Roman Reigns will induct Paul Heyman into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Prior to main eventing both nights of WrestleMania 40, Reigns will induct his on-screen “Wise Man” Heyman into the Hall of Fame at Friday’s ceremony as revealed during Monday’s edition of Raw. The induction is taking place after SmackDown in Philadelphia this Friday, April 5.
The ceremony will stream live on Peacock starting at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
Heyman has served as Reigns’ manager in WWE storylines since August 2020 when Reigns returned from a hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic and turned heel, aligning himself with Heyman.
Appearing alongside The Rock & Heyman in a backstage segment on Raw, Reigns noted that he was off to work on his speech, which Heyman then confirmed as the official announcement of Reigns being his inductor.
WWE made it official later in Monday’s episode with the above graphic.
Heyman, Bull Nakano, The U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda & Barry Windham), Thunderbolt Patterson, and Muhammad Ali will make up the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Reigns & The Rock will face Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins in the main event of night one of WrestleMania 40 on Saturday, then Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal title against Cody Rhodes on Sunday in the main event of night two.
Paul Heyman compared Roman Reigns to Bruno Sammartino, Steve Austin, John Cena, and other legends in a new interview.
Heyman told Sports Illustrated that Reigns would have fit into any era in wrestling history because he “reads the room” and “knows his audience.”
Heyman said:
Roman Reigns is the most innovative, transformative, disruptive superstar in the history of pro wrestling/sports entertainment. The reason why I can accurately make that statement is because Roman Reigns employs two tenant mantras of show business. One, he reads the room. Two, he knows his audience. That’s why he would fit into any era–whether it’s in the 70’s against Sammartino, the 80’s against Hulk Hogan, the 90’s in the Dangerous Alliance, the Attitude Era against Stone Cold and The Rock and DX, the John Cena era of The Doctor of Thugonomics, or now in the tenure being enjoyed by Roman Reigns, in his own era he created, when he lifted the whole industry out of the pandemic and into unfathomable heights that no one could have imagined or dreamt of back in August of 2020.
Heyman directed and served as executive producer for the upcoming A&E Biography on Reigns. The episode airs Sunday, March 31 at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Reigns noted that Heyman was the only one who could do his story “the justice it deserves” in a statement released on WWE.com.
Heyman says viewers of the documentary will get to see his and Reigns’ collaborative process.
He continued:
We have a great amount of trust in one another. One of the reasons this collaboration works so well is because we also can each veto an idea if we don’t like it. If something doesn’t sit well with him, I move on to an alternative idea. If something doesn’t sit well with me, he doesn’t assert his authority. When that happens, we come up with something different. We both love the creative process so much, and have mutual respect and admiration for one another, and we love to create together. That’s what allows us to create so freely.
That’s why this A&E biography is so worthy of everyone’s attention. You’ll get to see that collaborative process.
Heyman is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday, April 5 in Philadelphia. The ceremony will take place immediately following WWE SmackDown at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It will air live on Peacock and the WWE Network.
Paul Heyman is planning to let the Philadelphia crowd dictate the direction of his WWE Hall of Fame speech.
Heyman is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday, April 5. During a Wednesday appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Heyman was asked if he has his speech written out yet. Heyman claimed that he’s going to “wing this” by taking the pulse of the live crowd and seeing what they want him to talk about:
No, I’m going to figure this out as we go along. I’m going to take the pulse of the room that night. I’m going to wing this. Because I don’t know really what the crowd itself is expecting from me. Is this a crowd that wants me to talk about the modern day WWE and Roman Reigns and The Bloodline and the WrestleMania main event of Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes? Is this a crowd that – in Philadelphia – wants to talk about ECW? Is this a crowd that’s looking for some inspiration and a speech about pursuing one’s own dreams, etcetera, etcetera?
I really won’t know until I take the temperature of the room that night. And as you know better than I, you always have to know your audience. So once I feel the crowd, I’ll pretty much know what I have to do to deliver for them.
While Heyman still feels like his body of work is incomplete, he accepted the WWE Hall of Fame induction this year after previously declining the honor several times. Heyman decided to accept the induction because this is Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s first Hall of Fame class, because this is the 40th WrestleMania, and because he’s being inducted in Philadelphia, which was the home of ECW.
The induction ceremony is taking place after SmackDown at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday, April 5. The ceremony will air live on Peacock starting at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
Bull Nakano, The U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda & Barry Windham), Thunderbolt Patterson, and Muhammad Ali have also been confirmed for the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class. Lia Maivia is expected to be inducted as well.
Heyman will be playing a key role in the main events of WrestleMania 40. The Bloodline’s Roman Reigns & The Rock are facing Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins in the night one main event. Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will then headline night two.
Heyman’s full interview on The Rich Eisen Show is available to watch below:
Paul Heyman was heavily involved in putting together A&E’s upcoming Biography: WWE Legends episode on Roman Reigns.
