The Italian WWE announce team confirmed today that Bray Wyatt has been pulled from the rest of the European tour. Wyatt suffered an injury to his right calf muscle at Wednesday night’s live event from Milan, Italy.
Wyatt won’t be at Monday’s RAW or the SmackDown tapings on Tuesday. Wyatt was scheduled to headline various events on the tor against Roman Reigns.
Wyatt will undergo a medical examination upon his arrival back in the United States, and should know how long he’ll need to recover. Prior to his calf injury, Wyatt was already dealing with a back injury.
An audio clip from one of Hulk Hogan’s racist tirades has leaked online, courtesy of Death and Taxes and our own David Bixenspan.
The conversation below is from 9 years ago and features Hulk Hogan talking to Heather Clem about which African American guys he deems fit to date his daughter. To quote the Hulkster:
“If we’re gonna f*ck with n*ggers, let’s get a rich one!”
The rant is from one of the sex tapes that was at the center of Hogan’s civil trial against Gawker Media. A Florida jury ultimately ruled in Hogan’s favor to the tune of over $140 million — but his flagrant use of the N-Word cost Hogan his job with WWE and [rightfully] haunt him to this day.
WWE has confirmed that Bray Wyatt suffered an injury to his right calf muscle at Wednesday night’s live event from Milan, Italy.
As noted earlier, the match was stopped once it became clear Bray was injured. Erik Rowan and Braun Strowman ran to the ring, followed by The Usos and the Dudley Boyz. There was a big brawl, with Reigns clearing house. Sheamus ran down and got speared. Reigns then gave a speech apologizing to the crowd and saying that he’d never wish an injury on an opponent.
New video has surfaced online showing the moment Bray was injured. No word yet on how long he’ll be out of action.
ECW Legend Tommy Dreamer returned Busted Open this week and gave his thoughts on Monday’s RAW and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns.
Despite the mixed reactions Reigns has received thus far, Dreamer is convinced Reigns should be “the guy” and deserves the chance to carry WWE into the next era.
“I’m a huge Roman Reigns supporter and I’ll tell you why,” Dreamer explained. “I watched – I was there live in Florida on a house show – him and Sheamus, and I cannot praise Sheamus enough for being a great heel. Everyone’s talking about, ‘Oh, Roman Reigns and the Wyatts pairing together’, but you got to have great heels to actually work with that. Sheamus, Del Rio, and Rusev – who I’m big fans of, the bad guys. And, you think about it, the people are going to be on their feet for all of those matches. For the haters, to see AJ Styles win, and again, we work for the reactions and we work for people talking about it the next day… I watched [Reigns] and Sheamus work about 25 minutes on a Sunday show and they had a WrestleMania match and the people were so into it.”
It was that live experienced that convinced Dreamer that Reigns is ‘pure money.’ Especially when guys like Seth Rollins and Randy Orton get back in action, the fresh heel challengers will allow fans to get behind the champ even more.
Dreamer then pitched an out-of-the-box idea of how to fully get Reigns over – and how it relates to boxing legend Mike Tyson.
“I wish he went out there and talked like Mike Tyson, who couldn’t really cut a strong promo because of the way he actually spoke. You’d be like, ‘Oh, I could kick that man’s butt. Listen to how he talks’, but yet Mike Tyson was the baddest man on the planet. If they kind of went that way with Roman Reigns – because when you think about it, we loved to hate Mike Tyson and then we just loved Mike Tyson. It’s an interesting time for the Roman Reigns lovers and haters. I’m a Roman Reigns lover.”
You can find more from news articles at BustedOpenNation.com and tune into Busted Open Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 2-4pm ET on SiriusXM Rush 93 and on the SiriusXM App on your smartphone.
– WWE posted the above video where their new TV host Cathy Kelley looks at wrestlers’ reactions to the Bullet Club making their debut on RAW. 27-year-old Kelley reportedly signed with WWE back on Friday, February 5th.
– The dark main event after WWE’s SmackDown taping on Tuesday was Dean Ambrose & Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens. Ambrose & Zayn won the match after Ambrose hits the Dirty Deeds on Owens for the 3-count.
– Dean Ambrose granted a wish on Monday before RAW in Los Angeles, CA. WWE tweeted the following photo of Ambrose with a Make-A-Wish kid:
Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, The Vaudevillians, and Enzo & Cass have all made splashes on the WWE main roster in recent weeks. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that these call-ups from NXT to the main roster have been planned since February.
