Tag: headline’

Pete Dunne match set for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Pete Dunne’s opponent for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV has now been revealed.

It was announced today that Dunne vs. Masashi Takeda will take place at the April 17 event in Las Vegas. Takeda is a Japanese wrestler and MMA fighter who has specialized in death matches. During his career, he’s competed for promotions like Big Japan, All Japan, FREEDOMS, and GCW.

This is the first match officially booked for the Bloodsport card, which will stream live on TrillerTV+ with a start time of 6 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Pacific on the Friday of WrestleMania week.

Since WWE started to allow some of its talent to compete at Bloodsport, Dunne has worked two shows with a 2-0 record. Both of those matches took place in 2025 with him defeating Jonathan Gresham and Timothy Thatcher.

Dunne currently plays the character Rayo Americano in WWE but will be wrestling as himself at Bloodsport. In WWE, he’s part of a faction with El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) and Bravo Americano (Tyler Bate).

Takeda’s last Bloodsport appearance was a 2019 victory over Gresham.

Here is the list of announced talent for the April 17 show:

Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV participants —

  • Josh Barnett
  • Yuji Nagata
  • Ulka Sasaki
  • Timothy Thatcher
  • Pete Dunne
  • Shayna Baszler
  • Erick Stevens
  • Fuminori Abe
  • Ray Jaz
  • Angel Verduzco
  • Joe Dashou
  • Masashi Takeda
  • Matt Mako
  • Royce Isaacs
  • Miyu Yamashita

Tony D’Angelo vs. Ricky Saints, number one contender’s gauntlet part of next week’s WWE NXT lineup

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Following an event-worthy March 17 episode of WWE NXT and Booker T appreciation night, WWE has already announced another packed NXT episode for next week.

Next week’s March 24 episode of WWE NXT is scheduled to take place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

While this week’s episode has three title matches, next week’s will be more about a number one contender chance.

A Gauntlet Eliminator match has been scheduled to determine the number one contender for Myles Borne’s NXT North American Championship at the Stand and Deliver PLE on April 4, 2026. Ricky Saints, with Ethan Page in his corner, will also take on Tony D’Angelo.

Eli Knight & Elio LeFluer will also take on The Culling (Shawn Spears & Niko Vance) in the Tag tournament match for the NXT Tag title shot. Below are several other matches announced.

Update lineup for next week’s WWE NXT

  • Ricky Saints (with Ethan Page) vs. Tony D’Angelo
  • Gauntlet Eliminator for a shot at Myles Borne’s North American title at NXT Stand and Deliver
  • Sol Ruca and Zaria to meet face-to-face
  • Eli Knight & Elio LeFluer vs. The Culling (Shawn Spears & Niko Vance) – Tag tournament match for the NXT Tag title shot
  • Thea Hail vs. Kelani Jordan
  • Fatal Influence (Lainey Reid & Fallon Henley) vs. Wren Sinclair & Kendal Grey

The Sandman names ECW alum as his favorite opponent

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

The Sandman’s retirement match has been booked for Joey Janela’s Spring Break, the same event where Sabu wrestled his retirement match last year shortly before passing away. Now the ECW icon is discussing the legacy of his most famous rival. 

Sandman discussed Sabu and his retirement match in an interview with Jamal Niaz at Monopoly Events. “Sabu was easily my favorite opponent,” he said. “He was so easy to work with because honestly I didn’t really have to do much in the matches. He would just be flying all over the place putting me through tables and stuff. It was just easy to work with him. It was like, in our business, we call a ‘night off; when you can go out there and work 25 minutes and just have fun. That’s the part of the business that’s great.”

Sandman also talked about the influence Sabu had on American wrestling. “You could see it in Japan and stuff like that, but he brought that style, just all the flipping and stuff like that,” he said. “It wasn’t being done in professional wrestling back in those days. You didn’t see that on Saturday afternoons at WWF shows or something like that. So, he brought something totally different like a wild boy. They just never saw it before. He was great at it.”

A very special opponent has been booked for Sandman’s last match: The Invisible Man. 

“He’s going to beat the sh*t out of me,” Sandman said. “And I am not in good shape. Actually, as soon as I get home, I got about 50 days to get ready because, literally, I lay around and do nothing all day. You know, I’ll mow the lawn. That’s about the biggest I’ll do. But yeah, I’m going to actually try and get in a little bit of shape for that match.”

