Drew McIntyre recently spoke with Post and Courier. Here are highlights from the interview:

One of the differences when he returned to WWE: “The last time I had an opportunity to be in NXT was in its infant stages. I had been a part of Raw and Smackdown for a few years, so I really didn’t know anybody. This time around, after having been gone for around three years, it was a surprise at NXT Takeover: Orlando. Once I headed back to the locker room afterwards, I knew legitimately 80 percent of the locker room, as well as knowing everybody who works backstage with the camera crew, the producers, etc. I saw so many familiar faces … it felt like I had never been gone.”

Lessons he learned while away from WWE: “When you’re by yourself and not with WWE, you are your own business. And I was very successful in that business because of all the lessons I learned. I truly learned how to be a top brand myself and be what I needed to be. When the time was right and I wasn’t under contract anywhere, I spoke to Triple H on the phone. It was the right time to come home, and I was the right guy. I got the opportunity, and now I’ve got the ball and I’m going to run with it as far as I can.”

Making NXT being the number one show: “My job is to get NXT recognized as that third brand, not just as developmental. And since I’ve been back I’ve noticed the difference that people are starting to refer to it that way. It obviously doesn’t have the platform that Raw or Smackdown does, but I believe it’s the No. 1 show. We’re so competitive and passionate when it comes to our shows. I hope everyone’s keeping an eye on us. We are the No. 1 show for a reason. Everyone on the show has earned that spot. There are 150 people down at NXT. So if you’re on the show, wherever it may be, they’ve earned that spot and are giving a WrestleMania performance every time they’re in the ring.”

The post Drew McIntyre Says NXT Is The #1 Show appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal recently spoke with Sports Illustrated. Here are some highlights:

His Poorly Received Shinsuke Nakamura Promo Some Considered Racist: “Every day in WWE is also an opportunity. I have to rise to the occasion every time I am given that opportunity, and that includes every promo on SmackDown, too.”

Becoming WWE Champion ‘Out Of Nowhere’: “There was originally no plan in place for me to become WWE champion. It felt like I became the number one contender out of nowhere. I call what I did forcing the results. I wasn’t happy with my position. I was putting in the work, but I wasn’t getting the results. I was going to force the result no matter what the cost.”

His Message to Rob Gronkowski: “Rob Gronkowski cost me the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and I haven’t forgot that,” said Mahal. “There is definitely unfinished business between myself and Gronkowski, and I can guarantee he’ll be getting his receipt.”

Samir Singh’s Nasty Bump During the Punjabi Prison Match in July: “I kept watching him go higher and higher when he was fighting off Randy Orton, and when I thought he’d already went too high, he went one ring even higher. Then he hit the table real, real hard. Ultimately, they’ll tell you there is no price too high to pay for the Maharaja.”

The post Jinder Mahal Reacts to Poorly Received Shinsuke Nakamura Promo appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Welcome to the fastest hour on television, 205 Live!

Two nights ago and WWE No Mercy, Enzo Amore defeated Neville to become the Cruiserweight Champion. There’s a sentence I never wanted to write. Yes, Enzo defeated Neville, albeit via a low blow, and he is the new King of the Cruiserweights.

Last night on Raw, Enzo Amore demanded a celebration of his big win, in which he wanted to retire his jersey. Then all of the cruiserweights came onto the stage and one-by-one Enzo insulted each of them, in very heel-like fashion. The former Champion, Neville, then came out and told Enzo some harsh truths: that nobody liked him, that he can’t wrestle, that the division regrets giving him a chance, and that he, on behalf of the division, will end him. Neville proceeded to come down to the ring and destroy Enzo – apparently eliminating himself from a title rematch. After Raw went off the air, Braun Strowman came down and further demolished Enzo by landing a running powerslam, and is if that wasn’t enough, the rest of the cruiserweights came down and beat on Enzo, hitting their finishers in the process. It was a really great segment if you really dislike Enzo Amore.

So, tonight, the Champion will get a chance to respond to the entire division and we should find out if Enzo is now a full heel. Also, who is the number one contender now that Neville is out of the running? Cedric Alexander? Rich Swann? Hopefully we get an idea tonight. That’s it for our preview, remember to join the conversation on the Ringside Talk app and enjoy the show!

