Tag: Logan Paul

WWE SmackDown results 03/15/24: Rock Concert for Cody, Bayley gets Damage CTRL-alt-deleted

WWE SmackDown from Memphis also made several more WrestleMania 40 matches official.

You know what’s fun in kind of a surreal way about WWE right now? The Rock is something of a regular! He’s making his third consecutive WWE SmackDown appearance tonight in Memphis, so he’s practically part of the ongoing crew now.

And while we kid Mr. Rock, it is easy to take for granted that one of the busiest guys in Hollywood (not to mention his other business interests) is on TV every Friday, then cutting long and entertaining video promos randomly throughout the week. You may not be rooting for him — almost certainly most WWE fans will be cheering against him at WrestleMania — but you have to respect how committed he’s been to this whole angle.

(Yes, there’s a cynical aspect to it to since he’s on the TKO board now, so of course he wants the company to do well, but still.)

Anyway, we’re anxious to see what he’s got up his sleeveless vest again tonight, so let’s fire this up and see what we’ve got.

WWE SmackDown results from Memphis:

(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)

  • The broadcast begins with a recap of the challenge The Rock and Roman Reigns made to Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, which of course was accepted for night 1 of WrestleMania
  • The Rock Concert is back, to the delight of the Memphis fans, but The Rock also has pointed messages for Cody and Mama Rhodes
  • Legado Del Fantasma (Angel and Berto) def. LWO (Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde) by pinfall in a WrestleMania Qualifying Match
  • Kayla Braxton talks to LA Knight, who dares AJ Styles to come out and humble him, finding it curious that Styles would fly all the way to Australia but wouldn’t drive to Memphis; he challenges Styles to a match at WrestleMania, at which point AJ finally appears, attacking LA from behind with a steel chair before accepting the challenge

  • Logan Paul asks Nick Aldis what the repercussions will be for Randy Orton messing with him last week, but the GM suggests Paul request an apology from Orton in person; Paul also insults Aldis by saying he can’t expect Nick to do his job when he can’t even find Logan a WrestleMania opponent
  • Jimmy Uso is asked about the challenge made to him by Jey Uso, and he says “YEET” to it, which sounds like he accepts to us

  • Randy Orton def. Grayson Waller by pinfall, after which Kevin Owens helps fight off Austin Theory and Paul; Aldis also arrives with some news: at WrestleMania, Paul will defend his United States Championship against both Owens and Orton in a Triple Threat match
  • Dakota Kai says everything Bayley is going through is her own fault and warns the “chicks” in the locker room that Damage CTRL runs the show
  • Santos Escobar def. Dragon Lee by pinfall; after the match, Carlito tries to fight all of Legado Del Fantasma by himself, but he soon has more help in the form of Rey Mysterio, who challenges Escobar to a match next week
  • New Catch Republic def. Pretty Deadly by pinfall in a WrestleMania Qualifying Match
  • Bayley de. Dakota Kai by DQ after interference from Damage CTRL, and not even Naomi is enough to help fight off a show-closing beatdown of the Role Model

The Rock Concert is back like it never left, and The Rock addresses Cody’s mom

Walking out to a bit of a remix between his current and old themes, The Rock also gets a mixed reaction from the fans that sounds like more cheers than boos. He says he usually scorches every city he’s in, but this city is different … because his wrestling career began in Memphis.

He even mentions the Flex Kavana moniker he used before saying that The Rock has come back home. Since it’s the home of the blues and Elvis, The Rock wants to sing a song. And hey, he’s got legitimate musicians backing him this time!

Of course, his song starts in on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Ja Morant catches a stray as well, and then the final verse zeroes in on the Cody Crybabies.

Lest we think that’s all The Rock is going to do, he’s not done with Cody even once his Rock Concert is complete. He mocks Rhodes for crying on Raw and says he wants to talk to Cody’s mom.

The Rock addresses her directly, saying he’s going to make her and her son pay. How? By beating Cody with a belt and then handing her the bloody belt, apparently. If you smell what The Final Boss is cooking.

Grayson Waller is sacrificed to Randy Orton in front of Logan Paul, who gets some bad WrestleMania news

Before the action even gets going, Logan Paul’s music hits and the United States Champion makes his way down the ramp. He settles in with the announcers to get a closer look at this one, still griping (and finding sympathy from Wade Barrett) about not having a WrestleMania match.

It’s interesting that the announce team framed Waller as Austin Theory’s mentor since Austin made the main roster first and has won titles. Both men seem pretty happy as Orton ends up sprawled over the announce table before a commercial break.

The crowd is really into Orton’s offense, then disappointed when Theory pulls Waller away from certain doom. Theory, ever the good sport these days, takes the vintage Orton DDT, and Waller takes the RKO that ends it.

After the bell, however, Theory attacks Orton, allowing Paul to mock the Viper. But before he can deliver a right hand, Kevin Owens comes rushing to the rescue, quickly driving away the heels.

Orton nearly RKOs Owens by accident, but Theory ends up taking both a stunner and an RKO. That brings out Nick Aldis, who says he’s figured out Logan’s WrestleMania opponents, as in plural.

It’ll be Paul vs. Owens vs. Orton for the United States Championship. Interesting.

Bayley wins by DQ but Damage CTRL proves its point

How great is it to see Kai back in there in earnest after so much time off? And what’s up with the “whoop that trick” chants? As Wade Barrett notes, Trick Williams must love that his catchphrase is so over.

The rest of Damage CTRL is at ringside, so that’s more than a little potential concern for Bayley. Kai tries for something, perhaps a superplex, but Bayley shoves her down and drops a flying elbow.