So will this truly be the last we see of the Sandman? “No, because … how many retirement matches did Terry Funk have?” he asked. “I was at his one in Amarillo. I was at one in Japan with him. You know, I can have 50 of these. This is a new start for me. I’ll wrestle till I’m 78.”

Sandman vs. The Invisible Man will take place at Joey Janela’s Spring Break X at Horseshoe Las Vegas on Friday, April 17. Tickets are available here. 

Steve Austin on possible WrestleMania 42 appearance, his WWE future

Posted on by Joseph Currier

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is open to making an appearance at WWE WrestleMania 42, but he thinks most of the spotlight should go to the current roster.

To help celebrate 3:16 Day (March 16), Austin called into Busted Open Radio for an interview on Monday. When asked about his status for WrestleMania 42, Austin said it would be cool to be involved in some form. But he thinks WWE has a quality roster right now that deserves to be showcased on the biggest stage.

“It’s funny because you’ll sit there or they’ll put something on [Instagram] and people will say, ‘Oh, no, no. Man, he’s too old. Let the current talent have the spotlight.’ Let the current talent have the spotlight, of course. If I can go out there and do something, that’d be fine,” Austin said. “But God damn, when I crashed that four-wheeler last year up there against that wall, man, you talk about sh***ing the bed big time. I was so pissed off about that. Because I was looking forward to going out there and announcing the attendance and then watching the show, seeing what kind of show the superstars were going to put on. And, man, I sh*t the bed on the big stage.

“We’ll see if they have me back. If they do, that’s cool. I always say — they got a pretty good roster, you know? So I think those guys and gals, they need all the time.”

Austin made an on-camera appearance at WrestleMania 41 in 2025 when he announced the night two attendance. He drove an ATV down to the ring and accidentally crashed into the ringside barrier, knocking down one fan.

WrestleMania is back in Las Vegas again this year — and Austin will be among the guests at the WWE World convention. He told Busted Open that he’s honored that fans still want to see him involved. But if he were to come back to WWE, it would be for a moment rather than an actual wrestling match.

“It’d be to go back for one of those moments,” the 61-year-old Austin responded when asked if he ever gets the itch to return. “Not a match itch, right? I got a left knee replacement a little over a year ago. And God dang, my leg feels good, I’m glad I got it done. But, yeah, I get the itch for certain moments. But to try and do a match? No.”

When asked if he’d be interested in coming back for a cinematic match, Austin said he loved The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles from WrestleMania 36. However, Austin thinks Undertaker vs. Styles was appropriate for the time it took place. He doesn’t know if he wants to see too many more cinematic matches.

“I don’t think so,” Austin said about a possible cinematic bout. “I think I’m good.”

One of Austin’s biggest hobbies at the moment is his off-road racing team. He’s preparing for an upcoming race, which appears to rule out Austin being in Texas for Raw tonight.

Steve Austin gives update on his WWE Raw status for 3/16

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Fans tuning into WWE Raw tonight probably shouldn’t expect an appearance by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

With today being 3:16 Day (March 16) and Raw taking place from Austin’s original home state of Texas, there has been speculation about Austin potentially being on the show. WrestleVotes reported that WWE was hopeful Austin would appear, but it doesn’t sound like that will be the case. Austin told The Takedown on SI that he’ll be “hunkered down” preparing for an upcoming race.

“Man, they should tune in because they love WWE and Monday Night Raw,” Austin responded when asked if there’s a special reason people should tune in tonight. “I’ll be a few days out from that race, the race I’m talking about with my racing career, and we’re trying to get that car ready and we’re working our asses off. So, yeah, I’ll be hunkered down in a garage out here in BFE, Nevada trying to get this buggy ready — side-by-side utility vehicle — to race this grueling 250 mile race with everybody else that I race with. So I want to get out there and put my own show on in the desert.”

Off-road racing is one of Austin’s passions, and he’s started his own racing team based out of Nevada. He lives in the state and will be in Las Vegas for WrestleMania 42 weekend. It’s been confirmed that Austin will be signing autographs and meeting fans at the WWE World convention. Austin told The Takedown on SI that he always appreciates the people who come to see him at appearances like that.

Past the WWE World appearance, it’s not been confirmed if Austin will be playing a role at WrestleMania this year. He made a brief cameo at WrestleMania 41 in Vegas in 2025 and announced the night two attendance.

