The former cable television channel announced that Xavier Woods would be part of the network going forward. During G4’s Holiday Reunion special tonight on YouTube Live, a video was shown showing highlights of his YouTube gaming channel Up Up Down Down. WWE posted an article on their website highlighting the announcement.
G4, which at one point focused on video games, went off the air in 2014. However, it was announced earlier this year that the brand would relaunch in 2021, though under what format has not been confirmed. Woods had campaigned for a hosting spot since the announcement, with the hashtag #Creed4G4 trending at one point on Twitter.
The reunion special also launched the Gravython, a multi-day charity drive stream. Woods took part, playing the video game Among Us.
It was also recently announced that Woods, along with other New Day members Big E and Kofi Kingston, would be coming to Gears of War 5 as DLC characters. The trio appeared at Survivor Series on Sunday wearing costumes similar to the ones in the game.
The men’s WWE Tag Team title situation regarding both sets of champions was made clear in a segment tonight on Raw.
During tonight’s show, WWE official Adam Pearce met with Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, the SmackDown Tag Team champions who were drafted to Raw, and The Street Profits, Raw Tag Team champions who were drafted to SmackDown. Pearce said he cleared it with WWE and the solution to the problem was to exchange titles — The Street Profits would be recognized as the SmackDown Tag Team champions and vice versa. The two teams agreed, and the switch was made.
The New Day were drafted during the first night of the draft on SmackDown this past Friday. Both Kingston and Woods returned that night, defeating Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro to win the SmackDown Tag team titles. However, it was announced immediately after that title match that Kingston and Woods were being drafted to Raw, while Big E would stay SmackDown, splitting the trio apart for the first time since 2014.
After being a trio for six years, The New Day will be going their separate ways.
It comes as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods not only returned to action on tonight’s SmackDown, but won the brand’s Tag Team titles, defeating Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. The former champions had held the titles for 82 days, defeating Big E and Kofi Kingston on April 17.
After the match, Stephanie McMahon came out and announced that the new champions would be moving to Raw. However, Big E was selected next for SmackDown, effectively splitting the New Day. All three members, who were still in the ring when the announcement was made, looked dejected.
It was later announced that a New Day farewell match would take place on next week’s SmackDown, with the trio facing Sheamus, Cesaro, and Shinsuke Nakamura.
The New Day have been a trio since 2014, winning the Raw Tag Team titles two times and the SmackDown Tag Team titles seven times.
Four more wrestlers have signed multi-year extensions with WWE.
On last night’s WWE Backstage, it was announced that Big E, Xavier Woods, and The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) have signed new multi-year deals with WWE. WWE noted that all three members of The New Day “solidified a pact of identical length and compensation on their contracts to maintain equal status among the team.”
Kofi Kingston had revealed on this week’s episode of The New Day’s Feel the Power podcast that he recently signed a new five-year contract with WWE.
Kingston & Big E are the current SmackDown Tag Team Champions. They retained their titles against The Revival in a ladder match at Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view.
Woods is out of action after suffering a torn Achilles tendon at a WWE house show in October.
Former NXT Tag Team Champions Dawkins & Ford lost to The Viking Raiders after answering their open challenge on Raw’s go-home show for TLC last week. Dawkins & Ford also hosted a “Monday after Weekend Update” segment where they parodied Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and looked ahead to TLC.
The New Day will be featured on the second series announced for WWE’s Podcast Network.
On today’s episode of After the Bell with Corey Graves, it was revealed that “The New Day: Feel the Power” will premiere on Monday, December 2. The show will be hosted by Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods, with new episodes airing weekly.
The description for the show says: “Every week, ya boys will be telling personal stories from in and outside the ring and engaging in passionate debates on some of their favorite topics, including sports, video games, music and more. Nothing is off limits, from Booty O’s to pancakes to everything in between. New episodes will be available weekly, so don’t you dare be sour. Hit that sweet, sweet subscribe button, and feel the POWERRR!”
Kingston & Big E are the current SmackDown Tag Team Champions. Woods is out of action after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in October.
Kingston & Big E will face Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders and NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish in a non-title match at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.
WWE announced in August that they were partnering with Endeavor Audio to launch an official podcast network. Graves’ After the Bell podcast debuted on October 30.
With both nights of the draft, free agent roster additions, and even a trade now out of the way, the new rosters for Raw and SmackDown look to be set.
WWE’s handling of the draft may have been lackluster, but this is a pivotal time for the company. If WWE is really going to commit to the brand split and making Raw and SmackDown stand out as different from each other, they need to get the roster mix right. They’re also working with two different television partners and will need to make sure FOX and USA Network don’t feel like they’re playing second fiddle to the other.
WWE is a promotion that’s overloaded with talent. That would seem like the ideal environment for a brand split, but the company’s lack of top-tier stars has been a barrier to the roster split’s long-term sustainability. When there’s a ratings slip, it’s easy to say Becky Lynch or Roman Reigns not being on both shows is the reason for it. And while the Wild Card rule may not have been overly popular, any of its short-term effects were probably a positive for ratings.