Dakota pulls off a sweet overhead kick, allowing Kairi Sane to get involved while Kai has the ref’s attention. Kai’s stiff kick is answered by a powerbomb, and now all of Damage CTRL is involved but the ref for some reason doesn’t call for the bell until IYO SKY hammers Bayley across the back.

Someone will need to come to the rescue, and it turns out to be Naomi. The problem is the numbers game is still against the heroes, and SKY delivers the Over the Moonsault to Bayley. Damage CTRL poses triumphantly over Bayley as the show goes off the air about two minutes early.

WWE SummerSlam 2024 is headed to Cleveland

Cleveland Browns Stadium, long thought to be the choice for WWE SummerSlam 2024, will indeed host the event in August.

Logan Paul, as well as The Miz and Johnny Gargano, to name a few others, will be home for SummerSlam this year.

As Paul revealed Tuesday during his “Impaulsive” podcast, WWE SummerSlam 2024 will take place in his hometown of Cleveland on Saturday, Aug. 3. The venue will be Cleveland Browns Stadium, home of the NFL’s Browns.

This will be the first time for Cleveland to host WWE’s annual summer showcase since 1996, when it was held at what was then the Gund Arena, home of the NBA’s Cavaliers. Since 2021, every edition of SummerSlam has taken place in a football stadium.

Cleveland was rumored to be the host location for the 2024 show since last fall. Those reports received a boost last month, when local media reported on a seven-figure tax credit given by Ohio to WWE for producing programming in the state. The guess that it was for SummerSlam turned out to be correct.

SummerSlam now becomes the only WWE premium live event to be confirmed for the U.S. after WrestleMania in April. The other PLEs that have been officially announced are Backlash in France on May 4, Money in the Bank in Toronto on July 6, and Bash in Berlin on Aug. 31.

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WWE WrestleMania 40: Predictions for the rest of the card in Philadelphia

You know the marquee matches for WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. Let’s try to figure out the rest of them.

Now that the hour-long annual time skip has occurred for this spring, we’re officially less than four weeks away from WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. The WWE is so hot right now that it could probably not reveal any of the matches ahead of time and still be assured that people will fill Lincoln Financial Field for two nights, and I’m only partially joking about that.

What Triple H and company have done is announce the biggest matches while leaving the rest of the card to be filled in over the last few weeks. It makes perfect sense to approach the show that way, as the world championship feuds have all been cemented and can help draw in lapsed fans while still leaving plenty to keep regular viewers engaged through the rest of March.

As I write this, only six matches are set. Night 1 will feature the recently confirmed tag team match pitting Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins against The Rock and Roman Reigns. That will have big ramifications for the Night 2 rematch between Rhodes and Reigns (as in whether The Bloodline will be allowed to interfere or not), while Rollins moves on to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre.

Though we don’t know which night they will happen, both women’s world titles will also be defended, with Rhea Ripley facing Becky Lynch and IYO SKY squaring off with Bayley. Gunther will defend his Intercontinental Championship as well, though the identity of his challenger won’t be determined until the March 11 episode of Raw.

History suggests that what’s been announced so far may only be about half the card. The two full-on post-pandemic two-night Manias had 16 (for WrestleMania 38) and 15 matches (last year at 39), respectively, though that’s counting impromptu stuff like Pat McAfee and Snoop Dogg getting quick wins in L.A.

So we’ve got to round out the WrestleMania 40 slate with at least 13 matches total, we’d say. Let’s try to do that now by making predictions from “this is almost absolutely happening” down to “we’re just grasping at straws here.”

Gunther vs. Chad Gable – WWE Intercontinental Championship match

We counted this as one of the matches we know is happening, but there’s still the matter of who will face the Ring General. The Gauntlet match for this Monday has a number of plausible candidates, and it’s important to remember that the only reason this is still a question is because WWE is keeping its distance from Brock Lesnar at the moment.

So the guess here is that Chad Gable will emerge as the contender to take on Gunther. He has the most interesting narrative, having pushed the big Austrian hard the first time they battled and talking about how much more another shot would mean to him than anyone else.

Also, lest we forget, Gable can really go in the ring, and while anyone WWE put in this spot would pull out all the stops at WrestleMania, Gable would arguably benefit the most from a reminder to everyone watching about how good he is. Maybe WWE would even consider having him win if Gunther is bound for bigger things in the post-WrestleMania landscape, but just getting this spot would be a statement in and of itself.

Update 3/11: It was close but not quite for Gable, who made it to the final two but couldn’t close things out. It’ll be Zayn vs. Gunther at WrestleMania.

Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

It just feels like it’s time, no? Jimmy Uso has cost his brother multiple championship opportunities and isn’t going to stop until Jey Uso makes him stop. Out of character, the Usos have talked openly in the past about their desire to face each other in singles competition at WrestleMania, so it all just makes too much sense.

Considering how WWE likes to push multiple matches on each night as “co-main events,” as silly as that is, a brother vs. brother showdown would be perfect for that on Night 1. If The Bloodline is going to be finished with a Reigns loss to Rhodes (assuming that’s in the cards), you’d think Jey would win and Jimmy would eventually reunite with him, but perhaps WWE will want this program to go on past WrestleMania as well.

Update 3/11: This is almost certainly happening. Jey Uso made the challenge to Jimmy on the March 11 episode of Raw, so all we need now is a response.

Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton – WWE United States Championship match

I really had no idea what was in store for Logan Paul in Philadelphia until Elimination Chamber, when it became clear pretty quickly. When Paul hosed Randy Orton out of a win in Perth, it meant they were going to throw down sooner or later, and nothing has happened since then to change my mind.