Meltzer reports that WWE management decided on the names to call up in February at the latest, but the call-up dates had not been scheduled. A couple of the talents were originally scheduled to fly back to Orlando after WrestleMania, but they ended up being kept in Texas for more tapings.
Corbin, Crews and Enzo & Cass have been featured on RAW or SmackDown every week since their debuts.
Natalya and Charlotte are currently booked to have two matches for the WWE Women’s Championship: One at WWE Payback on May 1st, and one at Extreme Rules on May 22nd.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE’s original plan was to go with Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte, but they decided to do the Natalya vs. Charlotte feud now and the Banks feud later this summer. Banks is expected to compete for the title at SummerSlam.
Posted April 14th, 2016 in WWE. Tagged: Charlotte.
One of the top stables in WWE is coming to an end. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that WWE officials are planning to break up The League of Nations soon.
Wade Barrett’s dismissal from the group was apparently the beginning of the end. Barrett was beat down and kicked out by the other League members on the April 4th episode of RAW, after he and Sheamus lost a tag-team match against The New Day.
There’s no word on what they have planned for Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio or Rusev going forward.
Update: WWE.com has confirmed Bray Wyatt suffered a right calf injury.
Earlier: It appears that Bray Wyatt injured his ankle at Wednesday night’s WWE Live event from Milan, Italy. Bray was wrestling WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns. Based on live reports from fans who were in attendance, they were brawling in the corner and the ref began counting for them to break it up. As Bray was walking away from Reigns, he slipped. When it became clear he could not put any pressure on one of his legs, the ref stopped the match. Bray was helped backstage by WWE officials.
Roman was standing in the ring unsure of how to proceed when Erik Rowan and Braun Strowman ran to the ring. The Usos and the Dudley Boyz quickly followed. There was a big brawl, with Reigns clearing house. Sheamus ran down and got speared.
Afterwards, Reigns gave a speech apologizing to the crowd that the match ended abruptly.
Here is video that picks up right after Bray slipped:
Triple H is interviewed in the cover story of the new Muscle & Fitness magazine. In the interview, which was conducted before WrestleMania 32, Triple H talked about his behind-the-scenes duties in WWE, saying he had to “learn how to switch hats quickly” from wrestler to executive.
“Going from the locker room and the road to coming into the office and working with the executives, it’s a totally different mindset and culture,” Triple H said. “You have to learn how to switch hats quickly. Something I always marveled at when I would first come into the office was Vince’s ability to switch hats instantaneously. One minute he was looking at logo designs, the next minute he was making a decision about an international market, then 10 seconds later he was doing something creative that had to do with the show. And that’s what it takes because there’s so much flux.
“I’m in charge of talent, live events, and a lot of the creative. I also have a lot of input with certain programming. To be honest, if I weren’t on the show every week my life would be a whole lot easier. It takes up a lot of time.”
The Game said he does think about retiring from in-ring competition. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion indicted that he would take time after WrestleMania to contemplate his future. As of this writing, HHH has not been on WWE TV since WrestleMania.
“I think about that. I don’t want to be doing this just to do it. In the past several years there have been opportunities that have presented themselves. It all depends on the year. If you ask me right now about next year, I’m not even thinking about next year. I’m thinking about WrestleMania, and on Monday, after WrestleMania is over, I’ll think about what’s next after that.”
You can read the entire interview in the current issue of Muscle & Fitness on newsstands now.
This week’s episode of Impact Wresting averaged 286,000 viewers on Pop TV. This is up from last week’s 272,000, but down from the previous week’s 312,000 viewers. This week’s episode was headlined by Matt Hardy and Tyrus vs. Jeff Hardy and World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway.
There was no late night replay, as Pop TV has moved it to Saturdays at 11:30 AM ET. Last week’s replay averaged 66,000 viewers, and the previous week’s replay averaged 76,000.
This week’s show was ranked #132 in the Top 150 cable shows for the night.
Posted April 13th, 2016 in News, TNA. Tagged: POP TV.
In a WWE exclusive interview with Michael Cole, Zack Ryder discusses a range of topics including the first time his entrance music was played at WrestleMania, his emotional Intercontinental Title win and subsequent loss and how his battle with cancer motivated him to become a WWE superstar and keep fighting in his 10 year career.
The advertising rates for Impact Wrestling on Pop TV have been released online, and it may shed some light on why certain cable channels are hesitant to do business with TNA. James Caldwell of PWTorch.com reports that Impact Wrestling commands less money for commercials than lower-rated programming on the network, such as Days Of Our Lives reruns, or an airing of the 1998 movie You’ve Got Mail.
