After fans rejected the finish to their match at Hell in a Cell, Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt are getting another chance to face each other.
WWE has announced that Rollins will defend his Universal Championship against The Fiend in a falls count anywhere match at Crown Jewel on Thursday, October 31. The show is taking place at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and will air live on the WWE Network.
Rollins and The Fiend’s Hell in a Cell match ended without a decisive finish when it was stopped after Rollins used a sledgehammer. The Fiend then laid out Rollins following the match.
Rollins is also scheduled to be the captain of Team Hogan at Crown Jewel, with Rollins, Rusev, Ricochet and two partners facing Team Flair (Randy Orton, Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Shinsuke Nakamura and a partner).
Rollins remained on Raw in the WWE Draft, while The Fiend was drafted to SmackDown.
Here’s the updated card for Crown Jewel:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Cain Velasquez
Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury
Team Hogan (Seth Rollins, Rusev, Ricochet and two partners) w/ Hulk Hogan vs. Team Flair (Randy Orton, Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Shinsuke Nakamura, and a partner) w/ Ric Flair
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Fiend in a falls count anywhere match
Mansoor vs. Cesaro
World Cup tag team turmoil match (The New Day, The Viking Raiders, Heavy Machinery, The Lucha House Party, Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins, The Revival, The O.C., Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, and The B-Team advertised)
Two expected matches for Crown Jewel were made official at WWE’s media event in Las Vegas this afternoon.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez has been confirmed for Crown Jewel, along with Braun Strowman vs. boxing star Tyson Fury. The show is taking place at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, October 31 and will air live on the WWE Network.
WWE hasn’t said that Lesnar’s title will be on the line against Velasquez.
Lesnar became WWE Champion by defeating Kofi Kingston on last week’s SmackDown on FOX premiere. Velasquez then made his WWE debut and attacked Lesnar in a post-match angle.
In storyline, Velasquez was getting revenge after Lesnar attacked Rey Mysterio and Dominik on Raw. The story for Lesnar vs. Velasquez is also playing off of Velasquez’s win over Lesnar from the UFC. At UFC 121 in October 2010, Velasquez defeated Lesnar via first-round TKO to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi reported today that Velasquez “has signed a lucrative, multi-year contract with WWE and has also notified the UFC of his retirement.”
Velasquez had his first professional wrestling match for Lucha Libre AAA at Triplemania XXVII this August. He then wrestled at AAA’s Invading New York show in September.
The build to Strowman vs. Fury also began on last Friday’s SmackDown on FOX premiere. They got into a confrontation on that show and then had a pull-apart brawl on this week’s Raw.
Top Rank boxing founder Bob Arum appeared at today’s press conference and introduced Fury.
Crown Jewel is the fourth event in WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority. It began with the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018.
A five-on-five tag match is set for Crown Jewel, with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair coaching the teams against each other. It will be Seth Rollins, Rusev, and three partners vs. Randy Orton, Baron Corbin, and three partners.
You won’t have to wait long for the Brock Lesnar WWE title match with Cain Velasquez that was teased Friday night on SmackDown.
Lesnar vs. Velasquez is scheduled as the main event for the Oct. 31 Crown Jewel show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The match was set up on tonight’s edition of SmackDown when Rey Mysterio brought in Velasquez after Lesnar had beaten Kofi Kingston for the WWE title in seven seconds. Velasquez confronted Lesnar, taking him to the ground briefly before Lesnar escaped.
As noted since Monday, the Mysterio angle and Paul Heyman interview on Monday’s Raw was to foreshadow a Velasquez vs. Lesnar match, although there were snags during the week, including Velasquez also negotiating with Tony Khan and AEW.
WWE offered a huge money deal for the match. It is unclear how long Velasquez has signed for, which would obviously make a difference in the match result.
WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia is set for Halloween.
WWE’s Arabic website announced today that Crown Jewel 2019 will take place at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, October 31. Tickets will go on sale on Monday (September 30) at 6 p.m. local time.
Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, The New Day, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, and NXT’s Mansoor are advertised for Crown Jewel, along with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair making special appearances.
With SmackDown moving to Friday nights on FOX, SmackDown will take place the day after Crown Jewel.
WWE’s first Crown Jewel event was held in Riyadh last November, with WWE going ahead with the show despite the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Crown Jewel 2019 will be the fourth event in WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority.