Orton has looked superb since his return from a long injury layoff, and WWE has booked him in a way that makes him look nearly unbeatable save for extenuating circumstances. Of course Paul knows all about those, so he can simply keep cheating to go over, or he can give a heroic but losing effort. Either way, fans should be into this.

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight

Sometimes WWE needs to come up with something for people who simply can’t be kept off the WrestleMania card, and LA Knight falls into that category this year. Part of the Showcase of the Immortals is giving people what they want, and Knight continues to be hugely over with live crowds.

As with Orton and Paul, this was set up directly at Elimination Chamber, and AJ Styles has explained his actions on the March 8 episode of SmackDown as well. I’m not a huge fan of the all business heel version of Styles, but he’s certainly playing it well and looks the part since he’s as jacked as he’s ever been. These two should put on an excellent match together.

R-Truth and The Miz vs. The Judgment Day (Damian Priest and Finn Balor) – Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match

This is quite the step back for the tag team titles after they were featured in the Night 1 main event at WrestleMania 39. Nevertheless, WWE has put a lot of effort into the R-Truth storyline with The Judgment Day, and it would be logical to pay it off in Philadelphia, especially since Truth is arguably as popular as he’s ever been.

It would be fun to see if Damian Priest might cash in his Money in the Bank contract on Night 2 out of anger if The Judgment Day loses this match, something he’s teased doing before. Also, just spitballing here, but if The Miz and Truth actually win, WWE could easily have #DIY turn heel on them after Mania, upset about the work they put in themselves going for naught.

Update 3/11: We weren’t thinking big enough here, apparently. The Judgment Day will defend the titles in Philly … but in a Six-Pack Challenge Ladder match. Teams will have a chance to win their way in over the next few weeks, and we wouldn’t be shocked if Miz and Truth and #DIY made the field.

Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark vs. Kabuki Warriors – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match

Yes, these teams are slated to face off well ahead of WrestleMania, so maybe this isn’t a program with enough legs to even make it to Philly. Still, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark have been pushed as a very effective duo and deserve a shot to shine on the big stage.

Let’s play it out: the Kabuki Warriors give them a shot at the titles and retain, but only because Dakota Kai, now firmly recommitted to Damage CTRL, cheats to help them do it. Adam Pearce, who’s already warned the group he’s got an eye on them, arranges a rematch for Mania and Nick Aldis agrees. Simple.

Some kind of multi-person women’s contenders match

WWE has done so much good in building up the likes of Nia Jax (better than ever on this run, to my surprise) and Tiffany Stratton (a breakout star) that it would be a shame to keep them off this show. Plus there’s Liv Morgan and Naomi who are back, Raquel Rodriguez is healthy again, and Jade Cargill is waiting in the wings.

Oh, and Bianca Belair! We’re not going to do a WrestleMania without her, right?

It’s quite possible WWE will still spin something up for Bianca prior to Phialdelphia. But if not, she can be included here, whether it’s a Gauntlet match or battle royal or what have you. Regardless of the actual format, we can come out of this with a post-Mania challenger for either Bayley or whoever wins the Becky-Rhea match, and potentially spin off some additional programs as well.

Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits vs. The Final Testament

I confess this feud hasn’t been doing a ton for me, but the WrestleMania card needs some more multi-person matches and this is a made to order six-man tag to use as a palate cleanser.

The New Day vs. Imperium

This feud has been entertaining as it’s given The New Day a chance to play the “yes we act goofy for your enjoyment but we can get serious too” card. The only question is whether WWE can or wants to string this out for another four weeks.

But WrestleMania needs a couple of change of pace matches among the bigger stuff and this would be perfect, particularly with a stipulation of some sort. Could they do a TLC match between these two teams, for instance? I’d be on board for that.

Even more possibilities:

  • Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal – While it’s been relegated to the pre-show and even SmackDown in recent years and doesn’t seem to be much of a priority, it’s always an option to get more wrestlers involved in the show.
  • Legado Del Fantasma vs. LWO – Maybe I’m not giving this one enough thought now that Rey Mysterio is back. Certainly a possibility for a six-man tag, and ripe for a gimmick or stipulation if that’s the case.
  • Something with John Cena – He’s certainly teased that he might be part of WrestleMania, though no one seems to think it will be in a full-length match. WWE can work him in as a host or have him just show up and AA someone for a pop, though.

WWE SmackDown results 03/08/24: Cody, Seth accept Bloodline’s challenge, Cody slaps The Rock

A dramatic final confrontation was cut short by time, but not before Cody Rhodes had enough of The Rock on WWE SmackDown.

Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins aren’t usually on WWE SmackDown. But they’re needed in Dallas tonight to solidify an important part of the WrestleMania picture.

As you may have heard, The Rock turned down Rhodes’ request for a singles match last week on this very show. But being the businessman that he is, he made a counteroffer, albeit it one that he and Roman Reigns made it clear that they expected an answer to in seven days’ time.

That sounds like something from an old timey movie, but we digress.

Since this is WrestleMania SZN pacing we’re talking about here, Rhodes and Seth Rollins took Monday on Raw to deliberate. The deal is this: a tag team match on night 1 of Mania pitting Rhodes and Rollins against Rock and Reigns. If the former team wins, Rhodes vs. Reigns on night 2 will be blissfully free of Bloodline interference, allowing Cody the chance to “this time we mean it” finish his story solo.

If they lose, then it’s all Bloodline, all the time during the rematch, with The Rock pretty much guaranteeing he’d interfere himself.

That sounds like it’s a no-brainer, as in they should take him up on the offer just to give Rhodes the best chance. But that’s also asking a lot from Seth, who has his own match against Drew McIntyre to consider.

