Tag: Wwe Speed

Dragon Lee defends WWE Speed title against Ivar, new women’s tournament announced

Posted on by Joseph Currier

It was a battle of power vs. agility as Dragon Lee made his second defense of the WWE Speed Championship.

Lee retained his title with a win over Ivar on this week’s WWE Speed episode. Filmed earlier this month at a SmackDown episode in Philadelphia, the match went three and a half minutes before Lee was able to reverse a Death Valley Driver attempt into a crucifix pin for the victory. There was a show of respect after with Ivar shaking Lee’s hand despite being disappointed in the loss.

Following reigns by Ricochet and Andrade, Lee is the third-ever men’s WWE Speed Champion. He’s now made successful title defenses against Chad Gable and Ivar.

Starting next week, WWE will begin the process of finding a new challenger for women’s Speed Champion Candice LeRae. Sol Ruca vs. Katana Chance and Michin vs. Shayna Baszler are the first-round matchups. The Ruca vs. Chance bout premieres next Wednesday (March 26) at noon Eastern. Ruca is part of the NXT women’s division and is making her Speed debut in this match.

Ivar to challenge for WWE Speed Championship

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After making relatively quick work of Dominik Mysterio, Ivar is next in line for a shot at WWE Speed Champion Dragon Lee.

A new Speed episode debuted on Wednesday with Ivar defeating Dominik in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament. The match lasted less than two minutes with Ivar using a Tiger Bomb to get the victory with 1:22 left on the three-minute clock.

This was a four-man tournament where Ivar defeated Yoshiki Inamura of NXT/Pro Wrestling NOAH in the first round. Dominik’s opening round win was against Chris Sabin.

Dragon Lee vs. Ivar for the WWE Speed Championship airs on X/Twitter next Wednesday (March 19) at noon Eastern time. Since winning the title from Andrade in November, the only defense Lee has made up until this point was a win against Chad Gable.

Ivar — who holds the World Tag Team titles with his War Raiders partner Erik — would be a double champion if he wins the Speed belt from Dragon Lee.

Ivar defeats Yoshiki Inamura on WWE Speed

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A hard-hitting bout took place on WWE Speed this week with Ivar facing off against Yoshiki Inamura.

The two collided into each other immediately as the bell rang and then traded strikes. Ivar dropped Inamura with a German suplex, but Inamura popped right back up and delivered a suplex of his own. They continued going back and forth after the hot start until Ivar scored the victory with a powerslam from the second rope. Inamura was going for a superplex, but Ivar was able to counter and get the win with 39 seconds remaining on the three-minute clock.

Next up for Ivar is a match against Dominik Mysterio on Speed next Wednesday (March 12). The winner earns a title shot against WWE Speed Champion Dragon Lee.

Ivar vs. Inamura was taped at SmackDown last Friday — and this was Inamura’s first time competing in front of a WWE main roster crowd. He’s a Pro Wrestling NOAH wrestler but has been with NXT since November 2024. Inamura is part of a tag team with Josh Briggs in NXT.

The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) are the current World Tag Team Champions on WWE Raw.

Candice LeRae goes to another time limit draw in WWE Speed title defense

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A trend is starting to emerge in Candice LeRae’s WWE Speed Women’s Championship reign.

After going to a time limit draw in her first title defense, LeRae did the same in her second defense of the championship. She faced off against Zoey Stark on this week’s WWE Speed episode. The match went the full five minutes without a winner being determined. Stark connected with Z-360 as the clock was winding down, but LeRae rolled outside of the ring. Though Stark was able to get her back in, the time limit expired before a pin could happen. LeRae keeps her title with this result.

LeRae became the inaugural WWE Speed Women’s Champion in October 2024. Her first title defense was a time limit draw against Natalya.

This Saturday, LeRae will be teaming with Nia Jax at Elimination Chamber in a tag match against Tiffany Stratton & Trish Stratus.

