Justin Barasso of Sports Illustrated indicated that Enzo Amore’s rape accusations were not the only reason WWE had to re-write parts of the RAW 25th Anniversary show this past week.

Barasso reports that RAW wasn’t finalized until 5PM ET because Jimmy Fallon was unable to show up early enough for the pre-tages and segments with the WWE Legends. Plans for backstage segments with Fallon, including the general manager segment, ultimately became introductions and waves to the crowd.

The post WWE Makes Additional Last Minute Re-Writes to RAW 25th Anniversary Show appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Before Samoa Joe suffered his foot injury, there were plans in place for him to do an angle with John Cena at the upcoming Royal Rumble event. With Joe unable to appear on the show, it appears that the spot will now be given to Elias instead and he will do whatever spot that Joe was originally supposed to do with Cena at the pay-per-view event.

As previously reported, Joe’s return has been pushed back and he’s not expected back until the end of March. With Cena rumored to be facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania this year, it’s possible the plans that WWE had for Joe and Cena will be completely scrapped.

The post Original Royal Rumble Plans for Samoa Joe Revealed appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

While Dave Meltzer reported earlier this week that there are currently no plans for WWE to have a Women’s Royal Rumble match, The UK Sun have confirmed that they have heard differently.

According to The Sun’s report, WWE is beefing up the women’s roster on both brands, which is the reason why the company brought up several talents from NXT this past week. The Sun speculates that Ronda Rousey may be factored into the plans for The Rumble match and could possibly be the soul survivor of the match to go on to challenge Charlotte at WrestleMania for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Speaking of The Rumble, the UK Sun also mentioned that it’s very likely that the match will feature less women in comparison to the male’s traditional Royal Rumble match.

The post Plans for WWE to Announced First-Ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

While speaking to Wrestling Inc, former WWE writer Court Bauer revealed that the SmackDown writing team was working on plans to have a returning Brock Lesnar face Batista back in 2005.

“I really liked the Brock and Bautista because of the parallels going back to OVW. It was a classic, traditional Vince McMahon collision course of two massive forces. It was a big money match. Bautista needed something different to shake things up for him and Brock Lesnar could have really fit that mold rather well. We were going to have him leave a trail of wreckage until Bautista said, ‘That’s enough. You’re on my turf. I’m going to put down this great white shark’.”

Despite Brock Lesnar meeting with the RAW & SmackDown creative teams, plans would soon come to a halt.

“Someone asked Vince point blank is he in fact coming back and we got the answer to not factor Brock Lesnar into our plans for the immediate future. That was Vince’s very firm way of saying we’re not doing business with him at the moment.”

The post Original Plans Revealed for Brock Lesnar’s Nixed 2005 Return appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

GFW executive John Gaburick revealed during a recent conference call that Alberto El Patron will return to the company at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view event on November 5th. Gaburick said they have exciting plans for Alberto’s future and as a creative team they look forward to coming up with “really cool scenarios and stories for him in the coming months.”

Original plans for Alberto called for him to face with Jeff Jarrett or Rey Mysterio at Bound For Glory. Both of those scenarios appear to be nixed now.

The post Alberto El Patron’s GFW Return Date Revealed appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

– Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Batista is being considered for next year’s Hall of Fame as the headliner.

– There is still plans of doing a weekly UK show on the WWE Network despite the tournament being a “big money loser.” As previously noted, there were plans to do a taping back in June but those plans were nixed.

The post Possible WWE Hall of Fame Headliner, Weekly UK Show Update appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Dave Meltzer mentioned on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio that Charlotte Flair will likely not be at tonight’s SmackDown Live in Providence, RI.

Meltzer also mentioned that at last word there were no plans for her to be involved at the actual SummerSlam event this weekend but had several other appearances lined up for the company. One of those appearances was supposed to be at NXT Takeover alongside Finn Balor, but those plans may be nixed now depending on how Ric Flair’s recovery goes.

The post Charlotte’s Status for SmackDown, SummerSlam & Weekend Events appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

As previously reported, there is speculation that the beginning to the end of The Hype Bros is currently on-going on WWE programming after Mojo Rawley eliminated Zack Ryder from the Independence Day Battle Royal Tuesday night.

Bryan Alvarez discussed the Battle Royal on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio and said it’s obvious that the team is splitting up. It’s believed that Zack will be the one to turn heel on Mojo in their on-going storyline.

We noted back in May via Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE has plans to push Mojo as a single’s star. Dave Meltzer indicated at the time that the company would probably split the team once Ryder got back from injury and it now appears that those plans are in place.

The post Possible Spoiler on The Hype Bros Splitting Up appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

Rusev has been medically cleared to return to action.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Rusev met with doctors yesterday and was given the go-ahead to return to in-ring competition. Rusev had surgery back in March to repair an undisclosed shoulder injury.

WWE teased Rusev’s return on SmackDown Live last month to confront Shane McMahon for not putting him in the Money in the Bank main event. Those plans ultimately got nixed. It is very possible that Rusev not being cleared at the time could be the reason for those plans following through.