Here’s what the new Raw and SmackDown rosters look like coming out of the draft:
Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
We have a huge double issue this week, with a special Hall of Fame feature, some shocking ratings news from overseas, New Japan’s international expansion, Randy Couture’s heart attack and coverage of the major shows.We also cover:
The situation with Nate Diaz and why the UFC 244 main event looks to be in jeopardy.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s opening up a new U.S. outpost. We look at what the goals of the company are for 2020, who is in charge, why they are in charge, who surprisingly isn’t involved and why. We look at how the U.S. market has changed for New Japan, ticket sales for the upcoming shows, how it would be best served for New Japan in this market and the lessons learned from what they’ve done so far.
The difference between the fans in Japan and the U.S. for New Japan, the type of buildings they are looking at running and the ultimate goals.
Update on the situation with Randy Couture.
WWE Crown Jewel, with the lineup and circumstances of the show.
AAA Heroes Inmortales with the Kenny Omega vs Fenix AAA title change as well as a look at the rest of the show.
Xavier Woods, have all the Canadian TV ratings, 2020 NXT plans, Randy Orton update, Seth Rollins talks Kenny Omega, WWE news regarding lineup for the Mexico City show, major WWE signing, Update on 205 Live, WWE 2K commercial news, former Lucha Underground star talking with WWE, Dana White talks Cain Velasquez in WWE, former New Japan star teaching at performance center, reasons for the stock price decline, most watched shows this past week on the WWE Network, as well as a rundown of all the NXT and WWE shows, with match-by-match coverage and business news.
Impact Bound for Glory, with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
A huge feature looking at the 2019 Hall of Fame elections, strongest and weakest candidates with bios on a lot of the different performers. We look at everyone’s strengths ad weaknesses as well as the leading still active candidates.
A complete rundown of the Wednesday night wars over the past two weeks, how both shows are doing in every segment and with every demo group. We look at the median age of viewers, how the World Series affected viewing and more.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
The results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
Current subscribers click here to continue reading.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
We have a couple of shows coming up in the next few days. We will be doing an interview show tonight as well as a second show looking back at the legacy of Championship Wrestling from Florida. Bryan and I will be back Saturday talking Bellator, UFC and the rest of the news.
Randy Couture walked home from the hospital today after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday. He lives three blocks from the hospital.
Ratings can be confusing and misleading but as far as the key numbers to advertisers and normalized to be fair, based on the actual audience that has access to the show as opposed to making it unfair based on homes that don’t even have the channel, these were the 18-49 ratings for this past week:
UFC .47
Smackdown .77
Raw 1.01
Total Divas .17
NXT .28
AEW .61
As far as costs to the network for the episode:
UFC $10 million
Smackdown $4.02 million
Raw $5.10 million
Total Divas $400,000
NXT $588,000
AEW $500,000 plus a percentage of advertising points
According to his son, La Parka was able to speak and identify people after his surgery on Wednesday and is off the respirator and breathing on his own.
Jake Hager fights Anthony Garrett on Bellator as noted above tonight. According to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, AEW wrestlers Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz are all in Uncasville, CT for the show and will be on Bellator tonight. So that’s a third bit of competition for Smackdown. Hager weighed in yesterday at 249, which is 11 pounds heavier than his last fight.
WWE
WWE tonight on FS 1 has Smackdown live at 8 p.m. For those on the West Coast, because it’s on FS 1 instead of FOX, it will start at 5 p.m., however FS 1 will be replaying the show for the West Coast at 8 p.m. WWE Backstage will have a special one hour episode at 10 p.m. after Smackdown ends. FOX will also be airing a one hour edited version of tonight’s Smackdown on the network on Sunday. It will air in most either before or after NFL coverage, generally at 5 p.m. Eastern but different on the West Coast, so it’ll probably do a larger audience than it does on Fridays.
FOX pushed tonight’s show during last night’s NFL game with Joe Buck mentioning it on FS 1 and pushed as the stars Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, Bayley and Kofi Kingston. It was clear Joe Buck and Troy Aikman didn’t know who they were and Buck just called them Smackdown superstars They also pushed the replay show at 11 p.m. Eastern and Aikman brought up a photo of Andre the Giant with Joe Theismann in their production room from 1975. (thanks to Jeff Rozner)
Regarding Smackdown tonight, between the night and the station, the only way they’re topping 1.6 million viewers is if Hogan and Flair still have ratings juice after all of their recent appearances.
John Cena will be the top guest on Jimmy Fallon’s show on Sunday likely pushing his new movie. (thanks to Shannon Walsh).
UFC
Sam Alvey has pulled out of his 11/16 fight with Mauricio Shogun Rua for undisclosed reasons. They are looking for a new opponent for Rua on that show.
