Add another event to the jam-packed WrestleMania week in Las Vegas.
Rob Gronkowski, former WWE 24/7 Champion, will be hosting Gronk Beach late at night after Mania Sunday. The event’s web site describes Gronk Beach as “the ultimate nighttime beach party” and a “high-energy music festival.” It also promoted appearances at the party by Tiffany Stratton, Trick Williams, Lash Legend, and “surprise guests.”
Gronk Beach will take place at the Marquee Dayclub at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Sunday, April 19, starting at 10:30 p.m. and running till “late.” That means you’ll be able to enjoy WrestleMania with the F4W crew at our suite at the Cosmo, stick around for the start of our afterparty, then take the elevator upstairs to Gronk Beach, although that does mean you’ll miss out on Big Vinny V’s Karoake Bash.
Dave Meltzer has confirmed a Wrestling Inc report tonight that Gronkowski has exercised a release clause in his contract. As part of that release clause, he will reportedly not be able to join another wrestling company for “a set period of time”.
The report also said while there was an expectation that Gronkowski would wrestle at SummerSlam, any match with Gronkowski will no longer be happening.
Gronkowski signed with the WWE in March and hosted both nights of WrestleMania 36. He won the WWE 24/7 championship during those tapings, pinning Mojo Rawley after doing a dive off a platform and onto several NXT developmental wrestlers.
On tonight’s episode of Raw, Gronkowski lost the WWE 24/7 championship to R-Truth. Disguised as a gardener, Truth rolled up Gronkowski while Gronkowski was outside filming a TikTok video and pinned him to win the championship for the 36th time.
Gronkowski, who retired from the NFL in March 2019, was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in April.
NFL star Rob Gronkowski is no longer WWE 24/7 Champion.
A 24/7 title change aired on tonight’s episode of Raw, with R-Truth pinning Gronkowski to once again become champion. The story for the title change was that Truth was disguised as a gardener while Gronkowski was recording a TikTok video at his house. Gronkowski’s friend who was helping him record the video revealed that he was wearing a referee shirt, then Truth rolled Gronkowski up to win the title.
Gronkowski’s friend explained what he did by saying that Gronkowski needs to be serious because he has a new career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers getting started.
Gronkowski had held the 24/7 title since winning it from Mojo Rawley at WrestleMania 36 night two. He was the longest-reigning 24/7 Champion since WWE introduced the title.
Gronkowski was the host of both nights of this year’s WrestleMania. It was said on WWE Backstage in March that Gronkowski was “deep in talks with WWE and close to finalizing a deal.”
In April it was revealed that Gronkowski, who had been retired from the NFL since the end of the 2018-2019 season, was making his return to football. He was traded from the New England Patriots to Buccaneers, reuniting with his former teammate Tom Brady.
Video of tonight’s 24/7 title change is available to watch below:
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network confirmed today that Rob Gronkowski has told the New England Patriots that he wants to play football again and wants to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. ESPN’s Adam Schefter then reported that, pending Gronkowski’s physical, the Patriots are trading Gronkowski and a seventh-round draft pick to the Buccaneers for a fourth-round draft pick.
WWE’s Twitter account wrote about the news: “#247Champion @RobGronkowski is on the move!!!”
Gronkowski was the host of both nights of this year’s WrestleMania. On night two of the show, Gronkowski did a spot where he dove onto a pile of wrestlers from the perch at the WWE Performance Center and pinned his friend Mojo Rawley to win the 24/7 title.
It was announced on WWE Backstage last month that Gronkowski was deep in talks about finalizing a deal with WWE. What his return to the NFL means for his WWE future remains to be seen.
Gronkowski, whose career had been impacted by injury issues, retired from the NFL after the 2018-2019 season. He made five Pro Bowls and was a first-team All Pro four times during his initial nine-year stint with the league.
During tonight’s WrestleMania 36 event, Mojo Rawley was being attacked by a number of wrestlers over the championship, which spilled out into the ringside area. Gronkowski, who was on a perch nearby, leaped off the perch and into the group of wrestlers below. He then found Rawley and covered him to win his first WWE championship.
Rawley had won the championship during the first night of WrestleMania on Saturday. Gronk had attacked previous champion R-Truth and tried to pin him, but Rawley pushed him away and covered Truth instead to win the championship.
It was announced on March 11 that Gronkowski signed with WWE. Debuting on SmackDown days later, he announced that he would host this year’s WrestleMania. Mojo Rawley, who previously was on Raw, was moved to SmackDown due to his association with Gronkowski.
Gronkowski first appeared for WWE back at WrestleMania 33, helping Rawley win the Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal.