The post Rusev Cleared to Return to Action appeared first on Wrestling News & WWE News, Rumors & Spoilers.

The show opens with a video package focusing on Braun Strowman trying to take out Roman Reigns after WWE Payback. Footage from last week in London is shown of Reigns confronting Strowman and going after his injured elbow.

The RAW opening hits. We go live inside the Prudential Center in New Jersey where a big display of pyro goes off. Michael Cole is the first to welcome us to the show.

RAW General Manager Kurt Angle opens the show and heads to the ring. Angle talks about Roman Reigns “settling the score” with Braun Strowman last week. He says Strowman suffered a shattered elbow, flew back to the United States and underwent surgery. Angle says Strowman may be out of action for up to six months. He notes that Strowman set his sights on the Universal Championship and asks who will now challenge Brock Lesnar for the championship. Angle gave it a lot of thought and it has to be earned, not given. He says at Extreme Rules for the first time ever, we will have a Fatal Five Way match and the winner will face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Angle has given thought to who those five will be. He reveals the five: Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns.

Angle promises Extreme Rules will be historical.

Here comes Roman Reigns to interrupt.

Angle stays in the ring as Reigns gets inside with a mic in hand. Very mixed reaction for Reigns in Newark tonight. Reigns says we don’t need a Fatal Five Way match because he is the No. 1 Contender. “This is my yard. I beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania. I put Strowman in that ambulance. And I’m the only guy around here that can beat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.” Finn Balor interrupts and has something to say.

Balor brings up he was the first ever Universal Champion. “Oh and I never lost my title,” adds Balor. He says if Reigns wants a “piece of the beast”, the line starts behind him. Reigns tells Balor he has a lot of heart, but he doesn’t have the killer instinct to beat Brock. Balor brings up beating Reigns during his first night on RAW.

Samoa Joe interrupts. He says Reigns and Balor have it wrong. Joe says it is about two things: actions and results. He talks about choking out Seth Rollins. Joe suggests he will win the Fatal Five Way match and will go on to face Brock Lesnar.

The lights go out. When they come back on, Bray Wyatt is standing in the middle of the ring and has a mic in hand. Wyatt says the beast is approaching and they are all really scared. “You will cower. You will fall. And you will run,” says Wyatt.

Here comes Seth Rollins. He says Extreme Rules is still many weeks away and that New Jersey didn’t come here for talking. Rollins says he came here to fight Samoa Joe. Rollins and Joe start brawling at the end of the ramp. Wyatt attacks Balor. Reigns tosses Wyatt out. Rollins works the left knee of Joe against the ropes. Joe limps up the ramp. Wyatt with a shot on Rollins sending him out of the ring. Reigns with a Superman to Wyatt. Rollins with right hands to Wyatt. Balor with a double dropkick to both Wyatt and Rollins at ringside. Balor goes up to the top turnbuckle, Reigns misses a Superman and Balor with a Sling Blade takedown. Reigns rolls out of the ring. Balor hits the ropes and dives over the top rope taking out both Reigns and Rollins at ringside.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus is next.

-Commercial Break-

Backstage, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins are arguing with Roman Reigns nearby. Kurt Angle breaks it up and books Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt and Reigns vs. Balor.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus

Jeff goes after Sheamus immediately in the corner. Jeff avoids a Brogue Kick and gets a roll up for a quick two count. Jeff tosses Sheamus over the top rope and dropkicks him through the ropes. Sheamus catches Jeff trying to dive out and slams him against the barricade.

-Commercial Break-

Back live, Sheamus drops a big knee on Jeff off the corner. Some loud “DELETE” chants in New Jersey tonight. Sheamus catches Jeff with a quick scoop slam. Jeff with a quick kick away dropkick to Sheamus. Jeff with an atomic drop and jumping low blow combo. Sheamus catches Jeff with a big knee to the face for a close two count. Sheamus catches Jeff with double boots in the corner and pulls himself up to the top turnbuckle. Jeff catches Sheamus with a modified Twist of Fate/Stunner off the corner for another close two count. Cesaro jumps up on the ring apron to distract Jeff. Matt pulls him off. Sheamus catches Matt with a big boot. Jeff with a Twist of Fate to Sheamus. Jeff goes up top and connects with a nasty looking Swantom Bomb over Sheamus. Jeff gets the pinfall for the win.

Winner: Jeff Hardy

After the match, Matt and Jeff Hardy celebrate the win.

-Commercial Break-

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox

Footage from last week’s match is shown. The replay shows Fox got her shoulder up as Banks got the pinfall on her. Banks with a shoulder block early on Fox. Banks catches Fox with a kick to the face. Fox fires back with a kick of her own from the corner. Fox with a northern lights suplex on Banks for a two count. Banks with repeated clothesline takedowns and a dropkick to Fox. Banks with a tilt-a-whirl head scissors to Fox. Fox with a roll up on Banks from the corner and Banks kicks out. Fox holds on to the ropes to avoid a backcracker. Fox tosses Banks out and Banks grabs her knee. Banks with a small package for another two count on Fox. Fox catches Banks with a big scissors kick to get the pinfall.

Winner: Alicia Fox

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