Archive for December, 2015

Joey Styles Calls IWC “Incessant Complainers,” Responds To Criticism Over WWE Product

ECW Original and former WWE announcer Joey Styles recently took to social media to respond to fan criticism over the current WWE product.

Styles has been addressing random comments on his official Twitter page as of late. Below are some of Styles’ responses to fans being overly critical of WWE.

https://twitter.com/JoeyStyles/status/681147486375964676

https://twitter.com/JoeyStyles/status/681148053252902912

https://twitter.com/JoeyStyles/status/681148590287355904

https://twitter.com/JoeyStyles/status/681150784231243776

https://twitter.com/JoeyStyles/status/681194167482073088

https://twitter.com/JoeyStyles/status/681612234334814208

Brock Lesnar’s Next WWE Opponent, Updated Schedule

Brock Lesnar’s next match takes place on Friday, January 8th at the WWE live event from Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center.

Local ads that ran during RAW announced that Lesnar will go one on one against Sheamus on the show. In a rematch from Monday’s RAW, John Cena will also challenge Alberto Del Rio for the United States championship.

Here’s an updated look at Brock Lesnar’s upcoming WWE schedule:

  • 1/8: Live Event (Houston, TX)
  • 1/11: WWE RAW (New Orleans, LA)
  • 2/6: Live Event (San Jose, CA)
  • 2/8: WWE RAW (Seattle, WA)
  • 3/14: WWE RAW (Pittsburgh, PA)

Vince McMahon To Special Referee Reigns vs. Sheamus Title Match On RAW Next Week

Following a wild opening segment that saw Vince McMahon get arrested for losing his cool with one of the police officers in the ring, the WWE Chairman managed to make bail and return in time to get the last laugh as the last RAW episode of 2015 faded to black on Monday night.

McMahon came out after a post-match angle in the RAW main event between the returning John Cena and WWE United States Champion Alberto Del Rio to announce a rematch between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and former champion Sheamus on next week’s RAW.

To make matters worse for Reigns, McMahon also announced that he will be serving as the special guest referee for their title showdown on what will be the first episode of WWE RAW in 2016. The show takes place next week from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Vince McMahon’s Mug Shot From RAW & Video Of His Arrest

– WWE posted the following photos of Vince McMahon’s mug shot after the arrest angle that took place as part of the wild opening segment that saw McMahon leave in handcuffs for losing his cool with one of the police officers in the ring.

– Speaking of the arrest angle that kicked off the final RAW show of the year, one of the “officers” that took part in the segment was independent wrestling star Drew Gulak, who as noted recently, is rumored to be a WWE prospect.

WWE RAW Results – December 28, 2015

The McMahon’s — In Rare Form — And Roman Reigns Kick Off RAW

[Q1] This week’s show kicks off with Michael Cole, JBL and Byron Saxton welcoming us inside the sold out Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, followed by Vince McMahon’s theme music hitting to a lively reaction from the Brooklyn fans.

McMahon talks about having dental surgery, alluding to injuries related to the Supeman Punch that Roman Reigns blasted him with two weeks ago. McMahon, in over-the-top “Mr. McMahon” fashion, than demanded, “Roman Reigns — get out here right now!”

Reigns’ music hit to a surprisingly enthusiastically positive reaction from the New York fans. As he made his way to the ring through the crowd, we see highlights of what has been going on with them lately, as well as a clip of Stephanie McMahon slapping the piss out of Tom Philips.

Vince said he couldn’t find the heart to congratulate Reigns on winning the championship, especially given what he did to Triple H. Vince said Hunter would extract revenge one of these days and Reigns probably wouldn’t see it coming.

The crowd chanted “We Can’t Hear You.” Reigns told Vince, “You better speak up, old man.” Vince mocked the idea that they could hear Reigns and not him, then said, “Oh, I forgot, we’re in Brooklyn.” Vince recalled Reigns turning his back on Stephanie McMahon last week and said nobody does that to a McMahon. Vince said he had to have dental surgery after Reigns punched him. Vince said the ring is his and he even owns the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt.

Vince said sooner or later Reigns will come to the realization that he even owns Reigns himself. Reigns said that’s the problem with rich snobs like him. “I’m not a rich snob, I’m a billionaire,” Vince said while adding there’s a big difference. Funny. Reigns said he and his supporters own the title belt, not Vince, who then asked the fans if they think they own it. A “yes” chant broke out.

