Levi Cooper — who formerly wrestled for WWE as one half of Heavy Machinery — is retired from the ring.
Cooper told Dr. Chris Featherstone of Sportskeeda that he is retired from pro wrestling and does not plan to return. He went by the name Tucker Knight in WWE and teamed with Otis both in NXT and on the main roster. Currently, Cooper is a high school wrestling coach.
“I just spoke with former WWE star Tucker of fka Heavy Machinery. He said that he has retired from professional wrestling and does not plan to return,” Featherstone tweeted. “He currently is a high school wrestling coach & raising his two kids. Best wishes.”
In April 2021, Cooper was released from his WWE contract. It’s been more than a year since he last wrestled on the indies.
Otis met up with Cooper last month, sharing a pair of photos to social media with the caption “2 hearts 1 soul.”
A six-man tag match will be part of WWE’s final build to Backlash.
WWE has announced that Universal Champion Braun Strowman & Heavy Machinery will face The Miz, John Morrison & Dolph Ziggler on this week’s episode of SmackDown. Miz & Morrison are challenging for Strowman’s Universal title in a two-on-one handicap match at Backlash on Sunday.
A storyline throughout last Friday’s SmackDown saw Miz and Morrison play pranks on Strowman in an attempt to make his life a living hell. After they destroyed his car’s windshield, Strowman flipped over a van with Miz and Morrison in it.
This will be the first time Tucker has appeared on SmackDown since April.
Strowman & Otis defeated Miz & Morrison in the main event of SmackDown on May 15. After the match, Otis teased cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase but then said he was only joking when Strowman turned around.
Otis defeated Baron Corbin by disqualification on SmackDown last week. Corbin got disqualified for using a steel chair, but Otis hit The Caterpillar on him after.
WWE has also announced that tomorrow’s SmackDown will feature a contract signing for Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus at Backlash.
Plus, Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles will face off in the finals of WWE’s Intercontinental title tournament on SmackDown tomorrow.
WWE has announced a match that will be taking place on tonight’s SmackDown.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison will face Heavy Machinery in a non-title match tonight. The show is being held at the WWE Performance Center with only essential personnel in attendance.
Miz & Morrison retained their titles against Heavy Machinery, The New Day, The Usos, The Lucha House Party, and Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode at Elimination Chamber earlier this month. That Elimination Chamber match aired in full on SmackDown last week. Miz & Morrison also did an in-ring promo last Friday.
Ziggler and Mandy Rose have been posting pictures together on social media recently, furthering their storyline with Otis. Rose captioned a picture yesterday with “Life is better when you’re laughing @heelziggler #powercouple”
Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro were the live matches on SmackDown last week. Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade was the only live match on Monday’s Raw.
Tonight’s SmackDown will feature a contract signing for Goldberg and Roman Reigns’ Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 36. Rob Gronkowski, who will be the host of WrestleMania 36, will also appear on the episode.
A tag team gauntlet match headlined WWE’s final build to Sunday’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Heavy Machinery starred in the gauntlet match, defeating The New Day, The Lucha House Party, The Usos, and The Miz & John Morrison, but it was Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode who won the Elimination Chamber advantage.
Miz & Morrison attacked Heavy Machinery after being eliminated in the gauntlet match. Ziggler & Roode then came out as the final team. As Otis was going for The Caterpillar on Roode, Ziggler hit him with a superkick and pinned him.
Ziggler & Roode will be the last team to enter the Chamber during Sunday’s SmackDown Tag Team title Elimination Chamber match.
A new match was also added to the Elimination Chamber card last night. Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak will face off at the PPV.
WWE has announced that SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison, The New Day, The Usos, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, The Lucha House Party, and Heavy Machinery will face off in a gauntlet match on SmackDown tomorrow night. Those are the teams that will face off for the SmackDown Tag Team titles in an Elimination Chamber match at Sunday’s pay-per-view.
The team that wins the gauntlet match will enter the Elimination Chamber last on Sunday.
Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins starred in pre-Elimination Chamber gauntlet matches over the last two years, though those respective gauntlet matches were won by Randy Orton and Braun Strowman.
