WWE stars of the past and present made an appearance on SmackDown.
Several WWE Hall of Famers, along with main roster stars, appeared on Friday’s show in Seattle. The show celebrated 25 years of SmackDown, which made its debut on UPN in August of 1999.
Rob Van Dam, Vickie Guerrero, Booker T & Sharmell, Michael Hayes, Ron Simmons, Teddy Long, William Regal, and Bobby Roode were all acknowledged in the crowd during Friday’s premiere on the USA Network. It was the first time Guerrero has appeared in WWE since her contract with AEW ended last July.
Roode, who has been out of action since undergoing neck surgery in 2022, has since transitioned to working backstage as a producer.
Along with stars of the past, Gunther & Ludwig Kaiser, Sheamus, and Damian Priest from Raw also were shown in the crowd.
SmackDown on Friday marked the return of the blue brand to the USA Network after a five-year run on FOX. Along with new graphics and a new logo, the show also had a new theme song, ‘Neva Play’ by Megan Thee Stallion, featuring RM of BTS.
Vickie Guerrero and her husband have denied sexual assault allegations made by Guerrero’s daugher Sherilyn.
Guerrero and her husband Kris Benson have issued a statement on Vickie’s Instagram regarding her daughter’s allegations, denying them and asking for people to “withhold final judgment on this matter” until they bring the issue to “a court of law.”
“Kris and Vickie Benson vehemently deny Sherilyn Guerrero’s recent allegations of sexual assault and abandonment,” the statement reads. “Ms. Guerrero’s unsubstantiated accusations have caused the Bensons to suffer public ridicule, scorn, derision, and humiliation. Kris and Vickie fully appreciate the seriousness of allegations of this nature and the need for public support of sexual assault survivors; however, they ask that you withold final judgment on this matter until they have an opportunity to bring Ms. Guerrero and her claims into a court of law where judgment is based on facts and merit.”
In a TikTok video posted earlier this month, Sherilyn, the youngest daughter of Eddie Guerrero, accused Vickie’s second husband Benson of sexually assaulting her in 2020 while on a cruise. Sherilyn also said that her mother had cut off contact with her. Vickie initially responded to the allegations in a now-deleted Instagram post by accusing Sherilyn of being drunk while on the cruise and said she would see her in court, and they would no longer be related.
Shaul Guerrero, the oldest daughter of Vickie and Eddie, said that the sexual assault allegations that her sister had made were true in an Instagram post which has since been deleted.
“What my sister stated happened on the cruise was true. She did get SA’d by my stepfather,” Shaul wrote. “SA is NEVER okay and she has every right to talk about it. Was it rape…no. But it was unwanted touching which is absolutely unacceptable and traumatizing. This incident tore an even deeper wedge into our family than what was there before. My mother and sister have had a deeply tumultuous relationship for years, same with my sister and I. After this incident on the cruise we all went into various forms of therapy in order to heal.”
Shaul denied, however, Sherilyn’s accusations that her family had abandoned her.
“My sister has led the public to believe we abandoned her after the SA which is not true,” she wrote. “The family went into various forms of therapy and Mom & Kris helped Sherilyn get on her feet again by helping her financially as they have done for Sherilyn since she was 22. Does this solve the wounds-absolutely not, but she was not abandoned after this incident.”
Vickie Guerrero is still a part of AEW, where she manages Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir. However, she recently confirmed reports she will be leaving the company in July once her contract expires.
Vickie Guerrero is looking forward to seeing what happens at WrestleMania with Rey and Dominik Mysterio
Guerrero told The Whole Story podcast recently that she only wishes she had a part in the angle. She also said they have her full support.
Guerrero said:
My only reaction is that I wish I was part of it! I just think they are having so much fun. Dominik and Rhea have always texted me and we talk back and forth and they’ve always had my support.
Guerrero said she was amazed at how much Eddie and Dominik looked alike when she saw side-by-side photos of them that Dominik posted to Twitter.
She continued:
It was remarkable how much they looked alike. I told Dominik, ‘you have this honorary position of having Eddie live in the storyline and you have my support.’ He’s so full of gratitude. And Rey, I love him and Angie.
I wish I was there to see it. They are doing a great job and I’m really happy for them and I want to see what happens at WrestleMania and see what they do with it.
Vickie Guerrero is set to officially leave AEW this July, according to a report from Fightful. She would later write on Twitter that the promotion had requested her to stay home from events.
@aew requested for me to stay home and I am not at events…I have no doubts that the #viciousvixens @NylaRoseBeast @MarinaShafir will have the fans witness a destructive match against Riho!!
She also posted a photo of her at an airport in Tampa last month with the caption, “Today a new journey begins…..my life is fulfilled with excitement and new opportunities.”
The 54-year-old has been managing both Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir as of late. She was in their corner last week as they teamed with Diamante on the Dark: Elevation taping from Phoenix. That match will air on Monday’s edition of the show.
Guerrero graduated from Herzing University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in healthcare administration. WWE had announced her as one of its talent scholarship recipients the year prior.
