WWE will host NXT Takeover: Houston on November 18, 2017 in Houston, TX. It will air exclusively on WWE Network. This is the official card thus far:
WarGames Match
– Tag Team Champions SAnitY vs. The Undisputed Era vs. The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong.
NXT World Championship
– Drew McIntyre (C) vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
NXT Women’s World Championship
– Kairi Sane vs. Ember Moon vs. Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce
Ab Contest
– Shawn Michaels vs. Johnny Gargano
The Velveteen Dream vs. Aleister Black
According to a report from WrestlingVotes, Roman Reigns is slated to return November 13.
A recent poster for Survivor Series confirms the rumor that John Cena is slated to be the guest referee for the projected Jinder Mahal vs. Brock Lesnar match at Survivor Series. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin were also potential guest referees that were being floated.
According to Alberto Del Rio aka Alberto El Patron, Paige is “days away from returning”. Paige has been training for her long awaited return to WWE at the Performance Center in Orlando for several weeks and there’s speculation that she may be getting entrance theme. Speculation began when Jorge Hernandez, the manager for singer Shayla, posted a preview for a remixed version of Paige’s WWE theme song and thanked WWE for the opportunity to do so. Paige has been told by management to keep a low profile until her return, which is understandable given the negative press that’s followed her during her sabbatical.
WWE shocked many by retracting its offer to Io Shirai this past June and according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the reason was due due to heart concerns rather than the previously suspected and reported neck concerns. Io has since been cleared by doctors to wrestle again in Starcade.
WWE released its quarterly earnings report, which showed that WWE Network’s paid subscriber count at 1.507 million as of September 30. This is down from the reported 1.568 million reported back on June 30th. The most recent count states that 1.106 million of the latest total are domestic subscribers, while the remaining 401,000 accounts for the international market. The WWE is currently focused on strengthening its brand in Asia, especially India, and the Middle East. The Mae Young Classic failed to generate a rise in viewership despite the hype.
According to Wrestling News Observer and an interview with Sean Waltman (X-Pac), reports that Nia Jax was/is unhappy about her role and pay are unfounded. Rumors and a recent story in Sports Illustrated reported as such and that Nia’s cousin, The Rock, advised her to walk out. Nia was simply given a break from appearances simply because there were no plans for her at the time. She will be a member of Team Raw for Survivor Series.
ProWrestlingSheet reported that NXT recruit, Leo Gao was released by WWE early Friday. This is shocking given that he was projected to be a keeper and happening so soon after Sawyer Fulton (Jacob Southwick) of NXT being released by WWE this week. Gao was one of the first ever WWE recruits from China and showed great promise in WWE’s Orlando training facility. He suffered a neck injury back in August which some speculate led to him becoming expendable. Sawyer had been with WWE since 2012 and joined the SAnitY Faction last year. He took to Twitter thanking fans and the WWE for his time there. He joins Emma, Darren Young, and Summer Rae among those released. Darren, Summer Rae, and Emma were released due to budget cuts. In the case of Emma, it seems that backstage heat led to her being seen as expendable. She allegedly clashed with the writing staff and rubbed some people the wrong way with her strongly opinionated Twitter posts. Despite these alleged variables, the door remains open for a possible return.
According to PWInsider, Sin Cara just signed a multi year contract with the WWE. Details about the terms of the deal haven’t been released as of yet.
