Smackdown will host Battleground on July 23, 2017 as its final major event before Summerslam. It will be held in Baltimore, Maryland and air on pay per view and the WWE Network. Here is Battleground’s official card thus far:
WWE Championship — Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Randy Orton (Punjabi Prison Match)
United States Championship — AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens
John Cena vs. Rusev (Flag Match)
Tag Team Championship — The Usos (c) vs. The New Day
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin
Fatal Five Way #1 Contender Match: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Lana vs. Natalya vs. Tamina
The full roster for the Mae Young Classic was released Thursday. It is as follows:
Shayna Baszler
Marti Belle
Kairi Sane
Mercedes Martinez
Nicole Savoy
Toni Storm
Mia Yim
Candice LeRae
Sage Beckett
Princesa Sugehit
Bianca Belair
Tessa Blanchard
Serena Deeb
Vanessa Borne
Taynara Conti
Kavita Devi
Lacey Evans
Rachel Evers
Jazzy Gabert
Santana Garrett
Reina Gonzalez
Dakota Kai
Abbey Laith
Xia Li
Sarah Logan
Renee Michelle
Piper Niven
Kay Lee Ray
Ayesha Raymond
Rhea Ripley
Miranda Salinas
Zeda
The event was taped Thursday and Friday and will premiere on WWE Network on August 28th. It will feature the first four episodes of the tournament, featuring the first round. A “Bracketology” preview special will air on August 20th after SummerSlam goes off the air. Episodes 5-8 will be released on Monday, September 4th and then the live finals will take place live from Las Vegas on Tuesday, September 12th at 10pm EST after SmackDown goes off the air that night. The finals will air on the WWE Network and will take place in the same ring as SmackDown that night.
Paige has made headlines yet again. She and Alberto Del Rio were detained in Orlando regarding a domestic dispute at Orlando International Airport. The two had a heated argument, in which cocaine use accusations were levied against each other. The story takes further turns as Paige stated in an interview with TMZ that she, not, Alberto, got violent by throwing a beer at his face. This is contrary to her previous statement that a female fan hit Alberto and the fact the police are investigating Alberto, not Paige, for domestic violence. Alberto has been suspended from GFW following this incident.
Former WWE Women’s champion, Gail Kim has announced that she is retiring this year. Gail won the Women’s title in her debut match on Raw back in 2003 and went to have even more success in TNA/Impact, where she won six world titles and one tag team title. She is also the first female hall of fame inductee in TNA/Impact history. Given that she’s regarded as one of the premier female talents in wrestling history, she should be included in the WWE’s Hall of Fame. Sadly, given the controversial circumstances of her departure, it remains to be seen if that will happen.
WWE has cancelled Talking Smack and Unfiltered for reasons that are yet to be disclosed. Both shows were hosted by Renee Young, wife of Dean Ambrose.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass have notably split and apparently the two have been causing dissension in the locker room. According to a report by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Enzo was kicked off a talent bus by Roman Reigns for causing a disturbance. It’s unknown what he did and or said to warrant getting thrown out. It’s also been reported that it wasn’t an isolated incident as he has been kicked out more than one dressing room over recent weeks as well. Cass has ruffled feathers as well for his outspoken support of Donald Trump.
Pyrotechnics have been from entrances in order to cut costs according to WWE. The decision was very noticeable when talent such as Brock Lesnar entered without his usual explosions.