Frost Bank Center in San Antonio is hosting Raw tonight. The show will include appearances by Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match between AJ Lee and Bayley, and more.

Steve Austin praises WWE stars Chelsea Green, Kevin Owens

Posted on by Joseph Currier

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is a big fan of current WWE stars Chelsea Green and Kevin Owens.

In celebration of 3:16 Day (March 16), Austin spoke with The Takedown on SI and had praise for both Green and Owens. He sees Green as “fearless” and willing to take chances, which Austin believes is an important element to the success of any wrestler.

“You’re an idiot when you first join the business,” Austin said. “You just are, unless you’re Shawn Michaels and you kind of get it from day one. When you’re starving and you’re making $15 and $20 a night, you realize that you better get good pretty quick and learn how to reach people on an emotional level, so you can start making some money. I think that Chelsea Green does that a lot of time. She’s pretty fearless out there. On a creative note, she’ll go for it, and it’s done well for her.”

Owens was Austin’s opponent when The Texas Rattlesnake came out of retirement at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. With it looking unlikely that Austin will ever compete in another wrestling match, Owens should forever hold the honor of being the last person to face Austin — one of pro wrestling’s greatest-ever legends.

Austin told The Takedown on SI that he sees Owens as a Hall of Fame-worthy talent. A couple months back, he checked in on Owens to see how he’s recovering from the neck surgery he underwent last year.

“I called Kevin a couple of months ago,” Austin said. “I think he’s got a great doctor, according to him, and I threw out a name that I’d heard good things about. I care about the guy. Love the guy. He’s a Hall of Fame talent. I don’t know how he banged his neck up, but he took a lot of bumps. He did a lot of stuff.

“It’s a rough business, right. No matter what style you work, you’re going to take a bump. And even the most simple bump can be the devastating bump. Although it looks normal, that sets off some chain reaction, or is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and there’s that injury. So, hey, injuries happen. I stay in touch with him a little bit and I wish him nothing but the best.”

It’s not yet known when Owens will be returning to the ring, but he’ll be featured as one of the coaches on the next season of WWE: LFG (Legends & Future Greats). The new season is slated to premiere on A&E on April 26.

Megan Bayne & Lena Kross win Women’s Tag Team titles at AEW Revolution

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Divine Dominion are the new AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Harley Cameron and Willow Nightingale lost the titles to Megan Bayne and Lena Kross Saturday at Revolution. The two had an advantage after Nightingale was attacked earlier in the night by Bayne, injuring her shoulder. The two took advantage of that during the match and once they were able to isolate Nightingale, pinned her with a double chokeslam to become the new champions.

Earlier in the night, Nightingale successfully defended the TBS title against Kross. However Bayne jumped Nightingale after the match and although Cameron came in for the save, the damage had been done. Despite the injury, the two agreed to move forward in a pre-match interview.

The Babes of Wrath were the first-ever Women’s Tag Team Champions, defeating the Timeless Love Bombs (Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa) in a tournament final at Dynamite Winter is Coming 2025. Nightingale had been a double champion ever since defeating Mercedes Mone for the TBS title on the final Dynamite of last year.

Mercedes Mone loses EWA Women’s Championship in France

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Mercedes Mone has lost another championship.

On Saturday, Mone lost the EWA Women’s Championship to Mila Smidt at a BZW x Rixe APOGEE event in France, her third championship loss in a row this month. After the match, the two held up a sign that said “MORE WOMEN IN THE RING!” in a show of unity. 

Mone has been away from AEW since losing the TBS Championship to Willow Nightingale on the final AEW Dynamite of 2025, declaring shortly after that she was going to take a break. While remaining off AEW TV, she’s made a return to wrestling outside of the promotion at the beginning of March. Most notably, Mone lost the CMLL Women’s Championship to Persephone last Friday. The following day, Swan defeated Mone to win the BestYa Wrestling Women’s Championship in Italy.

Although her belt collection is dwindling down, Mone still has upcoming title defenses. RevPro recently announced that she will defend both the Bodyslam Women’s Championship and Discovery Wrestling Women’s Championship against Alexxis Falcon at their High Stakes event on March 21.

The Bella Twins return to TV on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Bella Twins are back, and are looking for the Tag Team titles.

Nikki and Brie made their return to WWE TV on Friday, coming out after Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss made their entrance for their imminent Tag Team title match against the Irresistible Forces. The twins declared that they were next in line for the Women’s Tag Team titles and would be at ringside for the upcoming title match to scout.