The post WWE 205 Live Results – September 26 2017 appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Ross welcomes PWI’s Senior Writer Dan Murphy to the show.

The 27th annual edition of PWI 500 will be released very soon, and it’s already a highly debated list. Murphy says this is a history making list for PWI because for the very first time ever, the number one choice is a wrestler who’s not working for WWE, WCW or TNA. The number one wrestler this year is NJPW’s Okada.

He says the list is normally selected by seven editorial staff members who create their lists based on a number of criteria such as match quality, in-ring technicality and influence on the business as a whole. When deciding the number one selection this year, Okada certainly checked all of those boxes and more.

Number two on this year’s list is A.J. Styles, and Ross loves this pick. He says if he was starting a promotion today Styles would be his number one selection because he’s a star. Ross also considers him to be the best bell-to-bell talent in the business today.

Number three is Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns is number four. Reigns was number one on the list last year, but Murphy points out that Reigns took a bit of a step backwards this past year before returning to the main event picture.

Kenny Omega rounds out the top five, and Murphy admits that Omega was a big part of Okada’s success this year, resulting in him finding the number one spot on this list. Omega was unable to pick up a win over Okada this year, and that’s a big reason why Okada tops this list and Omega slots in at number five.

The post The Ross Report Recap w/ Jason Powell – Discussing PWI 500, Build to No Mercy, Sexy Star’s Unprofessionalism, More! appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

There have been several shifts in the betting odds for tonight’s WWE Battleground event. “Smart Money” bets still have not been made, but here are the odds right now:

(Note: The lower the number, the more favorable they are of winning the match)

WWE Championship – Punjabi Prison Match
JJinder Mahal(c) -260 (favorite) vs. Randy Orton +180

WWE United States Championship
AJ Styles(c) -210 (favorite) vs. Kevin Owens +160

Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Usos(c) -215 (favorites) vs. The New Day +165

Flag Match
John Cena -1125 (favorite) vs. Rusev +575

Fatal 5 Way for the Smackdown Women’s Championship #1 Contendership

Charlotte +195 vs. Lana +3000 vs. Becky Lynch +2100 vs. Tamina +4500 vs. Natalya -215

Shinsuke Nakamura -270 (favorite) vs. Baron Corbin +190

Sami Zayn +135 vs. Mike Kanellis -175 (favorite)

Aiden English +330 vs. Tye Dillenger -490 (favorite)

Check back here at 7PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the event.

The post Favorites to Win at Tonight’s WWE Battleground Event appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Several WWE Superstars have taken to Twitter to hype their matches at tonight’s WWE Battleground event. Here are a few tweets sent out:

Every match in @WWE is a #WWEBattleground. Every challenger, every title defense. Tonight is a no different. #USTitle #Phenomenal

— AJStyles.Org (@AJStylesOrg) July 23, 2017

"@JohnCena down. American flag down. @RusevBUL MACHKA!!!" The #BulgarianBrute is all confidence ahead of #WWEBattleground! #FlagMatch pic.twitter.com/Yvtm8VkSEA

— WWE (@WWE) July 23, 2017

@ShinsukeN likes to think of himself as an artist. Tonight I paint a violent masterpiece. #WWEBattleground

— Baron Corbin (@BaronCorbinWWE) July 23, 2017

I will put the last brush for our artwork.

— Shinsuke Nakamura (@ShinsukeN) July 23, 2017

Tonight on @WWENetwork #WWEBattleground you will see amazing things…but what will you remember? #NeverGiveUp

— John Cena (@JohnCena) July 23, 2017

The match type doesn't matter.
The result will be the same. #RKOOuttaNowhere #Number14#WWEBattleground @WWENetwork

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) July 23, 2017

Some friendly competition in the gym, before some serious competition in the ring. #WWEBattleground @MsCharlotteWWE pic.twitter.com/kwHQG8NgGy

— Becky Lynch (@BeckyLynchWWE) July 23, 2017

The post AJ Styles & Others Hype Their WWE Battleground Matches appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Below are the final betting odds for tonight’s WWE Battleground event. It should be noted that there were several changes in odds from our post earlier today.

