Tag: wwe wrestlemania

Randy Orton: My heart breaks for Kevin Owens

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Randy Orton is heartbroken that Kevin Owens has to miss their scheduled WrestleMania match.

The two were set to face each other in a grudge match at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas this weekend, but those plans had to be canceled when Owens revealed earlier this month that he needs to undergo neck surgery and will be out of action for a significant period of time. Orton is still expected to have a match at WrestleMania, though a new opponent for him has not been named yet.

While speaking with Complex, Orton dropped any pretense of storyline issues to express how bad he feels for what Owens is going through.

“If we’re being real here, my heart breaks for Kevin,” Orton said. “I think, first and foremost, I just hate that he’s gotta go through that. Even more than a physical journey he’s gotta go on to let his body heal, it’s a mental journey too. His body’s been through it, and now he’s paying that price, like he said in the ring the other day. We all pay the price at one point or another.”

Orton, who underwent his own surgery in 2022 due to a back injury, told Complex that he’s helped set Owens up to get a second opinion.

Complex wrote:

Orton has set Owens up with a second opinion from a surgeon he worked with previously. At this stage, his advice for Owens is to make the best decision for himself and his family, and to reach out if he needs to talk.

When Orton was battling his back injury, it was feared that his career might be over. But he’s recovered now and is making sure to appreciate every second that he gets to compete in the ring. Orton signed a new five-year contract with WWE in 2024. And despite already being 45 years old, he’d like to sign another five-year deal when this contract comes up.

“I’d love to sign another five-year contract after that,” Orton said. “I know realistically there’s gonna be a day when I gotta stop. But it’s like, I don’t even think about that because I’m having so much f*cking fun right now.”

It’s believed that Orton’s match against his yet-to-be-announced opponent will take place on the card for night two of WrestleMania 41 on Sunday.

WWE confirms WrestleMania 41 Saturday and Sunday lineups

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE has confirmed which matches will take place on which nights of the two-night WrestleMania 41 event.

Night one on Saturday, April 19 currently has seven matches set, with Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins already announced for the main event slot.

Six matches are currently slated for night two on Sunday, April 20, with Cody Rhodes defending the Undisputed WWE title against John Cena already announced as the main event.

Four title matches will take place on WrestleMania Saturday, with the World Heavyweight, WWE Women’s, United States, and World Tag Team title bouts announced for night one.

Night two also has four title matches listed, with the Undisputed WWE, Women’s World, Intercontinental, and Women’s Tag titles on the line on WrestleMania Sunday.

The lineups are listed below.

WWE WrestleMania 41 —

Night one, Saturday, April 19, 7 p.m. Eastern time —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) defend against The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
  • Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano

Night two, Sunday, April 20, 7 p.m. Eastern time —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair & Rhea Ripley in a triple threat
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor & Dominik Mysterio in a four-way
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
  • Sin City street fight: Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul

Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest WWE WrestleMania 41 stipulation added

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A new stipulation has been added to the Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest bout set for WWE WrestleMania 41.

After a heated face-to-face segment broke down into a brawl on Friday’s SmackDown episode, WWE officially added a Sin City street fight stipulation to McIntyre vs. Priest for their WrestleMania 41 encounter.

Priest and McIntyre have a year’s worth of story building to their match, including Priest cashing in his Money in the Bank contract against McIntyre to win the World Heavyweight Championship at last year’s WrestleMania with an assist from CM Punk.

Priest later eliminated McIntyre from the 2025 Royal Rumble, and also slammed him on a car windshield on a recent SmackDown.

WWE also confirmed with matches will take place on which nights of the two-night WrestleMania 41 set for Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20 during Friday’s episode. McIntyre vs. Priest will take place on night two on Sunday.

Our full SmackDown report is here. The current WrestleMania 41 lineup is below.

WWE WrestleMania 41 —

Night one, Saturday, April 19, 7 p.m. Eastern time —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) defend against The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
  • Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano

Night two, Sunday, April 20, 7 p.m. Eastern time —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair & Rhea Ripley in a triple threat
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor & Dominik Mysterio in a four-way
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
  • Sin City street fight: Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul

WWE WrestleMania 41 Women’s Tag title match set

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria are on their way to WWE WrestleMania 41.

Valkyria and Bayley won the gauntlet match on Friday’s WWE SmackDown to advance to the Women’s Tag Team Championship currently slated for night two of WresteMania on Sunday, April 20. They will challenge current champs Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the titles.

