Tag: wrestlemania 38

Bianca Belair to challenge for Raw Women’s title at WWE WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Bianca Belair is going to WrestleMania.

At WrestleMania 38 this April, Belair will challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship. Belair getting the title shot was confirmed when she won a number one contender’s Elimination Chamber match at today’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia.

Belair got the win after eliminating both Alexa Bliss and Rhea Ripley with KODs. Belair earned the right to enter the Chamber last by winning a gauntlet match on Raw earlier this week.

Liv Morgan, Doudrop, and Nikki A.S.H. were also participants in the Elimination Chamber match.

This will be the second straight year that Belair has entered WrestleMania as the challenger for one of WWE’s women’s titles. In the main event of WrestleMania 37 night one in 2021, Belair defeated Sasha Banks to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Belair lost the SmackDown Women’s Championship when Lynch made her return at SummerSlam last August and defeated Belair in under 30 seconds.

Lynch became Raw Women’s Champion when she swapped title belts with Charlotte Flair after both changed brands in last year’s WWE Draft.

Lynch retained the Raw Women’s title against Lita at Elimination Chamber.

WrestleMania 38 is a two-night event that’s taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.

Another ‘Austin-level’ surprise still to come for WWE WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Josh Nason

According to Dave Meltzer, another “Austin-level surprise” is yet to be revealed for WWE WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, Texas.

Talking on Tuesday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said he isn’t sure who it would be as he considers Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair at that level. 

He said that he thought Johnson and even John Cena were both unable to make the schedule for this year’s WrestleMania, set for Saturday, April 2nd and April 3rd.

In January, Cena said he was unlikely for the show but that he isn’t done with WWE by a long shot.

Meltzer didn’t say whether the surprise was going to be revealed before WrestleMania and if that surprise would be in a match or just an appearance on the show.

“Austin-level,” of course, is referring to Steve Austin as rumors broke this week that he might be returning to the ring for a match against Kevin Owens, his first since 2003.

Co-host Garrett Gonzales asked Meltzer about rumblings Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian heard about WWE hoping this wouldn’t be a one-off for Austin. Meltzer couldn’t confirm it as he wasn’t sure what Austin’s motivations were for a comeback and whether he might be looking for a Goldberg or Edge-level deal where he returns for a few select matches per year.

Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens being discussed for WWE WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Kevin Owens vs. Steve Austin could be happening in just a matter of months.

Dave Meltzer is reporting that a match between the two is being discussed for this year’s WrestleMania, which takes place on April 2 and 3 in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium. It would be Austin’s first match since WrestleMania XIX in 2003, where he lost to The Rock.

Austin retired from in-ring competition in 2003 due to neck injuries originally stemming from a botched piledriver from Owen Hart at SummerSlam 1997. In recent years, he has made sporadic appearances on WWE TV and hosts a televised podcast called Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions that airs on Peacock.

On last week’s Raw, WWE officials Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce brought up the idea that Owens may not even be able to be on this year’s WrestleMania card after losing his Elimination Chamber qualifying match. Owens brought up that he loved the state of Texas. On this week’s episode, a poll was shown indicating that 60% of fans thought Kevin Owens was lying. Owens then confirmed he was lying and proceeded to make disparaging comments about the state.

Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey official for WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Ronda Rousey has chosen her opponent for WrestleMania, and it’s the SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.

Rousey chose Flair in the final segment of tonight’s SmackDown. The segment opened with Charlotte and official Sonya Deville coming to the ring. Deville noted that she had talked to Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, who said that she expects to face Rousey at WrestleMania, and also expects a contract on Raw. Flair then picked Sasha Banks as her WrestleMania opponent, which led to Rousey coming out and saying that Flair wasn’t special and that in fact, she was choosing Flair as her opponent.

After Charlotte made a remark about Rousey’s child, Rousey went to attack Flair but Deville prevented that from happening, telling Rousey that it was her show, not Rousey’s. Rousey instead laid out Deville and latched on an armbar to end the show.

