The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Among the items up for discussion on today’s Wrestling Weekly are mandatory wardrobe upgrades for coaches in WWE NXT, Sami Zayn staying in WWE while Mustafa Ali wishes he could leave, WALTER/Gunther, and some observations from this week’s episodes of NXT and AEW Dynamite.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
Gabe Sapolsky has been released by WWE during this week’s round of Performance Center/NXT staff cuts.
On Thursday morning, Sapolsky posted a tweet announcing his WWE departure. “Looks like the end of the road,” Sapolsky wrote. “Thank you everyone. Love you all!”
PWInsider confirmed that Saposlky was released by WWE.
Sapolsky had worked behind the scenes in NXT since 2018. After starting his career in ECW, Sapolsky served as a booker for ROH, was the vice president of Dragon Gate USA, and founded EVOLVE Wrestling. EVOLVE was sold to WWE in 2020.
William Regal, Road Dogg, Timothy Thatcher, Danny Burch, Hideki Suzuki, Cathy Corino (Allison Danger), Dave Kapoor, Scott Armstrong, George Carroll, Ace Steel, and Ryan Katz were released by WWE on Wednesday. WWE issued the following statement regarding the cuts: “With the continued evolution of NXT 2.0, we’ve decided to part ways with some of the staff based in our Performance Center. We thank them for their many contributions throughout the years and wish them the best.”
William Regal and Road Dogg are among the names released from WWE this afternoon as part of cuts at the WWE Performance Center.
Bryan Alvarez has confirmed that William Regal, Road Dogg, Timothy Thatcher, Danny Burch, Hideki Suzuki, Cathy Corino, Dave Kapoor (Ranjin Singh), Scott Armstrong, George Carroll and Ryan Katz are among the names that have been released from the company. PWInsider also reported that Chris Guy (Ace Steel) have been released.
“With the continued evolution of NXT 2.0, we’ve decided to part ways with some of the staff based in our Performance Center,” WWE said in a statement. “We thank them for their many contributions throughout the years and wish them the best.”
Regal had been working as a talent scout for the company. Prior to the NXT 2.0 relaunch this past fall, he had been the on-air General Manager of the brand. He had been part of WWE dating back to 2000, when he re-signed with the company as a wrestler following a previous stint in the late 90s. Road Dogg (Brian James) had been a producer and writer for WWE since 2014, and had recently moved to NXT.
Thatcher, Suzuki, and Burch had been on-air talents for NXT. Suzuki, known as Hachiman, had been on the January 4th edition of NXT, accompanying Roderick Strong to ringisde for his match against Carmelo Hayes.
Kapoor had formerly been a Senior Vice President of Creative for WWE and moved to Florida last year to work in NXT full-time. He was also The Great Khali’s longtime on-air manager. Ace Steel had been working as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. Katz had been a creative producer involved in character development and vignettes and had been with the company since 2015. Armstrong had been a long time referee on WWE’s main roster before moving to NXT.
Corino, best known as Allison Danger, had started working as a coach for the WWE Performance Center last October. Carroll had joined the company last year as a producer and writer.
Kenn Doane is working at the WWE Performance Center, a new report says.
PWInsider reported this morning that Doane has been hired by WWE as a coach for their Performance Center and has been working in Orlando for the last several weeks. Doane’s Twitter bio also says he’s now a coach at the WWE Performance Center. Doane also appreared in a backstage promo that aired on NXT last month.
Doane, 35, is best known for his run in WWE as a member of the Spirit Squad, winning the World Tag Team Championships in 2006. Once the gimmick was dropped, Doane returned as a singles wrestler under the name Kenny Dykstra. He mostly wrestled in the undercard before being released in 2008.
In 2016, he and Spirit Squad member Mikey made a return to WWE as a tag team, aligning with The Miz, who was feuding with Dolph Ziggler at the time, with the story being that Ziggler was a former member of the Spirit Squad as Nicky. Kenny and Mikey teamed briefly on SmackDown before eventually disappearing from television.
In April of this past year, Doane announced that he had retired from in-ring action.
Image: WWE
Six new recruits have officially joined the WWE Performance Center.
WWE announced the latest class of Performance Center recruits on Monday, with it featuring five males and one female. The class includes Bobby Steveson, who is the brother of Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson.
Like Gable, Bobby was an amateur wrestler at the University of Minnesota. WWE has been attempting to recruit Gable, but he’s yet to decide what his future plans are. Gable and fellow gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock were honored at SummerSlam earlier this month.