Both teams had a staredown in the ring on Friday’s show while posing in the sightline of the WrestleMania 41 sign hanging in the rafters.

The expected WrestleMania 41 lineup is listed below.

WWE WrestleMania 41

Night one (Saturday, April 19) —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) defend against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano (Chad Gable)
  • Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

Night two (Sunday, April 20) —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way match
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Randy Orton vs. ?

Tag Team title match official for WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Another new match is officially on the books for WrestleMania 41.

WWE confirmed this afternoon that The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) will defend their World Tag Team titles against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) at WrestleMania in Las Vegas. The match was expected to be added to the Mania card after their title bout on Raw earlier this week ended with New Day winning by disqualification. It was made official via a social media announcement from Raw general manager Adam Pearce.

During their match on Raw, Woods introduced a chair into the ring but had it wrestled away from him by Ivar. The referee then called for a DQ after Ivar struck Woods with the chair. New Day launched a post-match steel chair attack on The War Raiders until officials broke things up.

A stipulation for War Raiders vs. New Day has not been announced, but Dave Meltzer reported earlier today that it’s possible one could be added. Meltzer wrote that the bout is expected to be part of the card for night one of WrestleMania.

Ivar & Erik have been World Tag Team Champions since winning the belts from Judgment Day’s Finn Balor & JD McDonagh in December.

As things stand, the matches set for WrestleMania are expected to happen on the following nights:

Night one (Saturday, April 19) —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano (Chad Gable)
  • United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
  • World Tag Team Champions The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) defend against New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso

Night two (Sunday, April 20) —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD (challengers will be decided in a gauntlet match on SmackDown this Friday)
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • Randy Orton vs. ?
  • Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way match
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match

Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest official for WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A long-expected WrestleMania 41 match has now been officially booked.

On social media this afternoon, WWE confirmed that Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest will take place at WrestleMania. The announcement comes in advance of a face-to-face confrontation between Mcintyre and Priest that’s set for SmackDown this Friday night.

WWE has not announced which night of WrestleMania the match will be happening on. The two-night event is being held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20.

This is technically a rematch from WrestleMania 40, where Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and quickly defeated McIntyre to win the World Heavyweight Championship. McIntyre had retained the title against Seth Rollins right before Priest’s cash-in.

Their issues picked up earlier this year when Priest eliminated McIntyre in the Royal Rumble. A recent episode of SmackDown saw Priest chokeslam McIntyre onto a car windshield. Since legitimately getting glass in his eye during that spot, McIntyre has been wearing an eye patch.

With this addition, there are now 12 matches officially announced for WrestleMania 41.

WrestleMania 41 night one (Saturday, April 19) —

  • Triple threat match: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso

WrestleMania 41 night two (Sunday, April 20) —

  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
  • Triple threat match: Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley

Night to be announced —

  • United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • Four-way match: Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio
  • Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest

Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano added to WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Ethan Renner

El Grande Americano will make his WrestleMania debut against Rey Mysterio.

The new match for WrestleMania 41 was announced during Monday’s Raw following a six-man tag team match. Americano, Brutus Creed, and Julius Creed defeated Mysterio’s LWO teammates Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde, and Cruz Del Toro on Raw.

Americano used a steel plate in his mask to hit headbutts on Mysterio, who was ringside for the contest, and Lee, leading to the win for American Made.

Later, Mysterio demanded a WrestleMania match against Americano, with Raw GM Adam Pearce agreeing to the contest.

The current lineup for the two-night WrestleMania set for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas:

WWE WrestleMania 41 night one, Saturday, April 19 —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins

WWE WrestleMania 41 night two, Sunday, April 20 —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena

WWE WrestleMania 41, Saturday, April 19 & Sunday, April 20 —

  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat
  • WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way
  • Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD

Intercontinental title four-way set for WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The WWE Intercontinental Championship will be on the line in a four-way at WrestleMania 41.

Raw general manager Adam Pearce announced in a social media post on Monday that Bron Breakker will put his IC title on the line in Las Vegas against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way match.

The announcement was followed up on Monday’s WWE Raw with a backstage interaction between The Judgment Day’s Balor and Mysterio, continuing to tease dissension between the supposed allies as they go after Breakker’s title at WrestleMania.