Crown Jewel, the most controversial show in WWE history, came and went this past weekend.
WWE presented a show featuring the return of both Hulk Hogan as a performer and Shawn Michaels as a wrestler, and even though it got more mainstream talk for going to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the show itself had remarkably little interest considering those two items.
It was a bad show overall, featuring a lackluster World Cup, a three minute Universal title match that was one-sided, and a long DX vs. Brothers of Destruction tag team match that fell apart quickly when HHH suffered a torn right pectoral muscle.
Besides the HHH injury, the main stories in the ring were Brock Lesnar winning the Universal title in a one-sided squash match over Braun Strowman, and Shane McMahon, who wasn’t even in the World Cup tournament, winning it.
Triple H will be undergoing surgery for an injury suffered during the main event of Crown Jewel.
WWE.com posted an update on Triple H after the show, noting that he suffered what appears to be a torn pectoral muscle while teaming with Shawn Michaels against The Undertaker & Kane. The article states that Triple H plans to return to the United States this week to undergo surgical repair.
The injury may have happened early in the match when Triple H was whipped into the corner and took a bump over the ropes to the outside. Triple H finished the match, with him eventually getting the pin on Kane after hitting the Pedigree.
In addition to Crown Jewel, Triple H wrestled at WrestleMania 34, the Greatest Royal Rumble, and Super Show-Down in 2018.
WWE’s European tour is beginning this weekend. Monday’s Raw and Tuesday’s SmackDown are both being taped at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
Brock Lesnar is once again the WWE Universal Champion.
Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to win the vacant title. The story of the match was Baron Corbin (the acting on-screen general manager of Raw) hitting Strowman with the Universal title belt before the bell rang and Strowman kicking out of three F5s before losing.
The Universal title was vacated when Roman Reigns revealed his battle with leukemia on the October 22 episode of Raw.
On the Crown Jewel broadcast, it was announced that Lesnar will face WWE Champion AJ Styles in a non-title champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series in Los Angeles, California on November 18. Lesnar also defeated Styles in a champion vs. champion match at last year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
What this means for Lesnar’s future in the UFC remains to be seen. Daniel Cormier will defend his heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden tomorrow. Lesnar will be eligible to fight again as of January 8, 2019.
As was confirmed on Wednesday, Hulk Hogan returned to WWE television as the host of Crown Jewel.
Hogan opened the main card by cutting a promo in the ring. With WWE not mentioning “Saudi Arabia” by name, Hogan came out to “Real American,” used his usual catchphrases, and talked about flying halfway across the world and finding out that the power of Hulkamania is stronger than ever at the Crown Jewel. Hogan said it was awesome to be back in WWE.
Hogan tweeted after his appearance: “It’s great to be back with my @WWE Universe family. The love and welcome from the talent and stark raving Hulkamaniacs totally blew me away brother. Only Love HH”
This was Hogan’s first appearance on WWE TV since being fired by the company in 2015 when a leaked racist diatribe from 2006, which included Hogan saying the n-word multiple times and saying he was “racist, to a point,” was made public. Hogan was reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame this July and apologized to the WWE locker room during a backstage meeting at Extreme Rules.
Amid controversy, the second show in WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority takes place at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh today.
Shawn Michaels will make his return to the ring as he teams with Triple H against The Undertaker & Kane. A new Universal Champion will also be crowned, with Braun Strowman facing Brock Lesnar for the vacant title.
With Daniel Bryan not wrestling in Saudi Arabia, AJ Styles will instead defend his WWE Championship against Samoa Joe. John Cena also pulled out of WWE’s World Cup tournament and was replaced by Bobby Lashley. Lashley vs. Seth Rollins and Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler are set for Raw’s side of the bracket, and Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz and Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton are SmackDown’s first round matches.
A stipulation for the World Cup was set up this week as Shane McMahon said he would fire the SmackDown wrestler who makes it to the finals if they lose to Raw.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defend their titles against The New Day. And on the pre-show, Rusev challenges for Shinsuke Nakamura’s United States title.
Hulk Hogan will also make his return to WWE as the host of Crown Jewel. The pre-show begins on the WWE Network at 11 a.m. Eastern time, with the main card starting at noon Eastern.