Caldwell reported the following ad rates for the March 29th episode of Impact Wrestling, compared to other programs on Pop TV.
TNA Impact 3/29 first-run airing revenue: $18,414 Avg. cost for a 30-second ad: $335
Days of Our Lives 3/29 revenue: $44,135 Avg. cost for 30-second ad: $1,100-1,250
Another example Caldwell reported was a 30-second ad during You’ve Got Mail costing $406. It was reported that TNA’s only revenue from Pop TV is a cut of the ad revenue, so Pop TV might be ending up with less than the numbers mentioned above for Impact Wrestling commercials. Pop TV recently removed the Tuesday night replay of Impact Wrestling.
Posted April 13th, 2016 in News, TNA. Tagged: POP TV.
Vince, Shane & Stephanie McMahon are all not currently advertised for Monday’s RAW. Triple H is also not scheduled for the show on Monday, which will be filmed at the O2 Arena in London, England. “The Authority” has not appeared on WWE TV since WrestleMania 32. The night after WrestleMania, Vince gave Shane “control” of RAW and he’s had it for two weeks now.
Top WWE names scheduled to appear on RAW in London include Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, and The New Day.
WWE.com is still advertising Triple H for the RAW tapings on April 25th, May 2nd and May 9th. Triple H and Stephanie were originally scheduled to appear on the April 4th RAW from Los Angeles, but were ultimately pulled from the show.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler says he and John Cena don’t always see eye on eye when it comes to their opinions on wrestling. In an interview with GetMoreSports.com to promote his new movie Countdown, Ziggler talked about his relationship with Cena, and getting advice from The Rock.
“A lot of times John and I, when it comes to wrestling or sports entertainment, don’t always see eye to eye, but it’s also great to have someone whose been through that Attitude Era and we get to talk about his movies and getting better at wrestling,” Ziggler said of picking The Rock’s brain. “It’s very motivational because it’s all positive and they’ve been through it all. Those guys going through it is only good for all of us and just gives us a chance to get our foot in the door.”
Ziggler also talked about his career path in WWE, which included being in an all-male cheerleader group The Spirit Squad.
“When you come into a business and hope that you can get any chance that there is to make it to the main roster and then you make it to the main roster as either a golf caddy or a cheerleader, it’s is a little disheartening. You know the hard work that went in, you know the 20 years of collegiate experience that you have of breaking records. You can show up like The Shield for two years and beat everybody up, talk about how great you are every single night and then the world knows you as the guys who win all the time and who are great at talking. You can come on as me, whether you’re a cheerleader or a caddy, and you get beat up all the time and lose every single night and you have to overcome that to be taken as a credible threat on our show. But it also drove me for years. It made me become that much better. Now I don’t need to be motivated, I already am motivated.”
You can read his full Countdown promotional interview here.
The Undertaker’s status for WWE’s tour of Europe this month has changed once again. The Undertaker was originally scheduled for five dates dates, that was reduced to two dates, then he was eventually pulled from the entire tour. Now, WWE is confirming that The Undertaker will be at two events in the UK.
Undertaker will reportedly be appearing at the April 19th SmackDown taping in London and the April 20th live event in Newcastle. There’s no word on if ‘Taker will actually be wrestling. Kane is scheduled to fill in for him in any advertised matches he was pulled from.
The Undertaker was telling people backstage at WrestleMania 32 that he is retiring, something he’s said before.
– The following matches will take place on tonight’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network. These were taped at last weekend’s WrestleMania AXXESS event from Dallas, TX:
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Elias Samson
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Eva Marie
Carmella vs. Aliyah
Dash and Dawson vs. Local wrestlers
Hype Bros vs. Blake and Murphy
– Lat week, WWE filed for several trademarks related to Shinsuke Nakamura:
WWE submitted Trademarks for "Shinsuke Nakamura" (name/clothing) and "King of Strong Style" (name) on 4/8/16. pic.twitter.com/CKvmH4yqof
Rev Pro has one of the biggest cards in their history this Saturday at Epic Encounter and features the following matches:
Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs Zack Sabre Jr & Marty Scurll
Will Ospreay vs Michael Elgin
Roderick Strong vs Big Damo
ACH vs Pete Dunne
Lord Gideon Grey vs Dalton Castle
Donovan Dijak vs Josh Bodom
Jonny Storm & Jody Fleisch vs The Revolutionists
You can catch RPW on demand at rpwondemand.pivotshare.com.