The current lineup for the two-night WWE WrestleMania 41 PLE:

WWE WrestleMania 41 night one, Saturday, April 19 —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins

WWE WrestleMania 41 night two, Sunday, April 20 —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena

WWE WrestleMania 41, Saturday, April 19 & Sunday, April 20 —

  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat
  • WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way
  • Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD

Women’s World title match at WWE WrestleMania 41 now a three-way

Posted on by Ethan Renner

As expected, the Women’s World title match at WWE WrestleMania will indeed be a triple threat bout.

WWE Raw general manager Adam Pearce announced in Raw’s opening segment that IYO SKY will defend her Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 41 against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley.

Belair earned the World title shot by winning the women’s Elimination Chamber match at the EC PLE in March, while Ripley forced her way into the title picture by simply declaring for the match.

A SKY vs. Ripley title match on last week’s Raw with Belair as guest referee was meant to settle the matter, but the bout ended in a no contest, so Pearce made the originally scheduled SKY vs. Belair match a triple threat also involving Ripley.

The updated WWE WrestleMania 41 lineup:

WWE WrestleMania 41 night one, Saturday, April 19 —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins

WWE WrestleMania 41 night two, Sunday, April 20 —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena

WWE WrestleMania 41, Saturday, April 19 & Sunday, April 20 —

  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat
  • WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way
  • Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD

Gauntlet match for WrestleMania title shot booked for next WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The road to WWE WrestleMania 41 continues on the Friday, April 11 SmackDown with a gauntlet match with Mania implications.

A women’s tag team gauntlet match has been announced for next week’s show, with the winners advancing to WrestleMania 41 to challenge Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Katana Chance & Kayden Carter, Bayley & Lyra Valkyria, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark, Michin & B-Fab, Piper Niven & Alba Fyre, and Natalya & Maxxine Dupri will be the six teams vying for a title shot in the gauntlet match.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will also appear on next week’s SmackDown, as the champ continues to prepare for his WrestleMania 41 title defense against John Cena.

Drew McIntyre and Damian Priest will have a face-to-face confrontation on next week’s SmackDown in another new segment announced for the show. Priest challenged McIntyre to a WrestleMania 41 bout during this week’s episode, although the match has yet to be confirmed.

After making his WWE debut on this week’s SmackDown with a victory over NXT’s Nathan Frazer, Rey Fenix will again be in action on next Friday’s episode against Berto.

The announced lineup for the Friday, April 11 WWE SmackDown:

  • Gauntlet match for a WWE Women’s Tag Team title shot at WrestleMania 41: Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark vs. Michin & B-Fab vs. Piper Niven & Alba Fyre vs. Natalya & Maxxine Dupri
  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes returns to SmackDown
  • Drew McIntyre & Damian Priest face-to-face
  • Rey Fenix vs. Berto

United States Championship match set for WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Ethan Renner

LA Knight’s WWE WrestleMania 41 United States Championship challenger has been decided.

Jacob Fatu defeated Braun Strowman in a number one contender’s Last Man Standing match on Friday’s SmackDown to earn the number one contendership, with a title shot against Knight at WrestleMania 41 announced.

Fatu put Strowman through a table for the finish of the Last Man Standing bout on SmackDown to secure his championship shot at WrestleMania in Las Vegas set for Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20.

Earlier in Friday’s show, Knight scored a victory over Fatu’s Bloodline teammate Tama Tonga in singles competition in a tune-up bout ahead of WrestleMania.

The main event for each night of WrestleMania is set, with several other matches announced but the night on which they will take place not yet confirmed. The current WWE WrestleMania 41 lineup:

WWE WrestleMania 41 night one, Saturday, April 19 —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins

WWE WrestleMania 41 night two, Sunday, April 20 —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena

WWE WrestleMania 41, Saturday, April 19 & Sunday, April 20 —

  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair
  • WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD

Naomi vs. Jade Cargill added to WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Naomi and Jade Cargill will go one-on-one at WWE WrestleMania 41.

SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis made the Naomi vs. Cargill bout official for WrestleMania on Friday’s SmackDown after a pull-apart between the two.

Naomi defeated B-Fab in singles competition on Friday’s show, then attempted to call Cargill out for a confrontation. Cargill attacked unexpectedly instead, and the two competitors were pulled apart. Aldis then made the WrestleMania bout official.

In storyline, Naomi attacked Cargill last November, forcing her to relinquish her spot as Women’s Tag Team Champion alongside Bianca Belair. Naomi then assumed Cargill’s title. Cargill returned at Elimination Chamber in March, revealing Naomi as her attacker.

Several new additions to the WrestleMania 41 card were made during Friday’s show, including a United States title bout.