This Performance Center class also includes two members from pro wrestling families. Joseph Fatu, the younger brother of The Usos and the son of Rikishi, has signed with WWE and is part of this class. Fatu has used the name Sefa Fatu in pro wrestling.
Ben Buchanan, the 20-year-old son of former WWE wrestler Bull Buchanan, is also part of this group of recruits.
Brady Booker, Jessica Woynilko, and Joshua Dawkins round out the group of signees. WWE.com’s full write-ups on the recruits are available below:
Minneapolis’ Bobby Steveson, the brother of 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, stands 6-feet tall and weighs 220 pounds. He wrestled at the University of Minnesota, the same alma mater as his brother, former World Champion Brock Lesnar and Raw Superstar Shelton Benjamin.
Twenty-year-old Ben Buchanan is a former Alabama state high school wrestling champion from Ranbourne, Ala. He was undefeated in the 285-pound weight class during the 2019-2020 season. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder is also the son of former WWE Tag Team Champion Bull Buchanan.
Brady Booker comes to the Performance Center from the world of college football, having played middle linebacker at the University of South Dakota. Also a skilled archer, the 21-year old hails from Lasalle, Ill., stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 245 pounds.
Jessica Woynilko is a 21-year-old gymnast, bodybuilder and CrossFit athlete from Prior Lake, Minn. As a gymnast, she specialized in tumbling and trampoline, competing on the 2016 U.S. national team.
Joseph Fatu of Las Vegas is the younger brother of SmackDown Tag Team Champions Jimmy & Jey Uso and the son of WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder has two years’ experience in sports-entertainment and played football in college.
Twenty-three-year-old Joshua Dawkins of DeBary, Fla., is the latest trainee of WWE Hall of Famer D-Von Dudley to be signed to the WWE Performance Center. The 6-foot-1 recruit is also the nephew of NBA legend Darryl Dawkins.
Image: WWE
Three new signees have reported to the WWE Performance Center.
WWE announced today that three recruits from Asia have signed with the company and joined the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The recruits are Feicheng Wang, Sean Tan, and Jie Yin.
WWE noted that Wang, who is from China, stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 242 pounds. He was trained by former Performance Center coach Hartley Jackson and MMA fighter/pro wrestler Alexander Otsuka.
Tan is from Singapore and has used the in-ring name Trexxus. He’s a former Singapore Pro Wrestling Southeast Asia Champion.
Yin “is a Chinese athlete who brings experience in CrossFit to the PC.” WWE wrote that, in addition to being a champion indoor rower, she placed second in the CrossFit China Open and competed in the Asia CrossFit Championship.
This is the first group of recruits to join the Performance Center since WWE announced in April that Sarray (formerly known as Sareee), Sanjana George, Jennifer Michell Cantu Iglesias, Hideki Suzuki, Grayson Waller (formerly known as Matty Wahlberg), and Steph De Lander had signed with the company. February also saw a new group of signees join the Performance Center.
Vince McMahon is reportedly visiting the WWE Performance Center this week to scout talent.
Fightful Select is reporting that McMahon will visit the Performance Center, with Thursday being the likely date. Fightful reported that it was a part of a major scouting effort to replenish the main roster, which has seen releases and repetitive matches in recent months. Other top executives that have been at the Performance Center in recent weeks are Bruce Prichard and John Laurinaitis.
NXT talent have been making appearances in dark matches in recent weeks. Last Monday, both NXT Champion Karrion Kross and NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed competed in matches that were taped for WWE Main Event. On Friday, Scarlett, who has been Kross’s manager on NXT, competed in a dark match against Shotzi Blackheart, who is a former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion with Ember Moon.
PWInsider reported this afternoon that Karrion Kross, Scarlett, and Shotzi Blackheart are all backstage at tonight’s Raw for either dark matches or to work WWE Main Event.
Becky Lynch was seen training at the WWE Performance Center this week.
Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Becky Lynch was at the WWE Performance Center earlier this week. PWInsider were the first to report the story, with Fightful saying it was specifically Thursday. PWInsider reported that it was described to them as “part of the process for Lynch to return to the company”. They additionally reported that Lynch was in the ring working out with Indi Hartwell, one half of the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Lynch has been away from WWE television since May of 2020, when she announced that she and Seth Rollins were expecting their first child. She was Raw Women’s Champion at the time, and vacated the title, awarding it to last year’s Money in the Bank winner, Asuka.
She gave birth to a daughter, Roux, in December. Lynch and Rollins were scheduled to be married last May, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image: WWE
WWE has officially announced its largest-ever group of Performance Center signees.