Vince questioned how long Reigns thinks he’ll be champion. The fans chanted “Daniel Bryan” and Vince told them to shut up. A C.M. Punk chant broke out, but Vince ignored it and brought up The Wild Samoans. “You’re just one generation away from a bone in your nose,” Vince said. He also boasted that he ran Afa into the ground and made money off him until there was nothing left. Vince said he used up Reigns’ dad Sika, and boasted that he paid him peanuts. Reigns shoved Vince to the mat. “My neck,” Vince said repeatedly. “Somebody help me, dammit, my neck.”

Stephanie McMahon’s music played and she came out and called for help. Policemen walked out behind Stephanie, who told them to arrest Reigns for putting his hands on Vince. She called Reigns a neanderthal and told the cops to arrest Reigns. “No,” one of the cops replied before saying they were there to do security only. Stephanie kept trying and then started mouthing off until the cop threatened to send her to jail if she didn’t take a step back.

“I’m better,” Vince said. The cop told Vince that Stephanie needs to stay calm or she would go to jail. Vince told the cop that he knows who he is. Vince started jawing and told the cop not to threaten his daughter. “You’re pissing me off right now,” Vince said. Vince grabbed the cop by his jacket. The officers in uniform entered the ring. Vince said he didn’t mean to do that. The main cop told the officers to take Vince away.

Backstage Segment: Mr. McMahon Taken Away In Cuffs During The Break

[Q2] Vince was handcuffed and read his rights while Reigns held the mic in front of the main cop. Stephanie pleaded with the cops to stop. Reigns was all smiles.

A “hero” video package aired with Roman Reigns, John Cena, Randy Orton, Alicia Fox, and The Bella Twins among those featured… A video recap of the opening segment aired. You know, for those who watched the football pre-game show and then turned over to Raw once the actual game started…

New footage aired of Vince being placed in the back of a squad car and driven away during the commercial break while Stephanie threw a fit and yelled “Dad!!!” one too many times… The broadcast team addressed the Vince arrest…

Kevin Owens vs. Neville

The fans chanted “Kevin Owens” as he stood in the ring. He did not get a televised entrance, but they did air Neville’s full entrance. Unfortunately, Neville is still carrying around his stupid Slammy Award. Owens went for his finisher, but Neville countered into a pin for the surprisingly quick win.

Winner: Neville

After The Match: Kevin Owens Snaps, Dean Ambrose Makes The Save

Owens flipped out after the match and threw Neville into the barricade at ringside. Owens also drove a split-legged Neville into the ring post and continued to throw punches at him until several referees talked him off. [C]

[Q3] The Owens attack continued after the break. The referees were helping Neville by the ramp when Owens clotheslined him and turned him inside out. Owens was setting up for a piledriver at ringside when Dean Ambrose made the save. Owens ran Ambrose into the ring post, but Ambrose came back with a clothesline. The referees held Ambrose back. Owens ended up leaving through the crowd.

The Rock’s WrestleMania 32 Announcement

The announcers recapped the angle and then narrated highlights of John Cena guest hosting the “Today” show on Monday. They also hyped Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio as the Raw main event… [C] The broadcast team hyped The Rock announcing that he will “electrify” at WrestleMania 32.

Backstage: JoJo Interviews Becky Lynch

Footage is shown from last week’s live Smackdown of Team B.A.D. pour egg nog on Becky Lynch and Charlotte getting a win over Brie Bella. Backstage, JoJo is with Becky Lynch noting that Charlotte said she wouldn’t be here tonight. Lynch said she could be at a disadvantage tonight with Team B.A.D. being in Sasha’s corner tonight. She talked about moving to New York City at a young age and she came here to stand out.

Photos: Alberto Del Rio Debuts New Ring Gear, John Cena’s In-Ring Return At MSG

As noted, John Cena returned to the ring at the WWE live event at Madison Square Garden for the first time since taking a hiatus from WWE after his match with current United States Champion Alberto Del Rio at the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in October.

Cena worked a match with Del Rio at the MSG event this past weekend, who he will also face on RAW tonight in his first televised match since taking some time off to focus on his acting career.

The MSG bout between Cena and Del Rio saw Cena score the victory by way of disqualification after Rusev failed to cost Cena the match by interfering twice, leading to a frustrated Del Rio hitting him with a blatant low-blow.

In addition to Cena making is in-ring return at last night’s WWE live event, Del Rio debuted new ring gear. You can check out photos of Cena’s first match back in WWE and Del Rio’s new ring gear below.