AEW
AEW goes head-to-head with Smackdown as TNT is presenting a prime time replay of Wednesday night’s show. It’s called AEW Extended as there was footage taped involving Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Pac and Jon Moxley after the show went off the air on Wednesday that will air for the first time tonight at the end of the show. Like Smackdown, it will run 8-10 p.m. The angle is to build the Page vs. Pac match on the Full Gear PPV show on 11/9. Full Gear tickets have moved well since it started being pushed on television but it’s not quite sold out, but it’s not far from being sold out and probably will.
Sammy Guevera is working on the 12/15 IPWA show in Tel Aviv, Israel (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
MISCELLANEOUS
Both ESPN and MMA Fighting have reported that Sergio Pettis will be signing with Bellator.
AAA has a TV taping on Twitch on Saturday that has added what should be an incredible match with El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Black Taurus vs. Arez vs. Aramis (who got over so great at BOLA).
The movie “Girl on the Third Floor” starring Phil Brooks (C.M. Punk) and Triese Kelly Dunn is now playing at selected theaters.
Tickets go on sale Wednesday for the ROH show on 12/15 in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena.
Innovate Wrestling on 11/16 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium headlined by Toby Farley vs. Devin Driscoll.
MLW has announced they have released more ringside tickets for the 11/2 PPV show from Cicero, IL after they’ve worked out production needs They also announced a one hour pregame show at 7 p.m. Eastern that will air before the PPV on the PPV channels with Contra Unit vs. Spirit Squad vs. Dominic Garrini & Douglas James, Zenshi vs. El Hijo de L.A.Park, Savio Vega vs. Leo Brien and Gino Medina vs. Air Wolf.
The NWA announced it has sold out its 12/15 TV tapings at the PBS Studios in Atlanta for NWA Powerrr. It’s only about 150-250 seats depending on the setup. There are tickets left for the 12/16 tapings.
A show called Joshi Wrestling in Italy on 11/9 in Udine, Italy is attempting to do a crowdfunded show through Indiegogo using wrestlers from Ice Ribbon and other Japanese groups at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/joshi-wrestling-in-italy#/
Jay White was interviewed by Project NZ tonight, nightly news/panel show on New Zealand television on Wednesday night.
wXw announced that Alexander Wolfe would be wrestling Bobby Gunns on their 11/29 show in Hamburg, Germany.
Combate Americas returns to the Save Mart Center in Fresno,CA on 11/22 for a show live on Univision with Igancio Bahamondes (9-2) vs. Salvador Becerra (7-2) at lightweight and Corina Herrera (4-4-1) vs. Caroline Gallardo (3-3) at strawweight.
All Star Wrestling November to Remember on 11/2 in Chilliwack, BC at the Tzeachten Hall. They also run 11/1 in Vancouver, BC at the Maritime Labour Centre.
Masters of the Ring on 10/27 at 8 p.m.on FITE TV with Melina Perez vs. Lisa Marie Varon (Victoria), Shane Douglas vs. Stevie Richards, Bu Kao Dao vs. Victor Andrews vs. DeJuan O’Neal 2/3 falls, Ken Anderson vs. Eli Drake, Billy Gunn vs. Shawn Spears, TJ Perkins vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr., James Storm vs. Fred Dosser vs Brian Cage. Larry Zbyszko and Salina de la Renta will be announcing.
Slamforce Africa, a promotion run by PJ Black of ROH, has an iPPV on 10/27 on Fite TV from South Africa headlined by Rob Van Dam vs. Black.
Austin Theory defends the Evolve title against Josh Briggs on 11/9 in Queens, NY. Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will all be doing a meet and greet at that show. Anthony Henry vs. JD Drake is also on that show in a no holds barred match. plus Babatunde vs. Eddie Kingston. Matt Sydal, going back to the name Evan Bourne, will be starting as a regular with Evolve on the 11/9 show.
Adam Cole is doing a seminar tryout for Evolve on 11/10 in Brooklyn, NY. This is open to wrestlers, referees and managers who have already completed training as well as to announcers who have already worked independent shows.
After suffering the injury on Monday, Xavier Woods has undergone surgery to repair his Achilles.
Woods posted a video update after waking up from surgery today. He said he has no clue how long he’s going to be out of action but will figure out that information soon. Later in the video, Woods mentioned that he won’t be able to wrestle for quite a while.
Dave Meltzer wrote about Woods’ injury in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: “Woods suffered a torn Achilles tendon on 10/21 in Sydney, Australia, which is a very serious injury and is likely to put him on the shelf nine months to a year. Big E & Woods were facing The Revival and Woods was coming off the ropes and then just went down. It appeared to have snapped doing nothing at all dangerous.”
After Woods was attended to, the match continue with Big E facing The Revival on his own and The Revival retaining their titles.
Big E & Kofi Kingston will face Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode on tonight’s SmackDown. Both teams will be part of the World Cup tag team turmoil match at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next Thursday.
F4W NEWSLETTER: WWE’s draft missed opportunity Joseph Currier looks at how the draft failed to establish a unique identity for SmackDown on FOX.