The updated WWE WrestleMania 41 lineup:

WWE WrestleMania 41 night one, Saturday, April 19 —

  • Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins

WWE WrestleMania 41 night two, Sunday, April 20 —

  • Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena

WWE WrestleMania 41, Saturday, April 19 & Sunday, April 20 —

  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair
  • WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
  • Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD

Daily Update: WrestleMania, Shelton Benjamin, Violence is Forever

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

Latest Audio

Latest Free YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer:

  • The latest on WrestleMania and AEW Dynasty, card changes, injuries tickets sold, and ticket interest.
  • NCAA wrestling tournament rundown, the biggest upset in modern tournament history, Dan Gable talks Gable Steveson, Hodge Trophy, and records set
  • Firings at TNA and what is behind them
  • CMLL El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas
  • The life and times of George Foreman
  • The amazing life of Bill Mercer and the glory days of World Class Championship Wrestling
  • Cain Velasquez sentencing
  • The most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week, including competition, demographics and quarters
  • Universal champion of champions tournament
  • CMLL vs. MLW at Arena Mexico
  • The new La Parka
  • AAA Rey de Reyes notes
  • Chris Bey benefit show
  • Another wrestling TV special
  • Death of historian Dave Cameron
  • Death of Julio Estrada
  • Hall of Fame in North Carolina?
  • El Hijo del Santo sad retirement notes
  • New book coming out on 90s wrestling
  • More on Saraya leaving AEW
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • Conor McGregor wants to run for President of Ireland
  • TKO exects pocket $278 million in latest transaction
  • Former WWE name openly talks about a return
  • WWE value

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Thursday Update

WWE

  • WrestleVotes reports that, while it’s possible that things can change, the matches that have been confirmed for WrestleMania so far are currently planned for the following nights:
  • Night one (Saturday, April 19) –
    • Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins
    • Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship
    • Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
    • Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women’s Championship
  • Night two (Sunday, April 20) –
    • Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship
    • IYO SKY vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship
    • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • Cody Rhodes told Fox News Digital that he believes John Cena and Randy Orton should immediately go into the WWE Hall of Fame when their careers are over:
    • I feel like there are certain people who should immediately go into the Hall of Fame when they’re done wrestling, and love him, hate him or indifferent, John Cena would check a box as somebody who should immediately go into the Hall of Fame. Also, Randy Orton should check a box as somebody who should immediately go into the Hall of Fame.
  • Rhodes also reiterated that he believes his brother Dustin is deserving of a place in the Hall of Fame:
    • And I’ve oftentimes said my brother. I feel like he had more if an important role in the Attitude Era and moving forward. And I think he’s extremely talented. I think I’d like to see that not just because I believe he deserves it, which he does, but I’d love to see the family just more added. The Hall of Fame doesn’t mean the same to everybody if that makes any sense. To my family, the Hall of Fame is the thing – the title and then the Hall of Fame.
    • My dad going in was such a huge deal. So, I’d love to see him joined by my brother. But yeah, Randy is somebody I’ve been thinking about a lot too. We got a lot of hopefully future Hall of Famers with us.
  • Kiana James, who has been out of action since June 2024, shared a brief social media video documenting her recovery from a leg injury.
  • WWE Deutschland interviewed CM Punk.
  • B-Fab cut a promo on Naomi ahead of their match on SmackDown this Friday.
  • Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels’ Iron Man match from WrestleMania XII ranked 14th in WWE’s countdown of the 50th greatest matches in WrestleMania history.
  • Michaels and The Undertaker sat down together to rewatch their classic WrestleMania XXV match for a WWE Playback video.
  • WWE uploaded a Playlist video with footage of every Triple H WrestleMania entrance.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • It was announced on Dynamite last night that Hurt Syndicate member Shelton Benjamin missed the show due to travel issues. He sent out a message on Instagram apologizing to all of the fans for not being there. Benjamin said his day started at 6 a.m. but he wasn’t able to make it to his hotel in Peoria, Illinois until around 11 p.m.
  • Benjamin wrote:
    • To the @aew fans of Peoria [Illinois] i offer my sincere apologies. As a professional I pride myself on always showing up and showing out where advertised by Aew. Unfortunately despite Aew staff and my best efforts I was unable to make it to Peoria in time for tonight’s @aew Dynamite due to Major weather related flight delays. Please know I am just as disappointed as some of you may be and will take steps to avoid a repeat of this unfortunate situation in the future. Again my apologies and together we will hurt people next time
  • GCW Tag Team Champions Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) appeared as extras on Dynamite, playing security guards in the backstage segment with Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page.
  • This week’s AEW Unrestricted podcast is a Dynasty preview episode featuring an appearance by “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
  • Noelle Foley made a post on her Instagram stories yesterday saying that she was flying home to see her father Mick, who was thankfully able to avoid catastrophic injury in a scary car accident. Mick Foley suffered a concussion, has soft tissue damage, and is sore but said he feels really fortunate that the situation isn’t worse. He still plans on making all of his scheduled appearances that are coming up.
  • Noelle wrote:
    • Flying home to see my dad right now. Thanks to those of you who reached out. I’ve honestly been an emotional wreck these past 24 hours, but I am just so thankful and grateful that he is ‘okay.’ I put okay in parentheses because he is very banged up and in a great deal of pain and had a concussion, which we all know can be very tricky and symptoms can be delayed after the injury. So I’ve been frantically worried about him, but just very happy I’ll be landing soon and seeing him shortly.

