News Ticker

WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 6/20): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more

By Zach Graham, PWTorch Contributor

June 20, 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

  • Lars Sullivan suffered an apparent knee injury at Super Showdown. Lars did not appear on television this week.
  • Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com reported this week that Mike and Maria Kanellis have both signed new 5 year contracts with WWE. SOURCE
  • WWE announced that they are partnering with Netflix for a new movie called “The Main Event.” This movie will feature Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Sheamus, and other WWE wrestlers. In the article they explain the plot of the movie saying “…the film follows an 11-year-old aspiring wrestler who discovers a magical mask and enters a competition to become the next WWE Superstar.” SOURCE
  • Smackdown Live viewership was at an all-time non-holiday low this week. This week’s Smackdown only did a .03 higher rating than last year’s Christmas Episode that aired Christmas night. In the 18-34 demographic (the demographic advertisers covet the most) Smackdown drew a .34 rating. For more information and comparisons to last year’s Smackdown ratings, check out Wade Keller’s article HERE.

•WWE Weekly Event Results

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Winnipeg, Manatoba, Canada) 6/14/19

(1) Kalisto beat Robert Roode
(2) The Viking Raiders defeated Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Kalisto)
(3) Lacey Evans beat Alexa Bliss and Natalya
(4) Samoa Joe (c) defeated Ricochet to retain the United States Championship
(5) Cedric Alexander & Ricochet beat Cesaro & Samoa Joe
(6) Nikki Cross defeated Tamina
(7) The Revival (c) beat Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows and Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships
(8) Seth Rollins (c) beat Baron Corbin to retain the Universal Championship

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Denver, Colo.) 6/15/19

(1) Finn Balor (c) beat Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the Intercontinental Championship
(2) Ember Moon defeated Liv Morgan
(3) The Kabuki Warriors beat Sonya Deville & Liv Morgan
(4) Ali defeated Jinder Mahal
(5) Roman Reigns beat Elias
(6) Apollo Crews & Chad Gable beat The B-Team
(7) Bayley (c) beat Alexa Bliss to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(8) Kofi Kingston defeated Dolph Ziggler & Kevin Owens to retain the WWE Championship

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (Anaheim, Calif.) 6/15/19

(1) Robert Roode defeated Heath Slater
(2) The Viking Raiders defeated Lucha House Party
(3) Nikki Cross defeated Tamina
(4) Samoa Joe (c) defeated Ricochet & Cesaro to retain the United States Championship
(5) Braun Strowman beat Bobby Lashley
(6) The Revival (c) beat Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins, and The Usos to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships
(7) Becky Lynch (c) defeated Lacey Evans & Natalya to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(8) Seth Rollins (c) beat Baron Corbin to retain the Universal Championship

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Salt Lake City, Utah) 6/16/19

(1) Finn Balor (c) beat Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the Intercontinental Championship
(2) Ember Moon defeated Liv Morgan
(3) The Kabuki Warriors beat Sonya Deville & Liv Morgan
(4) Ali defeated Matt Hardy
(5) Roman Reigns beat Elias (w/ Drew McIntyre)
(6) Apollo Crews & Chad Gable beat The B-Team
(7) Bayley (c) beat Alexa Bliss to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
(8) Kofi Kingston defeated Dolph Ziggler & Kevin Owens to retain the WWE Championship

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Raw Roster (San Diego, Calif.) 6/16/19

(1) Samoa Joe (c) defeated Ricochet & Cesaro to retain the United States Championship
(2) Sami Zayn beat Heath Slater
(3) The Viking Raiders defeated Lucha House Party
(4) Nikki Cross defeated Tamina
(5) Braun Strowman beat Bobby Lashley
(6) The Revival (c) beat Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships
(7) Becky Lynch (c) defeated Lacey Evans & Natalya to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
(8) Seth Rollins (c) beat Baron Corbin to retain the Universal Championship

SOURCE

WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster (Palm Springs, Calif.) 6/17/19

Event cancelled by WWE.