Charlotte Confirms She Won’t Be At RAW, Hints At Ric Flair/Becky Lynch Segment

After some online speculation heading into tonight’s WWE RAW, WWE Divas Champion Charlotte revealed her status for what will be the final 2015 episode of the show.

As we reported on Monday morning, Charlotte was among those advertised to appear at the non-televised WWE live event in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which is scheduled on the same day, and as advertised, that’s exactly where the WWE Divas Champion will be.

However, Charlotte also alluded to the way WWE may keep her angle with Becky Lynch alive on the show this evening without her physically being at the Barclays Center to do so herself.

Charlotte posted the following on Twitter late Monday afternoon, which has led to speculation that Lynch and her father, Ric Flair, will keep the Lynch-Charlotte storyline alive on RAW this week.

The Rock Comments On Reaction From WWE Stars About His WrestleMania 32 Announcement

Following the announcement he made on Monday afternoon that he will be appearing at next year’s WrestleMania 32 event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, The Rock stuck around on social media for a short while to respond to some of the fans reactions — both positive and negative — to the big news.

Below is a recap of The Rock’s replies to fans commenting on the fact that he will be appearing at WrestleMania on April 3rd.

Steve Austin Closes The Door On Possibility Of Having One More Match In WWE

WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has officially closed the door on the possibility of having one more match in WWE. The WWE Hall Of Famer spoke with ABC News to promote his weekly podcasts, his new beer, the new season of his “Broken Skull Challenge” show on CMT and the WWE 2K16 video game. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On his WWE exit and transitioning into acting and reality television:

“My exit strategy from pro wrestling wasn’t carved in stone. I retired because of a few neck issues, some neurological issues … and finally after about three years of hunting and fishing, I said to myself, ‘Steve you need to get off you a** and get to L.A.’ When you wrestle for 15 years, you don’t want to go back to driving that forklift. Based on the name value I had, I went to L.A. and got involved in independent movies.”

“I really don’t do too many movies any more because memorizing words on a page is painful to me, but I love the reality stuff.”

On being outspoken on his weekly “Steve Austin Show” and “Steve Austin Show – Unleashed!” podcasts:

“When I came up with the Stone Cold [image] … I pushed the envelope creatively. Maybe that doesn’t exist today as much. People are a little trepidatious, because there’s really only one company to work for. … I’m pro WWE, but also I maintain my independence and speak my true thoughts, never bashing the product. But yes, I can be critical. I’ve earned the right to be critical.”

On if he will ever return to the ring:

“Naw man, I’m done. I’d rather leave well enough alone.”

The Rock Confirms WrestleMania 32 Appearance, Plans To “Make All-Time WrestleMania History”

As promised, The Rock delivered the special announcement to his WWE fans prior to the final 2015 edition of RAW on Monday night, and it was actually a pretty decent announcement when compared to those who have made such promises in the past.

The Rock revealed via his official Instagram page that despite rumors to the contrary, he will be making an appearance at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The future WWE Hall Of Famer wrote the following on the social media account, informing fans on the three goals he has for his appearance at WWE’s biggest annual event.

IT’S OFFICIAL: People’s Champ is coming home to do 3 things with THE PEOPLE: Set an ALL-TIME attendance record, ELECTRIFY Dallas like never before & make all time #WRESTLEMANIA history. And we have FUN. Ok that’s four things but you know what the hell The Rock’s sayin’.. THANK YOU #WWEUniverse! It’s always an honor coming home and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. #PeoplesChamp4L #MakingElectrifyingHistory #SmackethLaidDownOnThyCandyAsses

Just minutes after he made the announcement, WWE.com posted an article to promote the fact that The Rock will be at WrestleMania 32, and WWE’s official WrestleMania Twitter page tweeted the following to create some buzz for the news on social media.

John Cena’s Muscle & Fitness Cover, WWE Names Top 25 Matches Of 2015, NXT Chicago

– Triple H posted the following on his official Twitter page on Monday afternoon to announce an additional 1pm NXT live event in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday, January 16th.

– WWE posted the following on their official Twitter page to congratulate John Cena on being on the cover of the January issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine.

– Finally, WWE posted a 26-page year-end feature on the top 25 matches of 2015 on WWE.com on Monday. Coming in as the number one WWE match of 2015 was the triple-threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January. WWE posted the following to promote the feature, which features comments from the talents or those close to the talents involved in each of the matches that made the list.