WWE Speed now turns its focus back to the men’s division with the start of a new number one contender’s tournament this Friday. Chris Sabin vs. Dominik Mysterio and Ivar vs. Yoshiki Inamura are the first-round matchups. The winner earns the next shot at WWE Speed Men’s Champion Dragon Lee.

Zoey Stark to challenge for WWE Speed Women’s title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Zoey Stark has a chance to win her first WWE singles gold on Speed next week.

A new episode of WWE Speed premiered this afternoon with Stark battling Shotzi in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament. After Shotzi started off strong, things got more even as the three-minute time limit ticked down. Stark connected with a superkick and hit Z-360 to pin Shotzi with 26 seconds remaining.

It will be Candice LeRae vs. Stark for the WWE Speed Women’s Championship next Wednesday (February 26). LeRae became the inaugural champ in October 2024 but has only made one title defense since then, going to a time-limit draw with Natalya.

Stark is a former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion but has never held any other titles in WWE. In a post-match promo after today’s win, Stark said she has something to prove — both to herself and everyone at home. This title shot is her chance to do that.

Featured on the WWE Raw roster, Stark is tag team partners with Shayna Baszler. Their Pure Fusion Collective stablemate Sonya Deville was among this month’s WWE departures with Deville being informed that her contract will not be renewed when it expires.

Shotzi advances in WWE Speed tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A new episode of WWE Speed premiered on Wednesday with Shotzi defeating a recently released wrestler.

With a victory over Isla Dawn, Shotzi advanced in the WWE Speed Women’s Championship number one contender’s tournament. The match was filmed at SmackDown last Friday, shortly before Dawn was released from her WWE contract. Dawn confirmed on Saturday that she was among the wrestlers departing WWE in a round of roster cuts.

A fisherman’s DDT got the win for Shotzi with 14 seconds left of the three-minute time limit:

It will be Shotzi vs. Zoey Stark in the finals of the tournament next Wednesday (February 19) with the winner advancing to challenge WWE Speed Women’s Champion Candice LeRae. LeRae became the inaugural champion last October but has only made one title defense since then, a time-limit draw against Natalya.

Shotzi, who has been competing in NXT, was slated for a spot in the women’s Royal Rumble match earlier this month but ended up being pulled for the returning Alexa Bliss.

Zoey Stark advances in WWE Speed tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Following Dragon Lee’s successful title defense over Chad Gable, WWE Speed has shifted its focus back to the women’s division with the start of a new number one contender’s tournament.

The first match in the four-woman tournament aired on Speed today with Zoey Stark defeating Kayden Carter. In the closing stretch, Stark caught Carter with a half-nelson suplex and followed up with a knee strike to get the win. She pinned Carter with 38 seconds remaining of the three-minute time limit.

Next Wednesday (February 12), the tournament continues with Shotzi vs. Alba Fyre. The winner of that match faces Stark in the finals to determine the next challenger for WWE Speed Women’s Champion Candice LeRae.

LeRae became the inaugural WWE Speed Women’s Champion in October 2024, and her only title defense since then has been a time limit draw against Natalya.

Stark is looking to bring gold to Pure Fusion Collective, her faction with Sonya Deville and Shayna Baszler. They are part of the WWE Raw roster.

Dragon Lee retains WWE Speed Title against Chad Gable

Posted on by Ian Carey

Dragon Lee is still the WWE Speed Champion.

He defeated Chad Gable to retain the title in a match WWE posted to X on Saturday. Lee picked up the victory after hitting his opponent with Operation Dragon at 4 minutes and 22 seconds into the five-minute time limit.

It was Lee’s first defense of the title since defeating Andrade for it in November.

The match was Lee’s first in six weeks. He has been away from the company on paternity leave as he and his wife Lupita recently welcomed the birth of their second daughter. His last match had been on December 16 in a loss to Pete Dunne taped for Main Event. 

Gable was coming off having defeated Charlie Dempsey and Chris Sabin in two tournament matches to earn the title shot. 

A match pitting Zoey Stark vs. Kayden Carter is scheduled for the next episode of WWE Speed.