Miz & Morrison won the SmackDown Tag Team titles from The New Day at Super ShowDown last week.
Tomorrow’s SmackDown is taking place at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks will face Naomi & Lacey Evans in a rematch from last week. WWE has also announced that Bray Wyatt will host a Firefly Fun House segment on the show.
New SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison are set to defend their titles inside of the Elimination Chamber.
During tonight’s SmackDown, it was announced that Miz & Morrison will defend their titles against The New Day, The Usos, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, The Lucha House Party, and Heavy Machinery in an Elimination Chamber match on Sunday, March 8.
The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After winning the SmackDown Tag Team titles from The New Day at Super ShowDown, Miz & Morrison appeared on SmackDown tonight. They were interrupted by the Elimination Chamber match announcement and then lost a non-title match against The Usos.
This is the second Elimination Chamber match that’s been confirmed for this year’s Elimination Chamber PPV. Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Natalya, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan will also face off inside of the Elimination Chamber to determine Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch’s challenger for WrestleMania 36.
Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn & Cesaro challenging for Braun Strowman’s Intercontinental title in a three-on-one handicap match has also been announced for the Elimination Chamber PPV.
A third title match is set for Raw’s season premiere.
WWE has announced that Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode will defend their titles against Heavy Machinery on Raw this coming Monday (September 30). Seth Rollins will also defend his Universal Championship against Rey Mysterio on the episode, and Cedric Alexander will challenge for AJ Styles’ United States title.
Ziggler & Roode won the Raw Tag Team titles from Rollins & Braun Strowman at Clash of Champions earlier this month.
Heavy Machinery are currently part of the SmackDown roster. The WWE Draft will take place on SmackDown on Friday, October 11 and Raw on Monday, October 14. The Wild Card rule will no longer exist after the draft.
The Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona is hosting the Raw season premiere. Here’s the updated lineup for the episode:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Rey Mysterio
United States Champion AJ Styles defending against Cedric Alexander
Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss
Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode defending against Heavy Machinery
After announcing a SmackDown Tag Team title match for Extreme Rules earlier in the day, another team was added to the mix on this week’s SmackDown.
Heavy Machinery defeated Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler in the main event of Tuesday’s show. The stipulation was that the winning team would be added to the SmackDown Tag Team title match at Extreme Rules. It will now be Daniel Bryan & Rowan defending their titles against Big E & Xavier Woods and Heavy Machinery in a triple threat match at the pay-per-view.
Heavy Machinery vs. Owens & Ziggler was set up during tonight’s opening segment. Owens and Ziggler argued on the KO Show and both wanted a title shot against WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. Shane McMahon responded by having them team together in a match where they could earn a Tag Team title shot.
After their loss, Owens attacked Ziggler and gave him a stunner. Ziggler had accidentally hit a superkick on Owens at the end of the match, which led to Heavy Machinery hitting The Compactor on Owens to get the win.
Bryan, Rowan, Big E, and Woods were on commentary at the start of Heavy Machinery vs. Owens & Ziggler. New Day started a brawl with Bryan and Rowan. Bryan hit a running knee on Big E, then Rowan slammed Woods through an announce table.
Bryan defeated Big E in a singles match earlier on tonight’s SmackDown after Rowan interfered.
The updated card for Extreme Rules is listed below. The PPV is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 14:
The Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre in a no holds barred match
Universal Champion Seth Rollins & Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans in an extreme rules match (winners-take-all stipulation with both titles on the line)
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Samoa Joe
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan defending against Big E & Xavier Woods and Heavy Machinery in a triple threat match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak defending against Tony Nese
The SmackDown Tag Team titles will officially be on the line at Stomping Grounds.
WWE has announced that SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan will defend their titles against Heavy Machinery (Tucker & Otis) at Sunday’s pay-per-view. The show is taking place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington.
Heavy Machinery defeated The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) on tonight’s SmackDown. Bryan and Rowan were on commentary for the match, with Bryan pushing that Tucker and Otis are legitimate athletes but are too focused on joking around.