**********
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev to retain the WWE United States title
The crowd was still filing in as this match was going on, but they were hot for this match. Rusev fired back with some lariats after Nakamura had control for part of the match. Nakamura cuts him off and lands a running knee. Rusev connected with a machka kick and went for the accolade but Nakamura went to the apron and connected with a knee to the head.
Nakamura went for the kinshasa but Rusev tripped him and applied the accolade. Nakamura went for the ropes, Rusev dragged him back in the middle but in the process Nakamura managed to headbutt Rusev right in the netheregions. That allowed Nakamura to recover and pin Rusev after the kinshasa. Not much of a match, but a clever finish at least.
Hulk Hogan came out to start the show, got a pyrotechnic show and everything. Said it was awesome to be back in the WWE and to be hosting Crown Jewel. And that was it, another pyrotechnic show followed. Judging by Hogan’s promo and the graphics showing they’re in “Riyadh”, WWE is going out of their way not to mention the words “Saudi Arabia” on their broadcast.
World Cup: Rey Mysterio defeated Randy Orton
Mysterio went for a springboard early but Orton cut him off with a big dropkick. He took Mysterio to the top rope and tried to rip off his mask. Mysterio followed with a senton and a springboard crossbody.
Mysterio went for the 619 but Orton grabbed Mysterio and planted him with the draping DDT. He motioned for the RKO but Mysterio countered with a roll up and got the win. This was short and not much of anything.
Orton planted Mysterio with an RKO after the match. He motioned like he was going to leave, but instead slid him out of the ring and planted him face first on the Arabic announcer’s table, apparently landing on a monitor.
Miz was asked about potentially facing an injured Rey Mysterio. He said with the way this tournament is lining up, he feels awesome.
World Cup: The Miz defeated Jeff Hardy
Miz was asked about potentially facing an injured Rey Mysterio. He said with the way this tournament is lining up, he feels awesome.
Miz gained control early, grinding down Hardy. Miz hit a couple of dropkicks in the corner, but Hardy responded with a clothesline and made his comeback. Hary went for a twist of fate but Miz escaped.
Hardy hit whisper in the wind, but got cut off by Miz on the apron. Miz went for the figure four but Hardy cradled him for a near fall.Hardy sends Miz out of the ring, runs on the barricade and jumps off, hitting Miz with a clothesline. Hardy goes for a swanton bomb, but Miz rolls out of the way.
Miz posts Hardy and uses the ropes, but the referee sees it. Hardy goes for a twist of fate, but Miz countered with the skull crushing finale for the win. Kind of clunky overall and the finish was anti-climatic.
World Cup: Seth Rollins defeated Bobby Lashley
Lashley dominated the match early until Rollins escaped from a vertical suplex. Rollins hit two suicide dives to the floor. Lashley cut him off and went for a superplex. Rollins went for a sunset flip, but couldn’t get it. Lashley escaped from a powerbomb attempt, but then Rollins landed the stomp out of nowhere for the win. Another nothing match.
Kurt Angle backstage said most people doubt he can win. But people also doubted him when he won the Olympic gold medal with a broken friggin’ neck. He’ll prove tonight that he’s still the best in the world.
World Cup: Dolph Ziggler defeated Kurt Angle
They start off with some mat wrestling. Angle landed a belly to belly and a couple of German suplexes. They meet on the apron where Angle tried to German Ziggler to the floor, but Ziggler laid him out and threw him into the stairs.
Angle drives Ziggler into the turnbuckle and started a comeback until Ziggler laid him out with a DDT. Angle hit the Angle Slam for a near fall. He went for the Angle lock, but Ziggler escaped and hit a famouser.
Angle rolled through Ziggler and applied the Angle lock. Ziggler tried to escape, eventually doing do. He then posted Angle and planted him with the zig zag for the win. This was pretty decent.
The Bar defeated The New Day to retain the SmackDown tag team titles
The New Day came out on what I guess would be a magic carpet, throwing out pancakes.
Things started off with some good back and forth until Cesaro managed to cut off Kofi Kingston. They worked on him forever until Kofi escaped and tagged in Big E, who made a big comeback. Big E planted Sheamus with a uranage and went for the spear to the floor but Sheamus cut him off. Big E tagged in Kofi, who hit a double foot stomp as Big E planted Sheamus with a powerbomb for a near fall.