Anyway, we should probably get an answer tonight, though The Rock also said he’ll be on SmackDown next week, so it could possibly get dragged out another seven days. There’s other fun stuff in store too, including an appearance from Logan Paul, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens taking on Grayson Waller and Austin Theory (and those two things might overlap, just saying) and Bobby Lashley vs. Karrion Kross.

Let’s find out what this night has in store.

WWE SmackDown results from Dallas:

(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)

  • The cold open recaps The Rock and Roman Reigns’ counteroffer and the threat to “end your story tragically” if they don’t accept
  • The Rock is shown getting out of a pickup truck and putting on a cowboy hat about two hours before the show, while Roman Reigns looks and laughs at the extra security following him at the behest of GM Nick Aldis; Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins are also here
  • Logan Paul unveils some Prime sponsorship with KSI, who ends up on the wrong side of a Randy Orton RKO
  • Triple H shows off the Red Diamond Award WWE received from YouTube for having 100 million subscribers
  • Randy Orton and Kevin Owens def. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller by pinfall, but both men are attacked by Paul after the bell and narrowly escape a brass knuckles attack
  • Kayla Braxton talks to Bayley about Dakota Kai becoming the final member of Damage CTRL to turn on her, questioning if any of her time with the group was ever what it seemed; while Bayley admits that she’s done plenty of stuff for attention, she says much of it was done for the benefit of IYO SKY and Kai, and she also says they are underestimating her ability and drive to break them
  • Bianca Belair and Naomi disagree about whether Bayley is someone to feel sorry for
  • A ton of security is shown posted up outside the Bloodline dressing room
  • Bobby Lashley def. Karrion Kross by DQ after an attack by the Authors of Pain that soon draws in the Street Profits and B-Fab; The Final Testament wins the brawl and Lashley is flattened by The Final Prayer
  • Legado Del Fantasma mocks Dragon Lee and tries to bully him as well
  • Tiffany Stratton def. Michin by pinfall
  • AJ Styles cuts a taped promo laying out his issues with LA Knight (yeah!), who reacts angrily backstage
  • Tyler Bate is busy playing WWE 2K24 but Pete Dunne looks unenthused, though he changes his mind and takes over the sticks once Bate leaves to check on the tag team title situation with Aldis
  • Dragon Lee def. Angel by pinfall, but he takes a brief but hellacious beatdown by Legado Del Fantasma after the bell
  • Damage CTRL mocks Bayley and says they’ll see her in the ring next wee
  • Aldis is ticked at security when they find the locker room for Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins empty
  • What will Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins tell The Bloodline? Well they accept the challenge, and Cody slaps The Rock right as the show goes off the air

Logan Paul is thinking Prime, while Randy Orton just sees a prime opportunity for payback

Addressing the crowd, Paul calls Dallas a city of firsts. He wrestled in his first WrestleMania there and also vows he’ll make more history there tonight.

Working right through the “what?” chants, Paul says everything he touches turns to gold and no one can garner attention like he does. Logan says he’s not talking about his podcast or even his wrestling matches, but WWE. He claims a lot of credit for helping the company to its recent string of huge successes, calling himself the “secret sauce.”

Paul makes a pun about prime and unveils the Prime energy drink logo, which he says will be center ring starting at WrestleMania for all premium live events. He summons his partner KSI to the ring and they prepare to pose for a pic.

Something needs to interrupt, and in this case that something is Randy Orton’s music. Paul senses the Viper coming but KSI is not so lucky, receiving an RKO that is very popular with the fans, especially after Orton drags his body across the Prime logo.

After taking a sip of the Prime KSI was carrying and declaring it “very good,” Orton pours it on his crotch so it looks like he wet himself. As one does.

Randy Orton and Kevin Owens team well together but have to watch out for Logan Paul

The announcers put over Theory and Waller, and particularly Theory, as a threat to our heroes. Waller doesn’t seem to want any part of Orton, which only makes KO want to tag him in more.

Orton backs Waller into the corner and wails away as the crowd counts along with his right hands. He saves one for Theory too, knocking the former U.S. champ off the apron.

The heels try a two-man assault, but Owens tags back in and goes to work on Theory. A rolling dropkick makes for a good rally by Theory, and Waller lands a cheap shot on Owens so the bad guys are looking good for the commercial break.

Owens is badly in need of a tag, having worked during the entire time away. Waller mocks Orton’s theatrics prior to the RKO but immediately thinks better of it when Orton tags in and unleashes clotheslines and his snap powerslam.

Waller looks like he’s in trouble on the apron but is saved by Theory. KO get laid our by the barricade but Waller is too close to the ring and pulled in by Orton for the draping DDT.

The crowd erupts as the Viper coils, but Orton is rolled up when distracted by Theory. It’s a kickout at two, of course, but the heels now have Orton two on one … though for only a moment. KO comes back fighting with a Stunner for Waller, and Theory eats an RKO that ends this one.

While the good guys are celebrating, Paul attacks both of them from behind, pulling out the brass knux and zeroing in on Orton. Randy sees him coming, kicks Logan in the stomach and puts on the knux, but Paul ducks out of the ring and almost causes Orton to clock Owens.

Bobby Lashley wins his match against Karrion Kross but hardly feels like a winner afterward

This should be a straight ahead slugfest, to say the least. Scarlett enjoys Kross’ early success, but Lashley hits a big suplex to swing the momentum in his favor.

The All Mighty pursues Kross to the floor, but Scarlett puts herself in the line of fire to prevent Lashley from swinging her man into the post. Karrion takes advantage with several hard shots prior to a commercial break.

Kross is still bossing the action when the broadcast returns, hurling Lashley around in impressive fashion. But Lashley battles back when they return to the floor, and there’s nothing Scarlett can do this time.