Brock Lesnar, who won the men’s Royal Rumble match, announced on Raw this past Monday that he would be facing Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, which takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on April 2 and 3.

WWE considering title vs. title stakes for Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns WrestleMania 38 match

Posted on by Josh Nason

With the idea that their WrestleMania 38 clash needs something new, WWE is considering making Brock Lesnar vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns a title vs. title match.

Dave Meltzer reported the news in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Meltzer said the original plan didn’t have a title vs. title stipulation, but “plans change so frequently.” He said the feeling is that because the two have done the match before, this encounter would need something extra added to it.

That would increase the importance of this month’s Elimination Chamber as Lesnar would need to win the WWE title currently held by Bobby Lashley in the Chamber match both men are part of.

“At this point, the feeling on creative is that Vince (McMahon) will make the call to go with title vs. title, hence putting Lesnar over in the Chamber. There were those internally, including Heyman and Lesnar, pushing for it. The only thing we were told is that of press time, the course to WrestleMania is once again set regarding both titles and there are a number of twists and turns to come,” he wrote, later noting that any planned WWE title match would then be off as a result.

“The idea is also to book Reigns and Lesnar as strong as possible with the idea that the Mania match is the two top stars who are well above everyone else and that the Mania main event is a dream match,” he wrote.

Meltzer also said the original plan wasn’t to split Paul Heyman and Lesnar, but that with the Reigns/Heyman dynamic being so strong and Lesnar not back full-time, it was inevitable.

The original plans for their reunion changed due to Reigns getting COVID-19 and needing to pull off the Day One premium live event.

Reigns vs. Lesnar official for WWE WrestleMania 38, Lesnar added to Elimination Chamber

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WrestleMania 38 has its first official match.

Brock Lesnar will challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38 this April. The two-night event is being held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.

WWE hasn’t announced which night Reigns vs. Lesnar will be taking place on, but Dave Meltzer has reported that it’s scheduled to headline night two.

Lesnar was the winner of Saturday’s men’s Royal Rumble match. He entered the Rumble after Reigns cost him the WWE Championship earlier in the show. Bobby Lashley pinned Lesnar to win the title after involvement by Reigns and Paul Heyman. Heyman betrayed Lesnar by giving Reigns the WWE title belt to use as a weapon.

In the opening segment of tonight’s Raw, Lesnar made his WrestleMania decision official. But Lesnar still wanted his rematch for the WWE Championship. After Lashley refused to face Lesnar tonight, it was announced that Lesnar will be part of the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship at February’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Lashley will defend his title against Lesnar and four other challengers.

Lesnar vowed that he would win the WWE Championship and that it would be title vs. title when he faces Reigns at WrestleMania.

The Elimination Chamber is taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19.

Shane McMahon booked for WWE Elimination Chamber, WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Josh Nason

After his return to action in the men’s WWE Royal Rumble match Saturday, Shane McMahon is booked for both the Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania 38, according to our Dave Meltzer.

It’s unknown who those matches will be against. Meltzer said in Sunday’s daily update that McMahon “has a match on the books but it was said to have not been finalized a few days ago which is evidently why they did no angle with him (at the Rumble).”

The 52-year-old entered the Rumble at number 28 and was eliminated by eventual winner Brock Lesnar. McMahon was last seen in the ring at WrestleMania 37, losing in a steel cage match to Braun Strowman. That was his first match since October 2019 when he lost a career vs. career ladder match against Kevin Owens.

The Elimination Chamber is set for Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19th, and it will be McMahon’s fourth appearance in a match there dating back to 2018. He appeared in the Greatest Royal Rumble and won the World Cup final over Dolph Ziggler in two events that year and defeated Roman Reigns in 2019.

It will be his sixth WrestleMania match dating back to 2001.

