WWE announced today that Maria Menounos will serve as the special guest ring announcer for the Women’s Royal Rumble match this Sunday.

Here is the announcement:

“The first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match already has a special guest commentator in Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon. Now, it has a special ring announcer: Maria Menounos.

The “Extra” host (and WrestleMania veteran) filled in for Kelly Ripa on “Live with Kelly and Michael” earlier today and let slip during an interview with Golden Globe Award winner Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) that she will serve as the guest announcer for the inaugural contest.

“Maybe we can throw you in last-minute,” she quipped to Brosnahan. As to whether that happens, there’s only one way to find out. The Royal Rumble event airs at a special start time of 7 ET/4 PT this Sunday, streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network. “

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Triple H spoke with ABC News. Here are some highlights from the interview:

WWE’s TV rights possibly going to another network: “I can tell you that WWE is uniquely positioned so whatever way it goes, whatever way our fans are telling us to go, we’re there.”

Vince McMahon’s influence on RAW’s creative direction in the Attitude Era: “He doesn’t like to take credit for it, but Vince is the guiding force of [being a top bad guy]. He’s never afraid to take that risk. He never feels like he knows the answers.”

McMahon possibly relaunching the XFL and if it will get in McMahon’s way of running WWE: “I don’t think there’s any sense of change. If anybody thinks they’re going to push him out or take this thing, there’s going to be a hell of a fight.”

The post Triple H Believes The XFL Won’t Get in Vince McMahon’s Way of Running WWE appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Anthem Media is in Orlando, Florida tonight to tape an upcoming episode of Impact Wrestling. Here are are the spoilers from tonight’s show:

* Global Force Network match: El Hijo Del Fantasma defeats Braxton Sutter.

* Eddie Edwards defeats Sami Callihan. After the match, Sami attacks Eddie with a chair and a baseball bat.

* Feast or Fired: Rohit Raju, Ishimori, Lee, Konley, KM, Petey Williams, EC3, Moose, Tyrus, and Eli Drake. Petey Williams has grabbed the first case (Case #2). Moose has retrieved the second case (Case #4). EC3 got the third case (Case #3). Eli Drake takes the final case (Case #1).

* Taya vs. Rosemary. The match ends in double count out. They brawl after the match. Taya stands tall at the end of the fight.

* Jacobs and Kong in-ring promo. Jacobs says innocent people had to get hurt because Park would not produce Abyss. Haven’t seen anything yet until Abyss responds. Giving Abyss one final chance. “Abyss, where are you?” James Mitchell comes out. Mitchell introduces himself to Jimmy. Mitchell says he and Jacobs have a lot in common, they are both monster fans. Mitchell sold his soul to make Abyss champ, but the note cam due. Mitchell drove him too hard and Abyss’ personality splintered. Mitchell ended up losing his monster, his son. Jimmy is about to have to pay. He watched Jimmy abuse Joseph. Turned a blind eye when he hospitalized Chandler, destroyed the law offices, and humiliated Grandma Park. However, he poked the wrong bear. Mitchell thanks Jimmy for awakening the sleeping giant, Abyss. CLICK. DOOMSDAY. Abyss comes out and brawls with Kong. “Next week” is Monster’s Ball!

* Matt Sydal cuts promo in-ring. He says he wouldn’t be here without this man, his spirit guide, Josh Matthews. Josh comes out in the ring. Matthews has attempted to enlighten the masses. Matthews wants everyone to center their chi. Josh has a gift for Matt, it’s a mask of his “spirit animal.” Matt proclaims Josh the new Grand Champion.

* Tyrus defeats EC3.

* Allie defeated Sienna. Sutter comes out to talk to Allie. Just wants her to understand he’s reevaluating his life. When he goes to bed he sees “you Laurel…I mean Allie.” Sutter proposes to Allie. Su Yung ambushes Allie and lays her out.