SOURCE

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

•WWE TV Match Results

Monday Night Raw TV Results 6/17/19

(1) Ricochet beat The Miz, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, and Cesaro in a Fatal Five-Way Elimination match to become Number on Contender for the United States Championship
– Braun Strowman eliminated Cesaro
– Braun Strowman pinned Bobby Lashley
– Ricochet (w/ the help of Cesaro & Lashley) eliminated Strowman
– Ricochet pinned The Miz for the win
(2) The Viking Raiders defeated Russ & Randy Taylor
(3) The New Day beat Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, & Sami Zayn in a Two-Out-Of-Three Falls match
(4) The Usos defeated Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows
(5) The IIconics (c) beat Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships
(6) Seth Rollins beat Daniel Bryan (w/ Rowan) via Disqualification
(7) Seth Rollins beat Daniel Bryan after the match was restarted

24/7 Championship Update

    • R-Truth retained the Championship

Smackdown Live TV Results 6/18/19

(1) Dolph Ziggler beat Xavier Woods
(2) Heavy Machinery defeated B-Team
(3) Drew McIntyre & Elias beat The Miz & R-Truth in an Elimination Tag Team match
– Elias pinned R-Truth
– Drew McIntyre pinned The Miz for the win
(4) Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins defeated Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a Two-Out-Of-Three Falls match

24/7 Championship Update

    • Drake Maverick pinned R-Truth in the parking lot disguised as Carmella to win the 24/7 Championship

205 Live Results (Aired on WWE Network) 6/18/19

(1) The Singh Brothers beat Lucha House Party
(2) Brian Kendrick defeated Russ Taylor
(3) Oney Lorcan beat Ariya Daivari via Disqualification

WWE Main Event (Aired on Hulu and WWE Network) 6/20/19

(1) Sarah Logan & Dana Brooke ended in a No Contest after Dana Brooke was injured and suffered a cut on her face
(2) Robert Roode defeated Cedric Alexander

Source: WKPWP Post-Raw On-Site Correspondent

•Upcoming Lineups for Stadium/PPV Events

WWE Stomping Grounds on June 23 from Tacoma, Wash.

  • Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss for the Smackdown Women’s Championship
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lacey Evans for the Raw Women’s Championship
  • Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship in a Steel Cage Match
  • Seth Rollins (c) vs. Baron Corbin with a Special Guest Referee of Corbin’s choosing
  • Samoa Joe (c) vs. Ricochet for the United States Championship
  • Daniel Bryan & Rowan (c) vs. Heavy Machinery for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships
  • Tony Nese (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak for the Cruiserweight Championship
  • Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Big E & Xavier Woods vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

•Upcoming Events

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.
Thur. 6/27/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Fri. 6/28/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Ryogoku Arena, Tokyo, Japan
Sat. 6/29/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Mississippi St. Fair Coliseum, Jackson, Miss
Sat. 6/29/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Ryogoku Arena, Tokyo, Japan
Sun. 6/30/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Monroe Civic Center, Monroe, La.
Mon. 7/1/19 WWE Raw, American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Tue. 7/2/19 WWE Smackdown, AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Sat. 7/6/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Sat. 7/6/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Adirondack Bank Center, Utica, N.Y.
Sun. 7/7/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Sun. 7/7/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, N.Y.
Mon. 7/8/19 WWE Raw, Prudential Center, Newark , N.J.
Mon. 7/8/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Cool Insuring Arena, Glens Falls, N.Y.
Tue. 7/9/19 WWE Smackdown, SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H.
Fri. 7/12/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine
Sat. 7/13/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, VSU Multipurpose Center, Petersburg, Va.
Sat. 7/13/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Massmutual Center, Springfield, Mass.
Sun. 7/14/19 WWE Extreme Rules, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mon. 7/15/19 WWE Raw, NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y.
Mon. 7/15/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, The Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Tue. 7/16/19 WWE Smackdown, DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
Fri. 7/19/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Santander Arena, Reading, Pa.
Sat. 7/20/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, Ga.
Sat. 7/20/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Wildwoods Convention Center, Wildwood, N.J.
Sun. 7/21/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, Fla.
Sun. 7/21/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Amway Center, Orlando, Fla.
Mon. 7/22/19 WWE Raw, Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.
Mon. 7/22/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Hertz Arena, Fort Meyers, Fla.
Tue. 7/23/19 WWE Smackdown, American Airlines Arena, Miami, Fla.
Fri. 7/26/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Four States Entertainment Center, Texarkana, Ark.
Sat. 7/27/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
Sat. 7/27/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Sun. 7/28/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Show Me Center, Cape Gigagdeua, Mo.
Sun. 7/28/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, JQH Arena, Springfield, Mo.
Mon. 7/29/19 WWE Raw, North Little Rock, Ark.
Mon. 7/29/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Memphis Navy Exchange, Memphis, Tenn.
Tue. 7/30/19 WWE Smackdown, FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
Fri. 8/2/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Sat. 8/3/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, E. A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Ky.
Sat. 8/3/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Sun. 8/4/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, David S. Palmer Arena, Danville, Ill.
Sun. 8/4/19 WWE Live Event – Raw Roster, Erie Insurance Arena, Erie, Pa.
Mon. 8/5/19 WWE Raw, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Mon. 8/5/19 WWE Live Event – Smackdown Roster, Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Tue. 8/6/19 WWE Live Event – Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Mich.

