WWE’s first PPV Day 1 saw significant changes, especially after Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, tested positive for COVID.

With a championship match canceled, WWE was faced with the task of adjusting time, adding segments and video packages to help make up the time lost. 

According to Fightful, the talent was informed about the WWE Championship match mid-afternoon, with everybody believing Big E was set to win. 

At 5 PM EST, Fightful gained information about the card changing, just to be confirmed by WWE after they shared the news about Reigns’ positive test and a change to the main event. 

All the matches prior to the main event matched up to the times they were originally planned. Nevertheless, the main event had originally been budgeted for 30 minutes, but this never happened. 

The times were budgeted by the time Brock Lesnar was added, but no specific reason has been given as to why this was changed. 

We cannot let go of the fact that Brock was a free agent so the possibility of winning the RAW Championship was on the air, but of course, nobody expected it since he was involved in a rivalry with the SmackDown champion. 

The reaction backstage about the result of the main event was almost the same, most felt that Big E wasn’t booked consistently throughout his title reign with all the people involved in the development of his story giving the best of themselves so that everything made sense and thus demonstrate his great ability.

The post WWE Day 1 Main Event Was Originally Planned To Go 30 Minutes appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

MUST WATCH – Opening up the show we got The Usos representing the Bloodline as they were defending their Smackdown Tag Team Championships against long time rivals, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, The New Day. What an opening contest this was. King Woods and Jimmy Uso started the match off for their teams, and Woods took control early on. It was all back and forth from there. Usos hit the superkick/frog splash combo, The New Day hit one of their moves, There a double Uso Splash, an SOS, these men were throwing any and every move in their arsenal but nothing seemed to be enough. That is until The Usos hit a 3-D (Dudley Boyz old finisher) to win the match.

Result – The Usos defeats The New Day via pinfall to retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships

Tyler Miller WR Star Rating: 4.5

AVERAGE – Up next we got Drew McIntyre taking on Madcap Moss. This match was okay. Not too good, but nothing memorible. However, Drew was able to take control of the match, and pick up a victory in the end. Good guys on top, you love to see it.

Result – Drew McIntyre defeats Madcap Moss via pinfall

Tyler Miller WR Star Rating: 3

GOOD – More tag team action happened up next as RK-Bro defending their Raw Tag Team Championships against the Street Profits. This, like the opening contest, failed to disappoint. There were flips, kicks, at one point Montez Ford did the cool thing where he jumps over the ring post, hell Randy Orton and Riddle came out with Migos. Riddle and Angelo Dawkins started off long but it wasn’t long before Montez Ford and Randy Orton got involved. The match ended after Riddle launched Ford into the air, allowing Randy to hit him with an RKO.

Result – RK-Bro defeats The Street Profits to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships

Tyler Miller WR Star Rating: 3.75

GOOD – The Raw Commentary Team is back at ringside now as they set up for Edge vs The Miz. The Miz comes out with his wife, Maryse, while Edge comes out from the ring of fire, Brood theme and all. The bell rings and Edge takes control early on as the match starts off a little slow. But it doesn’t take long for the gears to start grinding. Miz got the upperhand against the Rated R Superstar, before being slammed face first on the commentary table. Miz recovers not too long after though, and locks Edge into the figure four. Edge was able to get out though and lock in the crossface. The match continued to go back and forth, before Mayrse hits Edge across the face, allowing for The Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale. Edge is able to kick out though, and then out of nowhere, Beth Phoenix is back! Beth comes out and instantly goes to Maryse and chases her off. This distracts The Miz, causing Edge to hit a spear, and get the victory

Result – Edge defeats Miz via pinfall

Tyler Miller WR Star Rating: 3.75

GREAT – The Raw Women’s Championship is on the line next as Becky Lynch defends her title against Liv Morgan. I try to keep my own opinions out of my reviews, but this match was way better than I anticipated it to be. Both Lynch and Morgan were on fire the entire match, from the time the bell rang to start the match, to the time it rang to end the match. At one point, Liv Morgan did some kinda of springboard assisted sunset flip powerbomb while Becky was stunned on the second rope. It wasn’t enough to put down Big Time Becks, as she was able to hit the Manhandle Slam to win the match.

Result – Becky Lynch defeats Liv Morgan via pinfall to retain the Raw Womens Championship

Tyler Miller WR Star Rating: 4

MUST WATCH – In the main event, Big E defended his WWE Championship against Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley, and Brock Lesnar. This was pure chaos from the second the bell rung. Lesnar instantly sent everyone on a one way ticket to Suplex City, before Big E was able to stop him. Then Brock went through the barricade, Lashley went through the commentary table, Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins were dominating. From here, it didn’t take us long to get to the end. Towards the end of the match, Bobby Lashley had Brock Lesnar in the Hurt Lock and it looked like Brock was gonna fade. Big E was able to hop in the ring though and stop Lashley. From there, Brock Lesnar hits the F5 to Big E, 1…. 2…. 3….

Result: Brock Lesnar defeats Big E, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, and Kevin Owens via pinfall to win the WWE Championship

Tyler Miller WR Star Rating: 4.5

Wow. What a way to kick off the year. Almost every match was great. The highest moment from the show was for sure Brock Lesnar picking up a surprise victory. The low point, and I feel like this goes without saying, was Madcap Moss vs Drew McIntyre. If that match was taken off the show, and the main event was given more time, the show would have been very close to perfect. WWE may not be perfect week to week, but when it comes to PPV, WWE almost never fails to hit.

Show Theme/Presentation: 9/10

Production: 9/10

Watchability: 8/10

Storyline Progression: 8/10

Crowd Reaction: 8/10

The post “What a Great Way to Kick Off 2022” – WWE Day 1 2022 Review appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

It’s pretty clear that the actor has high hopes for his victory, taking shots at both Roman Reigns and Big E and proclaiming himself a champion. While it has yet to be addressed by WWE on social media or on the Day 1 pay-per-view, it’s likely that they will soon to make it official. Knoxville will likely only be in the bout for a short period before being tossed out. It remains to be seen if they plan to build towards his appearance in the weeks leading up to the match. If they do, fans can expect his trademark buffoonery to ensue.

The post Jackass Star Johnny Knoxville Reveals He Will Compete In The Royal Rumble appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

This will be the first time Brock will be competing in singles competion alongside E, Owens, and Lashley, and the first time he’s stepped in the ring with Seth Rollins since 2019. Brock Lesnar also hasn’t competed in a WWE Championship match since WrestleMania 36 in 2020, when he dropped the title to Drew McIntyre.

Update. As I am writing this article, Roman Reigns has officially announced he has tested positive for COVID-19.

We here at Wrestling Republic wish Roman Reigns a speedy recover and we hope to see him back on TV as soon as possible!

The post Roman Reigns Out of Day 1, Card Changes Officially Announced appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

In today’s WWE world, different arena and stage settings are very uncommon for WWE PPV events apart from Wrestlemania once a year. With the WWE Day 1 event fastly approaching, some fans might be sad to hear a report that the WWE aren’t planning to have a different kind of presentation for the big PPV event.

According to WrestleVotes, multiple presentation ideas were pitched for the Day 1 event, including different colour ropes and mat colours and different camera angles. However, WrestleVotes report all of the aforementioned ideas were declined.

This would suggest that the WWE are heading in with their usual current formula of presenting their televised events for WWE Day One.

In coordination w/ the Day 1 theme, multiple presentation ideas were discussed regarding the look & feel of tomorrow’s PPV. Everything from different rope colors, mat colors, camera angles etc and from what I’m told ALL were declined. Sheesh.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) December 31, 2021

The post Multiple Presentation Ideas Declined By WWE For WWE Day 1 PPV appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

On Twitter this morning, WrestleVotes said “Regarding the availability of talent for this weekends Day 1 PPV, source told me this morning that if the show was tonight, multiple matches would have to be changed. Good thing the event isn’t until Saturday & WWE is hopeful they can keep the card as is. All fluid at this time.”

With the Day 1 PPV just 6 days away, it seems very unlikely that there will be no changes to the card. This week there have been numerous reports of Covid-19 outbreaks among members of the main roster. Just yesterday, RAW superstar, Seth Rollins tweeted: 

His wife, the Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch has also had to be quarninted as a result. 

Via PWInsider, these are just two of possibly eleven RAW superstars pulled from live events; along with WWE Champion Big E, Bianca Belair, Bobby Lashley, Zelina Vega, Liv Morgan, Austin Theory, Carmella, and Doudrop. Note that not all of these people have covid, but they all have at the least been quarantined. It is possible that WWE simply kept them away from the event as a precaution, with Day 1 less than one week away. 

Via PWInsider, these are just two of possibly eleven RAW superstars pulled from live events; along with WWE Champion Big E, Bianca Belair, Bobby Lashley, Zelina Vega, Liv Morgan, Austin Theory, Carmella, and Doudrop. Note that not all of these people have covid, but they all have at the least been quarantined. It is possible that WWE simply kept them away from the event as a precaution, with Day 1 less than one week away. 

Also reported by Dave Meltzer that Roman Reigns was pulled from Smackdown’s house show in Tampa Florida. The main event of the show was going to be The Bloodline vs the New Day and Drew McIntyre. This was changed to Drew McIntyre and Sheamus vs the Usos. Meltzer wrote that it’s “not a good sign” that changes were being made to these house show events. 

However, WWE will still be holding RAW live tonight from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, a live WWE NXT on Tuesday from the Performance Center, and then the live pay-per-view on Saturday from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

The post WWE Hopeful They Won’t Have To Make Any Changes To Day 1 PPV Card appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

WWE officials were still expecting to go forward with all WWE live events and tapings in America as of Wednesday afternoon, but there has been a lot of phone calls being made and “a lot of running around” with one WWE source stating that they are dealing with the same issues that Broadway and other sports leagues have had in recent weeks.

There have been no schedule changes so far, but WWE are working on alternative plans for live events just in case a talent is unable to perform this weekend. WWE would fill up undercard spots with NXT talent if necessary in a worst case scenario. 

WWE are holding their annual post-Christmas Holiday Tour and they hope that if wrestlers are unable to perform on this tour then the Day 1 PPV event will be far enough away that wrestlers will be cleared to perform at that event.

The post WWE Considering Alternative Options After More COVID Cases Hit The Main Roster appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

A new number one contender has been made for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t yet been officially confirmed by the WWE.

Sami Zayn has won a 12 days of Christmas gauntlet match to determine a new number one challenger for the Intercontinental belt. This match took place on a pre-taped episode of Smackdown that will air on December 24th.

All things going to plan, Sami Zayn will now face WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at the WWE Day 1 pay per view event in Atlanta, Georgia in the State Farm Arena on January 1st.

The current WWE Day 1 card is as follows…

Brock Lesnar Vs Roman Reigns (C) for the WWE Universal Championship

Kevin Owens Vs Seth Rollins Vs Big E (C) for the WWE Championship.

Edge vs The Miz

The New Day Vs The Usos for the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships

Liv Morgan Vs Becky Lynch for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship

Madcap Moss Vs Drew McIntyre

Sami Zayn Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (C) for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

The post SPOILER: Intercontinental Championship Match Set For WWE Day One PPV appeared first on Wrestling Republic.