New Matches & Details Announced For Upcoming Dudley Boyz DVD

Several matches have been announced for WWE’s upcoming Straight Outta Dudleyville: The Legacy of the Dudley Boyz DVD. In addition to the matches, there will be a documentary portion about the Dudley Boyz that will run for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Tommy Dreamer, Taz, Joey Styles and others have been interviewed for the DVD, which will be WWE’s first Superstar-themed DVD of 2016.

The DVD will be released in the U.K. on April 11th, and no U.S. release date has been announced yet. Between the matches, the documentary, and the extras, there will be approximately 7 hours of material on the DVD and approximately 8 hours on the Blu-ray.

Here are the matches announced for the DVD so far:

— The Dudley Boyz Come Back to WWE

RAW • August 24, 2015

— The Dudley Boyz vs. The Ascension

SmackDown • August 27, 2015

— WWE Tag Team Championship Match

The New Day vs. Dudley Boyz

Night of Champions • September 20, 2015

— Extreme Rules 8-Man Tag Team Match

The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer & Rhyno vs. The Wyatt Family

RAW • December 14, 2015

John Cena Bombs In “Have You Cena It?” Trivia Game During “Today” Show Appearance

John Cena, who finally makes his WWE television debut on the final 2015 episode of RAW later this evening, served as a guest host once again for NBC’s “Today” show on Monday morning and didn’t exactly shine when taking part in a game named after himself.

Cena played a 2015 pop culture trivia game called “Have You Cena It?” and while he was already not having the best showing, the worst moment for Cena during the game segment was him failing to buzz in quickly enough to answer a question about a movie that he was in.

The longtime top WWE Superstar faces Alberto Del Rio on tonight’s RAW, the man he lost the WWE United States Championship to in his final match before taking a hiatus from WWE to focus on his acting career and new FOX reality show “American Grit.”

Cena actually made his WWE in-ring return on Saturday night, where he defeated Del Rio via disqualification at WWE’s live event at Madison Square Garden when Del Rio hit a blatant low-blow on him after two sneak attacks from Rusev failed to secure the reigning U.S. Champion a three count.

In addition to the quick-clip at the top of the page, below are some photos and quick-clips from the official “Today” show Twitter page that include Cena’s appearance on the show earlier this morning. To watch the full “Have You Cena It?” segment, click here.

Seth Rollins’ Ex-Fiancee Selling Their Engagement Ring, Posts His Real Address Online

Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, who made a surprise appearance at the Slammy Awards edition of WWE RAW last week but is still on the sidelines recovering from a serious knee operation, is facing another situation where worlds are colliding, as an issue with his ex-fiancee’ has spilled online.

Rollins’ ex-fiancee’, Leighla Schultz, known to pro wrestling fans as the woman who posted nude photos of he and his current girlfriend, former NXT Diva Zahra Schreiber, on Rollins’ social media earlier this year, is at it again in another incident that involves the Internet directly.

The starting bid for the engagement ring is $14,000. The ring was appraised for $18,420 as recently as April of 2014.

Below are some appraisal photos of the ring as well as the official description listed along with it. We will, however, avoid posting a link to the actual website they came from, as it contains Rollins’ personal home address, or at least the one he used to have.

“One ladies diamond engagement ring in stamped 14k white gold. The side diamonds are microwave set w/ 1 round brilliant cut center diamond.”

WWE RAW Preview: John Cena’s Return, Vince McMahon & More

Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It will be the final RAW of 2015 and WWE will be working with a limited crew, since the company has scheduled a rare Monday night live event from Allentown, PA.

RAW will feature the long awaited return of John Cena, who has been off WWE television for over two months. Cena will challenge Alberto Del Rio for the United States Championship, a rematch from their title change at October’s Hell in a Cell PPV.

Two weeks after Roman Reigns captured the WWE Championship, Mr. McMahon will be returning tonight as well to address Reigns knocking him out with a Superman punch en route to winning the gold.

Superstars advertised for RAW include Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Sheamus, Ryback, Rusev, and The New Day.

As always, join us here tonight for Live Coverage of WWE RAW.