•Latest TV Highlights

Monday Night Raw

  • Elias opened Raw wearing an officials’ striped shirt strumming his guitar. He insulted Los Angeles and said he was invited their by Baron Corbin. He also announced that he was picked to be the special guest referee for the Corbin/Rollins Universal Championship match at Stomping Grounds. Seth Rollins appeared behind him and hit him with a chair. Seth grabbed a microphone and said after everything he’s been through with Lesnar, he is done playing games. He held up his chair and said that this is the first and final warning for anyone who sides with Corbin and whatever he’s promised them, this chair awaits them on the other side. Later in the night during a Kevin Owens Show segment, Corbin announced EC3 as his pick for his special official on Sunday. As soon as he came out, Seth ran out behind him and smashed EC3 with a chair as well. In a backstage segment, Eric Young was seen chatting with Corbin who was trying to convince him that it could really catapult his career. After telling Corbin he’d think about it, Young spotted Seth. Young told Rollins that he doesn’t look good in stripes and was going to turn down the opportunity. Seth said they go back a long way and he knows Young wouldn’t do anything to compromise their friendship before he beat down Young with the chair as well. In the main event of Raw, Seth took on Daniel Bryan. After winning the match, he was backing up the stage acknowledging the crowd when Corbin attacked him with a chair of his own. Corbin would then hit Seth with an End of Days in the ring and held up Seth’s Universal Championship before the show ended.
  • Ricochet won an Elimination match to become Number One Contender for Samoa Joe’s United States Championship. Braun Strowman eliminated Cesaro and Bobby Lashley early on, leaving Ricochet, Strowman, and The Miz. Lashley would retaliate against Strowman for eliminating him. Cesaro then interfered as well hitting Braun with a Neutralizer. Ricochet then hit a 630 Splash and made the cover while Lashley and Cesaro helped hold Braun down. Braun beat up Lashley and Cesaro for their interference, then took out Ricochet and The Miz for good measure before leaving. Eventually Ricochet would hit The Miz with a 630 Splash for the win.

Smackdown Live

  • Seth Rollins showed up on Smackdown as well to take care of some people. His first victims were the B Team who were shown earlier in the night waiting outside Corbin’s office talking about what a good opportunity it would be to be the special guest referee. These would be Seth’s only victims of the night, but we also saw Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, and the Authors of Pain all going in and out of Corbin’s office, but they weren’t attacked by Seth.
  • The New Day opened Smackdown coming to the ring. As they welcomed everyone to Smackdown and began discussing Kofi’s WWE Championship match at Stomping Grounds, Dolph Ziggler interrupted. Ziggler said he didn’t deserve to be champion, he would be nothing without Big E and Xavier Woods, and next time he goes to Ghana it’ll be on an apology tour. After some back and forth Ziggler came to the ring for his scheduled match with Xavier Woods. In the middle of the match Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn came down and attacked Big E and Kofi who were at ringside. The referee threw out Owens and Zayn and another referee tossed out Kofi and Big E during a commercial break. Dolph would eventually pin Woods to earn some of that ever-important momentum heading into Sunday.

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

PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by Brandon LeClair from PWTorch.com to review Smackdown with live callers, talk to on-site correspondents from Ontario, Calif., and answer mailbag questions on Bayley, Aleister Black, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan on commentary, and much more including the final Stomping Ground hype.