Lashley wants the Hurt Lock but is hurled away toward a corner, and Kross’ Death Valley Driver earns him a near fall. As Lashley fights back, the Authors of Pain enter the battle, and even though the ref has called for the bell, the Street Profits run down to even the odds.

Just as Lashley looks like he might get the Hurt Lock applied, Scarlett interrupts, only to be violently interrupted by B-Fab. The two women chase each other to the back while the men continue to brawl in the ring, but The Final Testament prevails, and Kross smashes Lashley down with The Final Prayer.

Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins accept the challenge, and Cody slaps The Rock

Roman Reigns heads to the ring, flanked as always by Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso. The announcers remind us that Reigns will face Rhodes again in the main event on night 2, as if we can ever forget.

The Rock has an amazing new entrance video with a lightning theme now as well.

The Rock says greatness stands before you now and hands the mic to Reigns, who says “acknowledge us.” Someone who might not is Cody Rhodes, who comes down through the crowd instead of from the stage. Seth Rollins is with him as well, but we cut to commercial.

After the break, everyone leaves the ring but the four most important players in this drama. Rhodes says it’s a little tense but he feels very lucky to be standing in the ring and thinks the four of them should take a moment to feel this.

Cody says he understands the tag team challenge but teases The Rock by questioning whether he has the authority after acknowledging Reigns as his Tribal Chief. He’s about to give their answer when The Rock angrily interrupts, explaining it’s what family does.

The Rock reiterates the stakes, which everyone already knows. A “diarrhea” chant breaks out after Rollins made it a thing on Raw, which he loves. So much that he has the balls to remind The Rock that they already knows the stakes and he passionately says they accept.

Reigns starts laughing at Rhodes, wondering why he’d let Rollins answer for him. Roman says when he wins on WrestleMania Sunday, it’s over for Cody, his story is over.

The Rock reminds both our heroes he’s technically their boss, clarifying that if Rhodes doesn’t win, he’ll never get a shot at this championship again. He starts talking about Cody’s siblings and calls Cody “a mistake,: which earns him an angry slap in return, just as the show goes off the air.

Prime Hydration will be first ever center mat WWE sponsor, beginning at WrestleMania

Get ready to think of Prime Hydration whenever you get thirsty during a WWE PLE.

Logan Paul has become a Maverick in more ways than one during his WWE career, now helping to usher in something TKO told us was coming: mat sponsorships for WWE premium live events.

As Paul revealed during the opening segment of the March 8 episode of SmackDown, his sports drink company Prime Hydration will be the first ever sponsor to appear on the center of the mat in a WWE ring. The deal will only be for premium live events and will start at WrestleMania 40 next month.

Prime and WWE will also team for “match sponsorships, co-presenter designations at future PLEs, product activations at live events, social support from WWE Superstars across retail and digital activations, and more,” according to a press release.

“What Logan and his team have built in a short time is phenomenal and we’re excited to help showcase PRIME Hydration across our biggest events,” WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said in the release. “Combining two of my greatest achievements into one knockout partnership is a dream come true,” said PRIME Co-Founder Logan Paul. “We’ve worked incredibly hard at PRIME to build a brand that disrupts the beverage industry and it’s time to join forces with the global leader in sports entertainment. Thank you to everyone on both sides who have played an important role in bringing PRIME Hydration to the ring.”

While it was a bit of a jarring site to see the multi-colored Prime bottle on the center of the ring after decades of plain mats, it should come as no surprise since MMA and boxing mats have been prime (no pun intended) territory for brand sponsorships for years. Indeed, watching a UFC fight it’s sometimes hard to imagine where they might be able to squeeze more ads into the Octagon.

Advertising has worked its way into more and more previously pristine areas of unscripted sports as well, including places like uniforms. In that sense, the WWE-Prime deal is really just following along with current trends, and it’s highly likely more agreements like this will follow before long.

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WWE Elimination Chamber 2024: Breaking down the biggest takeaways from Australia

Elimination Chamber set a couple of intriguing ideas in motion in Perth.

For the most part, this year’s Elimination Chamber was as predictable as we all expected.

Rhea Ripley retained her WWE Women’s World Championship after a borderline great main event match against Nia Jax, Becky Lynch was the last person standing in the women’s Elimination Chamber to earn the right to challenge Ripley’s title at WrestleMania, and Drew McIntyre outlasted five others to win the men’s Elimination Chamber and punch his ticket to the biggest show of the year, where he will challenge Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

So nothing to see here, right?

No, actually, as there were two other happenings on the show that left me intrigued.

Cody Rhodes challenges The Rock to a one-on-one match

Although all indications have been pointing toward Rhodes and Rollins facing The Rock and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns to some sort of tag team match in the future (possibly at WrestleMania), judging by what happened during “The Grayson Waller Effect,” I’m not quite as sure.

As I predicted, a challenge was laid, but it wasn’t for a tag team match. Instead, it was Rhodes challenging The Rock to a one-on-one match. Rollins, who revealed that he was merely days away from being medically cleared, was there to lend his moral support, but nothing more. Rhodes did not put a date on his challenge, saying that he wants The Rock anytime, anywhere.

Will we actually get a one-on-one match between Rhodes and The Rock? I guess we can’t totally rule it out. My best guess is that the tag team match is still happening sooner rather than later and an encounter between Rhodes and The Rock is something WWE could visit at any time down the road.

Is this slightly confusing? Yes. I’m still not totally sure what to make of it. But again, this is intriguing. I am interested in seeing what happens. Rhodes laid the challenge, which means The Rock has to eventually respond. I anxiously await it.

