A tag team match has been added to next Saturday’s WWE Elimination Chamber event.
Ronda Rousey will team up with Naomi to take on the team of Charlotte Flair and Sonya Deville. This follows what happened at the end of tonight’s SmackDown, where Rousey made the save for Naomi after Charlotte and Sonya took her out.
Tonight’s SmackDown had Charlotte defeat Naomi in a match for the SmackDown Women’s title. After the match, Sonya Deville taunted Naomi about the loss. After Naomi slapped Deville, Charlotte attacked Naomi as she and Deville continued to beat down Naomi until Rousey made the save.
After the show, WWE’s social media confirmed the new match.
Deville had attempted to suspend Rousey at the start of SmackDown after Rousey put Deville in an armbar on last week’s show. Adam Pearce came out and read a letter from Vince McMahon, saying that Deville had abused her power and threatened her job if she interfered in the Women’s title match.
Sonya Deville has declared herself for tomorrow’s Royal Rumble match.
After Naomi defeated Deville on tonight’s SmackDown, she cut a promo saying now that she had defeated Deville, she would go on to the Royal Rumble and win. Deville had left during Naomi’s promo, but came back wearing her jacket, and said as a WWE official she was ready to announce a surprise entrant in the women’s Royal Rumble match, herself.
Deville and Naomi have been engaged in a feud that started back in August, with Deville repeatedly engaging in efforts that stacked the odds against Naomi. After Deville inserted herself as a referee in a match between Charlotte Flair and Naomi and cost Naomi the match, the singles match between the two was made for this week’s SmackDown by Adam Pearce.
Here is the current list of entrants in both of tomorrow’s Royal Rumble matches:
Two matches have been made official for SmackDown’s Royal Rumble go-home show.
WWE is advertising that Sonya Deville will finally make her true return to the ring against Naomi on next Friday’s SmackDown. Plus, The New Day’s Big E & Kofi Kingston will face Happy Corbin & Madcap Moss on the episode.
Deville has been feuding with Naomi for months but has refused to face her one-on-one, saying that Naomi isn’t allowed to touch her when she’s working in her role as an on-screen authority figure. Deville again abused her power on tonight’s SmackDown by making herself the referee for Naomi’s non-title match against SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. Naomi had Flair beat, but Deville refused to count the pin. When Charlotte put Naomi in the Figure Eight, Deville called for the bell before Naomi tapped out. Deville then taunted Naomi after the match.
Adam Pearce told Deville that what she did was over the line, and her issues with Naomi need to stop. Pearce said he was going to suggest to upper management that Naomi and Deville have a match next week.
Big E is a member of the Raw roster but appeared on SmackDow tonight and was in Kingston’s corner for his match against Moss. Big E sent Corbin into the steel steps at one point. After the match, Big E challenged Corbin to come into the ring. When Corbin wouldn’t, Big E gave Moss the Big Ending and said it was for Corbin.
Moss had defeated Kingston when they faced off on SmackDown last Friday.
The man accused of stalking and attempting to kidnap Daria Berenato (Sonya Deville) was found not competent to stand trial.
Wrestling Inc reported that following medical evaluations by doctors at a competency hearing, Phillip A. Thomas was found not mentally competent to stand trial. He will be transferred to Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida.
Thomas was charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief after breaking into and entering Berenato’s home on August 16, 2020. Both Berenato and Amanda Saccomanno (Mandy Rose) managed to escape following the break-in.
Depositions for the trial started this past February. Berenato recently had her protection injunction against Thomas extended, with the next hearing set for October 7.
After losing a loser leaves WWE match at last year’s SummerSlam against Rose, Berenato took time off from WWE. She returned to the company in early January in a non-wrestling capacity, serving as an assistant to WWE official Adam Pearce.
For the first time since August, Deville appeared on SmackDown tonight. Deville had been temporarily written off TV when she lost a Loser Leaves WWE match to Mandy Rose at SummerSlam.
Deville was shown walking backstage on tonight’s SmackDown. It was announced on commentary that she’s been reinstated to the roster.
