Daniel Bryan announced in the opening segment of tonight’s WWE 205 Live that the new General Manager for the cruiserweight brand is former Impact Wrestling talent Rockstar Spud. Spud will be going by the name Drake Maverick moving forward.

Maverick announced a sixteen man tournament for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight title will kick off tonight. The finals of the terminate will take place at WrestleMania 34, where a new champion will be crowned.

Please give it up for the NEW #205Live General Manager, #DrakeMaverick!!!!! @WWE205Live @WWEDanielBryan @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/jJ5TakBgyb

— WWE (@WWE) January 31, 2018

A 16-MAN tournament to crown a brand new @WWE #Cruiserweight Champion begins TONIGHT on #205Live, and it will all culminate at @WrestleMania! pic.twitter.com/zyf2oj8MxS

— WWE (@WWE) January 31, 2018

The post General Manager of 205 Live Revealed appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

It appears that WWE UK Superstar Tyler Bate will be appearing on tonight’s episode of 205 Live.

WWE posted footage of Bate backstage and mentioned that the new (unnamed) 205 Live General Manager has invited him to the show and it has something to do with the Cruiserweight Championship.

You can check out his remarks below:

NOTE: We are giving away free Ringside News t-shirts every Monday during RAW! You can find out more details here on how to enter our contest or you can purchase one of our new shirts at Pro Wrestling Tees.

The post WWE UK Superstar Debuting on 205 Live Tonight? appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

While speaking with Peter Rosenberg for Rosenberg Radio, Daniel Bryan talked about his retirement from WWE and revealed that he initially refused to retire from WWE when Vince McMahon asked him to do so.

“I get the call from Vince McMahon on a Saturday and I retire on a Monday in Seattle, Washington. And I got a call on a Saturday from Vince McMahon and said, ‘I would like you to retire Monday in Seattle. I just think it would be the best for you,’ that sort of thing. At first, I said, ‘I don’t want to do it.’ And then, I talked to Brie and called him back and I was like, ‘hey, if I’m going to have to retire, my mom can be there, my friends can be there, there can be this support system around me.’” Bryan noted, “I was very thankful that WWE gave me such a platform to retire on, but it was just a hard day.”

Bryan continued, “They asked me to do commentary for a thing that they did called the Cruiserweight Classic, which was on the WWE Network. And they asked me to do that, and I said, ‘yeah, that sounds great!’ It’s only 10 episodes and I only have too go do it a couple of times, and I get to help this young, independent talent because they were all unsigned talent at the time. And I thought it was great, but then, they told me, ‘you’re coming back as the General Manager.’ That wasn’t a question. That’s not an ask. And I was like, ‘argh, I don’t know if I want to do this.’”

“One of the hard things about what I do now is that the entrance is the best part. And then, I go out there and I talk. And, like, I’ve gotten better at this whole thing. I used to be someone who is very bad on the microphone. But now, I’ve developed into being more comfortable with it, finding myself with it, and that sort of thing. But it’s still not my passion. I’ve learned how to do it because that’s what my job required.”

You can listen to the full interview here.

The post Daniel Bryan Reveals He Initially Refused to Retire When Vince McMahon Asked Him To appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Former WWE personality Armando Estrada claimed on Twitter that he was the one that originally pitched the Talking Smack concept years ago.

Estrada, who portrayed the ECW General Manager and manager, said that he pitched the idea to Vince McMahon back in 2011, with him being the host. Estrada said that nothing came of it beyond a handshake and a thank you at the time.

Here is the tweet he sent out:

True story I've never told. Enjoy! #TalkingSmack #WWE @WWE pic.twitter.com/gT3wbGW0zZ

— Armando Estrada (@RealArmandoHaHa) July 14, 2017

The post Former WWE Talent Claims He Came Up with the “Talking Smack Concept appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

WWE provided the following storyline update on Braun Strowman’s medical condition coming out of Monday’s episode of RAW:

While Raw General Manager Kurt Angle provided an update on Braun Strowman’s condition following the post-Ambulance Match attack from Roman Reigns at WWE Great Balls of Fire, WWE.com has obtained additional details on The Monster Among Men’s condition.

While Strowman miraculously walked out of Dallas under his own power after refusing medical attention, WWE.com can confirm that he is currently in the care of his personal physician and will not disclose the nature of his injuries at this time. Also, per Angle’s office, if and when Strowman is cleared to compete again, there will be a public announcement confirming his status.

The post Storyline Update on Braun Strowman’s Medical Condition appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.