* Alberto El Patron comes out. He says he’s ready for a fight, he’s got a real champion to fight, not a paper champion. Austin Aries vs Alberto El Patron at Redemption. Aries out. Aries says they aren’t that much different. They love pro wrestling, they’ve traveled the world, and competed at highest level. Aries says he is The Truth. AEP is disingenuous and full of BS. Let’s be men and call it like it is. Aries says AEP has a shot at the title at Redemption on April 22nd. Aries/Patron go face to face. AEP says Aries isn’t champ until he beats him. Aries and AEP shake hands. AEP tells Aries to enjoy the title because is coming back to the Pride of Mexico.

* Global Force Network match: Caleb Konley defeats Fallah Bahh with help from Trevor Lee.

* Matt Sydal defeats Rohit Raju.

* Aries has a contract for Redemption, calls AEP to come sign it. Aries asks for AEP’s “Juan Hancock” on the contract. Contract is signed. AEP says no mind-games of BS, he respects Aries. They shake hands, AEP leaves. Aries stops him. Aries tells them to play AEP’s music. Tells him to enjoy it, it’s the last opportunity he has to hear his music played last.

* Feast or Fire: Drake is first, he has a tag title shot. Petey has an X Division Title shot. EC3 is next and is FIRED. Moose has a world title shot. EC3 says it isn’t his case. It’s Ishimori’s case. EC3 says no one can make him open his case. JB opens it. EC3 is fired. EC3 says this is a joke, JB says this is very real, EC3 is done at Impact. EC3 says there is no way he should be fired for picking a briefcase in an outdated match. He is the franchise of this company and he has carried Impact on his back for 4 years. EC3 says he’s a Carter and this company needs him, he is Dixie Carter’s nephew! EC3 says he’s a man and a professional, he accepts his fate, this will light a spark in him that will lead to absolute greatness. He thanks JB, then picks up the briefcase and attacks JB. Brian Cage comes out and wrecks EC3. EC3 walks around ringside hugging fans as his music plays. He also hugs some of the staff. He obviously done with the company after tonight.

* Kongo Kong defeats Abyss in a Monster’s Ball Match.

The post Impact Wrestling Spoilers – January 13th, 2018 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.

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WWE announced that the first hour of RAW and Smackdown Live next week will be airing commercial-free. Here is the announcement:

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM USA NETWORK AND WWE®
STAMFORD, Conn., December 21, 2017 – Celebrate the holidays with WWE as USA Network airs the first hour of both Monday Night Raw® and SmackDown Live® commercial-free this Monday, December 25 at 8/7c and Tuesday, December 26 at 8/7c. This also marks the first time that USA Network will air Raw live on Christmas.

Raw and SmackDown Live are the #1 and #2 longest running weekly episodic programs in U.S. primetime TV history and two of the most-watched, regularly scheduled programs on cable, airing live every Monday and Tuesday nights on USA.

Averaging more viewers than any cable network in primetime, WWE programming is among the most socially active shows on TV, trending on Twitter 52 weeks per year. Raw and SmackDown Live have aired more original episodes than some of the most popular television series of all time, including The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Lassie and Monday Night Football.

The 25th anniversary of Raw will emanate from Barclays Center and Manhattan Center in New York City on Monday, January 22, 2018, and air live on USA Network at 8/7c. WWE Superstars from both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown® Live will be at Barclays Center, while the event at Manhattan Center, the site of the first episode of Raw in 1993, will feature both WWE Superstars competing, and special appearances by WWE Legends Undertaker®, Shawn Michaels® and Kevin Nash®, amongst others.

The post First Hour of RAW & SmackDown to Air Commercial Free Next Week appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

WWE has announced Kevin Owens vs. Nakamura for next week’s episode of SmackDown Live. In addition to the match, the company has also Jinder Mahal and AJ Styles will face off in a segment. Here is an excerpt of their announcement:

“Shinsuke Nakamura clashes with Kevin Owens this Tuesday on SmackDown LIVE
The fate of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will be decided during a tag team battle against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Clash of Champions, as the troublesome duo’s careers in all of WWE will be on the line. But before the huge showdown in Boston, KO will have to step inside the squared circle with The King of Strong Style on this Tuesday’s edition of SmackDown LIVE, with Zayn and Orton in their partner’s respective corners.

After Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan forced Owens to be handcuffed to the ring rope to prevent him from interfering in Orton and Zayn’s match this past Tuesday, KO used bolt cutters to escape and subsequently unleash a vicious attack on The Viper, with a little help from his best friend. The assault was thwarted thanks to the Nakamura, who burst onto the scene and clobbered KO and Zayn with thunderous Kinshasa knee strikes.

What will happen when these two rivals lock horns? Find out this Tuesday on SmackDown LIVE at 8/7 C on USA Network!“

The post Big Match & Segment Announced for SmackDown Live appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

WWE will be taping the Tribute to the Troops show on December 5th at the Naval Base in San Diego, California. The show will air on the USA Network on December 14th.

PWInsider reports that one of the legends that company plans on bringing in for the show is WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter. It remains to be seen if they bring in another other legends for the show. We will keep you updated.

The post WWE Bringing In Legend for Tribute to the Troops Show appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

According to PWInsider, Michael Hayes’ was the individual behind the idea to bring back the WCW Starrcade event as a branded WWE Live Event.

Hayes reportedly made the pitch back in June when he released WWE was running an event in Greensboro over Thanksgiving weekend. Vince McMahon approved the idea and the announcement was eventually made several months later.

Hayes had the duties of writing the show and focused on the names who were important to the market during the Jim Crockett Promotions. The show was never slated to be a WWE Network special but they did film it with several cameras so they would have it in their archives.

Due to the boost in ticket sales and the huge response to the event on social media, there is talk of doing the event again next year.

The post Who’s Idea Was It To Bring Starrcade Back? appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya expressed her thoughts about her new co-stars on the return of Total Divas in her latest column for the Calgary Sun.

Three new WWE Superstars will be introduced in the seventh season of Total Divas. Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and Carmella will join the cast along with the Bella Twins, Naomi, Lana, Maryse and Natalya.

Natalya said the following about the RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss:

“Alexa Bliss is your feisty and adorable Raw Women’s Champion, and when we were on SmackDown together, she, Carmella and I would refer to each other as “Three disgruntled blondes.” In other words, we were bad girls having a whole lot of fun! Alexa is very open about her troubles with body image and balancing home life and work. She and Nia Jax hilariously remind me of Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Twins.” Just watch and you will see.”

On Nia Jax:

“Nia Jax is bold, bright and beautiful. She is not your “average girl,” as she wears her heart on her sleeve and says what she feels. Nia is a force in the ring, but she also shows a much softer side outside the squared circle, especially when she searches for love in NYC. You need to be one strong man to handle Nia, and that’s a good thing.”

Natalya then spoke of Carmella, who she compares with Rachel Green from the “Friends.”

“Carmella is like Jennifer Aniston as Rachel on “Friends.” I adore this girl. She is there for you when you need her, but she finds herself in quirky situations quite often. One of the coolest aspects of this upcoming season is getting to witness the women of SmackDown Live make history in the ring competing in the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match. Carmella wins the briefcase and becomes “Miss Money in the Bank.” However, in winning this accolade, she nearly costs me my dreams of becoming the WWE Women’s Champion.”

Total Divas will premiere with its seventh season on 1 November on the E! Network.

The post Natalya Talks About Her New Co-Stars on Total Divas appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

WWE has plans to bring back the King of the Ring but not as a tournament.

PWInsider reports that WWE is interested in having a UK series titled “King of the Ring” air on the WWE Network and also be available on a station overseas. The idea is to have a WWE property that is UK-centric, produced within Great Britain and features an all-British cast. One of the broadcasters WWE is pitching is ITV.

In recent months, talks of WWE launching the UK brand as a series have quieted down, especially after WWE signed deals with PROGRESS Wrestling and ICW to bring those promotions to the planned WWE Network tiered-system. Those plans and talks are obviously still continuing.

It still remains to be seen when and where the new “King of The Ring” series will launch. We will keep you updated when we receive more information.

The post WWE Bringing Back the “King of The Ring” Name appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.