The documentary will premiere on A&E at 9 p.m. Eastern time next Sunday (March 31). In advance of that, WWE announced today that Heyman both directed the Biography episode and served as an executive producer.
WWE.com posted the following quote from Reigns:
I wanted the most authentic documentary in the history of #WWEonAE. The Wiseman was the only one who could do this story the justice it deserves. There’s so much about me that I’ve never discussed in public before. This is the true story of Joe Anoa’i and Roman Reigns!
Heyman and Reigns have been paired together on WWE television since August 2020. Reigns recently said that being aligned with Heyman is a “performance enhancer.”
The Biography: WWE Legends episode is premiering less than a week before WrestleMania 40 begins. Heyman and Reigns are both set for big roles over WrestleMania weekend.
Heyman is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday, April 5. The next night, Heyman will accompany Reigns & The Rock as they take on Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins in the main event of WrestleMania 40 night one.
Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will then headline night two of WrestleMania 40.
This season of Biography: WWE Legends also included episodes on Randy Orton, Sgt. Slaughter, Scott Hall, Diamond Dallas Page, and “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith.
To no big surprise, undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is a big fan of Paul Heyman.
Reigns appeared on Friday’s Pat McAfee Show to promote his appearance on Friday’s SmackDown and was asked about Heyman’s impending induction into the WWE Hall of Fame and whether he should induct himself.
While Reigns didn’t have any real insight on who should do it, he did have plenty of positive things to say about his “wise man.”
“Whoever does (the induction) needs to be themselves and tell the truth because Paul is an incredible man…an unbelievable man. What he’s done in this business and his personal life, which I know well because I’m friends with him and work with him…I have the utmost respect for him. No one deserves a hall of fame induction more than him,” he stated.
Reigns then joked that Heyman is a “performance enhancer” and that “Paul’s a PED.”
“He knows what it’s like to be on the marquee. He’s worked around (the business) and in it his whole life is seems like,” later equating Heyman to being like a director who knows what to say to get an actor ready to do a monologue.
McAfee then told a story about how he was backstage preparing for a promo toward Austin Theory and was trying to figure it out. He said Heyman walked up to him and made a few suggestions on phrases that he ended up using all of. McAfee said he told Heyman he wanted to publicly acknowledge him helping, but Heyman told him he could hold off to some other day if he wanted.
Aside from the above, the rest of the interview was mainly kayfabe with a few highlights:
Reigns said that what John Cena has done is “GOAT-level generationally” but that for him, he is more about quality over quantity in terms of title reigns and the impact of those reigns.
“I will always take the quality of this reign over 14,15,16 times every day of the week,” he said.
On why fans want to see The Rock vs. Reigns and assume it will happen, he said that one of them is dominating Hollywood while the other is dominating WWE so it makes sense why people want to see the match.
“That was the endgame. Let me go and make the final statement. Put the stamp of approval and seal the deal, If I beat The Rock, ain’t no one ever questioning what I’ve done here. Cody (Rhodes) took that from me. He took that storybook ending.”
Reigns will confront Rhodes on Friday’s SmackDown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the build to WrestleMania XL continues.
It’s Friday and that means a new edition of Wrestling Weekly.
Life must go on in AEW after Sting’s retirement last Sunday at Revolution, so Les Thatcher and I discuss what they have got lined up after watching this week’s AEW Dynamite.
We also discuss the big angle leading into WWE WrestleMania 40 as The Rock and Roman Reigns appear to be getting on the same page for now, at least. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins will answer their challenge tonight on SmackDown to add another wrinkle to the proceedings.
In an interview with the New York Post about his upcoming WWE Hall of Fame induction, Paul Heyman addressed the role he has in The Bloodline’s creative process.
Heyman will play a significant role accompanying The Bloodline for the main events of WrestleMania 40 next month. The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins is set to headline night one of the event. On night two, Reigns defends his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Rhodes.
Heyman told the New York Post that he carries a “significant voice” in how The Bloodline is portrayed and presented. Heyman doesn’t think he would be satisfied just being a performer. He has to have some level of input — and that input has been encouraged and well-received within WWE:
I carry a significant voice in how we are portrayed and presented — that includes everything from camera angles to music to storylines.
It’s why Roman Reigns bestowed upon me the blessing name of the Wiseman, which is both acknowledgment from the Tribal Chief to his Special Counsel, and also a historical reference to the Grand Wizard, Freddie Blassie and Captain Lou Albano, who are the only managers during the Vincent James McMahon (father of Vince McMahon) era.
I don’t know if I could only be a performer. I wouldn’t be satisfied. I wouldn’t be happy with just going out there and doing our shtick. I have to have a voice. I have to have some level of input, and so far, as luck would have it, that input has been not only welcomed but encouraged and very well received.
Heyman said The Bloodline story has staying power because it’s constantly evolving. When he and Reigns were paired together in WWE, their goal was to put together a body of work that would be comparable to some of television’s greatest shows:
It’s not based on instant gratification and shock value. The whole designation of the Tribal Chief, The Bloodline, the family saga that plays out on TV and premium live events, is to present the highest quality product this industry has ever seen. We’re cognizant of the fact that for generations great performers in this industry have been inspired, like Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, DX, Stone Cold, The Rock. It’s been done.
