WRESTLEZONE RECAP

 –Your Sunday Paper for Pro Wrestling News–

April 12, 2015

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WWE NEWS

The biggest news from WWE this week came in the form of a press release from USA Today. Smackdown is officially moving to their network starting “early first quarter 2016” as a part of the massive NBC Universal overhaul of WWE programming. 

WWE wants a singles match between Ronda Rousey and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas. They also want a singles match between Triple H and The Rock on the same show – both as a means to break the all-time attendance record. There’s nothing signed between any party at the moment, and that likely won’t change for quite some time. Everything ultimately comes down to UFC and whether or not they 1) allow the match, and 2) don’t book something that conflicts with the build to WrestleMania. There’s an argument to be made on both sides – it’s more potential MMA fans being brought over, but it’s also UFC’s top star on WWE’s biggest show, the same show as their previous top star in Brock Lesnar. 

Speaking of Stephanie, she may be off television for up to a month going forward. 

Just a quick note on Brock Lesnar – he does still have a contractual rematch for the WWE title in place, should he decide to exercise the option. That’s according to the WWE story. We can also confirm that he DID in fact know about the WrestleMania match ending (with Seth Rollins winning the title) when he signed a new contract on the dotted line, the Monday before the PPV. 

We’ve got the updated match card for WWE Extreme Rules, as well as speculation on all the matches currently being discussed for the show. 

Chris Jericho hosted a live podcast on the WWE Network following Monday Night Raw, featuring United States Champion John Cena as his special guest. Cena did talk about turning heel, and admits that it was actually MUCH closer than you’d ever imagine to happening, but they didn’t pull the trigger in the end. 

WWE kicked off its annual spring-time UK tour this week, which will culminate in a series of Raw and Smackdown tapings in the coming days. You can check out full results for each show on the last page of this Recap. We’ve also got plenty of updates from the tour, from Glasgow honoring John Cena, to various stars hanging out on the Tardis. 

There’s been much said about Roman Reigns’ family at WrestleMania and how upset they were that he didn’t win the WWE title. Numerous reports, all coming out at the same time from multiple legitimate sources, point towards Sika (his father) going into rage mode after the show, and having to be talked down by others. It’s said Reigns actually took the loss well, realizing the situation for what it was. 

Tough Enough will be back on TV before you know it, but there’s still hardly any information on the upcoming season. The current rumor is that Chris Jericho may host the show upon its return. 

We asked YOU who should face John Cena in a future “U.S. Open” challenge, and the response was overwhelmingly in favor of Neville, Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler. 

There will be a #1 contender’s battle royal on this week’s WWE RAW (which will be pre-tapped from London) to determine the next challenger to the Divas Championship at Extreme Rules. 

We know where next year’s Royal Rumble and Fastlane PPV will be held!