Biff Busick Coming For Finn Balor, Ziggler Teams With Ryder

– NXT newcomer Biff Busick is already taunting NXT Champion Finn Balor, letting the Demon know he’s coming for him.

https://twitter.com/_StarDESTROYER/status/681275375448666114

– Longtime friends Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler teamed together over the weekend when Ryder’s Hype Bros partner Mojo Rawley did not attend the WWE live event from Chicago:

Santino Marella Rumored For Tonight’s RAW, WWE & TNA Ratings Delayed This Week

– Following his WWE television return at the special Slammy Awards edition of RAW last week, PWInsider.com is reporting that former WWE Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella will be appearing at the final RAW of 2015 tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Santino also appeared on a segment at last Tuesday night’s live Super SmackDown show in Des Moines, Iowa.

– WWE and TNA television ratings will be delayed over the next few days due to the holidays. Ratings for the Thursday night replay of the aforementioned live Super SmackDown show on Tuesday night will be available later today, while the ratings for tonight’s RAW won’t be available until this Wednesday. The ratings for TNA’s special on POP TV last Tuesday night won’t be available until Thursday.

– WWE recently applied to trademark the name “Gorgeous George” now that the long-rumored movie on the wrestling legend is finally moving forward following the news that Josh Gad and Ryan Dixon signed on to write the script for the WWE biopic.

Make sure to visit SESoops.com this evening for live results coverage of the final episode of WWE RAW in 2015!

Roman Reigns Warns Vince McMahon Heading Into WWE RAW This Evening

As noted, just two weeks after his WWE television return on RAW, Vince McMahon has been officially announced for tonight’s RAW at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and Roman Reigns is already sending subtle warnings to the WWE Chairman.

McMahon was added to the show, which faces heavy competition from the NFL this week due to the playoff implications in tonight’s Cincinnati Bengals vs. Denver Broncos Monday Night Football game. The show isn’t helped by the fact that only half of the roster is expected to be available, as the other half will be working the WWE live event scheduled for tonight in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Reigns took to social media to post the following comment on the announcement that McMahon will be appearing on the show again this week, advising the longtime owner of the company to remember what happened to him the last time he was on the show, referring to the “Superman Punch” he took from the reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Make sure to visit SEScoops.com this evening for live results coverage of the final episode of WWE RAW in 2015!

Several Top WWE Superstars & Divas Expected To Miss Tonight’s RAW In Brooklyn

WWE presents the final 2015 edition of RAW live in Brooklyn, New York later this evening, however there are several top WWE Superstars and Divas who aren’t expected to be in attendance inside the Barclays Center tonight.

WWE has a double-booking with RAW in Brooklyn and a non-televised WWE live event in Allentown, Pennsylvania today, and as a result, there will be split crews at each show.

Advertised for the WWE live event in Allentown this evening are Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, Braun Strowman, Tyler Breeze, Tommy Dreamer, The Dudley Boyz, Paige and WWE Divas Champion Charlotte.

It’s worth pointing out that some of the aforementioned names working tonight’s Allentown event may still appear on RAW in the form of a pre-taped segment, but they are not expected to appear live.

Make sure to visit SEScoops.com this evening for live results coverage of the final episode of WWE RAW in 2015!

Apollo Crews Says NXT Is The Place For Real Wrestlers, Talks Dusty Rhodes Helping Him & More

NXT star Apollo Crews recently spoke with The Mirror out of London to promote the NXT TakeOver: London special while on the recent NXT U.K. Tour. During the interview, Crews, formerly known as Uhaa Nation, spoke about working with Samoa Joe early into his WWE run in NXT, his thoughts on eventually moving to the main WWE roster, how the late WWE Hall Of Famer Dusty Rhodes helped influence his new character and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On working with Samoa Joe:

“It’s amazing. It’s not every day you get to be in the ring with somebody of that calibre so to be able to have that opportunity is amazing for me. It’s a chance to show not just everybody else but myself that I can hang on that level. Sometimes you get caught up in Florida, it gets stressful, and like I said you start taking it like it’s an actual job, but being here and working with guys like that… somehow in a weird way you get so relaxed and just let things happen, you know? I think it comes with him being so experienced and coaching me through certain things, the amount of things I’ve learned from him just these last few days has been really helpful. For me it’s a huge opportunity because he is somebody I used to watch before I even got into wrestling. It doesn’t even seem that way now, you see certain guys before you get here, and when you get here they become your peers and your friends, so it’s weird in that way but amazing at the same time.”