With a chance to establish a unique identity on FOX, this year’s draft was a missed opportunity for WWE.
The draft was an early indication of what WWE will look like on FOX. Following up on a loaded premiere episode, it gave SmackDown an opportunity to define itself as a FOX property. WWE had the full weight of the network behind them, complete with pre-taped appearances by FOX’s biggest sports personalities. But instead of leaning in to that identity, WWE gave mixed messages.
Ever since WWE struck their deal with FOX, there’s been some question about how SmackDown would fit into the network’s portfolio. It’s categorized as part of FOX Sports, with WWE Backstage even airing weekly on FS1. SmackDown gives FOX the benefit of having live programming on Fridays for 52 weeks out of the year, but it’s really more of a hybrid between sports and a weekly television show. WWE is never going to be — and shouldn’t be — a promotion that presents itself as a pure sport. The beauty of pro wrestling is that you can create the over-the-top spectacle that sports can only wish to achieve. With appearances by Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury on the FOX premiere, it seemed like WWE was going to be taking SmackDown in that direction.
In a huge week of news,we’ve got all the details in the new issue. Our lead story looks at the firing of Eric Bischoff. We look at his hiring, why it was largely not expected to work out by those who had worked with him in recent years and why people from the past rarely work when brought back into wrestling.
This week’s Observer also covers:
Bruce Prichard and the problems with both Raw and Smackdown.
WWE draft, why the moves were made, how the draft shows were put together and have a depth chart of where all the talent looks to be positioned, who got broken up and who haven’t had a brand chosen for them yet.
Signing of Tyson Fury and Cain Velasquez by WWE. We look at WWE’s place in Riyadh season, the kind of money being thrown around, why Anthony Joshua is facing heat while WWE really isn’t, the set up for Velasquez vs. Lesnar and questions about Velasquez and his WWE career going forward, the background of how Fury and Velasquez got to WWE, the challenges Velasquez faces in WWE and the Crown Jewel show.
WWE’s plans for NXT Japan, what major star has been signed and others who have been talked with, DVR viewership of Smackdown, updated WWE PPV numbers, Hulu numbers, Mike Bennett on why he wants to leave, Maria Kanellis responds. Hardy family drama, WWE gets award nominations, Injury updates, Evolve shows, most-watched shows on the WWE Network, plus a look at every arena event from WWE & NXT over the past week.
Coverage of King of Pro Wrestling with the background, the destination, the Tokyo Dome plans, Power Struggle, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Extensive coverage of Bushiroad’s purchase of Stardom, how this happened, why Rossy Ogawa sold to Bushiroad and not WWE, what WWE was offering, Stardom’s new TV deal, why this doesn’t mean New Japan and Stardom are affiliated, Stardom coming to the U.S. in December and political implications of all this, as well a plans for the biggest Stardom show ever.
UFC in Tampa this past week with Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Michelle Waterson and Jedrzejczyk’s quest for the strawweight title.
Full coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw and the latest pro wrestling news. You can also send questions to the show to [email protected]
Word going around WWE is that the Xavier Woods injury is bad. The company has officially reported an Achilles injury, without saying a tear, but the word going around it is that it is a tear, which is an injury that usually has a very long recuperation period after surgery. Woods was coming off the ropes and just collapsed from what we understand (thanks to Alex Michael and others)
AAA La Parka suffered a neck and spine fracture when he hit his head on the guard rail doing a dive in a match last night in Monterrey. Parka, not L.A. Park is 53 years old and underwent surgery at 5 a.m. He is now in recovery. This was a very scary situation last night as there was fear of paralysis, but he did regain feeling in his hands and legs before surgery.
Some notes on Raw. Ric Flair is scheduled to announce the final member of Team Raw for Saudi Arabia. Cain Velasquez is on the show tonight. Seth Rollins will discuss destroying the Firefly Fun House. Lots of talent is missing. Becky Lynch was doing an appearance today for the ESPN Women’s Sports Summit in Los Angeles and Raw is in Cleveland. For sure not on Raw will be Buddy Murphy, Asuka, Kairi Sane, The Iiconics and Charlotte Flair because they are all in Australia for the Smackdown tour.
As far as competition, Raw gets a break because no World Series game tonight. Still, with the New England Patriots (vs. New York Jets) tonight, one of the league’s marquee teams, Raw will have very tough competition. Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday will take a large bite out of both AEW and NXT ratings, and it’ll also hurt Smackdown on Friday on FS1, which is likely to do a sub 1.8 million number, and if it does, it means nothing and don’t worry about it. Nobody in television thinks this coming week’s Smackdown number counts at all.
FOX is still strongly behind WWE. On Sunday at 5 p.m., they will be airing a one hour show with profiles on the biggest stars in WWE and WWE itself.
