Last night on Fox’s WWE Friday Night Smackdown, the first round of a two-night draft began where fans found out which WWE superstars were headed to Monday Night Raw or ‘Smackdown’ and which ones were departing. In addition, on Saturday morning Smackdown Lowdown on Peacock, more supplemental talent picks were revealed. Let’s take a look at how things were shaken up
As predicted, the number one pick for Smackdown went to WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, along with special counsel Paul Heyman and the enforcer, Solo Sikoa. Interestingly, ‘Bloodline’ members, Jimmy and Jey Uso, who lost in their attempt to regain the WWE Universal Tag Team Championship last night, were not part of the overall pick. Where will the Usos land? We will have to wait till Monday’s Raw to find out.
Photo: WWE
The number one pick for the red brand was also expected. “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes was the top choice and he will stay on Raw. Drew McIntyre is headed from Smackdown to ‘Raw’, and current ‘Raw’ Women’s champ, Bianca Belair is heading to ‘Smackdown’.
NXT talent did very well. Several wrestlers were drafted up to the main roster. ‘Raw’ picked Apollo Crews, JD McDonagh and Zoey Stark on Saturday. NXT women’s champion Indi Hartwell was pick last night to go to ‘Raw’. Meanwhile, the NXT women’s tag team champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn are heading to ‘Smackdown’.
Photo: WWE
Here are where things stand going into the conclusion of the 2023 draft on Monday. Per Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, these rosters will go into effect starting on May 8th following the Backlash pay-per view in Puerto Rico next weekend.
SmackDown
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa & Paul Heyman)
Bianca Belair
The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
Edge
Bobby Lashley
The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson & Mia Yim)
Damage CTRL (Bayley, Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai)
Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
Hit Row (Top Dolla, Ashante Thee Adonis & B-Fab)
Lacey Evans
Raw
Cody Rhodes
Becky Lynch
Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci)
Matt Riddle
Drew McIntyre
The Miz
Shinsuke Nakamura
Indi Hartwell
Apollo Crews
Candice LeRae
Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville
Dexter Lumis
JD McDonagh
Natalya
The Viking Raiders (Erik, Ivar & Valhalla)
Zoey Stark
Maximum Male Models (Ma.çé, Mån.sôör & Maxxine Dupri)
What do you think of the new rosters thus far for Smackdown and Raw? Let us know in the comment section below.
WWE’s Alexa Bliss Reveals Pregnancy, Expecting First Child with Husband Ryan Cabrera
May 30, 2023
The WWE Universe had been wondering for months, just why Alexa Bliss was taken off TV, especially when it looked like Bliss was falling back under the spell of then-returning Bray Wyatt in the storyline.
First at the end of March, the pro wrestler shared she had skin cancer surgery.
Now, comes happier news from Bliss herself, she and her husband, singer Ryan Cabrera are expecting their first child together. Cabrera and Bliss married in April of 2022 after more than two years of dating.
Photo: ABliss Ig
Bliss, is a former three-time Raw Women’s Champion, three-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion, and two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion. Looks like this mom-to-be won’t be getting back into the squared circle anytime soon.
The happy couple with a new bundle of joy on the way shared with E News: “It was a total surprise, as we weren’t trying at all,” shared Alexa. “We Facetimed my mom immediately … and then shared the news with Ryan’s family.”
Photo: WWE
On her Instagram, Bliss shared her excitement, “The best moments in life are the completely unexpected. Baby Cabrera arriving December 2023!!”
Share your well-wishes to Alexa and Ryan on their baby news via the comment section below.
WWE Night of Champions 2023: The ‘Bloodline’ Breaks Down as Roman Reigns is Left Shocked, Seth Rollins & Asuka Win Title Belts
May 27, 2023
The demise of the ‘Bloodline’ is now truly underway, after the closing bout at WWE Night of Champions streaming Saturday on Peacock.
The WWE returned to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for this event which featured numerous titles on the lines and the crowning of the winner for the new WWE championship.
Let’s recap what went down for the triple main event.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa
The crowd was firmly behind Zayn and Owens, in particular because Sami is a wrestler of Syrian descent and he has never taken part in any of the WWE’s Saudi Arabian shows, due to the relationship between Syria and Saudi Arabia. With the tensions died down between the two countries, Zayn got the opportunity to wrestle in front of family and in the Middle East. When his entrance music played, Sami entered dressed for the culture he was performing for in all white.
While the crowd was red hot for Zayn and Owens, they also jeered Roman Reigns who has now held the WWE Universal Championship for 1000 days. The uber-villain played right along with the fans, egging them on, as only he can.
Courtesy/Peacock
As the teams went back and forth, the referee got knocked out, when Reigns speared him by mistake. With no official, the Usos appeared and went on the attack of Owens at ringside. Later in the ring, the brothers and former tag champs, set Zayn up for a double superkick, but the kicks landed on their younger brother, Solo Sikoa, by mistake. Not seeing what had fully transpired, The Tribal Chief was losing his temper and started pushing Jey and Jimmy around.
Fed up, Jimmy landed a superkick on Reigns which knocked him down to the mat. Jey was conflicted by the actions of his brother, but Jimmy landed a second superkick on Reigns. That left Owens open to deliver a stunner to Sikoa. Then, Zayn followed it up with a Helluva kick. A new referee showed up in time and counted 1, 2, 3 as Zayn pinned Sikoa. As the Usos walked back up the ramp and backstage, Jimmy was trying to assure Jey, that they did the right thing, while Roman Reigns was left stunned as Sami and Kevin celebrated retaining their belts. The storytelling in this match was brilliantly executed by all involved.
Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins vs. AJ Styles
Courtesy/Peacock
The finals of the new World Heavyweight Championship Tournament were on tap for the opener of Night of Champions featuring two of the best wrestlers in the world, Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins and AJ Styles. Who would win the new belt?
As Seth and AJ battled back and forth, ultimately it was the Visionary who was battling his ‘injured knee’ sustained in who hit Styles with a Pedigree before ultimately delivering a Stomp for the pin and the win. Triple H came to the ring and presented Rollins with the belt as the newest of champs for the organization. If anyone deserves a belt around their waist it’s Rollins, who has not held a title for over four years. Just how this title will remain relevant is yet to be seen.
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
Courtesy/Peacock
The third piece of the triple main event included the question of just how would Rhodes wrestle the ‘beast incarnate’ with one arm having supposedly been broken during a beatdown by Lesnar on RAW?
Throughout the match, Rhodes had his arm wrapped with a brace, which he eventually used to hit Lesnar with. However, in the end, as many predicted, the WWE creative team had to find a way in the storytelling to even up the series between Cody and Brook to 1 win each. How did they do it?
Late in the match, Lesnar put Rhodes in a Kimura Lock. However, in the first attempt, Cody was able to escape it. The second time Brock applied it, Rhodes eventually passed out and the referee called for the bell and named Brock the winner. Look for the rubber match in this feud to be forthcoming.
Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
Courtesy/Peacock
In their match at Wrestlemania 39, it was clear that Asuka was the crowd favorite, even though she was the heel going up against Belair. Now, in a rematch at Night of Champions, Asuka has become even more heinous with her ‘mist’ than ever before. Going into the match, Belair held the RAW Women’s Championship for a record 420 days, but her title reign was about to come to an end.
At first, Asuka tried to mist Belair in the face, but she missed her target. Avoiding that calamity, Belair continued to fight back, while Asuka played dirty. Then in a clever move, Asuka blew the mist from her mouth on to her fingers, while the ref’s back was turned and she was on the ropes. When Bianca hoisted Asuka over her head, the challenger rubbed her misted-fingers in the champ’s eyes and down she went. After kicking the EST in the head, Asuka was able to secure the pin, ending Belair’s incredible reign. While Asuka celebrated, Belair was left outside the ring with ‘stinging’ eyes, and no medical attention to help her. Will we see a heel turn by Bianca Belair, coming out of Night of Champions? Stay tuned.
In other bouts …
Rhea Ripley defeated Natalya (on her birthday no less) which amounted to nothing more than a squash match. Ripley showed her strength and easily won over the birthday girl in a few minutes to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
Gunther retained his Intercontinental Championship defeating Mustafa Ali, as the crowd rooted for Ali who is of Pakistani and Indian descent.
Trish Stratus, with the help of Zoey Stark, got the victory over Becky Lynch. Stratus reminded us of her in-ring skills, while this story has been hard to swallow. Adding Stark to the mix, gives Stratus a pal, so we can only assume she will tag team with Trish … or Stark will be the next to feud with “The Man” Becky Lynch.
Courtesy/Peacock
Overall, nothing topped the final match of the night featuring Reigns, Zayn, and the Bloodline, for the pure theater of it all.
So, what did you think of WWE Night of Champions 2023? Share your thoughts and favorite matches via the comment section. But first, take a look at what went down when Jimmy Uso kicked Roman Reigns.
Bad Bunny Reflects on ‘WWE Backlash’: “I Really Thought I Was Going to Die After That Match, But It’s Part of It”
May 21, 2023
The global recording artist and superstar, Bad Bunny dropped his latest single just a few days ago to the delight of music fans everywhere.
The new track “Where She Goes,” is already heralded as one of his best has accompanying video which also features the likes of Frank Ocean, Lil Uzi Vert and Brazillian soccer mega-star Ronaldinho. In promotion of his latest song, Bunny appeared on New Music Daily with host Zane Lowe.
Photo: WWE
During the interview, Lowe asked San Benito about taking his brand and his in-ring performance to the next level at WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico. Bunny wrestled in a Puerto Rican street fight match against Damian Priest.
Bunny responded: “Wow, that was insane. That was really crazy, the people, the energy was another level. What happened that night, I’m never going to forget it. I remember, I said before the WrestleMania fight that day was one of my favorite moments of my life, but the Backlash fight in Puerto Rico was another level. It was really one of the biggest and best moments of my life, I really enjoyed that fight.”
Lowe pointed out that no other music superstars who have to tour, would ever to what San Benito did, and risk injury. So, he had to ask if Bunny was hurt following his Backlash victory.
The superstar explained, “I suffered. Yeah, I got hurt. I got hurt. My back, my back. My whole body, bro. My whole body. I felt that I was going to die after that match. I really thought that I was going to die after the match, but it’s part of it. I was prepared then, and now I’m going to drop a song. I know. I’m a crazy guy. I love it. I love it, and that’s what matters.”
Check out the music video for Bad Bunny’s latest track “Where She Goes” below, followed by highlights of his match against Damian Priest just a few weeks ago.
Let us know what you thought of Bunny putting his life and limb on the line at WWE Backlash, in a match that was one of the most exciting ever seen by the WWE Universe in quite a long time in the comment section,