So, when Roman Reigns and I had a chance to work together, starting in August of 2020, our designation was to put together a body of work that would upon reflection compete with ‘Peaky Blinders,’ ‘The Sopranos,’ ‘The Wire,’ ‘Fargo,’ ‘Breaking Bad’ — the most compelling dramas with the most riveting villains that anyone has ever seen. It’s a disruption of what had become the status quo in sports entertainment, and then a constant search for us to disrupt that disruption.
It was announced on Monday that Heyman has been named the first member of WWE’s 2024 Hall of Fame class. The induction ceremony is taking place after SmackDown in Philadelphia on Friday, April 5.
Dave Meltzer stated on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE had offered to induct Heyman into the Hall of Fame in previous years but Heyman turned it down because he’s still active in the industry. Heyman confirmed that in his interview with the New York Post, noting that he’s declined the honor several times.
Heyman still feels his body of work is incomplete and there’s still a lot he wants to accomplish, but Heyman decided to accept the induction this year.
“This being the first year that Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, WWE’s chief content officer, is fully in charge of the inductions, coupled with it being the 40th WrestleMania and happening in Philadelphia, are why he decided the time now is right,” the New York Post wrote.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Vince McMahon selling a ton of TKO stock, Paul Heyman going into the WWE Hall of Fame, Darby and the fallout from the PPV Sunday, ratings, the New Japan Cup is kicking off, your weekly RAW report and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Vince McMahon selling more TKO stock
2:12: Paul Heyman to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
5:45: Lineups for NXT Roadblock, AEW Dynamite, NJPW
With the death of Ole Anderson this week, we have a giant issue of the Observer with a huge bio of Anderson, talking about his entire career in the business, as a wrestler, promoter, booker and later executive with WCW. We talk about the beginnings of Georgia wrestling on national television, the expansion, Dusty Rhodes vs. Ole Anderson, The Black Scorpion, The Four Horsemen, Minnesota Wrecking Crew, Black Saturday and so much more. This issue includes:
The life and times of Ole Anderson
A story on the death of Mike “Virgil” Jones
Update on WrestleMania
Coverage of Elimination Chamber
Rock on Smackdown
Updated Mania lineup
Business notes on Elimination Chamber
Update on WWE & UFC 2023 business, along with 2024 projections and why the stock price dropped
Sting’s last match and AEW Revolution preview
Secondary market notes
History of Greensboro sellouts
Darby Allin and Young Bucks talk Sting
New Japan after Okada looked at
What New Japan needs to do
How Matt Riddle and Nic Nemeth started in New Japan
New Japan Cup news
Rundowns of New Beginning in Sapporo
UFC from Mexico City rundown
2023 Shad Gaspard/Jon Huber Award winners
Triple Crown winners of Wrestler of the Year, Most Outstanding and Match of the Year in the same year
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the shows, segment-by-segment, demos, competition and weekly placings as well as comparisons to one year ago
First ever all women’s Friday night show at Arena Mexico
Notes on the next CMLL tournament
Wrestlers leaving AAA
Stardom Cinderella tournament
Two major Stardom stars confirmed as staying with the promotion
Movie coming out on 70s star
More on MLW lawsuit settlement with WWE
More plans and changes at TNA
Shocking PPV number and trying to explain it
Tony Khan talks business and how many PPV shows per year is optimum
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw, Paul Heyman, more fallout from Revolution and the rest of the wrestling and MMA news.
Vince McMahon today sold 5,350,000 shares of WWE stock, which is about 6.5 percent of the company, for $411.95 million. With the sale he now owns 8.3 percent of the company.
Raw is tonight in San Antonio. The show was sold out with 13,500 tickets out at the Frost Bank Center as of yesterday. This marks the fifth straight time WWE has sold that building out for television making San Antonio one of the best WWE cities in the world. Jey Uso vs. Drew McIntyre and Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax are on the show.
We’re looking for reports on the show with anything off television like the Main Event matches to [email protected] We’re also looking for reports from the weekend WWE shows in Palm Desert, CA and Bakersfield, CA on Saturday and Sunday.
We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s Revolution show, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
WWE announced Paul Heyman as the first inductee into its 2024 class of the Hall of Fame. A lot of people expected this with ECW having been based in Philadelphia and remembered best in Philadelphia. Obviously Heyman is a Hall of Famer just for his work as a manager as well as his creative work, as one can argue him as the best second in history. The obvious arguments would by Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette and Gary Hart, and Heyman beats them all greatly in longevity and also has the creativity and booking aspect to be considered.