Progress Wrestling
Chapter 29 ‘Practically Progress in Every Way’ takes place on April 24th and two qualifying matches from the WWE Global Cruiserweight Series will be taking place. There are also two matches in the first Atlas Championship tournament as JOE COFFEY takes on RAMPAGE BROWN and DAMO O’CONNOR goes up against MICHAEL DANTE.
The main event sees Tommy End take on PROGRESS Champion Marty Scurll, you can catch the show a few days after the event at demandprogress.pivotshare.com
IPW:UK
On May 1st IPW:UK present Super Scrum 2016 with the following matches scheduled –
International Tag Team Main Event
– Ring of Honor’s War Machine (Hanson/Rowe) vs. The London Riots (Davis/Lynch)
IPW:UK World Title Match
– ‘Suicidal’ Jimmy Havoc (c) [5 defences] versus ‘The Bad Boy of British Wrestling’ Jon Ryan!
The Super Scrum
– Zack Gibson vs. Jonny Storm vs. T-Bone vs. Nathan Cruz vs. 4 other wrestlers still to be announced!
Traditional British Rules Match
– British legend Johnny Kidd in action!
IPW:UK Tag Team Title Match
– DND (Duggan/Donnelly) (c) [10 defences] vs. 2Unlimited (Jay/Patrick)
IPW:UK Women’s Title Match
– Jetta (c) [1st defence] versus Pollyanna [#1 contender]
All-England Title Match
– ‘Smooth’ Sammy Smooth (c) [8 defences] in singles action!
You can catch IPW:UK on demand at ipwuk.pivotshare.com.
During last night’s Smackdown tapings AJ Styles appeared to suffer from an injury during his match with Alberto Del Rio where he landed on his neck after a botched move. AJ was able to continue and finish the match with a roll up. Styles has subsequently taken to Twitter to address concerned fans –
@AJStylesOrg I spent half my month's salary to see you tomorrow in Dubai. Please tell me you didn't get injured??!! :'(
Although the severity of the injury remains unclear – another potential injury to a main roster talent would be devastating, especially considering Styles is scheduled to be in the main event of Payback against WWE Champion Roman Reigns.
This week’s episode of WWE SmackDown is taped at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, CA. The show will air on the USA Network on April 14th.
– SmackDown opens with WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Maryse. They come out to the ring to host MizTV. Zack Ryder interrupts and challenges The Miz, but Ryder has to face Baron Corvin tonight first.
– Baron Corbin def. Zack Ryder: Corbin got what a correspondent called an “easy win.” After the match, Corbin beat Ryder down but Dolph Ziggler made the save.
– Emma def. Paige: Emma got the win in what was described as a quick match.
– Anderson & Gallows squashed some local wrestlers and cut a promo. This may have been a dark segment.
– Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady def. The Ascension: Enzo and Cass get the win to advance in the tag team tournament.
– AJ Styles def. Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio botched a move and Styles landed on his neck, fans in attendance say it looked bad. AJ won with a roll-up and was holding his neck on the way to the back.
– Fandango and The Golden Truth are backstage for a comedy segment. The Goldust Truth is up next.
– The Vaudevillains def. Goldust and R-Truth: The Vaudevillains won in a “quick match” to advance in the tag team tournament.
– Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho – No Contest: Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens were on commentary and providing distractions. Good action in the ring until Owens interfered to cause the disqualification, which led to the babyfaces clearing the ring standing tall to end SmackDown.
Scott Steiner was interviewed by CBS 46 in Acworth, Georgia recently. Steiner owns a restaurant in the area and apparently witnessed an attempted murder. Steiner describes the incident as “pretty freaky” during the interview. The reporter introduced Steiner as a restaurant owner and did not recognize him as Big Poppa Pump. The reporter has since acknowledged that he had no clue who he was interviewing on twitter.
Scott Steiner has found himself in a lot of bizarre situations, witnessing an attempted murder is almost commonplace when it comes to the Big Bad Booty Daddy. . The shooting took place in the middle of the street and continued to a Hardee’s restaurant in Acworth. Thankfully, the man who was shot several times in the incident is expected to survive. The full interview is in the video below.
John Cena is promoting his new reality show American Grit on twitter. He is encouraging his followers to tweet photographs of how they stay motivated while using the hashtag “#ShowYourGrit”. In the midst of all the posts sent in by fans all around the world, Kevin Owens contributed with a vicious jab at Cena.
Last night, Kevin Owens put on JBL’s hat and hit Cesaro with his own version of the clothesline from hell. The crowd erupted in Los Angeles erupted as soon as Owens grabbed the hat. After he dropped Cesaro, Kevin Owens returned JBL’s hat and apologized for getting carried away.