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"WWE: Made in America" special to premiere on USA Network on May 29. WWE will play a part in USA Network's America 250 Celebration with a "WWE: Made in America" special on May 29. A trailer for the event, which will be hosted by Joe Tessitore and Jimmy Hart, was released Thursday. The trailer featured excerpts from interviews with Paul Levesque (Triple H), Glenn Jacobs (Kane), Cody Rhodes and Mark Calaway (The Undertaker). There will be other interviews, including a past interview with Hulk Hogan that discusses WWE's rise and impact on American culture. "WWE and the USA go hand-in-hand because in many ways, I feel like we are America's greatest export," Levesque said to open the trailer. "WWE: Made in America" will be a one-hour special that premieres following Friday's SmackDown. The trailer came out during the same week WWE talent were announced to participate in meet-and-greets at the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest.

Ex-WWE broadcaster Kayla Becker reveals moment when pro wrestling got her hooked. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Former WWE broadcaster Kayla Becker spent eight years with the company before departing to broaden her outlook on the sports spectrum in general. Becker recently partnered with BZZR as she continues her broadcasting career. Pro wrestling fans who tune into Becker's sportscasts will certainly be reminded of the days she was behind the broadcast desk for pre-shows, backstage for interviews or even ring announcing. She explained how she was able to get the WWE gig in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. She said she was hosting a travel segment for a local station before someone from WWE reached out to her and asked whether she would be interested in announcing. "So, I knew someone who was working there and they knew who I was because I was an 'Orlando personality.' And they were like, 'Hey, would you be interested in joining our announce team. And I never watched wrestling a day in my life. And I was like, I just don't know that's where my career is headed," she said. "And they sent me there one day to Full Sail (University) where they were doing some tapings and immediately I was just enthralled. Kayla Becker attends the "Five Nights At Freddy's 2" premiere presented by Universal Pictures and Blumhouse at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on Dec. 2, 2025. (Savion Washington/Getty Images for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse) "I was like this is the craziest, coolest world I've ever experienced, been a part of. All the wrestlers who were superstars, behind the scenes they were so cool, so knowledgeable, so exciting. So, literally, I was like, let's do it. Maybe I'll be here for a year or two. And fast forward, eight years, basically, kicking and screaming, I finally had to walk out of those doors. That was the coolest part of my career bar none." For someone who had never watched wrestling in their entire life, getting thrust into WWE was like being thrown into the deep end of a pool when you've never swam before. Becker was in for a treat. She recalled to Fox News Digital the moment that got her hooked. "I think the first pay-per-view I remember, maybe the first one that I attended, was the Royal Rumble," she said. "At the time, I think I was just attending. I worked there but I still wasn't on the main roster yet. So, I kinda just got to be there as a fan and the excitement in the building of a Royal Rumble, if you never experienced it, there's nothing like it. In that moment, I remember getting goosebumps and then I was like, wait, I work here. I'm a part of this world now. One day, I'll get to announce, which I did. I was a part of many Royal Rumbles. I think that was probably one of the first moments I was like dang, this is kind of a cool place to be." Becker's job was way different from the athletes that perform in the ring. She got a taste of doing in-ring announcing before becoming a backstage interviewer and hopping on pre-show broadcasts. She said she didn't really enjoy her time as a ring announcer and felt like she performed better as a backstage interviewer. "I think my first gig I was an NXT backstage interviewer and I did ring announcing for house shows. So, we'd go around to the small armories around Florida and I'd ring announce," Becker told Fox News Digital. "And I never was a great ring announcer. Never really loved it. The fans, I've been gone for two years, they love to remind me on Twitter, that I wasn't a good ring announcer. OK, pipe down guys. You try doing it. It's not easy. But those days I think were some of the most stressful. Any ring announcer will tell you. You mentioned Alicia Taylor, Bernard Jackson has Mike Rome, Samantha Irvin was there for a while, that is one of the most difficult jobs, I think, across the board. People underrate the ring announcers and the referees because that I think is so stressful, so on the fly. As a ring announcer, Bernard Jackson don't have cards. You have to memorize hometowns, weights, monikers, the cadence in which you say their names. I remember just like spending hours beforehand just kind of saying these things over and over to myself. And when you get in there, you're live. I remember this one time, I was supposed to say, 'The first one to incapacitate,' I said, 'decapitate.' And you're live and honestly, would also work. If you're decapitated, you can't continue wrestling. Kayla Becker attends the world premiere of "Black Phone 2" presented by Universal Pictures and Blumhouse at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on Oct. 8, 2025. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse) "But then as a backstage interviewer, as an actual 'journalist' of the company, it was a lot different. I think a lot more creative went into it in my part. I got to talk to the superstars, talk to the writers, how to best put forth the stories they're trying to tell on screen. I think I had a lot more fun in that role because I think... I had a lot more fun trying to tell the story versus screaming into a microphone." Becker credited John Cena's mentorship with helping her become the best she could be in her position. "Listen, John Cena will be synonymous with wrestling and Hollywood for all of time," she said. "John Cena was one of the first mentor-type people I've ever experienced when I first started in WWE. I was ring announcing house shows and he was giving me advice on how to be better and it kinda went on throughout the years. He's such a good mentor and example backstage." Now, Becker gets to be front and center in all sports with BZZR as the new social media platforms looks to unite sports fans from all fandoms into one spot. Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

TKO reportedly asked WWE to make cuts due to SmackDown returning to two hours and NXT call-ups. WWE's recent releases are reportedly to do with SmackDown returning to two hours. On April 24, WWE held their latest round of cut, with 25 names let go from the company. Those affected were a mix of major names and developmental prospects, though, after Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, the Motor City Machine Guns, and all members of the Wyatt 6 were among the departures, many fans noticed that the company seemed to be intentionally thinning the roster on Friday Night SmackDown. Now, more information has emerged on the amount of talent released by WWE and why they tended to come from the blue brand. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, it's believed SmackDown's return to two hours later this month is a major reason behind the cuts, along with the recent NXT call-ups. "The story on the cuts being so many, there's a couple of reasons behind it. What happened is essentially last year, they do cuts every single year, last year because they had basically just taken over the company and they were trying to be good guys and all that, right, so they didn't order a lot of cuts last year. They kind of held back, so it's kind of like a catch-up. Developmental, they're adding new people to developmental. The people who they figured aren't going to make it, those were the ones cut. So you know. The main roster cuts, essentially it was two things. Number one, all of the people who were brought up from NXT that got spots, essentially they wanted to remove a similar amount of people and they went to creative. It was creative that made the call as to who. They said like: "Who are you not planning on using? Who on the roster are you not planning on using? Give us X number of names." The number that were brought up and additional names from SmackDown, the reason being SmackDown at the end of this month, not next month, the end of this month, SmackDown is going to two hours. Therefore, there is an hour of less time of television, so therefore there is less time to put as many people on, so therefore there would be additional cuts on the SmackDown side. So that's the story behind the number of cuts." -Dave Meltzer In light of the news that SmackDown would return to two hours at the end of this month, Meltzer recently revealed that this is set to become a regular pattern for the brand throughout the year. Having first gone to three hours in January 2025, it reverted back to two that July, and it seems show is set to alternate its time slots every six months to accommodate for other shows to air on USA. During the second half of the year, fans will be able to see 'Everything On The Menu' with Braun Strowman in the 10pm ET (9pm CT) slot that would usually host the third hour of SmackDown. For more of the latest WWE news, you can click here. As always, WrestlePurists'll aim to provide any further updates on the recent WWE cuts as soon as WrestlePurists hear more. If you use the quote above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to WrestlePurists.com for the transcription.