MISCELLANEOUS
When we’ve talked about the Kenny Omega vs. Fenix match from last year in Poughkeepsie that was so great, it was on a Northeast Wrestling show and it is available to watch through the Highspots streaming service. The rematch took place Saturday night in Orizaba with Omega winning the AAA mega world title.
The opponent for Melissa “Thunder Rosa” Cervantes in her MMA debut on 11/8 in San Antonio for Combate Americas will be Nadine Mandau (0-1). They will fight at 115 pounds. The bout is expected to air live on Univision that night at midnight Eastern time.
Colosseum tournament final results from yesterday in Sydney: Matty Wahlberg b Orange Cassidy in semifinals, Travis Banks b Ricky South in semifinals, Steph De Lander won four-way over Big Fudge, HeadHunter Rig and Royce Chambers to get a PWA title match, Rory Gulak & Shazza McKenzie b Adam Hoffman & Mick Moretti, Caveman Ugg b Jack Bonza to keep the PWA title, Jude London & Mat Diamond & Mat Rogers & Paris de Silva b Chris Basso & Davis Storm & Jessica Troy & Sam Osborne, Billy Preston & Jimmy Townsend b Massive Q, Matty Wahlberg b Travis Banks to win tournament. Preston & Townsend stood on each others’ shoulders wearing a trench coat with the idea it was one person called James Adultman in the match against Massive Q. Show said to be really good, Ugg vs Bonza, and the eight man were strong the Wahlberg vs. Banks said to be super. As noted yesterday, WWE was scouting here. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
PWA in Australia and the Fale Dojo run 12/14 in Sydney at the Factory Theater with Jushin Liger.
United States Championship Wrestling yesterday in Jacksonville, FL: Dashing Kam b Skylark, Cisco Sucio b Calus Wolfe, Amber Nova b Kiah Dream, Chasyn Rance b Gery Roif, Bobby Leger b Djokovic Rabbit, Jake Shadows b Vernon Black, Den James b Dashing Kam & Rabbit in a handicap match (thanks to Al Haft)
Action Wrestling Friday night in Tyrone, GA with Curt Stallion, Alex Zayne, Lance Anoa’i and Slim J. The show is a benefit for a local domestic violence shelter.
GOUGE from yesterday in Raleigh, NC: Otto Schwarn b Blaqtus Jack, Cowboy Kool Jay won three-way over Josh Young and James Anthony, Seymour Snott b Caribbean Tiger Woods, No Direction & Jonas Beiber b Viva Las Amish & Danny Vegas, Waylon Maze b Ric Richards, Snooty Fox b Victor Andrews.
Best of the West in Fresno has a student showcase on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Best of the West TV studios and will feature students not only from Best in the Wet, but from other area promotions like APW, Gold Rush, VF3, Stoner U, MPW, EBPW, ACW, Reno Wrestling Factory and FSW. The studio is at 5766 E Fountain Way in Fresno and tickets are $10.
Juventud Guerrera comes to CWE on 11/23 in Medicine Hat, Albertafor its Elite 8 tournament. Guerrera will be headlining 31 events throughout Canada for CWE for The Juice Is On The Loose Tour.
Added to the ROH show on 10/27 in Bolton, UK are Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Hikuleo & Kenny King and Brody King & PCO vs. Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham.
WWE has confirmed that Xavier Woods suffered an Achilles injury and will be unable to finish their Australian tour.
**********
The opening match of today’s WWE house show in Sydney, Australia was impacted due to injury.
Xavier Woods suffered an injury while teaming with Big E against SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival at the event. The referee threw up the “X” signal and Woods was attended to. The match ended up continuing with Big E facing The Revival on his own and The Revival retaining their titles.
On Twitter, Woods wrote “Sorry #WweSydney” and indicated that it was an Achilles tendon injury that he suffered. Further information about the injury and how long Woods will be out of action hasn’t been revealed.
The Revival won the SmackDown Tag Team titles from Big E & Woods at Clash of Champions last month.
The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Woods) remained on SmackDown in the WWE Draft. New Day are scheduled to be one of the teams in the World Cup tag team turmoil match at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 31. The Viking Raiders, Heavy Machinery, The Lucha House Party, Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins, The Revival, The O.C., Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, and The B-Team were also announced for the match.
Following their respective matches at Clash of Champions, The New Day and Randy Orton & The Revival will face off in a six-man tag match on SmackDown.
WWE has announced The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Orton & The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) for tonight’s episode. It’s taking place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kingston retained his WWE Championship against Orton at Clash of Champions, while The Revival defeated Big E & Woods to win the SmackDown Tag Team titles.
The last time the teams faced off in a six-man tag match on television, Orton & The Revival defeated The New Day on the August 13 episode of SmackDown.
After he won the King of the Ring tournament on last night’s Raw, there will be a coronation segment for Baron Corbin on SmackDown tonight. Corbin defeated Chad Gable in the King of the Ring finals.
A sit-down interview with Erick Rowan is also set for tonight’s SmackDown, and Shane McMahon will address last week’s “firing” of Kevin Owens.