The twins ended up playing into the finish of the match when Nikki and Brie were caught in the crosshairs of a Flair/Jax brawl. Bliss got the upper hand for her team and was about to hit twisted Bliss on Jax when Brie entered the ring and attacked Jax for the disqualification. The confusion allowed The Irresistible Forces to recover and wreak havoc, laying out both teams in the process.

Brie Bella made her WWE return at the Royal Rumble, taking part in the women’s Rumble match. But after a promo featuring the two on the following Raw, they had been absent from TV ever since.

WWE reveals date and location for next Saturday Night’s Main Event

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has locked in the date and location for its next Saturday Night’s Main Event special.

It was announced today that Saturday Night’s Main Event will take place from Fort Wayne, Indiana on May 23. This will be the first time Fort Wayne has hosted a televised WWE event since 2014. Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is the venue for the show, which will stream live on Peacock.

May 23 was the expected date for this SNME, though the location was unconfirmed until now. There had been speculation about it potentially being held in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tickets for the event are going on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. local time on Friday, March 20, with a pre-sale set to begin one day prior. No matches have been announced yet, with the card likely to come together after WrestleMania (April 18-19) and Backlash (May 9).

WWE and tourism organization Visit Fort Wayne are partnering together for this show. It’s happening shortly before WWE begins an extensive European tour that includes the company’s Clash in Italy PLE taking place on May 31.

With this announcement, it’s confirmed that the weekend of May 23-24 will be a busy one for the pro wrestling industry. AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view is happening in New York City on the 24th.

Road Dogg announced for three appearances following WWE departure

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Update —

It’s now been announced that Road Dogg will also be appearing for Diamond Championship Wrestling in Alabama on March 20.

**********

Following his departure from WWE, Brian “Road Dogg” James has been announced for a couple of appearances.

News broke last week that James — a WWE Hall of Famer — had departed his position on the WWE creative team. He’s now set to make a convention appearance later this month, with Squared Circle Expo announcing that James will be at their event in Indianapolis, Indiana on March 27-28.

James is also set to reunite with his New Age Outlaws tag team partner Billy Gunn for an appearance this December. They’re the first guests announced for Blizzard Brawl 21, an annual indie event produced by Great Lakes Championship Wrestling. The show is being held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Prior to his WWE departure, James served as the co-lead writer of SmackDown. It was his second stint in the role.

While reporting on the situation, Dave Meltzer noted that — before James left the company — WWE had given him permission to take a convention booking later this month before then rescinding it. The report didn’t state whether that was this Squared Circle Expo appearance or not.

“James got his annual review. The belief is that he wasn’t happy with it and left,” Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. “He may say he left over something else and only he would know exactly why he did so. But it was his decision and it came after his annual review. One person close to the situation said that it has been brewing. He was going to do a convention later this month and it was approved, and then the approval was rescinded and he had to cancel, but in pulling out pretty much said that wouldn’t be an issue starting in a little while.”

WWE NXT notes: Finlay & William Regal appear, Charlie Dempsey, Tony D’Angelo

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Notes from this week’s NXT.

After Charlie Dempsey agreed to team with Tavion Heights, he turned against his former tag team partner on Tuesday after seeing his father William Regal and Finlay at the entrance. It was then that he dragged Heights out of the ring and gave him a German suplex, eventually allowing Birthright to score the victory. Dempsey then entered the ring and posed with the rest of Birthright, solidifying himself as the newest member of the group.

On social media, Finlay shared a picture of him and Regal with the group backstage writing: “well, who would have thought! ⁦@WWENXT just changed. You need this, yet you recoil from it.”

Birthright, consisting of Lexis King, Stacks, Arianna Grace, and Uriah Connors had been attempting to recruit Dempsey for several weeks. At Vengeance Day, Dempsey rejected their offer outright and agreed to team with Heights for Tuesday’s match.

Tony D’Angelo came to the ring on Tuesday following his victory over Dion Lennox and said the other reason he returned to NXT was because he wanted to win the NXT Championship, calling out Joe Hendry. He said last year he would have asked to break bread with Hendry but now things are different, saying Hendry better prepare for him because he would not be denied.

The main event of Tuesday saw Ethan Page and Ricky Saints defeating Hendry and Myles Borne after Page pinned Hendry, setting himself up as one of the top contenders for the NXT Championship.

