgusting. He feels that Bryan is too good for the people and has more in common with them. 

Zayn noted that he’s a vegan just like Bryan, and Nakamura also cares deeply about the planet. He pointed out that all three of them are artists, and Bryan might be the greatest. Zayn urged Bryan to move forward from the Yes Movement. He asked Bryan to join up with Zayn and Nakamura and forget about with the fans. 

Bryan teased shaking Zayn’s hand but walked off instead. 

Hulk Hogan spoke with his team members in the back.

Nikki Cross defeated Mandy Rose (w/Sonya Deville) 

SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks joined in on commentary. 

Rose had the early advantage and rocked Cross with a forearm for a near fall. Rose slowed the pace down and locked in a chin lock. She tossed Cross to the floor, and Deville rocked her with a  right hand. Rose scored another near fall. 

Cross fired up and made a comeback. She hit a bulldog and crossbody for a two count. Rose tried to roll up Cross, but she rolled through and hit the neck breaker for the win. 

Cross and Bayley had a staredown after the match.

Ric Flair spoke with members of Team Flair in the back.

They aired footage from Riyadh Season Grand Opening Parade, which featured a WWE float with Undertaker. 

Rey Mysterio and Cain Velasquez made their way to the ring. Mysterio recapped Brock Lesnar attacking his son several weeks ago. It broke his heart to see his son in pain, but Dominic is doing better. Mysterio thanked the fans for supporting his son. Dominic still vows to be a wrestler. 

Mysterio turned his attention to Lesnar. He promised that Velasquez is going to drop him and scar the other side of his face. Mysterio called out Lesnar to come face-to-face with Velasquez.

Instead, Heyman and Lesnar appeared on the big screen. Heyman informed Mysterio and Velasquez that Lesnar has more important things to do then come face-to-face with Velasquez. 

Heyman asked them if they could guess what Lesnar’s busy doing. Heyman noted Lesnar’s going to give them a spoiler. Lesnar them dragged in a beaten-down Dominic. 

Mysterio and Velaquez ran to the back. 

In the trainer’s room, the doctors checked out Dominic while Mysterio and Velasquez looked on concerned. Suddenly, Lesnar attacked all three with a garbage can. He tossed Mysterio against the wall and gave Velasquez the F-5 onto Dominic. 

Roman Reigns, Ali & Shorty G (w/Hulk Hogan & Jimmy Hart) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, King Corbin & Cesaro (w/Ric Flair & Sami Zayn)

Shorty G now wears blue and neon ring gear. 

The heels jumped the faces to start the match, but Reigns made a comeback for his team. The heels regained control and isolated Ali on their side of the ring. Ali fought back and hit a rolling X factor for a near fall. Corbin attacked Ali on the floor. 

Back from the break, the heels continued to beat down Ali and cut him off from his corner. Ali attempted a tornado DDT, but Cesaro held on. Ali recovered and hit the DDT. Shorty G got the hot tag and ran wild. He hit a swinging neck breaker and moonsault on Corbin for a near fall. Shorty G applied the ankle lock on Corbin, but Nakamura made the save. 

Corbin and Nakamura attempted a double suplex, but Shorty G fought back and hit a missile dropkick. Reigns got the tag and hit a sit-out powerbomb on Cesaro for a near fall. He attempted the Superman Punch, but Cesaro caught him in the big swing. Cesaro locked in the sharpshooter, but Ali made the save. Everyone came in a hit a big move. 

Reigns attempted a spear, but Cesaro hit a knee and uppercut for a close two count. Cesaro springboarded off the second rope, but Reigns hit the spear. Reigns tagged Ali in for the win to let him have the glory. Ali hit the 450 splash for the win. 

Velasquez-Mysterio’s opponents advertised for Mexico house show

Cain Velasquez & Rey Mysterio appear to have their opponents for next month’s WWE house show in Mexico City.

WWE’s Latin American Twitter account posted the advertised card for the show today, with it listing that Velasquez & Mysterio will face Drew McIntyre & Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega).

The house show is taking place at Arena Ciudad de Mexico on Saturday, November 30. WWE announced this past Friday that Velasquez & Mysterio would be teaming together at the event.

Arena Ciudad de Mexico was also where Velasquez made his pro wrestling debut at Triplemania XXVII in August.

Velasquez will challenge for Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 31.

The Mexico City house show will feature wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown. Here are the matches that are being advertised for it:

  • Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend in a steel cage match for the Universal Championship
  • Cain Velasquez & Rey Mysterio vs. Drew McIntyre & Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega)
  • Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin
  • Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley
  • Shinsuke Nakamura (w/ Sami Zayn) vs. Braun Strowman for the Intercontinental title
  • Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton
  • Ricochet & The Viking Raiders vs. The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)
  • Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley (w/ Lana)

Brock-Cain segment set, Hogan-Flair to appear on WWE SmackDown

WWE has made a couple of announcements for SmackDown’s go-home show for Crown Jewel.

Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair will both be appearing on next Friday’s SmackDown. That’s in advance of the five-on-five Team Hogan vs. Team Flair tag match at Crown Jewel. Roman Reigns, Rusev, Ricochet, Ali & Shorty G (Chad Gable) are on Team Hogan, while Randy Orton, King Corbin, Bobby Lashley & Shinsuke Nakamura have been announced for Team Flair.

The final member of Team Flair has yet to be revealed.

Hogan and Flair are the coaches of their teams but won’t be wrestling in the match.

A face-to-face segment with Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez has also been announced for next week’s SmackDown. Velasquez will challenge for Lesnar’s WWE Championship at Crown Jewel.

Crown Jewel is taking place at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, October 31.

Due to game three of the World Series being on FOX, next Friday’s SmackDown will air live on FS1.

Velasquez to team with Mysterio at WWE Mexico City house show

Cain Velasquez and Rey Mysterio will be teaming up for a match next month.

WWE announced today that Velasquez & Mysterio will team together in a tag match at their house show in Mexico City, Mexico on Saturday, November 30. Velasquez & Mysterio’s opponents haven’t been revealed.

The house show is taking place at Arena Ciudad de Mexico and will feature wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown.

In storyline, Velasquez making his WWE debut and attacking Brock Lesnar was to get revenge for Lesnar laying out Mysterio and Dominik. Velasquez’s victory over Lesnar from the UFC is also part of their feud.

Velasquez has signed a multi-year deal with WWE. He’ll challenge for Lesnar’s WWE Championship at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, October 31.

Velasquez made his in-ring debut for Lucha Libre AAA at Arena Ciudad de Mexico this August. He then had his second pro wrestling match at AAA’s Invading NY show in September. Both of his first two matches were six-man tags.