For AEW Dynasty, there will be a presale on Wednesday and tickets go on sale o the public on Friday. Running the Chaifetz Arena so soon is a surprise as they were last in the building for a Collision taping on 1/20 and didn’t draw well at all. As good as last night was, turning around a house show business when you are No. 2 in the market is historically very difficult unless you’ve got a Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bruno Sammartino type of level of a star. They are also putting ticets no sale for 4/10 in Charleston, WV. With last night’s show in the books, the only show with a big advance is next week in Boston for the expected Mercedes Mone debut.
AEW is taping Wednesday and Thursday (Collision airs Saturday but not live) in Duluth, GA. Tony Khan has been saying that something major will be happening. They are expected to announce details of the March tournament for the vacant tag team titles on Wednesday.
Sting called last night’s match against The Young Bucks one of the three best matches of his career. All four were thrilled how it turnedut with Nick Jackson saying it may have been the most fun he’s ever had in a match.
Another big thing noted to us was the reaction of the stars from the past to Will Ospreay, and the match with Konosuke Takeshita. Many people there who had been in the business for decades had never seen an Ospreay match although had heard of him. It was noted that they couldn’t believe how good he was.
Another note is one of our readers who was live at the show said in his section there were fans who only cared about WWE talent on the show and kept calling them as Dean Ambrose, Cesaro or Daniel Bryan and said several were outright racist at the start of Ospreay vs. Takeshita with kung fu and talking in offensive dialect about Takeshita and even trying to get a “Take a Shit” chant going that thankfully never went anywhere.
Friday ratings saw Smackdown at 2.35 million viewers and 0.64, which is significantly lower than I’d have expected for a show with Dwayne Johnson. It’s a solid number for a normal show these days. It was the most-watched sports show in the country that night. Rampage did 344,000 viewers and an 0.10 for the show that featured Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rugido. Both shows went against NBA on ESPN and NASCAR Trucks Racing on FS1.
ESPN’s Pat McAfee show will broadcast live from the WWE fan fest in Philadelphia on 4/5, the day before the show. While not announced, another significant podcaster is likely to broadcast a show from there.
Jake Paul announced he will run a show on 4/26. It’s not official if he will fight on that show yet.
Former wrestling promoter Joel Goodhart last night on the Bay Ragni producast said he would be writing a book with Scott Teal, and is hoping to do a TWA Reunion show (thanks to Chuck Langerman)
Anatoly Malykhin became the first three-division world champion in MMA history on 3/3 in Doha, Qatar when he captured the ONE middleweight title from Reinier de Ridder. Malykhin also holds the ONE tietl at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. Malykhin won via strikes on the ground at 1:16 of the third round.
The CBS Sunday Morning show in talking about the major names who passed away over the past week, mentioned Ole Anderson.
I taped an episode of Talk is Jericho talking about Ole Anderson earlier today, which should be out relatively soon. The Dark Side of the Ring episode on Black Saturday coming out over the next month or two will also heavily talk about Anderson. I’m not sure if he was on that episode or not, but Gerald Brisco was among those interviewed
NXT has a themed Roadblock episode tomorrow night. NXT themed shows usually do well above usual. The card has Asuka & Kairi Sane defending the tag titles against Lyra Valkyria & Tatum Paxley, Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker defending the NXT tag titles against Andre Chase & Duke Hudson, Tony D’Angelo vs. Carmelo Hayes with the winner facing Ilja Dragunov for the title at Stand & Deliver, Dijak vs. Joe Gacy in an asylum match plus Shawn Spears appears.
The new season of Dark Side of the ring debuts tomorrow night with an episode on Earthquake John Tenta.
GCW is running Saturday night in Atlantic City at the Showboat with names like Microman, Danhausen, Ryuji Ito vs. Nick Gage, Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Matt Tremont. They run the same building on Sunday with Tremont & Maki Itoh & Gage vs. Allie Katch & Dark Sheik & Effy.
CIW from Sunday night in Toledo, OH: Andy Chene b Chuck Wagon, Island Fury Taino b Ace Evans, Great Tiger won over Papa Dingo, Kenny Urban and Josh Morris, Kaiden Monohan b Barron Voodoo, Dishonorable Shotguns b Saint Brothers, Malice b Michael Elgin-DQ to keep the CIW title. Elgin said that he was planning on retiring but instead will wrestle exclusively for this group. (thanks to Paul Meade)
Lee Moriarty vs. Titus Alexander headlines UWN on 3/12 at the Irvine, CA Improv. The show also includes Bad Dude Tito facing Vinnie Massaro. AEW’s Peter Avalon is also not on the show.
In the city that defined much of his career, Paul Heyman will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
WWE and Heyman confirmed to the Associated Press on Monday that Heyman has been named the first member of the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class. The ceremony is being held at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center after SmackDown on Friday, April 5.
Philly, the home of ECW, has been a special place to Heyman throughout his decades in pro wrestling. That’s only going to continue over WrestleMania week. In addition to his Hall of Fame induction, Heyman will play a key role accompanying The Bloodline at WrestleMania 40. The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins is headlining night one of the event on April 6. Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will then main event night two on April 7.