Fans temporarily evacuated after WrestleMania sign catches fire at WWE Royal Rumble

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Fans had to be temporarily evacuated after the WrestleMania 38 sign caught fire during tonight’s Royal Rumble event.

After Ronda Rousey won the women’s Royal Rumble, she pointed to the sign, which emitted pyro. During the following match, Becky Lynch vs. Doudrop, the sign had to be lowered as fans from that area had to be evacuated. The situation was fixed by the end of the match, with the sign being lowered, extinguished, and raised once again.

At the end of tonight’s show, the men’s Royal Rumble winner Brock Lesnar also pointed at the sign, with pyro emitting from the sign. The crowd was evacuated prior to the pyro, with the logo catching on fire again.

The sign made its debut at tonight’s Royal Rumble, which usually sets the course for the next new months leading to WrestleMania. Rousey made her return to the WWE and eliminated SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair to win the Royal Rumble match for the first time. She will be on Raw this coming Monday.

Other key matches at this year’s Royal Rumble had Seth Rollins defeat Roman Reigns by disqualification after Reigns refused to let go of the guillotine after the five count, with Reigns retaining the WWE Universal title. Bobby Lashley defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship after Reigns interfered and attacked Lesnar. Paul Heyman gave the WWE Championship to Reigns to use against Lesnar, effectively siding with Reigns once again.

Report: NXT Stand & Deliver scheduled as matinee before night one of WWE WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Josh Nason

This year’s schedule for WWE WrestleMania 38 week continues to take shape with PWInsider reporting a discussed change regarding NXT that would have seemed unfathomable just a few years ago.

The website said that while this is still preliminary in the planning, this year’s NXT Stand & Deliver is currently planned for Saturday, April 2nd on the first night of WrestleMania 38.

While the venue has yet to be determined, the idea is the show would be a matinee running from noon to 3 PM Eastern.

If that happens, that would be the first time since NXT began running events during WrestleMania weekend that one of its centerpiece shows wouldn’t have its own night.

PWInsider also reported that the preliminary plan is to air the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, April 1st on both Peacock and WWE Network after SmackDown is off the air.

It’s unknown if that would mean the ceremony would be taped ahead of time as it was last year. If it went live, it would begin at 9 PM local time in Dallas, Texas.

WWE announced their slate of events earlier this week, but didn’t provide specific dates.

WWE announces Hall of Fame ceremony, NXT Stand & Deliver for WrestleMania week

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After two years of WrestleMania being affected by COVID-19, this year’s event will look a bit closer to normal.

WWE announced via the Dallas Morning News today that it is returning to putting on a full slate of in-person events during WrestleMania 38 week. That will include this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony, NXT Stand & Deliver, episodes of SmackDown and Raw, and “a ‘Superstore Axxess’ interactive fan experience.”

All of the shows will take place in the Dallas area surrounding WrestleMania 38. Dates, locations, and ticket information for the events have yet to be announced.

In 2020, the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony was canceled due to the pandemic. The 2020 and 2021 Hall of Fame classes were inducted in a ceremony that was taped at the WWE ThunderDome last year.

Stand & Deliver will be the first NXT event to take place outside of Florida since the start of the pandemic. It will also be NXT’s first show outside of Florida since the NXT 2.0 rebrand.

WrestleMania 38 is being held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.

John Cena doesn’t know if he’ll be able to appear at WWE WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Joseph Currier

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, John Cena was asked if he’ll be returning to WWE for this year’s WrestleMania.

Cena said that, due to opportunities he has coming up, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to make it to WrestleMania 38 this April. Cena said it depends on how those opportunities fall into place. But Cena said he loves WWE and isn’t done with pro wrestling by a long shot.

“WrestleMania is usually in the cusp of late March, early April. I don’t know if I’m going to make it this year. That’s a good conundrum to have because there’s a lot of good opportunities coming up, which I would love to take. And if all those things line up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make WrestleMania,” Cena said.