Among the new additions is former Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie. Valkyrie finished up with Impact in January, with it being confirmed earlier this month that she’s signed with WWE.
WWE touted that this group also includes the most female recruits of any Performance Center class ever. WWE stated that there are 10 female signees, though only eight are listed. They are Valkyrie, Booker T trainee and indie wrestler AQA, Lacey Ryan (now known as Zoey Stark in NXT), Priscilla Kelly (now known as Gigi Dolin in NXT), Elayna Black (now known as Cora Jade in NXT), and indie wrestlers Camron Branae, Avery Taylor, and Karissa Rivera.
Japanese women’s wrestler Sareee has signed with WWE but isn’t in listed in today’s announcement. PWinsider reported that Mexican powerlifter Jennifer Michell Cantu Iglesias, who isn’t listed in the announcement, has also signed with WWE.
The group of signees also includes former football players Bronson Rechsteiner (who is Rick Steiner’s son), Parker Boudreaux, and Matrick Belton, former Impact World Champion Eli Drake (now known as LA Knight in NXT), indie wrestlers Anthony Henry, Harlem Bravado, Christian Casanova, and Blake Christian, and amateur wrestlers Drew Kasper and Joe Ariola.
WWE.com wrote about the new signees:
– Bronson Rechsteiner, the son of former WCW and WWE Tag Team Champion Rick Steiner, comes to WWE from the gridiron. At 6 feet tall and 230 pounds, he was an All-American running back at Kennesaw State University.
– Kira Magnin-Forster, known to wrestling fans as Taya Valkyrie, is an 11-year veteran of the squared circle. A classically trained ballerina, Forster learned wrestling under Lance Storm before breaking out in Mexico for the AAA promotion. She has competed around the world since.
– Shaun Ricker, who recently debuted on NXT television as LA Knight, is a former NWA Television Champion and has competed against Drew McIntyre, John Morrison and Jeff Hardy.
– Angela Arnold trained for the squared circle under WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. Competing as AQA, she’s impressed in action for Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling promotion, as well as SHIMMER.
– Parker Boudreaux of Winter Garden, Fla., stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 300 pounds. The big man was an offensive lineman for the University of Central Florida and has caught the eye of Paul Heyman on social media.
– Anthony Henry is a standout competitor from EVOLVE Wrestling and has competed on WWE Network. He’s been in the ring with Superstars like The Street Profits, current NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch, Nash Carter of MSK, and Roderick Strong.
– Chance Barrow, better known to fans as Harlem Bravado, is a veteran of the independent scene. The North Carolina native has found success as a singles and tag team competitor and made his way to Japan to compete for Pro Wrestling NOAH.
– Theresa Serrano [formerly known as Lacey Ryan], now competing as Zoey Stark, debuted for NXT in the first-ever Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Her intense in-ring style has made her a standout for the black-and-gold brand in short order.
– Christian Brigham is a Massachusetts native with six years of experience in the ring, under the name Christian Casanova.
– Priscilla Kelly, now going by Gigi Dolin, competed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic and returned to WWE for the first-ever Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in NXT.
– Drew Kasper is the brother of Jacob Kasper, who joined the WWE PC in October 2020. The 285-pounder was a two-time All-American heavyweight wrestler for Otterbein University and was the No. 1 seeded wrestler in the NCAA Division III tournament before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
– Brianna Coda [formerly known as Elayna Black], now known as Cora Jade, is a 19-year-old Illinois native who’s been competing in the ring since 2018 and who debuted for NXT in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
– Christian Hubble is a former college cheerleader who has broken out on the independent scene in recent months. The Tennessee native made a name for himself under the moniker Blake Christian in promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Game Changer Wrestling.
– Matrick Belton played Division I football for the University of South Carolina and has attended training camps for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. He has prepared for the rigors of the ring by training at the Combat Zone Wrestling Academy in New Jersey.
– Camron Clay has been competing in the ring for four years under the name Camron Branae and has been in the ring with the likes of NXT’s Shotzi Blackheart.
– Joe Ariola is a 25-year-old amateur wrestler from Oak Park, Illinois. An undefeated state champion and national champion in high school, Ariola wrestled for the University of Buffalo in college, qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 2016.
– Taylor Grado of Clearwater Beach, Fla., competed as Avery Taylor for promotions like EVOLVE and SHINE.
– Karissa Rivera of New Jersey has made a name for herself on the independent wrestling scene for promotions like NEW and Women’s Wrestling Revolution.
