WWE commentary gets a facelift for the New Era

It’s a New Era for the entire landscape of WWE, which continues to change and evolve with the WWE Brand Extension Draft. That includes the announce teams for WWE programming. The teams for Raw, SmackDown, "WWE Superstars" and WWE Main Event are all experiencing a major shakeup, including one major voice changing shows and several rising commentators being inserted into the lineup.

The new announce teams for WWE’s New Era will feature Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton Monday nights on Raw, while Mauro Ranallo, JBL and David Otunga handle the commentary for SmackDown Live every Tuesday night.

Also receiving a makeover will be the announce teams for WWE Superstars and WWE Main Event. Both shows will be led by Tom Phillips, and he will be joined each and every week by Graves on WWE Superstars and Otunga on WWE Main Event.

WWE Unveils the Ultimate SummerSlam Experience at Barclays Center

WWE (NYSE: WWE) and Barclays Center announced today the addition of several fan events to take place at Barclays Center as part of the Ultimate SummerSlam Experience in Brooklyn. Tickets will be available this Saturday, August 1, at noon EST through Ticketmaster.

On Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22, WWE will host “WWE Superstar Meet and Greets” at 40/40 CLUB & Restaurant at Barclays Center. These exclusive sessions will give WWE fans an opportunity to get autographs and photos with their choice of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins™, Randy Orton®, Roman Reigns®, Dean Ambrose®, Bray Wyatt™, WWE Divas Charlotte™, Paige™ and Becky Lynch™, WWE Legend Sting™ and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels®.

On Saturday, August 22, a special “SummerSlam Panel” will take place at Barclays Center, giving fans a chance to ask questions directly to WWE Superstars. The topic of the panel will be NXT®, where WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul “Triple H®” Levesque, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins™, NXT Champion Finn Bàlor™, NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks™, WWE Superstar Kevin Owens™, WWE commentator Corey Graves™ and host Byron Saxton™ will discuss the evolution of one of the hottest entertainment brands in the world seen every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on WWE Network.

The “SummerSlam Panel” will feature a 90 minute discussion and Q&A with fans in attendance. General admission and a limited number of VIP tickets will be available. The VIP ticket includes priority floor seating, a professional photo with select panel Superstars and an exclusive, autographed limited edition poster.

Tickets for “WWE Superstar Meet and Greets” and the “SummerSlam Panel” will be available this Saturday, August 1, at noon EST and can be purchased online by visiting http://www.barclayscenter.com, http://www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center on Monday, August 3 at noon. For more information on SummerSlam Week activities, please visit www.SummerSlam.com.

In addition, WWE NXT will make its historic debut in New York City on Saturday night, August 22, as NXT Takeover: Brooklyn will emanate live from Barclays Center. NXT Takeover: Brooklyn is NXT’s biggest event to date, and will be broadcast live on WWE Network. The main event will feature Finn Bàlor™ defending his newly crowned NXT Championship against former Champion Kevin Owens™. The event will also include appearances by NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks™, Samoa Joe™, Rhyno™, Enzo Amore™, Big Cass™, as well as a special appearance by international superstar Jushin “Thunder” Liger. Tickets for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn are currently available through Ticketmaster.

Corey Graves Hosting Special NXT, Rival Kickoff Pre-show News

A special edition of WWE NXT will premiere this Tuesday night at 9pm on the WWE Network. Corey Graves will host the show and look at the events leading up to NXT Takeover: Rival.

The NXT Takeover: Rival Kickoff Pre-show is now confirmed for 7:30pm EST on the WWE Network on Wednesday night. It will feature Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Jason "Tensai" Albert and Graves.

WWE Announces Commentary Changes, Jerry Lawler Moved to SmackDown

WWE issued the following:

WWE® ANNOUNCES NEW BROADCAST TEAMS AS A PART OF SMACKDOWN®'S MOVE TO THURSDAY NIGHTS

As SmackDown prepares to move to Thursday nights next week on Syfy, WWE Universe members will be seeing some new faces behind both the Raw and SmackDown announce desks.

On Raw, Michael Cole and JBL will be joined each week by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, while the new SmackDown announce team will consist of Cole, newcomer Byron Saxton and incomparable WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler. Cole, JBL and Lawler will continue to call the action during WWE pay-per-view events.

Rumor Mill - Roberts's WWE Replacement Reportedly Named

PWInsider.com is reporting that Eden, the wife of current WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes/"Stardust," may be the replacement for recently released WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts on Raw, according to word coming out of WWE this week. The decision involving Eden was reportedly finalized sometime this week, but plans are always subject to change.

As of late, Eden has been taking part in "second-screen" backstage segments with Tom Phillips on the WWE App.

There had been speculation from fans that Lilian Garcia would be replacing Roberts; however, word is that she will remain on SmackDown and at WWE live events. Byron Saxton will fill in for Garcia at live events when she is not present.

200th Episode of WWE NXT

With four years and 200 episodes of NXT in the history books, Byron Saxton takes a look back at the show that has created a who’s who of current WWE Superstars and Divas. Click here.

You can view the 200th episode here.

Profile Of Talent Removed From NXT Roster Page; Now Listed As Creative Assistant

The profile of Byron Saxton has been removed from the NXT roster page. Saxton was working as an announcer but had been used less and less in the past year. Saxton is now listed on the NXT staff page as a creative assistant.

WWE NXT Results 05/31/11

WWE NXT Season Five Details Revealed

Tonight's season five debut of WWE NXT will be called "NXT Redemption". Todd Grisham and William Regal will be the commentators, while Matt Striker and Maryse will host.

Former NXT names announced for season five:

* Titus O'Neil (Pro: Hornswoggle)

* Jacob Novak (Pro: JTG)

* Byron Saxton (Pro: Yoshi Tatsu)

* Lucky Cannon (Pro: Tyson Kidd)

* Connor O'Brien (Pro: Vladimir Kozlov)

* Darren Young (Pro: Chavo Guerrero)

Rumor Mill - Possible Plans for Season Five of NXT

According to a WWE source, season five of WWE NXT that begins next Tuesday (March 8) is slated to feature past rookies who didn't win on other seasons of the show. Names expected to participate includes: Lucky Cannon, Titus O'Neil, Byron Saxton, Conor O'Brian and Darren Young. Two other names are expected to be added to the roster. Previous discussion involved doing a season involving sons of former WWE stars. WWE has yet to confirm any new details about the next season of NXT.

source: wrestleview.com

WWE NXT Results: Four No More

Week 10 results:

NXT Rookie Challenge: Byron Saxton won Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Rookies (2 immunity points)
Derrick Bateman def. Byron Saxton
NXT Rookie Challenge: Brodus Clay won WWEShop.com (3 immunity points)
Brodus Clay def. Johnny Curtis
Byron Saxton is eliminated from WWE NXT

NXT Rookie Records

Brodus Clay: Challenge points: 3, Win/loss record: 5-2
Byron Saxton (at the time of his elimination): Challenge points: 2, Win/loss record: 3-6
Derrick Bateman: Challenge points: 2, Win/loss record: 3-4
Johnny Curtis: Challenge points: 3, Win/loss record: 2-6

WWE NXT Season 4 Cast Revealed

WWE United States Champion Daniel Bryan will mentor Derrick Bateman

R-Truth will mentor Johnny Curtis

Chris Masters will mentor Byron Saxton

Ted DiBiase will mentor Brodius Clay

Alberto Del Rio will mentor Conor O'Brian

Dolph Ziggler will mentor Jacob Novak