Kofi took out Cesaro on the outside as Big Show on the apron. Big E avoided the brogue kick but was shoved into the referee. Big Show punched Big E, allowing Sheamus to connect with the brogue kick for the win. A total paint by numbers match.
The Miz was interviewed. Tonight isn’t about happy endings, it’s about beating Rey Mysterio and proving he’s the best in the world. His voice seemed off and mentioned that he injured his throat during the first match. Rey Mysterio said he’s been underestimated by bigger and better.
World Cup semi finals: The Miz defeated Rey Mysterio
Rey controlled early, sliding himself to the floor with a splash. Mysterio started to sell his ribs after the splash. Mysterio went to leap on Miz’s shoulders but Miz instead fell, causing Mysterio to land face first on the mat.
Miz started to work him over, but Mysterio fought back, only to be laid out. In a callback from earlier, Miz slid Rey out of the ring, landing on his ribs.
Mysterio started to mount a comeback, landing a crossbody. Miz is sent into the second turnbuckle as Mysterio goes for the 619. Miz grabs him, smashes his head on the nearby top turnbuckle and lands the skull crushing finale…but Mysterio kicks out.
Miz pelts him with kicks, but Mysterio fights back, hitting the 619. Mysterio takes his time getting to the top rope, and when he goes for the frog splash Miz gets the knees up and cradles him for the win. This was okay overall, nothing special but the finish was pretty good.
World Cup semi finals: Dolph Ziggler defeated Seth Rollins
Dolph got the heat on Rollins after Rollins got distracted by McIntyre on the outside, working on his neck. Rollins came back and they exchanged a number of near falls before Rollins hit the ripchord knee for another near fall.
Rollins hit a suicide dive on the outside, taking out both Ziggler and McIntyre. Back in the ring, Ziggler hit the famouser. Rollins met Ziggler on the top rope and hit the superplex. Rollins tried for the Falcon Arrow, but Ziggler countered with the zig zag.
Rollins goes to the top rope, but McIntyre grabbed his leg. Ziggler connects with a superkick and picks up the win. So it’s heel Dolph vs. heel Miz in the finals. Match was pretty good.
Saxton interviewed Ziggler, saying it wasn’t fair how he got the win and it was an upset. Ziggler dismissed that and said the next time you see him, he’ll be holding his trophy because he’s the best in the world.
AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe to retain the WWE title
Styles was in control early, taking him to the outside and posting him. Joe lifted him up, however, and drove him head first into the barricade, getting the heat. Joe blasted AJ with a suicide dive, sending ribs first into the announcer’s table.
AJ connects with a kick and hits the reverse DDT. He looks for the phenomenal forearm, but Joe escapes and hits a big powerslam and lariat. Styles goes for an O’Connor roll but Joe catches him in the coquina clutch. Styles grabs him and goes for the calf crusher but Joe quickly gets to the ropes. AJ connects with a pele kick then scores the phenomenal forearm for the win. This was good while it lasted, but they’ve had better matches.
Brock Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman to win the WWE Universal title
Baron Corbin, who came out with the Universal title, hit Strowman in the back with the title before the match started. Lesnar then destroyed Braun Strowman, hitting him with four F5’s, one to the floor. Strowman mounted a brief comeback, but Lesnar laid him out with a fifth for the win. No, it makes no sense to bury someone like this, nor does it make sense for Lesnar to win the title. But this is what they do.
McIntyre was sent to the back before the World Cup finals started. They fought before the bell rang, with Miz sending Ziggler into the steps. Miz favored his knee heavily. They sold like this was about to be called a forfeit in favor of Ziggler because Miz couldn’t continue. Shane McMahon said no, he would take his place. So after hyping this tournament for weeks, Shane just inserts himself in, everyone seems fine with it and the match starts. Even the announcers couldn’t sell this as making a lick of sense.
Shane McMahon defeated Dolph Ziggler to win the World Cup
Well, duh.
So Ziggler cut Shane and hit the zig zag. Shane fired back with a DDT and slingshotted Ziggler into the turnbuckle. Shane hit the coast to coast. And yes, in case you were wondering who the best in the world is, it is Shane McMahon, who wrestles maybe twice a year and just beat Dolph Ziggler clean in minutes. Raw announcers sold this like it was a heel move. Whatever. These last two matches couldn’t be more destructive towards people that need a boost the most.
Shane celebrated with the trophy as a huge pyrotechnic show followed. A McMahon winning this tournament, which was to crown the best in the world, feels like an allegory for something.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels defeated The Undertaker and Kane
Triple H and Kane start things off. Shawn was tagged in and looked fine. He hit a neckbreaker but Kane came up. After teasing a superkick, Undertaker was tagged in. All four got in the ring as HBK was put in the tree of woe position. Kane threw Triple H into Shawn as both DX members tumbled to the floor.
Back in the ring, Undertaker hit old school on Shawn. He avoided a boot in the corner and tagged in Triple H. Kane was tagged in and they exchanged chops. Shawn came in and took down Kane, then did the kip up. Double suplex spot by DX. Shawn connected with the elbow.
Shawn motions for the sweet chin music but Kane grabs him and lands the chokeslam instead. Undertaker comes back in and gets the heat, looking for his own chokeslam. He takes out Triple H, which allows Shawn to strike with the sweet chin music. Undertaker gets back to his feet and clears out the Arabic announcer’s table.
Triple H grabs Shawn from his doom as he takes out Kane and Undertaker by throwing them into the steps and guardrail, respectively. Well, I think he threw himself and Undertaker into the barricade, but whatever. Kane grabs Hunter by the throat, however, and sends him through the announce table. Undertaker takes out Shawn with a legdrop on the apron.
Undertaker taunts Triple H as he takes Shawn and puts him back in the ring. They work him over some more. Undertaker went for a tombstone on the floor, but Shawn escaped and threw him into the post. Kane’s mask came off at some point as Shawn went to the top rope and hit a moonsault.
Triple H is tagged in as he makes a comeback. He may have hurt his arm at some point during this match. Undertaker reversed a pedigree with the back body drop. Triple H reversed a tombstone and hit a pedigree. Hunter dispatched Kane as Undertaker locked in the hell’s gate. Kane grabbed Shawn but he escaped and hit a superkick, landing on Undertaker and breaking that submission.
Brothers of Destruction go for stereo tombstones but both DX members escape. Shawn superkicks Undertaker, then superkicks Kane, who walks into a pedigree. Triple H pins Kane for the win. This was better than last month’s match. Shawn looked great but honestly this was still a very plodding, long match.
Pyrotechnics display to close out the show. To quote Jim Ross after that Jackie Gayda match, mercifully, Crown Jewel is over.
An incredible amount of devotion from all involved resulted in WWE’s first all-women’s pay-per-view being a special night and a strong contender for the company’s best show of the year. Evolution wasn’t just an event that was worthy of its place in history — it elevated it. The wrestlers who competed in the ring, everyone involved with putting the PPV together, and the fans in attendance all worked in unison to make Evolution a show that exceeded all reasonable expectations.
A look behind-the-scenes at the decisions regarding Crown Jewel as the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the decision making process, how the last week went down, why the show almost didn’t happen, negative media reaction, why WWE can survive negativity more now than in the past, what happened with John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Hulk Hogan, different plans thrown out for Bryan vs. A.J. Styles and why they didn’t happen, decisions changed regarding promotion of Hogan’s return, Renee Young going, Glenn Jacobs situation, and how many ideas changed. We also look at plans for Survivor Series and TLC shows.
We’ve also got full coverage of WWE Evolution with notes on the business, notes on mainstream interest, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and a well as poll results from the show.
Also go in-depth on WWE business. We look at where the declines took place that led to the stock falling, and what is and isn’t significant about them. We look at the network numbers and compare the post-WrestleMania drop with last year. We also look at projections by the company for the fourth quarter drop in network subscribers. We also go in depth on the fallacy of how people view wrestling, as well as how Raw and Smackdown have held up compared to other USA Network programming as well as cable in general.
Examine the look at the house show business, including Vince McMahon’s comments on the decline, as well a breakdown on the merchandise business, NXT ticket sales and full 2018 attendance numbers for the main brands and for NXT.
A look at WrestleMania tickets, WWE content production, a Roman Reigns story, more on Reigns’ diagnosis, the WWE/Evolve relationship, changes to Evolve through usage of WWE talent, plans for the next Takeover show, injury updates. the plight of Sean O’Haire in WWE, Matt Hardy TV show, house show changes after angle changes, WWE performer dating NBA star, thoughts on the semifinals of the Mae Young Classic, as well as there most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
Details on all the WWE and NXT weekend live events, with results, highlights and business notes.