Chad Gable to challenge Dragon Lee for WWE Speed title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Chad Gable is the new number one contender to the WWE Speed Championship.

A first-time-ever matchup aired on WWE Speed today with Gable taking on Chris Sabin in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament. In the final minute of the match, Gable applied an ankle lock outside of the ring. He saw time winding down and got Sabin back in, where Gable went for another ankle lock. Sabin reversed it into a pin attempt, but Gable escaped and hit a Chaos Theory German suplex to get the victory with 19 seconds left of the three-minute time limit.

Dragon Lee vs. Gable for the WWE Speed Championship will air on a special edition of Speed on X/Twitter at noon Eastern this Saturday (February 1) — the day of the Royal Rumble. The match should be taped either before or after SmackDown this Friday.

This will be the first title defense Lee has made since winning the Speed title from Andrade in November.

Lee has been away from WWE programming in recent weeks as he and his wife Lupita prepared for the arrival of their new daughter. She gave birth on January 23.

Chris Sabin wins WWE Speed debut, Corey Graves back on commentary

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Chris Sabin has a 1-0 record on WWE Speed after making his show debut in victorious fashion.

Sabin advanced in the WWE Speed Championship number one contender’s tournament with a victory over Grayson Waller on this week’s episode. In the closing stretch of the match, Waller caught Sabin and put him in fireman’s carry position for a spinebuster, but Sabin countered into a victory roll for the pin. He got the win with 25 seconds remaining of the three-minute time limit.

Next Wednesday (January 29) on Speed, Sabin will face off against Chad Gable for the first time ever. The winner earns a title shot against men’s WWE Speed Champion Dragon Lee. That will be the first title defense for Lee since becoming champion in November.

Corey Graves — who also returned to NXT commentary last night — was back calling Speed this week. WWE Main Event commentator Blake Howard had replaced him on last week’s Speed amid the drama Graves created on social media. The Sabin vs. Waller match was taped at SmackDown last Friday with Graves later voicing over his commentary.

Though he voiced displeasure at no longer calling Raw or SmackDown in his tweets last week, Graves said in his return last night that NXT is right where he wants to be.

Sabin made his WWE debut in October 2024 and is part of the SmackDown tag team division with his Motor City Machine Guns partner Alex Shelley.

After defeating Waller, Sabin cut a post-match promo saying he’s custom made to be in this tournament and custom made to be in WWE. He also made reference to his history as a 10-time X-Division Champion in TNA.

Chad Gable defeats Charlie Dempsey on WWE Speed, Corey Graves not on commentary

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A new number one contender’s tournament began on WWE Speed today with Chad Gable and NXT’s Charlie Dempsey facing off for the first time ever.

The two technicians nearly went to a three-minute time limit draw, but Gable got the victory with three seconds remaining. He hit a Chaos Theory German suplex with time winding down and pinned Dempsey just before the clock expired.

Of note, Corey Graves was not the commentator for WWE Speed this week. He had provided play-by-play for every episode of the show since it debuted in April 2024, but Blake Howard was instead in that role for Gable vs. Dempsey. Howard is a commentator for WWE Main Event and formerly called NXT Level Up.

Graves also did not appear on NXT this week after hyping that he would have “a lot to say” on the episode. Late Monday night, Graves posted a tweet voicing his displeasure with being moved off main roster commentary and demoted to NXT. Graves claimed that he was told he wasn’t famous enough for Raw or SmackDown. He has since deleted the tweet.

The Speed tournament continues next Wednesday (January 22) with Chris Sabin vs. Grayson Waller. The winner of that match takes on Gable in the next round to determine who will challenge Dragon Lee for the WWE Speed Championship.

Candice LeRae & Natalya go to time limit draw in WWE Speed title match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Candice LeRae is still the WWE Speed Women’s Champion after going to a time-limit draw in her first title defense.

A new episode of WWE Speed premiered on Wednesday with Natalya challenging LeRae for her title. In the final minute of the match, Natalya applied a Sharpshooter and was on the verge of victory. But LeRae was able to survive until the five-minute clock expired, retaining the WWE Speed Women’s Championship after the match ended in a draw.