The Orlando, Florida-based WWE Performance Center saw a large new class start Tuesday with several notable names beginning what they hope to be an eventual journey to WWE.
Dave Meltzer says a class of around 30 men and women started with PW Insider reporting ten names that are confirmed to be in attendance. On a recent conference call, Paul “Triple H” Levesque said this class would feature the largest amount of women they have ever had in a class.
The male names PW Insider reported include former college football player Parker Boudreaux; Christian (Casanova) Brigham, Anthony Henry (one half of The Workhorsemen with JD Drake); Christian (Blake Christian) Hubble; and Bronson Rechsteiner, son of former WCW and WWF tag team star Rick Steiner.
On the female side, PW Insider reported Angela (AQA) Arnold; Gigi (Priscilla Kelly) Dolin; Cora (Elayna Black) Jade; Karissa Rivera and Zoey (Lacey Ryan) Stark. Meltzer had reported on those signings in late-January including Japanese talent Sareee. It’s unknown if she also started Tuesday or if she has yet to move to the U.S.
Other recent signings that haven’t been confirmed as starting Tuesday are Taya Valkyrie and Harlem Bravado.
WWE traditionally will announce the entire class several days after they start.
Anthony Henry has reportedly signed with WWE.
PWInsider reported this afternoon that Anthony has signed with the company. The report says that Henry will train at the WWE Performance Center and will be a part of the NXT brand.
On January 17, Henry posted a message on his Twitter account saying goodbye to Premiere Wrestling Xperience, a promotion he has been a part of since 2012. He finished with the company over the weekend.
Henry, 36, started wrestling in 2002. He joined EVOLVE in 2016, losing to Darby Allin in his debut at EVOLVE 70. He is a former EVOLVE Tag Team champion with JD Drake. He also competed for Full Impact Pro, where he won their World title in 2018, holding it for 509 days.
WWE has signed a number of former EVOLVE talent since purchasing the company last year. Some names that have been signed include Timothy Thatcher, Leon Ruff, Austin Grey (Anthony Greene), Curt Stallion, and Brandi Lauren.
There was another COVID-19 breakout of sorts at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
Details are not known other than it happened on Friday and people who were there, whether they tested positive or negative, were asked to quarantine for two weeks due to contact tracing.
There have been reports that it includes people scheduled for NXT’s Halloween Havoc show Wednesday and that aspects of the show are going to have to be changed.
One source in WWE said nobody that is an NXT television regular has tested positive.
WWE has not responded for comment as of this writing.
As of now, there is still scheduled to be 100 fans at the tapings. Fans were scheduled to be tested for COVID-19 in Winter Park, FL, Tuesday night and if they passed, they would be allowed to attend the tapings which is the normal weekly procedure.
This would be the second outbreak in as many months in NXT, as it was reported last month that there were several positive tests that led to changes in NXT programming.
WWE has officially announced its latest group of signees.
The newest group of WWE Performance Center recruits was revealed today and mostly consists of former members of the EVOLVE Wrestling roster, with Brandi Lauren, Curt Stallion, Anthony Greene, Leon Ruff, Joe Gacy, Josh Briggs, and referee Jake Clemons signing with WWE and joining the Performance Center.
It was confirmed this July that WWE had purchased EVOLVE Wrestling. Some past content from EVOLVE started to be uploaded to the WWE Network in August.
Jacob Kasper, a former All-American collegiate wrestler at Duke University, has also signed with WWE and is part of this class of Performance Center recruits. Kasper was recruited by Gerald Brisco. After being furloughed in April’s roster cuts, Brisco was released by WWE last month.
WWE’s full announcement regarding the new recruits is available below:
A new class of recruits has reported for training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla. The group can count among their ranks independent wrestling standouts and an NCAA All-American wrestler.
Brandi Pawelek, known on the independents as Brandi Lauren, is an exciting competitor who has stepped in the ring for promotions like EVOLVE and SHINE.
Camron Rogers is a 6-foot-1 Texan who competes under the name Curt Stallion. Rogers broke out in 2019 in EVOLVE Wrestling, where he battled the likes of SmackDown Superstar Matt Riddle and NXT Superstars Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis and Mansoor.
Anthony Greene is a flamboyant Massachusetts native and standout grappler from EVOLVE Wrestling. The 26-year-old stood toe-to-toe with NXT Tag Team Champion Tyler Breeze in EVOLVE, as well as many of his fellow recruits from this class.