He’s been a promoter, a manager, an executive, a ‘Wiseman,’ and now, a @WWE Hall of Famer. There’s more to say about @HeymanHustle, but as always, it’s best to let him say it himself… with a live microphone in Philadelphia. #WWEHOF
Heyman told the AP that, even though he’s being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, he still feels like his body of work is incomplete. Heyman said there are still things he wants to accomplish:
I consistently feel like I’m just getting started, and I’m just figuring this out. To me, what is an incomplete body of work, because there’s still things I want to accomplish, I never felt comfortable accepting that is a reflection upon an entire career.
Heyman spoke about the legacy of ECW:
The extreme in ECW stood for the work ethic involved, the passion that was necessary and the extreme connection to an audience to whom and for whom we were always obsessed with underpromising and overdelivering. The legacy of ECW is firmly rooted in the very simple concepts of paying attention to the cultural curve and obsessively trying to stay a few steps ahead of it.
When asked about the allegations that have been made against Vince McMahon, Heyman told the AP that it’s “an exceedingly difficult situation to process.”
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is expected to air live on Peacock/WWE Network on April 5. Additional inductees will be announced in the coming weeks.
Paul Heyman showed up on Raw last night with a warning for Cody Rhodes, but things didn’t go quite how he expected.
After Rhodes defeated Grayson Waller in last night’s main event, Heyman made his way out flanked by security. Heyman claimed that they were suspended NYPD officers.
Heyman told Rhodes that he needs to take The Rock’s name out of his mouth. Heyman urged Rhodes to withdraw the challenge that he issued to The Rock at Elimination Chamber — or else.
Rhodes responded:
Or else? Or else what, Mr. Heyman? You want to know why I haven’t rained holy terror on this microphone about your new boy Dwayne? You want to know why I haven’t trashed him in the media? It’s simple. Myself, like almost everyone in here tonight, we were fans of The Rock. How could you not be? Put yourself in my shoes, I come from a family that every meal [was] determined by tickets sold. And nobody sold more tickets than The Rock. But I am done. I am absolutely fed up being nice. If it’s a Bloodline setup like I said, come and get me.
But no other members of The Bloodline appeared. Instead, Rhodes was surrounded by Heyman’s security team. Rhodes used a steel chair to fight all of them off.
Heyman then got on his phone to call Roman Reigns and The Rock. Rhodes told Heyman that he had a message for them:
Go ahead, Mr. Heyman. Call them. Because The Bloodline isn’t hunting me, I’m hunting The Bloodline.
The Rock will be on SmackDown this Friday to respond to the challenge that Rhodes issued.
Paul Heyman had some words of encouragement for Logan Paul at the Royal Rumble.
The US Champion retained his title against Kevin Owens on the show in a match Owens wrestled with a broken foot.
During Wednesday’s episode of Impaulsive, Paul revealed what Heyman said to him backstage.
Paul said:
The position of the match was difficult. We were after the woman’s Royal Rumble and after the fatal four way with Roman Reigns, where he also retained his championship.
And Paul Heyman after the match comes out and everyone’s like chest out, they knew they just blew the f***ing roof off with Roman. Paul Heyman goes, ‘Come here, son.’ He motions me over. I’m like, ‘What’s up, Paul?’ He goes, ‘Do you want some motivation?’ I go, ‘Absolutely!’ He goes, ‘Follow that, motherfucker.’
He goes, ‘You can do it.’
Paul continued to say he was pretty beat up following his match on Saturday.
He continued:
Kevin, he’s ruthless, man, I’ll be honest with you. My chest is all still… he’s got fingerprints on my chest.
I’ll be honest, I underestimated him but I was playing chess and he was playing checkers.
WWE has announced Paul will be on this Friday’s episode of SmackDown. The show takes place in Birmingham, Alabama at the Legacy Arena.
WWE announced in November that Paul will be at the Elimination Chamber later this month in Perth, Australia as well. “Australia I’m coming back,” he wrote on X, announcing the news.
A loaded-up edition of WWE NXT takes place tonight.
With the show going head-to-head against AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday, WWE has announced a stacked card for tonight’s NXT. It includes appearances by John Cena, Paul Heyman, Cody Rhodes, and Asuka. It’s also been teased that The Undertaker will be showing up tonight.
Cena and Heyman will be in opposite corners for a match between Carmelo Hayes and Bron Breakker. Cena will be in Hayes’ corner, while Breakker will have Heyman by his side.
Rhodes is set to make a “special announcement” when he appears tonight.
Asuka will be in action on the show, taking on Roxanne Perez. It’s Asuka’s first NXT match in four years.
Butch, Ridge Holland & Tyler Bate vs. Gallus in a Pub Rules match has also been announced.
The first 30 minutes of tonight’s show is airing commercial-free. Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Opening the show is the entrance of Cody Rhodes. Wearing a suit and tie, Rhodes enters the soundstage at the Performance Center in Orlando. The live studio audience sings along to his theme song.
