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WWE has announced that Jinder Mahal would be facing Tye Dillinger in a non-title match on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. In addition to that match, they have also announced Xavier Woods vs. Jey Usos and Baron Corbin vs. Nakamura.
Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the event.
PWInsider reports that there is talk of pairing John Cena with AJ Styles to take on the team of Rusev and Kevin Owens on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live.
As previously reported, the following is announced for tonight’s show:
– Jinder Mahal vs. Tye Dillinger in a non-title match
– Xavier Woods vs. Jey Usos
– Baron Corbin vs. Nakamura
Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the event.
Dave Meltzer discussed the upcoming WWE Backlash event on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio. As of this writing there are only two matches confirmed for the show. Those matches are Jinder Mahal defending his WWE World Title against Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match and The Usos defending their tag team championships against The New Day.
Meltzer revealed that two other matches that will take place on the card. Those matches are:
Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis
Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin
WWE Battleground takes place on July 23rd from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. As always, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of the event.
Shane McMahon announced on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live that Randy Orton will get a rematch against Jinder Mahal for the WWE Title at the upcoming WWE Battleground event. Jinder would later announce that the match is a Punjabi Prison match. Here is the updated card:
WWE Title: Punjabi Prison match
Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The New Day vs. The Usos
Battleground takes place on July 23rd from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Seth Rollins made an appearance at Saturday’s WWE Live Event and challenged Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. The incident went down while Jinder Mahal was cutting an in-ring promo and Rollins made his surprise appearance and cut a promo as well. This led to a match between the two. The match ended in disqualification when the Singh brothers interfered.
You can check out footage below:
Originally Shinsuke Nakamura was scheduled to face Mahal at the event, however Rollins’ filled in as the replacement.
Following the announcement of John Cena being a “free agent” and appearing on both RAW and SmackDown, there was a lot of online speculation that the company may be setting something up between Cena and Roman Reigns for this year’s SummerSlam event. However, we can now confirm doesn’t appear to be the case.
Dave Meltzer was asked on the latest installment of Wrestling Observer Radio about the speculation between a match between the two at this year’s blockbuster summer event. Meltzer said that he was told that Cena will not be Reigns opponent for the event.
As previously noted, there is speculation that Cena will face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Title at this year’s SummerSlam event, despite Cena appearing for both brands moving forward.
WWE heads to Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA for tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. The following is confirmed for tonight’s show:
Charlotte Flair will take on Natalya
Tamina vs. Naomi
The Usos, Primo & Epico will face Tyler Breeze, Fandango & The New Day in an eight-man tag team match
Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn & AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler & Baron Corbin
Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton face off before their match at Money in the Bank
Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage. You can also join us for our SmackDown Live fan discussion on RingsideTalk.net.
As previously reported, John Cena is slated to make his return to WWE television for the July 4th episode of SmackDown Live.
According to PWInsider, it appears that the company has been talking about presenting Cena as “free agent” once he returns to the company. This storyline would allow him to appear for both RAW and SmackDown.
We noted earlier today that Cena could possibly be facing Jinder Mahal soon after his return. Those plans may or may not change. We will keep you updated.
Natural Bodybuilder Nick Miller published a new video to his YouTube channel that questions Jinder Mahal’s transformation from a “dad bod” to current physique.
After Miller pulls up the WWE Wellness Policy from the company’s website and he points out he believes there are at least four signs that Mahal has been using steroids. He urges that WWE should test him.
While Mahal has been very vocal about his transformation in recent interviews, he claims that he has been tested several times and has passed every test.
Jinder Mahal recently spoke with GQ. Here are highlights from the interview:
His go-to fast food restaurant: “You can actually eat very clean at Chipotle. They have white rice, they have brown rice, and they have chicken. I stay away from the guac and the sour cream. I just get lettuce, double-meat chicken, and a white or brown rice. Sometimes you don’t realize how bad you feel from just eating out all the time at fast food places. I haven’t eaten McDonald’s or any other fast food in I don’t know how long. Not even pizza.”
Which supplements he takes: “I actually take quite a few supplements. I have protein with me all the time. I always have branched-chain amino acids. I take those with water before my morning cardio. They prevent muscle breakdown. I take a magnesium supplement before my workout because it prevents cramping. You know, I have to wrestle every night and I have to train so hard—sometimes I’ll work out and then later on I feel my back starting to cramp up. So magnesium helps a lot with that. I take multivitamin packs. There’s like 10 different multivitamins and digestive enzymes all in one little packet. I take one packet of those every morning. I take creatine and a pre-workout before I work out. And I always switch my pre-workout. Every bottle I finish, I get a different one so my body never gets used to it.”
Instagram post responding to fans thinking he’s on PEDs: “I don’t think people realize the hard work that goes into it. Nobody sees the work I’m putting in the gym. Nobody sees me doing cardio first thing in the morning. Nobody sees me lugging around that suitcase. And just generally, people don’t have that much knowledge about diet and the effects that diet alone can have on your body. If you see a bodybuilder before they’re in competition shape to when they get into competition shape, that’s all dieting, carb cutting, and macronutrients. I mean, you can totally transform yourself just by cutting carbs and even something as simple as drinking a gallon of water a day. The average person—like, 90 percent of the average population—is dehydrated. That’s another thing that I do now, which has been a huge key.”