-Following up on last week’s report of NBC Universal paying big money to keep Monday night Raw on the USA network, Smackdown has seemingly found its new home on Fox.
-Fox had been one of the leading contenders to make a pitch for both shows at one point. It’s rumored that there were other contenders, possibly streaming services, but the main stream cross promotional abilities of Fox helped them win the deal. If the deal goes through, look for Smackdown to make a return to its former Friday night time slot when it debuts on Fox in the fall of 2019. There had previously been some rumors that it may also go to 3 hours like Raw, but given that Fox doesn’t currently only schedules 2 hours per night of primetime programming that seems unlikely at this juncture. That could change as the story continues to unfold.
-Ric Flair cancelled several personal appearances over the weekend due to a sudden illness, reportedly a bad flu. The 69 year old dual hall of famer has had a few health scares over the last year but always seems to pull through like the 16 time champ that he is.
-Both the Revival and Tyler Breeze made surprise appearances at NXT house shows over the weekend. All 3 men achieved much greater success during their tenures with the black and yellow brand than they have thus far on the main roster, but this shouldn’t be seen as anything more than fun surprises for the loyal fans at these Florida shows.
-Ronda Rousey’s transition from MMA to WWE continues to go smoothly. She participated in 6 woman tag matches throughout the recent tour of Europe, presumably because they didn’t feel she was quite ready to carry a full singles match yet. She was said to be extremely popular with the fans in attendance her own social media shows that she was clearly having the time of her life with her new colleagues. Best of all, things backstage are reportedly going very well also. Reports indicate she is friendly to everyone, including production crew. Most importantly she is humble and coachable bringing with her none of the ego one might expect from a star of her stature. This positive attitude combined with hard work and obvious star power could lead her to be one of the biggest female stars the company has ever had.
-As promised last week, here are the remaining competitors in the upcoming UK Tournament: Travis Banks, Jordan Devlin, James Drake, Drew Gulak, Ashton Smith, Tyson T-Bone, Flash Morgan Webster, and Tucker. Additionally, this week they announced the 1st round match ups. These will take place as part of NXT’s gig at the Download Fest June 8-10.
Gulak vs Gallagher
Smith vs Conners
Webster vs Drake
Williams vs Mastiff
El Ligero vs Banks
Gibson vs Jordan
Tucker vs Coffey
Devlin vs T-Bone
The tournament concludes in London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 18 with the winner facing current UK Champion Pete Dunne on the 19th.
MITB so far:
Mens MITB Match: Braun, Balor, Miz, Rusev, Roode, Owens, New Day Member TBA, Bryan OR Joe
Womens MITB Match: Ember, Charlotte, Bliss, Becky, Natalia, Lana, Naomi
WWE title match: Styles vs Nakamura Last Man Standing
Raw Womens Championship: Nia jax vs Ronda Rousey
Smackdown Womens Championship: Carmella vs Asuka
Roman Reigns vs Jinder Mahal
Smackdown Tag Championships: Bludgeon Brothers vs Gallows and Anderson