On making it to the main roster:

“I wouldn’t say NXT is a stepping stone, by no means. I think everybody has certain things they want to accomplish here and of course the goal is main roster, but when you come here, you come here with things you want to accomplish here in NXT. You get here and things start happening. It’s definitely not a stepping stone by no means. I think for me personally if you’re a wrestler, NXT is where you want to be. From being down at the Performance Center, starting getting on the road more often, travelling to Texas, Brooklyn, Louisville, Sacramento and now the UK, it’s just growing and expanding, and more and more people want to be a part of this and more people are getting onboard. The WWE Network is a major outlet for NXT and when you come to a place like this and see the support we’re getting, it just shows how big NXT really is.”

On Dusty Rhodes being a big help with his new WWE character:

“I would say Dusty Rhodes first and foremost. I got the privilege, opportunity and honour to work side by side with Dusty from the time I came into NXT until the time that he passed. It was cool, I would always go to talk to Dream in the office and end up talking to him for a couple of hours each time I went in there. I would go in and every time he would see me he would say ‘what do you want?’ ‘You know what I think, I think you’re ready, you remind me of me, now get out of my office!’ It would quickly turn into ‘just kidding, just come in and sit down baby’. He first and foremost was somebody who saw something in me. There have been some battles and Dusty has gone in to bat for me on a few things and I will always cherish that, knowing what he meant to me, and never forget anything he said to me.”

Young Bucks Finish Up Independent Dates Ahead Of New ROH Deal

The Young Bucks recently wrapped up their final indie dates before working primarily for Ring of Honor. The decorated tag team recently revealed the details of their unique 1-year deal with ROH, which allows them to still work for PWG in California and NJPW overseas.

Matt Jackson tweeted last week:

https://twitter.com/mattjackson13/status/678825160804290561

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Gifts Former WWE Star A Truck For Christmas

For Christmas, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson gave former WWE Superstar Haku (real name Tonga Fifita) a new truck.

While Tonga Fifita is known to wrestling fans as either Haku or Meng, to Johnson, he is Uncle Tonga. Johnson’s grandfather, WWE Hall of Famer High Chief Peter Maivia, helped train Fifita to become a professional wrestler in the 1970s.

Johnson shared a story on Instagram of borrowing a pair of purple trunks from Haku for his tryout match with WWE, which was also his first-ever wrestling match (he faced The Brooklyn Brawler in a dark match on March 10, 1996 at a Superstars taping in Corpus Christi, Texas).

Merry Christmas Uncle Tonga – enjoy your new truck! Cool Christmas story to share with y’all… Known my “Uncle Tonga” since I was 5yrs old. My grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia helped train him to become a professional wrestler in the 70’s. Throughout Tonga’s illustrious wrestling career he changed his name to “King Haku” and became one the WWE’s most sought after “bad guys” and still known to this day for being one of the toughest and legit most vicious man in wrestling history.

Years later and I get a call from WWE saying “Vince McMahon wants to see you wrestle immediately. He’s flying you to RAW tomorrow and you’ll have a tryout match.” I thought holy shit that’s awesome, buuuut there’s a few problems: For me, I wasn’t just having “a tryout match”, because I had never actually HAD a real match in my life. Ever. WWE thought that I already had multiple matches under my belt, but little did they know. What they also didn’t know was that I was broke as hell and didn’t actually own wrestling gear – no boots, knee pads or most importantly.. wrestling trunks. I went to Sports Authority and bought some bright ass white volleyball knee pads, called my Uncle and asked if he had ANY trunks I could use for my tryout. He said all I have is a pair of shiny purple trunks (purple was his signature color), I told him I don’t care if the trunks are all the colors of Skittles, I’ll happily wear them. When I picked the trunks up from him I’ll never forget the monster hug he gave me, look me in the eyes and said, “I’m so proud of you. Go get ’em nephew!” Here’s the picture of me wrestling my FIRST MATCH EVER in Corpus Christi, TX in front of 15,000 people – proudly in my lucky purple trunks. And the rest… was history.

My Uncle Tonga is a family man, humble man and champion. Most importantly one of the greatest human beings I know. So we walk outside and I said “Uncle how do you like my truck?” He said, “Whoooaaa nephew it’s beautiful… I love it!” I said “Good ’cause it’s yours.” He was speechless. Thru tears (manly of course;) we monster hugged ’cause I’ll never forget what he did for me when I had nothing. Merry Christmas Uncle and ofa atu. #LuckyPurpleTrunks

JBL Responds To Vince Russo’s Comments About His “Legends” Show On WWE Network

https://youtu.be/ifIAj9YN0fI

WWE announcer and host of his own new WWE Network show took exception to comments made about the program, called “Legends With JBL,” from former WWE, WCW and TNA writer Vince Russo.