Rowan defeated Roman Reigns in a no DQ match at Clash of Champions, with Luke Harper making his return and helping Rowan win.
WWE has officially added two more title matches to the card for Clash of Champions.
It was confirmed today that The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) will defend their SmackDown Tag Team titles against The Revival at Clash of Champions. Shinsuke Nakamura defending his Intercontinental Championship against The Miz has also been confirmed for the pay-per-view.
The matches had been set up by The Revival and Miz issuing challenges to their respective opponents.
The Revival have been aligned with Randy Orton during the build to Clash of Champions. Orton will challenge for Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship at the PPV.
Earlier this month, it was established that Sami Zayn is now Nakamura’s spokesman on WWE TV. Nakamura has laid out Miz on SmackDown each of the past two weeks.
The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina is hosting Clash of Champions on September 15. Here’s the updated card for the show:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Braun Strowman
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Randy Orton
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Charlotte Flair
Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman defending against Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Big E & Xavier Woods defending against The Revival
Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defending against The Miz
The finals of the King of the Ring tournament
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak defending against Humberto Carrillo
After announcing The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) for the show earlier today, it will now be WWE Champion Kingston (w/ Big E and Woods) vs. United States Champion Styles (w/ Gallows and Anderson) in a non-title match.
Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Vince McMahon called for a rewrite of the entire show for tonight. Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet first tweeted about the rewrite being called for.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Big E & Woods vs. Drew McIntyre & Elias in a non-title match had originally been announced for tonight’s show over the weekend.
Gallows & Anderson defeated The Revival and The Usos in a triple threat match last night to win the Raw Tag Team titles.
Kingston is set to defend the WWE title against Randy Orton at SummerSlam on August 11, while Ricochet will challenge for Styles’ U.S. title at the pay-per-view.
Tonight’s SmackDown is taking place at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.
WWE has added two matches to the lineup for Tuesday’s SmackDown.
Finn Balor vs. Dolph Ziggler is set for the episode, along with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Drew McIntyre & Elias in what looks to be a non-title match.
WWE is hyping that Balor is “out to teach Ziggler some respect” after Ziggler superkicked Shawn Michaels during Michaels’ appearance on Miz TV this week. The New Day agreeing with Kevin Owens in his feud against Shane McMahon is the reason for Big E & Woods vs. McIntyre & Elias.
Balor issued a SummerSlam challenge to Bray Wyatt this week and will face “The Fiend” version of Wyatt at the August 11 pay-per-view in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins has been announced for Monday’s Raw.
Tuesday’s SmackDown is taking place at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. Trish Stratus will appear on a King’s Court segment with Jerry Lawler, and Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville in a non-title match has also been set up for the episode.
After announcing a SmackDown Tag Team title match for Extreme Rules earlier in the day, another team was added to the mix on this week’s SmackDown.
Heavy Machinery defeated Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler in the main event of Tuesday’s show. The stipulation was that the winning team would be added to the SmackDown Tag Team title match at Extreme Rules. It will now be Daniel Bryan & Rowan defending their titles against Big E & Xavier Woods and Heavy Machinery in a triple threat match at the pay-per-view.
Heavy Machinery vs. Owens & Ziggler was set up during tonight’s opening segment. Owens and Ziggler argued on the KO Show and both wanted a title shot against WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. Shane McMahon responded by having them team together in a match where they could earn a Tag Team title shot.
After their loss, Owens attacked Ziggler and gave him a stunner. Ziggler had accidentally hit a superkick on Owens at the end of the match, which led to Heavy Machinery hitting The Compactor on Owens to get the win.
Bryan, Rowan, Big E, and Woods were on commentary at the start of Heavy Machinery vs. Owens & Ziggler. New Day started a brawl with Bryan and Rowan. Bryan hit a running knee on Big E, then Rowan slammed Woods through an announce table.
Bryan defeated Big E in a singles match earlier on tonight’s SmackDown after Rowan interfered.
The updated card for Extreme Rules is listed below. The PPV is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 14:
The Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre in a no holds barred match
Universal Champion Seth Rollins & Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans in an extreme rules match (winners-take-all stipulation with both titles on the line)
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Samoa Joe
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan defending against Big E & Xavier Woods and Heavy Machinery in a triple threat match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak defending against Tony Nese
SmackDown’s go-home show for Stomping Grounds takes place from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California tonight.
Dolph Ziggler will face New Day member Xavier Woods. That comes in advance of Ziggler challenging WWE Champion Kofi Kingston in a steel cage match at Sunday’s pay-per-view.
Roman Reigns takes on Drew McIntyre at Stomping Grounds. Last night on Raw, Reigns attacked McIntyre and Shane McMahon. WWE.com is teasing that McIntyre and McMahon are looking for payback against Reigns.
Alexa Bliss hosts A Moments of Bliss with guest SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley. Bayley will defend her title against Bliss at Stomping Grounds.