Rhodes began his monologue by addressing the audience, doing his line where he asks what we want to talk about. He goes on to say he never thought he would be in a NXT ring, but here he is.
Cody moves on to his announcement, or rather announcements — plural. Rhodes talks about tournaments in NXT, which leads to him referring to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The studio audience chants “DUSTY” at Cody, just before Cody announces the Dusty Classic is coming back.
Rhodes has one other announcement. Shawn Michaels made Rhodes the guest general manager. Vic Joseph on commentary says Rhodes now has “the pencil,” which is an insider term for being the booker.
Out comes NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov to join Cody in the ring. Dragunov apologizes for interrupting Rhodes, but Dragunov wanted to welcome Rhodes to NXT. Dragunov puts over Rhodes, and Dragunov basically says he wants to be like Rhodes.
Interrupting them is WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley and NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio. Dom cuts a promo putting himself over while he is heavily booed by the studio audience. Dom insults Dragunov, and Mysterio says he is “the one true” champion. Mysterio then insults Cody. Bad idea to insult the booker.
Dragunov responds by saying his father worked in prison, so he knows how to “turn a barking dog into a sweet little puppy.” Rhodes whispers something in Dragunov’s ear, just before Dom challenges Dragunov to a NXT title match tonight.
Rhodes says what he is hearing is Dom does not want to put his own title on the line. That comment led to Ripley interjecting to say Dom has carried WWE on his back for the past year. Dragunov cut off Ripley, and Dragunov accepts the challenge to a NXT Championship match. Rhodes make it official, and the match is set for later on.
But Rhodes is not done yet, as he also has one last impromptu announcement. Rhodes adds LA Knight as the guest referee tonight in the NXT title match, to counteract Judgment Day.
Kelly Kincaid is backstage as a roving reporter. She reports those in the NXT women’s locker room have all gathered around the monitor to watch the next match.
Shotzi Blackheart joins Booker T and Vic Joseph at the announce desk for guest commentary on the next bout. Blackheart announces she is set to return as the host for Halloween Havoc, and Scarlett is also joining Blackheart as a co-host.
Asuka defeated Roxanne Perez
Asuke pinned Perez in a good TV match. Perez got to shine at times. She was going for a cradle when Asuka trapped her in the Asuka Lock. Perez rises to her feet, and she escapes the submission hold. However, Perez is hit with some kicks. Asuks measure for one final kick, and that drops Perez. Asuka then covered Perez for a pinfall.
In a show of respect, Asuka bows to Perez before leaving the ring. Perez is then jumped by Kiana James in a sneak attack from behind. Blackheart leaves the announce desk to make the save. Blackheart sends James packing, and Blackheart checks on Perez.
Butch, Tyler Bate & Ridge Holland defeated Gallus (Mark Coffey, Wolfgang & Joe Coffey) in a “Pub Rules” six-man tag team match
Bate pinned Joe Coffey, after Coffey took a Shield powerbomb through a table. Wild brawling throughout with plenty of weapons. The babyface team wrestled in their usual ring gear, while Gallus dressed in jeans and t-shirts like this was a bunkhouse match. Gallus also taped their fists.
This was basically what used to be called a “hardcore match,” where weapons are littered around the ring for no good reason other than to be used in combat.
For the “pub” part, there was a table set up on whiskey barrels like a bar. Gallus all three lift Butch and put him through the table, just before the show cuts to its first commercial break.
They fight through a split-screen break, and the show returns to full screen with a standoff. That led into a slugfest. The babyface trio all do the Sheamus forearm spot to Gallus. Less weapons are used when the show returns from the break.
Wolfgang goes for a flip dive over the ropes, and he hits his back hard on the apron. The babyface trio did a triple submission spot. Moments later, Butch accidentally hit Bate with a kick. Wolgang then powerslams Butch, and Mark Coffey piles on top of Wolfgang as they both cover Butch. In flew Bate with a swanton to break up the pin.
Another table is set up in the ring by the babyfaces, but the heels would seemingly be the first to put someone through it. Joe Coffey puts Butch on the table, and Coffey leaves the ring to retrieve a mug of beer. Coffey gets back into the ring with the beer, and he is standing over Butch when Bate makes a save. Bate takes the mug away from Coffey, and Bate hits Coffey with the mug. Glass shatters, and Butch snaps one of Coffey’s fingers. The babyface trio then do the Shield powerbomb, as they put Coffey through a table. Bate then covers Coffey for a three count.
A video package hypes Becky Lynch defending her NXT Women’s Championship against Lyra Valkyria at Halloween Havoc.
McKenzie Mitchell is interviewing Valkyria backstage when they are interrupted by Tegan Nox. God forbid anyone finish an interview or monologue on NXT. Nox wants another title shot at Valkyria, and Nox says Valkyria’s title shot can wait. Valkyria cuts a promo on Nox, basically punking her out.