      For anybody wondering what happened, my dad was in a bad car accident. No it wasn’t an April fools joke. My dad would never joke about a car accident or a concussion. Every time I see this picture I get so emotional. It’s a miracle he was able to walk away from this.
  • On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Samoa Joe listed AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Abyss, and Jeff Jarrett as his Mount Rushmore of TNA wrestlers.
  • Babyface v. Heel first reported that indie wrestler/trainer Chasyn Rance, a designated sex offender under Florida law, was arrested this week for violating the terms of his offender registration: “Chasyn Rance was arrested [Wednesday] for violating terms of his sex offender registration. Specifically, the Orange County Jail says he failed to report changes in vehicle ownership, failed to report an ‘internet ID, web page, or app name’ 2x, & provided false registration info 3x”

WWE & Peacock announce ‘WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle’ documentary

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Before WrestleMania returns to Las Vegas, WWE is taking a look back at the first time Sin City hosted the event.

It was announced today that a new documentary focused on WrestleMania IX will debut exclusively on Peacock on Friday, April 11. Titled “WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle,” the documentary features behind-the-scenes footage from the 1993 event.

The trailer for the documentary can be seen below. It includes interviews with Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Bruce Prichard, Sam Roberts, and former WWE executive Basil DeVito.

With extravagant toga party theming, Caesars Palace played host to WrestleMania IX. The theme was a highlight, but the show is probably most remembered for its underwhelming card and controversial finish. Instead of Hart winning the WWF Championship from Yokozuna, Hogan — who had recently returned to the company after a year away — defeated Yokozuna for the belt in an impromptu main event. That controversy is one of the focuses of this documentary.

Las Vegas will host WrestleMania for the second time when WrestleMania 41 is held at Allegiant Stadium later this month (Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20).

Steve Austin reacts to WM 13 match being inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is happy that his WrestleMania 13 match against Bret Hart still resonates with fans.

It was announced last week that the Austin vs. Hart match will be enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 41 weekend in Las Vegas. Receiving the inaugural “Immortal Moment Award,” it’s the first match to ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

While doing a private autograph signing for American Icon Autographs, Austin was asked if this award means anything to him.

“Yeah, yes and no,” he responded. “I mean, yeah, because it was a hell of a match and we knew it at the time. And I think that it was good that it was in Chicago, because Chicago was kind of a stronghold for me, but it would have worked anywhere. But the fact that it happened with Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. There’s a couple behind-the-scenes stories that, you know, I don’t want to talk about. But, man, it was a hell of a match, and it’s cool for people to still remember it damn near 30 years later. So, yeah, it means something to me, because, I don’t know, if it wasn’t for the fans, I wouldn’t be sitting here. So the fact that that match is relevant and it’s going into the 2025 Hall of Fame for matches and it’s the first match to be inducted, cool.”

Austin vs. Hart was a no holds barred submission match with Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee. Along with their stellar in-ring work, the match is memorable for its double turn that helped Austin become one of the biggest babyfaces in pro wrestling history. With blood streaming down his face, Austin refused to tap out while in the Sharpshooter and lost by referee stoppage.

Both Austin and Hart have already been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame individually, and The Hart Foundation (Hart & Jim Neidhart) are in the HOF as a tag team as well.

The 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is set for Friday, April 18 and will air live on Peacock and WWE’s social media channels. Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Michelle McCool, Lex Luger, and The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) are also part of the inductee class.