Renee Young is now working as a correspondent with Charly Caruso now that Talking Smack has been nixed as a weekly WWE Network series. Renee also revealed in an Instagram post that she will be working both RAW and SmackDown moving forward.
She wrote, “Dream team back in the (RAW) hiiiizouse!!! @charlycarusowwe ❤️❤️❤️ (and yes, I’ll still be on Smackdown ?)”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW85uS6FHwx/
It was reported via PWInsider that there has been internal talk within WWE about bringing back Nikki Bella for this year’s SummerSlam event.
Nikki Bella played up to these rumors in a new video posted to the Bella Twins YouTube channel. Nikki teased the possibility of a SummerSlam appearance after she asked why they weren’t in the Fatal 5-Way match at Sunday’s WWE BattleGround event. Brie then mentioned that there are rumors that Nikki may be at SummerSlam, with Nikki saying that there may be a surprise.
You can check out her remarks at the 1 minute mark in the video embedded below:
As seen on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live, AJ Styles pinned Chris Jericho in a Fatal 3-Way for US Championship to capture the title. Kevin Owens announced after the match that he wants his rematch for the Title on next week’s show.
Also confirmed for next week’s show is John Cena facing Nakamura for a shot at the WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam.
It is no secret that WWE Superstar Nia Jax and The Rock are cousins. The Rock has shown his support to his cousin a number of times before.
Here’s a relatively older video of The Rock putting over Nia Jax:
The Rock has stated that Jax has the potential to be the most dominant female athlete in the history of the WWE. Here’s something The Rock wrote along with the video given above in an Instagram post from December last year:
“She ain’t like most girls. Me and my cuz @niajaxwwe (Lina) layin’ down our post workout ?. Really proud of the hard work she’s putting in 24/7 to become a real asset and draw for the WWE and their Women’s Division which has some of the best female athletes on the planet. Luv spending hours with her chopping it up because she’s so coachable & enthusiastic to learn the wrestling business inside and out from me. But what I’m most proud of about Lina’s journey is she represents millions of young girls around the world who don’t fit the “traditional mould” of what girls in the entertainment industry look like. She’s an inspiring example that regardless of your look, height, weight, race, the most powerful thing you can always be is yourself. Because you’re perfect. Just keep putting in that hard work and being humble and hungry. We’re all rooting for ya. #IronParadise #NiaJax#FutureWWEWomensChamp #WhyBeLikeMostGirls #WhenYouCanBeYourself ??”
Once again, the Great One has taken to Twitter to praise his cousin and her progress in the company.
Jax posted this tweet after last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW:
To this, The Rock replied:
What do you think about this great altercation? Sound off below in the comments!
As seen at Sunday’s WWE Battleground event, The Great Khali returned to the company and helped assist Jinder Mahal retain his WWE Championship Title against Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match.
Bryan Alvarez mentioned on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Live that the company could be moving towards a tag match between The Great Khali and Randy Orton at this year’s SummerSlam. It was noted earlier today that Khali was brought back to the company to help get Jinder over. If a tag match at SummerSlam is the plan, that would mean that Jinder would be teaming with Khali at the event. This would also mean that the WWE Championship title will not be defended on the card.
We should have a clearer understand after Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live in the direction the company is going. The original plan was for Mahal to defend the WWE Championship against John Cena but those plans could now be off the table.
Bayley defeated Sasha Banks to earn a shot at the RAW Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss at the upcoming WWE SummerSlam event.Here is the updated card:
WWE Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns
RAW Women’s Championship
Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley
SmackDown Women’s Championship
Naomi vs. Natalya
WWE SummerSlam will take place on August 20, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. As always, we will have live coverage of the event.
After his victory against Randy Orton at Sunday’s WWE Battleground event, WWE Champion Jinder Mahal spoke with Indian Express and teased a possible match against John Cena.
“I put the ‘vipers’ legacy to rest. I beat a fourteen time World Champion three times in a row. Whose legacy am I going to put to rest – maybe John Cena. He has a legacy of his own, I would like love nothing more than to use his legacy as a stepping stone and cement my own legacy.”