Heavy Machinery issued a challenge to SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan last week. Instead, Heavy Machinery defeated the “Yolo County Tag Team Champions.” Bryan & Rowan have yet to accept the challenge.
Plus, 24/7 Champion R-Truth and Carmella are scheduled to appear.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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SmackDown started with The New Day making their way down to the ring. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston came out throwing pancakes. Woods discussed Kingston defending against Dolph Ziggler at Stomping Grounds. Woods noted Ziggler would have to get through him first tonight.
Big E talked about his pitch of changing to the second hour of SmackDown to the freaky hour. Dolph Ziggler interrupted. He feels Kingston doesn’t deserve to be champion. He said without New Day Kingston’s nothing.
After Kingston loses the title, he’s going to have to do an apology tour in Ghana. Ziggler promised Kingston would apologize for being locked in a cage with him and failing without New Day.
Ziggler promised to defeat Kingston in the cage at Stomping Grounds. Kingston pointed out he’s familiar with cages. He’s fully aware of cage matches. His journey started at the Elimination Chamber. He promised to beat Ziggler by pinning him, climbing out the cage or walking out the door.
He promised to remain the WWE Champion, but that’s Sunday night. Ziggler needs to worry about tonight. Kingston said Woods is itching to knock him out again. Ziggler wants Kingston to pay close attention to his match with Woods. He promised that after tonight Woods wouldn’t be able to help Kingston ever again.
Ziggler promised that all of Kingston’s positivity and everything he pretends to be would come crumbling down when he’s locked in the cage with him. Ziggler repeated that it should be him.
In the back, SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley walked around and admired her poster.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Xavier Woods (w/Kofi Kingston & Big E)
Woods and Ziggler started with some mat wrestling. They traded quick pin attempts. Woods sent Ziggler into the second rope and hit a dropkick to the back of the head.
Ziggler attacked the knee to gain control. He hit a neck breaker for a near fall. Woods made a brief comeback, but Ziggler took back over. Woods fought back with the honor roll. He climbed to the top when Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn ran down. They attacked Big E and Kingston.
Woods hit a cross body to the floor, taking out Owens and Zayn. The referee ordered Owens, Zayn, Kingston, and Big E to the back. As Woods re-entered the ring, Ziggler hit a DDT for a near fall. Ziggler applied a chin lock to slow the pace down. Woods made his comeback during the break. He fought back and used a backslide for a near fall.
Woods hit a sliding dropkick to the floor. In an impressive spot, Woods lifted Ziggler in a military press and dropped him into the double knees for a two count. They fought on the apron. Ziggler pushed Woods into the ring post and hit a superkick knocking Woods to the floor.
Back in the ring, Ziggler hit the Zig Zag, but Woods rolled under the ropes. Ziggler wrapped Woods arm around the rope. He then hit a superkick with Woods leaning on the ropes for the win.
They recapped the angle with Universal Champion Seth Rollins from Raw last night. Rollins warned anyone considering being the special referee for his match against Baron Corbin Sunday night.
They highlighted Rollins attacking Brock Lesnar, Sami Zayn, Elias, Baron Corbin and EC3 with the steel chair. Corbin attacked Rollins at the end of Raw last night.
In the back, Shelton Benjamin and the B Team stood in front of Baron Corbin’s locker room. B Team knows it’s a risk being the referee. Benjamin promised to use Corbin to get what he wants.
Matt Hardy walked out of Corbin’s locker room. He called Shelton, “Senor Benjamin.”
Backstage, Alexa Bliss spoke with Nikki Cross about the upcoming Moment of Bliss.
A Moment Of Bliss with SmackDown Woman’s Champion Bayley
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross came out for a Moment of Bliss. Bliss demanded someone bring her a coffee. Instead, Bayley came out drinking Bliss’ coffee. Bayley promised Cross she’s didn’t say anything negative about her. She told Cross that Bliss is just using her.
Bliss told a story about being in NXT and Bayley being mean to her. Only Charlotte Flair was nice to Bliss. Bayley said she was making things up again and called her an entitled princess. Bliss isn’t entitled she’s just better. She mocked Bayley for imitating her heroes and trying to get autographs.
Bliss said Bayley peaked in NXT. Bayley and Bliss brawled until Cross pulled Bayley off. Cross yelled at Bayley, which allowed Bliss the chance to attack her from behind.
In the back, Zelina Vega was looking in the mirror when Apollo Crews approached. Crews wants a chance to face Andrade. Vega wondered if he was just there to flirt with her. Andrade jumped Crews from behind and beat him down.
Chad Gable watched from the side and took notes.
SmackDown tag team champions Daniel Bryan and Rowan spoke backstage.
Heavy Machinery defeated The B Team
Before the match, they announced Bryan & Rowan defending against Heavy Machinery at Stomping Grounds. Rowan and Bryan joined in on commentary. Bryan was exceptional on commentary.
Byron Saxton compared Heavy Machinery to The Bushwhackers. Bryan mocked the comparison.