.A man was arrested and charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief after breaking into Deville’s home in August. Deville thanked police for their assistance and noted that thankfully everyone was safe.
Rose was also at Deville’s home when the man who was stalking Deville broke in.
Deville and Rose had been set to face each other in a hair vs. hair match at SummerSlam, but it was changed to a no DQ Loser Leaves WWE match. Dave Meltzer reported on the stipulation change at the time:
There was a late change in the Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville match. Two nights before the show it was changed from a hair vs. hair match to a no DQ loser leaves town match. The backstory behind this is that Deville’s lawyer told her it would not be a good thing for her to show up with her hair cut so much and she had court dates from her stalker case early in the week. The original idea was not to shave her bald, but to cut off most of her hair for some sort of an acting role. No word on how long she’ll be gone but she’s not leaving WWE.
Rose was moved to the Raw roster in September and is now in a tag team with Dana Brooke.
Deville’s return comes in advance of the Royal Rumble taking place on Sunday, January 31.
A new title match has been made official for this month’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
WWE announced today that Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax will defend their titles against The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan) at Clash of Champions. The Riott Squad became the number one contenders to Baszler & Jax’s titles by defeating The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) on Raw two weeks ago. That number one contender’s match also had a stipulation where the losing team had to split up.
On Raw last week, Baszler and Jax faced Riott & Morgan in separate two-on-one handicap matches. Morgan rolled up Baszler to get the win in the first match after Baszler was distracted by Jax mocking her offense and telling her she’s seen Baszler do better. Jax laughed after her partner lost. Riott & Morgan vs. Jax then ended in a no contest when the match was interrupted by a message from RETRIBUTION.
Baszler & Jax won the Women’s Tag Team titles by defeating Sasha Banks & Bayley at Payback. They also defeated Banks & Bayley in a rematch on SmackDown earlier this month.
Clash of Champions is taking place on Sunday, September 27. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defends against Randy Orton
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Jey Uso
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defends against Nikki Cross
Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax defend against The Riott Squad
Deville lost tonight’s loser leaves WWE match at SummerSlam against Mandy Rose. After a match filled with weapons, as they were legal in this no disqualification match, Deville was pinned following a knee strike by Rose.
After the match, Otis came to the ring and did the caterpillar with Rose.
The match was originally supposed to be a hair vs. hair match. However, Deville changed the stipulations on SmackDown two days ago, rejecting calls by Mandy Rose to let things go and instead upped the ante even higher.
The change came as Deville (Daria Berenato) and Rose (Amanda Saccomanno) fled from Berenato’s home on August 16 after a man broke into the house with the intention of kidnapping Berenato.
Phillip Thomas III, 24, was arrested at Berenato’s home and has been charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, and attempted armed kidnapping. He was denied bail and will remain in jail following a court proceeding held on August 21.
The man accused of trying to kidnap WWE wrestler Daria Berenato (Sonya Deville) was denied bail Thursday and will continue to remain in jail as he was deemed a threat to the community.
24-year-old Phillip Thomas II is accused of trying to kidnap Berenato from her Lutz, Florida, home early Sunday morning after traveling from South Carolina. He was armed with a knife and pepper spray and, according to investigators, had sent hundreds of threatening social media messages to Berenato prior to his arrest. He had sent one such message moments before the break-in, saying he was outside by her pool.
Thomas is charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, and attempted armed kidnapping. He allegedly had started planning the abduction eight months ago.
Thomas’ public defense lawyer was looking for $2 million bail (which the lawyer admitted he could not afford) and for him to be monitored with an electronic device, but was denied by Hillsborough Circuit Judge Catherine Catlin. She said, “I don’t see any way we can protect our community in Hillsborough County if we give him bail. A GPS on him gives me no peace of mind. A GPS monitor does nothing for me.”
In court, Berenato testified that she was sleeping and was awoken by her house alarm and then awoke house guest Mandy Rose (Amanda Saccomanno). The two went downstairs and saw Thomas on the back porch dressed in black with a black face covering. She said he began approaching and the two got in her car but were initially unable to start it due to their mental state. Berenato then called 911 while driving away. Authorities arrested Thomas inside of her home afterward.