It’s been rumored for a while now that they may actually compete against each other over of the WWE Championship at this year’s SummerSlam. It should be known what direction they are going with the WWE Championship title at SummerSlam after this week’s SmackDown Live episode.
After his victory against Randy Orton at Sunday’s WWE Battleground event, WWE Champion Jinder Mahal spoke with Indian Express and talked about The Great Khali’s return to WWE.
“Not only on SmackDown live but also on the entire WWE, I run the show and call the shots. With the Great Khali behind me, I am truly unstoppable. I have a great relationship with Khali, he is like my older brother. As Indians, we stick together. He was the first person I contacted after announcing the Punjabi Prison Match. We are in contact all the time and he is one of my role models and I want to follow his footsteps. He has helped put India on the map of WWE and I hope he is happy with my performance at Battleground.”
As previously noted, WWE decided to bring Khali in to help give Jinder a rub. The feeling right now is that Jinder isn’t very popular in India, despite being WWE Champion. The belief is that aligning Jinder with Khali will help him in the long run in-terms of popularity in India.
Brock Lesnar is not scheduled to make an appearance on tonight’s episode of RAW.
Kurt Angle is expected to announce plans for Lesnar defending the WWE Universal Title at WWE SummerSlam tonight. It’s being rumored that he will be announcing a Fatal 4-Way for the Championship.
Here is the current list of WWE dates Lesnar is confirmed for:
SmackDown Live Event: July 29th (Detroit, MI)
RAW: July 31st (Pittsburgh, PA)
SmackDown Live Event: August 12th (Tampa, FL)
RAW: August 14th (Boston, MA)
SummerSlam: August 20th (Brooklyn, NY)
RAW: August 28th (Memphis, TN)
WWE No Mercy: September 24th (Los Angeles, CA)
RAW Live Event: September 30th (Winnipeg, MB)
Several readers have sent word that Finn Balor worked Saturday’s WWE Live Event in Hampton, Virginia wearing Kinesio tape on his shoulder. It’s being speculated that he may have aggravated the shoulder on Friday’s Live Event, as he was not wearing the tape that night.
For those not aware, Kinesio tape is designed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting the body’s range of motion. John Cena used this tape back in 2016 when he was healing from an injury. Other WWE Superstars have been seen using it as well.
As of this writing, an injury has not been confirmed or announced but it’s probably something only minor. We will keep you updated if we hear anything else regarding Balor’s status.
Apparently there has been a huge shift in the betting odds for tonight’s WWE Battleground 5-Way Elimination match featuring Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Tamina, Natalya and Lana.
While Charlotte has been the majority favorite to win the bout, there was a huge shift late last night that now puts Natalya in the lead to be victorious in the match tonight. Dave Meltzer discussed the shift on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio and mentioned that at one point the match was removed off the boards because all kinds of money was coming in all at once on Natalya. The odds have since then been adjusted with Natalya being the favorite.
If Natalya wins, she will be facing Naomi at SummerSlam for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Charlotte recently spoke to Noelle Foley for Ringside Collectibles. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Possibility of holding the NXT, RAW and Smackdown Women’s titles in her career: “Honestly, I wouldn’t have the opportunity or the ability if it wasn’t for all the amazing women that I work with. I mean, it means a lot to me, it’s crazy, I don’t know. It’s my passion, it’s what I love doing and I literally dedicate almost every second of the day thinking about work.”
Wrestlemania match with Ronda Rousey: “Well, I would say that I would still have the undefeated PPV streak, but Bayley crushed that. I would win, and I would show her who the real Four Horsewoman is.”
Mae Young Classic: “I sat in the audience – both days – and watched every single match. It made me want to work that much harder, I was so inspired. Especially [because] I had a different background and to watch these women who have traveled all over the world, living their dream and then seeing them in the NXT ring, knowing that their dream is being fulfilled. It’s one more step in the women’s revolution, but it’s also showing the world that we could have a full show of just women. The stories and the impact, aggression, athleticism, and Superstar power is just as evident in women, as it is in men.”
You can check out the interview embedded below: