Tom Phillips has officially joined the WWE 205 Live announce team, in addition to NXT UK, while Byron Saxton is now a permanent member of the WWE Main Event commentary team.
Below is a look at the current WWE announce teams following the recent changes:
- RAW: Vic Joseph, Dio Maddin, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler
- Friday Night SmackDown: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young
- NXT: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix
- NXT UK: Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness
- 205 Live: Tom Phillips, Aiden English
- Main Event: Byron Saxton, Dio Maddin, Mickie James
Congratulations on your NXT contract @Shotziblack!! #evolve137 pic.twitter.com/AyLV0LIAES
— Will Henderson (@willh94) October 12, 2019
Rumours were true, it’s now official that top indie women’s wrestler Shotzi Blackheart has signed with WWE. NXT General Manager William Regal appeared at tonight’s EVOLVE 137 event in Atlanta and presented Blackheart with a contract.
Regal presented the NXT contract to Blackheart after her successful SHINE Nova Title defence over Aja Perera. There’s no word yet on when Blackheart will begin with WWE, but Blackheart announced on her Twitter she would wrestle some indy shows until November 3.
The Californian independent wrestler had previously appeared during WWE’s revival of the Tough Enough reality competition series – where she just missed out on the final selection due to a medical condition. Since that time, the 26-year-old has had an official WWE tryout at the performance centre in Orlando, Florida back in 2016 and has gone on to wrestle at some of the top companies on the indies such as BEYOND, SHIMMER, RISE, Sabotage Wrestling, SHINE, and EVOLVE to name a few. She currently holds the Sabotage War Of The Genders Championship and the SHINE Nova Championship.
Joining us as a guest broadcaster for #AEW DARK in Philadelphia…@OfficialTAZ @AEWrestling pic.twitter.com/ApiXZBv2PP
— Cody (@CodyRhodes) October 12, 2019
Taz will be a guest broadcaster for AEW Dark, which will stream on YouTube AEW Channel on Tuesday, October 22.
TEAM pic.twitter.com/EpGY0QYxCI
— Kelly Klein (@RealKellyKlein) October 13, 2019
At Glory by Honor in New Orleans, Kelly Klein defeated Angelina Love to win the Women of Honor Championship for the third time. Angelina Love defeated Kelly Klein to win the title in September at the Death Before Dishonor PPV.
Also, PCO became the new #1 contender for the ROH World Championship by defeating Marty Scurll Final Battle No. 1 Contender Tournament Finals. PCO is set to face ROH Champion RUSH at the 2019 Final Battle PPV on December 13 in Baltimore, Maryland.
THE PICKS ARE IN! #RAW and #Smackdown continue to feel the impact of the #WWEDraft with all-new selections including @WWEApollo, @TheEricYoung, @therealec3, @HeathSlaterOMRB and more! https://t.co/4pcdsyXZQk
— WWE (@WWE) October 13, 2019
After Night 1 of the WWE Draft, RAW and SmackDown continued their selections, with Apollo Crews (despite him being announced for Night 2) among SmackDown’s draft picks, while RAW’s choices included EC3. SmackDown also added former NXT Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak, Heath Slater and Tamina, and added to its Tag Team division with The B-Team. Additional picks for Raw included Eric Young and Sin Cara.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQLCLdcfjns]
Cain Velasquez vs. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel on October 31 in Saudi Arabia will now be for the title. This means Velasquez will receive a WWE Title shot as his in-ring debut for the company he signed a multi-year contract with.
All pics and videos courtesy of WWE, ROH, Kelly Klein, Cody Rhodes and AEW