What is Logan Paul doing at WrestleMania?

Logan Paul has made his share of enemies as a controversial internet influencer, and that has carried over, in storyline at least, to the WWE locker room.

He’s obviously got Kevin Owens as a sworn enemy after their encounter at the Royal Rumble, and that was on full display Saturday in Perth.

But Paul created a new enemy Saturday in the form of Randy Orton, who was seemingly poised to win the men’s Elimination Chamber after eliminating Paul. But before Orton could seal the victory, Paul sucker punched him with brass knuckles, knocking Orton out cold and paving an easy path to victory for McIntyre.

I had been predicting for weeks that LA Knight should be the person to face Paul for the United States title at WrestleMania, but after AJ Styles attacked him during the Elimination Chamber, I feel like Knight will be occupied elsewhere.

Do we get Paul against Orton one-on-one? Is Owens inserted to make it a triple threat? Either way, it will be an interesting road getting there.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2024 results: Opportunistic Drew McIntyre wins a WrestleMania spot

AJ Styles, Logan Paul caused chaos that Drew McIntyre exploited at Elimination Chamber.

After the women rocked the house at Optus Stadium to kick off the show, the men get their chance to do the same. Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley, Logan Paul and Randy Orton get to start in pods, so Drew McIntyre and LA Knight will have a chance to get reacquainted quickly. Knight stands on top of Orton’s pod before the bell rings, getting the fans to react even more.

Knight emerges from the opening exchange with a suplex and an elbowdrop, but he’s only able to get a one count. McIntyre fires back with an overhead throw and cracks a smirk as the fans chant “CM Punk” at him. Drew mocks Punk and looks for the Go To Sleep, but Knight counters with knees to the back and sends the Scottish Warrior to the outside, forcefully.

Paul gets to watch up close as Knight smashes McIntyre’s head into his pod repeatedly. Same for KO over at his pod. Not for long for him, as he is the first wrestler released and eagerly joins the fray. Owens chokeslams Knight and follows with a senton for a two count.

McIntyre starts in on Owens and they brawl to one corner. KO gets the best of that battle, eventually hitting a frog splash and earning a near fall. Owens also does a cool spot that’s a Codebreaker to McIntyre and a simultaneous senton to Knight.

Owens and Knight finally agree to work together to fight McIntyre, but Drew escapes their double superplex attempt and hits a cross body on both of them. Lashley makes a beeline for McIntyre as well when his cell opens and has a decent amount of success.

A kick to the gut and a belly-to-belly throw allow Drew to fight back. But he can’t pull off the Future Shock and is sent outside the ring, where Lashley eagerly uses the cage as a weapon.

A loud Glasgow Kiss smacks Lashley backward, but the All Mighty comes right back with a uranage of sorts for a two count. Knight nearly gets pinned by inadvertent double team offense by Owens and Lashley.

Orton finally gets his chance to enter the match, and he immediately runs through some trademark offense on Owens. Then it’s Lashley’s turn to go corner to corner on multiple opponents. He spears the heck out of Knight, who avoids a pin by rolling out of the ring.

Knight DDTs McIntyre on the platform outside the ring, leaving pretty much everyone down. Orton is selling damage to his lower back on just about every move.

The timer expires for Paul, but Owens joins him in the pod and they battle in the proverbial phonebooth before Logan is painfully driven through the pod. Paul finally lures KO into trouble out by the cage, but a huge short arm clothesline puts a stop to that, and Lashley spearing him through a pod sure doesn’t help either.

Alas, just as the fans are thanking him, Lashley turns into a Claymore from McIntyre. Another Claymore follows in the ring, and we finally have someone out. Bobby Lashley is eliminated.

Knight pulls off a nice superplex on McIntyre and the Blunt Force Trauma on Orton … but then he gets attacked by a chair-wielding AJ Styles. He also hits a Styles Clash on the chair before refs can get him out of there, and McIntyre takes advantage by covering LA for three. LA Knight is eliminated.

Owens is handing out cannonballs, plus a swanton on Orton that gets a near fall. He tries one on McIntyre too but catches Drew’s knees to the back, and everyone is slow to rise.

Owens is in the line of a Claymore but counters with a Popup Powerbomb, then hits a stunner on Paul. Unfortunately, he is nailed by an RKO, and that’s it for him. Kevin Owens is eliminated.

Orton and McIntyre slug it out until a powerslam catches Drew coming in. Paul tries to join in but gets crotched on the top rope and eats a series of right hands. McIntyre arrives and hammers Orton’s back again. A Glasgow Kiss and a neckbreaker have McIntyre in position to kip up, but Paul comes soaring out of nowhere with a high cross body.

Paul goes in his waistband and produces the brass knux, perfectly legal in this setting. But he spends too much time psyching himself up and is hit by an RKO, and he isn’t getting up from that. Logan Paul is eliminated.

The vintage Orton DDT is the first big move between the final two men. He coils to strike, but McIntyre is ready and delivers a spinebuster. McIntyre wants a Claymore but sees Orton collapse face down on the mat. He has enough left to hit an RKO, but then he gets smashed by Paul and the brass knux. McIntyre covers and hears the three to send him to WrestleMania. Randy Orton is eliminated, and Drew McIntyre wins.

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How to watch WWE Elimination Chamber 2024: Live stream US, international

A look at how to watch the WWE Elimination Chamber 2024 premium live event from Perth, Australia.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, WWE will present Elimination Chamber as the last premium live event before WrestleMania 40. The show will emanate from Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia, featuring matches with implications for WWE’s biggest show of the year.

The Elimination Chamber event will include matches for both men and women, offering the opportunity to earn a title bout at WrestleMania 40. While championship matches will also grace the show, these bouts inside the steel structure are the selling points.

Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Naomi and Tiffany Stratton will complete in the women’s Elimination Chamber match. Morgan and Rodriguez recently returned from injuries, Naomi came back to WWE from a long TNA stint, and Stratton received a main roster call-up after Royal Rumble, loading this match with fresh faces.

However, Lynch likely enters the Elimination Chamber as the favorite to win after her laundry list of interactions with Rhea Ripley, the Women’s World Champion, this past year. A match between them offers ample star power that’s also worthy of the WrestleMania main event, so will WWE make this match official on Saturday?

Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, LA Knight, Logan Paul and Kevin Owens will fight in the men’s Elimination Chamber match, with the winner facing Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40. The lineup features stars with credentials worthy of headlining a marquee show, but which one walks out of Perth with the ultimate title opportunity?

These matches will grace Elimination Chamber, which has a special start time. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the action this weekend.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2024

  • Date: Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024
  • Location: Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia
  • Start time: 5:00 a.m. ET/2:00 a.m. PT
  • How to watch: On Peacock in the U.S., and on WWE Network in the rest of the world

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WWE SmackDown results 02/16/24: The Rock officially joins The Bloodline

The Elimination Chamber fields are set except for one women’s spot after WWE SmackDown in Salt Lake City.

Haven’t been watching WWE long enough to remember the Two-Man Power Trip? No worries, because The Rock and Roman Reigns are doing their best to update the concept for the 2020s, which we’ll see again tonight on WWE SmackDown from Salt Lake City.

It’s been a little more than a week since the WrestleMania XL Kickoff in Las Vegas shook up the landscape along the Road to WrestleMania. It wasn’t just that Cody Rhodes stepped up and challenged Reigns again, bumping The Rock out of the way.

The more surprising development was that The Great One sided with the Tribal Chief, potentially adding one of the most famed champions in WWE history to The Bloodline. That’s pretty much a complete 180 from when it looked like those two men would be doing battle in the main event in Philly.

WWE wants us to think tonight’s show will answer the big unanswered question after Rhodes shuffled everything, which is what role The Rock will play at WrestleMania 40. Since Rhodes and Seth Rollins are on Raw, we probably won’t get a definitive answer tonight, but we should at least find out if things are leaning toward a tag team match, perhaps on night 1.

The other big thing that will happen in Salt Lake City will be finding several more competitors for the Elimination Chamber matches set for eight days from now in Perth, Australia. Two men and two women will join those bouts after tonight’s qualifiers, which will finish off the men’s field and leave just one spot left for the women.

That means it should be a fast-moving show and an eventful two hours. Off we go to find out.

WWE SmackDown results from Salt Lake City:

(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)

  • A big Ford pickup truck pulls up to the arena earlier tonight, and out hops The Rock
  • Dominik Mysterio get some mic time ahead of his qualifier, but you know that just means the fans get to boo the crap out of him
  • Kevin Owens def. Dominik Mysterio by pinfall in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match
  • Drew McIntyre says everyone wants to win the Chamber match, but he’s the only one who needs to win it, for himself and all of WWE; LA Knight arrives to throw some water on that idea as only he can, and they eventually need to be separated
  • Earlier today, The Bloodline arrives, and Roman Reigns tells Jimmy Uso they’re going to fix everything Cody messed up
  • Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate are feeling good ahead of their tag team title shot at Elimination Chamber; when an angry Mysterio dismisses their chances as he passes by, they challenge him and R-Truth to a match, but he responds that Truth isn’t part of The Judgment Day and they should know that
  • Tiffany Stratton def. Zelina Vega by pinfall in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match; a slight distraction by Elektra Lopez furthers the LWO-Legado Del Fantasma beef too
  • Things get heated in the locker room between Karl Anderson and AJ Styles, so any hopes of The O.C. getting back on the same page appears dead for right now
  • IYO SKY delivers a taunting message for Bayley, and, alongside Asuka and Kairi Sane, says no one is ready for Damage CTRL
  • Authors of Pain def. Javier Bernal and Beau Morris by pinfall in a quick squash match
  • Byron Saxton gets a word with Logan Paul, who says everyone should be thankful for seeing his first live match on SmackDown and also says he’ll win tonight, at Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania to become a double champ
  • Logan Paul def. The Miz by pinfall in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match
  • Stratton is making no friends backstage, annoying Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, and eventually, Jade Cargill
  • Paul Heyman is shown speaking with Grayson Waller outside the Bloodline dressing room
  • Naomi def. Alba Fyre by submission in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match
  • Dakota Kai approaches Bayley, but the Role Model still isn’t sure who she can trust and doesn’t want to discuss it right now
  • Aldis says one of the free agents he’s been talking to is no longer a free agent: Bron Breakker has signed to be on SmackDown
  • Roman Reigns and The Rock are in your city, and The Rock is in The Bloodline now

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Kevin Owens is in Elimination Chamber, and that’s the (R-)truth

Dom gets an early taste of KO’s power and doesn’t like it. He fires back with an athletic combo that ends with a dropkick, but Owens sends him out to the floor. Dom manages to walk away to avoid any chance of a dive to the floor, but he eats a right hand while avoiding the steel steps.

KO turns and gets a surprise in the form of R-Truth, and his sudden appearance gives the momentum back to Mysterio, who quickly earns a near fall.

After commercials it’s still Dom on the attack, with Truth looking concerned for … Owens, we guess? The crowd comes alive as KO rallies by simply punching and stomping the heck out of Mysterio until he ends up on the outside. A lariat sets up a running senton, and back into the ring they go.