Deville and Rose are still scheduled to have a hair vs. hair match at this Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam.
After UFC 252 on 8/15 in Las Vegas, Stipe Miocic can put a stamp on his claim as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history.
Miocic retained the UFC Heavyweight Championship in the trilogy bout over Daniel Cormier in Las Vegas, winning a unanimous decision on scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.
It was a clear win for Miocic, who took the final two fights of the trilogy. He came into the fight in incredible shape, looking the best he maybe ever has, clearly planning on a grueling bout that needed him to have the best cardio he’s ever had. He never really got tired, though the majority of the last half of the fight was clinch battles where both were leaning on each other heavily
It was the first time both men had fought since their second bout, which was nearly one year to the day of this one.
Daria Berenato, better known as Sonya Deville, has released a statement in response to a kidnapping attempt that took place at her house.
Deville tweeted: “Thank you everyone for your love and concern. A very frightening experience but thankfully everyone is safe. A special thank you to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for their response and assistance.”
The Tampa Bay Times reported Sunday that Deville was the victim of a social media stalker who had plotted to kidnap her for eight months. According to the report, the alleged stalker broke into Deville’s Lutz, FL home in the early hours of Sunday morning, triggering a security alarm.
Deville and a guest safely fled the scene and contacted law enforcement. When police arrived at Deville’s home, they found the alleged stalker carrying a knife, zip ties, duct tape, mace and other items.
The alleged stalker was arrested and is being held without bail on charges of aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping and criminal mischief.
A look at the life of James “Kamala” Harris, one of pro wrestling’s biggest stars of the 80s, and Daniel Cormier, one of the biggest MMA stars of all-time, are the lead stories in the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The Kamala story goes through how he got the Kamala gimmick, who came up with the idea, the story around the video that instantly made him a star, how Kamala worked in that time but wouldn’t now, how he was as a draw against Hulk Hogan, his late life health issues, his original meeting with Bobo Brazil, how he started watching wrestling, his pre-Kamala career, going to Europe, how J.J. Dillon was a key in getting him over and a look weekly at the first Memphis run that made him a big star.
His rivalry with Andre the Giant and how it was ugly early on, the feud with Bruiser Brody and every WWF run. We look at his career peak in 1986-87 and the gates and payoffs he got, his working Mexico, his last big WWF run, and the declines of his health.
Daniel Cormier’s quest for the storybook ending, others who tried to have that ending, the greatest heavyweight of all-time, his tragic upbringing, growing up as a wrestler, competing with Cael Sanderson, his Olympic dream crushed, his MMA beginnings, his word title wins, and more building the fight with Stipe Miocic.
Also in this issue:
Return of ROH to action, what the new TV will be about, the creative involved, testing and more.
How Kevin Reilly is one of the key people who fell into place and without him there would be no AEW. We look at the changes in TNT management including a unique note about Reilly’s successor.
A scary scene at NXT tapings, Dwayne Johnson’s earnings for the year, New contracts signed in WWE, Sports ratings, U.K. ratings and Canadian ratings, Lawler 50th anniversary sow, WWE market value, and most-watched shows on WWE Network.
WWE moving TV into the Amway Center, Takeover and SummerSlam news updates and creative.
COVID updates from Japan, with many shows canceled this past week, why they were, and what this says about Japan in comparison with the U.S.
New Japan’s Jingu Stadium show for the end of the month.
WWE Network featuring independents.
Saturday’s UFC show with a complete rundown and match-by-match coverage.
Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa doing a lecture for students at Tokai University on sports entertainment during the COVID era, with notes on AEW profitability, ad spending, how COVID has changed the world, how the AEW audience has changed, A.J. Styles, personal goals and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
New Japan, All Japan and NOAH have their biggest tournaments of the year at the same time.
CMLL’s planned return.
Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
We have two weekend shows up. Last night’s show has Bryan and I talking UFC 252, Smackdown, Wednesday & Friday ratings, and other topics. We also had an afternoon discussion with Lance Storm regarding a number of different subjects.