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

•WWE Social Media Highlights

A couple of WWE wrestlers were a little annoyed that they were left out of WWE’s Father’s Day post on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/RealCurtisAxel/status/1140417323968290816

Congrats to Drake Maverick, the new 24/7 Champion! Here’s the video of how he did it and his tweets since winning on Tuesday.

Matt Hardy subtly pointed out he only has a few months left on his WWE contract. Not sure if it’s anything to read into, but I thought it was interesting.

Matt Hardy has also been posting videos pretty regularly with the catch phrase of “You don’t know how hard it is to be Matt Hardy” as he complains about ridiculous things. I hope this goes somewhere, but you never know!

•Closing Commentary

– I miss the old “Land of Opportunity” Smackdown Live. This new Wildcard Rule version of Smackdown is just awful. It’s become a next night extension of Monday Night Raw. Thanks to the horrible Wildcard Rule, which nobody even bothers to enforce or really mention now, we have no idea who is on what brand, but we somehow end up with the same people on both shows. I’m a huge Kevin Owens fan, but I wish they’d stop putting him on both shows. Vince is in desperation mode and he’s sticking to the guys he trusts to carry segments, and while that makes me feel good about Owens’ standing in Vince’s eyes (kind of), it also means he’s being overexposed. I can’t believe I’m saying I miss the “Land of Opportunity” because that line was so overused and untrue, but I do miss that time because the roster was split and Smackdown was so much better. Smackdown’s rating is in the toilet again this week and I’m not sure they’ll do anything about it, to be honest. I feel like they truly don’t care about Smackdown since it’s going to Fox in the Fall anyway, and I think that’s a BIG mistake. If they just ignore Smackdown and try to ride out the Summer, what will incentivize fans to tune back in? They aren’t changing the name; sure, they’re dropping “Live,” but it’s still Smackdown. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to just say whatever and stop caring about Smackdown until the move. I think it sends a message to fans that it’s the “B Show,” and that’s further emphasized when Smackdown becomes a recap of Raw. Furthermore, we have a Raw woman wrestling for the Smackdown Women’s Championship on Sunday and the biggest star on Smackdown (Roman Reigns) can’t even bother to show up to his own show!

So, speaking of Roman Reigns, having him go to Raw and not appear on Smackdown is a bad decision. First, it makes Smackdown feel inferior. Roman will go to Raw because that’s where the big stars go, but he won’t appear on Smackdown because…? Because Smackdown is the B show to WWE? Is that what fans are supposed to think? Is that what we’re supposed to believe Roman thinks? I know that’s a bit dramatic, but still. Then to make things worse, the fans were chanting for Roman Reigns on Smackdown and he never came out! I was almost in shock. Vince got exactly what he wanted! A crowd was chanting for Roman Reigns to come out and make the save of The Miz as he was being beaten down by Shane, Drew, and Elias, and he never came. Now, he may have had the night off, but in Kayfabe, why didn’t he come out? He should’ve been at Smackdown since that’s his primary show, so why wouldn’t he do the right thing to help save another good guy, especially from his opponent at the PPV this Sunday? I wrote previously about loving the decision to have Roman Reigns right the wrongs. When I wrote that, Reigns helped R-Truth regain the 24/7 Championship after Shane had screwed him out of it earlier in the night. He had another opportunity to right a wrong/help a fellow babyface here and save The Miz from a brutal beat down that featured him taking three Claymore Kicks by Drew McIntyre. So in the end Roman looks bad to the fans because (Kayfabe) he either didn’t come to work the show of his home brand or he was there and didn’t bother helping The Miz as he was attacked by the same group of heels he’s currently feuding with. Either way, it hurts Roman’s character in my opinion and he wasn’t even in the building! The fans were ready to cheer him, and WWE blew it.

NOW CHECK OUT OTHER WEEKLY OVERVIEWS HERE.

OR JUMP TO LAST WEEK’S WWE OVERVIEW: WEEKLY OVERVIEW – WWE (thru 6/13): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more

Related Articles

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

ALL CONTENT © TDH COMMUNICATIONS INC. 2024