Guerrero made her AEW debut in a guest commentator role on the December 11, 2019, edition of Dark. She was revealed as Nyla Rose’s manager at Fight for the Fallen the following summer. In addition to her on-screen role, Guerrero has worked with the AEW Heels community. She recently recorded an AEW Unrestricted podcast with Aubrey Edwards and Amanda Huber discussing the project.
Guerrero was voted the “Best Non Wrestler” in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards in 2009 and 2010.
FTR will have a different manager than usual as they head to Mexico for next week’s Lucha Libre AAA tapings.
On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that FTR will be working AAA’s tapings in Mexico on Thursday, November 4. With their manager Tully Blanchard not going to the tapings, FTR will instead be managed by Vickie Guerrero.
FTR defeated The Lucha Bros on Dynamite earlier this month to win the AAA Tag Team titles. It was hyped going into that match that Penta El Zero M & Fenix would be facing a masked team who were friends with Andrade El Idolo, but it ended up being Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler dressed up as “Las Super Ranas.”
Meltzer noted that the November 4 show is the only AAA date that FTR has confirmed right now. AAA wants to book a AAA Tag Team title match between FTR, The Lucha Bros, and Dragon Lee & Dralistico for Triplemania Regia on Saturday, December 4, but that match isn’t definite.
AEW’s Kenny Omega will defend his AAA Mega Championship against El Hijo del Vikingo at Triplemania Regia.
At AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view on Saturday, November 13, The Lucha Bros will defend their AEW Tag Team titles against FTR.
Three matches were announced for the June 30 edition of AEW Dynamite.
The show, which will be the final show at the Dalys Place before going back on tour, will include Miro defending the TNT title against Brian Pillman Jr., a tag team match with Britt Baker & Rebel facing Nyla Rose & Vickie Guerrero, and MJF vs. Sammy Guevara.
All three matches were set up on this week’s Dynamite. Miro attacked Pillman’s tag team partner Griff Garrison, causing him to retaliate. The two eventually had to be split apart by referees. Vickie Guerrero challenged Baker and Rebel, saying Tony Khan made the match as a favor to her after she brought in Andrade el Idolo to AEW. Guevara attacked MJF after MJF attacked Dean Malenko while he tried to stop The Pinnacle from attacking Chris Jericho and Jake Hager.
After June 30, AEW will return to live touring with a show in Miami on July 7 called Road Rager. A South Beach strap match between Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall has been announced for that card.
Vickie Guerrero has officially signed with AEW, revealed in an interview with FanSided.
AEW established her as a regular character when she was revealed as Nyla Rose’s new manager on July 15th’s Fight for the Fallen.
Prior to that, her first AEW appearance came in December 2019 when she appeared as a guest commentator on an episode of Dark.
Guerrero would go on to make several additional cameos as an audience member and as a cheerleader for The Inner Circle’s pep rally on the May 27th Dynamite.
She said that mutual friends in AEW discussed having her potentially be involved. She fell in love with the company and had no hesitation in signing a deal.
Guerrero debuted as an occasional performer in 2005 with WWE and was involved in the Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero feud that which culminated in a SummerSlam ladder match where the winner would gain custody of Mysterio’s son, Dominick.
She became a regular character in 2007 and began a years-long stint as the general manager of SmackDown and began an on-screen relationship with Edge. Over the next seven years, she served as a general manager on both Raw and SmackDown and as a manager for a variety of acts including Dolph Ziggler and LayCool.
She retired in 2014, stating a desire to work outside the industry and returned a handful of times to WWE TV over the subsequent years for one-off appearances.
Vickie Guerrero was introduced as Nyla Rose’s new manager at AEW’s Fight for the Fallen event tonight.
During an interview with Dasha Gonzalez, Rose introduced Vickie Guerrero as her new manager. Guerrero cut a promo saying that when they decide to go after the title, no one will be able to stop them, and that Rose will steal every opportunity from everyone within the division.
Rose said last week that she would soon be introducting a new manager.
Guerrero has been seen previously on AEW television. She did guest commentary for AEW Dark back in December, and has also been seen in the crowd during AEW events. She also appeared in a Pep Rally segment introducing The Inner Circle back in February.
Nyla Rose currently stands at the top of the AEW Women’s division rankings. She lost the AEW Women’s championship to Hikaru Shida in a Falls Count Anywhere match at AEW Double or Nothing back on May 23.
Last night’s AEW Dark tapings in Garland, Texas featured four matches and an appearance by Vickie Guerrero as a guest commentator.
– AEW Tag Team Champions SCU (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) defeated Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) in a non-title match
With The Young Bucks defeating Santana & Ortiz in their Texas street fight, SCU will defend their titles against The Young Bucks on Dynamite next Wednesday.
– Britt Baker defeated Machiko
Local wrestler Machiko made an appearance here.
– Kris Statlander defeated Bea Priestley
Statlander will face Baker in a number one contender’s match on next week’s Dynamite.
These matches will air on YouTube at 7 p.m. Eastern time next Tuesday.
AEW will be in Corpus Christi, Texas for Dynamite next week, with the show also featuring AEW World Champion Chris Jericho vs. Jungle Boy in a non-title match with a 10-minute time limit and The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) vs. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page.