We look at Kevin Kay and his role in saving UFC and the rise of UFC, as well as in the pro wrestling genre. We look at the history of Spike TV with pro wrestling, UFC, and Bellator.
A run down UFC’s show this past week and the delve into the business aspects of that show, coverage of AAA’s Heroes Inmoratles show, with match-by-match coverage and who is to watch going forward. We also have full coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows,the key demos for the WWE shows and what can be learned from them.
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
The Saudi Arabia General Sports Authority on Twitter has short interviews with Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley talking about Crown Jewel and meeting WWE fans in Saudi Arabia.
PWInsider noted that Lio Rush made the trip to Saudi Arabia with the WWE roster (with Bobby Lashley wrestling in the World Cup tournament) and that a contingent of WWE wrestlers are having dinner with representatives from Saudi Arabia tonight.
This week’s Hidden Gems on the WWE Network feature two D-Generation X matches. One is a match pitting Triple H & Shawn Michaels against The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin from November 15, 1997 and another Triple H & Shawn Michaels tag match, this time against Legacy in a steel cage from September 4, 2009.
Total Divas last night drew 385,000 viewers on the E! Network, down from last week’s 390,000 viewers. It ranked #40 for the night.
WWE’s YouTube page uploaded a video with Kassius Ohno “welcoming” Matt Riddle and Keith Lee to NXT.
WWE posted a slideshow featuring behind the scenes photos from Evolution.
Ronda Rousey placed first in this year’s Pro Wrestling Illustrated Women’s 100 list. The rest of the top ten (in order) are Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, Io Shirai, Asuka, Shayna Baszler, Carmella, Nia Jax, Mayu Iwatani (Stardom) and Kairi Sane.
Nia Jax spoke to Al Jazeera about breaking stereotypes and embracing her body as she started to train in the WWE.
Seth Rollins defending the Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose in a street fight is now listed on the card for WWE’s Starrcade house show in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 24. Braun Strowman vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in a handicap match is also now currently advertised.
CHIKARA has joined the Powerbomb.TV lineup and has uploaded a number of events. Hallowicked has issued a challenge to Tracy Williams, their Independent champion.
DDT/TJPW star Yuu will be leaving the company to work overseas. Her last show for Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling will be on 12/1.
UFC/MMA
Conor McGregor has settled a lawsuit between him and a security guard that was injured during the UFC 202 press conference brawl. The security guard was allegedly hit in the back by one of Conor McGregor’s Monster Energy drinks during the brawl between McGregor and Nate Diaz.
MMAFighting obtained police body cam footage of Stephan Bonnar being arrested for a DUI. He was arrested back on 10/28 and is scheduled to appear in court on 11/26.
Daniel Cormier talked to FloCombat about what match he would like to take after the Derrick Lewis fight this Saturday. While he realizes that the Brock Lesnar fight is the bigger of the two fights, he wants Jones. “It’s crazy that people say me and Lesnar would be a mega fight when the reality is the mega fight is Jones and I,” he said. “We’re the two greatest fighters of all time and we fight each other. It’s so easy to say, ‘This guy’s one of the greatest and this guy’s one of the greatest,’ but they never fight each other. Jones and I may be the two best fighters in the history of the sport. That should be the mega fight. Unfortunately, it will not net me the money that I would make fighting Brock Lesnar.”
Dana White told TMZ Sports that Khabib Nurmagomedov’s next fight will likely be against Tony Ferguson, saying that Ferguson never lost the title. He also said it was 70% likely that they and Floyd Mayweather would sign together for a future fight in the UFC.
White will also be filming his Lookin’ For A Fight show at a Island Fights event on 12/21.
The third and fourth episodes of UFC 230 Embedded are now up.
Sijara Eubanks talked to MMAJunkie about her goal of becoming the UFC flyweight champion.
Ahead of the show taking place tomorrow, another match has been added to the card for Crown Jewel.
WWE announced this afternoon that Shinsuke Nakamura will defend his United States Championship against Rusev on the Crown Jewel pre-show. The pre-show will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow morning, with the main card starting at noon Eastern.
Nakamura was supposed to defend the US title against Tye Dillinger on this week’s episode of SmackDown, but Dillinger had to be pulled from the match due to suffering a legitimate hand injury.