Truth calls for a Cannonball, which KO delivers after a crotch chop. There’s a frog splash, but Dirty Dom digs deep to kick out.

Mysterio counters a Popup Powerbomb with a facebuster (sort of) and a near fall. Dom wants Three Amigos but ends up getting outdone by his opponent. Mysterio counters the final suplex with a DDT for two.

Shortly after, KO finds the mark with a Swanton Bomb, but Mysterio is able to kick out yet again. Dom responds with a 619, which still isn’t enough to win it. Mysterio tells Truth to get a chair, even telling him he’s in The Judgment Day if he does it.

Truth grabs a chair from the timekeeper’s area … but sits in it instead of handing it over.

Owens delivers a superkick and a Popup Powerbomb, and that’s the end of that.

Logan Paul’s double champ plan continues with a victory over The Miz

The announcers put over how hard it is to believe that this is Paul’s first match on SmackDown, and it is a little wild. He and Miz know each other well, of course, having worked together when Paul was first breaking into WWE.

Paul isn’t quite on target with a standing moonsault, showing a little of his inexperience, as Nick Aldis is shown watching the action from a luxury box with Jade Cargill and Bron Breakker, among others.

Miz’s strikes back Paul into a corner, where the It Kicks draw applause from the fans. His corner attack is on target as well, but Paul has some fight left and sends Miz hard into the ringpost. A jumping clothesline sets up a splash on the apron before a commercial break.

Miz is feeling his second wind after that, with a Hart Attack to send Paul to the canvas. A flatliner follows, and the A-Lister covers for a two count.

Double knees in the corner don’t finish Paul either, so Miz keeps working over the right knee that Logan has been selling from early in the bout. Paul isn’t finished, though, hitting Miz with his own finisher and earning a near fall.

This one still isn’t out of gas, as they fight to the floor and Paul gets brass knux from his buddy again. Miz rushes in and clobbers him, angrily taking the weapon for himself. But Paul is able to take advantage of the brief moment of confusion, dragging Miz back into the ring for an inverted Skull Crushing Finale and a victory to secure a spot in Elimination Chamber.

Roman Reigns welcomes The Rock to The Bloodline

With all of The Bloodline beside him, Reigns heads to the ring for some acknowledgement. He lets the crowd reaction soak in for some time before he even says a word.

“Can I be honest with all of you?” Reigns finally says. The Tribal Chief calls the people of Utah idiots, at least collectively. He doesn’t want them to mess up the “greatest night ever in WWE,” to which they immediately chime in with “Cody” chants.

The occasion, however, is that tonight is the first night we can say The Rock is a member of The Bloodline. That brings out The People’s Champ himself, to a very loud and somewhat mixed reaction. But we’ll have to wait through commercials to see what he says.

The Rock tells the fans they’ve broken a Utah state indoor attendance record … for the biggest group of trailer park trash The Rock has ever seen. He says they’ll all have a story to tell about looking greatness in the face.

This side of The Rock has been there all along, even if we haven’t seen it in years. He blames the people for having the biggest WrestleMania event in years in their hands and flushing it down the toilet by pining for Cody having the chance to finish his story.

But what is Cody’s story? After all, Reigns beat Rhodes last year at WrestleMania. Should he get a rematch? The Rock talks about teams from real sports who get to the championship game, lose and move on. But the fans here don’t understand that because they’re “spoiled, entitled, little crybaby bitches.”

The Rock says he’ll do anything to ensure Rhodes leaves a loser like he is now … if you smell what The Bloodline is cooking.

WWE SmackDown preview 02/16/24: Are Roman Reigns, The Rock the Tribal Chiefs?

Four more spots in the Elimination Chamber matches will be decided tonight on WWE SmackDown as well.

As “Robot Chicken” used to say when mocking M. Night Shyamalan, what a twist! Just when it looked like The Rock was going to muscle in on the WrestleMania main event against Roman Reigns, the WrestleMania XL Kickoff event changed everything. Tonight’s WWE SmackDown from Salt Lake City will still be dealing with the consequences of that night in Las Vegas in a very real way.

Can we call Roman Reigns and The Rock the Tribal Chiefs?

Is there room for more than one chair at the Head of the Table? It’s a question worth asking because it appears that The Rock and Reigns are rolling together — possibly all the way to WrestleMania. If that’s the case, The Bloodline just gained a powerful ally, and The Rock is a better sport about those boos he’s been getting than some people thought.

The question is what kind of havoc they’ll wreak in Salt Lake City and whether anyone dares stand up to them since Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins are on Raw.

Will Logan Paul and Kevin Owens meet up again in the Elimination Chamber?

Logan Paul would almost certainly like to leave Kevin Owens in the past, but he’s finding that’s easier said than done. Both men have a chance to make it to the Men’s Elimination Chamber in Perth, assuming they can get by The Miz (for Paul) and Dominik Mysterio (KO).

It’s hard to imagine this program derailing, so expect both men to win. Unless, of course, they cost each other their respective matches, which would just deepen the animosity between them.

Which women will join the star-studded Elimination Chamber match in Australia?

The Women’s Elimination Chamber field is ridiculously stacked with former champions, but there are still three spots left. Two will be filled by matches in Salt Lake City, though an injury to Shotzi earlier this week caused some tinkering to the card.

Tiffany Stratton will face Zelina Vega in one qualifier, while Naomi faces off with Alba Fyre. A Naomi victory will add yet another former champ to the Chamber, will Stratton seems likely to get called to a big stage very early in her main roster career. Tiffy Time, indeed.

We’ll be recapping the action as it happens tonight starting at 8 p.m., so be sure to join us back here at Wrestling Junkie for the latest WWE SmackDown results and updates from Salt Lake City.

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