Booker T Appreciation Night, steel cage title match part of next WWE NXT lineup

Posted on by Bryan Rose

It will be Booker T Appreciation Night next week in Houston.

Prior to the main event of Tuesday’s show, Vic Joseph spoke to the crowd and surprised Booker T by announcing that next week’s show in the Hall of Famer’s hometown of Houston would be dedicated to him. The five-time WCW Champion was taken by surprise at the news.

Also set for next week is a steel cage rematch for the NXT Women’s North American title where Tatum Paxley will defend against Izzi Dame, who interrupted Paxley at the start of Tuesday’s show and made it clear she wanted another shot. Paxley attempted to leave but was blocked by The Culling, allowing Dame to lay out her former friend. Backstage Paxley found Dame and they brawled until Robert Stone cut them off, making the match for next week.

Another title match was set on Tuesday when Wren Sinclair defeated Thea Hail to win the latest women’s Speed tournament. She will now face champion Fallon Henley next week. A tournament will also begin next week to determine the next challengers for Vanity Project’s NXT Tag Team titles. Former champions Hank & Tank will compete in the first round, squaring off against Birthright.

Stone also informed Vanity Project that they would be wrestling in a six-man tag team match next week against Raw stars Los Americanos.

WWE NXT (March 17)

  • Booker T Appreciation Night
  • Triple threat match for NXT Women’s Championship: Jacy Jayne defends against Sol Ruca and Zaria
  • Steel cage match for WWE NXT Women’s North American title: Tatum Paxley defends against Izzi Dame
  • NXT Tag Team title number one contender’s tournament: Hank & Tank vs. Birthright
  • Women’s WWE Speed title: Fallon Henley defends against Wren Sinclair
  • Vanity Project vs. Los Americanos

Women’s IC title match, Americano vs. Americano set for next WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Women’s Intercontinental title will be on the line next week.

Bayley won the gauntlet match on Raw, earning the championship match against AJ Lee next week when Raw heads to San Antonio. The finish of the match saw Asuka trap Bayley with the Asuka lock, but Bayley managed to escape and countered with the rose plant. Other competitors in the match included Ivy Nile, Raquel Rodriguez, Lyra Valykria, and IYO SKY.

On last week’s Raw, Lee celebrated her title win that took place at Elimination Chamber but also took time to throw out the challenge for anyone in the locker room to face her, saying that the next time she steps in the ring it will be to defend the title. Multiple talent backstage expressed interest in challenging AJ, setting up the gauntlet match.

The two Americanos will meet next week when the Original El Grande Americano (Chad Gable) will meet the second El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser). On this week’s show, the first Americano was set to challenge Penta for the IC title but ran into Danhausen. Much like his meeting with Dominik Mysterio, Danhausen didn’t take being rejected by Americano well and put a curse on him as the second Americano’s henchmen were nearby. When it came time for the title match, the second Americano emerged to take the original’s spot. Despite the ploy, it was all for nothing as Penta successfully defended the title.

Here is the updated lineup for next week’s Raw:

WWE Raw (March 16):

  • Roman Reigns will appear
  • Brock Lesnar will appear
  • Women’s Intercontinental title: AJ Lee defends against Bayley

Timothy Thatcher booked for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Timothy Thatcher is headed to Bloodsport.

Josh Barnett announced on Sunday that the current WWE ID trainer has been added to Bloodsport XV, which takes place on April 17 as part of this year’s Collective event.

“If it’s Bloodsport, then you know this man will be there to showcase his Catch-as-Catch-can prowess,” he wrote. “A day-1 of Josh Barnett’s: Bloodsport, you’ll not find a wrestler more ready for combat. Timothy Thatcher is returning to Josh Barnett’s: Bloodsport 4/17, Wrestlemania Week.”

Thatcher was released by WWE in 2022 but was brought back a few years later as a trainer for WWE ID prospects. He has continued to wrestle on the independent scene wrestling ID talent but has also been seen on Evolve competing against the likes of Charlie Dempsey and Keanu Carver.

Pete Dunne, who is currently on Raw as part of Los Americanos, has already been announced for the WrestleMania weekend event. Other talent announced include Shayna Baszler, Erick Stevens, Fuminori Abe, Masashi Takeda, Miyu Yamashita, Matt Mako, Ray Jaz, Royce Isaacs, Angel Verduzco, and Joe Dashou.