Jone Cena enters the soundstage like the superstar he is, and it is very surreal to see Cena on an episode of NXT. Of course, his promo is interrupted by someone, but Cena gets a monologue before Bron Breakker interrupts.
Cena puts over being in NXT, and he puts over NXT, along with putting over the NXT crowd. The studio audience thanks him with a chant, and someone in the crowd also did a dueling chant of “Cena sucks” when the rest of the audience chanted “thank you Cena!”
Cena begins talking about being in Carmelo Hayes’ corner later tonight, and out comes Breakker to interrupt the monologue. The studio audience chant at Breakker, telling him he sucks. Breakker is apparently delusional, as he says the crowd is there to see him, not Cena.
Breakker is cutting a promo on Cena, as the studio audience chants “bulls**t” at Breakker. That is bleeped out on USA Network.
Cena takes the high road, wishing Breakker luck in his match tonight. Cena extends his arm for a handshake. Breakker looks down at Cena’s hand, and Breakker looks back up just before attacking Cena.
Breakker is drops Cena with punches, and Breakker measures for a spear. Cena avoids the spear, and he lifts Breakker in a fireman’s carry. Breakker escapes and hightails it out of the ring.
NXT Tag Team Champions Tony D’Angelo & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo meet up with Cody Rhodes in a backstage skit. The Family pitches an idea to Cody for a 10-team battle royal. The final two teams remaining in the battle royal would then have a tag match. The overall winners would go on to face The Family at Halloween Havoc in a tag title match. Rhodes likes the idea, and he books the battle royal for next week. Rhodes also gives it a name — the “Bada Bing Bada Boom Battle Royal.”
Baron Corbin, in a backstage interview, cuts a promo about the NXT title match later tonight. Thankfully, the theme song for LA Knight interrupts Corbin, and he stops talking. LA Knight then enters the soundstage.
NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov defeated NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio (with Rhea Ripley) to retain the NXT Championship, with LA Knight as guest referee
Dragunov pinned Mysterio to retain the NXT title. Knight pretty much called it down the middle, until he got involved by thwarting interference by Judgment Day. Baron Corbin and Dijak would also get involved in a post-match angle.
When Dom got in trouble, Ripley jumps on the apron to distract Knight. That allowed Dom to cut off Dragunov with a thumb in the eye. Dragunov is down selling as the show cuts to a commercial break.
Dragunov makes a comeback when the show returns from the split-screen break. Meanwhile, the studio audience chants “YEAH” in reference to Knight. Dragunov takes a hard chop from Dom, and that awakens a beast. Dragunov chops down Dom.
Dragunov dodges a 619, but takes the move on a second attempt by Dom for a near fall. Dragunov fires up again, leading to a superplex. Dom rolled out to apron as Dragunov teased doing one of his finishers. Dom gives Dragunov a DDT on the apron, but Dragunov fights back yet again. Dragunov powerbombs Dom, and Dragunov follows up with the H-Bomb finisher.
Dragunov is going to deliver his other finisher when Finn Balor and Damian Priest run in. Instead of calling for a DQ, LA Knight fights off Judgment Day. Ripley goes to hit Dragunov with a belt shot, but Dragunov ducks. Trick Williams runs down to grab Ripley off the apron. Meanwhile, Dragunov levels Dom with Torpedo Moskau. Dragunov then scores the deciding pinfall.
Corbin comes out to confront Dragunov. Before Corbin can get in the ring, Dijak jumps Dragunov and hits the champ with a sneak attack. Dijak leaves Dragunov lying in the ring, and Dijak then confronts Corbin. Dijak apparently believes his is the next challenger because he attacked first. Not sure that is how that works, but whatever.
John Cena is in the locker room talking with Carmelo Hayes. In walks Trick Williams, and he introduces himself to Cena. Hayes tries to apologize to Williams, and they do some comedy with Cena. Willaims does not look happy as Hayes leaves. Cena asks Williams if he is good, and Williams asks Cena when he knew it what his time. Cena then takes Williams under his wing to talk.
Paul Heyman is seen talking with Ava.
Arriving to the building in a white SUV is Jade Cargill. She exits the vehicle, and she is greeted by Shawn Michaels, and they enter the building.
Baron Corbin confronts Cody Rhodes, and Corbin wants Rhodes to book a Corbin against Dragunov in a title match at Halloween Havoc. Rhodes instead books a number one contender’s triple threat match for next week with Corbin against Dijak and the winner of Hayes-Breakker later on.
Lola Vice (with Elektra Lopez) defeated Dani Palmer in a first round match in the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament
Vice pinned Palmer to advance in the tournament. Palmer had countered a triangle to have Vice in a pinning combination. Vice kicked out and then booted Palmer with a kick. A three count followed, and Vice is moving on in the tournament.
Thea Hail rejoins the class at Chase U, but Hail is joined by Jacy Jayne. Hail and Jayne interrupt the lecture by talking among themselves. Andre Chase flips out on the students and Jayne. She in turn announces that Chase and Duke Hudson will be part of the 10-team battle royal. This skit seemed like a way to get all of these people on an already loaded show.
Paul Heyman is hyping up Bron Breakker with a pep talk that only Heyman can do. As a pumped up Breakker leaves, Heyman commands his cellphone to call Roman Reigns.
Lexis King (Briam Pillman Jr.) is the focus of another vignette. King is watching old wrestling clips, which includes a bunch of Brian Pillman highlights. King heels on his father, and King talks about being unable to escape the business that inflicted so much pain on him. He will now inflict pain on it. King also says he is nobody’s “junior,” and King says he will take the name of the man that actually raised him. Thus the name change to Lexis King.
Carmelo Hayes (with John Cena) defeated Bron Breakker (with Paul Heyman)
Hayes pinned Breakker, after Cena thwarted interference from a run-in by Solo Sikoa. Undertaker returns as his “American Badass” character, complete with motorcycle, in a post-match angle.
Heyman does the ring introduction for Breakker as only Heyamn can. Hayman dubs him “Bad Ass” Bron Breakker. That would play into to the closing angle after the match.
Hayes was a house of fire at the start. Breakker was reeling as the show cuts to a commercial break. Back-and-forth after the break as they trade near falls.
They go for a high spot off the top rope, maybe a Frakensteiner, but they botch it. They try to sell it like a modified facebuster. More near falls after other high spots.
The fight spilled outside the ring, and Breakker picks up the a section of the ring steps. Cena takes the steps from Breakker, and Cena boots him in the gut. Solo Sikos runs in, and Cena smacks him with the section of steps. Cena and Sikoa brawl their way up the ramp to the backstage area.
Hayes gives Breakker a codebreaker on the floor, and Hayes goes to follow up by climbing the turnbuckles. Hayes leaps off with Nothing But Net, and Hayes covers Breakker for a pinfall.
Breakker gets his heat back after the match by spearing Hayes. Breakker stands over Hayes and proclaims their is only one “bad ass” in NXT (which plays off the Heyman intro from earlier). When Breakker utters those words, a gong sounds and the lights flicker. A motorcycle is heard cranking up, and “American Badass” by Kid Rock plays inside the soundstage.
Undertaker rides out on a chopper. The “American Badass” is back on his motorcycle. Undertaker gets face-to-face with Breakker in the ring. Breakker calls him an “old timer,” before also telling ‘Taker there is only one bad ass here. The studio audience chants at Breakker, cautioning Breakker that he “f’ed up” with that.
Undertaker gets on a house microphone to tell Breakker he will be a special talent one day … but that “ain’t today.” With that, ‘Taker dropped Breakker with a right hand. Breakker then takes a chokeslam, and Undertaker stands over a prone Breakker. The studio audience chants “holy s**t,” and then they explode into an Undertaker chant.
‘Taker gives Breakker a piece of advice. There is a always a bigger, badder bad ass waiting around the corner. Breakker just met the baddest of them all. Undertaker stands tall as the show goes off the air. What year is it?
Not sure I have ever seen any promotion hot shot a territory like WWE did with NXT tonight. It made for a fun show, but the legends and the main roster stars mostly overshadowed the NXT roster.
NXT next week will feature appearances from some of WWE’s biggest main roster stars.
Bron Breakker will face Carmelo Hayes next week. On Tuesday’s show, Hayes revealed that he had gotten a phone call from John Cena during Tuesday’s show and announced that Cena would be cornering him for the match next week. The show ended with Paul Heyman appearing, not happy that Hayes has been getting advice from Cena. He declared that he would be in Breakker’s corner next week.
It was also confirmed on Tuesday’s show that Cody Rhodes will be making an appearance, with announcers saying he will have a “major announcement”.
Asuka will face Roxanne Perez thanks to a call from Kiana James, who pulled Perez out of the ring on Tuesday’s show, costing her a three-way match that could have earned Perez a future title match. James later revealed in a backstage interview that she cost Perez the match because she did not want Perez to win any more championships. She then announced that if Perez could defeat Asuka next week, Perez would get a match against her.
Next week’s NXT is set to go head-to-head with AEW Dynamite, which will be moved to Tuesday due to MLB coverage.
Here is everything announced for next week’s NXT:
Carmelo Hayes (with John Cena) vs. Bron Breakker (with Paul Heyman)
It’s Saturday and that means it’s time for Wrestling Observer Live — a very newsworthy show based on Friday’s WWE SmackDown.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson came back to Denver and WWE, backing up Pat McAfee and laying out Austin Theory, but does he have Roman Reigns in his sights?
To hear him on McAfee’s show, he passed on WrestleMania 39, but might work WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
While SmackDown ratings were strong and the crowd in Denver went crazy, will this frenzy maintain all the way until WrestleMania? What does that mean for Cody Rhodes and LA Knight’s stories going into next spring’s big show?
Plus, I talk about John Cena, Jimmy Uso, the late Brett Sawyer and much more.
