Here is your news for June 18th 2020 Why Kevin Owens Backs Out Of TV Tapings? WWE Bringing Back Producer! WWE Paige Shows Off A New Look! 3 00:00:03,300 --> 00:00:06,200 Your headlines for today include:
WWE Calls Of Portion Of Television Tapings
Why Former Universal Champion opts out of WWE tapings
WWE Brings Back Furloughed Producer
WWE Has Four Phase Plan To Start Touring Again
WWE Quietly Moves SmackDown Superstar Over To RAW
Why did Randy Orton Cry?
Why AEW Were Yelled At Backstage
AEW's New Matches, New Signings and MORE!
We’re starting today with some huge news from WWE, as the company is
reportedly running way behind schedule, due to the ongoing global situation.
According to reports, several ***** that were done on Monday didn’t come back in
time, which left a lot of people unable to enter the Performance Center for the
latest set of tapings
It’s since been reported that WWE chose to cancel their planned taping of
SmackDown, and PW Insider is reporting that next week’s edition of the Blue
brand will be filmed the day it airs.
Though the show will be taped the same day, that doesn’t mean it will air live, as
the show will instead be recorded on Friday, and edited together mere hours
before it airs on Fox.
Losing yesterday’s tapings has been a huge blow the WWE, who were hoping to
film SmackDown, Raw, Main Event, RAW Talk and two episodes of 205 Live, but
now will need to find some point in there busy schedule to film these shows at another time.
It’s also been reported that WWE’s backstage atmosphere is being described as
like an asylum, and with stories like this, it’s not hard to see why.
Now, it’s no secret that some WWE Superstars are uncomfortable competing in
the current climate, and now another name has joined Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn.
In a Fightful report that’s been confirmed by the Observer, it’s been noted that
Kevin Owens was not present at the RAW tapings yesterday, and he told the
company this was due to an individual testing ********** on Monday.
There’s reportedly no heat on the former Universal Champion for this, and WWE
hopes he’ll return for the next taping.
At one point, plans called for two episodes of RAW to be filmed this Monday, June
22nd, but there’s been multiple changes to the schedule this week.
Time will tell whether more wrestlers follow the example Reigns, Zayn and Owens
have set, but for now, the company is going to need some one else to fill Owens’ spot.
Speaking of filling spots, the latest episode of RAW saw non-Superstars appear in
the crowd, though WWE’s dismissed reports of fans being allowed, saying that
they were instead friends and family.
According to Paul Davis of WrestlingNews, the same friends and family were back
this week at the Performance Center tapings, which led to a lot of unhappiness
about this amongst the wrestlers.
One anonymous Superstar said that there was already unease about
developmental talent acting as fans, but at least they were already in the area,
whilst many of the friends and family have travelled across the country, and the
feeling is that there’s no need for them to be there or for the company to fill the
venue with more unfamiliar people.
Needless to say, the past few days have been tense to say the least, and the
general feeling is it’s only going to get tougher this week.
With that in mind, it should be noted that there are some Superstars who are just
happy to be back working, and hopefully things will be back to normal in the near future.
One person who won’t be at the Performance Center for a while now is Michael
Hayes, who’ll be out for a while due to Hip surgery.
To replace the Freebird, WWE has brought back Pat Buck, who was furloughed
back in April, and he’ll be taking the role as a producer, at least until Hayes is back
when he’s healthy.
Buck is the first furloughed producer to be brought back, and it’s being reported
that he stated on Monday during the Performance Center tapings.
In the past, the company has said that they hope all furloughed producers will be
back by July, but right now, that most seems determined on how quickly they can
bring back live events.
There’s been plenty of changes behind the scenes lately, from Paul Heyman being
fired as Executive Director to Hayes’ temporary absence, and we hear at Slat Rock
would like to wish the Hall of Famer a speedy recovery.
We’ve mentioned that WWE is looking to bring back furloughed producers when
they can tour again, and now the company’s four-stage plan has been revealed
Phase One of the plan has already taken place, which saw a mix of NXT Superstars
and friends and family in the crowd, whilst Phase two will see the NXT recruits be
weaned out until it’s just friends and family.
It’s being reported that select fans will eventually fill the Performance Center, but
the company is keeping wrestlers from the gold brand around, just in case they
need to fill out the audience.
Phase three of the plan will be a 100% live fan audience, as the company is
shooting at 50% capacity right now, and the hope is that this will show fans at
home that things are returning to normal.
The belief is that fans at home who see a 50% capacity event full of friends and
family in the crowd instead of Superstars already assigned to the company, will
want to join in on the experience.
Phase four is the final stage of WWE’s plan, which will see the company touring
again with regular fans, at least for TV and Pay Per View events by the fall.
Whilst it’s a good plan in theory, Wrestling Inc noted that it’s likely to fall off the
rails, especially as a second wave is seemingly imminent in Orlando.
Out of the 500 tested at Orlando International Airport, 260 tested **********, and
given that this is the airport WWE Superstars and staff use to get in and out of
Orlando, WWE’s four-phase plan may be about to hit a serious bump in the road.
We’ve got some lighter news now, and we all know WWE has been making some
changes as of late, and that includes shaking up it’s roster.
PW Insider is reporting that Mustafa Ali has quietly been moved to the RAW
brand, though he’s currently still listed as a SmackDown Superstar on his official
WWE profile.
It’s unclear how WWE will explain his move, if they explain it at all, but it’s
possible that it could be explained as a response to AJ Styles move to SmackDown
a few weeks back, which was for “future considerations,” something Ali could be.