Mojo Rawley is the WWE 24/7 Champion heading into WrestleMania 36 night two.
Rawley pinned R-Truth on tonight’s WrestleMania night one broadcast to win the 24/7 title. Rawley’s friend Rob Gronkowski tried to pin R-Truth first, but Rawley pulled Gronkowski off and won the title instead.
Rawley appeared alongside Gronkowski as the former NFL star hosted the first night of WrestleMania. During the 24/7 title segment, R-Truth appeared on the perch at the Performance Center, introduced himself to Gronkowski, and said holding the 24/7 title is bittersweet because he has to keep his head on a swivel at all times.
R-Truth asked Gronkowski and Rawley to keep him hidden on the perch for a little bit, but Gronkowski struck Truth and went to pin him before being pulled off by Rawley.
Gronkowski will also be the host of WrestleMania 36 night two. The pre-show begins at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, with the main card starting an hour later.
Video of tonight’s 24/7 title change is available to watch below:
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Japan opening up wrestling again, the Olympics, WWE taping RAW, NXT, Smackdown and WrestleMania over the next week, AEW taping notes for Wednesday, plus mailbag and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Death anniversaries
1:42: Japan is starting to run shows again
11:02: WWE tapings, WrestleMania 30 on ESPN
18:51: SmackDown, AEW thoughts
28:51: AEW/NXT Ratings
32:02: SmackDown ratings
33:48: Mailbag
Last night’s SmackDown included Rob Gronkowski’s first appearance for WWE since joining the company.
The former NFL star and host of WrestleMania 36 appeared with his friend Mojo Rawley at the start of the show. They were interrupted by Baron Corbin. Elias also got involved and sang a song insulting Corbin. The segment led to Gronkowski saying that — while he can’t make matches — he’s advocating for Elias vs. Corbin at WrestleMania.
Goldberg and Roman Reigns went face-to-face for their WrestleMania contract signing. The SmackDown Women’s Championship match for WrestleMania was also made official, with Bayley set to defend her title against Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke, Tamina, Naomi, and Sasha Banks in a six-pack challenge elimination match.
The build to WrestleMania 36 continues on tonight’s SmackDown.
Tonight’s event takes place from an empty WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Fans are not allowed to attend, and only essential personnel is permitted. Last week’s SmackDown was the first show to take place under these circumstances.
Universal Champion Goldberg and Roman Reigns will sign the contract for their WrestleMania title match. This will be the first time they’ve been in a segment together since Reigns confronted Goldberg three weeks ago and was confirmed as his WrestleMania challenger.
The host of WrestleMania 36 will also be in attendance tonight, with former NFL star Rob Gronkowski making his first appearance on SmackDown since signing with WWE.
In the only match that’s been announced for the show, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison will face Heavy Machinery in a non-title match.
Paige, who missed last week’s show due to travel issues, tweeted today: “Okay but for real Smackdown. See ya, tonight..”
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Michael Cole ran down the lineup for tonight. He announced John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt from WrestleMania 30 would air later tonight.
Cole was standing in the ring and mentioned that WrestleMania 36 is going to be a two-day event. He turned his attention to the WrestleMania host Rob Gronkowski. They aired a video package on the Gronk.
Mojo Rawley was in the ring with Cole and introduced Gronk. Gronk came out dancing and tried to get the fans to cheer for him. Gronk noted he’s a massive fan of wrestling and supported Rawley when he was in FCW. Rawley promised to watch his back because things work differently around here.
Rawley and Gronk started chopping each other and pushed around Cole. King Corbin interrupted and made his way to the ring. He told Gronk to get on his knees and bow down to the king. Gronk responded they don’t get on their knees.
Suddenly, Elias interrupted and made his way to the ring. He noted he had a new song for Corbin. Corbin agreed to listen to the song as long as Elias leaves him alone. Elias’s song mocked Corbin. Gronk and Rawly danced and laughed in the background. Corbin was furious and demanded him to stop.
Corbin got in Gronk’s face. Gronk shoved Corbin, and he tripped over Rawley. Gronk noted he’s just the host of WrestleMania, and he can’t make matches, but he thinks Elias should take on Corbin.
In the back, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro and Sami Zayn are on their way to the ring.
Daniel Bryan & Drew Gulak defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro (w/Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn)
Zayn joined Michael Cole on commentary for the match.
Bryan and Gulak did the Yes chant on their way to the ring.
Before the match, Bryan and Gualk warmed up, which was hilarious and awesome. Bryan and Gulak make a great team.