JBL wrote a lengthy explanation in response to comments made by Russo about JBL’s past shows with the man who helped WCW finally overtake WWE as the biggest national wrestling company, Eric Bischoff.

Featured above are the original comments made on video by Vince Russo, which were released back in September, and below is JBL’s response, which he posted on his Facebook page on Saturday.

“I saw the comments Vince Russo made about the interview I did with Eric Bischoff. I want to address a couple of points. Mr Russo said that Eric decided to appear on WWE programming-this is true, but at my request ,this was NOT Eric’s idea, it was mine. Eric is a friend and I knew he would be a great interview. To take WCW from losing $10 million to making $40+ million in five years is one of greatest stories in history. I wanted to capture this…and we did.

I am very proud of this interview. I understand Mr Russo is not happy with the content of some of Eric’s comments. I felt Eric was honest, I have known Eric for some time-I have a ton of respect for him. However, there is two sides to every story. What Eric did is incredible, I wanted this on record. For the record-I believe Eric.

It is no secret that Mr Russo and I don’t like each other, but that being said-I have no problem asking him on a show and letting him say whatever he wants. Mr Russo and I have both gotten older and hopefully wiser-would love him on a future show. I have zero animosity to Mr Russo—I am getting old:)

The other point is that Eric made money on the interview-I know his pay and it was done for history and not for money. Same as I did some other great interviews that are ‘in the can’, I want to preserve history and show honor and respect to legends with this format, it’s not about money…trust me:) It’s some of the highest watched shows on the Network.

I asked for this format to record history and honor legends-Eric fits both. Proud of my friend, Eric, for what he has done, I thought I was fair with the interview. Would be honored to have Vince Russo on the show as well-and would treat him with respect as well.

BTW, I am not asking for Mr Russo to come on the show-I am not, happy if he did, but not seeking him to come on show. He seems to be doing fine doing what he is doing, and I am happy working with at risk kids in Bermuda on my days off and certainly not asking for more work as every day I do a network show takes away from work with kids who really need my help!”

Christopher Daniels On The Moment He Knew There Was Nothing Left For Him In TNA

https://youtu.be/WPqDog5E4Nc

Former TNA Wrestling star and active international star Christopher Daniels recently appeared as a guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Podcast and spoke about the end of his run as the “Fallen Angel,” the moment he knew there was nothing left for him in TNA and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On the end of his “Fallen Angel” run:

“I started doing the stuff with Sting, and that was the period of time where I had the face paint. It was an angle that Vince Russo had come up with. And, for some reason, I felt they never really pulled the trigger on it. Like, they had me talking about doing stuff with Sting, and they had me interacting with Sting, but I felt like they were still doing other things with Sting that never made me the focus of Sting’s attention. So I always felt like by not making me seem like the most important thing on Sting’s plate, that it sort of hurt me. It made me look like I wasn’t important enough for the fans to care about either. So that was the end of the whole ‘Fallen Angel’ character with me, just because I felt like it wasn’t working, I felt like I had gone as far as I could go in TNA with that mentality and that style of promo.”

On feeling like there was nothing left for him in TNA after his angle with Sting:

“I pitched the idea of doing Curry Man with them, and they gave me a year while I was doing Curry Man as a character. At the end of that, they got rid of the Curry Man character, they fired him, and I came back for a short period of time. First as Suicide, because the person that was doing Suicide got injured right away, and so I took his place for a couple of months. And then I was back [as] myself, then just near the beginning of 2010, they basically let me go. They said that they really didn’t have anything for me, and so they were going a different direction.”

Nikki Bella Out For At Least Another Month, Cause Of Injury

WWE Diva and Total Divas star Nikki Bella recently revealed that she won’t know the status of her ability to make a WWE in-ring comeback until the end of January at the earliest.

The official word from WWE regarding Nikki’s current absence from TV is that she is out resting a sore back, however Nikki herself indicated on social media that she was in the process of rehabbing a neck injury. She later revealed that she is having work done on bulging discs in her neck.

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet broke the news over the weekend Nikki’s latest injury is the result of her repeatedly performing her “Rack Attack” finisher, so we’ve likely seen the last of that move.

The former Divas Champion, who hasn’t wrestled since the October 26th edition of RAW, tweeted the following on Saturday regarding her health: