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WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 5/9): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more

By Zach Graham, PWTorch Contributor

May 10, 2019

Former champion reportedly returning to WWE
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.

•Top Stories of the Week

  • Vince McMahon announced on Monday that there was a new “Wildcard Rule” in place. This new rule would allow four wrestlers from Raw or Smackdown to appear on the other show that they’re not assigned to. WWE.com posted an article after Raw to try and explain it further. LINK
  • Erick Rowan & Daniel Bryan won the vacant Smackdown Tag Team Championships on Tuesday night.
  • Kofi Kingston successfully defended the WWE Championship on both Raw and Smackdown this week. Kofi beat Daniel Bryan on Raw in a WrestleMania rematch, then beat A.J. Styles and Sami Zayn on Smackdown.

•WWE Weekly Event Results

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Corbin, Ky.) 5/6/19

– This event was cancelled by WWE

If you attend a live event, please send results to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!

•WWE TV Match Results

Monday Night Raw TV Results 5/6/19

(1) Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley beat Seth Rollins & A.J. Styles when Corbin pinned Rollins after Styles accidentally hit Seth with a Phenomenal Forearm then left him alone in the ring
(2) Lucha House Party defeated a local tag team
(3) Ricochet beat Robert Roode to retain his MITB spot
(4) Lacey Evans defeated Allie Katrina (local talent)
(5) The Viking Raiders beat Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
(6) Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre ended in a No Contest after Shane McMahon and Elias interfered
(7) Kofi Kingston (c) beat Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship

Smackdown Live TV Results 5/7/19

(1) Ali vs. Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega) ends in a No Contest
(2) Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowan defeated The Usos to win the Smackdown Tag Team Championships
(3) Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose beat Ember Moon & Carmella
(4) Kofi Kingston (c) defeated A.J. Styles & Sami Zayn to retain the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match

205 Live Results (Aired on WWE Network) 5/7/19

(1) Aryia Daivari beat Noam Dar
(2) The Singh Brothers beat David Kauffman & Kevin Lee
(3) Akira Tozawa defeated Mike Kanellis in a No Disqualification match

WWE Main Event (Aired on Hulu and WWE Network) 5/2/19

(1) Cedric Alexander beat EC3
(2) Peyton Royce defeated Nikki Cross

Source: WKPWP Post-Raw On-Site Correspondent

•Upcoming Lineups for Stadium/PPV Events

WWE Money in the Bank on May 19 from Hartford, Conn.

  • Seth Rollins (c) vs. A.J. Styles for the Universal Championship
  • Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lacey Evans for the Raw Women’s Championship
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Championship
  • Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship
  • Roman Reigns vs. Elias
  • The Miz vs. Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage match
  • Men’s Money in the Bank match
    • Entrants: Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Ali, Randy Orton, Andrade
  • Women’s Money in the Bank match
    • Entrants: Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Dana Brooke, Natalya, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Ember Moon, Carmella

•Upcoming Events

Wed. 5/8/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Thur. 5/9/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
Thur. 5/9/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Forest National, Brussels, Belgium
Fri. 5/10/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Helsinki Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland
Fri. 5/10/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Arena Du Pays D’Aix, Aix-en-Province, France
Sat. 5/11/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
Sat. 5/11/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Utilita Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Sun. 5/12/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
Sun. 5/12/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, England
Mon. 5/13/19 WWE Raw, The O2, London, England
Mon. 5/13/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England
Tue. 5/14/19 WWE Smackdown, The O2, London, England
Tue. 5/14/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Accorhotels Arena, Paris, France
Wed. 5/15/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England
Wed. 5/15/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Getec Arena, Magdeburg, Germany
Thur. 5/16/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Flydsa Arena, Sheffield, England
Thur. 5/16/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Barclaycard Arena, Hamburg, Germany
Fri. 5/17/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales
Fri. 5/17/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin, Germany
Sun. 5/19/19 WWE Money in the Bank, XL Center, Hartford, Conn.
Mon. 5/20/19 WWE Raw, Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y.
Mon. 5/20/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Tsongas Center, Lowell, Mass.
Tue. 5/21/19 WWE Smackdown, Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, R.I.
Mon. 5/27/19 WWE Raw, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.
Mon. 5/27/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Tony’s Pizza Events Center, Salina, Kan.
Tue. 5/28/19 WWE Smackdown, Bok Center, Tulsa, Okla.
Fri. 5/31/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho N.M.
Sat. 6/1/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Extraco Events Center, Waco, Texas
Sat. 6/1/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock, Texas
Sun. 6/2/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
Sun. 6/2/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Foster Communications Coliseum, San Angelo, Texas
Mon. 6/3/19 WWE Raw, Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Mon. 6/3/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Tue. 6/4/19 WWE Smackdown, Sames Auto Arena, Laredo, Texas
Fri. 6/7/19 WWE PPV Event, King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Sun. 6/9/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Save Mart Center, Fresno, Calif.
Sun. 6/9/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Stockton Arena, Stockton, Calif.
Mon. 6/10/19 WWE Raw, SAP Center, San Jose, Calif.
Mon. 6/10/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nev.
Tue. 6/11/19 WWE Smackdown, Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif.
Fri. 6/14/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Sat. 6/15/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colo.
Sat. 6/15/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
Sun. 6/16/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Maverik Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Sun. 6/16/19 WWE Live Event, Raw Roster, Pechanga Arena, San Diego, Calif.
Mon. 6/17/19 WWE Raw, Staples Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
Mon. 6/17/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, Calif.
Tue. 6/18/19 WWE Smackdown, Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, Calif.
Fri. 6/21/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Adams Center, Missoula, Mont.
Sat. 6/22/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Spokane Arena, Spokane, Wash.
Sun. 6/23/19 WWE Stomping Grounds, Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Wash.
Mon. 6/24/19 WWE Raw, Angel of the Winds Arena, Everett, Wash.
Mon. 6/24/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Toyota Center, Kennewick, Wash.
Tue. 6/25/19 WWE Smackdown, Moda Center, Portland, Ore.

•Latest TV Highlights

Monday Night Raw

  • Vince McMahon opened the show and made a couple of announcements. After Vince came to the ring and began talking, Roman Reigns interrupted. After Roman, Daniel Bryan came out. After Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston came out. After Kofi, Drew McIntyre came out. Vince said he had an idea and on the spot created a new “Wildcard Rule” where three wrestlers can cross over to the other televised show that they’re not assigned to. Vince then created two WrestleMania rematches that he happened to think of on the spot, Roman vs. McIntyre and Kofi vs. Bryan for the WWE Championship. As Vince praised himself as a genius, A.J. Styles interrupted to criticize Vince. Seth then interrupted and after the two argued, Vince had another stroke of genius and he said he was going to book a match for the two of them as well. A.J. and Seth took of their shirts ready to fight each other on the spot, but Vince let them know they’d be teaming together. Later in the night, after Lars Sullivan also appeared on Raw, Vince was shown backstage on the phone talking about what a genius he is when Lars walked in. Vince told the person on the phone that maybe it will be four wrestlers allowed to cross over instead of three.
  • Kofi Kingston successfully defended the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan. The match went about 16 minutes, but featured two commercial breaks on television, which hurt the television viewing experience. Kofi managed to avoid a running knee from Bryan late in the match before hitting the Trouble in Paradise for the clean win.

Smackdown Live

  • A.J. Styles opened the show making his return to Smackdown after only a few weeks on Raw. After saying hello to the crowd and attempting to explain the Wildcard Rule, Sami Zayn interrupted him. Kofi and Xavier Woods then interrupted Zayn. After the three interacted for a moment, Kofi said he wanted to put the championship on the line against either Zayn or Styles tonight, he didn’t care who. In the main event, Kofi would take on both Styles and Zayn. Near the end of the match, Kevin Owens would come out and take out Xavier Woods who was cheering on Kofi at ringside. Sami hit Kofi with the Blue Thunder Bomb twice for two very believable near falls. Kofi would eventually hit Sami with a Trouble in Paradise and pin Zayn for the win.
  • The Wildcard Rule and how it worked was further muddied on Smackdown. In the span of a few minutes, A.J. Styles said that “if you are brave enough and fast enough, you can cross over to a rival brand.” Just before this though, Tom Phillips said that A.J. was taking advantage of this new rule and also said that “a limited number of Superstars from Raw or Smackdown can be invited to cross brand lines” then noted that Roman Reigns defying WWE management’s orders not to appear on Raw this week is what triggered this idea. Then, later in the night, The Usos showed up and said they were invited by Roman Reigns to Smackdown. So we still have no idea how this works. Do wrestlers choose to come to the other show themselves? Do the McMahons “invite” a wrestler to the other show? Do other wrestlers invite other wrestlers to their show? We have no idea and neither does WWE it seems.
  • Shane McMahon was out to crown new Smackdown Tag Team Champions after the Hardy’s vacated them last week. He said he scoured the roster and the answer was staring right at him, he then pointed to the stage and out came Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan. The Usos would interrupt the proceedings here saying they worked too hard to make the Smackdown Tag Team division relevant for Shane to hand the belts over to Beavis & Butt-head, Ren & Stimpy, or Spongebob & Patrick. Shane then said they’ll have a match right now and he’s going to enjoy watching Bryan and Rowan kick The Usos butts all the way back to Raw empty-handed. Bryan and Rowan would eventually win the match after Rowan hit Jey with his Iron Claw Slam for the win. Shane would present them with the championship belts.

•Listen to the latest Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-Show – Smackdown Post-Show

PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by Jake Barnett from ProWrestling.net to review Smackdown with live callers, an on-site correspondent, and emails. They discuss the second night of Wildcard Rules, the Roman Reigns and Ali video packages, Kofi Kingston’s second WWE Title defense in two nights, the Smackdown Tag Team Title situation with Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowan and if it’s a good use of Bryan at this point, and more.

-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “Wade Keller” on your podcast app of choice

•WWE Social Media Highlights

A fan tagged AJ Styles in a “worst wrestling shirts ever” thread. AJ responded in agreement.

Xavier Woods is still trying to get Tyler Breeze on Smackdown

Randy Orton took to Twitter to have some fun with fellow wrestlers

https://twitter.com/RandyOrton/status/1125450732457611265

If you don’t follow Big E on Twitter, I highly recommend it. Since he’s out with an injury, he’s been busy on Twitter during WWE TV shows

Happy Birthday this week to Kevin Owens. He took to Twitter, hurt that Vince didn’t even bother sending out a Happy Birthday tweet about him. Meanwhile, Vince recently sent out a Happy Birthday tweet to Titus O’Neil.

https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/1125842567529103360

Becky’s Weekly Twitter Update:

https://twitter.com/LaceyEvansWWE/status/1126422802104487936

•Closing Commentary

– If WWE wants people to tune back in to the shows, they need to start promoting things ahead of time and actually stick to what they announce. I know it’s so simple and obvious and I’ve even written about it before I believe, but I truly think it would work. There is nothing wrong with announcing a television match a week or two ahead of time. They do it all the time for PPV events (obviously) because they’re trying to convince people to get the WWE Network, so why don’t they do it for Raw and Smackdown? It doesn’t make sense to me.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they thought the announcements they made on Raw (the new Wildcard Rule as well as the two WrestleMania rematches) would bring up the rating. The problem is, you made the announcements at the start of the show and people are so fed up right now that they’re not even tuning in at the start! The whole idea of the Wildcard Rule and both WrestleMania rematches we got were presented as being Vince McMahon making things up on the fly, but imagine if they had advertised them ahead of time even if it was just on social media. I know the issue there is three of the four wrestlers in those WrestleMania rematches are Smackdown wrestlers, but still there’s a way to do that. The WWE Championship was going to be defended on Raw for the first time in a long time, not counting the Raw after WrestleMania unification match Seth and Kofi had, and the audience was given two and a half hours of notice to a WrestleMania-worthy WWE Championship rematch. Maybe this week’s examples of announcements is a bad one considering it was an obvious attempt to stop the bleeding from that horrible rating last week, but they don’t announce things ahead of time at all. Then, if they bother announcing something on Twitter, they abandon it and never even mention it. I’ve talked about it before, but we’ve had two or three different instances where a women’s match was announced on Twitter, then never took place and was never even discussed. That eats away at credibility.

– The Usos current gimmick as “pranksters” is so off the mark it’s incredible. Not a single person benefits from this current incarnation of The Usos or their victims The Revival, nobody. The Usos were a serious tag team on Smackdown who were out to win matches and championships. One of the best moments on WWE TV, in my opinion, featured The Usos forfeiting their match with The New Day in the Gauntlet match that got Kofi a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. It’s hard for me to believe these two had such a switch in mentality all because they’re on TV on Mondays instead of Tuesdays and because the ropes are now red instead of blue. Last week’s back shaving fiasco was terrible. It felt tone-deaf, it looked like The Revival were being openly punished (for reportedly not signing new contract offers from WWE), and I can’t fathom how anyone would think The Usos looked like the good guys in that spot. In fact, filming someone without their knowledge is considered a crime. I don’t know how I remembered this, but in May 2018, a Playboy model was facing up to six months in jail for Invasion of Privacy after posting a nude picture of an older woman in the shower area of a fitness facility on Snapchat. Now, I know that’s not an apples to apples comparison, The Revival weren’t nude and obviously this was a scripted segment, but if we’re supposed to believe that wrestling is real, then The Usos committed a crime there.

Then, this week we get a segment where The Usos have put their own brand of Icy Hot on The Revival’s wrestling trunks or they swapped out their Icy Hot that they use before wrestling with “Ucey Hot.” I don’t believe it was explained how the Ucey Hot got onto the crotches of The Revival, but nonetheless, there they were acting like fools in the ring grabbing at their crotches and pouring water down the front of their trunks. Again, just insulting our intelligence. Not even ten year old me would’ve found that segment funny. To make it worse, The Usos wandered out on stage before The Revival’s scheduled match to look at their watch and proclaim that the Ucey Hot should go into effect “right about now” and miraculously, it did!

These segments kind of remind me of the Braun Strowman/Kevin Owens feud last year. In that instance and now, I sided with the “heels” because they were being unnecessarily tormented by the “baby faces” for no reason. If Vince is trying to bury The Revival on the way out, it’s not working. Humiliating them is only going to make the fans support them more and love them more when they leave because Vince isn’t even attempting to hide the fact that he’s burying them. Now the Usos suffer as well because they’re Vince’s agent of chaos.

NOW CHECK OUT OTHER WEEKLY OVERVIEWS HERE.

OR JUMP TO LAST WEEK’S WWE OVERVIEW: WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 5/2): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more

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