The heels had the early advantage, but the faces briefly took over. Bryan hit a suicide dive on Nakamura and followed up with a crossbody onto Cesaro in the ring. However, Cesaro caught Bryan and slammed him down. He then rocked Gulak with a boot knocking him off the apron.
Back from the break, the heels were firmly in control. They isolated Bryan in their corner and cut him off from Gulak.
Bryan fought back and rocked Cesaro with a dropkick. Gulak got the tag and ran wild on Nakamura. He hit a German suplex for a very close near fall.
The heels regained control when Cesaro lifted Gulak and rocked him with an uppercut. The heels worked over Gulak, but Bryan made the blind tag. Gulak trapped Cesaro’s arm, and Bryan hit a sunset flip off the top turnbuckle to score the win.
Michael Cole announced that for the next three Sundays, they are airing past WrestleManias in their entirety. They start with WrestleMania 30 this Sunday on ESPN at 7 p.m. Eastern.
In the back, Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak stretched and celebrated their win. Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro approached and were furious they just lost. Zayn mocked Gulak and got in his face. Bryan challenged Zayn for the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania. Zayn agreed to the match only if Gulak could defeat Nakamura next week.
In the ring, Michael Cole introduced Paige. She appeared on the big screen via Skype from Los Angeles. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks interrupted. Bayley pointed out that Paige no-showed last week, and now she’s on Skype.
Bayley noted she beat everyone but wondered if Paige wanted a title shot. Bayley then pointed out that Paige can’t get a title match. Paige admitted she’s retired and can’t challenge for the title.
Paige noted she spoke with FOX and got permission to announce Bayley’s WrestleMania match. Bayley said she’s taking WrestleMania off and going straight to the Hall of Fame.
Paige announced that Bayley is defending against Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke, Tamina, and Naomi. Banks was furious and was shocked Paige would do that to her friend. Paige then announced the final participant in the match, Sasha Banks.
They recapped “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt challenging John Cena a few weeks ago.
WrestleMania 30: John Cena defeated Bray Wyatt (w/Harper & Rowan)
Before airing the match, Michael Cole stressed that Wyatt considers his loss to Cena at WrestleMania 30, the beginning of his downward spiral and the birth of The Fiend.
Cena had the early advantage with a side headlock. Wyatt fought back and took over.
Cena recovered and rocked Wyatt with a hard clothesline. He attacked Wyatt in the corner, but Wyatt laughed.
The fans broke into a loud “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” chant.
Back from the break, Wyatt slowed the pace down and locked on a sleeper hold. Cena recovered and hit a series of flying shoulder tackles. The fans broke into loud boos. Cena attempted the five knuckle shuffle, but Wyatt did The Exorcist pose, and Cena freaked out. Rowan caused a distraction to give Wyatt the advantage.
Cena leaped off the top turnbuckle, but Wyatt reversed into a powerbomb for a close near fall. Cena made a comeback and hit the five knuckle shuffle. He attempted the Attitude Adjustment, but Wyatt countered for a two count.
Cena attempted the AA on the apron, but Wyatt countered with a DDT on the apron. The fans started singing, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” They fought on the top turnbuckle, but Cena pushed Wyatt off. Cena then dove to the outside onto Harper and Rowan.
Wyatt went after Cena and threw him into the ring steps. Cena fought back and lifted the steps above his head. He teased hitting Wyatt with the steps but changed his mind.
Wyatt hit a crossbody for another near fall. He held Cena’s head and sang, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” Cena fought back and hit the AA for a very close two count.
Back from the break, Cena tackled Harper through the barricade at ringside. Wyatt attacked Cena and threw him back in the ring. He attempted Sister Abigal, but Cena countered into the STF. Wyatt made it to the ropes to break the hold.
Wyatt recovered and hit Sister Abigal for a very close near fall. Wyatt was furious and cleared the announce table at ringside. He brought in a chair, and Rowan caused a distraction.
Wyatt then gave the chair to Cena and told him to finish him. The fans sang, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” Cena teased hitting Wyatt with the chair while the referee begged him not to. Instead, Cena rocked Rowan with the chair. Wyatt took over and attempted Sister Abigal again, but Cena countered into the AA for the win.
They recapped Wyatt confronting Cena last week.
They recapped Asuka interfering in Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross’ match last week. Kayla Braxton interviewed Bliss and Cross in the back. Cross was furious that Asuka got involved and attacked her best friend. Bliss challenged Asuka to a match next week.
The Dirt Sheet Starring SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison
The Miz noted that something’s missing and noted they don’t have a match at WrestleMania. They showed footage of The Miz and Morrison imitating fans of The New Day, The Usos, and Heavy Machinery in the crowd. They mocked all three teams, but Heavy Machinery interrupted.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison defeated Heavy Machinery In A Non-Title match Disqualification
Morrison rocked Otis with a kick to the side of the head. Otis fought back and hit Morrison with a hard clothesline. The faces hit a series of double team moves on the heels. Tucker followed up with a dive off the apron.
Miz and Morrison regained control and isolated Tucker. Tucker fought back and rocked Miz with a clothesline.
Tucker was about to make the tag when Dolph Ziggler’s music hit. Otis was distracted, and Miz knocked him off the apron.
Ziggler joined Michael Cole on commentary. Cole asked Ziggler about stealing Otis’s date, Mandy Rose. During the match, there was a glitch and a symbol that appeared.
Otis made a comeback and went for a double caterpillar, but Ziggler jumped up and distracted Otis. Ziggler showed pictures of Ziggler and Rose. Otis fought the tears back as best he could.
Otis snapped and attacked Ziggler at ringside. He beat down Miz and Morrison at ringside as well. Morrison leaped off the announce table, but Otis caught him and tossed him into the ring post.
Otis looked up at the picture of Rose and Ziggler on the screen and tackled Miz and Morrison through the barricade. Otis grabbed a chair and teased hitting the heels. Tucker tried to stop him, but Otis looked up at the picture again and attacked Miz and Morrison for the disqualification.
WrestleMania 36 Contract Signing WWE Champion Goldberg and Roman Reigns
Goldberg and Reigns grabbed the chairs in the ring and tossed them out. Michael Cole asked Goldberg about the night after he won the WWE Championship and challenged anyone in the locker room. Goldberg was happy that Reigns accepted the challenge but didn’t think he had the balls too.
Cole showed a Tweet Reigns posted in January that mocked Goldberg for smashing his head on steel doors before his matches. Reigns noted Goldberg’s in his yard with a title he didn’t earn. Reigns signed the contract.
Goldberg promised that Reigns is going to be his next victim and signed the contract as well. They pushed the table out of the way and went face-to-face.
Next Week: Asuka goes one-on-one with Alexa Bliss. Shinsuke Nakamura takes Drew Gulak, if Gulak Wins Daniel Byran challenges Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 36. Also, The Usos takes The New Day in a number one contender’s match. Plus, a brand new Firefly Funhouse.
Left My Wallet is back talking football, wrestling, and fitness with former ECW original and former WWE star Stevie Richards!
This is Stevie’s third time on the show (see the links at the bottom of the post for his other two) and this episode is here to take your mind off of all the chaos and negativity going on in the world today.
We discuss Tom Brady signing with Tampa Bay and the repercussions for both the Bucs and Patriots. He also gives his reasoning for the signing, his thoughts on Antonio Brown, and if the troubled receiver will join Brady in Tampa. We also delve into our thoughts on Rob Gronkowski hosting WrestleMania, his signing with WWE, and if we feel it will be a good fit.
Finally, Stevie and I share what we are doing during this time of isolation to help out others and provide some fitness, nutrition, and business advice to help out those in need.
It’s an eclectic mix of football, wrestling, health and well being as well as a few wrestling analogies to some of the more interesting scenarios that have played out. Enjoy my talk with a friend of mine from our time in both WWE and the indies, Stevie Richards.
WrestleMania 36 will not only take place at the WWE Performance Center but will include multiple locations over two nights. The locations will be closed sets with only essential personnel in attendance.
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For the first time ever, WrestleMania will be a two-night event.
WWE announced today that WrestleMania 36 will take place across two nights. The show will now take place on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5.
Former NFL star Rob Gronkowski has also been announced as the host of WrestleMania 36. He sent out a tweet today announcing the news: “It’s official! I’m hosting @WrestleMania this year…and it’s gonna be too big for just one night. For the 1st time, #WrestleMania will be a 2-NIGHT event: Saturday, April 4 AND Sunday, April 5 on @WWENetwork! Tell you more this Friday night on #SmackDown at 8 ET on @FOXTV”
WrestleMania was originally scheduled to take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on April 5.
NXT TakeOver: Tampa had been set to take place at the Amalie Arena on April 4 before being canceled.
Here are the matches that have been officially announced for WrestleMania thus far:
Universal Champion Goldberg defending against Roman Reigns
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Drew McIntyre
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Shayna Baszler
NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley defending against Charlotte Flair
John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Edge vs. Randy Orton is also all but official, with Orton set to appear on next Monday’s Raw and respond to Edge’s challenge for a last man standing match at WrestleMania.
Rob Gronkowski is officially set to appear on SmackDown next week.
On tonight’s SmackDown, WWE hyped that they were going to address rumors of Gronkowski joining the company. Mojo Rawley made an appearance at the commentary desk with Michael Cole and Triple H and said he’s talked to Gronkowski and — while nothing is officially signed yet — the rumors are true and Gronkowski will be on SmackDown next Friday.
Rawley said Gronkowski would talk about everything that’s on his mind. “Gronk will be here. Mojo will be here. And we’re gonna be hyped,” Rawley said.
It was first announced on WWE Backstage this Tuesday that Gronkowski is close to finalizing a deal with WWE.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that “a deal is already in place as they wouldn’t have announced such a thing or a date if it wasn’t.” Meltzer also wrote that Gronkowski “is expected to do a couple of WWE matches on the deal.”
Even with his NFL career being impacted by injury issues, Gronkowski is regarded as an all-time great. He spent his entire nine-year career with the New England Patriots, made five Pro Bowls, and was a first-team All Pro four times.
Gronkowski, who became a mainstream star during his time in the NFL, retired after the 2018-2019 season and joined Fox Sports as an analyst last October.
In 2017, Gronkowski made an appearance at WrestleMania 33 and helped Rawley — who he is friends with — win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Triple H posted a tweet in February thanking Gronkowski for inviting him to his Super Bowl weekend beach party. He also suggested that Gronkowski should come to this year’s SummerSlam in Boston: “Thanks for the invite to the Beach Party @RobGronkowski… maybe you should come to our party in Boston … heard it’s the biggest of the summer. @StephMcMahon”
The spreading of the coronavirus has the entire sports, entertainment, travel and tourism economies in at least short-term jeopardy, along with the far more serious aspects of a rapidly-spreading disease that will seemingly greatly affect all of our lives in some form.
Things change hourly, but pro wrestling and MMA, like all sports and entertainment forms are in a state of mass uncertainty. It’s far more than simply the fear of WrestleMania not taking place in the manner expected, but the schedules of all promotions, and for that matter, all major sports and entertainment forms are in short-term jeopardy. With the NBA putting a hold on all play, the domino effect will affect the sports world, but that’s entertainment, and right now sports and entertainment are a minor concern. If we knew this was temporary and had a time frame of when things would be back to normal, it would be a bad period, but that would be one thing. With no time frame, it’s very different.
This story was updated with additional details on Wednesday at 1:30 PM Eastern.
According to reports, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is headed to WWE in a deal that could see him in regular in-ring competition.
On WWE Backstage Tuesday night, Ryan Satin first reported that Gronkowski is “deep in talks with WWE and close to finalizing a deal.” He said the former football star could be on next week’s SmackDown from New Orleans, LA, which The Wrap confirmed Wednesday.
The Wrap also reported Gronkowski will make an appearance at this year’s WrestleMania, but for a build to a future match and not for any in-ring action this year.
PWInsider took it a step further Wednesday, reporting that Gronkowski will be “an active pro wrestler” in a deal similar to Ronda Rousey’s WWE run where a big name from another sport was brought in as part of the main roster.
Known for his fun-loving persona, Gronkowski became a crossover star during his time in the NFL. He retired after the 2018-2019 season and joined Fox Sports as an analyst last October.
Gronkowski is friends with WWE’s Mojo Rawley and has appeared for WWE before, including getting involved in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 and helping Rawley win.
This February, Triple H posted a tweet thanking Gronkowski for inviting him to his Super Bowl weekend beach party. Triple H also suggested that Gronkowski should come to this year’s SummerSlam in Boston: “Thanks for the invite to the Beach Party @RobGronkowski… maybe you should come to our party in Boston … heard it’s the biggest of the summer. @StephMcMahon”
When WWE Backstage makes its official debut on November 5, John Cena will be one of the guests on the episode.
On last night’s special edition of Backstage, it was announced that Cena and former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will be guests on the show’s official premiere. Backstage will air weekly on FS1 at 11 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesdays starting on November 5.
There have been two episodes of Backstage prior to the official start of the studio show. A preview show aired after an MLB playoff game on October 15 and last night’s special episode aired after SmackDown.
Paige and Christian have joined hosts Renee Young and Booker T for the first two episodes.
Cena last appeared on WWE television as part of Raw Reunion in July. He also took part in a segment with Elias at WrestleMania 35.
Gronkowski retired from the NFL after the end of last season. He recently joined FOX’s NFL coverage as an analyst.
Gronkowski is friends with WWE’s Mojo Rawley and appeared during the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33.