Bryan & Rowan’s program with Heavy Machinery began on the May 28 episode of SmackDown. They accepted a challenge from Heavy Machinery but refused to face them that night.
The updated lineup for Stomping Grounds is listed below:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Baron Corbin (special guest referee to be announced)
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Dolph Ziggler in a steel cage match
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Lacey Evans
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Alexa Bliss
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
United States Champion Samoa Joe defending against Ricochet
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan defending against Heavy Machinery
The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
The Big Takeaway: An average show this week. EC3 notched up a win against Tyler Breeze, then Heavy Machinery took their time but managed to defeat The Ascension in the main event.
**********
EC3 defeated Tyler Breeze (4:48)
EC3’s underwhelming main roster run has certainly had people talking. Earlier this month, he didn’t hold back either. When WWE wished him a happy birthday on Twitter he replied with, “Thanks. Catering was delicious.”
He and Breeze are both being underused at present. Breeze has changed up his look. He has had his long hair cut now and has some new tights, but he is still using the same “Prince Pretty” gimmick that he has been using since he, too, was called up from NXT.
EC3 took the lion’s share in this one, with Breeze getting very close to winning at the end. He looked like he would win with a rana like he had done two weeks ago on this show, but EC3 kicked out and beat him with the One Percenter.
Heavy Machinery defeated The Ascension (7:46)
Otis, Tucker, Konnor, and Viktor were all added to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal this week, as WWE announced 26 wrestlers for the match. They joined the likes of Jeff & Matt Hardy, as well as Saturday Night Live’s Micheal Che and Colin Jost.
It’s about as good as anyone would have expected for The Ascension, but for Heavy Machinery it represents another solid graduate act from NXT that has not been used well.
This one was much longer than it needed to be and was largely dull as they built it around Tucker getting the hot tag. The Ascension cut the ring in half and beat down Otis forever.
Tucker eventually tagged in and cleared house after Otis and Viktor double clotheslined each other. Heavy Machinery did their normal routine and got the win with The Compactor on Viktor to set the crowd up for Raw, happy.
The Big Takeaway: Heavy Machinery made their Main Event debut and picked up a win against The Ascension. The B-Team & Tyler Breeze saw off Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers at the end of the show with relative ease.
**********
Heavy Machinery defeated The Ascension (5:10)
Since they moved up to the main roster, Otis and Tucker have had four matches to date. Their debut in January saw them defeat The Ascension on Raw, but since then have been victims of defeats in fatal four-way and four corners tag matches.
If you’re not an NXT viewer, then what you need to know about these two men is that they are impressive, agile, and very strong. Their finisher, which they used here, is The Compactor, a kind of piggyback World’s Strongest Slam.
The match wasn’t much until the end. They built a basic story around Tucker playing babyface in peril while Otis waited desperately for the hot tag. Otis trash talked Konnor, goading him to get tagged in.
When he finally got it, Otis absolutely ran wild, culminating in both his caterpillar elbow drop and The Compactor on Viktor for their show debut win.
The B-Team & Tyler Breeze defeated Jinder Mahal & The Singh Brothers (4:34)
A little under two years ago, Jinder Mahal was WWE Champion. In the old days, his title reign being over would have probably seen him leave the territory and move on. But now, WWE mostly demotes the likes of Mahal to shows like this, dark matches, and house shows. It’s a difficult premise for anyone to particularly relish.
As in previous weeks, Mahal did very little and the Singh Brothers spent the match stalling for time, engaging in dance-offs and comedy spots, and doing their best to flip around for their opponents.
Curtis Axel booted Mahal off the apron and into the dasher boards at the finish. This left Breeze to lock in a half Boston crab on Sunil Singh — before the ring filled again. With Mahal and Samir Singh taken out by the B-Team, it allowed Breeze to hit the Beauty Shot on Sunil for the win.
The new NXT call-ups continued to cement themselves on the main roster during tonight’s Raw.
Lacey Evans came out following a brawl between the Raw participants in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match. After Alexa Bliss, who was hosting her Moment of Bliss talk show, announced that she would be entering the Rumble Evans appeared and announced she was entering. She also called Bliss a “sawed off, girly little runt”.
Meanwhile, Heavy Machinery made their in-ring debut taking out the Ascension in under three minutes with their Compactor finish. The match highlighted Otis Dozivich, who did some comedy spots including the worm.
The two other new call-ups were also seen during tonight’s show. Nikki Cross was involved with the women’s Royal Rumble brawl and will be a part of Sunday’s match as well. EC3 was briefly seen posing in a mirror as Dana Brooke asked him questions about his physique.
Lars Sullivan, who was also set to be called up, wasn’t seen on tonight’s episode of Raw.
– NXT North American Champion Ricochet, Velveteen Dream & Keith Lee defeated The Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish) w/ Adam Cole
Several new WWE talents made their first main roster appearances tonight during Raw.
Nikki Cross made her televised in-ring debut, teaming with Bayley and Natalya in a six person tag match defeating the Riott Squad. It was noted during Cross’s entrance that all of the NXT stars coming to the main roster will be free agents in the coming weeks until they are signed to a brand.
EC3 made a silent appearance during a segment that had Dasha Fuentes question a number of stars about being a potential replacement for Braun Strowman in the Royal Rumble Universal title match. Lacey Evans also appeared, talking to other talent backstage as Finn Balor as walking to the ring for his match against Jinder Mahal.
Heavy Machinery made their debut during the Moment of Bliss talk show segment. Otis Dozovic interrupted the interview between Alexa Bliss and Paul Heyman and eventually had to be escorted away by tag team partner Tucker Knight.
Lars Sullivan did not make an appearance. According to last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sullivan flew himself home before last week’s SmackDown tapings due to what is being reported as an anxiety attack that took place before Raw last Monday.
Aliyah had her feet on the ropes when she got the pin.
– Punishment Martinez defeated Kona Reeves
The South of Heaven chokeslam got the victory for Martinez.
– Chelsea Green defeated Reina Gonzalez
A roll-through pin won it for Green.
– NXT Tommaso Ciampa did an in-ring promo and brought up that Aleister Black called Johnny Gargano his dog, Black’s music interrupted, with him then picking up the mic that Ciampa had left while bailing out of the ring.
Gargano snuck into the ring and superkicked Black. Ciampa slid back in and offered a handshake. DIY chants started, but Candice LeRae ran down and urged Gargano to stay away from Ciampa.
– The Street Profits & Stacey Ervin Jr. defeated The Forgotten Sons
A moonsault by Ervin was followed up by a frog splash from Ford for the finish.
– Dominik Dijakovic defeated Rick Bugez
The Feast Your Eyes knee strike ended this one.
– The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Bobby Fish) won a five-team tag team gauntlet match for the right to challenge for the NXT Tag Team titles the next time NXT is in Orlando
The Undisputed Era introduced the matchup and mocked the crowd by asking “Daytona, are you ready?”
Fall one: Heavy Machinery defeated Rocky & Boa
Fall two: Heavy Machinery defeated Adrian Jaoude & Cezar Bononi
Fall three: Heavy Machinery defeated Humberto Carrillo & Raul Mendoza
Fall four: Heavy Machinery defeated Saurav Gurjar & Rinku Singh
Fall five: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Bobby Fish) defeated Heavy Machinery
Fall five was supposed to be Heavy Machinery vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch, but The Undisputed Era took Lorcan & Burch’s spot and the team of Cole & Fish got the win.
Cole then took the mic and said there would be no Tag Team title match next month, which brought out the War Raiders — who brawled along side Heavy Machinery to send Undisputed away.
Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight did a post-match speech where they talked about going up to the main roster. Knight discussed Orlando becoming his home and said it was important to him that the fans knew how vital they were in Heavy Machinery getting to the main roster. He led the crowd in saying “We are NXT.”
War Raiders and Heavy Machinery then traded friendly shows of strength in what seemed like a hoss bonding ritual before celebrating to send the crowd home happy.