B Team had the early advantage and isolated Tucker in their corner. Tucker fought back and hit a huge clothesline.
Otis got the hot tag and ran wild. He hit a splash in the corner on the B Team. He followed up with the Caterpillar. On commentary, Saxton warned Bryan that could be him on Sunday. Bryan responded that he’d just move. Heavy Machinery hit the Compactor for the win.
After the match, Universal Champion Seth Rollins attacked the B Team and beat them down viciously with the steel chair.
Outside, Shane McMahon arrived at the arena in a limo. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens approached McMahon. They complained about Rollins showing up and attacking The B Team.
They said there’s a problem with Rollins and Kofi Kingston. They called them bad people. McMahon announced Owens & Zayn vs. Kingston & Rollins in a 2 out of 3 falls match for later tonight. Owens and Zayn weren’t happy with this news.
Shane McMahon, Elias, and Drew McIntyre made their way down to the ring. McMahon’s not going to talk about Roman Reigns attack last night. Instead, he’s putting the spotlight on McIntyre. He said McMahon wanted to end Reigns career tonight. They’re not like Reigns, and McIntyre wants him to be 100 percent for Sunday.
The Miz interrupted and showed footage of Reigns attacking McIntyre at a private function and attacking McMahon. Miz then showed the footage in slow motion. Miz said he didn’t know it was possible to sweat faster in slow motion. McMahon pointed out that Miz always has daddy issues. Miz noted McMahon gives all the TV time to himself and his friends.
Miz blames himself because, for the first time in his career, he got injured. Then McMahon won the Best In The World. McMahon is Miz’s responsibility. Miz promised to end McMahon. McMahon then announced McIntyre and Elias vs. Miz and any partner of his choice. The only catch is he has 10 seconds to find a partner.
24/7 Champion R-Truth came out from underneath the ring. Truth tried to leave, but Miz picked him to be his partner anyway.
In the back, AOP walked out of Baron Corbin’s locker room and ran into the Women’s tag team champions The IIconics. Paige, Asuka and Kairi Sane approached the IIconics. They challenged the champions to a match in Tokyo.
Drew McIntyre & Elias (w/Shane McMahon) defeated The Miz & R-Truth in an Elimination match
The 24/7 rules are not in effect during the match.
McIntyre threw Truth across the ring to take over. The heels isolated Truth in their corner and cut him off from Miz. Truth tried to make the tag, but McMahon pulled Miz off the apron. Elias then rocked Truth with a knee for the first elimination.
A bunch of guys ran down. Shelton Benjamin grabbed the 24/7 belt, and everyone chased him around the ring. The referee tried to explain to Benjamin that he had to pin Truth. Truth grabbed the belt and ran off in the crowd.
McIntyre charged at Miz on the floor, but he moved, and McIntyre went over the barricade. Miz made a comeback and rolled up Elias for a near fall. He followed up with a DDT for a two count. Miz tried to roll up Elias, but he pushed off, and McIntyre hit the Glasgow Kiss. McIntyre then hit the Claymore Kick for the win.
After the match, McIntyre hit two more Claymore Kicks on Miz.
Ember Moon ran into Carmella in the back. Moon’s looking for Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Carmella’s looking for Truth, but she’s not done with Rose and Deville either. Moon found Rose and Deville eating donuts. They ended up getting into a brawl.
Universal Champion Seth Rollins and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston met backstage and spoke.
Bray Wyatt hosted another Firefly Funhouse. He knows what if feels like to not belong. Wyatt and the puppets asked for everyone to let him in. The video then became distorted. Wyatt put on the horrifying mask and asked for the fans to let him in.
Drake Maverick defeated R-Truth to win the 24/7 Championship
Outside, 24/7 Champion R-Truth tried to leave. The referee pulled up in his car because he’s also an Uber driver. Drake Maverick wore a Carmella disguise. He rolled up Truth to win the title and drove off in the car.
Universal Champion Seth Rollins & WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match In Two Straight Falls
The bell rang, and Kingston immediately hit the Trouble in Paradise on Zayn to win the first fall.
Back from break, the faces isolated Owens in their corner and worked over the arm. Rollins attempted a springboard, but Owens caught him and threw him in the ring. He hit a DDT for a near fall.
Paul Heyman is watching the match backstage.
The heels took over and isolated Rollins, but he fought back and hit a blockbuster on Owens. Kingston got the hot tag and hit a springboard on Zayn. He followed up with a dropkick and Boom Drop. He set up for the Trouble in Paradise, but Zayn backed off.
Kingston hit a cross body for a near fall. Zayn fought back and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Owens made the tag, but Kingston hit a dropkick and sent him to the floor. Rollins got the tag and hit suicide dives onto Zayn and Owens.
Rollins set up for the Curb Stomp, but Zayn grabbed the leg. Kingston took out Zayn on the floor. The finish came when Rollins hit the Curb Stomp on Owens to win the match in two straight falls.