On Tuesday’s SmackDown, it was confirmed that the United States Champion will face the Intercontinental Champion in a non-title match at Survivor Series in Los Angeles, California on November 18.
The updated lineup for Crown Jewel is listed below. The show is taking place at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and will feature Hulk Hogan as its host.
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Kane
Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar for the vacant Universal Championship
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Samoa Joe
World Cup tournament finals
World Cup tournament semifinals
Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins in a World Cup tournament first round match
Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler in a World Cup tournament first round match
Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz in a World Cup tournament first round match
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton in a World Cup tournament first round match
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against The New Day
United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defending against Rusev (kickoff match)
The WWE had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows this past week, all in most ways intertwined.
The Evolution PPV, clearly designed as a way to avoid the controversy they got on the first trip to Saudi Arabia because they had no women on the show, could not have gone better.
The atmosphere was off the charts, and it felt far more like an NXT show with WWE production and star power. There were a lot of shows with better wrestling, but this was a case where planning and practicing everything out worked out for the best. You could make a strong case for this being the best main roster PPV show of the year, and it absolutely was if judged by fan reaction. The last woman standing match where Becky Lynch retained the Smackdown title over Charlotte Flair was given nearly a half hour, and by the end, reached a level of intensity that few matches reach and in that regard, was the best main roster match this year, men or women, and easily one of the three best women’s matches in company history, and easily the best-ever on the main roster.
Hulk Hogan is set to host this Friday’s Crown Jewel event.
WWE has confirmed that Hogan will be the official host for Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. WWE originally advertised Hogan on their events page for the show as a “featured superstar” this morning, but he was removed prior to WWE confirming that he’ll be hosting the event.
Hogan hasn’t appeared on WWE television since 2015. WWE cut ties with Hogan and suspended him from their Hall of Fame when Hogan used racist language in audio that was later leaked to the public. He returned to the WWE this past July and held a meeting with the WWE roster prior to Extreme Rules. WWE said in a statement at the time that he was not under WWE contract.
“I’m looking forward to going to Saudi Arabia with the WWE, looking forward to WrestleMania — but yeah, we’re moving forward at a rapid pace,” he said. “It’s exciting to have this opportunity again after all these years where I was there and gone.”
UPDATE: For what it’s worth, Hogan has been removed from WWE.com’s event page for Crown Jewel.
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While no official announcement has been made, a notable name is now being advertised for Crown Jewel.
WWE.com’s events page for Friday’s show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia now lists Hulk Hogan among the “featured superstars.” The events page has also been updated to reflect the changes that were made on this week’s television, with Bobby Lashley replacing John Cena in the World Cup tournament and Samoa Joe replacing Daniel Bryan in the WWE Championship match.
The names listed for the show are: Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Kane, Randy Orton, Joe, AJ Styles, Lashley, Kurt Angle, The Miz, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Seth Rollins, and Hogan.
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel last week, Hogan indicated that he could be appearing at Crown Jewel. “There are a lot of plans in the works,” Hogan said. “I’m looking forward to going to Saudi Arabia with the WWE, looking forward to WrestleMania — but yeah, we’re moving forward at a rapid pace. It’s exciting to have this opportunity again after all these years where I was there and gone.”
Hogan was reinstated to the WWE Hall of Fame in July and met with the WWE locker room backstage at Extreme Rules, where he addressed the situation and apologized for the racist diatribe that was made public and led to him being fired from the company in 2015.
Renee Young will reportedly be heading to WWE Crown Jewel on Friday.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reported this afternoon that Renee Young will be allowed to go to Saudi Arabia this Friday for WWE’s Crown Jewel event. Dave Meltzer has also confirmed Young will be heading to the event. Pro Wrestling Sheet’s report says that this process started back in September when Young joined the Raw commentary team on a permanent basis. WWE has yet to announce the broadcast team for the event.
Women were not allowed to compete or be part of the broadcast team at the Greatest Royal Rumble back in April. There was controversy after the event where the Saudi General Sports Authority, which oversaw the event, apologized for having a commercial featuring a number of female WWE talent wearing their ring gear, which they considered ‘”indecent”.
WWE Crown Jewel will air this Friday on the WWE Network. It will air live at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh with the main card starting at noon ET.