Dartanyon Ruffin, better known as Leon Ruff, is a former EVOLVE Tag Team Champion. The energetic 24-year-old has competed on Raw, SmackDown, NXT and 205 Live in recent months, going up against the likes of Sheamus, Aleister Black, Tommaso Ciampa and Legado del Fantasma.
Joseph Ruby is a 6-foot, 249-pound powerhouse from New Jersey. Competing as Joe Gacy, he’s a former three-time Combat Zone Wrestling Heavyweight Champion and EVOLVE Tag Team Champion.
Joshua Bruns is an imposing figure, standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 268 pounds. As Josh Briggs, he’s been the EVOLVE Champion and battled the likes of NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER, Matt Riddle, John Morrison and Raw Tag Team Champion Angelo Dawkins.
Jacob Kasper is a 25-year-old amateur wrestling standout from Lexington, Ohio. Kasper wrestled at Duke University, where he was a two-time NCAA All-American and won the 2018 ACC heavyweight championship. He also placed in the 2016 Olympic trials.
Jake Clemons of Ohio is a referee who has officiated matches on Monday Night Raw, as well as for promotions like EVOLVE and AIW.
For more information on the WWE Performance Center, visit WWEPerformanceCenter.com.
More details have been revealed about the setting for tonight’s NXT TakeOver 31 event.
It was announced via Sports Illustrated today that the “Capitol Wrestling Center” will be unveiled at tonight’s TakeOver show. The Capitol Wrestling Center is the name for the newly remodeled television set at the WWE Performance Center. The name pays tribute to the Capitol Wrestling Corporation that was founded by Jess McMahon in 1953.
“It’s a historic callback to where this all began,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque told Sports Illustrated. “We gutted the Performance Center and it’s now rebuilt, so it feels like we’re going back to the beginning. To me, it feels like we’re going back to 1953. Just like then, we’re doing something different and new, taking the business to a whole new level.
“The Capitol Wrestling Center captures the feel and the vibe of NXT. We will have all the bells and whistles of the ThunderDome, but we’ll keep that NXT feel. It’s edgier, darker and raw — you’re walking into the ultimate heavy metal soundstage.”
The Capitol Wrestling Center will have video walls with virtual fans, along with a limited live crowd of about 100 people for TakeOver 31. “There will be a contingent of fans in attendance, some of which will be talent, others will be friends and family and some will be fans,” Levesque said. “We will take every safety precaution that there is. All of this was signed off by our medical staff. Everybody that walks in the building will be PCR tested, take a questionnaire and be medically screened. There will be plexiglass pods with fans that are in groups, and the groups will vary in size. Everyone will wear masks, and each group will never be near anyone else.”
“We’re taking every single precaution we can, which needs to be done safely, and it’s important to us because fans are the lifeblood of what we do,” Levesque said. “The real core of this is the fans in those seats reacting to what we do. That gives us our energy and our drive. They dictate the story, and having them there makes all the difference in the world.”
Levesque said there was talk of NXT running at the Amway Center, but he was very resistant to that because making sure NXT has its own feel and vibe is one of his goals.
It was confirmed last week that NXT would be moving to the Performance Center starting with TakeOver 31. Levesque noted that NXT’s partnership will Full Sail University remains strong and they look forward to returning there soon. “We are not severing our relationship with Full Sail,” Levesque said. “I’m very proud of all we’ve done there. This move is the right decision for us from a tech standpoint, but I look forward to returning there soon and the partnership remains strong.”
TakeOver 31 will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time tonight. There will also be a 30-minute pre-show leading into the event. Here’s the card for TakeOver:
Sunday’s NXT TakeOver 31 event won’t be taking place at Full Sail Live.
Post Wrestling’s John Pollock reported on Thursday night that “beginning this Sunday with TakeOver, WWE will be moving its NXT broadcasts from Full Sail University over to the WWE Performance Center.” Pollock wrote that sources tell them NXT will be making the move to the Performance Center for the foreseeable future. 205 Live will also be running out of the Performance Center starting next week.
The report has been confirmed by our Dave Meltzer.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque said on his pre-TakeOver media call this week that TakeOver 31 will have “a very unique look and feel, something totally different that hasn’t been done so far.” Levesque said we’ll find out more on Sunday and he hopes it will be game-changing for them.
TakeOver 31 will feature Finn Balor vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the NXT Championship, Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae for the NXT Women’s Championship, Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship, Santos Escobar vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, and Kushida vs. Velveteen Dream. WWE is also hyping that a wrestler will be returning to NXT at the event.