After not being used on SmackDown for a while, the move to RAW could be a
fresh start for the popular high-flyer, as doing anything at all on the red brand
would be better than being unused for Smackdown, week after week.
One RAW Superstar who has certainly been kept busy lately is Asuka, though
there’s been concerns for the future of the RAW Women’s Champion following
Paul Heyman’s exit from the red brand.
It looks like the Empress of Tomorrow has nothing to worry about though, as our
sources have said that Asuka won’t be impacted by Heyman’s removal, despite
being seen as a project of his.
Vince McMahon is reportedly still high on the RAW Women’s Champion, who he
sees as a top player in the women’s division, and according to Dave Meltzer, fans
can expect her to collide with Charlotte Flair after dealing with Nia Jax.
From RAW to NXT now, as a huge championship match has been announced for
next week, with even bigger implications.
On next week’s show, North American Champion Keith Lee will defend his title
against Finn Balor and Johnny Gargano, but whoever walks away with the title will
have an even bigger opportunity down the line.
That’s because on July 8th, the NXT North American Champion, whoever that may
be will defend their gold against NXT Champion Adam Cole, in a title for title collision.
This came about when Cole said he wanted to regain the North American title,
which he was the inaugural holder of, which caused NXT General Manager William
Regal to come out and make the two huge title matches.
The timing of the title for title match is certainly interesting, as July 8th will also be
the second night of AEW’s Fyter Fest event, as it seems like the gold brand is
making some big moves to keep wrestling fans tuned in to their show.
Speaking of the gold brand, we’re looking at the recent online beef between
Randy Orton and Tommaso Ciampa, after the Viper sarcastically praised TakeOver
In Your House on Twitter, mocking how often Superstars on the third brand slap
their legs to make moves seem more impactful.
Speaking to CBS Sports recently, Orton said that his comments were taken far too
seriously than what he intended, and admitted that the former NXT Champion
even got Orton feeling emotional, but not for the tweet. He said:
"That man has got a little baby. Just this morning I watched his 'Black Heart'
documentary on WWE Network that followed him around after his neck surgery.
I'll admit, I welled up and got a little tear in my eye when he woke up from the
neck surgery and his beautiful little daughter was sitting on his lap and he was
touching her face and just happy to see her and his wife. That's heartwarming.
The 13-time World Champion also stressed that Superstars need to know how to
make money in wrestling, and if that means NXT Superstars get a better deal on
RAW or SmackDown, then the Viper clearly feels that’s better than starting and
ending your career in NXT, something Ciampa has said he plans to do.
Over to AEW now, and if you’ve been watching the company for a while, you may
have noticed some issues with dives outside of the ring.
During Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alverez remarked that some in AEW are
having issues catching opponents, and it’s led to some heated words backstage. He said:
There have been a lot of people who have not been caught properly. Not just in
AEW, but it’s been a deal in AEW. There’s been a lot of just bodies going flying and
they crash and burn on the ground. I do know that there have been people yelled
at over it like: ‘Dude! Start catching people here!'”
We’ll have to see if we notice wrestlers making the extra effort to catch their
opponents from now on, and even just one slip-up could have life-changing consequences.
Speaking of AEW, the company’s roster has grown this week, as the company has
signed the mysterious and creepy Abandon to a deal after arriving on Dynamite.
In addition to this, Tony Khan announced that Ricky Starks has signed a deal after
he debuted this week in a losing effort to TNT Champion Cody Rhodes.
With both Abandon and Starks being young, the pair have plenty of years ahead
of, so fans should get used to seeing both wrestlers in AEW for a long time to come.
We’re looking ahead to Fyter fest next, as another huge match has been added.
After helping Best Friends defeat Le Sex Gods whilst disguised as a cameraman,
Orange Cassidy attacked Chris Jericho on this week’s Dynamite, and the two will
face off at Fyter Fest.
Before Fyter Fest though, we’ve got next week’s Dynamite, which will feature the
very-first AEW lumberjack match.
On the show, Wardlow will face Luchasaurus in a Lumberjack match, and this
match has been planned since March, but the company had to make changes due
to the ongoing global situation.
That won’t be the only big match on next week’s Dynamite however, as FTR will
compete against Natural Nightmares, whilst Sammy Guevara will face Matt Hardy.
Brodie Lee and Colt Cabana will face the team of Sammy Kiss and Joey Janela, and
given that AEW World Champion John Moxley will be providing commentary on
the show, it should certainly be an interesting and entertaining couple of hours on TNT.
Back to WWE, and although Paige is known for her unique look and jet black hair,
that has undergone a massive change.
On social media, the former Divas Champion shared a pic of her now blonde hair-
do, saying that she’s doing her best Gwen Stefani impression.
Before any fans bleach their hair in solidarity, it’s likely this new look is a wig, as
she uploaded another conversation to her Instagram story where she jokes about
wigging it.
The next time fans see Paige, she’ll presumably be black to her jet-black hair,
though there were plenty of fans who believed she could pull of being the
company’s blonde bombshell.
And we’re ending today with news from R-Truth, as the 24/7 Champion is getting
a new show on the Network.
Appearing on WWE’s The Bump, R-Truth confirmed that his new game show,
appropriately titled ‘R-Truth’s Game Show’ will premiere on July 14th.
The show will feature Super stars competing in various tasks, whilst answering
questions via video calls, whilst the 24/7 Champion will act as the host.
Truth’s show has actually been in the pipeline for a while, as a pilot was filmed
back in May 2017, but it was never produced as a series until now.
It’ll be interesting to see how R-Truth’s Game Show plays out, but having a fun
game show may be exactly what the WWE, the fans and the Superstars need in
these worrying times.