Regarding Daria Berenato (Sonya Deville), she is said to be doing okay all things considered.
Ariel Helwani of ESPN reported that Daniel Cormier suffered a torn cornea in round three from an eye poke. Cormier fought the last two rounds of the fight without any vision in his left eye, and even won round four under those circumstances. Realistically the fight should have been stopped and medical checks and balances should be a lot better than fans at home and announcers making it clear he can’t see and the fight still not ending. Cormier won’t immediately need surgery but the situation is being monitored.
As far as the judging went, 88% of media scores went to Miocic and 12% for Cormier. Most were 48-47, however the actual judges had 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. Derek Clearly had Cormier only winning round one. Sal D’Amato had Cormier only winning round four. Junichiro Kamijo had Cormier winning rounds one and four.
UFC 252 had about 2.35 million searches, which is the level of a pretty major show, but not a 1 million buy show. UFC 252 was the second most searched term on the Internet yesterday at 2 million, trailing only Robert Trump’s death. This number would cover searches for Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic. Other top searches were Sean O’Malley at No. 5 with 200,000, Jared Rozenstruik at No. 7 with 100,000 and Merab Dvalishvili at No. 18 with 50,000. During the past week, there were no other boxing, wrestling or MMA searches. My gut says that Kamala searches on Sunday that were near the top were at least some for Kamala, as opposed to Kamala Harris, that they were credited to.
Jon Jones last night was tweeting about how he wanted Stipe Miocic. Really Francis Ngannou deserves the next shot at Miocic, but if Jones beats Dominick Reyes in a rematch, he should be able to then face the champion should he want that fight. Jones is clearly goading for another Daniel Cormier fight, saying that you can’t go out with a loss in a show with no fans.
Based on what we’re told, the 8/22 Dynamite show will be airing at 6 p.m. on TSN 3 and midnight on TSN 1 that night.
WWE
Independent content from Evolve, wXw and Progress debuted yesterday on the WWE Network.
The Miz on Instagram noted that he and his wife have a new television series in development which would be a joint venture of Mad Rose Productions, their company and WWE Studios.
The Miz’s TV show Cannonball airs tonight on NBC at 6 p.m. Eastern. They will also air another episode next Sunday.
A WWE Timeline special on the Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart feud is on the WWE Network.
WWE Network News reported that the WWE Network will be adding Superstars shows from 3/20/93 to 5/22/93 tomorrow.
UFC
Sportsbetting.ag has released these prospective odds:
Stipe Miocic +180 vs. Francis Ngannou -210
Stipe Miocic +130 vs. Jon Jones -150
Jon Jones +125 vs. Francis Ngannou -145
BetOnline.ag:
Stipe Miocic +190 vs. Francis Ngannou -225
Stipe Miocic +155 vs. Jon Jones -180
Jon Jones +105 vs. Francis Ngannou -125
CWE from Friday night in St. Albert, Alberta: Gabriel Lestat b Travis Cole, Alix Zwicker b Kylie Morgan, Shaun Martens b Lumberjack Larry-DQ to keep the HIW Grand Championship, Bobby Sharp b Kevy Chevy, Chris Perish b Danny Duggan, Marky & Jude Hawkins b AJ Sanchez & Kevin O’Doyle. Next show in St Albert is 10/24.
The Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling Facebook has an interview with Gerald Brisco talking about The Funks, Hulk Hogan and St. Louis Wrestling.
Championship Wrestling from Hollywood will be taping at the Oceanview Pavilion with safety measures in place including mandatory COVID-19 testing for talent and staff. Fans are not allowed in. Multiple episodes are being filmed for distribution starting in September. They will be doing similar procedures as New Japan did for its U.S. tapings.
The Tampa Bay Times has just confirmed a report we received from a neighbor of Daria Berenato, better known as Sonya Deville, about a sick fan who stalked her on social media breaking into her home in the Tampa area.
The newspaper reported that the home in question in the area was owned by Berenato.
The story stated that Phillip A. Thomas II, 24, came from South Carolina and had spent eight months plotting to kidnap a Lutz, FL homeowner he had never met but had stalked on social media for years.
Thomas II was charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief and was held without bail.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a news release “It’s frightening to think of all the way this incident could have played out had the home alarm not gone off and alerted the homeowner of an intruder.”
Thomas’ social media accounts showed mostly comments related to Sonya Deville, constantly writing positive messages and defending her.
A neighbor of Berenato alerted us this morning that someone had tried to break into her home and kidnap her.
The story stated that Thomas parked his car around midnight and walked to the home owned by Berenato. He then is alleged to have cut a hole into the patio screen and remained there for three to four hours while watching and listening through the window. The belief is that Berenato and a friend at the time were watching the UFC fights.
At 2:43 a.m, after Berenato had gone to bed, Thomas entered her home through a sliding glass door, which activated her alarm. Berenato spotted Thomas and fled with a guest in a car and called 911.
Thomas was in the house when police arrived. They found him carrying a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, mace and other items and told police he was planning to take the homeowner hostage.
Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are putting their hair on the line at SummerSlam.
After an angle setting up the match took place on SmackDown two weeks ago, WWE announced tonight that Rose and Deville will face off in a hair vs. hair match at SummerSlam. The pay-per-view is taking place on Sunday, August 23.
Rose cut a promo on SmackDown tonight challenging Deville to the hair vs. hair match at SummerSlam. She asked if Deville really thinks she’s the first person to say Rose is just a pretty face. Rose said she’s been hearing things like that for her entire life and it still hurts to this day. Rose said Deville of all people should know how hard she works. She thanked Deville for reminding her that she’s so much more than just a pretty face. After saying Deville is sitting on her high horse and pretending like she doesn’t care how she looks, Rose told Deville to put her money where her mouth is and face her in a hair vs. hair match.
Later on tonight’s show, Deville responded to Rose and accepted the challenge.
Deville attacked Rose backstage on SmackDown two weeks ago, cut off some of Rose’s hair, and then went to shave Rose’s head until being stopped by officials. Rose then appeared last week and brawled with Deville during a match between Heavy Machinery and The Miz & John Morrison.
Here’s the updated card for SummerSlam:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Randy Orton
Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defending against Asuka
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Asuka
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defending against Andrade & Angel Garza
United States Champion Apollo Crews defending against MVP
WWE has revealed much of the lineup for this week’s episode of SmackDown.
Two matches and two other segments have been announced for this Friday’s show. Matt Riddle will take on Sheamus, Jeff Hardy will face Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt will host a new edition of the Firefly Fun House, and Sonya Deville will be The Miz and John Morrison’s guest on The Dirt Sheet.
Corbin has offered a King’s Ransom bounty to anyone who can take out Riddle. After losing to Hardy in their bar fight the previous week, Sheamus cut a promo last Friday where he sent a warning to the SmackDown roster. Sheamus said Hardy will self-destruct on his own and declared that he’s moving on from his feud with Hardy.
Corbin interrupted Hardy on SmackDown last week and then defeated Drew Gulak.
Last week’s SmackDown ended with an angle where The Fiend put Alexa Bliss (who is friends with Braun Strowman) in the Mandible Claw. WWE is teasing that Wyatt may reveal the motivations for that attack during tomorrow’s Firefly Fun House segment.
Deville attacked Mandy Rose backstage last week, cut some of Rose’s hair, and then attempted to shave her head until being stopped.
Two sets of tag team champions are set to take part in a segment together on tonight’s SmackDown.
In an email promoting the show, WWE announced that a “Tag Team Champion Summit” edition of A Moment of Bliss with The New Day as the guests will air on tonight’s SmackDown. The New Day are the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, while Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross hold the Women’s Tag Team titles.
Bliss & Cross are currently feuding with The IIconics. The New Day retained their titles against The Lucha House Party, The Forgotten Sons, and The Miz & John Morrison in a fatal four-way match at Money in the Bank earlier this month.
Deville & Dolph Ziggler defeated Mandy Rose & Otis on SmackDown last Friday.
Both semifinal matches in WWE’s Intercontinental title tournament will also air on SmackDown tonight. They are Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles vs. Elias.