(Note: The lower the number, the more favorable they are of winning the match)

WWE Championship – Punjabi Prison Match
Jinder Mahal(c) -7500 vs Randy Orton +2500

WWE United States Championship
AJ Styles(c) -4950 vs Kevin Owens +1650

SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The New Day -5700 vs The Usos(c) +1900

Flag Match
John Cena -350 vs Rusev +250

Fatal 5 Way for the Smackdown Women’s Championship #1 Contendership
Natalya -1700 vs Charlotte +1100 vs Becky Lynch +5000 vs Lana +6500 vs Tamina +9500

Shinsuke Nakamura -2450 vs Baron Corbin +1150

Sami Zayn -3250 vs Mike Kanellis +1350

The post Last Minute Shift In Betting Odds for Tonight’s WWE Battleground Event appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Welcome to the 4th of July edition of SmackDown Live, in which an American hero returns to WWE: John Cena!

The 16-time WWE World Champion makes his grand return to WWE for the first time since WrestleMania, the big difference now is that Cena is a free agent. Which is essentially an excuse for him to work both Raw and SmackDown, which I would have been mad about a few years ago, but now Cena’s career is winding down I have no complaints with him working programs with as many people as possible! Who does Cena jump into a feud with in the near future? It seems inevitable that he will work with Jinder Mahal but he’s tied-up with Orton until after Battleground, so that leaves the window open for big match John to have a quick win to give him some momentum and an excuse to challenge for the title. So maybe the likes of Dolph Ziggler will step-up for a month. We should know by the end of tonight!

Elsewhere on tonight’s show, we will get a huge 4th of July Battle Royale to determine the number one contender to Kevin Owens’ US Championship. It’s unclear who will partake in the match but we do know AJ Styles is a participant and the most likely to win since he’s been gunning for a rematch with Owens after losing at WWE Backlash. I would also expect Sami Zayn, Luke Harper and Baron Corbin to take part in the multi-man match, with Owens watching from ringside. Heck, maybe even Cena will throw his hat in the ring!

Naomi and Lana seem set to lock horns again, probably at Battleground, as Lana made the legitimate claim that her shoulder wasn’t on the mat. So I would expect Lana to come out tonight and make that claim to the entire WWE Universe, as well as her request for a third shot at the title. Meanwhile The New Day and The Uso’s will partake in a rap battle tonight, with famous rapper Wale set to host the contest.  The Uso’s have been fantastic since turning heel and winning the titles, particularly in all of their Talking Smack promo’s, so tonight’s segment should be entertaining if nothing else!

All that and more to come on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live! Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on our awesome Ringside Talk app, as well as the Ringside News app, where you can find all this wrasslin’ goodness on the go! Enjoy the show!

The post WWE SmackDown Live Results – July 4 2017 appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Big Cass and Enzo Amore out rank anyone on the roster in terms of number of merchandise items. At the time of their split, they apparently have 54 items available on the WWE website. This is more than anyone on the roster including John Cena, Roman Reigns, The New Day, AJ Styles, and Seth Rollins.

PopVinyls.com noted on Twitter that the new Enzo and Cass figures are scheduled to come out in August:

So um… don't forget to buy the Enzo and Cass two pack this August. @Walgreens pic.twitter.com/dUcnmrIqr4

— PopVinyls.com (@PopVinyls) June 20, 2017

The post Enzo Amore & Big Cass Out Ranking Peers In Merchandise Items appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Here are the betting odds for tonight’s Money in the Bank event:
(the lower the number, the higher their chances of winning are)

WWE Money in the Bank Match
Baron Corbin -350
Sami Zayn +1200
Kevin Owens +2200
AJ Styles +1300
Shinsuke Nakamura +500
Dolph Ziggler +5000

WWE Women’s Money in the Bank Match
Carmella -265
Becky Lynch +1050
Natalya +750
Charlotte Flair +400
Tamina +6000

WWE Championship Match
Jinder Mahal(c) -900 vs Randy Orton +500

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
Naomi(c) -270 vs Lana +190

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Usos(c) -185 vs The New Day +145

The post Betting Odds for Tonight’s Money in the Bank Event appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.