Matches on Speed typically have a three-minute time limit, but that is expanded to five minutes for title bouts.

In a post-match promo, LeRae claimed that this wasn’t a draw and she was actually victorious because it was Natalya’s job to beat her within the time limit.

LeRae became the inaugural WWE Speed Women’s Champion in October 2024. Natalya earned this title shot by winning a number one contender’s tournament.

Next week, Speed shifts its focus back to the men’s division with the start of a new number one contender’s tournament. Chad Gable vs. Charlie Dempsey is airing next Wednesday (January 15). The other first-round match in the four-man tournament will be Chris Sabin vs. Grayson Waller. The winner of the tournament receives a title shot against WWE Speed Men’s Champion Dragon Lee.

Natalya to challenge for WWE Speed Women’s title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With a victory over Michin, Natalya has earned a shot at the WWE Speed Women’s Championship.

A new episode of Speed premiered today with Natalya and Michin colliding in the last match of a number one contender’s tournament. Michin went for Eat Defeat near the end of the bout, but Natalya was able to block it. Natalya tried for an O’Connor Roll that Michin was able to kick out of. A roll-up then got Natalya the pinfall victory with 46 seconds remaining of the three-minute time limit.

Natalya will challenge Candice LeRae for the WWE Speed Women’s Championship on the show next Wednesday (January 8) at noon Eastern time. It will be the first title defense LeRae has made since becoming the inaugural champion in October.

During the contender’s tournament, Natalya had two victories over B-Fab leading into this match against Michin. She defeated B-Fab in the first round, then there was a rematch in the second round when Zelina Vega — Natalya’s originally scheduled opponent — had to be pulled from the tournament due to injury.

The Natalya vs. Michin match was taped at SmackDown last Friday. In a brief post-match promo, Natalya declared that this is her time.

Natalya is a member of the WWE Raw roster and recently took part in the Women’s Intercontinental title tournament, losing in the opening round.

Natalya defeats B-Fab for second time in WWE Speed tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Natalya is advancing in the WWE Speed number one contender’s tournament after another victory over B-Fab.

A matchup between Natalya and Zelina Vega was supposed to take place in this round of the tournament, but it was announced that Vega has been pulled due to injury. In her place, B-Fab — who lost to Natalya in the first round — was added back to the tournament. Natalya defeated her again, reversing a suplex attempt into an inside cradle to get the pin with 22 seconds remaining on the three-minute clock.

It will now be Natalya vs. Michin on Speed next Wednesday (January 1) with the winner earning a shot at WWE Speed Women’s Champion Candice LeRae. This October, LeRae won a tournament to become the inaugural title holder. She has yet to make her first defense of the championship.

Natalya raised B-Fab’s arm in a show of respect after their match today. Backstage, Natalya cut a promo saying she has nothing but love for B-Fab.

“So I’ve got nothing but love for B-Fab, but I taught her everything she knows — I didn’t teach her everything I know,” Natalya said. The two frequently train together, and Natalya has praised B-Fab for how dedicated she is and how much progress she’s made in the ring.

Michin advances to next round of WWE Speed women’s tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

She came up just short in the Women’s United States title tournament, but Michin is still determined to win championship gold.

Michin defeated Katana Chance on WWE Speed today to advance in the show’s ongoing number one contender’s tournament. After avoiding a 450 attempt from Chance, Michin connected with Eat Defeat and got the victory with 51 seconds remaining of the three-minute time limit.

In the next round, Michin will face either Zelina Vega or Natalya with the winner earning a shot against Candice LeRae for the WWE Speed Women’s Championship. It will be the first title defense LeRae has made since becoming the inaugural champion this October.

The Vega vs. Natalya match is airing on Speed next week.

Michin had been competing in this tournament and the Women’s United States title tournament simultaneously, but the latter concluded at Saturday Night’s Main Event last weekend with Chelsea Green defeating Michin to become the first-ever Women’s U.S. Champion.