“But I will tell you and everybody out there watching, I’m not done with WWE by a long shot. That’s my home, I love it. I was able to go back during the summer for a few months and entertain audiences when they welcomed audiences back to arenas. So, I’ve far from had my last performance.”

Cena didn’t appear at last year’s WrestleMania in Tampa because there was no logistical way he could make it due to pandemic-related travel restrictions. Cena was in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to film his Peacemaker television series. That series premieres on HBO Max this Thursday.

In 2020, Cena faced “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a cinematic Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36.

Cena made his return to WWE for the “Summer of Cena” in 2021. That included him making televised appearances and working house shows. He returned at Money in the Bank and set up a match where he lost to Universal Champion Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.

WrestleMania 38 is a two-night event that’s taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.

GCW The Collective returning for WrestleMania weekend in Dallas

Posted on by Ethan Renner

GCW’s The Collective will return for 2022 on WrestleMania weekend in Dallas, Texas on March 31, April 1 and April 2, 2022. 

The 2022 edition of The Collective will be held at Dallas’s Fair Park. A number of indie promotions are expected to join GCW in running shows at Fair Park. Additionally, GCW promises live wrestling events, merchandise, food trucks, plus the GCW Wrld Fair, a space for vendors, exhibits, games, podcasts, stage shows and more.

GCW debuted The Collective in 2019 in New Jersey during WrestleMania weekend. The 2020 edition was postponed until October of that year following the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021’s Collective returned to WrestleMania weekend and was held in Ybor City, Florida. 

Effy’s Big Gay Brunch, Allie Kat’s Real Hot Girl S**t, GCW Planet Death, the GCW Acid Cup, GCW For the Culture, plus Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport were all held during The Collective in 2021. Joey Janela’s Spring Break event is also held during The Collective each year. 

Undertaker appears at NFL game promoting WWE WrestleMania 38

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The Undertaker was in attendance at today’s Cowboys vs. Broncos NFL game at AT&T Stadium in Dallas to promote Friday’s on-sale date for WWE WrestleMania 38 tickets. The venue will host WrestleMania 38 on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3, 2022.

Undertaker posted photos of himself at the game alongside wife and former WWE star Michelle McCool, members of the Jones family who own the Dallas Cowboys, players, and former United States President George W. Bush.

Undertaker tweeted:

“The Deadman in Dallas… getting ready for #WrestleMania @ATTStadium with the @dallascowboys”

Undertaker and McCool were also shown on the stadium’s big screen during the game. 

Tickets for WrestleMania officially go on sale Friday, November 12 at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Travel packages for WrestleMania 38 go on sale Monday, November 8 at noon Eastern time. 

WWE tweeted:

“The @undertaker was on the sidelines ahead of today’s @dallascowboys game and spent some time recognizing members of the United States Military!”

The NFL brands each November as their “Salute to Service” month and have tie-ins with branches of the military, as well as selling military-themed merchandise. 

The Denver Broncos defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-16 today.

WWE announces WrestleMania 38 ticket on-sale party details

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has revealed when the ticket on-sale party for WrestleMania 38 will be taking place.

The on-sale party will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, November 10. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Central time. The party is free to attend and is being put on by WWE and the Dallas Sports Commission.

WrestleMania 38 is a two-night event that’s taking place at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3, 2022. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, November 12 at 10 a.m. Central. WWE has opened up a mailing list for pre-sale information, and those attending the on-sale party also will be able to buy tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

The party will feature live in-ring matches with NXT talent, autograph signings with WWE wrestlers, kids’ activities, music, and more. Those in attendance will also receive an exclusive WrestleMania souvenir ticket.

The Undertaker is scheduled to make a special appearance at the party. WWE Champion Big E, Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley & Nikki A.S.H., WWE 24/7 Champion Reggie, Doudrop, The Street Profits, Dana Brooke, and Jimmy Hart are also advertised to appear.

WrestleMania 38 will be the first time the event has been held in Texas since AT&T Stadium hosted WrestleMania 32 in 2016.